After the singing of "Nearer, my God, to thee," the service closed; but the people were invited to keep their seats. Without any explanation of what was to follow, the captain introduced Lord Tremlyn.

"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I am utterly unable to express my high appreciation of the religious service in which we have all assisted. It went to my heart, and I am sure we who have been saved from perishing in the stormy billows joined heartily with him who officiated in giving thanks to God for our preservation," his lordship began.

"We are all profoundly impressed by the kindness, the unbounded hospitality, which have been extended to us in our unfortunate, I may say our forlorn, condition; and I am sure that not one of us, from the amateur captain of the Travancore, to the coolies who were saved by the Blanche, will ever cease to bless the commander, the officers, the crew, and the passengers of the Guardian-Mother for the overwhelming kindness and care they have all bestowed upon us. Though we are not at the festive board, I venture to propose to you the health of Captain Ringgold, as the representative of all to whom we are so gratefully indebted."

"For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! So say we all of us!"

To the astonishment, and perhaps to the disgust, of the two Methodist ladies, Dr. Ferrolan struck up this refrain, singing with a vigor which proved his earnestness. Sir Modava, the engineers, and the cook immediately joined in with him. Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Mr. Woolridge, and others, because they approved the sentiment of the words, struck in at the second line, and it became a full chorus before the last line was reached.

It is an English custom to follow a toast to a distinguished personage with this refrain, as expressive of the sentiments of the company; and though it was not adapted to Sunday use, it was sincere and heartfelt on the part of all who sang it. Captain Ringgold rose and bowed his thanks, and Lord Tremlyn spoke again:—

"It is very natural that you should desire to know something about the guests who have been so fortuitously cast into your kindly embrace, and especially in regard to the calamity which has made us the recipients of your generous hospitality; and Captain Ringgold gives us this opportunity to gratify your reasonable curiosity. I am no orator, like my brother, the commander of the Guardian-Mother, and I shall call upon my friend and secretary, who has been travelling with me in India for his health, to give you the desired information." Though it was Sunday, even the commander joined in the applause that greeted the doctor when he mounted the rostrum.

"Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I beg to inform you that my Lord Tremlyn is quite as capable of speaking for himself as I am for him; but as I am called upon to make this explanation, I shall do so with pleasure. I have the honor to be the secretary of the Right Honorable Viscount Tremlyn, the son of the noble earl who is Secretary of State for India. He has been on a mission in the interests of his father to obtain certain information, though he holds no official position.

"Sir Modava Rao has held several official positions in India, and is perhaps more familiar with the country and its British and native governments than any other man. He has been travelling with Lord Tremlyn, to assist him in obtaining the information connected with his unofficial mission. My lord has completed the work assigned to him; but the viceroy wished him to visit the Imam of Muscat unofficially for a certain purpose I am not at liberty to state.

"In a small steam-yacht owned by Sir Modava, the most devoted friend of his lordship, in which he had been all around the peninsula, and up several of its rivers, we embarked for Muscat, and safely reached that country. Then the viscount decided to proceed to Aden, where he had important business; for he intended to return to England by the Euphrates route, in order to inform himself in regard to the navigation of the river. We sailed for Aden, believing we should have the calm and pleasant weather of the north-east monsoon.

"Yesterday we encountered the gale from the south-west, which was very unusual. But the Travancore was an able seaboat, and we went along very well until we were run into by a steamer in the darkness and mist early this morning. The side of the little steamer was stove in, and she began to fill. We put on our life-preservers, and prepared for the worst. We stretched a life-line fore and aft, and listened to the gurgling waters below deck. Suddenly, when she was partly filled with water, she capsized. We clung to the life-line, which unhitched forward.

"Of course we expected she would go down; but she did not for several hours. We had our life-preservers on, and we made fast the lines forward, which saved us from being washed off the bottom of the vessel. I had a revolver in my pocket, and when I saw the port light of your steamer, I fired it, and we all shouted at the top of our lungs.

"We could hear the air and the water bubbling and hissing under us at times, and it was understood that the confined air above the water in the hull had kept her afloat. But this air had all escaped as the Guardian-mother approached us, and with no warning she went to the bottom. We were floated by our life-preservers till your boats picked us up, though we were fearfully shaken and tossed about by the waves. Our gallant saviours know how we were rescued—all honor and glory to them!"

The doctor finished his explanation and took his seat.



CHAPTER VIII

AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN

"Our log-book indicates that we passed a steamer to the northward of us at four bells in the mid-watch," said Captain Ringgold, when Dr. Ferrolan finished his narrative. "She was headed about west by south; and very likely it was the one which ran into the Travancore, for no other was reported."

"She was a vessel of about four hundred tons," added the viscount. "I was in the pilot-house at the time, though the weather was so thick that I could hardly make her out as she slipped off from our starboard bow, and went on her course."

"Didn't she hail you, and offer to stand by you?" inquired the commander.

"I heard something like a shout coming from her, and in a moment she was beyond hailing-distance. I supposed we were going to the bottom in a few minutes, and had my hands full, so that I had no time to look out for her, though I supposed she would come about and render assistance; but we did not hear from her again."

"It is possible that she did so, and was unable to find you, for it was very dark, and the sea was very rough," suggested the commander. "But her conduct looks heathenish, and I will warrant that she was not an English steamer; for the British tars never pass by their fellow-beings on the ocean in distress without rendering assistance."

"It was a new experience to me," added his lordship, "and perhaps I neglected something I ought to have done."

"I think not; for your first and supreme duty at that time was to look out for the safety of your own vessel," replied Captain Ringgold.

"So far as that was concerned, I believe I did all I could do to repair the mischief," continued the viscount. "The chief engineer reported to me that the side of the yacht was stove in near the bow, and that the water was pouring into the hull. He suggested that a double sailcloth be hauled under the vessel. We had no sails, but we promptly made use of an awning, and we succeeded in drawing it under the bottom, and covering the aperture."

"That was precisely the right thing to do," said the commander.

"Probably it enabled us to float a short time longer than we should otherwise have done; but the yacht had taken in too much water before we applied the remedy, for suddenly, on the top of a huge wave, she made a heavy roll, capsized, and came up with her keel in the air. I am only afraid that I did not do all that might have been done."

"I could have done no more if I had been there with all my ship's company," the commander declared; for the amateur captain of the Travancore was a conscientious man, and desired to relieve his mind of all blame for his conduct; and he had really done all that could be done, though the remedy applied was a failure.

"My chief engineer was an experienced man, and I followed his counsels in everything," added the viscount.

"His lordship did all that it was possible for any man to do in such a case," interposed the chief engineer of the Travancore, who was seated on the platform. "I can only thank God that we were all saved, and I am sure that no one is to blame."

"I am told that our cabin waiter and four coolies were picked up by the other steamer," said Lord Tremlyn, as he looked about him.

"That is true, sir," interposed Mr. Boulong, who stood on the deck by the platform. "Sir Modava told me there were eleven persons on board of the wreck. I saw that number saved myself."

The details of the wreck of the Travancore were fully explained, though individuals continued to talk about it until lunch-time. At the mid-day repast the commander gave up his plan of seating the party, and invited the members of it to select their own places; and they all took those they had occupied at breakfast. In the afternoon the rough sea had almost entirely subsided under the influence of the north-east monsoon, and the motion of the steamer was easy and pleasant.

The company assembled in the music-room after a walk on deck, and the captain, with the three notable guests, joined them after they had finished their cigars; for all of them smoked. The "Gospel Hymns" and other hymn and tune books were distributed. It was the usual time for singing, and the trio from the Travancore contributed largely to the volume of tone on the occasion. The new third officer had been stationed in the watch with Mr. Boulong, and Scott had the first part of the afternoon watch. The officers and engineers not on duty, as well as the members of the party from the wreck, gathered at the windows of the music-room, and the commander invited them to take seats in the apartment, thus adding still more to the volume of the harmony. The music was all sacred, and nothing purely secular was permitted by the captain.

Dr. Ferrolan, who had a fine bass voice, was invited to sing "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," at the suggestion of Lord Tremlyn. His lordship sang "Oh that I had Wings!" and Mrs. Belgrave, who was the pianist of the occasion, gave a solo, while Sir Modava sang the "Missionary Hymn," which is still a favorite in England and America, translated into the Hindu language. The party who could not understand him followed in the hymn-books.

