As soon as the storm had passed by, a cry was
raised for us to return as quickly as possible, as there was no
knowing what might follow.
A speculative baker of Madras had come out in the first boat that
reached the steamer with ice and biscuits for sale, which he
disposed of very much to his profit.
The angry heavens at length took compassion on us and cleared up
before sunset. We were then enabled to see the palace-like
dwellings of the Europeans, built half in the Grecian and half in
the Italian style of architecture, stretching along the shore and
beautifully lighted by the sun. Besides these, there were others
standing outside the town in the midst of magnificent gardens.
Before we left, a number of natives ventured to us in small boats
with fruit, fish, and other trifles. Their boats were constructed
of the trunks of four small trees, tightly bound together with thin
ropes made of the fibres of the cocoa-tree; a long piece of wood
served as an oar. The waves broke so completely over them that I
imagined every instant that both boats and men were irretrievably
lost.
The good people were almost in a state of nature, and seemed to
bestow all their care on their heads, which were covered with pieces
of cloth, turbans, cloth or straw caps, or very high and peaked
straw hats. The more respectable - among whom may be reckoned the
boatmen who brought the passengers and mails - were, however, in many
cases, very tastily dressed. They had on neat jackets, and large
long pieces of cloth wrapped round their bodies; both the cloths and
jackets were white, with a border of blue stripes. On their heads
they wore tightly fitting white caps, with a long flap hanging down
as far as their shoulders. These caps, too, had a blue border. The
complexion of the natives was a dark brown or coffee colour.
Late in the evening, a native woman came on board with her two
children. She had paid second-class fare, and was shown a small
dark berth not far from the first cabin places. Her younger child
had, unfortunately, a bad cough, which prevented some rich English
lady, who had likewise a child with her, from sleeping. Perhaps the
exaggerated tenderness which this lady manifested for her little son
caused her to believe that the cough might be catching; but, be that
as it may, the first thing she did on the following morning, was to
beg that the captain would transfer mother and children to the deck,
which the noble-hearted humane captain immediately did, neither the
lady nor himself caring in the least whether the poor mother had or
had not, even a warm coverlid to protect her sick child from the
night cold and the frequent heavy showers.
Would that this rich English lady's child had only been ill, and
exposed with her to the foggy night air, that she might herself have
experienced what it is to be thus harshly treated! A person of any
heart must almost feel ashamed at belonging to a class of beings who
allow themselves to be far surpassed in humanity and kindness by
those who are termed savages; no savages would have thus thrust
forth a poor woman with a sick child, but would, on the contrary,
have taken care of both. It is only Europeans, who have been
brought up with Christian principles, who assume the right of
treating coloured people according as their whim or fancy may
dictate.
On the 1st and 2nd of November we caught occasional glimpses of the
mainland, as well as of several little islands; but all was flat and
sandy, without the least pretensions to natural beauty. Ten or
twelve ships, some of them East Indiamen of the largest size, were
pursuing the same route as ourselves.
On the morning of the 3rd of November, the sea had already lost its
own beautiful colour, and taken that of the dirty yellow Ganges.
Towards evening we had approached pretty close to the mouths of this
monster river, for some miles previous to our entering which, the
water had a sweet flavour. I filled a glass from the holy stream,
and drank it to the health of all those near and dear to me at home.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we cast anchor before Kadscheri, at
the entrance of the Ganges, it being too late to proceed to
Calcutta, which is sixty nautical miles distant. The stream at this
point was several miles broad, so that the dark line of only one of
its banks was to be seen.
4th November. In the morning we entered the Hoogly, one of the
seven mouths of the Ganges. A succession of apparently boundless
plains lay stretched along on both sides of the river. Fields of
rice were alternated with sugar plantations, while palm, bamboo, and
other trees, sprung up between, and the vegetation extended, in
wanton luxuriance, down to the very water's edge; the only objects
wanting to complete the picture were villages and human beings, but
it was not until we were within about five-and-twenty miles of
Calcutta that we saw now and then a wretched village or a few half-
naked men. The huts were formed of clay, bamboos, or palm branches,
and covered with tiles, rice-straw, or palm leaves. The larger
boats of the natives struck me as very remarkable, and differed
entirely from those I saw at Madras. The front portion was almost
flat, being elevated hardly half a foot above the water while the
stern was about seven feet high.
The first grand-looking building, a cotton mill, is situated fifteen
miles below Calcutta, and a cheerful dwelling-house is attached.
From this point up to Calcutta, both banks of the Hoogly are lined
with palaces built in the Greco-Italian style, and richly provided
with pillars and terraces.
