SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER 



TO THE FIFTY-SEVENTH VOLUME of the 



MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



No. 398.] 



AUGUST 1, 1824. 



[Price 2s. 



THE 



WONDERS OF ELORA; 



OR, THE 



NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 



TO THE 



TEMPLES AND DWELLINGS 



Excavated out of a Mountaia of Granite, and 



extending upwards of a Mile and a Quarter, 



AT ELOBA, IN THE EAST INDIES, 



nV THE ROUTE OP 



POONA, AHMED -NUGGUR, AND TOKA, 



Returning by 



DOWLUTABAI) AND AURUNGABAD, 



With some General Ohseniations on the 



People and Country. 



By JOHN B. SEELY, 



Captain in the Bombay Native Infantry, and late in 

 the Military Service of his Highness the Rajah of 

 JVagpotir. 



1 vol. 8vo. I6s. bds. 



[In a late Number we intiodiiced an en- 

 graving from this volume, aud some 

 account of tlie truly wonderful Temples 

 of Elora, -which do not appear to be 

 surpassed by any productions of art in 

 the world. We now introduce to our 

 readers a series of most curious, valua- 

 ble, and interesting, extracts from the 

 same modest volume ; and, though so 

 extensive, we have regretted that the 

 due notice of other works has not per- 

 mitted us to render them still more co- 

 pious. No production of the past win. 

 ter is more worthy of attention in every 

 sense. It is a voyage of discovery, and 

 the novelties are not only very nume- 

 rous, but are most ably brought under 

 the eye of the reader.] 



BOMBAY. 



THE climate of Bombay i.s prefer- 

 able to most parts of Iiidiu, having 

 a rcfrcsl)!!!'; sea-breeze, commonly call- 

 od, from its healtliful oirccts, the Doctor. 

 There is now very little wood on the 

 island, no marshes, and but few larne 

 , pools of stagnant water. To these 

 ' causes much of the sickness that i)re- 

 ' vails in oilier parts of India must be 

 I attributed ; and the salnbrily of Bom- 

 I baj' causes it to be resorted lo by iriva- 

 i lids from the other president-ics and the 

 "iiterior. 

 Monthly Mac, No. .198, 



Nothing can be more dcligiilful than 

 the rides and drives in this island : they 

 extend twenty-one miles, and commu- 

 nicate to the neighbouring island of 

 Salsette by means of a causeway. The 

 prospect is as grand and as beantiful as 

 can be imagined: the mighty range of 

 the G'liats towering in the clouds and 

 extending as far as the eye can reach, 

 — the bold views on the continent, — the 

 diversified objects on the island, — old 

 ruinous convents and monasteries erect- 

 ed by its former conquerors, the Portu- 

 guese, — the noble country-houses of the 

 Europeans, — Hindoo pagodas, Maho- 

 metan mosques, — the remains of Mah« 

 ratta forts and buildings; — these, with 

 the rural appearauceof Hindoo villages, 

 where every patch of ground is richly 

 cultivated or ornamenled, and inter- 

 spersed with groves of date and cocoa- 

 nut trees, afford a prospect of luxuriance 

 and beauty to be met with nowhere but 

 in the Coucan. As we turn our eyes to- 

 wards the sea, we are presented wilh a 

 fine hard beach, running on to the bigli 

 and romantic spot called Malabar 

 Point, which promontory "^is studded 

 with neat villas; while the city and fort 

 are seen in the back-gfound, with the 

 ships securely at anchor in the harbour. 

 Nor must we forget the isthmus called 

 Colaba (probably Cal-ab, or black wa- 

 ter,) running for about two miles in a 

 straight line from Bombay, from which 

 it is separated at high water. On this 

 small island, which scarcely exceeds a 

 quarter of a mile in breadth, arc several 

 good houses, and a range of barracks. 

 At its farthest or western end slaiids a 

 noble signal and light-house, from the 

 top of which is a very fine view of the 

 island and adjacent coimtry. 



Nor is it on land alone that Bombay 

 possesses the advantages of situation. 

 Its harbour, from its great size, smooth- 

 ness of the water, and for the greater 

 part of the day having a fine sea-breeze 

 blowing, affords almost constant oppor- 

 tiMiily for aquatic excursions : so open, 

 indeed, and at the same time so secure, 

 is the bay, that for miles, in various di- 

 4 E rcctions, 



