New-York tribune., 1891-04-24

OUR VICEREGAL LIFE IN INDIA. BY the Mar
choness OF Dufferin and Ava. 12mo, pp AUS
Scribner & Wexford.
There ought TO be considerable healthy curiosity as
the life of Indian VIceroy and his wife, ana Lazy
Duerin has certainly done her best to satisfy 1t Ill
this volume OF selections from her journal The pup
caton Of experiences in this form presents advantages
and drawbacks. Among the former must be reckoned
superior freshness of impressions. Opinions ana dc
scriptons set down few hours after events or con-
versations are more Ifeke and also more Trustworthy
than when recorded at greater distances of time On
the other hand, it must be admitted that the geherd
effect of the journal form Of publication is somewhat
fatigung. The monoton0us succession oi snort lIdH
menary paragraphs taxes The attention of the reader
almost painfully and In keeping diary so extremely
busy a person s Lady Dufferin is In manner com
pelled to practise condensation which intereres al
least with the literary value Of her work But those
who only desire 10 know what a Viceroys VIE mas
TO DO and 10 see will not be disappointed in the present
instance. though they may wish that her lively lady
ship had taken more space in which to describe some
of the curious and highly interesting sights she sa"
and the strange people she encountered
course Viceroy sees the regular sights from quite
different point Of view than that of the ordinary
traveller or European resident in India. To him ana
his consort the honors paid to royalty are everywhere
forthcoming. Wherever any European IS ADMITTED ne
can CO. though there places where even NiceroyS
foot NAV not tread and yet other places where Whle
the Vceroy NAV enter his wife must remain without
LADY Duffern accompanied her husband upon number
Of "progresses" TO various parts Of the country ana
thus she saw the most notable people and places the
most Impressive ceremonies and the fullest ceremonial
spIendor of state functions. The Nceroy visited the
most important among the native princes, and was en-
tertalned by them with lavish magnifcence and
Oriental profuson and gorgeousness. He held Dur
bars, at which Rajahs and mobiles innumerable at
Iended gllttering in splendid and picturesque
costumes, and hung with precious stones. Princes
clothed in gold and silver and velvet and satin,
and bearing great fortunes their persons in the
form Of diamond crowns and aigrettes, emerald and
ruby necklaces, ropes Of pearls and gem-encrusted
yeapons and garments-fgures which might have come
straight out Of the Thousand Nights and One Night in
fact-must have become almost tresomey famlllar 10
Lady DuTerin before these tours came TO an end
Then there were the camps, in which perfect towns
OF canvas were erected; where through the magic Oh
numbers there were ordered streets and smooth green
lawns and refreshing fountains. and rows OF gas
lamps: where every comfort and luxury was pro
vided and all accidents guarded against save thoeo
caused by the caprcious weather. When the VlcerOy
met the Ameer of fghanistan that same incalculaOe
factor threatened to play the very msclhef WIN al
the elaborate preparations, for 1t ralned ana thu-
dered and ghtened until the tents and the ground were
alike soaked, and until the ladies Of the Viceregal
household had to be carried from the doors Of their
tents TO the various receptions, levees dinners ana
other ceremonies with which each daily programme
was filed. Fortunately perhaps for the poluch
effect of the meeting the Ameer had been Iodgeu III
a house, and so could not be washed away; and Lady
Dufrerin seems TO have thought that he rather en-
1oyed the experience because so many other people
were miserable.
The Vceroy's duties of conciliatOn and Of courtesy
took him into native States, where MahaIaiahs ana
Raiahs and Maharanas lived very much after the
ancestral manner; where magnificent, spacious paces
and castles received them where they sometimes
in pugtb Of
Lady Duern writes that, being seated in the middle OF
the room she could either end of it, The great
native princes entertained their noble guests with true
prineely hospitality; with banquetS and beautiful
Nominations and astonishing displays of fireworks;
with strange Oriental sports and games such as hghts
between elephants between bulls, between rams be-
tween ouails with displays Of the precious contents
of opulent treasuries with gifts. which when val
uable we're however, always declined; and with con-
slant thoughfulness and attention After these stately
visits had been paid the Vceroy and his family went
20 Smla the hllstatiOn, where eight or nine months
OF the year are now regularly spent by the indian
Government and where the business of the State is
carried on as steadily at Calcutta. Lady Duerns
experiences of smla weather not very pleasant
Fog mist rain and electric storms seem to have pre-
vailed most Of the time She was also embarrassed
bv the preclpitous character Of the country and the
difficulty, and not seldom danger OF get
ting about At simla there is little opportunity for
using horses and carriages, there being but one prac
ticablc drive The common vehicle is the Japanese
iinrlclshaw kind of grownup perambuator on two
wheels Lady DuIcrin however, procured mule and
later pony which she harnesscd to her jinrickslaw
and in which she made many interesting excursions
The Marchoucss gives few amusing examples OF
the English spoken or written by educated natives.
Tho British Resident at Bhurtp0re once received a
letter beginning Honoured EnOrmity." man, dur
ing an examination, was told to write an essay the
horse, which lie did conclsey, as follows
The horse is very noble animal, but. when ir'
ritated he ceases to do sO.n Another native wrote
q paper Illustrating the difference between riches and
poverty and concluded thus: In short, the rich man
wetcrs on crimson velvet while the poor man snort5
on flint Another native, wishing TO express his
gratitude to All English official, wrote For all that
YOU have done for me may God Almighty give you tit
for tat No doubt the natives could rctaliac with
equal bunders perpetatcd by Europeans in the tongues
of India but that consideration does not make these
stories less funny Lady Dufern accompanied the
Viceroy to Burma after the conquest and annexation
OF that country and saw Theebaw's palace and the
great Pagoda and all the show places Of Burma. OF
The barbaric splendor Of the Burmqn palaces and the
profsion of gold with which they adorned she
has much to say but it is not always possible to say
whether she is speaking of solid metal or OF gd
Ing She also went to Darjeelng, and saw Llamas
and Thibetan temples and prayerwhecs, and alto
cether during the four years of her residence in India
covered more ground and was able TO look at moro
wonders than fall to the lot of most veteran travellers
She tells her story simply and easily, and in thor
onehly Ineligible way, ard her Journals constitute
pleasant reading 1t is pity that her publishers
some thoughtful friend did not suggest provide
index 10 her book, the value of which would thereby
have been much increased