Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-24
ADVENTURE In INDIA.
One of Barnum's Agents Gets in
Trouble Through His Courtesy.
AN ENGLISH GIRL ON THE ROAD.
She Accepted American Attentions, but Her
Relatives Objected.
A DUEL AvERTED BY A GOOD BLUFF
lcoRREsroNDrNcE OF THE prsPArcH.l

| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Of OlerAhNH'J
NEW YORK, May 23.-"The life Of man
who goes of into the highways and byways
of the world in search of the new and curl
Gus, " said Mr.. Thomas H. Davis, " is full
OF incidents, sometimes of danger, and not
unfrequently of romance. When I was
doing this for the late P T. Barnum met
with an adventure which combined more
danger and romance than ever experienced
before or since. 1t was in India, where
had gone to secure some natives for the
show. My headquarters were at Secunder-
bad, about four miles from Hydrobad, capi-
tai of Decca, Mahratta Province, the largest
principality in India. 1t is the only State
in India where the natives are permitted to
carry arms
'The Prince is called Nizan, and he has
about 200 wives and a family OF some 5000
persons. 1t is the largest military post in
India. The English Government keeps
about $1,000 soldiers there all the time. The
Prince has little railroad some 12o miles
long. The general manager of the road is
| an American, and he has full charge of the
road, shops and everything. I lived with
him while there, and during my absence in
the interior he took charge of my natives.
A Railway Trip in India.
81 had been down to Ceylon after curl
osities, and returned by way of Madras by
boat-from there by rail to Secunderbad,
about 700 miles. When I got to the rail-
road station about o'clock in the evening
1 had only 10 minutes till train time, and it
| hurried me to get my natives and other stuff
aboard. There was only one frst-class car
on train, and that was divided into
two compartments, one for males and one
for females. noticed very pretty young
lady, an elderly man in colonels uni
form and young man also in the British
uniform, standing at the door Of the female
department ! supposed the men were
going along with us, but soon afterward 1
learned they had remained behind. About
o'clock we arrived at a junction where
| several trains stop for dinner.
"In India the traveller must buy meal
tickets in advance, the same as railroad
ticket or sleeping car ticket in this coun-
try. The agent then telegraphs on and
orders as many meals as he sells tickets and
| no more. No ticket, no dinner.
A Lady Ira reling Alone.
''We had half an hour for dinner, but the
attendance was very slow, so hurried to
secure a seat. Every chair was finally occu-
pied-save one. 1t was next to a surly old
Scotchman and he had placed his travelling
bag, etc., on it. The way he eyed it sup
pose the bag contained valuab1es. The old
man had his soup when the young lady
mentioned walked in and looked around
helplessly for seat. She was alone, but
she walked up to the Scotchman and asked
politely whether the seat was occupied.
eyes, it is, he answered.
"'But is it, really?' she repeated, evil
IDENTIFY thinking he was joking. Cant you
see it isP he snapped. Then he went on
with his soup.
; 'aI felt like wringing his neck. Butt
don't you know, n8 a single soul inter,
fered I jumped and told her to take my
seat She thanked me very much and asked
me where then would sit? I told her to
look and be safe on that point, and at the
same time stepped over, threw the Scotch
mans things on the floor and took the
vacant chair. He glanced at me, but never
said word. After the meal was over 1
found she had no meal ticket.
The Young Lady's Story.
"She said she had just come out from
England with her father-the elderly officer
1 had seen at Madras-and brother, and
that both were called suddenly to Bunga-
lore. They had sent her to her aunt, Mrs.
Captain Kelly, whose husband was quarter
master at Secunderbad. Thinking She had
no servant, I sent my native valet next
morning with small breakfast -'chota-
phaziri, which means little breakfast
went afterward to her compartment
with her. Thus I managed to scrape
up pretty, intimate acquaintance
with the young lady, who was very attrac-
lively looking and proved charming trav-
cling companion. She gave me a glowing
description of her home in England and Of
her own antecedents. She claimed to have
written couple of successful novels, though
she couldn't have been more than 10 years
of age.
'In return for her confidence gave her
my antecedants-as they ought to have
been; carefully omitting anything that any
friends of mine would be apt to recognize if
they heard it. She expressed a good
deal of curiosity when acknowledged that
was an American.
Maid Locked in Closet.
"I have heard that all Americans are
like you,' she said-'chivalrous to women.
'They are, said ], and thought of the
Manhattan elevated
"I'm going to confde in you further.
May I?'
"'Certainly,' I promptly replied, won
dering what was to come next.
I'm not alone.
81 looked around and she laughed. Such
a sweet, innocent, back-country laugh
I have an ayah with me.
Where is she?' 1 inquired in amaze
ment. An ayah is female servant-nurse.
You'd never guess she laughingly re-
piled.
No give it up
In the closet-locked up.
'Then she must be a skeleton in closet |
by this time, said l.
Was Cheating the Railroad.
"But she explained that the avah had
been duly fed and watered She hadn't |
bought any ticket for her and was cheating
the railroad company. So far the scheme |
had worked, for in India the tickets are not |
taken up till the end of the trip. But she |
began to worry about the windup I told |
her could fix that if she'd leave it to me- |
'Just before we reached Waddi juno |
ton, when we stopped to signal, made the |
ayah get off the train, Faowing we'd stop |
there half an hour, and let her walk in. No |
one-horse railway in India is going to get |
away from an American Snowman. At |
Waddi we were actually kept five hours
waiting for the down train for Bombay At |
dinner we had bottle of wine, and for the |
first time actually saw how an English |
girl could drink. sThose army officers
women can drink as much as man. When
we got through she wanted to pay for half
Of it. 1 said: 'Oh no; we don't do that in
America
".Why, that is the way we English do,
you know
"But I'm not English, retorted. No
American gentleman would ask lady to
line with him-or gentle man either-and
hen let the invited party nay half the