s made up of fine public buildings, sumptuous dwellings, and low
hovels, not mingled indiscriminately, as is often seen in European
cities, each class being found clustering in its special locality. In
Florence, Rome, or Naples, a half-starved cobbler will be found
occupying a stall beneath a palace; but though poverty and riches jostle
each other everywhere, the lines of demarcation are more clearly defined
in Bombay than elsewhere. A drive along the picturesque shore of the
Arabian Sea is an experience never to be forgotten. It will be sure to
recall to the traveller the beautiful environs of Genoa, with those
winding, rock-cut roads overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Here the
roads are admirably cool and half-embowered in foliage, among which the
crimson sagittaria flaunting its fiery leaves and ponderous blossoms,
everywhere meets the eye. About the fine villas which are set back a
short distance from the roads, delightful gardens of choice flowers are
seen, comprising an abundance of tropical plants, tall palms lining the
drive-ways up to the houses, where the merchant princes dwell. Most of
these are the residences of the Parsees, who in spite of their bigotry
and their adherence to ancient superstitions, know how to make their
homes beautiful.

In leaving India, a few thoughts naturally suggest themselves. Its
history runs back through thousands of years and remotest dynasties,
captivating the fancy with numberless ruins, which, while attesting the
splendor of their prime, form also the only record of their history. The
mosaic character of its population, the peculiarities of its animal
kingdom, the luxuriance of its vegetation, the dazzling beauty of its
birds and flowers, all crowd upon the memory in charming kaleidoscopic
combinations. There can be no doubt of the early grandeur and high
civilization of India. To the intellectual eminence of her people we owe
the germs of science, philosophy, law, and astronomy. The most perfect
of all tongues, the Sanskrit, has been the parent of many others, and
now that her lustre has faded, and her children fallen into a condition
of sloth and superstition, let us, at least, do her historic justice.
Nor should we neglect to heed the lesson she so clearly presents;
namely, that nations, like individuals, are subject to the unvarying
laws of mutability.

The government of India is a military despotism, England maintaining her
rule by force alone over a foreign people number