assenting, they led us to a really noble | Gothic gateway, overgrown with beautiful broad-leaved ivy, but in good preservation, and decidedly handsomer, though in pretty much the same style, with the "Holy Gate" of the Kremlin in Moscow. Within this, which had apparently been the entrance into the city, extended a broken but still stately avenue of tall trees, and on either side a wilderness of ruined buildings, overgrown with trees and brushwood, which reminded Stowe of the baths of Caracalla, and me of the upper part of the city of Caffa. I asked who had destroyed the place, and was told Seraiah Dowla, an answer which (as it was evidently a Hindoo ruin) fortunately suggested to me the name of the Raja Kissen Chund. On asking whether this had been his residence, one of the peasants answered in the affirmative, adding that the Raja's grandchildren yet lived hard by. By this I supposed he meant somewhere in the neighbour hood, since nothing here promised shelter to any beings but wild beasts, and as I went along I could not help looking carefully before me, and thinking of Thalaba in the ruins of Babylon :"Cautiously he trode and felt

The dangerous ground before him with his

bow;

Our guide meantime turned short to the right, and led us into what were evidently the ruins of a very extensive palace. Some parts of it reminded me of Conway Castle, and others of Bolton Abbey. It had towers like the former, though of less stately height, and had also long and striking cloisters of Gothic arches, but all overgrown with ivy and jungle, roofless, and desolate. Here, however, in a court, whose gateway had still its old folding doors on their hinges, the two boys whom we had seen on the beach came forward to meet us, were announced to us as the great grandsons of Raja Kissen Chund, and invited us very courteously, in Persian, to enter their father's dwelling. I looked round in exceeding surprise. There was no more appearance of ha

bitation than in Conway. Two or three cows were grazing among the ruins, and one was looking out from the top of a dilapidated turret, whither she had scrambled to browze on the ivy. The breech of a broken cannon and a fragment of a mutilated inscription lay on the grass, which was evidently only kept down by the grazing of cattle; and the jackalls, whose yells began to be heard around us as the evening closed in, seemed the natural lords of the place. Of course I expressed no astonishment, but said how much respect I felt for their family, of whose ancient splendour I was well informed, and that I should be most happy to pay my compliments to the Raja, their father. They immediately led us up a short, steep, straight flight of steps in the thickness of the wall of one of the towers, precisely such as that of which we find the remains in one of the gateways of Rhuddlan Castle, assuring me that it was a very “good road;" and at the door of a little vaulted and unfurnished room, like that which is shown in Carnarvon Castle, as the queen's bed-chamber, we were received by the Raja Omichund, a fat shortish man, of about forty-five, of rather fair complexion, but with no other clothes than his waistcloth and Brahminical string, and only distinguished from his vassals by having his forehead marked all over with alternate stripes of chalk, vermilion, and gold leaf. The boys had evidently run home to inform him of our approach, and he had made some preparations to receive us in Durbar. His own Musnud was ready, a kind of mattress laid on the ground, on which, with a very harmless ostentation, he had laid a few trinkets, a gold watch, betel-nut box, &c. &c. Two old arm chairs were placed opposite for Stowe and me. The young Rajas sat down at their father's right hand, and his naked domestics ranged themselves in a line behind him, with their hands respectfully folded. On the other side the Sotaburdar stood behind me; Stowe's servant took place behind him, and Abdullah between us as interpreter, which function he discharged extremely well, and

which was the more necessary, since, in strict conformity with court etiquette, the conversation passed in Persian. I confess I was moved by the apparent poverty of the representative of a house once very powerful, and paid him more attention than I, perhaps, might have done had his drawing-room presented a more princely style. He was exceedingly pleased by my calling him "Maha-raja," or Great King, as if he were still a sovereign like his ancestors, and acknowledged the compliment by a smile, and a profound reverence. He seemed, however, much puzzled to make out my rank, never having heard (he said) of any "Lord Sahib," except the Governor-General, while he was still more perplexed by the exposition of "Lord Bishop Sahib," which, for some reason or other, my servants always prefer to that of "Lord Padre." He apologized very civilly for his ignorance, observing that he had not been for many years in Calcutta, and that very few Sahibs ever came that way. I told him that I was going to Dacca, Benares, Delhi, and possibly Hurdwar; that I was to return in nine or ten months, and that, should he visit Calcutta again, it would give me great pleasure if he would come to see me. He said he seldom stirred from home; but as he spoke his sons looked at him with so much earnest and intelligible expression of countenance, that he added that "his boys would be delighted to see Calcutta, and wait on me."

He then asked very particularly of Abdullah in what street and what house I lived. After a short conversation of this kind, and some allusions on my part to his ancestors and their ancient wealth and splendour, which were well taken, we took leave, escorted to the gate by our two young friends, and thence, by a nearer way, through the ruins to our pinnace, by an elderly man, who said he was the Raja's "Muktar," or chamberlain, and whose obsequious courtesy, high reverence for his master's family, and numerous apologies for the unprepared state in which we had found the court," reminded me of old Caleb Balderstone.

