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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15540-8.txt b/15540-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b37ad5a --- /dev/null +++ b/15540-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10161 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Across India, 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.org + + +Title: Across India + Or, Live Boys in the Far East + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: April 4, 2005 [EBook #15540] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India." +--Page 234.] + + + + _All-Over-the-World Library--Third Series_ + + ACROSS INDIA + + OR + + LIVE BOYS IN THE FAR EAST + + BY + + OLIVER OPTIC + + AUTHOR OF "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG + KNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" "AMERICAN BOYS + AFLOAT" "THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN + THE NILE" "ASIATIC BREEZES" AND UPWARDS + OF ONE HUNDRED OTHER VOLUMES + + BOSTON + + LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS + + 10 MILK STREET + + 1895 + + + + * * * * * + + + TO + + MY LONG-TRIED FRIEND OF MORE THAN FORTY YEARS, + WITH WHOM IN ALL THAT TIME, + I HAVE NOT HAD A BICKER OR A SHADOW OF UNPLEASANTNESS + THOUGH HE HAS BEEN MY SENIOR PUBLISHER FOR MORE + THAN AN ENTIRE GENERATION, AND TO WHOM + I HAVE NOT DEDICATED A BOOK + FOR THIRTY YEARS + + WILLIAM LEE + + This Volume + + + IS RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY INSCRIBED BY HIS + FAITHFUL AND EVER GRATEFUL FRIEND + + WILLIAM T. ADAMS + + + * * * * * + + + PREFACE + + +"Across India" is the first volume of the third series of the +"All-Over-the-World Library," in which the voyage of the Guardian-Mother is +continued from Aden, where some important changes were made in the current +of events, including the disposal of the little steamer Maud, which figured +to a considerable extent in the later volumes of the library, though they +also comprehended the addition of another and larger consort to the ship, +in which the distinguished Pacha, as a reformed and entirely reconstructed +person, sails in company with the voyagers. + +A few days out from the port of departure, a stirring event, a catastrophe +of the sea, adds three very important personages to the cabin passengers of +the Guardian-Mother, and affords two of the "live boys" an opportunity to +distinguish themselves in a work of humanity requiring courage and skill. +These additions to the company prove to be a very fortunate acquisition to +the party; for they are entirely familiar with everything in and relating +to India. They are titled individuals, two of the trio, who have not only +travelled all over the peninsula, but have very influential relations with +the officers of the government, and the native princes, rajahs, kings, +maharajahs, and nobles. + +The commander, the professor, the surgeon, the young millionaire, and +others who have hitherto given the "talks" and lectures for the instruction +of the young people, and incidentally of the older ones also, find +themselves almost entirely relieved from duty in this direction by those +whom the ship's company have saved from inevitable death in the stormy +billows of the Arabian Sea. The gratitude of the two titled members of the +trio, and their earnest appreciation of the educational object of the long +voyage, induce them to make themselves very useful on board. + +They do not confine themselves to the duty presented to them in "Conference +Hall;" but they are profuse, and even extravagant, in their hospitality, +becoming the hosts of the entire party, and treating them like princes in +the principal cities of India, in all of which they are quite at home. One +of the Hindu maharajahs proves to be an old friend of both of them, and the +party reside a week at his court; and the time is given up to the study of +manners and customs, as well as to hunting and the sports of the country. + +Felix McGavonty, with Kilkenny blood in his veins, is firm in his belief +that he ought not to be afraid of snakes, and does for India a little of +what St. Patrick did completely for Ireland. The other "live boys," though +not so much inclined as the Milesian to battle with the cobra-de-capello, +have some experience in shooting tigers, leopards, deer, pythons, +crocodiles, and other game, though not enough to wholly satisfy their +natural enterprise. + +The tour of the party is made by railroad in India, from Bombay, taking in +Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Cawnpoor, Lucknow, Benares, Calcutta, and by the +Guardian-Mother to Madras and Ceylon. On the way and in the cities the +titled conductors continue their "talks" and lectures about the places +visited, with as much of history as time would permit, including an epitome +of those great events in India, the Mutiny of the Sepoys, the "Black Hole," +and other events of the past. The speakers were assisted by elaborate maps, +which the reader can find in his atlas. Statistics are given to some extent +for purposes of comparison. Brief notices of the lives of such men as +Bishop Heber, Sir Colin Campbell, Henry Havelock, and others are +introduced. + +The party did not claim to have seen all there was of India; simply to have +obtained "specimen bricks" of the principal cities, with a fair idea of the +manners and customs of the people. + + WILLIAM. T. ADAMS. + + * * * * * + + CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I. + +ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE. 1 + + CHAPTER II. + +THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA. 10 + + CHAPTER III. + +A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS. 19 + + CHAPTER IV. + +FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE. 30 + + CHAPTER V. + +THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE 40 + + CHAPTER VI. + +THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN. 50 + + CHAPTER VII. + +DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK 60 + + CHAPTER VIII. + +AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN. 70 + + CHAPTER IX. + +CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA. 80 + + CHAPTER X. + +THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA 90 + + CHAPTER XI. + +A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA 100 + + CHAPTER XII. + +THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA 109 + + CHAPTER XIII. + +LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA 118 + + CHAPTER XIV. + +SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY 128 + + CHAPTER XV. + +ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY 138 + + CHAPTER XVI. + +A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS 148 + + CHAPTER XVII. + +A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION 158 + + CHAPTER XVIII. + +A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY 168 + + CHAPTER XIX. + +MORE SNAKES AND THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA 178 + + CHAPTER XX. + +A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS 187 + + CHAPTER XXI. + +JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS 197 + + CHAPTER XXII. + +A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM 207 + + CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS 217 + + CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA 227 + + CHAPTER XXV. + +FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES 237 + + CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI 246 + + CHAPTER XXVII. + +VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA 256 + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + +AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB 266 + + CHAPTER XXIX. + +THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI 276 + + CHAPTER XXX. + +THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA 286 + + CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW 296 + + CHAPTER XXXII. + +MORE OF LUCKNOW, AND SOMETHING OF BENARES 306 + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + +A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES 316 + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + +ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA 327 + + CHAPTER XXXV. + +A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS 339 + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + +THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY 351 + + CHAPTER XXXVII. + +THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA 367 + + + * * * * * + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + +"HE WAS DRESSED IN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ROBES OF INDIA" _Frontispiece_ + +"A READY SEAMAN SEIZED HIM BY THE ARM" 45 + +"MISS BLANCHE WAS WALKING THE DECK WITH LOUIS AND SIR MODARA" 90 + +"THE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WALKED BY THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE" 155 + +"SNAKES! SCREAMED MRS. BELGRAVE" 184 + +"HE SAW A HUGE COBRA DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM" 242 + +"THE STRIPED BEAST WENT UP INTO THE AIR" 263 + +"CAPTAIN RINGGOLD BROUGHT DOWN ANOTHER" 349 + + + * * * * * + + + + + + ACROSS INDIA + + CHAPTER I + + ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE + + +"Well, Captain Scott, what is the run to-day?" asked Louis Belgrave, the +owner of the steam-yacht Guardian-Mother, which had at this date made her +way by a somewhat devious course half way round the world, and was in the +act of making the other half. + +The young magnate was eighteen years old, and was walking on the promenade +deck of the steamer with a beautiful young lady of sixteen when he asked +for information in regard to the run, or the distance made by the ship +during the last sea-day. + +"Before I answer your question, my dear Louis, I must protest against being +any longer addressed as captain, for I am not now entitled to that +honorable appellation," replied the young man addressed by the owner. + +"Once a captain always a captain," replied Louis. "One who has been +a member of Congress is still an 'Honorable,' though his term of +office expired twenty or forty years ago. The worthy commander of the +Guardian-Mother was always called Captain Ringgold in Von Blonk Park and +New York, though he had not been in command of a ship for ten years," +argued Louis. + +"That's right; but the circumstances are a little different in my case. In +the first place, I am only eighteen years old, and my brief command was a +very small one, as the world goes. It hardly entitles me to be called +captain after I have ceased to be in command. In charge of the little Maud +I was the happiest young fellow on the Eastern Continent; but I am just as +happy now, for this morning I was formally appointed third officer of the +Guardian-Mother, at the wages paid to Captain Sharp when he had the same +position." + +"I congratulate you, Mr. Scott," said Louis, grasping the hand of the new +officer, though he had been duly consulted in regard to the appointment the +day before. + +"Permit me to congratulate you also, Mr. Scott," added Miss Blanche, as she +extended to him her delicate little hand. + +"Thank you, Miss Woolridge," replied the new third officer, raising the +uniform cap he had already donned, and bowing as gracefully as a +dancing-master. "Thank you with all my heart, Louis. I won't deny that I +was considerably broken up when the Maud was sold; but now I am glad of it, +for it has given me a position that I like better." + +"Now, Mr. Scott, what is the run for to-day?" asked Louis, renewing his +first question. + +"I don't know," replied the third officer with a mischievous smile. + +"You don't know!" exclaimed Louis. + +"I do not, Louis." + +"I thought all the officers, including the commander, took the observation, +and worked up the reckoning for the longitude. We got eight bells nearly an +hour ago, and the bulletin must have been posted by this time." + +"It was posted some time ago. All the officers work up the reckoning; and I +did so with the others. The commander and I agreed to a second." + +"What do you mean by saying you do not know the run?" demanded Louis. + +"I do know the run; but that was not what you asked me," answered Scott +with the same mischievous smile. + +"What did I ask you?" + +"The first time you asked me all right, and I should have answered you if I +had not felt obliged to switch off and inform you and Miss Woolridge of my +new appointment. The second time you put it you changed the question." + +"I changed it?" queried Louis. + +"You remember that when Mrs. Blossom asked Flix where under the sun he had +been, he replied that he had not been anywhere, as it happened to be in the +evening, when the sun was not overhead." + +"A quibble!" exclaimed Louis, laughing. + +"Granted; but one which was intended to test your information in regard to +a nautical problem. You asked me the second time for the run of to-day for +the last twenty-four hours." + +"And that was what I asked you the first time," answered Louis. + +"I beg your pardon, but you asked me simply for the run to-day." + +"Isn't that the same thing?" + +"Will you please to tell me how many hours there are in a sea-day?" asked +Scott, becoming more serious. + +"That depends," answered Louis, laughing. "You have me on the run." + +"You will find that the bulletin signed by the first officer gives the run +as 330 miles; but the answer to your second question is 337 miles, about," +added the third officer. "Just here the day is only twenty-three hours and +forty minutes long as we are running; and the faster we go the shorter the +day," continued the speaker, who was ciphering all the time on a card. + +"I don't see how that can be," interposed Miss Blanche, with one of her +prettiest smiles. + +"There is the lunch-bell; but I shall be very happy to explain the matter +more fully later in the day, Miss Woolridge, unless you prefer that Louis +should do it," suggested Scott. + +"I doubt if I could do it, and I should be glad to listen to the +explanation," replied Louis, as they descended to the main cabin; for the +new third officer was permitted to retain his place at the table as well as +his state-room. + +The commander had suggested that there was likely to be some change of +cabin arrangements; for it was not in accordance with his ideas of right +that the third officer should be admitted to the table, while the first and +second were excluded; and Louis was very desirous that his friend Scott +should remain in the cabin. The repasts on board the steamer were social +occasions, and the party often sat quite an hour at the table, as at the +present luncheon. But as soon as the company left their places, Louis and +Miss Blanche followed the third officer to the promenade deck, to hear the +desired explanation of sea-time. + +"Of course you know how the longitude of the ship is obtained, Miss +Woolridge?" the young officer began. + +"Papa explained it to me once, but I could not understand it," replied the +fair maiden. + +"Then we will explain that first. One of the great circles extending +through the poles is called the prime meridian; and any one may be +selected, though that of Greenwich has been almost universally adopted. +This place is near London. From this prime meridian longitude is +calculated, which means that any given locality is so many degrees east +or west of it. Sandy Hook is in longitude 74°, or it is that number of +degrees west of Greenwich. Aden is in 45° east longitude." + +"Then you find how many miles it is by multiplying the number of degrees +by 69," suggested Miss Blanche. + +"You have forgotten about knots, or sea-miles," said Louis. + +"So I have! I should have said multiply by 60," added the young lady. + +"That would not do it any better," replied Scott. + +"Degrees of latitude are always the same for all practical purposes; but +degrees of longitude are as-- + + 'Variable as the shade + By the light quivering aspen made,'" + +continued the third officer, who was about to say "as a woman's mind;" +but he concluded that it was not quite respectful to the lovely being +before him. + +"What a poetical sea-monster you are, Mr. Scott!" exclaimed Miss Blanche +with a silvery laugh. + +"I won't do so any more," Scott protested, and then continued his +explanation. "Degrees of longitude vary from nothing at the poles, up to +69.07 statute, or 60 geographical or sea-miles, at the equator. We are +now in about 15° north latitude; and a degree of longitude is 66.65 +statute miles, or 57.9855 sea-miles, near enough to call it 58. By the +way, Louis, multiply the number of statute miles by .87, and it gives +you the sea-miles. Divide the knots by the same decimal, and it gives +the statute miles." + +"I will try to remember that decimal as you have done," replied Louis. +"Now, Mr. Scott, don't open Bowditch's Navigator to us, or talk about +projection,' 'logarithms,' 'Gunter,' and 'inspection;' for I am not capable +of understanding them, for my trigonometry has gone to the weeping +willows." + +"Talk to us in English, Mr. Scott," laughed Miss Blanche. + +"Let us go up to Conference Hall, where there is a table," said the third +officer, as he produced a book he had brought up from his state-room. He +led the way to the promenade, where he spread out a chart in the "Orient +Guide," which had twenty-six diagrams of a clock, one at the foot of every +fifteen degrees of longitude. At this point the commander came upon the +promenade. + +"Formerly the figures on a timepiece in Italy, and perhaps elsewhere, went +up to twenty-four, instead of repeating the numbers up to twelve; and these +diagrams are constructed on that plan," continued Scott. + +"An attempt has been made to re-establish this method in our own country. I +learned once from a folder that a certain steamer would leave Detroit at +half-past twenty-two; meaning half-past ten. But the plan was soon +abandoned," interposed the captain. + +"Aden, from which we sailed the other day, is in longitude 45° east. Every +degree by meridians is equal to four minutes of clock-time. Multiply the +longitude by four, and the result in minutes is the difference of time +between Greenwich and Aden, 180 minutes, or three hours. When it is noon at +Greenwich, it is three o'clock at Aden, as you see in the diagram before +you." + +"Three o'clock in the morning, Mr. Scott?" queried the commander. + +"In the afternoon, I should have added. Going east the time is faster, and +_vice versa_," continued the young officer. "At our present speed our +clocks must be put about twenty minutes ahead, for a third of an hour has +gone to Davy Jones's locker." + +"I understand all that perfectly," said Miss Blanche with an air of +triumph. + +"You will be a sea-monster before you get home. The sirens were beautiful, +and sang very sweetly," added Scott jocosely. + +"They were wicked, and I don't want to be one. But I do not quite +understand how you found out what time it was at noon to-day," added the +young lady. + +"For every degree of longitude sailed there is four minutes' difference of +clock-time," Scott proceeded. "You know that a chronometer is a timepiece +so nicely constructed and cared for, that it practically keeps perfect +time. Meridians are imaginary great circles, and we are always on one of +them. With our sextants we find when the centre of the sun is on the +celestial meridian corresponding to the terrestrial one; and at that +instant it is noon where we are. Then we know what time it is. We compare +the time thus obtained with that indicated by the chronometer, and find a +difference of four hours." + +"I see it all!" exclaimed the fair maiden, as triumphantly as though she +had herself reasoned out the problem. "Four hours make 240 minutes, and +four minutes to a degree gives 60° as the longitude. + +"Quite correct, Miss Woolridge," added Scott approvingly. + +"If I could only take the sun, I could work up the longitude myself," the +little beauty declared. + +"You have already taken the son," replied Scott; but he meant the son of +Mrs. Belgrave, and he checked himself before he had "put his foot in it;" +for Louis would have resented such a remark. + +"I have seen them do it, but I never took the sun myself," protested the +maiden. + +The sea had suddenly begun to make itself felt a few hours before, and a +flood of spray was cast over the promenade, which caused the party to +evacuate it, and move farther aft. It was the time of year for the +north-east monsoons to prevail, and the commander had declared that the +voyage would probably be smooth and pleasant all the way to Bombay. It did +not look much like it when the ship began to roll quite violently. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA + + +It was a sharp squall that suddenly struck the Guardian-Mother, heeling her +over so that everything movable on her decks or below went over to the lee +side, and sending no small quantity of salt water over her pilot-house. It +had begun to be what the ladies called rough some hours before; and with +them Captain Ringgold's reputation as a prophet was in peril, for he had +predicted a smooth sea all the way to Bombay. + +The Blanche, the steam-yacht of General Noury, which was only a trifle +larger than the Guardian-Mother, rolled even more. She was following the +latter, and seemed to be of about equal speed, though no trial had been +made between them. Miss Blanche and Louis had retreated to a dryer place +than the promenade when the shower of spray broke over the pilot-house upon +them, leaving the commander and Mr. Scott there. + +Captain Ringgold frowned as he looked out on the uneasy waves, for the +squall appeared to be a surprise to him; but it proved to be more than a +white squall, which may come out of a clear sky, while with a black one the +sky is wholly or partly covered with dark clouds. It continued to blow very +fresh, and the commotion in the elements amounted to nothing less than a +smart gale. + +"This is uncommon in the region of the north-east monsoons," said the +commander, who was planking the promenade deck with Scott. "During January +and February the wind is set down as moderate in these waters. I have made +two runs from Cape of Good Hope to Bombay, and we had quiet seas from the +latitude of Cape Comorin to our destination both times; and I expected the +same thing at this season of the year on this voyage." + +The captain was evidently vexed and annoyed at the failure of his +prediction, though squalls were liable to occur in any locality; but the +present rough weather had begun to look like a gale which might continue +for several days. The north-east monsoons were what he had a right to +expect; but the gale came up from the south south-west. The commander +appeared to be so much disturbed, that the young officer did not venture to +say anything for the next half-hour, though he continued to walk at his +side. + +At the end of this time the commander descended to his cabin, inviting +Scott to go with him. On the great table was spread out the large chart of +the Indian Ocean. From Aden to Bombay he had drawn a red line, indicating +the course, east by north a quarter north, which was the course on which +the steamer was sailing. + +"Have you the blue book that comes with this chart, Captain Ringgold?" +asked Scott, rather timidly, as though he had something on his mind which +he did not care to present too abruptly; for the commander was about the +biggest man on earth to him. + +"This chart is an old one, as you may see by the looks of it and the +courses marked on it from the Cape of Good Hope," replied the captain, +looking at the young officer, to fathom his meaning. "I put all my charts +on board of the Guardian-Mother when we sailed for Bermuda the first time. +If I ever had the blue book of which you speak, I haven't it now; and I +forget all about it." + +"I bought that chart at Aden the first day we were there, when I expected +to navigate the Maud to Bombay; and with it came the blue book, which +treats mainly of winds, weather, and currents," added Scott. "I studied it +with reference to this voyage, and I found a paragraph which interested me. +I will go to my state-room for the book, if you will permit me to read +about ten lines from it to you." + +The captain did not object, and Scott soon returned to the commander's +cabin with the book. The autocrat of the ship was plainly dissatisfied with +himself at the failure of his prediction for fine weather, and perhaps he +feared that the ambitious young officer intended to instruct him in regard +to the situation, though Scott had conducted himself in the most modest and +inoffensive manner. + +"I don't wish to be intrusive, Captain Ringgold, but I thought it was +possible that you had forgotten this paragraph," said the young officer, +with abundant deference in his tone and manner. + +"Probably I never saw it; but read it, Mr. Scott," replied the commander. + +"The weather is generally fine, and the sky clear, with neither squall nor +rain, except between Ras Seger and the island of Masira,'" Scott began to +read, when the commander interrupted him, and fixed his gaze on the chart, +to find the localities mentioned. + +"Ras Sajer," said the captain, placing the point of his pencil on the cape +whose name he read. "That must be the one you mention." + +"No doubt of it, sir; and I have noticed that the spelling on the chart and +in the books doesn't agree at all. The island is Massera on my chart." + +"They mean the same locality. Go on, Mr. Scott," added the captain. + +"'And the vicinity of the bay of Kuriyan Muriyan, where the winds and +weather are more boisterous and variable than on any other part of the +coast,'" continued Scott. + +"Where is that bay?" asked the commander. + +"It is between the two points mentioned before; but it is Kuria Muria on +the chart;" and the captain had the point of his pencil on it by this time. + +"We are within three hours' sail of the longitude of that bay, but a +hundred and fifty miles south of it," said the commander. "The information +in the book is quite correct. Is there anything more about it?" + +"Yes, sir; a few lines more, and I will read them: 'Respecting Kuriyan +Muriyan Bay, Captain S.B. Haines, I.N., remarks that the sudden change of +winds, termed by the Arabs _Belat_, and which blow with great violence +for several days, are much dreaded; but what surprised me more than these +land winds were the frequent and heavy gales from the S.S.W. during +February and March, blowing for six days together.'" + +"This gale, for such it appears to be, instead of a mere squall, as I +supposed it was at first, has come before it was due by a few days; but it +proves that what you have read is entirely correct," said the commander. +"My two voyages in the Arabian Sea took me twenty degrees east of this +point, and therefore I had nothing but quiet water. But, Mr. Scott, you +have put an old navigator into the shade, and I commend you for the care +and skill with which you had prepared yourself for the voyage of the Maud +to Bengal." + +"I protest that it was only an accident that I happened on that paragraph!" +exclaimed Scott, blushing under his browned face. + +"You found what you were looking for, and that was no accident. I feel that +I have added an excellent young officer to the number of my officers," +added Captain Ringgold. + +"I thank you, sir, with all my heart; but may I ask one favor of you?" +inquired the third officer. + +"Name it, and I will grant it if possible." + +"I earnestly request that you do not mention this little matter to any +person on board of the ship." + +The commander of the Guardian-Mother was an honest and just man, and he was +disposed to give credit to any one who deserved it, even at his own +expense, and he looked at the young officer in silence for some moments. +Then they argued the question for a time; but the captain finally granted +the new officer's request, praising him for his modesty, which was rather a +newly developed virtue in his character. + +The steamer continued to roll violently when Louis assisted Miss Blanche +down the stairs to the main cabin. The dozen passengers who had not +gone on deck after luncheon were in excellent humor, for all of them +were experienced sailors by this time, and beyond the discomforts of +seasickness. All of them held the commander in such high respect and +regard, that not one of them mentioned the failure of his prediction of +fine weather for the next five or six days. Perhaps all of them wondered, +for the captain's predictions before had been almost invariably verified; +but not one of them spoke of his missing it in this instance. + +The gale continued the rest of the day and during the night. When the +morning watch came on duty at four o'clock, Captain Ringgold was pacing the +promenade deck, peering through the darkness, and observing the huge waves +that occasionally washed the upper deck. He had not slept a wink during the +night, though he had reclined an hour on the divan in the pilot-house. He +was not alarmed for the safety of his ship, but he looked out for her very +carefully in heavy weather. + +He was particularly interested in the conduct of the Blanche. She had taken +a position to windward of the Guardian-Mother, and appeared to be doing +quite as well in the heavy sea as her consort. She had been built with all +the strength and solidity that money could buy; and she was as handsome a +craft as ever floated, not even excepting her present companion on the +stormy sea, and she was proving herself to be an able sea-boat. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Scott," said the commander, as the young officer touched +his cap to him. + +Scott had been temporarily placed in the watch with the first officer, and +his post of duty was at the after part of the ship. + +"Good-morning, Captain Ringgold," replied Scott, as he halted to ascertain +if the commander had any orders for him. "The gale does not appear to have +moderated since I turned in, sir." + +"On the contrary, it blows fresher than ever. I did not expect such a nasty +time as we are having of it," added the commander. + +"According to Captain Haines of the Indian navy, we may expect it to last +five days longer, for we have had nearly one day of it." + +"Not quite so bad as that, Mr. Scott. If we had stayed in the vicinity of +Kuria Muria Bay, we might have got five days more of it; but this is a +local storm, and we shall doubtless run out of it in a day or two at most, +and come again into the region of the north-east monsoon." + +"I hope so for the sake of those in the cabin; and I did not think of the +local feature you mention." + +"The deck is well officered now," added the captain with a gape, "and I +will take a nap in my cabin for an hour or two. Mr. Boulong will have me +called if the storm gets any worse." + +The commander went to his cabin, and Scott walked aft to the compass abaft +the mainmast. The binnacle was lighted, and he looked into it. The course +was all right, though the ship yawed a good deal in the trough of the sea, +the gale pelting her squarely on the beam. Though it was not an easy thing +even for a thorough seaman to preserve his centre of gravity, the young +officer made his way fore and aft with the aid of the life-lines which had +been extended the evening before. He watched the motions of the Blanche, +for there was nothing else to be seen but the waste of angry waters. + +Far ahead the light of the breaking day began to penetrate the gloomy black +clouds. It was a pleasure to come out of the deep darkness, and he observed +with interest the increase of the light. While he was watching the east, +the lookout man in the foretop hailed the deck. He listened and moved +forward to the foremast to hear what passed between him and the first +officer. + +"Steamer on the port bow, sir!" reported the man aloft. + +Scott saw the vessel, but she was too far off to be made out. She passed +and disappeared; but about the moment he lost sight of her, he thought he +heard the report of a musket, or some other firearm, to the northward of +the ship. He listened with all his ears, and then distinguished very +faintly shouts from human voices. He waited only long enough to satisfy +himself that he had not mistaken the roar of the sea for calls for help, +and then went forward to the pilot-house, where he announced that he had +heard the shots and the cries. + +"Are you sure of it, Mr. Scott?" asked the first officer. + +"Very sure, sir." + +"We have heard nothing, and the lookouts have not reported anything," added +Mr. Boulong. + +"On deck, sir! Wreck on the port beam!" yelled the lookout aloft. + +"Call the captain, Mr. Scott," said the first officer, as he went out on +deck. + +He made out the ominous sounds, and judged that they came from a point not +more than a mile distant. The commander and Scott appeared immediately; and +with the increased daylight they discovered several men clinging to what +appeared to be a wreck. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS + + +The Guardian-Mother had sailed from New York about fourteen months before +she appeared in the waters of the Arabian Sea. She was a steam-yacht of 624 +tons burden, owned by Louis Belgrave, a young man who had just entered his +eighteenth year. His native place was Von Blonk Park, in New Jersey, most +of whose territory had been the farm of the young gentleman's grandfather, +who had become a millionaire by the sale of his land. + +The terrors of the War of the Rebellion had driven the old man to convert +his property into gold, which he had concealed so effectually that no one +could find it. His only son, more patriotic than his father, had enlisted +in the loyal army, and had been severely wounded in the brave and faithful +discharge of his duty, and returned to the home of his childhood a wreck of +his former self. + +His father died during his absence, and Paul Belgrave, the soldier, was his +sole heir. His physical condition improved considerably, though he never +ceased to suffer from the effects of his wound. The homestead of his +father, which had not been sold with the rest of his land, afforded the +invalid a sufficient support; and he married Maud Nashwood, the only +daughter of one of the small magnates of Von Blonk Park, which had now +become a thriving town, occupied mainly by business men of New York. + +Paul Belgrave was a millionaire without any millions; for he was never able +to find the large property of his deceased parent. For ten years he dug +over the cellar bottom of the old house, and the ground in the vicinity; +but the missing million entirely eluded his search, and he died as soon as +he gave up all hope of finding the treasure. + +Mrs. Belgrave was left with their son, then eight years old; but the estate +of her husband, with the property of her father, supported her comfortably. +The widow had been married at sixteen; and she had the reputation of being +the prettiest woman in the Park after her husband died. She had many +suitors, but she finally married a handsome English horse-trainer, who +called himself Wade Farrongate, though that was not his real name. + +For some reason not then apparent, this man at once became the enemy of +Louis Belgrave; and the war between them raged for several years, though +the young man did all he could to conciliate his stepfather. The man was a +rascal, a villain to the very core of his being, though he had attained a +position of considerable influence among the sporting gentry of New York +and New Jersey, mainly for his skill as a jockey, and in the management of +the great races. + +Louis discovered a plan on the part of Farrongate to appropriate the stakes +and other money dependent upon the great race of the season, and escape to +England with his wife and stepson. In this scheme Louis, after he had +obtained the evidence of the jockey's villany, went on board of the steamer +which was to convey them all over the ocean, and succeeded, with no little +difficulty, in convincing his mother of the unworthiness of her husband; +and she returned with her son to Von Blonk Park. The young man went back to +the steamer, and by skilful management obtained all the plunder of the +villain, who sailed for England without his treasure. + +Farrongate, or rather John Scoble, which was his real name, was a deserter +from the British army. He was arrested on his return, and compelled to +serve out the remainder of his term of service. The death of an uncle in +India recruited his finances, and he returned to New York. It afterwards +appeared that he had some clew to Peter Belgrave's missing million, and he +was therefore anxious to recover the possession of the wife who had +repudiated him. + +A successful conspiracy enabled him to convey her to Bermuda. At this stage +of the drama, Captain Royal Ringgold, an early admirer of the pretty widow, +became an active participant in the proceedings, and from that time he had +been the director of all the steps taken to recover Louis's mother. + +In the interim of Scoble's absence, Louis, assisted by his schoolfellow and +devoted friend, Felix McGavonty, had accomplished what his father had +failed to achieve in ten years of incessant search: he had found the +missing million of his grandfather, and had become a millionaire at +sixteen. The young man fancied that yachting would suit him; and he +proposed to Squire Moses Scarburn, the trustee of all his property, to +purchase a cheap vessel for his use. + +The spiriting away of his mother gave a new importance to the nautical +fancy of the young man. Captain Ringgold condemned the plan to buy a cheap +vessel. He had made a part of his ample fortune as a shipmaster, and had +been an officer in the navy during the last half of the War of the +Rebellion. He advised the young man's mother, who was also his guardian, +and the trustee to buy a good-sized steam-yacht. + +A New York millionaire had just completed one of the most magnificent +steamers ever built, of over six hundred tons' burden; but his sudden death +robbed him of the pleasures he anticipated from a voyage around the world +in her, and the vessel was for sale at a reasonable price. The shipmaster +fixed upon this craft as the one for the young millionaire, declaring that +she would give the owner an education such as could not be obtained at any +college; and that she could be sold for nearly all she cost when she was no +longer needed. + +This argument, and the pressing necessity of such a steamer for the +recovery of Mrs. Belgrave, carried the day with the trustee. The vessel +was bought; and as she had not yet been named, Louis called her the +Guardian-Mother, in love and reverence for her who had watched over him +from his birth. After some stirring adventures which befell Louis, the new +steam-yacht proceeded to Bermuda, where Scoble had wrecked his vessel on +the reefs; but the object of the search and all the ship's company were +saved. + +The Guardian-Mother returned to New York after this successful voyage, +though not till Captain Ringgold had obtained a strong hint that Scoble had +a wife in England. The educational scheme of the commander was then fully +considered, and it was decided to make a voyage around the world in the +Guardian-Mother. She was duly prepared for the purpose by Captain Ringgold. +A ship's company of the highest grade was obtained. The last to be shipped +was W. Penn Sharp as a quartermaster, the only vacancy on board. He had +been a skilful detective most of his life, and failing health alone +compelled him to go to sea; and he had been a sailor in his early years, +attaining the position of first officer of a large Indiaman. + +The captain made him third officer at Bermuda, the better to have his +services as a detective. He had investigated Scoble's record, and +eventually found Mrs. Scoble in Cuba, where she had inherited the large +fortune of an uncle whom she had nursed in his last sickness. Scoble had +come into the possession of the wealth of a brother who had recently died +in Bermuda. He had purchased a steam-yacht of four hundred tons, in which +he had followed the Guardian-Mother, and had several times attempted to +sink her in collisions. + +Officers came to Cuba to arrest him for his crimes at the races, and he was +sent to the scene of his villany, where the court sentenced him to Sing +Sing for a long term. The court in Cuba decreed that his yacht belonged to +his wife; and her new owner, at the suggestion of the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, made Penn Sharp, to whom she was largely indebted for the +fortune to which she had succeeded, the captain of her. The steam-yacht was +the Viking, and Mrs. Scoble sailed in her to New York, and then to England, +where she obtained a divorce from her recreant husband, and became the wife +of Captain Sharp, who was now in command of the Blanche, the white steamer +that sailed abreast of the Guardian-Mother when the wreck in the Arabian +Sea was discovered. + +From a sailing-yacht sunk in a squall in the harbor of New York, the crew +of the steamer had saved two gentlemen. One was a celebrated physician and +surgeon, suffering from overwork, Dr. Philip Hawkes. He was induced to +accept the commander's offer of a passage around the world for his services +as the surgeon of the ship. His companion was a learned Frenchman, +afflicted in the same manner as his friend; and he became the instructor on +board. + +Squire Scarburn, Louis's trustee, who was always called "Uncle Moses," was +a passenger. Mrs. Belgrave had taken with her Mrs. Sarah Blossom, as a +companion. She had been Uncle Moses's housekeeper. She was a good-looking +woman of thirty-six, and one of the "salt of the earth," though her +education, except on Scripture subjects, had been greatly neglected. Felix +McGavonty, the Milesian crony of Louis, had been brought up by the trustee, +and had lived in his family. The good lady wanted to be regarded as the +mother of Felix, and the young man did not fully fall in with the idea. + +When Louis recovered the stolen treasure of the jockey, he had applied to +one of the principal losers by the crime, Mr. Lowell Woolridge, then +devoted to horse-racing and yachting, for advice in regard to the disposal +of the plunder. All who had lost any of the money were paid in full; and +the gentleman took a fancy to the young man who consulted him. For the +benefit of his son he discarded racing from his amusements. He invited +Louis and his mother to several excursions in his yacht; and the two +families became very intimate, though they were not of the same social +rank, for Mr. Woolridge was a millionaire and a magnate of the Fifth +Avenue. + +The ex-sportsman was the father of a daughter and a son. At fifteen Miss +Blanche was remarkably beautiful, and Louis could not help recognizing the +fact. But he was then a poor boy; and his mother warned him not to get +entangled in any affair of the heart, which had never entered the head of +the subject of the warning. When the missing million came to light, she did +not repeat her warning. + +After the Guardian-Mother had sailed on her voyage all-over-the-world, Miss +Blanche took a severe cold, which threatened serious consequences; and the +doctors had advised her father to take her to Orotava, in the Canary +Islands, in his yacht. The family had departed on the voyage; but +before the Blanche, as the white sailing-yacht was called, reached her +destination, she encountered a severe gale, and had a hole stove in her +planking by a mass of wreckage. Her ship's company were thoroughly +exhausted when the Guardian-Mother, bound to the same islands, discovered +her, and after almost incredible exertions, saved the yacht and the family. + +The beautiful young lady entirely recovered her health during the voyage, +and Dr. Hawkes declared that she was in no danger whatever. The Blanche +proceeded with the steamer to Mogadore, on the north-west coast of Africa, +in Morocco. Here the ship was visited by a high officer of the army of +Morocco, who was the possessor of almost unbounded wealth. He was +fascinated by the beauty of Miss Blanche, and his marked attentions excited +the alarm of her father and mother, as well as of the commander. He had +promised to visit the ship again, and take the party to all the noted +places in the city. + +The parents and the captain regarded such a visit as a calamity, and the +steamer made her way out of the harbor very early the next morning, towing +the yacht. The Guardian-Mother sailed for Madeira, accommodating her speed +to that of the Blanche. The party had been there only long enough to see +the sights, before the high official, Ali-Noury Pacha, in his steam-yacht +come into the harbor of Funchal. + +The commander immediately beat another retreat; but the Fatimé, as the +Moroccan steamer was called, followed her to Gibraltar. Here the Pacha +desired an interview with Captain Ringgold, who refused to receive him on +board, for he had learned in Funchal that his character was very bad, and +he told him so to his face. When the commander went on shore he was +attacked in the street by the Pacha and some of his followers; but the +stalwart captain knocked him with a blow of his fist in a gutter filled +with mud. Ali-Noury was fined by the court for the assault, and, thirsting +for revenge, he had followed the Guardian-Mother to Constantinople, and +through the Archipelago, seeking the vengeance his evil nature demanded. He +employed a man named Mazagan to capture Miss Blanche or Louis, or both of +them. + +Captain Sharp, who was cruising in the Viking with his wife, while +at Messina found the Pacha beset by robbers, and badly wounded. The +ex-detective took him on board of his steamer, procured a surgeon, and +saved the life of the Moor, not only in beating off the robbers that beset +him, but in the care of him after he was wounded. They became strong +friends; and both the captain and Mrs. Sharp, who had been the most devoted +of nurses to him, spoke their minds to him very plainly. + +The Pacha was repentant, for his vices were as contrary to the religion of +Mohammed as to that of the New Testament. Captain Sharp was confident that +his guest was thoroughly reformed, though he did not become a Christian, as +his nurse hoped he would. Then his preserver learned that the Pacha had +settled his accounts with Captain Mazagan, and sold him the Fatimé. + +It appeared when Captain Sharp told his story to the commander of the +Guardian-Mother at Aden, that Mazagan had been operating on his own hook in +Egypt and elsewhere to "blackmail" the trustee of Louis. The Pacha had +ordered a new steamer to be built for him in England; and when she arrived +at Gibraltar, he had given the command of her to Captain Sharp, to whom he +owed his life and reformation. + +At Aden, Captain Ringgold discovered the white steamer, and fearing she was +the one built for the Pacha, as Mazagan had informed him in regard to her, +he paid her a visit, and found Captain Sharp in command of her. The Moor +was known as General Noury here, and he made an abject apology to the +visitor. Convinced that the Moor had really reformed his life, they were +reconciled, and General Noury was received with favor by all the party. + +The Blanche was sailing in company of the Guardian-Mother for Bombay when +the wreck with several men on it was discovered. And now having reviewed +the incidents of the past, fully related in the preceding volumes of the +series, it is quite time to attend to the imperilled persons on the wreck. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE + + +It was still but a dim light when the commander appeared on deck. He could +not have slept more than an hour, but he was as wideawake and active as +ever before in his life. He had a spyglass in his hand, with which he +proceeded to examine the wreck as soon as he had obtained its bearings; for +he never did anything, even under such desperate circumstances as the +present, until he had first ascertained what was best to be done. + +"How long is it since you made out the wreck, Mr. Boulong?" he inquired, +still looking through the glass. + +"Mr. Scott reported cries from that direction not ten minutes ago, and the +lookout aloft hailed the deck a minute or two later," replied the first +officer. + +"Make the course north by east," added the captain. + +"North by east, sir," replied Mr. Boulong, mounting the promenade, and +giving the order to the quartermaster through the window. "Steer small till +you get the course, Bangs." + +The captain and the third officer remained on the promenade deck, still +observing the persons on the wreck, who continued to shout and to discharge +their firearms till they saw the head of the steamer slowly turned to the +north, when they appeared to be satisfied that relief was at hand. + +"They are in a very dangerous position," said the commander. "I cannot make +out what they are clinging too; but it is washed by the sea at every wave, +and they cannot hold out long in that situation. I wonder that all of them +have not been knocked off before this time." + +"They must have some strong hold on the thing that floats them, whatever it +is, for they are under water half the time," replied Scott, who was also +using a spyglass. "I can't make out what they are on; but it looks like a +whaleback to me, with her upper works carried away." + +"There are no whalebacks in these seas," replied the captain. + +"But I saw one in New York Harbor; and I have read that one has crossed the +Atlantic, going through the Welland Canal from the great lakes." + +"They have no mission in these waters, though what floats that party looks +very much like one. Call all hands, Mr. Boulong, and clear away the first +cutter." + +By this time the Guardian-Mother was on her course to the northward. The +storm was severe, but not as savage as it might have been, or as the +steamer had encountered on the Atlantic when she saved the sailing-yacht +Blanche from foundering. The ship had been kept on her course for Bombay, +though, as she had the gale on the beam, she was condemned to wallow in the +trough of the sea; and stiff and able as she was, she rolled heavily, as +any vessel would have done under the same conditions. + +The change of course gave her the wind very nearly over the stern, and she +pitched instead of rolling, sometimes lifting her propeller almost out of +the water, which made it whirl like a top, and then burying it deep in the +waves, causing it to moan and groan and shake the whole after part of the +ship, rousing all the party in the cabin from their slumbers. The ship had +hardly changed her course before Louis came on deck, and was soon followed +by Felix McGavonty. + +"What's the row, Mr. Scott?" asked the former. + +"Are ye's thryin' to shake the screw out of her?" inquired the Milesian, +who could talk as good English as his crony, the owner, but who +occasionally made use of the brogue to prevent him from forgetting his +mother tongue, as he put it, though he was born in the United States. +"Don't ye's do it; for sure, you will want it 'fore we get to Bombay." + +"Don't you see those men standing upon something, or clinging to whatever +floats them? They are having a close call; but I hope we shall be able to +save them," replied the third officer. + +The captain had gone to the pilot-house, from the windows of which the +wreck could be seen very plainly, as its distance from the ship was rapidly +reduced. By this time the entire crew had rushed to the deck, and were +waiting for orders on the forecastle. Mr. Boulong, with his boat's crew, +had gone to the starboard quarter, where the first cutter was swung in on +her davits. The boat pulled six oars, and the cockswain made seven hands. + +With these the cutter wad quickly swung out, and the crew took their places +in her, the bowman at the forward tackle, and the cockswain at the after. +It was the same crew with which the first officer had boarded the Blanche +when she was in imminent peril of going down, and he had entire confidence +both in their will and their muscle. He stood on the rail, holding on at +the main shrouds, ready for further orders. + +In the pilot-house, with both quartermasters at the wheel, the captain was +still observing with his glass the men in momentary peril of being washed +from their insecure position into the boiling sea. Felix had gone aft with +the first officer, and had assisted in shoving out the first cutter from +the skids inboard, and Louis had come into the pilot-house with Scott. + +"Has any one counted the number of men on the wreck, or whatever it is?" +inquired the commander. + +"There are eleven of them," promptly replied Scott, who, as an officer of +the ship, was in his element, and very active both in mind and body. + +"Too many for one boat in a heavy sea," added Captain Ringgold. "You will +clear away the second cutter, Mr. Scott, and follow Mr. Boulong to the +wreck." + +"All the second cutters aft!" shouted the third officer from the window; +and the crew of this boat rushed up the ladder to the promenade deck, and +followed the life-line to the davits of the cutter. + +"Bargate, who pulls the stroke oar in the second cutter, has the rheumatism +in his right arm, and is not fit to go in the boat," interposed Mr. +Gaskette, the second officer. + +"Let me take his place, Captain Ringgold!" eagerly exclaimed Louis +Belgrave. + +"Do you think you can pull an oar in a heavy seaway, Mr. Belgrave?" asked +the commander, who always treated the owner with entire respect in the +presence of others, though he called him by his given name when they were +alone. + +"I know I can!" replied Louis very confidently. + +"I do not object, if Mr. Scott is willing." + +"I am very willing, for Mr. Belgrave's muscle is as hard as a flint." + +"Very well. Hurry up!" added the captain. + +Four other men were sent aft to assist in the preparations for putting the +second cutter into the water; and in as short a time as Mr. Gaskette, who +usually went in that boat on important occasions, would have required to do +it, the cutter was ready to be dropped into the water when the order was +given. + +The captain and the second officer continued to watch the party on the +wreck, expecting every moment to see some of them swept into the savage +waves that beat against their frail support. The ship went at full speed on +her course; for the commander would not waste an instant while the lives of +so many human beings depended upon his action. + +"Can you make out what they are clinging to, Mr. Gaskette?" asked the +commander of the only person besides the two quartermasters who remained +with him in the pilot-house. + +"Yes, sir; I am just getting an idea in regard to it, though the thing is +awash so that I can hardly make it out," replied the second officer. "I +think it is the bottom of a rather small vessel, upside down; for I see +something like a keel. The party have two ropes stretched the whole length +of the bottom, to which they are clinging." + +"You are right; that is plainly the bottom of a vessel, and I wonder that +the craft has not gone down by this time. How she happens to be in that +situation, and why she has not sunk, are matters yet to be explained. Go +aft, if you please, and see that both cutters are ready to be lowered into +the water, Mr. Gaskette. It is not prudent to go much nearer to the wreck, +for the gale may drift us upon it." + +The second officer left the pilot-house, and found the crews all seated in +their boats, with everything in readiness to obey the order to lower away; +and he reported the fact to his superior. + +"Starboard the helm, Bangs, and steer small!" said Captain Ringgold as soon +as the officer returned with the information he had obtained. + +To "steer small" is to move the rudder very gradually; for if the course +were suddenly changed a quarter of the circumference of the compass in such +a sea as was then raging, it would be liable to make the steamer engage in +some disagreeable, if not dangerous, antics. + +"Steady!" added the captain when the steamer was headed a point south of +west. + +This position brought the starboard side of the ship on the lee; that is, +this part of the ship was sheltered from the fury of the wind and the +waves, and it was the proper situation in which to lower a boat into the +water; for on the windward side these two powerful forces would be likely +to stave the cutter against the side of the steamer. + +After the commander had struck the gong to stop her, he gave the order to +the second officer to lower the first cutter; and he left the pilot-house +for this purpose. Mr. Boulong was an exceptionally skilful officer in the +handling of a boat in a heavy sea. Watching for the favorable moment, he +gave the order to the cockswain and bowman to lower away, with the aid of +the oarsmen near them. + +"Cast off the after fall, Stoody!" said he sharply to the cockswain; and +the order was promptly obeyed. "Cast off your fall, Knott!" he added almost +instantly. "Let fall! Give way!" + +A receding wave carried the boat away from the side of the ship, precisely +as Mr. Boulong had calculated. The six oars dropped into the water as one, +and the men began to pull, getting a firm hold on the receding wave, which +sent the cutter to a safe distance from the ship. As soon as she was clear, +the commander, who had remained in the pilot-house, rang the gong to go +ahead. When the steamer had gathered sufficient headway, she was brought +about as cautiously as before. + +The second cutter was on the port quarter of the vessel, and this movement +placed the boat under the lee. Mr. Gaskette had remained aft, and when the +ship had stopped her screw and nearly lost her headway, the captain shouted +to him through his speaking-trumpet, which the roar of the waves and the +escaping steam rendered necessary, to "Lower away!" + +"Lower away when you are ready, Mr. Scott!" repeated the second officer. + +Though Scott was only eighteen years old, he was an intuitive sailor, and +had a good deal of experience for his years. He had never before occupied +his present position; but his nautical genius, fortified by sundry combats +with wind and waves, made him feel quite at home. As the first officer had +done, he seized the auspicious moment when the retiring wave promised its +efficient aid, and gave the orders to cast off the falls. + +The six oars grappled with the water on the smooth side of a great wave, +and carried it to the apex of the next billow; and she went off as +handsomely as the first cutter had done. Mr. Gaskette saw these manoeuvres +successfully accomplished, and then started for the pilot-house, to report +to the captain. On his way he could not help giving an inquiring look at +the manner in which the substitute for Bargate performed his duty. + +At eighteen Louis was a healthy, vigorous, athletic fellow, developed by an +active life on the ocean, and weighing one hundred and fifty pounds. In any +trial of strength he was more than the equal of any other member of the +"Big Four," as the four young men berthing in the cabin called themselves, +borrowing the name from a combination of railroads in the West. He was well +trained as an oarsman, and the second officer was satisfied that he was +doing his full share of the work. + +As Mr. Gaskette reached the pilot-house there was a commotion there, and it +was evident to him that something unlooked for had occurred. He glanced at +the two cutters; but they were all right, and were steadily making their +way to the locality of the wreck. + +"The wreck is going down, sir!" exclaimed Bangs with startling energy just +before the second officer reached the door. + +"It is all up with that craft!" added Twist, the other quartermaster. + +Captain Ringgold said nothing, but calmly surveyed the men who were now +struggling in the water. They seemed to be all able to swim; but it was a +closer call than they had had before. The two cutters appeared to be their +only possible salvation, and they were still at a considerable distance +from the scene of peril. + +It was a terribly exciting and harrowing spectacle; but the commander +looked as impassable as ever. He rang the gong for the ship to go ahead; +and Mr. Gaskette wondered what he intended to do, though he was not left +more than a moment in suspense. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE + + +The first and second cutters of the Guardian-Mother were struggling bravely +with the huge billows, but not making very rapid progress, though the gale +was in their favor. The eleven men floundering in the water where the wreck +had disappeared under them were provided with life-preservers, it was now +discovered, and their chances were somewhat less desperate than they were +at first taken to be. But the waves rudely knocked them about, and +sometimes upset them so as to require a struggle to regain their upright +position. + +"The Blanche is close aboard of us, Captain Ringgold," said Mr. Gaskette. +"She is running at full speed for a position on our port hand." + +"Very good," replied the commander. "That is the right thing for her to do, +if she don't come too near us." + +"She is at a safe distance, sir, and her starboard quarter-boat is manned +and ready to drop into the water." + +"Captain Sharp will do the right thing at the right time," replied the +commander, whose gaze was riveted upon the struggling party in the water. + +"I trust we shall be able to save the whole of them." + +"The chances are good for it," answered the second officer. + +"How is the second cutter doing?" inquired Captain Ringgold. + +"She is doing very well, sir, though she is some distance behind the first +cutter, for she got away from the ship later. Mr. Belgrave is pulling a +stroke as vigorous as the rest of the crew. The Blanche is coming about, +and she will have her starboard boat in the water in a few minutes more." + +As her head swung round to port she stopped her screw, and then backed for +a few moments, till she had killed the most of her headway; for Captain +Sharp knew better than to drop the boat into the water while the vessel was +making sternway. In a very short space of time the six-oar craft was +pulling with all the muscle of her British tars for the scene of peril, and +not more than two cables' length astern of the second cutter of the +Guardian-Mother. + +Captain Ringgold observed the boats with the most intense interest as they +approached the unfortunate men in the water. The Blanche came about again, +and her other quarter-boat was soon pulling after the first. Possibly there +was some feeling of rivalry among the crews of the boats in the good work +in which they were engaged, for they were all putting their utmost vigor +into their oars. + +But no boat appeared to gain on the others, and the one which had started +first continued to maintain her advantage till the work of rescuing the +sufferers actually began. By this time the action of the waves had +separated the party, so that they were scattered over a considerable +surface of the breaking billows. Mr. Boulong could see that some of the men +in the water were nearly exhausted; for many of them had wasted their +strength in useless struggles. + +The first cutter was approaching a man who was at the extremity of the +western wing of the party. He was a European of thirty years or less; and +though his head, hair, and beard were dripping with salt water, there was +something in his expression, as he bestowed a single glance upon the boat +now close to him, which commanded the respect, and even admiration, of the +first officer. He was cool and self-possessed in spite of the peril of his +situation, and was observing with painful solicitude the struggles of a +person about ten fathoms from him. + +"Stand by to lay on your oars!" said Mr. Boulong with energy, when the +first cutter was within a boat's length of the individual. "Hold water! +Stand by to haul him in, Knott!" he added to the bow man. "Stern all!" + +These orders were given as the boat came within her length of the man; and +Knott was unshipping his oar, when the stranger raised his left hand, +pointing to the struggling person he had been observing in spite of the +near approach of the cutter. + +"Save that man first, for he is drowning!" he shouted in tones full of +anxiety, if not positive suffering. "I can take care of myself for a while +longer." + +Mr. Boulong's vision had taken in the drowning man, and he fully realized +that the person's situation was desperate, if he was not already hopelessly +lost. He had struggled and twisted himself in his involuntary efforts, till +his life-preserver had worked its way down to his hips, and then it +overthrew him; for he turned a somerset, and disappeared under a coming +wave. He had utterly "lost his head," and was like an infant in the fury of +the billows. + +The men were still backing water with their oars, in obedience to the order +of the officer; but as soon as the oars would go clear of the +self-possessed gentleman, Mr. Boulong gave the command to "Give way!" and +again the cutter went ahead. + +It required but a few strokes to give the necessary headway to the boat; +and Knott was again ordered to stand by to haul him in. The great wave +ingulfed and swept over him, and again left him aimlessly battling with the +killing billows. The bowman was in position, and leaned over so far to +reach the sufferer, that the officer ordered the next two men to seize him +by the legs, to prevent him from being dragged overboard. + +Knott grasped him by his upper garment, and drew his head out of the water. +He held on like an excited bulldog, in spite of the erratic vaulting of the +boat and the struggles of him whom the deep sea seemed to have chosen as +its victim. But the bowman was a muscular seaman of fifty, and he won the +victory over the billows, and hauled the man into the cutter. He was a +person of rather swarthy complexion, dressed in Hindu costume. He was +passed along through the oarsmen to the stern-sheets, where Mr. Boulong +proceeded to lift him up with his feet in the air, to free his lungs from +the salt water he must have imbibed. + +By this time the second cutter came up to the scene, and Scott in command +wondered why the first officer had passed by one man to save another; for +in the commotion of the waves he had not been able to realize the condition +of the Hindu, as he appeared to be. But the cool gentleman had been +over-confident; and instead of waiting for one of the boats to pick him up, +he had disengaged himself from his life-preserver, and attempted to swim to +the first cutter. Mr. Boulong was so occupied with his treatment of the +first man rescued, that he did not see him, or hear his shout above the +noise of the savage waves, and had directed the cockswain to steer for the +next man, who seemed to be an older person than either of the others. + +The Hindu had not entirely lost his senses; and when he was disburdened of +the load of salt water he had swallowed, he looked about him, though still +in a somewhat dazed condition. + +"Dr. Ferrolan!" he exclaimed. "Oh, save him!" He pointed to him as the +stern of the boat rose on a billow; and he proved to be the person towards +whom the cockswain was steering the boat. "Where is Lord Tremlyn?" he +asked, as he surveyed the surrounding waters. "There!" he screamed wildly, +as he pointed over the stern, where the person indicated was swimming for +the first cutter. + +[Illustration: "A ready seaman seized him by the arm."--Page 45.] + +"The other boat is close aboard of him, and will soon pick him up," said +Mr. Boulong, turning his attention to one ahead of the cutter. + +As he spoke, a booming billow struck Lord Tremlyn, as the Hindu had +revealed his name, just as Scott was running his boat up to take him on +board. He was caught just in the comb of the wave, and it upset him, making +him turn a complete somerset, as his companion had done; but he was master +of himself, and when he came up, he appeared to dive through the crest of +another billow, and came out close alongside Scott's boat, near the bow. A +ready seaman seized him by the arm, and, with the aid of another, hauled +him into the boat, where he was passed into the stern-sheets. + +"Was Sir Modava saved?" he asked, with no little excitement in his manner, +as he spit the salt water from his mouth. + +"Don't know him, sir; but they just hauled a man into the first cutter," +replied Scott. + +"Which is the first cutter?" asked Lord Tremlyn, looking about him. + +"The one just ahead of us, sir." + +"Thank God, he is saved!" ejaculated his soaked lordship. "Kindly pull up +to her, and let me be sure of it." + +"That is easier said than done, sir. The first cutter has just picked up +another man, and now she is pulling for all she is worth for the next one. +I couldn't overhaul her if I tried, and just now our business is to save +those in the water," answered the third officer. + +"You are right, Mr. Officer," added Lord Tremlyn, as he seated himself in +the place pointed out to him. + +There were still eight others in the water, and all of them were to the +north of the boats. Those from the Blanche had noticed this fact, and were +pulling in that direction. Mr. Boulong had directed his boat, after taking +in Dr. Ferrolan, as the Hindu called him, to the person the farthest to the +eastward, leaving the others to be saved by the boats nearer to them. + +It is enough to say that all the wrecked party were saved, without giving +the details of the picking up of each of them. The vessel in which they had +foundered had entirely disappeared, and nothing was seen belonging to her. +Against the head sea all the boats pulled back to the two steamers. The +first cutter of the Guardian-Mother had saved three, the second three, and +the two boats of the Blanche had picked up five. + +"Now give three cheers, Mr. Scott," said Louis Belgrave in a low tone, as +the second cutter, ahead of the first on the return, approached the ship. +"The captain will understand from that we have saved all the party." + +Scott approved the suggestion, and the cheers were given with a will, and +repeated by the crew of the first cutter, not far behind. They were +returned from the ship; and the voices included those who belonged in the +cabin, as well as the officers, seamen, and waiters, while the ladies, +clinging to the rails of the promenade, vigorously waved their +handkerchiefs, as the sun rose clear from the eastern waves, though it soon +disappeared in the clouds. It was evident to the officers that the gale was +breaking; or perhaps, as the commander put it, the ship was running out of +it. + +Each of the boats got under the lee in turn; the falls were hooked on, and +both cutters were hoisted up to their davits, as they had come from the +scene of their exploits. Mr. Gaskette was directed to get the ship on her +course again; and Captain Ringgold went aft to welcome the shipwrecked +mariners, or whatever they were. + +The seamen assisted the dripping passengers to the deck; and the masculine +tenants of the state-cabin crept along the life-lines to take part in the +scene, or at least to witness it. As the steamer was headed to the +eastward, the second cutter was the first to be hoisted up. The first +person to be assisted to the deck was Lord Tremlyn, though those who had +saved him were not yet aware of his quality. The commander extended his +hand to him, and it was cordially grasped. + +"I congratulate you, sir, on your escape from the wreck of your ship," said +he. "I thank God most earnestly that we have been able to save all your +party. I hope none were lost before we made you out on the wreck." + +"Not one, Captain; and I join with you in reverent gratitude to Him who +rules the sea in calm and storm, for our preservation from certain death, +which would have been our fate, one and all, but for the care and skill +with which you have worked out our salvation. I thank you and the brave and +noble officers and crews of your boats with all my mind and heart. I speak +not for myself alone, but for all the ship's company of the Travancore, now +gone to the bottom," replied Lord Tremlyn, again grasping the hand of the +commander. + +In a short time the saved from the first cutter joined the others on the +promenade deck, and the Guardian-Mother proceeded on her course to Bombay. + +"Were you the captain of the Travancore, sir?" asked the commander. + +"I am only an amateur sailor," said his lordship; "but I was in command of +the unfortunate vessel, which was a steam-yacht of small dimensions, in the +service of the Indian government. Ah, Dr. Ferrolan," he continued as those +from the first cutter crossed the deck; and he grasped the hand of the +person addressed, "let us thank God first, and then the commander of this +ship, that we have been preserved,--all the ship's company, I am informed." + +"I join you most heartily, my Lord," replied the doctor. "Captain----" + +"Captain Ringgold," prompted Mr. Boulong, by whose boat he had been saved. + +"Captain Ringgold, I am your debtor for life;" and he proceeded to express +his obligations more at length. "Permit me to present to you Lord Tremlyn, +a gentleman who came to India on semi-official business." + +"I am happy to know you, Lord Tremlyn," replied the commander; but the +title did not appear to make a very profound impression upon him. + +"Captain Ringgold, allow me to introduce my particular friend, Sir Modava +Rao, a gentleman high in the favor of the Indian government, and I may add +of all the native princes." + +"I am very happy to make your acquaintance, Sir Modava," replied the +commander, taking his dusky hand. + +The captain then invited the two titled gentlemen and the doctor of the +party to the cabin, while the two engineers were turned over to Mr. +Sentrick, the chief engineer. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN + + +It was still early in the morning, and the cabin party were not disposed to +remain any longer on the promenade deck; for it was almost impossible for +some of them to stand up, even with the aid of the life-lines and the +rails, and all of them retreated to the boudoir and music-room. None of +them had been introduced to the strangers; for they had asked to be +excused, as they were not in a presentable condition. + +The trio of distinguished individuals who had been conducted to the main +cabin by the commander were of course soaked with water, and chilled after +remaining so long in their involuntary bath; and for this reason no +questions were asked of them to bring out an explanation of the cause of +the disaster of which they had been the victims. There were three vacant +state-rooms, to which they were assigned, and each of them had a bathroom +connected with it. The two cabin stewards had already been ordered to +prepare these rooms for the occupancy of the newcomers. Warm baths were +ready for them when they took possession of the apartments. + +"All this is more luxurious than we have been accustomed to lately," said +Lord Tremlyn, when the commander ushered him into No. 11, which was +provided with everything belonging to a suite of rooms in the best hotels +of the United States. + +"I hope you will be able to make yourself comfortable, sir; but your +greatest need at the present moment appears to be dry clothing, when you +have restored your limbs to their normal condition in the bath, and I will +endeavor to supply this want," replied the commander. + +"You are very kind, Captain Ringgold, and I shall never cease to be +grateful to you for the service you have rendered to me and my companions; +for all of us would have perished when the wreck of our steamer went down, +without the prompt assistance you rendered to us," said the principal +personage of the party, who was still shivering under the influence of the +chill he had received in the cold waters of the sea. + +The captain retired, closing the door of the room. He went to No. 12, to +which Sir Modava Rao had been shown, and then to No. 13, which had been +appropriated to Dr. Ferrolan. He assured both of them that dry clothing +would be provided for them, and both of them stammered forth their +obligations very profusely from between their chattering teeth. The doors +were closed upon them after they had been instructed to call upon the +stewards outside for anything they needed. + +The commander had taken the measure of the trio, and knew where to apply +for the clothing needed. The surgeon of the party was about the size of Mr. +Sage, the chief steward of the ship; and he was asked to supply a full +suit, including undergarments, shirt, socks, collar, and cravat. His +lordship was about the size of Mr. Woolridge, who was more than happy to +provide for the needs of this gentleman. Professor Giroud was a rather +slender person; and from his wardrobe came the suit and other furnishings +for the titled Hindu. The clothing of each person was placed on a stool at +the door of his room, and he was notified where to obtain it. + +"Mr. Sage, you understand by this time that we have sixteen places to be +taken at the table," said Captain Ringgold to the chief steward. + +"I think I had better set two tables, for sixteen would be rather crowded +in the space we use now," replied Mr. Sage, who was a Napoleon in his +calling. "I propose to arrange them as they were at the big dinner you gave +at Aden." + +"And while you are about it you may arrange for nineteen places at the +tables," replied the captain; but he did not explain who were to occupy the +three he had added to the number. + +The commander went to his private cabin, after he had visited the +pilot-house, and made a diagram of the two tables, assigning places to each +of the party and the guests, but leaving three of the end places vacant. He +showed it to Louis and Mrs. Belgrave, and they made no objection to the new +arrangement. It was handed to the chief steward, who put a card with the +name of the occupant of each seat on the plate in front of it. The +revolving chairs at the tables had to be all changed, and more added to it; +and Stevens the carpenter, with his assistants from the crew, were busy for +an hour making the change. + +When the commander visited the music-room, he was unable to answer any of +the questions of his passengers as to the details of the wreck of the +Travancore, though he gave the names and quality of the three gentlemen who +had been invited to go below. The sleepers in the cabin had been aroused by +the erratic movements of the steamer before daylight, especially by the +change from rolling to pitching. There was a thundering roar of escaping +steam at times, and all of them had "turned out" to ascertain the cause of +the commotion. Felix and Morris had been the first to go on deck, and they +had informed the others of the nature of the event which had caused the +commotion on board. + +The regular passengers had seen the strangers as they came down to the +promenade deck from the cutters. They were naturally filled with curiosity +to ascertain who and what the trio were. One was a lord, another a sir, and +the third a surgeon; and this was all that was known to any one. + +"Have we really a live lord on board, Felix?" asked Mrs. Blossom, as they +were waiting for breakfast in the music-room. + +"He is not a dead one, sure," replied the Milesian, "though he would soon +have been a very dead one if we had not happened along when we did." + +"One of them was a colored man," added the good lady. + +"Sir Modava Rao!" exclaimed Felix. "He is not more than a shade darker than +you are, Aunty; and he is a great man in the country we visit next. But dry +up; the captain is going to say something." + +The commander gave the names of the three distinguished persons who were +then in the cabin. It was very nearly breakfast-time, and the trio had had +abundant time to dress themselves in the garments provided for them, and he +requested all the party to descend to the cabin, leading the way himself. +They found the rescued party seated on the divans between the doors of the +state-rooms, and they all rose to their feet as soon as the commander +appeared. + +They presented an entirely different appearance from what they did in their +drabbled garments; for those who had supplied them with clothing had +brought out their best clothes, and the three gentlemen seemed to be in +condition to go to church. Lord Tremlyn hastened to the captain with +extended hand as he stepped down upon the floor of the cabin. + +"I desire to express my gratitude anew to you, and to the gentlemen who +have made us capable of coming into your presence in proper condition," +said his lordship, as the commander took his offered hand, which was wrung +with the utmost cordiality. + +"So far as I am concerned, my Lord, I have done nothing but my duty; for I +am a sailor, and the true son of the ocean is always ready to sacrifice +even his life to save a shipwrecked brother of the sea," replied the +captain. + +"Then you are a true son of the ocean, Captain Ringgold, and I shall +remember you as long as I live in my prayers!" + +"So shall we all!" exclaimed Sir Modava, taking the hand of the commander. + +"I indorse the sentiment," added Dr. Ferrolan. + +"In regard to the clothing," said the commander, as he threw back his head, +elevated his shoulders, and spread out his arms, so as to exhibit to its +full extent the height and breadth of his stalwart form, "I was, +unfortunately, unable to contribute to the supply of garments for your +party; for mine on any one of you would have been like a shirt on a +handspike." + +"But a London tailor could hardly have fitted us any better," replied the +spokesman of the trio. + +"I am happy to see you in such excellent condition so soon after the +disaster. With your permission, gentlemen, I desire to introduce you to +each of my passengers, promising to indicate those whose garments you +wear," continued the commander. + +"With the greatest pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; and the other two bowed +their acquiescence. + +"This, gentlemen, is Mr. Belgrave, the owner of the Guardian-Mother, the +steam-yacht in which he is making a voyage round the world." + +"I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Belgrave," added +Lord Tremlyn, as he took the hand of the young millionaire. "We owe our +lives to the fortunate presence of your magnificent steam-yacht in this +part of the Arabian Sea. Permit me to present to you Prince Modava, who has +been knighted for his distinguished services to the British Crown, and who +prefers to be known by his English title." + +"That's your colored man!" whispered Felix to Mrs. Blossom. + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed the motherly lady. "A live prince!" + +"It affords me very great pleasure to become acquainted with you, Mr. +Belgrave," with a smile so sweet and expressive that it ravished the hearts +of the ladies. "I am under a burden of obligation to you which I shall +never be able to repay; and I hope I shall be able to render you some +slight service in assisting you to see India, for I learn that you are +bound to Bombay." + +"I thank you, Sir Modava; and we shall gratefully accept any favors you may +extend to us." + +"Let me add, my Lord, that Mr. Belgrave pulled the stroke oar in the boat +which picked you up after you had sent our first cutter to the relief of +Sir Modava," interposed the commander. + +"Then I shall have an additional reason to remember with gratitude the +young gentleman," added Lord Tremlyn. + +"Mrs. Belgrave, gentlemen, the mother of our owner," the captain proceeded, +as he took the lady by the arm. + +"I congratulate you, madam, on being the mother of such a noble son; for +not many young men with the fortune he has at his command would pull an oar +in such a gale, such a storm, even to save his fellow-beings from perishing +in the angry waves," said his lordship, as he took the hand of the lady. +"Blessed be the mother of such a boy!" + +The members of the Woolridge family were next presented to the trio; and +the distinguished strangers had something pleasant to say to each of them. +The "live lord" was only twenty-eight years old, and Sir Modava but thirty, +while Dr. Ferrolan was forty-six; and all of them seemed to be greatly +impressed, and even startled, when Miss Blanche dawned upon them; for she +was as beautiful to them as she was to everybody else, and they seemed to +be unwilling to allow her to make room for the others to be introduced. + +Every person in the cabin seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion; +and the wearers of the borrowed clothing, as the owners of the garments +were indicated, brought forth many humorous remarks from both sides, which +it would be pleasant to report if space permitted. The ceremony was +finished in due time, though it was rather a long time. + +"We are not accustomed to the companionship of titled personages," said the +commander at its conclusion. "But we are eminently a social party, and we +desire our guests to make themselves as much at home on board of the +Guardian-Mother as if they owned her, and were running her for their own +pleasure." + +"Thank you, Captain Ringgold. Titles are not men, and we know that you are +all republicans. If we do not make ourselves worthy of the generous welcome +you have extended to us, we shall not ask any consideration on account +of the titles that have fallen upon us through the nature of our +constitutional government. I believe that we all stand on the same level +before our Maker; and whatever social distinctions prevail in our country, +they do not exempt any Briton from being a gentleman and an honest man," +replied Lord Tremlyn. And his remarks were warmly applauded by both English +and Americans; and the gentleman bowed his thanks for this appreciation of +his sentiments. + +At a nod from the captain the bell was rung for breakfast. Taking the "live +lord" by the arm, he conducted him to the seat next him on his right. Louis +conducted Sir Modava to the place on the commander's left, and placed his +mother next to him. It was found impracticable to heed the names that had +been placed on the plates, for it would have taken too much time. Louis +took Miss Blanche to the place next to his mother, and seated himself at +her right. + +Dr. Hawkes took possession of Dr. Ferrolan, and placed himself and Uncle +Moses on each side of him. The professor took charge of Mrs. Blossom. The +captain invited those who remained standing to take such seats as they +chose; and when all were placed at the table, he reverently said a brief +grace. Everybody was unusually social; but as the commander had announced +that the particulars of the wreck of the Travancore would be detailed in +due time by Dr. Ferrolan, the subject was ignored, and the voyage of the +Guardian-Mother was the general subject of conversation. The chief steward +had "spread himself" on the breakfast, and the meal was far more elaborate +than usual; and the wrecked trio proved that they had excellent appetites. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK + + +With the rising of the sun the gale had broken, and by the time the party +in the cabin left the table, the north-east monsoon was soothing the ocean +with its gentle blast. The angry sea was rapidly becoming good-natured +again, though the waves were still high enough to give the ship an uneasy +motion. But all the party, and no less the trio added to their number, had +their sea-legs on, and no reasonable motion disturbed any of them. + +The two engineers from the wreck of the Travancore had been as carefully +looked after as the strangers in the main cabin. They had been supplied +with clothing, and they had breakfasted in the mess-room on the best the +larder afforded. The third person brought in by the second cutter was the +Hindu cook of the wrecked steamer; but he spoke English very well, and had +been otherwise Europeanized. He had been turned over to Baldy Bickling, the +second cook of the ship, who had clothed and fed him, and seemed to be +unable to do enough for him. + +The three gentlemen in the cabin were as sociable as could be desired; and +though it was Sunday morning, the scene at the tables had been very +animated. + +When the meal was finished, the guests at their own request were shown over +the ship; and they were not at all reserved in the expression of their +admiration at the elegance with which she had been fitted up, and not less +at the convenience of all the arrangements. + +Lord Tremlyn was particularly interested in the educational feature of the +Guardian-Mother, as Captain Ringgold explained his pet scheme in the +library, or study, abaft the state-cabin, as it was called on the plan of +the vessel prepared by the gentleman for whom she had been built. The +guests looked at the titles of the books, considerable additions to which +had been made at Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere. + +"This is not a library of romances," said his lordship with a smile, as he +took in the encyclopædias, books of travel, scientific treatises, and +geographical works. + +"No, sir; they cover a broad range of useful information," replied the +commander. "Those of our company who are disposed to read novels supply +themselves with that kind of literature. Quite a number of them are +lecturers"-- + +"Lecturers!" exclaimed the distinguished guest. "Then a large number of +your passengers must be scientific people." + +"Not at all, sir; the large majority of them are men and women of good +education, and Professor Giroud is a learned Frenchman who has been a +lecturer at various colleges and schools. Dr. Hawkes is a leading member of +his profession, and is sometimes a lecturer in various medical and surgical +institutions in New York. Both of these gentlemen are making this voyage to +regain their health, injured by over-work." + +"You are fortunate in having such men on board," added his lordship. + +"But most of our lecturers are persons of fair education, and only three of +them have been graduated from the university. We assign subjects to them +some time in advance, and they prepare themselves for the occasion. This +gives the unprofessional people an interest in the exercises they would not +otherwise have. For example, Mr. Woolridge"-- + +"I beg pardon, but he is the father of the beautiful young lady who was +seated at the table next to Mr. Belgrave, is he not?" interposed Lord +Tremlyn. + +"The same, sir. At first he considered the lectures a bore; and doubtless +they were such to him, for he had been a sporting-man and a yachtsman, +though he has since abandoned the races. But I gave him as a subject the +horses and other animals of Egypt. He did very well with it in his peculiar +way; and since that he is one of the most interested in the lectures,--or +perhaps I had better call them simply talks," added the commander. + +"Then this voyage will create a new taste for him." + +"I have no doubt of it. He is a Fifth Avenue millionaire, and he is able to +cultivate any taste he may acquire. Mr. Belgrave is one of our most useful +speakers, for he studies his subjects very faithfully. He is a devoted +student, speaks French fluently, and gets along very well with Spanish. +This voyage is a college course for him." + +"Do your ladies take an interest in these lectures, Captain Ringgold?" + +"All of them, though I have assigned a subject to only one of them. They +all manifest their interest by asking questions. Like myself, Mrs. Belgrave +and Mrs. Blossom are Methodists, while the Woolridge family are +Episcopalians, though none of us are bigoted. The sisters of my church are +very favorable to religious topics, such as were suggested on the Nile; and +when we were near the land of Goshen and the Sinai peninsula Mrs. Belgrave +spoke to us in this connection. Mrs. Blossom is one of the "salt of the +earth," a very good woman, very religious, and her studies have been +confined to the Bible and her denominational newspapers. Her education was +neglected, and she is rather tonguey, so that she asks curious questions; +but we all esteem her very highly, though her American peculiarities may +seem very odd to you." + +"I have known similar people in England, and your description of her leads +me to respect the lady," replied the titled gentleman, who appeared to be +very democratic so far as homely merit was concerned. + +Dr. Hawkes had taken his professional brother in charge, and Louis, Sir +Modava, as the commander had Lord Tremlyn, and they were showing them over +the ship. We need not follow them or repeat their explanations; but they +finally reached the promenade deck, where all the officers were presented +to the guests of the steamer. At Conference Hall the three couples met, and +the lectures were again commented upon; for this subject was uppermost in +the mind of the commander. + +"Do you have a lecture to-day, Captain Ringgold?" asked his lordship. + +"No, sir; this is Sunday, and we keep the Sabbath in a reasonable manner, +and the conference is usually omitted on this day, though when the subject +is appropriate for the day the lecture is given. The professor is a Roman +Catholic; but we have not had the slightest friction in regard to any man's +creed. The owner and voyager in our consort, the white ship abreast of us, +whose boat picked up five men of your ship's company, is a Mohammedan, +though the captain and his wife are Congregationalists. We have a religious +service on board at eleven o'clock, to which your party are invited, though +no umbrage will be taken if you prefer to absent yourselves." + +"I shall certainly attend," replied his lordship; and his companions said +the same. "Have you a chaplain?" + +"We have not, and I am obliged to act in that capacity for the want of a +better," replied the captain. "We Methodists are all trained to 'speak in +meeting,' whether we have the gift or not." + +At the appointed time the gong was sounded for divine service, and four +whistles were given, that all on board might hear the call. Chairs had been +provided for the guests, and all the party were seated when six bells +struck. The two engineers of the Travancore were seated on the platform +with, the cook, and all the officers and seamen who could be spared stood +within hearing. + +Most of the party were provided with tune-books, and the captain gave out +"The Life-Boat." Books were passed to the strangers, and the commander led +off in the singing. Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan joined in with vigorous +bass voices. Captain Ringgold then followed with an extemporaneous prayer, +in which he poured forth his thanks to the God who rules the sea and the +land for the mercy that had spared their brothers from other lands from the +mighty power of the raging billows. Instead of reading a printed sermon as +usual, he gave an impromptu address relating to the event of the early +morning. Its bearing was very religious, and it was as eloquent as it was +homely compared with studied discourses. + +After the singing of "Nearer, my God, to thee," the service closed; but the +people were invited to keep their seats. Without any explanation of what +was to follow, the captain introduced Lord Tremlyn. + +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I am utterly unable to express my +high appreciation of the religious service in which we have all assisted. +It went to my heart, and I am sure we who have been saved from perishing in +the stormy billows joined heartily with him who officiated in giving thanks +to God for our preservation," his lordship began. + +"We are all profoundly impressed by the kindness, the unbounded +hospitality, which have been extended to us in our unfortunate, I may say +our forlorn, condition; and I am sure that not one of us, from the amateur +captain of the Travancore, to the coolies who were saved by the Blanche, +will ever cease to bless the commander, the officers, the crew, and the +passengers of the Guardian-Mother for the overwhelming kindness and care +they have all bestowed upon us. Though we are not at the festive board, I +venture to propose to you the health of Captain Ringgold, as the +representative of all to whom we are so gratefully indebted." + + "For he's a jolly good fellow! + For he's a jolly good fellow! + For he's a jolly good fellow! + So say we all of us!" + +To the astonishment, and perhaps to the disgust, of the two Methodist +ladies, Dr. Ferrolan struck up this refrain, singing with a vigor which +proved his earnestness. Sir Modava, the engineers, and the cook immediately +joined in with him. Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Mr. Woolridge, and others, +because they approved the sentiment of the words, struck in at the second +line, and it became a full chorus before the last line was reached. + +It is an English custom to follow a toast to a distinguished personage with +this refrain, as expressive of the sentiments of the company; and though it +was not adapted to Sunday use, it was sincere and heartfelt on the part of +all who sang it. Captain Ringgold rose and bowed his thanks, and Lord +Tremlyn spoke again:-- + +"It is very natural that you should desire to know something about the +guests who have been so fortuitously cast into your kindly embrace, and +especially in regard to the calamity which has made us the recipients of +your generous hospitality; and Captain Ringgold gives us this opportunity +to gratify your reasonable curiosity. I am no orator, like my brother, the +commander of the Guardian-Mother, and I shall call upon my friend and +secretary, who has been travelling with me in India for his health, to give +you the desired information." Though it was Sunday, even the commander +joined in the applause that greeted the doctor when he mounted the rostrum. + +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I beg to inform you that my Lord +Tremlyn is quite as capable of speaking for himself as I am for him; but as +I am called upon to make this explanation, I shall do so with pleasure. I +have the honor to be the secretary of the Right Honorable Viscount Tremlyn, +the son of the noble earl who is Secretary of State for India. He has been +on a mission in the interests of his father to obtain certain information, +though he holds no official position. + +"Sir Modava Rao has held several official positions in India, and is +perhaps more familiar with the country and its British and native +governments than any other man. He has been travelling with Lord Tremlyn, +to assist him in obtaining the information connected with his unofficial +mission. My lord has completed the work assigned to him; but the viceroy +wished him to visit the Imam of Muscat unofficially for a certain purpose I +am not at liberty to state. + +"In a small steam-yacht owned by Sir Modava, the most devoted friend of his +lordship, in which he had been all around the peninsula, and up several of +its rivers, we embarked for Muscat, and safely reached that country. Then +the viscount decided to proceed to Aden, where he had important business; +for he intended to return to England by the Euphrates route, in order to +inform himself in regard to the navigation of the river. We sailed for +Aden, believing we should have the calm and pleasant weather of the +north-east monsoon. + +"Yesterday we encountered the gale from the south-west, which was very +unusual. But the Travancore was an able seaboat, and we went along very +well until we were run into by a steamer in the darkness and mist early +this morning. The side of the little steamer was stove in, and she began to +fill. We put on our life-preservers, and prepared for the worst. We +stretched a life-line fore and aft, and listened to the gurgling waters +below deck. Suddenly, when she was partly filled with water, she capsized. +We clung to the life-line, which unhitched forward. + +"Of course we expected she would go down; but she did not for several +hours. We had our life-preservers on, and we made fast the lines forward, +which saved us from being washed off the bottom of the vessel. I had a +revolver in my pocket, and when I saw the port light of your steamer, I +fired it, and we all shouted at the top of our lungs. + +"We could hear the air and the water bubbling and hissing under us at +times, and it was understood that the confined air above the water in the +hull had kept her afloat. But this air had all escaped as the +Guardian-mother approached us, and with no warning she went to the bottom. +We were floated by our life-preservers till your boats picked us up, though +we were fearfully shaken and tossed about by the waves. Our gallant +saviours know how we were rescued--all honor and glory to them!" + +The doctor finished his explanation and took his seat. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN + + +"Our log-book indicates that we passed a steamer to the northward of us at +four bells in the mid-watch," said Captain Ringgold, when Dr. Ferrolan +finished his narrative. "She was headed about west by south; and very +likely it was the one which ran into the Travancore, for no other was +reported." + +"She was a vessel of about four hundred tons," added the viscount. "I was +in the pilot-house at the time, though the weather was so thick that I +could hardly make her out as she slipped off from our starboard bow, and +went on her course." + +"Didn't she hail you, and offer to stand by you?" +inquired the commander. + +"I heard something like a shout coming from her, and in a moment she was +beyond hailing-distance. I supposed we were going to the bottom in a few +minutes, and had my hands full, so that I had no time to look out for her, +though I supposed she would come about and render assistance; but we did +not hear from her again." + +"It is possible that she did so, and was unable to find you, for it was +very dark, and the sea was very rough," suggested the commander. "But her +conduct looks heathenish, and I will warrant that she was not an English +steamer; for the British tars never pass by their fellow-beings on the +ocean in distress without rendering assistance." + +"It was a new experience to me," added his lordship, "and perhaps I +neglected something I ought to have done." + +"I think not; for your first and supreme duty at that time was to look out +for the safety of your own vessel," replied Captain Ringgold. + +"So far as that was concerned, I believe I did all I could do to repair the +mischief," continued the viscount. "The chief engineer reported to me that +the side of the yacht was stove in near the bow, and that the water was +pouring into the hull. He suggested that a double sailcloth be hauled under +the vessel. We had no sails, but we promptly made use of an awning, and we +succeeded in drawing it under the bottom, and covering the aperture." + +"That was precisely the right thing to do," said the commander. + +"Probably it enabled us to float a short time longer than we should +otherwise have done; but the yacht had taken in too much water before we +applied the remedy, for suddenly, on the top of a huge wave, she made a +heavy roll, capsized, and came up with her keel in the air. I am only +afraid that I did not do all that might have been done." + +"I could have done no more if I had been there with all my ship's company," +the commander declared; for the amateur captain of the Travancore was a +conscientious man, and desired to relieve his mind of all blame for his +conduct; and he had really done all that could be done, though the remedy +applied was a failure. + +"My chief engineer was an experienced man, and I followed his counsels in +everything," added the viscount. + +"His lordship did all that it was possible for any man to do in such a +case," interposed the chief engineer of the Travancore, who was seated on +the platform. "I can only thank God that we were all saved, and I am sure +that no one is to blame." + +"I am told that our cabin waiter and four coolies were picked up by the +other steamer," said Lord Tremlyn, as he looked about him. + +"That is true, sir," interposed Mr. Boulong, who stood on the deck by the +platform. "Sir Modava told me there were eleven persons on board of the +wreck. I saw that number saved myself." + +The details of the wreck of the Travancore were fully explained, though +individuals continued to talk about it until lunch-time. At the mid-day +repast the commander gave up his plan of seating the party, and invited the +members of it to select their own places; and they all took those they had +occupied at breakfast. In the afternoon the rough sea had almost entirely +subsided under the influence of the north-east monsoon, and the motion of +the steamer was easy and pleasant. + +The company assembled in the music-room after a walk on deck, and the +captain, with the three notable guests, joined them after they had finished +their cigars; for all of them smoked. The "Gospel Hymns" and other hymn and +tune books were distributed. It was the usual time for singing, and the +trio from the Travancore contributed largely to the volume of tone on the +occasion. The new third officer had been stationed in the watch with Mr. +Boulong, and Scott had the first part of the afternoon watch. The officers +and engineers not on duty, as well as the members of the party from the +wreck, gathered at the windows of the music-room, and the commander invited +them to take seats in the apartment, thus adding still more to the volume +of the harmony. The music was all sacred, and nothing purely secular was +permitted by the captain. + +Dr. Ferrolan, who had a fine bass voice, was invited to sing "Rocked in the +Cradle of the Deep," at the suggestion of Lord Tremlyn. His lordship sang +"Oh that I had Wings!" and Mrs. Belgrave, who was the pianist of the +occasion, gave a solo, while Sir Modava sang the "Missionary Hymn," which +is still a favorite in England and America, translated into the Hindu +language. The party who could not understand him followed in the +hymn-books. + +"I wonder who wrote that beautiful hymn," said Mrs. Blossom, when there was +a pause as the singer finished. "It says Heber in my book, but I don't know +who he was." + +"Reginald Heber was an English clergyman and poet, born in 1783. He was a +student in an Oxford college; I forget which," replied Sir Modava. + +"Brasenose," prompted the viscount. + +"As a student in this college he wrote 'Palestine,' for which he obtained +the prize; and it still holds a place in the literature of England. He soon +obtained a living, and occupied a prominent position among the clergy of +his native island. In 1823 he was made Bishop of Calcutta. + +"Three years later, in the midst of his zealous labors in the service of +his Master, he died at Trichinopoly of apoplexy, greatly lamented. Perhaps + + 'From Greenland's icy mountains, + From India's coral strand,' + +which you have sung this afternoon, is the widest-known of Bishop Heber's +hymns; but will you indulge me if I ask you to sing another of them, which +I find in the book I hold in my hand?-- + + 'Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, + Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.'" + +The hymn was sung to Mozart's music by about twenty voices, and the effect +was exceedingly agreeable. Sir Modava seemed to be in a rapture, as the +piece was his favorite, and came from one who was connected with his native +land. + +He was a rather tall and slender man, and all the ladies declared that he +was very handsome; and his slightly dusky hue added to, rather than took +from, the beauty of his countenance. He wore a small mustache, but no other +beard. He was a nervous and highly sensitive person, and there was always a +smile on his face. He had already become a favorite among the gentlemen as +well as the ladies. + +Another meeting was held in the evening, which was varied by some speaking +on the part of the gentlemen, including the guests, Uncle Moses, Dr. +Hawkes, and the commander. At the conclusion of the exercises, Sir Modava +begged the company to close by singing another of Bishop Heber's verses, +which he repeated from memory, though it was in one of the books:-- + + "God that madest earth and heaven, + Darkness and light; + Who the day for toil hast given, + For rest the night,-- + May thine angel guards defend us, + Slumber sweet thy mercy send us, + This livelong night!" + +With this musical prayer on their lips, the company retired. Most of them +went to their staterooms; for the guests were very tired, and the regular +inmates of the cabin had left their berths at an unusually early hour in +the morning. All of them, whether technically religious or not, had been +greatly impressed by the music and the speaking of the evening. Dr. +Ferrolan was a more inveterate smoker than his companions in misfortune, +and he went with the commander to the deck, and was invited to the +captain's cabin, where he was provided with cigars. + +"As you have already learned, Doctor, I am greatly interested in the +educational feature of my ship," said Captain Ringgold, after they had +conversed a while. "I desire to make it as attractive as possible, and I +have studied to vary it all I could." + +"You have turned your ship into a noble and useful institution," replied +the guest. "Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava have both spoken in the highest +terms of this feature. And these lectures are mainly for the benefit of Mr. +Belgrave, your owner?" + +"The plan was introduced principally on his account; but it has grown into +an exercise for all the cabin party, and most of them are speakers as well +as listeners; for it makes all of them feel a greater interest in the +conferences," replied the commander. "To-morrow we are to begin upon India, +dwelling upon its geography, civilization, government, and history. Now, I +wish to ask you, Doctor, if there would be any impropriety in my asking the +members of your party berthed in the cabin to take part in these +exercises?" + +"Not the slightest, Captain Ringgold." + +"Probably you are all better informed in regard to the affairs of the +peninsula than any three other men I could find if I were to search for +them here and in England," added the commander. + +"You are not far from right, sir, as far as my associates are concerned; +for officially or unofficially they have visited every part of India, and +studied up in detail everything relating to the people, the country, the +army, and the institutions, both native and British." + +"As you have been with Lord Tremlyn in his travels, you must be very +familiar with the affairs of India, Doctor." + +"Reasonably familiar; but not so well acquainted with them as my +companions," answered the physician. "Perhaps I do not violate any +confidence in saying that his lordship and his Hindu friend had a +conversation just before dinner to-day, in which they were discussing in +what manner they could best assist you in seeing India. As you suggest, +they are the two men who know more of India than any others I think of, not +excepting the governor-general and his subordinates." + +"I came to this conclusion when I learned the nature of their mission." + +"Sir Modava is personally acquainted with all the native princes; and he +and his lordship are regarded by them as second only to the viceroy, as he +is often unofficially designated. Every door in India, except those of a +few mosques and Parsee temples, open to them, and procure for them and +their friends all the privileges that can reasonably be expected. We +respect the religious exclusiveness of the sects, and do not ask them to +exempt our people from the operation of their rules and customs. The +British government rules India in the spirit of kindness and toleration, +and interferes with the religious, or even political, institutions only so +far as humanity and progressive civilization require. Both of them propose +to volunteer to attend you in your travels in the peninsula, if agreeable +to you." + +"We should be delighted to have such conductors, and I shall gladly pay all +the expenses incurred," the commander declared, with an earnestness that +attested his sincerity. + +"The expense is a matter of no consequence to the two gentlemen; for both +of them would be multimillionaires in America, though pounds don't count so +numerously as dollars. I am not at all sure they wouldn't gladly pay the +expenses of your party as well as their own; but I am not authorized to +speak on this point. I advise you not to mention expense to either of my +associates. But you can form no idea of the depths of gratitude in the +hearts of the three quartered in your cabin for the timely and skilful +service you rendered in saving us from certain death. I base my views on +what I have heard them say, and what I feel myself," said the doctor with +enthusiasm. "I am certain that any suggestion in regard to expense would +hurt the feelings of my friends and companions." + +"I thank you, Dr. Ferrolan, for the frankness with which you have spoken, +and I shall assuredly profit by what you have said," added the commander. + +"In what I said about expense I have been moved by what I should do myself +if I had the control of the matter, and were as able as Sir Modava and his +lordship to incur a heavy outlay; though I have a sufficient income to +support a bachelor, I am a poor man compared with them." + +The interview closed, and the doctor retired at the end of his cigar. The +next morning Captain Ringgold obtained the ready assent of the two +gentlemen to take part in the conference appointed for half-past nine, and +later that of Dr. Ferrolan. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA + + +"Ladies and gentlemen, it affords me very great pleasure to present to you +Sir Modava Rao, who has kindly consented to give you a lesson on the +geography of India," said Captain Ringgold when the company were seated in +Conference Hall. + +This announcement was greeted with unusually stormy applause, in which the +ladies joined, and then flourished their handkerchiefs as an additional +welcome to the handsome Hindu. + +"I have also the pleasure to inform you that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan +have indulgently permitted me to call upon them for the instruction in +regard to India which they are so abundantly competent to give us," +continued the commander with a very pleasant smile upon his dignified +countenance. "Their subjects have been arranged, and I congratulate you and +myself upon the satisfaction with which we shall all listen to these able +exponents of the present condition of this interesting country. Sir Modava +Rao, ladies and gentlemen." + +The Hindu gentleman was again received with vigorous and long-continued +applause. His handsome face, the expression of which was intensified by the +fascinating smile that played upon his black eyes and around his finely +moulded mouth, was not wasted upon the ladies, or even upon the gentlemen; +and it was a considerable time before the plaudits of the company permitted +him to speak; and he stood upon the rostrum bowing so sweetly that he was +irresistible to the assembly. + +"Mr. Commander, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "I have no claim upon you +for the exceeding warmth of the reception you have given me, and I thank +you with all my heart for all your kindness to me, a shipwrecked stranger +on board of your ship. I shall give you as briefly and clearly as I can +what I know about the geography of India. I understand that this was the +subject to be treated by Captain Ringgold; and I am confident that he could +have done it quite as well as I can, though I am 'to the manner born.' But +I will proceed with the subject, without wasting any more of your valuable +time. + +"India is a vast territory, forming the southern peninsula of Asia, with a +population, including the native states, of very nearly two hundred and +fifty-four million people," continued the speaker, taking a paper from his +pocket. "I have received a hint from your worthy commander that I ought to +give a comparison of my figures with those of the United States, and our +population is about four times as great as that of your country. + +"The area in square miles is more than a million and a half, enough larger +than your country to cover the State of Georgia;" and the speaker indulged +in a cheerful smile. "I did not know what I am saying now till this +morning; for I have been studying the 'Statesman's Year-Book,' in order to +comply with the commander's request. + +"The name of India came originally from the Persians, and was first applied +to the territory about the Sindhu River, its Sanscrit name, the early +literary language of India. A slight change, and the river was called the +Hind, which is still the language of the natives, while the country around +it is Hind, from which comes Hindu, and Hindustan; but these designations +really belong to a province, though they are now given very generally to +the whole peninsula," continued Sir Modava, turning to the enormous map +which had been painted by Mr. Gaskette and his assistants. + +"Hind, or Hindustan, is the territory near the Jumna and Ganges Rivers, of +which more will be said later," as he pointed out these great watercourses, +and then drew his pointer around Sind, now called Sinde, on the border of +Beloochistan. + +"How do you spell Hindustan, Sir Modava?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. "We used +to write it Hindoostan when I went to school." + +"I think the orthography of the word is a matter of fashion, for the letter +_u_ in most European and Asiatic languages is pronounced like the +English _oo_; but it is now almost universally spelled with a +_u_. It is now almost generally absorbed in the name of India, and the +application of the term to the whole of the peninsula is entirely +erroneous; and English authorities usually pronounce it so. + +"The name India is now given to the peninsula lying to the eastward of the +Bay of Bengal. Siam and Tongking are in native possession, or under the +protection of France, while Burma is a part of the British Indian Empire. +It was only last year that the French had a brush with Siam, and materially +strengthened their position there; and it will not be a calamity when all +these half-civilized nations are subjected to the progressive influences +which prevail in India proper, in spite of all that is said about the greed +for power on the part of the great nations of the world. + +"But I am wandering from my subject. India is about 1,900 miles in extent +from north to south, and 1,600 in breadth in latitude 25° north. The +boundaries of this vast country, established by nature for the most part, +are the Bay of Bengal (now called a sea in the southern portion) on the +south-east, and the Arabian Sea on the south-west. On the north the +Himalaya Mountains separate it from China, Thibet, and Turkestan; but some +of these countries are called by various names, as Chinese Tartary, +Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, and so on. On the west are Beloochistan and +Afghanistan, and on the east Siam and China, though the boundaries were +somewhat disturbed last summer in the former." + +"We used to pronounce the name of your great northern range of mountains +Hi-ma-lay'-a; you do not call it so, Sir Modava," said the commander. + +"I have always called it Hi-mal'-a-ya, the _a_ after the accented +syllable being very slightly sounded; this is the pronunciation of all the +Indian officials," replied the speaker, with his pleasant smile. "These +mountains consist of a number of ranges; they extend 1,500 miles east and +west, and are the sources of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. The +highest is Mount Everest, the loftiest mountain in the world, 29,002 feet; +and I could mention several other peaks which overtop any of the Andes. +Himalaya means 'the abode of snow,' and the foot-hills are the resorts of +the wealthy to obtain a cool climate in the summer. + +"India is remarkable for its fertility, and its luxuriant growth of plants +of all sorts, from the productions of the torrid zone to those of the +temperate in the hilly regions of the north. It is abundantly watered by +the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Jumna, the Indus, the Godavari, and other +great streams. The Ganges, though it does not vie with the great rivers of +America, is 1,557 miles in length. To the natives it is a sacred river, and +the land through which it flows is holy ground. To bathe in its waters +washes away sin; to die and be buried on its shores procures a free +admission to the eternal paradise of heaven. + +"The Ganges Canal, constructed in 1854, is 445 miles long, and is used for +both navigation and irrigation. Doubtless you will sail upon it, and learn +more about it. Near the Indus are two deserts, one 500 miles long, and the +other 400, though the grains may be cultivated in the valleys and other low +places; and perhaps these regions will be reclaimed by artificial +irrigation. In ancient times gold-mines were worked in the south-west, and +the currency consisted of this metal instead of silver, as at the present +time; but the veins were exhausted, and the Mysore mines are all that is +left of them. + +"I suppose you Americans have been accustomed to regard India as an +exceedingly hot country; and this is quite true of a considerable portion +of it. In a region extending from the almost tropical island of Ceylon, +nearly 2,000 miles to the snow-capped summits of the highest mountains in +the world, there must necessarily be a great variety of climate. India has +three well-defined seasons,--the cool, the hot, and the rainy. The cool +months are November, December, January, and a part of February. + +"The rainy season comes in the middle of the summer, earlier or later, and +ends in September. Winter is the pleasantest season of the year; but +autumn, unlike England, is hot, moist, and unhealthy. Monsoon comes from an +Arabian or Persian word, meaning a season; and you have learned something +about it by this time. It is applied to the south-west winds of the Indian +Ocean, changing to the north or north-east in the winter. This wind +produces rain, and when they infrequently fail, portions of the country are +subjected to famines. + +"At an elevation of 7,200 feet the temperature is an average of 58° +Fahrenheit, as I shall give all readings of the thermometer. At Madras, on +the south-east coast, it is 83°; at Bombay, 84°; Calcutta, 79°; and in +Delhi, in latitude 29° (about the same as the northern part of Florida), it +is 72°. These annual average temperatures will not seem high to you; but I +beg you not to form a wrong impression, for the heat of summer is generally +oppressive, and the average temperature is considerably reduced by the +coolness of the winter months. In Delhi, quoted at 72°, the glass often +indicates over 100°. + +"The rain varies greatly in different regions. In the north-east it exceeds +75 inches, and in one remarkable year 600 inches fell at an observatory in +north-east Bengal. In some of the western parts it is only 30 inches, while +it is hardly 15 on the southern shores of the Indus. I think I must have +sufficiently wearied you, ladies and gentlemen." + +"No! No! No!" almost shouted the company with one voice; and perhaps there +was something so fascinating in the manner of the distinguished Hindu which +exorcised all weariness from their minds and bodies. + +"Thank you with all my heart; but really you must permit me to retire, for +I am somewhat fatigued, if you are not, and I shall be happy to contribute +to your entertainment at another time," replied the speaker; and he retired +from the platform. + +"I shall next call upon Mr. Woolridge, who will speak to you of the fauna +of India," said the commander. + +The magnate of the Fifth Avenue, not much accustomed to speaking in public, +was somewhat diffident about addressing the company in the presence of +those who were so well versed in Indian lore; but he conquered his modesty, +and took his place on the stand. In expressing his appreciation of the last +speaker, he mentioned that he occupied a difficult position in the presence +of those who knew India as they knew their alphabet, and begged them to +consider his talk as addressed only to the Americans of the party. The +guests declared that they should be very glad to hear him; and he bowed, +smiled, and proceeded with his remarks:-- + +"Fortunately I have not much to say, for it will consist mainly of the +mention of the names of the principal animals in the fauna of India," he +began. + +"Are all the animals fawns?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who evidently mistook the +meaning of the term used. + +"No, madam; some of them are snakes. But I shall refer the serpents to Sir +Modava; for I am very anxious to hear the views of a native on that +subject. The cattle are cows, buffaloes, and oxen, the two latter used as +draft animals, and as agricultural workers. Bulls and cows are sacred +beasts, and the Hindus never kill them for food." + +"Except Christianized natives, like myself," interpolated Sir Modava. + +"Thank you. The native breeds of horses have been greatly improved under +the direction of the horse-fancying Briton; but they are never used on the +farm. Ponies, donkeys, and mules are in use for various purposes. There are +plenty of sheep and goats--so there are of hogs; but the higher of the +middle class, like the Jews, regard them as unclean beasts, and would as +soon take poison as eat the flesh of a pig. I don't sympathize with them, +for I like roast pork when it is well brought up and kept clean. + +"Monkeys are as tame as they are mischievous; and doubtless they are tame +because they are held to be sacred, and have a better time than they do in +Africa and elsewhere. But all the fun of the fauna is concentrated in the +wild animals, such as the tiger (about the gamiest 'critter' that exists), +the panther, cheetah, boar, bear, elephant, and rhinoceros. Two kinds of +crocodiles (not alligators) live in the mud and water of the rivers; and I +suppose they snap up a man or woman when they get a chance, as they do in +the Philippine Islands and other countries. I advise you all to give them a +wide berth; for their bite is worse than their bark, like that of some men +we know of. + +"There are plenty of deer to furnish a dainty and healthy diet for the +meat-eating wild animals, including the lion, which is not much of a king +of beasts here, the hyena, the lynx, and the wolf. All of these last take a +back seat compared with the tiger. Game and other birds would make a +hunter's paradise if it were not for the snakes and tigers, which are +unpleasant to an American when his piece is loaded with only birdshot. + +"In the towns on the sea the fish are excellent, and an important industry +is curing and smoking them for the markets. In the mountain streams the +fishing is very good; but in the warm waters of the streams on the plains, +as in Egypt, the fish are soft, and neither palatable nor healthy. Leaving +the snakes to the tender mercies of the gentleman from Travancore, I will +make my bow," which he did, and stepped down. + +He was politely applauded, and the strangers seemed to enjoy his discourse +more than the rest of the party. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA + + +The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant day +after the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon. +While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observed +that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for though +they were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshen +their memory among the books. + +Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and Sir +Modava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again that +the latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment, +and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had a +special interest in the beautiful young lady. + +Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and not +to swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gave +a thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutely +certain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louis +had never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name, +without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did. +They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressed +him as Mr. Belgrave. + +[Illustration: "Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and Sir +Modava."--Page 90.] + +They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither of +them reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead. +Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck, +and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kind +and pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis was +engaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for the +conference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. But +everybody else on board understood the situation better than those the most +intimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgrave +or the parents of Miss Blanche. + +At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting in +Conference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again; +but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so that +the party did not know whom they were to hear first. + +"There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying to +dispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has very +unselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of one +of these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more to +his mind. Dr. Ferrolan." + +This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsome +Hindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests with +uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in +favor of Sir Modava. + +"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the +excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about +the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my +fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always +and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme +authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which +I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all +want to know something more about the fauna of India. + +"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great +region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred +and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions +of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than +temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a +territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen +regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of +climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface +of the earth. + +"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the +equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to +those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common +people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I +believe you Americans call Indian corn"-- + +"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander. + +"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor. + +"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them +under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you +spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you." + +"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject +hereafter; but _corn_ and millet are raised for the food of some of +the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The +cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are +raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under +European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are +better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and +lac are noted for their quality and their quantity. + +"The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but the +white lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the flowering +shrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle you +would find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet." + +"But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge. + +"I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?" + +"The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate. + +"They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of them +as you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned to +another, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all the +flowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous to +the soil, though they thrive very well. + +"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find +stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it +banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is +the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground +like the other. Its scientific name is the _Ficus religiosa_; for it +is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon. + +"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the +Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under +it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and +many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its +sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect +feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap, +which they use as bandoline." + +"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had +listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred. + +"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave +was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I +venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make +it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in +the right place. + +"I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even +12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for the +slender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it you +observe that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the same +joints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juice +flows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubt +my young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the most +expensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scores +of other useful articles. + +"The original forests which once covered hills and plains have been +recklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven back +into the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supply +for the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the British +government has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the present +century, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of the +forests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now under +supervision to this end. + +"India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more than +one-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtless +there is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists of +steep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers. +With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent +position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the +doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly. + +"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject. +I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the +speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded +admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava +Rao, on snakes." + +The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was +sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes. + +"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous +snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it +was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish +them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing +them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say +that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a +single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time. + +"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied +that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by +this time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half as +much as you think you would if you lived here. The government offers +rewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyed +every year." + +"Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a good +purpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the city +burn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in the +world, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall we +not protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plague +or the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way for +violating the laws he has set up in our bodies? + +"This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need not +describe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets of +the cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more in +length. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; but +he has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadly +poison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless a +specific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, the +sufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy is +applied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine used +in my case was the _Aristolochia Indica_. + +"There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, and +is said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men of +character regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. A +chemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which had +probably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire. +It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settled +fact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan." + +"I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor. + +"The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind has +something like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it looks +something like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood or +bonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and he +opens it when he is angry. + +"I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much bigger +than a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business. +This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalow +for the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, and +brought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about as +quick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want to +know about snakes as you travel through India." + +Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned from +the platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA + + +The Blanche was on the starboard beam of the Guardian-Mother, or, in shore +parlance, she was on the right-hand side of her as both ships sailed to the +eastward. She chose her own position, and it varied considerably at +different times, though it was generally about half a mile from her +consort. At the present time she had come within less than a quarter of a +mile, as the sea was quite smooth. + +"Why, the Blanche is all dressed up as though she were going to a ball!" +exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, as the booming gun attracted the attention of the +entire party. + +"So she is," added the commander, as he observed her altered appearance for +the first time; for he had been giving his whole attention to the lecture. +"Captain Sharp is evidently getting up some sort of a frolic." + +The first gun was followed by a second, and then by a third; and they +continued till thirty-one of them had been discharged. Four pieces were +evidently used, and they were fired with considerable rapidity, proving +that the British tars who formed her ship's company had seen service in the +navy. + +"What does all that mean?" queried Captain Ringgold, as the party gathered +about him for an explanation, though he was as much puzzled as any of them. +"It is not a national salute, so far as I know, and I am utterly unable to +say what it means." + +But as soon as the firing ceased a signal number went up to the fore-peak. +Bangs was the signal officer, and he had his book open as soon as he saw +that it was needed. + +"What is it, Bangs?" asked the commander at the window of the pilot-house. + +"'Stop; I have something to communicate,'" replied the quartermaster. + +"All right; give her one bell," added the commander. + +Bangs gave the proper signal for the affirmative, after he had struck the +gong. The letting off of the steam was enough to inform the captain of the +Blanche that his request was complied with, and it was seen that he had a +boat all ready to drop into the water. The screw of the ship ceased to +revolve; and then, to save time, the commander of the Guardian-Mother +ordered the quartermaster to ring to back her, and the Blanche followed her +example. As soon as the headway was nearly killed, the quarter-boat went +into the water, with an officer in uniform in the stern-sheets. The cutter +pulled to the American's side, and a ladder was dropped. + +The officer was a very trim-looking man of forty, and was promptly +conducted to the commander on the promenade deck. He was as polite as a +French dancing-master. + +"I have not the honor to be acquainted with Captain Ringgold, but I beg to +introduce myself as Mr. Bland, first officer of the Blanche," said the +visitor, with all necessary nourishes. + +"I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bland. My friend Captain Sharp +appears to be engaged in a frolic this afternoon," replied the commander, +shaking hands with the officer. + +"This is General Noury's birthday, sir, and Captain Sharp is taking proper +notice of it," replied Mr. Bland, as he took from his pocket a note, and +delivered it to Captain Ringgold. + +"The general's birthday!" exclaimed the commander. "I wish him many happy +returns of it;" and he opened the note. + +It took him but a minute to read it, and then he looked extremely +good-natured, as though he was more than ordinarily pleased; for he knew +that its contents would afford a great deal of satisfaction to his +passengers. + +"By particular request of General Noury, in whose honor the guns were fired +and the Blanche is dressed as you see her, Captain Sharp invites all the +cabin party of the Guardian-Mother, including the guests, to dine on board +of the Blanche on this happy occasion. Shall the invitation be accepted? +Those in favor of accepting it will please raise the right hand, and keep +it up till counted," continued the commander, who was in a merry mood for +him. "Our honored guests are expected and requested to vote; for we could +not think of leaving them alone on board of the ship. That would be neither +decent nor hospitable, and the invitation specially includes them. Please +to vote, all." + +The hands all went up; and the party seemed to be greatly amused at the +operation of voting. The presiding officer declared that it was a unanimous +vote, and the invitation was accepted. + +"Not quite unanimous, Mr. Commander," interposed Louis Belgrave. "Mr. Scott +did not vote." + +"You wish to vote in the negative, Mr. Scott?" inquired the captain. + +"I do not intend to vote at all, Captain," replied the third officer. "It +would be a little cheeky for me to vote to leave the ship without the +permission of the captain or of the first officer." + +"'In colleges and halls in ancient times there dwelt a sage called +Discipline;' and a very good old fellow he was to have about, and quite as +good on board ship as in institutions of learning. Do you wish to accept +the invitation, Mr. Scott?" asked the commander. + +"I should be exceedingly happy to do so." + +"Then ask Mr. Boulong's permission." + +"Granted!" shouted the first officer, who stood within hearing. + +"Mr. Bland, give my compliments to Captain Sharp, and inform him that his +invitation is unanimously accepted by both passengers and guests, and we +will be on board at five o'clock," said Captain Ringgold, addressing the +officer from the Blanche; and he went over the side into his boat. + +"You don't give us much time to get ready, Mr. Commander," said Mrs. +Belgrave, as all the ladies hurried away to the cabin to prepare for the +grand occasion that had so suddenly dawned upon them. + +"Elaborate toilets are hardly expected at sea, out of sight of land. +Claw-hammer coats are not imperative, gentlemen," said the captain. + +Though the two steamers were not in a hurry, both of them resumed their +course as soon as the Blanche's boat was hoisted up to the davits; for it +is part of the shipmaster's gospel to "keep moving" under all possible +circumstances, and to lose no time in arriving at his destined port. All +the passengers went below to prepare for the dinner. The Blanche had come +within fifty yards of her consort, as the sea was quite smooth. + +"Where is that music, Mr. Boulong?" asked the captain, opening the door +from his cabin to the pilothouse. + +"From the Blanche, Captain." + +"But it seems to be a band. Is it an orchestrion?" + +"Not at all; there are eight pieces of music on the promenade deck. It +seems that His Highness has a small band on board, though I have not heard +it before," added the first officer. + +The commander thought the music was very fine, and he concluded that +Captain Sharp was running near the Guardian-Mother for the purpose of +giving the band an introduction to the consort. Besides the ship's company, +there was no one on board of the Blanche but the general and Mrs. Sharp; +and the Pacha, accustomed as he was to merriment and revelry, must have +been rather lonesome. But it was already proved that he was a reformed man, +and had entirely changed his manner of life. + +The barge, which was a large eight-oar boat, had been made ready to lower +into the water, and the gangway had been rigged out. Though it was winter, +the ship was in 18° north latitude, and the weather was as mild and +pleasant as in midsummer. There was no spray, and the ladies could go to +the Blanche as comfortably as in a carriage on shore. + +At quarter before five the gong was sounded in the cabin and on deck to +call the party together in the boudoir, where they were to assemble. The +ship stopped at the mandate of the captain, and the barge was lowered, and +brought to the gangway. The boat was as handsome as anything that ever +floated, and the stern-sheets were luxurious enough for a fairy craft. The +crew of nine were all dressed in their white uniforms, and sat with their +oars tossed, except the cockswain, who stood bolt upright abaft the +back-board. + +There were sixteen in the party, and the "Big Four" made their way to the +fore-sheets; the ladies were handed into the stern by the three guests, and +the barge shoved off. The Blanche had taken a position on the beam of the +Guardian-Mother, her band playing for all they were worth. Captain Sharp +was on the platform of the gangway, and took every lady by the hand as he +assisted her to disembark. At the head of the gangway on deck stood General +Noury, who received the ladies, all of whom he had met before; and the +distinguished guests were presented to him, after which he shook hands with +every other member of the party. He was especially respectful, and even +reverential, to the commander of the Guardian-Mother, who had forgiven so +much in his past conduct. + +Mrs. Sharp came in for a large share of the consideration of the visitors. +An hour was spent in the drawing-room, as they called the deck cabin, which +was as large as the boudoir and music-room of the Guardian-Mother. The band +had laid aside their brass instruments, and organized as an orchestra, +stationed in a sort of recess in the forward part of the cabin. The general +conversed with every person in the party; and when Scott addressed him as +"Your Highness," he protested that he did not wish to hear the expression +again. + +He talked French with Louis, Italian with Sir Modava, and Spanish with Lord +Tremlyn; for it was understood that he spoke at least half a dozen +languages besides his own, and the guests found he was equally fluent in +all they knew. To Miss Blanche he was very polite; but he did not give a +moment more to her than to the other ladies, much to the satisfaction of +her parents. + +The dinner was fully equal to Mr. Sage's best efforts, and the occasion was +as hilarious and as pleasant as it could be. Possibly the English guests +missed their wine on such an occasion. Lord Tremlyn declared that he seldom +drank it at all, and Dr. Ferrolan said the same; and Sir Modava was the +strictest sort of a teetotaler, having been engaged in preaching this +doctrine among the Sepoys as opportunity offered. The captain of the +Blanche informed the commander of the Guardian-Mother that the general had +never touched wine since he came on board. + +After dinner several of the gentlemen sang songs, and the general gave one +in Moroccan, which amused the party, though they could not understand a +word of it. Later in the evening Captain Ringgold made a speech +complimentary to General Noury, and wished him many happy returns of the +occasion they celebrated. He was followed by Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, +Professor Giroud, and then by the three distinguished guests from the +Travancore. + +The general replied to all of them at the close of the entertainment. He +was a pleasant speaker, and his handsome face added a great deal to his +words. The affair was declared to be a great success for a dinner-party at +sea, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother invited all their hosts to +assist him in a similar one on board his ship, the signal for which was to +be the American Union Jack when the weather was suitable. + +The party returned to their ocean home; and the commander spent the rest of +the evening in telling his guests the story of General Noury, and +especially of his wonderful reformation. + +"Then Captain Sharp really saved his life?" added Lord Tremlyn. + +"No doubt of it. The two ruffians in a street of Messina had disabled the +general, and would certainly have finished him if the captain had not +wounded one with his revolver, and tackled the other. He owes his life to +Sharp without a doubt. Mrs. Sharp took care of him for quite a time while +he was recovering from his wound, and she made a deep impression upon him. +He is a Mohammedan, and he sticks to his religion; but even that is capable +of making a better man of him than he was before." + +"I was much pleased with Mrs. Sharp, not because she is an English woman, +but because she is a very worthy person," added his lordship. + +"You are quite right, my lord, and she has had a romantic history;" and +before they retired he had told the whole of it. + +At the usual time the next day the company were assembled in Conference +Hall; and when the commander announced that Lord Tremlyn would address them +on the general subject, "The People of India," they manifested their +interest by a liberal salvo of applause. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA + + +"Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to appear before you, and to look you all +in the face," his lordship began as the applause subsided. "The task befaw +me is to put a gallon of fluid into a pint pot. It cawn't be done. I shall +not attempt to do what is quite impossible. I can only put in what the +vessel will hold. I cawn't say all there is to be said about the people of +India in an hour, or even two or three hours." + +The noble gentleman was an easy, pleasant, and fluent speaker, evidently +quite accustomed to addressing public assemblies; but he had certain +peculiarities of speech, a very few of them, which sounded just a little +odd to the Americans, as doubtless some of their pronunciation did to the +Britons. But there is hardly a perceptible difference in the pronunciation +of highly trained speakers of one nation and the other. It is not necessary +to indicate any farther the slightly peculiar speech of the accomplished +gentleman. + +"I can only select from the mass of material before me what I think will be +most interesting and useful to you; for I have been warned that I must not +talk all day," continued the viscount. + +"We leave that to your lordship's own judgment," added Captain Ringgold. + +"I will be merciful, Mr. Commander: as merciful as possible. Next to China, +India is the most populous country on the globe; and without Nepaul, it +numbered, in 1891, 287,223,917, or more than one-seventh of the people on +the face of the earth; and the increase in the last decade was almost +28,000,000,--enough to populate about a dozen of your larger States. + +"In spite of its vast population, India cannot be said to be a very densely +peopled region; 184 to the square mile for the whole country. The mountain +territory is quite thinly settled. All the native states have but 108 to +the square mile, though the plains of the Ganges show about 400. About +Benares and Patna the average is about double these figures. I was looking +at the 'Year-Book' in your library, and I saw that the average in the +States, including Alaska, is about 18 to the square mile; but the nine +States in the north-east have 107. + +"The little bit of a State of Rhode Island leads in the density of its +population, with 318, while Massachusetts comes next with 278. New Jersey +has 193, Connecticut, 154; the big States of New York and Pennsylvania have +respectively 126 and 117. In the United Kingdom the average in England is +541; in Scotland, 135; in Wales, 206; and in Ireland, 144. The density of +India, therefore, is quite respectable by comparison. + +"By the census of 1891, India has seventy-five towns with over 50,000 +inhabitants, and twenty-eight with over 100,000; but unlike three cities of +the States, it has not one with over a million, though Calcutta and Bombay +are likely to reach that distinction in another decade. You have not a +monopoly of the fast-growing cities in the States." + +"We have found out that Berlin has increased faster than Chicago," said +Uncle Moses with a chuckle; "and Glasgow has got ahead of Liverpool." + +"Quite true, Mr. Scarburn; but the States have not all the fast-growing +cities of the world, wonderful as the increase has been in some of them. +Europe, Asia, and Australia are alive. The nearest approaches to a million +in India are Calcutta, 861,764, and Bombay, 821,764; but I dare say you are +all quite tired of statistics by this time." + +"Not at all, Lord Tremlyn; as you present them they are quite interesting." +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Thank you, madam," replied the speaker, bowing low, with his hand on his +heart. "Now I am going to speak of the people as other than mere numbers; +and if I wished to entangle you inextricably, I should go back about 4,000 +years, and tell you about the people down to the present time. I spare you +the infliction in full. Four groups of languages are spoken among the +natives, and from these the original races that spoke them are traced out. + +"I mention one as a specimen, the Kolarian language, spoken by those who +first settled in the hilly regions of the central part. The others are the +Aryan, Dravidian, and Tibeto-Burman, all of which you will find in +'Chambers's' in your library. + +"The word Hindu is generally used in a very broad sense to cover all the +native population of Hindustan or India; but it is really applicable to a +religion, and belongs only to those of the Hindu, or the faith of the +Brahmins; but, like most others, it consists of a great number of sects. Of +this belief there are about 200,000,000 people. They are divided into four +grand classes, called castes. The Portuguese called them _casta_ in +their own language, from which the present name comes. I call them grand +classes, or castes, because they are divided into many sub-classes. + +"When the Aryans, who came from Europe, and Asia farther north than India, +obtained a foothold here, and established themselves, they looked down upon +other people in the land, and called themselves the twice-born, or born +again, as some modern sects have it. They claimed to have experienced a +second, or religious, birth, indicated by a certain cord with which they +were invested at a particular age. The natives of the soil and all other +outsiders were the once-born. + +"In the lapse of time the twice-born were divided into three classes, the +Brahmins being the priestly class, the Kshatriyas the ruling military, and +the Vaisyas the agricultural classes. These were of the upper grade; and +all the once-born were called Sudras. These four classes are the origin of +caste, though the divisions have been greatly changed. The Vedas are the +four oldest sacred books of the Hindus, otherwise the Hindu Scriptures. + +"Derived from their holy books is the allegorical idea that the Brahmin, or +priest, was the mouth of the original man; the warrior his arms; the +agriculturist his thighs; while the Sudra, or common people, sprang out of +his feet. The duties and relations of the four castes are defined and +stated in the laws of Manu." + +"We have not been introduced to him," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. + +"He is regarded as the author of the most noted law-book among the Hindus; +but there is so much that is mythical and contradictory said of him, that I +will say nothing more about him; but he is authority among the Brahmins. In +modern caste the Brahmin is the minister of religion; he alone mediates +between God and man, makes sacrifices, and teaches the sacred Veda. His +life is portioned off into periods of special duty. As a student he learns +the Veda; then he gets married, becomes a householder, and must every day +perform the appointed sacrifice. Some of them live in the woods, as +hermits, or live like monks, till they are said to be absorbed into Brahma. + +"The soldier's sphere is in connection with the State, to support the +Brahmin, and execute the laws he makes or interprets. The third class +cultivate the soil as proprietors, and engage in trade and commerce. The +Sudra is the servant of all the others. Resulting from the intermarriage of +members of different castes there are various mixed classes. The lowest is +the child of a Brahmin mother and a Sudra father, though in Southern India +the Pariah is still lower. + +"Of the vast population of India, three-fourths are Hindus in religion. The +Buddhists are mostly in Burma, and there are over 57,000,000 Mohammedans. +The number of Christians by the last census was 2,284,380; and I am sorry +there are no more of them. The Sikhs and the Jains are Indian sects which +flourish in certain localities; as there are nearly two millions of the +former in the Punjab, and over half a million of the latter in Bombay, and +approaching that number in Rajputana, with comparatively few elsewhere. The +Parsees, or Parsis, who were driven from Persia by the Mohammedans, number +76,774 in Bombay,--not the city, but the presidency. + +"In the small state of Travancore, where my friend Sir Modava was born, +there are said to be four hundred and twenty different castes. The +distinction is sometimes the result of occupation, branch of trade, or some +accidental circumstance. Let me read a short extract from a book from your +library:-- + +"'Among the lowest classes caste has degenerated into a fastidious +tenacity of the rights and privileges of station. For example, the man +who sweeps will not take an empty cup from your hand; your groom will +not mow a little grass; a coolie will carry any load, however offensive, +on his head, but even in a matter of life and death would refuse to +carry a man, for that is the business of another caste. + +"'When an English servant pleads that such a thing is not his place, his +excuse is analogous to that of the Hindu servant when he pleads his +caste. When an Englishman of birth or profession, which is held to +confer gentility, refuses to associate with a tradesman or mechanic; or +when members of a secret society exclude all others from their meetings; +or when any other social distinction arises, it would present itself to +the mind of the Hindu as a regulation of caste.' + +"It is a barrier to the progress of Christianity in many ways. It is +generally thought that a Christian convert cannot be restored to his +caste if he should backslide; and the superstition of the low-class +natives is a rhinoceros shield, which it is still difficult to +penetrate; but in the end the Cross will come off conqueror, as it +always has and always will. + +"Caste does not now compel a native to pursue his father's calling, +except, perhaps, in the case of Brahmins. For that matter, Brahmins +serve in the army, and even act as cooks and in similar occupations. Men +of all castes have risen to exalted positions, just as poor men, with +none of the advantages of high birth, have in England. The loss of caste +has been regarded by the ignorant native here as the most terrible thing +that could possibly happen to him; but it is not so in practice, for it +has been accomplished by giving a very indifferent supper. + +"When an outcast enters another caste, he is well and heartily received +as a convert. As you proceed through India you will learn more about +this stumbling-block of superstition and ignorance. + +"The 57,000,000 Mohammedans, of whom 23,658,000 are in Bengal, and over +6,000,000 in Bombay, are either descendants of emigrating Asiatics, or +Hindus converted to that faith. Their religion is a mixture of the +doctrines of the Prophet and local idolatry; for they have been somewhat +infected by the prevailing worship of the natives. The Parsees are an +educated mercantile class, the great body of them being found in Bombay. +They are fire-worshippers; and their creed is that of Zoroaster, who +flourished not less than 800 years before Christ. The Zend-Avesta is the +sacred book of the sect, containing their religion and their philosophy. +The Caliph Omar conquered the Persians, and established Mohammedanism +there, persecuting all who would not believe. The obstinate Parsees fled +to India." + +"The Parsees of the present day are their descendants, and still cling +to their ancient faith. Like all sects, they are fully tolerated by the +British government, and are considered one of the most respectable and +thriving classes of the community. They are largely merchants and +land-owners, and bear the highest reputation for honesty, industry, and +as peaceful citizens. They are quite prepossessing, and many of their +ladies are remarkably beautiful, though I have seen a fairer American +than any one of them. + +"Some of them have studied law in England, and all are forward to avail +themselves of the advantages of education. A merchant-prince of this +sect was noted as a philanthropist; and for the vast sums of money he +gave for benevolent institutions, the Queen knighted him, as she did Sir +Modava for his public service. This gentleman is Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy +He died in 1859." + +"Parsees do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion, and +reject beef and pork, especially hams. They are not permitted to marry +outside of their own sect. Their dead are not buried or cremated, but +are committed to what is called the Tower of Silence. The bodies are +exposed on an iron grating, where the carniverous birds of the air can +get to them until the flesh has all disappeared. Then the sun-dried +bones fall through into a receptacle, from which they are removed to a +cavern in the earth." + +"How horrid!" exclaimed the ladies with one voice. + +"The Parsee does not think so; and perhaps he has the same view you have of +our manner of disposing of the dead. In spite of the awe and respect with +which the Parsees regard fire, they are about the only eastern people who +do not smoke. But I think you need a rest by this time, and I will retire +for a little while." + +The company applauded as usual, and then began to pace the promenade deck. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA + + +The delightful weather of the forenoon charmed the party as they walked the +deck. It was mid-summer in the middle of the winter, as they looked at it; +for the almanac of home lingered in their minds, though the days were +longer. The sun was rather warm on both sides of noon, though it was not +oppressive, and the abundant awnings protected the passengers from its more +searching rays. + +Statistical as the lecture had been, the viscount had made it interesting +by softening the figures with his comparisons; and some of his points, even +in regard to the States, were new to them, and especially in regard to the +United Kingdom. In about half an hour they were summoned to Conference Hall +again for a continuation of the lecture. + +"From the vast emigration to your country, ladies and gentlemen, I suppose +there must be a great variety of people on your territory. The Germans, the +English, the Irish, the Scandinavians, the Italians, and other +nationalities, in the process of assimilation, although very many of them +have become as American as Americans themselves, take the manners and +customs, the national peculiarities, of the fatherland with them. + +"The Irish drink whiskey, the Germans beer, and the Italians are apt to +have a stilletto about them. Then the antecedents, climate, politics, and +other influences, have made the East differ from the West, and the South +from both of them. Lynch law prevails to a considerable extent in the +latter, never in the Eastern and Middle States, and very rarely in the +West. But all Americans speak the same language; and foreigners are +compelled to learn English in order to get on at all, and it has become one +of the bonds of your union." + +"In India there are not less than twenty-seven languages and dialects in +use; and they indicate so many different kinds of people, for we can hardly +call them nations, though in many respects they are such. This excellent +map behind me, which is worthy of the highest praise as a home-made +production, will enable me to give you a better idea of my subject." + +"The ingenious artist has colored the different divisions so that you can +make them out. The three presidencies are the most notable divisions, and +they include all the inferior ones. The Bengal Presidency includes the +north-eastern part, from Afghanistan to Burma. The Madras, the southeastern +part, with most of the peninsula. The Bombay covers the greater part of the +west coast. The Deccan is a portion of the peninsula." + +"It would take me three weeks to describe all the divisions of India, and I +shall not attempt to do it. It would be better done as you travel over the +country. Eighteen of them are Directly governed by the English, and +thirteen of them are still under the nominal control of the native princes; +but all the latter have a British resident as the adviser of the reigning +rajah. + +"The English-speaking people of India are a mere bagatelle compared with +the enormous population, being only 238,499; but with the army they have +been able to hold the country in subjection. The British government takes a +fatherly interest in the native states, and they have been loyal without +exception in later years, though the history of India will show that not +all of them have always been so." + +"Until the year 1858 the government was in the hands of the East India +Company, of which you will learn more in the history of India. In 1877 her +majesty, the queen, assumed the title of Empress of India, and she is the +ruler of the country. The government of the highest resort in the affairs +of India is a secretary of state, residing in London. He is a member of the +cabinet, and has an under-secretary. He is assisted by a council of ten or +fifteen members." + +"The executive government, administered in India, is the governor-general +in council. He is the viceroy of the crown, and is assisted by six members +of the executive council, each of whom has his function in the affairs of +the state; and the commander-in-chief of the army is _ex-officio_ a +seventh member. This body is really the cabinet of the viceroy. The laws +are made by this council, with from six to a dozen members appointed by the +viceroy. This is the way the machine is operated. + +"The civil service of the government is rendered mainly by Europeans, +though the natives are eligible to office as employees. The English system +in the appointment of its officials prevails, and all candidates are +regularly examined. Those of you who have looked over Bradshaw's 'Guide to +India' will find descriptions of the several examinations for various +employments." + +"I wish the English system could be transferred to the United States," said +Uncle Moses with great unction. + +"You have made a beginning, and perhaps you will come to it in time. The +civil service prevails in the provinces and states of India as well as in +the general government, though the competition is open to the natives. + +"The soldiers of the East India Company became the military force of the +British crown when the government was assumed. The English army in India +now consists of 74,033 men of all arms, and the native army of 144,735, a +total standing army of 218,786, which is its strength at the present time. +It is a curious fact that, as the native troops are recruited by voluntary +enlistment, all castes and races, including Brahmins, are drawn in by the +good pay and the pension promised. + +"The navy of the East India Company was superseded by the royal navy in +1863; and a dozen or fifteen ships of war are stationed in these waters, +with an admiral as commander-in-chief, whose headquarters are at Bombay. +The Indian treasury contributes annually to the expense of this force. The +great steam navigation companies are available to recruit this branch of +the defence of the country. + +"The laws are made, and the institutions of India are regulated, by +Parliament; and the administration of law and justice is substantially the +same as in the United Kingdom. The regular police consists of 160,000 +officers and men; and a portion of the expense of this force is defrayed by +the towns, the large cities mainly. Besides the city police, there are +560,000 in charge of the villages. The constabulary are natives, with +European officers, one to every seven square miles and 1,300 inhabitants, +indicating peaceful communities. About 12,000 of the 82,000 persons under +sentence are in the convict colonies at the Andaman Islands. + +"The educational institutions are progressive, and 400 newspapers are +published in various languages, most of them with small circulations, +20,000 being the largest in India. The post and telegraph systems are well +cared for; and 17,564 miles of railway are in operation, with others in +process of construction. The manufactures, both in metal and fibre, have +always been remarkably fine, and the quality is still kept up. Cotton +factories have been established, with native labor, which promise great +results to the industry of the country. + +"The loss of life on account of famine, caused by the failure of the +monsoon rains, has been terrific in some years. Canals and reservoirs for +irrigation as well as navigation have been built in order to remove this +evil. In 1874 £16,000,000 was expended in the relief of sufferers by the +government. Since that time a famine fund has been established; and in +years of plenty a million and a half sterling has been set aside for this +object. + +"The excessive density of the population has induced the government to +favor emigration; and over a hundred thousand have gone to British +Guiana and the West Indies, and other countries. The currency of India +will be likely to bother you a little. The silver _rupee_ is the unit; +though when you see 'R.x.' over or at the left of a column of figures, +it means tens of _rupees_. The nominal value of a _rupee_ is two +shillings, about half a dollar of your money; but it is never worth that +in gold, the standard of England in recent years. It was some years ago +at a premium of twopence, but for the last three years it has averaged +only 1_s_. 5-1/8_d_. Its value varies with the gold price of silver in +London. + +"There is also a government paper currency in circulation, amounting to +£16,000,000 sterling. The smallest copper coin is the _pie_, worth half +a farthing, equal to a quarter of a cent of your money. Three of them +make a _pice_, a farthing and a half, three-quarters of a cent. Four +_pice_ make an _anna_, a penny and a half, three cents. Sixteen _annas_ +make a _rupee_. Sixteen _rupees_ make a gold _mohur_." + +"Those small pieces are about as insignificant as those of Egypt," +suggested Mr. Woolridge. + +"There are not many millionaires among the natives, and these smaller coins +are mostly used among them. They are convenient also to the stingy +Englishman when the plate is passed around in church," added his lordship +with a chuckle, which pleased Uncle Moses more than the remark. India has a +public debt of about £200,000,000, contracted for railways, canals, war, +and other purposes. The revenue last year was £84,932,100, and the +expenditures were £84,661,700. Not a large margin; but you must multiply +the pounds by five, or nearly that, to reduce them to dollars. + +"The poppy is extensively cultivated in India; and the export tax in +Calcutta amounts to six and a quarter millions, in Bombay, to three and a +half millions, on the manufactured opium. The producer sends his crop to +the government factory, whence it is sold to the exporter; all this to +prevent frauds on the revenue. + +"Wages and prices have gone up under British rule. The best class of +laborers get four _annas_ a day, and others not more than two,--six to +twelve cents a day. Grain for food is a penny for two pounds,--a cent a +pound. Women and children earn small wages. The clothing of the poor is +scanty and cheap; fuel costs nothing; and rent for dwellings is hardly +known. The masses in the country, not laborers, live on the land as owners +or lessees. There has never been anything like a poor-law, and ordinarily +there is no need of such. + +"It would be quite impossible for me to give the history of India in detail +in the limited time at my command, especially as we are now approaching the +land. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator, was the first to reach the +East Indies, in 1498; but his countrymen never did much trading here, being +more intent upon securing the rich treasures of the Indies. As early as +1600 the English turned their attention in this direction. Companies were +formed; but being driven by the Dutch from the islands which they still +hold, they began to make settlements on the coast of this peninsula. Madras +dates from 1639, Bombay from 1686, Calcutta from 1686. The Company said, +'Let us make a nation in India;' and they went to work at once to do it. +They accomplished their purpose, fostered by the government, raised and +borrowed money, and in the course of time had an army and a navy, and ruled +the country. They defeated the Grand Mogul, drove the French out of the +peninsula, and were generally very prosperous. + +"In 1833 Parliament revoked all the trading privileges of the company; and +their dividends to stockholders were then paid out of the taxes assessed on +the people of India. They could not trade and could not govern except under +the control of Parliament. All the wars of India have been fought by the +British nation. After the mutiny, of which more hereafter, the company was +compelled to cede its powers to the crown in 1858. + +"The native soldiers of Bengal were called Sepoys, and the name has been +applied to all native troops. Some small mutinies occurred in this arm of +the service in the presidency. Early in 1857 the garrison of Meerut, near +Delhi, revolted, and the British troops failed to suppress it. The Sepoys +marched to Delhi, where they were joined by the native troops and the mob. +The descendant of the Great Mogul, who lived in the palace of his ancestors +under British protection, was proclaimed emperor, and his empire +re-established. + +"Probably 90,000 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, were in a state of +rebellion. In many instances they had murdered their officers and their +families. They were spread over a broad country, and held forts, arsenals, +and treasuries. They were disciplined troops armed with European artillery +and muskets, and supplied with ammunition. In portions of the country the +British were isolated, as in the camp before Delhi, and in the works at +Agra, Allahabad, and Lucknow. The mutiny extended over an area of 100,000 +square miles, with a population of 40,000,000. It came at the worst season +of the year; and if it had not been speedily suppressed, it would have +spread over the whole country. Many believed that the knell of the empire +had sounded. + +"At that time there were 40,000 European troops"-- + +"Land, ho!" shouted the lookout man; and the cry was repeated by the +sailors and the officers. + +"We will attend to the land now, and I will resume latter," said Lord +Tremlyn, as he descended from the rostrum. + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY + + +The announcement that land was in sight produced some excitement, and the +speaker good-naturedly paused to enable the company to see whatever was to +be seen. They looked to the eastward, but they could see nothing. They +stood upon the promenade, and strained their eyes to the utmost; but it +required a nautical eye to make land out of the dim haze in the distance, +for that was all there was of it. + +"I can readily understand your desire to obtain the first view of India," +said Lord Tremlyn. + +"But they will not obtain it yet a while," added the commander. + +Louis and Felix had ascended the fore-rigging, and discovered what might +have been the land or a bank of clouds. There were a great number of boats +and small craft in sight, but none of them were near enough to be seen +distinctly. They observed that the Guardian-Mother had reduced her speed. + +"We shall not be where you can see anything for an hour or more," continued +Captain Ringgold. "We have to pass some rather dangerous rocks in this +vicinity, and we shall proceed cautiously till we take a pilot." + +"A number of large vessels have been wrecked in this locality," said the +viscount; "and in a little while you will get in among the multitude of +fishing-craft that swarm off the islands." + +When the company were satisfied that there was nothing to be seen, they +resumed their seats, and the "live boys" in the fore-rigging returned to +their places. All were greatly interested in the viscount's account of the +mutiny; and he had suspended his narrative just where cunning writers of +exciting stories place the "To be continued." + +"I had hardly finished what I had to say, or at least what I intended to +say; for there are still a great many points upon which I have not touched, +leaving them to be brought up as you proceed on your travels through this +interesting country," said Lord Tremlyn. + +"Go on! Go on!" said quite a majority of the party. + +"I have been here before, and perhaps you will excuse me if I have occasion +to leave before your lordship has finished; and with this understanding, I +think you had better proceed," added the commander. + +"I will do so with the greatest pleasure," replied the speaker, as he took +his place on the rostrum again. "I have described the terrible situation to +which the English in India had been reduced, with nearly a hundred thousand +Sepoys in rebellion, and the troops outnumbered a hundred to one, shut up +in camps and forts. The fanatical and blood-thirsty mob, far greater than +the body of native soldiers, were eager to fall upon and slaughter all +Europeans. + +"At this time there were 40,000 British troops scattered over the country; +several thousand men on their way from England to China were diverted to +this country. Forty thousand from home were on their voyage of 12,000 miles +around the Cape of Good Hope to relieve the besieged garrisons. But in the +midst of the gloom of this miserable summer there was a gleam of sunshine, +and the sad disasters at Cawnpore and elsewhere were partially retrieved. +This came on the appearance of Henry Havelock, whose noble example of a +true life I commend to my young friends here who are just entering upon +their careers. + +"Havelock was born in 1795. His father was a merchant, and he was well +educated. He was at first intended for the law; but he followed the example +of his brother, and entered the army a month after the battle of Waterloo. +In 1823 he was sent to India; and on the voyage he became a Christian in +the truest sense of the word, and this event influenced his life. He was +employed in the Afghan and Sikh wars; but he had learned 'to labor and to +wait,' and he was still a lieutenant after twenty-three years' service. + +"He was in command of a division of the army that invaded Persia in 1856. +The news of the Indian mutiny called him hastily to Calcutta. Following the +Ganges to Allahabad," continued the speaker, pointing out the river and the +city on the map, "he organized, at this point, a force of two thousand men, +and pushed on for Cawnpore, driving the enemy before him. At Fatehpur the +rebels made a stand; but they broke before his little band, and he hastened +on to his destination. + +"Nana Sahib, the native leader of the mutiny, was the adopted son of the +former peshwa, or ruler, of the Mahrattas, as certain states in the west +and middle of India are called. His foster-father had been deprived of his +dominion, and lived on a pension paid by the British. The son had been +brought up as a nobleman, with expensive habits. When the father died in +1851, the pension was not continued to the son. He was bitterly +disappointed that his income was cut off, and it stirred up all the bad +blood in his nature, and there was a good deal of it. He did his best to +foment discontent, and succeeded too well; for the mutiny was his work. + +"As Havelock and his puny force approached Cawnpore, this miscreant incited +the cold-blooded massacre of all the women and children the rebels had +captured on the day before the place was taken. The intrepid general found +the Sepoys strongly intrenched at a village; but he turned their left, and +carried the works by a splendid charge of the 78th Highlanders. Entering +Cawnpore, he saw the results of the atrocious massacre in the mutilated +bodies of the women and children with his own eyes. + +"The sight inspired the little band of heroes with renewed courage, and +Havelock began his march upon Lucknow. + +"After fighting eight victorious battles, his little force was so reduced +by sickness and fatigue that he was forced to retire to Cawnpore. In +September General Outram arrived there with additional troops, and +operations against Lucknow were renewed. The general in command of this +force outranked Havelock, and the command belonged to him; but with a noble +generosity he waived his claim, and served in the expedition under his +victorious subordinate as a volunteer. + +"Havelock's army now numbered 2,500 men, with seventeen guns. He +encountered the enemy, and scattered them several times. They reached the +thickly settled town where each house was a fortress, and with valor equal +to anything on record, fought their way to the Residency, where they were +rapturously received by the beleaguered garrison. + +"But with all that could be mustered they were only a handful of men +compared with the hosts that surrounded them, and in turn they were at once +besieged by the rebels. They were not the men to yield to any odds; and +they held their own till November, when Sir Colin Campbell, with 4,700 +regulars, forced his way through the enemy, and relieved the place. He was +one of the bravest and most distinguished generals of modern times. He +fought in the United States in 1814, and in many other parts of the world. +He was in the Crimea, and Alma and Balaklava are called his battles; for he +did the most to win them. + +"In India he completed the work which Havelock had begun, and the following +year announced to the viceroy that the rebellion was ended. Just before he +had been created Lord Clyde. On his return to England he was made a +field-marshal, and received a pension of £2,000. + +"To return to Havelock, great honors were bestowed upon him. He was made a +baronet, created a Knight Commander of the Bath, and a pension of £1,000 +was awarded to him. But he did not live to enjoy his rewards and honors, or +even to see the end of the mutiny at which he struck the first heavy blows. +In that very month of November when Sir Colin came to the rescue, Havelock +was taken with dysentery, died on the twenty-second, and was buried in the +Alum-Bagh, the fort containing a palace and a fortress, which he had +carried in his last battle. + +"Havelock was very strict in his religious principles, and a rigid +disciplinarian in the army. He was like the grave and fearless Puritan +soldier, somewhat after the type of 'Stonewall Jackson' of your Civil War, +though not as fanatical. In his last moments he said: 'For more than forty +years I have so ruled my life that when death came I might face it without +fear.' This he did; and England will never cease to remember the Christian +hero, Sir Henry Havelock. In Trafalgar Square, in London, you may see the +statue erected to him by the people of his native country. + +"Aside from the mischief done by Nana Sahib, which seems to have had only a +limited effect, what were the causes of this mutiny, Lord Tremlyn?" asked +Dr. Hawkes. + +"There were many causes that produced independent rebellions, such as the +greased cartridges served out to the Sepoys, though this was only +insignificant. There were too many Bramins in the ranks, and they were +fanatics; and biting off the cartridge brought their lips in contact with +the grease, which was religious pollution to them. A score of provocatives +might be mentioned, but all of them would not explain it. The natives had +been transformed into trained soldiers, and they felt the power that was in +them. + +"Before the mutiny, one British soldier to six Sepoys was about the +proportion between them in numbers. The small discontents clustered around +this grand error, and broke out in the mutiny. After its suppression, one +of the first reforms of the government was to change the proportion of the +soldiers; and now they are as one European to two natives. The government +is liberal in the introduction of improvements. Now all the strategetic +points are under the control of our own soldiers; and at present they +constitute nearly the whole of the artillery force of the country. Peace +and order have reigned since 1858, and it is not now believed that a +rebellion is possible. I expect and hope to be with you for some time to +come, and my companions and myself will do our best to inform you in regard +to everything in which you may feel an interest." + +The viscount bowed very politely to his audience, and was hailed with all +the enthusiasm which could be gathered up by a baker's dozen Americans. All +of them testified that they had been exceedingly interested in his address, +especially that part relating to the mutiny. + +"We shall be exceedingly happy in your company, my Lord, as long as you are +pleased to remain with us," added the commander. "I have done something +towards preparing a route through India; and I should be glad to have the +advice of such counsellors as we were so fortunate as to pick up in the +midst of the rage of the stormy ocean." + +"The time of our party is at your disposal for as long a period as we can +be of service to you. We do not wish to force ourselves upon you. We owe +our lives to you, and we believe we may contribute to your pleasure and +instruction; for we are at home here." + +"We did only our duty when we found you on the wreck; and anything in the +nature of a recompense for the service which every sailor owes to his +fellow-men, or to those who sail on the seas, would be repugnant to me, as +it would be to my officers," replied Captain Ringgold. + +"I beg you will not regard my proposition as anything in the shape of a +recompense; for all our fortunes and all our time for years to come would +not be an adequate return for the immeasurable service you have rendered to +us," protested the viscount. "We have all been delighted with the manner in +which we have been entertained on board of the Guardian-Mother; and without +regard to our rescue from the very jaws of death, I declare, upon my honor +as a gentleman, that you have won our hearts,--you, Mr. Commander, and all +connected with you on board." + +"Amen!" shouted Dr. Ferrolan in a burst of enthusiasm. + +"So say we all of us!" cried Sir Modava. + +"Now permit me to say in all sincerity, that if our acquaintance had begun +when we set foot on the deck of your ship, and the noble conduct of the +ship's company were entirely obliterated from our memories, we should feel +as we do now," said Lord Tremlyn. + +"So say we all of us," sang the doctor with Sir Modava. + +"I may say that if I had gone on board of the Guardian-Mother for the first +time in the harbor of Bombay, I should have felt the same, and had just as +strong a desire to assist you in seeing India. When gentlemen of education +and character come here from England, the officials give them a warm +welcome, and do their best to enable them to see the country, its manners +and customs, and its institutions, to the best advantage. We should do the +same with Americans; and I account myself fortunate in being the first to +greet you, and welcome you to India." + +The other two heartily responded to the sentiments of the speaker, and the +commander could say no more. By this time the steamer was in the midst of +the fishing-boats and other craft. Louis called for three cheers for the +guests, and they were given with vigor and sincerity. The party separated, +and its members gave themselves up to an examination of the surroundings. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY + + +The coast of Bombay was in plain sight, the province, or state, whose +capital has the same name. Groves of cocoanut, date, and other palm-trees +bordered it; and far back of it was a range of mountains, the Western +Ghats, a chain extending for hundreds of miles along the shore, though from +twenty to fifty miles from it. + +The fishing-boats were Oriental, and nothing new to the tourists; but the +men in them were swarthy-looking fellows, not abundantly provided with +clothing. The greater portion of India has a warm climate, and the dress of +the people is adapted to it. For the most part, the natives are bundled up +in loose white cotton cloth, or what was originally white, which they twist +about their bodies with a skill acquired by practice. But these boatmen +were almost in a primitive condition. + +The distinguished guests on board of the Guardian-Mother were perfectly +familiar with Bombay and its surroundings, as they were with all of the +country, and their services were just now in demand. The Woolridges had +attached themselves to Lord Tremlyn; Louis Belgrave was very likely to be +in their company most of the time, and the viscount had manifested no +little interest in the young millionaire. He was pointing out the country, +and describing it, to this group of four. + +Dr. Ferrolan was not so much of a ladies' man as his two younger +companions, and was rendering similar service to his professional brother, +Uncle Moses, and Professor Giroud. They formed a quartet of educated men, +and were more in touch with each other than they might otherwise have been. +Sir Modava Rao had attracted to his side Mrs. Belgrave; Mrs. Blossom was +usually her shadow; and of course Captain Ringgold, when not employed in +his duties in the navigation of the steamer, gravitated, not materially but +sentimentally, to this group; for wherever Mrs. Belgrave was, the commander +was not far off. + +Felix divided himself up among the three parties; and, as he was a lively +boy, he afforded no little amusement to all of them. The entire company, +including the captain and the third officer, who were to take part in the +business of sight-seeing, consisted of sixteen persons, which was just the +complement for four carriages, if they were large enough to seat four. + +The pilot came on board, and was inducted into the pilot-house. He spoke +English, and seemed to be a bright fellow so far as his occupation was +concerned. The pilots are said to "pool their issues," and divide their +fees. They take their own time, therefore, and are very independent. But +this one, when informed that the Guardian-Mother was a yacht conveying a +young millionaire all-over-the-world, was very respectful and deferential. + +"I have heard of this vessel before, and they say here that the young rajah +is worth millions of pounds," said he, when he had laid the course of the +steamer. + +"I suppose he is as well off as some of your Grand Moguls; but I think you +had better call it dollars instead of pounds," replied Mr. Boulong, +laughing at the absurdity of the story; but the pilot knew nothing about +dollars, and perhaps the reports had been swelled by changing the unit of +American currency into that of the British Empire. + +"Now you can see the islands more distinctly," said Lord Tremlyn to his +group. + +"I don't see any islands," replied Miss Blanche. + +"They are too near together to be distinguished separately. The Bombay to +which we are going is an island eleven and a half miles long. The town has +an abundant territory; but large as it is, portions of it are very densely +peopled, averaging twenty-one inmates to a house," continued the viscount. +"Next to Calcutta it is the largest city in India, and comes within 40,000 +of that. + +"Bombay has had its vicissitudes. Of course you know that your Civil War +produced a cotton famine in Europe; but it raised this city to the pinnacle +of prosperity. A reign of speculation came here, and it was believed that +Bombay would be the leading cotton mart of the world. Companies were +organized to develop the resources of the country in the textile plant; and +the fever raged as high as it did when the South Sea Bubble was blown up, +or as it has sometimes in New York and other cities of your country. + +"New banks were started; merchants plunged recklessly into the vortex of +speculation. Then came the news of the surrender of General Lee, and the +end of the war in America. The bubble burst, even before it was fully +inflated, and the business prosperity of Bombay collapsed. The certificates +of shares in companies and banks were not worth the paper on which they +were written. Even the Bank of Bombay, believed to be as solid as the 'Old +Lady' of Threadneedle Street, had to suspend, and the commercial distress +was frightful. + +"But it left its lesson behind it; and since that time Bombay has patiently +and painfully regained its former solid prosperity. It has recovered what +it lost, and is now steadily increasing in population and wealth." + +"I never heard of the South Sea Bubble of which you speak," said Louis. + +"That is not strange, as it was an affair of one hundred and eighty-one +years ago," replied Lord Tremlyn. "I have not time now to describe it in +full. The floating debt of England at that time was £10,000,000; and the +Earl of Oxford concocted a scheme to pay it off, and formed a company of +merchants for that purpose. The riches of the South Sea Islands, including +South America, were most extravagantly estimated at that time, and the +monopoly of the trade was secured by the company formed. The 'South Sea +Company' was bolstered up by the pledge of the duties on the imports from +these far-off regions, and the shares sold like wild-fire, increasing in +price in the most extraordinary manner. Shares at a par of £100 were quoted +at £550 in May, and £890 in June. + +"The failure of the Mississippi Scheme, projected in France by John Law to +develop the resources of the American State of Louisiana, alarmed the +shareholders; but the managers declared that they had avoided the errors of +Law in their finances, and the enterprise still prospered. A mania for +stock-gambling spread over England, and the people seemed to have lost +their wits. The most tremendous excitement prevailed. The crisis came, and +it was realized that the scheme was a fraudulent one. Some of the biggest +operators sold out their stock, and a panic ensued. Consternation came upon +the bubble capitalists, and financial ruin stared them and their dupes full +in the face. + +"The country was stirred to its very foundations. Parliament was called +together, and the books of the company were examined. The 'Bubble' had +burst, as it did in Bombay. The private property of the directors was +confiscated. The ruin brought about by this enterprise, rightly called a +'Bubble,' was beyond calculation; but it taught its lesson, as such affairs +always do." + +"We are approaching the harbor," said Mrs. Woolridge, who was not much +interested in the South Sea Scheme, though her husband and Louis listened +to the explanation very attentively. + +"We are, madam. You see to the northward of us two peninsulas. The one the +more distant has two hills on it. The first is Malabar Hill, and the other +Cumballa Hill. This is the aristocratic quarter of Bombay. The huge +bungalows of the rich merchants and higher government officials are here. +The scenery, natural and artificial, is very fine, and Asiatic magnificence +prevails there. That will be one of our first rides. You observe near the +point of the peninsula some towers, like pagodas, which will give you your +first impression of the temples of India." + +Opera-glasses were then in demand, and were brought to bear on the towers. + +"They are in the village of Walkeshwar. The peninsula now quite near is +Colaba. Indian names are very much mixed in regard to their spelling. The +_c_ and the _k_ are about interchangeable, and you can use either +one of them. Hence this point is often written Kolaba, and the hill yonder +Kumballa. The southern part of this neck of land is the native quarter. You +will visit all these localities, and it is not worth while to describe them +minutely." + +"That looks like a cemetery," said Mr. Woolridge, as the steamer approached +the point. "There is the lighthouse." + +The commander had left his party as the steamer approached the entrance to +the harbor, and had gone forward. The ship had slowed down, and the captain +spoke to the pilot about a convenient anchorage. The harbor was large +enough to accommodate all the navies of the world, and there was no +difficulty on this account. Lord Tremlyn had left his party to look at what +was to be seen by themselves, and came forward to the pilot-house. The +anchorage was settled. + +"Captain Ringgold, if you please, we will now exchange places," said the +viscount. "Up to the present time we have been your guests; now I will +become the host, and you and your party will be my guests. I beg you will +raise no objections, my dear sir, and I shall feel very much wounded if you +do not accept the hospitality I tender to you. You are at home on the sea +as I am in Bombay." + +"You have put it in such a way that I cannot refuse to accept," replied the +commander, laughing at the corner in which he was placed. "For the present +we are your guests, and we place ourselves entirely under your direction." + +"I am extremely happy to take you all under my protection; but I cannot +submit to the proviso which you have added to my offer, though I will be +satisfied to have you 'for the present' as my guests, and we will leave the +future to take care of itself. But in whatever capacity we travel over +India, or such portion of it as you may elect, it is rather necessary that +we fix upon a plan for our operations." + +"I am quite agreed that we had better draw up a programme, and I shall +depend upon your counsel in the matter," replied the captain. "For the +present, will you excuse me until the ship comes to anchor?" + +"Certainly, Captain." + +"Here is the custom-house boat, and I suppose I must attend to that." + +"Leave that to me, if you please." + +In another half-hour the Guardian-Mother was at anchor off the Apollo +Bunder, the wharf, or landing-place. The custom-house officers came on +board; and, as the ship was not one of any regular line, a high official +came off with them. As soon as he reached the deck he discovered his +lordship, and rushed to him, bowed profusely, and addressed him in the most +deferential manner. + +"This is a very unexpected visit, my Lord, and in a steamer flying the +American flag," said he, as the viscount gave him his hand, a piece of +condescension he appeared to appreciate very highly. "What has become of +the Travancore?" + +"She was wrecked in the Arabian Sea in a collision, and went to the bottom +after holding us up for a few hours. We were rescued from certain death by +this steamer, and we have been treated with the utmost kindness and +consideration," said his lordship quite hurriedly. "Sir Modava Rao and Dr. +Ferrolan are on board. I am entirely devoted to those to whom we owe our +lives, and I am in their service as long as they will stay in India. What +is your business on board, Mr. Windham?" + +"It is in connection with the customs, my Lord." + +"You will dispense with everything in that connection, for this is a yacht; +and you will oblige me by not subjecting any person on board to any +annoyance, Mr. Windham." + +"Certainly not, my Lord; and not a trunk shall be opened. But the +newspapers will want the account of your shipwreck, and a reporter came off +with me," replied the official. + +"Refer him to my secretary." + +The under-official obtained particulars from the first officer in regard to +the steamer for the custom-house, and Dr. Ferrolan gave the reporter an +account of the disaster to the Travancore which he had written. + +"I propose to land and proceed to our hotel as soon as the ladies are +ready," said Lord Tremlyn, when he had retired to the captain's cabin with +the commander. "While they are preparing, we will consider the programme of +the tour." + +"Very well, your Lordship; I will have the party notified. Mr. Scott," said +the captain, opening the door into the pilot-house, "inform all the company +that we go on shore in half an hour; and you will go with them. Mr. +Boulong, lower the gangway, and have the barge ready." + +"Perhaps you have arranged a programme yourself already," suggested the new +host of the party. + +"I have considered the matter. I proposed to see Bombay, and perhaps run +down to Poona. Then go to Surat in the steamer, and visit Baroda, and +proceed by the ship to Kurrachee. From there I thought I should send the +Guardian-Mother round to Calcutta in charge of Mr. Boulong, while we +travelled to Lahore, Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, and +Calcutta by railway. From there we will go to Madras and Ceylon by the +steamer," said the commander, who seemed to have arranged the whole trip. + +"Excellent, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed the viscount. "I can hardly better +that." + +He made some suggestions; but this route was substantially adopted. