The lady of the manor (Volume 5)

THIRD CONVERSATION ON THE LORD'S PRAYER--"BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL."

"I am prepared with a curious little narrative, my beloved young friends, which I hope will at once please and profit you," said the lady of the manor, when she found herself again surrounded by her young people.

Its title is 'The Garden of Roses,' and it refers expressly to that clause in the Lord's Prayer, by which we are taught to seek deliverance from all evil. It is curious, because it presents a view of that kind of life never, as I can recollect, before described by any English writer; and is the more valuable, as it is, I have every reason to think, a very faithful picture."

The lady of the manor then read as follows.

THE GARDEN OF ROSES.

It is now between sixty and seventy years since my father and uncle went out to India, the one in a civil and the other in a medical capacity. When they left England, my uncle was married; and as his wife's sister accompanied them on the passage, my father made so good a use of the opportunities afforded him during the voyage, that he had scarcely arrived in Calcutta, before the young single lady consented to become his wife, and was united to him before any of the party left the presidency.

''The state of the English possessions in India, was very different at that period to what it now is; and our territories, which are now bounded by the towering summits of the Himalaya, at that time extended little further than the Rajemahal hills. The natives of Hindoostaun were then also in a much more barbarous state than they now are, and the few English families who resided in the country, infinitely more ignorant, tyrannical, and greedy of gain, than at the present time.

I was born at a station lying near the river, between Berhampore and Rajemahal, and recollect, very little of my parents. I was not their eldest child, though the only one who survived its infancy. The few and faint impressions I have of my mother are, however, very precious; and I have some convictions in my mind that she was a pious woman, though perhaps I should have some difficulty in explaining my reasons for this persuasion. She was certainly, however, a tender and careful parent; and I suffered a severe bereavement, when in my sixth year I was deprived of her by death.

"I remember little of the circumstances of her funeral: perhaps I might have been removed from the house at the time. But I well recollect being left afterwards under the charge of a Portuguese ayah, who treated me with kindness in some respects, but allowed me to acquire such knowledge of evil as I never could forget through all the subsequent years of my childhood or youth, and which probably laid the foundation of most of my miseries in after life.

"And here, surely, it cannot be out of place to give some cautions to parents respecting those persons to whom they confide their infant children.

"It has been frequently remarked, that there are few denominations of domestics in England more universally corrupt, than those who are employed about infants. If we enquire what young women in any town are counted to be the most depraved, it will generally be answered, the nursery-maids, and the reason for this is evident. The business of a nursery-maid is at the same time laborious and favourable for gossiping and unsettled habits. When a mother takes charge of her own infant, she finds an occupation for her heart and for every thought as well as for her hands. But this is what cannot be generally expected from her who performs these duties merely from interested motives. Neither can the divine blessing be expected upon that parent who neglects her own duties through indolence, pride, or the love of pleasure and wholly resigns the endearing caresses of her infant to one who regards them less than the coin with which she is paid for her hireling services.

"Notwithstanding this general assertion, we however believe that there are many young women in England who perform the duties of the nursery-maid with tenderness and fidelity. But we fear that in India, and other heathen countries, although there may be some instances of warm affection between the infant and its nurse, yet that there are few, very few, children reamed by heathens or papists, who have not reason to lament through life the deep pollutions acquired in the nursery. Many dreadful instances of this kind have fallen under my observation, and I take this occasion earnestly to supplicate all parents now residing abroad, to look anxiously at their nurseries, to watch with unremitting care, to investigate every doubtful word and action, and to leave their infants as little as possible under the charge of those persons who have had any communication with idolaters; for after all that has been said by moralists, travellers, philosophers, and even missionaries, I believe that the world in general is only half awakened to the abominations of idolatrous countries.

"I return to my own little history, and I might reflect bitterly upon the guides of my childhood, for their deeply wicked lessons long remained imprinted on my heart, yet I have few recollections of the scenes which passed before my eyes, or the places in which I spent my time. I remember, indeed, many tawny faces which continually surrounded me in my early life. I also remember a hearse-like coach drawn by bullocks, in which I sat between the knees of may ayah, and in which I often went out to take the air. I remember a wild region through which I often used to pass on these occasions, where the road on each side was bordered with clusters and groves of luxuriant vegetation; and where, amidst many swampy marshes, I saw vultures and other wild birds. I remember also a bazar where we used often to stop to buy sweetmeats and cakes, and to purchase bangles; and where I saw many fierce human beings and savage looking little children. And I also remember my own apartments, which were wide and empty, and had many doors, the chief of which opened into a verandah, where I frequently sat with my attendants after sunset, enjoying the breezes which blew over a garden of roses, in which my mother had taken great delight.

"Among my father's servants was a Persian moonshee, a man of some learning, and as he had a fine voice for singing, he used sometimes to be admitted to my apartments in an evening, particularly when my father was absent. He brought with him an instrument, which was neither a guitar nor a violin, but something like both, and used it to accompany his own voice in some of the old Persian and Hindoo airs, which were extremely pleasing and pathetic. After he had thus regaled us, he used to tell us many stories, in which truth and falsehood, the marvellous and the beautiful, were strangely blended, and in a manner which made a strong impression upon my young mind.

"One of these stories, which was probably suggested to his mind by the fragrance of the roses in the garden which spread itself under the verandah, took strong hold of my mind, and I remembered it accurately, and have thought much of it in after life.

'There are some roses,' said the moonshee, 'which have no thorns, but these are not the fairest or most fragrant of these lovely flowers. There was once a princess of Shiraaz who resolved that she would have such a garden of roses as had never before been seen in that delightful climate. Accordingly, she ordered a suitable spot of ground on the declivity of one of tile mountains in the neighbourhood of the royal city to be prepared for her garden, into which two streams of pure water from the hills were conducted, and which was sheltered from the keen winds of the north by a grove of cedars which one alight suppose, from their majestic appearance and extensive shades, to have been coeval with time hills themselves.

"'Into these gardens she directed that every variety of rose-tree should be introduced, from the variegated flower of Damascus, to the little crimson rose-bush of Cathai. And now when the cold season had passed away and the warmer period of spring had restored each plant to its bloom, and had invited the song of the nightingale, she took occasion to visit her garden, and to enjoy the pleasure of its many odours, as she was seated in a marble pavilion which had been erected in the centre of it.

"'And now when the Shjrazadee first beheld her garden, she was filled with satisfaction, and extolled the gardeners and other workmen, who had so soon converted this comparatively barren spot into a blooming paradise. She listened with delight to the rushing of the waters, and the warbling of the birds; to the hum of bees, and gentle murmurs of the breezes; and sat awhile enrapt in enjoyment. But inasmuch as royal eyes and ears are not used to be long satisfied with the same thing, she presently must needs leave the pavilion, and busy herself, with her own hands, in plucking some of those flowers whose fragrance and beauty charmed her senses; and in her haste she thrust her hand into a bush, and drew it forth bleeding and pierced with many thorns.

Not yielding to the control of reason, when site felt the wounds she became enraged, and commanded that every rose-tree which bore a thorn should instantly be plucked up. The princess was obeyed, and the garden despoiled of its fairest beauties; and when the Shirazadee again walked in her pleasure-ground, she had to lament her impetuosity, and would willingly have restored the charms of her garden.'

"This was the story often repeated by the Persian, and the moral he drew from it was this: that there was no enjoyment on earth without its imperfection, no rose of beauty and fragrance without its thorns; and that the wisdom of mankind consisted, not in avoiding evil, but in distinguishing between lesser and imaginary inconveniences and those which are more real and important. He then expatiated (in a manner which I have since wondered at, considering that he was merely a mussulmaun, and was not acquainted with the purifying doctrines of our holy religion) upon the nature of evil, which he maintained to consist in moral depravity, declaring that no human being could be counted truly miserable who supported an upright and virtuous conduct. I have read that this sentiment has been maintained by many of the ancient heathen philosophers. Be thus as it may, it was a remarkable one from a person in such circumstances. And this I believe was the only occasion, on which, during my residence in India, I ever heard a single moral sentiment from any of the natives of the East.

I remained in my father's house in India till I had entered my tenth year; and as I saw very little of my only remaining parent, and was actually a stranger to the English language, it may be conceived that I was no better than a heathen, when, during this year, I was sent down to Calcutta, and put on board ship with my ayah, that I might proceed immediately to England.

"Our voyage was long, and the time I spent on board as little profitable as that which had passed in the place of my birth.

When arrived in London, I was received by the mistress of a large seminary, in a fashionable square, and my ayah having been dismissed and sent back to her own country, no time was lost in modelling my dress more to the prevailing ideas of decorum and fashion, than that which it presented when I first appeared in my paunjammahs, shawl, cap, and labardour, and ringlets well saturated with cocoa-nut oil.

"I cannot describe to you what I felt when my ayah took her leave, and how heartily I hated my governess and all persons in authority under her; and how my Indian blood boiled when I was first subjected to the hands of a dancing-master, and to the discipline of stocks and dumb bells.

"When I found myself condemned to so severe a reform in my personal appearance, I certainly was not without some apprehensions, lest a close inspection of my actions and principles aught ensue. But I was soon relieved from these fears, and had not been in England six months before I discovered that if I attended to certain external regulations; if I applied with some attention to my English, French, writing, music, and drawing; if I courtseyed in coming in and out of the presence-chamber, as we called the apartment where my governess generally sat; and if I were careful of my dress and appearance at church and in the dancing-room; I should have nothing whatever to fear from the penetration of any of my teachers, and should be left at perfect liberty to follow all the wayward fancies of my corrupt nature.

"I shall not dwell long on the eight years which I spent at school: they passed much in the way in which young people commonly spend their time in those seminaries, where all sorts of children are collected and little attention is paid to their private habits. Suffice it to say, that at the end of my school career I was almost, if not altogether, as complete a heathen as when I left India. My external appearance was, however, no doubt, greatly improved. I could dress well, I could dance well, draw a little, play a little, write a common-place letter in a tolerable hand, could speak good English, and embroider muslin; and I could hide my faults where I thought it necessary, and appear as amiable as most other young ladies, whenever it served my purpose to do so.

"It had been long determined that in my eighteenth year I was to leave school and return to my father in India: but as there was the interval of several months between the time appointed for my leaving London and my actual embarkation, it was agreed by my father's agent in Town, that I should spend that time with a lady in the country. That I may explain my connexion with this lady, I shall proceed to give some account of the relations whom I had left in India.

"Since my mother's death my father had remained a widower. He had frequently been removed from place to place, and had settled at Monghyr, a most beautiful station in Bengal, inclosed on one side by the Rajemahal hills, and on the other by the Ganges. There he had prepared a house for my reception, and I had frequently anticipated a residence there in all the pride and pomp of Oriental magnificence.

" My uncle, in the mean time, was living at Bauglepore, a smaller station than Monghyr, and a little lower down, on the banks of the river.

"I should have informed my reader, that his wife, who was my mother's sister, had died some years before my birth, leaving an only child, who was as much as seven years older than myself. This daughter, by name Euphemia, had been sent to England immediately on her mother's death, and placed under the care of a distant relation in Worcestershire, by whom she had been bought up. Nor had her education been conducted in the careless and superficial manner in which mine had unfortunately been: but such attention had been paid to her, and so greatly had the divine blessing attended the labours of her instructors, that when she returned to India she was an honour to her sex and a blessing to all such of her near connexions as were not actually resolved not to be benefited by her. Poor Euphemia had not, however, such a home to return to as a correct and elegant young woman could be supposed to enjoy and therefore she was probably the more rejoiced at an early deliverance from this unhappy home, by a marriage with the son of the lady by whom she had been educated, and who, probably with the sole view of following his cousin, had interested his friends to procure him a cadetship in the civil service, and was now actually residing, with his wife and child, in a small house not very distant from his father-in-law. Euphemia was, then, at the time of my leaving school, a married woman and the mother of children, and it was to her instructress and friend in England, that I was to go during the interval between my leaving school and returning to India.

