The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-15

trsss 10 the eye OF the visitor. Hailed
long ago as the Queen OF Eastern CT
ties, It keeps up the pomp and cir
cumstances OF court. although its pop
ulation declines. its Industries DO not
increase as rapidly as In former years.
and its wealth Is being spent In seeni-
ingly endless light against enemies
more powerful and subtle than the
enemies Of hostile kings. But its I'M
portance as q seaport continues 10 In
crease, its people are not discouraged
and 1t 10 still q city OF beautiful build
ings and gay society.
Kipiing, who was born in Bombay.
between the palms and the sea. has
sung its praises and, In turn, has made
Bombay sing to the Empire:
Royal and Dower-royal, ! the Queen
Fronting thy richest sea with richer
lands
A thousand mills roar through me
where ! CLEAN
All races from all lands"
Here, indeed, one may see the pro-
ducts Of q thousand mills and million
fields going down to the sea, and here
one may see in the streets the rep-
resentatives Of "alf races of all lands.
Other ciSes may dispute Bombays TO-
tie of Queen" but Dowef-royal 1t al
ways will be. For the Island Of bonn
bay, somewhat smaller than Manhat-
tan. In the first bit of land In the In
dian Empire to which England received
clear title.
1t was occupied in 1922 by the Port
ugese. then the Empire-builders Of the
Orient. but 1t remained only an unim-
portant outpost of the dominion. In
monwealth and restoration Of the STU
arts in England. It was made part OF
the royal dover of Catherine of Bra
ganza. the Portuguese Princess who
married Charles II. 1t remained crown
property for seven years ana then was
made over to the East India Company,
by which It was ruled until 1858, when
Queen Victoria assumed the govern
rnent of all India.
Being the chief seaport of the west
ern coast OF the indian peninsula 1t
became the center OF the trade between
india and England. The shrewd and
thrifty Parsees came down from their
ancient city of refuge at Surat and
went into business. making themselves
and the city rich. BY their munifcent
the Parsees built magnih-
laid out on the bold scale which every
indian city has copied. and Bombay
became "City Beautiful"
The most striking thing about Bonn
bay at first glimpse is the beauty of
its buildings, avenues and parks. II
one comes by railway he alights at
Victoria station, which stood for thirty
years as the most beautiful and artis-
tic railway station in the world. al
though not the largest. It yielded first
place only when the new union station
was built In Washington. The govern
ment buildings are mostly in Gothic
style, the great esaritable and educa-
tional institutions In mixture of
Gothic and Hindu. A hypercritical ar
chitect might quarrel with the design
of this or that structure. but no one
can deny the success OF the general
effect.
After the first look around. the most
feature of Bombay Is the
people in the streets. II the persons
who are responsible for the costuming
of American comic operas and musical
comedies would take time to journey
to Bombay, they would nnd inspira
ton for scores of outfttings which
would reflect glory upon themselves
and cause D. faded theatre going public
to offer thanks.
Most curious of all. perhaps. are the
Parsees. There are only about 10000
of them In Bombay, out of its total
population of three-quarters of mill
lion, but they are the leaders In BUSH
wear ordinary European clothing, ex-
cept for the hat. In its place Is the an.
cient cap Of their clan-a brimless and
visorless derby hat with O hard roll
around the lower edge. This ancient
cap. still worn by the majority, lie made
in the shape of horses hoof- It was
a pledge given by their ancestors when
they found refuge among the Hindus
from the prosecuting Moslems who had
a arr fr0Y,o paratA.- at0r If allh-
mission and pledge that they would
abide by the laws of the country and
not take part in politics.
The Parsee women wear a graceful
robe OF soft, clinging. material. the eff
feet of which Is heightened by 81 long
mantilla thrown over the head and
shoulders. But the acme OF the ridicu-
lous Is reached In the costume of the
Parsee school girl. She wears a short
Russian blouse. white cotton panta-
lettes with lace trimmings, no skirt,
and English shoes and stockings. II
ever skere was excuse for a girl pray
ing to get through school and Into
grown-up clothes. that excuse Is valid
for the Parsee maiden.
In the panorama Of street life there
Is every variety Of dress known to
man, from the absolute nakedness of
the native children to the triple cowled
swathings of the Arabian bedouin.
There are Mohammedans with their
NANTES knotted over the left shoulder
and Hindus with their nantes knotted
over the right shoulder in opposition.
There are fierce Afghans with peaked
caps Of gold and red cloth surrounded
by a white turban, martial Rajputs with
the ends of their forked boards caught
behind their ears in the folds OF vol
luminous turbans, dspper Turks and
Egyptians with frock coats and black
tasselled red fezes and native Moham-
medans with tiny pill-box caps.
Not the least among the races which
attract the eye of the visitor Is the queer
clan of Bombay Jews. These are de-
scendants Of Jews who fed to India
centuries ago at the time of the great
dispersion, who lived here in poverty
and misery for ages, and who found
relief only when the British came.
There are but a few thousand OF them.
and they are divided into two classes
by that sharpest of dividing lines-col-
or. One class is fair and its people
are exactly like the Jews of the Occi-
dent. The people of the other class.
although possessed of unmistak able
Jewish features. have skins of much
darker hue. The younger generation
have adopted European costumes, but
many of the older men wear a long
robe and a huge turban. the garb OF
their ancestors. These Jews have been
very successful in business and in pub
Ito AFFAIRS, one family having earned a
British baronetcy. They vie with the
Parsees in the establishment OF public
benefactions.
Thriftiness is a striking character
istic of the man OF Bombay, IL one may