"We have been greatly impressed with the way that Calcutta differs from the other cities we have seen; we thought it might be like Canton, or Yokohama, or Batavia, but it isn't like any of them. The people are different, and they have different manners, customs, religions, and ways of life generally, so that it is not easy to make comparisons; and then they differ a good deal among themselves, and you will see perhaps a dozen kinds of dress in a walk of an hour or so.
"Calcutta stands on a level plain, and the surveyors who laid it out acted liberally by giving it wide streets, and plenty of ground for everything that was needed. The part where the Europeans live is full of fine buildings, both public and private, and wherever you go you see evidences that there was plenty of money at command when it was built. In a hot country like this they wanted lots of room, and all the houses are surrounded by large yards, with an abundance of shade-trees.
"The population is about half a million, and includes Hindoos, Moslems, Christians, and Buddhists, together with a miscellaneous lot that it would be difficult to classify. The Hindoos comprise more than half the population: there are 150,000 Moslems, and about 25,000 Christians, mostly Europeans and Eurasians.
"On the streets the mingling of costumes forms a curious scene. Red turbans and white, blue turbans and gray, skull-caps, tarbooshes, straw-hats, and sola-topees are thrown together like the combinations of a kaleidoscope; but the turbans are most numerous, and frequently crowd some of the other head-gear out of sight. Most of the natives are dressed in white: much of it is spotlessly clean, and evidently fresh from the laundryman; but there are many who cannot afford clean linen every day, and consequently their garments are the reverse of pleasing in appearance. Evidently the natives of India have no trouble with the change of fashions, as their garments are said to be of exactly the same cut and material from one century to another.
THE MAIDAN, OR ESPLANADE OF CALCUTTA.
"The English have done much for Calcutta, and an inhabitant of two hundred years ago would hardly recognize his old home if he should revisit it to-day. There are many public buildings that would do honor to a large city in Europe or America; there are public gardens, beautiful little parks, handsome lawns, artificial ponds, and the like, which are collectively very attractive. There is a large open space called the Maidan, or Esplanade, with several roads across it, and one along the bank of the river, and the society of Calcutta comes here for its daily drive at sunset. We rode there last evening and saw a great many showy turnouts, some of them belonging to wealthy natives, who seem to be fond of display. Drivers and footmen were in native dress, which is constructed so as to present the most attractive colors in the most attractive forms. Red and green and blue turbans rolled by us in rapid succession, till we began to wonder if the swiftly-moving panorama would ever come to an end. Those whose rank allows it have the additional attraction of outriders, and these fellows are by no means less picturesque than the rest.
