,illustration3 ,cover art               
,frontispiece3 ,the ,moat1 ,fort        
,dufferin1 ,mandalay4                   
,illustration3 ,title page              
,,through    ,,india ,,and ,,burmah     
,,with ,,pen ,,and ,,brush        ,,by  
,a4 ,,hugh ,,fisher      ,the beauty of 
the world is simple like a              
looking-glass4          ,,london    ,t4 
,,werner ,,laurie    ,,clifford',s ,,inn
          ,,to ,,my ,,friends ,,in      
,,england          ,,preface    ,the    
following series of ,travel ,pictures is
 an endeavour to embody  some of my     
impressions and experiences in ,india   
and ,burmah4    ,for kind permission to 
reproduce among the illustrations eight 
of the  painted sketches ,i made for    
them1 my thanks are due to the ,visual  
,instruction ,committee of the ,colonial
 ,office who sent me out to the  ,east  
as their artist4    ,the two chapters   
,the ,moharam ,festival and ,rakhykash  
are included  in this book by the       
courtesy of the ,editor of ,the         

,fortnightly  ,review1 in which         
publication they have already appeared4 
,a4 ,,hugh ,,fisher4                    
,,contents      ,,chap4      ,i4        
,,rangoon    ,,ii4 ,,his ,,highness     
,,the ,,sawbwa ,,of ,,hsipaw    ,,iii4  
,,up ,,the ,,irrawaddy ,,to ,,bhamo     
,,iv4 ,,the ,,dead ,,heart ,,of ,a      
,,kingdom    ,v4 ,,mandalay    ,,vi4    
,,southern ,,india1 ,,the ,,land ,,of   
,,hindoo ,,temples    ,,vii4 ,,calcutta 
,,viii4 ,,my ,,first ,,sight ,,of ,,the 
,,himalayas    ,,ix4 ,,benares    ,x4   
,,lucknow    ,,xi4 ,,cawnpore    ,,xii4 
,,the ,,house ,,of ,,dream    ,,xiii4   
,,delhi    ,,xiv4 ,,dehra ,,dun ,,and   
,,landour    ,,xv4 ,,an ,,evening ,,of  
,,gold    ,,xvi4 ,,guard ,,your ,,shoes 
,,xvii4 ,a ,,gate ,,of ,,empire         
,,xviii4 ,,the ,,capital ,,of ,,the     
,,punjab    ,,xix4 ,,at ,,the ,,court   
,,of ,,his ,,highness ,,the ,,rajah ,,of
 ,,nabha    ,,xx4 ,,in ,,sight ,,of     
,,afghanistan    ,,xxi4 ,,rajputana     
,,xxii4 ,,sir ,,pratap ,,singh          

,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,moharam ,,festival     
,,xxiv4 ,,rakhykash    ,,xxv4           
,,political    ,,index                  
,,illustrations      ,,the ,,moat1      
,,fort ,,dufferin1 ,,mandalay 444       
,frontispiece    ,,they ,,could ,,not   
,,lie ,,down ,,without ,,overlapping    
,,mongolian ,,type ,,of ,,mohammedan    
,,mutama1 ,a ,,hindoo ,,baby    ,,hindoo
 ,,girl1 ,,showing ,,elaborate          
,,jewellery    ,,altar ,,table ,,at ,a  
,,buddhist ,,society',s ,,celebration   
,,boy ,,showing ,,tatooing ,,customary  
,,with ,,all ,,burmese ,,males    ,,in  
,,the ,,shan ,,states3 ,,guard ,,and    
,,policeman    ,,katha    ,,at ,a       
,,burmese ,,pwe    ,,burmese ,,actors   
,,at ,,bhamo    ,a ,,village ,,on ,,the 
,,irrawaddy    ,,burmese ,,murderers    
,,pagan    ,,burmese ,,dwarf 7#c ft4 #e 
in4 high7 ,,suffering ,,from ,,cataract 
,,burmese ,,priest ,,and ,,his ,,betel  
,box    ,,burmese ,,mother ,,and ,,child
    ,,the ,,sacred ,,tank ,,and ,,the   
,,rock1 ,,trichinopoly    ,,the ,,main  

,,bazaar1 ,,trichinopoly                
,,karapanasami1 ,,the ,,black ,,god     
,,hindoo ,,mother ,,and ,,child         
,,bengal ,,government ,,offices1        
,,calcutta    ,,bengalee ,,actress1     
,,miss ,,tin ,,corry ,,dass ,,the       
,,younger    ,a ,,charming ,,old        
,,gentleman ,,from ,,delhi    ,,avenue  
,,of ,,oreodoxa ,,palms1 ,,botanical    
,,gardens1 ,,calcutta    ,,the ,,kutab  
,,minar ,,and ,,the ,,iron ,,pillar1    
,,fatehpur ,,sikri    ,,the ,,fort ,,of 
,,ali ,,masjid1 ,,in ,,the ,,khyber     
,,pass    ,,his ,,highness ,,the ,,rajah
 ,,of ,,nabha    ,,the ,,palace ,,of    
,,the ,,maharajah ,,of ,,udaipur        
7,,drypoint ,,etching7    ,,the         
,,moharam ,,festival ,,at ,,agra        
#a    ,,through ,,india ,,and ,,burmah  
,,chapter ,i    ,,rangoon    ,down came 
the rain1 sudden1 heavy and terrible1   
seeming to quell even  the sea's rage   
and whelming those defenceless hundreds 
of  dark-skinned voyagers in new and    
more dreadful misery4    ,terrors were  

upon them1 and in abject wretchedness   
and hopeless  struggle men1 women and   
children spread every strip of their    
belongings over their bodies and even   
used for shelter the very mats  upon    
which they had been lying4    ,what     
trouble a ,hindoo will take to keep his 
body from the rain6  ,extremely cleanly 
and fond of unlimited ablutions he yet  
detests  nothing so much as a wetting   
from the sky1 and now1 wholly at the    
mercy of the elements1 do what they     
would1 no human ingenuity availed  to   
keep these wretched people dry4    ,it  
was the season of the rice harvest1 when
 #b ,south ,india coolies  swarm over to
 ,burmah much as the peasantry of ,mayo 
and ,connemara used  to crowd to        
,england every summer4    ,if anybody is
 really anxious to remember that there  
are paddy fields  in ,burmah he should  
cross the ,bay of ,bengal in ,december4 
,somebody said that our ship was an     
unlucky one--that it ran down the       
,mecca on her last trip and killed her  

third officer2 but we got  through      
safely enough1 though that crossing was 
one of the most  disagreeable as well as
 the most weird ,i ever                 
made--disagreeable  because of the bad  
weather1 and weird because of the       
passengers4    ,the deck and the lower  
deck were tanks of live humanity1 and   
when it  began to get rough1 as it did  
the morning after we left ,madras1      
catching the end of a strayed cyclone1  
it was worse than a ,chinese  puzzle to 
cross from the saloon to the spar deck1 
and ten chances to  one that even if you
 did manage to avoid stepping on a body 
you  slipped and shot into seven sick   
,hindoo ladies and a family of          
children4    ,there were six first-class
 passengers1 all ,europeans1 and #agjj  
deck  passengers1 all ,asiatics1 and the
 latter paid twelve rupees each for  the
 four days' passage1 bringing with them 
their own food4    ,illustration3 ,,they
 ,,could ,,not ,,lie ,,down ,,without   
,,overlapping4    ,the first evening all

 six of the ,europeans appeared at      
dinner--a  ,trichinopoly collector1 a   
,madras tanning manager and his wife    
7who  told #c me that half your         
,american boots and shoes are made from 
buffalo skins shipped from ,madras to   
the ,united ,states71 a young           
lieutenant going to take charge of a    
mountain battery of ,punjabis at        
,maimyo in ,upper ,burmah1 and a young  
,armenian1 son of a merchant at         
,rangoon1 who had been to ,europe about 
his eyes4    ,after coffee the man next 
to me suddenly leapt from his chair with
 a  yell4  ,he thought he had been      
bitten by a centipede4  ,the centipede  
was there right enough1 but as the pain 
passed off the next day we  supposed the
 brute had only fastened his legs in and
 had not really  bitten4    ,the nights 
were sultry and the ship rolled worse   
every watch4  ,i  think1 however1 that  
,i never saw people try harder than     
those natives  did to keep clean4  ,they
 had all brought new palm-leaf mats to  

lie  upon1 but they could not lie down  
without overlapping4  ,i asked the      
captain what he did about scrubbing     
decks1 and he said it was always  done  
at the end of the voyage6  ,next morning
 the downpour1 already  referred to1    
began and did the business with cruel   
effectiveness4    ,as we neared ,burmah 
the sea grew calm again and the rain    
abated4  ,the  sun dried sick bodies and
 cheered despondent hearts4  ,i spoke to
 a  woman crouching by some sacks and   
tin cans1 with an old yellow cloth      
round her head and shoulders1 and       
another cloth swathing her loins4  #d   
,she had very dark brown eyes1 and her  
fingernails were bright red  and also   
the palms of her hands from the         
maradelli tied round the  nails at      
night4  ,she was the wife of a man the  
other side of fourteen  people1 some    
four yards away4  ,i asked his name1 not
 knowing that a  ,hindoo woman may not  
pronounce her husband's name4  ,she     
called him  ,veetkar1 which means uncle 

or houseman3 the man was of the ,palla  
caste1 which is just a little higher    
than the ,pariah1 and they had  been    
married five years but had no children4 
,this was the man's  second marriage1   
his first wife having died of some liver
 complaint  he said4  ,like most of the 
passengers they were going out for      
paddy-field work1 but unlike so many    
others1 they were on their own  not     
being taken over by a labour contractor4
  ,the man said he should  get work at  
,kisshoor village1 about eight miles    
from ,rangoon4  ,every  year for seven  
years he had been over4    ,altogether1 
this man had saved1 according to his own
 statement1 two  hundred rupees in the  
seven years' work1 and had invested this
 in  bullocks and a little field near   
his village1 which was named            
,verloocooli4  ,he had left the son of  
his first wife to look after the  house 
and the field4    ,illustration3        
,,mongolian ,,type ,,of ,,mohammedan4   
,under a thin muslin an ayah was        

watching our talk4  ,she said she was  a
 ,christian and came from ,lazarus      
,church4  ,her husband ran away1        
leaving her with three children in      
,madras1 so she #e works now as an  ayah
 to an ,eurasian lady1 while her mother 
looks after the children  in ,madras4   
,about twenty people round one corner of
 the open hatch seemed to  belong to one
 another4  ,they came from the ,soutakar
 district and were  drinking            
rice-water--that is the water poured off
 when rice is  boiled4  ,a ,mohammedan  
with two sons was going to sell things4 
,the  boys would watch the goods1 he    
told me4  ,he was returning to ,upper   
,burmah1 where he had lived twenty-four 
years1 and he had only been  over to    
,madras to visit his mother and father4 
,he has just a little  shop for the sale
 of such goods as dal1 chili1 salt1     
onions1 coconut  oil1 sweet oil1        
tamarind1 matches and candles4    ,then 
there was the ,mongolian type of        
,mohammedan4  ,he was very fat and      

greasy1 and had one of his dog teeth    
long like a tusk4  ,he was a  tin-worker
 and made large cans in his shop in     
,rangoon4    ,i went down between decks 
and never saw people packed so closely  
before except on ,coronation ,day4      
,even marked men discarded all  clothing
 but a small loin cloth3 most of them   
could not move hand or  foot without    
their neighbours feeling the change of  
position2 and as  upon the deck above1  
they often lay partly over each other4  
,yet in  spite of the general           
overcrowding1 ,i noticed a woman of the 
,brahmin  caste lying at her ease in a  
small open space #f marked out by boxes 
and tin trunks4  ,there was a large lamp
 in a white reflector hanging  by the   
companion-way1 and some of those lying  
nearest to it held leaf  fans over their
 faces to keep the light from their     
eyes4    ,the next day was brighter4    
,there was a light wind and the whole   
sunlit crowd was a babel of excited     
talk4  ,a little naked ,hindoo  baby1   

just able to walk1 was playing          
mischievously with me4  ,i had  been    
nursing her for a while and now she was 
laughing1 and with palms  up-turned was 
moving her hands like a ,nautch dancer  
as her eyes  twinkled with merriment4   
,she was called ,mutama1 and the poor   
mite's  ears had had a big cut made in  
them and the lobes were already pulled  
out more than two inches by the bunches 
of metal rings fastened in  for this    
purpose4    ,a purple shawl1 tied up to 
dry1 bellied out in the wind over the   
side  of the ship in a patch of vivid   
colour4  ,it had a border of gold       
thread and was of native make4  ,not    
that the gold thread itself is  made in 
,madras4  ,it is curious that ,english  
manufacturers have tried  in vain to    
make these shawls so that their gold    
thread shall not  tarnish1 whereas the  
gold thread obtained from ,france does  
not do so4    ,on a box in the midst of 
hubbub1 a ,mohammedan was praying1      
bending  his body up and down and       

looking toward the sun4                 
,illustration3 ,,mutama1 ,a ,,hindoo    
,,baby4    #g    ,the following morning 
we reached very turbid water1 thick and 
yellow1  with blue reflections of the   
sky in the ripples4  ,we could just see 
the coast of ,burmah and about noon     
caught sight of the pilot brig1  and    
entering the wide ,rangoon river1 passed
 a ,chinese junk with all  sails spread4
  ,now the mats began to go overboard   
and gulls swooped  round the ship4  ,we 
had passed the obelisk at the mouth of  
the river  when1 above a green strip of 
coast on a little blue hill1 the sun    
shone upon something golden4    ,the    
,pagoda6 ,i cried1 and a pagoda it was1 
but only one at ,siriam  where there is 
a garrison detachment4  ,the ,golden    
,pagoda--the ,shwe  ,dagon--appeared at 
first grey and more to the north4  ,the 
water was  now as thick and muddy as the
 ,thames at the ,tower ,bridge4  ,it was
  full of undercurrents too1 and there  
was a poor chance for anyone who  fell  

in4    ,over went the mats1 scores and  
scores and scores of them6    ,there is 
a bar a little further on called the    
,hastings1 and it was a  question       
whether we'd get over it that afternoon4
  ,a line of yellow  sand detached      
itself from the green1 and then the     
water became like  shot silk1 showing a 
pale flood of cerulean slowly spreading 
over its  turbid golden brown4  ,on the 
low bank were green bushes and          
undergrowth1 and beyond--flat levels of 
tawny-yellow and low  tree-clad rising  
#h ground that reminded me of the       
,thames above  ,godstow4    ,beyond the 
green point of ,siriam1 just after the  
,pegu ,river branches  off to the right1
 the ,rangoon ,river sweeps round in a  
great curve1 at  the far end of which   
stretches the city4  ,it was pale violet
 in the  afternoon light1 with smoke    
streaming from vessels in the harbour1  
and on the highest point the ,shwe      
,dagon just showing on one edge that  it
 was gold4  ,far to the right were some 

twenty tall chimney-stacks  of the      
,burmah ,oil ,works1 but their colour1  
instead of being sooty and  unclean1 was
 all blue and amethyst under a citron   
sky4    ,the ,customs ,officer came out 
in a long boat1 pulled by four men in   
red turbans1 and in his launch the      
medical officer of the port with a  lady
 doctor4  ,there is a constant but      
ineffectual struggle to keep  plague out
 of ,burmah1 and every one of our #agjj 
deck passengers had  to be thoroughly   
examined--stripped to the waist with    
arms up1 while  the doctor passed his   
hands down each side of the body4       
,the same night1 on shore1 ,i drove to  
the ,shwe ,dagon past the  race-ground1 
where a military tattoo was going on by 
torchlight4    ,two gigantic leogryphs  
of plaster-faced brick stand one on each
 side  of the long series of steps which
 lead under carved teak roofs and       
between #i rows of pillars up to the    
open flagged space on which the  ,pagoda
 stands4    ,i left the tikka gharry on 

the roadway and went up the steps of the
  entrance alone4  ,it was a weird      
experience1 walking up those gloomy     
stairs at night4  ,alone8  ,at first it 
seemed so--the stalls at the  sides of  
each landing or wide level space between
 the flights of  steps were deserted2   
but1 as ,i walked on1 a ,pariah dog came
 snarling  viciously towards me and     
another joined him1 and then like       
jackals1  their eyes glowing in the     
darkness1 more and more of them came4   
,i  had no stick with me1 and as ,i     
meant going on it was a relief to find  
that among the shadows of the pillars1  
to right and left1 men were  sleeping4  
,one stirred himself to call off the    
dogs and ,i walked up  another flight of
 steps1 which gleamed a little beneath a
 hidden lamp4    ,between great pillars1
 faced with plaster1 red on the lower   
portion  and white above1 ,i walked on  
while more dogs came yelping and        
snarling angrily4  ,i heard a low human 
wail which changed to a louder  note and

 died away--someone praying perhaps4    
,then all was quite  still except for   
the crickets4  ,now ,i was in a hall of 
larger columns  and walked under a      
series of carved screens--arches of wood
 set  between pairs of them4  ,half-way 
up these columns hung branches of       
strange temple offerings1 things made in
 coloured papers with gold  sticks      
hanging from them4    #aj    ,at last ,i
 came out upon the upper platform on    
which stands the ,pagoda  itself4       
,facing the top of the last flight of   
steps at the back of a  large           
many-pillared porch1 reeking with the   
odour of burnt wax1 ,i saw  a cavernous 
hollow1 and set within it1 behind       
lighted candles1 dimly  a golden ,buddha
 in the dusk4  ,outside1 a strip of     
matting was laid  over the flagged      
pavement all round the platform1 and in 
the stones  little channels cut         
transversely for drainage in the time of
 the  rains lay in wait to trip careless
 feet4    ,some years ago when the great

 ,hti was brought down from the summit  
of the ,pagoda1 after an earthquake1 to 
be restored and further  embellished1   
people of all classes brought offerings 
of money and  jewellery through the     
turnstiles on to this platform4  ,what a
 sight  it must have been to see the    
lines of ,burmese people crowding up    
through these two turnstiles1 one for   
silver and one for gold--one  woman     
giving two jewelled bracelets and the   
next a bangle2 a receipt  would be given
 to each donor and then bangle and      
bracelets thrown  into the melting-pot  
after their jewels had been taken out   
for adding  to the ,hti4                
,illustration3 ,,hindoo ,,girl1         
,,showing ,,elaborate ,,jewellery4      
,glittering metal drops quivered from   
the edges of richly-decorated           
umbrellas2 columns1 covered as in a kind
 of mosaic with jewels and  bright      
glass1 shone and sparkled2 colossal     
figures cast grim shadows1  and over all
 the vast #aa mass of the ,shwe ,dagon  

rose in its strange  curved grandeur of 
worn and faded gold far up into the     
night sky with  a compelling loveliness1
 and from the air above came floating   
down  the sweet silvery tinkle of       
jewelled bells shaken by the breeze4    
,night had driven unscourged the        
money-changers from the temple1 and  the
 magic light of the moon weaving silver 
threads through every  garish tint of   
paint had changed crude colours to ideal
 harmonies4  ,not colour alone but form 
also was glorified4  ,the grotesque had 
become dramatic1 confusion had changed  
to dignity1 all surrounding  detraction 
was subdued and the great ascending     
curves of the ,pagoda  rose in simple1  
uncontested beauty4  ,nature adored1    
acknowledging  conquest1 and the sound  
of those far wind-caught bells was like 
that  of the voices of angels and       
fairies singing about the cradle of a   
child4    ,i had seen no building of    
such emotional appeal nor any that seems
 so  perfectly designed to wed the air  

and light that bathe it and caress  it4 
,but imagine the ,shwe ,dagon           
transplanted to the cold light of  some 
gargantuan museum near the ,cromwell    
,road2 the nicest taste1 the  most      
steadfast determination1 could not      
unlock its charm4  ,here1 upon  easy    
hinge1 the door swings back at every    
raising of the eyes1 and  illumination  
is for all beholders4    #ab    ,the    
following afternoon ,i was again at the 
,shwe ,dagon1 and to watch  its beauty  
under the glory of the setting sun was a
 further  revelation4  ,it seemed to    
show fresh and delicate charm at each   
part  of the day1 and after burning at  
sunset1 like a man filled with          
impetuous passion1 shone in the         
after-glow with the diviner  loveliness 
of the woman who gives her heart4       
,the river front of ,rangoon is a wide1 
busy and dusty thoroughfare1 on  to     
which wide streets open--,phayre        
,street1 ,bark ,street and the rest1    
and great piles of office buildings face

 the water--buildings with  ,corinthian 
porticoes and columns with great drums  
like those of the  ,temple of ,diana at 
,ephesus without their sculptures4  ,a  
line of white  stucco houses curves     
round the bend of the ,sule ,pagoda     
,street1 wide  and tree-bordered1 like a
 road at ,dorchester or a ,paris        
boulevard1  making a handsome vista with
 its ,pagoda surmounting a flight of    
steps  at the far end4    ,building     
proceeds at such a rate that the big    
city seems to be  growing while you look
 at it1 but there are plenty of open    
spaces4  ,government ,house1 in red     
brick and white stone1 with an old      
bronze  bell hung in front of the       
portico between two brass cannon1 stands
 in  a goodly park with fine trees and  
wide lawns and the ,royal ,lakes1       
across which there is a beautiful view  
of the ,shwe ,dagon1 are  surrounded by 
large grounds with #ac trim1 well-kept  
walks and  drives4  ,while ,i was       
painting by one of the lakes a          

water-snake every  now and then lifted  
its head above the surface1 sometimes a 
foot and  a half out of the water like  
some long-necked bird4    ,i was driving
 back towards the hotel along the       
,calvert ,road when ,i  noticed a       
temporary wood-framed structure1 covered
 with coloured  papers and painted      
trellis-work4  ,on inquiry ,i found it  
had been  erected by a ,buddhist        
,society of that quarter of the city1   
and that  the same night upon a stage   
close to it in the open air a ,pwe would
  be given1 to which ,i was bidden      
welcome about nine o'clock4    ,at my   
hotel two people had been poisoned by   
tinned food a few weeks  earlier1 but   
whatever the table lacked in quality it 
made up in  pretentiousness4  ,i quote  
that day's menu for comparison with the 
items of another repast the same        
evening3--      ,canapes aux anchois4   
,potage  la ,livonienne1                
,barfurt--sauce ,ravigotte4    ,inlets  
mignons  la ,parisienne4    ,civets de  

livre  la ,st ,hubert4    ,cannetons    
faits aux petits pois--salade4          
,fanchonettes au confiture4             
,glace--crme au chocolat4    ,dessert4  
,caf4      ,it was after an early and   
somewhat abridged #ad version of the    
above  that ,i drove in the cheerless   
discomfort of a tikka gharry through    
,rangoon again in the moonlight4  ,after
 twenty minutes ,i saw once more  the   
paper temple4  ,there were two long     
lines of lanterns high in the  air in   
the shape of a horizontal ,v1 and under 
them a great crowd of  people4  ,the    
trellised temple itself was also        
charmingly decorated  with lanterns4    
,illustration3 ,,altar ,,table ,,at ,a  
,,buddhist ,,society',s ,,celebration4  
,inside ,i was effusively welcomed4  ,a 
chair was placed for me on  gay-coloured
 carpets at one side of a raised altar  
platform1 at the  back of which was a   
glass-fronted shrine containing an      
alabaster  ,buddha and strange lamps in 
front1 with two large kneeling figures  

and a pair of bronze birds4  ,the whole 
raised space before the  shrine1 some   
ten yards long by four yards deep1 was  
covered with  white cloths1 on which was
 placed close together a multitude of   
dishes and plates of rich cakes1 fruits 
and dainties4  ,there were  green       
coconuts1 piles of oranges1 melons with 
patterns cut upon them1  leaving the    
outer green rind in curves and spirals1 
while the incised  pattern was stained  
with red and green pigment1 and a mighty
 pumpkin  with a kind of ,christmas tree
 planted in it1 decked with packets of  
dried durian pickle pinched in at a     
little distance from each end so  that  
they looked like ,tom ,smith's crackers4
  ,now refreshment was  brought to me in
 the shape of dried prawns #ae and1 upon
 a large  plate in neat little separate 
heaps1 the following delicacies3--      
,green ginger1 minced4    ,sweet        
potatoes1 shredded4    ,fried coconut4  
,sesamum seeds in oil4    ,dried seed   
potatoes4    ,tea leaves4    ,fried     

ground nuts4      ,the president of this
 ,buddhist ,society1 a stout ,burman1   
with a  rose-pink silk kerchief rolled  
loosely round his head1 came and bowed  
to me1 raising his hands and then sat   
upon another chair at my side1  while a 
young ,burman stood behind to interpret 
our mutual  felicitations4    ,four     
silver dishes were now brought to me on 
a lacquered box1 and  these contained   
,burmah cheroots1 betel leaves and areca
 nut1 tobacco  leaves and chunam 7lime74
  ,chilis were also brought1 which made 
me  long in vain for a cool drink4      
,outside1 beyond the walls of pale green
 trellis1 glowed the lanterns1  and     
faces peered at us between the strips of
 wood4  ,cloth of red and  white stripes
 lined the roof1 and countless flags1   
quite tiny ones1  were fastened along   
the outer green railing4    ,in front of
 the ,buddha had now been placed some   
beautiful gold  chalices4  ,the white   
#af alabaster figure of ,gautama was    
half as  high as a man1 and a band      

covered with gems glittered across its  
breast4    ,the interpreter informed me 
that the whole gathering was a festival 
of the ,buddha ,kaitsa ,wut ,society1   
and he added3--,we are the people  in   
,burmah always polite to everybody--do  
please whatever you like  here4  ,he    
spoke ,english with assurance1 but to me
 his meaning was  not always clear4     
,here are some of his actual words in   
answer to my  request for further       
information3--,in time long past the    
monies of  the members were according to
 the orders of the chief here1 but they 
always used to pray every night with    
white dress1 not any sort of  fancy     
dress4  ,whenever we pray in order      
yearly we used to give  charity to      
everybody4    ,about ten o'clock ,i     
moved outside1 where another arm-chair  
had been  placed for me1 this time in   
the midst of a great crowd of people4   
,in front of me rose a staging of bamboo
 framework1 with seven oil  lamps       
hanging before it4  ,immediately below  

this staging a native  orchestra played 
strange instruments by candle-light and 
upon the  ground1 which sloped          
conveniently1 were ranged considerably  
over a  thousand people4  ,i counted    
thirty-six rows of over twenty-five     
each1  and ever-increasing crowds       
thronged back and sides4  ,most of the  
#ag  seated audience were on mats or low
 bedsteads1 and many were smoking  the  
large light-coloured cheroots4    ,my   
interpreter had now gone to join some   
ladies1 and ,i was left to  make the    
best ,i could of this1 my first1        
,burmese ,pwe4    ,two characters were  
dancing on the stage when ,i took my    
seat4  ,perhaps they were a prince and  
princess--at any rate they were  dressed
 in old ,burmese court style1 in very   
narrow skirts similar to  the hobble1   
and strange short jackets cut with      
curled bases like  horned moons         
stretched and held in shape by bamboo   
frames4  ,there was  much swaying and   
posturing of the body1 combined with    

quick1 jerky  movements1 the arms were  
moved a great deal with bent elbows and 
the  hands with fingers straight and the
 palms bent back sharply at the  wrists4
  ,when these dancers left the stage two
 men entered in long  white gowns1 with 
broad white bands tied round the head in
 big bows4  ,they turned their backs    
upon the audience at first1 and then    
turning  round squatted upon the floor4 
,two more similarly dressed came in in  
the same manner1 and after they had     
squatted beside the others two  quite   
astounding figures came on the scene    
with long bare swords4    ,the music all
 this while kept up an accompaniment of 
jingle and  clapper and tum1 tum1       
tum--jingle and clapper and tum1 tum1   
tum1 #ah  with a particularly squeaky   
wind instrument going ahead at the same 
time like a cork being drawn backward   
and forward over a pane of wet  glass4  
,i discovered now that on turning their 
backs to the audience on first          
entering1 the performers made obeisance 

to a draped bench at the back  of the   
stage4  ,two more sword-bearing figures 
came in and two  lance-bearers in very  
lovely bejewelled dresses of old gold4  
,there  was a long shrill speech        
now--then a loud bang1 at which all the 
actors fell to the ground1 and a figure 
entered bearing a  short-pointed mace   
and sat at once on the draped bench4    
,it was the beginning of a long drama of
 old ,burmese court-life which  would go
 on all night long4  ,the sword and     
lance-bearers went out1  leaving the    
gentleman with the mace talking to the  
four white-gowned  men 7they were       
probably a king and his ministers71 and 
he went on  talking to them for a long  
half-hour1 during which1 at rare        
intervals1 one of them sat up and made  
some remarks4  ,at last a  curtain came 
down1 leaving two of the white-gowned   
ones outside it4  ,these were joined by 
a manifestly comic character1 a man with
 bare  chest and a dark blue skirt1 who 
kept the audience in continual          

merriment while he was on the scene4    
,every now and then ,i turned my head to
 look up at the great ,v-shaped  line of
 lanterns #ai hanging high in the air   
overhead from tall  bamboo poles1 and   
the stars shining over all from the     
night sky4  ,a  number of the children  
were sleeping1 though their elders made 
a good  deal of noise1 laughing heartily
 at the comic actor as the play went  on
 and on and on4  ,i should like to have 
stayed longer1 but an  appointment with 
some elephants at an early hour the next
 morning  made me reluctantly leave the 
,pwe at midnight and hunt among the     
back rows of the audience for the driver
 of that tikka gharry4    ,everyone has 
heard of the ,burmese elephants piling  
timber4  ,the  largest of the timber    
companies employing elephants is the    
,bombay  ,burmah ,trading ,corporation1 
,limited4  ,the logs1 floated down the  
river from forest-lands1 eight hundred  
or a thousand miles upstream1  are      
stranded at high rain-tides at          

,poozoondoung1 a tract of lowland  to   
which ,i drove in the early morning4    
,i reached there just after sunrise1    
before the dew of the night was  yet    
evaporated1 and the logs1 on which one  
had to walk to avoid the  mud1 were very
 slippery and more difficult to         
negotiate with boots  than without4     
,the work of the elephants is to push1  
drag or pile the teak logs1 and  on the 
morning of my visit there were three of 
the great quadrupeds  at work3--,hpo    
,chem1 aged fifty1 a fine tusker who #bj
 had been  twenty years at the work1 and
 two female elephants1 ,mee ,cyan1      
seventy  years of age1 and ,mee ,poo1   
thirty4  ,the male elephant has1 of     
course1  tremendous strength in his     
tusks and uses them for carrying1       
holding  the log firmly with his trunk  
as he gravely walks up the pile of logs 
to place his burden on the top4  ,female
 elephants can only pile by a  combined 
lift and drag1 and do not raise the log 
entirely from the  ground4  ,pushing    

with the head is called ounging4        
,most of the elephants in use in ,burmah
 have been got by ,kheddah  operations1 
the ,kheddah being a big stockade built 
under ,government  direction in a       
similar way to the ,kraals of ,ceylon4  
,at the last  ,kheddah many elephants   
died suddenly of anthrax 7some two      
hundred in  about three days71 and a    
number of the trained animals were lost 
as  well as those newly captured4       
,the hours of elephant labour at        
,poozoondoung are strictly limited1     
being from six to nine in the morning   
and from three to six in the  afternoon4
    ,at ,poozoondoung1 not far from the 
timber-yards1 the chief rice-mills  are 
situated4  ,they were idle now1 but when
 ,i saw them again after  the harvest   
their big chimneys were belching forth  
black smoke from  the burning husk4     
,the husk obtained from the milled grain
 is not  only #ba sufficient for all    
fuel requirements1 but much has to be   
shot into the creek for waste4    ,the  

engine staffs are1 as upon most of the  
flotilla steamers1  ,chittagonians1     
,burmese being employed chiefly as      
clerks4    ,native boats called         
,loungoes brought such of the paddy from
 the  country as did not come by rail4  
,hulling the rice is the operation of   
breaking off the husk4  ,there  were    
rows of pairs of round flat stones1 the 
under ones stationary1  the upper ones  
revolving1 not grinding but merely      
breaking off the  husk4  ,both grain and
 husk fell from these stones together to
 the  floor below1 and were carried by  
bucket-elevators to a fanning-room1     
where the husk was blown off4  ,after   
leaving the fans the grain had  its     
remaining inner skin taken off in       
cones--cement-faced stones  made to     
press the grain against an outer jacket 
of perforated wire4  ,at the base of the
 cone a cloth hung round an opening in  
the floor1  through which the rice      
dropped1 while the white skin fell upon 
the  floor outside to be called bran1   

and shipped to ,europe for use in  the  
manufacture of cattle cakes4    ,in the 
process of whitening much of the grain  
is broken and sorted  by graduated      
sieves1 into four or five degrees of    
size4  ,finally the  rice bags are      
shipped on to a cargo boat in the creek1
 for despatch  by steamer to ,india or  
,europe4    #bb    ,when the rice-mills 
are in full work the smoke of their     
chimneys  hangs above ,rangoon1 but     
overhead every evening the flying foxes 
pass  as usual1 and the beautiful       
,pagoda is far enough away to remain    
untarnished upon its little hill4       
,illustration3 ,,boy ,,showing          
,,tatooing ,,customary ,,with ,,all     
,,burmese ,,males4          #bc         
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,his ,,highness ,,the
 ,,sawbwa ,,of ,,hsipaw    ,i left the  
,phayre ,street station at ,rangoon on a
 bright morning1  which made me think of
 ,england and the perfect beginning of a
 warm  summer day at home4  ,the        
paddy-fields were like an ocean on each 

side  of the railway line1 and as yellow
 as ripe corn3 some distant hills1  the 
,eastern ,yomans which divide ,burmah   
from ,siam1 were faintly  visible and   
became clearer after ,i had passed      
,pegu4  ,there are no  elephants in     
those hills1 though they are yet in     
their thousands in  the ,western ,yomans
 7one man ,i met had counted sixty in a 
single herd74    ,railway journeys with 
unshuttered windows are like            
miscellaneous  collections of snapshot  
photographs--now men in the paddy-fields
  wearing the huge low conical bamboo   
hats of the ,shan ,states2 then big     
anthills and snipe2 a banyan tree--the  
gutta-percha banyan tree1  ,burmese     
,nynung1 out of which the natives make  
their birdlime2 grey  squares of flat   
hard mud1 the ,burmese threshing floor2 
a crowd of  brown hawks about a group of
 natives drying fish2 a #bd small eagle 
with four-foot spread of wings1         
sometimes called a peacock hawk1  having
 blue eyes instead of the usual eagle   

yellow2 an ,eng tree1 a  taxed tree     
largely used for building purposes 7a   
tree that comes up  and is of no use is 
called here a ,powk-pin72 in a stream a 
man  swinging a fishing-net hung on     
crossed arched hoops at the end of a    
pole--a net of just the same pattern ,i 
have seen on ,arno shallows at          
,florence2 a dull leaden-coloured layer 
of rotting fish on bamboo  screens      
raised above the ground on poles--when  
rotted enough and full  enough of       
insects1 it will be pounded up to make a
 national dish  called ,ngape4    ,in   
the distance on the other side of the   
line the ,western ,yomans now  appeared3
 they are lower than the ,eastern       
,yomans1 and do not rise  much above    
four thousand feet4  ,the window        
pictures went on changing3  little      
streams full of tree-climbing perch2    
small fisheries--everyone  of them taxed
 to swell the revenue2 bright coloured  
bee-eaters1 the  only insectivorous     
birds that build in the earth and not in

 trees2  corrugated iron--oh6 very much 
corrugated iron--even in the smallest   
villages1 it is used for the hut roofs  
wherever the railway goes4    ,i was now
 passing through the home of the        
hamadryad1 that serpent of  temerity and
 unprovoked assaults1 but soon came     
nearer to the  foothills and the edge of
 the jungle4  ,it was #be about five    
o'clock1 the time when at this season of
 golden paddy-fields the  jungle fowl   
come out to steal the rice--peacocks    
with tails longer  than they grow in    
captivity1 and even more numerous than  
those  unnumbered ,i have seen in the   
grounds of ,warwick ,castle4  ,about    
this  time of year1 when he has been    
feeding on rice for a few weeks1 your   
peacock is considered very good eating  
and is not difficult to get on  a       
moonlight night4  ,he gives three calls 
before he settles to sleep1  just to    
tell anyone who may be interested which 
tree he is in4    ,pale and feathery the
 tall tufts of elephant grass quivered  

gently1  and through them ,i could see a
 village stockaded against dacoits4  ,a 
fellow-traveller told me that any man   
who owns ten houses has to  fence the   
village1 and remarked that two hundred  
dacoits were killed  hereabouts during  
the previous year4  ,my companion was a 
well marked  man4  ,he had a white scar 
on his chin where he had been clawed by 
a  leopard1 and a mark on one arm where 
he had been shot by boxers in  ,china4  
,we were passing ,kanutkwin1 which means
 the crooked place1 and was  the scene  
of great man-eating operations a few    
years back1 when one  tiger killed      
twenty-five people before he was        
accidentally shot6  ,a  man was out in  
the jungle after birds with a shotgun1  
and seeing  something move near him1    
fired precipitately and with great #bf  
luck  ended the career of that          
four-footed dacoit4    ,the night was   
cold and the early morning colder still4
  ,i noticed  that the third-class      
carriages were crowded with             

passengers--long  compartments with a   
third row of people on a long bench down
 the  middle4  ,rolled up in shawls or  
thick wadded and quilted coats1 the     
natives kept their heads in woollen     
wrappers1 hoods or ,balaclava  helmets1 
while up on the racks and heaped at the 
open ends of the  carriages were the    
huge bamboo hats1 looking like savage   
shields or  targes1 which would be      
needed in the heat of the day4  ,some   
men also  carried long swords1 for here 
in the ,shan ,states a man may go armed 
without question4    ,at ,sedaw1 a      
little after seven o'clock1 ,i reached  
the beginning of  the hills1 and about  
three of that afternoon1 with a live hen
 and  some provisions obtained while the
 train waited at ,maimyo 7a station     
where there is a native ,indian mountain
 battery71 ,i got out at                
,gokteik--,gokteik of the famous        
bridge--,gokteik of the gorge and the   
cave and the highest graded railway in  
the world4  ,but if you asked a  ,shan  

to take you to ,gokteik1 it is not here 
he would take you1 but to  a ,shan      
village many miles away1 surrounded as  
all ,shan villages are  by thick clumps 
of bamboos4    ,along the steepest part 
of the railway track are laid a second  
pair  of rails1 which lie covered #bg   
with sand between wooden side-slips1  so
 that in case of brakes failing a       
runaway train could be switched  on to  
these as retarders4  ,at ,gokteik       
,bridge ,i think the only purpose  for a
 railway station is for the convenience 
of the engineer1 who has  occasionally  
to come up and examine the structure4   
,i found a dak  bungalow near the       
station1 with clean rooms but without   
any cook1 so  that ,tambusami1 my       
servant1 had an opportunity of showing  
his skill  with the pots and pans placed
 there for the stranger's use4    ,i    
left him to attend to the kitchen and   
crossed the long trestle  bridge of     
steel girders--it is #hbj feet above the
 torrent at the  bottom of the gorge2   

then1 following the railway line through
 a  couple of short tunnels1 ,i climbed 
out on to a spur of the mountain  from  
which ,i could look back at the gorge4  
,the torrent below comes  out through a 
vast stalactite cave or tunnel1 the     
lower opening of  which is like part of 
some great cathedral dome4  ,the rock   
above  crosses like a natural arch #ejj 
feet high1 and it is upon that arch     
that the stupendous1 though             
spidery-looking structure of the viaduct
  has been raised by an ,american firm4 
,their tender was very much less  than  
that of any ,english house1 and although
 it is possible that  ,american         
engineers have had more experience in   
this kind of work1 it  is suggested that
 the lowness of the tender was partly to
 ensure a  big advertisement4  ,walking 
alone high #bh in air across the #gej   
yards of that narrow bridge1 which has  
no kind of railing1 was  certainly one  
of the sensations of my journey1 and in 
a thick mist  the experience must be    

weird in the extreme4    ,the present   
engineer of the line was1 at the time of
 my visit1 also  staying at ,gokteik    
7investigating a suspected change of    
curve through  heat expansion71 and he  
took me in the early hours of the       
morning  through some of the dense      
jungle in the gorge above the feet of   
the  bridge4  ,the engineer carried a   
,winchester repeater1 and ,i was armed  
with a good double-barrelled rifle1 but 
our hopes of seeing certain  stripes    
reported to be near were vain4  ,we     
crept for a long time  stealthily       
through dense jungle-growth1 with a     
variety of prickles  and spikes1 and    
came upon fresh hoof-marks of wild boar1
 small deer1  saumbur and buffalo but no
 sign of a tiger1 and ,i could not      
remain  for a second attempt4    ,my    
next stopping-place was ,hsipaw1 a town 
of some size1 in which is  the palace of
 ,sawche1 the ,sawbwa of ,hsipaw4  ,i   
was sorry to find that  this gentleman's
 ,english adviser1 to whom the          

authorities had  promised to write about
 my coming1 was away on leave4  ,there  
was no  other ,english resident at      
,hsipaw except the keeper of the        
refreshment-room at the railway station1
 which included the usual  accommodation
 of a dak bungalow4  ,this was a man    
with a #bi  pronounced ,cockney accent  
and a humorous twinkle in his eye1 and  
in  view of the approaching ,christmas  
season he had laid in a large  number of
 cured hams1 which hung all round the   
room4  ,at ,hsipaw that  evening there  
sat at table with me two other          
passengers who were  changing trains2   
one1 the medical officer for the ,shan  
,states1 whom ,i  had joined on leaving 
,gokteik1 and the other1 a mining       
engineer who  had had blackwater fever  
at ,buluwayo and had come to ,burmah for
 a  change of air4    ,the doctor was on
 the look-out for plague cases1 and     
where he had  native assistants they    
waited at the railway stations to report
 to  him as he passed through4  ,thus at

 ,kyankine ,i had heard a native        
assistant tell the doctor that a ,shan  
woman1 who was selling  bringalls in the
 market1 had declared she had seen four 
or five  people dying at an outlying    
village4    ,can you rely on her        
statement8 said the doctor4    ,i can't 
exactly say4    ,you should have sent   
for the poogi 7the poogi or pudgy is the
  village headman who collects the taxes
 and takes them to the  ,nabang1 the    
head of a circle of villages and        
responsible to the  ,government74  ,you 
should have sent for the poogi1 said the
 doctor4    ,i did1 sir1 the assistant  
answered1 but he said he had not heard  
anything about it4    #cj    ,what about
 the ,jaremai ,nabang--isn't he here8   
,he is away from here1 sir2 he goes     
sometimes to ,lashio--the woman  said it
 was seven or eight days ago1 but the   
poogi did not know  anything about it4  
,well1 keep your ears open and find out 
all you can4  ,i'll run that  poogi     
in--wire for ,chatterjee for any bad    

case4    ,i was amused at the ,cockney  
talk of the keeper of the               
refreshment-room as he brought in the   
dishes1 when the mining  engineer said  
to him as he came up to the table3--,i  
don't want to be  offensive1 but a man  
at ,tongu told me you have committed    
bigamy4    ,let 'em prove it1 said the  
,cockney1 let 'em prove it--that's what 
,i say4  ,i'm not a going to give myself
 away to you gentlemen nor to  my own   
frens--what ,i say is1 they've got to   
prove it4  ,i'm not  a-saying1 mind yer1
 that there isn't nothin' ,i've been    
foolish about  or no mistake as ,i      
'aven't made in the past4  ,they tried  
'ard to  arrest me yesterday--yes1 they 
did1 doctor1 but they couldn't do it1   
not they4    ,but the man at ,tongu     
showed me a marriage certificate1 said  
the  mining engineer4  ,here the doctor 
applied the closure and we got on  with 
our dinner4    ,when it was over ,i took
 a ,shan boy as a guide to find the     
,sawbwa's  house4  ,tambusami1 my #ca   

own ,hindoo servant1 was1 of course1    
useless here as regards conversation4   
,the ,shan boy knew some  ,english1     
being able to say yes1 no1 and railway  
station4  ,it  was just after eight     
o'clock when we started1 and after      
walking one  and a half or two miles    
along a white road and turning twice1 we
  crossed two small bridges over a      
stream or moat1 and ,i saw in front  of 
us some large buildings4  ,when ,i asked
 at a guess if this were the  house of  
the ,sawbwa1 the boy assented ,sawbwa4  
,under a covered arcade two men were    
crouching in the cold over a fire  of   
sticks1 watching a giant kettle1 which  
,i think was copper and not  brass4     
,the arcade led into the hall of a large
 house whitewashed and  with a coloured 
pattern running round the wall and      
across several  doors4  ,at one side was
 a staircase leading to the floor above1
 and  at the bottom of the stairs eight 
or ten pairs of plush slippers were     
scattered about untidily near a large   

red-lacquered box and a cat1  which was 
eating from a round dish4    ,some kind 
of guard or policeman in a red turban   
and bearing a long  sword outside his   
ample cloak came to have a look at me1  
and was soon  joined by another in      
similar uniform4  ,i talked to them and 
the men  by the kettle and thought they 
understood that ,i wanted them to take  
my card to the ,sawbwa1 and that ,i     
wanted to see him4  ,they all put  their
 heads on one side #cb with cheek on    
hand and shut their eyes1  by which ,i  
supposed they meant he had gone to bed4 
,it was not yet  nine o'clock1 however1 
and as ,i had been told that ,sawche had
 been  educated in ,england1 ,i doubted 
such early hours and ,i persisted in    
pretending that ,i did not understand4  
,i walked up and down the covered way1  
and presently a little lady1  with her  
face painted white1 crept gingerly down 
the stairs and into  the hall1 furtively
 peeping at me4  ,as soon as she knew   
that ,i could  see her she scurried back

 like a frightened rabbit1 and there was
  another long silence4  ,two big       
hounds1 as tall as great ,danes but     
with sharper noses1 came strolling up   
and allowed me to pat them4  ,it  was   
bitterly cold1 but at last ,i persuaded 
one of the men with swords  to go into  
the house and presently he returned with
 the following  message3--    ,his      
,highness the ,sawbwa has gone to sleep4
  ,if there is anything to  be said     
please leave a chit to the policeman or 
come to-morrow again  at about noon4    
,nothing is able to wake ,his ,highness 
at present4  ,this note is sent to      
explain what the policeman at the gate  
wanted to  say4    ,illustration3 ,,in  
,,the ,,shan ,,states3 ,,guard ,,and    
,,policeman4    ,the next morning ,i was
 calling again at the house of the moat1
 when ,i  beheld the ,sawbwa approaching
 through the grounds carrying a black   
umbrella and followed by a dozen men1   
walking slowly behind him4  ,he  was    
rather thin and small-limbed1 had dark  

eyes1 not ,mongolian #cc  in type1 and a
 small moustache over a delicate mouth  
with a small  narrow chin4  ,on his head
 was a yellow turban1 which added a     
little  to his short stature1 and he    
wore a dress or gown over-all of black  
silk with woven black pattern1 fine     
black silk rolled round his neck  for   
about five inches up to the chin4  ,thin
 white trouser-ends showed  beneath the 
gown over dark socks and patent leather 
dancing-pumps  with black ribbons4  ,of 
jewellery he wore little1 his chief     
ornament  being a fine ruby in a gold   
finger-ring4    ,the ,sawbwa shook hands
 delicately and said1 ,how do you do8   
and  chatted in good ,english for a few 
minutes4  ,he explained that he was     
extremely busy with an important case at
 the ,court and asked me to  join him   
there4  ,he is a busy man1 whose        
position is by no means a  sinecure     
involving the direction of the three    
,shan ,states of ,mihung1  ,hsunhai and 
,mintoung1 and all the magisterial work 

of the district4    ,the ,court-,house  
was a two-storeyed wooden building1 with
 a veranda  and a balcony opposite the  
gate of the palace compound on the other
  side of a white dusty road4  ,in the  
,court-,room the ,sawbwa sat on a       
rotary chair upon a raised platform1 and
 an arm-chair was placed for  me beside 
him4  ,sawche had now discarded the     
yellow turban and wore a  piece of      
rose-coloured silk round his head in the
 ordinary ,burmese  fashion4  ,behind us
 hung a portrait in black and #cd white 
of ,queen  ,victoria1 and in front1 on  
the top of a wooden railing1 was a red  
narrow box1 two feet long1 tied in the  
centre with crossed tapes and           
containing some sacred writings for oath
 administration4  ,on the  platform     
beside the ,sawbwa's chair1 upon a low1 
round stool of red  lacquer ornamented  
with a gold pattern1 were china cups and
 teapots4    ,a man stood in one of two 
small docks or railed enclosures1 and a 
number of people with documents in their

 hands squatted upon the  floor outside4
    ,i could not understand any of the  
speaking1 and after he had been  talking
 quite a long time to the man in the    
railed enclosure1 the  ,sawbwa turned to
 me and proposed in his soft voice that 
he should  send someone to show me round
 his compound4  ,the moated house ,i had
  called at previously was far from here
 within the town4    ,conducted by one  
man who spoke a few words of ,english   
and followed by  another who did not1 ,i
 crossed the road and entered the       
compound  through red gates4  ,it was   
surrounded by tall wooden palings1 ten  
or  eleven feet high1 which were roughly
 whitewashed1 and in the centre  of the 
road-front1 with small doors in the     
hoarding at each side1  were these large
 wooden gates with a little rude carving
 about the  top of them4  ,within1 upon 
a rough cylinder of red brick in the    
middle of a level space of poor coarse  
grass1 #ce flying a little  white       
fork-shaped flag1 a tall flagstaff was  

set in front of the  palace1 which is   
built of wood upon a raised platform of 
cement and  stucco-covered bricks1 five 
or six feet from the ground4  ,it is    
partly old and in the centre is         
surmounted by a series of gables1 one   
above another1 with well-carved barge   
boards4  ,in the middle of the  front1  
as well as at the two ends of the       
building1 a flight of steps  with low   
side walls leads to the top of the      
cement platform1 and the  centre flight 
is closed below by a small green railing
 with a wicket  gate4  ,within1 through 
the outer square-cut wooden pillars1 you
 can  see the red round stucco columns  
of the hall of audience4  ,outside1     
from the centre of the roof1 a tall1    
very narrow spire shoots up  above and  
behind the gables1 and the top of this  
is richly ornamented  and gilded like   
the hti of a pagoda4    ,the residence  
of the chief queen1 the ,maha ,devi1 a  
,shan woman1  adjoins the palace        
immediately behind4  ,a girl stood on   

the veranda  bending forward and combing
 out her long black hair1 which fell to 
the ground1 and behind her between two  
of the posts of the veranda  hung a     
large piece of tapestry with figures    
worked upon it in gold  thread4         
,further back among trees are the houses
 of the second1 third  and fourth       
queens1 and two for the twenty-six wives
 of minor  importance4  ,here they live 
from one year's end to another1 very    
rarely leaving the #cf compound1 and    
dwelling1 though without its  austerity1
 in the same seclusion as that of a     
nunnery4    ,whatever influence it has  
had upon his ideals1 an ,oxford         
education  has not led the ,sawbwa to   
adopt ,western practice in his          
matrimonial  relations2 yet it is       
doubtful if the ,cockney keeper of the  
railway  refreshment-room would have so 
far discounted his sense of  superiority
 to an ,asiatic as to have envied him   
even such privileges  as these4    ,soon
 after ,i returned to the ,court-,house 

the ,sawbwa adjourned the  sitting1 and 
we were talking together upon the       
balcony when he went  up to the railing 
and pointing to a figure upon the ground
 below said  to me1 ,this is one of my  
gardeners4    ,i had noticed the man    
earlier2 he was a thin tall ,hindoo who 
had  walked very slowly to the          
,court-,house1 and as if with much      
difficulty4  ,he was dressed in a white 
robe and had squatted upon the  ground1 
wrapping the drapery round him and over 
the top of his head4  ,a fat man with a 
large buff turban had strolled after him
 and was  walking up and down4  ,it     
appeared that the latter was a doctor4  
,the  ,hindoo gardener was suffering    
badly from dysentery1 but was unwilling 
to go away to the hospital because he   
had a ,shan wife and feared she  would  
run away while he was shut up4  ,if he  
goes1 #cg said the  ,sawbwa1 ,i will    
keep his place for him and let him come 
back to work  when he is cured4 ,the    
man1 however1 was still unwilling and   

resisted  all persuasion4  ,then let him
 die1 said the ,sawbwa1 and went on     
talking to me about ,england4           
,although ,sawche has so many wives he  
has only one son1 a boy of  twelve or   
thirteen1 named ,maung ,nyo4  ,i saw him
 coming through the  central avenue of  
the bazaar1 dressed in rich silks and   
with his face  whitened like a woman's  
with ground sandalwood4  ,he was being  
wheeled  slowly along upon a smart      
plated bicycle by two men1 while another
  pair of attendants carried a          
long-handled gold umbrella on each side 
of him4  ,in a few days ,maung ,nyo was 
to enter upon his period of  ,hpoongi or
 priest-training1 in accordance with    
orthodox ,burmese  custom4    ,the      
bazaar at ,hsipaw was chiefly           
interesting on account of the  ,kachins 
who had come in from a distance4  ,they 
carried gaily  ornamented haversacks1   
and their women-folk1 strong-looking and
  heavy-faced1 wore about the waist and 
ankles large coils of bamboo as  thin as

 fine string and black in colour4       
,the usual rows of bazaar shops were    
ranged under long arcades roofed  with  
corrugated iron1 and out in the roadway 
double and treble lines  of sellers from
 outlying places had spread their market
 produce on  plantain leaves4  ,of dried
 #ch fish there was certainly an        
extraordinary variety--thirty kinds at  
the very least1 but there was  no       
profusion of strange fruits and no showy
 display of silks or  finery1 and the   
scene was animated without being gay4   
,the air was free and wholesome at      
,hsipaw1 and the ,shans had that        
healthy look which seems to be the      
common heritage of all people of  the   
hills4          #ci    ,,chapter ,,iii  
,,up ,,the ,,irrawaddy ,,to ,,bhamo     
,a group of white pagodas glowing in the
 sunlight3 a flat shore rising  to      
little hills further up the             
river--little hills with more pagodas   
on top of them1 and beyond in the       
distance pale ghostly mountains  almost 

lost in a faint haze4  ,perhaps there is
 no scene more typical  of ,burmah than 
this ,i looked upon from the deck of a  
steamer at  ,ferryshaw ,siding1 that    
meandered slowly across the wide water1 
just  stirred by the least possible     
ripple4    ,a train waited on the far   
side above a stretch of loose grey sand4
  ,i  was on my way to ,katha to join   
there one of the ,irrawaddy ,flotilla   
,company's boats on its way up to       
,bhamo1 and my dinner was eaten that    
,christmas evening in a small railway   
refreshment-room decorated with  some   
prints after ,landseer1 and one of a    
sentimental girl's head  called ,the    
,soul's ,awakening4  ,another man shared
 the same table in  unbroken silence    
until1 with some very bad coffee1 the   
,hindoo  butler brought the bills4      
,excuse me1 ,i said to the stranger1    
but #dj you are an ,englishman1 and this
 is our ,christmas  dinner--will you    
drink a glass of wine with me8    ,so we
 drank toasts in port that was thick    

enough to have pleased  ,alfred         
,tennyson1 and slept none the worse for 
it on the jolting  lumbering train4     
,there was a dense mist at ,katha when  
,i left the railway for the  river-boat1
 and progress was slow until the air    
cleared and long flat  sandbanks became 
visible and a green tree-clad plain with
 blue  mountains to the north-west4     
,teak rafts drifted past us downstream  
on their long journey to ,poozoondoung  
,creek1 and the old tusker ,mpo  ,chem  
and his lady helps4  ,many rafts of     
bamboos passed us also1  supporting     
heavy teak logs below them1 for teak is 
not easily rafted  till it is three     
years dead1 and recently-felled logs    
float  reluctantly as if possessing     
still enough of life to tell their      
sorrow at leaving the upland forests4   
,illustration3 ,katha4    ,it is not    
many decades since rafts freighted with 
human bodies1 more  nearly still in     
touch with life than the new teak logs1 
floated down  this river4  ,our captain1

 whose name was ,teeldrup1 a ,dane with 
,icelandic blood1 ran boats for the     
,irrawaddy traffic some years  before   
the final annexation1 and described to  
me a passage on this  very piece of the 
river when no less than thirty          
unfortunate ,kachins  came floating down
 #da the stream crucified upon bamboo   
frames4  ,a  lot has been talked of the 
cruelties1 said ,captain ,teeldrup1 but 
,i  think the poor devils were generally
 soon put out of their misery4    ,mora 
and ,segaw we passed--villages on the   
banks--taking on a few  native          
passengers from small boats that came   
out to us1 and at eight  o'clock in the 
evening we anchored in mid-stream4  ,the
 deck was quite  covered in with canvas1
 and canvas also covered all the cabin  
windows4  ,notwithstanding these        
precautions1 however1 the mist in the   
morning was so thick that when ,i came  
to dress all my clothes were  thoroughly
 damp4  ,at half-past seven the fog     
began to lessen  somewhat1 but there was

 no question of starting1 although we   
were  already many hours behind time4   
,lumps of brown spongy froth kept       
appearing to float past and out of sight
 again in the little space of  thick    
muddy water visible round the boat4     
,hours later we got away1 and at length 
sighted ,bhamo late in the  afternoon4  
,i could just make out the red building 
of ,fort ,c and a  white spot1 which ,i 
was told was the bell pagoda4  ,of the  
two  existing forts1 ,a is for the      
military police and ,c for the regulars1
  ,b1 the intermediate fort1 having been
 done away with a few years ago4    ,the
 broad river with its innumerable eddies
 comes swirling down  between its level 
sandbanks1 #db and as the scenery was at
 ,katha so  it was at ,bhamo--just a    
level plain of tall grasses and trees   
and  beyond these1 distant mountains now
 the colour of a ripe plum's  bloom4    
,then suddenly slate-grey landing-flats 
appeared against the  sand1 and in a few
 minutes ,i was again on shore4    ,at  

