The New York Herald Newspaper, March 24, 1879, Page 3

AROUND THE WORLD. With General Grant Indian Journey. ——_e-— -- RBD SBA AND INDIAN OCEAN, Cordial Reception of the Ex-Presi- . dent at Bombay, —_—-—_. GUESTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. Fetod by Parsess and Natives-=-A Picnic in the Blephanta Caves. menmretannrerencere LIFE IN THE BUNGALOWS on His Bomaay, Feb. 17, 1879, There were lazy head winds in the Red Sea which kept the Venetia lagging on her way. We should have reached Aden on the 5th of February, and many plans were arranged for excursions. But when the sun went down the report was that we ghould reach Aden and be on our way into the Indian Ocean almost before it rose again. Aden juts into the mouth of the Red Sea, commanding the entrance. It was taken by the British in 1838, as a part of the English policy of dotting the ‘world with guns and garrisons. The policy of so girdling the world isa peculiar one, irritating to foreign governments and an expense and trouble to England. But if you turn around your globe you will find England standing sentinel on every conti- nent. She watches France from Guernsey ; she holds Gibraltar in spite of Spain, Heliogoland is her sentry post over Germany; from Malta she observes Italy and the African coast, and now she takes Cyprus, from which she can watch Egypt, tho Bosphorus and Syria. In America she holds the Bahamas and Bermudas for no other’ rea- eon than to keep an eye on the United States. The occupation of the Bahamas by the English during our war cost us s great sum of money. The islands became a base of supplies for the Southern Confederacy. Ihave often wondered what England would have said if positions had been reversed—if she had been in a war for her existence and we had used the Isle of Man to supply arms and food to her enemy. But the policy is an imperial one, and, I suppose, has its uses. Aden isa chain in the line of posts, and in looking upon its rocky bosom and barren sides you see the flag of England and know that you have reached the first outpost of the Empire of Hindostan. THE SENTINEL OF THE RED SEA. Aden is 8 rock, thrown up in volcanic times, in area five square miles, with a population of 22,000. ‘There is # garrison, and the forts are manned with heavy guns. The government is martial law, tem- gered with bribery. The British pay the native ehiefs snnual tribute money to behave themselves. Aden is a sort of gateway to the Red Sea and the {ndian Ocean, and the regulations of the British government in reference to commerce are stringent “and would scarcely be tolerated on the coasts of a stronger Power than Arabia. Every vessel carrying more than a certain number of passengers must stop at Aden. The nominal reason is to obtain @ clean bill of health. Tne real reason is that it enables the government to keep a tlose scrutiny upon all that is doing in tho Indian waters. It also adds to the revenues of Aden, for » every vessel that stops sends money om shore, and thus the fort, while securing @ most important posi- tion, while commanding the Red Sea and making it almost a British lake, supports itself. I have ob_ served in studying the growth of the British Empire that the self-supporting principle is always encour- aged, The British give good government and make the governed ones pay the bills, with ® little over for home revenues when possible. About three in the morning of February 6 the en. gines stopped and we knew by the unearthly noises attending the taking in of coal that we were at Aden. The iron pipe for conveying the coal ran through the cabin of Colonel Grant and myself, and the noise made sleep impossible. I went on deck and found Mr. Borie ready to go on shore as soon as the sun *rose, None of the others had appeared, and but for the noise we might as well have remained in our _ berths; for there was a rolling, splashing, uncom- fortable sea, and all we could see of tho shore were the moving lights of sentinel posts and the shadow of the hill. Those of us who had improved our time on the journey, and had written letters, sent them on shore, and not without a feeling of sentiment at seeing them go, for it seemed a fare- well to our own world, that we were leaving Europe and America and passing into the opening door of Indian civilization. As the morning came over the wea and the darkness turned into gray the passengers came on deck, the General appear- ing about sunrise. The proposal to go ashore ‘was vetoed on account of tlie sca, the early hour and the fact that we were to sail at eight. The inhabitants of the island were hospitable and came out to sce us, paddling little cigar-shapod, feather- . like canoes, which danced about on the waves. There were several races among them, and the quaint blending of character and costume interested us, especially as it was our first glimpse of the strange contrasts and developments of the Indian world. THE INDIAN OCEAN. At Aden we touched on onr world long enough to hear of the resignation of Marshal MacMahon and the change in the French Republic. It was just a touch of news, but it gave us a theme for talk, and when you haves week of eea life before you any theme is a weleome one. On the morning of Feb- ruary 6,;"about eight, the last Somali swimmer was tossed over the side of the vessel into the water; the last pedier in feathers was hustled down the gangway; the Parsecs took s sad leave of their friend, who looked 0 dismal farewell, the engines moved and wo turned our course toward India. It was an hour or two be- fore we lost sight of Aden, aud all the afternoon there ‘wore bits of the Arabian coast coming and going on the horizon. To our north was Arabia, and our course was northeast. If you look at the map you will see that the journey from Suez to Bombay is like going down one side of ® triangle anl up the other side. Aden fe about the twelfth of a paralic! north, and om. bey about the aighteenth, coumanently in passing Aden we touched the southernmost station of our In- dian trip. Wo had been told to expect somethin sovere in tho way of weather at Aden; that we woul: , bake, or burn, or broitin the India Ocean; that it would be wo warm that the vessel would have to vorne engines and go backward to make a current of air. All ot these prophecies failed. Our whole jour- be | from ee eee, hi Ta a on. ea, hme #hip as a gone! Ing scarcely rolling. We spen' most of our timo on deck in conversation with our English » With whom we became closely uc- quainted, and among whom wo tound high intellt- gence and courtesy. it was a good ee te of studying the character of the men whom England sends out to rule India, seemed to have some- thing of the American, ‘was less of tho reserve of ba rd Sy, wi imei Tae Sete | erally; more of our Noss An Sony and knowledge of the world. ARRIVAL IN BOMNAY, At noon on February 12 our postion was latitude 18 deg. 06 min, north, 1 tude 69 deg. 22 min. cast. We were scudding along at eleven knots an hour, and in the morning would see Bombay, wea became w dead calin, and the morning bronght with ita purple haze, which flushed the horizon, and it was efter & timo and by shading the cyes from we could manage that to trace tho ebor tg he - Lope that the pre flags, and at the wharf ‘wae large cow ie Batives, . As we passed the English ebip 8 boat came alongside with an officer represent. Ang Admiral Corbett, welcoming tho Genoral to NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, MARCH 24, 1879.