"I wonder who wrote that beautiful hymn," said Mrs. Blossom, when there was a pause as the singer finished. "It says Heber in my book, but I don't know who he was."

"Reginald Heber was an English clergyman and poet, born in 1783. He was a student in an Oxford college; I forget which," replied Sir Modava.

"Brasenose," prompted the viscount.

"As a student in this college he wrote 'Palestine,' for which he obtained the prize; and it still holds a place in the literature of England. He soon obtained a living, and occupied a prominent position among the clergy of his native island. In 1823 he was made Bishop of Calcutta.

"Three years later, in the midst of his zealous labors in the service of his Master, he died at Trichinopoly of apoplexy, greatly lamented. Perhaps

'From Greenland's icy mountains, From India's coral strand,'

which you have sung this afternoon, is the widest-known of Bishop Heber's hymns; but will you indulge me if I ask you to sing another of them, which I find in the book I hold in my hand?—

'Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.'"

The hymn was sung to Mozart's music by about twenty voices, and the effect was exceedingly agreeable. Sir Modava seemed to be in a rapture, as the piece was his favorite, and came from one who was connected with his native land.

He was a rather tall and slender man, and all the ladies declared that he was very handsome; and his slightly dusky hue added to, rather than took from, the beauty of his countenance. He wore a small mustache, but no other beard. He was a nervous and highly sensitive person, and there was always a smile on his face. He had already become a favorite among the gentlemen as well as the ladies.

Another meeting was held in the evening, which was varied by some speaking on the part of the gentlemen, including the guests, Uncle Moses, Dr. Hawkes, and the commander. At the conclusion of the exercises, Sir Modava begged the company to close by singing another of Bishop Heber's verses, which he repeated from memory, though it was in one of the books:—

"God that madest earth and heaven, Darkness and light; Who the day for toil hast given, For rest the night,— May thine angel guards defend us, Slumber sweet thy mercy send us, This livelong night!"

With this musical prayer on their lips, the company retired. Most of them went to their staterooms; for the guests were very tired, and the regular inmates of the cabin had left their berths at an unusually early hour in the morning. All of them, whether technically religious or not, had been greatly impressed by the music and the speaking of the evening. Dr. Ferrolan was a more inveterate smoker than his companions in misfortune, and he went with the commander to the deck, and was invited to the captain's cabin, where he was provided with cigars.

"As you have already learned, Doctor, I am greatly interested in the educational feature of my ship," said Captain Ringgold, after they had conversed a while. "I desire to make it as attractive as possible, and I have studied to vary it all I could."

"You have turned your ship into a noble and useful institution," replied the guest. "Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava have both spoken in the highest terms of this feature. And these lectures are mainly for the benefit of Mr. Belgrave, your owner?"

"The plan was introduced principally on his account; but it has grown into an exercise for all the cabin party, and most of them are speakers as well as listeners; for it makes all of them feel a greater interest in the conferences," replied the commander. "To-morrow we are to begin upon India, dwelling upon its geography, civilization, government, and history. Now, I wish to ask you, Doctor, if there would be any impropriety in my asking the members of your party berthed in the cabin to take part in these exercises?"

"Not the slightest, Captain Ringgold."

"Probably you are all better informed in regard to the affairs of the peninsula than any three other men I could find if I were to search for them here and in England," added the commander.

"You are not far from right, sir, as far as my associates are concerned; for officially or unofficially they have visited every part of India, and studied up in detail everything relating to the people, the country, the army, and the institutions, both native and British."

"As you have been with Lord Tremlyn in his travels, you must be very familiar with the affairs of India, Doctor."

"Reasonably familiar; but not so well acquainted with them as my companions," answered the physician. "Perhaps I do not violate any confidence in saying that his lordship and his Hindu friend had a conversation just before dinner to-day, in which they were discussing in what manner they could best assist you in seeing India. As you suggest, they are the two men who know more of India than any others I think of, not excepting the governor-general and his subordinates."

"I came to this conclusion when I learned the nature of their mission."

"Sir Modava is personally acquainted with all the native princes; and he and his lordship are regarded by them as second only to the viceroy, as he is often unofficially designated. Every door in India, except those of a few mosques and Parsee temples, open to them, and procure for them and their friends all the privileges that can reasonably be expected. We respect the religious exclusiveness of the sects, and do not ask them to exempt our people from the operation of their rules and customs. The British government rules India in the spirit of kindness and toleration, and interferes with the religious, or even political, institutions only so far as humanity and progressive civilization require. Both of them propose to volunteer to attend you in your travels in the peninsula, if agreeable to you."

"We should be delighted to have such conductors, and I shall gladly pay all the expenses incurred," the commander declared, with an earnestness that attested his sincerity.

"The expense is a matter of no consequence to the two gentlemen; for both of them would be multimillionaires in America, though pounds don't count so numerously as dollars. I am not at all sure they wouldn't gladly pay the expenses of your party as well as their own; but I am not authorized to speak on this point. I advise you not to mention expense to either of my associates. But you can form no idea of the depths of gratitude in the hearts of the three quartered in your cabin for the timely and skilful service you rendered in saving us from certain death. I base my views on what I have heard them say, and what I feel myself," said the doctor with enthusiasm. "I am certain that any suggestion in regard to expense would hurt the feelings of my friends and companions."

"I thank you, Dr. Ferrolan, for the frankness with which you have spoken, and I shall assuredly profit by what you have said," added the commander.

"In what I said about expense I have been moved by what I should do myself if I had the control of the matter, and were as able as Sir Modava and his lordship to incur a heavy outlay; though I have a sufficient income to support a bachelor, I am a poor man compared with them."

The interview closed, and the doctor retired at the end of his cigar. The next morning Captain Ringgold obtained the ready assent of the two gentlemen to take part in the conference appointed for half-past nine, and later that of Dr. Ferrolan.



CHAPTER IX

CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA

"Ladies and gentlemen, it affords me very great pleasure to present to you Sir Modava Rao, who has kindly consented to give you a lesson on the geography of India," said Captain Ringgold when the company were seated in Conference Hall.

This announcement was greeted with unusually stormy applause, in which the ladies joined, and then flourished their handkerchiefs as an additional welcome to the handsome Hindu.

"I have also the pleasure to inform you that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan have indulgently permitted me to call upon them for the instruction in regard to India which they are so abundantly competent to give us," continued the commander with a very pleasant smile upon his dignified countenance. "Their subjects have been arranged, and I congratulate you and myself upon the satisfaction with which we shall all listen to these able exponents of the present condition of this interesting country. Sir Modava Rao, ladies and gentlemen."

The Hindu gentleman was again received with vigorous and long-continued applause. His handsome face, the expression of which was intensified by the fascinating smile that played upon his black eyes and around his finely moulded mouth, was not wasted upon the ladies, or even upon the gentlemen; and it was a considerable time before the plaudits of the company permitted him to speak; and he stood upon the rostrum bowing so sweetly that he was irresistible to the assembly.

"Mr. Commander, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "I have no claim upon you for the exceeding warmth of the reception you have given me, and I thank you with all my heart for all your kindness to me, a shipwrecked stranger on board of your ship. I shall give you as briefly and clearly as I can what I know about the geography of India. I understand that this was the subject to be treated by Captain Ringgold; and I am confident that he could have done it quite as well as I can, though I am 'to the manner born.' But I will proceed with the subject, without wasting any more of your valuable time.

"India is a vast territory, forming the southern peninsula of Asia, with a population, including the native states, of very nearly two hundred and fifty-four million people," continued the speaker, taking a paper from his pocket. "I have received a hint from your worthy commander that I ought to give a comparison of my figures with those of the United States, and our population is about four times as great as that of your country.

"The area in square miles is more than a million and a half, enough larger than your country to cover the State of Georgia;" and the speaker indulged in a cheerful smile. "I did not know what I am saying now till this morning; for I have been studying the 'Statesman's Year-Book,' in order to comply with the commander's request.