"And now, it may be seasonable to explain the reasons why Euphemia, in returning to her father's house, found it so wretched. I do not, however, profess at this time to enter into many particulars, as I shall find occasion shortly to give my reader a very exact account of my uncle's ill-regulated household; but would remark only, that when my uncle had lost his European wife and parted from his child, finding his situation as a widower somewhat irksome, he formed a sort of contract of marriage with a native woman, a mussulmaunee, with whom he had resided from that period, and by whom he had a large family of sons and daughters, some older and some younger than myself, but all partaking in their manners and appearance more of the Asiatic mother than of the European father. The history of my uncle's family had been given me more than once by persons who had visited me from India, and I had frequently diverted myself and my companions at the expence of my Asiatic cousins and my uncle's extraordinary household; for I had neither feeling nor principle sufficient to weigh, in a serious manner, the evil effects to the old gentleman himself, from this association, not only with one of another complexion, but of a religion so wholly adverse to the truth.

"But, for the present, having already said all that is needful on this subject, I shall return to my own particular history: before I proceed, however, I must call myself to account for a strange negligence, of which my young readers are undoubtedly aware, namely, that I have omitted to tell them my name and that of my parents, particulars which are generally of more than minor importance to young persons while they study the narrative of any individual. Be it then known, that the name of my father's family is Richardson, and that of my mother Fairlie, and that the name which was given me by my parents is Olivia.

And now, having given my reader all necessary satisfaction on this subject, I proceed.

I do not recollect that I felt much on leaving the seminary where I had spent the most important years of my childhood and youth: for I had found little in that place either to gain my affections or claim my esteem; and I therefore scarcely shed a tear when I parted from my teachers and companions, to enter on my journey into Worcestershire, where my relation Mrs. Fairlie lived, but I was eager to receive pleasure from every change of scene or company which might present itself.

"My journey was made in a stage-coach, with a servant of Mrs. Fairlie's; and I have no doubt that I afforded no small amusement to two gentlemen who were also in the coach, by my inexperienced remarks on all I saw and heard.

Having passed through tile city of Worcester, and left our fellow-travellers, I, with the servant, hired a post-chaise, and proceeded to Mrs. Fairlie's house, which was situated about fourteen miles distant from the county town, in time direction of Wales, and in that part of Worcestershire which at once partakes of the wild beauties of Wales and tile rich fertility of England.

Mrs. Fairlie was a widow, and possessed a property sufficient to afford her all the comforts and even some of the elegancies of life. She resided on a small estate, situated on one of the declivities of a long range of hills, which, although not very high, were so finely formed, so clothed with groves of trees, so varied with valleys, so richly furnished with brooks and waterfalls, and every variety of dale and dingle, rock and coppice, that I scarcely believe the world can elsewhere supply a more lovely region.

Mrs. Fairlie's house was built of white stone, taken from a neighbouring quarry. In its front was a lawn sloping towards the east, and to the right and left the windows of the house commanded views of the valley of the Teme, terminated at one end by the Malvern and Glocestershire hills, and on the other by the Clee hills, and to the back of the house, glove rose above grove, and height above height, till the summits of the highest trees seemed, as it were, to pierce the very clouds.

In this most lovely abode, I found Mrs. Fairlie living in a holy, peaceful, and blessed retirement, being entirely devoted to her God and her domestic duties; for, independent of her eldest son, now in India, she had several other children, all younger, and some even in infancy.

It was from what I saw in this house that I was first led to believe that elegance might exist wholly distinct from fashion, and that it was possible to be happy without splendour and parade.

I was received with much cordiality by Mrs. Fairlie, and with many innocent smiles by her children. I have often thought since, that had she known me then as I know myself, she would have shuddered to have introduced such a serpent into her earthly paradise; for my sentiments and thoughts were unholy, and it was a painful restraint to me to affect those feelings of virtue in the presence of Mrs. Fairlie which were quite the reverse to all I really experienced.

I did not, however, perceive that I was suspected as being different from what I appeared to be, and I did not observe that there was any watch upon me when left with the young people.

It was the beginning of the Midsummer holidays when I arrived in Worcestershire, and the widow's family were then all united under one roof, with the exception of the first-born, who was in India, and whom the excellent mother daily recollected in her prayers, besides the frequent mention which was made of him in an incidental manner.

I was considerably fatigued when I arrived at the Fall, which was the name of my relation's place,--a name which had been given it from time immemorial by the country people, on account of two waterfalls in its immediate neighbourhood, and saw little more of the family that evening than their smiling faces round the supper-table. In the morning, however, we all met together in a large, old-fashioned parlour, which had formerly been a hall, and which now supplied the place of breakfast-room, work-room, and school-room.

Here all my young relations were assembled, and, after the morning devotions and the breakfast, they all sat down to their different employments. The boys were busy with their holiday tasks, and the daughters with their books and needles; while the mother went from one to another, encouraging, directing, and approving.

"In the mean time, we were delighted with the sound of rushing waters, murmuring bees, and rustling leaves while the fragrance of many sweet flowers, and the song of many birds, with the distant lowing of the cattle in the vale below, contributed to charm the senses. In imitation of my cousins, I had provided myself with some employment: but while my hands were occupied, my mind was busy on other matters; and I was comparing the past, the present, and what I expected to be my future mode of life, forming visions of happiness, in which all that was agreeable in each was blended together, and from which all I could conceive disagreeable was excluded.

Thus, white I sat deeply occupied in meditation on my expected garden of roses, which was to be without a single thorn, the morning wore away, and we were called to an early dinner; after which, it was proposed that we should proceed to a cottage at some distance, where we were to drink tea.

This was a new species of enjoyment to me, and I partook of it with no small enthusiasm: yet I should have been much better pleased if Mrs. Fairlie herself had not joined the party, as I could not divest myself of the idea, that if I could but meet with my young cousins in the absence of their mother, I should find, in some of them at least, more congeniality with my own temper than I had hitherto discovered. But Mrs. Fairlie had resolved to accompany us, and I was not a little surprised at the joy which her children expressed on her mentioning this resolution. We accordingly set out, being provided with such refreshments as we meant to take at the end of our walk.

"Mrs. Fairlie had four daughters, and as many sons. The eldest daughter was considerably older than the other children; and between her and the next in age, there was one of those long intervals which indicate the frequent ravages of death among the youngest and the fairest of the human race. Miss Fairlie was, therefore, older than myself, and, as I judged, not a subject for my attempts at intimacy; but the two next daughters, the elder of whom was not more than thirteen, were not unlike two great playful kittens; and I had little doubt but that they would be quite ready to meet my advances, and to hear and admire all the histories I might choose to relate to them respecting my tricks at school, and our various modes of cheating our governesses, retarding our own improvement, and bringing discredit on our protectors. Accordingly, when we commenced our walk, I endeavoured to withdraw Sarah and Mary from the rest of the party; and, after having administered to each of them some of those little flatteries which so easily find their way to the inexperienced heart, I ventured to open my purposes a little further to them, and asked them if they were not tired of being always so much with grown-up people.

"'What grown-up people?' asked Sarah.

"'O, those who have the care of you,' I replied. 'There was nothing we hated so much at school as being with our governess: we never had any fun when our governess was by.'

"'Fun!' repeated Mary: 'what do you mean by fun, Miss Olivia?'

"'O, play,' I said, 'pleasure, amusement. Don't you know what fun is?'

"'Yes, to be sure I know the meaning of the word,' she answered; 'but it is an odd word, too. I thought that very poor people only used it.'

"'You mean to say,' I replied, 'that you think it a vulgar word?'

"'I did not say so,' she answered; ' but, if you do not mean any thing rude, why could not you have enjoyed it when your governess was present?'

"Our conversation was broken off in this place by one of the little boys, who came darting upon us from an ambush, in which he had lain in wait for us, in the corner of the coppice; and as I was a little disheartened in my first attempt to draw my young cousins into my confidence, I thought it better to add no more to what I had already said; and being called upon by Mrs. Fairlie to survey the lovely scenes which opened before me, I was compelled for the present wholly to relinquish my purpose.

"And now, Mrs. Fairlie having taken my arm, led me slowly on, pointing out to me all she thought most interesting in the scenery, and imperceptibly conducting me from the contemplation of these wonders of creation, to some reflections on the Creator himself.

"I know not what I said on this subject, but something, I suppose, which evinced my ignorance; for, in reply, she lamented that I should have been thus far educated without the right knowledge of God, earnestly impressing upon me the duty of seeking Him to whom I had hitherto been so great a stranger. 'My dear Olivia,' she said, 'you spoke this morning of the happiness you expected to enjoy in India, when restored to your father: but, my dear child, permit a friend advanced in age, and one who has experienced many reverses in life, to assure you, that there is no such thing as peace of mind or true happiness ever felt, unless the heart is right towards God. When we really love God, when we trust in him, when we confide in him for our acceptance and sanctification, the petty troubles of life may afflict us for a moment, and cause some tears to fall; yet there is an abiding peace in the soul which the world cannot disturb: but when the heart is alienated from its Maker, there is no condition of life, no arrangement of outward circumstances, which can insure felicity. And I will venture to foretel, that if you go to India, and remain there estranged from God, as you now are, you will find sorrow instead of joy, and mortification instead of pleasure.'

"'Mortification!' I replied: 'O, Mrs. Fairlie, I shall be so happy! I am told that papa's house at Monghyr is one of the finest in the station, and commands such a view of the hills as no other house possesses in all the vast plain of the Ganges. I have heard all about it; and he says himself, in his last letter, that he has provided an elephant for me, besides various carriages, and shawls, and jewels, and other ornaments; and I am sure I shall be happy.'

"'Shawls and jewels,' replied Mrs. Fairlie, 'are pretty things; but I doubt their power of making any one happy.'

"'But papa will be so fond of me,' I added.

"'No doubt of it,' she replied: 'yet are there not troubles in life which neither fathers nor mothers can avert from their children! Look at those brambles in that winding wood-walk to our left, where my little boys are looking for vetches; can I prevent those brambles from growing, or prevent them from piercing their tender limbs? I might indeed restrain my children from going unto those sequestered paths; but I doubt whether I should add to their pleasure by abridging their innocent liberty: for in so doing I should only make a choice of inconveniences, and perhaps prefer the greater to the less. Thus, my dear young friend, is the path of life strewed with inconveniences, neither is it possible for the most prudent person, through life, to do more than make a choice of troubles. Under these circumstances, he is happy who wisely distinguishes between those evils which are real and those which are imaginary.'

"'You think then, Mrs. Fairlie,' I replied, 'that I shall find some thorns in the garden of roses which is prepared for me in India?'

"Sine smiled, and surprised me by asking if I had been a student of Persian poetry.

"'What makes you suppose it?' I enquired.

"'Your figurative mode of speaking,' she replied, 'and your reference to the favourite flower of Oriental song.'

"In answer to this, I repeated the story which I had learned from the Persian moonshee, and which I had never forgotten.

"'Your Persian,' she replied, 'was a mussulmaun, and therefore could not have been expected to have drawn a better moral from his tale than that which he actually derived from it. But permit me to say, that this fable (for such I presume it is) is capable of a much higher signification than that which has been given to it already. In the fair mistress of your garden of roses you may behold the picture of one who possesses all this world can give; but, trusting in such a portion, she cannot endure the little difficulties and inconveniences ever attendant on so imperfect and transitory a state of things as the present, and hence, under the influence of impatience, tears up and destroys her own advantages. How many thousand unsanctified mortals act upon this principle! and how differently would they judge, did they know that there is no evil which ought to be anxiously avoided but sin--no other evil which we ought to pray to be delivered from--no other thing which can really render life miserable, death hopeless, and eternity terrible!'

What more was added in this conversation I do not well recollect, nor probably should I have remembered so much, had not what Mrs. Fairlie said been so fixed on my mind by the ingenious manner in which she improved the story related to me by the Persian. I can, however, though indistinctly, recollect some mention which she made of the nature of salvation by Christ, and the hopelessness of man's state without the Redeemer: certain, however, it is, that her observations on these subjects made little impression on my mind at the time, though I often recollected them afterwards.