-TRIPLE SHEET. India. Ina few minutes came another boat bearii Captain Frith, the oes aid to Sir Richar Temple, Governor of the idency of Bombay. Captain Frith bore a letter from the Governor wel the General to Bombay and offering him the use of the Government House at Malabar Point. Captain Frith expressed the of Sir Richard tal that he could not be in Bom! to meet General Grant, but duties connected with the Afghan war kept bim in Sind. The Consul, Mr. Farnham, also came with a delegation of American residents and welcomed the General and party. LANDING IN INDIA, At nine o'clock in the morning the last farewells were spoken, we took our leave of the many kind and pleasant friends we had made on the Venetia, and went on board the governinent yacht. - Our jening was atthe Apollo Bunder—the spot where the of Wales landed, The tides in the harbor are high, and there were stone steps over which the sea hal been washing, As we drow neur the shore there was an immense crowd lining the wharf and a company of Bombay volunteers in line. As the Gen- eral ascended the steps he was met by Brigadier Gen- eral Aitcheson, commanding the forces; sir Francis Souter, Commissioner of Police; Mr. Grant, the Muni- cipal Commissioner, and Colonel Sexton, command- ing the Bombay volunteers, all of whom gave him ry Beant welcome to India, The volunteers presented arms, the band played our national air, and the Gen- eral, amid loud cheers from the Europeans present, walked slowly with uncovered. head to tho stzte car- riage. Accompanied by Captain Frith, who repre- sented the Governor, and attended by an escort of native cavalry, the General and party made off to Malabar Point. GENERAL GRANT'S BOMDAY RESIDENCE. Our home in Bombay is at the Government House, on Malabar Point, in the suburbs of the city. Mal- abar Point was in’other days a holy place of the Hin- ss. Here was a temple, and it waa that if those who sinned made a pilgrimage to the rocks there would be expiation or regeneration of soul. ‘The Portuguese who came to India were break- ers of images, who believed that the religion of Christ was best served by the destruction of the pagan tem- ples. Among the temples which were subjected to their pious zeul was one on Malabar Point, There are only the ruins remaining, and masses of rock, enrious inscriptions, lie on the hillside, “Malabar Point is‘ an of the island of Bombay jutting out into the Indian Ocean, Where the bluff overlooks the waters it is 100 feet high, This remnant of the rock has been rescued from the sea and storm and decorated with trees and rubbery, the mango andthe palm. Overlooking the sea is. battery with five large guns, shining and black, looking out upon the ocean and keeping watch over the Empire of England. It is difficult to describe a residence like Government House on Malabar Point. Architecture is simply a-battle with the sun. The house is a group of houses. As you drive in the grounds throngh stone gates that remind you of the porter’s lodges at some stately Englixh mansions you pass rong! an avenne of mango trees, past beds of flowers Shiro wing Be their delicate fragrance on the warm morning air, You come toaone storied house surrounded with spacious verandas., There is a wide state entrance covered with rod cloth.’ A guard’ is at the foot, # mative guard wearing the English ‘scarlet, on his ders the number ii "at ing the regiment. You ‘up the stairs, a line of servants on either side. ; servants are m- medans; they wear long scarlet gowns, with whito turbans; on the breast is a belt with an imperial crown for an escutcheon, ‘They salute you with the graye, submissive grave ‘ot the East, touching the forehead and Ging low the head, in token’ of welcome and duty. You enter a hall and pass between two rooms-—large, hig, decorated in blue and white, and look out upon the dens below, the sea beyond and the towers of oem One of these rooms is the state dining room, large enough to dine fifty people. Tbe other is the state drawing room. This housc is only used tor ceremonics, tor meals and reveptions. THE SLEKPING AND DWELLING ROOMS, Yon pass for 100 paces under a covered way over a path made of cement and stone, through flower beds and palm trees, and come to another house. Here are the principal bedrooms and private cha:n- Vers. This also is one story high and runs down to the sea, so that you can stand on a balcony and throw a biscuit into the white surf as it combs the shore, These are the apartments assigned to General Grant and his wife. There are drawing rooms, ante- rooms, chambers, the walls high, the tloors covered with rugs and cool matting. As you pass in ser- who are sitting crouched around on the floors, \pand bend the head. You note a little group of shoes at the door and learn that in the cus- tom requires those in service to unslipper them- selves before entering the house of a master. Another hundred paces and you come to another house, with wide verandas, somewhat larger than the General's. These are the guest chambers, and here. part of our party reside. Still further on is nother house, and here the writer finds a home, and as he sits at the table writing these lines he looks out of the o door, shaded by a palm tree, and sees the white surf as it breaks over the rocks, and hears its drowsy, moaning, unending roar. AN INDIAN BUNGALOW. I look out of the window aud see a tall flagstaff with a stone bave. From this staff the flag of England floats when the Governor is home. a house is @ series of rooms arched over with high walls, “The chamber in which I write i ble working room, with many windows and easy cbsirs. The room adjoining it a bedchamber. Other rooms complete suite, and from my cham- ber wittdow I cun™' ‘ott on "the sea, on the em- brasured guns and watch the coming and going of the tides. You note that the builders of this house had enly one idea—to tight the sun. It is now the coolest winter weather, remarkably cool for Bom- I bay. Every window and every door is open, and even my summer garments are warm, and when: weary with the heat I throw down the pen and walk out under the palm trees, and look at the surf and woo the breezes that come over the seas from Persia, and throw myself upon the lounge and dip into one of the books piled about—books about Indian his- tory, religion, caste—which I have found in tho library and in which I am trying to know something of this ancient and wonderful land. EUROPEAN LIFE IN INDIA. So far as beauty is concerned—beauty of an Indian character with as much comfort as ia possible in-Hindostan—nothing conld be more attractive than our home on Malabar Point. We are the guests of the Governor, and the honors of his house are done by Captain Frith and Captain Radcliffe, of the army, two accomplished young officers, the last representa- tives of the lust type of the English soldier and gentleman. We