the tapering minarets, and the carved domes of temples rise high above the confined and squalid streets, till the eye, lost in the misty distance, is satiated and glutted by this embarras de richesses. Along the crowded banks of the river are the various ghauts (or landing-places), the scenes of a busy trade; at some, passengers are landing or embarking, at others, merchant ships are disgorging their freights into the greedy jaws of huge warehouses, receiving in return a rich cargo of silks or indigo, or other of that valuable merchandize which has made British India what it is; huge bales of costly fabrics swing in mid-air from colossal cranes, or lie in tempting profusion on the heavily-laden wharfs.

All is active, bright, and interesting, and as one's eye wanders again and again over the scenes above described, you become conscious of the absence of a something to which you have generally been accustomed, you miss some familiar object which you fancy should be here what is it? Look attentively up at that blue sky, down at those snow-white houses, along the gay Chowringhee, and say what that "something" is! Ah! Eureka! SMOKE! Citizen of London, think of that! Citizen of Birmingham, think of that! Citizens of Manchester and Liverpool, think of that, and realize it if you can! No smoke! And herein lies the secret-added to the brightness of the sun-of that astoundingly new, clean, fresh, cheerful coup d'œil which Calcutta presents. No murky vapours, in dark conspiracy with fogs and mists, hang black or gloomy, to shade by their presence the clear outlines of

BRILLIANT ATMOSPHERE.

33

the buildings, and to give that indefinable air of tristesse for which our own London is so justly celebrated; no curling wreaths of smoke to blacken freshly painted houses, and stain the unsullied purity of white glittering walls or bright green verandahs and venetians. And it is the absence of these dim and dulling vapours which gives to Calcutta something of the dazzling appearance of a town reflected in a highly polished mirror, or in the clear surface of some unruffled lake, as the stranger views it through that sun-glint, which is ever dancing and sparkling before it. Such is Calcutta ; such did it appear to me when I first beheld it—a bright, fairy city, unlike any place I had ever seen before; such, reader, will you probably find it when you honour it with your presence; such, perchance, you may have already found it, oh! Anglo-Bengalee, in years gone by, when you sojourned in the land !

D

CHAPTER IV.

Mosquitoes-The disembarkation-Harpies-Sore trial of temper "Puggree" to the rescue !-A brief retrospective review of Puggree's career in my service-Coolies-Some reflections incidental to arriving in India.

"GOODNESS gracious! my dear fellow, where have you been?" been?" Such was the salutation which greeted me as I appeared at breakfast on the following morning, after a night, the recollection of which will never, never be effaced, spent among the mosquitoes. Oh! that night— that night! the tossing and the tumbling, and the rolling to and fro; the single combats that I fought, the general actions with large bodies of the enemy that I engaged in, the scratching, and the tearing, and the groaning-ye gods! what words can tell?

I anointed wound after wound, as I received them, with Eau de Cologne, salad-oil, lime-juice, mustard, and a hundred other " infallible cures ;" but, alas! 'twas of no avail. I groaned,—I walked about my cabin,-I went up on deck,-I drank gallons of cold water,—I buffeted wildly in the air with bolsters, I tore myself with my nails,-seizing the most bristly clothes-brush procurable, I groomed myself, after the manner of a steed, Iah! what did I not do during that awful night?

On rising in the morning and looking in the glass, behold! hands, neck, face, one mass of

mosquito-empoisoned flesh. As far as I could ascertain by inquiry and private interviews with my looking-glass, it appeared to me that I had four cheeks on the left side of my face and three on the right; two and a-half upper lips, five eyelids, one nose and three-quarters, and a large proportion of ears, particularly on the right side of my head.

In fact, how I found room for all these additional organs, I am at a loss to discover ; but there they were, rather in the way than otherwise, for my lips kept getting into my mouth, my eyelids were in a chronic state of wink, almost entirely obscuring my sight, the enlarged state of my ears materially interfered with brushing my hair; while, as for getting my hat on to my head -ha, ha !—why, it would have been suicide to think of it!

Nor was I the only sufferer. A dear friend came to breakfast with one side of his face apparently under the influence of Joe Miller, while the other side was dressed as though about to attend a funeral, if one might judge from the lugubrious and gloomy appearance that it presented. Even the soldiers' and sailors' tough hides failed to protect them from these little buzzing, winged demons, and many a gallant warrior in her Britannic Majesty's pay bore unmistakeable signs that morning of having been among the "musquitties."

A ship is not a pleasant place while the process of disembarkation is going on. There is a creaking of blocks and tackle, a perpetual chorus of "Walk away with it, lads!" and "Lower 'andsomely!" and a chafing of ropes, and a great

many solo performances on a shrill metallic whistle by the boatswain-not to speak of the imminent risk one runs of unexpectedly and gracefully strolling (without the aid of steps or ladder) into the lower hold, vid one of the many hatchways which are conveniently yawning open, or the scarcely less agreeable possibility of receiving on the top of one's head one of the many descending bales of goods, varying in weight from one hundredweight to a couple of tons. All sorts of people on all sorts of business, and some on no business at all, flock aboard. There are coolies, black and shiny, and innocent of garments as of any attempt or intention to over-fatigue themselves by physical exertion; there are Asiatic tailors, who talk the most extraordinary English, and dispose of inferior articles at fine full-grown prices; there are men who insist on following you all round the ship, and thrusting into your face dirty pieces of paper, containing the information that the bearer, Bohwahl Sing, or Pultoo Bux, served Ensign X Y Z in the capacity of khitmutghar for three days, during which lengthened period he gave unprecedented satisfaction! There are various officers of high standing in certain military departments who are busily performing that arduous duty entitled "superintending the disembarkation of troops," which means -Well, well, never mind what it means; but they have nice gold-lace caps, and "staff peaks," and faultless coats, and well-cut trousers, and altogether look so smart and spruce that it really is a pleasure to see them even when they are doing nothing. Then there are gentlemen unctuous