Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-08-12
sepoYs eNraANoeo BY DANCERS.

Il
Amusing Themselves.
Probably the best way to see the
mon of a native regiment in the exer-
cise of the courtesies of private life is
to attend a nautch dance given in the
lines We will suppose that the Su-
bedar Major has had the title of Sir
dar Bahadur conferred on him by an
appreciative government, and that
IN honor of the event he is giving an
entertainment to the whole regi-
ment.
An enormous tent has been pitched
in the lines, and at nighttime it is
brilliantly Lit up with countless oil
buttees. Inside it is packed with a
dense crowd of sepoys, all sitting
round in ranks and watching the
dancing girls, who are gyrating to
the sound of the beloved tomtom in
the middle. At the further end of
the tent sits the colonel of the regi-
ment on slightly raised chair with
the European officers on either side
of him. Then come the native Off
GERS. also on chairs, while the Sube-
dar major, as giver of the feast,
hovers around and sees his guests
attended to. Sepoys with fans stand
behind the English officers and keep
the warm air from them. Others
bring the garlands with which the
Subedar major decorates his friends,
and the pan supari and the condi-
ments with which they are regaled.
Other sepoys again hand the sahibs
the cheroots they love and pour out
iced lemonade for them.
OF course the great mass of the
men can take no part in these kindly
Offices, but they sit quietly in their
deep ranks, no one hustling another.
After the colonel has been there
about half an hour he gets up to go,
and shakes hands with his host and
the other native officers, who all ac-
company him to tho door of the tent,
while the whole densely packed as
sembly rises and stands until he has
gone outside.
After the colonel and the rest of
the British officers have gone, which
is generally about II p. M, the work
of the evening commences in earnest
The sitting multitude swing them
selves little more forward so as to
get a fuller view of the not very
beautiful nor very young ladies who
are dancing and singing with such
vigor; the tomtom men whack their
instruments with redoubled energy;
pan supari is handed around to each !
sepoy, and every one prepares him
self to make night of it,
And if any curious observer should |
pass by that tent at break of day
next morning he will still see the
dancing girls-of whom of course
there are relays-dancing away to
the satisfaction of a sleepy but atten-
tive audience, who have sat there
the whole night admiring the per-
formance. And they have sat there
with the same imperturbable pa
tience and good humor with which
they watched the opening of the
nautch. There has been nothing to
drink but water provided by the
bheestie, and nothing to eat but
what each man chose to provide for
himself. The soothing hookah had
been passed around at intervals, and |
betel has been freely distributed.
For the rest the singing and dancing
of the nautch girls have furnished
ample amusement for the whole
night
Now when it is remembered that |
the crowd in the tent is composed of |
rough fighting men, who have placed
their lives at the disposal of the state
for the trifling remuneration of seven
rupees per month, it must be owned
that their manners are uncommonly
good and that they are possessed of
that Unborn politeness which is the
truest good breeding.-Times of In
dia.