"The name of India came originally from the Persians, and was first applied to the territory about the Sindhu River, its Sanscrit name, the early literary language of India. A slight change, and the river was called the Hind, which is still the language of the natives, while the country around it is Hind, from which comes Hindu, and Hindustan; but these designations really belong to a province, though they are now given very generally to the whole peninsula," continued Sir Modava, turning to the enormous map which had been painted by Mr. Gaskette and his assistants.

"Hind, or Hindustan, is the territory near the Jumna and Ganges Rivers, of which more will be said later," as he pointed out these great watercourses, and then drew his pointer around Sind, now called Sinde, on the border of Beloochistan.

"How do you spell Hindustan, Sir Modava?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave. "We used to write it Hindoostan when I went to school."

"I think the orthography of the word is a matter of fashion, for the letter u in most European and Asiatic languages is pronounced like the English oo; but it is now almost universally spelled with a u. It is now almost generally absorbed in the name of India, and the application of the term to the whole of the peninsula is entirely erroneous; and English authorities usually pronounce it so.

"The name India is now given to the peninsula lying to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal. Siam and Tongking are in native possession, or under the protection of France, while Burma is a part of the British Indian Empire. It was only last year that the French had a brush with Siam, and materially strengthened their position there; and it will not be a calamity when all these half-civilized nations are subjected to the progressive influences which prevail in India proper, in spite of all that is said about the greed for power on the part of the great nations of the world.

"But I am wandering from my subject. India is about 1,900 miles in extent from north to south, and 1,600 in breadth in latitude 25 deg. north. The boundaries of this vast country, established by nature for the most part, are the Bay of Bengal (now called a sea in the southern portion) on the south-east, and the Arabian Sea on the south-west. On the north the Himalaya Mountains separate it from China, Thibet, and Turkestan; but some of these countries are called by various names, as Chinese Tartary, Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, and so on. On the west are Beloochistan and Afghanistan, and on the east Siam and China, though the boundaries were somewhat disturbed last summer in the former."

"We used to pronounce the name of your great northern range of mountains Hi-ma-lay'-a; you do not call it so, Sir Modava," said the commander.

"I have always called it Hi-mal'-a-ya, the a after the accented syllable being very slightly sounded; this is the pronunciation of all the Indian officials," replied the speaker, with his pleasant smile. "These mountains consist of a number of ranges; they extend 1,500 miles east and west, and are the sources of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. The highest is Mount Everest, the loftiest mountain in the world, 29,002 feet; and I could mention several other peaks which overtop any of the Andes. Himalaya means 'the abode of snow,' and the foot-hills are the resorts of the wealthy to obtain a cool climate in the summer.

"India is remarkable for its fertility, and its luxuriant growth of plants of all sorts, from the productions of the torrid zone to those of the temperate in the hilly regions of the north. It is abundantly watered by the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Jumna, the Indus, the Godavari, and other great streams. The Ganges, though it does not vie with the great rivers of America, is 1,557 miles in length. To the natives it is a sacred river, and the land through which it flows is holy ground. To bathe in its waters washes away sin; to die and be buried on its shores procures a free admission to the eternal paradise of heaven.

"The Ganges Canal, constructed in 1854, is 445 miles long, and is used for both navigation and irrigation. Doubtless you will sail upon it, and learn more about it. Near the Indus are two deserts, one 500 miles long, and the other 400, though the grains may be cultivated in the valleys and other low places; and perhaps these regions will be reclaimed by artificial irrigation. In ancient times gold-mines were worked in the south-west, and the currency consisted of this metal instead of silver, as at the present time; but the veins were exhausted, and the Mysore mines are all that is left of them.

"I suppose you Americans have been accustomed to regard India as an exceedingly hot country; and this is quite true of a considerable portion of it. In a region extending from the almost tropical island of Ceylon, nearly 2,000 miles to the snow-capped summits of the highest mountains in the world, there must necessarily be a great variety of climate. India has three well-defined seasons,—the cool, the hot, and the rainy. The cool months are November, December, January, and a part of February.

"The rainy season comes in the middle of the summer, earlier or later, and ends in September. Winter is the pleasantest season of the year; but autumn, unlike England, is hot, moist, and unhealthy. Monsoon comes from an Arabian or Persian word, meaning a season; and you have learned something about it by this time. It is applied to the south-west winds of the Indian Ocean, changing to the north or north-east in the winter. This wind produces rain, and when they infrequently fail, portions of the country are subjected to famines.

"At an elevation of 7,200 feet the temperature is an average of 58 deg. Fahrenheit, as I shall give all readings of the thermometer. At Madras, on the south-east coast, it is 83 deg.; at Bombay, 84 deg.; Calcutta, 79 deg.; and in Delhi, in latitude 29 deg. (about the same as the northern part of Florida), it is 72 deg.. These annual average temperatures will not seem high to you; but I beg you not to form a wrong impression, for the heat of summer is generally oppressive, and the average temperature is considerably reduced by the coolness of the winter months. In Delhi, quoted at 72 deg., the glass often indicates over 100 deg..

"The rain varies greatly in different regions. In the north-east it exceeds 75 inches, and in one remarkable year 600 inches fell at an observatory in north-east Bengal. In some of the western parts it is only 30 inches, while it is hardly 15 on the southern shores of the Indus. I think I must have sufficiently wearied you, ladies and gentlemen."

"No! No! No!" almost shouted the company with one voice; and perhaps there was something so fascinating in the manner of the distinguished Hindu which exorcised all weariness from their minds and bodies.

"Thank you with all my heart; but really you must permit me to retire, for I am somewhat fatigued, if you are not, and I shall be happy to contribute to your entertainment at another time," replied the speaker; and he retired from the platform.

"I shall next call upon Mr. Woolridge, who will speak to you of the fauna of India," said the commander.

The magnate of the Fifth Avenue, not much accustomed to speaking in public, was somewhat diffident about addressing the company in the presence of those who were so well versed in Indian lore; but he conquered his modesty, and took his place on the stand. In expressing his appreciation of the last speaker, he mentioned that he occupied a difficult position in the presence of those who knew India as they knew their alphabet, and begged them to consider his talk as addressed only to the Americans of the party. The guests declared that they should be very glad to hear him; and he bowed, smiled, and proceeded with his remarks:—

"Fortunately I have not much to say, for it will consist mainly of the mention of the names of the principal animals in the fauna of India," he began.

"Are all the animals fawns?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who evidently mistook the meaning of the term used.

"No, madam; some of them are snakes. But I shall refer the serpents to Sir Modava; for I am very anxious to hear the views of a native on that subject. The cattle are cows, buffaloes, and oxen, the two latter used as draft animals, and as agricultural workers. Bulls and cows are sacred beasts, and the Hindus never kill them for food."

"Except Christianized natives, like myself," interpolated Sir Modava.

"Thank you. The native breeds of horses have been greatly improved under the direction of the horse-fancying Briton; but they are never used on the farm. Ponies, donkeys, and mules are in use for various purposes. There are plenty of sheep and goats—so there are of hogs; but the higher of the middle class, like the Jews, regard them as unclean beasts, and would as soon take poison as eat the flesh of a pig. I don't sympathize with them, for I like roast pork when it is well brought up and kept clean.

"Monkeys are as tame as they are mischievous; and doubtless they are tame because they are held to be sacred, and have a better time than they do in Africa and elsewhere. But all the fun of the fauna is concentrated in the wild animals, such as the tiger (about the gamiest 'critter' that exists), the panther, cheetah, boar, bear, elephant, and rhinoceros. Two kinds of crocodiles (not alligators) live in the mud and water of the rivers; and I suppose they snap up a man or woman when they get a chance, as they do in the Philippine Islands and other countries. I advise you all to give them a wide berth; for their bite is worse than their bark, like that of some men we know of.

"There are plenty of deer to furnish a dainty and healthy diet for the meat-eating wild animals, including the lion, which is not much of a king of beasts here, the hyena, the lynx, and the wolf. All of these last take a back seat compared with the tiger. Game and other birds would make a hunter's paradise if it were not for the snakes and tigers, which are unpleasant to an American when his piece is loaded with only birdshot.

"In the towns on the sea the fish are excellent, and an important industry is curing and smoking them for the markets. In the mountain streams the fishing is very good; but in the warm waters of the streams on the plains, as in Egypt, the fish are soft, and neither palatable nor healthy. Leaving the snakes to the tender mercies of the gentleman from Travancore, I will make my bow," which he did, and stepped down.

