254 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
from Europe the houses appear very imposing from 
their novelty of style, their size, and the richness 
of their architectural embellishments. The square- 
ness and simplicity of their forms is striking, though 
this simplicity is perhaps too much intruded upon by 
the gorgeous facades and numerous columns with 
which they are generally adorned. The absence of 
chimneys is a novelty that does not escape a European 
eye, and associates with their grandeur of aspect the 
idea of a want of comfort rather repugnant to our 
notions of social enjoyment. The roofs of the houses 
are invariably terraced and surrounded by handsome 
balustrades, these being far more light and elegant 
than a parapet. The windows are large, and instead 
of being glazed are covered with Venetian blinds, in 
order at once to admit the air and exclude the light, 
for heat is inseparable from light in this warm climate. 
The architecture, which is of the Italian school, is well 
adapted to a tropical country, though in some in- 
stances taste has been sacrificed to vulgar whim, 
many of the private dwellings having two pediments, 
as if, because one formed an elegant finish, two must 
give a proportionate increase of magnificence to the 
structure. 
There is a square within the city extending up- 
wards of a quarter of a mile each way, in the centre 
of which is a large tank surrounded by a low wall, 
and protected by an elegant iron railing. The top 
of the wall is at least fifty feet above the level of 
the water, to which there is a descent by a broad 
handsome flight of steps. 
As rain water is much used in Calcutta for domes- 
