The next morning the corpse still lay in the same place. I was informed that they waited to see if any relations would come to carry it away, if not it would be removed by the pariahs.
21st February. In the afternoon I reached Indor, the capital of the kingdom of Holkar.
As I approached the dwelling of the Europeans, I found them just about to ride out. The equipage of the resident, Mr. Hamilton, to whom I had letters, was distinguishable from the others by its greater splendour. Four beautiful horses were harnessed to an open landau, and four servants, in Oriental liveries, ran by the side of the carriage. The gentlemen had scarcely perceived my approach, when they stopped, and sent a servant towards me; they, perhaps, wished to know what chance had thrown a solitary European female into this remote country. My servant, who already had the letter to Mr. Hamilton in his hand, hastened to him directly, and gave it to him. Mr. Hamilton read it hastily through, alighted from his carriage immediately, came and received me very cordially. My shabby clothes, faded by the sun, were of no account to him, and he did not treat me with less respect, because I came without much baggage, and without a train of attendants.
He conducted me himself to the bungalow, set apart for strangers, offered me several rooms, and remained until he saw that the servants had properly provided all conveniences. After he had given me a servant for my own exclusive use, and had ordered a guard before the bungalow, in which I was about to live alone, he took his departure, and promised to send for me to dinner in an hour.
A few hundred paces distant from the bungalow is the palace of the resident; it is a building of very great beauty, constructed of large, square stones, in a pure Italian style of architecture. Broad flights of steps led up into halls which are peculiarly remarkable for their magnitude and beautifully arched roofs, the latter being finer than any that I had yet seen. The saloons, rooms, and internal arrangements corresponded to the high expectations which the sight of the outside raised.
It was a Sunday, and I had the pleasure of finding the whole European society of Indor assembled at the house of the resident. It consisted of three families. My astonishment at the magnificence surrounding me, at the luxuries at table, was yet more increased when a complete, well-trained band of musicians commenced playing fine overtures and some familiar German melodies. After dinner Mr. Hamilton introduced the chaplain to me, a Tyrolese, named Näher. This active man had established his chapel in the space of three years, the congregation consisting chiefly of young natives.
I was invited to be present on the following morning at the first operation performed here, by a European surgeon, on a patient under the influence of ether. A large tumour was to be extracted from the neck of a native. Unfortunately the inhalation did not turn out as was expected: the patient came to again after the first incision, and began shrieking fearfully. I hastily left the room, for I pitied the poor creature too much to bear his cries. The operation indeed was successful, but the man suffered considerable pain.
During breakfast, Mr. Hamilton proposed that I should exchange my apartments in the bungalow for a similar one in his palace, because the going backwards and forwards at each meal time was very fatiguing. He placed at my disposal the rooms of his wife, who was deceased, and appointed me a female servant.
After tiffen (lunch) I was to see the town, and be presented at court. I employed the intermediate time in visiting Mr. and Mrs. Näher. The latter, who was also a German, was moved even to tears when she saw me: for fifteen years she had not spoken with a fellow-countrywoman.
The town of Indor contains nearly 25,000 inhabitants; it is not fortified; the houses are built in the same manner as those in Udjein.