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Show IS HINDOO giving nr.y experiences In Calcutta in connection with the founding of the Indian lectureship, it must suffice, bos ever, for me st this time to rwo.ti my appreciation of the nuuu and spirit shown by the Isn educated Hiudoos. SuiA patient attention, such hearty and general responsiveness, such constant courtesy, such Intelligent insight into the best utterances 1 hare been able to offer, such freedom from taking offense at the most pronounced Christian sentiments and convictions, 1 did not expect to find in u quite such large measure. The made at the close of the last lecture was especially gratifying fur the reason that Mrs. Haskell's name and generous deeds were enthusiastically and repeatedly applauded. On every occasion where her name lias been mentioned in my hearing in the maharajah's palace at the various receptions given by the Brahmos in the homes of Mr. P. 0. Mozoomdar and the late Keshub Chundar Hen. in the hall of the London missionary institution and of the general assembly's institution, where the lectures have been given, it has awakened immediate response. The impression seems to be pt present strong in Calcutta that thq I'niver-sit- y of Chicago's lectureship in this city was needed and that Its continuance will be permanently uiieful. It 's well known that Christianity has not made large inroads us yet into ranks of Hindoo society. The most gratifying feature of the India lectureship thus far has been the presence at our meetings of many who have not heretofore present at distincThese are tively Christian lectures. men who are not reached by the evangelistic methods, which are so useful among other classes. Still the educated Bengali Christians whom I have come to know are as refined and pleasant people as one would ever meet. A number of them were invited by Mrs. Maodonald to dine with us, and added to the pleasant company was the Hon. A. N. Bose, a foremost man among the Brahmos, a Cambridge wrangler and a member of the lieutenant-governor- 's council. He listened with much interest to the story which I told of the rise and present greatness of the University of Chicago, and also to my pres- - SOCIETY. SOCIAL FESTIVITIES IN THE CITY OF CALCUTTA, INDIA. non-Chri- Bn Writ f HU KarrpMaa at th Paisas af h Maha aj-- h. of (La Dlgaltarlaa Fraaant aad ot p rial DA VUMi (Calcutta Letter.) ' ALCl'TTA get 1U name from Kali Ghat, the aite of a Kali temple whiob we visited the other morning 1c company with Princl-- e ipa1 Morrison. When the goddesd was cut to pieces one of her fingers deinun-slratio- this spor, and the temple built at this sacred place brings great wealth to the priestfell on ly family who manage it. The shrine is not a cleanly one and very far from attractive. We did not see the famous image of Kali, as the doors were not yet open, but iu another temple we saw one almost equally fine that Is equally horrible. We have also visited with much interest the zoological garden and duly admired the Bengal tigers and the superb collection of Indian reptiles. I have seen also the extremely interesting Jain temples surrounded by gardens which a wealthy Jain opens to his The whole region is a stately pleasure house. The tanks are full of fish, the garden la full of statues, a curious combination of Greek and oriental sculpture. Jain worshipers paint their foreheads with yellow. They are said to be surely becoming Hlndoolzed, and are likely to be absorbed by the most omnlverous of religions. The Jains here are a very wealthy and benevolent part of the population, and their annual procession 1b the most brilliant spectacle of the year. Their kindness to animals Is well known and they have honored me with membership in their society. The weather has been fine, not excessively warm, and I have been able to undergo an amount of work which fellow-believer- st tlu-high- s. Anti-Vivisecti- on ities. Among these were several whe CLIMBING T1IE CLIFFS. had taken their degrees at the university. Nearly all the Bengali ladies wore the Indian costume, which is AN ADVENTUROUS SPORTTHAT beautiful and picturesque. The scene CALLS FOR NERVb. was varied and brilliant, and reminded ue of the receptions given to the deleboa Klrrp aud Inarraaalbla Crag gates to the parliament of religions by bjr Kopr -- Tha Implaaiaul Krqalrrd Mr. and Mrs. A. l Bartlett and Mr. A B'ouiaa Balking llacksanl Down a and Mrs. K. W. Blatchford in 1893. Cliff. The costumes were more picturesque In Uulcutta, but the faiths and nations letter.) represented were more varied in ChiN as 'fit fP cago. ' other things, there The reception lasted three hours. aie degrees; and