the statements respecting the weather are very correct, and we believe the produce of the markets is accurately stated. 80-89 Ditto ....... 18 August. 80-90 Ditto October..... 75-80 Improving. 3 sorts. 18 November.. 70-75 Ditto Plentiful. 23 December... 58-65 Perfect...... Abundt... Perfect...... 5 8 It is also stated, that the following commodities last throughout the year, viz., beef, kid, lamb, mutton, pork, veal; ducks, fowls, geese, pigeons, turkeys; venison and rabbits; of fish, chingree (prawns) choona, kutla, kuwy, magoor, moonjee, rohee, sowle, tangra; and of the vegetable kingdom the banana or sweet plantain. From this table it will be seen that there is no difficulty in procuring table supplies throughout the year; and, although, during the hot and rainy seasons, the meat, especially the beef, is not so good as in the cold weather, it is by no means to be despised. Of vegetables there is during the greater part of the year quite an embarras des richesses, and fruits are abundant during, at least, half the year. The next subject brought to our notice is that of travelling by water and by land. This is treated in two extracts from Mr. Parbury's Hand-book, which was written at a much less advanced state of the river steam navigation than that which we have now reached. This portion therefore, of the work, is a little out of date, and ere long, the dâk palki will be found only in our Museums, as an interesting relic of the old slow times. On the subject of river-travelling, we may as well take occasion to allude to a very great improvement introduced, within these few years, into the boat-economy of the river, in the shape of paddle-boats, propelled by coolies working tread-mill fashion. These boats were first introduced by Messrs. Burn and Co. of this city, and have now become pretty common, although, we believe, their possession hitherto is confined to private gentlemen; at least, we are not aware that any are kept for hire. It is stated in the books on animal mechanics, that the most telling way of applying a man's muscular energy is, by setting him to pull at an oar; but he must pull as English man-of-war's men pull, and not merely jabble up a lave of water against the sides of the boat, according to the invariable and incorrigible mode of the Bengali boatmen. In working the paddle-boats, of which we have spoken, all is done by the dead weight of the coolies, or at least very little is left to be accomplished by their muscular energy. The result is, that these boats go at nearly double the rate at which they would be propelled by an equal number of oarsmen. Hence, the thanks of our community are well due to their inventor. So far as we have learned, the Archimedean screw has only been tried in a single instance, and without success; but we should think the experiment well worthy of repe tition. In the matter of dâk travelling also, an improvement was introduced a few years ago by Colonel Powney-in the shape of a palki that could be used as a carriage to be drawn by one or two ponies, or pushed by men, or carried like an ordinary palki. Wheresoever there are roads and horses, it is a comfortable carriage; where there are roads, but no horses, it is a carriage still; where roads are not, the wheels are unshipped and stowed away on the roof, and the carriage becomes a palki. If a keel could be put upon it, so that it might cross an occasional ferry, it might be regarded as a universal travelling apparatus. The great trunk road, and the Inland Transit Company afford the Anglo-Indian the means of travelling in a sort of stage-coach; but we fancy it will require him to "make-believe very hard," before he can persuade himself that it is the genuine thing. Our Post Master General has also recently laid on a mail-coach to carry passengers between Calcutta and Burdwan, with the promise, that if the experiment succeed, it shall be extended. But we scarcely expect that it will. While we write, however, the times are big with the greatest of all improvements in the locomotory art. After long and tantalizing delays, it seems now not improbable, that we shall soon have a RAILWAY. While we write, we learn that the Governor-General's final sanction has been received for the immediate commencement of a line from Howrah to Hoogly; and we doubt not that this wedge-point introduced, this inch given, is the beginning of great things. It is but a few years ago that the Quarterly Review, in a paper on Steam Navigation to India, gave a decided preference to the Red Sea over the Euphrates and Persian Gulf route; but, after calculating that the expense of running a steamer once in two months between Falmouth and Bombay would be £33,912, threw cold water on the whole scheme by asking whether this "terrific expenditure" "is to be incurred for conveying a few letters and despatches, and now and then three or four passengers." The result has been the twice-a-month communication between England and India, with an overflow of passengers. So much for the sagacity of the most sagacious, when they attempt to deal with matters untried. May we not hope then that in the same way all the most vivid expectations of the projectors of our railway will ere long be far more than realized, and all the fears of the croakers converted into matter of amusement? Ethnologists talk of the venatory, the pastoral, and the agricultural states, as the several stages in the career of human progress. Perhaps the kutcha-road state, the pukha-road state, and the rail-road state would not be a less appropriate division. Now it certainly is strange, in this view of the matter, that the most thoroughly stand-still people on the face of the earth should be destined to pass, as they appear to be, per saltum from the lowest of these states, to the highest, from the mere foot-path or dak-road to the rail-road, from the palki to the steam-train. This may be anomalous, and probably it is so; but there seems no small likelihood of its being realized-for at present, it cannot be doubted, notwithstanding the existence of the great trunk road, and a few other roads of very small length and generally of very indifferent quality, that the great mass of the goings and