One Feature Is Very Striking, The Porticoes And
Verandahs Of Many Being Completely Covered With Luxuriant Flowering
Creepers, Which In Bengal Are Never Suffered To Be Near The House, In
Consequence Of The Harbour They Are Supposed To Give To Insects
And Reptiles.
The approach to these beautiful screens is, however,
frequently through a cabbage-garden, the expedience of planting out
the
Unsightly but useful vegetables destined for the kitchen not
having been as yet considered; neither can the gardens at this period
of the year, the cold season, compare with those of Bengal, the
expense of irrigation preventing the inhabitants from devoting so much
time and attention to their improvement, while as yet the natives
have not been encouraged to fill the bazaars with European vegetables.
Pease are spoken of as not being uncommon, but I have only seen them
once, even at the best tables. Neither have cauliflowers, French
beans, or asparagus, made their appearance - vegetables common at
Christmas all over the Bengal presidency.
The interiors of the houses are, generally speaking, more embellished
than those of Calcutta; the greater part have handsome ceilings, and
the doorways and windows are decorated with mouldings, and otherwise
better finished. The walls also are coloured, and often very
tastefully picked out with white or some other harmonizing tint. The
reception-rooms, therefore, have not the barn-like air which detracts
from the magnitude of those of Bengal, and the furniture, if not
always equally splendid, is shown off to greater advantage; but here I
should say the superiority ends.
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