Our walk was at length concluded by our entering into a narrow valley, encompassed on each side by sloping banks sprinkled with fruit trees; the eastern extremity of the valley being terminated by a rock, in which an ancient hermitage was scooped, and on the summit of which was a cottage in a garden. There a clear stream of very cold water dashing over the rock, and winding through the bottom of the valley, was presently lost to the view among groups of lowly alders, and other such trees as delight to bathe their roots in running waters.

"As we descended into the valley, and again ascended round the rock, Mrs. Fairlie gave me the history of the inhabitants of the cottage. 'It is occupied,' said she, by a very old woman, her daughter, who is a widow, and a grandson, a simple, pleasant little boy, who has been taught to study his Bible from his very infancy. These good women,' said she, 'once knew what are called better days; and I remember the elder the wife of a respectable farmer, and the mother of several noble-looking sons. But the old man and his sons are no more; many losses have reduced the little remnant of the family to a cottage; and the old lady is now sinking under the pressure of various infirmities into the grave: and yet, my clear Olivia, if I were required to direct you to a happy family, I should say you may find one in that thatched dwelling on the rock.'

"'Happy!' I repeated: 'O! Mrs. Fairlie!'

"'Yes,' returned she, 'happy; and I will point out to you their many sources of comfort. And first, I would ask, What is this life?'

"I made no answer; and she, replying to herself, said, 'This life is a journey to another world, infinitely more important and lasting than the present. The trials we meet with here arise necessarily from the present state of sin and imperfection, but, under the divine control and blessing, they often prove our choicest mercies; so David expresses himself--Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word. [Psalm cxix. 67.]

"'And this being remembered,' continued Mrs. Fairlie, 'you may, my dear Olivia, comprehend the nature of the poor widow's happiness, of her joy and her thankfulness; for she is now nearly at her journey's end, waiting for her departure, and looking back on a long life, in which she has been the constant subject of unmerited favours. Her departed children are now, we trust, all in glory, having before death given satisfactory evidence of a renewed nature. Her husband she believes to be equally blessed. Those of her descendants who are left to her are pious and humble. She trusts that her own sins are pardoned; and whether looking backwards or forwards, she finds innumerable occasions and motives of gratitude to that Saviour who makes his disciples more than conquerors, and effects their deliverance from every real evil.'

I know not how it happened that I should have remembered so much of Mrs. Fairlie's conversation at this time, unpractised as I then was in spiritual things, unless I may suppose that my memory was assisted in a supernatural way. Nevertheless, I believe that there is scarcely an individual, however thoughtless, who cannot recollect having been impressed on some occasion or other in early life by some remark or sentiment of a serious nature, uttered in common conversation. And hence the importance of expressing correct and proper sentiments in the ears of youth; for, as the wise man saith, a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in network of silver. [Prov. xxv. 11.]

"I was still listening attentively to Mrs. Fairlie's discourse, when, having half encompassed the rock, as we ascended, we came into a little farmyard, inclosed with a hedge, and paved with round smooth pebbles. On one side of this yard was a cowhouse, before the door of which were two cows waiting to be milked; on the other, a little orchard; and in front, the low porch of the cottage, flanked on each side by narrow latticed windows. It now appeared that the hill or rock, on a shelf of which stood the dwelling-house, arose considerably above it in the direction opposite to the front of the little tenement; and its highest parts being in some places bare, and in others richly covered with vegetation, presented a varied and pleasing prospect. The cascade mentioned before, gushing from the highest point of the rock, and becoming visible here and there amid the surrounding verdure, took a circle round the boundaries of the yard, and from thence passed into the valley below.

"Mrs. Fairlie and I had preceded the rest of the party, and entered the yard some time before them; and approaching silently, we stopped for a moment to contemplate the beauties which presented themselves in this sequestered spot, before we disturbed the inhabitants of the cottage; and during that short interval my mind received its first impressions of the charms of deep retirement, and of the happiness enjoyed in many a humble dwelling through our favoured island, a happiness arising principally from those views of divine love that are frequently possessed by obscure Christians, and which the mere worldling can never know. O how often in after life, when exposed to the burning rays of the southern sun, when tossed on the mighty ocean, or parched with the blasts of the deserts, have my recollections returned to this scene of repose, and how ardently have I longed for such cooling gales as blew upon me in this shadowy spot!

"Mrs. Fairlie left me for a few moments to the quiet contemplation of the beauties above described; and then, directing my attention towards the cottage, bade me step softly, and behold the scene within.

"I obeyed; and, looking in at the half-open door, saw a neat little kitchen, where a kettle was boiling over a fire of sticks, as if in preparation for tea; the venerable mother was seated at her wheel in the chimney-corner, her daughter being occupied by her side, and her blooming little grandson engaged in reading his Bible aloud.--'What do you think, Olivia?' said Mrs. Fairlie: 'is there any appearance of unhappiness here? Has not the blessed root of piety produced its fruits of peace, think you, in this little family?'

"I was about to reply, when the quick eye of the old lady espied the visitors, and she came forward to receive us with all the simplicity of the cottager and the true dignity of a Christian. 'Come inn, dear Madam,' she said, as she recognized Mrs. Fairlie; and as she directed every chair and three-legged stool in the house to be collected, she expressed her sincere delight at the honour done her.

"I might fill many a page with an account of the tea-table preparations, and with praises of the white loaves, and thick cream, and wood-strawberries, which were set before us, and with the expressions of joy with which my cousins addressed their humble friends. But such scenes have often been described, and I would only desire my reader to suppose us all seated at our simple repast, where, vitiated as my taste was, I should not have failed to have enjoyed myself considerably, had it not been for my two young cousins, Sarah and Mary, who, in a manner which I at first thought spiteful, (to use a word to which I had been much familiarized at school,) but which I afterwards found to be wholly without design, repeated to the whole company all that I had said to them during my walk, on the subject of its being impossible for young people to enjoy fun in the presence of their elders.

"The story had come out so abruptly, and Mrs. Fairlie was so little aware of what was coming, that she had not had time to spare me the mortification such disgraceful communications could not but inflict. I saw, however, that she blushed deeply for me; and, checking her daughters, she kindly extended her hand to me, and said, 'My dear Olivia, I am sorry that you entertain such an opinion of your elders, as to suppose that they would deprive you of any innocent pleasure. It must be my endeavour to give you a different view of these things. There are times, indeed, when the harmless mirth of children and young people may make old heads ache; but that must be an unfeeling mother who does not rejoice in every occasion of innocent delight to her young people.'

"Had Mrs Fairlie spoken harshly to me on this occasion, my spirit would have risen, and I should have burned with anger against her and her children; but her kindness quite subdued me, and I burst into tears. On which, my two young cousins sprang up from their seats, and kissed me affectionately; and the old lady of the cottage made this suitable observation' Poor Miss,' she said, 'is probably an orphan; she has perhaps been brought up by those who never won her confidence; she is to be pitied then more than to be blamed. But, dear lady,' she added, addressing me, 'remember that the orphan has a Father and a Friend above, who is ever ready to hold out his protecting hand. Endeavour to please this Friend, and then there will be no question, but that all that you do, whether in your more serious or more playful hours, will please all those among your elders who are really interested in your welfare.'

I looked up, amazed to hear such language from a cottager, not being then aware of the purifying, exalting, and ennobling influence of true religion on the human mind. I, however, could make no answer; for I was ashamed, and for the first time in my life felt sensibly that I had done wrong.

"When we had finished our repast, all but myself joined in singing a hymn; and the visit being thus concluded, we prepared to leave the Cottage of the Rock, (for so I have been in the habit of calling this delightful abode,) and to return to Mrs. Fairlie's house.

"It was the beginning of the Midsummer holidays when I came into Worcestershire; and as I was not to sail for India till the next March, I remained for the greater part of that interval under Mrs. Fairlie's roof, and during that period might have enjoyed all the innocent pleasures of domestic life, had I possessed a taste less depraved, and a mind less eagerly bent on those amusements which bring strong excitements with them.

"Two circumstances, however, are worthy of remark that although, at the time, I did not seem to profit in any degree by the excellent admonitions and examples I then received and witnessed, yet they were not without their effect in after life;--and that the openness and unreservedness of my young cousins towards their mother, of which I have given one example, proved such a defence to them, that I never on any subsequent occasion dared to insinuate a single sentiment in their presence which I did not wish her to hear.

"I shall not enter into any further detail of my life in Worcestershire, nor attempt to describe the tender adieus of Mrs. Fairlie and her lovely family, but shall entreat my reader to accompany me on board the Bengal Castle, and to imagine me seated in a convenient cabin on the deck of the vessel, richly provided with every species of ornament and article of dress, and placed under the superintendance of a lady who was returning to India and to her husband, after the absence of three years. With this lady's cabin, which was one half of the roundhouse, mine had connexion; and the greater part of my mornings were spent with her, who had taken upon her the character of my protectress.

"It is impracticable to give the inexperienced reader any accurate idea of the mode of life commonly pursued in an East Indiaman, where a number of persons of all ages and classes are confined together in one place, with little to do, and few occasions of acquiring a single new idea. Suffice it to say, that, with respect to myself, I spent my mornings with my friend Mrs. Burleigh, in looking over and arranging my dresses, packing, unpacking, and cleaning my trinkets, and in receiving from her such accounts of the magnificence and dissipation of oriental life as filled my heart with the most eager desires to be at the end of my voyage. At three o'clock every day, all the passengers dined together, and I was solicited to drink wine with nearly all the gentlemen at the table; and as Mrs. Burleigh informed me that I should offend if I refused any of these solicitations, I some-times certainly took much more than was good for me, and if I did not always walk out from the dining-room very steadily, I trusted that my unsteadiness was attributed to the motion of the vessel. After dinner, we retired for a short time to our cabin, where we received visits from some of the ladies of the other cabins. At tea-time, we went out and sat on deck, or concluded the evening with a dance when the weather would permit.

"In this manner was our time occupied; and as we were all thoughtless, and many of the party decidedly profligate, it will be readily believed that very little occurred of an improving nature among us. And this was indeed the case without one single exception till we arrived at the Cape, into the harbour of which we were obliged to enter on account of some affairs of the captain. There we took in several passengers; among whom was an elderly gentleman, a chaplain in the Company's service, who had been some years established in Calcutta, and had come to the Cape to recruit his health. He was a man of gentlemanly appearance, but of grave and retired habits, and one who did not seem hasty to form acquaintance, though remarkably pleasing when once engaged in conversation.

It was on the Saturday afternoon that we sailed out of the harbour of the Cape, and we were not aware that Mr Arnot (for such is the name by which I would designate this good man) had any influence in the ship, till we were called to morning worship about an hour before dinner the next day.

"'In the afternoon, it being fine, all the passengers were on deck, and among the rest I had taken a seat, and was engaged in conversation with some lively young man, whose very name I now forget. This gentleman, having exhausted many frivolous topics, produced from his pocket some light volume of a novel or play, I forget which, and said that he had purchased it during his stay in London. I received it eagerly, and, as he sauntered from me, I began to turn over the leaves of this book.

"While thus engaged, Mr. Arnot approached me, addressed me for the first time, and took the vacant seat next to me. I was surprised, and at a loss what to say; and as persons in these cases generally hit upon the precise thing which they ought not to do, I made the very remark which would have been best let alone, and asked him whether he did not agree with me in thinking the Sunday on board ship the most wearisome day in the week.

"'By no means, my dear young lady,' he replied; 'and for this reason--that the work we have to do on the Sunday is a kind of business which may be pursued every where; whereas, to our weekly religious duties there are so many hindrances in this situation, that I do not understand how many of them at least can be performed at all.'

"'Business, Sir! business on a Sunday!' I repeated, with a smile.

