Across India Part 16

"Bring sahib coffee at six in the morning; breakfast at nine; tiffin at one."

"What's that last one, Moro?"

"We had tiffin at Suez, and it means luncheon," interposed Morris.

"I didn't hear the word; but it is all right, and tiffin it is after this time. Come; are you going down-stairs, fellows?"

"There is a public sitting-room down-stairs, and we will find that first."

The four servants followed them when they went down-stairs. None of the party had yet gone to the public room except Sir Modava, though Lord Tremlyn soon joined him. Their attendants stopped outside the doors.

"We are going to the tailor's now," said the Hindu gentleman. "As you are aware, we lost all our clothes except what we had on, and we must order a new supply."

"May we go with you?" asked Louis.

"Certainly; if you desire to do so. You may find something to amuse you on the way, as we shall walk; for we want to get our sea-legs off," replied Sir Modava. "It is only five o'clock here, and we have two hours before dinner-time. Ah, here is Miss Blanche."

She was followed by her servant, who was decidedly a nuisance to her, though he retreated from her room as soon as he had put things in order, and remained within call outside the door. Louis invited her to take a walk with them, and she went up-stairs to consult her mother. She returned in a few minutes, ready to go out; and she was as radiant as a fairy in her light costume.

They pa.s.sed out of the hotel; and the first thing that attracted Louis's attention was a palanquin. It was not a new thing to the travellers, for they had seen such conveyances in Constantinople and elsewhere.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The young millionaire walked by the side of the vehicle."

--Page 155.]

"You must ride in that palanquin, Miss Blanche," said Louis; and he told Sayad to have it brought up to the door.

It was a compartment like a box, about seven feet long, with a pair of sliding doors at the side. It was balanced on a pole, with braces above and below it. It appeared to be so poised, with the pole above the centre of gravity, that it could not be turned over. The four bearers were coolies, with bare legs, cotton turbans on their heads, and not otherwise overloaded with clothing; but they were dressed like all the coolies about the streets and in the boats of the harbor.

The fair young lady had never been in a palanquin, though she had seen them, and she was pleased with the idea of the ride. It was dropped down upon its four legs, or feet, and Louis a.s.sisted her to the interior. It was provided with cushions, and Sir Modava instructed her to recline so that she could see out of the open doors. The young millionaire walked by the side of the vehicle, while the others all followed, with their servants at a respectful distance.

"How do you like the motion, Miss Blanche?" asked Louis, after they had gone a short distance.

"It is not as uneasy as the gait of a camel, though I can feel every step of the bearers. But I should prefer a _shigram_, if it only had a better name," replied she.

"You can call it a brougham, or simply a carriage, if you prefer. We are not here to learn the Indian languages, and we can take our choice; and we can talk 'good old United States,' in speaking of things," suggested Louis.

"There! what will you call that vehicle, Miss Blanche?"

"That is called a _gharri_" interposed Sir Modava, who was within hearing.

The vehicle was such as none of the Americans had ever seen. It was a sort of two-wheeled cart, with a top like an old-fashioned chaise, in which a man was seated, while a rough-looking fellow rode in front.

"I should say it was an ox-cart, so far as the team is concerned," said Scott.

"Those are not oxen; they are called bullocks in this country. As you see, they have humps like a camel, though much smaller, in front of which is the yoke," the Hindu knight explained.

"But they don't drive oxen in the United States with a pair of rope reins, as this fellow does," said Scott.

"I have seen them do so in North Carolina," added Morris, who had travelled in the South with his parents.

"I give it up, and it's all right. But what is that man in the cart? Is he a Grand Mogul?"

"Hardly," replied Sir Modava, laughing. "The driver is the lowest caste of laborers, who works for fivepence a day, and supports his family on it. The man inside is the cook of a Pa.r.s.ee merchant I happen to know, and probably he is going to market to buy supplies for the family. But here we are at the tailor's. You can continue your ramble, and your servants can tell you the way, and what the buildings are."

The two gentlemen entered the tailor's shop; for there are no stores here any more than in London.

CHAPTER XVII

A HOSPITAL FOR THE BRUTE CREATION

The live boys did not care much for the buildings, though most of those of a public character were architecturally very fine. Around a large open s.p.a.ce they found the Town Hall, the Mint, and all the great mercantile establishments. At the time of the young people's visit, it was almost entirely abandoned by those who had held possession of it during the day.

Business hours are from ten in the forenoon till four in the afternoon.