,bhamo the agent of the ,flotilla       
,company is a white-haired  ,frenchman1 
who once held an influential position in
 ,burmah as  minister to ,king ,thebaw4 
,he had gone to the ,east as a ,bourbon 
exile  and after years of unsuccessful  
schemes and vain intrigue1  discredited 
and ruined by the failure of his own    
plans1 ,monsieur  ,d',avera1 in a       
steamship office1 now lavishes the      
distinguished  courtesy of an old       
,french family upon ,american tourists  
and such  wayfarers as myself1 and is   
said to have written an astounding book 
of memoirs for posthumous publication4  
,it is in trade that ,bhamo's claim to  
attention lies1 and in the  street of   
,chinese offices and stores for the     
exchange of ,manchester  for ,chinese   
goods4  ,a ,burman1 to whom ,i had been 
talking on the boat1  was related by    
marriage to the family of a ,chinese    
merchant1 and in  the evening he took me
 to call at a house with the top of the 
gateway  curved up at the ends in a way1

 he said1 only affected by ,chinamen of 
official position4  ,the merchant was   
apparently some kind of consul1  and    
over and above the details of his own   
business1 #dc watched on  behalf of the 
,chinese ,government the interest of his
 ,bhamo  compatriots4    ,the ,chinese  
merchant himself was away1 but his sons 
showed me over  the warehouse and gave  
me tea in a living-room1 where there was
 an  aquarium of goldfish1 and which was
 decorated with a few pieces of  lacquer
 and long strings of ,chinese ,new ,year
 cards nearly a  twelve-month old1 which
 hung across the room near the ceiling4 
,sitting there drinking tea ,i could see
 through the series of now  dusky       
storerooms to the street entrance1 and  
from little lattices at  the sides of   
these rooms noted the glint of lamplight
 and saw that  the clerks were busy over
 their books4    ,that night ,i went to 
another ,pwe1 given this time under     
cover4  ,a  large bamboo structure upon 
the sandy shore of the river1 which had 

been erected by ,government for a recent
 durbar1 had been rented by  the ,pwe   
impresario for use as a theatre1 and as 
the affair was1 in  this case1 entirely 
a business venture 7a kind of ,burmese  
touring  company71 a charge was made for
 admission1 varying from four annas to  
one rupee4    ,the orchestra was very   
similar to the one ,i had seen at       
,rangoon1 but  being nearer to it ,i    
could see the performers better4  ,it   
consisted  first of a big drum slung in 
the air from a long horizontal dragon1  
whose fantastic head rose above the     
front of the stage2 next1 a  circular   
#dd wooden well frame or box1 within    
which were placed a  series of between  
twenty and thirty small drums1 each     
about four to  six inches across2 then a
 lower circular enclosure with metal    
balls  and cups in place of the drums4  
,these three items were put in a line   
immediately in front of the stage1 and  
inside the circle of small  drums1 with 
candles round him on the edge of the    

surrounding  woodwork1 sat the chef     
d'orchestre1 who tuned up his drums1    
which  he struck with his bare fingers1 
through all the intervals between  the  
passages of music4    ,on one side of   
the chef sat a man at the big dragon    
drum and on the  other one playing on   
the metal cups1 while behind squatted   
several  players of wind instruments and
 three or four men with split bamboo    
rods1 four or five feet long1 which made
 a loud clapping noise when  suddenly   
closed4  ,the playing of the tiny drums 
was extremely  skilful1 but the wind    
instruments were wheezy and screechy1   
though ,i  thought the general effect of
 the whole orchestra was rather         
pleasing4    ,illustration3 ,,at ,a     
,,burmese ,,pwe4    ,my ,burmese        
acquaintance had come with me to the    
,pwe2 and his  knowledge of ,english1   
which he spoke with a peculiarly soft   
and  gentle intonation1 enabled me to   
understand the thread of the  narrative4
  ,the entertainment was sophisticated  

enough to include  some simple          
drop-scenes which1 however1 had no      
appropriateness #de  nor any connection 
with the story1 and a curtain which     
rarely  descended as the divisions of   
the drama were of great length4         
,there was again a terpsichorean        
heroine1 the daughter of a powerful     
nobleman1 and after she had danced for  
half an hour there followed a  very long
 scene between a king and his ministers4
  ,in dancing the  hands and arms were  
moved more than the feet1 and there was 
much  jerky and angular movement of the 
body4  ,the costumes were again of  old 
,burmese court style1 and a curious     
detail was that the hats worn  by the   
four ministers were tall domes1 which   
curved over at the top  in the same     
manner as the head-gear of ,venetian    
doges4  ,the king1 who  wore on his head
 a veritable pagoda1 was haranguing his 
ministers  about revenue and the        
unsettled state of his frontiers1 but my
  ,burmese friend explained that he only

 instructed his ministers by  suggestion
 and not with direct orders4  ,the story
 was wrapped round  the raids of a great
 dacoit who had been harassing border   
country and  had carried away and       
married the ever-dancing heroine4       
,there was a  very amusing scene between
 the lady's father and her two servants1
  comic parts which were acted with such
 droll and humorous gusto that  it was a
 delight to watch them1 even without a  
key to their words4  ,indeed this scene 
had a motive worthy of ,molire1 and     
recalled to me  at the same time #df the
 incident in ,yeats' play--,where there 
is  nothing there is ,god1--in which an 
,english owner of land is tried  for the
 uselessness of his life by ,irish      
tinkers in a barn4    ,the foolish      
master agrees that one of the servants1 
who has explained  that he is himself   
very wise and the master very foolish   
about all  things1 shall take the place 
of judge and bids him sit in the middle 
of the stage to conduct a mock trial in 

which he1 the master1 is the  accused4  
,the scheme breaks down1 of course1 and 
when the master  finally goes for his   
servant and trounces him well1 there is 
wild  rough and tumble on the stage and 
riotous laughter from the audience4     
,no people in the world can give        
themselves more gladly and              
light-heartedly to enjoyment than the   
,burmese1 and there was not a  single   
member of the audience--man1 woman or   
child--who looked as if  there were such
 a thing as care4    ,illustration3     
,,burmese ,,actors ,,at ,,bhamo4        
,another droll scene was in the house of
 a timorous villager4  ,this  was       
supposed to be at night and quite in the
 dark1 though the lamps  hanging along  
the top of the stage 7there were no     
footlights7 were  not lowered at all1 so
 that the acting of the dark was not    
obscured  by any attempt at realistic   
effect4  ,the dacoit and his followers  
were groping and feeling about the stage
 to find the villager1 who  quaked and  

shook as if paralysed with terror2 then 
one of the  searchers would come upon   
him and touching #dg some part of his   
motionless body would describe it to the
 dacoit as something other  than the    
part of a man1 and go on groping round  
the room till he once  more encountered 
the quaking villager4    ,men1 women and
 children shouted1 shook and rolled in a
 very ecstasy  of delight at this piece 
of pantomime4  ,really it should not be 
difficult to govern such people as      
these6  ,unfortunately1 however1  his   
natural love of pleasure is combined in 
this short dumpy man1  ,jack ,burman1   
with an indolence fatal to business     
success4  ,his  mortgaged land falls    
into the hands of the chetty1 and in    
commercial  matters he is being quietly 
walked over4    ,burmah1 so rich in     
natural resources1 in spite of the      
statements of  school geographies1 must 
look for the future to be exploited not 
for  peaceful improvement of its own    
comparatively small native  population1 

but for the speculators of ,capel ,court
 and ,wall ,street1  and the hordes of  
,hindoos and ,chinamen flocking through 
its doors4  ,there is in all countries a
 clash of interests between practical   
success 7which implies the largest      
possible aggregation of healthy1        
well-nourished bodies having freedom of 
action7 and ideal success 7of  which ,i 
might dream indefinitely without        
continuing this book71 and  it is that  
eternal combat that makes at once the   
bitter and sweet of  government4    #dh 
,i left the ,pwe at last to go on       
unravelling its long story till  dawn1  
and myself got some hours of sleep in   
readiness for a morning  in the ,chinese
 quarter of ,bhamo4    ,this is a wide  
street with a gulley or gutter about #d 
feet wide along  the front of the shops1
 with four or five wooden planks laid   
across  it close together as an approach
 to each4  ,there were coolies under    
bamboo yokes or shoulder-poles bearing  
crates and baskets1 ,shan men  on ponies

 bargaining green fodder1 and ,chinese  
women1 with the  traditionally          
contracted feet1 making quilted woollen 
coats1 while  fat babies played securely
 in movable wooden pens4  ,an ,indian   
policeman1 khaki-clad1 with his legs in 
puttees1 was trying to make  himself    
understood by a party of ,kachins--two  
men and an old and  young woman4  ,three
 out of these four possessed large      
goitres1  hanging wallets of flesh1     
which made them look dewlapped like     
bulls4  ,la ,naung was the name of the  
older man1 and both the women were named
  ,makaw4  ,the girl was bare-headed and
 had her short hair cut in a  thick     
fringe over the forehead1 and had round 
her neck three large  stiff rings4      
,they carried the same gay-coloured     
haversacks ,i had  seen at ,hsipaw1 and 
wore upon waists1 arms and legs similar 
coils of  thin black bamboo4    ,in the 
chief ,chinese temple or joss-house two 
standing figures1 about  four times #di 
life-size--,shotsa and ,quan ,pin--were 

placed on either  side of a central     
grille high up in the wall1 through the 
meshes of  which could be seen the      
long-bearded face of ,quansa4  ,the     
latter's  expression might be described 
as benevolent2 but that of the giant    
,shotsa1 who held a mighty blade in the 
air with his left hand1 was  horrible   
enough to draw from an ,american lady1  
who came in while ,i  was there1 the    
remark3--,i guess if ,i stayed here that
 face'd just  skeer me into religion1   
7,her companion replied3--,that's the   
only  way you would get it67    ,in a   
hall of this polytheistic temple beyond 
the one of ,quansa1 was a  ,buddha with 
small figures all round the walls1 and  
in front of these  as boxes for         
offerings an incongruous series of      
,huntley  ,palmer's  biscuit-tins1 still
 decorated with their original paper    
coverings4    ,the ,burmese houses at   
,bhamo are very different from the      
,chinese  shops1 being built on tall    
wooden piles with long flights of wooden

  steps up to them1 and in sunset light 
a group of such houses is a  pretty     
sight1 especially if some silk cloths   
are spread to dry and  some girls are   
looking out over the veranda4    ,of    
course ,bhamo has its pagoda too1 and of
 more recent years its  race-course and 
polo-ground1 but ,i had only a peep at  
these before  rejoining the river       
steamer4    ,on the return journey ,i   
had good views of #ej the defile below  
,sinkan village1 where the hills rise   
steeply from the edge of the  water1 and
 in some places sheer walls of bare rock
 rise precipitously  several hundred    
feet--gaunt perpendicular cliffs more   
like some piece  of scenery near        
,balholm or ,dalen in ,norway than any  
,i had yet seen in  the ,east1 and      
doubly welcome after the comparative    
monotony of  sandbanks4  ,most of the   
hillside was clothed with dense jungle1 
which  made more effective contrast with
 the bare treeless places4              
,illustration3 ,a ,,village ,,on ,,the  

,,irrawaddy    ,on the right bank1 a    
little distance from the big rock of the
 defile1  there is a village and this is
 where ,lala was lost4  ,lala was a     
little black bear an engineer told me   
about4  ,it was one of those            
honeybears1 he said--had a white        
,v-shaped mark on the chest4  ,they     
kept chickens on board in a coop and one
 night ,lala pulled a chicken  out of   
this coop1 practically skinning it      
between the bars2 the  ,sakunny1 the    
wheelman1 declared that ,lala took a    
piece of his bread  and deliberately    
placed it in the chicken's trough       
outside the bars  and waited till the   
bird put its head out4  ,he was not the 
sort of  man to make up such a story1   
but the engineer could hardly believe   
him and asked to be called the next time
 the ,sakunny could see the  bear was   
after the coop4  ,whether the engineer  
was in bed or not1  ,lala used to sleep 
not far from him on a mat by the        
engine-room door4  ,one night the       

wheel-man #ea called him up1 and he     
actually saw the  bear take along a     
piece of his bread and drop it into the 
trough4  ,he  was ready to cuff ,lala if
 he touched a fowl1 but the bear was too
  quick for him1 and the very moment a  
hen put her head through the  bars      
whipped it out clean through4  ,the     
engineer never gave ,lala  meat1 but    
somebody got feeding him on bully beef1 
and that seemed  to make him restive4   
,he never really bit anybody1 but the   
engineer  felt it was safest to get rid 
of ,lala4  ,he got off one day at the   
village near the defile and took the    
bear a mile and a half away into  the   
jungle and lost him4    ,soon after the 
villagers petitioned the engineer to    
take the bear on  board again4  ,it     
seemed that ,lala was haunting the      
village and stole  chickens             
persistently4  ,so there was nothing for
 it but to take him  on to the steamer  
again4  ,then he gave him to the        
,rangoon ,zoo4    ,it was months after  

that the engineer went to see ,lala4    
,he took with  him a retriever1 which   
had been a great chum and playfellow of 
the  bear4  ,when he asked about it at  
the gardens they said it had got  very  
wild and would not take its food4  ,i'll
 give the rest of the  story in the     
engineer's own words4    ,they were just
 going to give it rations1 so ,i said1  
,give me the food  and ,i'll go into the
 cage myself4  ,i took the retriever in 
with me1  and ,i'll #eb never forget the
 way that bear looked at me as long as  
,i live4  ,the poor thing just stood up 
and put its forepaws on my  chest and   
looked into my eyes as much as to       
say3--',is this what  you've done to    
me8'  ,no1 ,i'll never keep a wild      
animal again4    ,below the defile the  
stream widened again and the banks were 
low  sand-flats as before4  ,the sun    
blazed on the water1 but little pieces  
of tin tied to floating bamboo marks    
gleamed brighter than the water         
surface4  ,in the evening a long wraith 

of white mist lay across the  grey-blue 
of the mountains1 and in the reflection 
of the afterglow  bamboo stakes swung   
from side to side with the current1 tied
 to the  bottom by their sand-bags and  
shaken to and fro as a soul tethered to 
mortality quivers in the stream of      
circumstance4    ,on each side of the   
steamer a man was now trying the depths 
with a  long pole1 which he swung round 
in the air2 like some monotonous  prayer
 he chanted the depths of the           
water--,sari ache balm--ache  balm--ache
 hart--chanted these words again and    
again4    ,illustration3 ,,burmese      
,,murderers4    ,the easy charm of the  
river-road gains a hold upon the        
traveller4  ,there is none of the       
irksome noise and shaking of the        
railway1 and  even the huge cockroaches 
seem friendly4  ,at every riverside     
village  stopping-place there is a      
bright scene of talk and laughter4  ,the
  people on shore #ec get all their news
 and do all their shopping on  the      

steamer's arrival1 and friendliness is  
as pervasive as the  sunshine4    ,one  
night on the ,irrawaddy ,i slept on deck
 among a crowd of  passengers1 and my   
immediate neighbours were three chained 
criminals4  ,two of them had killed     
somebody and were handcuffed together1 a
 chain  from the handcuff being fastened
 to an iron stanchion4  ,when brought   
on board they were roped as well1 but   
the ropes were removed and they  smoked 
cheroots comfortably enough4  ,two      
,punjabis and a couple of  smart little 
,burmese policemen had charge of them1  
and the ,punjabis  slept1 but all night 
the ,burmese police took turn about to  
watch4  ,whether it was the influence of
 the river or of the tobacco ,i know    
not1 but the murderers seemed no more   
ill at ease than the rest of  us2 only1 
whenever there was a little chink or    
jingle1 the  policeman's eyes           
brightened4    ,slowly the mountains    
darkened and the mirrored magic of a    
little moon  floated upon the           

ever-moving stream4          #ed        
,,chapter ,,iv    ,,the ,,dead ,,heart  
,,of ,a ,,kingdom    ,how the wheels of 
that bullock-cart did creak6    ,the    
reason they had never been greased was  
because the driver loved  the sound4    
,he believed that the ,nats 7who are    
supposed to throng the  neighbourhood7  
dislike it1 and that while the wheels   
creaked the ,nats  would keep away4     
,i had just come down the ,irrawaddy by 
steamer from ,mandalay1 and very  early 
on the second morning had reached       
,nyaungoo4  ,at three o'clock           
,tambusami 7my ,hindoo servant7 appeared
 at my cabin-door in a state of         
excitement4  ,i looked out and saw the  
boat's searchlight playing  about the   
shore1 three or four brown bodies       
jumping into the water1  and the usual  
,flotilla ,company's landing-stage--then
 the steep  sandbank and collection of  
stalls with their oil-lamps4  ,the air  
was  full of the shrill voices of women 
talking1 shouting and laughing4  ,i     

dressed hurriedly1 while                
fellow-passengers lay peaceful in the   
ghostly seclusion of mosquito curtains4 
,the electric fan whirled on  with      
fitful spits4  ,there was no mist and   
the stars were #ee bright4  ,cocks      
crowed and dogs barked--the red ends of 
many cheroots glowed  from the bank1    
where people squatted smoking and       
talking4    ,when the steamer moved     
slowly away ,i and my servant were left1
 a  little before dawn1 upon the steep  
sandy bank pitted with innumerable      
foot-treads4    ,tambusami had laid in  
food supplies at ,mandalay1 and dividing
  ourselves and our belongings between  
two bullock-carts at the top of  the    
bank1 we jolted along the road through  
,nyaungoo4  ,the higher  clouds were    
just caught by the new daylight as we   
passed under the  tamarind trees of the 
village4  ,the walls of the houses were 
mere  screens of plaited bamboo1 though 
often there was also an outer fence  of 
bamboo posts #f feet high4    ,a wan    

amber light now began to bathe the tops 
of a grove of #ej-;foot  toddy-palms4   
,after leaving the village ,i began to  
pass tall cactus hedges and then  a     
dilapidated pagoda with old grinning    
leogryphs1 pale lemon in  colour1 and a 
gilded dome4  ,there were broken masses 
of crumbling red  brick1 and under the  
now dove-coloured sky the glass facets  
of tall  bird-topped votive poles       
gleamed brilliantly4  ,then the road    
entered  the district of a myriad ruins 
and long lines of broken gods4  ,purple 
and violet and fiery orange-red1 a      
multitude of small clouds  scattered    
across the pale steely-blue4  ,tall     
trees #ef of cactus  with small leaves  
on spreading branches1 as well as the   
upright  column cactus springing green  
from the sand1 now bordered the road4   
,suddenly all the red of the clouds     
changed to gold1 the purple to  pale    
soft heliotrope1 and in a burst of      
golden light the sun rose  over a line  
of violet mountains4  ,past stray bushes

 of wild cotton1  with their mauve      
blossoms and pale-bluish leaves1 men    
were carrying  loads of red lacquer     
bowls4  ,these bowls1 packed in column  
and  swinging in nets from the shoulder 
crosspole1 looked like bundles of  giant
 red sausages4    ,mile after mile we   
jolted and creaked and presently passed 
between  two great piles of red brick   
with a ,buddha in a porch on the        
exterior  of either side--all that      
remained of the great gateway--or one of
 the  great gateways--of the ancient    
city of ,pagan4    ,the building of     
,mandalay was only commenced about fifty
 years ago2  ,pagan was founded before  
,a4,d4 #bjj4  ,in ,mandalay there are   
now close  upon #bjj1jjj inhabitants2 at
 ,pagan there are eight miles of        
brick-strewn sand and a few poor        
villages4  ,mandalay1 situated where    
the ,irrawaddy is joined by its chief   
tributary1 is likely to become a  great 
railway centre2 ,pagan1 in the dryest   
part of the dry zone1 has  had no       

practical importance since it was sacked
 by ,kubla ,khan in  #abhf4  ,but in    
that wilderness #eg of rubble and cactus
 the remains  of #ejjj pagodas and      
monasteries 7it is said there were once 
#ac1jjj7  can still be traced1 and among
 them are certain buildings in a good   
state of preservation1 vast in size and 
of quite peculiar interest4    ,a few   
small black pigs and a number of very   
mangy dogs loitered about  some huts4   
,i was now in a land of ruins4          
,dismantled shrines1 broken  pagodas and
 dilapidated temples stretched in every 
direction1 but  here and there were vast
 structures of plaster-faced brickwork1 
either unharmed by time or restored in  
spite of the popular belief  that there 
is no merit in mere reparation4    ,the 
,circuit ,house which ,i reached at last
 is a substantial building  of iron and 
teak1 and letting daylight and air into 
the empty rooms1  which reeked with new 
varnish1 ,i chose a suite upon the upper
 floor  which has a wide covered        

balcony4  ,hitherto travellers who      
wanted to  visit ,pagan have had either 
to take camping equipment with them or  
else to sleep at ,nyaungoo1 five miles  
away4  ,in preparation for a  recent    
visit of the ,viceroy1 however1 a large 
and comfortable circuit  house was built
 near the riverside1 in the very centre 
of the ruins1  and for the future there 
need be no difficulty in obtaining      
lodging  for the night4  ,the ,viceroy1 
on the occasion of his visit1 abode in  
his launch1 and #eh ,i was told ,i was  
the first stranger to sleep at  the     
,circuit ,house4  ,i had obtained the   
key of the cupboard1 which  harboured   
plate and kitchen utensils1 and while ,i
 went off to look  round1 ,tambusami    
prepared a welcome breakfast4    ,from  
the house you look over the wide river1 
which is not more than a  quarter of a  
mile away1 to a range of mountains      
beautiful at every  hour of the day4  ,i
 walked inland a little way to the      
,thatbyinnyu  ,pagoda 7the ,temple of   

,omniscience71 the loftiest of the      
buildings at  ,pagan1 #bjj feet high and
 standing upon rising ground4  ,it is   
square  in plan but with a large        
projecting porch on one side4  ,the     
middle  portion is a huge quadrangular  
mass of brickwork supposed to be  solid1
 but between this solid centre and the  
outside there are upon  the lower three 
of the five storeys of the building     
external terraces  and internal         
corridors with stairways connecting the 
floors1 in the  thickness of the walls4 
,dark and sombre within1 it is easy on  
descending from the upper storeys to    
choose wrong stairways and to  wander   
about as in a maze4  ,upon the third    
storey1 on the side of the  great       
projection1 there is in a recess against
 the inner wall a  colossal seated      
,buddha4    ,illustration3 ,,pagan4     
,again and again ,i found myself groping
 alone in the silence of dark  passages1
 and after such an approach there is a  
strange solemnity  about sudden         

intrusion on the presence of a mighty   
#ei seated figure  so grandly peaceful1 
so splendidly aloof and so serenely     
lasting4    ,looking towards the river  
from the white terraces of this pagoda1 
another of somewhat similar design to   
the ,thatbyinnyu1 appears on the  right 
among a number of smaller buildings     
mostly in ruins4  ,this is  the         
,gawdawpalin ,pagoda1 built as a        
thank-offering by ,narapatisezoo1 a     
king who reigned in ,pagan through the  
last quarter of the twelfth  century    
,a4,d4  ,one day he boasted ,i am the   
best of all kings who ever  sat on the  
throne of ,pagan1 whereupon he was      
struck blind1 nor could  any doctor cure
 him2 but when told what he had said1   
his ministers  advised him to make      
images of the great kings he had        
insulted by such  a boast of superiority
 and to do homage to them4              
,narapatisezoo did  this and regained   
his sight1 and then had the ,gawdawpalin
 ,pagoda  erected in gratitude to       

,buddha4    ,i came again to these      
terraces in the late afternoon when the 
more  mellow light of a low sun made    
everything glow with warm colour1 as  if
 it wanted to give back the heat of the 
day before night came4  ,and  standing  
then with my back to the river and      
looking inland ,i saw in  front of me   
the great ,ananda1 the most beautiful as
 well as the most  curious of the ,pagan
 temples4    ,in the ,ananda there is a 
large projecting porch on each of the   
four  sides of the square1 adding about 
#dj feet on each side and making  #fj   
thus a cruciform plan #bhj feet across4 
,the highest of its seven  diminishing  
storeys is shaped like a tall pyramid   
with four sides  curved vertically as in
 ,hindoo temples4    ,an ingenious      
feature of the ,ananda is the lighting  
of the four  colossal figures of the    
,buddha which stand in niches of the    
central  mass and face the four porches4
  ,they are all standing figures and    
are higher than the arches1 the pointed 

arches of the entrance  porches1 and are
 lighted from above by hidden openings  
in the wall4  ,running round the central
 portion are two colonnades which cross 
the  porch approaches to the four       
shrines4  ,the gilded figures of the    
four  ,buddha dispensations1 ,gautama1  
,kathaba1 ,gawnagon and ,kankkuthan1    
tower up gigantic1 and in each case the 
mysterious illumination of  the head and
 shoulders adds to their grandeur4      
,under tall white  arches1 as in some   
,gothic church1 ,i walked slowly along  
the pavement1  watching the upper       
portion of the statue appear as ,i      
advanced4  ,in  the west porch there is1
 about the middle of the transept1 a    
raised  circular slab with a pair of    
,buddha footprints cut in stone in      
conventional arrangement1 and covered   
with engraved symbols4  ,in the  niche  
facing this porch the gilded figure is  
that of ,gautama himself4    ,the       
horizontal circular slab is raised upon 
a four-sided white plinth  to about the 

height #fa of a man's waist4  ,looking  
across it the  next tall archway is seen
 flanked on either side by 'guardian'   
figures1 each with the arm towards the  
arch close to the body1 except  for the 
hand which is stiffly bent outwards and 
upwards4  ,the other  arms are bent     
sharply at the elbows and have the hands
 raised4  ,to  right and left of these  
figures the transverse colonnades cross 
parallel to the outer walls4    ,from   
the stone slab with the impress of the  
feet you cannot quite see  the head of  
the great image in the distance1 the top
 of the farthest  arch still hiding the 
upper part of the face4  ,the figure is 
gilded  all over and stands upon a      
lotus4  ,in front there is a low railing
  composed of thick glass balusters1 and
 having two little doors in the  centre4
  ,approaching nearer you see at last in
 brilliant light the  benign            
countenance4    ,of the four of these   
colossal statues that called ,kankkuthan
 on the  north side is believed to be   

the original figure1 though it has been 
frequently repaired4  ,the hands are    
pressed together in front of the        
breast4  ,the figure wears a garment    
with sleeves close-fitting from  the    
elbow to the wrists1 but from the elbows
 hanging straight down in  a line with  
the upper arm to make a conventional    
shape1 which stops  at an angle and ends
 in a slightly curved border which meets
 the legs  just above the ankle4  ,the  
background of the niche is covered with 
#fb very elaborate glasswork1 and on the
 silvery face of some of  this are      
patterns in a kind of gesso4    ,about  
the white walls of the corridors are    
numerous small niches in  which in high 
relief1 coloured in red and gold1 are   
representations  of scenes in ,buddha's 
life4  ,parts of the corridors have tier
 above  tier of similar niches right up 
to the top of the wall1 almost as in    
some ,roman columbarium4    ,in a       
similar niche on the right as you walk  
towards the centre  through the western 

portico there is a small figure of the  
builder of  the ,pagoda1 ,king          
,kyansittha1 a remarkably intrepid      
warrior whose  chief adventures happened
 before he came to the throne in the    
reign  of his mightier predecessor1     
,king ,naurata4    ,naurata was the     
greatest of all the kings of ,pagan--it 
was under his  rule that its territory  
increased till it stretched from ,siam  
to  ,kachin and ,china1 and from        
,chittagong to ,tonquin1 and it was     
,naurata  who destroyed ,thaton and     
brought #cj1jjj prisoners thence to     
,pagan1  including artists and          
craftsmen1 as well as a king and queen4 
,kyansittha was in disgrace for some    
years before ,naurata was killed  by a  
white buffalo in the jungle4  ,it was   
all about a certain present  to ,naurata
 from his vassal1 the ,king of ,pegu4   
,the present was a  princess in a golden
 palanquin1 #fc the ,king of ,pegu's    
very  beautiful daughter2 and           
,kyansittha1 who seems to have been able

 to  resist everything except           
temptation1 lifted the purdah1 with the 
disastrous consequence of ,naurata's    
jealous wrath4  ,he only returned  from 
banishment upon ,naurata's death1 and   
the building of this ,ananda  ,pagoda   
was the chief event of a reign          
apparently much quieter than  that of   
his stormy and zealous predecessor4     
,verily1 great building  is more lasting
 than the kingdoms of men6    ,on the   
outside of the ,ananda ,pagoda ,i saw a 
line of green glazed  tiles upon the    
outer walls4  ,all round the base a     
series of such  tiles a foot square is  
let in just above a lower flange in the 
position of a dado4  ,each of them is a 
separate figure illustrating a  ,jataka 
story1 and each has the title underneath
 it upon the tile in  old ,burmese      
characters4  ,many have been restored in
 an absurd way  7which has led to their 
being wrongly described7 and some have  
disappeared1 but a great number remain1 
and careful drawings should  be made of 

these spirited reliefs before it is too 
late4    ,near the ,ananda there is a   
small museum containing a number of     
stone  slabs found at ,pagan1 covered   
with inscriptions in the old ,burmese   
square lettering4  ,among the objects in
 the museum are some good  small        
bronzes1 wooden figures of ,nats and    
some small votive #fd  bricks in the    
shape of a pointed arch1 within which   
,buddhas have been  stamped upon the    
clay4  ,so little interest1 however1 are
 any ,english  visitors expected to take
 in these objects that the labels are   
only  in ,burmese characters4    ,on one
 of my days at ,pagan1 ,tambusami drew  
my attention to someone  riding towards 
us on a white horse4  ,this was ,mr     
,cooper1 who had come  over from        
,nyaungoo to call upon me4  ,tambusami  
and a ,burman did the  best they could  
to make a show with our diminished      
stores1 and after  dinner on the wide   
veranda we found that we both knew      
,haslemere and  the old ,portsmouth     

,road and ,paris1 and then ,mr ,cooper1 
who was a  subdivisional magistrate1    
told me about the kind of cases that are
  brought before him in the ,pagan      
district1--about an island for one      
thing4  ,now at ,salay1 just along the  
river1 there is an island which  has    
been steadily growing in size4          
,originally it was the property of  one 
village on the mainland4  ,it had been  
allotted to the villagers  after it had 
first appeared1 and then some time ago  
it increased  suddenly in size a great  
deal more1 coming up out of the river4  
,then  the headman of another village1  
on the strength of saying that he had  a
 verbal order from the ,barman township 
magistrate1 allotted plots to  his own  
friends and relations4  ,naturally the  
people of the first  village were       
objecting4    ,illustration3 ,,burmese  
,,dwarf 7#c;,,ft4 #e;,,in4 ,,high7      
,,suffering ,,from  ,,cataract4    #fe  
,most of the cultivated land here pays  
revenue at the rate of four  annas an   

acre1 and as assistant collector in     
revenue work1 ,mr ,cooper  had to put   
things right4    ,he went on to tell me 
about a question of property concerning 
two  golden heads4  ,there is a mountain
 called ,popa 7#ejjj feet high7         
standing right in the middle of the     
plain4  ,we could see it from the  back 
of the house4  ,it is an extinct volcano
 and is the home of two  of the most    
important ,nats in all ,burmah4  ,they  
have lived on ,popa  ever since about   
#chj ,a4,d4  ,they were brother and     
sister1 and used to  have a festival    
held on this mountain every year in     
their honour4    ,about the middle of   
the eighteenth century one of the kings 
of  ,ava--,bodawpaya--presented to the  
,popa villagers two golden heads1       
intended to represent these ,nats4  ,at 
that time ,popa village1 for  some      
reason1 was a separate jurisdiction     
outside the jurisdiction of  the ,pagan 
governor4  ,what happened was that these
 heads were kept in  the ,royal         

,treasury at ,pagan for safety1 and     
taken up to ,popa every  year for the   
festival and brought back again4        
,subsequently1 ,popa  came under the    
jurisdiction of the ,pagan governor4    
,then apparently  the ,pagan people     
began to think that these heads really  
belonged to  them1 and they were kept in
 ,pagan until the annexation in #ahhf4  
,after this1 our ,government1 thinking  
they were very valuable relics  #ff     
which ought to be preserved1 sent them  
down to the ,bernard ,free  ,library in 
,rangoon1 where they have been lodged   
ever since4    ,some time ago the ,popa 
villagers sent in a petition that they  
might  be allowed to have their heads   
back1 as they wanted them for the       
festival4  ,investigations were started 
and about a month before my  visit ,mr  
,cooper had been up to ,popa and there  
dictated a written  guarantee1 signed by
 the principal men of the village 7the  
,lugyis1 as  they are called71 that they
 would undertake the responsibility of  

looking after these heads if they were  
given back to them4  ,then ,mr  ,cooper 
came to ,pagan and had a meeting of the 
,pagan ,lugyis1 asking  them to sign a  
written repudiation of claim1 and that's
 where the  matter rested4    ,i asked  
,mr ,cooper to tell me the story of     
these famous ,nats1 in whose  honour a  
coconut is hung up in houses in this    
part of ,burmah just as  regularly as we
 do for the tomtits at home1 so that    
they can eat when  they like1 and here  
is the story in his own words as he told
 it to me  at ,pagan4    ,these ,nats   
have a good many names1 but their proper
 names are  ,natindaw and ,shwemetyna1  
and they used to live in a place up the 
river called ,tagaung1 a thousand years 
ago4  ,natindaw1 the man1 was a         
blacksmith4  ,he was very strong        
indeed--so strong that the ,king of     
,tagaung was afraid of him and gave     
orders that he should be arrested4  ,the
 man 7he had not #fg become a ,nat then7
 was afraid and ran away1  but his      

sister remained and the king married    
her4  ,after some time  the king thought
 of ,natindaw again and believed that   
although in  exile he might be doing    
something to stir up rebellion4  ,so the
 king  offered ,natindaw an appointment 
at the ,court1 and when ,natindaw came  
he had him seized by guards and bound to
 a champak tree near the  palace4  ,then
 the ,king had the tree set on fire1 and
 ,natindaw  proceeded to burn up4  ,just
 at that moment the queen 7,natindaw's  
sister7 came out of the palace and saw  
her brother being burnt4  ,she  rushed  
into the fire and tried to save him1 and
 failing1 decided to  share his fate4   
,the king then tried to pull her out by 
her back hair but was too  late1 and    
both the brother and sister were utterly
 consumed except  their heads4  ,that   
finished them as human beings1 but they 
became  ,nats and lived up another      
champak tree at ,tagaung1 and there1    
because  they had been so shockingly    
treated1 they made up for it after      

death4  ,they used to pounce on everyone
 who passed underneath--cattle and      
people4  ,at last the king had the tree 
with the brother and sister on  it cut  
down1 and it floated down the river and 
eventually stranded at  ,pagan4  ,well1 
the ,king of ,pagan1 who was at that    
time ,thurligyaung1  had a dream the    
night before that something very        
wonderful would come  to #fh ,pagan the 
next day by river4  ,in the morning he  
went down to  the bank and there he     
found the tree with the human heads of  
,natindaw  and ,shwemetyna sitting on   
it1 and they told him who they were and 
how  badly they had been treated4  ,the 
king became very frightened and  said he
 would build them a place to live in on 
,popa4  ,so they thanked  him and he    
built them ,natsin1 a little sort of hut
 on ,popa1 and there  they have lived   
ever since4    ,every year the kings of 
,pagan used to go in state and offer    
sacrifice  to ,natindaw and ,shwemetyna 
of the flesh of white bullocks and white

  goats1 and the ,popa ,nat story is    
still going on because of the latest    
development about the golden heads4     
,it is a ,burmese saying that no one can
 point in any direction at  ,pagan in   
which there is not a pagoda1 and on many
 of them in the  mornings ,i saw        
vultures--great bare-necked             
creatures--thriving  apparently on      
barrenness4    ,lack of water is the    
great trouble to the villages4  ,the    
average  rainfall in this dry zone      
7which extends roughly from south of the
  ,magwe district to north of ,mandalay7
 is fifteen to twenty inches4           
,tenacious of life1 these ,thaton       
villagers of ,pagan and ,nyaungoo1 led  
into captivity by ,king ,naurata1 whose 
zeal as a religious reformer  had been  
fired by one of their own priests1 #fi  
survived their  conquerors4  ,they      
became1 nine hundred years ago1 slaves  
attached to  the pagodas1 and under a   
ban of separation1 if not of dishonour1 
they  have kept unmixed the blood of    

their ancestors1 are the only ,burmese  
forming anything like a caste1 and still
 include some direct  descendants of    
their famous king4    ,in the villages  
there is some weaving and dyeing of     
cloth1 and quite  a large industry in   
the making of lacquer bowls and boxes4  
,it was not far to walk from the        
,circuit ,house to one of the           
villages1--across the dry baked1        
brick-strewn earth1 past great  groves  
of cactus and through the tall bamboo   
fence that surrounds the  village       
itself4  ,i passed a couple of carts    
with primitive solid  wheels1 and under 
some trees in the middle of the         
collection of  thatched huts with their 
floors raised some feet above the       
ground1 a  huge cauldron was sending up 
clouds of steam4  ,some women were      
boiling dye for colouring cloth4  ,this 
was ,mukolo village4  ,i called  at the 
house of ,u ,tha ,shein1 one of the     
chief lacquer makers1 and he  took me   
about to different huts to see the      

various stages of the work4    ,first1 a
 shell is made of finely-plaited bamboo2
 this is covered  with a black pigment  
and softened when dry by turning it on a
  primitive lathe and rubbing it with a 
piece of sand-stone4  ,then the  red    
lacquer is put upon #gj the black box   
with the fingers1 which  stroke and     
smear it round very carefully4  ,in     
,burmese the red colour  is called      
,hinthabada1 from a stone ,i was told   
they buy in ,mandalay4  ,the bowls now  
red are set to dry in the sun1 and next 
are placed in a  hole in the ground for 
five days1--all as careful a process as 
that  of making the wine of ,cos        
described in ,sturge ,moore's           
,vinedresser4    ,when they are exhumed 
after hardening1 a pattern is finally   
engraved  or scratched on the lacquer   
with a steel point and a little gold    
inlaid on the more expensive bowls4     
,i was going from house to house to see 
the different stages of the  work1 when 
,i heard a pitiful wailing and came upon

 the saddest sight  ,i had yet seen on  
my journey4  ,the front of a thatched   
hut was quite  open4  ,a mangy yellow   
pariah dog was skulking underneath1 and 
some  children were huddled silent upon 
the steps leading up to the  platform   
floor4  ,there lay a little boy dead1   
and his mother and  grandmother were    
sorrowing for him4  ,the grandmother    
seemed to be  wrinkled all over4  ,her  
back was like a withered apple4  ,she   
moaned  and wailed1 and tears poured    
from her eyes4  ,oh6 my grandson1 she   
cried--where shall ,i go and search for 
you again8    ,she was squatting beside 
the little corpse and pinching its      
cheeks  and moving its jaws up and down4
  ,you have gone away to any place  #ga 
you like--you have left me alone without
 thinking of me--,i  cannot feel tired  
of crying for you4    ,and a ,burman    
told me that the child had died of      
fever1 and that the  father had gone to 
buy something for the funeral4  ,he     
added1 ,the  young woman will never say 

anything--she will only weep for the    
children4  ,it is the old woman only    
that will say something4          #gb   
,,chapter ,v    ,,mandalay    ,christmas
 morning at ,mandalay was bright1 crisp 
and cold1 with just  that bracing snap  
in the air that makes everyone feel glad
 to be in  warm clothes4  ,on such a day
 the traveller feels a sense of security
  about the people at home--they must be
 comfortable in ,london when it  is so  
jolly at ,mandalay6    ,i was drawn by  
some ,chinese characters over a small   
archway in  ,merchant ,street to turn up
 a narrow passage between high walls1   
which  led me to a modern square brick  
joss-house4  ,there were several        
,chinese about and ,i got to understand 
that the temple was especially  for all 
people who were sick or ill1 and ,i went
 through the very  ancient method of    
obtaining diagnosis and prescription4   
,illustration3 ,,burmese ,,priest ,,and 
,,his ,,betel ,,box4    ,an             
,english-speaking ,chinaman told me that

 this temple was the church  of ,doctor 
,wah ,ho ,sen ,too1 who lived1 he added1
 more than a thousand  years ago1 and   
had apparently anticipated the          
advantages of ,rontgen  rays4  ,the     
,american who is watching in ,ceylon the
 #gc formation of  pearls without       
opening of oysters1 is yet far behind   
,doctor ,wah ,ho  ,sen ,too1 to whom all
 bodies are as glass4  ,the stout       
,chinaman grew  quite eloquent in praise
 of this great physician1 explaining    
with  graphic gestures how he had been  
able to see through every part of  all  
of us1 and follow the career of whatever
 entered our mouths4    ,in front of the
 round incense-bowl upon an altar1      
before large  benevolent-looking        
figures1 was a cylindrical box          
containing one  hundred slips of bamboo 
of equal length 7if any reader offers to
 show  me all this at ,rotherhithe or   
,wapping1 ,i shall not dispute with him 
but gladly avail myself of his          
kindness74  ,i was directed to shake    

the box and draw out at random one of   
the bamboo slips4  ,this had  upon it1  
in ,chinese characters1 a number and    
some words1 and ,i was  told that my    
number was fourteen4  ,upon the         
left-hand wall of the  temple were      
serried rows of one hundred sets of     
small printed  reddish-yellow papers4   
,i was taken to number fourteen set and 
bidden  to tear off the top one1 and    
this was ,doctor ,wah ,ho ,sen ,too's   
prescription4    ,i have not yet had    
that prescription made up2 to the       
present day ,i  prefer the ailment1 but 
,i asked the ,english-speaking ,chinaman
 what  the medicine was like1 and he    
told me that it was white and that ,i   
could get it at ,mandalay4  ,when he was
 in ,south ,america ,waterton  slept #gd
 with one foot out of his hammock to see
 what it was like  to be sucked by a    
vampire1 but ,i am of opinion there are 
some things  in life we may safely      
reject on trust1 declining taste of     
sample4    ,i went from the joss-house  

of ,merchant ,street to the ,aindaw     
,pagoda1  about the middle of the       
western edge of the city1 a handsome    
mass1  blazing with the brightness of   
recent gilding4  ,from hti to base it   
was entirely gilt1 except for the circle
 of coloured glass balls  which sparkled
 like a carcanet of jewels near the     
summit4  ,outside  the gate of the      
,aindaw ,pagoda1 where some ,burmans    
were playing a  gambling game1 a notice 
in five languages--,english1 ,burmese1  
,hindostani1 ,hindi and ,chinese1       
announced1 ,riding1 shoe and            
umbrella-wearing disallowed4    ,the    
,queen's ,golden ,monastery at the      
south-west corner of the town is  a     
finer specimen of gilded work1 built in 
elaborately-carved teak1  with a great  
number of small square panels about it  
of figure  subjects as well as          
decorative shapes and patterns4  ,glass 
also has  been largely introduced in    
elaborate surface decoration at the     
,golden  ,monastery1 not in the tiny    

tessarae of ,western mosaic but in      
larger  facets1 giving from the slight  
differences of angle in the setting1    
bright broken lights almost barbaric in 
their richness4  ,no one seems  to know 
where all the coloured and stained glass
 that is so #ge  skilfully used in      
,burmese temples came from--whether it  
was imported  or made in the country4   
,the priests were returning to the      
monastery with bowls full of food  from 
their daily morning rounds1 but there   
were very few people about  at all1 and 
the place was almost given up that day  
to a batch of  merry children1 who came 
gambolling round me1 some of them       
pretending  to be paralysed beggars with
 quaking limbs4    ,it was very         
different at the ,maha ,myat ,muni1 the 
,arrakan ,pagoda1  which was thronged   
with people like a hive of bees4  ,this 
pagoda  includes a vast pile of         
buildings and enshrines one of the most 
revered images of ,buddha1 a colossal   
brass figure seated in a shrine  both   

gorgeous and elaborate1 with seven roofs
 overhead4  ,of shrines  honoured to-day
 in ,burmah the ,arrakan ,pagoda is more
 frequented than  any except the ,shwe  
,dagon at ,rangoon1 and is approached   
through a  long series of colonnades    
gilded1 frescoed1 and decorated with    
rich  carving and mosaic work4  ,they   
are lined with stalls of  metal-workers1
 sellers of incense1 candles1 violet    
lotus flowers1  jewels1 sandalwood      
mementoes1 and souvenirs innumerable1   
among which  the most fascinating to the
 stranger are grotesque toy figures1    
with  fantastic movable limbs1 which    
would make an easy fortune at a ,london 
toy-shop1 and before long will doubtless
 be exported and gradually  lose their  
exotic charm4    #gf    ,passing through
 this ,vanity ,fair ,i at last reached  
the shrine1 and in  the dim interior    
light ,i climbed up behind the great    
figure and  followed the custom of      
native pilgrims in seeking to gain merit
 by  placing a gold-leaf upon it with my

 own fingers4  ,at all hours of  every  
day human thumbs and fingers are        
pressing gold-leaf upon that  figure of 
,gautama4  ,outside in the sunlight     
white egrets strutted  about the        
grounds1 and close by was a tank where  
sacred turtles  wallowed under a thick  
green scum4  ,a swarm of rice-sellers   
besought  me to buy food for the        
turtles1 and their uncomfortable        
persistence  was1 of course1 not        
lessened by patronage4  ,the overfed    
animals  declined to show their heads1  
leaving the kites and crows to batten   
on the tiny balls of cooked rice4       
,now close to this turtle-tank and still
 within the precincts of the  temple was
 a large structure1 evidently very much 
older than the rest  of the buildings--a
 vast cubical mass of red brick with an 
inner  passage1 square in plan1 round a 
central core of apparently solid        
masonry4  ,against one side of this     
inner mountain of brick-work was  the   
lower half of a colossal figure1 also in

 red brick1 and cut off  at the same    
level as the general mass of the        
building4  ,whether the  whole had ever 
been completed or whether at some time  
the upper half  had been removed1 ,i    
could not tell4  ,it was as if the      
absence of head  #gg and shoulders cast 
a spell of death1 which surrounded it   
with a  silence no voice ventured to    
dissipate1 and with the noise and hubbub
  outside nothing could have more       
strikingly contrasted than the          
impressive quiet of this deserted       
sanctuary4    ,that ,christmas          
afternoon1 as already told1 ,i left     
,mandalay on my way  to ,bhamo1         
returning afterwards for a longer stay4 
,far away1 beyond ,fort ,dufferin on the
 other side of the city1 rises          
,mandalay ,hill which ,i climbed several
 times for the sake of the  wonderful   
view4  ,in the bright dazzle of a       
sunlight that made all  things pale and 
fairylike1 ,i passed along wide roads   
ending in tender  peeps of pale amethyst

 mountains4  ,i crossed the wide moat of
 ,fort  ,dufferin1 with its double      
border of lotus1 by one of the five     
wooden  bridges and1 traversing the     
enclosure1 came out again through the   
red-brick crenelated walls by a wide    
gateway1 and re-crossed the moat  to    
climb the steep path by huge smooth     
boulders in the afternoon  heat4  ,it   
was as if they had saved up all the     
warmth of noon to give  it out again    
with radiating force4  ,at first the way
 lies between low  rough walls1 on which
 at short intervals charred and         
blackened posts  stand whispering1 ,we  
know what it is to be burned--,we know  
what it  is to be burned4  ,they were   
fired at the same time as the temple at 
the top of the hill over #gh twenty     
years ago2 but the great  standing      
wooden figure of ,buddha1 then knocked  
down1 has been set up  again1 though    
still mutilated1 for the huge hand that 
formerly  pointed down to the city lies 
among bricks and rubble4    ,the        

,queen's ,golden ,monastery and the     
,arrakan ,pagoda were hidden  somewhere 
far away among the trees to the south of
 the city4  ,below1  ,i could see the   
square enclosure of ,fort ,dufferin1    
with its mile-long  sides1 in which     
stands ,king ,thebaw's palace and       
gardens1 temples and  pavilions1 and ,i 
could see the parallel lines of the city
 roadways4  ,mandalay is laid out on the
 ,american plan1 with wide1 tree-shaded 
roads at right angles to each other4    
,nearer to the hill and somewhat  to the
 left lay the celebrated ,kuthodaw or   
four hundred and fifty  pagodas1        
whereunder are housed ,buddhist         
scriptures engraved upon four  hundred  
slabs of stone4  ,the white plaster     
takes at sunset a rosy  hue1 and in the 
distance the little plot resembles some 
trim  flower-bed where the blossoms have
 gone to sleep4    ,illustration3       
,,burmese ,,mother ,,and ,,child4       
,one of the loveliest things about      
,mandalay is the moat of ,fort          

,dufferin4  ,in the evening afterglow ,i
 stopped at the south-west  corner1     
where a boy was throwing stones at a    
grey snake1 and watched  the silhouette 
of walls and watch-towers against a     
vivid sky of red  and amber and the     
reflections in the water among the lotus
 #gi  leaves4  ,each side of the ,fort  
is a straight mile long1 and the moat1  
which is a hundred yards across1 has a  
wide space all along the  middle of the 
waterway quite clear of lotus4  ,but    
moat and walls are  both most beautiful 
of all at sunrise4  ,the red bricks then
 glow  softly with warm colour1 and     
against their reflection the flat lotus 
leaves appear as pale hyaline dashes4   
,within1 upon the level greensward1 you 
may find to-day a wooden  horse--not    
such a large one as ,minerva helped the 
,greeks to build  before the walls of   
,troy1 nor yet that more realistic      
modern one ,i  have seen in the great   
hall1 the old ,salone of ,verona--but a 
horse  for gymnastic exercises of       

,indian native regiments of ,sikhs and  
,punjabis4  ,strange barracks those     
soldiers have1 for they sleep in  what  
were formerly monasteries with halls of 
carved and painted  pillars4    ,i was  
asking the whereabouts of the only      
,burmese native regiment and  found it  
just outside ,fort ,dufferin1 in lines  
specially built4  ,it  is a regiment of 
sappers and miners4  ,on ,new ,year's   
,day ,captain  ,forster1 their          
commanding officer1 put a company of    
these ,burmans  through their paces for 
me4  ,in appearance they are not unlike 
,gourkhas1 sturdy and about the same    
height1 and like the ,gourkha they      
carry a knife of special shape1 a       
square-ended weapon good for jungle     
work4    #hj    ,king ,thebaw's palace  
stands1 of course1 within the ,fort1    
which was  built to protect it4  ,it is 
neither very old nor very interesting1  
and the most impressive part is the     
large audience hall4  ,the columns      
towards the entrance are gilded1 but on 

each side the two nearest the  throne   
are1 like the walls1 blood-red in       
colour1 and the daylight  filtering     
through casts blue gleams upon them4    
,it was not here1  however1 that the    
king was taken prisoner1 but in a garden
 pavilion a  little distance from it    
with a veranda1 and according to a brass
  plate let into the wall below3--      
,king ,thebaw sat at this opening with  
his two queens and the queen  mother    
when he gave himself up to ,general     
,prendergast on the #cjth  ,november1   
#ahhe4      ,i was talking one day with 
an army officer in a ,calcutta hotel    
about  ,burmah1 and he told me how he   
himself had carried the ,british flag   
into ,mandalay with ,general            
,prendergast1 and that it had been his  
lot  to conduct the ,queen ,sepaya 7whom
 he declared does not deserve all  that 
has been said against her7 to ,rangoon1 
and he gave her the last  present she   
received in ,burmah4  ,she was smoking  
one of the giant  cheroots of the       

country and he gave her a box of        
matches4    ,i had never quite          
understood the annexation #ha and that  
officer  explained it as follows3--,we  
knew the ,french were intriguing--that  
,monsieur ,hass1 the ,french ,ambassador
 at ,rangoon1 was working at the        
,court--and we got at his papers and    
found he was just about to  conclude a  
treaty with ,thebaw4  ,the chance we    
seized was this--a  difference between  
,thebaw and the ,bombay ,burmah ,trading
 ,company4  ,for  their rights in       
forest-land in ,upper ,burmah they paid 
a royalty on  every log floated down4   
,now other people were also floating    
logs  down1 and ,thebaw claimed several 
lakhs of rupees from the ,bombay        
,burmah ,company for royalties not paid4
  ,the ,company contended they  had paid
 all royalties on their own logs1 and   
that the unpaid monies  were due on     
other people's timber1 and we seized the
 excuse and took  ,mandalay in the nick 
of time1 defeating the ,french plans4   

,the most noticeable feature of the     
,mandalay ,bazaar is the supremacy  of  
the ,burmese woman as shopkeeper4  ,the 
vast block of the markets is  newly     
built and looks fresh and spick and     
span1 though without  anything about its
 structure either beautiful or          
picturesque4  ,it is  like ,smithfield  
and ,covent ,garden rolled into one1 and
 given over  entirely to petticoat      
government4  ,i am told there are close 
upon  #bjj1jjj people in ,mandalay1 and 
those long avenues of the great  bazaar 
looked fully able to #hb cope with their
 demands4  ,there is  the meat-market1  
with smiling ladies cutting up masses of
 flesh2 the  vegetable-market1 with     
eager ladies weighing out beans and     
tamarinds2  the flour and seed-market1  
with loquacious ladies measuring out dal
  and rice-flour and red chili and      
saffron powder2 the plantain-market1    
with laughing ladies like animated      
flowers decorating a whole street  of   
bananas2 the silk-market1 with dainty   

ladies with powdered faces  enticing    
custom with deft and abundant display of
 tissues and  mercery1--and yet this    
does not tell one half of the ,mandalay 
,bazaar4  ,i have not even mentioned the
 flower-market1 with piquant            
ladies--fully alive to the challenging  
beauty of their goods--selling  roses or
 lotus1 with faces that express         
confident assurance of their  own       
superior charms4    ,perhaps it is not  
hardness--perhaps it is merely some lack
 of  appreciation in me--but in spite of
 all that has been said or written  in  
their praise1 ,i could not find those   
,burmese women as charming as  the      
shop-girls of ,london4  ,i admit that   
they have a very smart way of  twisting 
a little pink flower into the right side
 of their hair1 and  although ,i have   
seen a great many sleeping upon the     
decks of river  steamers1 ,i never heard
 one snore4  ,many men find wives1 ,i   
was told1  in the ,mandalay ,bazaar1 and
 they are said to make excellent        

housekeepers4  ,one #hc perfectly       
charming little woman ,i did see1  the  
wife of an ,eurasian engineer 7or is not
 ,anglo-,indian now the  prescribed     
word871 but she looked too much like a  
doll2 and while a  real doll who was a  
bad housekeeper would be unsatisfactory 
enough1 a  good housekeeper who looked  
like a doll would surely be intolerable4
    ,thinking of dolls brings me to the 
marionettes which still delight  the    
,burmese people4  ,they have long since 
gone out of fashion in  ,england1 ,punch
 and ,judy shows fighting hard to keep  
up old  tradition2 in ,paris1 the       
,guignol of the side alleys of the      
,champs  ,elysees are nowadays chiefly  
patronized by children1 and you must go 
further ,east to find an adult audience 
enjoying the antics of dolls4           
,marionettes had a vogue in ancient     
,greece1 and in ,italy survived the     
fall of ,rome4  ,even in ,venice the    
last time ,i went to the dolls'  theatre
 ,i found the doors closed1 but in      

,naples they flourish still1  and at the
 ,teatro ,petrilla in the sailors'      
quarter ,i have seen  ,rinaldo and      
,orlando and all the swash-buckling     
courage of medival  chivalry in animated
 wood4    ,at ,mandalay there is the    
same popular delight in doll drama1 and 
one  evening ,i watched a mimic pwe for 
an hour4  ,the story was another        
version of that which ,i had already    
seen acted by living people4  ,the      
showman had set up his staging in a     
suitable position1 with a wide  and #hd 
sloping open space before it1 and there 
was the same great  gathering of young  
and old in the open air1 lying on low   
four-post  bedsteads or squatting on    
mats1 while outside the limits of the   
audience stalls drove a thriving trade  
in cheroots and edible  dainties4  ,how 
the people laughed and cackled with     
delight at the  antics of the dolls6    
,these were manipulated with a          
marvellous  dexterity1 and seemed none  
the less real because the showman's     

hands  were often visible as he jerked  
the strings4  ,i walked up to the  stage
 and stood at one end of it to get the  
most grotesque view of  the scene4  ,a  
long1 low partition screen ran along the
 middle of the  platform4  ,behind this1
 limp figures were hanging ready for the
  cues1 and the big fat ,burmese showman
 walked sideways up and down1  leaning  
over as he worked the dancing figures   
upon the stage4  ,the  movements were a 
comic exaggeration of the formal and    
jerky actions  of the dance1 but the    
clever manipulation of a prancing steed1
 a  horse of mettle with four most      
practical flamboyant legs1 was even     
more amusing4    ,the parts of the      
dramatis person were spoken by several  
different  voices1 and the absence of   
any attempt to hide the arms and hands  
of  the showman did not diminish the    
illusion1 while it increased the        
general bizarre character of the scene  
rather than otherwise1 #he  and was an  
excellent instance of the fallacy of the

 saying--,summa  ars est celare artem4  
,blessed be the convention of strings6  
,the success of a marionette  show1 as  
of a government1 is no more attained by 
a denial of the  wire-puller's existence
 than the beauty of a marble statue is  
enhanced by realistic colouring4        
#hf    ,,chapter ,,vi    ,,southern     
,,india1 ,,the ,,land ,,of ,,hindoo     
,,temples    ,a long line of rocks and a
 white lighthouse in the midst of       
them--this is the first sight of ,india 
as the traveller approaches  ,tuticorin1
 after the sea journey from ,colombo4   
,he sees the sun  glinting from windows 
of modern buildings1 the tall chimney of
 a  factory and trailing pennons of     
industrial smoke4  ,far to the left1    
hills faintly visible beyond the shore  
appear a little darker than  the long1  
low cloud above them4  ,then what had   
seemed to be dark  rocks become         
irregular masses of green trees4        
,colour follows  form--the buildings    
grow red and pink and white1 and the    

pale  shore-line a thread of            
greenish-yellow4  ,the sea near         
,tuticorin is  very shallow1 and the    
steamer anchors at least four miles out1
 a  launch crossing the thick yellow    
turbid water to take passengers  ashore4
  ,on nearer view the lighthouse proves 
to be on a tree-clad  spit or island1   
and to the left instead of the right of 
the harbour4  ,near the jetty ,i saw    
large cotton-mills1 and passed great    
crowds of  ducks 7waiting to be shipped 
to ,ceylon71 which dappled the #hg      
roadside as ,i made my way to the       
terminus of the ,south ,indian          
,railway4  ,at first the train passes   
through a flat sandy country with       
little grass1 but covered with yellow   
flowering cactus1 low prickly  shrubs   
and tall palmyra palms4  ,the shiny     
cactus and sharp-pointed  aloe leaves   
seemed to reflect the bright blue of the
 sky1 and by  contrast a long procession
 of small yellow-brown sheep looked very
  dark4    ,presently the ground changed

 to red earth and tillage4  ,then we    
passed more aloes and bare sand and a   
few cotton-fields4  ,a thin  stream     
meandered along the middle of a wide    
sandy bed1 and a line of  distant       
mountains1 seen faintly through the     
shimmery haze of heat1  seemed all the  
while to grow more lovely4  ,taking more
 colour as the  day advanced they       
stretched along the horizon like the    
flat  drop-scene of a theatre1 abruptly 
separate from the plain4  ,after        
passing several lakes like blue eyes in 
the desert some red sloping  hills      
appeared to make a link in the          
perspective1 and ,i reached my  first   
stopping-place1 the famous ,madura4     
,first ,i drove to that part of the     
great temple dedicated to ,minachi1     
,siva's wife1 and then to the           
,sundareswara ,temple dedicated to ,siva
  himself under that name4    ,the      
typical ,dravidian temple1 the ,southern
 form of the ,hindoo style  of          
architecture1 consists of a pyramidal   

building on a square base  divided      
externally into stories1 and containing 
#hh image1 relic or  emblem in a central
 shrine4  ,this ,vimana is surrounded at
 some  distance by a wall with great    
entrance gateways or ,gopuras1 similar  
in general design to the central        
building but rectangular instead of     
square in plan1 and often larger and    
more richly decorated outside  than the 
,vimana itself4  ,then there is also the
 porch of the temple  or ,mantapam1 the 
tank or ,tappakulam1 the ,choultry or   
hall of pillars  and independent columns
 or ,stambhams1 bearing lamps or images4
    ,illustration3 ,the ,sacred ,tank   
and the ,rock1 ,trichinopoly4    ,it was
 a vast double door some distance in    
front of me1 beyond a  series of wide   
passages and courts1 a colossal door    
larger than those  two of wood and iron 
at the entrance to the ,vatican1 where  
the ,swiss  guards stand in their       
yellow-slashed uniforms with the        
halberds of  earlier days1 doors with no

 carving save that of worms and weather1
  but1 like the one before me1 more     
impressive by tremendous size and       
appearance of strength than the bronze  
gates of ,ghiberti4  ,it was a  portal  
for gods over whose unseen toes ,i1 a   
pygmy1 might crane my  neck4  ,the vast 
perspective in front1 the sense of      
possible inclusion  of unknown marvels  
commensurate with such an entrance1 a   
mystery of  shadow towards the mighty   
roof1--all made me stand and wonder1    
admiring and amazed4  ,porch succeeded  
porch1 with statues of the  gods1       
sometimes black with the oil of         
countless libations1 sometimes  bright  
#hi and staring with fresh paint4  ,dirt
 mingled with  magnificence and modern  
mechanical invention with the beauty of 
ancient art4  ,live men moved everywhere
 among the old1 old gods4    ,walking   
along a corridor1 astounded at its large
 grotesque  sculptures1 ,i noticed at my
 elbow two squatting tailors with       
,singer  sewing-machines1 buzzing as    

with the concentrated industry of a hive
  of bees4  ,i wished that a prick of   
the finger would send them all to       
sleep1 tailors1 priests1 mendicants and 
the quivering petitions of  importunate 
maimed limbs4    ,neither ,darius nor   
,alexander1 had they been able to march 
so far1  could have seen ,madura1 for1  
after all1 these temples are not yet so 
very old1 but ,buonaparte--  ,ah6 he of 
all men should have seen it6  ,i  think 
of him on his white horse1 gazing with  
saturnine inscrutability  at the cold   
waves of carved theogonies surging1 tier
 on tier1 up the  vast pyramids of the  
immense gopuras1 till the golden roofs  
of inner  gleaming shrines drew him     
beyond4    ,brief--oh how much too      
brief--was the time permitted me to     
spend at  ,madura1 for the same night ,i
 was to reach ,trichinopoly4    ,i      
dressed by lamplight and was on the road
 just at dawn1 driving  through the     
poorer quarter of the town4  ,by a white
 gateway of  ,moorish design1 erected on

 the occasion of the last royal visit1  
and  still bearing the #ij              
legend--,glorious welcome to our future 
,emperor--,i entered the wide street of 
the main bazaar at the far end  of which
 the rock appeared4    ,trichinopoly1   
inside this gate1 is entirely a city of 
marked men1  the lower castes1 together 
with the ,eurasians and the few         
,european  officials living outside its 
boundaries4    ,the great bare mass     
which rises out of the plain to a height
 of #bgc  feet above the level of the   
streets below1 was first properly       
fortified in the sixteenth century1     
under the great ,nayakka dynasty  of    
,madura1 by which it was received from  
the ,king of ,tanjore in  exchange for a
 place called ,vallam2 and after being  
the centre of  much fighting between    
native powers and ,french and ,english1 
it passed  quietly into the hands of the
 latter by treaty in #ahja4    ,from the
 roadway at the foot a series of stone  
stairways leads to the  upper street1   

which encircles the rock and contains a 
hall from which  other stairways lead up
 to a landing with a hundred-pillared   
porch on  each side of it4  ,in one of  
these lay in a corner with their legs in
  air a number of bamboo horses1        
life-size dummies1 covered with         
coloured cloths and papers for use in   
the processions4  ,on a still  higher   
landing ,i reached the great temple     
7whither the image of ,siva  was removed
 from its former place in a rock-temple 
at the base of the  precipice71 which   
,europeans are forbidden to enter4      
,illustration3 ,,the ,,main ,,bazaar1   
,,trichinopoly4    #ia    ,by engaging a
 man in a long argument with ,tambusami 
as interpreter1  about certain images   
visible as far within as ,i was able to 
see from  the landing1 ,i managed to    
rouse a desire to explain rightly1 so   
that  he made the expected suggestion   
and took me twenty yards within the     
forbidden doorway4  ,deafening noise of 
temple music filled the air1  the most  

strident being emitted from short and   
narrow metal trumpets4    ,twenty yards 
within that stone doorway guarded by the
 authority of  ,government embodied in  
official placards fastened on the wall6 
,shall  ,i divulge the mysteries within8
  ,indeed it would fill too many of     
these pages to spin from threads of     
temple twilight a wonder great  enough  
to warrant such exclusion of the        
uninitiated4    ,yet another flight of  
steps leads up round the outside to a   
final  series roughly cut in the rock   
itself1 rising to the topmost temple  of
 them all1 a ,ganesh shrine1 whence     
there is a grand view over the  town and
 far surrounding plain4    ,among the   
smaller shrines in the streets the one  
which seemed to me  the most            
curious--was that of the ,black ,god1   
,karapanasami1 a wooden  club or        
baluster similar in design to those     
carved in the hands of  stone watchmen  
at temple gates4  ,wreathed with flower 
garlands it  leaned against the wall on 

a stone plinth and was dripping with    
libation oil4  ,i was told that #ib     
,karapanasami may be present in         
anything--a brick1 or a bit of stone1 or
 any shapeless piece of wood4    ,among 
the native people1 quite apart from the 
would-be guides who  haunt the temples1 
those who speak a little ,english seem  
proud to  display their knowledge and   
ready to volunteer information4  ,before
 a  statue of ,kali in a wayside shrine 
a boy ventured to say he hoped ,i  would
 not irritate the goddess1 adding1 ,this
 god becomes quickly  peevish2 it is    
necessary to give her sheep to quiet    
her4    ,that afternoon ,i painted the  
,tappakulam or tank at the base of the  
great rock with the dainty ,mantapam or 
stone porch-temple in the  middle of it1
 working from the box seat of a gharry  
to be out of the  crowd1 but their      
curiosity seemed to be whetted the more1
 and  ,tambusami was kept busy in       
efforts1 not always successful1 to stop 
the inquisitive from clambering the     

sides of the vehicle1 which  lurched and
 quivered as each new bare foot tried   
for purchase on the  hub of a wheel4    
,the dazzling brilliancy of the scene   
was difficult to realize on  canvas1 for
 beyond all other elements of brightness
 a flock of green  parrots flying about 
the roof sparkled like sun-caught jewels
  impossible to paint4    ,illustration3
 ,,karapanasami1 ,,the ,,black ,,god4   
,the next morning ,i dressed by         
lamplight1 and it was not yet dawn when 
,tambusami put #ic up the heavy bars    
across back and front doorways  of my   
room at the dak bungalow for the safety 
of our belongings  during a day's       
absence4  ,old ,ratamullah1 the very    
large fat butler1  watched us from his  
own house a little further back in the  
enclosure1  as in the grey light we     
started to drive to ,srirangam1 and     
before the  least ray of colour caught  
even the top of the ,rock we saw a group
 of  women in purple and red robes      
getting water at a fountain4  ,the      

large1 narrow-necked brass jars gleamed 
like pale flames1 the colour  of the    
words ,john ,milton that shine from the 
west side of ,bow ,church  in           
,cheapside4    ,outside the houses of   
prosperous ,hindoos ,i noticed1 down    
upon the red  earth1 patterns and       
designs that recalled the doorstep art  
practised by the peasants in many parts 
of ,scotland4  ,the dust of the  day's  
traffic soon obscures the patterns1 but 
at that early hour they  had not yet    
been trodden upon4  ,brass lamps        
glimmered in the poorer  huts1 but we   
were soon away from ,trichinopoly and   
crossing the long  stone bridge over the
 ,cauvery4  ,the river was very wide but
 by no  means full1 and scattered with  
large spaces of bare sand4  ,over the   
water little mists like the pale ghosts 
of a crowd of white snakes  curled and  
twisted in a strange slow dance4        
,when we had crossed the thirty-two     
arches of this bridge we were upon  the 
island of ,srirangam1 #id on which there

 is that vast and1 it is  said1 wealthy 
temple to ,vishnu1 about which one is   
always told that  its design ought to   
have been turned inside out1 as it      
becomes less  imposing the farther one  
penetrates within4  ,to me it was one   
long  succession of delights and        
wonders1 and in the freshness of the    
early  morning ,i found an enjoyment in 
the crude designs of gods and heroes1   
freshly painted in strong outline of    
burnt sienna colour on  whitewashed     
walls1 as well as in the older elaborate
 and sometimes  beautiful carvings of   
pillar and panel1 niche and architrave4 
,adjoining the so-called hall of a      
thousand columns a great bamboo         
scaffolding was being put up for the    
erection of an annexe roof1 to  be      
supported by sixty temporary pillars to 
make the full complement  for the       
,december festival4  ,it was from here  
that ,i painted a sketch  looking       
through the great passage1 festooned    
with dry and withered  mano leaves1     

under the ,white ,tower1 with a ,gopura 
beyond1 mauve in  the early morning     
light4  ,the ,ana on one of the temple  
elephants was  very pertinacious in his 
demands for backsheesh1 and his very    
obedient servant caused me some         
inconvenience by the way in which the   
end of his trunk kept appearing between 
my brushes and palette4    ,before      
driving back to ,trichinopoly ,i stopped
 to have a good look at  the great outer
 gateway #ie of the temple1 a           
magnificent granite  structure of a     
different style to the rest of the      
buildings4  ,it  gives the appearance of
 breaking off suddenly at a lower height
 than  its completion would have        
attained1 but its splendid symmetry1 its
  severe contours and its fine          
proportions stamp it forever as a grand 
piece of architecture and confute those 
who speak of the ,dravidian  style as   
careless or haphazard in planning4      
,all that it was possible for me to do  
in this part of ,southern ,india  was to

 visit a few of the most important      
temples1 and as they are  well known and
 oft described ,i will not devote much  
space to them  here4    ,the chief in   
the ,dravidian style after ,madura and  
,trichinopoly is1 of  course1           
,tanjore--much earlier in date1 being of
 the fourteenth  century1 if not much   
earlier still1--with a pyramidal sikra  
of  thirteen storeys high 7it is        
surmounted by a spiked ornament1 which  
gives its name to the construction71 and
 a stone ,mantapam covering  the famous 
,nandi1 the colossal stone bull of      
,siva1 which is over #ab  feet high and 
blackened with centuries of oil         
anointings4    ,the temple is partly    
surrounded by the great walls and       
bastions of  the old fort of ,tanjore   
and a wide moat1 over which a bridge    
leads to  the gateway4  ,all along the  
west and north sides of the great open  
space within the walls runs a colonnade 
in which are placed1 as in a  #if long  
series of side-chapels1 #ajh lingams4   

