1807.] 



Journal of a Voyage in the Tiidian Seas. 



539 



hoiTid fceiie was a(3ed, to commemorate 

 the event. 



There is a veiy fmgular blrrf that fre- 

 t[ueiits the Ihetts and environs of Cal- 

 cutta, where it is alnioft doniellicated, 

 called, iVoin tb.e length of its legs and 

 flow folfetnn walk, the Adjutant. 



As it devours the garbage and all pu- 

 trid auinml fubllanccs in the llreets, it 

 is on that account hold facred, and no 

 one is allowed to (lioot any of thel'e 

 birds; they perch on the hatilements 

 and highell prujcCting parts of the houfes, 

 where they ftand as inotionlcis as ftatues, 

 with their heads penfively refting ou 

 their pouches, or lonietimes turned to 

 one firlf. In tliefc pofitioiH, Itrangers 

 generally take them for inanimate ob- 

 jects, lb perltoly duelled do they feem 

 of life and motion. 



As Calcutta lies clofe to the tropic of 

 Cancer, when the fun is in Ciipricorn, or 

 6ti degrees removed from thvm, the in- 

 liabitants experience a kind of little win- 

 ter, or coiuiderable diminution of the 

 intenfe heat of the fummer; which is lull 

 fartlver elVefted by the north-ealt mon- 

 i'oon, that blows with a refielhing cool- 

 iiefs at this feafon. Daring the mouths 

 of December and January particularly, 

 it is not uncommon to llcep with a blan- 

 ket over one; whereas, at other limes of 

 the year, the fuffocating heat (in con- 

 junction with fwarnii! of mofcjuitoes,) 

 renders the night an object of dread, 

 rather than u comfortable rcfrelhmi;nt 

 after the heats of the day. 



This little divcrlity of feafon (were the 

 fli;iiate otlierwife healthy) would render 

 Bengal far preferable to the more foutli- 

 ern parts of Indja, where very little 

 change is felt, except for a ihort fpace 

 at the Ihifting of tiic monfoons on the 

 coall of Coromandei": the flatnefs of the 

 country, however, and its being every 

 where interfered, and a great part :m- 

 nually overHowed by the Ganges, will 

 for ever be the caufe of iicknefs, as well 

 as fertility ! 



The Europeans in Calcutta dine at fo 

 late an hour as feven o'clock ; but they 

 take a llight repa-l at one, which conlilts 

 in general of light curries, or the like, 

 witli tvvo or three glaifes of will": they 

 therefore feldom have a good appetite at 

 dinner, but lit down languid and inert, 

 *vitli more inclination to drink than eat. 



Now, though no ])eople can be more 

 temperate in both tiiefe refpects, yet the 

 unliiafonablenefs of the hour at which 

 they dine cannot fail to be prejudicial 

 to their health in fuch a Lot cUnuitc as 



this; where, independent of a loaded 

 ftomach, it is at all times difticidt to prrj- 

 cure any thing like good rell at night; 

 Thole, therefore, who would prefer found 

 health to fadiionable hours, Ihould tirt" 

 (as they term it) a little later, and muk« 

 it I'erve for dmncr. 



They fay indeed, with much jiiftice, 

 that feven o'clock is the moft comfortable 

 time of the day to dine ; that then all 

 bufmefs is over, the air cooler, and the 

 inlerts (a ^rcat pelt during the day) all 

 difpcrfcd. This is very true ; but llisht 

 incouveniencies Ihould be made fublt'r-' 

 1 ieiit to a real good. 



With ref|jerl to the hofpitality of the 

 Calcutta gentry, and the En'ililii fcttle- 

 mcnts in general, from what I could olj- 

 ferve during a fpace of more than two 

 years, it is my opinion (whatever a fevr 

 8mcl-fungi may fay to the contraiy), that 

 in no quarter of the globe is the term fo 

 feldom iifed, and the prufikt fo univer- 

 faliy adopteil. I have often admired the 

 liberulity of fcv! 'uncut in ihijia gruinbLcrs, 

 who meafuie the hofpitality of a whole 

 people by the degree of attention that 

 happens to he paid to theinfelvcs ! who 

 would confidently pronounce tlic inha- 

 bitants of Calcutta or Madras a fct of 

 unhofpitable hypocrites, if they did not 

 happen to receive all that civility which 

 they conlider as due to tlicir fclj-mpurt' 

 ance ! Vet fuch there are, who draw 

 general conclulions from obfcure and 

 local circumi'tanccs, inlleud of obferva- 

 tion. 



The houfes in India are remarkiblj 

 well adapted to the climate, or rather to 

 counteract the effects of a hot one, by 

 having large and lofty apartments, with 

 fpacious verendahs, in which they lit and 

 dine frequently in the hot feafon ; in 

 their rooms they have curious machines, 

 called punkas, or large fans, which are 

 kejjt conftantly waving over head while 

 at dinner, and produce a moft agreeable 

 etfect. Very little furniture is kept in 

 rooms in India, any thing that obftructs 

 the air being a great inconvenience. I 

 fcarcely rccolied'X having i'ean a ceilinu; iu 

 Calcutta ; they fay it would harbour dirt, 

 and confequenlly heat, bolides becom- 

 ing a rendezvous for dirfercnt kinds of 

 vermin. 



The coolnefs of their wine and water 

 is in this climate a very great luxury : 

 the procefs is entirely a chemical one ; 

 viz. the communicating to wine, &c. the 

 cold produced by the folution of a fohd 

 in a fluid body: every family, therefore, 

 keeps a hobdaar. for the puruofe of 

 cooling 



