souls, {161}
consists of a long, broad street, eight miles long, with numerous
short alleys running into it. The houses, which are mostly
constructed of mud, struck me as particularly small and wretched.
Under the projecting roofs are exposed for sale goods and provisions
of the simplest kind. That part of the street in which the greatest
number of these miserable shops are situated, is dignified by the
grand name of the "Bazaar." The few houses of a better description
might easily be counted without any very great trouble; they are
built of tiles, and surrounded by wooden galleries and colonnades
prettily carved. In these houses were to be found the best and
finest shops.

The temples of the Hindoos, the Ghauts (flights of steps, halls, and
gateways) on the Ganges, like the mosques of the Mahomedans, always
look a great deal better at a distance than they do on a nearer
inspection. The only objects worthy of notice which I saw here,
were a few bell-shaped mausoleums, like those in Ceylon, which they
greatly surpassed in size, although not in artistic beauty; they
were certainly more than 200 feet in circumference, and eighty feet
in height. Excessively narrow entrances, with simple doors, conduct
into the interior. On the outside, two small flights of steps,
forming a semicircle, lead up to the top. The doors were not opened
for us, and we were obliged to content ourselves with the assurance
that, with the exception of a small, plain sarcophagus there was
nothing inside.

Patna is a place of great importance, from the trade in opium, by
which many of the natives acquire large fortunes. As a general
rule, they make no display of their riches, either as regards their
clothes, or in any other public kind of luxury. There are only two
sorts of dress--one for those in easy circumstances, which is like
that of the Orientals, and one for the poorest classes, which
consists of a piece of cloth bound round the loins.

The principal street presents a bustling appearance, being much
frequented by carriages, as well as pedestrians. The Hindoos, like
the Jews, are such determined foes to walking, that they do not
think the worst place in the most wretched cart beneath their
acceptance.

The vehicles in most general use are narrow, wooden cars upon two
wheels, and composed of four posts with cross-beams. Coloured
woollen stuff is hung over these, and a kind of canopy keeps off the
sun. There is properly only room