,the walls of these  cloister-like      
recesses are covered with pictures of   
gods and miracles  in sienna red1 and on
 another side of the enclosure is the   
superbly  graceful later shrine1 called 
,subramanya1 to the warrior son of      
,siva4  ,the whole temple is attached to
 ,tanjore ,palace and under the control 
of the ,senior ,ranee1 ,her ,highness   
,matosree ,jijayeeamba ,boyee ,sahib4   
,the huge apartments of the             
five-storeyed palace are still inhabited
  by this lady and her sister1 also a   
widow1 and a host of dependants4  ,in   
the courtyard stands a tower which      
served for many years as an  armoury1   
and still contains the wooden stands and
 racks used for  storing guns4  ,it is a
 characterless stucco building1 and its 
upper  part has been for some time in a 
dangerous condition2 but ,i was well    
repaid for the long clamber up its dark 
narrow stairway by the wide  view from  
the top4  ,in the palace there were     
durbar halls to see and  indifferent    

oil-paintings of the rajahs and their   
ministers2 but far  more interesting    
than these is the old library1 a famous 
collection  including many valuable     
manuscripts1 of which a great number are
  written on palm leaves4  ,it was here 
,i found1 to my delight1 the  ,elephant 
,book4  ,the words are older than the   
illustrations1 and are  the writings of 
a certain rishi about all elephants4    
,when the ,hindoo  librarian brought #ig
 out this treasure the daylight was     
rapidly  going1 and as ,i did not wish  
to see the pictures by lamp-light1 he   
had it carried outside for me and ,i    
turned the pages to the sound of  music1
 which was being played under a tree in 
a corner of the  courtyard4  ,in the    
time of the rishi1 elephants had wings1 
but the  sound of their flapping        
disturbed him when he wanted to rest1   
and  that is why elephants have no wings
 at all nowadays4  ,in the pages of     
this book there were painted elephants  
of every colour imaginable1  and a large

 simple treatment characterised the     
designs throughout4  ,some of the       
pictures made me think of ,blake1 though
 they rarely  contained human figures1  
and one of a tree covered with little   
winged  elephants reminded me of        
,blake's first vision as a child when he
 saw  a fruit tree full of winged       
cherubs4    ,madras ,i would call the   
dusty town of interminable distances4   
,everywhere seems to be miles away from 
everywhere else1 and more  liberal space
 about public buildings was surely never
 seen4  ,the  great desideratum is some 
kind of gliding shoe which will carry   
you  back and forth at will1 without any
 demands upon the muscles of the  leg4  
,about the middle of the great front is 
,fort ,st ,george1 with its three  and  
four-storeyed barracks and officers'    
bungalows4  ,it is of no  strategic     
importance1 but there are very rightly  
#ih stringent  regulations against      
sketching within its precincts4  ,thanks
 to the  courtesy of the officers in    

charge ,i obtained permission with      
regard  to ,st ,mary's ,church where    
,clive was married1 and which claims to 
be  not only the oldest ,english church 
in ,india1 but the oldest ,english      
building in ,india of any kind1 dating  
from #beth ,march #afgh1 when the  first
 sod was turned for its erection4    ,i 
had received a verbal permission from   
the commanding officer1 but  had no     
sooner taken up my position than ,i was 
stopped by a sergeant4  ,he insisted on 
the need for a written permit4  ,now    
this involved a  second walk of some    
distance to the commanding officer's    
house1 but ,i  was sufficiently far from
 any feeling of annoyance to smile at   
that  sergeant1 saying ,i would comply  
with pleasure1 and complimenting him  on
 his zeal4  ,his severe rejoinder was a 
delicious contrast to the  fluent       
suavity of ,eastern politeness4         
,looking at me sternly with  flashing   
eyes1 my compatriot exclaimed3--,now    
look 'ere1 don't you  give me none of   

your sarcasm neither6    ,most of the   
public buildings in ,madras1 such as the
 ,railway ,station1  the ,government    
,offices and the ,law ,courts1 are of   
red brick1 and  their architecture an   
ingenious mixture of ,east and ,west4   
,maimed and deformed beggars seem to #ii
 abound4  ,they come up to you  shaking 
their quivering limbs1 showing you sores
 or touching your arm  softly with      
uncanny hands to draw your eyes to see  
some monstrous  horror of a leg4    ,i  
wanted1 before leaving the ,south1 to   
see the ,nilgiris1 and with  this end   
took train inland to ,mettapalaiyam1    
where ,i changed on to  the narrow gauge
 railway which climbs one in twelve1 a  
central  rack-rail making such an angle 
possible4  ,as the engine was at the    
lower end ,i was able to sit on the     
extreme front of the train and  watch   
the scenery to advantage4  ,a look-out  
man by my side stopped  the train in one
 deep cutting as we caught sight of a   
piece of rock  which had fallen from    

above and lay across the metals in front
 of us4  ,there were some coolies near  
at hand1 and the obstacle was quickly   
removed1 but it dramatically suggested  
one of the dangers of mountain          
railways4    ,the vegetation was very   
like that on the journey to ,newara     
,eliya in  ,ceylon2 bamboos1 areca-nut  
palms1 plantains and the same little    
orange-flowered shrub everywhere4  ,here
 and there the red earth  showed but    
only rarely for where there were no     
trees the ground was  generally bare    
grey rock4  ,hanging in gum trees or    
eucalyptus ,i  noticed many paper nests 
of wasps4  ,at ,runnymede ,station1     
#dejj feet  above sea-level1 we were    
turned into a siding for a #ajj         
down-coming  train to pass4  ,this was  
full of children shouting and cheering  
loudly1 coming away for ,christmas      
holidays from the ,lawrence ,asylum     
,school at ,ootacamund4    ,as we       
crossed small bridges over clefts and   
gorges ,i could see  torrents under my  

feet between the sleepers2 and then1    
rugged and  precipitous1 the hillside   
dropped below on one side and reared up 
on  the other far above our heads1 as we
 crept along some narrow ledge4    ,at  
,coonoor1 which was1 at the time of my  
visit1 still the end of the  railway1 ,i
 shared a two-horse tonga with an       
engineer4  ,he had been  for many years 
making railways in ,assam1 had been down
 with dysentery  and about to go home on
 leave when he was asked at ,calcutta to
 get  the ,ooty railway finished1 and   
change of air and a soft job had        
decided him to take the work4           
,illustration3 ,,hindoo ,,mother ,,and  
,,child4    ,a good linguist1 he was    
fond of the natives generally and       
especially  of the ,hindoos4  ,living   
for long periods sixty or seventy miles 
from  any white face1 he had grown to   
dislike society and hated calling  at   
the private houses of officials4  ,they 
don't understand me1 he  said1 and they 
never know the native as ,i know him4   

,at the ',holi'  festival ,i make       
holiday with my people4  ,early in the  
morning ,i go  into their quarters1     
right into their houses and throw the   
red water  at their women1 and then #aja
 ,i have them all up to my camp in      
parties and they dance to me and all    
have a royal time4  ,sometimes it  costs
 me three or four hundred rupees but ,i 
enjoy it1 and they have  few pleasures  
in their lives4  ,put a lighted cracker 
in a ,hindoo  girl's hand and tell her  
just when to throw it away1 and the     
delight  of it will last her for months4
  ,of course they buy a few fireworks   
themselves1 but they can't afford the   
big pieces and their joy well  repays   
me4  ,as to the talk of unrest1 it's all
 bunkum1--except among  the baboos and a
 few mischievous priests in their pay4  
,what does the  average native know     
about the partition of ,bengal8  ,he    
knows nothing1  as a rule1 about        
political divisions at all1 and as for  
wanting to be  ruled by his own people1 

the last thing in the world he wants is 
a  native judge4  ,he knows well enough 
what that means--judgment for the  side 
that pays most4  ,no--they get some     
,western learning1 but they  don't get  
made straight4  ,that's one of the      
reasons why it's  impossible to give a  
native engineer a top post anywhere4    
,he can't  resist bribery1 and his sense
 of 'izzat' makes him diddle his        
employers twice over4  ,after all it is 
a point of honour with your  native not 
to take a bribe from an ,englishman2 he 
regards it as  entirely different from  
taking bribes from his own people4      
,that is  his sense of 'izzat1' and to  
compensate for his loss of personal     
honour he must make #ajb double out of  
the deal4  ,the other reason  is that a 
native always loses his head in a       
crisis4    ,i do not think there was one
 thing this engineer said1 except the   
last1 about which ,i had not heard the  
direct opposite from other  ,englishmen2
 but he spoke from his own experience as

 they did1 and the  various views must  
be weighed against each other4    ,ooty 
was deserted4  ,there were no happy     
holiday bachelors under  canvas tents on
 the club links1 no one at all in the   
hotels4  ,the  place is not unlike      
,newara ,eliya from the scenic point of 
view as  well as the social4  ,there    
were the same arum lilies growing near  
the  lake4    ,living in small huts on  
the hillside ,i saw a few ,todas1 some  
of the  few remaining of those early    
inhabitants of ,india allied to the     
,dravidians1 but of ,scythian or        
,mongolian origin4  ,driven out by the  
,aryans1 in their assumed invasion from 
,central ,asia1 the ,dravidians  and    
their ,mongolian cousins were forced    
down to ,southern ,india and  ,ceylon1  
remaining here and there among the      
hills4  ,the ,todas number  only a      
little over a thousand and are said to  
be steadily decreasing  in numbers4  ,as
 they are polyandrous1 it is indeed     
surprising that  any are left at all4   

,other tribes surviving from these early
 peoples  are the ,bhils1 ,kols1        
,ghonds1 ,santals and ,nagas4    ,ooty  
is #bjjj feet higher than ,coonoor1 but 
#ajc the finest  mountain views are from
 the latter neighbourhood4  ,i drove    
back by  night and all along the road   
bullock-carts1 with lanterns swinging   
underneath them1 were slowly plodding   
down with loads of coffee and  tea4  ,on
 the rack-railway there is only         
passenger traffic1 so they  have to go  
all the way to ,mettapalaiyam4  ,the    
drivers were all sound  asleep and my   
sayce was on the road pretty often1     
turning the  cattle aside to let us     
pass4  ,on one side the rocks rose      
precipitously1 and on the other         
stretched out a vast panorama of  hills1
 clothed in a dress more mystic than    
white samite1 the soft  pale clarity of 
moon-lit mountain air4    ,it was very  
late when ,i reached the railway        
station1 and finding all  locked up ,i  
slept on the pavement rolled in rug and 

ulster4    ,when ,i awoke at sunrise the
 ,eastern sky was all rose and amber1   
and  in the sharp crisp morning air the 
bells of the horses jingled gaily  as ,i
 drove up through the woods above       
,coonoor1 past snug villas now  nearly  
all to let for the season does not begin
 till ,february4  ,a  zigzag road it    
was1 with roses and wild heliotrope     
along its  stone-built sides4  ,the     
eucalyptus were #ej feet high1          
rhododendrons  with profusion of crimson
 blossoms grew to large trees1 and the  
graceful star-topped tree-ferns were    
very tall4    ,suddenly rounding a      
corner of the road a majestic landscape 
broke  upon my sight1 rising #ajd sheer 
out of plains which seemed to  stretch  
away to a misty infinity4  ,there was a 
waterfall above the  road1 and the      
horses splashed through a torrent under 
creepers  hanging from bending          
tree-tops4  ,then the road crept along a
 narrow  ledge with four or five hundred
 feet of sheer drop below4  ,i left the 

carriage to climb to the view-point ,i  
wanted1 near what is called  ,lady      
,canning's ,seat1 and thence painted the
 ,droog1 the hill from the  steep summit
 of which ,tippoo ,sultan is said to    
have thrown his  prisoners of war4  ,i  
have seen since other blue mountains1   
and it  was interesting to compare the  
rich intensity of the colouring in the  
,nilgiris with the more violet bloom of 
the gum-clad mountains of  ,australia1  
and especially this view of the ,droog  
with ,govett's ,leap1  a scene in ,new  
,south ,wales of similar configuration4 
#aje    ,,chapter ,,vii    ,,calcutta   
,in a heavy storm of rain1 thunder and  
lightning early one ,sunday  morning the
 ,british ,india ,company's steamship   
,bengala1 on which ,i  had travelled    
from ,rangoon1 began making her way up  
the ,hooghly4  ,grey mud-banks appeared 
vaguely in the stinging drift4  ,there  
were  toddy-palms here and there and    
villages of thatched huts with          
plantains about them1 the broad green   

leaves standing out against the  darker 
background4  ,leaves1 blown on the wind1
 whirled aimlessly  across the dirty    
sea4    ,the few passengers on the      
,bengala were all eager to see ,james   
and  ,mary2 and beyond another village  
on a spit of sand with a crowd of  small
 fishing-boats at anchor1 we passed the 
now celebrated spot  where a couple of  
masts still protruded above the water4  
,all hands  had been called to be ready 
before we reached this fatal place1 but 
no siren voices sounded from the tragic 
sands4    ,at ,budge ,bridge1 about #ad 
miles from ,calcutta1 where there are   
large  oil storage #ajf tanks1 we began 
to pass jute-mills on the opposite  bank
 and many brick-making places4  ,at     
,garden ,reach we dropped the  pilot and
 picked up the ,harbour ,master just as 
a ,natal coolie  emigrant ship1 the     
,umfuli1 passed us on her way out4      
,then--a crowd of shipping--the usual   
slow scramble of  disembarking--and ,i  
stood in the capital city of all ,india4

    ,in a large park called the ,maidan1
 a tall white-fluted column rises  from 
an ,egyptian base4  ,this is the        
,auchterlony ,monument1 and from  the   
top of it a splendid view is obtained of
 the general plan of the  town4  ,at one
 end of the ,maidan you can see         
,government ,house1 and at  the other   
the race-course and polo-ground beyond  
the skating rink1  boxing-booths and    
circus tents4  ,fort ,william lies on   
the riverside  and opposite to it1      
looking on to the ,maidan as ,piccadilly
 does on to  the ,green ,park1 lies     
,chowringhee1 with the ,grand ,hotel1   
clubs1  stores1 museums and ,english    
residences4    ,illustration3 ,bengal   
,government ,offices1 ,calcutta    ,and 
beyond ,chowringhee1 north of all this1 
is an immense city of  native streets1  
bazaars1 squares1 temples and theatres2 
while at  ,howrah1 on the south side of 
the river1 extends a long series of     
mighty factories1 jute-mills and        
engineering works4  ,it is on this  side

 that is situated the great ,howrah     
,railway ,station1 the terminus  of the 
,eastern ,bengal ,state ,railway1 and   
there #ajg is as yet only  one bridge to
 carry the heavy traffic across the     
river4  ,this is in  appearance a kind  
of glorified pontoon1 but its series of 
projecting  barge ends recalls a little 
the long line of buttresses on old      
,london  ,bridge1 seen in ,van          
,wyngaerde's drawing4  ,at every hour of
 the day  this great artery of pulsing  
life is a close-packed moving mass of   
men and traffic 7at night for a couple  
of hours it is sometimes  closed to     
vehicles74    ,the ,english stranger1   
anxious for his mail1 will probably soon
 find  his way to the white marble steps
 of the ,general ,post ,office4  ,at the
  top of the steps seven tall columns   
support the great dome1 and the         
round-arched entries between them are   
closed as to the upper part by  wooden  
screens with cross shutter-bars4  ,at   
first as you walk into  the shadow out  

of the blazing sunlight all seems dark  
as ,erebus1 and  then gradually you make
 out between columns the various bureaux
 with  their little brown-framed        
peep-holes like railway station         
booking-offices4    ,inside the poste   
restante division a native gentleman1 in
 gold-rimmed  spectacles and a shawl of 
a reddish-yellow plaid over his         
shoulders1  is looking through the      
letters of a mail just arrived1 and some
 empty  chairs at a neighbouring        
writing-table covered with blue cloth   
offer  comfort for immediate perusal4   
,in the roof #ajh yellow light comes    
faintly through the covered windows     
which circle it just below the          
dome--that vast white dome which        
dominates the city more than do the     
towers of the ,high ,court1 even as news
 is more clamorous than justice4        
,chuprassees and servants come and go   
and presently you thread your  way among
 them and emerge again1 as ,i did1 into 
the glare of daylight  in ,dalhousie    

,square1 where the ,bengal ,government  
,offices are  reflected in the blue     
water of a large tank4    ,i crossed    
,koda ,ghat ,street1 among bullock-carts
 and gharries1 and  turned to look back 
at the ,post ,office clock with its     
black hands  pointing to black figures4 
,at the gate into the square a policeman
  was buying betel1 and close by1 with  
sage-green railings round it1 ,i  saw   
the white marble statue of ,dharbanga   
sitting cross-legged1 with  sword in one
 hand held across his knees and the     
other resting on a  small shield        
target1--a fine piece by ,onslow ,ford4 
,this is a  stopping-place for electric 
trams1 and great blocks of office       
buildings face the road on this side of 
the square1 such as those of  the ,hong 
,kong and ,shanghai ,banking            
,corporation1 the ,standard ,life       
,assurance ,company1 and1 in            
slate-coloured plaster and red brick1   
the  ,central ,telegraph ,office4       
,opposite to them on the edge of the    

square  the ,doric columns of the       
,dalhousie ,institute shield a statue of
 the  ,marquis of ,hastings4    #aji    
,a young man was carrying an old one    
upon his shoulders1 as ,aeneas  carried 
his father ,anchises3 beggars           
importuned3 and as ,i turned up  ,old   
,courthouse ,street a child1 weighed    
down by a heavy baby1 touched  my arm   
appealingly4  ,i hurried on past great  
shops1 ,cook's ,offices  and a          
jeweller's shining in white and gold1   
big chemists and diamond  merchants4    
,four nearly naked coolies carrying a   
black palanquin  knocked against me at  
the end of ,government ,place4          
,crossing the ,west ,entrance to        
,government ,house you notice how the   
lawns in front are covered with great   
marquee offices on either side  of the  
dragon-borne gun on the red ground-space
 in front of the main  building4  ,i was
 now on the ,maidan1 and walking past a 
group of  ,chinamen across the grass to 
cut off the corner1 soon reached        

,chowringhee and my rooms in the ,grand 
,hotel1 that huge straggling            
caravanserai1 otherwise known as ,mrs   
,monks6  ,they were in a part of  the   
building dubbed by ,calcutta youth ,the 
,monastery1 from its  proximity to the  
stage-door of a ,vaudeville ,opera      
,house4  ,the windows  of the           
auditorium1 always open1 were only      
separated by a few yards  from my rooms4
    ,a ,door must be ,open or ,shut is  
the title of one of ,de ,musset's       
plays1 but ,i had already learned that  
in ,india a door locked is by no  means 
shut4  ,it is often a mere skeleton of  
wood #aaj provided with  cross slats2   
and although an inner curtain ensures   
privacy1 no  external sound escapes the 
inmate4  ,during my stay in ,calcutta1  
until  after each midnight1 ,the ,merry 
,widow1 alternated with other musical   
comedies and like ,coleridge's ,wedding 
,guest--,i could not choose  but hear4  
,the other inmates of the hotel         
consisted partly of tourists1 partly  of

 residents1 partly of men on short leave
 with nothing to do1 and  partly of     
officials whose patronage they desired4 
,my immediate  neighbour1 who borrowed a
 new shirt from me1 which he did not    
return1  was by no means a typical      
member of the service4  ,he would have  
afforded copy to an anti-,english       
agitator1 but to me appeared merely  an 
instance of a man whose character was   
unsuited to the mixture of  freedom and 
isolation which life in ,india involves4
    ,a very different type of man was   
,d4 who had just come up from the       
,malabar ,coast4  ,in that part of the  
country long settled1 or rather  long   
unsettled1 there are a number of people 
of ,arab descent4  ,a  riotous and      
lawless crew1 they gave such constant   
trouble that a law  was finally passed  
called the ,mopla ,law1 under which any 
,mopla1 as  these people are called1    
could be instantly deported on suspicion
 of  being a suspect4  ,still they were 
rampageous1 and not infrequently a      

party of pillaging #aaa scoundrels would
 only be overcome by  military aid4     
,now1 shortly after my acquaintance was 
moved to that part of the  ,madras      
,presidency a party of ,moplas1 after   
generally running riot1  entrenched     
themselves in a strong position on a    
rocky hilltop4  ,d4  was called over to 
the place in a hurry1 and a captain in  
command of  some ,british troops at hand
 was eager for action4  ,just give me   
the  word1 said he1 and we'll soon have 
them out of that4  ,he could  not1 of   
course1 move without the civil authority
 giving permission4    ,no1 ,d4 replied2
 if ,i gave you the word1 you would     
shoot or take  these ,moplas1 but in    
doing it you would certainly lose some  
of your  own men4  ,every soldier killed
 means incalculable harm1 and ,i don't  
intend one single life to be lost over  
this affair4  ,he insisted on  their    
merely sitting round the hill to prevent
 escape1 and in a few  days' time down  
came the ,moplas to treat4  ,d4 talked  

to them1  deported nobody1 and for many 
many years there has1 he told me1 not   
been one serious case of ,mopla trouble 
on the ,malabar ,coast4  ,well1  there's
 nothing in that story warranting any   
general statement4  ,it  only shows one 
of the countless situations with which  
the ,indian  civil servant has to deal4 
,the ,english officer was ready to risk 
his  own and his men's lives in a       
moment1 as he should #aab be1 and the   
,english magistrate knew when to hold   
him back4  ,both were needed and  both  
were there4    ,on my first evening in  
,calcutta1 wishing to see the largest   
number of  ,europeans together that ,i  
could1 ,i went to the evening service at
 ,st  ,paul's ,cathedral4  ,the church  
consists of an unusually wide nave1     
with a green barrelled roof studded with
 ,tudor roses--side aisles and  a tall  
spire at the western end4  ,the rain had
 stopped and the roads  were drying a   
little1 but it was cold and raw1 and    
many ladies were  actually wearing furs6

  ,choir-boys in violet gowns and white 
surplices began to congregate near the  
large organ at the north-east  corner4  
,gradually the church filled4  ,there   
was just a small  sprinkling of         
,eurasians and here and there a native  
face1 but the  congregation was almost  
entirely ,european4    ,hanging from the
 ceiling were candelabras of electric   
lights1 but a  brighter galaxy of       
ecclesiastical stars was shortly to     
appear4  ,a  ,synod had been held during
 the previous week1 and ten out of its  
eleven bishops took part in this        
service4  ,the procession1 with so  many
 pastoral staffs1 was quite an imposing 
one1 and it was most  interesting to    
compare the genuflexions of these       
people1 the rich  vestments1 gilded     
staffs and various emblems of worship   
and authority  with those of the native 
religions4  #aac ,the sermon1 which was 
preached by the then ,bishop of         
,calcutta1 dealt largely with the       
allegory of the ,church as the ,bride of

 ,christ1 and the duties of  bishops in 
her preparation for ,marriage4  ,it was 
rambling and  tedious1 but the choir    
sang well and the playing of the fine   
organ  was admirable4    ,the #abth of  
,january was the ninth day of the ten   
days' ,hindoo  festival of the          
,sankarati ,puja4  ,i went over to the  
,howrah ,bridge to  see the bathing4    
,on the stone building on the right1 as 
,i looked  over the bridge railing at   
the top of the great flight of steps1 a 
slab is let into the wall inscribed in  
,english3--      ,this stone is         
dedicated by a few ,englishwomen to the 
memory of those  pilgrims1 mostly women1
 who perished with the ',sir ,john      
,lawrence' in  the cyclone of the #beth 
,may1 #ahhg4      ,a golden-brown       
butterfly was settled near the stone on 
the grey  stucco wall4  ,the river1     
dirty everywhere1 was here thickly      
strewn  with floating rubbish4  ,the    
whole of the steps and the edge of the  
river were crowded with bathers and     

people ministering to them--some  grave 
and deliberate1 others lively and       
splashing1 washing their                
bright-coloured draperies and clothes   
and rubbing their own brown  bodies with
 the sacred water4    ,they were        
,mahrattas1 these people1 and about #aad
 the steps squatted  men ready to paint 
the caste mark afresh upon their        
foreheads for a  few pice4  ,they       
trimmed and twisted and smoothed their  
hair1 gazing  in little looking-glasses 
for the final touches1 and passing      
through  the stone shelter building     
above the steps1 put pice into a brass  
tray in the street1 where a trunk of    
sandalwood was set up in plaster  and   
four lingams1 two white and two black1  
were heaped with marigolds  and other   
flower garlands in an altar shaped like 
a well-head4    ,all this was1 of       
course1 going on cheek by jowl with the 
traffic of  the town4  ,the stream of   
laden bullock-carts1 gharries and palkis
  flowed over the bridge as swiftly as  

the water beneath it4  ,on the          
opposite1 the ,howrah side1 are many    
works and factories1 including  the     
chief jute-mills4  ,from there to       
,ulabaria1 far down the river1  there   
are on the ,hooghly banks seventy-eight 
jute- and cotton-mills  and presses4    
,they have doubled during the past eight
 or ten years1  and in the works ,i     
visited of one company some distance    
south of the  great ,howrah ,railway    
,station1 from #aaj to #abj tons of     
sacks called  gunnies and ,hessian cloth
 are turned out daily4  ,that company   
alone  employs #hjjj hands4  ,i saw the 
great piles of raw jute in coarse       
strands as it comes up from the country1
 and the carding machines and  weaving  
machines4  ,for the weaving and         
finishing1 most of the  machinery #aae  
comes from ,dundee1 and for the spinning
 from ,leeds4  ,amid the ceaseless      
whirr1 buzz and bustle of the workshops1
 ,i watched  the dexterous children     
using their feet with almost equal skill

 as  their hands1 catching bobbins      
between their toes while twisting up    
broken threads with their fingers4  ,i  
saw the main driving  engines--from     
,hargreaves1 ,bolton--of #bjbj          
horse-power1 and outside in  a narrow   
and squalid alley ,i saw a shrine of    
,juggernaut1 grotesque  and hideous6    
,i visited the great ,iron ,foundry of  
,burn  ,co41 who have also1 #ajj  miles 
away on the ,east ,india ,railway1 great
 pottery works1 whence  #cj-;inch       
drain-pipes and stoneware and tesselated
 pavements are sent  all over ,india4   
,at the engineering works they employ   
#ejjj natives  and as many as sixty     
,europeans4  ,here was a batch of plate 
girders  just finished1 each #aj feet   
deep1 the largest yet made in ,india4   
,in  one of the vast and deafening      
workshops three #aj-ton overhead        
electric trains were moving up and down4
  ,here were  electrically-driven       
machines for heavy punching and         
shearing1 and ,i  asked the young       

,english clerk1 who was taking me round1
 how he liked  the native people4  ,he  
said3--,i like 'em well enough1 but you 
know--the fact is--they're chronic2 and 
at one side of a noisy yard1  on a small
 square landing at the top of some      
steps1 ,i saw a  ,mohammedan at prayer4 
#aaf    ,in the afternoon of the same   
day ,i went out by tram to ,kalighat4   
,near one side of the road where ,i left
 the tram was a pond--an                
old-established washing- and            
drying-ground--where1 from early days1  
the clothes of ,calcutta have been      
severely banged4  ,i walked under  some 
linen flapping from clothes-lines to    
watch a dhobie at the  water-edge       
beating clothes upon a ridged wooden    
board4  ,he punctuated  the action with 
such ejaculations as ,oo-er6 oo-er6     
oo-er6 oo-er6 om6  om6 om6 and e-ay6    
e-ay6 ee-ay6    ,these men are all      
independent dhobies who pay to the      
,government one  rupee per annum for the
 right to wash here and to use the      

drying-ground4    ,i turned up a side   
road for the famous ,kali ,temple past a
 building  labelled ,dispensary1 with   
plaster falling away from its brickwork 
and several rows of dung-cakes patted on
 to the wall to dry for fuel4  ,there   
were a number of loiterers hereabouts1  
and a man soon tacked  himself on to me 
as guide4  ,i came to a temple of ,siva 
7husband of  the blood-loving ,kali71   
where there was a well-shaped depression
  under a stone octagonal-pillared      
canopy or cupola4  ,i went up some      
brick steps outside at the back1 whence 
looking down from above ,i  could see in
 the centre of the shallow well the     
flower-adorned lingam  of the god who is
 #aag worshipped here with garlands and 
,ganges  water4  ,at each side of the   
narrow road were now small shops filled 
with large crude hand-paintings and     
coloured plaster figures of the         
terrible goddess4    ,here1 another     
would-be guide assailed me with these   
words3--,i will  explain myself to you3 

follow me1 please2 no need to listen to 
other  people--and another3--    ,i am  
an old priest here--talk with me--and   
another3--    ,listen to me and ,i will 
explain all things here4    ,then the   
third1 pushing one of the others        
aside3--,let him listen to  me1 an old  
priest4    ,i passed another ,siva      
shrine with a copper cobra attached to a
  lingam4  ,on the left of the road here
 was an old tank1 a  filthy-looking pond
 covered with green scum1 with some     
coconut palms  hanging over it4  ,barren
 women bathe here and then they get     
children1 said one of the would-be      
guides4    ,the other men now tried to  
get my recognition4  ,what is the       
necessity of so many to explain--,i am  
the priest4    ,you the priest--ah6 who 
are you--you are the broker6    ,they   
were beginning to quarrel1 and ,i       
settled the matter by declaring  ,i     
would have for guide the oldest among   
them4    ,i had now reached the         
precincts of the ,temple #aah of ,kali  

and  passed under an arch into a quad   
where three small cows were eating      
accumulated leaf and flower refuse1     
trodden marigold garlands and  scattered
 leaves4    ,the temple1 which had very 
little beauty1 was in the centre of this
  quad4  ,at one corner was a ,munshi   
tree4  ,if any man will be bite of  a   
snake1 said the old priest1 and come    
here1 he will be cured from  the bite2  
and the barren women who get no sons1   
they will tie stones  like this--upon   
the branches many small pieces of stone 
hung by  short strings4  ,the trunk of  
this tree was patched and smutched with 
dabs of red colour put on by pilgrims4  
,and this1 pointing to the building in  
the centre1 is ,mother ,kali's  ,temple1
 and the image of ,mother ,kali is in   
the inside of this temple4    ,the      
worshippers of ,siva's wives1 of whom   
,kali is the most popular1  make one of 
three divisions of modern ,hinduism1 the
 other two being  that of the ,siva     
worshippers and that of the ,vaishnavas 

or  worshippers of ,vishnu4    ,as ,i   
walked round to the other side ,i saw   
some women upon the ground  with        
bleeding heads of kids and goats4       
,these women are the servants  of the   
temple4  ,they and the poor have the    
heads as perquisites2  the bodies of the
 victims are taken away by those        
pilgrims who  brought them for          
sacrifice1 and #aai are either cooked   
and eaten  upon the ,ganges bank or at  
home4    ,two forked posts1 one very    
much larger than the other1 stood       
upright  in the ground4  ,the creatures 
to be killed have their heads forced    
down between the forks of wood--to be   
cut off by one blow of a sword4  ,the   
larger post is for buffaloes1           
slaughtered one day a week2 and the     
smaller for goats and kids1 many of     
which are killed every day4  ,a  stream 
of blood trickled away from this smaller
 post1 and a number of  crows were      
hopping about the ground4  ,if you will 
kindly come a  little earlier at time of

 sacrifice1 that is very nice1 said the 
priest2 but ,i had no eagerness for that
 sight4  ,it was far from the  sides of 
,latmos--here was no sacred sward1 and  
the poor flowers  crushed into a sodden 
mass had long forgot the dew4  ,paris'  
voice was  silent here4  ,the deeper    
feelings of these people were of dread  
rather than veneration1 the scene lacked
 all dignity and squalor  reigned4      
,the man who kills is a blacksmith--a   
low caste man1 and two pice are  paid to
 him by the pilgrims for every goat     
killed4  ,there were many  naked and    
half-naked children about and a few     
mangy and diseased  dogs4  ,to most     
,english people flesh is1 of course1 not
 the rare  luxury it is to these        
,hindoos1 and the ,english avoid the    
sight of its  preparation for the table1
 although some still invoke the blessing
 of  ,god upon its #abj consumption4    
,the scene was disagreeable1 but so     
also is that of the more protracted     
family pig-killing outside a  ,wiltshire

 labourer's cottage6    ,in another     
corner of the quad ,i looked at a shrine
 to ,vishnu--the  creator1 and his      
favourite lady1 ,radha--and then turned 
down the  narrow street between the     
temple and the river1 lined with shops  
containing articles for the pilgrims4   
,some were filled with little  sets at  
three pice each of the following        
articles3 a small purple mat  which1 if 
wetted1 will give blood-colour to water1
 three thin  bracelets1 two red and one 
black1 and a tiny box of red powder4    
,near was another shrine--a red         
,ganesh--,mother ,kali's son--and more  
,siva lingams garlanded with marigolds4 
,there were men with faces  painted red 
near some pilgrim's restrooms1 and      
stalls of ,bengali toys  such as        
pilgrims take home to their children4   
,there were also on  sale here ,english 
tin-made abominations with the familiar 
poisonous  colouring1 trumpets and      
hansom cabs--perhaps more appropriate in
 the  vicinity of the death-delighting  

goddess than in ,ealing or  ,bermondsey4
  ,the whole of this narrow street1     
which is long and leads  all the way to 
the river1 had been paved with          
flagstones by one1  ,gobordhour ,dass1  
as an offering to ,kali4    ,juggernaut1
 ,hanuman1 and in addition to these     
,hindoo  deities--,buddha--,i saw       
together in one shrine4  ,on the bank of
 the  river are #aba some large houses  
for pilgrims1 painted all over with     
various subjects4  ,kali1 holding her   
head in two of her four hands1  spouts  
blood in tall fountains3 ,hanuman1 the  
monkey god1 fights with  the eagle god1 
and the wife of ,vishnu plays peacefully
 with her  husband's legs4    ,near by  
were five trees 7not pictured but       
actual7 growing together as  one1 with  
their roots intertwined--,peepul1 ,bodh1
 ,banyan1 ,neem and  ,oshhuck1 their    
many-shaped leaves trembling in the air 
in an arboreal  pas de cinq1 with       
lingams round the base of the joined    
trunks4  ,four men passed me here       

carrying a dead body4    ,i had to walk 
back the same way that ,i had come2 and 
as ,i crossed the  courtyard of the     
,kali temple a strange figure in rags   
stood blowing  upon a large white       
conch-shell a long1 long strange note4  
,a white  conch-shell on the wrist marks
 a pilgrimage to the great seaside ,siva
  ,temple of ,rameswaram in the ,south1 
but the conch-shell is also one of  the 
marks of the ,vaishnavas4  ,he is a mad 
one1 said the priest2 he  eats the mouse
 and snakes4    ,while ,i was in        
,calcutta ,i wanted to go to one of the 
native theatres1  but the only one the  
hotel people knew about was a ,parsee   
theatre in  ,durumtolla ,street4  ,i saw
 there ,kismatka ,sitara1 a serious     
version  of ,ali ,baba and the ,forty   
,thieves2 but ,i was determined to see a
  ,bengali company1 in spite of the     
remonstrances #abb of my table          
companions at the ,grand ,hotel1 who    
were perfectly satisfied with the       
,merry ,widow touring company1 and      

declared it was not reasonable for  an  
,englishman to visit native theatres at 
all4    ,it was a ,sunday evening when  
,i drove along ,bentinck ,street and    
approached the neighbourhood of ,beadon 
,square4  ,the performances at  the     
,bengali theatres begin very early1 so  
it was not yet dark and a  soft         
after-sunset light irradiated the       
thousands of tiny shops with  all the   
myriad kinds of work going on in them4  
,there were large three-storeyed houses 
on each side of the road1 now  with     
balconies full of women2 then ,i passed 
a vast building with tall  ,ionic       
columns and two great porticoes--a      
,nawab's palace2 then  hundreds more    
little houses1 and at last ,beadon      
,square with its palm  trees and white  
statue4  ,and the warm glow fell upon   
the ample robes  of many people walking 
up and down after the heat and turmoil  
of the  day and upon many white oxen1   
and against the sky1 rows of seated     
figures watched from the tops of walls  

and from the edges of roofs2  while all 
the time1 interwoven with humanity like 
the warp and woof  of ,indian city life1
 here1 there and everywhere skipped and 
walked  and flapped and scrimmaged the  
squawking black innumerable crows4      
,illustration3 ,,bengalee ,,actress1    
,,miss ,,tin ,,corry ,,dass ,,the       
,,younger4    ,after ,i had been in to  
the box-office in front #abc of the     
theatre  and purchased my ticket--an    
orchestra stall for three rupees--,i    
waited in a rectangular court at one    
side of the building4  ,over the  row of
 doors giving entrance to various parts 
of the house1 there was  a veranda1 and 
facing this1 some seats by an           
oval-railed enclosure  containing       
ornamental plants4  ,on the other side  
of this gambolled  fifteen or twenty    
white rabbits behind wire-netting4  ,one
 star was  just showing in the sky1     
which was now a pale rose colour1 and   
against it ,i could see the top of a    
coconut-palm4    ,most of the baboos    

waiting outside the two rupee places    
wore socks  and leather shoes and white 
muslin drapery over which they had a    
short coat and then the toga-like outer 
coloured robe4  ,i was  thinking of the 
first scene in ,cyrano de ,bergerac when
 ,i saw  someone setting up a stall of  
mineral waters1 but was still more      
reminded of it when ,i was admitted     
before the other doors were  opened1 and
 watched a man lighting the lamps in the
 vast empty  theatre4    ,the interior  
was arranged very much like most of the 
,london theatres1  with a few special   
differences4  ,there was one row of     
orchestra  stalls1 then rows of seats at
 two rupees1 and behind1 the pit of  one
 rupee places4  ,when their door was    
opened1 the pit crowd came in1  laughing
 and scampering over the benches4  ,i   
caught sight of my  servant1 ,tambusami1
 among #abd them4  ,he had bought a     
grand  orange-red scarf with silk       
flowers on it for this occasion1 and    
with  his long black hair tied up       

behind1 had a droll air of vanity       
mingled  with restrained and decorous   
enjoyment4    ,over the pit hung the    
oil-lamps1 but now electric lights      
flashed out  from the ceiling4  ,i had  
thought at first there was only one     
floor  above the ground level1 a tier of
 loges or boxes 7some of which were     
arranged so that their occupants could  
lie or sit upon cushions71  with a large
 one in the centre facing the stage4    
,suddenly ,i realized  that what ,i had 
taken to be dark hangings over the lofty
 wall-space  above this tier of boxes   
was net blind1 and a momentary effect of
  light showed me that behind it zenana 
ladies1 safe in its reticulated         
seclusion from roving eyes1 were        
examining the house with more eager     
curiosity than was shown by the male    
audience4    ,behind me a boy brought   
two baboos some betel 7green betel      
leaves  wrapping the crushed areca nut  
and lime74  ,the orchestra in this      
theatre was under the boxes to the left 

of the stalls1 and the  musicians in    
white robes were now moving to their    
places4    ,the name of the play was    
,sarola1 a serious drama of modern      
,indian  life1 and fearfully            
pathetic--,richepin rather than         
,balzac--and yet a  study of manners4   
,the hero1 ,shoshifuzu1 who #abe has    
hitherto lived  on the bounty of a more 
prosperous brother1 is brought by the   
meanness and intolerance of that        
brother's wife to leave his own wife    
,sarola and their child at home1 while  
he journeys on foot to the  distant     
capital to seek for remunerative        
employment4  ,the journey  itself is    
full of picturesque incident1 but the   
greatest interest  centres in the home  
of ,shoshifuzu1 where an ingenious      
scoundrel1  ,godadhar1 played with great
 drollery and inimitable skill by ,kasi 
,nath ,chatterjee1 intercepts all the   
supplies forwarded by the absent        
husband4  ,godadhar has far more real   
villainy about him than either  ,jingle 

or old ,eccles1 but is yet a low comedy 
character and is played  by ,chatterjee 
with an unction and humour that none but
 the elder  ,coquelin could have        
surpassed4    ,the day when no woman    
acted at the native theatres is         
evidently as  much forgotten as it is   
with us2 and ,miss ,tara ,dasse1 who    
played the  intensely pathetic part of  
,sarola with a most tender voice1       
recalled  to a ,western mind in a       
protracted end some of the most         
appealing  deaths of ,sarah ,bernhardt4 
,another evening ,i went to the         
,minerva1 also a ,bengali theatre close 
to ,beadon ,square1 and saw ,dolita     
,fronini4  ,a gentleman1 who  introduced
 himself to me as the stage-manager1    
came and sat by me for  some time1      
kindly telling me the story of the      
piece1 and for the sake  of his #abf new
 interpretation of melodrama1 as well as
 for the  light thrown on the life of   
any people by a study of its amusements1
  ,i made the following note of his     

actual words3--    ,it is an opera1 said
 the stage-manager1 like full of music  
and  dramatic of course--there are a    
good many melodies1 so you can call  it 
a melodrama4  ,dolita ,fronini is a name
 according only to the  circumstances of
 the heroine1 so that she is not liked  
by the lover  and therefore she is as if
 a smashed snake4  ,that snake bites    
very  ferociously1 and that snake is    
her4  ,a ,bengali baboo went to ,bombay 
to see3 and he waited to a friend of his
 who is a ,mahratta1 and he  has been   
very carefully taken in to the family   
and is allowed to wait  till he fully   
sees the ,bombay city4  ,and that       
,dolita ,fronini was not  named that1   
but her name was ,bilas ,bottee4  ,she  
was a ,bengali lady  too1 long living in
 ,bombay with that ,mahratta gentleman  
and his wife4  ,when the ,bengali       
gentleman was first introduced into the 
family1 he  was unaware about the family
 custom of the ,bombay ,mahrattas4      
,there  is no zenana system with        

them--their ladies are open to all4     
,this  baboo looked at their behaviours 
with a strange look1 because the        
,bengali family system is the zenana2   
but that ,bilas ,bottee1 who was  an    
inmate long in the ,mahratta house1 was 
a ,bram-maker1 a follower of  ,brahma1  
and she had no zenana system also4  #abg
 ,this lady ,bilas  ,bottee loved the   
gentleman1 that ,bengali baboo1 but the 
baboo loved  the ,mahratta lady4  ,the  
,mahratta lady1 according to their      
customs1  behaved with the baboo freely4
  ,the baboo thought that she loved him1
  but she did not--she behaved freely1  
only not with any viciousness4  ,the    
,mahratta lady explained to the baboo   
that her husband was  examining him     
about the firmness of his character4    
,when the mystery  is all out and the   
baboo came to understand1 ,bilas ,bottee
 went away  as a mendicant1--,dolita    
,fronini6    ,but the gun1 which is the 
curtain signal at the ,minerva1 had     
sounded  before this--the opera had     

begun and a chorus was singing4  ,they  
are  singing1 said the stage-manager1   
that you will never see such a  city in 
the world as ,bombay4  ,the climate is  
temperate here1 not very  bitter wind   
too1 and there is no cold4  ,you ought  
to come to walk in  the morning and the 
evening in ,bombay1 and you would forget
 all about  the world1 wine is very     
cheap here1 and if you drink a little   
you  will be jolly all about4           
,between the acts an old gentleman was  
introduced to me as a very  famous      
actor--he was a ,mr ,a4 ,mustaphi1 and  
his greatest role is that  of ,mirzapha 
in the historical play1 ,siraj ud       
,doulah4    ,after another act ,i was   
entertained behind the scenes by the    
actor  who was playing the part of the  
,bengali baboo4  ,he received me in a   
#abh pale-blue quilted dressing-gown1   
and wanted me to sketch every  member of
 the company in my notebook4  ,his      
crowning attention was to  send for the 
scene-painter of the theatre to sit on  

one side of me  for the rest of the     
evening6    ,at these theatres ,i met   
with extreme courtesy from first to     
last1 and  shall long cherish the kind  
attention of a charming old gentleman   
from ,delhi 7to judge by his head-dress7
 who1 speaking little ,english1  showed 
me the miniatures of his children upon  
his watch-chain and  went out1 between  
the acts1 to buy me a little buttonhole 
of roses4    ,the mention of roses      
reminds me to say a few words of the    
,calcutta  ,gardens4  ,at one end of the
 ,maidan1 beyond the race-course1 are   
the  ,zoological ,gardens laid out1 ,i  
know not by whom1 with very good        
taste--worthy of ,milner or ,sir ,joseph
 ,paxton4  ,the houses are  handsome and
 commodious1 the open air enclosures are
 both wide and  spacious1 and there are 
good collections to fill them4  ,i      
especially  enjoyed watching here a     
native of the ,nepaul ,terai1 a big     
one-horned  rhinoceros4  ,on the evening
 of my visit he was energetic and lively

  after a splash in his tank4  ,there   
was an irresistible comicality  about   
the great unwieldy brute--a very        
,falstaff of  quadrupeds--trotting at   
express speed4    ,illustration3 ,a     
,,charming ,,old ,,gentleman ,,from     
,,delhi4    ,but more beautiful is the  
,kampani ,bagan1 #abi the botanical     
garden  on the other side of the        
,hooghly4  ,in that garden there is no  
traffic  and no dust--only a few        
delicate little ,anglo-,indian children 
taking  tea under the giant banyan4     
,march is the time to see the orchids1  
of which these gardens have a  large    
variety1 but few plants were in flower  
at the time ,i was there4  ,the houses  
are curiously different from such as we 
know at ,kew4  ,they  are simply wire   
frames covered with creepers to keep off
 greatest  heat and heaviest            
rain--creepers such as the ,tinas pora  
crispa from  ,java1 with its hanging    
roots4  ,sometimes the roof is covered  
with dry  palm-leaves 7,phoenix         

sylvestris74    ,there is one tree in   
the garden which ,i think quite as      
interesting as  the world-famous great  
,banyan--a large handsome tree fifty or 
sixty  feet high1 with big leaves4  ,dr 
,gage1 the ,director of the ,gardens1   
told me it is the only specimen of its  
kind known in the world1 and  that every
 leaf shown in ,european herbaria has   
come from ,kampani  ,bagan4             
,unfortunately1 the trunk is being      
honeycombed by big black  boring bees   
7it is dangerous to go up into the tree 
because of them74  ,this solitary giant 
is called ,anthocephalus macrophyllus4  
,it came  many years ago from ,abornia1 
a small island in the ,malay            
,archipelago1  and has a flower like a  
miniature drumstick4    ,in the         
palm-house in ,griffith ,avenue ,i #acj 
saw some double  coconuts 7coco de mer7 
from the ,seychelles4    ,along the     
waterside is a handsome row of the      
country almond-tree1  which grows in the
 moister regions of ,bengal and ,siam4  

,this is the  ,terminalia catappa with  
large leaves and is not in the least    
like  the almond proper4    ,the avenue 
of toddy-palms is deservedly famous1    
though these gardens  cannot compete in 
grandeur with those of ,peradeniya in   
,ceylon4  ,in  one part of the grounds  
7the ,gardens cover #bgj acres7 are many
  screw-pines 7,pandanus utilissimus71  
but best of all ,i liked the  long      
avenue of stately ,oreodoxa regia4  ,at 
the head of this there  is a white      
marble monument of singular beauty1     
called ,kyd's  ,monument4  ,it is by the
 sculptor ,banks1 and takes the form of 
a  ,grecian urn with figures round it on
 a tall plinth surmounting a  circular  
platform4    ,illustration3 ,avenue of  
,oreodoxa ,palms1 ,botanical ,gardens1  
,calcutta4    ,after sundown when all   
visitors had gone away1 as the light of 
the  afterglow bathed it in a soft      
effulgence1 and the wide1 long avenue   
of palms stretched away into mist1 the  
lovely marble seemed to have  found     

perfect setting4  ,as the light waned   
again the jackals began  calling and    
filled the air with strange melancholy4 
#aca    ,,chapter ,,viii    ,,my ,,first
 ,,sight ,,of ,,the ,,himalayas    ,when
 ,i changed at ,siliguri on to the      
,darjeeling ,himalaya ,railway1 the     
moon hung high overhead in the morning  
sky1 and the mountains slowly  appeared 
out of the warm rosy mists of the lower 
air4  ,i was still  crossing the        
lowlands1 yellow reaches of paddy       
stubble dotted with  small white storks1
 wide watercourses and tall clumps of   
graceful  bamboos looking nearly as     
yellow as the dry paddy stalks4    ,then
 the train entered a belt of dense      
jungle1 a forest track of teak  and     
other large trees4  ,at ,sookua         
,station1 bougainvillias and a  creeper 
loaded with orange-coloured blossoms    
made gay colour4  ,the  train jolted and
 wriggled up the slopes in zigzag       
curves2 creepers  hung from tall trees  
like great falling cascades of little   

golden  leaves4  ,the grade was very    
steep1 and in an hour ,i was looking    
back  on the plains and down upon the   
forest-clad lower slopes1 over which  a 
few wreaths of mist floated like belated
 spirits that have  outstayed cockcrow  
and move forlorn in the unwonted day4   
#acb    ,suddenly past ,tindaria1 #bhjj 
feet up1 between the trees overhead1    
appeared a tea-plantation with its      
little green bushes in neat  serried    
rows4  ,the forest had now given place  
to smaller trees1 and  here and there   
among the great sweeps of hill were grey
 and dun  patches1 bare except for      
sparse dry herbage and small fern       
growth4  ,the large leaves of plantains 
were still visible now and again1 and   
here and there the white hanging        
trumpets of the poisonous datura4  ,bare
 rock became more frequent1 and         
screw-pines appeared among the  trees   
and peach trees flushed with pink       
blossom4  ,towards ten o'clock  the heat
 haze gathered over the lower slopes1   

and the plain with its  shining         
watercourses disappeared in a veil of   
mist4    ,near ,kurseong1 tree-ferns    
bordered the line2 and almost           
immediately  beyond this station came   
the first view of ,himalayan snows4     
,only for  the next quarter of an hour's
 run1 however1 were the white peaks     
visible4  ,the train then curled along  
the sides of the mighty  hill-slopes1   
and at an elevation of #fjjj feet there 
were plenty of  big trees again with    
masses of parasite mistletoe on their   
branches  and tree-ferns in their       
shadows2 the leaves of the all-glorious 
forest glittered in the sunlight like   
jewels--how ,constable would  have      
revelled in them6    ,all the men at    
these latter stopping-places were short 
and thick-set1  and the women's         
ornaments #acc were either gold or      
gilded and no  longer silver like those 
of so many of the people in the plains4 
,at  ,ghoom1 #gdjg feet up1 white votive
 strips of linen with prayers upon  them

 fluttered from sticks upright on all   
the roofs4  ,at that station  a little  
bearded dwarf came begging--a dwarf with
 a long pigtail1  successor to an old   
woman who had been well known as the    
,witch of  ,ghoom4    ,woodlands1 the   
hotel at ,darjeeling1 was the most      
comfortable ,i  found anywhere in       
,india1 and ,mr ,righi1 the young       
,italian manager1  kindly put his       
private servant1 ,teenduk1 a ,thibetan1 
entirely at my  service as guide during 
my stay4    ,teenduk1 who told me that  
,mr ,righi 'catched' him five years ago1
 had  under his fur cap one of the most 
good-tempered faces ,i ever saw1  full  
of quiet humour and readiness to respond
 to the faintest smile4  ,he was cleaner
 than most of the native people at      
,darjeeling1 and  certainly washed his  
face sometimes4  ,this is a thing which 
,thibetans  rarely do1 and some people  
declare that they never take off any    
clothes1 putting on a new garment over  
the old when that is much  worn4  ,the  

dirt1 together with a mixture of pig's  
blood which the  women apply to their   
faces1 gives them a mottled appearance1 
with  black spots over a mahogany       
ground2 but their sense of fun1 united  
to  a slow and laconic manner1 makes    
them irresistibly #acd lovable1 and     
indicates that although cleanliness may 
be next to godliness1 humour  is the    
quality which man has added to make     
mortality endurable4    ,the high snow  
peaks of ,kinchinjunga and the          
neighbouring mountains  are between     
forty and fifty miles away from         
,darjeeling1 and seem to  hang in the   
sky as if too beautiful to be altogether
 of our world4  ,the vast distance and  
the appearance of sudden leap to such   
supreme  heights1 help to give an       
unreal1 mysterious and almost visionary 
grandeur1 which is further increased at 
this time of year by the fact  of their 
being only occasionally visible4    ,it 
was a jolly six-mile ride in the early  
morning for the sunrise  views from the 

top of ,tiger ,hill--bright moonlight at
 starting1 with  the shadows sharp and  
clear4  ,i could still see them faintly 
on the  snow as ,i dismounted at the top
 just before dawn1 and set myself with  
cold fingers to paint the strange beauty
 of the sunrise upon the  snows4        
,gradually the cold light of the moon   
changed to a warm soft  glow of golden  
amber1 and that again to rose4  ,the    
sharp outlines of  ,kinchinjunga were   
clear from the first1 and presently1    
much farther  to the west1 appeared the 
three humpy peaks of ,everest1 #abj     
miles  away4  ,little ,righi has been a 
good way toward the summit of           
,kinchinjunga4  ,he was one of the five 
members of the expedition #ace  of      
#aije1 when the loss of ,lieutenant     
,pache with three coolies1 at a  height 
of #bb1jjj feet1 caused the others to   
give up the attempt4    ,as a showman1  
,righi was well equipped1 having that   
understanding of  individual needs so   
gratifying to the tourist4  ,to the top 

of ,tiger  ,hill had also ridden for    
that sunrise a party of ,americans1     
whose one  purpose was to be able to say
 they had seen ,mount ,everest4  ,their 
impatience was considerable1 and after  
arguing among themselves as to  which   
was the summit in question1 one lady    
appealed to ,righi to  support her      
selection4  ,oh1 yes1 said he1 that's   
,everest1 and  they were well content4  
,we don't often see it1 but ,i like them
 to  be satisfied1 he explained to me   
when the mountain1 by good luck1  really
 appeared later on in another part of   
the horizon4    ,there is no regiment   
quartered at ,darjeeling1 but the       
planters of the  district make ,company 
,a of the ,northern ,bengal ,mounted    
,rifles 7who  possessed a ,maxim gun    
before any regular troops in ,india72   
and one  morning ,i rode out to the     
,lebong parade-ground1 above the        
,runjeet  valley1 to see a muster4      
,tea-planters and other business-men    
thoroughly enjoyed the occasion1 and    

there was a spirited display of         
tent-pegging with swords instead of     
lances4    ,darjeeling is about #gjjj   
feet high on a ridge above the ,runjeet 
,river1 which reaches the #acf ,ganges  
via another river called the  ,teester3 
and one day ,i rode with ,righi #ab     
miles down to the ,runjeet1  and having 
previously obtained the necessary       
,government permit we  crossed by a     
suspension bridge to a village in       
,independent ,sikkim1  where we were    
refreshed with native beer made from    
,marwa1 a kind of  millet seed and      
sucked through a hollow reed from a     
long-shaped  vessel made of a section of
 bamboo4    ,the river here flowed along
 the bottom of a magnificent gorge with 
precipitous sides1 and on the return    
journey ,i had as wild a ride as  ,i am 
likely to experience4    ,righi had     
started back a full half-hour before me1
 and my pony  hearing afar off the neigh
 of his companion1 galloped hard along a
  narrow ledge with a sheer drop below4 

