India late, and was rather pressed for time from the fact that he wished to see the Viceroy before he left Calcutta, and to that end had promised to be in Calcutta or March 10. His Highness then made a gesture, and a troop of dancing girls came into the court-yard. One of th features of a visit to Jeypore is what is called the Nautch The Nautch is a sacred affair, danced by Hindoo girls of a low caste in the presence of the idols in the palace temple. A group of girls came trooping in, under the leadership of an old fellow with a long beard and a hard expression of face, who might have been the original of Dickens' Fagin. The girls wore heavy garments em broidered, the skirts composed of many folds, covered with gold braid. They had ornaments on their heads and jewels in the side of the nose. They had plain faces, and carried out the theory of caste, if there be anything in such a theory, in the contrast between their features and the delicate, sharply-cut lines of the higher class Brahmins and the other castes who surrounded the Prince. The girls formed in two lines, a third line was composed of four musicians, who performed a low, growling kind of music on unearthly instruments. The dance had no value in it, either as an expression of harmony, grace or motion. The Nautch dance is meaningless. It is not even improper. It is attended by no excitement, no manifestations of religious feeling. A group of course, ill-formed women stood in the lines, walked and twisted about, breaking now and then into a chorus, which added to the din of the instruments. This was the famous Nautch dance, which they were to see in Jeypore with amazement, and to remember as one of the sights of India. Either as an amusement or a religious ceremony it had no value. The General did not appreciate the dance, though he remained during its performance. Dr. Hendley, evidently thinking that the dance had served every useful purpose said a word to the Prince, who made a sign, the dance stopped, the girls vanished, and the whole party retired to the billiard room. The Maharajah plays billiards when he is not at prayers. He was anxious to have a game with the General. The General played in an indiscriminate, promiscuous manner, and made some wonderful shots in the way of missing balls he intended to strike. Mr. Borie, whose interest in the General's fortunes extends to billiards, began to deplore those eccentric experiments, when the General said he had not played billiards for thirty years. The Maharajah tried to lose the game, and said to one of his attendants that he was anxious to show the General that delicate mark of hospitality. The game ended, His Highness winning. Then they strolled into the gardens, and looked at the palace towers, which the Prince took pleasure in showing to the General, and which looked airy and beautiful in the rosy shadows of the descending sun. There were beds of flowers and trees, and the coming night, which comes so swiftly in these latitudes, brought a cooling breeze. Then His Highness gave each a photograph of his royal person, consecrated with his royal autograph, which he wrote on the top of a marble railing. Then they strolled toward the grand hall of ceremony to take leave. Taking leave is a solemn act in India. The party entered the spacious hall, where the Prince received the Prince of Wales. Night had come so rapidly, that servants came in all directions carrying candles and torches that lit up the gaudy and glittering hall. An attendant carried a tray bearing wreaths of the rose and jasmine. The Maharajah, taking two of these wreaths, put them on the neck of the General. He did the same to Mrs. Grant, and all the members of the party. Then, taking a string of gold and silken cord, he placed that on Mrs. Grant as a special honor. The Gen eral, who was instructed by the English Resident, took four wreaths and put them on the neck of the Maharajah, who pressed his hands and bowed his thanks. Another servant came, bearing a small cup of gold and gems containing ottar of roses. The Maharajah, putting some of the perfume on his fingers, transferred it to Mrs. Grant's handkerchief. With another portion he passed his hands along the General's breast and shoulders. This was done to each of the party. The General then taking the perfume, passed his hands over the Maharajah's shoulders, and so concluding the ceremony, which, in all royal interviews in the East, is supposed to mean a lasting friendship. Then the Prince, taking General Grant's hand in his own, led him from the hall, across the garden and to the gateway of his palace, holding his hand all the time. The carriages were waiting, and the Prince took his leave saying how much he was honored by the General's visit. The cavalry escort formed in line, the guard presented arms, and the visitors drove at full gallop to their home. one of the most interesting and eventful days in the General's visit to India. And so ended |