He was politely applauded, and the strangers seemed to enjoy his discourse more than the rest of the party.



CHAPTER X

THE FLORA AND THE SNAKES OF INDIA

The middle of the day was devoted to recreation. It was a very pleasant day after the storm, and the ship had again struck into the north-east monsoon. While most of the company were planking the promenade deck, it was observed that Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan had retired to the library; for though they were very familiar with India and its people, they desired to freshen their memory among the books.

Miss Blanche was walking the deck with Louis on one side of her, and Sir Modava on the other. All the ladies had declared over and over again that the latter was a very fascinating man; but he was a person of discernment, and he could not very well help seeing that the young millionaire had a special interest in the beautiful young lady.

Like a small boy, the young couple ate sugar because they liked it, and not to swell the saccharine importance of the article, and probably never gave a thought to the natural results of their daily intimacy. It is absolutely certain that they had never indulged in any actual "spooning;" for Louis had never proceeded far enough to call the fair maiden by her given name, without "Miss" before it, precisely as everybody else in the cabin did. They were entirely respectful to each other, and she invariably addressed him as Mr. Belgrave.



They were not as familiar as brother and sister, and doubtless neither of them reasoned over the situation, or considered to what it might lead. Though Miss Blanche was with Louis most of the time when they were on deck, and walked and rode with him when they were on shore, she was just as kind and pleasant with all the members of the "Big Four;" and when Louis was engaged in a special study, as when he was preparing his "talk for the conference," Scott or Felix found a chance for a promenade with her. But everybody else on board understood the situation better than those the most intimately concerned. But no one had any objection, not even Mrs. Belgrave or the parents of Miss Blanche.

At half-past three in the afternoon the signal was given for the meeting in Conference Hall. The ladies would have been glad to hear Sir Modava again; but the commander invited the speakers, and kept his own counsels, so that the party did not know whom they were to hear first.

"There is still a great deal to be said about India, and I am trying to dispose of some of the dryest subjects first. Dr. Ferrolan has very unselfishly consented to make a martyr of himself in the treatment of one of these topics, though I hope another time to assign him something more to his mind. Dr. Ferrolan."

This gentleman was received almost as enthusiastically as the handsome Hindu; for the Americans were disposed to treat all their guests with uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in favor of Sir Modava.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all want to know something more about the fauna of India.

"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface of the earth.

"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I believe you Americans call Indian corn"—

"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander.

"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor.

"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you."

"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject hereafter; but corn and millet are raised for the food of some of the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and lac are noted for their quality and their quantity.

"The native flowers are not so rich as you would expect to find; but the white lilies of the water are as pretty as anywhere, and the flowering shrubs are beautiful. Of course, if you went out to walk in the jungle you would find wild-flowers enough to make a bouquet."

"But who would do it?" asked Mr. Woolridge.

"I would for one," replied the doctor. "Why not?"

"The cobra-de-capello!" exclaimed the magnate.

"They are not agreeable companions; but we don't make half so much of them as you do, sir. I will not meddle with this subject, as it is assigned to another, and I have no desire to steal his thunder-box. We have all the flowers of Europe, and probably of America; but they are not indigenous to the soil, though they thrive very well.

"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground like the other. Its scientific name is the Ficus religiosa; for it is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon.

"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap, which they use as bandoline."

"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred.

"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in the right place.

"I must not forget the bamboo, which is found all over India, and even 12,000 feet up the mountains. Of course you know all about it, for the slender stem is carried to all Europe and America. As you look at it you observe that it has the same structure as some of the grasses, the same joints and cells. It is not sugar-cane, but at some seasons a sweet juice flows from the joints, which is here called Indian honey. I have no doubt my young friends have used the bamboo when they went fishing; and the most expensive fly-rods are made from its material, as well as canes, and scores of other useful articles.

"The original forests which once covered hills and plains have been recklessly cut away; and long ago this source of wealth was driven back into the mountains, to the vast injury of the climate and the water supply for the nourishment of the arable lands of the Country. But the British government has taken hold of this matter since the middle of the present century, and has made considerable progress towards the restoration of the forests. Not less than 100,000 square miles of land are now under supervision to this end.

"India is a vast territory; but it is estimated that not more than one-third of it is under cultivation, or used for pasturage. Doubtless there is much more of it available; but a considerable of it consists of steep mountain-sides, of deserts, and the beds and overflow of the rivers. With your permission, Mr. Commander, I will retreat from this prominent position, after doing the best I could with a meagre subject;" and the doctor bowed to the audience, while they were applauding him warmly.

"I think you had better make no apology for your treatment of your subject. I can always tell by the expression of the company whether or not the speaker is interesting the party; and I am sure you have succeeded admirably. The next feature to which I call your attention is Sir Modava Rao, on snakes."

The gentleman was received quite as warmly as before; but Mrs. Belgrave was sorry that such a fine-looking gentleman should have to talk about snakes.

"I fully believe that the Good Father of us all distributed poisonous snakes over India for a good and wise purpose, though I do not know what it was; and if I had the power to do so, I should not dare to kill or banish them all, for I know not what injury I might do my country by removing them. Many thousand natives die every year from snakebites. Statistics say that 20,000 perish in this manner. But that is only one in 14,361; and a single malignant disease has destroyed more than that in the same time.

"The old woman who was accused of cruelty in skinning live eels, replied that she had been doing so all her life, and the eels must be used to it by this time. We are used to snakes in India, and we don't mind them half as much as you think you would if you lived here. The government offers rewards for killing harmful animals, and thousands of snakes are destroyed every year."

"Do you think it is right to kill them if God put them here for a good purpose, Sir Modava?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"Certainly I do. God gave us fire: is it right, therefore, to let the city burn up when the fire is kindled? God suffers sin and evil to remain in the world, though he could banish them by a wave of his mighty arm! Shall we not protect ourselves from the tempest he sends? Shall we permit the plague or the cholera to decimate our land because God punishes us in that way for violating the laws he has set up in our bodies?

"This subject is too large for me to pursue it in detail. I need not describe the cobra, for you will see no end of them about the streets of the cities in the hands of the snake-charmers. He is five feet or more in length. His fangs are in his upper jaw. They are not tubed or hollow; but he has a sort of groove on the outside of the tooth, down which the deadly poison flows. In his natural state, his bite is sure death unless a specific or antidote is soon applied. Thanks to modern science, the sufferer from the bite of a cobra is generally cured if the right remedy is applied soon enough. I have been twice bitten by cobras. The medicine used in my case was the Aristolochia Indica.

"There is such a thing as a snake-stone, which is applied to the wound, and is said to absorb the blood, and with it the poison; but medical men of character regard it as not entitled to the credit claimed for it. A chemical expert pronounced it to be nothing but a charred bone, which had probably been filled with blood, and again subjected to the action of fire. It is possible that the bone absorbs the blood; but that is not a settled fact, and I leave it to Dr. Ferrolan."

"I believe it is a fraud," replied the doctor.

"The color of the cobra varies from pale yellow to dark olive. One kind has something like a pair of spectacles on the back of his hood, or it looks something like the eyes with which ladies fasten their dress. This hood or bonnet is spread out by the action of the ribs of the creature, and he opens it when he is angry.

"I had a tame mongoose, a sort of ichneumon. This animal, not much bigger than a weasel, is a great cobra-killer, and he understands his business. This snake is given to hiding himself in the gardens around the bungalow for the purpose of preying on the domestic fowls. I found one once, and brought out the mongoose. He tackled him at once, and killed him about as quick as a rifle would have done it. I think you will learn all you want to know about snakes as you travel through India."

Sir Modava retired with the usual applause. As the company returned from the platform, a gun from the Blanche attracted their attention.



CHAPTER XI

A PLEASANT DINNER-PARTY AT SEA

The Blanche was on the starboard beam of the Guardian-Mother, or, in shore parlance, she was on the right-hand side of her as both ships sailed to the eastward. She chose her own position, and it varied considerably at different times, though it was generally about half a mile from her consort. At the present time she had come within less than a quarter of a mile, as the sea was quite smooth.

