The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-09-05


Nor was the famous building unworthy
OF its renown, although here, not less
than in the city below, the pink battle
ments, white cornices, and Enthusiastically
carved t,irrets disturbed ms with a haunt
lug vision of French candies. Even with
out its wonderful accumulation of striking
details, the mere height and size OF the
great structure would have sufiioed to
make ii remarkable. Beneath the colder
skies of Europe this truly Eastern lavish
ness of barbiric decoration would seem
extravagant and absurd; but when seen
amid this burning tropical sunshine and
this riotous mxuriance of tropical vegeta-
ton it was emphatically "the right thing
in the right place."
Even here, however, the sturdy spirit
of Western civilization had forced its
way, and the matter-of-f fact traces of it
which cropped up here and there amid
all this romantic splendor had a very
grotcsque effect. Through deep,
shadowy, fretted archway, worthy of the
Alhambra in the days of its pride, we
caught sight of printing press worked
by Hindoo printers, running off sheet
after sheet of primers and books of refer
ence for the native college and school of
art established in the city by the Mahara-
jah himself. The vast, many -pillared
"Durbar" audience halD had as its centre
piece, a huge, clumsy wooden packing
case marked with the label of we'll
known Anglo-Indian railway company.
Above the door of bed-ohamber that
seemed to have come bodily out of the
"Arabian Nights" figured a Autograph
portrait of the Empress of Austria! An
English billiard-table stood conspicuous
in the midst of curtained hall that
flashed back the sunlight from walls
wholly formed of tiny countless mirrors
and from the centre of paved court,
with carved Eastern gateways and walls
frescoed with green peacocks (the Ma
harajah's family crest, rose monster
gas-lamp, which our Hindoo guide
pointed out to as proudly as if gas had
Just been invented and he himself was
the. inventor.
But as we went deeper and deeper into
this wonderful place, all these modern in
congruities melted away, and the whole
scene became thoroughly Oriental once
more. The panorama OF the palace
garden itself, with its shady walks en-
powered in rich tropical foliage, its mar
BILE fountains glistening in the sun, its
dainty little pavilions, and its gorgeous
flowers dropping languidly on the warm,
dreamy air-all framed in the bold, rocky
outline of the distant Aravulli Hills,
which shut in the charming little Jey-
poor Valley-carried lis back at once to
the far-off days of Haroun Al-Raschid
and Mahmoud of Ghazni. And when we
stood in the middle of the inner court
yard and looked upward, we saw above
us seemingly endless mass of carved bat
Elements, marble columns, clustering tur-
rets, curtained balconies, flower-crowned
terraces, sculptured cornices, and bright
ly painted walls, piled up against the clear
blue sky like the ridges of some mighty
mountain, while high over all this blaze
of many -colored glory floated from the
topmost pinnacle the golden standard OF
Jeypoor.
But all this time there was no sign OF
the famous 'spet crocodiles" of which we
had heard so much, and we were just be-
ginning to wonder whether they might
not be, after all, a mere travellers tale,
when our Hindoo guide suddenly hurried
us with marked alacrity up broad mar
BILE stair, on to raised terrace nearly
midway along the garden-face of the
palace, and then, leading us forward to q
low white parapet that ran along the fur
ther side of the terrace itself, pointed
over it and babe us look down.
At sight of the horrible pit below, we
both drew back with an irrepressible
start and shiver of disgust. What We
beheld was just what we had expected
and had come purposely to see; but SC
frightful was the sudden revelation of this
foul, Shiny pool, crawling with monstrou.
and hideous reptiles, in the very midst Of
this splendid palace, with all its graceful
architecture, and beautiful ornamentation
and glittering pomp of Eastern luxury
that had we seen herd of swine riotine
in a fashionable drawing-room, or ar
African gorilla sitting in all his squali6
ugliness at Ministerial dinner table, We
could hardly have been more utterly
startled and shocked.
|, The beautiful white walls over which
we were leaning inclosed black, disma
pool of thick, muddy, lifeless water, from
the Shiny depths of which steamed up
ward through the hot, breezeless air ;
sickening stencil of rank foulness ant
decay. Above the thick, oily surface
low banks of glistening black mud ros'
every here and there; and on that con
, genial couch lay basking the horrible
reptiles which the Maharajah's strang
taste had preserved and nourished a
, "pets." Some lay outstretched on tn
mud banks in the full glare Of the sun
/ torpid as gorged snakes, but giving
sudden snap with their cruel jaws eve
and anon, as if they were dreaming o
, tearing some living victim to pieces
. Others were wallowing in the sullel
: waters, above which nothing could b
t seen but their scally shouts and long
e saw like tails; while others still wer
' completely hidden, betraying their where
abouts only by the huge brown bubble
. that crept lazily up to the stagnant sur
face.
Just below us, the hugest of thes
| foul creatures lay asleep on an islet Q
| mud, half in the water and half out
Wishing to stir it up, 1 threw larg
huge stone at it, which rebounded fror
the scaly back like a hailstone from
roof; but the MONSTER never moved. Mrs
: Ker flung another stone with no bette
: success; and then two of the Hindoos
/, seeing what we were at, joined in th
bombardment so Justify that the mud
e bank was studded like an almond-cak
: with stones of all sizes; but to all appear
e ance we might have built an entire hous
o upon the plegmatic crocodile withot
g disturbing it in the least. At length on
o huge stone hit it fair in the nose, when
+ finally condescended to wake up, stretche
d itself, yawned, and waddled lazily dow
e into the water, while its fiat, scaly hea
h and mud -besmeared body, its marrow
It cunning ewes. short. clumsy limbs. an