The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-21
"FOLLowING THE EQUATOR"
Things Seen by Mark Twain ON His
Second Trip Around the World.

From New Book.
I'VE had a refreshing rest, there in Dell
hi, in a great old mansion which possessed
historical interest," says the author 1T
was built by rich Engishman, who had
become OrfentaliZed-So much so that he
had a zenana. But he was broad-minded
man, and remained so. To please his harem
he built mosque; to please himself he
built an English church. That kind of a
man will arrive somewhere. In the mutiny
days the mansion was the British generals
headquarters 1t stands in a great garden
Oriental fashion-and about it are many
noble trees. The trees harbor monkeys and
they are monkeys of watchful and enter
prishg sort and not much troubled with
fear. They invade the house whenever they
get a chance and carry off everything they
don't want One morning the master of the
house was in his bath and the window was
open. Near it stood a pot of yellow paint
and a brush. Some monkeys appeared in
the window; to scare them away the gen.
tleman threw his sponge at them They dia
not scare at all; they jumped into the room
and threw yellow paint all over him from
painted the walls and the floor and the
tank and the windows and the furniture
yellow, and were in the dressing room
painting that when help arrived
Two Of these creatures came into my
room in the early morning-through a
window whose shutters l had left open
and when awoke one of them was before
the glass brushing his hair and the other
one had my notebook and was reading a
page of humorous notes and crying. did
not mind the one with the hairbrush but
the conduct of the other one hurt me; 1t
hurts me yet i threw something at him,
and that was wrong"
1t was at Bombay that Mark Twain made
the acquaintance of a man who had reached
state of absolute perfection, in which ex-
allied condition he sits naked at all times
upon rug and continues to look perfect
This envtable being has written volumin-
Gus comments upon the Hindoo holy witt
ings.
IF I could make them out" says Mark
Twain, II would try for perfection myself.
| gave him copy Of 'Huckleberry Finn.
thought 1t might rest him up little to mix
1t in along with his meditations Brahma,
for he looked tired, and / knew that If it
didn't do him any good 1t wouldn't do him
HE has scholar meditating under him
Nina Bahadur Rana-but we did not see
him. He wears clothes and is very imper-
feet. He has written a little pamphlet about
his master, and / have that. 1t contains
wood-cut of the master and himself seat
ed on rug in the garden. The portrait
or the master is very good indeed. The
self affects, and ii requires long arms and
timber legs and cannot be accumulated by
anybody but gods and the india-rubber
man."
During one of his excursions into the In
terror of India the author made an interests
ing discovery In connection with birds.
Half way down a mountain" he saws
1--WE stopped at Mr. Barnards house for re-
the veranda. looking at the distant pam
Drama of hills through gap in the forest,
we came very near seeing a leopard kill
a calf. ct had killed il the day before.)
1t is a wild place and lovely. From the
woods all about came the songs of birds,
among them the contributions Of couple
of birds which was not acquainted with
the brain-fever bird and the coppersmith.
The song of the brain-fever demon starts
on a low but steadily rising key and it is
a spiral twist which augments in intensity
and severity with each added spiral, grow
ing sharper and sharper and more and more
painful, more and more agonizing, more and
more maddening. intolerable uncomfortable
it bores deeper and deeper and deeper
into the listeners brain, until at last the
a hfAF
dies. l am bringing some of these birds
home to America. They will be a great
curiosity there and Ii is believed that In
our climate they will multiply like rabbltsp
From "Pudd nhead Wilson's New Cal
endar'' the text upon which each chapter
in the book is based is chosen.