reas in other cases clay has been found beneath the sand, and the
foundation wells have been sunk into it, no bottom has been discovered
to the sand which constitutes the bed of the Jumna; and the wells in
question are required to stand firm in this most unstable of all
foundations.

[Sidenote: Cawnpore.]

From Allahabad Lord Elgin proceeded by railway to Cawnpore; where, on the
11th of February, he took part in the impressive ceremony of the
consecration of the Well, and other spots in its vicinity, containing the
remains of the victims of the dreadful massacres which occurred at that
place in 1857.[1]

He had intended from this point to visit Lucknow: but finding that time
would allow of his doing this only in a very hasty manner, which he thought
objectionable, he invited some of the principal Talookdars to come over to
see him; which they accordingly did, under the guidance of Mr. Wingfield,
the Chief Commissioner of Oude.

[Sidenote: Agra.]

From Cawnpore Lord Elgin journeyed, again by rail, to Agra, the 'key of
Hindostan.' The following description of his arrival there is borrowed from
his private secretary, Mr. Thurlow:[2]--

'Arrived at the railway station, Lord Elgin met with a reception
worthy of the East. The road, thickly lined with native troops,
crossed the Jumna by a bridge of boats, and wound along the river's
bank beneath those lofty sandstone walls; then, mounting a steep hill
and leaving the main entry into Agra Fort upon the right, the Taj
remaining to the left, it led, through miles of garden ground, thickly
studded with suburban villas, to the Viceroy's camp, that occupied
the centre of an extensive plain, where tents were pitched for the
accommodation of the Government of India, and an escort of ten
thousand men. Beyond these were ranked, according to priority of
arrival, the far-spreading noisy camps of those rajas the number of
whose followers was within some bounds; and beyond them again
stretched miles and miles of tents containing thousands upon thousands
of ill-conditioned-looking men from Central India, and the wildest
part of Rajpootana, the followers of such maharajas as Jeypoor, who
marched to meet the Viceroy with an army of thirty thousand strong,
found in horse and foot and guns, ready for the field.'

The six days spent at Agra Lord Elgin was 'disposed to rank among the most
interesting of h