National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-03-04
BOMBAY BREEZES.
INDIAN ORNAMENTS AND THINGS.
The Telephone In the erisat-Tks TEssro5 aad Eh
Suits-Pensions or Indian 0aeers+Ths
Aehurrum-SomsthIHe Aheas the
HeathsF-aenersl Notes.
special Correspondence Of The RsouHIer.

ornaments. Their necklaces, bracelets. brooches
earrings, and nose-rings exceed those of Eurepsaa
manufacturers in beauty Of finish and design.
The women are excessively fond Of jeWelry ana
ornaments, and deck themselves from earIEsss
childhood with as many gewgsws IS they caa
procure. Like the barefooted neEsboy, who stood
shiyering on the frosty pavement one cold morn.
ing, and informed q sympathizing gentleman thai
he "eould do without shoes, but was suffering for
9 breastpin," they can do without clothing, bus
must have jewelrT. The natives also excel in
wood-carVing on sandal-Eo0d and exeeuts
very beautiful Work-boxes eard-cases. photo
graph frames, and other fancy ornaments. The
carving on some OF them is so exquistely fine that
they almost seem like impossible productions.
Some particularly beautiful articles are work
boxes. desks, and brackets, from YIragapatam,
They are made of poreupine quilts. encased in
ebony and linedwith costly sandai-wood Oriental
embroidery and ornaments of Benares brass are
too well known 20 need description
THE TELEPHONE II INDIA
For some weeks D. P. Orme. Clement d. LEGAL.
and Others have been in India. endeavoring to OBJ
tain the consent of the yieeroy Lord Ripon 70 TIA
establishment of telephone communication ana
exchanges in this country. Some little progress
had been made in this matter, when ths sudden
and protracted illness Of the VicerOy caused de-
lay. Meanwhile news Of the decision Of the Brit
ish government that the telephone and telegraph
were identical, and should therefore be governed
by the same laws and the same acts of Parliament,
reached India. This caused another steppago.
The whole matter has now been referred to goy-
eminent officials in London. The telephone COM
psny are fully confident of satisfactory arrange
ment of affairs. The work taking subscriptions
for telephones in Bombay Is progressing more
favorably than the most sanguine had expected
received, which is remarkable, considering the
exceedingly short time since the question Of
telephones was moOted there and the sparse
ness of European population. The Bombay
Gazette comments thus on the recent deci-
sion Of the government: 1.-THE ordinary tela-
graph and the post-ofiice are by no means analO-
gous in their condition to the telephone system
The telephone, If generally adopted, would, under
government management, bring government Of
fetal into every counting house; whereas the
telegraph and post-ofiee only visited by those
who need to go there. In other words the GOV
eminent will be brought by the attempt to work
the telephone system into perpetual and possibly
irritating contact with the business community OK
all large cities, and 1t win find it very difficult to
mana sc matters as to give entire satisfaction to
its customers, who will not be disposed to relish
official bounce on the part of its agents."
PENSIONS OF INDIAN oFFICEEs.
After twenty years of service in the army Of
India, an officer, if he resigns and returns homo
is entitled to receive s191 lbs. per year pension:
after twenty four years, f2e2, and after twenty
eight years service, 1855. and after thirty-tWO
years, s465; for thirty-fiVe years service he re-
ceives f600, and after thirty-eight years, ESQ
These pensions small that the majority of the
officers prefer to remain in the service and draw
their pay rather than accept the pension. This
action of the officers has been serious bar to the
promotion of the junior officers. scheme to pre-
vent this was introduced by the government.
sum Ofready money was offered every officer resign
ing, in addition to the pension. This plan worked
very well for while; but an officer who has served
thirty eight years Is entitled to eolOnels allow
ance, or what is termed of reekOningS" and said
officers began to wait until within q month or SO
of the time when they were entitled to the on
and then resign and claim the large
sum of money offered to those resigning. They
thus received their pay nearly to the time when
they would be legally retired and large bonns
besides. 1t is now proposed to make a change;
that is, to increase the pensions of ali officers ae-
cording to the number of years they have served,
and after they have served thirty-tIFo years COM
pei them to resign whether they desire to do or
not
6ENER AL NOTES.
The Vieeroy of India has so far recovered as to
be again able to resume his official duties On the
9th of December the rumor that Lord Ripon had
resigned caused much regret in official and social
circles; but the fJlmor was soon discovered to be
unfounded. His Lordship has the general good
Will of the people, and his official acts have been
characterized by frmness, decision. and good
Judgment. He is at present in Calcutta, where he
is accompanied by his charming wife, Lady RipOn.
The fever with which he has been Frustrated is OF
NN0Io rsVNA II.
few persons who reside any length of time In this
country escape. Lord Ripon had only been few
months in India when he succumbed to its infiu-
enee. At the time of this writing the weather
is delightful; not too warm indoors but
'just warm enough to be pleasant" The
gardens are filed with blooming flowers
and the birds singing from the branches of the
tamarind trees. The great crows are Topping their
wings and cawing, as if fully aware that they were
masters Of the situation and entirely safe from pis
tolls and shot-guns. think there are many farm
srs in America who would be glad to have several
colonies ofthese birds emigrate to the more hos
pitable shores OfIndia. Christmas Day and many
Of our holidays are extremely quiet and not much
observed as holidays here, and those days are all
he more quiet from the fact that the Mohamo-
1ans have their MOhurrum holidays some weeks
before our New Year. This excessive quietEeSS
seems all the more strange and peculiar as remem-
Drances of the Washington small boy, with hIs
horn, torpedoes, and fire crackers, float through
NY brain. All this vision is dispeiled the native
'ervant with turbaned head and the picturesque
oriental costume, brings me my dinner of curried
oygl and rice. There are some fresh fish, edible
birds, and other varieties of food in India but the
thief staple of diet is rice and curried fowl.
THE MoHURRUn,
,r the New Year of the Mohammedans. commences
Al. -
les for one week The natives on these occasions
get themselves up in great STYLE painting them
elves their naked skins in stripes of yellow and
green, after the manner Of circus clowns, and
march around the city with banners and drums.
making the day and night hideous.
THE WEATHER
8 delightful. ike pleasant summer weather in
America. The days are warm and the nights cool
enough to be covered with ablanket. am sitting
by the open door of my room at my hotel. over
ookins trees laden with tropical fruits and filled
With singing birds. For weeks not cloud has.
licked the sky; not drop of rain has fallen; nor
las there been wind enough 20 raise dust The
COUNTRY round about is mountainous, but the soil
# the valleys and plains very fertile. Cotton and
ice are the principal productions Of this country.
md Bombay is said to contain some Of the richest
otton fields OF India Sugar and indigo are also
mOng the products ofthis country, and the cocoa
aim and teak tree are indigenous 10 its soil The
ity contains manufactures of silk, wooden, and
otton stuffs. Bombay, next to Calcutta and Can
on, is the greatest commercial emporium Of Asia.
The English portion Of the town is at one end aud
he Mohsmmedan and Hindooportion at the Other
nd. /. N. o.
The Great Ruby.
The first and most famous of existing
ubies forms part OF the Imperial States crown
made for Queen Victoria in 1885, eIubellished with
II the gems left after the destruction Of the regalia
Turing the period ofthe Commonwealth. and sub