"'Yes, my dear young lady,' he replied, 'business, and the most important business we have on earth.' He then, without further prelude, began to reason with me on the value of the soul, of the need of continual watchfulness, and of the means appointed for man's salvation; at the same time hinting, that he was sorry to see me engaged with a book so trifling as that which I held in my hand on the day appointed for a rest from vanity.

"I have before said, that I possessed in very early youth that pliability of character and insight into the feelings of others which enabled me often to accommodate so well to those with whom I conversed, as to appear what I was not, at least to superficial observers; neither had I been so inattentive to Mrs. Fairlie's sentiments, as not to be able to obtain credit in this discourse with Mr. Arnot: and if I did myself no other service by this artful conduct, I at least procured to myself the advantage of hearing more of what Mr. Arnot had to say; for he frequently joined me when I was on deck, gave his opinions to me without reserve, and stored my head with knowledge, though my heart still remained unaffected.

"When we were within three weeks' sail of Bengal, I was seized with a slow fever, which confined me to my bed, and condemned me to many hours of painful solitude--painful, not only from the depression which always attends fever, but from a certain conflict in my own mind between the love of the world and my persuasion of the importance of religion.

"The period which I spent under this slow, consuming malady, I can never forget. I was in a small cabin taken off the cuddy or dining-room; my window opened towards the sea. We were within the tropics, and during my illness actually crossed the line. I had many comforts; but the water in the ship was become very foul, and was in that tepid state which always disappoints the parched lips. Though not quite delirious, my head was in that confused state in which the images of fancy blend themselves so strongly with realities that it is difficult to separate them, and I never can forget the vivid manner in which at that time the cool solitudes of Worcestershire presented themselves to my fancy, especially the scene on the rock which I had visited with Mrs. Fairlie, a scene which ever mingled itself in my imagination with ideas of perfect peace. O, what would I then have given for one draught, only one draught, of that sparkling fountain which poured from the green heights above the cottage!

"There was, indeed, no piety in these feelings: and yet I have ever thought that these my ardent aspirations after rest and peace, and burning desires for one drop of cool water, partook in some degree of that experience which the thirsty soul is the subject of when longing for the river of living water, and panting for the regions of everlasting rest; or at least that it then pleased the Almighty to make me thus familiar with the emblems of superior joys, that I might in due time be made the more easily to comprehend those hidden glories of which they are the lively type.

"It is natural for man to aspire after happiness, and these aspirations are always the deepest when he is in affliction. When the heart is fixed on heavenly joys, that heart has found its proper object, and hope sheds its beam of glory over every changing scene. Hence the peace of the children of God. But while the unregenerate heart perversely adopts the words of the Persian poet, 'Bring me the wine that remains, for thou wilt not find in Paradise the sweet banks of our Rocknabad, or the rosy bowers of our Mosellâ,' it must ever be subject to disappointment, and ever condemned to the fever of desire and the thirst which never can be quenched.

"An earthly Paradise, a garden of roses, of roses without thorns, was the subject of my constant reveries, and when weary of sighing for the cool shades from which I was separated by thousands of leagues of sea--when impressed with the idea that I should never behold them again--when aware that we were approaching the shores of India, I tried to fancy that I should there find the thornless regions of ever varying joys, without which I felt that I could by no means be content.

"My fever remained with little abatement till we passed the Island of Saugor; but whether owing to this near view of land or to some fresh water which was at this time received into the ship, I suddenly became better, and when we at length came to anchor in Diamond Harbour, at the mouth of the Hoogley, I was enabled, though weak, to come out and sit on deck.

"I was much amused with the bustle which then took place, and extremely impatient to hear news from Calcutta. My father had engaged to send for me from Diamond Harbour, or if possible to meet me there: I accordingly waited, with great impatience, for the summons; and Mrs. Burleigh, who had promised not to leave me till I was with my friends, was equally impatient. I had seen Mr. Arnot and several more of the party take their departure, and was leaning over the gangway, when I observed a pinnace approaching the ship from Calcutta, and, as it drew near, a gentleman on the deck hailed us and mentioned my name.

"My feelings were such as those only can have known who have been in similar circumstances. I turned suddenly from the gangway and sunk almost fainting on a gun-carriage. The pinnace approached, I heard the steps of persons ascending the ladder on the side of the ship, and a moment afterwards my uncle stood before me. My father was a very tall man, whereas my uncle was of the ordinary stature, and I cannot say that I should have remembered either, though I perfectly knew that the person I saw was not my father.

"Having been pointed out to him, he came up to me and embraced me, though I thought in a solemn manner. He said he was glad to see me, and led me into the cuddy, where he seated me. 'Do you know me, Olivia?' he said, 'I am your uncle, and henceforward you must look on me as a parent.'

"He then informed me that my father was no more, that he had been dead more than half-a-year, and that he had left me under his protection. He took occasion at the same time to tell me that my father had not died so rich as had been expected, but that he himself had prepared every thing comfortable for me in his own house, where, he added, I should have very pleasant companions of my own age.

"My father dead! and my home to be in my uncle's house! and my companions to be my country bred, and country born cousins, whom I had heartily despised ever since I knew any thing about them!--O, where now were my bright prospects of happiness in India! My feelings on this occasion were thoroughly selfish; but I believe that my grief was interpreted differently, and therefore excited pity. However, as all was ready for our departure, we left the ship, accompanied by Mrs. Burleigh, and as I could not endure fatigue, so soon as we entered the pinnace Mrs. Burleigh made me lie down on the bed in the inner room of the vessel, where I yielded without restraint to my sorrows. My uncle had invited one or two young gentlemen, fellow-passengers with me in the East Indiaman, to accompany him up to Calcutta, and as there was only a slight partition between me and the outer apartment of the vessel, I could not avoid hearing all that passed there.

"I have not yet described my uncle, though I have said he was not a tall man. He was at that time between fifty and sixty years of age. His hair was white as snow and adorned gracefully his forehead; his features had been remarkably handsome, and his complexion was still fresh; he was neat in his person, but his manners were no longer European; he spoke loudly, contradicted bluntly, swore frequently, called names when he disliked any one, and fell into the most violent passions on the most unimportant occasions, seldom refraining from striking any of the natives who chanced to cross him when he was in these paroxysms; and, indeed, though I believe that he was an upright man with respect to pecuniary concerns, yet such were the provocations he gave that I cannot to this day understand how he could have attained to nearly threescore years of age without having had his head broken.

"Such was my uncle; and as I lay meditating on my future plans, and lamenting my hopes destroyed, may uneasiness was not a little increased by the bursts of violence with which he continually regaled his guests, regardless of the presence of Mrs. Burleigh.

"In the mean time we were advancing rapidly with the tide, in two of which we expected to reach Calcutta. It was about six in the evening when the tide failed us, and I was then persuaded to come out of my room to partake of the dinner which was prepared, to which we all, with the exception of my uncle, sat down with little appetite, being more or less affected with the change of Climate.

My uncle, at dinner, took notice of my melancholy, and tried to give me comfort by describing the happy life I should lead under his roof, but a servant, in the midst of these efforts at condolence, having unfortunately thrown down a goblet and poured its contents on his coat, he dropped all other considerations to give way to a burst of passion, and, knocking off the offender's turban, sent it through the open windows into the river. This little circumstance renewed my affliction, by giving me some insight into the character of my new guardian, and I could scarcely feel myself secure from the violence of one who, on so slight an occasion, could treat a poor servant with so much roughness. My apprehensions, however, proved only my ignorance of my uncle's modes of acting and thinking; for, although blustering as a master, he was by no means harsh as a parent, but, on the contrary, allowed rather too much liberty to his children, and though imperious toward the natives, not in the main cruel or unkind to them.

"We proceeded to Calcutta, after waiting some hours for another tide, and, as I was still in a languid and depressed state, my uncle thought it best for me, after I had taken leave of Mrs. Burleigh, and we had changed our boats, that I should proceed immediately up with him to his station, which was situated on the banks of the river some hundred miles above Calcutta.

"I was so unwell during the former part of my voyage up the country, that I remember little of the first impressions made on my mind by Indian scenery. In proportion, however, as we approached Bauglepore I revived considerably, and when our boats rested in the evening, I was enabled to take several walks with my uncle, and to enjoy some of the finest prospects I had ever seen, for we were now approaching the mountains which, in this part of the country, run down to the very brink of the river. We passed beneath the walls of the ancient palace of the Sultan Sujah, at Rajemahal, and obtained from the top of the pass of Teriagully, to which we ascended, a glorious view of the mighty Gunga, winding through rich and fertile regions till at length she was lost to us by the distance. We had opportunity of visiting many woods in the vicinity of the river, where a variety of beautiful birds and tropical trees reminded me continually of the change of climate I had lately experienced. The mode of life I enjoyed in the boat, and the kind attentions of my uncle, with the advance of the cooler season, now evidently operated to restore my health, and with my health my spirits returned; so that before I reached the place of my destination I was again elated with hope, and had almost ceased to think of the loss I had sustained.

"At length, after a considerable effort at rowing, my uncle pointed out to me the station of Bauglepore, which consisted of a number of houses belonging to European gentlemen, scattered over a park-like region which rose above the river to a considerable height.

"The sun was sinking beneath the boundaries of the western horizon at the moment my uncle came in from the deck of the vessel to announce the termination of our journey, and bidding me look up at the same time, I saw that we were under a very high and precipitous bank, or conka rock, over which the verandah of a bungalow hung like a balcony, being supported only by frame-work underneath. 'Welcome to Bauglepore, my good niece,' said my uncle, as he handed me out from the boat, 'one more effort and your journey is at an end,' and so saying he led me up certain rugged steps by which we were presently conducted to the summit of the bank and found ourselves at the entrance of the verandah.

"My uncle's house was a bungalow, or thatched dwelling, consisting of one very large hall encircled by eight smaller rooms, the whole being encompassed by a wide verandah. To the left of this bungalow was a large court, which conducted to a second dwelling of the same kind and form but of smaller dimensions, and encompassed with high walls, which, with the many trees that grew without, rendered it a place of perfect retirement. There were no inclosures round the larger bungalow; it stood on an open lawn, over which were scattered many groves and topes of trees, and from the back part of the edifice there was a fine view into the interior of the country, the foreground resembling an ornamental pleasure-ground without fences, and the background presenting a view of the mountains, in some places covered with woods, in others bare and rugged, and in others intersected with deep ravines and shadowy recesses.

"The loud shouts, or rather howlings, of the watermen, had forewarned the family of our approach, and we had scarcely entered the verandah before we were accosted by such a mob of khaunsaumans, kitmutghaurs, bearers, chockedaus, circars, chapurausses, &c. &c. as it might be thought would have been counted sufficient to form the suwarree of a Nawaub of Bengal. All these stood bowing and paying their compliments till we had passed and my uncle had led me through an antechamber into the hall, where a table was set out for dinner, which seemed to groan beneath the weight of silver plate. 'Where are my sons and daughters?' was my uncle's first enquiry; and on being told they were not come in from their airing, he called for an ayah, who it seems had been prepared for me, and who directed me into a small room at the corner of the house, which, together with a bathing and dressing-room within, were to be my apartments. The small room, like every other part of the house, was only white-washed, having neither hangings nor other ornaments on the wall, with a mat only on the floor, and a small bed furnished with gauze hangings in the very centre of the room, so as to leave a free passage round it on all sides.

"When turned into this almost empty space, I stood for a moment considering what was next to be done; when the ayah commenced a long speech, which I presume was of a congratulatory or complimentary nature by the various grimaces and salams of which she made use during her oration; but as I did not understand one word which she said, I could do nothing else but stand still and admire her figure and physiognomy, both of which are now as present with me as if I had seen her but yesterday. She was a tall gaunt person, extremely wrinkled, though perhaps not very old. Her skin was of a tawny copper colour, and she wore trowsers, or paunjammahs, as we should call them, of striped Benares silk, a white banyan, or loose jacket, a variety of silver rings on her arms and ankles, no shoes or stockings, her hair divided and combed off her forehead, and hanging in many plaits to her waist, and a thin veil of muslin thrown over her head and shoulders. Such was the figure which addressed me, and had I been in a more merry mood, I should certainly have laughed at her ineffectual efforts to make me understand, for I had so completely forgotten my Hindoostaunee that I could scarcely manage to call for a glass of water although water had been the first thing I wished to call for.