,full of spirit1 and very  strong1 these
 ,thibetan ponies will gallop up a steep
 slope where  another horse would crawl2
 and here1 on the level1 mine went like 
the  wind1 kicking loose stones into the
 flood below4    ,near ,darjeeling there
 is a small ,llama monastery1 a         
two-storeyed  building with a broad     
foot-wide black border painted round the
 doors  and window openings4  ,outside  
stand1 in a semicircle1 tall poles with 
long strips of linen prayer-flags       
fastened lengthwise from the tops       
downwards1 and on each side of the main 
entrance a row of  prayer-wheels mounted
 on end #acg and fastened to the wall   
under  wooden eaves4  ,the sight of     
these last carried me back far to the   
,west to a little ,gothic church of ,st 
,nicholas in ,prisiac1 where a  wooden  
prayer-wheel of local make1 of which ,i 
think there are few in  ,europe1 is     
dropping to pieces with age4    ,within 
the monastery a row of clean-looking    
brass bowls of water  stood in front of 

some bronze figures1 and on each side of
 a central  shrine was ranged a series  
of pigeon-holes containing the monastery
  library1 while1 leaning against the   
latter1 stood some metal trumpets  #f   
feet long1 jointed and telescopic4      
,upstairs ,i was shown the large        
grotesque wooden masks and beautiful    
brocaded silk dresses for the           
priest-dances4    ,i have travelled in  
many parts of the world now1 but ,i have
 not yet  found any place where there is
 no dancing4  ,even inanimate nature    
quickens into rhythmic movement4  ,the  
waves dance to the sun and the  stars   
dance in the sea1 and in the world of   
sentient beings birds  dance to their   
mates4  ,it expressed the exuberance of 
children's joy  before ever it became an
 art1 and whether or not ,aristotle was 
justified in his high estimate1 dancing 
is more universal than poetry4    ,i    
could not see a ,thibetan priest dance1 
but ,i did enjoy1 thanks  again to ,mr  
,righi1 a dance of ,thibetan peasants1  

very elaborately  costumed #ach and     
weirdly pantomimic4  ,it was called the 
,amban  dance1 and represented the      
homage of a group of ,thibetan heads of 
villages to the ,amban1 who was1 as far 
as ,i could understand1 some  kind of   
ambassador or trading representative of 
the ,chinese  ,government--but mingled  
with it were imagery and symbolism of   
local  legend and mythology4    ,the    
dance was held at night on an open space
 of grass1 and began with  the          
appearance of a little strange flitting 
figure bearing a stick in  each hand    
which held a white cloth stretched above
 the head4  ,up and  down like some     
erratic moth the figure bounded1 ran and
 postured2 and  presently the ,amban    
presented himself grandly dressed on a  
hobby-horse and wearing a long peacock's
 feather in his conical  ,chinese hat4  
,later in the dance entered two lions or
 dragons1  gigantic creatures made up of
 two men each1 with undulating bodies   
7hung with white ,yak hair71 tails1 and 

wildly grotesque scarlet heads  with    
enormous eyes and gaping practicable    
mouths1 from which large  red tongues   
flapped or depended4  ,then came a      
peacock1 a sacred bird1  which the      
dragons sought vainly to harm2 and an   
extremely funny  turtle1 which they     
eventually devoured1 the child performer
 slipping  out of its bamboo framework  
before the latter was gobbled up4       
,sunday morning is the best time to see 
the #aci bazaar at  ,darjeeling1 and the
 types of people from many different    
provinces4  ,here was a bearded         
,kashmiri squatting at his door1        
grinding seeds in  a small mortar2 there
 was a group of ,nepauli ladies         
richly-dressed  and accompanied by      
servants4  ,they wore a strange         
head-dress1 a large  circular plaque    
fastened at an angle above the hair and 
ornamented  with jewels2 there were     
,lepchu men from ,sikkim1 bare-footed1  
with  hats of felt-like material with   
folded-up brims and clothes of          

,european pattern under ample cloaks4   
,the baskets and crates of the          
vegetable-sellers were often beautiful  
and more worth attention than the       
stock-in-trade of the curio shops       
prepared for the tourist4  ,the best of 
these latter were the fur  dealers1 and 
especially one shop containing some     
beautiful skins of  the snow leopard4   
,among the ,thibetans the method of     
carrying great weights on the back  is  
by a strap round the forehead1 which    
throws most of the  bearing-strain on   
the muscles of the neck4  ,both men and 
women  carried in this way heavy loads  
to market2 but the porterage of  luggage
 from the railway station was almost    
entirely performed by  women1 and ,i saw
 several times a woman carrying up-hill 
a heavy  ,american trunk1 while her baby
 hung in front of her suspended in a    
sling4    ,snow fell as ,i was leaving  
,darjeeling1 and it #adj was in the     
middle  of a snowstorm that1 on one of  
the worst curves of the railway1 ,i     

caught sight of the words painted in    
large letters on the face of the        
rock1--,prepare to meet thy ,god4  ,i   
incline to think that the number  of    
passers-by who derive any satisfaction  
from such disfigurements of  nature is  
so small that their perpetrators are    
merely objectionable4  ,the wintry      
landscape was now exquisitely beautiful2
 snow dappled the  hillsides and lay    
upon the tree-ferns1 making them like   
large white  stars1 as if in gigantic   
magnification of the snow-crystals      
themselves4  ,amid such loveliness      
suddenly appeared evidence of  further  
enterprise on the part of ,western      
religionists4  ,heaven or  ,hell--which8
 was painted on another broad surface of
 rock1 and ,i  thought that somehow a   
legend in ,urdu would have been less    
offensive  to my eyes4    ,after it grew
 dark1 the engine carried a bright      
kerosene flarelight1  which illuminated 
both sides of the track4  ,as the train 
wound along  the ever-curving road on   

the steep sides of the hill1 the effect 
was  like being in the hilltops with    
,peter ,pan4  ,peter was not to be seen1
  but there was something so fairy-like 
about the beautiful masses of  foliage  
and blossom1 clearly and yet softly     
light against the  star-strewn darkness 
beyond1 that ,i think he must have been 
just in  front of the engine4    #ada   
,at ,siliguri ,i crossed the river1 as  
on the way up1 by the ferry  steamer4   
,there was a black stream of smoke from 
our funnel and a  level white line from 
the boat's searchlight4  ,presently a   
third  streak appeared in the darkness1 
a line of white sand on the farther     
bank4  ,it was nearly dawn time and a   
little faint colour was just  showing in
 the ,eastern sky1 making the sand look 
ghostly4  ,the  ,calcutta train was     
waiting here2 and soon after it started1
 the disc  of the sun rose blood-red out
 of the level mist4          #adb       
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,benares    ,one     
morning in the train ,i woke at ,buxar1 

where ,major ,hector ,munro  gained a   
great victory over the ,nawab of ,oudh  
in the eighteenth  century4  ,on each   
side of the railway-line ,i could see   
paddy-fields1  sugar-cane and various   
crops1 as well as a little jute4    ,by 
eleven o'clock ,i was driving from      
,benares ,station through the  lines of 
red brick1 one-storeyed barracks1 ranged
 upon the flat  pale-grey dusty earth of
 the cantonment4  ,the railway station  
is a  long way from the town1 but at    
last1 nearly opposite a white-spired    
,english church with a classic portico  
smothered in brilliant  bougainvillias1 
,i reached ,clark's ,hotel1 and thanks  
to a friend's  introduction1 found that 
a police inspector1 one ,mahmud ,ali1   
had been  deputed to attend me during my
 visit and show me ,benares4    ,we     
began without loss of time and at noon  
were driving along the hot  roads1 while
 more leisured mortals slept at the     
doors of their house  on four-post      
charpoys4    #adc    ,upon the plaster  

walls of the better native houses there 
was a good  deal of rude figure         
decoration1 generally in red and yellow4
  ,we  passed ,queen's ,college1 which  
is a ,sanskrit ,college for native      
students1 the ,prince of ,wales'        
,hospital1 and then an old wall upon    
which were inscribed the words3--       
,in the garden within this wall were the
 quarters occupied in the  ,autumn of   
#agha by ,warren ,hastings1 first       
,governor ,general of ,fort  ,william in
 ,bengal4      ,now ,i always think it  
is wise to humour a friendly cicerone1  
and ,i  was not going at the very outset
 of our companionship to dispute at  any
 length with ,mahmud ,ali1 but somehow  
or other his mind was  confused in      
regard to history4  ,he declared that he
 had something of  very great interest  
to show me in the garden and took me to 
an old  well near a farther wall1 saying
 that ,warren ,hastings concealed       
himself there during the ,mutiny6       
,the streets were gay and crowded with  

foot-passengers1 camels and  horses1    
sacred cows and native vehicles4  ,we   
passed one camel loaded  with tobacco   
from some outlying village and just     
after1 a bridegroom  of the ,hindoo     
noble caste ,khatri1 in a pink dress    
shot with gold1  riding upon a white    
horse amid a deafening noise of drums   
and  trumpets on his way #add to worship
 at a temple before the marriage        
ceremonies4    ,we were going to the    
famous ,golden ,temple and approached it
 by the  bazaar of the brass-workers1   
where1 between lines of tall houses1 the
  sky dwindled to a narrow strip of     
blue4  ,far down the bazaar1 past  the  
,madhogi ,hindoo ,temple1 a crowd of    
people huddled together were  hurrying  
along1 as if with a common object1 under
 blue smoke which  veiled them like a   
filmy gauze4  ,these1 ,mahmud told me1  
were a band  of pilgrims making a round 
of the ,benares shrines1 and ,i saw many
  such groups of native people going    
about with a leader like a ,cook's      

conducted party4    ,presently we came  
to a small square on the right of the   
bazaar1 shut  in by tall buildings1 in  
which the ,golden ,temple stands and    
wherein  is also the renowned ,well of  
,knowledge4  ,sacred bulls were nosing  
about the pavement round a ,bo-tree     
smeared with a red paint called         
,sandoor and a sweetmeat stall that was 
protected from the sun by a  huge       
mushroom-like umbrella4  ,over the      
sacred well itself1 upon its            
surrounding stone platform about #b feet
 high1 was built a pavilion of          
red-coloured stone and plaster1 where an
 old man in a worn and very  dirty coat 
of ,english cut sat ladling water out of
 a bucket to anyone  who asked4  ,i1 of 
course1 was not permitted to step upon  
the  platform1 but the faithful #ade    
also have nowadays to suffer some       
prohibitions and are no longer allowed  
to choke the well with flowers4    ,in  
the ,well of ,knowledge1 ,vishnu the    
preserver is said to be for ever  and   

behind it and its surrounding shrines of
 ,ganesh and other gods  7,ganesh is the
 good-luck god who was son of ,siva and 
had1 of course1  nothing to do with     
,vishnu7 the old ,vishnagi ,temple      
stands partly in  ruins1 as it has been 
ever since it was broken up by the      
puritan  ,aurungzebe1 and partly turned 
into a mosque4  ,the old part of this   
building is yellow-grey sandstone1 tawny
 with age1 but the mosque  shone        
brightly in the sunlight with fresh     
,mohammedan whitewash4    ,close by a   
,hindoo woman was going quickly round   
and round the trunk  of a ,bo-tree1     
which had at its base a lingam and a    
small nandi or  stone bull 7both symbols
 of ,siva74  ,she must have gone round  
at least  a hundred times during the few
 minutes we stopped to watch her1 and   
always in the same direction1 but       
,mahmud said she would not fall as  she 
was always doing it day in and day out4 
,it was as simple an employment of      
energy as children make setting         

themselves just such tasks--walking     
along the crack between two  boards of a
 nursery floor and back so many hundred 
times1 or hopping  on one foot round and
 round the table1 not always with any   
added zest  of #adf competition4  ,it   
expressed an opposite need to that of   
contemplation1 but in the monotonous    
round of its activity appeared  to      
symbolize that view of life which shows 
it as a ceaseless movement  along a path
 that leads nowhere1 progressing without
 change and never  arriving save at some
 part of its many times traversed orbit 
identical with all the rest4  ,and well 
may ,siva be worshipped in a  circle1   
for the emblem the woman was running    
round--which invested  with religious   
garments the mystery of perpetual       
regeneration--symbolizes the ,destroyer 
also since neither ,death nor  ,life can
 be conceived alone any more than light 
and darkness or  silence and a song4    
,to enter the ,golden ,temple is not    
permitted to ,europeans--only to  peep  

through a hole in the wall and also to  
look at the roofs from  the upper       
balcony of an adjacent house4  ,there   
are two tall conical  roofs shaped--as  
in so many ,hindoo temples--like a      
common type of  mould for ice puddings  
and a lower dome between them ridged    
like a  melon1 and beyond rises the     
white ,mohammedan mosque4  ,one of the  
tall  roofs is red with only little     
spikelets gilded1 but the other is gold 
all over as well as the lower dome4     
,as ,i turned from looking in at the    
gateway of the ,golden ,temple ,i saw   
just facing it a small ,siva temple of  
stone delicately carved2 and  near to   
this1 through a pair of brass doors1 ,i 
saw the #adg shrine  of the ,saturday   
god--a round face shown upon the upper  
part of a  hanging cloth1 without body  
or limbs1 and with two flower-decked    
emblems in front of it4  ,then1 a yard  
or two further on1 ,i came to  the ,cow 
,temple and entered a cloistered court1 
where sacred peacocks  strutted at their

 ease and pigeons fluttered4  ,the      
temple itself was  in the middle of this
 open court1 and from its inner         
sanctuary at the  back of its pillared  
porch or pavilion came the sound of a   
woman  singing in a shrill high voice4  
,a brown cow was licking the wet        
blossoms off the lingams1 and under the 
cloisters where a crowd of  people stood
 gazing at him sat a particularly ugly  
fakir4  ,naked1  except for a           
loin-cloth1 he sat looking at the ground
 with his legs  crossed4  ,mahmud said  
he was a ,bramchari fakir1 and we       
learned from  the gazers that he had    
arrived early the same morning and had  
not  moved since4  ,he was extremely    
fat1 as fat as the ,chinese god of good 
luck1 but with nothing merry about him  
and a look that was repulsive  to me4   
,his long brown hair hung down on to the
 pavement behind him4  ,he had a piece  
of board to sit upon1 and on the ground 
in front were  offerings of food1 but   
the people said he could not eat        

anything 7he  really looked too full74  
,they admired and stared and wondered1  
and  ,mahmud said that the fat fakir was
 an arrant humbug1 but then ,mahmud  was
 not a ,hindoo4    #adh    ,the         
droppings of sacred bulls seemed        
everywhere2 and when we came out  of the
 ,cow ,temple and turned down a narrow  
passage1 the way was  dirtier than ever1
 and yet more weird and strange4        
,through two doors  open in the side of 
the wall a huge red ,ganesh1 festooned  
with flower  garlands1 the lower part of
 his elephant face covered by a yellow  
cloth1 stared with three eyes1 and near 
him some ,hindoos were making  butter4  
,the same afternoon ,i drove out four   
miles from ,benares to ,sarnath to  see 
the ,buddhist remains there4  ,wide     
spaces of dry mud--dazzling in  the     
sunlight--stretched away from each side 
of the road1 parched for  lack of the   
rain which should have covered them in a
 mantle of green  crops4    ,the        
,buddhist ,tope at ,sarnath is an       

immense and apparently solid  mass of   
brick-work raised upon a stone base and 
reminding one of the  ,dagobas of       
,anuradhapura in ,ceylon4  ,chinese     
,buddhist pilgrims visited  ,sarnath at 
the time when the ,romans were leaving  
,england and have  left descriptions of 
this earlier ,benares4  ,excavations on 
an  extensive scale are now going on1   
and #cjj coolies were employed upon     
them at the time of my visit4  ,the     
walls and general plan of many          
buildings1 probably monasteries referred
 to in the account of the  ,chinese     
pilgrims1 have been unearthed1 and a    
museum is being built to  house the     
finds1 which #adi are at present kept   
under a brick  shelter4  ,on a trolley  
near the latter ,i saw a very remarkable
 lion  capital from a granite column #de
 feet high1 which was found lying in    
several pieces4  ,this capital takes the
 form of a large quadrupled  lion1 with 
an annular relief below its feet of     
small figures of  horses and elephants4 

,there is a ,jain temple close to the   
,buddhist one2 but what little  daylight
 remained ,i spent in wandering about   
the new excavations and  especially in  
examining a square chamber just         
uncovered1 which was  surrounded by     
short square columns connected by rows  
of wide  cross-bars or rails of stone1  
lozenge-shaped in section4  ,on some of 
these cross-bars there were circular    
medallions carved with geometric        
patterns in an arrangement similar to   
that in specimens in the  ,calcutta     
museum4  ,among the carved decoration   
there was much incised  pattern-work    
with the spaces cut out1 leaving square 
and not rounded  edges4    ,i did not   
leave ,sarnath till just at sunset1 and 
driving back to  ,benares it seemed as  
if a sign came that ,i should never     
exhaust the  wonders of the world4  ,i  
saw a star sail slowly and almost       
horizontally across the sky4  ,it was   
very bright indeed and had a  tail or   
stream of light behind it and remained  

visible even after ,i  had drawn        
,mahmud's attention to it1 so that he   
said1 ,yes--it is a  star4    #aej      
,next morning with ,mahmud ,ali ,i drove
 to the river1 past lines of  shops like
 tiled sheds divided into open boxes by 
partitions1 past  the white buildings of
 the ,maharajah ,hatwa's palace1 and    
then past  little huts where cactus grew
 wild against mud walls1 sometimes      
dotted with red spots in crude childish 
decoration and sometimes  covered with  
dung cakes drying for fuel4  ,the wind  
blew cold as we  crossed ,victoria      
,park1 with its grass and flower-beds   
looking dull  under a stormy sky1 and   
followed another long road of           
dilapidated  buildings without one house
 in which the plaster facing was not    
half  fallen from the tiny bricks4  ,we 
also passed a square-towered ,english   
church1 a church for native converts1   
and then after some long  arcades began 
to meet the crowds returning from the   
river after  bathing4  ,on the water    

storm was now driving from ,mirzapoor1  
and the  river was all whitened with    
crested waves4    ,a police boat was    
waiting for us at the ,dessasumay ghat1 
which was  thronged with pilgrims4  ,we 
went first up the river to the end of   
the  chief ghats1 then turned and came  
slowly down4  ,the wind was bitterly    
cold and the boat rocked wildly as we   
began the time-honoured  progress down  
the long line of majestic palaces1      
gloomy under grey  skies1 and the       
flights of wide innumerable steps1 down 
which a  ceaseless stream of pilgrims   
came to bathe even on such a #aea day   
in the icy water4  ,four miles long is  
this vast line of masonry from  the     
,assi ,ghat at one end to ,raj ,ghat at 
the other near the ,dufferin  ,bridge1  
and all that way the other side of the  
,ganges is but white  sand without a    
single stone4    ,so many times have    
travellers told about it1 this          
river-front of  ,benares1 and more times
 yet new travellers will describe it4   

,near the great ,mosi ,temple is one of 
the strange vast observatories  made by 
the founder of ,jeypore city1 ,sawar    
,jaya ,singh4  ,it was  converted to    
such use from a great palace built by   
one of his  forbears1 the ,rajah ,man   
,singh1 about #afjj2 and from its roof  
7to  which we climbed to examine the    
strange gigantic instruments1 the       
,samrat ,yantra for finding time and    
declination and the hour angle of  a    
star1 the ,chakrayantra and the rest7 a 
wide and distant view is  obtained of   
city and plain4    ,at the ,mier ,ghat1 
farther on1 the masonry looks all       
falling to pieces  and broken through   
from the foundations sloping at all     
angles as  perpetual reminder that the  
sacred river is capable of wrath1 and in
  times of flood can devastate as well  
as sanctify no whit less surely  than   
,siva the destroyer can create anew4    
,octagonal towers lean and  gaps of     
river stairways yawn as if some         
earthquake had shaken them1  and ,mahmud

 declared that an old man had told him  
it was just in the  same state a hundred
 years #aeb ago--,i suppose by report of
 his  fathers1 for even the most        
righteous of the devotees at the small  
,mohammedan bathing temple beyond       
scarcely live so long4  ,as we          
continued through the choppy waves a    
burning ghat for poor folk came  in     
sight4  ,one body was being burned and  
another1 a woman's1  shrouded1 lay with 
the feet dipping in the river4    ,as we
 went on ,i could now hear above the    
wind the sound of thousands  of voices  
as we neared the ,mano ,kanka 7or       
,karnika7 ,ghat1 the most  sacred of all
 in ,benares1 with its holy well of     
,vishnu perspiration  into which ,devi  
7the wife of ,siva under another name7  
dropped once an  earring4    ,more      
palaces followed--that of the ,maharajah
 of ,gwalior and that of  ,nagpur2 then 
the ,mahratta's building and the vast   
,panch ,ganga ,ghat1  with the tall     
minarets of ,aurangzebe's ,mosque above 

it1 built on the  site of a ,hindoo     
temple that intolerant puritan          
destroyed4    ,near a ,jain temple ,i   
noticed a strange colossal recumbent    
figure  which ,mahmud called ,bean      
,sing1 whom he said was one of the four 
brothers who were great men in ,benares4
  ,the huge figure1 very rudely  shaped1
 was painted a pink colour with yellow  
loin-cloth and  moustaches of inky      
blackness4  ,then there was the ,nepaul 
,temple with  its carved woodwork and   
grotesque little indecencies1 and a pair
 of  snake-charmers #aec with quite an  
assortment of animals--cobra1  python   
and other snakes as well as scorpions4  
,a temple to ,siva's blood-loving       
consort about a mile from the town is   
one of the shows of ,benares1 attractive
 to ,europeans on account of  the number
 of monkeys which live in protection    
about it4  ,on the way  ,i saw an old   
mosque to which age and decay had given 
much beauty4  ,the red brick showed all 
along the base and in part of the       

minarets  where the plaster had dropped 
away4  ,little grey squirrels were      
running about the walls1 green cactus   
was growing on the yellow earth  against
 the red brick1 and in front of it rose 
a palm tree with can  attached high up  
under a cut in the trunk1 catching the  
liquid from  which the spirit called    
toddy is made4  ,mahmud told me that all
 the  palms in the district were        
contracted to one man1 and that each    
morning the cans placed in position the 
day before were ready for  collection4  
,i left the carriage to walk round the  
old mosque and saw beyond a  fence some 
potters at work4  ,there was the clay   
being kneaded by  women into lumps of   
suitable size1 and the potter sitting on
 the  ground and turning his simple     
horizontal wheel with one foot1 while   
with skilful touches of both hands he   
shaped the vessel4  ,almost  every      
village in ,india possesses a potter4   
,he is as essential as the  holy man who
 blesses #aed the fields for harvest1   

and in country  districts is generally  
paid in kind1 getting a definite        
quantity of  grain per plough each      
harvest for providing the necessary     
supply of  earthen pots to the          
household1 and the shapes of his wares1 
as well  as the method he employs1 are  
probably at least two thousand years    
old4    ,opposite to the mosque across  
the road was a new ,idgar with half  the
 ground paved and at one side the steps 
of the ,kasbah to the  ,mimbar1 on which
 the ,mohammedan preacher stands4       
,under a shelter  or roofed shed near   
the ,idgar a processional car of        
,juggernaut dozed  through the idle     
months and declined to notice more      
hard-working  bullock-carts which       
groaned past1 laden with rough stone for
  road-making or long sarput grass for  
thatching houses4    ,farther on was the
 ,central ,hindoo ,college1 founded     
largely through  the efforts of ,mrs    
,besant1 and now accommodating #ejj     
students4  ,the  original building1 to  

which much has been added1 was presented
 by the  ,maharajah of ,benares in      
#ahii3--;,for the education of ,hindoo  
youth in  their ancestral faith and true
 loyalty and patriotism4  ,in the large 
playground of this college some ,hindoo 
youths were playing football4    ,beyond
 the white buildings of the ,maharajah  
of ,vizianagram's palace  with their    
high-walled gardens and cool-looking    
pavilions1 and the  #aee houses of      
native bankers1 surrounded by orange    
trees laden with  green fruit1 and yet  
another temple called the ,mahram       
,barhal1 the  ,durga ,temple appeared at
 last4    ,a young man had just brought 
a little black kid for sacrifice4  ,he  
was dressed in tan leather shoes1 a long
 fawn coat with a pattern on  it and a  
small black cap on his head4  ,he had an
 orange red caste  mark freshly painted 
on his forehead1 and round his shoulders
 hung a  flower garland4  ,he had just  
recovered from an illness1 and for that 
reason was making sacrifice4  ,planted  

in the ground stood a square  post1 to  
the base of which a woman1 who was      
sister to the  executioner's wife1 was  
helping to tie the unoffending kid4     
,black  flies were swarming round as the
 woman pulled the hind legs of the      
goat1 and the executioner1 with an      
absurdly large sword1 wide and  curved1 
cut off the head at a blow4  ,monkeys   
leering and chattering  played about all
 round1 and several lean-looking dogs   
darted forward  to lick up greedily the 
blood spurting from the little body1    
which  was flung down a few yards away4 
,the head was put on a small altar      
facing the entrance to the inner shrine 
that the god might see it1  and then the
 executioner and the woman 7who1 by the 
way1 was  tattooed7 cleaned and prepared
 the carcase for cooking1 that the      
young man might take it away with him   
for home consumption4    #aef    ,the   
sun was setting behind the ,durga       
,temple as ,i walked across a  beautiful
 garden called the ,anundabagh1 between 

red blossoming ,arhol  bushes to see a  
man named ,merthil ,swami1 who succeeded
 ten years ago  one of the most famous  
holy men of modern ,india1 the ,swami   
,bhaskarananda ,saraswati4  ,the garden 
was presented to ,bhaskarananda  by the 
,rajah of ,amethi1 who continues to send
 money for its upkeep4  ,swami          
,bhaskarananda was born of good ,brahman
 family1 and after a  youth spent in    
diligent study of ,sanskrit and the     
,vedantic  philosophy1 renounced the    
world and became a wandering ascetic1   
roaming from one end of ,india to the   
other clad in a single garment2  and at 
last believing that he had attained     
knowledge1 settled in  ,benares for his 
remaining years1 waiting his deliverance
 from  mortality4    ,in a little house 
with brass doors ,i saw in the garden a 
life-size  marble statue of this old man
 squatting naked1 as he had done in     
life1 with serene and peaceful          
countenance though with a slight        
raising of the eyebrows that creased his

 forehead1 and curiously  outstanding   
ears4  ,the statue was made during his  
lifetime and is  said to be very like   
him4  ,on the bald head lay one red     
rose4    ,every ,maharajah1 said        
,mahmud1 came to pray to him1 and he    
might  have added every foreign visitor 
came to see him1 for ,bhaskarananda     
#aeg always welcomed ,english and other 
,european visitors1 and gained  their   
appreciation and respect both by his    
learning and his courteous  manners4    
,tam cari capitis4    ,a disciple named 
,gaya ,purshad who lived in ,cawnpore   
had given a lakh  of rupees to build a  
tomb of white marble for ,bhaskara1 and 
it was  nearing completion on the spot  
where he used to sit with his legs      
crossed and where1 being holy beyond all
 purification of fire1 he was  buried in
 the same sitting posture4  ,the tomb1  
against which leaned a  wide bamboo     
ladder1 is a small square building with 
three windows of  pierced marble        
screen-work and one door opening1 and   

the workmen were  busy upon a lovely    
marble arcade surrounding the whole     
mausoleum4  ,inside1 on the centre of   
the floor over the place of burial1     
there is  a little plain slab of stone  
on which lay a wreath of pale and dark  
marigolds4    ,merthil ,swami1 the man  
who was chosen by ,bhaskara to take his 
place  in the ,anundabagh after he died1
 does not abjure all clothing like  his 
master1 but was dressed in a long plain 
woollen gown4  ,smiling  courteously1 he
 received me on the veranda of the house
 in the garden  where he had been       
talking to a number of young men4  ,he  
has deep  brown eyes1 a wide forehead   
and a narrow chin somewhat disguised by 
a  slight grey beard1 and his skin is   
light in colour4    ,i asked ,merthil   
,swami of the present state #aeh of     
,bhaskara1 and  ,mahmud interpreted his 
answer3--,bhaskara's spirit will be in  
no more  man2 he has gained ,heaven and 
is with the god ,brahma4    ,it must be 
a difficult task to wear the halo of a  

saint so generally  revered as          
,bhaskara1 and ,i was not surprised to  
hear that ,merthil  ,swami is not yet as
 popular as his predecessor4    ,late   
that evening a heavy hailstorm made     
terrifying play on iron  roofs with     
large stones1 and blustering weather    
continued the next  day4  ,i determined 
to try to paint in spite of it1 and went
 early to  the ,aurungzebe ,mosque4     
,far above the river on the paved space 
outside the mosque at the top of the    
great ghat1 a fakir was sitting  on a   
bed of iron nails4  ,they were iron     
spikes about four inches  long1 and he  
perched on one end of the bed1 with a   
loin-cloth which  afforded considerable 
protection4  ,as the spikes were very   
blunt and  close together there seemed  
to me no great difficulty in the man's  
performance4  ,for eight years1 people  
said1 he had sat there2 but a  few yards
 from him1 under a peepul tree1 was a   
low umbrella tent  closed to the ground 
on every side1 and into this the fakir  

is  carried on his spike bed every      
night4  ,mahmud gave no account of him1 
and although ,i had no religious bias he
 looked to me a peculiarly  nasty       
person4  ,he hides his money somewhere  
under the ground like  other fakirs1    
,mahmud added1 and #aei if it could be  
found after  his death it would be      
,government property1 as he would have  
no heir1  which may or may not be true4 
,swallows were flying back and forth in 
the mosque4  ,the stone walls  were     
whitewashed1 and the ceilings within the
 cupolas were decorated  with a dull red
 pattern on plaster once white and now a
 creamy grey4  ,this is the mosque which
 shows from the river1 with its minarets
 high  up above the vast flight of steps
 of the ,panch ,ganga ,ghat1 the best   
known scene at ,benares4  ,i painted it 
from the water1 but the wind  was too   
strong to keep the boat still1 even     
close to shore1 while  occasional sudden
 showers of rain increased the          
difficulties4    ,the last time ,i went 

upon the river at ,benares was one      
evening just  after sunset1 when the    
clouds were dove-coloured above the long
 line  of ghats and palaces1 sweeping   
along in a majestic curve which         
continued above the white flat sand of  
the farther bank4  ,mahmud and  ,i had  
reached the ,ganges at the ,assi ,ghat1 
the farthest upstream1 and  on the      
opposite shore rose the palace of the   
,maharajah of ,benares1  one of the few 
buildings upon that side4  ,a police    
boat was  waiting--and leaving the      
carriage by a golden tract of mustard to
  drive round and pick us up lower down 
the river1 we were taken  swiftly       
down-stream by four ,hindoo rowers4  ,in
 the far distance over  the curve of    
sand the #afj ,dufferin ,bridge was     
visible4  ,the water  looked blue-green 
and clear1 and ,i thought that evening  
the usual  accounts of its pollution    
must be exaggerated4  ,swiftly the      
rowers  urged the boat along till ,i    
stopped them at a palace of yellow      

sandstone1 in which some old ,delhi     
kings yet drag out with their  harems   
and opium pipes squalid pensioned lives4
  ,we pulled up to the  great steps     
called ,sivati ,ghat1 where a man sat   
cleaning his  goriaya1 a ,benares pipe4 
,pigeons were flying about the walls and
  cupolas above1 and a faint rose-colour
 just flushed the clearer  spaces of the
 sky4  ,on the wall a marble tablet was 
inscribed3--      ,this was the         
residence of ,rajah ,chait ,singh where 
he was arrested by  the order of ,warren
 ,hastings1 on the #afth ,august1 #agca 
7sic71 and  where1 on the same date1    
after the massacre of two companies of  
native troops with their ,british       
officers1 he was rescued by his         
adherents4      ,there was the window by
 which ,chait ,singh escaped--he went   
off on an  elephant4    ,re-embarking we
 sped down the stream again past the    
,hanuman ,ghat1  above which showed the 
neem trees about the largest of the     
temples in  ,benares--that to ,hanuman1 

the monkey-friend of ,rama1 who rescued 
,sita1 his wife1 from a king of ,ceylon 
who had carried her away4  ,on--past a  
little burning ghat called ,masan with  
#afa broken steps  and past the ,kedar  
,ghat and the building of one ,tivwa1 a 
rich  ,bengali1 and a large charity     
house for fakirs1 and past little lamps 
that floated on the water in front of a 
stone lingam on the wall4  ,all along   
the edge of the river many similar      
lights were now  twinkling4  ,people    
were putting them to float for worship1 
lamps with  butter and not oil in them4 
,in the twilight lines of pilgrims were 
still distinguishable trooping along in 
robes of green and rose and  white and  
purple4  ,temple music sounded1 drums   
and cymbals and wind  instruments4      
,against the walls like great targets   
hung now many of  the huge mushroom-like
 grass umbrellas of the selling stalls4 
,the  same obese fakir ,i had seen the  
day before in the ,golden ,temple sat   
now gazing at the sacred river with a   

crowd of gapers watching as  before4    
,we passed more neem trees1 and then in 
rapidly increasing darkness  once more  
approached the famous burning-ghat4     
,one pile was almost  burnt out1 while  
another was flaming high4  ,two of the  
dead man's  relations tended the fire2  
higher up the steps fifteen or twenty of
  his relatives and friends sat watching
 the last scene of his life's  little   
drama4    ,eight maunds of wood for     
each1 said ,mahmud1 cost two rupees1    
fourteen annas 7one maund equals eighty 
pounds71 but for a #afb rich  man's body
 to be burned by sandal wood at the     
,rajah's ,ghat costs #aej  rupees4      
,the darkness gathered more and more and
 the pale white figures  sitting in rows
 on the upper steps of the ghat were    
almost lost1  except when now and then  
more lurid flames rose1 dancing up to   
light  them2 the rowers bore us on again
 past more and more little lamps on  the
 water4  ,this time not ,hindoo but     
,mohammedan hands were setting  them    

afloat1 and ,mahmud said3--,mohammedans 
worship all rivers1  ,hazarat ,khizar4  
,we passed the burning-ghat of rajahs1  
with its odour of sandalwood  and the   
,vishnu footprints1 and once more that  
holy tank of the  ,manokanka ,ghat1 of  
which the water is believed to be sweat 
of his  body4          #afc    ,,chapter
 ,x    ,,lucknow    ,at ,lucknow it was 
,race ,week4  ,i had already heard from 
the famous  ,wutzler's1 the best hotel1 
that they had no room2 and when ,i      
arrived one evening at the capital of   
,oudh ,i called vainly at others  in a  
scale of reputation which diminished in 
accord with my hopes of  a bed4  ,i had 
left ,benares the same morning1 and     
after passing land  green with various  
crops1 including a great deal of        
mustard1 the  train had carried me over 
plains of grey monotony1 only           
occasionally  broken by patches of      
cultivation1 herds of long-eared sheep1 
long-legged pigs1 large black vultures  
and stray1 weary-looking  camels4       

,surely all ,anglo-,india had come to   
,lucknow for the races4  ,i had left  a 
small crowd of ,english people at the   
railway station1 who had given  up hope 
of finding shelter and were only waiting
 for a train to take  them away again3  
and believing in the possibilities of   
canvas1 ,i  sought out one after the    
other1 ,the ,civil and ,military1 ,the  
,imperial and ,the ,prince of ,wales'1  
and then roaming still without  a guide 
tried #afd for a tent at the ,eclipse1  
and at last found  one at ,the ,empress4
  ,this last was managed by a thin      
,mohammedan1  who was apparently        
destitute of any notion of mutual       
benefits1 but  rich in appreciation of  
the fact that every other hostelry in   
,lucknow  was over-full4  ,i certainly  
obtained a lodging for the night at     
,the ,empress1 but the fact that with   
travel-habit ,i was able to  sleep      
soundly should not be taken as testimony
 to good accommodation4    ,the next    
morning at an early hour ,i was         

bargaining with a  gharry-wallah who    
demanded #ag rupees for the day because 
of the  races1 and after paying some    
official calls ,i went off to see the   
,residency4    ,the events of the       
,mutiny days are so closely identified  
with every  brick in the old red ruins  
that it would be almost impossible for  
an  ,englishman to consider them apart  
from those associations1 but ,i  think  
if it were possible they would still    
have more appeal than the  extravagant  
vulgarity of the ugly palaces and other 
architectural  eyesores that were reared
 so lavishly in ,lucknow early in the   
nineteenth century1 and remain for the  
traveller to stare at for his           
sins--huge curios of debased art1       
wearisome to visit and desirable to     
forget4    ,one ,william ,ireland1 who  
told me that as a boy of ten he was     
among  the actual defenders of the      
,residency1 being attached to the fourth
  #afe company of the #crd ,battalion   
,east ,india ,company's ,b4,a41 showed  

me the many points of vivid interest    
connected with the memorable  siege4    
,trimly-kept walks surround those       
hallowed walls1 bright in the  sunshine 
with gay pink masses of bougainvillia   
and golden clusters of  bignonia        
benarola4  ,every guide-book tells you  
the heroic tale and  the ,baillie ,gate1
 ,dr ,fayrer's house1 the ,begum ,kothi 
and the rest are  household words in    
,england4  ,there are many monuments and
 memorial  tablets at the ,residency1   
and ,i will quote but one and that the  
inscription on an obelisk just outside  
its precincts3--      ,to the ,memory of
    ,the ,native ,officers and ,sepoys  
of the    #acth ,native ,infantry #dast 
,native ,infantry    #dhth ,native      
,infantry #gast ,native ,infantry       
,the ,oude ,irregular ,force    ,native 
,pensioners1 ,new ,native ,levies       
,artillery and ,lucknow ,magazine       
,who died near this ,spot    ,nobly     
performing their duty    ,this column is
 erected by    ,lord ,northbrook        

,viceroy and ,governor ,general of      
,india    #ahge      ,let us never      
forget those loyal hearts who withstood 
the insidious  influences of a          
wide-spread crusade of mutiny which     
combined the  appeals of military       
grievance1 race hatred and religious    
zeal4    #aff    ,the chief bazaar of   
,lucknow1 which forms one of the six    
wards of the  city1 is called the       
,chauk4  ,here still thrive jewellers   
and  silversmiths1 though the quality of
 their work is deteriorating4  ,the     
prices are low and the wages are low4   
,a rupee a day is not enough to  satisfy
 the best artists1 nor is four annas    
enough for a  highly-skilled workman4   
,bidri1 a kind of damascening lately    
revived1 brasswork1 ironwork and        
wood-carving1 all go on here as well  as
 a special local industry1 the modelling
 of small coloured figures  from clay   
worked into a paste with babul gum1     
belgiri1 and sometimes  brown paper and 
cotton-wool4    ,then there is the      

carving of wooden blocks for printing   
patterns on  cloths1 the making of      
musical instruments 7see that long sitar
  hanging in the shop-front7 and the    
beating of gold-leaf and  silver-leaf   
for eating4  ,indeed1 it is true that   
people at ,lucknow  eat both gold and   
silver-leaf4  ,i watched the thin piece 
of gold-foil  being put between two     
leather leaves and then hammered out on 
stone1  very slowly expanding to thirty 
times its original size4  ,it is        
sometimes taken for disease of the      
heart1 but it is not so much in  cases  
of sickness but rather as a general     
fortifier to give  additional strength  
to the whole body that the metal-leaf is
  swallowed1 and after all the practice 
is more universal than one  thinks at   
first4  ,children of many lands have a  
great #afg fondness  for tin            
trumpets--and ,i remember a ,new ,year's
 ,eve in ,london when a  certain        
,english ,government ,official offered  
me floating gold-leaf to  drink for good

 health6    ,the first time ,i drove    
through the gates of the ,akbariderwazar
 at one  end of the ,chauk a long swing 
bar1 with upright wooden spikes two     
feet high1 lay across the roadway4      
,this was to close the bazaar to        
vehicles from two o'clock to eight in   
the evening 7in summer from  three to   
nine71 the busiest time for shopping4   
,no gharries or ekkas  7another kind of 
wheeled vehicle7 are permitted to enter 
during those  hours1 except by a special
 pass of the city magistrate1 such as ,i
  carried4  ,were it not for such       
regulation1 the narrow thoroughfare     
would every afternoon be nothing but a  
wedged confusion4  ,in the  larger      
,indian cities there is so much traffic 
that such a narrow  street practicable  
for pedestrians and horse-riders1       
palanquins and  litters1 becomes jammed 
at once if open to wheeled vehicles in  
the  busy hours4    ,an arch crosses the
 street at each end of the ,chauk1 one  
pointed and  the other round--both      

without mouldings1 and along each side a
 runnel  of water flows in an open      
gutter4  ,there is no profusion of      
delicate  tracery about the projecting  
windows and other parts of the          
house-fronts as in many cities1 and much
 tawdry and common  workmanship2 but    
looking back through the #afh opening of
 the  pointed archway beyond the near   
figures of the ever-moving crowd1       
sombre in the shadow of the houses and  
blended with the subdued  sumptuousness 
of stuffs and wares1 the outer roadway  
and a few  buildings beyond contrast in 
simple spacious majesty--bathed in the  
glow of ,eastern afternoon4    ,it was  
the first time ,i had noticed           
cowrie-shells being used as  money--as a
 common medium of exchange--and nothing 
in ,india seemed  more significant of   
the frugality of the mass of the people4
  ,upon  the brick and stucco platform1 
about #c feet from the ground1 that     
fronts many of the houses1 there        
squatted upon a worn dhurrie a  cowrie  

money-changer in a printed cotton dress 
and a little white  cotton cap1 and in  
front of him lay the heaps of shells1   
seventy-two  in each4  ,one anna is1 of 
course1 equal to four pice1 and here at 
,lucknow while the gharry-wallah was    
demanding seventeen rupees for a  day's 
hire1 each of the four pice that make an
 anna was divisible  into seventy-two   
cowries4  ,imagine yourself being able  
to divide a  farthing in ,whitechapel   
into seventy-two parts6    ,i had an    
anna converted into cowries without any 
lapse on the part of  the changer from  
his accustomed gravity1 but it was one  
of the few  occasions on which          
,tambusami was thoroughly amused4  ,i   
insisted  forthwith on #afi seeking what
 ,i could purchase with the shells1 and 
a little further along the bazaar ,i    
bought for eighteen of them 7the        
equivalent of a fourth part of a        
farthing7 some salt1 some spice1  some  
tamarind and a portion of cooked        
grain-flour called pakori4    ,the      

,lucknow ,races might have been on      
,epsom ,downs for any evidence  thereof 
in the ,chauk that afternoon4  ,a woman 
with a burka--a  ,mohammedan            
begging-woman in a white garment that   
covered her from  feet to crown of head1
 having two round holes cut for seeing  
through--relieved us of the balance of  
our shells2 and the police  inspector1  
who accompanied me1 drew my attention to
 a house of more  pretentious decoration
 than its neighbours4  ,within1 he      
declared1  lived a ,paluria or          
dancing-girl1 who made #ajjj rupees a   
month2 and  the fancy came to me out of 
that mesh of contrasts1 where sun and   
shadow were so closely interwoven on the
 loom of life that warp and  web seemed 
to become each other's fibre1--what if  
the unknown woman  hidden beneath the   
ample folds of that snowy burka were1   
after all1 a  disguised ,paluria of     
yesterday1 accepting alms in white      
oblivion8    ,such women of light hours 
often1 ,i was told1 at ,lucknow are     

those who  have lived with some         
,mohammedan in the curious temporary    
connection  called ,mulaa1 which is a   
local #agj practice instituted1 as far  
as  ,i could learn1 to permit the       
addition of more wives without          
indefinite responsibility1 the          
connection being terminable at the  will
 of either party4  ,the women of this   
class have often a  considerable band of
 retainers1 and the professional        
singing-lady who  entertains strangers  
usually provides fiddlers1 drummers and 
manjira or cymbal-players1 who all      
receive a portion of her fee4    ,in a  
side alley leading off the ,chauk there 
is a factory of otto of  roses4         
,lucknow is famous for its perfumes--and
 one distilled from  jasmine is highly  
popular1 as well as an oil from roots of
 the  ,khaskas grass4    ,lucknow1 apart
 from the native quarters of the town1  
is a place of  wide roads well laid out 
7after the destruction for military     
purposes  of many houses at the time of 

the ,mutiny71 parks1 gardens and other  
open spaces4  ,i made a toilsome round  
of the chief show buildings1  the jejune
 palaces1 the mosques and the ungainly  
meretricious tombs4  ,there was the     
,great ,imambarah1 built under          
,asaf-ud-daulah1 whose tomb  it is1 as a
 relief-work in the ,chatisa ,famine of 
#aghd 7for there were  famines in ,india
 before the present administration74    
,the interest  here is a mechanical one1
 in the successful construction of an   
enormous roof in coarse concrete without
 ribs1 beams1 pillars1  abutment1       
framework or support of any kind1 except
 from the four  #aga surrounding walls4 
,rather over #afj feet long by #ej wide 
and #di  feet high1 this vast apartment 
houses the canopied tomb which stands  a
 little oddly1 as it is placed with its 
axis in the direction of  ,mecca1 to    
which the sides of the hall are not     
parallel4  ,near to it  stands a huge   
tinsel ,tasia carried annually through  
the streets at  the time of ,moharam4   

,the walls of the ,imambara are very    
thick indeed1 with innumerable  passages
 and stairways in them which lead to a  
veritable maze on the  roof level1 and  
it is from some of these passages that  
the little  loges or tiny box-like      
balconies high up in the walls are      
reached1  from which purdah ladies could
 look down on function or ceremony1 as  
,english women from the ladies' gallery 
in the ,house of ,commons4    ,i saw the
 handsome three-domed mosque of the     
,jama ,masjid1 with blue  and purple    
decoration painted in line on walls and 
ceilings1 except  on the ceiling of its 
middle porch which was coloured in      
green4  ,from  the platform of the ,jama
 ,masjid ,i could see the ornate        
,husainabad  ,imambara1 another tomb    
built in the year of ,queen ,victoria's 
accession1 by the same king as the great
 mosque itself1 as a  burial-place for  
himself and his mother4  ,a red-brick   
modern  clock-tower showed some distance
 beyond the tallest of its gilded       

cupolas4  ,the ,husainabad ,imambara1   
built almost entirely of painted  #agb  
stucco1 is gaudy and vulgar in          
decoration and feeble in design4  ,its  
great hall contains some tons weight of 
glass chandeliers and  common ,german   
ornaments4  ,an enclosed court with     
paved walks and  flower-beds contains a 
long rectangular piece of water1 on     
which a  barge with life-size figures of
 a man and a horse upon it is pushed  up
 and down by one of the attendants4     
,coloured glass balls hang from  arches 
of bent ironwork1 and the railings along
 the flower-beds are  all fitted with   
sockets for lights1 while the stucco    
faces of the  building are furnished    
with a multitude of small hooks for the 
same  purpose4  ,the stucco itself is of
 a peculiarly bright quality1 and       
illuminated at night by thousands of    
fairy-lights1 these buildings  have     
evoked much admiration2 but so also have
 the plaster decorations  of ,cremorne1 
,vauxhall or ,ranelagh1 the white       

palaces of ,shepherd's  ,bush and the   
cafs chantants of the ,champs ,elysees2 
and1 after all1  it was race-week1 and  
since ,lucknow had its ,grand ,prix if  
only  these far from venerable          
mausoleums could be turned into an      
,ambassadeurs or a ,jardin de ,paris1   
they might cease to be  troublesome6    
,a less offensive building is the       
,kerbela of ,dianatud ,doulah1 of old   
red sandstone1 rosy in the sunlight1    
surmounted by another gilded  cupola1   
but marred horribly by a new porch      
roofed with corrugated  iron4  ,the     
,kasmain #agc also1 a copy of a sacred  
place in ,baghdad1  had much beauty in  
the coloration of its arabesque patterns
 of pale  celadon greens1 buffs1 reds   
and smoky greys4    ,seeking a little   
rest in the cool basement of the        
,lucknow ,museum ,i  came upon a lovely 
piece of sculpture1 the very sight of   
which was as  refreshing as a plashing  
fountain in a waste of sand4  ,it was   
apparently the upper portion of an      

octagonal pillar1 and was found  amongst
 the ruins of ,asaykhera1 a small       
village in ,etawah1 on the  right bank  
of the ,jumna4  ,eight dancing-girls    
move in a circle slowly  and            
rhythmically1 and although their feet   
are supported by brackets  their        
attitudes are full of easy movement4    
,they wear jewelled  bangles and anklets
 and a string of jewels encircles each  
of their  necks1 passing between and    
round the breasts to fall in front of   
the  otherwise undraped thighs4  ,the   
heads of the figures are broken1 but    
their loss seems hardly felt in the     
delightful movement of the group4  ,i   
found a luxurious sense of calm and     
quietude in contemplating this          
sculpture and for the time forgot the   
,imambaras and the noisy  chaffering of 
the ,chauk ,bazaar4  ,i think ,cellini  
would have liked it2  he must have      
enjoyed the carving even if he had      
deemed the group too  homogeneous2      
certainly ,lorenzo would have admired   

it4    ,but the strong spirit that holds
 the ,english #agd visitor to ,lucknow  
is certainly not the sensuous magic of  
sthetic charm4  ,it is the  due         
admixture of romance and reality1 said  
,sir ,henry ,lawrence1 that  best       
carries a man through life1--and the    
heroic days of the ,mutiny  have left at
 ,lucknow memories so compact of both   
that the stranger  can but heed them and
 drink in the tale with ever-growing    
eagerness4    ,i turned my steps towards
 the old ,sikandra ,bagh1 beyond the    
horticultural gardens1 to see the little
 that is left of the walls  through     
which ,private ,dunlay of the #icrd1 on 
the spot now traversed  by the road to  
the river1 was the first to enter that  
stronghold of  the rebels4  ,on the way 
the flattened dome of the ,shah ,najaf1 
another  great tomb1 appeared against   
pale rosy clouds1 a red flag clinging to
  its mast above walls of such          
tremendous thickness that they withstood
  both naval guns and ,captain          

,middleton's battery4  ,but it is       
another  flag that keeps in my mind     
whenever ,i think of ,lucknow--that one 
from  the old staff on the ,residency   
tower4  ,a new one flies from it every  
year1 but its pattern does not change4  
,we last a few years longer  than the   
shred of bunting and others will succeed
 us--may the high  and noble courage of 
our people in the past be constant still
  enduring after us6          #age      
,,chapter ,,xi    ,,cawnpore    ,to-day 
that's ,oudh--to-morrow it may be       
,cawnpore--the boundary line  is the    
main stream of the ,ganges and that is  
ever shifting4  ,thus  spoke the manager
 of a great woollen mill as ,i stood    
beside him on an  embankment in front of
 it1 looking at the vast expanse of open
 plain  beyond the river wrhich flowed  
past us4  ,the wind was blowing the     
white sand in clouds over the plain4    
,lines of long grass planted at         
intervals slightly broke its force and  
gave a little protection to  the young  

crops1 when any crops were there4       
,cawnpore is fast becoming the          
,manchester of ,india1 and ,i was       
visiting  some of its large mills and   
factories4  ,part of the wool comes from
  ,australia via ,calcutta1 but most of 
the raw material used at ,cawnpore  is  
,indian4  ,it was being unloaded at the 
railway siding1 and near by  women were 
sorting--picking it over--and men       
pressing it down with  their feet into  
large sacks4    #agf    ,just at the    
moment this firm had in hand a          
,government contract for  #aa1jjj coats1
 and had just finished an order of      
#cc1jjj coats for the  police of        
,hyderabad1 ,deccan4    ,in an upper    
storey of the factory a vast floor was  
covered with  khaki2 it had been chalked
 all over from patterns1 and ,indian    
cutters  were now shearing away at it4  
,a bell rang in the weaving-shed4  ,this
  was attached to the machine for making
 the warp4  ,every time a length  of    
warp of fifty yards is made the bell    

rings automatically4  ,then it  is taken
 off on to a roller beam and transferred
 from the warp-mill  to the loom4       
,near the cloth-mills there is a leather
 factory4  ,the skins1 mostly  buffalo1 
had come to that raw hide-shed from all 
over ,india4  ,some  were simply dried1 
some arsenicated and some1 white-looking
 skins1  had been salted4  ,i was shown 
a special feature of this tannery--its  
method of tanning in latticed drums1    
half submerged in pits4  ,the  hides    
hung lengthways from the rope within the
 lattices1 and at the  end of each huge 
gun-metal or copper drum there were     
eight arms and a  manhole4    ,in a yard
 outside bark was being unloaded from   
railway-trucks1 ready  for grinding up  
and infusing with leaches4  ,three sorts
 of bark  were being delivered--,babul  
7acacea antica71 ,sal 7shoria  robusta71
 and ,rhea 7not the native #agg ,rhea74 
,there was a special  and elaborate     
plant for making extract of bark1 a     
process which was  conducted in vacuo1  

so that the colour should not be        
affected by  the boiling4  ,in the same 
yard there were piles of sacks          
containing  myrabolams from the ,central
 ,provinces1 and in a corner ,i caught  
sight  of a group of people dressed in  
strange sulphur-coloured cloaks1  which 
covered head as well as body1 leaving   
holes for the eyes as in  a ,mohammedan 
woman's burka--dresses that made me     
think of an  auto-da-f4  ,the air about 
them was full of a cloudy yellow dust4  
,and what are these8 ,i asked the polite
 gentleman who was conducting  me4      
,those--oh--ah--they were not working   
the other day when the  factory         
commissioners came round6 he said1      
laughing1 and took me to  look at       
something else4  ,the bark extraction1  
as ,i said1 was  conducted in vacuo3    
this other process was evidently carried
 on in  camera4    ,i do not think there
 is any near danger of ,india being     
turned into a  machine1 and the iron    
fetters of industrialism may even be    

welcome to  a people living habitually  
at grips with starvation1 and           
besides--has  not one of the largest of 
the ,cawnpore manufacturing companies   
set  noble example in building a model  
village for their #cejj employees8      
,the manager was sorely exercised about 
pilfering propensities1 and  how much   
have ,i #agh heard from ,englishmen as  
to native thieving6  ,i  was assured    
that a ,hindoo will so gently tickle    
with a straw the face  of a sleeping    
traveller that he will turn his head    
just enough to  permit abstraction of   
any valuables he may have placed under  
his  pillow1 and will then tickle the   
other cheek till the traveller turns    
back his head to its former position and
 sleeps on unharassed by any  tiresome  
dreams4  ,no such experience was ever   
mine1 and in fact  throughout my stay in
 the country ,i was never1 to my        
knowledge1  robbed of anything1 and the 
only instance ,i encountered in ,india  
was  that of a young ,french count who  

was relieved on the railway of much     
gold by a ,european train-thief4  ,i    
wish1 indeed1 ,i could think such       
allegations all as unfounded as the     
accounts of the imaginary  rope-trick4  
,in ,lancashire ,i have seen many a     
crowd of mill-hands leaving work1  and  
wanting to compare the similar moment at
 an ,indian factory1 ,i  waited outside 
one of these at ,cawnpore a little      
before closing time4  ,presently the men
 began to come out1 at first in small   
batches and  then in quickly-growing    
numbers--but what peculiar gymnastic    
exercise  were they going through at the
 gates8  ,a horizontal bamboo pole was  
fixed a couple of feet above the ground1
 and as each man raised his  legs to    
step over this a chuprassee passed his  
hands over the  workman's sides4        
,presently one was stopped and bidden to
 stand #agi  aside till the rest had    
passed4  ,it was an ordeal by search and
 one  of the various devices used to aid
 detection of the pilfering that ,i  was

 assured is constant4      ,through a   
small bronze gate1 cast from one of the 
guns of the  ,shannon 7those guns which 
bluejackets dragged all the way from    
,calcutta71 every ,englishman who goes  
to ,cawnpore enters an octagonal        
sandstone screen in the middle of a     
small public park4  ,within1 heavy  and 
commonplace1 ,marochetti's marble angel 
stands in the centre above  the closed  
well-head4  ,there is not in the        
recorded history of any  people a       
tragedy at once so terrible and so      
inimitably sad as that of  the ,cawnpore
 massacres3 and on emerging from that   
small enclosed plot  with its too       
ponderous angel1 there can hardly be an 
,englishman who  does not carry in his  
face the expression of a deep emotion4  
,there  are many churches in ,india1 but
 there is no shrine so sacred to her    
rulers as the ,cawnpore ,well4  ,not far
 away stands the neem tree1 on  which   
some of the rebels were hung1 and two   
larger trees are pointed  out by the    

side of which sepoys were blown from the
 guns4  ,the ,house  of ,massacre has   
long since been razed to the ground1 and
 its site is  now only marked by a block
 of black #ahj stone surmounted by a    
white  marble cross and bearing an      
inscription in gold letters4    ,a road1
 shaded by some of the very same trees  
that hid the ,nana  ,sahib's men on the 
#bgth ,june #aheg1 leads to the         
brick-built ghat and  its stone steps4  
,they descend from each side of a small 
whitewashed  ,siva temple now1 ,i think1
 no longer used4  ,the steps are long   
and  walled at each side3 when ,i stood 
upon them no water lapped beneath4  ,the
 ,ganges was low and its main current   
had shifted away across the  white      
stretch of sand beyond this narrower    
meandering stream4  ,to the  left the   
red brick piers of the ,oudh and        
,rohilcund ,railway ,bridge  paled in   
the heat haze to a faint pink colour4   
,on the opposite shore  a few lines of  
tall ,kassa grass dry and dead1 were    

ineffectually  trying to protect patches
 of ground sown with melon seed4        
,overhead a  peepul tree1 an old        
tree--witness of all that terrible      
past--stretched a canopy of leaves that 
shimmered in the sunlight and  danced in
 the little breeze1 and while ,i stood  
there a ,hindoo woman1  ankles and      
wrists loaded with heavy silver bangles1
 went down the  steps and over the sand 
to the water--that sacred water--to     
bathe and  to wash her white garment4   
#aha    ,,chapter ,,xii    ,,the ,,house
 ,,of ,,dream    ,i lay quite motionless
 on my back upon the little stone       
platform that  faces the south-west     
window--lay quite still and listened4   
,in the  intense noonday silence ,i     
could not hear even the chirp of a      
cricket4  ,often had ,akhbar the ,great 
reclined upon this stone bed of the     
place  called ,khawbgah1 the ,house of  
,dream1 and mused with roaming mind on  
government and power1 the jealousies of 
sects and ministers1 the  ingratitude of

 dissolute sons1 the tale of all the    
littleness of men  and on his own       
ambition to build up a better and more  
perfect state4    ,here had he mused and
 here had slept--but now in what strange
  contrast to the suspended             
consciousness of sleep is that deep     
soundless vacancy within the channels of
 the dead man's brain6  ,akhbar's       
decaying bones within stone slabs lie at
 ,sikandra1 but his  great idea of      
universal toleration did not die with   
him4    ,immediately above in the roof  
was a carved medallion1 and a little    
blue pigment still remained upon the red
 sandstone4  ,my head was  #ahb towards 
the north and my feet towards the south3
 there are four  openings in the walls1 
and when ,i looked towards the north ,i 
could  see across the women's court to  
the ,diwan-i-khas1 the private          
audience-hall1 and when ,i looked to the
 south ,i could see the  low-pillared   
,record ,office4  ,the pilasters of the 
chamber are carved  with grapes and     

pomegranates1 and on the red walls      
fragments of  painting are still        
visible4  ,i made out on the north a    
,buddha1 on the  east a winged angel and
 two women1 and on the south a god with 
a  large tail4  ,on the dado ,i made out
 a man dancing1 a boat with six  people 
in it and one boy climbing up the mast1 
and a walled city  behind a ,hindoo     
temple4    ,over the doorways there are 
,persian verses in golden letters1 and  
one1 ,riaz ,ahmad1 translated these for 
me during the afternoon1 as  follows4   
,over the south door is written3--,the  
,imperial ,palace is beautiful1         
pleasant and elegant1 it is made to     
represent ,paradise4    ,over the east  
door is written3--,may the floor of thy 
house become  the mirror for the eyes of
 the ,janitor of ,paradise1 and may the 
dust  of thy threshold become the black 
powder for the eyes of heavenly  houris4
    ,over the north door3--,the         
foreheads of those who bow down in      
adoration and touch the dust of thy     

house will shine like a ,zohra4  #ahc   
,zohra1 said the kindly ,mohammedan1    
whose patience ,i tried  hard1 is       
,venus1 the name of a very shining      
planet4    ,over the western door is    
written3--,the ,imperial ,palace is more
  beautiful than heaven because of its  
gates4  ,there is no doubt in  this     
matter that it is ,paradise itself4     
,the room below was painted all over1   
walls and ceiling1 by ,chinese  artists 
with flowers--almond blossom1 lotus1    
tulips1 lilies and roses4    ,this      
,house of ,dream is but one among the   
buildings of the royal city  of         
,fatehpur-,sikri1 which was built by    
,akhbar towards the end of the          
sixteenth century1 and after some years'
 occupation was abandoned  through the  
continued difficulty of obtaining a good
 water supply4  ,it has never since been
 occupied and consequently remains      
to-day  almost exactly as it was when   
lived in by ,akhbar and his court4    ,i
 had driven the twenty-two miles from   

,agra in a decrepit gharry1  which      
turned over on one side on the way back4
  ,there was a wealth of  bird-life     
along the roadside in the early         
morning--large storks1  king-fishers1   
hoopoes1 the ubiquitous minah1 crows1   
kites and little  green birds with one  
of the tail feathers twice the length of
 the  others4  ,then there was a        
delightful bird about the size of a     
chaffinch1 with black back and wings but
 golden-red breast and tail1  doves such
 as ,jemshid watched with his princess1 
#ahd white  vultures1 wagtails and      
plenty of green parrots4    ,we changed 
horses half-way near ,mowgwa1 a grey    
village on a low grey  hill1 where ,i   
watched a squirrel collecting material  
for his big nest  hanging high up in a  
tree4    ,rather over twelve miles from 
,agra there is an old isolated gateway  
of red sandstone which my driver 7for   
whose accuracy ,i cannot vouch7         
declared is a city gate of ,agra brought
 here broken4    ,among mango trees     

