Page 94 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
P. 94
Around the World in 80 Days
hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems
with bracelets, earrings, and rings; while a tunic bordered
with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe, betrayed
the outline of her form.
The guards who followed the young woman presented
a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked
sabres hung at their waists, and long damascened pistols,
and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. It was the body of an
old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah,
wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a
robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed
with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindoo
prince. Next came the musicians and a rearguard of
capering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise
of the instruments; these closed the procession.
Sir Francis watched the procession with a sad
countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, ‘A suttee.’
The Parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. The
procession slowly wound under the trees, and soon its last
ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood. The songs
gradually died away; occasionally cries were heard in the
distance, until at last all was silence again.
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