But a pig on a common, a goose on a green.”
13th.—After an uninteresting passage with monotonous scenery, we moored off Poorooā, a village on the left bank. Wild ducks, geese, and Brahmanī ducks are numerous on the river-side: it is very cold, so much so that I shall be glad to retire to rest to keep myself warm.
14th.—No wind—a warmer day, and no difficulty on the river. Anchored at a bastī (village) about three miles below Sirsya. The Directory says, “Twenty-eight miles above Mirzapūr, on the left bank of the river, is Suttamaree. Passengers generally land in the cold season, and have a walk across the neck of land in a W.N.W. direction, two miles wide to Taila, and rejoin the steamer off that place, she having to go a détour of twenty-one miles round the point. Two miles above Suttamaree is Deega-kunkur Spit, with a deep bight.
“Letchyagurree and its ravine on the left bank of the river is twenty-two miles above Deega, noted for its robbers, when it was attached to the Oude territories.”
We have now arrived within a very short distance of Allahabad; I shall be quite sorry to end my voyage, and feel the greatest reluctance to returning into society.
15th.—“Sirsya is a large cotton mart on the right bank; it is sixty miles above Mirzapūr and twenty-three miles below Allahabad, to which place there is a good road. There are several pakka (brick) houses here, and two very fine tanks at the back of it, and an old mud fort; thence to Prāg, the river is very intricate and shallow. Iron work in a small way can be done for boats at this place. Turkeys and guinea-fowls abound.”
We passed Sirsya early, and found that the Queen’s 40th regiment had just quitted the place. No fowls or provisions were to be had,—the 40th, like a flight of locusts, had devoured every thing around the spot on which they descended; some hilsā fish alone were to be procured, and most delicious they proved,—not only when fresh, but also when cured with tamarinds and vinegar. There is a house, some temples, and a peepul-tree on the cliff, that would make a good sketch, if taken looking up the river a little below the spot. In consequence of the shallowness of the stream we have had much trouble all day, and were unable to lugāo until half-past seven P.M.—cold and misty.
16th.—Arrived at Munyah ghāt, on the right bank, at noon,—eight miles from Prāg. The river is so intricate, and the navigation so difficult, we shall be a length of time going those eight miles.
The “Directory” says,—“Allahabad is eighty-three miles above Mirzapūr; its fort is at the junction of the Ganges and Jumna. The steamers put up at the Jama Masjid, half a mile inside the Jumna. The native military cantonments, and the place where most of the civilians and officers live, are from three to four miles inland. State prisoners are kept here in the fort. There is also a large stone pillar, said to have been erected by Alexander the Great to mark his conquests. This is the seat of the Sadr Dewanī, or principal court of justice; it was formerly the seat of the Presidency. Bread, butter, eggs, beef, mutton, lamb, kids, fowls, pigeons, turkeys, guinea-fowl, quail, partridge, teal, wild ducks, and wild geese, are procurable here: Europe shops are at the station, and auctions are held. About two miles from the ghāt is the chauk or market, where all sorts of cloth, European and native, are procurable. Shawl-men board the steamers, if sent for, with every kind of Cashmere shawl, waistcoating, caps, gloves, socks, and Afghanistān woollen cloths: as also Delhi jewellers, and manufacturers of cotton carpeting, of various colours, showy on rooms, and rather durable. A little beyond the chauk is the native sarā’e, where beautiful horses are at times to be purchased, of the Persian, Cabul, and Tūrkī breeds. You must send for your letters to the post-office.
“The distance from Calcutta, viâ Bhagirathī, is 831 miles; viâ Sunderbands, 1186; and by dāk route, 504 miles.