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS + + +The barge was ready as soon as it was needed, and lay at the platform of +the gangway, with the crew in their white uniforms, quite as smart as +man-of-war's-men. The coolie boatmen who were seeking a job to put the +passengers on shore were disappointed. The clothing of the guests had been +taken in hand by Sparks and Sordy, the cabin stewards, dried, cleaned, and +pressed. They wore them now, and had returned the borrowed garments. + +The party were impatient to see the strange sights on shore; and they were +ready at the gangway when the viscount, to whom the commander had abandoned +the direction of the company, gave the word. The ladies were assisted to +their places, and the "Big Four" went into the fore-sheets. Bargate, the +old man-of-war's-man, was the cockswain, and his lordship gave the word to +him to give way. + +"Pull to the Apollo Bunder, if you please, my man," said he. + +"Which, your honor?" asked Bargate blankly. + +"I mean the bit of a basin you see nearly abreast of the ship," the new +leader explained, pointing out the locality. + +The cockswain shoved off the stern of the boat, the oars dropped into the +water, and the men gave way. It was a pull of but a few minutes, and the +barge shot into the basin, and came to a convenient landing-place. On the +shore they found Mr. Windham, one of the chief officials of the +custom-house, who had been on board of the ship. He was surrounded by a +small mob of young Hindus, neatly dressed in the native garments of white +cotton. The ladies were assisted to the shore first. All of the party +carried small valises or satchels containing the needed articles for a few +days' stay at a hotel; and these natives took possession of them as they +landed. + +"What is this man, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as one of them +relieved her of the bag she carried. + +"He is your _Khidmutgar_, madam," replied the Hindu knight, with a +smile on his handsome face. + +"My what?" demanded the lady. "And must I pronounce that word?" + +"Not unless you wish to do so. This man is your servant, your waiter." + +"But what are we to do with such a lot of them?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave, as +she looked upon the group of Hindus. + +"There is only one for each person of the company; for every one must have +his servant. We are going to the Victoria Hotel, and this _Khidmutgar_ +will attend upon you at the table, and do anything you require." + +"I don't think I shall need him all the time," added the lady, who thought +he would be a nuisance to her. + +The young Hindus presented themselves to all the passengers as they landed, +taking their small baggage, canes, and umbrellas. Some of them had heard +Sir Modava's explanation, and Lord Tremlyn repeated it to others. Most of +them had decided to take things as they came, and accepted the custom of +the country without any friction. Mrs. Blossom looked rather wildly at the +satellite who was to attend to her wants; but her good friend told her to +say nothing, and she submitted without a word. + +"Captain Ringgold," said the viscount, as he brought forward a rather stout +man, with spectacles on his nose, and an odd-looking cap or turban on his +head, "this is Pallonjee Pestonjee, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel." + +"I am happy to know you, sir," replied the commander, as he took the hand +of the gentleman, who was a Parsee, though he did not attempt to pronounce +the name. + +"We have half a dozen _shigrams_ here," continued his lordship. + +"What are we to do with them, my Lord?" asked the captain. + +"They are two-horse carriages; and, if you please, we will ride to the +hotel in them," laughed the distinguished guide. + +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were of English pattern; +and they saw cabs and omnibuses in the vicinity. Taking Rampart Row, they +passed the university, the court-house, and other public buildings, into +Esplanade Road, leading to their destination, about a mile from the +landing. + +"On our right is Byculla, one of the divisions of the city, and a business +quarter, where you will find the retail shops, though they are not all +here," said the viscount. "This locality is generally called the Fort; for +though its walls have been removed, it retains the old name. Just below the +Apollo Bunder, where we landed, are the Grant buildings, or warehouses. +Perhaps you saw them from the deck of the ship. Below these, at the +extremity of the point, is Colaba, the native town, which is largely +occupied by commercial buildings. But we shall ride over this ground again, +and you will have the opportunity to see the various structures in detail." + +But the tourists were not very much interested in the buildings; for they +wanted to see India, its manners and customs, and for the last year they +had been seeing edifices as noted as any in the world, though they had yet +to be introduced to the temples and palaces of this country, which were +different from anything they had seen before. + +They soon arrived at the Victoria Hotel; and the _khidmutgars_, +carrying the light baggage, were not behind them, though they had run all +the way from the bunder. The landlord had come in a carriage. Felix +McGavonty, who was the captain's clerk, had made out several lists of the +passengers, at the request of Lord Tremlyn; and one of them had been sent +to the hotel, so that their rooms were already assigned to them. Their +servants appeared to be familiar with the Victoria, and they were taken to +their apartments at once. + +"What the dickens do we want of all these fellows?" asked Scott when they +had been conducted to a room with four beds in it. "They will be a nuisance +to us." + +"We don't need all you fellows," added Louis Belgrave, turning to his +servant. "We are accustomed to wait on ourselves. One of you is enough for +all of us." + +"No, Sahib; no _khidmutgar_ waits on more than one gentleman," replied +Louis's man, with a cheerful smile, displaying a wealth of white teeth +which would have been creditable to an Alabama negro. + +"That's what's the matter, is it?" added Scott. "I have learned that no +Hindu will do more than one kind of work, take care of more than one +person; and no groom will take care of more than one horse. If you have six +horses, you must have six hostlers. That is what Sir Modava told me." + +"Custom is law here, and we must follow the fashions," replied Louis. "What +is your name, my boy?" he continued, turning to his servant. + +"Sayad, sahib," answered he. + +Scott's was Moro, Morris's was Mobarak, and Felix's was Balaya; but the +last two were speedily abbreviated into "Mobby" and "Bally," to which the +young Hindus offered no objection. They were all under twenty years of age, +and spoke English passably well. + +"Here, Sayad! black my shoes," said Louis, determined to make use of his +servant. + +"I don't clean the shoes," replied the fellow, shaking his head. "I call +the porter;" and he did so. + +"That is just what Sir Modava told me," added Scott. + +But Sayad had opened his master's valise, placed his toilet articles on the +bureau, and brushed his coat, which he had taken off. He arranged +everything with good taste, and smiled expansively every time Louis looked +at him. The shoes of all four were polished in time; and they were ready to +begin their explorations of the city, though it was rather late in the day. + +"What time is dinner, Moro?" asked Scott. + +"Seven o'clock, sahib," replied the boy; and he was more of a boy than a +man. + +"What time are the other meals?" + +"Meals?" queried Moro. + +"What time is breakfast?" + +"Bring sahib coffee at six in the morning; breakfast at nine; tiffin at +one." + +"What's that last one, Moro?" + +"We had tiffin at Suez, and it means luncheon," interposed Morris. + +"I didn't hear the word; but it is all right, and tiffin it is after this +time. Come; are you going down-stairs, fellows?" + +"There is a public sitting-room down-stairs, and we will find that first." + +The four servants followed them when they went down-stairs. None of the +party had yet gone to the public room except Sir Modava, though Lord +Tremlyn soon joined him. Their attendants stopped outside the doors. + +"We are going to the tailor's now," said the Hindu gentleman. "As you are +aware, we lost all our clothes except what we had on, and we must order a +new supply." + +"May we go with you?" asked Louis. + +"Certainly; if you desire to do so. You may find something to amuse you on +the way, as we shall walk; for we want to get our sea-legs off," replied +Sir Modava. "It is only five o'clock here, and we have two hours before +dinner-time. Ah, here is Miss Blanche." + +She was followed by her servant, who was decidedly a nuisance to her, +though he retreated from her room as soon as he had put things in order, +and remained within call outside the door. Louis invited her to take a walk +with them, and she went up-stairs to consult her mother. She returned in a +few minutes, ready to go out; and she was as radiant as a fairy in her +light costume. + +They passed out of the hotel; and the first thing that attracted Louis's +attention was a palanquin. It was not a new thing to the travellers, for +they had seen such conveyances in Constantinople and elsewhere. + +[Illustration: "The young millionaire walked by the side of the vehicle." +--Page 155.] + +"You must ride in that palanquin, Miss Blanche," said Louis; and he told +Sayad to have it brought up to the door. + +It was a compartment like a box, about seven feet long, with a pair of +sliding doors at the side. It was balanced on a pole, with braces above and +below it. It appeared to be so poised, with the pole above the centre of +gravity, that it could not be turned over. The four bearers were coolies, +with bare legs, cotton turbans on their heads, and not otherwise overloaded +with clothing; but they were dressed like all the coolies about the streets +and in the boats of the harbor. + +The fair young lady had never been in a palanquin, though she had seen +them, and she was pleased with the idea of the ride. It was dropped down +upon its four legs, or feet, and Louis assisted her to the interior. It was +provided with cushions, and Sir Modava instructed her to recline so that +she could see out of the open doors. The young millionaire walked by the +side of the vehicle, while the others all followed, with their servants at +a respectful distance. + +"How do you like the motion, Miss Blanche?" asked Louis, after they had +gone a short distance. + +"It is not as uneasy as the gait of a camel, though I can feel every step +of the bearers. But I should prefer a _shigram_, if it only had a +better name," replied she. + +"You can call it a brougham, or simply a carriage, if you prefer. We are +not here to learn the Indian languages, and we can take our choice; and we +can talk 'good old United States,' in speaking of things," suggested Louis. +"There! what will you call that vehicle, Miss Blanche?" + +"That is called a _gharri_" interposed Sir Modava, who was within +hearing. + +The vehicle was such as none of the Americans had ever seen. It was a sort +of two-wheeled cart, with a top like an old-fashioned chaise, in which a +man was seated, while a rough-looking fellow rode in front. + +"I should say it was an ox-cart, so far as the team is concerned," said +Scott. + +"Those are not oxen; they are called bullocks in this country. As you see, +they have humps like a camel, though much smaller, in front of which is the +yoke," the Hindu knight explained. + +"But they don't drive oxen in the United States with a pair of rope reins, +as this fellow does," said Scott. + +"I have seen them do so in North Carolina," added Morris, who had travelled +in the South with his parents. + +"I give it up, and it's all right. But what is that man in the cart? Is he +a Grand Mogul?" + +"Hardly," replied Sir Modava, laughing. "The driver is the lowest caste of +laborers, who works for fivepence a day, and supports his family on it. The +man inside is the cook of a Parsee merchant I happen to know, and probably +he is going to market to buy supplies for the family. But here we are at +the tailor's. You can continue your ramble, and your servants can tell you +the way, and what the buildings are." + +The two gentlemen entered the tailor's shop; for there are no stores here +any more than in London. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION + + +The live boys did not care much for the buildings, though most of those of +a public character were architecturally very fine. Around a large open +space they found the Town Hall, the Mint, and all the great mercantile +establishments. At the time of the young people's visit, it was almost +entirely abandoned by those who had held possession of it during the day. +Business hours are from ten in the forenoon till four in the afternoon. + +Before and after these hours the Fort, as the business section of the city +is called, is deserted. This quarter was formerly surrounded by walls or +ramparts, which have now been removed; but in its limits is concentrated +the great wealth of Bombay. There are no dwellings within this territory, +which is consecrated to trade and commerce; and both Europeans and natives +hasten at the early closing hour to their homes at Colaba, the Esplanade, +Mazagon, Malabar Hill, and Breach Candy, the latter on the seashore. + +In front of the Grant buildings they found the Cotton-Green, deserted now, +though the stacks of bales were still there, with a few sheds and shanties. +A few half-naked coolies and policemen were loitering about the place; but +it is not convenient for a thief to carry off a bale of cotton on his back, +and a bullock cart in this locality would excite suspicion. In business +hours this is a busy place; and the Parsee and native merchants, robed in +loose white garments, not all of them indulging in the luxury of trousers, +reclining on the bales, or busy with customers, form a picturesque scene. + +"I don't think this is the right time to explore this region," suggested +Scott. "We had better come down here when there is something going on." + +"You are right, Scott," replied Louis; "and I dare say Miss Blanche has had +enough of the palanquin, or will have by the time we get back to the hotel, +for we are more than a mile from it." + +"I don't think I like a palanquin as well as a carriage," replied the young +lady. "If you please, I should like to walk back." + +She was promptly assisted to alight, and the palanquin bearers were paid so +liberally that they did not complain at being discharged so far from the +hotel. Sayad and Moro were sent ahead to lead the way, while the other two +walked behind. On their arrival at the Victoria, they found all the rest of +the tourists assembled in the parlor, to whom they gave an account of what +they had seen. + +They went to the saloon in which dinner was served, closely followed +by their servants; and the scene there was decidedly unique to the +Americans, for there were as many servants as guests. The hotel furnishes +no attendants, and each visitor brings his own. But as soon as all were +seated, order came out of confusion, and the service proceeded. The dishes +were somewhat peculiar; but Sir Modava explained them to the commander and +Mrs. Belgrave, while Lord Tremlyn rendered a similar service to the +Woolridges and Louis, and Dr. Ferrolan to the professional gentlemen of the +company. + +"I think you will find this fish very good," said his lordship, as the +second course came on. "It is the _bummaloti_, sometimes called the +Bombay duck, something like both the salmon and the trout. It is a +salt-water fish, abundant off this coast, where it is extensively taken, +salted, and dried, to be sent to all parts of India." + +"It is elegant," said Mr. Woolridge, who was an epicure. + +The roast beef and chickens were very good, and the fruit was highly +appreciated. The dinner finished, the party returned to the sitting-room, +and found themselves very nearly alone. At the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold, Lord Tremlyn consented to give the travellers some information in +regard to the city of Bombay. + +"When I consider what a vast extent of territory you are to explore in +India," the speaker began, "I realize that not much of your time must be +taken up in long discourses, and especially not in lengthy introductions. +Bombay, the western province of the peninsula, includes twenty-four British +districts and nineteen native states, the latter governed wholly or in part +by Hindu rulers. This word Hindu, I repeat, properly applies to only a +portion of this country, but has come into use as a name for the entire +region. + +"This is the Bombay Presidency, with a governor appointed by the crown, a +Legislative Council, a mixed garrison of English and native soldiers, under +a local commander-in-chief. That is all I shall say of the presidency, +which is one of three in India. + +"The city of Bombay occupies the south end of the island of the same name, +and is one of a group of several, of which Salsette is the largest, with +which Bombay Island, eleven miles in length, is connected by causeways, +over which the railway passes. The business part is at the Fort, where we +landed, and the bazaars extend from that in the direction of Mazagon, which +lies to the north and east of it. + +"You will find here many public buildings and commercial structures which +compare favorably with similar edifices in any city of the world; and we +shall see them to-morrow forenoon. The Princess Dock, where the great +steamship lines land their merchandise, cost a million sterling. Three or +four miles off this dock, to the eastward, you saw a couple of islands, the +farther one of which is Elephanta, with its wonderful cave, which you will +visit. + +"The western terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway is here, and +with its connections it extends all over India. This is the first port +usually reached by vessels from Europe, though Kurrachee is nearer. It is +the great mail port; and I have seen landed at Dover thirty tons of +post-bags, sent from here by Suez and through Europe by the Orient Express. + +"Bombay now exceeds Calcutta in the extent of its commerce. The principal +exports are cotton, wheat, shawls, opium, coffee, pepper, ivory, and gums; +and the chief imports are the manufactured goods of England, metals, wine, +beer, tea, and silks. The prominent industries of the city and its vicinity +are dyeing, tanning, and metal working. It has sixty large steam-mills. Of +the vast population, now approaching a million, not more than 13,000 are +British-born. The water here is excellent, for it is brought from a lake +fifteen miles north of us. + +"Goa is still a Portuguese possession, nearly three hundred miles down the +coast; and a year before they captured it they took possession of this +island, in 1509. They held it till 1661, when it was ceded to England as a +part of the dowry of the Infanta Catharine, who became queen of Charles II. +That is all I need say at present." + +The next morning after breakfast the carriages bespoken were at the door. +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were English, and quite +commodious, according to their own fancies; and it need only be said that +the commander was in the one with Mrs. Belgrave, and Louis with Miss +Blanche. The viscount directed the driver of his carriage to pass through +Cruikshank Road to the Parsees' Bazaar, which is just north of the Fort. +Most of the Parsees and Bhorahs who do business here reside in the same +section; and there were many fine houses there, though they are abundantly +able to live at Breach Candy and Malabar Hill, the abode of the +_élite_. The vehicles stopped at an attractive point, and the party +alighted. They went into several shops, and were treated with the utmost +politeness and attention. + +In one of them they were invited into a small rear saloon, magnificently +furnished, where they were presented by Lord Tremlyn to a Parsee gentleman. +He was dignity and grace united. He was dressed in white throughout, except +his cap, or turban, which was of darker material. He wore trousers, with +white socks and slippers. His shirt appeared to be outside of his trousers, +like the Russians, with a sort of vest over it. He wore a long coat, shaped +like a dressing-gown, reaching nearly to the floor. + +He was kind enough to call in his wife and little daughter. Both of them +had pleasing faces. The lady wore a rich dress and a magnificent shawl, +with a head-dress of gold and diamonds. The little girl had on bagging +trousers like the Turkish women, and a heavily embroidered tunic, and both +of them wore Indian slippers, with the toes turned up. + +The ladies of the party were presented to the lady. She spoke English +correctly and fluently, and the interview between them was exceedingly +interesting to both sides. The Americans did not meddle with forbidden +topics, as they had been cautioned not to do, such as their religion and +burial rites; but they could not help thinking of this elegant lady's +comely form being torn to pieces by the crows and vultures in the Tower of +Silence with absolute horror. + +From the Bazaar the carriages proceeded through the Fort, and the public +buildings were pointed out to them. At the Cotton-Green they got out; for +the place was now alive with Parsees and other merchants, with plenty of +coolies, some of whom were moving bales, and others sorting cotton. From +this locality they rode through Colaba, and saw some native dwellings, as +well as some fine European residences, with beautiful gardens around them. +They alighted near the most southern point, and inspected a "bungalow," +which they were politely invited to enter. It was fitted up with a view to +comfort rather than elegance, and the interior appeared as though it might +be delightfully cool in the heat of summer. + +"What do you call that house?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as they returned to the +road, which they call them all over the city, and not streets. + +"A bungalow," replied Sir Modava. + +"Why do you call it so?" + +"That reminds me of the German," interposed Captain Ringgold, laughing +heartily. "'Do you know vot vas der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans?'" + +"Well, what was the reason, Captain?" inquired the lady seriously. + +"'Der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans is, dot is his name.'" + +"Well, that is precisely why we call that house a bungalow," added Sir +Modava. "It is the house usually occupied by Europeans here. They are one +story high, with a broad veranda, like the one we have just visited. Almost +always they have a pyramidal roof, generally thatched, but rarely slated or +tiled. When the body is of brick or stone, they call them _pucka_ +houses. Doubtless you wished to know the origin of the word, Mrs. +Belgrave." + +"That was just what I wished to know." + +"They were probably first called Bengalese houses, and the present name was +corrupted out of the adjective." + +The party collected together on the seashore, for the viscount appeared to +have something to say. The captain of the Guardian-Mother called the +attention of the company to the shape of the small bay before them, which +looked exactly like a lobster's big claw. + +"The point where we are is Cape Colaba, and the small point is Cape +Malabar," said Lord Tremlyn. "I think we have seen all our time permits, +and now we will drive back through the town and the Esplanade. Perhaps you +have not yet heard of the Jains. They are a religious sect, and are more +influential and intelligent than most of the Hindus. More than any other +sect they hold the lower animals in the highest regard, amounting to a +strange sort of tenderness. + +"They believe that man should not injure any animal; and more than this, +that human beings are bound to protect the lives and minister to the ills +of all creatures, even those the most despised. When, therefore, the pious +Jain comes upon a wounded creature of the lower order, he stops to attend +to its needs, and even takes it into his house to be healed. To forward +this charity, the wealthy of this sect have contributed money for the +foundation and endowment of hospitals for the care of sick and wounded +animals, and even of those permanently disabled." + +"What a beautiful idea, if it is heathen!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. + +"We will now drive to one of these hospitals. We have to pass through the +Esplanade again to reach the Black Town, as it is called, where most of the +natives reside; but we will go by a different road." + +In about half an hour the carriages passed through the densely populated +region of the Hindus, and stopped at the hospital. The party alighted in a +large court, surrounded by sheds, in which are a number of bullocks, some +of them with their eyes bandaged, others lame, or otherwise in a helpless +condition. They were all stretched out on clean straw. Some of the +attendants were rubbing them; others were bringing food and drink to them. + +Passing into a smaller court, they found it contained dogs and cats in the +same unfortunate and suffering condition. + +"It would be a mercy to kill them, and thus put them out of misery," said +Dr. Hawkes to the native officer with him. + +"Do you serve your sick and disabled in that way?" asked the official. + +He could not answer this appeal for the want of time, and they passed into +a place for birds. Venerable crows, vultures, buzzards, and other bipeds, +most of them with their plumage gone, pass the remainder of their lives in +peace in this curious retreat. At the end of the enclosure a heron proudly +strutted about with a wooden leg, among lame hens and blind geese and +ducks. Rats, mice, sparrows, and jackals have an asylum in the Jain +hospital. + +"I should like to have some of our people take a lesson from this +institution," said Mrs. Woolridge as they left the place. + +The carriages then conveyed them to a Hindu temple. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY + + +On the way to the temple the carriages stopped at a horse bazaar, in which +Mr. Woolridge was especially interested, for some very fine animals were to +be seen, including some choice Arabians. They were looked over and admired +by the party. The best of them were valued at from six hundred to twelve +hundred dollars; and the cheapest were hardly less than two hundred +dollars. None but the wealthiest people of the city could afford to ride +after these animals. + +Around these stables were numerous cafés, and a collection of people of +various nationalities were gathered in front and within them. Arabs, +negroes, Bedouins, and others were consuming spicy drinks; a group of +Persians in picturesque costumes were regaling themselves with great +dough-balls, made of flour, sugar, and milk; and dirty visitors from Cabul +were feeding themselves on dates. + +Still in the Black Town, the carriages stopped at the Chinese Bazaar, +though the tourists did not alight. It extended to the shore of the bay, +and was crowded with all sorts of people. On the quays were no end of +Asiatic goods, mostly of the coarser kind,--the horns of cattle, tortoise +shells, elephants' tusks, and bags of pepper, spices, and coffee. + +"This looks like Constantinople," said Miss Blanche, as four big coolies, +bearing a large box of goods suspended from a pole resting on their +shoulders, passed them, struggling under the burden they bore. + +"Oriental customs are much the same wherever you find them," replied Sir +Modava. + +"But if they had a hand-truck, such as they use in the stores of our +country, they could do their work with far less labor," suggested Scott. + +"Those coolies would not use them," added the Hindu gentleman. "I have seen +them in London, and these laborers would regard them as an invention of the +Evil One to lead them away from their religion." + +Parsees and other merchants were circulating in the crowd, making notes of +the prices; and the great variety of representatives of different countries +was surprising to the visitors. Not far from this bazaar is the great +mosque of the Mohammedans. After all the magnificent buildings of this kind +the party had visited in Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria, it was not a great +attraction. It was not to be compared with many mosques they had seen. As +usual, the party were invited to remove their shoes, though the sight +hardly paid for the trouble. The scene was the same as in others of the +kind. A venerable Moollah was expounding the Koran to a group of true +believers. + +His audience were all seated on the pavement, and they seemed to be giving +excellent attention to the discourse. Sir Modava explained that the +Mohammedans of Bombay were more orthodox, or strict, in the observance of +the requirements of their religion than in Bengal; for a considerable +proportion are direct descendants from the original stock who had emigrated +to India from Persia. They are bitterly opposed to the Hindus, and a +serious riot had occurred not long before. + +There are many Hindu temples in Bombay, though not many of them are +accessible to strangers; but the party drove to one in the Black Town. It +had a low dome and a pyramidal spire. Both of them were of the Indian style +of architecture, very elaborate in ornamentation. It looked like a huge +mass of filigree work. + +The visitors next found themselves at Girgaum, which is a forest of +cocoanut-trees extending from the Bazaars to Chowpatti, at the head of the +Back Bay. Among the trees, as the carriages proceeded along the Queen's +Road, they found a great number of Hindu huts, half hidden in the dense +foliage. They paused to look at one of them. + +The walls were of bamboo and other tropical woods, and the roof was +thatched with cocoanut leaves, which required poles to keep them in place. +It had several doors, and cross-latticed windows. There was no particular +shape to the structure, and certainly nothing of neatness or comeliness +about it. A large banana tree grew near it; a woman stood at one of the +doors, staring with wonder at the strangers, and a couple of half-naked +coolies were at work farther away. The morality of the residents of this +section could not be commended. + +"In the evening this grove is lighted up with colored lamps," said the +viscount. "Taverns and small cafés are in full blast, the sounds of music +are heard, and a grand revel is in progress. Europeans, Malays, Arabs, +Chinese, and Hindus frequent the grove. Far into the night this debauchery +continues, and I trust the authorities will soon clean it out." + +The carriages continued on their way to Malabar Hill, and made a thorough +survey of the locality. At the southerly point they came to the village of +Walkeshwar, whose pagoda-like towers they had seen from the ship, filled +with residences, though not of the magnates of the city. Most of the +buildings here were very plain. The hill is not a high one, but along its +sides the elaborate bungalows of the merchants and others were erected, all +of them with fine gardens surrounding them. + +Breach Candy, on the seashore, in front of Cumballa Hill, is the most +aristocratic neighborhood, and contains the finest mansions. Tramways, +which is the English name for horse-cars, extend to this locality, as well +as to most other important parts of the city; and there is a station on the +steam railroad near it, though most of the wealthy residents ride back and +forth in their own carriages. + +The Tower of Silence, in which the Parsees expose their dead to be devoured +by birds of prey, was pointed out to them. No one but the priests are +allowed to enter it; and the relatives leave the body at the door, from +which they take it into the building. It is placed between two grates, +which allow the vultures to tear off the flesh, but not to carry off the +limbs. It made the Americans shudder when their guides told them about it +more in detail than when it was described in the lecture. + +Passing by the cemeteries of the English and the Mussulmans on their return +to the city, they halted at the Hindu Burning-Ground, on the shore of the +Back Bay. Here the natives are burned to ashes. For some distance they had +noticed funeral processions on their way to this place. The remains are +borne on open litters. A granite platform is the base of the funeral pyre, +and the bodies wait their turn to be reduced to ashes; and the cremation is +far more repulsive than that in our own country. + +Dealers in wood for the combustion sell the article to the relatives. Some +of them are cutting up fuel and arranging the pyre, while others seated on +the walls play a lugubrious strain on the native instruments. The disposal +of the body of an old man was in process while the tourists looked on; and +the corpse was placed on the pile, the friends covering it with bits of +wood till it was no longer in sight. + +Then the eldest son came to the scene, howling his grief and beating his +breast. Grasping a torch prepared for him, he set fire to the corners of +the pile that covered the remains. The flames rose high in the air, and the +attendants fed the fire by throwing on oil. Soon the body reappears, a +blazing mass, which is soon reduced to ashes. Water is then thrown on the +pyre, and a portion of the ashes cast into the sea. + +There is nothing very repulsive in the rite of burning the dead; though the +visitors had some difficulty in keeping out of the reach of the foul smoke, +which brought with it a disagreeable odor. The carriages continued on their +way to the city; and when they entered a street, Lord Tremlyn called the +attention of those with him to a couple of native women who had stopped to +look at them, for the party excited no little curiosity wherever they went. +It had become known by this time that a dozen American ladies and gentlemen +were circulating through the place, engaged in sight-seeing. + +They had comely features of a brownish hue, and were dressed in the loose +robes of the country, reaching to the ground; one of the garments extended +to cover the head, though not the face. Both of them wore heavy gold +bangles on their arms, but both were barefoot. + +"They are not Mohammedans," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. + +"They may be for aught I know," replied his lordship. "The women of this +sect here do not veil their faces as a rule." + +"They are quite good-looking," added the New York magnate. "What caste or +class do they belong to?" + +"I should say they were in the Vaisya caste, agriculture and trade. They +are well dressed, and therefore not Sudra. Probably they are the wife and +daughter of a shopkeeper. + +"What is this crowd in the square?" asked Morris, who had been looking +about him. + +"We will drive over there and see," replied the viscount as he directed the +coachman. + +"Festival of Serpents," said the driver through the window. + +"You have an opportunity to see one of the sights of Bombay; but we shall +be obliged to leave the carriages, for it is a great performance, and there +will be a large crowd." They alighted at a convenient place, and moved +towards the square. The ladies were in doubt as to whether or not they +cared to see such an exhibition; but the three gentlemen who were +accustomed to them declared that there was no danger. + +"This affair is in the nature of a religious festival," said Sir Modava. +"There are scores of snakes brought before you; but they have had their +poison fangs extracted, and they could not harm you much more than a +playful kitten. This is a day appointed to make prayers and offerings to +the snakes, in order to conciliate them and to insure immunity from their +bites. Though these occasions occur all over India, I don't believe there +is a single bite the less for them." + +"It is the anniversary of the killing of the great serpent Bindrabund, +which was creating terrible havoc on the shores of the river Jumna, an +event in Hindu mythology, which is as true as any mythology," added Lord +Tremlyn. "You observe that it calls together a great crowd of people of all +classes, and you see fat Brahmin ladies here in palanquins, very richly +dressed, and looking as sweet as sugar. You notice the rich standards and +the torches, the trumpeters, and the girls playing on tom-toms and cymbals. +But we must get nearer to the centre of the show." + +"Not too near," pleaded Mrs. Woolridge. + +The crowd opened for the sahibs and the ladies, treating them with the +utmost deference, as though they were superior beings; and they obtained a +position where they could see the entire performance. A group of +_sapwallahs_, or serpent-charmers, each bearing a basket about fifteen +inches in diameter at the bottom, but not more than ten at the top, each +containing several cobras, marched into the centre of the crowd. Pious +Hindus brought forward bowls of the milk of buffaloes, of which the +serpents are very fond, and placed them on the ground. The snakes were +released from their confinement, and they made for the bowls of milk +without any delay. + +Some of the tourists had never seen a cobra, though they are found in +Egypt. The ladies shrank back when they appeared, and some of them +shuddered at the sight of the reptiles. The body was somewhat enlarged near +the head, and the spectacles could be distinctly seen in this part. The +instruments played, the standards and the torches were waved; but the +snakes continued their milk feast undisturbed. + +The principal _sapwallah_ had a wand in his hand, which he flourished +while he repeated a volume of gibberish which none of the party but Sir +Modava could understand. When Mrs. Belgrave asked what he said; he replied +that he was uttering invocations to the serpents, and entreating the whole +tribe of snakes not to bite the people. + +One of the _sapwallahs_, who wore nothing but a turban on his head and +a fringed cloth about his loins, went to one of the bowls from which half a +dozen cobras were feeding, and taking hold of one of them, pulled him away +from the milk. The serpent thus treated was furious with anger, and +instantly opened out his hood, showing the spectacles in full. Another +cobra was put in his place at the bowl, and his persecutor sat down on the +ground with him, fooling with him as though he had been a kitten or a pet +dog. + +In turn the snakes remaining in the baskets were released, and allowed to +feast on the milk as others were removed. There was a great crowd of +_sapwallahs_ in charge of them, and none of them were permitted to +escape. The reptiles showed their temper as they were taken from the milk +by spreading their hoods; but they were so skilfully manipulated that they +had no chance to bite. + +"I think I have had enough of this thing," said Mr. Woolridge, with a look +of disgust on his face. "There is no fun at all in it, and I should like to +make them a target for my revolver." + +"It is about time for tiffin, and we had better return to the hotel," added +Lord Tremlyn. "I shall keep you busy this afternoon; and while you are +resting you shall take in a Nautch dance, which is one of the institutions +of this country. After that we shall go to the island of Elephanta." + +The live boys of the party were rather pleased with the spectacle, though +they had had enough of it; while the ladies, whose flesh had been +"crawling" at the uncanny sight, were glad to escape. They all reached the +hotel, and were hungry enough after the long jaunt of the forenoon to +appreciate the "tiffin." + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA + + +The influence of Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava was enough to procure anything +in Bombay, and an apartment that served as a special banquet hall had been +prepared at their command, and their guests were introduced to it +immediately after tiffin. As the viscount had suggested, they were +considerably fatigued after the long jaunt of the forenoon, though they +were refreshed by the luncheon they had taken. The hall was furnished with +sofas and easy-chairs for the occasion, and they were made very +comfortable. + +The performers were seated on the floor of the room when the company took +their places. A man with a slouched turban and something like a sheet wound +around his body, reaching nearly to his ankles, the only clothing he wore, +entered the hall. At the entrance of the party the girls rose from the +floor and saluted them deferentially. + +There were six of them, very modestly dressed, only their arms and feet +being bare. Their black hair was parted in the middle, and combed back +behind the ears, after the fashion of many years ago in the United States. +They all wore ornaments in their ears, and around their ankles. The +material of their dresses was various, some of it quite rich, with pearls +and gold in places. They looked quite serious, as though they were about to +engage in a religious ceremony, though it had no such connection. Some of +them were decidedly pretty, though their style of beauty was not entirely +to the taste of the Americans. They had black eyes, and they looked the +visitors full in the face, and with entire self-possession. + +"Now what are these girls, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. + +"They are professional dancers, and that is their sole occupation," replied +he. "They are engaged by rich people when they give parties, and for +weddings and other festive occasions." + +"Is that man the only musician?" + +"He is the only one for this entertainment, and he plays the tom-tom with +his fingers. I am afraid you do not appreciate our native music, and we did +not engage any more of it. They are about to begin." + +The musician beat the tom-tom, and the girls rose from the floor, shook out +their dresses as any lady would, and then it appeared that the ornaments on +their ankles were bells, which rattled as though it were sleighing-time as +they moved about. They formed in a semicircle before the audience; one of +them stepped forward, and turned herself around very slowly and gracefully, +with a quivering of the body, like the gypsy girls of Spain, which caused +her bells to jingle. + +With eyes half-closed, and with a languishing expression on her dusky face, +she made a variety of gestures, posturing frequently as she continued to +turn. When this one seemed to have exhausted her material, another advanced +to the front, and proceeded to exhibit her variety of gestures and +postures, which were but slightly different from those of the first one, +though she went through the movements of a snake-charmer. In like manner +all the performers went through their several parts, imitating various +musicians on different native instruments. + +Two of them went through a very lively performance, leaping and whirling +very rapidly. The exhibition concluded with a round dance, which was +thought to be very pretty, perhaps because it was exceedingly lively. Mrs. +Belgrave and Mrs. Blossom had never been to a theatre in their lives, never +saw a ballet, and were not capable of appreciating the posturing, though +the animated dance pleased them. The Nautch girls retired, and the +"Nautch," as such an occasion is called, was ended. + +"Perhaps you have seen snakes enough for one day," said Lord Tremlyn; "but +I thought you ought to see the performance of the snake-charmers. We will +have it here instead of in the open street; and it is quite different from +the show you witnessed this forenoon." + +As he spoke the door opened, and a couple of old and rather snaky-looking +Hindus, folded up in a profusion of cloths, rather than garments, entered +the apartment. Sir Modava conducted them to a proper distance from the +audience, who could not help distrusting the good intentions of the +vicious-looking reptiles. Each of them carried such a basket as the party +had seen in the square. The men seemed to be at least first cousins to the +serpents the baskets contained, for their expression was subtle enough to +stamp them as belonging to the same family. + +The performers squatted on the floor, and each placed a basket before him, +removing the cover; but the serpents did not come out. The charmers then +produced a couple of instruments which Sir Modava called lutes, looking +more like a dried-up summer crookneck squash, with a mouthpiece, and a tube +with keys below the bulb. Adjusting it to their lips, they began to play; +and the music was not bad, and it appeared to be capable of charming the +cobras, for they raised their heads out of the baskets. + +The melody produced a strange effect upon the reptiles, for they began to +wriggle and twist as they uncoiled themselves. They hissed and outspread +their hoods, and instead of being charmed by the music, it seemed as though +their wrath had been excited. They made an occasional dart at the human +performers, who dodged them as though they had been in their native +jungles, with their business fangs in order for deadly work. But the Hindu +gentleman explained that they could bite, though they could not kill, after +their poison fangs had been removed. + +Then one of the performers stood up, and seizing his snake by the neck, he +swung him three times around his head, and dropped him on the floor. There +he lay extended at his full length, as stiff as though he had taken a dose +of his own poison. + +"I have killed my serpent!" exclaimed the Hindu with a groan. "But I can +make him into a useful cane." + +Sir Modava interpreted his remarks, and the fellow picked up his snake, and +walked before the audience, using it as a staff, and pretending to support +himself upon it. Then he held out the reptile to the visitors, and offered +to sell his cane; but they recoiled, and the ladies were on the point of +rushing from the room when Sir Modava ordered him off. He retreated a +proper distance, and then thrust the head of the creature beneath his +turban, and continued to crowd him into it till nothing but his tail was in +sight. Then he took off his head covering, and showed the reptile coiled up +within it. + +Lord Tremlyn looked at his watch, and then carried a piece of money to the +chief charmer, which he received with many salaams, in which his companion +joined him, for the fee was a very large one. He suggested that the party +had had enough of this performance, to which all the ladies, with Mr. +Woolridge, heartily agreed. The carriages were at the door of the hotel, +and the company were hurriedly driven to the Apollo Bunder, where they +found a steam-launch in waiting for them. Lord Tremlyn had arranged the +excursions so that everything proceeded like clockwork, and Captain +Ringgold wondered what he should have done without his assistance. + +The island of Elephanta was about five miles distant, and in half an hour +the party landed. Upon it were a couple of hills, and it was entirely +covered with woods. One of the first things to attract the attention was a +singular tree, which seemed to be a family of a hundred of them; for the +branches reached down to the ground, and took root there, though the lower +ends were spread out in numerous fibres, leaving most of the roots above +the soil. + +"This is a banyan-tree," said Sir Modava. "It is a sort of fig-tree, and +you see that the leaves are shaped like a heart. It bears a fruit of a rich +scarlet color, which grows in couples from the stems of the leaves. They +are really figs, and they are an important article of food. In time the +trunk of the tree decays and disappears, and temples are made of the thick +branches. Some of these trees have three thousand stems rooted in the +ground, many of them as big as oaks: and these make a complete forest of +themselves. One of them is said to have sheltered seven thousand people; +but I never saw one as big as that." + +The party proceeded towards the caves, but had not gone far before they +were arrested by the screams of some of the ladies, who were wandering in +search of flowers. Louis Belgrave was with his mother and Miss Blanche. Sir +Modava, who was telling the rest of the company something more about the +banyan-tree, rushed to the spot from which the alarm came. There he found +Louis with his revolver in readiness to fire. + +"Snakes!" screamed Mrs. Belgrave. + +In front of them, asleep on a rock, were two large snakes. The Hindu +gentleman halted at the side of the lady, and burst out into a loud laugh. + +"The snakes of India seem to be determined that you shall see them," said +he. "But you need not fire, Mr. Belgrave; for those snakes are as harmless +as barnyard fowls, and they don't know enough to bite." + +"I see that they are not cobras," added Louis, as he returned the revolver +to his pocket. "But what are they?" + +"Those are rock snakes." + +"But I don't like the looks of them," said Mrs. Belgrave, as she continued +her retreat towards the path. + +"I think they are horrid," added Miss Blanche. + +"But they do no harm, and very likely they do some good in the world," said +Sir Modava; "but there are snakes enough that ought to be killed without +meddling with them." + +"You see that rock," said the viscount; "and it is a very large one. Can +you make anything of its shape? I suppose not; nobody can. But that rock +gave a name to this island, applied by the Portuguese two or three hundred +years ago. It is said to have been in the form of an elephant. If it ever +had that shape it has lost it." + +[Illustration: "'Snakes!' screamed Mrs. Belgrave."--Page 184.] + +After penetrating a dense thicket, the tourists discovered a comely flight +of stairs, cut out of the solid rock of which the hill is composed, +extending to a considerable distance, and finally leading into the great +pillared chamber forming a Hindu temple, though a level space planted with +trees must first be crossed. + +They entered the cave. On the left were two full columns, not yet crumbled +away as others were, which gave the observers a complete view of what a +vast number of others there were. Next beyond them were three pilasters +clinging to the ceiling. This part of the cavern was in the light from the +entrance; but farther along, considerably obscured in the darkness of the +subterranean temple, were scores, and perhaps hundreds, of others. The +pillars were not the graceful forms of modern times, and many of them had +lost all shape. + +This temple is said to have been excavated in the ninth century. The walls +are covered with gigantic figures in relief. The temple is in the form of a +cross, the main hall being a hundred and forty-four feet in depth. The +ceiling is supported by twenty-six columns and eighteen pilasters, sixteen +to eighteen feet high. They look clumsy, but they have to bear up the +enormous weight of the hill of rock, and many of them have crumbled away. + +At the end of the colonnade is a gigantic bust, representing a Hindu +divinity with three heads. Some say that this is Brahma, as the three +symbols of the creator, preserver, and destroyer, forming what is sometimes +named the Hindu trinity. But the best informed claim that the figure +represents Siva, the destroyer of the triad of gods. All the reliefs on the +walls relate to the worship of this divinity, while there is not a known +temple to Brahma. + +The principal piece of sculpture is the marriage of Siva to the goddess +Parvati; and it is identified as such, wholly or in part, because the woman +stands on the right of the man, as no female is permitted to do except at +the marriage ceremony. The party wandered through the caverns for two +hours, and Sayad and Moro, the only servants brought with them, kindled +fires in the darker places, to enable them to see the sculpture. Sir Modava +explained what needed explanation. He conducted them to an opening, lighted +by a hole in the hill, where they found a staircase guarded by two lions, +leading into what is called the Lions' Cave. + +The tourists at the end of the two hours were willing to vote that they had +seen enough of the caverns, and they returned to the hotel in season for +dinner. On his arrival Lord Tremlyn found a letter at the office. On +opening it, the missive proved to be an invitation for that evening to a +wedding for the whole party. They considered it for some time, and as it +afforded them an opportunity to see something of native life it was decided +to accept it. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS + + +The note to Lord Tremlyn enclosed sixteen cards printed in gold letters, +one for each member of the company, and they were passed around to them. +They were to the effect that Perbut Lalleejee would celebrate the marriage +of his son that evening, and the favor of the recipient's attendance was +requested to a Grand Nautch at nine o'clock. The gentleman who sent out +these cards was one of the wealthiest of the Parsee community, with whom +the viscount was intimately acquainted, and he strongly recommended the +Americans to attend. + +The Parsees kept their religious affairs to themselves, and the party were +not to "assist" at the ceremony, which would have been an extra inducement +to attend. Promptly at the hour named the carriages set the tourists and +their volunteer guides down at the magnificent mansion of the father of the +young man who was to enter the marriage state that evening. + +The street in the vicinity of the house was brilliantly illuminated, and it +was covered over with an awning, from which no end of ornamental lamps were +suspended. Behind a mass of flowers--cartloads of them--a foreign orchestra +was placed. As the carriages stopped at the door, the band began a military +march, whose inspiring strains seemed to give an additional lustre to the +elaborate decorations. It was easy for the guests to believe that they had +been introduced into the midst of a fairy scene. Sahib Perbut appeared at +the door as soon as the vehicles stopped, and took his lordship by the +hand, and each of the guests were presented to him as they alighted. The +host was not an old man, as the strangers expected to find him, since he +had a son who was old enough to get married. + +He was very richly dressed, and he was a gentleman of unbounded suavity. +Taking Mrs. Belgrave by the hand, he conducted her into the house, the rest +of the party forming a procession behind them. The Americans had been +obliged to make a trip to the Guardian-Mother, to obtain garments suitable +for such a "swell" occasion, and they were all dressed in their Sunday +clothes. + +If the exterior of the splendid mansion had challenged the admiration of +the guests, the interior presented a scene of Oriental magnificence which +might have astonished even the Count of Monte Cristo. The party were +conducted to the grand and lofty apartment where the Nautch was to be +given. Immense mirrors reflected the brilliancy of a thousand lights; the +floor was covered with the richest of carpets, the luxurious divans and +sofas were overspread with the cloths of Cashmere; the elaborate richness +of the costumes of the Oriental guests, and the army of servants +manipulating _punkas_, or fans, formed a scene not unlike, while it +out-rivalled, the grand _dénoûment_ of a fairy spectacle on the stage. + +The procession of foreign guests were all seated in the most conspicuous +divans; for if Lord Tremlyn had been the Prince of Wales, he and his +friends could hardly have been treated with greater distinction, as he was +the unofficial representative of the predominating influence in the affairs +of India near the throne of the United Kingdom and the Empire. The party +were immediately beset with servants offering them fruit and sherbets, and +they were sprinkled with rose-water from silver flagons. + +The Nautch girls were not the same the tourists had seen earlier in the +day. There were more of them, and they were of a finer grain; in fact, the +gentlemen, who were judges, declared that most of them were really pretty. +They were seated on the floor in native fashion. They had great black eyes; +their complexion was only the least tawny, and was paler than it would have +been if they had lived on a more invigorating diet than rice and fruits. + +There were half a dozen musicians, who played upon tom-toms, instruments +like a fiddle, and one that was very nearly a hurdy-gurdy, with lutes and +flutes. They gave the preliminary strains, and the dancers formed the +semicircle. The performance was similar to that the party had seen at the +hotel, though it was more finished, and the attitudes and posturing +appeared to belong to a higher school of art than the other. But the whole +was so nearly like what the strangers had seen before, that they were not +absorbed by it, and gave more attention to the people attending the feast; +for they were an exceedingly interesting study to them. + +After the performance had continued about a quarter of an hour there was a +pause, and the dancers retreated to a corner of the room, seating +themselves again on the floor. At this moment Sahib Perbut came into the +grand saloon leading a boy, who did not appear to be more than ten years +old, by the hand. He was dressed in the most richly ornamented garments, +and he was an exceedingly pretty little fellow. He was conducted to the +viscount. + +"Will your Lordship permit me to present to you and your friends my son +Dinshaw, in whose honor I am making this feast? This is Lord Tremlyn, my +son," said the father, who was evidently very proud of the boy. + +"Sahib Dinshaw, I am very happy to make your acquaintance," replied his +lordship, as he rose and took the hand of the young gentleman, whom he +introduced to every member of his party. + +They all followed the example of the viscount, and addressed him as "Sahib +Dinshaw," the title being equivalent to "Lord," or "Master," applied by the +natives to their employers, and to the English generally. All of them gazed +at him with intense interest, not unmingled with admiration. The hero of +the occasion spoke English as fluently as his father. + +"How old are you, Sahib Dinshaw?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, who was strongly +tempted to kiss the little fellow; but she was afraid it would not be in +order, and she refrained. + +"I am ten years old, madam," replied Dinshaw, with the sweetest of smiles. + +"And you have been married this evening, sahib?" continued the lady. + +"I should not ask him any questions in that direction," interposed Sir +Modava, afraid she would meddle with an interdicted subject; and the young +gentleman's father seemed to have a similar fear, for he gently led him +away. + +He was introduced to the members of the "Big Four," who could hardly keep +their faces at the proper length after hearing what passed between the +youthful sahib and Mrs. Belgrave, at the idea of a ten-year-old bridegroom. + +"Is it possible that this little fellow is married, Sir Modava?" exclaimed +the principal lady from Von Blonk Park. + +"There can be no doubt of it," replied the Hindu gentleman. "But it is +hardly in the same sense that marriage takes place in England and America. +The bride will be received into this Parsee family, and the groom will +remain here; but everything in the domestic circle will continue very +nearly as it was before, and husband and wife will pursue their studies." + +"It looks very strange to us," added the lady. + +"It is the custom of the country. The British government does not interfere +unnecessarily with matters interwoven into the religion and habits of the +people, though it has greatly modified the manners of the natives, and +abolished some barbarous customs. The 'suttee,' as the English called the +Sanscrit word _sati_ meaning 'a virtuous wife,' was a Hindu +institution which required that a faithful wife should burn herself on the +funeral pyre with the body of her deceased husband; or if he died at a +distance from his home, that she should sacrifice herself on one of her +own." + +"How horrible! I have read of it, but hardly believed it," added the lady; +and others who were listening expressed the same feeling. + +"It was a custom in India before the time of Christ. Some of your American +Indians bury the weapons of the dead chief, food, and other articles with +him, as has been the custom of other nations, in the belief that they will +need these provisions in the 'happy hunting-ground.' The Hindus believed +that the dead husband would need his wife on the other shore; and this is +the meaning of the custom." + +"It is not wholly a senseless custom," said Mrs. Woolridge, "barbarous as +it seems." + +"In 1828, or a little later, Lord William Cavendish, then Governor-General +of Bengal, determined to abolish the custom, though he encountered the +fiercest opposition from the natives, and even from many Europeans, who +dreaded the effect of his action. He carried a law through the council, +making it punishable homicide, or manslaughter, to burn a widow. In 1823 +there were five hundred and seventy-five of them burned in the Bengal +Presidency; but after the enactment of the law, the number began to +decrease. The treaties with the Indian princes contained a clause +forbidding it. The custom is really discontinued, though an occasional +instance of it comes to light." + +The dancing had been renewed, and this conversation continued till later. +At this wedding Lord Tremlyn met a gentleman whom he introduced to some of +his party as Sahib Govind. This gentleman had just invited him to visit a +theatrical performance at a private house, such as a European can very +rarely witness. + +"I never went to a theatre in my life!" protested Mrs. Belgrave. + +"But this is a representation in connection with the religious traditions +of the Hindus," argued his lordship. + +It was decided to go, the scruples of the Methodists being overcome by the +fact that it was a religious occasion, and not at all like the stage +performances of New York. The carriages conveyed them to the house +indicated by Sahib Govind, and they were conducted to a hall, at one end of +which was a stage, with a thin calico curtain in front of it. The +performance was just beginning. + +A Brahmin came out in front of the curtain, with some musicians, and set up +an image of Ganesa, the god of wisdom; then he prayed this idol to +enlighten the minds of the actors, and enable them to perform their parts +well, which was certainly very untheatrical, the Americans thought, when +Sir Modava had translated the substance of the invocation. The Brahmin then +announced that the subject of the play was the loves of the god Krishna. + +"Who is the hero of the piece, Sir Modava?" asked Mr. Woolridge, who was a +theatre-goer at home. + +"He is really Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, known as the preserver. +Vishnu has a considerable number of forms, or incarnations, one of which is +Krishna, the most human of them all." + +The curtain rose, and cut short the explanation. The scene, painted on +canvas, was an Indian temple. A figure with an enormous wig, his half-naked +body daubed all over with yellow paint, was seated before it, abstracted in +the deepest meditation. The interpreter told them it was Rishi, a +supernatural power, a genius who is a protector to those who need his +services. Then a crowd of gods and goddesses rushed on the stage, and each +of them made a long speech to the devotee-god, which Sir Modava had not +time to render into English, even with the aid of Sahib Govind. + +The actors were fantastically dressed. One had an elephant's head, and all +of them wore high gilt mitres. Krishna enters, and the other divinities +make their exit. He is a nice-looking young man, painted blue, and dressed +like a king. His wife enters, and throws herself at his feet. Then she +reproaches him for forsaking her, in a soft and musical voice, her eyes +raining tears all the time. She embraces his knees. + +Then appears the rival in her affections with Krishna, Rukmini, an +imperious woman, and tells by what artifices she has conquered the weak +husband. Then follows a spirited dialogue between the two women. The rival +boasts of her descent from Vishnu, and of her beauty and animation, and +reproaches Krishna with his unworthy love. Sir Modava wrote this down in +his memorandum book, and handed it to the Americans. + +Satyavama, the wife, insists that her only crime was her love for her +divine husband. She narrates her early history, when she was a peasant girl +on the banks of the Jumna, with her companions, and drew upon herself the +attention of the god. Her life had been simple, and she had always been a +faithful wife. Yet Rukmini triumphs over her. Her pride is aroused; she +rushes off, and returns with her little son. + +"Kill us both, since we cannot live without your love!" the interpreters +rendered her piteous cry. The rival ridicules her, and, urged on by her, +Krishna hands her a cup of poison, which she drinks, and sinks to the +ground. + +"It is not the poison that rends me; it is that my heart is broken by the +ingratitude of one I have so dearly loved." She forgives him, and dies. + +But not thus does the Indian love-story end; for the genie enters, and in +thundering tones calls Krishna to an account for his deeds. The festive god +is tortured with remorse, but has no excuse to offer. He drives Rukmini +from him, and implores the yellow-painted god for forgiveness; and, as he +is the preserver, it is granted. Satyavama is brought back to life. She +presents her son to her husband, who holds out his arms to embrace him; and +the curtain drops in a blaze of Bengal lights, and the "Wah! Wahs!" of the +Hindu audience. + +The interpreters finished their explanations, and the company retired with +the salaams of the crowd. It was very late when they retired to rest that +night. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS + + +The next day was Sunday, and none of the party appeared in the parlor till +quite late; not because it was the Sabbath, but because they were all very +tired, even the four lively boys, who had done more sightseeing than the +rest of the tourists. They were always on the wing, and while the older +ones rested, they always found some novelty which drew them away from the +hotel. Of the four servants only two attended upon them. They had +practically retired two of them with some difficulty when they were away +from the party, for they were a nuisance to them, so many of them. + +Sayad and Moro were retained, however; for they were more intelligent than +the others, spoke English better, and were more enterprising, frequently +suggesting some means of amusement to them. They were interested in the +boys and girls, and Sayad told Louis and Felix all about them,--about their +homes, their schools, their sports; and Moro did the same for Scott and +Morris. On this Sunday they were conducted to a Sunday-school of two +hundred scholars, under the direction of the missionaries, though the +teachers are mostly natives. + +It was a strange sight to them, the variety of races, the strange costumes, +and the absence of any considerable portion of costume at all. There were +Mohammedans, Chinamen, negroes, Jews, and a few Europeans. They fell in +with the missionary from England, who told them a good deal about their +work, and how interested they were in it, declaring that they could see the +fruits of their labors, detailing a number of instances of conversions. +They had a day-school also, and they hired a strict Hindu because he taught +English so well. He hated the Christians, and did his work only because he +was paid for it; but he had to listen to the prayers and exhortations, and +finally he yielded in spite of himself, and became a very useful Christian +minister. + +This gentleman said that the number of Christians in India had doubled +within ten years. He invited the party to come to the church, and the boys +hastened back to the hotel to tell their friends about it. They all went to +this meeting, including their three distinguished guides. The service was +about the same as at home, the clergyman was a native of the Brahmin caste, +and he preached a very earnest and sensible sermon. The funds of the +mission were increased at least a thousand dollars by this visit. + +In the evening the entire company attended the Church of England at the +invitation of Lord Tremlyn; and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of +Bombay. The Methodists were as much pleased with it as though it had been +delivered by one of their own fold. A portion of the day was passed in +writing letters to their friends at home, and quite a bundle of them was +collected for the post by Louis. They were all sealed, with stamps affixed, +and Morris's servant Mobarak was directed to put them in the mail-box. But +the fellow shook his head, and declined to obey. + +His sahib was proceeding to give him a lecture in rather energetic terms, +when Sir Modava interposed, and explained that the servant had religious +scruples, knowing that the stamp had been wet on the tongues of the +senders, which made it unclean to him, and he could not touch it. + +"I have heard of a young man not older than Mobarak who lost his life +rather than come in contact with the saliva of a foreigner; but I doubt if +many would carry their fanaticism to that extent," he added. + +The next morning the party were up at six o'clock, and after they had taken +their coffee, carried up to them by their servants, went out to walk by two +and threes; but they returned by seven o'clock, and were assembled in the +parlor. The sights in the streets had become rather an old story by this +time, and there was not much to be said about them. + +"Have you recovered from the fatigues of Saturday, Mrs. Belgrave?" asked +Lord Tremlyn. + +"Entirely, my Lord. I am quite ready for the next item in your programme," +replied the lady. + +"How did you enjoy the play, madam?" inquired Sir Modava. + +"As a religious exhibition, from my point of view, it was a failure." + +"It does not convey much of an idea of even the mythology of the Hindus," +added Professor Giroud. "If Krishna was a divinity, or even an incarnation +of one, he is a very bad representation of the piety and morality of the +gods. The affair was well enough as a love-story, but the conclusion looked +like a pleasant satire on those authors who insist that their tales and +novels shall have an agreeable ending;" and the professor indulged in a +hearty laugh as he recalled the manner in which Satyavama had been brought +back to life by the divinity in yellow paint. + +"I like that kind of a winding up of a story, and I don't like the other +kind," added the magnate of the Fifth Avenue. "We read novels, if we read +them at all, for the fun of it, with some incidental information in the +right direction. When I was a young man I had a taste for the sea, as most +boys have, and I read Marryat's novels with immense pleasure. In 'The +King's Own,' after following the young fellow in his adventures all over +the world, his life terminated just as he was reaching home, and I was +disgusted. I have read most of this author's books again, but I never +looked into 'The King's Own' a second time." + +"I think we all like to have a story 'end well,' though it was a rather +violent bringing up Saturday night," said Dr. Hawkes. "But the actresses in +that play were all exceedingly pretty girls, and I did not suppose so many +of them could be found in all India." + +"That was just what I was saying to Govind after the performance, and he +laughed as though he would choke himself to death," interposed Lord +Tremlyn, laughing rather earnestly himself. "There was not a single female +on the stage; for the custom of the theatre here does not permit women to +appear, any more than it did in the time of Shakespeare." + +"But I saw them!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I think I know a woman when I see +one, though I am an old bachelor, and rather a tough one at that." + +"Not always, Doctor; for not one of those you call girls was a female. A +woman on the Hindu stage is a thing unknown," rallied the viscount. + +"I suppose I must give it up, though I would not do so on any less +authority than that of your lordship," replied the surgeon good-naturedly. + +All the rest of the party expressed their astonishment in terms hardly less +strong; and the ladies were even more incredulous than the gentlemen. + +"As Govind told me, all the female parts were taken by boys remarkable for +their beauty and the sweetness of their voices," added his lordship. "But +this is understood to be our last day in Bombay, though the limitation of +time does not come from any suggestion of mine; and we must make the best +use of what remains. You have not half seen Bombay yet." + +"We should need ten years for our trip if we were to exhaust every place we +visit," replied Captain Ringgold. "All we expect is to get a fair idea of a +city; and I think we have done that here, especially as we shall see the +same things, as far as manners and customs are concerned, many times before +we finally take our leave of the country at Colombo in Ceylon." + +"While we are quietly seated here, I should like to ask for some +information in regard to Juggernaut," said Uncle Moses. "I used to read the +most horrible stories in my Sabbath-school books about that idol." + +"Those stories, as I have been informed by elderly Englishmen, were +published in the United Kingdom, and all of them are inventions or gross +exaggerations," replied Sir Modava, with his pleasant smile. "Puri, or +Juggernaut, is in the district of Orissa, on the western shore of the Bay +of Bengal. It is one of the holiest places in India among the Hindus. It +contains a temple of Juggernaut, in honor of Vishnu, in which is an idol of +this Hindu god, called Jagannath, which is mentioned in history as far back +as A.D. 318. Vishnu is the Preserver of the Hindu trinity, and therefore in +an especial sense the god of the people; and sometimes 100,000 natives +gather at this shrine, bringing offerings to the value of nearly £40,000. + +"The town has a population of twenty-two thousand, and it contains six +thousand lodging-houses for the pilgrims who visit it. The chief temple has +a hundred and twenty others in an enclosure, with a tower one hundred and +ninety-two feet high. Juggernaut's car, of which you have read, Mr. +Scarburn, is a sort of temple, thirty-five feet square, and forty-five feet +high, with wheels seven feet high. The car-festival is the chief of +twenty-four held every year, when the idol is dragged to the country house. +Though the distance is less than a mile, the sand is so deep in the roadway +that it requires several days to complete the journey. + +"The idols in the temple are hideous-looking objects, with enormous eyes +and crescent-shaped mouths, the horns pointing upwards. But they are very +richly ornamented; for the idol has an income of over £30,000 from lands +and religious houses. It used to be currently reported and believed that +fanatical, crazy devotees cast themselves under the wheels of the car, and +were crushed to death, immolating themselves as an offering to the god. But +these statements have been strictly investigated, and branded as the +calumnies of English writers. Two distinguished savants have declared that +self-immolation is utterly contrary to the worship of Juggernaut, the very +unusual deaths at the car-festival being almost invariably accidental." + +"It is a great pity that these horrible stories were ever poured into the +minds of children, and I am thankful that the libraries contain nothing of +the kind now," added Uncle Moses. + +The company breakfasted with excellent appetites after the exercises of the +morning; and then Lord Tremlyn conducted them to the large saloon where the +Nautch had been given, and they were astonished to find that one end of it +was occupied by no less than fourteen men, not one of whom was more than +half clothed, though the tom-tom player had on a pair of short trousers. +This fellow began to beat his instrument with frantic energy, moaning and +howling at the same time as though he was in great agony. + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, putting her fingers into her ears. +"Can't you stop that hideous noise, Sir Modava?" + +"No more howling!" protested he in Hindu. + +The chief juggler declared that they could not go on, and Uncle Moses +suggested that they had to overwhelm the senses of the audience to enable +the jugglers to deceive them. Their Hindu guide talked with them, and then +ordered them to leave the hotel. The performers were not willing to forego +the rich reward expected; and a compromise was effected by which the +tom-tom was to be used, but the howling was to cease. Lord Tremlyn had +announced the nature of the entertainment as they entered the apartment, +and most of the tourists had heard of the wonderful skill of Indian +jugglers. + +A couple of the performers produced two swords twenty-six inches long, and +pushed them down their throats to the hilt, and then asked Dr. Hawkes to +feel the point in their stomachs. Another put a stone in his mouth, and +then began to blow out smoke and a cloud of sparks from his nose as well as +his mouth. Turning a somerset, he cast the stone on the floor. One took an +iron hoop from a pile of them, and set it to spinning on a pole in the air. +He continued to add others, one at a time, till he had eighteen of them +whirling above his head. + +Another set a lot of small swords circling in the air, till he had ten of +them buzzing about his head. At the same time a sleight-of-hand man was +doing a variety of tricks very skilfully, and acrobats were mounting on +each other's shoulders, and pitching themselves about very promiscuously. +While the party were wondering at the skill of the performers, though many +of them had seen most of the tricks at home, a boy about eight years old +came into the room with a good-sized basket in his hands, which he placed +on the floor as the men spread out into a semicircle. The child stepped +into the basket, which did not seem to be big enough to hold him, even when +reduced to his smallest dimensions. + +The drummer played a new tune, and sang in a low tone. The boy seemed to +have a fit, and writhed as though he were in convulsions, finally dropping +down into the basket very slowly. Mrs. Blossom was sure the basket was not +big enough to contain him, and wondered what had become of him. Then the +performers threw themselves on the basket, closed the lid, and began to +punch it in every direction with long and wicked-looking knives. The ladies +were appalled at the sight; but they were assured that it was all right. + +The Hindus finally crushed down the basket till it was almost flat, and it +did not look as though there was any space in it for a kitten, much less an +eight-year-old boy. Then the men formed a circle around the basket, and +began a sort of chant. Something like a voice seemed to be sounding in at +the open windows. It continued to come nearer, and at last appeared to +proceed from the basket, which began to be distended, till it was restored +to its full size. Then the lid was removed, and the child sprang out, to +the great relief of Mrs. Blossom. + +Then one of the jugglers set a top to whirling, placed the point on the end +of a stick, and balanced it on his nose. So far it was no new thing; but +one of the spectators was asked to say stop at any time he pleased. Captain +Ringgold gave this command; and when he did so, the top ceased to whirl, +though, upsetting the bicycle theory, it kept its place on the stick. "Go!" +added the commander, prompted by Sir Modava; and the plaything began to +whirl again, as though its gyrations had not been interrupted. It was +stopped and started again several times, till the spectators were +satisfied. + +The stick and the top were critically examined by the whole party, but not +one of them could suggest an explanation of the trick. The last two acts +were the most surprising; and the rest of the performance, though skilfully +done, did not amount to much. His lordship gave the chief juggler a handful +of silver, and they left the hotel with a profusion of salaams; for they +did not often make in a month what they got for an hour, the Hindu +gentleman said. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM + + +"I looked into a Hindu temple this morning while I was walking about," said +Louis Belgrave, after the jugglers had been discussed a while. "I saw some +very ugly-looking idols; and I should like to ask if they really represent +individuals, or are creatures of the imagination." + +"Both," replied Sir Modava with a smile; "there are, as you have been told +before, a great many different sects, and a system of mythology. About all +the gods and goddesses known to the Greeks and Romans have an existence in +the Indian mythology more or less similar to them. Indra, the counterpart +of Apollo in some of his functions, drives the chariot of fire that lights +the day. + +"Rhemba was born of the sea, and is the Indian Venus; Cama is Cupid; +Parvati, whose image you saw at Elephanta, is Ceres; and so on to the end +of the chapter. These divinities are represented in the temples, but they +are without form or comeliness." + +"They are not much like the beautiful statues of the Greeks," added Louis. + +"The most prominent Indian sects are the Saïvas, or worshippers of Siva; +the Vaïshnavas, who bow down to Vishnu under his several incarnations, like +Krishna, whom you could not greatly respect; and the Jaïns, allied to the +Buddhists, found mostly in the northern sections of India. They occupy +important positions, and possess wealth and influence. There are +subdivisions into sects among them, and it would be quite impossible to +follow them through the mazes of belief to which they adhere. There is a +great deal of philosophy among many of the sects." + +"But what are the Buddhists?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. + +"Buddhism is quite as much a philosophy as a religion. It is not as +prevalent in India proper as formerly; though it is still dominant in +Ceylon, Napaul, Burma, and in the more northern countries of Asia. Its +history is somewhat indefinite. Gautama, of whom a great many pretty +stories are told, is sometimes regarded as the founder; though some who +have studied the history of the sect, or order, do not believe that the +Buddha was a real person, but an allegorical figure. + +"Those who give a personal origin to the system, now said to be the +religion of one-third of the human race, begin with Prince Siddhartha, a +young man disposed to be an ascetic, and inclined to retire from the world. +In order to wean him from his meditative tendency, his father, in order to +cure him, and prevent him from forsaking his caste, married him to a +beautiful princess, and introduced him to the splendid dissipation of a +luxurious court. A dozen years of this life convinced him that 'all was +vanity and vexation of spirit,' and he became a sort of hermit, a religious +beggar, and spent his time in dwelling upon the miseries of human life. + +"He used up years in this manner, and after much reasoning, came to the +conclusion that ignorance was misery. He gave himself up to study, and at +last came to believe that he had reached the perfection of wisdom. The tree +under which he sat when he reached this result was then called +_Bodhidruma_, or the tree of intelligence; and the Buddhists believe +the spot where it grew to be the centre of the earth. A tree that passes +for this one was discovered by a Chinese, still standing twelve hundred +years after the death of the Buddha; and the bo-tree of Ceylon is regarded +as its legitimate descendant. You have been told something about it. + +"In Benares, having ascertained the cause of human misery, and learned the +remedy for it, the Buddha began to preach his peculiar salvation. In the +phrase of his religion he 'turned the wheel of the law.' One of his titles +is _Chakravartin_, which means 'the turner of a wheel.' The doctrines +of the Buddha are written out on a wheel, which is set in motion with a +crank, though it is sometimes operated by horse-power; and such machines +are sometimes seen in front of religious houses in Thibet, and the monks +have portable ones." + +"I thought the religion of Thibet was the worship of the Grand Lama," +suggested Louis. + +"That is a form of Buddhism. The most important of the converts of the +Buddha was the Rajah of Magadha, or Behar, on the Ganges, which gave him a +good start, and it has since made almost incredible progress. It would take +too long to state the doctrines in detail of this sect, and you get an idea +of what it must be from what I said of its founder. Its leading doctrine is +the transmigration of souls, also called by that tough word, +metempsychosis, though other Hindu systems adopt this belief. It seems to +include the recognition of the immortality of the soul, which at the death +of the body passes into another form of existence,--a man, a woman, a lower +animal, or even a tree or other plant. The Buddha claims to have been born +five hundred and fifty times,--a hermit, a slave, a king, a monkey, an +elephant, a fish, a frog, a tree, etc. When he reached his highest +condition of perfection, he could recall all these different states of +being; and he has written them out. + +"Some of the negroes of Africa have this belief, and when a child is born +they decide upon the ancestor whose soul has returned to the flesh in this +world. There are one hundred and thirty-six Buddhist hells, regularly +graded in the degree of suffering experienced and the length of time it +endures, the shortest term being ten million years. A good life secures an +elevated and happy life on earth, or as a blessed spirit in one of the many +heavens, where existence is continued for a bagatelle of ten billion years. +When the _karma_ is exhausted"-- + +"What in the world is that?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who was struggling to +understand the subject. + +"It is the allotted term of existence, including the manner of living, +whether in bliss or misery. The person must be born again, and then become +a god, or the vilest creature that crawls the earth, according as he has +behaved himself. The Buddhists do not appear to have any idea of a personal +God; and they are practically atheists, though there are many good things +in their system. They recognize no omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful +Supreme Being, who presides over the universe and all that is in it. They +are pessimists, and believe that life, on the whole, is misery, a curse +rather than a blessing. I have given you only a faint outline of what +Buddhism is. It has points in which it resembles Christianity. Buddha is +dead and gone; but his followers put up petitions to him, though there is +no one to hear and answer their prayers. But I must stop for the want of +time rather than because there is nothing more to be said; and I have done +no more than touch the subject." + +"But it is not very different from Brahminism," suggested Professor Giroud. + +"You are quite right, Professor," replied Sir Modava. "Brahma means the +universal spirit; but it is not a personal divinity to be worshipped. I +believe there is not an idol or sculpture in all India that represents +Brahma. Something that passes for this mystic spirit is represented with +four heads." + +"But is there not a new church or philosophy of recent date--I mean Brahmo +Somaj?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. + +"Rammohun Roy, or Rajah Ram Mohan Rai, was a Hindu ruler in the Presidency +of Bengal, born in 1772. His ancestors were Brahmins of high birth. He +studied Sanskrit, Arabian, and Persian, and was a profound scholar and +philosopher. When he began to have some doubt about the faith of his +fathers, he went to Thibet to study Buddhism, where he was so outspoken +that he offended the priests and others, and his religious belief brought +upon him the enmity of his own family. In 1803 he lived in Benares, and +held a public office at one time. He published works in the languages with +which he was familiar, directed against idolatry, which he labored to +uproot. + +"He succeeded to abundant wealth at the death of his brother in 1811. His +influence assisted in the abolition of the suttee, and in bringing about +other reforms. He published 'The Precepts of Jesus,' accepting his +morality, but denying his divinity and the truth of the miracles. More than +fifty years ago he started an association which became the Brahmo Somaj, +which is a living and working society still. He went to England in 1831, +and was received with great respect and friendliness. I have great +reverence for the man, though I do not accept all his religious views." + +"Lord Tremlyn informed this company in regard to the divisions of caste, so +that I think we have a tolerable idea of the matter," said Captain +Ringgold, reading from a paper in his hand. "But all these sects and castes +are divided again into tribes and trade societies. Then there is a +considerable portion of the people who, though they are fully recognized as +Hindus, are outside of the pale of this multiform organization." + +"I should say that all this would make endless complications in business +and society. Each of these societies, or whatever you may call them, is +independent, and has its own regulations. None of its members can marry +into another caste, or even eat with those of a lower rank. A man born into +one of these associations having a particular business cannot take up +another calling without being pinched by the social law in all that he +holds dear in life. His wife deserts him, his children refuse to +acknowledge him as their father, and his property is absorbed by his +society or caste. All this for no crime, no immorality; and he may be a +noble and true man. If he chooses to be a tinker, instead of a trader, all +the gods of Hindu antiquity light upon his head, and worry him to the +funeral pyre by the shore." + +"That is quite true, Captain, and I join with you in condemning this +grossly heathen institution," added Sir Modava. "But time and Christianity +will yet do their work, and my country will be saved. But I submit, my dear +Captain, that there is another side to the question." + +"Quite true, and I was about to state it. The man who remains faithful to +the requirements of the society is protected and supported. Wherever he +goes, at whatever distance from his country he may be, he finds a roof and +a hearthstone which he may make his own for the time. If gone for years, he +will find the house and the field of his fathers undisturbed, of which he +may take possession. This institution may remove care and anxiety from the +mind of the man, and make him, as we find here, calm and contented, but +without the ambition of the business-man. I have taken most of this from a +book I found in Bombay." + +"The most influential caste here are mostly Jains and Buniahs; and though +they belong to different tribes, they are united in business matters. They +wear their own costumes; but they have done more than any others for the +prosperity of the place," said Lord Tremlyn. "They are the speculators in +cottons and other goods, and many of them have immense wealth. The Buniahs +are always intelligent, and somewhat aristocratic. You may know one of them +by his tall turban, like a shako, though sometimes it is rolled like a +conch-shell. Around his dress he wears a red band, which he twists about +his limbs, and has a long calico tunic closely fitted to his chest. His +chosen calling is that of a commercial broker. + +"These rich Hindus, while adhering to everything required by their +religion, adopt English fashions, and revel in British luxuries. You will +see them late in the afternoon on the public roads, in elegant carriages, +drawn by the finest horses, and attended by servants in rich liveries. +Their houses are magnificent, furnished like the Parsee's we visited the +other evening. The social intercourse between them and their European +neighbors is very limited. + +"The Mohammedans here are an important class of people, and some of them +are very wealthy, and are honest and upright merchants. They are very +strict in the observance of their religion, and not one of them would eat +pork or drink wine or liquors. If it were the beginning of their year, +which is different from ours, you might witness a celebration of the day. +It is called the Mohurrum, and takes place on the shore of the Back Bay. +They construct a great number of temples of gilt paper, and after marching +with them in procession through the city, they cast them into the sea. I do +not quite understand what it means; but the first month is usually a time +of mourning and fasting in commemoration of the sufferings of the two +nephews of the Prophet. The ceremony at the water is very ancient." + +"The wives of Mussulmans here have more liberty than in most Eastern +countries. They go about the streets with their faces uncovered, and are +clothed for the most part like the Hindu women. As they appear in the +street they are not so neat as the other native females, who spend much +time in bathing, and are always clean and tidy. I have nothing more to say +at present." + +"I have an announcement to make," said Captain Ringgold. "To-morrow +forenoon we shall return to the Guardian-Mother, and sail for Surat." + +The party spent the rest of the day in excursions about Bombay in three +parties, each under the direction of one of the hosts. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS + + +The Blanche, the elegant white steam-yacht of General Noury, which had +sailed in company with the Guardian-Mother from Aden, and which had +assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Travancore, had come into the +harbor of Bombay, and lay at anchor not half a mile from her consort. The +owner was a Moor of the highest rank, and a Mohammedan; and he had friends +in Bombay, though he had never been there before. He had written to them of +his intended visit, and they had taken possession of him on his arrival. + +The general had been invited, with Captain and Mrs. Sharp, to join the +party of her consort in the business of sight-seeing; and Lord Tremlyn and +Sir Modava had united with Captain Ringgold in the invitation. The +commander of the Blanche had visited the party on shore; but he was engaged +in making some changes on board of his ship which required his attention. +The Mohammedan magnates had kept the general very busy, night and day, and +_fêted_ him like a king. + +Lord Tremlyn had taken care of the engineers and other people of the +wrecked steam-yacht, and had treated everybody in a subordinate capacity +with princely liberality. He and his Indian associate were both +multi-millionaires, with fortunes inherited from their ancestors and other +relatives; and unitedly they had placed a large sum of money in the hands +of the captains of the two steamers, to be equitably distributed among +their ships' companies. Captain Ringgold remonstrated against this lavish +gift to his own people. + +"It is a sailor's duty, and a large part of his religion, to assist those +in peril and distress on the sea, the poor and the rich alike, and I +dislike to have my men rewarded in money for a service of this kind," said +he rather warmly. + +"It was the good Father in heaven who sent your ship to our aid when we +were perishing; but he works through human agencies, and I feel it to be a +solemn duty to recognize my obligations to those so providentially sent to +save us," replied his lordship, taking the hand of the commander with much +feeling in his tone and manner. "I shall never cease to be grateful to +Heaven for this interposition in my favor, and that of my companions; for +all of us were in the very jaws of death." + +"I can understand your feelings, my Lord; but all my people, as well as +myself, may soon require the same service we have rendered to others, and I +desire to let what we have done be placed to our credit against the +possible debt of the future," added the captain. + +"I shall feel better and happier when I have done, in connection with Sir +Modava, what I propose, and I beg you will withdraw your objections," +persisted the viscount. + +They argued the question for some time; but at last the commander yielded +the point. Every seaman, fireman, and waiter received five pounds, and +every officer a larger sum, in proportion to his rank, after the manner in +which prize-money is distributed on board of ships of war. The same +apportionment was made on board of both steamers, and Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were most vigorously cheered by the two ships' companies. + +Due notice had been given to Captain Sharp of the intention to sail for +Surat on Tuesday; and on the day before the cabin party of the Blanche, +which included Dr. Henderson, the surgeon of the ship, came to dine with +their friends at the Victoria Hotel. General Noury, who had been taking +leave of his Mussulman hosts, was attended by three of them, who were at +once invited by his lordship to join them at dinner, and the band of the +Blanche had been sent on shore for the occasion. + +The general had been taken about the city and its vicinity by his host, and +they were anxious to retain him longer in Bombay. He was on excellent terms +with Lord Tremlyn, who, though a strict Churchman, was not a bigot; and his +connection with the affairs of India had brought him into intimate +association with men of all religions, and there were about thirteen +million Mohammedans in the Punjab. + +His lordship renewed his invitation to the general to join the party who +were going across India, and he seemed to be inclined to accept it. His +Mussulman friends declared that he would be most cordially welcomed by all +the people of their faith, especially if attended by such excellent +Christian people; and they appeared to have none of the bigotry so often +found among the followers of the Prophet. + +"I don't quite understand your plan, Captain Ringgold," said Captain Sharp. +"You go to Surat, and from there across the country;" for the conductors +had decided not to go to Kurrachee. "But what becomes of the ships?" + +"The Guardian-Mother will proceed to Calcutta, as soon as we land, in +charge of Mr. Boulong," replied Captain Ringgold. "We shall join her +there." + +The commander of the Blanche shook his head; and after some discussion he +declined to join the tourists, and his wife would not go without him. +Doubtless he had some strong reasons for his decision, though he did not +state them; but probably he had not as much confidence in his first officer +as Captain Ringgold had in Mr. Boulong. The question was settled that the +general should go, and he insisted that Dr. Henderson should go with him; +and with three physicians in the excursion they appeared to be provided for +any emergency. + +The dinner was a very merry affair. The band played to the delight of all; +and one of the general's friends declared that they had no such music in +Bombay, to which he replied that he had engaged the best he could find in +Italy. The company retired to the parlor, and the band played on the +veranda for an hour longer. Some of the most distinguished of the civil and +military officers located in the city called at this hour by invitation of +the viscount, to pay their respects to the visitors; and Mrs. Blossom +declared that she was never so "frustrated" in all her life. + +"I should like to take my band with me," said General Noury, when the +officials had all departed. "I am very fond of music, and I think it will +afford us all a great deal of pleasure; of course I mean at my own +expense." + +"I beg your pardon, General Noury, but it must be at my expense," +interposed Lord Tremlyn. "I was thinking myself what an addition it would +be to have such excellent music on our way, and I am sure it will add a +great deal to the earnestness of the welcome we shall everywhere receive. +As to the expense, I hope and beg that not another word will be said about +it. The entire party are the guests of Sir Modava and myself." + +"I protest"--Captain Ringgold began. + +"Pardon me, my dear Captain; you are all our guests, and protests are +entirely out of order," interposed Lord Tremlyn. + +It was a very pleasant and friendly dispute that followed, and his lordship +had carried his point at the close of it. The commander had been to the +landlord, and asked for his bill; but the worthy Parsee informed him that +it had already been paid. He had remonstrated with the hosts; but they had +been inflexible. It was finally decided that nothing more should be said +about expense; for his lordship declared that it was a very disagreeable +subject to him. The captain believed that he was entirely sincere; and +though he had never encountered such extreme liberality before, he gave up +the point. + +"You can tie your purse-strings with a hard knot, Uncle Moses, for you will +not have occasion to undo them again for a month," said Captain Ringgold. +"I don't quite like it." + +"I don't know that I wonder at the generosity of our hosts," replied the +trustee, as he put his fat arm around the neck of Louis, who stood next to +him. "If this young man had been in the situation of Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava when you picked them up, I am very sure I should not have grumbled +if I had been called upon to disburse a sum equal to what this trip will +cost them, if they, or any one, had picked him up. There are two sides to +this question, Captain." + +"Then you fight on the other side, though you hold the purse-strings," said +the commander. + +"Would I give a hundred thousand dollars for saving Sir Louis's life? His +mother would give ten times that sum, and all the rest of the young man's +fortune. That is a matter about which we must not be mean; and the other +side take that view of it. I quite agree that not another word ought to be +said about expense," responded Uncle Moses, giving the young millionaire +another hug. + +"Uncle Moses is not a bit like the miser that could not afford a candle at +his death-bed in the night," added Louis. "If they had done as much for us +as we have for them, I should be glad to take them all around the world, +and pay for an Italian band of music all the way." + +"That's right, Sir Louis! Do as you would be done by," chuckled the +trustee. + +"It just occurs to me, Captain Sharp," said the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, as the former was about to leave, "that there is no reason +for your going to Surat, for we can take the general, Dr. Henderson, and +the band along with us. You have a voyage of two thousand miles before +you." + +"Which I can make in seven or eight days without hurrying," replied the +captain of the Blanche. "I could get to Calcutta before you do if I sailed +two weeks hence." + +"Just as you please." + +But General Noury seemed to like the idea of getting on board of the +Guardian-Mother even for a day, and adopted the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold. + +"There is next to nothing to be seen at Surat, and we shall go from there +immediately to Baroda, on our way to Lahore," interposed Lord Tremlyn. "The +Maharajah of Gwalior is an old friend of Sir Modava, and I am well +acquainted with him. I have no doubt we shall be very hospitably treated +there, and that you will be introduced to many things that will interest +you. If Captain Sharp desires to see some Indian sports, he can go with us +to Baroda, stay a week, and then return to his ship here by railway." + +"I like that idea, as my wife wishes to see a little more of India on +shore, though she does not wish to take the long journey you are to make," +added Captain Sharp. + +This plan was accepted, and the party separated. The next morning the +carriages conveyed them to the Apollo Bunder, and at seven o'clock the +Guardian-Mother was under way. The band was playing on the promenade, and +the party were taking their last view of Bombay and its surroundings. +Captain Sharp and his wife were on board. The three doctors formed a trio +by themselves, and were discussing jungle fever, which existed in the low +lands beyond Byculla. + +The sea outside was smooth; and at four o'clock in the afternoon the +steamer was among the Malacca shoals, in the Gulf of Cambay, with a pilot +on board. She soon entered the Tapti River, fifteen miles from its mouth. +The band had scattered after the noonday concert, and the party took the +chairs in Conference Hall. + +"I suppose you wish to know something about the places you visit, ladies +and gentlemen," said Lord Tremlyn, rising before them, and bowing at the +applause with which he was heartily greeted. "This is Surat, a hundred and +sixty miles north of Bombay, on the Tapti River, which you may spell with a +double _e_ at the end if you prefer. It has a population of a hundred +and ten thousand. It extends about a mile along this river, with the +government buildings in the centre. + +"The streets are well paved, and the houses are packed very closely +together. There are four very handsome Mohammedan mosques here, so our +friend the general will have a place to go to on our Friday." The Mussulman +bowed, and gave the speaker one of his prettiest smiles. "The Parsees, of +whom a few families own half the place, are prominent in business, as in +Bombay; and they supply the most skilful mechanics, the liveliest clerks, +and the quickest boys in the schools. They have two fire-temples here. The +Hindus, especially the Buniahs and the Jains, are as prominent as in +Bombay. The city was founded before 1512; for then it was burned by the +Portuguese, who did it again eighteen years later. + +"It had a very extensive commerce in its earlier years, and flourished on +its cotton trade during the American war. In 1811 it had a population of +two hundred and fifty thousand; but five and thirty years later it had less +than one-third of that; but has gained somewhat up to the present time. +Nearly a hundred years ago it was the most populous city of India. But I do +not propose to exhaust the subject, and now you may see for yourselves." + +His lordship and the Hindu gentleman, since their liberality had been +whispered through the ship, were exceedingly popular, and both were warmly +applauded whenever they opened their mouths. The party found enough to +occupy their attention till the ship came to anchor, with its brass band in +full blast, off the public buildings. A steam-launch came off for the +passengers; for the hosts had written to every place they were to visit, +and carriages were in readiness for them when they landed. + +They rode over the town after a collation at a clubhouse, and saw all that +was to be seen. They were quartered for the night at private residences, +and there was almost a struggle to know who should receive them. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA + + +India has nearly twenty thousand miles of railroads open and in use, and +thousands more in process of construction. As in England, they are +invariably called "railways." They do not have baggage, but it is +"luggage;" a baggage-car is unknown, for they call it a "van;" and the +conductor is the "guard." Our travellers had become accustomed to these +terms, and many others, in England, and now used them very familiarly. + +Early rising is hardly a virtue in India; for he who sleeps after six in +the morning loses the best part of the day, especially in the hot season. +The tourists were up before this hour, and had coffee wherever they were. +They had been treated with the utmost kindness and consideration, and their +hosts could not do enough for them. They were conveyed to the railway +station by them, and there found his lordship with a plan of a number of +carriages--they are not cars there. On this plan he had placed, with the +assistance of the commander, the names of the entire party. + +They were to leave at seven; for it is pleasanter to travel early in the +morning than later in the day, and the train was all ready. They were not a +little astonished when they were introduced to their quarters in the +vehicles, to find them quite as luxurious as a Pullman, though they were +constructed on a different plan, and were wanting in some of the +conveniences of the American palace-car, though better adapted to the +climate of the country. + +Each carriage contained but two compartments; but they were suites of rooms +on a small scale. The principal one was of good size, and on one side was +cushioned to the ceiling, so that being "knocked about" did not imperil the +traveller's bones and flesh. Against this stuffed partition was a low +couch, which could be made up as a bed at night, or used as a reclining +sofa by day. + +Over it was a swinging couch suspended by straps, which could be folded up, +or be entirely removed, and formed a couch like the one below it. On the +other side of the apartment was a toilet-room, with all conveniences +required for washing and other purposes, including a water-cooler. In this +compartment the traveller takes his servant, and often a cook, for the +valet cannot meddle with culinary matters; and they sleep on the floor +wherever they can find a place. A reasonable additional price is charged +for accommodations in this luxurious style. + +The journey to Baroda would occupy hardly more than three hours, and these +elaborate arrangements were scarcely necessary for the time they were to be +used; but the members of the party looked upon them with especial interest +in connection with the long travel to Lahore, and that which was to follow +to Calcutta, though they were to break the journey several times on the +way. + +The "Big Four" had a compartment to themselves, with the two servants, +Sayad and Moro, who proved to be such good fellows that the boys liked them +very much. Sir Modava had managed to dismiss more than half of the +attendants furnished at first, for all the party declared that such a mob +of them was a nuisance; and the others had overcome their repugnance to +serving more than one person in the face of dismissal, for their +perquisites had already been considerable as they valued money. + +"This isn't bad for a haythen counthry," said Felix, as he stretched +himself on the lower couch. "We'll git to Calcutty widout breakin' ahl the +bones in our bodies." + +"This is vastly better than anything I expected to find here," replied +Louis, as he pushed his crony over against the partition, and lay down at +his side. + +"But where do the elephants and the tigers come in?" asked Scott, as he +called upon Moro to "shine" his shoes. "I haven't seen an elephant since I +came here." + +"Elephants are not worked in this country," added Morris. "The Moguls use +them when they want to go in state, and sometimes when they go hunting +tigers; and then the big beast gets most of the hard scratches." + +"But the elephant can take care of himself when the mahout allows him to do +so," argued Scott. + +"Is the mahout his schnout?" asked Felix. + +"You know better than that, Flix. The mahout is the fellow that sits on the +elephant's neck and conducts him. He is the driver," replied Morris. + +"Is he afeerd of schnakes?" + +"He needn't be, perched on the top of the pachyderm," answered Scott. + +"Who is he? Oi've not been introjuced to 'm." + +"Are you going among elephants, Flix, and don't know what a pachyderm is?" +demanded Scott. + +"Oi see, it's the elephant, and ye's call him so bekase he carries his pack +on his bachk; and 'pon me worrud that's the roight place to carry it." + +"I wonder if we are to have any hunting out here where we are going," +suggested Scott. "How is it, Louis? You are in the ring with the Grand +Moguls." + +"Sir Modava told me that the Maharajah whom we shall visit at Baroda is a +great sportsman, and always treats his guests to a hunt," answered Louis. + +"Is it after schnakes?" + +"No; but after tigers." + +"But I want to hunt some schnakes; I'd loike to bring down a good-soized +cobry," said Felix, rising from his reclining posture. + +"No, you wouldn't, Flix," sneered Scott. "If you saw a cobry, you would run +till you got back to Ireland." + +"Is'ht me! Wud I roon from a cobry? Not mooch! Ain't I a lineal dayscindant +of St. Patrick?--long life to him! And didn't he dhrive all the schnakes +and toads out of the ould counthree! Jisht show me a cobry, and thin see me +roon!" + +Before the Milesian could tell how he intended to kill the cobra if he saw +one, the train stopped; and a moment later Sir Modava, the commander, and +Mrs. Belgrade appeared at the door. + +"We have come to make things a little more social," said the Hindu +gentleman as they entered the compartment; and the servants brought stools +from the toilet-room, so that all were seated, making quite a family group. + +"Are there any snakes where we are going, Sir Modava?" asked Felix, before +any one else had a chance to speak. "I am spoiling for a fight with a +cobra;" and he came back to plain English, which he could use as well as +any one. + +"Plenty of them, Mr. McGavonty," replied the East Indian. "You will not get +badly spoiled before you fall in with all you will wish to see." + +"Then I will bag some of them," added Felix. + +"No, you won't, Flix; they will be more likely to bag you," rallied Scott. + +"But I am in earnest," persisted the Milesian. "I have seen plenty of them +in Bombay; and upon my word and honor, I don't feel at all afraid of them. +One of them might hit me when I was not looking, for they don't play fair; +but I shall be on the watch for them, and I'll take my chance." + +"But, Sir Modava, do you really dare to go out where there are cobras?" +asked Mrs. Belgrave, looking at her son. + +"Certainly we do; we don't think anything at all about them." + +"But you are in danger all the time." + +"Of course it is possible that one may be bitten when a snake comes upon +him unawares. The deaths from snakes and wild animals in all India averages +annually twenty-two thousand. About a thousand are killed by tigers. Of a +hundred and fifty kinds of snakes, only about twenty are poisonous. The +deaths from snakes is one in 13,070; and the chance of being bitten is very +small." + +"I am afraid your figures lie, Sir Modava," said Captain Ringgold, with a +pleasant laugh. "Millions of the people live in cities and large towns +where there isn't a snake of any kind." + +"Quite true, and, to some extent, the figures do lie; but there are plenty +of cobras and other snakes in parts of Bombay, and the figures are not so +false as you think, Captain," replied Sir Modava. "But I forget that I was +sent here for a purpose by Lord Tremlyn. I am to tell you something about +the Mahrattas, which is the name of the people who inhabited the region +north of us. They have a long history which I have not time to review, but +they have been prominent in the earlier affairs of India. They have always +been a warlike people, and wrested the country from the Mogul emperor, +sometimes called the Grand Mogul, and made themselves a powerful people. + +"The present maharajah rules over the most extensive kingdom of any native +prince. He is a Rajput, which is the aristocracy of the Mahrattas. He is +the most powerful of the Indian rulers, and one of the most hospitable. I +was formerly in his service, and he considers himself under some slight +obligations to me. He is an independent prince in the same sense that other +rulers are in this country. There is always a British representative at his +court, who advises him in some matters of government, and his realm is +called a protected state. + +"He is a great sportsman; and I have no doubt you will be invited to hunt +with him, as well as to witness some exhibitions which may not be agreeable +to the ladies." + +"Don't we stop at any stations on the road?" asked Louis. + +"There is no town of any great consequence between Surat and Baroda, and +this is a special express train," replied Sir Modava. + +Some of the party looked out the windows, and the intelligent guide +explained what was to be seen along the way. Some handsome temples +attracted their attention, but they were insignificant compared with what +they had been taught to expect in the future. The train crossed a bridge, +which brought them into the suburbs of Baroda. + +"The outskirts of the town contain a hundred and fifty thousand +inhabitants, far more than the city itself," said the Hindu gentleman. "The +streets are very narrow here, and the houses are nearly all of wood; but +they are different from any you have seen before, for they are peculiar to +Goojerat, the state of which Baroda is the capital. You see at about all +the crossings pagodas and idols, with banners flying over them. It is an +unhealthy region, the ground is so low; and yonder you see a stately +hospital, built by the Guicowar, as the maharajah is called." + +The tourists had all they could do to see the strange things that were +pointed out to them, and while thus employed the train stopped at the +station. Looking out the windows again, they saw several elephants, all +handsomely caparisoned, and with howdahs on their backs. A band of native +musicians was playing near them, and the party wondered what this display +could mean; but Sir Modava was unable to inform them. They got out of the +carriages, and found themselves in a handsome square. + +A company of cavalry was drawn up near the elephants, at the head of which, +surrounded by a numerous staff of officers, sat on a prancing horse, +caparisoned with exceeding richness, a person who could be no other than +the maharajah. He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India, +covered with jewels in ornamental profusion. + +"That is the Guicowar," said the Hindu guide. + +"He is doing us great honor in coming out in this manner to welcome us." + +As soon as he discovered the party, the ruler dismounted nimbly from his +noble steed, and, attended by some high officers, advanced to meet them. A +sort of procession was hastily formed with Lord Tremlyn at the head of it; +for he was the most distinguished person, and in some sense the +representative of the British home government. The Italian band of the +general, as soon as the native band ceased, struck up "Hail, to the chief!" + +The party encountered the king, who rushed up to the viscount, and seized +him by the hand, as not all kings are in the habit of doing. They talked +together for a few moments, when his Highness happened to see Sir Modava, +and rushed to him, seizing him in a semi-embrace, clasping the Hindu with +his right hand while the left encircled his shoulder. The potentate was +profuse in his congratulations to the two gentlemen on their escape from +death in the shipwreck, and this afforded Lord Tremlyn an opportunity to +present Captain Ringgold as the commander of the steamer that had saved +them. + +"He is my friend, then," said the Maharajah, as he gave him no equivocal +shake of the hand. + +Then Louis and his mother were presented and described, and received an +equally warm welcome. But the prince decided to receive the rest of the +party at the palace, and they were requested to mount the elephants. The +ladies were timid about it; but Louis told his mother that she must get up +into the howdah as though she had been riding elephants all her life, and +she did so, the others following her example. Louis assisted his mother +first, and then Miss Blanche. + +They were all seated on the huge beasts, and the procession started, the +Italian band following the native, and playing when they ceased to do so. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES + + +"Well, what do you think of this?" asked Captain Ringgold, turning to Mrs. +Belgrave, as the elephant moved off. + +"I don't feel quite at home up here," she replied, holding on with both +hands at the side of the howdah. + +"I think it is nice," added Miss Blanche. "It seems very much like riding +on a camel, only there is more motion." + +"It is a good place to see everything there is to be seen," suggested +Louis, as he looked about him. "The king is taking us to his palace in high +style. If he meant to astonish us, he has hit the nail on the head." + +"But where are Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava?" asked Miss Blanche. + +"They are mounted on a couple of as handsome horses as I ever saw in my +life," replied the commander. "One of them is on each side of the Guicowar, +at the head of the cavalry troop. In England and America the escort goes +ahead of the persons thus honored; but here, as a rule, the king cannot +ride behind anybody. You remember that when we saw the Sultan going to the +mosque in Constantinople he rode at the head of the procession, and all the +great officers of state went behind him; and that seems to be the fashion +here." + +"But is he much of a king?" Mrs. Belgrave inquired. + +"They all call him a king, and I suppose he is one. He is a Maharajah, a +word written with a capital, and composed of two words, _maha_, which +means great, and _rajah_, a king. The definition is 'a Hindu sovereign +prince,' and that makes a king of him. He rules over a large territory, and +Lord Tremlyn says he is the most powerful of all the native princes. He is +certainly treating us very handsomely." + +"I think I could get along without quite so much style," said Mrs. +Belgrave, laughing; and she seemed to feel as though she was taking a part +in a farce. + +"All the style is in honor of the distinguished gentlemen we picked up in +the Arabian Sea. But excuse me, Mrs. Belgrave, if I suggest that it is not +wise and prudent to laugh in the midst of such a spectacle as this. The +Hindus are very exclusive until you get acquainted with them, and have a +great many prejudices which we cannot comprehend. They are very sensitive, +and are very likely to misinterpret the expression and the actions of a +stranger; your laugh might be offensive, leading them to believe you were +sneering, or making fun of them, as we should call it." + +"Then I will be very circumspect," replied the lady. "But is the Guicowar +really a king, when all this country belongs to the English? Victoria is +the Empress of India." + +"He rules over a protected state; but his powers seem to be almost +unlimited. A British officer is always at his court, and is called a +'resident,' who is the representative of the government. But he does not +meddle with the affairs of the state unless occasion requires." + +The houses the tourists passed were all of Indian style, and there were +always towers and pagodas in sight. The region as they passed out of the +city was rural; and finally they came to the great gates of the palace, +which they entered. The grounds were covered with great trees and gardens, +in the midst of which was a palace, where they found the cavalry drawn up +and presenting arms. The elephants were made to kneel down as when the +party mounted them, and they descended by means of ladders. + +A host of servants ushered them into the palace, which Lord Tremlyn said +had been appropriated to their use. Their luggage had already been sent to +their apartments; and an hour later the company assembled in the grand +salon, dressed to receive the Guicowar. His Highness did not "put on any +style this time," and was as sociable as any common person. He saluted the +commander and Mrs. Belgrave; and then all the rest of the party were +presented to him by the viscount, and Mrs. Blossom had nearly shaken +herself to pieces during the ceremony. + +A bountiful collation was then served in another apartment, at which the +Maharajah presided. He spoke English as fluently as any person present, and +was very affable to all. The Italian band played during the repast, and the +Guicowar declared that it was the finest music he had ever heard. General +Noury had been placed on his right as the one highest in rank of any +present. + +The king proved himself to be exceedingly well informed in regard to the +United States, and was even able to talk intelligently with the gentlemen +about Morocco. Though he had a wife, a mother, and a young daughter, they +were never presented to the gentlemen of the party, though the ladies were +permitted to make their acquaintance, and learned more from them about +Hindu domestic life than they could have obtained from any others. + +"To-morrow will be a great day in Baroda," said Sir Modava to the +commander. "It is the great Sowari, a procession such as none of your +people ever saw, I will venture to say; and his Highness has provided +places for all of you where you can see the whole of it in detail." + +The king announced this great state occasion himself before the lunch was +finished, and gave the visitors a cordial invitation to witness the +procession. The "Big Four," a term of which the viscount and Sir Modava had +already learned the meaning, were very impatient to do some hunting. They +had brought their guns with them, and Louis informed the Hindu gentleman of +their desire. + +"Is there any place near the palace where we could find any game?" he +inquired. + +"Not in the palace grounds, but within a few miles of it a very rugged +region may be reached, and a road-wagon will be provided for you. I will +speak to the Guicowar about it," replied Sir Modava; and he broached the +subject at once. + +In half an hour a vehicle was at the door; and the boys were ready, dressed +for the hunt, and with their guns in their hands. Two officers were +appointed to attend them, and both of them spoke English very well. The +vehicle provided was a kind of coach, the floor of which was cushioned, so +that several persons could sleep on it during a long journey. It was drawn +by four high-spirited horses; and, though the road was bad, it was driven +at a high rate of speed; and in less than an hour they alighted in a wild +region, where there was not a building of any kind to be seen. + +The two officers directed the servants to take some boards from the top of +the carriage, with which they stated their purpose to make a platform in a +tree, where they could watch for game; but the boys objected to this +arrangement, and declared that each of them would hunt on his own hook. + +"But suppose you should come across a tiger, for they have been found here, +though I hardly think you will see one," said one of the officers. "What +would you do then?" + +"Shoot him, of course," replied Scott. "What are our guns for?" + +"But you may fire half a dozen balls into him without disabling the beast," +added Khayrat, the principal officer. "Tiger-hunting is dangerous sport, +and you can't be too careful." + +But the boys were very confident, and all of them were good shots; but they +had never tried any hunting of this kind. Khayrat said there was plenty of +deer in the vicinity, and they had better confine their attention to them. +If they approached the foothill of the Vindya Mountains, which he pointed +out to them, they might find tigers. With this warning, the "Big Four" +separated, and struck into the jungle. Khayrat followed Louis, for he had +been informed that he was the most important person in the quartet. Adil, +the other officer, kept near Scott, who appeared to be the most reckless of +the four. + +Felix was not attended by any one; but he had not gone more than a hundred +yards before he saw a huge cobra directly in front of him, bestirring +himself as though he "meant business." The fellow stood up, and he looked +mad enough to chew up the hunter. But before he had time to discharge his +piece at the monster, for he looked as though he was six feet long, Felix +heard a rustling in the bushes at his left, and a moment later a +disturbance on his right. + +[Illustration: "He saw a huge cobra directly in front of him."--Page 242.] + +He looked in the direction of the noises, and saw two more cobras lifting +their vicious heads into the air. These were more than he had bargained +for; and, believing that discretion was the better part of valor, he +climbed a tree in which he saw a convenient resting-place. Between him and +the three snakes there was a small pool of water, half concealed by the +bushes, and the reptiles had probably come there to drink or to obtain for +food some of the amphibious creatures that lived there. + +The enthusiastic sportsman had hardly begun to climb the tree before he +heard a hissing behind him, and discovered another cobra. Two of the four +in sight were much smaller than the other two, and he could easily believe +he had come upon a family of them. He got a position in the tree, and lost +no time in attacking the enemy. He was a good shot, for he and Louis had +both been thoroughly trained in a shooting-gallery in New York. He gave his +attention to the one nearest to him, and wondered he had not trodden upon +him as he came to the spot. + +As this one stood up Felix could see the top of his head, and he decided to +use his revolver first. He fired; and, as the reptile was not ten feet from +him, so skilful a marksman could hardly help hitting him. He did hit him, +and the ball passed through his head. He wriggled a moment, and then +stretched himself out at full length, dead. + +One of the larger ones was within twenty-five feet of him, and he used his +repeating rifle this time. He slipped a little in his perch as he +discharged the piece, and the ball went through the snake's body, which was +furiously mad, hissed and shook himself. He held still a moment, and then +Felix fired again. The ball seemed to tear his head all to pieces, and he +dropped down out of sight. He had to fire several times to kill the other +two; for, as he expressed it, they "would not hold still." + +But he had killed the four, and felt just as though he had settled the +snake question. Most of the natives, who are oftener the victims of the +cobra than the white people, go about in the dark with naked feet, and it +is not strange that they are bitten. He descended from the tree, and went +to examine the game he had brought down. Cutting some pliable sticks, he +dragged the serpents together, and passed a withe around them behind the +hood, and started back for the rendezvous where they were to take the +carriage. He was determined to convince Scott that he was not afraid of +snakes. + +He had already heard several shots, and realized that his companions had +found game of some kind. He waited a full hour for them, when Louis +returned first, with a very handsome deer slung on a pole with Khayrat +carrying the other end. Morris came in with a monkey, which the officers +would not have permitted him to kill if they had been near him. Scott came +in last with only a couple of birds. + +"Did ye's mate ony cobrys, Musther Scott?" asked Felix. + +"Not a cobra; and I didn't want to meet any," replied Scott, disappointed +at his luck. + +"You's air afeered of the schnakes," rallied the Milesian. + +"So are you, Flix. If you saw one you wouldn't stop running till you got +back to Baroda," returned the third officer of the ship. + +"But I have seen four of them in my little walk, and I'm not doing any +running just now," said Felix triumphantly. + +"Go 'way with you, Milesian, and don't tell any fish stories!" replied +Scott, continuing to blackguard him while the servants were putting the +deer on the top of the wagon. + +"Do you want to carry those snakes back to the palace?" asked Khayrat. + +"What snakes?" asked Scott. + +"I'll be most happy to introjuce you to four uv 'em I killed," added Felix; +and Scott was convinced against his will, and the dead serpents were put on +the wagon. + +In another hour they reached the palace, and the game was exhibited to a +wondering audience. The officers explained how so many of the cobras +happened to be together; but Felix had reached a correct conclusion before. +Mrs. Blossom scolded him for not running away when he saw the first one; +but he declared he had to prove that a boy with Kilkenny blood in his veins +was not afraid of snakes. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI + + +Felix had to repeat his story, and he was regarded as quite a hero by the +Americans, though Sir Modava and other natives thought but little of it. +Mrs. Blossom continued to scold at him for not running away from the +serpents. + +"How could I run away when I was surrounded by the snakes?" demanded Felix, +when the worthy lady's discipline became somewhat monotonous to him. "If I +had done what you say I should certainly have been bitten. I did better: I +climbed the tree, and bagged the whole four at my leisure." + +"But snakes can climb trees," persisted the excellent woman. + +"I suppose they can, but they don't always; and I knew the one nearest me +wouldn't do much climbing with a hole through his head. Besides, they say +the cobra does not come at you unless you meddle with him, like the +rattlesnake. I suppose I disturbed them, and they hoisted the flags to let +me know they were in town. I wanted to reduce the number of the varmints a +little." + +"But why did Khayrat tell me I ought not to have shot a monkey?" asked +Morris. + +"Because monkeys are harmless, and the Hindus consider them sacred. Before +you get to Calcutta you will find them housed in temples. Besides, the +natives are very tender of all animals," replied Sir Modava. + +"In the hospital for lame ducks and superannuated bullfrogs we visited in +Bombay, do they take in sick cobras?" asked Felix. "Do they nurse lame +tigers?" + +"They do not; it would not be quite safe to do so. Morris, the monkey you +shot will be decently buried," said the Hindu gentleman. + +"I am willing; for, though they eat them in some countries, I don't hanker +after any monkey-flesh," replied the young hunter. "I met a man at my +father's house who had lived for years in Africa, and he said they ate the +boa-constrictor there,--the natives did, not the white people." + +"So I have heard; but many Hindus never eat meat at all," added Sir Modava, +as the party retired to dress for dinner. + +The party were to dine at the palace with the Guicowar, and it was to be a +state dinner. Though contrary to Hindu etiquette, the ladies were all +invited, and they were treated with "distinguished consideration." It was a +very elaborate occasion, and a few speeches were made at the last of it. +The principal one was by the king himself, who enlarged upon his relations +with Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava, whom he regarded as two of his best +friends. + +From this point, he dwelt upon his esteem for the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, who had rendered a service to India in saving them from +certain death, which they, better than he, could understand and appreciate. + +Captain Ringgold and General Noury made fitting replies; and the party +returned, escorted by a score of torch-bearers, to the "Garden of Pearls" +as the summer palace in which they were lodged was called. They appeared +early in the morning, and after they had taken their coffee Louis and Felix +took a long walk outside the palace walls. At the gate they saw a little +animal which seemed disposed to make friends with them. They had brought +their guns with them, and Felix was on the point of firing at him when +Louis interposed. + +"That's a mongoose," said the latter. "Haven't you heard of him?" + +"Never did." + +"The creature is a sort of ichneumon, with a long body, extending back of +his hind legs, which gradually decreases in size till it becomes his tail. +His body is long, even without the portion of it which belongs to his +caudal appendage. He has a small head and a sharp nose, and is something +like a weasel. He has the reputation of being the great serpent-killer of +India, and many wonderful stories are told of him. He is very useful about +a house in destroying rats and other small nuisances." + +The mongoose ran along ahead of the boys while Louis told what he knew +about him. Felix protested that a little fellow like that couldn't do +anything with such a cobra as he had shot the day before, for the snake was +a trifle more than five feet long. They had gone but a short distance +farther before Khayrat stepped out from a tree which had concealed him. + +"There's a cobra in here somewhere," said the officer, who was one of the +king's huntsmen. "I brought out my mongoose, but the little rascal has left +me." + +"There he is, just ahead of us," replied Louis. "He seems like a kitten, he +is so tame." + +"He is my pet, and I am very fond of him, for I think he saved my life +once. I was just on the point of stepping on a cobra when Dinky attacked +the snake and killed him after a fight," added Khayrat. "I think he is on +the track of the enemy, for the serpent killed two chickens last night." + +"There he is!" exclaimed Felix, as he brought his gun to his shoulder. + +"Don't fire! Let Dinky take care of him; for my pet is spoiling for a +fight, as one of the Americans said yesterday," interposed Khayrat. + +The serpent was a large one, though not equal in size to the one Felix had +shot the day before. He had erected his head, and spread out his hood, and +he looked as ugly as sin itself. He knows all about the mongoose, and seems +to have an instinctive hatred of his little but mighty enemy. + +The little snake-killer made a spring at him, and then skilfully whirled +himself around so that the snake could not bite him. Dinky knew what he was +about all the time; and though his foe struck at him several times, he +dodged him and put in several bites. After considerable manoeuvring, the +snake appeared to have had enough of it, and deemed it prudent to beat a +retreat. He dropped on the ground, and headed for a thicket; but this was +just what Dinky wanted. He sprang upon the neck of the cobra, placing his +fore-paws on him, and then crushed his spine with his sharp teeth. The +serpent was dead, after writhing an instant. + +The fight was ended, and Khayrat caressed the victor. Louis declared that +the mongoose was a friend worth having, and immediately made a bargain with +the huntsman to procure him a couple of them, and send them to Calcutta. +They returned to the palace; and at the breakfast-table Louis told the +story of the battle, in which all the Americans were much interested. But +the business of the forenoon was the great Sowari, or public procession; +and the party were conveyed in carriages to the pavilion, from the veranda +of which they were to see the spectacle. An abundance of easy-chairs was +provided for them, and they were made very comfortable. + +It required more than an hour for the procession to pass the point of +observation; and when the last of it had disappeared in the distance all +the Americans declared that they had never seen anything, even in Europe, +which could be compared with it in variety and magnificence. It was an +Oriental spectacle, and the tourists could easily believe they had +witnessed a pageant that had stepped out of the pages of the "Arabian +Nights." + +First came the regular soldiers of the Maharajah, who were sepoys, all +under the command of English officers; and they marched like veterans who +had been drilling half their lives. They were followed by a company of +Arabs, who seemed to have been imported for the occasion. Sir Modava +explained what the troops were as they passed. Next came a whole squadron +of Mahratta cavalry, which looked as though they were serviceable soldiers +of that arm, for they were good riders, well mounted, and were all lusty +fellows. + +After the cavalry came a troop of dromedaries with small cannons mounted on +their backs, with gunners to work the pieces. The military portion of the +procession was completed by several regiments of the Guicowar's special +army. Following the household troops, apparently acting as an escort, came +the royal standard-bearer, a personage of decided importance in an Oriental +pageant. He was mounted alone on a huge elephant, magnificently caparisoned +and adorned with the royal standard, a flag of cloth-of-gold, on a long +staff. + +In front of the elephant marched a band of eighteen or twenty native +musicians, playing upon all sorts of Indian instruments, including +tom-toms, lutes, like flageolets, cymbals, and horns. Surrounding the great +beast that had the honor to bear the flag of the Mahratta States were +numerous horsemen, all clothed in the richest Oriental costumes, armed with +spears and curved sabres, with shining shields, and steel gauntlets on +their hands. All these, and all the others, wore white turbans, +picturesquely folded. + +Behind the standard-bearer were two more elephants, each decked in all the +splendor of the East; and mounted upon them were some of the great +dignitaries of the court, over whom servants held highly fringed and +ornamented umbrellas. In the procession was a troop of camels, all dressed +out in the style of the horses and elephants. To say that the Americans +were dazzled by the splendor of the scene would be to state it very mildly, +for they were literally confounded and overwhelmed; and yet they had not +seen the great feature of the spectacle, the Guicowar himself. Sir Modava +had to talk very fast to describe the scene as it passed before them. + +A dozen men, handsomely dressed like all the others, presently appeared, +each bearing on a long pole something that looked like a crown. This was a +sort of incense-censor, in which perfumes were burned, and from which a +column of blue vapor proceeded. They were immediately before one of the +king's elephants, which now came in front of the veranda. He was a gigantic +creature, bearing on his back a howdah of solid gold. He was robed like the +others, and the portions of his skin in sight were fantastically painted in +various designs. + +The howdah was surmounted by two pyramidal roofs, one in front of the +other, supported by small columns. At the end of the elephant's tusks, +which were sawed off square, were attached bouquets of rich feathers. On +each side of the huge beast was a platform, suspended at the outside by +golden cords, on which stood four men very richly dressed. One of them +bears the hook, or pipe, presented to the Guicowar by the viceroy, another +waves a banner, and the others flourish fans of peacock feathers. In front +of the mahout is planted an ornament reaching nearly to the top of the +howdah. + +The golden howdah was presented by the Queen and Empress of India, and +glitters with diamonds and other precious stones. The two domes make it +look like two pavilions, and in the forward one sits the Guicowar in solemn +dignity. He wears a tunic of scarlet velvet, which is covered with gold and +diamonds. In fact, he seems to have diamonds enough to freight a schooner. +Either he or one of his predecessors purchased a brilliant for which he +paid the bagatelle of four hundred thousand dollars. Under the rear +pavilion, and behind him, is the king's prime minister. + +One of the officials at his side is the king's herald, who unfolds a flag +of cloth-of-gold, and flourishes it before the people, and there are not +less than a hundred thousand of them in the streets. As he does so he +announces in good Hindustanee and in a loud voice a proclamation: +"_Srimunt Sircar! Khunderao Guicowar! Sena Khas Khel! Shamshar +Bahadoor!_" + +"Exactly so," said Felix in a low tone. + +"I suppose it is not given to outsiders to know what all that means?" added +Louis. + +"Certainly it is," replied Sir Modava. "It means, 'Behold the King of +Kings, Khunderao Guicowar, whose army is invincible, whose courage is +indomitable.'" + +"Is that in a Pickwickian sense?" asked Scott. + +"Not at all, for the Guicowar is as brave a man as ever put a foot into +shoe-leather, or went barefooted," replied Lord Tremlyn, "though there is a +little exaggeration common to the Orient in the proclamation." + +As his Majesty came in front of the veranda the party rose and saluted him +with low bows, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. He responded +with a kingly smile and a graceful wave of the hand. The procession passed +on, and shortly afterwards the booming cannon announced that the moment of +the solemn benediction had come. The attentive officials of the court +presently appeared with the carriages, and an invitation to the whole +company to dine with the Guicowar again at his table. + +They had to wait an hour for the king, but they found enough to interest +them in observing the coming of numerous other guests. In an ante-room the +floor was almost covered with shoes, many of them of the richest material, +even with precious stones upon them. Sir Modava explained that Eastern +etiquette required that the visitors going into the presence of the +Maharajah should remove their shoes, but that Europeans and Americans were +exempt from this requirement. + +When the party entered they found the king seated in an apartment open to +the air of heaven on two sides. All were barefoot or in their stocking-feet +except the Gruicowar, who occupied a bench, or platform, at one side. He +had removed his state garments, and was dressed in a suit of white linen. +Most of the native officials present were seated on the floor; but the +gentlemen of the visitors were invited to sit with his Highness, though +only Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava accepted it. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA + + +The party remained a week at the palace of the Guicowar, and every day had +a new pleasure or recreation. The king was as familiar with all the members +as though they had belonged to his own household. He was sociable with +them, and they ceased to be embarrassed in his presence. Even Mrs. Blossom +no longer trembled before him, and he was as jolly with the boys as though +he had been one of them. + +On the day after the Sowari the gentlemen of the party were conducted to +the arena of the elephants, which was a large enclosure, reminding those +who had seen them of the bull-rings of Spain. It was surrounded by +buildings; and on one side, behind a wall, was a vast area of elevated +ground from which the people of the town could witness the scenes presented +in the arena. + +The ladies of the party had made the acquaintance of those of their own sex +in the household, and the sports of the day had been discussed among them. +On this day it was to be an elephant fight. The native women did not +attend, for they never took part in any public affair. Mrs. Belgrave, as +soon as she learned the nature of the entertainment, promptly declined to +be present at it, and the others were of the same mind. + +To make the best of it, it was a brutal sport. The elephant is a noble +beast, so intelligent that he deserves the consideration of man; and to +them it seemed barbarous to set them fighting, even if the animals had +belligerent instincts, though they never displayed them in their +domesticated condition unless under strong provocation. Some of the +gentlemen regarded the exhibition as but little better than a prize-fight; +though they all attended the occasion, for the more sensitive ones thought +it would be impolite to decline the invitation, especially as the +exhibition was got up especially for them. + +They were ushered into a large apartment, one side of which consisted of +lofty arches, through which the display could be witnessed. At either end +of the arena was chained a monster male elephant. A number of female +elephants were on an elevation near it; and it seemed as though they were +placed there for the same reason that the ladies were admitted to the +tournaments of the knights in England and France. It was said that these +females had a decided taste for such fights, and possibly the sight of them +stimulated the male combatants. + +There were a number of men, very slightly clothed, in the ring, who seemed +like the _chulos_ of the Spanish arena, though their functions could +hardly be the same; and there were many openings in the walls through which +they could escape, instead of leaping over the fence, as the bull-fighters +do. Some of them were armed with lances, and others with a stick with +fireworks at the end. + +The Guicowar entered the spectators' apartment, which was already well +filled with nobles and the foreigners. He was dressed in white linen, with +an elegant cap on his head. He had a fine athletic form, and wore a short +beard. He was not inclined to take the special arm-chair assigned to him, +but walked about, speaking to his guests, not omitting the boys, to whom he +appeared to have taken a fancy. + +His Highness gave a signal, at which the mahouts took their places on the +necks of the big beasts, and the chains which secured the combatants were +cast off. The monsters roared, and, with their trunks elevated, advanced to +the affray. They increased their speed as they came nearer to each other. +They rushed together, as Scott expressed it, "head on," and the strangers +seemed to feel the shock through their nerves. It was so violent the beasts +dropped upon their knees forward. + +Then they began to twist their trunks together, and buck with their tusks. +For some minutes the giants wrestled together, but the combat proved to be +of brief duration. The party could see that one of them was getting the +worst of it, and was inclined to "hedge." In fact, he had had enough of it; +but he was too wise to abandon his tactics when it was time for him to +retreat. Mustering all his power, he made a desperate effort, and succeeded +in forcing the other back enough to turn his huge body without exposing his +flank to the tusks of the enemy, and then beat a hasty retreat. + +The vanquished brute was removed from the arena, and the victor remained +alone on the field he had won; but he had only come to the beginning of his +troubles, for there was a second act to the affair. The men, who were armed +with whips, fireworks, red cloths, and other instruments of torment, +assailed him. They pricked him with the javelins, shook the red banners in +his face, and fizzed the pyrotechnics before his eyes. They tormented the +poor creature till he was furious. He had no adequate weapon for this +unequal and unfair warfare. + +He chased one assailant and then another, being as often turned aside from +his intended victims by the thorning of the other tormentors. As he became +a little more accustomed to the game, he ceased to be diverted from his +victim and confined his attention to only one. The red banners, the blows +from the whips, and the fizzing of the powder, did not affect him. He +pursued his victim till the man was glad to save himself by dodging through +one of the narrow doors in the wall, where the monster could not follow +him. He butted against the wall, and then pounded the earth with his feet +in the fury of his wrath. + +If the man had far to run he would inevitably be lost; for the elephant, +clumsy as he appears to be, develops great speed of foot when he is +excited. An incident was related by one of the nobles to Captain Ringgold +as the runner disappeared within the door. A young man who was very swift +of foot was closely pursued by the elephant, and had reached the door, when +he was seized by the arm, tossed in the air, and came down heavily on the +ground. The foot of the infuriate beast was raised to crush his skull, when +another man flashed a Bengal light in his face, with the flame almost in +his eyes, and the giant bellowed and fled. + +At the blast of a bugle all the men in the ring suddenly deserted it. The +elephant looked about him for any new assailant, and was immediately +provided with one. A door flew open, and a fine looking fellow, mounted on +a magnificent horse, dashed into the arena. After the manner of the +_matador_ in a bull-fight, he conducted his steed, prancing in his +pride, up to the arch at which the Guicowar stood, and saluted him with the +grace of a knight-errant whose head was full of ladies. + +The elephant is said to have an especial aversion to a horse; and the +tormented beast in the ring at once manifested the prejudice of his race, +for he made a dart for him. The horse did not flinch, but stood still till +the giant was almost upon him. Then, at the command of his master, he +wheeled, and the rider gave the big beast a smart punch with his lance. For +a few minutes there was a lively skirmish between them, the horseman +pricking him on the trunk or the flanks, and the rage of the elephant was +at its highest pitch. + +The fleetness of the horse and the skill of his rider kept the latter out +of harm's way till the elephant seemed to be exhausted. The Americans +thought he had done enough for one day, and the horseman retired. The great +beast which had borne the brunt of three combats was allowed to cool off, +and then his mahout conducted him to the rest he had bravely won. The +nobles in attendance were sufficiently civilized to indulge in betting, and +wagers had been made on the various fights in progress. Mr. Woolridge, who +was a reformed sportsman, may have been tempted; but he did not feel at +home in this kind of sporting, and he did not break through any of his good +resolutions. + +After the elephant had been removed, there was no little excitement among +the assemblage in the veranda, and the betting seemed to be livelier than +ever. A dozen officers armed with rifles and lances were stationed about +the walls of the arena; and then an iron-bound cage was drawn into the +enclosure, which contained a monstrous tiger. The guests wondered if this +fierce brute was to be loosed in the arena, and they examined with interest +into the safety of the situation. A number of rifles were brought into the +veranda, with which the Guicowar and his native guests armed themselves. + +"What does this mean, Sir Modava?" asked Captain Ringgold. + +"The next battle will be a noble one, and immense wagers are depending upon +the result," replied the Hindu gentleman. + +"Is that big tiger to fight the crowd here assembled?" + +"Not at all; but it is such a battle as has never been fought here, if +anywhere. His Highness had long desired to see a bull-fight, and he +imported four of the finest Spanish bulls his agent could find. The +_toreadors_ came with them; but they all refused to fight in this +arena, which they declared was not adapted to the purpose, and they went +home. Three of the bulls died of disease, and only one was left. A +discussion arose as to whether he was a match for a tiger. This battle is +to settle the question; and the bets are mostly in favor of the tiger, +though the Guicowar, with a few others, places his stake on the bull," Sir +Modava explained. + +The tiger was released from the cage at a signal from the king. He leaped +from the cage, and seemed to be astonished at the sight of so many people. +Three officers took possession of the brute's prison, armed with rifles to +shoot him if he killed the bull. No person was in the ring, or within reach +of the savage animal. The door by which the horseman had entered was thrown +wide open, and the bovine, vexed to the highest degree of wrath, came into +the arena with a bounding run. + +The tiger had advanced quietly to the centre of it, though with the royal +mien of the "king of beasts," as he was here, his eyes like a couple of +coals of fire. He caught sight of the bull as soon as he appeared, for he +had doubtless killed many a bullock in the jungle. He planted himself on +the ground in readiness for a spring. His present enemy saw him at the same +instant; but he did not halt, or show any signs of fear. + +[Illustration: "The striped beast went up into the air."--Page 263.] + +The bull crouched his head, increased his speed, and bounded on the tiger. +At that moment the striped beast went up into the air so quickly that the +audience could hardly see how it was done. His horned foe showed that he +had not wholly escaped, for his head was covered with blood. But the tiger +was not yet defeated. He sprang to his feet, and darted furiously at his +enemy. He fastened with claws and teeth upon the neck of the bull, and the +king believed that his wager was lost. + +But the Spaniard shook him off, and turned upon him again, tossing him +higher in the air than before. He came down badly disabled; and the bull, +as though it was the finest sport in the world for him, gored him with his +long horns till the life was gone out of him. The Spaniard was the victor. +The people shouted themselves hoarse; but their cries were in honor of the +Guicowar, and not the bull. The victor had lost a great deal of blood from +a bad wound in the neck, and it was a question whether or not he would die; +but he did not; he recovered, and before the tourists left India Sir Modava +learned that he had been killed in a battle with a smaller tiger than the +first. + +Though the guests said but little about it, most of them were disgusted +with these spectacles, and considered them cruel and brutal. They remained +their week at Baroda. Those who desired to do so were taken to a hunt one +day with a cheetah, in which this animal killed deer and other animals; and +on another, on elephants, for tigers. Two tigers were killed, and Louis +Belgrave had the honor of shooting one of them. Felix brought down a couple +of cobras; and killing them seemed to be his forte. Khayrat invited the +party to witness a battle between his mongoose and a couple of cobras his +hunters had caught; and he killed them both, one at a time. + +They all declined to attend a fight between a couple of coolies, with horn +spikes attached to their hands, for this was worse than a prize-fight. But +there was no end of amusements that were not brutal, and they enjoyed +themselves abundantly to the end of their stay. They visited the temples +and the palaces of the nobles, where they were received with the utmost +attention. Captain Sharp and his wife declared this was the red-letter week +of their lives; but the commander of the Blanche insisted that he must take +his ship around to Calcutta, and left by train for Bombay the day before +the company departed. + +The Guicowar resorted to various expedients to retain his guests, with whom +he was evidently sincerely pleased; but the commander was inflexible. It +was not possible to see a tithe of India, and he felt obliged to leave at +the expiration of the time he had fixed for the visit, and he begged Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava not to place them in any more courts, or they would +never get out of India. The train was prepared for their departure, and, in +addition to the compartment cars in which they were to pass most of their +time, a carriage was fitted up, so that all of them could assemble in it; +in fact, it was a conference hall on wheels. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB + + +An early breakfast was provided for the travellers, and at this repast the +farewells were spoken. Speeches were made by all the principal persons of +the party of Americans, and by the Moroccan magnate, expressive of the very +great enjoyment of the visit, and in praise of the liberality of the kingly +host's hospitality. Captain Ringgold returned his thanks quite eloquently. + +The Guicowar again enlarged upon the service the commander had rendered to +India in saving the lives of two of his best friends, who had also been the +friends of his country, and his only regret was that the Americans could +not remain longer. Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava could not in a lifetime +discharge their obligations to their friends who had entertained them like +princes on board of the Guardian-Mother. + +The ladies did not make speeches; but they expressed their gratitude to his +Highness in a less prominent manner for the kindness extended to them, and +at the close of the entertainment Miss Blanche advanced to the king, and +presented to him a package containing the photographs of the whole company, +and that of General Noury, each with the autograph upon it. + +"I am very sorry that our party are unable to present to your Highness a +gift in keeping with the magnificence of the hospitality extended to us," +said the beautiful young lady; "but this package contains the photograph of +every member of our company, and we beg that you will accept them as the +only tribute of our gratitude for your kindness which is available to us at +this distance from our homes. We leave behind us our best wishes for the +prosperity, health, and happiness of your Highness." + +The Guicowar declared that he should value the gift more than all the gold +and gems that could have been gathered together, and he should always +remember with delight the fairy who had presented them to him, and it would +afford him the greatest pleasure to look in the future upon the faces of +those whose presence at the palace he had so greatly enjoyed. + +The actual parting was the scene of a great deal of hand-shaking, mingled +with pretty speeches. The Guicowar went with them to the station, and saw +them seated in the great carriage that had been prepared for them. The +train moved off, with handkerchiefs waving at every window, and with a +profusion of gestures on the part of the magnificent host. It required some +time to talk about the scenes at the court of the king, though all of the +party were observing the country through the windows. + +It was a strange country to the Americans; and they found something to look +at all the time, though it was a wild and rugged region for the first two +hours, with only a single town that was noticeable in that time. As they +were passing out of Baroda, the viscount called their attention to a +building at some distance from the road, and called it a "travellers' +bungalow." It was a very comfortable house, where tourists may find hotel +accommodations, though they are hardly hotels. They are provided by the +government, and are to be found in all the travelled regions of India. They +are sometimes free for the rooms, but the guest pays at a very low rate for +his food. + +"We are coming now to Ahmedabad, which is in Gujrat, or Goozerat, for you +take your choice in regard to many of these Indian names; and this city is +its chief town, and the second in the province of Bombay. It was formerly +one of the largest and most magnificent cities of the East, as the ruins +still indicate. It contains several elegant mosques, but the town has not +more than a seventh part of its former population of nine hundred +thousand," said Sir Modava, as he opened a travelling-bag, and took from it +a large bundle of photographs. + +"Oodeypore is the capital of a Rajputana state; and its palace is said to +be the largest and most magnificent in India, though the town has a +population of less than forty thousand. The maharajah entertained the +Prince of Wales in it when he made his progress through the country. It is +built in the mountains, and it would be a troublesome journey for us to +reach it. The next city of any importance to which we shall come is +Jeypore, and we shall dine there." + +When the train stopped for water a lunch was sent to the compartments, to +which all the passengers now retired for the rest of the day. At Jeypore +dinner was served, good enough, though not elaborate. At the table Sir +Modava passed around some photographs of the place, including the palace of +the Maharajah, the Golden Kiosk, and the temples of the valley of Ambir. It +was impossible to visit all the wonderful structures on the road without +spending at least a year in the country; and a dozen volumes would hardly +contain the description of them. The palace at Jeypore is half a mile long, +and contains one seventh of the area of the town. + +Though the railroad passed within fifty miles of Delhi, the train sped on +its way to the north all night and nearly the whole of the next day, +arriving at Lahore at five in the afternoon. No towns of any considerable +importance were passed during this long stretch of 540 miles. Though Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava, with their friends, were invited to the residence +of the lieutenant-governor, the party went to the Victoria Hotel, for the +viscount thought it would be an imposition to quarter them on the chief +authority, being eighteen in number. + +"We are now in the Punjab, the north-western corner of India," said the +Hindu gentleman, when they were seated in the parlor of the hotel. "It is +watered by the Indus and five of its branches, on one of which, the Ravi, +Lahore is situated. Punjab means five rivers. It has a population of more +than twenty-five million; and, General Noury, it has more Mohammedans than +the whole of Morocco. I will not give you any more statistics, for I fear +you would not remember them." + +"Thank you, Sir Modava," added Mr. Woolridge. + +"The manufactures of silk, cotton, and metals are very important; for the +soil is not very fertile, though cotton, rice, sugar, indigo, and all kinds +of grains and fruits, are raised. Lahore is the capital of the Punjab, and +has a population of a hundred and seventy-seven thousand, though it once +contained a million. At this point we are near the Himalaya Mountains. +About a hundred and fifty miles east of Lahore is Simla, nearly eight +thousand feet above the sea. This is a noted sanitarium; and in the hot +season it is the resort of thousands of people, including the highest +officers of the army and the government." + +"Is this as near the Himalayas as we are to go?" asked Scott. + +"About as near, though at Patna you will be about one hundred and fifty +miles from Mount Everest, the highest peak on the earth." + +"I should like to go there," added Scott. + +"You couldn't climb it; and what good would it do you? I could mention a +hundred places in India I should like to visit; but it is not practicable +to do so," added the commander. "We can only take along with us a few +specimens of the wonderful country, and make the best of them." + +After dinner the party divided up according to their own fancy, and went +out to walk, though some were too tired to do so. Louis invited Miss +Blanche to go with him; and she was always glad to be in his company, +especially as Sir Modava was to be his companion. The first sight they saw +in the street was a regiment of Punjab sepoys, a well-drilled body of men, +not very different from the soldiers they had seen in other countries. + +They wore frock-coats, buttoned tight to the throat, and a sort of turban +on the head. Their faces were swarthy, but none of them wore full beards. +There were plenty of street sights after the regiment had passed. The +different kinds of vehicles attracted their attention first. In a kind of +gig drawn by a horse, two men and two women were crowded together. The +driver seemed to be seated behind, and one of the women was on the floor in +front of the two who were seated. By the side of the man on the seat was a +girl of sixteen or eighteen, and she was very pretty. + +In a two-wheeled cart drawn by a humped bullock were a couple of Hindu +ladies, under a canopy supported by four poles. Then came a camel bearing +two bearded men on his back. Two or three palanquins were seen; but they +were an old story, and they turned their attention to the architecture of +the houses that lined the street. There was an abundance of what we call +bay-windows, and ornamented balconies. There was a great deal of variety in +the construction of these appendages of the houses; and all of them were +occupied by ladies, who wore no veils over their faces, though most of them +were doubtless Mohammedans, and the yashmak had evidently gone out of +fashion. + +"There is the dak-bungalow," said the Hindu gentleman as they passed a +building of considerable size. + +"What is a dak-bungalow?" asked Louis. + +"It is one which answers the purpose of a hotel. I pointed one out to you +at Baroda. Sometimes they are free so far as the rooms are concerned; but +here the guest pays two rupees a day, or fifty cents of your money, and the +food is furnished at a low price." + +"But this is not half so much of a place as I expected to find," said +Louis, after they had walked an hour, and it was time to return to the +hotel. + +"It is a place of considerable importance, though there are not so many +temples, mosques, tombs, and other fine structures, as in many other cities +of India; and I wondered that the commander had placed it in his list of +places to be visited. Jeypore and Oodeypore would have been far more +interesting to your party," replied Sir Modava. "Yet you will see some of +the finest structures in the country before you reach Calcutta." + +The company returned to the hotel at an early hour, and all of them were +tired enough to retire at once. But they were up at six in the morning, and +the four boys went out to explore the city by themselves for a couple of +hours. Even at this early hour the ladies, old and young, were in the +balconies, and they were much occupied in observing the latter. Though the +yashmak, or veil, was not often used to cover the face, it appeared to have +been only thrown back upon the head. + +After breakfast carriages were at the door to convey the party to the more +interesting sights of the city. At the request of Lord Tremlyn, they were +driven first to the office of the lieutenant-governor, to whom they were +presented. The government buildings are in Lawrence Hall Gardens, where +there is also a memorial building in honor of Lord John Lawrence, the first +lieutenant-governor, who won his distinction in subduing and ruling over +the Punjab. + +They were next conveyed to the mosque of Jehanghir, built of red stone, and +so much like a score of other mosques that they were not much interested in +the building. The mosque of Vazir Khan pleased them more; for it was a +beautiful edifice, though crumbling before the ravages of time. But even +here they were more pleased on observing the loafers around the entrance +and in the court in front of it. An old bald-headed Hindu, with a beard as +white as snow, was a study to the boys; and perhaps it was fortunate that +the subject of their remarks did not understand English, or there might +have been another war in the Punjab. + +The cook-shops in the street were instructive to them, and they watched the +customers with interest; but, as they had attempted to eat in a Turkish +restaurant in Constantinople, they were content with looking on. The +minarets of the Vazir Khan pleased all the party, for they were certainly +very beautiful. They went to the Golden Temple of Amritsar in the +afternoon, and were impressed with the beauty of its surroundings. + +Lahore was rather a disappointment to the tourists, though it would not +have been if they had not spent some days in Bombay before visiting it. The +train in which they had come from Baroda was to be used by them as far as +Calcutta, and they were ready to leave that night. The journey was by a +different route from that by which they had come, and through a more +densely populated region. It was a bright moonlight night when the train +passed out of the capital of the Punjab. + +They had gathered in what they had come to call the Conference Hall +compartment; and as they looked out into the light of the evening they +believed they could see some of the peaks of the Himalayas, though Lord +Tremlyn doubted it. Possibly they saw some of the peaks, for Mount Nauda +Devi was within a hundred miles of the point on the railroad where they +would be in the morning; and this is more than twenty-five thousand feet +high. Mont Blanc is seen in very clear weather at the distance of a hundred +miles, and it is about eight thousand feet less in height. + +They were awake very early in the morning, and they certainly saw some high +mountains in the distance, but could not identify them by name. At eight +o'clock the train rolled into the station at Delhi, perhaps the most +wonderful city of India. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI + + +The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made were +wealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in other +cities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had several +invitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British and +Hindu persons of distinction. + +Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though the +entire company of tourists were included in those of both the general and +the distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of the +party. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independent +one. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitality +of private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an imposition +to him. + +The viscount and his Hindu companion were equally sensitive on this point; +and it was proposed by Sir Modava to divide the guests among those who had +not only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers. +The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it was +decided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by the +commander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was no +suitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though a +hotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were all +for the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner. + +A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to the +dak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments were +not elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at the +absence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palace +of the Guicowar, or even those of Bombay. A good breakfast was obtained, +and the forenoon was given up to rest; but after a couple of hours in their +chambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room. + +"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said Lord +Tremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen or +twenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of the +great Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronology +of India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to +3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present time +among the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed while +Egypt was still in its infancy. + +"It became the great Mussulman capital; but one and another of its princes +changed its location, till its ancient sites extend for thirty miles along +the river, and its ruins, more extensive than even those of Rome, cover +this range of territory. But I shall not go into the details of those +migratory periods, but speak only of the city as we find it. + +"Delhi is on the Jumna River, which you saw in the early morning. This +stream has its entire course in Hindustan, and is the principal tributary +of the Ganges. Both of these rivers are sacred with the natives. The Jumna +rises in the Himalayas, at a height of nearly eleven thousand feet, and of +course it is a mountain torrent at its upper waters. After a run of eight +hundred and sixty miles, it falls into the Ganges about three miles below +Allahabad. On each side of it is an important canal, both built before +railways were in use here. + +"Delhi is nine hundred and fifty-four miles northwest of Calcutta. It +stands on high ground, is walled on three sides, and has ten gates. A +series of buildings formerly composing the grand palace of Shah Jehan have +become the fort, overlooking the river, with a fine view of the surrounding +country, covered with woods and agricultural grounds. You will see the +palaces, mosques, and temples, and I will not describe them. Delhi is the +seventh city in population, which is a hundred and ninety-three thousand." + +After luncheon half a dozen landaus were at the door of the bungalow, in +which the party seated themselves according to their own choice; and the +first stop was made at the Jummah Musjid Mosque, which the Mussulmans of +India venerate and admire more than any other. It is built on an immense +esplanade, which is mounted by three flights of stairs, each in the form of +the three sides of a pyramid, and each leading to an immense pointed arch, +the entrances to the buildings. + +Before the party entered a carriage arrived, from which General Noury and +another person alighted. The Moroccan had accepted the invitation of a +Delhi Mussulman to be his guest, and this gentleman had begun to show him +the sights of the city. The general presented him to the members of the +party as Abbas-Meerza. Evidently in honor of his host the Moroccan had put +on his Oriental dress, which was certainly a very picturesque costume, +though it called up unpleasant memories in the minds of the commander and +the Woolridges. + +Abbas-Meerza was evidently a Persian, or the son of one; for he was clothed +in the full costume of that country. He wore a rich robe, reaching to his +ankles, with a broad silk belt around his waist. His cap, of equally costly +material, was a tall cylinder, with the top slanting down to the left side, +as though it had been cut off. He spoke English as fluently as the general. +He invited the party to step to a certain point, and view the mosque as a +whole. + +The wall of the esplanade was a continued series of pointed arches, with a +handsome frieze above it. On the elevated platform was a colonnade of the +same arches on each side, with a pillared tower at each corner, interrupted +only at the grand entrances. It looked as though one might walk entirely +around the vast structure in the shade of this colonnade. + +Within the enclosure could be seen three domes, the one in the centre +overtopping the other two, two lofty minarets, with small domes at the +summit, supported by several columns, and an immense pointed arch leading +into the great mosque. The whole edifice is built of red sandstone. The +visitors mounted one of the staircases, and entered a court paved with +marble tiles. They walked around the esplanade under the arches of the +colonnade, or cloisters as some call them, and finally entered the mosque +itself. The interior was very simple in its style, but very beautiful. The +roof, pavement, pillars, and walls were of white marble, ornamented with +carvings in the stone. Slabs of black marble presented sentences to the +praise of God, and in memory of Shah Jehan, who was the founder of the +mosque. + +"Formerly no person not a Mussulman was permitted to enter this mosque," +said Sir Modava, while the general and his host were engaged in their +devotions; "but for more than thirty years it has been open to all. From +the top of one of the minarets a very fine view of the surrounding country +can be obtained; but the ascent is by a very narrow flight of circular +stairs, two hundred in number. He advised Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses not to +attempt it." + +A venerable mollah was found, who put half a dozen of the party in the way +of going up; and they reported the view as worth the labor and fatigue. The +aged priest then proposed to show them the relics of the mosque; and a fee +was paid to him, and to the man who unlocked a door for their admission. +The mollah produced a small golden box, from which he took a silver case. +Muttering the name of Allah very solemnly all the time, he unscrewed the +top of the receptacle, and took from it a single hair, about six inches +long, red and stiff, and fixed in a silver tube. + +"The beard of the holy Prophet!" he announced, with a reverent inclination +of his head; and the two Mussulmans of the party followed his example. + +"According to the tradition, this hair really came from the beard of +Mohammed," said Sir Modava. "I believe it, because I have inquired into its +history. It is the glory of this mosque and of Delhi, for only three others +exist in the world. You need not believe it is genuine if you prefer not to +do so." + +They were also permitted to gaze at one of Mohammed's old shoes, a belt, +and some of the clothing of the Prophet. A number of dusty ancient +manuscripts were exhibited, copies of the Koran, one in fine characters, +said to have been dictated by Mohammed himself. The party returned to the +carriages, filled with admiration of the magnificent structure they had +visited, and were driven to the palace of the emperors, now turned into the +fort. + +They left the landaus at a point selected by Abbas-Meerza, from which an +excellent view of the ancient structures could be obtained. It was a +magnificent building, whose dimensions the Americans could hardly take in. +The most prominent features from the point of observation were a couple of +octagonal towers, very richly ornamented, with several small domes at the +summit, supported on handsome columns. + +The party entered at the principal gate, and came to the guard-house, which +was filled with British soldiers wearing straw helmets and short white +coats. A soldier offered his services as a guide, and they were accepted. +He gave the Hindu names of the apartments. The Dewani-Am was the hall of +audiences, from which they passed to the Dewani-Khas, the throne-room, both +of which recalled the Alhambra, which they had visited a few months before. +The pillars, arches, and ornaments were similar, though not the same. + +The tourists wandered through the pavilion, the emperor's rooms in the +palace, the bath, and numerous apartments. But in transforming this +magnificent palace of the emperors into barracks, much of the original +beauty had been spoiled; the lapse of years had made great rents in the +walls, and the visitor was compelled to exercise his imagination to some +extent in filling up what it had been centuries before. + +Abbas-Meerza was a very companionable person, and made the acquaintance of +every one in the company. He then invited them all to dine with him that +day, as he had evidently intended to do in the morning, for the dinner was +all ready when they arrived at his palace. He was a magnate of the first +order, and his apartments were quite as sumptuous as those of the Guicowar +of Baroda. The dinner was somewhat Oriental, but it was as elegant as it +was substantial. + +The noble host apparently wished to show the Americans what the Mussulmans +of India could do, and he crowned his magnificent hospitality by inviting +the entire company to install themselves in his mansion, which was large +enough for a palace; but for the reasons already set forth, the invitation +was gratefully declined. The next morning the travellers visited the Mosque +of Pearls, where the ancient emperors came to perform their devotions. The +interior is of carved ivory. + +From this little gem of a church the company were driven to the Chandi +Chowk, which is a boulevard, planted with trees and lined with elegant +buildings. The stores of the principal merchants of Delhi were here, and +most of them were on the plan of an Oriental bazaar. The little square +shops challenged the attention of the party, and most of them alighted to +examine the rich goods displayed. + +In the course of the ride they passed the Black Mosque, the only building +in the city dating farther back than the reign of Shah Jehan. They found +the bungalow surrounded and partly filled, on their return, by venders of +relics, curiosities, and other wares, anxious to find customers for their +goods. But they were not very fortunate in the enterprise, and finally they +were all driven away by an officer. + +In the afternoon they drove out on the plains of Delhi, among the ruins of +palaces, tombs, and temples. They stopped at another black mosque, near +which was a handsome pavilion, which had been the library of the emperors. + +"One of these emperors was Houmayoun, who recovered the throne after a long +banishment. He lost his life in consequence of a fall from the top of a +ladder he had mounted to obtain a book," said Sir Modava. "He was the real +founder of the Great Mogul dynasty. His mausoleum, to which we will go +next, is one of the noblest monuments on this plain;" and the carriages +proceeded to it. + +It is a mass of white marble and red sandstone. It has a fine dome, around +which cluster several smaller structures, such as we should call cupolas in +America or England. Under the great dome in the building is a plain +tombstone, beneath which are the remains of the first of the Mogul +emperors. The mausoleum is placed on an esplanade, like the great mosque in +the city. The sides present a vast display of pointed arches, and its shape +on the ground is quite irregular. The party were driven to the tower of +Koutub, a Mussulman conqueror, who commemorated his victory by building +this triumphal column, which is two hundred and twenty-seven feet high. It +consists of five stories, becoming smaller as they ascend. The remains of +his mosque were visited, the columns of which look like enlarged jewellery, +elaborately worked into fantastic forms. By its side is an iron column with +contradictory stories about its origin. The tourists visited other mosques +and tombs, which reminded them of the tombs of the Mamelukes. + +For two days longer they looked about Delhi; and Lord Tremlyn pointed out +to them the scenes of the massacre, which he had described on board of the +Guardian-Mother. On the train by which they had come they proceeded to +Agra. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX + + THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA + + +Several hotels were available on the arrival of the travellers at Agra, and +they were domiciled at Lawrie's. The journey was made in an afternoon, and +was through a densely populated territory, so that the trip was very +enjoyable. After dinner the party assembled in a parlor provided for their +use; and Lord Tremlyn gave a talk, for he objected to the formality of a +lecture. He seated himself in an easy-chair, and took from his pocket a +little book, to which he occasionally referred. + +"Agra, on the whole, is the handsomest city of Upper India, though of +course there may be some difference of opinion in this matter," he began. +"It is eight hundred and forty-one miles north-west of Calcutta, and one +hundred and forty south-east of Delhi. Like Delhi, it is on the Jumna, +which is here crossed by a floating bridge. One of the most prominent +buildings is the fortress of Akbar, and you must know something of this +sovereign in order to understand Agra. + +"He was known as Akbar the Great, the Mogul emperor of India, and the +greatest Asiatic monarch of modern times. He was the son of Houmayoun, +whose mausoleum you visited at Delhi. The father was robbed of his throne, +and retreated to Persia; and it was on the way there that Akbar was born, +in 1542. After an exile of twelve years, Houmayoun recovered his throne, +but lost his life within a year after his return. The government was +committed to the care of a regent, who became a tyrant; and the young +prince took possession of it himself at the age of eighteen. + +"At this time only a few provinces were subject to the rule of his father; +but in a dozen years Akbar had made himself master of all the country north +of the Vindhya Mountains, or of a line drawn from Baroda to Calcutta, +though he was not so fortunate in subduing the southern portion of the +peninsula. He was a great conqueror; yet, what is not so common with the +mighty rulers of the world, past or present, he was a wise and humane +monarch, and governed his realm with wisdom and vigor. His reign was the +most unparalleled, for his justice, energy, and progressive character, of +any in the East. In this manner he made his empire the greatest of the age +in which he lived. + +"He fostered commerce by the construction of roads, by the establishment of +an excellent police system, and introduced a uniform system of weights and +measures. He looked after the administration of his viceroys in his +numerous provinces, permitted no extortion on the part of his officers, and +saw that justice was impartially meted out to all classes. He was a +Mohammedan, but he was tolerant of all the prevailing sects in religion. + +"He gave the Hindus entire freedom of worship; though far in advance of his +successors, he prohibited cruel customs, such as the burning of widows, and +other barbarous practices. He founded schools and encouraged literature. He +inquired into the various forms of religion, and even sent for Portuguese +missionaries at Goa to explain the Christian faith to him. From the various +beliefs he made up a kind of eclectic religion; but it was not a success +outside of his palace. A history of his reign of fifty years was written by +his chief minister. Akbar died in 1605, and was interred in a beautiful +mausoleum, near the city. + +"With the ordinary sights of India you are already somewhat familiar; and, +aside from what you may see in any city here, there is not much to interest +you, with the grand exception of the Taj, and some of the mausoleums, of +which I will say nothing, as we are now to visit them." + +The company retired early, and after breakfast the next morning the +carriages were at the door. In the first one were Captain Ringgold, Mrs. +Belgrave, and Sir Modava. Lord Tremlyn had more than once manifested a +desire to be in the same carriage with Miss Blanche; and he went with her +and Louis on this occasion, while Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge invited General +Noury to accompany them. + +"Akbar made Agra the capital of the Mogul Empire," said Sir Modava, as the +carriage started. "He changed its old name to Akbarabad, and the natives +call it so to this day." + +"The termination of that name seems to be very common in India, as +Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad," added the commander. + +"In the Hindu, _abad_ means a town or a village; and if you cut off +that ending you will find the person or place for whom it was named, as +Akbar-abad." + +"Precisely as it is in our country, where we have Morris-town, Allen-town, +Morgan-town, and a thousand others," added the captain. + +"After the death of Akbar his successors reigned in Delhi. The Mogul Empire +came to an end in 1761; and Agra was sacked by the Jats, and later the +Mahrattas completed the destruction they had begun. It was captured from +Scindia in 1803 by the English under Lord Lake, and has since remained in +their possession. In all these disasters its population, which had been +seven hundred thousand, dropped to ten thousand; but under British rule it +recovered some of its former prosperity, and it is now about one hundred +and seventy thousand." + +"If a man wants to build a house here he has only to dig for the material, +for not far down he will find the stone and brick of the structures that +crumbled into the earth after the death of the great emperor. We are now +approaching the fortress, or the citadel as it is oftener called. It is a +sort of acropolis, for it contains palaces, mosques, halls of justice, and +other buildings." + +The carriages stopped at the principal gate, opposite to which is the +mosque of Jummah Musjid, or the Cathedral Mosque. About all the great +structures here are built of red sandstone, with marble bands on many of +them, so that it is hardly necessary to mention the material, unless it +varies from the rule. This mosque is a fine one, mounted on a marble +esplanade or platform, like most buildings of this description. + +Crossing the drawbridge, the visitors came to the Palace of Justice, built +by Akbar. It is six hundred feet long, enclosed by a colonnade of arches, +like a cloister. It is now used as a military storeroom, divided by brick +walls, and filled with cannon and shot. The English have made a sort of +museum here; and the superior officer who did the honors to his lordship +showed them the throne of Akbar, a long marble seat, inlaid with precious +stones, with a graceful canopy of the same material over it; and the boys +thought he would have had a more comfortable seat if he had put off the +period of his reign to the present time. + +The gates of Somnath, twelve feet high, were beautiful pieces of carving. +They once guarded the entrance to the temple of Krishna, in Goojerat; but +in the tenth century they were carried off by Sultan Mahmoud, of Ghuzni, in +Afghanistan. He captured Somnath, and destroyed all the idols. The Brahmins +offered him immense bribes if he would spare the statue of Krishna; but he +spurned the money, and destroyed the image with his own hands. He found +that it was hollow, and filled with jewels of great value. + +When the English conquered Afghanistan, Lord Ellenborough sent the gates to +Agra; but some think they were not the gates of the temple, but of +Mahmoud's tomb, for they were made of a wood that does not grow in India, +and they are not of Hindu workmanship. From the museum the party walked to +the imperial palace of Akbar, still in an excellent state of preservation. +Some of the apartments, especially the bath-room of the monarch, made the +visitors think of the Arabian Nights. + +The great black marble slab on which Akbar sat to administer justice was +pointed out. When one of the Jat chiefs seated himself upon it, the story +goes, it cracked, and blood flowed from the fracture. Lord Ellenborough +tried the experiment, and the stone broke into two pieces. The Mosque of +Pearls is a small building of white marble on a rose-colored platform. It +is considered by experts the finest piece of architecture in the fortress. +Nothing could be simpler, nothing grander. Bishop Heber visited it and +wrote this of it:-- + +"This spotless sanctuary, showing such a pure spirit of adoration, made me, +a Christian, feel humbled, when I considered that no architect of our +religion had ever been able to produce anything equal to this temple of +Allah." + +Following the Jumna, the carriages reached the Taj, the wonder and glory of +all India. It was built by the Emperor Shah Jehan, as a mausoleum for the +Empress Mumtazi Mahal. She was not only beautiful, but famous for mental +endowments; and the emperor had so much love and admiration for her that he +determined to erect to her memory the most beautiful monument that had ever +been constructed by any prince. It was begun in 1630, and twenty thousand +workmen were employed upon it for seventeen years. History says that one +hundred and forty thousand cartloads of pink sandstone and marble were +brought from the quarries of Rajputana; and every province of the empire +furnished precious stones to adorn it. Its cost was from ten to fifteen +millions of dollars. + +The golden crescent of the Taj is two hundred and seventy feet above the +level of the river. The magnificent temple is placed in the centre of a +garden nine hundred and sixty feet long by three hundred and thirty in +width, filled with avenues flanked with cypress-trees, and planted with +flowers, on a terrace of sandstone. In the centre of this garden is a +marble platform, two hundred and eighty-five feet on all sides, and fifteen +feet high, which may be called the pedestal of the mosque. The principal +entrance to the garden is more elaborate and beautiful than the fronts of +many noted mosques, for it is adorned with towers crowned with cupolas. + +Entering the enclosure, and walking along the avenue of cypress-trees, one +obtains his first view of the great dome of the Taj. It looks like about +three-fourths of a globe, capped with a slender spire. From this point, +through the trees, may be seen a forest of minarets, cupolas, towers, and +inferior domes. The mausoleum is in the form of an irregular octagon, the +longest side being one hundred and twenty feet in length. Each façade has a +lofty Saracenic arch, in which is an entrance. + +The interior surpasses the exterior in magnificence, the ceiling, walls, +and tombstones being a mass of mosaics. The resting-place of the empress +and Shah Jehan is in the centre of the edifice, enclosed by a marble +screen. Some experts who have examined the building thoroughly are unable +to find any architectural faults, though perhaps others would be more +successful. The party visited several other mosques and mausoleums; but +nothing could compare with the Taj. The commander suggested that they ought +to have visited it last, as the pie or pudding comes in after the fish or +meats at Von Blonk Park. + +The members of the party were unable to say enough in praise of the Taj, +and no one seems to be in danger of exaggerating its beauty and its +wonders. On their return to the hotel, they seated themselves in their +parlor, and talked till dinner-time about the mausoleum, for they had many +questions to ask of the viscount and the Hindu gentleman. + +"There seemed to be two other mosques back of the mausoleum," said Mrs. +Belgrave; "we did not visit them." + +"The Mohammedan traditions require that a mosque should be erected in +connection with every mortuary temple," replied Sir Modava. "Isa Mohammed, +a later emperor, built one at the western end of the terrace. It was a +beautiful building with three domes, in keeping with the Taj. But the +builder found that it gave a one-sided appearance to the view; and he +erected the one on the east end, to balance the other and restore the +proportions. Either of them is equal to the finest mosque in Cairo or +Constantinople." + +"That was an expensive method of making things regular," added the +commander. "Some one spoke in Delhi of a durbar in connection with Agra. I +think it was Mr. Meerza." + +General Noury laughed at this title; for it sounded funny to him, applied +to an Oriental, and the captain had forgotten the rest of the name. + +"Abbas-Meerza, we call him, without any 'mister,'" he added. + +"I will try to remember it," replied the commander. "But what is a durbar? +Is it something good to eat?" + +"They do not eat it here, and probably it would be indigestible if they +could do so," continued Sir Modava. "A durbar is a very important event in +India, but is not eatable. It is an occasion at which the native princes +acknowledge the sovereignty of the Queen of England. In 1866 the most noted +one took place at Agra, a full description of which would require a long +time. For the first time after the establishment of the Empire of India, +the governor-general, representing the empress, received the homage of +twenty-six sovereign princes. It was an act of submission. The ceremonies +occupied many days; and kings, maharajahs, rajahs, and other princes bowed +to the throne of the sovereign. It was a tremendous occasion; and it was a +festival honored by banquets, processions, and royal gatherings. I will get +a book for you, Captain Ringgold, when we reach Calcutta, from which you +may read a full account of the affair. It grew out of an ancient Indian +custom, and many of them on a small scale have occurred." + +The tourists spent another day at Agra, and, though they had not exhausted +the sights of the place, the commander decided that they could remain no +longer, and they left on the following day for Cawnpore. