The herald., 1919-09-25


hope for any return of its
glory. Yet the visitor, in
search Of novelty, may still be fairly
well satisfied with the results of the
effort he must make to see what re-
mains of the curious life in those
places which are different from every
thing in this land; their nearest paral-
lei being the French market in New
Orleans, or a county fair, says the
Christian Science Monitor.
The stranger to India should take
the precaution to secure the services
as guide and physical protector of
thoroughly competent interpreter,
one who is conversant with at least
half a dozen of the numerous dla-
| lectS spoken in India's commercial
circles, and who-when 1t comes to
buying or rejecting-knows at
glance "a hawk from a herneshaw'
| because, as a decidedly cynical Eng
glishman said, "Nine-tenths of the
stuff displayed in those Indian bazaars
are spurious, and the remainder utter
|
ton, of course, yet it is hard matter
! to find the few gems that may be
there; and, at any rate, If the pur-
! chasable inanimate is lacking, the al
most endless variety of the recum-
bent or animate human denizens Is a
rich reward for the fatiguing hours In
bazaar.
In Search Of the Picturesque.
1t is a great pity that civilization is
so very inconsiderate toward the pic
turesque, the stranger, and the racial
ly attractive Tin spite of its dirt)
which are so different from the life
and the people we know and are sc
tired of, their inartistic dirt especial
ly, that we often rush off to the antip
odes to find something artistic and
interesting. When we fail in Oul
search, we are apt to abuse the writers
who tell us-not what they really die
see, but what they had predetermined
they were to see.
1t is not many years since that thu
bazaar at Delhi, to take at random
one Of the many, was truly a wonder
full place. 1t occupied large exten
of ground, covered with all manner o
ramshackle buildings, the grount
floors of which were open stalls some
what like those seen in the illustra
ton accompanying this article. Their
were a few fairly broad thoroughfare
which traversed the section from sid
to side in a serpentine course, but tn
really interesting and attractive shop
were reached by many narrow, wind
ing lanes, forming veritable laby
rinth, into which the unwary strange
who ventured alone was quickly lost
and when he betrayed his misfortun
by act or word, was sure to D
pounced upon by flock of human WI
lures bent upon getting his last rupe
in exchange for their wares, and heart
less as to whether or not he got bac
to the meager civilization Of Delhi
then wretched hotel.
In the main avenues there We're
shall we say canals, or streams, Q
bitches? Well, there was sOmethin
in whichever we call them that pc!
, sessed the motion Of liquid, and ther
was one, or perhaps two, rows OF Oil
couraged-looking trees. But In IN
narrow alleys there was no disguisin
the fact that those bitches were sin
ply open drains, usually so torpid
their flow that the stencil was almo'
overpowering, and the visitor frol
abroad wondered how any human b
ing could breathe the fetid air all Ga
and all night as complacently as al
. the bazaar deniZens.
|, Occasional Bargains Found.
n Nevertheless, those were the do!
= when it was quite possible to pick U
+ really rare and precious bargains II
T. song. plaques hammered out fro
n brass or other metals, true gems
+ many kinds, jade ornaments deft
:. carved from jade in minute pattern
J., making them almost literally "wor
@ their weight in gold," and many 9th
d treasures such as nowadays new
h reach a bazaar stall, for they are sna
: ped up by professional dealers u
Q moment they leave the hands OF the
y original owner, whom wan; compe