The fortress, as I observed above, fell into the power of the English, in 1775. They had been repulsed in an attempt to assault it by night, but it surrendered shortly after, without a siege. It was formerly a place of great importance, but Allahabad being more north, has superseded it as a military depôt.

In the hills near Chunar, which run parallel to the right bank of the Ganges, and are clothed with heath and brushwood, are to be found some of the largest snakes in India; many of them, it is said, being eighteen feet in length and half the thickness of a man's thigh, but they are not venomous like the cobra de capella, and the short, thin, green snake. The difference between the bite of the snake and the sting of a scorpion, is contained in the following Oriental distich:—

"He that's bitten by a serpent sleeps:
But he that's bitten by a scorpion weeps."

Sultanpore, about four miles from Chunar, is prettily situated; a regiment of Native Cavalry was formerly stationed here.

CHAPTER XIV.

Benares—Bathing in the Ganges—Water-carrying by Women—Extent and Population of Benares—Attempted Tax—Mosque of Aurungzebe—Observatory of Rajah Jey Singh—Bazaars—Jewellery—Cultivation of Sugar—Secrole—Murder of Mr. Cherry—State Prisoners—The Maharannee of Lahore.

We anchored off the ancient and sacred city of Benares, at eight o'clock in the evening. The Sanscrit name of the district of Benares is Varanase, from "Vara" and "Nashi" ("two streams"); it is in the Province of Allahabad, and was ceded to the East India Company by Asophud-Dowlah, the Nawab of Oude, in 1775. Its national appellation was "Kasi," or "the Splendid." It is built upon the left bank of the Ganges, along which it stretches in a semi-circle for six or seven miles. On the outer side of the curve, which is the most elevated, stands the holy city of Benares. Generally speaking, the banks of every river are higher on the side where its course is convex, and they are always high alternately, if the river has a winding course, high on the convex side, and low on the concave of the curve which it forms.

It is customary with the natives to build on rising spots of ground, because such localities are more healthy, and can be easily drained.

Benares is seen to great advantage from Ramnuggur, on the opposite bank of the Ganges. Its appearance is strikingly grand and picturesque; the ground is covered with buildings even to the water's edge, and some of the ghâts, which are constructed of large blocks of red chunar-stone, have a flight of thirty or forty steps leading down to the river. Here a most animated scene generally presents itself. Men and women, boys and girls, may be seen bathing early in the morning, and evening, and, during the cold season, also in the middle of the day; for the cold does not deter even the gentler sex from adventuring into the river. Hither, too, resort the girls and young women of Benares, to fetch water from the sacred stream. Their figures are elegant and their stature erect. They all carry two or three water-pots on their heads, each successive pot being smaller than the one beneath it. Having dipped them into the stream, and filled them with water, they replace them upon their heads, and return homewards. This habit of carrying their gharahs, or jars, filled with water, from their early youth, may account, in a great measure, for their graceful carriage. They balance their pitchers so equally as not even to require any assistance from the hand. The sight of these women, with their water-pots, powerfully recalls to mind passages in Holy Writ;[99] and many of them refer to periods of so ancient a date, that we cannot avoid coming to the conclusion that the Hindoos are a people of great antiquity.

As I ascended into the city, I found the streets so exceedingly narrow that it was difficult to penetrate them, even on horseback. The houses are crowded close to each other, with turrets rising from their terraced roofs. They are built of stone, and some of them are six stories high. The windows are always extremely small, to keep the apartments cool, as the natives suppose, as well as to prevent their neighbours from looking in, for the opposite sides of the street approach very closely to each other, and, in some places, are united by galleries. The natives in eastern countries generally sleep on their flat roofs, in the verandah, or even in front of their dwellings. Here, again, the Bible illustrates the practice of sleeping on the roofs.

According to an old Brahminical legend, Benares was originally built of fine gold; but, owing to the depravity of its inhabitants, the gold was converted into stone; and as they degenerated more and more, the houses were transformed into brick and mud.

The number of stone and brick houses, from one to six stories high, was estimated in the year 1815 to be upwards of 12,000, and the mud houses above 16,000. I find by Shakespear's version of the Statistics of the North-Western Provinces[100] that the Hindoos of the city of Benares amounted to 147,082 persons, and the Mahomedans to 36,409, making a total of 183,491, giving 34,621 inhabitants to a square mile, which is the largest amount of population of any city.

Benares, as I have already observed, is a very crowded city. In speaking of Kanoge, I stated that, according to Mr. Maurice,[101] it was supposed to have been a hundred miles in circumference, with a population of 2,500,000 or 3,000,000. Taking the former number to be correct, there would have been 4,000 souls to every square mile. A country is considered to be well peopled which has 100 inhabitants to every square mile. Certainly, neither London, nor any city in Europe, can have an amount of population equal to one-fourth of Benares. The late Mr. James Prinsep took the census, between the years 1824 and 1827, and it is not called in question now. Recollecting, also, that there are many six-storied houses, not only along the banks, but rising in tiers, closely behind one another, with only a few feet space between them, the European traveller will not be so much surprised at the immense mass of habitations thus congregated together. In 1815, Benares was computed to contain 8,000 houses, occupied by the families of the Brahmins, who receive charitable contributions, and subsist chiefly on the daily offerings of the wealthy inhabitants and pilgrims, although many of them possess private property of their own.

In 1803, the supposed population of the city and suburbs of Benares amounted to 582,000, exclusive of the attendants of the three Mogul princes, who were reported to be 3,000, making an aggregate of 585,000 souls. At that time the Mahomedans were considered to be one to every ten Hindoos. The above return gives 36,409 Mahomedans to 147,082 Hindoos, or a total of 183,491 in the city of Benares, making the Hindoos to exceed the Mahomedans in the ratio of about four to one. Mr. Prinsep took a census in 1824, and gave the returns at 181,482. It is probably now 200,000. Mr. Prinsep's census gives six as the average number of inhabitants to a chowk (yard or court), whether in the city or in the rural outskirts, seven to a pucka (brick) house, and four and a half to a kucha (mud) house.