Of rouree the gracious Hindoo noble1 in this article man could not provide food as a parf deal to propose But of the evening's entertainment. only with the very we had something better fine Hindoo highest form of music, skillful und wonderful Hindoo fiisclnati n g this Hinjugglery and all tbe amenities of 1 refer more hobby. Hr. K. S. Macdonald doo courtesy. to particularly made the address of welcome, afid in or, my reply I spoke of the great privilege more prop e r y, at last given me of standing on the in search or eggs. Boil of India and of bringing a loving Among the moBl distinguished adepts salutation from the young and vigorous in thin difficult and perilous art inwest to the thoughtful east. I describ- appropriately enough one of the ed the hopes and purposes of tbe lec- most Kpular officers In the British tureship on Christianity, and made ref- army- - Lieutenant-Colone- l Willoughby erence to tbe spirit of Mrs. Haskell In Verner. or tbe Rifle Brigade, who is, st Hits moment, a professor of military science at Sandhurst. While stationed at Gibraltar, between 1874 and 1880. Colonel Verner had splendid opportunities for indulging his favorite pastime. "The lowest as to situation - and also the very first eagle's nest I ever took, was that g of an Imperial eagle--- a a stunted was in nest This species. tree, only 20 feet high, in the middle of an almost impenetrable thicket, whieh was surrounded by a large swamp covered with reeds 10 feet high." Here tbe great bird relied for security on the solitude of tha swamp, and the difficulty of access to the tree. Certainly, Colonel Verner would never have reached that nest were It not for the assistance rendered by a couple d of Spanish 'POSTOFFICE, CALCUTTA. who beat down the reeds for him with founding It. I took special pleasure in their poles. The gallant Colonels with the referring to the great past and greater highest nes (as compared was that of mentioned above) conlowest, and the future of India, expressed viction that the best ministry of re- a golden eagle, which took up Its abode In a dizzy crag, 2800 feet above Jimena, ligion lies in the years to come, when in Andalusia. be bound a men shall together into Asked as to the details of his cosmopolitan fraternity. outfit. Colonel Verner said: JOHN HENRY BARROWS. I take with me 180 feet of rope for Alpine rope; 50 feet of Banin In IMZO. bad places; a ball of strong twine Civilization in Benin has clearly ret- with lead weight attached, for comrograded rather than advanced during municating up or down; a nest of tin the last seventy or eighty years. boxes for eggs, carried in a loong Among the few travelers who made creel; dagger, canvas their way to Benin in the earlier years belt (specially made for me by a blueand provisions; of the century was Mr. John King, a jacket); water-bottlieutenant in the Royal Navy, who a hand camera, and a set of instruments packed in a case. visited the place in 1820. The traveler was received In a singular, though To these may be added a 28 foot amicable, manner by the King of Be- rope of pure silk, weighing but a few nin. During the interview, one of the onuces, yet capable of supporting two men. This rope was given to the ColKing's arms was stretched out horiofonel a by tbe late Crown Prince Rudoir and supported by great zontally used it himself ficer, and the nail on one finger of each of Austria, who had chamois-buntin- g In the Tyrol. Whilst to a hand had been suffered to grow shows in illustrations our of One his to that indicate high great length manner tbe a frightful station placed him above the necessity quite startling cliff climbers quite which in positions of labor." The King had at that time find themselves. This dar4,000 wives, but some of these he would commonly Is Mr. C. Kearton, of Elstree, man ing give upon occasion to any subject who Herts. I asked Mr. Kearton to dehad performed exceptional service. scribe his method of making a descent, The practice of making human sacriand this is what he said: Perhaps it fices was uniformly denied by the nawould he better, first of all, if I said tives, and Lieutenant King docs not a word or two about that photo. In it seem to have witnessed any scenes of I am depicted climbing down a cliff bloodshed while he remained in the on tne south coast of Ireland. I am country. The traveler was introduced about fifty feet down, and the cliff was who lived nearly 300 feet above the sea. The also to the in a separate court Just outside the city. photo waa taken by a naturalist friend. like her son the The Before starting on a King, had one of her arms supported expedition, pursued Mr. Kearton, I She entertained first procure