Forum was the cutchery and something more—it was the centre of business. The Roman magnate lived in his villa in the country, as the collector and judge live in their bungalows. But the villas were adorned with rare marble and mosaics. All was peaceful and quiet. Then came the time when Rome needed all her soldiers at home, and the departure of the Roman legions left Britain defenceless. The Britons knew nothing of self-government. All authority had been centralised at Rome and all local vigour had been repressed and crushed. Patriotism had died by foreign conquest, and no one was ready to defend his country. The savage horde marched through the land and the grand buildings of the Romans were given to the flames. When the enemy arrives at our northern gate the stability of our Indian Empire will, let all men bear in mind, depend mainly on the loyalty and contentment of the people. Madras has also another institution whose work has won it an European reputation-her Observatory. A century ago the East India Company, who were more generous patrons of literature, science and art than the Imperial Government which has succeeded them, resolved to establish an observatory at Madras "for promoting the knowledge of astronomy, geography, and navigation in India." Sir Charles Oakely, feeling certain that his liberal-minded masters would sanction the proposal, sent home to build an observatory, had it erected and supplied with instruments before the orders of the Court reached Madras. But he would not have been able to accomplish this good work except for the liberality of William Petrie, Member of Council. Two years previously William Petrie (1787) had built an observatory at his own expense, and collected in it the instruments which the Company had sent out from time to time, which were scattered over the country. At his own expense William Petrie added a small, but excellent transit instrument. When he went to Europe he presented this observatory and instruments to the public. On the south wall of the observatory we find a slab bearing the following inscription: Astronomia Consecratum Sumptibus Societatis Anglicanæ A translation in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindustani is carved on the granite pier that bore Petrie's transit instrument, in order that" Posterity may be informed a thousand years hence of the period when the mathematical sciences were first planted by British liberality in Asia." After noticing with profound respect the old astronomical clock, which for a century has proved "a most excellent timekeeper," we take our departure, wondering whether there were many things manufactured in the present day which would so rule and stand the test of time. I XIV PONDICHERRY T was a fresh morning in September when we left Madras for Pondicherry. The recent rain had refreshed the atmosphere and made the trees green and fresh. For the first fifty miles we passed through stretches of land covered with scrub, dotted here and there with patches of cultivation. From the carriage window we saw scenes which Homer had seen and painted many centuries ago. The ploughman had turned his team of sleek oxen at the end of the furrow, and with his wife and children was enjoying his morning meal of cakes and corn. The bright scarlet dresses of the women and children contrasted well with the rich green of the shrubs. Then we went by patches of broad green rice fields, covered with water, in which men and women were reaping. In the distance were the blue Arcot hills, reminding us of the Deccan; but the frequent groves of palm trees bore testimony to our being not far from the sea. The further we proceeded the richer grew the soil, and the country spread out into broad fields of red and yellow corn ripe for the sickle. As we neared a village we fled past many a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and the daughter of Zion was standing at the door. At noon we arrived at Villupuram junction, where we had to change carriages for Pondicherry; and after a run of a couple of hours the train drew up at a platform, where a band of dark savages addressed us in French. They took possession of us and our luggage, and soon we found ourselves rolling rapidly down the main street of Pondicherry in a pousse-pousse. A pousse-pousse is an enlarged perambulator, and a man of mature years finds it a little incongruous to be wheeled down the street as in the days of childhood. But the place of the dainty nursemaid is taken by a stalwart, well-built, coal-black savage, whose dress has not troubled the sewingmachine. Another savage pushes the vehicle from behind. The pousse-pousse is, however, a decidedly comfortable conveyance, it makes no noise, and though the progress is rapid, is safe. The pousse-pousse man neither shies, nor kicks, nor jibs. Carriages and horses are almost unknown in Pondicherry, and the absence of noise is one of the charms of the French capital. After a drive of twenty minutes, we found ourselves at the entrance of the Hôtel de Londres et Paris, and a landlady from Paris received us. A room clean and neat, facing the sea, is secured at the modest cost of Rs. 4 a day. For this sum we are fed far better than at the majority of Indian hotels. Pondicherry is a paradise for a poor man. A large house built on the model of a mansion in a French country town costs Rs. 60 a month, and smaller villas can be had for Rs. 20 to Rs. 40. The balconies that project from the windows give a continental and picturesque aspect to the streets. There is not the slightest trace of the genius of ugliness, which our Public Works Department possess, and which is imparted by them with such considerable success to the buildings they erect. The cost of maintaining these houses is as moderate as the rent. It has to be small, because the incomes of those who occupy them are small. The pay of a High Court Judge is about Rs. 250 a month. He is a man who has been carefully taught the science of jurisprudence at a French university, and has had some practical experience of the law courts in France before appointment. The salaries of the other French officials are on the same modest scale |