The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-06-05

llF>~ - III ~ q -g''- @A
ton or silk. part Of which Is wrapped
about the body to form 4 skirt, while
the rest is draped over the mead and
shoulders in graceful folds. This gar
mont ends itself to o"rnamentation and
* usually embroidered along the
! edges. sometimes with silver and gold.
We have not found in our travels i
more becoming and attractive costume
The dress IF the men is 50 varied
that description is impossible. One
form of dress resembles the Roman
|toga. Many wear trousers made by
mysterious %windings and foldings Of d
long strip of cloth. others wear loose
pantaIoOnS. The coats are as multi
form. a long close fitting n being the
most popular. But the hat is the ar
ticle to which most care IS given.
While the fez is popular, it IS not 50
conspicuous as the turban. The latter
is to be seen in all colors. shapes and
tyles Some of the educated Indians
have adopted the European dress, but
the change in costume has not been
rapid.
Calcutta is one of the educational
ccnterS Of India. and one finds in tho
city many of the leaders Of thought.
educational and political. The uni
Versity Of Calcutta grants degrees II
affliatcs to itself the colleges whose
students are preparing for the uni
versity examinations. Besides the uni
vcrsity there are medical, law and
technical schools which draw young
men from the entire country. The po-
sition taken by Lord CurZon in the
matter of higher education aroused so
much opposition among the native
population that an association was
formed two years ago for the purpose
of raising money to defray the eN-
penses of students desiring to study
abroad. Last year IA students were
selected and sent to different coun-
tries. This year A are going. and ]
had the pleasure of meeting these at
a public reception given them at the
town hall.
This meeting interested me very
much. It was opened with a prayer
by Editor Sen. of the Indian Mirror. a
liberal Hindu. and it was such a pray
er as might have been offered in any
American church. 1t was SO brief
that | quote it in full:
1--WE thank thee, O God, that by
Thy blessing those young men whom
we sent abroad to study last year are
doing their work we'll, and nave by
Thy grace been kept in the eight path.
We arc now met to bid farewell to q
much larger number of our youthS,
who are shortly leaving these shores
for study in distant foreign lands. We
ask h abundant blessing on them.
and we humbIy beseech Thee to pro
tect them in their travels by sea and
land and to bring them all safely to
their respective destinations May
they be diligent in their studies,
Obcdicnt to their teachers. grateful
to those by whose help they are being
sent abroad. and blameless in their
conduct. May the love and fear of
God rule their hearts and may they
return to us n to those nearest and
dearest to them in due course roWned
with full success and filled with an
earnest desire to labor for the good of
lheir country and their poorer breth-
rop. We commend them to Thy gra-
cious keeping as we now bid them d
hearty farewell, and beseech Thee to
help us all to live and work for the
glory of Thy name and the good OF
our fellow men now and always.
Most of the students were going to
| Japan-One of the many indications
of that country's increasing influence
in the orient-some were going to
England and d few to America. Those
bound for America called upOn me
later at the hotel and | found them an
earnest and ambitious groupe. They
had, as all the Indians whom we met
seemed to have. a high opinion of our
country and spoke with enthusiasm
of the benefits which they hoped to
derive from their stay in the United
States. These and other students with
whom | came into contact impressed
me as exceedingly patriotic and axi-
GUS to turn their information and their
ability to the advantages of their coun-
try.
In Calcutta there are a number of
Indians Wbo have won prominence
in various spheres of activity. Editor
Sen, to whom | have already referred.
is one of the most influential of the
native editors and writers. Editor
Banerjec. of the B~engalee, is both a
writer and an orator and the editor
of the Patrika has made his paper an
exponent of advanced political thought.
The Tagore family has furnished sew
eral men prominent in religious, lit
erary and official life: education has
found a patron in the Roy family, and
DR.. Bose has w more than q nation
al reputation i science
* -
Those Who visit Calcutta cannot af-
ford to miss the side trip to DarjeeIing
q summer resort perched upon the
foothills of the Himalayas. The jour
ney is rather fatiguing-three hours
to the Gauges. then al all night ride
to the foothills of the range and then
an eight hour climb on a two foot
gauge up the mountain side. but it
amply repays the effort. We count this
experience among the richest tina, we
have enjoyed. The city of DarieeIing
is about 1000 feet above the sea and
the sides of the Himalayas are so steep
at this place that it is only 80 miles
down the zig-zag little railroad to
the plain where the elevation is but
200 or 800 feet. / do not know where
one can find more of the grand and
picturesque in the same distance than
on this narrow gauge that threads its
way up the rocky sides of this most
~stupendous of mountain ranges.
Darjeeling is SO near to Thibet. Ne
pal. Sikkim and Bhutan that one
hnds here a motley variety of types
and sees something of the native life
of the forbidden land that stretches
along the northern border of India.
The mountain tribes are Sturdier in
build. coarser in feature and lighter
in color than the people of the low
lands and we saw some types that
strongly resembled the American IN
dian.
But to return to the mountains
themselves; the view from Darjeeling