'Up the Country': Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of IndiaEden, Emily
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'Up the Country': Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India
Eden, Emily
Eden, Emily, 1797-1869 -- Correspondence; India -- Description and travel
The review was picturesque, but rather tiresome; however, I did not much
care, for I changed places with E., and got a quiet corner from which I
could sketch Runjeet. I was on his blind side, but they said he found it
out, and begged I might not be interrupted. One of his native painters
was sketching G., and if my drawing looked as odd to him as his did to
me, he must have formed a mean idea of the arts in England. They put
full eyes into a profile, and give hardly any shade. They paint their
own people with European complexions, from coxcombry, so that ours are a
great puzzle to them, because we are so white. They had given G. light
red hair. I made a great addition to my stock of curiosities yesterday
in an agate dagger and cup, and I had a great miss this morning of some
trays and cups japanned in Cashmere. A man brought them to my tent, and
I would not buy them because it was Sunday; upon which W. O., who does
not keep the Sunday so well as I do, immediately snapped them up. This
place is full of Cashmerees. G., and the camp in general, went across
the river to see the ruins of Noorjhem's tomb. I went with X. to an
enamelled mosque in the city, which must have been splendid in the
Mussulman days, but the Sikhs keep up nothing of that sort. However, it
is still very beautiful, and would have been charming sketching, but the
crowd was so enormous the guards were of no use. It is not an uncivil
crowd, all things considered--we merely threw them one and all into
genuine fits of laughter; but X., who understands their language, says
they did not say anything meant for impertinence, only they had never
seen a European woman before, and 'what an odd thing it was to be so
white!' And then my Leghorn bonnet was a great subject of wonder and
dispute.
CHAPTER XXX.
Monday, Dec. 24, 1838.
The Maharajah is ill--he has cold and fever--so all parties, &c., are
put off. We were to have visited his wives to-day, and to have had great
illuminations at the palace; but as it is, we have passed a quiet
comfortable day. We sent word to Shere Singh that Christmas-eve was one
of our great festivals, and that we could not be disturbed to-day or
to-morrow; and we have been quite alone this evening.
Christmas Day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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