“By skeleton forms the sails were furled,
And the hand that steered was not of this world.”
13th.—In the course of a few hours after our arrival, a good house was taken for us, which being sufficiently large to accommodate our companions, we set up our standards together in Park-street, Chowringhee, and thus opened our Indian campaign.
CHAPTER III.
LIFE IN INDIA.
“I HAVE SEEN BENGAL: THERE THE TEETH ARE RED AND THE MOUTH IS BLACK[12].”
1822, November.—Calcutta—First Impressions—Style of Indian Houses—Furniture—Mats—Arabs—Departure of the Marquis of Hastings—Fogs—Christmas-Day—Indian Servants—The Sircar—Thieves—The Hot Winds—Pankhās—Fire-flies—North-Westers—The Foliage—Musquitoes—Elephantiasis—Insects—The Chŭrŭk Pooja—Religious Mendicants.
The four troops of the 16th Lancers, from the ‘Ely,’ disembarked, and encamped on the glacis of Fort William; the ‘General Hewitt,’ with the remainder of the regiment, did not arrive until six weeks afterwards, having watered at the Cape.
Calcutta has been styled the City of Palaces, and it well deserves the name. The Government House stands on the Maidān, near the river; the city, and St. Andrew’s Church, lie behind it; to the left is that part called Chowringhee, filled with beautiful detached houses, surrounded by gardens; the verandahs, which generally rise from the basement to the highest story, give, with their pillars, an air of lightness and beauty to the buildings, and protecting the dwellings from the sun, render them agreeable for exercise in the rainy season.
The houses are all stuccoed on the outside, and seem as if built of stone. The rent of unfurnished houses in Chowringhee is very high; we gave 325 rupees a month for ours, the larger ones are from 4 to 500 per month.