The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-02

-,rItish government exercises a real
dominion over n certain portion of this
vast country.
But English India, properly so-ealled, /
counts only superficial area of seven
hundred thousand square miles, and
population of one hundred to one hun
bred and ten millions of inhabitants 1t
of the territory is still free from the
authority of the Queen; and, indeed.
with some of the rajahs of the interior,
fierce and terrible, Hindoo independ-
ence is still absolute. Steamboats,
traverse with great rapidity the Indus
and the Ganges, and railway crossing
the entire breadth of India, and branch
inc in various directions, puts Bombay |
at only three days from Calcutta.
The route of this railway does not |
follow a straight line across India The |
air line distance is only one thousand to |
eleven hundred miles, and trains, going |
at only an average rapidity, would not |
take three days to make it; bat this
distance is increased at least one third |
by the arc described by the railway ris- |
inc to Allahabad, in the northern part |
of the peninsula.
1t was at half past four p. m. that the |
passengers of the Mongolia had landed |
in Bombay, and the train for Calcutta |
would leave at precisely eight O'Clock. |
Mr.. Fogg then took leave of his part |
ners, left the steamer, gave his servant |
directions for some purchases, recon-
mended him expressly 10 be at the sta
ton before eight O'Clock, and with his
regular step, which beat the second like
the pendulum OF an astronomical clock,
he turned his steps towards the pass
port Office He did not think of looking
at am of the wonders of Bombay.
After leaving the passport Office.
Phileas Fogg quietly repaired to the
station, and there had dinner served.
A few minutes after Mr.. Fogg, the
detective. Fix also landed from the
Mongolia, and fastened to the Com
| missioner of Police in Bombay. He
made himself known in his capacity as
! detective. the mission with which he was
charged, his position towards the rob-
ber Had a warrant of arrest been re-
viewed from London? They had re-
ceived nothing. And, in fact the war
rant, leaving after Fogg cou, not
have arrived yet.
Fixwas very much out of countenance.
| He wished to obtain from the Com
missioner an order for the arrest of
this gentleman Fogg. The director re-
| fused The affair concerned the metro
poIitan Government, and it alone could
1 legally delivera warrant This strictness
| of principles, this rigorous observance
of legality is easily explained with the
English manners, which, in the matter
of personal liberty, does not allow any
thing arbitrary Fix did not persist,
and understood that he would have to
be resigned to waiting for his warrant.
But he resolved not to lose sight of his
| mysterious rogue, whilst he remained
in Bombay He did not doubt that
Phileas Fogg would stop there-and as
we know, it was also Passepartout s
conviction which would give the war
rant of arrest the time to arrive.
But after the last orders which his
| master had given him on leaving the
Mongolia, Passepartout had understood
very well that it would be the same with
Bombay as with Suez and Paris, that
the journey would not stop here, that it
would be continued at least as far as
Calcutta, and perhaps further, And he
began to ask himself if, after all, this
bet of Mr.. Fogg was not really serious,
and if a fatality was not dragging him,
ne who wished to live at rest. to ac-
eompli6h the tour of the world in eighty
days! Whilst waiting. and after hav-
ing obtained some shirts and shoes, he
took walk through the streets of Bonn
bay. There was great crowd of peo-
pie there, and among them Europeans of
all nationalities, Persians with pointed
caps. Bunyas with round turbans. Sim
des with square caps, Armenians in long
robes, Parsees in black miters. A fes-
tival was Just being held by the Par
sees. the direct descendants of the fol-
lowers of Zoroaster, who are the most
industrious. the most civilized, the most
intelligent, the most austere of the Hin
doos--a race TO which now belong the
rich native merchants of Bombay. Up
on this day they were celebrating n sort
of religious carnival, with professions
and amusements, in which figured dane
ing girls dressed in rose-colored gauze
embroidered with gold and silver, who
danced wonderfully and with perfect
dccency to the sound of viols and tam
tams.
d 1t is superhuous to insist here wheth-
er Passepartout looked at these curious
ceremonies, whether his eyes and ears
were stretched wide open to see and
hear, whether his entire appearance
, was that of the freshest greenhorn that
ho TTV,en o+n1x g.,
himself and his master, whose journey
he ran the risk of inteTupting. his curl
osity dragged him further than was
proper.
. In fact, after having looked at this
, Parsee carnival, Passepartout turned
towards the station, when. passing the
J splendid pagoda on Malebar Hill, he
took the unfortunate notion to visit its
t | interior. He was ignorant of two
{ things: First, that the entrance into
f certain Hindoo pagodas is formally for
hidden TO Christians, and next, that the
believers themselves can not enter there
without having left their shoes at the
: door. Ii must be remarked here that
the English Government, for sound po-
litioal reasons, respecting and causing
to be respected in its most insignificant
= details the religion of the country, pun
ishes severely whoever violates its prac-
tees. Passepartout. having gone in,
without thinking of doing wrong, like a
simple traveller, was admiring in the liz
terror the dazzling glare of the Brah-
min ornamentation. when he was sud-
, denly thrown down on the sacred floor.
! Three priests, with furious looks,
q rushed upon him, tore off his shoes and
stockings, and commenced to beat him,
uttering saviese cries. The Frenchman
vigorous and agile, rose again quickly.
With blow of his fist aud kick he
upset two of his adversaries, very much
+ hampered by their long robes, aud
rushing out of the pagoda with all the
quickness of his legs. he had soon dis
taneed the third Hindoo, who had fol
flowed him closely, by mingling with
: the crowd.
q At five minutes of eight, just a few