Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-07-23
Marriage of an Indian
Prince.

count Of an Indian Prince who took it
upon himself to marry four wives at
once The letter thus concludes:
"The Thakore was in capital spirits,
and laughed and joked with his eour-
tiers and Brahmin priests as he went to
meet his fair betrothed. By this time
she had set out on her journey towards
him. Her rath, or car, came IN sight.
The young Thakore alighted from his
splendid Kattywar mare, and, having
duly congratulated the guardians of the
precious treasure within the rath, land
by the way promised them handsome
presents for bringing his wife to him
safe and sound), he entered and sat
himself down by the side of the Princess
This is a great innovation in those Raj
poot rites and customs which the Thak-
ores of Bhownugger have hitherto adop-
ted and followed. Formerly it was the
custom for the bride to sit at the feet OF
the bridegroom on his entering her car,
to show her subserviency to him. The
Thakores wise act on this occasion was
noted with great approval by all but
few bigoted sticklers for caste. On the
meeting of the pair the royal cortege
proceeded to the house of near rela-
ton of the Thakore There, in the CEN
tral halls, jealously excluded from all
but about a hundred of the noblest Raj
poots of Kattywar, the marriage took
place. No Europeans we're present;
but it was whispered that little Parsee
who plays, | believe, the role OF
Boswell to the Thakore's Johnson-was
allowed to peep at one or two of the less
important ceremonies. The Rsjpoor
rite is a simple one; men OF that caste
from time immemorial have been better
fighters than ritualists: A few flowers
are sprinkled, altar and pan distributed
the deity invoked, and the lares and
penates duly honered, the bride duly au-
thenticated and handed over to the
bridegroom, and then comes the moment
when the bridegroom first removes the
sacred caftan, and catches glimpse OF
the face of the girl he has married-and
it is all over. When the rite was per-
formed the young Thakore came out to
view the loyal and enthusiastic thous-
ands waiting to cheer him in the streets.
He was in grand spirits, took his newly
made wife to the palace with him, and
then left her, and rushed off to marry in
the same fashion, the fair one Gondul.
And so the four weddings came off, the
two latter by torchlight; and a pretty
risk did the town of Bhownugger run
that night from bonfres, fireworks, blaz-
ing cressets, &C., which tried their best
to turn night into day in its midst.
What chiefly interested me were
the trosseGur of the brides, which were
extravagantly rich and varied. should
say Gondul had, among her kit, about
FIVE thousand silk dressesl May she
live long enough to wear them all out
Wudwan's dowry was Rs 100000; Con
dul also, Rs. 100000; Vankaneer, Rs.
100000; Dank Rs. 35, 900. The trosSeGW
of Gondul was the richest, and portion
of this was privileged to see. 1t was
laid out in an upper room of the Thak
ores Palace, and | was escorted to see
it by several ministers of state. Never
in my life did / see such sight There
were huge shawls, clothes, scaris, man
ties, counterpanes and handkerchiefs OF
silk, embroidered most elaborately and
stiff with gold and silver thread work
Here was a shawl from Benares, with
gods in gold and silver worked on lilac
ground of softest silk; another lay out
spread beside it, representing flock of
small yellow birds nesting in innumera.
BILE howery bowers. One Kattywsr shawl
cost, according to my information, six
hundred rupees. The most gorgeous of
the other cloths were literally stiff with
gold, the patterns were exquisite in many
instances. especially noticed silver
veil, sprinkled with pale blue and prim-
rose-colored flowers. One Dress all blue
satin and silver embroidery, resembled
an Italian sky seen through a gentle
shower of snow and lilies. Nearly every
cloth lying before me cost more than five
hundred rupees each. Around and near
these dresses lay most extraordinary
litter of various valuables, gold, silver
and brass dishes, precious stones, fans,
armlets, bracelets, nose and ear and I'm
ger rings, massive ornaments for the
forehead, breast and ankle, necklaces
sparkling with ruby and diamond, eme-
raid, amethyst, topaz, opal and pearl,
rosewater bottles OF pure gold, basins OF
silver, and huge brass cooking utensils,
robes and tiaras and chains, sapphire
pendants and enamelled jugs and ewers,
silver lamps, and trinkets rough with
precious Jewels, and hundred other
articles OF value for use or ornament.
And mind, this was but a small part of
the trousseau of one of the four brides
whom the Thakore of Bhownuggur had
married was simply mute with as
tonishment when one of the Ministers
informed me, whilst l was looking at the
things, that only beheld, as nearly as
could be estimated, exactly one-eighth
of the trousseau of the bride of Gondul.
Mile After Mile OF silence ana Death.
]. P. widney. in Overland Monthly for July.l
In the northwest corner Of San Bernar-
dino county, lying partly also in Inyo
county, and by the newly surveyed line,
partly in the State of Nevada, is a re-
eion paralleled by few other spsts on this
earth. We say the world is instinct with
life. Here, if the phraseolOgy may be
pardoned, is place instinct with death.
A huge basin, whose rim is the ancient
hills. stricken with the barrenuess of
eternal desolation; whose bosom, the
blasted waste of the desert-treeless,
shrubless and waterless, save few Bit
ter pools like the lye Of potash water;
kuN