I had been told that the population here suffered very much from
elephantiasis, and that numbers of poor wretches with horribly
swollen feet were to be seen at almost every turn. But this is not
true. I did not meet with as many cases of the kind during five
weeks here, as I did in one day in Rio Janeiro.
On one occasion I paid a visit to a rich Baboo. The property of the
family, consisting of three brothers, was reckoned at 150,000
pounds. The master of the house received me at the door, and
accompanied me to the reception-room. He was clad in a large dress
of white muslin, over which was wound a magnificent Indian shawl,
which extended from the hips to the feet, and made up for the
transparency of the muslin. One end of the shawl was thrown over
his shoulder in the most picturesque manner.
The parlour was furnished in the European fashion. A large hand
organ stood in one corner, and in the other a spacious bookcase,
with the works of the principal English poets and philosophers; but
it struck me that these books were there more for show than use, for
the two volumes of Byron's works were turned different ways, while
Young's Night Thoughts were stuck between.
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