THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 49 



established danger of this shoal, the moment a vessel is on it she 

 is sucked down, and in an incredibly short space of time not 

 even her top-masts are visible. 



The tide rose and we, at any rate, passed the fatal shoal 

 comfortably enough. A little lower down we came across a 

 small party of Gulls (L. ridibundus and brimeicephalus) all 

 in winter plumage, except one ridibundus which had assumed the 

 deep reddish-brown hood characteristic of the breeding plumage. 

 Near Diamond Harbour a large flight of Golden-plover (C. 

 fulvus) passed close over the ship ; a pair of Indian Rollers 

 (C. indica) came and perched on the rigging, and had a jaunt 

 of at least a dozen miles down the river, free of charge. Lower 

 again, a party of the Little Tern (S. minuta) joined us and hung 

 in our wake, in company with a few Kites (strangely unwilling 

 as it seemed to say farewell to us), until we anchored at night- 

 fall a little above Saugor Island. 



The delay at the James and Mary was most unfortunate ; but 

 for our enforced halt in the morning we should before dark have 

 been out in blue water, and have been speeding the whole night 

 through on our journey, instead of lying idle at anchor in the 

 midst of this wide, dreary, desolate waste of liquid mud, the 

 only accurate description of the Hooghly. We had lost one 

 day, a terrible loss to us, with only exactly one month from 

 port to port at our command, and all the demonaical legions of 

 the Financial Department eager to dock with fiendish glee our 

 poor salaries if we overstayed our leave an hour. 



It was very sad, but the green cloth and two new packs of 

 cards ushered in whist and peace of mind ; exhilarating bever- 

 ages crowned the board ; Nicotiana's balmy breath perfumed the 

 chill evening air; and all went merry as a marriage bell. 

 When hark a deep sound breaks in ! It was much too loud for 

 the wind, and it certainly could not be " the car rattling o'er 

 the stoney street/' It was as the roar of mighty waters, 

 growing nearer and nearer — and so it proved to be, in other 

 words the bore coming up the river in unusual force. " I 

 guess it shook the old ship about considerably/' as Mr. P., the 

 second officer, remarked next morning, but it soon passed on. 

 The bore never gives much trouble so low down the river, 

 especially at this time of the year. Indeed there was no business 

 to be any bore at all, but things were somehow out of joint 

 f what can you expect when the Municipal Commissioners and 

 their Chairman are always quarrelling as they chronically are 

 in Calcutta ?), and the very day before w r e started, the old 

 Scotia, under the influence of the bore, had bent in all the 