"Why, the Blanche is all dressed up as though she were going to a ball!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, as the booming gun attracted the attention of the entire party.

"So she is," added the commander, as he observed her altered appearance for the first time; for he had been giving his whole attention to the lecture. "Captain Sharp is evidently getting up some sort of a frolic."

The first gun was followed by a second, and then by a third; and they continued till thirty-one of them had been discharged. Four pieces were evidently used, and they were fired with considerable rapidity, proving that the British tars who formed her ship's company had seen service in the navy.

"What does all that mean?" queried Captain Ringgold, as the party gathered about him for an explanation, though he was as much puzzled as any of them. "It is not a national salute, so far as I know, and I am utterly unable to say what it means."

But as soon as the firing ceased a signal number went up to the fore-peak. Bangs was the signal officer, and he had his book open as soon as he saw that it was needed.

"What is it, Bangs?" asked the commander at the window of the pilot-house.

"'Stop; I have something to communicate,'" replied the quartermaster.

"All right; give her one bell," added the commander.

Bangs gave the proper signal for the affirmative, after he had struck the gong. The letting off of the steam was enough to inform the captain of the Blanche that his request was complied with, and it was seen that he had a boat all ready to drop into the water. The screw of the ship ceased to revolve; and then, to save time, the commander of the Guardian-Mother ordered the quartermaster to ring to back her, and the Blanche followed her example. As soon as the headway was nearly killed, the quarter-boat went into the water, with an officer in uniform in the stern-sheets. The cutter pulled to the American's side, and a ladder was dropped.

The officer was a very trim-looking man of forty, and was promptly conducted to the commander on the promenade deck. He was as polite as a French dancing-master.

"I have not the honor to be acquainted with Captain Ringgold, but I beg to introduce myself as Mr. Bland, first officer of the Blanche," said the visitor, with all necessary nourishes.

"I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bland. My friend Captain Sharp appears to be engaged in a frolic this afternoon," replied the commander, shaking hands with the officer.

"This is General Noury's birthday, sir, and Captain Sharp is taking proper notice of it," replied Mr. Bland, as he took from his pocket a note, and delivered it to Captain Ringgold.

"The general's birthday!" exclaimed the commander. "I wish him many happy returns of it;" and he opened the note.

It took him but a minute to read it, and then he looked extremely good-natured, as though he was more than ordinarily pleased; for he knew that its contents would afford a great deal of satisfaction to his passengers.

"By particular request of General Noury, in whose honor the guns were fired and the Blanche is dressed as you see her, Captain Sharp invites all the cabin party of the Guardian-Mother, including the guests, to dine on board of the Blanche on this happy occasion. Shall the invitation be accepted? Those in favor of accepting it will please raise the right hand, and keep it up till counted," continued the commander, who was in a merry mood for him. "Our honored guests are expected and requested to vote; for we could not think of leaving them alone on board of the ship. That would be neither decent nor hospitable, and the invitation specially includes them. Please to vote, all."

The hands all went up; and the party seemed to be greatly amused at the operation of voting. The presiding officer declared that it was a unanimous vote, and the invitation was accepted.

"Not quite unanimous, Mr. Commander," interposed Louis Belgrave. "Mr. Scott did not vote."

"You wish to vote in the negative, Mr. Scott?" inquired the captain.

"I do not intend to vote at all, Captain," replied the third officer. "It would be a little cheeky for me to vote to leave the ship without the permission of the captain or of the first officer."

"'In colleges and halls in ancient times there dwelt a sage called Discipline;' and a very good old fellow he was to have about, and quite as good on board ship as in institutions of learning. Do you wish to accept the invitation, Mr. Scott?" asked the commander.

"I should be exceedingly happy to do so."

"Then ask Mr. Boulong's permission."

"Granted!" shouted the first officer, who stood within hearing.

"Mr. Bland, give my compliments to Captain Sharp, and inform him that his invitation is unanimously accepted by both passengers and guests, and we will be on board at five o'clock," said Captain Ringgold, addressing the officer from the Blanche; and he went over the side into his boat.

"You don't give us much time to get ready, Mr. Commander," said Mrs. Belgrave, as all the ladies hurried away to the cabin to prepare for the grand occasion that had so suddenly dawned upon them.

"Elaborate toilets are hardly expected at sea, out of sight of land. Claw-hammer coats are not imperative, gentlemen," said the captain.

Though the two steamers were not in a hurry, both of them resumed their course as soon as the Blanche's boat was hoisted up to the davits; for it is part of the shipmaster's gospel to "keep moving" under all possible circumstances, and to lose no time in arriving at his destined port. All the passengers went below to prepare for the dinner. The Blanche had come within fifty yards of her consort, as the sea was quite smooth.

"Where is that music, Mr. Boulong?" asked the captain, opening the door from his cabin to the pilothouse.

"From the Blanche, Captain."

"But it seems to be a band. Is it an orchestrion?"

"Not at all; there are eight pieces of music on the promenade deck. It seems that His Highness has a small band on board, though I have not heard it before," added the first officer.

The commander thought the music was very fine, and he concluded that Captain Sharp was running near the Guardian-Mother for the purpose of giving the band an introduction to the consort. Besides the ship's company, there was no one on board of the Blanche but the general and Mrs. Sharp; and the Pacha, accustomed as he was to merriment and revelry, must have been rather lonesome. But it was already proved that he was a reformed man, and had entirely changed his manner of life.

The barge, which was a large eight-oar boat, had been made ready to lower into the water, and the gangway had been rigged out. Though it was winter, the ship was in 18 deg. north latitude, and the weather was as mild and pleasant as in midsummer. There was no spray, and the ladies could go to the Blanche as comfortably as in a carriage on shore.

At quarter before five the gong was sounded in the cabin and on deck to call the party together in the boudoir, where they were to assemble. The ship stopped at the mandate of the captain, and the barge was lowered, and brought to the gangway. The boat was as handsome as anything that ever floated, and the stern-sheets were luxurious enough for a fairy craft. The crew of nine were all dressed in their white uniforms, and sat with their oars tossed, except the cockswain, who stood bolt upright abaft the back-board.

There were sixteen in the party, and the "Big Four" made their way to the fore-sheets; the ladies were handed into the stern by the three guests, and the barge shoved off. The Blanche had taken a position on the beam of the Guardian-Mother, her band playing for all they were worth. Captain Sharp was on the platform of the gangway, and took every lady by the hand as he assisted her to disembark. At the head of the gangway on deck stood General Noury, who received the ladies, all of whom he had met before; and the distinguished guests were presented to him, after which he shook hands with every other member of the party. He was especially respectful, and even reverential, to the commander of the Guardian-Mother, who had forgiven so much in his past conduct.

Mrs. Sharp came in for a large share of the consideration of the visitors. An hour was spent in the drawing-room, as they called the deck cabin, which was as large as the boudoir and music-room of the Guardian-Mother. The band had laid aside their brass instruments, and organized as an orchestra, stationed in a sort of recess in the forward part of the cabin. The general conversed with every person in the party; and when Scott addressed him as "Your Highness," he protested that he did not wish to hear the expression again.

He talked French with Louis, Italian with Sir Modava, and Spanish with Lord Tremlyn; for it was understood that he spoke at least half a dozen languages besides his own, and the guests found he was equally fluent in all they knew. To Miss Blanche he was very polite; but he did not give a moment more to her than to the other ladies, much to the satisfaction of her parents.

The dinner was fully equal to Mr. Sage's best efforts, and the occasion was as hilarious and as pleasant as it could be. Possibly the English guests missed their wine on such an occasion. Lord Tremlyn declared that he seldom drank it at all, and Dr. Ferrolan said the same; and Sir Modava was the strictest sort of a teetotaler, having been engaged in preaching this doctrine among the Sepoys as opportunity offered. The captain of the Blanche informed the commander of the Guardian-Mother that the general had never touched wine since he came on board.

After dinner several of the gentlemen sang songs, and the general gave one in Moroccan, which amused the party, though they could not understand a word of it. Later in the evening Captain Ringgold made a speech complimentary to General Noury, and wished him many happy returns of the occasion they celebrated. He was followed by Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Professor Giroud, and then by the three distinguished guests from the Travancore.

