-twenty pounder had been fired close to my ear. Just then a hard
hand was wrung into my neck-cloth, and I felt myself dragged out of the
water. The next instant my senses left me.

* * * * *

TRAVELS OF KERIM KHAN.

NO. II.

We left our friend the Khan, at length comfortably established in London,
and pursuing his observations on the various novel objects of interest
which every where presented themselves to his gaze. The streets lighted by
gas (which the Persian princes call "the spirit of coals") are described
in terms of the highest admiration--"On each side, as far as the eye could
see, were two interminable lines of extremely brilliant light, produced by
a peculiar kind of vapour here called gas, which made the city infinitely
more interesting to look at by night than by day; but the most
extraordinary thing in reference to the flame in the lamps was, that this
appeared to be produced without the medium of either oil or wick, nor
could I discern the cause of the lighting. The houses have from three to
seven stages or stories, one of which is underground--each stage
containing at least two rooms. The walls fronting the streets are of brick
or stone, and the interior of woodwork; but the wood of the rooms inside
is covered with a peculiar sort of paper of various colours and curious
devices, highly elaborate and ingenious. The balconies outside were
generally filled with flowers of various hues: but notwithstanding the
wonders which surrounded me, and made me fancy myself in a world of
talismanic creation, my spirits were for some time depressed, and this
immense city seemed to me worse than the tomb; for I had not yet recovered
from the bewilderment into which all that I had seen had thrown me."

The feeling of loneliness, resulting from this oppressive sense of
novelty, wore off, however, as the Khan began to find out his friends, and
accustom himself to the fashions of the country; and he was one day
agreeably surprised by a visit from one of the suite of Moulavi Afzul Ali,
an envoy to the Court of Directors from the Rajah of Sattarah;[1] "I need
not say how delighted I felt, not having the least idea of meeting any of
my countrymen so far from Hindustan." The 11th of August, the day fixed
for the prorogation of Parliament by the Queen, now arrived; and the khan
"accompanied some gentlemen in a carriage to see the procession, but it
was with extreme difficulty that we got