Grand moving diorama of Hindostan

by Fanny Parkes Parlby

We now cross the Hoogly to Barrackpore, called by the natives Achánuck, corrupted from Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, who lived here. In the park is the country-house of the Governor-General; and the military cantonment affords accommodation to six regiments of native infantry. There is nothing remarkable about the Government House; it is a plain edifice of one story in height, with lofty rooms; the aviary, the menagerie, the garden, and a pleasant promenade, where the society of the station assemble, are the most attractive features of the place. The regiments here, with the Artillery at Dum-Dum (seven miles from Calcutta), and the troops in Fort William, constitute the presidency division of the army, which is commanded by a general officer, who resides at Barrackpore.

The Governor-General having come up the river in his yacht, the Sona-makhī, towed by a steamer, is represented as quitting the vessel to land at Barrackpore. The troops are drawn out awaiting his arrival; the elephants are ready to convey him to the house; the aid-de-camps are in attendance; and each of their horses is held by a sāīs, or groom, who carries in his hand a chaurī, to keep flies from the animal.

In the back-ground is a shutur-sawār, a man armed, and mounted on a camel, for the purpose of carrying messages express. This animal, of a much lighter description than the camel of burthen, can trot exceedingly fast, and will go from sixty to eighty miles a day, without distress: the pace is very rough, and the riders are not considered long lived. The camel’s neck is ornamented with small brass bells—a common appendage to couriers in many countries: it is also adorned with blue beads, cowrie shells, and gaily-coloured cloth and tassels: a small piece of wood is inserted in the animal’s nostrils, to which is attached a thin cord, by which it is guided.

The Mausoleum in the Park, of the Corinthian order, to the left of the Government House, was erected by Lord Minto, at his own cost, to commemorate the names of the officers who fell at Java and the Mauritius.

THE TRAVELLER’S PALM.

Some cows and a buffalo are beneath a pīpal tree in the park. On the bank is the sarput, or sirkī, high jungle-grass that often rises to the height of sixteen feet; the bloom waves gracefully, bending to the wind, and elegantly recovers its position.

The next is the castor-oil plant (ricinus communis), much cultivated in Bengal; the oil extracted from the seeds being used medicinally, as well as for burning in lamps.

The tree with the broad and singular leaves is called the Traveller’s Palm: if a knife is stuck into the stem a pure water gushes out. It grows in the most sandy tracts where no water is to be found; hence it is called the Traveller’s Palm. Dr. Wallich mentioned this circumstance, and at the same time he struck his knife into the tree, of which the one before you is a portrait.

The cart is the common hackerī of the country, and the natives belonging to it are asleep beneath it; a chadda, or cloth, is drawn over their heads to protect them from the musquitoes, and their slippers are laid on one side.

The Muhammadan Fakīr, a religious mendicant, in front of the group, is a picturesque personage; he wanders over the country, and supports himself on alms.