38 
parallelism with the bill, but I never saw an instance of any 
being rejected on account of its size. 
“ The voracity of the Adjutant encourages soldiers to play 
off their wit at times in rather a cruel manner. An instance 
of this kind occurred lately, when a mutton-bone, charged 
with gunpowder and a lighted fusee, was tossed among a flock 
of them, and the unlucky individual, to whose lot it fell, 
instantly blown to pieces. The perpetrator of this inhuman 
prank was tried by a court-martial, and deservedly flogged. 
“These birds inherit a great share of the dulness and 
apparent stupidity of their tribe. In the day-time, they stand 
for hours motionless in the squares of the Fort, some on one 
leg, some on both, and by way of varying their posture, occa- 
sionally squat upon their hams, or lie fairly down on their 
belly. At night, they perch upon the battlements of the 
Fort, or among the topmost branches of Uvaria longifolia, 
that shade its squares, where they roost, insensible to the 
intrusion of a whole legion of Flying Foxes (Vespertilio Vam- 
pyrus), that resort every evening to these trees to feed upon 
their fruit. E 
“The annual festival in honour of the Hindoo divinity 
Doorga Pooja, was celebrated in Calcutta on the 9th, 10th, 
and 11th October. During that period the whole city was in 
an uproar, and exhibited a spectacle resembling what we read 
of Venice at the time of'the Carnival: religious processions 
during the day, and at night the houses of the principal inha- 
bitants illuminated, and thrown open for the reception of all. 
well-dressed people. These houses are built in the form of a 
hollow square, and on occasion ofthe festival the central court 
is covered over with an awning, and the ground with a car- 
pet. "Three sides of it are occupied with seats for the com- 
pany; on the side fronting the entrance is an elevated recess 
wherein the image of the godess, in a recumbent attitude, is 
exposed to view, carved in wood, and gorgeous with finery. 
This recess is hallowed ground, which all may gaze on, but 
none are permitted to enter. In the céntre of the area stand 
two or three Natches, or dancing girls, clothed in flowing 
robes of silk bedaubed with tinsel, who sing and dance in 
