DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3462#0085
THE PROCLAMATION 55
The organisation was perfect. We brought a
servant with us to carry our luncheon, and he
joined us there, but had forgotten the lunch.
Through the courtesy of Mr. Barnes, we held four
tickets and a permission to wander about the
amphitheatre and sketch during the ceremony.
We left our seats in charge of the servant, and
moved in the arena with the crowd. The sights
we saw—the groups of natives and the chiefs and
princes in their gorgeous costumes—were almost
beyond description. I should think that never
within so small an arena have so many precious
stones been massed together. You could scarcely
look anywhere without seeing a blazing jewel.
All the most notable men in India were assembled
in that amphitheatre. There were the Nizam, in a
plain, dark blue uniform with a yellow turban ; the
Gaekwar of Baroda, in white satin; and hosts
whose names we did not know. Perhaps those
who attracted most attention were the Shan chiefs.
They were wearing solid gold dresses, belling out
like pagoda roofs, and great headgears of blazing
gold. The crowd stared at them, and countless
cameras snapped under their very noses; yet they
never moved. We walked round the arena for
about two hours ; but whenever we returned there
The organisation was perfect. We brought a
servant with us to carry our luncheon, and he
joined us there, but had forgotten the lunch.
Through the courtesy of Mr. Barnes, we held four
tickets and a permission to wander about the
amphitheatre and sketch during the ceremony.
We left our seats in charge of the servant, and
moved in the arena with the crowd. The sights
we saw—the groups of natives and the chiefs and
princes in their gorgeous costumes—were almost
beyond description. I should think that never
within so small an arena have so many precious
stones been massed together. You could scarcely
look anywhere without seeing a blazing jewel.
All the most notable men in India were assembled
in that amphitheatre. There were the Nizam, in a
plain, dark blue uniform with a yellow turban ; the
Gaekwar of Baroda, in white satin; and hosts
whose names we did not know. Perhaps those
who attracted most attention were the Shan chiefs.
They were wearing solid gold dresses, belling out
like pagoda roofs, and great headgears of blazing
gold. The crowd stared at them, and countless
cameras snapped under their very noses; yet they
never moved. We walked round the arena for
about two hours ; but whenever we returned there