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW + + +Agra is on one of the great railroads from Bombay to Calcutta, though not +the most direct one; and it crosses the Jumna at this point, where a vast +bridge was in process of construction over its waters, which must now be +completed. It was but a five hours' journey to Cawnpore, and the party +arrived there in season for luncheon. + +"Cawnpore is on the right bank of the Ganges, six hundred and twenty-eight +miles from Calcutta," said Lord Tremlyn, when the party were seated in the +Conference-Hall carriage, and the train was moving away from Agra. "But, so +far as viewing the wonderful buildings of India, you will have a rest at +this place; though you need not suppose it is a city of no importance, for +it has 188,712 inhabitants, and has a large trade. Here you will obtain +your first view of the Ganges, varying in width from a third of a mile to a +mile. + +"The great river is one of the special objects of interest to the tourist +in coming from Bombay, for here he usually gets his first view of it. There +are important buildings here, including mosques and temples, but none to +compare with those you have already seen. The Indian Mutiny of 1857 +attracts many visitors to the place." + +"I don't think I care to see any more great buildings," interposed Mrs. +Belgrave. + +"There are none here to see; and we shall remain here only long enough to +see the sites connected with the mutiny." + +"I should like to hear the story of the mutiny over again," added the lady. + +"I was able to give only a very brief and imperfect account of the +rebellion, with so great a subject as India in general on my hands, on +board of your ship, and very likely there will be occasion to repeat some +portions of it as we point out the various spots connected with it," +replied Lord Tremlyn. + +The accommodations for the party were ready on their arrival, and even the +luncheon was on the table. Before they had disposed of it the landaus were +at the door. Three military officers were also in attendance, appointed to +render all the assistance to the company they needed. They were introduced +to the members of the party, and then they were driven to the fort." + +"At the time of the mutiny Cawnpore contained about one thousand English +people, one half of whom were women and children," said Captain Chesly, the +principal of the officers. "The troops were provided with ill-constructed +intrenchments for their defence. I am informed that his lordship has +already given you some details of the rebellion, but as I am not aware of +the extent to which he has given them I shall probably repeat some of +them." + +"The party will be glad to have them repeated," added Lord Tremlyn. "I told +them who and what Nana Sahib was." + +"His first act after taking the lead in the rebellion of the sepoys was to +murder one hundred and thirty-six of our people, who were deceived by the +sympathy he had formerly manifested for them, and easily fell into his +hands. Two hundred and fifty soldiers, with as many women and children, the +latter in the military hospital, had taken refuge in the fort. As soon as +he had completed his bloody work in the massacre, Nana Sahib besieged the +feeble garrison. They defended themselves with the utmost bravery and skill +against the vast horde of natives brought against them. + +"For three weeks they held out against the overwhelming force that was +thirsting for their blood. Their chief had anticipated no such resistance, +and he was impatient at the delay in finishing the butchery. He resorted to +an infamous stratagem, proposing to General Wheeler, who was in command of +the British troops, to grant him all the honors of war if he would +surrender, with boats and abundant provisions to enable him and all his +people to reach Allahabad. + +"The proposition was received with considerable distrust by the besieged; +but Nana swore before the general that he would faithfully observe all the +terms of the capitulation, and it was finally accepted. The garrison +marched out with their arms and baggage, and passed through the hordes of +the besiegers to the river. The wounded, with the women and children, were +sent to the Ganges on elephants. Now, if you take your seats in the +carriages, we will proceed to the scene of the massacre." + +The company were conveyed to a Hindu temple on the shore, where the suttee +had formerly been performed, and which was provided with a broad staircase +leading down to the water. The place had a funereal aspect, to which the +terrible tragedy lent an additional melancholy. + +"The treacherous commander of the rebels had provided about twenty boats of +all sizes, and supplied them with provisions, in order to complete the +deception," continued Captain Chesly when the party had alighted. "The +boats were cast loose to the current, and the hungry people rushed to the +eatables. But the flotilla was hardly clear of the shore before a battery +of guns, masked from their view, opened a most destructive fire upon them +with grape and solid shot, mostly the former. + +"The smaller boats sank, and others were set on fire. The cavalry of the +enemy waded into the river, and sabred those who attempted to escape by +swimming. In the largest boat was General Wheeler; and, by desperate +rowing, it succeeded in getting away from the slaughter. Unhappily it got +aground, and all on board of it were captured. + +"Nana ordered that not a man should be saved, and all were murdered in cold +blood. The various accounts differ considerably; but all the men were +killed but four, two captains and two privates, who escaped by swimming +down the river, and were protected by a rajah, who was afterwards pensioned +for this service." + +"After the massacre of all the men, there remained one hundred and +twenty-five women and children captured from the boats, who were confined +in the town-house of the detested Nana, where they were fed upon the +poorest food and subjected to many indignities. They were heroic women, and +preferred death to any other fate at the hands of their miscreant captors. +They were kept in confinement about three weeks, when it was whispered +among them that deliverance was at hand. Sir Henry Havelock was marching +from Allahabad to the relief of the garrison, and when he was within two +days' march Nana went out to meet him and give battle to him. He was +defeated and driven back to Cawnpore." + +"Smarting under this defeat, and stimulated to revenge for it, Nana at once +ordered the massacre of the helpless prisoners on his return. This order +was executed with all the atrocity incident to the character of the +savages, and the bodies of the victims were thrown into a well near their +prison. Now, if you please, we will drive to the memorials of this dreadful +butchery." + +A memorial church now indicates the site of General Wheeler's +intrenchments, which the party visited first. The scene of the massacre is +now a memorial garden, in charge of an old soldier, who was one of the four +who escaped. The place of the well into which the bodies of the women and +children were thrown is marked by a beautiful marble statue of an angel +standing by a lofty cross. It is surrounded by a Gothic fence, with lofty +towers in the same style. The party looked upon these mementoes of the +terrible events with mournful interest, and had hardly recovered their +usual cheerfulness when they reached the hotel. The guides were invited to +dine with them, and the evening was more cheerful than the afternoon had +been. + +Part of the forenoon of the next day was given to a ride along the Ganges, +which was crowded with boats of all kinds, from the boat with a cabin +covered with a thatched roof to steamboats of considerable size. They found +an abundance of temples on the shores of the sacred stream, and a beautiful +_ghat_ or staircase to the water, which excited their admiration. + +"We are now going to Lucknow this afternoon; but it is only forty-five +miles," said Sir Modava. "If you prefer to do so, we can return to +Cawnpore, and go down the river on one of those fine steamers to Calcutta, +a thousand miles from here by the river." + +"Or you could go to Benares, our next stopping-place on the river," +suggested the viscount. + +But it would take too much time, and Captain Ringgold objected; for he had +already marked Allahabad out of the route. Early in the afternoon the +tourists were again seated in the conference carriage. The station at +Cawnpore excited their attention, for it is five hundred and sixty feet +long. A bridge of boats sixteen hundred yards in length was an affair not +seen in their own country. + +"We are now in the province of Oude, a word of various orthography," said +Lord Tremlyn, after they lost sight of the city from which they started. + +"Oude!" exclaimed Miss Blanche. "Where did I see that name?" + +"In Paris," replied Louis. "We saw the tomb of the Queen of Oude in +Père-la-Chaise." + +"I will tell you about her presently," continued Lord Tremlyn. "There was a +great deal of corruption in the government of the kingdom under the native +king. The people were robbed of vast sums in the guise of taxes, the police +was miserably inefficient, and it was not a safe region for the traveller. +The East India Company drew up a treaty with the king, transferring to the +corporation the government, but providing liberally for the ruler and his +family." + +"The king refused to sign this treaty; the East India Company had been +superseded, and the governor-general deposed the king. No compromise could +be effected, though many believed the king had been unjustly treated. He +removed to Calcutta; but his queen, with her son and brother, went to +England, and endeavored to obtain redress for the real or supposed wrongs +of the family, but without success. The queen then went to Paris, and died +there in 1858. + +"The people of Oude never submitted to the new government; and in the +Mutiny of 1857, not only the sepoys but the people rebelled. The +insurrectionists concentrated at Lucknow, the capital, and captured some of +the forts, as has been related to you. This city has now a population of +two hundred and seventy-three thousand, which makes it the fifth city in +size in India. It is regarded as a very attractive place. The streets are +wide, and the buildings are well-constructed, with the wooden balconies you +see all over India, and the shops and bazaars may entice the ladies to make +purchases. It has a fine park. + +"The kings of Oude were ambitious to outshine the glories of Delhi, and, to +a considerable extent, they succeeded; but the architecture is fantastic +rather than grand and beautiful, and experts are inclined to laugh at it. +But our friend Professor Giroud has something to say, and I subside to make +room for him. + +"I wish to tell the story of a Frenchman, which I think will interest the +party," said the professor. "Claude Martine was a Breton soldier who went +with his regiment to Pondicherry, the principal French settlement in India, +which has been tossed back and forth between the English, Dutch, and French +like a shuttlecock, but has been in possession of my country since 1816. He +attained the grade of corporal; but this elevated rank did not satisfy him, +and he left for the interior. + +"Finally, after a thousand adventures, which he never wrote out, he arrived +at the court of Oude, where, by some means, he obtained a captaincy in the +royal army, and, what was better, the favor of the king. In 1780 he was +commander-in-chief of the native army. But his enterprise did not end here; +for he was the king's trusted favorite, and of course he became a +millionaire, even though there were no railroad shares in being at that +period. + +"He brought with him some crude notions of architecture, and he set about +reforming that of India. He was not a success in this capacity; and, as my +lord says, his work is ridiculed by men of taste. But this appears to have +been his only sin; for he used the money he had accumulated in establishing +schools, now known under the name of La Martinière, in which thousands of +children are educated. As a Frenchman I do not feel at all ashamed of +Claude Martine." + +"You need not, Professor," added the viscount. "But here we are at the +Lucknow station." + +As usual, by the kindness of Lord Tremlyn, everything had been provided for +the arrival of the company of tourists. There were carriages and servants, +and officers as guides, in attendance. Captain Ringgold was very economical +of his time; and, as it was still early in the afternoon, he proposed that +the party should visit some of the objects of interest before dinner. The +baggage was sent to the hotel, and the carriage proceeded to the Residency, +which had been occupied by the official of the British government when the +province was under the native ruler. It was in ruins, for it was so left as +a memorial of the events of the past. + +The city was attacked by the rebels; and the little garrison, with the +English people of the town, took refuge in this building. It was a +three-story brick house, not at all fit to be used as a fort. The +cannon-shot of the besiegers wrecked the building, and many of its +defenders, including Sir Henry Lawrence, the commander, perished in the +fight. + +The visitors looked over the house and its surroundings, and then went to +the hotel. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + MORE OF LUCKNOW AND SOMETHING OF BENARES + + +"I suppose you recall the events of the Mutiny well enough to understand +the situation here in 1857," said Lord Tremlyn the next morning when the +company had gathered in the parlor of the hotel. "But there was no massacre +here, as in Cawnpore, to impress the facts upon your memory, though many +brave men lost their lives in the defence of the place. There were only +seven hundred and fifty troops in the town; but Sir Henry Lawrence had done +the best he could to fortify the Residency, ill adapted as it was for +defensive works. + +"An attempt was made to check the advance of the rebels eight miles from +the city; but it was a failure, with the small available force, and two +days later the enemy attacked the British at the Residency. Three times +the brave defenders beat back the assaults of the assailants. These events +on the spot you have visited occurred between the last of May and the first +of July. It was not till the twenty-second of September that Havelock and +Outram arrived, and captured the Alum-Bagh, which we shall visit this +morning. It was a terrible summer that the beleaguered people and their +brave handful of soldiers passed; and Tennyson has commemorated Lucknow in +his immortal verse. + +"But the coming of Havelock was not the end; for the rebels besieged the +place again, and it was near the middle of November before Sir Colin +Campbell arrived, with a considerable force. He captured the Alum-Bagh, +and, leaving in it a force of three thousand five hundred men, he escorted +the women and children and the civilians to Cawnpore; but returned in March +to subdue the rebels. For a week he fought them, drove them from the +intrenchments in which they had fortified themselves, and the mutiny was +ended, as I related to you on board of your ship." + +The carriages were at the door as soon as the party had breakfasted. They +were driven to the cemetery, where they saw the grave of Lawrence, whose +memorial is that "He tried to do his duty." In the Alum-Bagh, which means +the Queen's Garden, was the grave of Havelock. It was here that Outram had +his camp and fortifications for the defence of Lucknow during the absence +of Campbell. + +The Kaiser Bagh, or Cæsar's Garden, contains some of the principal sights +of the city, which the viscount pointed out and described. It is a forest +of domes and cupolas; and the company halted at the pavilion of Lanka, +which a French writer called the least ridiculous of the structures in the +enclosure, though the professor insisted that it was quite as bad as the +worst. It had an abundance of cupolas with arabesque domes; but the edifice +looked like a shell, for the veranda, with lofty columns supporting the +roof, appeared to take up the greater portion of the enclosed space. + +The most grotesque feature was at the entrance. A flight of broad stairs +led to the principal floor, over which was extended what looked like an +imitation of the Rialto bridge in Venice, with a small temple under the +middle arch and at the head of the stairs. The top of the bridge was on a +level with the flat roof, and the two side-arches started from the ground. +The building was handsome in some of its details; but the professor said it +was an "abomination," and Dr. Hawkes called it "queer." The various +edifices are now occupied by the civil and military officials. + +"Where does the name of this place come from?" asked Captain Ringgold. +"Kaiser Bagh seems to be half German." + +"But it is not German," replied Lord Tremlyn. "These buildings were mostly +erected no farther back than 1850, by Wajid Ali Shah, the King of Oude, who +was deposed by the British government in 1856. He called himself Cæsar, and +Kaiser is simply a corruption of that name, with no German allusion in it. +He was the husband of the Queen of Oude, whose burial-place you saw in +Père-la-Chaise." + +The next visit was to the palace of Claude Martine, a conglomeration of all +the styles of architecture ever known, and some that were never heard of. +At first view it looks like a small palace set on the top of a large one. +It is certainly very original and very elaborate. Going to the citadel, +they entered by a highly ornamental gateway, which opened to the visitors +the view of the vast pile of buildings, in the middle of which is the +Imambara. The vastness of the pile presented before them was bewildering, +though they had seen so many immense structures that mere size did not now +overwhelm them. The Great Imambara is considered the marvel of Lucknow, and +should not be confounded with another in the citadel bearing the same +general name. To walk around or through this enormous building was simply +impossible, and the party contented themselves with a general view from +different points. It is located on a lofty terrace; and its long line of +walls, crowned with Arabic domes, is very imposing. + +"This palace was erected at the close of the last century, by Nawab, with +half a yard of other names to fetch up its rear," said Major Shandon, the +military officer who was doing the honors of the city, with a pleasant +smile. "Like many others of the Indian monarchs, he desired to immortalize +his name by erecting a monument in his own honor; and he offered a prize +for the competition of all the architects of India, for one that would +surpass all others. We think he produced a plan that was worth the money he +received; though we don't think he surpassed the Taj, or some other +buildings that might be mentioned." + +This immense structure is now a vast arsenal. The other building, which +sometimes robs this one of its honors, is called the Hoosseinabad Imambara; +and perhaps the length of the added name may account, to some extent, for +the robbery. It is in the citadel, and in sight of its namesake; but the +mausoleum, for it is the tomb of Ali Shah, who died in 1841, stands alone; +and it does not fatigue the eyes to look at it. It is a light, ethereal +sort of structure, and looks like lacework. It is surmounted by a beautiful +dome, and the roof bristles with the points of turrets and towers. It +contains, besides the tomb of the monarch, a mosque, a bazaar, and a model +of the Taj, which make up a sufficient variety for an edifice erected for a +tomb. + +This temple completed the list marked out for inspection in Lucknow. The +party had not supposed there was much of anything here to be seen except +the memorials of the Mutiny; and for these alone they would not have missed +seeing the historic locality. The rest of the day was devoted to rides +through the streets and suburbs of the city. The avenues were wide, the +houses neat and commodious, and the gardens laid out with English taste. +The evidences of British thrift were to be seen in many portions of the +place. + +Lochner's Hotel was their abiding-place, and Major Shandon regaled the +party at dinner and in the evening with stories of the place, and proved +himself to be a gentleman of "infinite humor." The next morning the company +took the train for Benares. They were a very sociable party, and preferred +the conference carriage to being confined to the smaller compartments. The +route was along the Boomtee River at first, which, some one has said, is +the crookedest stream in the world, and the scenery was worth looking at. +But as soon as the ladies and gentlemen had satisfied themselves with +looking out the windows the commander presented Sir Modava as the "talkist" +for the trip of six hours, or as much of the time as he chose to occupy. + +"I shall not take more than half an hour for what I have to say, my +much-loved friends," the Hindu gentleman began, "though I know you are very +patient and long-suffering; and I assure you that I shall not take offence +if you look out the windows while I am talking. The Boomtee River is as +pretty as it is sinuous. If you write to your friends in the United States +about it, you can spell the last syllable t-i, if you prefer; for Indian +orthography is not yet controlled by statute, as I hope it will be when we +have established an _Académie Indienne_, such as they have in France. +But Benares is my subject, and not spelling. + +"Where is Benares? It is four hundred and twenty miles by rail from +Calcutta, and is on the left bank of the Ganges. I suppose you know which +side that is." + +"Of course we do," laughed Mrs. Belgrave. "It is on the left-hand side." + +"You have put your foot in it, mother," rallied Louis. + +"Into the Ganges?" queried the lady. "I did at Cawnpore, but not here." + +"Suppose you were coming up the river in a steamer from Calcutta, which +would be the left bank?" asked Louis. + +"On my left, of course." + +"Then Sir Modava will have to oblige you by locating Benares on both sides +of the Ganges, and I don't believe it would be convenient for him to do +that," said Louis, laughing at the expense of his mother, who blushed, +though she did not see what was wrong, when she realized that she had made +a blunder of some kind. + +"Better not have said anything," whispered Mrs. Blossom in retaliation; for +hitherto she had had a monopoly of all the blunders." + +"Will you tell me, Sarah, which is the left bank of a river, for it appears +that I don't know," added the lady out loud. + +"The left bank of the Ganges is the one Benares is on," replied the worthy +woman; and she was greeted with a roar of laughter, and a volley of +applause started by the live boys who were making their way across India. + +"Quite right, madam!" exclaimed Sir Modava, applauding with the others. "It +may be a matter of no particular consequence; but you will excuse me for +saying that the left bank is the one on your left as you go down the +stream, and not at all as you go up." + +"I remember now, for I learned that in my geography when I first went to +school; and it is strange that I should have forgotten it," added Mrs. +Belgrave. + +"We know just where Benares is now," Sir Modava proceeded. "It is the +largest city in this part of India with the exception of Lucknow, to which +it stands next, or sixth among those of the country, having a population of +219,467. It extends along the Ganges for three miles; and the shore is +lined continuously with staircases, called _ghats_, which lead up to +the temples, palaces, and the vast number of houses on the banks of the +river. The stream sweeps around the place like a crescent, presenting one +of the finest views you ever saw, with the ornamented fronts of dwellings, +public offices, and a forest of towers, pinnacles, and turrets. To the +Hindus it is the most sacred city known to them. + +"When I was a boy I came here for the first time, brought by my father on +account of the religious character of the place, if I may call anything +idolatrous by such a name. But the city, when you get into it, will +disappoint you. It is like Constantinople, very beautiful to look at from +the Bosporus, or the Golden Horn; but its dirty, narrow streets disgust +you. I am afraid this will be your experience in Benares. You will be +obliged to forego the luxury of carriages in making your tours through the +place, for the streets are so narrow and crowded that it is impossible to +get along with a vehicle. An elephant is equally impracticable, and even in +a palanquin your progress would be so slow that you would lose all your +stock of patience." + +"The city must be 'done' by walking, must it?" asked the commander. + +"Whew!" whistled Dr. Hawkes; and the sibilation was repeated by Uncle +Moses, for each of them weighed over two hundred and a quarter. + +"If the ship were here I would lend you the barge with eight rowers, to +enable you to see the sights from the river," suggested Captain Ringgold. + +"A steam-launch shall be provided for all the company, and our obese +friends shall be provided with stuffed chairs, for the survey of the river +scenes; but carriages can be used in some parts of the city, though what +you will desire to see can best be observed from the river; and we can land +when you wish to see interiors," added Lord Tremlyn. + +This interruption was heartily applauded by the Cupids, as the fat +gentlemen had been called in Cairo, assisted by all the others. + +"The famous Monkey Temple is just out of the city, and that can be reached +by carriages," continued Sir Modava. "There are fourteen hundred and fifty +Hindu temples, pagodas, and shrines, and two hundred and seventy-two +Mohammedan mosques, so that our good friend, General Noury, need not +neglect his devotions." + +"The good Mussulman never does that, whether there be a mosque at hand or +not, for he says his prayers at the proper time, wherever he may be," +replied the general. + +"I know that some of your people are better Christians than some who bear +the name," replied the Hindu gentleman politely. "Benares is so holy, and +the Ganges is so holy, that hundreds of thousands visit it as the +Mussulmans visit Mecca. Men of wealth, and those who have the means without +being rich, come to this city when they feel that they have been seized +with a malady likely to prove fatal; for to die here with the Hindu is a +passport to eternal happiness. But I am talking too long, though there is +much more that might be said; but perhaps it could be better said on board +of that launch my friend mentions, and in sight of the temples, towers, and +other objects of interest." + +In the middle of the afternoon the train arrived at its destination; and +the party proceeded in carriages to the western suburb, the location of the +cantonment, or English quarter of the city. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII + + A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES + + +Clarke's Hotel, at Secrole, received the tourists, and everything was in +readiness for them when they arrived. Lord Tremlyn had announced the coming +of himself and his large party, and a person of his distinction and +influence could command anything he desired. The rest of the day was given +to rest, though in the evening Sir Modava talked to the tourists about the +city. + +Early the next morning the party were conveyed to the river, where they +embarked in a steam-yacht which had been provided for their use. It was +more than a launch; for its standing-room would seat the whole company, +while an awning was spread over a portion of the upper deck, from which a +full view of the shore could be obtained. The city is on the north shore of +the river, which has an easterly course in this portion of India, and the +houses are packed in about as thickly as they can be. + +"This is the Dasasvamedh Ghat," said Sir Modava, with a smile. "I thought +you might wish to recall it after you get home to America. I think it is +rather pleasant to know the names of places one has visited." + +"We could not speak the word now without an hour's practice, and I am sure +not one of us will know it when we get to the other side of the Atlantic," +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"You can write it down in your diaries." + +"We might as well attempt to copy the top of a tea-chest," added Louis. + +The ladies were assisted on board of the steamer. +The captain was a very gentlemanly Englishman; and he was all devotion to +the wants of his passengers, who seated themselves on the promenade deck. +The steamer belonged to the government; and she was fitted up in the most +comfortable manner, though it was not so gaudy as the craft of a maharajah +would have been. The ghat was at the western extremity of the crescent to +which Sir Modava had alluded, and from this point the town looked like an +amphitheatre. + +The river is ordinarily about half a mile wide, but in the season of high +water it is double that width. The captain called the attention of the +party to the ghat as they receded from it, the broad flight of stairs being +a rather wonderful sight to the strangers, though they had seen something +of the kind before in Delhi and Cawnpore. + +The steps are adorned with small temples with plenty of spires. Near the +top of the flight was the Man Munder, the great observatory. Though the +building is plain, as a whole, Captain Carlisle pointed out a highly +ornamental window, with a profusion of handsome brackets. The stairs on the +city side of the river were unlimited as far as the eye could see. Behind +them was a forest of spires, domes, and cupolas. + +"You ought to have left the ghat before sunrise," said the captain, who was +walking up and down the deck, with an eye on the Hindu pilot. "Then you +would have been in time to see the sight of the day, for the appearance of +the sun is the holy moment for the natives to plunge into the holy river. +For miles along the shore the ghats are thronged at the first appearance of +the orb of day, and there is a continuous murmur of voices. No matter how +cold the water is, they dive in and swim like fishes. You can see a +thousand heads in the water along the shore at any moment. Then they +support themselves on the surface, and gaze motionless at the sun as it +mounts in the sky." + +"Are you a sailor, Captain Carlisle?" asked Louis, who thought he was +rather poetic for an uneducated man. + +"Not as the commander of your ship would understand it, though I was in +command of a Thames steamer, and fell into the same business when I came to +India," replied the captain, laughing at the question. "My father was a +good Baptist; he wanted to make a minister of me, and I was educated far +enough to enter the university; but I concluded that I did not like the +business, and took to steamboating." + +"But aren't the women as religious as the men?" inquired Captain Ringgold. + +"More so, if anything. But they come down to the river before sunrise and +take their swim. If you had been here this morning you would have seen them +coming out of the water just as the men are ready to go in, and you would +have observed them in their white garments, dripping like drowned rats. +That pagoda you see ahead of us with the bell tower and shining in gilt is +the only temple the Buddhists have in Benares." + +"We are coming now to the Munikurnika Ghat. It is a five-syllable word, but +you can easily pronounce it," said Sir Modava, who thought he would "spell" +the captain for a time; and he was quite as familiar with the banks of the +Ganges. + +"And it is quite musical," added the captain. + +"Pronounce u like double o, and the rest of the letters as in English, and +you can speak it without choking," said the Hindu gentleman. "But there are +some letters in Hindu that have no equivalents in English." + +"Moo-ui-koor-ni-ka Ghat," added Louis, pronouncing the word. "But what is +it all about?" + +"It is the place for burning the dead, such as you saw in Bombay, but on a +much larger scale," replied Sir Modava. "You see that it extends a +considerable distance. Please keep to the leeward of the smoke, Captain +Carlisle." + +"That is what I am doing, Sir Modava." + +"These funeral pyres are burning all the time, night and day. The people +whose bodies are consumed in these fires, and their friends, believe that +the souls of the deceased will pass from this spot into paradise, where, if +they have not been very great sinners they will be transplanted into the +bodies of future Brahmins. Many deceased persons are brought even hundreds +of miles to be burned on the Munikurnika by the Ganges, as their sure +passport to the realms of bliss." + +The obliging captain took the steamer near enough to the ghat to enable the +tourists to see the process of burning. An occasional puff of the horribly +offensive odor came to the nostrils of the sightseers; but the captain +sheered off, and they got very little of it. + +"It smells just like assafoedita. It is awful-smelling stuff; and I wonder +if they don't make it out of this smoke, for it hits my nose in just the +same way," said Mrs. Blossom. "I took care of old Jotham Beeling when he +had the apoplexy, and gave the stuff to him. The room smelt then just the +same as it does here." + +"You are quite right, madam," said Dr. Hawkes, laughing. "It gets part of +its name from its bad odor; but it is not made out of smoke. Asa is the gum +of a tree that grows here. It has a very offensive odor, which gives it the +rest of the name, from _foeditas_, meaning foul, filthy." + +The workmen who were operating the burning were nearly naked, begrimed by +the sooty smoke, and looked like so many imps. They were stirring up the +fires with long iron pokers, and throwing vessels of oil upon them. The +boat passed beyond the fumes of the pyres, and came up to the ghat, at the +request of Lord Tremlyn. A multitude of hideous-looking cripples, +humpbacks, and beggars made an onslaught on the steamer; and the boys and +gentlemen pelted them with coppers, with which they had been forewarned to +supply themselves. It was fun to them, and the mendicants enjoyed it quite +as much. + +"There is a procession of pilgrims just arrived," said Captain Carlisle, +pointing to the high ground beyond the ghat. "They are coming here all the +time. The Hindus under the umbrellas are Brahmins, who collect the fees for +bathing from the steps; and they sell certificates of purification, +indulgences, and amulets." + +The boat continued on her course, and they did not wait to see the bathing, +though the heads of the swimmers were soon in view. A staircase is reserved +for women, who are watched over by the elders of their sex. But they could +be seen in the distance, frolicking in the water; and they were so +hilarious that their shouts could be heard on board of the Sylph, as the +boat was called. + +The steamer next came to a long row of palaces on the high ground, whose +fronts were profusely ornamented with staircases that exceeded in extent +and beauty anything they had before seen. Every rajah has a residence here, +not permanent, but where he comes to celebrate the religious festivals. The +king of Nagpore has the finest one, with one hundred stairs of white +sandstone reaching down to the water. + +"Now we come to a building worth looking at," said Sir Modava, as they +passed beyond the assemblage of palaces. "This is the mosque of Aurungzeb. +Those two lofty minarets are one hundred and forty-seven feet high. They +are very slender, and look like a couple of needles; but, though they are +only eight and a quarter feet in diameter on the ground, they have spiral +staircases reaching to the top. If you wish to land and go to the cupola +you can do so." + +"I pray thee have me excused," interposed Uncle Moses; and Dr. Hawkes said +"Me too!" And no one cared to ascend to such a height. + +"This mosque was built by the Emperor Aurungzeb, on the site of a Hindu +temple of Siva, which he caused to be pulled down, to the scandal of the +worshippers of that deity, for it marked the spot where Vishnu himself +first appeared to man. A flight of one hundred stairs leads to the mosque, +which the Hindus formerly ascended on their knees when they went to the +worship of Vishnu. But we have gone as far in this direction as we need +go." + +The Sylph came about, and went back up the river, landing above the funeral +pyres. From the ghat, they walked into one of the crowded streets. They +were conducted by Sir Modava to a square, which was thronged with natives. +In the middle of it was a small round temple, the spire of which was +overlaid with plates of gold. At the present day this is the holy of holies +of the Hindus. Its principal object of adoration is a plain stone post, +which is believed to form a part of the very body of the deity, Siva in +this instance. + +The narrow streets, through which the party made their way with difficulty +were very clean. They were thronged with pilgrims from all parts of India, +dressed in their best garments, loaded with gold and silver ornaments. The +men were carrying great brass trays, piled up with flowers, as offerings +for the various deities. The little stalls, which were the stores, made the +thoroughfares look like bazaars. They passed no end of temples; and all of +them were small, though they were very pretty, what there were of them. + +Emerging from these narrow streets, the company came to a section where the +avenues were broad, with handsome houses built upon them. This portion was +practicable for carriages, and half a dozen _culèches_ were drummed +together after some delay; and the ladies were glad to be seated again, for +they had had a long and tiresome walk through the narrow and crowded +streets. Sir Modava directed the drivers, and when he said Dourga Khound no +one knew what he was to see next. The word means the Fountain of Dourga; +and when they came to it they agreed that it was one of the most beautiful +buildings in Benares, though it was painted all over with red, which made +it look rather fantastic. + +Sir Modava said nothing about the use of the building, and led the way into +the enclosure. The moment they entered the grounds they realized that the +Hindu gentleman had worked a surprise upon them; for the yard was filled +with monkeys, and the walls were covered with them. The chattering +creatures immediately surrounded them, holding out their paws for +something. Sir Modava gave the most dignified one a rupee, and Lord Tremlyn +made a similar gift to another. + +"They can't eat silver," suggested Morris. + +"The money is for the Brahmin who has charge here. You see they have gone +to give it to him," replied Sir Modava, as he opened a large paper package +he had bought at a store, and proceeded to distribute its contents, +consisting of nuts and parched corn, to the members of the monkey +community. + +For half an hour they fed the animals, which were very tame, and made +friends with them. The live boys were more pleased with this occupation +than in looking at temples and mosques. They all visited the sanctuary of +the temple, which was said to date back a thousand years. The party greatly +enjoyed the ride back to Secrole, which is the English town of Benares. +After dinner Sir Modava told them about the Feast of Ganesa. + +"He is one of the most popular deities of India," said the Hindu gentleman. +"He is the embodiment of wisdom, prudence, and commerce; his presence wards +off all perils. You will find him over the door of places of business; and +contracts open with an invocation to Ganesa, sometimes given by a picture +of the god. He was the son of Siva and Parvati. His picture is that of a +short, fat man, with four arms and an elephant's head. + +"Though he was Siva's son, the father was jealous of him, and struck off +his head. Siva was sorry for what he had done, and wanted to bring Ganesa +back to life; but his head was gone." + +"Couldn't he put a head on him?" asked Scott very seriously; and the other +boys laughed. + +"That was just what he did," replied Sir Modava, wondering what the boys +and some of the others were laughing at. "Siva selected a young elephant, +cut off his head, and affixed it to his son's shoulders; and that is how he +happens to have such a head. This head sometimes takes the place of the +whole figure on contracts. His festival is celebrated the last of April, +with the greatest magnificence. Effigies of the god are made of +terra-cotta, painted and gilded, and borne by processions through the +streets. Priests and musicians surround the idol; and young girls, widowed +before they are wives, dancing and waving their scarfs in solemn cadence, +lead the way. + +"When the processions reach the river, they embark in fairy-like boats +propelled by sails or oars, forming a grand aquatic spectacle. At sunset +the idols are thrown into the river, and the festival terminates with a +grand frolic on shore, with fireworks, in which many Europeans take part; +and the river is thronged with boats decorated with many-colored lanterns." + +The party spent two days more at Benares, and visited temples, mosques, and +many places of interest. They were visited by British civil and military +officers, who were extremely kind to them, and offered them every facility +for seeing the city. After dinner on the last day, Captain Ringgold asked +Lord Tremlyn to tell them something about Patna; and he evidently did so +with a purpose. + +"Patna is the fifteenth city in India in population, one hundred and forty +miles from Benares," replied the viscount. "It extends nine miles along the +Ganges, and an average of two back from it. The streets are narrow and +crooked. The houses are mostly of mean appearance, and there are but very +few buildings there of any importance. You laid out your list of cities to +be visited yourself, Captain, and generally very judiciously; but if I had +made it out I should have omitted Patna. It has a population of about one +hundred and sixty-five thousand." + +"I asked the question with a view to omit it from the list if there are no +sights of importance, and, after what you have said, I shall do so; and +tomorrow we will take the train for Calcutta," added the captain. + +This decision pleased the party, and at six the next morning the special +started with them for the greatest city of India. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV + + ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA + + +"I shall be glad to be on board of the Guardian-Mother again," said Scott, +after the four live boys had taken a place by themselves in the conference +carriage. "I have seen enough of India." + +"But you have not seen one-half of India," replied Louis. + +"I read a story in an old schoolbook Uncle Moses had used when he didn't +weigh as much as I do now, which was called 'The Half is Better than the +Whole;' and it proved the proposition with which it started out. That is +just what is the matter now." + +"But you have been seeing new things all the time, and learning something," +added Louis. + +"That's very true; but we have seen all the big mosques and things, and +enough is as good as a feast," suggested Scott. "I suppose if we stayed +here a couple of years more we should not see the whole of the country. We +have got a specimen brick of the principal cities; and a dozen specimens of +the same thing don't amount to much." + +"But you haven't seen Calcutta yet, and that is the biggest toad in the +puddle," said Felix. "The ship will be there, and if you are homesick you +can go on board of her." + +But the call for attention from Captain Ringgold interrupted the +conversation, and Sir Modava had seated himself in front of the company to +give one of his "talks." + +"Our route will be along the Ganges till we come to Luckieserai Junction, +where the loop-line falls into the main line," the Hindu gentleman began. + +"Is it much of a fall, sir?" asked Felix. + +"I don't understand you, Mr. McGavonty," replied the speaker blankly. + +"The expression 'falls into the main line' is somewhat different from what +we use at home; but the young man ought to have understood you," interposed +the commander. + +"What would you have said, Captain?" + +"The loop-line we call a branch, and we say connects with instead of falls +into," replied the captain. "But your meaning was plain enough, and our +boys must fall into the methods of expression used here." + +"Though you have seen the Ganges several times, not much has been said +about it; and I will tell you a little more concerning it before we leave, +not to see it again. It rises in Gahrwal, one of the Hill states, +north-east of Delhi. It has its source in an ice-cave nearly fourteen +thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is not called the Ganges till +it has received the flow of two other rivers, a hundred and fifty miles or +more from its lofty source. Just below Allahabad it takes in the Jumna, +itself a mighty stream. + +"As you have learned, it is the holy river of the Hindus; and it deserves +their homage, for, aside from the religious character they give to it, +three hundred thousand square miles are drained and fertilized by the +Ganges and its tributaries. Of its sanctity, that it washes away sin, and +that death in its waters or on its shores is the passport to eternal bliss, +you have learned. But it renders a more immediate and practical service to +the people; for it is navigable for small craft from the point where it +enters the lowlands, seventy or eighty miles north of Delhi. + +"The river is 1,509 miles long. Though it rises and falls at different +seasons, it never fails, even in the hottest summer; and its inundations +render, to some extent, the benefit which the Nile does to the soil of +Egypt. Like the Mississippi, in your country, it has sometimes changed its +course, as proved by the ruins of cities that were once on its banks. + +"Now you have a view of the Ganges for quite a distance, and can see the +kinds of boats that navigate it. It is one of the most frequented waterways +in the world, though the building of railways and canals has somewhat +diminished the amount of freight borne on its tide. About £6,000,000 is +needed to complete the Ganges canal, which will reach all the cities +through which you have passed. There is a very complicated mythology +connected with the river, which it would take me all day to relate, and +therefore I will not meddle with it." + +For a couple of hours the passengers watched the boats and steamers on the +river, and the scenes on the other side. While they were thus employed, +Lord Tremlyn gave to each person a map of Calcutta, intimating that he +should soon tell them something about the city; and they all began to study +it, so as to form some idea of the place they were next to visit. Of course +they could make out but little from the vast maze of streets, but some of +them obtained a very good idea of the situation of the city and many of its +important buildings. + +"People coming from England or America generally arrive at Calcutta or +Bombay, the larger portion at the former. From the sea the metropolis of +India is reached by the Hoogly River, the most western outlet of the +Ganges," his lordship began. "It is sometimes spelled Hugli. Under this +name, the stream is known sixty-four miles above Calcutta and seventeen +below. Vessels drawing twenty-six feet of water come up to the city; though +the stream, like the Mississippi, is liable to be silted up." + +"I see that some of you look at me as though I had used a strange word. +Silt is the deposit of mud, sand, or earth of any kind carried up and down +streams by the tide or other current. But the river engineers here are +constantly removing it; the course is kept open, and the Hoogly pilots are +very skilful. The river has also a bore, though not a great bore, like some +people I know. + +"We know the book-agent better than this one," said Scott. + +"Some of our rivers in England have bores, though not book-agents; so have +the Seine, the Amazon, and others with broad estuaries. High tides drive a +vast body of water into the wide mouth; and, as the stream is not large +enough to take it in, it piles it up into a ridge, which rolls up the +river. It forms a wall of water in the Hoogly seven feet high, which is +sometimes dangerous to small craft. Enough of the Hoogly. + +"Calcutta, by the last census, 1891, had a population of 861,764; but it is +not so large as New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago; and London is the only +larger city in the United Kingdom. It became a town in 1686. After it had +attained considerable importance, in 1756, it was attacked by the Nawab of +Bengal, the king or rajah; and after a siege of two days the place yielded. +The tragedy of the 'Black Hole' followed." + +"I have heard of that, but I don't know what it means," said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"You observe the large open enclosure at the right of your map of the city, +the esplanade. Within it is Fort William, which has existed nearly two +hundred years. It had a military prison, which has since been called the +'Black Hole.' The nawab caused one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all he +had taken, to be shut up in a room only eighteen feet square, with only two +small windows, both of them obstructed by a veranda. This was but a little +more than two square feet on the floor for each person, so that they could +not stand up without crowding each other. They spent the night there, +pressing together, the heat terrible, enduring the pangs of suffocation. In +the morning all were dead but twenty-three. + +"The nawab held the fort for seven months, when it was recaptured by Lord +Clive. Calcutta extends about five miles on the bank of the river, being +about two in breadth. I shall not follow out its history, for you will hear +enough of that as you visit the various localities." + +"I used to think Calicut and Calcutta were the same city," said Louis. + +"Not at all, though the names of the two may have been derived from the +same source. The name of the great city is from Kali, a Hindu goddess of +whom you heard in Bombay, and cuttah, a temple; and doubtless there was +such a building here. Calicut is on the south-west coast of India, and was +a very rich and populous city when it was visited by Vasco da Gama, who was +the first to double the Cape of Good Hope, in 1498. The cotton cloth, +calico, generally called print, gets its name from this city." + +Dinner was brought into the carriages; and the tourists slept in the +afternoon, arriving at Calcutta in the evening. The Great Eastern, one of +the two largest hotels in the city, was prepared to receive them. Here, as +in Bombay and elsewhere, every guest is attended by his own servant. Half a +dozen of them had been retained, but when the omnibuses set them down at +the hotel a hundred more could have been readily procured. + +The business of sight-seeing began early the next morning with a visit to +the esplanade, which may be called a park, though it contains a variety of +buildings besides Fort William, which is half a mile in diameter. The +enclosure is a mile and three-quarters in length by about one mile in depth +from the river. The Government House occupies a position next to it, and +they passed it as they entered. + +"Whose statue is that--the Duke of Wellington?" asked Louis, as he walked +on one side of Sir Modava, with his mother on the other side. + +"Not at all; most of our streets and buildings are named after persons +noted in the history of India," replied the Indian gentleman, laughing. +"That is the statue of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, the first +governor-general of India; and many important events dated from his time, +for he suppressed the suttee and thugging." + +"Thugging?" repeated the lady interrogatively. + +"You have not been told about it; but I will give you its history when we +have time, for here are the Eden Gardens," replied Sir Modava. + +"Not the Garden of Eden?" suggested Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Only named for it; but it is a very beautiful garden in English style, +though the trees and plants are, of course, different. It has water enough +for variety; and there is no difficulty at all in getting it, for the city +is hardly above the river at high tide. All there is of the fort you can +see from here." + +"But what are those things over the other side of the park?" + +"They are all tanks; and, of course, they are to hold water. Each of them +has its name, generally Indian. Now we will walk across to the Chowringhee +Road, where the finest private residences of the city are situated. On our +left is the Government House, which we passed when we came in. It is a fine +building, and it has a large garden of its own." + +"But what is it for?" asked the lady. + +"It is the residence of the governor-general, generally called the viceroy; +and he has his offices there. Now, if you look beyond Fort William, you +will see the race-course." + +"I don't care for that," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose memories of the sport +were anything but pleasant. + +"Near it is the presidency jail, and there are two hospitals farther +along." + +The party walked along the road to view the residences of the nabobs, and +returned to the hotel, where they seated themselves on the large veranda +overlooking the street. The first thing Louis did was to look at a +thermometer he discovered on a post. + +"How hot is it, Louis?" asked his mother. + +"It isn't hot at all; it is only 70°." + +"The glass varies here from 52° to 100°; but we don't get the latter figure +except in summer," added Sir Modava. + +"But you have awful cyclones here, an English lady told me last night," +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"We do; but we never have them at this season of the year; they come in +May, September, and October, and sometimes in November the belated ones. In +1867 we had one in the latter month which destroyed thirty thousand native +houses; but you know they are built of bamboos and such stuff, and it does +not take much of a breeze to demolish them. Another in June, 1870, did +nearly as much damage." + +"I should think the bore would make mischief here," suggested Louis. + +"The monsoons here begin in July, and during their time the bore is the +most mischievous. The big wave comes up the river at the rate of twenty +miles an hour. All boats run for the middle of the river, where the billow +does not break against the shore. Ships often part their cables, and knock +themselves to pieces against the walls. Sometimes the bore is twelve feet +high, though not much more than half that generally." + +"What are the prices at a hotel like this one, Lord Tremlyn?" asked Dr. +Hawkes. + +"Here is the list of prices," replied his lordship, handing him a card +taken from the wall. + +"Coffee at six in the morning, breakfast _à la fourchette_ at nine, +tiffin at one, and dinner at seven. Price, Rs. six per day," the doctor +read. "I suppose Rs. means rupees; and that makes it about twelve English +shillings, or three dollars a day, which is not high." + +"There are no extras except for wines, liquors, and beer, which none of +your people use," added the viscount. "But you have to pay for your own +attendance; and your servant's pay is from eight to ten rupees a month, or +about a pound." + +"Cheap enough!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I have to pay my waiter at home six +pounds a month." + +"Now, what is there to be seen in Calcutta?" asked the commander after +breakfast. + +"If you wish to see mosques, temples, pagodas"--the viscount began. + +"We do not," interposed the captain. "At first those were very interesting; +but we have seen enough of them." + +"I supposed so," added Lord Tremlyn. "I have ordered carriages, and to-day +we will take a general view of the city." + +This plan was agreeable to the party, and it was carried out. From the +hotel they proceeded to the river. There was a crowd of shipping at anchor, +and at the landing-stages and jetties. Among them Louis was the first to +discover the Guardian-Mother. She was in the middle of the river, off Fort +William. Half a mile below her they saw the Blanche. At the request of the +commander, the carriages went down to the fort, where the passengers all +alighted, and gathered together on the shore. The gentlemen cheered, and +the ladies waved their handkerchiefs. + +"I see that Mr. Boulong has painted the ship, and she looks as taut and +snug as a man-of-war," said the commander, who was evidently glad to see +his vessel. + +"They are lowering the boats," added Louis; and in a few minutes the barge +and first cutter came up to the shore. + +There was a general handshaking with the first officer, in command, and the +boys extended this courtesy to all the crews of the boats, going on board +of them for a few minutes. It was a happy meeting; but it could not be long +continued, and the carriages drove off again. + +As he was about to take his place in the landau, Mr. Boulong informed the +commander that he had received a visit from Captain Mazagan. He wanted to +see Captain Ringgold, but did not state his business. The first officer +could not tell whether the visitor knew the Blanche was in the river, for +he had not mentioned her. With the statement that the party would go on +board in two or three days, they parted, and the boats returned to the +ship. The commander had something to think of now; but he came to the +conclusion that the reprobate was not aware of the presence of the Blanche +or her owner. + +The carriages followed the shore road till they came to the upper end of +the city, and then turned into the first of the long streets with several +names in different parts, which extends entirely through the town. Near the +esplanade they found the finest shops, and the ladies went into some of +them to see the goods. Then they struck the Circular Road, and drove +entirely around the city. + +"This reminds me of Moscow, in some parts, where palaces and shanties are +side by side in the same street," said Captain Ringgold. "There does not +seem to be any aristocratic section, unless that by the esplanade is such." + +They saw plenty of mosques, temples, and churches, some of the latter very +fine. They believed they had taken in the whole city. After dinner Lord +Tremlyn invited them to an excursion on board of a steam-yacht the next +day, the use of which was tendered to him by a high official. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV + + A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS + + +A breakfast at six o'clock was provided the following morning for the +tourists, and they came down from their chambers prepared for the aquatic +excursion, which was to include something more than sight-seeing, for the +gentlemen and the boys were directed to take their rifles along. Mr. +Boulong had called upon the commander the evening before, and he had been +invited to join the party; but he had excused himself, and suggested that +Mr. Gaskette would enjoy it more than he should, and he was asked to go. + +By half-past six the party were on The Strand, as the road in the esplanade +bordering the river is called. The second officer of the ship was there; +and he was not only a sailor and an artist, but he had the reputation of +being a dead shot. The company embarked on the steam-yacht, which was large +enough to make voyages to Madras and Ceylon. The excursion was not intended +as a mere shooting-party, Lord Tremlyn explained, but to enable the company +to obtain a better view of Calcutta than they could get in any other +manner. + +From the river a full view was obtained of the multitude of columns, +belfries, and cupolas, as well as of the Government House, the Town Hall, +and the line of magnificent houses beyond the esplanade. Along the shore +The Strand, as it is called the whole length of the city, the jetties, and +the landing-stages were crowded with men; for, where labor is so cheap, +work is not done by small forces of men. There are several lines of +steamers running between London, Southampton, and Liverpool to this port; +and they were constantly arriving and departing. + +"You don't see such a variety of races here as you did in Bombay," said +Lord Tremlyn as he was pointing out the sights to be seen. "You observe +some Chinamen and Burmese; but most of the laborers are of the low class of +natives, Bengalese, and they are very sorry specimens of the Hindus." + +"But what are the merchants and shopkeepers?" asked Captain Ringgold. + +"They are Baboos, which is a name given to the Bengalese. The better class +of them, in contact with the English, realize that education is a power; +and they have labored for years to improve their countrymen. They have +established schools and colleges, and when young natives applied for +government situations the authorities felt obliged to admit them. To-day +you will find many natives acting as clerks in the post-office, railway, +and telegraph-offices, as well as in the courts in minor capacities. + +"In fact, there has been a social revolution in progress here for half a +century or more, and its effects may be seen now. The government has +modified the lot of woman to some extent, as you have learned. The Hindu +law weighed terribly upon her. When a woman lost her husband, custom +required that she should be sent back to her own family. Her relatives +shaved off her hair, dressed her in the coarsest clothing, and compelled +her to do the severest drudgery of the household. She is forbidden to marry +again, and is treated as though she was responsible for becoming a widow. +The reforming of this evil is in progress; but the people are baked into +their prejudices and superstitions of forty centuries, and it is worse than +pulling their teeth to interfere with them. + +"One of the favorite divinities of the natives here is Kali, the wife of +Siva, the goddess of murder. Her worship is odious and disgusting; for her +altars were formerly sprinkled with human blood, and the idols were +surrounded with dead bodies and skulls. Their great festival is the +Churuk-Pooja, which is still celebrated, though the government has +forbidden all its brutal features. You have all seen a 'merry-go-round' +machine in which children ride in a circle on wooden horses. + +"An apparatus like this, but without the wooden steeds, was used by these +fanatics. At the end of the four arms hung ropes with sharp hooks at the +end, on which were hung up the devotees, as the butcher does his meats in +his shop; and the machine was revolved rapidly till the hooks pulled out, +and the victim dropped upon the ground, fainting or dead. At the present +time the festival is attended by Baboos of the best class; but it amounts +simply to an athletic exhibition with music. The government and the +reformers have brought about this change of performance." + +"Do the English attend such shows?" asked Dr. Hawkes. + +"Sometimes, from curiosity. But they are here just about what they are in +London, and their habits are much the same," replied the viscount. "The +river here is about a mile wide. Formerly we could not have come as far as +we have without seeing hundreds of corpses floating on the surface. Natives +who were too poor to pay the bill for the funeral pyre threw the bodies of +their friends into the river. Of course this was a menace to the health of +the city; and the practice was forbidden by the government, which built an +immense tower, wherein is kept a fire constantly burning, in which the +bodies of the poor are consumed without expense." + +"See that big bird on the shore!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "I saw several +of them yesterday, and I meant to ask what it was." + +"That is the _arghilah_, generally called the adjutant," replied Sir +Modava. "He is the licensed scavenger of Calcutta, for it is forbidden by +law to kill or molest him. You see him walking about in a crowd with as +much dignity and gravity as though he were a big banker; and he is also +seen perched upon the walls and buildings. They have an enormous bill, as +you observe. A friend of mine had a tame one; and one day when the table +was ready for dinner he took a chicken from the dish and swallowed it +whole. He has a searching eye, and discovers a hidden bit of meat, a dead +cat or other animal, and bolts it in the twinkling of an eye." + +The steamer continued on her course down the river, and in less than four +hours arrived at Diamond Harbor. It contained a fort, a signal-station, and +a telegraph-office, though there is nothing in the shape of a village. The +East India Company's ships made this their port; but the improvement of the +navigation of the river enables all the steamers to go up to the city, to +which their arrival is telegraphed. + +The extensive territory included in the delta of the Ganges is called the +Sunderbunds, and is about equal to the State of Massachusetts in size. It +is a muddy region, cut up by a network of streams; and it is full of +swamps, morasses, and mud-holes. Nearest to the sea is a belt of land, +forming a wide extent of jungle, with a dense undergrowth of tropical +plants and verdure; for it is in the Torrid Zone, which the tourists +entered about forty miles north of Calcutta. This jungle was the objective +point of the hunters of the party. + +The captain of the steam-yacht took the company on board through a number +of the lagoons and cutoffs to enable them to see the wild character of the +scenery. Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan were kept busy +explaining the trees, plants, crocodiles, storks, and other animals. + +At a pleasant basin, dinner was served on board, and it was quite as good +as they would have obtained at the Great Eastern; for just now the party +were government guests, and the officials could not do enough for a person +of Lord Tremlyn's influence in England. After the meal the hunters prepared +themselves for the sport in which they were to engage. Mrs. Belgrave warned +her son to be very careful, and Mrs. Blossom did as much for Felix. + +The steamer started into a cut-off leading through to the Bay of Bengal, +the polite captain explained. It was full of game of all sorts, including +the wild buffalo, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild hog, deer, and the trees +and bushes were as full of monkeys as they could swarm. It was agreed among +the hunters that none of the latter should be shot, for they were harmless +animals. + +"Captain, dear, are there any schnakes forninst the joongle?" asked the +Milesian, who was much exhilarated at the prospect of the sport, and easily +slipped into the vernacular of his mother. + +"Plinty av thim, Musther McGavonty," replied Captain O'Flaherty, with a +broad grin on his honest face. "They air as thidck as broken heads at a +Donnybrook fair." + +"Faix, ye's air a brither o' moine!" exclaimed Felix, grasping the hand of +the captain. + +"Air ye's from the County Carhk?" + +"Oi'm from the county and parish of Kilkenny; or mi mudther was, thou' +she's dead now, long loife to her! Wud I foind ary cobry in here?" + +"All you'll want uv 'em; and pythons too." + +"What is a poithon?" asked Felix. + +"A big schnake; a boa, or loike him." + +"Is it the bore that runs up the river to Calcutty?" + +"Not the same boa," laughed the captain. "But you speak English, for I have +heard you do it; and I have about forgotten my native brogue." + +"If the boa is a snake, he is the fellow I want to see," replied Felix. + +"There's one of them now!" exclaimed Captain O'Flaherty, pointing to one +wreathed around a bush. + +The young hunter brought his rifle to his shoulder, and fired before the +captain had time to say anything more. The python began to writhe and +wriggle in the bush, and Felix fired again. Then he dropped off into the +water. The rest of the company had been aft with the ladies, but they all +rushed forward at the report of the rifle. The captain stated what the +hunter had done, as he rang to stop and back the boat. They saw the bamboo +on which the serpent had been, but the game could not be seen. They +wondered what had become of him. + +The rest of the hunters began to shoot ducks, herons, and other +water-fowls. As fast as a bird dropped into the bayou he disappeared, and +not one of them could be recovered. Captain Ringgold wondered what became +of them, and the Indian gentlemen only laughed at his perplexity. + +"But what becomes of them, for they do not sink?" demanded the commander. + +"You shall see," replied Sir Modava. "Don't shoot the adjutants; but there +is a long-legged heron. I will bring him down, for he waits very patiently +to be shot. Now watch the water when he comes down." + +The bird dropped the moment he fired, and the instant he touched the water +a pair of jaws closed upon him, and drew him under water. The company were +astonished, and looked for an explanation. + +"I never counted the crocodiles in this river; but I should guess there +were at least a million of them, and they steal your game as fast as you +bring it down," said Sir Modava. + +The ladies were interested; and another bird was shot, to enable them to +see the operation of the saurians. The python was about ten feet long, and +he must have been a meal for one of them. The cranes, herons, and storks +were numerous; but the party decided to kill no more of them, for they held +still, as though they were all ready to be shot; and there was no sport in +such game. + +The boat continued on its course for half an hour longer, and then came up +to a sort of stockade, extending out into the water, and near it were a +couple of bamboo huts. This wild region is sparsely peopled with Hindus, +who are obliged to keep guard over themselves and their families all the +time, and are occasionally the victims of the ferocious monsters of the +jungle and of the water. + +"What is that stockade for?" asked the commander, as soon as the steamer +was moored to the shore. + +"The Hindus are a cleanly people, as required by their religion," replied +Captain O'Flaherty in the hearing of all the party. "That stockade contains +a big trough for washing their scanty clothing. It reaches into the water, +so that they can fill their washtub without going out of it." + +"I don't see why?" asked Mrs. Woolridge. + +"If they went to the border of the stream to dip up water the crocodiles +would pick them up as fast as they did so," added the captain; and all the +ladies shuddered, and wanted to get out of such a horrible place. + +"But the hunters are to land here; and they will find all the heavy game +they can dispose of, for there have been no hunters here yet this season to +scare them off. You will find the biggest tigers of India here, gentlemen." + +The hunters went on shore, and as they passed down the gangway they saw a +couple of the crocodiles in the water. Louis put a bullet into the eye of +one, and Mr. Woolridge served the other in the same way; but all of them +thought saurians were mean game. Near the huts they found two men, and Sir +Modava had a talk with them, which no one else could understand; but he +employed them to guide the party and show them their traps. + +"The wife of one of these men was devoured by a crocodile a year ago, and +the daughter of the other, a child of six, had been borne off by a tiger," +he explained, as they proceeded after the two men. + +They soon came to the traps. The tigers were exceedingly numerous on all +the islands formed by the cut-offs, and swam without difficulty from one to +another. The first trap they saw was a broad trench, the bottom and sides +armed with stakes of the hardest wood, sharpened to a wicked point. A +roaring sound attracted the visitors to another of the same kind, in which +a monstrous tiger was floundering about, trying to escape the points that +pierced him. He was suffering fearfully; and Captain Ringgold shot him at +once, though the Hindus were delighted by his torture. + +Another kind of trap was more ingenious. It was on the plan of the +twitch-up snare, common in New England. A young tree, very strong and +flexible, is bent down till the upper end touches the ground. To this +extremity is attached a stout cord, and fastened to a stake in the ground. +A slip-noose is so arranged that the tiger thrusts his head through it in +order to reach the meat with which the cord holding the tree is baited. As +the animal pulls the cord he casts off the line holding the tree in its +bent position. The slip-noose is tightened around his neck, the tree flies +up into the air, carrying the tiger with it. Everything about the trap is +made very strong, and there the savage marauder hangs till he chokes to +death. + +[Illustration: Captain Ringgold brought down another--Page 349] + +The party moved on, and they had not gone ten rods before a cobra elevated +his head. Felix claimed the right to fire first, and he killed him with one +ball. A large python was Scott's first prize; and, after a long walk, they +came to a nest of tigers, as it seemed, for there were not less than five +of them drinking at a brook. It appeared to be the only place in the +vicinity where fresh water could be obtained. The first of the tigers was +killed by Louis with a single shot, for he put the ball through the eye of +the beast. + +Captain Ringgold brought down another with three shots from his repeating +rifle. Felix did not care for tigers; he was looking for snakes, and they +came to the brook to drink. In a couple of hours he had half a dozen of his +favorite game. He declared that he was following the blessed example of St. +Patrick, and if he did not die too soon he would rid the world of all the +snakes in it. + +The five tigers lay dead by the brook; and, taking the advice of the +coolies, the hunters returned into a thicket, where Felix killed another +python. The party could see the brook. A pair of timid deer came next to +drink; but they fled at the approach of what seemed to be a family of +leopards, for two of them were evidently cubs. They were all shot; but the +repeated reports of the rifles had probably scared off others, and no more +beasts of any kind came. + +"These men say you have killed more tigers and leopards than any party of +hunters who ever came here," said Sir Modava, who carried a rifle, but had +not fired it once; and Lord Tremlyn's weapon had not been discharged; for +both preferred to leave the game for their friends. + +It was a great hunt, and the Americans were correspondingly proud of their +success. Louis and Felix had been trained in a shooting-gallery, and +neither of them missed his aim; but the shooting had all been at short +range. With the help of two coolies, all the game was carried to the +steamer, where it was exhibited to the rest of the company. The tigers were +all skinned by the coolies and the crew of the steamer, as were the +leopards; but after Mrs. Blossom and the others had seen the snakes, they +were fed out to the crocodiles. The coolies were abundantly rewarded, and +seemed to worship their visitors. They presented to them four mango fish, +golden-yellow in color, and exquisite in flavor. + +The steamer cast off her fasts, and headed for Calcutta; but it was late, +and the fish presented, which abound in the markets of the city, were the +burden of a fine supper they ate on the way. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI + + THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY + + +While the hunters were so successfully bagging the big game of the jungle, +Captain O'Flaherty had taken the party who had remained on board the +steamer on an excursion through some of the waterways of the Sunderbunds, +so that they were not wearied by waiting for those more actively employed. +The united party had thoroughly enjoyed the day, even into the evening. The +skins of the tigers and leopards were sent to an expert, to be prepared for +future preservation when the time should admit. + +At the hotel the wonderful success of the hunters was the theme of the +other guests; but the place was regarded as a dangerous one, though that +would not deter Englishmen from visiting it if it were not so difficult of +access, for a government steam-yacht was not available for many parties. +The next morning the tourists were taken to the Botanical Garden, a short +distance above the city, which is said to be the finest as well as the most +spacious in the world. + +It was not an affair of greenhouses, like most of such places they had +seen; for they were superfluous in the Torrid Zone, and all the plants grew +in the open air. The ladies and most of the gentlemen were greatly +interested in the plants and flowers, and the whole forenoon was agreeably +passed in viewing them. Uncle Moses insisted that the baobab and the Indian +banyan were literally the "biggest things" there; for the trunk of the +former was ten feet in diameter, while the latter covered half a square +mile of ground. The latter had been considerably damaged by a cyclone. + +At the end of a week in Calcutta, every day of which had been occupied to +the pleasure and instruction of the tourists, Captain Ringgold insisted +that they must remain no longer. It was the middle of March, and the hot +weather was coming on, and the company must return to the Guardian-Mother +on the following morning. It was not an unpleasant announcement, as they +had all become greatly attached to the steamer, for they had always been +exceedingly happy on board of her. + +"It is time for me to settle up our accounts, Lord Tremlyn," said the +commander, as they were seated on the veranda after the intended departure +had been announced. + +"That time has not come, Captain Ringgold; and it never will come," replied +his lordship very decidedly. "I thought we had disposed of that question +once for all at Bombay. You and your party have been our guests from the +moment we landed. Sir Modava and I have done our best, in the time allotted +to us, to make you acquainted with India, and to make the time pass +pleasantly with you. As far as we had influence, we have used it to promote +the objects of your visit." + +"You have done a hundred times more than we had any right to expect, and +certainly we should not have asked for what you have given us; but it seems +to be no more than right that we should pay our own expenses, and we shall +be just as grateful to you for the vast service you have rendered us." + +"What we have done does not extinguish a tithe of our obligations to you +and your ship's company. Any money allusion grieves me, and the very +thought of being paid almost breaks the heart of Sir Modava. I beg you not +to allude to the matter again. Now, my dear Captain Ringgold," continued +his lordship, taking what looked like a picture-frame from a table near +him, "I ask the privilege of presenting to you this testimonial of the +gratitude of the three cabin survivors of the wreck of the Travancore, +which I will ask you to hang up in the cabin of the Guardian-Mother." + +The commander took the frame, in which was a printed testimonial, +containing a full account of the rescue of the survivors of the wreck, with +a concluding paragraph, expressive of the obligations of the principal +persons rescued, to the captain and his ship's company for their noble and +successful exertions in saving them and all the people on board. It had the +autographs of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan at the foot of the +printed statement. It was on parchment, printed in plain, clear type, and +the frame was as elegant as money could buy. + +"I accept this as the property of the ship, and to me personally nothing +could be more valued," replied the commander, extending his thanks at +considerable length; but he said nothing more about payment, though he +could not help thinking that their elegant and bountiful hospitality had +cost the viscount and the Indian gentleman several thousand pounds. + +"But we do not separate just yet; and I have another favor to ask of you, +Captain Ringgold, which is that you will give us a passage to Colombo," +added Lord Tremlyn. + +"For myself and my party, we shall all be delighted to have you remain with +us indefinitely," replied the commander, taking his lordship's hand. "I +extend to you, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan a cordial invitation to +complete with us our voyage around the world; and we will endeavor to be as +hospitable to you in the United States as you have been to us in India." + +"Nothing would afford me so great a pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; "but +it would be quite impossible for me to accept the invitation, for I must +return to England, and report upon my mission to India." + +Sir Modava and Dr. Ferrolan also declined, for reasons given. The company +had called upon some of the officials of the government and officers of the +army, at the request of his lordship, and most of them made parting calls +the next forenoon; and the viceroy sent his private secretary, with the +best wishes of his Excellency for a prosperous voyage, to them. After +tiffin they all went on board, where their baggage had been sent before, +the Italian band playing all the time on Captain O'Flaherty's steamer, +which put them on board. + +General Noury had sent word to Captain Sharp that he should continue with +the party to Colombo, and that he could proceed at once to that port. In +fact, he liked the company of the party on board of the Guardian-Mother so +well that he was not inclined to part with them at present. + +The passengers took possession of their staterooms, and there was still one +left for the general, and the band was quartered in the library. The hour +for sailing had been fixed at three o'clock; and just before that time the +Cherub, Captain O'Flaherty, appeared, having on board a regimental band and +the friends of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan, who extended to +them the compliment of an escort, and, incidentally, to the commander and +his passengers. + +About half an hour before the time for sailing a shore boat came up to the +gangway, and a well-dressed gentleman with a swarthy face ascended the +steps. He asked to see Captain Ringgold, and he was called down from the +upper deck. It was Mazagan. + +"I have called, Captain, to remind you that our account has not yet been +settled," said the villanous Moor. "I have another to add to it, for the +destruction of the Fatimé, his Highness the Pacha Ali-Noury's steam-yacht, +which he authorizes me to collect." + +"Does he, indeed?" replied the captain, laughing; for, having the "weather +gauge" of the rascal, he was disposed to treat the matter very lightly. + +"I have the account in the handwriting of his Highness," added Mazagan, as +he presented a paper written in good English. + +"Very well; but I prefer to settle the account with his Highness himself," +added the commander, as he touched an electric bell, which brought Sparks +to the boudoir into which they had gone. "Ask the general to come here," he +said in a low tone to the steward. + +"But I do not choose to wait a year or two for a settlement," protested the +visitor. + +"You need not wait five minutes," added Captain Ringgold. + +The Moor began to go over his story again, but it was interrupted by the +entrance of General Noury. Mazagan looked at him, and seemed to be unable +to believe the evidence of his own eyes. The commander stated the case to +him. + +"Is this account in your handwriting, General?" he asked. + +"Certainly not," replied the Pacha. "We have discussed this matter fully, +and I have no claim whatever against you; neither has this man. I settled +all my accounts with him; and I have his receipt in full, signed by him, +and witnessed by Captain Sharp and his wife. He is a swindler and a +villain; and if I ever catch him in Morocco he shall have the bowstring!" + +The general denounced him in the severest manner, and then asked the +commander to send him out of the ship. Knott was at the gangway, the pirate +was turned over to him, and hustled down the steps into his boat. The +general expressed his regret that the captain had been annoyed by the +villain again, and was confident he would never see or hear from him again; +and he never did. + +Promptly at the hour set the Guardian-Mother got under way, and the +Cherub's band played its liveliest airs. When it stopped to rest, the +Italian band played, and thus the music was kept up for three hours, when +the steamers were at Diamond Harbor. Here they came alongside each other, +and all the company on board the Cherub were invited to a collation on +board of the Guardian-Mother, at which Captain Ringgold presided, and many +speeches were made by the residents of Calcutta, and by the passengers on +board. + +The ship's company on each vessel were not left out in the cold; for, while +their officers were at the collation, Baldy Bickling, the second cook, +regaled them from the abundant stores provided for the occasion, of which +notice had been given to Mr. Melanchthon Sage, the chief steward, the day +before. At this point adieus were exchanged, the Guardian-Mother went to +sea, and the Cherub returned to Calcutta. The passengers were tired out and +retired early. + +It was an easy run, from Diamond Harbor to Madras in two days and a half, +for the Guardian-Mother. The weather was favorable, and the tourists used +their time in getting rested. The social occasions, the playing of the +band, and the singing in the music-room, made plenty of variety. But the +commander did not lose sight of what he regarded as one of the principal +objects of the long voyage, the instruction of the young people, and +incidentally of the elder ones. + +On the forenoon of the second day out the passengers were called together +in Conference Hall, and they were glad to assemble there again. The +temperature was moderate, the sea was in its most cheerful mood, and, after +their long stay on shore, they were glad to be out of sight of land again. +Mr. Gaskette had been busy during the vacation the ship's company had +obtained at Bombay and Calcutta; had made several new maps, one of which +was the shores of the Bay and Sea of Bengal from Calcutta to the southern +point of Ceylon; and he had enlarged a small map of Ceylon, to be used when +the ship arrived at Colombo, or sooner. It was Sir Modava who mounted the +platform for this occasion; and he was received with the heartiest +applause, for he had become even more popular than at first. + +"I am to tell you something, not much, about Madras, where we shall arrive +about this time day after to-morrow," the Hindu gentleman began; and the +usual smile which had fascinated all the ladies was on his face. "Madras is +the third city in population of India, or next to Bombay, with 452,518 +souls, by the census published last year. It is on the Coromandel coast, +which is nearly the whole of the Madras Presidency. It is nearly the entire +western shore of the Sea of Bengal, including the bay, as the northern part +of it is called in modern times. There is scarcely a single safe harbor for +large vessels. + +"I suppose you have often heard the expression, 'in the Carnatic,' for it +is memorable as the scene of the struggle in the last century between +England and France for the supremacy of India. Though there is no state +with that name, nearly the whole coast region south of the Godavery River +retains this name. In fact, there is no little confusion of names in many +parts of India. The country near the Arabian Sea still receives the +designation of the Deccan, from the Kistna River to the Gulf of Cambay on +the north. But this name does not belong to a political division," +continued the speaker, pointing out every location and river he named. + +"Madras extends along the shore nine miles, and is thus exposed to the fury +of the sea for this distance; for it is not on a river, like Calcutta, or a +sheltered bay, like Bombay. Formerly, on the approach of a cyclone, vessels +lying in the roadstead, as the only harbor it had, which was no harbor, had +to put to sea to avoid being driven on the shore. Decidedly it was a very +inconvenient place to build a city; but the town formerly consisted of a +number of villages, which have been united, after the fashion of some of +your American cities. + +"An attempt has been in progress the last twenty years to make a harbor in +the shape of an enclosure of strong walls, about half a mile square. It was +seriously damaged by a cyclone a dozen years ago; but they are still at +work upon it, though it is said to be doubtful whether or not it will ever +be safe for ships in a violent storm. There is always a heavy surf rolling +in on this coast, even in what the commander would call a smooth sea." + +"Then how shall we get ashore there?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. + +"The natives construct a boat, which is a sort of raft of planks, tied +together with ropes, called a _masuláh_, which passes through the surf +very well in ordinary weather; but no boat could live in a cyclone in a sea +there, for the waves are fourteen feet high." + +"I should like to try it with the second cutter, so far as the waves are +concerned; but bumping on the bottom might spoil the attempt," said Mr. +Gaskette, who was standing by his map. + +"It would not be prudent in a cyclone, and I trust you will have no +occasion to try the experiment," added Sir Modava. "But cyclones are rare +here, except from the last of May and into June, and in October, November, +and early in December; so that the port is not liable to more than two +storms a year. The average rainfall is forty-nine inches, falling on +ninety-five days; but in seventy-four years, ending two years ago, it +varied from a foot and a half to seven feet and four inches. It is dry here +some years, and rather damp when they get eighty-eight inches. + +"Going to Madras in March, the temperature of the place is of no +consequence to you, except as a matter of curiosity, being in the Torrid +Zone. It will be from 76° to 88° while you are here. The average +temperature for the year is 82°; in the hot months it rises to over 100°; +the highest in twenty-seven years was 113°, and the lowest 57.6°. A +sea-breeze often sets in about noon, lasting till sunset, greatly modifying +the heat. I think I need say no more about the city till we get there." + +This talk was followed by a concert by the band. The ship sped on her +course, though something to instruct and amuse was going on all the time. +At the time set Madras was in sight, and a little later the surf was seen +rolling in on the shore. The depth is shallow near the land, which causes +the water to break. The Guardian-Mother was anchored in the deep water, and +Lord Tremlyn invited the party to proceed to the apartments at the Royal +Hotel which he had bespoken for them. The commander made no further +objections to the matter of expense, and the invitation was promptly +accepted. A number of the masulah-boats, not the rafts, were engaged to +land them. They were much like any other boat, though they were paddled, +and not rowed. They saw the catamarans, constructed as the Hindu gentleman +had described, paddled on the waves by a single man, wearing a sugar-loaf +hat. + +The masulah-boats went to the shore very comfortably, and carriages were in +waiting for the party on the beach near where they landed. As they passed +through the streets everything seemed to be very much as it was in +Calcutta; and they saw similar palanquins, bullock-carts, and elephants. +The Malabar Hindu was not very different from those of other sections of +the country, though he had some peculiarities of costume. + +When they reached the hotel, which was a very comfortable one, in English +style, it was two hours to tiffin, and most of the party preferred to pass +the time in the parlor. The live boys could not keep still, and they went +out for a walk. The sights were not novel enough to hold them; and when a +driver of a bullock-cart salaamed to them, and pointed to his vehicle, +Felix suggested that they should take a ride. Of course, they could not +speak a word of the language; and, however it may have been with other +conductors of vehicles, this one did not know a word of English. + +"Mavalipoor?" interrogated the driver, when the "Big Four" had seated +themselves in the corners of the vehicle, which had a body like an omnibus +for four, with a top like the dome of a small temple. They had no idea what +the word or sentence used by the driver had been, but supposed it was +something worth seeing in the town. Two palanquins went by them at full +tilt, and they saw what was to be seen in the street. They went on several +miles, till they appeared to be leaving the city behind them, and they +thought it was time to call a halt. They talked vigorously to the cartman, +and all of them pointed back to the city, and yelled "Madras!" + +"Mavalipoor!" screamed the driver, pointing with equal energy in the +direction the cart was headed. But the fellow would not stop, and the +lively boys all leaped out of the cart to the ground. He would not go on +without them; but fortunately a gentleman in English costume came along on +horseback. The quartet touched their hats to him, and he stopped his steed. +Louis stated that they wished to go to the Royal Hotel. + +"The hotel is not in this direction," replied the horseman with much +suavity. But at this moment the driver had something to say, and delivered +himself with energy. "He says you engaged him to take you to Mavalipoor," +the rider explained. Louis stated their position, that when the cartman +said "Mavalipoor" they had assented, without knowing what he meant. + +"You can make it all right with the man by giving him a rupee when he +leaves you at your hotel," replied the gentleman, laughing heartily at the +mistake, and then informed them that there were some Hindu temples at +Mavalipoor, more than thirty miles distant, that were visited by strangers. +He then ordered the driver to convey his fare to the Royal Hotel, in a very +peremptory manner, and the man obeyed. Thanking the gentleman for his +kindness, they parted. The cartman was in a hurry now, and he urged his +humpbacked bullocks into a lively trot. + +At the door the boys gave the driver two rupees, and the fellow salaamed as +though he had received a guinea. There are plenty of landaus in Madras at +three rupees a day; and the dak, as the cart is called, and palanquins are +becoming things of the past. Tiffin was ready; and a line of carriages was +at the door waiting for the tourists when they had disposed of the lunch, +and they seated themselves for a drive. + +"I warn you," said Sir Modava, as the carriages drove off, "that you will +find little here to interest you, after visiting, as you have, the +principal cities of India." + +"We are about tired of sight-seeing," added Mrs. Belgrave rather languidly; +and this was about the situation of most of the party. + +They passed the People's Park, an inviting enclosure, with ponds and +pleasant walks, to the Black Town, which contains the homes of the natives, +though there are plenty of shops; and it is crossed by several good +avenues. They came to a street like that called The Strand in Calcutta, and +they drove the whole length of it. They passed into Fort St. George, which +seemed to be a city of itself. Leaving it, they crossed the little river +that meanders through the town, and flows into the ocean at this point. + +On this shore road were the principal public buildings of the city, and +near the end of it was St. Thomas's Cathedral. This is said to be the site +where the apostle of this name, "Doubting Thomas," was martyred. Early +tradition buried him in Edessa, in Mesopotamia, but a later account sent +him to India; but this is something for learned doctors to discuss. At St. +George's Cathedral the party entered to see the statue, made by Chantrey, +of Bishop Heber, who looks gently and tenderly upon a native convert at his +feet. + +They rode all over the town, and found several ponds, called tanks; and the +great fort is washed on one side by the river. The second day the party +were driven into the suburbs. At a rocky point on the river they found a +party of half-naked men washing sheets and pillow-cases. The ladies were +interested, and the carriages stopped to enable them to see the operation. +They had something like washboards, laid on the bank of the stream, which +they were hammering with all their might with the sheets, standing in the +shallow water as they did so. Mrs. Blossom declared they must tear them all +to pieces, and she was quite indignant at the way it was done. + +Another day finished Madras; and, though there was little to see, compared +with the places they had visited before, Mrs. Belgrave declared they had +had a good time. On the morning following they went on board of the +Guardian-Mother, and she sailed for Ceylon. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVII + + THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA + + +If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see a +cyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it would +have been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on the +beach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But they +had all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. At +her ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at one +o'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled in +Conference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the various +places they had visited in India. + +Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adorned +with stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von Blonk +Park were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, though +they had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions in +Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found them +elsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they had +not been able to devote more time to them. + +The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from the +deck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and a +portion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was in +ten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea was +smooth. The thermometer stood at 70°, and the ladies declared that the +temperature was just right. + +"You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and it +takes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without going +into the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand seven +hundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of West +Virginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States. +Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in this +island. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'The +Arabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib. + +"The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is Mount +Pedrotallagalla,--don't forget the name, my young friends,--eight thousand +two hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go to +Candy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as it +is often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearl +fishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variable +in different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have the +fisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardly +anything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quite +sixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds. + +"The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces when +the work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks. +Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five of +the latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diver +has a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reach +the bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. The +water varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They work +quickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, though +some can stand it twenty seconds longer. + +"One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, would +make it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotion +about the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signal +he is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But the +ladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them. + +"There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing into +the sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate of +the island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the high +lands never exceeds 70°. I shall permit you to describe the flowers after +you have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island is +exceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside in +Ceylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler in +the forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end of +monkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubs +could be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which might +amuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of them +you shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on his +fruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodile +is the biggest reptile found in Ceylon." + +"But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix. + +"There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and the +ticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend of +yours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generally +Cingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from the +region of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. The +religion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon the +natives here as well as in Burma. + +"Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon three +times, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep on +Adam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island, +is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the tooth +of Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. But +it is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; and +the substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblance +to a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of them +sculptured like those near Bombay. + +"There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, dating +back to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has also +a Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed to +the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802. + +"Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of the +island; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and within +ten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a great +extent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of the +chocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to a +considerable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; though +Bishop Heber's lines-- + + 'What though the spicy breezes + Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,' + +are not applicable to the island as formerly. + +"It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become a +great tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in its +culture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years later +over 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is still +greater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who rules +with an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of the +troops is one." + +"Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?" +asked Captain Ringgold. + +"I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If I +remember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is +$20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times the +salary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, but +after a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about the +principal towns;" and as he retired the audience separated, for it was to +be a promenade concert. + +"I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," said +the Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sent +missionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; the +Americans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. A +great deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am not +able just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; but +it has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and even +collegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of the +government system of education. + +"Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town of +forty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harbor in a sheltered bay. +It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part of +India; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whose +principal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; and +most steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' for +short, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point de +Galle for various ports of India. + +"The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning is +doubtful. _Galles_ is the French of Wales, and _La Nouvelle +Galles_ is New South Wales; without the final _s_, the word means +an oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning, +'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of the +word. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo has +captured its business and its prominence. + +"Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point de +Galle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost +127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generally +call it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the sea +on three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way, +Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of Christopher +Columbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago this +year?" + +"Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monument +at Genoa last summer." + +"Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylon +obtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the great +discoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. The +buildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonial +towns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, and +visit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the making +of the city, cost £600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with every +facility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothing +is left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described." + +Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture, +which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before the +collation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time the +Guardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As the +ship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and was +greeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned. + +Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in the +afternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages were +obtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of the +town, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested; +and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and a +medicine. + +"I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, as +they were looking at the trees. + +"I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them." + +"This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very old +spice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which it +is there called," added the Indian gentleman. + +"But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root." + +"No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty to +thirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But the +cultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leaves +average five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. There +are two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November. +The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it dries +it curls up as you find your stick cinnamon." + +"I used ground cinnamon," added the lady. + +"It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another species +of cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and very +likely you buy it ground for the real thing." + +The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of the +most valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, and +other drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. The +company returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave a +concert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the tourists +remained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from the +citizens of Colombo. + +The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which Sir +Modava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly through +an elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they had +attained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandy +three days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to stay +longer, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. They +were in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned. + +They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fifty +to four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrine +of Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which the +English believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine stories +high, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party took +no interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that were +larger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they +had before been informed. + +With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. The +Guardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon. +The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolan +had nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner for +the last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul, +and others had been invited. + +Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after the +fine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called upon +to respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers." +The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "For +he's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by the +Americans, including the ladies. + +Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, and +reviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of the +Travancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth the +obligations to which his passengers and himself were under to the +distinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He was +frequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquent +as it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress. + +Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations, +and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company; +and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, but +that was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr. +Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," which +puzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from. +The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noble +gentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time in +all their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached the +chairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing a +testimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, which +he presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, who +had profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness, +and length of days of the trio. + +This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturous +applause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to be +enjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages at +the table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any were +present, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyous +occasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall was +cleared. + +All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be in +India or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, as +well as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen. +After tiffin, when the party started for the steamer that was to convey +them to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo, +with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. The +military band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent the +air, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answer +all the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers. + +The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. The +guests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of which +the black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of the +departure. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally the +passengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salute +was fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn, +the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward. + +It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India; +but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the port +bow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climes +they were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everything +that was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decided +views of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for a +time in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples, +and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in the +expression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting in +Conference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visit +next, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in the +immediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of the +company, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, are +referred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOME +ADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Across India, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 15540-8.txt or 15540-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/5/4/15540/ + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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.org + + +Title: Across India + Or, Live Boys in the Far East + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: April 4, 2005 [EBook #15540] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p align=center> +<a name="page234"></a> +<img src="images/page234.png" border=0 alt=""He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India." +--Page 234."> + +<center><i>"He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India." +--Page 234.</i></center> + +<h2 align=center><i>All-Over-the-World Library--Third Series</i></h2> + +<h1 align=center>ACROSS INDIA</h1> + +<h4 align=center>OR</h4> + +<h2 align=center>LIVE BOYS IN THE FAR EAST</h2> + +<h5 align=center>BY</h5> + +<h2 align=center>OLIVER OPTIC</h2> + +<p align=center> AUTHOR OF "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT +SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG<br> + KNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" "AMERICAN BOYS<br> + AFLOAT" "THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN<br> + THE NILE" "ASIATIC BREEZES" AND UPWARDS<br> + OF ONE HUNDRED OTHER VOLUMES +</p> +<h3 align=center>BOSTON</h3> + +<h3 align=center>LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS</h3> + +<h4 align=center>10 MILK STREET</h4> + +<h3 align=center>1895</h3> + + + +<hr> + + +<p align=center>To</p> + +<p align=center>MY LONG-TRIED FRIEND OF MORE THAN FORTY YEARS,<br> + WITH WHOM IN ALL THAT TIME,<br> + I HAVE NOT HAD A BICKER OR A SHADOW OF UNPLEASANTNESS<br> + THOUGH HE HAS BEEN MY SENIOR PUBLISHER FOR MORE<br> + THAN AN ENTIRE GENERATION, AND TO WHOM<br> + I HAVE NOT DEDICATED A BOOK<br> + FOR THIRTY YEARS</p> + +<h3 align=center>WILLIAM LEE</h3> + +<p align=center>This Volume</p> + + +<p align=center>IS RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY INSCRIBED BY HIS<br> + FAITHFUL AND EVER GRATEFUL FRIEND</p> + +<p align=right>WILLIAM T. ADAMS</p> + + +<hr> + + +<h2 align=center>PREFACE</h2> + +<p align=justify> +"Across India" is the first volume of the third series of the +"All-Over-the-World Library," in which the voyage of the Guardian-Mother is +continued from Aden, where some important changes were made in the current +of events, including the disposal of the little steamer Maud, which figured +to a considerable extent in the later volumes of the library, though they +also comprehended the addition of another and larger consort to the ship, +in which the distinguished Pacha, as a reformed and entirely reconstructed +person, sails in company with the voyagers. +<p align=justify> +A few days out from the port of departure, a stirring event, a catastrophe +of the sea, adds three very important personages to the cabin passengers of +the Guardian-Mother, and affords two of the "live boys" an opportunity to +distinguish themselves in a work of humanity requiring courage and skill. +These additions to the company prove to be a very fortunate acquisition to +the party; for they are entirely familiar with everything in and relating +to India. They are titled individuals, two of the trio, who have not only +travelled all over the peninsula, but have very influential relations with +the officers of the government, and the native princes, rajahs, kings, +maharajahs, and nobles. +<p align=justify> +The commander, the professor, the surgeon, the young millionaire, and +others who have hitherto given the "talks" and lectures for the instruction +of the young people, and incidentally of the older ones also, find +themselves almost entirely relieved from duty in this direction by those +whom the ship's company have saved from inevitable death in the stormy +billows of the Arabian Sea. The gratitude of the two titled members of the +trio, and their earnest appreciation of the educational object of the long +voyage, induce them to make themselves very useful on board. +<p align=justify> +They do not confine themselves to the duty presented to them in "Conference +Hall;" but they are profuse, and even extravagant, in their hospitality, +becoming the hosts of the entire party, and treating them like princes in +the principal cities of India, in all of which they are quite at home. One +of the Hindu maharajahs proves to be an old friend of both of them, and the +party reside a week at his court; and the time is given up to the study of +manners and customs, as well as to hunting and the sports of the country. +<p align=justify> +Felix McGavonty, with Kilkenny blood in his veins, is firm in his belief +that he ought not to be afraid of snakes, and does for India a little of +what St. Patrick did completely for Ireland. The other "live boys," though +not so much inclined as the Milesian to battle with the cobra-de-capello, +have some experience in shooting tigers, leopards, deer, pythons, +crocodiles, and other game, though not enough to wholly satisfy their +natural enterprise. +<p align=justify> +The tour of the party is made by railroad in India, from Bombay, taking in +Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Cawnpoor, Lucknow, Benares, Calcutta, and by the +Guardian-Mother to Madras and Ceylon. On the way and in the cities the +titled conductors continue their "talks" and lectures about the places +visited, with as much of history as time would permit, including an epitome +of those great events in India, the Mutiny of the Sepoys, the "Black Hole," +and other events of the past. The speakers were assisted by elaborate maps, +which the reader can find in his atlas. Statistics are given to some extent +for purposes of comparison. Brief notices of the lives of such men as +Bishop Heber, Sir Colin Campbell, Henry Havelock, and others are +introduced. +<p align=justify> +The party did not claim to have seen all there was of India; simply to have +obtained "specimen bricks" of the principal cities, with a fair idea of the +manners and customs of the people. +</p> +<p align=right>WILLIAM. T. ADAMS.</p> + +<hr> +<table border=0 summary="table of content"> +<caption>CONTENTS</caption> + + +<tr><td> </td><td>PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER I.<br> + +<a href="#I">ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE</a></td><td align=right>1</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER II.<br> + +<a href="#II">THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA</a></td><td align=right>10</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER III.<br> + +<a href="#III">A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS</a></td><td align=right>19</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER IV.<br> + +<a href="#IV">FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE</a></td><td align=right>30</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER V.<br> + +<a href="#V">THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE</a></td><td align=right>40</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER VI.<br> + +<a href="#VI">THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN</a></td><td align=right>50</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER VII.<br> + +<a href="#VII">DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK</a></td><td align=right>60</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER VIII.<br> + +<a href="#VIII">AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN</a></td><td align=right>70</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER IX.<br> + +<a href="#IX">CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA</a></td><td align=right>80</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER X.<br> + +<a href="#X">THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA</a></td><td align=right>90</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XI.<br> + +<a href="#XI">A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA</a></td><td align=right>100</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XII.<br> + +<a href="#XII">THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA</a></td><td align=right>109</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XIII.<br> + +<a href="#XIII">LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA</a></td><td align=right>118</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XIV.<br> + +<a href="#XIV">SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY</a></td><td align=right>128</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XV.<br> + +<a href="#XV">ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY</a></td><td align=right>138</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XVI.<br> + +<a href="#XVI">A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS</a></td><td align=right>148</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XVII.<br> + +<a href="#XVII">A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION</a></td><td align=right>158</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XVIII.<br> + +<a href="#XVIII">A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY</a></td><td align=right>168</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XIX.<br> + +<a href="#XIX">MORE SNAKES AND THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA</a></td><td align=right>178</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XX.<br> + +<a href="#XX">A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS</a></td><td align=right>187</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXI.<br> + +<a href="#XXI">JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS</a></td><td align=right>197</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXII.<br> + +<a href="#XXII">A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM</a></td><td align=right>207</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXIII.<br> + +<a href="#XXIII">THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS</a></td><td align=right>217</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXIV.<br> + +<a href="#XXIV">THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA</a></td><td align=right>227</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XXV.<br> + +<a href="#XXV">FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES</a></td><td align=right>237</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXVI.<br> + +<a href="#XXVI">THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI</a></td><td align=right>246</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXVII.<br> + +<a href="#XXVII">VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA</a></td><td align=right>256</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXVIII.<br> + +<a href="#XXVIII">AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB</a></td><td align=right>266</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXIX.<br> + +<a href="#XXIX">THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI</a></td><td align=right>276</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXX.<br> + +<a href="#XXX">THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA</a></td><td align=right>286</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XXXI.<br> + +<a href="#XXXI">THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW</a></td><td align=right>296</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXXII.<br> + +<a href="#XXXII">MORE OF LUCKNOW, AND SOMETHING OF BENARES</a></td><td align=right>306</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXXIII.<br> + +<a href="#XXXIII">A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES</a></td><td align=right>316</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XXXIV.<br> + +<a href="#XXXIV">ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA</a></td><td align=right>327</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXXV.<br> + +<a href="#XXXV">A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS</a></td><td align=right>339</td></tr> + + <tr><td> CHAPTER XXXVI.<br> + +<a href="#XXXVI">THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY</a></td><td align=right>351</td></tr> + +<tr><td> CHAPTER XXXVII.<br> + +<a href="#XXXVII">THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA</a></td><td align=right>367</td></tr> +</table> + +<hr> + +<table border=0 summary="list of Illustrations"> +<caption>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</caption> + + + +<tr><td><a href="#page234">"HE WAS DRESSED IN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ROBES OF INDIA"</a></td><td align=right> <i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page045">"A READY SEAMAN SEIZED HIM BY THE ARM"</a></td><td align=right>45</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page090">"MISS BLANCHE WAS WALKING THE DECK WITH LOUIS AND SIR MODARA"</a></td><td align=right>90</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page155">"THE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WALKED BY THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE"</a></td><td align=right>155</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page184">"SNAKES! SCREAMED MRS. BELGRAVE"</a></td><td align=right>184</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page242">"HE SAW A HUGE COBRA DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM"</a></td><td align=right>242</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page263">"THE STRIPED BEAST WENT UP INTO THE AIR"</a></td><td align=right>263</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#page349">"CAPTAIN RINGGOLD BROUGHT DOWN ANOTHER"</a></td><td align=right>349</td></tr> +</table> + +<hr> +<p><br><br><br><br></p> + + + + +<h1 align=center>ACROSS INDIA</h1> +<hr align=center width="10%"> +<a name="I"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER I</h3> + +<h4 align=center>ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"Well, Captain Scott, what is the run to-day?" asked Louis Belgrave, the +owner of the steam-yacht Guardian-Mother, which had at this date made her +way by a somewhat devious course half way round the world, and was in the +act of making the other half. +<p align=justify> +The young magnate was eighteen years old, and was walking on the promenade +deck of the steamer with a beautiful young lady of sixteen when he asked +for information in regard to the run, or the distance made by the ship +during the last sea-day. +<p align=justify> +"Before I answer your question, my dear Louis, I must protest against being +any longer addressed as captain, for I am not now entitled to that +honorable appellation," replied the young man addressed by the owner. +<p align=justify> +"Once a captain always a captain," replied Louis. "One who has been +a member of Congress is still an 'Honorable,' though his term of +office expired twenty or forty years ago. The worthy commander of the +Guardian-Mother was always called Captain Ringgold in Von Blonk Park and +New York, though he had not been in command of a ship for ten years," +argued Louis. +<p align=justify> +"That's right; but the circumstances are a little different in my case. In +the first place, I am only eighteen years old, and my brief command was a +very small one, as the world goes. It hardly entitles me to be called +captain after I have ceased to be in command. In charge of the little Maud +I was the happiest young fellow on the Eastern Continent; but I am just as +happy now, for this morning I was formally appointed third officer of the +Guardian-Mother, at the wages paid to Captain Sharp when he had the same +position." +<p align=justify> +"I congratulate you, Mr. Scott," said Louis, grasping the hand of the new +officer, though he had been duly consulted in regard to the appointment the +day before. +<p align=justify> +"Permit me to congratulate you also, Mr. Scott," added Miss Blanche, as she +extended to him her delicate little hand. +<p align=justify> +"Thank you, Miss Woolridge," replied the new third officer, raising the +uniform cap he had already donned, and bowing as gracefully as a +dancing-master. "Thank you with all my heart, Louis. I won't deny that I +was considerably broken up when the Maud was sold; but now I am glad of it, +for it has given me a position that I like better." +<p align=justify> +"Now, Mr. Scott, what is the run for to-day?" asked Louis, renewing his +first question. +<p align=justify> +"I don't know," replied the third officer with a mischievous smile. +<p align=justify> +"You don't know!" exclaimed Louis. +<p align=justify> +"I do not, Louis." +<p align=justify> +"I thought all the officers, including the commander, took the observation, +and worked up the reckoning for the . We got eight bells nearly an +hour ago, and the bulletin must have been posted by this time." +<p align=justify> +"It was posted some time ago. All the officers work up the reckoning; and I +did so with the others. The commander and I agreed to a second." +<p align=justify> +"What do you mean by saying you do not know the run?" demanded Louis. +<p align=justify> +"I do know the run; but that was not what you asked me," answered Scott +with the same mischievous smile. +<p align=justify> +"What did I ask you?" +<p align=justify> +"The first time you asked me all right, and I should have answered you if I +had not felt obliged to switch off and inform you and Miss Woolridge of my +new appointment. The second time you put it you changed the question." +<p align=justify> +"I changed it?" queried Louis. +<p align=justify> +"You remember that when Mrs. Blossom asked Flix where under the sun he had +been, he replied that he had not been anywhere, as it happened to be in the +evening, when the sun was not overhead." +<p align=justify> +"A quibble!" exclaimed Louis, laughing. +<p align=justify> +"Granted; but one which was intended to test your information in regard to +a nautical problem. You asked me the second time for the run of to-day for +the last twenty-four hours." +<p align=justify> +"And that was what I asked you the first time," answered Louis. +<p align=justify> +"I beg your pardon, but you asked me simply for the run to-day." +<p align=justify> +"Isn't that the same thing?" +<p align=justify> +"Will you please to tell me how many hours there are in a sea-day?" asked +Scott, becoming more serious. +<p align=justify> +"That depends," answered Louis, laughing. "You have me on the run." +<p align=justify> +"You will find that the bulletin signed by the first officer gives the run +as 330 miles; but the answer to your second question is 337 miles, about," +added the third officer. "Just here the day is only twenty-three hours and +forty minutes long as we are running; and the faster we go the shorter the +day," continued the speaker, who was ciphering all the time on a card. +<p align=justify> +"I don't see how that can be," interposed Miss Blanche, with one of her +prettiest smiles. +<p align=justify> +"There is the lunch-bell; but I shall be very happy to explain the matter +more fully later in the day, Miss Woolridge, unless you prefer that Louis +should do it," suggested Scott. +<p align=justify> +"I doubt if I could do it, and I should be glad to listen to the +explanation," replied Louis, as they descended to the main cabin; for the +new third officer was permitted to retain his place at the table as well as +his state-room. +<p align=justify> +The commander had suggested that there was likely to be some change of +cabin arrangements; for it was not in accordance with his ideas of right +that the third officer should be admitted to the table, while the first and +second were excluded; and Louis was very desirous that his friend Scott +should remain in the cabin. The repasts on board the steamer were social +occasions, and the party often sat quite an hour at the table, as at the +present luncheon. But as soon as the company left their places, Louis and +Miss Blanche followed the third officer to the promenade deck, to hear the +desired explanation of sea-time. +<p align=justify> +"Of course you know how the longitude of the ship is obtained, Miss +Woolridge?" the young officer began. +<p align=justify> +"Papa explained it to me once, but I could not understand it," replied the +fair maiden. +<p align=justify> +"Then we will explain that first. One of the great circles extending +through the poles is called the prime meridian; and any one may be +selected, though that of Greenwich has been almost universally adopted. +This place is near London. From this prime meridian longitude is +calculated, which means that any given locality is so many degrees east or +west of it. Sandy Hook is in longitude 74°, or it is that number of degrees +west of Greenwich. Aden is in 45° east longitude." +<p align=justify> +"Then you find how many miles it is by +multiplying the number of degrees +by 69," suggested Miss Blanche. + +<p align=justify> +"You have forgotten about knots, or sea-miles," +said Louis. + +<p align=justify> +"So I have! I should have said multiply by 60," +added the young lady. + +<p align=justify> +"That would not do it any better," replied Scott. + +<p align=justify> +"Degrees of latitude are always the same for all +practical purposes; but +degrees of longitude are as-- + +<p align=justify> + <span style="margin-left: 5.0em;"> 'Variable as the shade</span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2.5em;"> By the light quivering aspen made,'" </span> + +<p align=justify> +continued the third officer, who was about to say +"as a woman's mind;" +but he concluded that it was not quite respectful +to the lovely being +before him. +<p align=justify> +"What a poetical sea-monster you are, Mr. Scott!" +exclaimed Miss Blanche +with a silvery laugh. + +<p align=justify> +"I won't do so any more," Scott protested, and +then continued his +explanation. "Degrees of longitude vary from nothing at the poles, up to +69.07 statute, or 60 geographical or sea-miles, at the equator. We are now +in about 15° north latitude; and a degree of longitude is 66.65 statute +miles, or 57.9855 sea-miles, near enough to call it 58. By the way, Louis, +multiply the number of statute miles by .87, and it gives you the +sea-miles. Divide the knots by the same decimal, and it gives the statute +miles." +<p align=justify> +"I will try to remember that decimal as you have done," replied Louis. +"Now, Mr. Scott, don't open Bowditch's Navigator to us, or talk about +projection,' 'logarithms,' 'Gunter,' and 'inspection;' for I am not capable +of understanding them, for my trigonometry has gone to the weeping +willows." +<p align=justify> +"Talk to us in English, Mr. Scott," laughed Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +"Let us go up to Conference Hall, where there is a table," said the third +officer, as he produced a book he had brought up from his state-room. He +led the way to the promenade, where he spread out a chart in the "Orient +Guide," which had twenty-six diagrams of a clock, one at the foot of every +fifteen degrees of longitude. At this point the commander came upon the +promenade. +<p align=justify> +"Formerly the figures on a timepiece in Italy, and perhaps elsewhere, went +up to twenty-four, instead of repeating the numbers up to twelve; and these +diagrams are constructed on that plan," continued Scott. +<p align=justify> +"An attempt has been made to re-establish this method in our own country. I +learned once from a folder that a certain steamer would leave Detroit at +half-past twenty-two; meaning half-past ten. But the plan was soon +abandoned," interposed the captain. +<p align=justify> +"Aden, from which we sailed the other day, is in longitude 45° east. Every +degree by meridians is equal to four minutes of clock-time. Multiply the +longitude by four, and the result in minutes is the difference of time +between Greenwich and Aden, 180 minutes, or three hours. When it is noon at +Greenwich, it is three o'clock at Aden, as you see in the diagram before +you." +<p align=justify> +"Three o'clock in the morning, Mr. Scott?" queried the commander. +<p align=justify> +"In the afternoon, I should have added. Going east the time is faster, and +<i>vice versa</i>," continued the young officer. "At our present speed our +clocks must be put about twenty minutes ahead, for a third of an hour has +gone to Davy Jones's locker." +<p align=justify> +"I understand all that perfectly," said Miss Blanche with an air of +triumph. +<p align=justify> +"You will be a sea-monster before you get home. The sirens were beautiful, +and sang very sweetly," added Scott jocosely. +<p align=justify> +"They were wicked, and I don't want to be one. But I do not quite +understand how you found out what time it was at noon to-day," added the +young lady. +<p align=justify> +"For every degree of longitude sailed there is four minutes' difference of +clock-time," Scott proceeded. "You know that a chronometer is a timepiece +so nicely constructed and cared for, that it practically keeps perfect +time. Meridians are imaginary great circles, and we are always on one of +them. With our sextants we find when the centre of the sun is on the +celestial meridian corresponding to the terrestrial one; and at that +instant it is noon where we are. Then we know what time it is. We compare +the time thus obtained with that indicated by the chronometer, and find a +difference of four hours." +<p align=justify> +"I see it all!" exclaimed the fair maiden, as triumphantly as though she +had herself reasoned out the problem. "Four hours make 240 minutes, and +four minutes to a degree gives 60° as the longitude. +<p align=justify> +"Quite correct, Miss Woolridge," added Scott approvingly. +<p align=justify> +"If I could only take the sun, I could work up the longitude myself," the +little beauty declared. +<p align=justify> +"You have already taken the son," replied Scott; but he meant the son of +Mrs. Belgrave, and he checked himself before he had "put his foot in it;" +for Louis would have resented such a remark. +<p align=justify> +"I have seen them do it, but I never took the sun myself," protested the +maiden. +<p align=justify> +The sea had suddenly begun to make itself felt a few hours before, and a +flood of spray was cast over the promenade, which caused the party to +evacuate it, and move farther aft. It was the time of year for the +north-east monsoons to prevail, and the commander had declared that the +voyage would probably be smooth and pleasant all the way to Bombay. It did +not look much like it when the ship began to roll quite violently. + + + + +<a name="II"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +It was a sharp squall that suddenly struck the Guardian-Mother, heeling her +over so that everything movable on her decks or below went over to the lee +side, and sending no small quantity of salt water over her pilot-house. It +had begun to be what the ladies called rough some hours before; and with +them Captain Ringgold's reputation as a prophet was in peril, for he had +predicted a smooth sea all the way to Bombay. +<p align=justify> +The Blanche, the steam-yacht of General Noury, which was only a trifle +larger than the Guardian-Mother, rolled even more. She was following the +latter, and seemed to be of about equal speed, though no trial had been +made between them. Miss Blanche and Louis had retreated to a dryer place +than the promenade when the shower of spray broke over the pilot-house upon +them, leaving the commander and Mr. Scott there. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold frowned as he looked out on the uneasy waves, for the +squall appeared to be a surprise to him; but it proved to be more than a +white squall, which may come out of a clear sky, while with a black one the +sky is wholly or partly covered with dark clouds. It continued to blow very +fresh, and the commotion in the elements amounted to nothing less than a +smart gale. +<p align=justify> +"This is uncommon in the region of the north-east monsoons," said the +commander, who was planking the promenade deck with Scott. "During January +and February the wind is set down as moderate in these waters. I have made +two runs from Cape of Good Hope to Bombay, and we had quiet seas from the +latitude of Cape Comorin to our destination both times; and I expected the +same thing at this season of the year on this voyage." +<p align=justify> +The captain was evidently vexed and annoyed at the failure of his +prediction, though squalls were liable to occur in any locality; but the +present rough weather had begun to look like a gale which might continue +for several days. The north-east monsoons were what he had a right to +expect; but the gale came up from the south south-west. The commander +appeared to be so much disturbed, that the young officer did not venture to +say anything for the next half-hour, though he continued to walk at his +side. +<p align=justify> +At the end of this time the commander descended to his cabin, inviting +Scott to go with him. On the great table was spread out the large chart of +the Indian Ocean. From Aden to Bombay he had drawn a red line, indicating +the course, east by north a quarter north, which was the course on which +the steamer was sailing. +<p align=justify> +"Have you the blue book that comes with this chart, Captain Ringgold?" +asked Scott, rather timidly, as though he had something on his mind which +he did not care to present too abruptly; for the commander was about the +biggest man on earth to him. +<p align=justify> +"This chart is an old one, as you may see by the looks of it and the +courses marked on it from the Cape of Good Hope," replied the captain, +looking at the young officer, to fathom his meaning. "I put all my charts +on board of the Guardian-Mother when we sailed for Bermuda the first time. +If I ever had the blue book of which you speak, I haven't it now; and I +forget all about it." +<p align=justify> +"I bought that chart at Aden the first day we were there, when I expected +to navigate the Maud to Bombay; and with it came the blue book, which +treats mainly of winds, weather, and currents," added Scott. "I studied it +with reference to this voyage, and I found a paragraph which interested me. +I will go to my state-room for the book, if you will permit me to read +about ten lines from it to you." +<p align=justify> +The captain did not object, and Scott soon returned to the commander's +cabin with the book. The autocrat of the ship was plainly dissatisfied with +himself at the failure of his prediction for fine weather, and perhaps he +feared that the ambitious young officer intended to instruct him in regard +to the situation, though Scott had conducted himself in the most modest and +inoffensive manner. +<p align=justify> +"I don't wish to be intrusive, Captain Ringgold, but I thought it was +possible that you had forgotten this paragraph," said the young officer, +with abundant deference in his tone and manner. +<p align=justify> +"Probably I never saw it; but read it, Mr. Scott," replied the commander. +<p align=justify> +"The weather is generally fine, and the sky clear, with neither squall nor +rain, except between Ras Seger and the island of Masira,'" Scott began to +read, when the commander interrupted him, and fixed his gaze on the chart, +to find the localities mentioned. +<p align=justify> +"Ras Sajer," said the captain, placing the point of his pencil on the cape +whose name he read. "That must be the one you mention." +<p align=justify> +"No doubt of it, sir; and I have noticed that the spelling on the chart and +in the books doesn't agree at all. The island is Massera on my chart." +<p align=justify> +"They mean the same locality. Go on, Mr. Scott," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +"'And the vicinity of the bay of Kuriyan Muriyan, where the winds and +weather are more boisterous and variable than on any other part of the +coast,'" continued Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Where is that bay?" asked the commander. +<p align=justify> +"It is between the two points mentioned before; but it is Kuria Muria on +the chart;" and the captain had the point of his pencil on it by this time. +<p align=justify> +"We are within three hours' sail of the longitude of that bay, but a +hundred and fifty miles south of it," said the commander. "The information +in the book is quite correct. Is there anything more about it?" +<p align=justify> +"Yes, sir; a few lines more, and I will read them: 'Respecting Kuriyan +Muriyan Bay, Captain S.B. Haines, I.N., remarks that the sudden change of +winds, termed by the Arabs <i>Belat</i>, and which blow with great violence +for several days, are much dreaded; but what surprised me more than these +land winds were the frequent and heavy gales from the S.S.W. during +February and March, blowing for six days together.'" +<p align=justify> +"This gale, for such it appears to be, instead of a mere squall, as I +supposed it was at first, has come before it was due by a few days; but it +proves that what you have read is entirely correct," said the commander. +"My two voyages in the Arabian Sea took me twenty degrees east of this +point, and therefore I had nothing but quiet water. But, Mr. Scott, you +have put an old navigator into the shade, and I commend you for the care +and skill with which you had prepared yourself for the voyage of the Maud +to Bengal." +<p align=justify> +"I protest that it was only an accident that I happened on that paragraph!" +exclaimed Scott, blushing under his browned face. +<p align=justify> +"You found what you were looking for, and that was no accident. I feel that +I have added an excellent young officer to the number of my officers," +added Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"I thank you, sir, with all my heart; but may I ask one favor of you?" +inquired the third officer. +<p align=justify> +"Name it, and I will grant it if possible." +<p align=justify> +"I earnestly request that you do not mention this little matter to any +person on board of the ship." +<p align=justify> +The commander of the Guardian-Mother was an honest and just man, and he was +disposed to give credit to any one who deserved it, even at his own +expense, and he looked at the young officer in silence for some moments. +Then they argued the question for a time; but the captain finally granted +the new officer's request, praising him for his modesty, which was rather a +newly developed virtue in his character. +<p align=justify> +The steamer continued to roll violently when Louis assisted Miss Blanche +down the stairs to the main cabin. The dozen passengers who had not +gone on deck after luncheon were in excellent humor, for all of them +were experienced sailors by this time, and beyond the discomforts of +seasickness. All of them held the commander in such high respect and +regard, that not one of them mentioned the failure of his prediction of +fine weather for the next five or six days. Perhaps all of them wondered, +for the captain's predictions before had been almost invariably verified; +but not one of them spoke of his missing it in this instance. +<p align=justify> +The gale continued the rest of the day and during the night. When the +morning watch came on duty at four o'clock, Captain Ringgold was pacing the +promenade deck, peering through the darkness, and observing the huge waves +that occasionally washed the upper deck. He had not slept a wink during the +night, though he had reclined an hour on the divan in the pilot-house. He +was not alarmed for the safety of his ship, but he looked out for her very +carefully in heavy weather. +<p align=justify> +He was particularly interested in the conduct of the Blanche. She had taken +a position to windward of the Guardian-Mother, and appeared to be doing +quite as well in the heavy sea as her consort. She had been built with all +the strength and solidity that money could buy; and she was as handsome a +craft as ever floated, not even excepting her present companion on the +stormy sea, and she was proving herself to be an able sea-boat. +<p align=justify> +"Good-morning, Mr. Scott," said the commander, as the young officer touched +his cap to him. +<p align=justify> +Scott had been temporarily placed in the watch with the first officer, and +his post of duty was at the after part of the ship. +<p align=justify> +"Good-morning, Captain Ringgold," replied Scott, as he halted to ascertain +if the commander had any orders for him. "The gale does not appear to have +moderated since I turned in, sir." +<p align=justify> +"On the contrary, it blows fresher than ever. I did not expect such a nasty +time as we are having of it," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"According to Captain Haines of the Indian navy, we may expect it to last +five days longer, for we have had nearly one day of it." +<p align=justify> +"Not quite so bad as that, Mr. Scott. If we had stayed in the vicinity of +Kuria Muria Bay, we might have got five days more of it; but this is a +local storm, and we shall doubtless run out of it in a day or two at most, +and come again into the region of the north-east monsoon." +<p align=justify> +"I hope so for the sake of those in the cabin; and I did not think of the +local feature you mention." +<p align=justify> +"The deck is well officered now," added the captain with a gape, "and I +will take a nap in my cabin for an hour or two. Mr. Boulong will have me +called if the storm gets any worse." +<p align=justify> +The commander went to his cabin, and Scott walked aft to the compass abaft +the mainmast. The binnacle was lighted, and he looked into it. The course +was all right, though the ship yawed a good deal in the trough of the sea, +the gale pelting her squarely on the beam. Though it was not an easy thing +even for a thorough seaman to preserve his centre of gravity, the young +officer made his way fore and aft with the aid of the life-lines which had +been extended the evening before. He watched the motions of the Blanche, +for there was nothing else to be seen but the waste of angry waters. +<p align=justify> +Far ahead the light of the breaking day began to penetrate the gloomy black +clouds. It was a pleasure to come out of the deep darkness, and he observed +with interest the increase of the light. While he was watching the east, +the lookout man in the foretop hailed the deck. He listened and moved +forward to the foremast to hear what passed between him and the first +officer. +<p align=justify> +"Steamer on the port bow, sir!" reported the man aloft. +<p align=justify> +Scott saw the vessel, but she was too far off to be made out. She passed +and disappeared; but about the moment he lost sight of her, he thought he +heard the report of a musket, or some other firearm, to the northward of +the ship. He listened with all his ears, and then distinguished very +faintly shouts from human voices. He waited only long enough to satisfy +himself that he had not mistaken the roar of the sea for calls for help, +and then went forward to the pilot-house, where he announced that he had +heard the shots and the cries. +<p align=justify> +"Are you sure of it, Mr. Scott?" asked the first officer. +<p align=justify> +"Very sure, sir." +<p align=justify> +"We have heard nothing, and the lookouts have not reported anything," added +Mr. Boulong. +<p align=justify> +"On deck, sir! Wreck on the port beam!" yelled the lookout aloft. +<p align=justify> +"Call the captain, Mr. Scott," said the first officer, as he went out on +deck. +<p align=justify> +He made out the ominous sounds, and judged that they came from a point not +more than a mile distant. The commander and Scott appeared immediately; and +with the increased daylight they discovered several men clinging to what +appeared to be a wreck. + + + + +<a name="III"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER III</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The Guardian-Mother had sailed from New York about fourteen months before +she appeared in the waters of the Arabian Sea. She was a steam-yacht of 624 +tons burden, owned by Louis Belgrave, a young man who had just entered his +eighteenth year. His native place was Von Blonk Park, in New Jersey, most +of whose territory had been the farm of the young gentleman's grandfather, +who had become a millionaire by the sale of his land. +<p align=justify> +The terrors of the War of the Rebellion had driven the old man to convert +his property into gold, which he had concealed so effectually that no one +could find it. His only son, more patriotic than his father, had enlisted +in the loyal army, and had been severely wounded in the brave and faithful +discharge of his duty, and returned to the home of his childhood a wreck of +his former self. +<p align=justify> +His father died during his absence, and Paul Belgrave, the soldier, was his +sole heir. His physical condition improved considerably, though he never +ceased to suffer from the effects of his wound. The homestead of his +father, which had not been sold with the rest of his land, afforded the +invalid a sufficient support; and he married Maud Nashwood, the only +daughter of one of the small magnates of Von Blonk Park, which had now +become a thriving town, occupied mainly by business men of New York. +<p align=justify> +Paul Belgrave was a millionaire without any millions; for he was never able +to find the large property of his deceased parent. For ten years he dug +over the cellar bottom of the old house, and the ground in the vicinity; +but the missing million entirely eluded his search, and he died as soon as +he gave up all hope of finding the treasure. +<p align=justify> +Mrs. Belgrave was left with their son, then eight years old; but the estate +of her husband, with the property of her father, supported her comfortably. +The widow had been married at sixteen; and she had the reputation of being +the prettiest woman in the Park after her husband died. She had many +suitors, but she finally married a handsome English horse-trainer, who +called himself Wade Farrongate, though that was not his real name. +<p align=justify> +For some reason not then apparent, this man at once became the enemy of +Louis Belgrave; and the war between them raged for several years, though +the young man did all he could to conciliate his stepfather. The man was a +rascal, a villain to the very core of his being, though he had attained a +position of considerable influence among the sporting gentry of New York +and New Jersey, mainly for his skill as a jockey, and in the management of +the great races. +<p align=justify> +Louis discovered a plan on the part of Farrongate to appropriate the stakes +and other money dependent upon the great race of the season, and escape to +England with his wife and stepson. In this scheme Louis, after he had +obtained the evidence of the jockey's villany, went on board of the steamer +which was to convey them all over the ocean, and succeeded, with no little +difficulty, in convincing his mother of the unworthiness of her husband; +and she returned with her son to Von Blonk Park. The young man went back to +the steamer, and by skilful management obtained all the plunder of the +villain, who sailed for England without his treasure. +<p align=justify> +Farrongate, or rather John Scoble, which was his real name, was a deserter +from the British army. He was arrested on his return, and compelled to +serve out the remainder of his term of service. The death of an uncle in +India recruited his finances, and he returned to New York. It afterwards +appeared that he had some clew to Peter Belgrave's missing million, and he +was therefore anxious to recover the possession of the wife who had +repudiated him. +<p align=justify> +A successful conspiracy enabled him to convey her to Bermuda. At this stage +of the drama, Captain Royal Ringgold, an early admirer of the pretty widow, +became an active participant in the proceedings, and from that time he had +been the director of all the steps taken to recover Louis's mother. +<p align=justify> +In the interim of Scoble's absence, Louis, assisted by his schoolfellow and +devoted friend, Felix McGavonty, had accomplished what his father had +failed to achieve in ten years of incessant search: he had found the +missing million of his grandfather, and had become a millionaire at +sixteen. The young man fancied that yachting would suit him; and he +proposed to Squire Moses Scarburn, the trustee of all his property, to +purchase a cheap vessel for his use. +<p align=justify> +The spiriting away of his mother gave a new importance to the nautical +fancy of the young man. Captain Ringgold condemned the plan to buy a cheap +vessel. He had made a part of his ample fortune as a shipmaster, and had +been an officer in the navy during the last half of the War of the +Rebellion. He advised the young man's mother, who was also his guardian, +and the trustee to buy a good-sized steam-yacht. +<p align=justify> +A New York millionaire had just completed one of the most magnificent +steamers ever built, of over six hundred tons' burden; but his sudden death +robbed him of the pleasures he anticipated from a voyage around the world +in her, and the vessel was for sale at a reasonable price. The shipmaster +fixed upon this craft as the one for the young millionaire, declaring that +she would give the owner an education such as could not be obtained at any +college; and that she could be sold for nearly all she cost when she was no +longer needed. +<p align=justify> +This argument, and the pressing necessity of such a steamer for the +recovery of Mrs. Belgrave, carried the day with the trustee. The vessel +was bought; and as she had not yet been named, Louis called her the +Guardian-Mother, in love and reverence for her who had watched over him +from his birth. After some stirring adventures which befell Louis, the new +steam-yacht proceeded to Bermuda, where Scoble had wrecked his vessel on +the reefs; but the object of the search and all the ship's company were +saved. +<p align=justify> +The Guardian-Mother returned to New York after this successful voyage, +though not till Captain Ringgold had obtained a strong hint that Scoble had +a wife in England. The educational scheme of the commander was then fully +considered, and it was decided to make a voyage around the world in the +Guardian-Mother. She was duly prepared for the purpose by Captain Ringgold. +A ship's company of the highest grade was obtained. The last to be shipped +was W. Penn Sharp as a quartermaster, the only vacancy on board. He had +been a skilful detective most of his life, and failing health alone +compelled him to go to sea; and he had been a sailor in his early years, +attaining the position of first officer of a large Indiaman. +<p align=justify> +The captain made him third officer at Bermuda, the better to have his +services as a detective. He had investigated Scoble's record, and +eventually found Mrs. Scoble in Cuba, where she had inherited the large +fortune of an uncle whom she had nursed in his last sickness. Scoble had +come into the possession of the wealth of a brother who had recently died +in Bermuda. He had purchased a steam-yacht of four hundred tons, in which +he had followed the Guardian-Mother, and had several times attempted to +sink her in collisions. +<p align=justify> +Officers came to Cuba to arrest him for his crimes at the races, and he was +sent to the scene of his villany, where the court sentenced him to Sing +Sing for a long term. The court in Cuba decreed that his yacht belonged to +his wife; and her new owner, at the suggestion of the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, made Penn Sharp, to whom she was largely indebted for the +fortune to which she had succeeded, the captain of her. The steam-yacht was +the Viking, and Mrs. Scoble sailed in her to New York, and then to England, +where she obtained a divorce from her recreant husband, and became the wife +of Captain Sharp, who was now in command of the Blanche, the white steamer +that sailed abreast of the Guardian-Mother when the wreck in the Arabian +Sea was discovered. +<p align=justify> +From a sailing-yacht sunk in a squall in the harbor of New York, the crew +of the steamer had saved two gentlemen. One was a celebrated physician and +surgeon, suffering from overwork, Dr. Philip Hawkes. He was induced to +accept the commander's offer of a passage around the world for his services +as the surgeon of the ship. His companion was a learned Frenchman, +afflicted in the same manner as his friend; and he became the instructor on +board. +<p align=justify> +Squire Scarburn, Louis's trustee, who was always called "Uncle Moses," was +a passenger. Mrs. Belgrave had taken with her Mrs. Sarah Blossom, as a +companion. She had been Uncle Moses's housekeeper. She was a good-looking +woman of thirty-six, and one of the "salt of the earth," though her +education, except on Scripture subjects, had been greatly neglected. Felix +McGavonty, the Milesian crony of Louis, had been brought up by the trustee, +and had lived in his family. The good lady wanted to be regarded as the +mother of Felix, and the young man did not fully fall in with the idea. +<p align=justify> +When Louis recovered the stolen treasure of the jockey, he had applied to +one of the principal losers by the crime, Mr. Lowell Woolridge, then +devoted to horse-racing and yachting, for advice in regard to the disposal +of the plunder. All who had lost any of the money were paid in full; and +the gentleman took a fancy to the young man who consulted him. For the +benefit of his son he discarded racing from his amusements. He invited +Louis and his mother to several excursions in his yacht; and the two +families became very intimate, though they were not of the same social +rank, for Mr. Woolridge was a millionaire and a magnate of the Fifth +Avenue. +<p align=justify> +The ex-sportsman was the father of a daughter and a son. At fifteen Miss +Blanche was remarkably beautiful, and Louis could not help recognizing the +fact. But he was then a poor boy; and his mother warned him not to get +entangled in any affair of the heart, which had never entered the head of +the subject of the warning. When the missing million came to light, she did +not repeat her warning. +<p align=justify> +After the Guardian-Mother had sailed on her voyage all-over-the-world, Miss +Blanche took a severe cold, which threatened serious consequences; and the +doctors had advised her father to take her to Orotava, in the Canary +Islands, in his yacht. The family had departed on the voyage; but +before the Blanche, as the white sailing-yacht was called, reached her +destination, she encountered a severe gale, and had a hole stove in her +planking by a mass of wreckage. Her ship's company were thoroughly +exhausted when the Guardian-Mother, bound to the same islands, discovered +her, and after almost incredible exertions, saved the yacht and the family. +<p align=justify> +The beautiful young lady entirely recovered her health during the voyage, +and Dr. Hawkes declared that she was in no danger whatever. The Blanche +proceeded with the steamer to Mogadore, on the north-west coast of Africa, +in Morocco. Here the ship was visited by a high officer of the army of +Morocco, who was the possessor of almost unbounded wealth. He was +fascinated by the beauty of Miss Blanche, and his marked attentions excited +the alarm of her father and mother, as well as of the commander. He had +promised to visit the ship again, and take the party to all the noted +places in the city. +<p align=justify> +The parents and the captain regarded such a visit as a calamity, and the +steamer made her way out of the harbor very early the next morning, towing +the yacht. The Guardian-Mother sailed for Madeira, accommodating her speed +to that of the Blanche. The party had been there only long enough to see +the sights, before the high official, Ali-Noury Pacha, in his steam-yacht +come into the harbor of Funchal. +<p align=justify> +The commander immediately beat another retreat; but the Fatimé, as the +Moroccan steamer was called, followed her to Gibraltar. Here the Pacha +desired an interview with Captain Ringgold, who refused to receive him on +board, for he had learned in Funchal that his character was very bad, and +he told him so to his face. When the commander went on shore he was +attacked in the street by the Pacha and some of his followers; but the +stalwart captain knocked him with a blow of his fist in a gutter filled +with mud. Ali-Noury was fined by the court for the assault, and, thirsting +for revenge, he had followed the Guardian-Mother to Constantinople, and +through the Archipelago, seeking the vengeance his evil nature demanded. He +employed a man named Mazagan to capture Miss Blanche or Louis, or both of +them. +<p align=justify> +Captain Sharp, who was cruising in the Viking with his wife, while +at Messina found the Pacha beset by robbers, and badly wounded. The +ex-detective took him on board of his steamer, procured a surgeon, and +saved the life of the Moor, not only in beating off the robbers that beset +him, but in the care of him after he was wounded. They became strong +friends; and both the captain and Mrs. Sharp, who had been the most devoted +of nurses to him, spoke their minds to him very plainly. +<p align=justify> +The Pacha was repentant, for his vices were as contrary to the religion of +Mohammed as to that of the New Testament. Captain Sharp was confident that +his guest was thoroughly reformed, though he did not become a Christian, as +his nurse hoped he would. Then his preserver learned that the Pacha had +settled his accounts with Captain Mazagan, and sold him the Fatimé. +<p align=justify> +It appeared when Captain Sharp told his story to the commander of the +Guardian-Mother at Aden, that Mazagan had been operating on his own hook in +Egypt and elsewhere to "blackmail" the trustee of Louis. The Pacha had +ordered a new steamer to be built for him in England; and when she arrived +at Gibraltar, he had given the command of her to Captain Sharp, to whom he +owed his life and reformation. +<p align=justify> +At Aden, Captain Ringgold discovered the white steamer, and fearing she was +the one built for the Pacha, as Mazagan had informed him in regard to her, +he paid her a visit, and found Captain Sharp in command of her. The Moor +was known as General Noury here, and he made an abject apology to the +visitor. Convinced that the Moor had really reformed his life, they were +reconciled, and General Noury was received with favor by all the party. +<p align=justify> +The Blanche was sailing in company of the Guardian-Mother for Bombay when +the wreck with several men on it was discovered. And now having reviewed +the incidents of the past, fully related in the preceding volumes of the +series, it is quite time to attend to the imperilled persons on the wreck. + + + + +<a name="IV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER IV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE</h4> + +<p align=justify> +It was still but a dim light when the commander appeared on deck. He could +not have slept more than an hour, but he was as wideawake and active as +ever before in his life. He had a spyglass in his hand, with which he +proceeded to examine the wreck as soon as he had obtained its bearings; for +he never did anything, even under such desperate circumstances as the +present, until he had first ascertained what was best to be done. +<p align=justify> +"How long is it since you made out the wreck, Mr. Boulong?" he inquired, +still looking through the glass. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Scott reported cries from that direction not ten minutes ago, and the +lookout aloft hailed the deck a minute or two later," replied the first +officer. +<p align=justify> +"Make the course north by east," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +"North by east, sir," replied Mr. Boulong, mounting the promenade, and +giving the order to the quartermaster through the window. "Steer small till +you get the course, Bangs." +<p align=justify> +The captain and the third officer remained on the promenade deck, still +observing the persons on the wreck, who continued to shout and to discharge +their firearms till they saw the head of the steamer slowly turned to the +north, when they appeared to be satisfied that relief was at hand. +<p align=justify> +"They are in a very dangerous position," said the commander. "I cannot make +out what they are clinging too; but it is washed by the sea at every wave, +and they cannot hold out long in that situation. I wonder that all of them +have not been knocked off before this time." +<p align=justify> +"They must have some strong hold on the thing that floats them, whatever it +is, for they are under water half the time," replied Scott, who was also +using a spyglass. "I can't make out what they are on; but it looks like a +whaleback to me, with her upper works carried away." +<p align=justify> +"There are no whalebacks in these seas," replied the captain. +<p align=justify> +"But I saw one in New York Harbor; and I have read that one has crossed the +Atlantic, going through the Welland Canal from the great lakes." +<p align=justify> +"They have no mission in these waters, though what floats that party looks +very much like one. Call all hands, Mr. Boulong, and clear away the first +cutter." +<p align=justify> +By this time the Guardian-Mother was on her course to the northward. The +storm was severe, but not as savage as it might have been, or as the +steamer had encountered on the Atlantic when she saved the sailing-yacht +Blanche from foundering. The ship had been kept on her course for Bombay, +though, as she had the gale on the beam, she was condemned to wallow in the +trough of the sea; and stiff and able as she was, she rolled heavily, as +any vessel would have done under the same conditions. +<p align=justify> +The change of course gave her the wind very nearly over the stern, and she +pitched instead of rolling, sometimes lifting her propeller almost out of +the water, which made it whirl like a top, and then burying it deep in the +waves, causing it to moan and groan and shake the whole after part of the +ship, rousing all the party in the cabin from their slumbers. The ship had +hardly changed her course before Louis came on deck, and was soon followed +by Felix McGavonty. +<p align=justify> +"What's the row, Mr. Scott?" asked the former. +<p align=justify> +"Are ye's thryin' to shake the screw out of her?" inquired the Milesian, +who could talk as good English as his crony, the owner, but who +occasionally made use of the brogue to prevent him from forgetting his +mother tongue, as he put it, though he was born in the United States. +"Don't ye's do it; for sure, you will want it 'fore we get to Bombay." +<p align=justify> +"Don't you see those men standing upon something, or clinging to whatever +floats them? They are having a close call; but I hope we shall be able to +save them," replied the third officer. +<p align=justify> +The captain had gone to the pilot-house, from the windows of which the +wreck could be seen very plainly, as its distance from the ship was rapidly +reduced. By this time the entire crew had rushed to the deck, and were +waiting for orders on the forecastle. Mr. Boulong, with his boat's crew, +had gone to the starboard quarter, where the first cutter was swung in on +her davits. The boat pulled six oars, and the cockswain made seven hands. +<p align=justify> +With these the cutter wad quickly swung out, and the crew took their places +in her, the bowman at the forward tackle, and the cockswain at the after. +It was the same crew with which the first officer had boarded the Blanche +when she was in imminent peril of going down, and he had entire confidence +both in their will and their muscle. He stood on the rail, holding on at +the main shrouds, ready for further orders. +<p align=justify> +In the pilot-house, with both quartermasters at the wheel, the captain was +still observing with his glass the men in momentary peril of being washed +from their insecure position into the boiling sea. Felix had gone aft with +the first officer, and had assisted in shoving out the first cutter from +the skids inboard, and Louis had come into the pilot-house with Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Has any one counted the number of men on the wreck, or whatever it is?" +inquired the commander. +<p align=justify> +"There are eleven of them," promptly replied Scott, who, as an officer of +the ship, was in his element, and very active both in mind and body. +<p align=justify> +"Too many for one boat in a heavy sea," added Captain Ringgold. "You will +clear away the second cutter, Mr. Scott, and follow Mr. Boulong to the +wreck." +<p align=justify> +"All the second cutters aft!" shouted the third officer from the window; +and the crew of this boat rushed up the ladder to the promenade deck, and +followed the life-line to the davits of the cutter. +<p align=justify> +"Bargate, who pulls the stroke oar in the second cutter, has the rheumatism +in his right arm, and is not fit to go in the boat," interposed Mr. +Gaskette, the second officer. +<p align=justify> +"Let me take his place, Captain Ringgold!" eagerly exclaimed Louis +Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"Do you think you can pull an oar in a heavy seaway, Mr. Belgrave?" asked +the commander, who always treated the owner with entire respect in the +presence of others, though he called him by his given name when they were +alone. +<p align=justify> +"I know I can!" replied Louis very confidently. +<p align=justify> +"I do not object, if Mr. Scott is willing." +<p align=justify> +"I am very willing, for Mr. Belgrave's muscle is as hard as a flint." +<p align=justify> +"Very well. Hurry up!" added the captain. +<p align=justify> +Four other men were sent aft to assist in the preparations for putting the +second cutter into the water; and in as short a time as Mr. Gaskette, who +usually went in that boat on important occasions, would have required to do +it, the cutter was ready to be dropped into the water when the order was +given. +<p align=justify> +The captain and the second officer continued to watch the party on the +wreck, expecting every moment to see some of them swept into the savage +waves that beat against their frail support. The ship went at full speed on +her course; for the commander would not waste an instant while the lives of +so many human beings depended upon his action. +<p align=justify> +"Can you make out what they are clinging to, Mr. Gaskette?" asked the +commander of the only person besides the two quartermasters who remained +with him in the pilot-house. +<p align=justify> +"Yes, sir; I am just getting an idea in regard to it, though the thing is +awash so that I can hardly make it out," replied the second officer. "I +think it is the bottom of a rather small vessel, upside down; for I see +something like a keel. The party have two ropes stretched the whole length +of the bottom, to which they are clinging." +<p align=justify> +"You are right; that is plainly the bottom of a vessel, and I wonder that +the craft has not gone down by this time. How she happens to be in that +situation, and why she has not sunk, are matters yet to be explained. Go +aft, if you please, and see that both cutters are ready to be lowered into +the water, Mr. Gaskette. It is not prudent to go much nearer to the wreck, +for the gale may drift us upon it." +<p align=justify> +The second officer left the pilot-house, and found the crews all seated in +their boats, with everything in readiness to obey the order to lower away; +and he reported the fact to his superior. +<p align=justify> +"Starboard the helm, Bangs, and steer small!" said Captain Ringgold as soon +as the officer returned with the information he had obtained. +<p align=justify> +To "steer small" is to move the rudder very gradually; for if the course +were suddenly changed a quarter of the circumference of the compass in such +a sea as was then raging, it would be liable to make the steamer engage in +some disagreeable, if not dangerous, antics. +<p align=justify> +"Steady!" added the captain when the steamer was headed a point south of +west. +<p align=justify> +This position brought the starboard side of the ship on the lee; that is, +this part of the ship was sheltered from the fury of the wind and the +waves, and it was the proper situation in which to lower a boat into the +water; for on the windward side these two powerful forces would be likely +to stave the cutter against the side of the steamer. +<p align=justify> +After the commander had struck the gong to stop her, he gave the order to +the second officer to lower the first cutter; and he left the pilot-house +for this purpose. Mr. Boulong was an exceptionally skilful officer in the +handling of a boat in a heavy sea. Watching for the favorable moment, he +gave the order to the cockswain and bowman to lower away, with the aid of +the oarsmen near them. +<p align=justify> +"Cast off the after fall, Stoody!" said he sharply to the cockswain; and +the order was promptly obeyed. "Cast off your fall, Knott!" he added almost +instantly. "Let fall! Give way!" +<p align=justify> +A receding wave carried the boat away from the side of the ship, precisely +as Mr. Boulong had calculated. The six oars dropped into the water as one, +and the men began to pull, getting a firm hold on the receding wave, which +sent the cutter to a safe distance from the ship. As soon as she was clear, +the commander, who had remained in the pilot-house, rang the gong to go +ahead. When the steamer had gathered sufficient headway, she was brought +about as cautiously as before. +<p align=justify> +The second cutter was on the port quarter of the vessel, and this movement +placed the boat under the lee. Mr. Gaskette had remained aft, and when the +ship had stopped her screw and nearly lost her headway, the captain shouted +to him through his speaking-trumpet, which the roar of the waves and the +escaping steam rendered necessary, to "Lower away!" +<p align=justify> +"Lower away when you are ready, Mr. Scott!" repeated the second officer. +<p align=justify> +Though Scott was only eighteen years old, he was an intuitive sailor, and +had a good deal of experience for his years. He had never before occupied +his present position; but his nautical genius, fortified by sundry combats +with wind and waves, made him feel quite at home. As the first officer had +done, he seized the auspicious moment when the retiring wave promised its +efficient aid, and gave the orders to cast off the falls. +<p align=justify> +The six oars grappled with the water on the smooth side of a great wave, +and carried it to the apex of the next billow; and she went off as +handsomely as the first cutter had done. Mr. Gaskette saw these manoeuvres +successfully accomplished, and then started for the pilot-house, to report +to the captain. On his way he could not help giving an inquiring look at +the manner in which the substitute for Bargate performed his duty. +<p align=justify> +At eighteen Louis was a healthy, vigorous, athletic fellow, developed by an +active life on the ocean, and weighing one hundred and fifty pounds. In any +trial of strength he was more than the equal of any other member of the +"Big Four," as the four young men berthing in the cabin called themselves, +borrowing the name from a combination of railroads in the West. He was well +trained as an oarsman, and the second officer was satisfied that he was +doing his full share of the work. +<p align=justify> +As Mr. Gaskette reached the pilot-house there was a commotion there, and it +was evident to him that something unlooked for had occurred. He glanced at +the two cutters; but they were all right, and were steadily making their +way to the locality of the wreck. +<p align=justify> +"The wreck is going down, sir!" exclaimed Bangs with startling energy just +before the second officer reached the door. +<p align=justify> +"It is all up with that craft!" added Twist, the other quartermaster. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold said nothing, but calmly surveyed the men who were now +struggling in the water. They seemed to be all able to swim; but it was a +closer call than they had had before. The two cutters appeared to be their +only possible salvation, and they were still at a considerable distance +from the scene of peril. +<p align=justify> +It was a terribly exciting and harrowing spectacle; but the commander +looked as impassable as ever. He rang the gong for the ship to go ahead; +and Mr. Gaskette wondered what he intended to do, though he was not left +more than a moment in suspense. + + + + +<a name="V"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER V</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The first and second cutters of the Guardian-Mother were struggling bravely +with the huge billows, but not making very rapid progress, though the gale +was in their favor. The eleven men floundering in the water where the wreck +had disappeared under them were provided with life-preservers, it was now +discovered, and their chances were somewhat less desperate than they were +at first taken to be. But the waves rudely knocked them about, and +sometimes upset them so as to require a struggle to regain their upright +position. +<p align=justify> +"The Blanche is close aboard of us, Captain Ringgold," said Mr. Gaskette. +"She is running at full speed for a position on our port hand." +<p align=justify> +"Very good," replied the commander. "That is the right thing for her to do, +if she don't come too near us." +<p align=justify> +"She is at a safe distance, sir, and her starboard quarter-boat is manned +and ready to drop into the water." +<p align=justify> +"Captain Sharp will do the right thing at the right time," replied the +commander, whose gaze was riveted upon the struggling party in the water. +<p align=justify> +"I trust we shall be able to save the whole of them." +<p align=justify> +"The chances are good for it," answered the second officer. +<p align=justify> +"How is the second cutter doing?" inquired Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"She is doing very well, sir, though she is some distance behind the first +cutter, for she got away from the ship later. Mr. Belgrave is pulling a +stroke as vigorous as the rest of the crew. The Blanche is coming about, +and she will have her starboard boat in the water in a few minutes more." +<p align=justify> +As her head swung round to port she stopped her screw, and then backed for +a few moments, till she had killed the most of her headway; for Captain +Sharp knew better than to drop the boat into the water while the vessel was +making sternway. In a very short space of time the six-oar craft was +pulling with all the muscle of her British tars for the scene of peril, and +not more than two cables' length astern of the second cutter of the +Guardian-Mother. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold observed the boats with the most intense interest as they +approached the unfortunate men in the water. The Blanche came about again, +and her other quarter-boat was soon pulling after the first. Possibly there +was some feeling of rivalry among the crews of the boats in the good work +in which they were engaged, for they were all putting their utmost vigor +into their oars. +<p align=justify> +But no boat appeared to gain on the others, and the one which had started +first continued to maintain her advantage till the work of rescuing the +sufferers actually began. By this time the action of the waves had +separated the party, so that they were scattered over a considerable +surface of the breaking billows. Mr. Boulong could see that some of the men +in the water were nearly exhausted; for many of them had wasted their +strength in useless struggles. +<p align=justify> +The first cutter was approaching a man who was at the extremity of the +western wing of the party. He was a European of thirty years or less; and +though his head, hair, and beard were dripping with salt water, there was +something in his expression, as he bestowed a single glance upon the boat +now close to him, which commanded the respect, and even admiration, of the +first officer. He was cool and self-possessed in spite of the peril of his +situation, and was observing with painful solicitude the struggles of a +person about ten fathoms from him. +<p align=justify> +"Stand by to lay on your oars!" said Mr. Boulong with energy, when the +first cutter was within a boat's length of the individual. "Hold water! +Stand by to haul him in, Knott!" he added to the bow man. "Stern all!" +<p align=justify> +These orders were given as the boat came within her length of the man; and +Knott was unshipping his oar, when the stranger raised his left hand, +pointing to the struggling person he had been observing in spite of the +near approach of the cutter. +<p align=justify> +"Save that man first, for he is drowning!" he shouted in tones full of +anxiety, if not positive suffering. "I can take care of myself for a while +longer." +<p align=justify> +Mr. Boulong's vision had taken in the drowning man, and he fully realized +that the person's situation was desperate, if he was not already hopelessly +lost. He had struggled and twisted himself in his involuntary efforts, till +his life-preserver had worked its way down to his hips, and then it +overthrew him; for he turned a somerset, and disappeared under a coming +wave. He had utterly "lost his head," and was like an infant in the fury of +the billows. +<p align=justify> +The men were still backing water with their oars, in obedience to the order +of the officer; but as soon as the oars would go clear of the +self-possessed gentleman, Mr. Boulong gave the command to "Give way!" and +again the cutter went ahead. +<p align=justify> +It required but a few strokes to give the necessary headway to the boat; +and Knott was again ordered to stand by to haul him in. The great wave +ingulfed and swept over him, and again left him aimlessly battling with the +killing billows. The bowman was in position, and leaned over so far to +reach the sufferer, that the officer ordered the next two men to seize him +by the legs, to prevent him from being dragged overboard. +<p align=justify> +Knott grasped him by his upper garment, and drew his head out of the water. +He held on like an excited bulldog, in spite of the erratic vaulting of the +boat and the struggles of him whom the deep sea seemed to have chosen as +its victim. But the bowman was a muscular seaman of fifty, and he won the +victory over the billows, and hauled the man into the cutter. He was a +person of rather swarthy complexion, dressed in Hindu costume. He was +passed along through the oarsmen to the stern-sheets, where Mr. Boulong +proceeded to lift him up with his feet in the air, to free his lungs from +the salt water he must have imbibed. +<p align=justify> +By this time the second cutter came up to the scene, and Scott in command +wondered why the first officer had passed by one man to save another; for +in the commotion of the waves he had not been able to realize the condition +of the Hindu, as he appeared to be. But the cool gentleman had been +over-confident; and instead of waiting for one of the boats to pick him up, +he had disengaged himself from his life-preserver, and attempted to swim to +the first cutter. Mr. Boulong was so occupied with his treatment of the +first man rescued, that he did not see him, or hear his shout above the +noise of the savage waves, and had directed the cockswain to steer for the +next man, who seemed to be an older person than either of the others. +<p align=justify> +The Hindu had not entirely lost his senses; and when he was disburdened of +the load of salt water he had swallowed, he looked about him, though still +in a somewhat dazed condition. +<p align=justify> +"Dr. Ferrolan!" he exclaimed. "Oh, save him!" He pointed to him as the +stern of the boat rose on a billow; and he proved to be the person towards +whom the cockswain was steering the boat. "Where is Lord Tremlyn?" he +asked, as he surveyed the surrounding waters. "There!" he screamed wildly, +as he pointed over the stern, where the person indicated was swimming for +the first cutter. +<p align=center> +<a name="page045"></a> + +<img src="images/page045.png" border=0 alt=""A +ready seaman seized him by the arm."--Page 45."> + +<center><i>"A +ready seaman seized him by the arm."--Page 45.