Grand moving diorama of Hindostan : $b displaying the scenery of the Hoogly, the Bhagirathi, and the Ganges, from Fort William, Bengal, to Gangoutri, in the Himalaya — John Shaqi
Grand moving diorama of Hindostan : $b displaying the scenery of the Hoogly, the Bhagirathi, and the Ganges, from Fort William, Bengal, to Gangoutri, in the HimalayaParlby, Fanny Parkes
History
Grand moving diorama of Hindostan : $b displaying the scenery of the Hoogly, the Bhagirathi, and the Ganges, from Fort William, Bengal, to Gangoutri, in the Himalaya
Parlby, Fanny Parkes
India -- Description and travel; Panoramas -- England -- London -- History -- 19th century
The Governor-General having come up the river in his yacht, the
_Sona-makhī_, towed by a steamer, is represented as quitting the vessel
to land at Barrackpore. The troops are drawn out awaiting his arrival;
the elephants are ready to convey him to the house; the aid-de-camps are
in attendance; and each of their horses is held by a _sāīs_, or groom,
who carries in his hand a _chaurī_, to keep flies from the animal.
In the back-ground is a _shutur-sawār_, a man armed, and mounted on a
camel, for the purpose of carrying messages express. This animal, of a
much lighter description than the camel of burthen, can trot exceedingly
fast, and will go from sixty to eighty miles a day, without distress:
the pace is very rough, and the riders are not considered long lived.
The camel’s neck is ornamented with small brass bells—a common appendage
to couriers in many countries: it is also adorned with blue beads,
cowrie shells, and gaily-coloured cloth and tassels: a small piece of
wood is inserted in the animal’s nostrils, to which is attached a thin
cord, by which it is guided.
The Mausoleum in the Park, of the Corinthian order, to the left of the
Government House, was erected by Lord Minto, at his own cost, to
commemorate the names of the officers who fell at Java and the
Mauritius.
THE TRAVELLER’S PALM.
Some cows and a buffalo are beneath a _pīpal_ tree in the park. On the
bank is the _sarput_, or _sirkī_, high jungle-grass that often rises to
the height of sixteen feet; the bloom waves gracefully, bending to the
wind, and elegantly recovers its position.
The next is the castor-oil plant (ricinus communis), much cultivated in
Bengal; the oil extracted from the seeds being used medicinally, as well
as for burning in lamps.
The tree with the broad and singular leaves is called the Traveller’s
Palm: if a knife is stuck into the stem a pure water gushes out. It
grows in the most sandy tracts where no water is to be found; hence it
is called the Traveller’s Palm. Dr. Wallich mentioned this circumstance,
and at the same time he struck his knife into the tree, of which the one
before you is a portrait.
The cart is the common _hackerī_ of the country, and the natives
belonging to it are asleep beneath it; a _chadda_, or cloth, is drawn
over their heads to protect them from the musquitoes, and their slippers
are laid on one side.
The Muhammadan Fakīr, a religious mendicant, in front of the group, is a
picturesque personage; he wanders over the country, and supports himself
on alms.
PLASSEY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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