In the year 1809, the Government resolved to impose a tax on all the houses in the city; upon which thousands of Brahmins and other inhabitants quitted it, and great excitement and uproar prevailed. A serious riot would inevitably have taken place, had not Mr. W.W. Bird, the late Deputy Governor of Bengal, an able and excellent officer, hurried to the spot and promptly quelled the disturbance. The inhabitants hereupon petitioned the Government; and vowed that if the tax were persisted in, they would represent the matter at Calcutta. The authorities, who had not displayed much judgment in the imposition of the tax, had the good sense at once to abolish the obnoxious impost; but in consequence of the émeute, the Government considered it prudent to have a European corps at hand, in the event of any future disturbance; and a royal regiment was accordingly stationed at Ghazepore.

Notwithstanding its dense, close, and crooked streets, taken as a whole, there are few cities that can carry off the palm from Benares, with its gilded pagodas, its temples, and its mosques, their slender minarets, rising in majestic grace amid countless domes and cupolas, all standing out in bold relief, among the varied forms and foliage of groves of mangoes, tamarinds, and plantains, the sombre cypress, and the beauteous palm, beneath the deep blue canopy of heaven, and lighted up by the glorious effulgence of an Eastern sun.

The most celebrated of these mosques is that built by the Emperor Aurungzebe. In order to mortify the Hindoos, he destroyed their most renowned temple, that of Vishnu, and not only raised his mosque upon its site, but, as if to heighten the indignity, caused the materials of their sacred edifice to be used in the construction of this rival temple, which was to celebrate the triumph of the Koran over the laws of Menu. What a contrast to the liberal spirit evinced by Akbar, in the exercise of his power. That great emperor, at the solicitation of his Brahmin prime minister, rescinded a caput tax, which had been imposed upon all his Hindoo subjects. History and experience teach us by many a lesson, how much we lose by harshly opposing the prejudices of others; and how much we gain by the adoption of conciliatory measures—provided no principle be involved—but alas! how slow we all are to learn this important lesson.

This mosque rises in the centre of the noble range of temples, ghâts, and edifices, that run along the left bank of the sacred Ganges. As seen from the river, it presents a most striking appearance. It stands at an elevation of eighty feet above the level of the Ganges, while its graceful minarets, tapering as they rise, tower to a height of 147 feet from their foundation. It is the most conspicuous edifice in the city, being visible for many miles round. The precise date of its erection is not known, but as the emperor died in 1707, we may assign 150 years ago as the period.

I ascended one of the two lofty minarets which flank the principal cupola. It had lately been restored to its original state by the British government, under the able superintendence of Mr. James Prinsep, British Resident at Benares. This was a most critical undertaking; for the minars were more than a foot out of the perpendicular. I enjoyed an extensive and magnificent view of the city and adjacent country, which for ten miles round is held sacred by the Hindoos. Indeed so highly is it venerated, that pilgrims resort to it from all parts of India, and those who, from age, or other circumstances, are unable to perform the lengthened journey themselves, send willing proxies, to whom they pay considerable sums. Many come there to wash away their sins; and not a few to die within its hallowed precincts.

Looking down from this dizzy height, upon the almost miniature world below, such a strange sensation came over me, that I could well conceive the propensity of certain minds to precipitate themselves from a lofty elevation. Several melancholy instances of this kind are said to have occurred here; a few perhaps from impulse, others from despair, and some from mere foolhardiness, with a view of immortalizing their names. Among the last, I was told, was a Fakeer, or devotee, who, whether by accident or design, contrived his fall so cleverly that it was broken by his being caught midway by the matting of a roof, and he alighted almost unscathed upon the floor. The people of course considered this as a miracle; and the Fakeer would doubtless have been idolized by them, had not his cupidity exceeded his love of notoriety, and induced him to make his escape with sundry articles belonging to the good Samaritan who had poured oil and wine into his bruises.

The city of Benares has long been known as the ancient seat of Brahminical learning; and to this day it retains its fame. The arts and sciences still flourish; and the schools and colleges for the training of the priests are yet celebrated, while the laws of Menu continue to be expounded in Sanscrit. But with all his erudition and research, the learned Brahmin is sunk in the most abject ignorance; and with all his wisdom, he degrades the nobler faculties of his mind, by bowing down to worship the most disgusting of monster-idols. Here, as elsewhere in our Indian possessions, the germs of Christianity have been sown under the fostering care of various British Protestant Missionary Societies, especially of the Church Missionary Society. Benares already boasts of fifteen missionary schools, one of them being founded by a wealthy Hindoo. All these schools are more or less frequented by Hindoo children; and the public preaching of the Gospel has been the means of making many of the natives acquainted with the superiority of the Christian religion.

Next to the mosque of Aurungzebe, the most conspicuous object in the city is the celebrated observatory of Rajah Jey Singh, of Jeypore, so renowned as an astronomer. He was likewise the builder of the observatory at Delhi. Here, too, everything is in character with the mind of its great designer, the instruments, etc., being on a grand scale. It is built of large blocks of red sand-stone; and, from its elevated position, commands an extensive prospect over the river and the surrounding country.

Benares is so well known, that I shall not attempt to give any further description of its numerous interesting buildings, nor of the strange sights and scenes which greet you at every turn.

