So accustomed to comfort from
their tenderest infancy that they were desirous of transplanting it
to all quarters of the globe; but no one would ever imagine the
place had been built for "the labourers in the vineyard of the
Lord."
I surveyed this splendid institution with a sadder heart than I
might have done, because I knew it was intended for the natives, who
had first to put off their own simple mode of life and accustom
themselves to convenience and superfluity, only to wander forth into
the woods and wildernesses, and exercise their office in the midst
of savages and barbarians.
Among the sights of Calcutta may be reckoned the garden of the chief
judge, Mr. Lawrence Peel, which is equally interesting to the
botanist and the amateur, and which, in rare flowers, plants, and
trees, is much richer than the Botanical Garden itself. The noble
park, laid out with consummate skill, the luxuriant lawns,
interspersed and bordered with flowers and plants, the crystal
ponds, the shady alleys, with their bosquets and gigantic trees, all
combine to form a perfect paradise, in the midst of which stands the
palace of the fortunate owner.
Opposite this park, in the large village of Alifaughur, is situated
a modest little house, which is the birthplace of much that is good.
It contains a small surgery, and is inhabited by a native who has
studied medicine.
