ALL OVER THE CITY OF CALCUTTA
"I shall be glad to be on board of the Guardian-Mother again," said Scott,
after the four live boys had taken a place by themselves in the conference
carriage. "I have seen enough of India."
"But you have not seen one-half of India," replied Louis.
"I read a story in an old schoolbook Uncle Moses had used when he didn't
weigh as much as I do now, which was called 'The Half is Better than the
Whole;' and it proved the proposition with which it started out. That is
just what is the matter now."
"But you have been seeing new things all the time, and learning something,"
added Louis.
"That's very true; but we have seen all the big mosques and things, and
enough is as good as a feast," suggested Scott. "I suppose if we stayed
here a couple of years more we should not see the whole of the country. We
have got a specimen brick of the principal cities; and a dozen specimens of
the same thing don't amount to much."
"But you haven't seen Calcutta yet, and that is the biggest toad in the
puddle," said Felix. "The ship will be there, and if you are homesick you
can go on board of her."
But the call for attention from Captain Ringgold interrupted the
conversation, and Sir Modava had seated himself in front of the company to
give one of his "talks."
"Our route will be along the Ganges till we come to Luckieserai Junction,
where the loop-line falls into the main line," the Hindu gentleman began.
"Is it much of a fall, sir?" asked Felix.
"I don't understand you, Mr. McGavonty," replied the speaker blankly.
"The expression 'falls into the main line' is somewhat different from what
we use at home; but the young man ought to have understood you," interposed
the commander.
"What would you have said, Captain?"
"The loop-line we call a branch, and we say connects with instead of falls
into," replied the captain. "But your meaning was plain enough, and our
boys must fall into the methods of expression used here."
"Though you have seen the Ganges several times, not much has been said
about it; and I will tell you a little more concerning it before we leave,
not to see it again. It rises in Gahrwal, one of the Hill states,
north-east of Delhi. It has its source in an ice-cave nearly fourteen
thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is not called the Ganges till
it has received the flow of two other rivers, a hundred and fifty miles or
more from its lofty source. Just below Allahabad it takes in the Jumna,
itself a mighty stream.
"As you have learned, it is the holy river of the Hindus; and it deserves
their homage, for, aside from the religious character they give to it,
three hundred thousand square miles are drained and fertilized by the
Ganges and its tributaries. Of its sanctity, that it washes away sin, and
that death in its waters or on its shores is the passport to eternal bliss,
you have learned. But it renders a more immediate and practical service to
the people; for it is navigable for small craft from the point where it
enters the lowlands, seventy or eighty miles north of Delhi.
"The river is 1,509 miles long. Though it rises and falls at different
seasons, it never fails, even in the hottest summer; and its inundations
render, to some extent, the benefit which the Nile does to the soil of
Egypt. Like the Mississippi, in your country, it has sometimes changed its
course, as proved by the ruins of cities that were once on its banks.
"Now you have a view of the Ganges for quite a distance, and can see the
kinds of boats that navigate it. It is one of the most frequented waterways
in the world, though the building of railways and canals has somewhat
diminished the amount of freight borne on its tide. About £6,000,000 is
needed to complete the Ganges canal, which will reach all the cities
through which you have passed. There is a very complicated mythology
connected with the river, which it would take me all day to relate, and
therefore I will not meddle with it."
For a couple of hours the passengers watched the boats and steamers on the
river, and the scenes on the other side. While they were thus employed,
Lord Tremlyn gave to each person a map of Calcutta, intimating that he
should soon tell them something about the city; and they all began to study
it, so as to form some idea of the place they were next to visit. Of course
they could make out but little from the vast maze of streets, but some of
them obtained a very good idea of the situation of the city and many of its
important buildings.
"People coming from England or America generally arrive at Calcutta or
Bombay, the larger portion at the former. From the sea the metropolis of
India is reached by the Hoogly River, the most western outlet of the
Ganges," his lordship began. "It is sometimes spelled Hugli. Under this
name, the stream is known sixty-four miles above Calcutta and seventeen
below. Vessels drawing twenty-six feet of water come up to the city; though
the stream, like the Mississippi, is liable to be silted up."
"I see that some of you look at me as though I had used a strange word.
Silt is the deposit of mud, sand, or earth of any kind carried up and down
streams by the tide or other current. But the river engineers here are
constantly removing it; the course is kept open, and the Hoogly pilots are
very skilful. The river has also a bore, though not a great bore, like some
people I know.
