New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-11-29
travels OF Hhcrim Khan.


,,,,acts from the Journal of this traveller from the
's,;ons Of Delhi Hindustan. 1t is really a treat
20 the remarks that an intelligent man right
-, from another planet as it were, makes on our
0.,dorn customs In our former extract VIC left
40 Khan fairly landed and ensconccd in Lodon.
He soon gets in with friends and goes about to
..o ,be lions Of the city. The first SIGHT that
osects him much is the procession Of the Queen
IN her way to Westminster TO prorogue Parlla-
ment. Her body-guard in their ancient green
costume he took at first for his countrymen, and
was highly gratifed at the honor to which they
we're advanced and when told they were yeo-
men he said he could not understand the reason
of their adopting the Hndustan Dress
He took a favorable position to witness the
pageant and says:
GAS the Queen approached, the people took off
their hats nor was I less astonshedt when heard
them begin to shout hurra hurra as she passed
which in their language seems to imply appro-
baton When her Majesty turned toward our
carriage, Immediately made a salaam after the
manner of my own country, which she gracously
acknowledged, seeing, no doubt, that was ma
tive of strange land."
We will pass over his visit to the Polytechnic
and various other institutions. His visit to
Madam Tussaud's wax figures did not strike him
as it did the Parsees who visited England before
him His first ride on railway was from Lon
don to Southampton, and it is amusing to see the
crave, serious manner in which he states every
thing He was placed in one of the first class
close carriages and whirled away like a spirit
SAYS the astonshed Khan:
"Such was the rapdity Of the vehicles, that |
could distinguish nothing but All expanse of
green all round, nor could l perceive even the
trunks of the trees. Every now and then we
were carried through dark caverns, where we
could not see each others faces; and sometimes
we met other vehicles coming from the opposite d.
recton, which occasioned me no small alarm, as
certainly thought we should have been dashed
to pieces, from the fearful velocity with which
both were running. We reached Southampton,
distance of seventyeight miles, in three hours;
and what most surprised me was, being seriously
told on our arrival, that we had been unusually
long on our way"
At public dinner to which he was invited, a
toast being given him, he says, mot being able
to reply from my ignorance of the language,
gentlemen Of my acquaintance thanked them IN
my name; while I also stood up and made
sulaam as much as to say that I highly appre-
ciated the honor done me-" The Eastern gravity
of our Khan seems never to have deserted him,
although in true Oriental taste he quite warmed
up at the sight Of the beauty in Hyde Park, and In
the OPERA He sums up his account of the beauty
in the Park by saying that GO were the inhabitants
of the celestial regions to descend, they would at
one glance forget the wonders Of the heavens
at the sight of so many bright eyes and beautiful
faces What therefore remains for mortals to
do?" The opera with its ballet somewhat stag
gered him at first, but he soon settled down into
his accustomed gravity and viewed the free e1-
posure and tiulter of limbs very coolly. The
arsees before him were thunderstruck at the
sum given Tagioni for her performances and
could not comprehend:
THAT such sum should be paid to woman
10 stand long time like goose on one leg, then
TO throw one leg straight out, twirl round three or
four times with the leg thus extended, courtsy so
low as nearly to seat herself on the stage, and
spring from one side of the stage to another, all
which Jumping about did not occupy an hour
We pass over his visit to Guildhall, the Tower,
Newgate, &C., but take him up again at
dancing party, the first he ever attended. We
can well conceive his astonishment at the unac
customcd and unaccountable spectacle. His
notions of Waiting VIC can recommend to our
American ladies as very sensible and worthy of
their attention, SAYS he Of the dance:
"It is so entirely unlike anything wchavc ever
heard of in Hindustan, that cannot refrain from
giving slight sketch of what | saw. In the
first place the company could not have been
fewer than 1900 or 1000 of the highest classes of
society, the minister's the mobiles, and the wealthy,
with their wives and daughters. Several hundred
stood up, every gentleman with lady; and they
advanced and retired several times, holding each
other by the hand, to the sound of the music at
last the circle they had formed broke up, some
running off to the right, and some to the lett
then gentleman, leaving his lady, would strike
out obllquelv across the room, sometimes making
direct for another lady at distance and some
times stopping and Aourishing with his legs as he
went along when he approached her. he made
sort Of salaam, and then retreated' Another
would 90 softly up to lady, and then suddenly
selzng her by the waist, would turn and twist
her round and round fifty times, TILL both were
evidently giady with the motion this was some.
times performed by a few chosen dancers, and
sometimes by several hundreds at once-al en-
braclng each other in what to our notions, would
seem rather an odd sort Of way, and whirllng
round and round and though their feet appeared
constantly coming IN contact with each other,
collision never took place. And those who met
in this atfectionate manner were, as | was told,
for the most part perfect strangers to each other
which to me was incomprehensible Several
ladies' asked me to dance with them, but | excused
myself By saving that their dancing was so su-
perlatiyciy beautiful that it was sufficient to ad
MIRO !, anI that ! was afraid TO try besides,