HOURS WITH NATURE 



I. 



AN EXCURSION. 



ONE beautiful summer morning of the year 18 , we 

 took boat at the Mullick ghat. It was yet very early, 

 and the hase of twilight hung over the earth ; but the 

 breeze was fresh and cool, the morning fine, and the sky, 

 the earth, and the water charming to look upon. As 

 we glided down the river, a most lovely and picturesque 

 sight came into view. To our left huge vessels laden 

 with the wealth of a thousand shores lay serenely at an- 

 chor, a forest of trim spars, sharply defined against a 

 morning sky of azure blue, stretched as far as the eye 

 could reach ; multitudes of country craft, large and small, 

 were moored along the shore, round the buoys, and by 

 the sides of the vessels. On the Howrah side, tall chim- 

 neys loomed fti the distance, with a foreground of work- 

 shops, godowns, jetties, and cranes. There was a gentle 

 ripple on- the surface of the river, which softly lapped the 

 sides of the boat. We were rowed further down, 

 and the scene changed somewhat. Though still 

 enchanting, it was no longer solemn, serene, and tran- 

 quil. Another day's toil and struggle had already begun, 



