Their Sign-Boards Are Very Amusing; One
Designating Himself As "Old Jackson," While A Rival, Close At Hand,
Writes "Young Jackson" Upon His Placard; Thus Dividing The Interest,
And Endeavouring To Draw Custom From The More Anciently Established
Firm.
The Portuguese padres form striking and singular groups, being dressed
in long black gowns, fitting tightly to the shape, and descending to
their feet.
They seem to be a numerous class, and I hope shortly
to see the interiors of some of their churches. A very large,
handsome-looking house was pointed out to us by one of the servants of
whom we made the inquiry, as belonging to a Portuguese padre; it
was situated near the cloth bazaar, and I regretted that I could not
obtain a better view of it.
My predilection for exploring the holes and corners of the native town
is not shared by many of the Anglo-Indian residents of Bombay, who
prefer driving to the Esplanade, to hear the band play, or to a place
on the sea-shore called the Breach. I hope, however, to make a tour of
the villages, and to become in time thoroughly acquainted with all the
interesting points in the island, the variety and extent of the rides
and drives rendering them most particularly attractive to a traveller,
who finds something interesting in every change of scene.
I have accomplished a second drive through the coco-nut gardens on the
Girgaum road, a name by which this quarter of the native town is
more commonly known; the view thus obtained only excited a desire to
penetrate farther into the cross-lanes and avenues; but as I do not
ride on horseback, I have little chance of succeeding, since I could
not see much from a palanquin, and taun-jauns, so common in Calcutta,
are scarcely in use here. The more I see of what is called the Native
Town in Bombay, the more satisfied I am of its great superiority
over that of Calcutta; and I gladly make this admission, since I have
found, and still continue to find, so great a falling-off in the style
of the dress, whether it relates to form, material, or cleanliness. I
have lately observed a very handsome turban, which seems worn both by
the Mohammedans and Hindus, of red muslin, with gold borders, which is
an improvement.
A taste for flowers seems universal, plants in pots being continually
to be seen on the ledges of the porticoes and verandahs; these are
sometimes intermingled with less tasteful ornaments, and few things
have struck me as more incongruous than a plaster bust of a modern
English author, perched upon the top of a balustrade over the portico
of a house in the bazaar; mustachios have been painted above the
mouth, the head has been dissevered from the shoulders, and is now
stuck upon one side in the most grotesque manner possible, looking
down with half-tipsy gravity, the attitude and the expression of the
countenance favouring the idea, upon the strange groups thus oddly
brought into juxta-position. The exhibition is a droll one; but it
always gives me a painful feeling: I do not like to see the effigy of
a time-honoured sage abased.
The statue of Lord Cornwallis, on the Esplanade - which, being
surrounded by sculptured animals, not, I think, in good taste,
might be mistaken for Van Amburgh and his beasts - is close to a spot
apparently chosen as a hackney-coach stand, every kind of the inferior
descriptions of native vehicles being to be found there in waiting.
Some of the bullock-carriages have rather a classical air, and
might, with a little brushing up and decoration, emulate the ancient
triumphal car. They are usually dirty and shabby, but occasionally
we see one that makes a good picture. The bullocks that draw it are
milk-white, and have the hanging dewlap, which adds so greatly to the
appearance of the animal; the horns are painted blue, and the forehead
is adorned with a frontlet of large purple glass beads, while bouquets
of flowers are stuck on either side of the head, after the manner of
the rosettes worn by the horses in Europe.
A very small pair of milk-white bullocks, attached to a carriage of
corresponding dimensions, merely containing a seat for two persons,
is a picturesque and convenient vehicle, which will rattle along the
roads at a very good pace. These bullocks usually have bells attached
to their harness, which keep up a perpetual and not disagreeable
jingle. The distances between the European houses are so great,
and the horses able to do so little work, that it seems a pity that
bullocks should not be deemed proper animals to harness to a shigram
belonging to the saib logue: but fashion will not admit the adoption
of so convenient a means of paying morning visits, and thus sparing
the horses for the evening drive.
Great complaints are made about the high price and the inferiority of
the horses purchaseable in Bombay, a place in which the Arab is not
so much esteemed as I had expected. Some difficulty was experienced
in obtaining very fine specimens of this far-famed race for the Queen,
who gave a commission for them. I had the pleasure of seeing four that
are going home in the Paget, destined for her Majesty's stables.
The Imaum of Muscat lately sent a present of horses to Bombay, but
they were not of high caste; those I have mentioned, as intended for
the Queen, being of a much finer breed. They are beautiful creatures,
and are to be put under the care of an English groom, who has the
charge of some English horses purchased in London for a native Parsee
gentleman. From the extent of the Arab stables, and the number of Arab
horse-merchants in Bombay, it would appear easy to have the choice
of the finest specimens; but this is not the case, while various
circumstances have combined to reduce the numbers of native horses,
which were formerly readily procurable.
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