he runner has his place on a step behind the carriage, and
it is his duty to jump off and run in front to clear the way whenever it
may be necessary.

We start from the Great Eastern hotel, where I first resided, down a
long street called Chowringhee road, which is two miles long and very
broad, and lined on the east side by English residences built of stone.
Every mansion stands in a large garden full of tropical trees and
plants, and surrounded by a stone wall five feet high. There are wide
double gates for carriage drives, and at these gates the durwan (gate or
doorkeeper) sits the whole day long. On the west side of the street runs
a double street-car track, and beyond this is an immense common parade
or pleasure ground, the Maidan, which extends to the Hoogley, a branch
of the Ganges. On the west side it is bounded by the Strand, and on all
other sides by a macadamized road about one hundred and fifty feet wide
and planted with large, shady trees on either side. The east side of
this road is already described. On the north side, from the river to
Chowringhee road, between Eden Garden and the palace, it is called the
Esplanade. Another hundred-foot-wide road runs south from the palace,
and divides the ground into halves. This is called the Red road because
it is macadamized with crushed red brick. From the Red road opposite
Fort William another great road runs to Chowringhee road. A great number
of foot-paths cross each other in all directions, and in the evening
these are crowded with people in oriental costumes going to their homes
in the suburbs.

Here and there are statues erected to the honor of prominent English
generals and statesmen, and certain parts of the grounds are also
dotted with small groups of palms and other tropical trees. All these
trees and plants are different from those growing in the North. Most of
them have very broad and thick leaves, nearly all of them bear beautiful
flowers, and many of them fruits. They are green the whole year round.
In the north-east corner of the grounds is a garden of about forty acres
which is called Eden. It is exceedingly beautiful and contains a great
variety of trees and flowers, an Indian pagoda, lakes, canals and
bridges, and thousands of birds enjoying an almost undisturbed
existence, and singing and twittering among the trees and flowers. Eden
Garden is surrounded by a low brick wall with several gates, the widest
of which is the one next to the Strand. Ins