FORT WILLIAM. 
257 
cholera prevailed, seven hundred daily are said to 
have fallen victims to this terrible scourge for a period 
of many weeks, during which time enjoyment of all 
kinds seemed suspended, and not an hour passed in 
which the wail of lamentation for the dead did not 
remind the living of the desolation that was spreading 
around them. 
Fort William, standing about four or five hundred 
yards below the city, is a place of great strength. 
From the city a road runs by the river in front of the 
fort to Garden-house reach, round the shore of the bay, 
a distance of at least three miles, and from this point 
the best general views of Calcutta are obtained. The 
citadel towards the water, by which the only approach 
can be made with any reasonable prospect of success, 
has the form of a large salient angle, the faces of 
which enfilade the course of the river. The ditch is 
dry, with a reservoir in the middle, that receives 
the water of the Hoogley by means of two sluices 
protected by the fort. The citadel was commenced 
by Lord Clive after the battle of Plassey. It is capa- 
ble of accommodating a garrison of fifteen thousand 
men, and the works are so extensive that at least ten 
thousand would be required to defend them efficiently. 
They are said to have cost the Company upwards of 
two millions sterling. The interior of the fort is per- 
fectly open, presenting to the view large grass plats 
and gravel walks, kept cool by rows of trees all in the 
finest order and fullest vigour of their growth, inter- 
mixed with piles of balls, bombshells, and cannon. 
Between the town and fort is the esplanade, a fine 
level, where the inhabitants enjoy a refreshing ride 
z 3 