"The good woman having, however, at length discovered the reason wherefore all her eloquence was thus thrown away, suddenly left the loom, and returned in a few minutes with all my female cousins but one, to the number of four; and most assuredly I was less prepossessed with their appearance than I had been with that of their waiting-maid. That they were excessively dark, and altogether Indians in their persons, was not indeed their fault, and had they been presented to me as the daughters of a Hindoo Rajah, I, perhaps, might have thought them sufficiently well looking, for the Hindoos are not an ugly race, but there was such an extraordinary mixture in their manners and appearance of the European and Asiatic, and what they had acquired of European manners and address, in such a school as Calcutta could furnish thirty years ago, seemed to me so singular, that I was compelled to put my politeness to the test before I could return their embraces with any thing like the cordiality necessary from one relation to another. However, I did my best, and I trust my backwardness was not observed, for my young relations appeared to be satisfied with me, and, after a few polite speeches on both sides, I was conducted into the hall, where my uncle and his sons were waiting for us to sit down to a dinner, which, from its amazing abundance, might have supplied a Roman cohort after the fatigues of a battle. But before I was allowed to take my place, it was necessary that I should receive the congratulations of my male cousins, four dark young men, extremely slender in their persons, sprucely dressed in white nankeen, their hair thickly powdered, as was the fashion then, and their manners forming a curious medley between the Asiatic and the most finished European beau. The proper compliments on all sides having taken place, we sat down to dinner, and, while the rest of the party satisfied their appetites, I had leisure fully to consider the strange and new scene into which I had entered; and on this occasion I was not less surprised by the appearance of the company which sat round the table, than by that of a number of kitmutghaurs by which the whole circle was flanked: a set of whimsical-looking tawny young men, dressed in white muslin with turbans of various colours and descriptions, bustling to and fro, and twenty of them effecting less than two good waiters in a London tavern would have accomplished with half the bustle. I was also aware that without the door of the antechamber there were as many more persons, all occupied in some way or other in supplying us with what we called for, or in securing such remnants as were left on the plates and dishes. An army of crows and jackdaws were also stationed in the rear of these, as I could discern through the open doors, and, no doubt, by the agitation which at times appeared among them, were not waiting there without the prospect of some remuneration for their trouble.

"Having taken a cursory view of these more indifferent matters, my attention was again drawn towards my cousins, in whom I was particularly interested, as I considered that they were to be the companions of my future life, and my eager and penetrating glances moved from one countenance to another while I was anxious to find out one among all these whom I might choose for a confidant, for I had no higher idea of friendship at that time, than that of a free and reciprocal avowal of all the silly thoughts which might pass through my mind.

"Every one who has the least quickness of observation must infallibly, after a time, become something of a physiognomist, and I had been a great observer of countenances in England and on my voyage; but when arrived in India, I was wholly baffled and thrown out by the entire new character of every face. My uncle's old English physiognomy was indeed legible enough, but I could make nothing of his children's faces, for they were all as perversely unlike their European parent as they possibly could be; and although the features of some were tolerably regular, and the eyes of most of them very fine, I could not fix on any one in which I did not fancy that I saw something which repelled more than it attracted. As to my male cousins, viz. Stephen, Josiah, Samuel, and Jonathan, I did not bestow upon them a second regard, for I had conceived such an utter contempt for their dark complexions, effeminate manners, and finical dresses, that I do not think that they would have been able to have redeemed my good opinion had they evinced the strength of intellect of Sir Isaac Newton. There was, however, no such redeeming power in their conversation; they talked indeed, but in such a hissing or lisping accent, and on such uninteresting topics, that I could scarcely give them the attention which common politeness required. My female cousins, indeed, detained my attention much longer. Julia, the eldest, was undoubtedly the most regularly handsome, and her complexion, though dark, was delicate, and she was dressed, not perhaps in the last European fashion, but with an attention to nicety which an English lady would hardly find time to adopt. I could have wished, however, that she had not fancied pea-green ribands, being very unsuitable to her complexion, nor covered herself so profusely with soam pebbles and other heavy ornaments. However, when we are contemplating a friend, and have leisure to meditate on the colour of her ribands and choice of her ornaments, it cannot be supposed that there is much in her appearance calculated to excite our affectionate regard. Celia, Lucretia, and Lizzy, next drew my attention: they were all nearly of an age, but I felt nothing but estrangement at the very peculiar turn of their countenances. The two elder were tall, inclined to en bon point, had large eyes of an oblong form, and so situated in the head that the outer corners were considerably raised above the inner. Their eyes were dark, and at times had a peculiar fierceness of expression. The last of the three had much of the negro in her appearance. The fifth daughter, whom I had not seen till I sat down to dinner, was the youngest of the brood, and seemed a kind of pet of her father's, and as she had never been in a Calcutta school, she was still less of a European than the rest of the family. She wore a short frock over long paunjammahs, had bangles on her arms, wore coloured shoes and no stockings, had large ear-rings, and her hair plaited up with abundance of cocoa nut oil. She used very few English words, but appeared oratorical in her mother tongue, using much action when she spoke, and apparently not being very select in the choice of her words, as, during this first meal, she was called to order once or twice by her eldest sister for some improprieties of language to me inexplicable. The name of this little girl was Gertrude, though she was called Gatty Baba by the whole family; and surely there never was a more troublesome, boisterous, ungovernable, and, in some respects, corrupt child, in any family in the world the father of which called himself Christian, than little Miss Gatty, though I afterwards found that this child was by no means the least amiable of the family. However, as this was an after discovery, I shall content myself at present with describing Miss Gatty as she appeared when I first saw her. While engaged with her food she was tolerably quiet, and I was not a little surprised at the amazing quantity of pish pash and kedjerie which she contrived to swallow, using a spoon indeed for the former, but casting away that unnecessary aid when attacking the latter, which she jerked into her mouth out of her hand with her thumb, with a dexterity which an English child would have imitated in vain; and instead of being seated on her chair with her legs duly hanging to the floor, she was altogether perched on the seat, her lower limbs being neatly folded under her, and though she once altered this position, owing to an admonition from her sisters enforced by the father, she speedily returned to the one most agreeable to herself, and was allowed to retain it without further admonition, and in this position she finished her meal; but that being ended, she commenced some of those practical jokes by which she not unfrequently relieved the weariness of life, and tumbling out of her chair with something like the activity of a monkey, ran out at the nearest door and presently appeared again, stealing in with gentle steps and bare feet, (for she had disencumbered herself of her shoes,) with a small dead mouse in her hand, which she very dexterously contrived to fasten to her eldest brother's hair, which was tied in a queue; and this being effected she retired again to an open door, where she stood a moment, uttering some loud and vehement exclamation of which I only understood a few words, to wit, her brother's name, and a request that we would all look at him.

"The trick was now immediately discovered, on which the brother rose in anger amidst the laughter of the whole party. The father knocked furiously on the table, a motion by which he was often accustomed to indicate his displeasure, and Gatty Baba made her escape, probably to her mother's apartment, where she was sure of finding a place of refuge.

"We had sat some minutes after this manoeuvre of the spoiled child's, when my female cousins proposed a removal, and led me to the verandah at the back of the house, where we were presently supplied with chairs and moras by as many bearers, and here we seated ourselves, enjoying the prospect of as fine a country as I had ever seen.

"The objects composing the views before us appeared to me more grand than the scenery of England. The valleys were wider; the hills seen in the background of greater magnitude though of no extraordinary height; the sky, of a deeper blue, was not broken and shaded with cloud or vapour as in countries in the higher latitudes; the very trees and vegetables seemed of a larger growth, and the foliage more luxuriant.

"It being immediately after the rainy season, the fields were covered with a rank verdure, and a dead stillness reigned in the air, seldom disturbed by any sound but by the cawings of the many crows which inhabit those places, the occasional shriek of the cheel or Indian kite, and the softer murmurings of the dove.

"Not to acknowledge the superior beauties of these scenes was impossible; not to feel impressed by the towering palm and Brahminee fig tree was utterly impracticable; and yet I felt, as I looked around me, such a deep and sudden depression of spirits as I had never before experienced. This country is charming, indeed, I thought; the air is embalmed with the scent of roses, the hills are crowned with forests, and the valleys abundant with riches, and yet these beauties do not please me. I am not happy. Had my father been alive it might have been different.

"While these reflections possessed my mind, my cousins were preparing to address me, and after an apparent effort, for it seems that they had as great an objection to me as I had to them, Julia asked me how I liked Bauglepore, and after she had received my answer, which was of course a favourable one, she began to talk of their own family; to ask me if I were not surprised to see so many of them at home, adding, that she regretted very much that her father should keep all her brothers with him idling and spending their money.

"'Idling!' I said, 'what, have they nothing to do?'

"'Little or nothing,' she answered. 'My father has indeed some indigo-works, and a farm in the hills; but my brothers do little else than ride, snoot, and sometimes hunt tigers.'

"'Why does he not send them to Europe, or to Calcutta,' I asked, 'and put them in some way of business?'

"'It might be further enquired,' she answered, 'why he did not give them a better education; but it is too late now. He must make the best of it, however.'

"'Have they had no education?' I asked in amazement.

"'Very little,' she replied: 'they were taught to read and write by an invalid sergeant of a European corps, and, to do them justice, they write beautifully. They were at school at Chandenagore a few years, and learned a little French; and Stephen and Josiah were in a merchant's counting-house a short time in Calcutta, but they had no application for business, and here they are again; and the end, I suppose, will be, that they will turn Indigo planters in the jungles.'

"'And marry black women,' I hastily added, not recollecting the situation of the person to whom I was speaking; I discovered my blunder, however, before I had concluded; but my cousin replied with perfect coolness, 'Nothing is more probable,' and then changed the discourse to question me about the latest modes of dress in London.

"We were now got upon a topic of general interest, and my cousins promised themselves a great treat the next morning, in seeing my clothes unpacked, when I suddenly recollected that the next day was Sunday, and I observed that we would defer opening my boxes till the following day. 'And wherefore?' they asked.

"'Because of going to church,' I answered.

"'Church!' they replied; 'where are we to find a church here?'

"'But you have some place of worship?' I answered, 'or perhaps you have service at home?'

"My cousins all smiled at this question, and fairly confessed that they never worshipped at all.

"Had I not resided some months at Mrs. Fairlie's, I perhaps should have wondered the less at this avowal; but I contented myself with uttering an exclamation indicative of my surprise, of which my cousins took no notice, for at that moment our ears were saluted with the screams of Gatty, who it seems had been walking out with two ayahs and a chapraussee, and now she appeared at some distance on the lawn, struggling so violently with her attendants that all three were unable to hold her.

"What she said, or what they said, I know not; not because I did not hear it, but that I did not comprehend it. Her sisters, however, who better understood the subject of dispute, called to the restive child, but called in vain; and, on my enquiry, they informed me that Gatty Baba was insisting on sucking a sour lime, although she had made herself very ill only a few days before by a similar imprudence. In the mean time, little Miss kicked, struggled, and scolded; and at length very dexterously pulling off her shoe, she applied it with such' force to the ear of her chapraussee, that she sent his turban rolling down the green slope near to the edge of which the party were standing.

On this, the three elder sisters thought it right to interfere by such arguments as the little Miss did not choose to withstand; and proceeding to the place of action, they dragged her into the verandah, where she stood a while, pouting, with her finger in her mouth and a tear in her eye; thus furnishing a new subject of complaint to the eldest sister, who declared that if Gatty Baba was not presently sent to school, she would prove a greater plague than Stephen, Josiah, Samuel, and Jonathan, all united.