,naggra1 another village1 nestled on the
 left and  then one called ,kirowdi on  
the right1 and all this road was        
bordered  with beautiful shade-giving   
trees4  ,at last ,i could distinguish a 
long line of crenelated wall1 and we    
reached a gateway choked with a  crowd  
of donkeys laden with dung-cake fuel4   
,within1 roads diverged  and we followed
 one that led direct to a second gate   
called  ,naubathkana1 the musician gate1
 where drums were always beaten in      
token of respect whenever the king      
entered the palace precincts4  ,here ,i 
left the gharry and walked into the open
 quadrangle in front  of the            
,diwan-i-,am1 the great court of public 
audience4  ,from the  cloisters along   
the wall projects the king's place of   
judgment1 a  building with five open    
arches on a highly-raised basement and a
  hand-rail over low stone-carved       
screens4  ,at my feet as ,i stood on    
the other side of the quad a #ahe stone 
was bedded deep in the  ground with a   

circular hole cut through it1 which     
everyone is told  was the elephant ring 
to which the four-footed executioner was
  fastened conveniently for trampling   
condemned prisoners4    ,more celebrated
 is the ,diwan-i-,khas1 the private     
audience-hall1  square in plan with     
stairs in the walls leading to galleries
 which  cross the building at the second
 floor level to the capital             
7elaborately bracketed7 of a central    
column4  ,cut on the floor of one  of   
these galleries ,i noticed a            
stone-mason's mark1 in the form of a    
bow and arrow1 the arrow being fitted in
 place across the strung bow4  ,the huge
 head of the centre column is a very    
king of capitals1 and  although it      
appears much out of proportion if       
considered solely in  relation to the   
column1 it does not seem so when        
properly regarded as  part of the whole 
conception of this curious hall4    ,the
 short massive crossing arms of the     
gallery1 which the column  supports1    

give the feeling that they themselves   
help to hold up that  huge cluster of   
stone brackets below them1 and our eyes 
are affected  as if its weight were     
partly borne by the shaft beneath it and
 partly  by the crossing bars above4    
,it is in that central space at the     
crossing of the galleries that  ,akhbar 
is reputed to have sat discussing       
religions and philosophies1  and nothing
 ,i have heard more convinced me of his 
#ahf tolerant  disposition than the     
choice of such a very restricted space  
for  argument4    ,another privileged   
seat was that called the ,grukimundi1   
under a small  stone canopy outside one 
corner of a building known as the ,ankh 
,michauli4  ,this seat was allotted to a
 ,hindoo teacher who1 said ,riaz        
,ahmad1 instructed ,akhbar in the       
doctrine of the transmigration of       
souls4  ,then there was the             
pachisi-board in large squares on which 
girls stood as pawns in the game played 
from a blue stone cross on  the centre  

of the pavement4   ,i was indeed shown  
by the assiduous  ,riaz ,ahmad all the  
many sights of this dead city of        
,akhbar's  court--,house of ,miriam with
 its garden and its bath--,palace of    
,birbal  with its rich intricate and    
elaborate carving--,palace of ,jodh ,bai
  with an exquisitely latticed room     
projecting over ,miriam's garden1  and  
the ,panch ,mahal with its five         
colonnaded storeys on the first  floor  
of which there are fifty-six pillars1   
each differently carved4    ,the court  
ladies used the ,panch ,mahal as a kind 
of playground1 and ,i  walked along part
 of a covered passage way which led     
thence to the  ,khawbgah4  ,then there  
was the great mosque1 very lofty1 and   
the  ,dargah ,mosque with the tomb of   
,salim ,chisti exquisitely beautiful    
with white marble screens of the most   
delicate fretted tracery1  shutting in  
the tomb itself under a domed roof4     
#ahg    ,salim ,chisti himself was the  
hermit saint whose prophecies led       

,akhbar  to build a city in that very   
arid neighbourhood1 and ,riaz ,ahmad was
  of his family4    ,when ,i had looked 
long at the lovely tints of worn        
decoration and the  rosy colour of the  
red sandstone1 we left the blue carpets 
and  polished marble floor of the mosque
 and sat for a while under the  shade of
 some trees in an enclosure at the back4
    ,i have heard of people being much  
pestered at ,fateh-pur-,sikri by        
would-be guides1 but not only did ,i    
escape any such experience  there1 but  
,riaz ,ahmad1 whom ,i engaged as        
cicerone for the day1 proved  a very    
agreeable companion1 not at first       
over-communicative but as  the hours    
wore on becoming more so4    ,under a   
little astambole tree near us1 as we sat
 resting1 were two  tombs1 one under a  
small pillared canopy and the other by  
its side  without any covering4  ,both  
were small and one was exceedingly tiny1
  so that it was not large enough to    
contain more than a kitten or a  very   

small doll4  ,it is probable that       
confirmed information is  obtainable    
about both1 but there was a certain     
navet about ,riaz'  talk which pleased  
me1 and it seemed more illuminating than
 a mere  repetition of authenticated    
fact4    ,the small tomb1 said ,riaz1 is
 that of the infant son of ,salim       
,chisti1 of whose family ,i am4  #ahh   
,the child died at six months by  the   
power of his own mind1 just to show a   
miracle1 and the very small  tomb close 
beside it is that of a tooth4  ,akhbar1 
childless1 came to  ,salim ,chisti and  
some say that to give ,akhbar a son the 
child of the  holy man was sacrificed2  
but that is not true1 for the babe1 of  
its  own mind1 ceased to live that a    
child might be born to ,akhbar4  ,as    
for the tooth1 he went on1 there was a  
woman who lived in our  family a long   
time ago 7we may not tell the names of  
our women71  whose husband went away    
with ,jehangir when the king sent an    
army to  capture ,nour ,jehan4  ,now    

this man who went with ,jehangir died in
  battle1 and because his body could    
never be found and his wife  happened to
 have one tooth of his which had come   
out1 the tooth was  buried in memory of 
her husband4    ,and this is how ,riaz  
,ahmad told me the story of ,jehangir's 
marriage  as we sat in the shade by the 
mosque wall4    ,nour ,jehan was found  
by a traveller--abandoned upon the road 
when  she was quite a baby1 because her 
parents could not bear to support  her  
on account of the poverty1 and she was  
presented by the traveller  to the king 
because she was beautiful1 with the     
report that he had  found her upon the  
roadside4  ,and as he also found her to 
be of  extreme beauty the king ordered  
her to be nursed in his palaces4  ,when 
#ahi she became twelve years old        
,jehangir1 who was about the  same age  
and had played with her as companion1   
became enchanted with  her beauty and   
loved her4  ,i thought of their padding 
feet as they  chased one another in     

children's games about those paved      
courts--playing catch me over the       
pachisi-board1 and of ,nour ,jehan      
shrieking safety as she reached a       
crossed square where the pieces are  not
 permitted to be taken4    ,and ,riaz   
continued--,but ,akhbar would have none 
of this1 and to keep  her away from     
,jehangir1 married her to               
,shareef-,ghan-,khan1 the  ,governor of 
,bengal4  ,now ,nour ,jehan had never   
loved ,jehangir1 but had  only played   
with him in friendship4  ,when ,akhbar  
died1 ,jehangir at  once sent to        
,shareef-,ghan-,khan demanding his wife1
 but was refused4  ,then sent ,jehangir 
an army in which that man of the tooth  
was one of  the officers4  ,after great 
fighting1 that ,shareef was killed and  
,nour  ,jehan was forced to come to the 
,imperial ,palace1 though she said she  
would have been more contented to be the
 wife of a common soldier  than to be   
queen with a husband she did not love4  
,for six months she  lived in the palace

 in a separate house with the mother of 
,jehangir1  but at last when she did not
 see any way to get rid of him she      
accepted his love1 became queen and     
obtained such influence over her        
husband that he put her name upon the   
coins4    #aij    ,this story led us to 
talk about women and ,riaz ,ahmad said1 
in spite  of the tale of ,nour          
,jehan--,god gave the man more power    
than woman1  so she is the inferior2 she
 is not like man4  ,she has the right   
that  we should be just to her1 to      
clothe her as well as we clothe         
ourselves1 and not to give away her     
right to another woman4  ,we may  not   
say of one of our wives--'she is the    
more beloved'--they must be  equal1     
otherwise it would be a sin to have more
 than one wife4  ,perhaps emperors may  
have preferences6    ,before leaving    
,fatehpur-,sikri ,i went to see the     
magnificent ,gate of  ,victory4         
,inside1 the inner portals are carved   
with wonderful skill1  letters          

upstanding upon the red sandstone4  ,at 
the top words are  carved in ,arabic1   
which ,riaz translated for me           
thus3--,that one who  stands up to pray 
and his heart is not in his duty1 he    
remains far  from ,god4  ,thy best      
possession is to give in alms and thy   
best  traffic is to sell this world for 
the next4  ,then a ,persian             
,rubaiyat3--,what fame could you gain   
sitting on a throne in a silver         
mansion8  ,the beauty of the world is   
simple1 like a looking-glass4  ,behold  
yourself when you look at it4  ,there   
follows the name of the  carver of these
 verses--,mohammed ,mason4    ,riaz     
,ahmad followed strictly the ideas of   
his forbears1 and would not  hear of any
 relaxation of the seclusion of women4  
,in this he was  #aia very different    
from a younger co-religionist whom ,i   
had met at  ,agra at the ,moharam       
,festival1 and who was very anxious to  
talk to the  ,english stranger about    
what he considered the unfairness of    

,government regulations4  ,he belonged  
to what he called the reformed          
,mohammedans1 and said that his sisters 
were quite free to go about  unveiled   
where they would4  ,he complained of the
 lack of freedom of  the press in       
,india1 claiming that it should be just 
as free as it was  in ,england1 and was 
much surprised when ,i told him that in 
,england we  should not permit any      
newspaper to publish direct appeals to  
assassinate the sovereign4  ,he was     
quite a young fellow1  two-and-twenty1  
and just out of college1 hoping to get a
 billet in  the post-office--although he
 declared that the ,english clerks are  
paid higher salaries than natives for   
the same work4    ,i think it would be  
an excellent thing if some good ,english
 publisher  made it his business to     
arrange for the translation into ,urdu  
of some  of the best ,english fiction4  
,this young man1 for instance1 said he  
had read all he could get and informed  
me that ,reynolds was our  greatest     

novelist and that a large number of his 
books were published  in ,urdu4  ,i     
asked him the names of some of the chief
 ones and he  mentioned ,mary ,price1   
,the ,star of ,mongolia and ,the        
,mysteries of  the ,court of ,london4   
,he added that the last-named had been  
prohibited by ,government1 but #aib that
 of course such copies as had  already  
been issued had naturally been treasured
 by their possessors4  ,he urged the    
desire of himself and his friends to    
read the books that  are read by        
well-educated people in ,england1 and ,i
 think the range of  books available is 
very restricted4  ,he talked to me about
 ,indian  poets1 and said that the best 
modern ones were ,dagh of ,delhi 7poet  
to  the ,nizam of ,hyderabad1 ,deccan7  
and ,amir of ,lucknow1 both of whom     
died a few years ago1 and ,i hoped the  
standing of their works was  higher than
 that of ,mary ,price and ,the          
,mysteries of the ,court of  ,london4   
,he told me of the writers of ,marsias  

also--,amias and ,dabir  of ,lucknow and
 added1 ,i cannot myself write good     
,marsias1 so what is  the use of writing
 at all8  ,but ,i do write ,gazal1 which
 have two  lines1 and ,rubaiyat1 which  
have four lines1 and also ,kasida1 in   
praise of any famous men4    ,he        
certainly had some imagination1 for he  
went on to inform me1  laughing1 that   
,his ,highness the ,nizam prided himself
 upon the  swiftness of his             
carriage-horses which went so quickly   
that only his  moustache could be seen2 
and after he had passed1 no one was able
 to  say what clothes he had had on     
because of the fleetness of those       
horses4    ,we went together to the     
great mausoleum ,nour ,jehan built for  
her  parents in the days of #aic her    
power1 and he also accompanied me to    
,sikandra1 the tomb of ,akhbar4  ,we    
drove thither from ,agra one hot  day1  
till tall white minarets appeared on the
 right of the road some  miles away     
across golden fields of mustard1 and we 

soon found  ourselves in front of the   
outer gateway4    ,filling a wide band  
round and over the arch and making very 
handsome  and indeed perfect decoration1
 are some quotations from the ,koran1   
and added at the base of the left side  
are the name and date of the            
carver--,kutba ,abdul ,hal ,shirazi1    
year #ajbb1 ,hijra4    ,the whole       
interior of the great building of       
,akhbar's tomb is one dark  vault #gd   
feet high4  ,ending just above the      
marble of the grave itself  there comes 
down from the darkness the thin chain of
 a lamp1 which is  lighted only at the  
annual festival of ,akhbar's death1     
called in  ,persian1 ,barsi4  ,while two
 ,khadims 7servants of the mausoleum7 in
  white turbans and white dhotis held   
hurricane lanterns for me and the  young
 ,mohammedan1 a little daylight filtered
 through the long stone  entrance       
passage1 and above1 from one of four    
openings in the wall1 a  clearer shaft  
crossed the great void1 illuminating    

part of the chain  and falling upon the 
opposite wall in a pale shade of blue4  
,there is  no decoration in this        
vault--only the plinth of the tomb has  
one  chiselled pattern along its #aid   
edge4  ,the body--,akhbar's             
body--wrapped in a white cloth1 on which
 lavender1 camphor and other  scents had
 been scattered before it left the      
palace1 was laid upon  stones some three
 or four yards below the floor level and
 then1 after  other stones had been     
placed at the sides1 one long slab was  
laid  across the top and earth put over 
it4  ,the older of the two ,khadims     
said that the rings would have been     
taken off the king's fingers4  ,he  had 
been thirty-eight years at ,sikandra but
 remembered no strange  thing ever      
happening in the mausoleum4  ,there he  
has held the lantern  for people of all 
degrees and many countries--people of   
the ,west as  well as of the ,east2     
,edward the ,seventh 7when ,prince of   
,wales71 the  ,tsar of ,russia 7when    

,tsarevitch71 the ,amir of ,afghanistan1
 as well as  our present king4    ,as ,i
 walked slowly round and was looking at 
the chain--part of which  now told as a 
sharp black silhouette against the light
 patch of wall  beyond--and the broken  
end hanging to its ring1 the young      
,mohammedan  chanted for me some        
passages from the ,koran1 his musical   
voice  echoing sweetly in the great     
dome4    ,facing the main gateway to    
right and left of the central vault are 
the tombs of ,arambano1 a daughter of   
,akhbar1 and of ,mehrin ,nisa1 the      
learned daughter of his great grandson  
,aurangzebe1 who used to write  ,persian
 poems4  ,above the domed central vault 
with its prisoned air  and #aie         
darkness1 reached by a long stairway1 is
 a square court  open to the sun and    
surrounded by cloisters of which the    
outer walls  are marble screens carved  
in intricate geometric patterns1 through
  which the light comes softly4         
,along these cloisters1 on the side     

facing the centre of the court  7where a
 block of white marble bears the        
ninety-nine names of ,god71  each       
spandril has a ,persian verse above it1 
and contains a rosette in  which is cut 
part of a poem4  ,these are so          
interesting that in all  twenty-five    
people1 lost in the pleasure of reading 
from one spandrel  to another1 as they  
moved round1 have fallen into one of the
  unprotected wells of the stairways and
 been killed6    ,i walked round with   
the young ,mohammedan--keeping one eye  
open for  the stair-wells--while he read
 me the verses1 of which here are       
several3--    ,think not that the sky   
will be so kind as ,akhbar was4    ,his 
life was free from every kind of fault4 
,all kings which were1 or which are1 or 
which will be upon the earth  are not so
 great as ,akhbar was4    ,he gave      
justice to all his people4    ,the sky  
is not so elegant or so lofty as the    
throne of ,akhbar4    ,no one is saved  
from the hands of ,death4          #aif 

,,chapter ,,xiii    ,,delhi    ,meerut  
itself1 where the ,mutiny first broke   
out1 is but forty miles  from ,delhi1   
and when the rebel troops reached the   
old capital1 ,delhi  became the centre  
of revolt4  ,it fell entirely into the  
hands of the  mutineers1 and when the   
combined forces defeated the enemy at a 
village six miles north of ,delhi they  
gained possession of the  ,ridge 7where 
the red sandstone comes to surface in   
strata of about  forty-five degrees71   
only to find that they who would fain   
have  besieged the city were to become  
themselves besieged and suffer heavy    
losses before ,general ,nicholson could 
reach them with reinforcements  from the
 ,punjab4    ,the storming and recapture
 of ,delhi is one of the chief examples 
of  stubborn determination in the teeth 
of heavy odds1 and one of the  principal
 chapters in the history of ,british    
arms4    ,the various sites connected   
with those events are familiar from     
frequent description to many who have   

never been east of ,lowestoft  ,ness1   
and from innumerable photographs the    
#aig ,kashmir ,gate must be  nearly as  
well known in ,london as ,buckingham    
,palace4    ,near it1 and just south of 
the cemetery where he is buried1 there  
is  a capital bronze statue of ,general 
,nicholson 7by ,mr ,brock71 in a  little
 park named after him4    ,the building 
that became the ,residency after the    
,mutiny and was then  occupied by ,sir  
,david ,ochterlony1 has been more       
recently converted to  the uses of a    
,government ,high ,school for boys4  ,it
 was originally  built by ,shah ,jehan  
as a library for his son ,dara ,shikoh  
in #afcg1 and  its spacious rooms suit  
rather well the purpose of a school4    
,the  headmaster1 who happens to be a   
,dutchman1 took me through the various  
class-rooms and introduced me to a      
number of1 doubtless1 learned           
pundits--the special masters for        
,persian1 ,sanskrit1 ,arabic1 ,urdu1    
,english and ,science subjects4  ,in a  

class called the #eth ,high1 at  the    
time of my visit1 native youth was being
 lectured upon ,nelson's  blind eye4    
,delhi was the capital of the ,moghul   
,empire before ,akhbar removed it  to   
,agra1 and it became again the seat of  
,government under ,shah ,jehan2  so that
 some of the chief examples of          
,saracenic work in ,india are to  be    
found in its buildings4  ,under ,shah   
,jehan was built ,delhi's ,great        
,mosque and the ,palace within the      
,fort4  ,the former differs from  others
 of its style in its external grandeur1 
one of the more usual  #aih             
characteristics of mosque building being
 the elaboration of the  interior rather
 than the exterior4    ,great flights of
 steps lead up to the three splendid    
gateways of the  large open quadrangle1 
surrounded on three sides by pillared   
cloisters4  ,the three divisions of the 
mosque proper are roofed by  magnificent
 marble domes with black vertical lines 
inlaid upon them1  and on each side of  

the centre archway long graceful stems  
rise up  and up to end above in tops    
shaped like a lotus1 beautiful from     
below1 but no less so at close quarters1
 seen from half-way up one of  the two  
tall minarets which flank the building  
at the north and  south4  ,i was well   
repaid for climbing to the top of one of
 these by  the splendid views from it4  
,to the west ,i could see the ,fort and 
the  river beyond1 with a long bridge1  
and to the north-east the city and  the 
numerous small domes of the so-called   
,black ,mosque1 with the  mighty ,tower 
of ,victory1 the red ,kutab ,minar1 in  
the far distance  rising from the ruins 
of old ,delhi4    ,down below ,i was    
shown the treasures of the mosque1 which
 included a  hair of the prophet 7a red 
hair7 and some words in his handwriting4
  ,on the other side of the marble basin
 in the centre of the quadrangle  there 
is a sandstone pulpit1 paler in colour  
than the red of the  steps and walls1   
and beyond this1 at the back of the     

interior of the  mosque1 the wall of    
marble1 through slight #aii inequalities
 of  surface1 looks like                
mother-of-pearl4    ,architecturally    
these glories of ,delhi are shared by   
the ,fort and the  series of palace     
buildings within its precincts4  ,the   
great walls of  red sandstone1 the      
magnificent entrance of the ,lahore     
,gate and the  long vaulted arcade      
through which one approaches the        
interior of the  great enclosure are1   
however1 to my thinking1 nobler and more
  impressive than the marble halls of   
the palace within4    ,this ,lahore     
,gate is in the middle of the west side 
of the ,fort4  ,on  the east flows the  
,jumna1 and at the southern end is      
another gateway  called the ,delhi      
,gate1 with a colossal dark grey stone  
elephant--delight of ,english children  
at ,delhi--on either side of the        
entrance4    ,among the palace buildings
 the noblest is the ,diwan-i-am or ,hall
 of  ,public ,audience1 containing at   

the back a raised recess where was      
formerly the famous ,peacock ,throne of 
solid gold inlaid with rubies1  emeralds
 and diamonds1 backed by two peacocks   
with jewelled and  expanded tails4  ,the
 glory is long ago departed1 but the    
walls of the  alcove on the upper level 
are still partly covered with inlaid    
panels  of small subjects worked in     
stones of various colours4  ,among      
these1  high above the doorway in the   
upper wall at the back1 is one called   
the ,orpheus ,panel4  ,guide-books state
 that it #bjj represents ,austin  of    
,bordeaux1 one of the foreign architects
 who helped to adorn the  ,moghul       
,court--but the ,orpheus is represented 
as quite a youth1  whereas ,austin of   
,bordeaux would have been old at the    
time4    ,i was climbing up a bamboo    
scaffolding to examine this spirited and
  delightful panel1 in which the poet   
son of ,calliope1 plays to a group  of  
listening animals1 when ,i met a little 
fair ,italian to whom1  through ,lord   

,curzon's efforts1 the restoration of   
the damaged panels  and the addition of 
new ones to fill blank and broken places
 had been  happily entrusted4    ,for   
many months the ,florentine craftsman   
had lived here cutting and  polishing1  
and although he sometimes longed for the
 ,arno as he looked  out upon the ,jumna
 ,river1 he was of such a gay and merry 
disposition  and took so much delight in
 his own incomparable skill1 that it was
 a  joy to meet him4  ,of the           
twenty-four original panels he felt very
  sure which were of native and which of
 ,italian workmanship1 for there  were  
at ,delhi1 he told me1 four unknown     
,italians doing this work when  the     
decoration was first undertaken4  ,his  
art is not of a creative  kind and he   
has little invention1 but carries to an 
extreme of skill  the imitation in      
polished inlay of bird or beast or      
flower4  ,at its  worst his work was    
seen in a piece he showed me as a tour  
de force  of manipulation1 imitating a  

popular painting of a #bja merry monk1  
but in his panels for the ,diwan-i-am he
 kept quite happily to the  spirit of   
the earlier designs4    ,i was curious  
to learn from what far places the stones
 were gathered  which he cut and rubbed1
 and ,i noted as an instance those      
composing  one small panel of a bird    
which he had just completed4  ,these    
included ,green ,esmeraldite from       
,australia2 ,corniola from the ,jumna2  
,abri and ,jal from ,jeypore2 ,black    
from ,lige2 ,chalcedony from  ,volterra2
 ,colombino from ,val ,mugnone2 ,lapis  
,lazuli from ,colerado2  ,malachite from
 ,st ,petersburg2 other ,colombino from 
,fiesole2 other  ,lapis ,lazuli from    
,persia2 other ,malachite from ,siberia1
 and a grey  stone from ,cairo4    ,in  
,florence near the ,ponte ,vecchio the  
,italian craftsman's sister  keeps a    
shop going during his absence for the   
sale of inlay work1 and  at the same    
time exercises her own more meticulous  
talent in making  microscopically fine  

mosaics and miniatures from scales of   
butterflies4  ,such a man as her brother
 is without either the sorrows  or the  
dreams of a great artist1 but he seemed 
as happy in his craft  as the ,gentle   
,pieman of the ,bab ,ballads1 and ,i    
have little doubt that  something he    
exclaimed--which was too much for my    
limited knowledge  of ,italian--might   
well have been translated by the        
pieman's words3--    #bjb      ,i'm so  
happy--no profession could be dearer--  
,if ,i'm not humming ',tra6 la6 la6'    
,i'm singing ',tirer1 lirer6'      ,but 
what shall ,i say of the ,diwan-i-,khas 
which forestalls the highest  reach of  
compliment by calling itself ,heaven in 
a distich8  ,its  marble walls and      
jewel-petalled flowers1 its carved      
graceful arches1  and all its spacious  
grandeur1 appeared woefully deserted1   
and from  this hall of heaven all the   
dear delicate little angels have long   
since fled1 so that ,i could not find   
the tiniest feather4  ,in the  ,rang    

,mahal near by ,i had a more tender     
impression4  ,this is where the  chief  
,sultana lived1 and the painted         
decoration on the marble walls  is of   
exquisite colour4  ,pale blues mingle   
with paler tints of green1  and soft    
red-edged flowers seemed still to brim  
their cups with  memories4  ,here leaned
 a woman's shoulder3 here pressed a     
cheek wet  with very human tears1 and on
 that marble stamped a little foot1     
jealous and angry1 while light laughter 
rang1 or baskets of ripe figs  from the 
bazaar were searched in breathless hush 
for hidden messages  of love4    ,to see
 old ,delhi at closer quarters than such
 a distant view as that  from the       
minaret of the ,jama ,masjid1 ,i drove  
east from the city by  many great       
dome-topped tombs1 mostly in a          
half-ruined condition as in  an ,indian 
,campagna1 and visited on the way the   
,mausoleum of ,humayun1  which divides  
architectural with historic #bjc        
interest4  ,the design  of the building 

is similar to that from which the ,taj  
was later  evolved4  ,in its general    
proportions the total height appears too
  little for the great and high-terraced
 platform on which the triple  octagon  
of the great building stands4           
,underneath this platform ,i  walked    
through a low dark passage to the vault 
where the ,emperor  ,humayun was        
actually buried4  ,with the help of     
matches ,i could  distinguish a plaster 
plinth one and a half feet high1 and    
upon this  a plaster tomb4  ,i noticed  
one great hole in the plaster base and  
another in the ground beside it1 and    
learned that these were made1  not by   
any latterday members of that most      
repulsive of all ,hindoo  sects the     
,aghoris1 but by porcupines which ,i was
 assured might be  seen in numbers on   
any moonlight night1 and one of whose   
quills ,i  picked up from the floor4    
,humayun's tomb is now identified in the
 pages of our history with a  deed of no
 doubtful daring which was too swiftly  

followed by one no  less doubtfully     
unwarrantable4  ,it was here that       
,hodson of ,hodson's  ,horse1 with a few
 troopers and superb audacity1 summoned 
an armed  crowd to lay down their       
weapons1 while the ,king of ,delhi      
surrendered  himself4    ,i should not  
leave the neighbourhood of ,humayun's   
tomb without  referring to the          
delightful use of blue and green-glazed 
tiles in the  roofs of some adjacent    
buildings4    #bjd    ,the next         
stopping-place that day was at the      
shrine of  ,nizam-ud-din-,aulia1 a holy 
man who died early in the fourteenth    
century4  ,high diving from a roof-top  
into an unclean water tank  failed to   
interest me greatly1 but the tomb of    
,amir ,khusran1 a poet1  within the same
 enclosure as that of the saint1        
delighted me as a  perfect monument of  
dignified respect4  ,quiet and peaceful 
it looked  in the cool shadow4  ,the    
walls were marble screens fretted with  
close  patterns1 and the entrance door  

was of brass in four upright strips1  so
 that the two halves folded back upon   
themselves4  ,outside1  heavy-quilted   
purdahs hung over the marble to keep out
 dust1 and the  whole was surrounded by 
an outer wall of pierced sandstone1     
which had  been whitewashed4  ,at one   
end of the grave a copy of the ,koran   
lay  open upon a wooden reading-desk1   
and ostrich eggs1 covered with  written 
texts1 hung from the ceiling4    ,close 
to this poet's tomb is that of a        
daughter of ,shah ,jehan1 named         
,jehanara1 in a tiny enclosure1 with    
bare earth over the place of  sepulture 
and one upright marble slab with        
,persian verses inlaid in  black marble4
    ,driving on past domes and ruined   
walls for some miles farther ,i came  at
 last to the great ,tower of ,victory1  
the famed ,kutab ,minar1 and to  the    
ruins of a magnificent mosque with a    
series of superb arches1 and  a         
courtyard of cloisters divided by ,jain 
pillars4    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,kutab

 ,,minar ,,and ,,the ,,iron ,,pillar1   
,,fatehpur ,,sikri4    #bje    ,in      
height the red sandstone monument1      
called the ,kutab ,minar1 is less  than 
a fourth of the ,eiffel ,tower in       
,paris1 less than half the  ,washington 
,column1 or ,cologne ,cathedral1 and not
 much over half of  the ,great ,pyramid4
  ,it was built in the early ,pathan    
period1 before  #acbj1 and a few decades
 earlier than ,giotto's ,campanile in   
,florence4  ,the latter never received  
the addition of its intended spire1 but 
as  it stands is already fifty feet     
higher than the ,kutab4  ,this actual   
height is largely discounted in         
appearance by the close proximity of    
,brunelleschi's tremendous dome1 and the
 ,campanile becomes as was  intended but
 an apanage of the ,cathedral4  ,near   
the ,kutab ,minar no  rival enters the  
vast arena of the upper air1 and neither
 the noble  arches of the adjacent      
mosque1 gigantic though they are1 nor   
its  cloisters with their               

richly-ornamented pillars taken from the
 ,jain  buildings the ,mohammedans      
replaced1 do more than dignify the      
splendid  monument of ,victory4  ,it    
gives an impression of soaring strength 
unrivalled in any building ,i have seen1
 an impression practically  impossible  
to be received from pictures or         
photographs or any  representations upon
 a diminished scale4    ,by successive  
storeys banded with balconies and the   
decorative  characters of ,arabic       
inscriptions1 the red sandstone building
 rises  up and up1 ceasing at last in   
two tiers of white marble1 which seem   
to the beholder at its base #bjf rather 
entering ,heaven than ending  anything4 
,from the roof of the mosque the lowest 
band of inscription  can be seen with   
sufficient clearness to make out its    
intricate  beauty and perfection of     
decorative design4    ,almost blue in   
colour against the warm sun-lit red     
sandstone of this  mighty tower1 the    
,iron ,pillar1 fifteen centuries old1   

stands within  the precincts of the     
ruined mosque1 no more than four times a
 man's  height1 smooth and undecorated1 
save for a small inscription on one     
side and a simple capital with a fluted 
bulb surmounted by a little  flat square
 slab4  ,a man standing on this1        
unclothed save for a  loin-cloth1 looked
 like a bronze statue4  ,sometime1 it is
 said1 an  image of ,vishnu stood there4
    ,next day on the other side of      
,delhi1 between the ,flagstaff ,tower   
and  the ,mutiny ,monument1 on the rough
 ground of the ,ridge1 ,i was looking   
at another curious pillar1 one of the   
stone ,lats of ,asoka1 which is  said to
 date from some centuries before        
,christ4  ,an inscription at  the base  
of the column states3--      ,this      
pillar was originally erected at ,meerut
 in the third century1  ,b4,c41 by ,king
 ,asoka4  ,it was removed thence and set
 up in the ,koshuk  ,shikar ,palace near
 this by the ,emperor ,firuzshah1 ,a4,d4
 #acef1 thrown  down and broken into    

five pieces by the explosion of a powder
  magazine1 ,a4,d4 #agac-agai4  ,it was 
restored and set up in this place  by   
the ,british ,government1 ,a4,d4 #ahfg4 
#bjg    ,there was a tearing horrible   
wind and clouds of dust blowing along   
the ,ridge4  ,the ,mutiny memorial is   
not beautiful4    ,tucked away among    
narrow streets of the old city1 where   
blood-red  hand-prints marked the white 
walls 7,i think in some connection with 
the imminent ,holi festival of the      
,hindoos71 ,i found the most  strange as
 well as one of the oldest of ,delhi's  
,mohammedan buildings1  the ,black      
,mosque1 the numerous small domes of    
which ,i had seen from  the minaret of  
the ,jama ,masjid4  ,it belongs to that 
sloping style of  architecture which    
seems kindred to ,egyptian work1 and    
gives an  appearance of massive         
strength4  ,a wide flight of            
twenty-eight steep  stone steps leads up
 between two tall cones of masonry1     
which flank  the entrance and rise above

 its battlements4    ,i had the great   
pleasure at ,delhi of being welcomed by 
an old friend  in the ,i4,c4,s41 to whom
 ,i owe many an interesting screed from 
,india  since our schooldays--letters   
written in the scant leisure possible   
to an ,indian judge4  ,i found ,alfred  
,martineau but little  changed--full of 
the same contented humour he has always 
possessed4  ,such cordial hospitality as
 he and his charming and gifted wife    
extended to me during my visit came with
 that welcome contrast to  accommodation
 at hotels and dak bungalows that only  
travellers can  understand1 #bjh and    
from the hour when ,i found him waiting 
at the  railway station on the arrival  
of my belated train to that of my       
departure from the ,moghul capital1     
these good friends seemed to think  no  
effort too great to further my pleasure 
and convenience4    ,when ,i look now at
 the hollyhocks in my own garden ,i     
remember always  those other ,english   
hollyhocks grown with such eager care   

about a  home in ,delhi4          #bji  
,,chapter ,,xiv    ,,dehra ,,dun ,,and  
,,landour    ,a grey squirrel dropped   
from the roof on to the table1 scrambled
 over  the papers beside the            
magistrate's hand1 and scampered away   
into the  adjoining room4    ,i was     
sitting in the ,deputy-,magistrate's    
,court at ,dehra ,dun1 waiting  beside  
the ,d4-,m41 while he discussed a matter
 of land compensation  with a stout     
gentleman in gold-rimmed spectacles1 and
 ,i learned that  ,government pays      
compensation of fifteen per cent4 plus  
the  market-value1 of land taken for    
engineering works4  ,our chairs were    
upon a raised part of the floor1 divided
 from the other two-thirds of  the room 
by a wooden railing1 behind which a     
number of people waited  audience1 and  
among them ,i noticed the round face of 
a little ,goorkha  ,subadar1 with the   
silver badge of crossed knives on his   
forage cap4  ,dehra ,dun is the         
headquarters of the ,goorkhas1 and1     

thanks to the  kindness of ,colonel     
,crommelin1 ,i was able to see the smart
 bayonet  practice and physical drill of
 the ,second ,battalion of the #ith     
,goorkha ,rifles4    #baj    ,among the 
military forces1 however1 a mountain    
battery interested me  most4  ,dehra    
,dun is not1 of course1 a hill station1 
but there is  plenty of hilly ground    
close to it1 and this ,no4 #cb ,battery 
was put  through its paces for my       
benefit on a steep piece of rocky       
ground1  the mules kicking and bucking  
like creatures possessed4    ,the guns1 
painted a pale coffee colour1 are worked
 by ,punjabis1 and  one of these posed  
for me to paint him in the blazing sun  
with  extraordinary patience4  ,i was   
told that these troops very rarely      
suffer from sunstroke1 but that when    
some of them went to ,china a  regular  
epidemic of heat apoplexy was           
experienced1 due probably in  large part
 to the power of suggestion aroused by  
two or three cases  of such an unusual  

trouble4    ,in his khaki turban the    
,punjabi wears a roll or crest of       
scarlet  cloth which glows far more     
brightly in the sun than can be         
represented on canvas4  ,beside this    
burning red the most brilliant  tint ,i 
could command was as far from the true  
pitch as the dry  watercourse in the    
valley was different from its flooded   
aspect after  rain4    ,it is not only  
the ,punjabi turban that cries gaiety   
aloud at ,dehra  ,dun4  ,i saw the dak  
tree here which bears large scarlet     
blossoms1 and  when in flower finely    
justifies its popular name of ,flame of 
the  ,forest4  ,there are many #baa     
kinds of trees to make the ,dun         
beautiful1 and when ,i started early one
 ,february morning for  ,mussoorie ,i   
drove in a tumtum at first through tall 
bamboos1  eucalyptus1 fir trees1        
mangoes1 sal1 peepul1 plum1 cherry and a
 host  of others4  ,before me the great 
foothills of the ,himalayas blushed     
warm and rosy1 and along the crest of   

the higher ridges above1 the  white     
houses of ,mussoorie showed in streaks  
and lines and patches as  if a little   
snow had remained unmelted after a      
recent fall4  ,i passed  the tents of   
the ,x-,ray ,institute of ,india and    
drove steadily on to  ,rajpur1 gradually
 acquiring a considerable escort of boys
 from that  village mounted on ponies1  
which they urged me to engage for the   
ascent to ,mussoorie4    ,rajpur        
consists of one long straggling street  
of small shops1 and  here ,i left the   
tumtum and hired two coolies1 to carry  
my baggage1  and a horse for myself4    
,on this road ,i passed again and again 
living  embodiments of toil--men        
carrying baulks of timber on their      
backs4  ,they looked almost dramatically
 terrible1 not like ,leighton's         
exultant ,samson bearing the doors of   
the city gate in triumph to the         
hilltop1 but weary in mute submission to
 the burden of mortality4    ,in this   
matter of bearing burdens of physical   

material weight the  part is played with
 more universal similarity even than    
that of going  #bab without food4  ,jean
 ,franois ,millet was reproached with   
painting his men carrying a calf on a   
litter as if they were carrying  the    
,host1 but the truth is--as he explained
 in one of his  letters--the expression 
of men carrying depends upon the weight1
 and  whether they had the ,ark of the  
,covenant or a calf1 a lump of gold or  
a stone1 the same expression would be   
the result2 the weight of  timber was   
just near enough to breaking strain for 
these men's bodily  tension to produce  
an air of slow solemn travail impressive
 as a  religious penance and appealing  
as an heroic endurance4      ,landour is
 higher than ,mussoorie1 and as ,i      
wanted to see the  mountains at early   
morning1 it seemed better1 if possible1 
to sleep  at ,landour4  ,an ,american   
missionary on a pony was buying dried   
peas  at a shop in the bazaar1 and after
 explaining to me that he was a         

vegetarian1 as if that were an original 
idea and a condition of  personal merit 
deserving of awe1 he advised me to try  
for shelter at  a certain ,mrs ,sharp's 
who had1 as he rightly supposed1 a suite
 of  rooms to let4    ,this good woman1 
a nurse by profession1 had living with  
her three  grandchildren1 a girl of     
twelve and two boys rather younger1     
neither  of whose parents 7of pure      
,english blood7 ,india born1 had ever   
been  out of the country4  ,these #bac  
children were the first examples ,i  had
 met of a second generation of ,english 
born in ,india1 and a very  healthy and 
merry trio they were4  ,the father had  
been an  engine-driver1 and the mother1 
since his death1 had had to get work  at
 a distant town4  ,these bonny1         
apple-faced youngsters certainly  showed
 the possibility of healthy rearing of  
,english children in  ,india1 but they  
had spent their little lives as yet     
entirely in the  healthy mountain air of
 ,landour1 and far from enervating      

influences4    ,mrs ,sharp was a genial 
old lady of optimistic temperament1     
whose  chief anxiety seemed to be to    
keep on good terms with her native cook 
and to make other people happy4  ,a     
young railway guard was staying  with   
her for a short holiday1 and in the     
evening ,i was asked to look  in on a   
homely party in their living-room1 where
 a young ,english girl  from a          
,mussoorie milliner's store played a    
piano and sang songs  called--,we're all
 the world to each other1 ,daddy4--,for 
,i've got  you and you've got me1 and   
,i'll love you1 dear1 for ever4  ,the   
last-named brought easy tears to the    
eyes of ,mrs ,sharp1 who declared  with 
heaving unction that's my favourite     
song4  ,the more treacly  the sentiment 
the more they all enjoyed the words1 and
 the whole  scene with the badinage and 
byplay of the ,english lower class was a
  curious contrast to the ,indian life  
,i had been seeing4    #bad    ,happy   
and innocent people they were1 with all 

their affectations on  the surface1     
through which sterling qualities peeped 
unobtrusively--people 7whose sthetic    
sense was far less than that of  a      
bower-bird7 lacking all delicacy of     
either eye or ear1 lacking any  faintest
 spiritual conception beyond a heaven of
 solid twangable  golden harps and paper
 decorations called ,jacob's ,ladders1  
open and  honest as the day--feeding all
 the stray cats of ,landour as well as  
the five they delight to own--in a word 
so essentially ,british that  in a      
distant land one of the same nation is  
moved first to smile at  meeting them   
and then to run his fleetest6    ,it was
 an easy stroll in the morning to the   
top of ,landour where my  feet crunched 
dry hard snow1 and it was cold--very    
cold work to sit  painting4  ,i spent   
most of the day up there4  ,looking back
 over the  plains all was haze in the   
afternoon and mist in the morning1 and  
in  the opposite direction clouds       
covered the snow-peaks of the           

,himalayas4  ,the best view ,i had of   
the plains1 however1 was on the  next   
day from ,mussoorie1 lower              
down--,mussoorie1 that growing          
collection of bungalows and hotels soon 
to be filled for the season  by the     
annual rush from below for health and   
cooler air4    ,just beneath me ,i could
 see ,st ,fidelis1 the ,soldiers'       
,orphanage1 the  ,st ,george's ,college1
 boarding-school for ,european boys1 and
 beyond  #bae in the distance the dry   
zigzag bed of a tributary of the        
,ganges4  ,dehra ,dun sat in the valley1
 and far away to the right1 very  faint 
indeed1 rose the ,siwaliks1 the hills   
where once roamed  monstrous elephants4 
,i walked down to ,rajpur and being     
directed upon a wrong path was  involved
 in a tramp of fourteen miles instead of
 the six taken by the  old road from    
,mussoorie4  ,there was little to vary  
the monotony of  the road--a flock of   
white sheep--an ,english lady and her   
children  being carried up in dandies--a

 tree fallen across the path4  ,all     
through the hottest hours of the day ,i 
kept steadily on1 and  ,tambusami1 if he
 was not actually done up1 pretended to 
be so1 and  when ,i insisted on watching
 a native tightrope dancer at ,rajpur   
instead of getting into our tumtum1 he  
was as near active revolt as  his       
peaceable nature would permit4          
#baf    ,,chapter ,,xv    ,,an ,,evening
 ,,of ,,gold    ,about the time when    
many obscure fishing-folk in the        
,british ,isles  were reaping rich      
harvest from ,spanish galleons          
dismantled by storm  and tempest1 and   
the chief literary glory of ,england was
 paying  scores at the ,mermaid ,tavern 
for men whose humour his genius turned  
to undying springs as it splashed on him
 from their cups1 a woman in  ,india who
 carried her husband in a basket1 he    
being maimed and  without hands or feet1
 placed him within the shadow of a tree 
while  she sought alms from a           
neighbouring village4  ,now the man was 

no  sluggard and had his eyes about him1
 and a lame crow1 by reason of  his own 
calamity1 drew his attention4  ,he      
watched the bird fly to an  adjacent    
pool of water4  ,to his amazement the   
crow no sooner dipped  its legs than    
they became cured1 so that it could     
walk1 and its  plumage turned at the    
same time to a milky whiteness4         
,rolling out of  his basket the poor    
cripple himself reached the pool1 and on
 his  wife's return showed her a        
restored and perfect husband1 with      
normal  extremities1 sitting upon the   
basket4  ,at first it is said the #bag  
woman declined to believe his identity1 
but ,mr ,buta ,singh1 the  ,amritsar    
bookseller1 who tells the story in his  
,history of the  ,golden ,temple1       
asserts that she was subsequently       
satisfied when the  ,guru attested the  
power of the ,amrit 7which is the water 
of  immortality74    ,i think there were
 possibilities of pathetic developments1
 and that  although the addition of one 

hand or foot at a time might have been  
tolerable1 it would have been altogether
 too much for any wife1 while  she had  
turned her back for the morning's       
shopping1 to find the  helpless subject 
of her chanty able to walk over her1 and
 her  domination destroyed for ever4    
,be that as it may the story serves  for
 the origin of the sacred tank of       
,amritsar and its far-famed  ,golden    
,temple4  ,the ,guru digging upon the   
site of the miracle is said  to have    
come deep in the delved earth upon a    
mysterious chamber1  housing an old     
ascetic seated in devotional posture1   
with grey hair  grown long4  ,there are 
still older legends of the holiness of  
the  spot1 for it is told that ,buddha1 
passing through the country1  stopped in
 the jungle by this same pool of water  
and said--,this spot  is best for the   
,bhikshus to obtain salvation and far   
superior in that  respect to other      
places in the ,east1 but it must have   
time for its  celebrity4    ,and when   

the time came the temple arose and all  
,amritsar4  ,the great  shrine itself   
stands #bah in the middle of a large    
square tank1 and  its precincts include 
the whole of the wide pavements that    
surround  the water4  ,on these         
pavements one must go barefoot or       
wearing velvet  footgear1 supplied at a 
small boothlike office at the entrance  
to the  square enclosure4  ,this is     
attached to a police station1 which     
boasts  a speciality in the way of      
,indian clubs4  ,a row of these1        
gigantic in  size and of considerable   
weight1 stands outside the door1 and a  
,punjabi is ready 7for a consideration7 
to display his splendid  muscles like   
the strong man generally to be seen     
along the quays of  ,paris near the     
,institut de ,france4    ,a marble      
causeway bridges the water to the ,hari 
,mandar 7,god's  ,temple71 starting from
 a large gateway on the margin of the   
tank4  ,by  the side of this1 when ,i   
first saw it1 a ,hindoo was sticking wet

  rose-leaves and marigold petals on to 
a wall-painting of a four-armed  and    
four-headed ,brahma4  ,entering the     
gateway ,i passed through two  doors    
plated outside with silver and within   
inlaid with ivory upon  the polished    
wood4  ,a man stood at this portal      
holding a long heavy  silver wand and   
looking1 but for his turban1 rather like
 a verger in  some ,english cathedral4  
,many people were walking to and fro    
upon the  causeway1 but ,i pushed ahead 
to the open doors of the temple where   
the ,granth ,sahib1 the sacred book of  
the ,sikhs1 lies covered with a  cloth  
of gold and canary-coloured silk1 #bai  
under a great  violet-lined canopy1 from
 the centre of which hangs a golden     
tassel4    ,immediately behind the      
,granth sat a high priest taking his    
four-hour  turn of duty4  ,a large      
bundle of peacock feathers lay to hand  
for  dusting2 but pigeons1 catholic as  
to the place of their droppings1  flew  
constantly in and out4    ,and this is  

the watch given by ,lord ,curzon1 said a
 self-appointed  guide in my ear1       
pointing to a large clock set           
incongruously in the  gilded copper wall
 over one of the four doorways4    ,a   
white drugget1 held down by carved      
marble corner-weights1 was  spread over 
the centre of the marble pavement4  ,on 
this1 in front of  the ,granth ,sahib1  
were three silver vessels for offerings 
of money1  and about them lay a heap of 
loose cowries and pice1 while some of   
the rosy-eyed pigeons pecked away at    
rice which had been scattered  over the 
drugget4  ,on making offering to the    
temple one is presented  with a sugar   
cup--a half sphere of coarse white      
crystal sugar 7the  size of half an     
orange71 of which ,i do not know the    
significance4  ,men called ,marrasis on 
one side were playing stringed          
instruments  and singing words of the   
,granth4    ,up to a height of about six
 feet the walls were of white marble    
lined  with black1 and at the corners   

inlaid with mother-of-pearl and         
cornelians2 there was a little flower   
pattern1 but above this height  the     
whole interior with its #bbj gallery was
 gilded1 and the gold  surface          
intricately patterned over in red and   
blue4    ,outside1 across the long      
causeway with its marble balustrade and 
rows  of lamps1 the entrance gate faces 
an open stone-flagged square  surrounded
 by buildings1 the chief of which is the
 gilt-domed ,akal  ,bunga where1 ,i was 
informed1 ,sikhs are made4  ,this       
institution is  partly subsidized by    
,government and partly depends for      
income upon  the offerings made by those
 who come to be initiated4  ,it is a    
kind  of house of investiture and       
ordination1 and contains various        
historic  treasures--irons of old time  
including weapons which belonged to     
some of the ,gurus4  ,every orthodox    
,sikh must wear five things1 and  these 
are--first1 the ,kunga1 a comb of wood  
or ivory2 second1 the  ,kara1 a circlet 

of iron2 third1 the ,kash or loincloth2 
fourthly1 ,kesh  7pronounced ,kaish7    
which means long hair1 and lastly1 a    
,kard or  knife1 a miniature specimen of
 which was given to me when ,i was      
garlanded in the ,akal ,bunga4          
,extremely beautiful was the constant   
procession along the causeway of  the   
temple votaries in bright dresses1 and  
the dazzling brilliance of  the golden  
building itself reflected in the surface
 of the water1 one  moment as still as a
 mirror and the next all quivering in a 
thousand  ripples4    ,i walked round   
the border of the tank past various     
other ,bungas1  built by princes and    
#bba rajahs for their use when visiting 
,amritsar1 till ,i reached the side     
farthest from the causeway2 here1       
entering a garden1 ,i passed an enclosed
 well and came to the tall  tower called
 ,baba ,attal and climbed its seven     
storeys4    ,when ,i had reached        
,amritsar the evening before the whole  
place was  under a pall4  ,dense clouds 

of white dust1 choking and almost       
intolerable1 swept along on the wings of
 a strong wind1 hiding the  side of the 
road like a thick fog and even driving  
along the  passage-ways and corridors of
 the hotel and entering at every door   
and window2 so it was with anxiety that 
,i looked out next morning and  with    
much relief beheld bright sunshine      
through a clearer air4  ,though1        
however1 the wind-storm had abated1 as  
,i stood on the top of  the tower1 a    
pall of dust still hung over the city   
spoiling what  should have been a wide  
and distant view4    ,the tower was     
built to commemorate a son of the sixth 
,guru who  recalled to life a playmate  
who had died4  ,the ,guru is said to    
have  been very wroth with his son for  
this act1 whereupon ,baba ,attal lay    
down and died saying he gave his own    
life to his friend4  ,the inside  walls 
of several of the storeys are covered   
with painted frescoes1  and on one floor
 true fresco painting upon wet plaster  

was actually  going on4  ,small boys    
were grinding the colours1 and an artist
 of  skill and invention was covering   
the surface #bbb with scenes of  crowded
 life illustrating sacred stories4  ,his
 navet made me think  a little of       
,benozzo ,gozzoli1 especially in his    
frescoes at ,san  ,gimignano1 but this  
work was on a very much smaller scale   
and1 for an  ,oriental artist1 strangely
 lacking in design4    ,i returned late 
in the afternoon to the flagged square  
facing the  entrance gate through which 
the marble causeway leads across the    
water4  ,i said the pavement was        
stone--it is all of marble4  ,about it  
sat many flower-sellers1 men in white1  
red and black robes with  baskets heaped
 with orange-coloured marigolds1 blue   
cornflowers1 pink  roses and scarlet    
poppies4  ,the silver doors stand open1 
and through  the white marble gateway a 
constant stream of people come and go   
along the causeway with its rows of     
golden lamps on short marble  standards 

leading to the ,golden ,shrine itself in
 the middle of the  water4    ,close by1
 from octagonal marble bases rise two   
tall masts of gold1 at  least sixty feet
 high and ending in spear-heads2 a      
yellow flag hangs  from each1 one pale  
canary colour and one dark like the     
marigold  flowers4  ,ropes keep these   
masts firm1 ropes with grand curves that
  sweep from the iron collars1 necking  
the masts high up1 to iron rings  fixed 
in the surrounding buildings4    ,under 
a little shrine in the wall sits a blind
 #bbc man4  ,the water  of the sacred   
tank may bring him inner vision1 but    
to-day has no such  virtue as to cure   
aggravated cataract4  ,a stranger stops 
a moment at  the shrine1 and when he is 
gone the blind man rises and gropes with
  his hands to feel if any pice had been
 put down on the small marble  ledge    
that projects before the painting of a  
,guru4    ,the sun has now just set and 
a light that seems to cast no shadows   
spreads and grows1 suffusing all the    

scene in soft effulgence4  ,most  of the
 women are dressed in long trousers1    
close fitting from the  ankles to the   
knees and then bagging out loosely4     
,they all have long  veils which they   
wear like a hood2 some are white but    
others scarlet1  crimson1 or orange1 and
 some of green silk tissue strewn with  
silver  stars and bordered with a ribbon
 of bright gold4  ,it is the hour when  
even humble clothes take on luxurious   
tints1 and richer stuffs show  all their
 utmost beauty in enhanced perfection4  
,one passes near  wearing trousers of   
pale blue with silver pattern1 a silk   
coat of  deep rose-pink1 and over all a 
veil of pale canary-coloured tissue     
painted with roses and bordered deeply  
with gold4  ,i thought ,was  ,solomon in
 all his glory444 but just then some    
children playing with  a ball butted    
against me in sudden collision1 and at  
the same time ,i  encountered a ,sikh   
gentleman who claimed direct descent    
from the  second ,guru1 #bbd spoke      

,english softly1 and in leisured talk   
deplored to me the vanity of women4     
,in front of the building called the    
,akal ,bunga1 which faces the  entrance 
to the causeway1 a great drugget        
stretched from the upper  branches of a 
tree heavy with leafage to staples set  
in the wall4  ,the leaves shook and the 
drugget swayed a little4  ,old priests  
with  long white beards sat at large    
window openings chanting--thousands of  
windows were in sight1 but never one    
pane of glass though sometimes  wooden  
doors or gaily-painted shutters4  ,a    
woman passed arrayed like  some princess
 of medival ,france1 wearing a golden   
head-dress shaped  like a sugarloaf and 
tapering slenderly to a point whence    
yards of  pale blue tissue floated in   
the air behind her4  ,in the same clear 
air a child's kite high above caught    
glints of light4  ,oh6 golden1  golden  
hour1 how often on a wistful thread my  
thought like that  child's kite will    
float away1 borne by easy airs of       

memory1 into that  distant scene and    
dream it all again6          #bbe       
,,chapter ,,xvi    ,,guard ,,your       
,,shoes    ,a wide1 sandy plain with    
trees and a little scrub4  ,here and    
there  camels were feeding on this poor 
herbage or1 where they could reach      
them1 upon the leaves of trees4    ,i   
was on my way from ,amritsar in the     
,bombay mail-train1 and after  passing  
,wazirabad and ,lalamusa the country    
changed from flat plain to  irregular   
humps and hillocks of mud1 as far as eye
 could see4  ,mud  everywhere--grey1    
desolate1 monotonous mud4  ,i passed mud
 towns4  ,here and there accumulated    
stores of great mud-coloured logs lay   
near  the line river-floated from the   
hill forests of ,kashmir4  ,then slabs  
and ridges of grey rock thrust out of   
the mud4  ,i could see away over  a     
plain of pathless distances to where a  
range of mountains slowly  grew4  ,then1
 as in a world of crumbling fossil      
cities1 all the grey  desiccated land   

was dust4  ,presently1 wild yellow      
grasses appeared  near the dry beds of  
former pools and quivered a little in   
the faint  evening breeze4    ,i reached
 ,peshawar a little before dawn and got 
out at the cantonment  and not at the   
city #bbf station4  ,a powerful electric
 light  illuminated the wide platform4  
,it gleamed on the white sides of the   
carriages and caught with light the     
creepers on long strips of wooden       
trellis between the upright posts of the
 long station veranda4  ,a man  huddling
 a blanket round him was leaning back   
against the bookstall1  and as he turned
 his head1 his beard shone fiery red4   
,in a drizzling  rain 7thrice blessed   
for previous shortage7 mail-bags were   
being  pitched from the train into a    
trolley-box4  ,in the stationmaster's   
room a group of great-coated men with   
rifles crowded round a fire4  ,the city 
station had been raided only one week   
before1 and although  the cantonment was
 safer than houses there was an         

invigorating air  of excitement4    ,i  
drove to the ,alexandra ,hotel and slept
 for a few hours in a tent in  the      
compound1 as the rooms were all occupied
 by the wives of officers  returning    
from a military expedition4    ,all that
 day ,peshawar seemed a veritable       
slough1 but the night was  clear and    
starry and the following morning        
sunshine reigned4  ,snow  glittered on  
the distant mountains1 white            
cherry-blossom gleamed in  orchard and  
garden4  ,english children1 some on     
ponies and some in  prams1 were out with
 their ayahs1 and the wide tree-bordered
 and  well-kept roads through the       
cantonment looked not unlike ,english   
parkland in spring4    #bbg    ,i       
entered the city by the ,kissa          
,kahani--the ,peshawar ,lombard         
,street--through the pointed arch of the
 ,edwardes ,gate1 the ,kabuli           
,dariwaza4  ,this led me to the         
,kotwali1 with its own wide gateway     
leading off at right angles into the    

silk market and the older parts  of the 
city4  ,immediately on the other side of
 this white-washed  police station is a 
wide and busy space4  ,the ,kotwali     
faces an  octagonal rest-place1 called  
the ,hastings ,memorial1 with seats on a
  platform some ten feet above the road 
at the other end1 and between  the two  
was a dazzling scene4    ,red and white 
and yellow1 hung out to dry in the sun  
after being  dyed1 were a myriad skeins 
of silk 7brought hither from ,bokhara   
and  from ,china71 on long lines up and 
down one side of the oval space4        
,opposite to these1 bordering as it were
 the central way1 were stalls  of       
bankers and money-changers--four of them
 side by side and each  with their large
 pile of rupees and other coins 7which  
is really a  mud-cone covered outside to
 look like a solid heap of silver74     
,then  at the back1 behind the silk on  
the one side and the money stalls on    
the other1 were the lines of bazaar     
shops4    ,i turned right from the      

,hastings ,memorial and presently       
reached a  building called the ,gor     
,khatri which stands on a piece of      
rising  ground1 and here ,i found ,mr   
,agha ,khan--not #bbh the celebrated    
head  of the ,aligar ,college1 but a    
junior ,tehsildar who had been deputed  
to  show me ,peshawar4    ,we went first
 up to the roof of the building from    
which there is a  fine view over both   
country and city4  ,mr ,agha ,khan was a
 short  ,mohammedan with a black beard1 
many clothes1 and a large stick4  ,he   
pointed out to me a small ,hindoo temple
 about forty yards away called  the     
,gorak ,nat1 the name of a ,hindoo saint
 who lived there many years  ago and    
gave the name ,gor ,khatri4  ,this      
building was originally a  guest-house  
built by ,nour ,jehan1 ,jehangir's      
queen1 and is sometimes  called still   
the ,sarai of ,nour ,jehan ,begum4  ,its
 greatest title to  fame1 however1 lies 
in its having been occupied for many    
years and  largely added to by the      

,italian ,general ,paolo ,crescenzo     
,martino  ,avitabile1 one of the most   
romantic characters in history and1     
under  ,runjeet ,singh1 ,governor of    
,peshawar1 which he was the first man to
  keep really in order4    ,walking on  
the flat roof with ,agha ,khan ,i looked
 over all the city4  ,in the distance to
 the right rose ,mount ,tartara from the
 line of  hills that surround ,peshawar 
on three sides like a horseshoe4        
,cutting through the flat-roofed town1  
and coming straight to our  feet1 was   
the long sharp shadow of the ,bara      
,bazaar4  ,to the left ,i  could see the
 red-brick ,mission ,hospital2 #bbi the 
large cupola of  the mosque of ,dilawar 
,khan1 a ,kardar in the time of         
,chaghatta2 and  still farther to the   
left1 a tower called the ,burj of ,said 
,khan2  while far away beyond ,peshawar1
 a dip in the nearer hills1 marked the  
position of ,jamroud guarding the       
entrance to the ,khyber ,pass4  ,behind 
us1 across the compound of space        

belonging to the ,gor ,khatri1 was      
another of its buildings used at times  
of ,mohammedan festival and as  quarters
 for any representative of the ,amir of 
,afghanistan coming to  ,peshawar4      
,the ,gor ,khatri itself is now used for
 municipal offices4  ,the  unglazed     
window spaces are fitted with dull red  
wooden shutters2  shoes were lying about
 everywhere in the large rooms1 and the 
brick  floors1 covered with rush        
matting1 were littered with books of    
paper  made in the ,peshawar gaol--that 
revered building which gives  compulsory
 shelter to so many saintly characters4 
,amid a heap of  documents officials    
squatted with reed pens1 each under his 
own  particular cupboard let into the   
thickness of the wall4    ,here upon    
dhurries spread over the rough matting  
sat the ,siahnavis  who keeps the       
general revenue accounts of the ,tahsil4
  ,opposite to  him1 also on the floor1 
sat the cashier1 the ,devidial 7salary  
#ae  rupees per month74  ,then at #bj   

rupees per month1 in the midst of a     
huge litter on a red and blue striped   
dhurry1 #bcj sat the ,wasil  ,baganavis1
 keeping the accounts from the separate 
villages of the  ,tahsil4  ,opposite to 
him again was the ,ghulam ,mahdi 7#ae   
rupees per  month74  ,he keeps accounts 
of income tax and wears silver studs4   
,every man who makes a profit of #ajjj  
rupees or more in a year1 said  ,agha   
,khan1 has to pay income tax4    ,in the
 next room1 ,mr ,faujuin1 a ,pathan1    
fair1 and speaking some  ,english1 keeps
 for #bj rupees per month the ,urdu     
records of cases1  criminal1 civil      
revenue1 and judicial revenue4  ,he is  
called the  judicial ,muharrir4  ,then  
,i came to the ,kanungo1 the highest of 
these minor officials who keeps 7for #dj
 rupees per month7 records  concerning  
crops and agricultural matters4  ,in    
this ,tahsil1 the  ,kanungo informed me1
 among the chief things grown are rice1 
maize1  cherry-maize1 bajra1 sugar-cane1
 cotton1 chilis1 cabbages1 carrots1     

turnips1 wheat1 barley1 grain and       
sesamum--also a little tobacco and1     
among fruits1 grapes1 pomegranates1     
melons and water-melons4  ,there  are   
eighty-two patwaris1 lesser officers for
 the villages in this  ,tahsil and four 
field ,kanungos who bring in the village
 reports4  ,finally1 ,i was introduced  
to the ,tehsildar under whom1 with his  
two  assistants1 all these other        
officials work4  ,the ,tehsildar owns to
  #bjj rupees per month and the         
assistant ,tehsildars to #fj rupees     
each4    #bca    ,inside the main       
gateway of the ,gor ,khatri1 in a room  
behind iron  railings1 were a couple of 
prisoners4  ,in cases of non-payment of 
taxes the ,tehsildar has power to keep a
 prisoner for ten days before  sending  
him for trial before the ,deputy        
,commissioner1 who may then  sentence   
him to a month's imprisonment4  ,in     
criminal cases the  ,tehsildar can      
himself sentence up to six months4      
,mr ,agha ,khan and ,i now drove        

half-way down the ,bara ,bazaar and then
  walked up a very muddy side street    
called the street of ,hakims  7native   
doctors74  ,we stopped to talk to one   
sitting on the raised  floor of his shop
 with its rows of strange bottles and   
drug jars4    ,mr ,agha ,khan and ,i    
were getting on famously4  ,he did not  
seem at all  wearied by my questions1   
and appeared to enjoy my happiness in   
being  in what is largely still an      
,afghan1 if not a ,persian1 city4  ,but 
the  doctor--this old turbaned1         
black-bearded magician with so much     
spare  drapery6  ,i would not ask his   
name lest ,i should be told it was not  
,abenazer and that he never had a       
nephew1 but ,i did ask what money he    
charged for his advice and drugs4  ,and 
the ,hakim answered1 ,a rupee  if ,i go 
to the patient's house1 but if the sick 
man come himself to  the shop only the  
medicine do ,i charge him for and the   
cost of that  would be three to five    
rupees4  ,i wondered if the latter price