take our meals in the state dining room, and when dinner is over we stroll over’ to the General’s bungalow and sit with him on the veranda looking out on the sea—sit late into the night, talking aboat India, and home, and all the strange phases of this civilization. Mrs, Grant seems to enjoy every mo- inent of the visit, more expecially as we are to have a week's mail on Wednesday, and the steamer never breaks its word. Mr. Borie is in fine spirits and health, all things considered, and has surprised us in the virtue of early rising. All manner of plans are proposed to induce Mr. Borie to tnrow lustre upon the expedition by destroying a tiger and carry- ing home atrophy ot his prowess to Philadelphia, but he steadily declines these importunities, taking the high minded ground that he haa never had o misunderstanding witha tiger in his life, and does not propose now to cultivate the resentments of the race. THE NOVELTIES OF THE COUNTRY. The attentions paid to the General and his party by the people of Bombay have been so marked and continuous that most of our tyme has been taken up in receiving and acknowledging them. it most interests us, Coming fresh from Europe, is the entire ‘no’ of the scene, the way of living, the strangu manners and customs. All your impressions of India, gathered trom the scattered reading of busy days at home, are vagte. Somehow you associate India with your ideas of pageantry. The history of the country has been written in such glowing colors, you have read Oriental poems, you have fallen under ‘the captivating rhetoric of Macaulay, you look tor nature in a luxuriant form, for splendor and orna- ment, for bazaars Jodan 1 gems and gold, for crowded highways, wi elephants slowly plod- ding their way along. My first thought was to inquire for the Cat, Juggernaut, whieh eocupies some suth place in yonr mind aso un show. Thorcfore, when bid look nyon Indta—India as seen in this her greatest city—you are surprised to find it sll so hard and baked and brown. You miss the greenness of field and hill- side. You see a people who have nothing in common with any race you know. ‘There are so many types, eurk and varying, that your impressions are be- wildering and indeti Leuppose in time, as we go into the country, and know it, we shall see that this'civilization nas lines of harmony like what wo left behind us; that there are reasons for all the odd things we seo, just as there are reasons for many odd things in America, and that Indian civilization even now, when its glory has irted—its mightiest States are mere appenc of the British Empire— when day efter day it ben nd crumbles under the stern hand and coll brain of the Saxon, is rich in malities which have for ages excited 4 the wonder of the world, SERVANTS IN INDIA. Indian life, however, as far as Lean see it, is simply @ life at Government House on Malabar Point. What you note in the arrangement of a housd like this is the number of servants necessary to its order. There is a minute division of labor and a profusion of laborers. yPbegan this paragraph it was my intention to say how many servants waited on me for instance in my own modest bungalow. But the ealewlation is beyond me. At my door there is always one in waiting, a comely, olive-tinted fellow, with © melting dark eye. If I movo across the room he follows with noiséless step to anticipate my wishes. If I sit down to read or write Lam conscious of a presence as of a shadow, and I look wp and see him at my shoul- der or looking in at the window awaiting a sum- mons, If I look out of my bedchamber window toward the ocean I seo below another native in a blue gown witha yellow turban. Hoe wears a witha number. He is OF preston and guards the rear of the bungalow. If I venture soross tho road to look in upon some of my friends a servant comes out of the shade of the tree with an umbrella, His duty is to keop off the sun. You cannot pass (rom house to house without a procession forming around you. CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE GENERAL. The General strolled over a few minutes ago with some letters for the post, and as I saw him coming it was a small procession—a scarlet servant running ahead to announce him, other scarlet servants in train. If you go out at night toward the Govern- ment House for dinner, one in scarlet stands up from < the lessons and the ambition au unger » treo wit lantern and pilots you over a road as clearly 1 “las your own door sill, In the ly mornin, you float from the land of area! into the land of your first con sciousness is of @ presence leaning over ur couch, with coffee or fruit or some intimation of morning. If you go driving, servants in scarlet cluster about your carriege, and in the General's ‘house of Mr. Delmonico. case there is always a guard of native horsemen. Ir you could talk with your natives you mixht soine curious information. But they know no Eng- lish, and your only method is pantomime. This constant pate. curious 7 at fa wap en ape eager Americans tang! - selves in most of the offices of life, op- pressive. But there is no help for it, I went into Mr, Borie’s room last evening, and found him wite disconsolate over a native who was creeping around him, tearing his buttons and trying to put him in order. ‘Mr. Borie in every key aud intonation was trying to tell the native that he did not waut him, that he could manage his but- tons unaided, I tried to help pim out, but my knowledge of the dialect was scarcely comprehensive enough to help a friend in anemergency. There was no resource but to bow to fate. In the evening, thanks to tho offices of Captain added to his know! of tongues the Hindostan ae for ‘let me * Since then there has m comparative per “TIGER BALL ID COBRA CASTLE. Borie's bungalow. You see that forty years ago this Malabar point was a jungle, and sportsmen came here and shot tigers among these very rocks, where we stroll about in the cool of the evenin, our cigars and looking down upon the tumbling surt. My own bungalow is called Cobra Castle, I can- not imagino what gruesome fancy led to that name. I am afraid it was the Colonel, fertile inepithet. After abe Seer, the cubra is the common enemy of man in india. human being has ever recovered. ‘he government has taken steps to extinguish the cobra. It his offered a targe reward to any one who will discover aremedy forthe bitc, The most gifted doctors in England, men as eminent as Sir Joseph Fayror and Dr. Laseder Brunton have been at work for ycurs to discover some remedy for the poison. Bontities are paid to the natives for every snake killed. But here comes in an old superstition, as in the case of the tiger, the superstition that the snake also is a sacred animal. One of the strango fancies of the Hindoo is that gods should be wor- shipped not alone because of the good they can do, but of the evil. Worship, therefore, is often a means of propitiation, and the tiger and cobra, as the most deadly of anim: the representatives of the most fatal intinences, are protected and revered. The re- sult of this is that the native does not sustain the government in its efforts to extirpate animals who, according to statistics, take