"This was an unfortunate remark, for it was uttered within the hearing of the very persons in question: for she had scarcely ceased to speak before they all appeared in the verandah, and asked her wherefore she was using their names. 'Are you trying to set our cousin Olivia against us, Miss Julia?' said one of these amiable brothers. 'But I hope she will not believe a word you say, but will judge for herself.'

'Are you sure,' replied Julia, 'that you would come off the better for her using her own judgment respecting you? Is it likely that a young lady, just come from Europe, should think highly of such persons as you are?'

'And why not?' said Stephen.

'Why not?' returned the sister, with a sneer: 'don't ask why not?'

"'And pray,' said Stephen, sitting down by her, 'are we not as good as you, Miss Julia, though you have been educated in Tank Square, and have a fortune of your own? Are we not of the same flesh and blood as you, Miss?'

"'Don't expose yourself, Stephen,' said Miss Julia.

"Here the altercation between this amiable brother and sister was interrupted by the sound of a carriage; and Miss Julia had scarcely found time to compose her agitated features, before a handsome phaeton drove up in front of us, from whence alighted my eldest cousin, the daughter of my mother's sister, and daughter-in-law of my much respected friend in England, Mrs. Fairlie. With her was her husband, Frederick Fairlie, of whom I had heard so much while in Worcestershire, and a beautiful boy of about four years of age, the son of these interesting parents.

"The moment I saw Euphemia, (for such was my cousin's name,) I felt my heart drawn towards her, although there was a feeling of awe which mingled with the love which her pleasing countenance inspired. She had every fine feature of her father, softened and refined; her complexion was delicate in an extreme, her dress was simple, and her manners engaging, being wholly free from every species of affectation: neither was I less pleased with her husband, who instantly entered into conversation with me respecting all I had seen in Worcestershire.

"This young couple, as I afterwards found, lived only at a short distance from my uncle, Mr. Fairlie being in the civil service; and I had afterwards many opportunities of witnessing the comfort and peace in which their days passed; although they were not without their trials, for of several lovely infants with whom the Almighty had blessed them, one only, namely, the little Frederick, had as yet survived its first year.

"While occupied in answering all the enquiries of Mr. Frederick Fairlie respecting his friends in England, I observed Miss Gatty, who had made her escape from behind her sister's chair, using various devices to attract little Frederick from his mother's side, where he had stood ever since their arrival, but hitherto it appeared with little success. But on her producing some attraction in the shape of a toy, the little boy glided from his mother's knee, and Gatty was heading him off in triumph, when the mother called him back, and at the same time holding forth her hand to her little sister, encouraged her to come to her, and immediately rising, led her out upon the lawn. At the same time my uncle called his son-in-law; and my cousin Stephen remarked, 'There, now Euphemia is giving Gatty a lecture: but it's of no use--nothing will benefit her while my father and mother have the management of her.'

"The brothers and sisters then unitedly opened their mouths against the little favourite; and I discovered that she was as much hated by the younger part of the family as caressed by the elder. At length, however, on my speaking something in favour of little Frederick Fairlie, the tide instantly turned; and it was observed, that he was no better than Gatty, though his mother made such a stir about him, and would not leave him a moment with a native. 'No, nor will she leave him,' added Stephen, 'even with Gatty; and I assure you we think that this is shewing a contempt of us, which we do not approve.'

"'But did you not a moment since allow that your little sister is a very naughty child?' I replied.

'Naughty!' repeated Stephen; 'I did not use any such expression, Miss Olivia. I said she was as wicked a little creature as ever breathed on the face of the earth; and it would be strange if she were not. But are not all children wicked? The servants take care enough of that, and I will be bound for it that Master Frederick, with his milk-and-water face, will be quite as wicked as Gatty before he is her age; and I don't see why he is to be taught to despise his own relations because, forsooth, their complexions are a shade darker than his own.'

'Despise!' I answered, 'why should he despise any one on such an account as that?'

'Because,' returned he, 'he will be taught to do it. Don't I know that all you Europeans despise us Asiatics so completely that we are not deemed fit to wipe the dust from your feet?'

'It may be so,' I said, 'but I was not aware of it.'

"'Were not you?' he replied, with a sneering smile, 'then you have a lesson to learn; and Euphemia will take care that you shall begin your lesson before you are twenty-four hours older. Mind my words: if she does not ask you to spend to-morrow with her, my name is not Stephen de Sylva Richardson.'

"'But if she does ask me,' I replied, 'are you sure that it will be with the view you mention?'

"'Not ostensibly,' said Stephen. 'Certainly she will not give this reason for her invitation; but we know her too well to doubt her intentions. I know she hates us all in a mass, and not the less because we have the same right as herself to the contents of our father's sundook.'

"'Sundook!' I repeated. 'What do you mean?'

"'O, you don't understand,' replied Mr. Stephen. 'You will know by and by, but don't repeat what I say to Euphemia. Remember that we are related as nearly to you as she is.'

"'By the father's side,' said Julia emphatically.

"'True,' returned Stephen,' I had forgotten that.'

"The return towards the verandah of Mrs. Frederick Fairlie with Gatty in one hand and her son in the other, put an end to this conversation; and, notwithstanding what I had just heard of her strong prejudices against her father's children, I could not help at that moment thinking that there was something wonderfully sweet and attractive in the expression of her countenance. I was surprised also to see that her eyes were glistening with tears, and that the boisterous Gatty was actually sobbing, in consequence of something which her sister had been saying to her. 'And so,' said Stephen, as soon as his sister stepped into the verandah, 'you have been preaching to Gatty, Euphemia. Well, I hope it may not be lost labour.'

"'I hope not,' replied she, seriously but modestly.

"'Gatty has a susceptible heart, and an affectionate admonition is never wholly lost upon her.'

"'Indeed!' he said. 'You really think she has a heart?'

"'I do,' she replied. 'And why not?'

"'O, I did not know that such an idea was agreeable with your theory.'

"'My theory!' she repeated, and then turning the subject off with a smile, she suddenly addressed herself to me, and asked me if I would spend the next day at her cottage, and bring Gatty with me.

"I was startled to hear the prediction of Stephen thus fulfilled, and answered with coldness, that as I was an inmate in my uncle's house I should make no engagements without consulting my cousins.

"She blushed slightly on hearing this remark, and turning to Julia, said, 'Can you spare Olivia to-morrow?'

"'Olivia is certainly at liberty to do as she pleases.'

"'Then,' said I, 'I will, if you please, defer this visit, and Gatty and I will come some other day.'

"This determination of mine seemed pleasing to my cousins in general, though Euphemia looked grave. Stephen, however, seemed to be particularly elated, for he immediately began to play tricks with Gatty, who was standing quietly and thoughtfully by her elder sister, and tickling the back of her neck with the end of a flower which he snatched from one of his sisters, presently roused her into a state of violent excitement, by which she disturbed every one in company, jumped on her brother's back, tumbled head over heels in the verandah, and jabbered Hindoostaunee with a rapidity which certainly astonished me, although it might not perhaps have had so great an effect on those who had heard her before. From the expression of my cousin Euphemia's countenance while these things were proceeding, and from certain looks of enquiry which were cast upon me by the other sisters, together with the frequent exclamations which were uttered by the whole company at different times, I was led to judge that I did not lose much satisfaction by not understanding what was passing between Gatty and her brother. This disagreeable scene was soon, however, put an end to by the appearance of my uncle, soon after which, Euphemia and her husband departed; and coffee for the ladies, with wine and brandy and water for the gentlemen, having been handed round as we sat in the verandah, we presently afterwards retired to our apartments for the night.

"As it cannot be expected that many of my readers will have an opportunity of personally visiting such a house as my uncle's; although in the jungles and wilds, the remote and even the public stations of the British possessions in India, there are many habitations whose inmates are as curiously assorted and as ill conducted as those beneath the roof of my uncle, I will not suppose that they can have so little pleasure in the contemplation of this scene as to think me tedious if I give as accurate an account of the second day which I spent with my newly known relations, as I have done of the first few hours after my arrival at Bauglepore. And first I shall describe my feelings when I opened my chamber-door, and pushing aside the check or hanging-screen of painted grass which hung before it, stepped forward into the apartment. As I before said, there was little other furniture in this room but a bed, which being hung with curtains of China gauze, was placed in the centre of the room. To this was now added a low teapoy of sessoo wood, on which a lamp was burning, which increased rather than diminished the gloom of the chamber. By this chiragh, or lamp, sat my ayah and a sweeper, both squatted on the floor, the latter being engaged in chewing paun, and the former occupied with some kind of needlework, which she held with her feet, as a substitute for the vice or lead pincushion to which our European sempstresses sometimes find it convenient to attach one end of the garment with which they are employed. It seems that these women were silent, or conversing only in whispers, for I heard not their voices till I saw them; but the louder voices of the bearers and other servants in the verandah without were so distinct, that had I understood their language I might have derived all the benefit from their conversation which it was capable of affording.

"The women arose and paid their respects by low salams as soon as I entered the room, and accompanying me to my dressing room, I certainly was surprised at the dexterity with which they performed the offices of waiting-maids, leaving me nothing to do but to sit still and be served.

"At length I had taken refuge from the musquetos behind the silken curtains of my bed, and my women had stretched themselves on their rosaies, or cotton quilts in the inner apartment. All other voices in and about the bungalow also were hushed, and I was wholly left to my reflections, which were by no means of the most pleasant kind, having no other disturbance but a kind of whizzing or spinning sound, which is often heard in hot climates, and which proceeds from the amazing multitudes of those creatures so aptly described in Scripture, as fowls that creep, going on all fours, which swarm in every possible situation where heat and damp are found united; now and then also a mournful shout, cry, or song, reached me from a distance, either from some devotee performing his laborious devotions in some solitary place, or from some one or other of the dandies, or watermen, whose thatched boats were attached to the shore immediately beneath the conka rock on which my uncle's house was situated. To give you an adequate idea of the deeply melancholy tone in which these cries or songs were uttered would be impossible; for I know not of any sound that is similar, or of any musical instrument that can express it.

"These sounds added not a little to the sadness of my reflections; for since I had arrived in India, and especially since my introduction to my uncle's family, there had been such a decided overthrow of my blooming hopes of earthly happiness, that I found it utterly impossible to rally my spirits, neither did I enjoy the forgetfulness of sleep during that night till I had wearied myself with weeping.

"My repose, was, however, refreshing, for to one who has been long tossed about on the water the comfort of a stationary bed on solid ground is inexpressible; and this pleasure I now enjoyed, and it added much to the restoring effect of sleep, so that I not only rested till broad daylight, but for some time afterwards; and when I awoke I found my two women ready to administer to my wants as on the night before.

"When my toilet was completed, I left my room, expecting to find the family at breakfast; but although on my stepping into the hall into which my chamber-door opened, I saw a long table set out with all the appendages of fine linen, china, and silver, I saw no other symptoms of breakfast: for I as yet did not understand the custom of the family, which was to rise almost before the dawn, and take the air in carriages, on horseback, or on the elephant, and to return as soon as the sun should appear, and go to bed again to enjoy the refreshment of two additional hours of sleep, which with another hour devoted to the bath and toilet brought the moment of assembling at breakfast to nine o'clock.

"It was scarcely eight when I made my first appearance: I had therefore one hour upon my hands; and I sauntered into the verandah, where I stood for a while, leaning over the parapet, and looking on the scene which presented itself. Immediately beneath me was a branch of the Ganges, called the Bauglepore Nulla, and the bosom of the Nulla being covered with the little boats of the natives, some lying at anchor, and some moving in different directions, together presented a busy scene. On certain shelving points of the rock immediately beneath me, I saw companies of dandies cooking their first meal in kedjerie--pots over a little fire made with sticks, and regaling themselves, while they awaited the result of their preparations, with that never-failing feast supplied by the hookah. Immediately beyond the Nulla was a reach of sand, but lately redeemed from the bed of the river; yet, from being liable to frequent floods, incapable of cultivation. Along this reach I saw no living creatures but a few crows and Pariah dogs, seeking that dreadful sustenance which is too often thrown up from the stream of Gunga. At no great distance beyond this region of sand, rolled the main stream of the river, which might be traced for some distance, even when itself out of sight, by the masts of the vessels which were passing and repassing. Still further beyond the Ganges, a fine and fertile region, thickly set with topes of mangoes, parm and Indian fig trees, and covered with a fine verdure, was visible to the eye; and far beyond, though mingled with the clouds, was a range of snowy peaks, which formed a part of the remote regions of Thibet.

