close-fitting jacket, and over it a long white cotton robe ; then his stockings, of the finest Lille thread, are drawn on, and his feet placed in a pair of elegant French pumps ; after which the turban is placed on his head, and a long waistband wound round his waist ; and thus arrayed, with a heavily gold-mounted cane in hand, he at last issues forth, clothed, and altogether in another mind, into the outer world of English ideas and fashioning. He will, presently, drive down with you to the Town Hall to talk over, on the way, the Factory Bill he is so determined to oppose ; but meanwhile you must extend your visit also to the drawing-room — which you know you have not seen since he has had it newly done up for the season. The first glance into it is sufficient to convince the most pampered slave of debilitating comfort that, in hot climates at least, furniture is foolishness.
Bombay Blackwood.
It is always the same furniture which is to be seen everywhere in these Bombay houses, made of the shisham or blackwood trees [Dalbergia sps.], and elaborately carved in a style obviously derived from the Dutch, although it is highly probable that the excessive and ridiculous carving on old Dutch furniture was itself derived from the sculptured idols and temples which so excited their astonishment when they first reached India. The carving is very skilful, but in a style of decoration utterly inapplicable to chairs, and couches, and tables, and looks absolutely hideous when “French polished,” an “ improvement ” introduced during the last twenty years to suit European taste. When, however, this wood is used for the reproduction of the inlaid wooden doors of old Hindu temples, the effect is always good. It is very finely carved also at Ahmedabad in vases, inkstands, and other small objects, which being generally of pure native, or pure classical shapes and ornamentation seldom fail to please. The Ahmeda- bad carpenters have long been famous for their superior skill
