'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
In the afternoon we went to see the Emaunberra and Rooma Durwanee, two
of the most magnificent native buildings I have seen yet. About a week
of hard sketching would have been really pleasant amongst them, and we
had only half-an-hour. However, we saw a great deal for the time, and we
are uncommonly lucky in our weather. It is just right, a sort of spring
afternoon; very pleasant.
Friday morning we set off in great state to see Mr. B. (who has come in
G.'s place); meet the Prince of Lucknow. It was much the same meeting as
that at Cawnpore; but the prince gave us afterwards a breakfast in the
palace, which we wanted to see very much, and which was quite as
_Arabian-Nightish_ as I meant it to be.
The throne is gold, with its canopy and umbrella and pillars covered
with cloth of gold, embroidered in pearls and small rubies. Our fat
friend the prince was dressed to match his throne. All his brothers,
twenty at least, appeared too--rather ill-conditioned young gentlemen;
and there were jugglers and nautch-girls and musicians, all working at
their vocations during breakfast.
The late king drank himself to death about six months ago; and then
there was a sort of revolution conducted by Colonel L. (who was nearly
killed in this palace), by which the present king was placed on the
throne; so these are early days for acting royalty. Mr. B. went in to
the old king, who is nearly bedridden, and he said he was quite affected
by the old man. He translated to him G.'s letter, in which G. said how
much he had been pleased with his heir-apparent's manner, and the old
king looked up, and held out his hand to his son, who rose and salaamed
down to the ground three times. Mr. B., who is almost a native in
language, and knows them thoroughly, said he was quite touched; it is so
seldom natives show any emotion of that kind.
There was a fight of wild beasts after breakfast, elephants,
rhinoceroses, rams, &c., but we excused ourselves, as there often are
accidents at these fights. The gentlemen all went, and so did Giles, and
they were quite delighted, and said we ought to have seen it.
In the afternoon we went to see the king's yacht, which he had decked
out for us, and then his garden. Such a place! the only residence I have
coveted in India. Don't you remember where in the 'Arabian Nights,'
Zobeide bets her 'garden of delights' against the Caliph's 'palace of
pictures?' I am sure this was 'the garden of delights!'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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