The times., 1898-08-08
A YANKEE VICE QUEEN.
A Washington Girl to Preside Over
the Imperial Court mt CaIcutta

Mr.. George Nathaniel Curzon, who has
just accepted the office of Viceroy of In
dia, is the eldest son of Sir Alfred Ma
thaniel Holden Curzon, Baronet. and Bar
on Scarsdale of Scarsda1e County Derby,
and will, therefore succeed TO both titles
at the death of his father. The family is
descended from one Giraline de Curzon.
In 164f his descendant, John Curzon, was
made baronet. and a later one. Sir Ma
thaniel Curzon. was elevated to the peer
age in 1861. The motto of the family is
"Recte ct suaWter.''
George N. Curzon was born January II.
1853. and is a Fellow of All Souls. oxford.
tary of state for India in 1912. and has
been under secretary of state for foreign
affairs since 1895. He married on the 22d
of April. 1885, Mary Letter. daughter OF
Levi H. Letter. of Washington and Chi
caSo, and they have one daughter, Mary
Irene born January 90 1896.
The executive autho. i;y of India is vest
ed In a governor general. who is known in
common parlance as viceroy. His council
has power to make laws for all persons
whether British or native foreigners or
others. within the Indian territories un-
der the dominion of her majesty. and for
all subjects of the crown within the do
minions of Indian princes and states in
alliance with her maiesty Mr. Curzou
is remarkably well prepared, by training
and experience. for his important posi-
ton He is gold medaHst of the Royal
Geographical Society and the author of
several prize essays on the subject of the
Ear East, among which are Russia in
central ASIA Persia and the Persian
Question and Problems of the Far
East His appointment makes an Arneri
can woman the vice queen of India Com
ing at this time. when all the world Is
taking OF prospective Anglo-American
dilldhce' the incident is particularly pic
turesque
"heh Mr.. Curzon married Miss Letter
ne was regarded as a decidedly clever
and brilliant man. and one certain TO
make ms way in the somewht uncertain
LeId OF English politics: but II is doubt
iui anyone really supposed shat ne
"ouid IN the near future hold the Dosi-
tlon OF viceroy of India When the prob
able appointment of a new viceroy was
discussed. however, his name was mem
TONED almost at once. and there seems
10 De no doubt in the mind of the public
tna1 he IS the man for the place.
lndia, as the American people are be-
ginning 10 understand Is a much larger
and more important country than the
western world formerly supposed In
the days OF our grandfathers IL was re-
Sardsd as a place where East India com
panles made money in trade. and mis-
sionaries labored TO reform a people ad-
dlcted TO throwing their babies into the
GanSes and themselves under the car OF
JusSernaut. England herself hardly un-
derstood az first the magnitude OF the
task she had attempted in governing this
huge and ill-assorted mass of population.
The men who spent their lives in the civil
and military service Of India under=i ood
II, Tor they found themselves scarcely
able TO cope with q problem handed down
TO them by fathers and grandfathers
VINO had also spent their lives in this old
lano, with its tTadf ions, its wealth. its
poverty its superstiJions its philoso-
ply and IL manifold contradictions. These
men of the queens advance guard were
always more or less hampered by polit-
ical influences az home. among the peo-
pie who knew no,hing of India except
what knowledge they could CLEAN from
hastIly-wrirten books of travel During
the brief time that the veterans of the
Indian civil service spent in England they
could not pour out the knowledge gained
in q lifetime Moreover and above all
this. until within two or three genera
tions the printing press has not fairly
had chance TO do its work The task
OF the American in the government of
the Philippines will be easy compared
with that of the EngIishman thrown into
India seventy-five years ago.
Two or three things have operated to
change the public opinion of India in the
last few years. One was the parlia-
ment of religions. 1t became evident
TO every one who attended that gather
ing that missionary work In India was
considerably more hopeless and unneces-
sary than they had supposed India
has in Buddhism a religion which Is in
most of its essential points identical with
the Christian religion. and many hundred
years ago, in the golden days of primeyal
India. this religion was thoroughly under
stood and practiced. Since that time In
dia has been conquered several times. by
seven different nations. and the result is
a conglOmeratiOH of beliefs, dialects, Gus
toms. traditions. superstiti0ns. and forms
of ignorance and of knowledge, which on
ly a genius among westerners would be
able to unraveL India is. in fact. COM
posed of several different kingdoms. in
habited by almost every race under the
sun. To hope TO convert such a pOpu-
lation, or any appreciable part of it.
10 western religions or western social
customs is a considerably harder task.
therefore, than the original members of
the A. B. c. F. NJ. supposed. To write.
as many people have done, a book of
travels in India. from data CLEANED in a
few months or few years residence in
the country. is simple foliShness. and
most of the popular books on India may
be Jumped together as worthless. The
Theosophical Society. which frankly ad-
mits that India is one of it's main sources
of knowledge. is also responsible for pub
lie enlightenment But the books of
Kipling have probably had more TO do
with the newly awakened interest which
Americans feel in this big country of
the Far East, than both the other causes
put together Kipling's descriptions of
his native land are so vivid, SO striking
and evidently so truthful that he is
sort of encyclopedia of Indian affairs to
his readers Nearly every one of his sto-
ries even the merest sketch, can be
definitely located on the map and verified
as to local color. if not as to facts. by
reference to a history of the country.
In the course of reading four or five of
his books one may get very complete
idea of about half of India, notably RAJ
nutana. the Punjaub. Nepaul, and the
northern frontier generally; also Bombay
and Upper Burma. With the extreme
south he is evidently less familiar. and
he lets it alone His work was followed
by that of Flora Anne Steel, with her
thrilling story of the mutiny- II kipting
gives us the India of the present, Mrs.
Steers books tell something of the India
of the past.
The country contains more than 1.OO0.O0O
square miles: TO be exact l.SOo'ogo' ana
l.