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other side of the river, and where I had no chance of returning his call; but I was told that he expected no such compliment, though he would be pleased to learn that I had wished to pay it him. The Maharaja's equipage was not by any means a splendid one; he had silver sticks, however, behind his carriage, and the usual show of spears preceding it, but no troopers that I saw. He is rich, notwithstanding, and the circumstances of his family have materially improved since the conquest of Benares by the English from the Mussulmans.

September 8.-I this morning went to some of the points in the city which I was most anxious to fix in my memory, which had indeed been a little confused by the multitude of objects which I saw yesterday. I rode a very pretty but hot and obstinate Java pony. These ponies bear a high price in India, and deserve it, as, though little creatures, they are beautiful, lively, and very strong and hardy. I am told I was wrong in not bringing up my Arab, since I shall find a good horse absolutely necessary for my journey over land, and really good ones are very dear and difficult to procure. A Turkoman horse, if I can obtain one, is said to be the best for my purpose, since, though not very fleet nor handsome, they are strong, sure-footed, good-tempered, and, when not to much hurried, never tire. The horses of the Dooab and Rajbootana have been lately a good deal improved by an intermixture of English blood, and are generally tall and handsome, but are dear, and often very vicious, and on the whole better adapted for a hunt or a battle, than the patient and continued exertions of a long march.

Nothing remarkable occurred during my ride in Benares this morning, except the conduct of a little boy, a student in the Vidalaya, who ran after me in the street, and with hands joined, said that I had not heard him his lesson yesterday, but he could sing it very well to-day if I would let him. I accordingly stopped my horse, and sate with great patience while he chanted a long stave of Sanscrit. I repeated at proper pauses, "good, good," which satisfied him so much, that when he had finished, he called out "again," and was beginning a second stave when I dismissed him with a present, on which he fumbled in his mantle for some red flowers, which he gave me, and ran by my side, still talking on till the crowd separated us. While he was speaking or singing, for I hardly know which to call it, the people round applauded him very much; and from the way in which they seemed to apply the verses to me, I suspect that it was a complimentary address which he had been instructed to deliver the day before, but had missed his oppor

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tunity. If so, I am glad he did not lose his labour; but the few words, which, from their occurrence in Hindoostanee, I understood, did not at all help me to his meaning.

This evening I dined with Mr. Sands, one of the circuit judges, at whose house I had the pleasure to find Mr. Melville, who had just arrived from Ghazeepoor. He and Mr. Macleod offered again to take me to Benares, which, as they said, I had only half seen. I was, however, thoroughly tired with the days of bustle I had gone through. On Sunday I had three services, on Monday one, the consecration of the burial ground, besides the school-examination. On Tuesday I had been sight-seeing from five till nearly ten o'clock; today I was out an almost equal time, similarly employed, besides a regular evening drive, and receiving and paying visits, while all the intervals between these engagements were Occupied with reading and answering a large mass of papers from Bishop's College, Madras, and Calcutta. I therefore begged leave to postpone my further researches till my next visit. To see it as it deserves, indeed, Benares would require a fortnight.

My boats arrived this morning off the mouth of the small river which leads to Secrole, but as the state of the weather was such as to make it probable it would soon be almost dry, they were sent on to Rajaghat, and thence proceeded directly to Chunar, whither I was advised to go myself by land. The weather has indeed been such as is very seldom experienced at this time of year, and such as threatens to be very unfortunate, not only for my voyage, but for the country. No rain has fallen for many days; the wind has blown steadily and very hot from the west, and every thing fortells a speedy termination of the "bursat," or rainy season. consequence, I shall have a very laborious and slow tracking on the river, and what is much worse, the tanks are barely half full, the country but imperfectly irrigated, and famine, murrain, and all their attendant horrors, may be looked for. God avert such calamities from this poor country!

In

CHAPTER XIII.

BENARES TO ALLAHABAD.

CHUNAR INTENSE HEAT-TRIMBUK-JEE-HINDOO TEMPLE CONFIRMATION-INVALIDS-DEPARTURE FROM CHUNARQUARREL BE

LARGE FISH-RETROSPECT OF BENARES

TWEEN HINDOOS AND MUSSULMANS-SITTING DHURNA-NATIVES' OPINIONS OF ENGLISH GOVERNORS ALLAHABAD—

FORT-JUMNA

MUSJEED-CONFIRMATION-PREPARATIONS

FOR MARCHING-FESTIVAL OF RAMA AND SETA.

SEPTEMBER 10.-The events of yesterday are not worth recording. Mr. Macleod had promised to drive me in his gig half way to Sultanpoor, and at five o'clock this morning he was at my door. My palanquin had been sent on before, so that I had the advantage of making a quicker progress, as well as of enjoying his interesting conversation for about seven miles, when the carriage road ended in a little nullah, where we found the palanquin waiting for me, in which I proceeded to Sultanpoor, where I found a boat in readiness to convey me to Chunar, at which place I was to be Colonel Alexander's guest.

