Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XV

  ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER AT BOMBAY

  The coast of Bombay was in plain sight, the province, or state, whosecapital has the same name. Groves of cocoanut, date, and other palm-treesbordered it; and far back of it was a range of mountains, the WesternGhats, a chain extending for hundreds of miles along the shore, though fromtwenty to fifty miles from it.

  The fishing-boats were Oriental, and nothing new to the tourists; but themen in them were swarthy-looking fellows, not abundantly provided withclothing. The greater portion of India has a warm climate, and the dress ofthe people is adapted to it. For the most part, the natives are bundled upin loose white cotton cloth, or what was originally white, which they twistabout their bodies with a skill acquired by practice. But these boatmenwere almost in a primitive condition.

  The distinguished guests on board of the Guardian-Mother were perfectlyfamiliar with Bombay and its surroundings, as they were with all of thecountry, and their services were just now in demand. The Woolridges hadattached themselves to Lord Tremlyn; Louis Belgrave was very likely to bein their company most of the time, and the viscount had manifested nolittle interest in the young millionaire. He was pointing out the country,and describing it, to this group of four.

  Dr. Ferrolan was not so much of a ladies' man as his two youngercompanions, and was rendering similar service to his professional brother,Uncle Moses, and Professor Giroud. They formed a quartet of educated men,and were more in touch with each other than they might otherwise have been.Sir Modava Rao had attracted to his side Mrs. Belgrave; Mrs. Blossom wasusually her shadow; and of course Captain Ringgold, when not employed inhis duties in the navigation of the steamer, gravitated, not materially butsentimentally, to this group; for wherever Mrs. Belgrave was, the commanderwas not far off.

  Felix divided himself up among the three parties; and, as he was a livelyboy, he afforded no little amusement to all of them. The entire company,including the captain and the third officer, who were to take part in thebusiness of sight-seeing, consisted of sixteen persons, which was just thecomplement for four carriages, if they were large enough to seat four.

  The pilot came on board, and was inducted into the pilot-house. He spokeEnglish, and seemed to be a bright fellow so far as his occupation wasconcerned. The pilots are said to "pool their issues," and divide theirfees. They take their own time, therefore, and are very independent. Butthis one, when informed that the Guardian-Mother was a yacht conveying ayoung millionaire all-over-the-world, was very respectful and deferential.

  "I have heard of this vessel before, and they say here that the young rajahis worth millions of pounds," said he, when he had laid the course of thesteamer.

  "I suppose he is as well off as some of your Grand Moguls; but I think youhad better call it dollars instead of pounds," replied Mr. Boulong,laughing at the absurdity of the story; but the pilot knew nothing aboutdollars, and perhaps the reports had been swelled by changing the unit ofAmerican currency into that of the British Empire.

  "Now you can see the islands more distinctly," said Lord Tremlyn to hisgroup.

  "I don't see any islands," replied Miss Blanche.

  "They are too near together to be distinguished separately. The Bombay towhich we are going is an island eleven and a half miles long. The town hasan abundant territory; but large as it is, portions of it are very denselypeopled, averaging twenty-one inmates to a house," continued the viscount."Next to Calcutta it is the largest city in India, and comes within 40,000of that.

  "Bombay has had its vicissitudes. Of course you know that your Civil Warproduced a cotton famine in Europe; but it raised this city to the pinnacleof prosperity. A reign of speculation came here, and it was believed thatBombay would be the leading cotton mart of the world. Companies wereorganized to develop the resources of the country in the textile plant; andthe fever raged as high as it did when the South Sea Bubble was blown up,or as it has sometimes in New York and other cities of your country.

  "New banks were started; merchants plunged recklessly into the vortex ofspeculation. Then came the news of the surrender of General Lee, and theend of the war in America. The bubble burst, even before it was fullyinflated, and the business prosperity of Bombay collapsed. The certificatesof shares in companies and banks were not worth the paper on which theywere written. Even the Bank of Bombay, believed to be as solid as the 'OldLady' of Threadneedle Street, had to suspend, and the commercial distresswas frightful.

  "But it left its lesson behind it; and since that time Bombay has patientlyand painfully regained its former solid prosperity. It has recovered whatit lost, and is now steadily increasing in population and wealth."

  "I never heard of the South Sea Bubble of which you speak," said Louis.

  "That is not strange, as it was an affair of one hundred and eighty-oneyears ago," replied Lord Tremlyn. "I have not time now to describe it infull. The floating debt of England at that time was L10,000,000; and theEarl of Oxford concocted a scheme to pay it off, and formed a company ofmerchants for that purpose. The riches of the South Sea Islands, includingSouth America, were most extravagantly estimated at that time, and themonopoly of the trade was secured by the company formed. The 'South SeaCompany' was bolstered up by the pledge of the duties on the imports fromthese far-off regions, and the shares sold like wild-fire, increasing inprice in the most extraordinary manner. Shares at a par of L100 were quotedat L550 in May, and L890 in June.

  "The failure of the Mississippi Scheme, projected in France by John Law todevelop the resources of the American State of Louisiana, alarmed theshareholders; but the managers declared that they had avoided the errors ofLaw in their finances, and the enterprise still prospered. A mania forstock-gambling spread over England, and the people seemed to have losttheir wits. The most tremendous excitement prevailed. The crisis came, andit was realized that the scheme was a fraudulent one. Some of the biggestoperators sold out their stock, and a panic ensued. Consternation came uponthe bubble capitalists, and financial ruin stared them and their dupes fullin the face.