</i></center> + + +<p align=justify> + +"The other boat is close aboard of him, and will soon pick him up," said +Mr. Boulong, turning his attention to one ahead of the cutter. +<p align=justify> +As he spoke, a booming billow struck Lord Tremlyn, as the Hindu had +revealed his name, just as Scott was running his boat up to take him on +board. He was caught just in the comb of the wave, and it upset him, making +him turn a complete somerset, as his companion had done; but he was master +of himself, and when he came up, he appeared to dive through the crest of +another billow, and came out close alongside Scott's boat, near the bow. A +ready seaman seized him by the arm, and, with the aid of another, hauled +him into the boat, where he was passed into the stern-sheets. +<p align=justify> +"Was Sir Modava saved?" he asked, with no little excitement in his manner, +as he spit the salt water from his mouth. +<p align=justify> +"Don't know him, sir; but they just hauled a man into the first cutter," +replied Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Which is the first cutter?" asked Lord Tremlyn, looking about him. +<p align=justify> +"The one just ahead of us, sir." +<p align=justify> +"Thank God, he is saved!" ejaculated his soaked lordship. "Kindly pull up +to her, and let me be sure of it." +<p align=justify> +"That is easier said than done, sir. The first cutter has just picked up +another man, and now she is pulling for all she is worth for the next one. +I couldn't overhaul her if I tried, and just now our business is to save +those in the water," answered the third officer. +<p align=justify> +"You are right, Mr. Officer," added Lord Tremlyn, as he seated himself in +the place pointed out to him. +<p align=justify> +There were still eight others in the water, and all of them were to the +north of the boats. Those from the Blanche had noticed this fact, and were +pulling in that direction. Mr. Boulong had directed his boat, after taking +in Dr. Ferrolan, as the Hindu called him, to the person the farthest to the +eastward, leaving the others to be saved by the boats nearer to them. +<p align=justify> +It is enough to say that all the wrecked party were saved, without giving +the details of the picking up of each of them. The vessel in which they had +foundered had entirely disappeared, and nothing was seen belonging to her. +Against the head sea all the boats pulled back to the two steamers. The +first cutter of the Guardian-Mother had saved three, the second three, and +the two boats of the Blanche had picked up five. +<p align=justify> +"Now give three cheers, Mr. Scott," said Louis Belgrave in a low tone, as +the second cutter, ahead of the first on the return, approached the ship. +"The captain will understand from that we have saved all the party." +<p align=justify> +Scott approved the suggestion, and the cheers were given with a will, and +repeated by the crew of the first cutter, not far behind. They were +returned from the ship; and the voices included those who belonged in the +cabin, as well as the officers, seamen, and waiters, while the ladies, +clinging to the rails of the promenade, vigorously waved their +handkerchiefs, as the sun rose clear from the eastern waves, though it soon +disappeared in the clouds. It was evident to the officers that the gale was +breaking; or perhaps, as the commander put it, the ship was running out of +it. +<p align=justify> +Each of the boats got under the lee in turn; the falls were hooked on, and +both cutters were hoisted up to their davits, as they had come from the +scene of their exploits. Mr. Gaskette was directed to get the ship on her +course again; and Captain Ringgold went aft to welcome the shipwrecked +mariners, or whatever they were. +<p align=justify> +The seamen assisted the dripping passengers to the deck; and the masculine +tenants of the state-cabin crept along the life-lines to take part in the +scene, or at least to witness it. As the steamer was headed to the +eastward, the second cutter was the first to be hoisted up. The first +person to be assisted to the deck was Lord Tremlyn, though those who had +saved him were not yet aware of his quality. The commander extended his +hand to him, and it was cordially grasped. +<p align=justify> +"I congratulate you, sir, on your escape from the wreck of your ship," said +he. "I thank God most earnestly that we have been able to save all your +party. I hope none were lost before we made you out on the wreck." +<p align=justify> +"Not one, Captain; and I join with you in reverent gratitude to Him who +rules the sea in calm and storm, for our preservation from certain death, +which would have been our fate, one and all, but for the care and skill +with which you have worked out our salvation. I thank you and the brave and +noble officers and crews of your boats with all my mind and heart. I speak +not for myself alone, but for all the ship's company of the Travancore, now +gone to the bottom," replied Lord Tremlyn, again grasping the hand of the +commander. +<p align=justify> +In a short time the saved from the first cutter joined the others on the +promenade deck, and the Guardian-Mother proceeded on her course to Bombay. +<p align=justify> +"Were you the captain of the Travancore, sir?" asked the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I am only an amateur sailor," said his lordship; "but I was in command of +the unfortunate vessel, which was a steam-yacht of small dimensions, in the +service of the Indian government. Ah, Dr. Ferrolan," he continued as those +from the first cutter crossed the deck; and he grasped the hand of the +person addressed, "let us thank God first, and then the commander of this +ship, that we have been preserved,--all the ship's company, I am informed." +<p align=justify> +"I join you most heartily, my Lord," replied the doctor. "Captain----" +<p align=justify> +"Captain Ringgold," prompted Mr. Boulong, by whose boat he had been saved. +<p align=justify> +"Captain Ringgold, I am your debtor for life;" and he proceeded to express +his obligations more at length. "Permit me to present to you Lord Tremlyn, +a gentleman who came to India on semi-official business." +<p align=justify> +"I am happy to know you, Lord Tremlyn," replied the commander; but the +title did not appear to make a very profound impression upon him. +<p align=justify> +"Captain Ringgold, allow me to introduce my particular friend, Sir Modava +Rao, a gentleman high in the favor of the Indian government, and I may add +of all the native princes." +<p align=justify> +"I am very happy to make your acquaintance, Sir Modava," replied the +commander, taking his dusky hand. +<p align=justify> +The captain then invited the two titled gentlemen and the doctor of the +party to the cabin, while the two engineers were turned over to Mr. +Sentrick, the chief engineer. + + + + +<a name="VI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER VI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN</h4> + +<p align=justify> +It was still early in the morning, and the cabin party were not disposed to +remain any longer on the promenade deck; for it was almost impossible for +some of them to stand up, even with the aid of the life-lines and the +rails, and all of them retreated to the boudoir and music-room. None of +them had been introduced to the strangers; for they had asked to be +excused, as they were not in a presentable condition. +<p align=justify> +The trio of distinguished individuals who had been conducted to the main +cabin by the commander were of course soaked with water, and chilled after +remaining so long in their involuntary bath; and for this reason no +questions were asked of them to bring out an explanation of the cause of +the disaster of which they had been the victims. There were three vacant +state-rooms, to which they were assigned, and each of them had a bathroom +connected with it. The two cabin stewards had already been ordered to +prepare these rooms for the occupancy of the newcomers. Warm baths were +ready for them when they took possession of the apartments. +<p align=justify> +"All this is more luxurious than we have been accustomed to lately," said +Lord Tremlyn, when the commander ushered him into No. 11, which was +provided with everything belonging to a suite of rooms in the best hotels +of the United States. +<p align=justify> +"I hope you will be able to make yourself comfortable, sir; but your +greatest need at the present moment appears to be dry clothing, when you +have restored your limbs to their normal condition in the bath, and I will +endeavor to supply this want," replied the commander. +<p align=justify> +"You are very kind, Captain Ringgold, and I shall never cease to be +grateful to you for the service you have rendered to me and my companions; +for all of us would have perished when the wreck of our steamer went down, +without the prompt assistance you rendered to us," said the principal +personage of the party, who was still shivering under the influence of the +chill he had received in the cold waters of the sea. +<p align=justify> +The captain retired, closing the door of the room. He went to No. 12, to +which Sir Modava Rao had been shown, and then to No. 13, which had been +appropriated to Dr. Ferrolan. He assured both of them that dry clothing +would be provided for them, and both of them stammered forth their +obligations very profusely from between their chattering teeth. The doors +were closed upon them after they had been instructed to call upon the +stewards outside for anything they needed. +<p align=justify> +The commander had taken the measure of the trio, and knew where to apply +for the clothing needed. The surgeon of the party was about the size of Mr. +Sage, the chief steward of the ship; and he was asked to supply a full +suit, including undergarments, shirt, socks, collar, and cravat. His +lordship was about the size of Mr. Woolridge, who was more than happy to +provide for the needs of this gentleman. Professor Giroud was a rather +slender person; and from his wardrobe came the suit and other furnishings +for the titled Hindu. The clothing of each person was placed on a stool at +the door of his room, and he was notified where to obtain it. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Sage, you understand by this time that we have sixteen places to be +taken at the table," said Captain Ringgold to the chief steward. +<p align=justify> +"I think I had better set two tables, for sixteen would be rather crowded +in the space we use now," replied Mr. Sage, who was a Napoleon in his +calling. "I propose to arrange them as they were at the big dinner you gave +at Aden." +<p align=justify> +"And while you are about it you may arrange for nineteen places at the +tables," replied the captain; but he did not explain who were to occupy the +three he had added to the number. +<p align=justify> +The commander went to his private cabin, after he had visited the +pilot-house, and made a diagram of the two tables, assigning places to each +of the party and the guests, but leaving three of the end places vacant. He +showed it to Louis and Mrs. Belgrave, and they made no objection to the new +arrangement. It was handed to the chief steward, who put a card with the +name of the occupant of each seat on the plate in front of it. The +revolving chairs at the tables had to be all changed, and more added to it; +and Stevens the carpenter, with his assistants from the crew, were busy for +an hour making the change. +<p align=justify> +When the commander visited the music-room, he was unable to answer any of +the questions of his passengers as to the details of the wreck of the +Travancore, though he gave the names and quality of the three gentlemen who +had been invited to go below. The sleepers in the cabin had been aroused by +the erratic movements of the steamer before daylight, especially by the +change from rolling to pitching. There was a thundering roar of escaping +steam at times, and all of them had "turned out" to ascertain the cause of +the commotion. Felix and Morris had been the first to go on deck, and they +had informed the others of the nature of the event which had caused the +commotion on board. +<p align=justify> +The regular passengers had seen the strangers as they came down to the +promenade deck from the cutters. They were naturally filled with curiosity +to ascertain who and what the trio were. One was a lord, another a sir, and +the third a surgeon; and this was all that was known to any one. +<p align=justify> +"Have we really a live lord on board, Felix?" asked Mrs. Blossom, as they +were waiting for breakfast in the music-room. +<p align=justify> +"He is not a dead one, sure," replied the Milesian, "though he would soon +have been a very dead one if we had not happened along when we did." +<p align=justify> +"One of them was a colored man," added the good lady. +<p align=justify> +"Sir Modava Rao!" exclaimed Felix. "He is not more than a shade darker than +you are, Aunty; and he is a great man in the country we visit next. But dry +up; the captain is going to say something." +<p align=justify> +The commander gave the names of the three distinguished persons who were +then in the cabin. It was very nearly breakfast-time, and the trio had had +abundant time to dress themselves in the garments provided for them, and he +requested all the party to descend to the cabin, leading the way himself. +They found the rescued party seated on the divans between the doors of the +state-rooms, and they all rose to their feet as soon as the commander +appeared. +<p align=justify> +They presented an entirely different appearance from what they did in their +drabbled garments; for those who had supplied them with clothing had +brought out their best clothes, and the three gentlemen seemed to be in +condition to go to church. Lord Tremlyn hastened to the captain with +extended hand as he stepped down upon the floor of the cabin. +<p align=justify> +"I desire to express my gratitude anew to you, and to the gentlemen who +have made us capable of coming into your presence in proper condition," +said his lordship, as the commander took his offered hand, which was wrung +with the utmost cordiality. +<p align=justify> +"So far as I am concerned, my Lord, I have done nothing but my duty; for I +am a sailor, and the true son of the ocean is always ready to sacrifice +even his life to save a shipwrecked brother of the sea," replied the +captain. +<p align=justify> +"Then you are a true son of the ocean, Captain Ringgold, and I shall +remember you as long as I live in my prayers!" +<p align=justify> +"So shall we all!" exclaimed Sir Modava, taking the hand of the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I indorse the sentiment," added Dr. Ferrolan. +<p align=justify> +"In regard to the clothing," said the commander, as he threw back his head, +elevated his shoulders, and spread out his arms, so as to exhibit to its +full extent the height and breadth of his stalwart form, "I was, +unfortunately, unable to contribute to the supply of garments for your +party; for mine on any one of you would have been like a shirt on a +handspike." +<p align=justify> +"But a London tailor could hardly have fitted us any better," replied the +spokesman of the trio. +<p align=justify> +"I am happy to see you in such excellent condition so soon after the +disaster. With your permission, gentlemen, I desire to introduce you to +each of my passengers, promising to indicate those whose garments you +wear," continued the commander. +<p align=justify> +"With the greatest pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; and the other two bowed +their acquiescence. +<p align=justify> +"This, gentlemen, is Mr. Belgrave, the owner of the Guardian-Mother, the +steam-yacht in which he is making a voyage round the world." +<p align=justify> +"I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Belgrave," added +Lord Tremlyn, as he took the hand of the young millionaire. "We owe our +lives to the fortunate presence of your magnificent steam-yacht in this +part of the Arabian Sea. Permit me to present to you Prince Modava, who has +been knighted for his distinguished services to the British Crown, and who +prefers to be known by his English title." +<p align=justify> +"That's your colored man!" whispered Felix to Mrs. Blossom. +<p align=justify> +"Good gracious!" exclaimed the motherly lady. "A live prince!" +<p align=justify> +"It affords me very great pleasure to become acquainted with you, Mr. +Belgrave," with a smile so sweet and expressive that it ravished the hearts +of the ladies. "I am under a burden of obligation to you which I shall +never be able to repay; and I hope I shall be able to render you some +slight service in assisting you to see India, for I learn that you are +bound to Bombay." +<p align=justify> +"I thank you, Sir Modava; and we shall gratefully accept any favors you may +extend to us." +<p align=justify> +"Let me add, my Lord, that Mr. Belgrave pulled the stroke oar in the boat +which picked you up after you had sent our first cutter to the relief of +Sir Modava," interposed the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Then I shall have an additional reason to remember with gratitude the +young gentleman," added Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"Mrs. Belgrave, gentlemen, the mother of our owner," the captain proceeded, +as he took the lady by the arm. +<p align=justify> +"I congratulate you, madam, on being the mother of such a noble son; for +not many young men with the fortune he has at his command would pull an oar +in such a gale, such a storm, even to save his fellow-beings from perishing +in the angry waves," said his lordship, as he took the hand of the lady. +"Blessed be the mother of such a boy!" +<p align=justify> +The members of the Woolridge family were next presented to the trio; and +the distinguished strangers had something pleasant to say to each of them. +The "live lord" was only twenty-eight years old, and Sir Modava but thirty, +while Dr. Ferrolan was forty-six; and all of them seemed to be greatly +impressed, and even startled, when Miss Blanche dawned upon them; for she +was as beautiful to them as she was to everybody else, and they seemed to +be unwilling to allow her to make room for the others to be introduced. +<p align=justify> +Every person in the cabin seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion; +and the wearers of the borrowed clothing, as the owners of the garments +were indicated, brought forth many humorous remarks from both sides, which +it would be pleasant to report if space permitted. The ceremony was +finished in due time, though it was rather a long time. +<p align=justify> +"We are not accustomed to the companionship of titled personages," said the +commander at its conclusion. "But we are eminently a social party, and we +desire our guests to make themselves as much at home on board of the +Guardian-Mother as if they owned her, and were running her for their own +pleasure." +<p align=justify> +"Thank you, Captain Ringgold. Titles are not men, and we know that you are +all republicans. If we do not make ourselves worthy of the generous welcome +you have extended to us, we shall not ask any consideration on account +of the titles that have fallen upon us through the nature of our +constitutional government. I believe that we all stand on the same level +before our Maker; and whatever social distinctions prevail in our country, +they do not exempt any Briton from being a gentleman and an honest man," +replied Lord Tremlyn. And his remarks were warmly applauded by both English +and Americans; and the gentleman bowed his thanks for this appreciation of +his sentiments. +<p align=justify> +At a nod from the captain the bell was rung for breakfast. Taking the "live +lord" by the arm, he conducted him to the seat next him on his right. Louis +conducted Sir Modava to the place on the commander's left, and placed his +mother next to him. It was found impracticable to heed the names that had +been placed on the plates, for it would have taken too much time. Louis +took Miss Blanche to the place next to his mother, and seated himself at +her right. +<p align=justify> +Dr. Hawkes took possession of Dr. Ferrolan, and placed himself and Uncle +Moses on each side of him. The professor took charge of Mrs. Blossom. The +captain invited those who remained standing to take such seats as they +chose; and when all were placed at the table, he reverently said a brief +grace. Everybody was unusually social; but as the commander had announced +that the particulars of the wreck of the Travancore would be detailed in +due time by Dr. Ferrolan, the subject was ignored, and the voyage of the +Guardian-Mother was the general subject of conversation. The chief steward +had "spread himself" on the breakfast, and the meal was far more elaborate +than usual; and the wrecked trio proved that they had excellent appetites. + + + + +<a name="VII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER VII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK</h4> + +<p align=justify> +With the rising of the sun the gale had broken, and by the time the party +in the cabin left the table, the north-east monsoon was soothing the ocean +with its gentle blast. The angry sea was rapidly becoming good-natured +again, though the waves were still high enough to give the ship an uneasy +motion. But all the party, and no less the trio added to their number, had +their sea-legs on, and no reasonable motion disturbed any of them. +<p align=justify> +The two engineers from the wreck of the Travancore had been as carefully +looked after as the strangers in the main cabin. They had been supplied +with clothing, and they had breakfasted in the mess-room on the best the +larder afforded. The third person brought in by the second cutter was the +Hindu cook of the wrecked steamer; but he spoke English very well, and had +been otherwise Europeanized. He had been turned over to Baldy Bickling, the +second cook of the ship, who had clothed and fed him, and seemed to be +unable to do enough for him. +<p align=justify> +The three gentlemen in the cabin were as sociable as could be desired; and +though it was Sunday morning, the scene at the tables had been very +animated. +<p align=justify> +When the meal was finished, the guests at their own request were shown over +the ship; and they were not at all reserved in the expression of their +admiration at the elegance with which she had been fitted up, and not less +at the convenience of all the arrangements. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn was particularly interested in the educational feature of the +Guardian-Mother, as Captain Ringgold explained his pet scheme in the +library, or study, abaft the state-cabin, as it was called on the plan of +the vessel prepared by the gentleman for whom she had been built. The +guests looked at the titles of the books, considerable additions to which +had been made at Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere. +<p align=justify> +"This is not a library of romances," said his lordship with a smile, as he +took in the encyclopædias, books of travel, scientific treatises, and +geographical works. +<p align=justify> +"No, sir; they cover a broad range of useful information," replied the +commander. "Those of our company who are disposed to read novels supply +themselves with that kind of literature. Quite a number of them are +lecturers"-- +<p align=justify> +"Lecturers!" exclaimed the distinguished guest. "Then a large number of +your passengers must be scientific people." +<p align=justify> +"Not at all, sir; the large majority of them are men and women of good +education, and Professor Giroud is a learned Frenchman who has been a +lecturer at various colleges and schools. Dr. Hawkes is a leading member of +his profession, and is sometimes a lecturer in various medical and surgical +institutions in New York. Both of these gentlemen are making this voyage to +regain their health, injured by over-work." +<p align=justify> +"You are fortunate in having such men on board," added his lordship. +<p align=justify> +"But most of our lecturers are persons of fair education, and only three of +them have been graduated from the university. We assign subjects to them +some time in advance, and they prepare themselves for the occasion. This +gives the unprofessional people an interest in the exercises they would not +otherwise have. For example, Mr. Woolridge"-- +<p align=justify> +"I beg pardon, but he is the father of the beautiful young lady who was +seated at the table next to Mr. Belgrave, is he not?" interposed Lord +Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"The same, sir. At first he considered the lectures a bore; and doubtless +they were such to him, for he had been a sporting-man and a yachtsman, +though he has since abandoned the races. But I gave him as a subject the +horses and other animals of Egypt. He did very well with it in his peculiar +way; and since that he is one of the most interested in the lectures,--or +perhaps I had better call them simply talks," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Then this voyage will create a new taste for him." +<p align=justify> +"I have no doubt of it. He is a Fifth Avenue millionaire, and he is able to +cultivate any taste he may acquire. Mr. Belgrave is one of our most useful +speakers, for he studies his subjects very faithfully. He is a devoted +student, speaks French fluently, and gets along very well with Spanish. +This voyage is a college course for him." +<p align=justify> +"Do your ladies take an interest in these lectures, Captain Ringgold?" +<p align=justify> +"All of them, though I have assigned a subject to only one of them. They +all manifest their interest by asking questions. Like myself, Mrs. Belgrave +and Mrs. Blossom are Methodists, while the Woolridge family are +Episcopalians, though none of us are bigoted. The sisters of my church are +very favorable to religious topics, such as were suggested on the Nile; and +when we were near the land of Goshen and the Sinai peninsula Mrs. Belgrave +spoke to us in this connection. Mrs. Blossom is one of the "salt of the +earth," a very good woman, very religious, and her studies have been +confined to the Bible and her denominational newspapers. Her education was +neglected, and she is rather tonguey, so that she asks curious questions; +but we all esteem her very highly, though her American peculiarities may +seem very odd to you." +<p align=justify> +"I have known similar people in England, and your description of her leads +me to respect the lady," replied the titled gentleman, who appeared to be +very democratic so far as homely merit was concerned. +<p align=justify> +Dr. Hawkes had taken his professional brother in charge, and Louis, Sir +Modava, as the commander had Lord Tremlyn, and they were showing them over +the ship. We need not follow them or repeat their explanations; but they +finally reached the promenade deck, where all the officers were presented +to the guests of the steamer. At Conference Hall the three couples met, and +the lectures were again commented upon; for this subject was uppermost in +the mind of the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Do you have a lecture to-day, Captain Ringgold?" asked his lordship. +<p align=justify> +"No, sir; this is Sunday, and we keep the Sabbath in a reasonable manner, +and the conference is usually omitted on this day, though when the subject +is appropriate for the day the lecture is given. The professor is a Roman +Catholic; but we have not had the slightest friction in regard to any man's +creed. The owner and voyager in our consort, the white ship abreast of us, +whose boat picked up five men of your ship's company, is a Mohammedan, +though the captain and his wife are Congregationalists. We have a religious +service on board at eleven o'clock, to which your party are invited, though +no umbrage will be taken if you prefer to absent yourselves." +<p align=justify> +"I shall certainly attend," replied his lordship; and his companions said +the same. "Have you a chaplain?" +<p align=justify> +"We have not, and I am obliged to act in that capacity for the want of a +better," replied the captain. "We Methodists are all trained to 'speak in +meeting,' whether we have the gift or not." +<p align=justify> +At the appointed time the gong was sounded for divine service, and four +whistles were given, that all on board might hear the call. Chairs had been +provided for the guests, and all the party were seated when six bells +struck. The two engineers of the Travancore were seated on the platform +with, the cook, and all the officers and seamen who could be spared stood +within hearing. +<p align=justify> +Most of the party were provided with tune-books, and the captain gave out +"The Life-Boat." Books were passed to the strangers, and the commander led +off in the singing. Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan joined in with vigorous +bass voices. Captain Ringgold then followed with an extemporaneous prayer, +in which he poured forth his thanks to the God who rules the sea and the +land for the mercy that had spared their brothers from other lands from the +mighty power of the raging billows. Instead of reading a printed sermon as +usual, he gave an impromptu address relating to the event of the early +morning. Its bearing was very religious, and it was as eloquent as it was +homely compared with studied discourses. +<p align=justify> +After the singing of "Nearer, my God, to thee," the service closed; but the +people were invited to keep their seats. Without any explanation of what +was to follow, the captain introduced Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I am utterly unable to express my +high appreciation of the religious service in which we have all assisted. +It went to my heart, and I am sure we who have been saved from perishing in +the stormy billows joined heartily with him who officiated in giving thanks +to God for our preservation," his lordship began. +<p align=justify> +"We are all profoundly impressed by the kindness, the unbounded +hospitality, which have been extended to us in our unfortunate, I may say +our forlorn, condition; and I am sure that not one of us, from the amateur +captain of the Travancore, to the coolies who were saved by the Blanche, +will ever cease to bless the commander, the officers, the crew, and the +passengers of the Guardian-Mother for the overwhelming kindness and care +they have all bestowed upon us. Though we are not at the festive board, I +venture to propose to you the health of Captain Ringgold, as the +representative of all to whom we are so gratefully indebted." +<blockquote><code> +"For he's a jolly good fellow!<br> + For he's a jolly good fellow!<br> + For he's a jolly good fellow!<br> + So say we all of us!" +</code></blockquote> +<p align=justify> +To the astonishment, and perhaps to the disgust, of the two Methodist +ladies, Dr. Ferrolan struck up this refrain, singing with a vigor which +proved his earnestness. Sir Modava, the engineers, and the cook immediately +joined in with him. Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Mr. Woolridge, and others, +because they approved the sentiment of the words, struck in at the second +line, and it became a full chorus before the last line was reached. +<p align=justify> +It is an English custom to follow a toast to a distinguished personage with +this refrain, as expressive of the sentiments of the company; and though it +was not adapted to Sunday use, it was sincere and heartfelt on the part of +all who sang it. Captain Ringgold rose and bowed his thanks, and Lord +Tremlyn spoke again:-- +<p align=justify> +"It is very natural that you should desire to know something about the +guests who have been so fortuitously cast into your kindly embrace, and +especially in regard to the calamity which has made us the recipients of +your generous hospitality; and Captain Ringgold gives us this opportunity +to gratify your reasonable curiosity. I am no orator, like my brother, the +commander of the Guardian-Mother, and I shall call upon my friend and +secretary, who has been travelling with me in India for his health, to give +you the desired information." Though it was Sunday, even the commander +joined in the applause that greeted the doctor when he mounted the rostrum. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I beg to inform you that my Lord +Tremlyn is quite as capable of speaking for himself as I am for him; but as +I am called upon to make this explanation, I shall do so with pleasure. I +have the honor to be the secretary of the Right Honorable Viscount Tremlyn, +the son of the noble earl who is Secretary of State for India. He has been +on a mission in the interests of his father to obtain certain information, +though he holds no official position. +<p align=justify> +"Sir Modava Rao has held several official positions in India, and is +perhaps more familiar with the country and its British and native +governments than any other man. He has been travelling with Lord Tremlyn, +to assist him in obtaining the information connected with his unofficial +mission. My lord has completed the work assigned to him; but the viceroy +wished him to visit the Imam of Muscat unofficially for a certain purpose I +am not at liberty to state. +<p align=justify> +"In a small steam-yacht owned by Sir Modava, the most devoted friend of his +lordship, in which he had been all around the peninsula, and up several of +its rivers, we embarked for Muscat, and safely reached that country. Then +the viscount decided to proceed to Aden, where he had important business; +for he intended to return to England by the Euphrates route, in order to +inform himself in regard to the navigation of the river. We sailed for +Aden, believing we should have the calm and pleasant weather of the +north-east monsoon. +<p align=justify> +"Yesterday we encountered the gale from the south-west, which was very +unusual. But the Travancore was an able seaboat, and we went along very +well until we were run into by a steamer in the darkness and mist early +this morning. The side of the little steamer was stove in, and she began to +fill. We put on our life-preservers, and prepared for the worst. We +stretched a life-line fore and aft, and listened to the gurgling waters +below deck. Suddenly, when she was partly filled with water, she capsized. +We clung to the life-line, which unhitched forward. +<p align=justify> +"Of course we expected she would go down; but she did not for several +hours. We had our life-preservers on, and we made fast the lines forward, +which saved us from being washed off the bottom of the vessel. I had a +revolver in my pocket, and when I saw the port light of your steamer, I +fired it, and we all shouted at the top of our lungs. +<p align=justify> +"We could hear the air and the water bubbling and hissing under us at +times, and it was understood that the confined air above the water in the +hull had kept her afloat. But this air had all escaped as the +Guardian-mother approached us, and with no warning she went to the bottom. +We were floated by our life-preservers till your boats picked us up, though +we were fearfully shaken and tossed about by the waves. Our gallant +saviours know how we were rescued--all honor and glory to them!" +<p align=justify> +The doctor finished his explanation and took his seat. + + + + +<a name="VIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER VIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"Our log-book indicates that we passed a steamer to the northward of us at +four bells in the mid-watch," said Captain Ringgold, when Dr. Ferrolan +finished his narrative. "She was headed about west by south; and very +likely it was the one which ran into the Travancore, for no other was +reported." +<p align=justify> +"She was a vessel of about four hundred tons," added the viscount. "I was +in the pilot-house at the time, though the weather was so thick that I +could hardly make her out as she slipped off from our starboard bow, and +went on her course." +<p align=justify> +"Didn't she hail you, and offer to stand by you?" +inquired the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I heard something like a shout coming from her, and in a moment she was +beyond hailing-distance. I supposed we were going to the bottom in a few +minutes, and had my hands full, so that I had no time to look out for her, +though I supposed she would come about and render assistance; but we did +not hear from her again." +<p align=justify> +"It is possible that she did so, and was unable to find you, for it was +very dark, and the sea was very rough," suggested the commander. "But her +conduct looks heathenish, and I will warrant that she was not an English +steamer; for the British tars never pass by their fellow-beings on the +ocean in distress without rendering assistance." +<p align=justify> +"It was a new experience to me," added his lordship, "and perhaps I +neglected something I ought to have done." +<p align=justify> +"I think not; for your first and supreme duty at that time was to look out +for the safety of your own vessel," replied Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"So far as that was concerned, I believe I did all I could do to repair the +mischief," continued the viscount. "The chief engineer reported to me that +the side of the yacht was stove in near the bow, and that the water was +pouring into the hull. He suggested that a double sailcloth be hauled under +the vessel. We had no sails, but we promptly made use of an awning, and we +succeeded in drawing it under the bottom, and covering the aperture." +<p align=justify> +"That was precisely the right thing to do," said the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Probably it enabled us to float a short time longer than we should +otherwise have done; but the yacht had taken in too much water before we +applied the remedy, for suddenly, on the top of a huge wave, she made a +heavy roll, capsized, and came up with her keel in the air. I am only +afraid that I did not do all that might have been done." +<p align=justify> +"I could have done no more if I had been there with all my ship's company," +the commander declared; for the amateur captain of the Travancore was a +conscientious man, and desired to relieve his mind of all blame for his +conduct; and he had really done all that could be done, though the remedy +applied was a failure. +<p align=justify> +"My chief engineer was an experienced man, and I followed his counsels in +everything," added the viscount. +<p align=justify> +"His lordship did all that it was possible for any man to do in such a +case," interposed the chief engineer of the Travancore, who was seated on +the platform. "I can only thank God that we were all saved, and I am sure +that no one is to blame." +<p align=justify> +"I am told that our cabin waiter and four coolies were picked up by the +other steamer," said Lord Tremlyn, as he looked about him. +<p align=justify> +"That is true, sir," interposed Mr. Boulong, who stood on the deck by the +platform. "Sir Modava told me there were eleven persons on board of the +wreck. I saw that number saved myself." +<p align=justify> +The details of the wreck of the Travancore were fully explained, though +individuals continued to talk about it until lunch-time. At the mid-day +repast the commander gave up his plan of seating the party, and invited the +members of it to select their own places; and they all took those they had +occupied at breakfast. In the afternoon the rough sea had almost entirely +subsided under the influence of the north-east monsoon, and the motion of +the steamer was easy and pleasant. +<p align=justify> +The company assembled in the music-room after a walk on deck, and the +captain, with the three notable guests, joined them after they had finished +their cigars; for all of them smoked. The "Gospel Hymns" and other hymn and +tune books were distributed. It was the usual time for singing, and the +trio from the Travancore contributed largely to the volume of tone on the +occasion. The new third officer had been stationed in the watch with Mr. +Boulong, and Scott had the first part of the afternoon watch. The officers +and engineers not on duty, as well as the members of the party from the +wreck, gathered at the windows of the music-room, and the commander invited +them to take seats in the apartment, thus adding still more to the volume +of the harmony. The music was all sacred, and nothing purely secular was +permitted by the captain. +<p align=justify> +Dr. Ferrolan, who had a fine bass voice, was invited to sing "Rocked in the +Cradle of the Deep," at the suggestion of Lord Tremlyn. His lordship sang +"Oh that I had Wings!" and Mrs. Belgrave, who was the pianist of the +occasion, gave a solo, while Sir Modava sang the "Missionary Hymn," which +is still a favorite in England and America, translated into the Hindu +language. The party who could not understand him followed in the +hymn-books. +<p align=justify> +"I wonder who wrote that beautiful hymn," said Mrs. Blossom, when there was +a pause as the singer finished. "It says Heber in my book, but I don't know +who he was." +<p align=justify> +"Reginald Heber was an English clergyman and poet, born in 1783. He was a +student in an Oxford college; I forget which," replied Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Brasenose," prompted the viscount. +<p align=justify> +"As a student in this college he wrote 'Palestine,' for which he obtained +the prize; and it still holds a place in the literature of England. He soon +obtained a living, and occupied a prominent position among the clergy of +his native island. In 1823 he was made Bishop of Calcutta. +<p align=justify> +"Three years later, in the midst of his zealous labors in the service of +his Master, he died at Trichinopoly of apoplexy, greatly lamented. Perhaps + +<p align=center><code>'From Greenland's icy mountains,<br> +From India's coral strand,'</code></p> + +<p align=justify> +which you have sung this afternoon, is the widest-known of Bishop Heber's +hymns; but will you indulge me if I ask you to sing another of them, which +I find in the book I hold in my hand?-- + +<p align=center> +<code>'Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,<br> +Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.'"</code></p> + +<p align=justify> +The hymn was sung to Mozart's music by about twenty voices, and the effect +was exceedingly agreeable. Sir Modava seemed to be in a rapture, as the +piece was his favorite, and came from one who was connected with his native +land. +<p align=justify> +He was a rather tall and slender man, and all the ladies declared that he +was very handsome; and his slightly dusky hue added to, rather than took +from, the beauty of his countenance. He wore a small mustache, but no other +beard. He was a nervous and highly sensitive person, and there was always a +smile on his face. He had already become a favorite among the gentlemen as +well as the ladies. +<p align=justify> +Another meeting was held in the evening, which was varied by some speaking +on the part of the gentlemen, including the guests, Uncle Moses, Dr. +Hawkes, and the commander. At the conclusion of the exercises, Sir Modava +begged the company to close by singing another of Bishop Heber's verses, +which he repeated from memory, though it was in one of the books:-- +<blockquote><code> +"God that madest earth and heaven,<br> + Darkness and light;<br> + Who the day for toil hast given,<br> + For rest the night,--<br> + May thine angel guards defend us,<br> + Slumber sweet thy mercy send us,<br> + This livelong night!" +</code></blockquote> +<p align=justify> +With this musical prayer on their lips, the company retired. Most of them +went to their staterooms; for the guests were very tired, and the regular +inmates of the cabin had left their berths at an unusually early hour in +the morning. All of them, whether technically religious or not, had been +greatly impressed by the music and the speaking of the evening. Dr. +Ferrolan was a more inveterate smoker than his companions in misfortune, +and he went with the commander to the deck, and was invited to the +captain's cabin, where he was provided with cigars. +<p align=justify> +"As you have already learned, Doctor, I am greatly interested in the +educational feature of my ship," said Captain Ringgold, after they had +conversed a while. "I desire to make it as attractive as possible, and I +have studied to vary it all I could." +<p align=justify> +"You have turned your ship into a noble and useful institution," replied +the guest. "Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava have both spoken in the highest +terms of this feature. And these lectures are mainly for the benefit of Mr. +Belgrave, your owner?" +<p align=justify> +"The plan was introduced principally on his account; but it has grown into +an exercise for all the cabin party, and most of them are speakers as well +as listeners; for it makes all of them feel a greater interest in the +conferences," replied the commander. "To-morrow we are to begin upon India, +dwelling upon its geography, civilization, government, and history. Now, I +wish to ask you, Doctor, if there would be any impropriety in my asking the +members of your party berthed in the cabin to take part in these +exercises?" +<p align=justify> +"Not the slightest, Captain Ringgold." +<p align=justify> +"Probably you are all better informed in regard to the affairs of the +peninsula than any three other men I could find if I were to search for +them here and in England," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"You are not far from right, sir, as far as my associates are concerned; +for officially or unofficially they have visited every part of India, and +studied up in detail everything relating to the people, the country, the +army, and the institutions, both native and British." +<p align=justify> +"As you have been with Lord Tremlyn in his travels, you must be very +familiar with the affairs of India, Doctor." +<p align=justify> +"Reasonably familiar; but not so well acquainted with them as my +companions," answered the physician. "Perhaps I do not violate any +confidence in saying that his lordship and his Hindu friend had a +conversation just before dinner to-day, in which they were discussing in +what manner they could best assist you in seeing India. As you suggest, +they are the two men who know more of India than any others I think of, not +excepting the governor-general and his subordinates." +<p align=justify> +"I came to this conclusion when I learned the nature of their mission." +<p align=justify> +"Sir Modava is personally acquainted with all the native princes; and he +and his lordship are regarded by them as second only to the viceroy, as he +is often unofficially designated. Every door in India, except those of a +few mosques and Parsee temples, open to them, and procure for them and +their friends all the privileges that can reasonably be expected. We +respect the religious exclusiveness of the sects, and do not ask them to +exempt our people from the operation of their rules and customs. The +British government rules India in the spirit of kindness and toleration, +and interferes with the religious, or even political, institutions only so +far as humanity and progressive civilization require. Both of them propose +to volunteer to attend you in your travels in the peninsula, if agreeable +to you." +<p align=justify> +"We should be delighted to have such conductors, and I shall gladly pay all +the expenses incurred," the commander declared, with an earnestness that +attested his sincerity. +<p align=justify> +"The expense is a matter of no consequence to the two gentlemen; for both +of them would be multimillionaires in America, though pounds don't count so +numerously as dollars. I am not at all sure they wouldn't gladly pay the +expenses of your party as well as their own; but I am not authorized to +speak on this point. I advise you not to mention expense to either of my +associates. But you can form no idea of the depths of gratitude in the +hearts of the three quartered in your cabin for the timely and skilful +service you rendered in saving us from certain death. I base my views on +what I have heard them say, and what I feel myself," said the doctor with +enthusiasm. "I am certain that any suggestion in regard to expense would +hurt the feelings of my friends and companions." +<p align=justify> +"I thank you, Dr. Ferrolan, for the frankness with which you have spoken, +and I shall assuredly profit by what you have said," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"In what I said about expense I have been moved by what I should do myself +if I had the control of the matter, and were as able as Sir Modava and his +lordship to incur a heavy outlay; though I have a sufficient income to +support a bachelor, I am a poor man compared with them." +<p align=justify> +The interview closed, and the doctor retired at the end of his cigar. The +next morning Captain Ringgold obtained the ready assent of the two +gentlemen to take part in the conference appointed for half-past nine, and +later that of Dr. Ferrolan. + + + + +<a name="IX"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER IX</h3> + +<h4 align=center>CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"Ladies and gentlemen, it affords me very great pleasure to present to you +Sir Modava Rao, who has kindly consented to give you a lesson on the +geography of India," said Captain Ringgold when the company were seated in +Conference Hall. +<p align=justify> +This announcement was greeted with unusually stormy applause, in which the +ladies joined, and then flourished their handkerchiefs as an additional +welcome to the handsome Hindu. +<p align=justify> +"I have also the pleasure to inform you that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan +have indulgently permitted me to call upon them for the instruction in +regard to India which they are so abundantly competent to give us," +continued the commander with a very pleasant smile upon his dignified +countenance. "Their subjects have been arranged, and I congratulate you and +myself upon the satisfaction with which we shall all listen to these able +exponents of the present condition of this interesting country. Sir Modava +Rao, ladies and gentlemen." +<p align=justify> +The Hindu gentleman was again received with vigorous and long-continued +applause. His handsome face, the expression of which was intensified by the +fascinating smile that played upon his black eyes and around his finely +moulded mouth, was not wasted upon the ladies, or even upon the gentlemen; +and it was a considerable time before the plaudits of the company permitted +him to speak; and he stood upon the rostrum bowing so sweetly that he was +irresistible to the assembly. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Commander, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "I have no claim upon you +for the exceeding warmth of the reception you have given me, and I thank +you with all my heart for all your kindness to me, a shipwrecked stranger +on board of your ship. I shall give you as briefly and clearly as I can +what I know about the geography of India. I understand that this was the +subject to be treated by Captain Ringgold; and I am confident that he could +have done it quite as well as I can, though I am 'to the manner born.' But +I will proceed with the subject, without wasting any more of your valuable +time. +<p align=justify> +"India is a vast territory, forming the southern peninsula of Asia, with a +population, including the native states, of very nearly two hundred and +fifty-four million people," continued the speaker, taking a paper from his +pocket. "I have received a hint from your worthy commander that I ought to +give a comparison of my figures with those of the United States, and our +population is about four times as great as that of your country. +<p align=justify> +"The area in square miles is more than a million and a half, enough larger +than your country to cover the State of Georgia;" and the speaker indulged +in a cheerful smile. "I did not know what I am saying now till this +morning; for I have been studying the 'Statesman's Year-Book,' in order to +comply with the commander's request. +<p align=justify> +"The name of India came originally from the Persians, and was first applied +to the territory about the Sindhu River, its Sanscrit name, the early +literary language of India. A slight change, and the river was called the +Hind, which is still the language of the natives, while the country around +it is Hind, from which comes Hindu, and Hindustan; but these designations +really belong to a province, though they are now given very generally to +the whole peninsula," continued Sir Modava, turning to the enormous map +which had been painted by Mr. Gaskette and his assistants. +<p align=justify> +"Hind, or Hindustan, is the territory near the Jumna and Ganges Rivers, of +which more will be said later," as he pointed out these great watercourses, +and then drew his pointer around Sind, now called Sinde, on the border of +Beloochistan. +<p align=justify> +"How do you spell Hindustan, Sir Modava?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave." "We used +to write it Hindoostan when I went to school." +<p align=justify> +"I think the orthography of the word is a matter of fashion, for the letter +<i>u</i> in most European and Asiatic languages is pronounced like the +English <i>oo</i>; but it is now almost universally spelled with a +<i>u</i>. It is now almost generally absorbed in the name of India, and the +application of the term to the whole of the peninsula is entirely +erroneous; and English authorities usually pronounce it so. +<p align=justify> +"The name India is now given to the peninsula lying to the eastward of the +Bay of Bengal. Siam and Tongking are in native possession, or under the +protection of France, while Burma is a part of the British Indian Empire. +It was only last year that the French had a brush with Siam, and materially +strengthened their position there; and it will not be a calamity when all +these half-civilized nations are subjected to the progressive influences +which prevail in India proper, in spite of all that is said about the greed +for power on the part of the great nations of the world. +<p align=justify> +"But I am wandering from my subject. India is about 1,900 miles in extent +from north to south, and 1,600 in breadth in latitude 25° north. The +boundaries of this vast country, established by nature for the most part, +are the Bay of Bengal (now called a sea in the southern portion) on the +south-east, and the Arabian Sea on the south-west. On the north the +Himalaya Mountains separate it from China, Thibet, and Turkestan; but some +of these countries are called by various names, as Chinese Tartary, +Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, and so on. On the west are Beloochistan and +Afghanistan, and on the east Siam and China, though the boundaries were +somewhat disturbed last summer in the former." +<p align=justify> +"We used to pronounce the name of your great northern range of mountains +Hi-ma-lay'-a; you do not call it so, Sir Modava," said the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I have always called it Hi-mal'-a-ya, the <i>a</i> after the accented +syllable being very slightly sounded; this is the pronunciation of all the +Indian officials," replied the speaker, with his pleasant smile. "These +mountains consist of a number of ranges; they extend 1,500 miles east and +west, and are the sources of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. The +highest is Mount Everest, the loftiest mountain in the world, 29,002 feet; +and I could mention several other peaks which overtop any of the Andes. +Himalaya means 'the abode of snow,' and the foot-hills are the resorts of +the wealthy to obtain a cool climate in the summer. +<p align=justify> +"India is remarkable for its fertility, and its luxuriant growth of plants +of all sorts, from the productions of the torrid zone to those of the +temperate in the hilly regions of the north. It is abundantly watered by +the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Jumna, the Indus, the Godavari, and other +great streams. The Ganges, though it does not vie with the great rivers of +America, is 1,557 miles in length. To the natives it is a sacred river, and +the land through which it flows is holy ground. To bathe in its waters +washes away sin; to die and be buried on its shores procures a free +admission to the eternal paradise of heaven. +<p align=justify> +"The Ganges Canal, constructed in 1854, is 445 miles long, and is used for +both navigation and irrigation. Doubtless you will sail upon it, and learn +more about it. Near the Indus are two deserts, one 500 miles long, and the +other 400, though the grains may be cultivated in the valleys and other low +places; and perhaps these regions will be reclaimed by artificial +irrigation. In ancient times gold-mines were worked in the south-west, and +the currency consisted of this metal instead of silver, as at the present +time; but the veins were exhausted, and the Mysore mines are all that is +left of them. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose you Americans have been accustomed to regard India as an +exceedingly hot country; and this is quite true of a considerable portion +of it. In a region extending from the almost tropical island of Ceylon, +nearly 2,000 miles to the snow-capped summits of the highest mountains in +the world, there must necessarily be a great variety of climate. India has +three well-defined seasons,--the cool, the hot, and the rainy. The cool +months are November, December, January, and a part of February. +<p align=justify> +"The rainy season comes in the middle of the summer, earlier or later, and +ends in September. Winter is the pleasantest season of the year; but +autumn, unlike England, is hot, moist, and unhealthy. Monsoon comes from an +Arabian or Persian word, meaning a season; and you have learned something +about it by this time. It is applied to the south-west winds of the Indian +Ocean, changing to the north or north-east in the winter. This wind +produces rain, and when they infrequently fail, portions of the country are +subjected to famines. +<p align=justify> +"At an elevation of 7,200 feet the temperature is an average of 58° +Fahrenheit, as I shall give all readings of the thermometer. At Madras, on +the south-east coast, it is 83°; at Bombay, 84°; Calcutta, 79°; and in +Delhi, in latitude 29° (about the same as the northern part of Florida), it +is 72°. These annual average temperatures will not seem high to you; but I +beg you not to form a wrong impression, for the heat of summer is generally +oppressive, and the average temperature is considerably reduced by the +coolness of the winter months. In Delhi, quoted at 72°, the glass often +indicates over 100°. +<p align=justify> +"The rain varies greatly in different regions. In the north-east it exceeds +75 inches, and in one remarkable year 600 inches fell at an observatory in +north-east Bengal. In some of the western parts it is only 30 inches, while +it is hardly 15 on the southern shores of the Indus. I think I must have +sufficiently wearied you, ladies and gentlemen." +<p align=justify> +"No! No! No!" almost shouted the company with one voice; and perhaps there +was something so fascinating in the manner of the distinguished Hindu which +exorcised all weariness from their minds and bodies. +<p align=justify> +"Thank you with all my heart; but really you must permit me to retire, for +I am somewhat fatigued, if you are not, and I shall be happy to contribute +to your entertainment at another time," replied the speaker; and he retired +from the platform. +<p align=justify> +"I shall next call upon Mr. Woolridge, who will speak to you of the fauna +of India," said the commander. +<p align=justify> +The magnate of the Fifth Avenue, not much accustomed to speaking in public, +was somewhat diffident about addressing the company in the presence of +those who were so well versed in Indian lore; but he conquered his modesty, +and took his place on the stand. In expressing his appreciation of the last +speaker, he mentioned that he occupied a difficult position in the presence +of those who knew India as they knew their alphabet, and begged them to +consider his talk as addressed only to the Americans of the party. The +guests declared that they should be very glad to hear him; and he bowed, +smiled, and proceeded with his remarks:-- +<p align=justify> +"Fortunately I have not much to say, for it will consist mainly of the +mention of the names of the principal animals in the fauna of India," he +began. +<p align=justify> +"Are all the animals fawns?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who evidently mistook the +meaning of the term used. +<p align=justify> +"No, madam; some of them are snakes. But I shall refer the serpents to Sir +Modava; for I am very anxious to hear the views of a native on that +subject. The cattle are cows, buffaloes, and oxen, the two latter used as +draft animals, and as agricultural workers. Bulls and cows are sacred +beasts, and the Hindus never kill them for food." +<p align=justify> +"Except Christianized natives, like myself," interpolated Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Thank you. The native breeds of horses have been greatly improved under +the direction of the horse-fancying Briton; but they are never used on the +farm. Ponies, donkeys, and mules are in use for various purposes. There are +plenty of sheep and goats--so there are of hogs; but the higher of the +middle class, like the Jews, regard them as unclean beasts, and would as +soon take poison as eat the flesh of a pig. I don't sympathize with them, +for I like roast pork when it is well brought up and kept clean. +<p align=justify> +"Monkeys are as tame as they are mischievous; and doubtless they are tame +because they are held to be sacred, and have a better time than they do in +Africa and elsewhere. But all the fun of the fauna is concentrated in the +wild animals, such as the tiger (about the gamiest 'critter' that exists), +the panther, cheetah, boar, bear, elephant, and rhinoceros. Two kinds of +crocodiles (not alligators) live in the mud and water of the rivers; and I +suppose they snap up a man or woman when they get a chance, as they do in +the Philippine Islands and other countries. I advise you all to give them a +wide berth; for their bite is worse than their bark, like that of some men +we know of. +<p align=justify> +"There are plenty of deer to furnish a dainty and healthy diet for the +meat-eating wild animals, including the lion, which is not much of a king +of beasts here, the hyena, the lynx, and the wolf. All of these last take a +back seat compared with the tiger. Game and other birds would make a +hunter's paradise if it were not for the snakes and tigers, which are +unpleasant to an American when his piece is loaded with only birdshot. +<p align=justify> +"In the towns on the sea the fish are excellent, and an important industry +is curing and smoking them for the markets. In the mountain streams the +fishing is very good; but in the warm waters of the streams on the plains, +as in Egypt, the fish are soft, and neither palatable nor healthy. Leaving +the snakes to the tender mercies of the gentleman from Travancore, I will +make my bow," which he did, and stepped down. +<p align=justify> +He was politely applauded, and the strangers seemed to enjoy his discourse +more than the rest of the party. + + + + +<a name="X"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER X</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant day +after the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon. +While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observed +that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for though +they were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshen +their memory among the books. +<p align=justify> +Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and Sir +Modava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again that +the latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment, +and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had a +special interest in the beautiful young lady. +<p align=justify> +Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and not +to swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gave +a thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutely +certain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louis +had never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name, +without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did. +They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressed +him as Mr. Belgrave. +<p align=center> +<a name="page090"></a> + + +<img src="images/page090.png" border=0 alt=""Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and Sir +Modava."--Page 90."> +<center><i>"Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and Sir +Modava."--Page 90.</i></center> + +<p align=justify> +They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither of +them reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead. +Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck, +and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kind +and pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis was +engaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for the +conference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. But +everybody else on board understood the situation better than those the most +intimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgrave +or the parents of Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting in +Conference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again; +but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so that +the party did not know whom they were to hear first. +<p align=justify> +"There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying to +dispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has very +unselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of one +of these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more to +his mind. Dr. Ferrolan." +<p align=justify> +This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsome +Hindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests with +uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in +favor of Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the +excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about +the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my +fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always +and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme +authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which +I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all +want to know something more about the fauna of India. +<p align=justify> +"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great +region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred +and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions +of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than +temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a +territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen +regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of +climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface +of the earth. +<p align=justify> +"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the +equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to +those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common +people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I +believe you Americans call Indian corn"-- +<p align=justify> +"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander. +<p align=justify> +"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor. +<p align=justify> +"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them +under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you +spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you." +<p align=justify> +"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject +hereafter; but <i>corn</i> and millet are raised for the food of some of +the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The +cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are +raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under +European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are +better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and +lac are noted for their quality and their quantity. +<p align=justify> +"The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but the +white lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the flowering +shrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle you +would find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet." +<p align=justify> +"But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?" +<p align=justify> +"The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate. +<p align=justify> +"They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of them +as you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned to +another, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all the +flowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous to +the soil, though they thrive very well. +<p align=justify> +"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find +stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it +banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is +the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground +like the other. Its scientific name is the <i>Ficus religiosa</i>; for it +is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon. +<p align=justify> +"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the +Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under +it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and +many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its +sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect +feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap, +which they use as bandoline." +<p align=justify> +"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had +listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred. +<p align=justify> +"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave +was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I +venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make +it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in +the right place. +<p align=justify> +"I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even +12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for the +slender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it you +observe that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the same +joints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juice +flows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubt +my young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the most +expensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scores +of other useful articles. +<p align=justify> +"The original forests which once covered hills and plains have been +recklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven back +into the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supply +for the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the British +government has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the present +century, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of the +forests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now under +supervision to this end. +<p align=justify> +"India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more than +one-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtless +there is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists of +steep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers. +With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent +position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the +doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly. +<p align=justify> +"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject. +I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the +speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded +admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava +Rao, on snakes." +<p align=justify> +The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was +sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes. +<p align=justify> +"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous +snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it +was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish +them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing +them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say +that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a +single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time. +<p align=justify> +"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied +that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by +this time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half as +much as you think you would if you lived here. The government offers +rewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyed +every year." +<p align=justify> +"Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a good +purpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the city +burn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in the +world, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall we +not protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plague +or the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way for +violating the laws he has set up in our bodies? +<p align=justify> +"This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need not +describe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets of +the cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more in +length. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; but +he has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadly +poison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless a +specific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, the +sufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy is +applied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine used +in my case was the <i>Aristolochia Indica</i>. +<p align=justify> +"There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, and +is said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men of +character regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. A +chemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which had +probably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire. +It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settled +fact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan." +<p align=justify> +"I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor. +<p align=justify> +"The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind has +something like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it looks +something like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood or +bonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and he +opens it when he is angry. +<p align=justify> +"I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much bigger +than a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business. +This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalow +for the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, and +brought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about as +quick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want to +know about snakes as you travel through India." +<p align=justify> +Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned from +the platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention. + + + + +<a name="XI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The Blanche was on the starboard beam of the Guardian-Mother, or, in shore +parlance, she was on the right-hand side of her as both ships sailed to the +eastward. She chose her own position, and it varied considerably at +different times, though it was generally about half a mile from her +consort. At the present time she had come within less than a quarter of a +mile, as the sea was quite smooth. +<p align=justify> +"Why, the Blanche is all dressed up as though she were going to a ball!" +exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, as the booming gun attracted the attention of the +entire party. +<p align=justify> +"So she is," added the commander, as he observed her altered appearance for +the first time; for he had been giving his whole attention to the lecture. +"Captain Sharp is evidently getting up some sort of a frolic." +<p align=justify> +The first gun was followed by a second, and then by a third; and they +continued till thirty-one of them had been discharged. Four pieces were +evidently used, and they were fired with considerable rapidity, proving +that the British tars who formed her ship's company had seen service in the +navy. +<p align=justify> +"What does all that mean?" queried Captain Ringgold, as the party gathered +about him for an explanation, though he was as much puzzled as any of them. +"It is not a national salute, so far as I know, and I am utterly unable to +say what it means." +<p align=justify> +But as soon as the firing ceased a signal number went up to the fore-peak. +Bangs was the signal officer, and he had his book open as soon as he saw +that it was needed. +<p align=justify> +"What is it, Bangs?" asked the commander at the window of the pilot-house. +<p align=justify> +"'Stop; I have something to communicate,'" replied the quartermaster. +<p align=justify> +"All right; give her one bell," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +Bangs gave the proper signal for the affirmative, after he had struck the +gong. The letting off of the steam was enough to inform the captain of the +Blanche that his request was complied with, and it was seen that he had a +boat all ready to drop into the water. The screw of the ship ceased to +revolve; and then, to save time, the commander of the Guardian-Mother +ordered the quartermaster to ring to back her, and the Blanche followed her +example. As soon as the headway was nearly killed, the quarter-boat went +into the water, with an officer in uniform in the stern-sheets. The cutter +pulled to the American's side, and a ladder was dropped. +<p align=justify> +The officer was a very trim-looking man of forty, and was promptly +conducted to the commander on the promenade deck. He was as polite as a +French dancing-master. +<p align=justify> +"I have not the honor to be acquainted with Captain Ringgold, but I beg to +introduce myself as Mr. Bland, first officer of the Blanche," said the +visitor, with all necessary nourishes. +<p align=justify> +"I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bland. My friend Captain Sharp +appears to be engaged in a frolic this afternoon," replied the commander, +shaking hands with the officer. +<p align=justify> +"This is General Noury's birthday, sir, and Captain Sharp is taking proper +notice of it," replied Mr. Bland, as he took from his pocket a note, and +delivered it to Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"The general's birthday!" exclaimed the commander. "I wish him many happy +returns of it;" and he opened the note. +<p align=justify> +It took him but a minute to read it, and then he looked extremely +good-natured, as though he was more than ordinarily pleased; for he knew +that its contents would afford a great deal of satisfaction to his +passengers. +<p align=justify> +"By particular request of General Noury, in whose honor the guns were fired +and the Blanche is dressed as you see her, Captain Sharp invites all the +cabin party of the Guardian-Mother, including the guests, to dine on board +of the Blanche on this happy occasion. Shall the invitation be accepted? +Those in favor of accepting it will please raise the right hand, and keep +it up till counted," continued the commander, who was in a merry mood for +him. "Our honored guests are expected and requested to vote; for we could +not think of leaving them alone on board of the ship. That would be neither +decent nor hospitable, and the invitation specially includes them. Please +to vote, all." +<p align=justify> +The hands all went up; and the party seemed to be greatly amused at the +operation of voting. The presiding officer declared that it was a unanimous +vote, and the invitation was accepted. +<p align=justify> +"Not quite unanimous, Mr. Commander," interposed Louis Belgrave. "Mr. Scott +did not vote." +<p align=justify> +"You wish to vote in the negative, Mr. Scott?" inquired the captain. +<p align=justify> +"I do not intend to vote at all, Captain," replied the third officer. "It +would be a little cheeky for me to vote to leave the ship without the +permission of the captain or of the first officer." +<p align=justify> +"'In colleges and halls in ancient times there dwelt a sage called +Discipline;' and a very good old fellow he was to have about, and quite as +good on board ship as in institutions of learning. Do you wish to accept +the invitation, Mr. Scott?" asked the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I should be exceedingly happy to do so." +<p align=justify> +"Then ask Mr. Boulong's permission." +<p align=justify> +"Granted!" shouted the first officer, who stood within hearing. +<p align=justify> +"Mr. Bland, give my compliments to Captain Sharp, and inform him that his +invitation is unanimously accepted by both passengers and guests, and we +will be on board at five o'clock," said Captain Ringgold, addressing the +officer from the Blanche; and he went over the side into his boat. +<p align=justify> +"You don't give us much time to get ready, Mr. Commander," said Mrs. +Belgrave, as all the ladies hurried away to the cabin to prepare for the +grand occasion that had so suddenly dawned upon them. +<p align=justify> +"Elaborate toilets are hardly expected at sea, out of sight of land. +Claw-hammer coats are not imperative, gentlemen," said the captain. +<p align=justify> +Though the two steamers were not in a hurry, both of them resumed their +course as soon as the Blanche's boat was hoisted up to the davits; for it +is part of the shipmaster's gospel to "keep moving" under all possible +circumstances, and to lose no time in arriving at his destined port. All +the passengers went below to prepare for the dinner. The Blanche had come +within fifty yards of her consort, as the sea was quite smooth. +<p align=justify> +"Where is that music, Mr. Boulong?" asked the captain, opening the door +from his cabin to the pilothouse. +<p align=justify> +"From the Blanche, Captain." +<p align=justify> +"But it seems to be a band. Is it an orchestrion?" +<p align=justify> +"Not at all; there are eight pieces of music on the promenade deck. It +seems that His Highness has a small band on board, though I have not heard +it before," added the first officer. +<p align=justify> +The commander thought the music was very fine, and he concluded that +Captain Sharp was running near the Guardian-Mother for the purpose of +giving the band an introduction to the consort. Besides the ship's company, +there was no one on board of the Blanche but the general and Mrs. Sharp; +and the Pacha, accustomed as he was to merriment and revelry, must have +been rather lonesome. But it was already proved that he was a reformed man, +and had entirely changed his manner of life. +<p align=justify> +The barge, which was a large eight-oar boat, had been made ready to lower +into the water, and the gangway had been rigged out. Though it was winter, +the ship was in 18° north latitude, and the weather was as mild and +pleasant as in midsummer. There was no spray, and the ladies could go to +the Blanche as comfortably as in a carriage on shore. +<p align=justify> +At quarter before five the gong was sounded in the cabin and on deck to +call the party together in the boudoir, where they were to assemble. The +ship stopped at the mandate of the captain, and the barge was lowered, and +brought to the gangway. The boat was as handsome as anything that ever +floated, and the stern-sheets were luxurious enough for a fairy craft. The +crew of nine were all dressed in their white uniforms, and sat with their +oars tossed, except the cockswain, who stood bolt upright abaft the +back-board. +<p align=justify> +There were sixteen in the party, and the "Big Four" made their way to the +fore-sheets; the ladies were handed into the stern by the three guests, and +the barge shoved off. The Blanche had taken a position on the beam of the +Guardian-Mother, her band playing for all they were worth. Captain Sharp +was on the platform of the gangway, and took every lady by the hand as he +assisted her to disembark. At the head of the gangway on deck stood General +Noury, who received the ladies, all of whom he had met before; and the +distinguished guests were presented to him, after which he shook hands with +every other member of the party. He was especially respectful, and even +reverential, to the commander of the Guardian-Mother, who had forgiven so +much in his past conduct. +<p align=justify> +Mrs. Sharp came in for a large share of the consideration of the visitors. +An hour was spent in the drawing-room, as they called the deck cabin, which +was as large as the boudoir and music-room of the Guardian-Mother. The band +had laid aside their brass instruments, and organized as an orchestra, +stationed in a sort of recess in the forward part of the cabin. The general +conversed with every person in the party; and when Scott addressed him as +"Your Highness," he protested that he did not wish to hear the expression +again. +<p align=justify> +He talked French with Louis, Italian with Sir Modava, and Spanish with Lord +Tremlyn; for it was understood that he spoke at least half a dozen +languages besides his own, and the guests found he was equally fluent in +all they knew. To Miss Blanche he was very polite; but he did not give a +moment more to her than to the other ladies, much to the satisfaction of +her parents. +<p align=justify> +The dinner was fully equal to Mr. Sage's best efforts, and the occasion was +as hilarious and as pleasant as it could be. Possibly the English guests +missed their wine on such an occasion. Lord Tremlyn declared that he seldom +drank it at all, and Dr. Ferrolan said the same; and Sir Modava was the +strictest sort of a teetotaler, having been engaged in preaching this +doctrine among the Sepoys as opportunity offered. The captain of the +Blanche informed the commander of the Guardian-Mother that the general had +never touched wine since he came on board. +<p align=justify> +After dinner several of the gentlemen sang songs, and the general gave one +in Moroccan, which amused the party, though they could not understand a +word of it. Later in the evening Captain Ringgold made a speech +complimentary to General Noury, and wished him many happy returns of the +occasion they celebrated. He was followed by Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, +Professor Giroud, and then by the three distinguished guests from the +Travancore. +<p align=justify> +The general replied to all of them at the close of the entertainment. He +was a pleasant speaker, and his handsome face added a great deal to his +words. The affair was declared to be a great success for a dinner-party at +sea, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother invited all their hosts to +assist him in a similar one on board his ship, the signal for which was to +be the American Union Jack when the weather was suitable. +<p align=justify> +The party returned to their ocean home; and the commander spent the rest of +the evening in telling his guests the story of General Noury, and +especially of his wonderful reformation. +<p align=justify> +"Then Captain Sharp really saved his life?" added Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"No doubt of it. The two ruffians in a street of Messina had disabled the +general, and would certainly have finished him if the captain had not +wounded one with his revolver, and tackled the other. He owes his life to +Sharp without a doubt. Mrs. Sharp took care of him for quite a time while +he was recovering from his wound, and she made a deep impression upon him. +He is a Mohammedan, and he sticks to his religion; but even that is capable +of making a better man of him than he was before." +<p align=justify> +"I was much pleased with Mrs. Sharp, not because she is an English woman, +but because she is a very worthy person," added his lordship. +<p align=justify> +"You are quite right, my lord, and she has had a romantic history;" and +before they retired he had told the whole of it. +<p align=justify> +At the usual time the next day the company were assembled in Conference +Hall; and when the commander announced that Lord Tremlyn would address them +on the general subject, "The People of India," they manifested their +interest by a liberal salvo of applause. + + + + +<a name="XII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to appear before you, and to look you all +in the face," his lordship began as the applause subsided. "The task befaw +me is to put a gallon of fluid into a pint pot. It cawn't be done. I shall +not attempt to do what is quite impossible. I can only put in what the +vessel will hold. I cawn't say all there is to be said about the people of +India in an hour, or even two or three hours." +<p align=justify> +The noble gentleman was an easy, pleasant, and fluent speaker, evidently +quite accustomed to addressing public assemblies; but he had certain +peculiarities of speech, a very few of them, which sounded just a little +odd to the Americans, as doubtless some of their pronunciation did to the +Britons. But there is hardly a perceptible difference in the pronunciation +of highly trained speakers of one nation and the other. It is not necessary +to indicate any farther the slightly peculiar speech of the accomplished +gentleman. +<p align=justify> +"I can only select from the mass of material before me what I think will be +most interesting and useful to you; for I have been warned that I must not +talk all day," continued the viscount. +<p align=justify> +"We leave that to your lordship's own judgment," added Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"I will be merciful, Mr. Commander: as merciful as possible. Next to China, +India is the most populous country on the globe; and without Nepaul, it +numbered, in 1891, 287,223,917, or more than one-seventh of the people on +the face of the earth; and the increase in the last decade was almost +28,000,000,--enough to populate about a dozen of your larger States. +<p align=justify> +"In spite of its vast population, India cannot be said to be a very densely +peopled region; 184 to the square mile for the whole country. The mountain +territory is quite thinly settled. All the native states have but 108 to +the square mile, though the plains of the Ganges show about 400. About +Benares and Patna the average is about double these figures. I was looking +at the 'Year-Book' in your library, and I saw that the average in the +States, including Alaska, is about 18 to the square mile; but the nine +States in the north-east have 107. +<p align=justify> +"The little bit of a State of Rhode Island leads in the density of its +population, with 318, while Massachusetts comes next with 278. New Jersey +has 193, Connecticut, 154; the big States of New York and Pennsylvania have +respectively 126 and 117. In the United Kingdom the average in England is +541; in Scotland, 135; in Wales, 206; and in Ireland, 144. The density of +India, therefore, is quite respectable by comparison. +<p align=justify> +"By the census of 1891, India has seventy-five towns with over 50,000 +inhabitants, and twenty-eight with over 100,000; but unlike three cities of +the States, it has not one with over a million, though Calcutta and Bombay +are likely to reach that distinction in another decade. You have not a +monopoly of the fast-growing cities in the States." +<p align=justify> +"We have found out that Berlin has increased faster than Chicago," said +Uncle Moses with a chuckle; "and Glasgow has got ahead of Liverpool." +<p align=justify> +"Quite true, Mr. Scarburn; but the States have not all the fast-growing +cities of the world, wonderful as the increase has been in some of them. +Europe, Asia, and Australia are alive. The nearest approaches to a million +in India are Calcutta, 861,764, and Bombay, 821,764; but I dare say you are +all quite tired of statistics by this time." +<p align=justify> +"Not at all, Lord Tremlyn; as you present them they are quite interesting." +said Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"Thank you, madam," replied the speaker, bowing low, with his hand on his +heart. "Now I am going to speak of the people as other than mere numbers; +and if I wished to entangle you inextricably, I should go back about 4,000 +years, and tell you about the people down to the present time. I spare you +the infliction in full. Four groups of languages are spoken among the +natives, and from these the original races that spoke them are traced out. +<p align=justify> +"I mention one as a specimen, the Kolarian language, spoken by those who +first settled in the hilly regions of the central part. The others are the +Aryan, Dravidian, and Tibeto-Burman, all of which you will find in +'Chambers's' in your library. +<p align=justify> +"The word Hindu is generally used in a very broad sense to cover all the +native population of Hindustan or India; but it is really applicable to a +religion, and belongs only to those of the Hindu, or the faith of the +Brahmins; but, like most others, it consists of a great number of sects. Of +this belief there are about 200,000,000 people. They are divided into four +grand classes, called castes. The Portuguese called them <i>casta</i> in +their own language, from which the present name comes. I call them grand +classes, or castes, because they are divided into many sub-classes. +<p align=justify> +"When the Aryans, who came from Europe, and Asia farther north than India, +obtained a foothold here, and established themselves, they looked down upon +other people in the land, and called themselves the twice-born, or born +again, as some modern sects have it. They claimed to have experienced a +second, or religious, birth, indicated by a certain cord with which they +were invested at a particular age. The natives of the soil and all other +outsiders were the once-born. +<p align=justify> +"In the lapse of time the twice-born were divided into three classes, the +Brahmins being the priestly class, the Kshatriyas the ruling military, and +the Vaisyas the agricultural classes. These were of the upper grade; and +all the once-born were called Sudras. These four classes are the origin of +caste, though the divisions have been greatly changed. The Vedas are the +four oldest sacred books of the Hindus, otherwise the Hindu Scriptures. +<p align=justify> +"Derived from their holy books is the allegorical idea that the Brahmin, or +priest, was the mouth of the original man; the warrior his arms; the +agriculturist his thighs; while the Sudra, or common people, sprang out of +his feet. The duties and relations of the four castes are defined and +stated in the laws of Manu." +<p align=justify> +"We have not been introduced to him," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"He is regarded as the author of the most noted law-book among the Hindus; +but there is so much that is mythical and contradictory said of him, that I +will say nothing more about him; but he is authority among the Brahmins. In +modern caste the Brahmin is the minister of religion; he alone mediates +between God and man, makes sacrifices, and teaches the sacred Veda. His +life is portioned off into periods of special duty. As a student he learns +the Veda; then he gets married, becomes a householder, and must every day +perform the appointed sacrifice. Some of them live in the woods, as +hermits, or live like monks, till they are said to be absorbed into Brahma. +<p align=justify> +"The soldier's sphere is in connection with the State, to support the +Brahmin, and execute the laws he makes or interprets. The third class +cultivate the soil as proprietors, and engage in trade and commerce. The +Sudra is the servant of all the others. Resulting from the intermarriage of +members of different castes there are various mixed classes. The lowest is +the child of a Brahmin mother and a Sudra father, though in Southern India +the Pariah is still lower. +<p align=justify> +"Of the vast population of India, three-fourths are Hindus in religion. The +Buddhists are mostly in Burma, and there are over 57,000,000 Mohammedans. +The number of Christians by the last census was 2,284,380; and I am sorry +there are no more of them. The Sikhs and the Jains are Indian sects which +flourish in certain localities; as there are nearly two millions of the +former in the Punjab, and over half a million of the latter in Bombay, and +approaching that number in Rajputana, with comparatively few elsewhere. The +Parsees, or Parsis, who were driven from Persia by the Mohammedans, number +76,774 in Bombay,--not the city, but the presidency. +<p align=justify> +"In the small state of Travancore, where my friend Sir Modava was born, +there are said to be four hundred and twenty different castes. The +distinction is sometimes the result of occupation, branch of trade, or some +accidental circumstance. Let me read a short extract from a book from your +library:-- + +<blockquote><code> +"'Among the lowest classes caste has degenerated into +a fastidious tenacity of the rights and privileges of station. +For example, the man who sweeps will not take an empty +cup from your hand; your groom will not mow a little grass; +a coolie will carry any load, however offensive, on his head, +but even in a matter of life and death would refuse to carry +a man, for that is the business of another caste. +<br><br> +"'When an English servant pleads that such a thing +is not his place, his excuse is analogous to that of the +Hindu servant when he pleads his caste. When an Englishman +of birth or profession, which is held to confer +gentility, refuses to associate with a tradesman or mechanic; +or when members of a secret society exclude all +others from their meetings; or when any other social distinction +arises, it would present itself to the mind of the +Hindu as a regulation of caste.' +</code></blockquote> +<p align=justify> +"It is a barrier to the progress of Christianity in many ways. It is +generally thought that a Christian convert cannot be restored to his caste +if he should backslide; and the superstition of the low-class natives is a +rhinoceros shield, which it is still difficult to penetrate; but in the end +the Cross will come off conqueror, as it always has and always will. +<p align=justify> +"Caste does not now compel a native to pursue his father's calling, except, +perhaps, in the case of Brahmins. For that matter, Brahmins serve in the +army, and even act as cooks and in similar occupations. Men of all castes +have risen to exalted positions, just as poor men, with none of the +advantages of high birth, have in England. The loss of caste has been +regarded by the ignorant native here as the most terrible thing that could +possibly happen to him; but it is not so in practice, for it has been +accomplished by giving a very indifferent supper. +<p align=justify> +"When an outcast enters another caste, he is well and heartily received as a +convert. As you proceed through India you will learn more about this +stumbling-block of superstition and ignorance. +<p align=justify> +"The 57,000,000 Mohammedans, of whom 23,658,000 are in Bengal, and over +6,000,000 in Bombay, are either descendants of emigrating Asiatics, or +Hindus converted to that faith. Their religion is a mixture of the +doctrines of the Prophet and local idolatry; for they have been somewhat +infected by the prevailing worship of the natives. The Parsees are an +educated mercantile class, the great body of them being found in Bombay. +They are fire-worshippers; and their creed is that of Zoroaster, who +flourished not less than 800 years before Christ. The Zend-Avesta is the +sacred book of the sect, containing their religion and their philosophy. +The Caliph Omar conquered the Persians, and established Mohammedanism +there, persecuting all who would not believe. The obstinate Parsees fled to +India." +<p align=justify> +"The Parsees of the present day are their descendants, and still cling to +their ancient faith. Like all sects, they are fully tolerated by the +British government, and are considered one of the most respectable and +thriving classes of the community. They are largely merchants and +land-owners, and bear the highest reputation for honesty, industry, and as +peaceful citizens. They are quite prepossessing, and many of their ladies +are remarkably beautiful, though I have seen a fairer American than any one +of them. +<p align=justify> +"Some of them have studied law in England, and all are forward to avail +themselves of the advantages of education. A merchant-prince of this sect +was noted as a philanthropist; and for the vast sums of money he gave for +benevolent institutions, the Queen knighted him, as she did Sir Modava for +his public service. This gentleman is Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy He died in +1859." +<p align=justify> +"Parsees do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion, and +reject beef and pork, especially hams. They are not permitted to marry +outside of their own sect. Their dead are not buried or cremated, but are +committed to what is called the Tower of Silence. The bodies are exposed on +an iron grating, where the carniverous birds of the air can get to them +until the flesh has all disappeared. Then the sun-dried bones fall through +into a receptacle, from which they are removed to a cavern in the earth." +<p align=justify> +"How horrid!" exclaimed the ladies with one voice. +<p align=justify> +"The Parsee does not think so; and perhaps he has the same view you have of +our manner of disposing of the dead. In spite of the awe and respect with +which the Parsees regard fire, they are about the only eastern people who +do not smoke. But I think you need a rest by this time, and I will retire +for a little while." +<p align=justify> +The company applauded as usual, and then began to pace the promenade deck. + + + + +<a name="XIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The delightful weather of the forenoon charmed the party as they walked the +deck. It was mid-summer in the middle of the winter, as they looked at it; +for the almanac of home lingered in their minds, though the days were +longer. The sun was rather warm on both sides of noon, though it was not +oppressive, and the abundant awnings protected the passengers from its more +searching rays. +<p align=justify> +Statistical as the lecture had been, the viscount had made it interesting +by softening the figures with his comparisons; and some of his points, even +in regard to the States, were new to them, and especially in regard to the +United Kingdom. In about half an hour they were summoned to Conference Hall +again for a continuation of the lecture. +<p align=justify> +"From the vast emigration to your country, ladies and gentlemen, I suppose +there must be a great variety of people on your territory. The Germans, the +English, the Irish, the Scandinavians, the Italians, and other +nationalities, in the process of assimilation, although very many of them +have become as American as Americans themselves, take the manners and +customs, the national peculiarities, of the fatherland with them. +<p align=justify> +"The Irish drink whiskey, the Germans beer, and the Italians are apt to +have a stilletto about them. Then the antecedents, climate, politics, and +other influences, have made the East differ from the West, and the South +from both of them. Lynch law prevails to a considerable extent in the +latter, never in the Eastern and Middle States, and very rarely in the +West. But all Americans speak the same language; and foreigners are +compelled to learn English in order to get on at all, and it has become one +of the bonds of your union." +<p align=justify> +"In India there are not less than twenty-seven languages and dialects in +use; and they indicate so many different kinds of people, for we can hardly +call them nations, though in many respects they are such. This excellent +map behind me, which is worthy of the highest praise as a home-made +production, will enable me to give you a better idea of my subject." +<p align=justify> +"The ingenious artist has colored the different divisions so that you can +make them out. The three presidencies are the most notable divisions, and +they include all the inferior ones. The Bengal Presidency includes the +north-eastern part, from Afghanistan to Burma. The Madras, the southeastern +part, with most of the peninsula. The Bombay covers the greater part of the +west coast. The Deccan is a portion of the peninsula." +<p align=justify> +"It would take me three weeks to describe all the divisions of India, and I +shall not attempt to do it. It would be better done as you travel over the +country. Eighteen of them are Directly governed by the English, and +thirteen of them are still under the nominal control of the native princes; +but all the latter have a British resident as the adviser of the reigning +rajah. +<p align=justify> +"The English-speaking people of India are a mere bagatelle compared with +the enormous population, being only 238,499; but with the army they have +been able to hold the country in subjection. The British government takes a +fatherly interest in the native states, and they have been loyal without +exception in later years, though the history of India will show that not +all of them have always been so." +<p align=justify> +"Until the year 1858 the government was in the hands of the East India +Company, of which you will learn more in the history of India. In 1877 her +majesty, the queen, assumed the title of Empress of India, and she is the +ruler of the country. The government of the highest resort in the affairs +of India is a secretary of state, residing in London. He is a member of the +cabinet, and has an under-secretary. He is assisted by a council of ten or +fifteen members." +<p align=justify> +"The executive government, administered in India, is the governor-general +in council. He is the viceroy of the crown, and is assisted by six members +of the executive council, each of whom has his function in the affairs of +the state; and the commander-in-chief of the army is <i>ex-officio</i> a +seventh member. This body is really the cabinet of the viceroy. The laws +are made by this council, with from six to a dozen members appointed by the +viceroy. This is the way the machine is operated. +<p align=justify> +"The civil service of the government is rendered mainly by Europeans, +though the natives are eligible to office as employees. The English system +in the appointment of its officials prevails, and all candidates are +regularly examined. Those of you who have looked over Bradshaw's 'Guide to +India' will find descriptions of the several examinations for various +employments." +<p align=justify> +"I wish the English system could be transferred to the United States," said +Uncle Moses with great unction. +<p align=justify> +"You have made a beginning, and perhaps you will come to it in time. The +civil service prevails in the provinces and states of India as well as in +the general government, though the competition is open to the natives. +<p align=justify> +"The soldiers of the East India Company became the military force of the +British crown when the government was assumed. The English army in India +now consists of 74,033 men of all arms, and the native army of 144,735, a +total standing army of 218,786, which is its strength at the present time. +It is a curious fact that, as the native troops are recruited by voluntary +enlistment, all castes and races, including Brahmins, are drawn in by the +good pay and the pension promised. +<p align=justify> +"The navy of the East India Company was superseded by the royal navy in +1863; and a dozen or fifteen ships of war are stationed in these waters, +with an admiral as commander-in-chief, whose headquarters are at Bombay. +The Indian treasury contributes annually to the expense of this force. The +great steam navigation companies are available to recruit this branch of +the defence of the country. +<p align=justify> +"The laws are made, and the institutions of India are regulated, by +Parliament; and the administration of law and justice is substantially the +same as in the United Kingdom. The regular police consists of 160,000 +officers and men; and a portion of the expense of this force is defrayed by +the towns, the large cities mainly. Besides the city police, there are +560,000 in charge of the villages. The constabulary are natives, with +European officers, one to every seven square miles and 1,300 inhabitants, +indicating peaceful communities. About 12,000 of the 82,000 persons under +sentence are in the convict colonies at the Andaman Islands. +<p align=justify> +"The educational institutions are progressive, and 400 newspapers are +published in various languages, most of them with small circulations, +20,000 being the largest in India. The post and telegraph systems are well +cared for; and 17,564 miles of railway are in operation, with others in +process of construction. The manufactures, both in metal and fibre, have +always been remarkably fine, and the quality is still kept up. Cotton +factories have been established, with native labor, which promise great +results to the industry of the country. +<p align=justify> +"The loss of life on account of famine, caused by the failure of the +monsoon rains, has been terrific in some years. Canals and reservoirs for +irrigation as well as navigation have been built in order to remove this +evil. In 1874 £16,000,000 was expended in the relief of sufferers by the +government. Since that time a famine fund has been established; and in +years of plenty a million and a half sterling has been set aside for this +object. +<p align=justify> +"The excessive density of the population has induced the government to +favor emigration; and over a hundred thousand have gone to British Guiana +and the West Indies, and other countries. The currency of India will be +likely to bother you a little. The silver <i>rupee</i> is the unit; though +when you see 'R.x.' over or at the left of a column of figures, it means +tens of <i>rupees</i>. The nominal value of a <i>rupee</i> is two +shillings, about half a dollar of your money; but it is never worth that in +gold, the standard of England in recent years. It was some years ago at a +premium of twopence, but for the last three years it has averaged only +1<i>s</i>. 5-1/8<i>d</i>. Its value varies with the gold price of silver in +London. +<p align=justify> +"There is also a government paper currency in circulation, amounting to +£16,000,000 sterling. The smallest copper coin is the <i>pie</i>, worth +half a farthing, equal to a quarter of a cent of your money. Three of them +make a <i>pice</i>, a farthing and a half, three-quarters of a cent. Four +<i>pice</i> make an <i>anna</i>, a penny and a half, three cents. Sixteen +<i>annas</i> make a <i>rupee</i>. Sixteen <i>rupees</i> make a gold +<i>mohur</i>." +<p align=justify> +"Those small pieces are about as insignificant as those of Egypt," +suggested Mr. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"There are not many millionaires among the natives, and these smaller coins +are mostly used among them. They are convenient also to the stingy +Englishman when the plate is passed around in church," added his lordship +with a chuckle, which pleased Uncle Moses more than the remark. India has a +public debt of about £200,000,000, contracted for railways, canals, war, +and other purposes. The revenue last year was £84,932,100, and the +expenditures were £84,661,700. Not a large margin; but you must multiply +the pounds by five, or nearly that, to reduce them to dollars. +<p align=justify> +"The poppy is extensively cultivated in India; and the export tax in +Calcutta amounts to six and a quarter millions, in Bombay, to three and a +half millions, on the manufactured opium. The producer sends his crop to +the government factory, whence it is sold to the exporter; all this to +prevent frauds on the revenue. +<p align=justify> +"Wages and prices have gone up under British rule. The best class of +laborers get four <i>annas</i> a day, and others not more than two,--six to +twelve cents a day. Grain for food is a penny for two pounds,--a cent a +pound. Women and children earn small wages. The clothing of the poor is +scanty and cheap; fuel costs nothing; and rent for dwellings is hardly +known. The masses in the country, not laborers, live on the land as owners +or lessees. There has never been anything like a poor-law, and ordinarily +there is no need of such. +<p align=justify> +"It would be quite impossible for me to give the history of India in detail +in the limited time at my command, especially as we are now approaching the +land. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator, was the first to reach the +East Indies, in 1498; but his countrymen never did much trading here, being +more intent upon securing the rich treasures of the Indies. As early as +1600 the English turned their attention in this direction. Companies were +formed; but being driven by the Dutch from the islands which they still +hold, they began to make settlements on the coast of this peninsula. Madras +dates from 1639, Bombay from 1686, Calcutta from 1686. The Company said, +'Let us make a nation in India;' and they went to work at once to do it. +They accomplished their purpose, fostered by the government, raised and +borrowed money, and in the course of time had an army and a navy, and ruled +the country. They defeated the Grand Mogul, drove the French out of the +peninsula, and were generally very prosperous. +<p align=justify> +"In 1833 Parliament revoked all the trading privileges of the company; and +their dividends to stockholders were then paid out of the taxes assessed on +the people of India. They could not trade and could not govern except under +the control of Parliament. All the wars of India have been fought by the +British nation. After the mutiny, of which more hereafter, the company was +compelled to cede its powers to the crown in 1858. +<p align=justify> +"The native soldiers of Bengal were called Sepoys, and the name has been +applied to all native troops. Some small mutinies occurred in this arm of +the service in the presidency. Early in 1857 the garrison of Meerut, near +Delhi, revolted, and the British troops failed to suppress it. The Sepoys +marched to Delhi, where they were joined by the native troops and the mob. +The descendant of the Great Mogul, who lived in the palace of his ancestors +under British protection, was proclaimed emperor, and his empire +re-established. +<p align=justify> +"Probably 90,000 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, were in a state of +rebellion. In many instances they had murdered their officers and their +families. They were spread over a broad country, and held forts, arsenals, +and treasuries. They were disciplined troops armed with European artillery +and muskets, and supplied with ammunition. In portions of the country the +British were isolated, as in the camp before Delhi, and in the works at +Agra, Allahabad, and Lucknow. The mutiny extended over an area of 100,000 +square miles, with a population of 40,000,000. It came at the worst season +of the year; and if it had not been speedily suppressed, it would have +spread over the whole country. Many believed that the knell of the empire +had sounded. +<p align=justify> +"At that time there were 40,000 European troops "-- +<p align=justify> +"Land, ho!" shouted the lookout man; and the cry was repeated by the +sailors and the officers. +<p align=justify> +"We will attend to the land now, and I will resume latter," said Lord +Tremlyn, as he descended from the rostrum. + + + +<a name="XIV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XIV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The announcement that land was in sight produced some excitement, and the +speaker good-naturedly paused to enable the company to see whatever was to +be seen. They looked to the eastward, but they could see nothing. They +stood upon the promenade, and strained their eyes to the utmost; but it +required a nautical eye to make land out of the dim haze in the distance, +for that was all there was of it. +<p align=justify> +"I can readily understand your desire to obtain the first view of India," +said Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"But they will not obtain it yet a while," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +Louis and Felix had ascended the fore-rigging, and discovered what might +have been the land or a bank of clouds. There were a great number of boats +and small craft in sight, but none of them were near enough to be seen +distinctly. They observed that the Guardian-Mother had reduced her speed. +<p align=justify> +"We shall not be where you can see anything for an hour or more," continued +Captain Ringgold. "We have to pass some rather dangerous rocks in this +vicinity, and we shall proceed cautiously till we take a pilot." +<p align=justify> +"A number of large vessels have been wrecked in this locality," said the +viscount; "and in a little while you will get in among the multitude of +fishing-craft that swarm off the islands." +<p align=justify> +When the company were satisfied that there was nothing to be seen, they +resumed their seats, and the "live boys" in the fore-rigging returned to +their places. All were greatly interested in the viscount's account of the +mutiny; and he had suspended his narrative just where cunning writers of +exciting stories place the "To be continued." +<p align=justify> +"I had hardly finished what I had to say, or at least what I intended to +say; for there are still a great many points upon which I have not touched, +leaving them to be brought up as you proceed on your travels through this +interesting country," said Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"Go on! Go on!" said quite a majority of the party. +<p align=justify> +"I have been here before, and perhaps you will excuse me if I have occasion +to leave before your lordship has finished; and with this understanding, I +think you had better proceed," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"I will do so with the greatest pleasure," replied the speaker, as he took +his place on the rostrum again." I have described the terrible situation to +which the English in India had been reduced, with nearly a hundred thousand +Sepoys in rebellion, and the troops outnumbered a hundred to one, shut up +in camps and forts. The fanatical and blood-thirsty mob, far greater than +the body of native soldiers, were eager to fall upon and slaughter all +Europeans. +<p align=justify> +"At this time there were 40,000 British troops scattered over the country; +several thousand men on their way from England to China were diverted to +this country. Forty thousand from home were on their voyage of 12,000 miles +around the Cape of Good Hope to relieve the besieged garrisons. But in the +midst of the gloom of this miserable summer there was a gleam of sunshine, +and the sad disasters at Cawnpore and elsewhere were partially retrieved. +This came on the appearance of Henry Havelock, whose noble example of a +true life I commend to my young friends here who are just entering upon +their careers. +<p align=justify> +"Havelock was born in 1795. His father was a merchant, and he was well +educated. He was at first intended for the law; but he followed the example +of his brother, and entered the army a month after the battle of Waterloo. +In 1823 he was sent to India; and on the voyage he became a Christian in +the truest sense of the word, and this event influenced his life. He was +employed in the Afghan and Sikh wars; but he had learned 'to labor and to +wait,' and he was still a lieutenant after twenty-three years' service. +<p align=justify> +"He was in command of a division of the army that invaded Persia in 1856. +The news of the Indian mutiny called him hastily to Calcutta. Following the +Ganges to Allahabad," continued the speaker, pointing out the river and the +city on the map, "he organized, at this point, a force of two thousand men, +and pushed on for Cawnpore, driving the enemy before him. At Fatehpur the +rebels made a stand; but they broke before his little band, and he hastened +on to his destination. +<p align=justify> +"Nana Sahib, the native leader of the mutiny, was the adopted son of the +former peshwa, or ruler, of the Mahrattas, as certain states in the west +and middle of India are called. His foster-father had been deprived of his +dominion, and lived on a pension paid by the British. The son had been +brought up as a nobleman, with expensive habits. When the father died in +1851, the pension was not continued to the son. He was bitterly +disappointed that his income was cut off, and it stirred up all the bad +blood in his nature, and there was a good deal of it. He did his best to +foment discontent, and succeeded too well; for the mutiny was his work. +<p align=justify> +"As Havelock and his puny force approached Cawnpore, this miscreant incited +the cold-blooded massacre of all the women and children the rebels had +captured on the day before the place was taken. The intrepid general found +the Sepoys strongly intrenched at a village; but he turned their left, and +carried the works by a splendid charge of the 78th Highlanders. Entering +Cawnpore, he saw the results of the atrocious massacre in the mutilated +bodies of the women and children with his own eyes. +<p align=justify> +"The sight inspired the little band of heroes with renewed courage, and +Havelock began his march upon Lucknow. +<p align=justify> +"After fighting eight victorious battles, his little force was so reduced +by sickness and fatigue that he was forced to retire to Cawnpore. In +September General Outram arrived there with additional troops, and +operations against Lucknow were renewed. The general in command of this +force outranked Havelock, and the command belonged to him; but with a noble +generosity he waived his claim, and served in the expedition under his +victorious subordinate as a volunteer. +<p align=justify> +"Havelock's army now numbered 2,500 men, with seventeen guns. He +encountered the enemy, and scattered them several times. They reached the +thickly settled town where each house was a fortress, and with valor equal +to anything on record, fought their way to the Residency, where they were +rapturously received by the beleaguered garrison. +<p align=justify> +"But with all that could be mustered they were only a handful of men +compared with the hosts that surrounded them, and in turn they were at once +besieged by the rebels. They were not the men to yield to any odds; and +they held their own till November, when Sir Colin Campbell, with 4,700 +regulars, forced his way through the enemy, and relieved the place. He was +one of the bravest and most distinguished generals of modern times. He +fought in the United States in 1814, and in many other parts of the world. +He was in the Crimea, and Alma and Balaklava are called his battles; for he +did the most to win them. +<p align=justify> +"In India he completed the work which Havelock had begun, and the following +year announced to the viceroy that the rebellion was ended. Just before he +had been created Lord Clyde. On his return to England he was made a +field-marshal, and received a pension of £2,000. +<p align=justify> +"To return to Havelock, great honors were bestowed upon him. He was made a +baronet, created a Knight Commander of the Bath, and a pension of £1,000 +was awarded to him. But he did not live to enjoy his rewards and honors, or +even to see the end of the mutiny at which he struck the first heavy blows. +In that very month of November when Sir Colin came to the rescue, Havelock +was taken with dysentery, died on the twenty-second, and was buried in the +Alum-Bagh, the fort containing a palace and a fortress, which he had +carried in his last battle. +<p align=justify> +"Havelock was very strict in his religious principles, and a rigid +disciplinarian in the army. He was like the grave and fearless Puritan +soldier, somewhat after the type of 'Stonewall Jackson' of your Civil War, +though not as fanatical. In his last moments he said: 'For more than forty +years I have so ruled my life that when death came I might face it without +fear.' This he did; and England will never cease to remember the Christian +hero, Sir Henry Havelock. In Trafalgar Square, in London, you may see the +statue erected to him by the people of his native country. +<p align=justify> +"Aside from the mischief done by Nana Sahib, which seems to have had only a +limited effect, what were the causes of this mutiny, Lord Tremlyn?" asked +Dr. Hawkes. +<p align=justify> +"There were many causes that produced independent rebellions, such as the +greased cartridges served out to the Sepoys, though this was only +insignificant. There were too many Bramins in the ranks, and they were +fanatics; and biting off the cartridge brought their lips in contact with +the grease, which was religious pollution to them. A score of provocatives +might be mentioned, but all of them would not explain it. The natives had +been transformed into trained soldiers, and they felt the power that was in +them. +<p align=justify> +"Before the mutiny, one British soldier to six Sepoys was about the +proportion between them in numbers. The small discontents clustered around +this grand error, and broke out in the mutiny. After its suppression, one +of the first reforms of the government was to change the proportion of the +soldiers; and now they are as one European to two natives. The government +is liberal in the introduction of improvements. Now all the strategetic +points are under the control of our own soldiers; and at present they +constitute nearly the whole of the artillery force of the country. Peace +and order have reigned since 1858, and it is not now believed that a +rebellion is possible. I expect and hope to be with you for some time to +come, and my companions and myself will do our best to inform you in regard +to everything in which you may feel an interest." +<p align=justify> +The viscount bowed very politely to his audience, and was hailed with all +the enthusiasm which could be gathered up by a baker's dozen Americans. All +of them testified that they had been exceedingly interested in his address, +especially that part relating to the mutiny. +<p align=justify> +"We shall be exceedingly happy in your company, my Lord, as long as you are +pleased to remain with us," added the commander. "I have done something +towards preparing a route through India; and I should be glad to have the +advice of such counsellors as we were so fortunate as to pick up in the +midst of the rage of the stormy ocean." +<p align=justify> +"The time of our party is at your disposal for as long a period as we can +be of service to you. We do not wish to force ourselves upon you. We owe +our lives to you, and we believe we may contribute to your pleasure and +instruction; for we are at home here." +<p align=justify> +"We did only our duty when we found you on the wreck; and anything in the +nature of a recompense for the service which every sailor owes to his +fellow-men, or to those who sail on the seas, would be repugnant to me, as +it would be to my officers," replied Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"I beg you will not regard my proposition as anything in the shape of a +recompense; for all our fortunes and all our time for years to come would +not be an adequate return for the immeasurable service you have rendered to +us," protested the viscount." We have all been delighted with the manner in +which we have been entertained on board of the Guardian-Mother; and without +regard to our rescue from the very jaws of death, I declare, upon my honor +as a gentleman, that you have won our hearts,--you, Mr. Commander, and all +connected with you on board." +<p align=justify> +"Amen!" shouted Dr. Ferrolan in a burst of enthusiasm. +<p align=justify> +"So say we all of us!" cried Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Now permit me to say in all sincerity, that if our acquaintance had begun +when we set foot on the deck of your ship, and the noble conduct of the +ship's company were entirely obliterated from our memories, we should feel +as we do now," said Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"So say we all of us," sang the doctor with Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"I may say that if I had gone on board of the Guardian-Mother for the first +time in the harbor of Bombay, I should have felt the same, and had just as +strong a desire to assist you in seeing India. When gentlemen of education +and character come here from England, the officials give them a warm +welcome, and do their best to enable them to see the country, its manners +and customs, and its institutions, to the best advantage. We should do the +same with Americans; and I account myself fortunate in being the first to +greet you, and welcome you to India." +<p align=justify> +The other two heartily responded to the sentiments of the speaker, and the +commander could say no more. By this time the steamer was in the midst of +the fishing-boats and other craft. Louis called for three cheers for the +guests, and they were given with vigor and sincerity. The party separated, +and its members gave themselves up to an examination of the surroundings. + + + + +<a name="XV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The coast of Bombay was in plain sight, the province, or state, whose +capital has the same name. Groves of cocoanut, date, and other palm-trees +bordered it; and far back of it was a range of mountains, the Western +Ghats, a chain extending for hundreds of miles along the shore, though from +twenty to fifty miles from it. +<p align=justify> +The fishing-boats were Oriental, and nothing new to the tourists; but the +men in them were swarthy-looking fellows, not abundantly provided with +clothing. The greater portion of India has a warm climate, and the dress of +the people is adapted to it. For the most part, the natives are bundled up +in loose white cotton cloth, or what was originally white, which they twist +about their bodies with a skill acquired by practice. But these boatmen +were almost in a primitive condition. +<p align=justify> +The distinguished guests on board of the Guardian-Mother were perfectly +familiar with Bombay and its surroundings, as they were with all of the +country, and their services were just now in demand. The Woolridges had +attached themselves to Lord Tremlyn; Louis Belgrave was very likely to be +in their company most of the time, and the viscount had manifested no +little interest in the young millionaire. He was pointing out the country, +and describing it, to this group of four. +<p align=justify> +Dr. Ferrolan was not so much of a ladies' man as his two younger +companions, and was rendering similar service to his professional brother, +Uncle Moses, and Professor Giroud. They formed a quartet of educated men, +and were more in touch with each other than they might otherwise have been. +Sir Modava Rao had attracted to his side Mrs. Belgrave; Mrs. Blossom was +usually her shadow; and of course Captain Ringgold, when not employed in +his duties in the navigation of the steamer, gravitated, not materially but +sentimentally, to this group; for wherever Mrs. Belgrave was, the commander +was not far off. +<p align=justify> +Felix divided himself up among the three parties; and, as he was a lively +boy, he afforded no little amusement to all of them. The entire company, +including the captain and the third officer, who were to take part in the +business of sight-seeing, consisted of sixteen persons, which was just the +complement for four carriages, if they were large enough to seat four. +<p align=justify> +The pilot came on board, and was inducted into the pilot-house. He spoke +English, and seemed to be a bright fellow so far as his occupation was +concerned. The pilots are said to "pool their issues," and divide their +fees. They take their own time, therefore, and are very independent. But +this one, when informed that the Guardian-Mother was a yacht conveying a +young millionaire all-over-the-world, was very respectful and deferential. +<p align=justify> +"I have heard of this vessel before, and they say here that the young rajah +is worth millions of pounds," said he, when he had laid the course of the +steamer. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose he is as well off as some of your Grand Moguls; but I think you +had better call it dollars instead of pounds," replied Mr. Boulong, +laughing at the absurdity of the story; but the pilot knew nothing about +dollars, and perhaps the reports had been swelled by changing the unit of +American currency into that of the British Empire. +<p align=justify> +"Now you can see the islands more distinctly," said Lord Tremlyn to his +group. +<p align=justify> +"I don't see any islands," replied Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +"They are too near together to be distinguished separately. The Bombay to +which we are going is an island eleven and a half miles long. The town has +an abundant territory; but large as it is, portions of it are very densely +peopled, averaging twenty-one inmates to a house," continued the viscount. +"Next to Calcutta it is the largest city in India, and comes within 40,000 +of that. +<p align=justify> +"Bombay has had its vicissitudes. Of course you know that your Civil War +produced a cotton famine in Europe; but it raised this city to the pinnacle +of prosperity. A reign of speculation came here, and it was believed that +Bombay would be the leading cotton mart of the world. Companies were +organized to develop the resources of the country in the textile plant; and +the fever raged as high as it did when the South Sea Bubble was blown up, +or as it has sometimes in New York and other cities of your country. +<p align=justify> +"New banks were started; merchants plunged recklessly into the vortex of +speculation. Then came the news of the surrender of General Lee, and the +end of the war in America. The bubble burst, even before it was fully +inflated, and the business prosperity of Bombay collapsed. The certificates +of shares in companies and banks were not worth the paper on which they +were written. Even the Bank of Bombay, believed to be as solid as the 'Old +Lady' of Threadneedle Street, had to suspend, and the commercial distress +was frightful. +<p align=justify> +"But it left its lesson behind it; and since that time Bombay has patiently +and painfully regained its former solid prosperity. It has recovered what +it lost, and is now steadily increasing in population and wealth." +<p align=justify> +"I never heard of the South Sea Bubble of which you speak," said Louis. +<p align=justify> +"That is not strange, as it was an affair of one hundred and eighty-one +years ago," replied Lord Tremlyn. "I have not time now to describe it in +full. The floating debt of England at that time was £10,000,000; and the +Earl of Oxford concocted a scheme to pay it off, and formed a company of +merchants for that purpose. The riches of the South Sea Islands, including +South America, were most extravagantly estimated at that time, and the +monopoly of the trade was secured by the company formed. The 'South Sea +Company' was bolstered up by the pledge of the duties on the imports from +these far-off regions, and the shares sold like wild-fire, increasing in +price in the most extraordinary manner. Shares at a par of £100 were quoted +at £550 in May, and £890 in June. +<p align=justify> +"The failure of the Mississippi Scheme, projected in France by John Law to +develop the resources of the American State of Louisiana, alarmed the +shareholders; but the managers declared that they had avoided the errors of +Law in their finances, and the enterprise still prospered. A mania for +stock-gambling spread over England, and the people seemed to have lost +their wits. The most tremendous excitement prevailed. The crisis came, and +it was realized that the scheme was a fraudulent one. Some of the biggest +operators sold out their stock, and a panic ensued. Consternation came upon +the bubble capitalists, and financial ruin stared them and their dupes full +in the face. +<p align=justify> +"The country was stirred to its very foundations. Parliament was called +together, and the books of the company were examined. The 'Bubble' had +burst, as it did in Bombay. The private property of the directors was +confiscated. The ruin brought about by this enterprise, rightly called a +'Bubble,' was beyond calculation; but it taught its lesson, as such affairs +always do." +<p align=justify> +"We are approaching the harbor," said Mrs. Woolridge, who was not much +interested in the South Sea Scheme, though her husband and Louis listened +to the explanation very attentively. +<p align=justify> +"We are, madam. You see to the northward of us two peninsulas. The one the +more distant has two hills on it. The first is Malabar Hill, and the other +Cumballa Hill. This is the aristocratic quarter of Bombay. The huge +bungalows of the rich merchants and higher government officials are here. +The scenery, natural and artificial, is very fine, and Asiatic magnificence +prevails there. That will be one of our first rides. You observe near the +point of the peninsula some towers, like pagodas, which will give you your +first impression of the temples of India." +<p align=justify> +Opera-glasses were then in demand, and were brought to bear on the towers. +<p align=justify> +"They are in the village of Walkeshwar. The peninsula now quite near is +Colaba. Indian names are very much mixed in regard to their spelling. The +<i>c</i> and the <i>k</i> are about interchangeable, and you can use either +one of them. Hence this point is often written Kolaba, and the hill yonder +Kumballa. The southern part of this neck of land is the native quarter. You +will visit all these localities, and it is not worth while to describe them +minutely." +<p align=justify> +"That looks like a cemetery," said Mr. Woolridge, as the steamer approached +the point. "There is the lighthouse." +<p align=justify> +The commander had left his party as the steamer approached the entrance to +the harbor, and had gone forward. The ship had slowed down, and the captain +spoke to the pilot about a convenient anchorage. The harbor was large +enough to accommodate all the navies of the world, and there was no +difficulty on this account. Lord Tremlyn had left his party to look at what +was to be seen by themselves, and came forward to the pilot-house. The +anchorage was settled. +<p align=justify> +"Captain Ringgold, if you please, we will now exchange places," said the +viscount. "Up to the present time we have been your guests; now I will +become the host, and you and your party will be my guests. I beg you will +raise no objections, my dear sir, and I shall feel very much wounded if you +do not accept the hospitality I tender to you. You are at home on the sea +as I am in Bombay." +<p align=justify> +"You have put it in such a way that I cannot refuse to accept," replied the +commander, laughing at the corner in which he was placed. "For the present +we are your guests, and we place ourselves entirely under your direction." +<p align=justify> +"I am extremely happy to take you all under my protection; but I cannot +submit to the proviso which you have added to my offer, though I will be +satisfied to have you 'for the present' as my guests, and we will leave the +future to take care of itself. But in whatever capacity we travel over +India, or such portion of it as you may elect, it is rather necessary that +we fix upon a plan for our operations." +<p align=justify> +"I am quite agreed that we had better draw up a programme, and I shall +depend upon your counsel in the matter," replied the captain. "For the +present, will you excuse me until the ship comes to anchor?" +<p align=justify> +"Certainly, Captain." +<p align=justify> +"Here is the custom-house boat, and I suppose I must attend to that." +<p align=justify> +"Leave that to me, if you please." +<p align=justify> +In another half-hour the Guardian-Mother was at anchor off the Apollo +Bunder, the wharf, or landing-place. The custom-house officers came on +board; and, as the ship was not one of any regular line, a high official +came off with them. As soon as he reached the deck he discovered his +lordship, and rushed to him, bowed profusely, and addressed him in the most +deferential manner. +<p align=justify> +"This is a very unexpected visit, my Lord, and in a steamer flying the +American flag," said he, as the viscount gave him his hand, a piece of +condescension he appeared to appreciate very highly. "What has become of +the Travancore?" +<p align=justify> +"She was wrecked in the Arabian Sea in a collision, and went to the bottom +after holding us up for a few hours. We were rescued from certain death by +this steamer, and we have been treated with the utmost kindness and +consideration," said his lordship quite hurriedly. "Sir Modava Rao and Dr. +Ferrolan are on board. I am entirely devoted to those to whom we owe our +lives, and I am in their service as long as they will stay in India. What +is your business on board, Mr. Windham?" +<p align=justify> +"It is in connection with the customs, my Lord." +<p align=justify> +"You will dispense with everything in that connection, for this is a yacht; +and you will oblige me by not subjecting any person on board to any +annoyance, Mr. Windham." +<p align=justify> +"Certainly not, my Lord; and not a trunk shall be opened. But the +newspapers will want the account of your shipwreck, and a reporter came off +with me," replied the official. +<p align=justify> +"Refer him to my secretary." +<p align=justify> +The under-official obtained particulars from the first officer in regard to +the steamer for the custom-house, and Dr. Ferrolan gave the reporter an +account of the disaster to the Travancore which he had written. +<p align=justify> +"I propose to land and proceed to our hotel as soon as the ladies are +ready," said Lord Tremlyn, when he had retired to the captain's cabin with +the commander. "While they are preparing, we will consider the programme of +the tour." +<p align=justify> +"Very well, your Lordship; I will have the party notified. Mr. Scott," said +the captain, opening the door into the pilot-house, "inform all the company +that we go on shore in half an hour; and you will go with them. Mr. +Boulong, lower the gangway, and have the barge ready." +<p align=justify> +"Perhaps you have arranged a programme yourself already," suggested the new +host of the party. +<p align=justify> +"I have considered the matter. I proposed to see Bombay, and perhaps run +down to Poona. Then go to Surat in the steamer, and visit Baroda, and +proceed by the ship to Kurrachee. From there I thought I should send the +Guardian-Mother round to Calcutta in charge of Mr. Boulong, while we +travelled to Lahore, Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, and +Calcutta by railway. From there we will go to Madras and Ceylon by the +steamer," said the commander, who seemed to have arranged the whole trip. +<p align=justify> +"Excellent, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed the viscount. "I can hardly better +that." +<p align=justify> +He made some suggestions; but this route was substantially adopted. + + + + +<a name="XVI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XVI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The barge was ready as soon as it was needed, and lay at the platform of +the gangway, with the crew in their white uniforms, quite as smart as +man-of-war's-men. The coolie boatmen who were seeking a job to put the +passengers on shore were disappointed. The clothing of the guests had been +taken in hand by Sparks and Sordy, the cabin stewards, dried, cleaned, and +pressed. They wore them now, and had returned the borrowed garments. +<p align=justify> +The party were impatient to see the strange sights on shore; and they were +ready at the gangway when the viscount, to whom the commander had abandoned +the direction of the company, gave the word. The ladies were assisted to +their places, and the "Big Four" went into the fore-sheets. Bargate, the +old man-of-war's-man, was the cockswain, and his lordship gave the word to +him to give way. +<p align=justify> +"Pull to the Apollo Bunder, if you please, my man," said he. +<p align=justify> +"Which, your honor?" asked Bargate blankly. +<p align=justify> +"I mean the bit of a basin you see nearly abreast of the ship," the new +leader explained, pointing out the locality. +<p align=justify> +The cockswain shoved off the stern of the boat, the oars dropped into the +water, and the men gave way. It was a pull of but a few minutes, and the +barge shot into the basin, and came to a convenient landing-place. On the +shore they found Mr. Windham, one of the chief officials of the +custom-house, who had been on board of the ship. He was surrounded by a +small mob of young Hindus, neatly dressed in the native garments of white +cotton. The ladies were assisted to the shore first. All of the party +carried small valises or satchels containing the needed articles for a few +days' stay at a hotel; and these natives took possession of them as they +landed. +<p align=justify> +"What is this man, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as one of them +relieved her of the bag she carried. +<p align=justify> +"He is your <i>Khidmutgar</i>, madam," replied the Hindu knight, with a +smile on his handsome face. +<p align=justify> +"My what?" demanded the lady. "And must I pronounce that word?" +<p align=justify> +"Not unless you wish to do so. This man is your servant, your waiter." +<p align=justify> +"But what are we to do with such a lot of them?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave, as +she looked upon the group of Hindus. +<p align=justify> +"There is only one for each person of the company; for every one must have +his servant. We are going to the Victoria Hotel, and this <i>Khidmutgar</i> +will attend upon you at the table, and do anything you require." +<p align=justify> +"I don't think I shall need him all the time," added the lady, who thought +he would be a nuisance to her. +<p align=justify> +The young Hindus presented themselves to all the passengers as they landed, +taking their small baggage, canes, and umbrellas. Some of them had heard +Sir Modava's explanation, and Lord Tremlyn repeated it to others. Most of +them had decided to take things as they came, and accepted the custom of +the country without any friction. Mrs. Blossom looked rather wildly at the +satellite who was to attend to her wants; but her good friend told her to +say nothing, and she submitted without a word. +<p align=justify> +"Captain Ringgold," said the viscount, as he brought forward a rather stout +man, with spectacles on his nose, and an odd-looking cap or turban on his +head, "this is Pallonjee Pestonjee, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel." +<p align=justify> +"I am happy to know you, sir," replied the commander, as he took the hand +of the gentleman, who was a Parsee, though he did not attempt to pronounce +the name. +<p align=justify> +"We have half a dozen <i>shigrams</i> here," continued his lordship. +<p align=justify> +"What are we to do with them, my Lord?" asked the captain. +<p align=justify> +"They are two-horse carriages; and, if you please, we will ride to the +hotel in them," laughed the distinguished guide. +<p align=justify> +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were of English pattern; +and they saw cabs and omnibuses in the vicinity. Taking Rampart Row, they +passed the university, the court-house, and other public buildings, into +Esplanade Road, leading to their destination, about a mile from the +landing. +<p align=justify> +"On our right is Byculla, one of the divisions of the city, and a business +quarter, where you will find the retail shops, though they are not all +here," said the viscount. "This locality is generally called the Fort; for +though its walls have been removed, it retains the old name. Just below the +Apollo Bunder, where we landed, are the Grant buildings, or warehouses. +Perhaps you saw them from the deck of the ship. Below these, at the +extremity of the point, is Colaba, the native town, which is largely +occupied by commercial buildings. But we shall ride over this ground again, +and you will have the opportunity to see the various structures in detail." +<p align=justify> +But the tourists were not very much interested in the buildings; for they +wanted to see India, its manners and customs, and for the last year they +had been seeing edifices as noted as any in the world, though they had yet +to be introduced to the temples and palaces of this country, which were +different from anything they had seen before. +<p align=justify> +They soon arrived at the Victoria Hotel; and the <i>khidmutgars</i>, +carrying the light baggage, were not behind them, though they had run all +the way from the bunder. The landlord had come in a carriage. Felix +McGavonty, who was the captain's clerk, had made out several lists of the +passengers, at the request of Lord Tremlyn; and one of them had been sent +to the hotel, so that their rooms were already assigned to them. Their +servants appeared to be familiar with the Victoria, and they were taken to +their apartments at once. +<p align=justify> +"What the dickens do we want of all these fellows?" asked Scott when they +had been conducted to a room with four beds in it. "They will be a nuisance +to us." +<p align=justify> +"We don't need all you fellows," added Louis Belgrave, turning to his +servant. "We are accustomed to wait on ourselves. One of you is enough for +all of us." +<p align=justify> +"No, Sahib; no <i>khidmutgar</i> waits on more than one gentleman," replied +Louis's man, with a cheerful smile, displaying a wealth of white teeth +which would have been creditable to an Alabama negro. +<p align=justify> +"That's what's the matter, is it?" added Scott. "I have learned that no +Hindu will do more than one kind of work, take care of more than one +person; and no groom will take care of more than one horse. If you have six +horses, you must have six hostlers. That is what Sir Modava told me." +<p align=justify> +"Custom is law here, and we must follow the fashions," replied Louis. "What +is your name, my boy?" he continued, turning to his servant. +<p align=justify> +"Sayad, sahib," answered he. +<p align=justify> +Scott's was Moro, Morris's was Mobarak, and Felix's was Balaya; but the +last two were speedily abbreviated into "Mobby" and "Bally," to which the +young Hindus offered no objection. They were all under twenty years of age, +and spoke English passably well. +<p align=justify> +"Here, Sayad! black my shoes," said Louis, determined to make use of his +servant. +<p align=justify> +"I don't clean the shoes," replied the fellow, shaking his head. "I call +the porter;" and he did so. +<p align=justify> +"That is just what Sir Modava told me," added Scott. +<p align=justify> +But Sayad had opened his master's valise, placed his toilet articles on the +bureau, and brushed his coat, which he had taken off. He arranged +everything with good taste, and smiled expansively every time Louis looked +at him. The shoes of all four were polished in time; and they were ready to +begin their explorations of the city, though it was rather late in the day. +<p align=justify> +"What time is dinner, Moro?" asked Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Seven o'clock, sahib," replied the boy; and he was more of a boy than a +man. +<p align=justify> +"What time are the other meals?" +<p align=justify> +"Meals?" queried Moro. +<p align=justify> +"What time is breakfast?" +<p align=justify> +"Bring sahib coffee at six in the morning; breakfast at nine; tiffin at +one." +<p align=justify> +"What's that last one, Moro?" +<p align=justify> +"We had tiffin at Suez, and it means luncheon," interposed Morris. +<p align=justify> +"I didn't hear the word; but it is all right, and tiffin it is after this +time. Come; are you going down-stairs, fellows?" +<p align=justify> +"There is a public sitting-room down-stairs, and we will find that first." +<p align=justify> +The four servants followed them when they went down-stairs. None of the +party had yet gone to the public room except Sir Modava, though Lord +Tremlyn soon joined him. Their attendants stopped outside the doors. +<p align=justify> +"We are going to the tailor's now," said the Hindu gentleman. "As you are +aware, we lost all our clothes except what we had on, and we must order a +new supply." +<p align=justify> +"May we go with you?" asked Louis. +<p align=justify> +"Certainly; if you desire to do so. You may find something to amuse you on +the way, as we shall walk; for we want to get our sea-legs off," replied +Sir Modava. "It is only five o'clock here, and we have two hours before +dinner-time. Ah, here is Miss Blanche." +<p align=justify> +She was followed by her servant, who was decidedly a nuisance to her, +though he retreated from her room as soon as he had put things in order, +and remained within call outside the door. Louis invited her to take a walk +with them, and she went up-stairs to consult her mother. She returned in a +few minutes, ready to go out; and she was as radiant as a fairy in her +light costume. +<p align=justify> +They passed out of the hotel; and the first thing that attracted Louis's +attention was a palanquin. It was not a new thing to the travellers, for +they had seen such conveyances in Constantinople and elsewhere. +<p align=center> +<a name="page155"></a> + +<img src="images/page155.png" border=0 +alt=""The young millionaire walked by the side of +the vehicle."--Page 155."> + +<center><i>"The young millionaire walked by the side of +the vehicle."--Page 155.</i></center> + +<p align=justify> +"You must ride in that palanquin, Miss Blanche," said Louis; and he told +Sayad to have it brought up to the door. +<p align=justify> +It was a compartment like a box, about seven feet long, with a pair of +sliding doors at the side. It was balanced on a pole, with braces above and +below it. It appeared to be so poised, with the pole above the centre of +gravity, that it could not be turned over. The four bearers were coolies, +with bare legs, cotton turbans on their heads, and not otherwise overloaded +with clothing; but they were dressed like all the coolies about the streets +and in the boats of the harbor. +<p align=justify> +The fair young lady had never been in a palanquin, though she had seen +them, and she was pleased with the idea of the ride. It was dropped down +upon its four legs, or feet, and Louis assisted her to the interior. It was +provided with cushions, and Sir Modava instructed her to recline so that +she could see out of the open doors. The young millionaire walked by the +side of the vehicle, while the others all followed, with their servants at +a respectful distance. +<p align=justify> +"How do you like the motion, Miss Blanche?" asked Louis, after they had +gone a short distance. +<p align=justify> +"It is not as uneasy as the gait of a camel, though I can feel every step +of the bearers. But I should prefer a <i>shigram</i>, if it only had a +better name," replied she. +<p align=justify> +"You can call it a brougham, or simply a carriage, if you prefer. We are +not here to learn the Indian languages, and we can take our choice; and we +can talk 'good old United States,' in speaking of things," suggested Louis. +"There! what will you call that vehicle, Miss Blanche?" +<p align=justify> +"That is called a <i>gharri</i>" interposed Sir Modava, who was within +hearing. +<p align=justify> +The vehicle was such as none of the Americans had ever seen. It was a sort +of two-wheeled cart, with a top like an old-fashioned chaise, in which a +man was seated, while a rough-looking fellow rode in front. +<p align=justify> +"I should say it was an ox-cart, so far as the team is concerned," said +Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Those are not oxen; they are called bullocks in this country. As you see, +they have humps like a camel, though much smaller, in front of which is the +yoke," the Hindu knight explained. +<p align=justify> +"But they don't drive oxen in the United States with a pair of rope reins, +as this fellow does," said Scott. +<p align=justify> +"I have seen them do so in North Carolina," added Morris, who had travelled +in the South with his parents. +<p align=justify> +"I give it up, and it's all right. But what is that man in the cart? Is he +a Grand Mogul?" +<p align=justify> +"Hardly," replied Sir Modava, laughing. "The driver is the lowest caste of +laborers, who works for fivepence a day, and supports his family on it. The +man inside is the cook of a Parsee merchant I happen to know, and probably +he is going to market to buy supplies for the family. But here we are at +the tailor's. You can continue your ramble, and your servants can tell you +the way, and what the buildings are." +<p align=justify> +The two gentlemen entered the tailor's shop; for there are no stores here +any more than in London. + + + + +<a name="XVII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XVII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The live boys did not care much for the buildings, though most of those of +a public character were architecturally very fine. Around a large open +space they found the Town Hall, the Mint, and all the great mercantile +establishments. At the time of the young people's visit, it was almost +entirely abandoned by those who had held possession of it during the day. +Business hours are from ten in the forenoon till four in the afternoon. +<p align=justify> +Before and after these hours the Fort, as the business section of the city +is called, is deserted. This quarter was formerly surrounded by walls or +ramparts, which have now been removed; but in its limits is concentrated +the great wealth of Bombay. There are no dwellings within this territory, +which is consecrated to trade and commerce; and both Europeans and natives +hasten at the early closing hour to their homes at Colaba, the Esplanade, +Mazagon, Malabar Hill, and Breach Candy, the latter on the seashore. +<p align=justify> +In front of the Grant buildings they found the Cotton-Green, deserted now, +though the stacks of bales were still there, with a few sheds and shanties. +A few half-naked coolies and policemen were loitering about the place; but +it is not convenient for a thief to carry off a bale of cotton on his back, +and a bullock cart in this locality would excite suspicion. In business +hours this is a busy place; and the Parsee and native merchants, robed in +loose white garments, not all of them indulging in the luxury of trousers, +reclining on the bales, or busy with customers, form a picturesque scene. +<p align=justify> +"I don't think this is the right time to explore this region," suggested +Scott. "We had better come down here when there is something going on." +<p align=justify> +"You are right, Scott," replied Louis; "and I dare say Miss Blanche has had +enough of the palanquin, or will have by the time we get back to the hotel, +for we are more than a mile from it." +<p align=justify> +"I don't think I like a palanquin as well as a carriage," replied the young +lady. "If you please, I should like to walk back." +<p align=justify> +She was promptly assisted to alight, and the palanquin bearers were paid so +liberally that they did not complain at being discharged so far from the +hotel. Sayad and Moro were sent ahead to lead the way, while the other two +walked behind. On their arrival at the Victoria, they found all the rest of +the tourists assembled in the parlor, to whom they gave an account of what +they had seen. +<p align=justify> +They went to the saloon in which dinner was served, closely followed +by their servants; and the scene there was decidedly unique to the +Americans, for there were as many servants as guests. The hotel furnishes +no attendants, and each visitor brings his own. But as soon as all were +seated, order came out of confusion, and the service proceeded. The dishes +were somewhat peculiar; but Sir Modava explained them to the commander and +Mrs. Belgrave, while Lord Tremlyn rendered a similar service to the +Woolridges and Louis, and Dr. Ferrolan to the professional gentlemen of the +company. +<p align=justify> +"I think you will find this fish very good," said his lordship, as the +second course came on. "It is the <i>bummaloti</i>, sometimes called the +Bombay duck, something like both the salmon and the trout. It is a +salt-water fish, abundant off this coast, where it is extensively taken, +salted, and dried, to be sent to all parts of India." +<p align=justify> +"It is elegant," said Mr. Woolridge, who was an epicure. +<p align=justify> +The roast beef and chickens were very good, and the fruit was highly +appreciated. The dinner finished, the party returned to the sitting-room, +and found themselves very nearly alone. At the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold, Lord Tremlyn consented to give the travellers some information in +regard to the city of Bombay. +<p align=justify> +"When I consider what a vast extent of territory you are to explore in +India," the speaker began, "I realize that not much of your time must be +taken up in long discourses, and especially not in lengthy introductions. +Bombay, the western province of the peninsula, includes twenty-four British +districts and nineteen native states, the latter governed wholly or in part +by Hindu rulers. This word Hindu, I repeat, properly applies to only a +portion of this country, but has come into use as a name for the entire +region. +<p align=justify> +"This is the Bombay Presidency, with a governor appointed by the crown, a +Legislative Council, a mixed garrison of English and native soldiers, under +a local commander-in-chief. That is all I shall say of the presidency, +which is one of three in India. +<p align=justify> +"The city of Bombay occupies the south end of the island of the same name, +and is one of a group of several, of which Salsette is the largest, with +which Bombay Island, eleven miles in length, is connected by causeways, +over which the railway passes. The business part is at the Fort, where we +landed, and the bazaars extend from that in the direction of Mazagon, which +lies to the north and east of it. +<p align=justify> +"You will find here many public buildings and commercial structures which +compare favorably with similar edifices in any city of the world; and we +shall see them to-morrow forenoon. The Princess Dock, where the great +steamship lines land their merchandise, cost a million sterling. Three or +four miles off this dock, to the eastward, you saw a couple of islands, the +farther one of which is Elephanta, with its wonderful cave, which you will +visit. +<p align=justify> +"The western terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway is here, and +with its connections it extends all over India. This is the first port +usually reached by vessels from Europe, though Kurrachee is nearer. It is +the great mail port; and I have seen landed at Dover thirty tons of +post-bags, sent from here by Suez and through Europe by the Orient Express. +<p align=justify> +"Bombay now exceeds Calcutta in the extent of its commerce. The principal +exports are cotton, wheat, shawls, opium, coffee, pepper, ivory, and gums; +and the chief imports are the manufactured goods of England, metals, wine, +beer, tea, and silks. The prominent industries of the city and its vicinity +are dyeing, tanning, and metal working. It has sixty large steam-mills. Of +the vast population, now approaching a million, not more than 13,000 are +British-born. The water here is excellent, for it is brought from a lake +fifteen miles north of us. +<p align=justify> +"Goa is still a Portuguese possession, nearly three hundred miles down the +coast; and a year before they captured it they took possession of this +island, in 1509. They held it till 1661, when it was ceded to England as a +part of the dowry of the Infanta Catharine, who became queen of Charles II. +That is all I need say at present." +<p align=justify> +The next morning after breakfast the carriages bespoken were at the door. +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were English, and quite +commodious, according to their own fancies; and it need only be said that +the commander was in the one with Mrs. Belgrave, and Louis with Miss +Blanche. The viscount directed the driver of his carriage to pass through +Cruikshank Road to the Parsees' Bazaar, which is just north of the Fort. +Most of the Parsees and Bhorahs who do business here reside in the same +section; and there were many fine houses there, though they are abundantly +able to live at Breach Candy and Malabar Hill, the abode of the +<i>élite</i>. The vehicles stopped at an attractive point, and the party +alighted. They went into several shops, and were treated with the utmost +politeness and attention. +<p align=justify> +In one of them they were invited into a small rear saloon, magnificently +furnished, where they were presented by Lord Tremlyn to a Parsee gentleman. +He was dignity and grace united. He was dressed in white throughout, except +his cap, or turban, which was of darker material. He wore trousers, with +white socks and slippers. His shirt appeared to be outside of his trousers, +like the Russians, with a sort of vest over it. He wore a long coat, shaped +like a dressing-gown, reaching nearly to the floor. +<p align=justify> +He was kind enough to call in his wife and little daughter. Both of them +had pleasing faces. The lady wore a rich dress and a magnificent shawl, +with a head-dress of gold and diamonds. The little girl had on bagging +trousers like the Turkish women, and a heavily embroidered tunic, and both +of them wore Indian slippers, with the toes turned up. +<p align=justify> +The ladies of the party were presented to the lady. She spoke English +correctly and fluently, and the interview between them was exceedingly +interesting to both sides. The Americans did not meddle with forbidden +topics, as they had been cautioned not to do, such as their religion and +burial rites; but they could not help thinking of this elegant lady's +comely form being torn to pieces by the crows and vultures in the Tower of +Silence with absolute horror. +<p align=justify> +From the Bazaar the carriages proceeded through the Fort, and the public +buildings were pointed out to them. At the Cotton-Green they got out; for +the place was now alive with Parsees and other merchants, with plenty of +coolies, some of whom were moving bales, and others sorting cotton. From +this locality they rode through Colaba, and saw some native dwellings, as +well as some fine European residences, with beautiful gardens around them. +They alighted near the most southern point, and inspected a "bungalow," +which they were politely invited to enter. It was fitted up with a view to +comfort rather than elegance, and the interior appeared as though it might +be delightfully cool in the heat of summer. +<p align=justify> +"What do you call that house?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as they returned to the +road, which they call them all over the city, and not streets. +<p align=justify> +"A bungalow," replied Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Why do you call it so?" +<p align=justify> +"That reminds me of the German," interposed Captain Ringgold, laughing +heartily. "'Do you know vot vas der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans?'" +<p align=justify> +"Well, what was the reason, Captain?" inquired the lady seriously. +<p align=justify> +"'Der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans is, dot is his name.'" +<p align=justify> +"Well, that is precisely why we call that house a bungalow," added Sir +Modava. "It is the house usually occupied by Europeans here. They are one +story high, with a broad veranda, like the one we have just visited. Almost +always they have a pyramidal roof, generally thatched, but rarely slated or +tiled. When the body is of brick or stone, they call them <i>pucka</i> +houses. Doubtless you wished to know the origin of the word, Mrs. +Belgrave." +<p align=justify> +"That was just what I wished to know." +<p align=justify> +"They were probably first called Bengalese houses, and the present name was +corrupted out of the adjective." +<p align=justify> +The party collected together on the seashore, for the viscount appeared to +have something to say. The captain of the Guardian-Mother called the +attention of the company to the shape of the small bay before them, which +looked exactly like a lobster's big claw. +<p align=justify> +"The point where we are is Cape Colaba, and the small point is Cape +Malabar," said Lord Tremlyn. "I think we have seen all our time permits, +and now we will drive back through the town and the Esplanade. Perhaps you +have not yet heard of the Jains. They are a religious sect, and are more +influential and intelligent than most of the Hindus. More than any other +sect they hold the lower animals in the highest regard, amounting to a +strange sort of tenderness. +<p align=justify> +"They believe that man should not injure any animal; and more than this, +that human beings are bound to protect the lives and minister to the ills +of all creatures, even those the most despised. When, therefore, the pious +Jain comes upon a wounded creature of the lower order, he stops to attend +to its needs, and even takes it into his house to be healed. To forward +this charity, the wealthy of this sect have contributed money for the +foundation and endowment of hospitals for the care of sick and wounded +animals, and even of those permanently disabled." +<p align=justify> +"What a beautiful idea, if it is heathen!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"We will now drive to one of these hospitals. We have to pass through the +Esplanade again to reach the Black Town, as it is called, where most of the +natives reside; but we will go by a different road." +<p align=justify> +In about half an hour the carriages passed through the densely populated +region of the Hindus, and stopped at the hospital. The party alighted in a +large court, surrounded by sheds, in which are a number of bullocks, some +of them with their eyes bandaged, others lame, or otherwise in a helpless +condition. They were all stretched out on clean straw. Some of the +attendants were rubbing them; others were bringing food and drink to them. +<p align=justify> +Passing into a smaller court, they found it contained dogs and cats in the +same unfortunate and suffering condition. +<p align=justify> +"It would be a mercy to kill them, and thus put them out of misery," said +Dr. Hawkes to the native officer with him. +<p align=justify> +"Do you serve your sick and disabled in that way?" asked the official. +<p align=justify> +He could not answer this appeal for the want of time, and they passed into +a place for birds. Venerable crows, vultures, buzzards, and other bipeds, +most of them with their plumage gone, pass the remainder of their lives in +peace in this curious retreat. At the end of the enclosure a heron proudly +strutted about with a wooden leg, among lame hens and blind geese and +ducks. Rats, mice, sparrows, and jackals have an asylum in the Jain +hospital. +<p align=justify> +"I should like to have some of our people take a lesson from this +institution," said Mrs. Woolridge as they left the place. +<p align=justify> +The carriages then conveyed them to a Hindu temple. + + + + +<a name="XVIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XVIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY</h4> + +<p align=justify> +On the way to the temple the carriages stopped at a horse bazaar, in which +Mr. Woolridge was especially interested, for some very fine animals were to +be seen, including some choice Arabians. They were looked over and admired +by the party. The best of them were valued at from six hundred to twelve +hundred dollars; and the cheapest were hardly less than two hundred +dollars. None but the wealthiest people of the city could afford to ride +after these animals. +<p align=justify> +Around these stables were numerous cafés, and a collection of people of +various nationalities were gathered in front and within them. Arabs, +negroes, Bedouins, and others were consuming spicy drinks; a group of +Persians in picturesque costumes were regaling themselves with great +dough-balls, made of flour, sugar, and milk; and dirty visitors from Cabul +were feeding themselves on dates. +<p align=justify> +Still in the Black Town, the carriages stopped at the Chinese Bazaar, +though the tourists did not alight. It extended to the shore of the bay, +and was crowded with all sorts of people. On the quays were no end of +Asiatic goods, mostly of the coarser kind,--the horns of cattle, tortoise +shells, elephants' tusks, and bags of pepper, spices, and coffee. +<p align=justify> +"This looks like Constantinople," said Miss Blanche, as four big coolies, +bearing a large box of goods suspended from a pole resting on their +shoulders, passed them, struggling under the burden they bore. +<p align=justify> +"Oriental customs are much the same wherever you find them," replied Sir +Modava. +<p align=justify> +"But if they had a hand-truck, such as they use in the stores of our +country, they could do their work with far less labor," suggested Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Those coolies would not use them," added the Hindu gentleman. "I have seen +them in London, and these laborers would regard them as an invention of the +Evil One to lead them away from their religion." +<p align=justify> +Parsees and other merchants were circulating in the crowd, making notes of +the prices; and the great variety of representatives of different countries +was surprising to the visitors. Not far from this bazaar is the great +mosque of the Mohammedans. After all the magnificent buildings of this kind +the party had visited in Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria, it was not a great +attraction. It was not to be compared with many mosques they had seen. As +usual, the party were invited to remove their shoes, though the sight +hardly paid for the trouble. The scene was the same as in others of the +kind. A venerable Moollah was expounding the Koran to a group of true +believers. +<p align=justify> +His audience were all seated on the pavement, and they seemed to be giving +excellent attention to the discourse. Sir Modava explained that the +Mohammedans of Bombay were more orthodox, or strict, in the observance of +the requirements of their religion than in Bengal; for a considerable +proportion are direct descendants from the original stock who had emigrated +to India from Persia. They are bitterly opposed to the Hindus, and a +serious riot had occurred not long before. +<p align=justify> +There are many Hindu temples in Bombay, though not many of them are +accessible to strangers; but the party drove to one in the Black Town. It +had a low dome and a pyramidal spire. Both of them were of the Indian style +of architecture, very elaborate in ornamentation. It looked like a huge +mass of filigree work. +<p align=justify> +The visitors next found themselves at Girgaum, which is a forest of +cocoanut-trees extending from the Bazaars to Chowpatti, at the head of the +Back Bay. Among the trees, as the carriages proceeded along the Queen's +Road, they found a great number of Hindu huts, half hidden in the dense +foliage. They paused to look at one of them. +<p align=justify> +The walls were of bamboo and other tropical woods, and the roof was +thatched with cocoanut leaves, which required poles to keep them in place. +It had several doors, and cross-latticed windows. There was no particular +shape to the structure, and certainly nothing of neatness or comeliness +about it. A large banana tree grew near it; a woman stood at one of the +doors, staring with wonder at the strangers, and a couple of half-naked +coolies were at work farther away. The morality of the residents of this +section could not be commended. +<p align=justify> +"In the evening this grove is lighted up with colored lamps," said the +viscount. "Taverns and small cafés are in full blast, the sounds of music +are heard, and a grand revel is in progress. Europeans, Malays, Arabs, +Chinese, and Hindus frequent the grove. Far into the night this debauchery +continues, and I trust the authorities will soon clean it out." +<p align=justify> +The carriages continued on their way to Malabar Hill, and made a thorough +survey of the locality. At the southerly point they came to the village of +Walkeshwar, whose pagoda-like towers they had seen from the ship, filled +with residences, though not of the magnates of the city. Most of the +buildings here were very plain. The hill is not a high one, but along its +sides the elaborate bungalows of the merchants and others were erected, all +of them with fine gardens surrounding them. +<p align=justify> +Breach Candy, on the seashore, in front of Cumballa Hill, is the most +aristocratic neighborhood, and contains the finest mansions. Tramways, +which is the English name for horse-cars, extend to this locality, as well +as to most other important parts of the city; and there is a station on the +steam railroad near it, though most of the wealthy residents ride back and +forth in their own carriages. +<p align=justify> +The Tower of Silence, in which the Parsees expose their dead to be devoured +by birds of prey, was pointed out to them. No one but the priests are +allowed to enter it; and the relatives leave the body at the door, from +which they take it into the building. It is placed between two grates, +which allow the vultures to tear off the flesh, but not to carry off the +limbs. It made the Americans shudder when their guides told them about it +more in detail than when it was described in the lecture. +<p align=justify> +Passing by the cemeteries of the English and the Mussulmans on their return +to the city, they halted at the Hindu Burning-Ground, on the shore of the +Back Bay. Here the natives are burned to ashes. For some distance they had +noticed funeral processions on their way to this place. The remains are +borne on open litters. A granite platform is the base of the funeral pyre, +and the bodies wait their turn to be reduced to ashes; and the cremation is +far more repulsive than that in our own country. +<p align=justify> +Dealers in wood for the combustion sell the article to the relatives. Some +of them are cutting up fuel and arranging the pyre, while others seated on +the walls play a lugubrious strain on the native instruments. The disposal +of the body of an old man was in process while the tourists looked on; and +the corpse was placed on the pile, the friends covering it with bits of +wood till it was no longer in sight. +<p align=justify> +Then the eldest son came to the scene, howling his grief and beating his +breast. Grasping a torch prepared for him, he set fire to the corners of +the pile that covered the remains. The flames rose high in the air, and the +attendants fed the fire by throwing on oil. Soon the body reappears, a +blazing mass, which is soon reduced to ashes. Water is then thrown on the +pyre, and a portion of the ashes cast into the sea. +<p align=justify> +There is nothing very repulsive in the rite of burning the dead; though the +visitors had some difficulty in keeping out of the reach of the foul smoke, +which brought with it a disagreeable odor. The carriages continued on their +way to the city; and when they entered a street, Lord Tremlyn called the +attention of those with him to a couple of native women who had stopped to +look at them, for the party excited no little curiosity wherever they went. +It had become known by this time that a dozen American ladies and gentlemen +were circulating through the place, engaged in sight-seeing. +<p align=justify> +They had comely features of a brownish hue, and were dressed in the loose +robes of the country, reaching to the ground; one of the garments extended +to cover the head, though not the face. Both of them wore heavy gold +bangles on their arms, but both were barefoot. +<p align=justify> +"They are not Mohammedans," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"They may be for aught I know," replied his lordship. "The women of this +sect here do not veil their faces as a rule." +<p align=justify> +"They are quite good-looking," added the New York magnate. "What caste or +class do they belong to?" +<p align=justify> +"I should say they were in the Vaisya caste, agriculture and trade. They +are well dressed, and therefore not Sudra. Probably they are the wife and +daughter of a shopkeeper. +<p align=justify> +"What is this crowd in the square?" asked Morris, who had been looking +about him. +<p align=justify> +"We will drive over there and see," replied the viscount as he directed the +coachman. +<p align=justify> +"Festival of Serpents," said the driver through the window. +<p align=justify> +"You have an opportunity to see one of the sights of Bombay; but we shall +be obliged to leave the carriages, for it is a great performance, and there +will be a large crowd." They alighted at a convenient place, and moved +towards the square. The ladies were in doubt as to whether or not they +cared to see such an exhibition; but the three gentlemen who were +accustomed to them declared that there was no danger. +<p align=justify> +"This affair is in the nature of a religious festival," said Sir Modava. +"There are scores of snakes brought before you; but they have had their +poison fangs extracted, and they could not harm you much more than a +playful kitten. This is a day appointed to make prayers and offerings to +the snakes, in order to conciliate them and to insure immunity from their +bites. Though these occasions occur all over India, I don't believe there +is a single bite the less for them." +<p align=justify> +"It is the anniversary of the killing of the great serpent Bindrabund, +which was creating terrible havoc on the shores of the river Jumna, an +event in Hindu mythology, which is as true as any mythology," added Lord +Tremlyn. "You observe that it calls together a great crowd of people of all +classes, and you see fat Brahmin ladies here in palanquins, very richly +dressed, and looking as sweet as sugar. You notice the rich standards and +the torches, the trumpeters, and the girls playing on tom-toms and cymbals. +But we must get nearer to the centre of the show." +<p align=justify> +"Not too near," pleaded Mrs. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +The crowd opened for the sahibs and the ladies, treating them with the +utmost deference, as though they were superior beings; and they obtained a +position where they could see the entire performance. A group of +<i>sapwallahs</i>, or serpent-charmers, each bearing a basket about fifteen +inches in diameter at the bottom, but not more than ten at the top, each +containing several cobras, marched into the centre of the crowd. Pious +Hindus brought forward bowls of the milk of buffaloes, of which the +serpents are very fond, and placed them on the ground. The snakes were +released from their confinement, and they made for the bowls of milk +without any delay. +<p align=justify> +Some of the tourists had never seen a cobra, though they are found in +Egypt. The ladies shrank back when they appeared, and some of them +shuddered at the sight of the reptiles. The body was somewhat enlarged near +the head, and the spectacles could be distinctly seen in this part. The +instruments played, the standards and the torches were waved; but the +snakes continued their milk feast undisturbed. +<p align=justify> +The principal <i>sapwallah</i> had a wand in his hand, which he flourished +while he repeated a volume of gibberish which none of the party but Sir +Modava could understand. When Mrs. Belgrave asked what he said; he replied +that he was uttering invocations to the serpents, and entreating the whole +tribe of snakes not to bite the people. +<p align=justify> +One of the <i>sapwallahs</i>, who wore nothing but a turban on his head and +a fringed cloth about his loins, went to one of the bowls from which half a +dozen cobras were feeding, and taking hold of one of them, pulled him away +from the milk. The serpent thus treated was furious with anger, and +instantly opened out his hood, showing the spectacles in full. Another +cobra was put in his place at the bowl, and his persecutor sat down on the +ground with him, fooling with him as though he had been a kitten or a pet +dog. +<p align=justify> +In turn the snakes remaining in the baskets were released, and allowed to +feast on the milk as others were removed. There was a great crowd of +<i>sapwallahs</i> in charge of them, and none of them were permitted to +escape. The reptiles showed their temper as they were taken from the milk +by spreading their hoods; but they were so skilfully manipulated that they +had no chance to bite. +<p align=justify> +"I think I have had enough of this thing," said Mr. Woolridge, with a look +of disgust on his face. "There is no fun at all in it, and I should like to +make them a target for my revolver." +<p align=justify> +"It is about time for tiffin, and we had better return to the hotel," added +Lord Tremlyn. "I shall keep you busy this afternoon; and while you are +resting you shall take in a Nautch dance, which is one of the institutions +of this country. After that we shall go to the island of Elephanta." +<p align=justify> +The live boys of the party were rather pleased with the spectacle, though +they had had enough of it; while the ladies, whose flesh had been +"crawling" at the uncanny sight, were glad to escape. They all reached the +hotel, and were hungry enough after the long jaunt of the forenoon to +appreciate the "tiffin." + + + + +<a name="XIX"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XIX</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The influence of Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava was enough to procure anything +in Bombay, and an apartment that served as a special banquet hall had been +prepared at their command, and their guests were introduced to it +immediately after tiffin. As the viscount had suggested, they were +considerably fatigued after the long jaunt of the forenoon, though they +were refreshed by the luncheon they had taken. The hall was furnished with +sofas and easy-chairs for the occasion, and they were made very +comfortable. +<p align=justify> +The performers were seated on the floor of the room when the company took +their places. A man with a slouched turban and something like a sheet wound +around his body, reaching nearly to his ankles, the only clothing he wore, +entered the hall. At the entrance of the party the girls rose from the +floor and saluted them deferentially. +<p align=justify> +There were six of them, very modestly dressed, only their arms and feet +being bare. Their black hair was parted in the middle, and combed back +behind the ears, after the fashion of many years ago in the United States. +They all wore ornaments in their ears, and around their ankles. The +material of their dresses was various, some of it quite rich, with pearls +and gold in places. They looked quite serious, as though they were about to +engage in a religious ceremony, though it had no such connection. Some of +them were decidedly pretty, though their style of beauty was not entirely +to the taste of the Americans. They had black eyes, and they looked the +visitors full in the face, and with entire self-possession. +<p align=justify> +"Now what are these girls, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"They are professional dancers, and that is their sole occupation," replied +he. "They are engaged by rich people when they give parties, and for +weddings and other festive occasions." +<p align=justify> +"Is that man the only musician?" +<p align=justify> +"He is the only one for this entertainment, and he plays the tom-tom with +his fingers. I am afraid you do not appreciate our native music, and we did +not engage any more of it. They are about to begin." +<p align=justify> +The musician beat the tom-tom, and the girls rose from the floor, shook out +their dresses as any lady would, and then it appeared that the ornaments on +their ankles were bells, which rattled as though it were sleighing-time as +they moved about. They formed in a semicircle before the audience; one of +them stepped forward, and turned herself around very slowly and gracefully, +with a quivering of the body, like the gypsy girls of Spain, which caused +her bells to jingle. +<p align=justify> +With eyes half-closed, and with a languishing expression on her dusky face, +she made a variety of gestures, posturing frequently as she continued to +turn. When this one seemed to have exhausted her material, another advanced +to the front, and proceeded to exhibit her variety of gestures and +postures, which were but slightly different from those of the first one, +though she went through the movements of a snake-charmer. In like manner +all the performers went through their several parts, imitating various +musicians on different native instruments. +<p align=justify> +Two of them went through a very lively performance, leaping and whirling +very rapidly. The exhibition concluded with a round dance, which was +thought to be very pretty, perhaps because it was exceedingly lively. Mrs. +Belgrave and Mrs. Blossom had never been to a theatre in their lives, never +saw a ballet, and were not capable of appreciating the posturing, though +the animated dance pleased them. The Nautch girls retired, and the +"Nautch," as such an occasion is called, was ended. +<p align=justify> +"Perhaps you have seen snakes enough for one day," said Lord Tremlyn; "but +I thought you ought to see the performance of the snake-charmers. We will +have it here instead of in the open street; and it is quite different from +the show you witnessed this forenoon." +<p align=justify> +As he spoke the door opened, and a couple of old and rather snaky-looking +Hindus, folded up in a profusion of cloths, rather than garments, entered +the apartment. Sir Modava conducted them to a proper distance from the +audience, who could not help distrusting the good intentions of the +vicious-looking reptiles. Each of them carried such a basket as the party +had seen in the square. The men seemed to be at least first cousins to the +serpents the baskets contained, for their expression was subtle enough to +stamp them as belonging to the same family. +<p align=justify> +The performers squatted on the floor, and each placed a basket before him, +removing the cover; but the serpents did not come out. The charmers then +produced a couple of instruments which Sir Modava called lutes, looking +more like a dried-up summer crookneck squash, with a mouthpiece, and a tube +with keys below the bulb. Adjusting it to their lips, they began to play; +and the music was not bad, and it appeared to be capable of charming the +cobras, for they raised their heads out of the baskets. +<p align=justify> +The melody produced a strange effect upon the reptiles, for they began to +wriggle and twist as they uncoiled themselves. They hissed and outspread +their hoods, and instead of being charmed by the music, it seemed as though +their wrath had been excited. They made an occasional dart at the human +performers, who dodged them as though they had been in their native +jungles, with their business fangs in order for deadly work. But the Hindu +gentleman explained that they could bite, though they could not kill, after +their poison fangs had been removed. +<p align=justify> +Then one of the performers stood up, and seizing his snake by the neck, he +swung him three times around his head, and dropped him on the floor. There +he lay extended at his full length, as stiff as though he had taken a dose +of his own poison. +<p align=justify> +"I have killed my serpent!" exclaimed the Hindu with a groan. "But I can +make him into a useful cane." +<p align=justify> +Sir Modava interpreted his remarks, and the fellow picked up his snake, and +walked before the audience, using it as a staff, and pretending to support +himself upon it. Then he held out the reptile to the visitors, and offered +to sell his cane; but they recoiled, and the ladies were on the point of +rushing from the room when Sir Modava ordered him off. He retreated a +proper distance, and then thrust the head of the creature beneath his +turban, and continued to crowd him into it till nothing but his tail was in +sight. Then he took off his head covering, and showed the reptile coiled up +within it. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn looked at his watch, and then carried a piece of money to the +chief charmer, which he received with many salaams, in which his companion +joined him, for the fee was a very large one. He suggested that the party +had had enough of this performance, to which all the ladies, with Mr. +Woolridge, heartily agreed. The carriages were at the door of the hotel, +and the company were hurriedly driven to the Apollo Bunder, where they +found a steam-launch in waiting for them. Lord Tremlyn had arranged the +excursions so that everything proceeded like clockwork, and Captain +Ringgold wondered what he should have done without his assistance. +<p align=justify> +The island of Elephanta was about five miles distant, and in half an hour +the party landed. Upon it were a couple of hills, and it was entirely +covered with woods. One of the first things to attract the attention was a +singular tree, which seemed to be a family of a hundred of them; for the +branches reached down to the ground, and took root there, though the lower +ends were spread out in numerous fibres, leaving most of the roots above +the soil. +<p align=justify> +"This is a banyan-tree," said Sir Modava. "It is a sort of fig-tree, and +you see that the leaves are shaped like a heart. It bears a fruit of a rich +scarlet color, which grows in couples from the stems of the leaves. They +are really figs, and they are an important article of food. In time the +trunk of the tree decays and disappears, and temples are made of the thick +branches. Some of these trees have three thousand stems rooted in the +ground, many of them as big as oaks: and these make a complete forest of +themselves. One of them is said to have sheltered seven thousand people; +but I never saw one as big as that." +<p align=justify> +The party proceeded towards the caves, but had not gone far before they +were arrested by the screams of some of the ladies, who were wandering in +search of flowers. Louis Belgrave was with his mother and Miss Blanche. Sir +Modava, who was telling the rest of the company something more about the +banyan-tree, rushed to the spot from which the alarm came. There he found +Louis with his revolver in readiness to fire. +<p align=justify> +"Snakes!" screamed Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +In front of them, asleep on a rock, were two large snakes. The Hindu +gentleman halted at the side of the lady, and burst out into a loud laugh. +<p align=justify> +"The snakes of India seem to be determined that you shall see them," said +he. "But you need not fire, Mr. Belgrave; for those snakes are as harmless +as barnyard fowls, and they don't know enough to bite." +<p align=justify> +"I see that they are not cobras," added Louis, as he returned the revolver +to his pocket. "But what are they?" +<p align=justify> +"Those are rock snakes." +<p align=justify> +"But I don't like the looks of them," said Mrs. Belgrave, as she continued +her retreat towards the path. +<p align=justify> +"I think they are horrid," added Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +"But they do no harm, and very likely they do some good in the world," said +Sir Modava; "but there are snakes enough that ought to be killed without +meddling with them." +<p align=justify> +"You see that rock," said the viscount; "and it is a very large one. Can +you make anything of its shape? I suppose not; nobody can. But that rock +gave a name to this island, applied by the Portuguese two or three hundred +years ago. It is said to have been in the form of an elephant. If it ever +had that shape it has lost it." +<p align=center> +<a name="page184"></a> + +<img src="images/page184.png" border=0 alt=" +"'Snakes!' screamed Mrs. Belgrave."--Page 184."> + +<center><i>"'Snakes!' screamed Mrs. Belgrave."--Page 184.