CHAPTER XXIII.

DELHI AND UMBALA.

The Saint's Tomb-A Royal Cemetery-A Victim of the English-The Old Fort-A Nach at Mr. Skinner's-The Dinner-The Girls-Their Songs-Dancing Boys-Native Gentlemen-Snakes-The Bazárs of Delhi-The Streets-A Native WeddingA "Public Night" at the Mess of the 54th-Dâk to Umbala-Sick-A Dandy Servant-"Vengeance is Sweet"-Sepoy Bands-The Native Army-Cashmeer

Shawls.

FROM HOOmaioon's tomb I went to a village, half a mile north, where is buried a celebrated Moosulman saint, Nizam- . ood-Deen, who died in the early part of the fourteenth century. The tomb is within a court paved with marble. It is a small but very beautiful white marble building, surrounded by a colonnade, and covered by a dome. Between the pillars of the colonnade are scarlet cloth purdahs, or curtains. In the centre of the building the body of the saint lies in a low sarcophagus of marble, which is covered with silk brocade, strewn with fresh flowers. The sanctity of this shrine is such that it still attracts pilgrims from all parts of India, whose contributions keep the tomb in order. Within this court-yard are buried several members of the imperial family, among others, the Emperor Mohummud Shah, during whose reign the invasion of Nadur Shah took place. Close by is the tomb of Prince Mirza Jehangeer, who was banished by the English government from Delhi, on account of frequent attempts to murder his elder brother, and excite insurrection. He killed himself by drinking cherry brandy, of which liquor he used to swallow a glass an hour, limiting himself to that amount, in order to protract the pleasure and delay intoxication. He was the favourite son of the old Emperor, who always believed that he died of "sighing." At his death, the limited resources of the imperial purse were drawn on to give him a

handsome tomb in this place. Many other tombs lie around, among which the most remarkable is that of Jehanara Bégoom, the eldest daughter of Shah Jehan, and a very lovely character. All these tombs are of the same character. They are plain, square marble structures, about six feet long and two feet high, surrounded by screens of that exquisite marble trellis-work which is so beautiful a feature of Moosulman architecture. The tomb of Jehanara is shaped like the others, and, like them, is surrounded by a screen; but it is not covered with a slab. At its head is a stone, containing an inscription dictated by herself, and explaining this peculiarity. It runs as follows: "Let no rich canopy cover my grave. This grass is the best covering for the tomb of the poor in spirit. The humble, the transitory Jehanara, the disciple of the holy men of Christ, the daughter of the Emperor Shah Jehan." The allusion to Christ is thought by some to signify that she had become a convert of the Romish priests, others suppose that she belonged to some Moosulman sect who partic ularly revered the character of Jesus. When Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his son Aurumzeeb, Jehanara voluntarily resigned her liberty, and accompanied her father into confinement, where she continued with him till his death. She died soon afterwards-poisoned, it is said, by her sister.

Close to these tombs is a baolee, or deep tank, about sixty feet square, similar to that near the Kootub. Here the same feats of diving, which I had seen at the former place, were repeated; but the leap is far higher, being at least sixty feet.

On the way back to Delhi, I stopped to see the Poorana Khila, or old Fort, which was formerly the centre of the old Pathan city of Delhi. It is a very large building, with high and massive walls, of dark coloured stone. The top of the walls was plain, not decorated with those arched battlements which distinguish the later Moosulman fortresses. The interior of the "Old Fort" is now occupied by an extensive village of mud huts, but it still contains a very large and massive tomb of redstone, and another considerable building in good repair.

That evening I dined at Mr. Skinner's, or, as he is called

by the natives, Sěkundur Sahib-Sěkundur, being the Hindoostanee pronunciation of Alexander, which is his first name. The party was very large, as nearly all the officers in the garrison were invited. I suppose fifty sat down to table. All the guests sent their own servants, plates, and silver-which is always customary in India where many are invited. As I was not aware of this habit, I was rather at a loss, having come without servant or plates; but my friend, Captain Russell, was kind enough to provide me with all that was necessary, and lend me one of his two Rhitmutgrás.

Mr. Skinner is a half caste, almost black in complexion. His father, the celebrated Colonel Skinner, whom I mentioned before, left his property to each of his sons in succession, on the condition that a certain large portion of it should be spent yearly in entertainments. Accordingly, the hospitality of the Skinners became famous in India, and the races, hunts, coursing-matches, dinners, and nach parties, which they gave, were considered one of the chief attractions of Delhi as a Station.

