BANKS OF THE RIVER.

7

thing monstrous, disgusting, and dangerous, from the tyger and the cobra de capello down to the scorpion and mosquito,-from the thunder-storm to the fever. We had seen, the night before, the lightenings flash incessantly and most majestically from this quarter; and what we now saw was not ill-fitted for a nursery of such storms as Southey describes as prevailing in his Padalon. The seamen and officers spoke of this shore with horror, as the grave of all who were so unfortunate as to remain many days in its neighbourhood; and even under our present brilliant sun, it required no great stretch of fancy to picture feverish exhalations rising from every part of it. As we drew nearer to the Sunderbunds their appearance improved; the woods assumed a greater variety of green and of shade; several round-topped trees, and some low palms, were seen among them, and a fresh vegetable fragrance was wafted from the shore. stream is here intense, and its struggle with the spring-tide raises waves of a dark-coloured water, which put me in mind of the river where Dante found the spirit of Filippo Argenti. I looked with much interest on the first coco-palms I saw, yet they rather disappointed me. Their forms are indeed extremely graceful, but their verdure is black and funereal, and they have something the appearance of the plumes of feathers which are carried before a hearse. Their presence, however, announced a more open and habitable country. The jungle receded from the shore, and its place was supplied by extremely green fields, like mea

The

dows, which were said to be of rice, interspersed with small woods of round-headed trees, and villages of huts, thatched, and with their mud walls so low, that they look like hay-stacks.

We anchored a few miles short of Diamond Harbour. The current and ebb-tide together ran at a rate really tremendous, amounting, as our pilot said, to 10 and 11 knots an hour. We were surrounded soon after our anchoring by several passage vessels; among these was a beautiful ship of about 250 tons, with the Company's Jack, and a long pendant, which we were told was the Government yacht, sent down for our accommodation.

During this day and the next I made several fresh observations on the persons and manners of the natives, by whom we were surrounded. I record them, though I may hereafter see reason to distrust, in some slight degree, their accuracy. I had observed a thread hung round the necks of the fishermen who came first on board, and now found that it was an ornament worn in honour of some idol. The caste of fishermen does not rank high, though fish is considered as one of the purest and most lawful kinds of food. Nothing, indeed, seems more generally mistaken than the supposed prohibition of animal food to the Hindoos. It is not from any abstract desire to spare the life of living creatures, since fish would be a violation of this principle as well as beef; but from other notions of the hallowed or the polluted nature of particular viands. Thus many Brahmins eat both fish and kid. The Rajpoots, besides these, eat mutton,

venison, or goat's flesh. Some castes may eat any thing but fowls, beef, or pork; while pork is with others a favourite diet, and beef only is prohibited, Intoxicating liquors are forbidden by their religion; but this is disregarded by great numbers both of high and low caste; and intoxication is little less common, as I am assured, among the Indians, than among Europeans. Nor is it true that Hindoos are much more healthy than Europeans. Livercomplaints, and indurations of the spleen are very common among them, particularly with those in easy circumstances, to which their immense consumption of " Ghee," or clarified butter, must greatly contribute. To cholera morbus they are much more liable than the whites, and there are some kinds of fever which seem peculiar to the native race.

The great difference in colour between different natives struck me much: of the crowd by whom we were surrounded, some were black as Negroes, others merely copper-coloured, and others little darker than the Tunisines whom I have seen at Liverpool. Mr. Mill, the principal of Bishop's College, who with Mr. Corrie, one of the Chaplains in the Company's service, had come down to meet me, and who has seen more of India than most men, tells me that he cannot account for this difference, which is general throughout the country, and every where striking. It is not merely the difference of exposure, since this variety of tint is visible in the fishermen who are naked all alike. Nor does it depend on caste, since very high caste

10

DIAMOND HARBOUR.

Brahmins are sometimes black, while Pariahs are comparatively fair. It seems, therefore, to be an accidental difference, like that of light and dark complexions in Europe, though where so much of the body is exposed to sight, it becomes more striking here than in our own country.

At six o'clock in the evening of October the 6th, we went on board the yacht, which we found a beautiful vessel, with large and convenient cabins, fitted up in a very elegant and comfortable manner; and slept for the first time under mosquito curtains, and on a mattrass of coco-nut coir, which though very hard is cool and elastic. The greater part of this day was occupied in ecclesiastical business, so that I had less opportunity for observing the country and people round us. The former improves as we ascend the river, and is now populous and highly cultivated. On the 7th we left Diamond Harbour, a place interesting as being the first possession of the East India Company in Bengal; but of bad reputation for its unhealthiness, the whole country round being swampy. Many ships were lying there. I saw no town, except a few native huts, some ruinous warehouses, now neglected and in decay, and an ugly, brick, dingy-looking house with a flag-staff, belonging to the harbour master. There are, however, many temptations for seamen among the native huts, several of them being spirit houses, where a hot unwholesome toddy is sold. We proceeded with a light breeze up the river, which still presents a considerable uniformity of prospect, though of a

richer and more pleasing kind than we had seen before. The banks abound with villages, interspersed with rice-fields, plantations of coco-palms, and groves of trees of a considerable height, in colour and foliage resembling the elm. We have seen one or two Pagodas, dingy buildings with one or more high towers, like glass-houses.

The Hooghly is still of vast width and rapidity. Our ship tacks in it as in a sea, and we meet many larger vessels descending. One of these was pointed to me as an Arab, of completely European build, except that her stern was overloaded with open galleries and verandahs, with three very tall masts, and carrying more sail than English merchant ships generally do. She had apparently a good many guns, was crowded with men, and had every appearance of serving, as occasion required, for piracy as well as traffic. Her " Rais," or master, had a loose purple dress on, and her crew I thought were of fairer complexions than the Hindoos. These last perform their evolutions with a great deal of noise, and most vociferously; but the Arabs excelled them in both these particulars. They shifted their sails with a clamour as if they were going to board an enemy. old clumsy Arab Dow mentioned by Niebuhr is now seldom seen; they buy many ships from Europeans; they build tolerable ones themselves, and even their grabs, which still have an elongated bow instead of a bow-sprit, are described as often very fine vessels and good sailers. In short, they are gradually becoming a formidable maritime

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