</i></center> + +<p align=justify> +After penetrating a dense thicket, the tourists discovered a comely flight +of stairs, cut out of the solid rock of which the hill is composed, +extending to a considerable distance, and finally leading into the great +pillared chamber forming a Hindu temple, though a level space planted with +trees must first be crossed. +<p align=justify> +They entered the cave. On the left were two full columns, not yet crumbled +away as others were, which gave the observers a complete view of what a +vast number of others there were. Next beyond them were three pilasters +clinging to the ceiling. This part of the cavern was in the light from the +entrance; but farther along, considerably obscured in the darkness of the +subterranean temple, were scores, and perhaps hundreds, of others. The +pillars were not the graceful forms of modern times, and many of them had +lost all shape. +<p align=justify> +This temple is said to have been excavated in the ninth century. The walls +are covered with gigantic figures in relief. The temple is in the form of a +cross, the main hall being a hundred and forty-four feet in depth. The +ceiling is supported by twenty-six columns and eighteen pilasters, sixteen +to eighteen feet high. They look clumsy, but they have to bear up the +enormous weight of the hill of rock, and many of them have crumbled away. +<p align=justify> +At the end of the colonnade is a gigantic bust, representing a Hindu +divinity with three heads. Some say that this is Brahma, as the three +symbols of the creator, preserver, and destroyer, forming what is sometimes +named the Hindu trinity. But the best informed claim that the figure +represents Siva, the destroyer of the triad of gods. All the reliefs on the +walls relate to the worship of this divinity, while there is not a known +temple to Brahma. +<p align=justify> +The principal piece of sculpture is the marriage of Siva to the goddess +Parvati; and it is identified as such, wholly or in part, because the woman +stands on the right of the man, as no female is permitted to do except at +the marriage ceremony. The party wandered through the caverns for two +hours, and Sayad and Moro, the only servants brought with them, kindled +fires in the darker places, to enable them to see the sculpture. Sir Modava +explained what needed explanation. He conducted them to an opening, lighted +by a hole in the hill, where they found a staircase guarded by two lions, +leading into what is called the Lions' Cave. +<p align=justify> +The tourists at the end of the two hours were willing to vote that they had +seen enough of the caverns, and they returned to the hotel in season for +dinner. On his arrival Lord Tremlyn found a letter at the office. On +opening it, the missive proved to be an invitation for that evening to a +wedding for the whole party. They considered it for some time, and as it +afforded them an opportunity to see something of native life it was decided +to accept it. + + + + +<a name="XX"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XX</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The note to Lord Tremlyn enclosed sixteen cards printed in gold letters, +one for each member of the company, and they were passed around to them. +They were to the effect that Perbut Lalleejee would celebrate the marriage +of his son that evening, and the favor of the recipient's attendance was +requested to a Grand Nautch at nine o'clock. The gentleman who sent out +these cards was one of the wealthiest of the Parsee community, with whom +the viscount was intimately acquainted, and he strongly recommended the +Americans to attend. +<p align=justify> +The Parsees kept their religious affairs to themselves, and the party were +not to "assist" at the ceremony, which would have been an extra inducement +to attend. Promptly at the hour named the carriages set the tourists and +their volunteer guides down at the magnificent mansion of the father of the +young man who was to enter the marriage state that evening. +<p align=justify> +The street in the vicinity of the house was brilliantly illuminated, and it +was covered over with an awning, from which no end of ornamental lamps were +suspended. Behind a mass of flowers--cartloads of them--a foreign orchestra +was placed. As the carriages stopped at the door, the band began a military +march, whose inspiring strains seemed to give an additional lustre to the +elaborate decorations. It was easy for the guests to believe that they had +been introduced into the midst of a fairy scene. Sahib Perbut appeared at +the door as soon as the vehicles stopped, and took his lordship by the +hand, and each of the guests were presented to him as they alighted. The +host was not an old man, as the strangers expected to find him, since he +had a son who was old enough to get married. +<p align=justify> +He was very richly dressed, and he was a gentleman of unbounded suavity. +Taking Mrs. Belgrave by the hand, he conducted her into the house, the rest +of the party forming a procession behind them. The Americans had been +obliged to make a trip to the Guardian-Mother, to obtain garments suitable +for such a "swell" occasion, and they were all dressed in their Sunday +clothes. +<p align=justify> +If the exterior of the splendid mansion had challenged the admiration of +the guests, the interior presented a scene of Oriental magnificence which +might have astonished even the Count of Monte Cristo. The party were +conducted to the grand and lofty apartment where the Nautch was to be +given. Immense mirrors reflected the brilliancy of a thousand lights; the +floor was covered with the richest of carpets, the luxurious divans and +sofas were overspread with the cloths of Cashmere; the elaborate richness +of the costumes of the Oriental guests, and the army of servants +manipulating <i>punkas</i>, or fans, formed a scene not unlike, while it +out-rivalled, the grand <i>dénoûment</i> of a fairy spectacle on the stage. +<p align=justify> +The procession of foreign guests were all seated in the most conspicuous +divans; for if Lord Tremlyn had been the Prince of Wales, he and his +friends could hardly have been treated with greater distinction, as he was +the unofficial representative of the predominating influence in the affairs +of India near the throne of the United Kingdom and the Empire. The party +were immediately beset with servants offering them fruit and sherbets, and +they were sprinkled with rose-water from silver flagons. +<p align=justify> +The Nautch girls were not the same the tourists had seen earlier in the +day. There were more of them, and they were of a finer grain; in fact, the +gentlemen, who were judges, declared that most of them were really pretty. +They were seated on the floor in native fashion. They had great black eyes; +their complexion was only the least tawny, and was paler than it would have +been if they had lived on a more invigorating diet than rice and fruits. +<p align=justify> +There were half a dozen musicians, who played upon tom-toms, instruments +like a fiddle, and one that was very nearly a hurdy-gurdy, with lutes and +flutes. They gave the preliminary strains, and the dancers formed the +semicircle. The performance was similar to that the party had seen at the +hotel, though it was more finished, and the attitudes and posturing +appeared to belong to a higher school of art than the other. But the whole +was so nearly like what the strangers had seen before, that they were not +absorbed by it, and gave more attention to the people attending the feast; +for they were an exceedingly interesting study to them. +<p align=justify> +After the performance had continued about a quarter of an hour there was a +pause, and the dancers retreated to a corner of the room, seating +themselves again on the floor. At this moment Sahib Perbut came into the +grand saloon leading a boy, who did not appear to be more than ten years +old, by the hand. He was dressed in the most richly ornamented garments, +and he was an exceedingly pretty little fellow. He was conducted to the +viscount. +<p align=justify> +"Will your Lordship permit me to present to you and your friends my son +Dinshaw, in whose honor I am making this feast? This is Lord Tremlyn, my +son," said the father, who was evidently very proud of the boy. +<p align=justify> +"Sahib Dinshaw, I am very happy to make your acquaintance," replied his +lordship, as he rose and took the hand of the young gentleman, whom he +introduced to every member of his party. +<p align=justify> +They all followed the example of the viscount, and addressed him as "Sahib +Dinshaw," the title being equivalent to "Lord," or "Master," applied by the +natives to their employers, and to the English generally. All of them gazed +at him with intense interest, not unmingled with admiration. The hero of +the occasion spoke English as fluently as his father. +<p align=justify> +"How old are you, Sahib Dinshaw?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, who was strongly +tempted to kiss the little fellow; but she was afraid it would not be in +order, and she refrained. +<p align=justify> +"I am ten years old, madam," replied Dinshaw, with the sweetest of smiles. +<p align=justify> +"And you have been married this evening, sahib?" continued the lady. +<p align=justify> +"I should not ask him any questions in that direction," interposed Sir +Modava, afraid she would meddle with an interdicted subject; and the young +gentleman's father seemed to have a similar fear, for he gently led him +away. +<p align=justify> +He was introduced to the members of the "Big Four," who could hardly keep +their faces at the proper length after hearing what passed between the +youthful sahib and Mrs. Belgrave, at the idea of a ten-year-old bridegroom. +<p align=justify> +"Is it possible that this little fellow is married, Sir Modava?" exclaimed +the principal lady from Von Blonk Park. +<p align=justify> +"There can be no doubt of it," replied the Hindu gentleman. "But it is +hardly in the same sense that marriage takes place in England and America. +The bride will be received into this Parsee family, and the groom will +remain here; but everything in the domestic circle will continue very +nearly as it was before, and husband and wife will pursue their studies." +<p align=justify> +"It looks very strange to us," added the lady. +<p align=justify> +"It is the custom of the country. The British government does not interfere +unnecessarily with matters interwoven into the religion and habits of the +people, though it has greatly modified the manners of the natives, and +abolished some barbarous customs. The 'suttee,' as the English called the +Sanscrit word <i>sati</i> meaning 'a virtuous wife,' was a Hindu +institution which required that a faithful wife should burn herself on the +funeral pyre with the body of her deceased husband; or if he died at a +distance from his home, that she should sacrifice herself on one of her +own." +<p align=justify> +"How horrible! I have read of it, but hardly believed it," added the lady; +and others who were listening expressed the same feeling. +<p align=justify> +"It was a custom in India before the time of Christ. Some of your American +Indians bury the weapons of the dead chief, food, and other articles with +him, as has been the custom of other nations, in the belief that they will +need these provisions in the 'happy hunting-ground.' The Hindus believed +that the dead husband would need his wife on the other shore; and this is +the meaning of the custom." +<p align=justify> +"It is not wholly a senseless custom," said Mrs. Woolridge, "barbarous as +it seems." +<p align=justify> +"In 1828, or a little later, Lord William Cavendish, then Governor-General +of Bengal, determined to abolish the custom, though he encountered the +fiercest opposition from the natives, and even from many Europeans, who +dreaded the effect of his action. He carried a law through the council, +making it punishable homicide, or manslaughter, to burn a widow. In 1823 +there were five hundred and seventy-five of them burned in the Bengal +Presidency; but after the enactment of the law, the number began to +decrease. The treaties with the Indian princes contained a clause +forbidding it. The custom is really discontinued, though an occasional +instance of it comes to light." +<p align=justify> +The dancing had been renewed, and this conversation continued till later. +At this wedding Lord Tremlyn met a gentleman whom he introduced to some of +his party as Sahib Govind. This gentleman had just invited him to visit a +theatrical performance at a private house, such as a European can very +rarely witness. +<p align=justify> +"I never went to a theatre in my life!" protested Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"But this is a representation in connection with the religious traditions +of the Hindus," argued his lordship. +<p align=justify> +It was decided to go, the scruples of the Methodists being overcome by the +fact that it was a religious occasion, and not at all like the stage +performances of New York. The carriages conveyed them to the house +indicated by Sahib Govind, and they were conducted to a hall, at one end of +which was a stage, with a thin calico curtain in front of it. The +performance was just beginning. +<p align=justify> +A Brahmin came out in front of the curtain, with some musicians, and set up +an image of Ganesa, the god of wisdom; then he prayed this idol to +enlighten the minds of the actors, and enable them to perform their parts +well, which was certainly very untheatrical, the Americans thought, when +Sir Modava had translated the substance of the invocation. The Brahmin then +announced that the subject of the play was the loves of the god Krishna. +<p align=justify> +"Who is the hero of the piece, Sir Modava?" asked Mr. Woolridge, who was a +theatre-goer at home. +<p align=justify> +"He is really Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, known as the preserver. +Vishnu has a considerable number of forms, or incarnations, one of which is +Krishna, the most human of them all." +<p align=justify> +The curtain rose, and cut short the explanation. The scene, painted on +canvas, was an Indian temple. A figure with an enormous wig, his half-naked +body daubed all over with yellow paint, was seated before it, abstracted in +the deepest meditation. The interpreter told them it was Rishi, a +supernatural power, a genius who is a protector to those who need his +services. Then a crowd of gods and goddesses rushed on the stage, and each +of them made a long speech to the devotee-god, which Sir Modava had not +time to render into English, even with the aid of Sahib Govind. +<p align=justify> +The actors were fantastically dressed. One had an elephant's head, and all +of them wore high gilt mitres. Krishna enters, and the other divinities +make their exit. He is a nice-looking young man, painted blue, and dressed +like a king. His wife enters, and throws herself at his feet. Then she +reproaches him for forsaking her, in a soft and musical voice, her eyes +raining tears all the time. She embraces his knees. +<p align=justify> +Then appears the rival in her affections with Krishna, Rukmini, an +imperious woman, and tells by what artifices she has conquered the weak +husband. Then follows a spirited dialogue between the two women. The rival +boasts of her descent from Vishnu, and of her beauty and animation, and +reproaches Krishna with his unworthy love. Sir Modava wrote this down in +his memorandum book, and handed it to the Americans. +<p align=justify> +Satyavama, the wife, insists that her only crime was her love for her +divine husband. She narrates her early history, when she was a peasant girl +on the banks of the Jumna, with her companions, and drew upon herself the +attention of the god. Her life had been simple, and she had always been a +faithful wife. Yet Rukmini triumphs over her. Her pride is aroused; she +rushes off, and returns with her little son. +<p align=justify> +"Kill us both, since we cannot live without your love!" the interpreters +rendered her piteous cry. The rival ridicules her, and, urged on by her, +Krishna hands her a cup of poison, which she drinks, and sinks to the +ground. +<p align=justify> +"It is not the poison that rends me; it is that my heart is broken by the +ingratitude of one I have so dearly loved." She forgives him, and dies. +<p align=justify> +But not thus does the Indian love-story end; for the genie enters, and in +thundering tones calls Krishna to an account for his deeds. The festive god +is tortured with remorse, but has no excuse to offer. He drives Rukmini +from him, and implores the yellow-painted god for forgiveness; and, as he +is the preserver, it is granted. Satyavama is brought back to life. She +presents her son to her husband, who holds out his arms to embrace him; and +the curtain drops in a blaze of Bengal lights, and the "Wah! Wahs!" of the +Hindu audience. +<p align=justify> +The interpreters finished their explanations, and the company retired with +the salaams of the crowd. It was very late when they retired to rest that +night. + + + + +<a name="XXI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The next day was Sunday, and none of the party appeared in the parlor till +quite late; not because it was the Sabbath, but because they were all very +tired, even the four lively boys, who had done more sightseeing than the +rest of the tourists. They were always on the wing, and while the older +ones rested, they always found some novelty which drew them away from the +hotel. Of the four servants only two attended upon them. They had +practically retired two of them with some difficulty when they were away +from the party, for they were a nuisance to them, so many of them. +<p align=justify> +Sayad and Moro were retained, however; for they were more intelligent than +the others, spoke English better, and were more enterprising, frequently +suggesting some means of amusement to them. They were interested in the +boys and girls, and Sayad told Louis and Felix all about them,--about their +homes, their schools, their sports; and Moro did the same for Scott and +Morris. On this Sunday they were conducted to a Sunday-school of two +hundred scholars, under the direction of the missionaries, though the +teachers are mostly natives. +<p align=justify> +It was a strange sight to them, the variety of races, the strange costumes, +and the absence of any considerable portion of costume at all. There were +Mohammedans, Chinamen, negroes, Jews, and a few Europeans. They fell in +with the missionary from England, who told them a good deal about their +work, and how interested they were in it, declaring that they could see the +fruits of their labors, detailing a number of instances of conversions. +They had a day-school also, and they hired a strict Hindu because he taught +English so well. He hated the Christians, and did his work only because he +was paid for it; but he had to listen to the prayers and exhortations, and +finally he yielded in spite of himself, and became a very useful Christian +minister. +<p align=justify> +This gentleman said that the number of Christians in India had doubled +within ten years. He invited the party to come to the church, and the boys +hastened back to the hotel to tell their friends about it. They all went to +this meeting, including their three distinguished guides. The service was +about the same as at home, the clergyman was a native of the Brahmin caste, +and he preached a very earnest and sensible sermon. The funds of the +mission were increased at least a thousand dollars by this visit. +<p align=justify> +In the evening the entire company attended the Church of England at the +invitation of Lord Tremlyn; and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of +Bombay. The Methodists were as much pleased with it as though it had been +delivered by one of their own fold. A portion of the day was passed in +writing letters to their friends at home, and quite a bundle of them was +collected for the post by Louis. They were all sealed, with stamps affixed, +and Morris's servant Mobarak was directed to put them in the mail-box. But +the fellow shook his head, and declined to obey. +<p align=justify> +His sahib was proceeding to give him a lecture in rather energetic terms, +when Sir Modava interposed, and explained that the servant had religious +scruples, knowing that the stamp had been wet on the tongues of the +senders, which made it unclean to him, and he could not touch it. +<p align=justify> +"I have heard of a young man not older than Mobarak who lost his life +rather than come in contact with the saliva of a foreigner; but I doubt if +many would carry their fanaticism to that extent," he added. +<p align=justify> +The next morning the party were up at six o'clock, and after they had taken +their coffee, carried up to them by their servants, went out to walk by two +and threes; but they returned by seven o'clock, and were assembled in the +parlor. The sights in the streets had become rather an old story by this +time, and there was not much to be said about them. +<p align=justify> +"Have you recovered from the fatigues of Saturday, Mrs. Belgrave?" asked +Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"Entirely, my Lord. I am quite ready for the next item in your programme," +replied the lady. +<p align=justify> +"How did you enjoy the play, madam?" inquired Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"As a religious exhibition, from my point of view, it was a failure." +<p align=justify> +"It does not convey much of an idea of even the mythology of the Hindus," +added Professor Giroud. "If Krishna was a divinity, or even an incarnation +of one, he is a very bad representation of the piety and morality of the +gods. The affair was well enough as a love-story, but the conclusion looked +like a pleasant satire on those authors who insist that their tales and +novels shall have an agreeable ending;" and the professor indulged in a +hearty laugh as he recalled the manner in which Satyavama had been brought +back to life by the divinity in yellow paint. +<p align=justify> +"I like that kind of a winding up of a story, and I don't like the other +kind," added the magnate of the Fifth Avenue. "We read novels, if we read +them at all, for the fun of it, with some incidental information in the +right direction. When I was a young man I had a taste for the sea, as most +boys have, and I read Marryat's novels with immense pleasure. In 'The +King's Own,' after following the young fellow in his adventures all over +the world, his life terminated just as he was reaching home, and I was +disgusted. I have read most of this author's books again, but I never +looked into 'The King's Own' a second time." +<p align=justify> +"I think we all like to have a story 'end well,' though it was a rather +violent bringing up Saturday night," said Dr. Hawkes. "But the actresses in +that play were all exceedingly pretty girls, and I did not suppose so many +of them could be found in all India." +<p align=justify> +"That was just what I was saying to Govind after the performance, and he +laughed as though he would choke himself to death," interposed Lord +Tremlyn, laughing rather earnestly himself. "There was not a single female +on the stage; for the custom of the theatre here does not permit women to +appear, any more than it did in the time of Shakespeare." +<p align=justify> +"But I saw them!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I think I know a woman when I see +one, though I am an old bachelor, and rather a tough one at that." +<p align=justify> +"Not always, Doctor; for not one of those you call girls was a female. A +woman on the Hindu stage is a thing unknown," rallied the viscount. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose I must give it up, though I would not do so on any less +authority than that of your lordship," replied the surgeon good-naturedly. +<p align=justify> +All the rest of the party expressed their astonishment in terms hardly less +strong; and the ladies were even more incredulous than the gentlemen. +<p align=justify> +"As Govind told me, all the female parts were taken by boys remarkable for +their beauty and the sweetness of their voices," added his lordship. "But +this is understood to be our last day in Bombay, though the limitation of +time does not come from any suggestion of mine; and we must make the best +use of what remains. You have not half seen Bombay yet." +<p align=justify> +"We should need ten years for our trip if we were to exhaust every place we +visit," replied Captain Ringgold. "All we expect is to get a fair idea of a +city; and I think we have done that here, especially as we shall see the +same things, as far as manners and customs are concerned, many times before +we finally take our leave of the country at Colombo in Ceylon." +<p align=justify> +"While we are quietly seated here, I should like to ask for some +information in regard to Juggernaut," said Uncle Moses. "I used to read the +most horrible stories in my Sabbath-school books about that idol." +<p align=justify> +"Those stories, as I have been informed by elderly Englishmen, were +published in the United Kingdom, and all of them are inventions or gross +exaggerations," replied Sir Modava, with his pleasant smile. "Puri, or +Juggernaut, is in the district of Orissa, on the western shore of the Bay +of Bengal. It is one of the holiest places in India among the Hindus. It +contains a temple of Juggernaut, in honor of Vishnu, in which is an idol of +this Hindu god, called Jagannath, which is mentioned in history as far back +as A.D. 318. Vishnu is the Preserver of the Hindu trinity, and therefore in +an especial sense the god of the people; and sometimes 100,000 natives +gather at this shrine, bringing offerings to the value of nearly £40,000. +<p align=justify> +"The town has a population of twenty-two thousand, and it contains six +thousand lodging-houses for the pilgrims who visit it. The chief temple has +a hundred and twenty others in an enclosure, with a tower one hundred and +ninety-two feet high. Juggernaut's car, of which you have read, Mr. +Scarburn, is a sort of temple, thirty-five feet square, and forty-five feet +high, with wheels seven feet high. The car-festival is the chief of +twenty-four held every year, when the idol is dragged to the country house. +Though the distance is less than a mile, the sand is so deep in the roadway +that it requires several days to complete the journey. +<p align=justify> +"The idols in the temple are hideous-looking objects, with enormous eyes +and crescent-shaped mouths, the horns pointing upwards. But they are very +richly ornamented; for the idol has an income of over £30,000 from lands +and religious houses. It used to be currently reported and believed that +fanatical, crazy devotees cast themselves under the wheels of the car, and +were crushed to death, immolating themselves as an offering to the god. But +these statements have been strictly investigated, and branded as the +calumnies of English writers. Two distinguished savants have declared that +self-immolation is utterly contrary to the worship of Juggernaut, the very +unusual deaths at the car-festival being almost invariably accidental." +<p align=justify> +"It is a great pity that these horrible stories were ever poured into the +minds of children, and I am thankful that the libraries contain nothing of +the kind now," added Uncle Moses. +<p align=justify> +The company breakfasted with excellent appetites after the exercises of the +morning; and then Lord Tremlyn conducted them to the large saloon where the +Nautch had been given, and they were astonished to find that one end of it +was occupied by no less than fourteen men, not one of whom was more than +half clothed, though the tom-tom player had on a pair of short trousers. +This fellow began to beat his instrument with frantic energy, moaning and +howling at the same time as though he was in great agony. +<p align=justify> +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, putting her fingers into her ears. +"Can't you stop that hideous noise, Sir Modava?" +<p align=justify> +"No more howling!" protested he in Hindu. +<p align=justify> +The chief juggler declared that they could not go on, and Uncle Moses +suggested that they had to overwhelm the senses of the audience to enable +the jugglers to deceive them. Their Hindu guide talked with them, and then +ordered them to leave the hotel. The performers were not willing to forego +the rich reward expected; and a compromise was effected by which the +tom-tom was to be used, but the howling was to cease. Lord Tremlyn had +announced the nature of the entertainment as they entered the apartment, +and most of the tourists had heard of the wonderful skill of Indian +jugglers. +<p align=justify> +A couple of the performers produced two swords twenty-six inches long, and +pushed them down their throats to the hilt, and then asked Dr. Hawkes to +feel the point in their stomachs. Another put a stone in his mouth, and +then began to blow out smoke and a cloud of sparks from his nose as well as +his mouth. Turning a somerset, he cast the stone on the floor. One took an +iron hoop from a pile of them, and set it to spinning on a pole in the air. +He continued to add others, one at a time, till he had eighteen of them +whirling above his head. +<p align=justify> +Another set a lot of small swords circling in the air, till he had ten of +them buzzing about his head. At the same time a sleight-of-hand man was +doing a variety of tricks very skilfully, and acrobats were mounting on +each other's shoulders, and pitching themselves about very promiscuously. +While the party were wondering at the skill of the performers, though many +of them had seen most of the tricks at home, a boy about eight years old +came into the room with a good-sized basket in his hands, which he placed +on the floor as the men spread out into a semicircle. The child stepped +into the basket, which did not seem to be big enough to hold him, even when +reduced to his smallest dimensions. +<p align=justify> +The drummer played a new tune, and sang in a low tone. The boy seemed to +have a fit, and writhed as though he were in convulsions, finally dropping +down into the basket very slowly. Mrs. Blossom was sure the basket was not +big enough to contain him, and wondered what had become of him. Then the +performers threw themselves on the basket, closed the lid, and began to +punch it in every direction with long and wicked-looking knives. The ladies +were appalled at the sight; but they were assured that it was all right. +<p align=justify> +The Hindus finally crushed down the basket till it was almost flat, and it +did not look as though there was any space in it for a kitten, much less an +eight-year-old boy. Then the men formed a circle around the basket, and +began a sort of chant. Something like a voice seemed to be sounding in at +the open windows. It continued to come nearer, and at last appeared to +proceed from the basket, which began to be distended, till it was restored +to its full size. Then the lid was removed, and the child sprang out, to +the great relief of Mrs. Blossom. +<p align=justify> +Then one of the jugglers set a top to whirling, placed the point on the end +of a stick, and balanced it on his nose. So far it was no new thing; but +one of the spectators was asked to say stop at any time he pleased. Captain +Ringgold gave this command; and when he did so, the top ceased to whirl, +though, upsetting the bicycle theory, it kept its place on the stick. "Go!" +added the commander, prompted by Sir Modava; and the plaything began to +whirl again, as though its gyrations had not been interrupted. It was +stopped and started again several times, till the spectators were +satisfied. +<p align=justify> +The stick and the top were critically examined by the whole party, but not +one of them could suggest an explanation of the trick. The last two acts +were the most surprising; and the rest of the performance, though skilfully +done, did not amount to much. His lordship gave the chief juggler a handful +of silver, and they left the hotel with a profusion of salaams; for they +did not often make in a month what they got for an hour, the Hindu +gentleman said. + + + + +<a name="XXII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"I looked into a Hindu temple this morning while I was walking about," said +Louis Belgrave, after the jugglers had been discussed a while. "I saw some +very ugly-looking idols; and I should like to ask if they really represent +individuals, or are creatures of the imagination." +<p align=justify> +"Both," replied Sir Modava with a smile; "there are, as you have been told +before, a great many different sects, and a system of mythology. About all +the gods and goddesses known to the Greeks and Romans have an existence in +the Indian mythology more or less similar to them. Indra, the counterpart +of Apollo in some of his functions, drives the chariot of fire that lights +the day. +<p align=justify> +"Rhemba was born of the sea, and is the Indian Venus; Cama is Cupid; +Parvati, whose image you saw at Elephanta, is Ceres; and so on to the end +of the chapter. These divinities are represented in the temples, but they +are without form or comeliness." +<p align=justify> +"They are not much like the beautiful statues of the Greeks," added Louis. +<p align=justify> +"The most prominent Indian sects are the Saïvas, or worshippers of Siva; +the Vaïshnavas, who bow down to Vishnu under his several incarnations, like +Krishna, whom you could not greatly respect; and the Jaïns, allied to the +Buddhists, found mostly in the northern sections of India. They occupy +important positions, and possess wealth and influence. There are +subdivisions into sects among them, and it would be quite impossible to +follow them through the mazes of belief to which they adhere. There is a +great deal of philosophy among many of the sects." +<p align=justify> +"But what are the Buddhists?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. +<p align=justify> +"Buddhism is quite as much a philosophy as a religion. It is not as +prevalent in India proper as formerly; though it is still dominant in +Ceylon, Napaul, Burma, and in the more northern countries of Asia. Its +history is somewhat indefinite. Gautama, of whom a great many pretty +stories are told, is sometimes regarded as the founder; though some who +have studied the history of the sect, or order, do not believe that the +Buddha was a real person, but an allegorical figure. +<p align=justify> +"Those who give a personal origin to the system, now said to be the +religion of one-third of the human race, begin with Prince Siddhartha, a +young man disposed to be an ascetic, and inclined to retire from the world. +In order to wean him from his meditative tendency, his father, in order to +cure him, and prevent him from forsaking his caste, married him to a +beautiful princess, and introduced him to the splendid dissipation of a +luxurious court. A dozen years of this life convinced him that 'all was +vanity and vexation of spirit,' and he became a sort of hermit, a religious +beggar, and spent his time in dwelling upon the miseries of human life. +<p align=justify> +"He used up years in this manner, and after much reasoning, came to the +conclusion that ignorance was misery. He gave himself up to study, and at +last came to believe that he had reached the perfection of wisdom. The tree +under which he sat when he reached this result was then called +<i>Bodhidruma</i>, or the tree of intelligence; and the Buddhists believe +the spot where it grew to be the centre of the earth. A tree that passes +for this one was discovered by a Chinese, still standing twelve hundred +years after the death of the Buddha; and the bo-tree of Ceylon is regarded +as its legitimate descendant. You have been told something about it. +<p align=justify> +"In Benares, having ascertained the cause of human misery, and learned the +remedy for it, the Buddha began to preach his peculiar salvation. In the +phrase of his religion he 'turned the wheel of the law.' One of his titles +is <i>Chakravartin</i>, which means 'the turner of a wheel.' The doctrines +of the Buddha are written out on a wheel, which is set in motion with a +crank, though it is sometimes operated by horse-power; and such machines +are sometimes seen in front of religious houses in Thibet, and the monks +have portable ones." +<p align=justify> +"I thought the religion of Thibet was the worship of the Grand Lama," +suggested Louis. +<p align=justify> +"That is a form of Buddhism. The most important of the converts of the +Buddha was the Rajah of Magadha, or Behar, on the Ganges, which gave him a +good start, and it has since made almost incredible progress. It would take +too long to state the doctrines in detail of this sect, and you get an idea +of what it must be from what I said of its founder. Its leading doctrine is +the transmigration of souls, also called by that tough word, +metempsychosis, though other Hindu systems adopt this belief. It seems to +include the recognition of the immortality of the soul, which at the death +of the body passes into another form of existence,--a man, a woman, a lower +animal, or even a tree or other plant. The Buddha claims to have been born +five hundred and fifty times,--a hermit, a slave, a king, a monkey, an +elephant, a fish, a frog, a tree, etc. When he reached his highest +condition of perfection, he could recall all these different states of +being; and he has written them out. +<p align=justify> +"Some of the negroes of Africa have this belief, and when a child is born +they decide upon the ancestor whose soul has returned to the flesh in this +world. There are one hundred and thirty-six Buddhist hells, regularly +graded in the degree of suffering experienced and the length of time it +endures, the shortest term being ten million years. A good life secures an +elevated and happy life on earth, or as a blessed spirit in one of the many +heavens, where existence is continued for a bagatelle of ten billion years. +When the <i>karma</i> is exhausted"-- +<p align=justify> +"What in the world is that?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who was struggling to +understand the subject. +<p align=justify> +"It is the allotted term of existence, including the manner of living, +whether in bliss or misery. The person must be born again, and then become +a god, or the vilest creature that crawls the earth, according as he has +behaved himself. The Buddhists do not appear to have any idea of a personal +God; and they are practically atheists, though there are many good things +in their system. They recognize no omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful +Supreme Being, who presides over the universe and all that is in it. They +are pessimists, and believe that life, on the whole, is misery, a curse +rather than a blessing. I have given you only a faint outline of what +Buddhism is. It has points in which it resembles Christianity. Buddha is +dead and gone; but his followers put up petitions to him, though there is +no one to hear and answer their prayers. But I must stop for the want of +time rather than because there is nothing more to be said; and I have done +no more than touch the subject." +<p align=justify> +"But it is not very different from Brahminism," suggested Professor Giroud. +<p align=justify> +"You are quite right, Professor," replied Sir Modava. "Brahma means the +universal spirit; but it is not a personal divinity to be worshipped. I +believe there is not an idol or sculpture in all India that represents +Brahma. Something that passes for this mystic spirit is represented with +four heads." +<p align=justify> +"But is there not a new church or philosophy of recent date--I mean Brahmo +Somaj?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. +<p align=justify> +"Rammohun Roy, or Rajah Ram Mohan Rai, was a Hindu ruler in the Presidency +of Bengal, born in 1772. His ancestors were Brahmins of high birth. He +studied Sanskrit, Arabian, and Persian, and was a profound scholar and +philosopher. When he began to have some doubt about the faith of his +fathers, he went to Thibet to study Buddhism, where he was so outspoken +that he offended the priests and others, and his religious belief brought +upon him the enmity of his own family. In 1803 he lived in Benares, and +held a public office at one time. He published works in the languages with +which he was familiar, directed against idolatry, which he labored to +uproot. +<p align=justify> +"He succeeded to abundant wealth at the death of his brother in 1811. His +influence assisted in the abolition of the suttee, and in bringing about +other reforms. He published 'The Precepts of Jesus,' accepting his +morality, but denying his divinity and the truth of the miracles. More than +fifty years ago he started an association which became the Brahmo Somaj, +which is a living and working society still. He went to England in 1831, +and was received with great respect and friendliness. I have great +reverence for the man, though I do not accept all his religious views." +<p align=justify> +"Lord Tremlyn informed this company in regard to the divisions of caste, so +that I think we have a tolerable idea of the matter," said Captain +Ringgold, reading from a paper in his hand. "But all these sects and castes +are divided again into tribes and trade societies. Then there is a +considerable portion of the people who, though they are fully recognized as +Hindus, are outside of the pale of this multiform organization." +<p align=justify> +"I should say that all this would make endless complications in business +and society. Each of these societies, or whatever you may call them, is +independent, and has its own regulations. None of its members can marry +into another caste, or even eat with those of a lower rank. A man born into +one of these associations having a particular business cannot take up +another calling without being pinched by the social law in all that he +holds dear in life. His wife deserts him, his children refuse to +acknowledge him as their father, and his property is absorbed by his +society or caste. All this for no crime, no immorality; and he may be a +noble and true man. If he chooses to be a tinker, instead of a trader, all +the gods of Hindu antiquity light upon his head, and worry him to the +funeral pyre by the shore." +<p align=justify> +"That is quite true, Captain, and I join with you in condemning this +grossly heathen institution," added Sir Modava. "But time and Christianity +will yet do their work, and my country will be saved. But I submit, my dear +Captain, that there is another side to the question." +<p align=justify> +"Quite true, and I was about to state it. The man who remains faithful to +the requirements of the society is protected and supported. Wherever he +goes, at whatever distance from his country he may be, he finds a roof and +a hearthstone which he may make his own for the time. If gone for years, he +will find the house and the field of his fathers undisturbed, of which he +may take possession. This institution may remove care and anxiety from the +mind of the man, and make him, as we find here, calm and contented, but +without the ambition of the business-man. I have taken most of this from a +book I found in Bombay." +<p align=justify> +"The most influential caste here are mostly Jains and Buniahs; and though +they belong to different tribes, they are united in business matters. They +wear their own costumes; but they have done more than any others for the +prosperity of the place," said Lord Tremlyn. "They are the speculators in +cottons and other goods, and many of them have immense wealth. The Buniahs +are always intelligent, and somewhat aristocratic. You may know one of them +by his tall turban, like a shako, though sometimes it is rolled like a +conch-shell. Around his dress he wears a red band, which he twists about +his limbs, and has a long calico tunic closely fitted to his chest. His +chosen calling is that of a commercial broker. +<p align=justify> +"These rich Hindus, while adhering to everything required by their +religion, adopt English fashions, and revel in British luxuries. You will +see them late in the afternoon on the public roads, in elegant carriages, +drawn by the finest horses, and attended by servants in rich liveries. +Their houses are magnificent, furnished like the Parsee's we visited the +other evening. The social intercourse between them and their European +neighbors is very limited. +<p align=justify> +"The Mohammedans here are an important class of people, and some of them +are very wealthy, and are honest and upright merchants. They are very +strict in the observance of their religion, and not one of them would eat +pork or drink wine or liquors. If it were the beginning of their year, +which is different from ours, you might witness a celebration of the day. +It is called the Mohurrum, and takes place on the shore of the Back Bay. +They construct a great number of temples of gilt paper, and after marching +with them in procession through the city, they cast them into the sea. I do +not quite understand what it means; but the first month is usually a time +of mourning and fasting in commemoration of the sufferings of the two +nephews of the Prophet. The ceremony at the water is very ancient." +<p align=justify> +"The wives of Mussulmans here have more liberty than in most Eastern +countries. They go about the streets with their faces uncovered, and are +clothed for the most part like the Hindu women. As they appear in the +street they are not so neat as the other native females, who spend much +time in bathing, and are always clean and tidy. I have nothing more to say +at present." +<p align=justify> +"I have an announcement to make," said Captain Ringgold. "To-morrow +forenoon we shall return to the Guardian-Mother, and sail for Surat." +<p align=justify> +The party spent the rest of the day in excursions about Bombay in three +parties, each under the direction of one of the hosts. + + + + +<a name="XXIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The Blanche, the elegant white steam-yacht of General Noury, which had +sailed in company with the Guardian-Mother from Aden, and which had +assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Travancore, had come into the +harbor of Bombay, and lay at anchor not half a mile from her consort. The +owner was a Moor of the highest rank, and a Mohammedan; and he had friends +in Bombay, though he had never been there before. He had written to them of +his intended visit, and they had taken possession of him on his arrival. +<p align=justify> +The general had been invited, with Captain and Mrs. Sharp, to join the +party of her consort in the business of sight-seeing; and Lord Tremlyn and +Sir Modava had united with Captain Ringgold in the invitation. The +commander of the Blanche had visited the party on shore; but he was engaged +in making some changes on board of his ship which required his attention. +The Mohammedan magnates had kept the general very busy, night and day, and +<i>fêted</i> him like a king. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn had taken care of the engineers and other people of the +wrecked steam-yacht, and had treated everybody in a subordinate capacity +with princely liberality. He and his Indian associate were both +multi-millionaires, with fortunes inherited from their ancestors and other +relatives; and unitedly they had placed a large sum of money in the hands +of the captains of the two steamers, to be equitably distributed among +their ships' companies. Captain Ringgold remonstrated against this lavish +gift to his own people. +<p align=justify> +"It is a sailor's duty, and a large part of his religion, to assist those +in peril and distress on the sea, the poor and the rich alike, and I +dislike to have my men rewarded in money for a service of this kind," said +he rather warmly. +<p align=justify> +"It was the good Father in heaven who sent your ship to our aid when we +were perishing; but he works through human agencies, and I feel it to be a +solemn duty to recognize my obligations to those so providentially sent to +save us," replied his lordship, taking the hand of the commander with much +feeling in his tone and manner. "I shall never cease to be grateful to +Heaven for this interposition in my favor, and that of my companions; for +all of us were in the very jaws of death." +<p align=justify> +"I can understand your feelings, my Lord; but all my people, as well as +myself, may soon require the same service we have rendered to others, and I +desire to let what we have done be placed to our credit against the +possible debt of the future," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +"I shall feel better and happier when I have done, in connection with Sir +Modava, what I propose, and I beg you will withdraw your objections," +persisted the viscount. +<p align=justify> +They argued the question for some time; but at last the commander yielded +the point. Every seaman, fireman, and waiter received five pounds, and +every officer a larger sum, in proportion to his rank, after the manner in +which prize-money is distributed on board of ships of war. The same +apportionment was made on board of both steamers, and Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were most vigorously cheered by the two ships' companies. +<p align=justify> +Due notice had been given to Captain Sharp of the intention to sail for +Surat on Tuesday; and on the day before the cabin party of the Blanche, +which included Dr. Henderson, the surgeon of the ship, came to dine with +their friends at the Victoria Hotel. General Noury, who had been taking +leave of his Mussulman hosts, was attended by three of them, who were at +once invited by his lordship to join them at dinner, and the band of the +Blanche had been sent on shore for the occasion. +<p align=justify> +The general had been taken about the city and its vicinity by his host, and +they were anxious to retain him longer in Bombay. He was on excellent terms +with Lord Tremlyn, who, though a strict Churchman, was not a bigot; and his +connection with the affairs of India had brought him into intimate +association with men of all religions, and there were about thirteen +million Mohammedans in the Punjab. +<p align=justify> +His lordship renewed his invitation to the general to join the party who +were going across India, and he seemed to be inclined to accept it. His +Mussulman friends declared that he would be most cordially welcomed by all +the people of their faith, especially if attended by such excellent +Christian people; and they appeared to have none of the bigotry so often +found among the followers of the Prophet. +<p align=justify> +"I don't quite understand your plan, Captain Ringgold," said Captain Sharp. +"You go to Surat, and from there across the country;" for the conductors +had decided not to go to Kurrachee. "But what becomes of the ships?" +<p align=justify> +"The Guardian-Mother will proceed to Calcutta, as soon as we land, in +charge of Mr. Boulong," replied Captain Ringgold. "We shall join her +there." +<p align=justify> +The commander of the Blanche shook his head; and after some discussion he +declined to join the tourists, and his wife would not go without him. +Doubtless he had some strong reasons for his decision, though he did not +state them; but probably he had not as much confidence in his first officer +as Captain Ringgold had in Mr. Boulong. The question was settled that the +general should go, and he insisted that Dr. Henderson should go with him; +and with three physicians in the excursion they appeared to be provided for +any emergency. +<p align=justify> +The dinner was a very merry affair. The band played to the delight of all; +and one of the general's friends declared that they had no such music in +Bombay, to which he replied that he had engaged the best he could find in +Italy. The company retired to the parlor, and the band played on the +veranda for an hour longer. Some of the most distinguished of the civil and +military officers located in the city called at this hour by invitation of +the viscount, to pay their respects to the visitors; and Mrs. Blossom +declared that she was never so "frustrated" in all her life. +<p align=justify> +"I should like to take my band with me," said General Noury, when the +officials had all departed. "I am very fond of music, and I think it will +afford us all a great deal of pleasure; of course I mean at my own +expense." +<p align=justify> +"I beg your pardon, General Noury, but it must be at my expense," +interposed Lord Tremlyn. "I was thinking myself what an addition it would +be to have such excellent music on our way, and I am sure it will add a +great deal to the earnestness of the welcome we shall everywhere receive. +As to the expense, I hope and beg that not another word will be said about +it. The entire party are the guests of Sir Modava and myself." +<p align=justify> +"I protest"--Captain Ringgold began. +<p align=justify> +"Pardon me, my dear Captain; you are all our guests, and protests are +entirely out of order," interposed Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +It was a very pleasant and friendly dispute that followed, and his lordship +had carried his point at the close of it. The commander had been to the +landlord, and asked for his bill; but the worthy Parsee informed him that +it had already been paid. He had remonstrated with the hosts; but they had +been inflexible. It was finally decided that nothing more should be said +about expense; for his lordship declared that it was a very disagreeable +subject to him. The captain believed that he was entirely sincere; and +though he had never encountered such extreme liberality before, he gave up +the point. +<p align=justify> +"You can tie your purse-strings with a hard knot, Uncle Moses, for you will +not have occasion to undo them again for a month," said Captain Ringgold. +"I don't quite like it." +<p align=justify> +"I don't know that I wonder at the generosity of our hosts," replied the +trustee, as he put his fat arm around the neck of Louis, who stood next to +him. "If this young man had been in the situation of Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava when you picked them up, I am very sure I should not have grumbled +if I had been called upon to disburse a sum equal to what this trip will +cost them, if they, or any one, had picked him up. There are two sides to +this question, Captain." +<p align=justify> +"Then you fight on the other side, though you hold the purse-strings," said +the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Would I give a hundred thousand dollars for saving Sir Louis's life? His +mother would give ten times that sum, and all the rest of the young man's +fortune. That is a matter about which we must not be mean; and the other +side take that view of it. I quite agree that not another word ought to be +said about expense," responded Uncle Moses, giving the young millionaire +another hug. +<p align=justify> +"Uncle Moses is not a bit like the miser that could not afford a candle at +his death-bed in the night," added Louis. "If they had done as much for us +as we have for them, I should be glad to take them all around the world, +and pay for an Italian band of music all the way." +<p align=justify> +"That's right, Sir Louis! Do as you would be done by," chuckled the +trustee. +<p align=justify> +"It just occurs to me, Captain Sharp," said the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, as the former was about to leave, "that there is no reason +for your going to Surat, for we can take the general, Dr. Henderson, and +the band along with us. You have a voyage of two thousand miles before +you." +<p align=justify> +"Which I can make in seven or eight days without hurrying," replied the +captain of the Blanche. "I could get to Calcutta before you do if I sailed +two weeks hence." +<p align=justify> +"Just as you please." +<p align=justify> +But General Noury seemed to like the idea of getting on board of the +Guardian-Mother even for a day, and adopted the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"There is next to nothing to be seen at Surat, and we shall go from there +immediately to Baroda, on our way to Lahore," interposed Lord Tremlyn. "The +Maharajah of Gwalior is an old friend of Sir Modava, and I am well +acquainted with him. I have no doubt we shall be very hospitably treated +there, and that you will be introduced to many things that will interest +you. If Captain Sharp desires to see some Indian sports, he can go with us +to Baroda, stay a week, and then return to his ship here by railway." +<p align=justify> +"I like that idea, as my wife wishes to see a little more of India on +shore, though she does not wish to take the long journey you are to make," +added Captain Sharp. +<p align=justify> +This plan was accepted, and the party separated. The next morning the +carriages conveyed them to the Apollo Bunder, and at seven o'clock the +Guardian-Mother was under way. The band was playing on the promenade, and +the party were taking their last view of Bombay and its surroundings. +Captain Sharp and his wife were on board. The three doctors formed a trio +by themselves, and were discussing jungle fever, which existed in the low +lands beyond Byculla. +<p align=justify> +The sea outside was smooth; and at four o'clock in the afternoon the +steamer was among the Malacca shoals, in the Gulf of Cambay, with a pilot +on board. She soon entered the Tapti River, fifteen miles from its mouth. +The band had scattered after the noonday concert, and the party took the +chairs in Conference Hall. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose you wish to know something about the places you visit, ladies +and gentlemen," said Lord Tremlyn, rising before them, and bowing at the +applause with which he was heartily greeted. "This is Surat, a hundred and +sixty miles north of Bombay, on the Tapti River, which you may spell with a +double <i>e</i> at the end if you prefer. It has a population of a hundred +and ten thousand. It extends about a mile along this river, with the +government buildings in the centre. +<p align=justify> +"The streets are well paved, and the houses are packed very closely +together. There are four very handsome Mohammedan mosques here, so our +friend the general will have a place to go to on our Friday." The Mussulman +bowed, and gave the speaker one of his prettiest smiles. "The Parsees, of +whom a few families own half the place, are prominent in business, as in +Bombay; and they supply the most skilful mechanics, the liveliest clerks, +and the quickest boys in the schools. They have two fire-temples here. The +Hindus, especially the Buniahs and the Jains, are as prominent as in +Bombay. The city was founded before 1512; for then it was burned by the +Portuguese, who did it again eighteen years later. +<p align=justify> +"It had a very extensive commerce in its earlier years, and flourished on +its cotton trade during the American war. In 1811 it had a population of +two hundred and fifty thousand; but five and thirty years later it had less +than one-third of that; but has gained somewhat up to the present time. +Nearly a hundred years ago it was the most populous city of India. But I do +not propose to exhaust the subject, and now you may see for yourselves." +<p align=justify> +His lordship and the Hindu gentleman, since their liberality had been +whispered through the ship, were exceedingly popular, and both were warmly +applauded whenever they opened their mouths. The party found enough to +occupy their attention till the ship came to anchor, with its brass band in +full blast, off the public buildings. A steam-launch came off for the +passengers; for the hosts had written to every place they were to visit, +and carriages were in readiness for them when they landed. +<p align=justify> +They rode over the town after a collation at a clubhouse, and saw all that +was to be seen. They were quartered for the night at private residences, +and there was almost a struggle to know who should receive them. + + + + +<a name="XXIV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXIV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +India has nearly twenty thousand miles of railroads open and in use, and +thousands more in process of construction. As in England, they are +invariably called "railways." They do not have baggage, but it is +"luggage;" a baggage-car is unknown, for they call it a "van;" and the +conductor is the "guard." Our travellers had become accustomed to these +terms, and many others, in England, and now used them very familiarly. +<p align=justify> +Early rising is hardly a virtue in India; for he who sleeps after six in +the morning loses the best part of the day, especially in the hot season. +The tourists were up before this hour, and had coffee wherever they were. +They had been treated with the utmost kindness and consideration, and their +hosts could not do enough for them. They were conveyed to the railway +station by them, and there found his lordship with a plan of a number of +carriages--they are not cars there. On this plan he had placed, with the +assistance of the commander, the names of the entire party. +<p align=justify> +They were to leave at seven; for it is pleasanter to travel early in the +morning than later in the day, and the train was all ready. They were not a +little astonished when they were introduced to their quarters in the +vehicles, to find them quite as luxurious as a Pullman, though they were +constructed on a different plan, and were wanting in some of the +conveniences of the American palace-car, though better adapted to the +climate of the country. +<p align=justify> +Each carriage contained but two compartments; but they were suites of rooms +on a small scale. The principal one was of good size, and on one side was +cushioned to the ceiling, so that being "knocked about" did not imperil the +traveller's bones and flesh. Against this stuffed partition was a low +couch, which could be made up as a bed at night, or used as a reclining +sofa by day. +<p align=justify> +Over it was a swinging couch suspended by straps, which could be folded up, +or be entirely removed, and formed a couch like the one below it. On the +other side of the apartment was a toilet-room, with all conveniences +required for washing and other purposes, including a water-cooler. In this +compartment the traveller takes his servant, and often a cook, for the +valet cannot meddle with culinary matters; and they sleep on the floor +wherever they can find a place. A reasonable additional price is charged +for accommodations in this luxurious style. +<p align=justify> +The journey to Baroda would occupy hardly more than three hours, and these +elaborate arrangements were scarcely necessary for the time they were to be +used; but the members of the party looked upon them with especial interest +in connection with the long travel to Lahore, and that which was to follow +to Calcutta, though they were to break the journey several times on the +way. +<p align=justify> +The "Big Four" had a compartment to themselves, with the two servants, +Sayad and Moro, who proved to be such good fellows that the boys liked them +very much. Sir Modava had managed to dismiss more than half of the +attendants furnished at first, for all the party declared that such a mob +of them was a nuisance; and the others had overcome their repugnance to +serving more than one person in the face of dismissal, for their +perquisites had already been considerable as they valued money. +<p align=justify> +"This isn't bad for a haythen counthry," said Felix, as he stretched +himself on the lower couch. "We'll git to Calcutty widout breakin' ahl the +bones in our bodies." +<p align=justify> +"This is vastly better than anything I expected to find here," replied +Louis, as he pushed his crony over against the partition, and lay down at +his side. +<p align=justify> +"But where do the elephants and the tigers come in?" asked Scott, as he +called upon Moro to "shine" his shoes. "I haven't seen an elephant since I +came here." +<p align=justify> +"Elephants are not worked in this country," added Morris. "The Moguls use +them when they want to go in state, and sometimes when they go hunting +tigers; and then the big beast gets most of the hard scratches." +<p align=justify> +"But the elephant can take care of himself when the mahout allows him to do +so," argued Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Is the mahout his schnout?" asked Felix. +<p align=justify> +"You know better than that, Flix. The mahout is the fellow that sits on the +elephant's neck and conducts him. He is the driver," replied Morris. +<p align=justify> +"Is he afeerd of schnakes?" +<p align=justify> +"He needn't be, perched on the top of the pachyderm," answered Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Who is he? Oi've not been introjuced to 'm." +<p align=justify> +"Are you going among elephants, Flix, and don't know what a pachyderm is?" +demanded Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Oi see, it's the elephant, and ye's call him so bekase he carries his pack +on his bachk; and 'pon me worrud that's the roight place to carry it." +<p align=justify> +"I wonder if we are to have any hunting out here where we are going," +suggested Scott. "How is it, Louis? You are in the ring with the Grand +Moguls." +<p align=justify> +"Sir Modava told me that the Maharajah whom we shall visit at Baroda is a +great sportsman, and always treats his guests to a hunt," answered Louis. +<p align=justify> +"Is it after schnakes?" +<p align=justify> +"No; but after tigers." +<p align=justify> +"But I want to hunt some schnakes; I'd loike to bring down a good-soized +cobry," said Felix, rising from his reclining posture. +<p align=justify> +"No, you wouldn't, Flix," sneered Scott. "If you saw a cobry, you would run +till you got back to Ireland." +<p align=justify> +"Is'ht me! Wud I roon from a cobry? Not mooch! Ain't I a lineal dayscindant +of St. Patrick?--long life to him! And didn't he dhrive all the schnakes +and toads out of the ould counthree! Jisht show me a cobry, and thin see me +roon!" +<p align=justify> +Before the Milesian could tell how he intended to kill the cobra if he saw +one, the train stopped; and a moment later Sir Modava, the commander, and +Mrs. Belgrade appeared at the door. +<p align=justify> +"We have come to make things a little more social," said the Hindu +gentleman as they entered the compartment; and the servants brought stools +from the toilet-room, so that all were seated, making quite a family group. +<p align=justify> +"Are there any snakes where we are going, Sir Modava?" asked Felix, before +any one else had a chance to speak. "I am spoiling for a fight with a +cobra;" and he came back to plain English, which he could use as well as +any one. +<p align=justify> +"Plenty of them, Mr. McGavonty," replied the East Indian. "You will not get +badly spoiled before you fall in with all you will wish to see." +<p align=justify> +"Then I will bag some of them," added Felix. +<p align=justify> +"No, you won't, Flix; they will be more likely to bag you," rallied Scott. +<p align=justify> +"But I am in earnest," persisted the Milesian. "I have seen plenty of them +in Bombay; and upon my word and honor, I don't feel at all afraid of them. +One of them might hit me when I was not looking, for they don't play fair; +but I shall be on the watch for them, and I'll take my chance." +<p align=justify> +"But, Sir Modava, do you really dare to go out where there are cobras?" +asked Mrs. Belgrave, looking at her son. +<p align=justify> +"Certainly we do; we don't think anything at all about them." +<p align=justify> +"But you are in danger all the time." +<p align=justify> +"Of course it is possible that one may be bitten when a snake comes upon +him unawares. The deaths from snakes and wild animals in all India averages +annually twenty-two thousand. About a thousand are killed by tigers. Of a +hundred and fifty kinds of snakes, only about twenty are poisonous. The +deaths from snakes is one in 13,070; and the chance of being bitten is very +small." +<p align=justify> +"I am afraid your figures lie, Sir Modava," said Captain Ringgold, with a +pleasant laugh. "Millions of the people live in cities and large towns +where there isn't a snake of any kind." +<p align=justify> +"Quite true, and, to some extent, the figures do lie; but there are plenty +of cobras and other snakes in parts of Bombay, and the figures are not so +false as you think, Captain," replied Sir Modava. "But I forget that I was +sent here for a purpose by Lord Tremlyn. I am to tell you something about +the Mahrattas, which is the name of the people who inhabited the region +north of us. They have a long history which I have not time to review, but +they have been prominent in the earlier affairs of India. They have always +been a warlike people, and wrested the country from the Mogul emperor, +sometimes called the Grand Mogul, and made themselves a powerful people. +<p align=justify> +"The present maharajah rules over the most extensive kingdom of any native +prince. He is a Rajput, which is the aristocracy of the Mahrattas. He is +the most powerful of the Indian rulers, and one of the most hospitable. I +was formerly in his service, and he considers himself under some slight +obligations to me. He is an independent prince in the same sense that other +rulers are in this country. There is always a British representative at his +court, who advises him in some matters of government, and his realm is +called a protected state. +<p align=justify> +"He is a great sportsman; and I have no doubt you will be invited to hunt +with him, as well as to witness some exhibitions which may not be agreeable +to the ladies." +<p align=justify> +"Don't we stop at any stations on the road?" asked Louis. +<p align=justify> +"There is no town of any great consequence between Surat and Baroda, and +this is a special express train," replied Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +Some of the party looked out the windows, and the intelligent guide +explained what was to be seen along the way. Some handsome temples +attracted their attention, but they were insignificant compared with what +they had been taught to expect in the future. The train crossed a bridge, +which brought them into the suburbs of Baroda. +<p align=justify> +"The outskirts of the town contain a hundred and fifty thousand +inhabitants, far more than the city itself," said the Hindu gentleman. "The +streets are very narrow here, and the houses are nearly all of wood; but +they are different from any you have seen before, for they are peculiar to +Goojerat, the state of which Baroda is the capital. You see at about all +the crossings pagodas and idols, with banners flying over them. It is an +unhealthy region, the ground is so low; and yonder you see a stately +hospital, built by the Guicowar, as the maharajah is called." +<p align=justify> +The tourists had all they could do to see the strange things that were +pointed out to them, and while thus employed the train stopped at the +station. Looking out the windows again, they saw several elephants, all +handsomely caparisoned, and with howdahs on their backs. A band of native +musicians was playing near them, and the party wondered what this display +could mean; but Sir Modava was unable to inform them. They got out of the +carriages, and found themselves in a handsome square. +<p align=justify> +A company of cavalry was drawn up near the elephants, at the head of which, +surrounded by a numerous staff of officers, sat on a prancing horse, +caparisoned with exceeding richness, a person who could be no other than +the maharajah. He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India, +covered with jewels in ornamental profusion. +<p align=justify> +"That is the Guicowar," said the Hindu guide. +<p align=justify> +"He is doing us great honor in coming out in this manner to welcome us." +<p align=justify> +As soon as he discovered the party, the ruler dismounted nimbly from his +noble steed, and, attended by some high officers, advanced to meet them. A +sort of procession was hastily formed with Lord Tremlyn at the head of it; +for he was the most distinguished person, and in some sense the +representative of the British home government. The Italian band of the +general, as soon as the native band ceased, struck up "Hail, to the chief!" +<p align=justify> +The party encountered the king, who rushed up to the viscount, and seized +him by the hand, as not all kings are in the habit of doing. They talked +together for a few moments, when his Highness happened to see Sir Modava, +and rushed to him, seizing him in a semi-embrace, clasping the Hindu with +his right hand while the left encircled his shoulder. The potentate was +profuse in his congratulations to the two gentlemen on their escape from +death in the shipwreck, and this afforded Lord Tremlyn an opportunity to +present Captain Ringgold as the commander of the steamer that had saved +them. +<p align=justify> +"He is my friend, then," said the Maharajah, as he gave him no equivocal +shake of the hand. +<p align=justify> +Then Louis and his mother were presented and described, and received an +equally warm welcome. But the prince decided to receive the rest of the +party at the palace, and they were requested to mount the elephants. The +ladies were timid about it; but Louis told his mother that she must get up +into the howdah as though she had been riding elephants all her life, and +she did so, the others following her example. Louis assisted his mother +first, and then Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +They were all seated on the huge beasts, and the procession started, the +Italian band following the native, and playing when they ceased to do so. + + + + +<a name="XXV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"Well, what do you think of this?" asked Captain Ringgold, turning to Mrs. +Belgrave, as the elephant moved off. +<p align=justify> +"I don't feel quite at home up here," she replied, holding on with both +hands at the side of the howdah. +<p align=justify> +"I think it is nice," added Miss Blanche. "It seems very much like riding +on a camel, only there is more motion." +<p align=justify> +"It is a good place to see everything there is to be seen," suggested +Louis, as he looked about him. "The king is taking us to his palace in high +style. If he meant to astonish us, he has hit the nail on the head." +<p align=justify> +"But where are Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava?" asked Miss Blanche. +<p align=justify> +"They are mounted on a couple of as handsome horses as I ever saw in my +life," replied the commander. "One of them is on each side of the Guicowar, +at the head of the cavalry troop. In England and America the escort goes +ahead of the persons thus honored; but here, as a rule, the king cannot +ride behind anybody. You remember that when we saw the Sultan going to the +mosque in Constantinople he rode at the head of the procession, and all the +great officers of state went behind him; and that seems to be the fashion +here." +<p align=justify> +"But is he much of a king?" Mrs. Belgrave inquired. +<p align=justify> +"They all call him a king, and I suppose he is one. He is a Maharajah, a +word written with a capital, and composed of two words, <i>maha</i>, which +means great, and <i>rajah</i>, a king. The definition is 'a Hindu sovereign +prince,' and that makes a king of him. He rules over a large territory, and +Lord Tremlyn says he is the most powerful of all the native princes. He is +certainly treating us very handsomely." +<p align=justify> +"I think I could get along without quite so much style," said Mrs. +Belgrave, laughing; and she seemed to feel as though she was taking a part +in a farce. +<p align=justify> +"All the style is in honor of the distinguished gentlemen we picked up in +the Arabian Sea. But excuse me, Mrs. Belgrave, if I suggest that it is not +wise and prudent to laugh in the midst of such a spectacle as this. The +Hindus are very exclusive until you get acquainted with them, and have a +great many prejudices which we cannot comprehend. They are very sensitive, +and are very likely to misinterpret the expression and the actions of a +stranger; your laugh might be offensive, leading them to believe you were +sneering, or making fun of them, as we should call it." +<p align=justify> +"Then I will be very circumspect," replied the lady. "But is the Guicowar +really a king, when all this country belongs to the English? Victoria is +the Empress of India." +<p align=justify> +"He rules over a protected state; but his powers seem to be almost +unlimited. A British officer is always at his court, and is called a +'resident,' who is the representative of the government. But he does not +meddle with the affairs of the state unless occasion requires." +<p align=justify> +The houses the tourists passed were all of Indian style, and there were +always towers and pagodas in sight. The region as they passed out of the +city was rural; and finally they came to the great gates of the palace, +which they entered. The grounds were covered with great trees and gardens, +in the midst of which was a palace, where they found the cavalry drawn up +and presenting arms. The elephants were made to kneel down as when the +party mounted them, and they descended by means of ladders. +<p align=justify> +A host of servants ushered them into the palace, which Lord Tremlyn said +had been appropriated to their use. Their luggage had already been sent to +their apartments; and an hour later the company assembled in the grand +salon, dressed to receive the Guicowar. His Highness did not "put on any +style this time," and was as sociable as any common person. He saluted the +commander and Mrs. Belgrave; and then all the rest of the party were +presented to him by the viscount, and Mrs. Blossom had nearly shaken +herself to pieces during the ceremony. +<p align=justify> +A bountiful collation was then served in another apartment, at which the +Maharajah presided. He spoke English as fluently as any person present, and +was very affable to all. The Italian band played during the repast, and the +Guicowar declared that it was the finest music he had ever heard. General +Noury had been placed on his right as the one highest in rank of any +present. +<p align=justify> +The king proved himself to be exceedingly well informed in regard to the +United States, and was even able to talk intelligently with the gentlemen +about Morocco. Though he had a wife, a mother, and a young daughter, they +were never presented to the gentlemen of the party, though the ladies were +permitted to make their acquaintance, and learned more from them about +Hindu domestic life than they could have obtained from any others. +<p align=justify> +"To-morrow will be a great day in Baroda," said Sir Modava to the +commander. "It is the great Sowari, a procession such as none of your +people ever saw, I will venture to say; and his Highness has provided +places for all of you where you can see the whole of it in detail." +<p align=justify> +The king announced this great state occasion himself before the lunch was +finished, and gave the visitors a cordial invitation to witness the +procession. The "Big Four," a term of which the viscount and Sir Modava had +already learned the meaning, were very impatient to do some hunting. They +had brought their guns with them, and Louis informed the Hindu gentleman of +their desire. +<p align=justify> +"Is there any place near the palace where we could find any game?" he +inquired. +<p align=justify> +"Not in the palace grounds, but within a few miles of it a very rugged +region may be reached, and a road-wagon will be provided for you. I will +speak to the Guicowar about it," replied Sir Modava; and he broached the +subject at once. +<p align=justify> +In half an hour a vehicle was at the door; and the boys were ready, dressed +for the hunt, and with their guns in their hands. Two officers were +appointed to attend them, and both of them spoke English very well. The +vehicle provided was a kind of coach, the floor of which was cushioned, so +that several persons could sleep on it during a long journey. It was drawn +by four high-spirited horses; and, though the road was bad, it was driven +at a high rate of speed; and in less than an hour they alighted in a wild +region, where there was not a building of any kind to be seen. +<p align=justify> +The two officers directed the servants to take some boards from the top of +the carriage, with which they stated their purpose to make a platform in a +tree, where they could watch for game; but the boys objected to this +arrangement, and declared that each of them would hunt on his own hook. +<p align=justify> +"But suppose you should come across a tiger, for they have been found here, +though I hardly think you will see one," said one of the officers. "What +would you do then?" +<p align=justify> +"Shoot him, of course," replied Scott. "What are our guns for?" +<p align=justify> +"But you may fire half a dozen balls into him without disabling the beast," +added Khayrat, the principal officer. "Tiger-hunting is dangerous sport, +and you can't be too careful." +<p align=justify> +But the boys were very confident, and all of them were good shots; but they +had never tried any hunting of this kind. Khayrat said there was plenty of +deer in the vicinity, and they had better confine their attention to them. +If they approached the foothill of the Vindya Mountains, which he pointed +out to them, they might find tigers. With this warning, the "Big Four" +separated, and struck into the jungle. Khayrat followed Louis, for he had +been informed that he was the most important person in the quartet. Adil, +the other officer, kept near Scott, who appeared to be the most reckless of +the four. +<p align=justify> +Felix was not attended by any one; but he had not gone more than a hundred +yards before he saw a huge cobra directly in front of him, bestirring +himself as though he "meant business." The fellow stood up, and he looked +mad enough to chew up the hunter. But before he had time to discharge his +piece at the monster, for he looked as though he was six feet long, Felix +heard a rustling in the bushes at his left, and a moment later a +disturbance on his right. +<p align=center> +<a name="page242"></a> + +<img src="images/page242.png" border=0 +alt=""He saw a huge cobra directly in front of +him."--Page 242."> + +<center><i>"He saw a huge cobra directly in front of +him."--Page 242.</i> </center> + +<p align=justify> +He looked in the direction of the noises, and saw two more cobras lifting +their vicious heads into the air. These were more than he had bargained +for; and, believing that discretion was the better part of valor, he +climbed a tree in which he saw a convenient resting-place. Between him and +the three snakes there was a small pool of water, half concealed by the +bushes, and the reptiles had probably come there to drink or to obtain for +food some of the amphibious creatures that lived there. +<p align=justify> +The enthusiastic sportsman had hardly begun to climb the tree before he +heard a hissing behind him, and discovered another cobra. Two of the four +in sight were much smaller than the other two, and he could easily believe +he had come upon a family of them. He got a position in the tree, and lost +no time in attacking the enemy. He was a good shot, for he and Louis had +both been thoroughly trained in a shooting-gallery in New York. He gave his +attention to the one nearest to him, and wondered he had not trodden upon +him as he came to the spot. +<p align=justify> +As this one stood up Felix could see the top of his head, and he decided to +use his revolver first. He fired; and, as the reptile was not ten feet from +him, so skilful a marksman could hardly help hitting him. He did hit him, +and the ball passed through his head. He wriggled a moment, and then +stretched himself out at full length, dead. +<p align=justify> +One of the larger ones was within twenty-five feet of him, and he used his +repeating rifle this time. He slipped a little in his perch as he +discharged the piece, and the ball went through the snake's body, which was +furiously mad, hissed and shook himself. He held still a moment, and then +Felix fired again. The ball seemed to tear his head all to pieces, and he +dropped down out of sight. He had to fire several times to kill the other +two; for, as he expressed it, they "would not hold still." +<p align=justify> +But he had killed the four, and felt just as though he had settled the +snake question. Most of the natives, who are oftener the victims of the +cobra than the white people, go about in the dark with naked feet, and it +is not strange that they are bitten. He descended from the tree, and went +to examine the game he had brought down. Cutting some pliable sticks, he +dragged the serpents together, and passed a withe around them behind the +hood, and started back for the rendezvous where they were to take the +carriage. He was determined to convince Scott that he was not afraid of +snakes. +<p align=justify> +He had already heard several shots, and realized that his companions had +found game of some kind. He waited a full hour for them, when Louis +returned first, with a very handsome deer slung on a pole with Khayrat +carrying the other end. Morris came in with a monkey, which the officers +would not have permitted him to kill if they had been near him. Scott came +in last with only a couple of birds. +<p align=justify> +"Did ye's mate ony cobrys, Musther Scott?" asked Felix. +<p align=justify> +"Not a cobra; and I didn't want to meet any," replied Scott, disappointed +at his luck. +<p align=justify> +"You's air afeered of the schnakes," rallied the Milesian. +<p align=justify> +"So are you, Flix. If you saw one you wouldn't stop running till you got +back to Baroda," returned the third officer of the ship. +<p align=justify> +"But I have seen four of them in my little walk, and I'm not doing any +running just now," said Felix triumphantly. +<p align=justify> +"Go 'way with you, Milesian, and don't tell any fish stories!" replied +Scott, continuing to blackguard him while the servants were putting the +deer on the top of the wagon. +<p align=justify> +"Do you want to carry those snakes back to the palace?" asked Khayrat. +<p align=justify> +"What snakes?" asked Scott. +<p align=justify> +"I'll be most happy to introjuce you to four uv 'em I killed," added Felix; +and Scott was convinced against his will, and the dead serpents were put on +the wagon. +<p align=justify> +In another hour they reached the palace, and the game was exhibited to a +wondering audience. The officers explained how so many of the cobras +happened to be together; but Felix had reached a correct conclusion before. +Mrs. Blossom scolded him for not running away when he saw the first one; +but he declared he had to prove that a boy with Kilkenny blood in his veins +was not afraid of snakes. + + + + +<a name="XXVI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXVI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI</h4> + +<p align=justify> +Felix had to repeat his story, and he was regarded as quite a hero by the +Americans, though Sir Modava and other natives thought but little of it. +Mrs. Blossom continued to scold at him for not running away from the +serpents. +<p align=justify> +"How could I run away when I was surrounded by the snakes?" demanded Felix, +when the worthy lady's discipline became somewhat monotonous to him. "If I +had done what you say I should certainly have been bitten. I did better: I +climbed the tree, and bagged the whole four at my leisure." +<p align=justify> +"But snakes can climb trees," persisted the excellent woman. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose they can, but they don't always; and I knew the one nearest me +wouldn't do much climbing with a hole through his head. Besides, they say +the cobra does not come at you unless you meddle with him, like the +rattlesnake. I suppose I disturbed them, and they hoisted the flags to let +me know they were in town. I wanted to reduce the number of the varmints a +little." +<p align=justify> +"But why did Khayrat tell me I ought not to have shot a monkey?" asked +Morris. +<p align=justify> +"Because monkeys are harmless, and the Hindus consider them sacred. Before +you get to Calcutta you will find them housed in temples. Besides, the +natives are very tender of all animals," replied Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"In the hospital for lame ducks and superannuated bullfrogs we visited in +Bombay, do they take in sick cobras?" asked Felix. "Do they nurse lame +tigers?" +<p align=justify> +"They do not; it would not be quite safe to do so. Morris, the monkey you +shot will be decently buried," said the Hindu gentleman. +<p align=justify> +"I am willing; for, though they eat them in some countries, I don't hanker +after any monkey-flesh," replied the young hunter. "I met a man at my +father's house who had lived for years in Africa, and he said they ate the +boa-constrictor there,--the natives did, not the white people." +<p align=justify> +"So I have heard; but many Hindus never eat meat at all," added Sir Modava, +as the party retired to dress for dinner. +<p align=justify> +The party were to dine at the palace with the Guicowar, and it was to be a +state dinner. Though contrary to Hindu etiquette, the ladies were all +invited, and they were treated with "distinguished consideration." It was a +very elaborate occasion, and a few speeches were made at the last of it. +The principal one was by the king himself, who enlarged upon his relations +with Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava, whom he regarded as two of his best +friends. +<p align=justify> +From this point, he dwelt upon his esteem for the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, who had rendered a service to India in saving them from +certain death, which they, better than he, could understand and appreciate. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold and General Noury made fitting replies; and the party +returned, escorted by a score of torch-bearers, to the "Garden of Pearls" +as the summer palace in which they were lodged was called. They appeared +early in the morning, and after they had taken their coffee Louis and Felix +took a long walk outside the palace walls. At the gate they saw a little +animal which seemed disposed to make friends with them. They had brought +their guns with them, and Felix was on the point of firing at him when +Louis interposed. +<p align=justify> +"That's a mongoose," said the latter. "Haven't you heard of him?" +<p align=justify> +"Never did." +<p align=justify> +"The creature is a sort of ichneumon, with a long body, extending back of +his hind legs, which gradually decreases in size till it becomes his tail. +His body is long, even without the portion of it which belongs to his +caudal appendage. He has a small head and a sharp nose, and is something +like a weasel. He has the reputation of being the great serpent-killer of +India, and many wonderful stories are told of him. He is very useful about +a house in destroying rats and other small nuisances." +<p align=justify> +The mongoose ran along ahead of the boys while Louis told what he knew +about him. Felix protested that a little fellow like that couldn't do +anything with such a cobra as he had shot the day before, for the snake was +a trifle more than five feet long. They had gone but a short distance +farther before Khayrat stepped out from a tree which had concealed him. +<p align=justify> +"There's a cobra in here somewhere," said the officer, who was one of the +king's huntsmen. "I brought out my mongoose, but the little rascal has left +me." +<p align=justify> +"There he is, just ahead of us," replied Louis. "He seems like a kitten, he +is so tame." +<p align=justify> +"He is my pet, and I am very fond of him, for I think he saved my life +once. I was just on the point of stepping on a cobra when Dinky attacked +the snake and killed him after a fight," added Khayrat. "I think he is on +the track of the enemy, for the serpent killed two chickens last night." +<p align=justify> +"There he is!" exclaimed Felix, as he brought his gun to his shoulder. +<p align=justify> +"Don't fire! Let Dinky take care of him; for my pet is spoiling for a +fight, as one of the Americans said yesterday," interposed Khayrat. +<p align=justify> +The serpent was a large one, though not equal in size to the one Felix had +shot the day before. He had erected his head, and spread out his hood, and +he looked as ugly as sin itself. He knows all about the mongoose, and seems +to have an instinctive hatred of his little but mighty enemy. +<p align=justify> +The little snake-killer made a spring at him, and then skilfully whirled +himself around so that the snake could not bite him. Dinky knew what he was +about all the time; and though his foe struck at him several times, he +dodged him and put in several bites. After considerable manoeuvring, the +snake appeared to have had enough of it, and deemed it prudent to beat a +retreat. He dropped on the ground, and headed for a thicket; but this was +just what Dinky wanted. He sprang upon the neck of the cobra, placing his +fore-paws on him, and then crushed his spine with his sharp teeth. The +serpent was dead, after writhing an instant. +<p align=justify> +The fight was ended, and Khayrat caressed the victor. Louis declared that +the mongoose was a friend worth having, and immediately made a bargain with +the huntsman to procure him a couple of them, and send them to Calcutta. +They returned to the palace; and at the breakfast-table Louis told the +story of the battle, in which all the Americans were much interested. But +the business of the forenoon was the great Sowari, or public procession; +and the party were conveyed in carriages to the pavilion, from the veranda +of which they were to see the spectacle. An abundance of easy-chairs was +provided for them, and they were made very comfortable. +<p align=justify> +It required more than an hour for the procession to pass the point of +observation; and when the last of it had disappeared in the distance all +the Americans declared that they had never seen anything, even in Europe, +which could be compared with it in variety and magnificence. It was an +Oriental spectacle, and the tourists could easily believe they had +witnessed a pageant that had stepped out of the pages of the "Arabian +Nights." +<p align=justify> +First came the regular soldiers of the Maharajah, who were sepoys, all +under the command of English officers; and they marched like veterans who +had been drilling half their lives. They were followed by a company of +Arabs, who seemed to have been imported for the occasion. Sir Modava +explained what the troops were as they passed. Next came a whole squadron +of Mahratta cavalry, which looked as though they were serviceable soldiers +of that arm, for they were good riders, well mounted, and were all lusty +fellows. +<p align=justify> +After the cavalry came a troop of dromedaries with small cannons mounted on +their backs, with gunners to work the pieces. The military portion of the +procession was completed by several regiments of the Guicowar's special +army. Following the household troops, apparently acting as an escort, came +the royal standard-bearer, a personage of decided importance in an Oriental +pageant. He was mounted alone on a huge elephant, magnificently caparisoned +and adorned with the royal standard, a flag of cloth-of-gold, on a long +staff. +<p align=justify> +In front of the elephant marched a band of eighteen or twenty native +musicians, playing upon all sorts of Indian instruments, including +tom-toms, lutes, like flageolets, cymbals, and horns. Surrounding the great +beast that had the honor to bear the flag of the Mahratta States were +numerous horsemen, all clothed in the richest Oriental costumes, armed with +spears and curved sabres, with shining shields, and steel gauntlets on +their hands. All these, and all the others, wore white turbans, +picturesquely folded. +<p align=justify> +Behind the standard-bearer were two more elephants, each decked in all the +splendor of the East; and mounted upon them were some of the great +dignitaries of the court, over whom servants held highly fringed and +ornamented umbrellas. In the procession was a troop of camels, all dressed +out in the style of the horses and elephants. To say that the Americans +were dazzled by the splendor of the scene would be to state it very mildly, +for they were literally confounded and overwhelmed; and yet they had not +seen the great feature of the spectacle, the Guicowar himself. Sir Modava +had to talk very fast to describe the scene as it passed before them. +<p align=justify> +A dozen men, handsomely dressed like all the others, presently appeared, +each bearing on a long pole something that looked like a crown. This was a +sort of incense-censor, in which perfumes were burned, and from which a +column of blue vapor proceeded. They were immediately before one of the +king's elephants, which now came in front of the veranda. He was a gigantic +creature, bearing on his back a howdah of solid gold. He was robed like the +others, and the portions of his skin in sight were fantastically painted in +various designs. +<p align=justify> +The howdah was surmounted by two pyramidal roofs, one in front of the +other, supported by small columns. At the end of the elephant's tusks, +which were sawed off square, were attached bouquets of rich feathers. On +each side of the huge beast was a platform, suspended at the outside by +golden cords, on which stood four men very richly dressed. One of them +bears the hook, or pipe, presented to the Guicowar by the viceroy, another +waves a banner, and the others flourish fans of peacock feathers. In front +of the mahout is planted an ornament reaching nearly to the top of the +howdah. +<p align=justify> +The golden howdah was presented by the Queen and Empress of India, and +glitters with diamonds and other precious stones. The two domes make it +look like two pavilions, and in the forward one sits the Guicowar in solemn +dignity. He wears a tunic of scarlet velvet, which is covered with gold and +diamonds. In fact, he seems to have diamonds enough to freight a schooner. +Either he or one of his predecessors purchased a brilliant for which he +paid the bagatelle of four hundred thousand dollars. Under the rear +pavilion, and behind him, is the king's prime minister. +<p align=justify> +One of the officials at his side is the king's herald, who unfolds a flag +of cloth-of-gold, and flourishes it before the people, and there are not +less than a hundred thousand of them in the streets. As he does so he +announces in good Hindustanee and in a loud voice a proclamation: +"<i>Srimunt Sircar! Khunderao Guicowar! Sena Khas Khel! Shamshar +Bahadoor!</i>" +<p align=justify> +"Exactly so," said Felix in a low tone. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose it is not given to outsiders to know what all that means?" added +Louis. +<p align=justify> +"Certainly it is," replied Sir Modava. "It means, 'Behold the King of +Kings, Khunderao Guicowar, whose army is invincible, whose courage is +indomitable.'" +<p align=justify> +"Is that in a Pickwickian sense?" asked Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Not at all, for the Guicowar is as brave a man as ever put a foot into +shoe-leather, or went barefooted," replied Lord Tremlyn, "though there is a +little exaggeration common to the Orient in the proclamation." +<p align=justify> +As his Majesty came in front of the veranda the party rose and saluted him +with low bows, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. He responded +with a kingly smile and a graceful wave of the hand. The procession passed +on, and shortly afterwards the booming cannon announced that the moment of +the solemn benediction had come. The attentive officials of the court +presently appeared with the carriages, and an invitation to the whole +company to dine with the Guicowar again at his table. +<p align=justify> +They had to wait an hour for the king, but they found enough to interest +them in observing the coming of numerous other guests. In an ante-room the +floor was almost covered with shoes, many of them of the richest material, +even with precious stones upon them. Sir Modava explained that Eastern +etiquette required that the visitors going into the presence of the +Maharajah should remove their shoes, but that Europeans and Americans were +exempt from this requirement. +<p align=justify> +When the party entered they found the king seated in an apartment open to +the air of heaven on two sides. All were barefoot or in their stocking-feet +except the Gruicowar, who occupied a bench, or platform, at one side. He +had removed his state garments, and was dressed in a suit of white linen. +Most of the native officials present were seated on the floor; but the +gentlemen of the visitors were invited to sit with his Highness, though +only Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava accepted it. + + + + +<a name="XXVII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXVII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The party remained a week at the palace of the Guicowar, and every day had +a new pleasure or recreation. The king was as familiar with all the members +as though they had belonged to his own household. He was sociable with +them, and they ceased to be embarrassed in his presence. Even Mrs. Blossom +no longer trembled before him, and he was as jolly with the boys as though +he had been one of them. +<p align=justify> +On the day after the Sowari the gentlemen of the party were conducted to +the arena of the elephants, which was a large enclosure, reminding those +who had seen them of the bull-rings of Spain. It was surrounded by +buildings; and on one side, behind a wall, was a vast area of elevated +ground from which the people of the town could witness the scenes presented +in the arena. +<p align=justify> +The ladies of the party had made the acquaintance of those of their own sex +in the household, and the sports of the day had been discussed among them. +On this day it was to be an elephant fight. The native women did not +attend, for they never took part in any public affair. Mrs. Belgrave, as +soon as she learned the nature of the entertainment, promptly declined to +be present at it, and the others were of the same mind. +<p align=justify> +To make the best of it, it was a brutal sport. The elephant is a noble +beast, so intelligent that he deserves the consideration of man; and to +them it seemed barbarous to set them fighting, even if the animals had +belligerent instincts, though they never displayed them in their +domesticated condition unless under strong provocation. Some of the +gentlemen regarded the exhibition as but little better than a prize-fight; +though they all attended the occasion, for the more sensitive ones thought +it would be impolite to decline the invitation, especially as the +exhibition was got up especially for them. +<p align=justify> +They were ushered into a large apartment, one side of which consisted of +lofty arches, through which the display could be witnessed. At either end +of the arena was chained a monster male elephant. A number of female +elephants were on an elevation near it; and it seemed as though they were +placed there for the same reason that the ladies were admitted to the +tournaments of the knights in England and France. It was said that these +females had a decided taste for such fights, and possibly the sight of them +stimulated the male combatants. +<p align=justify> +There were a number of men, very slightly clothed, in the ring, who seemed +like the <i>chulos</i> of the Spanish arena, though their functions could +hardly be the same; and there were many openings in the walls through which +they could escape, instead of leaping over the fence, as the bull-fighters +do. Some of them were armed with lances, and others with a stick with +fireworks at the end. +<p align=justify> +The Guicowar entered the spectators' apartment, which was already well +filled with nobles and the foreigners. He was dressed in white linen, with +an elegant cap on his head. He had a fine athletic form, and wore a short +beard. He was not inclined to take the special arm-chair assigned to him, +but walked about, speaking to his guests, not omitting the boys, to whom he +appeared to have taken a fancy. +<p align=justify> +His Highness gave a signal, at which the mahouts took their places on the +necks of the big beasts, and the chains which secured the combatants were +cast off. The monsters roared, and, with their trunks elevated, advanced to +the affray. They increased their speed as they came nearer to each other. +They rushed together, as Scott expressed it, "head on," and the strangers +seemed to feel the shock through their nerves. It was so violent the beasts +dropped upon their knees forward. +<p align=justify> +Then they began to twist their trunks together, and buck with their tusks. +For some minutes the giants wrestled together, but the combat proved to be +of brief duration. The party could see that one of them was getting the +worst of it, and was inclined to "hedge." In fact, he had had enough of it; +but he was too wise to abandon his tactics when it was time for him to +retreat. Mustering all his power, he made a desperate effort, and succeeded +in forcing the other back enough to turn his huge body without exposing his +flank to the tusks of the enemy, and then beat a hasty retreat. +<p align=justify> +The vanquished brute was removed from the arena, and the victor remained +alone on the field he had won; but he had only come to the beginning of his +troubles, for there was a second act to the affair. The men, who were armed +with whips, fireworks, red cloths, and other instruments of torment, +assailed him. They pricked him with the javelins, shook the red banners in +his face, and fizzed the pyrotechnics before his eyes. They tormented the +poor creature till he was furious. He had no adequate weapon for this +unequal and unfair warfare. +<p align=justify> +He chased one assailant and then another, being as often turned aside from +his intended victims by the thorning of the other tormentors. As he became +a little more accustomed to the game, he ceased to be diverted from his +victim and confined his attention to only one. The red banners, the blows +from the whips, and the fizzing of the powder, did not affect him. He +pursued his victim till the man was glad to save himself by dodging through +one of the narrow doors in the wall, where the monster could not follow +him. He butted against the wall, and then pounded the earth with his feet +in the fury of his wrath. +<p align=justify> +If the man had far to run he would inevitably be lost; for the elephant, +clumsy as he appears to be, develops great speed of foot when he is +excited. An incident was related by one of the nobles to Captain Ringgold +as the runner disappeared within the door. A young man who was very swift +of foot was closely pursued by the elephant, and had reached the door, when +he was seized by the arm, tossed in the air, and came down heavily on the +ground. The foot of the infuriate beast was raised to crush his skull, when +another man flashed a Bengal light in his face, with the flame almost in +his eyes, and the giant bellowed and fled. +<p align=justify> +At the blast of a bugle all the men in the ring suddenly deserted it. The +elephant looked about him for any new assailant, and was immediately +provided with one. A door flew open, and a fine looking fellow, mounted on +a magnificent horse, dashed into the arena. After the manner of the +<i>matador</i> in a bull-fight, he conducted his steed, prancing in his +pride, up to the arch at which the Guicowar stood, and saluted him with the +grace of a knight-errant whose head was full of ladies. +<p align=justify> +The elephant is said to have an especial aversion to a horse; and the +tormented beast in the ring at once manifested the prejudice of his race, +for he made a dart for him. The horse did not flinch, but stood still till +the giant was almost upon him. Then, at the command of his master, he +wheeled, and the rider gave the big beast a smart punch with his lance. For +a few minutes there was a lively skirmish between them, the horseman +pricking him on the trunk or the flanks, and the rage of the elephant was +at its highest pitch. +<p align=justify> +The fleetness of the horse and the skill of his rider kept the latter out +of harm's way till the elephant seemed to be exhausted. The Americans +thought he had done enough for one day, and the horseman retired. The great +beast which had borne the brunt of three combats was allowed to cool off, +and then his mahout conducted him to the rest he had bravely won. The +nobles in attendance were sufficiently civilized to indulge in betting, and +wagers had been made on the various fights in progress. Mr. Woolridge, who +was a reformed sportsman, may have been tempted; but he did not feel at +home in this kind of sporting, and he did not break through any of his good +resolutions. +<p align=justify> +After the elephant had been removed, there was no little excitement among +the assemblage in the veranda, and the betting seemed to be livelier than +ever. A dozen officers armed with rifles and lances were stationed about +the walls of the arena; and then an iron-bound cage was drawn into the +enclosure, which contained a monstrous tiger. The guests wondered if this +fierce brute was to be loosed in the arena, and they examined with interest +into the safety of the situation. A number of rifles were brought into the +veranda, with which the Guicowar and his native guests armed themselves. +<p align=justify> +"What does this mean, Sir Modava?" asked Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"The next battle will be a noble one, and immense wagers are depending upon +the result," replied the Hindu gentleman. +<p align=justify> +"Is that big tiger to fight the crowd here assembled?" +<p align=justify> +"Not at all; but it is such a battle as has never been fought here, if +anywhere. His Highness had long desired to see a bull-fight, and he +imported four of the finest Spanish bulls his agent could find. The +<i>toreadors</i> came with them; but they all refused to fight in this +arena, which they declared was not adapted to the purpose, and they went +home. Three of the bulls died of disease, and only one was left. A +discussion arose as to whether he was a match for a tiger. This battle is +to settle the question; and the bets are mostly in favor of the tiger, +though the Guicowar, with a few others, places his stake on the bull," Sir +Modava explained. +<p align=justify> +The tiger was released from the cage at a signal from the king. He leaped +from the cage, and seemed to be astonished at the sight of so many people. +Three officers took possession of the brute's prison, armed with rifles to +shoot him if he killed the bull. No person was in the ring, or within reach +of the savage animal. The door by which the horseman had entered was thrown +wide open, and the bovine, vexed to the highest degree of wrath, came into +the arena with a bounding run. +<p align=justify> +The tiger had advanced quietly to the centre of it, though with the royal +mien of the "king of beasts," as he was here, his eyes like a couple of +coals of fire. He caught sight of the bull as soon as he appeared, for he +had doubtless killed many a bullock in the jungle. He planted himself on +the ground in readiness for a spring. His present enemy saw him at the same +instant; but he did not halt, or show any signs of fear. +<p align=center> +<a name="page263"></a> + +<img src="images/page263.png" border=0 alt=""The striped beast went +up into the air."--Page 263."> + +<center><i>"The striped beast went +up into the air."--Page 263.</i></center> + +<p align=justify> +The bull crouched his head, increased his speed, and bounded on the tiger. +At that moment the striped beast went up into the air so quickly that the +audience could hardly see how it was done. His horned foe showed that he +had not wholly escaped, for his head was covered with blood. But the tiger +was not yet defeated. He sprang to his feet, and darted furiously at his +enemy. He fastened with claws and teeth upon the neck of the bull, and the +king believed that his wager was lost. +<p align=justify> +But the Spaniard shook him off, and turned upon him again, tossing him +higher in the air than before. He came down badly disabled; and the bull, +as though it was the finest sport in the world for him, gored him with his +long horns till the life was gone out of him. The Spaniard was the victor. +The people shouted themselves hoarse; but their cries were in honor of the +Guicowar, and not the bull. The victor had lost a great deal of blood from +a bad wound in the neck, and it was a question whether or not he would die; +but he did not; he recovered, and before the tourists left India Sir Modava +learned that he had been killed in a battle with a smaller tiger than the +first. +<p align=justify> +Though the guests said but little about it, most of them were disgusted +with these spectacles, and considered them cruel and brutal. They remained +their week at Baroda. Those who desired to do so were taken to a hunt one +day with a cheetah, in which this animal killed deer and other animals; and +on another, on elephants, for tigers. Two tigers were killed, and Louis +Belgrave had the honor of shooting one of them. Felix brought down a couple +of cobras; and killing them seemed to be his forte. Khayrat invited the +party to witness a battle between his mongoose and a couple of cobras his +hunters had caught; and he killed them both, one at a time. +<p align=justify> +They all declined to attend a fight between a couple of coolies, with horn +spikes attached to their hands, for this was worse than a prize-fight. But +there was no end of amusements that were not brutal, and they enjoyed +themselves abundantly to the end of their stay. They visited the temples +and the palaces of the nobles, where they were received with the utmost +attention. Captain Sharp and his wife declared this was the red-letter week +of their lives; but the commander of the Blanche insisted that he must take +his ship around to Calcutta, and left by train for Bombay the day before +the company departed. +<p align=justify> +The Guicowar resorted to various expedients to retain his guests, with whom +he was evidently sincerely pleased; but the commander was inflexible. It +was not possible to see a tithe of India, and he felt obliged to leave at +the expiration of the time he had fixed for the visit, and he begged Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava not to place them in any more courts, or they would +never get out of India. The train was prepared for their departure, and, in +addition to the compartment cars in which they were to pass most of their +time, a carriage was fitted up, so that all of them could assemble in it; +in fact, it was a conference hall on wheels. + + + + +<a name="XXVIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXVIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB</h4> + +<p align=justify> +An early breakfast was provided for the travellers, and at this repast the +farewells were spoken. Speeches were made by all the principal persons of +the party of Americans, and by the Moroccan magnate, expressive of the very +great enjoyment of the visit, and in praise of the liberality of the kingly +host's hospitality. Captain Ringgold returned his thanks quite eloquently. +<p align=justify> +The Guicowar again enlarged upon the service the commander had rendered to +India in saving the lives of two of his best friends, who had also been the +friends of his country, and his only regret was that the Americans could +not remain longer. Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava could not in a lifetime +discharge their obligations to their friends who had entertained them like +princes on board of the Guardian-Mother. +<p align=justify> +The ladies did not make speeches; but they expressed their gratitude to his +Highness in a less prominent manner for the kindness extended to them, and +at the close of the entertainment Miss Blanche advanced to the king, and +presented to him a package containing the photographs of the whole company, +and that of General Noury, each with the autograph upon it. +<p align=justify> +"I am very sorry that our party are unable to present to your Highness a +gift in keeping with the magnificence of the hospitality extended to us," +said the beautiful young lady; "but this package contains the photograph of +every member of our company, and we beg that you will accept them as the +only tribute of our gratitude for your kindness which is available to us at +this distance from our homes. We leave behind us our best wishes for the +prosperity, health, and happiness of your Highness." +<p align=justify> +The Guicowar declared that he should value the gift more than all the gold +and gems that could have been gathered together, and he should always +remember with delight the fairy who had presented them to him, and it would +afford him the greatest pleasure to look in the future upon the faces of +those whose presence at the palace he had so greatly enjoyed. +<p align=justify> +The actual parting was the scene of a great deal of hand-shaking, mingled +with pretty speeches. The Guicowar went with them to the station, and saw +them seated in the great carriage that had been prepared for them. The +train moved off, with handkerchiefs waving at every window, and with a +profusion of gestures on the part of the magnificent host. It required some +time to talk about the scenes at the court of the king, though all of the +party were observing the country through the windows. +<p align=justify> +It was a strange country to the Americans; and they found something to look +at all the time, though it was a wild and rugged region for the first two +hours, with only a single town that was noticeable in that time. As they +were passing out of Baroda, the viscount called their attention to a +building at some distance from the road, and called it a "travellers' +bungalow." It was a very comfortable house, where tourists may find hotel +accommodations, though they are hardly hotels. They are provided by the +government, and are to be found in all the travelled regions of India. They +are sometimes free for the rooms, but the guest pays at a very low rate for +his food. +<p align=justify> +"We are coming now to Ahmedabad, which is in Gujrat, or Goozerat, for you +take your choice in regard to many of these Indian names; and this city is +its chief town, and the second in the province of Bombay. It was formerly +one of the largest and most magnificent cities of the East, as the ruins +still indicate. It contains several elegant mosques, but the town has not +more than a seventh part of its former population of nine hundred +thousand," said Sir Modava, as he opened a travelling-bag, and took from it +a large bundle of photographs. +<p align=justify> +"Oodeypore is the capital of a Rajputana state; and its palace is said to +be the largest and most magnificent in India, though the town has a +population of less than forty thousand. The maharajah entertained the +Prince of Wales in it when he made his progress through the country. It is +built in the mountains, and it would be a troublesome journey for us to +reach it. The next city of any importance to which we shall come is +Jeypore, and we shall dine there." +<p align=justify> +When the train stopped for water a lunch was sent to the compartments, to +which all the passengers now retired for the rest of the day. At Jeypore +dinner was served, good enough, though not elaborate. At the table Sir +Modava passed around some photographs of the place, including the palace of +the Maharajah, the Golden Kiosk, and the temples of the valley of Ambir. It +was impossible to visit all the wonderful structures on the road without +spending at least a year in the country; and a dozen volumes would hardly +contain the description of them. The palace at Jeypore is half a mile long, +and contains one seventh of the area of the town. +<p align=justify> +Though the railroad passed within fifty miles of Delhi, the train sped on +its way to the north all night and nearly the whole of the next day, +arriving at Lahore at five in the afternoon. No towns of any considerable +importance were passed during this long stretch of 540 miles. Though Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava, with their friends, were invited to the residence +of the lieutenant-governor, the party went to the Victoria Hotel, for the +viscount thought it would be an imposition to quarter them on the chief +authority, being eighteen in number. +<p align=justify> +"We are now in the Punjab, the north-western corner of India," said the +Hindu gentleman, when they were seated in the parlor of the hotel. "It is +watered by the Indus and five of its branches, on one of which, the Ravi, +Lahore is situated. Punjab means five rivers. It has a population of more +than twenty-five million; and, General Noury, it has more Mohammedans than +the whole of Morocco. I will not give you any more statistics, for I fear +you would not remember them." +<p align=justify> +"Thank you, Sir Modava," added Mr. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"The manufactures of silk, cotton, and metals are very important; for the +soil is not very fertile, though cotton, rice, sugar, indigo, and all kinds +of grains and fruits, are raised. Lahore is the capital of the Punjab, and +has a population of a hundred and seventy-seven thousand, though it once +contained a million. At this point we are near the Himalaya Mountains. +About a hundred and fifty miles east of Lahore is Simla, nearly eight +thousand feet above the sea. This is a noted sanitarium; and in the hot +season it is the resort of thousands of people, including the highest +officers of the army and the government." +<p align=justify> +"Is this as near the Himalayas as we are to go?" asked Scott. +<p align=justify> +"About as near, though at Patna you will be about one hundred and fifty +miles from Mount Everest, the highest peak on the earth." +<p align=justify> +"I should like to go there," added Scott. +<p align=justify> +"You couldn't climb it; and what good would it do you? I could mention a +hundred places in India I should like to visit; but it is not practicable +to do so," added the commander. "We can only take along with us a few +specimens of the wonderful country, and make the best of them." +<p align=justify> +After dinner the party divided up according to their own fancy, and went +out to walk, though some were too tired to do so. Louis invited Miss +Blanche to go with him; and she was always glad to be in his company, +especially as Sir Modava was to be his companion. The first sight they saw +in the street was a regiment of Punjab sepoys, a well-drilled body of men, +not very different from the soldiers they had seen in other countries. +<p align=justify> +They wore frock-coats, buttoned tight to the throat, and a sort of turban +on the head. Their faces were swarthy, but none of them wore full beards. +There were plenty of street sights after the regiment had passed. The +different kinds of vehicles attracted their attention first. In a kind of +gig drawn by a horse, two men and two women were crowded together. The +driver seemed to be seated behind, and one of the women was on the floor in +front of the two who were seated. By the side of the man on the seat was a +girl of sixteen or eighteen, and she was very pretty. +<p align=justify> +In a two-wheeled cart drawn by a humped bullock were a couple of Hindu +ladies, under a canopy supported by four poles. Then came a camel bearing +two bearded men on his back. Two or three palanquins were seen; but they +were an old story, and they turned their attention to the architecture of +the houses that lined the street. There was an abundance of what we call +bay-windows, and ornamented balconies. There was a great deal of variety in +the construction of these appendages of the houses; and all of them were +occupied by ladies, who wore no veils over their faces, though most of them +were doubtless Mohammedans, and the yashmak had evidently gone out of +fashion. +<p align=justify> +"There is the dak-bungalow," said the Hindu gentleman as they passed a +building of considerable size. +<p align=justify> +"What is a dak-bungalow?" asked Louis. +<p align=justify> +"It is one which answers the purpose of a hotel. I pointed one out to you +at Baroda. Sometimes they are free so far as the rooms are concerned; but +here the guest pays two rupees a day, or fifty cents of your money, and the +food is furnished at a low price." +<p align=justify> +"But this is not half so much of a place as I expected to find," said +Louis, after they had walked an hour, and it was time to return to the +hotel. +<p align=justify> +"It is a place of considerable importance, though there are not so many +temples, mosques, tombs, and other fine structures, as in many other cities +of India; and I wondered that the commander had placed it in his list of +places to be visited. Jeypore and Oodeypore would have been far more +interesting to your party," replied Sir Modava. "Yet you will see some of +the finest structures in the country before you reach Calcutta." +<p align=justify> +The company returned to the hotel at an early hour, and all of them were +tired enough to retire at once. But they were up at six in the morning, and +the four boys went out to explore the city by themselves for a couple of +hours. Even at this early hour the ladies, old and young, were in the +balconies, and they were much occupied in observing the latter. Though the +yashmak, or veil, was not often used to cover the face, it appeared to have +been only thrown back upon the head. +<p align=justify> +After breakfast carriages were at the door to convey the party to the more +interesting sights of the city. At the request of Lord Tremlyn, they were +driven first to the office of the lieutenant-governor, to whom they were +presented. The government buildings are in Lawrence Hall Gardens, where +there is also a memorial building in honor of Lord John Lawrence, the first +lieutenant-governor, who won his distinction in subduing and ruling over +the Punjab. +<p align=justify> +They were next conveyed to the mosque of Jehanghir, built of red stone, and +so much like a score of other mosques that they were not much interested in +the building. The mosque of Vazir Khan pleased them more; for it was a +beautiful edifice, though crumbling before the ravages of time. But even +here they were more pleased on observing the loafers around the entrance +and in the court in front of it. An old bald-headed Hindu, with a beard as +white as snow, was a study to the boys; and perhaps it was fortunate that +the subject of their remarks did not understand English, or there might +have been another war in the Punjab. +<p align=justify> +The cook-shops in the street were instructive to them, and they watched the +customers with interest; but, as they had attempted to eat in a Turkish +restaurant in Constantinople, they were content with looking on. The +minarets of the Vazir Khan pleased all the party, for they were certainly +very beautiful. They went to the Golden Temple of Amritsar in the +afternoon, and were impressed with the beauty of its surroundings. +<p align=justify> +Lahore was rather a disappointment to the tourists, though it would not +have been if they had not spent some days in Bombay before visiting it. The +train in which they had come from Baroda was to be used by them as far as +Calcutta, and they were ready to leave that night. The journey was by a +different route from that by which they had come, and through a more +densely populated region. It was a bright moonlight night when the train +passed out of the capital of the Punjab. +<p align=justify> +They had gathered in what they had come to call the Conference Hall +compartment; and as they looked out into the light of the evening they +believed they could see some of the peaks of the Himalayas, though Lord +Tremlyn doubted it. Possibly they saw some of the peaks, for Mount Nauda +Devi was within a hundred miles of the point on the railroad where they +would be in the morning; and this is more than twenty-five thousand feet +high. Mont Blanc is seen in very clear weather at the distance of a hundred +miles, and it is about eight thousand feet less in height. +<p align=justify> +They were awake very early in the morning, and they certainly saw some high +mountains in the distance, but could not identify them by name. At eight +o'clock the train rolled into the station at Delhi, perhaps the most +wonderful city of India. + + + + +<a name="XXIX"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXIX</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI</h4> + +<p align=justify> +The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made were +wealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in other +cities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had several +invitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British and +Hindu persons of distinction. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though the +entire company of tourists were included in those of both the general and +the distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of the +party. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independent +one. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitality +of private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an imposition +to him. +<p align=justify> +The viscount and his Hindu companion were equally sensitive on this point; +and it was proposed by Sir Modava to divide the guests among those who had +not only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers. +The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it was +decided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by the +commander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was no +suitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though a +hotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were all +for the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner. +<p align=justify> +A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to the +dak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments were +not elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at the +absence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palace +of the Guicowar, or even those of Bombay. A good breakfast was obtained, +and the forenoon was given up to rest; but after a couple of hours in their +chambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room. +<p align=justify> +"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said Lord +Tremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen or +twenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of the +great Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronology +of India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to +3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present time +among the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed while +Egypt was still in its infancy. +<p align=justify> +"It became the great Mussulman capital; but one and another of its princes +changed its location, till its ancient sites extend for thirty miles along +the river, and its ruins, more extensive than even those of Rome, cover +this range of territory. But I shall not go into the details of those +migratory periods, but speak only of the city as we find it. +<p align=justify> +"Delhi is on the Jumna River, which you saw in the early morning. This +stream has its entire course in Hindustan, and is the principal tributary +of the Ganges. Both of these rivers are sacred with the natives. The Jumna +rises in the Himalayas, at a height of nearly eleven thousand feet, and of +course it is a mountain torrent at its upper waters. After a run of eight +hundred and sixty miles, it falls into the Ganges about three miles below +Allahabad. On each side of it is an important canal, both built before +railways were in use here. +<p align=justify> +"Delhi is nine hundred and fifty-four miles northwest of Calcutta. It +stands on high ground, is walled on three sides, and has ten gates. A +series of buildings formerly composing the grand palace of Shah Jehan have +become the fort, overlooking the river, with a fine view of the surrounding +country, covered with woods and agricultural grounds. You will see the +palaces, mosques, and temples, and I will not describe them. Delhi is the +seventh city in population, which is a hundred and ninety-three thousand." +<p align=justify> +After luncheon half a dozen landaus were at the door of the bungalow, in +which the party seated themselves according to their own choice; and the +first stop was made at the Jummah Musjid Mosque, which the Mussulmans of +India venerate and admire more than any other. It is built on an immense +esplanade, which is mounted by three flights of stairs, each in the form of +the three sides of a pyramid, and each leading to an immense pointed arch, +the entrances to the buildings. +<p align=justify> +Before the party entered a carriage arrived, from which General Noury and +another person alighted. The Moroccan had accepted the invitation of a +Delhi Mussulman to be his guest, and this gentleman had begun to show him +the sights of the city. The general presented him to the members of the +party as Abbas-Meerza. Evidently in honor of his host the Moroccan had put +on his Oriental dress, which was certainly a very picturesque costume, +though it called up unpleasant memories in the minds of the commander and +the Woolridges. +<p align=justify> +Abbas-Meerza was evidently a Persian, or the son of one; for he was clothed +in the full costume of that country. He wore a rich robe, reaching to his +ankles, with a broad silk belt around his waist. His cap, of equally costly +material, was a tall cylinder, with the top slanting down to the left side, +as though it had been cut off. He spoke English as fluently as the general. +He invited the party to step to a certain point, and view the mosque as a +whole. +<p align=justify> +The wall of the esplanade was a continued series of pointed arches, with a +handsome frieze above it. On the elevated platform was a colonnade of the +same arches on each side, with a pillared tower at each corner, interrupted +only at the grand entrances. It looked as though one might walk entirely +around the vast structure in the shade of this colonnade. +<p align=justify> +Within the enclosure could be seen three domes, the one in the centre +overtopping the other two, two lofty minarets, with small domes at the +summit, supported by several columns, and an immense pointed arch leading +into the great mosque. The whole edifice is built of red sandstone. The +visitors mounted one of the staircases, and entered a court paved with +marble tiles. They walked around the esplanade under the arches of the +colonnade, or cloisters as some call them, and finally entered the mosque +itself. The interior was very simple in its style, but very beautiful. The +roof, pavement, pillars, and walls were of white marble, ornamented with +carvings in the stone. Slabs of black marble presented sentences to the +praise of God, and in memory of Shah Jehan, who was the founder of the +mosque. +<p align=justify> +"Formerly no person not a Mussulman was permitted to enter this mosque," +said Sir Modava, while the general and his host were engaged in their +devotions; "but for more than thirty years it has been open to all. From +the top of one of the minarets a very fine view of the surrounding country +can be obtained; but the ascent is by a very narrow flight of circular +stairs, two hundred in number. He advised Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses not to +attempt it." +<p align=justify> +A venerable mollah was found, who put half a dozen of the party in the way +of going up; and they reported the view as worth the labor and fatigue. The +aged priest then proposed to show them the relics of the mosque; and a fee +was paid to him, and to the man who unlocked a door for their admission. +The mollah produced a small golden box, from which he took a silver case. +Muttering the name of Allah very solemnly all the time, he unscrewed the +top of the receptacle, and took from it a single hair, about six inches +long, red and stiff, and fixed in a silver tube. +<p align=justify> +"The beard of the holy Prophet!" he announced, with a reverent inclination +of his head; and the two Mussulmans of the party followed his example. +<p align=justify> +"According to the tradition, this hair really came from the beard of +Mohammed," said Sir Modava. "I believe it, because I have inquired into its +history. It is the glory of this mosque and of Delhi, for only three others +exist in the world. You need not believe it is genuine if you prefer not to +do so." +<p align=justify> +They were also permitted to gaze at one of Mohammed's old shoes, a belt, +and some of the clothing of the Prophet. A number of dusty ancient +manuscripts were exhibited, copies of the Koran, one in fine characters, +said to have been dictated by Mohammed himself. The party returned to the +carriages, filled with admiration of the magnificent structure they had +visited, and were driven to the palace of the emperors, now turned into the +fort. +<p align=justify> +They left the landaus at a point selected by Abbas-Meerza, from which an +excellent view of the ancient structures could be obtained. It was a +magnificent building, whose dimensions the Americans could hardly take in. +The most prominent features from the point of observation were a couple of +octagonal towers, very richly ornamented, with several small domes at the +summit, supported on handsome columns. +<p align=justify> +The party entered at the principal gate, and came to the guard-house, which +was filled with British soldiers wearing straw helmets and short white +coats. A soldier offered his services as a guide, and they were accepted. +He gave the Hindu names of the apartments. The Dewani-Am was the hall of +audiences, from which they passed to the Dewani-Khas, the throne-room, both +of which recalled the Alhambra, which they had visited a few months before. +The pillars, arches, and ornaments were similar, though not the same. +<p align=justify> +The tourists wandered through the pavilion, the emperor's rooms in the +palace, the bath, and numerous apartments. But in transforming this +magnificent palace of the emperors into barracks, much of the original +beauty had been spoiled; the lapse of years had made great rents in the +walls, and the visitor was compelled to exercise his imagination to some +extent in filling up what it had been centuries before. +<p align=justify> +Abbas-Meerza was a very companionable person, and made the acquaintance of +every one in the company. He then invited them all to dine with him that +day, as he had evidently intended to do in the morning, for the dinner was +all ready when they arrived at his palace. He was a magnate of the first +order, and his apartments were quite as sumptuous as those of the Guicowar +of Baroda. The dinner was somewhat Oriental, but it was as elegant as it +was substantial. +<p align=justify> +The noble host apparently wished to show the Americans what the Mussulmans +of India could do, and he crowned his magnificent hospitality by inviting +the entire company to install themselves in his mansion, which was large +enough for a palace; but for the reasons already set forth, the invitation +was gratefully declined. The next morning the travellers visited the Mosque +of Pearls, where the ancient emperors came to perform their devotions. The +interior is of carved ivory. +<p align=justify> +From this little gem of a church the company were driven to the Chandi +Chowk, which is a boulevard, planted with trees and lined with elegant +buildings. The stores of the principal merchants of Delhi were here, and +most of them were on the plan of an Oriental bazaar. The little square +shops challenged the attention of the party, and most of them alighted to +examine the rich goods displayed. +<p align=justify> +In the course of the ride they passed the Black Mosque, the only building +in the city dating farther back than the reign of Shah Jehan. They found +the bungalow surrounded and partly filled, on their return, by venders of +relics, curiosities, and other wares, anxious to find customers for their +goods. But they were not very fortunate in the enterprise, and finally they +were all driven away by an officer. +<p align=justify> +In the afternoon they drove out on the plains of Delhi, among the ruins of +palaces, tombs, and temples. They stopped at another black mosque, near +which was a handsome pavilion, which had been the library of the emperors. +<p align=justify> +"One of these emperors was Houmayoun, who recovered the throne after a long +banishment. He lost his life in consequence of a fall from the top of a +ladder he had mounted to obtain a book," said Sir Modava. "He was the real +founder of the Great Mogul dynasty. His mausoleum, to which we will go +next, is one of the noblest monuments on this plain;" and the carriages +proceeded to it. +<p align=justify> +It is a mass of white marble and red sandstone. It has a fine dome, around +which cluster several smaller structures, such as we should call cupolas in +America or England. Under the great dome in the building is a plain +tombstone, beneath which are the remains of the first of the Mogul +emperors. The mausoleum is placed on an esplanade, like the great mosque in +the city. The sides present a vast display of pointed arches, and its shape +on the ground is quite irregular. The party were driven to the tower of +Koutub, a Mussulman conqueror, who commemorated his victory by building +this triumphal column, which is two hundred and twenty-seven feet high. It +consists of five stories, becoming smaller as they ascend. The remains of +his mosque were visited, the columns of which look like enlarged jewellery, +elaborately worked into fantastic forms. By its side is an iron column with +contradictory stories about its origin. The tourists visited other mosques +and tombs, which reminded them of the tombs of the Mamelukes. +<p align=justify> +For two days longer they looked about Delhi; and Lord Tremlyn pointed out +to them the scenes of the massacre, which he had described on board of the +Guardian-Mother. On the train by which they had come they proceeded to +Agra. + + + + +<a name="XXX"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXX</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +Several hotels were available on the arrival of the travellers at Agra, and +they were domiciled at Lawrie's. The journey was made in an afternoon, and +was through a densely populated territory, so that the trip was very +enjoyable. After dinner the party assembled in a parlor provided for their +use; and Lord Tremlyn gave a talk, for he objected to the formality of a +lecture. He seated himself in an easy-chair, and took from his pocket a +little book, to which he occasionally referred. +<p align=justify> +"Agra, on the whole, is the handsomest city of Upper India, though of +course there may be some difference of opinion in this matter," he began. +"It is eight hundred and forty-one miles north-west of Calcutta, and one +hundred and forty south-east of Delhi. Like Delhi, it is on the Jumna, +which is here crossed by a floating bridge. One of the most prominent +buildings is the fortress of Akbar, and you must know something of this +sovereign in order to understand Agra. +<p align=justify> +"He was known as Akbar the Great, the Mogul emperor of India, and the +greatest Asiatic monarch of modern times. He was the son of Houmayoun, +whose mausoleum you visited at Delhi. The father was robbed of his throne, +and retreated to Persia; and it was on the way there that Akbar was born, +in 1542. After an exile of twelve years, Houmayoun recovered his throne, +but lost his life within a year after his return. The government was +committed to the care of a regent, who became a tyrant; and the young +prince took possession of it himself at the age of eighteen. +<p align=justify> +"At this time only a few provinces were subject to the rule of his father; +but in a dozen years Akbar had made himself master of all the country north +of the Vindhya Mountains, or of a line drawn from Baroda to Calcutta, +though he was not so fortunate in subduing the southern portion of the +peninsula. He was a great conqueror; yet, what is not so common with the +mighty rulers of the world, past or present, he was a wise and humane +monarch, and governed his realm with wisdom and vigor. His reign was the +most unparalleled, for his justice, energy, and progressive character, of +any in the East. In this manner he made his empire the greatest of the age +in which he lived. +<p align=justify> +"He fostered commerce by the construction of roads, by the establishment of +an excellent police system, and introduced a uniform system of weights and +measures. He looked after the administration of his viceroys in his +numerous provinces, permitted no extortion on the part of his officers, and +saw that justice was impartially meted out to all classes. He was a +Mohammedan, but he was tolerant of all the prevailing sects in religion. +<p align=justify> +"He gave the Hindus entire freedom of worship; though far in advance of his +successors, he prohibited cruel customs, such as the burning of widows, and +other barbarous practices. He founded schools and encouraged literature. He +inquired into the various forms of religion, and even sent for Portuguese +missionaries at Goa to explain the Christian faith to him. From the various +beliefs he made up a kind of eclectic religion; but it was not a success +outside of his palace. A history of his reign of fifty years was written by +his chief minister. Akbar died in 1605, and was interred in a beautiful +mausoleum, near the city. +<p align=justify> +"With the ordinary sights of India you are already somewhat familiar; and, +aside from what you may see in any city here, there is not much to interest +you, with the grand exception of the Taj, and some of the mausoleums, of +which I will say nothing, as we are now to visit them." +<p align=justify> +The company retired early, and after breakfast the next morning the +carriages were at the door. In the first one were Captain Ringgold, Mrs. +Belgrave, and Sir Modava. Lord Tremlyn had more than once manifested a +desire to be in the same carriage with Miss Blanche; and he went with her +and Louis on this occasion, while Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge invited General +Noury to accompany them. +<p align=justify> +"Akbar made Agra the capital of the Mogul Empire," said Sir Modava, as the +carriage started. "He changed its old name to Akbarabad, and the natives +call it so to this day." +<p align=justify> +"The termination of that name seems to be very common in India, as +Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad," added the commander. +<p align=justify> +"In the Hindu, <i>abad</i> means a town or a village; and if you cut off +that ending you will find the person or place for whom it was named, as +Akbar-abad." +<p align=justify> +"Precisely as it is in our country, where we have Morris-town, Allen-town, +Morgan-town, and a thousand others," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +"After the death of Akbar his successors reigned in Delhi. The Mogul Empire +came to an end in 1761; and Agra was sacked by the Jats, and later the +Mahrattas completed the destruction they had begun. It was captured from +Scindia in 1803 by the English under Lord Lake, and has since remained in +their possession. In all these disasters its population, which had been +seven hundred thousand, dropped to ten thousand; but under British rule it +recovered some of its former prosperity, and it is now about one hundred +and seventy thousand." +<p align=justify> +"If a man wants to build a house here he has only to dig for the material, +for not far down he will find the stone and brick of the structures that +crumbled into the earth after the death of the great emperor. We are now +approaching the fortress, or the citadel as it is oftener called. It is a +sort of acropolis, for it contains palaces, mosques, halls of justice, and +other buildings." +<p align=justify> +The carriages stopped at the principal gate, opposite to which is the +mosque of Jummah Musjid, or the Cathedral Mosque. About all the great +structures here are built of red sandstone, with marble bands on many of +them, so that it is hardly necessary to mention the material, unless it +varies from the rule. This mosque is a fine one, mounted on a marble +esplanade or platform, like most buildings of this description. +<p align=justify> +Crossing the drawbridge, the visitors came to the Palace of Justice, built +by Akbar. It is six hundred feet long, enclosed by a colonnade of arches, +like a cloister. It is now used as a military storeroom, divided by brick +walls, and filled with cannon and shot. The English have made a sort of +museum here; and the superior officer who did the honors to his lordship +showed them the throne of Akbar, a long marble seat, inlaid with precious +stones, with a graceful canopy of the same material over it; and the boys +thought he would have had a more comfortable seat if he had put off the +period of his reign to the present time. +<p align=justify> +The gates of Somnath, twelve feet high, were beautiful pieces of carving. +They once guarded the entrance to the temple of Krishna, in Goojerat; but +in the tenth century they were carried off by Sultan Mahmoud, of Ghuzni, in +Afghanistan. He captured Somnath, and destroyed all the idols. The Brahmins +offered him immense bribes if he would spare the statue of Krishna; but he +spurned the money, and destroyed the image with his own hands. He found +that it was hollow, and filled with jewels of great value. +<p align=justify> +When the English conquered Afghanistan, Lord Ellenborough sent the gates to +Agra; but some think they were not the gates of the temple, but of +Mahmoud's tomb, for they were made of a wood that does not grow in India, +and they are not of Hindu workmanship. From the museum the party walked to +the imperial palace of Akbar, still in an excellent state of preservation. +Some of the apartments, especially the bath-room of the monarch, made the +visitors think of the Arabian Nights. +<p align=justify> +The great black marble slab on which Akbar sat to administer justice was +pointed out. When one of the Jat chiefs seated himself upon it, the story +goes, it cracked, and blood flowed from the fracture. Lord Ellenborough +tried the experiment, and the stone broke into two pieces. The Mosque of +Pearls is a small building of white marble on a rose-colored platform. It +is considered by experts the finest piece of architecture in the fortress. +Nothing could be simpler, nothing grander. Bishop Heber visited it and +wrote this of it:-- +<p align=justify> +"This spotless sanctuary, showing such a pure spirit of adoration, made me, +a Christian, feel humbled, when I considered that no architect of our +religion had ever been able to produce anything equal to this temple of +Allah." +<p align=justify> +Following the Jumna, the carriages reached the Taj, the wonder and glory of +all India. It was built by the Emperor Shah Jehan, as a mausoleum for the +Empress Mumtazi Mahal. She was not only beautiful, but famous for mental +endowments; and the emperor had so much love and admiration for her that he +determined to erect to her memory the most beautiful monument that had ever +been constructed by any prince. It was begun in 1630, and twenty thousand +workmen were employed upon it for seventeen years. History says that one +hundred and forty thousand cartloads of pink sandstone and marble were +brought from the quarries of Rajputana; and every province of the empire +furnished precious stones to adorn it. Its cost was from ten to fifteen +millions of dollars. +<p align=justify> +The golden crescent of the Taj is two hundred and seventy feet above the +level of the river. The magnificent temple is placed in the centre of a +garden nine hundred and sixty feet long by three hundred and thirty in +width, filled with avenues flanked with cypress-trees, and planted with +flowers, on a terrace of sandstone. In the centre of this garden is a +marble platform, two hundred and eighty-five feet on all sides, and fifteen +feet high, which may be called the pedestal of the mosque. The principal +entrance to the garden is more elaborate and beautiful than the fronts of +many noted mosques, for it is adorned with towers crowned with cupolas. +<p align=justify> +Entering the enclosure, and walking along the avenue of cypress-trees, one +obtains his first view of the great dome of the Taj. It looks like about +three-fourths of a globe, capped with a slender spire. From this point, +through the trees, may be seen a forest of minarets, cupolas, towers, and +inferior domes. The mausoleum is in the form of an irregular octagon, the +longest side being one hundred and twenty feet in length. Each façade has a +lofty Saracenic arch, in which is an entrance. +<p align=justify> +The interior surpasses the exterior in magnificence, the ceiling, walls, +and tombstones being a mass of mosaics. The resting-place of the empress +and Shah Jehan is in the centre of the edifice, enclosed by a marble +screen. Some experts who have examined the building thoroughly are unable +to find any architectural faults, though perhaps others would be more +successful. The party visited several other mosques and mausoleums; but +nothing could compare with the Taj. The commander suggested that they ought +to have visited it last, as the pie or pudding comes in after the fish or +meats at Von Blonk Park. +<p align=justify> +The members of the party were unable to say enough in praise of the Taj, +and no one seems to be in danger of exaggerating its beauty and its +wonders. On their return to the hotel, they seated themselves in their +parlor, and talked till dinner-time about the mausoleum, for they had many +questions to ask of the viscount and the Hindu gentleman. +<p align=justify> +"There seemed to be two other mosques back of the mausoleum," said Mrs. +Belgrave; "we did not visit them." +<p align=justify> +"The Mohammedan traditions require that a mosque should be erected in +connection with every mortuary temple," replied Sir Modava. "Isa Mohammed, +a later emperor, built one at the western end of the terrace. It was a +beautiful building with three domes, in keeping with the Taj. But the +builder found that it gave a one-sided appearance to the view; and he +erected the one on the east end, to balance the other and restore the +proportions. Either of them is equal to the finest mosque in Cairo or +Constantinople." +<p align=justify> +"That was an expensive method of making things regular," added the +commander. "Some one spoke in Delhi of a durbar in connection with Agra. I +think it was Mr. Meerza." +<p align=justify> +General Noury laughed at this title; for it sounded funny to him, applied +to an Oriental, and the captain had forgotten the rest of the name. +<p align=justify> +"Abbas-Meerza, we call him, without any 'mister,'" he added. +<p align=justify> +"I will try to remember it," replied the commander. "But what is a durbar? +Is it something good to eat?" +<p align=justify> +"They do not eat it here, and probably it would be indigestible if they +could do so," continued Sir Modava. "A durbar is a very important event in +India, but is not eatable. It is an occasion at which the native princes +acknowledge the sovereignty of the Queen of England. In 1866 the most noted +one took place at Agra, a full description of which would require a long +time. For the first time after the establishment of the Empire of India, +the governor-general, representing the empress, received the homage of +twenty-six sovereign princes. It was an act of submission. The ceremonies +occupied many days; and kings, maharajahs, rajahs, and other princes bowed +to the throne of the sovereign. It was a tremendous occasion; and it was a +festival honored by banquets, processions, and royal gatherings. I will get +a book for you, Captain Ringgold, when we reach Calcutta, from which you +may read a full account of the affair. It grew out of an ancient Indian +custom, and many of them on a small scale have occurred." +<p align=justify> +The tourists spent another day at Agra, and, though they had not exhausted +the sights of the place, the commander decided that they could remain no +longer, and they left on the following day for Cawnpore. + + + + +<a name="XXXI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW</h4> + +<p align=justify> +Agra is on one of the great railroads from Bombay to Calcutta, though not +the most direct one; and it crosses the Jumna at this point, where a vast +bridge was in process of construction over its waters, which must now be +completed. It was but a five hours' journey to Cawnpore, and the party +arrived there in season for luncheon. +<p align=justify> +"Cawnpore is on the right bank of the Ganges, six hundred and twenty-eight +miles from Calcutta," said Lord Tremlyn, when the party were seated in the +Conference-Hall carriage, and the train was moving away from Agra. "But, so +far as viewing the wonderful buildings of India, you will have a rest at +this place; though you need not suppose it is a city of no importance, for +it has 188,712 inhabitants, and has a large trade. Here you will obtain +your first view of the Ganges, varying in width from a third of a mile to a +mile. +<p align=justify> +"The great river is one of the special objects of interest to the tourist +in coming from Bombay, for here he usually gets his first view of it. There +are important buildings here, including mosques and temples, but none to +compare with those you have already seen. The Indian Mutiny of 1857 +attracts many visitors to the place." +<p align=justify> +"I don't think I care to see any more great buildings," interposed Mrs. +Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"There are none here to see; and we shall remain here only long enough to +see the sites connected with the mutiny." +<p align=justify> +"I should like to hear the story of the mutiny over again," added the lady. +<p align=justify> +"I was able to give only a very brief and imperfect account of the +rebellion, with so great a subject as India in general on my hands, on +board of your ship, and very likely there will be occasion to repeat some +portions of it as we point out the various spots connected with it," +replied Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +The accommodations for the party were ready on their arrival, and even the +luncheon was on the table. Before they had disposed of it the landaus were +at the door. Three military officers were also in attendance, appointed to +render all the assistance to the company they needed. They were introduced +to the members of the party, and then they were driven to the fort." +<p align=justify> +"At the time of the mutiny Cawnpore contained about one thousand English +people, one half of whom were women and children," said Captain Chesly, the +principal of the officers. "The troops were provided with ill-constructed +intrenchments for their defence. I am informed that his lordship has +already given you some details of the rebellion, but as I am not aware of +the extent to which he has given them I shall probably repeat some of +them." +<p align=justify> +"The party will be glad to have them repeated," added Lord Tremlyn. "I told +them who and what Nana Sahib was." +<p align=justify> +"His first act after taking the lead in the rebellion of the sepoys was to +murder one hundred and thirty-six of our people, who were deceived by the +sympathy he had formerly manifested for them, and easily fell into his +hands. Two hundred and fifty soldiers, with as many women and children, the +latter in the military hospital, had taken refuge in the fort. As soon as +he had completed his bloody work in the massacre, Nana Sahib besieged the +feeble garrison. They defended themselves with the utmost bravery and skill +against the vast horde of natives brought against them. +<p align=justify> +"For three weeks they held out against the overwhelming force that was +thirsting for their blood. Their chief had anticipated no such resistance, +and he was impatient at the delay in finishing the butchery. He resorted to +an infamous stratagem, proposing to General Wheeler, who was in command of +the British troops, to grant him all the honors of war if he would +surrender, with boats and abundant provisions to enable him and all his +people to reach Allahabad. +<p align=justify> +"The proposition was received with considerable distrust by the besieged; +but Nana swore before the general that he would faithfully observe all the +terms of the capitulation, and it was finally accepted. The garrison +marched out with their arms and baggage, and passed through the hordes of +the besiegers to the river. The wounded, with the women and children, were +sent to the Ganges on elephants. Now, if you take your seats in the +carriages, we will proceed to the scene of the massacre." +<p align=justify> +The company were conveyed to a Hindu temple on the shore, where the suttee +had formerly been performed, and which was provided with a broad staircase +leading down to the water. The place had a funereal aspect, to which the +terrible tragedy lent an additional melancholy. +<p align=justify> +"The treacherous commander of the rebels had provided about twenty boats of +all sizes, and supplied them with provisions, in order to complete the +deception," continued Captain Chesly when the party had alighted. "The +boats were cast loose to the current, and the hungry people rushed to the +eatables. But the flotilla was hardly clear of the shore before a battery +of guns, masked from their view, opened a most destructive fire upon them +with grape and solid shot, mostly the former. +<p align=justify> +"The smaller boats sank, and others were set on fire. The cavalry of the +enemy waded into the river, and sabred those who attempted to escape by +swimming. In the largest boat was General Wheeler; and, by desperate +rowing, it succeeded in getting away from the slaughter. Unhappily it got +aground, and all on board of it were captured. +<p align=justify> +"Nana ordered that not a man should be saved, and all were murdered in cold +blood. The various accounts differ considerably; but all the men were +killed but four, two captains and two privates, who escaped by swimming +down the river, and were protected by a rajah, who was afterwards pensioned +for this service." +<p align=justify> +"After the massacre of all the men, there remained one hundred and +twenty-five women and children captured from the boats, who were confined +in the town-house of the detested Nana, where they were fed upon the +poorest food and subjected to many indignities. They were heroic women, and +preferred death to any other fate at the hands of their miscreant captors. +They were kept in confinement about three weeks, when it was whispered +among them that deliverance was at hand. Sir Henry Havelock was marching +from Allahabad to the relief of the garrison, and when he was within two +days' march Nana went out to meet him and give battle to him. He was +defeated and driven back to Cawnpore." +<p align=justify> +"Smarting under this defeat, and stimulated to revenge for it, Nana at once +ordered the massacre of the helpless prisoners on his return. This order +was executed with all the atrocity incident to the character of the +savages, and the bodies of the victims were thrown into a well near their +prison. Now, if you please, we will drive to the memorials of this dreadful +butchery." +<p align=justify> +A memorial church now indicates the site of General Wheeler's +intrenchments, which the party visited first. The scene of the massacre is +now a memorial garden, in charge of an old soldier, who was one of the four +who escaped. The place of the well into which the bodies of the women and +children were thrown is marked by a beautiful marble statue of an angel +standing by a lofty cross. It is surrounded by a Gothic fence, with lofty +towers in the same style. The party looked upon these mementoes of the +terrible events with mournful interest, and had hardly recovered their +usual cheerfulness when they reached the hotel. The guides were invited to +dine with them, and the evening was more cheerful than the afternoon had +been. +<p align=justify> +Part of the forenoon of the next day was given to a ride along the Ganges, +which was crowded with boats of all kinds, from the boat with a cabin +covered with a thatched roof to steamboats of considerable size. They found +an abundance of temples on the shores of the sacred stream, and a beautiful +<i>ghat</i> or staircase to the water, which excited their admiration. +<p align=justify> +"We are now going to Lucknow this afternoon; but it is only forty-five +miles," said Sir Modava. "If you prefer to do so, we can return to +Cawnpore, and go down the river on one of those fine steamers to Calcutta, +a thousand miles from here by the river." +<p align=justify> +"Or you could go to Benares, our next stopping-place on the river," +suggested the viscount. +<p align=justify> +But it would take too much time, and Captain Ringgold objected; for he had +already marked Allahabad out of the route. Early in the afternoon the +tourists were again seated in the conference carriage. The station at +Cawnpore excited their attention, for it is five hundred and sixty feet +long. A bridge of boats sixteen hundred yards in length was an affair not +seen in their own country. +<p align=justify> +"We are now in the province of Oude, a word of various orthography," said +Lord Tremlyn, after they lost sight of the city from which they started. +<p align=justify> +"Oude!" exclaimed Miss Blanche. "Where did I see that name?" +<p align=justify> +"In Paris," replied Louis. "We saw the tomb of the Queen of Oude in +Père-la-Chaise." +<p align=justify> +"I will tell you about her presently," continued Lord Tremlyn. "There was a +great deal of corruption in the government of the kingdom under the native +king. The people were robbed of vast sums in the guise of taxes, the police +was miserably inefficient, and it was not a safe region for the traveller. +The East India Company drew up a treaty with the king, transferring to the +corporation the government, but providing liberally for the ruler and his +family." +<p align=justify> +"The king refused to sign this treaty; the East India Company had been +superseded, and the governor-general deposed the king. No compromise could +be effected, though many believed the king had been unjustly treated. He +removed to Calcutta; but his queen, with her son and brother, went to +England, and endeavored to obtain redress for the real or supposed wrongs +of the family, but without success. The queen then went to Paris, and died +there in 1858. +<p align=justify> +"The people of Oude never submitted to the new government; and in the +Mutiny of 1857, not only the sepoys but the people rebelled. The +insurrectionists concentrated at Lucknow, the capital, and captured some of +the forts, as has been related to you. This city has now a population of +two hundred and seventy-three thousand, which makes it the fifth city in +size in India. It is regarded as a very attractive place. The streets are +wide, and the buildings are well-constructed, with the wooden balconies you +see all over India, and the shops and bazaars may entice the ladies to make +purchases. It has a fine park. +<p align=justify> +"The kings of Oude were ambitious to outshine the glories of Delhi, and, to +a considerable extent, they succeeded; but the architecture is fantastic +rather than grand and beautiful, and experts are inclined to laugh at it. +But our friend Professor Giroud has something to say, and I subside to make +room for him. +<p align=justify> +"I wish to tell the story of a Frenchman, which I think will interest the +party," said the professor. "Claude Martine was a Breton soldier who went +with his regiment to Pondicherry, the principal French settlement in India, +which has been tossed back and forth between the English, Dutch, and French +like a shuttlecock, but has been in possession of my country since 1816. He +attained the grade of corporal; but this elevated rank did not satisfy him, +and he left for the interior. +<p align=justify> +"Finally, after a thousand adventures, which he never wrote out, he arrived +at the court of Oude, where, by some means, he obtained a captaincy in the +royal army, and, what was better, the favor of the king. In 1780 he was +commander-in-chief of the native army. But his enterprise did not end here; +for he was the king's trusted favorite, and of course he became a +millionaire, even though there were no railroad shares in being at that +period. +<p align=justify> +"He brought with him some crude notions of architecture, and he set about +reforming that of India. He was not a success in this capacity; and, as my +lord says, his work is ridiculed by men of taste. But this appears to have +been his only sin; for he used the money he had accumulated in establishing +schools, now known under the name of La Martinière, in which thousands of +children are educated. As a Frenchman I do not feel at all ashamed of +Claude Martine." +<p align=justify> +"You need not, Professor," added the viscount. "But here we are at the +Lucknow station." +<p align=justify> +As usual, by the kindness of Lord Tremlyn, everything had been provided for +the arrival of the company of tourists. There were carriages and servants, +and officers as guides, in attendance. Captain Ringgold was very economical +of his time; and, as it was still early in the afternoon, he proposed that +the party should visit some of the objects of interest before dinner. The +baggage was sent to the hotel, and the carriage proceeded to the Residency, +which had been occupied by the official of the British government when the +province was under the native ruler. It was in ruins, for it was so left as +a memorial of the events of the past. +<p align=justify> +The city was attacked by the rebels; and the little garrison, with the +English people of the town, took refuge in this building. It was a +three-story brick house, not at all fit to be used as a fort. The +cannon-shot of the besiegers wrecked the building, and many of its +defenders, including Sir Henry Lawrence, the commander, perished in the +fight. +<p align=justify> +The visitors looked over the house and its surroundings, and then went to +the hotel. + + + + +<a name="XXXII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>MORE OF LUCKNOW AND SOMETHING OF BENARES</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"I suppose you recall the events of the Mutiny well enough to understand +the situation here in 1857," said Lord Tremlyn the next morning when the +company had gathered in the parlor of the hotel. "But there was no massacre +here, as in Cawnpore, to impress the facts upon your memory, though many +brave men lost their lives in the defence of the place. There were only +seven hundred and fifty troops in the town; but Sir Henry Lawrence had done +the best he could to fortify the Residency, ill adapted as it was for +defensive works. +<p align=justify> +"An attempt was made to check the advance of the rebels eight miles from +the city; but it was a failure, with the small available force, and two +days later the enemy attacked the British at the Residency. Three times +the brave defenders beat back the assaults of the assailants. These events +on the spot you have visited occurred between the last of May and the first +of July. It was not till the twenty-second of September that Havelock and +Outram arrived, and captured the Alum-Bagh, which we shall visit this +morning. It was a terrible summer that the beleaguered people and their +brave handful of soldiers passed; and Tennyson has commemorated Lucknow in +his immortal verse. +<p align=justify> +"But the coming of Havelock was not the end; for the rebels besieged the +place again, and it was near the middle of November before Sir Colin +Campbell arrived, with a considerable force. He captured the Alum-Bagh, +and, leaving in it a force of three thousand five hundred men, he escorted +the women and children and the civilians to Cawnpore; but returned in March +to subdue the rebels. For a week he fought them, drove them from the +intrenchments in which they had fortified themselves, and the mutiny was +ended, as I related to you on board of your ship." +<p align=justify> +The carriages were at the door as soon as the party had breakfasted. They +were driven to the cemetery, where they saw the grave of Lawrence, whose +memorial is that "He tried to do his duty." In the Alum-Bagh, which means +the Queen's Garden, was the grave of Havelock. It was here that Outram had +his camp and fortifications for the defence of Lucknow during the absence +of Campbell. +<p align=justify> +The Kaiser Bagh, or Cæsar's Garden, contains some of the principal sights +of the city, which the viscount pointed out and described. It is a forest +of domes and cupolas; and the company halted at the pavilion of Lanka, +which a French writer called the least ridiculous of the structures in the +enclosure, though the professor insisted that it was quite as bad as the +worst. It had an abundance of cupolas with arabesque domes; but the edifice +looked like a shell, for the veranda, with lofty columns supporting the +roof, appeared to take up the greater portion of the enclosed space. +<p align=justify> +The most grotesque feature was at the entrance. A flight of broad stairs +led to the principal floor, over which was extended what looked like an +imitation of the Rialto bridge in Venice, with a small temple under the +middle arch and at the head of the stairs. The top of the bridge was on a +level with the flat roof, and the two side-arches started from the ground. +The building was handsome in some of its details; but the professor said it +was an "abomination," and Dr. Hawkes called it "queer." The various +edifices are now occupied by the civil and military officials. +<p align=justify> +"Where does the name of this place come from?" asked Captain Ringgold. +"Kaiser Bagh seems to be half German." +<p align=justify> +"But it is not German," replied Lord Tremlyn. "These buildings were mostly +erected no farther back than 1850, by Wajid Ali Shah, the King of Oude, who +was deposed by the British government in 1856. He called himself Cæsar, and +Kaiser is simply a corruption of that name, with no German allusion in it. +He was the husband of the Queen of Oude, whose burial-place you saw in +Père-la-Chaise." +<p align=justify> +The next visit was to the palace of Claude Martine, a conglomeration of all +the styles of architecture ever known, and some that were never heard of. +At first view it looks like a small palace set on the top of a large one. +It is certainly very original and very elaborate. Going to the citadel, +they entered by a highly ornamental gateway, which opened to the visitors +the view of the vast pile of buildings, in the middle of which is the +Imambara. The vastness of the pile presented before them was bewildering, +though they had seen so many immense structures that mere size did not now +overwhelm them. The Great Imambara is considered the marvel of Lucknow, and +should not be confounded with another in the citadel bearing the same +general name. To walk around or through this enormous building was simply +impossible, and the party contented themselves with a general view from +different points. It is located on a lofty terrace; and its long line of +walls, crowned with Arabic domes, is very imposing. +<p align=justify> +"This palace was erected at the close of the last century, by Nawab, with +half a yard of other names to fetch up its rear," said Major Shandon, the +military officer who was doing the honors of the city, with a pleasant +smile. "Like many others of the Indian monarchs, he desired to immortalize +his name by erecting a monument in his own honor; and he offered a prize +for the competition of all the architects of India, for one that would +surpass all others. We think he produced a plan that was worth the money he +received; though we don't think he surpassed the Taj, or some other +buildings that might be mentioned." +<p align=justify> +This immense structure is now a vast arsenal. The other building, which +sometimes robs this one of its honors, is called the Hoosseinabad Imambara; +and perhaps the length of the added name may account, to some extent, for +the robbery. It is in the citadel, and in sight of its namesake; but the +mausoleum, for it is the tomb of Ali Shah, who died in 1841, stands alone; +and it does not fatigue the eyes to look at it. It is a light, ethereal +sort of structure, and looks like lacework. It is surmounted by a beautiful +dome, and the roof bristles with the points of turrets and towers. It +contains, besides the tomb of the monarch, a mosque, a bazaar, and a model +of the Taj, which make up a sufficient variety for an edifice erected for a +tomb. +<p align=justify> +This temple completed the list marked out for inspection in Lucknow. The +party had not supposed there was much of anything here to be seen except +the memorials of the Mutiny; and for these alone they would not have missed +seeing the historic locality. The rest of the day was devoted to rides +through the streets and suburbs of the city. The avenues were wide, the +houses neat and commodious, and the gardens laid out with English taste. +The evidences of British thrift were to be seen in many portions of the +place. +<p align=justify> +Lochner's Hotel was their abiding-place, and Major Shandon regaled the +party at dinner and in the evening with stories of the place, and proved +himself to be a gentleman of "infinite humor." The next morning the company +took the train for Benares. They were a very sociable party, and preferred +the conference carriage to being confined to the smaller compartments. The +route was along the Boomtee River at first, which, some one has said, is +the crookedest stream in the world, and the scenery was worth looking at. +But as soon as the ladies and gentlemen had satisfied themselves with +looking out the windows the commander presented Sir Modava as the "talkist" +for the trip of six hours, or as much of the time as he chose to occupy. +<p align=justify> +"I shall not take more than half an hour for what I have to say, my +much-loved friends," the Hindu gentleman began, "though I know you are very +patient and long-suffering; and I assure you that I shall not take offence +if you look out the windows while I am talking. The Boomtee River is as +pretty as it is sinuous. If you write to your friends in the United States +about it, you can spell the last syllable t-i, if you prefer; for Indian +orthography is not yet controlled by statute, as I hope it will be when we +have established an <i>Académie Indienne</i>, such as they have in France. +But Benares is my subject, and not spelling. +<p align=justify> +"Where is Benares? It is four hundred and twenty miles by rail from +Calcutta, and is on the left bank of the Ganges. I suppose you know which +side that is." +<p align=justify> +"Of course we do," laughed Mrs. Belgrave. "It is on the left-hand side." +<p align=justify> +"You have put your foot in it, mother," rallied Louis. +<p align=justify> +"Into the Ganges?" queried the lady. "I did at Cawnpore, but not here." +<p align=justify> +"Suppose you were coming up the river in a steamer from Calcutta, which +would be the left bank?" asked Louis. +<p align=justify> +"On my left, of course." +<p align=justify> +"Then Sir Modava will have to oblige you by locating Benares on both sides +of the Ganges, and I don't believe it would be convenient for him to do +that," said Louis, laughing at the expense of his mother, who blushed, +though she did not see what was wrong, when she realized that she had made +a blunder of some kind. +<p align=justify> +"Better not have said anything," whispered Mrs. Blossom in retaliation; for +hitherto she had had a monopoly of all the blunders." +<p align=justify> +"Will you tell me, Sarah, which is the left bank of a river, for it appears +that I don't know," added the lady out loud. +<p align=justify> +"The left bank of the Ganges is the one Benares is on," replied the worthy +woman; and she was greeted with a roar of laughter, and a volley of +applause started by the live boys who were making their way across India. +<p align=justify> +"Quite right, madam!" exclaimed Sir Modava, applauding with the others. "It +may be a matter of no particular consequence; but you will excuse me for +saying that the left bank is the one on your left as you go down the +stream, and not at all as you go up." +<p align=justify> +"I remember now, for I learned that in my geography when I first went to +school; and it is strange that I should have forgotten it," added Mrs. +Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"We know just where Benares is now," Sir Modava proceeded. "It is the +largest city in this part of India with the exception of Lucknow, to which +it stands next, or sixth among those of the country, having a population of +219,467. It extends along the Ganges for three miles; and the shore is +lined continuously with staircases, called <i>ghats</i>, which lead up to +the temples, palaces, and the vast number of houses on the banks of the +river. The stream sweeps around the place like a crescent, presenting one +of the finest views you ever saw, with the ornamented fronts of dwellings, +public offices, and a forest of towers, pinnacles, and turrets. To the +Hindus it is the most sacred city known to them. +<p align=justify> +"When I was a boy I came here for the first time, brought by my father on +account of the religious character of the place, if I may call anything +idolatrous by such a name. But the city, when you get into it, will +disappoint you. It is like Constantinople, very beautiful to look at from +the Bosporus, or the Golden Horn; but its dirty, narrow streets disgust +you. I am afraid this will be your experience in Benares. You will be +obliged to forego the luxury of carriages in making your tours through the +place, for the streets are so narrow and crowded that it is impossible to +get along with a vehicle. An elephant is equally impracticable, and even in +a palanquin your progress would be so slow that you would lose all your +stock of patience." +<p align=justify> +"The city must be 'done' by walking, must it?" asked the commander. +<p align=justify> +"Whew!" whistled Dr. Hawkes; and the sibilation was repeated by Uncle +Moses, for each of them weighed over two hundred and a quarter. +<p align=justify> +"If the ship were here I would lend you the barge with eight rowers, to +enable you to see the sights from the river," suggested Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"A steam-launch shall be provided for all the company, and our obese +friends shall be provided with stuffed chairs, for the survey of the river +scenes; but carriages can be used in some parts of the city, though what +you will desire to see can best be observed from the river; and we can land +when you wish to see interiors," added Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +This interruption was heartily applauded by the Cupids, as the fat +gentlemen had been called in Cairo, assisted by all the others. +<p align=justify> +"The famous Monkey Temple is just out of the city, and that can be reached +by carriages," continued Sir Modava. "There are fourteen hundred and fifty +Hindu temples, pagodas, and shrines, and two hundred and seventy-two +Mohammedan mosques, so that our good friend, General Noury, need not +neglect his devotions." +<p align=justify> +"The good Mussulman never does that, whether there be a mosque at hand or +not, for he says his prayers at the proper time, wherever he may be," +replied the general. +<p align=justify> +"I know that some of your people are better Christians than some who bear +the name," replied the Hindu gentleman politely. "Benares is so holy, and +the Ganges is so holy, that hundreds of thousands visit it as the +Mussulmans visit Mecca. Men of wealth, and those who have the means without +being rich, come to this city when they feel that they have been seized +with a malady likely to prove fatal; for to die here with the Hindu is a +passport to eternal happiness. But I am talking too long, though there is +much more that might be said; but perhaps it could be better said on board +of that launch my friend mentions, and in sight of the temples, towers, and +other objects of interest." +<p align=justify> +In the middle of the afternoon the train arrived at its destination; and +the party proceeded in carriages to the western suburb, the location of the +cantonment, or English quarter of the city. + + + + +<a name="XXXIII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXIII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES</h4> + +<p align=justify> +Clarke's Hotel, at Secrole, received the tourists, and everything was in +readiness for them when they arrived. Lord Tremlyn had announced the coming +of himself and his large party, and a person of his distinction and +influence could command anything he desired. The rest of the day was given +to rest, though in the evening Sir Modava talked to the tourists about the +city. +<p align=justify> +Early the next morning the party were conveyed to the river, where they +embarked in a steam-yacht which had been provided for their use. It was +more than a launch; for its standing-room would seat the whole company, +while an awning was spread over a portion of the upper deck, from which a +full view of the shore could be obtained. The city is on the north shore of +the river, which has an easterly course in this portion of India, and the +houses are packed in about as thickly as they can be. +<p align=justify> +"This is the Dasasvamedh Ghat," said Sir Modava, with a smile. "I thought +you might wish to recall it after you get home to America. I think it is +rather pleasant to know the names of places one has visited." +<p align=justify> +"We could not speak the word now without an hour's practice, and I am sure +not one of us will know it when we get to the other side of the Atlantic," +said Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"You can write it down in your diaries." +<p align=justify> +"We might as well attempt to copy the top of a tea-chest," added Louis. +<p align=justify> +The ladies were assisted on board of the steamer. +The captain was a very gentlemanly Englishman; and he was all devotion to +the wants of his passengers, who seated themselves on the promenade deck. +The steamer belonged to the government; and she was fitted up in the most +comfortable manner, though it was not so gaudy as the craft of a maharajah +would have been. The ghat was at the western extremity of the crescent to +which Sir Modava had alluded, and from this point the town looked like an +amphitheatre. +<p align=justify> +The river is ordinarily about half a mile wide, but in the season of high +water it is double that width. The captain called the attention of the +party to the ghat as they receded from it, the broad flight of stairs being +a rather wonderful sight to the strangers, though they had seen something +of the kind before in Delhi and Cawnpore. +<p align=justify> +The steps are adorned with small temples with plenty of spires. Near the +top of the flight was the Man Munder, the great observatory. Though the +building is plain, as a whole, Captain Carlisle pointed out a highly +ornamental window, with a profusion of handsome brackets. The stairs on the +city side of the river were unlimited as far as the eye could see. Behind +them was a forest of spires, domes, and cupolas. +<p align=justify> +"You ought to have left the ghat before sunrise," said the captain, who was +walking up and down the deck, with an eye on the Hindu pilot. "Then you +would have been in time to see the sight of the day, for the appearance of +the sun is the holy moment for the natives to plunge into the holy river. +For miles along the shore the ghats are thronged at the first appearance of +the orb of day, and there is a continuous murmur of voices. No matter how +cold the water is, they dive in and swim like fishes. You can see a +thousand heads in the water along the shore at any moment. Then they +support themselves on the surface, and gaze motionless at the sun as it +mounts in the sky." +<p align=justify> +"Are you a sailor, Captain Carlisle?" asked Louis, who thought he was +rather poetic for an uneducated man. +<p align=justify> +"Not as the commander of your ship would understand it, though I was in +command of a Thames steamer, and fell into the same business when I came to +India," replied the captain, laughing at the question. "My father was a +good Baptist; he wanted to make a minister of me, and I was educated far +enough to enter the university; but I concluded that I did not like the +business, and took to steamboating." +<p align=justify> +"But aren't the women as religious as the men?" inquired Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"More so, if anything. But they come down to the river before sunrise and +take their swim. If you had been here this morning you would have seen them +coming out of the water just as the men are ready to go in, and you would +have observed them in their white garments, dripping like drowned rats. +That pagoda you see ahead of us with the bell tower and shining in gilt is +the only temple the Buddhists have in Benares." +<p align=justify> +"We are coming now to the Munikurnika Ghat. It is a five-syllable word, but +you can easily pronounce it," said Sir Modava, who thought he would "spell" +the captain for a time; and he was quite as familiar with the banks of the +Ganges. +<p align=justify> +"And it is quite musical," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +"Pronounce u like double o, and the rest of the letters as in English, and +you can speak it without choking," said the Hindu gentleman. "But there are +some letters in Hindu that have no equivalents in English." +<p align=justify> +"Moo-ui-koor-ni-ka Ghat," added Louis, pronouncing the word. "But what is +it all about?" +<p align=justify> +"It is the place for burning the dead, such as you saw in Bombay, but on a +much larger scale," replied Sir Modava. "You see that it extends a +considerable distance. Please keep to the leeward of the smoke, Captain +Carlisle." +<p align=justify> +"That is what I am doing, Sir Modava." +<p align=justify> +"These funeral pyres are burning all the time, night and day. The people +whose bodies are consumed in these fires, and their friends, believe that +the souls of the deceased will pass from this spot into paradise, where, if +they have not been very great sinners they will be transplanted into the +bodies of future Brahmins. Many deceased persons are brought even hundreds +of miles to be burned on the Munikurnika by the Ganges, as their sure +passport to the realms of bliss." +<p align=justify> +The obliging captain took the steamer near enough to the ghat to enable the +tourists to see the process of burning. An occasional puff of the horribly +offensive odor came to the nostrils of the sightseers; but the captain +sheered off, and they got very little of it. +<p align=justify> +"It smells just like assafoedita. It is awful-smelling stuff; and I wonder +if they don't make it out of this smoke, for it hits my nose in just the +same way," said Mrs. Blossom. "I took care of old Jotham Beeling when he +had the apoplexy, and gave the stuff to him. The room smelt then just the +same as it does here." +<p align=justify> +"You are quite right, madam," said Dr. Hawkes, laughing. "It gets part of +its name from its bad odor; but it is not made out of smoke. Asa is the gum +of a tree that grows here. It has a very offensive odor, which gives it the +rest of the name, from <i>foeditas</i>, meaning foul, filthy." +<p align=justify> +The workmen who were operating the burning were nearly naked, begrimed by +the sooty smoke, and looked like so many imps. They were stirring up the +fires with long iron pokers, and throwing vessels of oil upon them. The +boat passed beyond the fumes of the pyres, and came up to the ghat, at the +request of Lord Tremlyn. A multitude of hideous-looking cripples, +humpbacks, and beggars made an onslaught on the steamer; and the boys and +gentlemen pelted them with coppers, with which they had been forewarned to +supply themselves. It was fun to them, and the mendicants enjoyed it quite +as much. +<p align=justify> +"There is a procession of pilgrims just arrived," said Captain Carlisle, +pointing to the high ground beyond the ghat. "They are coming here all the +time. The Hindus under the umbrellas are Brahmins, who collect the fees for +bathing from the steps; and they sell certificates of purification, +indulgences, and amulets." +<p align=justify> +The boat continued on her course, and they did not wait to see the bathing, +though the heads of the swimmers were soon in view. A staircase is reserved +for women, who are watched over by the elders of their sex. But they could +be seen in the distance, frolicking in the water; and they were so +hilarious that their shouts could be heard on board of the Sylph, as the +boat was called. +<p align=justify> +The steamer next came to a long row of palaces on the high ground, whose +fronts were profusely ornamented with staircases that exceeded in extent +and beauty anything they had before seen. Every rajah has a residence here, +not permanent, but where he comes to celebrate the religious festivals. The +king of Nagpore has the finest one, with one hundred stairs of white +sandstone reaching down to the water. +<p align=justify> +"Now we come to a building worth looking at," said Sir Modava, as they +passed beyond the assemblage of palaces. "This is the mosque of Aurungzeb. +Those two lofty minarets are one hundred and forty-seven feet high. They +are very slender, and look like a couple of needles; but, though they are +only eight and a quarter feet in diameter on the ground, they have spiral +staircases reaching to the top. If you wish to land and go to the cupola +you can do so." +<p align=justify> +"I pray thee have me excused," interposed Uncle Moses; and Dr. Hawkes said +"Me too!" And no one cared to ascend to such a height. +<p align=justify> +"This mosque was built by the Emperor Aurungzeb, on the site of a Hindu +temple of Siva, which he caused to be pulled down, to the scandal of the +worshippers of that deity, for it marked the spot where Vishnu himself +first appeared to man. A flight of one hundred stairs leads to the mosque, +which the Hindus formerly ascended on their knees when they went to the +worship of Vishnu. But we have gone as far in this direction as we need +go." +<p align=justify> +The Sylph came about, and went back up the river, landing above the funeral +pyres. From the ghat, they walked into one of the crowded streets. They +were conducted by Sir Modava to a square, which was thronged with natives. +In the middle of it was a small round temple, the spire of which was +overlaid with plates of gold. At the present day this is the holy of holies +of the Hindus. Its principal object of adoration is a plain stone post, +which is believed to form a part of the very body of the deity, Siva in +this instance. +<p align=justify> +The narrow streets, through which the party made their way with difficulty +were very clean. They were thronged with pilgrims from all parts of India, +dressed in their best garments, loaded with gold and silver ornaments. The +men were carrying great brass trays, piled up with flowers, as offerings +for the various deities. The little stalls, which were the stores, made the +thoroughfares look like bazaars. They passed no end of temples; and all of +them were small, though they were very pretty, what there were of them. +<p align=justify> +Emerging from these narrow streets, the company came to a section where the +avenues were broad, with handsome houses built upon them. This portion was +practicable for carriages, and half a dozen <i>culèches</i> were drummed +together after some delay; and the ladies were glad to be seated again, for +they had had a long and tiresome walk through the narrow and crowded +streets. Sir Modava directed the drivers, and when he said Dourga Khound no +one knew what he was to see next. The word means the Fountain of Dourga; +and when they came to it they agreed that it was one of the most beautiful +buildings in Benares, though it was painted all over with red, which made +it look rather fantastic. +<p align=justify> +Sir Modava said nothing about the use of the building, and led the way into +the enclosure. The moment they entered the grounds they realized that the +Hindu gentleman had worked a surprise upon them; for the yard was filled +with monkeys, and the walls were covered with them. The chattering +creatures immediately surrounded them, holding out their paws for +something. Sir Modava gave the most dignified one a rupee, and Lord Tremlyn +made a similar gift to another. +<p align=justify> +"They can't eat silver," suggested Morris. +<p align=justify> +"The money is for the Brahmin who has charge here. You see they have gone +to give it to him," replied Sir Modava, as he opened a large paper package +he had bought at a store, and proceeded to distribute its contents, +consisting of nuts and parched corn, to the members of the monkey +community. +<p align=justify> +For half an hour they fed the animals, which were very tame, and made +friends with them. The live boys were more pleased with this occupation +than in looking at temples and mosques. They all visited the sanctuary of +the temple, which was said to date back a thousand years. The party greatly +enjoyed the ride back to Secrole, which is the English town of Benares. +After dinner Sir Modava told them about the Feast of Ganesa. +<p align=justify> +"He is one of the most popular deities of India," said the Hindu gentleman. +"He is the embodiment of wisdom, prudence, and commerce; his presence wards +off all perils. You will find him over the door of places of business; and +contracts open with an invocation to Ganesa, sometimes given by a picture +of the god. He was the son of Siva and Parvati. His picture is that of a +short, fat man, with four arms and an elephant's head. +<p align=justify> +"Though he was Siva's son, the father was jealous of him, and struck off +his head. Siva was sorry for what he had done, and wanted to bring Ganesa +back to life; but his head was gone." +<p align=justify> +"Couldn't he put a head on him?" asked Scott very seriously; and the other +boys laughed. +<p align=justify> +"That was just what he did," replied Sir Modava, wondering what the boys +and some of the others were laughing at. "Siva selected a young elephant, +cut off his head, and affixed it to his son's shoulders; and that is how he +happens to have such a head. This head sometimes takes the place of the +whole figure on contracts. His festival is celebrated the last of April, +with the greatest magnificence. Effigies of the god are made of +terra-cotta, painted and gilded, and borne by processions through the +streets. Priests and musicians surround the idol; and young girls, widowed +before they are wives, dancing and waving their scarfs in solemn cadence, +lead the way. +<p align=justify> +"When the processions reach the river, they embark in fairy-like boats +propelled by sails or oars, forming a grand aquatic spectacle. At sunset +the idols are thrown into the river, and the festival terminates with a +grand frolic on shore, with fireworks, in which many Europeans take part; +and the river is thronged with boats decorated with many-colored lanterns." +<p align=justify> +The party spent two days more at Benares, and visited temples, mosques, and +many places of interest. They were visited by British civil and military +officers, who were extremely kind to them, and offered them every facility +for seeing the city. After dinner on the last day, Captain Ringgold asked +Lord Tremlyn to tell them something about Patna; and he evidently did so +with a purpose. +<p align=justify> +"Patna is the fifteenth city in India in population, one hundred and forty +miles from Benares," replied the viscount. "It extends nine miles along the +Ganges, and an average of two back from it. The streets are narrow and +crooked. The houses are mostly of mean appearance, and there are but very +few buildings there of any importance. You laid out your list of cities to +be visited yourself, Captain, and generally very judiciously; but if I had +made it out I should have omitted Patna. It has a population of about one +hundred and sixty-five thousand." +<p align=justify> +"I asked the question with a view to omit it from the list if there are no +sights of importance, and, after what you have said, I shall do so; and +tomorrow we will take the train for Calcutta," added the captain. +<p align=justify> +This decision pleased the party, and at six the next morning the special +started with them for the greatest city of India. + + + + +<a name="XXXIV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXIV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +"I shall be glad to be on board of the Guardian-Mother again," said Scott, +after the four live boys had taken a place by themselves in the conference +carriage. "I have seen enough of India." +<p align=justify> +"But you have not seen one-half of India," replied Louis. +<p align=justify> +"I read a story in an old schoolbook Uncle Moses had used when he didn't +weigh as much as I do now, which was called 'The Half is Better than the +Whole;' and it proved the proposition with which it started out. That is +just what is the matter now." +<p align=justify> +"But you have been seeing new things all the time, and learning something," +added Louis. +<p align=justify> +"That's very true; but we have seen all the big mosques and things, and +enough is as good as a feast," suggested Scott. "I suppose if we stayed +here a couple of years more we should not see the whole of the country. We +have got a specimen brick of the principal cities; and a dozen specimens of +the same thing don't amount to much." +<p align=justify> +"But you haven't seen Calcutta yet, and that is the biggest toad in the +puddle," said Felix. "The ship will be there, and if you are homesick you +can go on board of her." +<p align=justify> +But the call for attention from Captain Ringgold interrupted the +conversation, and Sir Modava had seated himself in front of the company to +give one of his "talks." +<p align=justify> +"Our route will be along the Ganges till we come to Luckieserai Junction, +where the loop-line falls into the main line," the Hindu gentleman began. +<p align=justify> +"Is it much of a fall, sir?" asked Felix. +<p align=justify> +"I don't understand you, Mr. McGavonty," replied the speaker blankly. +<p align=justify> +"The expression 'falls into the main line' is somewhat different from what +we use at home; but the young man ought to have understood you," interposed +the commander. +<p align=justify> +"What would you have said, Captain?" +<p align=justify> +"The loop-line we call a branch, and we say connects with instead of falls +into," replied the captain. "But your meaning was plain enough, and our +boys must fall into the methods of expression used here." +<p align=justify> +"Though you have seen the Ganges several times, not much has been said +about it; and I will tell you a little more concerning it before we leave, +not to see it again. It rises in Gahrwal, one of the Hill states, +north-east of Delhi. It has its source in an ice-cave nearly fourteen +thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is not called the Ganges till +it has received the flow of two other rivers, a hundred and fifty miles or +more from its lofty source. Just below Allahabad it takes in the Jumna, +itself a mighty stream. +<p align=justify> +"As you have learned, it is the holy river of the Hindus; and it deserves +their homage, for, aside from the religious character they give to it, +three hundred thousand square miles are drained and fertilized by the +Ganges and its tributaries. Of its sanctity, that it washes away sin, and +that death in its waters or on its shores is the passport to eternal bliss, +you have learned. But it renders a more immediate and practical service to +the people; for it is navigable for small craft from the point where it +enters the lowlands, seventy or eighty miles north of Delhi. +<p align=justify> +"The river is 1,509 miles long. Though it rises and falls at different +seasons, it never fails, even in the hottest summer; and its inundations +render, to some extent, the benefit which the Nile does to the soil of +Egypt. Like the Mississippi, in your country, it has sometimes changed its +course, as proved by the ruins of cities that were once on its banks. +<p align=justify> +"Now you have a view of the Ganges for quite a distance, and can see the +kinds of boats that navigate it. It is one of the most frequented waterways +in the world, though the building of railways and canals has somewhat +diminished the amount of freight borne on its tide. About £6,000,000 is +needed to complete the Ganges canal, which will reach all the cities +through which you have passed. There is a very complicated mythology +connected with the river, which it would take me all day to relate, and +therefore I will not meddle with it." +<p align=justify> +For a couple of hours the passengers watched the boats and steamers on the +river, and the scenes on the other side. While they were thus employed, +Lord Tremlyn gave to each person a map of Calcutta, intimating that he +should soon tell them something about the city; and they all began to study +it, so as to form some idea of the place they were next to visit. Of course +they could make out but little from the vast maze of streets, but some of +them obtained a very good idea of the situation of the city and many of its +important buildings. +<p align=justify> +"People coming from England or America generally arrive at Calcutta or +Bombay, the larger portion at the former. From the sea the metropolis of +India is reached by the Hoogly River, the most western outlet of the +Ganges," his lordship began. "It is sometimes spelled Hugli. Under this +name, the stream is known sixty-four miles above Calcutta and seventeen +below. Vessels drawing twenty-six feet of water come up to the city; though +the stream, like the Mississippi, is liable to be silted up." +<p align=justify> +"I see that some of you look at me as though I had used a strange word. +Silt is the deposit of mud, sand, or earth of any kind carried up and down +streams by the tide or other current. But the river engineers here are +constantly removing it; the course is kept open, and the Hoogly pilots are +very skilful. The river has also a bore, though not a great bore, like some +people I know. +<p align=justify> +"We know the book-agent better than this one," said Scott. +<p align=justify> +"Some of our rivers in England have bores, though not book-agents; so have +the Seine, the Amazon, and others with broad estuaries. High tides drive a +vast body of water into the wide mouth; and, as the stream is not large +enough to take it in, it piles it up into a ridge, which rolls up the +river. It forms a wall of water in the Hoogly seven feet high, which is +sometimes dangerous to small craft. Enough of the Hoogly. +<p align=justify> +"Calcutta, by the last census, 1891, had a population of 861,764; but it is +not so large as New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago; and London is the only +larger city in the United Kingdom. It became a town in 1686. After it had +attained considerable importance, in 1756, it was attacked by the Nawab of +Bengal, the king or rajah; and after a siege of two days the place yielded. +The tragedy of the 'Black Hole' followed." +<p align=justify> +"I have heard of that, but I don't know what it means," said Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"You observe the large open enclosure at the right of your map of the city, +the esplanade. Within it is Fort William, which has existed nearly two +hundred years. It had a military prison, which has since been called the +'Black Hole.' The nawab caused one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all he +had taken, to be shut up in a room only eighteen feet square, with only two +small windows, both of them obstructed by a veranda. This was but a little +more than two square feet on the floor for each person, so that they could +not stand up without crowding each other. They spent the night there, +pressing together, the heat terrible, enduring the pangs of suffocation. In +the morning all were dead but twenty-three. +<p align=justify> +"The nawab held the fort for seven months, when it was recaptured by Lord +Clive. Calcutta extends about five miles on the bank of the river, being +about two in breadth. I shall not follow out its history, for you will hear +enough of that as you visit the various localities." +<p align=justify> +"I used to think Calicut and Calcutta were the same city," said Louis. +<p align=justify> +"Not at all, though the names of the two may have been derived from the +same source. The name of the great city is from Kali, a Hindu goddess of +whom you heard in Bombay, and cuttah, a temple; and doubtless there was +such a building here. Calicut is on the south-west coast of India, and was +a very rich and populous city when it was visited by Vasco da Gama, who was +the first to double the Cape of Good Hope, in 1498. The cotton cloth, +calico, generally called print, gets its name from this city." +<p align=justify> +Dinner was brought into the carriages; and the tourists slept in the +afternoon, arriving at Calcutta in the evening. The Great Eastern, one of +the two largest hotels in the city, was prepared to receive them. Here, as +in Bombay and elsewhere, every guest is attended by his own servant. Half a +dozen of them had been retained, but when the omnibuses set them down at +the hotel a hundred more could have been readily procured. +<p align=justify> +The business of sight-seeing began early the next morning with a visit to +the esplanade, which may be called a park, though it contains a variety of +buildings besides Fort William, which is half a mile in diameter. The +enclosure is a mile and three-quarters in length by about one mile in depth +from the river. The Government House occupies a position next to it, and +they passed it as they entered. +<p align=justify> +"Whose statue is that--the Duke of Wellington?" asked Louis, as he walked +on one side of Sir Modava, with his mother on the other side. +<p align=justify> +"Not at all; most of our streets and buildings are named after persons +noted in the history of India," replied the Indian gentleman, laughing. +"That is the statue of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, the first +governor-general of India; and many important events dated from his time, +for he suppressed the suttee and thugging." +<p align=justify> +"Thugging?" repeated the lady interrogatively. +<p align=justify> +"You have not been told about it; but I will give you its history when we +have time, for here are the Eden Gardens," replied Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"Not the Garden of Eden?" suggested Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"Only named for it; but it is a very beautiful garden in English style, +though the trees and plants are, of course, different. It has water enough +for variety; and there is no difficulty at all in getting it, for the city +is hardly above the river at high tide. All there is of the fort you can +see from here." +<p align=justify> +"But what are those things over the other side of the park?" +<p align=justify> +"They are all tanks; and, of course, they are to hold water. Each of them +has its name, generally Indian. Now we will walk across to the Chowringhee +Road, where the finest private residences of the city are situated. On our +left is the Government House, which we passed when we came in. It is a fine +building, and it has a large garden of its own." +<p align=justify> +"But what is it for?" asked the lady. +<p align=justify> +"It is the residence of the governor-general, generally called the viceroy; +and he has his offices there. Now, if you look beyond Fort William, you +will see the race-course." +<p align=justify> +"I don't care for that," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose memories of the sport +were anything but pleasant. +<p align=justify> +"Near it is the presidency jail, and there are two hospitals farther +along." +<p align=justify> +The party walked along the road to view the residences of the nabobs, and +returned to the hotel, where they seated themselves on the large veranda +overlooking the street. The first thing Louis did was to look at a +thermometer he discovered on a post. +<p align=justify> +"How hot is it, Louis?" asked his mother. +<p align=justify> +"It isn't hot at all; it is only 70°." +<p align=justify> +"The glass varies here from 52° to 100°; but we don't get the latter figure +except in summer," added Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +"But you have awful cyclones here, an English lady told me last night," +said Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"We do; but we never have them at this season of the year; they come in +May, September, and October, and sometimes in November the belated ones. In +1867 we had one in the latter month which destroyed thirty thousand native +houses; but you know they are built of bamboos and such stuff, and it does +not take much of a breeze to demolish them. Another in June, 1870, did +nearly as much damage." +<p align=justify> +"I should think the bore would make mischief here," suggested Louis. +<p align=justify> +"The monsoons here begin in July, and during their time the bore is the +most mischievous. The big wave comes up the river at the rate of twenty +miles an hour. All boats run for the middle of the river, where the billow +does not break against the shore. Ships often part their cables, and knock +themselves to pieces against the walls. Sometimes the bore is twelve feet +high, though not much more than half that generally." +<p align=justify> +"What are the prices at a hotel like this one, Lord Tremlyn?" asked Dr. +Hawkes. +<p align=justify> +"Here is the list of prices," replied his lordship, handing him a card +taken from the wall. +<p align=justify> +"Coffee at six in the morning, breakfast <i>à la fourchette</i> at nine, +tiffin at one, and dinner at seven. Price, Rs. six per day," the doctor +read. "I suppose Rs. means rupees; and that makes it about twelve English +shillings, or three dollars a day, which is not high." +<p align=justify> +"There are no extras except for wines, liquors, and beer, which none of +your people use," added the viscount. "But you have to pay for your own +attendance; and your servant's pay is from eight to ten rupees a month, or +about a pound." +<p align=justify> +"Cheap enough!