The view of Chunar is; from the river, very striking. Its fortress, which is of great extent, formerly of first-rate importance, and still in good repair, covers the crest and sides of a large and high rock, with several successive enclosures of walls and towers, the lowest of which have their base washed by the Ganges. On the right, as we approached it, is seen a range of rocky and uneven hills, on the left a large Indian town, intermingled with fine round-headed trees, with some very good European habitations, and a tall gothic tower like that of a parish church in England, which belongs, in fact, to the Mission Church, and is an imitation of that in Mr. Corrie's native village. The whole scene is entirely English; the mosques and muts are none of them visible in this quarter; the native houses, with their white walls and red tiled roofs, look exactly like those of a small English country town; the castle with its union flag is such as would be greatly admired, but not at all out of place, in any ancient English seaport; and, much as I admire palm trees, I felt glad that they were not very common in this neighbourhood, and that there were in point of fact none visible, to spoil the home character of the prospect. But such a sun, thank heaven! never glared in England as this day rained its lightnings on Chunar. I thought myself fortu

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nate in getting housed by ten o'clock, and before the worst came on, but it was still enough to sicken one. There was little wind, and what there was was hot, and the reflection and glare of the light gray rock, the light gray castle, the light gray sand, the white houses, and the hot bright river were about as much as I could endure. Yet, I trust, it is not a little that overpowers me. Breakfast, however, at Colonel Alexander's, and a good draught of cold water, set me quite up again, and I was occupied the rest of the morning in obtaining details of the schools and mission from Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Bowley. We dined with Colonel Robertson, the commandant of the fortress and station, and met a very large party, including among others Sir G. Martindell, the general in command at Cawnpoor; he is a fine, mild, unaffected old officer, with an experience of India, and particularly the upper provinces, scarcely shorter than Mr. Brooke's, and perhaps more various and extensive.

In the evening Colonel Alexander drove me in a gig a litthe way into the country, which is really pretty. The European dwellings are all on the side of a steep slope, covered with wood and gardens, with their drawing room verandahs opening for the most part on a raised terrace. Behind, and rising still higher up the slope, is the native town, the houses all of stone and mostly of two stories, generally with verandahs in front let out into shops, the whole not unlike a Welsh market-town, but much larger, and probably containing 15,000 people. Beyond is an open country, intersected by a broad nullah, with a handsome gothic bridge, and beyond this an open extent of rocky and woody country, which is a good deal infested by wolves and bears, but seldom visited by a tiger. The bears rarely do any harm unless they are first attacked. The wolves are apparently more daring and impudent than in Russia; they are said frequently to come to the houses and sheepfolds, and sometimes even attack and carry off children. The inhabitants of Chunar will not admit that it deserves the character which it usually bears, of excessive heat, but if this day and night were a fair specimen, I have certainly felt nothing to equal it. It happily grew cooler towards morning, and I got a few hours good sleep, which I much needed.

September 11.-This morning Colonel Robertson called to take me to see the fort, which well repays the labour, though this is not trifling. The site and outline are very noble; the rock on which it stands is perfectly insulated, and either naturally or by art, bordered on every side by a very awful precipice, flanked wherever it has been possible to obtain a salient angle, with towers, bartizans, and bastions of various

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forms and sizes. There are a good many cannon mounted, and a noble bomb-proof magazine for powder, which has been lately in a great measure stripped for the supply of the Birman war. Colonel Robertson, however, told me, that the ammunition on which he should most depend for the defence of Chunar are stone cylinders rudely made, and pretty much like garden rollers, which are piled up in great numbers throughout the interior of the fort, and for which the rock on which the fort stands affords an inexhaustible quarry. These, which are called "mutwalas" (drunkards,) from their staggering motion, are rolled over the parapet down the steep face of the hill, to impede the advances and overwhelm the ranks of an assaulting army; and when a place has not been regularly breached, or where, as at Chunar, the scarped and sloping rock itself serves as a rampart, few troops will so much as face them. Against a native army, Colonel Robertson said, Chunar, if resolutely defended, would, he thought, be impregnable, and except in one quarter it would stand no contemptible siege against a European force. Even there the rock which commands it, might easily be so much lowered as to prevent any danger; and the stone of which it consists is so valuable, that the neighbouring Zemindars had offered to cart it away at their own expense, provided Government would give up the duty now laid on Chunar-stone when transported to different parts of India; but the offer was declined.

On the top of the rock of Chunar, and within the rampart, is a considerable space, covered with remarkably fine English hay-grass, now nearly ripe for cutting, several noble spreading trees, and some excellent houses for the officers, few of whom, however, when not on duty, remain here, the reflection of the sun from the rock being very powerful, and the expense of bringing water for the Tatties great. Within this principal circle, and on a still higher point, are two inner fortifications, one containing the Governor's house, the hospital, and the state-prison, now inhabited by the celebrated Maharatta chieftain Trimbuk-jee, long the inveterate enemy of the British power, and the fomenter of all the troubles of Berar, Malwah, and the Deccan. He is confined with great strictness, having a European as well as a sepoy guard, and never being trusted out of the sight of the sentries. Even his bedchamber has three grated windows open into the verandah which serves as guard room. In other respects he is well treated, has two large and very airy apartments, a small building fitted up as a pagoda, and a little garden shaded with a peepul tree, which he has planted very prettily with balsams and other flowers. Four of his own servants are al

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