ROUND THE WORLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 39

ROUND THE WORLD.

(From Our Special Commissioner.) Theatre Royal, Calcutta, February 20. Dear Pasquin,— You will be delighted to hear J tbat Oarl Hertz struck the' same boom enjoyed by J the Bioutrhs, and the clever conjurer's manager, Mr Edwin Geach. (as in the case of the plague-in- ! fested city of Bombay), found r it necessary to lengthen thuir season. The populace here is a critical one but great patrons of the theatre, and willingly pay 4r (equal in English to 5s 4d),"so that all counts up. Carl Hertz is booked as follows :— Calcutta, till March 2 ; Rangoon (Burma), 6-12 ; Penang, 16 ; Singapore, 19 ; Java, China, and Japau to follow. Mdlle D' Alton, Hertz, Gsacli, and "Youis truly " have all got, so to speak, thoi-oughJy acclimatised to this countiy now, and we are enjoying ourselves immensely, and as regards sightseeing—well, it's one of tbe finest countries in the world. "When one departs, with a sigh of relief from Bombay and it& plague-infested area, upon a railway journey of 1297 miles, having successfully passeda minute medical inspection— not one, two, nor three, only seven — during the trip, this unfortunately necessary precaution and its discomforta of being ordered out of a co ! y felecp&v at pll and any hours the authorities may deem fit is con-sidcx-ably lessened by viewing a seiies of wonderful panoramic scenes. In Australia rail travelling is apt to, and certaiuly does, become monotonous by reason of its scenery— or rather I want of scenery. Here it is totally different at all points--there are beautiful sights and scenes to J entertain the attention and please the eye. Here i the ruins of ancient mosques, a temple that has suffered from the cannon's niouth ia the days of the great Havelock ; again we pass through a luxurious growth of Oriental foliage, fields of Indian crop thickly studded with natives dressed in the primitive cloth of nothing— in fact, in the " altogether." Villages galore are passed on every side, and travelling in and out during all hours of the day through hundreds of miles of any recognised citadel, one sees nothing but human life in all quarters, which is proof positive of the eDormoii? population of the laud of " JKanji's." This is unmistakably demonstrated in the far inland, but a thousand times more so in the cities, such as Bombay and Calcutta. Calcutta, the capital of the East, the seat of Government, military, and civilian, a truly great Oriental city, called the City of Palaces, and not without cause._ Its chief civic buildings in the' European quarter are thoroughly "Britiah." Heie you see the finest horseflesh, carriages, and "turn-outs" iv the East ; you hear the finest bands, and see life generally as near as possible from a Liordon standpoint. Calcutta, however, has its drawbacks, and these lie in its native quarters, where the filth and steuch is Bimply overpowering, the authorities being; utterly powerless ta imbibe into the average

native habits of cleanliness. This, coupled with over population, is the true cause of bubonic plague, which to-day is playing such terrific havoc with human life in-Bombay— lso,souls is the daily claim of this dreaded disease in Bombay at time of wrifing — yet the western city is comparatively clean when coinpaied to Calcutta, which forces one to uttev in the n.inie of the Deity, " God help Calcutta ," should ever plague enter her sacred gates, for Bombay's death rates, appalling as they are, will certainly sink into oblivion, aud Calcutta will stand an easy first in the matter of sensational records, so filthy are its native quarters, which naturally forms an ideal breeding ground for such a scourge. All trade and commerce is carried on in what they term in the East " bazaars," which are nothing more than long narrow lanes, so narrow, in fact, that the sun never penetrates, and in wretched hovels. Trade is carried on 24 hours per day, and seven day 3to the week. The sight of an Englishman is the cause of general activit5 r , and unless one is posted with the ways and means of the Eastern merchant (they call them all merchants) he i& led a pretty dance. There are two prices in everything— firstly, the " native " price, which allows him a sensational profit — but which rarely comes off ;— then the " proprah " price, which is usually taken as the last resource. Providing the stranger buys at the "proorali " price, he can rely upon getting full value for his money. On the whole the native-born Indian is cunning, and one has to rise very early to get the best of any bargain. The Ada Delroy Company are now up with the military stations, and shortly go to South ■ Africa. Tommy Hudson will very likely voyage the D' Arc's Marionettes on an Australasian, tour. Frank Lincoln opens here at an early date from China, thence to Bombay. Taylor-Cariington CompaDy are still here, and will probably stay for another year. Brough. plays a season here in 1900, upon termination of the Australian tour. — Youvs truly, Giblvt Gullivan, Esq.