PHYSICAL AND CLIMATIC FEATURES. 11 



the gallant men, whose doughty deeds and wise counsels won 

 for us this great Empire, mingle with the dust on the line of 

 inarch, upon the battle-field, at the jungle side, and around the 

 ruins of remote residences and factories, and now enrich the 

 soil furrowed by the ploughs of the humble Indian cultivator, 

 their graves forgotten, but their epitaphs indelibly inscribed 

 in history. 



The climate of Bengal and Orissa, that of a few districts 

 excepted, is by no means dangerous to European constitutions 

 if precautions dictated by common sense be adopted ; that of 

 Behar, Purneah being omitted, is better, while that of Chota 

 Nagpoor, Singhbhoom excepted, is both agreeable and salu- 

 brious. Still, having said this much for the climate of the 

 country, it is only right to add that few men can expose 

 themselves to the sun between March and November without 

 suffering in some degree, unless they are abstemious and 

 thoroughly seasoned; and none should run risks without good 

 cause. On the other hand, duty, sport, or inclination urging 

 them, men may brave the heat of the sun for many years, if 

 properly clothed and protected. 



From the 1st of November to the 1st of March the weather 

 is magnificent even in Lower Bengal and Orissa; while in 

 Behar and Chota Nagpoor it is cold and dry. As day succeeds 

 day of bright sunshine and bracing north breezes, one is apt 

 to forget that the trials and terrors of the hot and rainy 

 seasons will surely follow. To the above four cold weather 

 months may be added one at each end viz., March and 

 October as not excessively warm ; April, May and June are 

 very hot ; and July, August and September, when the rains 

 are heaviest, are, in general, very disagreeable, through an 

 excess of moisture, superadded to a temperature ranging 

 between 86 and 92 in the day within the house. The store 

 of health, vitality, and energy laid up between November 

 and March, are pretty nearly exhausted by the great heats 

 of the next four months, and then those who are unable to 

 escape to the Hills are left to struggle through the enervating 

 climate of the wet season as well as they can till the advent 