  "The country was stirred to its very foundations. Parliament was calledtogether, and the books of the company were examined. The 'Bubble' hadburst, as it did in Bombay. The private property of the directors wasconfiscated. The ruin brought about by this enterprise, rightly called a'Bubble,' was beyond calculation; but it taught its lesson, as such affairsalways do."

  "We are approaching the harbor," said Mrs. Woolridge, who was not muchinterested in the South Sea Scheme, though her husband and Louis listenedto the explanation very attentively.

  "We are, madam. You see to the northward of us two peninsulas. The one themore distant has two hills on it. The first is Malabar Hill, and the otherCumballa Hill. This is the aristocratic quarter of Bombay. The hugebungalows of the rich merchants and higher government officials are here.The scenery, natural and artificial, is very fine, and Asiatic magnificenceprevails there. That will be one of our first rides. You observe near thepoint of the peninsula some towers, like pagodas, which will give you yourfirst impression of the temples of India."

  Opera-glasses were then in demand, and were brought to bear on the towers.

  "They are in the village of Walkeshwar. The peninsula now quite near isColaba. Indian names are very much mixed in regard to their spelling. The_c_ and the _k_ are about interchangeable, and you can use eitherone of them. Hence this point is often written Kolaba, and the hill yonderKumballa. The southern part of this neck of land is the native quarter. Youwill visit all these localities, and it is not worth while to describe themminutely."

  "That looks like a cemetery," said Mr. Woolridge, as the steamer approachedthe point. "There is the lighthouse."

  The commander had left his party as the steamer approached the entrance tothe harbor, and had gone forward. The ship had slowed down, and the captainspoke to the pilot about a convenient anchorage. The harbor was largeenough to accommodate all the navies of the world, and the
re was nodifficulty on this account. Lord Tremlyn had left his party to look at whatwas to be seen by themselves, and came forward to the pilot-house. Theanchorage was settled.

  "Captain Ringgold, if you please, we will now exchange places," said theviscount. "Up to the present time we have been your guests; now I willbecome the host, and you and your party will be my guests. I beg you willraise no objections, my dear sir, and I shall feel very much wounded if youdo not accept the hospitality I tender to you. You are at home on the seaas I am in Bombay."

  "You have put it in such a way that I cannot refuse to accept," replied thecommander, laughing at the corner in which he was placed. "For the presentwe are your guests, and we place ourselves entirely under your direction."

  "I am extremely happy to take you all under my protection; but I cannotsubmit to the proviso which you have added to my offer, though I will besatisfied to have you 'for the present' as my guests, and we will leave thefuture to take care of itself. But in whatever capacity we travel overIndia, or such portion of it as you may elect, it is rather necessary thatwe fix upon a plan for our operations."

  "I am quite agreed that we had better draw up a programme, and I shalldepend upon your counsel in the matter," replied the captain. "For thepresent, will you excuse me until the ship comes to anchor?"

  "Certainly, Captain."

  "Here is the custom-house boat, and I suppose I must attend to that."

  "Leave that to me, if you please."

  In another half-hour the Guardian-Mother was at anchor off the ApolloBunder, the wharf, or landing-place. The custom-house officers came onboard; and, as the ship was not one of any regular line, a high officialcame off with them. As soon as he reached the deck he discovered hislordship, and rushed to him, bowed profusely, and addressed him in the mostdeferential manner.

  "This is a very unexpected visit, my Lord, and in a steamer flying theAmerican flag," said he, as the viscount gave him his hand, a piece ofcondescension he appeared to appreciate very highly. "What has become ofthe Travancore?"

  "She was wrecked in the Arabian Sea in a collision, and went to the bottomafter holding us up for a few hours. We were rescued from certain death bythis steamer, and we have been treated with the utmost kindness andconsideration," said his lordship quite hurriedly. "Sir Modava Rao and Dr.Ferrolan are on board. I am entirely devoted to those to whom we owe ourlives, and I am in their service as long as they will stay in India. Whatis your business on board, Mr. Windham?"

  "It is in connection with the customs, my Lord."

  "You will dispense with everything in that connection, for this is a yacht;and you will oblige me by not subjecting any person on board to anyannoyance, Mr. Windham."

  "Certainly not, my Lord; and not a trunk shall be opened. But thenewspapers will want the account of your shipwreck, and a reporter came offwith me," replied the official.

  "Refer him to my secretary."

  The under-official obtained particulars from the first officer in regard tothe steamer for the custom-house, and Dr. Ferrolan gave the reporter anaccount of the disaster to the Travancore which he had written.

  "I propose to land and proceed to our hotel as soon as the ladies areready," said Lord Tremlyn, when he had retired to the captain's cabin withthe commander. "While they are preparing, we will consider the programme ofthe tour."

  "Very well, your Lordship; I will have the party notified. Mr. Scott," saidthe captain, opening the door into the pilot-house, "inform all the companythat we go on shore in half an hour; and you will go with them. Mr.Boulong, lower the gangway, and have the barge ready."

  "Perhaps you have arranged a programme yourself already," suggested the newhost of the party.

  "I have considered the matter. I proposed to see Bombay, and perhaps rundown to Poona. Then go to Surat in the steamer, and visit Baroda, andproceed by the ship to Kurrachee. From there I thought I should send theGuardian-Mother round to Calcutta in charge of Mr. Boulong, while wetravelled to Lahore, Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, andCalcutta by railway. From there we will go to Madras and Ceylon by thesteamer," said the commander, who seemed to have arranged the whole trip.

  "Excellent, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed the viscount. "I can hardly betterthat."

  He made some suggestions; but this route was substantially adopted.