The museum is open
daily. I visited it several times, and, on every occasion, to my
great astonishment, met a number of natives, who seemed to take the
greatest interest in the objects before them.
Ochterlony's Monument is a simple stone column, 165 feet in height,
standing, like a large note of admiration, on a solitary grassplot,
in memory of General Ochterlony, who was equally celebrated as a
statesman and a warrior. Whoever is not afraid of mounting 222
steps will be recompensed by an extensive view of the town, the
river, and the surrounding country; the last, however, is very
monotonous, consisting of an endless succession of plains bounded
only by the horizon.
Not far from the column is a neat little mosque, whose countless
towers and cupolas are ornamented with gilt metal balls, which
glitter and glisten like so many stars in the heavens. It is
surrounded by a pretty court-yard, at the entrance of which those
who wish to enter the mosque are obliged to leave their shoes. I
complied with this regulation, but did not feel recompensed for so
doing, as I saw merely a small empty hall, the roof of which was
supported by a few stone pillars. Glass lamps were suspended from
the roof and walls, and the floor was paved with Agra marble, which
is very common in Calcutta, being brought down the Ganges.
The Mint presents a most handsome appearance; it is built in the
pure Grecian style, except that it is not surrounded by pillars on
all its four sides. The machinery in it is said to be especially
good, surpassing anything of the kind to be seen even in Europe. I
am unable to express any opinion on the subject, and can only say
that all I saw appeared excessively ingenious and perfect. The
metal is softened by heat and then flattened into plates by means of
cylinders. These plates are cut into strips and stamped. The rooms
in which the operations take place are spacious, lofty, and airy.
The motive-power is mostly steam.
Of all the Christian places of worship, the English Cathedral is the
most magnificent. It is built in the Gothic style, with a fine
large tower rising above half-a-dozen smaller ones. There are other
churches with Gothic towers, but these edifices are all extremely
simple in the interior, with the exception of the Armenian church,
which has the wall near the altar crowded with pictures in gold
frames.
The notorious "Black Hole," in which the Rajah Suraja Dowla cast 150
of the principal prisoners when he obtained possession of Calcutta
in 1756, is at present changed into a warehouse. At the entrance
stands an obelisk fifty feet high, and on it are inscribed the names
of his victims.
