Memoirs of Meredith Worth [‎4r] (7/12)

7
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One of our dutues was to attend the annual Prizegiving at the Mayo
College in A^meic. This College was founded to give education to the son® of
/ Rulers and was run on the lines of an English Public School. At the time of
our visrit the Maharaja of Dholpur was President of the Board of Governors and
had to make the closing speech. His hobby was to tame wild animals and his
extraordinary success in doing so seemed to give him exalted ideas of his
own importance. I was seated between the Maharajas of Jodhpur and Jaipur and
we had a bet on the number of times H.H. Dholpur would refer to God in Ms
speech. The Maharaja cf Jaipur won with 23#
The Rajputana States stretched from the semi-desert of Jaisalmer and
Jodhpur in the West to Bikaner and Aiwar in the North and to the forests of
Udaipur, Kotah and Dungarpur in the South and East, Jaisalmer town was built
on a rocky rictge and was surrounded by battlements of huge blocks of stone
fitted tightly together without any mortar. Water was obtained from a deep
well half way up the ridge. It probably tapped the river which in the days
of Mohenjadaro flowed parallel to the Indmfc reaching the sea? at the old port
of Lohair. Inside the battlements many of the houses had beautiful stone
lattice work in their windows. Jaipur was famous for its polo but whefa we
were there the only game which we were made to pjay was bicycle polo, possibly
a more dangerous version. Near the nfbdern town was tne old capital, A^4>er>
with its Keep at the top of a hill where the State treasures were ktpt, and
o w-o wa-ke-r tflkk covered by a concrete roof in the main Palace. Round one of
of proportion to the rest of their figures. When I went down to ground level
and looked at the figures above my head the skill of the sculptors was at once
showed us a ceremonial sword wmcn naa
Victoria for rescuing and keeping sa|e
Earopeans during the Mutiny.