a couple of ropes about by an attendant. and the thickness of one's thumb, and In Lieutenant King with kola-ninasked and him other refreshments, length from 200 feet to 300 feet. Next The a crowbar, which I fix firmly in the numerable questions. of Benin was dressed In clothes of European silk, and she wore a lace hat on her head. Altogether, the city, with its wide, straight streets and neat and handsome houses, appears to have made a very favorable impression upon the lieutenant, according to whom Europeans were at the date of his visit still considered as gods by the natives of Benin." We wonder what they j rliff-rlimbiu- g, 1 g. -- tree-nestin- leech-catche- bare-legge- rs, cliff-rllmbi- ng ch field-glasse- ered, 1 carefully dislodge with my feet every loose bit of rock with my reach, so as to avoid a possible shower of rubble and stones (the result of contact with the rope) when below. This is vitally important. At will, I can ait in the girth or sling. As the sound of one's voice is lost when at s depth down the cliff of about fifty feet, another man Is stationed at a point where I can see hint; and it is through his agency that the man at the crowbar recelvra my signals. The nest to be photographed may be found on a fairly accessible ledge, in which case the manipulation of the esmera is easy; but where it is built on a projecting stone or small edge, tremendous difficulties have to be overcome. in such cases two legs of the camera must rest on my body, most ronveniently in tbe belt round my waist. Having fixed up th apparatus I proceed to focus tbe object; thla la tbe most difficult task of all, and one which may last five minutes or an hour, or even longer still, according to circumstances. Then it frequently happens that when everything is ready for tha exposure, one of my legs will slip or my body sway in an aggravating manner, so that the nest will have to be Where a recess in the cliff Is reached in descending or ascending by the ropes, one's body, being insulated, begins to rotate like a goose on a roasting-jack; and the sensation of twirlat the end of a ing round in mid-arope, with the very real possibility of a shower of dislodged stones from above, and In the event of an accident certain death beneath, la anything but pleasant. Remember, one's life Is literally in the hands of the man at the crowbar. On one occasion, just as 1 was disappearing over the cliff, ibis responsible person got Joking with his companion, the signal man, and ha let the roil of rope slip up to the top of the crowbar. A moment more and it would have slipped off altogether, but a horrified yell from me brought the careless fellow to soma sense of duty, just in tints to avoid a catastrophe." Another illustration shows the taking of a raven's nest at T revent, Pembrokeshire. This nest was placed in a deep hollow, which is seen a lktle below tbe climber (Mr. C. D. Head). The great cliffs at this point are unusually steep and lofty, this one In particular projecting sharply from tha main line of cliffs, and having a raging sea on either side. To reach the spot where the rope attendant is seen ir s, le egg-blowi- -- Queen-Mothe- r, cliff-climbin- g, Queen-Mothe- r, ut D1IARMATALLA MOSQUE, CAL CUTTA. Queeu-Molh- the old Indian" deems rather unuBU-a- l. I have averaged two addresses a day, and probably have driven fifty railea to make them. I like the domestic arrangements, which furnish an opportunity for the greatest amount of work. Maruti wakes me at 7 in the morning and brings in the chota hazri, or little breakfast. I thus get two hours before the 9 o'clock breakfast. This interval is usually filled with calls. The Indians call at this time, the Europeans between 12 and 2. Tiffin, or luncheon, la at 2:30 o'clock, tea at 4:30, lectures at 5 and at 6:30, dinner at 8:30. The manners of the Indian people are the moot courteous and They could give pleasant possible. lessons in convaluable Saxon peoples versation and demeanor. I find that the Indians are not pleased with the ordinary ways of the Englishman, who needlessly domineering, is often The Engbrusque and discourteous. of the hearts the not have lish gained In I do this of India. saying people not forget myself, however, that mjiy r.oble Christian missionaries, men and women, have won the deepest affection of their Indian converts and friends. I have had interesting calls from an aged Christian, Mr. H. C. Mlt-rwho has given me a valuable lecture delivered by him on the life of Dr. Duff, one of the greatest of Indian Mr. M liras enthusiasm missionaries. and Christian Scotch preacher the for orator is intense and affectionate. I could write a dozen letters detail Ing