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I have to pay my waiter at home six +pounds a month." +<p align=justify> +"Now, what is there to be seen in Calcutta?" asked the commander after +breakfast. +<p align=justify> +"If you wish to see mosques, temples, pagodas"--the viscount began. +<p align=justify> +"We do not," interposed the captain. "At first those were very interesting; +but we have seen enough of them." +<p align=justify> +"I supposed so," added Lord Tremlyn. "I have ordered carriages, and to-day +we will take a general view of the city." +<p align=justify> +This plan was agreeable to the party, and it was carried out. From the +hotel they proceeded to the river. There was a crowd of shipping at anchor, +and at the landing-stages and jetties. Among them Louis was the first to +discover the Guardian-Mother. She was in the middle of the river, off Fort +William. Half a mile below her they saw the Blanche. At the request of the +commander, the carriages went down to the fort, where the passengers all +alighted, and gathered together on the shore. The gentlemen cheered, and +the ladies waved their handkerchiefs. +<p align=justify> +"I see that Mr. Boulong has painted the ship, and she looks as taut and +snug as a man-of-war," said the commander, who was evidently glad to see +his vessel. +<p align=justify> +"They are lowering the boats," added Louis; and in a few minutes the barge +and first cutter came up to the shore. +<p align=justify> +There was a general handshaking with the first officer, in command, and the +boys extended this courtesy to all the crews of the boats, going on board +of them for a few minutes. It was a happy meeting; but it could not be long +continued, and the carriages drove off again. +<p align=justify> +As he was about to take his place in the landau, Mr. Boulong informed the +commander that he had received a visit from Captain Mazagan. He wanted to +see Captain Ringgold, but did not state his business. The first officer +could not tell whether the visitor knew the Blanche was in the river, for +he had not mentioned her. With the statement that the party would go on +board in two or three days, they parted, and the boats returned to the +ship. The commander had something to think of now; but he came to the +conclusion that the reprobate was not aware of the presence of the Blanche +or her owner. +<p align=justify> +The carriages followed the shore road till they came to the upper end of +the city, and then turned into the first of the long streets with several +names in different parts, which extends entirely through the town. Near the +esplanade they found the finest shops, and the ladies went into some of +them to see the goods. Then they struck the Circular Road, and drove +entirely around the city. +<p align=justify> +"This reminds me of Moscow, in some parts, where palaces and shanties are +side by side in the same street," said Captain Ringgold. "There does not +seem to be any aristocratic section, unless that by the esplanade is such." +<p align=justify> +They saw plenty of mosques, temples, and churches, some of the latter very +fine. They believed they had taken in the whole city. After dinner Lord +Tremlyn invited them to an excursion on board of a steam-yacht the next +day, the use of which was tendered to him by a high official. + + + + +<a name="XXXV"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXV</h3> + +<h4 align=center>A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS</h4> + +<p align=justify> +A breakfast at six o'clock was provided the following morning for the +tourists, and they came down from their chambers prepared for the aquatic +excursion, which was to include something more than sight-seeing, for the +gentlemen and the boys were directed to take their rifles along. Mr. +Boulong had called upon the commander the evening before, and he had been +invited to join the party; but he had excused himself, and suggested that +Mr. Gaskette would enjoy it more than he should, and he was asked to go. +<p align=justify> +By half-past six the party were on The Strand, as the road in the esplanade +bordering the river is called. The second officer of the ship was there; +and he was not only a sailor and an artist, but he had the reputation of +being a dead shot. The company embarked on the steam-yacht, which was large +enough to make voyages to Madras and Ceylon. The excursion was not intended +as a mere shooting-party, Lord Tremlyn explained, but to enable the company +to obtain a better view of Calcutta than they could get in any other +manner. +<p align=justify> +From the river a full view was obtained of the multitude of columns, +belfries, and cupolas, as well as of the Government House, the Town Hall, +and the line of magnificent houses beyond the esplanade. Along the shore +The Strand, as it is called the whole length of the city, the jetties, and +the landing-stages were crowded with men; for, where labor is so cheap, +work is not done by small forces of men. There are several lines of +steamers running between London, Southampton, and Liverpool to this port; +and they were constantly arriving and departing. +<p align=justify> +"You don't see such a variety of races here as you did in Bombay," said +Lord Tremlyn as he was pointing out the sights to be seen. "You observe +some Chinamen and Burmese; but most of the laborers are of the low class of +natives, Bengalese, and they are very sorry specimens of the Hindus." +<p align=justify> +"But what are the merchants and shopkeepers?" asked Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"They are Baboos, which is a name given to the Bengalese. The better class +of them, in contact with the English, realize that education is a power; +and they have labored for years to improve their countrymen. They have +established schools and colleges, and when young natives applied for +government situations the authorities felt obliged to admit them. To-day +you will find many natives acting as clerks in the post-office, railway, +and telegraph-offices, as well as in the courts in minor capacities. +<p align=justify> +"In fact, there has been a social revolution in progress here for half a +century or more, and its effects may be seen now. The government has +modified the lot of woman to some extent, as you have learned. The Hindu +law weighed terribly upon her. When a woman lost her husband, custom +required that she should be sent back to her own family. Her relatives +shaved off her hair, dressed her in the coarsest clothing, and compelled +her to do the severest drudgery of the household. She is forbidden to marry +again, and is treated as though she was responsible for becoming a widow. +The reforming of this evil is in progress; but the people are baked into +their prejudices and superstitions of forty centuries, and it is worse than +pulling their teeth to interfere with them. +<p align=justify> +"One of the favorite divinities of the natives here is Kali, the wife of +Siva, the goddess of murder. Her worship is odious and disgusting; for her +altars were formerly sprinkled with human blood, and the idols were +surrounded with dead bodies and skulls. Their great festival is the +Churuk-Pooja, which is still celebrated, though the government has +forbidden all its brutal features. You have all seen a 'merry-go-round' +machine in which children ride in a circle on wooden horses. +<p align=justify> +"An apparatus like this, but without the wooden steeds, was used by these +fanatics. At the end of the four arms hung ropes with sharp hooks at the +end, on which were hung up the devotees, as the butcher does his meats in +his shop; and the machine was revolved rapidly till the hooks pulled out, +and the victim dropped upon the ground, fainting or dead. At the present +time the festival is attended by Baboos of the best class; but it amounts +simply to an athletic exhibition with music. The government and the +reformers have brought about this change of performance." +<p align=justify> +"Do the English attend such shows?" asked Dr. Hawkes. +<p align=justify> +"Sometimes, from curiosity. But they are here just about what they are in +London, and their habits are much the same," replied the viscount. "The +river here is about a mile wide. Formerly we could not have come as far as +we have without seeing hundreds of corpses floating on the surface. Natives +who were too poor to pay the bill for the funeral pyre threw the bodies of +their friends into the river. Of course this was a menace to the health of +the city; and the practice was forbidden by the government, which built an +immense tower, wherein is kept a fire constantly burning, in which the +bodies of the poor are consumed without expense." +<p align=justify> +"See that big bird on the shore!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "I saw several +of them yesterday, and I meant to ask what it was." +<p align=justify> +"That is the <i>arghilah</i>, generally called the adjutant," replied Sir +Modava. "He is the licensed scavenger of Calcutta, for it is forbidden by +law to kill or molest him. You see him walking about in a crowd with as +much dignity and gravity as though he were a big banker; and he is also +seen perched upon the walls and buildings. They have an enormous bill, as +you observe. A friend of mine had a tame one; and one day when the table +was ready for dinner he took a chicken from the dish and swallowed it +whole. He has a searching eye, and discovers a hidden bit of meat, a dead +cat or other animal, and bolts it in the twinkling of an eye." +<p align=justify> +The steamer continued on her course down the river, and in less than four +hours arrived at Diamond Harbor. It contained a fort, a signal-station, and +a telegraph-office, though there is nothing in the shape of a village. The +East India Company's ships made this their port; but the improvement of the +navigation of the river enables all the steamers to go up to the city, to +which their arrival is telegraphed. +<p align=justify> +The extensive territory included in the delta of the Ganges is called the +Sunderbunds, and is about equal to the State of Massachusetts in size. It +is a muddy region, cut up by a network of streams; and it is full of +swamps, morasses, and mud-holes. Nearest to the sea is a belt of land, +forming a wide extent of jungle, with a dense undergrowth of tropical +plants and verdure; for it is in the Torrid Zone, which the tourists +entered about forty miles north of Calcutta. This jungle was the objective +point of the hunters of the party. +<p align=justify> +The captain of the steam-yacht took the company on board through a number +of the lagoons and cutoffs to enable them to see the wild character of the +scenery. Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan were kept busy +explaining the trees, plants, crocodiles, storks, and other animals. +<p align=justify> +At a pleasant basin, dinner was served on board, and it was quite as good +as they would have obtained at the Great Eastern; for just now the party +were government guests, and the officials could not do enough for a person +of Lord Tremlyn's influence in England. After the meal the hunters prepared +themselves for the sport in which they were to engage. Mrs. Belgrave warned +her son to be very careful, and Mrs. Blossom did as much for Felix. +<p align=justify> +The steamer started into a cut-off leading through to the Bay of Bengal, +the polite captain explained. It was full of game of all sorts, including +the wild buffalo, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild hog, deer, and the trees +and bushes were as full of monkeys as they could swarm. It was agreed among +the hunters that none of the latter should be shot, for they were harmless +animals. +<p align=justify> +"Captain, dear, are there any schnakes forninst the joongle?" asked the +Milesian, who was much exhilarated at the prospect of the sport, and easily +slipped into the vernacular of his mother. +<p align=justify> +"Plinty av thim, Musther McGavonty," replied Captain O'Flaherty, with a +broad grin on his honest face. "They air as thidck as broken heads at a +Donnybrook fair." +<p align=justify> +"Faix, ye's air a brither o' moine!" exclaimed Felix, grasping the hand of +the captain. +<p align=justify> +"Air ye's from the County Carhk?" +<p align=justify> +"Oi'm from the county and parish of Kilkenny; or mi mudther was, thou' +she's dead now, long loife to her! Wud I foind ary cobry in here?" +<p align=justify> +"All you'll want uv 'em; and pythons too." +<p align=justify> +"What is a poithon?" asked Felix. +<p align=justify> +"A big schnake; a boa, or loike him." +<p align=justify> +"Is it the bore that runs up the river to Calcutty?" +<p align=justify> +"Not the same boa," laughed the captain. "But you speak English, for I have +heard you do it; and I have about forgotten my native brogue." +<p align=justify> +"If the boa is a snake, he is the fellow I want to see," replied Felix. +<p align=justify> +"There's one of them now!" exclaimed Captain O'Flaherty, pointing to one +wreathed around a bush. +<p align=justify> +The young hunter brought his rifle to his shoulder, and fired before the +captain had time to say anything more. The python began to writhe and +wriggle in the bush, and Felix fired again. Then he dropped off into the +water. The rest of the company had been aft with the ladies, but they all +rushed forward at the report of the rifle. The captain stated what the +hunter had done, as he rang to stop and back the boat. They saw the bamboo +on which the serpent had been, but the game could not be seen. They +wondered what had become of him. +<p align=justify> +The rest of the hunters began to shoot ducks, herons, and other +water-fowls. As fast as a bird dropped into the bayou he disappeared, and +not one of them could be recovered. Captain Ringgold wondered what became +of them, and the Indian gentlemen only laughed at his perplexity. +<p align=justify> +"But what becomes of them, for they do not sink?" demanded the commander. +<p align=justify> +"You shall see," replied Sir Modava. "Don't shoot the adjutants; but there +is a long-legged heron. I will bring him down, for he waits very patiently +to be shot. Now watch the water when he comes down." +<p align=justify> +The bird dropped the moment he fired, and the instant he touched the water +a pair of jaws closed upon him, and drew him under water. The company were +astonished, and looked for an explanation. +<p align=justify> +"I never counted the crocodiles in this river; but I should guess there +were at least a million of them, and they steal your game as fast as you +bring it down," said Sir Modava. +<p align=justify> +The ladies were interested; and another bird was shot, to enable them to +see the operation of the saurians. The python was about ten feet long, and +he must have been a meal for one of them. The cranes, herons, and storks +were numerous; but the party decided to kill no more of them, for they held +still, as though they were all ready to be shot; and there was no sport in +such game. +<p align=justify> +The boat continued on its course for half an hour longer, and then came up +to a sort of stockade, extending out into the water, and near it were a +couple of bamboo huts. This wild region is sparsely peopled with Hindus, +who are obliged to keep guard over themselves and their families all the +time, and are occasionally the victims of the ferocious monsters of the +jungle and of the water. +<p align=justify> +"What is that stockade for?" asked the commander, as soon as the steamer +was moored to the shore. +<p align=justify> +"The Hindus are a cleanly people, as required by their religion," replied +Captain O'Flaherty in the hearing of all the party. "That stockade contains +a big trough for washing their scanty clothing. It reaches into the water, +so that they can fill their washtub without going out of it." +<p align=justify> +"I don't see why?" asked Mrs. Woolridge. +<p align=justify> +"If they went to the border of the stream to dip up water the crocodiles +would pick them up as fast as they did so," added the captain; and all the +ladies shuddered, and wanted to get out of such a horrible place. +<p align=justify> +"But the hunters are to land here; and they will find all the heavy game +they can dispose of, for there have been no hunters here yet this season to +scare them off. You will find the biggest tigers of India here, gentlemen." +<p align=justify> +The hunters went on shore, and as they passed down the gangway they saw a +couple of the crocodiles in the water. Louis put a bullet into the eye of +one, and Mr. Woolridge served the other in the same way; but all of them +thought saurians were mean game. Near the huts they found two men, and Sir +Modava had a talk with them, which no one else could understand; but he +employed them to guide the party and show them their traps. +<p align=justify> +"The wife of one of these men was devoured by a crocodile a year ago, and +the daughter of the other, a child of six, had been borne off by a tiger," +he explained, as they proceeded after the two men. +<p align=justify> +They soon came to the traps. The tigers were exceedingly numerous on all +the islands formed by the cut-offs, and swam without difficulty from one to +another. The first trap they saw was a broad trench, the bottom and sides +armed with stakes of the hardest wood, sharpened to a wicked point. A +roaring sound attracted the visitors to another of the same kind, in which +a monstrous tiger was floundering about, trying to escape the points that +pierced him. He was suffering fearfully; and Captain Ringgold shot him at +once, though the Hindus were delighted by his torture. +<p align=justify> +Another kind of trap was more ingenious. It was on the plan of the +twitch-up snare, common in New England. A young tree, very strong and +flexible, is bent down till the upper end touches the ground. To this +extremity is attached a stout cord, and fastened to a stake in the ground. +A slip-noose is so arranged that the tiger thrusts his head through it in +order to reach the meat with which the cord holding the tree is baited. As +the animal pulls the cord he casts off the line holding the tree in its +bent position. The slip-noose is tightened around his neck, the tree flies +up into the air, carrying the tiger with it. Everything about the trap is +made very strong, and there the savage marauder hangs till he chokes to +death. +<p align=center> + +<a name="page349"></a> + +<img src="images/page349.png" border=0 alt="Captain Ringgold brought down +another--Page 349"> + +<center><i>Captain Ringgold brought down +another--Page 349</i></center> + +<p align=justify> +The party moved on, and they had not gone ten rods before a cobra elevated +his head. Felix claimed the right to fire first, and he killed him with one +ball. A large python was Scott's first prize; and, after a long walk, they +came to a nest of tigers, as it seemed, for there were not less than five +of them drinking at a brook. It appeared to be the only place in the +vicinity where fresh water could be obtained. The first of the tigers was +killed by Louis with a single shot, for he put the ball through the eye of +the beast. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold brought down another with three shots from his repeating +rifle. Felix did not care for tigers; he was looking for snakes, and they +came to the brook to drink. In a couple of hours he had half a dozen of his +favorite game. He declared that he was following the blessed example of St. +Patrick, and if he did not die too soon he would rid the world of all the +snakes in it. +<p align=justify> +The five tigers lay dead by the brook; and, taking the advice of the +coolies, the hunters returned into a thicket, where Felix killed another +python. The party could see the brook. A pair of timid deer came next to +drink; but they fled at the approach of what seemed to be a family of +leopards, for two of them were evidently cubs. They were all shot; but the +repeated reports of the rifles had probably scared off others, and no more +beasts of any kind came. +<p align=justify> +"These men say you have killed more tigers and leopards than any party of +hunters who ever came here," said Sir Modava, who carried a rifle, but had +not fired it once; and Lord Tremlyn's weapon had not been discharged; for +both preferred to leave the game for their friends. +<p align=justify> +It was a great hunt, and the Americans were correspondingly proud of their +success. Louis and Felix had been trained in a shooting-gallery, and +neither of them missed his aim; but the shooting had all been at short +range. With the help of two coolies, all the game was carried to the +steamer, where it was exhibited to the rest of the company. The tigers were +all skinned by the coolies and the crew of the steamer, as were the +leopards; but after Mrs. Blossom and the others had seen the snakes, they +were fed out to the crocodiles. The coolies were abundantly rewarded, and +seemed to worship their visitors. They presented to them four mango fish, +golden-yellow in color, and exquisite in flavor. +<p align=justify> +The steamer cast off her fasts, and headed for Calcutta; but it was late, +and the fish presented, which abound in the markets of the city, were the +burden of a fine supper they ate on the way. + + + + +<a name="XXXVI"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXVI</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY</h4> + +<p align=justify> +While the hunters were so successfully bagging the big game of the jungle, +Captain O'Flaherty had taken the party who had remained on board the +steamer on an excursion through some of the waterways of the Sunderbunds, +so that they were not wearied by waiting for those more actively employed. +The united party had thoroughly enjoyed the day, even into the evening. The +skins of the tigers and leopards were sent to an expert, to be prepared for +future preservation when the time should admit. +<p align=justify> +At the hotel the wonderful success of the hunters was the theme of the +other guests; but the place was regarded as a dangerous one, though that +would not deter Englishmen from visiting it if it were not so difficult of +access, for a government steam-yacht was not available for many parties. +The next morning the tourists were taken to the Botanical Garden, a short +distance above the city, which is said to be the finest as well as the most +spacious in the world. +<p align=justify> +It was not an affair of greenhouses, like most of such places they had +seen; for they were superfluous in the Torrid Zone, and all the plants grew +in the open air. The ladies and most of the gentlemen were greatly +interested in the plants and flowers, and the whole forenoon was agreeably +passed in viewing them. Uncle Moses insisted that the baobab and the Indian +banyan were literally the "biggest things" there; for the trunk of the +former was ten feet in diameter, while the latter covered half a square +mile of ground. The latter had been considerably damaged by a cyclone. +<p align=justify> +At the end of a week in Calcutta, every day of which had been occupied to +the pleasure and instruction of the tourists, Captain Ringgold insisted +that they must remain no longer. It was the middle of March, and the hot +weather was coming on, and the company must return to the Guardian-Mother +on the following morning. It was not an unpleasant announcement, as they +had all become greatly attached to the steamer, for they had always been +exceedingly happy on board of her. +<p align=justify> +"It is time for me to settle up our accounts, Lord Tremlyn," said the +commander, as they were seated on the veranda after the intended departure +had been announced. +<p align=justify> +"That time has not come, Captain Ringgold; and it never will come," replied +his lordship very decidedly. "I thought we had disposed of that question +once for all at Bombay. You and your party have been our guests from the +moment we landed. Sir Modava and I have done our best, in the time allotted +to us, to make you acquainted with India, and to make the time pass +pleasantly with you. As far as we had influence, we have used it to promote +the objects of your visit." +<p align=justify> +"You have done a hundred times more than we had any right to expect, and +certainly we should not have asked for what you have given us; but it seems +to be no more than right that we should pay our own expenses, and we shall +be just as grateful to you for the vast service you have rendered us." +<p align=justify> +"What we have done does not extinguish a tithe of our obligations to you +and your ship's company. Any money allusion grieves me, and the very +thought of being paid almost breaks the heart of Sir Modava. I beg you not +to allude to the matter again. Now, my dear Captain Ringgold," continued +his lordship, taking what looked like a picture-frame from a table near +him, "I ask the privilege of presenting to you this testimonial of the +gratitude of the three cabin survivors of the wreck of the Travancore, +which I will ask you to hang up in the cabin of the Guardian-Mother." +<p align=justify> +The commander took the frame, in which was a printed testimonial, +containing a full account of the rescue of the survivors of the wreck, with +a concluding paragraph, expressive of the obligations of the principal +persons rescued, to the captain and his ship's company for their noble and +successful exertions in saving them and all the people on board. It had the +autographs of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan at the foot of the +printed statement. It was on parchment, printed in plain, clear type, and +the frame was as elegant as money could buy. +<p align=justify> +"I accept this as the property of the ship, and to me personally nothing +could be more valued," replied the commander, extending his thanks at +considerable length; but he said nothing more about payment, though he +could not help thinking that their elegant and bountiful hospitality had +cost the viscount and the Indian gentleman several thousand pounds. +<p align=justify> +"But we do not separate just yet; and I have another favor to ask of you, +Captain Ringgold, which is that you will give us a passage to Colombo," +added Lord Tremlyn. +<p align=justify> +"For myself and my party, we shall all be delighted to have you remain with +us indefinitely," replied the commander, taking his lordship's hand. "I +extend to you, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan a cordial invitation to +complete with us our voyage around the world; and we will endeavor to be as +hospitable to you in the United States as you have been to us in India." +<p align=justify> +"Nothing would afford me so great a pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; "but +it would be quite impossible for me to accept the invitation, for I must +return to England, and report upon my mission to India." +<p align=justify> +Sir Modava and Dr. Ferrolan also declined, for reasons given. The company +had called upon some of the officials of the government and officers of the +army, at the request of his lordship, and most of them made parting calls +the next forenoon; and the viceroy sent his private secretary, with the +best wishes of his Excellency for a prosperous voyage, to them. After +tiffin they all went on board, where their baggage had been sent before, +the Italian band playing all the time on Captain O'Flaherty's steamer, +which put them on board. +<p align=justify> +General Noury had sent word to Captain Sharp that he should continue with +the party to Colombo, and that he could proceed at once to that port. In +fact, he liked the company of the party on board of the Guardian-Mother so +well that he was not inclined to part with them at present. +<p align=justify> +The passengers took possession of their staterooms, and there was still one +left for the general, and the band was quartered in the library. The hour +for sailing had been fixed at three o'clock; and just before that time the +Cherub, Captain O'Flaherty, appeared, having on board a regimental band and +the friends of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan, who extended to +them the compliment of an escort, and, incidentally, to the commander and +his passengers. +<p align=justify> +About half an hour before the time for sailing a shore boat came up to the +gangway, and a well-dressed gentleman with a swarthy face ascended the +steps. He asked to see Captain Ringgold, and he was called down from the +upper deck. It was Mazagan. +<p align=justify> +"I have called, Captain, to remind you that our account has not yet been +settled," said the villanous Moor. "I have another to add to it, for the +destruction of the Fatimé, his Highness the Pacha Ali-Noury's steam-yacht, +which he authorizes me to collect." +<p align=justify> +"Does he, indeed?" replied the captain, laughing; for, having the "weather +gauge" of the rascal, he was disposed to treat the matter very lightly. +<p align=justify> +"I have the account in the handwriting of his Highness," added Mazagan, as +he presented a paper written in good English. +<p align=justify> +"Very well; but I prefer to settle the account with his Highness himself," +added the commander, as he touched an electric bell, which brought Sparks +to the boudoir into which they had gone. "Ask the general to come here," he +said in a low tone to the steward. +<p align=justify> +"But I do not choose to wait a year or two for a settlement," protested the +visitor. +<p align=justify> +"You need not wait five minutes," added Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +The Moor began to go over his story again, but it was interrupted by the +entrance of General Noury. Mazagan looked at him, and seemed to be unable +to believe the evidence of his own eyes. The commander stated the case to +him. +<p align=justify> +"Is this account in your handwriting, General?" he asked. +<p align=justify> +"Certainly not," replied the Pacha. "We have discussed this matter fully, +and I have no claim whatever against you; neither has this man. I settled +all my accounts with him; and I have his receipt in full, signed by him, +and witnessed by Captain Sharp and his wife. He is a swindler and a +villain; and if I ever catch him in Morocco he shall have the bowstring!" +<p align=justify> +The general denounced him in the severest manner, and then asked the +commander to send him out of the ship. Knott was at the gangway, the pirate +was turned over to him, and hustled down the steps into his boat. The +general expressed his regret that the captain had been annoyed by the +villain again, and was confident he would never see or hear from him again; +and he never did. +<p align=justify> +Promptly at the hour set the Guardian-Mother got under way, and the +Cherub's band played its liveliest airs. When it stopped to rest, the +Italian band played, and thus the music was kept up for three hours, when +the steamers were at Diamond Harbor. Here they came alongside each other, +and all the company on board the Cherub were invited to a collation on +board of the Guardian-Mother, at which Captain Ringgold presided, and many +speeches were made by the residents of Calcutta, and by the passengers on +board. +<p align=justify> +The ship's company on each vessel were not left out in the cold; for, while +their officers were at the collation, Baldy Bickling, the second cook, +regaled them from the abundant stores provided for the occasion, of which +notice had been given to Mr. Melanchthon Sage, the chief steward, the day +before. At this point adieus were exchanged, the Guardian-Mother went to +sea, and the Cherub returned to Calcutta. The passengers were tired out and +retired early. +<p align=justify> +It was an easy run, from Diamond Harbor to Madras in two days and a half, +for the Guardian-Mother. The weather was favorable, and the tourists used +their time in getting rested. The social occasions, the playing of the +band, and the singing in the music-room, made plenty of variety. But the +commander did not lose sight of what he regarded as one of the principal +objects of the long voyage, the instruction of the young people, and +incidentally of the elder ones. +<p align=justify> +On the forenoon of the second day out the passengers were called together +in Conference Hall, and they were glad to assemble there again. The +temperature was moderate, the sea was in its most cheerful mood, and, after +their long stay on shore, they were glad to be out of sight of land again. +Mr. Gaskette had been busy during the vacation the ship's company had +obtained at Bombay and Calcutta; had made several new maps, one of which +was the shores of the Bay and Sea of Bengal from Calcutta to the southern +point of Ceylon; and he had enlarged a small map of Ceylon, to be used when +the ship arrived at Colombo, or sooner. It was Sir Modava who mounted the +platform for this occasion; and he was received with the heartiest +applause, for he had become even more popular than at first. +<p align=justify> +"I am to tell you something, not much, about Madras, where we shall arrive +about this time day after to-morrow," the Hindu gentleman began; and the +usual smile which had fascinated all the ladies was on his face. "Madras is +the third city in population of India, or next to Bombay, with 452,518 +souls, by the census published last year. It is on the Coromandel coast, +which is nearly the whole of the Madras Presidency. It is nearly the entire +western shore of the Sea of Bengal, including the bay, as the northern part +of it is called in modern times. There is scarcely a single safe harbor for +large vessels. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose you have often heard the expression, 'in the Carnatic,' for it +is memorable as the scene of the struggle in the last century between +England and France for the supremacy of India. Though there is no state +with that name, nearly the whole coast region south of the Godavery River +retains this name. In fact, there is no little confusion of names in many +parts of India. The country near the Arabian Sea still receives the +designation of the Deccan, from the Kistna River to the Gulf of Cambay on +the north. But this name does not belong to a political division," +continued the speaker, pointing out every location and river he named. +<p align=justify> +"Madras extends along the shore nine miles, and is thus exposed to the fury +of the sea for this distance; for it is not on a river, like Calcutta, or a +sheltered bay, like Bombay. Formerly, on the approach of a cyclone, vessels +lying in the roadstead, as the only harbor it had, which was no harbor, had +to put to sea to avoid being driven on the shore. Decidedly it was a very +inconvenient place to build a city; but the town formerly consisted of a +number of villages, which have been united, after the fashion of some of +your American cities. +<p align=justify> +"An attempt has been in progress the last twenty years to make a harbor in +the shape of an enclosure of strong walls, about half a mile square. It was +seriously damaged by a cyclone a dozen years ago; but they are still at +work upon it, though it is said to be doubtful whether or not it will ever +be safe for ships in a violent storm. There is always a heavy surf rolling +in on this coast, even in what the commander would call a smooth sea." +<p align=justify> +"Then how shall we get ashore there?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. +<p align=justify> +"The natives construct a boat, which is a sort of raft of planks, tied +together with ropes, called a <i>masuláh</i>, which passes through the surf +very well in ordinary weather; but no boat could live in a cyclone in a sea +there, for the waves are fourteen feet high." +<p align=justify> +"I should like to try it with the second cutter, so far as the waves are +concerned; but bumping on the bottom might spoil the attempt," said Mr. +Gaskette, who was standing by his map. +<p align=justify> +"It would not be prudent in a cyclone, and I trust you will have no +occasion to try the experiment," added Sir Modava. "But cyclones are rare +here, except from the last of May and into June, and in October, November, +and early in December; so that the port is not liable to more than two +storms a year. The average rainfall is forty-nine inches, falling on +ninety-five days; but in seventy-four years, ending two years ago, it +varied from a foot and a half to seven feet and four inches. It is dry here +some years, and rather damp when they get eighty-eight inches. +<p align=justify> +"Going to Madras in March, the temperature of the place is of no +consequence to you, except as a matter of curiosity, being in the Torrid +Zone. It will be from 76° to 88° while you are here. The average +temperature for the year is 82°; in the hot months it rises to over 100°; +the highest in twenty-seven years was 113°, and the lowest 57.6°. A +sea-breeze often sets in about noon, lasting till sunset, greatly modifying +the heat. I think I need say no more about the city till we get there." +<p align=justify> +This talk was followed by a concert by the band. The ship sped on her +course, though something to instruct and amuse was going on all the time. +At the time set Madras was in sight, and a little later the surf was seen +rolling in on the shore. The depth is shallow near the land, which causes +the water to break. The Guardian-Mother was anchored in the deep water, and +Lord Tremlyn invited the party to proceed to the apartments at the Royal +Hotel which he had bespoken for them. The commander made no further +objections to the matter of expense, and the invitation was promptly +accepted. A number of the masulah-boats, not the rafts, were engaged to +land them. They were much like any other boat, though they were paddled, +and not rowed. They saw the catamarans, constructed as the Hindu gentleman +had described, paddled on the waves by a single man, wearing a sugar-loaf +hat. +<p align=justify> +The masulah-boats went to the shore very comfortably, and carriages were in +waiting for the party on the beach near where they landed. As they passed +through the streets everything seemed to be very much as it was in +Calcutta; and they saw similar palanquins, bullock-carts, and elephants. +The Malabar Hindu was not very different from those of other sections of +the country, though he had some peculiarities of costume. +<p align=justify> +When they reached the hotel, which was a very comfortable one, in English +style, it was two hours to tiffin, and most of the party preferred to pass +the time in the parlor. The live boys could not keep still, and they went +out for a walk. The sights were not novel enough to hold them; and when a +driver of a bullock-cart salaamed to them, and pointed to his vehicle, +Felix suggested that they should take a ride. Of course, they could not +speak a word of the language; and, however it may have been with other +conductors of vehicles, this one did not know a word of English. +<p align=justify> +"Mavalipoor?" interrogated the driver, when the "Big Four" had seated +themselves in the corners of the vehicle, which had a body like an omnibus +for four, with a top like the dome of a small temple. They had no idea what +the word or sentence used by the driver had been, but supposed it was +something worth seeing in the town. Two palanquins went by them at full +tilt, and they saw what was to be seen in the street. They went on several +miles, till they appeared to be leaving the city behind them, and they +thought it was time to call a halt. They talked vigorously to the cartman, +and all of them pointed back to the city, and yelled "Madras!" +<p align=justify> +"Mavalipoor!" screamed the driver, pointing with equal energy in the +direction the cart was headed. But the fellow would not stop, and the +lively boys all leaped out of the cart to the ground. He would not go on +without them; but fortunately a gentleman in English costume came along on +horseback. The quartet touched their hats to him, and he stopped his steed. +Louis stated that they wished to go to the Royal Hotel. +<p align=justify> +"The hotel is not in this direction," replied the horseman with much +suavity. But at this moment the driver had something to say, and delivered +himself with energy. "He says you engaged him to take you to Mavalipoor," +the rider explained. Louis stated their position, that when the cartman +said "Mavalipoor" they had assented, without knowing what he meant. +<p align=justify> +"You can make it all right with the man by giving him a rupee when he +leaves you at your hotel," replied the gentleman, laughing heartily at the +mistake, and then informed them that there were some Hindu temples at +Mavalipoor, more than thirty miles distant, that were visited by strangers. +He then ordered the driver to convey his fare to the Royal Hotel, in a very +peremptory manner, and the man obeyed. Thanking the gentleman for his +kindness, they parted. The cartman was in a hurry now, and he urged his +humpbacked bullocks into a lively trot. +<p align=justify> +At the door the boys gave the driver two rupees, and the fellow salaamed as +though he had received a guinea. There are plenty of landaus in Madras at +three rupees a day; and the dak, as the cart is called, and palanquins are +becoming things of the past. Tiffin was ready; and a line of carriages was +at the door waiting for the tourists when they had disposed of the lunch, +and they seated themselves for a drive. +<p align=justify> +"I warn you," said Sir Modava, as the carriages drove off, "that you will +find little here to interest you, after visiting, as you have, the +principal cities of India." +<p align=justify> +"We are about tired of sight-seeing," added Mrs. Belgrave rather languidly; +and this was about the situation of most of the party. +<p align=justify> +They passed the People's Park, an inviting enclosure, with ponds and +pleasant walks, to the Black Town, which contains the homes of the natives, +though there are plenty of shops; and it is crossed by several good +avenues. They came to a street like that called The Strand in Calcutta, and +they drove the whole length of it. They passed into Fort St. George, which +seemed to be a city of itself. Leaving it, they crossed the little river +that meanders through the town, and flows into the ocean at this point. +<p align=justify> +On this shore road were the principal public buildings of the city, and +near the end of it was St. Thomas's Cathedral. This is said to be the site +where the apostle of this name, "Doubting Thomas," was martyred. Early +tradition buried him in Edessa, in Mesopotamia, but a later account sent +him to India; but this is something for learned doctors to discuss. At St. +George's Cathedral the party entered to see the statue, made by Chantrey, +of Bishop Heber, who looks gently and tenderly upon a native convert at his +feet. +<p align=justify> +They rode all over the town, and found several ponds, called tanks; and the +great fort is washed on one side by the river. The second day the party +were driven into the suburbs. At a rocky point on the river they found a +party of half-naked men washing sheets and pillow-cases. The ladies were +interested, and the carriages stopped to enable them to see the operation. +They had something like washboards, laid on the bank of the stream, which +they were hammering with all their might with the sheets, standing in the +shallow water as they did so. Mrs. Blossom declared they must tear them all +to pieces, and she was quite indignant at the way it was done. +<p align=justify> +Another day finished Madras; and, though there was little to see, compared +with the places they had visited before, Mrs. Belgrave declared they had +had a good time. On the morning following they went on board of the +Guardian-Mother, and she sailed for Ceylon. + + + + +<a name="XXXVII"></a> +<h3 align=center>CHAPTER XXXVII</h3> + +<h4 align=center>THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA</h4> + +<p align=justify> +If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see a +cyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it would +have been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on the +beach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But they +had all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. At +her ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at one +o'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled in +Conference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the various +places they had visited in India. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adorned +with stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von Blonk +Park were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, though +they had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions in +Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found them +elsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they had +not been able to devote more time to them. +<p align=justify> +The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from the +deck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and a +portion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was in +ten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea was +smooth. The thermometer stood at 70°, and the ladies declared that the +temperature was just right. +<p align=justify> +"You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and it +takes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without going +into the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand seven +hundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of West +Virginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States. +Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in this +island. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'The +Arabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib. +<p align=justify> +"The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is Mount +Pedrotallagalla,--don't forget the name, my young friends,--eight thousand +two hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go to +Candy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as it +is often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearl +fishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variable +in different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have the +fisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardly +anything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quite +sixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds. +<p align=justify> +"The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces when +the work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks. +Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five of +the latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diver +has a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reach +the bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. The +water varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They work +quickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, though +some can stand it twenty seconds longer. +<p align=justify> +"One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, would +make it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotion +about the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signal +he is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But the +ladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them. +<p align=justify> +"There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing into +the sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate of +the island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the high +lands never exceeds 70°. I shall permit you to describe the flowers after +you have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island is +exceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside in +Ceylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler in +the forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end of +monkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubs +could be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which might +amuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of them +you shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on his +fruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodile +is the biggest reptile found in Ceylon." +<p align=justify> +"But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix. +<p align=justify> +"There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and the +ticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend of +yours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generally +Cingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from the +region of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. The +religion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon the +natives here as well as in Burma. +<p align=justify> +"Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon three +times, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep on +Adam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island, +is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the tooth +of Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. But +it is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; and +the substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblance +to a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of them +sculptured like those near Bombay. +<p align=justify> +"There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, dating +back to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has also +a Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed to +the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802. +<p align=justify> +"Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of the +island; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and within +ten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a great +extent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of the +chocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to a +considerable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; though +Bishop Heber's lines-- + +<blockquote><code> +'What though the spicy breezes<br> + Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,' +</code></blockquote> +<p align=justify> +are not applicable to the island as formerly. +<p align=justify> +"It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become a +great tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in its +culture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years later +over 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is still +greater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who rules +with an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of the +troops is one." +<p align=justify> +"Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?" +asked Captain Ringgold. +<p align=justify> +"I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If I +remember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is +$20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times the +salary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, but +after a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about the +principal towns; "and as he retired the audience separated, for it was to +be a promenade concert. +<p align=justify> +"I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," said +the Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sent +missionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; the +Americans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. A +great deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am not +able just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; but +it has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and even +collegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of the +government system of education. +<p align=justify> +"Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town of +forty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harbor in a sheltered bay. +It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part of +India; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whose +principal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; and +most steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' for +short, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point de +Galle for various ports of India. +<p align=justify> +"The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning is +doubtful. <i>Galles</i> is the French of Wales, and <i>La Nouvelle +Galles</i> is New South Wales; without the final <i>s</i>, the word means +an oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning, +'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of the +word. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo has +captured its business and its prominence. +<p align=justify> +"Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point de +Galle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost +127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generally +call it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the sea +on three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way, +Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of Christopher +Columbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago this +year?" +<p align=justify> +"Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monument +at Genoa last summer." +<p align=justify> +"Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylon +obtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the great +discoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. The +buildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonial +towns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, and +visit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the making +of the city, cost £600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with every +facility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothing +is left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described." +<p align=justify> +Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture, +which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before the +collation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time the +Guardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As the +ship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and was +greeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned. +<p align=justify> +Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in the +afternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages were +obtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of the +town, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested; +and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and a +medicine. +<p align=justify> +"I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, as +they were looking at the trees. +<p align=justify> +"I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them." +<p align=justify> +"This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very old +spice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which it +is there called," added the Indian gentleman. +<p align=justify> +"But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root." +<p align=justify> +"No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty to +thirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But the +cultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leaves +average five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. There +are two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November. +The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it dries +it curls up as you find your stick cinnamon." +<p align=justify> +"I used ground cinnamon," added the lady. +<p align=justify> +"It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another species +of cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and very +likely you buy it ground for the real thing." +<p align=justify> +The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of the +most valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, and +other drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. The +company returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave a +concert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the tourists +remained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from the +citizens of Colombo. +<p align=justify> +The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which Sir +Modava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly through +an elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they had +attained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandy +three days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to stay +longer, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. They +were in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned. +<p align=justify> +They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fifty +to four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrine +of Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which the +English believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine stories +high, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party took +no interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that were +larger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they +had before been informed. +<p align=justify> +With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. The +Guardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon. +The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolan +had nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner for +the last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul, +and others had been invited. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after the +fine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called upon +to respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers." +The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "For +he's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by the +Americans, including the ladies. +<p align=justify> +Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, and +reviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of the +Travancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth the +obligations to which his passengers and himself were under to the +distinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He was +frequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquent +as it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress. +<p align=justify> +Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations, +and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company; +and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, but +that was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr. +Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," which +puzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from. +The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noble +gentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time in +all their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached the +chairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing a +testimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, which +he presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, who +had profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness, +and length of days of the trio. +<p align=justify> +This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturous +applause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to be +enjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages at +the table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any were +present, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyous +occasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall was +cleared. +<p align=justify> +All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be in +India or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, as +well as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen. +After tiffin, when the party started for the steamer that was to convey +them to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo, +with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. The +military band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent the +air, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answer +all the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers. +<p align=justify> +The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. The +guests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of which +the black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of the +departure. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally the +passengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salute +was fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn, +the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward. +<p align=justify> +It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India; +but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the port +bow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climes +they were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everything +that was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decided +views of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for a +time in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples, +and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in the +expression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting in +Conference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visit +next, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in the +immediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of the +company, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, are +referred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOME +ADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED." + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Across India, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 15540-h.htm or 15540-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/5/4/15540/ + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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.org + + +Title: Across India + Or, Live Boys in the Far East + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: April 4, 2005 [EBook #15540] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India." +--Page 234.] + + + + _All-Over-the-World Library--Third Series_ + + ACROSS INDIA + + OR + + LIVE BOYS IN THE FAR EAST + + BY + + OLIVER OPTIC + + AUTHOR OF "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG + KNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" "AMERICAN BOYS + AFLOAT" "THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN + THE NILE" "ASIATIC BREEZES" AND UPWARDS + OF ONE HUNDRED OTHER VOLUMES + + BOSTON + + LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS + + 10 MILK STREET + + 1895 + + + + * * * * * + + + TO + + MY LONG-TRIED FRIEND OF MORE THAN FORTY YEARS, + WITH WHOM IN ALL THAT TIME, + I HAVE NOT HAD A BICKER OR A SHADOW OF UNPLEASANTNESS + THOUGH HE HAS BEEN MY SENIOR PUBLISHER FOR MORE + THAN AN ENTIRE GENERATION, AND TO WHOM + I HAVE NOT DEDICATED A BOOK + FOR THIRTY YEARS + + WILLIAM LEE + + This Volume + + + IS RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY INSCRIBED BY HIS + FAITHFUL AND EVER GRATEFUL FRIEND + + WILLIAM T. ADAMS + + + * * * * * + + + PREFACE + + +"Across India" is the first volume of the third series of the +"All-Over-the-World Library," in which the voyage of the Guardian-Mother is +continued from Aden, where some important changes were made in the current +of events, including the disposal of the little steamer Maud, which figured +to a considerable extent in the later volumes of the library, though they +also comprehended the addition of another and larger consort to the ship, +in which the distinguished Pacha, as a reformed and entirely reconstructed +person, sails in company with the voyagers. + +A few days out from the port of departure, a stirring event, a catastrophe +of the sea, adds three very important personages to the cabin passengers of +the Guardian-Mother, and affords two of the "live boys" an opportunity to +distinguish themselves in a work of humanity requiring courage and skill. +These additions to the company prove to be a very fortunate acquisition to +the party; for they are entirely familiar with everything in and relating +to India. They are titled individuals, two of the trio, who have not only +travelled all over the peninsula, but have very influential relations with +the officers of the government, and the native princes, rajahs, kings, +maharajahs, and nobles. + +The commander, the professor, the surgeon, the young millionaire, and +others who have hitherto given the "talks" and lectures for the instruction +of the young people, and incidentally of the older ones also, find +themselves almost entirely relieved from duty in this direction by those +whom the ship's company have saved from inevitable death in the stormy +billows of the Arabian Sea. The gratitude of the two titled members of the +trio, and their earnest appreciation of the educational object of the long +voyage, induce them to make themselves very useful on board. + +They do not confine themselves to the duty presented to them in "Conference +Hall;" but they are profuse, and even extravagant, in their hospitality, +becoming the hosts of the entire party, and treating them like princes in +the principal cities of India, in all of which they are quite at home. One +of the Hindu maharajahs proves to be an old friend of both of them, and the +party reside a week at his court; and the time is given up to the study of +manners and customs, as well as to hunting and the sports of the country. + +Felix McGavonty, with Kilkenny blood in his veins, is firm in his belief +that he ought not to be afraid of snakes, and does for India a little of +what St. Patrick did completely for Ireland. The other "live boys," though +not so much inclined as the Milesian to battle with the cobra-de-capello, +have some experience in shooting tigers, leopards, deer, pythons, +crocodiles, and other game, though not enough to wholly satisfy their +natural enterprise. + +The tour of the party is made by railroad in India, from Bombay, taking in +Lahore, Delhi, Agra, Cawnpoor, Lucknow, Benares, Calcutta, and by the +Guardian-Mother to Madras and Ceylon. On the way and in the cities the +titled conductors continue their "talks" and lectures about the places +visited, with as much of history as time would permit, including an epitome +of those great events in India, the Mutiny of the Sepoys, the "Black Hole," +and other events of the past. The speakers were assisted by elaborate maps, +which the reader can find in his atlas. Statistics are given to some extent +for purposes of comparison. Brief notices of the lives of such men as +Bishop Heber, Sir Colin Campbell, Henry Havelock, and others are +introduced. + +The party did not claim to have seen all there was of India; simply to have +obtained "specimen bricks" of the principal cities, with a fair idea of the +manners and customs of the people. + + WILLIAM. T. ADAMS. + + * * * * * + + CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I. + +ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE. 1 + + CHAPTER II. + +THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA. 10 + + CHAPTER III. + +A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS. 19 + + CHAPTER IV. + +FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE. 30 + + CHAPTER V. + +THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE 40 + + CHAPTER VI. + +THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN. 50 + + CHAPTER VII. + +DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK 60 + + CHAPTER VIII. + +AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN. 70 + + CHAPTER IX. + +CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA. 80 + + CHAPTER X. + +THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA 90 + + CHAPTER XI. + +A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA 100 + + CHAPTER XII. + +THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA 109 + + CHAPTER XIII. + +LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA 118 + + CHAPTER XIV. + +SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY 128 + + CHAPTER XV. + +ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY 138 + + CHAPTER XVI. + +A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS 148 + + CHAPTER XVII. + +A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION 158 + + CHAPTER XVIII. + +A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY 168 + + CHAPTER XIX. + +MORE SNAKES AND THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA 178 + + CHAPTER XX. + +A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS 187 + + CHAPTER XXI. + +JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS 197 + + CHAPTER XXII. + +A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM 207 + + CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS 217 + + CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA 227 + + CHAPTER XXV. + +FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES 237 + + CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI 246 + + CHAPTER XXVII. + +VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA 256 + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + +AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB 266 + + CHAPTER XXIX. + +THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI 276 + + CHAPTER XXX. + +THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA 286 + + CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW 296 + + CHAPTER XXXII. + +MORE OF LUCKNOW, AND SOMETHING OF BENARES 306 + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + +A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES 316 + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + +ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA 327 + + CHAPTER XXXV. + +A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS 339 + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + +THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY 351 + + CHAPTER XXXVII. + +THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA 367 + + + * * * * * + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + +"HE WAS DRESSED IN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ROBES OF INDIA" _Frontispiece_ + +"A READY SEAMAN SEIZED HIM BY THE ARM" 45 + +"MISS BLANCHE WAS WALKING THE DECK WITH LOUIS AND SIR MODARA" 90 + +"THE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WALKED BY THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE" 155 + +"SNAKES! SCREAMED MRS. BELGRAVE" 184 + +"HE SAW A HUGE COBRA DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM" 242 + +"THE STRIPED BEAST WENT UP INTO THE AIR" 263 + +"CAPTAIN RINGGOLD BROUGHT DOWN ANOTHER" 349 + + + * * * * * + + + + + + ACROSS INDIA + + CHAPTER I + + ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE + + +"Well, Captain Scott, what is the run to-day?" asked Louis Belgrave, the +owner of the steam-yacht Guardian-Mother, which had at this date made her +way by a somewhat devious course half way round the world, and was in the +act of making the other half. + +The young magnate was eighteen years old, and was walking on the promenade +deck of the steamer with a beautiful young lady of sixteen when he asked +for information in regard to the run, or the distance made by the ship +during the last sea-day. + +"Before I answer your question, my dear Louis, I must protest against being +any longer addressed as captain, for I am not now entitled to that +honorable appellation," replied the young man addressed by the owner. + +"Once a captain always a captain," replied Louis. "One who has been +a member of Congress is still an 'Honorable,' though his term of +office expired twenty or forty years ago. The worthy commander of the +Guardian-Mother was always called Captain Ringgold in Von Blonk Park and +New York, though he had not been in command of a ship for ten years," +argued Louis. + +"That's right; but the circumstances are a little different in my case. In +the first place, I am only eighteen years old, and my brief command was a +very small one, as the world goes. It hardly entitles me to be called +captain after I have ceased to be in command. In charge of the little Maud +I was the happiest young fellow on the Eastern Continent; but I am just as +happy now, for this morning I was formally appointed third officer of the +Guardian-Mother, at the wages paid to Captain Sharp when he had the same +position." + +"I congratulate you, Mr. Scott," said Louis, grasping the hand of the new +officer, though he had been duly consulted in regard to the appointment the +day before. + +"Permit me to congratulate you also, Mr. Scott," added Miss Blanche, as she +extended to him her delicate little hand. + +"Thank you, Miss Woolridge," replied the new third officer, raising the +uniform cap he had already donned, and bowing as gracefully as a +dancing-master. "Thank you with all my heart, Louis. I won't deny that I +was considerably broken up when the Maud was sold; but now I am glad of it, +for it has given me a position that I like better." + +"Now, Mr. Scott, what is the run for to-day?" asked Louis, renewing his +first question. + +"I don't know," replied the third officer with a mischievous smile. + +"You don't know!" exclaimed Louis. + +"I do not, Louis." + +"I thought all the officers, including the commander, took the observation, +and worked up the reckoning for the longitude. We got eight bells nearly an +hour ago, and the bulletin must have been posted by this time." + +"It was posted some time ago. All the officers work up the reckoning; and I +did so with the others. The commander and I agreed to a second." + +"What do you mean by saying you do not know the run?" demanded Louis. + +"I do know the run; but that was not what you asked me," answered Scott +with the same mischievous smile. + +"What did I ask you?" + +"The first time you asked me all right, and I should have answered you if I +had not felt obliged to switch off and inform you and Miss Woolridge of my +new appointment. The second time you put it you changed the question." + +"I changed it?" queried Louis. + +"You remember that when Mrs. Blossom asked Flix where under the sun he had +been, he replied that he had not been anywhere, as it happened to be in the +evening, when the sun was not overhead." + +"A quibble!" exclaimed Louis, laughing. + +"Granted; but one which was intended to test your information in regard to +a nautical problem. You asked me the second time for the run of to-day for +the last twenty-four hours." + +"And that was what I asked you the first time," answered Louis. + +"I beg your pardon, but you asked me simply for the run to-day." + +"Isn't that the same thing?" + +"Will you please to tell me how many hours there are in a sea-day?" asked +Scott, becoming more serious. + +"That depends," answered Louis, laughing. "You have me on the run." + +"You will find that the bulletin signed by the first officer gives the run +as 330 miles; but the answer to your second question is 337 miles, about," +added the third officer. "Just here the day is only twenty-three hours and +forty minutes long as we are running; and the faster we go the shorter the +day," continued the speaker, who was ciphering all the time on a card. + +"I don't see how that can be," interposed Miss Blanche, with one of her +prettiest smiles. + +"There is the lunch-bell; but I shall be very happy to explain the matter +more fully later in the day, Miss Woolridge, unless you prefer that Louis +should do it," suggested Scott. + +"I doubt if I could do it, and I should be glad to listen to the +explanation," replied Louis, as they descended to the main cabin; for the +new third officer was permitted to retain his place at the table as well as +his state-room. + +The commander had suggested that there was likely to be some change of +cabin arrangements; for it was not in accordance with his ideas of right +that the third officer should be admitted to the table, while the first and +second were excluded; and Louis was very desirous that his friend Scott +should remain in the cabin. The repasts on board the steamer were social +occasions, and the party often sat quite an hour at the table, as at the +present luncheon. But as soon as the company left their places, Louis and +Miss Blanche followed the third officer to the promenade deck, to hear the +desired explanation of sea-time. + +"Of course you know how the longitude of the ship is obtained, Miss +Woolridge?" the young officer began. + +"Papa explained it to me once, but I could not understand it," replied the +fair maiden. + +"Then we will explain that first. One of the great circles extending +through the poles is called the prime meridian; and any one may be +selected, though that of Greenwich has been almost universally adopted. +This place is near London. From this prime meridian longitude is +calculated, which means that any given locality is so many degrees east +or west of it. Sandy Hook is in longitude 74 deg., or it is that number of +degrees west of Greenwich. Aden is in 45 deg. east longitude." + +"Then you find how many miles it is by multiplying the number of degrees +by 69," suggested Miss Blanche. + +"You have forgotten about knots, or sea-miles," said Louis. + +"So I have! I should have said multiply by 60," added the young lady. + +"That would not do it any better," replied Scott. + +"Degrees of latitude are always the same for all practical purposes; but +degrees of longitude are as-- + + 'Variable as the shade + By the light quivering aspen made,'" + +continued the third officer, who was about to say "as a woman's mind;" +but he concluded that it was not quite respectful to the lovely being +before him. + +"What a poetical sea-monster you are, Mr. Scott!" exclaimed Miss Blanche +with a silvery laugh. + +"I won't do so any more," Scott protested, and then continued his +explanation. "Degrees of longitude vary from nothing at the poles, up to +69.07 statute, or 60 geographical or sea-miles, at the equator. We are +now in about 15 deg. north latitude; and a degree of longitude is 66.65 +statute miles, or 57.9855 sea-miles, near enough to call it 58. By the +way, Louis, multiply the number of statute miles by .87, and it gives +you the sea-miles. Divide the knots by the same decimal, and it gives +the statute miles." + +"I will try to remember that decimal as you have done," replied Louis. +"Now, Mr. Scott, don't open Bowditch's Navigator to us, or talk about +projection,' 'logarithms,' 'Gunter,' and 'inspection;' for I am not capable +of understanding them, for my trigonometry has gone to the weeping +willows." + +"Talk to us in English, Mr. Scott," laughed Miss Blanche. + +"Let us go up to Conference Hall, where there is a table," said the third +officer, as he produced a book he had brought up from his state-room. He +led the way to the promenade, where he spread out a chart in the "Orient +Guide," which had twenty-six diagrams of a clock, one at the foot of every +fifteen degrees of longitude. At this point the commander came upon the +promenade. + +"Formerly the figures on a timepiece in Italy, and perhaps elsewhere, went +up to twenty-four, instead of repeating the numbers up to twelve; and these +diagrams are constructed on that plan," continued Scott. + +"An attempt has been made to re-establish this method in our own country. I +learned once from a folder that a certain steamer would leave Detroit at +half-past twenty-two; meaning half-past ten. But the plan was soon +abandoned," interposed the captain. + +"Aden, from which we sailed the other day, is in longitude 45 deg. east. Every +degree by meridians is equal to four minutes of clock-time. Multiply the +longitude by four, and the result in minutes is the difference of time +between Greenwich and Aden, 180 minutes, or three hours. When it is noon at +Greenwich, it is three o'clock at Aden, as you see in the diagram before +you." + +"Three o'clock in the morning, Mr. Scott?" queried the commander. + +"In the afternoon, I should have added. Going east the time is faster, and +_vice versa_," continued the young officer. "At our present speed our +clocks must be put about twenty minutes ahead, for a third of an hour has +gone to Davy Jones's locker." + +"I understand all that perfectly," said Miss Blanche with an air of +triumph. + +"You will be a sea-monster before you get home. The sirens were beautiful, +and sang very sweetly," added Scott jocosely. + +"They were wicked, and I don't want to be one. But I do not quite +understand how you found out what time it was at noon to-day," added the +young lady. + +"For every degree of longitude sailed there is four minutes' difference of +clock-time," Scott proceeded. "You know that a chronometer is a timepiece +so nicely constructed and cared for, that it practically keeps perfect +time. Meridians are imaginary great circles, and we are always on one of +them. With our sextants we find when the centre of the sun is on the +celestial meridian corresponding to the terrestrial one; and at that +instant it is noon where we are. Then we know what time it is. We compare +the time thus obtained with that indicated by the chronometer, and find a +difference of four hours." + +"I see it all!" exclaimed the fair maiden, as triumphantly as though she +had herself reasoned out the problem. "Four hours make 240 minutes, and +four minutes to a degree gives 60 deg. as the longitude. + +"Quite correct, Miss Woolridge," added Scott approvingly. + +"If I could only take the sun, I could work up the longitude myself," the +little beauty declared. + +"You have already taken the son," replied Scott; but he meant the son of +Mrs. Belgrave, and he checked himself before he had "put his foot in it;" +for Louis would have resented such a remark. + +"I have seen them do it, but I never took the sun myself," protested the +maiden. + +The sea had suddenly begun to make itself felt a few hours before, and a +flood of spray was cast over the promenade, which caused the party to +evacuate it, and move farther aft. It was the time of year for the +north-east monsoons to prevail, and the commander had declared that the +voyage would probably be smooth and pleasant all the way to Bombay. It did +not look much like it when the ship began to roll quite violently. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + THE WRECK IN THE ARABIAN SEA + + +It was a sharp squall that suddenly struck the Guardian-Mother, heeling her +over so that everything movable on her decks or below went over to the lee +side, and sending no small quantity of salt water over her pilot-house. It +had begun to be what the ladies called rough some hours before; and with +them Captain Ringgold's reputation as a prophet was in peril, for he had +predicted a smooth sea all the way to Bombay. + +The Blanche, the steam-yacht of General Noury, which was only a trifle +larger than the Guardian-Mother, rolled even more. She was following the +latter, and seemed to be of about equal speed, though no trial had been +made between them. Miss Blanche and Louis had retreated to a dryer place +than the promenade when the shower of spray broke over the pilot-house upon +them, leaving the commander and Mr. Scott there. + +Captain Ringgold frowned as he looked out on the uneasy waves, for the +squall appeared to be a surprise to him; but it proved to be more than a +white squall, which may come out of a clear sky, while with a black one the +sky is wholly or partly covered with dark clouds. It continued to blow very +fresh, and the commotion in the elements amounted to nothing less than a +smart gale. + +"This is uncommon in the region of the north-east monsoons," said the +commander, who was planking the promenade deck with Scott. "During January +and February the wind is set down as moderate in these waters. I have made +two runs from Cape of Good Hope to Bombay, and we had quiet seas from the +latitude of Cape Comorin to our destination both times; and I expected the +same thing at this season of the year on this voyage." + +The captain was evidently vexed and annoyed at the failure of his +prediction, though squalls were liable to occur in any locality; but the +present rough weather had begun to look like a gale which might continue +for several days. The north-east monsoons were what he had a right to +expect; but the gale came up from the south south-west. The commander +appeared to be so much disturbed, that the young officer did not venture to +say anything for the next half-hour, though he continued to walk at his +side. + +At the end of this time the commander descended to his cabin, inviting +Scott to go with him. On the great table was spread out the large chart of +the Indian Ocean. From Aden to Bombay he had drawn a red line, indicating +the course, east by north a quarter north, which was the course on which +the steamer was sailing. + +"Have you the blue book that comes with this chart, Captain Ringgold?" +asked Scott, rather timidly, as though he had something on his mind which +he did not care to present too abruptly; for the commander was about the +biggest man on earth to him. + +"This chart is an old one, as you may see by the looks of it and the +courses marked on it from the Cape of Good Hope," replied the captain, +looking at the young officer, to fathom his meaning. "I put all my charts +on board of the Guardian-Mother when we sailed for Bermuda the first time. +If I ever had the blue book of which you speak, I haven't it now; and I +forget all about it." + +"I bought that chart at Aden the first day we were there, when I expected +to navigate the Maud to Bombay; and with it came the blue book, which +treats mainly of winds, weather, and currents," added Scott. "I studied it +with reference to this voyage, and I found a paragraph which interested me. +I will go to my state-room for the book, if you will permit me to read +about ten lines from it to you." + +The captain did not object, and Scott soon returned to the commander's +cabin with the book. The autocrat of the ship was plainly dissatisfied with +himself at the failure of his prediction for fine weather, and perhaps he +feared that the ambitious young officer intended to instruct him in regard +to the situation, though Scott had conducted himself in the most modest and +inoffensive manner. + +"I don't wish to be intrusive, Captain Ringgold, but I thought it was +possible that you had forgotten this paragraph," said the young officer, +with abundant deference in his tone and manner. + +"Probably I never saw it; but read it, Mr. Scott," replied the commander. + +"The weather is generally fine, and the sky clear, with neither squall nor +rain, except between Ras Seger and the island of Masira,'" Scott began to +read, when the commander interrupted him, and fixed his gaze on the chart, +to find the localities mentioned. + +"Ras Sajer," said the captain, placing the point of his pencil on the cape +whose name he read. "That must be the one you mention." + +"No doubt of it, sir; and I have noticed that the spelling on the chart and +in the books doesn't agree at all. The island is Massera on my chart." + +"They mean the same locality. Go on, Mr. Scott," added the captain. + +"'And the vicinity of the bay of Kuriyan Muriyan, where the winds and +weather are more boisterous and variable than on any other part of the +coast,'" continued Scott. + +"Where is that bay?" asked the commander. + +"It is between the two points mentioned before; but it is Kuria Muria on +the chart;" and the captain had the point of his pencil on it by this time. + +"We are within three hours' sail of the longitude of that bay, but a +hundred and fifty miles south of it," said the commander. "The information +in the book is quite correct. Is there anything more about it?" + +"Yes, sir; a few lines more, and I will read them: 'Respecting Kuriyan +Muriyan Bay, Captain S.B. Haines, I.N., remarks that the sudden change of +winds, termed by the Arabs _Belat_, and which blow with great violence +for several days, are much dreaded; but what surprised me more than these +land winds were the frequent and heavy gales from the S.S.W. during +February and March, blowing for six days together.'" + +"This gale, for such it appears to be, instead of a mere squall, as I +supposed it was at first, has come before it was due by a few days; but it +proves that what you have read is entirely correct," said the commander. +"My two voyages in the Arabian Sea took me twenty degrees east of this +point, and therefore I had nothing but quiet water. But, Mr. Scott, you +have put an old navigator into the shade, and I commend you for the care +and skill with which you had prepared yourself for the voyage of the Maud +to Bengal." + +"I protest that it was only an accident that I happened on that paragraph!" +exclaimed Scott, blushing under his browned face. + +"You found what you were looking for, and that was no accident. I feel that +I have added an excellent young officer to the number of my officers," +added Captain Ringgold. + +"I thank you, sir, with all my heart; but may I ask one favor of you?" +inquired the third officer. + +"Name it, and I will grant it if possible." + +"I earnestly request that you do not mention this little matter to any +person on board of the ship." + +The commander of the Guardian-Mother was an honest and just man, and he was +disposed to give credit to any one who deserved it, even at his own +expense, and he looked at the young officer in silence for some moments. +Then they argued the question for a time; but the captain finally granted +the new officer's request, praising him for his modesty, which was rather a +newly developed virtue in his character. + +The steamer continued to roll violently when Louis assisted Miss Blanche +down the stairs to the main cabin. The dozen passengers who had not +gone on deck after luncheon were in excellent humor, for all of them +were experienced sailors by this time, and beyond the discomforts of +seasickness. All of them held the commander in such high respect and +regard, that not one of them mentioned the failure of his prediction of +fine weather for the next five or six days. Perhaps all of them wondered, +for the captain's predictions before had been almost invariably verified; +but not one of them spoke of his missing it in this instance. + +The gale continued the rest of the day and during the night. When the +morning watch came on duty at four o'clock, Captain Ringgold was pacing the +promenade deck, peering through the darkness, and observing the huge waves +that occasionally washed the upper deck. He had not slept a wink during the +night, though he had reclined an hour on the divan in the pilot-house. He +was not alarmed for the safety of his ship, but he looked out for her very +carefully in heavy weather. + +He was particularly interested in the conduct of the Blanche. She had taken +a position to windward of the Guardian-Mother, and appeared to be doing +quite as well in the heavy sea as her consort. She had been built with all +the strength and solidity that money could buy; and she was as handsome a +craft as ever floated, not even excepting her present companion on the +stormy sea, and she was proving herself to be an able sea-boat. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Scott," said the commander, as the young officer touched +his cap to him. + +Scott had been temporarily placed in the watch with the first officer, and +his post of duty was at the after part of the ship. + +"Good-morning, Captain Ringgold," replied Scott, as he halted to ascertain +if the commander had any orders for him. "The gale does not appear to have +moderated since I turned in, sir." + +"On the contrary, it blows fresher than ever. I did not expect such a nasty +time as we are having of it," added the commander. + +"According to Captain Haines of the Indian navy, we may expect it to last +five days longer, for we have had nearly one day of it." + +"Not quite so bad as that, Mr. Scott. If we had stayed in the vicinity of +Kuria Muria Bay, we might have got five days more of it; but this is a +local storm, and we shall doubtless run out of it in a day or two at most, +and come again into the region of the north-east monsoon." + +"I hope so for the sake of those in the cabin; and I did not think of the +local feature you mention." + +"The deck is well officered now," added the captain with a gape, "and I +will take a nap in my cabin for an hour or two. Mr. Boulong will have me +called if the storm gets any worse." + +The commander went to his cabin, and Scott walked aft to the compass abaft +the mainmast. The binnacle was lighted, and he looked into it. The course +was all right, though the ship yawed a good deal in the trough of the sea, +the gale pelting her squarely on the beam. Though it was not an easy thing +even for a thorough seaman to preserve his centre of gravity, the young +officer made his way fore and aft with the aid of the life-lines which had +been extended the evening before. He watched the motions of the Blanche, +for there was nothing else to be seen but the waste of angry waters. + +Far ahead the light of the breaking day began to penetrate the gloomy black +clouds. It was a pleasure to come out of the deep darkness, and he observed +with interest the increase of the light. While he was watching the east, +the lookout man in the foretop hailed the deck. He listened and moved +forward to the foremast to hear what passed between him and the first +officer. + +"Steamer on the port bow, sir!" reported the man aloft. + +Scott saw the vessel, but she was too far off to be made out. She passed +and disappeared; but about the moment he lost sight of her, he thought he +heard the report of a musket, or some other firearm, to the northward of +the ship. He listened with all his ears, and then distinguished very +faintly shouts from human voices. He waited only long enough to satisfy +himself that he had not mistaken the roar of the sea for calls for help, +and then went forward to the pilot-house, where he announced that he had +heard the shots and the cries. + +"Are you sure of it, Mr. Scott?" asked the first officer. + +"Very sure, sir." + +"We have heard nothing, and the lookouts have not reported anything," added +Mr. Boulong. + +"On deck, sir! Wreck on the port beam!" yelled the lookout aloft. + +"Call the captain, Mr. Scott," said the first officer, as he went out on +deck. + +He made out the ominous sounds, and judged that they came from a point not +more than a mile distant. The commander and Scott appeared immediately; and +with the increased daylight they discovered several men clinging to what +appeared to be a wreck. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + A REVIEW OF THE PAST FOURTEEN MONTHS + + +The Guardian-Mother had sailed from New York about fourteen months before +she appeared in the waters of the Arabian Sea. She was a steam-yacht of 624 +tons burden, owned by Louis Belgrave, a young man who had just entered his +eighteenth year. His native place was Von Blonk Park, in New Jersey, most +of whose territory had been the farm of the young gentleman's grandfather, +who had become a millionaire by the sale of his land. + +The terrors of the War of the Rebellion had driven the old man to convert +his property into gold, which he had concealed so effectually that no one +could find it. His only son, more patriotic than his father, had enlisted +in the loyal army, and had been severely wounded in the brave and faithful +discharge of his duty, and returned to the home of his childhood a wreck of +his former self. + +His father died during his absence, and Paul Belgrave, the soldier, was his +sole heir. His physical condition improved considerably, though he never +ceased to suffer from the effects of his wound. The homestead of his +father, which had not been sold with the rest of his land, afforded the +invalid a sufficient support; and he married Maud Nashwood, the only +daughter of one of the small magnates of Von Blonk Park, which had now +become a thriving town, occupied mainly by business men of New York. + +Paul Belgrave was a millionaire without any millions; for he was never able +to find the large property of his deceased parent. For ten years he dug +over the cellar bottom of the old house, and the ground in the vicinity; +but the missing million entirely eluded his search, and he died as soon as +he gave up all hope of finding the treasure. + +Mrs. Belgrave was left with their son, then eight years old; but the estate +of her husband, with the property of her father, supported her comfortably. +The widow had been married at sixteen; and she had the reputation of being +the prettiest woman in the Park after her husband died. She had many +suitors, but she finally married a handsome English horse-trainer, who +called himself Wade Farrongate, though that was not his real name. + +For some reason not then apparent, this man at once became the enemy of +Louis Belgrave; and the war between them raged for several years, though +the young man did all he could to conciliate his stepfather. The man was a +rascal, a villain to the very core of his being, though he had attained a +position of considerable influence among the sporting gentry of New York +and New Jersey, mainly for his skill as a jockey, and in the management of +the great races. + +Louis discovered a plan on the part of Farrongate to appropriate the stakes +and other money dependent upon the great race of the season, and escape to +England with his wife and stepson. In this scheme Louis, after he had +obtained the evidence of the jockey's villany, went on board of the steamer +which was to convey them all over the ocean, and succeeded, with no little +difficulty, in convincing his mother of the unworthiness of her husband; +and she returned with her son to Von Blonk Park. The young man went back to +the steamer, and by skilful management obtained all the plunder of the +villain, who sailed for England without his treasure. + +Farrongate, or rather John Scoble, which was his real name, was a deserter +from the British army. He was arrested on his return, and compelled to +serve out the remainder of his term of service. The death of an uncle in +India recruited his finances, and he returned to New York. It afterwards +appeared that he had some clew to Peter Belgrave's missing million, and he +was therefore anxious to recover the possession of the wife who had +repudiated him. + +A successful conspiracy enabled him to convey her to Bermuda. At this stage +of the drama, Captain Royal Ringgold, an early admirer of the pretty widow, +became an active participant in the proceedings, and from that time he had +been the director of all the steps taken to recover Louis's mother. + +In the interim of Scoble's absence, Louis, assisted by his schoolfellow and +devoted friend, Felix McGavonty, had accomplished what his father had +failed to achieve in ten years of incessant search: he had found the +missing million of his grandfather, and had become a millionaire at +sixteen. The young man fancied that yachting would suit him; and he +proposed to Squire Moses Scarburn, the trustee of all his property, to +purchase a cheap vessel for his use. + +The spiriting away of his mother gave a new importance to the nautical +fancy of the young man. Captain Ringgold condemned the plan to buy a cheap +vessel. He had made a part of his ample fortune as a shipmaster, and had +been an officer in the navy during the last half of the War of the +Rebellion. He advised the young man's mother, who was also his guardian, +and the trustee to buy a good-sized steam-yacht. + +A New York millionaire had just completed one of the most magnificent +steamers ever built, of over six hundred tons' burden; but his sudden death +robbed him of the pleasures he anticipated from a voyage around the world +in her, and the vessel was for sale at a reasonable price. The shipmaster +fixed upon this craft as the one for the young millionaire, declaring that +she would give the owner an education such as could not be obtained at any +college; and that she could be sold for nearly all she cost when she was no +longer needed. + +This argument, and the pressing necessity of such a steamer for the +recovery of Mrs. Belgrave, carried the day with the trustee. The vessel +was bought; and as she had not yet been named, Louis called her the +Guardian-Mother, in love and reverence for her who had watched over him +from his birth. After some stirring adventures which befell Louis, the new +steam-yacht proceeded to Bermuda, where Scoble had wrecked his vessel on +the reefs; but the object of the search and all the ship's company were +saved. + +The Guardian-Mother returned to New York after this successful voyage, +though not till Captain Ringgold had obtained a strong hint that Scoble had +a wife in England. The educational scheme of the commander was then fully +considered, and it was decided to make a voyage around the world in the +Guardian-Mother. She was duly prepared for the purpose by Captain Ringgold. +A ship's company of the highest grade was obtained. The last to be shipped +was W. Penn Sharp as a quartermaster, the only vacancy on board. He had +been a skilful detective most of his life, and failing health alone +compelled him to go to sea; and he had been a sailor in his early years, +attaining the position of first officer of a large Indiaman. + +The captain made him third officer at Bermuda, the better to have his +services as a detective. He had investigated Scoble's record, and +eventually found Mrs. Scoble in Cuba, where she had inherited the large +fortune of an uncle whom she had nursed in his last sickness. Scoble had +come into the possession of the wealth of a brother who had recently died +in Bermuda. He had purchased a steam-yacht of four hundred tons, in which +he had followed the Guardian-Mother, and had several times attempted to +sink her in collisions. + +Officers came to Cuba to arrest him for his crimes at the races, and he was +sent to the scene of his villany, where the court sentenced him to Sing +Sing for a long term. The court in Cuba decreed that his yacht belonged to +his wife; and her new owner, at the suggestion of the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, made Penn Sharp, to whom she was largely indebted for the +fortune to which she had succeeded, the captain of her. The steam-yacht was +the Viking, and Mrs. Scoble sailed in her to New York, and then to England, +where she obtained a divorce from her recreant husband, and became the wife +of Captain Sharp, who was now in command of the Blanche, the white steamer +that sailed abreast of the Guardian-Mother when the wreck in the Arabian +Sea was discovered. + +From a sailing-yacht sunk in a squall in the harbor of New York, the crew +of the steamer had saved two gentlemen. One was a celebrated physician and +surgeon, suffering from overwork, Dr. Philip Hawkes. He was induced to +accept the commander's offer of a passage around the world for his services +as the surgeon of the ship. His companion was a learned Frenchman, +afflicted in the same manner as his friend; and he became the instructor on +board. + +Squire Scarburn, Louis's trustee, who was always called "Uncle Moses," was +a passenger. Mrs. Belgrave had taken with her Mrs. Sarah Blossom, as a +companion. She had been Uncle Moses's housekeeper. She was a good-looking +woman of thirty-six, and one of the "salt of the earth," though her +education, except on Scripture subjects, had been greatly neglected. Felix +McGavonty, the Milesian crony of Louis, had been brought up by the trustee, +and had lived in his family. The good lady wanted to be regarded as the +mother of Felix, and the young man did not fully fall in with the idea. + +When Louis recovered the stolen treasure of the jockey, he had applied to +one of the principal losers by the crime, Mr. Lowell Woolridge, then +devoted to horse-racing and yachting, for advice in regard to the disposal +of the plunder. All who had lost any of the money were paid in full; and +the gentleman took a fancy to the young man who consulted him. For the +benefit of his son he discarded racing from his amusements. He invited +Louis and his mother to several excursions in his yacht; and the two +families became very intimate, though they were not of the same social +rank, for Mr. Woolridge was a millionaire and a magnate of the Fifth +Avenue. + +The ex-sportsman was the father of a daughter and a son. At fifteen Miss +Blanche was remarkably beautiful, and Louis could not help recognizing the +fact. But he was then a poor boy; and his mother warned him not to get +entangled in any affair of the heart, which had never entered the head of +the subject of the warning. When the missing million came to light, she did +not repeat her warning. + +After the Guardian-Mother had sailed on her voyage all-over-the-world, Miss +Blanche took a severe cold, which threatened serious consequences; and the +doctors had advised her father to take her to Orotava, in the Canary +Islands, in his yacht. The family had departed on the voyage; but +before the Blanche, as the white sailing-yacht was called, reached her +destination, she encountered a severe gale, and had a hole stove in her +planking by a mass of wreckage. Her ship's company were thoroughly +exhausted when the Guardian-Mother, bound to the same islands, discovered +her, and after almost incredible exertions, saved the yacht and the family. + +The beautiful young lady entirely recovered her health during the voyage, +and Dr. Hawkes declared that she was in no danger whatever. The Blanche +proceeded with the steamer to Mogadore, on the north-west coast of Africa, +in Morocco. Here the ship was visited by a high officer of the army of +Morocco, who was the possessor of almost unbounded wealth. He was +fascinated by the beauty of Miss Blanche, and his marked attentions excited +the alarm of her father and mother, as well as of the commander. He had +promised to visit the ship again, and take the party to all the noted +places in the city. + +The parents and the captain regarded such a visit as a calamity, and the +steamer made her way out of the harbor very early the next morning, towing +the yacht. The Guardian-Mother sailed for Madeira, accommodating her speed +to that of the Blanche. The party had been there only long enough to see +the sights, before the high official, Ali-Noury Pacha, in his steam-yacht +come into the harbor of Funchal. + +The commander immediately beat another retreat; but the Fatime, as the +Moroccan steamer was called, followed her to Gibraltar. Here the Pacha +desired an interview with Captain Ringgold, who refused to receive him on +board, for he had learned in Funchal that his character was very bad, and +he told him so to his face. When the commander went on shore he was +attacked in the street by the Pacha and some of his followers; but the +stalwart captain knocked him with a blow of his fist in a gutter filled +with mud. Ali-Noury was fined by the court for the assault, and, thirsting +for revenge, he had followed the Guardian-Mother to Constantinople, and +through the Archipelago, seeking the vengeance his evil nature demanded. He +employed a man named Mazagan to capture Miss Blanche or Louis, or both of +them. + +Captain Sharp, who was cruising in the Viking with his wife, while +at Messina found the Pacha beset by robbers, and badly wounded. The +ex-detective took him on board of his steamer, procured a surgeon, and +saved the life of the Moor, not only in beating off the robbers that beset +him, but in the care of him after he was wounded. They became strong +friends; and both the captain and Mrs. Sharp, who had been the most devoted +of nurses to him, spoke their minds to him very plainly. + +The Pacha was repentant, for his vices were as contrary to the religion of +Mohammed as to that of the New Testament. Captain Sharp was confident that +his guest was thoroughly reformed, though he did not become a Christian, as +his nurse hoped he would. Then his preserver learned that the Pacha had +settled his accounts with Captain Mazagan, and sold him the Fatime. + +It appeared when Captain Sharp told his story to the commander of the +Guardian-Mother at Aden, that Mazagan had been operating on his own hook in +Egypt and elsewhere to "blackmail" the trustee of Louis. The Pacha had +ordered a new steamer to be built for him in England; and when she arrived +at Gibraltar, he had given the command of her to Captain Sharp, to whom he +owed his life and reformation. + +At Aden, Captain Ringgold discovered the white steamer, and fearing she was +the one built for the Pacha, as Mazagan had informed him in regard to her, +he paid her a visit, and found Captain Sharp in command of her. The Moor +was known as General Noury here, and he made an abject apology to the +visitor. Convinced that the Moor had really reformed his life, they were +reconciled, and General Noury was received with favor by all the party. + +The Blanche was sailing in company of the Guardian-Mother for Bombay when +the wreck with several men on it was discovered. And now having reviewed +the incidents of the past, fully related in the preceding volumes of the +series, it is quite time to attend to the imperilled persons on the wreck. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + FIRST AND SECOND CUTTERS TO THE RESCUE + + +It was still but a dim light when the commander appeared on deck. He could +not have slept more than an hour, but he was as wideawake and active as +ever before in his life. He had a spyglass in his hand, with which he +proceeded to examine the wreck as soon as he had obtained its bearings; for +he never did anything, even under such desperate circumstances as the +present, until he had first ascertained what was best to be done. + +"How long is it since you made out the wreck, Mr. Boulong?" he inquired, +still looking through the glass. + +"Mr. Scott reported cries from that direction not ten minutes ago, and the +lookout aloft hailed the deck a minute or two later," replied the first +officer. + +"Make the course north by east," added the captain. + +"North by east, sir," replied Mr. Boulong, mounting the promenade, and +giving the order to the quartermaster through the window. "Steer small till +you get the course, Bangs." + +The captain and the third officer remained on the promenade deck, still +observing the persons on the wreck, who continued to shout and to discharge +their firearms till they saw the head of the steamer slowly turned to the +north, when they appeared to be satisfied that relief was at hand. + +"They are in a very dangerous position," said the commander. "I cannot make +out what they are clinging too; but it is washed by the sea at every wave, +and they cannot hold out long in that situation. I wonder that all of them +have not been knocked off before this time." + +"They must have some strong hold on the thing that floats them, whatever it +is, for they are under water half the time," replied Scott, who was also +using a spyglass. "I can't make out what they are on; but it looks like a +whaleback to me, with her upper works carried away." + +"There are no whalebacks in these seas," replied the captain. + +"But I saw one in New York Harbor; and I have read that one has crossed the +Atlantic, going through the Welland Canal from the great lakes." + +"They have no mission in these waters, though what floats that party looks +very much like one. Call all hands, Mr. Boulong, and clear away the first +cutter." + +By this time the Guardian-Mother was on her course to the northward. The +storm was severe, but not as savage as it might have been, or as the +steamer had encountered on the Atlantic when she saved the sailing-yacht +Blanche from foundering. The ship had been kept on her course for Bombay, +though, as she had the gale on the beam, she was condemned to wallow in the +trough of the sea; and stiff and able as she was, she rolled heavily, as +any vessel would have done under the same conditions. + +The change of course gave her the wind very nearly over the stern, and she +pitched instead of rolling, sometimes lifting her propeller almost out of +the water, which made it whirl like a top, and then burying it deep in the +waves, causing it to moan and groan and shake the whole after part of the +ship, rousing all the party in the cabin from their slumbers. The ship had +hardly changed her course before Louis came on deck, and was soon followed +by Felix McGavonty. + +"What's the row, Mr. Scott?" asked the former. + +"Are ye's thryin' to shake the screw out of her?" inquired the Milesian, +who could talk as good English as his crony, the owner, but who +occasionally made use of the brogue to prevent him from forgetting his +mother tongue, as he put it, though he was born in the United States. +"Don't ye's do it; for sure, you will want it 'fore we get to Bombay." + +"Don't you see those men standing upon something, or clinging to whatever +floats them? They are having a close call; but I hope we shall be able to +save them," replied the third officer. + +The captain had gone to the pilot-house, from the windows of which the +wreck could be seen very plainly, as its distance from the ship was rapidly +reduced. By this time the entire crew had rushed to the deck, and were +waiting for orders on the forecastle. Mr. Boulong, with his boat's crew, +had gone to the starboard quarter, where the first cutter was swung in on +her davits. The boat pulled six oars, and the cockswain made seven hands. + +With these the cutter wad quickly swung out, and the crew took their places +in her, the bowman at the forward tackle, and the cockswain at the after. +It was the same crew with which the first officer had boarded the Blanche +when she was in imminent peril of going down, and he had entire confidence +both in their will and their muscle. He stood on the rail, holding on at +the main shrouds, ready for further orders. + +In the pilot-house, with both quartermasters at the wheel, the captain was +still observing with his glass the men in momentary peril of being washed +from their insecure position into the boiling sea. Felix had gone aft with +the first officer, and had assisted in shoving out the first cutter from +the skids inboard, and Louis had come into the pilot-house with Scott. + +"Has any one counted the number of men on the wreck, or whatever it is?" +inquired the commander. + +"There are eleven of them," promptly replied Scott, who, as an officer of +the ship, was in his element, and very active both in mind and body. + +"Too many for one boat in a heavy sea," added Captain Ringgold. "You will +clear away the second cutter, Mr. Scott, and follow Mr. Boulong to the +wreck." + +"All the second cutters aft!" shouted the third officer from the window; +and the crew of this boat rushed up the ladder to the promenade deck, and +followed the life-line to the davits of the cutter. + +"Bargate, who pulls the stroke oar in the second cutter, has the rheumatism +in his right arm, and is not fit to go in the boat," interposed Mr. +Gaskette, the second officer. + +"Let me take his place, Captain Ringgold!" eagerly exclaimed Louis +Belgrave. + +"Do you think you can pull an oar in a heavy seaway, Mr. Belgrave?" asked +the commander, who always treated the owner with entire respect in the +presence of others, though he called him by his given name when they were +alone. + +"I know I can!" replied Louis very confidently. + +"I do not object, if Mr. Scott is willing." + +"I am very willing, for Mr. Belgrave's muscle is as hard as a flint." + +"Very well. Hurry up!" added the captain. + +Four other men were sent aft to assist in the preparations for putting the +second cutter into the water; and in as short a time as Mr. Gaskette, who +usually went in that boat on important occasions, would have required to do +it, the cutter was ready to be dropped into the water when the order was +given. + +The captain and the second officer continued to watch the party on the +wreck, expecting every moment to see some of them swept into the savage +waves that beat against their frail support. The ship went at full speed on +her course; for the commander would not waste an instant while the lives of +so many human beings depended upon his action. + +"Can you make out what they are clinging to, Mr. Gaskette?" asked the +commander of the only person besides the two quartermasters who remained +with him in the pilot-house. + +"Yes, sir; I am just getting an idea in regard to it, though the thing is +awash so that I can hardly make it out," replied the second officer. "I +think it is the bottom of a rather small vessel, upside down; for I see +something like a keel. The party have two ropes stretched the whole length +of the bottom, to which they are clinging." + +"You are right; that is plainly the bottom of a vessel, and I wonder that +the craft has not gone down by this time. How she happens to be in that +situation, and why she has not sunk, are matters yet to be explained. Go +aft, if you please, and see that both cutters are ready to be lowered into +the water, Mr. Gaskette. It is not prudent to go much nearer to the wreck, +for the gale may drift us upon it." + +The second officer left the pilot-house, and found the crews all seated in +their boats, with everything in readiness to obey the order to lower away; +and he reported the fact to his superior. + +"Starboard the helm, Bangs, and steer small!" said Captain Ringgold as soon +as the officer returned with the information he had obtained. + +To "steer small" is to move the rudder very gradually; for if the course +were suddenly changed a quarter of the circumference of the compass in such +a sea as was then raging, it would be liable to make the steamer engage in +some disagreeable, if not dangerous, antics. + +"Steady!" added the captain when the steamer was headed a point south of +west. + +This position brought the starboard side of the ship on the lee; that is, +this part of the ship was sheltered from the fury of the wind and the +waves, and it was the proper situation in which to lower a boat into the +water; for on the windward side these two powerful forces would be likely +to stave the cutter against the side of the steamer. + +After the commander had struck the gong to stop her, he gave the order to +the second officer to lower the first cutter; and he left the pilot-house +for this purpose. Mr. Boulong was an exceptionally skilful officer in the +handling of a boat in a heavy sea. Watching for the favorable moment, he +gave the order to the cockswain and bowman to lower away, with the aid of +the oarsmen near them. + +"Cast off the after fall, Stoody!" said he sharply to the cockswain; and +the order was promptly obeyed. "Cast off your fall, Knott!" he added almost +instantly. "Let fall! Give way!" + +A receding wave carried the boat away from the side of the ship, precisely +as Mr. Boulong had calculated. The six oars dropped into the water as one, +and the men began to pull, getting a firm hold on the receding wave, which +sent the cutter to a safe distance from the ship. As soon as she was clear, +the commander, who had remained in the pilot-house, rang the gong to go +ahead. When the steamer had gathered sufficient headway, she was brought +about as cautiously as before. + +The second cutter was on the port quarter of the vessel, and this movement +placed the boat under the lee. Mr. Gaskette had remained aft, and when the +ship had stopped her screw and nearly lost her headway, the captain shouted +to him through his speaking-trumpet, which the roar of the waves and the +escaping steam rendered necessary, to "Lower away!" + +"Lower away when you are ready, Mr. Scott!" repeated the second officer. + +Though Scott was only eighteen years old, he was an intuitive sailor, and +had a good deal of experience for his years. He had never before occupied +his present position; but his nautical genius, fortified by sundry combats +with wind and waves, made him feel quite at home. As the first officer had +done, he seized the auspicious moment when the retiring wave promised its +efficient aid, and gave the orders to cast off the falls. + +The six oars grappled with the water on the smooth side of a great wave, +and carried it to the apex of the next billow; and she went off as +handsomely as the first cutter had done. Mr. Gaskette saw these manoeuvres +successfully accomplished, and then started for the pilot-house, to report +to the captain. On his way he could not help giving an inquiring look at +the manner in which the substitute for Bargate performed his duty. + +At eighteen Louis was a healthy, vigorous, athletic fellow, developed by an +active life on the ocean, and weighing one hundred and fifty pounds. In any +trial of strength he was more than the equal of any other member of the +"Big Four," as the four young men berthing in the cabin called themselves, +borrowing the name from a combination of railroads in the West. He was well +trained as an oarsman, and the second officer was satisfied that he was +doing his full share of the work. + +As Mr. Gaskette reached the pilot-house there was a commotion there, and it +was evident to him that something unlooked for had occurred. He glanced at +the two cutters; but they were all right, and were steadily making their +way to the locality of the wreck. + +"The wreck is going down, sir!" exclaimed Bangs with startling energy just +before the second officer reached the door. + +"It is all up with that craft!" added Twist, the other quartermaster. + +Captain Ringgold said nothing, but calmly surveyed the men who were now +struggling in the water. They seemed to be all able to swim; but it was a +closer call than they had had before. The two cutters appeared to be their +only possible salvation, and they were still at a considerable distance +from the scene of peril. + +It was a terribly exciting and harrowing spectacle; but the commander +looked as impassable as ever. He rang the gong for the ship to go ahead; +and Mr. Gaskette wondered what he intended to do, though he was not left +more than a moment in suspense. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + THE TITLED GENTLEMEN OF THE TRAVANCORE + + +The first and second cutters of the Guardian-Mother were struggling bravely +with the huge billows, but not making very rapid progress, though the gale +was in their favor. The eleven men floundering in the water where the wreck +had disappeared under them were provided with life-preservers, it was now +discovered, and their chances were somewhat less desperate than they were +at first taken to be. But the waves rudely knocked them about, and +sometimes upset them so as to require a struggle to regain their upright +position. + +"The Blanche is close aboard of us, Captain Ringgold," said Mr. Gaskette. +"She is running at full speed for a position on our port hand." + +"Very good," replied the commander. "That is the right thing for her to do, +if she don't come too near us." + +"She is at a safe distance, sir, and her starboard quarter-boat is manned +and ready to drop into the water." + +"Captain Sharp will do the right thing at the right time," replied the +commander, whose gaze was riveted upon the struggling party in the water. + +"I trust we shall be able to save the whole of them." + +"The chances are good for it," answered the second officer. + +"How is the second cutter doing?" inquired Captain Ringgold. + +"She is doing very well, sir, though she is some distance behind the first +cutter, for she got away from the ship later. Mr. Belgrave is pulling a +stroke as vigorous as the rest of the crew. The Blanche is coming about, +and she will have her starboard boat in the water in a few minutes more." + +As her head swung round to port she stopped her screw, and then backed for +a few moments, till she had killed the most of her headway; for Captain +Sharp knew better than to drop the boat into the water while the vessel was +making sternway. In a very short space of time the six-oar craft was +pulling with all the muscle of her British tars for the scene of peril, and +not more than two cables' length astern of the second cutter of the +Guardian-Mother. + +Captain Ringgold observed the boats with the most intense interest as they +approached the unfortunate men in the water. The Blanche came about again, +and her other quarter-boat was soon pulling after the first. Possibly there +was some feeling of rivalry among the crews of the boats in the good work +in which they were engaged, for they were all putting their utmost vigor +into their oars. + +But no boat appeared to gain on the others, and the one which had started +first continued to maintain her advantage till the work of rescuing the +sufferers actually began. By this time the action of the waves had +separated the party, so that they were scattered over a considerable +surface of the breaking billows. Mr. Boulong could see that some of the men +in the water were nearly exhausted; for many of them had wasted their +strength in useless struggles. + +The first cutter was approaching a man who was at the extremity of the +western wing of the party. He was a European of thirty years or less; and +though his head, hair, and beard were dripping with salt water, there was +something in his expression, as he bestowed a single glance upon the boat +now close to him, which commanded the respect, and even admiration, of the +first officer. He was cool and self-possessed in spite of the peril of his +situation, and was observing with painful solicitude the struggles of a +person about ten fathoms from him. + +"Stand by to lay on your oars!" said Mr. Boulong with energy, when the +first cutter was within a boat's length of the individual. "Hold water! +Stand by to haul him in, Knott!" he added to the bow man. "Stern all!" + +These orders were given as the boat came within her length of the man; and +Knott was unshipping his oar, when the stranger raised his left hand, +pointing to the struggling person he had been observing in spite of the +near approach of the cutter. + +"Save that man first, for he is drowning!" he shouted in tones full of +anxiety, if not positive suffering. "I can take care of myself for a while +longer." + +Mr. Boulong's vision had taken in the drowning man, and he fully realized +that the person's situation was desperate, if he was not already hopelessly +lost. He had struggled and twisted himself in his involuntary efforts, till +his life-preserver had worked its way down to his hips, and then it +overthrew him; for he turned a somerset, and disappeared under a coming +wave. He had utterly "lost his head," and was like an infant in the fury of +the billows. + +The men were still backing water with their oars, in obedience to the order +of the officer; but as soon as the oars would go clear of the +self-possessed gentleman, Mr. Boulong gave the command to "Give way!" and +again the cutter went ahead. + +It required but a few strokes to give the necessary headway to the boat; +and Knott was again ordered to stand by to haul him in. The great wave +ingulfed and swept over him, and again left him aimlessly battling with the +killing billows. The bowman was in position, and leaned over so far to +reach the sufferer, that the officer ordered the next two men to seize him +by the legs, to prevent him from being dragged overboard. + +Knott grasped him by his upper garment, and drew his head out of the water. +He held on like an excited bulldog, in spite of the erratic vaulting of the +boat and the struggles of him whom the deep sea seemed to have chosen as +its victim. But the bowman was a muscular seaman of fifty, and he won the +victory over the billows, and hauled the man into the cutter. He was a +person of rather swarthy complexion, dressed in Hindu costume. He was +passed along through the oarsmen to the stern-sheets, where Mr. Boulong +proceeded to lift him up with his feet in the air, to free his lungs from +the salt water he must have imbibed. + +By this time the second cutter came up to the scene, and Scott in command +wondered why the first officer had passed by one man to save another; for +in the commotion of the waves he had not been able to realize the condition +of the Hindu, as he appeared to be. But the cool gentleman had been +over-confident; and instead of waiting for one of the boats to pick him up, +he had disengaged himself from his life-preserver, and attempted to swim to +the first cutter. Mr. Boulong was so occupied with his treatment of the +first man rescued, that he did not see him, or hear his shout above the +noise of the savage waves, and had directed the cockswain to steer for the +next man, who seemed to be an older person than either of the others. + +The Hindu had not entirely lost his senses; and when he was disburdened of +the load of salt water he had swallowed, he looked about him, though still +in a somewhat dazed condition. + +"Dr. Ferrolan!" he exclaimed. "Oh, save him!" He pointed to him as the +stern of the boat rose on a billow; and he proved to be the person towards +whom the cockswain was steering the boat. "Where is Lord Tremlyn?" he +asked, as he surveyed the surrounding waters. "There!" he screamed wildly, +as he pointed over the stern, where the person indicated was swimming for +the first cutter. + +[Illustration: "A ready seaman seized him by the arm."--Page 45.] + +"The other boat is close aboard of him, and will soon pick him up," said +Mr. Boulong, turning his attention to one ahead of the cutter. + +As he spoke, a booming billow struck Lord Tremlyn, as the Hindu had +revealed his name, just as Scott was running his boat up to take him on +board. He was caught just in the comb of the wave, and it upset him, making +him turn a complete somerset, as his companion had done; but he was master +of himself, and when he came up, he appeared to dive through the crest of +another billow, and came out close alongside Scott's boat, near the bow. A +ready seaman seized him by the arm, and, with the aid of another, hauled +him into the boat, where he was passed into the stern-sheets. + +"Was Sir Modava saved?" he asked, with no little excitement in his manner, +as he spit the salt water from his mouth. + +"Don't know him, sir; but they just hauled a man into the first cutter," +replied Scott. + +"Which is the first cutter?" asked Lord Tremlyn, looking about him. + +"The one just ahead of us, sir." + +"Thank God, he is saved!" ejaculated his soaked lordship. "Kindly pull up +to her, and let me be sure of it." + +"That is easier said than done, sir. The first cutter has just picked up +another man, and now she is pulling for all she is worth for the next one. +I couldn't overhaul her if I tried, and just now our business is to save +those in the water," answered the third officer. + +"You are right, Mr. Officer," added Lord Tremlyn, as he seated himself in +the place pointed out to him. + +There were still eight others in the water, and all of them were to the +north of the boats. Those from the Blanche had noticed this fact, and were +pulling in that direction. Mr. Boulong had directed his boat, after taking +in Dr. Ferrolan, as the Hindu called him, to the person the farthest to the +eastward, leaving the others to be saved by the boats nearer to them. + +It is enough to say that all the wrecked party were saved, without giving +the details of the picking up of each of them. The vessel in which they had +foundered had entirely disappeared, and nothing was seen belonging to her. +Against the head sea all the boats pulled back to the two steamers. The +first cutter of the Guardian-Mother had saved three, the second three, and +the two boats of the Blanche had picked up five. + +"Now give three cheers, Mr. Scott," said Louis Belgrave in a low tone, as +the second cutter, ahead of the first on the return, approached the ship. +"The captain will understand from that we have saved all the party." + +Scott approved the suggestion, and the cheers were given with a will, and +repeated by the crew of the first cutter, not far behind. They were +returned from the ship; and the voices included those who belonged in the +cabin, as well as the officers, seamen, and waiters, while the ladies, +clinging to the rails of the promenade, vigorously waved their +handkerchiefs, as the sun rose clear from the eastern waves, though it soon +disappeared in the clouds. It was evident to the officers that the gale was +breaking; or perhaps, as the commander put it, the ship was running out of +it. + +Each of the boats got under the lee in turn; the falls were hooked on, and +both cutters were hoisted up to their davits, as they had come from the +scene of their exploits. Mr. Gaskette was directed to get the ship on her +course again; and Captain Ringgold went aft to welcome the shipwrecked +mariners, or whatever they were. + +The seamen assisted the dripping passengers to the deck; and the masculine +tenants of the state-cabin crept along the life-lines to take part in the +scene, or at least to witness it. As the steamer was headed to the +eastward, the second cutter was the first to be hoisted up. The first +person to be assisted to the deck was Lord Tremlyn, though those who had +saved him were not yet aware of his quality. The commander extended his +hand to him, and it was cordially grasped. + +"I congratulate you, sir, on your escape from the wreck of your ship," said +he. "I thank God most earnestly that we have been able to save all your +party. I hope none were lost before we made you out on the wreck." + +"Not one, Captain; and I join with you in reverent gratitude to Him who +rules the sea in calm and storm, for our preservation from certain death, +which would have been our fate, one and all, but for the care and skill +with which you have worked out our salvation. I thank you and the brave and +noble officers and crews of your boats with all my mind and heart. I speak +not for myself alone, but for all the ship's company of the Travancore, now +gone to the bottom," replied Lord Tremlyn, again grasping the hand of the +commander. + +In a short time the saved from the first cutter joined the others on the +promenade deck, and the Guardian-Mother proceeded on her course to Bombay. + +"Were you the captain of the Travancore, sir?" asked the commander. + +"I am only an amateur sailor," said his lordship; "but I was in command of +the unfortunate vessel, which was a steam-yacht of small dimensions, in the +service of the Indian government. Ah, Dr. Ferrolan," he continued as those +from the first cutter crossed the deck; and he grasped the hand of the +person addressed, "let us thank God first, and then the commander of this +ship, that we have been preserved,--all the ship's company, I am informed." + +"I join you most heartily, my Lord," replied the doctor. "Captain----" + +"Captain Ringgold," prompted Mr. Boulong, by whose boat he had been saved. + +"Captain Ringgold, I am your debtor for life;" and he proceeded to express +his obligations more at length. "Permit me to present to you Lord Tremlyn, +a gentleman who came to India on semi-official business." + +"I am happy to know you, Lord Tremlyn," replied the commander; but the +title did not appear to make a very profound impression upon him. + +"Captain Ringgold, allow me to introduce my particular friend, Sir Modava +Rao, a gentleman high in the favor of the Indian government, and I may add +of all the native princes." + +"I am very happy to make your acquaintance, Sir Modava," replied the +commander, taking his dusky hand. + +The captain then invited the two titled gentlemen and the doctor of the +party to the cabin, while the two engineers were turned over to Mr. +Sentrick, the chief engineer. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION IN THE CABIN + + +It was still early in the morning, and the cabin party were not disposed to +remain any longer on the promenade deck; for it was almost impossible for +some of them to stand up, even with the aid of the life-lines and the +rails, and all of them retreated to the boudoir and music-room. None of +them had been introduced to the strangers; for they had asked to be +excused, as they were not in a presentable condition. + +The trio of distinguished individuals who had been conducted to the main +cabin by the commander were of course soaked with water, and chilled after +remaining so long in their involuntary bath; and for this reason no +questions were asked of them to bring out an explanation of the cause of +the disaster of which they had been the victims. There were three vacant +state-rooms, to which they were assigned, and each of them had a bathroom +connected with it. The two cabin stewards had already been ordered to +prepare these rooms for the occupancy of the newcomers. Warm baths were +ready for them when they took possession of the apartments. + +"All this is more luxurious than we have been accustomed to lately," said +Lord Tremlyn, when the commander ushered him into No. 11, which was +provided with everything belonging to a suite of rooms in the best hotels +of the United States. + +"I hope you will be able to make yourself comfortable, sir; but your +greatest need at the present moment appears to be dry clothing, when you +have restored your limbs to their normal condition in the bath, and I will +endeavor to supply this want," replied the commander. + +"You are very kind, Captain Ringgold, and I shall never cease to be +grateful to you for the service you have rendered to me and my companions; +for all of us would have perished when the wreck of our steamer went down, +without the prompt assistance you rendered to us," said the principal +personage of the party, who was still shivering under the influence of the +chill he had received in the cold waters of the sea. + +The captain retired, closing the door of the room. He went to No. 12, to +which Sir Modava Rao had been shown, and then to No. 13, which had been +appropriated to Dr. Ferrolan. He assured both of them that dry clothing +would be provided for them, and both of them stammered forth their +obligations very profusely from between their chattering teeth. The doors +were closed upon them after they had been instructed to call upon the +stewards outside for anything they needed. + +The commander had taken the measure of the trio, and knew where to apply +for the clothing needed. The surgeon of the party was about the size of Mr. +Sage, the chief steward of the ship; and he was asked to supply a full +suit, including undergarments, shirt, socks, collar, and cravat. His +lordship was about the size of Mr. Woolridge, who was more than happy to +provide for the needs of this gentleman. Professor Giroud was a rather +slender person; and from his wardrobe came the suit and other furnishings +for the titled Hindu. The clothing of each person was placed on a stool at +the door of his room, and he was notified where to obtain it. + +"Mr. Sage, you understand by this time that we have sixteen places to be +taken at the table," said Captain Ringgold to the chief steward. + +"I think I had better set two tables, for sixteen would be rather crowded +in the space we use now," replied Mr. Sage, who was a Napoleon in his +calling. "I propose to arrange them as they were at the big dinner you gave +at Aden." + +"And while you are about it you may arrange for nineteen places at the +tables," replied the captain; but he did not explain who were to occupy the +three he had added to the number. + +The commander went to his private cabin, after he had visited the +pilot-house, and made a diagram of the two tables, assigning places to each +of the party and the guests, but leaving three of the end places vacant. He +showed it to Louis and Mrs. Belgrave, and they made no objection to the new +arrangement. It was handed to the chief steward, who put a card with the +name of the occupant of each seat on the plate in front of it. The +revolving chairs at the tables had to be all changed, and more added to it; +and Stevens the carpenter, with his assistants from the crew, were busy for +an hour making the change. + +When the commander visited the music-room, he was unable to answer any of +the questions of his passengers as to the details of the wreck of the +Travancore, though he gave the names and quality of the three gentlemen who +had been invited to go below. The sleepers in the cabin had been aroused by +the erratic movements of the steamer before daylight, especially by the +change from rolling to pitching. There was a thundering roar of escaping +steam at times, and all of them had "turned out" to ascertain the cause of +the commotion. Felix and Morris had been the first to go on deck, and they +had informed the others of the nature of the event which had caused the +commotion on board. + +The regular passengers had seen the strangers as they came down to the +promenade deck from the cutters. They were naturally filled with curiosity +to ascertain who and what the trio were. One was a lord, another a sir, and +the third a surgeon; and this was all that was known to any one. + +"Have we really a live lord on board, Felix?" asked Mrs. Blossom, as they +were waiting for breakfast in the music-room. + +"He is not a dead one, sure," replied the Milesian, "though he would soon +have been a very dead one if we had not happened along when we did." + +"One of them was a colored man," added the good lady. + +"Sir Modava Rao!" exclaimed Felix. "He is not more than a shade darker than +you are, Aunty; and he is a great man in the country we visit next. But dry +up; the captain is going to say something." + +The commander gave the names of the three distinguished persons who were +then in the cabin. It was very nearly breakfast-time, and the trio had had +abundant time to dress themselves in the garments provided for them, and he +requested all the party to descend to the cabin, leading the way himself. +They found the rescued party seated on the divans between the doors of the +state-rooms, and they all rose to their feet as soon as the commander +appeared. + +They presented an entirely different appearance from what they did in their +drabbled garments; for those who had supplied them with clothing had +brought out their best clothes, and the three gentlemen seemed to be in +condition to go to church. Lord Tremlyn hastened to the captain with +extended hand as he stepped down upon the floor of the cabin. + +"I desire to express my gratitude anew to you, and to the gentlemen who +have made us capable of coming into your presence in proper condition," +said his lordship, as the commander took his offered hand, which was wrung +with the utmost cordiality. + +"So far as I am concerned, my Lord, I have done nothing but my duty; for I +am a sailor, and the true son of the ocean is always ready to sacrifice +even his life to save a shipwrecked brother of the sea," replied the +captain. + +"Then you are a true son of the ocean, Captain Ringgold, and I shall +remember you as long as I live in my prayers!" + +"So shall we all!" exclaimed Sir Modava, taking the hand of the commander. + +"I indorse the sentiment," added Dr. Ferrolan. + +"In regard to the clothing," said the commander, as he threw back his head, +elevated his shoulders, and spread out his arms, so as to exhibit to its +full extent the height and breadth of his stalwart form, "I was, +unfortunately, unable to contribute to the supply of garments for your +party; for mine on any one of you would have been like a shirt on a +handspike." + +"But a London tailor could hardly have fitted us any better," replied the +spokesman of the trio. + +"I am happy to see you in such excellent condition so soon after the +disaster. With your permission, gentlemen, I desire to introduce you to +each of my passengers, promising to indicate those whose garments you +wear," continued the commander. + +"With the greatest pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; and the other two bowed +their acquiescence. + +"This, gentlemen, is Mr. Belgrave, the owner of the Guardian-Mother, the +steam-yacht in which he is making a voyage round the world." + +"I am extremely pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Belgrave," added +Lord Tremlyn, as he took the hand of the young millionaire. "We owe our +lives to the fortunate presence of your magnificent steam-yacht in this +part of the Arabian Sea. Permit me to present to you Prince Modava, who has +been knighted for his distinguished services to the British Crown, and who +prefers to be known by his English title." + +"That's your colored man!" whispered Felix to Mrs. Blossom. + +"Good gracious!" exclaimed the motherly lady. "A live prince!" + +"It affords me very great pleasure to become acquainted with you, Mr. +Belgrave," with a smile so sweet and expressive that it ravished the hearts +of the ladies. "I am under a burden of obligation to you which I shall +never be able to repay; and I hope I shall be able to render you some +slight service in assisting you to see India, for I learn that you are +bound to Bombay." + +"I thank you, Sir Modava; and we shall gratefully accept any favors you may +extend to us." + +"Let me add, my Lord, that Mr. Belgrave pulled the stroke oar in the boat +which picked you up after you had sent our first cutter to the relief of +Sir Modava," interposed the commander. + +"Then I shall have an additional reason to remember with gratitude the +young gentleman," added Lord Tremlyn. + +"Mrs. Belgrave, gentlemen, the mother of our owner," the captain proceeded, +as he took the lady by the arm. + +"I congratulate you, madam, on being the mother of such a noble son; for +not many young men with the fortune he has at his command would pull an oar +in such a gale, such a storm, even to save his fellow-beings from perishing +in the angry waves," said his lordship, as he took the hand of the lady. +"Blessed be the mother of such a boy!" + +The members of the Woolridge family were next presented to the trio; and +the distinguished strangers had something pleasant to say to each of them. +The "live lord" was only twenty-eight years old, and Sir Modava but thirty, +while Dr. Ferrolan was forty-six; and all of them seemed to be greatly +impressed, and even startled, when Miss Blanche dawned upon them; for she +was as beautiful to them as she was to everybody else, and they seemed to +be unwilling to allow her to make room for the others to be introduced. + +Every person in the cabin seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion; +and the wearers of the borrowed clothing, as the owners of the garments +were indicated, brought forth many humorous remarks from both sides, which +it would be pleasant to report if space permitted. The ceremony was +finished in due time, though it was rather a long time. + +"We are not accustomed to the companionship of titled personages," said the +commander at its conclusion. "But we are eminently a social party, and we +desire our guests to make themselves as much at home on board of the +Guardian-Mother as if they owned her, and were running her for their own +pleasure." + +"Thank you, Captain Ringgold. Titles are not men, and we know that you are +all republicans. If we do not make ourselves worthy of the generous welcome +you have extended to us, we shall not ask any consideration on account +of the titles that have fallen upon us through the nature of our +constitutional government. I believe that we all stand on the same level +before our Maker; and whatever social distinctions prevail in our country, +they do not exempt any Briton from being a gentleman and an honest man," +replied Lord Tremlyn. And his remarks were warmly applauded by both English +and Americans; and the gentleman bowed his thanks for this appreciation of +his sentiments. + +At a nod from the captain the bell was rung for breakfast. Taking the "live +lord" by the arm, he conducted him to the seat next him on his right. Louis +conducted Sir Modava to the place on the commander's left, and placed his +mother next to him. It was found impracticable to heed the names that had +been placed on the plates, for it would have taken too much time. Louis +took Miss Blanche to the place next to his mother, and seated himself at +her right. + +Dr. Hawkes took possession of Dr. Ferrolan, and placed himself and Uncle +Moses on each side of him. The professor took charge of Mrs. Blossom. The +captain invited those who remained standing to take such seats as they +chose; and when all were placed at the table, he reverently said a brief +grace. Everybody was unusually social; but as the commander had announced +that the particulars of the wreck of the Travancore would be detailed in +due time by Dr. Ferrolan, the subject was ignored, and the voyage of the +Guardian-Mother was the general subject of conversation. The chief steward +had "spread himself" on the breakfast, and the meal was far more elaborate +than usual; and the wrecked trio proved that they had excellent appetites. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK + + +With the rising of the sun the gale had broken, and by the time the party +in the cabin left the table, the north-east monsoon was soothing the ocean +with its gentle blast. The angry sea was rapidly becoming good-natured +again, though the waves were still high enough to give the ship an uneasy +motion. But all the party, and no less the trio added to their number, had +their sea-legs on, and no reasonable motion disturbed any of them. + +The two engineers from the wreck of the Travancore had been as carefully +looked after as the strangers in the main cabin. They had been supplied +with clothing, and they had breakfasted in the mess-room on the best the +larder afforded. The third person brought in by the second cutter was the +Hindu cook of the wrecked steamer; but he spoke English very well, and had +been otherwise Europeanized. He had been turned over to Baldy Bickling, the +second cook of the ship, who had clothed and fed him, and seemed to be +unable to do enough for him. + +The three gentlemen in the cabin were as sociable as could be desired; and +though it was Sunday morning, the scene at the tables had been very +animated. + +When the meal was finished, the guests at their own request were shown over +the ship; and they were not at all reserved in the expression of their +admiration at the elegance with which she had been fitted up, and not less +at the convenience of all the arrangements. + +Lord Tremlyn was particularly interested in the educational feature of the +Guardian-Mother, as Captain Ringgold explained his pet scheme in the +library, or study, abaft the state-cabin, as it was called on the plan of +the vessel prepared by the gentleman for whom she had been built. The +guests looked at the titles of the books, considerable additions to which +had been made at Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere. + +"This is not a library of romances," said his lordship with a smile, as he +took in the encyclopaedias, books of travel, scientific treatises, and +geographical works. + +"No, sir; they cover a broad range of useful information," replied the +commander. "Those of our company who are disposed to read novels supply +themselves with that kind of literature. Quite a number of them are +lecturers"-- + +"Lecturers!" exclaimed the distinguished guest. "Then a large number of +your passengers must be scientific people." + +"Not at all, sir; the large majority of them are men and women of good +education, and Professor Giroud is a learned Frenchman who has been a +lecturer at various colleges and schools. Dr. Hawkes is a leading member of +his profession, and is sometimes a lecturer in various medical and surgical +institutions in New York. Both of these gentlemen are making this voyage to +regain their health, injured by over-work." + +"You are fortunate in having such men on board," added his lordship. + +"But most of our lecturers are persons of fair education, and only three of +them have been graduated from the university. We assign subjects to them +some time in advance, and they prepare themselves for the occasion. This +gives the unprofessional people an interest in the exercises they would not +otherwise have. For example, Mr. Woolridge"-- + +"I beg pardon, but he is the father of the beautiful young lady who was +seated at the table next to Mr. Belgrave, is he not?" interposed Lord +Tremlyn. + +"The same, sir. At first he considered the lectures a bore; and doubtless +they were such to him, for he had been a sporting-man and a yachtsman, +though he has since abandoned the races. But I gave him as a subject the +horses and other animals of Egypt. He did very well with it in his peculiar +way; and since that he is one of the most interested in the lectures,--or +perhaps I had better call them simply talks," added the commander. + +"Then this voyage will create a new taste for him." + +"I have no doubt of it. He is a Fifth Avenue millionaire, and he is able to +cultivate any taste he may acquire. Mr. Belgrave is one of our most useful +speakers, for he studies his subjects very faithfully. He is a devoted +student, speaks French fluently, and gets along very well with Spanish. +This voyage is a college course for him." + +"Do your ladies take an interest in these lectures, Captain Ringgold?" + +"All of them, though I have assigned a subject to only one of them. They +all manifest their interest by asking questions. Like myself, Mrs. Belgrave +and Mrs. Blossom are Methodists, while the Woolridge family are +Episcopalians, though none of us are bigoted. The sisters of my church are +very favorable to religious topics, such as were suggested on the Nile; and +when we were near the land of Goshen and the Sinai peninsula Mrs. Belgrave +spoke to us in this connection. Mrs. Blossom is one of the "salt of the +earth," a very good woman, very religious, and her studies have been +confined to the Bible and her denominational newspapers. Her education was +neglected, and she is rather tonguey, so that she asks curious questions; +but we all esteem her very highly, though her American peculiarities may +seem very odd to you." + +"I have known similar people in England, and your description of her leads +me to respect the lady," replied the titled gentleman, who appeared to be +very democratic so far as homely merit was concerned. + +Dr. Hawkes had taken his professional brother in charge, and Louis, Sir +Modava, as the commander had Lord Tremlyn, and they were showing them over +the ship. We need not follow them or repeat their explanations; but they +finally reached the promenade deck, where all the officers were presented +to the guests of the steamer. At Conference Hall the three couples met, and +the lectures were again commented upon; for this subject was uppermost in +the mind of the commander. + +"Do you have a lecture to-day, Captain Ringgold?" asked his lordship. + +"No, sir; this is Sunday, and we keep the Sabbath in a reasonable manner, +and the conference is usually omitted on this day, though when the subject +is appropriate for the day the lecture is given. The professor is a Roman +Catholic; but we have not had the slightest friction in regard to any man's +creed. The owner and voyager in our consort, the white ship abreast of us, +whose boat picked up five men of your ship's company, is a Mohammedan, +though the captain and his wife are Congregationalists. We have a religious +service on board at eleven o'clock, to which your party are invited, though +no umbrage will be taken if you prefer to absent yourselves." + +"I shall certainly attend," replied his lordship; and his companions said +the same. "Have you a chaplain?" + +"We have not, and I am obliged to act in that capacity for the want of a +better," replied the captain. "We Methodists are all trained to 'speak in +meeting,' whether we have the gift or not." + +At the appointed time the gong was sounded for divine service, and four +whistles were given, that all on board might hear the call. Chairs had been +provided for the guests, and all the party were seated when six bells +struck. The two engineers of the Travancore were seated on the platform +with, the cook, and all the officers and seamen who could be spared stood +within hearing. + +Most of the party were provided with tune-books, and the captain gave out +"The Life-Boat." Books were passed to the strangers, and the commander led +off in the singing. Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan joined in with vigorous +bass voices. Captain Ringgold then followed with an extemporaneous prayer, +in which he poured forth his thanks to the God who rules the sea and the +land for the mercy that had spared their brothers from other lands from the +mighty power of the raging billows. Instead of reading a printed sermon as +usual, he gave an impromptu address relating to the event of the early +morning. Its bearing was very religious, and it was as eloquent as it was +homely compared with studied discourses. + +After the singing of "Nearer, my God, to thee," the service closed; but the +people were invited to keep their seats. Without any explanation of what +was to follow, the captain introduced Lord Tremlyn. + +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I am utterly unable to express my +high appreciation of the religious service in which we have all assisted. +It went to my heart, and I am sure we who have been saved from perishing in +the stormy billows joined heartily with him who officiated in giving thanks +to God for our preservation," his lordship began. + +"We are all profoundly impressed by the kindness, the unbounded +hospitality, which have been extended to us in our unfortunate, I may say +our forlorn, condition; and I am sure that not one of us, from the amateur +captain of the Travancore, to the coolies who were saved by the Blanche, +will ever cease to bless the commander, the officers, the crew, and the +passengers of the Guardian-Mother for the overwhelming kindness and care +they have all bestowed upon us. Though we are not at the festive board, I +venture to propose to you the health of Captain Ringgold, as the +representative of all to whom we are so gratefully indebted." + + "For he's a jolly good fellow! + For he's a jolly good fellow! + For he's a jolly good fellow! + So say we all of us!" + +To the astonishment, and perhaps to the disgust, of the two Methodist +ladies, Dr. Ferrolan struck up this refrain, singing with a vigor which +proved his earnestness. Sir Modava, the engineers, and the cook immediately +joined in with him. Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Mr. Woolridge, and others, +because they approved the sentiment of the words, struck in at the second +line, and it became a full chorus before the last line was reached. + +It is an English custom to follow a toast to a distinguished personage with +this refrain, as expressive of the sentiments of the company; and though it +was not adapted to Sunday use, it was sincere and heartfelt on the part of +all who sang it. Captain Ringgold rose and bowed his thanks, and Lord +Tremlyn spoke again:-- + +"It is very natural that you should desire to know something about the +guests who have been so fortuitously cast into your kindly embrace, and +especially in regard to the calamity which has made us the recipients of +your generous hospitality; and Captain Ringgold gives us this opportunity +to gratify your reasonable curiosity. I am no orator, like my brother, the +commander of the Guardian-Mother, and I shall call upon my friend and +secretary, who has been travelling with me in India for his health, to give +you the desired information." Though it was Sunday, even the commander +joined in the applause that greeted the doctor when he mounted the rostrum. + +"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I beg to inform you that my Lord +Tremlyn is quite as capable of speaking for himself as I am for him; but as +I am called upon to make this explanation, I shall do so with pleasure. I +have the honor to be the secretary of the Right Honorable Viscount Tremlyn, +the son of the noble earl who is Secretary of State for India. He has been +on a mission in the interests of his father to obtain certain information, +though he holds no official position. + +"Sir Modava Rao has held several official positions in India, and is +perhaps more familiar with the country and its British and native +governments than any other man. He has been travelling with Lord Tremlyn, +to assist him in obtaining the information connected with his unofficial +mission. My lord has completed the work assigned to him; but the viceroy +wished him to visit the Imam of Muscat unofficially for a certain purpose I +am not at liberty to state. + +"In a small steam-yacht owned by Sir Modava, the most devoted friend of his +lordship, in which he had been all around the peninsula, and up several of +its rivers, we embarked for Muscat, and safely reached that country. Then +the viscount decided to proceed to Aden, where he had important business; +for he intended to return to England by the Euphrates route, in order to +inform himself in regard to the navigation of the river. We sailed for +Aden, believing we should have the calm and pleasant weather of the +north-east monsoon. + +"Yesterday we encountered the gale from the south-west, which was very +unusual. But the Travancore was an able seaboat, and we went along very +well until we were run into by a steamer in the darkness and mist early +this morning. The side of the little steamer was stove in, and she began to +fill. We put on our life-preservers, and prepared for the worst. We +stretched a life-line fore and aft, and listened to the gurgling waters +below deck. Suddenly, when she was partly filled with water, she capsized. +We clung to the life-line, which unhitched forward. + +"Of course we expected she would go down; but she did not for several +hours. We had our life-preservers on, and we made fast the lines forward, +which saved us from being washed off the bottom of the vessel. I had a +revolver in my pocket, and when I saw the port light of your steamer, I +fired it, and we all shouted at the top of our lungs. + +"We could hear the air and the water bubbling and hissing under us at +times, and it was understood that the confined air above the water in the +hull had kept her afloat. But this air had all escaped as the +Guardian-mother approached us, and with no warning she went to the bottom. +We were floated by our life-preservers till your boats picked us up, though +we were fearfully shaken and tossed about by the waves. Our gallant +saviours know how we were rescued--all honor and glory to them!" + +The doctor finished his explanation and took his seat. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN + + +"Our log-book indicates that we passed a steamer to the northward of us at +four bells in the mid-watch," said Captain Ringgold, when Dr. Ferrolan +finished his narrative. "She was headed about west by south; and very +likely it was the one which ran into the Travancore, for no other was +reported." + +"She was a vessel of about four hundred tons," added the viscount. "I was +in the pilot-house at the time, though the weather was so thick that I +could hardly make her out as she slipped off from our starboard bow, and +went on her course." + +"Didn't she hail you, and offer to stand by you?" +inquired the commander. + +"I heard something like a shout coming from her, and in a moment she was +beyond hailing-distance. I supposed we were going to the bottom in a few +minutes, and had my hands full, so that I had no time to look out for her, +though I supposed she would come about and render assistance; but we did +not hear from her again." + +"It is possible that she did so, and was unable to find you, for it was +very dark, and the sea was very rough," suggested the commander. "But her +conduct looks heathenish, and I will warrant that she was not an English +steamer; for the British tars never pass by their fellow-beings on the +ocean in distress without rendering assistance." + +"It was a new experience to me," added his lordship, "and perhaps I +neglected something I ought to have done." + +"I think not; for your first and supreme duty at that time was to look out +for the safety of your own vessel," replied Captain Ringgold. + +"So far as that was concerned, I believe I did all I could do to repair the +mischief," continued the viscount. "The chief engineer reported to me that +the side of the yacht was stove in near the bow, and that the water was +pouring into the hull. He suggested that a double sailcloth be hauled under +the vessel. We had no sails, but we promptly made use of an awning, and we +succeeded in drawing it under the bottom, and covering the aperture." + +"That was precisely the right thing to do," said the commander. + +"Probably it enabled us to float a short time longer than we should +otherwise have done; but the yacht had taken in too much water before we +applied the remedy, for suddenly, on the top of a huge wave, she made a +heavy roll, capsized, and came up with her keel in the air. I am only +afraid that I did not do all that might have been done." + +"I could have done no more if I had been there with all my ship's company," +the commander declared; for the amateur captain of the Travancore was a +conscientious man, and desired to relieve his mind of all blame for his +conduct; and he had really done all that could be done, though the remedy +applied was a failure. + +"My chief engineer was an experienced man, and I followed his counsels in +everything," added the viscount. + +"His lordship did all that it was possible for any man to do in such a +case," interposed the chief engineer of the Travancore, who was seated on +the platform. "I can only thank God that we were all saved, and I am sure +that no one is to blame." + +"I am told that our cabin waiter and four coolies were picked up by the +other steamer," said Lord Tremlyn, as he looked about him. + +"That is true, sir," interposed Mr. Boulong, who stood on the deck by the +platform. "Sir Modava told me there were eleven persons on board of the +wreck. I saw that number saved myself." + +The details of the wreck of the Travancore were fully explained, though +individuals continued to talk about it until lunch-time. At the mid-day +repast the commander gave up his plan of seating the party, and invited the +members of it to select their own places; and they all took those they had +occupied at breakfast. In the afternoon the rough sea had almost entirely +subsided under the influence of the north-east monsoon, and the motion of +the steamer was easy and pleasant. + +The company assembled in the music-room after a walk on deck, and the +captain, with the three notable guests, joined them after they had finished +their cigars; for all of them smoked. The "Gospel Hymns" and other hymn and +tune books were distributed. It was the usual time for singing, and the +trio from the Travancore contributed largely to the volume of tone on the +occasion. The new third officer had been stationed in the watch with Mr. +Boulong, and Scott had the first part of the afternoon watch. The officers +and engineers not on duty, as well as the members of the party from the +wreck, gathered at the windows of the music-room, and the commander invited +them to take seats in the apartment, thus adding still more to the volume +of the harmony. The music was all sacred, and nothing purely secular was +permitted by the captain. + +Dr. Ferrolan, who had a fine bass voice, was invited to sing "Rocked in the +Cradle of the Deep," at the suggestion of Lord Tremlyn. His lordship sang +"Oh that I had Wings!" and Mrs. Belgrave, who was the pianist of the +occasion, gave a solo, while Sir Modava sang the "Missionary Hymn," which +is still a favorite in England and America, translated into the Hindu +language. The party who could not understand him followed in the +hymn-books. + +"I wonder who wrote that beautiful hymn," said Mrs. Blossom, when there was +a pause as the singer finished. "It says Heber in my book, but I don't know +who he was." + +"Reginald Heber was an English clergyman and poet, born in 1783. He was a +student in an Oxford college; I forget which," replied Sir Modava. + +"Brasenose," prompted the viscount. + +"As a student in this college he wrote 'Palestine,' for which he obtained +the prize; and it still holds a place in the literature of England. He soon +obtained a living, and occupied a prominent position among the clergy of +his native island. In 1823 he was made Bishop of Calcutta. + +"Three years later, in the midst of his zealous labors in the service of +his Master, he died at Trichinopoly of apoplexy, greatly lamented. Perhaps + + 'From Greenland's icy mountains, + From India's coral strand,' + +which you have sung this afternoon, is the widest-known of Bishop Heber's +hymns; but will you indulge me if I ask you to sing another of them, which +I find in the book I hold in my hand?-- + + 'Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, + Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.'" + +The hymn was sung to Mozart's music by about twenty voices, and the effect +was exceedingly agreeable. Sir Modava seemed to be in a rapture, as the +piece was his favorite, and came from one who was connected with his native +land. + +He was a rather tall and slender man, and all the ladies declared that he +was very handsome; and his slightly dusky hue added to, rather than took +from, the beauty of his countenance. He wore a small mustache, but no other +beard. He was a nervous and highly sensitive person, and there was always a +smile on his face. He had already become a favorite among the gentlemen as +well as the ladies. + +Another meeting was held in the evening, which was varied by some speaking +on the part of the gentlemen, including the guests, Uncle Moses, Dr. +Hawkes, and the commander. At the conclusion of the exercises, Sir Modava +begged the company to close by singing another of Bishop Heber's verses, +which he repeated from memory, though it was in one of the books:-- + + "God that madest earth and heaven, + Darkness and light; + Who the day for toil hast given, + For rest the night,-- + May thine angel guards defend us, + Slumber sweet thy mercy send us, + This livelong night!" + +With this musical prayer on their lips, the company retired. Most of them +went to their staterooms; for the guests were very tired, and the regular +inmates of the cabin had left their berths at an unusually early hour in +the morning. All of them, whether technically religious or not, had been +greatly impressed by the music and the speaking of the evening. Dr. +Ferrolan was a more inveterate smoker than his companions in misfortune, +and he went with the commander to the deck, and was invited to the +captain's cabin, where he was provided with cigars. + +"As you have already learned, Doctor, I am greatly interested in the +educational feature of my ship," said Captain Ringgold, after they had +conversed a while. "I desire to make it as attractive as possible, and I +have studied to vary it all I could." + +"You have turned your ship into a noble and useful institution," replied +the guest. "Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava have both spoken in the highest +terms of this feature. And these lectures are mainly for the benefit of Mr. +Belgrave, your owner?" + +"The plan was introduced principally on his account; but it has grown into +an exercise for all the cabin party, and most of them are speakers as well +as listeners; for it makes all of them feel a greater interest in the +conferences," replied the commander. "To-morrow we are to begin upon India, +dwelling upon its geography, civilization, government, and history. Now, I +wish to ask you, Doctor, if there would be any impropriety in my asking the +members of your party berthed in the cabin to take part in these +exercises?" + +"Not the slightest, Captain Ringgold." + +"Probably you are all better informed in regard to the affairs of the +peninsula than any three other men I could find if I were to search for +them here and in England," added the commander. + +"You are not far from right, sir, as far as my associates are concerned; +for officially or unofficially they have visited every part of India, and +studied up in detail everything relating to the people, the country, the +army, and the institutions, both native and British." + +"As you have been with Lord Tremlyn in his travels, you must be very +familiar with the affairs of India, Doctor." + +"Reasonably familiar; but not so well acquainted with them as my +companions," answered the physician. "Perhaps I do not violate any +confidence in saying that his lordship and his Hindu friend had a +conversation just before dinner to-day, in which they were discussing in +what manner they could best assist you in seeing India. As you suggest, +they are the two men who know more of India than any others I think of, not +excepting the governor-general and his subordinates." + +"I came to this conclusion when I learned the nature of their mission." + +"Sir Modava is personally acquainted with all the native princes; and he +and his lordship are regarded by them as second only to the viceroy, as he +is often unofficially designated. Every door in India, except those of a +few mosques and Parsee temples, open to them, and procure for them and +their friends all the privileges that can reasonably be expected. We +respect the religious exclusiveness of the sects, and do not ask them to +exempt our people from the operation of their rules and customs. The +British government rules India in the spirit of kindness and toleration, +and interferes with the religious, or even political, institutions only so +far as humanity and progressive civilization require. Both of them propose +to volunteer to attend you in your travels in the peninsula, if agreeable +to you." + +"We should be delighted to have such conductors, and I shall gladly pay all +the expenses incurred," the commander declared, with an earnestness that +attested his sincerity. + +"The expense is a matter of no consequence to the two gentlemen; for both +of them would be multimillionaires in America, though pounds don't count so +numerously as dollars. I am not at all sure they wouldn't gladly pay the +expenses of your party as well as their own; but I am not authorized to +speak on this point. I advise you not to mention expense to either of my +associates. But you can form no idea of the depths of gratitude in the +hearts of the three quartered in your cabin for the timely and skilful +service you rendered in saving us from certain death. I base my views on +what I have heard them say, and what I feel myself," said the doctor with +enthusiasm. "I am certain that any suggestion in regard to expense would +hurt the feelings of my friends and companions." + +"I thank you, Dr. Ferrolan, for the frankness with which you have spoken, +and I shall assuredly profit by what you have said," added the commander. + +"In what I said about expense I have been moved by what I should do myself +if I had the control of the matter, and were as able as Sir Modava and his +lordship to incur a heavy outlay; though I have a sufficient income to +support a bachelor, I am a poor man compared with them." + +The interview closed, and the doctor retired at the end of his cigar. The +next morning Captain Ringgold obtained the ready assent of the two +gentlemen to take part in the conference appointed for half-past nine, and +later that of Dr. Ferrolan. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA + + +"Ladies and gentlemen, it affords me very great pleasure to present to you +Sir Modava Rao, who has kindly consented to give you a lesson on the +geography of India," said Captain Ringgold when the company were seated in +Conference Hall. + +This announcement was greeted with unusually stormy applause, in which the +ladies joined, and then flourished their handkerchiefs as an additional +welcome to the handsome Hindu. + +"I have also the pleasure to inform you that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan +have indulgently permitted me to call upon them for the instruction in +regard to India which they are so abundantly competent to give us," +continued the commander with a very pleasant smile upon his dignified +countenance. "Their subjects have been arranged, and I congratulate you and +myself upon the satisfaction with which we shall all listen to these able +exponents of the present condition of this interesting country. Sir Modava +Rao, ladies and gentlemen." + +The Hindu gentleman was again received with vigorous and long-continued +applause. His handsome face, the expression of which was intensified by the +fascinating smile that played upon his black eyes and around his finely +moulded mouth, was not wasted upon the ladies, or even upon the gentlemen; +and it was a considerable time before the plaudits of the company permitted +him to speak; and he stood upon the rostrum bowing so sweetly that he was +irresistible to the assembly. + +"Mr. Commander, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "I have no claim upon you +for the exceeding warmth of the reception you have given me, and I thank +you with all my heart for all your kindness to me, a shipwrecked stranger +on board of your ship. I shall give you as briefly and clearly as I can +what I know about the geography of India. I understand that this was the +subject to be treated by Captain Ringgold; and I am confident that he could +have done it quite as well as I can, though I am 'to the manner born.' But +I will proceed with the subject, without wasting any more of your valuable +time. + +"India is a vast territory, forming the southern peninsula of Asia, with a +population, including the native states, of very nearly two hundred and +fifty-four million people," continued the speaker, taking a paper from his +pocket. "I have received a hint from your worthy commander that I ought to +give a comparison of my figures with those of the United States, and our +population is about four times as great as that of your country. + +"The area in square miles is more than a million and a half, enough larger +than your country to cover the State of Georgia;" and the speaker indulged +in a cheerful smile. "I did not know what I am saying now till this +morning; for I have been studying the 'Statesman's Year-Book,' in order to +comply with the commander's request. + +"The name of India came originally from the Persians, and was first applied +to the territory about the Sindhu River, its Sanscrit name, the early +literary language of India. A slight change, and the river was called the +Hind, which is still the language of the natives, while the country around +it is Hind, from which comes Hindu, and Hindustan; but these designations +really belong to a province, though they are now given very generally to +the whole peninsula," continued Sir Modava, turning to the enormous map +which had been painted by Mr. Gaskette and his assistants. + +"Hind, or Hindustan, is the territory near the Jumna and Ganges Rivers, of +which more will be said later," as he pointed out these great watercourses, +and then drew his pointer around Sind, now called Sinde, on the border of +Beloochistan. + +"How do you spell Hindustan, Sir Modava?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. "We used +to write it Hindoostan when I went to school." + +"I think the orthography of the word is a matter of fashion, for the letter +_u_ in most European and Asiatic languages is pronounced like the +English _oo_; but it is now almost universally spelled with a +_u_. It is now almost generally absorbed in the name of India, and the +application of the term to the whole of the peninsula is entirely +erroneous; and English authorities usually pronounce it so. + +"The name India is now given to the peninsula lying to the eastward of the +Bay of Bengal. Siam and Tongking are in native possession, or under the +protection of France, while Burma is a part of the British Indian Empire. +It was only last year that the French had a brush with Siam, and materially +strengthened their position there; and it will not be a calamity when all +these half-civilized nations are subjected to the progressive influences +which prevail in India proper, in spite of all that is said about the greed +for power on the part of the great nations of the world. + +"But I am wandering from my subject. India is about 1,900 miles in extent +from north to south, and 1,600 in breadth in latitude 25 deg. north. The +boundaries of this vast country, established by nature for the most part, +are the Bay of Bengal (now called a sea in the southern portion) on the +south-east, and the Arabian Sea on the south-west. On the north the +Himalaya Mountains separate it from China, Thibet, and Turkestan; but some +of these countries are called by various names, as Chinese Tartary, +Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, and so on. On the west are Beloochistan and +Afghanistan, and on the east Siam and China, though the boundaries were +somewhat disturbed last summer in the former." + +"We used to pronounce the name of your great northern range of mountains +Hi-ma-lay'-a; you do not call it so, Sir Modava," said the commander. + +"I have always called it Hi-mal'-a-ya, the _a_ after the accented +syllable being very slightly sounded; this is the pronunciation of all the +Indian officials," replied the speaker, with his pleasant smile. "These +mountains consist of a number of ranges; they extend 1,500 miles east and +west, and are the sources of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. The +highest is Mount Everest, the loftiest mountain in the world, 29,002 feet; +and I could mention several other peaks which overtop any of the Andes. +Himalaya means 'the abode of snow,' and the foot-hills are the resorts of +the wealthy to obtain a cool climate in the summer. + +"India is remarkable for its fertility, and its luxuriant growth of plants +of all sorts, from the productions of the torrid zone to those of the +temperate in the hilly regions of the north. It is abundantly watered by +the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Jumna, the Indus, the Godavari, and other +great streams. The Ganges, though it does not vie with the great rivers of +America, is 1,557 miles in length. To the natives it is a sacred river, and +the land through which it flows is holy ground. To bathe in its waters +washes away sin; to die and be buried on its shores procures a free +admission to the eternal paradise of heaven. + +"The Ganges Canal, constructed in 1854, is 445 miles long, and is used for +both navigation and irrigation. Doubtless you will sail upon it, and learn +more about it. Near the Indus are two deserts, one 500 miles long, and the +other 400, though the grains may be cultivated in the valleys and other low +places; and perhaps these regions will be reclaimed by artificial +irrigation. In ancient times gold-mines were worked in the south-west, and +the currency consisted of this metal instead of silver, as at the present +time; but the veins were exhausted, and the Mysore mines are all that is +left of them. + +"I suppose you Americans have been accustomed to regard India as an +exceedingly hot country; and this is quite true of a considerable portion +of it. In a region extending from the almost tropical island of Ceylon, +nearly 2,000 miles to the snow-capped summits of the highest mountains in +the world, there must necessarily be a great variety of climate. India has +three well-defined seasons,--the cool, the hot, and the rainy. The cool +months are November, December, January, and a part of February. + +"The rainy season comes in the middle of the summer, earlier or later, and +ends in September. Winter is the pleasantest season of the year; but +autumn, unlike England, is hot, moist, and unhealthy. Monsoon comes from an +Arabian or Persian word, meaning a season; and you have learned something +about it by this time. It is applied to the south-west winds of the Indian +Ocean, changing to the north or north-east in the winter. This wind +produces rain, and when they infrequently fail, portions of the country are +subjected to famines. + +"At an elevation of 7,200 feet the temperature is an average of 58 deg. +Fahrenheit, as I shall give all readings of the thermometer. At Madras, on +the south-east coast, it is 83 deg.; at Bombay, 84 deg.; Calcutta, 79 deg.; and in +Delhi, in latitude 29 deg. (about the same as the northern part of Florida), it +is 72 deg.. These annual average temperatures will not seem high to you; but I +beg you not to form a wrong impression, for the heat of summer is generally +oppressive, and the average temperature is considerably reduced by the +coolness of the winter months. In Delhi, quoted at 72 deg., the glass often +indicates over 100 deg.. + +"The rain varies greatly in different regions. In the north-east it exceeds +75 inches, and in one remarkable year 600 inches fell at an observatory in +north-east Bengal. In some of the western parts it is only 30 inches, while +it is hardly 15 on the southern shores of the Indus. I think I must have +sufficiently wearied you, ladies and gentlemen." + +"No! No! No!" almost shouted the company with one voice; and perhaps there +was something so fascinating in the manner of the distinguished Hindu which +exorcised all weariness from their minds and bodies. + +"Thank you with all my heart; but really you must permit me to retire, for +I am somewhat fatigued, if you are not, and I shall be happy to contribute +to your entertainment at another time," replied the speaker; and he retired +from the platform. + +"I shall next call upon Mr. Woolridge, who will speak to you of the fauna +of India," said the commander. + +The magnate of the Fifth Avenue, not much accustomed to speaking in public, +was somewhat diffident about addressing the company in the presence of +those who were so well versed in Indian lore; but he conquered his modesty, +and took his place on the stand. In expressing his appreciation of the last +speaker, he mentioned that he occupied a difficult position in the presence +of those who knew India as they knew their alphabet, and begged them to +consider his talk as addressed only to the Americans of the party. The +guests declared that they should be very glad to hear him; and he bowed, +smiled, and proceeded with his remarks:-- + +"Fortunately I have not much to say, for it will consist mainly of the +mention of the names of the principal animals in the fauna of India," he +began. + +"Are all the animals fawns?