“Take care of the land-sharks, sir,” said Grogwell, as I pushed off.
“Have your eyes about you, Gernon, my boy, and take care of yourself,” cried Marpeet, “and I’ll beat up your quarters in a day or two.”
At the Ghaut, or landing-place, to which my rowers forced their way through a thick phalanx of boats of all sorts and dimensions—cutters, dingies, and jolly-boats; paunchways, budgerows, and bowlias, the two last with painted venetians and goggle-eyed figure-heads—I landed amidst a crowd and bobbery to which even the Tower-stairs, or the piers of Boulogne and Calais, with all their motley and voluble groups, can hardly furnish a parallel. Men, women, and children, sipping, dipping, and dabbling, like ducklings in a shower; females bearing pots or jars on their heads, and children, resembling little black monkeys, astride on their hips; bhisties, or water-carriers, filling their bags from the turbid tide, well seasoned with cocoa-nut husks, defunct brahmins, dead dogs, &c.; puckalls, or bullocks, bearing huge skins of the same pure element; palankeen-bearers, gabbling (to me) unintelligible abuse, in eager competition, pushing into the very river, and banging their portable boxes one against the other in their struggle to secure fares amongst the frequent arrivals from the shipping; baboos, parroquet-venders, chattah-bearers, sailors, lascars, and adjutant-birds—Europe and Asia commingled in heterogeneous but pleasant confusion.
I had scarcely attained the top of the Ghaut, or flight of steps, where I waited till my baggage was brought up and coolies were obtained to transport it, than I found myself besieged by a bevy of fellows, mentioned before as baboos, or sircars, and who, though of a distinct species, I saw at once belonged to the same genus as my friend Ramee Sawmee Dabash.
“Good marning, Sar,” said one (it was near sunset), ostentatiously displaying his first chop English, approaching with an easy bend, and pressing his right palm somewhat gracefully to his forehead: “Master, I perceive, is recintly arrive at Bengal pris’dency?”
“That’s pretty clear,” said I; “but can you direct me to the Custom-house, and after that to some good hotel or tavern?”
“Oh, sartainly, Sar; every thing master require than I can do; meditly box come up, I disperse off with coolie.”
“Gentilman,” said another, in a milder key, “you require ’spectable sircar; I got highest tistimonial of character; you please read this, Sar; this from Gin’nel Wilkisseen Sahib, this Wakeel Ishtivil Sahib;” and so he ran on, murdering several other English names and titles in succession.
A third, a wizened old fellow, with a pair of spectacles perched at the end of his nose, proffered his services somewhat in the same way; but I told them not to trouble themselves or me, as I had determined on honouring with my commands the first who had presented himself to my notice. My new employé, who rejoiced in the pleasant cognomen of Chattermohun Ghose, now again put in his oar:
