the street or alley. Formerly, these were the only
scavengers in the cities of India. A dozen coolies who are almost naked
are seen running among the carriages sprinkling water on the streets
from goat skins, to keep the dust down.

There comes a family procession of the lower class with a basket of
bananas and wreaths of flowers going to the river Ganges to offer
sacrifices and enjoy an evening bath in the open river. Early every
morning thousands upon thousands may be seen in the streets bent on a
similar errand. Men from Cashmere, Afghanistan, China, Arabia, Thibet,
etc., are seen in the throng, dressed in their native costumes. It is a
strange and beautiful picture to look at for a little while. I have
described only a small portion of it, for fear of tiring the reader.

[Illustration: HINDOO MERCHANTS.]

CHAPTER XVII.

The Promenades of the Fashionable World--Maidan--The Viceroy--British
Dominions in India.

No European or American walks out doors in India, excepting a promenade
early in the morning or late in the evening. They are either carried in
palanquins, or, which is more common, they keep a horse and carriage.
Observing the good old rule of adopting the custom of the country, I
also procured a phaeton and a gray Arab as well as the indispensable
Hindoo driver and runner, and I now invite the reader to take a ride
with me late in the afternoon, when hundreds of equipages fill the
fashionable driveways.

It is five o'clock in the afternoon, and the dim rays of the setting sun
allow us to lower the top of the carriage so that we may have an open
view all around. But before doing this, we must exchange the white
business suit and broad-brimmed Indian hat (which are made of the light
pith of an Indian shrub somewhat similar to our elder bush, and covered
with a thin layer of cotton) for the conventional black hat and coat,
for these people are dreadfully ceremonious. The _chandra_ takes his
place in the driver's seat, and the _badon_ on the steps behind the
carriage. They are both dressed in snow-white outer garments, which look
a good deal like a common nightgown, and a head dress consisting of ten
yards of white muslin, wound several times around the head in the shape
of a round turban. The Mohammedan coachmen and runners generally wear
the colors of their masters in the same manner as other native servants
do. In my case, of course, it was the red, white and blue sashes, belts
and turbans. T