aries have had every possible opportunity of learning, if not of actually witnessing, all the particulars of the ceremony which they describe. Perhaps these particulars vary in different instances. At all events it is a proof how hard it is to gain, in this country, accurate information as to facts which seem most obvious to the senses. I felt very sick at heart, and regretted I had not been half an hour sooner, though probably my attempts at persuasion would have had no chance of success. I would at least have tried to reconcile her to life. There were perhaps twenty or thirty people present, with about the same degree of interest, though certainly not the same merriment, as would have been called forth by a bon-fire in England. I saw no weeping, and heard no lamentations. But when the boat drew near, a sort of shout was raised, I believe in honour of Brahma, which was met by a similar outcry from my boatmen.

January 15.-Dr. Marshman, the Baptist Missionary from Serampoor, dined with me. Dr. Carey is too lame to go out. The talents and learning of these good men are so well known in Europe, that I need hardly say that, important as are the points on which we differ, I sincerely admire and respect them, and desire their acquaintance. In speaking of the Suttee of yesterday, Dr. Marshman said that these horrors are of more frequent occurrence within these few last years, than when he first knew Bengal; an increase which he imputes to the increasing luxury of the higher and middling classes, and to their expensive imitation of European habits, which make many families needy, and anxious to get rid, by any means, of the necessity of supporting their mothers, or the widows of their relations. Another frequent cause is, he thinks, the jealousy of old men, who having married young wives, still cling to their exclusive possession even in death, and leave injunctions, either with their wives themselves to make the offering, or with their heirs to urge them to it. He is strongly of opinion that the practice might be forbidden in Bengal, where it is of most frequent occurrence, without exciting any serious murmurs. The women, he is convinced, would all be loud in their praises of such a measure; and even of the men, so few would have an immediate interest in burning their wives, mothers, or sisters-in-law, that they would not set themselves against what those who had most influence with them would be so much interested in having established. The Brahmins, he says, have no longer the power and popularity which they had when he first remembers India; and among the laity many powerful and wealthy persons agree, and publicly express their agreement, with Rammohun Roy, in reprobating the custom, which is now well known to be not commanded by any of the Hindoo sacred books, though some of them speak of it as a meritorious

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sacrifice. A similar opinion to that of Dr. Marshman I have heard expressed by the senior Judge of the Sudder Dewannee Adawlut. Others, however, of the members of the Government think differently. They conceive that the likeliest method to make the custom more popular than it is, would be to forbid and make it a point of honour with the natives; that, at present, no woman is supposed to be burnt without her own wish certified to the magistrate, that there are other and less public ways to die (on that account more liable to abuse than the Suttees) which might be resorted to if this were forbidden, and that if we desire to convert the Hindoos, we should above all things be careful to keep Government entirely out of sight in all the means which we employ, and to be even, if possible, over scrupulous in not meddling with, or impeding those customs which, however horrid, are become sacred in their estimation, and are only to be destroyed by convincing and changing the popular mind. When Christian schools have become universal, the Suttee will fall of itself. But to forbid it by any legislative enactment would, in their opinion, only give currency to the notion, that we mean to impose Christianity on them by force, and retard its progress to an almost indefinite period.

January 21.-We had this morning an opportunity of hearing the remarkable phenomenon, not uncommon in the Ganges, called the Bore, or rush of the spring-tide up the river, with a great elevation of wave, and tremendous noise and rapidity. The sound resembled that of a steam-boat, but was infinitely. louder; we were awakened by it, but before I could get out, it had either passed, or else, as it always runs close to one or other of the sides of the river, the high crumbling bank prevented my seeing it. Nothing at least was visible but the water shining beautifully bright under a full moon in a cloudless sky, though the noise continued to be audible for some time longer.

I went this day to Calcutta, to attend the meeting of the Church Missionary Society, and returned, after an early dinner, with Archdeacon Corrie.

A very beautiful civet cat was caught this morning in one of the walks of the garden, and was overpowered by a number of men and dogs, after a severe chase from one tree to the other, and a gallant resistance. It is a very pretty animal, like a cat in all respects except its size, which nearly equals that of a small fox, and its long pointed nose. The common wild cat often occurs in this neighbourhood, and the civet is not unfrequent. During the fruit season, the garden is sadly pillaged by swarms of monkeys, which then make their appearance from the jungles, as well as by the huge bats, which entirely live on fruits and vegetables, their vampire habits, as I have before observed, being utterly VOL. I.-11

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SALT PETRE-CONFIRMATION.

fabulous. Though they then abound, not one is now to be seen probably sleep during the cool weather.

There is another powder-mill in this neighbourhood besides those near Garden Reach, and half way between this place and Calcutta. The immense quantities of salt-petre found in Bengal account for their frequency. The tendency of the soil to produce it is very annoying to the builders and the occupants of houses. It can scarcely be prevented from encroaching in a few years on the walls and floors of all lower rooms, so as to render them unwholesome, and eventually uninhabitable. Half the houses in Calcutta are in this predicament, and their groundfloors useless. Cellars are unknown in this part of India.

January 25.-On my return from Calcutta this morning, where I went to preach at the cathedral, I found that I had a fresh reason for thankfulness to God in my wife's safety, and the birth of a fine and promising little girl, to the exceeding delight of our dear Emily, who rejoices in her new play-thing, kissing her little sister over and over again. God grant that they may both grow up in mutual love and equal virtue!

February 2.-I went to Calcutta for a Confirmation, which I held the next day in the Cathedral; the number of persons who attended were 236,-a good many more than were expected, as barely two years have elapsed since the last performance of the ceremony by Bishop Middleton. Most of them were half castes; but there were, however, several officers, and from 20 to 30 European soldiers, and three grown up women of the upper ranks. They were apparently very seriously impressed with the cere mony, which to me, I will own, was almost overpowering. God Almighty grant his indulgence to me, and his blessing on those for whom I then prayed, for Jesus Christ's sake!

