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sented by two boys and one girl, about twelve years old, who were seated under an awning in the principal street, with a great crowd around them, some fanning them, of which, poor things, they had great need, some blowing horns, and beating gongs and drums, and the rest shouting till the air rang again. The two heroes were two fine boys, and acted their parts admirably. Each had a gilt bow in his left hand, and a sabre in his right; their naked bodies were almost covered with gilt ornaments and tinsel ; they had high tinsel crowns on their heads; their foreheads and bodies were spotted with charcoal, chalk, and vermilion, and, altogether, perfectly resembled the statues of Hindoo deities

'Except that of their eyes alone,

The twinkle showed they were not stone.'

"I asked a good many questions, and obtained ready answers, in much the same way and with no more appearance of reverence or devotion than one would perceive at an English puppet-show. At Benares, I am told, the show is really splendid; the raja attends in state, and the performers are children of the most distinguished families, previously trained with much care for the purpose. I saw enough, however, here," says Heber," to satisfy my curiosity. Before the British police was established, it is said, that the poor children who had thus been feasted and honoured were cruelly murdered; poison being administered to them in the sweetmeats with which they were supplied the last day, to show that their spirits had been absorbed into the deities. Happily the show is not now disgraced by such horrid cruelty."

About this time the bishop received a letter from Mrs. Heber, informing him that symptoms of a malady had appeared in his eldest daughter, which she was apprehensive would prove fatal, as the disease seemed to baffle the power of medicine. Never was

a parent's heart more bound up in the heart of his child than was Heber's: he would gladly have returned to Calcutta, could he have satisfied his conscience, that in so doing he should have been pursuing the path of duty. His feelings on the subject he thus records: "Alas! my love, how have you been tried? Comfortable as is your last note, I cannot hope that I shall see my lovely little Harriet again in this world, for I know the insidious nature of the disease. But I dare not return: I have, I feel, duties to perform here; and as you truly say, before I could arrive her doom must be sealed, and your burst of grief, in case of the worst, must have subsided into a calmer sorrow. God support and comfort you! I am well, and hope I shall be enabled to be patient and resigned. God bless you; trust in Him, and pray for His help for your poor babies and your affectionate husband.”

The following sonnet from the pen of G. A. Vetch, esq., on the bishop's passing through Allahabad, will not, we think, be out of place here.

"Bright with the dews of pure Castalian springs,
See Heber gladdens now our sultry plains;
Yet sweeter far than his most thrilling strains,
The glorious tidings which his message brings.
My lyre, across thy long-neglected strings,

Yet once again my feeble hand shall stray,
Nor, though disown'd by every muse, delay
The homage due to him who gifted sings.
Hail, then, and Heaven speed thee on thy way,
Illustrious pilgrim of our distant shore :
Rous'd by thy call, enraptur'd by thy lay,
May nations learn their Saviour to adore.
For thee the fairest garland shall be twin'd,
The Christian's palm and poet's wreath combin'd.”

CHAPTER XII.

Preparations for the Bishop's journey by land-State of the country-Arrival at Futtehpoor-A tropical wet day-Reaches Cawnpoor-Services there-State of the schools-Enters the Oudean territory-Early hours of performing the journey-Entrance into Lucknow-Remarks on the place-State of religion there-Public buildings-Visit to the king-Marriage of Mr. Ricketts, the resident-Illness of Mr. Lushington-Heber's feelings on leaving LucknowHis severe attack of illness — Recovery — Arrival at Shahjehanpoor-Pilgrims-The Bishop reaches Furreedpoor.

THROUGH the kindness of the commissariat at Allahabad, and other influential individuals in the town and fort, (all of whom seemed to take a lively interest in facilitating the bishop's journey,) he was enabled to proceed up the country on Thursday morning, the 30th of September. He was accompanied by Mr. Lushington and Mr. Corrie, who had arrived at Allahabad some days previous to his departure. Heber had now to travel by land; and the entire train of his caravan sisted of twenty-four camels, eight carts drawn by bullocks, twenty-four horse-servants, including those of the archdeacon and Mr. Lushington,

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ten ponies, forty bearers, twelve tent-pitchers, with a guard of twenty sepoys, under a native officer. They arrived at Cooseah, sixteen miles from Allahabad in the evening, where," says Heber, we found two excellent tents of three apartments each, pitched for our reception, and the tea-kettle boiling under the shade of some stately trees, in a wild country of ruins and jungle, now gemmed and glowing with the scattered fires of our cofilah. This was the first night I ever passed under canvass; and, independent of its novelty, I found the comforts of my dwelling greatly exceed my expectation. The breeze blew in very fresh and pleasantly, through the tent-door; the ground, covered with short, withered grass, was perfectly dry, though rain had fallen so lately, and my bed and musquito-curtains were arranged with as much comfort almost as in Calcutta."

They reached, without much difficulty, Cussiah, the second usual halting station, on the evening of the following day, distant from the first about twelve miles. The roads were in a much worse state for travelling than Heber, from the representations he had received, expected to have found them. "I have been often told," says he," that the road, as far as Merut, would answer perfectly well for a gig: nothing can be more unfounded than such assurances. The fact is, there are no roads at all; and the tracts which we follow are very often such as to require care, even on horseback. By driving slowly, no doubt, a gig may go almost any where; but it is any thing but an agreeable pastime to drive along tracts which, when beaten, are so poached by the feet of horses and cattle, and so hardened by the sun, as to resemble a frozen farm-yard; while, if the traveller forsakes these roads, he encounters cracks deep and wide enough to break his wheels. Here and there

is a tolerable level mile or two; but with a few such exceptions, there is no fast or pleasant driving in this part of India."

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Owing to the rain that fell during the night, Heber found, much to his regret, when he arose at four in the morning of October the 2nd, that it would be impossible, for some hours, to proceed on their journey; the camels not being able to carry the tents with their additional weight when wet. They were, indeed, much too heavy for them when dry, and it had been with great difficulty they had borne them the preceding day, as they were of the dimensions usually conveyed by elephants. A light wind, however, sprung up in the morning, which soon dried them sufficiently, and they were enabled again to set off; encamping in the evening, at Camoulpoor, amid a vast field of tombs and ruins, "in a spot," says Heber, which, with its deserted appearance, was singularly picturesque and romantic. We had a grove of noble trees, under which our horses, camels, and bullocks were disposed in different clusters; and the tents, the fires, the baskets of fruits, rice, ghee, and other provisions exposed for sale by the natives, who had set up a number of little shops around the trees, to benefit themselves by our visit; with the varied costume of the crowd assembled on the occasion, the red uniform of the sepoys, the white garments of our own servants, the long veils and silver ornaments of the female villagers, and the dark mantles, dark beards, and naked limbs of the male peasantry and coolies, mingled with the showy dresses of the Chuprassies, gave the whole scene the animated and interesting effect of an eastern fair; an effect which the east, perhaps, can alone supply."

Sunday, October 3, was a day of rest to the whole party. The bishop had public service in his tent, which was attended, besides the Europeans, by two

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