Benares formerly possessed a mint for the coinage of rupees. It was under the direction of the late Mr. James Prinsep, who was the last mint-master. This gentleman was the youngest brother of a family, whose eminent services and varied talents, have identified them with the history of India. Mr. James Prinsep was a good Sanscrit scholar, and deciphered the Sanscrit inscription upon the stone pillar in the fort of Allahabad, as I said before, and which had baffled all previous attempts. In short his was a mind to grasp all things. When the mint at Benares was broken up, Mr. Prinsep was appointed assay-master at Calcutta, and so highly was he esteemed, both as a public servant, and as the liberal patron of everything good and noble, that upon his early death, in 1840, his fellow-citizens erected a splendid landing-place to his memory, one of the first objects of interest which attracts the eye of the traveller on sailing up the Hoogly. It is called Prinsep's Ghât.

I cannot take leave of Benares without saying a word or two about its bazaars, which are most attractive, not only from possessing the usual display of an Oriental mart and rendezvous of the most varied ranks, tribes, and costumes, but also from the extreme beauty and costliness of the native manufactures. Foremost among these, are the jewellery, and the exquisite works in gold and silver. These are made of the pure metal; and though they may not have the same strength and brilliancy as the alloyed, they are more intrinsically valuable, and are held in greater esteem by the natives. Many of these works are elaborate and highly finished. I was particularly struck with the ingenuity and delicacy displayed in the manufacture of a vine leaf, serving the purpose of a tea-ladle; every portion of which was so finely and minutely cut, as to leave only the slender fibres. The value of the labour bestowed upon this little article, was at least a hundred and fifty per cent. upon the cost of the original material. The price of the silver might be four shillings, and the cost of the labour about six. Precious stones, and especially the diamonds from the mines of Bundelkund, form an extensive article in the trade in jewellery which is carried on here, and are much sought after. The beautiful muslins and Benares scarfs, of red and gold, are the admiration and envy both of native and European ladies. The bazaars, too, abound in vessels of various metals, especially copper; and in manufactures in peacocks' feathers, and ingenious toys gaily painted, the colours of which are very durable, and in no danger of being effaced.

The district of Benares is also famous for its growth and manufacture of sugar; indeed, about half the quantity of sugar imported from Calcutta is raised in this neighbourhood. Thus this sacred city presents attractions to those who admire it on account of its antiquity, or sanctity; the richness of its manufactures, or the lucrativeness of its commerce.

The Rajah of Benares has a palace at Ramnuggur, on the right bank of the Ganges, about four miles from the city. It has been the residence of the Rajahs ever since the flight of Cheyte Singh from the city, in 1781.

The cantonments which are situated at Secrole, about four miles from the river, contain the second company fifth battalion, with No. 4 Light Field-battery, and third company fifth battalion, Foot Artillery, 48th and 65th Regts. Native Infantry; and 3rd Infantry Recruit depôt. The church is a very good one. There is likewise a large theatre, and a fine racket-court. The Society at Secrole is very agreeable; independently of the military, it is the station of five or six civilians, a chaplain, and eleven missionaries. The station is large and very healthy; many of the residences are well built, and surrounded by pleasant compounds and gardens; the best are those belonging to the civilians, which, being situated across the Birnah, are united to it by a bridge.

Benares is the scene of the treacherous murder of Mr. Cherry, the British Resident, and three other gentlemen, in January, 1799, which being well known, I will only briefly allude to. Upon the death of Asoph-ud-Dowlah, Nawab of Oude, in 1797, he was succeeded in the government by his illegitimate son, Mirza Ali; but being much disliked he was deposed, and his uncle, Saadut Ali, placed upon the throne. Mirza was at first permitted to reside at Benares; but as he was suspected of hatching a conspiracy, the Marquis Wellesley determined upon his removal, under strict surveillance, to Calcutta. Mirza Ali was exceedingly indignant at the proposed change, and remonstrated with the government. But as his application did not meet with a favourable reply, he waited upon the British Resident; his bearing and language were so intemperate, that the Resident admonished him to be more careful, which so exasperated Mirza, that he rushed upon Mr. Cherry sword in hand. This was a signal for his attendants to follow his example. They made a general rush, and cruelly murdered him upon the spot. This assassination was followed by that of three other Englishmen; the murderers then made a similar attempt upon Mr. Davis, the Judge; but he made a desperate resistance to save himself, and his family. Armed with a short spear, he stood at the top of the narrow winding staircase, on the roof of his house; like all circular stairs, it only admitted a single person at a time. The first man who came to the top was speared, and his dead body blocked up the passage, and impeded the attack of those behind him. Mr. Davis succeeded in warding off the blows, till the arrival of a body of Native Cavalry, upon which Mirza and his attendants took to flight. The regiment was at that time stationed at Sultanpore, seven miles distant. Saadut Ali, notwithstanding the danger to which the suspected conspiracy against his throne exposed him, was too imbecile to use any efforts in aiding the British to capture the assassins, who successfully eluded the vigilance of the government for some months. Mirza Ali even succeeded in collecting a considerable number of adventurers; but upon some offence they abandoned him, and he took refuge in the court of a petty Rajah, who, however, refused to harbour him, and delivered him up to the British government.

Amid the many strange vicissitudes of Indian history, it is by no means unusual to find deposed sovereigns, and other persons of rank, residing at Benares as state prisoners. Among these I would particularize Bajee Row, the late Peishwah, who, after many changes of fortune, surrendered to the English, in 1818. He agreed to abdicate the throne, and to abandon the Deccan, on condition of his retaining all his treasures, and receiving an annual pension from the British government of eight lakhs of rupees, or £80,000 sterling. I visited his palace, and found that the ex-Peishwah still retained some semblance of royalty, in the person of one or two Sepoys, who were on duty at his gate. He died at Benares, in 1851.