most Interesting conversations am! a, en tat Ion of the brighter side of our western city which Mr. Stead purpose- ly ignored in his famous book. I think the most of my readers will be interested in a sketch, however hasty and imperfect, of the reception given me in the palace of the maharajah, the leading nobleman of Calcutta, by representatives of the Hindoo, Mohammedan, Jain, Pars!, Buddhist, Brahmo and Christian communities. The Maharajah Bahadur Sir J. N. Tagore belongs to a historic line, and la an orthodox Hindoo in belief and practice, though his family lost caste several generations ago by involuntarily smelling food which had been cooked by Mohammedans. The palace Is surrounded by many of the poorer buildings and residences of the Hindoo quarter. Across the street from it Is the new palace, in process of erection, which has some of the features of Windsor castle. As we entered the maharajah's residence we passed between Indian soldiers and up the stairway, through an army of servants, to the spacious and splendid drawing-roocarpeted in red and adorned with portraits. Two hundred guests assembled here. The maharajah, who has an intellectual and refined face and very winning manners, received us, assisted by his adopted grandson. Of course no ladles of this Hindoo household were visible, but among the guests were perhaps fifty ladies, either Europeans or Americans or members of the Brshmo and C brisk1an commun red-coat- broad-brimm- er ed think now. of tha Cotta Rlran. According to Henry C. Lowrie, an American engineer, who has recently spent several months in Costa Rica, they have some peculiar customs down there. The towns have no gaols, but murderers are placed in stocks, where they remain until the authorities have time to hang them. The dreadful weapon of the is met everywhere in the country the machete. With it the native can cut his way through tbe densest tropical undrebrush, chop down trees, shave you. open a can of beans, chop off your head, or whittle a toothpick. It Is a straight thin blade, about two and a half inches wide and thirty Inches long. President Rafael Iglesias is a very active and progressive man, and quite a Just before the shrewd politician. election" he jailed the principal leaders of the opposition for pernicious activity and announced himself president. Qneer Custom Spanlsh-Amerl-c- TAKING RAVEN'S NEST AT standing, a narrow WALKING BACKWARDS, ground some distance from the edge of tbe cliff. One rope (the guide rope) Is securely tied to this crowbar, and then held by the man who Is letting me down. Attached to the end are three loops, which are placed round my body and under my legs to prevent me from falling ouL With the camera slung over my back, and the gulde- -' rope In my hand, I deliberately walk backwards over the brink of the cliff, tbe rope being controlled by a man who unwinds it st given signals. On A nail making machine produces as firing my revolver, the eltuatlon of a many nails in a given time as were neat Is at once revealed by the n formerly made by 1,000 men. am I low As birds. of the flight . j sud-de- d ridge of treacherous rock and soil had to ha crossed, and this was barely two feet wide, so that pausing over it was no pleasant task, especially when burdened with steel crowbars, ropes, and other impedimenta. Tha Japaaaaa Alp. The Japanese AlpB" in altitude are that of the Swiss only about mountains, but the magnificent forests which clothe their mighty flanks and the rich and picturesque valleys whlcli lie at their feet give them an individuality and charm which are not surpassed by any other mountain region of the world. Owing to the fact that travel among them is of the roughest description, these wild fastnessses have hitherto remained a charmed circle within a charmed circle." In variety, nothing is wanting, from the richness vegetation to Alpine of snows. Tbe Japanese, as well as thd Europeans, have their climbing clubs, and make much more elaborate arrangements for the comfort and convenience of their members than the Swiss or British clubs. They have system of huts all along their mountain rout, with porters for carrying tired climbers or women. It will be seen from this that the ascent of moat of the peaks is attended with little discomfort and almost no danger. Several of the peaks have a peculiar interest They are regarded as sacred, ami the foreign traveler who climbs there meets sll sorts of pilgrims, and witnesses the most curious of ceremonies. The two most sacred mountains era the famous Fujiyama, which appears so often in the background al Japanese pictures, and Ontake, two-thir- ds sub-tropic- an saddle-shape- TRE-VEN- T. al , |