- Author:
- Knox, Thomas Wallace
- Publication Info:
-
New York:
Harper and Brothers,
1882,
pg 286
Text on page 286
286G
THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST.
said he expected to see a great fort and many soldiers, but the Doctor told him that when the place was given up by the English, in 1814, it was on the condition that no European soldiers should be kept there, and no fort should be built. The same was the case with the other French possessions in India, and consequently they could never be of any military importance, and would speedily fall into the hands of the English in case of war between the two countries.
They found that the European quarter was well laid out along the sea-shore, and separated from the native portion by a ditch, which was crossed by several bridges. The streets are broad, and shaded by magnifi-
hocse in the european quarter.
cent trees, and nearly every house has a fine garden attached to it. The squares are large, and there are many temples and pagodas that tell the traveller he is in India. Many of the natives speak French, and altogether they appear content with the foreigners that rule over them.
They met many natives, and the boys were impressed with the oddity of the appearance of many of them. The quantity of jewellery worn by the women surpassed what they had seen in Ceylon, or in any of the countries hitherto visited, and one of them remarked that people in India were willing to suffer much inconvenience for the sake of fashion. As he said so he pointed out a woman who had a ring at least two inches in diameter thrust through one side of her nose in such a way that it hung down over her mouth, and reached to the level of the base of her chin.