 #bcb  was in expectation of any        
possible demands of my own and remarked1
  ,that would surely be a very great    
deal if the sick man were a poor  man4  
,if the illness is serious1 said ,mr    
,agha ,khan1 he will be  able to        
pay--otherwise he will not4    ,near by 
was a barber's shop1 combined with a    
bathing establishment4  ,we went inside 
and as ,i wished to see the baths the   
barber got a  small lamp and took me to 
the back of the shop where the baths    
were3  stone boxes like tiny cachots    
with wooden doors4  ,there was just room
  for a man to stand upright or squat   
upon the floor1 and in the middle  of   
the wall on one side was a small hole in
 which the bowls of water  could be     
placed from without4    ,a woman at the 
corner of the street was cooking or     
popping maize4  ,she put the maize into 
a bowl-shaped depression over the fire  
with  some black sand which was         
afterwards sifted back from the corn4   
,she  was paid by retaining a small     

portion of each lot brought for her to  
cook4    ,near by was the mosque of     
,dilawar ,khan1 of brick-work and       
decorated  plaster1 and a tank of turbid
 green water in the middle with red     
goldfish swimming about in it4  ,mr     
,agha ,khan said that ,dilawar ,khan    
was a ,khardar of the ,chaghattai kings4
  ,i noticed a long wooden  trough      
inside the mosque4  ,it is to put the   
#bcc shoes for  safety1 said ,agha      
,khan2 there are many thieves here who  
would take  them if left outside1 which 
indexed one side of the ,peshawar       
character and showed that the ,pathan's 
passion for thieving is  greater than   
his respect for religious observance4   
,we watched some goldsmiths for a while 
and then a baker making round  flat     
cakes called gird of wheaten flour and  
water and others of the  ,afghan pattern
 shaped like a flat spoon4  ,these are  
called ,nan1 and  have ghee 7butter7    
mixed with the flour so that they cost  
two annas  each whereas the girds cost  

but two pice4  ,the oven is like a      
spherical kiln in the floor with the    
fire inside on the bottom and a  small  
round opening at the top on the floor   
level where the baker  sits4  ,when he  
has kneaded the dough and marked his    
cake with various  thumb-marks for      
decoration1 he takes a rafida1 a kind of
 small  stiff pillow1 wets it and on it 
puts the cake4  ,then1 reaching down    
through the oven-hole with his hand1 he 
slaps it up on to the curved  wall and  
leaving the cake adhering brings out the
 pillow again4  ,then  when the bread is
 cooked1 with a hooked bamboo stick     
called a kundi  he brings out the baked 
loaf4  ,i am very wise and clever to do 
this  work1 said the baker1 this is not 
easy work4    ,next we called at a      
dispensary where a native doctor1       
trained at a  medical school at ,lahore1
 #bcd told me he sees an average of #bjj
  patients per day4  ,eyes and throats  
were the most frequent trouble4  ,we saw
 another mosque--one founded by ,gangeli

 ,khan1 another official  under the     
,chaghattai kings--with a fine old      
,imam4  ,the ,imam must be  ready at all
 times to go to the house of one dying  
and read the ,arsin  as well as to wash 
the body and perform various ceremonies 
after  death4    ,in another part of the
 city ,i went to see a house in the     
street  called ,undar ,shahr which had  
been recently raided by ,zakka ,khels4  
,two bankers1 ,nan ,dan and ,chela ,ram1
 had the upper floor where the  raid    
took place4  ,going through an open     
passage-way in this building  ,i came   
into an ,afghan merchant's go-down1     
where raisins brought from  ,kabul were 
being sampled by a group of men sitting 
upon the floor4  ,among these merchants1
 bargaining with them1 ,i saw1 somewhat 
to my  surprise1 an enterprising        
,teuton6    ,with regard to the raid and
 the probability of its having been     
engineered by friends living in the     
city1 ,i was told the following  native 
proverb3--      ,chori ,yaru naukri     

,baj ,wasila nahi4    ,of which the     
meaning is3--      ,theft1 love and     
service    ,all require a go-between4   
#bce    ,near the ,katchari ,gate is the
 ,government ,high ,school1 a large     
red-brick building next to a white      
,hindoo house4  ,i went in one day  and 
found the lowest class sitting in a     
circle on a large dhurry in  the garden1
 the boys' shoes taken off and carefully
 put aside4  ,the  classmaster1 ,abdul  
,rahim1 was teaching reading and        
writing4  ,these  children pay from one 
to three annas per month1 while boys in 
the  higher classes pay from three to   
eight rupees each4  ,some higher        
classes were doing gymnastics in the    
playground4  ,they were all             
,mohammedans except four and very few of
 them were married1 marriage  in the    
,north-,west ,provinces being usually   
later than elsewhere4  ,while ,mr       
,hargreaves1 the enthusiastic           
headmaster1 was telling me  this1 a     
small boy in black velvet came up to    

him4  ,the boy brought a  message from  
two others in one of the classes in the 
schoolhouse4  ,he  said he wanted leave 
for ,chan ,bad ,sha 7which means moon   
king7 and  ,phul ,bad ,sha 7which means 
flower king71 because the sister of     
,chan  ,bad ,sha's mother was sick4  ,i 
was then shown a boy whose father1 the  
,shahzada1 ,abdul ,karim1 was ,king of  
,kokand1 the district from which  ,babar
 came4  ,this lad1 who wore a           
long-sleeved ,chitral coat1 talks  five 
languages--,turki1 ,urdu1 ,persian1     
,chitrali1 ,pushtu and ,english4  ,my   
home is two months' journey from        
here--from the way #bcf of  ,kabul1     
,bokhara and ,samarkand1 he said4       
,another clever youngster was ,fazal    
,rahman whose father was a ,c4,s4,i4    
,fazal was enormously fat and appeared  
proportionately good-tempered4  ,many of
 the boys show an altogether precocious 
and surprising memory4  ,mr ,hargreaves 
told me he had caught them knowing by   
heart1 without  understanding it1 an    

epitome of ,english history they had got
 hold of  surreptitiously to save all   
bother of studying the proper history   
book4    ,several men and a boy who had 
been waiting some while for the         
headmaster's attention now received     
audience4  ,the youth was an  ,afridi1  
whose name had been crossed off the     
books for continuous  absence and who   
wanted to be re-admitted4  ,he was very 
fair1 with  beautiful brown eyes        
unusually large1 and declared he would  
never be  absent again if they would    
take him back4  ,he had been sick--very 
sick--but was well again4  ,his white   
turban was dirty4  ,his lungs had  been 
wrong since ,june1 but at last he had   
been put in a  freshly-flayed sheepskin 
for some hours and was quite cured6     
,outside the school ,i passed an old    
,hajji who had lately come from  ,mecca 
and was on his way home4  ,a number of  
his fraternity1 waiting  for some days  
in one of the ,sarais1 had #bcg just    
cost the  schoolmaster twelve annas for 

rope4  ,the cause was as follows3--,moti
  7which means ,pearl7 was the name of  
an exceptionally ugly buffalo  whose    
only labour was the daily drawing of a  
little water on a piece  of land        
belonging to the school4  ,moti was well
 fed1 and at night was  always taken by 
the man who had charge of him to sleep  
in the ,sarai1  now crowded by the      
ponies of the ,hajjis4  ,the buffalo    
resented the  unusually close quarters  
and in the silence of the night1 charged
  right and left into the ,hajjis and   
their ponies4  ,the pilgrims  thereupon 
attacked ,moti's guardian with sticks   
and belaboured him  soundly1 and thus it
 was that ,moti's keeper required #ab   
annas for new  rope wherewith to bind   
the outraged buffalo4    ,the           
schoolmaster introduced me to a great   
friend of his1 an ,american             
archologist1 ,dr ,brainerd ,spooner1    
whose charm is only equalled by  his    
energy and whom ,i found in one of the  
trenches at ,shahijikidheri  a little   

way from the city where he was          
superintending excavations in  search of
 the great ,buddhist stupa of ,kanishka 
or its foundations4    ,a thorough      
organization of archological survey in  
,india was one of  the fruits of ,lord  
,curzon's viceroyalty and ,dr ,spooner1 
who is a  specialist in ancient         
,oriental languages1 was superintendent 
of the  survey in the ,north-,west      
,frontier circle4    #bch    ,kanishka1 
according to ,vincent ,smith1 lived     
about ,a4,d4 #abe1 and is  supposed to  
have erected near ,peshawar the most    
lofty and important  stupa of all       
,india1 so celebrated indeed that it1 or
 rather its  adjacent monastery1 was    
occupied for a thousand years4  ,we are 
trying to prove1 said ,dr ,spooner as we
 tramped along deep trenches  and       
clambered over mud hillocks1 that this  
is really the spot where  ,kanishka did 
build4  ,i saw some masses of masonry   
and lines of wall  which had already    
been uncovered1 and later1 at ,peshawar 

museum1 some  pieces of sculpture and   
plaster reliefs showing very strong     
,greek  influence2 but since my visit1  
far greater success has rewarded ,dr    
,spooner's labours including the        
discovery of the ,buddha relics which   
have now been presented to the          
,buddhists at ,rangoon4          #bci   
,,chapter ,,xvii    ,a ,,gate ,,of      
,,empire    ,mr ,agha ,khan had         
undertaken to send me early on a certain
 morning a  suitable vehicle in which to
 drive to the ,khyber ,pass4  ,it proved
  to be a heavy old phaeton with a pair 
of big lumpy horses and a  driver named 
,junno ,kuchwan4  ,it was not possible  
to get any other  conveyance without    
some hours' delay1 and as the fitten as 
he  called it was already behind time   
7it was #g4ae a4m471 ,i started in it   
for ,jamroud and the famous ,pass4    ,a
 military expedition was just over but  
convoys of stores had still  to return1 
and when ,i obtained permission to enter
 the ,khyber and  make a painting of the

 fort of ,ali ,masjid1 the pass had not 
yet been  re-opened4    ,four miles from
 ,peshawar and five from ,jamroud ,i    
stopped near some  big tamarind trees4  
,the place1 a military border police    
fort1 was  called ,harising ,poor1 and  
from it ,i could see the big fort of    
,jamroud  on the level plain and to the 
left1 violet in the morning light1 the  
hills of the ,khyber through a ,v-shaped
 dip in the horseshoe of  mountain that 
nearly #bdj surrounds the ,peshawar     
country4  ,very far  to the right1 snow 
mountains watched over the nearer hills 
and away  to the left1 where raiders    
come from above1 was a small blockhouse 
where twenty-five men were kept4    ,as 
,i drove nearer to ,jamroud the native  
hamlet appeared1 with a tall  tower of  
the usual village type1 at some distance
 from the ,fort1 and  the long wall of  
the ,sarai where passing caravans1      
coming from  ,central ,asia and         
,afghanistan1 stop on the last night    
before they  reach ,peshawar4    ,i saw 

a company of the ,khyber ,rifles being  
drilled in an open space  near the      
,sarai4  ,i watched them marching in    
fours--marching in fours  to a flank and
 company opening fire in close order4   
,the men were  ,afridis of various      
tribes and the ,subadar1 the senior     
native officer  of the company1 was a   
,malikdin ,khel ,afridi--all good       
fighters1  cunning thieves and as       
light-hearted as children4  ,a great    
,jirga was  about to be held at         
,peshawar and armed tribesmen were      
dribbling in to  attend it4             
,illustration3 ,the ,fort of ,ali       
,masjid1 in the ,khyber ,pass4          
,before going on to the mouth of the    
,pass ,i looked into the ,sarai4  ,the  
men in it were mostly ,kabulis waiting  
to go up and not down4  ,they were      
taking tea1 sugar and general supplies  
from ,peshawar1  having sold there the  
raisins they had brought in from        
,afghanistan4  ,their camels were of the
 long-haired ,central ,asian #bda type1 

stronger than the ,indian camels and    
very different in appearance4    ,my    
permit having been examined at the fort1
 and a khaki clad sepoy of  the ,khyber 
,rifles told off to accompany me by way 
of escort1 ,i drove  on towards the     
mouth of the pass4  ,the road enters by 
a sweeping  curve along which the wind  
blew strongly4  ,here the fitten horses 
began to jib1 and in spite of all ,junno
 ,kuchwan could do they flatly  refused 
to go forward4  ,kuchwan1 who had been  
on foot for some time1  at last began to
 heave rocks at the horses which was    
still  unproductive of the desired      
result4  ,it became clear that we could 
never reach ,ali ,masjid with these     
animals1 and there was nothing for  it  
but to get back to ,jamroud and try for 
a chance tumtum1 having  come out from  
,peshawar earlier in the morning4  ,we  
found1 however1  there were only two and
 both were booked for immediate return4 
,it  seemed hopeless and ,i was         
beginning to arrange for the next day   

when  the officer in command of the fort
 pointed out another tumtum just        
emerging from the pass and exclaimed1   
with an eager twinkle in his  eyes1 and 
a peculiar straightening of the back1   
,there's a lady in  it4    ,there were  
two ladies in it--they had driven from  
,landi ,kotal1 having  made the journey 
from ,kabul in eleven days4  ,the       
younger said she was  a lady doctor just
 leaving the ,amir's #bdb service1 and  
they were  both persuaded to let me have
 their vehicle and drive on themselves  
to ,peshawar in my phaeton4    ,in      
addition to my ,hindoo servant ,i had   
now with me the sepoy escort1  and      
throughout the rest of the journey there
 was a running squabble  because the    
tumtum driver contended that he ought to
 walk4  ,the  rifleman was a ,kuchi     
,khel ,afridi1 and his most obvious     
characteristic  was a passion for       
shaking hands with me4  ,whenever       
vituperative  argument seemed extra     
strong1 the ,kuchi ,khel appeared to cap

 the  other man's invention and turned  
to shake my hand grinning and  nodding  
his head4  ,this occurred at about three
 minute intervals  during the afternoon4
  ,i might be gazing at the landscape or
 noting  cave dwellings on the          
hillside--when ,i would feel my hand    
suddenly  seized and wrung hastily2 he  
was a very friendly man this ,afridi6   
,we passed altogether quite a number of 
people along the road4  ,in one  place  
where ,i was walking some tribesmen     
invited me to share their  food1 and ,i 
ate with them--bread1 coarse brown sugar
 in lump and  ,indian corn4  ,then ,i   
passed an officer of the ,amir's army   
with a  convoy of mules bringing the    
goods and chattels of the lady doctor4  
,the fort of ,ali ,masjid crowns what   
looks like a steeply sloping squat  cone
 of hill in the #bdc middle of the pass1
 about half-way that is  between        
,jamroud and ,landi ,kotal1 with the    
main line of hills on each  side4  ,it  
is of tawny yellowish stone of much the 

same colour as the  ground4  ,i climbed 
up to it from the roadway but found no  
one within4  ,hot and dusty with the    
clamber ,i walked round the walls1      
banged at  doors and shouted loudly to  
any who might be inside1 but to no      
purpose1 and it was only later that ,i  
learned how it was that no one  was     
stationed up in the fort itself4  ,the  
reason was that the camp  remaining from
 the expeditionary forces was pitched   
below by the side  of the road on what  
had been a few wheat-fields belonging to
 an  adjacent village of cave-dwelling  
,kuchi ,khels4    ,my permit demanded   
early return that ,i might be at        
,jamroud again well  before dark1 and   
after an hour or two ,i started back    
little knowing  how soon ,i was to see  
,ali ,masjid again4    ,what happened   
was that we came to a place where there 
was a sick  camel on the road1 and the  
tumtum horses both took it into their   
heads to shy violently and become       
generally rampant4  ,the bamboo  shafts 

of the vehicle were not very strong and 
when1 through the  sudden plunging1 they
 both suddenly snapped short off at the 
body of  the tumtum and left two        
splintered ends ,i1 being in front1 was 
thrown  upon one of the #bdd rearing    
ponies4  ,i managed to get clear without
  any hurt and none of us were harmed as
 much as the driver himself1  who was a 
bit bruised and had one finger torn4    
,his face1 by the way1  was disfigured  
by an old scar which he said was through
 a former  break-down4    ,now whatever 
it was the tumtum driver said to the    
sepoy at this  juncture it roused his   
deepest feelings1 and a torrent of      
execration  raged between them4  ,it was
 clear that the whole affair was being  
laid upon the ,afridi's shoulders1 and  
,i don't know how long he would  have   
kept his hands off the driver if two    
young officers on their way  back to the
 camp had not reined up to know what was
 the extent of the  damage4  ,dusk was  
not far away and they insisted that ,i  

must ride  back to ,ali ,masjid and     
spend the night in camp with the #eith  
,scinde  ,rifles ,frontier ,force4  ,i  
say insisted1 but ,i was nothing loth4  
,at first1 however1 it only seemed to be
 a case of out of the  frying-pan into  
the fire1 for the native bred horse     
called up for me  started off at a      
hurricane pace1 refusing to obey the    
reins4  ,i left  the officers far       
behind1 and every time the road turned  
,i was at some  difficulty to keep in   
the saddle4  ,the more ,i pulled the    
faster the  horse went4  ,i wondered    
afterwards whether this impetuosity was 
intended as an expression of joy at his 
new burden or annoyance4  ,he  #bde gave
 in at last and gradually became        
amenable1 but ,i am  convinced that no  
warrior of any of the conquering armies 
that have  entered by the ,khyber ,pass 
ever rode so swiftly towards ,india as  
,i  galloped away from it4    ,heaped   
about the camp was a great quantity of  
booser bales1 and in  the wind1 which   

was steadily rising1 the chopped straw  
of the booser  blew everywhere4  ,the   
very walls of the mess were built of    
booser  bales for there was no          
tent--only enough sailcloth to make a   
roof  7absence of tents and travelling  
light generally had greatly helped  the 
success of the recent expedition74      
,after dinner1 with the wind  still     
rising higher and higher1 straining at  
every cord1 tearing and  ripping        
everything that could be torn or ripped1
 howling so loudly  that even coughing  
camels could not be heard through it1   
most of us  sat talking while the       
surgeon and another played picquet by   
the light  of a hurricane lantern4      
,there had been some of the enemy's     
people among our own troops 7they  had  
had option7 and stories were told of    
them4  ,one tower in the  ,bazar valley 
belonged to a ,jemadar among the party  
about to demolish  it4  ,would you like 
us to let your tower stand8 he was      
asked4  ,oh6  smash it up1 sahib1 ,i    

shall get compensation4  ,apart from    
personal  or family feuds it really     
matters little to the ,afridi which side
  #bdf he is on so long as there is a   
sure chance of fighting2 he  loves it   
more than life4  ,when they came to the 
,jirga what was the  first question     
asked by the enemy8  ,some ,zakkha      
,khels went up to  the ,general and     
asked him1 ,did we fight well1 sahib8   
,it was said that compassionate members 
of ,parliament1 knowing as much  of a   
,zakkha ,khel's mode of life as that of 
the ruling class in ,mars1  had begged  
at ,westminster that their gardens and  
orchards might not  be destroyed1 and   
that their women and children might not 
be turned  into the streets4  ,these    
things cheered the camp at ,ali ,masjid1
  however irritating they might have    
been to authority4  ,the women and      
children had all been moved to places of
 safety before the expedition  started4 
,a blind about manoeuvres was well      
understood in the  ,peshawar bazaar1    

though the unusual rapidity of the      
movements did  surprise1 and1 as        
objected at the ,jirga1 the use of      
smokeless powder  was baffling4    ,at  
first no newspaper correspondents were  
allowed to come near1 but  one or two   
young men who reached the expedition    
later certainly did  their little part  
to increase hilarity4  ,one reported    
that ,lala ,chena  7which he did not    
know was another name for ,ali ,masjid7 
was destroyed  with heavy loss1 and     
another that a regiment of ,goorkhas    
7who pride  themselves on doing #bdg    
everything possible quietly by signs7   
entrained with much noise and shouting4 
,if ,i'm charged for transport on this  
kit ,i refuse to go on service  again1  
said a man with a green eyeshade4  ,four
 conversations were  going on at the    
same time and all were fighting with the
 noise of the  wind4  ,fourteen aces and
 fourteen queens1 called ,hubby the     
surgeon  from the depths of his         
sheepskin coat4  ,i expect ,hubby's     

going to  pay for his transport1 cried  
another1 and one1 reading from          
regulations--,any class of transport    
animal may be provided except           
elephants4  ,and one telling yarns of   
,tommies and the vernacular--,i  dunno  
wot 'ee says1 sir4  ,look 'ere1 ,i'll   
call my mate--'ee can bowl  over bat    
7bol1 i4e41 speak1 and bat1 i4e41       
language74  ,and of  thirsty ,tommy on a
 railway platform--,now1 then1 bring    
that there  pani--don't be lumba or     
,i'll break your confounded seer1 and   
again--,know their lingo8  ,no1 sir1 ,i 
axes 'em once in ,english and  then ,i  
brings the lakri4    ,of camels--,we    
were going along a very narrow path with
 a steep drop  on one side of a thousand
 feet or so and a sheer rise on the     
other4  ,suddenly one of the camels     
slipped and rolled down4  ,we halted and
  looked over the edge and saw the poor 
beast ever so far below4  ,i  sent some 
men down to cut off what baggage had    
remained on the animal  and to collect  

as much #bdh as possible of the rest1   
and the man who  looked after the camels
 went down to cut the tail off to show  
the  owner that he had not sold this    
one4  ,he took his knife out and was    
just getting 'home' when that camel gave
 a spring and made for the  ledge4  ,we 
loaded him up again and--,oh1 yes1 the  
tail was all right6    ,then of ,afridi 
feuds and of the sepoy who would go on  
firing after an  officer rode up and    
told him to stop as the distance was    
much too  great4  ,how he entirely      
ignored the officer and continued to    
fire1  and then to a sharp remonstrance 
only said3 ,do let me have one more     
shot1 sahib2 it's my uncle4    ,among   
these hillmen there are very binding    
unwritten laws4  ,no man  may kill his  
brother while he holds the plough in his
 hand4  ,the  blood-feud is the life of 
the ,afridi1 but they prefer some reason
 in  the start4  ,thus when a certain   
rifleman ran amuck1 and it was          
necessary that he should be shot1 some  

of his relatives appealed to  the       
officer in command1 begging that to them
 might be given the  killing of him     
since were it done by any not of his own
 family a feud  must be started and many
 deaths ensue4    ,at night ,i was given
 the luxury of a hospital dhoolie1      
whereby ,i was  much better sheltered   
from the wind than the others4          
,officers and  men vainly sought sleep1 
and booser whirled everywhere about the 
camp4  ,the young moon swung #bdi in the
 starlit sky3 signallers at a           
blockhouse flashed their tiny sparks to 
a party up on the ridge3 in  the        
darkness of the hills unseen and far    
rested a hoof-mark of  ,mohammed's      
steed4  ,i put my head out for a last   
peep at ,orion and  soon was in a       
dreamless slumber4    ,in the morning ,i
 was out early watching the camels in   
the wind and  later1 in a little        
shelter1 ,i painted a portrait of ,nasir
 ,khan1 a  ,subadar of the #eith ,scinde
 ,rifles and a ,eusaf ,zai ,pathan4  ,he

 had a  beard of fiery red1 which ,i was
 told is the result of using black dye  
and not being able to renew the         
treatment4    ,on the hillside above the
 camp was a ,kuchi ,khel village of     
cave-dwellings4  ,i asked my sepoy      
escort to climb up to it with me  but he
 firmly declined1 explaining that it was
 his own village and  that he had a feud
 on1 so one of the officers accompanied 
me4    ,the hill1 called ,asrog1 which  
means the veins of the horse1 was now   
in bright light4  ,the fort on the round
 molehill shape in the middle  of the   
pass appeared sharply against a drift of
 cloud4  ,beyond it1  towards ,landi    
,kotal1 the silhouette of mountain was  
black purple1  with two growing patches 
of yellow light1 where the sun got      
through  behind the fort4  ,and all the 
while the wind1 the ,khyber wind1       
hustled and tore and screamed through   
the camp4    ,the loose shale glistened 
in the sun and the #bej low bushes      
looked  silver grey as ,i again left    

,ali ,masjid1 following the little      
stream  that spates in ,june when the   
snows melt4  ,then these caves on the   
hillside will be empty and the ,kuchi   
,khels will be all away up in the       
,tirah hills4          #bea    ,,chapter
 ,,xviii    ,,the ,,capital ,,of ,,the  
,,punjab    ,hatee ,aiah6  ,hatee       
aiah6--,the elephant comes6 cried the   
children running1 and one small scamp   
danced in front and shouted1  ,hatee    
kuta machi bucha--,the elephant is a dog
 bad beast1 and  fled to escape         
consequences of such boldness4  ,i was  
now seeing  ,lahore city from the back  
of one of the ,lieutenant-,governor's   
,state  elephants which had swelled with
 pride the heart of ,tambusami1 my      
servant1 when in all the bravery of     
scarlet trappings it came to  fetch me  
from the hotel4  ,tambusami's respect   
for ,government was  almost sublime4    
,he rarely showed the faintest interest 
in shrines or  temples1 but invariably  
reflected every manifestation of        

official  interest in1 or attention to1 
his master4  ,on such occasions the     
whole strain of his body seemed         
differently keyed1 and on the back of   
that elephant he gave himself the most  
amusing airs1 tilting up his  chin and  
appearing to bask in an atmosphere of   
luxurious importance  for all the world 
like a child playing at chief minister  
to some  ,haroun al ,raschid1 #beb who  
had thrown off disguise and shown       
himself to the public in proper         
grandeur4    ,with me was a delightful  
,pundit ,omaid ,chand1 ,superintendent  
of the  ,punjab ,government ,records1   
who accompanied me during my stay at    
,lahore4  ,my native place1 he told me1 
was ,saharanpur in the ,united          
,provinces2 but now ,i am a nationalized
 ,punjabi because ,i have been  here    
fifty years since ,i was eight years    
old4    ,we entered the city by the     
,delhi ,gate and filled the narrow      
street so  that there was consternation 
among the shopkeepers and joy among the 

children all along our route4           
,elephants are no longer used so much   
as formerly1 and at ,lahore even the    
,lieutenant-,governor only keeps  two   
now instead of eight4    ,when we met a 
troop of buffaloes there was a mighty   
hubbub4  ,the  shopkeepers squealed and 
jibbered much that ,i am sure was       
impolite as  the frightened beasts      
plunged and pressed upon their goods4   
,many of  the taller buildings with     
elaborately carved woodwork belonged to 
well-to-do ,mohammedans1 who have their 
homes away from the city1 and  use such 
houses in the intervals of business1 and
 for friends of an  evening4  ,they do  
not usually go home till after nine     
o'clock at  night4  ,we were1 of course1
 on a level with the projecting         
balconies  #bec and carved oriel        
windows4  ,here and there awnings were  
stretched across the street between the 
opposite houses1 and once or  twice we  
had to wait while these were hauled up  
to let us go by4  ,passing through      

another gateway we halted before a      
beautiful mosque1  wondrous with        
exquisite tints of blue and green in the
 old glazed  tiles that were all about  
its front and minarets4  ,its elaborate 
inscriptions were in blue1 with yellow  
and green ornament on a white  ground4  
,baked daily in the sun for nigh three  
hundred years the  beauty of this glazed
 inlay was only enhanced by time1 and   
well may  it last unharmed through      
future centuries6  ,the narrow streets1 
in  spite of all their charm1 will be   
swept away as the townsfolk  gradually  
alter their standards and ideas1 but the
 traveller of the  age to come should   
still find this fair mosque to please   
his eyes4    ,out of the city at length 
we came to the now open space about the 
crenelated walls and bastions of the    
fort1 and the ,badshahi ,masjid  with   
its four old capless minars4  ,midway   
between the west gate of  this mosque   
and the walls of the ,fort stands the   
graceful pavilion  called the ,baradari4

  ,the stone is mostly red ,agra        
sandstone1  ,jehangir's favourite       
building material1 recalling ,kenilworth
 in  colour1 but the mosque has three   
domes of white marble4    #bed          
,descending once more to earth ,i walked
 all over the fort1 with its  ,pearl    
,mosque of white ,jeypore marble 7much1 
so much less fine than  the ,moti       
,masjids of either ,delhi or ,agra7 its 
white ,nau ,lakha1 its  ,diwan-y-khas1  
looking ready to tumble to pieces1      
though now in the  restorer's hands1 and
 its ,shish ,mahal4    ,near these last1
 to the right of the same quadrangle1 is
 the armoury4  ,in ,europe the traveller
 is often shown instruments of          
torture--rack  or boot or maiden1 and in
 ,england what village of tourist       
attractiveness is without either stocks 
or pillory8  ,in ,india1  however1 such 
relics are rare1 and those shown at the 
,lahore ,armoury1  including a machine  
for pulling off thieves' fingers1       
invented by  ,dhuleep ,singh1 only      

remind one of the general absence of    
such  stepping stones to civilization4  
,there is a great variety among this    
choice collection of weapons1 and       
although it cannot compete with that of 
,turin1 ,valetta or ,hertford  ,house1  
it would prove at least a valuable      
addition to any one of  them4  ,here are
 recalled the times of ,ranjeet ,singh1 
the one-eyed  monarch1 who had the      
genius to gather under him ,european    
officers of  such calibre as ,avitabile1
 ,allard and ,ventura4  ,here are       
cuirasses1  imported by ,general        
,ventura for his ,french legion of #hjjj
 men1  bearing on their fronts the      
,gallic cock with laurels and standards 
on  a star #bee of steel1 and beside    
them ,sikh shields with copper  bosses4 
,here are swords from ,iran1 with ivory 
hilts and blades  engraved with mottoes 
calling on the help of ,ali4  ,there are
  combination swords and pistols1       
,afghan knives1 old flint-lock and      
match-lock guns with barrels damascened1

 old four-chambered  match-lock revolver
 guns1 musquets 7short carbines or      
blunderbusses7  carried by the          
,gurcharahis1 7,sikh cavalry #djjj      
strong71 tir kaman  7bows and arrows71  
tarkash 7quivers71 ,abyssinian shotels  
made with a  double curve and wielded   
with the point downwards1 ,mahratta     
swords1  farangs--straight swords       
adapted by the ,mahrattas from the      
,portuguese1 ,khandahs1 those long ,sikh
 swords made broader near the  point1 a 
,persian mace of the time of ,rustem--a 
gem for any  collection--tabai          
7battle-axes7 gokru1 the                
crowsfoot--caltrap of  ancient ,europe  
for throwing down to stop cavalry1 a    
,burmese ,dha or  ,dhas1 a fakir's      
baraggan or short sword-stick leaning on
 which some  muni of the ages has sat in
 meditation in the jungle4  ,there are  
,goorkha kukris and ,hindoo ,katars1 the
 iron-shod stick of a ,chaukidar1  a    
powder-flask of golden thread1          
back-plates and breast-plates and       

helmets of steel and brass4    ,the     
armoury is certainly more interesting   
to-day than the ,shish ,mahal  opposite 
wherein1 as in a certain chamber at     
,versailles1 it is #bef  said that      
begums and a man would shut themselves  
for weeks together4  ,here there is     
indeed no armoury of love--is it because
 the weapons of  that warfare were of a 
kind inseparable from those who wielded 
them--the charms that vanished with     
their owners8  ,or can it be that  their
 enduring pattern has never been        
improved upon1 so that each  blade and  
buckler of the past is still in full    
demand for current  wear8    ,i went up 
to the roof of the ,shish ,mahal for the
 view of ,ranjeet  ,singh's tomb and the
 ,badshahi mosque1 and between its      
minarets  towards the west could see the
 silver band that is the ,ravi ,river1  
and then before going back to the       
elephant ,i looked at ,ranjeet  ,singh's
 tomb on which certain bosses are carved
 in the marble with  curious            

significance4  ,eleven of these are     
grouped round a large  centre1 and of   
the eleven four are for ,ranees 7who are
 married women7  and seven for          
concubines1 while at two of the corners 
of the slab are  detached smaller bosses
 to commemorate a pair of pigeons burned
 in  the funeral pyre4    ,what a       
contrast1 ,i thought1 on returning to   
the spacious roads of the  modern town  
outside the city gates1 between the new 
order and the  old6  ,on arriving at    
,lahore the first thing that the        
stranger notices  is the fortified      
railway station1 then a tank and an old 
mosque  covered #beg with green-glazed  
tiles with others about it of bright    
peacock-blue2 and then1 as he drives    
from the station in a gharry1  through  
white dust1 past quite handsome modern  
buildings in pale red  brick1 comes the 
,upper ,mall1 a perfect road with an    
ideal lay-out  for a modern town--wide  
and trim with electric-light standards  
painted a clean grey on brick-edged     

grass strips which separate the  centre 
roadway from a riding track that1 in its
 turn1 runs parallel  to a footway2     
while on either side stretches a line of
 gardens4  ,it  is all as handsome as   
the ,boulevard ,anspach at ,brussels1   
and as  different from the more lovable 
streets in old ,lahore as can well be   
imagined4    ,i had seen in front of the
 museum ,zam ,zammah1 the old gun with a
 long  history which ,rudyard ,kipling  
played round as a boy long before ,kim  
was written1 and had watched the urchin 
scrambling on its back when  the        
policeman was not looking4  ,having     
heard that the character of  ,mahbub    
,ali of ,kim--known as one of the best  
horse-dealers in the  ,punjab--was drawn
 from a man named ,wazir ,khan 7not that
 minister of  ,akhbar after whom the    
,chauk of ,wazir ,khan is named1 but an 
old  horse-dealer who is still alive71  
,i took some trouble to inquire for     
him4  ,the old man was on the road1     
however1 having gone to a  horse-fair at

 ,jhelum1 but ,i found his son and asked
 #beh him to show  me the old ,sarai    
where his father used to sleep on his   
visits to  ,lahore4  ,this is called the
 ,sarai of ,mahomet ,sultan and belongs 
to  the ,maharajah of ,kashmir4  ,it is 
a wide quadrangle1 about #fj yards      
square1 with round-arched cloisters on  
all sides2 and the son of  ,wazir ,khan 
showed me1 shut off between pillars1 the
 place where his  father used to sleep  
in the old days4  ,the shadows of a     
large shisham  tree flickered over the  
broken white plaster of the wall4       
,there was  a well in the centre1 and   
near it was a group of horses from      
,waziristan4  ,out through the gateway  
7the ,gate of the ,harpies who  paint   
their eyes and trap the stranger7 ,i    
could see the ,lunda ,bazaar  and a     
woman squatting on the edge of the      
footway washing her face  with soap4    
,near her was a tamasha wallah1 a boy   
with a cage of green  parrots1 and a    
,hindoo woman cooking chupatties over a 

fire of  dung-cakes1 and from one of the
 houses there was singing in ,pushtu4   
,i returned to the old gun and entered  
the building of the  wonder-house in    
front of which it stands4    ,the ,mayo 
,school of ,industrial ,art1 which is   
attached to the ,lahore  ,museum1 was   
founded to revive arts now half         
forgotten1 and generally  to develop the
 ,industrial ,art of the ,province4  ,i 
went thoroughly  over its various       
departments1 its schools of modelling   
and design1  architecture1 #bei         
engineering1 wood-carving and carpentry1
 repouss  and blacksmith's work--and ,i 
do not think the importance of this     
college1 as an educational institution1 
could be exaggerated4  ,its  ambition to
 turn out a constant succession of the  
best possible  craftsmen1 rather than   
theoretic students1 makes it the best   
means  yet arrived at of moral and      
mental development inseparable to my    
thinking from the purely utilitarian    
value of handicraft training4  ,among   

the students were pointed out to me lads
 from distant villages  and outlying    
districts1 some in receipt of           
,government stipends1  others supported 
by ,district and ,municipal ,boards and 
others again by  ,independent ,states4  
,a well-regulated boarding-house is     
connected  with the school for the      
accommodation of such pupils1 a large   
proportion of whom find immediate       
employment on the completion of  their  
course at the school and so continually 
add to the popularity  of its training4 
,the energy1 talent and success of ,mr  
,percy ,brown during the many  years in 
which he has developed and enlarged the 
scheme initiated  under the late ,mr    
,lockwood ,kipling1 are beyond praise1  
and ,i only  hope that his recent       
translation to ,calcutta may bring an   
extension  to other provinces of ,india 
of practical application of the same    
educational ideas4    ,the museum is    
justly proud of its ,buddhist #bfj      
sculptures1 the best  of which is one in

 black hornblende schiste 7from the     
,yusafzai  country near ,peshawar71 of  
,buddha after his forty-nine days' fast4
  ,carved with extreme delicacy and     
refinement1 this wonderful sculpture    
seems to carry one rather to            
,renaissance ,italy than the            
,north-,west  ,provinces4  ,who were    
they1 these sculptors8  ,how much or how
 little  were they identified with the  
people whose gods they carved8  ,would  
,alexander of ,macedon have had in his  
train men of sufficient eminence  in    
their craft to account for the apparent 
,western influence8    ,one of the      
latest additions under ,mr ,brown's     
curatorship is a  collection of         
paintings and drawings of the ,moghul   
,emperors and  people of their times1   
which includes many exquisite           
illuminations  and old water-colour     
drawings of extreme fineness and        
delicacy and  yet full of character1    
design and amazing distinction4         
,appreciation  of such things since the 

days of their production is only        
beginning  to be re-awakened1 and they  
are still purchasable in ,india at such 
prices as the museum can afford4  ,mr   
,brown told me that ,i was the  first   
who had yet looked at this collection   
with enthusiasm to  justify his own in  
buying them1 but who knows the spelling 
of ,du  ,guesclin8  ,they are as        
wonderful as ,holbein's drawings1 their 
detail  would have enchanted ,altdorfer1
 and their exquisite line #bfa might    
have delayed the death of ,aubrey       
,beardsley6  ,such are the ,mullah ,do  
,piaza1 the picture of ,akhbar's jester 
and his thin ,rosinante1 or the         
beautiful drawing of ,humayun1 ,babar's 
son1 out a-hunting4    ,india is a land 
which changes any sympathetic traveller 
to a set of  strings on which its spirit
 plays through all the working-hours4   
,every day is crowded with new wonders1 
and no sooner does he sink to  earth1 as
 if fallen from the hands of one player1
 than he is snatched  up again and every

 fibre wrung by some new loveliness he  
knew not of4    ,one afternoon ,i drove 
out with the pundit to ,shaddra where   
,jehangir  is buried and ,nour ,jehan4  
,we started to the west of the city on  
the  high road to ,peshawar1 past the   
,mohammedan cemetery and the ,hindoo    
burning-ground1 outside which some women
 in white and yellow robes  sat waiting 
while their men-folk burned a body      
within4    ,in the time of ,ranjeet     
,singh1 the pundit told me1 the river   
used to  flow past the ,badshahi        
,masjid1 a large red sandstone mosque1  
which we  next passed3 but in ,india the
 rivers are not so constant as the stars
  in their courses4    ,a little farther
 on we crossed the dry bed called the   
,ravi ,nullah and  then1 driving through
 the ,ravi ,forest1 reached the bridge  
of boats  #bfb that spans the ,ravi     
,river at a little distance from the    
railway-bridge4  ,a merry old ,kuka     
,sikh on a white donkey was waiting  at 
the bridge toll-gate for someone from   

whom to beg the money to  cross4  ,it is
 a long bridge and very narrow1 so that 
two vehicles  cannot pass one another   
and a bullock-cart1 which had just      
started to  cross from the opposite     
bank1 seemed inclined to take an        
infinity of  time about it2 but the     
,kuka ,sikh was in no hurry1 and when we
 had  paid his toll joked with the      
pundit to beguile the time4  ,this      
boat-bridge has to be dismantled in the 
rainy season1 from ,june to  ,august1   
when the river is swollen4    ,we left  
the ,peshawar road soon after crossing  
the bridge and  presently reached       
,shaddra and ,jehangir's tomb1 a large  
and elaborate  affair with much space   
about it and great entrance gateways and
 lines  of narrow water tanks in the    
gardens within4  ,dismounting from the  
gharry we walked over the great open    
space of the ,sarai and through  the    
eastern gateway1 with its honeycomb     
vaulted ceiling and soft warm  flower   
decoration on its pink stucco-covered   

brick-work1 to the water  channels of   
the tomb garden1 past the central tank  
and on to the  ,mausoleum itself1 an    
exquisite low building with four tall   
minarets1  half of white marble and half
 of the red ,agra stone1 of which       
,jehangir was so fond4    #bfc    ,we   
walked up the steps and crossing a      
pavement of badal stone entered  the    
inner chamber through an arch with a    
dado of old glazed inlay4  ,within1 a   
flat oil-lamp upon a metal stand1 threw 
flickering light in  a bright path upon 
the marble floor4  ,there was rich inlay
 of agate1  cornelian and amethyst1 the 
ninety-nine names of ,god and the titles
  of ,jehangir1 all but the most        
important title--that of husband of     
,nour ,jehan4  ,she is buried1 the      
,queen who ruled him and his            
people--only her own brother she could  
not save from his wrath--about  half a  
mile away and ,i was surprised to find  
the place in a state of  utter neglect4 
,it is awkward to approach and ,i expect

 is rarely  visited4    ,when we reached
 it the sun was very low4  ,a cow was   
stalled in one  part of the neglected   
tomb and1 as ,i approached1 a           
,mohammedan fakir1  rising from the     
ground to his full height1 tall and     
thin1 shook his  hands at the sky and   
cried in ,persian--,al ,mout6  ,al      
,mout6  7,everyone must die--everyone   
must die67    ,but this is a stable1    
said the pundit1 whose learning perhaps 
did  not include ,bethlehem4  ,it is    
true that the tomb was railed round1    
but the railings were broken and the    
sturdy rogue of a fakir had  settled    
himself comfortably with his charpoy1   
his goat and his cow4  ,his beard was   
grey and his unkempt hair peeped out in 
tufts from his  roughly-tied turban1    
once white #bfd and spotted with dark   
blue4  ,the things he continued to shout
 were curious1 but the pundit agreed    
with me it was mere wildness and no     
scheming for backsheesh that  prompted a
 reference to ,england4  ,waving his    

arms round and round he  cried--,the    
,english will rule all over the world1  
and then--,one ,god  to rule over us    
all4  ,he created ,adam and ,eve3       
bismillah heraai  mornana heem la ilia  
illillah4    ,i walked up some broken   
brick steps and passing through a series
 of  low-pointed arches1 down on the    
other side of a low circular wall1 ,i   
stood before two tombs4  ,the one       
nearest to me was that of ,nour  ,jehan1
 who had been called ,rose of the       
,harem1 ,light of the ,world3 its       
neighbour was that of her adopted       
daughter4    ,the tombs are quite plain 
plaster-covered brick-work4  ,in the    
outer  passages there remain some traces
 of painted ornament--but because  she  
had no children1 and her stepson1 ,shah 
,jehan1 was not on good  terms with her 
when she died1 there is here no         
decoration1 no  inscription4  ,not for  
her tomb are the ninety-nine names of   
,god6    ,through the arches on the     
farther side ,i could see the trunks of 

date  palms and old1 old mango trees in 
the ,begumpura1 a garden ,nour ,jehan   
had loved4  ,i went underground to the  
crypt-like chamber below the  tomb1 and 
with the help of matches made out that  
there was #bfe  nothing upon the        
floor--only in the ceiling one inset    
space  corresponding to the cenotaph    
above4  ,the pundit thought the body was
  probably very deep in the ground--,i  
know not4    ,when we came out above    
ground the last of daylight was making  
golden  play among the palms and mango  
trees4  ,they were in flower--and next  
,june fruit would be upon them4         
#bff    ,,chapter ,,xix    ,,at ,,the   
,,court ,,of ,,his ,,highness ,,the     
,,rajah ,,of ,,nabha    ,his ,highness  
the ,rajah of ,nabha is a noble old     
,sikh chieftain1  distinguished among   
the native rulers of ,india1 although   
his  territory1 one of the ,phulkian    
,states1 is but small4  ,through the    
kindness of the ,punjab ,government and 
of ,his ,highness1 ,i was given an      

opportunity of visiting the little      
court4    ,illustration3 ,,his          
,,highness ,,the ,,rajah ,,of ,,nabha4  
,to reach ,nabha1 my train from ,lahore 
was the ,bombay mail1 and ,i have       
rarely seen greater confusion at any    
railway station than reigned  upon its  
arrival4  ,every class of carriage was  
already full1 yet  there were a number  
of first-class passengers waiting with  
title to  berths booked in advance as   
well as second and third-class          
ticket-holders4  ,the train was already 
of the maximum size permitted  and1     
after half an hour's uncertainty1 a     
third-class carriage was  actually      
emptied of its fifty or more occupants1 
taken off the train  and replaced by an 
empty first-class coach4  ,few more     
striking  instances could be found of   
purse privilege4  ,it would #bfg        
correspond in ,england with the dumping 
on a ,crewe platform of the  third-class
 passengers by the ,scotch express from 
,euston to make room  for first-class   

passengers waiting for the train at     
,crewe4  ,it was  not a case of native  
and foreign1 or ,english and            
,oriental1--for  plenty of native       
gentlemen travel first-class and it     
simply meant  that having a seat in a   
third-class carriage in ,india does not 
insure  your finishing the journey by   
the train in which you started4    ,my  
servant was left behind on this occasion
 and was consequently not  forthcoming  
when ,i reached ,nabha ,station in the  
morning4  ,poor  faithful ,tambusami had
 not understood whither we were bound1  
but for  some reason or other thought it
 might be ,patiala1 and when ,i returned
  to ,lahore three days later ,i found  
him weeping on the platform after  vain 
endeavours to track me4    ,at ,nabha ,i
 was met by three of the ,rajah's       
ministers and driven in a  luxurious    
victoria to a large guest-house painted 
red and blue and  standing in quite     
beautiful grounds4  ,a pair of horses   
drew the  victoria1 but a kind of       

wagonette which followed with my luggage
 was  pulled by two camels which always 
have rather a circus air in harness4    
,the red brick-work of the building was 
all picked out with white1  like the    
walls of a doll's house1 and on each    
side of the wide arch  at the #bfh      
entrance there was a life-size painting 
of a turbaned  soldier presenting arms4 
,his ,highness's private secretary could
 not speak ,english1 and a  native      
gentleman1 ,mr ,hira ,singh1 who was a  
schoolmaster in the town1  had been     
deputed to attend me as interpreter     
during my stay4    ,i was taken first   
into the reception-hall1 which was hung 
with small  portraits in gouache of     
former rajahs and famous ,sikh monarchs1
 such  as the ,rajah ,bhagwan ,singh    
7the late ,rajah of ,nabha71 the late   
,rajah  ,ragh ,bir ,singh of ,sandoor   
and the ,maharajah ,ranjeet ,singh1 who 
was  painted in a green dress with a    
halo round his head and mounted upon  a 
brown horse4  ,in large letters on one  

wall appeared the motto3--      ,may    
,god increase your prosperity4          
,breakfast was served me in a large room
 adjoining the great hall4  ,over the   
carpet a white drugget was spread and   
the chairs were all  covered in pink    
chintz4    ,mr ,hira ,singh suggested   
that ,i must need some rest and should  
sleep  awhile1 so ,i was taken to my    
bedroom which was another large         
apartment4  ,it was a blend of the      
genuinely ,oriental and the  ,tottenham 
,court ,road4  ,the washstand was humbly
 and yet aggressively  ,british1 while  
the wide bed was gorgeously #bfi        
upholstered and  covered with a         
beautiful silk coverlet of canary       
yellow1 and was  furnished with two tiny
 hard cushions or pillows in the middle1
 as  well as an ample allowance for the 
head4  ,i was certainly tired with  the 
journey and nothing loth to lie down4   
,outside one of the open  doors of the  
room ,i could see the red-and-blue lance
 pennon of a  sentry appearing and      

reappearing as he passed to and fro in  
the  sunlight4  ,his footsteps were     
quite noiseless1 and wondering whether  
after all it was the real sentry or one 
of the painted ones from the  archway   
wall ,i fell fast asleep to wake an hour
 later and find that  ,sirdar ,bishan   
,singh1 ,vakil to the political agent of
 the ,phulkian  ,states1 a stout1       
pleasant-looking little man1 and ,sirdar
 ,jawala  ,singh1 ,his ,highness's      
minister of finance1 taller and darker1 
were  patiently waiting for me in the   
reception-room1 sitting side by side  on
 chairs1 with their feet primly together
 and silently looking  before them4     
,his ,highness had graciously consented 
to give me an hour's sitting  the next  
morning1 and these gentlemen had come to
 drive me to the  palace where the      
painting was to be done to choose a     
position of  suitable lighting4  ,so    
down ,i walked again by the five long   
steps  between the blue columns and out 
through the archway to the victoria1    

and the painted sentries were still     
presenting arms and the live one  stood 
at #bgj attention4  ,we drove first to  
the ,diwan ,khana by the  ,winter       
,palace1 and going up a long flight of  
steps to an upper  quadrangle ,i was    
shown the rooms of the ,state ,treasury 
and the old  heavily-bound boxes        
containing the wealth of ,nabha4    ,the
 ,diwan ,khana itself is used for       
durbars1 and the whole of the  upper    
part of the great room is one continuous
 forest of chandeliers1  mostly of green
 cut glass4  ,on the walls of this      
,durbar ,hall ,i  noticed four beautiful
 old miniature portraits of rajahs1 with
 real  pearls fitted in for necklets and
 precious stones and gems on the        
horses' trappings as in eikons of the   
,greek ,church and a painting of  a     
feast1 larger1 but worked in the same   
style as the miniatures4  ,the  building
 was erected in the time of the         
,maharajah ,jaswan ,singh of  ,nabha1   
and the very florid carpets were        

certainly not of any earlier  date4     
,as we drove away ,i saw many pigeons   
and green parrots about the walls  of   
the ,winter ,palace1 and noticed that   
all over the building niches  had been  
left for the birds4    ,mr ,hira ,singh 
told me that the population of ,nabha   
town is over  #ae1jjj and that it is    
quite a busy city with steam            
cotton-mills 7,i  had seen the tall     
chimneys near the railway station74     
,the city  gateways ,i passed through   
are quite stately buildings and in an   
upper  #bga chamber of each gateway1    
with its silk covering hanging out  over
 the window-sill1 is kept a copy of the 
sacred ,granth of the  ,sikhs4          
,driving through part of the city and   
out again we passed a ,hindoo  temple   
with a spacious tank1 over one end of   
which spread the  twisting branches of a
 beautiful beri tree1 and before long   
came to  ,elgin ,house1 a newer building
 than the ,winter ,palace1 with a very  
large ,durbar ,hall1 having at one end a

 painting of ,queen ,victoria4  ,it was 
here that the sitting was to take place1
 and after choosing a  suitable position
 in which ,his ,highness's gold chair of
 state might  be placed ready ,i went   
over the rooms of ,elgin ,house and also
 upon  the roofs of the upper storeys4  
,the ,vakil showed me the chief         
treasures with great pride1 but among   
them all there was not a single         
beautiful thing of native               
craftsmanship4  ,instead of this there  
were huge modern ,german                
vases--pictures sliced into one another 
by a mechanical trick1 so  that as you  
moved along in front1 the ,princess of  
,wales changed  gradually into the      
,prince4  ,mechanical singing-birds of  
most  expensive accomplishment were made
 to warble for my delectation and       
greatest of all wonders at the ,court of
 ,nabha1 a clock-work group of  figures 
behaved quite like real people and a    
band of musicians played  operatic airs 
while a ballet dancer stood tiptoe on   

one #bgb leg4  ,the mechanical          
singing-birds had already made me think 
of ,hans  ,andersen's story of the      
nightingale1 and here was the heroine of
  another of his tales re-created after 
the burning she endured with  her       
beloved tin soldier as devotedly as any 
,hindoo widow of suttee  days4    ,the  
formal gardens were pleasantly arranged1
 but managed to avoid the  beauty of an 
,oriental ,bagh without achieving that  
of the ,european  style they sought to  
imitate4  ,the proportions were good1   
but there  was no grass and one longed  
vainly for spaces of lawn or greensward 
to contrast with the elaborate carpet   
bedding4    ,on leaving ,elgin ,house we
 drove to the ,gurdwara of ,baba ,ajabal
 ,singh4  ,a tall and handsome          
black-bearded priest of thirty-two years
 showed  us over the building1 but what 
most interested me was a wild-looking   
figure ,i saw hanging about the         
cloisters4  ,he was armed with a sword  
and dressed entirely in black garments1 

with a huge black turban  twisting in   
and out of steel circlets and irons1 and
 bound over and  round in its turn by a 
metal chain4  ,this was an ,akali1 one  
of that  still privileged sect of       
fighting fanatics who became famous in  
,ranjeet ,singh's time under the daring 
and picturesque ,gardana                
,sahib--,alexander ,gardner 7born on the
 shores of ,lake ,superior in  #aghe74  
#bgc    ,i had heard that the ,akalis   
wear blue garments to perpetuate the    
memory of the blue clothes the ,guru    
,govind ,singh wore as a disguise1  on  
the occasion of an escape from ,moghul  
soldiers1 and part of which  he gave to 
one of his disciples to found a new     
order--that of the  ,akalis in question1
 but this man's habiliments were as     
black as a  crow's feathers4  ,like     
their famous ,rajah1 ,ranjeet ,singh    
himself1  this latter-day specimen of   
the bhang-drinking cut-and-thrust       
immortals had only one eye1 and ,i asked
 whether he had by chance  lost its     

fellow in a fight4  ,i have never had a 
chance of a fight1  said the            
,akali--adding consistently with the    
tenets of his sect--if  ,i did ,i would 
never give in4  ,while we were talking a
 thin old ,sikh  limped towards us2 he  
had once been taller than the average   
man1 but  was now bent and emaciated    
with constant opium-eating4  ,mr ,hira  
,singh  told me that he took one masha  
7equal to #af grains7 at a time and     
took it twice in every twenty-four      
hours4  ,the old rascal1 his deep  brown
 eyes twinkling1 put to me a special    
petition that the  ,government should   
grant to all real opium eaters a large  
quantity  gratis at regular intervals to
 make them happy4  ,he said also1 on my 
asking him what he dreamed about--,in my
 dreams ,i think of the  ,creator1 and  
,i feel very earnest to go to a better  
field and to fight  there1 which1 as ,i 
was #bgd assured the man was an         
abandoned  scoundrel1 may be taken as   
,oriental humour expressed with an eye  

to  backsheesh4    ,driving back to the 
guest-house we passed an arena where    
wrestling  matches are held1 with six   
circular tiers of high stone steps as   
seats for the spectators1 and a square  
loge built in the middle of  one side   
for the notables1 and here is conducted 
the only physical  fighting that takes  
place at ,nabha nowadays4  ,the day of  
the ,akalis  is over1 and while their   
brother ,sikhs make some of the best    
material  in the ,indian ,army1 the     
devotees of this narrow sect have become
  wandering mendicants1 privileged to   
carry warlike weapons1 and  truculently 
direct in their demands for alms4       
,the portrait sitting was fixed for     
eight o'clock the next morning1  and ten
 minutes before his time the noble old  
,rajah stepped from his  carriage and   
walked almost jauntily up the steps of  
,elgin ,house1  where ,i was already    
installed with palette and canvas4      
,gorgeously apparelled in a costume that
 was like a kiss between two  halves of 

the ,arabian ,nights1 and wearing upon  
pale greenish silk a  galaxy of         
decorations which included the          
,g4,c4,i4,e4 for his part in the  last  
,afghan ,war 7he is now an honorary     
,colonel in the ,british ,army7  and    
stars and medals from many great        
,durbars1 the ,chief of ,nabha wore  at 
the same time an air of vigour #bge and 
joy in life that made the  years sit    
lightly on his shoulders1 years that a  
wrinkled forehead  declared numerous4   
,one of his ministers told me through   
,mr ,hira ,singh that at the last       
,delhi ,durbar ,his ,highness had       
delighted every one by the spirited and 
boyish way in which he had galloped his 
horse along in front of the  assembled  
princes4  ,may he appear as hale and    
vigorous at the ,durbar  of ,december   
next6    ,after he had shaken hands with
 me and beamed cordial smiles1 we       
walked through the ,durbar hall to the  
room where ,i had set up my  easel1 and 
the ,rajah sat1 as arranged1 in a chair 

of gilded brass  with lion arms1 and    
directed his gaze at a particular flower
 vase  upon which we had fixed to keep  
his head in correct position for the    
portrait4  ,the pupils of his eyes were 
brown1 with a faint grey rim1  and he   
had long waving moustaches as well as a 
long yellowish white  beard4  ,he       
carried a sword with scabbard of pale   
green and gold1 a  steel mace with      
spherical head1 and a contrivance by    
which1 when a  catch was pressed at the 
end of the handle1 a number of short    
sharp  blades started out from the head1
 and also a steel trident of new        
pattern4  ,the old man was bent upon    
having as many arms about him as        
possible1 and sent for a large shield of
 black metal with four bright  bosses   
and a crescent1 a favourite #bgf rifle  
and another trident  sceptre1 so that ,i
 had all ,i could do to dispose these   
about him in  such a way that he could  
sit comfortably and keep his head still4
  ,he  seemed especially proud of the   

mace with the trick knives1 and after   
explaining the mechanism to me with     
gusto he continued at intervals  during 
the sitting to manipulate it1 at which  
the whole court laughed  heartily4      
,they were grouped on either side in all
 the glory of  official costume and     
included the ,commander-in-,chief1 who  
came to  ,england for the ,coronation of
 ,edward ,,vii41 the ,foreign ,minister1
 the  ,finance ,minister1 the ,chief    
,justice1 the ,medical ,adviser1 and    
various  generals and councillors4      
,to paint a portrait in an hour6  ,well1
 ,i was not sorry that ,his  ,highness  
had arrived before the arranged time1   
and that ,i had already  set my palette1
 and though it would have been intensely
 interesting  to have talked with the   
,chief of ,nabha through the excellent  
interpreter1 when once the weapons were 
arranged to incommode him as  little as 
possible1 ,i went at the painting with  
the fury of an ,akali  and contented    
myself with smiling appreciatively at   

his occasional  ejaculations4    ,every 
now and then he made a peculiar coughing
 noise1 which began  softly and rose to 
a crescendo1 sounding as formidable as  
the  traditional catchwords of the giant
 of the bean-stalk4  #bgg ,it was  like 
ahum1 ahum1 ahum--ahhum1 and kept his   
ministers in lively  attention4    ,as  
nine o'clock struck 7for there were     
clocks at ,nabha as well as at          
,elsinore7 ,i laid down my palette and  
am glad to say ,his ,highness  expressed
 with ,eastern courtesy great delight at
 the sketch4    ,before going he sent   
for his favourite grand-child1 ,sirdar  
,fateh  ,singh1 a boy of about twelve   
years of age1 who shook hands frankly   
with me4  ,on hearing that ,i must      
positively leave ,nabha that            
afternoon--in spite of his kindly       
pressure to stay at least a             
fortnight--the ,rajah gave orders for   
the finest of his ,state  elephants to  
be sent round to the guest-house that ,i
 might see an  ingenious device by which

 fountains of water from a hidden tank  
played from the front of his head to lay
 the dust4  ,the elephant1  unlike his  
vigorous old master1 is weak and ailing1
 but ,i found him  still a magnificent  
beast and arrayed even more gorgeously  
than  lilies in sunlight-carrying scores
 of crystal lamps as well as the        
fountains4    ,mechanical arrangements  
of all kinds seemed specially to delight
 the  ,rajah and he again showed me one 
of the singing birds ,i had seen the    
previous day4  ,just before leaving     
,elgin ,house ,his ,highness paid me    
the pretty compliment of asking if he   
might have permission to go4            
#bgh    ,,chapter ,,xx    ,,in ,,sight  
,,of ,,afghanistan    ,i left ,lahore   
soon after eight o'clock one evening and
 when ,i woke in  the train next day    
found myself smothered in dust and      
traversing the  great ,sind ,desert1    
that almost rainless tract1 which       
depends solely  for any possibility of  
cultivation on irrigation from the      

