Identifier: winterindia00scid Title: Winter India Year: 1903 (1900s) Authors: Scidmore, Eliza Ruhamah, 1856-1928 Subjects: India -- Description and travel Publisher: New York : The Century Co. Contributing Library: University of California Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Text Appearing Before Image: : I am very sorry, but His Highness has beenso intoxicated for the past fortnight that he has notseen any one. He is drinking a bottle of brandy andone of chartreuse a day, in addition to much cham-pagne and Scotch and soda. I really cannot saywhen His Highness will be fit to receive visitors again. At it rained cats and dogs, the bangla leaked, the bedding was wet, and the foodbad, and I came away without presenting my letter.All India is off the beaten track, We stopped at Alwar, in Rajputana, on our wayback to Agra to keep our engagement with the Feb-ruary moon in the garden of the Taj. We reached Al-war station, as we had reached so many other places,between one and two oclock in the morning. Therewas no carriage, no khansamah, nor any one fromthe maharajas bangla to meet us—only soddendarkness and the platform of the small railway sta-tion. A tiny ekka was found, and in some way we,with the luggage and bearer, managed to get inthe absurd little cab, and a mite of a pony managed

Text Appearing After Image: ALWAR 327 to pull us to the bangla. A sleepy khansamah madeus comfortable for the rest of the night. A relay of messengers, and finally a victoria withmen in blue palace livery, came from the diwan, orprime minister of the tiny empire, at nine in themorning. We were driven to his house, and wentthrough many anterooms to a cool, dark inner draw-ing-room, where a portly personage in a mixed Ori-ental and European costume of white flannel re-ceived us with great cordiality. His little daughter,in a woolen hood and many calico coats, but with onlyjingling anklets to keep her little bare brown feetand legs warm, was brought in and duly admired,and then he presented one Soorajbux, the learnedlibrarian of the high school, who was detailedas our cicerone for the day. He took us first to themodern palace, a suburban villa full of Europeanfurniture and notions, where the young raja spenthis occasional vacations from the Mayo College atAjmir. Among the incongruities in the rajas studywas a frame

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