The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-20
LADY CURZ0N IN INDIA.
An American ytcereine in the Land of the
Rajahs.
Frnn Harnnr,s Weekly

From Harper's Weekly.
The English find the Vicereine queen
ly," "uItra-refined," 'aristocratic." l even
heard her called imperial. The warmest
man / met bubbled over with, She is the
greatest swell that ever came to India. "
The coldest-blooded one. a nobleman, who
carried a cold-storage atmosphere about
with him, bit his lip, and said: We'll
beautiful isn't precisely the word for her.
Impressive imposing'-those words ex-
actly hit her off,
Lady CGrZon is a tall woman of just
the right build for her height-slender
but not thin. She has a long oval face
without a faulty feature. Her large gray
eyes are very sympathetic; her mouth IS
very sensitive. Her hair is spun jet. She
is graceful in her every movement, and,
being American, knows how to choose
and how TO wear frocks that become her
like her lips and eyes. She is all tact
five feet and six inches of it; 40 pounds
of il. When it fell to her lot to take the
arm of a General at dinner the other
night, she began at once To question him
upon the trade in firearms in the Persian
Gulf. The General was mad with delight
1t happened that this was his hobby, and
breaking up this nefariOus calling was the
this out. but how she did it no one could
imagine.
When she gave her first drawing room
at the palace, she was not content with
formal presentation, but went up to the
ballroom and staid an hour moving from
group to group. and talking with charm
inG ease and brightness TO ever so many
ladies. That was not much, you say; yet
in, V bn
ever did as much at a first drawing room
before. There are not many Americans in
India, / think, yet she does not overlook
them. She calls on the leading American
lady in Bombay, makes much of our Con-
sui Generals wife in Calcutta, and in
that city also invites an American busi-
ness man to lunch with her, then 10 din
ner, and then gives him her portrait to
take to her mother. The position she made
for herself in five weeks is best shown by
the fact that all white circles in India
were shouting her praises, when suddenly
she fell i'll, and a gloom that you could
almost cut with a knife shadOWed every
English cantonment. Great heayensr'
every one exclaimed, ''if the Vicereine
canOt stand the climate and has to go
home, what dreadful misfortune Ii will
be"
IN the second week began the presenta-
ton of addresses by public, social, and
commercial bodies. That was when the
costly caskets Of carved silver began TO
crowd one another on the tables of the
Nieereine'S drawing room, and she real
lied the truth OF the prophecy that the
Nlceroy would receive more of these in
five weeks than had come TO deck the
palace Of the Governor OF Bombay in
nearly as many years
The various casketS OF which 7 have
written are very often cylindrical. and
the addresses are scrolls which fit into
them They are eighteen To twenty inch
IS long, and three 10 five inches in diam
eter. They consist of a barrel with a
very heavy ornate cap at each end The
barrel IS apt 10 bear the name Of the
b0dy winch presents II. and all the resi-
OF the surface Is beautifully chased or
HSnuH engraved The heavy caps at the
ENDS are deeply carved. in fact. are fash
Toned from great blocks of silver. Some
tunes one ~ these cylindrical boxes will
be made OF blackwood. carved Ike fins
Iaee, ana bound and clasped with silver
Oihefs are or bamboo, with carved eli.
yer enuS and belts. The sauarA cseI,o..
or boxes such as Europeans are ao1nS7
TONED 10 seeing, are In the minority I'M,
These also are Very fine and coStI, ,,o-,-t
OF indian art Some are OF silver ctbs
OF carved blackWoOd, and YET otbers -
OF sdhdai-~ood, carved with a deIicac,.
ana lntr1cacy such as distins,,isb ats
IVORY carving In China These aS5r-IS
caskets make very beautiful sor,,e-I.- =
. Term IN nigh office in India 41 VI