The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-05

flows like the Ganges and fortunes are
spent in one season.
l wish l could show you the better
parts of Calcutta. 1t is a city of open
spaces. 1t covers about as much ground
as Chicago in proportion to its size,
running along the Hooghly with the great
suburb on the opposite bank. The city
has lakes and lawns, botanical and zoo
logical gardens, and a public park known
as the Maiden, which runs through the
fashionable quarter. At the beginning Of
this is the palace of the viceroy, man
sion as snowy as newly Stacked lime,
and several miles beyond it, at the OPP
posite end, is the big house of the lieu
tenant general of Bengal. Both are sur
rounded by beautiful grounds, and the
latter has banyan tree surpassed only
by that in the geological park of which,
perhaps, you have heard
The Madam is bordered with club
houses and mansions. The most fashion
able homes of Calcutta look out upon 1t
and 1t forms the social heart of the city.
It has race track with a two-mile
course In which now and then polo
matches are played, and also tennis
courts and grounds for cricket and golf.
The band always plays there of an even
ing end the people come forth and drive
| about In handsome turnouts. The vice.
| roy and Lady Mimic may sometimes be
seen in their carriages with their retinue
and with native soldiers as outriders.
There are other officials and also rajahs
with coachmen and footmen in livery.
/ There are Europeans, Parsees and
many Eurasians Everyone rides in his
carriage and every carriage has its liv-
cried coachmen and footmen. The coach
man is usually a bearded man with tur-
| ban and gown; he Is always barefooted
! The footman either stands on the step
behind the carriage or suuats down there
and holds on. The latter position is pre-
| carious, and / often wonder why the
man is not Jolted out In going over a
gutter or rut In the road. In addition to
such turnouts there are many automo-
biles. There are 800 in the city and the
| most have seen are touring cars which
at home would cost several thousand
dollars apiece and which go like the
wind. Do you wonder that the hungry
Hindoo whose lean shanks have to fy
to get out OF the way Is mad when he
contrasts his condition with that of the
man In the car?
| The Palaces and the Black Hole
| He feels thA same when he compares
an and the big government buildings OF
the British officials The mansion where
Lord Mimic holds forth is OF about the
same age as the White House at WASH
| ington. 1t Is far more magnificent and
its surroundings have ten times the
style. West of 1t Is the town hail. a
Doric building which was finished under
the instructions of the vlceroys grand
father In 1873 and near that the magnif-
| cent buildings OF the high courts, which
compare In size with those OF our gov
eminent departments at Washington.
Another fine structure is the postoffice,
which faces the lake in Dalhousie square.
I went through 1t today, and as came
out I stopped at the corner and read on
| tablet the following:
THE marble pavement below this spot
was placed here by Lord Curzon, vice.
roy and governor general of India, In
| 1901, to mark the site of the prison in old
Fort William, known as the Black Hole.
| in which 146 British Inhabitants of Cal
cutta were confined on the night of the
goth Of June, 1855, and from which only
% came out alive,
| The pavement marks the exact dimen-
sions of the prison. and near 1t is an
obelisk erected by one Of the survivors.
! The Black Hole is monument of one
of the most terrible tragedies Of the I'M
rest of India, $50 years ago The nabob
or native ruler. ordered the. incercera-
| ton of these victims and then drank
himself off to sleep. The 146 British who
were thrown in were largely officials.
/ They were driven at the point Of the
sword Into q dungeon 20 feet square. 1t
was In the heat of the tropical summer,
and the airholes were small. In short
| time they gasped for breath. They cried
| for mercy and tried to break down the
door, Then they offered brides to their
Jailers. but the only answer was that the
nabob was asleep, and he would be an
cry II awakened The dying then fought
for places at the windows, and raved
| and prayed and swore, while their jailers
| held lights at the bars and laughed
When the day broke the nabob. having
| slept off his spell, ordered the door to be
| M
| and the living were so far gone that they
were barely able to stagger from the
charnel house. Today that tragedy is
remembered with horror. And still how
| closely the sublime travels upon the
heels of the ridiculous! Only last week
| a traveller was talking with the viceroy
about the sights of Calcutta, when his
| excellency asked him If he had seen the
| famous Black Hole.
Indeed 1 have" replied the visitor.
II am living in 1t. 1t is room 105 at the
| Grand hotel"
At the. Hotels
| I can sympathize with that visitor, for
| / live in the same hotel. Tt Is said to be
! the best In town, but it has numerous
black holes. Just now 1t Is crowded, ana
| 1t is almost impossible to get rooms. An
American admiral who came here last
week failed to do SO, and had to go to a
| cheap boarding house, where he is now
living. l. got in only by cabling in ad
vance from Burma. There are several
| big hotels in Calcutta. They are ram
bling three-story buildings. which cover
acres and all sorts Of Inconvenience.
My room. for instance, Is locked with a
paddock which snaps with spring. There
is only one key to the paddock, and when
left this afternoon the key remained
inside the room. I could not get In until
reported to the manager. and the serv
ants then had to climb up the walls and
through the window to open the door.
have>an electric bell, supposedly to call
the hotel servants. have rung 1t again
and again. and one day propped my
umbrella against the button and left it
there for an hour. could hear the belll
ringing but there was no response. So
In self-defense have had to hire a per
sonal servant of my own to lie on the
floor outside the door at night and to
wait upon me during the daytime. I am
paying him Just 50 cents day and he
|. feeds himself.