by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIV
THE RECEPTION OF THE MAHARAJAH AT BARODA
India has nearly twenty thousand miles of railroads open and in use, andthousands more in process of construction. As in England, they areinvariably called "railways." They do not have baggage, but it is"luggage;" a baggage-car is unknown, for they call it a "van;" and theconductor is the "guard." Our travellers had become accustomed to theseterms, and many others, in England, and now used them very familiarly.
Early rising is hardly a virtue in India; for he who sleeps after six inthe morning loses the best part of the day, especially in the hot season.The tourists were up before this hour, and had coffee wherever they were.They had been treated with the utmost kindness and consideration, and theirhosts could not do enough for them. They were conveyed to the railwaystation by them, and there found his lordship with a plan of a number ofcarriages--they are not cars there. On this plan he had placed, with theassistance of the commander, the names of the entire party.
They were to leave at seven; for it is pleasanter to travel early in themorning than later in the day, and the train was all ready. They were not alittle astonished when they were introduced to their quarters in thevehicles, to find them quite as luxurious as a Pullman, though they wereconstructed on a different plan, and were wanting in some of theconveniences of the American palace-car, though better adapted to theclimate of the country.
Each carriage contained but two compartments; but they were suites of roomson a small scale. The principal one was of good size, and on one side wascushioned to the ceiling, so that being "knocked about" did not imperil thetraveller's bones and flesh. Against this stuffed partition was a lowcouch, which could be made up as a bed at night, or used as a recliningsofa by day.
Over it was a swinging couch suspended by straps, which could be folded up,or be entirely removed, and formed a couch like the one below it. On theother side of the apartment was a toilet-room, with all conveniencesrequired for washing and other purposes, including a water-cooler. In thiscompartment the traveller takes his servant, and often a cook, for thevalet cannot meddle with culinary matters; and they sleep on the floorwherever they can find a place. A reasonable additional price is chargedfor accommodations in this luxurious style.
The journey to Baroda would occupy hardly more than three hours, and theseelaborate arrangements were scarcely necessary for the time they were to beused; but the members of the party looked upon them with especial interestin connection with the long travel to Lahore, and that which was to followto Calcutta, though they were to break the journey several times on theway.
The "Big Four" had a compartment to themselves, with the two servants,Sayad and Moro, who proved to be such good fellows that the boys liked themvery much. Sir Modava had managed to dismiss more than half of theattendants furnished at first, for all the party declared that such a mobof them was a nuisance; and the others had overcome their repugnance toserving more than one person in the face of dismissal, for theirperquisites had already been considerable as they valued money.
"This isn't bad for a haythen counthry," said Felix, as he stretchedhimself on the lower couch. "We'll git to Calcutty widout breakin' ahl thebones in our bodies."
"This is vastly better than anything I expected to find here," repliedLouis, as he pushed his crony over against the partition, and lay down athis side.
"But where do the elephants and the tigers come in?" asked Scott, as hecalled upon Moro to "shine" his shoes. "I haven't seen an elephant since Icame here."
"Elephants are not worked in this country," added Morris. "The Moguls usethem when they want to go in state, and sometimes when they go huntingtigers; and then the big beast gets most of the hard scratches."
"But the elephant can take care of himself when the mahout allows him to doso," argued Scott.
"Is the mahout his schnout?" asked Felix.
"You know better than that, Flix. The mahout is the fellow that sits on theelephant's neck and conducts him. He is the driver," replied Morris.
"Is he afeerd of schnakes?"
"He needn't be, perched on the top of the pachyderm," answered Scott.
"Who is he? Oi've not been introjuced to 'm."
"Are you going among elephants, Flix, and don't know what a pachyderm is?"demanded Scott.
"Oi see, it's the elephant, and ye's call him so bekase he carries his packon his bachk; and 'pon me worrud that's the roight place to carry it."
"I wonder if we are to have any hunting out here where we are going,"suggested Scott. "How is it, Louis? You are in the ring with the GrandMoguls."
"Sir Modava told me that the Maharajah whom we shall visit at Baroda is agreat sportsman, and always treats his guests to a hunt," answered Louis.
"Is it after schnakes?"
"No; but after tigers."
"But I want to hunt some schnakes; I'd loike to bring down a good-soizedcobry," said Felix, rising from his reclining posture.
"No, you wouldn't, Flix," sneered Scott. "If you saw a cobry, you would runtill you got back to Ireland."
"Is'ht me! Wud I roon from a cobry? Not mooch! Ain't I a lineal dayscindantof St. Patrick?--long life to him! And didn't he dhrive all the schnakesand toads out of the ould counthree! Jisht show me a cobry, and thin see meroon!"
Before the Milesian could tell how he intended to kill the cobra if he sawone, the train stopped; and a moment later Sir Modava, the commander, andMrs. Belgrade appeared at the door.
"We have come to make things a little more social," said the Hindugentleman as they entered the compartment; and the servants brought stoolsfrom the toilet-room, so that all were seated, making quite a family group.
"Are there any snakes where we are going, Sir Modava?" asked Felix, beforeany one else had a chance to speak. "I am spoiling for a fight with acobra;" and he came back to plain English, which he could use as well asany one.
"Plenty of them, Mr. McGavonty," replied the East Indian. "You will not getbadly spoiled before you fall in with all you will wish to see."
