reference to the ancient religious buildings scattered over India, I shall now proceed to describe a delightful excursion to the island of Gorapori, better known, perhaps, for reasons that will appear hereafter, by the familiar name of Elephanta.

It was about three months after the monsoons had ceased to deluge the land, that I received a note of invitation to spend an evening in the Fort, to meet a few friends, and particularly a Mr. and Mrs. H., who had just come down from Poonah. All the great people had gone to the Mahableshwur hills; the commander-in-chief having set the example by

examined in the neighbourhood of Bombay. In both cases they consist of vast excavations hewn out in the solid body of a hill or mountain, and are decorated with huge figures which indicate the same powers of nature, or serve as emblems to denote the same qualities in the ruling spirits of the universe. As a further proof of this hyphothesis, we are informed that the sepoys, who joined the British Army in Egypt, under Lord Hutchinson, imagined that they found their own temples in the ruin of Dendera, and were greatly exasperated at the natives for their neglect of the ancient deities whose images are still preserved, So strongly, indeed, were they impressed with this identity, that they proceeded to perform their devotions with all the ceremonies practised in their land, There is a resemblance, too, in the minor instruments of their superstition-the lotus, the lingam, and the serpent-which can hardly be regarded as accidental; but it is, no doubt, in the immense extent, the gigantic plan, the vast conception which appears in all their sacred buildings, that we most readily discover the influence of the same lofty genius, and the endeavour to accomplish the same mighty object. The excavated temples of Guerfeh Hassan, for instance, remind every traveller of the cave of Elephanta. The resemblance, indeed, is singularly striking; as are, in fact, all the leading principles of Egyptian architecture, and that of the Hindoos. * By whom and by what

means these wonderful efforts have been accomplished, is a mystery sunk too deep in the abyss of time ever to be revealed,"

proceeding thither in great state, surrounded by a numerous retinue. Those who did not like the trouble of climbing these mountains, that rise to an elevation of some 5036 feet to the south of Bombay, or who perhaps could not afford to follow in the wake of the Burro Saib, but who were nevertheless anxious to avoid the inconveniences which, at Poonah, and in the neighbourhood, attend the hot season, generally stepped into their palanquins early in the morning; and, dismissing their bearers at the foot of the ghauts, proceeded by a fast coach to Panwelly and Bombay, the whole distance being only 75 or 80 miles. Some came to visit their children, who were placed at good boarding-schools, conducted by English masters; some for change of air, and sea-bathing; and others, to avoid being enrolled in the non-fashionable list of keepers-at-home; to stay quietly at home for a whole year being looked upon as a thing exceedingly outré by the military and merchant princes of the East; who, so great is the cost of travelling in style in India, annually expend enormous sums in pleasurable excursions. I must here introduce to my readers the two persons whom I have especially mentioned as being present on the occasion to which I have alludedcharacters seldom met with in that gay country. Mr. and Mrs. H. had passed the greater part of their lives in India, and were singularly attached to the country in which they had acquired a competent share of wealth, with little injury to their originally Scottish constitutions. Being childless, and having no particular

inducements to return to their native land, they had purchased or built a cool bungalow in the neighbourhood of Poonah, and lived not for themselves alone, but for the poor benighted heathen around them; devoting to their advantage, as I afterwards learned, certain days in every week, and a large portion of an honourably acquired fortune. These worthy people had resisted or avoided the temptations into which so many fall in the early part of their Indian career, and had passed unscathed through the fire. It were little to say of them that they were regular in their habits, strictly honourable in their engagements, and above the folly of attempting to outshine others, at the expense of living beyond their own means. They were, in fact, Christians, not only in name but in reality; and, as such, pursued the even tenor of their way, with one fixed purpose in view-the attainment of that rest which remaineth for the people of God.They cared little for the scoffs and sneers of the world, by whom they were regarded as enthusiasts and missionary-bit fanatics; and were ever ready to return good for evil. The broken-down officer, who, in his days of prosperity, had cut them as not being persons of ton, found a shelter under their hospitable roof; and the gay and thoughtless cadet, who once had laughed at their wise saws and Scottish proverbs, lived to thank them for snatching him from early destruction, and to acknowledge them the instruments of his advancement to situations of honour and usefulness. In company, these excellent persons

were extremely cheerful; retaining, however, a little of the stiffness and formality of the old English school of manners. The good lady's dress, too, exhibited the fashions of a bygone age; and her husband's conversation turned much upon occurrences scarcely remembered by the present generation. He spoke of railways, as of something, the consequences of which it was difficult to fathom; and feared, not altogether, perhaps, without reason, that in a few years they would quite change the character of his countrymen, and give them a dangerous taste for pleasuring, and spending their Sundays and holidays in the French metropolis. He remembered the arrival of the Marquis of Cornwallis in India, and had been at the first party given by Lord George Bentinck, when all the native gentry were first invited to meet the English officers, and were placed upon a proper footing in society, with the Londoners of Leadenhall Street.During the very agreeable evening which I passed in the society of these excellent persons, it was proposed, that as there were several persons present who did not reside in Bombay, and who had seen little of the charming scenery in its neighbourhood, we should arrange a pic-nic party for the morrow; and the Island of Elephanta was at length fixed upon as the place to be visited. We separated, therefore, with the understanding, that we should meet at seven on the following morning, at the Apollo Bunda, where a fine boat, well secured from the sun, was to be engaged.

By gun-fire, the next day, I was up and ready.

P

The morning was lovely; but this, by-the-bye, is an unnecessary and truly English observation, and one which I was heartily laughed at for making, on meeting a friend in India-all mornings being lovely there. On the present occasion, the gardens and compounds were refreshed by the heavy night-dews, and the fierce sun had not yet scorched the face of nature. The wild gourd still spread out its broad leaves over the natives' huts; and the grape-leafed castor-oil tree, laden with crimson clumps of spiny seed-vessels, appeared to be greener than ever; and the cloudless sky was reflected from its azure depth upon the bosom of a flowing tide, which came stealing onward, in gentle ripples, towards the shore. Groups of children were scampering about naked in the water, and allowing the waves to roll over them, as they swam out into the sea, and floated back again, to coax their swarthy little companions, who were splashing each other, to venture out further into the deliciously cool element. Through the opening in my tent, made to admit at pleasure the grateful breeze of the morning, I could command the view across Back Bay as far as Malabar-point, where, as I observed, a flag was floating in the grounds attached to the residence of the Governor of Bombay, who had given a sumptuous entertainment on the previous evening, and the returning carriages of whose guests had disturbed me during the night. Perched upon a piece of rock not yet covered by the advancing tide, a party of oyster-catchers were pluming their feathers,