,indus4    ,an important trade route    
from ,afghanistan and ,persia coming    
through  the ,bolan ,pass has its base  
at ,shikarpur1 in ,upper ,sind1 a few   
miles  from the great cantilever bridge1
 called the ,lansdowne ,bridge1 which   
joins ,baluchistan to ,india crossing   
the ,indus between ,sukkur and ,ruk4    
,an engineer was waiting at ,sukkur     
railway station to show me the  great   
bridge1 and as ,i had to continue my    
journey the same evening we  were       
obliged to face the heat of the sun and 
started back towards the  river on a    
trolley worked by hand levers4  ,we     
passed a kite's nest  close to the      
railway on the perpendicular face of a  
mass of limestone  rock4    ,sukkur is a
 good-sized town of more than #cj1jjj   
inhabitants1 but its  buildings seemed  
#bgi to be all of wattle and daub1      
though three and  even four storeys     
high1 and they were grey in colour1     
uncomfortably  monotonous in the        
terrific heat4    ,a single span of the 

bridge joins the ,sukkur side to        
,bhakkur ,island1  a mass of limestone  
rock fortified centuries ago4  ,the keys
 of the  gates were in charge of a      
signaller at the blockhouse and a bridge
  inspector4  ,while they were being    
obtained ,i read the inscription  upon  
the bridge--      ,erected by ,f4 ,e4   
,robertson and ,m4 ,s4 ,n4 ,hecquet1    
#ahhg-ahhi4  ,girders  made by ,westwood
 ,baillie  ,co41 ,london4  ,j4 ,s4 ,r41 
#ahhg4      ,it is one of the great     
monuments of ,queen ,victoria's reign1  
one among  the many bridges1 waterworks 
and railroads that have so far          
monopolized in modern ,india all        
architectural aspiration4  ,splendid  in
 its utility1 an inspiring instrument of
 commercial development1 it  looks like 
the creation of some great ,arachnid but
 stretches its iron  network so far into
 the air that it is as much larger than 
any  spider's trap-net as the highest of
 the ,himalayas exceeds an  ant-hill4   
,i walked a little way on ,bhakkur      

,island and stood on the  sand under    
some high walls looking at the ,ruri end
 of the bridge4  ,they were the walls of
 an old nunnery called ,suttian1 ,i     
think for  widows who had declined to be
 burned with their dead husbands4  ,the 
engineer told me in connection with     
,suttian that a man named #bhj  ,mosu   
,shah was said to have built a minaret  
we could see with the  object of spying 
upon one of the nuns with whom he was in
 love4    ,out in the stream in front of
 us two men were pala fishing4  ,they   
had swum out each with an immense metal 
chattie to keep him afloat  and1 resting
 upon these1 fished the river with nets 
on long slender  poles1 putting the fish
 inside the chattie as they took them   
from the  net4  ,the fish come up to    
spawn and the men float down stream with
  their nets in front of them4    ,they 
drifted through the very reflections of 
the vast cantilevers  just as a train   
was steaming over the bridge and made   
one more of the  innumerable contrasts  

of the old and new order ,i had seen in 
,india4    ,regaining the trolley we    
crossed to the ,ruri shore and walked   
some  distance over the wide burning    
sand for the best view of the bridge4   
,a number of cattle were down upon the  
sand near the water-edge  seemingly well
 content1 as ,i have seen great herds   
baking in summer  heat on level sand on 
the ,west ,coast of ,ireland at the edge
 of the  ,atlantic4  ,here at ,ruri1    
however1 the sun beat with greater fury 
and  a group of ,sindi boatmen and their
 families1 who had been busy  mending   
sails spread out on the sand1 had all   
stopped work till  cooler hours arrived4
    ,in the summer1 that engineer       
assured me1 #bha the thermometer        
reaches #bdj and even #bej in the shade6
  ,i have been here twelve  years1 he   
said1 and during all that time we have  
had six  rainfalls4  ,he pointed out to 
the right of the bridge the magazine    
where dynamite was stored for blasting  
purposes1 and1 farther to the  right1   

another small island with a very old    
temple on it4  ,this  island is called  
,khwajah ,khisah and the temple shrine1 
although the  building is in the form of
 a mosque1 is frequented by both        
,hindoos  and ,mohammedans4    ,there is
 a very important project in hand for   
damming the ,indus just  above this     
temple so as to raise the water-level   
and so feed the  canals during the dry  
season as well as at periods of flood4  
,i could  make out the head of the      
,begari ,canal1 then quite dry1 in the  
distance between ,khwajah ,khisah and   
the island of ,bhakkur4    ,when ,i     
returned by the trolley to ,sukkur there
 was a local train in  the station and  
the carriage in front of the            
waiting-room where ,i sat  resting in   
the shade seemed to contain the most    
obviously authentic  prototypes of that 
famous ,asiatic forty1 more celebrated  
even in  ,europe than the ,french       
,academy4  ,red faces with large mouths 
agrin  between thick moustaches and     

short bushy black beards1 blue turbans  
and dirty finery--the very perfection of
 stage villains1 but  ,morgiana8  ,no1  
,i could not see her and the music of   
the opera1 #bhb  ,the ,barber of        
,baghdad1 with its superb iterations of 
that lady's  name came drifting through 
my head4    ,the reflections of the dull
 red girders of the bridge were now     
almost  green4    ,i again slept in the 
train that night and woke up in the     
,bolan ,pass  in ,british ,baluchistan4 
,at half-past nine in the morning the   
sky was  very pale and although the     
shadows of the hill-clefts were clear   
they  were not hard4  ,on each side of  
the line there was a flat               
boulder-strewn plain which was stopped  
abruptly a quarter of a mile  away by   
steeply rising heights of rock4  ,then  
suddenly the flat plain  itself would be
 trenched and split into huge caons1    
clefts going  deep down into the earth4 
,a few grey dried plants1 almost the    
same  colour as the stones1 were the    

only visible signs of vegetation4    ,in
 the early morning at ,sibi ,junction ,i
 had branched off on the  ,western 7or  
,quetta7 arm of the great loop which    
extends from ,sibi to  ,bostan          
,junction4  ,by ten o'clock the train   
with two powerful engines  was ascending
 a gradient of one in twenty-five beyond
 ,hirok4  ,from  the window ,i could    
watch1 upon the old ,kandahar ,road     
below1 the old  slow-creeping progress  
of a camel caravan4  ,the pass was now  
narrowing1 closing up on each side and  
the cliffs rose steeply where  at a     
sharp turn ,i caught sight of a square  
block-house perched on a  jutting crag4 
#bhc    ,at ,quetta ,i had the double   
annoyance of missing luggage and of     
being  taken1 on account of my dark     
beard1 for an expected ,french spy4     
,the  latter misunderstanding was put   
right by a subdivisional officer from   
,chaman 7the present terminus of the    
railway beyond the end of the  ,kojak   
,pass7 whither ,i was bound and where1  

having left the loop at  ,bostan        
,junction1 ,i arrived the same evening  
to get a peep across the  border into   
,afghanistan--to set foot in the ,amir's
 country1 that land  of ,mohammedan     
freebooters1 waiting and waiting in vain
 for an  autonomous ,india whereunto    
their co-religionists would be able to  
welcome an invading army4    ,going out 
into the sunlight from the gloom of the 
dak bungalow  everything seemed at first
 only brightness1 as if the external    
world  were like a cup brimmed with a   
throbbing intensity of light4  ,then1   
as my eyes accustomed themselves1 ,i saw
 that near the bungalow were  peach and 
apricot trees holding sprays of blossom1
 rose and white  against the pale blue  
of the sky1 and that in the distance on 
every  side mountains rose out of the   
plain1 not grey and cold but warm with  
faint tints of amethyst and delicate    
red1 and that snow lay upon  their      
higher peaks4    ,chaman lies in the    
plain within a horseshoe of mountains1  

and the  space of clearly seen country  
is so vast that the mountains look      
almost as if drawn upon a map4  ,the    
little town is #bhd entirely of  wattle 
and daub1 a grey blanket colour with    
just a little paint and  whitewash about
 a ,hindoo temple1 and here and there a 
peach tree in  flush of blossom4  ,the  
main street is very wide and in front of
 some  of the shops there are tiny      
enclosures1 five or six feet square like
  miniature front gardens4  ,two        
patriarchal looking old ,pathans were   
walking along in front of the shops4    
,they wore the same kind of  stout      
leather boots1 and from above the turban
 peeped the same type  of conical       
head-covering that ,i had seen worn by  
pedlars in ,ceylon  and throughout the  
length and breadth of ,india4  ,they    
were ,achakzai  ,pathans and one1 whose 
name was ,malik ,samunder ,khan1 said he
 was  eighty years old4    ,seeing the  
entrance of a caravanserai ,i was going 
in when ,tambusami  demurred4  ,it was a

 long way truly from his home near      
,tuticorin1 and  he gave these ,northern
 folk his favourite epithet calling them
  jungle people4  ,seeing that ,i was   
going into the sarai in spite of  his   
remonstrance1 he said submissively1     
,where you go ,i come1 but  added1      
,where you not go ,i not go4    ,there  
were not many camels within1 but in one 
corner some ,afghans  were pouring      
raisins into heaps1 and inviting me to  
eat1 gave me  larger and finer dried    
grapes than ,i had ever seen4  ,the     
raisins were  called abjush and the men 
were #bhe ,popalzais 7,candaharis74     
,alas6  we could exchange no talk but   
they made me welcome1 and while we      
squatted silent in the sunlight and the 
clear delicious air1 one1  taking up a  
stringed instrument called a rahab1 sang
 to its  accompaniment4  ,it was        
certainly not a song of fighting3 there 
was  gladness in it--even passion now   
and then--but no fury--,i think it  was 
a love-song4  ,it was not a song of     

fatherland3 there was pride in  it but  
no arrogance4  ,nor was it assuredly a  
song of religion3 there  was faith in it
 and adoration1 but no abasement4  ,yes1
 ,i'm sure it  was a love-song4         
,quetta with its gardens and orchards1  
its fortified lines and its  command1 by
 reason of natural position1 of both the
 ,kojak and the  ,bolan ,passes1 is one 
of the most important of ,indian        
,frontier posts4  ,i returned to it from
 ,chaman and drove and walked about its 
wide and  well-metalled roads such as   
the ,high ,school ,road1 the ,agent     
,road1  and the ,kandahar ,road4        
,trees1 as yet bare of leaves1 lined the
  sides1 and fruit blossom looked gaily 
over walls and fences4    ,the ,holi    
festival of the ,hindoos coloured these 
days4  ,the throwing  of red powder or  
red-tinted water seemed pretty general1 
and hardly a  white dhoti was to be seen
 that was not blotched with crimson or  
vermilion splashes4  ,people danced in  
the streets1 and one came  suddenly on  

#bhf a crowd watching folk wild as      
bacchanals1 both men  and women dressed 
in gay finery1 garlanded with flowers   
and dancing  with strange fantastic     
gestures in obedience to the universal  
song of  spring's new advent4  ,i went  
early to bed in another dak bungalow1   
having somewhat of a fever about me     
since the blazing hours two days  before
 at the ,lansdowne ,bridge1 and awoke in
 the early hours4  ,my  great-coat had  
fallen down at one side of the charpoy1 
and ,i felt as  if a cold plaster lay   
upon my chest4  ,tambusami was crouched 
in front  of the fire and had fallen    
asleep covered in his blanket4  ,from   
the  blackened broken hearth a little   
acrid smoke puffed fitfully into the    
room4  ,on the floor lay a torn and     
extremely dirty dhurrie which had  once 
been blue4  ,between the dhurrie and the
 damp earth mildewed  matting showed    
here and there through the holes4  ,a   
decrepit  looking-glass in a broken     
frame stood upon one rickety table      

against  the wall1 and on another an    
iron tray of uncleaned dinner-plates    
added to the general air of dirt and    
squalor4    ,leaving ,quetta by a       
morning train ,i was again passing      
through a  region mountainous on either 
side beyond a plain white with          
leprous-like tracts of salt4  ,it       
resembled neither frost nor snow1  but  
was a strange blotchy incrustation as if
 the earth were smitten  with some      
fearful pestilence4    #bhg    ,on one  
side the mountains were grey with violet
 shadows following  their clefts and    
scoriations1 spotted in places by dark  
leafless  shrubs1 and on their summits  
lay a little snow4  ,on the other side  
the hills were red with only soft warm  
hints of shadows1 and beyond  them was a
 band of filmy blue almost as light as  
the sky4  ,soon1 as  the train raced on1
 the intervening plain became strewn    
with small  loose boulders and isolated 
tufts of dry dead prickly bush4  ,two   
long  tents like giant slugs hugged the 

ground with their black bodies1 and     
near them a few scattered sheep hunted  
the sparse nourish of aridity4    ,again
 ,i passed ,bostan ,junction1 this time1
 however1 instead of going  on towards  
,chaman1 turning to follow round the    
,eastern arm of the  loop by what is    
called the ,harnai ,route4  ,the        
landscape had quite  altered1 but was   
still strange and unhealthy looking4  ,a
 veritable  pigment seemed to exude from
 it1 varying in different parts of the  
same field of vision4  ,the outlines    
were noble but the colour1  instead of  
being the effect of light and air upon  
masses either of  local uniformity or   
varied by differences as of flowers or  
vegetation1 was by this frequent change 
in the hue of the earth  itself too     
prismatic for majesty and too trivial   
for grandeur4  ,a  rugged pile of grey  
rock will receive from the procession of
 the  hours indescribable glories1 but a
 mass of mixed ,french fondants         
squashed into the same shape #bhh could 

never capture a tithe of  such beauty4  
,in chalky half-tones the landscape ran 
the entire gamut  of reds1 yellows1     
blues and greens1 with an appearance of 
false  sweetness as if the face of earth
 had been smeared with pigment          
destroying all natural glow4    ,and    
yet--and yet--as noon grew nearer and   
the hovering heat made all  things hazy 
and indistinct1 where all merged and was
 lost1 and  nothing began or ended1     
surely that was beautiful--earth        
mother--mother-o'-pearl4    ,after      
leaving ,mangi ,station the train       
approached the famous ,chappa  ,rift    
where a vast and sudden break in the    
mountain makes a wide  stupendous chasm1
 with steep perpendicular sides4  ,i was
 permitted to  ride upon the locomotive 
for this part of the journey and watch  
this  wild and desolate magnificence of 
nature's architecture unfold its        
terrible titanic grandeur4  ,at one     
point the railway crosses the rift  by  
an iron bridge called after the ,duchess

 of ,connaught4  ,entering a  tunnel in 
the vast wall of rock the train emerges 
again at one end of  the bridge1 and    
after crossing the gulf turns along the 
other side so  that for some long time  
this narrowest part remains in sight1   
the  maroon red ironwork of the bridge  
staring dramatically in the centre  of a
 desolate landscape of silver grey4  ,no
 patch of grass or shrub  or any other  
live thing is to be seen--only the      
immensity of the  scale is marked #bhi  
by one small block-house1 a minute      
sentinel  which shows against the sky on
 the tallest height of cliff4    ,as the
 journey continued1 the rocks took more 
fantastic shapes and  above a steely    
gleaming river and its grey beach of    
stones1 the cliff  became like serried  
rows of crumbling columns as if some    
cyclopean  ,benares uplifted by         
earthquake reared its line of petrified 
palaces  against the sky4          #bij 
,,chapter ,,xxi    ,,rajputana          
,jaipur was stricken by plague3 the     

number of deaths had gone on  increasing
 and the living were thrown into a state
 of bewilderment4  ,the ,rajput         
princesses had fled in panic to the old 
palace of ,amber  and strangers were1   
for the time1 asked not to visit that   
ancient  capital4  ,the dinner-table    
that evening1 spread in the open        
courtyard  of the hotel1 became heaped  
with moths attracted by the lamps and   
dying through their ardour1 and it      
almost seemed as if some spiritual      
light were attracting in the same way   
human souls to leave their  bodies      
tenantless4    ,in company with the     
,nazim 7district officer7 ,i started out
 betimes in  the morning--passed the    
large grey bungalow of the ,rajah's     
chief  minister1 the lunatic asylum1    
long cactus hedges and gardens in which 
white-domed cenotaphs of buried chiefs  
gleamed among graceful  acacia-like ,aru
 trees1 while peacocks arched their     
jewelled necks  upon the walls1--and    
entered the city by that one of its     

seven  gateways called the ,moon ,door  
7,chand ,pol71 crenelated and covered   
with painted decoration which included a
 guardian #bia figure on  each side of  
the entrance1 turbaned soldiers with    
fixed bayonets  supported on different  
shoulders in the artist's desire for    
symmetry4    ,the gateway was really    
like a large square tower with          
considerable  open space inside1        
thatched huts leaning up against its    
outer wall4  ,inside the city the wide  
well-paved streets looked so clean and  
spacious and the pink-coloured stucco of
 the houses so bright and  gay1 that    
,death seemed a cruel intruder there    
without excuse4  ,yet  three corpses    
were carried past us while we stopped   
for a moment4  ,the one in yellow is a  
woman1 said the ,nazim4  ,i asked why a 
group  of ,mohammedans sat in the       
courtyard of a house near us1 and the   
,nazim  said3 ,someone has died         
there--these are friends met to read    
some of  the aphorisms of the ,koran4   

,the day before there had been          
fifty-four deaths in the city1 which    
was some decrease as the daily toll had 
quite recently reached one  hundred4    
,in the ,chand ,pol ,bazaar there were  
not many people about1 though to  the   
stranger there was no evidence of       
calamity beyond the occasional  passing 
of corpses4  ,the sunshine was so bright
 and the air so  pleasant1 and a crowd  
of pigeons fluttered and strutted with  
such  animation round a sacred bull6    
,near us a small peepul tree hung over  
one wall of a red sandstone #bib        
temple--the ,sita ,ramjika--like a      
fountain of green and gold4    ,at the  
famous observatory ,mr ,gokul ,chandra  
,bhawan ,raj ,jotshi1 who is  in charge 
of it1 showed me round the strange      
gigantic instruments4  ,we examined the 
largest sundial in the world1 with      
gnomon #ge feet  high2 and standing in  
the paridhi1 the circumference of the   
dial1 ,i  could see1 above some pink    
dwelling houses1 the clock in the palace

  tower which is regulated by the old   
dial4    ,very curious are the twelve   
houses of the ,zodiac 7,rashi ,valya7   
each  with a little painting of its     
celestial landlord upon the thickness   
of the wall under its four-centred arch4
    ,the ,nazim took me on to see the   
,maharajah's ,palace1 and in its lovely 
gardens1 near a tree of ,kachnar in full
 bloom1 we came upon the tomb  of a pet 
dog whose memory had been honoured with 
a sculpture of his  canine incarnation  
carved in black marble and protected by 
a  dome-topped marble kiosk4  ,the      
,nazim said the dog had been loved for  
his extreme obedience1 and there was a  
tale of some gold bangle lost  in a     
billiard-room which he had restored to a
 despairing owner4  ,it  was a graceful 
monument in beautiful surroundings and a
 great  contrast to the unpleasing      
tombstones in that crowded little canine
  cemetery near the ,marble ,arch in    
,london1 but there was another piece  of
 sculpture in that garden #bic which ,i 

was more anxious to see1  but which1    
alas for me6 was hidden that morning4   
,gobindaji1 said to be one of the most  
beautiful of the carved figures  at     
,muttra1 was brought here for safety by 
the ,maharajah ,mon ,singh1  and is     
apparently treated as if the stone has  
quite corporeal needs1  for the ,nazim  
said3 ,true he lives at the bottom of   
this garden4  ,he  has his hours3       
sometimes he has just taken his food and
 sometimes he  is sleeping4  ,just now  
he sleeps1 so you are not able to see   
him4    ,i love most gardens where old  
statues sleep1 but without any wish to  
disturb their slumbers possess some     
little of ,aladdin's curiosity--or      
,coventry ,tom's2 besides1 had ,i known 
,gobindaji's hours ,i would have  timed 
my visit more opportunely4  ,as it was1 
in this garden where  dogs have         
monuments and statues lunch1 ,i could at
 least enjoy the  jasmine flowers and   
the blossoms of the pomegranates and the
  grapevines trailing over rough stone  

uprights4    ,at the bottom of the      
garden we passed through a door in the  
wall1 and  walking down a narrow flight 
of steps beheld the ,rajah's crocodiles 
under the windows of the zenana         
quarters4  ,the keeper of the           
crocodiles was an old white-bearded man1
 extremely tall and thin--so  thin in   
fact that his charges must have long    
ceased to wait with any  eagerness for  
indiscretion in too near approach4  ,the
 spacious tank  was enclosed #bid on    
three sides by a wall1 and on the fourth
 by the  palace itself4  ,we had        
descended by the steps from a terrace   
and  stood on a small piece of muddy    
ground on to which the thin keeper      
enticed his huge charges by throwing a  
bundle of rag towards them and          
withdrawing it by a string4  ,in the    
middle of some beautiful public  gardens
 close to the city stands ,jaipur's     
,albert ,hall1 a large  building in     
white marble1 which contains a durbar   
hall and a fine  collection of examples 

of ,indian art and industry4  ,its      
courts are  decorated with mottoes      
translated from ,persian and ,hindoo    
literature1  and as maxims for guidance 
they are not at all easy to reconcile   
with  each other4  ,from the            
,hitopadesa1 for example1 on one wall is
  quoted3--      ,fortune attends the   
lion-hearted man    ,who acts with      
energy2 weak-minded persons    ,sit idly
 waiting for some gift of fate4         
,and on another from the same source is 
written3--      ,he has all wealth who  
has a mind contented4    ,to one whose  
foot is covered with a shoe    ,the     
earth appears all carpeted with leather4
      ,after all they represent         
different aspirations and only mystify  
because they are marshalled here as from
 the same authority4  ,one man  would   
rather have a rough road tearing his    
defenceless feet as he  treads it with a
 purpose1 #bie while another would      
prefer to watch a  garden sundial       
marking contented hours that leave no   

record behind  them4  ,and the first    
might fall powerless on the wayside1 and
 the  second shatter a kingdom by the   
report of quiet words4    ,there are    
aviaries of beautiful birds in the      
gardens about the  museum--rose-coloured
 flamingoes and ,rajput parrots with    
heads like  peaches and pale grey       
,mussulmans from ,mecca1 with primrose  
crests  and orange cheeks4    ,at his   
bungalow not far away ,i had the        
pleasure of a chat with ,sir  ,swinton  
,jacobs1 the dear old engineer and      
architect who has done so  much to keep 
alive traditions of ,indian craft-work1 
and is one of the  very few ,englishmen 
who has not flown from ,india when white
 hairs  came4      ,in all ,india no    
spot has been so rapturously praised for
 its beauty  as ,udaipur in ,rajputana  
and its lake-reflected palaces4         
,travelling  towards it from ,jaipur ,i 
found myself a day later in the ,state  
of  ,mewar1 passing fields of the white 
opium poppies for which the ,state  is  

famous4    ,udaipur is a white town and 
comes quite suddenly into view after you
  have been watching from the train a   
lovely range of hills1 warm and         
glowing4  ,the bright railway station is
 a grey stone building with a  square   
tower1 and the lower part of it is half 
smothered in pale  convolvulus4  #bif   
,the flowers are glorious at ,udaipur1  
and ,i found  the white house of the    
,british ,resident bowered in           
magnificent  bougainvillias4  ,this     
gentleman kindly promised to ask the    
,maharana  to grant me a sitting for a  
painting4    ,driving over a bridge past
 crenelated walls1 a road hedged by     
dense  broad-leaved cactus1 led me on to
 a forest of leafless trees softer  in  
colour than an olive wood4  ,it was like
 a forest from a  fairy-tale1 with      
troops of wild long-legged swine and    
peacocks1 their  bright tails rushing   
through the branches like a coloured    
wind4  ,then  ,i came out upon the      
waterside where the white group of      

palaces with  their long sloping ramps1 
their many flights of steps and         
galleries1  their towers and cupolas1   
rose up majestically1 unrivalled save by
  their own reflection in the lake4     
,what part was plaster looked like      
marble1 and what was marble glowed      
tremulously warm like some white        
mineral counterpart of flesh4           
,illustration3 ,,the ,,palace ,,of ,,the
 ,,maharajah ,,of ,,udaipur4  ,,drypoint
  ,,etching4    ,four rowers pulled me  
in a long boat to the ,jag ,mandar1 one 
of two  palaces which1 completely       
covering the small islands on which they
  are built1 appear to be floating upon 
the water4  ,i landed at some  wide     
steps at one end of a terrace on which  
four stone elephants  stand with raised 
trunks saluting4  ,a band of darker     
colour upon  their legs and on the walls
 showed that the water was at a lower   
level than it sometimes reached4  ,there
 was a garden within the walls  #big of 
the palace from which three palms rose  

high above the  rounded shapes of lower 
growing trees4    ,the ,maharana had    
consented to give me a sitting of one   
hour at four  o'clock in the afternoon4 
,a two-horse carriage took me through   
the  city to the lake-front and then    
along under the white walls of the      
palace4  ,more than ever as ,i passed   
close beneath them was ,i struck  by the
 similarity in general shape of one     
great series of towers to  those of old 
,baynard's ,castle2 but never have the  
waters of the  ,thames reflected so     
white a building6  ,and the beauty of   
that vast  whiteness destroyed for me   
forever the old argument which tries to 
explain the former strong coloration of 
,greek architecture by saying  that     
large surfaces of white building would  
have been intolerable  under ,southern  
sun4    ,after ,i had arranged my easel 
in the room1 which had been fixed upon  
for the painting1 the ,maharana entered1
 carrying a long sword in a  green      
scabbard4  ,we bowed to each other and  

after moving to the chair  which had    
been placed for him he motioned me to be
 seated also4    ,of all the native     
princes in ,india1 the ,maharana of     
,udaipur has the  longest pedigree1 and 
his kingdom is the only ,rajput ,state  
which can  boast that it never gave a   
daughter in marriage to a ,moghul       
emperor4  ,this tall and dignified      
chieftain is ,high ,priest of ,siva as  
well as  ruler of the ,state of ,mewar1 
and is revered for his #bih religious   
office no less than for his temporal    
sovereignty4  ,he is thoroughly  and    
proudly loyal to the ,british rule1 but 
a brother of the  ,englishman who did   
his utmost 7in accordance with expressed
 wishes  from high quarters7 to bring   
him to the ,coronation ,durbar of #aijc1
  once told me that on the morning of   
the great function my brother  found    
,udaipur on the floor of his tent1 stark
 naked and ill with  fever1 so that he  
could not go4    ,his beard and         
moustache were brushed upwards and      

stained with some  dye which made them a
 metallic blue colour4  ,a small turban 
came down  over the left temple4  ,he   
wore no orders or decorations1 and his  
only  jewellery consisted in a double   
row of pearls round the neck and one    
diamond ring on the right hand4  ,a long
 gown1 with close-fitting  sleeves1 made
 of maroon-coloured cloth1 and bound at 
the waist by a  belt and a white sash1  
clothed him from the neck to the        
velvet-shod  feet4    ,he had agreed to 
sit for me for one hour but ,i thought1 
in spite of  his gentle dignity1 the    
first quarter was for him a long while  
going4  ,during that time no one had    
spoken1 and ,i asked whether he had not 
in  the palace some teller of stories   
who might keep him from feeling the     
irksomeness of sitting so long in one   
position4  ,when the interpreter        
explained my suggestion he smiled and   
asked whether it could trouble  me #bii 
if he talked with his ministers2 and two
 of these1 coming  forward at my        

acquiescence1 talked with him throughout
 the rest of  the sitting1 and as he    
still kept well his position for me the 
change  was mutually agreeable4    ,to  
my left1 beyond an outer gallery1 lay   
the beautiful lake1 and1  crowning a    
hill immediately opposite1 shone the    
whiteness of the  ,summer ,palace4      
,on my way back from ,udaipur ,i stopped
 at ,chitorgarh1 fifty miles  away1 to  
drive to the famous fortress city of    
,chitor1 the former  capital of ,mewar4 
,the hill of ,chitor lies on the flat   
land like a long mole or hog's  back4   
,all along its crest old tawny buildings
 with towers and  turrets stretch in a  
broken line as if they formed the ridge 
of some  old saurian's back with many of
 the spines broken4  ,rather beyond the 
centre the ,tower of ,victory1 yellow   
and tawny as the rest of the  buildings1
 appears sharply prominent4  ,trees     
circle the hill at its  base and rising 
from among them the road leads steeply  
along and up  the side of the cliff in  

one long zigzag4  ,the slopes of the    
hill  looked grey as ,i approached4     
,the tonga ,i had engaged to drive me   
from ,chitorgarh crossed by a  stone    
parapeted bridge the almost empty ,river
 ,ghamberi1 in the bed of  which the    
bare rock jutted up in sloping shelves4 
,we passed a  cemetery and several      
fields of green #cjj barley1 and the    
zigzag  road up the hill looked more    
imposing the nearer we drew1 with its   
eye-holed curtain wall1 its bastions and
 towers4  ,still in the plain  below1 we
 now entered through the pointed arch of
 a gateway the  bazaar of modern        
,chitor4  ,it was full of dogs1 pigeons1
 cattle and  people1--a narrow crowded  
street at right angles to the hill4  ,we
  turned by the large white ,kotwali and
 a beautiful temple porch and  passed   
houses with elaborately carved fronts   
having stone balconies  with grey       
reliefs of elephant processions4        
,then we entered the fort itself1 and   
began our progress through the  long    

series of its seven gateways that close 
the zigzag road at  intervals4  ,first  
came the ,padal ,pol of ,akhbar's time1 
and then a  new gate with two monuments 
and the sacred emblems of ,siva4  ,the  
third was the ,gate of ,hanuman1 the    
monkey friend of ,rama4  ,set within  a 
grand stone arch1 the old wooden doors  
covered with large iron  spikes were    
dropping to pieces with age4  ,between  
this and the  preceding gateway ,akhbar 
himself is said to have shot the        
besieged  leader in the great siege of  
#aefh4  ,the ,ganesh ,gate followed1 and
  just at the turn of the zigzag far    
above our heads the rough masses  of    
bare rock--here1 blood-red ochre1 and   
there1 pale purple  grey--reared up and 
up to yet higher steeps of masonry to   
the line of  the great road wall above4 
,here and there stunted trees #cja      
clutched the stones or straddled some   
projection with clinging roots4  ,the   
fifth gateway was the ,jorla ,pol with a
 rough1 stone house built  over it4     

,the ,lakshman ,pol was close to this   
last1 and had a group of  nine          
brown-legged native soldiers lounging in
 the gate-house4  ,beside  this part of 
the road there were some hundreds of    
small monuments  like double cubes from 
two to three feet high1 and ,i was told 
that in  past days anyone of ,chitor who
 had been to ,benares built one of      
these4    ,in front of the ,ram ,pol1   
the seventh and last gateway1 there is a
  wonderful old stone building with     
carved pillars and a long beam-like     
piece of stone1 now used as a bench to  
sit upon1 carved from end to  end with  
alternate balusters and figures4  ,the  
carving round the base  of this gateway 
is very remarkable1 being in three tiers
 together1  not higher than three feet1 
with human figures in the upper course1 
horses in the middle one and elephants  
below4    ,beyond this gate are the     
ruins of old ,chitor4  ,blue-glazed     
tiles  still gleam from broken walls of 
palaces and time takes leisurely its    

slow revenge4  ,there are two towers in 
,chitor--one1 the ,tower of ,fame  and  
the other the ,tower of ,victory4  ,the 
first is close to an old  ,jain temple1 
and is itself of ,jaina architecture1   
built probably  about the time when     
,saxon pirates looked on the ,roman     
ruins of  ,londinium4    #cjb    ,in a  
niche over the very tiny doorway and on 
each of the other three  sides at the   
same level1 stands a perfectly nude     
figure which ,i  suppose to be that of  
the deified saint or ,tirthakarai to    
which the  tower was dedicated4         
,throughout its seven storeys the tower 
is  covered with elaborate sculpture and
 horizontal mouldings4  ,the door  was  
locked with a brass lock1 and it took   
some hunting to find the  keeper of the 
key4    ,when ,i bowed down and crept at
 last within1 the dusk was filled with  
a great whirring sound of many things4  
,i clambered up to the open  storey at  
the top1 and as ,i climbed grew more    
used to the subdued  light and could    

distinguish in the carving dancing-girls
 with strings  of jewels1 strange stags 
among trees and lines of geese1 while a 
myriad long-eared bats squealed about my
 head4  ,there was no                   
lightning-conductor on the ,tower of    
,fame4    ,the ,tower of ,victory1      
glowing a golden yellow in the declining
 sun1  was obviously more used to       
visitors1 and has an easier and a       
cleaner  stairway4  ,it is a fifteenth  
century monument built to commemorate a 
victory over ,mahmud1 ,king of ,malwa1  
and has nine storeys covered with       
carved decoration4  ,within this also   
there are many sculptures of the        
,hindoo mythology--,brahma1 ,vishnu and 
,siva and their various  incarnations4  
,on the top storey but one there are    
eight carved  marble columns very old   
and yellow1 in an inner #cjc rank1 and  
on  the outer projecting portion of the 
storey other marble columns4  ,by  a    
wooden ladder ,i ascended from here to  
the top storey which is  roofed with a  

dome restored last century1 and now     
protected by a  lightning-rod4  ,there  
were no marble pillars on this upper    
storey  which is octagonal in shape with
 four open sides and four closed by     
stone screens4  ,inside1 against the    
latter1 four stone slabs about  two feet
 square are let in to a stone framework1
 and two of these are  old and covered  
with inscription4    ,as ,i was driven  
away1 all the edges of the tower glowed 
like  burnished copper in the sunset    
light4    ,the twin cradles of the      
,jaina sect were the ,states of ,mewar  
and  ,marwar2 and while the former is   
still independent1 the latter forms     
with ,ajmere an isolated ,british       
district in the middle of ,rajputana4   
,i had now seen at ,chitor one of the   
most famous ,jain monuments in the      
,tower of ,fame1 and was next to journey
 to ,mount ,abu to see there the        
celebrated ,jain temples which are not  
much later in date4    ,mount ,abu is a 
detached hill about fifteen miles on the

 south-west of  the ,aravalli ,range4   
,from ,chitor ,i1 therefore1 went       
northwards to  ,ajmere1 the city which  
,akhbar had so frequently visited on his
  pilgrimages to the shrine of its      
saintly anchorite4  ,this saint was  of 
the same ,persian family as the ,sheik  
,salim ,chisti whose tomb ,i had  seen  
at ,fatehpur ,sikri4  ,his #cjd         
burial-place is known as the  ,dargah1  
whither ,i drove from ,ajmere ,railway  
,station4    ,there were steps up and   
steps down1 and then a gateway painted  
bright  blue with gold ,persian         
lettering upon it and doors covered with
  repouss metal4  ,in the large         
courtyard within1 the most noticeable   
object is the larger of two metal       
cauldrons--an iron pot of gigantic      
size--set in stepped stone1 over a      
furnace4  ,this is for cooking the  rice
 and other food1 offered for charitable 
distribution by wealthy  pilgrims4  ,in 
the same courtyard there are also tall  
metal candelabra  with niches all the   

way up for small oil votive lamps4  ,the
 great  area covered by the ,dargah     
includes mosques and other tombs1 as    
well  as that of the saint which last is
 entered through a series of silver     
doors4    ,the traveller in ,india soon 
grows accustomed to the wearing of      
garlands2 but at ,ajmere not only was ,i
 adorned at the tomb of  ,akhbar's      
saintly councillor1 with long strings of
 roses and  marigolds1 but when ,i came 
to remount the tonga which had been left
  at the entrance to the ,dargah1 ,i    
found that it also had been  decorated  
and now carried on each side a tree of  
pink and yellow  paper flowers4    ,at  
,ajmere1 a really beautiful treasure of 
architecture is a  magnificent carved   
screen of sandstone arches and five rows
 of  columns behind them1 the remains of
 an otherwise ruined mosque #cje  called
 the ,arhai-din-ka-jompra built from the
 materials of a former  ,jain temple    
about the end of the eleventh century4  
,a lake which was  made about the same  

date as the ,arhai-din-ka-jompra has an 
embankment  used as a public promenade  
on which there are white marble         
pavilions4  ,when ,i reached the edge of
 this lake1 through the beautiful trees 
of  public gardens1 the sun was nearly  
setting and suffused everything  with   
the inevitable enchantment of its golden
 light4    ,but there are ugly sights as
 well as beautiful ones at ,ajmere1 and 
one of the worst pieces of gaudy modern 
barbarism is that called the  ,moolchu  
,temple1 with painted images of         
elephants and painted  corrugated iron  
and common plush and gilding seen       
through glass  screens4  ,it must not be
 supposed1 however1 that there is no    
good  modern native building1 and not   
far away ,i saw one of the best         
examples in the handsome ,mayo ,college1
 a splendid pile of white  marble built 
for the education of young ,rajputs of  
high birth4    ,from ,ajmere ,i         
travelled ,south again down the other   
side of the  ,aravalli ,range on the way

 to ,abu ,road4  ,in the background the 
,chinwan  ,mountains could be faintly   
seen beyond nearer hills1 and masses of 
blue-grey rock split and cracked with   
dark fissures4  ,the landscape  was     
spotted with wriggling snatches of      
shadow from stunted trees with  dried   
grey leaves4    #cjf    ,where any earth
 was visible it was yellow1 and where it
 was covered  by any kind of vegetation 
that was yellow too4  ,cotton plants    
here  and there showed maroon-coloured  
heads1 but the only really bright       
colour in the general white glare was   
the brilliant scarlet of the  dak tree  
blossoms which glowed like red embers4  
,late in the  afternoon ,i reached ,abu 
,road and drove thence by tonga to      
,mount ,abu4  ,it was a terrible journey
 through choking dust4  ,i could not get
 at  my sand-glasses1 and against a     
scourging wind kept my eyes shut as     
much as possible1 only opening them now 
and then to peep at the  black-faced    
monkeys that stared from roadside rocks4

  ,it was like the  ordeal of some fairy
 story where the hero has to climb an   
enchanted  mountain with sinister and   
malevolent powers fighting against his  
ascent4  ,dead trees gnarled and twisted
 shook with fantastic menace1  and      
countless boulders seemed to cry out    
like the black stones to  which previous
 wayfarers had been transformed by the  
mountain demon4    ,it was evening and  
quite dark when the tonga finally       
stopped at the  equivalent of a livery  
stable1 and ,i learned that the last    
part of  the way was expected to be done
 by rickshaw4  ,in the darkness1 and    
being weary enough besides1 ,i offered  
no resistance1 and at length  attained  
food and shelter at the dak bungalow of 
,mount ,abu4    ,i had come to see the  
,dilwarra ,temples1 and #cjg the next   
morning  after ,i had obtained the      
necessary permit ,i walked by an easy   
path to  these curious buildings4       
,there was no dust-storm now but clear  
fresh  air and plenty of greenery4    ,i

 entered an outer court and seeking for 
some one who should open the  gate of   
the temples came upon a man curled up on
 a bench in such a  way that he seemed  
to show all the possible creases of his 
fat little  body4  ,he was an           
effeminate-looking creature and not1 ,i 
imagine1 a  priest--are not ,jain       
priests always clad in white8--dressed  
in two  pieces of silk1 one of an orange
 colour round his chest and the other   
of crimson partly covering his legs4    
,he had short black hair and  wore three
 large pearls on a thin ring through one
 of his ears4    ,when this decorative  
object at last arose he consulted with  
another  who was rubbing down sandalwood
 on a stone to mix it with saffron      
powder for painting marks or spots on   
the temple images4  ,together  they     
admitted me and ,i was shown round these
 famous and typical  examples of ,jain  
architecture4  ,there were the          
cross-legged seated  stone figure of the
 saint at the back of the image cell1   

the  pyramidal or domed roof1 and the   
pillared portico4  ,every part1 and     
especially the curious struts of the    
pillars and the interior of the  roof1  
was covered with elaborate carving1 and 
the whole stood within  a large yard    
surrounded by colonnades having a series
 of #cjh  separate image cells against  
the wall4  ,all these seated marble     
figures were alike1 and all had         
fishy-looking eyes of glass or  crystal 
with black centres4    ,in a separate   
building there was an equestrian statue 
of ,vimala ,shah1  who built one of     
these temples4  ,the horse was clumsy   
and  droll-looking1 with a broad nose1  
and had a small marble elephant on  each
 side of him4    ,i only saw one priest 
inside the temple1 and he was furnished 
with  the traditional bib of the        
,jainas1 the white cloth over mouth and 
nostrils4  ,the attendant told me this  
was worn in order that the  priest's    
breath might not contaminate the image  
of the saint which he  called ,god1     

whereas the accepted purpose is to      
prevent the possible  destruction by the
 priest of even minute forms of life    
which would  otherwise be drawn in with 
his breath4  ,absolute respect for life 
in  all its forms is one of the chief   
tenets of the ,jaina sect which is  very
 much akin to ,buddhism1 and may have   
somewhat preceded it in date4           
#cji    ,,chapter ,,xxii    ,,sir       
,,pratap ,,singh    ,his ,highness has  
sent a carriage for you4  ,this was a   
two-horsed1  two-wheeled vehicle in     
which ,i was speedily whirled away from 
the  railway station of ,idar ,road1    
four hours' journey from ,ahmadabad1    
along a very rough road4  ,the ,highness
 in question was ,sir ,pratap  ,singh1  
now the ,maharajah of the little ,state 
of ,idar4    ,the town of ,idar itself  
was eighteen miles away1 but close at   
hand  beyond yellow ruined walls ,i     
could see the city of ,ahmednagar at the
  palace of which ,sir ,pratap was in   
residence4  ,presently1 leaving the     

road1 we rumbled and bumped and lurched 
over a tract of sand covered  with      
coarse1 low bushes to the ,state        
guest-house which looked like a  very   
ordinary dak bungalow4  ,it was built on
 a square plan with doors  in such      
positions as ensured a through draught4 
,a large lizard  scampered over the wire
 of the outer gate as ,i walked in over 
the  matting of the verandah4  ,outer   
gates were placed on all four sides  to 
permit the four pairs of inner double   
doors to be left wide open4    ,i shall 
inform the ,resident of your honour's   
#caj arrival and he  will arrange for   
your honour to pay his respects to ,his 
,highness at  four o'clock4  ,this      
fluent ,english proceeded from the man  
who had  met me at the railway station4 
,i walked into the central room of the  
house which had eight double  doors     
opening into it4  ,all the walls and the
 ceilings were washed  over with very   
pale blue4  ,great bees were booming and
 buzzing in and  out over the bedsteads 

of which there was a large variety from 
the  native charpoy to an iron double   
four-poster with brass ornaments and    
painted with flower garlands4  ,in      
addition to the beds the furniture      
consisted of square wooden cane-seated  
chairs of ugly pattern covered  with    
brown varnish--what is commonly known as
 a nursery table--with  turned and      
varnished legs and no cloth1 and part of
 a dressing-table  by way of writing    
desk in one corner with pen1 ink and    
paper4    ,in front of the bungalow1    
planted in the sand but quite out of the
  perpendicular1 two square-sectioned   
blue wooden posts supported  crookedly  
set lamp glasses in the blinding glare  
of noon sunlight4    ,there was no      
punkah in spite of the intense heat1 but
 ,i counted no  less than nineteen large
 iron rings in the ceiling4  ,if these  
were  not intended for punkahs perhaps  
they were to dissuade intending         
suicides by the difficulty of choosing  
which one to hang by6    #caa    ,the   

man who had driven me had disappeared   
with a promise that tiffin  would come  
immediately1 and while ,i was noticing  
the above-mentioned  details ,i sat on  
one of the cane-seated chairs and       
,tambusami waited  with an eye on the   
outer sand4  ,a long time seemed to have
 gone by  with no sound breaking the    
intense hush except the noise of the    
bees  when ,tambusami said3 ,one basket 
coming ,i see3 one man coming ,i see1   
and from a blue palace beyond the tawny 
sandstone walls over the sand  and out  
of the heat at last came--breakfast4    
,the one man carried a series of pans1  
fitted into one another like a  tall    
cylinder in a frame1 as well as the     
basket1 and was accompanied  by several 
little black ,sambos carrying chatties  
of water on their  heads4  ,and now     
there were placed on the table a tea-cup
 with a  hare-lip and the motto         
,remember me1 some marmalade in another 
tea-cup with blue cornflowers on it1 and
 in gold the words ,think of  me1 and a 

third cup with the same motto containing
 some butter which  looked like thin    
melted white lard1 but when the contents
 of the  cylinder of pans were put      
before me ,i forgot to notice what they 
were  in my eagerness to consume them4  
,when four o'clock came and no one had  
called for me ,i started out  alone with
 umbrella spread leaving ,tambusami to  
watch our baggage at  the bungalow4     
,the heat was intense as ,i ploughed    
#cab through the  sand and scrub towards
 the arch in the broken wall which      
extended for  a long distance on either 
side4  ,it must at one time have been   
magnificent1 being built of very large  
blocks of stone cut and  squared with   
towers at intervals1 and the gateway1   
with its deep but  simple ,gothic arch1 
was an imposing structure with handsome 
square  pillars in the corners having   
brackets as in ,jain work4  ,as ,i      
passed  through this archway ,i saw     
about forty yards ahead of me a line of 
houses1 several storeys high1 the lower 

part of which had evidently  been built 
of stones from the dismantled wall4     
,they were roofed with  the half-tube   
tiles lipped over and under exactly like
 those of  houses in the ,pyrenees1 and 
as ,i entered a street ,i was reminded  
of  an old home of the former ,dukes of 
,montmorency near ,carcassonne by  the  
carved woodwork of a house front4       
,asking my way--by what must have seemed
 to native ears uncouth sounds  and     
weird signs--,i gradually reached what  
,i supposed was the palace1  and        
approaching a kind of guard-room with a 
number of soldiers  lounging about1 ,i  
asked to be directed to the ,vakil4     
,another  building was pointed out to me
 a little below where ,i was standing   
and thither ,i next turned my steps4    
,it was a curious structure  without any
 pretence at design1 an iron spiral     
outside staircase in  one portion and a 
long verandah in another upon a #cac    
raised  platform4  ,i passed a few      
rose-bushes and walked up on to the     

verandah and found a long series of     
doors1 and between them on wall  and    
sideboards1 rifles1 polo-sticks1        
horse-trappings1 bits1 shields1         
revolvers1 field-glasses1 and one much  
dented cricket bat4    ,i knocked at one
 door after another pausing at each in  
hope of some  response1 and at the fifth
 door this was forthcoming and ,i found 
myself quite suddenly in the presence of
 ,his ,highness the ,maharajah  ,dhiraj 
,major-,general ,sir ,pratap ,singh4    
,beyond the door was a vast apartment   
which seemed in semi-darkness as  ,i    
entered from the outer glare4  ,a young 
native gentleman in riding  breeches and
 a khaki shirt came towards me and asked
 if ,i was the  gentleman who had       
arrived that morning4  ,it appeared     
there had been a  misunderstanding about
 sending over for me1 and ,i was at once
 led up  to a charpoy with a white quilt
 on it upon which was reclining a       
strong-looking little man with a        
grizzled bullet head1 kindly brown  eyes

 and a grey moustache4  ,he wore just a 
white cotton shirt and a  thin pair of  
riding-breeches and had his well-shaped 
feet bare4    ,rising into a sitting    
posture1 ,sir ,pratap--for it was       
he--shook  hands1 and as soon as a chair
 had been brought for me we were        
chatting comfortably4  ,it seemed that  
he had had fever badly #cad  two days   
before through the sudden and untimely  
heat and was only  just recovering4     
,another native gentleman sitting at    
some distance  was ,sir ,pratap's       
doctor4    ,close by stood a man        
swinging a large fan punkah rhythmically
 with  both hands1 and outside the three
 window openings nearest to us          
bheesties 7water-carriers7 kept         
constantly pouring water upon the  grass
 tatties or blinds4    ,his ,highness   
spoke ,english well and was quick to    
understand and we  talked for more than 
an hour on many subjects4  ,he said he  
had fought  plague successfully at      
,ahmednagar in what he believed was the 

only  practicable way--namely by        
building two small cities of detached   
houses at some distance away and        
compensating the poorer people for      
turning out of their old dwellings4  ,in
 this way he had made a clean  sweep of 
the dirtier part of the town4    ,sir   
,pratap expressed a great affection for 
our royal family and  reverence for the 
memory of ,queen ,victoria1 whose       
portrait he showed  me with pride within
 two little folding doors of a shrine of
  elaborately-worked metal about two    
feet high and one and a half feet  deep4
    ,spare and wiry in figure1 simple   
and unaffected in dress1 quick and      
alert in manner1 there seemed little    
that was ,oriental in this man1  and in 
spite of the tatties and the fan very   
little suggestion of  luxury in his     
surroundings4  ,he #cae said he had     
travelled a great  deal but liked his   
own part of ,india better than any other
 place in  the world4    ,one difficult 
question for ,india1 he said1 is the    

increasing  consumption of cows' flesh  
and the consequent recent large increase
  in the slaughter of cattle4  ,i do not
 believe it is good for our  people in  
this hot climate to take to the eating  
of flesh4  ,it is  quite a different    
thing in ,europe where the colder       
climate makes it  practically a         
necessity4  ,here the price is already  
three times what  it was a few years    
ago1 which alone shows the diminution of
 cattle1  and their continued slaughter 
for an agricultural people must produce 
harm4  ,in any case we lose great       
numbers of cattle in our famine  times  
which are more frequent of late1 and    
even this year1 though we  shall not    
lose human lives through the famine1    
numbers of cattle must  starve4  ,also  
,i do not think our grain should be sent
 out of the  country4  ,this is no doubt
 good for the traders1 but they are few 
and  the continued export of grain is   
disastrous for the agricultural         
population4    ,two trays of tea were   

brought in1 one for each of us1 and we  
poured  out for each other1 ,his        
,highness taking saccharine tabloids    
instead  of sugar1 and the motto        
forget-me-not upon my tea-cup suggested 
near relations to my breakfast          
furniture4    ,the chief trouble of all 
in ,india1 continued #caf ,sir ,pratap1 
is  that the ,mussulman will not be     
friends with the ,hindoo4  ,the         
,mussulman says the ,hindoo is a bad    
man1 and the ,hindoo says the           
,mussulman is a bad man1 and these1     
together with people in your  ,english  
,parliament who call out and make a     
great noise1 are all bad  for ,india4   
,it was about five years since ,sir     
,pratap moved to ,ahmednagar from       
,idar1 eighteen miles away1 and his     
house is practically in a jungle  as he 
delights it to be4  ,both carriages and 
motorcars he dislikes as  enervating    
things1 and roads he is not fond of1    
preferring his ,arabs  and ,walers and a
 life in rough country half spent in the

 saddle4    ,i was introduced to ,his   
,highness's son1 ,dolat ,singh1 and also
 to his  grandson1 ,himat ,singh1 a     
healthy-looking lad in shirt and        
riding-breeches1 with a pearl in each   
ear1 and the next day was  granted a    
sitting by ,sir ,pratap for a painting1 
when he appeared in  military uniform1  
with top boots and a grand array of     
stars and  medals and a turban with a   
beautiful aigrette4  ,he sat very       
patiently1 sought in every way to make  
my task as easy as possible1  and       
behaved throughout with a charming      
courtesy4          #cag    ,,chapter    
,,xxiii    ,,the ,,moharam ,,festival4#a
    #a ,reprinted by permission from    
,the ,fortnightly ,review4      ,a      
little ,mohammedan boy was sitting      
cross-legged upon a worn-out old  quilt 
or rezai1 the hair-stuffing of which    
peeped out all over it  through         
irregular holes4  ,the covering was     
partly red and partly  blue4  ,on his   
knees was a wooden board with a handle  

piece projecting  at one end4  ,this    
board called a ,takti1 shaped like an   
old ,english  horn-book1 had been washed
 over with mud-water so that it was     
nearly  white and former writings were  
covered up4  ,in his right hand the boy 
held a reed pen called a ,colam with    
which he made strange  characters upon  
the board4  ,an earthen pot held the ink
 for his pen4  ,just in front of him was
 a little hinge book-rest called a ,ral 
on  which was a ,kitab or book of short 
pieces4    ,beside this boy were others 
also writing upon ,taktis4  ,none were  
more than twelve years old and most were
 about eight4  ,some wore  turbans and  
some little round plush caps1 while one 
had a cap of fine  linen with a         
broidered edge2 he wore a quilted jacket
 of yellow4    ,in a sing-song voice    
they read the words they #cah had       
written4  ,by  the door was a heap of   
brushwood and two little mice peeped at 
the  boys from under it4    ,the ,maulwe
 sat in the middle of one side of the   

class upon the floor  like the boys4    
,he was very old and had a beautiful    
yellow beard4  ,some beards seem to grow
 yellow instead of white with age4      
,some of  the boys could look down into 
the water-stream that ran along in the  
brick gutter4  ,they were quite a yard  
above the road1 but the  passers-by came
 close to them1 and once twelve camels  
passed with  three baby camels1 woolly  
things with long1 long legs4    ,the sun
 was so dazzling that everything outside
 seemed to shiver and  shake1 but under 
the cool roof the boys could see quite  
well4  ,the  roof was partly tiled and  
partly thatched1 and the row of brick   
columns supporting it at the outer edge 
was covered with white-washed           
plaster--at least it was once white1 but
 just where ,ghafur1 one of  the boys1  
leaned his back against it 7when he was 
not bobbing his  back up and down as he 
read7 it was nearly black4  ,how        
difficult it  is for anything to keep   
white all over6  ,it is easy to keep    

some  patches clean1 especially when    
they are in places we don't use4        
,ghafur began to eat sugar-cane when the
 ,maulwe was not looking4    ,if you    
looked between ,go ,kal ,chung 7a boy   
with a dark crimson turban7  and ,abdul 
with the #cai green coat1 right across  
beyond the road1  through a dip in the  
wall on the other side to the far       
distance--although in the dust and the  
sunlight all distant things  seemed     
nearly the same colour as the sky--you  
could just make out on  the other side  
of the ,river ,jumna the great white    
dome of the ,taj  ,mahal4    ,i liked it
 best by moonlight4    ,in ,india1      
moonlight seems so much brighter than in
 ,england4  ,walking  at night about the
 gardens ,i could still see the colours 
of the  flowers2 only the white roses   
seemed to whisper wakeful and restless1 
and the red ones to be silent4    ,the  
long path of water from the main        
entrance gateway to the pavement  below 
the platform of the ,taj is divided     

half-way by a circular tank  and by this
 there is a marble seat4  ,the soaring  
spirit of the  vertical lines of the    
minarets was echoed everywhere2 in the  
little  fountains at short intervals all
 the way1 and in the cypress trees      
along the garden beds parallel to the   
water-course4  ,far in the  distance    
against the marble wall the glimmering  
light of a lantern  moved waveringly2 ,i
 could dimly distinguish the figures of 
some who  had just been within to the   
tomb chamber4  ,then a spark1 a little  
spurt of brighter light1 gleamed out    
from far up the building4    ,the       
moonlight was slowly creeping round like
 a tide1 and ever as it  advanced some  
other of the innumerable gems set in the
 delicate  pallor of #cbj that vast     
facade for some brief moment1 gleamed   
and  died again4    ,the next day when  
,i passed the little school ,i found it 
closed and  the reason was that ,moharam
 had begun4    ,the ,moharam ,festival  
extends over many days and at ,agra ,i  

saw it  celebrated elaborately4  ,its   
origin was in a fight over the question 
of succession some time after the death 
of ,mohammed4  ,two ,imams1  named      
,hassan and ,hussein1 direct descendants
 of the prophet1 died in  battle4  ,the 
place where they were killed was called 
,kerbela1 which  means the place of     
sorrow4  ,now everything connected with 
that  fighting is remembered and1 as far
 as possible1 reproduced or  re-enacted 
at the time of ,moharam4    ,for long   
beforehand the preparations had been    
going on4  ,old swords  and maces had   
been brought out and brightened4  ,at   
the street corners  ,i had seen men     
furbishing old weapons1 long            
gauntlet-hilted swords1  as well as     
others making new wooden ones for       
fencing1 covered with  red or purple    
cloth4    ,the ,imams1 ,hassan and      
,hussein1 died on the night of the tenth
 day of  the month of ,moharam1 and it  
is on that day that the innumerable     
tasias are carried in procession to the 