"The morning, though it was the early part of the cold season, was hot, and the glare from the sandy region which first met the eye was quite oppressive. A feverish stillness seemed to abide in the air, and no cheerful sound of Sabbath-bell had ever reached these miserable regions. I turned from the scene, and thought of Worcestershire. A chair had been placed for me in a shady part of the verandah, and I tried to ease my painful feelings by looking on the nearer objects which presented themselves. There were many servants in the verandah; some lounging in perfect idleness and inaction, and others indolently engaged in their different employments. There was, however, sufficient novelty in all this to amuse me for some time; when at length a new object suddenly attracted my attention, and gave my thoughts a turn. This was no other than a young European gentleman, who suddenly appeared in that part of the verandah most remote from me. It seems that he had come through the bungalow, and was accompanied by Josiah and Gatty.

"I had conceived an unwarrantable contempt for all my male cousins, and had confounded them all in one general dislike, not condescending to suppose that there could possibly be any shades of character, or superior good or bad qualities, in one more than in another; though if there was one more hateful to me than another, it was Stephen, and that because he spoke oftener and attempted more to bring himself into notice. It may be certain then that I did not bestow a second look on Josiah, when I saw him thus accompanied, but set myself to investigate the appearance of his companion, whom I afterwards knew by the name of William Fitzhenry, and found that he was the younger son of a noble family in England.

"Had I not seen Mr. Fitzhenry in company with Josiah, I have no doubt that I should have been much struck with his appearance. He was undoubtedly remarkably handsome, his person was uncommonly elegant, though not effeminate, and his features particularly regular; though all these together were not what arrested me so much as the expression of his countenance, the vivacity of his eyes, and the benignity of his smile. At the moment when I first saw him he was engaged in what I must call a game of romps with Miss Gatty; though I would serve myself with a more elegant expression for this kind of inelegant play, if I could at this moment think of another more to my purpose. Yet, I observed, that notwithstanding the forwardness of the little Indian, the young stranger never forgot the gentleman in his behaviour to her, even in the highest exuberance of his gaiety.

"Still, however, amidst all that was so favourable in the appearance and manner of Mr. Fitzhenry, there was a something in him, which if it did not actually displease me, yet made me pause before I could quite yield to him the approbation which I had given to the husband of my cousin Euphemia at first sight, but what this something was I knew not precisely, and I am not sure whether this kind of doubt which he inspired did not rather tend to make me look upon him with more interest. I would request my reader to recollect that at this time I was entirely destitute of religion, or I should not have indulged in such sentiments and feelings.

"Mr. Fitzhenry had not been long in the verandah before Gatty pointed me out to him, and as she led the stranger towards me, she no doubt contrived to give him a good deal of information respecting me, for she jabbered so loudly and so fast that her companion more than once endeavoured to silence her.

"My introduction to the young stranger had scarcely taken place before we were called to breakfast, on which he took my hand and led me to the hall, where we found the whole family assembled, my female cousins being dressed with a degree of nicety which accounted very well for the time usually spent by them under the hands of their ayahs. Besides Mr. Fitzhenry, there were other strangers, two of whom were elderly Europeans, who I found were Indigo planters among the hills, and another a taza wilaut, that is, a young Englishman who had not been many months in the country.

"I have given an account of an Indian dinner, and I now found that an Indian breakfast was an equally elaborate concern; not that any one ate much, excepting the taza wilaut, who paid his compliments to the salted humps and guava jelly, in a style which proved that he had not yet lost his English appetite, but the ladies I observed scarcely ate a mouthful, and the older Indians seemed almost wholly devoted to their hookahs.

"Our conversation was upon the nature of tiger-traps, with tales of inroads made among the villages of the hill-men by these terrible creatures, and of various exploits and escapes which had taken place at tiger-hunts; and I had on this occasion an opportunity of observing a new quality in my cousins, and one in which my uncle was by no means destitute: viz, the art of embellishing and magnifying; which they did, on this occasion, respecting the multitude of tigers in the neighbourhood, with such effect, that I certainly should have been afraid to have gone to sleep in my apartment, had I not seen a certain expression on the upper lip of my new acquaintance Mr. Fitzhenry, which induced me to think that there was not all the reason for dread of wild beasts which my good relations would have induced me to suppose.

"These various adventures engaged our attention during the greater part of breakfast-time. When this matter was concluded, we lounged another half-hour, and then, the gentlemen taking their leave, my cousins followed me into my dressing-room, where they insisted on seeing my clothes unpacked, in order that they might inspect the last Europe fashions; and in order to tempt me to this acquiescence, they caused several chests and boxes to be brought me, in which were shawls and other articles, left for me by my father. It was right that these tokens of affection from a father, now no more, should painfully affect my feelings; and, to do myself justice, I must observe that I did shed a few tears while the boxes were being opened, but when I saw the multitude of shawls, cornelians, pebbles, agates, jaspers, &c. &c. with the Benares silks and gauzes, the jindellies, and velvets, with which these boxes were filled, together with the pearls, and even diamonds, which I unexpectedly possessed, I must confess that my heart was elated, and I entered into the spirit of the thing quite as much as my cousins, with this difference only, that they were more eager for Europe goods, while I was attracted by those that were Indian; and while I despised the former so much, my cousins were much pleased by several presents which I made to them from my English stock. Thus passed the greater part of the day till it was near tiffing-time, and we were just locking up the valuables in the boxes, when Gatty, whom I had missed ever since I had seen her in the verandah before breakfast, burst into the room followed by a Muglanee ayah, who might have passed for a second edition of my own waiting-maid, had not her nostrils been graced with an immense nose-jewel, which hung pendant over her mouth. I was in the act of putting a superb piece of kin quab into one of the trunks, when the child sprang forwards, held back the lid of the box with one hand, and grasping the corner of the silk by the other, began to address me with a vehemence which perfectly amazed me, though I could not comprehend one word she said. The child had almost succeeded in dragging the splendid piece from the box, when I seized the other end, and began to expostulate with her; on which the sisters interfered, and, as I understood, bade the child let the silk alone. But Miss Gatty was not to be so quieted: the more the sisters reasoned with her, the more violent she became, and at length, partly by signs and partly with a few words of broken English, which she contrived to muster in the height of her agitation, she made me understand that I was to give that piece of silk to her mother.

"I could not but smile as soon as I understood the child, and yielded up the contested article. I begged that it might be delivered with such a message from me as should be judged proper; and the lady with the nose-jewel was requested to carry the message, which she was most willing to undertake, being won over by the gift of a rupee and a pair of European scissars.

"These matters being duly arranged, my cousins and I entered into discourse, during which I endeavoured to obtain some knowledge of Mr. Fitzhenry; and was told that he was a young civilian, living at the station, and was reckoned a gentleman of the first fashion in the place. I would have known more, but finding my cousins somewhat backward on the subject, the affair was relinquished, and we returned to the favourite topic, which I found to be that of dress.

"Thus wore away our Sunday morning, till two o'clock, which was the usual hour of tiffing, or afternoon luncheon, to which meal we were about to repair, when we saw a person with a well-powdered head peeping through the check by which my dressing-room was screened from the verandah, and the voice of Stephen was heard, asking his sisters, if they had had time enough to learn the last London fashions.

"'Keep your distance, Stephen,' said Miss Julia; 'what have you to do in ladies' rooms?'

"In reply to this, the young man marched right in, saying, 'Did you call me, Julia? I thought my cousin Olivia could not do long without me.'

"'You are much mistaken then,' I replied, with no small scorn; 'I never even saw you till yesterday.'

"'And,' said he, retorting upon me, 'you would not care if you were never to see me again. Was that what you were going to say, my fair cousin?'

"'You have spoken for me,' I answered; 'and now please to walk out.'

"He paid no attention to this, but coming into the middle of the room sat down on one of the boxes, which induced me to retire, resolving, in future, to keep every door of my apartment locked. But before I was very distant I heard some very curious language passing between the young man and his eldest sister; but as I had no disposition to linger and listen to what they said, I only caught one expression of his,--'It is all for what you can get, Miss Julia, and you know it is.'

"I found my uncle waiting at the tiffing-table, with his younger sons and Miss Gatty; and the old gentleman was indulging his passion because the rest of the family had not come at the first call, driving the servants about, swearing, and calling them opprobrious names, half in English and half in Hindoostaunee; and striking the table, till he made every thing upon it jingle and dance.

"On the arrival of the rest of the party this storm was, however, hushed, and we were amused, till the repast was over, by sundry sparrings between Julia and Stephen, and with the exploits of Miss Gatty, who, not being very hungry, was amusing herself, in her usual manner, with certain practical jests, similar to those described on a former occasion, and which at last became so troublesome that her father, who was never, I found, in his best mood on a Sunday, ordered her out of the room, and as he reiterated his commands with a tone of voice which was known by experience to denote that he would be obeyed, the young lady was seized and carried out, though she kicked with such violence that she broke a serai of water, and deluged entirely one corner of the room.

"We did not sit long at this afternoon meal, though the company contrived, during the short interval, to swallow the contents of nearly a dozen bottles of beer, which being very strong, no doubt disposed them for sleep; for, a few minutes after I had returned to my room, the hall was empty, and a perfect silence reigned through the house. I had not been accustomed to sleep at this hour; but understanding that it was the custom of the country, and feeling weak and languid, I lay down on a couch in my dressing-room. Having taken up a book, which had been given me by Mrs. Fairlie before I left Worcestershire, and which I had never yet opened, as it had been placed in the bottom of one of those trunks which I had unpacked during the morning, and having opened it and read a few pages, I was insensibly overcome with sleep, and was occupied in my dreams with the same train of thoughts which had been suggested by the contents of the volume.

"Thirty or forty years ago there did not exist the variety of books for young people which are now to be so frequently met with, in which the truths of religion are conveyed to the young mind through the medium of easy, elegant, and affecting narratives; Mrs. Fairlie, therefore, had not much choice among works of this kind, but she was probably too well acquainted with me to suppose that I should be induced to read any thing which might appear abstruse and dull; she therefore selected for me such productions on the subject of religion as she thought to be most attractive; and the volume which I had met with on this occasion, among several others, was a selection from the works of that excellent woman, Mrs. Rowe; and it was a letter of hers in which the joys of a future state, and the happiness of a heart devoted to the Saviour, and released from the love of the world, which occupied my attention at the moment when sleep overpowered me; and my dreams, though confused, had a certain something in them, which impressed me even when I awoke, and made me feel the unhappiness of being in such a family as my uncle's even more than I had done before.

"Many persons can point out the moment of their conversion, and can attribute it, with some precision, to such a conversation, such a sermon, and the perusal of such a book; but if I am a converted person, I may say that my religious impressions were by no means sudden--by no means to be attributed to any one circumstance or event of my life--that I never was suddenly or strongly impressed in any such remarkable way as to be enabled to say, that on such a particular occasion I began to discern the beauties of Christianity for the first time. But I may observe, that from the time of my visit in Worcestershire I was disposed to receive impressions of good, though those impressions had a very short and momentary influence; but happily, at length, they formed an aggregate of religious feeling which prevented me from being an actual disbeliever even in my worst condition. But leaving the unnecessary point as to time, I would remember the importance and the glory of the change as described by the Saviour--Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. [John iii. 7, 8.] I will now proceed with the account of the first Sunday spent in my uncle's family.