nearly twenty thousand lives a year. If a cordial support fio given by the people there would not in ten years @ tiger or acobra in India. They would as scarce as wolves in France. The fact that my bungalow is apart by itself, near the | sea, overlooking the rocks, and opento invasion, led to its being called Cobra Castle. But Iam bound to say thatI have seen no animal within its walle but a harmless lizard, about six inches long, which curled itself under one of the arches and clung there in a torpid condition. INDIAN SUNSHINE. There is some comfort in knowing that the winter is not the season for the active participation of the cobra in the duties of life. He comex out under the influence of summer suns and the rain, As it is, I suppose there is as much danger in our bungalows from wild and poisonous animals as in the New York We live in sumptuons fashion, There is the ever present sea, the shading trees, the walks, tlie perfume of the flowers scenting the air—the beautiful bay, which reminds you ot Naples. In the carly morning and the evening you are permitted to go out and rde or stroll. When the sun is up you must remainin doors. We have had our own experiences of the sun at home, and you cannot understand the terror which he in- spires in India. An hour or two ago the Colonel came into my bungalow, snd as nga he passed to his own Istrolled with him, perhaps a hundred paces, without putting on my helmet. One of our friends of the staff, who happened to be at the door, admonished me in the gravest manner of the danger that I had incurred. ‘I would not,” he said, ‘have done that for a thousand rupees. You have no idea how treacherous the sun is here. Even when the breeze is blowing you must not even for an instant allow your head’ to be uncovered. The consequences may attend you through lite.” This morning the General went out on horseback for a spin through the country, accompanied by Sir Fran- cis Souter, Captain Frith and Colonel Grant. Seven was the hour named—“becanse,”’ said Sir Francis, “we must be home before nine. In India we dare not trifle with the sun.”” CEREMONIES AND ENTERTAINMENTS, ‘The mail leaves this afternoon tor sm sage and I find that I have much to say about Bom! and the General's stay, On Friday evening he visited the ball of the Volunteer Corps and was received by Colonel Sexton. The ballroom was profusely deco- rated with flogs—the American flag predominating. On Saturday, at two, he visited Dossabhoy Merwanjec, a Parsee merchant. The reception was most cordial, the ladies of the family a ehermeng ¢ the General and party with wreaths of jessumine flowers. In the al- ternoon he drove to the Bycuilla Club, lunched and looked at the races. In the evening there was a state dinner at the Government House, with forty-eight guests. ‘The government band played during dinner. member of Council, Hon. James Gibbs, who rep- resents the Governor, was in thechair. At the close of the diuner he proposed the health of the General, who arose amid loud cheering, seid that’ he was now carrying out a wish he had long entertained of visiting ludia and the countries of the ancient world. His recep- tion in Bombay had been moet gratifying. ‘Phe cor- diulity of the people, the princely hospitality of the Governor, the kindness of the members ot the house- hold, all combined to make him feel the sincerity of the welcome. It was only a continuance of the friendliness he had met in Europe, and which was especially gratetul to him because it indicated a friendly feeling toward his own country. In this spirit be accepted, it, for he ki of nothing that would go further toward insurin; peace to all nations, and with peace the bie sings o} civilization, than a perfect understanding between Englishmen and Americans, the great English speak- ing nations of the world, The General said he hoped he might see his hosts in America, He would be most happy to meet them andreturn the hospitality he had received. He was sorry he could not see Sir Richard Temple, the Governor of Bombay, of whom he had heard agreat deal and whom he was anxious to meet. But he would ask them to join with him in drinking the health of the Governor. This senti- ment was drunk with all the honors. The dinner was finely served, and after dinner the (ien- eral and guests strolled about on the eres | the | smoking or chatting, looking out on calm and murmuring ocean that rolled at their feet and the lights of tne city beyond. ‘There was a luncheon with Sir Michael 2. Westropp, Chiet Justice of Bombay. Sunday was apent at home. This afternoon the General visits a Parsee female school, interesting asan evidence of the efforts of the Parsees to introduce education among their females, Mrs, Grant will visit the missions. At four the General will go on board the Euryalus, the flagship of the British Indian squadron, to visit Ad- miral Corbett. On his return ho goes to the uni- versity. In the evening there is another state dinner at the Government House, to meet the high officials ot the Bombay government. Atter the dinner the leading native merchants and citizens will attend a levee. To-morrow the General leaves for Allahabad aad the provinces of Bengal. A NOVA SCOTIAN OPINION OF THE TARIFF. (From the Halifax Chronicle.) The new tariff is a thing of shreds and patches. It is unprincipled and unjust, and if passed into law will be a heavy burden upon the great mass of the people, Viewed as a revenue scheme it 18 @ leap in thedark, In the presenco of such sweeping changes, many of them designed to prohibit the importation of foreign goods, nobody can do more than gaess at the amount ‘of revenue, that will) be yielded. . Any- thing like an intelligent calculation of the amount is out of the question. The people will have to pay exorbitant taxes during the nest year, but a large of the monty will go into thé pockets of rich rt nd the country need not be sur- oo gy ea : the yoar there should be a vigantic deficit in the revenue, CANADIAN DUTY ON NEWSPAPERS. {From tho St. John (N. B.) Telegraph, March 21.) One of the most annoying features of the new tariff is the heavy duty which it imposes on all newspapers and periodicals coming either from Eng- land or the United States. Purchasers of foreign periodical will havo reason to remember the tariff every timo they buy their usual weekly allowance of } literature. Under the new tariff ten cents will bo added to tho rico of each number of the Princeton beriew and five cent: to each number of Harper's or Scribner's Maga- zine, Appleton's Journal ov D’leasant Hours, and other Reeds in the same proportion. The prices of Snglish periodicals, which weigh more, as a ru those of the United States, will be increased still greater extent. All the United States papers imported here *o largely will be advanced in papers that formerly were sold for five cents r Row covt siz, sfx cont papers are rained to # vents, and ten cent papers to twelve its. Every lady who takes a lady's magazine or paver will find ite price increased by Mr, Tilley's tariff, THE WESTER) [From tho Kansas City Times, March 14.) The great tide ot travel into Kansas continues, and during the twenty-four hours