In February 1836, the deposed Rajah of Coorg came to Benares. He had been attacked, in 1834, by a division of the Madras army, and his capital, Mercara, taken. In March 1840, his Highness the ex-Rajah of Sattarah was sent to Benares, on the plea of having attempted to tamper with the loyalty of the British Sepoys. He has since died. Therefore, though Benares is not "a refuge for the destitute," unless he be a high caste Brahmin, it may nevertheless be called the "Asylum of deposed Rajahs." Nor must I omit the name of the Maharannee, the mother of the ex-Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, of Lahore, who in 1848 was sent from the Punjaub to Benares, for causing a disaffection towards the British. After residing here for a short time, her Highness was conveyed to the more secure fort, as the officials thought, of Chunar, but from whence she effected her escape, early in 1849, in the disguise of one of her attendants, not being recognised by the sentries at the gates. She is supposed to have reached Nepaul; but how she was received by the Goorkhas—how she likes the country—where her Highness intends to live—and by what funds supported—must be left to the imagination of the reader. Certain it is, that the East India Government ought not to regret the absence of so expensive a pensioner. She exerted too powerful a control over the Maharajah, her son, to be allowed to remain at Lahore with impunity. Her Highness, like many clever women, is somewhat dangerous, particularly as being the mother of the King of Lahore. But there is now no King of Lahore. The revenues of the Punjaub belong to the East India Company, the territorial supremacy, however, is vested in the crown; the Company being only the Trustees.

The life and adventures of this Queen-mother would form a most extraordinary and amusing volume. So varied have been her vicissitudes, that, while her intrigues and romantic amours might be the subject of a novel, the history of the cruelties and murders which have marked her steps since the death of her husband, Runjeet Singh, would furnish matter for a tragedy.

CHAPTER XV.

Ghazepore—The Opium Trade—Marquis Cornwallis's Mausoleum—Sand-banks—Buxar—Cossim-Ali-Khan—Sir Hector Munro—Battle of Buxar—Nawab of Oude—Emperor of Delhi—Revelgunge—The Sonus—The Ganges and Jumna—The Indus—The Berhampooter—Arrian—Dr. Alexander Adam—Dinapore—Captain Strachan—Bankipore—H.M. 16th Lancers—Deegah—Grain Golah—Earl of Munster—Patna—Buildings of Patna—Population of Benares—Magistrates—E. I. Company's Charter—Products of Patna—Walter Reinhard—Snowy Mountains—Tirhoot—Juggernauth—Gyah Proper—Cave of Nugur-jenee—Sir Charles Wilkins—Futwa—Phoolbarea—Bar—Beggars.

On the 25th of May we left Benares for Ghazepore. After steaming rapidly along the low banks we came to Saidpore, which is distinguished for a temple crowded with sacred monkeys; and lower down, also on the left bank, passed Chochukpore, where there are two handsome temples.

At seven o'clock in the evening, we anchored off Ghazepore, the "Rose Garden of India." It is a large and populous city, celebrated for its fragrant rose-water, the cultivation of the poppy, and the manufacture of opium. The commercial agent and his deputy reside here. At this season of the year the people were employed in collecting the juice which exudes from the poppy; it is kept in vessels, and when dry and solid, is cut into cakes, a process which requires great care. The Bahar or Patna opium sells at a higher price than that of Benares; the value of each chest being about 300 rupees or £30 sterling. The opium trade is an important monopoly in the hands of the government. It meets with a ready sale in China, although by the laws of the Empire it is a contraband article, and its importation stringently prohibited. In the autumn of 1836 it was generally, and confidently believed that the opium trade was about to be legalized in China; and advices to that effect reached Calcutta prior to the commencement of the sales for the season of 1837. This caused much higher prices to be paid by the usual purchasers than formerly, indeed, much above the sum which the capitalists, both of China and Calcutta, considered prudent, even had the legalization been certain. To the great dismay of the merchants, it was afterwards ascertained that so far from authorizing, the Chinese government had determined to put a total stop to the importation of opium; meanwhile the stock in Calcutta had been accumulating. What was to be done? The above report had been circulated and credited, and the opium growers had got rid of their stock. The sales of 1837 were expected to yield 25,851,386 rupees; but certain influential merchants represented that the higher prices could not be realized without great loss and distress. The mode of payment was a deposit, a certain sum in so many days, and the remainder in some given days after; but several buyers had not even paid their deposits. After considerable demur it was agreed that rather more than three lakhs should be taken off, so that the total sales only yielded 22,789,986 Company's rupees (or at the exchange of two shillings the rupee, £2,278,998) which was the largest sum ever known to be realized. Soon after this the war broke out in China, when the amount of sales decreased, both in the prices and in the number of chests; but in 1841 it again rose, even during the war.

Much has been mooted about the monopoly of the opium trade; but when it is recollected that the land revenue is only about two-thirds of the revenue of India, and that it is by the sole privilege of the sale of this article, and that of salt, aided by that of the abkarry, or sale of spirits, that the expenses of the country can be paid, we should pause before we judge too harshly. If the people of England denounce the opium trade, let them shut up their gin-palaces before they condemn the growth and sale of opium. The people in China drink shamshoo, which is even more deleterious. It is said that if the trade in opium were thrown open, there would be an unlimited quantity manufactured, which is prevented by its being in the hands of the Government. Opium is eaten by many of the natives of Hindoostan, both Mahomedans and Hindoos; and I may add, that lawyers and other professional men, nay, even ladies, indulge in it. In China they smoke it, and it is whispered that even the Emperor is addicted to it. Now, supposing the population of China to be 360,000,000 souls, of which 125,000,000 are male adults, there would not be above half an ounce yearly to each. In 1837-38, there were 17,244 chests exported from Calcutta; if to this we add the Malwa opium, of which 40,000 chests are now yearly sent to China, still only half an ounce would be the maximum of each person. Many, no doubt, commit excesses; but is not the same done in gin-palaces?