"Being somewhat refreshed by my short sleep, I arose and was dressed for the evening: after which I sauntered into that verandah which looked over the river, and there sat down to enjoy my own thoughts amid the silence which reigned around; for the very servants were stretched in sleep, and scarcely a bird or beast was seen.

"The different position of the sun had given another aspect to the landscape. I could now distinguish more accurately the distant groves of trees on the other side of the river, and the outline of the mountains. There were fewer boats on the river, and no sound disturbed the ear but the occasional cry of the cheel, or Brahminee kite, soaring in the air.

"I had my book in my hand, which I opened, and read a few more passages, and was led, by the contemplation of the feelings of Mrs. Rowe, to compare the state of England--England with all its faults and follies--with the awful heathenism of my uncle's family, and that I fear even now of many families in India whose master is a European. Again my mind wandered into Worcestershire; and I calculated that the hour was precisely the one in which the village-bells were calling the people to the morning worship. The beauty and simplicity distinguishing the forms of prayer in England affected me; the freshness of the climate, the cold clearness of the springs of water, the fragrant verdure of the thymy uplands, and the greenness of the valleys in that favoured island, were again revived in my remembrance, and produced what was indescribable in my feelings, but of a nature so overpowering, that I could scarcely refrain from yielding again to tears. But hearing a noise without the verandah, on the western side of the house, I moved towards the quarter whence the sound proceeded, and leaning over the parapet, I saw, a little beneath me on the lawn, two of my cousins, viz. Jonathan and Samuel, and several of the servants, amusing themselves with a monkey and a goat, which had been brought to the house by one of those miserably depraved men who make it their business to lead these poor creatures about, and make them perform various antics for the amusement of the natives, and the more silly portion of the sons and daughters of the Europeans. Jonathan was without his coat, and in slippers, having probably sallied out of his room on hearing the voice of his old friend the monkey-man, and Samuel was scarcely better dressed; and these two youths were engaged in fencing with the monkey, and highly entertained with the various grins and grimaces of the enraged animal. Several of the servants of the family were collected to see this spectacle, encouraging the young gentlemen to proceed with their sport with such peals of laughter as would astonish those who have not witnessed the merriment of heathens. While gazing for a moment on this scene, I was accosted by a miserably cadaverous-looking woman, who seemed to be the companion of the monkey-man, and, as I supposed, for I knew not one word she said, who wished me to bestow my charity. I threw her a trifle, and turned away with disgust at the whole scene; yet I scarcely knew which way to turn, that I might not meet with those objects which were calculated to excite the same feeling.

"Again I returned to my chair, and looked again at my book; and thus wore away another hour of this miserable Sabbath, when I was joined by my female cousins, who came all out together from the verandah, dressed, at least, if not with greater taste, with much more show, and in far more gaudy colours, than in the morning, which led me to conjecture that we were to have a party to dinner.

'We are come,' said the eldest, 'to invite you to see our mother; she wishes to thank you in person for your handsome present.'

"I certainly was not without a wish to see this lady of whom I had heard so much, having been told that she had been in high life, was a Cashmerienne, and had been a beauty. And as she was called the Begum by all persons in India who spoke of her, I was certainly prepared to behold a person of a higher order than I should otherwise have expected from the mother of four such youths as Stephen, Josiah, Jonathan, and Samuel. I accepted the invitation with perfect readiness, and followed my cousins into that part of the bungalow on the side of the Begum's habitation. We first proceeded through a suite of rooms, which I should have known to have been my cousins', from the numbers of ladies' articles scattered over them, and the multitude of ayahs and sweepers, whose low sa/ems I thought it necessary to return. Through these rooms and a verandah on the outside of them, we passed into a square court, the opposite side of which was formed by a bungalow of the same construction, but much smaller than that in which my uncle and the rest of the family resided, the two sides being occupied by ranges of small rooms which were allotted to the female servants. The court was of clay, but swept very clean, and sprinkled with water.

'You must speak for me to the Begum,' I said, to my cousins, as we walked through the court; 'I shall not understand a word which may be said to me by her.'

"My cousins promised that they would act as interpreters, and we went on. We first came to the verandah of the second bungalow, in which I saw nothing but a mat, a tum-tum, and some brass hookahs--I like to be particular--and were then ushered into an antechamber which was as bare as the verandah; and having passed through this, we entered the hall, or presence-chamber. It was the centre apartment of the house, a large whitewashed room with many doors: it was covered with matting, but in the centre was a square carpet, over which was extended a piece of silk of equal size with the carpet, from which hung curtains of gauze, these at that time being knotted up in the centre. On this carpet was spread a smaller, of fine texture, and a variety of large cushions of brocaded silk, forming as it were the back and sides of a sofa. In the centre of these cushions, and scarcely appearing to have more life or animation than the cushions themselves, sat the Begurn, a little corpulent old woman, who looked vastly older than my uncle himself, and fitter to be the grandmother than the mother of Gatty; but as I knew that the East Indian women age so much faster than the European, I was not so much surprised at this. She was dressed in paunjammahs of Benares silk, a short loose jacket of very thin muslin trimmed with silk, and over her head and shoulders a superb Cashmere shawl, which, however, rather added to the strangeness of her figure than deducted from it. Whether she had been handsome or not I could not conjecture: but had I not previously known I was to see a female, I should have been at a loss when I first saw this lady to know whether I beheld an old man or an old woman, although the mustachoes were undoubtedly wanting; but her cheeks and neck were so large from her habits of extreme indolence, that her whole face was disfigured. Behind her stood a splendid hookah with a mouth-piece of agate, and a very superb gold paun-box lay on one side. She had a variety of bracelets on her arms and ankles. She scarcely moved when we appeared, but bowed when we drew nearer, and motioned to us to sit down, chairs being offered by the servants; for I should have told you that there were a number of women ranged on each side of the place where the old lady sat, though without the cushions; but such a group I had seldom seen.

"When we were seated, the old lady addressed something to me, which being interpreted, I found was, that she was glad to see me, and that she thanked me for the very handsome present which I had sent her; and these compliments having passed, a silence followed, which was beginning to be awkward, at least to me, though it did not seem to be felt so by any one else then present, when I was suddenly relieved by the voice of Gatty.

"It is certain, that conversation must be at a low ebb, when the presence of a troublesome child proves a relief; and yet I believe the person must have been particularly fortunate in his society through life who has not been obliged by a relief of this kind. I was not sorry, on the occasion, to see Miss Gatty bounce into the room followed by her Muglanee ayah, and not a little amused to see her come tumbling over the cushions and nestle herself into a corner by her mother, while not a single muscle in the old lady's face varied in the smallest perceptible degree, though Gatty was the favourite child of both parents.

"But though the Begum herself did not reprove Gatty for her want of ceremony, Miss Julia, who had her private reasons for hating this favourite child, did not fail to say something which provoked her; for she began to jabber in reply with so much loudness and vehemence, and using at the same time such menacing attitudes, that the Muglanee ventured to put in a word in a kind of whining, wheedling tone, which was probably meant to conciliate both sisters; but if meant to produce this effect, it certainly failed of its end, for the enraged child, turning all her fury against her ayah, took one of the silk pillows and aimed it with all her force at her: the pillow, however, being heavy, fell at the woman's feet, who, taking it up and shaking it, placed it quietly in its usual position, and then withdrew into the back-ground of the scene.

"Our visit was not continued long after this exploit of Miss Gatty's, and we all returned to the great bungalow, where we found, among several other persons, my new acquaintance Mr. Fitzhenry, and a lady who appeared to me scarcely less remarkable than the Begum herself. This lady, though a European, had been so long in India, and so much separated from her countrywomen, that she was become more than half Indian, had acquired a haughty indifference of manner, was devoted to finery, drank a great quantity of beer, was excessively stout, and smoked her hookah in public. She was the wife of the surgeon of the station, and kept an excellent table, and therefore was popular; but I disliked her at the first glance, and took no means of conciliating her favour. However, as this lady, whom I shall call Ellison, demanded much of the attention of my cousin Julia, I was more at liberty to do and say what I pleased, for I considered my younger female cousins as mere ciphers.

"I was handed to dinner by Mr. Fitzhenry, and our dinner was a splendid one.

"During the bustle which the servants made, and amid the clatter of knives and forks, my companion contrived to whisper some agreeable flattery in my ear, which had the power of thoroughly restoring my spirits, which I describe as having been much depressed during the greater part of the day. But of these agreeable things I could remember very little when I rose from table, but certain unconnected expressions relative to an English complexion, coral lips, bright eyes, and blue skins; which latter term I did not then understand.

"After dinner, the ladies withdrew to my cousin's chamber, where Mrs. Ellison was favoured with a sight of the last Europe fashions, and had the pleasure of trying several of my best lace caps upon her own head before a looking-glass, a circumstance which I did not altogether enjoy, as I did not think that my peach-blossom and sky-blue satin lining would be greatly benefited by the near approach of the lady's hair, which had much the appearance of being well saturated with cocoa-nut oil: neither could I ever afterwards fancy my pea-green silk mantle, after it had been brought into contact with her olive-green neck. But enough of this. The exhibition of fashions being concluded, we went out in to the verandah, where tea and coffee being served, we were presently joined by the gentlemen, and soon after by Miss Gatty, who soon contrived to excite such a tumult, that I could hardly hear a word which was said by Mr. Fitzhenry, who had contrived to place his chair close to mine.

"We had not sat long in this situation when an universal move took place, and the whole party adjourned into an inner room. I was ready to say, 'What is to be done now?' when Mr. Fitzhenry rose, and offering me his hand, muttered something like, 'Allow me the favour,' which, interpreting merely that he wished to hand me to an adjoining apartment, according to the custom of India, where a lady never walks alone if there is a gentleman to conduct her, I did not decline his proffered courtesy, but rose immediately, and giving him my hand, followed the rest of the party.

"We passed through the hall into the room beyond, where there was a piano-forte; and as I heard some one preluding on the instrument, I made no doubt but that we were about to be regaled with some of my cousin's music, or that perhaps we were to have a specimen of Mrs. Ellison's talents in that line, for I had heard that she both played and sung. For an entertainment of this kind I was therefore prepared, but for nothing further. What then was my astonishment when I entered the room, to see all my female cousins, with the exception of Gatty, standing up, each with her partner as for a country dance; the party being increased by three couple of gentlemen at the bottom, Jonathan, Samuel, and the taza wilaut, (spoken of as having made his appearance at breakfast,) having taken the ladies' side, where the two boys having stolen their sisters' fans, were aping the female, by courtseying, smirking, and fanning themselves.

"At one end of the room was the orchestra, occupied by Mrs. Ellison at the piano-forte, my cousin Stephen with his violin, my cousin Josiah with his flute, and a big hideous looking servant with a kind of tabor, drum, or tum-tum, for beating time. On another side of the room sat my uncle and one or two of the elder gentlemen who had dined with us. These were regaling themselves with their hookahs, and looked as unmoved as so many images of Juggernaut. Behind them, in the very back-ground of the piece, was Miss Gatty, playing monkey tricks, and shewing what liberties she dared to take with the wigs of her father's visiters for the amusement of a crowd of servants, who were gaping and staring at her. Mrs. Ellison and my cousins were just striking up, and the first couple were preparing to set and foot it to each other at the moment this scene burst on my view, when this mode of spending a Sunday evening struck me with an amazement I could not overcome.

I believe that I uttered something like a shriek as I snatched my hand from Mr. Fitzhenry's, and ran back into the deserted verandah, followed by my astonished companion, where many broken sentences in the form of dialogue passed between us, before we could at all understand each other.

'Are you well, Madam?' said he. 'I am afraid that you are taken suddenly ill.'

'Sunday evening!' I replied.

"'Sunday evening!' he repeated, and looked more surprised than ever.

"'Do you dance on Sundays in India?' I asked.

"'Not often,' he returned. 'The truth is, I seldom dance at all; but when such a pa