ending yesterday at noon 3,500 immigrants arrived at tho Union Depot in this city en route to Kansas, there to seck homes along the lines of the different railwa: Last sea- son they came by families, by section: d by hun- dreds, but thie year it is by thousands that they ompty themselves from the cars at the depot and at once take seats in the westward bound trains, A LEADVILLE. PICTURE. (From the correspondence of the Chicago Tribune.) Here aro seen all classes and conditions on a com- mion level—the silk hat and eyeglasses of the English tourist, the “biled shirt" and choker of the clergy- man, the fancy necktie of the gambler, and, predom- inating ov others as far ax numbers are con- cernod, the top boots and rough clothes and white sombrero of the shaggy bearded miner, am | is tho name we have given to Mr, ° The cobra ia a snake, from whose bite no + uietly | CENTRAL ASIA. The Political Settlement Foreshadowed. ENGLAND TO HOLD TUE PASSES. Russia to Assume the Protectorate Over Afghan, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AMEER. Interesting Story of a Native’s Journey to Cabul, —_—+-. TasuxeNpD, Turkestan, Feb, 14, 1879. In one of my preceding letters I gave a word of advice tv ihe English : Believe me, so long as you have Kaufmann for a neighbor you will do well to be on your guard.” I said on another occasion:— “However great the submission of the Governor General of Turkestan may be to his sovereign, he cannot be blamed for cntertaining in his innermost thoughts tho hope—be it chimerical or not—that he will not die before his spurs have jingled over Indian soil.” I think it well to remind your readers of the above facts at a time when the Afghan question is on the point of taking a new turn through the mediation which the Ameer Shere Ali has instructed his ambassadors to propose to the Emperor Alexander. Such an intervention might be looked upon as a forced arbitration, for up to the present time it does not seem to have met the approval of the Czar, who, on hearing of the arrival of Shere Ali, gave him to understand that it was not when his country has been invaded by the English that he should have thougnt of leaving it to proceed to St. Petersburg. However quick he might travel the journey could not be performed under ten weeks, there and back, leaving out of account the time spent on the banks of the Neva aud the delays which were to be expected from the floods. Shere Ali un- derstood the argument, but he sent an embassy, which General Kaufmann will probably stop on its way, if such be the Emperor's pleasure, which is moro than probable, POSSIBILITIES OF THE FUTURE, And we actually ask ourselves what is to take place next? This is a question which I put to myself, I who am on the spot, and in order to answer it and to enable the reader to antici- pate a solution, I shall revert to my first letter, in which I wrote:—“Whatever may happen the Ameer is doomed beforehand, Afghanistan will have to pay for Turkey.” Iam now moro than ever persuaded that this will come to pass. If Europe closes her eyes on the doings of Russia in Turkey the Afghan question will be settled by the English and Russians over the groen baize of the diplomatic board, Iam inclined to believe ina pacific solution, in which case it is probable that England will hold possession of tho passes and fortify tho positions at Jellalabad and Kandahar, while the Ameer will help to swell the number of Oricntal sovereigns whom the Russian eagle shelters under her gigantic wing. Russia will in that case extend her protec- | torate to Shere Ali as far as Cabul, and will fortify herself at Herat, where the elephant will pretend to sleep by the side of the whale which will keep watch at Kandahar. And, until further orders, everybody will rest satisfied. If things take this course, or bet- ter still, if the idea of going to war be given up, the world will possess an excellent touchstone for the future—the return of General Kaufmann to St. Petersburg. This eminent officer wonld then look upon his mission in Asia as terminated, but would not like to leave his work half done. A successor would be appointed to continue the civilization of the Khirghis, the Sarthians, the Bokharians, &c, ¥ ‘THE END FORESHADOWED. At first sight it nay appear waste of time to dwell so long on speculations of this kind ina letter which will, not be in print before a month—that is four weeks, after the arrival of the Afghan Embassy at Tashkend. I think, on the contrary, that my letter | will be in New York quite soon enough to be useful to the reader, for it is likely that matters will not be brought to @ very rapid conclusion. To the pro- verbial delays of diplomacy must be added this mate- rial fact that at Tashkend it takes a month to get a letter from the Ameer, who, in case of an un- derstanding being come to, will at least have to sign his uname, if it should so happen that before then he has not been supplanted by his son, Yakoob, or somebody else. ‘This signature may not be given there and then, and 1 will eudeavor to show why. of pure narrative, which are those in which a cor- espondent should contine himself rather than cnter the field of dissertation into which I was accidentally induced to trespass at the commencement of my letter. Here, then, are afew particulars concerning Shere All's way of omen business. When the English, during the last Eastern war, rmed toward the Russians the hostile attitude th: all remember, General Kaufmann, in order to learn from Shere Ali the precise nature of his sentitaents in re- gard to Russia, sent him an emissary bearing a letter addressed to him in which he made inquiries concern- ing his health, Emissaries of this hiad are known in the country by the name of gigit They are cavaliers, or horsemen, who for im will carry letters through districts where postal arrange- ments are unknown. The gigite started on his Jour- ney, and six months after he had not as yet returned. This delay caused a certain anxiety when the pro- verbial ferocity of the Ameer came to be thought of, But in Europe events had heen progressing and assuming day by day a gloomier aspect. Hence all the greater became the necessity of knowing the in- tentious of Shere Ali. another gigite, this time with # message asking that he would be pleased to state on what terms he hap- Ps to be then with the English, This second sengor yave the following account of his journey of his interview with the Am THY GIGITE’s Nan Daria, I set foot “When, after crossing the At soldier asked me where I was going. I told him T was on a pilgrimage, and he allowed me to pass, When I was hungry, 1 ntered u house, where hospitality was treely shown ime, as to all good Mohammedans; and when my horse becamo ex ange him for another. hansiod J found megus te In this way I arfived at Cal Ameer's palace, There only, and for the first time, I | said that I was the bearer of aletter irom the Vice Emperor of Turkestan. Whea the Ameer admitted me he wag seated in gu armchair. Behind Lim was a balcony, beyond which were to be scen a court- yard planted with trees, and some stables. Shere Ali_was surrounded by his ministers, who were scated on cashions to his right and left, so as to form acirele. [came forward and presented the letter. Bofore opening it the Ameer made inquiries about General Kaufmann, and when I had informed him that he was iu perfect health he tore open the en- velope, read the contents and handed the letter to the Minister who was seated on his left, The letter was written in the Russian language and was accom- panied by a translation in Persian.” I purposely in- terrupt the gigite’s narrative to impress this particu- lar fact upon the attention of the reader, which dono I will let the narrator, who speaks the Sarthian, Bokharian, Persian and Afghan languages, proceed with his story.) AT THE AMEER's Covrr. “When the first Minister had read it he handed it to his left hand neighbor, and so on till it came to tho last. Meanwhile the Ameer asked me how I wae and how had performed the journey. When the last Minister had fluished reading the letter, he rose, and, returning it to Shere Ali, suid;—‘The Russians always speak truth; while the English, on the contrary, write nothing but lies.’ ‘Suen is also my opinion,’ added the Amect, and every Minister present concurred in it.” The gigite was then dismissed from the Ameer's presence. His narrative embraced nothing further of interest. The next day Shere Ali despatched the gigte, Who had been kept in Cabul for seven months, with the answer to the first letter simply oot inquiries regarding his health; and as to the state of his relations with the English, the answer to that letter was supplied six months later, the second gigite being ti in the same way as the first. And when at last the Ameer did reply to the question which the Russians were so anxious about it was simply to say that his relations with the English “were the same as formerly,” There was no solid ground in this to build upon, at least, so thought General Kanfmann, who this time made ap his mind to send an official mission to the Ancer withont previously inquiring whether such step would be approved of or not. ‘Thus it was that Gen- oral Staletew, in company with his college friend, Genoral Rasgonoff and a staff of seven officers, started at the head of an escort ot 100 Cossack: KAUFMANN'S MISSION TO CABUL, On landing on the opposite bank of the Amu- Daria the General was told by the guard on duty ho could not be allowed to proceed further withe order from the Ameer, Simply replying ¢ would await the Sovereign's consent at Mazar. he continued bis course on ‘The Russian Enyoy was thus acting in overt tion to the law laid down by Shere Ali, This he did intentionally, to compel the Amecr to assume @ definite attitude, And this will bring me back to the limits | General Kaufmann sent him | | State exper There was no middle course to be taken: either the iission would be cordially received, or the General would ve decapitated, providing his escort of Cossacks, who had been selected from mong the best men of General Kaufmann’s army—the finest to be found throughout the whole of the Kussian Empire—per- mitted it to be done, The resuitis known, The mission reached Cabul, where, by the by, it was de- tained, General Stuletew returned and General Ras- gonoff will be, six days hence, in Tashkend with the cmbassy from Shere All. In this the Ameer has placed himself on a par with the Russians—they had sent hua a mission without consulting him and he retaliated by sending them an embassy, The first Jed tothe outbreak of war; in atew days we shall know if peace is to result from the second, And then the question remains as to whether the Ameer will think fit once again, before giving his consent, to detain the next emissary another seven months, notwithstanding his asseveration to General Kis- gsenoff that he bad invested his embassy with full powers to act in his name, FOREIGN NOTES. Don Carlos, says the Union, recently made a pilgrim- age to the Conciergerie, to the dungeon where Marie Antoinette was confined, and reverently pressed his lips to the crucifix which received the last kiss of the hapless Queen. It is rumored that Dr, Newman will go to Rome in the middle of Lent to assume the lgh dignity to which he has been appointed by Leo XIII, Phere will then be a triad of English cardinals in the Holy City—namely, Monning, Howard and Newman. Mr. D'Oyly Carte, is considering the advisability of taking an opera bouffe company over to the United States next fall. It is the intention of Arthur Sulli- van to run over to New York this spring to see what can be done in tho way of secnring a copyright for his works there. ‘The ages of the French Ministers are as follows:— General Gresley, sixty-four; Admiral Jaareguiberry, sixty-three; M."Leroyer, sixty-two; M. Lepé ty-tive; M. Weddington, fifty-two; M. Say, titt: M. de’ Freycinet, fifty; M. de Marcére, forty and M. Ferry, forty-six. ‘The Shoeblack Brigade of Liverpool has taken to mbling. Three hundred packs of cards ure said to have been abstracted by their superintendent from these juvenile tempters of Fortune during the last year, ‘The amount of money laid in bets, says the uperintendent, is “enormous.” ‘There may be seen in the window of @ well known Paris jeweller, whoxe establishment is situated on the Boulevard de la Madeleine, a beautitul parasol, which was finished too late to be shown at the late Exbibition, This obj-r d'art has @ bive silk ground covered with the richest lace. ‘Che handle and stick are black. studded with splendid brilliants, and the elastic ring which serves for keeping the parasol closed is composed entirely of brilliants. ‘The price is 25,000f., or just $5,000. A Minister in the Italian Chamber, speaking on the subject of capital punishment afew years ago, re- marked that Italy'was the country in which they killed most and hanged least, while England wus the country where they killed least and hanged most. With the most atrocious criminals to deal with the hangman's office has always been all but a sinecure even in Naples; and now it seems that Passanante, the ex-cook of Salerno, condemned to death by a jury of his countrymen, is likely to have his sentence commuted by the royal clemency. Intelligence has been received from India of an im- portant geographical discovery. ‘he course of the Sanpu, or great river of Tibet, has been surveyed by one of the native explorers attached to the Indian Survey for a distance of 200 miles eastward of Che= targ, the furthest point to wh'ch it had hitherto been traced in that direction. It then turned south- ward into some hills which the explorer was unable to penetrate. This settles a vera‘a questio which has ong exercised the minds of geographers as to the dentity of the Sanpu and the Brahmaputra, An exhibition of works in sculpture and painting by the Society Degli Amatori e Cultori delle Belle Arti in Rome has (says the Rome correspondent of the London Globe) been some time opened in the rooms at the Porta del Popolo. In this exhibition are very few works of English or American artists. Mr. Montague Handley (American) sent a statuette in gesso, representing w lady on horseback, and his work is much admired for the skill displayed in modelling the horse. Mrs. or Miss “Emma Phenny, of New