"We know the book-agent better than this one," said Scott.
"Some of our rivers in England have bores, though not book-agents; so have
the Seine, the Amazon, and others with broad estuaries. High tides drive a
vast body of water into the wide mouth; and, as the stream is not large
enough to take it in, it piles it up into a ridge, which rolls up the
river. It forms a wall of water in the Hoogly seven feet high, which is
sometimes dangerous to small craft. Enough of the Hoogly.
"Calcutta, by the last census, 1891, had a population of 861,764; but it is
not so large as New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago; and London is the only
larger city in the United Kingdom. It became a town in 1686. After it had
attained considerable importance, in 1756, it was attacked by the Nawab of
Bengal, the king or rajah; and after a siege of two days the place yielded.
The tragedy of the 'Black Hole' followed."
"I have heard of that, but I don't know what it means," said Mrs. Belgrave.
"You observe the large open enclosure at the right of your map of the city,
the esplanade. Within it is Fort William, which has existed nearly two
hundred years. It had a military prison, which has since been called the
'Black Hole.' The nawab caused one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all he
had taken, to be shut up in a room only eighteen feet square, with only two
small windows, both of them obstructed by a veranda. This was but a little
more than two square feet on the floor for each person, so that they could
not stand up without crowding each other. They spent the night there,
pressing together, the heat terrible, enduring the pangs of suffocation. In
the morning all were dead but twenty-three.
"The nawab held the fort for seven months, when it was recaptured by Lord
Clive. Calcutta extends about five miles on the bank of the river, being
about two in breadth. I shall not follow out its history, for you will hear
enough of that as you visit the various localities."
"I used to think Calicut and Calcutta were the same city," said Louis.
"Not at all, though the names of the two may have been derived from the
same source. The name of the great city is from Kali, a Hindu goddess of
whom you heard in Bombay, and cuttah, a temple; and doubtless there was
such a building here. Calicut is on the south-west coast of India, and was
a very rich and populous city when it was visited by Vasco da Gama, who was
the first to double the Cape of Good Hope, in 1498. The cotton cloth,
calico, generally called print, gets its name from this city."
Dinner was brought into the carriages; and the tourists slept in the
afternoon, arriving at Calcutta in the evening. The Great Eastern, one of
the two largest hotels in the city, was prepared to receive them. Here, as
in Bombay and elsewhere, every guest is attended by his own servant. Half a
dozen of them had been retained, but when the omnibuses set them down at
the hotel a hundred more could have been readily procured.
The business of sight-seeing began early the next morning with a visit to
the esplanade, which may be called a park, though it contains a variety of
buildings besides Fort William, which is half a mile in diameter. The
enclosure is a mile and three-quarters in length by about one mile in depth
from the river. The Government House occupies a position next to it, and
they passed it as they entered.
"Whose statue is that--the Duke of Wellington?" asked Louis, as he walked
on one side of Sir Modava, with his mother on the other side.
"Not at all; most of our streets and buildings are named after persons
noted in the history of India," replied the Indian gentleman, laughing.
"That is the statue of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, the first
governor-general of India; and many important events dated from his time,
for he suppressed the suttee and thugging."
"Thugging?" repeated the lady interrogatively.
"You have not been told about it; but I will give you its history when we
have time, for here are the Eden Gardens," replied Sir Modava.
"Not the Garden of Eden?" suggested Mrs. Belgrave.
"Only named for it; but it is a very beautiful garden in English style,
though the trees and plants are, of course, different. It has water enough
for variety; and there is no difficulty at all in getting it, for the city
is hardly above the river at high tide. All there is of the fort you can
see from here."
"But what are those things over the other side of the park?"
"They are all tanks; and, of course, they are to hold water. Each of them
has its name, generally Indian. Now we will walk across to the Chowringhee
Road, where the finest private residences of the city are situated. On our
left is the Government House, which we passed when we came in. It is a fine
building, and it has a large garden of its own."
"But what is it for?" asked the lady.
"It is the residence of the governor-general, generally called the viceroy;
and he has his offices there. Now, if you look beyond Fort William, you
will see the race-course."
"I don't care for that," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose memories of the sport
were anything but pleasant.
"Near it is the presidency jail, and there are two hospitals farther
along."