"Then I will bag some of them," added Felix.
"No, you won't, Flix; they will be more likely to bag you," rallied Scott.
"But I am in earnest," persisted the Milesian. "I have seen plenty of themin Bombay; and upon my word and honor, I don't feel at all afraid of them.One of them might hit me when I was not looking, for they don't play fair;but I shall be on the watch for them, and I'll take my chance."
"But, Sir Modava, do you really dare to go out where there are cobras?"asked Mrs. Belgrave, looking at her son.
"Certainly we do; we don't think anything at all about them."
"But you are in danger all the time."
"Of course it is possible that one may be bitten when a snake comes uponhim unawares. The deaths from snakes and wild animals in all India averagesannually twenty-two thousand. About a thousand are killed by tigers. Of ahundred and fifty kinds of snakes, only about twenty are poisonous. Thedeaths from snakes is one in 13,070; and the chance of being bitten is verysmall."
"I am afraid your figures lie, Sir Modava," said Captain Ringgold, with apleasant laugh. "Millions of the people live in cities and large townswhere there isn't a snake of any kind."
"Quite true, and, to some extent, the figures do lie; but there are plentyof cobras and other snakes in parts of Bombay, and the figures are not sofalse as you think, Captain," replied Sir Modava. "But I forget that I wassent here for a purpose by Lord Tremlyn. I am to tell you something aboutthe Mahrattas, which is the name of the people who inhabited the regionnorth of us. They have a long history which I have not time to review, butthey have been prominent in the earlier affairs of India. They have alwaysbeen a warlike people, and wrested the country from the Mogul emperor,sometimes called the Grand Mogul, and made themselves a powerful people.
"The present maharajah rules over the most extensive kingdom of any nativeprince. He is a Rajput, which is the aristocracy of the Mahrattas. He isthe mos
t powerful of the Indian rulers, and one of the most hospitable. Iwas formerly in his service, and he considers himself under some slightobligations to me. He is an independent prince in the same sense that otherrulers are in this country. There is always a British representative at hiscourt, who advises him in some matters of government, and his realm iscalled a protected state.
"He is a great sportsman; and I have no doubt you will be invited to huntwith him, as well as to witness some exhibitions which may not be agreeableto the ladies."
"Don't we stop at any stations on the road?" asked Louis.
"There is no town of any great consequence between Surat and Baroda, andthis is a special express train," replied Sir Modava.
Some of the party looked out the windows, and the intelligent guideexplained what was to be seen along the way. Some handsome templesattracted their attention, but they were insignificant compared with whatthey had been taught to expect in the future. The train crossed a bridge,which brought them into the suburbs of Baroda.
"The outskirts of the town contain a hundred and fifty thousandinhabitants, far more than the city itself," said the Hindu gentleman. "Thestreets are very narrow here, and the houses are nearly all of wood; butthey are different from any you have seen before, for they are peculiar toGoojerat, the state of which Baroda is the capital. You see at about allthe crossings pagodas and idols, with banners flying over them. It is anunhealthy region, the ground is so low; and yonder you see a statelyhospital, built by the Guicowar, as the maharajah is called."
The tourists had all they could do to see the strange things that werepointed out to them, and while thus employed the train stopped at thestation. Looking out the windows again, they saw several elephants, allhandsomely caparisoned, and with howdahs on their backs. A band of nativemusicians was playing near them, and the party wondered what this displaycould mean; but Sir Modava was unable to inform them. They got out of thecarriages, and found themselves in a handsome square.
A company of cavalry was drawn up near the elephants, at the head of which,surrounded by a numerous staff of officers, sat on a prancing horse,caparisoned with exceeding richness, a person who could be no other thanthe maharajah. He was dressed in the most magnificent robes of India,covered with jewels in ornamental profusion.
"That is the Guicowar," said the Hindu guide.
"He is doing us great honor in coming out in this manner to welcome us."
As soon as he discovered the party, the ruler dismounted nimbly from hisnoble steed, and, attended by some high officers, advanced to meet them. Asort of procession was hastily formed with Lord Tremlyn at the head of it;for he was the most distinguished person, and in some sense therepresentative of the British home government. The Italian band of thegeneral, as soon as the native band ceased, struck up "Hail, to the chief!"
The party encountered the king, who rushed up to the viscount, and seizedhim by the hand, as not all kings are in the habit of doing. They talkedtogether for a few moments, when his Highness happened to see Sir Modava,and rushed to him, seizing him in a semi-embrace, clasping the Hindu withhis right hand while the left encircled his shoulder. The potentate wasprofuse in his congratulations to the two gentlemen on their escape fromdeath in the shipwreck, and this afforded Lord Tremlyn an opportunity topresent Captain Ringgold as the commander of the steamer that had savedthem.
"He is my friend, then," said the Maharajah, as he gave him no equivocalshake of the hand.
Then Louis and his mother were presented and described, and received anequally warm welcome. But the prince decided to receive the rest of theparty at the palace, and they were requested to mount the elephants. Theladies were timid about it; but Louis told his mother that she must get upinto the howdah as though she had been riding elephants all her life, andshe did so, the others following her example. Louis assisted his motherfirst, and then Miss Blanche.
They were all seated on the huge beasts, and the procession started, theItalian band following the native, and playing when they ceased to do so.