The general replied to all of them at the close of the entertainment. He was a pleasant speaker, and his handsome face added a great deal to his words. The affair was declared to be a great success for a dinner-party at sea, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother invited all their hosts to assist him in a similar one on board his ship, the signal for which was to be the American Union Jack when the weather was suitable.

The party returned to their ocean home; and the commander spent the rest of the evening in telling his guests the story of General Noury, and especially of his wonderful reformation.

"Then Captain Sharp really saved his life?" added Lord Tremlyn.

"No doubt of it. The two ruffians in a street of Messina had disabled the general, and would certainly have finished him if the captain had not wounded one with his revolver, and tackled the other. He owes his life to Sharp without a doubt. Mrs. Sharp took care of him for quite a time while he was recovering from his wound, and she made a deep impression upon him. He is a Mohammedan, and he sticks to his religion; but even that is capable of making a better man of him than he was before."

"I was much pleased with Mrs. Sharp, not because she is an English woman, but because she is a very worthy person," added his lordship.

"You are quite right, my lord, and she has had a romantic history;" and before they retired he had told the whole of it.

At the usual time the next day the company were assembled in Conference Hall; and when the commander announced that Lord Tremlyn would address them on the general subject, "The People of India," they manifested their interest by a liberal salvo of applause.



CHAPTER XII

THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to appear before you, and to look you all in the face," his lordship began as the applause subsided. "The task befaw me is to put a gallon of fluid into a pint pot. It cawn't be done. I shall not attempt to do what is quite impossible. I can only put in what the vessel will hold. I cawn't say all there is to be said about the people of India in an hour, or even two or three hours."

The noble gentleman was an easy, pleasant, and fluent speaker, evidently quite accustomed to addressing public assemblies; but he had certain peculiarities of speech, a very few of them, which sounded just a little odd to the Americans, as doubtless some of their pronunciation did to the Britons. But there is hardly a perceptible difference in the pronunciation of highly trained speakers of one nation and the other. It is not necessary to indicate any farther the slightly peculiar speech of the accomplished gentleman.

"I can only select from the mass of material before me what I think will be most interesting and useful to you; for I have been warned that I must not talk all day," continued the viscount.

"We leave that to your lordship's own judgment," added Captain Ringgold.

"I will be merciful, Mr. Commander: as merciful as possible. Next to China, India is the most populous country on the globe; and without Nepaul, it numbered, in 1891, 287,223,917, or more than one-seventh of the people on the face of the earth; and the increase in the last decade was almost 28,000,000,—enough to populate about a dozen of your larger States.

"In spite of its vast population, India cannot be said to be a very densely peopled region; 184 to the square mile for the whole country. The mountain territory is quite thinly settled. All the native states have but 108 to the square mile, though the plains of the Ganges show about 400. About Benares and Patna the average is about double these figures. I was looking at the 'Year-Book' in your library, and I saw that the average in the States, including Alaska, is about 18 to the square mile; but the nine States in the north-east have 107.

"The little bit of a State of Rhode Island leads in the density of its population, with 318, while Massachusetts comes next with 278. New Jersey has 193, Connecticut, 154; the big States of New York and Pennsylvania have respectively 126 and 117. In the United Kingdom the average in England is 541; in Scotland, 135; in Wales, 206; and in Ireland, 144. The density of India, therefore, is quite respectable by comparison.

"By the census of 1891, India has seventy-five towns with over 50,000 inhabitants, and twenty-eight with over 100,000; but unlike three cities of the States, it has not one with over a million, though Calcutta and Bombay are likely to reach that distinction in another decade. You have not a monopoly of the fast-growing cities in the States."

"We have found out that Berlin has increased faster than Chicago," said Uncle Moses with a chuckle; "and Glasgow has got ahead of Liverpool."

"Quite true, Mr. Scarburn; but the States have not all the fast-growing cities of the world, wonderful as the increase has been in some of them. Europe, Asia, and Australia are alive. The nearest approaches to a million in India are Calcutta, 861,764, and Bombay, 821,764; but I dare say you are all quite tired of statistics by this time."

"Not at all, Lord Tremlyn; as you present them they are quite interesting." said Mrs. Belgrave.

"Thank you, madam," replied the speaker, bowing low, with his hand on his heart. "Now I am going to speak of the people as other than mere numbers; and if I wished to entangle you inextricably, I should go back about 4,000 years, and tell you about the people down to the present time. I spare you the infliction in full. Four groups of languages are spoken among the natives, and from these the original races that spoke them are traced out.

"I mention one as a specimen, the Kolarian language, spoken by those who first settled in the hilly regions of the central part. The others are the Aryan, Dravidian, and Tibeto-Burman, all of which you will find in 'Chambers's' in your library.

"The word Hindu is generally used in a very broad sense to cover all the native population of Hindustan or India; but it is really applicable to a religion, and belongs only to those of the Hindu, or the faith of the Brahmins; but, like most others, it consists of a great number of sects. Of this belief there are about 200,000,000 people. They are divided into four grand classes, called castes. The Portuguese called them casta in their own language, from which the present name comes. I call them grand classes, or castes, because they are divided into many sub-classes.

"When the Aryans, who came from Europe, and Asia farther north than India, obtained a foothold here, and established themselves, they looked down upon other people in the land, and called themselves the twice-born, or born again, as some modern sects have it. They claimed to have experienced a second, or religious, birth, indicated by a certain cord with which they were invested at a particular age. The natives of the soil and all other outsiders were the once-born.

"In the lapse of time the twice-born were divided into three classes, the Brahmins being the priestly class, the Kshatriyas the ruling military, and the Vaisyas the agricultural classes. These were of the upper grade; and all the once-born were called Sudras. These four classes are the origin of caste, though the divisions have been greatly changed. The Vedas are the four oldest sacred books of the Hindus, otherwise the Hindu Scriptures.

"Derived from their holy books is the allegorical idea that the Brahmin, or priest, was the mouth of the original man; the warrior his arms; the agriculturist his thighs; while the Sudra, or common people, sprang out of his feet. The duties and relations of the four castes are defined and stated in the laws of Manu."

"We have not been introduced to him," suggested Mrs. Woolridge.

"He is regarded as the author of the most noted law-book among the Hindus; but there is so much that is mythical and contradictory said of him, that I will say nothing more about him; but he is authority among the Brahmins. In modern caste the Brahmin is the minister of religion; he alone mediates between God and man, makes sacrifices, and teaches the sacred Veda. His life is portioned off into periods of special duty. As a student he learns the Veda; then he gets married, becomes a householder, and must every day perform the appointed sacrifice. Some of them live in the woods, as hermits, or live like monks, till they are said to be absorbed into Brahma.

"The soldier's sphere is in connection with the State, to support the Brahmin, and execute the laws he makes or interprets. The third class cultivate the soil as proprietors, and engage in trade and commerce. The Sudra is the servant of all the others. Resulting from the intermarriage of members of different castes there are various mixed classes. The lowest is the child of a Brahmin mother and a Sudra father, though in Southern India the Pariah is still lower.

"Of the vast population of India, three-fourths are Hindus in religion. The Buddhists are mostly in Burma, and there are over 57,000,000 Mohammedans. The number of Christians by the last census was 2,284,380; and I am sorry there are no more of them. The Sikhs and the Jains are Indian sects which flourish in certain localities; as there are nearly two millions of the former in the Punjab, and over half a million of the latter in Bombay, and approaching that number in Rajputana, with comparatively few elsewhere. The Parsees, or Parsis, who were driven from Persia by the Mohammedans, number 76,774 in Bombay,—not the city, but the presidency.

"In the small state of Travancore, where my friend Sir Modava was born, there are said to be four hundred and twenty different castes. The distinction is sometimes the result of occupation, branch of trade, or some accidental circumstance. Let me read a short extract from a book from your library:—

"'Among the lowest classes caste has degenerated into a fastidious tenacity of the rights and privileges of station. For example, the man who sweeps will not take an empty cup from your hand; your groom will not mow a little grass; a coolie will carry any load, however offensive, on his head, but even in a matter of life and death would refuse to carry a man, for that is the business of another caste.