,kerbela where the ,janazas1  the two   
little biers contained within the       
gorgeous pagoda-like  structure of the  
tasia1 are buried in the earth4    #cba 
,now when these ,imams1 ,hassan and     
,hussein were fighting against  ,eazied1
 all the sources of water were closed   
and they suffered  terribly from thirst4
  ,for this reason drink at this time1  
sherbet1 a  mixture of milk1 sugar and  
water1 or water alone1 is obtainable    
everywhere4  ,all along the streets at  
short intervals1 on wooden  stands the  
size and shape of an ,elizabethan       
bedstead with  grandly-decorated canopy1
 are rows of large red jars from which1 
in  most cases1 an attendant ladles the 
contents to smaller vessels for  whoever
 will to drink4    ,men of any means    
pride themselves not only on the lavish 
decoration  of their ,tasia1 but in     
furnishing one of these stands for free 
refreshment and keeping it supplied     
during the festival days4  ,here  and   
there also ,i saw a man sitting in a    

chair1 with two large pipes  in front of
 him at which all comers were free to   
smoke4  ,he kept  tending the coal-bowls
 of the pipes4    ,for days the air was 
full of the noise of drums and cymbals1 
and ,i  would see camels laden with     
families of children as well as crowded 
carts coming into the city from outlying
 places4    ,on the ninth day the crowds
 in the streets were very dense1 but    
among  them were kept numbers of little 
circular spaces in which were  performed
 fantasias of various kinds4  ,in one1  
men would be seen  fencing with wooden  
staves and in another1 to the           
accompaniment of  drums #cbb and        
cymbals1 a man would dance1 wildly      
brandishing with  quick thrusts and     
whirling1 back and forth1 up and down1 a
 long  quivering sword with stiff       
gauntlet hilt well above the wrist4     
,sometimes he would be quite an old     
greybeard4  ,round and round he  would  
lead and dance1 the flashing steel      
never1 by some miracle1  touching the   

ring of onlookers though passing within 
an inch of their  faces4  ,serjeant     
,troy's performance in the wood with    
,bathsheba would  have looked tame to   
this4  ,until utterly exhausted the man 
kept up  leap and dart and bound and    
brandish and then as at last he sank1   
another out of the eager waiting crowd  
took up the relinquished sword  and the 
dance continued4  ,sometimes the people 
round gave a great  yell of             
encouragement and waved their arms4     
,the poor vultures1 much  disturbed by  
the unwonted crowd and the great noise1 
flew overhead  while kites1 seemingly   
less flurried1 sat upon the trees4      
,the most grotesque circle ,i saw held a
 fantasia of six big drums4  ,these were
 really heavy and very cumbrous4  ,the  
drummers danced  wildly together1       
crossing and changing places and beating
 all the  while1 keeping on till        
exhaustion claimed them and then        
slipping out  of the drum straps for    
others to take their places4    ,in     

costume1 it is proper to wear green for 
,moharam and about a third  of the crowd
 do actually have green turbans4    #cbc
    ,comes along a grotesque tiger      
carried on a man's head on a wooden     
framework4  ,comes a ,saddah1 a curious 
box-like erection shaped like  a        
,punch-and-,judy show with the front of 
it all bunches of green  muslin4    ,the
 streets were dense with people1 but    
upon the roofs also men and  women      
crowded2 and towards sunset in their    
green1 crimson1 purple1  amber or       
scarlet robes they looked in the        
distance like uncut jewels  yielding for
 some mystic occasion the full intensity
 of their colour  without shine or      
flash4    ,another kind of display was a
 fight with short cloth-covered wooden  
sticks held in the right hand1 while in 
the left was kept twirling a  longer rod
 with ball ends4    ,men carried        
children on their shoulders1 and two    
little  jesters--youngsters with        
whitened faces and tall pointed caps and

  dresses covered with jingling         
bells--dodged under legs and squeezed   
their way along4    ,at night1 as if    
there were not quite enough mystery in  
the moonlight1  the air was thick with  
dust from the trampling feet4  ,i have  
said  nothing of the ,buraks which were 
as wonderful chimeras1 half mythic      
creatures on which it is supposed the   
commander rode1 beings with  human faces
 and strong fore-limbs1 half like       
peacocks with great  spreading tails4   
,many of them were borne among the crowd
 #cbd on  frames or platforms carried   
shoulder high4    ,here was a space kept
 for the ,barati dancer4  ,in a green   
vest and a  white loin-cloth he danced  
with a small skull-cap on his head4  ,he
  carried whirling in his hand the      
,barati1 a long rod with balls of  fire 
flaring at each end4  ,at one side of   
the space kept for this  dancer1 three  
men held up a frame on which hung       
specimens of many of  the ancient arms1 
,buttas of various kinds1 and ,danarh   

too1 and  ,patapazis--small shields4    
,men pushed the circle outward to widen 
it for a yet wilder dance4  ,genari     
,hadri6 ,genari ,hadri6 the crowd yelled
 for  encouragement4  ,a man went round 
pouring fresh oil on the torches  called
 ,kuppi and my eyes streamed with the   
smoke and dust4  ,the  fretwork of the  
projecting upper parts of the houses    
looked white in  this light4  ,two large
 ,tasias passed and many drummers4      
,then a  posse of police1 with their    
tall red hat-like turbans1 pushed       
through  the crowd with long sticks4    
,out of the great round earthen coolers 
into the small brown pots1  attendants  
at the ,sabils or drinking-stands1 kept 
on ladling4  ,under one1 two children   
lay fast asleep1 their dark heads as    
close  together as the golden ones of   
,goblin ,market1 while a little girl in 
green kept watch over them4    #cbe     
,these ,sabil stands are given1 some of 
them1 by filles de joie1  who are often 
lavish in charity4    ,a man was selling

 coloured plaster figures--he had a     
great basket of  them--two pi for a big 
one4  ,paper lanterns called ,kandils of
 many  shapes1 two feet high1 hung from 
the houses4  ,you must understand       
thousands of people were walking through
 and through the old city  that night1  
and the people of the houses vied with  
one another to  show each something more
 bizarre than the rest4    ,some men    
carried trophies of swords and green    
streamers arranged in  fan-shape on the 
top of a ten-foot bamboo pole4  ,this is
 called  ,zulfikar1 and at intervals the
 bearer stopped1 raised the pole and    
balanced it on his chin4  ,genari       
,hadri6 shouted the crowd again1  and   
the ,zulfikar man marched on with his   
set of drummers in front  of him4  ,then
 came men singing ,marsias1 i4e41 verses
 about the  death of ,hassan and        
,hussein--poems of regret3 and men of   
the ,shia  sect did beat their breasts4 
,when the enemy cut off the ,imams'     
hands they put them on the spikes  of   

banners and here1 above streamer cloths1
 ,i saw flat pieces of  silvered tin cut
 in the shape of hands4    ,many private
 houses threw open that night the       
courtyard and one of  the rooms for the 
crowd to pass through as it did in      
constant  pressing #cbf stream4  ,in    
some of these one sat on a mimbar       
reading  the ,marsias1 in others the    
,tasia was arranged for show in half of 
the room corded off or1 when it was a   
very large one1 in the  courtyard4      
,bells of the jesters jingled among the 
crowd4  ,in iron  ladles coloured fires 
were being burnt in front of a colossal 
burak  with gleaming eyes4    ,the      
,tasias were of infinite variety4  ,one 
,i saw was made entirely  of cotton1    
with animal and architectural subjects  
painted all over  it4  ,in one house    
were twenty hand banners in one row4  ,i
 followed  streets narrower than that   
traditional narrowest of old ,tours on  
the  ,loire4  ,in some houses were grand
 ,torahs--pictures1 the drawing of      

which consisted entirely of             
cleverly-interwoven ,arabic characters  
in  such shapes as a camel or the       
,british crown4  ,there were clusters of
  floating oil lights in crystal glasses
 on gilded standing candelabras4    ,in 
one street a gigantic and most elaborate
 lantern had within it a  revolving     
cylinder of cut-out figures making      
shadow pictures to move  on its surface4
  ,near this by another alley ,i was    
carried with the  flow of people into a 
house where the crowd was more dense    
than ever4  ,there was a rail across the
 room and behind that a second rail4    
,gold  embroideries hung along the back1
 and in the centre stood the ,tasia  in 
this instance made in the shape of some 
buildings at #cbg ,mecca4  ,vessels for 
spreading rose-water stood within the   
railing and a long  row of lamps1 and in
 the middle of the front face of the    
,tasia was  a miniature stage about two 
feet square2 behind this1 curtains      
dropped and rose again and various      

scenes1 rather on the principle of      
old-fashioned trick valentines1 followed
 one another slowly4  ,the  trouble here
 was that no one wanted to move1 and the
 press was  stifling4    ,at last came  
the day of the great procession1        
,february #ab1 of our  reckoning4  ,the 
streets were thronged in the early      
morning as they  had been all night and 
the previous day and the night and day  
before  that4    ,i drove past the great
 mosque1 the ,jama ,masjid2 the white   
zigzags on  its dome shone brightly     
against the red ,agra sandstone which   
now1 in  the morning light1 looked as if
 it had a kind of bloom upon it4  ,that 
was on the left--on my right hand ,i    
could see the crenelated walls of  the  
fort1 colourless against the sun now    
streaming across them4    ,parties of   
people1 gay in new green cloths and     
turbans1 were on their  way to take     
their places in friends' houses for the 
day4  ,hand-carts1  with seven or more  
great copper vessels1 were being pushed 

from stand  to stand1 refilling the     
great water-jars4  ,all traffic was     
stopped  for the day through the greater
 part of the city1 and ,i soon #cbh  had
 to leave my gharry and continue on foot
 my way to a house in the  ,kashmiri    
,bazaar where a place was being kept for
 me at a window4  ,at  three different  
places ,i passed groups of acrobats     
arranged high in  air like a sort of    
human set piece of six or seven sets of 
limbs4  ,it  looked curious in this     
country to see them wearing a kind of   
tights4  ,in one case all the legs were 
yellow1 in another purple1  and in a    
third black4    ,bands of ,marsia       
singers were perambulating the streets4 
,at length ,i  found my window1 or      
rather balcony1 and from it for hour    
after hour ,i  had an excellent view of 
all that passed4  ,the procession of    
,tasias1 which did in fact take seven   
hours to go by1 seemed as if  it would  
never end4  ,stoppages were frequent1   
and sometimes there  would be a wait of 

ten minutes or even a quarter of an     
hour4  ,of  every material imaginable1  
the common denominator was a square base
  with two carrier poles making four    
handles and a series of stages          
diminishing vertically except at the    
very top where1 in some  instances1     
there was a kind of horizontal windmill 
or other device  for movement4  ,some   
were of tin1 some were gilded1 some were
 silver2  some1 used year after year1   
were of intrinsically valuable          
materials2  others1 and these the       
majority1 were only built for use on the
 one  occasion1 however lavishly and    
gaily decorated4  ,several were of  #cbi
 green grass1 the ,tasia having been    
covered with wet cloth  smothered in    
seed like trophies in a cottage garden  
exhibition1 only  upon a much larger    
scale4  ,there were ,tasias of quite    
elaborate  architecture1 covered        
entirely with flower blossoms4  ,some   
sought  distinction in exaggerated      
height1 rearing thirteen or twenty      

stages  high in air above the topmost   
roofs--and these1 as may be imagined1   
were carried with difficulty1 the base  
poles projecting a long way so  that    
many arms could help and cords from the 
top being used in some  cases to steady 
the toppling pile4  ,there were ,tasias 
of coloured  paper and ,tasias of       
coloured cloths1 and with each marched  
the  people to whom it belonged1 with   
drums and stands of old weapons4        
,buraks of all sizes varied the strange 
scene1 and ,zulfikars with  their ,alams
 or tall stands of arms delighted the   
onlookers by feats  of balance during   
the many stoppages4    ,under each      
,tasia and ,burak was carried a supply  
of brushwood4  ,for some while ,i had   
wondered what the purpose of this could 
be1 but  during one of the halts it was 
made plain4  ,when the drumskins        
slackened a little1 fire was made of    
some of the brushwood and the  drum held
 over the flames until the skin became  
quite taut again4    ,the irregular line

 of the roofs as well as the balconies  
of every  floor were studded with #ccj  
spectators up and down the street4      
,only where there were purdah ladies1   
blinds and curtains hid them  from view4
    ,the next morning ,i was out1 just  
at dawn1 stepping across the bodies  of 
sleeping servants along my veranda4  ,i 
had heard of a curious  custom of the   
,shia sect of ,mohammedans and was      
anxious to see it  carried out4         
,whereas the ,sunnis and indeed nearly  
all the  ,mohammedans of ,agra1 would   
march in a second procession to the     
,kerbela beyond the city and there bury 
in the ground the twin biers  from      
within the ,tasias1 the ,shias would go 
down to the ,jumna banks  and bury      
theirs by the river4    ,close to the   
pontoon bridge ,i found the ,shias very 
seriously and  reverently carrying out  
their ceremony4  ,they appeared to take 
the  whole matter gravely4  ,their      
,tasias were not large or very showy1   
but the burying was conducted like a    

solemn ritual4  ,at this time of  year  
the river was of course low1 and the    
,shia gentlemen had dug a  long trench  
close to the edge of the water4  ,out of
 each ,tasia the  two little biers      
garlanded with marigolds were lifted    
carefully under  a white covering cloth1
 laid in the water at the bottom of the 
trench1 and covered in with earth4      
,then the ,tasia itself was  broken up1 
the pieces thrown in and covered with   
more earth as the  trench was refilled4 
,illustration3 ,,the ,,moharam          
,,festival ,,at ,,agra4    ,the         
procession of the previous day had #cca 
simply been a great  march round in     
order that all ,tasias might be paraded 
through all  streets of the town4  ,upon
 this day1 the conclusion of the        
festival1  they were to go to the       
,kerbela for the biers to be buried     
there4  ,hai ,hassan ham na huai6 ,oh   
,hassan6 ,i heard cried out1 ,i am  very
 sorry ,i could not help you at the time
 of battle4    ,it was a wild fantastic 

scene that ,i beheld when finally after 
a good  deal of persistence ,i reached  
the little mosque in the ,kerbela1 from 
which some dozen feet above the ground  
level ,i was privileged to  watch4  ,the
 whole air was filled with the deafening
 noise of a  thousand drums4  ,slowly   
the vast series of ,tasias advanced into
 the  enclosure1 moving them to right or
 left to carry out the burying  where   
their owners chose or had some right of 
ground4  ,and there were  two among     
them1 taller even than any ,i had seen  
on the previous  day--so lofty that it  
was a wonder they could be carried at   
all  without toppling over--bowing and  
bending now to one side1 now to  another
 and then quivering erect for a moment  
while at the top of  one1 a peacock     
turned round and round and round1 and at
 the top of  the other a wheel kept     
revolving4  ,how the children shouted6  
,many of  the grown people were like    
children those days and shouted too1 and
  the whole air was colour and dust and 

noise4    #ccb    ,thus ended for that  
year one of the greatest religious      
festivals  still observed in the        
,british ,empire1 a festival which ,i   
was  privileged to see celebrated with  
all its ancient pomp and  circumstance4 
#ccc    ,,chapter ,,xxiv                
,,rakhykash#a    #a ,reprinted by       
permission from ,the ,fortnightly       
,review4      ,the river flowing swiftly
 was a glorious vivid blue1 clear as    
crystal  and dancing with gleeful hurry4
  ,there was almost a greater contrast  
between the water of the ,ganges here at
 ,hurdwar and at ,howrah than  between  
that of the ,thames at ,billingsgate and
 ,bablock ,hythe4    ,the ,hari ,ghat   
lies in a short sidepiece of the river1 
with a railed  iron bridge about two    
feet wide crossing its neck4  ,from this
 narrow  bridge ,i looked back at the   
ghat with its shrines and temples1 and  
the rocky sides of the hills above which
 here come down steeply4  ,in  the water
 itself were hundreds and hundreds of   

big large-scaled fish  which are        
cherished and fed regularly4  ,they     
swirled about the posts  of the little  
bridge in a dense crowd1--dark          
brownish-green creatures  about two feet
 long1 some with red gills showing4     
,on the steps of the ghat itself no one 
is permitted to wear shoes1  and leaving
 mine1 ,i walked with stocking feet to  
visit the ,charan1  or sacred           
footprints1 and the ,gangadwara ,temple4
  ,by this a priestess  played a flute1 
squatting upon #ccd a tiny platform4    
,she was  dressed in bright colours and 
spangled clothes with a strange conical 
hat on her head4  ,there was a priestess
 similarly dressed on another  wooden   
platform at the top of the other end of 
the steps4  ,there were  sacred cows1 of
 which ,i had already noticed several in
 the street1  bearing a strange         
deformity in an extra limb hanging      
loosely from the  hump4  ,in some cases 
this extra limb ended in a hoof1 and in 
some  cases in a second pair of horns   

and in one ,i saw both together4  ,i    
wondered whether these excrescences had 
really been grafted on4  ,there were    
various holy people about the road      
leading to the  ghat--,sadhus and ,nagas
 with naked bodies whitened with ashes4 
,a friendly ,brahmin took me into the   
inner sanctum of the temple at ,at      
,khamba ,mundi near the ghat and there1 
under a mauve silk coverlet1  decorated 
with gold thread-work1 rested the       
,granth1 the sacred book  of the ,sikhs4
  ,it was rather like a body upon a     
wooden bed4  ,above1  hung a canopy with
 a deep border of gold and silver       
fringe4  ,the  place was covered inside 
and out with paintings of the stories of
 the  gods4  ,in the inner courtyard    
over the part of the building where the 
book is kept1 there was a tall pole     
bearing a once white flag and a         
leafless bush4  ,on the other three     
sides of the courtyard the  buildings   
were all rest-houses for pilgrims4      
,now1 the kindly ,brahmin had a glass   

eye #cce which was very far from  clean 
and had no resemblance to its bloodshot 
fellow4  ,it seemed to  have been rather
 large for its socket1 to have been     
fixed in years  ago and never since     
disturbed4  ,he showed me the ,temple of
 ,sarwarnath  where there are statues of
 elephants within the surrounding       
courtyard4  ,the bull ,nandi was        
conspicuous on the high stone platform  
of the temple1 and beside the main      
entrance was a tall iron pole  about    
forty feet high ending in a large green 
bronze trident called  the ,tarshoon1   
often represented in little in the hand 
of ,siva4    ,hurdwar seems to exist    
upon its importance as a place of       
pilgrimage1  and to have little else of 
interest about it4  ,the ,brahmin1 whose
  terrible eye was more insistent than  
that of the ancient mariner1  told me   
above all places ,i ought to visit      
,rakhykash1 twelve miles  farther up the
 river and of very great holiness4  ,it 
was nearly one  o'clock1 but it appeared

 just possible to get there and back    
that  day4  ,i had engaged for the day a
 vehicle called a tumtum1 a kind of     
two-wheeled cart1 and in spite of the   
protests from the driver that  the roads
 would be impassable we hurried back to 
the bungalow for my  ulster and started 
on a particularly rough drive4          
,passing the ,hari ,ghat1 the road1     
paved roughly with large round  stones1 
led under a two-storeyed brick archway  
out of ,hurdwar4  ,below  flowed the    
swift blue river glistening in the sun1 
#ccf and above  rose the rocky slope of 
the hillside4  ,these rock slopes are   
the end  of a line of hills striking at 
a sharp angle to the river4  ,leaving   
them1 the way was soon along uneven     
country--level on the whole1 but  rough 
and tumble in detail4  ,the road        
alternated between collections  of      
boulders and stretches of sand and at   
intervals streams1 some  narrow and some
 wide1 crossed it on their way from the 
hill slopes to  join the wider river4   

,ten times we had to ford considerable  
rivulets  apart from minor              
water-courses4  ,only once there was a  
bridge1 wooden  and primitive4    ,here 
and there towards the first part of the 
journey were a few acres  of cultivated 
ground mostly given to paddy1 and in one
 place there  was a plantation of fruit 
trees now snowy with blossom4  ,most of 
the  way1 however1 was through a rough  
tract of jungle with large trees in     
places and miles of tall rough grass    
sometimes ten and even twenty  feet     
high4  ,we passed bullock-carts bringing
 heavy loads of broken  wood1 and once  
,i saw an ox lie down on the sand under 
the yoke it  found too hard to bear4    
,we passed two men carrying between them
 in a  cloth a huge python which they   
took out to show me--a creature twice   
the length of a man4    ,all the while1 
far beyond the forest on the other side 
of the river1  mountains were in sight1 
pale and ethereal in the heat of the    
afternoon4  ,i #ccg passed many         

ant-hills--ridged grey peaks of mud     
under which snakes often lie4  ,at one  
moment a flight of green  parrots would 
rise from near trees and cross the road 
screaming--at  another ,i would see a   
crowd of monkeys golden in the sunlight 
swinging in the slender upper branches4 
,there were cork trees with  masses of  
tiny pink blossoms1 and one kind of     
tree1 as large as an  ,english oak1     
known as the flame of the forest1 was   
covered with big  five-petalled scarlet 
flowers4    ,it was getting ominously   
late and the shadows lengthened every   
minute4  ,at last the tumtum driver     
declared that he could not drive  over  
the rocky way to the village4  ,i left  
him by some great trees on  the         
roadside1 and to lead me to the holy    
places ,i waylaid a boy whom  ,i drove  
before me hurrying in a race with the   
sun--my servant  following at his usual 
decorous pace4  ,i think it was another 
mile  before passing quite a number of  
large solid brick and stone  ,darmsalas 

7or pilgrims' rest-houses7 and a small  
bazaar1 ,i came out  on a wide stretch  
of rounded boulders along the side of   
the river4  ,the hills now rose from    
quite near the farther bank and the     
scene was  very beautiful indeed4  ,the 
water rushed along1 rippling over       
shallows and racing through narrower    
channels bluer than ever4    ,there were
 no temples of any architectural        
pretensions1 and it became  evident to  
me that #cch the importance of          
,rakhykash did not lie in  its buildings
 at all1 but in the worshipping places  
of the ,sikhs4  ,along and above the    
shore1 ,i came at intervals to paled    
enclosures  within which a large and    
devout crowd of people sat listening to 
a  priest who was seated beneath a      
thatched gable-shaped cover on wooden   
upright posts4  ,the largest of these   
was at the head of a path made  of      
smooth white boulders which stretched a 
furlong from the water's  edge4  ,at the
 opening to the loose tall fence were   

many shoes4  ,leaving mine with the     
rest1 ,i stood for a moment at the      
entrance1  looking inquiring permission 
to one of the priests4  ,the men were   
grouped round the front and sides of the
 thatched cover1 and  receiving welcome 
,i entered and sat among them on a reed 
mat like the  rest4  ,at one side were a
 crowd of women farther away than the   
men1  all in white robes which covered  
their heads like white hoods lovely  in 
the soft warm glow of the setting sun4  
,the thatched shelter is called the     
,kuteah4  ,the ,padre or chief  priest  
sat just in front of the thatched       
opening and round him  ,gristis or minor
 priests1 one of whom was speaking4     
,when he had  finished1 the women all   
rose and went out in long single file4  
,the  sun had just set4  ,beyond were   
the mountains and infinite space4  ,the 
sound of the river came faintly over the
 great expanse of stones4    #cci       
,most of the turbaned priests were in   
woollen robes or togas of a  colour     

between saffron and salmon pink4  ,the  
thatched hut of long  grass was1 ,i     
should have said1 facing the river so   
that the high  priest looked towards it4
  ,the pilgrims and other people were in
  white or other colours and a few in   
black blankets4  ,just in front of  the 
priests were four musicians1 with grey  
clothes and white turbans1  the ones    
nearest me with two tom-toms and the    
farther one with a kind  of viol4  ,they
 were now singing to their music words  
of the ,granth4  ,the viol player was   
blind and made grimaces as he sang2 all 
had black  beards4  ,one ,gristi1 who   
had in front of him the holy book itself
  folded in a cloth on a book-rest1     
presently stopped the singers and  sent 
a man to say they were all pleased to   
see me among them4  ,he  told me that   
they do not make temples but worship    
only the words of  the ,granth1 and that
 the musicians were singing some of     
these  words4  ,these men all looked    
clean and healthy4  ,most of their faces

  were refined--some of them noble4     
,slowly the light faded and when ,i came
 away the last thing ,i saw of  that    
place was the splendid landscape--the   
river flowing under solemn  hills and   
stars coming out4  ,i do not suppose ,i 
shall ever see nearer  to the source of 
the ,ganges4    ,darkness had fallen    
before ,i again found the tumtum4  ,the 
driver was  sitting with some other men 
who were preparing food at a fire #cdj  
under the trees4  ,an elephant was      
supping on a heap of green branches     
which had been thrown down for him close
 by4    ,when we started to come back we
 had no lamp but borrowed a lantern a   
little later from a camp outside        
,rakhykash under promise of return by   
coolie next day4    ,the long journey   
back was nearly as much walk as drive4  
,after an  hour and a half the light of 
a fire showed above the road and we     
stopped to rest the horse4  ,a man came 
down the rocks and said there  was a    
holy lady there who gave tea to all     

travellers and had sent  word she would 
be pleased if the sahib would stop and  
take  refreshment4  ,now it was late and
 the night was very dark1 but it  would 
be good to rest the horse rather longer1
 and ,i went up rough  steps in the rock
 to a level place some ten feet above   
the road which  was here passing a piece
 of low hill4    ,on the ground were    
mats1 but ,i was shown a place on a slab
 of stone4  ,we were under a thatched   
roof without sides1 and in front of me  
was a  wood fire with one large forked  
branch smouldering1 and every now and   
then this blazed up brightly as the fire
 was stirred4  ,there were a  few people
 sitting along each side1 and           
immediately behind the fire1  facing me1
 was a woman sitting very upright with  
crossed legs4  ,she  was naked to the   
waist1 with a dark cloth round her lower
 limbs1 and  her face and body were     
entirely #cda whitened with white ash4  
,she  had very long hair which fell in  
thick brown coils about her  shoulders1 

but being pushed back from the forehead 
left her face  quite uncovered4  ,the   
flames cast as they danced a great      
shadow of  the woman on a cloth hanging 
at the back to keep out the wind4    ,i 
learned after many questions that this  
woman had lost both father  and mother  
when she was twelve years of age1 and   
had thenceforward  given her life to    
make refreshment for pilgrims and       
travellers2 that  she was now fifty-five
 years old1 and that for the last five  
years  she had stayed here3 that the    
place was called ,dudupani1 and that her
  own name was ,duthani ,hookamnajee4   
,of fakirs1 anchorites and other holy   
people she was the first ,i had  seen in
 ,india who seemed to me beautiful1 and 
indeed had a strange  loveliness4  ,not 
only did she look much less old than the
 age she  told me1 but her face had that
 subtle curve immediately below the     
cheek bones that draws like a strain of 
music1 and which ,i have seen  only in  
two women and in ,la ,joconda1 and one  

marble head shown as a  piece by        
,praxiteles at the ,burlington ,fine    
,arts ,club a few years ago4    ,her    
large ecstatic eyes1 her tall forehead1 
her long1 straight nose1  her delicate  
lips and chin were alike lovely1 and the
 wan pallor  added by the white ash made
 the favourite ,eastern comparison #cdb 
to  the beauty of the moon less unreal  
than with any princess it was ever      
applied to2 she was not emaciated1 and  
her body had that moderate  fullness    
which best shows the perfection of each 
natural curve4  ,her  eyes as ,i have   
said were large and dull1 but although  
wide as if  their gaze came from the    
depths of some far away uncharted sea1  
they  had also in them recognition and  
arrest--and empire4    ,oh6  ,flaubert  
with your talk of the mummy of          
,cleopatra--would you not  rather have  
seen the strange beauty of this living  
death than any  coffined husk of once   
warm flesh8    ,but when she spoke in   
the hush of this strange night1 the     

sweetness  of her soft low tones was    
almost passionately unendurable4  ,music
 not  of the ,venusberg but eloquent of 
the appealing purity of a being  locked 
in chains of ice1 doomed slowly to die1 
renouncing the world  in which it has   
been placed1 judging its ,maker in a    
fatal mad conceit4    ,slowly she kept  
moving her little hands1 warming them at
 the fire4  ,in a brass cup hot tea was 
brought to me made not with water but   
with  fresh milk from the cow4  ,the    
other people were passing round fresh   
pipes1 with glowing coals in their      
flower-shaped cups4  ,in the fire  three
 or four irons were standing upright1   
and three of them had  trident heads    
like the tarshoon at ,sarwan ,nath4     
,was this woman  herself #cdc impaled on
 a real trident of which the irons were 
but  outward signs8    ,you have done   
better to see me than to see all        
priests1 she said4  ,i asked which of   
the gods she liked best1 and she        
answered1 ,there is  only one ,god4     

,later she said1 ,i shall speak of you  
with the ,god  every night wherever you 
may be4    ,she put her hand down into a
 large brass bowl at her side and took  
out fruits which were passed to me on a 
brass dish4  ,i ate an orange  slowly   
and asked her if there was anything she 
would like sent to her  from ,europe4   
,she said she wanted nothing4  ,i give  
tea--,i give  all--only my name ,i keep1
 and her name is ,duthani ,hookamnajee4 
#cdd    ,,chapter ,,xxv    ,,political  
,consequences do not appeal as a subject
 of interest to the typical  ,british   
mind until they have arrived4  ,but     
when1 as was the case in  our           
acquisition of ,india1 a heedlessness of
 consequences is  accompanied by        
ignorance of the future development of  
his own  government into a democratic   
tyranny1 the extension of free          
institutions by a conqueror to a subject
 race becomes fraught with  aggravated  
dangers4  ,these are now upon us and we 
have to steer  between a panic          

withdrawal of liberties and an equally  
rash programme  in their too rapid      
extension4    ,the more we can help     
,india to become a nation1 the more we  
can knit  her together by conscious     
bonds of common needs and aspirations   
the  better it will be for her and the  
better1 therefore1 for ourselves  now   
that we can no longer tolerate with     
equanimity an exploitation of  a subject
 race solely for our own commercial     
advantage4    ,that ,east is ,east and  
,west is ,west1 and never the twain     
shall meet1  is one of the worst        
superstitions prevalent among ,british  
people4  ,let those who so glibly       
reiterate what ,i believe #cde to be a  
falsehood pernicious in its tendency to 
preserve a bigoted  exclusiveness1      
compare ,india not with the ,west of    
to-day but with  ancient and medival    
,europe4    ,the anchorite in a cage at 
some street corner1 mendicant friars and
  pilgrims with their bowls1 flagellants
 and the innumerable sects that  seek to

 honour ,god by scorning his gifts1     
altars made red with the  blood of      
sacrifice1 the tight-rope walker and the
 ballad man1  religious pageantry and   
the pomp of kings1 the calm aloofness of
  sequestered lives1 the careless luxury
 of courts1 the squalid  existence of a 
servile peasantry1 the sordid rookeries 
of each  reeking town1 unchecked disease
 and callous cruelty1 the taciturn      
denial of every new discovery1 and      
brooding superstition over  all--the    
counterpart of nearly every phase of    
life1 so often  considered as typically 
,oriental--surely existed in past ages  
between  ,rome and ,bristol4    ,it     
needs no conscious pharisaism for men of
 both authority and  learning to        
contrast the ideals of modern industry  
unfavourably with  those of renunciation
 and quietism and to call the one new   
and the  other old2 but this is only    
another way of saying that authority and
  learning are not always denied even to
 sentimentalists though they be  without

 hope and see the world with but a      
single eye4    ,oh1 wondrous dreamings  
of a golden age that #cdf never was     
under the  light of the sun6  ,were the 
people of ,india under ,akhbar or ,asoka
  better in any one respect than they   
are to-day8  ,the wanderings of  ascetic
 ,sadhus and ,yogis have probably worked
 towards the cementing  of the country1 
and their spirit of detachment has at   
the same time  helped to withdraw       
attention from the yoke of foreign rule4
    ,it has been shown in the history of
 modern ,india that at a time of  mutiny
 and under the excitement of anger at   
inhuman butchery1 one of  our bravest   
and 7in his own profession of           
soldiering7 most capable of  men may    
have his ideas of civilization so far   
distorted as to plead  for a return to  
methods of the most extreme savagery in 
the treatment  of prisoners2 but it has 
not been shown that any ,englishman of  
recognized capability to-day has such a 
distorted view that he looks  upon      

,india as a permanent goose to be kept  
sufficiently nourished to  lay golden   
eggs for the benefit of his own country4
  ,to whatever  party he may belong1    
every ,englishman in ,england1 who      
studies ,indian  affairs and the        
relation of ,india to the rest of our   
,empire1 feels  that our rule should be 
so conducted as to prepare ,india for   
ultimate  self-government and a place in
 the future councils of a ,british      
confederation among the other units of  
the ,empire4    ,the growth of a        
national spirit in ,india under our     
self-appointed  guardianship1 while     
giving #cdg us just pride in the        
nobility of our  achievement1 may yield 
us the yet nobler crown of humility when
 we  behold in its maturity the         
developed genius of our foster-children4
    ,mr ,theodore ,morison1 writing on  
,imperial ,rule in ,india1 sought       
authority for his proposed suppression  
of all newspapers but a  subsidized     
government organ in the policy which has

 done so much for  the progress of      
,mexico1 and remarked1 ,it is apparently
 necessary  for ,english politicians to 
behold a country given up to anarchy    
before they can realize that popular    
institutions make for the  disruption of
 a nation which is not yet compact and  
unified4    ,the recent happenings in   
his chosen instance incline me to say   
that  even ,mr ,morison himself would   
now1 doubtless1 admit that such         
despotic methods only produce an        
apparent and temporary calm and are     
certain sooner or later to break down1  
together with the government  that      
enforced them4    ,the influence of the 
,press is only beginning to help the    
creation of  a national spirit4         
,newspapers are naturally more likely to
 fan the  red embers of latent          
animosities than to attack the          
infinitely more  difficult and less     
lucrative task of sound patriotic       
afforestation to  make a permanent fuel 
supply to those fires of national       

aspiration1  which as yet have little   
more hold than a handful of crackling   
thorns4    #cdh    ,it is as erroneous  
to assume that local press opposition to
 any  particular measure of government  
is the sign of an united national       
feeling as to pretend that an united    
national feeling can only be  created by
 agitation against the ,british rule4   
,the fact that there is not yet a       
national sympathy in ,india strong      
enough to overrule the enmity of        
religions or the rivalry of races1  is  
the best of all arguments for cherishing
 its growth by every means  in our      
power4  ,national feeling must first be 
associated with  territorial boundaries 
and many many will be the years to come 
ere  the ,mohammedan will lie down with 
the ,hindoo and a little ,parsee  shall 
lead them to the sound of ,sikh flutes  
and ,christian tabors6    ,mr ,theodore 
,morison contends that all men east of  
,suez think  themselves the slaves and  
chattels of the man ,god has set above  

them  for their king1#a but in whatever 
way they regard their relation to  their
 rulers we1 at least1 may no longer     
regard them as slaves and  chattels2    
rather must we think of them as wards   
for whom we have  become responsible    
through the actions #cdi of our         
grandfathers--wards whom we have not    
only recognized as family  relations but
 have trained in our own business and   
given just so much  knowledge of our    
methods as to make them capable of being
 invaluable  to our rivals though not as
 yet in any way competent to exercise   
independent authority4        #a ,east  
of ,suez 444 there lies upon the eyes   
and foreheads of all  men a law which is
 not found in the ,european ,decalogue2 
and this law  runs3 ',thou shalt honour 
and worship the man whom ,god shall set 
above  thee for thy king2 if he cherish 
thee thou shalt love him2 and if he     
plunder and oppress thee thou shalt     
still love him1 for thou art his  slave 
and his chattel4'  ,imperial ,rule in   

,india 7,page #dc74  ,theodore ,morison4
        ,there must come a time when the
 people of every habitable part of the  
world will have tried the system of     
government by majority of elected       
representatives4  ,even in the case of a
 nation like ,china1 which has  at      
present no desire among its             
proportionally small class of educated  
minds for such a form of rule1 the      
popular longing for  enfranchisement    
will arise1 and sooner or later a       
representative form  of government will 
be established4  ,the obviously possible
 oppression  and tyranny of democratic  
rule are dangers which no people as a   
whole  will learn except by their own   
experience4  ,the stirring spirit of    
life that brings man self-reliance will 
make him claim his share in  the        
ordering of his own country sooner or   
later but in any case  sooner than he   
has been able to learn that a measure is
 liberal or  tyrannous1 not according to
 the type of government that imposes it 

but according to the degree of liberty  
it secures to1 or takes away  from1 the 
individuals it affects4    ,how many    
,englishmen who have ever given a       
thought to ,india have  imagined        
themselves #cej for a moment as natives 
of that land8  ,try  to put yourself in 
the place of any native-born ,indian and
 consider  fairly what your thought     
would be about politics or government4  
,if  you were a ryot1 an uneducated     
villager1 you would know nothing of     
such matters4  ,for you1 all life and   
its affairs would be in the  hands of   
the gods and the money-lender1 and      
endeavours to assuage  their wrath or   
cruelty1 to induce their patronage or   
favour1 would  exhaust whatever surplus 
energy remained from daily rounds of    
toil4    ,but put yourself for a moment 
in the place of the young ,mohammedan   
who has just left his university and is 
trying to obtain a berth in  the        
post-office1 or of a ,hindoo medical    
assistant in the hospital of  a country 

town1 or of a large native landowner who
 has just left  college and succeeded to
 an estate in ,bengal1 or of a native   
pleader  in the courts1 or of a native  
assistant magistrate--would you then be 
quite indifferent to questions of       
government and politics8  ,you would    
feel conscious that you were being ruled
 by strangers whose  superiority1 in    
whatever respects you deemed them       
superior1 was the  most galling thing   
about them--far more so than their      
habitual  disclination to have more     
touch with you than was necessary to the
  efficient discharge of their official 
duties4  ,among the very few you  ever  
met1 after leaving college1 one         
,englishman #cea might seem to  you     
lovable2 but would that reconcile you to
 the fact that his race  was ruling     
yours1 dividing its territories in the  
teeth of the  protest of their powerless
 inhabitants1 and1 as you gathered from 
your reading1 denying you rights of     
self-government which his own  people   

years ago had risen in arms to obtain8  
,but in order to give ,india the chance 
of future autonomy and  independence1 we
 must distinguish between the extreme   
claims of  isolated and                 
non-representative enthusiasts and the  
reasonable  progressive changes         
warranted by a gradual advance of       
liberal  education and increase of      
religious tolerance3 we must distinguish
  between the exuberance of             
inexperienced youths and the irritation 
of  dissatisfied place-hunters on the   
one hand and the mature opinions on  the
 other hand of enlightened ,indians who 
have proved their power of  wise        
judgment by years of serious            
responsibility in positions of  trust   
and authority4  ,and first and last1 we 
must never forget1 in  our continued    
efforts to make a nation out of a tangle
 of many states  and peoples1 the       
tremendous power we have gradually      
gained to  influence the general liberty
 and progress of the world1 and that no 

part of that power can ever be yielded  
up save as the shameful  shifting of a  
burden it is our noblest privilege to   
bear4        ,,the ,,end          #cec  
,,index        ,,abornia1 #abi    ,abu1 
,mount1 #cjc1 #cjf    ,abu ,road1 #cje1 
#cjf    ,afghan1 #bca1 #bcc1 #bcd1 #bhd 
,afghanistan1 #bdj1 #bgh1 #bhc          
,afridi1 #bcf1 #bdj1 #bdb1 #bdd1 #bdh   
,aghoris1 #bjc    ,agra1 #ahc1 #ahd1    
#aia1 #aic1 #aig1 #cbj1 #cbg            
,ahmadabad1 #cji    ,ahmednagar1 #cad1  
#caf    ,aindaw ,pagoda1 #gd    ,ajmere1
 #cjc-cje    ,akal ,bunga1 #bbj1 #bbd   
,akali1 #bgb1 #bgc1 #bgd1 #bgf          
,akhbar1 #aha1 #ahc1 #ahe1 #ahf1 #ahg1  
#ahh1 #aic1 #aid1 #aig1 #beg1 #bfa1     
#cjj1  #cjd1 #cdf    ,alexander1 #hi    
,ali ,masjid1 #bci1 #bdb1 #bdc1 #bdd1   
#bdf1 #bej    ,aligar ,college1 #bbh    
,allard1 #bed    ,amban ,dance1 #ach    
,amber1 #bij    ,amethi1 ,rajah of1 #aef
    ,amias1 #aib    ,amir of            
,afghanistan1 #aid1 #bbi1 #bdb1 #bhc    
,amir ,khusran1 #bjd    ,amir 7of       

,lucknow71 #aib    ,amritsar1 #bag-bbd1 
#bbe    ,annexation of ,burmah1 #fe1    
#hj1 #ha    ,anundabagh1 #aef1 #aeg     
,aravalli ,range1 #cjc1 #cje    ,arrakan
 ,pagoda1 #ge1 #gh    ,areca1 #ae1 #ii  
,arhai-din-ka-jompra1 #cjd1 #cje        
,armoury1 #bed1 #bee    ,assykhera1 #agc
    ,asoka1 #bjf1 #cdf    ,assam1 #ajj  
,aurungzebe1 #ade1 #aeb1 #aeh1 #aid     
,austin of ,bordeaux1 #aii1 #bjj        
,australia1 #age    ,ava1 #fe           
,avitabile1 #bbh1 #bed      ,,baba      
,,attal1 #bba    ,babar1 #bce1 #bfa     
,bad ,shahi ,masjid1 #bec               
,baluchistan1 #bgh1 #bhb    ,bamboo1    
#ag1 #bf1 #cg1 #dd1 #dh1 #ee1 #fi1 #gc1 
#ij1 #id1 #ii1 #aca1 #acf1 #baa1  #bcc1 
#bdc1 #cbe    ,banyan tree1 #bc1 #aba1  
#abi    ,baradari1 #bec    ,bay of      
,bengal1 #b    ,bazaars1 #cg1 #ha1 #hb1 
#aff1 #afg1 #agc1 #bab1 #bca1 #bdf1     
#beh1 #bia1 #cbh1 #ccg    ,beadon       
,square1 #abb    ,bean ,sing1 #aeb      
,bear1 #ej    ,bee-eaters1 #bd          
,begari ,canal1 #bha    ,benares1       

#adb-afb1 #afc1 #bhi1 #cja    ,benares1 
,maharajah of1 #aed1 #aei    ,bengal    
,government ,offices1 #ajh    ,bengali1 
#abj1 #aba1 #abb1 #abe1 #abf1 #abg      
,bengali theatres1 #aba-abh    ,bernard 
,free ,library1 #ff    ,besant1 ,mrs1   
#aed    ,betel1 #ae1 #ajh1 #abd         
,bhakkur ,island1 #bgi1 #bha    ,bhamo1 
#ci1 #da-di1 #gg    ,bhaskarananda      
,saraswati1 #aef1 #aeg1 #aeh    ,bhils1 
#ajb    ,black ,mosque1 #aih1 #bjg      
,bodawpaya1 #fe    ,bodh tree1 #aba     
,bokhara1 #bbg1 #bcf    ,bolan ,pass1   
#bgh1 #bhb1 #bhe    ,bombay1 #abf1 #abg1
 #bbe1 #bff    ,bombay ,burmah ,trading 
,corporation1 ,limited1 #ai1 #ha        
,bostan ,junction1 #bhb1 #bhg           
,botanical ,gardens1 #abi1 #acj         
,bo-tree1 #add1 #ade    ,brahma1 #abf1  
#bah1 #cjb    ,brahmin1 #e1 #ccd1 #cce  
,buddha1 #ad1 #ae1 #ef1 #eh1 #ei1 #fj1  
#fb1 #fd1 #ge1 #gh1 #abj1 #ahb1 #bag1   
#bch    ,buddhist1 #bei    ,buddhist    
,society1 #ac-ai    ,buddhist ,stupa1   
#bcg    ,buddhist ,tope1 #adh    ,budge 

,bridge1 #aje    ,burmah ,oil ,works1 #h
    ,buxar1 #adb      ,,cactus1 #fi1    
#hg1 #aec1 #bij    ,calcutta1 #hj1 #ajj1
 #aje-acj1 #ada1 #age1 #agi1 #bei       
,camels1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bdc1 #bde1 #bdg1  
#bdh1 #bhd1 #cah    ,cauvery1 ,river1   
#ic    ,cawnpore1 #age-ahj    ,cawnpore 
,well1 #agi    ,central ,hindoo         
,college1 #aed    ,ceylon1 #hf1 #ii1    
#ajb1 #acj1 #afj1 #bhd    ,chagatta1    
#bbi1 #bcb1 #bcd    ,chait ,singh1      
,rajah1 #afj    ,chakrayantra1 #aea     
,chaman1 #bhc1 #bhe1 #bhg    ,chappa    
,rift1 #bhh    ,cheroot1 #ae1 #ag1 #ee1 
#hj1 #hd    ,chili1 #e1 #hb1 #bcj       
,china1 #bbg1 #cdi    ,chinese1 #db1    
#dc1 #dg1 #dh1 #di1 #gb1 #gc1 #gd1 #aji1
 #ach1 #adg1 #adh1 #ahc    ,chitor1     
#bii-cjc    ,chitorgarh1 #bii           
,chitral1 #bce    ,chittagonians1 #ba   
,choultry1 #hh    ,chowringhee1 #ajf1   
#aji    ,clive1 ,lord1 #ih    ,cobra1   
#aec    ,coco-nut oil1 #e    ,coffee1   
#ajc    ,colombo1 #hf    ,connaught1    
,duchess of1 #bhh    ,cooper1 ,mr1 #fd1 

#fe1 #ff    ,coonoor1 #ajj1 #ajb1 #ajc  
,corrugated iron1 #bd1 #cg    ,cotton1  
#hg1 #bcj1 #cjf1 #cbf    ,cotton-mills1 
#hf1 #aad1 #bgj    ,cotton1 wild1 #ef   
,cowrie money1 #afh1 #bai    ,cow       
,temple1 ,benares1 #adg1 #adh           
,crocodiles1 #bic    ,crows1 #gf1 #abb1 
#ahc1 #baf    ,curzon1 ,lord1 #bjj1     
#bai1 #bch      ,,dabir 7of ,lucknow71  
#aib    ,dacoit1 #be1 #de1 #df    ,dagh 
7of ,delhi71 #aib    ,dak tree1 #baj    
,dal1 #e1 #hb    ,dalhousie ,square1    
#ajh    ,dancer1 #f1 #ag1 #de1 #hd1     
#afi1 #bae1 #bga1 #cbd    ,dancing1     
#acg1 #ach1 #agc1 #bhe1 #cjb1 #cbb      
,dara ,shikoh1 #aig    ,dargah1 the1    
#cjc1 #cjd    ,darjeeling1 #acc-aci     
,darjeeling ,himalaya ,railway1 #aca    
,d',avera1 ,monsieur1 #db    ,dehra     
,dun1 #bji-baa1 #bae    ,delhi1 #abh1   
#afj1 #aif-bjh1 #bge    ,dharbanga1 #ajh
    ,dhuleep ,singh1 #bed    ,dilawar   
,khan1 #bcb    ,dilwarra ,temples1      
#cjf-cjh    ,diwan-i-am1 #aii1 #bja     
,diwan-i-,khas1 #bjb    ,drama1 #ac1    

#af-ai1 #dc1 #dg1 #abb-abh              
,dravidian1 #hg1 #ie1 #ajb    ,droog1   
#ajd    ,dufferin ,bridge1 #aea1 #afj   
,dunlay1 ,private1 #agd    ,durga       
,temple1 ,benares1 #aee1 #aef           
,durian1 #ad      ,,eagle1 #bd          
,eastern ,bengal ,state ,railway1 #ajf  
,eastern ,yomans1 #bc1 #bd    ,edward   
the ,seventh1 #aid1 #bgf    ,egrets1 #gf
    ,elephant ,book1 #if    ,elephants1 
#ai1 #bj1 #bc1 #if1 #ig1 #aii1 #bea1    
#bgg1 #bif1 #cce1 #cdj    ,eng tree1 #bd
    ,etawah1 #agc    ,eucalyptus1 #ii1  
#ajc1 #baa    ,everest1 ,mount1 #acd1   
#ace      ,,fakirs1 #adg1 #aeh1 #afa1   
#bfc1 #cda    ,famine1 #agj1 #cae       
,fatehpur-,sikri1 #aha-aij1 #cjc        
,ferryshaw ,siding1 #ci    ,flamingoes1 
#bie    ,footprints1 #fj1 #afb1 #ccc    
,fort ,dufferin1 #gg1 #gh    ,fort      
,saint ,george1 #ig    ,fort ,william1  
#ajf    ,france1 #f1 #ha1 #ij1 #bbd     
,french ,legion1 #bed      ,,ganesh1    
#ia1 #abj1 #ade1 #adh1 #cjj    ,gangeli 
,khan1 #bcd    ,ganges ,river1 #aag1    

#acf1 #aei1 #age1 #ahj1 #ccc1 #cci      
,gardens1 #aef1 #afe1 #agd1 #bgb1 #bie  
,garden ,reach1 #ajf    ,gardner1       
,alexander1 #bgb    ,gautama1 #af1 #fj1 
#gf    ,ghamberi1 ,river1 #bii          
,ghats1 #aej1 #aea1 #aeb1 #aeh1 #aei1   
#afj1 #afa1 #afb1 #ahj1 #ccc1 #ccd1 #cce
    ,ghonds1 #ajb    ,ghoom1 #acc       
,glass1 #aj1 #fa1 #fb1 #gc1 #gd         
,gobindaji1 #bic    ,gokteik1 #bf-bh    
,golden ,monastery1 #gd1 #gh    ,golden 
,temple1 ,amritsar1 #bag1 #bah1 #bai1   
#bbb    ,golden ,temple1 ,benares1 #add1
 #adf1 #afa    ,gopura1 #hh1 #id    ,gor
 ,khatri1 #bbg1 #bbh1 #bbi    ,gourkhas1
 #gi1 #bdf1 #bee    ,granth1 #bah1 #bai1
 #bga1 #ccd1 #cci    ,grapes1 #bcj1 #bic
    ,guru1 #bag1 #bbj1 #bba1 #bbc1 #bgc 
,gwalior1 ,maharajah of1 #aeb           
,,hamadryad1 #bd    ,hanuman1 #abj1     
#aba1 #afj1 #cjj    ,hari ,mandar1 #bah 
,harnai ,route1 #bhg    ,hastings1 the1 
#g    ,hastings1 ,marquis of1 #ajh      
,hastings ,memorial1 #bbg    ,hastings1 
,warren1 #adc1 #afj    ,hawks1 #bc      

,himalayas1 #aca1 #acb1 #acd1 #ace1     
#baa1 #bad1 #bgi    ,hindoo1 #a1 #b1 #d1
 #f1 #cf1 #ci1 #dg1 #hg1 #if1 #ajj1     
#ajb1 #aac1 #aai1 #abj1 #adc1  #ade1    
#adf1 #adg1 #adh1 #aeb1 #aed1 #aei1     
#afb1 #ahj1 #ahb1 #ahf1 #bjc1 #bjg1     
#bah1  #bbh1 #bce1 #bee1 #bfa1 #bha1    
#bhd1 #bhe1 #bid1 #cjb1 #caf1 #cdh1 #cej
    ,hindoo ,architecture1 #hg          
,hirok1 #bhb    ,hodson1 #bjc    ,holi  
festival1 #ajj1 #bjg1 #bhe    ,hooghly1 
,river1 #aje    ,howrah1 #ajf1 #aac1    
#aad    ,hpoongi1 #cg    ,hsipaw1 #bh-ch
    ,hsipaw1 ,sawbwa of1 #bh1 #ca-cg    
,hti1 #aj1 #ce1 #gd    ,hulling1 #ba    
,humayun1 #bjb1 #bjc1 #bfj    ,hurdwar1 
#ccc-cce    ,hyderabad1 ,deccan1 #agf   
,,idar1 #cji-caf    ,idar ,road1 #cji   
,imambara1 the ,great1 #agj1 #aga1 #agc 
,imambara1 the ,husainabad1 #aga1 #agc  
,indus1 ,river1 #bgh1 #bha              
,industrialism1 #agg    ,irrawaddy1     
,river1 #ci1 #ed1 #ef1 #eh              
,irrawaddy1 ,flotilla ,company1 #ci1    
#db1 #ed    ,iron ,foundry1 #aae        

,iron ,pillar1 #bjf    ,italians1 #bjj1 
#bja1 #bbh    ,izzat1 #aja              
,,jacobs1 ,,sir ,,swinton1 #bie         
,jain1 #bje1 #cja1 #cjc1 #cjd1 #cjg1    
#cab    ,jain ,temple1 #adi1 #aeb1 #cjf1
 #cjh    ,jaipur1 #aea1 #bij-bie        
,jama ,masjid1 ,agra1 #cbg    ,jama     
,masjid1 ,delhi1 #aig1 #bjb1 #bjg       
,james and ,mary1 #aje    ,jamroud1     
#bbi1 #bci1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bdc    ,jataka 
stories1 #fc    ,java1 #abi             
,jehanara1 #bjd    ,jehangir1 #ahh1     
#ahi1 #bbh1 #bec1 #bfa1 #bfb1 #bfc      
,juggernaut1 #aae1 #abj1 #aed    ,jumna1
 ,river1 #agc1 #aii1 #bjj1 #bja1 #cai1  
#ccj    ,jute1 #aad1 #adb               
,jute-mills1 #ajf1 #aad      ,,kabul1   
#bcd1 #bcf1 #bda    ,kachins1 #cg1 #dh  
,kali1 #ib1 #aaf1 #aah1 #abj1 #aba      
,kalighat1 #aaf    ,kampani ,bagan1     
#abh1 #abi    ,kanishka1 #bcg1 #bch     
,kanutkwin1 #be    ,karapanasami1 #ia1  
#ib    ,kashmir1 #bbe1 #beh    ,kashmir 
,gate1 #aig    ,kashmiris1 #aci         
,katha1 #dj1 #db    ,khaskas grass1 #agj

    ,khawbgah1 #aha1 #ahf    ,kheddah1  
#bj    ,khyber ,pass1 #bci-bej          
,kinchinjunga ,mountain1 #acd           
,kirowdi1 #ahd    ,kites1 #gf1 #ahc1    
#bgh1 #cbb    ,kisshoor1 #d    ,kojak   
,pass1 #bhc1 #bhe    ,kokand1 #bce      
,kols1 #ajb    ,kubla ,khan1 #ef        
,kurseong1 #acb    ,kuchi ,khel1 #bdb1  
#bdi1 #bej    ,kutab ,minar1 #aih1 #bjd1
 #bje    ,kuthodaw1 #gh    ,kyankine1   
#bi    ,kyansittha1 ,king1 #fb1 #fc     
,kyd's ,monument1 #acj      ,,lacquer1  
#ae1 #ef1 #fi1 #gj    ,lady ,canning's  
,seat1 #ajd    ,lahore1 #bcc1 #bea1     
#bfe1 #bff    ,lahore ,gate1 #aii       
,lalamusa1 #bbe    ,landi ,kotal1 #bda1 
#bdc    ,landour1 #bab1 #bad            
,lansdowne ,bridge1 #bgh1 #bhf          
,lashio1 #cj    ,lat1 #bjf    ,lawrence1
 ,sir ,henry1 #agd    ,lebong1 #ace     
,leogryphs1 #h1 #ee    ,leopard1 #be    
,lepchus1 #aci    ,llama1 #acf          
,lotus1 #gh1 #gi1 #hb1 #ahc             
,loungoes1 #ba    ,lucknow1 #afc-agd    
,lugyis1 #ff      ,,madras1 #b1 #d1 #f1 

#ig1 #ih1 #aaa    ,madura1 #hg1 #hh1    
#hi1 #ij1 #ie    ,magwe1 #fh            
,mahadevi1 #ce    ,mahrattas1 #aac1     
#abf1 #abg1 #bee    ,maidan1 #ajf1 #aji1
 #abh    ,maimyo1 #c1 #bf    ,malabar   
,coast1 #aaj1 #aaa    ,malay            
,archipelago1 #abi    ,mandalay1 #ed1   
#ee1 #ef1 #fh1 #gj1 #gb-he    ,mangi1   
#bhh    ,mango1 #baa1 #bfe    ,mantapam1
 #hh1 #ib1 #ie    ,marionettes1 #hc     
,marochetti1 #agi    ,marwa1 #acf       
,marwar1 #cjc    ,maung ,nyo1 #cg       
,mausoleum of ,humayun1 #bjb1 #bjc      
,mayo ,college1 #cje    ,mayo ,school of
 ,industrial ,art1 #beh    ,mecca1 #aga1
 #bcf    ,meerut1 #aif1 #bjf    ,merthil
 ,swami1 #aef1 #aeg1 #aeh               
,mettapalaiyam1 #ii    ,mewar1 #bie1    
#big1 #bii1 #cjc    ,minah1 #ahc        
,minachi1 #hg    ,mohammed1 #bdi        
,mohammedan1 #e1 #f1 #aae1 #ade1 #adf1  
#aeb1 #aed1 #afb1 #afd1 #afi1 #agg1     
#aia1  #aic1 #aid1 #aie1 #bje1 #bbh1    
#bbi1 #bce1 #bfa1 #bfc1 #bha1 #bhc1     
#bia1 #cag1 #ccj1  #cdh1 #cej           

,moharam ,festival1 #aga1 #aia1 #cag1   
#ccb    ,mongolian1 #e1 #ajb            
,monkeys1 #aec1 #aee1 #cjf1 #ccg        
,moplas1 #aaj1 #aaa    ,mora1 #da       
,morison1 ,theodore1 #cdg    ,mosi      
,temple1 #aea    ,mowgwa1 #ahd          
,mukolo1 #fi    ,munro1 ,major ,hector1 
#adb    ,munshi tree1 #aah    ,museums1 
#adh1 #adi1 #agc1 #bch1 #beh1 #bie      
,music1 #ag1 #dd1 #ia1 #ig1 #abd1 #afa1 
#agj1 #ahd1 #bga1 #bhe1 #cbb1 #cci      
,mussoorie1 #baa1 #bab1 #bac1 #bae      
,mutaa1 #afi    ,mutiny1 the1 #adc1     
#afd1 #afe1 #agj1 #agd1 #aig1 #bjf1 #bjg
    ,muttra1 #bic    ,myrabolams1 #agg  
,,nabang1 #bi    ,nabha1 #bff-bgg       
,nabha1 ,rajah of1 #bff1 #bfg1 #bfh1    
#bfi1 #bgd1 #bge1 #bgf1 #bgg    ,nagas1 
#ajb1 #ccd    ,naggra1 #ahd    ,nagpur1 
#aeb    ,nana ,sahib1 #ahj    ,nandi1   
#ie1 #cce    ,narapatisezoo1 ,king1 #ei 
,natindaw1 #ff1 #fg1 #fh    ,nats1 #ed1 
#fc1 #fe1 #ff1 #fg1 #fh    ,natsin1 #fh 
,naurata1 ,king1 #fb1 #fc1 #fh          
,nautch1 #f    ,nayaka ,dynasty1 #ij    

,neem tree1 #aba1 #afa1 #agi    ,nepaul1
 #abh1 #aeb    ,nepaulis1 #aci          
,ngapi1 #bd    ,nicholson1 ,general1    
#aif1 #aig    ,nilgiri ,hills1 #ii      
,nizam1 the1 #aib                       
,nizam-ud-,din-,aulia1 #bjd    ,nour    
,jehan1 #ahh1 #ahi1 #aij1 #aib1 #bbh1   
#bfa1 #bfc1 #bfd    ,nyaungoo1 #ed1 #ee1
 #eg1 #fd1 #fh    ,nynung1 #bc          
,,observatories1 #aea1 #bib             
,ochterlony1 ,sir ,david1 #ajf1 #aig    
,ootacamund1 #ajj1 #ajb    ,onslow      
,ford1 #ajh    ,opium1 #bgc    ,oshuck  
tree1 #aba    ,otto of ,roses1 #agj     
,oudh1 ,nawab of1 #adb      ,,pagan1    
#ee-ga    ,pagodas1 #g1 #h-ab1 #ci1 #di1
 #eh1 #ei1 #gd1 #ge1 #gh    ,palmyra    
palm1 #hg    ,parrots1 #ib1 #ahd1 #beh1 
#bgj1 #bie1 #ccg    ,parsee1 #aba1 #cdh 
,peacocks1 #be1 #ach1 #bij1 #bif1 #cbc1 
#cca    ,peacock hawk1 #bd    ,peacock  
,throne1 #aii    ,peepul tree1 #aba1    
#ahj1 #baa1 #bia    ,pegu1 #bc1 #fb1 #fc
    ,pegu ,river1 #h    ,peshawar1      
#bbe-bcg1 #bci1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bdf1 #bfj1 

#bfa1 #bfb    ,phulkian ,states1 #bff1  
#bfi    ,plague1 #h1 #bi1 #bij1 #cad    
,plantain1 #cg1 #hb    ,polyandry1 #ajb 
,pomegranates1 #bcj1 #bic    ,poogi1 #bi
    ,poozoondoung1 #ai1 #bj    ,popa1   
#fe    ,potter1 #aec    ,powkpin1 #bd   
,prayer-wheels1 #acf1 #acg              
,prendergast1 ,general1 #hj             
,punjabis1 #gi1 #baj1 #bah    ,pwe1 #ac1
 #af-ai1 #dc-dh1 #hc1 #hd1 #he          
,python1 #aec1 #ccf      ,,queen',s     
,,college1 ,benares1 #adc    ,queen's   
,golden ,monastery1 #gd1 #gh    ,queen  
,victoria1 #cd1 #aga1 #bga1 #bgi        
,quetta1 #bhb1 #bhc1 #bhe1 #bhf         
,,radha1 #abj    ,rakhykash1 #cce-cdj   
,rajpur1 #baa1 #bae    ,rama1 #afj1 #cjj
    ,rameswaram ,temple1 #aba           
,rangoon1 #a-bb1 #bc1 #ff1 #ge1 #hj1    
#aje1 #bch    ,rangoon ,river1 #h       
,ranjeet ,singh1 #bbh1 #bed1 #bef1 #bfa1
 #bfh1 #bgb1 #bgc    ,ravi ,river1 #bef1
 #bfb    ,residency1 ,lucknow1 the1     
#afd1 #afe    ,rhinoceros1 #abh         
,rice1 #a1 #gf1 #hb1 #bai1 #bcj1 #cjd   

,rice mills1 #bj1 #ba    ,rishi1 #ig    
,rose1 #hb1 #aef1 #ahc    ,royal ,lakes1
 #ab    ,runjeet ,river1 #ace1 #acf     
,runnymede1 #ii    ,ruri1 #bgi1 #bhj    
,,sadhus1 #ccd    ,st ,mary's ,church1  
,madras1 #ih    ,st ,paul's ,cathedral1 
,calcutta1 #aab    ,sal1 #baa    ,salay1
 #fd    ,salim ,chisti1 #ahf1 #ahg1 #ahh
    ,samrat ,yantra1 #aea               
,sandalwood1 #cg1 #afb1 #cjg            
,sankarati ,puja ,festival1 #aac        
,santals1 #ajb    ,sarnath1 #adh1 #adi  
,sarwarnath1 #cce    ,saturday god1 #adg
    ,sawche1 #bh1 #cb1 #cg              
,screwpines1 #acj1 #acb    ,scythian1   
#ajb    ,sedaw1 #bf    ,segaw1 #da      
,sepaya1 ,queen1 #hj    ,sesamum1 #ae1  
#bcj    ,seychelles1 #acj    ,shaddra1  
#bfa1 #bfb    ,shahijikidheri1 #bcg     
,shah ,jehan1 #aig1 #bjd1 #bfd    ,shan 
,states1 #bc1 #bf-ch    ,shannon1 #agi  
,shias1 #cbe1 #ccj    ,shikarpur1 #bgh  
,shwe ,dagon1 #g1 #h-ab1 #ge            
,shwemetyna1 #ff1 #fh    ,siam1 #acj    
,sibi ,junction1 #bhb    ,sikandra1     

#aha1 #aic1 #aid1 #aie    ,sikhs1 #gi1  
#bah1 #bbj1 #bbc1 #bee1 #bfb1 #bfh1     
#bga1 #bgc1 #bgd1 #ccd1 #cch1 #cdh      
,sikkim1 #acf1 #aci    ,sikra1 #ie      
,siliguri1 #aca1 #ada    ,silk1 #hb1    
#bbg1 #bfi1 #bgd    ,sind ,desert1 #bgh 
,singh1 ,sir ,pratap1 #cji1 #cac-caf    
,sinkan1 #ej    ,siriam1 #g1 #h         
,sita1 #afj    ,siva1 #ij1 #if1 #aaf1   
#aag1 #aah1 #abj1 #aba1 #ade1 #adf1     
#aec1 #ahj1 #big1 #cjj1  #cjb1 #cce     
,siwaliks1 #bae    ,snipe1 #bc          
,sookua1 #aca    ,soutakar1 #d    ,south
 ,indian ,railway1 #hg    ,srirangam1   
#ic1 #id    ,stambham1 #hh              
,sugar-cane1 #adb1 #bcj1 #cah           
,sukkur1 #bgh1 #bgi1 #bha               
,sundareswara ,temple1 #hg              
,,tagaung1 #ff    ,taj ,mahal1 #cai     
,tamarind1 #e1 #hb    ,tanjore1 #ij1    
#ie1 #if    ,tappakulam1 #hh1 #ib       
,tartara1 ,mount1 #bbh    ,tea1 #ajc    
,teak1 #h1 #ai1 #dj    ,teester ,river1 
#acf    ,thaton1 #fb1 #fh    ,thebaw1   
,king1 #db1 #gh1 #hj1 #ha    ,thibetans1

 #acc1 #acg1 #ach1 #aci                 
,thurligyaung1 #fg    ,tiger1 #be       
,tiger ,hill1 #acd1 #ace    ,tikka      
,gharry1 #i1 #ad    ,tindaria1 #acb     
,tippoo ,sultan1 #ajd    ,tirah ,hills1 
#bej    ,tobacco1 #bcj    ,todas1 #ajb  
,toddy palms1 #acj1 #aec    ,tongu1 #cj 
,tower ,bridge1 #g    ,tree-ferns1 #ajc1
 #acb1 #adj    ,tree-climbing perch1 #bd
    ,trichinopoly1 #hi1 #ij1 #ia1 #ib1  
#ic1 #id1 #ie    ,tsar of ,russia1 #aid 
,turtles1 #gf    ,tuticorin1 #hf1 #bhd  
,,udaipur1 #bie-bii    ,udaipur1        
,maharana of1 #big-bii    ,ulabaria1    
#aad      ,,vaishnavas1 #aah1 #aba      
,vallam1 #ij    ,ventura1 #bed          
,verloocooli1 #d    ,vimana1 #hh        
,vishnu1 #id1 #aah1 #abj1 #aba1 #ade1   
#aeb1 #afb1 #bjf1 #cjb    ,vizianagram1 
,maharajah of1 #aed    ,vultures1 #fh1  
#ahd1 #cbb      ,,water-,,snake1 #ac    
,wazirabad1 #bbe    ,waziristan1 #beh   
,western ,yomans1 #bc1 #bd    ,wheat1   
#bcj1 #bcc    ,woollen mills1 #age      
,,yak1 #ach      ,,zakka ,,khels1 #bcd1 

#bdf    ,zam ,zammah1 #beg    ,zenana1  
#abd1 #abf1 #bic    ,zoological         
,gardens1 #ea1 #abh                     
,,edinburgh    ,,colstons ,,limited     
,,printers