oked with the deepest interest, and where we purposed to
spend our days in the service of Christ. Though so many years have since
elapsed, we can yet vividly remember the peculiar feeling of that time.

The day before we landed, the Native agent of the mercantile house to
which our ship was consigned made his appearance with letters and fresh
supplies. To the surprise of us new-comers, roast beef was on our
dinner-table that day. We thought it strange that in the land where the
cow was worshipped, beef should be one of the first things brought to
us.

Our missionary friends in Calcutta had heard of the arrival of our ship,
and arranged for our accommodation. Some of them came on board when we
anchored in the Hoogly, off Fort William, and gave us a hearty welcome.
We were right glad to find ourselves on land again.

[Sidenote: THE CITY OF PALACES.]

Calcutta is a hundred miles from the sea, but the country is so level
that the tide runs up in great strength many miles beyond, and the tidal
wave, which comes in at certain times, is very dangerous to small craft,
and requires care on the part of large ships. The great trade of the
city is shown by the vast number of ships at anchor in the river, many
of them stately vessels of large tonnage, of which in our day many are
steamers.

On landing, a stranger gets the impression that Calcutta is rightly
called the city of palaces. On the great plain adjoining the river, at
some distance from each other, are two notable objects--Fort William and
Government House. Beyond the plain lies Chowringhee, a range of lofty
houses extending for more than a mile, with balconies and flat roofs,
giving one an impression of grandeur, which is scarcely sustained when
more nearly seen, as that which looked at a distance like marble is
found to be stucco and plaster. Behind Chowringhee are a number of wide
streets with similar, but generally smaller houses, each apart, with
offices and servants' houses in the enclosure. When entering the city
one sees that strange combination of meanness and dirt with grandeur
with which travellers in Eastern lands are so familiar. In the
neighbourhood of Government House there are a number of shops in the
European fashion, but a very large proportion of the business of
Calcutta, we suppose the most of it, is carried on in bazaars, in which
there are no showy shops, but where there is abundance of goods of every
description. When we went to India, and for ma