"'When an English servant pleads that such a thing is not his place, his excuse is analogous to that of the Hindu servant when he pleads his caste. When an Englishman of birth or profession, which is held to confer gentility, refuses to associate with a tradesman or mechanic; or when members of a secret society exclude all others from their meetings; or when any other social distinction arises, it would present itself to the mind of the Hindu as a regulation of caste.'

"It is a barrier to the progress of Christianity in many ways. It is generally thought that a Christian convert cannot be restored to his caste if he should backslide; and the superstition of the low-class natives is a rhinoceros shield, which it is still difficult to penetrate; but in the end the Cross will come off conqueror, as it always has and always will.

"Caste does not now compel a native to pursue his father's calling, except, perhaps, in the case of Brahmins. For that matter, Brahmins serve in the army, and even act as cooks and in similar occupations. Men of all castes have risen to exalted positions, just as poor men, with none of the advantages of high birth, have in England. The loss of caste has been regarded by the ignorant native here as the most terrible thing that could possibly happen to him; but it is not so in practice, for it has been accomplished by giving a very indifferent supper.

"When an outcast enters another caste, he is well and heartily received as a convert. As you proceed through India you will learn more about this stumbling-block of superstition and ignorance.

"The 57,000,000 Mohammedans, of whom 23,658,000 are in Bengal, and over 6,000,000 in Bombay, are either descendants of emigrating Asiatics, or Hindus converted to that faith. Their religion is a mixture of the doctrines of the Prophet and local idolatry; for they have been somewhat infected by the prevailing worship of the natives. The Parsees are an educated mercantile class, the great body of them being found in Bombay. They are fire-worshippers; and their creed is that of Zoroaster, who flourished not less than 800 years before Christ. The Zend-Avesta is the sacred book of the sect, containing their religion and their philosophy. The Caliph Omar conquered the Persians, and established Mohammedanism there, persecuting all who would not believe. The obstinate Parsees fled to India."

"The Parsees of the present day are their descendants, and still cling to their ancient faith. Like all sects, they are fully tolerated by the British government, and are considered one of the most respectable and thriving classes of the community. They are largely merchants and land-owners, and bear the highest reputation for honesty, industry, and as peaceful citizens. They are quite prepossessing, and many of their ladies are remarkably beautiful, though I have seen a fairer American than any one of them.

"Some of them have studied law in England, and all are forward to avail themselves of the advantages of education. A merchant-prince of this sect was noted as a philanthropist; and for the vast sums of money he gave for benevolent institutions, the Queen knighted him, as she did Sir Modava for his public service. This gentleman is Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy He died in 1859."

"Parsees do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion, and reject beef and pork, especially hams. They are not permitted to marry outside of their own sect. Their dead are not buried or cremated, but are committed to what is called the Tower of Silence. The bodies are exposed on an iron grating, where the carniverous birds of the air can get to them until the flesh has all disappeared. Then the sun-dried bones fall through into a receptacle, from which they are removed to a cavern in the earth."

"How horrid!" exclaimed the ladies with one voice.

"The Parsee does not think so; and perhaps he has the same view you have of our manner of disposing of the dead. In spite of the awe and respect with which the Parsees regard fire, they are about the only eastern people who do not smoke. But I think you need a rest by this time, and I will retire for a little while."

The company applauded as usual, and then began to pace the promenade deck.



CHAPTER XIII

LORD TREMLYN DISCOURSES MORE ABOUT INDIA

The delightful weather of the forenoon charmed the party as they walked the deck. It was mid-summer in the middle of the winter, as they looked at it; for the almanac of home lingered in their minds, though the days were longer. The sun was rather warm on both sides of noon, though it was not oppressive, and the abundant awnings protected the passengers from its more searching rays.

Statistical as the lecture had been, the viscount had made it interesting by softening the figures with his comparisons; and some of his points, even in regard to the States, were new to them, and especially in regard to the United Kingdom. In about half an hour they were summoned to Conference Hall again for a continuation of the lecture.

"From the vast emigration to your country, ladies and gentlemen, I suppose there must be a great variety of people on your territory. The Germans, the English, the Irish, the Scandinavians, the Italians, and other nationalities, in the process of assimilation, although very many of them have become as American as Americans themselves, take the manners and customs, the national peculiarities, of the fatherland with them.

"The Irish drink whiskey, the Germans beer, and the Italians are apt to have a stilletto about them. Then the antecedents, climate, politics, and other influences, have made the East differ from the West, and the South from both of them. Lynch law prevails to a considerable extent in the latter, never in the Eastern and Middle States, and very rarely in the West. But all Americans speak the same language; and foreigners are compelled to learn English in order to get on at all, and it has become one of the bonds of your union."

"In India there are not less than twenty-seven languages and dialects in use; and they indicate so many different kinds of people, for we can hardly call them nations, though in many respects they are such. This excellent map behind me, which is worthy of the highest praise as a home-made production, will enable me to give you a better idea of my subject."

"The ingenious artist has colored the different divisions so that you can make them out. The three presidencies are the most notable divisions, and they include all the inferior ones. The Bengal Presidency includes the north-eastern part, from Afghanistan to Burma. The Madras, the southeastern part, with most of the peninsula. The Bombay covers the greater part of the west coast. The Deccan is a portion of the peninsula."

"It would take me three weeks to describe all the divisions of India, and I shall not attempt to do it. It would be better done as you travel over the country. Eighteen of them are Directly governed by the English, and thirteen of them are still under the nominal control of the native princes; but all the latter have a British resident as the adviser of the reigning rajah.

"The English-speaking people of India are a mere bagatelle compared with the enormous population, being only 238,499; but with the army they have been able to hold the country in subjection. The British government takes a fatherly interest in the native states, and they have been loyal without exception in later years, though the history of India will show that not all of them have always been so."

"Until the year 1858 the government was in the hands of the East India Company, of which you will learn more in the history of India. In 1877 her majesty, the queen, assumed the title of Empress of India, and she is the ruler of the country. The government of the highest resort in the affairs of India is a secretary of state, residing in London. He is a member of the cabinet, and has an under-secretary. He is assisted by a council of ten or fifteen members."

"The executive government, administered in India, is the governor-general in council. He is the viceroy of the crown, and is assisted by six members of the executive council, each of whom has his function in the affairs of the state; and the commander-in-chief of the army is ex-officio a seventh member. This body is really the cabinet of the viceroy. The laws are made by this council, with from six to a dozen members appointed by the viceroy. This is the way the machine is operated.

"The civil service of the government is rendered mainly by Europeans, though the natives are eligible to office as employees. The English system in the appointment of its officials prevails, and all candidates are regularly examined. Those of you who have looked over Bradshaw's 'Guide to India' will find descriptions of the several examinations for various employments."

"I wish the English system could be transferred to the United States," said Uncle Moses with great unction.

"You have made a beginning, and perhaps you will come to it in time. The civil service prevails in the provinces and states of India as well as in the general government, though the competition is open to the natives.

"The soldiers of the East India Company became the military force of the British crown when the government was assumed. The English army in India now consists of 74,033 men of all arms, and the native army of 144,735, a total standing army of 218,786, which is its strength at the present time. It is a curious fact that, as the native troops are recruited by voluntary enlistment, all castes and races, including Brahmins, are drawn in by the good pay and the pension promised.

"The navy of the East India Company was superseded by the royal navy in 1863; and a dozen or fifteen ships of war are stationed in these waters, with an admiral as commander-in-chief, whose headquarters are at Bombay. The Indian treasury contributes annually to the expense of this force. The great steam navigation companies are available to recruit this branch of the defence of the country.

"The laws are made, and the institutions of India are regulated, by Parliament; and the administration of law and justice is substantially the same as in the United Kingdom. The regular police consists of 160,000 officers and men; and a portion of the expense of this force is defrayed by the towns, the large cities mainly. Besides the city police, there are 560,000 in charge of the villages. The constabulary are natives, with European officers, one to every seven square miles and 1,300 inhabitants, indicating peaceful communities. About 12,000 of the 82,000 persons under sentence are in the convict colonies at the Andaman Islands.

"The educational institutions are progressive, and 400 newspapers are published in various languages, most of them with small circulations, 20,000 being the largest in India. The post and telegraph systems are well cared for; and 17,564 miles of railway are in operation, with others in process of construction. The manufactures, both in metal and fibre, have always been remarkably fine, and the quality is still kept up. Cotton factories have been established, with native labor, which promise great results to the industry of the country.

