As I Lose
No Opportunity Whatever Of Looking Into The Interiors Of The Native
Houses, I Have Been Often Surprised
To see one of these lamps
suspended in a very mean apartment of a cottage, boasting few other
articles of
Furniture, which, nevertheless, in consequence of its
cleanliness, and the excellence of the light afforded, possessed
an air of comfort. In fact, many of the houses, whose exteriors are
anything but promising, are very well fitted up in the inside; many
of the apartments are panelled with wood, handsomely carved, and have
ceilings and floors of the same, either painted of a dark colour, or
highly polished. In the evening, the windows being all open, and the
lamps lighted, a foil view may be obtained of these apartments.
Many of the houses appear to be kept entirely for show, since in
all my peregrinations I have never seen any human being in the upper
chambers, although illuminated every night. In others, there can be
no doubt concerning the fact of their having inhabitants, since the
owners do not scruple to go to bed with the windows open and the lamps
burning, not disturbed in their repose by the certainty of being seen
by every passer-by, or by the noise and bustle of the street.
The bazaar ends at the commencement of the Esplanade, in a large
building, wooden-fronted, of a circular form, and not unhandsome,
which is decorated with a flag upon the roof, and is called "The
Sailors' Home." Its verandahs and open windows often display our
jovial tars enjoying themselves in an asylum which, though evil has
been spoken against it, is said to be well-conducted, and to prevent a
very thoughtless class of persons from falling into worse hands.
The native town extends considerably on either side of the principal
avenue, one road leading through the coco-nut gardens, presenting a
great variety of very interesting features; that to the left is more
densely crowded, there being a large and well-frequented cloth bazaar,
besides a vast number of shops and native houses, apparently of
considerable importance. Here the indications shown of wealth and
industry are exceedingly gratifying to an eye delighting in the sight
of a happy and flourishing population. There are considerable spaces
of ground between these leading thoroughfares, which, by occasional
peeps down intersecting lanes, seem to be covered with a huddled
confusion of buildings, and, until the improvements which have
recently taken place, the whole of the town seems to have been nearly
in the same state.
The processes of widening, draining, pulling down, and rebuilding,
appear to have been carried on very extensively; and though much,
perhaps, remains to be done in the back settlements, where buffaloes
may be seen wading through the stagnant pools, the eye is seldom
offended, or the other senses disagreeably assailed, in passing
through this populous district. The season is, however, so favourable,
the heat being tempered by cool airs, which render the sunshine
endurable, that Bombay, under its present aspect, may be very
different from the Bombay of the rains or of the very hot weather. The
continual palm-trees, which, shooting up in all directions, add grace
and beauty to every scene, must form terrible receptacles for malaria;
the fog and mist are said to cling to their branches and hang round
them like a cloud, when dispersed by sun or wind elsewhere; the very
idea suggesting fever and ague.
Though, as I have before remarked, the contrast between the muslined
millions of Bengal and the less tastefully clad populace of Bombay is
unfavourable, still the crowds that fill the streets here are animated
and picturesque. There is a great display of the liveliest colours,
the turbans being frequently of the brightest of yellows, crimsons, or
greens.
The number of vehicles employed is quite extraordinary, those of the
merely respectable classes being chiefly bullock-carts; these are of
various descriptions, the greater number being of an oblong square,
and furnished with seats across (after the fashion of our taxed
carts), in which twelve persons, including women and children, are
frequently accommodated. It is most amusing to see the quantity of
heads squeezed close together in a vehicle of this kind, and the
various contrivances resorted to in order to accommodate a more than
sufficient number of personages in other conveyances, not so well
calculated to hold them. Four in a buggy is a common complement, and
six or nine persons will cram themselves into so small a space, that
you wonder how the vehicle can possibly contain the bodies of all the
heads seen looking out of it. The carts are chiefly open, but there
are a few covered rhuts, the conveyances probably of rich Hindu or
Mohamedan ladies, who do not content themselves, like the Parsees,
with merely covering their heads with the veil.
Young Parsee women of the better class are frequently to be seen in
carriages with their male relations, nor do they object to appear
publicly in the streets following wedding processions. They are the
only well-dressed or nice-looking women who drive or walk about the
streets or roads. The lower classes of females in Bombay are the most
unprepossessing people I ever saw. In Bengal, the saree, though
rather too scanty, is a graceful costume, and at a little distance
appears to be a modest covering. Here it is worn very differently, and
without the slightest attempt at delicacy or grace, the drapery being
in itself insufficient, and rendered more offensive by the method of
its arrangement.
The Parsee women are, generally speaking, of fair complexions, with
small features, and a very sweet expression of countenance; many
of them are exceedingly pretty, and they all dress gracefully and
becomingly. Very respectable females of this class are to be seen
walking about, showing by their conduct that propriety of behaviour
does not consist in seclusion, or the concealment of the face.
There is an innate delicacy and refinement about Parsee women which
commands respect, and their value is known and acknowledged by
their male relatives, who treat them with a degree of deference and
consideration which is highly creditable to both parties.
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