February 5.-I returned to Titty-ghur. I had a curious visit a few days ago from a person who previously announced himself by letter as the Rev. Jacob Mecazenas, lately arrived from Rome, and anxious to wait upon me. I asked him to dinner two days after, but to my dismay, about 10 o'clock on the morning of the appointed day, instead of the smooth well-spoken Jesuit I had made up my mind to expect, I heard a thundering voice in the portico, and was greeted by a tall stout ecclesiastic with a venerable beard, a long black cossac, a calotte, and a triangular hat, who announced himself as Father Mecazenas of the Dominican order, and come to pass the day with me! I found he was a native of Teflis, but brought up in one of the Roman Catholic Armenian Convents established in Asia, and that he had passed his latter years at Rome. He spoke wretched Italian, a very little French, no English or Hindoostanee, and scarcely more than a few words of Latin. I had an engagement at the Government

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House during a part of the morning, which I pleaded, and hunted about to find if I had any books which could enable the poor man to pass his time rather less irksomely in my absence, but I found that the few Latin books which I had unpacked were in Calcutta, that I had no Italian of any kind, and that the old French books which I could get at, were the Tragedies of Voltaire, a harmless work certainly, but bearing so formidable a name that I doubted whether, even if he could, he would read them. I was not mistaken, the name was enough for him, and though he made no objection in my presence, I was told that no sooner was my back turned than with a deep groan he laid them down, and desired a servant to take them away. Accordingly he passed the greater part of the morning in walking up and down the room, and looking out at the boats on the Hooghly. I pitied the poor man, and when I had finished my necessary business, on my return renewed my conversation with him, which got on better than I at first expected. I asked him some questions about Georgia and Armenia, but the most which I got was a list of the different tribes of Caucasus, a specimen of the Georgian vocabulary for the most common articles, and the Georgian alphabet, which he wrote out for me, and which I was surprised to find differ very materially from the Sclavonic, the Armenian, and every other with which I am acquainted. At last dinner came to his relief as well as mine, and he soon began to display the appetite of a hardy mountaineer. I have seldom seen any one make such quick despatch with whatever was put on his plate, and he made a no less good use of the three French words with which he seemed most familiar, "à votre santé !" tossing down one bumper of wine after another, laughing all the time with the voice of a lion, till I began to fear some exhibition would follow, not very creditable either to the Church of Rome or to the table of a Protestant Bishop. He was, however, too strong to be affected by what he drank, except that it a little increased his fluency and noisy hilarity; and as soon as the cloth was fairly off the table, I thought it high time to call for coffee. I had been all this time expecting to be asked to subscribe to something or other, since, the dinner always excepted, I could not perceive why else the good man should have shown so much anxiety for my acquaintance; and accordingly at length he rose, brought out an immense paper book, and after a short complimentary speech, solicited my patronage to a fund he was employed in collecting, to repair the temple of Fortuna Virilis, in Rome, which was, he said, appropriated as a hospital and place of intruction for Armenian and other youths, and pilgrims, but had been grievously injured by certain excavations which the French made while in Rome, in order to examine the nature of its substruction and foundations.

His paper was to the same effect, but was written in English, and evidently the composition of some of the Calcutta native writers. He then talked of credentials from Rome; but though I asked for them, both in Latin and Italian, he produced none, but evaded the question. However, had he produced them, he would not have been at all more likely to gain his object with me, since I neither quite believed the story of the French having committed an outrage at variance with their general conduct, nor did I conceive myself called on to build up churches for the members of a different communion in Rome, when all which I can do is likely to fall so far short of the claims of charity in India. If the poor man, who was very pressing, had asked me for himself, and in the capacity which I suspect really belonged to him, of a mendicant, he would have fared better. As it was I was unrelenting, though civil; and we parted, with at least the satisfaction on my part, that I had given him a good dinner.

February 7.-I went down to Calcutta this morning, to attend a "Durbar," or native levee of the Governor's, which all the principal native residents in Calcutta were expected to attend, as well as the vakeels from several Indian princes. I found on my arrival the levee had begun, and that Lord Amherst, attended by his aides-du-camp and Persian secretary, had already walked down one side, where the persons of most rank, and who were to receive "khelâts," or honorary dresses, were stationed. I therefore missed this ceremony, but joined him and walked round those to whom he had not yet spoken, comprising some persons of considerable rank and wealth, and some learned men, travellers from different eastern countries, who each in turn addressed his compliments, or petitions, or complaints to the Governor. There were several whom we thus passed who spoke English not only fluently but gracefully. Among these were Baboo Ramchunder Roy and his four brothers, all fine, tall, stout young men, the eldest of whom is about to build one of Mr. Shakespear's rope-bridges over the Caramnasa.

After Lord Amherst had completed the circle, he stood on the lower step of the throne, and the visiters advanced one by one to take leave. First came a young Raja of the Rajapootana district, who had received that day the investiture of his father's territories, in a splendid brocade khelât and turban; he was a little, pale, shy-looking boy, of 12 years old. Lord Amherst, in addition to these splendid robes, placed a large diamond aigrette in his turban, tied a string of valuable pearls round his neck, then gave him a small silver bottle of attar of roses, and a lump of pawn, or betel, wrapped up in a plantain leaf. Next came forwards the "vakeel," or envoy of the Maharaja Scindeah, also a boy, not above sixteen, but smart, self-possessed, and dandy-looking. His khelât and