The house where this dinner was given was situated on the square near the Cashmeeree Gate, and opposite the church of St. James. It was built by Colonel Skinner, and was a spacious one-storied mansion, in a compound filled with shrubbery.

Mr. Skinner having a great deal more black blood than white in his veins, conformed in many respects to native usages, and kept a zěnana, where he had several wives and concubines. One of the latter was said to be a sister of his eldest wife. These little peculiarities cut him off from the society of the ladies of the station, but he always found guests enough among the officers to enable him to comply with the hospitable provisions of his father's will.

The dinner was of the best that could be had, and on the most liberal scale, and the usual amount of "beershurab" and "simpkin," as the natives call ale and champagne, were consumed in honouring the old customs of drinking healths and toasting, which still reign in India.

After dinner we retired into a large drawing-room, where the remainder of the evening was spent in witnessing the performances of some nach girls.

I had always heard a great deal of these bayadères, so that I expected a treat; particularly, as Delhi is famous throughout India for its dancing girls, and Mr. Skinner would, of course, have the best that could be procured. The result, however, very much disappointed my expectations.

The girls were ten in number, of whom not more than two performed at the same time. They were dressed in panjama, or trowsers, of velvet, silk, or muslin, which reached to below the ankle, and trailed on the ground. These trowsers are so loose that they sometimes contain fifteen or twenty yards of stuff. The upper part of the body is entirely covered by a muslin saree, wrapped many times round the person, and brought over the head. The colours of the dress are generally green and red. The clothes of several of these girls were embroidered with gold thread, and they all wore gold armlets, anklets, nose-rings, ear-rings, and another ornament, which is a great favourite among Indian beauties, and consists of a precious stone, set in gold, which is glued to the forehead between the eyes, and really has a very pretty effect on the brown skin. Their hair was plainly dressed "à la Chinoise”— a mode which should be called "à l'Indienne," for it is universal in India, and by no means so in China. Of course, they wore no shoes, as natives never do in the house, but the soles of their feet and palms of their hands were stained red with "heena," and the languishing expression of their dark eyes was heightened by a border of kohl, or antimony, around the edge of the lids.

The songs they sang were in Persian, and were of two kinds.* The first was very simple, both in words and music, consisting merely of a repetition of such words as, "Oh, my mother-in-law, go to the river and fetch water," or, "My beloved prince, take me to Calcutta, with howdah on elephant, saddle on horse." The second variety they sung in the latter part of the evening. They were Amæbean strains, sustained by two voices, and representing a quarrel between women. The words were all curses, so foul that I do not believe they could have been invented out of India.

As the girls sang they swayed the body to and fro, bent * See Appendix, at the end of the Book.

the hand upon the wrist, and assumed other positions, beating the feet upon the ground in time with the music, and jingling the circles of silver bells which they wore around the ankles.

The girls had each two or three musicians, jaunty-looking Moosulmans, who accompanied them upon the drum, sitar (native guitar), and other instruments. The drum was played with the fingers; and there were no wind instruments used. The music was in general slow and monotonous, as were also the postures of the girls-for their movements can scarcely be called dancing.

The nach girls are a peculiar class. Their lives are spent in debauchery, and they will drink more raw spirits than most men I have seen. Like women of the same character elsewhere, they do not bear children, but instead thereof they buy infants, sometimes from their parents, sometimes from kidnappers or slave dealers; for slavery, although abolished by law, still exists as a domestic institution in India. These children they train up to their trade, and it is said that their education must begin in early life, or they can never acquire the requisite grace and suppleness. The consequence of this strange custom is, that this class present the peculiar spectacle of women who never have had the slightest idea of virtue or modesty. Some of these dancing girls whom I saw at Colonel Skinner's brought two or three of these children with them. They were pretty little timid girls of five or six years old, with very graceful and winning manners; but when once encouraged to talk, they uttered sentiments and expressions which would bring a blush to the oldest habituée of the Haymarket.

The nach girls are rarely handsome-they say that all the good-looking ones are at once seized by the native princes for their zěnanas. How this may be, I do not know, but some of them have certainly risen to positions of eminence and great power in Eastern courts. Their voices are very high, and frequently harsh and nasal-but that is not esteemed a defect. The ordinary pay is from five to ten rupees an evening, but some of them, who are very graceful, and have particularly