Most of the troops formerly stationed in the cantonments of Ghazepore have been withdrawn to Benares. In 1805, on the raising of the 7th and 8th Regiments of Light Cavalry, they were quartered in these cantonments; but when the disturbances broke out at Benares, in 1809, in consequence of the house-tax, a royal regiment of Infantry was stationed at Ghazepore, which is about forty miles from Benares; indeed, so late as the year 1838, the 44th Foot were located here, the cavalry lines having been converted into barracks for the Europeans. The East India Company have a branch stud at Ghazepore, for the breed of horses, the head-quarters being at Buxar, lower down the river.

There is a magnificent mausoleum erected to the memory of the late Marquis Cornwallis, K.G., who died here October 5th, 1805, whilst on a visit to the Upper Provinces, a few months after his second arrival in India. He had been Governor-General of India from the year 1786 to the end of 1792. In 1805, his Lordship returned in his original capacity of Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, bent upon changing most of the measures adopted by his predecessor, the Marquis Wellesley, when his own plans were frustrated, by the mighty conqueror, Death, who shows us how futile and insignificant are the vastest designs of man. L'homme propose, et Dieu dispose.

The mausoleum is a most costly building; and Bishop Heber laments that so much money should have been lavished upon such an unmeaning structure; indeed, he is very severe upon the subject, arguing that a church might have been erected at but a little more cost, with a monument to Lord Cornwallis placed within its walls.

The commander of our steamer having taken in three hundred maunds, or nearly eleven tons, of coal, we got under weigh at half-past six on the morning of the 26th of May. At two o'clock in the afternoon our progress was arrested by the boat sticking fast on a sand-bank. We remained in this awkward position till nine the following morning. During that day and the 27th we were constantly on and off sand-banks, making very little progress. About six hours after leaving Ghazepore we were off Buxar, one of the Government stud stations, having passed the palace of Cossim Ali Khan, once a fine building, as its ruins indicate, lying on the very verge of the village.

Buxar is a small town, in the province of Bahar, in the district of Shahabad, and is built on the south-east side of the Ganges. The fort of Buxar, though of inconsiderable size, commands the river; but no attention is now paid to keep it in repair.

On the 22nd of October, 1764, a celebrated victory was gained here by the British forces, under Major (afterwards General Sir Hector) Munro, over the united armies of Sujah-ud-Dowlah, of Oude, and Cossim Ali Khan, of Moorshedabad. Major Munro had no cavalry, but taking up a strong position with his right, close to the river, he allowed the enemy, who had crossed over to Buxar by a bridge of boats, from the Oude side of the river, to commence the attack. A native historian says, "It was not an army, but rather a nation." The battle was of short continuance; the allies were defeated; the power of the Nawab of Oude destroyed; and the Emperor thrown on the protection of the English.

The British army consisted of 856 Europeans, and 6,215 Sepoys, making a total of 7,071, of whom eighty-seven Europeans, and 712 Sepoys were killed and wounded. The combined troops were computed at 40,000, of whom 2,000 are supposed to have been slain in the battle. Their flight was so rapid, that hurrying to cross a small but deep river beyond Buxar, many were drowned, or slaughtered in the attempt. The plunder in the enemy's camp was very great, as they left their tents standing; and their whole train of artillery, consisting of 133 pieces of various sizes, fell into the hands of the English. Cossim made his escape to the Rohillas, and the Emperor of Delhi signed a treaty of peace, highly advantageous to the British government, which became henceforth supreme in Bengal.

The Fort now comprises a station for several detachments of European Artillery and Infantry Invalids; as also a portion of a Native Infantry corps. The superintendent of the stud department has his head-quarters on the other side of the river, at a village called Kurruntadhee; there are several hundred horses and colts in the stables here. At Ghazepore, as I have already remarked, there is a branch, and another at Poosah, at the junction of the little Gundruk with the Ganges, which was formerly the only stud in the central Provinces.

After passing Revelgunge, a very long town, extending for more than a mile along the left bank of the river, and at a distance of twenty-eight miles above Dinapore, we came to the spot where the river Sone flows into the Ganges, seventeen miles from Revelgunge.

The Sone river, called by the Greeks "Sonus," has, with the Nerbudda, its source in the table-land of Omerkuntuc (Omercote), in the Province of Gundwana, 22° 53´ N. Lat. and 82° 15´ E. Long. It rises on the east side, and flows through Pindarah, when, being joined by numerous other streams from the north-eastern side of this mountain domain, it proceeds in a northerly direction through Sohajepore and Bogulkund, whence, turning eastward, it pursues its course to the Ganges, which it joins in the Province of Bahar, after having performed a winding course of about 500 miles. Near its source, this river is said to be designated by the natives "the Sonabudda," to distinguish it from the Nerbudda, by which, conjointly with the Ganges, the southern point of Hindoostan is insulated.[102]

Under the head of Omerkuntuc, we find it styled "a celebrated place of Hindoo pilgrimage, in the Province of Gundwana." There is no peculiar sanctity attached to this river; the sanctity, such as it is, belongs to Omerkuntuc. In Hindoo mythology, Gunga, or the Ganges, is described as the eldest daughter of the great mountain, Himavata, and is called "Gunga," on account of her flowing through "Gung," the earth. In the Hindoo Pantheon, Himalaya is deified, and described as the father of the Ganges. The Jumna and the Ganges have their sources in the Himalaya mountains, at Jumnoutrie and Gangoutrie peaks; at no great distance from each other. The Jumna enters Hindoostan Proper, in the Province of Delhi, and proceeds south, nearly in a line with the Ganges, at a distance of from fifty to seventy miles apart from each other, until they gradually join at Allahabad. Its length, including its windings, may be estimated at 780 miles. The Ganges and the Jumna may be designated "Sister Rivers."

