n, palace, furniture, jewels,
soldiers, elephants, courtiers, and idols, he depicts in a letter,
intended for family perusal, with a minuteness that would qualify him
for an Anglo-Indian Richardson. By the evening of the 24th June he was
once more on the road; and, about noon on the following day, he began
to ascend the Neilgherries, through scenery which, for the benefit of
readers who had never seen the Pyrenees or the Italian slopes of
an Alpine pass, he likened to "the vegetation of Windsor Forest, or
Blenheim, spread over the mountains of Cumberland." After reaching
the summit of the table-land, he passed through a wilderness where for
eighteen miles together he met nothing more human than a monkey, until
a turn of the road disclosed the pleasant surprise of an amphitheatre
of green hills encircling a small lake, whose banks were dotted with
red-tiled cottages surrounding a pretty Gothic church. The whole station
presented "very much the look of a rising English watering-place. The
largest house is occupied by the Governor-General. It is a spacious
and handsome building of stone. To this I was carried, and immediately
ushered into his Lordship's presence. I found him sitting by a fire in a
carpeted library. He received me with the greatest kindness, frankness,
and hospitality. He is, as far as I can yet judge, all that I
have heard; that is to say, rectitude, openness, and good-nature,
personified." Many months of close friendship and common labours did
but confirm Macaulay in this first view of Lord William Bentinck. His
estimate of that singularly noble character survives in the closing
sentence of the essay on Lord Clive; and is inscribed on the base of
the statue which, standing in front of the Town Hall may be seen far
and wide over the great expanse of grass that serves as the park, the
parade-ground, and the race-course of Calcutta.

To Thomas Flower Ellis.

Ootacamund: July 1, 1834.

Dear Ellis,--You need not get your map to see where Ootacamund is; for
it has not found its way into the maps. It is a new discovery; a place
to which Europeans resort for their health, or, as it is called by the
Company's servants--blessings on their learning,--a _sanaterion_. It
lies at the height of 7,000 feet above the sea.

While London is a perfect gridiron, here am I, at 13 degrees North from
the equator, by a blazing wood fire, with my windows closed. My bed is
heaped with blankets, and my black servants are coughin