Towards evening we had approached pretty close to the mouths of this
monster river, for some miles previous to our entering which, the
water had a sweet flavour. I filled a glass from the holy stream,
and drank it to the health of all those near and dear to me at home.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we cast anchor before Kadscheri, at
the entrance of the Ganges, it being too late to proceed to
Calcutta, which is sixty nautical miles distant. The stream at this
point was several miles broad, so that the dark line of only one of
its banks was to be seen.
4th November. In the morning we entered the Hoogly, one of the
seven mouths of the Ganges. A succession of apparently boundless
plains lay stretched along on both sides of the river. Fields of
rice were alternated with sugar plantations, while palm, bamboo, and
other trees, sprung up between, and the vegetation extended, in
wanton luxuriance, down to the very water's edge; the only objects
wanting to complete the picture were villages and human beings, but
it was not until we were within about five-and-twenty miles of
Calcutta that we saw now and then a wretched village or a few half-
naked men.
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