here a state-bedstead, which was said to have belonged to George the Fourth, as part of the furniture of the Pavilion at Brighton. It had been sent out, in the hope that its costly gilding and ornaments might tempt some of the wealthy natives to purchase it; but I suspect it has never been sold. The adventures of that bedstead, if one could have truthfully investigated them, must have been rather curious. There was a moral conveyed in its history, on the instability of all human greatness. "Sic transit gloria mundi." The bazaars are distinguished by name, as, the Borahs, the China, the Parsee, &c. &c. The Borahs bazaar is occupied by a class of men I shall have occasion, as I proceed in my sketches, to allude to again in the character of travelling hawkers, so I will not particularize them here, though they resemble the second-hand furniture brokers in London, and their shops display the same endless variety of odds and ends, new and old.

The China bazaar is filled with goods manufactured in that industrious country. Here you may purchase the beautiful feather-screens; punkahs of all shapes and sizes; carved ivory-work in chessmen, backgammon-boxes, netting-cases, card-cases; grass-cloth kerchiefs, rich silks and satins, vases, chimney-piece ornaments, and the familiar little cups and saucers, and teapots, so highly valued by china-loving ladies. There are also found here camphor-wood trunks, so useful to preserve furs, clothing, and books, from insects, and in particular from the white ants, so

destructive, in this country to this sort of property. In the Parsees you meet with London, French, and American goods, and all those nicknacks which ladies require; besides articles of Bombay workmanshipparticularly the richly inlaid work-boxes, desks, and dressing-cases, which are so justly admired by Europeans; kincob, or gold cloth, so much worn by the rich native children; and the rich Indian muslins. There are one or two good markets in the Fort for the sale of butchers' meat, fish, vegetables, and poultry. Oysters are found in great numbers upon the coast, as well as prawns, and other marine delicacies. Everything in the shape of food is very cheap; and, with care, a single man may live most comfortably on £100 a-year. A dreadful system of extravagant rivalry is, however, carried on amongst the residents at Bombay, many of whom are thus led into the wretched folly of living beyond their means. Young officers, cadets, and writers are gradually affected by the prevailing epidemic; and many become so seriously involved in debt and difficulties, as to be unable to leave the country, which has been their ruin, or ever to get out of the clutches of the money-lending natives. Some of the streets in the new town are exclusively inhabited by castes who work at the same trade. In one may be seen the workmen in brass and copper, which department of trade generally embraces the manufacture of cooking-pans, drinking-vessels, tripod-lamps, and such articles of domestic use; for all these things are made

of copper or brass in Bombay, and hammered out to the proper size and shape by manual labour. Every poor native carries with him one of these brass drinking-vessels, or chattees when he leaves home of a morning. The design of these chattees for holding water, and lifting it out of the tanks, reminded me of the earthen and bronze vases found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The mode of drinking among the Hindoos is curious. They never allow the vessel to touch their lips, but, holding the head well back, they pour the fluid from a moderate height into the open mouth; and this, practice has enabled them to do, with perfect ease and convenience. For my own part, I never attempted this feat without imminent danger of choking. I was often surprised, that they should drink in this way, as they are usually very cautious about opening their mouths wide, lest the evil one should enter. The most ordinary actions of this singular people, are, with them, religious rites; it would be vain to attempt to describe one half of the religious ceremonies which they practise during every waking hour of their lives. In another street or bazaar you see the palanquin builders, common house joiners, and cabinetmakers, and so on. Indeed, if a person felt disposed to extend his knowledge of such arts, he might here obtain cheap lessons in inlaying, carving, gilding, dying, and embroidery, in all their branches.

As the Hindoos invariably follow, as a religious duty, the profession of their forefathers-which profession has been handed down to them, but little

changed by modern improvements, from one generation to another, they have no secrets in their trade. The tools with which they work are few, and extremely simple in their design and construction; and they always sit in the well-known Oriental posture their feet being educated to assist their hands in almost every labour which they undertake. I have often gained both amusement and instruction, from observing the important offices which Hindoo feet perform. The joiner seizes the plank between the soles of his feet, and there holds it firmly, till he has planed it so as to make it suit his purpose. A Hindoo workman has two sets of fingers, and such a command has he over those of the feet, that he can lift from the ground, and bring towards his hands, almost any articles of a light nature. Practice has given the natives of the East a control which we do not possess over the muscles generally; and the freedom with which their articulations work, surprises the stiffmade European. The hands of the Hindoos are small, and beautifully formed, and there is an easy grace about all their movements. The Chinese, in my opinion, do not surpass the Hindoos in the art of inlaying. In this work they proceed as follows:they first, with great neatness, make a box of scented sandal-wood, which grows on the Malabar coast, and which is an expensive wood, and sold by weight in Bombay. The pieces, before they are put together, are sawn with a fine instrument, exactly to fit each into its place; as, this wood is so very brittle in

India, it cannot well be planed. Silver hinges and a silver lock are then put on, as steel or iron rusts so as to be unfit for use: even keys here, worn in the pocket, rust. Having so far proceeded in their work, they cut or saw out, from stained pieces of ivory of all colours, a number of minute pieces, in the shape of octagons, triangles, &c.; and nearly an equal number from thin pieces of virgin silver. They then roughly sketch, on the lid and sides of the box, the design intended to be worked; and having everything in readiness, they cover a small portion of the wood with a strong kind of glue, which does not dry quickly; the coloured ivory and silver plates being disposed according to pattern, or as the taste of the workman may direct. So small are some of the pieces, that one hundred, or more, would lie on a square inch when the work is quite finished, and the glue sufficiently dry, they level the whole with fine glass-paper, and afterwards polish it; the necessary holes in the sandal-wood are pierced by means of a bow-string-pricker, as this hard wood would fly to pieces if pierced in any other way. Equally expert are some of the natives in carving and chasing, in wood and metal, beautiful figures of birds, beasts, and flowers-using a rude little instrument, about two inches long, not unlike a common nail. They carve in ivory but indifferently. The Potdars, or moneychangers, take up their position at the corners of the streets, with their little tables before them, ready to transact business at a moment's notice. If you want