Before and after these hours the Fort, as the business section of the city is called, is deserted. This quarter was formerly surrounded by walls or ramparts, which have now been removed; but in its limits is concentrated the great wealth of Bombay. There are no dwellings within this territory, which is consecrated to trade and commerce; and both Europeans and natives hasten at the early closing hour to their homes at Colaba, the Esplanade, Mazagon, Malabar Hill, and Breach Candy, the latter on the seash.o.r.e.

In front of the Grant buildings they found the Cotton-Green, deserted now, though the stacks of bales were still there, with a few sheds and shanties.

A few half-naked coolies and policemen were loitering about the place; but it is not convenient for a thief to carry off a bale of cotton on his back, and a bullock cart in this locality would excite suspicion. In business hours this is a busy place; and the Pa.r.s.ee and native merchants, robed in loose white garments, not all of them indulging in the luxury of trousers, reclining on the bales, or busy with customers, form a picturesque scene.

"I don't think this is the right time to explore this region," suggested Scott. "We had better come down here when there is something going on."

"You are right, Scott," replied Louis; "and I dare say Miss Blanche has had enough of the palanquin, or will have by the time we get back to the hotel, for we are more than a mile from it."

"I don't think I like a palanquin as well as a carriage," replied the young lady. "If you please, I should like to walk back."

She was promptly a.s.sisted to alight, and the palanquin bearers were paid so liberally that they did not complain at being discharged so far from the hotel. Sayad and Moro were sent ahead to lead the way, while the other two walked behind. On their arrival at the Victoria, they found all the rest of the tourists a.s.sembled in the parlor, to whom they gave an account of what they had seen.

They went to the saloon in which dinner was served, closely followed by their servants; and the scene there was decidedly unique to the Americans, for there were as many servants as guests. The hotel furnishes no attendants, and each visitor brings his own. But as soon as all were seated, order came out of confusion, and the service proceeded. The dishes were somewhat peculiar; but Sir Modava explained them to the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, while Lord Tremlyn rendered a similar service to the Woolridges and Louis, and Dr. Ferrolan to the professional gentlemen of the company.

"I think you will find this fish very good," said his lordship, as the second course came on. "It is the _b.u.mmaloti_, sometimes called the Bombay duck, something like both the salmon and the trout. It is a salt-water fish, abundant off this coast, where it is extensively taken, salted, and dried, to be sent to all parts of India."

"It is elegant," said Mr. Woolridge, who was an epicure.

The roast beef and chickens were very good, and the fruit was highly appreciated. The dinner finished, the party returned to the sitting-room, and found themselves very nearly alone. At the suggestion of Captain Ringgold, Lord Tremlyn consented to give the travellers some information in regard to the city of Bombay.

"When I consider what a vast extent of territory you are to explore in India," the speaker began, "I realize that not much of your time must be taken up in long discourses, and especially not in lengthy introductions.

Bombay, the western province of the peninsula, includes twenty-four British districts and nineteen native states, the latter governed wholly or in part by Hindu rulers. This word Hindu, I repeat, properly applies to only a portion of this country, but has come into use as a name for the entire region.

"This is the Bombay Presidency, with a governor appointed by the crown, a Legislative Council, a mixed garrison of English and native soldiers, under a local commander-in-chief. That is all I shall say of the presidency, which is one of three in India.

"The city of Bombay occupies the south end of the island of the same name, and is one of a group of several, of which Salsette is the largest, with which Bombay Island, eleven miles in length, is connected by causeways, over which the railway pa.s.ses. The business part is at the Fort, where we landed, and the bazaars extend from that in the direction of Mazagon, which lies to the north and east of it.

"You will find here many public buildings and commercial structures which compare favorably with similar edifices in any city of the world; and we shall see them to-morrow forenoon. The Princess Dock, where the great steamship lines land their merchandise, cost a million sterling. Three or four miles off this dock, to the eastward, you saw a couple of islands, the farther one of which is Elephanta, with its wonderful cave, which you will visit.

"The western terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway is here, and with its connections it extends all over India. This is the first port usually reached by vessels from Europe, though Kurrachee is nearer. It is the great mail port; and I have seen landed at Dover thirty tons of post-bags, sent from here by Suez and through Europe by the Orient Express.

"Bombay now exceeds Calcutta in the extent of its commerce. The princ.i.p.al exports are cotton, wheat, shawls, opium, coffee, pepper, ivory, and gums; and the chief imports are the manufactured goods of England, metals, wine, beer, tea, and silks. The prominent industries of the city and its vicinity are dyeing, tanning, and metal working. It has sixty large steam-mills. Of the vast population, now approaching a million, not more than 13,000 are British-born. The water here is excellent, for it is brought from a lake fifteen miles north of us.