The Indus, too, takes its rise in the Himalayas, as do all the five rivers of the Punjaub, and likewise all the rivers that enter the Ganges on the left bank. The Berhampooter also rises in the same mountains, and after a course of several hundred miles, enters the Ganges near the sea. There are other rivers coming from the Himalayas; but they are, comparatively speaking, insignificant. The three greatest rivers are—

1.  The Ganges,  having  a  course  of 1,500  miles.
2.  The Indus,          "      about           1,000   "
3.  The Jumna,         "                             780  "

It is believed that the Berhampooter was not known in the time of Arrian. To return, en passant, to the subject of Palibothra, Arrian says the Erannoboas was the third river of India, which will be the present Jumna. It has been shown that the length of the Sone is only 500 miles. I think that those learned gentlemen who advocate the Sone, as being the Erannoboas of the Greeks, are in error, first, because Arrian distinctly mentions the Erannoboas and the Sonus as two of the six rivers which flow into the Ganges. Now the Sone cannot be the Erannoboas by any ingenuity whatever; for it is clearly called the Sonus. Secondly, it is said that the ancient name of Patna was Pataliputra, making an approach to the word Palibothra, which, however, proves nothing. Thirdly, it is more probable that the Jumna is the Erannoboas, because, having found the Sone to be the Sonus, we require the third river in India to meet the Ganges; whereas the Sone, not being so large as the Jumna, cannot be admitted even as the fourth river of Hindoostan; besides, we expect to find a sacred stream to represent such a river as the Erannoboas. Dr. Alexander Adam, in his "Summary of Ancient and Modern Geography," says, "The Sone (Sone-budda) joins the Ganges twenty-two miles above Patna." Patna is seven miles from Dinapore, and Dinapore is now five miles from the Sone; consequently, the Sone is about twelve miles from Patna, and not twenty-two. But to proceed—

On the 29th of May, we anchored off Dinapore, at five o'clock in the afternoon, having experienced rather stormy weather for the three preceding nights. Dinapore is a considerable town, on the right bank of the Ganges, and is situated in a kind of bay, formed by the river. The cantonments are large, and the area comprised by the barracks and lines of both Queen's and Company's troops, is unusually extensive and imposing. The European barracks face the river, upon the immediate bank of which are the wards or quarters for the officers, opposite to those of the men. At right angles with these two ranges, are two others, likewise for the officers, the four ranges forming a large oblong. Beyond these, higher up the river, and close adjoining, is a smaller oblong, formed of three ranges (one being the back of the large oblong), and the fourth range, the bungalows facing the river. The lines for the two corps of Native Infantry are on the left, looking from the river front. The main guard is on the right of the cantonments, near the town. There are also some bungalows for the officers, in rear of the right, and nigh to these is a bridge over a nullah.

Dinapore has long been a considerable cantonment, a large force having been stationed here in 1786. The extension of the British dominion northwards, gradually diminished the importance of this military station; and under the rule of the Marquis Wellesley, it was intended to do away with the whole of the cantonments, and to erect barracks on the other side of the river. In consequence of this resolve, all the buildings, those occupied by the Europeans, as well as those belonging to the natives, were put up for sale, and purchased at a very low price by an officer named Harriott. Government, however, soon after repented of the step it had taken, and was very anxious to cancel the bargain; but the fortunate purchaser demurred. At last, however, Mr. Harriott re-sold to the Company a part of the cantonments at a higher rate than what he had originally paid for the whole. The Government were forced to rent from him whatever further accommodation was needed; and to this day, a descendant of that gentleman receives a monthly rent of no less than 2,000 rupees, or £200 sterling, for the buildings now occupied by the troops. Besides this, a considerable sum is realized from the numerous merchants and others, who rent various buildings included in the first purchase. Thus Governments, like individuals, will sometimes make mistakes.

Dinapore is the head-quarters of a Division of the army, and is capable of being put into a tolerable state of defence. At present there are a light field-battery of Artillery, a royal regiment of Foot, and three corps of Native Infantry stationed here. The church is a very neat building, and stands in the centre of the large oblong. It contains a tablet to two officers of the 62nd Foot, who were unfortunately drowned in company with a great portion of the right wing of the regiment, in a storm which capsized their boats, near Bhaugulpore, on the 10th of July, 1842.

The 39th Foot being quartered here, I called upon Captain Strachan, of this fine corps, under whom I had acted as Adjutant, in 1844, to a detachment of recruits, consisting of my own corps (the 9th Lancers), the 3rd Buffs, 29th, 50th and 62nd Regiments of Foot.

Beyond the cantonments, and half way to Bankipore are many good houses, some of them being occupied by officers, and others by merchants. The view from the river is extremely pleasing, numerous budgerows, and boats of all descriptions, constantly ply up and down the river, and give great animation to the scene. Dinapore is one of the steam stations; and the vessels coming up and down, stop here to take in coals and wood.

Dinapore is also a place of some trade, and is celebrated for its leather, linen, light hats, and paintings. I bought an excellent pair of boots here, for a couple of rupees—quite equal to some I had purchased at Calcutta for eight.

Having taken in 800 maunds of coals (one maund is 80lbs.), and 200 maunds of wood, there having been a scarcity of the former, we started at five o'clock, on the morning of the 30th of May. During the day we passed H.M. 16th Lancers, in country boats, who had been seven days accomplishing what we had done in seven hours; the poor fellows made no hesitation in complaining of the miserable manner in which they were proceeding to Calcutta. It is a pity that the government should have subjected a set of gallant men, to such unnecessary inconvenience and discomfort, when so many steamers were at the time available for their transport. It is only in the hour of need that a soldier's services are duly appreciated, and thus with the 16th: no other Aliwal was in prospect, or perhaps they would have fared better, and many a brave soldier's life might have been spared from an inglorious death on the river.

