25 8 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
" at shut of even/' when a grateful breeze from the 
river generally prevails, cooling the body and impart- 
ing an elasticity to the spirits altogether delightful. 
The Hoogley exhibits at all times a very ani- 
mated scene, but more especially at flood tide, when 
vessels from all parts of the world, and of every size 
and form, cover the broad bosom of its majestic 
stream. Indiamen of six hundred tons are frequently 
seen at anchor off Calcutta. A remarkable peculia- 
rity of this river is that sudden influx of the tide 
called the bore, which rises in a huge wave some- 
times to the height of sixteen or eighteen feet, 
sweeping up the stream at the rate of seventeen 
miles an hour, and overwhelming all the small craft 
within its rapid flow. It runs on the Calcutta side, 
but seldom extends above one-fourth part across the 
river, so that the shipping are generally beyond the 
reach of its influence. It nevertheless at times causes 
such an agitation that the largest vessels at anchor 
nearer the opposite shore pitch and roll with consi- 
derable violence. 
One eminent advantage that Calcutta possesses is 
its inland navigation, which renders it the emporium 
of a vast variety of foreign imports ; these are con- 
veyed on the Ganges and its subsidiary streams to 
the northern parts of Hindostan, which return their 
commercial produce to the capital through the same 
channels. The amount of property commonly kept on 
sale by the native merchants is incredible ; — the article 
of cloth alone has been estimated at a million sterling 
on the average. From the great variety of merchan- 
dise brought to this city, the property afloat is perhaps 
