this way fifty thousand English have conquered and held in united strength an empire composed of 180,000,000 of men of all sorts of nations and languages. The Portuguese, on the other hand, and the French, seemed at once to coalesce with the natives whom they conquered. They assumed native dress and habits, married native wives, and eventually became degraded to the level of natives, and were absorbed by their overwhelming numbers. This metamorphosis is even more marked in the case of the Mahommedan conquerors of India, who, in a few years, became changed from brave and hardy Tartars or Afghans, into the weak, cringing, idle and luxurious Moosulmans of Hindoostan. At the present day they are scarcely at all distinguishable from Hindoos; they have universally adopted the Hindoo custom of caste, and in many places have almost lost their old faith and become idolaters. In fact, at the present time, they are inferior to many of the Hindoos in physical advantages; and as regards their mental qualities, are sunk even below the level of other natives. I have spoken before of the deterioration of the Portuguese in China, which is also a case in point. In fact, that very peculiarity of the English, which, I have heard said by Frenchmen and others, disqualified them from governing foreign countries, by shutting them off from all sympathy and common feeling with their subjects, is, I believe, the quality to which is to be attributed their unexampled success in India, where French and Portuguese in equal or greater numbers failed almost from the beginning, and where the Mahommedans, though more than a hundred times as numerous, never got so sure a footing, so united an empire, and so submissive an obedience. During our stay at Bombay occurred the festival of the Hoolee, or Hindoo New-Year, which is celebrated throughout India, but more particularly in those parts that are thoroughly Hindoo. Besides the religious ceremonies observed, there are entertainments in the residences of the richer classes, and it is customary for the natives to pelt one another with red balls or a red liquid that stains the clothes and makes them look as if they were covered with blood. In some of the native courts elephants are trained to eject this liquid from their

trunks. The aid of modern science has even been called in, and fire-engines are used to squirt the red liquid from the palace wall upon the Rajah's subjects below.

By the kindness of some Parsee friends we were invited to two of the largest entertainments given during the festival. The first was at the house of a wealthy Hindoo, Juggurnathjee Sunkurset. His residence is a large mansion, built and furnished in the English style. The rooms were lighted during the evening and thrown open for the inspection of visitors. The nach, however, was given in a temporary building of bamboo and canvass, erected for the occasion in the courtyard. The bamboo building formed one large room, about a hundred feet long by sixty broad; and the canvass walls were painted to represent Italian frescoes. On the floor was a Persian carpet, and along each side were parallel rows of sofas crowded with rich Hindoos and Parsees. At the upper end was a dais, on which sat our host and his more honoured guests, among whom were the Admiral of the Company's Navy and his family. At the lower end of the room were the nach girls, who were but little different from those of Delhi, except that they wore less voluminous dresses. At our entrance our entertainer rose to meet us, and sprinkled us with rose-water from a silver bottle, having a top perforated like a pepper-castor. We were also served with "pâns," which are some slices of areca-nut and fine chunam (lime) wrapped in a betel-leaf. These are much used for chewing by all classes of natives, and are always served to guests as coffee and pipes are in Ottoman countries. The taste is aromatic, and slightly astringent; and the juice, which is swallowed, is said to have a tonic effect on the stomach. The guests all sat on the sofas as naturally as possible, and also wore their shoes, which is an excess of Anglicism to which natives in Northern India have not yet attained. I heard in Calcutta that a few members of "Young Bengal" had attempted to wear their shoes at the Governor General's receptions, but his lordship told them decidedly that they must show some sign of respect either by uncovering the head as Europeans do, or by removing the shoes, as is the native custom.

We afterwards went to another nach at the house of a Hindoo physician. This entertainment was much smaller than the other, and those present all sat on the carpet in the native fashion. The doctor was a graduate of the University of Bombay, and had, as we understood, obtained a high position in his profession. He spoke excellent English, and was at great pains to entertain us. His dress was a chupkun, of the old fashion, with a skirt descending to the ankle, and formed of an infinite quantity of the finest white muslin gathered into an immense number of folds at the waist. On the following day, however, when we called on him, we found him without any clothing at all above the hips, which I fancy is his usual costume, at least when in the house.

