The student of character has a wide and fruitful field for investigation, but there are certain features which stand out prominently—their marvellous patience, their devotion to their religion, which is almost fanatical. Like the Egyptians of old, they live in the contemplation of death, and look upon death as the great consummation. The elaborate and magnificent tombs we see everywhere correspond to the pyramids and monumental buildings of ancient Egypt; while their ruinous condition attest the wisdom of Solomon, that "Vanity of vanity, all is vanity."
The poverty of India is also striking, but it is not so great as it appears. When we talk of a daily wage of twopence it seems almost impossible that life can be supported on any such sum; but in India a penny will buy all the rice the coolie can eat, and his other expenses are very small. Still, it must be considered a poor country.
There is no scenery in India until we reach the hills, which occupy a considerable area in the Madras presidency, and margin the whole of the North-West. Central and Southern India are vast plains. The grandest mountain view in the world is that of the Himalayas, from Darjeeling. Darjeeling stands at an elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet, on the foot hills of the Himalayas, about forty miles from "Kinchin Junga," which is the centre of one of the highest ranges. In the foreground are several deep valleys, usually filled with clouds. Looking over these, a further great bank of clouds appears high up in the heavens. On closer examination we begin to see they are not clouds; their opaque, snowy whiteness and their sharp peaks and serrated edges tell us that this is a range of mountains. "Kinchin Junga" stands in the centre, with an altitude of 28,000 feet, but in this mighty mountain group there is no mountain less than 24,000 feet, and not one of these has been scaled by man. On a clear evening, when the setting sun throws its roseate rays over the snows, no view can be more sublime and beautiful. Away on the west they dip down into Nepaul, and on the extreme right the deep indentation marks the pass by which the British troops entered Tibet.
The Himalayas from Darjeeling.
In the Centre, Kinchin Junga, 28,180 feet.
We do not travel to India to see scenery, but Oriental life: the splendours of Agra and Delhi, the pilgrim city of Benares, and the silent, deserted cities of Fatehpur Sikri and Amber, all rich in historical records of the great Mogul kings, who for so many centuries held sway in India. It is only by seeing these places that one can form some idea of the magnificence and splendour which surrounded these monarchs, which has never been surpassed.
