ng-robed Armenian merchant tread the floors; the
junior civilians, with their ancient pranks and their antiquated
jests, have departed; in the great hall the lilt of the song and the
frenzy of the fiddles for the dance and the amateur mouthings of the
drama are heard no more. A multitude of turbanned clerks are pouring
forth the blue-black ink from their pens; schoolmasters haunt the
portals to press their claims for educational grants for their own
particular schools; and the click of a chorus of typewriters is the
only music that is borne upon the breeze.

I have told the story of the schools. It is creditable to Madras; for
great things have been done since that first little 'public school'
was opened in the Fort.

CHAPTER XIV

HERE AND THERE

Before closing the story of Madras, it will be well to speak, at least
very briefly, of some of the prominent landmarks of the city that we
have not yet described.

Of churches, we should mention St. George's Cathedral. It was opened
in 1816, not as a cathedral but as an ordinary church; for Madras then
was not a diocese by itself, but was a part of the immense diocese of
Calcutta. The new church was regarded as a necessity; for a great many
'garden houses' had sprung up in and about the Mount Road, in the area
that was called the 'Choultry Plain,' and the Directors of the Company
agreed with representations from Madras that it was undesirable that
English residents within the bounds should be able to stay away from
the Church-services on Sunday with the reasonable excuse that the
nearest Anglican church--St. Mary's in the Fort--was too far away from
their houses for them to be expected to attend. So the new church was
built; and some twenty years later, when Dr. Corrie, Archdeacon of
Calcutta, was consecrated first Bishop of Madras, the church became
'the Cathedral Church of St. George.' St. George's Cathedral is a
stately building, with a spire 139 feet high, and it stands in
spacious grounds. The total cost was more than two lakhs of rupees;
but nobody had to be asked to subscribe, for the money was available
from a peculiar source. It was an age in which State lotteries were in
vogue; Madras had followed the fashion with a series of official
lotteries, and a 'Lottery Fund' had been created from the profits, so
that there was always a good supply of cash available for
extraordinary expenses, such as mending the roads or entertaining
distinguished visitors. It