The advantage over my driver, who cannot persuade me that
we have gone forty or sixty miles, when we have not gone more than
half this distance. Moreover, I was able, while travelling from
Delhi to Kottah by the ox-waggon, to observe several camel
equipages, which I fell in with every evening at the same night
station. It is true that I had most excellent oxen, and that the
camels were ordinary; but in this journey, with good camels, I did
not go more than thirty, or at the utmost, thirty-two miles in the
day, and travelled from 4 o'clock in the morning until 6 in the
evening, without any other stoppage than two hours at noon. A camel
which is able to travel eighty miles in a day is an exception to the
general rule, and would scarcely perform such a feat the second or
third time.
19th February. Ranera is an unimportant place. I was here offered
a cow-stall to sleep in. It was indeed kept very clean; but I
preferred sleeping in the open air.
Till a late hour of the night this town was very lively:
processions of men and a number of women and children followed the
noise of the tam-tam, which they accompanied with a wild, howling
song, and proceeded to some tree, under which an image of an idol
was set up.
We had on this day to cross several ranges of low hills. The
uncultivated ground was everywhere scorched up by the sun; {209}
nevertheless, the plantations of poppies, flax, corn, and cotton,
etc., grew very luxuriantly. Water-dykes were let into the fields
on every side, and peasants, with their yokes of oxen, were engaged
in bringing water from the wells and streams. I did not see any
women at work.
In my numerous journeys, I had an opportunity of observing that the
lot of the poorer classes of women in India, in the East, and among
coloured people generally, was not so hard as it is believed to be.
In the towns where Europeans reside, for example, their linen is
washed and prepared by men; it is very seldom that it is necessary
for women to take part in out-door labour; they carry wood, water,
or any other heavy burdens only in their own houses. At harvest
time, indeed, the women are seen in the fields, but there also they
only do the lighter kind of work. If carriages with horses or oxen
are seen, the women and children are always seated upon them, and
the men walk by the side, often laden with bundles. When there are
no beasts of burden with the party, the men carry the children and
baggage. I also never saw a man ill use his wife or child. I
heartily wish that the women of the poorer classes in my own country
were treated with only half the consideration which I saw in all
other parts of the world.
20th February. Udjein on the Seepa, one of the oldest and best
built towns of India, is the capital of the kingdom of Sindhia, with
a population of more than 100,000 souls.
The architecture of this town is quite peculiar: the front walls of
the houses, only one story high, are constructed of wood, and
furnished with large regular window openings in the upper part,
which are securely closed by beams, instead of glass. In the
interior, the apartments are built very lofty and airy: they have
the full height from the level of the ground to the roof, without
the interruption of an intermediate arch. The outer walls and beams
of the houses are painted with a dark brown oil colour, which gave
to the town an indescribably dusky appearance.
Two houses were remarkable for their size and the uncommonly fine
execution of the wood carvings. They contained two stories, and
were very tastefully ornamented with galleries, pillars, friezes,
niches, etc. As far as I could learn from the answers I received to
my questions, and the numerous servants and soldiers walking about
before them, they were the palaces of the aumil and the Queen Widow
of Madhadji-Sindhia.
We passed through the entire town; the streets were broad, the
bazaars very extensive, and so overcrowded with men, that we were
frequently compelled to stop; it happened to be a large market.
Upon such occasions in India, as well as at great festivals and
meetings of people, I never once saw any one intoxicated, although
there was no lack of intoxicating drinks. The men here are
temperate, and restrain themselves, yet without forming into
societies.
Outside the town I found an open verandah, in which I took up my
quarters for the night.
I was here a witness of a deplorable scene, a consequence of an
erroneous religious belief of the otherwise amiable Hindoos. Not
far from the verandah lay a fakir, outstretched upon the earth,
without any signs of life; many of the passers-by stopped, looked at
him, and then went on their way. No one spoke to or helped him.
The poor man had sunk exhausted on this spot, and was no longer
capable of saying to what caste he belonged. I took heart,
approached him, and raised the head-cloth, which had fallen over a
part of his face; two glassy eyes stared at me. I felt the body; it
was stiff and cold. My help came too late.
The next morning the corpse still lay in the same place. I was
informed that they waited to see if any relations would come to
carry it away, if not it would be removed by the pariahs.
21st February. In the afternoon I reached Indor, the capital of the
kingdom of Holkar.
