INDIFFERENCE TO THE FINE ARTS. 45 



been cultivated he would have been one of the 

 first men of his day in the East. 



Asiatics in general, and Beloochecs in par- 

 ticular, have very little taste for the fine arts ; in 

 fact, many of them cannot understand a common 

 print or picture, an instance of which occurred 

 in Sir Charles Napier's presence, to His Excel- 

 lency's great amusement, shortly after the 

 conquest of Sindh, when all the principal Be- 

 loochee chiefs attended his Durbar. In the 

 room where the ceremony took place hung a 

 picture of Her Majesty, which being shown to 

 them was seemingly viewed with sentiments of 

 reverence and devotion ; but their numbers 

 being great, many were unable to approach 

 it, so Sir Charles took the picture down and 

 handed it to one of the chiefs, who, with 

 delight and admiration dej)icted in his counte- 

 nance, held it aloft, bottom upwards, before tlie 

 admiring eyes of his countrymen, who expressed 

 their loyalty in suitable terms. 



The women of Shidli, both Mahomcdan and 

 Hindoo, are exceedingly industrious, and in the 

 stillness of the night, long before break of day, 

 their millstones may be heard preparing flour for 

 next day's consumption. The Setts or Sahokars of 