At a short distance from Dinapore is Deegah, which with Bankipore, almost unites Patna and Dinapore. Bankipore is called a suburb of Patna; and, as the opium agent for Benares resides at Ghazepore, so the agent for the Bahar opium resides at Bankipore. Here is a great grain Golah, or circular stone building something like a bee-hive. It is black from age, and the effects of the climate. This novel and somewhat absurd building was erected by Governor Hastings. In the year 1770 a terrible famine raged in Bengal and Bahar, and carried off thousands. The Bengal government, in order to secure the inhabitants of Patna and its neighbourhood from starvation, in the event of another similar visitation, built this Golah, for the purpose of containing rice, which is grown very extensively at Patna. But, large as was the building, it was discovered that it would not hold a day's consumption for the people of the extensive Province in which it is situated. For, supposing that there were only two millions of souls, each would require 2lbs. per diem, or about 1,800 tons of grain for the whole population, which was far beyond the capacity of the building. The engineer too contrived to make the entrance door to open inwards; and at the top, an aperture surrounded by a parapet; hence it was self-evident that when this granary was filled, or even if the grain were raised but a few feet above the floor, the door could not be opened; besides which, there was also a further danger that the contents would ferment and explode the building. This first and last attempt to build on such vague calculations, cost between £12,000 and £15,000. It is now used as a store-house for arms, and other purposes.

Outside this Golah, are two winding staircases, one of which the late Earl of Munster ascended on horseback for a wager; another gentleman, a civilian, did more, for he rode down also. The walls at the bottom of the granary are enormously thick, namely, twenty-one feet, but they have given way.

There is a large range of buildings for the manufacture of opium; making it into cakes, and packing them in boxes. The latter is a very delicate process. Thus some of the opium of the year 1848 was deteriorated, because the agent had used fresh planks, of a bad description of wood, for the cases. The price of opium has fallen much of late. In the year 1820-21, the Bahar (Patna) opium sold for 4,303 sicca rupees, or 4,589 Company's rupees; and the Benares opium for 4,276 sicca rupees, or 4,531 Company's rupees per chest. But at that time the amount and value of sales was less, and of course the quantity also. When the market returned to its usual state, Bahar opium sold for 1,960 sicca rupees, and Benares for 1,860: but the sales produced more revenue. Before the above period, in 1819-20, the Bahar opium sold for only 2,463 sicca rupees, and Benares for 2,435. At the sales, the buyers paid a deposit of ten per cent.: thirty per cent. in ten days, and the remainder in one month.

Our next station was Patna, which almost joins Bankipore. It is a large city in the Province of Bahar, of which it is the capital, in Latitude 25° 37´ N., and Longitude 85° 15´ E. It is situated on the south side of the Ganges, which is here very deep, and in the rainy season sometimes five miles across.

Patna is a city of great antiquity, and is supposed by some to be the site of the ancient Palibothra. Among them are Rennel, Lord Valentia, Colebrooke and Tennant. By the modern Mahomedans, Patna is named Azimabad, which signifies "The Great City"; by the Hindoos it is called "Sri Nugur." The town of Patna is one continued street, running along the right bank of the river, to the length of four miles by one in breadth. It is surrounded by a fortified wall, in bad condition. The citadel is small, and is now used as a store-house. The contrast between the lofty houses of Benares and this city is very striking; here they are, generally speaking, only one or two stories in height. The residences of the Europeans, chiefly of the civil service, are built of brick, and are very handsome, and extend as far as Bankipore; but the rest of the dwellings are rather mean, and for the most part constructed of mud. There are likewise a few elegant mosques and temples. There was formerly a college of Jews here, and also a Roman Catholic College. The latter was of very early date, probably as remote as the fourth or fifth century; for it is stated in the Asiatic Researches, "That there was, in the fourth century a Christian College at Sirhind, near the Sutlej." From this College, missionaries were sent to the town of Bettiah, ninety miles NNW. of Patna.

The town is very prosperous and populous. Taking the population of the city of Benares at something above 183,000, Patna can scarcely have more than 130,000 souls. Among the inhabitants are several Nawabs and native noblemen, whose income is as low as from 1,000 to 500 rupees a month. Many of them have been thus reduced in their worldly circumstances, in consequence of the British having gained the ascendancy over the former Mahomedan governments. Poor nobility are, however, by no means confined to Patna or to any part of India, but may be found in Poland and Germany; nay, on the Continent generally, and even in favoured England.

There are two Nawabs at Bareilly and at Meerut, holding the offices of Sudder Ameens or magistrates, on salaries of from 700 to 1,000 rupees monthly; and in the Bengal Presidency, there are five Pundits, and several Baboos in the same position, besides forty-two Baboos, one Pundit, and several learned Mahomedans (Moolvees), who are deputy collectors. These are uncovenanted appointments, and are, in addition to the civil servants on the establishment. From the printed lists, it would appear that they are almost as numerous as the covenanted appointments, for there are no less than 402 of the former, and 476 of the latter. The uncovenanted appointments are divided as follows:—

In the North-Western Provinces, the Mahomedans are less than one-sixth, or 3,747,022, out of a population of 23,199,668 souls, so that the Hindoos have not their share of the loaves and fishes. The Chairman of the East India Company animadverted upon this subject a few years since. The Hindoos are usually the most studious, and have often been employed in some of the most responsible and critical posts. Chundoo Lall, a Brahmin, was Prime Minister at the Court of Hyderabad, the Nizam's capital, for many years; and a Hindoo was Prime Minister to the Emperor Akbar. Possibly the Government of India may be desirous of conciliating the Mahomedans, who were for so many years the rulers of Hindoostan. The vacancies in the above appointments are most eagerly sought for; and innumerable are the expectants for preferment. This spirit of emulation has certainly improved the minds of the higher classes, who now study English and the Company's regulations to good purpose. In Calcutta a native has been a Commissioner in the Court of Requests for many years. The subject of the extension of the system of employing natives in high civil offices of responsibility, will very probably be discussed at the end of the East India Company's Charter in 1854; for the question is one of great importance, and immediately connected with the scheme of native education.

