delayed vessel's
arrival was telegraphed from Saugor, great was the rejoicing of the
inhabitants. The vessels used to be moored at the ghaut at the bottom
of Hare Street, as there were no jetties in those days.

The ice was landed in great blocks on the heads of coolies and slided
down from the top of the steps to the vaults below. They used at the
same time to bring American apples which were greatly appreciated as
there were none grown in India at that time.

ILLUMINANTS.

To the present generation it would no doubt appear strange and
particularly inconvenient had they to rely solely for their lighting
power on coconut oil. It had many drawbacks, two of which, and not the
least, being the great temptation it afforded Gungadeen, the Hindu
farash bearer, to annex for his own individual daily requirements a
certain percentage of his master's supply, and to the delay in
lighting the lamps in the cold weather owing to the congealment of the
oil which had to undergo a process of thawing before it could be
used. Gas had been introduced some years previously, but it was
confined to the lighting of the streets and public buildings. Of the
days that I am writing about, and for long years afterwards, coconut
oil was the one and only source from which we derived our artificial
lighting, and it was not until the early seventies that a change came
over the spirit of the dream by the introduction of kerosine oil.

[Illustration: _Photo. by Johnston & Hoffmann_ Old premises of Ranken
& Co.]

[Illustration: _Photo, by_ Present premises of Ranken & Co.]

This of course made a most wonderful and striking change in the
economy of life in more ways than one, and amongst others it brought
about at once and for ever the abdication of the tyrannical sway and
cessation of the depredations of the aforesaid Gungadeen who had no
use for kerosine as a substitute for his beloved coconut oil wherewith
to anoint his body and for the other various uses to which he could
apply it.

ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

Although this did not come into general vogue until the late nineties,
it had been introduced in a very practical way as far back as the
year 1881 in the Howrah Jute Mills Co., but after a few years it was
discontinued, to be generally re-adopted in 1895 by all the jute
mills. The introduction of the light into private dwellings, places of
amusement, and other buildings, of course worked a marvellous change
in our social life and all its condi