The party walked along the road to view the residences of the nabobs, and
returned to the hotel, where they seated themselves on the large veranda
overlooking the street. The first thing Louis did was to look at a
thermometer he discovered on a post.
"How hot is it, Louis?" asked his mother.
"It isn't hot at all; it is only 70°."
"The glass varies here from 52° to 100°; but we don't get the latter figure
except in summer," added Sir Modava.
"But you have awful cyclones here, an English lady told me last night,"
said Mrs. Belgrave.
"We do; but we never have them at this season of the year; they come in
May, September, and October, and sometimes in November the belated ones. In
1867 we had one in the latter month which destroyed thirty thousand native
houses; but you know they are built of bamboos and such stuff, and it does
not take much of a breeze to demolish them. Another in June, 1870, did
nearly as much damage."
"I should think the bore would make mischief here," suggested Louis.
"The monsoons here begin in July, and during their time the bore is the
most mischievous. The big wave comes up the river at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. All boats run for the middle of the river, where the billow
does not break against the shore. Ships often part their cables, and knock
themselves to pieces against the walls. Sometimes the bore is twelve feet
high, though not much more than half that generally."
"What are the prices at a hotel like this one, Lord Tremlyn?" asked Dr.
Hawkes.
"Here is the list of prices," replied his lordship, handing him a card
taken from the wall.
"Coffee at six in the morning, breakfast _à la fourchette_ at nine,
tiffin at one, and dinner at seven. Price, Rs. six per day," the doctor
read. "I suppose Rs. means rupees; and that makes it about twelve English
shillings, or three dollars a day, which is not high."
"There are no extras except for wines, liquors, and beer, which none of
your people use," added the viscount. "But you have to pay for your own
attendance; and your servant's pay is from eight to ten rupees a month, or
about a pound."
"Cheap enough!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I have to pay my waiter at home six
pounds a month."
"Now, what is there to be seen in Calcutta?" asked the commander after
breakfast.
"If you wish to see mosques, temples, pagodas"--the viscount began.
"We do not," interposed the captain. "At first those were very interesting;
but we have seen enough of them."
"I supposed so," added Lord Tremlyn. "I have ordered carriages, and to-day
we will take a general view of the city."
This plan was agreeable to the party, and it was carried out. From the
hotel they proceeded to the river. There was a crowd of shipping at anchor,
and at the landing-stages and jetties. Among them Louis was the first to
discover the Guardian-Mother. She was in the middle of the river, off Fort
William. Half a mile below her they saw the Blanche. At the request of the
commander, the carriages went down to the fort, where the passengers all
alighted, and gathered together on the shore. The gentlemen cheered, and
the ladies waved their handkerchiefs.
"I see that Mr. Boulong has painted the ship, and she looks as taut and
snug as a man-of-war," said the commander, who was evidently glad to see
his vessel.
"They are lowering the boats," added Louis; and in a few minutes the barge
and first cutter came up to the shore.
There was a general handshaking with the first officer, in command, and the
boys extended this courtesy to all the crews of the boats, going on board
of them for a few minutes. It was a happy meeting; but it could not be long
continued, and the carriages drove off again.
As he was about to take his place in the landau, Mr. Boulong informed the
commander that he had received a visit from Captain Mazagan. He wanted to
see Captain Ringgold, but did not state his business. The first officer
could not tell whether the visitor knew the Blanche was in the river, for
he had not mentioned her. With the statement that the party would go on
board in two or three days, they parted, and the boats returned to the
ship. The commander had something to think of now; but he came to the
conclusion that the reprobate was not aware of the presence of the Blanche
or her owner.
The carriages followed the shore road till they came to the upper end of
the city, and then turned into the first of the long streets with several
names in different parts, which extends entirely through the town. Near the
esplanade they found the finest shops, and the ladies went into some of
them to see the goods. Then they struck the Circular Road, and drove
entirely around the city.
"This reminds me of Moscow, in some parts, where palaces and shanties are
side by side in the same street," said Captain Ringgold. "There does not
seem to be any aristocratic section, unless that by the esplanade is such."
They saw plenty of mosques, temples, and churches, some of the latter very
fine. They believed they had taken in the whole city. After dinner Lord
Tremlyn invited them to an excursion on board of a steam-yacht the next
day, the use of which was tendered to him by a high official.