We had not yet, however, done with

our acquaintance. In about an hour's time the muktar returned, and had a conversation with Abdullah, apparently to ascertain what my real rank was, and with directions to act accordingly. At least, after receiving satisfaction on the points in question, he desired to see me, and announced that his master intended visiting me. I at first declined the honour, saying that we were travellers, that I was obliged to be off very early in the morning, and that I had no means with me of receiving him as I could wish to do. The old man, however, persisted, saying that his master would come immediately, and that "where there was friendship (joining his hands, and cringing almost to the threshold) ceremony was unnecessary." Stowe was gone to bed; however I made ready to receive them; but the Raja after all excused himself on account of the night air, and only sent his sons, who had by this time completely transformed themselves into eastern beaux, by the addition of white muslin dresses, and turbans of gold brocade. They brought also a present of mangoes, sugar, and pastry, and advanced with the usual nuzzur, after the manner of Calcutta. They sate some time, occasionally answering me in Hindoostanee, but generally preferring Persian, of their acquirements in which they seemed proud, and they expressed some surprise that I did not speak it. They were like most of the young Indians I have seen, very lively, gentlemanly, and intelligent, anxious to obtain information about Europe, and expressing repeatedly the pleasure they expected from a visit to Calcutta. At length, as a sign of their "ruksut," or dismissal, I poured some lavender water on their hands and handkerchiefs, apologising that I had no attar, and saying that it was "belatee gulab" (foreign rosewater). They liked it to all appearance much, and we parted excellent friends. On the whole I have been greatly pleased with the evening's adventure. It has given me an opportunity of seeing the highest class of Hindoo families in their undress and daily habits of life. I had heard much of their simplicity, as compared with

the Mussulmans; and, even in the present instance, I am not quite sure whether it is to this simplicity, or to the poverty which I at first suspected, but which seemed contradicted by the appearance of the boys in the evening, that I am to attribute the sorry appearance of "the court," and the dilapidated state in which the mansion is allowed to continue. I ought to mention, that after the boys were gone, the old muktar remained for some minutes behind, hoping they had given me satisfaction, regretting that his master had the asthma, and saying, how grand a present would have been sent if they had had more notice, and at length asking permission to accompany his young lords

when they came to see me. So ended the evening, but not so the night. The news had probably spread through the village, that a "burra admee" (a great man) had come to see the Raja, with divers accounts of our riches and splendour; and about one o'clock an alarm of thieves was given by my sirdarbearer, who happening to look out of one of the cabin windows, saw three black heads just above the water, cautiously approaching the sides of the vessel. His outcry of “Decoit! Decoit!" alarmed us, but also alarmed them: they turned rapidly round, and in a moment were seen running up the river banks. Thus we had a specimen of both the good and evil of India.

many curious circumstances which I deduced from his information; first, the identity of the gypsey race in Europe and India, and their connecting link seemed established by a very observant witness, and certainly one unprejudiced by system; secondly, on further inquiry I found the people, whom he identified with our gypseys in Persia, were the wandering tribes of Louristan, Curdistan, &c., whom he described with truth as being of " a good caste," valiant, and wealthy. It therefore follows that these tribes, whose existence in Persia seems to be traced down from before the time of Cyrus, and whose language is generally understood to differ from the Persians of the plains and cities, resemble in countenance and person the gypseys, and that their ancient language has been a dialect of Hindoostanee. The probability is, indeed, that Persia, not India, has been the original centre of this nomadic population. In that case, however, it is strange that we do not hear of them sooner in Europe, where they could scarcely have existed in ancient times without being noticed by classical writers. It is no doubt true, indeed, that all the principal nations of Europe are derived from the same source with them; but still their continued adherence to a very ancient dialect of the common language, and their steady pursuance of nomadic habits, must have always distinguished them from the more settled and civilized branches of the same family. But the time and occasion of their arrival in Europe seems the chief problem in their history.

One of the greatest plagues we have as yet met with in this journey is that of the winged bugs. In shape, size, and scent, with the additional faculty of flying, they resemble the "grabbatic" genus, too well known in England. The night of our lying off Barrackpoor they were troublesome; but when we were off the Raja's palace, they came out, like the ghosts of his ancestors' armies, in hundreds and thousands from every bush, and every heap of ruins, and so filled our cabins as to make them barely endurable. These unhappy animals crowded round our candles in such

swarms, some just burning their feet and wings on the edge of the glass shade, and thus toppling over; others more bold, flying right into the crater, and meeting their deaths there, that we really paid no attention to what was next day a ghastly spectacle, the mighty army which had settled on the wet paint of the ceiling, and remained there, black and stinking, till the ants devoured them. These last swarm in my pinnace: they have eaten up no inconsiderable portion of my provisions, and have taken, I trust to their benefit, a whole box of blue pills; but as they do their best to clear it of all other vermin, I cannot but look on them with some degree of favour.

Besides the " mucharunga," a kind of king-fisher, which we had seen before, some other birds, whose appearance is new to me, continue to show themselves. One is a small black cormorant, or curlew, which we see standing with its wet wings spread on the sand-banks and shallows, praised as excellent eating: another is in colour and size not unlike a blackbird, but with a long tail. Abdullah says that early in the morning it "reads (meaning sings) very finely." This equivocal use of the two words I have noticed in other Indians, and it probably arises from the chant in which both the Koran and the religious books of the Hindoos are always read.

The prospect of our little fleet at anchor, of the fires made by the servants and boatmen on the shore, and of a little crowd of villagers who came down, attracted by curiosity, or in the hope of selling milk, was very beautiful this evening, and presented the elements for a picture as perfectly Polynesian as any in Cook's voyages.

June 20.-About ten o'clock, some fishermen brought a very noble fish alongside of us for sale, of exactly the shape and appearance of a chub, but weighing at least twenty or twenty-five pounds. After a good deal of haggling they sold it for twelve anas (about 1s. 6d.). The Khânsaman proposed salting the greater part, but I made the servants very well pleased, by saying, that I would only have a little boiled for