Sir Henry, Accompanied By His Staff, But All In Plain Clothes, Drove
Down The Road In A Barouche, Attended By An Escort Of Cavalry, And
Seemed To Be Much Affected By The Tokens Of Esteem Which He Received
On Every Hand.
He left the shore amidst the waving of handkerchiefs,
and a salute of seventeen guns, and would have been greeted with
hearty cheers, did military discipline allow of such manifestation of
the feelings.
Sights and scenes like these will, of course, always attract numerous
spectators, while on the evenings in which the band plays, there is
a fair excuse for making the Esplanade the object of the drive; but
Bombay affords so many avenues possessing much greater beauty, that
I am always delighted when I can diversify the scene by a visit to
places not nearly so much in request, but which are to me infinitely
more interesting, as developing some charm of nature, or displaying
the habits and manners of the people of the country. With these
views and feelings, I was much pleased at receiving an invitation
to accompany some friends to a fair held in Mahim Wood - that sea of
palm-trees, which I had often looked down upon from Chintapootzlee
Hill with so much pleasure.
The fair was held, as is usual in oriental countries, in honour of
a saint, whose canonized bones rest beneath a tomb apparently of
no great antiquity, but which the people, who are not the best
chronologists in the world, fancy to be of very ancient date. The
name of the celebrated person thus enshrined was Mugdooree Sahib,
a devotee, who added the gift of prophecy to his other high
qualifications, and amongst other things has predicted that, when the
town shall join the wood, Bombay shall be no more. The accomplishment
of what in his days must have appeared very unlikely ever to take
place - namely, the junction of inhabited dwellings with the trees of
Mahim - seems to be in rapid course of fulfilment; the land has been
drained, many portions formerly impassable filled up, and rendered
solid ground, while the houses are extending so fast, that the Burruh
Bazaar will in no very long period, in all probability, extend to
Mahim. Those who attach some faith to the prophecy, yet are unwilling
to believe that evil and not good will befal the "rising presidency,"
are of opinion that some change of name will take place when it shall
be made the seat of the Supreme Government: thus the saint's credit
will be saved, and no misfortune happen to the good town of Bombay.
The superstitious of all persuasions, the Christians perhaps
excepted - though many of the Portuguese Christians have little more
than the name - unite in showing reverence to the shrine of the saint,
while Mugdooree Sahib is held quite as much in estimation by the
Hindus as by the followers of he own corrupted creed, the Mohammedans
of Bombay being by no means orthodox.
Many respectable natives have built houses for themselves at Mahim,
on purpose to have a place for their families during the time of the
fair, while others hire houses or lodgings, for which they will pay
as much as twenty rupees for the few days that it lasts.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 146 of 154
Words from 76202 to 76746
of 80716
