Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-11
LEAVING THEsHOWCITY
Little Railroad Accomnoda-
ton for the Crowd.
AN ELEPHANT RIDE
DELIGHTING THE EYES, BUT NOT
THE APPETITE.
Beautiful and Broad Clean Streets Of
Jaipur-The Town Of
Amber.
IN ELEPHANT RIDE
Written for The Evening Star.

From the 7th Of January, the outgoing
trains from Delhi were filled. one might
say, to the roof 1t seemed to US that the ar
rangements for train accommodation were
extremely crude and very annoying. FOR
any number of people buy tickets for
certain train and had to trust to luck to
get berth. nothing was reserved Con-
sequently. all manner of expedients were
tried, such as taking an up train and meet
ing the one you hoped to take eventually,
or camping out for two or three hours at
the station. AS we were especially anxious
to start on the night of the 9th. we elabo-
rately interviewed the stationmaster and
learned that If one were a very influential
person by speaking to the passenger traf-
fic agent there was possibility of getting
the first choice Of berths in the ladies' re-
served carriage. but even then we must
come at least an hour beforehand; in any
other case one must come two or three
hours in order to get ones pile of luggage
nearest the line l asked, In rather q mel
ancholy tone. what happened If it proved
impossible to get a seat at all. hoping that
the answer would be that more carriages
would be provided. but was told cheerfully
that in that case the money was refunded
of course Very obIiging of the company
truly!
AS our very influential friend found that
1t was quite useless to consult the P. T.
agent, we determined to start at eight
o clock for the station, have dinner in the
dreary waiting room, and simply take the
reserved ladies' carriage by storm if we
could, so we settled up our account at the
camp and found it to be most surprisingly
under what we had been told we would
have to pay. The board came to one dollar
and sixty-six cents a day. and for the two
weeks, wines, soda water and all inclusive
stabiing and feed for the horses and tips
to coachmen and sails, our bill came to
sixty dollars each. AS we had been told
that 1t would come to at least two pounds
day and as one of our friends had paid
SeVenty-tWo pounds down for the two
weeks, we felt very content, and having
seen our luggage stacked up in a bullock
cart with the three bearers atop and the
two ayahs in third-class ticca gharri we
mounted our very uncomfortable carriage
for the last time and sped stationward
Pandemonium is really a mild word for
the scene al that station. 1t is a huge
place with bridges leading from the plat
form OF one track to another, and there
Is never any by any chance to tell you on
which line your train comes in and how
you get there. After prowling about in
search of that too Elusive stationmaster
to ask any who appeared to have grain
of intelligence in his countenance At least
we women made that decision. Men. L
nave observed, never stoop to that method
OF obtaining knowledge.
Slow, but Cheap.
AT least our plan was a success and in
one hour exactly from our arrival at the
station we had succeeded in vending our
exasperated way, two at the head of a
long line of coolies going single file with
our luggage on their heads and one bring
ing up the rear to the No. 3 platform
where the whole mass was dumped in a
pile and the eight or ten coolies proceeded
to envelop their heads, bodies and toes
in the voiuminous folds of their white
nm fhnir h4a L., to-
circle around the pile, Oh top of which
proudly perched the three bearers, where
they waited contentedly fol two hours
when they headed" it ALL not "shouldered
it, dumped it into the carriage for us and
we gave them two annas, cents each.
such is existence In India. 1t being after
o clock by that time we found that the
restaurant had considerably closed it's
doors, and that We could get only a cup
of tea and some bread and butter to sat-
isfy the gnawing pangs of hunger. The
tea was made OF hay stale hay, felt sure
and the butter was all but cheese the
bread sour and the milk beyond the pale
of possibility, so three very cross people
paid a rupee each and went out to seek a
penny In the sot'' machine and procure
some chocolate. l have never before found
station in any known corner of the earth
Whefe there was not at least one of those
machines, but the Delhi station was not
even the possessor of half one Time
does not always fly by any means and it
crept and crawled that night as we three
forlorn mortals stood for three hours more
on the platform waiting for the train No
place to sit, for if we routed out the coolies
some one else might seze them and we
never see them again: if mounted the
vast pie in place of the three bearers, we
would surely know their faces no more
in that seething. Shrieking, bowling, odorif-
erous crowd The platform was packed
absolutely, and by II 80, for the train was
an hour late, we were so securely wedged
in that it was nearly impossible to move,
and in spite of all that long wait, when
the train arrived, We found the frst-class
CARR, full and had to get into the sec
ond-class one for ladies' which holds six
in place of four but into which we were
more than willing to go and which proved
to be v.ry comfortable indeed. OF course,
the company ought to have refunded the
difference in the tickets. just half but as
we were told that it never was done, we
did not make the suggestion.
An Arabian Night City.
There are towns native in India. towns
architectural and towns comfortable, but
there is one town only which combines
the three. and it is Jaipur
Ones most vivid mental pictures of a city
of the cast and its Inhabitants pale before
the reality of Jaipur and, as one drives
through the broad and beautifully clean
streets one can pick out at every corner or
house door, a character from the Ara
bian Nights" We reached the comfortable
and picturesque hotel Kaiser-i-Hind at $3.50
in the morning, after drive of ten min
utes through the darkness, and found it to
be a low stucco house built around three
sides of an open court which was full of
potted plants. all the lower rooms win
dowless and opening on the court, or it's
wings, but with three upper rooms which
We at once appropriated opening on the
roof. beautifully large and bright and car
peted with very pretty red and blue Agra
carpet. Under the arches of the court
stood white swathed figure holding a
very large and very feebly lighted lantern,
who, after much parleying and interpreting
was persuaded to show us to the palatiaI
upper rooms, his idea evidently being that
the hotel must be filed from the ground
up, and in twenty minutes or less we were
reposing on our own feather mattresses
under our own sheets and blankets and
rugs. and on the road to the land of
dreams. We got up so late the next morn
ing that chota hazri early tea with fruit
and toast, was neglected, and were quite
ready for a o'clock breakfast of fried
fish, chops and boiled potatoes. coffee and
marmalade or fruit.
The Maharyah's Courtesy.
We found that notice had already come
for us from the minister of state, that the
maharajah, having been informed of our
arrival. placed at our disposal state ele-