New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-11-29
vOL. Esa. NO. 900.
The singing that followed pleased him more, but
he g cIoDnjur,, the SINGER unite STAGGERED him,

The singing that followed pleased him more, but
the "ctopping" the singer quite staggered HIM,
and with unaffected astonishment he says:
sThe strangest custom is, that the audience
clapped their hands in token of satisfaction when
ever any of the ladies concluded their performance.
The only occasion on which such an ex-
hibition Of feeling is to be witnessed IN Hlndus-
tan, is when some offender is put upon donkey.
with string of old shoes round his neck, his
face backened and turned to the tail, and IN this
plight expelled from the city. Then only do the
boys-men ncver-clap their. hands and cry
hura hurra."
The Khan walks with his eyes open, and has
some fair hits at English customs, especially their
peculiar mode of fasting in obedience to the
church regulations. The only particular differ
encc he could discern between Fast-day and
others was that the English usually added in that
day salt fish and cross buns" to their ordinary
sumptuous living.
The ice and skates in Regents Park next at
tracted him. lie prefaces his description of these
by frankly acknowledging he does not expect
to be believed by his countrymen, and says:
"What | had previously seen in the summer
as water, with the birds swimming and the boats
rowing upon it, now transformed INTO an
immense sheet of ice, as hard as rock, on which
thousands Of person, men, women and children'
were actually walking, running and figuring IN
most extraordinary manner. l saw men pass
with the rapidly Of an arrow, turning, wheeling,
retrograding, and describing figures with sur
prisng agility, sometimes on both, hut more ire
quently only one leg; they had all piece
Of Steel turned up in front somewhat in the man.
II. n fhair Inv,
means of which they propelled themselves as
have described. After much persuasion, went
on the ice myself though not without considera-
bic fear; yet such favorte SPORTS this with the
English, and so infatuated are some Of these ice
plavers, that nothing will deter them from ven.
turing on those places which are marked out as
dangerous; and thus many of them perish like
moths that sacrifice themselves in the candle
fame They have, therefore, parties Of men,
with their dresses stuffed with air-cushions. whose
duty it is to watch on the ice, ready to plunge in
whenever it breaks and any one is immersed"
His description Of great dinner is capital, but
we will close our extracts with his views on the
custom of "My Lord" in having his servants
wear powdered wigs. Says our shrewd and great
Khan:
81 must remark that the servants were gor-
gcously dressed, being covered with gold like the
generals Of the army; but the most extraordinary
thing about them was, their having their heads
covered with ashes, like the Hlndoo faklrs-a
custom indicative with US of sorrow and repent
ancc. hardly could help laughing when looked
at them; but friend kindly explained to me that,
in England, none but the servants of the great
are priuilcged to have ashes strewed ON their
heads and that for this distinction their masters
actually pay tax to government Is this en-
joined by their religion said |. on no. he
replied Then said I, since your religion does
not require it, and it appears, to our notions at
least, rather mark Of grief and mourning, where
is the use of paying tax for it p 1t rs tie
custom of the country said he again. After
this returned home musing deeply on what
had seem