A BULLOCK CART IN AGRA
Here are some more bullocks, drawing quite a different kind of cart from any we have seen before. What fine-looking animals they are, and how patient they seem, in spite of the fact that the rope harness goes right through their nostrils and over their ears, which must be uncomfortable, to say the least.
See what a very elaborate canopy the carriage has, in the shape of a dome; but the wheels, somehow, do not seem to belong to the top, for they are made of wood and are very clumsy. We should know at once that this was in India, the land of sharp contrasts. Travellers in India often say that in that country the most magnificent and the meanest objects are found side by side. A beautiful palace and a miserable little hut are seen together, or a wonderful bit of carving beside cheap red or yellow glass ornaments.
Carts like the one in the picture are very often seen at Agra, the city where so many wonderful buildings are found. There are many interesting things in India that we should like to see; you know it is a very large country, and there are many different kinds of scenery; and in some places it is very beautiful. The different castes or classes of people each have manners and customs of their own, and the dress of the natives tells at once to what caste they belong; but it would be hard for us to remember all the differences.
A typical Bullock-driver with clumsy wooden-wheeled Car, at Agra, India
From Stereograph, copyright by Underwood & Underwood, New York