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who evidently mistook the +meaning of the term used. + +"No, madam; some of them are snakes. But I shall refer the serpents to Sir +Modava; for I am very anxious to hear the views of a native on that +subject. The cattle are cows, buffaloes, and oxen, the two latter used as +draft animals, and as agricultural workers. Bulls and cows are sacred +beasts, and the Hindus never kill them for food." + +"Except Christianized natives, like myself," interpolated Sir Modava. + +"Thank you. The native breeds of horses have been greatly improved under +the direction of the horse-fancying Briton; but they are never used on the +farm. Ponies, donkeys, and mules are in use for various purposes. There are +plenty of sheep and goats--so there are of hogs; but the higher of the +middle class, like the Jews, regard them as unclean beasts, and would as +soon take poison as eat the flesh of a pig. I don't sympathize with them, +for I like roast pork when it is well brought up and kept clean. + +"Monkeys are as tame as they are mischievous; and doubtless they are tame +because they are held to be sacred, and have a better time than they do in +Africa and elsewhere. But all the fun of the fauna is concentrated in the +wild animals, such as the tiger (about the gamiest 'critter' that exists), +the panther, cheetah, boar, bear, elephant, and rhinoceros. Two kinds of +crocodiles (not alligators) live in the mud and water of the rivers; and I +suppose they snap up a man or woman when they get a chance, as they do in +the Philippine Islands and other countries. I advise you all to give them a +wide berth; for their bite is worse than their bark, like that of some men +we know of. + +"There are plenty of deer to furnish a dainty and healthy diet for the +meat-eating wild animals, including the lion, which is not much of a king +of beasts here, the hyena, the lynx, and the wolf. All of these last take a +back seat compared with the tiger. Game and other birds would make a +hunter's paradise if it were not for the snakes and tigers, which are +unpleasant to an American when his piece is loaded with only birdshot. + +"In the towns on the sea the fish are excellent, and an important industry +is curing and smoking them for the markets. In the mountain streams the +fishing is very good; but in the warm waters of the streams on the plains, +as in Egypt, the fish are soft, and neither palatable nor healthy. Leaving +the snakes to the tender mercies of the gentleman from Travancore, I will +make my bow," which he did, and stepped down. + +He was politely applauded, and the strangers seemed to enjoy his discourse +more than the rest of the party. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA + + +The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant day +after the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon. +While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observed +that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for though +they were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshen +their memory among the books. + +Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and Sir +Modava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again that +the latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment, +and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had a +special interest in the beautiful young lady. + +Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and not +to swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gave +a thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutely +certain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louis +had never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name, +without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did. +They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressed +him as Mr. Belgrave. + +[Illustration: "Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis and Sir +Modava."--Page 90.] + +They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither of +them reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead. +Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck, +and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kind +and pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis was +engaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for the +conference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. But +everybody else on board understood the situation better than those the most +intimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgrave +or the parents of Miss Blanche. + +At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting in +Conference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again; +but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so that +the party did not know whom they were to hear first. + +"There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying to +dispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has very +unselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of one +of these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more to +his mind. Dr. Ferrolan." + +This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsome +Hindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests with +uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in +favor of Sir Modava. + +"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the +excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about +the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my +fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always +and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme +authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which +I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all +want to know something more about the fauna of India. + +"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great +region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred +and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions +of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than +temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a +territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen +regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of +climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface +of the earth. + +"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the +equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to +those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common +people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I +believe you Americans call Indian corn"-- + +"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander. + +"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor. + +"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them +under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you +spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you." + +"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject +hereafter; but _corn_ and millet are raised for the food of some of +the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The +cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are +raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under +European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are +better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and +lac are noted for their quality and their quantity. + +"The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but the +white lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the flowering +shrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle you +would find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet." + +"But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge. + +"I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?" + +"The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate. + +"They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of them +as you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned to +another, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all the +flowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous to +the soil, though they thrive very well. + +"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find +stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it +banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is +the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground +like the other. Its scientific name is the _Ficus religiosa_; for it +is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon. + +"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the +Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under +it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and +many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its +sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect +feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap, +which they use as bandoline." + +"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had +listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred. + +"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave +was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I +venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make +it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in +the right place. + +"I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even +12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for the +slender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it you +observe that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the same +joints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juice +flows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubt +my young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the most +expensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scores +of other useful articles. + +"The original forests which once covered hills and plains have been +recklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven back +into the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supply +for the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the British +government has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the present +century, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of the +forests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now under +supervision to this end. + +"India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more than +one-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtless +there is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists of +steep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers. +With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent +position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the +doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly. + +"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject. +I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the +speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded +admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava +Rao, on snakes." + +The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was +sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes. + +"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous +snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it +was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish +them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing +them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say +that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a +single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time. + +"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied +that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by +this time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half as +much as you think you would if you lived here. The government offers +rewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyed +every year." + +"Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a good +purpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the city +burn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in the +world, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall we +not protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plague +or the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way for +violating the laws he has set up in our bodies? + +"This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need not +describe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets of +the cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more in +length. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; but +he has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadly +poison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless a +specific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, the +sufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy is +applied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine used +in my case was the _Aristolochia Indica_. + +"There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, and +is said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men of +character regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. A +chemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which had +probably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire. +It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settled +fact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan." + +"I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor. + +"The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind has +something like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it looks +something like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood or +bonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and he +opens it when he is angry. + +"I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much bigger +than a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business. +This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalow +for the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, and +brought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about as +quick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want to +know about snakes as you travel through India." + +Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned from +the platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA + + +The Blanche was on the starboard beam of the Guardian-Mother, or, in shore +parlance, she was on the right-hand side of her as both ships sailed to the +eastward. She chose her own position, and it varied considerably at +different times, though it was generally about half a mile from her +consort. At the present time she had come within less than a quarter of a +mile, as the sea was quite smooth. + +"Why, the Blanche is all dressed up as though she were going to a ball!" +exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, as the booming gun attracted the attention of the +entire party. + +"So she is," added the commander, as he observed her altered appearance for +the first time; for he had been giving his whole attention to the lecture. +"Captain Sharp is evidently getting up some sort of a frolic." + +The first gun was followed by a second, and then by a third; and they +continued till thirty-one of them had been discharged. Four pieces were +evidently used, and they were fired with considerable rapidity, proving +that the British tars who formed her ship's company had seen service in the +navy. + +"What does all that mean?" queried Captain Ringgold, as the party gathered +about him for an explanation, though he was as much puzzled as any of them. +"It is not a national salute, so far as I know, and I am utterly unable to +say what it means." + +But as soon as the firing ceased a signal number went up to the fore-peak. +Bangs was the signal officer, and he had his book open as soon as he saw +that it was needed. + +"What is it, Bangs?" asked the commander at the window of the pilot-house. + +"'Stop; I have something to communicate,'" replied the quartermaster. + +"All right; give her one bell," added the commander. + +Bangs gave the proper signal for the affirmative, after he had struck the +gong. The letting off of the steam was enough to inform the captain of the +Blanche that his request was complied with, and it was seen that he had a +boat all ready to drop into the water. The screw of the ship ceased to +revolve; and then, to save time, the commander of the Guardian-Mother +ordered the quartermaster to ring to back her, and the Blanche followed her +example. As soon as the headway was nearly killed, the quarter-boat went +into the water, with an officer in uniform in the stern-sheets. The cutter +pulled to the American's side, and a ladder was dropped. + +The officer was a very trim-looking man of forty, and was promptly +conducted to the commander on the promenade deck. He was as polite as a +French dancing-master. + +"I have not the honor to be acquainted with Captain Ringgold, but I beg to +introduce myself as Mr. Bland, first officer of the Blanche," said the +visitor, with all necessary nourishes. + +"I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bland. My friend Captain Sharp +appears to be engaged in a frolic this afternoon," replied the commander, +shaking hands with the officer. + +"This is General Noury's birthday, sir, and Captain Sharp is taking proper +notice of it," replied Mr. Bland, as he took from his pocket a note, and +delivered it to Captain Ringgold. + +"The general's birthday!" exclaimed the commander. "I wish him many happy +returns of it;" and he opened the note. + +It took him but a minute to read it, and then he looked extremely +good-natured, as though he was more than ordinarily pleased; for he knew +that its contents would afford a great deal of satisfaction to his +passengers. + +"By particular request of General Noury, in whose honor the guns were fired +and the Blanche is dressed as you see her, Captain Sharp invites all the +cabin party of the Guardian-Mother, including the guests, to dine on board +of the Blanche on this happy occasion. Shall the invitation be accepted? +Those in favor of accepting it will please raise the right hand, and keep +it up till counted," continued the commander, who was in a merry mood for +him. "Our honored guests are expected and requested to vote; for we could +not think of leaving them alone on board of the ship. That would be neither +decent nor hospitable, and the invitation specially includes them. Please +to vote, all." + +The hands all went up; and the party seemed to be greatly amused at the +operation of voting. The presiding officer declared that it was a unanimous +vote, and the invitation was accepted. + +"Not quite unanimous, Mr. Commander," interposed Louis Belgrave. "Mr. Scott +did not vote." + +"You wish to vote in the negative, Mr. Scott?" inquired the captain. + +"I do not intend to vote at all, Captain," replied the third officer. "It +would be a little cheeky for me to vote to leave the ship without the +permission of the captain or of the first officer." + +"'In colleges and halls in ancient times there dwelt a sage called +Discipline;' and a very good old fellow he was to have about, and quite as +good on board ship as in institutions of learning. Do you wish to accept +the invitation, Mr. Scott?" asked the commander. + +"I should be exceedingly happy to do so." + +"Then ask Mr. Boulong's permission." + +"Granted!" shouted the first officer, who stood within hearing. + +"Mr. Bland, give my compliments to Captain Sharp, and inform him that his +invitation is unanimously accepted by both passengers and guests, and we +will be on board at five o'clock," said Captain Ringgold, addressing the +officer from the Blanche; and he went over the side into his boat. + +"You don't give us much time to get ready, Mr. Commander," said Mrs. +Belgrave, as all the ladies hurried away to the cabin to prepare for the +grand occasion that had so suddenly dawned upon them. + +"Elaborate toilets are hardly expected at sea, out of sight of land. +Claw-hammer coats are not imperative, gentlemen," said the captain. + +Though the two steamers were not in a hurry, both of them resumed their +course as soon as the Blanche's boat was hoisted up to the davits; for it +is part of the shipmaster's gospel to "keep moving" under all possible +circumstances, and to lose no time in arriving at his destined port. All +the passengers went below to prepare for the dinner. The Blanche had come +within fifty yards of her consort, as the sea was quite smooth. + +"Where is that music, Mr. Boulong?" asked the captain, opening the door +from his cabin to the pilothouse. + +"From the Blanche, Captain." + +"But it seems to be a band. Is it an orchestrion?" + +"Not at all; there are eight pieces of music on the promenade deck. It +seems that His Highness has a small band on board, though I have not heard +it before," added the first officer. + +The commander thought the music was very fine, and he concluded that +Captain Sharp was running near the Guardian-Mother for the purpose of +giving the band an introduction to the consort. Besides the ship's company, +there was no one on board of the Blanche but the general and Mrs. Sharp; +and the Pacha, accustomed as he was to merriment and revelry, must have +been rather lonesome. But it was already proved that he was a reformed man, +and had entirely changed his manner of life. + +The barge, which was a large eight-oar boat, had been made ready to lower +into the water, and the gangway had been rigged out. Though it was winter, +the ship was in 18 deg. north latitude, and the weather was as mild and +pleasant as in midsummer. There was no spray, and the ladies could go to +the Blanche as comfortably as in a carriage on shore. + +At quarter before five the gong was sounded in the cabin and on deck to +call the party together in the boudoir, where they were to assemble. The +ship stopped at the mandate of the captain, and the barge was lowered, and +brought to the gangway. The boat was as handsome as anything that ever +floated, and the stern-sheets were luxurious enough for a fairy craft. The +crew of nine were all dressed in their white uniforms, and sat with their +oars tossed, except the cockswain, who stood bolt upright abaft the +back-board. + +There were sixteen in the party, and the "Big Four" made their way to the +fore-sheets; the ladies were handed into the stern by the three guests, and +the barge shoved off. The Blanche had taken a position on the beam of the +Guardian-Mother, her band playing for all they were worth. Captain Sharp +was on the platform of the gangway, and took every lady by the hand as he +assisted her to disembark. At the head of the gangway on deck stood General +Noury, who received the ladies, all of whom he had met before; and the +distinguished guests were presented to him, after which he shook hands with +every other member of the party. He was especially respectful, and even +reverential, to the commander of the Guardian-Mother, who had forgiven so +much in his past conduct. + +Mrs. Sharp came in for a large share of the consideration of the visitors. +An hour was spent in the drawing-room, as they called the deck cabin, which +was as large as the boudoir and music-room of the Guardian-Mother. The band +had laid aside their brass instruments, and organized as an orchestra, +stationed in a sort of recess in the forward part of the cabin. The general +conversed with every person in the party; and when Scott addressed him as +"Your Highness," he protested that he did not wish to hear the expression +again. + +He talked French with Louis, Italian with Sir Modava, and Spanish with Lord +Tremlyn; for it was understood that he spoke at least half a dozen +languages besides his own, and the guests found he was equally fluent in +all they knew. To Miss Blanche he was very polite; but he did not give a +moment more to her than to the other ladies, much to the satisfaction of +her parents. + +The dinner was fully equal to Mr. Sage's best efforts, and the occasion was +as hilarious and as pleasant as it could be. Possibly the English guests +missed their wine on such an occasion. Lord Tremlyn declared that he seldom +drank it at all, and Dr. Ferrolan said the same; and Sir Modava was the +strictest sort of a teetotaler, having been engaged in preaching this +doctrine among the Sepoys as opportunity offered. The captain of the +Blanche informed the commander of the Guardian-Mother that the general had +never touched wine since he came on board. + +After dinner several of the gentlemen sang songs, and the general gave one +in Moroccan, which amused the party, though they could not understand a +word of it. Later in the evening Captain Ringgold made a speech +complimentary to General Noury, and wished him many happy returns of the +occasion they celebrated. He was followed by Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, +Professor Giroud, and then by the three distinguished guests from the +Travancore. + +The general replied to all of them at the close of the entertainment. He +was a pleasant speaker, and his handsome face added a great deal to his +words. The affair was declared to be a great success for a dinner-party at +sea, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother invited all their hosts to +assist him in a similar one on board his ship, the signal for which was to +be the American Union Jack when the weather was suitable. + +The party returned to their ocean home; and the commander spent the rest of +the evening in telling his guests the story of General Noury, and +especially of his wonderful reformation. + +"Then Captain Sharp really saved his life?" added Lord Tremlyn. + +"No doubt of it. The two ruffians in a street of Messina had disabled the +general, and would certainly have finished him if the captain had not +wounded one with his revolver, and tackled the other. He owes his life to +Sharp without a doubt. Mrs. Sharp took care of him for quite a time while +he was recovering from his wound, and she made a deep impression upon him. +He is a Mohammedan, and he sticks to his religion; but even that is capable +of making a better man of him than he was before." + +"I was much pleased with Mrs. Sharp, not because she is an English woman, +but because she is a very worthy person," added his lordship. + +"You are quite right, my lord, and she has had a romantic history;" and +before they retired he had told the whole of it. + +At the usual time the next day the company were assembled in Conference +Hall; and when the commander announced that Lord Tremlyn would address them +on the general subject, "The People of India," they manifested their +interest by a liberal salvo of applause. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA + + +"Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to appear before you, and to look you all +in the face," his lordship began as the applause subsided. "The task befaw +me is to put a gallon of fluid into a pint pot. It cawn't be done. I shall +not attempt to do what is quite impossible. I can only put in what the +vessel will hold. I cawn't say all there is to be said about the people of +India in an hour, or even two or three hours." + +The noble gentleman was an easy, pleasant, and fluent speaker, evidently +quite accustomed to addressing public assemblies; but he had certain +peculiarities of speech, a very few of them, which sounded just a little +odd to the Americans, as doubtless some of their pronunciation did to the +Britons. But there is hardly a perceptible difference in the pronunciation +of highly trained speakers of one nation and the other. It is not necessary +to indicate any farther the slightly peculiar speech of the accomplished +gentleman. + +"I can only select from the mass of material before me what I think will be +most interesting and useful to you; for I have been warned that I must not +talk all day," continued the viscount. + +"We leave that to your lordship's own judgment," added Captain Ringgold. + +"I will be merciful, Mr. Commander: as merciful as possible. Next to China, +India is the most populous country on the globe; and without Nepaul, it +numbered, in 1891, 287,223,917, or more than one-seventh of the people on +the face of the earth; and the increase in the last decade was almost +28,000,000,--enough to populate about a dozen of your larger States. + +"In spite of its vast population, India cannot be said to be a very densely +peopled region; 184 to the square mile for the whole country. The mountain +territory is quite thinly settled. All the native states have but 108 to +the square mile, though the plains of the Ganges show about 400. About +Benares and Patna the average is about double these figures. I was looking +at the 'Year-Book' in your library, and I saw that the average in the +States, including Alaska, is about 18 to the square mile; but the nine +States in the north-east have 107. + +"The little bit of a State of Rhode Island leads in the density of its +population, with 318, while Massachusetts comes next with 278. New Jersey +has 193, Connecticut, 154; the big States of New York and Pennsylvania have +respectively 126 and 117. In the United Kingdom the average in England is +541; in Scotland, 135; in Wales, 206; and in Ireland, 144. The density of +India, therefore, is quite respectable by comparison. + +"By the census of 1891, India has seventy-five towns with over 50,000 +inhabitants, and twenty-eight with over 100,000; but unlike three cities of +the States, it has not one with over a million, though Calcutta and Bombay +are likely to reach that distinction in another decade. You have not a +monopoly of the fast-growing cities in the States." + +"We have found out that Berlin has increased faster than Chicago," said +Uncle Moses with a chuckle; "and Glasgow has got ahead of Liverpool." + +"Quite true, Mr. Scarburn; but the States have not all the fast-growing +cities of the world, wonderful as the increase has been in some of them. +Europe, Asia, and Australia are alive. The nearest approaches to a million +in India are Calcutta, 861,764, and Bombay, 821,764; but I dare say you are +all quite tired of statistics by this time." + +"Not at all, Lord Tremlyn; as you present them they are quite interesting." +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Thank you, madam," replied the speaker, bowing low, with his hand on his +heart. "Now I am going to speak of the people as other than mere numbers; +and if I wished to entangle you inextricably, I should go back about 4,000 +years, and tell you about the people down to the present time. I spare you +the infliction in full. Four groups of languages are spoken among the +natives, and from these the original races that spoke them are traced out. + +"I mention one as a specimen, the Kolarian language, spoken by those who +first settled in the hilly regions of the central part. The others are the +Aryan, Dravidian, and Tibeto-Burman, all of which you will find in +'Chambers's' in your library. + +"The word Hindu is generally used in a very broad sense to cover all the +native population of Hindustan or India; but it is really applicable to a +religion, and belongs only to those of the Hindu, or the faith of the +Brahmins; but, like most others, it consists of a great number of sects. Of +this belief there are about 200,000,000 people. They are divided into four +grand classes, called castes. The Portuguese called them _casta_ in +their own language, from which the present name comes. I call them grand +classes, or castes, because they are divided into many sub-classes. + +"When the Aryans, who came from Europe, and Asia farther north than India, +obtained a foothold here, and established themselves, they looked down upon +other people in the land, and called themselves the twice-born, or born +again, as some modern sects have it. They claimed to have experienced a +second, or religious, birth, indicated by a certain cord with which they +were invested at a particular age. The natives of the soil and all other +outsiders were the once-born. + +"In the lapse of time the twice-born were divided into three classes, the +Brahmins being the priestly class, the Kshatriyas the ruling military, and +the Vaisyas the agricultural classes. These were of the upper grade; and +all the once-born were called Sudras. These four classes are the origin of +caste, though the divisions have been greatly changed. The Vedas are the +four oldest sacred books of the Hindus, otherwise the Hindu Scriptures. + +"Derived from their holy books is the allegorical idea that the Brahmin, or +priest, was the mouth of the original man; the warrior his arms; the +agriculturist his thighs; while the Sudra, or common people, sprang out of +his feet. The duties and relations of the four castes are defined and +stated in the laws of Manu." + +"We have not been introduced to him," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. + +"He is regarded as the author of the most noted law-book among the Hindus; +but there is so much that is mythical and contradictory said of him, that I +will say nothing more about him; but he is authority among the Brahmins. In +modern caste the Brahmin is the minister of religion; he alone mediates +between God and man, makes sacrifices, and teaches the sacred Veda. His +life is portioned off into periods of special duty. As a student he learns +the Veda; then he gets married, becomes a householder, and must every day +perform the appointed sacrifice. Some of them live in the woods, as +hermits, or live like monks, till they are said to be absorbed into Brahma. + +"The soldier's sphere is in connection with the State, to support the +Brahmin, and execute the laws he makes or interprets. The third class +cultivate the soil as proprietors, and engage in trade and commerce. The +Sudra is the servant of all the others. Resulting from the intermarriage of +members of different castes there are various mixed classes. The lowest is +the child of a Brahmin mother and a Sudra father, though in Southern India +the Pariah is still lower. + +"Of the vast population of India, three-fourths are Hindus in religion. The +Buddhists are mostly in Burma, and there are over 57,000,000 Mohammedans. +The number of Christians by the last census was 2,284,380; and I am sorry +there are no more of them. The Sikhs and the Jains are Indian sects which +flourish in certain localities; as there are nearly two millions of the +former in the Punjab, and over half a million of the latter in Bombay, and +approaching that number in Rajputana, with comparatively few elsewhere. The +Parsees, or Parsis, who were driven from Persia by the Mohammedans, number +76,774 in Bombay,--not the city, but the presidency. + +"In the small state of Travancore, where my friend Sir Modava was born, +there are said to be four hundred and twenty different castes. The +distinction is sometimes the result of occupation, branch of trade, or some +accidental circumstance. Let me read a short extract from a book from your +library:-- + +"'Among the lowest classes caste has degenerated into a fastidious +tenacity of the rights and privileges of station. For example, the man +who sweeps will not take an empty cup from your hand; your groom will +not mow a little grass; a coolie will carry any load, however offensive, +on his head, but even in a matter of life and death would refuse to +carry a man, for that is the business of another caste. + +"'When an English servant pleads that such a thing is not his place, his +excuse is analogous to that of the Hindu servant when he pleads his +caste. When an Englishman of birth or profession, which is held to +confer gentility, refuses to associate with a tradesman or mechanic; or +when members of a secret society exclude all others from their meetings; +or when any other social distinction arises, it would present itself to +the mind of the Hindu as a regulation of caste.' + +"It is a barrier to the progress of Christianity in many ways. It is +generally thought that a Christian convert cannot be restored to his +caste if he should backslide; and the superstition of the low-class +natives is a rhinoceros shield, which it is still difficult to +penetrate; but in the end the Cross will come off conqueror, as it +always has and always will. + +"Caste does not now compel a native to pursue his father's calling, +except, perhaps, in the case of Brahmins. For that matter, Brahmins +serve in the army, and even act as cooks and in similar occupations. Men +of all castes have risen to exalted positions, just as poor men, with +none of the advantages of high birth, have in England. The loss of caste +has been regarded by the ignorant native here as the most terrible thing +that could possibly happen to him; but it is not so in practice, for it +has been accomplished by giving a very indifferent supper. + +"When an outcast enters another caste, he is well and heartily received +as a convert. As you proceed through India you will learn more about +this stumbling-block of superstition and ignorance. + +"The 57,000,000 Mohammedans, of whom 23,658,000 are in Bengal, and over +6,000,000 in Bombay, are either descendants of emigrating Asiatics, or +Hindus converted to that faith. Their religion is a mixture of the +doctrines of the Prophet and local idolatry; for they have been somewhat +infected by the prevailing worship of the natives. The Parsees are an +educated mercantile class, the great body of them being found in Bombay. +They are fire-worshippers; and their creed is that of Zoroaster, who +flourished not less than 800 years before Christ. The Zend-Avesta is the +sacred book of the sect, containing their religion and their philosophy. +The Caliph Omar conquered the Persians, and established Mohammedanism +there, persecuting all who would not believe. The obstinate Parsees fled +to India." + +"The Parsees of the present day are their descendants, and still cling +to their ancient faith. Like all sects, they are fully tolerated by the +British government, and are considered one of the most respectable and +thriving classes of the community. They are largely merchants and +land-owners, and bear the highest reputation for honesty, industry, and +as peaceful citizens. They are quite prepossessing, and many of their +ladies are remarkably beautiful, though I have seen a fairer American +than any one of them. + +"Some of them have studied law in England, and all are forward to avail +themselves of the advantages of education. A merchant-prince of this +sect was noted as a philanthropist; and for the vast sums of money he +gave for benevolent institutions, the Queen knighted him, as she did Sir +Modava for his public service. This gentleman is Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy +He died in 1859." + +"Parsees do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion, and +reject beef and pork, especially hams. They are not permitted to marry +outside of their own sect. Their dead are not buried or cremated, but +are committed to what is called the Tower of Silence. The bodies are +exposed on an iron grating, where the carniverous birds of the air can +get to them until the flesh has all disappeared. Then the sun-dried +bones fall through into a receptacle, from which they are removed to a +cavern in the earth." + +"How horrid!" exclaimed the ladies with one voice. + +"The Parsee does not think so; and perhaps he has the same view you have of +our manner of disposing of the dead. In spite of the awe and respect with +which the Parsees regard fire, they are about the only eastern people who +do not smoke. But I think you need a rest by this time, and I will retire +for a little while." + +The company applauded as usual, and then began to pace the promenade deck. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA + + +The delightful weather of the forenoon charmed the party as they walked the +deck. It was mid-summer in the middle of the winter, as they looked at it; +for the almanac of home lingered in their minds, though the days were +longer. The sun was rather warm on both sides of noon, though it was not +oppressive, and the abundant awnings protected the passengers from its more +searching rays. + +Statistical as the lecture had been, the viscount had made it interesting +by softening the figures with his comparisons; and some of his points, even +in regard to the States, were new to them, and especially in regard to the +United Kingdom. In about half an hour they were summoned to Conference Hall +again for a continuation of the lecture. + +"From the vast emigration to your country, ladies and gentlemen, I suppose +there must be a great variety of people on your territory. The Germans, the +English, the Irish, the Scandinavians, the Italians, and other +nationalities, in the process of assimilation, although very many of them +have become as American as Americans themselves, take the manners and +customs, the national peculiarities, of the fatherland with them. + +"The Irish drink whiskey, the Germans beer, and the Italians are apt to +have a stilletto about them. Then the antecedents, climate, politics, and +other influences, have made the East differ from the West, and the South +from both of them. Lynch law prevails to a considerable extent in the +latter, never in the Eastern and Middle States, and very rarely in the +West. But all Americans speak the same language; and foreigners are +compelled to learn English in order to get on at all, and it has become one +of the bonds of your union." + +"In India there are not less than twenty-seven languages and dialects in +use; and they indicate so many different kinds of people, for we can hardly +call them nations, though in many respects they are such. This excellent +map behind me, which is worthy of the highest praise as a home-made +production, will enable me to give you a better idea of my subject." + +"The ingenious artist has colored the different divisions so that you can +make them out. The three presidencies are the most notable divisions, and +they include all the inferior ones. The Bengal Presidency includes the +north-eastern part, from Afghanistan to Burma. The Madras, the southeastern +part, with most of the peninsula. The Bombay covers the greater part of the +west coast. The Deccan is a portion of the peninsula." + +"It would take me three weeks to describe all the divisions of India, and I +shall not attempt to do it. It would be better done as you travel over the +country. Eighteen of them are Directly governed by the English, and +thirteen of them are still under the nominal control of the native princes; +but all the latter have a British resident as the adviser of the reigning +rajah. + +"The English-speaking people of India are a mere bagatelle compared with +the enormous population, being only 238,499; but with the army they have +been able to hold the country in subjection. The British government takes a +fatherly interest in the native states, and they have been loyal without +exception in later years, though the history of India will show that not +all of them have always been so." + +"Until the year 1858 the government was in the hands of the East India +Company, of which you will learn more in the history of India. In 1877 her +majesty, the queen, assumed the title of Empress of India, and she is the +ruler of the country. The government of the highest resort in the affairs +of India is a secretary of state, residing in London. He is a member of the +cabinet, and has an under-secretary. He is assisted by a council of ten or +fifteen members." + +"The executive government, administered in India, is the governor-general +in council. He is the viceroy of the crown, and is assisted by six members +of the executive council, each of whom has his function in the affairs of +the state; and the commander-in-chief of the army is _ex-officio_ a +seventh member. This body is really the cabinet of the viceroy. The laws +are made by this council, with from six to a dozen members appointed by the +viceroy. This is the way the machine is operated. + +"The civil service of the government is rendered mainly by Europeans, +though the natives are eligible to office as employees. The English system +in the appointment of its officials prevails, and all candidates are +regularly examined. Those of you who have looked over Bradshaw's 'Guide to +India' will find descriptions of the several examinations for various +employments." + +"I wish the English system could be transferred to the United States," said +Uncle Moses with great unction. + +"You have made a beginning, and perhaps you will come to it in time. The +civil service prevails in the provinces and states of India as well as in +the general government, though the competition is open to the natives. + +"The soldiers of the East India Company became the military force of the +British crown when the government was assumed. The English army in India +now consists of 74,033 men of all arms, and the native army of 144,735, a +total standing army of 218,786, which is its strength at the present time. +It is a curious fact that, as the native troops are recruited by voluntary +enlistment, all castes and races, including Brahmins, are drawn in by the +good pay and the pension promised. + +"The navy of the East India Company was superseded by the royal navy in +1863; and a dozen or fifteen ships of war are stationed in these waters, +with an admiral as commander-in-chief, whose headquarters are at Bombay. +The Indian treasury contributes annually to the expense of this force. The +great steam navigation companies are available to recruit this branch of +the defence of the country. + +"The laws are made, and the institutions of India are regulated, by +Parliament; and the administration of law and justice is substantially the +same as in the United Kingdom. The regular police consists of 160,000 +officers and men; and a portion of the expense of this force is defrayed by +the towns, the large cities mainly. Besides the city police, there are +560,000 in charge of the villages. The constabulary are natives, with +European officers, one to every seven square miles and 1,300 inhabitants, +indicating peaceful communities. About 12,000 of the 82,000 persons under +sentence are in the convict colonies at the Andaman Islands. + +"The educational institutions are progressive, and 400 newspapers are +published in various languages, most of them with small circulations, +20,000 being the largest in India. The post and telegraph systems are well +cared for; and 17,564 miles of railway are in operation, with others in +process of construction. The manufactures, both in metal and fibre, have +always been remarkably fine, and the quality is still kept up. Cotton +factories have been established, with native labor, which promise great +results to the industry of the country. + +"The loss of life on account of famine, caused by the failure of the +monsoon rains, has been terrific in some years. Canals and reservoirs for +irrigation as well as navigation have been built in order to remove this +evil. In 1874 L16,000,000 was expended in the relief of sufferers by the +government. Since that time a famine fund has been established; and in +years of plenty a million and a half sterling has been set aside for this +object. + +"The excessive density of the population has induced the government to +favor emigration; and over a hundred thousand have gone to British +Guiana and the West Indies, and other countries. The currency of India +will be likely to bother you a little. The silver _rupee_ is the unit; +though when you see 'R.x.' over or at the left of a column of figures, +it means tens of _rupees_. The nominal value of a _rupee_ is two +shillings, about half a dollar of your money; but it is never worth that +in gold, the standard of England in recent years. It was some years ago +at a premium of twopence, but for the last three years it has averaged +only 1_s_. 5-1/8_d_. Its value varies with the gold price of silver in +London. + +"There is also a government paper currency in circulation, amounting to +L16,000,000 sterling. The smallest copper coin is the _pie_, worth half +a farthing, equal to a quarter of a cent of your money. Three of them +make a _pice_, a farthing and a half, three-quarters of a cent. Four +_pice_ make an _anna_, a penny and a half, three cents. Sixteen _annas_ +make a _rupee_. Sixteen _rupees_ make a gold _mohur_." + +"Those small pieces are about as insignificant as those of Egypt," +suggested Mr. Woolridge. + +"There are not many millionaires among the natives, and these smaller coins +are mostly used among them. They are convenient also to the stingy +Englishman when the plate is passed around in church," added his lordship +with a chuckle, which pleased Uncle Moses more than the remark. India has a +public debt of about L200,000,000, contracted for railways, canals, war, +and other purposes. The revenue last year was L84,932,100, and the +expenditures were L84,661,700. Not a large margin; but you must multiply +the pounds by five, or nearly that, to reduce them to dollars. + +"The poppy is extensively cultivated in India; and the export tax in +Calcutta amounts to six and a quarter millions, in Bombay, to three and a +half millions, on the manufactured opium. The producer sends his crop to +the government factory, whence it is sold to the exporter; all this to +prevent frauds on the revenue. + +"Wages and prices have gone up under British rule. The best class of +laborers get four _annas_ a day, and others not more than two,--six to +twelve cents a day. Grain for food is a penny for two pounds,--a cent a +pound. Women and children earn small wages. The clothing of the poor is +scanty and cheap; fuel costs nothing; and rent for dwellings is hardly +known. The masses in the country, not laborers, live on the land as owners +or lessees. There has never been anything like a poor-law, and ordinarily +there is no need of such. + +"It would be quite impossible for me to give the history of India in detail +in the limited time at my command, especially as we are now approaching the +land. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator, was the first to reach the +East Indies, in 1498; but his countrymen never did much trading here, being +more intent upon securing the rich treasures of the Indies. As early as +1600 the English turned their attention in this direction. Companies were +formed; but being driven by the Dutch from the islands which they still +hold, they began to make settlements on the coast of this peninsula. Madras +dates from 1639, Bombay from 1686, Calcutta from 1686. The Company said, +'Let us make a nation in India;' and they went to work at once to do it. +They accomplished their purpose, fostered by the government, raised and +borrowed money, and in the course of time had an army and a navy, and ruled +the country. They defeated the Grand Mogul, drove the French out of the +peninsula, and were generally very prosperous. + +"In 1833 Parliament revoked all the trading privileges of the company; and +their dividends to stockholders were then paid out of the taxes assessed on +the people of India. They could not trade and could not govern except under +the control of Parliament. All the wars of India have been fought by the +British nation. After the mutiny, of which more hereafter, the company was +compelled to cede its powers to the crown in 1858. + +"The native soldiers of Bengal were called Sepoys, and the name has been +applied to all native troops. Some small mutinies occurred in this arm of +the service in the presidency. Early in 1857 the garrison of Meerut, near +Delhi, revolted, and the British troops failed to suppress it. The Sepoys +marched to Delhi, where they were joined by the native troops and the mob. +The descendant of the Great Mogul, who lived in the palace of his ancestors +under British protection, was proclaimed emperor, and his empire +re-established. + +"Probably 90,000 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, were in a state of +rebellion. In many instances they had murdered their officers and their +families. They were spread over a broad country, and held forts, arsenals, +and treasuries. They were disciplined troops armed with European artillery +and muskets, and supplied with ammunition. In portions of the country the +British were isolated, as in the camp before Delhi, and in the works at +Agra, Allahabad, and Lucknow. The mutiny extended over an area of 100,000 +square miles, with a population of 40,000,000. It came at the worst season +of the year; and if it had not been speedily suppressed, it would have +spread over the whole country. Many believed that the knell of the empire +had sounded. + +"At that time there were 40,000 European troops"-- + +"Land, ho!" shouted the lookout man; and the cry was repeated by the +sailors and the officers. + +"We will attend to the land now, and I will resume latter," said Lord +Tremlyn, as he descended from the rostrum. + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY + + +The announcement that land was in sight produced some excitement, and the +speaker good-naturedly paused to enable the company to see whatever was to +be seen. They looked to the eastward, but they could see nothing. They +stood upon the promenade, and strained their eyes to the utmost; but it +required a nautical eye to make land out of the dim haze in the distance, +for that was all there was of it. + +"I can readily understand your desire to obtain the first view of India," +said Lord Tremlyn. + +"But they will not obtain it yet a while," added the commander. + +Louis and Felix had ascended the fore-rigging, and discovered what might +have been the land or a bank of clouds. There were a great number of boats +and small craft in sight, but none of them were near enough to be seen +distinctly. They observed that the Guardian-Mother had reduced her speed. + +"We shall not be where you can see anything for an hour or more," continued +Captain Ringgold. "We have to pass some rather dangerous rocks in this +vicinity, and we shall proceed cautiously till we take a pilot." + +"A number of large vessels have been wrecked in this locality," said the +viscount; "and in a little while you will get in among the multitude of +fishing-craft that swarm off the islands." + +When the company were satisfied that there was nothing to be seen, they +resumed their seats, and the "live boys" in the fore-rigging returned to +their places. All were greatly interested in the viscount's account of the +mutiny; and he had suspended his narrative just where cunning writers of +exciting stories place the "To be continued." + +"I had hardly finished what I had to say, or at least what I intended to +say; for there are still a great many points upon which I have not touched, +leaving them to be brought up as you proceed on your travels through this +interesting country," said Lord Tremlyn. + +"Go on! Go on!" said quite a majority of the party. + +"I have been here before, and perhaps you will excuse me if I have occasion +to leave before your lordship has finished; and with this understanding, I +think you had better proceed," added the commander. + +"I will do so with the greatest pleasure," replied the speaker, as he took +his place on the rostrum again. "I have described the terrible situation to +which the English in India had been reduced, with nearly a hundred thousand +Sepoys in rebellion, and the troops outnumbered a hundred to one, shut up +in camps and forts. The fanatical and blood-thirsty mob, far greater than +the body of native soldiers, were eager to fall upon and slaughter all +Europeans. + +"At this time there were 40,000 British troops scattered over the country; +several thousand men on their way from England to China were diverted to +this country. Forty thousand from home were on their voyage of 12,000 miles +around the Cape of Good Hope to relieve the besieged garrisons. But in the +midst of the gloom of this miserable summer there was a gleam of sunshine, +and the sad disasters at Cawnpore and elsewhere were partially retrieved. +This came on the appearance of Henry Havelock, whose noble example of a +true life I commend to my young friends here who are just entering upon +their careers. + +"Havelock was born in 1795. His father was a merchant, and he was well +educated. He was at first intended for the law; but he followed the example +of his brother, and entered the army a month after the battle of Waterloo. +In 1823 he was sent to India; and on the voyage he became a Christian in +the truest sense of the word, and this event influenced his life. He was +employed in the Afghan and Sikh wars; but he had learned 'to labor and to +wait,' and he was still a lieutenant after twenty-three years' service. + +"He was in command of a division of the army that invaded Persia in 1856. +The news of the Indian mutiny called him hastily to Calcutta. Following the +Ganges to Allahabad," continued the speaker, pointing out the river and the +city on the map, "he organized, at this point, a force of two thousand men, +and pushed on for Cawnpore, driving the enemy before him. At Fatehpur the +rebels made a stand; but they broke before his little band, and he hastened +on to his destination. + +"Nana Sahib, the native leader of the mutiny, was the adopted son of the +former peshwa, or ruler, of the Mahrattas, as certain states in the west +and middle of India are called. His foster-father had been deprived of his +dominion, and lived on a pension paid by the British. The son had been +brought up as a nobleman, with expensive habits. When the father died in +1851, the pension was not continued to the son. He was bitterly +disappointed that his income was cut off, and it stirred up all the bad +blood in his nature, and there was a good deal of it. He did his best to +foment discontent, and succeeded too well; for the mutiny was his work. + +"As Havelock and his puny force approached Cawnpore, this miscreant incited +the cold-blooded massacre of all the women and children the rebels had +captured on the day before the place was taken. The intrepid general found +the Sepoys strongly intrenched at a village; but he turned their left, and +carried the works by a splendid charge of the 78th Highlanders. Entering +Cawnpore, he saw the results of the atrocious massacre in the mutilated +bodies of the women and children with his own eyes. + +"The sight inspired the little band of heroes with renewed courage, and +Havelock began his march upon Lucknow. + +"After fighting eight victorious battles, his little force was so reduced +by sickness and fatigue that he was forced to retire to Cawnpore. In +September General Outram arrived there with additional troops, and +operations against Lucknow were renewed. The general in command of this +force outranked Havelock, and the command belonged to him; but with a noble +generosity he waived his claim, and served in the expedition under his +victorious subordinate as a volunteer. + +"Havelock's army now numbered 2,500 men, with seventeen guns. He +encountered the enemy, and scattered them several times. They reached the +thickly settled town where each house was a fortress, and with valor equal +to anything on record, fought their way to the Residency, where they were +rapturously received by the beleaguered garrison. + +"But with all that could be mustered they were only a handful of men +compared with the hosts that surrounded them, and in turn they were at once +besieged by the rebels. They were not the men to yield to any odds; and +they held their own till November, when Sir Colin Campbell, with 4,700 +regulars, forced his way through the enemy, and relieved the place. He was +one of the bravest and most distinguished generals of modern times. He +fought in the United States in 1814, and in many other parts of the world. +He was in the Crimea, and Alma and Balaklava are called his battles; for he +did the most to win them. + +"In India he completed the work which Havelock had begun, and the following +year announced to the viceroy that the rebellion was ended. Just before he +had been created Lord Clyde. On his return to England he was made a +field-marshal, and received a pension of L2,000. + +"To return to Havelock, great honors were bestowed upon him. He was made a +baronet, created a Knight Commander of the Bath, and a pension of L1,000 +was awarded to him. But he did not live to enjoy his rewards and honors, or +even to see the end of the mutiny at which he struck the first heavy blows. +In that very month of November when Sir Colin came to the rescue, Havelock +was taken with dysentery, died on the twenty-second, and was buried in the +Alum-Bagh, the fort containing a palace and a fortress, which he had +carried in his last battle. + +"Havelock was very strict in his religious principles, and a rigid +disciplinarian in the army. He was like the grave and fearless Puritan +soldier, somewhat after the type of 'Stonewall Jackson' of your Civil War, +though not as fanatical. In his last moments he said: 'For more than forty +years I have so ruled my life that when death came I might face it without +fear.' This he did; and England will never cease to remember the Christian +hero, Sir Henry Havelock. In Trafalgar Square, in London, you may see the +statue erected to him by the people of his native country. + +"Aside from the mischief done by Nana Sahib, which seems to have had only a +limited effect, what were the causes of this mutiny, Lord Tremlyn?" asked +Dr. Hawkes. + +"There were many causes that produced independent rebellions, such as the +greased cartridges served out to the Sepoys, though this was only +insignificant. There were too many Bramins in the ranks, and they were +fanatics; and biting off the cartridge brought their lips in contact with +the grease, which was religious pollution to them. A score of provocatives +might be mentioned, but all of them would not explain it. The natives had +been transformed into trained soldiers, and they felt the power that was in +them. + +"Before the mutiny, one British soldier to six Sepoys was about the +proportion between them in numbers. The small discontents clustered around +this grand error, and broke out in the mutiny. After its suppression, one +of the first reforms of the government was to change the proportion of the +soldiers; and now they are as one European to two natives. The government +is liberal in the introduction of improvements. Now all the strategetic +points are under the control of our own soldiers; and at present they +constitute nearly the whole of the artillery force of the country. Peace +and order have reigned since 1858, and it is not now believed that a +rebellion is possible. I expect and hope to be with you for some time to +come, and my companions and myself will do our best to inform you in regard +to everything in which you may feel an interest." + +The viscount bowed very politely to his audience, and was hailed with all +the enthusiasm which could be gathered up by a baker's dozen Americans. All +of them testified that they had been exceedingly interested in his address, +especially that part relating to the mutiny. + +"We shall be exceedingly happy in your company, my Lord, as long as you are +pleased to remain with us," added the commander. "I have done something +towards preparing a route through India; and I should be glad to have the +advice of such counsellors as we were so fortunate as to pick up in the +midst of the rage of the stormy ocean." + +"The time of our party is at your disposal for as long a period as we can +be of service to you. We do not wish to force ourselves upon you. We owe +our lives to you, and we believe we may contribute to your pleasure and +instruction; for we are at home here." + +"We did only our duty when we found you on the wreck; and anything in the +nature of a recompense for the service which every sailor owes to his +fellow-men, or to those who sail on the seas, would be repugnant to me, as +it would be to my officers," replied Captain Ringgold. + +"I beg you will not regard my proposition as anything in the shape of a +recompense; for all our fortunes and all our time for years to come would +not be an adequate return for the immeasurable service you have rendered to +us," protested the viscount. "We have all been delighted with the manner in +which we have been entertained on board of the Guardian-Mother; and without +regard to our rescue from the very jaws of death, I declare, upon my honor +as a gentleman, that you have won our hearts,--you, Mr. Commander, and all +connected with you on board." + +"Amen!" shouted Dr. Ferrolan in a burst of enthusiasm. + +"So say we all of us!" cried Sir Modava. + +"Now permit me to say in all sincerity, that if our acquaintance had begun +when we set foot on the deck of your ship, and the noble conduct of the +ship's company were entirely obliterated from our memories, we should feel +as we do now," said Lord Tremlyn. + +"So say we all of us," sang the doctor with Sir Modava. + +"I may say that if I had gone on board of the Guardian-Mother for the first +time in the harbor of Bombay, I should have felt the same, and had just as +strong a desire to assist you in seeing India. When gentlemen of education +and character come here from England, the officials give them a warm +welcome, and do their best to enable them to see the country, its manners +and customs, and its institutions, to the best advantage. We should do the +same with Americans; and I account myself fortunate in being the first to +greet you, and welcome you to India." + +The other two heartily responded to the sentiments of the speaker, and the +commander could say no more. By this time the steamer was in the midst of +the fishing-boats and other craft. Louis called for three cheers for the +guests, and they were given with vigor and sincerity. The party separated, +and its members gave themselves up to an examination of the surroundings. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY + + +The coast of Bombay was in plain sight, the province, or state, whose +capital has the same name. Groves of cocoanut, date, and other palm-trees +bordered it; and far back of it was a range of mountains, the Western +Ghats, a chain extending for hundreds of miles along the shore, though from +twenty to fifty miles from it. + +The fishing-boats were Oriental, and nothing new to the tourists; but the +men in them were swarthy-looking fellows, not abundantly provided with +clothing. The greater portion of India has a warm climate, and the dress of +the people is adapted to it. For the most part, the natives are bundled up +in loose white cotton cloth, or what was originally white, which they twist +about their bodies with a skill acquired by practice. But these boatmen +were almost in a primitive condition. + +The distinguished guests on board of the Guardian-Mother were perfectly +familiar with Bombay and its surroundings, as they were with all of the +country, and their services were just now in demand. The Woolridges had +attached themselves to Lord Tremlyn; Louis Belgrave was very likely to be +in their company most of the time, and the viscount had manifested no +little interest in the young millionaire. He was pointing out the country, +and describing it, to this group of four. + +Dr. Ferrolan was not so much of a ladies' man as his two younger +companions, and was rendering similar service to his professional brother, +Uncle Moses, and Professor Giroud. They formed a quartet of educated men, +and were more in touch with each other than they might otherwise have been. +Sir Modava Rao had attracted to his side Mrs. Belgrave; Mrs. Blossom was +usually her shadow; and of course Captain Ringgold, when not employed in +his duties in the navigation of the steamer, gravitated, not materially but +sentimentally, to this group; for wherever Mrs. Belgrave was, the commander +was not far off. + +Felix divided himself up among the three parties; and, as he was a lively +boy, he afforded no little amusement to all of them. The entire company, +including the captain and the third officer, who were to take part in the +business of sight-seeing, consisted of sixteen persons, which was just the +complement for four carriages, if they were large enough to seat four. + +The pilot came on board, and was inducted into the pilot-house. He spoke +English, and seemed to be a bright fellow so far as his occupation was +concerned. The pilots are said to "pool their issues," and divide their +fees. They take their own time, therefore, and are very independent. But +this one, when informed that the Guardian-Mother was a yacht conveying a +young millionaire all-over-the-world, was very respectful and deferential. + +"I have heard of this vessel before, and they say here that the young rajah +is worth millions of pounds," said he, when he had laid the course of the +steamer. + +"I suppose he is as well off as some of your Grand Moguls; but I think you +had better call it dollars instead of pounds," replied Mr. Boulong, +laughing at the absurdity of the story; but the pilot knew nothing about +dollars, and perhaps the reports had been swelled by changing the unit of +American currency into that of the British Empire. + +"Now you can see the islands more distinctly," said Lord Tremlyn to his +group. + +"I don't see any islands," replied Miss Blanche. + +"They are too near together to be distinguished separately. The Bombay to +which we are going is an island eleven and a half miles long. The town has +an abundant territory; but large as it is, portions of it are very densely +peopled, averaging twenty-one inmates to a house," continued the viscount. +"Next to Calcutta it is the largest city in India, and comes within 40,000 +of that. + +"Bombay has had its vicissitudes. Of course you know that your Civil War +produced a cotton famine in Europe; but it raised this city to the pinnacle +of prosperity. A reign of speculation came here, and it was believed that +Bombay would be the leading cotton mart of the world. Companies were +organized to develop the resources of the country in the textile plant; and +the fever raged as high as it did when the South Sea Bubble was blown up, +or as it has sometimes in New York and other cities of your country. + +"New banks were started; merchants plunged recklessly into the vortex of +speculation. Then came the news of the surrender of General Lee, and the +end of the war in America. The bubble burst, even before it was fully +inflated, and the business prosperity of Bombay collapsed. The certificates +of shares in companies and banks were not worth the paper on which they +were written. Even the Bank of Bombay, believed to be as solid as the 'Old +Lady' of Threadneedle Street, had to suspend, and the commercial distress +was frightful. + +"But it left its lesson behind it; and since that time Bombay has patiently +and painfully regained its former solid prosperity. It has recovered what +it lost, and is now steadily increasing in population and wealth." + +"I never heard of the South Sea Bubble of which you speak," said Louis. + +"That is not strange, as it was an affair of one hundred and eighty-one +years ago," replied Lord Tremlyn. "I have not time now to describe it in +full. The floating debt of England at that time was L10,000,000; and the +Earl of Oxford concocted a scheme to pay it off, and formed a company of +merchants for that purpose. The riches of the South Sea Islands, including +South America, were most extravagantly estimated at that time, and the +monopoly of the trade was secured by the company formed. The 'South Sea +Company' was bolstered up by the pledge of the duties on the imports from +these far-off regions, and the shares sold like wild-fire, increasing in +price in the most extraordinary manner. Shares at a par of L100 were quoted +at L550 in May, and L890 in June. + +"The failure of the Mississippi Scheme, projected in France by John Law to +develop the resources of the American State of Louisiana, alarmed the +shareholders; but the managers declared that they had avoided the errors of +Law in their finances, and the enterprise still prospered. A mania for +stock-gambling spread over England, and the people seemed to have lost +their wits. The most tremendous excitement prevailed. The crisis came, and +it was realized that the scheme was a fraudulent one. Some of the biggest +operators sold out their stock, and a panic ensued. Consternation came upon +the bubble capitalists, and financial ruin stared them and their dupes full +in the face. + +"The country was stirred to its very foundations. Parliament was called +together, and the books of the company were examined. The 'Bubble' had +burst, as it did in Bombay. The private property of the directors was +confiscated. The ruin brought about by this enterprise, rightly called a +'Bubble,' was beyond calculation; but it taught its lesson, as such affairs +always do." + +"We are approaching the harbor," said Mrs. Woolridge, who was not much +interested in the South Sea Scheme, though her husband and Louis listened +to the explanation very attentively. + +"We are, madam. You see to the northward of us two peninsulas. The one the +more distant has two hills on it. The first is Malabar Hill, and the other +Cumballa Hill. This is the aristocratic quarter of Bombay. The huge +bungalows of the rich merchants and higher government officials are here. +The scenery, natural and artificial, is very fine, and Asiatic magnificence +prevails there. That will be one of our first rides. You observe near the +point of the peninsula some towers, like pagodas, which will give you your +first impression of the temples of India." + +Opera-glasses were then in demand, and were brought to bear on the towers. + +"They are in the village of Walkeshwar. The peninsula now quite near is +Colaba. Indian names are very much mixed in regard to their spelling. The +_c_ and the _k_ are about interchangeable, and you can use either +one of them. Hence this point is often written Kolaba, and the hill yonder +Kumballa. The southern part of this neck of land is the native quarter. You +will visit all these localities, and it is not worth while to describe them +minutely." + +"That looks like a cemetery," said Mr. Woolridge, as the steamer approached +the point. "There is the lighthouse." + +The commander had left his party as the steamer approached the entrance to +the harbor, and had gone forward. The ship had slowed down, and the captain +spoke to the pilot about a convenient anchorage. The harbor was large +enough to accommodate all the navies of the world, and there was no +difficulty on this account. Lord Tremlyn had left his party to look at what +was to be seen by themselves, and came forward to the pilot-house. The +anchorage was settled. + +"Captain Ringgold, if you please, we will now exchange places," said the +viscount. "Up to the present time we have been your guests; now I will +become the host, and you and your party will be my guests. I beg you will +raise no objections, my dear sir, and I shall feel very much wounded if you +do not accept the hospitality I tender to you. You are at home on the sea +as I am in Bombay." + +"You have put it in such a way that I cannot refuse to accept," replied the +commander, laughing at the corner in which he was placed. "For the present +we are your guests, and we place ourselves entirely under your direction." + +"I am extremely happy to take you all under my protection; but I cannot +submit to the proviso which you have added to my offer, though I will be +satisfied to have you 'for the present' as my guests, and we will leave the +future to take care of itself. But in whatever capacity we travel over +India, or such portion of it as you may elect, it is rather necessary that +we fix upon a plan for our operations." + +"I am quite agreed that we had better draw up a programme, and I shall +depend upon your counsel in the matter," replied the captain. "For the +present, will you excuse me until the ship comes to anchor?" + +"Certainly, Captain." + +"Here is the custom-house boat, and I suppose I must attend to that." + +"Leave that to me, if you please." + +In another half-hour the Guardian-Mother was at anchor off the Apollo +Bunder, the wharf, or landing-place. The custom-house officers came on +board; and, as the ship was not one of any regular line, a high official +came off with them. As soon as he reached the deck he discovered his +lordship, and rushed to him, bowed profusely, and addressed him in the most +deferential manner. + +"This is a very unexpected visit, my Lord, and in a steamer flying the +American flag," said he, as the viscount gave him his hand, a piece of +condescension he appeared to appreciate very highly. "What has become of +the Travancore?" + +"She was wrecked in the Arabian Sea in a collision, and went to the bottom +after holding us up for a few hours. We were rescued from certain death by +this steamer, and we have been treated with the utmost kindness and +consideration," said his lordship quite hurriedly. "Sir Modava Rao and Dr. +Ferrolan are on board. I am entirely devoted to those to whom we owe our +lives, and I am in their service as long as they will stay in India. What +is your business on board, Mr. Windham?" + +"It is in connection with the customs, my Lord." + +"You will dispense with everything in that connection, for this is a yacht; +and you will oblige me by not subjecting any person on board to any +annoyance, Mr. Windham." + +"Certainly not, my Lord; and not a trunk shall be opened. But the +newspapers will want the account of your shipwreck, and a reporter came off +with me," replied the official. + +"Refer him to my secretary." + +The under-official obtained particulars from the first officer in regard to +the steamer for the custom-house, and Dr. Ferrolan gave the reporter an +account of the disaster to the Travancore which he had written. + +"I propose to land and proceed to our hotel as soon as the ladies are +ready," said Lord Tremlyn, when he had retired to the captain's cabin with +the commander. "While they are preparing, we will consider the programme of +the tour." + +"Very well, your Lordship; I will have the party notified. Mr. Scott," said +the captain, opening the door into the pilot-house, "inform all the company +that we go on shore in half an hour; and you will go with them. Mr. +Boulong, lower the gangway, and have the barge ready." + +"Perhaps you have arranged a programme yourself already," suggested the new +host of the party. + +"I have considered the matter. I proposed to see Bombay, and perhaps run +down to Poona. Then go to Surat in the steamer, and visit Baroda, and +proceed by the ship to Kurrachee. From there I thought I should send the +Guardian-Mother round to Calcutta in charge of Mr. Boulong, while we +travelled to Lahore, Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, and +Calcutta by railway. From there we will go to Madras and Ceylon by the +steamer," said the commander, who seemed to have arranged the whole trip. + +"Excellent, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed the viscount. "I can hardly better +that." + +He made some suggestions; but this route was substantially adopted. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE SERVANTS + + +The barge was ready as soon as it was needed, and lay at the platform of +the gangway, with the crew in their white uniforms, quite as smart as +man-of-war's-men. The coolie boatmen who were seeking a job to put the +passengers on shore were disappointed. The clothing of the guests had been +taken in hand by Sparks and Sordy, the cabin stewards, dried, cleaned, and +pressed. They wore them now, and had returned the borrowed garments. + +The party were impatient to see the strange sights on shore; and they were +ready at the gangway when the viscount, to whom the commander had abandoned +the direction of the company, gave the word. The ladies were assisted to +their places, and the "Big Four" went into the fore-sheets. Bargate, the +old man-of-war's-man, was the cockswain, and his lordship gave the word to +him to give way. + +"Pull to the Apollo Bunder, if you please, my man," said he. + +"Which, your honor?" asked Bargate blankly. + +"I mean the bit of a basin you see nearly abreast of the ship," the new +leader explained, pointing out the locality. + +The cockswain shoved off the stern of the boat, the oars dropped into the +water, and the men gave way. It was a pull of but a few minutes, and the +barge shot into the basin, and came to a convenient landing-place. On the +shore they found Mr. Windham, one of the chief officials of the +custom-house, who had been on board of the ship. He was surrounded by a +small mob of young Hindus, neatly dressed in the native garments of white +cotton. The ladies were assisted to the shore first. All of the party +carried small valises or satchels containing the needed articles for a few +days' stay at a hotel; and these natives took possession of them as they +landed. + +"What is this man, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as one of them +relieved her of the bag she carried. + +"He is your _Khidmutgar_, madam," replied the Hindu knight, with a +smile on his handsome face. + +"My what?" demanded the lady. "And must I pronounce that word?" + +"Not unless you wish to do so. This man is your servant, your waiter." + +"But what are we to do with such a lot of them?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave, as +she looked upon the group of Hindus. + +"There is only one for each person of the company; for every one must have +his servant. We are going to the Victoria Hotel, and this _Khidmutgar_ +will attend upon you at the table, and do anything you require." + +"I don't think I shall need him all the time," added the lady, who thought +he would be a nuisance to her. + +The young Hindus presented themselves to all the passengers as they landed, +taking their small baggage, canes, and umbrellas. Some of them had heard +Sir Modava's explanation, and Lord Tremlyn repeated it to others. Most of +them had decided to take things as they came, and accepted the custom of +the country without any friction. Mrs. Blossom looked rather wildly at the +satellite who was to attend to her wants; but her good friend told her to +say nothing, and she submitted without a word. + +"Captain Ringgold," said the viscount, as he brought forward a rather stout +man, with spectacles on his nose, and an odd-looking cap or turban on his +head, "this is Pallonjee Pestonjee, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel." + +"I am happy to know you, sir," replied the commander, as he took the hand +of the gentleman, who was a Parsee, though he did not attempt to pronounce +the name. + +"We have half a dozen _shigrams_ here," continued his lordship. + +"What are we to do with them, my Lord?" asked the captain. + +"They are two-horse carriages; and, if you please, we will ride to the +hotel in them," laughed the distinguished guide. + +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were of English pattern; +and they saw cabs and omnibuses in the vicinity. Taking Rampart Row, they +passed the university, the court-house, and other public buildings, into +Esplanade Road, leading to their destination, about a mile from the +landing. + +"On our right is Byculla, one of the divisions of the city, and a business +quarter, where you will find the retail shops, though they are not all +here," said the viscount. "This locality is generally called the Fort; for +though its walls have been removed, it retains the old name. Just below the +Apollo Bunder, where we landed, are the Grant buildings, or warehouses. +Perhaps you saw them from the deck of the ship. Below these, at the +extremity of the point, is Colaba, the native town, which is largely +occupied by commercial buildings. But we shall ride over this ground again, +and you will have the opportunity to see the various structures in detail." + +But the tourists were not very much interested in the buildings; for they +wanted to see India, its manners and customs, and for the last year they +had been seeing edifices as noted as any in the world, though they had yet +to be introduced to the temples and palaces of this country, which were +different from anything they had seen before. + +They soon arrived at the Victoria Hotel; and the _khidmutgars_, +carrying the light baggage, were not behind them, though they had run all +the way from the bunder. The landlord had come in a carriage. Felix +McGavonty, who was the captain's clerk, had made out several lists of the +passengers, at the request of Lord Tremlyn; and one of them had been sent +to the hotel, so that their rooms were already assigned to them. Their +servants appeared to be familiar with the Victoria, and they were taken to +their apartments at once. + +"What the dickens do we want of all these fellows?" asked Scott when they +had been conducted to a room with four beds in it. "They will be a nuisance +to us." + +"We don't need all you fellows," added Louis Belgrave, turning to his +servant. "We are accustomed to wait on ourselves. One of you is enough for +all of us." + +"No, Sahib; no _khidmutgar_ waits on more than one gentleman," replied +Louis's man, with a cheerful smile, displaying a wealth of white teeth +which would have been creditable to an Alabama negro. + +"That's what's the matter, is it?" added Scott. "I have learned that no +Hindu will do more than one kind of work, take care of more than one +person; and no groom will take care of more than one horse. If you have six +horses, you must have six hostlers. That is what Sir Modava told me." + +"Custom is law here, and we must follow the fashions," replied Louis. "What +is your name, my boy?" he continued, turning to his servant. + +"Sayad, sahib," answered he. + +Scott's was Moro, Morris's was Mobarak, and Felix's was Balaya; but the +last two were speedily abbreviated into "Mobby" and "Bally," to which the +young Hindus offered no objection. They were all under twenty years of age, +and spoke English passably well. + +"Here, Sayad! black my shoes," said Louis, determined to make use of his +servant. + +"I don't clean the shoes," replied the fellow, shaking his head. "I call +the porter;" and he did so. + +"That is just what Sir Modava told me," added Scott. + +But Sayad had opened his master's valise, placed his toilet articles on the +bureau, and brushed his coat, which he had taken off. He arranged +everything with good taste, and smiled expansively every time Louis looked +at him. The shoes of all four were polished in time; and they were ready to +begin their explorations of the city, though it was rather late in the day. + +"What time is dinner, Moro?" asked Scott. + +"Seven o'clock, sahib," replied the boy; and he was more of a boy than a +man. + +"What time are the other meals?" + +"Meals?" queried Moro. + +"What time is breakfast?" + +"Bring sahib coffee at six in the morning; breakfast at nine; tiffin at +one." + +"What's that last one, Moro?" + +"We had tiffin at Suez, and it means luncheon," interposed Morris. + +"I didn't hear the word; but it is all right, and tiffin it is after this +time. Come; are you going down-stairs, fellows?" + +"There is a public sitting-room down-stairs, and we will find that first." + +The four servants followed them when they went down-stairs. None of the +party had yet gone to the public room except Sir Modava, though Lord +Tremlyn soon joined him. Their attendants stopped outside the doors. + +"We are going to the tailor's now," said the Hindu gentleman. "As you are +aware, we lost all our clothes except what we had on, and we must order a +new supply." + +"May we go with you?" asked Louis. + +"Certainly; if you desire to do so. You may find something to amuse you on +the way, as we shall walk; for we want to get our sea-legs off," replied +Sir Modava. "It is only five o'clock here, and we have two hours before +dinner-time. Ah, here is Miss Blanche." + +She was followed by her servant, who was decidedly a nuisance to her, +though he retreated from her room as soon as he had put things in order, +and remained within call outside the door. Louis invited her to take a walk +with them, and she went up-stairs to consult her mother. She returned in a +few minutes, ready to go out; and she was as radiant as a fairy in her +light costume. + +They passed out of the hotel; and the first thing that attracted Louis's +attention was a palanquin. It was not a new thing to the travellers, for +they had seen such conveyances in Constantinople and elsewhere. + +[Illustration: "The young millionaire walked by the side of the vehicle." +--Page 155.] + +"You must ride in that palanquin, Miss Blanche," said Louis; and he told +Sayad to have it brought up to the door. + +It was a compartment like a box, about seven feet long, with a pair of +sliding doors at the side. It was balanced on a pole, with braces above and +below it. It appeared to be so poised, with the pole above the centre of +gravity, that it could not be turned over. The four bearers were coolies, +with bare legs, cotton turbans on their heads, and not otherwise overloaded +with clothing; but they were dressed like all the coolies about the streets +and in the boats of the harbor. + +The fair young lady had never been in a palanquin, though she had seen +them, and she was pleased with the idea of the ride. It was dropped down +upon its four legs, or feet, and Louis assisted her to the interior. It was +provided with cushions, and Sir Modava instructed her to recline so that +she could see out of the open doors. The young millionaire walked by the +side of the vehicle, while the others all followed, with their servants at +a respectful distance. + +"How do you like the motion, Miss Blanche?" asked Louis, after they had +gone a short distance. + +"It is not as uneasy as the gait of a camel, though I can feel every step +of the bearers. But I should prefer a _shigram_, if it only had a +better name," replied she. + +"You can call it a brougham, or simply a carriage, if you prefer. We are +not here to learn the Indian languages, and we can take our choice; and we +can talk 'good old United States,' in speaking of things," suggested Louis. +"There! what will you call that vehicle, Miss Blanche?" + +"That is called a _gharri_" interposed Sir Modava, who was within +hearing. + +The vehicle was such as none of the Americans had ever seen. It was a sort +of two-wheeled cart, with a top like an old-fashioned chaise, in which a +man was seated, while a rough-looking fellow rode in front. + +"I should say it was an ox-cart, so far as the team is concerned," said +Scott. + +"Those are not oxen; they are called bullocks in this country. As you see, +they have humps like a camel, though much smaller, in front of which is the +yoke," the Hindu knight explained. + +"But they don't drive oxen in the United States with a pair of rope reins, +as this fellow does," said Scott. + +"I have seen them do so in North Carolina," added Morris, who had travelled +in the South with his parents. + +"I give it up, and it's all right. But what is that man in the cart? Is he +a Grand Mogul?" + +"Hardly," replied Sir Modava, laughing. "The driver is the lowest caste of +laborers, who works for fivepence a day, and supports his family on it. The +man inside is the cook of a Parsee merchant I happen to know, and probably +he is going to market to buy supplies for the family. But here we are at +the tailor's. You can continue your ramble, and your servants can tell you +the way, and what the buildings are." + +The two gentlemen entered the tailor's shop; for there are no stores here +any more than in London. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION + + +The live boys did not care much for the buildings, though most of those of +a public character were architecturally very fine. Around a large open +space they found the Town Hall, the Mint, and all the great mercantile +establishments. At the time of the young people's visit, it was almost +entirely abandoned by those who had held possession of it during the day. +Business hours are from ten in the forenoon till four in the afternoon. + +Before and after these hours the Fort, as the business section of the city +is called, is deserted. This quarter was formerly surrounded by walls or +ramparts, which have now been removed; but in its limits is concentrated +the great wealth of Bombay. There are no dwellings within this territory, +which is consecrated to trade and commerce; and both Europeans and natives +hasten at the early closing hour to their homes at Colaba, the Esplanade, +Mazagon, Malabar Hill, and Breach Candy, the latter on the seashore. + +In front of the Grant buildings they found the Cotton-Green, deserted now, +though the stacks of bales were still there, with a few sheds and shanties. +A few half-naked coolies and policemen were loitering about the place; but +it is not convenient for a thief to carry off a bale of cotton on his back, +and a bullock cart in this locality would excite suspicion. In business +hours this is a busy place; and the Parsee and native merchants, robed in +loose white garments, not all of them indulging in the luxury of trousers, +reclining on the bales, or busy with customers, form a picturesque scene. + +"I don't think this is the right time to explore this region," suggested +Scott. "We had better come down here when there is something going on." + +"You are right, Scott," replied Louis; "and I dare say Miss Blanche has had +enough of the palanquin, or will have by the time we get back to the hotel, +for we are more than a mile from it." + +"I don't think I like a palanquin as well as a carriage," replied the young +lady. "If you please, I should like to walk back." + +She was promptly assisted to alight, and the palanquin bearers were paid so +liberally that they did not complain at being discharged so far from the +hotel. Sayad and Moro were sent ahead to lead the way, while the other two +walked behind. On their arrival at the Victoria, they found all the rest of +the tourists assembled in the parlor, to whom they gave an account of what +they had seen. + +They went to the saloon in which dinner was served, closely followed +by their servants; and the scene there was decidedly unique to the +Americans, for there were as many servants as guests. The hotel furnishes +no attendants, and each visitor brings his own. But as soon as all were +seated, order came out of confusion, and the service proceeded. The dishes +were somewhat peculiar; but Sir Modava explained them to the commander and +Mrs. Belgrave, while Lord Tremlyn rendered a similar service to the +Woolridges and Louis, and Dr. Ferrolan to the professional gentlemen of the +company. + +"I think you will find this fish very good," said his lordship, as the +second course came on. "It is the _bummaloti_, sometimes called the +Bombay duck, something like both the salmon and the trout. It is a +salt-water fish, abundant off this coast, where it is extensively taken, +salted, and dried, to be sent to all parts of India." + +"It is elegant," said Mr. Woolridge, who was an epicure. + +The roast beef and chickens were very good, and the fruit was highly +appreciated. The dinner finished, the party returned to the sitting-room, +and found themselves very nearly alone. At the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold, Lord Tremlyn consented to give the travellers some information in +regard to the city of Bombay. + +"When I consider what a vast extent of territory you are to explore in +India," the speaker began, "I realize that not much of your time must be +taken up in long discourses, and especially not in lengthy introductions. +Bombay, the western province of the peninsula, includes twenty-four British +districts and nineteen native states, the latter governed wholly or in part +by Hindu rulers. This word Hindu, I repeat, properly applies to only a +portion of this country, but has come into use as a name for the entire +region. + +"This is the Bombay Presidency, with a governor appointed by the crown, a +Legislative Council, a mixed garrison of English and native soldiers, under +a local commander-in-chief. That is all I shall say of the presidency, +which is one of three in India. + +"The city of Bombay occupies the south end of the island of the same name, +and is one of a group of several, of which Salsette is the largest, with +which Bombay Island, eleven miles in length, is connected by causeways, +over which the railway passes. The business part is at the Fort, where we +landed, and the bazaars extend from that in the direction of Mazagon, which +lies to the north and east of it. + +"You will find here many public buildings and commercial structures which +compare favorably with similar edifices in any city of the world; and we +shall see them to-morrow forenoon. The Princess Dock, where the great +steamship lines land their merchandise, cost a million sterling. Three or +four miles off this dock, to the eastward, you saw a couple of islands, the +farther one of which is Elephanta, with its wonderful cave, which you will +visit. + +"The western terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway is here, and +with its connections it extends all over India. This is the first port +usually reached by vessels from Europe, though Kurrachee is nearer. It is +the great mail port; and I have seen landed at Dover thirty tons of +post-bags, sent from here by Suez and through Europe by the Orient Express. + +"Bombay now exceeds Calcutta in the extent of its commerce. The principal +exports are cotton, wheat, shawls, opium, coffee, pepper, ivory, and gums; +and the chief imports are the manufactured goods of England, metals, wine, +beer, tea, and silks. The prominent industries of the city and its vicinity +are dyeing, tanning, and metal working. It has sixty large steam-mills. Of +the vast population, now approaching a million, not more than 13,000 are +British-born. The water here is excellent, for it is brought from a lake +fifteen miles north of us. + +"Goa is still a Portuguese possession, nearly three hundred miles down the +coast; and a year before they captured it they took possession of this +island, in 1509. They held it till 1661, when it was ceded to England as a +part of the dowry of the Infanta Catharine, who became queen of Charles II. +That is all I need say at present." + +The next morning after breakfast the carriages bespoken were at the door. +The party seated themselves in the vehicles, which were English, and quite +commodious, according to their own fancies; and it need only be said that +the commander was in the one with Mrs. Belgrave, and Louis with Miss +Blanche. The viscount directed the driver of his carriage to pass through +Cruikshank Road to the Parsees' Bazaar, which is just north of the Fort. +Most of the Parsees and Bhorahs who do business here reside in the same +section; and there were many fine houses there, though they are abundantly +able to live at Breach Candy and Malabar Hill, the abode of the +_elite_. The vehicles stopped at an attractive point, and the party +alighted. They went into several shops, and were treated with the utmost +politeness and attention. + +In one of them they were invited into a small rear saloon, magnificently +furnished, where they were presented by Lord Tremlyn to a Parsee gentleman. +He was dignity and grace united. He was dressed in white throughout, except +his cap, or turban, which was of darker material. He wore trousers, with +white socks and slippers. His shirt appeared to be outside of his trousers, +like the Russians, with a sort of vest over it. He wore a long coat, shaped +like a dressing-gown, reaching nearly to the floor. + +He was kind enough to call in his wife and little daughter. Both of them +had pleasing faces. The lady wore a rich dress and a magnificent shawl, +with a head-dress of gold and diamonds. The little girl had on bagging +trousers like the Turkish women, and a heavily embroidered tunic, and both +of them wore Indian slippers, with the toes turned up. + +The ladies of the party were presented to the lady. She spoke English +correctly and fluently, and the interview between them was exceedingly +interesting to both sides. The Americans did not meddle with forbidden +topics, as they had been cautioned not to do, such as their religion and +burial rites; but they could not help thinking of this elegant lady's +comely form being torn to pieces by the crows and vultures in the Tower of +Silence with absolute horror. + +From the Bazaar the carriages proceeded through the Fort, and the public +buildings were pointed out to them. At the Cotton-Green they got out; for +the place was now alive with Parsees and other merchants, with plenty of +coolies, some of whom were moving bales, and others sorting cotton. From +this locality they rode through Colaba, and saw some native dwellings, as +well as some fine European residences, with beautiful gardens around them. +They alighted near the most southern point, and inspected a "bungalow," +which they were politely invited to enter. It was fitted up with a view to +comfort rather than elegance, and the interior appeared as though it might +be delightfully cool in the heat of summer. + +"What do you call that house?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, as they returned to the +road, which they call them all over the city, and not streets. + +"A bungalow," replied Sir Modava. + +"Why do you call it so?" + +"That reminds me of the German," interposed Captain Ringgold, laughing +heartily. "'Do you know vot vas der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans?'" + +"Well, what was the reason, Captain?" inquired the lady seriously. + +"'Der reason vy ve calls our boy Hans is, dot is his name.'" + +"Well, that is precisely why we call that house a bungalow," added Sir +Modava. "It is the house usually occupied by Europeans here. They are one +story high, with a broad veranda, like the one we have just visited. Almost +always they have a pyramidal roof, generally thatched, but rarely slated or +tiled. When the body is of brick or stone, they call them _pucka_ +houses. Doubtless you wished to know the origin of the word, Mrs. +Belgrave." + +"That was just what I wished to know." + +"They were probably first called Bengalese houses, and the present name was +corrupted out of the adjective." + +The party collected together on the seashore, for the viscount appeared to +have something to say. The captain of the Guardian-Mother called the +attention of the company to the shape of the small bay before them, which +looked exactly like a lobster's big claw. + +"The point where we are is Cape Colaba, and the small point is Cape +Malabar," said Lord Tremlyn. "I think we have seen all our time permits, +and now we will drive back through the town and the Esplanade. Perhaps you +have not yet heard of the Jains. They are a religious sect, and are more +influential and intelligent than most of the Hindus. More than any other +sect they hold the lower animals in the highest regard, amounting to a +strange sort of tenderness. + +"They believe that man should not injure any animal; and more than this, +that human beings are bound to protect the lives and minister to the ills +of all creatures, even those the most despised. When, therefore, the pious +Jain comes upon a wounded creature of the lower order, he stops to attend +to its needs, and even takes it into his house to be healed. To forward +this charity, the wealthy of this sect have contributed money for the +foundation and endowment of hospitals for the care of sick and wounded +animals, and even of those permanently disabled." + +"What a beautiful idea, if it is heathen!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. + +"We will now drive to one of these hospitals. We have to pass through the +Esplanade again to reach the Black Town, as it is called, where most of the +natives reside; but we will go by a different road." + +In about half an hour the carriages passed through the densely populated +region of the Hindus, and stopped at the hospital. The party alighted in a +large court, surrounded by sheds, in which are a number of bullocks, some +of them with their eyes bandaged, others lame, or otherwise in a helpless +condition. They were all stretched out on clean straw. Some of the +attendants were rubbing them; others were bringing food and drink to them. + +Passing into a smaller court, they found it contained dogs and cats in the +same unfortunate and suffering condition. + +"It would be a mercy to kill them, and thus put them out of misery," said +Dr. Hawkes to the native officer with him. + +"Do you serve your sick and disabled in that way?" asked the official. + +He could not answer this appeal for the want of time, and they passed into +a place for birds. Venerable crows, vultures, buzzards, and other bipeds, +most of them with their plumage gone, pass the remainder of their lives in +peace in this curious retreat. At the end of the enclosure a heron proudly +strutted about with a wooden leg, among lame hens and blind geese and +ducks. Rats, mice, sparrows, and jackals have an asylum in the Jain +hospital. + +"I should like to have some of our people take a lesson from this +institution," said Mrs. Woolridge as they left the place. + +The carriages then conveyed them to a Hindu temple. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + A SNAKY SPECTACLE IN BOMBAY + + +On the way to the temple the carriages stopped at a horse bazaar, in which +Mr. Woolridge was especially interested, for some very fine animals were to +be seen, including some choice Arabians. They were looked over and admired +by the party. The best of them were valued at from six hundred to twelve +hundred dollars; and the cheapest were hardly less than two hundred +dollars. None but the wealthiest people of the city could afford to ride +after these animals. + +Around these stables were numerous cafes, and a collection of people of +various nationalities were gathered in front and within them. Arabs, +negroes, Bedouins, and others were consuming spicy drinks; a group of +Persians in picturesque costumes were regaling themselves with great +dough-balls, made of flour, sugar, and milk; and dirty visitors from Cabul +were feeding themselves on dates. + +Still in the Black Town, the carriages stopped at the Chinese Bazaar, +though the tourists did not alight. It extended to the shore of the bay, +and was crowded with all sorts of people. On the quays were no end of +Asiatic goods, mostly of the coarser kind,--the horns of cattle, tortoise +shells, elephants' tusks, and bags of pepper, spices, and coffee. + +"This looks like Constantinople," said Miss Blanche, as four big coolies, +bearing a large box of goods suspended from a pole resting on their +shoulders, passed them, struggling under the burden they bore. + +"Oriental customs are much the same wherever you find them," replied Sir +Modava. + +"But if they had a hand-truck, such as they use in the stores of our +country, they could do their work with far less labor," suggested Scott. + +"Those coolies would not use them," added the Hindu gentleman. "I have seen +them in London, and these laborers would regard them as an invention of the +Evil One to lead them away from their religion." + +Parsees and other merchants were circulating in the crowd, making notes of +the prices; and the great variety of representatives of different countries +was surprising to the visitors. Not far from this bazaar is the great +mosque of the Mohammedans. After all the magnificent buildings of this kind +the party had visited in Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria, it was not a great +attraction. It was not to be compared with many mosques they had seen. As +usual, the party were invited to remove their shoes, though the sight +hardly paid for the trouble. The scene was the same as in others of the +kind. A venerable Moollah was expounding the Koran to a group of true +believers. + +His audience were all seated on the pavement, and they seemed to be giving +excellent attention to the discourse. Sir Modava explained that the +Mohammedans of Bombay were more orthodox, or strict, in the observance of +the requirements of their religion than in Bengal; for a considerable +proportion are direct descendants from the original stock who had emigrated +to India from Persia. They are bitterly opposed to the Hindus, and a +serious riot had occurred not long before. + +There are many Hindu temples in Bombay, though not many of them are +accessible to strangers; but the party drove to one in the Black Town. It +had a low dome and a pyramidal spire. Both of them were of the Indian style +of architecture, very elaborate in ornamentation. It looked like a huge +mass of filigree work. + +The visitors next found themselves at Girgaum, which is a forest of +cocoanut-trees extending from the Bazaars to Chowpatti, at the head of the +Back Bay. Among the trees, as the carriages proceeded along the Queen's +Road, they found a great number of Hindu huts, half hidden in the dense +foliage. They paused to look at one of them. + +The walls were of bamboo and other tropical woods, and the roof was +thatched with cocoanut leaves, which required poles to keep them in place. +It had several doors, and cross-latticed windows. There was no particular +shape to the structure, and certainly nothing of neatness or comeliness +about it. A large banana tree grew near it; a woman stood at one of the +doors, staring with wonder at the strangers, and a couple of half-naked +coolies were at work farther away. The morality of the residents of this +section could not be commended. + +"In the evening this grove is lighted up with colored lamps," said the +viscount. "Taverns and small cafes are in full blast, the sounds of music +are heard, and a grand revel is in progress. Europeans, Malays, Arabs, +Chinese, and Hindus frequent the grove. Far into the night this debauchery +continues, and I trust the authorities will soon clean it out." + +The carriages continued on their way to Malabar Hill, and made a thorough +survey of the locality. At the southerly point they came to the village of +Walkeshwar, whose pagoda-like towers they had seen from the ship, filled +with residences, though not of the magnates of the city. Most of the +buildings here were very plain. The hill is not a high one, but along its +sides the elaborate bungalows of the merchants and others were erected, all +of them with fine gardens surrounding them. + +Breach Candy, on the seashore, in front of Cumballa Hill, is the most +aristocratic neighborhood, and contains the finest mansions. Tramways, +which is the English name for horse-cars, extend to this locality, as well +as to most other important parts of the city; and there is a station on the +steam railroad near it, though most of the wealthy residents ride back and +forth in their own carriages. + +The Tower of Silence, in which the Parsees expose their dead to be devoured +by birds of prey, was pointed out to them. No one but the priests are +allowed to enter it; and the relatives leave the body at the door, from +which they take it into the building. It is placed between two grates, +which allow the vultures to tear off the flesh, but not to carry off the +limbs. It made the Americans shudder when their guides told them about it +more in detail than when it was described in the lecture. + +Passing by the cemeteries of the English and the Mussulmans on their return +to the city, they halted at the Hindu Burning-Ground, on the shore of the +Back Bay. Here the natives are burned to ashes. For some distance they had +noticed funeral processions on their way to this place. The remains are +borne on open litters. A granite platform is the base of the funeral pyre, +and the bodies wait their turn to be reduced to ashes; and the cremation is +far more repulsive than that in our own country. + +Dealers in wood for the combustion sell the article to the relatives. Some +of them are cutting up fuel and arranging the pyre, while others seated on +the walls play a lugubrious strain on the native instruments. The disposal +of the body of an old man was in process while the tourists looked on; and +the corpse was placed on the pile, the friends covering it with bits of +wood till it was no longer in sight. + +Then the eldest son came to the scene, howling his grief and beating his +breast. Grasping a torch prepared for him, he set fire to the corners of +the pile that covered the remains. The flames rose high in the air, and the +attendants fed the fire by throwing on oil. Soon the body reappears, a +blazing mass, which is soon reduced to ashes. Water is then thrown on the +pyre, and a portion of the ashes cast into the sea. + +There is nothing very repulsive in the rite of burning the dead; though the +visitors had some difficulty in keeping out of the reach of the foul smoke, +which brought with it a disagreeable odor. The carriages continued on their +way to the city; and when they entered a street, Lord Tremlyn called the +attention of those with him to a couple of native women who had stopped to +look at them, for the party excited no little curiosity wherever they went. +It had become known by this time that a dozen American ladies and gentlemen +were circulating through the place, engaged in sight-seeing. + +They had comely features of a brownish hue, and were dressed in the loose +robes of the country, reaching to the ground; one of the garments extended +to cover the head, though not the face. Both of them wore heavy gold +bangles on their arms, but both were barefoot. + +"They are not Mohammedans," suggested Mrs. Woolridge. + +"They may be for aught I know," replied his lordship. "The women of this +sect here do not veil their faces as a rule." + +"They are quite good-looking," added the New York magnate. "What caste or +class do they belong to?" + +"I should say they were in the Vaisya caste, agriculture and trade. They +are well dressed, and therefore not Sudra. Probably they are the wife and +daughter of a shopkeeper. + +"What is this crowd in the square?" asked Morris, who had been looking +about him. + +"We will drive over there and see," replied the viscount as he directed the +coachman. + +"Festival of Serpents," said the driver through the window. + +"You have an opportunity to see one of the sights of Bombay; but we shall +be obliged to leave the carriages, for it is a great performance, and there +will be a large crowd." They alighted at a convenient place, and moved +towards the square. The ladies were in doubt as to whether or not they +cared to see such an exhibition; but the three gentlemen who were +accustomed to them declared that there was no danger. + +"This affair is in the nature of a religious festival," said Sir Modava. +"There are scores of snakes brought before you; but they have had their +poison fangs extracted, and they could not harm you much more than a +playful kitten. This is a day appointed to make prayers and offerings to +the snakes, in order to conciliate them and to insure immunity from their +bites. Though these occasions occur all over India, I don't believe there +is a single bite the less for them." + +"It is the anniversary of the killing of the great serpent Bindrabund, +which was creating terrible havoc on the shores of the river Jumna, an +event in Hindu mythology, which is as true as any mythology," added Lord +Tremlyn. "You observe that it calls together a great crowd of people of all +classes, and you see fat Brahmin ladies here in palanquins, very richly +dressed, and looking as sweet as sugar. You notice the rich standards and +the torches, the trumpeters, and the girls playing on tom-toms and cymbals. +But we must get nearer to the centre of the show." + +"Not too near," pleaded Mrs. Woolridge. + +The crowd opened for the sahibs and the ladies, treating them with the +utmost deference, as though they were superior beings; and they obtained a +position where they could see the entire performance. A group of +_sapwallahs_, or serpent-charmers, each bearing a basket about fifteen +inches in diameter at the bottom, but not more than ten at the top, each +containing several cobras, marched into the centre of the crowd. Pious +Hindus brought forward bowls of the milk of buffaloes, of which the +serpents are very fond, and placed them on the ground. The snakes were +released from their confinement, and they made for the bowls of milk +without any delay. + +Some of the tourists had never seen a cobra, though they are found in +Egypt. The ladies shrank back when they appeared, and some of them +shuddered at the sight of the reptiles. The body was somewhat enlarged near +the head, and the spectacles could be distinctly seen in this part. The +instruments played, the standards and the torches were waved; but the +snakes continued their milk feast undisturbed. + +The principal _sapwallah_ had a wand in his hand, which he flourished +while he repeated a volume of gibberish which none of the party but Sir +Modava could understand. When Mrs. Belgrave asked what he said; he replied +that he was uttering invocations to the serpents, and entreating the whole +tribe of snakes not to bite the people. + +One of the _sapwallahs_, who wore nothing but a turban on his head and +a fringed cloth about his loins, went to one of the bowls from which half a +dozen cobras were feeding, and taking hold of one of them, pulled him away +from the milk. The serpent thus treated was furious with anger, and +instantly opened out his hood, showing the spectacles in full. Another +cobra was put in his place at the bowl, and his persecutor sat down on the +ground with him, fooling with him as though he had been a kitten or a pet +dog. + +In turn the snakes remaining in the baskets were released, and allowed to +feast on the milk as others were removed. There was a great crowd of +_sapwallahs_ in charge of them, and none of them were permitted to +escape. The reptiles showed their temper as they were taken from the milk +by spreading their hoods; but they were so skilfully manipulated that they +had no chance to bite. + +"I think I have had enough of this thing," said Mr. Woolridge, with a look +of disgust on his face. "There is no fun at all in it, and I should like to +make them a target for my revolver." + +"It is about time for tiffin, and we had better return to the hotel," added +Lord Tremlyn. "I shall keep you busy this afternoon; and while you are +resting you shall take in a Nautch dance, which is one of the institutions +of this country. After that we shall go to the island of Elephanta." + +The live boys of the party were rather pleased with the spectacle, though +they had had enough of it; while the ladies, whose flesh had been +"crawling" at the uncanny sight, were glad to escape. They all reached the +hotel, and were hungry enough after the long jaunt of the forenoon to +appreciate the "tiffin." + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA + + +The influence of Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava was enough to procure anything +in Bombay, and an apartment that served as a special banquet hall had been +prepared at their command, and their guests were introduced to it +immediately after tiffin. As the viscount had suggested, they were +considerably fatigued after the long jaunt of the forenoon, though they +were refreshed by the luncheon they had taken. The hall was furnished with +sofas and easy-chairs for the occasion, and they were made very +comfortable. + +The performers were seated on the floor of the room when the company took +their places. A man with a slouched turban and something like a sheet wound +around his body, reaching nearly to his ankles, the only clothing he wore, +entered the hall. At the entrance of the party the girls rose from the +floor and saluted them deferentially. + +There were six of them, very modestly dressed, only their arms and feet +being bare. Their black hair was parted in the middle, and combed back +behind the ears, after the fashion of many years ago in the United States. +They all wore ornaments in their ears, and around their ankles. The +material of their dresses was various, some of it quite rich, with pearls +and gold in places. They looked quite serious, as though they were about to +engage in a religious ceremony, though it had no such connection. Some of +them were decidedly pretty, though their style of beauty was not entirely +to the taste of the Americans. They had black eyes, and they looked the +visitors full in the face, and with entire self-possession. + +"Now what are these girls, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. + +"They are professional dancers, and that is their sole occupation," replied +he. "They are engaged by rich people when they give parties, and for +weddings and other festive occasions." + +"Is that man the only musician?" + +"He is the only one for this entertainment, and he plays the tom-tom with +his fingers. I am afraid you do not appreciate our native music, and we did +not engage any more of it. They are about to begin." + +The musician beat the tom-tom, and the girls rose from the floor, shook out +their dresses as any lady would, and then it appeared that the ornaments on +their ankles were bells, which rattled as though it were sleighing-time as +they moved about. They formed in a semicircle before the audience; one of +them stepped forward, and turned herself around very slowly and gracefully, +with a quivering of the body, like the gypsy girls of Spain, which caused +her bells to jingle. + +With eyes half-closed, and with a languishing expression on her dusky face, +she made a variety of gestures, posturing frequently as she continued to +turn. When this one seemed to have exhausted her material, another advanced +to the front, and proceeded to exhibit her variety of gestures and +postures, which were but slightly different from those of the first one, +though she went through the movements of a snake-charmer. In like manner +all the performers went through their several parts, imitating various +musicians on different native instruments. + +Two of them went through a very lively performance, leaping and whirling +very rapidly. The exhibition concluded with a round dance, which was +thought to be very pretty, perhaps because it was exceedingly lively. Mrs. +Belgrave and Mrs. Blossom had never been to a theatre in their lives, never +saw a ballet, and were not capable of appreciating the posturing, though +the animated dance pleased them. The Nautch girls retired, and the +"Nautch," as such an occasion is called, was ended. + +"Perhaps you have seen snakes enough for one day," said Lord Tremlyn; "but +I thought you ought to see the performance of the snake-charmers. We will +have it here instead of in the open street; and it is quite different from +the show you witnessed this forenoon." + +As he spoke the door opened, and a couple of old and rather snaky-looking +Hindus, folded up in a profusion of cloths, rather than garments, entered +the apartment. Sir Modava conducted them to a proper distance from the +audience, who could not help distrusting the good intentions of the +vicious-looking reptiles. Each of them carried such a basket as the party +had seen in the square. The men seemed to be at least first cousins to the +serpents the baskets contained, for their expression was subtle enough to +stamp them as belonging to the same family. + +The performers squatted on the floor, and each placed a basket before him, +removing the cover; but the serpents did not come out. The charmers then +produced a couple of instruments which Sir Modava called lutes, looking +more like a dried-up summer crookneck squash, with a mouthpiece, and a tube +with keys below the bulb. Adjusting it to their lips, they began to play; +and the music was not bad, and it appeared to be capable of charming the +cobras, for they raised their heads out of the baskets. + +The melody produced a strange effect upon the reptiles, for they began to +wriggle and twist as they uncoiled themselves. They hissed and outspread +their hoods, and instead of being charmed by the music, it seemed as though +their wrath had been excited. They made an occasional dart at the human +performers, who dodged them as though they had been in their native +jungles, with their business fangs in order for deadly work. But the Hindu +gentleman explained that they could bite, though they could not kill, after +their poison fangs had been removed. + +Then one of the performers stood up, and seizing his snake by the neck, he +swung him three times around his head, and dropped him on the floor. There +he lay extended at his full length, as stiff as though he had taken a dose +of his own poison. + +"I have killed my serpent!" exclaimed the Hindu with a groan. "But I can +make him into a useful cane." + +Sir Modava interpreted his remarks, and the fellow picked up his snake, and +walked before the audience, using it as a staff, and pretending to support +himself upon it. Then he held out the reptile to the visitors, and offered +to sell his cane; but they recoiled, and the ladies were on the point of +rushing from the room when Sir Modava ordered him off. He retreated a +proper distance, and then thrust the head of the creature beneath his +turban, and continued to crowd him into it till nothing but his tail was in +sight. Then he took off his head covering, and showed the reptile coiled up +within it. + +Lord Tremlyn looked at his watch, and then carried a piece of money to the +chief charmer, which he received with many salaams, in which his companion +joined him, for the fee was a very large one. He suggested that the party +had had enough of this performance, to which all the ladies, with Mr. +Woolridge, heartily agreed. The carriages were at the door of the hotel, +and the company were hurriedly driven to the Apollo Bunder, where they +found a steam-launch in waiting for them. Lord Tremlyn had arranged the +excursions so that everything proceeded like clockwork, and Captain +Ringgold wondered what he should have done without his assistance. + +The island of Elephanta was about five miles distant, and in half an hour +the party landed. Upon it were a couple of hills, and it was entirely +covered with woods. One of the first things to attract the attention was a +singular tree, which seemed to be a family of a hundred of them; for the +branches reached down to the ground, and took root there, though the lower +ends were spread out in numerous fibres, leaving most of the roots above +the soil. + +"This is a banyan-tree," said Sir Modava. "It is a sort of fig-tree, and +you see that the leaves are shaped like a heart. It bears a fruit of a rich +scarlet color, which grows in couples from the stems of the leaves. They +are really figs, and they are an important article of food. In time the +trunk of the tree decays and disappears, and temples are made of the thick +branches. Some of these trees have three thousand stems rooted in the +ground, many of them as big as oaks: and these make a complete forest of +themselves. One of them is said to have sheltered seven thousand people; +but I never saw one as big as that." + +The party proceeded towards the caves, but had not gone far before they +were arrested by the screams of some of the ladies, who were wandering in +search of flowers. Louis Belgrave was with his mother and Miss Blanche. Sir +Modava, who was telling the rest of the company something more about the +banyan-tree, rushed to the spot from which the alarm came. There he found +Louis with his revolver in readiness to fire. + +"Snakes!" screamed Mrs. Belgrave. + +In front of them, asleep on a rock, were two large snakes. The Hindu +gentleman halted at the side of the lady, and burst out into a loud laugh. + +"The snakes of India seem to be determined that you shall see them," said +he. "But you need not fire, Mr. Belgrave; for those snakes are as harmless +as barnyard fowls, and they don't know enough to bite." + +"I see that they are not cobras," added Louis, as he returned the revolver +to his pocket. "But what are they?" + +"Those are rock snakes." + +"But I don't like the looks of them," said Mrs. Belgrave, as she continued +her retreat towards the path. + +"I think they are horrid," added Miss Blanche. + +"But they do no harm, and very likely they do some good in the world," said +Sir Modava; "but there are snakes enough that ought to be killed without +meddling with them." + +"You see that rock," said the viscount; "and it is a very large one. Can +you make anything of its shape? I suppose not; nobody can. But that rock +gave a name to this island, applied by the Portuguese two or three hundred +years ago. It is said to have been in the form of an elephant. If it ever +had that shape it has lost it." + +[Illustration: "'Snakes!' screamed Mrs. Belgrave."--Page 184.] + +After penetrating a dense thicket, the tourists discovered a comely flight +of stairs, cut out of the solid rock of which the hill is composed, +extending to a considerable distance, and finally leading into the great +pillared chamber forming a Hindu temple, though a level space planted with +trees must first be crossed. + +They entered the cave. On the left were two full columns, not yet crumbled +away as others were, which gave the observers a complete view of what a +vast number of others there were. Next beyond them were three pilasters +clinging to the ceiling. This part of the cavern was in the light from the +entrance; but farther along, considerably obscured in the darkness of the +subterranean temple, were scores, and perhaps hundreds, of others. The +pillars were not the graceful forms of modern times, and many of them had +lost all shape. + +This temple is said to have been excavated in the ninth century. The walls +are covered with gigantic figures in relief. The temple is in the form of a +cross, the main hall being a hundred and forty-four feet in depth. The +ceiling is supported by twenty-six columns and eighteen pilasters, sixteen +to eighteen feet high. They look clumsy, but they have to bear up the +enormous weight of the hill of rock, and many of them have crumbled away. + +At the end of the colonnade is a gigantic bust, representing a Hindu +divinity with three heads. Some say that this is Brahma, as the three +symbols of the creator, preserver, and destroyer, forming what is sometimes +named the Hindu trinity. But the best informed claim that the figure +represents Siva, the destroyer of the triad of gods. All the reliefs on the +walls relate to the worship of this divinity, while there is not a known +temple to Brahma. + +The principal piece of sculpture is the marriage of Siva to the goddess +Parvati; and it is identified as such, wholly or in part, because the woman +stands on the right of the man, as no female is permitted to do except at +the marriage ceremony. The party wandered through the caverns for two +hours, and Sayad and Moro, the only servants brought with them, kindled +fires in the darker places, to enable them to see the sculpture. Sir Modava +explained what needed explanation. He conducted them to an opening, lighted +by a hole in the hill, where they found a staircase guarded by two lions, +leading into what is called the Lions' Cave. + +The tourists at the end of the two hours were willing to vote that they had +seen enough of the caverns, and they returned to the hotel in season for +dinner. On his arrival Lord Tremlyn found a letter at the office. On +opening it, the missive proved to be an invitation for that evening to a +wedding for the whole party. They considered it for some time, and as it +afforded them an opportunity to see something of native life it was decided +to accept it. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + A JUVENILE WEDDING AND HINDU THEATRICALS + + +The note to Lord Tremlyn enclosed sixteen cards printed in gold letters, +one for each member of the company, and they were passed around to them. +They were to the effect that Perbut Lalleejee would celebrate the marriage +of his son that evening, and the favor of the recipient's attendance was +requested to a Grand Nautch at nine o'clock. The gentleman who sent out +these cards was one of the wealthiest of the Parsee community, with whom +the viscount was intimately acquainted, and he strongly recommended the +Americans to attend. + +The Parsees kept their religious affairs to themselves, and the party were +not to "assist" at the ceremony, which would have been an extra inducement +to attend. Promptly at the hour named the carriages set the tourists and +their volunteer guides down at the magnificent mansion of the father of the +young man who was to enter the marriage state that evening. + +The street in the vicinity of the house was brilliantly illuminated, and it +was covered over with an awning, from which no end of ornamental lamps were +suspended. Behind a mass of flowers--cartloads of them--a foreign orchestra +was placed. As the carriages stopped at the door, the band began a military +march, whose inspiring strains seemed to give an additional lustre to the +elaborate decorations. It was easy for the guests to believe that they had +been introduced into the midst of a fairy scene. Sahib Perbut appeared at +the door as soon as the vehicles stopped, and took his lordship by the +hand, and each of the guests were presented to him as they alighted. The +host was not an old man, as the strangers expected to find him, since he +had a son who was old enough to get married. + +He was very richly dressed, and he was a gentleman of unbounded suavity. +Taking Mrs. Belgrave by the hand, he conducted her into the house, the rest +of the party forming a procession behind them. The Americans had been +obliged to make a trip to the Guardian-Mother, to obtain garments suitable +for such a "swell" occasion, and they were all dressed in their Sunday +clothes. + +If the exterior of the splendid mansion had challenged the admiration of +the guests, the interior presented a scene of Oriental magnificence which +might have astonished even the Count of Monte Cristo. The party were +conducted to the grand and lofty apartment where the Nautch was to be +given. Immense mirrors reflected the brilliancy of a thousand lights; the +floor was covered with the richest of carpets, the luxurious divans and +sofas were overspread with the cloths of Cashmere; the elaborate richness +of the costumes of the Oriental guests, and the army of servants +manipulating _punkas_, or fans, formed a scene not unlike, while it +out-rivalled, the grand _denoument_ of a fairy spectacle on the stage. + +The procession of foreign guests were all seated in the most conspicuous +divans; for if Lord Tremlyn had been the Prince of Wales, he and his +friends could hardly have been treated with greater distinction, as he was +the unofficial representative of the predominating influence in the affairs +of India near the throne of the United Kingdom and the Empire. The party +were immediately beset with servants offering them fruit and sherbets, and +they were sprinkled with rose-water from silver flagons. + +The Nautch girls were not the same the tourists had seen earlier in the +day. There were more of them, and they were of a finer grain; in fact, the +gentlemen, who were judges, declared that most of them were really pretty. +They were seated on the floor in native fashion. They had great black eyes; +their complexion was only the least tawny, and was paler than it would have +been if they had lived on a more invigorating diet than rice and fruits. + +There were half a dozen musicians, who played upon tom-toms, instruments +like a fiddle, and one that was very nearly a hurdy-gurdy, with lutes and +flutes. They gave the preliminary strains, and the dancers formed the +semicircle. The performance was similar to that the party had seen at the +hotel, though it was more finished, and the attitudes and posturing +appeared to belong to a higher school of art than the other. But the whole +was so nearly like what the strangers had seen before, that they were not +absorbed by it, and gave more attention to the people attending the feast; +for they were an exceedingly interesting study to them. + +After the performance had continued about a quarter of an hour there was a +pause, and the dancers retreated to a corner of the room, seating +themselves again on the floor. At this moment Sahib Perbut came into the +grand saloon leading a boy, who did not appear to be more than ten years +old, by the hand. He was dressed in the most richly ornamented garments, +and he was an exceedingly pretty little fellow. He was conducted to the +viscount. + +"Will your Lordship permit me to present to you and your friends my son +Dinshaw, in whose honor I am making this feast? This is Lord Tremlyn, my +son," said the father, who was evidently very proud of the boy. + +"Sahib Dinshaw, I am very happy to make your acquaintance," replied his +lordship, as he rose and took the hand of the young gentleman, whom he +introduced to every member of his party. + +They all followed the example of the viscount, and addressed him as "Sahib +Dinshaw," the title being equivalent to "Lord," or "Master," applied by the +natives to their employers, and to the English generally. All of them gazed +at him with intense interest, not unmingled with admiration. The hero of +the occasion spoke English as fluently as his father. + +"How old are you, Sahib Dinshaw?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, who was strongly +tempted to kiss the little fellow; but she was afraid it would not be in +order, and she refrained. + +"I am ten years old, madam," replied Dinshaw, with the sweetest of smiles. + +"And you have been married this evening, sahib?" continued the lady. + +"I should not ask him any questions in that direction," interposed Sir +Modava, afraid she would meddle with an interdicted subject; and the young +gentleman's father seemed to have a similar fear, for he gently led him +away. + +He was introduced to the members of the "Big Four," who could hardly keep +their faces at the proper length after hearing what passed between the +youthful sahib and Mrs. Belgrave, at the idea of a ten-year-old bridegroom. + +"Is it possible that this little fellow is married, Sir Modava?" exclaimed +the principal lady from Von Blonk Park. + +"There can be no doubt of it," replied the Hindu gentleman. "But it is +hardly in the same sense that marriage takes place in England and America. +The bride will be received into this Parsee family, and the groom will +remain here; but everything in the domestic circle will continue very +nearly as it was before, and husband and wife will pursue their studies." + +"It looks very strange to us," added the lady. + +"It is the custom of the country. The British government does not interfere +unnecessarily with matters interwoven into the religion and habits of the +people, though it has greatly modified the manners of the natives, and +abolished some barbarous customs. The 'suttee,' as the English called the +Sanscrit word _sati_ meaning 'a virtuous wife,' was a Hindu +institution which required that a faithful wife should burn herself on the +funeral pyre with the body of her deceased husband; or if he died at a +distance from his home, that she should sacrifice herself on one of her +own." + +"How horrible! I have read of it, but hardly believed it," added the lady; +and others who were listening expressed the same feeling. + +"It was a custom in India before the time of Christ. Some of your American +Indians bury the weapons of the dead chief, food, and other articles with +him, as has been the custom of other nations, in the belief that they will +need these provisions in the 'happy hunting-ground.' The Hindus believed +that the dead husband would need his wife on the other shore; and this is +the meaning of the custom." + +"It is not wholly a senseless custom," said Mrs. Woolridge, "barbarous as +it seems." + +"In 1828, or a little later, Lord William Cavendish, then Governor-General +of Bengal, determined to abolish the custom, though he encountered the +fiercest opposition from the natives, and even from many Europeans, who +dreaded the effect of his action. He carried a law through the council, +making it punishable homicide, or manslaughter, to burn a widow. In 1823 +there were five hundred and seventy-five of them burned in the Bengal +Presidency; but after the enactment of the law, the number began to +decrease. The treaties with the Indian princes contained a clause +forbidding it. The custom is really discontinued, though an occasional +instance of it comes to light." + +The dancing had been renewed, and this conversation continued till later. +At this wedding Lord Tremlyn met a gentleman whom he introduced to some of +his party as Sahib Govind. This gentleman had just invited him to visit a +theatrical performance at a private house, such as a European can very +rarely witness. + +"I never went to a theatre in my life!" protested Mrs. Belgrave. + +"But this is a representation in connection with the religious traditions +of the Hindus," argued his lordship. + +It was decided to go, the scruples of the Methodists being overcome by the +fact that it was a religious occasion, and not at all like the stage +performances of New York. The carriages conveyed them to the house +indicated by Sahib Govind, and they were conducted to a hall, at one end of +which was a stage, with a thin calico curtain in front of it. The +performance was just beginning. + +A Brahmin came out in front of the curtain, with some musicians, and set up +an image of Ganesa, the god of wisdom; then he prayed this idol to +enlighten the minds of the actors, and enable them to perform their parts +well, which was certainly very untheatrical, the Americans thought, when +Sir Modava had translated the substance of the invocation. The Brahmin then +announced that the subject of the play was the loves of the god Krishna. + +"Who is the hero of the piece, Sir Modava?" asked Mr. Woolridge, who was a +theatre-goer at home. + +"He is really Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinity, known as the preserver. +Vishnu has a considerable number of forms, or incarnations, one of which is +Krishna, the most human of them all." + +The curtain rose, and cut short the explanation. The scene, painted on +canvas, was an Indian temple. A figure with an enormous wig, his half-naked +body daubed all over with yellow paint, was seated before it, abstracted in +the deepest meditation. The interpreter told them it was Rishi, a +supernatural power, a genius who is a protector to those who need his +services. Then a crowd of gods and goddesses rushed on the stage, and each +of them made a long speech to the devotee-god, which Sir Modava had not +time to render into English, even with the aid of Sahib Govind. + +The actors were fantastically dressed. One had an elephant's head, and all +of them wore high gilt mitres. Krishna enters, and the other divinities +make their exit. He is a nice-looking young man, painted blue, and dressed +like a king. His wife enters, and throws herself at his feet. Then she +reproaches him for forsaking her, in a soft and musical voice, her eyes +raining tears all the time. She embraces his knees. + +Then appears the rival in her affections with Krishna, Rukmini, an +imperious woman, and tells by what artifices she has conquered the weak +husband. Then follows a spirited dialogue between the two women. The rival +boasts of her descent from Vishnu, and of her beauty and animation, and +reproaches Krishna with his unworthy love. Sir Modava wrote this down in +his memorandum book, and handed it to the Americans. + +Satyavama, the wife, insists that her only crime was her love for her +divine husband. She narrates her early history, when she was a peasant girl +on the banks of the Jumna, with her companions, and drew upon herself the +attention of the god. Her life had been simple, and she had always been a +faithful wife. Yet Rukmini triumphs over her. Her pride is aroused; she +rushes off, and returns with her little son. + +"Kill us both, since we cannot live without your love!" the interpreters +rendered her piteous cry. The rival ridicules her, and, urged on by her, +Krishna hands her a cup of poison, which she drinks, and sinks to the +ground. + +"It is not the poison that rends me; it is that my heart is broken by the +ingratitude of one I have so dearly loved." She forgives him, and dies. + +But not thus does the Indian love-story end; for the genie enters, and in +thundering tones calls Krishna to an account for his deeds. The festive god +is tortured with remorse, but has no excuse to offer. He drives Rukmini +from him, and implores the yellow-painted god for forgiveness; and, as he +is the preserver, it is granted. Satyavama is brought back to life. She +presents her son to her husband, who holds out his arms to embrace him; and +the curtain drops in a blaze of Bengal lights, and the "Wah! Wahs!" of the +Hindu audience. + +The interpreters finished their explanations, and the company retired with +the salaams of the crowd. It was very late when they retired to rest that +night. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + JUGGERNAUT AND JUGGLERS + + +The next day was Sunday, and none of the party appeared in the parlor till +quite late; not because it was the Sabbath, but because they were all very +tired, even the four lively boys, who had done more sightseeing than the +rest of the tourists. They were always on the wing, and while the older +ones rested, they always found some novelty which drew them away from the +hotel. Of the four servants only two attended upon them. They had +practically retired two of them with some difficulty when they were away +from the party, for they were a nuisance to them, so many of them. + +Sayad and Moro were retained, however; for they were more intelligent than +the others, spoke English better, and were more enterprising, frequently +suggesting some means of amusement to them. They were interested in the +boys and girls, and Sayad told Louis and Felix all about them,--about their +homes, their schools, their sports; and Moro did the same for Scott and +Morris. On this Sunday they were conducted to a Sunday-school of two +hundred scholars, under the direction of the missionaries, though the +teachers are mostly natives. + +It was a strange sight to them, the variety of races, the strange costumes, +and the absence of any considerable portion of costume at all. There were +Mohammedans, Chinamen, negroes, Jews, and a few Europeans. They fell in +with the missionary from England, who told them a good deal about their +work, and how interested they were in it, declaring that they could see the +fruits of their labors, detailing a number of instances of conversions. +They had a day-school also, and they hired a strict Hindu because he taught +English so well. He hated the Christians, and did his work only because he +was paid for it; but he had to listen to the prayers and exhortations, and +finally he yielded in spite of himself, and became a very useful Christian +minister. + +This gentleman said that the number of Christians in India had doubled +within ten years. He invited the party to come to the church, and the boys +hastened back to the hotel to tell their friends about it. They all went to +this meeting, including their three distinguished guides. The service was +about the same as at home, the clergyman was a native of the Brahmin caste, +and he preached a very earnest and sensible sermon. The funds of the +mission were increased at least a thousand dollars by this visit. + +In the evening the entire company attended the Church of England at the +invitation of Lord Tremlyn; and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of +Bombay. The Methodists were as much pleased with it as though it had been +delivered by one of their own fold. A portion of the day was passed in +writing letters to their friends at home, and quite a bundle of them was +collected for the post by Louis. They were all sealed, with stamps affixed, +and Morris's servant Mobarak was directed to put them in the mail-box. But +the fellow shook his head, and declined to obey. + +His sahib was proceeding to give him a lecture in rather energetic terms, +when Sir Modava interposed, and explained that the servant had religious +scruples, knowing that the stamp had been wet on the tongues of the +senders, which made it unclean to him, and he could not touch it. + +"I have heard of a young man not older than Mobarak who lost his life +rather than come in contact with the saliva of a foreigner; but I doubt if +many would carry their fanaticism to that extent," he added. + +The next morning the party were up at six o'clock, and after they had taken +their coffee, carried up to them by their servants, went out to walk by two +and threes; but they returned by seven o'clock, and were assembled in the +parlor. The sights in the streets had become rather an old story by this +time, and there was not much to be said about them. + +"Have you recovered from the fatigues of Saturday, Mrs. Belgrave?" asked +Lord Tremlyn. + +"Entirely, my Lord. I am quite ready for the next item in your programme," +replied the lady. + +"How did you enjoy the play, madam?" inquired Sir Modava. + +"As a religious exhibition, from my point of view, it was a failure." + +"It does not convey much of an idea of even the mythology of the Hindus," +added Professor Giroud. "If Krishna was a divinity, or even an incarnation +of one, he is a very bad representation of the piety and morality of the +gods. The affair was well enough as a love-story, but the conclusion looked +like a pleasant satire on those authors who insist that their tales and +novels shall have an agreeable ending;" and the professor indulged in a +hearty laugh as he recalled the manner in which Satyavama had been brought +back to life by the divinity in yellow paint. + +"I like that kind of a winding up of a story, and I don't like the other +kind," added the magnate of the Fifth Avenue. "We read novels, if we read +them at all, for the fun of it, with some incidental information in the +right direction. When I was a young man I had a taste for the sea, as most +boys have, and I read Marryat's novels with immense pleasure. In 'The +King's Own,' after following the young fellow in his adventures all over +the world, his life terminated just as he was reaching home, and I was +disgusted. I have read most of this author's books again, but I never +looked into 'The King's Own' a second time." + +"I think we all like to have a story 'end well,' though it was a rather +violent bringing up Saturday night," said Dr. Hawkes. "But the actresses in +that play were all exceedingly pretty girls, and I did not suppose so many +of them could be found in all India." + +"That was just what I was saying to Govind after the performance, and he +laughed as though he would choke himself to death," interposed Lord +Tremlyn, laughing rather earnestly himself. "There was not a single female +on the stage; for the custom of the theatre here does not permit women to +appear, any more than it did in the time of Shakespeare." + +"But I saw them!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I think I know a woman when I see +one, though I am an old bachelor, and rather a tough one at that." + +"Not always, Doctor; for not one of those you call girls was a female. A +woman on the Hindu stage is a thing unknown," rallied the viscount. + +"I suppose I must give it up, though I would not do so on any less +authority than that of your lordship," replied the surgeon good-naturedly. + +All the rest of the party expressed their astonishment in terms hardly less +strong; and the ladies were even more incredulous than the gentlemen. + +"As Govind told me, all the female parts were taken by boys remarkable for +their beauty and the sweetness of their voices," added his lordship. "But +this is understood to be our last day in Bombay, though the limitation of +time does not come from any suggestion of mine; and we must make the best +use of what remains. You have not half seen Bombay yet." + +"We should need ten years for our trip if we were to exhaust every place we +visit," replied Captain Ringgold. "All we expect is to get a fair idea of a +city; and I think we have done that here, especially as we shall see the +same things, as far as manners and customs are concerned, many times before +we finally take our leave of the country at Colombo in Ceylon." + +"While we are quietly seated here, I should like to ask for some +information in regard to Juggernaut," said Uncle Moses. "I used to read the +most horrible stories in my Sabbath-school books about that idol." + +"Those stories, as I have been informed by elderly Englishmen, were +published in the United Kingdom, and all of them are inventions or gross +exaggerations," replied Sir Modava, with his pleasant smile. "Puri, or +Juggernaut, is in the district of Orissa, on the western shore of the Bay +of Bengal. It is one of the holiest places in India among the Hindus. It +contains a temple of Juggernaut, in honor of Vishnu, in which is an idol of +this Hindu god, called Jagannath, which is mentioned in history as far back +as A.D. 318. Vishnu is the Preserver of the Hindu trinity, and therefore in +an especial sense the god of the people; and sometimes 100,000 natives +gather at this shrine, bringing offerings to the value of nearly L40,000. + +"The town has a population of twenty-two thousand, and it contains six +thousand lodging-houses for the pilgrims who visit it. The chief temple has +a hundred and twenty others in an enclosure, with a tower one hundred and +ninety-two feet high. Juggernaut's car, of which you have read, Mr. +Scarburn, is a sort of temple, thirty-five feet square, and forty-five feet +high, with wheels seven feet high. The car-festival is the chief of +twenty-four held every year, when the idol is dragged to the country house. +Though the distance is less than a mile, the sand is so deep in the roadway +that it requires several days to complete the journey. + +"The idols in the temple are hideous-looking objects, with enormous eyes +and crescent-shaped mouths, the horns pointing upwards. But they are very +richly ornamented; for the idol has an income of over L30,000 from lands +and religious houses. It used to be currently reported and believed that +fanatical, crazy devotees cast themselves under the wheels of the car, and +were crushed to death, immolating themselves as an offering to the god. But +these statements have been strictly investigated, and branded as the +calumnies of English writers. Two distinguished savants have declared that +self-immolation is utterly contrary to the worship of Juggernaut, the very +unusual deaths at the car-festival being almost invariably accidental." + +"It is a great pity that these horrible stories were ever poured into the +minds of children, and I am thankful that the libraries contain nothing of +the kind now," added Uncle Moses. + +The company breakfasted with excellent appetites after the exercises of the +morning; and then Lord Tremlyn conducted them to the large saloon where the +Nautch had been given, and they were astonished to find that one end of it +was occupied by no less than fourteen men, not one of whom was more than +half clothed, though the tom-tom player had on a pair of short trousers. +This fellow began to beat his instrument with frantic energy, moaning and +howling at the same time as though he was in great agony. + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, putting her fingers into her ears. +"Can't you stop that hideous noise, Sir Modava?" + +"No more howling!" protested he in Hindu. + +The chief juggler declared that they could not go on, and Uncle Moses +suggested that they had to overwhelm the senses of the audience to enable +the jugglers to deceive them. Their Hindu guide talked with them, and then +ordered them to leave the hotel. The performers were not willing to forego +the rich reward expected; and a compromise was effected by which the +tom-tom was to be used, but the howling was to cease. Lord Tremlyn had +announced the nature of the entertainment as they entered the apartment, +and most of the tourists had heard of the wonderful skill of Indian +jugglers. + +A couple of the performers produced two swords twenty-six inches long, and +pushed them down their throats to the hilt, and then asked Dr. Hawkes to +feel the point in their stomachs. Another put a stone in his mouth, and +then began to blow out smoke and a cloud of sparks from his nose as well as +his mouth. Turning a somerset, he cast the stone on the floor. One took an +iron hoop from a pile of them, and set it to spinning on a pole in the air. +He continued to add others, one at a time, till he had eighteen of them +whirling above his head. + +Another set a lot of small swords circling in the air, till he had ten of +them buzzing about his head. At the same time a sleight-of-hand man was +doing a variety of tricks very skilfully, and acrobats were mounting on +each other's shoulders, and pitching themselves about very promiscuously. +While the party were wondering at the skill of the performers, though many +of them had seen most of the tricks at home, a boy about eight years old +came into the room with a good-sized basket in his hands, which he placed +on the floor as the men spread out into a semicircle. The child stepped +into the basket, which did not seem to be big enough to hold him, even when +reduced to his smallest dimensions. + +The drummer played a new tune, and sang in a low tone. The boy seemed to +have a fit, and writhed as though he were in convulsions, finally dropping +down into the basket very slowly. Mrs. Blossom was sure the basket was not +big enough to contain him, and wondered what had become of him. Then the +performers threw themselves on the basket, closed the lid, and began to +punch it in every direction with long and wicked-looking knives. The ladies +were appalled at the sight; but they were assured that it was all right. + +The Hindus finally crushed down the basket till it was almost flat, and it +did not look as though there was any space in it for a kitten, much less an +eight-year-old boy. Then the men formed a circle around the basket, and +began a sort of chant. Something like a voice seemed to be sounding in at +the open windows. It continued to come nearer, and at last appeared to +proceed from the basket, which began to be distended, till it was restored +to its full size. Then the lid was removed, and the child sprang out, to +the great relief of Mrs. Blossom. + +Then one of the jugglers set a top to whirling, placed the point on the end +of a stick, and balanced it on his nose. So far it was no new thing; but +one of the spectators was asked to say stop at any time he pleased. Captain +Ringgold gave this command; and when he did so, the top ceased to whirl, +though, upsetting the bicycle theory, it kept its place on the stick. "Go!" +added the commander, prompted by Sir Modava; and the plaything began to +whirl again, as though its gyrations had not been interrupted. It was +stopped and started again several times, till the spectators were +satisfied. + +The stick and the top were critically examined by the whole party, but not +one of them could suggest an explanation of the trick. The last two acts +were the most surprising; and the rest of the performance, though skilfully +done, did not amount to much. His lordship gave the chief juggler a handful +of silver, and they left the hotel with a profusion of salaams; for they +did not often make in a month what they got for an hour, the Hindu +gentleman said. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + A MERE STATEMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM + + +"I looked into a Hindu temple this morning while I was walking about," said +Louis Belgrave, after the jugglers had been discussed a while. "I saw some +very ugly-looking idols; and I should like to ask if they really represent +individuals, or are creatures of the imagination." + +"Both," replied Sir Modava with a smile; "there are, as you have been told +before, a great many different sects, and a system of mythology. About all +the gods and goddesses known to the Greeks and Romans have an existence in +the Indian mythology more or less similar to them. Indra, the counterpart +of Apollo in some of his functions, drives the chariot of fire that lights +the day. + +"Rhemba was born of the sea, and is the Indian Venus; Cama is Cupid; +Parvati, whose image you saw at Elephanta, is Ceres; and so on to the end +of the chapter. These divinities are represented in the temples, but they +are without form or comeliness." + +"They are not much like the beautiful statues of the Greeks," added Louis. + +"The most prominent Indian sects are the Saivas, or worshippers of Siva; +the Vaishnavas, who bow down to Vishnu under his several incarnations, like +Krishna, whom you could not greatly respect; and the Jains, allied to the +Buddhists, found mostly in the northern sections of India. They occupy +important positions, and possess wealth and influence. There are +subdivisions into sects among them, and it would be quite impossible to +follow them through the mazes of belief to which they adhere. There is a +great deal of philosophy among many of the sects." + +"But what are the Buddhists?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. + +"Buddhism is quite as much a philosophy as a religion. It is not as +prevalent in India proper as formerly; though it is still dominant in +Ceylon, Napaul, Burma, and in the more northern countries of Asia. Its +history is somewhat indefinite. Gautama, of whom a great many pretty +stories are told, is sometimes regarded as the founder; though some who +have studied the history of the sect, or order, do not believe that the +Buddha was a real person, but an allegorical figure. + +"Those who give a personal origin to the system, now said to be the +religion of one-third of the human race, begin with Prince Siddhartha, a +young man disposed to be an ascetic, and inclined to retire from the world. +In order to wean him from his meditative tendency, his father, in order to +cure him, and prevent him from forsaking his caste, married him to a +beautiful princess, and introduced him to the splendid dissipation of a +luxurious court. A dozen years of this life convinced him that 'all was +vanity and vexation of spirit,' and he became a sort of hermit, a religious +beggar, and spent his time in dwelling upon the miseries of human life. + +"He used up years in this manner, and after much reasoning, came to the +conclusion that ignorance was misery. He gave himself up to study, and at +last came to believe that he had reached the perfection of wisdom. The tree +under which he sat when he reached this result was then called +_Bodhidruma_, or the tree of intelligence; and the Buddhists believe +the spot where it grew to be the centre of the earth. A tree that passes +for this one was discovered by a Chinese, still standing twelve hundred +years after the death of the Buddha; and the bo-tree of Ceylon is regarded +as its legitimate descendant. You have been told something about it. + +"In Benares, having ascertained the cause of human misery, and learned the +remedy for it, the Buddha began to preach his peculiar salvation. In the +phrase of his religion he 'turned the wheel of the law.' One of his titles +is _Chakravartin_, which means 'the turner of a wheel.' The doctrines +of the Buddha are written out on a wheel, which is set in motion with a +crank, though it is sometimes operated by horse-power; and such machines +are sometimes seen in front of religious houses in Thibet, and the monks +have portable ones." + +"I thought the religion of Thibet was the worship of the Grand Lama," +suggested Louis. + +"That is a form of Buddhism. The most important of the converts of the +Buddha was the Rajah of Magadha, or Behar, on the Ganges, which gave him a +good start, and it has since made almost incredible progress. It would take +too long to state the doctrines in detail of this sect, and you get an idea +of what it must be from what I said of its founder. Its leading doctrine is +the transmigration of souls, also called by that tough word, +metempsychosis, though other Hindu systems adopt this belief. It seems to +include the recognition of the immortality of the soul, which at the death +of the body passes into another form of existence,--a man, a woman, a lower +animal, or even a tree or other plant. The Buddha claims to have been born +five hundred and fifty times,--a hermit, a slave, a king, a monkey, an +elephant, a fish, a frog, a tree, etc. When he reached his highest +condition of perfection, he could recall all these different states of +being; and he has written them out. + +"Some of the negroes of Africa have this belief, and when a child is born +they decide upon the ancestor whose soul has returned to the flesh in this +world. There are one hundred and thirty-six Buddhist hells, regularly +graded in the degree of suffering experienced and the length of time it +endures, the shortest term being ten million years. A good life secures an +elevated and happy life on earth, or as a blessed spirit in one of the many +heavens, where existence is continued for a bagatelle of ten billion years. +When the _karma_ is exhausted"-- + +"What in the world is that?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who was struggling to +understand the subject. + +"It is the allotted term of existence, including the manner of living, +whether in bliss or misery. The person must be born again, and then become +a god, or the vilest creature that crawls the earth, according as he has +behaved himself. The Buddhists do not appear to have any idea of a personal +God; and they are practically atheists, though there are many good things +in their system. They recognize no omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful +Supreme Being, who presides over the universe and all that is in it. They +are pessimists, and believe that life, on the whole, is misery, a curse +rather than a blessing. I have given you only a faint outline of what +Buddhism is. It has points in which it resembles Christianity. Buddha is +dead and gone; but his followers put up petitions to him, though there is +no one to hear and answer their prayers. But I must stop for the want of +time rather than because there is nothing more to be said; and I have done +no more than touch the subject." + +"But it is not very different from Brahminism," suggested Professor Giroud. + +"You are quite right, Professor," replied Sir Modava. "Brahma means the +universal spirit; but it is not a personal divinity to be worshipped. I +believe there is not an idol or sculpture in all India that represents +Brahma. Something that passes for this mystic spirit is represented with +four heads." + +"But is there not a new church or philosophy of recent date--I mean Brahmo +Somaj?" inquired Dr. Hawkes. + +"Rammohun Roy, or Rajah Ram Mohan Rai, was a Hindu ruler in the Presidency +of Bengal, born in 1772. His ancestors were Brahmins of high birth. He +studied Sanskrit, Arabian, and Persian, and was a profound scholar and +philosopher. When he began to have some doubt about the faith of his +fathers, he went to Thibet to study Buddhism, where he was so outspoken +that he offended the priests and others, and his religious belief brought +upon him the enmity of his own family. In 1803 he lived in Benares, and +held a public office at one time. He published works in the languages with +which he was familiar, directed against idolatry, which he labored to +uproot. + +"He succeeded to abundant wealth at the death of his brother in 1811. His +influence assisted in the abolition of the suttee, and in bringing about +other reforms. He published 'The Precepts of Jesus,' accepting his +morality, but denying his divinity and the truth of the miracles. More than +fifty years ago he started an association which became the Brahmo Somaj, +which is a living and working society still. He went to England in 1831, +and was received with great respect and friendliness. I have great +reverence for the man, though I do not accept all his religious views." + +"Lord Tremlyn informed this company in regard to the divisions of caste, so +that I think we have a tolerable idea of the matter," said Captain +Ringgold, reading from a paper in his hand. "But all these sects and castes +are divided again into tribes and trade societies. Then there is a +considerable portion of the people who, though they are fully recognized as +Hindus, are outside of the pale of this multiform organization." + +"I should say that all this would make endless complications in business +and society. Each of these societies, or whatever you may call them, is +independent, and has its own regulations. None of its members can marry +into another caste, or even eat with those of a lower rank. A man born into +one of these associations having a particular business cannot take up +another calling without being pinched by the social law in all that he +holds dear in life. His wife deserts him, his children refuse to +acknowledge him as their father, and his property is absorbed by his +society or caste. All this for no crime, no immorality; and he may be a +noble and true man. If he chooses to be a tinker, instead of a trader, all +the gods of Hindu antiquity light upon his head, and worry him to the +funeral pyre by the shore." + +"That is quite true, Captain, and I join with you in condemning this +grossly heathen institution," added Sir Modava. "But time and Christianity +will yet do their work, and my country will be saved. But I submit, my dear +Captain, that there is another side to the question." + +"Quite true, and I was about to state it. The man who remains faithful to +the requirements of the society is protected and supported. Wherever he +goes, at whatever distance from his country he may be, he finds a roof and +a hearthstone which he may make his own for the time. If gone for years, he +will find the house and the field of his fathers undisturbed, of which he +may take possession. This institution may remove care and anxiety from the +mind of the man, and make him, as we find here, calm and contented, but +without the ambition of the business-man. I have taken most of this from a +book I found in Bombay." + +"The most influential caste here are mostly Jains and Buniahs; and though +they belong to different tribes, they are united in business matters. They +wear their own costumes; but they have done more than any others for the +prosperity of the place," said Lord Tremlyn. "They are the speculators in +cottons and other goods, and many of them have immense wealth. The Buniahs +are always intelligent, and somewhat aristocratic. You may know one of them +by his tall turban, like a shako, though sometimes it is rolled like a +conch-shell. Around his dress he wears a red band, which he twists about +his limbs, and has a long calico tunic closely fitted to his chest. His +chosen calling is that of a commercial broker. + +"These rich Hindus, while adhering to everything required by their +religion, adopt English fashions, and revel in British luxuries. You will +see them late in the afternoon on the public roads, in elegant carriages, +drawn by the finest horses, and attended by servants in rich liveries. +Their houses are magnificent, furnished like the Parsee's we visited the +other evening. The social intercourse between them and their European +neighbors is very limited. + +"The Mohammedans here are an important class of people, and some of them +are very wealthy, and are honest and upright merchants. They are very +strict in the observance of their religion, and not one of them would eat +pork or drink wine or liquors. If it were the beginning of their year, +which is different from ours, you might witness a celebration of the day. +It is called the Mohurrum, and takes place on the shore of the Back Bay. +They construct a great number of temples of gilt paper, and after marching +with them in procession through the city, they cast them into the sea. I do +not quite understand what it means; but the first month is usually a time +of mourning and fasting in commemoration of the sufferings of the two +nephews of the Prophet. The ceremony at the water is very ancient." + +"The wives of Mussulmans here have more liberty than in most Eastern +countries. They go about the streets with their faces uncovered, and are +clothed for the most part like the Hindu women. As they appear in the +street they are not so neat as the other native females, who spend much +time in bathing, and are always clean and tidy. I have nothing more to say +at present." + +"I have an announcement to make," said Captain Ringgold. "To-morrow +forenoon we shall return to the Guardian-Mother, and sail for Surat." + +The party spent the rest of the day in excursions about Bombay in three +parties, each under the direction of one of the hosts. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + THE UNEXAMPLED LIBERALITY OF THE HOSTS + + +The Blanche, the elegant white steam-yacht of General Noury, which had +sailed in company with the Guardian-Mother from Aden, and which had +assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Travancore, had come into the +harbor of Bombay, and lay at anchor not half a mile from her consort. The +owner was a Moor of the highest rank, and a Mohammedan; and he had friends +in Bombay, though he had never been there before. He had written to them of +his intended visit, and they had taken possession of him on his arrival. + +The general had been invited, with Captain and Mrs. Sharp, to join the +party of her consort in the business of sight-seeing; and Lord Tremlyn and +Sir Modava had united with Captain Ringgold in the invitation. The +commander of the Blanche had visited the party on shore; but he was engaged +in making some changes on board of his ship which required his attention. +The Mohammedan magnates had kept the general very busy, night and day, and +_feted_ him like a king. + +Lord Tremlyn had taken care of the engineers and other people of the +wrecked steam-yacht, and had treated everybody in a subordinate capacity +with princely liberality. He and his Indian associate were both +multi-millionaires, with fortunes inherited from their ancestors and other +relatives; and unitedly they had placed a large sum of money in the hands +of the captains of the two steamers, to be equitably distributed among +their ships' companies. Captain Ringgold remonstrated against this lavish +gift to his own people. + +"It is a sailor's duty, and a large part of his religion, to assist those +in peril and distress on the sea, the poor and the rich alike, and I +dislike to have my men rewarded in money for a service of this kind," said +he rather warmly. + +"It was the good Father in heaven who sent your ship to our aid when we +were perishing; but he works through human agencies, and I feel it to be a +solemn duty to recognize my obligations to those so providentially sent to +save us," replied his lordship, taking the hand of the commander with much +feeling in his tone and manner. "I shall never cease to be grateful to +Heaven for this interposition in my favor, and that of my companions; for +all of us were in the very jaws of death." + +"I can understand your feelings, my Lord; but all my people, as well as +myself, may soon require the same service we have rendered to others, and I +desire to let what we have done be placed to our credit against the +possible debt of the future," added the captain. + +"I shall feel better and happier when I have done, in connection with Sir +Modava, what I propose, and I beg you will withdraw your objections," +persisted the viscount. + +They argued the question for some time; but at last the commander yielded +the point. Every seaman, fireman, and waiter received five pounds, and +every officer a larger sum, in proportion to his rank, after the manner in +which prize-money is distributed on board of ships of war. The same +apportionment was made on board of both steamers, and Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were most vigorously cheered by the two ships' companies. + +Due notice had been given to Captain Sharp of the intention to sail for +Surat on Tuesday; and on the day before the cabin party of the Blanche, +which included Dr. Henderson, the surgeon of the ship, came to dine with +their friends at the Victoria Hotel. General Noury, who had been taking +leave of his Mussulman hosts, was attended by three of them, who were at +once invited by his lordship to join them at dinner, and the band of the +Blanche had been sent on shore for the occasion. + +The general had been taken about the city and its vicinity by his host, and +they were anxious to retain him longer in Bombay. He was on excellent terms +with Lord Tremlyn, who, though a strict Churchman, was not a bigot; and his +connection with the affairs of India had brought him into intimate +association with men of all religions, and there were about thirteen +million Mohammedans in the Punjab. + +His lordship renewed his invitation to the general to join the party who +were going across India, and he seemed to be inclined to accept it. His +Mussulman friends declared that he would be most cordially welcomed by all +the people of their faith, especially if attended by such excellent +Christian people; and they appeared to have none of the bigotry so often +found among the followers of the Prophet. + +"I don't quite understand your plan, Captain Ringgold," said Captain Sharp. +"You go to Surat, and from there across the country;" for the conductors +had decided not to go to Kurrachee. "But what becomes of the ships?" + +"The Guardian-Mother will proceed to Calcutta, as soon as we land, in +charge of Mr. Boulong," replied Captain Ringgold. "We shall join her +there." + +The commander of the Blanche shook his head; and after some discussion he +declined to join the tourists, and his wife would not go without him. +Doubtless he had some strong reasons for his decision, though he did not +state them; but probably he had not as much confidence in his first officer +as Captain Ringgold had in Mr. Boulong. The question was settled that the +general should go, and he insisted that Dr. Henderson should go with him; +and with three physicians in the excursion they appeared to be provided for +any emergency. + +The dinner was a very merry affair. The band played to the delight of all; +and one of the general's friends declared that they had no such music in +Bombay, to which he replied that he had engaged the best he could find in +Italy. The company retired to the parlor, and the band played on the +veranda for an hour longer. Some of the most distinguished of the civil and +military officers located in the city called at this hour by invitation of +the viscount, to pay their respects to the visitors; and Mrs. Blossom +declared that she was never so "frustrated" in all her life. + +"I should like to take my band with me," said General Noury, when the +officials had all departed. "I am very fond of music, and I think it will +afford us all a great deal of pleasure; of course I mean at my own +expense." + +"I beg your pardon, General Noury, but it must be at my expense," +interposed Lord Tremlyn. "I was thinking myself what an addition it would +be to have such excellent music on our way, and I am sure it will add a +great deal to the earnestness of the welcome we shall everywhere receive. +As to the expense, I hope and beg that not another word will be said about +it. The entire party are the guests of Sir Modava and myself." + +"I protest"--Captain Ringgold began. + +"Pardon me, my dear Captain; you are all our guests, and protests are +entirely out of order," interposed Lord Tremlyn. + +It was a very pleasant and friendly dispute that followed, and his lordship +had carried his point at the close of it. The commander had been to the +landlord, and asked for his bill; but the worthy Parsee informed him that +it had already been paid. He had remonstrated with the hosts; but they had +been inflexible. It was finally decided that nothing more should be said +about expense; for his lordship declared that it was a very disagreeable +subject to him. The captain believed that he was entirely sincere; and +though he had never encountered such extreme liberality before, he gave up +the point. + +"You can tie your purse-strings with a hard knot, Uncle Moses, for you will +not have occasion to undo them again for a month," said Captain Ringgold. +"I don't quite like it." + +"I don't know that I wonder at the generosity of our hosts," replied the +trustee, as he put his fat arm around the neck of Louis, who stood next to +him. "If this young man had been in the situation of Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava when you picked them up, I am very sure I should not have grumbled +if I had been called upon to disburse a sum equal to what this trip will +cost them, if they, or any one, had picked him up. There are two sides to +this question, Captain." + +"Then you fight on the other side, though you hold the purse-strings," said +the commander. + +"Would I give a hundred thousand dollars for saving Sir Louis's life? His +mother would give ten times that sum, and all the rest of the young man's +fortune. That is a matter about which we must not be mean; and the other +side take that view of it. I quite agree that not another word ought to be +said about expense," responded Uncle Moses, giving the young millionaire +another hug. + +"Uncle Moses is not a bit like the miser that could not afford a candle at +his death-bed in the night," added Louis. "If they had done as much for us +as we have for them, I should be glad to take them all around the world, +and pay for an Italian band of music all the way." + +"That's right, Sir Louis! Do as you would be done by," chuckled the +trustee. + +"It just occurs to me, Captain Sharp," said the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, as the former was about to leave, "that there is no reason +for your going to Surat, for we can take the general, Dr. Henderson, and +the band along with us. You have a voyage of two thousand miles before +you." + +"Which I can make in seven or eight days without hurrying," replied the +captain of the Blanche. "I could get to Calcutta before you do if I sailed +two weeks hence." + +"Just as you please." + +But General Noury seemed to like the idea of getting on board of the +Guardian-Mother even for a day, and adopted the suggestion of Captain +Ringgold. + +"There is next to nothing to be seen at Surat, and we shall go from there +immediately to Baroda, on our way to Lahore," interposed Lord Tremlyn. "The +Maharajah of Gwalior is an old friend of Sir Modava, and I am well +acquainted with him. I have no doubt we shall be very hospitably treated +there, and that you will be introduced to many things that will interest +you. If Captain Sharp desires to see some Indian sports, he can go with us +to Baroda, stay a week, and then return to his ship here by railway." + +"I like that idea, as my wife wishes to see a little more of India on +shore, though she does not wish to take the long journey you are to make," +added Captain Sharp. + +This plan was accepted, and the party separated. The next morning the +carriages conveyed them to the Apollo Bunder, and at seven o'clock the +Guardian-Mother was under way. The band was playing on the promenade, and +the party were taking their last view of Bombay and its surroundings. +Captain Sharp and his wife were on board. The three doctors formed a trio +by themselves, and were discussing jungle fever, which existed in the low +lands beyond Byculla. + +The sea outside was smooth; and at four o'clock in the afternoon the +steamer was among the Malacca shoals, in the Gulf of Cambay, with a pilot +on board. She soon entered the Tapti River, fifteen miles from its mouth. +The band had scattered after the noonday concert, and the party took the +chairs in Conference Hall. + +"I suppose you wish to know something about the places you visit, ladies +and gentlemen," said Lord Tremlyn, rising before them, and bowing at the +applause with which he was heartily greeted. "This is Surat, a hundred and +sixty miles north of Bombay, on the Tapti River, which you may spell with a +double _e_ at the end if you prefer. It has a population of a hundred +and ten thousand. It extends about a mile along this river, with the +government buildings in the centre. + +"The streets are well paved, and the houses are packed very closely +together. There are four very handsome Mohammedan mosques here, so our +friend the general will have a place to go to on our Friday." The Mussulman +bowed, and gave the speaker one of his prettiest smiles. "The Parsees, of +whom a few families own half the place, are prominent in business, as in +Bombay; and they supply the most skilful mechanics, the liveliest clerks, +and the quickest boys in the schools. They have two fire-temples here. The +Hindus, especially the Buniahs and the Jains, are as prominent as in +Bombay. The city was founded before 1512; for then it was burned by the +Portuguese, who did it again eighteen years later. + +"It had a very extensive commerce in its earlier years, and flourished on +its cotton trade during the American war. In 1811 it had a population of +two hundred and fifty thousand; but five and thirty years later it had less +than one-third of that; but has gained somewhat up to the present time. +Nearly a hundred years ago it was the most populous city of India. But I do +not propose to exhaust the subject, and now you may see for yourselves." + +His lordship and the Hindu gentleman, since their liberality had been +whispered through the ship, were exceedingly popular, and both were warmly +applauded whenever they opened their mouths. The party found enough to +occupy their attention till the ship came to anchor, with its brass band in +full blast, off the public buildings. A steam-launch came off for the +passengers; for the hosts had written to every place they were to visit, +and carriages were in readiness for them when they landed. + +They rode over the town after a collation at a clubhouse, and saw all that +was to be seen. They were quartered for the night at private residences, +and there was almost a struggle to know who should receive them. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA + + +India has nearly twenty thousand miles of railroads open and in use, and +thousands more in process of construction. As in England, they are +invariably called "railways." They do not have baggage, but it is +"luggage;" a baggage-car is unknown, for they call it a "van;" and the +conductor is the "guard." Our travellers had become accustomed to these +terms, and many others, in England, and now used them very familiarly. + +Early rising is hardly a virtue in India; for he who sleeps after six in +the morning loses the best part of the day, especially in the hot season. +The tourists were up before this hour, and had coffee wherever they were. +They had been treated with the utmost kindness and consideration, and their +hosts could not do enough for them. They were conveyed to the railway +station by them, and there found his lordship with a plan of a number of +carriages--they are not cars there. On this plan he had placed, with the +assistance of the commander, the names of the entire party. + +They were to leave at seven; for it is pleasanter to travel early in the +morning than later in the day, and the train was all ready. They were not a +little astonished when they were introduced to their quarters in the +vehicles, to find them quite as luxurious as a Pullman, though they were +constructed on a different plan, and were wanting in some of the +conveniences of the American palace-car, though better adapted to the +climate of the country. + +Each carriage contained but two compartments; but they were suites of rooms +on a small scale. The principal one was of good size, and on one side was +cushioned to the ceiling, so that being "knocked about" did not imperil the +traveller's bones and flesh. Against this stuffed partition was a low +couch, which could be made up as a bed at night, or used as a reclining +sofa by day. + +Over it was a swinging couch suspended by straps, which could be folded up, +or be entirely removed, and formed a couch like the one below it. On the +other side of the apartment was a toilet-room, with all conveniences +required for washing and other purposes, including a water-cooler. In this +compartment the traveller takes his servant, and often a cook, for the +valet cannot meddle with culinary matters; and they sleep on the floor +wherever they can find a place. A reasonable additional price is charged +for accommodations in this luxurious style. + +The journey to Baroda would occupy hardly more than three hours, and these +elaborate arrangements were scarcely necessary for the time they were to be +used; but the members of the party looked upon them with especial interest +in connection with the long travel to Lahore, and that which was to follow +to Calcutta, though they were to break the journey several times on the +way. + +The "Big Four" had a compartment to themselves, with the two servants, +Sayad and Moro, who proved to be such good fellows that the boys liked them +very much. Sir Modava had managed to dismiss more than half of the +attendants furnished at first, for all the party declared that such a mob +of them was a nuisance; and the others had overcome their repugnance to +serving more than one person in the face of dismissal, for their +perquisites had already been considerable as they valued money. + +"This isn't bad for a haythen counthry," said Felix, as he stretched +himself on the lower couch. "We'll git to Calcutty widout breakin' ahl the +bones in our bodies." + +"This is vastly better than anything I expected to find here," replied +Louis, as he pushed his crony over against the partition, and lay down at +his side. + +"But where do the elephants and the tigers come in?" asked Scott, as he +called upon Moro to "shine" his shoes. "I haven't seen an elephant since I +came here." + +"Elephants are not worked in this country," added Morris. "The Moguls use +them when they want to go in state, and sometimes when they go hunting +tigers; and then the big beast gets most of the hard scratches." + +"But the elephant can take care of himself when the mahout allows him to do +so," argued Scott. + +"Is the mahout his schnout?" asked Felix. + +"You know better than that, Flix. The mahout is the fellow that sits on the +elephant's neck and conducts him. He is the driver," replied Morris. + +"Is he afeerd of schnakes?" + +"He needn't be, perched on the top of the pachyderm," answered Scott. + +"Who is he? Oi've not been introjuced to 'm." + +"Are you going among elephants, Flix, and don't know what a pachyderm is?" +demanded Scott. + +"Oi see, it's the elephant, and ye's call him so bekase he carries his pack +on his bachk; and 'pon me worrud that's the roight place to carry it." + +"I wonder if we are to have any hunting out here where we are going," +suggested Scott. "How is it, Louis? You are in the ring with the Grand +Moguls." + +"Sir Modava told me that the Maharajah whom we shall visit at Baroda is a +great sportsman, and always treats his guests to a hunt," answered Louis. + +"Is it after schnakes?" + +"No; but after tigers." + +"But I want to hunt some schnakes; I'd loike to bring down a good-soized +cobry," said Felix, rising from his reclining posture. + +"No, you wouldn't, Flix," sneered Scott. "If you saw a cobry, you would run +till you got back to Ireland." + +"Is'ht me! Wud I roon from a cobry? Not mooch! Ain't I a lineal dayscindant +of St. Patrick?