a sort of golden
horn of plenty; Bangas, wearing three-cornered helmets with a kind of
cockscomb on the top; Kachhis, with Roman helmets; Bhillis, from the
borders of Rajastan, whose chins are wrapped three times in the ends
of their pyramidal turbans, so that the innocent tourist never fails to
think that they constantly suffer from toothache; Bengalis and Calcutta
Babus, bare-headed all the year round, their hair cut after an Athenian
fashion, and their bodies clothed in the proud folds of a white
toga-virilis, in no way different from those once worn by Roman
senators; Parsees, in their black, oilcloth mitres; Sikhs, the followers
of Nanaka, strictly monotheist and mystic, whose turbans are very like
the Bhillis', but who wear long hair down to their waists; and hundreds
of other tribes.

Proposing to count how many different headgears are to be seen in Bombay
alone, we had to abandon the task as impracticable after a fortnight.
Every caste, every trade, guild, and sect, every one of the thousand
sub-divisions of the social hierarchy, has its own bright turban, often
sparkling with gold lace and precious stones, which is laid aside only
in case of mourning. But, as if to compensate for this luxury, even the
mem-bers of the municipality, rich merchants, and Rai-Bahadurs, who have
been created baronets by the Government, never wear any stockings, and
leave their legs bare up to the knees. As for their dress, it chiefly
consists of a kind of shapeless white shirt.

In Baroda some Gaikwars (a title of all the Baroda princes) still keep
in their stables elephants and the less common giraffes, though the
former are strictly forbidden in the streets of Bombay. We had an
opportunity of seeing ministers, and even Rajas, mounted on these noble
animals, their mouths full of pansupari (betel leaves), their heads
drooping under the weight of the precious stones on their turbans, and
each of their fingers and toes adorned with rich golden rings. While
the evening I am describing lasted, however, we saw no elephants, no
giraffes, though we enjoyed the company of Rajas and ministers. We had
in our box the hand-some ambassador and late tutor of the Mahararana
of Oodeypore. Our companion was a Raja and a pandit. His name was a
Mohunlal-Vishnulal-Pandia. He wore a small pink turban sparkling with
diamonds, a pair of pink barege trousers, and a white gauze coat.
His raven black hair half covered his amber-colored neck, which was
surro