comings of the people of India is perpetrated either by water carriage or by foot-path travelling. This being the present state of things, and there being every prospect of a railway being immediately set agoing, it will follow that the transition from the worst to the best will be effected by a single stride. We do not imagine, however, that the pukha-road stage will be passed over altogether, but rather that it will come after the rail-road stage. Indeed we cannot doubt that the effect of the rail-way will be to cause the multiplication of good common roads. These will be necessary in order that much good may be derived from the rail-way, and we have no doubt that the demand will create the supply. The next subject that meets our eyes in turning over the pages of the book under review is that of "gentlemen's clothing for India." Here again our authors are a little behind date. A few years ago every man wore a white jacket on all ordinary occasions; now nothing is worn but black alpaca coats. Το our humble thinking this is not at all an improvement. We have no objection to the substitution of the coat, or shooting jacket, for the short jacket; inasmuch as it can scarcely be disputed that on some figures, the latter is not a very becoming vestment; but the substitution of black for white, we regard as a positive evil. The material also, though certainly very light,* is not, to our taste, by any means so pleasant in very hot weather when there is no breeze, as is the usual calico, or whatever be the technical name of the stuff of which jackets are made. Then the expense must be at least three times as great as that of jackets;-as thus. Two dozen jackets will cost rupees 30, and last three years. Two alpaca coats will cost also rupees 30, and will not last one year without great seediness. That is on the supposition of the mere wear, without any allowance for casualties. But it must be considered that a single tear will put either coat or jacket hors de combat, and the coat as easily at least as the jacket. Now when the alpacawearer has submitted to two tears, he is finished, done up entirely; whereas the man of calico has twenty-two out of his twenty-four suits as good as ever. It is therefore, from all these considerations, our confident expectation that the alpaca race will not long enjoy its usurped prerogative; but that the calico dynasty will soon be restored to its rightful ascendancy. For ourselves, we have resolved to retain our loyalty to the exiled family, and to live in patient hopeful expectation of the time when "the king shall have his ain again;"-and why not? Have we not lived to see the restoration of the Bourbon race in its two branches, and again the virtual restoration of the Corsican race-and why should we despair of the fortunes of calico ? But, at all events, our resolution is taken. We ought to state that the advices given to those making provision for the outward voyage seem to us to be very judicious. They are practical and to the point. By following them, a good and useful outfit may be got for very considerably less money than is usually expended on a comparatively useless one. For ourselves, if we had to come to India again, we should not spend much more than a third of the money on outfit that we expended in the days of our griffinhood. Expe * Messrs. Harman and Co. state that their zephyr coats weigh 7 oz. We have just had the curiosity to weigh a jacket of ordinary thickness, and have found that its weight is 12 tolas, 5 oz. 2 dr. Now it is true that the difference, or 1 oz. 182dr. is not a great weight, still it is more than one-third (13-36ths) of the whole weight of the jacket. S rience teaches-even fools, and, a fortiori, sage and sapient reviewers. We must presume that the advice given to ladies on the subject of their wardrobe is equally judicious and to the point: and we have no doubt that it is all this and more, inasmuch as it is taken from Miss Emma Roberts. We therefore refer our fair readers either to that lady's East Indian Voyage," or to the volume before us, for all needful information respecting dress and knick knackeries. 66 Passing on then from this delicate subject, we come to Hygeian notes on dress in India." For ourselves, one rule embodies all that a pretty lengthened experience has taught us as to the influence of dress on health-and that is, in the hot weather and the rains to keep ourselves as cool as possible, and in the cold weather to keep ourselves sufficiently warm. The only exception to this rule is in the case of the occurrence of a North-Wester. In the season when these occur, it were well to have a flannel coat or jacket ready to put on the moment that the hurly-burly begins; for although the coolness is very pleasant, yet it is very apt to be hurtful. With this exception, for eight months in the year the coolest dress is the best for strong people, and we believe for weak ones too. But from the middle of October to the middle of February the case is altered. Then woollen stuffs must be worn, every morning and evening, and they are not generally found to be unpleasant during the day. We pass over a great deal of matter respecting the preservation of health by diet and exercise, respecting smoking, sleep, prickly heat, and cholera, and come to a subject on which we shall offer one or two observations, that of snake-bites. There are probably few subjects on which the notions of new-comers more need rectification than this. Many seem to imagine that the bite of a venomous serpent is so common an occurrence, that escape from it for any lengthened period is not to be expected by any one. We need scarcely say that this is an erroneous notion altogether. There are very few places whither Europeans resort where serpents are at all numerous. Then, of all the snakes in any given place, a very large proportion are either perfectly harmless, or their poison is of so mild a nature as to produce no evil effect beyond a little pain. Moreover, of all the snakes in India, we never saw any one that will attack a man, or any except the cobra that, when attacked, will stand at bay if he can in any possible way effect an escape, In fact our idea of the valour of snakes |