The huts were formed of clay, bamboos, or palm branches,
and covered with tiles, rice-straw, or palm leaves. The larger
boats of the natives struck me as very remarkable, and differed
entirely from those I saw at Madras. The front portion was almost
flat, being elevated hardly half a foot above the water while the
stern was about seven feet high.
The first grand-looking building, a cotton mill, is situated fifteen
miles below Calcutta, and a cheerful dwelling-house is attached.
From this point up to Calcutta, both banks of the Hoogly are lined
with palaces built in the Greco-Italian style, and richly provided
with pillars and terraces. We flew too quickly by, unfortunately,
to obtain more than a mere passing glimpse of them.
Numbers of large vessels either passed us or were sailing in the
same direction, and steamer after steamer flitted by, tugging
vessels after them; the scene became more busy and more strange,
every moment, and everything gave signs that we were approaching an
Asiatic city of the first magnitude.
We anchored at Gardenrich, four miles below Calcutta.
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