province. The minaret rises by five tiers to the height
of 380 feet. Three of these are of red sandstone, most
beautifully carved in Arabesque patterns, and verses
from the Koran, and the two upper ones of white
marble. Not far from this spot there is a very large
well of great depth, into which men and boys are
always ready to dive for a few annas.
The ride to town, some eight or ten miles, passed
through avenues of banyan, acacia, mimosa, and
mango trees, inhabited by all kinds of birds, especially
parroquets. Every now and then one encounters
elephants, camels, and other quadrupeds, natives on
foot and in carriages, called ekkas, a sort of hammer-
cloth, blue or red, stuck upon two wheels and drawn
by oxen.
As much as I had enjoyed my stay at Delhi, I was
glad to get away and have a quiet night, as the jackals
converted it after dark into a veritable howling wilderness.
Besides, Delhi’s share in the late Mutiny
has made everybody so well acquainted with the place
th a t it seems unnecessary to go into further details.
Before leaving, however, X had the usual levee, which
in India greets every traveller, namely, of tradespeople,
each praising his own and abusing his neighbour’s
wares. I t is “ Sahib here” and “ Sahib there,” as
jewellery, miniatures on ivory, shawls, and a multitude
of other useless things are brought to light, and some
really very pretty articles amongst them. There is a
native artist here who is a capital hand at reproducing
a photograph on ivory in colours, and I have found
both here and at Agra that the natives have a very
shrewd idea of art, but it requires cultivation. The
Delhi jewellery is celebrated, not only in India, but
all over the world.
Finding myself again en route, I noticed little to
interest one in the aspect of the country, excepting
the tremendous railway bridge over the Sutlej just
after passing Loodiana. I t is one mile in extent, and
rests upon no less than fifty-seven girders. We are
now in the heart of the Sikh country, of which the
Punjab constitutes the confines. Its origin dates from
the year 1469, by one Nanak, whose design was to
combine Hinduism and Islamism into one harmonious
brotherhood, the teachings of which are expounded in
the “ Grunth,” the Sikh Scriptures. I t seems evident,
however, that the founder of this new creed can have
had but a very superficial knowledge of the two
religions, since their first principles, those of Pantheism
and Monotheism, would seem to any intelligent
person quite irreconcilable.
Amritzar, my next halting-place, is in reality the