--long life to him! And didn't he dhrive all the schnakes +and toads out of the ould counthree! Jisht show me a cobry, and thin see me +roon!" + +Before the Milesian could tell how he intended to kill the cobra if he saw +one, the train stopped; and a moment later Sir Modava, the commander, and +Mrs. Belgrade appeared at the door. + +"We have come to make things a little more social," said the Hindu +gentleman as they entered the compartment; and the servants brought stools +from the toilet-room, so that all were seated, making quite a family group. + +"Are there any snakes where we are going, Sir Modava?" asked Felix, before +any one else had a chance to speak. "I am spoiling for a fight with a +cobra;" and he came back to plain English, which he could use as well as +any one. + +"Plenty of them, Mr. McGavonty," replied the East Indian. "You will not get +badly spoiled before you fall in with all you will wish to see." + +"Then I will bag some of them," added Felix. + +"No, you won't, Flix; they will be more likely to bag you," rallied Scott. + +"But I am in earnest," persisted the Milesian. "I have seen plenty of them +in Bombay; and upon my word and honor, I don't feel at all afraid of them. +One of them might hit me when I was not looking, for they don't play fair; +but I shall be on the watch for them, and I'll take my chance." + +"But, Sir Modava, do you really dare to go out where there are cobras?" +asked Mrs. Belgrave, looking at her son. + +"Certainly we do; we don't think anything at all about them." + +"But you are in danger all the time." + +"Of course it is possible that one may be bitten when a snake comes upon +him unawares. The deaths from snakes and wild animals in all India averages +annually twenty-two thousand. About a thousand are killed by tigers. Of a +hundred and fifty kinds of snakes, only about twenty are poisonous. The +deaths from snakes is one in 13,070; and the chance of being bitten is very +small." + +"I am afraid your figures lie, Sir Modava," said Captain Ringgold, with a +pleasant laugh. "Millions of the people live in cities and large towns +where there isn't a snake of any kind." + +"Quite true, and, to some extent, the figures do lie; but there are plenty +of cobras and other snakes in parts of Bombay, and the figures are not so +false as you think, Captain," replied Sir Modava. "But I forget that I was +sent here for a purpose by Lord Tremlyn. I am to tell you something about +the Mahrattas, which is the name of the people who inhabited the region +north of us. They have a long history which I have not time to review, but +they have been prominent in the earlier affairs of India. They have always +been a warlike people, and wrested the country from the Mogul emperor, +sometimes called the Grand Mogul, and made themselves a powerful people. + +"The present maharajah rules over the most extensive kingdom of any native +prince. He is a Rajput, which is the aristocracy of the Mahrattas. He is +the most powerful of the Indian rulers, and one of the most hospitable. I +was formerly in his service, and he considers himself under some slight +obligations to me. He is an independent prince in the same sense that other +rulers are in this country. There is always a British representative at his +court, who advises him in some matters of government, and his realm is +called a protected state. + +"He is a great sportsman; and I have no doubt you will be invited to hunt +with him, as well as to witness some exhibitions which may not be agreeable +to the ladies." + +"Don't we stop at any stations on the road?" asked Louis. + +"There is no town of any great consequence between Surat and Baroda, and +this is a special express train," replied Sir Modava. + +Some of the party looked out the windows, and the intelligent guide +explained what was to be seen along the way. Some handsome temples +attracted their attention, but they were insignificant compared with what +they had been taught to expect in the future. The train crossed a bridge, +which brought them into the suburbs of Baroda. + +"The outskirts of the town contain a hundred and fifty thousand +inhabitants, far more than the city itself," said the Hindu gentleman. "The +streets are very narrow here, and the houses are nearly all of wood; but +they are different from any you have seen before, for they are peculiar to +Goojerat, the state of which Baroda is the capital. You see at about all +the crossings pagodas and idols, with banners flying over them. It is an +unhealthy region, the ground is so low; and yonder you see a stately +hospital, built by the Guicowar, as the maharajah is called." + +The tourists had all they could do to see the strange things that were +pointed out to them, and while thus employed the train stopped at the +station. Looking out the windows again, they saw several elephants, all +handsomely caparisoned, and with howdahs on their backs. A band of native +musicians was playing near them, and the party wondered what this display +could mean; but Sir Modava was unable to inform them. They got out of the +carriages, and found themselves in a handsome square. + +A company of cavalry was drawn up near the elephants, at the head of which, +surrounded by a numerous staff of officers, sat on a prancing horse, +caparisoned with exceeding richness, a person who could be no other than +the maharajah. He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India, +covered with jewels in ornamental profusion. + +"That is the Guicowar," said the Hindu guide. + +"He is doing us great honor in coming out in this manner to welcome us." + +As soon as he discovered the party, the ruler dismounted nimbly from his +noble steed, and, attended by some high officers, advanced to meet them. A +sort of procession was hastily formed with Lord Tremlyn at the head of it; +for he was the most distinguished person, and in some sense the +representative of the British home government. The Italian band of the +general, as soon as the native band ceased, struck up "Hail, to the chief!" + +The party encountered the king, who rushed up to the viscount, and seized +him by the hand, as not all kings are in the habit of doing. They talked +together for a few moments, when his Highness happened to see Sir Modava, +and rushed to him, seizing him in a semi-embrace, clasping the Hindu with +his right hand while the left encircled his shoulder. The potentate was +profuse in his congratulations to the two gentlemen on their escape from +death in the shipwreck, and this afforded Lord Tremlyn an opportunity to +present Captain Ringgold as the commander of the steamer that had saved +them. + +"He is my friend, then," said the Maharajah, as he gave him no equivocal +shake of the hand. + +Then Louis and his mother were presented and described, and received an +equally warm welcome. But the prince decided to receive the rest of the +party at the palace, and they were requested to mount the elephants. The +ladies were timid about it; but Louis told his mother that she must get up +into the howdah as though she had been riding elephants all her life, and +she did so, the others following her example. Louis assisted his mother +first, and then Miss Blanche. + +They were all seated on the huge beasts, and the procession started, the +Italian band following the native, and playing when they ceased to do so. + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + FELIX MCGAVONTY BRINGS DOWN SOME SNAKES + + +"Well, what do you think of this?" asked Captain Ringgold, turning to Mrs. +Belgrave, as the elephant moved off. + +"I don't feel quite at home up here," she replied, holding on with both +hands at the side of the howdah. + +"I think it is nice," added Miss Blanche. "It seems very much like riding +on a camel, only there is more motion." + +"It is a good place to see everything there is to be seen," suggested +Louis, as he looked about him. "The king is taking us to his palace in high +style. If he meant to astonish us, he has hit the nail on the head." + +"But where are Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava?" asked Miss Blanche. + +"They are mounted on a couple of as handsome horses as I ever saw in my +life," replied the commander. "One of them is on each side of the Guicowar, +at the head of the cavalry troop. In England and America the escort goes +ahead of the persons thus honored; but here, as a rule, the king cannot +ride behind anybody. You remember that when we saw the Sultan going to the +mosque in Constantinople he rode at the head of the procession, and all the +great officers of state went behind him; and that seems to be the fashion +here." + +"But is he much of a king?" Mrs. Belgrave inquired. + +"They all call him a king, and I suppose he is one. He is a Maharajah, a +word written with a capital, and composed of two words, _maha_, which +means great, and _rajah_, a king. The definition is 'a Hindu sovereign +prince,' and that makes a king of him. He rules over a large territory, and +Lord Tremlyn says he is the most powerful of all the native princes. He is +certainly treating us very handsomely." + +"I think I could get along without quite so much style," said Mrs. +Belgrave, laughing; and she seemed to feel as though she was taking a part +in a farce. + +"All the style is in honor of the distinguished gentlemen we picked up in +the Arabian Sea. But excuse me, Mrs. Belgrave, if I suggest that it is not +wise and prudent to laugh in the midst of such a spectacle as this. The +Hindus are very exclusive until you get acquainted with them, and have a +great many prejudices which we cannot comprehend. They are very sensitive, +and are very likely to misinterpret the expression and the actions of a +stranger; your laugh might be offensive, leading them to believe you were +sneering, or making fun of them, as we should call it." + +"Then I will be very circumspect," replied the lady. "But is the Guicowar +really a king, when all this country belongs to the English? Victoria is +the Empress of India." + +"He rules over a protected state; but his powers seem to be almost +unlimited. A British officer is always at his court, and is called a +'resident,' who is the representative of the government. But he does not +meddle with the affairs of the state unless occasion requires." + +The houses the tourists passed were all of Indian style, and there were +always towers and pagodas in sight. The region as they passed out of the +city was rural; and finally they came to the great gates of the palace, +which they entered. The grounds were covered with great trees and gardens, +in the midst of which was a palace, where they found the cavalry drawn up +and presenting arms. The elephants were made to kneel down as when the +party mounted them, and they descended by means of ladders. + +A host of servants ushered them into the palace, which Lord Tremlyn said +had been appropriated to their use. Their luggage had already been sent to +their apartments; and an hour later the company assembled in the grand +salon, dressed to receive the Guicowar. His Highness did not "put on any +style this time," and was as sociable as any common person. He saluted the +commander and Mrs. Belgrave; and then all the rest of the party were +presented to him by the viscount, and Mrs. Blossom had nearly shaken +herself to pieces during the ceremony. + +A bountiful collation was then served in another apartment, at which the +Maharajah presided. He spoke English as fluently as any person present, and +was very affable to all. The Italian band played during the repast, and the +Guicowar declared that it was the finest music he had ever heard. General +Noury had been placed on his right as the one highest in rank of any +present. + +The king proved himself to be exceedingly well informed in regard to the +United States, and was even able to talk intelligently with the gentlemen +about Morocco. Though he had a wife, a mother, and a young daughter, they +were never presented to the gentlemen of the party, though the ladies were +permitted to make their acquaintance, and learned more from them about +Hindu domestic life than they could have obtained from any others. + +"To-morrow will be a great day in Baroda," said Sir Modava to the +commander. "It is the great Sowari, a procession such as none of your +people ever saw, I will venture to say; and his Highness has provided +places for all of you where you can see the whole of it in detail." + +The king announced this great state occasion himself before the lunch was +finished, and gave the visitors a cordial invitation to witness the +procession. The "Big Four," a term of which the viscount and Sir Modava had +already learned the meaning, were very impatient to do some hunting. They +had brought their guns with them, and Louis informed the Hindu gentleman of +their desire. + +"Is there any place near the palace where we could find any game?" he +inquired. + +"Not in the palace grounds, but within a few miles of it a very rugged +region may be reached, and a road-wagon will be provided for you. I will +speak to the Guicowar about it," replied Sir Modava; and he broached the +subject at once. + +In half an hour a vehicle was at the door; and the boys were ready, dressed +for the hunt, and with their guns in their hands. Two officers were +appointed to attend them, and both of them spoke English very well. The +vehicle provided was a kind of coach, the floor of which was cushioned, so +that several persons could sleep on it during a long journey. It was drawn +by four high-spirited horses; and, though the road was bad, it was driven +at a high rate of speed; and in less than an hour they alighted in a wild +region, where there was not a building of any kind to be seen. + +The two officers directed the servants to take some boards from the top of +the carriage, with which they stated their purpose to make a platform in a +tree, where they could watch for game; but the boys objected to this +arrangement, and declared that each of them would hunt on his own hook. + +"But suppose you should come across a tiger, for they have been found here, +though I hardly think you will see one," said one of the officers. "What +would you do then?" + +"Shoot him, of course," replied Scott. "What are our guns for?" + +"But you may fire half a dozen balls into him without disabling the beast," +added Khayrat, the principal officer. "Tiger-hunting is dangerous sport, +and you can't be too careful." + +But the boys were very confident, and all of them were good shots; but they +had never tried any hunting of this kind. Khayrat said there was plenty of +deer in the vicinity, and they had better confine their attention to them. +If they approached the foothill of the Vindya Mountains, which he pointed +out to them, they might find tigers. With this warning, the "Big Four" +separated, and struck into the jungle. Khayrat followed Louis, for he had +been informed that he was the most important person in the quartet. Adil, +the other officer, kept near Scott, who appeared to be the most reckless of +the four. + +Felix was not attended by any one; but he had not gone more than a hundred +yards before he saw a huge cobra directly in front of him, bestirring +himself as though he "meant business." The fellow stood up, and he looked +mad enough to chew up the hunter. But before he had time to discharge his +piece at the monster, for he looked as though he was six feet long, Felix +heard a rustling in the bushes at his left, and a moment later a +disturbance on his right. + +[Illustration: "He saw a huge cobra directly in front of him."--Page 242.] + +He looked in the direction of the noises, and saw two more cobras lifting +their vicious heads into the air. These were more than he had bargained +for; and, believing that discretion was the better part of valor, he +climbed a tree in which he saw a convenient resting-place. Between him and +the three snakes there was a small pool of water, half concealed by the +bushes, and the reptiles had probably come there to drink or to obtain for +food some of the amphibious creatures that lived there. + +The enthusiastic sportsman had hardly begun to climb the tree before he +heard a hissing behind him, and discovered another cobra. Two of the four +in sight were much smaller than the other two, and he could easily believe +he had come upon a family of them. He got a position in the tree, and lost +no time in attacking the enemy. He was a good shot, for he and Louis had +both been thoroughly trained in a shooting-gallery in New York. He gave his +attention to the one nearest to him, and wondered he had not trodden upon +him as he came to the spot. + +As this one stood up Felix could see the top of his head, and he decided to +use his revolver first. He fired; and, as the reptile was not ten feet from +him, so skilful a marksman could hardly help hitting him. He did hit him, +and the ball passed through his head. He wriggled a moment, and then +stretched himself out at full length, dead. + +One of the larger ones was within twenty-five feet of him, and he used his +repeating rifle this time. He slipped a little in his perch as he +discharged the piece, and the ball went through the snake's body, which was +furiously mad, hissed and shook himself. He held still a moment, and then +Felix fired again. The ball seemed to tear his head all to pieces, and he +dropped down out of sight. He had to fire several times to kill the other +two; for, as he expressed it, they "would not hold still." + +But he had killed the four, and felt just as though he had settled the +snake question. Most of the natives, who are oftener the victims of the +cobra than the white people, go about in the dark with naked feet, and it +is not strange that they are bitten. He descended from the tree, and went +to examine the game he had brought down. Cutting some pliable sticks, he +dragged the serpents together, and passed a withe around them behind the +hood, and started back for the rendezvous where they were to take the +carriage. He was determined to convince Scott that he was not afraid of +snakes. + +He had already heard several shots, and realized that his companions had +found game of some kind. He waited a full hour for them, when Louis +returned first, with a very handsome deer slung on a pole with Khayrat +carrying the other end. Morris came in with a monkey, which the officers +would not have permitted him to kill if they had been near him. Scott came +in last with only a couple of birds. + +"Did ye's mate ony cobrys, Musther Scott?" asked Felix. + +"Not a cobra; and I didn't want to meet any," replied Scott, disappointed +at his luck. + +"You's air afeered of the schnakes," rallied the Milesian. + +"So are you, Flix. If you saw one you wouldn't stop running till you got +back to Baroda," returned the third officer of the ship. + +"But I have seen four of them in my little walk, and I'm not doing any +running just now," said Felix triumphantly. + +"Go 'way with you, Milesian, and don't tell any fish stories!" replied +Scott, continuing to blackguard him while the servants were putting the +deer on the top of the wagon. + +"Do you want to carry those snakes back to the palace?" asked Khayrat. + +"What snakes?" asked Scott. + +"I'll be most happy to introjuce you to four uv 'em I killed," added Felix; +and Scott was convinced against his will, and the dead serpents were put on +the wagon. + +In another hour they reached the palace, and the game was exhibited to a +wondering audience. The officers explained how so many of the cobras +happened to be together; but Felix had reached a correct conclusion before. +Mrs. Blossom scolded him for not running away when he saw the first one; +but he declared he had to prove that a boy with Kilkenny blood in his veins +was not afraid of snakes. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + THE MAGNIFICENT PROCESSION OF THE SOWARI + + +Felix had to repeat his story, and he was regarded as quite a hero by the +Americans, though Sir Modava and other natives thought but little of it. +Mrs. Blossom continued to scold at him for not running away from the +serpents. + +"How could I run away when I was surrounded by the snakes?" demanded Felix, +when the worthy lady's discipline became somewhat monotonous to him. "If I +had done what you say I should certainly have been bitten. I did better: I +climbed the tree, and bagged the whole four at my leisure." + +"But snakes can climb trees," persisted the excellent woman. + +"I suppose they can, but they don't always; and I knew the one nearest me +wouldn't do much climbing with a hole through his head. Besides, they say +the cobra does not come at you unless you meddle with him, like the +rattlesnake. I suppose I disturbed them, and they hoisted the flags to let +me know they were in town. I wanted to reduce the number of the varmints a +little." + +"But why did Khayrat tell me I ought not to have shot a monkey?" asked +Morris. + +"Because monkeys are harmless, and the Hindus consider them sacred. Before +you get to Calcutta you will find them housed in temples. Besides, the +natives are very tender of all animals," replied Sir Modava. + +"In the hospital for lame ducks and superannuated bullfrogs we visited in +Bombay, do they take in sick cobras?" asked Felix. "Do they nurse lame +tigers?" + +"They do not; it would not be quite safe to do so. Morris, the monkey you +shot will be decently buried," said the Hindu gentleman. + +"I am willing; for, though they eat them in some countries, I don't hanker +after any monkey-flesh," replied the young hunter. "I met a man at my +father's house who had lived for years in Africa, and he said they ate the +boa-constrictor there,--the natives did, not the white people." + +"So I have heard; but many Hindus never eat meat at all," added Sir Modava, +as the party retired to dress for dinner. + +The party were to dine at the palace with the Guicowar, and it was to be a +state dinner. Though contrary to Hindu etiquette, the ladies were all +invited, and they were treated with "distinguished consideration." It was a +very elaborate occasion, and a few speeches were made at the last of it. +The principal one was by the king himself, who enlarged upon his relations +with Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava, whom he regarded as two of his best +friends. + +From this point, he dwelt upon his esteem for the commander of the +Guardian-Mother, who had rendered a service to India in saving them from +certain death, which they, better than he, could understand and appreciate. + +Captain Ringgold and General Noury made fitting replies; and the party +returned, escorted by a score of torch-bearers, to the "Garden of Pearls" +as the summer palace in which they were lodged was called. They appeared +early in the morning, and after they had taken their coffee Louis and Felix +took a long walk outside the palace walls. At the gate they saw a little +animal which seemed disposed to make friends with them. They had brought +their guns with them, and Felix was on the point of firing at him when +Louis interposed. + +"That's a mongoose," said the latter. "Haven't you heard of him?" + +"Never did." + +"The creature is a sort of ichneumon, with a long body, extending back of +his hind legs, which gradually decreases in size till it becomes his tail. +His body is long, even without the portion of it which belongs to his +caudal appendage. He has a small head and a sharp nose, and is something +like a weasel. He has the reputation of being the great serpent-killer of +India, and many wonderful stories are told of him. He is very useful about +a house in destroying rats and other small nuisances." + +The mongoose ran along ahead of the boys while Louis told what he knew +about him. Felix protested that a little fellow like that couldn't do +anything with such a cobra as he had shot the day before, for the snake was +a trifle more than five feet long. They had gone but a short distance +farther before Khayrat stepped out from a tree which had concealed him. + +"There's a cobra in here somewhere," said the officer, who was one of the +king's huntsmen. "I brought out my mongoose, but the little rascal has left +me." + +"There he is, just ahead of us," replied Louis. "He seems like a kitten, he +is so tame." + +"He is my pet, and I am very fond of him, for I think he saved my life +once. I was just on the point of stepping on a cobra when Dinky attacked +the snake and killed him after a fight," added Khayrat. "I think he is on +the track of the enemy, for the serpent killed two chickens last night." + +"There he is!" exclaimed Felix, as he brought his gun to his shoulder. + +"Don't fire! Let Dinky take care of him; for my pet is spoiling for a +fight, as one of the Americans said yesterday," interposed Khayrat. + +The serpent was a large one, though not equal in size to the one Felix had +shot the day before. He had erected his head, and spread out his hood, and +he looked as ugly as sin itself. He knows all about the mongoose, and seems +to have an instinctive hatred of his little but mighty enemy. + +The little snake-killer made a spring at him, and then skilfully whirled +himself around so that the snake could not bite him. Dinky knew what he was +about all the time; and though his foe struck at him several times, he +dodged him and put in several bites. After considerable manoeuvring, the +snake appeared to have had enough of it, and deemed it prudent to beat a +retreat. He dropped on the ground, and headed for a thicket; but this was +just what Dinky wanted. He sprang upon the neck of the cobra, placing his +fore-paws on him, and then crushed his spine with his sharp teeth. The +serpent was dead, after writhing an instant. + +The fight was ended, and Khayrat caressed the victor. Louis declared that +the mongoose was a friend worth having, and immediately made a bargain with +the huntsman to procure him a couple of them, and send them to Calcutta. +They returned to the palace; and at the breakfast-table Louis told the +story of the battle, in which all the Americans were much interested. But +the business of the forenoon was the great Sowari, or public procession; +and the party were conveyed in carriages to the pavilion, from the veranda +of which they were to see the spectacle. An abundance of easy-chairs was +provided for them, and they were made very comfortable. + +It required more than an hour for the procession to pass the point of +observation; and when the last of it had disappeared in the distance all +the Americans declared that they had never seen anything, even in Europe, +which could be compared with it in variety and magnificence. It was an +Oriental spectacle, and the tourists could easily believe they had +witnessed a pageant that had stepped out of the pages of the "Arabian +Nights." + +First came the regular soldiers of the Maharajah, who were sepoys, all +under the command of English officers; and they marched like veterans who +had been drilling half their lives. They were followed by a company of +Arabs, who seemed to have been imported for the occasion. Sir Modava +explained what the troops were as they passed. Next came a whole squadron +of Mahratta cavalry, which looked as though they were serviceable soldiers +of that arm, for they were good riders, well mounted, and were all lusty +fellows. + +After the cavalry came a troop of dromedaries with small cannons mounted on +their backs, with gunners to work the pieces. The military portion of the +procession was completed by several regiments of the Guicowar's special +army. Following the household troops, apparently acting as an escort, came +the royal standard-bearer, a personage of decided importance in an Oriental +pageant. He was mounted alone on a huge elephant, magnificently caparisoned +and adorned with the royal standard, a flag of cloth-of-gold, on a long +staff. + +In front of the elephant marched a band of eighteen or twenty native +musicians, playing upon all sorts of Indian instruments, including +tom-toms, lutes, like flageolets, cymbals, and horns. Surrounding the great +beast that had the honor to bear the flag of the Mahratta States were +numerous horsemen, all clothed in the richest Oriental costumes, armed with +spears and curved sabres, with shining shields, and steel gauntlets on +their hands. All these, and all the others, wore white turbans, +picturesquely folded. + +Behind the standard-bearer were two more elephants, each decked in all the +splendor of the East; and mounted upon them were some of the great +dignitaries of the court, over whom servants held highly fringed and +ornamented umbrellas. In the procession was a troop of camels, all dressed +out in the style of the horses and elephants. To say that the Americans +were dazzled by the splendor of the scene would be to state it very mildly, +for they were literally confounded and overwhelmed; and yet they had not +seen the great feature of the spectacle, the Guicowar himself. Sir Modava +had to talk very fast to describe the scene as it passed before them. + +A dozen men, handsomely dressed like all the others, presently appeared, +each bearing on a long pole something that looked like a crown. This was a +sort of incense-censor, in which perfumes were burned, and from which a +column of blue vapor proceeded. They were immediately before one of the +king's elephants, which now came in front of the veranda. He was a gigantic +creature, bearing on his back a howdah of solid gold. He was robed like the +others, and the portions of his skin in sight were fantastically painted in +various designs. + +The howdah was surmounted by two pyramidal roofs, one in front of the +other, supported by small columns. At the end of the elephant's tusks, +which were sawed off square, were attached bouquets of rich feathers. On +each side of the huge beast was a platform, suspended at the outside by +golden cords, on which stood four men very richly dressed. One of them +bears the hook, or pipe, presented to the Guicowar by the viceroy, another +waves a banner, and the others flourish fans of peacock feathers. In front +of the mahout is planted an ornament reaching nearly to the top of the +howdah. + +The golden howdah was presented by the Queen and Empress of India, and +glitters with diamonds and other precious stones. The two domes make it +look like two pavilions, and in the forward one sits the Guicowar in solemn +dignity. He wears a tunic of scarlet velvet, which is covered with gold and +diamonds. In fact, he seems to have diamonds enough to freight a schooner. +Either he or one of his predecessors purchased a brilliant for which he +paid the bagatelle of four hundred thousand dollars. Under the rear +pavilion, and behind him, is the king's prime minister. + +One of the officials at his side is the king's herald, who unfolds a flag +of cloth-of-gold, and flourishes it before the people, and there are not +less than a hundred thousand of them in the streets. As he does so he +announces in good Hindustanee and in a loud voice a proclamation: +"_Srimunt Sircar! Khunderao Guicowar! Sena Khas Khel! Shamshar +Bahadoor!_" + +"Exactly so," said Felix in a low tone. + +"I suppose it is not given to outsiders to know what all that means?" added +Louis. + +"Certainly it is," replied Sir Modava. "It means, 'Behold the King of +Kings, Khunderao Guicowar, whose army is invincible, whose courage is +indomitable.'" + +"Is that in a Pickwickian sense?" asked Scott. + +"Not at all, for the Guicowar is as brave a man as ever put a foot into +shoe-leather, or went barefooted," replied Lord Tremlyn, "though there is a +little exaggeration common to the Orient in the proclamation." + +As his Majesty came in front of the veranda the party rose and saluted him +with low bows, and the waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies. He responded +with a kingly smile and a graceful wave of the hand. The procession passed +on, and shortly afterwards the booming cannon announced that the moment of +the solemn benediction had come. The attentive officials of the court +presently appeared with the carriages, and an invitation to the whole +company to dine with the Guicowar again at his table. + +They had to wait an hour for the king, but they found enough to interest +them in observing the coming of numerous other guests. In an ante-room the +floor was almost covered with shoes, many of them of the richest material, +even with precious stones upon them. Sir Modava explained that Eastern +etiquette required that the visitors going into the presence of the +Maharajah should remove their shoes, but that Europeans and Americans were +exempt from this requirement. + +When the party entered they found the king seated in an apartment open to +the air of heaven on two sides. All were barefoot or in their stocking-feet +except the Gruicowar, who occupied a bench, or platform, at one side. He +had removed his state garments, and was dressed in a suit of white linen. +Most of the native officials present were seated on the floor; but the +gentlemen of the visitors were invited to sit with his Highness, though +only Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava accepted it. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII + + VARIOUS COMBATS IN THE GUICOWAR'S ARENA + + +The party remained a week at the palace of the Guicowar, and every day had +a new pleasure or recreation. The king was as familiar with all the members +as though they had belonged to his own household. He was sociable with +them, and they ceased to be embarrassed in his presence. Even Mrs. Blossom +no longer trembled before him, and he was as jolly with the boys as though +he had been one of them. + +On the day after the Sowari the gentlemen of the party were conducted to +the arena of the elephants, which was a large enclosure, reminding those +who had seen them of the bull-rings of Spain. It was surrounded by +buildings; and on one side, behind a wall, was a vast area of elevated +ground from which the people of the town could witness the scenes presented +in the arena. + +The ladies of the party had made the acquaintance of those of their own sex +in the household, and the sports of the day had been discussed among them. +On this day it was to be an elephant fight. The native women did not +attend, for they never took part in any public affair. Mrs. Belgrave, as +soon as she learned the nature of the entertainment, promptly declined to +be present at it, and the others were of the same mind. + +To make the best of it, it was a brutal sport. The elephant is a noble +beast, so intelligent that he deserves the consideration of man; and to +them it seemed barbarous to set them fighting, even if the animals had +belligerent instincts, though they never displayed them in their +domesticated condition unless under strong provocation. Some of the +gentlemen regarded the exhibition as but little better than a prize-fight; +though they all attended the occasion, for the more sensitive ones thought +it would be impolite to decline the invitation, especially as the +exhibition was got up especially for them. + +They were ushered into a large apartment, one side of which consisted of +lofty arches, through which the display could be witnessed. At either end +of the arena was chained a monster male elephant. A number of female +elephants were on an elevation near it; and it seemed as though they were +placed there for the same reason that the ladies were admitted to the +tournaments of the knights in England and France. It was said that these +females had a decided taste for such fights, and possibly the sight of them +stimulated the male combatants. + +There were a number of men, very slightly clothed, in the ring, who seemed +like the _chulos_ of the Spanish arena, though their functions could +hardly be the same; and there were many openings in the walls through which +they could escape, instead of leaping over the fence, as the bull-fighters +do. Some of them were armed with lances, and others with a stick with +fireworks at the end. + +The Guicowar entered the spectators' apartment, which was already well +filled with nobles and the foreigners. He was dressed in white linen, with +an elegant cap on his head. He had a fine athletic form, and wore a short +beard. He was not inclined to take the special arm-chair assigned to him, +but walked about, speaking to his guests, not omitting the boys, to whom he +appeared to have taken a fancy. + +His Highness gave a signal, at which the mahouts took their places on the +necks of the big beasts, and the chains which secured the combatants were +cast off. The monsters roared, and, with their trunks elevated, advanced to +the affray. They increased their speed as they came nearer to each other. +They rushed together, as Scott expressed it, "head on," and the strangers +seemed to feel the shock through their nerves. It was so violent the beasts +dropped upon their knees forward. + +Then they began to twist their trunks together, and buck with their tusks. +For some minutes the giants wrestled together, but the combat proved to be +of brief duration. The party could see that one of them was getting the +worst of it, and was inclined to "hedge." In fact, he had had enough of it; +but he was too wise to abandon his tactics when it was time for him to +retreat. Mustering all his power, he made a desperate effort, and succeeded +in forcing the other back enough to turn his huge body without exposing his +flank to the tusks of the enemy, and then beat a hasty retreat. + +The vanquished brute was removed from the arena, and the victor remained +alone on the field he had won; but he had only come to the beginning of his +troubles, for there was a second act to the affair. The men, who were armed +with whips, fireworks, red cloths, and other instruments of torment, +assailed him. They pricked him with the javelins, shook the red banners in +his face, and fizzed the pyrotechnics before his eyes. They tormented the +poor creature till he was furious. He had no adequate weapon for this +unequal and unfair warfare. + +He chased one assailant and then another, being as often turned aside from +his intended victims by the thorning of the other tormentors. As he became +a little more accustomed to the game, he ceased to be diverted from his +victim and confined his attention to only one. The red banners, the blows +from the whips, and the fizzing of the powder, did not affect him. He +pursued his victim till the man was glad to save himself by dodging through +one of the narrow doors in the wall, where the monster could not follow +him. He butted against the wall, and then pounded the earth with his feet +in the fury of his wrath. + +If the man had far to run he would inevitably be lost; for the elephant, +clumsy as he appears to be, develops great speed of foot when he is +excited. An incident was related by one of the nobles to Captain Ringgold +as the runner disappeared within the door. A young man who was very swift +of foot was closely pursued by the elephant, and had reached the door, when +he was seized by the arm, tossed in the air, and came down heavily on the +ground. The foot of the infuriate beast was raised to crush his skull, when +another man flashed a Bengal light in his face, with the flame almost in +his eyes, and the giant bellowed and fled. + +At the blast of a bugle all the men in the ring suddenly deserted it. The +elephant looked about him for any new assailant, and was immediately +provided with one. A door flew open, and a fine looking fellow, mounted on +a magnificent horse, dashed into the arena. After the manner of the +_matador_ in a bull-fight, he conducted his steed, prancing in his +pride, up to the arch at which the Guicowar stood, and saluted him with the +grace of a knight-errant whose head was full of ladies. + +The elephant is said to have an especial aversion to a horse; and the +tormented beast in the ring at once manifested the prejudice of his race, +for he made a dart for him. The horse did not flinch, but stood still till +the giant was almost upon him. Then, at the command of his master, he +wheeled, and the rider gave the big beast a smart punch with his lance. For +a few minutes there was a lively skirmish between them, the horseman +pricking him on the trunk or the flanks, and the rage of the elephant was +at its highest pitch. + +The fleetness of the horse and the skill of his rider kept the latter out +of harm's way till the elephant seemed to be exhausted. The Americans +thought he had done enough for one day, and the horseman retired. The great +beast which had borne the brunt of three combats was allowed to cool off, +and then his mahout conducted him to the rest he had bravely won. The +nobles in attendance were sufficiently civilized to indulge in betting, and +wagers had been made on the various fights in progress. Mr. Woolridge, who +was a reformed sportsman, may have been tempted; but he did not feel at +home in this kind of sporting, and he did not break through any of his good +resolutions. + +After the elephant had been removed, there was no little excitement among +the assemblage in the veranda, and the betting seemed to be livelier than +ever. A dozen officers armed with rifles and lances were stationed about +the walls of the arena; and then an iron-bound cage was drawn into the +enclosure, which contained a monstrous tiger. The guests wondered if this +fierce brute was to be loosed in the arena, and they examined with interest +into the safety of the situation. A number of rifles were brought into the +veranda, with which the Guicowar and his native guests armed themselves. + +"What does this mean, Sir Modava?" asked Captain Ringgold. + +"The next battle will be a noble one, and immense wagers are depending upon +the result," replied the Hindu gentleman. + +"Is that big tiger to fight the crowd here assembled?" + +"Not at all; but it is such a battle as has never been fought here, if +anywhere. His Highness had long desired to see a bull-fight, and he +imported four of the finest Spanish bulls his agent could find. The +_toreadors_ came with them; but they all refused to fight in this +arena, which they declared was not adapted to the purpose, and they went +home. Three of the bulls died of disease, and only one was left. A +discussion arose as to whether he was a match for a tiger. This battle is +to settle the question; and the bets are mostly in favor of the tiger, +though the Guicowar, with a few others, places his stake on the bull," Sir +Modava explained. + +The tiger was released from the cage at a signal from the king. He leaped +from the cage, and seemed to be astonished at the sight of so many people. +Three officers took possession of the brute's prison, armed with rifles to +shoot him if he killed the bull. No person was in the ring, or within reach +of the savage animal. The door by which the horseman had entered was thrown +wide open, and the bovine, vexed to the highest degree of wrath, came into +the arena with a bounding run. + +The tiger had advanced quietly to the centre of it, though with the royal +mien of the "king of beasts," as he was here, his eyes like a couple of +coals of fire. He caught sight of the bull as soon as he appeared, for he +had doubtless killed many a bullock in the jungle. He planted himself on +the ground in readiness for a spring. His present enemy saw him at the same +instant; but he did not halt, or show any signs of fear. + +[Illustration: "The striped beast went up into the air."--Page 263.] + +The bull crouched his head, increased his speed, and bounded on the tiger. +At that moment the striped beast went up into the air so quickly that the +audience could hardly see how it was done. His horned foe showed that he +had not wholly escaped, for his head was covered with blood. But the tiger +was not yet defeated. He sprang to his feet, and darted furiously at his +enemy. He fastened with claws and teeth upon the neck of the bull, and the +king believed that his wager was lost. + +But the Spaniard shook him off, and turned upon him again, tossing him +higher in the air than before. He came down badly disabled; and the bull, +as though it was the finest sport in the world for him, gored him with his +long horns till the life was gone out of him. The Spaniard was the victor. +The people shouted themselves hoarse; but their cries were in honor of the +Guicowar, and not the bull. The victor had lost a great deal of blood from +a bad wound in the neck, and it was a question whether or not he would die; +but he did not; he recovered, and before the tourists left India Sir Modava +learned that he had been killed in a battle with a smaller tiger than the +first. + +Though the guests said but little about it, most of them were disgusted +with these spectacles, and considered them cruel and brutal. They remained +their week at Baroda. Those who desired to do so were taken to a hunt one +day with a cheetah, in which this animal killed deer and other animals; and +on another, on elephants, for tigers. Two tigers were killed, and Louis +Belgrave had the honor of shooting one of them. Felix brought down a couple +of cobras; and killing them seemed to be his forte. Khayrat invited the +party to witness a battle between his mongoose and a couple of cobras his +hunters had caught; and he killed them both, one at a time. + +They all declined to attend a fight between a couple of coolies, with horn +spikes attached to their hands, for this was worse than a prize-fight. But +there was no end of amusements that were not brutal, and they enjoyed +themselves abundantly to the end of their stay. They visited the temples +and the palaces of the nobles, where they were received with the utmost +attention. Captain Sharp and his wife declared this was the red-letter week +of their lives; but the commander of the Blanche insisted that he must take +his ship around to Calcutta, and left by train for Bombay the day before +the company departed. + +The Guicowar resorted to various expedients to retain his guests, with whom +he was evidently sincerely pleased; but the commander was inflexible. It +was not possible to see a tithe of India, and he felt obliged to leave at +the expiration of the time he had fixed for the visit, and he begged Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava not to place them in any more courts, or they would +never get out of India. The train was prepared for their departure, and, in +addition to the compartment cars in which they were to pass most of their +time, a carriage was fitted up, so that all of them could assemble in it; +in fact, it was a conference hall on wheels. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII + + AT THE CAPITAL OF THE PUNJAB + + +An early breakfast was provided for the travellers, and at this repast the +farewells were spoken. Speeches were made by all the principal persons of +the party of Americans, and by the Moroccan magnate, expressive of the very +great enjoyment of the visit, and in praise of the liberality of the kingly +host's hospitality. Captain Ringgold returned his thanks quite eloquently. + +The Guicowar again enlarged upon the service the commander had rendered to +India in saving the lives of two of his best friends, who had also been the +friends of his country, and his only regret was that the Americans could +not remain longer. Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava could not in a lifetime +discharge their obligations to their friends who had entertained them like +princes on board of the Guardian-Mother. + +The ladies did not make speeches; but they expressed their gratitude to his +Highness in a less prominent manner for the kindness extended to them, and +at the close of the entertainment Miss Blanche advanced to the king, and +presented to him a package containing the photographs of the whole company, +and that of General Noury, each with the autograph upon it. + +"I am very sorry that our party are unable to present to your Highness a +gift in keeping with the magnificence of the hospitality extended to us," +said the beautiful young lady; "but this package contains the photograph of +every member of our company, and we beg that you will accept them as the +only tribute of our gratitude for your kindness which is available to us at +this distance from our homes. We leave behind us our best wishes for the +prosperity, health, and happiness of your Highness." + +The Guicowar declared that he should value the gift more than all the gold +and gems that could have been gathered together, and he should always +remember with delight the fairy who had presented them to him, and it would +afford him the greatest pleasure to look in the future upon the faces of +those whose presence at the palace he had so greatly enjoyed. + +The actual parting was the scene of a great deal of hand-shaking, mingled +with pretty speeches. The Guicowar went with them to the station, and saw +them seated in the great carriage that had been prepared for them. The +train moved off, with handkerchiefs waving at every window, and with a +profusion of gestures on the part of the magnificent host. It required some +time to talk about the scenes at the court of the king, though all of the +party were observing the country through the windows. + +It was a strange country to the Americans; and they found something to look +at all the time, though it was a wild and rugged region for the first two +hours, with only a single town that was noticeable in that time. As they +were passing out of Baroda, the viscount called their attention to a +building at some distance from the road, and called it a "travellers' +bungalow." It was a very comfortable house, where tourists may find hotel +accommodations, though they are hardly hotels. They are provided by the +government, and are to be found in all the travelled regions of India. They +are sometimes free for the rooms, but the guest pays at a very low rate for +his food. + +"We are coming now to Ahmedabad, which is in Gujrat, or Goozerat, for you +take your choice in regard to many of these Indian names; and this city is +its chief town, and the second in the province of Bombay. It was formerly +one of the largest and most magnificent cities of the East, as the ruins +still indicate. It contains several elegant mosques, but the town has not +more than a seventh part of its former population of nine hundred +thousand," said Sir Modava, as he opened a travelling-bag, and took from it +a large bundle of photographs. + +"Oodeypore is the capital of a Rajputana state; and its palace is said to +be the largest and most magnificent in India, though the town has a +population of less than forty thousand. The maharajah entertained the +Prince of Wales in it when he made his progress through the country. It is +built in the mountains, and it would be a troublesome journey for us to +reach it. The next city of any importance to which we shall come is +Jeypore, and we shall dine there." + +When the train stopped for water a lunch was sent to the compartments, to +which all the passengers now retired for the rest of the day. At Jeypore +dinner was served, good enough, though not elaborate. At the table Sir +Modava passed around some photographs of the place, including the palace of +the Maharajah, the Golden Kiosk, and the temples of the valley of Ambir. It +was impossible to visit all the wonderful structures on the road without +spending at least a year in the country; and a dozen volumes would hardly +contain the description of them. The palace at Jeypore is half a mile long, +and contains one seventh of the area of the town. + +Though the railroad passed within fifty miles of Delhi, the train sped on +its way to the north all night and nearly the whole of the next day, +arriving at Lahore at five in the afternoon. No towns of any considerable +importance were passed during this long stretch of 540 miles. Though Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava, with their friends, were invited to the residence +of the lieutenant-governor, the party went to the Victoria Hotel, for the +viscount thought it would be an imposition to quarter them on the chief +authority, being eighteen in number. + +"We are now in the Punjab, the north-western corner of India," said the +Hindu gentleman, when they were seated in the parlor of the hotel. "It is +watered by the Indus and five of its branches, on one of which, the Ravi, +Lahore is situated. Punjab means five rivers. It has a population of more +than twenty-five million; and, General Noury, it has more Mohammedans than +the whole of Morocco. I will not give you any more statistics, for I fear +you would not remember them." + +"Thank you, Sir Modava," added Mr. Woolridge. + +"The manufactures of silk, cotton, and metals are very important; for the +soil is not very fertile, though cotton, rice, sugar, indigo, and all kinds +of grains and fruits, are raised. Lahore is the capital of the Punjab, and +has a population of a hundred and seventy-seven thousand, though it once +contained a million. At this point we are near the Himalaya Mountains. +About a hundred and fifty miles east of Lahore is Simla, nearly eight +thousand feet above the sea. This is a noted sanitarium; and in the hot +season it is the resort of thousands of people, including the highest +officers of the army and the government." + +"Is this as near the Himalayas as we are to go?" asked Scott. + +"About as near, though at Patna you will be about one hundred and fifty +miles from Mount Everest, the highest peak on the earth." + +"I should like to go there," added Scott. + +"You couldn't climb it; and what good would it do you? I could mention a +hundred places in India I should like to visit; but it is not practicable +to do so," added the commander. "We can only take along with us a few +specimens of the wonderful country, and make the best of them." + +After dinner the party divided up according to their own fancy, and went +out to walk, though some were too tired to do so. Louis invited Miss +Blanche to go with him; and she was always glad to be in his company, +especially as Sir Modava was to be his companion. The first sight they saw +in the street was a regiment of Punjab sepoys, a well-drilled body of men, +not very different from the soldiers they had seen in other countries. + +They wore frock-coats, buttoned tight to the throat, and a sort of turban +on the head. Their faces were swarthy, but none of them wore full beards. +There were plenty of street sights after the regiment had passed. The +different kinds of vehicles attracted their attention first. In a kind of +gig drawn by a horse, two men and two women were crowded together. The +driver seemed to be seated behind, and one of the women was on the floor in +front of the two who were seated. By the side of the man on the seat was a +girl of sixteen or eighteen, and she was very pretty. + +In a two-wheeled cart drawn by a humped bullock were a couple of Hindu +ladies, under a canopy supported by four poles. Then came a camel bearing +two bearded men on his back. Two or three palanquins were seen; but they +were an old story, and they turned their attention to the architecture of +the houses that lined the street. There was an abundance of what we call +bay-windows, and ornamented balconies. There was a great deal of variety in +the construction of these appendages of the houses; and all of them were +occupied by ladies, who wore no veils over their faces, though most of them +were doubtless Mohammedans, and the yashmak had evidently gone out of +fashion. + +"There is the dak-bungalow," said the Hindu gentleman as they passed a +building of considerable size. + +"What is a dak-bungalow?" asked Louis. + +"It is one which answers the purpose of a hotel. I pointed one out to you +at Baroda. Sometimes they are free so far as the rooms are concerned; but +here the guest pays two rupees a day, or fifty cents of your money, and the +food is furnished at a low price." + +"But this is not half so much of a place as I expected to find," said +Louis, after they had walked an hour, and it was time to return to the +hotel. + +"It is a place of considerable importance, though there are not so many +temples, mosques, tombs, and other fine structures, as in many other cities +of India; and I wondered that the commander had placed it in his list of +places to be visited. Jeypore and Oodeypore would have been far more +interesting to your party," replied Sir Modava. "Yet you will see some of +the finest structures in the country before you reach Calcutta." + +The company returned to the hotel at an early hour, and all of them were +tired enough to retire at once. But they were up at six in the morning, and +the four boys went out to explore the city by themselves for a couple of +hours. Even at this early hour the ladies, old and young, were in the +balconies, and they were much occupied in observing the latter. Though the +yashmak, or veil, was not often used to cover the face, it appeared to have +been only thrown back upon the head. + +After breakfast carriages were at the door to convey the party to the more +interesting sights of the city. At the request of Lord Tremlyn, they were +driven first to the office of the lieutenant-governor, to whom they were +presented. The government buildings are in Lawrence Hall Gardens, where +there is also a memorial building in honor of Lord John Lawrence, the first +lieutenant-governor, who won his distinction in subduing and ruling over +the Punjab. + +They were next conveyed to the mosque of Jehanghir, built of red stone, and +so much like a score of other mosques that they were not much interested in +the building. The mosque of Vazir Khan pleased them more; for it was a +beautiful edifice, though crumbling before the ravages of time. But even +here they were more pleased on observing the loafers around the entrance +and in the court in front of it. An old bald-headed Hindu, with a beard as +white as snow, was a study to the boys; and perhaps it was fortunate that +the subject of their remarks did not understand English, or there might +have been another war in the Punjab. + +The cook-shops in the street were instructive to them, and they watched the +customers with interest; but, as they had attempted to eat in a Turkish +restaurant in Constantinople, they were content with looking on. The +minarets of the Vazir Khan pleased all the party, for they were certainly +very beautiful. They went to the Golden Temple of Amritsar in the +afternoon, and were impressed with the beauty of its surroundings. + +Lahore was rather a disappointment to the tourists, though it would not +have been if they had not spent some days in Bombay before visiting it. The +train in which they had come from Baroda was to be used by them as far as +Calcutta, and they were ready to leave that night. The journey was by a +different route from that by which they had come, and through a more +densely populated region. It was a bright moonlight night when the train +passed out of the capital of the Punjab. + +They had gathered in what they had come to call the Conference Hall +compartment; and as they looked out into the light of the evening they +believed they could see some of the peaks of the Himalayas, though Lord +Tremlyn doubted it. Possibly they saw some of the peaks, for Mount Nauda +Devi was within a hundred miles of the point on the railroad where they +would be in the morning; and this is more than twenty-five thousand feet +high. Mont Blanc is seen in very clear weather at the distance of a hundred +miles, and it is about eight thousand feet less in height. + +They were awake very early in the morning, and they certainly saw some high +mountains in the distance, but could not identify them by name. At eight +o'clock the train rolled into the station at Delhi, perhaps the most +wonderful city of India. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX + + THE WONDERFUL CITY OF DELHI + + +The Mohammedans of Bombay whose acquaintance General Noury had made were +wealthy and influential men; they had notified their friends in other +cities of the coming of the distinguished Moroccan, and he had several +invitations to make his home in Delhi with them. Lord Tremlyn and Sir +Modava were even more abundantly tendered accommodations from British and +Hindu persons of distinction. + +Captain Ringgold had no friends, and received no invitations, though the +entire company of tourists were included in those of both the general and +the distinguished gentlemen who had insisted upon being the hosts of the +party. But the commander was a wealthy man himself, and a very independent +one. To throw a company of a dozen and a half upon the generous hospitality +of private individuals, or even public officials, seemed like an imposition +to him. + +The viscount and his Hindu companion were equally sensitive on this point; +and it was proposed by Sir Modava to divide the guests among those who had +not only given the invitations but had pressed them upon the travellers. +The others did not like this plan; and, after some consideration, it was +decided to go to a hotel; at least it was suggested as the remedy by the +commander, who again insisted upon paying the bill. But there was no +suitable hotel in the place. The dak-bungalow was the only resort, though a +hotel was soon to be opened. Those who were consulted in the party were all +for the bungalow, and the problem was finally settled in this manner. + +A couple of small omnibuses were taken, and the party proceeded to the +dak-bungalow, which was in the centre of the city. Their apartments were +not elegant, but they were comfortable; and no one found any fault at the +absence of the splendors with which they had been surrounded in the palace +of the Guicowar, or even those of Bombay. A good breakfast was obtained, +and the forenoon was given up to rest; but after a couple of hours in their +chambers the company were assembled in the coffee-room. + +"Delhi is a city which figures largely in the history of India," said Lord +Tremlyn, seated very informally in an arm-chair. "It existed fifteen or +twenty centuries before the time of Christ, and was the capital of the +great Aryan empire. It was founded by the invaders of India. The chronology +of India is not reliable, but it is claimed that this event dates back to +3101 B.C. Its name was Indrapechta, which it holds to the present time +among the learned Hindus, so that the city appears to have existed while +Egypt was still in its infancy. + +"It became the great Mussulman capital; but one and another of its princes +changed its location, till its ancient sites extend for thirty miles along +the river, and its ruins, more extensive than even those of Rome, cover +this range of territory. But I shall not go into the details of those +migratory periods, but speak only of the city as we find it. + +"Delhi is on the Jumna River, which you saw in the early morning. This +stream has its entire course in Hindustan, and is the principal tributary +of the Ganges. Both of these rivers are sacred with the natives. The Jumna +rises in the Himalayas, at a height of nearly eleven thousand feet, and of +course it is a mountain torrent at its upper waters. After a run of eight +hundred and sixty miles, it falls into the Ganges about three miles below +Allahabad. On each side of it is an important canal, both built before +railways were in use here. + +"Delhi is nine hundred and fifty-four miles northwest of Calcutta. It +stands on high ground, is walled on three sides, and has ten gates. A +series of buildings formerly composing the grand palace of Shah Jehan have +become the fort, overlooking the river, with a fine view of the surrounding +country, covered with woods and agricultural grounds. You will see the +palaces, mosques, and temples, and I will not describe them. Delhi is the +seventh city in population, which is a hundred and ninety-three thousand." + +After luncheon half a dozen landaus were at the door of the bungalow, in +which the party seated themselves according to their own choice; and the +first stop was made at the Jummah Musjid Mosque, which the Mussulmans of +India venerate and admire more than any other. It is built on an immense +esplanade, which is mounted by three flights of stairs, each in the form of +the three sides of a pyramid, and each leading to an immense pointed arch, +the entrances to the buildings. + +Before the party entered a carriage arrived, from which General Noury and +another person alighted. The Moroccan had accepted the invitation of a +Delhi Mussulman to be his guest, and this gentleman had begun to show him +the sights of the city. The general presented him to the members of the +party as Abbas-Meerza. Evidently in honor of his host the Moroccan had put +on his Oriental dress, which was certainly a very picturesque costume, +though it called up unpleasant memories in the minds of the commander and +the Woolridges. + +Abbas-Meerza was evidently a Persian, or the son of one; for he was clothed +in the full costume of that country. He wore a rich robe, reaching to his +ankles, with a broad silk belt around his waist. His cap, of equally costly +material, was a tall cylinder, with the top slanting down to the left side, +as though it had been cut off. He spoke English as fluently as the general. +He invited the party to step to a certain point, and view the mosque as a +whole. + +The wall of the esplanade was a continued series of pointed arches, with a +handsome frieze above it. On the elevated platform was a colonnade of the +same arches on each side, with a pillared tower at each corner, interrupted +only at the grand entrances. It looked as though one might walk entirely +around the vast structure in the shade of this colonnade. + +Within the enclosure could be seen three domes, the one in the centre +overtopping the other two, two lofty minarets, with small domes at the +summit, supported by several columns, and an immense pointed arch leading +into the great mosque. The whole edifice is built of red sandstone. The +visitors mounted one of the staircases, and entered a court paved with +marble tiles. They walked around the esplanade under the arches of the +colonnade, or cloisters as some call them, and finally entered the mosque +itself. The interior was very simple in its style, but very beautiful. The +roof, pavement, pillars, and walls were of white marble, ornamented with +carvings in the stone. Slabs of black marble presented sentences to the +praise of God, and in memory of Shah Jehan, who was the founder of the +mosque. + +"Formerly no person not a Mussulman was permitted to enter this mosque," +said Sir Modava, while the general and his host were engaged in their +devotions; "but for more than thirty years it has been open to all. From +the top of one of the minarets a very fine view of the surrounding country +can be obtained; but the ascent is by a very narrow flight of circular +stairs, two hundred in number. He advised Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses not to +attempt it." + +A venerable mollah was found, who put half a dozen of the party in the way +of going up; and they reported the view as worth the labor and fatigue. The +aged priest then proposed to show them the relics of the mosque; and a fee +was paid to him, and to the man who unlocked a door for their admission. +The mollah produced a small golden box, from which he took a silver case. +Muttering the name of Allah very solemnly all the time, he unscrewed the +top of the receptacle, and took from it a single hair, about six inches +long, red and stiff, and fixed in a silver tube. + +"The beard of the holy Prophet!" he announced, with a reverent inclination +of his head; and the two Mussulmans of the party followed his example. + +"According to the tradition, this hair really came from the beard of +Mohammed," said Sir Modava. "I believe it, because I have inquired into its +history. It is the glory of this mosque and of Delhi, for only three others +exist in the world. You need not believe it is genuine if you prefer not to +do so." + +They were also permitted to gaze at one of Mohammed's old shoes, a belt, +and some of the clothing of the Prophet. A number of dusty ancient +manuscripts were exhibited, copies of the Koran, one in fine characters, +said to have been dictated by Mohammed himself. The party returned to the +carriages, filled with admiration of the magnificent structure they had +visited, and were driven to the palace of the emperors, now turned into the +fort. + +They left the landaus at a point selected by Abbas-Meerza, from which an +excellent view of the ancient structures could be obtained. It was a +magnificent building, whose dimensions the Americans could hardly take in. +The most prominent features from the point of observation were a couple of +octagonal towers, very richly ornamented, with several small domes at the +summit, supported on handsome columns. + +The party entered at the principal gate, and came to the guard-house, which +was filled with British soldiers wearing straw helmets and short white +coats. A soldier offered his services as a guide, and they were accepted. +He gave the Hindu names of the apartments. The Dewani-Am was the hall of +audiences, from which they passed to the Dewani-Khas, the throne-room, both +of which recalled the Alhambra, which they had visited a few months before. +The pillars, arches, and ornaments were similar, though not the same. + +The tourists wandered through the pavilion, the emperor's rooms in the +palace, the bath, and numerous apartments. But in transforming this +magnificent palace of the emperors into barracks, much of the original +beauty had been spoiled; the lapse of years had made great rents in the +walls, and the visitor was compelled to exercise his imagination to some +extent in filling up what it had been centuries before. + +Abbas-Meerza was a very companionable person, and made the acquaintance of +every one in the company. He then invited them all to dine with him that +day, as he had evidently intended to do in the morning, for the dinner was +all ready when they arrived at his palace. He was a magnate of the first +order, and his apartments were quite as sumptuous as those of the Guicowar +of Baroda. The dinner was somewhat Oriental, but it was as elegant as it +was substantial. + +The noble host apparently wished to show the Americans what the Mussulmans +of India could do, and he crowned his magnificent hospitality by inviting +the entire company to install themselves in his mansion, which was large +enough for a palace; but for the reasons already set forth, the invitation +was gratefully declined. The next morning the travellers visited the Mosque +of Pearls, where the ancient emperors came to perform their devotions. The +interior is of carved ivory. + +From this little gem of a church the company were driven to the Chandi +Chowk, which is a boulevard, planted with trees and lined with elegant +buildings. The stores of the principal merchants of Delhi were here, and +most of them were on the plan of an Oriental bazaar. The little square +shops challenged the attention of the party, and most of them alighted to +examine the rich goods displayed. + +In the course of the ride they passed the Black Mosque, the only building +in the city dating farther back than the reign of Shah Jehan. They found +the bungalow surrounded and partly filled, on their return, by venders of +relics, curiosities, and other wares, anxious to find customers for their +goods. But they were not very fortunate in the enterprise, and finally they +were all driven away by an officer. + +In the afternoon they drove out on the plains of Delhi, among the ruins of +palaces, tombs, and temples. They stopped at another black mosque, near +which was a handsome pavilion, which had been the library of the emperors. + +"One of these emperors was Houmayoun, who recovered the throne after a long +banishment. He lost his life in consequence of a fall from the top of a +ladder he had mounted to obtain a book," said Sir Modava. "He was the real +founder of the Great Mogul dynasty. His mausoleum, to which we will go +next, is one of the noblest monuments on this plain;" and the carriages +proceeded to it. + +It is a mass of white marble and red sandstone. It has a fine dome, around +which cluster several smaller structures, such as we should call cupolas in +America or England. Under the great dome in the building is a plain +tombstone, beneath which are the remains of the first of the Mogul +emperors. The mausoleum is placed on an esplanade, like the great mosque in +the city. The sides present a vast display of pointed arches, and its shape +on the ground is quite irregular. The party were driven to the tower of +Koutub, a Mussulman conqueror, who commemorated his victory by building +this triumphal column, which is two hundred and twenty-seven feet high. It +consists of five stories, becoming smaller as they ascend. The remains of +his mosque were visited, the columns of which look like enlarged jewellery, +elaborately worked into fantastic forms. By its side is an iron column with +contradictory stories about its origin. The tourists visited other mosques +and tombs, which reminded them of the tombs of the Mamelukes. + +For two days longer they looked about Delhi; and Lord Tremlyn pointed out +to them the scenes of the massacre, which he had described on board of the +Guardian-Mother. On the train by which they had come they proceeded to +Agra. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX + + THE MAGNIFICENT MAUSOLEUM OF AGRA + + +Several hotels were available on the arrival of the travellers at Agra, and +they were domiciled at Lawrie's. The journey was made in an afternoon, and +was through a densely populated territory, so that the trip was very +enjoyable. After dinner the party assembled in a parlor provided for their +use; and Lord Tremlyn gave a talk, for he objected to the formality of a +lecture. He seated himself in an easy-chair, and took from his pocket a +little book, to which he occasionally referred. + +"Agra, on the whole, is the handsomest city of Upper India, though of +course there may be some difference of opinion in this matter," he began. +"It is eight hundred and forty-one miles north-west of Calcutta, and one +hundred and forty south-east of Delhi. Like Delhi, it is on the Jumna, +which is here crossed by a floating bridge. One of the most prominent +buildings is the fortress of Akbar, and you must know something of this +sovereign in order to understand Agra. + +"He was known as Akbar the Great, the Mogul emperor of India, and the +greatest Asiatic monarch of modern times. He was the son of Houmayoun, +whose mausoleum you visited at Delhi. The father was robbed of his throne, +and retreated to Persia; and it was on the way there that Akbar was born, +in 1542. After an exile of twelve years, Houmayoun recovered his throne, +but lost his life within a year after his return. The government was +committed to the care of a regent, who became a tyrant; and the young +prince took possession of it himself at the age of eighteen. + +"At this time only a few provinces were subject to the rule of his father; +but in a dozen years Akbar had made himself master of all the country north +of the Vindhya Mountains, or of a line drawn from Baroda to Calcutta, +though he was not so fortunate in subduing the southern portion of the +peninsula. He was a great conqueror; yet, what is not so common with the +mighty rulers of the world, past or present, he was a wise and humane +monarch, and governed his realm with wisdom and vigor. His reign was the +most unparalleled, for his justice, energy, and progressive character, of +any in the East. In this manner he made his empire the greatest of the age +in which he lived. + +"He fostered commerce by the construction of roads, by the establishment of +an excellent police system, and introduced a uniform system of weights and +measures. He looked after the administration of his viceroys in his +numerous provinces, permitted no extortion on the part of his officers, and +saw that justice was impartially meted out to all classes. He was a +Mohammedan, but he was tolerant of all the prevailing sects in religion. + +"He gave the Hindus entire freedom of worship; though far in advance of his +successors, he prohibited cruel customs, such as the burning of widows, and +other barbarous practices. He founded schools and encouraged literature. He +inquired into the various forms of religion, and even sent for Portuguese +missionaries at Goa to explain the Christian faith to him. From the various +beliefs he made up a kind of eclectic religion; but it was not a success +outside of his palace. A history of his reign of fifty years was written by +his chief minister. Akbar died in 1605, and was interred in a beautiful +mausoleum, near the city. + +"With the ordinary sights of India you are already somewhat familiar; and, +aside from what you may see in any city here, there is not much to interest +you, with the grand exception of the Taj, and some of the mausoleums, of +which I will say nothing, as we are now to visit them." + +The company retired early, and after breakfast the next morning the +carriages were at the door. In the first one were Captain Ringgold, Mrs. +Belgrave, and Sir Modava. Lord Tremlyn had more than once manifested a +desire to be in the same carriage with Miss Blanche; and he went with her +and Louis on this occasion, while Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge invited General +Noury to accompany them. + +"Akbar made Agra the capital of the Mogul Empire," said Sir Modava, as the +carriage started. "He changed its old name to Akbarabad, and the natives +call it so to this day." + +"The termination of that name seems to be very common in India, as +Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad," added the commander. + +"In the Hindu, _abad_ means a town or a village; and if you cut off +that ending you will find the person or place for whom it was named, as +Akbar-abad." + +"Precisely as it is in our country, where we have Morris-town, Allen-town, +Morgan-town, and a thousand others," added the captain. + +"After the death of Akbar his successors reigned in Delhi. The Mogul Empire +came to an end in 1761; and Agra was sacked by the Jats, and later the +Mahrattas completed the destruction they had begun. It was captured from +Scindia in 1803 by the English under Lord Lake, and has since remained in +their possession. In all these disasters its population, which had been +seven hundred thousand, dropped to ten thousand; but under British rule it +recovered some of its former prosperity, and it is now about one hundred +and seventy thousand." + +"If a man wants to build a house here he has only to dig for the material, +for not far down he will find the stone and brick of the structures that +crumbled into the earth after the death of the great emperor. We are now +approaching the fortress, or the citadel as it is oftener called. It is a +sort of acropolis, for it contains palaces, mosques, halls of justice, and +other buildings." + +The carriages stopped at the principal gate, opposite to which is the +mosque of Jummah Musjid, or the Cathedral Mosque. About all the great +structures here are built of red sandstone, with marble bands on many of +them, so that it is hardly necessary to mention the material, unless it +varies from the rule. This mosque is a fine one, mounted on a marble +esplanade or platform, like most buildings of this description. + +Crossing the drawbridge, the visitors came to the Palace of Justice, built +by Akbar. It is six hundred feet long, enclosed by a colonnade of arches, +like a cloister. It is now used as a military storeroom, divided by brick +walls, and filled with cannon and shot. The English have made a sort of +museum here; and the superior officer who did the honors to his lordship +showed them the throne of Akbar, a long marble seat, inlaid with precious +stones, with a graceful canopy of the same material over it; and the boys +thought he would have had a more comfortable seat if he had put off the +period of his reign to the present time. + +The gates of Somnath, twelve feet high, were beautiful pieces of carving. +They once guarded the entrance to the temple of Krishna, in Goojerat; but +in the tenth century they were carried off by Sultan Mahmoud, of Ghuzni, in +Afghanistan. He captured Somnath, and destroyed all the idols. The Brahmins +offered him immense bribes if he would spare the statue of Krishna; but he +spurned the money, and destroyed the image with his own hands. He found +that it was hollow, and filled with jewels of great value. + +When the English conquered Afghanistan, Lord Ellenborough sent the gates to +Agra; but some think they were not the gates of the temple, but of +Mahmoud's tomb, for they were made of a wood that does not grow in India, +and they are not of Hindu workmanship. From the museum the party walked to +the imperial palace of Akbar, still in an excellent state of preservation. +Some of the apartments, especially the bath-room of the monarch, made the +visitors think of the Arabian Nights. + +The great black marble slab on which Akbar sat to administer justice was +pointed out. When one of the Jat chiefs seated himself upon it, the story +goes, it cracked, and blood flowed from the fracture. Lord Ellenborough +tried the experiment, and the stone broke into two pieces. The Mosque of +Pearls is a small building of white marble on a rose-colored platform. It +is considered by experts the finest piece of architecture in the fortress. +Nothing could be simpler, nothing grander. Bishop Heber visited it and +wrote this of it:-- + +"This spotless sanctuary, showing such a pure spirit of adoration, made me, +a Christian, feel humbled, when I considered that no architect of our +religion had ever been able to produce anything equal to this temple of +Allah." + +Following the Jumna, the carriages reached the Taj, the wonder and glory of +all India. It was built by the Emperor Shah Jehan, as a mausoleum for the +Empress Mumtazi Mahal. She was not only beautiful, but famous for mental +endowments; and the emperor had so much love and admiration for her that he +determined to erect to her memory the most beautiful monument that had ever +been constructed by any prince. It was begun in 1630, and twenty thousand +workmen were employed upon it for seventeen years. History says that one +hundred and forty thousand cartloads of pink sandstone and marble were +brought from the quarries of Rajputana; and every province of the empire +furnished precious stones to adorn it. Its cost was from ten to fifteen +millions of dollars. + +The golden crescent of the Taj is two hundred and seventy feet above the +level of the river. The magnificent temple is placed in the centre of a +garden nine hundred and sixty feet long by three hundred and thirty in +width, filled with avenues flanked with cypress-trees, and planted with +flowers, on a terrace of sandstone. In the centre of this garden is a +marble platform, two hundred and eighty-five feet on all sides, and fifteen +feet high, which may be called the pedestal of the mosque. The principal +entrance to the garden is more elaborate and beautiful than the fronts of +many noted mosques, for it is adorned with towers crowned with cupolas. + +Entering the enclosure, and walking along the avenue of cypress-trees, one +obtains his first view of the great dome of the Taj. It looks like about +three-fourths of a globe, capped with a slender spire. From this point, +through the trees, may be seen a forest of minarets, cupolas, towers, and +inferior domes. The mausoleum is in the form of an irregular octagon, the +longest side being one hundred and twenty feet in length. Each facade has a +lofty Saracenic arch, in which is an entrance. + +The interior surpasses the exterior in magnificence, the ceiling, walls, +and tombstones being a mass of mosaics. The resting-place of the empress +and Shah Jehan is in the centre of the edifice, enclosed by a marble +screen. Some experts who have examined the building thoroughly are unable +to find any architectural faults, though perhaps others would be more +successful. The party visited several other mosques and mausoleums; but +nothing could compare with the Taj. The commander suggested that they ought +to have visited it last, as the pie or pudding comes in after the fish or +meats at Von Blonk Park. + +The members of the party were unable to say enough in praise of the Taj, +and no one seems to be in danger of exaggerating its beauty and its +wonders. On their return to the hotel, they seated themselves in their +parlor, and talked till dinner-time about the mausoleum, for they had many +questions to ask of the viscount and the Hindu gentleman. + +"There seemed to be two other mosques back of the mausoleum," said Mrs. +Belgrave; "we did not visit them." + +"The Mohammedan traditions require that a mosque should be erected in +connection with every mortuary temple," replied Sir Modava. "Isa Mohammed, +a later emperor, built one at the western end of the terrace. It was a +beautiful building with three domes, in keeping with the Taj. But the +builder found that it gave a one-sided appearance to the view; and he +erected the one on the east end, to balance the other and restore the +proportions. Either of them is equal to the finest mosque in Cairo or +Constantinople." + +"That was an expensive method of making things regular," added the +commander. "Some one spoke in Delhi of a durbar in connection with Agra. I +think it was Mr. Meerza." + +General Noury laughed at this title; for it sounded funny to him, applied +to an Oriental, and the captain had forgotten the rest of the name. + +"Abbas-Meerza, we call him, without any 'mister,'" he added. + +"I will try to remember it," replied the commander. "But what is a durbar? +Is it something good to eat?" + +"They do not eat it here, and probably it would be indigestible if they +could do so," continued Sir Modava. "A durbar is a very important event in +India, but is not eatable. It is an occasion at which the native princes +acknowledge the sovereignty of the Queen of England. In 1866 the most noted +one took place at Agra, a full description of which would require a long +time. For the first time after the establishment of the Empire of India, +the governor-general, representing the empress, received the homage of +twenty-six sovereign princes. It was an act of submission. The ceremonies +occupied many days; and kings, maharajahs, rajahs, and other princes bowed +to the throne of the sovereign. It was a tremendous occasion; and it was a +festival honored by banquets, processions, and royal gatherings. I will get +a book for you, Captain Ringgold, when we reach Calcutta, from which you +may read a full account of the affair. It grew out of an ancient Indian +custom, and many of them on a small scale have occurred." + +The tourists spent another day at Agra, and, though they had not exhausted +the sights of the place, the commander decided that they could remain no +longer, and they left on the following day for Cawnpore. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI + + THE TERRIBLE STORY OF CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW + + +Agra is on one of the great railroads from Bombay to Calcutta, though not +the most direct one; and it crosses the Jumna at this point, where a vast +bridge was in process of construction over its waters, which must now be +completed. It was but a five hours' journey to Cawnpore, and the party +arrived there in season for luncheon. + +"Cawnpore is on the right bank of the Ganges, six hundred and twenty-eight +miles from Calcutta," said Lord Tremlyn, when the party were seated in the +Conference-Hall carriage, and the train was moving away from Agra. "But, so +far as viewing the wonderful buildings of India, you will have a rest at +this place; though you need not suppose it is a city of no importance, for +it has 188,712 inhabitants, and has a large trade. Here you will obtain +your first view of the Ganges, varying in width from a third of a mile to a +mile. + +"The great river is one of the special objects of interest to the tourist +in coming from Bombay, for here he usually gets his first view of it. There +are important buildings here, including mosques and temples, but none to +compare with those you have already seen. The Indian Mutiny of 1857 +attracts many visitors to the place." + +"I don't think I care to see any more great buildings," interposed Mrs. +Belgrave. + +"There are none here to see; and we shall remain here only long enough to +see the sites connected with the mutiny." + +"I should like to hear the story of the mutiny over again," added the lady. + +"I was able to give only a very brief and imperfect account of the +rebellion, with so great a subject as India in general on my hands, on +board of your ship, and very likely there will be occasion to repeat some +portions of it as we point out the various spots connected with it," +replied Lord Tremlyn. + +The accommodations for the party were ready on their arrival, and even the +luncheon was on the table. Before they had disposed of it the landaus were +at the door. Three military officers were also in attendance, appointed to +render all the assistance to the company they needed. They were introduced +to the members of the party, and then they were driven to the fort." + +"At the time of the mutiny Cawnpore contained about one thousand English +people, one half of whom were women and children," said Captain Chesly, the +principal of the officers. "The troops were provided with ill-constructed +intrenchments for their defence. I am informed that his lordship has +already given you some details of the rebellion, but as I am not aware of +the extent to which he has given them I shall probably repeat some of +them." + +"The party will be glad to have them repeated," added Lord Tremlyn. "I told +them who and what Nana Sahib was." + +"His first act after taking the lead in the rebellion of the sepoys was to +murder one hundred and thirty-six of our people, who were deceived by the +sympathy he had formerly manifested for them, and easily fell into his +hands. Two hundred and fifty soldiers, with as many women and children, the +latter in the military hospital, had taken refuge in the fort. As soon as +he had completed his bloody work in the massacre, Nana Sahib besieged the +feeble garrison. They defended themselves with the utmost bravery and skill +against the vast horde of natives brought against them. + +"For three weeks they held out against the overwhelming force that was +thirsting for their blood. Their chief had anticipated no such resistance, +and he was impatient at the delay in finishing the butchery. He resorted to +an infamous stratagem, proposing to General Wheeler, who was in command of +the British troops, to grant him all the honors of war if he would +surrender, with boats and abundant provisions to enable him and all his +people to reach Allahabad. + +"The proposition was received with considerable distrust by the besieged; +but Nana swore before the general that he would faithfully observe all the +terms of the capitulation, and it was finally accepted. The garrison +marched out with their arms and baggage, and passed through the hordes of +the besiegers to the river. The wounded, with the women and children, were +sent to the Ganges on elephants. Now, if you take your seats in the +carriages, we will proceed to the scene of the massacre." + +The company were conveyed to a Hindu temple on the shore, where the suttee +had formerly been performed, and which was provided with a broad staircase +leading down to the water. The place had a funereal aspect, to which the +terrible tragedy lent an additional melancholy. + +"The treacherous commander of the rebels had provided about twenty boats of +all sizes, and supplied them with provisions, in order to complete the +deception," continued Captain Chesly when the party had alighted. "The +boats were cast loose to the current, and the hungry people rushed to the +eatables. But the flotilla was hardly clear of the shore before a battery +of guns, masked from their view, opened a most destructive fire upon them +with grape and solid shot, mostly the former. + +"The smaller boats sank, and others were set on fire. The cavalry of the +enemy waded into the river, and sabred those who attempted to escape by +swimming. In the largest boat was General Wheeler; and, by desperate +rowing, it succeeded in getting away from the slaughter. Unhappily it got +aground, and all on board of it were captured. + +"Nana ordered that not a man should be saved, and all were murdered in cold +blood. The various accounts differ considerably; but all the men were +killed but four, two captains and two privates, who escaped by swimming +down the river, and were protected by a rajah, who was afterwards pensioned +for this service." + +"After the massacre of all the men, there remained one hundred and +twenty-five women and children captured from the boats, who were confined +in the town-house of the detested Nana, where they were fed upon the +poorest food and subjected to many indignities. They were heroic women, and +preferred death to any other fate at the hands of their miscreant captors. +They were kept in confinement about three weeks, when it was whispered +among them that deliverance was at hand. Sir Henry Havelock was marching +from Allahabad to the relief of the garrison, and when he was within two +days' march Nana went out to meet him and give battle to him. He was +defeated and driven back to Cawnpore." + +"Smarting under this defeat, and stimulated to revenge for it, Nana at once +ordered the massacre of the helpless prisoners on his return. This order +was executed with all the atrocity incident to the character of the +savages, and the bodies of the victims were thrown into a well near their +prison. Now, if you please, we will drive to the memorials of this dreadful +butchery." + +A memorial church now indicates the site of General Wheeler's +intrenchments, which the party visited first. The scene of the massacre is +now a memorial garden, in charge of an old soldier, who was one of the four +who escaped. The place of the well into which the bodies of the women and +children were thrown is marked by a beautiful marble statue of an angel +standing by a lofty cross. It is surrounded by a Gothic fence, with lofty +towers in the same style. The party looked upon these mementoes of the +terrible events with mournful interest, and had hardly recovered their +usual cheerfulness when they reached the hotel. The guides were invited to +dine with them, and the evening was more cheerful than the afternoon had +been. + +Part of the forenoon of the next day was given to a ride along the Ganges, +which was crowded with boats of all kinds, from the boat with a cabin +covered with a thatched roof to steamboats of considerable size. They found +an abundance of temples on the shores of the sacred stream, and a beautiful +_ghat_ or staircase to the water, which excited their admiration. + +"We are now going to Lucknow this afternoon; but it is only forty-five +miles," said Sir Modava. "If you prefer to do so, we can return to +Cawnpore, and go down the river on one of those fine steamers to Calcutta, +a thousand miles from here by the river." + +"Or you could go to Benares, our next stopping-place on the river," +suggested the viscount. + +But it would take too much time, and Captain Ringgold objected; for he had +already marked Allahabad out of the route. Early in the afternoon the +tourists were again seated in the conference carriage. The station at +Cawnpore excited their attention, for it is five hundred and sixty feet +long. A bridge of boats sixteen hundred yards in length was an affair not +seen in their own country. + +"We are now in the province of Oude, a word of various orthography," said +Lord Tremlyn, after they lost sight of the city from which they started. + +"Oude!" exclaimed Miss Blanche. "Where did I see that name?" + +"In Paris," replied Louis. "We saw the tomb of the Queen of Oude in +Pere-la-Chaise." + +"I will tell you about her presently," continued Lord Tremlyn. "There was a +great deal of corruption in the government of the kingdom under the native +king. The people were robbed of vast sums in the guise of taxes, the police +was miserably inefficient, and it was not a safe region for the traveller. +The East India Company drew up a treaty with the king, transferring to the +corporation the government, but providing liberally for the ruler and his +family." + +"The king refused to sign this treaty; the East India Company had been +superseded, and the governor-general deposed the king. No compromise could +be effected, though many believed the king had been unjustly treated. He +removed to Calcutta; but his queen, with her son and brother, went to +England, and endeavored to obtain redress for the real or supposed wrongs +of the family, but without success. The queen then went to Paris, and died +there in 1858. + +"The people of Oude never submitted to the new government; and in the +Mutiny of 1857, not only the sepoys but the people rebelled. The +insurrectionists concentrated at Lucknow, the capital, and captured some of +the forts, as has been related to you. This city has now a population of +two hundred and seventy-three thousand, which makes it the fifth city in +size in India. It is regarded as a very attractive place. The streets are +wide, and the buildings are well-constructed, with the wooden balconies you +see all over India, and the shops and bazaars may entice the ladies to make +purchases. It has a fine park. + +"The kings of Oude were ambitious to outshine the glories of Delhi, and, to +a considerable extent, they succeeded; but the architecture is fantastic +rather than grand and beautiful, and experts are inclined to laugh at it. +But our friend Professor Giroud has something to say, and I subside to make +room for him. + +"I wish to tell the story of a Frenchman, which I think will interest the +party," said the professor. "Claude Martine was a Breton soldier who went +with his regiment to Pondicherry, the principal French settlement in India, +which has been tossed back and forth between the English, Dutch, and French +like a shuttlecock, but has been in possession of my country since 1816. He +attained the grade of corporal; but this elevated rank did not satisfy him, +and he left for the interior. + +"Finally, after a thousand adventures, which he never wrote out, he arrived +at the court of Oude, where, by some means, he obtained a captaincy in the +royal army, and, what was better, the favor of the king. In 1780 he was +commander-in-chief of the native army. But his enterprise did not end here; +for he was the king's trusted favorite, and of course he became a +millionaire, even though there were no railroad shares in being at that +period. + +"He brought with him some crude notions of architecture, and he set about +reforming that of India. He was not a success in this capacity; and, as my +lord says, his work is ridiculed by men of taste. But this appears to have +been his only sin; for he used the money he had accumulated in establishing +schools, now known under the name of La Martiniere, in which thousands of +children are educated. As a Frenchman I do not feel at all ashamed of +Claude Martine." + +"You need not, Professor," added the viscount. "But here we are at the +Lucknow station." + +As usual, by the kindness of Lord Tremlyn, everything had been provided for +the arrival of the company of tourists. There were carriages and servants, +and officers as guides, in attendance. Captain Ringgold was very economical +of his time; and, as it was still early in the afternoon, he proposed that +the party should visit some of the objects of interest before dinner. The +baggage was sent to the hotel, and the carriage proceeded to the Residency, +which had been occupied by the official of the British government when the +province was under the native ruler. It was in ruins, for it was so left as +a memorial of the events of the past. + +The city was attacked by the rebels; and the little garrison, with the +English people of the town, took refuge in this building. It was a +three-story brick house, not at all fit to be used as a fort. The +cannon-shot of the besiegers wrecked the building, and many of its +defenders, including Sir Henry Lawrence, the commander, perished in the +fight. + +The visitors looked over the house and its surroundings, and then went to +the hotel. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII + + MORE OF LUCKNOW AND SOMETHING OF BENARES + + +"I suppose you recall the events of the Mutiny well enough to understand +the situation here in 1857," said Lord Tremlyn the next morning when the +company had gathered in the parlor of the hotel. "But there was no massacre +here, as in Cawnpore, to impress the facts upon your memory, though many +brave men lost their lives in the defence of the place. There were only +seven hundred and fifty troops in the town; but Sir Henry Lawrence had done +the best he could to fortify the Residency, ill adapted as it was for +defensive works. + +"An attempt was made to check the advance of the rebels eight miles from +the city; but it was a failure, with the small available force, and two +days later the enemy attacked the British at the Residency. Three times +the brave defenders beat back the assaults of the assailants. These events +on the spot you have visited occurred between the last of May and the first +of July. It was not till the twenty-second of September that Havelock and +Outram arrived, and captured the Alum-Bagh, which we shall visit this +morning. It was a terrible summer that the beleaguered people and their +brave handful of soldiers passed; and Tennyson has commemorated Lucknow in +his immortal verse. + +"But the coming of Havelock was not the end; for the rebels besieged the +place again, and it was near the middle of November before Sir Colin +Campbell arrived, with a considerable force. He captured the Alum-Bagh, +and, leaving in it a force of three thousand five hundred men, he escorted +the women and children and the civilians to Cawnpore; but returned in March +to subdue the rebels. For a week he fought them, drove them from the +intrenchments in which they had fortified themselves, and the mutiny was +ended, as I related to you on board of your ship." + +The carriages were at the door as soon as the party had breakfasted. They +were driven to the cemetery, where they saw the grave of Lawrence, whose +memorial is that "He tried to do his duty." In the Alum-Bagh, which means +the Queen's Garden, was the grave of Havelock. It was here that Outram had +his camp and fortifications for the defence of Lucknow during the absence +of Campbell. + +The Kaiser Bagh, or Caesar's Garden, contains some of the principal sights +of the city, which the viscount pointed out and described. It is a forest +of domes and cupolas; and the company halted at the pavilion of Lanka, +which a French writer called the least ridiculous of the structures in the +enclosure, though the professor insisted that it was quite as bad as the +worst. It had an abundance of cupolas with arabesque domes; but the edifice +looked like a shell, for the veranda, with lofty columns supporting the +roof, appeared to take up the greater portion of the enclosed space. + +The most grotesque feature was at the entrance. A flight of broad stairs +led to the principal floor, over which was extended what looked like an +imitation of the Rialto bridge in Venice, with a small temple under the +middle arch and at the head of the stairs. The top of the bridge was on a +level with the flat roof, and the two side-arches started from the ground. +The building was handsome in some of its details; but the professor said it +was an "abomination," and Dr. Hawkes called it "queer." The various +edifices are now occupied by the civil and military officials. + +"Where does the name of this place come from?" asked Captain Ringgold. +"Kaiser Bagh seems to be half German." + +"But it is not German," replied Lord Tremlyn. "These buildings were mostly +erected no farther back than 1850, by Wajid Ali Shah, the King of Oude, who +was deposed by the British government in 1856. He called himself Caesar, and +Kaiser is simply a corruption of that name, with no German allusion in it. +He was the husband of the Queen of Oude, whose burial-place you saw in +Pere-la-Chaise." + +The next visit was to the palace of Claude Martine, a conglomeration of all +the styles of architecture ever known, and some that were never heard of. +At first view it looks like a small palace set on the top of a large one. +It is certainly very original and very elaborate. Going to the citadel, +they entered by a highly ornamental gateway, which opened to the visitors +the view of the vast pile of buildings, in the middle of which is the +Imambara. The vastness of the pile presented before them was bewildering, +though they had seen so many immense structures that mere size did not now +overwhelm them. The Great Imambara is considered the marvel of Lucknow, and +should not be confounded with another in the citadel bearing the same +general name. To walk around or through this enormous building was simply +impossible, and the party contented themselves with a general view from +different points. It is located on a lofty terrace; and its long line of +walls, crowned with Arabic domes, is very imposing. + +"This palace was erected at the close of the last century, by Nawab, with +half a yard of other names to fetch up its rear," said Major Shandon, the +military officer who was doing the honors of the city, with a pleasant +smile. "Like many others of the Indian monarchs, he desired to immortalize +his name by erecting a monument in his own honor; and he offered a prize +for the competition of all the architects of India, for one that would +surpass all others. We think he produced a plan that was worth the money he +received; though we don't think he surpassed the Taj, or some other +buildings that might be mentioned." + +This immense structure is now a vast arsenal. The other building, which +sometimes robs this one of its honors, is called the Hoosseinabad Imambara; +and perhaps the length of the added name may account, to some extent, for +the robbery. It is in the citadel, and in sight of its namesake; but the +mausoleum, for it is the tomb of Ali Shah, who died in 1841, stands alone; +and it does not fatigue the eyes to look at it. It is a light, ethereal +sort of structure, and looks like lacework. It is surmounted by a beautiful +dome, and the roof bristles with the points of turrets and towers. It +contains, besides the tomb of the monarch, a mosque, a bazaar, and a model +of the Taj, which make up a sufficient variety for an edifice erected for a +tomb. + +This temple completed the list marked out for inspection in Lucknow. The +party had not supposed there was much of anything here to be seen except +the memorials of the Mutiny; and for these alone they would not have missed +seeing the historic locality. The rest of the day was devoted to rides +through the streets and suburbs of the city. The avenues were wide, the +houses neat and commodious, and the gardens laid out with English taste. +The evidences of British thrift were to be seen in many portions of the +place. + +Lochner's Hotel was their abiding-place, and Major Shandon regaled the +party at dinner and in the evening with stories of the place, and proved +himself to be a gentleman of "infinite humor." The next morning the company +took the train for Benares. They were a very sociable party, and preferred +the conference carriage to being confined to the smaller compartments. The +route was along the Boomtee River at first, which, some one has said, is +the crookedest stream in the world, and the scenery was worth looking at. +But as soon as the ladies and gentlemen had satisfied themselves with +looking out the windows the commander presented Sir Modava as the "talkist" +for the trip of six hours, or as much of the time as he chose to occupy. + +"I shall not take more than half an hour for what I have to say, my +much-loved friends," the Hindu gentleman began, "though I know you are very +patient and long-suffering; and I assure you that I shall not take offence +if you look out the windows while I am talking. The Boomtee River is as +pretty as it is sinuous. If you write to your friends in the United States +about it, you can spell the last syllable t-i, if you prefer; for Indian +orthography is not yet controlled by statute, as I hope it will be when we +have established an _Academie Indienne_, such as they have in France. +But Benares is my subject, and not spelling. + +"Where is Benares? It is four hundred and twenty miles by rail from +Calcutta, and is on the left bank of the Ganges. I suppose you know which +side that is." + +"Of course we do," laughed Mrs. Belgrave. "It is on the left-hand side." + +"You have put your foot in it, mother," rallied Louis. + +"Into the Ganges?" queried the lady. "I did at Cawnpore, but not here." + +"Suppose you were coming up the river in a steamer from Calcutta, which +would be the left bank?" asked Louis. + +"On my left, of course." + +"Then Sir Modava will have to oblige you by locating Benares on both sides +of the Ganges, and I don't believe it would be convenient for him to do +that," said Louis, laughing at the expense of his mother, who blushed, +though she did not see what was wrong, when she realized that she had made +a blunder of some kind. + +"Better not have said anything," whispered Mrs. Blossom in retaliation; for +hitherto she had had a monopoly of all the blunders." + +"Will you tell me, Sarah, which is the left bank of a river, for it appears +that I don't know," added the lady out loud. + +"The left bank of the Ganges is the one Benares is on," replied the worthy +woman; and she was greeted with a roar of laughter, and a volley of +applause started by the live boys who were making their way across India. + +"Quite right, madam!" exclaimed Sir Modava, applauding with the others. "It +may be a matter of no particular consequence; but you will excuse me for +saying that the left bank is the one on your left as you go down the +stream, and not at all as you go up." + +"I remember now, for I learned that in my geography when I first went to +school; and it is strange that I should have forgotten it," added Mrs. +Belgrave. + +"We know just where Benares is now," Sir Modava proceeded. "It is the +largest city in this part of India with the exception of Lucknow, to which +it stands next, or sixth among those of the country, having a population of +219,467. It extends along the Ganges for three miles; and the shore is +lined continuously with staircases, called _ghats_, which lead up to +the temples, palaces, and the vast number of houses on the banks of the +river. The stream sweeps around the place like a crescent, presenting one +of the finest views you ever saw, with the ornamented fronts of dwellings, +public offices, and a forest of towers, pinnacles, and turrets. To the +Hindus it is the most sacred city known to them. + +"When I was a boy I came here for the first time, brought by my father on +account of the religious character of the place, if I may call anything +idolatrous by such a name. But the city, when you get into it, will +disappoint you. It is like Constantinople, very beautiful to look at from +the Bosporus, or the Golden Horn; but its dirty, narrow streets disgust +you. I am afraid this will be your experience in Benares. You will be +obliged to forego the luxury of carriages in making your tours through the +place, for the streets are so narrow and crowded that it is impossible to +get along with a vehicle. An elephant is equally impracticable, and even in +a palanquin your progress would be so slow that you would lose all your +stock of patience." + +"The city must be 'done' by walking, must it?" asked the commander. + +"Whew!" whistled Dr. Hawkes; and the sibilation was repeated by Uncle +Moses, for each of them weighed over two hundred and a quarter. + +"If the ship were here I would lend you the barge with eight rowers, to +enable you to see the sights from the river," suggested Captain Ringgold. + +"A steam-launch shall be provided for all the company, and our obese +friends shall be provided with stuffed chairs, for the survey of the river +scenes; but carriages can be used in some parts of the city, though what +you will desire to see can best be observed from the river; and we can land +when you wish to see interiors," added Lord Tremlyn. + +This interruption was heartily applauded by the Cupids, as the fat +gentlemen had been called in Cairo, assisted by all the others. + +"The famous Monkey Temple is just out of the city, and that can be reached +by carriages," continued Sir Modava. "There are fourteen hundred and fifty +Hindu temples, pagodas, and shrines, and two hundred and seventy-two +Mohammedan mosques, so that our good friend, General Noury, need not +neglect his devotions." + +"The good Mussulman never does that, whether there be a mosque at hand or +not, for he says his prayers at the proper time, wherever he may be," +replied the general. + +"I know that some of your people are better Christians than some who bear +the name," replied the Hindu gentleman politely. "Benares is so holy, and +the Ganges is so holy, that hundreds of thousands visit it as the +Mussulmans visit Mecca. Men of wealth, and those who have the means without +being rich, come to this city when they feel that they have been seized +with a malady likely to prove fatal; for to die here with the Hindu is a +passport to eternal happiness. But I am talking too long, though there is +much more that might be said; but perhaps it could be better said on board +of that launch my friend mentions, and in sight of the temples, towers, and +other objects of interest." + +In the middle of the afternoon the train arrived at its destination; and +the party proceeded in carriages to the western suburb, the location of the +cantonment, or English quarter of the city. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII + + A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES + + +Clarke's Hotel, at Secrole, received the tourists, and everything was in +readiness for them when they arrived. Lord Tremlyn had announced the coming +of himself and his large party, and a person of his distinction and +influence could command anything he desired. The rest of the day was given +to rest, though in the evening Sir Modava talked to the tourists about the +city. + +Early the next morning the party were conveyed to the river, where they +embarked in a steam-yacht which had been provided for their use. It was +more than a launch; for its standing-room would seat the whole company, +while an awning was spread over a portion of the upper deck, from which a +full view of the shore could be obtained. The city is on the north shore of +the river, which has an easterly course in this portion of India, and the +houses are packed in about as thickly as they can be. + +"This is the Dasasvamedh Ghat," said Sir Modava, with a smile. "I thought +you might wish to recall it after you get home to America. I think it is +rather pleasant to know the names of places one has visited." + +"We could not speak the word now without an hour's practice, and I am sure +not one of us will know it when we get to the other side of the Atlantic," +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"You can write it down in your diaries." + +"We might as well attempt to copy the top of a tea-chest," added Louis. + +The ladies were assisted on board of the steamer. +The captain was a very gentlemanly Englishman; and he was all devotion to +the wants of his passengers, who seated themselves on the promenade deck. +The steamer belonged to the government; and she was fitted up in the most +comfortable manner, though it was not so gaudy as the craft of a maharajah +would have been. The ghat was at the western extremity of the crescent to +which Sir Modava had alluded, and from this point the town looked like an +amphitheatre. + +The river is ordinarily about half a mile wide, but in the season of high +water it is double that width. The captain called the attention of the +party to the ghat as they receded from it, the broad flight of stairs being +a rather wonderful sight to the strangers, though they had seen something +of the kind before in Delhi and Cawnpore. + +The steps are adorned with small temples with plenty of spires. Near the +top of the flight was the Man Munder, the great observatory. Though the +building is plain, as a whole, Captain Carlisle pointed out a highly +ornamental window, with a profusion of handsome brackets. The stairs on the +city side of the river were unlimited as far as the eye could see. Behind +them was a forest of spires, domes, and cupolas. + +"You ought to have left the ghat before sunrise," said the captain, who was +walking up and down the deck, with an eye on the Hindu pilot. "Then you +would have been in time to see the sight of the day, for the appearance of +the sun is the holy moment for the natives to plunge into the holy river. +For miles along the shore the ghats are thronged at the first appearance of +the orb of day, and there is a continuous murmur of voices. No matter how +cold the water is, they dive in and swim like fishes. You can see a +thousand heads in the water along the shore at any moment. Then they +support themselves on the surface, and gaze motionless at the sun as it +mounts in the sky." + +"Are you a sailor, Captain Carlisle?" asked Louis, who thought he was +rather poetic for an uneducated man. + +"Not as the commander of your ship would understand it, though I was in +command of a Thames steamer, and fell into the same business when I came to +India," replied the captain, laughing at the question. "My father was a +good Baptist; he wanted to make a minister of me, and I was educated far +enough to enter the university; but I concluded that I did not like the +business, and took to steamboating." + +"But aren't the women as religious as the men?" inquired Captain Ringgold. + +"More so, if anything. But they come down to the river before sunrise and +take their swim. If you had been here this morning you would have seen them +coming out of the water just as the men are ready to go in, and you would +have observed them in their white garments, dripping like drowned rats. +That pagoda you see ahead of us with the bell tower and shining in gilt is +the only temple the Buddhists have in Benares." + +"We are coming now to the Munikurnika Ghat. It is a five-syllable word, but +you can easily pronounce it," said Sir Modava, who thought he would "spell" +the captain for a time; and he was quite as familiar with the banks of the +Ganges. + +"And it is quite musical," added the captain. + +"Pronounce u like double o, and the rest of the letters as in English, and +you can speak it without choking," said the Hindu gentleman. "But there are +some letters in Hindu that have no equivalents in English." + +"Moo-ui-koor-ni-ka Ghat," added Louis, pronouncing the word. "But what is +it all about?" + +"It is the place for burning the dead, such as you saw in Bombay, but on a +much larger scale," replied Sir Modava. "You see that it extends a +considerable distance. Please keep to the leeward of the smoke, Captain +Carlisle." + +"That is what I am doing, Sir Modava." + +"These funeral pyres are burning all the time, night and day. The people +whose bodies are consumed in these fires, and their friends, believe that +the souls of the deceased will pass from this spot into paradise, where, if +they have not been very great sinners they will be transplanted into the +bodies of future Brahmins. Many deceased persons are brought even hundreds +of miles to be burned on the Munikurnika by the Ganges, as their sure +passport to the realms of bliss." + +The obliging captain took the steamer near enough to the ghat to enable the +tourists to see the process of burning. An occasional puff of the horribly +offensive odor came to the nostrils of the sightseers; but the captain +sheered off, and they got very little of it. + +"It smells just like assafoedita. It is awful-smelling stuff; and I wonder +if they don't make it out of this smoke, for it hits my nose in just the +same way," said Mrs. Blossom. "I took care of old Jotham Beeling when he +had the apoplexy, and gave the stuff to him. The room smelt then just the +same as it does here." + +"You are quite right, madam," said Dr. Hawkes, laughing. "It gets part of +its name from its bad odor; but it is not made out of smoke. Asa is the gum +of a tree that grows here. It has a very offensive odor, which gives it the +rest of the name, from _foeditas_, meaning foul, filthy." + +The workmen who were operating the burning were nearly naked, begrimed by +the sooty smoke, and looked like so many imps. They were stirring up the +fires with long iron pokers, and throwing vessels of oil upon them. The +boat passed beyond the fumes of the pyres, and came up to the ghat, at the +request of Lord Tremlyn. A multitude of hideous-looking cripples, +humpbacks, and beggars made an onslaught on the steamer; and the boys and +gentlemen pelted them with coppers, with which they had been forewarned to +supply themselves. It was fun to them, and the mendicants enjoyed it quite +as much. + +"There is a procession of pilgrims just arrived," said Captain Carlisle, +pointing to the high ground beyond the ghat. "They are coming here all the +time. The Hindus under the umbrellas are Brahmins, who collect the fees for +bathing from the steps; and they sell certificates of purification, +indulgences, and amulets." + +The boat continued on her course, and they did not wait to see the bathing, +though the heads of the swimmers were soon in view. A staircase is reserved +for women, who are watched over by the elders of their sex. But they could +be seen in the distance, frolicking in the water; and they were so +hilarious that their shouts could be heard on board of the Sylph, as the +boat was called. + +The steamer next came to a long row of palaces on the high ground, whose +fronts were profusely ornamented with staircases that exceeded in extent +and beauty anything they had before seen. Every rajah has a residence here, +not permanent, but where he comes to celebrate the religious festivals. The +king of Nagpore has the finest one, with one hundred stairs of white +sandstone reaching down to the water. + +"Now we come to a building worth looking at," said Sir Modava, as they +passed beyond the assemblage of palaces. "This is the mosque of Aurungzeb. +Those two lofty minarets are one hundred and forty-seven feet high. They +are very slender, and look like a couple of needles; but, though they are +only eight and a quarter feet in diameter on the ground, they have spiral +staircases reaching to the top. If you wish to land and go to the cupola +you can do so." + +"I pray thee have me excused," interposed Uncle Moses; and Dr. Hawkes said +"Me too!" And no one cared to ascend to such a height. + +"This mosque was built by the Emperor Aurungzeb, on the site of a Hindu +temple of Siva, which he caused to be pulled down, to the scandal of the +worshippers of that deity, for it marked the spot where Vishnu himself +first appeared to man. A flight of one hundred stairs leads to the mosque, +which the Hindus formerly ascended on their knees when they went to the +worship of Vishnu. But we have gone as far in this direction as we need +go." + +The Sylph came about, and went back up the river, landing above the funeral +pyres. From the ghat, they walked into one of the crowded streets. They +were conducted by Sir Modava to a square, which was thronged with natives. +In the middle of it was a small round temple, the spire of which was +overlaid with plates of gold. At the present day this is the holy of holies +of the Hindus. Its principal object of adoration is a plain stone post, +which is believed to form a part of the very body of the deity, Siva in +this instance. + +The narrow streets, through which the party made their way with difficulty +were very clean. They were thronged with pilgrims from all parts of India, +dressed in their best garments, loaded with gold and silver ornaments. The +men were carrying great brass trays, piled up with flowers, as offerings +for the various deities. The little stalls, which were the stores, made the +thoroughfares look like bazaars. They passed no end of temples; and all of +them were small, though they were very pretty, what there were of them. + +Emerging from these narrow streets, the company came to a section where the +avenues were broad, with handsome houses built upon them. This portion was +practicable for carriages, and half a dozen _culeches_ were drummed +together after some delay; and the ladies were glad to be seated again, for +they had had a long and tiresome walk through the narrow and crowded +streets. Sir Modava directed the drivers, and when he said Dourga Khound no +one knew what he was to see next. The word means the Fountain of Dourga; +and when they came to it they agreed that it was one of the most beautiful +buildings in Benares, though it was painted all over with red, which made +it look rather fantastic. + +Sir Modava said nothing about the use of the building, and led the way into +the enclosure. The moment they entered the grounds they realized that the +Hindu gentleman had worked a surprise upon them; for the yard was filled +with monkeys, and the walls were covered with them. The chattering +creatures immediately surrounded them, holding out their paws for +something. Sir Modava gave the most dignified one a rupee, and Lord Tremlyn +made a similar gift to another. + +"They can't eat silver," suggested Morris. + +"The money is for the Brahmin who has charge here. You see they have gone +to give it to him," replied Sir Modava, as he opened a large paper package +he had bought at a store, and proceeded to distribute its contents, +consisting of nuts and parched corn, to the members of the monkey +community. + +For half an hour they fed the animals, which were very tame, and made +friends with them. The live boys were more pleased with this occupation +than in looking at temples and mosques. They all visited the sanctuary of +the temple, which was said to date back a thousand years. The party greatly +enjoyed the ride back to Secrole, which is the English town of Benares. +After dinner Sir Modava told them about the Feast of Ganesa. + +"He is one of the most popular deities of India," said the Hindu gentleman. +"He is the embodiment of wisdom, prudence, and commerce; his presence wards +off all perils. You will find him over the door of places of business; and +contracts open with an invocation to Ganesa, sometimes given by a picture +of the god. He was the son of Siva and Parvati. His picture is that of a +short, fat man, with four arms and an elephant's head. + +"Though he was Siva's son, the father was jealous of him, and struck off +his head. Siva was sorry for what he had done, and wanted to bring Ganesa +back to life; but his head was gone." + +"Couldn't he put a head on him?" asked Scott very seriously; and the other +boys laughed. + +"That was just what he did," replied Sir Modava, wondering what the boys +and some of the others were laughing at. "Siva selected a young elephant, +cut off his head, and affixed it to his son's shoulders; and that is how he +happens to have such a head. This head sometimes takes the place of the +whole figure on contracts. His festival is celebrated the last of April, +with the greatest magnificence. Effigies of the god are made of +terra-cotta, painted and gilded, and borne by processions through the +streets. Priests and musicians surround the idol; and young girls, widowed +before they are wives, dancing and waving their scarfs in solemn cadence, +lead the way. + +"When the processions reach the river, they embark in fairy-like boats +propelled by sails or oars, forming a grand aquatic spectacle. At sunset +the idols are thrown into the river, and the festival terminates with a +grand frolic on shore, with fireworks, in which many Europeans take part; +and the river is thronged with boats decorated with many-colored lanterns." + +The party spent two days more at Benares, and visited temples, mosques, and +many places of interest. They were visited by British civil and military +officers, who were extremely kind to them, and offered them every facility +for seeing the city. After dinner on the last day, Captain Ringgold asked +Lord Tremlyn to tell them something about Patna; and he evidently did so +with a purpose. + +"Patna is the fifteenth city in India in population, one hundred and forty +miles from Benares," replied the viscount. "It extends nine miles along the +Ganges, and an average of two back from it. The streets are narrow and +crooked. The houses are mostly of mean appearance, and there are but very +few buildings there of any importance. You laid out your list of cities to +be visited yourself, Captain, and generally very judiciously; but if I had +made it out I should have omitted Patna. It has a population of about one +hundred and sixty-five thousand." + +"I asked the question with a view to omit it from the list if there are no +sights of importance, and, after what you have said, I shall do so; and +tomorrow we will take the train for Calcutta," added the captain. + +This decision pleased the party, and at six the next morning the special +started with them for the greatest city of India. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV + + ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA + + +"I shall be glad to be on board of the Guardian-Mother again," said Scott, +after the four live boys had taken a place by themselves in the conference +carriage. "I have seen enough of India." + +"But you have not seen one-half of India," replied Louis. + +"I read a story in an old schoolbook Uncle Moses had used when he didn't +weigh as much as I do now, which was called 'The Half is Better than the +Whole;' and it proved the proposition with which it started out. That is +just what is the matter now." + +"But you have been seeing new things all the time, and learning something," +added Louis. + +"That's very true; but we have seen all the big mosques and things, and +enough is as good as a feast," suggested Scott. "I suppose if we stayed +here a couple of years more we should not see the whole of the country. We +have got a specimen brick of the principal cities; and a dozen specimens of +the same thing don't amount to much." + +"But you haven't seen Calcutta yet, and that is the biggest toad in the +puddle," said Felix. "The ship will be there, and if you are homesick you +can go on board of her." + +But the call for attention from Captain Ringgold interrupted the +conversation, and Sir Modava had seated himself in front of the company to +give one of his "talks." + +"Our route will be along the Ganges till we come to Luckieserai Junction, +where the loop-line falls into the main line," the Hindu gentleman began. + +"Is it much of a fall, sir?" asked Felix. + +"I don't understand you, Mr. McGavonty," replied the speaker blankly. + +"The expression 'falls into the main line' is somewhat different from what +we use at home; but the young man ought to have understood you," interposed +the commander. + +"What would you have said, Captain?" + +"The loop-line we call a branch, and we say connects with instead of falls +into," replied the captain. "But your meaning was plain enough, and our +boys must fall into the methods of expression used here." + +"Though you have seen the Ganges several times, not much has been said +about it; and I will tell you a little more concerning it before we leave, +not to see it again. It rises in Gahrwal, one of the Hill states, +north-east of Delhi. It has its source in an ice-cave nearly fourteen +thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is not called the Ganges till +it has received the flow of two other rivers, a hundred and fifty miles or +more from its lofty source. Just below Allahabad it takes in the Jumna, +itself a mighty stream. + +"As you have learned, it is the holy river of the Hindus; and it deserves +their homage, for, aside from the religious character they give to it, +three hundred thousand square miles are drained and fertilized by the +Ganges and its tributaries. Of its sanctity, that it washes away sin, and +that death in its waters or on its shores is the passport to eternal bliss, +you have learned. But it renders a more immediate and practical service to +the people; for it is navigable for small craft from the point where it +enters the lowlands, seventy or eighty miles north of Delhi. + +"The river is 1,509 miles long. Though it rises and falls at different +seasons, it never fails, even in the hottest summer; and its inundations +render, to some extent, the benefit which the Nile does to the soil of +Egypt. Like the Mississippi, in your country, it has sometimes changed its +course, as proved by the ruins of cities that were once on its banks. + +"Now you have a view of the Ganges for quite a distance, and can see the +kinds of boats that navigate it. It is one of the most frequented waterways +in the world, though the building of railways and canals has somewhat +diminished the amount of freight borne on its tide. About L6,000,000 is +needed to complete the Ganges canal, which will reach all the cities +through which you have passed. There is a very complicated mythology +connected with the river, which it would take me all day to relate, and +therefore I will not meddle with it." + +For a couple of hours the passengers watched the boats and steamers on the +river, and the scenes on the other side. While they were thus employed, +Lord Tremlyn gave to each person a map of Calcutta, intimating that he +should soon tell them something about the city; and they all began to study +it, so as to form some idea of the place they were next to visit. Of course +they could make out but little from the vast maze of streets, but some of +them obtained a very good idea of the situation of the city and many of its +important buildings. + +"People coming from England or America generally arrive at Calcutta or +Bombay, the larger portion at the former. From the sea the metropolis of +India is reached by the Hoogly River, the most western outlet of the +Ganges," his lordship began. "It is sometimes spelled Hugli. Under this +name, the stream is known sixty-four miles above Calcutta and seventeen +below. Vessels drawing twenty-six feet of water come up to the city; though +the stream, like the Mississippi, is liable to be silted up." + +"I see that some of you look at me as though I had used a strange word. +Silt is the deposit of mud, sand, or earth of any kind carried up and down +streams by the tide or other current. But the river engineers here are +constantly removing it; the course is kept open, and the Hoogly pilots are +very skilful. The river has also a bore, though not a great bore, like some +people I know. + +"We know the book-agent better than this one," said Scott. + +"Some of our rivers in England have bores, though not book-agents; so have +the Seine, the Amazon, and others with broad estuaries. High tides drive a +vast body of water into the wide mouth; and, as the stream is not large +enough to take it in, it piles it up into a ridge, which rolls up the +river. It forms a wall of water in the Hoogly seven feet high, which is +sometimes dangerous to small craft. Enough of the Hoogly. + +"Calcutta, by the last census, 1891, had a population of 861,764; but it is +not so large as New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago; and London is the only +larger city in the United Kingdom. It became a town in 1686. After it had +attained considerable importance, in 1756, it was attacked by the Nawab of +Bengal, the king or rajah; and after a siege of two days the place yielded. +The tragedy of the 'Black Hole' followed." + +"I have heard of that, but I don't know what it means," said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"You observe the large open enclosure at the right of your map of the city, +the esplanade. Within it is Fort William, which has existed nearly two +hundred years. It had a military prison, which has since been called the +'Black Hole.' The nawab caused one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all he +had taken, to be shut up in a room only eighteen feet square, with only two +small windows, both of them obstructed by a veranda. This was but a little +more than two square feet on the floor for each person, so that they could +not stand up without crowding each other. They spent the night there, +pressing together, the heat terrible, enduring the pangs of suffocation. In +the morning all were dead but twenty-three. + +"The nawab held the fort for seven months, when it was recaptured by Lord +Clive. Calcutta extends about five miles on the bank of the river, being +about two in breadth. I shall not follow out its history, for you will hear +enough of that as you visit the various localities." + +"I used to think Calicut and Calcutta were the same city," said Louis. + +"Not at all, though the names of the two may have been derived from the +same source. The name of the great city is from Kali, a Hindu goddess of +whom you heard in Bombay, and cuttah, a temple; and doubtless there was +such a building here. Calicut is on the south-west coast of India, and was +a very rich and populous city when it was visited by Vasco da Gama, who was +the first to double the Cape of Good Hope, in 1498. The cotton cloth, +calico, generally called print, gets its name from this city." + +Dinner was brought into the carriages; and the tourists slept in the +afternoon, arriving at Calcutta in the evening. The Great Eastern, one of +the two largest hotels in the city, was prepared to receive them. Here, as +in Bombay and elsewhere, every guest is attended by his own servant. Half a +dozen of them had been retained, but when the omnibuses set them down at +the hotel a hundred more could have been readily procured. + +The business of sight-seeing began early the next morning with a visit to +the esplanade, which may be called a park, though it contains a variety of +buildings besides Fort William, which is half a mile in diameter. The +enclosure is a mile and three-quarters in length by about one mile in depth +from the river. The Government House occupies a position next to it, and +they passed it as they entered. + +"Whose statue is that--the Duke of Wellington?" asked Louis, as he walked +on one side of Sir Modava, with his mother on the other side. + +"Not at all; most of our streets and buildings are named after persons +noted in the history of India," replied the Indian gentleman, laughing. +"That is the statue of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, the first +governor-general of India; and many important events dated from his time, +for he suppressed the suttee and thugging." + +"Thugging?" repeated the lady interrogatively. + +"You have not been told about it; but I will give you its history when we +have time, for here are the Eden Gardens," replied Sir Modava. + +"Not the Garden of Eden?" suggested Mrs. Belgrave. + +"Only named for it; but it is a very beautiful garden in English style, +though the trees and plants are, of course, different. It has water enough +for variety; and there is no difficulty at all in getting it, for the city +is hardly above the river at high tide. All there is of the fort you can +see from here." + +"But what are those things over the other side of the park?" + +"They are all tanks; and, of course, they are to hold water. Each of them +has its name, generally Indian. Now we will walk across to the Chowringhee +Road, where the finest private residences of the city are situated. On our +left is the Government House, which we passed when we came in. It is a fine +building, and it has a large garden of its own." + +"But what is it for?" asked the lady. + +"It is the residence of the governor-general, generally called the viceroy; +and he has his offices there. Now, if you look beyond Fort William, you +will see the race-course." + +"I don't care for that," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose memories of the sport +were anything but pleasant. + +"Near it is the presidency jail, and there are two hospitals farther +along." + +The party walked along the road to view the residences of the nabobs, and +returned to the hotel, where they seated themselves on the large veranda +overlooking the street. The first thing Louis did was to look at a +thermometer he discovered on a post. + +"How hot is it, Louis?" asked his mother. + +"It isn't hot at all; it is only 70 deg.." + +"The glass varies here from 52 deg. to 100 deg.; but we don't get the latter figure +except in summer," added Sir Modava. + +"But you have awful cyclones here, an English lady told me last night," +said Mrs. Belgrave. + +"We do; but we never have them at this season of the year; they come in +May, September, and October, and sometimes in November the belated ones. In +1867 we had one in the latter month which destroyed thirty thousand native +houses; but you know they are built of bamboos and such stuff, and it does +not take much of a breeze to demolish them. Another in June, 1870, did +nearly as much damage." + +"I should think the bore would make mischief here," suggested Louis. + +"The monsoons here begin in July, and during their time the bore is the +most mischievous. The big wave comes up the river at the rate of twenty +miles an hour. All boats run for the middle of the river, where the billow +does not break against the shore. Ships often part their cables, and knock +themselves to pieces against the walls. Sometimes the bore is twelve feet +high, though not much more than half that generally." + +"What are the prices at a hotel like this one, Lord Tremlyn?" asked Dr. +Hawkes. + +"Here is the list of prices," replied his lordship, handing him a card +taken from the wall. + +"Coffee at six in the morning, breakfast _a la fourchette_ at nine, +tiffin at one, and dinner at seven. Price, Rs. six per day," the doctor +read. "I suppose Rs. means rupees; and that makes it about twelve English +shillings, or three dollars a day, which is not high." + +"There are no extras except for wines, liquors, and beer, which none of +your people use," added the viscount. "But you have to pay for your own +attendance; and your servant's pay is from eight to ten rupees a month, or +about a pound." + +"Cheap enough!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I have to pay my waiter at home six +pounds a month." + +"Now, what is there to be seen in Calcutta?" asked the commander after +breakfast. + +"If you wish to see mosques, temples, pagodas"--the viscount began. + +"We do not," interposed the captain. "At first those were very interesting; +but we have seen enough of them." + +"I supposed so," added Lord Tremlyn. "I have ordered carriages, and to-day +we will take a general view of the city." + +This plan was agreeable to the party, and it was carried out. From the +hotel they proceeded to the river. There was a crowd of shipping at anchor, +and at the landing-stages and jetties. Among them Louis was the first to +discover the Guardian-Mother. She was in the middle of the river, off Fort +William. Half a mile below her they saw the Blanche. At the request of the +commander, the carriages went down to the fort, where the passengers all +alighted, and gathered together on the shore. The gentlemen cheered, and +the ladies waved their handkerchiefs. + +"I see that Mr. Boulong has painted the ship, and she looks as taut and +snug as a man-of-war," said the commander, who was evidently glad to see +his vessel. + +"They are lowering the boats," added Louis; and in a few minutes the barge +and first cutter came up to the shore. + +There was a general handshaking with the first officer, in command, and the +boys extended this courtesy to all the crews of the boats, going on board +of them for a few minutes. It was a happy meeting; but it could not be long +continued, and the carriages drove off again. + +As he was about to take his place in the landau, Mr. Boulong informed the +commander that he had received a visit from Captain Mazagan. He wanted to +see Captain Ringgold, but did not state his business. The first officer +could not tell whether the visitor knew the Blanche was in the river, for +he had not mentioned her. With the statement that the party would go on +board in two or three days, they parted, and the boats returned to the +ship. The commander had something to think of now; but he came to the +conclusion that the reprobate was not aware of the presence of the Blanche +or her owner. + +The carriages followed the shore road till they came to the upper end of +the city, and then turned into the first of the long streets with several +names in different parts, which extends entirely through the town. Near the +esplanade they found the finest shops, and the ladies went into some of +them to see the goods. Then they struck the Circular Road, and drove +entirely around the city. + +"This reminds me of Moscow, in some parts, where palaces and shanties are +side by side in the same street," said Captain Ringgold. "There does not +seem to be any aristocratic section, unless that by the esplanade is such." + +They saw plenty of mosques, temples, and churches, some of the latter very +fine. They believed they had taken in the whole city. After dinner Lord +Tremlyn invited them to an excursion on board of a steam-yacht the next +day, the use of which was tendered to him by a high official. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV + + A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS + + +A breakfast at six o'clock was provided the following morning for the +tourists, and they came down from their chambers prepared for the aquatic +excursion, which was to include something more than sight-seeing, for the +gentlemen and the boys were directed to take their rifles along. Mr. +Boulong had called upon the commander the evening before, and he had been +invited to join the party; but he had excused himself, and suggested that +Mr. Gaskette would enjoy it more than he should, and he was asked to go. + +By half-past six the party were on The Strand, as the road in the esplanade +bordering the river is called. The second officer of the ship was there; +and he was not only a sailor and an artist, but he had the reputation of +being a dead shot. The company embarked on the steam-yacht, which was large +enough to make voyages to Madras and Ceylon. The excursion was not intended +as a mere shooting-party, Lord Tremlyn explained, but to enable the company +to obtain a better view of Calcutta than they could get in any other +manner. + +From the river a full view was obtained of the multitude of columns, +belfries, and cupolas, as well as of the Government House, the Town Hall, +and the line of magnificent houses beyond the esplanade. Along the shore +The Strand, as it is called the whole length of the city, the jetties, and +the landing-stages were crowded with men; for, where labor is so cheap, +work is not done by small forces of men. There are several lines of +steamers running between London, Southampton, and Liverpool to this port; +and they were constantly arriving and departing. + +"You don't see such a variety of races here as you did in Bombay," said +Lord Tremlyn as he was pointing out the sights to be seen. "You observe +some Chinamen and Burmese; but most of the laborers are of the low class of +natives, Bengalese, and they are very sorry specimens of the Hindus." + +"But what are the merchants and shopkeepers?" asked Captain Ringgold. + +"They are Baboos, which is a name given to the Bengalese. The better class +of them, in contact with the English, realize that education is a power; +and they have labored for years to improve their countrymen. They have +established schools and colleges, and when young natives applied for +government situations the authorities felt obliged to admit them. To-day +you will find many natives acting as clerks in the post-office, railway, +and telegraph-offices, as well as in the courts in minor capacities. + +"In fact, there has been a social revolution in progress here for half a +century or more, and its effects may be seen now. The government has +modified the lot of woman to some extent, as you have learned. The Hindu +law weighed terribly upon her. When a woman lost her husband, custom +required that she should be sent back to her own family. Her relatives +shaved off her hair, dressed her in the coarsest clothing, and compelled +her to do the severest drudgery of the household. She is forbidden to marry +again, and is treated as though she was responsible for becoming a widow. +The reforming of this evil is in progress; but the people are baked into +their prejudices and superstitions of forty centuries, and it is worse than +pulling their teeth to interfere with them. + +"One of the favorite divinities of the natives here is Kali, the wife of +Siva, the goddess of murder. Her worship is odious and disgusting; for her +altars were formerly sprinkled with human blood, and the idols were +surrounded with dead bodies and skulls. Their great festival is the +Churuk-Pooja, which is still celebrated, though the government has +forbidden all its brutal features. You have all seen a 'merry-go-round' +machine in which children ride in a circle on wooden horses. + +"An apparatus like this, but without the wooden steeds, was used by these +fanatics. At the end of the four arms hung ropes with sharp hooks at the +end, on which were hung up the devotees, as the butcher does his meats in +his shop; and the machine was revolved rapidly till the hooks pulled out, +and the victim dropped upon the ground, fainting or dead. At the present +time the festival is attended by Baboos of the best class; but it amounts +simply to an athletic exhibition with music. The government and the +reformers have brought about this change of performance." + +"Do the English attend such shows?" asked Dr. Hawkes. + +"Sometimes, from curiosity. But they are here just about what they are in +London, and their habits are much the same," replied the viscount. "The +river here is about a mile wide. Formerly we could not have come as far as +we have without seeing hundreds of corpses floating on the surface. Natives +who were too poor to pay the bill for the funeral pyre threw the bodies of +their friends into the river. Of course this was a menace to the health of +the city; and the practice was forbidden by the government, which built an +immense tower, wherein is kept a fire constantly burning, in which the +bodies of the poor are consumed without expense." + +"See that big bird on the shore!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "I saw several +of them yesterday, and I meant to ask what it was." + +"That is the _arghilah_, generally called the adjutant," replied Sir +Modava. "He is the licensed scavenger of Calcutta, for it is forbidden by +law to kill or molest him. You see him walking about in a crowd with as +much dignity and gravity as though he were a big banker; and he is also +seen perched upon the walls and buildings. They have an enormous bill, as +you observe. A friend of mine had a tame one; and one day when the table +was ready for dinner he took a chicken from the dish and swallowed it +whole. He has a searching eye, and discovers a hidden bit of meat, a dead +cat or other animal, and bolts it in the twinkling of an eye." + +The steamer continued on her course down the river, and in less than four +hours arrived at Diamond Harbor. It contained a fort, a signal-station, and +a telegraph-office, though there is nothing in the shape of a village. The +East India Company's ships made this their port; but the improvement of the +navigation of the river enables all the steamers to go up to the city, to +which their arrival is telegraphed. + +The extensive territory included in the delta of the Ganges is called the +Sunderbunds, and is about equal to the State of Massachusetts in size. It +is a muddy region, cut up by a network of streams; and it is full of +swamps, morasses, and mud-holes. Nearest to the sea is a belt of land, +forming a wide extent of jungle, with a dense undergrowth of tropical +plants and verdure; for it is in the Torrid Zone, which the tourists +entered about forty miles north of Calcutta. This jungle was the objective +point of the hunters of the party. + +The captain of the steam-yacht took the company on board through a number +of the lagoons and cutoffs to enable them to see the wild character of the +scenery. Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan were kept busy +explaining the trees, plants, crocodiles, storks, and other animals. + +At a pleasant basin, dinner was served on board, and it was quite as good +as they would have obtained at the Great Eastern; for just now the party +were government guests, and the officials could not do enough for a person +of Lord Tremlyn's influence in England. After the meal the hunters prepared +themselves for the sport in which they were to engage. Mrs. Belgrave warned +her son to be very careful, and Mrs. Blossom did as much for Felix. + +The steamer started into a cut-off leading through to the Bay of Bengal, +the polite captain explained. It was full of game of all sorts, including +the wild buffalo, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild hog, deer, and the trees +and bushes were as full of monkeys as they could swarm. It was agreed among +the hunters that none of the latter should be shot, for they were harmless +animals. + +"Captain, dear, are there any schnakes forninst the joongle?" asked the +Milesian, who was much exhilarated at the prospect of the sport, and easily +slipped into the vernacular of his mother. + +"Plinty av thim, Musther McGavonty," replied Captain O'Flaherty, with a +broad grin on his honest face. "They air as thidck as broken heads at a +Donnybrook fair." + +"Faix, ye's air a brither o' moine!" exclaimed Felix, grasping the hand of +the captain. + +"Air ye's from the County Carhk?" + +"Oi'm from the county and parish of Kilkenny; or mi mudther was, thou' +she's dead now, long loife to her! Wud I foind ary cobry in here?" + +"All you'll want uv 'em; and pythons too." + +"What is a poithon?" asked Felix. + +"A big schnake; a boa, or loike him." + +"Is it the bore that runs up the river to Calcutty?" + +"Not the same boa," laughed the captain. "But you speak English, for I have +heard you do it; and I have about forgotten my native brogue." + +"If the boa is a snake, he is the fellow I want to see," replied Felix. + +"There's one of them now!" exclaimed Captain O'Flaherty, pointing to one +wreathed around a bush. + +The young hunter brought his rifle to his shoulder, and fired before the +captain had time to say anything more. The python began to writhe and +wriggle in the bush, and Felix fired again. Then he dropped off into the +water. The rest of the company had been aft with the ladies, but they all +rushed forward at the report of the rifle. The captain stated what the +hunter had done, as he rang to stop and back the boat. They saw the bamboo +on which the serpent had been, but the game could not be seen. They +wondered what had become of him. + +The rest of the hunters began to shoot ducks, herons, and other +water-fowls. As fast as a bird dropped into the bayou he disappeared, and +not one of them could be recovered. Captain Ringgold wondered what became +of them, and the Indian gentlemen only laughed at his perplexity. + +"But what becomes of them, for they do not sink?" demanded the commander. + +"You shall see," replied Sir Modava. "Don't shoot the adjutants; but there +is a long-legged heron. I will bring him down, for he waits very patiently +to be shot. Now watch the water when he comes down." + +The bird dropped the moment he fired, and the instant he touched the water +a pair of jaws closed upon him, and drew him under water. The company were +astonished, and looked for an explanation. + +"I never counted the crocodiles in this river; but I should guess there +were at least a million of them, and they steal your game as fast as you +bring it down," said Sir Modava. + +The ladies were interested; and another bird was shot, to enable them to +see the operation of the saurians. The python was about ten feet long, and +he must have been a meal for one of them. The cranes, herons, and storks +were numerous; but the party decided to kill no more of them, for they held +still, as though they were all ready to be shot; and there was no sport in +such game. + +The boat continued on its course for half an hour longer, and then came up +to a sort of stockade, extending out into the water, and near it were a +couple of bamboo huts. This wild region is sparsely peopled with Hindus, +who are obliged to keep guard over themselves and their families all the +time, and are occasionally the victims of the ferocious monsters of the +jungle and of the water. + +"What is that stockade for?" asked the commander, as soon as the steamer +was moored to the shore. + +"The Hindus are a cleanly people, as required by their religion," replied +Captain O'Flaherty in the hearing of all the party. "That stockade contains +a big trough for washing their scanty clothing. It reaches into the water, +so that they can fill their washtub without going out of it." + +"I don't see why?" asked Mrs. Woolridge. + +"If they went to the border of the stream to dip up water the crocodiles +would pick them up as fast as they did so," added the captain; and all the +ladies shuddered, and wanted to get out of such a horrible place. + +"But the hunters are to land here; and they will find all the heavy game +they can dispose of, for there have been no hunters here yet this season to +scare them off. You will find the biggest tigers of India here, gentlemen." + +The hunters went on shore, and as they passed down the gangway they saw a +couple of the crocodiles in the water. Louis put a bullet into the eye of +one, and Mr. Woolridge served the other in the same way; but all of them +thought saurians were mean game. Near the huts they found two men, and Sir +Modava had a talk with them, which no one else could understand; but he +employed them to guide the party and show them their traps. + +"The wife of one of these men was devoured by a crocodile a year ago, and +the daughter of the other, a child of six, had been borne off by a tiger," +he explained, as they proceeded after the two men. + +They soon came to the traps. The tigers were exceedingly numerous on all +the islands formed by the cut-offs, and swam without difficulty from one to +another. The first trap they saw was a broad trench, the bottom and sides +armed with stakes of the hardest wood, sharpened to a wicked point. A +roaring sound attracted the visitors to another of the same kind, in which +a monstrous tiger was floundering about, trying to escape the points that +pierced him. He was suffering fearfully; and Captain Ringgold shot him at +once, though the Hindus were delighted by his torture. + +Another kind of trap was more ingenious. It was on the plan of the +twitch-up snare, common in New England. A young tree, very strong and +flexible, is bent down till the upper end touches the ground. To this +extremity is attached a stout cord, and fastened to a stake in the ground. +A slip-noose is so arranged that the tiger thrusts his head through it in +order to reach the meat with which the cord holding the tree is baited. As +the animal pulls the cord he casts off the line holding the tree in its +bent position. The slip-noose is tightened around his neck, the tree flies +up into the air, carrying the tiger with it. Everything about the trap is +made very strong, and there the savage marauder hangs till he chokes to +death. + +[Illustration: Captain Ringgold brought down another--Page 349] + +The party moved on, and they had not gone ten rods before a cobra elevated +his head. Felix claimed the right to fire first, and he killed him with one +ball. A large python was Scott's first prize; and, after a long walk, they +came to a nest of tigers, as it seemed, for there were not less than five +of them drinking at a brook. It appeared to be the only place in the +vicinity where fresh water could be obtained. The first of the tigers was +killed by Louis with a single shot, for he put the ball through the eye of +the beast. + +Captain Ringgold brought down another with three shots from his repeating +rifle. Felix did not care for tigers; he was looking for snakes, and they +came to the brook to drink. In a couple of hours he had half a dozen of his +favorite game. He declared that he was following the blessed example of St. +Patrick, and if he did not die too soon he would rid the world of all the +snakes in it. + +The five tigers lay dead by the brook; and, taking the advice of the +coolies, the hunters returned into a thicket, where Felix killed another +python. The party could see the brook. A pair of timid deer came next to +drink; but they fled at the approach of what seemed to be a family of +leopards, for two of them were evidently cubs. They were all shot; but the +repeated reports of the rifles had probably scared off others, and no more +beasts of any kind came. + +"These men say you have killed more tigers and leopards than any party of +hunters who ever came here," said Sir Modava, who carried a rifle, but had +not fired it once; and Lord Tremlyn's weapon had not been discharged; for +both preferred to leave the game for their friends. + +It was a great hunt, and the Americans were correspondingly proud of their +success. Louis and Felix had been trained in a shooting-gallery, and +neither of them missed his aim; but the shooting had all been at short +range. With the help of two coolies, all the game was carried to the +steamer, where it was exhibited to the rest of the company. The tigers were +all skinned by the coolies and the crew of the steamer, as were the +leopards; but after Mrs. Blossom and the others had seen the snakes, they +were fed out to the crocodiles. The coolies were abundantly rewarded, and +seemed to worship their visitors. They presented to them four mango fish, +golden-yellow in color, and exquisite in flavor. + +The steamer cast off her fasts, and headed for Calcutta; but it was late, +and the fish presented, which abound in the markets of the city, were the +burden of a fine supper they ate on the way. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI + + THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY + + +While the hunters were so successfully bagging the big game of the jungle, +Captain O'Flaherty had taken the party who had remained on board the +steamer on an excursion through some of the waterways of the Sunderbunds, +so that they were not wearied by waiting for those more actively employed. +The united party had thoroughly enjoyed the day, even into the evening. The +skins of the tigers and leopards were sent to an expert, to be prepared for +future preservation when the time should admit. + +At the hotel the wonderful success of the hunters was the theme of the +other guests; but the place was regarded as a dangerous one, though that +would not deter Englishmen from visiting it if it were not so difficult of +access, for a government steam-yacht was not available for many parties. +The next morning the tourists were taken to the Botanical Garden, a short +distance above the city, which is said to be the finest as well as the most +spacious in the world. + +It was not an affair of greenhouses, like most of such places they had +seen; for they were superfluous in the Torrid Zone, and all the plants grew +in the open air. The ladies and most of the gentlemen were greatly +interested in the plants and flowers, and the whole forenoon was agreeably +passed in viewing them. Uncle Moses insisted that the baobab and the Indian +banyan were literally the "biggest things" there; for the trunk of the +former was ten feet in diameter, while the latter covered half a square +mile of ground. The latter had been considerably damaged by a cyclone. + +At the end of a week in Calcutta, every day of which had been occupied to +the pleasure and instruction of the tourists, Captain Ringgold insisted +that they must remain no longer. It was the middle of March, and the hot +weather was coming on, and the company must return to the Guardian-Mother +on the following morning. It was not an unpleasant announcement, as they +had all become greatly attached to the steamer, for they had always been +exceedingly happy on board of her. + +"It is time for me to settle up our accounts, Lord Tremlyn," said the +commander, as they were seated on the veranda after the intended departure +had been announced. + +"That time has not come, Captain Ringgold; and it never will come," replied +his lordship very decidedly. "I thought we had disposed of that question +once for all at Bombay. You and your party have been our guests from the +moment we landed. Sir Modava and I have done our best, in the time allotted +to us, to make you acquainted with India, and to make the time pass +pleasantly with you. As far as we had influence, we have used it to promote +the objects of your visit." + +"You have done a hundred times more than we had any right to expect, and +certainly we should not have asked for what you have given us; but it seems +to be no more than right that we should pay our own expenses, and we shall +be just as grateful to you for the vast service you have rendered us." + +"What we have done does not extinguish a tithe of our obligations to you +and your ship's company. Any money allusion grieves me, and the very +thought of being paid almost breaks the heart of Sir Modava. I beg you not +to allude to the matter again. Now, my dear Captain Ringgold," continued +his lordship, taking what looked like a picture-frame from a table near +him, "I ask the privilege of presenting to you this testimonial of the +gratitude of the three cabin survivors of the wreck of the Travancore, +which I will ask you to hang up in the cabin of the Guardian-Mother." + +The commander took the frame, in which was a printed testimonial, +containing a full account of the rescue of the survivors of the wreck, with +a concluding paragraph, expressive of the obligations of the principal +persons rescued, to the captain and his ship's company for their noble and +successful exertions in saving them and all the people on board. It had the +autographs of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan at the foot of the +printed statement. It was on parchment, printed in plain, clear type, and +the frame was as elegant as money could buy. + +"I accept this as the property of the ship, and to me personally nothing +could be more valued," replied the commander, extending his thanks at +considerable length; but he said nothing more about payment, though he +could not help thinking that their elegant and bountiful hospitality had +cost the viscount and the Indian gentleman several thousand pounds. + +"But we do not separate just yet; and I have another favor to ask of you, +Captain Ringgold, which is that you will give us a passage to Colombo," +added Lord Tremlyn. + +"For myself and my party, we shall all be delighted to have you remain with +us indefinitely," replied the commander, taking his lordship's hand. "I +extend to you, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan a cordial invitation to +complete with us our voyage around the world; and we will endeavor to be as +hospitable to you in the United States as you have been to us in India." + +"Nothing would afford me so great a pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; "but +it would be quite impossible for me to accept the invitation, for I must +return to England, and report upon my mission to India." + +Sir Modava and Dr. Ferrolan also declined, for reasons given. The company +had called upon some of the officials of the government and officers of the +army, at the request of his lordship, and most of them made parting calls +the next forenoon; and the viceroy sent his private secretary, with the +best wishes of his Excellency for a prosperous voyage, to them. After +tiffin they all went on board, where their baggage had been sent before, +the Italian band playing all the time on Captain O'Flaherty's steamer, +which put them on board. + +General Noury had sent word to Captain Sharp that he should continue with +the party to Colombo, and that he could proceed at once to that port. In +fact, he liked the company of the party on board of the Guardian-Mother so +well that he was not inclined to part with them at present. + +The passengers took possession of their staterooms, and there was still one +left for the general, and the band was quartered in the library. The hour +for sailing had been fixed at three o'clock; and just before that time the +Cherub, Captain O'Flaherty, appeared, having on board a regimental band and +the friends of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan, who extended to +them the compliment of an escort, and, incidentally, to the commander and +his passengers. + +About half an hour before the time for sailing a shore boat came up to the +gangway, and a well-dressed gentleman with a swarthy face ascended the +steps. He asked to see Captain Ringgold, and he was called down from the +upper deck. It was Mazagan. + +"I have called, Captain, to remind you that our account has not yet been +settled," said the villanous Moor. "I have another to add to it, for the +destruction of the Fatime, his Highness the Pacha Ali-Noury's steam-yacht, +which he authorizes me to collect." + +"Does he, indeed?" replied the captain, laughing; for, having the "weather +gauge" of the rascal, he was disposed to treat the matter very lightly. + +"I have the account in the handwriting of his Highness," added Mazagan, as +he presented a paper written in good English. + +"Very well; but I prefer to settle the account with his Highness himself," +added the commander, as he touched an electric bell, which brought Sparks +to the boudoir into which they had gone. "Ask the general to come here," he +said in a low tone to the steward. + +"But I do not choose to wait a year or two for a settlement," protested the +visitor. + +"You need not wait five minutes," added Captain Ringgold. + +The Moor began to go over his story again, but it was interrupted by the +entrance of General Noury. Mazagan looked at him, and seemed to be unable +to believe the evidence of his own eyes. The commander stated the case to +him. + +"Is this account in your handwriting, General?" he asked. + +"Certainly not," replied the Pacha. "We have discussed this matter fully, +and I have no claim whatever against you; neither has this man. I settled +all my accounts with him; and I have his receipt in full, signed by him, +and witnessed by Captain Sharp and his wife. He is a swindler and a +villain; and if I ever catch him in Morocco he shall have the bowstring!" + +The general denounced him in the severest manner, and then asked the +commander to send him out of the ship. Knott was at the gangway, the pirate +was turned over to him, and hustled down the steps into his boat. The +general expressed his regret that the captain had been annoyed by the +villain again, and was confident he would never see or hear from him again; +and he never did. + +Promptly at the hour set the Guardian-Mother got under way, and the +Cherub's band played its liveliest airs. When it stopped to rest, the +Italian band played, and thus the music was kept up for three hours, when +the steamers were at Diamond Harbor. Here they came alongside each other, +and all the company on board the Cherub were invited to a collation on +board of the Guardian-Mother, at which Captain Ringgold presided, and many +speeches were made by the residents of Calcutta, and by the passengers on +board. + +The ship's company on each vessel were not left out in the cold; for, while +their officers were at the collation, Baldy Bickling, the second cook, +regaled them from the abundant stores provided for the occasion, of which +notice had been given to Mr. Melanchthon Sage, the chief steward, the day +before. At this point adieus were exchanged, the Guardian-Mother went to +sea, and the Cherub returned to Calcutta. The passengers were tired out and +retired early. + +It was an easy run, from Diamond Harbor to Madras in two days and a half, +for the Guardian-Mother. The weather was favorable, and the tourists used +their time in getting rested. The social occasions, the playing of the +band, and the singing in the music-room, made plenty of variety. But the +commander did not lose sight of what he regarded as one of the principal +objects of the long voyage, the instruction of the young people, and +incidentally of the elder ones. + +On the forenoon of the second day out the passengers were called together +in Conference Hall, and they were glad to assemble there again. The +temperature was moderate, the sea was in its most cheerful mood, and, after +their long stay on shore, they were glad to be out of sight of land again. +Mr. Gaskette had been busy during the vacation the ship's company had +obtained at Bombay and Calcutta; had made several new maps, one of which +was the shores of the Bay and Sea of Bengal from Calcutta to the southern +point of Ceylon; and he had enlarged a small map of Ceylon, to be used when +the ship arrived at Colombo, or sooner. It was Sir Modava who mounted the +platform for this occasion; and he was received with the heartiest +applause, for he had become even more popular than at first. + +"I am to tell you something, not much, about Madras, where we shall arrive +about this time day after to-morrow," the Hindu gentleman began; and the +usual smile which had fascinated all the ladies was on his face. "Madras is +the third city in population of India, or next to Bombay, with 452,518 +souls, by the census published last year. It is on the Coromandel coast, +which is nearly the whole of the Madras Presidency. It is nearly the entire +western shore of the Sea of Bengal, including the bay, as the northern part +of it is called in modern times. There is scarcely a single safe harbor for +large vessels. + +"I suppose you have often heard the expression, 'in the Carnatic,' for it +is memorable as the scene of the struggle in the last century between +England and France for the supremacy of India. Though there is no state +with that name, nearly the whole coast region south of the Godavery River +retains this name. In fact, there is no little confusion of names in many +parts of India. The country near the Arabian Sea still receives the +designation of the Deccan, from the Kistna River to the Gulf of Cambay on +the north. But this name does not belong to a political division," +continued the speaker, pointing out every location and river he named. + +"Madras extends along the shore nine miles, and is thus exposed to the fury +of the sea for this distance; for it is not on a river, like Calcutta, or a +sheltered bay, like Bombay. Formerly, on the approach of a cyclone, vessels +lying in the roadstead, as the only harbor it had, which was no harbor, had +to put to sea to avoid being driven on the shore. Decidedly it was a very +inconvenient place to build a city; but the town formerly consisted of a +number of villages, which have been united, after the fashion of some of +your American cities. + +"An attempt has been in progress the last twenty years to make a harbor in +the shape of an enclosure of strong walls, about half a mile square. It was +seriously damaged by a cyclone a dozen years ago; but they are still at +work upon it, though it is said to be doubtful whether or not it will ever +be safe for ships in a violent storm. There is always a heavy surf rolling +in on this coast, even in what the commander would call a smooth sea." + +"Then how shall we get ashore there?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. + +"The natives construct a boat, which is a sort of raft of planks, tied +together with ropes, called a _masulah_, which passes through the surf +very well in ordinary weather; but no boat could live in a cyclone in a sea +there, for the waves are fourteen feet high." + +"I should like to try it with the second cutter, so far as the waves are +concerned; but bumping on the bottom might spoil the attempt," said Mr. +Gaskette, who was standing by his map. + +"It would not be prudent in a cyclone, and I trust you will have no +occasion to try the experiment," added Sir Modava. "But cyclones are rare +here, except from the last of May and into June, and in October, November, +and early in December; so that the port is not liable to more than two +storms a year. The average rainfall is forty-nine inches, falling on +ninety-five days; but in seventy-four years, ending two years ago, it +varied from a foot and a half to seven feet and four inches. It is dry here +some years, and rather damp when they get eighty-eight inches. + +"Going to Madras in March, the temperature of the place is of no +consequence to you, except as a matter of curiosity, being in the Torrid +Zone. It will be from 76 deg. to 88 deg. while you are here. The average +temperature for the year is 82 deg.; in the hot months it rises to over 100 deg.; +the highest in twenty-seven years was 113 deg., and the lowest 57.6 deg.. A +sea-breeze often sets in about noon, lasting till sunset, greatly modifying +the heat. I think I need say no more about the city till we get there." + +This talk was followed by a concert by the band. The ship sped on her +course, though something to instruct and amuse was going on all the time. +At the time set Madras was in sight, and a little later the surf was seen +rolling in on the shore. The depth is shallow near the land, which causes +the water to break. The Guardian-Mother was anchored in the deep water, and +Lord Tremlyn invited the party to proceed to the apartments at the Royal +Hotel which he had bespoken for them. The commander made no further +objections to the matter of expense, and the invitation was promptly +accepted. A number of the masulah-boats, not the rafts, were engaged to +land them. They were much like any other boat, though they were paddled, +and not rowed. They saw the catamarans, constructed as the Hindu gentleman +had described, paddled on the waves by a single man, wearing a sugar-loaf +hat. + +The masulah-boats went to the shore very comfortably, and carriages were in +waiting for the party on the beach near where they landed. As they passed +through the streets everything seemed to be very much as it was in +Calcutta; and they saw similar palanquins, bullock-carts, and elephants. +The Malabar Hindu was not very different from those of other sections of +the country, though he had some peculiarities of costume. + +When they reached the hotel, which was a very comfortable one, in English +style, it was two hours to tiffin, and most of the party preferred to pass +the time in the parlor. The live boys could not keep still, and they went +out for a walk. The sights were not novel enough to hold them; and when a +driver of a bullock-cart salaamed to them, and pointed to his vehicle, +Felix suggested that they should take a ride. Of course, they could not +speak a word of the language; and, however it may have been with other +conductors of vehicles, this one did not know a word of English. + +"Mavalipoor?" interrogated the driver, when the "Big Four" had seated +themselves in the corners of the vehicle, which had a body like an omnibus +for four, with a top like the dome of a small temple. They had no idea what +the word or sentence used by the driver had been, but supposed it was +something worth seeing in the town. Two palanquins went by them at full +tilt, and they saw what was to be seen in the street. They went on several +miles, till they appeared to be leaving the city behind them, and they +thought it was time to call a halt. They talked vigorously to the cartman, +and all of them pointed back to the city, and yelled "Madras!" + +"Mavalipoor!" screamed the driver, pointing with equal energy in the +direction the cart was headed. But the fellow would not stop, and the +lively boys all leaped out of the cart to the ground. He would not go on +without them; but fortunately a gentleman in English costume came along on +horseback. The quartet touched their hats to him, and he stopped his steed. +Louis stated that they wished to go to the Royal Hotel. + +"The hotel is not in this direction," replied the horseman with much +suavity. But at this moment the driver had something to say, and delivered +himself with energy. "He says you engaged him to take you to Mavalipoor," +the rider explained. Louis stated their position, that when the cartman +said "Mavalipoor" they had assented, without knowing what he meant. + +"You can make it all right with the man by giving him a rupee when he +leaves you at your hotel," replied the gentleman, laughing heartily at the +mistake, and then informed them that there were some Hindu temples at +Mavalipoor, more than thirty miles distant, that were visited by strangers. +He then ordered the driver to convey his fare to the Royal Hotel, in a very +peremptory manner, and the man obeyed. Thanking the gentleman for his +kindness, they parted. The cartman was in a hurry now, and he urged his +humpbacked bullocks into a lively trot. + +At the door the boys gave the driver two rupees, and the fellow salaamed as +though he had received a guinea. There are plenty of landaus in Madras at +three rupees a day; and the dak, as the cart is called, and palanquins are +becoming things of the past. Tiffin was ready; and a line of carriages was +at the door waiting for the tourists when they had disposed of the lunch, +and they seated themselves for a drive. + +"I warn you," said Sir Modava, as the carriages drove off, "that you will +find little here to interest you, after visiting, as you have, the +principal cities of India." + +"We are about tired of sight-seeing," added Mrs. Belgrave rather languidly; +and this was about the situation of most of the party. + +They passed the People's Park, an inviting enclosure, with ponds and +pleasant walks, to the Black Town, which contains the homes of the natives, +though there are plenty of shops; and it is crossed by several good +avenues. They came to a street like that called The Strand in Calcutta, and +they drove the whole length of it. They passed into Fort St. George, which +seemed to be a city of itself. Leaving it, they crossed the little river +that meanders through the town, and flows into the ocean at this point. + +On this shore road were the principal public buildings of the city, and +near the end of it was St. Thomas's Cathedral. This is said to be the site +where the apostle of this name, "Doubting Thomas," was martyred. Early +tradition buried him in Edessa, in Mesopotamia, but a later account sent +him to India; but this is something for learned doctors to discuss. At St. +George's Cathedral the party entered to see the statue, made by Chantrey, +of Bishop Heber, who looks gently and tenderly upon a native convert at his +feet. + +They rode all over the town, and found several ponds, called tanks; and the +great fort is washed on one side by the river. The second day the party +were driven into the suburbs. At a rocky point on the river they found a +party of half-naked men washing sheets and pillow-cases. The ladies were +interested, and the carriages stopped to enable them to see the operation. +They had something like washboards, laid on the bank of the stream, which +they were hammering with all their might with the sheets, standing in the +shallow water as they did so. Mrs. Blossom declared they must tear them all +to pieces, and she was quite indignant at the way it was done. + +Another day finished Madras; and, though there was little to see, compared +with the places they had visited before, Mrs. Belgrave declared they had +had a good time. On the morning following they went on board of the +Guardian-Mother, and she sailed for Ceylon. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVII + + THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA + + +If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see a +cyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it would +have been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on the +beach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But they +had all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. At +her ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at one +o'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled in +Conference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the various +places they had visited in India. + +Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adorned +with stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von Blonk +Park were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, though +they had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions in +Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found them +elsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they had +not been able to devote more time to them. + +The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from the +deck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and a +portion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was in +ten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea was +smooth. The thermometer stood at 70 deg., and the ladies declared that the +temperature was just right. + +"You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and it +takes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without going +into the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand seven +hundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of West +Virginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States. +Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in this +island. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'The +Arabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib. + +"The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is Mount +Pedrotallagalla,--don't forget the name, my young friends,--eight thousand +two hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go to +Candy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as it +is often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearl +fishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variable +in different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have the +fisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardly +anything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quite +sixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds. + +"The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces when +the work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks. +Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five of +the latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diver +has a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reach +the bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. The +water varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They work +quickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, though +some can stand it twenty seconds longer. + +"One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, would +make it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotion +about the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signal +he is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But the +ladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them. + +"There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing into +the sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate of +the island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the high +lands never exceeds 70 deg.. I shall permit you to describe the flowers after +you have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island is +exceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside in +Ceylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler in +the forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end of +monkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubs +could be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which might +amuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of them +you shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on his +fruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodile +is the biggest reptile found in Ceylon." + +"But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix. + +"There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and the +ticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend of +yours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generally +Cingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from the +region of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. The +religion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon the +natives here as well as in Burma. + +"Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon three +times, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep on +Adam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island, +is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the tooth +of Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. But +it is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; and +the substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblance +to a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of them +sculptured like those near Bombay. + +"There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, dating +back to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has also +a Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed to +the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802. + +"Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of the +island; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and within +ten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a great +extent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of the +chocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to a +considerable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; though +Bishop Heber's lines-- + + 'What though the spicy breezes + Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,' + +are not applicable to the island as formerly. + +"It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become a +great tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in its +culture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years later +over 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is still +greater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who rules +with an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of the +troops is one." + +"Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?" +asked Captain Ringgold. + +"I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If I +remember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is +$20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times the +salary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, but +after a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about the +principal towns;" and as he retired the audience separated, for it was to +be a promenade concert. + +"I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," said +the Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sent +missionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; the +Americans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. A +great deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am not +able just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; but +it has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and even +collegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of the +government system of education. + +"Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town of +forty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harbor in a sheltered bay. +It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part of +India; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whose +principal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; and +most steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' for +short, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point de +Galle for various ports of India. + +"The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning is +doubtful. _Galles_ is the French of Wales, and _La Nouvelle +Galles_ is New South Wales; without the final _s_, the word means +an oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning, +'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of the +word. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo has +captured its business and its prominence. + +"Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point de +Galle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost +127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generally +call it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the sea +on three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way, +Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of Christopher +Columbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago this +year?" + +"Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monument +at Genoa last summer." + +"Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylon +obtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the great +discoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. The +buildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonial +towns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, and +visit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the making +of the city, cost L600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with every +facility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothing +is left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described." + +Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture, +which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before the +collation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time the +Guardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As the +ship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and was +greeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned. + +Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in the +afternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages were +obtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of the +town, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested; +and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and a +medicine. + +"I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, as +they were looking at the trees. + +"I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them." + +"This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very old +spice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which it +is there called," added the Indian gentleman. + +"But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root." + +"No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty to +thirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But the +cultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leaves +average five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. There +are two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November. +The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it dries +it curls up as you find your stick cinnamon." + +"I used ground cinnamon," added the lady. + +"It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another species +of cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and very +likely you buy it ground for the real thing." + +The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of the +most valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, and +other drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. The +company returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave a +concert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the tourists +remained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from the +citizens of Colombo. + +The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which Sir +Modava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly through +an elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they had +attained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandy +three days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to stay +longer, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. They +were in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned. + +They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fifty +to four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrine +of Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which the +English believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine stories +high, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party took +no interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that were +larger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they +had before been informed. + +With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. The +Guardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon. +The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolan +had nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner for +the last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul, +and others had been invited. + +Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after the +fine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called upon +to respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers." +The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "For +he's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by the +Americans, including the ladies. + +Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, and +reviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of the +Travancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth the +obligations to which his passengers and himself were under to the +distinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He was +frequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquent +as it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress. + +Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations, +and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company; +and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, but +that was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr. +Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," which +puzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from. +The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noble +gentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time in +all their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached the +chairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing a +testimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, which +he presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, who +had profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness, +and length of days of the trio. + +This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturous +applause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to be +enjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages at +the table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any were +present, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyous +occasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall was +cleared. + +All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both Lord +Tremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be in +India or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, as +well as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen. +After tiffin, when the party started for the steamer that was to convey +them to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo, +with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. The +military band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent the +air, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answer +all the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers. + +The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. The +guests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of which +the black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of the +departure. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally the +passengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salute +was fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn, +the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward. + +It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India; +but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the port +bow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climes +they were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everything +that was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decided +views of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for a +time in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples, +and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in the +expression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting in +Conference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visit +next, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in the +immediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of the +company, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, are +referred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOME +ADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Across India, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 15540.txt or 15540.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/5/4/15540/ + +Produced by Robert Shimmin, Rudy Ketterer and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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