Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-19

+; with the utmost cheerfulness. and even
small children carry heavy loads of rock
in bamboo bag on their backs. suspended
by a strap of braided bamboo from their
foreheads. One pities them at a distance.
but the pity Is toned down as they go
trooping by, the staggering small boys
singing at the top of their voices. A ten
minutes walk uphill brought us to the
Rockville Hotel, which is perched on the
very peak of a mountain. with view
beautiful in the whole world. The town of
Darjeeling, which means outside all evil"
according to the lamas-literally, Ii Is
Darjee. thunderbolt, and ling. outside
struggles down the mountain side, the only
fiat space being occupied by the native
bazaar, and one looks down. down on three
sides, 5000 feet. into gloomy gorges and
wooded ravines. and up to a semi-crcle of
est peak being 5000 feet and the lowest
22000 Such a vast and wonderful view
is impossible to describe, and Is almost
overwhelming in its tremendous grandeur.
Furs Were Comfortable. -
We had left Calcutta in dust cleaks and
we entered Darjeeling in our fur-lined or
sealskin coats. and we're not at all too
warm. The friends who escorted us up to
the hotel watched with interest and pleas
ure our surprise and delight over the
beauty Of the place and allowed us to stand
silently for a few moments and take it all
in. There are environments a mile or two
from Darjeelng, so, besides q number of
very pleasant civilians and people who
come up only for the summer months, there
are the officers and their families from
Telapahar to help form a most delightful
community. The club on the mountain side
has large ball room and stage. where
amateur theatricals are often given. be-
sides very good library, both as to books
and comfort, and Is, are all the clubs
of the small towns of India, open to men
and women alike; that Is to say. one side
contains the rooms for the ladies. the other
those for the men.
cannot imagine a more charming and
beautiful place to live in than Darjeeling.
except as to ones income, which must be
In a fourishing condition. as prices are
very high indeed, higher than in Calcutta.
which is supposed to be the most expensive
town In India. Two of the tea planters
and one OF the officers stopped over a
night at the hotel in order. they said. to
''show us about Bit" and in the after
noon we were taken down the winding road
to the bazaar. which is the most attractive
we have seen in India. Some of the tiny
shops are like large boxes on stills, with
a dark shopman sitting cross-legged in
side. wrapped in brilliant chudda. All
these wear the most interesting necklaces
of red beads. sort Of hard berry from the
jungle, cornelian and jade, and always with
a box either of silver or gold-washed. con-
tanning prayers or their horoscope Some
of the richer ones have large gold beads.
which we were told were Of wax. covered
with gold wash, and on silver chains at
tached to this coins with magic words on
them from the demons, or nail charms. ear
charms and toe nail charms, on four little
chains.
Only Expected Third.
AS we had been told that we must give
each of our bearers a coat for the cold
weather here, we decided to try our few
Hindustanee words on one of the shop
men, so we started of, or did, by myself.
and demanded the price of coat Of
sort of canton flannel, dark blue. lined with
cotton stuff. Nine rupees, 1 was told, and
as I knew we could get them in Calcutta
for three rupees, I was leaving the shop,
and the smiling dark gentleman sitting on
his heels on beautiful Agra rug. when
our friend. the officer. came up, and look
ing very fierce, said: Mine rupees; that Is
all rot; two rupees for that common stuff.
Bring down the melton. How much for
two coats of that? Five rupees? Too much
Four rupees, eight annas? Yes, thought
sou Then in English: 1.-THE coats will be
ready tomorrow evening of this dark blue
melton. all wool and only four eight each
They ought to be only three" We were
rather amazed at the comedown, and were
told that a third Of the price asked was all
they usually expected to get. On the way
home we stopped at very small shop,
kept by a German and full of Thibetan
curios. 1t was a most fascinating place,
and we were left there by the three gen.
tlemen for twenty minutes. and were told
by the proprietor that he was Buddhist.
had studied in a Thibetan monastery, and
was a lama of a certain degree, l have
forgotten what; that such and such curios
were six and eight hundred years old, that
he was writing book on Thibetan brasses,
and that he had engaged to give a course
3, pu1o nd nd dgl
ing the coming year. He did give us some
useful information on the symbolism OF
the Buddhist religion, and showed us some
interesting small gods seated on low pedes-
tails which contained ancient prayers: also
the small daggers with three-sided blades.
which are used by the priests to keep away
evil spirits.
When we met our friends later on We
found them with very smiling countenances
and were told that the supposed lama was
in reality charlatan. who could not speak
the truth under any circumstances; that
he could not be trusted at all as to an
tiquity or price, and that he spent his win
tiers here in his shop and his summers in
variably in Jail for theft We were greatly
surprised and interested and asked If 1t
were not then true, as he had told us. that
there were four foreign lamas-French,
German, Russian and English-and were
told that certainly the German was not
one. and in all probability there were no
others, as the Thibetans did not allow
novice.
At Dandy Stand.
AS 1t proved rather a steep pull back to
the hotel and we came to g. dandy stand
half way up, we each picked out fairly
clean-looking dandy and got into the cof-
fn-shaped hooded box, our dandy men
hooked onto the shafts the cross-piece. and
we were raised gently to the level Of the
four pairs of shoulders and carried up hill
No one thinks of walking up and down
these steep hills. but is always either car
ried in a dandy or dragged in rickshaw.
OF the two we think the dandy preferable,
as there always seems a danger Of the
rickshaw men falling down. when one
would certainly have a most disagreeable
fall oneself. We were followed on the
way up by most fascinating small boy.
clad in a mans waistcoat and fez,. who
shouted shrilly, Mem tahib! Talaam!
Bakhsheesh" Mem-sahib salaam he could
not say, but the bakhsheesh comes easy to
any native tongue. fear. We have been
several times since then to the curio shop
kept by the German 'lama," and find him
and his treasures. even though they may
be stolen and he is surely not a lama. most
interesting We were shown on our last
visit square. tile-like piece of what looked
ILL.,, a voJvtura of CLAW and lime and told