York,” sent a bronze bust representing a Moor. Only’ five of the British and American colony of aftistes in Rome exhibited their works, During the ten years ended December 31, i877, no fewor than 1,159 persons were killed in London and 28,379 maimed or injured by vehicles of various de- scriptions, the largest proportion of accidents being caused by light carts, by which 215 persons lost their lives ani 7,131 were injured. Vans, although re- sponsible for a smaller number of accidents— namely, 3,685—caused as many as 265 deaths. Cabs, nine, ye ar | omnibnses and cars killed 244 and injured no fewer than 6,712 persons during the ten years. Saddle horses occasioned the deaths of 28 persons aud injured 735 others, while one person was killed and 45 were injured by velocipédes. The police returns show an alarming increase in the number of atrect accidents year by year; for whereas. in 1863 there were 1,348 accidents, causing the death of 83 persons, in 1877 the number of accidents registered was 2,056, or more than donble those in 1863, while no fewer than 120 persons lost their iives. ‘The Mandalay correspondent of the Calcutta Eng- tishman thns describes the recent massacre of the royal family of Burmah by order of the King:—“A council was held by the King and his young advisers, and the conclusion come to’ was that extermiuation was the only means whereby he coutd obtain satety. The immediate execution was, therefore, ordered of cvery one in prison. Executioners were easily ob- tained, and with darkness commence: the scene of slaughter. Its being, however, tound inconvenient to made and some twenty were chosen. These were severely beaten and kicked, the women being shame- fully treated. When lifeless they were hurled into a large well in the garden. Chitdren were torn to pieces before their parents’ eyes and the parents then put to death. The Meckra Prince was made a witness of the most atrocious conduct toward his wite and children, and saw his aged mother beaten senseless to the ground and then dragged to the well and tumbled in. Thongya's family fared the same, ax also the two Menghees, the Myodawlaw, his two sons and the Phawoon. ‘The princes, mstead of being put in along with their families, were killed last and thrown into the river.” The London Figaro says:—‘Although the Zulu war is dimming the lustre of out Afghan promenade, it is just as weil that the English people should take the troubie to read the scant news comes to hand concerning the latter. Here is an incident to which I would direct special attention. The in- habitants of a village eleven miles south of Basawal killed. a camp follower. To avenge the deed the British general ordered the village to. be surrounded by Ritles and Ghoorkas, and whoever attempted to escape was to be shot. Six women and two chil- dren were shot down by the Britixh, and the whole of the hats and inclosures were put to the flames, the cattle were seized and forty-two of the inhabitants were taken prisoners, Now listen, After all this wholesale destruction had taken place (he whole or the prise: with the exception of two, were ased, because only two were tound to havo been concerned in the murder of the camp follower, This disgracetul affair occurred on the wid of January, and will, { trast, be the subject of Parliamentary inquiry. The outrage had the same amount of justification that there would have been if Darnall had been burnt to the ground and its in- habitants shot because Peace murdered Mr. Dyson. Seeing how we toam at the mouth and become hys- terteat over Russian craeltion, it behooves us to see that the British arms are not defiled with inceadiar- ism, pillage id the massacre of innocent women and childre: ‘The Kzaminer also quotes trom the articles led to the suppression of the Husski One of them runs 98 iollows:—Civilized natt deepiso us and openly express their contempt. ‘The cause ot this conteinpt 1s to be found in our internal con- dition, Not only has the late war not led to any real polttical life among us, but its result has been that we have sunk even deeper into the mire.” In a sec- ond article the Ausski Mir speaks of “tho old, trite, ; the true interests of the State uutained wit : reicnpa- which ti yple and of society at large.” But in Rassta is neither a m i thought nor a leg m for the expression of the po} Jar will. wwe Tomarks of the otherwise lo; journal were tre When the further re cently appointed commission for the dimunition of 8 had, strangely enough, been forbiil- den to touch the budge the army, the fleet, nad that millions of rov continne to be sata ites,”” the anthorit t lost uo time in prohibiting tho Russki Mir for the next four ulation in reterence to the public exchequer ure the very last theme which the government of St. Petersburg will allow to be dis- cussed with impunity. The London Werk has the following parograph npon the Glasgow Bank tailure:—A more sorrow. ful story than that of the Glasgow Bank sharvhold- ers has surely never been told, If it could be brought home in all its horrors to the nation gen- erally, we cannot but believe that some little pity would be shown for the numerons famities who are now being driven from their homes to undergo ab solute want and beggary. Had all this misery beon brought about by a xteamboat accident or sion in ® coal mine, thousands of pound rewlily have been subscribed. A kndly hearted scholar, Mr. Ralston, gave a reading last Wednesday at St, James’ Hall for the benefit of the sufferers, but the proceeds ot that can be only # drop inthe ocean, Already mon and women haye been sent prematurely » crave, children are turned adrift in the streets, ery beds have been sold from under the aged and the sick. And yet this appalling suffering has only begun, for the secondeall of the liquidators is mount to the crushing sum of £5,000 on every ) share. What norrmeense itis to say that this is Molders of £1,000 of stock are liable to pay Why should the creditors not lose some of the’ money? Tho heart-breaking proceedings now going on onght to the whole nation; they seem to be passing over alinost unobserved, and are far lees the subject of conversation in London than the sale of Lord Lonsdate’s collection or the coid winter, To see all this misery going on without an effort to relieve it is @ ecandal to our common hu- manity.”’ et through the job in one night, a division was | A MARVELLOUS ACHIEVEMENT. {From the Lancaster New Era, March 18.) Perhaps the most remarkable single issue of & daily paper was last Sunday’s New York HeRaLp, It was quintuple to accommodate the immense press of advertisements, of which there were seventy columns, numbering in detail 3,447. Can any amount of words describe so complotely -the acknowledged power of the press as this? Every class of business wen is represented among this wortd of advertise ments. AH admit the potency of the newspaper in placing them and their wares before the world, When we consider, too, that all this is the growth of @ comparatively short period, as we now reckon time, the wonder grows still more marvellous. But none but the initiated can adequately comprehend the amount of labor which the getting out of this single issue of the Henatp entajled. More than three millions of separate pieces of type metal were picked up, set in place and stereotyped before a single copy of the paper could be printed. Seven and a half tons of metal entered into the stereotype plates, In addition to the immense amount of phy- sical labor involved in the above we must not forget that fifty columns of reading matter accompanied the advertisements, To prepare this required a small army of skilled men, whose labors, although restricted to the brief period of a single day, never- theless took in the whole world, for there was news from almost every country that men are known to inhabit, But when all this herenlean work was done it still remained for the fast printing machines in the Henarp building to run off the 143,000 copies of the paper within the brief period of three or four hours; this, perhaps, is the greatest feat of all, and but for which all the preceding labor had been in a large measure rendered unnecessary. A casual visitor dropping into the Henanp press on last Sun- day morning, after having been told of the labor spent in getting the stereotype forms ready for the and then seeing those presses perform their Dn work so obediently, steadily and rapidly, must have taken off his hat and made a profound obeisance to that magnificent mechanical triumph of the human mind, unexcelled by any the genius of men have hitherto accomplishod. STEREOTYPING | EXTRAORDINARY. (From the Plaindealer, Wilkesbarre, Pa., March 16,} ‘The New York Hewarp of last Sunday, reference to which is made in an article upon the subject of Sunday nowspapers elsewhere, was compelled, to meet the demand of advertisers, to extend its pages from twelve to twenty. Apart from the great amount of extralabor the Heratp explains required to set the immense quantity of type required by this in- ercase of sizo the single item of stereotyping reaches extraordinary dimensions. As fourteen plates are made of Sach page of the Heraxp the issue of to-day calla for 280 plates; each of these weighs fifty pounds, so the full set requires about fourteen thou- sand pounds of metal from which to print this single edition. In round numbers about three million pieces of type have been picked up, one at a time, by compositors to prepare the pages for the stereo- typers, and more than one hundred and fifty men were required to set the type, make the plates and print the paper. se figures will give our readers geome idea, though only an imperfect one, of tl amount of work necessary to the printing of a sin- gle copy of the Nrw York Suxpay Henarp. THE MOST ENTERPRISING IN THE WORLD. weds [From the Southside (L. I.) Rockville Centre Ob- server, March 21.] Four times in five weeks the Heratp has been ‘obliged to issue a quintuple sheet for its Sunday edi- tion, The last contained seventy columns of adver- tisements, which numbered 3,447 notices. Of course, the receipts from this source are enormous and would support an ordinary family for a lifetime. But then expenses are also heavy. No less than fifty columns of reading matter are furnished—by telegraph over land and under water, by reporters’ who travel everywhere and spend considerable moncy. The Henry is the most enterprising paper in the world and gives the news of the whole world: every day. “so THE GIANT OF JOURNALISM. {From the Easton (Pa.) Free Press, March 17.) It need not be stated that the New York Henarp. is the giant of American journalism, but we doubt if the London Times ever equalled the feat accom- plished by the last Sunday Henanp issue. To con- stitute the quintuple sheet 3,000,000 pieces of type were picked up, there were fifty-four columns of reading matter, 3,447 new advertisements, and the metal .for the stereotype plates weighed seven tons. Itis the first time anything so great was ever done. in the newspaper way in this country, and indicates, in avery forcible snd striking manner what untold possibilities there are lurking in the profession.ot* journalism. A WONDERFUL PAPER. (From the Journal, Evansville (Ind.), March 21.) The New York Hrnatp of last Sunday contained over seventy columns of advertisements, the greater number only two or three lines in length, the total number of notices being 3,447. Tho HEratp stereo, type plates for a quintuple edition require about seven tons of metal,which has to be cast for the presses after moulds have been taken from three million separate pieces of type picked up and put in placo by the compositors one by one. These details relate only to the mechanical work of getting the forms ready for the presses in less than a day, and take no account of the work of preparing fifty! columns of reading matter or of printing the edition. A SUNDAY ENCYCLOPEDIA. {From tho Salt Lake (Utah) Herald, March 13.) Tue New York Henatp has resumed its Sunday quintuple sheets, thus giving its readers an encyclo» poodia to “wade throngh” on the Sabbath. THE WEIGHT OF CATTLE. GenMANTowN, Mareh 20, 1879. To tae Eptror or tHe Hexatp:— Will you please inform me through your valuable columns the exact rule or measurement for ascer- taining the weight of cattle? I noticed an article in your issue of January 26, but cannot you give mo a more detinite rub And what is the weight o1 stone, which you spoke of in that issue? By giving me this iaformation you will greatly oblige PHILIP WECK. [A stone, in British measure, implies weight ao- cording to the article measured. Thus a stone of oats is 14 pounas ht. one of barley 16 pounds weight; when a jockey is said to ride 10 stone he weighs 140 pounds; while a stone of dresyed moat is only 8 pounds weight—~ just as 100 pounds of meat in the United States of America represents 56 pounds of ac- tual weight. ‘Thus, if your ox or steer shall weigh alive 1,200 pounds, the beet to be obtained from him, or in other words the carcase when dressed, ought to weigh 675 pounds net. In extreme cases a dressed carcass may vot Weigh more than 50 pounds net to 100 pounds on the hoof, or again may yield as high areturn as 62 pounds net. Any weight outside of this range is entirely out of the general rule.} A PRESSMAN IN LUCK. {From the Dallas (Texas) Herald, March 19.) Mr. Frank Miller, an employé in the press room of the Herold, has fallen het through his wife to $2,000,000, Mr, Miller married Miss Azelia Dore, granddaughter of Jean Louis Champagne, who re- rently died in Texas, leaving a princely fortune to be divided among his heirs, Mr. Miller is a brother- in-law of the late General Alfred Mouton, of Louisi- ana, who was killed at the battle of Mansfield, both having married sisters. AMERICAN MANUFACTURES IN IRE LAND. Ex-Congressman Peddio, in an interview with ate porter of the Newark (N. J.) Jonrnal, says tuat “dur. ing his recent visit to Ireland he could not fail to notice the demand for American goods. The prefer- ence for them over those manufactured in England amounted almost to enthusiasm among the people, and this feeling is rapidly growing. The largest rdwaro store inthecity ot Dablin has prominently a “American Lronmonger’—the jronmonger” being used in that country im the same sense that “hardware merchant” is here,