TEMPLES 43 



me much kindness. He lent me his carriage and 

 I went the round of the temples. One of them, 

 the monkey temple, is full of monkeys who expect 

 to be fed. They are quite tame. The golden 

 temple has a gilt dome, hence its name; but they 

 are all rather poor compared to some of the 

 Mahomedan mosques. Benares is the home of 

 flies, mosquitoes, and beggars, but it is none the 

 less very attractive. I reached Gya on the I5th. 

 There is only one thing worth seeing there, and 

 that is the great Buddhist temple, which entails a 

 seven miles' drive. I have now seen most of the 

 best Mahomedan, Hindoo, and Buddhist temples, 

 and wild horses will not drag me to see another. 



I got to Calcutta on the i6th and have taken 

 up my quarters at 15, Kyd Street, where I shall 

 be a fixture with incessant work and worry till 

 April. I have the pleasure of paying a fortune 

 for a house which in London would be dear at a 

 third of the rent. India is no longer the country 

 to save money in. 



I have already seen a cobra killed in the garden. 



