lose to a
farm-house, which looks absolutely English; then we come to a
cluster of huts of the most miserable description, occupying some low
situation, placed absolutely on the ground, and scantily thatched with
palm branches; stately mansions now arise to view, and then there is
a row of small but apparently comfortable dwellings, habitations being
thickly scattered over fields and gardens, until we reach what has
been denominated the Black Town, but which is now generally known as
the Burrah Bazaar. This is now a broad street, and, without exception,
one of the most curious places I have ever beheld. It is said to have
been much improved during late administrations, and, forming the high
road to the Fort, is the avenue most frequented in the native town
by Europeans. The buildings on either side are very irregular, and of
various descriptions; some consist of ranges of small shops, with
a story above in a very dilapidated and tumble-down condition. Then
comes a row of large mansions of three floors, which look very much
like the toy baby-houses constructed for children in England, the
windows being so close together, and the interiors so public;
others intervene, larger, more solid, and irregular, but exceedingly
picturesque.

Most of the better kind of houses are ascended by a flight of
steps, which leads to a sort of verandah, formed by the floor above
projecting over it, and being supported by wooden pillars or other
frame-work in front. In the Parsee houses of this kind, there is
usually a niche in this lower portion for a lamp, which is kept always
burning. In some places, the houses are enclosed in courtyards, and
at others a range of dwellings, not very unlike the alms-houses in
England, are divided from the road by a low wall, placed a few yards
in the front, and entered at either end by gateways. These houses have
a very comfortable appearance, and the shading of a few palm-trees
completes a rather pretty picture. There are two mosques, one on
either side of this street, which are handsomely constructed, and
would be great embellishments to the scene, were they not so painfully
whiter-washed.

A peculiar class of Hindus, the Jains, have also what have not been
inappropriately termed "god-shops," for they certainly have not the
slightest appearance of temples. These pagodas, if they may be so
styled, are nothing more than large houses, of three floors, with
balconies running in front, the heavy wooden fram