"The loss of life on account of famine, caused by the failure of the monsoon rains, has been terrific in some years. Canals and reservoirs for irrigation as well as navigation have been built in order to remove this evil. In 1874 L16,000,000 was expended in the relief of sufferers by the government. Since that time a famine fund has been established; and in years of plenty a million and a half sterling has been set aside for this object.

"The excessive density of the population has induced the government to favor emigration; and over a hundred thousand have gone to British Guiana and the West Indies, and other countries. The currency of India will be likely to bother you a little. The silver rupee is the unit; though when you see 'R.x.' over or at the left of a column of figures, it means tens of rupees. The nominal value of a rupee is two shillings, about half a dollar of your money; but it is never worth that in gold, the standard of England in recent years. It was some years ago at a premium of twopence, but for the last three years it has averaged only 1s. 5-1/8d. Its value varies with the gold price of silver in London.

"There is also a government paper currency in circulation, amounting to L16,000,000 sterling. The smallest copper coin is the pie, worth half a farthing, equal to a quarter of a cent of your money. Three of them make a pice, a farthing and a half, three-quarters of a cent. Four pice make an anna, a penny and a half, three cents. Sixteen annas make a rupee. Sixteen rupees make a gold mohur."

"Those small pieces are about as insignificant as those of Egypt," suggested Mr. Woolridge.

"There are not many millionaires among the natives, and these smaller coins are mostly used among them. They are convenient also to the stingy Englishman when the plate is passed around in church," added his lordship with a chuckle, which pleased Uncle Moses more than the remark. India has a public debt of about L200,000,000, contracted for railways, canals, war, and other purposes. The revenue last year was L84,932,100, and the expenditures were L84,661,700. Not a large margin; but you must multiply the pounds by five, or nearly that, to reduce them to dollars.

"The poppy is extensively cultivated in India; and the export tax in Calcutta amounts to six and a quarter millions, in Bombay, to three and a half millions, on the manufactured opium. The producer sends his crop to the government factory, whence it is sold to the exporter; all this to prevent frauds on the revenue.

"Wages and prices have gone up under British rule. The best class of laborers get four annas a day, and others not more than two,—six to twelve cents a day. Grain for food is a penny for two pounds,—a cent a pound. Women and children earn small wages. The clothing of the poor is scanty and cheap; fuel costs nothing; and rent for dwellings is hardly known. The masses in the country, not laborers, live on the land as owners or lessees. There has never been anything like a poor-law, and ordinarily there is no need of such.

"It would be quite impossible for me to give the history of India in detail in the limited time at my command, especially as we are now approaching the land. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese navigator, was the first to reach the East Indies, in 1498; but his countrymen never did much trading here, being more intent upon securing the rich treasures of the Indies. As early as 1600 the English turned their attention in this direction. Companies were formed; but being driven by the Dutch from the islands which they still hold, they began to make settlements on the coast of this peninsula. Madras dates from 1639, Bombay from 1686, Calcutta from 1686. The Company said, 'Let us make a nation in India;' and they went to work at once to do it. They accomplished their purpose, fostered by the government, raised and borrowed money, and in the course of time had an army and a navy, and ruled the country. They defeated the Grand Mogul, drove the French out of the peninsula, and were generally very prosperous.

"In 1833 Parliament revoked all the trading privileges of the company; and their dividends to stockholders were then paid out of the taxes assessed on the people of India. They could not trade and could not govern except under the control of Parliament. All the wars of India have been fought by the British nation. After the mutiny, of which more hereafter, the company was compelled to cede its powers to the crown in 1858.

"The native soldiers of Bengal were called Sepoys, and the name has been applied to all native troops. Some small mutinies occurred in this arm of the service in the presidency. Early in 1857 the garrison of Meerut, near Delhi, revolted, and the British troops failed to suppress it. The Sepoys marched to Delhi, where they were joined by the native troops and the mob. The descendant of the Great Mogul, who lived in the palace of his ancestors under British protection, was proclaimed emperor, and his empire re-established.

"Probably 90,000 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, were in a state of rebellion. In many instances they had murdered their officers and their families. They were spread over a broad country, and held forts, arsenals, and treasuries. They were disciplined troops armed with European artillery and muskets, and supplied with ammunition. In portions of the country the British were isolated, as in the camp before Delhi, and in the works at Agra, Allahabad, and Lucknow. The mutiny extended over an area of 100,000 square miles, with a population of 40,000,000. It came at the worst season of the year; and if it had not been speedily suppressed, it would have spread over the whole country. Many believed that the knell of the empire had sounded.

"At that time there were 40,000 European troops"—

"Land, ho!" shouted the lookout man; and the cry was repeated by the sailors and the officers.

"We will attend to the land now, and I will resume latter," said Lord Tremlyn, as he descended from the rostrum.



CHAPTER XIV

SIR HENRY HAVELOCK AND THE MUTINY

The announcement that land was in sight produced some excitement, and the speaker good-naturedly paused to enable the company to see whatever was to be seen. They looked to the eastward, but they could see nothing. They stood upon the promenade, and strained their eyes to the utmost; but it required a nautical eye to make land out of the dim haze in the distance, for that was all there was of it.

"I can readily understand your desire to obtain the first view of India," said Lord Tremlyn.

"But they will not obtain it yet a while," added the commander.

Louis and Felix had ascended the fore-rigging, and discovered what might have been the land or a bank of clouds. There were a great number of boats and small craft in sight, but none of them were near enough to be seen distinctly. They observed that the Guardian-Mother had reduced her speed.

"We shall not be where you can see anything for an hour or more," continued Captain Ringgold. "We have to pass some rather dangerous rocks in this vicinity, and we shall proceed cautiously till we take a pilot."

"A number of large vessels have been wrecked in this locality," said the viscount; "and in a little while you will get in among the multitude of fishing-craft that swarm off the islands."

When the company were satisfied that there was nothing to be seen, they resumed their seats, and the "live boys" in the fore-rigging returned to their places. All were greatly interested in the viscount's account of the mutiny; and he had suspended his narrative just where cunning writers of exciting stories place the "To be continued."

"I had hardly finished what I had to say, or at least what I intended to say; for there are still a great many points upon which I have not touched, leaving them to be brought up as you proceed on your travels through this interesting country," said Lord Tremlyn.

"Go on! Go on!" said quite a majority of the party.

"I have been here before, and perhaps you will excuse me if I have occasion to leave before your lordship has finished; and with this understanding, I think you had better proceed," added the commander.

"I will do so with the greatest pleasure," replied the speaker, as he took his place on the rostrum again. "I have described the terrible situation to which the English in India had been reduced, with nearly a hundred thousand Sepoys in rebellion, and the troops outnumbered a hundred to one, shut up in camps and forts. The fanatical and blood-thirsty mob, far greater than the body of native soldiers, were eager to fall upon and slaughter all Europeans.

"At this time there were 40,000 British troops scattered over the country; several thousand men on their way from England to China were diverted to this country. Forty thousand from home were on their voyage of 12,000 miles around the Cape of Good Hope to relieve the besieged garrisons. But in the midst of the gloom of this miserable summer there was a gleam of sunshine, and the sad disasters at Cawnpore and elsewhere were partially retrieved. This came on the appearance of Henry Havelock, whose noble example of a true life I commend to my young friends here who are just entering upon their careers.

"Havelock was born in 1795. His father was a merchant, and he was well educated. He was at first intended for the law; but he followed the example of his brother, and entered the army a month after the battle of Waterloo. In 1823 he was sent to India; and on the voyage he became a Christian in the truest sense of the word, and this event influenced his life. He was employed in the Afghan and Sikh wars; but he had learned 'to labor and to wait,' and he was still a lieutenant after twenty-three years' service.

"He was in command of a division of the army that invaded Persia in 1856. The news of the Indian mutiny called him hastily to Calcutta. Following the Ganges to Allahabad," continued the speaker, pointing out the river and the city on the map, "he organized, at this point, a force of two thousand men, and pushed on for Cawnpore, driving the enemy before him. At Fatehpur the rebels made a stand; but they broke before his little band, and he hastened on to his destination.