The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-04-03

listers of their own faith are holding re-
ligious services there, and it has been
found necessary on this account to fence
In the cemetery in order to protect the
graves from such usage although else
where in the Orient cemeteries remain
unwalled, being sufficiently safeguarded
by the reverence of the people.
But this, though regrettable, is certain
~ done without any intention of offense.
and is not to be compared with the con-
duct of the English tourist who purpose
~ keeps on his hat in a Christian or ma
tive place of worship. in order TO show
his disdain for a creed that differs from
his own.
The American may arouse the indigna-
ton of the Moslem by picnieking with
ham sandwiches within the precincts of
the tombs OF the caliphs. near Cairo,
either forgetful or wholly ignorant Of the
fact that the meat of the pig is, in the
eyes of Islam, a source of terrible defile-
ment, but he viii not purposely thrust
a sandwich of this kind upon a native
with the avowed purpose OF dismaying
him and insulting him, as have known
a boorish English flourish to do in a
public conveyance at Cairo.
In former times. when the British civil
service in India. instead of being open
to general competitive examination, was
restricted to carefully selected appointees
and when the officials were nearly all
men OF breeding and of gentle birth.
they themselves instituted laws for the
severe punishment OF any foreigner
guilty of anything that could be con-
strued in the light Of proclamation of
temples, tombs, and other places held
sacred by the natives. All that could
possibly be devised to safeguard the re-
ligious susceptibilides of the natives. and
to protect them from affrOnt. in con-
nection with their time honored custom
of caste. creed. and social system, was
done, and the BritOn who rendered HIM
self guilty of the slightest lack of respect
toward persons. inanimate things. or even
animals held sacred by the natives, in
CURED fine, imprisonment, dismissal II
he happened TO be in the government
service and what is more, ostracism py
his fellow-countrymen in India, VINO took
the ground that ne had jeopardized their
safety and lowered their prestige by his
boorishness and lack of consideration.
Unfortunately the civil service IN In
dia is now composed largely Of men OF
a different stamp. and the consequence is
that the tone Of the British community in
India has radically changed. There IS
but little of the former regard for ma
tive sentiment. The laws enacted for the
protection OF buildings held in veneration
by the dusky neges Of King Edward
have become a dead letter. and the desc
Grafton of the Tai Mahal By luncheon
parties, the world-famed Mausoleum OF
Shah Jehan at Agra has become a
quite common custom among officials
and especially tourists, without any let
or hindranee on the part of the authori-
ties. 1t is this alteration in the be-
havior Of the English in India toward
the natives which IS accountable in no
small degree for the extraordinary
growth Of the animosity of the people
of Hindustan against Great Britain in
recent years.
To-day the Tai Mahal is defaeed at al
most every point within reach by the
scrawls of the foreign visitors. some Of
them consisting merely OF the writer's
name, and some Of words, sentences, and
verses the indecency Of which is on
par with their vulgsrity. This species Of
Disagreement. which has been aptly
described as "The mark Of the beast
fevery one of my readers will recall Kip
ling's striking story of that name. about
the drunken Englishman who ground his
lighted cigar butt on the forehead Of
statue of the Monkey God at Dharmsala)
is to be found on every public monu-
ment. no matter how hallowed its asso-
Citations in the eyes of MosleTns. Bud
dhists. Brahmans, Jews, or Christians.
throughout Asia and Europe-but more
especially in the Orient. Neither Moham-
medan mosque nor Christian cathedral.
neither stately mausoleum nor historic
monument, is safe from this species OF
and when in the presence OF
some mighty memorial Of the past such
as. for instance. the temples of Luxor.
or the Church OF the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem. or the Tai Mahal at Agra, one
Yields for a moment to the influences OF
the environment. and the mind wanders
back TO those scenes with which the
spot is more particularly associated, one
is quickly brought back 20 most prosaie
everyday life. devoid Of sentiment or
romance, by catching sight Of the pen
ciIed or fountain-penned indications on
the wall that some English tripper of the
great family of Jones. or some American
tourist of the still more numerous family
of Smith, has passed that way and left
his mark.