The Hoolee lasted for several days, and during the whole time, these naches continued, and the streets were filled with gaily-dressed natives whose white dresses were liberally stained with the crimson marks of the season. At night the streets were brilliantly lighted, and even more crowded than during the day.

The greatest sight of Bombay is the cave temple in the island of Elephanta, which we visited in company with a member of the Parsee house of Dossabhoy, Merwanjee & Co., who were unremitting in their attentions during our stay.

We embarked in a 66 bunder-boat," a small native craft with a cabin, and sailed the seven miles to the island in about an hour's time, the wind being light. Long before reaching the shore our boat grounded, as the water is very shallow, and we were obliged to mount on the shoulders of some of the boatmen, who waded ashore with us on their backs.

The island is high, and richly covered with tropical trees and plants. A stone path, with several series of steps, leads up to the temple, which is over half a mile from the landingplace.

The temple is a large square room with a flat roof about twenty feet high, supported by several rows of massive pillars. The whole is carved out of the solid rock like the caves of Ellora, and in form and decorations much resembles some of them. At the further end is the principal idol, which is a co

lossal bust with three heads. This has been supposed to represent the Trimoortee, or Hindoo Trinity, but there are objections to this theory, and to all the other hypotheses which have been invented to explain its meaning. Several other statues decorate this apartment, and on each side is a smaller chamber, opening into the larger one, and also containing idols.

The antiquity of this temple has long furnished a subject of wonder for visitors to Bombay; and their fancy has had almost unlimited ground for conjecture as there is no inscription or other sign by which the antiquarian would be enabled to fix the age exactly. Late investigations, however, and particularly a comparison with similar caves the age of which is known, have combined to attribute to it a date more modern than the

year 900 of our era. What adds to the probability of this conclusion is the fact that during the short time that it has been known to Europeans, although every care for its preservation has been taken by the authorities, it has sustained great injury from the weather, which makes it extremely improbable that so perishable a material as the soft stone from which it is excavated, could resist the power of the elements for many centuries.

The island of Elephanta was so named by the Portuguese. Its native name is Shahpooree. The Portuguese name is derived from a gigantic stone elephant, three times the size of life, which stands a short distance from the cave. This figure, however, like the cave itself, is very much defaced by the action of the weather, and the form of an animal, which it bears on its back, is now so disfigured that its distinctive peculiarities cannot be distinguished.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

BOMBAY TO CAIRO.

The "Ganges"-Our Fellow-passengers-The Crew-Life on the Steamer-Aden-Its Appearance-"Hell with the fires put out "-An Original Head-dress-Arabs-The Cantonments-The Fortifications-Importance of the City-Free Trade-A Footprint of Civilization-The "Gate of Tears"-The Red Sea-Its Heat-Suez-Transit across the Desert-Its Appearance-The Road-The Pyramids-The "City of Victory"-A Recommendation for Indian Travel.

WE remained at Bombay over a fortnight. On the eighteenth of March we bade good-bye to one of our party, Mr. Gibson, the English engineer, who went to England by ship. The rest of us took passages to Cairo, and on the evening of the nineteenth we went on board the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer Ganges, a vessel of 1200 tons, propelled by paddle-wheels. As these steamers are intended mostly for passengers, their accommodations are ample and very comfortable. Every provision is made for hot weather, and there are even punkahs over the tables.

Early on the morning of the twentieth we steamed out of the "beautiful bay,"* and by noon we had lost sight of land. Our fellow-passengers, who proved most agreeable companions, were about fifty in number. They were mostly officers of the army, from the Bombay and Madras Presidencies, although some of them had come from the Punjab and extreme North West, from which part of India the easiest way to reach England is by way of Mooltan, as there is a line of steamers between Kurrachee and Bombay, and steamboats run regularly on the Indus from Mooltan to Kurrachee. Among the passengers were eight or ten ladies and twice that number of children. The presence of the latter detracted almost as

* The name Bombay was given by the Portuguese, and is corrupted from two words in their language meaning "good bay."