Patna is not a large manufacturing town; but there are many cotton and linen factories in the neighbourhood, where chintzes, and various kinds of cotton diaper and damask, are made. There are also manufactories of flannels, and a sort of canvas for sails and other purposes. Linen can be procured in the neighbourhood, and is sent to the metropolis. In fact, almost every article, whether Asiatic or European, may be purchased in the bazaars.

The finest saltpetre and opium are produced in the vicinity; and immense quantities of wheat, sugar, and indigo, are grown here. Provisions are very cheap in Bahar, for instance, gram, a kind of vetch for horses, used to sell at 100 seers, or 200 lbs. for a rupee; but from 1805 to a late period, one or more native cavalry corps have been stationed at Ghazepore, which has raised the market, and the same quantity now costs three rupees. The establishment of the stud, and its branches at Kurruntadhee, Ghazepore, and Buxar, has likewise had an influence upon the price of grain. The opium and saltpetre trade is here, as elsewhere, monopolized by the Government, and exported in immense quantities to Calcutta. But a very considerable trade in all other articles is carried on by merchants from every country. It has always been a place of much commercial importance; and, at a very early period, there were English, French, Dutch, and Danish factories. Patna is the first station at which the East India Company established a factory. This was in the year 1620.

We still see the remains of the old British factory, where the fearful massacre of two hundred prisoners was perpetrated, in 1763, by the German adventurer Summer, pronounced by the natives Somroo, but whose real name was Walter Reinhard, then in the service of Mir Cossim. Much as this atrocious event must be condemned, the English had themselves to blame in the first instance; for the soldiers, who had been stationed at the factory for its protection, scaled the walls of the town, wantonly attacked the inhabitants, and plundered their houses. The native garrison immediately turned out, and succeeded in taking the English soldiers prisoners of war. They were confined in the factory; but the Nawab Cossim, incensed at the various indignities which he had received from the British Government, commissioned Somroo to kill all his prisoners, two hundred in number. This charge the German executed with the greatest barbarity. The prisoners were just seated at dinner, in the hall of the factory, when the myrmidons of Somroo fired upon them from the doors and windows, and butchered them all in cold blood. In revenge for this atrocity, Major Adams stormed the city and captured it. Since that period, Patna has owned the British sway; and it is now the residence of the Provincial Court of Appeal and other civil establishments. A monument to the memory of these wretched victims was erected in the European burial ground, but without any inscription.

The road from Patna to Dinapore is excellent, and marked by mile-stones. The snowy mountains are visible on a clear evening, during the rainy season. I am told that the Himalayas, too, command the most extensive view of the plains during the same period of the year, when the rains prevent the dust from rising into the air.

Nearly opposite Patna, is the district of Tirhoot, famous for the cultivation of indigo and sugar-cane; but the latter suffers greatly from the destructive rats which abound there. Tirhoot is near the Nepaul frontier.

About fifty-five miles south of Patna, in Lat. 24° 49´ N., and Long. 85° 5´ E., in the Province of Bahar, lies the city of Gaya, or Gyah. This ancient city is one of the most holy places of Hindoo pilgrimage, being held by tradition to have been the residence of Buddha, the great prophet and legislator of the nations east of the Ganges; and it is usually termed "Buddha Gyah." The temple is of course had in great veneration. The following extract from an inscription on one of the stones, will shew the estimation in which it was held: "This place is renowned, and it is celebrated by the name of Bhood Gaya. The forefathers of him who shall perform the ceremony of the Sraddha at this place, shall obtain salvation. A crime of a hundred-fold shall undoubtedly be expiated from a sight thereof; of a thousand-fold from a touch thereof; and of a hundred thousand-fold from worshipping thereof." The frightful image of the idol is placed in the temple, and is open to the worship of all pilgrims. A vow of sanctity is often taken here by women, and especially by widows, not unlike the Roman Catholic vow of celibacy; for they shave their heads, and promise to renounce the world. The Bengal government was wont to derive a net annual revenue of £15,000, collected from the pilgrims, a sum even exceeding that gathered from the pilgrims at the famous Juggernauth, being levied at a fixed ratio according to the magnitude of the sins which the individual had come to expiate, and, therefore, of the ceremonies which he was to perform.

The town is divided into two parts, one of which, more holy than the other, is the residence of the Brahmins and their families, called "Gyah Proper"; the other inhabited by the merchants and tradesmen, is called "Sahibgunge." The town lies inland at some distance from the river.

About fourteen miles to the north of Gyah, is a hill, or rather rock, in which a remarkable cavern has been excavated, called "Nugur-jenee" ("Nugur" a town, and "Jenee" the Jains). Being unable to visit it, I will give the account of it as communicated to me by our Captain. The cave, it seems, is about two-thirds distant from the summit of the hill; and the entrance, which is about six feet and a half high, by two and a half wide, leads to a chamber of an oval form, having a vaulted roof: this room is forty-four feet in length, eighteen in breadth, and ten in height in the centre. The whole cavity is dug out of the solid granite rock; altogether the excavation extends full a hundred feet. It was probably made for the purposes of worship by the Buddhists, whose religion differs from that of the Brahmins, and who were subjected to great persecutions on account of their tenets. We know that this was the case with the early Christians, who, in consequence of the ruthless tyranny of their heathen oppressors, were compelled to take refuge in the caves of the earth. The cavern at Gyah has two inscriptions, which have been translated by the late Sir Charles Wilkins, and published in the first volume of the "Asiatic Researches." From these inscriptions, it would appear that it is a place of great antiquity, but no dates are given.

Passing Futwa, which lies near the confluence of the Pompon and the Ganges, and is noted for the manufacture of its table linen, and for the remains of an extensive saltpetre manufactory, we reached Phoolbarea, and sometime after the little town of Bar. The whole place swarms with beggars, many of whom afforded no little amusement to our passengers, by their anxiety to pick up the coppers, which they threw from the steamer to the water's edge.