Page 273 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

THE ENGLISH SECURE A FOOTHOLD IN INDIA 273

Ornate mosques and temples minister to the religious needs
of the polyglot native population, and in the outskirts of
the city, on the breezy altitudes of Malabar Hill, and the
wave-washed strand of Cumballa, are noble mansions in
which amid all the refinements and luxuries of the West the
merchant princes of Bombay, European and native, secure
a well-earned relaxation from the strain and stress of the
mart and the counting house in the hot and dusty con­
fines of the far-away fort where Gerald Aungier mused on
the possibilities of greatness that were inherent in this
matchless situation. And over these manifestations of
man’s activity is the glamour of a tropical environment of
surpassing charm. All around are the sparkling waters of
the Indian Ocean dotted on the harbour side with craft of
every imaginable description and of every size from the
leviathan finer, or stately cruiser, to the tiny canoe which
a bronzed little native boy is navigating with his hands as
paddles. Across the broad expanse of the harbour rise
from the water the low-lying Butcher’s Island and beyond
the loftier outlines of classic Elephanta, while away in the
distance on the landward side, seen through a shimmering
violet haze, are the irregular peaks of the Western Ghauts,
a glorious background to a superb picture. Truly it is a,
city “ full of goodly prospect,” whether it is viewed from
the standpoint of material development or of natural
beauty.
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