St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-06-01
MID EASIEkN NENES
The Remarkable Things to Be
Seen in Portions Of South
ern Asia.
A Carriage and a Regiment Of
Servants Hired for Forty
Cents.
Marble Tombs Which Sparkle
Like Jewels in a Setting
of Green.
Human Bodies Seen Floating
Down the Ganges--Fu-
neral Pyres.
snecial CORRESPONDENCE.


party could come down Summit avenue
in one of the outfits we go driving with
daily, think it would create something
of a sensation. We use double team
hitched to a large open carriage, our
private servant sits on the
box with the driver, two i'm
posing looking footmen stand on
the steps behind, whilst a feet-footed
syce runs in front to clear the way for
our carriage-all the servants being
dressed in the gayest attire possible, in
which turban and sash divide the glow
ing beauties of scarlet, pink and purple.
However, to ease the minds of certain
old lady friends who may think we are
spending our all in eXtrayagant living,
! will state that such rig, slaves i'll
Guided, can be hired in any city of In
dia fer a rupee about 40 cents an hour.
Hence. one can stand a good deal of
such style without having the income of
rajah. The merchants of India are a
queer lot. When acustomer arrives the
proprietor and his clerks surround him,
All Talking at Once,
and while some are opening the bales
of goods, and spreading the stuffs out
on the floor, for they use no counters,
others rush off for the books of testi-
mOnials and certificates, left by pre-
ceding buyers, and almost force you to
read of their honesty and fair dealing.
as evidenced by their numerous letters,
before they will price you
anything. Having stuffed you
full of their testimonials"
they drop down on the floor in a semi
circle around the goods, folding their
legs up under them, all friendship
ceases, and the bargaining begins. If
you have plenty of time and do not lose
your temper and stay with your man,
you can succeed in reducing his fixed
prices" 100 per cent any time, and often
get the articles for One-third or one
fourth the price asked. In fact, it
is never safe to offer native
more than one-fourth the price he wants
for anything. And after the tedious
bargaining has been completed and a
purchase made, out comes the book and
you are expected to comply with the
custom and write glowing "teStimo-
nial'' to the merchants honesty and
square methOds-no matter how great
rascal he has shown himself during the
transaction. Leaving Deehi and its
wonderful remains Of
MOguI Grandeur,
its persistent merchants, fakirs, snake.
charmerS and jugglers behind us, we
came on to Agra. at which city the
splendor of Central India eliminates
The city is regular treaSure-house of
architectural beauties and glories OF
the MOgul period. But the fairest
gem in its collection of wonders is the
Tai Mahal, a building without a rival in
hn Il ffan Tn.l lon Il
pathetic impreSsivenesS. 1.-The Tai"
as it is commonly called, is that won
derful tribute of affection which
the Emperor Shaw .Jehan erected
to the memory of his wife. MumtaZ
Mahal, is estimated to have cost e., Co.,,
coo, and occupied 10000 men seventeen
years in building. " visited this world
renowned structure well fortified against
surprise, by the photographs, paintings
and carvings we had seen, and the de-
scriptions of word painters which we
had read, bat could not escape quick
ening of the pulse and an elation which
is physical as we'll as mental when we
first gaZed on the sight of such sublm-
ity and beauty. And familiarity with
the scene scarcely took off the edge of
our delight, as we returned time and
again to view it, so varied are the eff
fectS in the passing hours ana changing
lights. The building is constructed of
pure white,
Flawless Marble,
and the dazzling whiteness of the lovely
tomb, which is really palace, standing
in the full blaze of the MONDAY sun, is
simply binding. 1t sparkIes like a
jewel i'll its setting of green, which the
well-kept wilderness-like garden around
it sup plies. Since Bayaid Taylor, Ed
win Arnold and other celebrated writ
erS have acknowledged their inability
to do justice TO this remarkable struct-
ure it would be the height of pedantry
for me to attempt to paint the scene.
There are not enough adjectives in my
vocabulary, and my homely wits are
feathered with too humble a plumage
for any such lofty fight. The Tai
must be seen to be appreciated, as no
brush, pen nor camera can faith
fully reproduce its beauty. The
- Masjid, or Pearl Mosque, the i'm
pcrlal palace within the port and the
numerous tOmbS and temples surround
ing Agra were but combinations of the
grandeur with which we have been sur
feited for the past month, and but con-
frmed our impressions of the magnifi-
cence of the Mogul regime and the
splendor OF ancient India. The eX-
cellent condition in which these and
other similar buildings remain after
having passed through such series of
wars speaks volumes for the gentle
nature of these people, and is in marked
contrast TO the way European nations
treat such monuments. Aud how diff
ferent are the
Oriental Conceptions
of tomb from ours. We put our dead
in lonely. gloomy graves, where every
thing is dismal in its solemnity. They
build tombS as lovely as art can fashion,
not funeral in design, with nothing
suggestive of the graveyard about them,
and do not separate the dead from the
living. but have people about them.
TombS may be seen anywhere by the
road sides in a garden under any tree,
not put away in lonely cemeteries, but
with the tide of life flowing round
them. While waiting for trim, OF
dinner, OH returning from our sight,
seeing trip, we are daily harassed
by the Verandah merchants who
infest the hotels, at the instance
of the proprietors, who exact a
commission Oh all sales made
to guests. It's often aggravatlng and
annoying, but if inclined to go through
the tedious bargaining and beating
uONIl, VIC OllSH OCCul0
for our friends at home. Some of the
most expert jugglers in the world are
found here. and the snake charmers give
US daily exhibitions of their daring and
skill in handling the deadly cobra and
other venomous and misunderstanding
reptiles. One feature of their perform
ance is fight between a snake and a
mongoose, which is long, thin little
animal, like a weasel. The two ami
mails entertain mutual hatred for each
other, aud when liberated from theiI
different cages fly one at the other in
the most vicious manner. The man
goose, with lightning-like spring,
Grasps the Snake
by the back of the neck and, with bull.
dog tenacity, holds on, although the
snake does its best to crush him, until
he feels the coils round his body relax
ing, when he quickly dispatches his vic
tim. AS this fight is given for very
oil oh har ,oIa e.