Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far EastOptic, Oliver
General
Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East
Optic, Oliver
India -- Juvenile literature
The ship's company on each vessel were not left out in the cold; for, while
their officers were at the collation, Baldy Bickling, the second cook,
regaled them from the abundant stores provided for the occasion, of which
notice had been given to Mr. Melanchthon Sage, the chief steward, the day
before. At this point adieus were exchanged, the Guardian-Mother went to
sea, and the Cherub returned to Calcutta. The passengers were tired out and
retired early.
It was an easy run, from Diamond Harbor to Madras in two days and a half,
for the Guardian-Mother. The weather was favorable, and the tourists used
their time in getting rested. The social occasions, the playing of the
band, and the singing in the music-room, made plenty of variety. But the
commander did not lose sight of what he regarded as one of the principal
objects of the long voyage, the instruction of the young people, and
incidentally of the elder ones.
On the forenoon of the second day out the passengers were called together
in Conference Hall, and they were glad to assemble there again. The
temperature was moderate, the sea was in its most cheerful mood, and, after
their long stay on shore, they were glad to be out of sight of land again.
Mr. Gaskette had been busy during the vacation the ship's company had
obtained at Bombay and Calcutta; had made several new maps, one of which
was the shores of the Bay and Sea of Bengal from Calcutta to the southern
point of Ceylon; and he had enlarged a small map of Ceylon, to be used when
the ship arrived at Colombo, or sooner. It was Sir Modava who mounted the
platform for this occasion; and he was received with the heartiest
applause, for he had become even more popular than at first.
"I am to tell you something, not much, about Madras, where we shall arrive
about this time day after to-morrow," the Hindu gentleman began; and the
usual smile which had fascinated all the ladies was on his face. "Madras is
the third city in population of India, or next to Bombay, with 452,518
souls, by the census published last year. It is on the Coromandel coast,
which is nearly the whole of the Madras Presidency. It is nearly the entire
western shore of the Sea of Bengal, including the bay, as the northern part
of it is called in modern times. There is scarcely a single safe harbor for
large vessels.
"I suppose you have often heard the expression, 'in the Carnatic,' for it
is memorable as the scene of the struggle in the last century between
England and France for the supremacy of India. Though there is no state
with that name, nearly the whole coast region south of the Godavery River
retains this name. In fact, there is no little confusion of names in many
parts of India. The country near the Arabian Sea still receives the
designation of the Deccan, from the Kistna River to the Gulf of Cambay on
the north. But this name does not belong to a political division,"
continued the speaker, pointing out every location and river he named.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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