as large
enough to make voyages to Madras and Ceylon. The excursion was not intended
as a mere shooting-party, Lord Tremlyn explained, but to enable the company
to obtain a better view of Calcutta than they could get in any other
manner.

From the river a full view was obtained of the multitude of columns,
belfries, and cupolas, as well as of the Government House, the Town Hall,
and the line of magnificent houses beyond the esplanade. Along the shore
The Strand, as it is called the whole length of the city, the jetties, and
the landing-stages were crowded with men; for, where labor is so cheap,
work is not done by small forces of men. There are several lines of
steamers running between London, Southampton, and Liverpool to this port;
and they were constantly arriving and departing.

"You don't see such a variety of races here as you did in Bombay," said
Lord Tremlyn as he was pointing out the sights to be seen. "You observe
some Chinamen and Burmese; but most of the laborers are of the low class of
natives, Bengalese, and they are very sorry specimens of the Hindus."

"But what are the merchants and shopkeepers?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"They are Baboos, which is a name given to the Bengalese. The better class
of them, in contact with the English, realize that education is a power;
and they have labored for years to improve their countrymen. They have
established schools and colleges, and when young natives applied for
government situations the authorities felt obliged to admit them. To-day
you will find many natives acting as clerks in the post-office, railway,
and telegraph-offices, as well as in the courts in minor capacities.

"In fact, there has been a social revolution in progress here for half a
century or more, and its effects may be seen now. The government has
modified the lot of woman to some extent, as you have learned. The Hindu
law weighed terribly upon her. When a woman lost her husband, custom
required that she should be sent back to her own family. Her relatives
shaved off her hair, dressed her in the coarsest clothing, and compelled
her to do the severest drudgery of the household. She is forbidden to marry
again, and is treated as though she was responsible for becoming a widow.
The reforming of this evil is in progress; but the people are baked into
their prejudices and superstitions of forty centuries, and it is worse than
pulling their teeth to interfere with them.

"One of the favorite divin