mains of ancient carving over some miserable abode where half-dressed natives were standing, fixing on us a dull stupid gaze as we passed. What we saw gave us a far from pleasant impression of a Hindoo city, and when the Hindoo gentleman who had kindly arranged for our comfort pressed me to stay there a few days on my return, I certainly did not feel any anxiety to accept the invitation. Little did I anticipate how much of progress I should find in the midst of what appeared very unpromising at Surat.

Nothing of peculiar interest presented itself on this second day's journey; indeed, if there had been much to observe, we should hardly have noticed it, so intent were the two friends who had long been separated on giving and receiving news from each other-so glad was I to learn from my young friend the assistant-judge everything about his present position, and of what he thought was wanting for India. He informed us that on his return to his own city, Calcutta, about two years before, after having passed his examination for the Civil Service, he was received with the greatest honour by his countrymen; indeed, his success was regarded by them as a national triumph. He was appointed by the Government to the Bombay Presidency, and he determined to take with him his young bride, to whom he had been long betrothed. Having witnessed in England the comfort and happiness of our domestic life, and perceiving the immense benefits resulting to society from the elevation of women, he resolved to depart entirely from the customs of his country-which impose strict seclusion on ladies of position, and oblige them to treat their husbands with a deference bordering on servility-and to regard his wife in every respect as an equal. Staying for some months at Bombay before

proceeding to his destination, his bride had been most kindly received, and gradually introduced into the customs of English society. The change was indeed great to her from the seclusion of the zenana to the freedom of our life, but she had shown herself equal to it, under the protection of her husband. When settled at Ahmedabad, she again met with English ladies, who took a generous pleasure in bringing forward their young Eastern sister; and intercourse with them was facilitated by her having become sufficiently acquainted with English for ordinary purposes, through the sedulous instructions of her husband. They were fortunate in being at Ahmedabad in the midst of a native society considerably advanced in ideas on the subject of female elevation, so that they had not the immense difficulties. to encounter which would have beset them had they remained at Calcutta. On one occasion, indeed, they gave an entertainment to English and native gentlemen and ladies, a brilliant account of which appeared in the local newspapers. How much moral courage all this must have required I did not fully know until after I had visited Calcutta. We heard also from our friend that he had an important case in hand-a gang of thirty-two men and boys who had been roving the country stealing, and who, after many remands by the magistrates, owing to the difficulty of obtaining reliable evidence, were now on trial. We wished much to see him in his new dignity. The time thus passed rapidly as we travelled through a rich and beautiful country, revived by the recent rains. There was no place of refreshment during the whole journey, so we were thankful that we had been liberally supplied with provisions. at the Government bungalow, and that our friend had also brought his contribution, a custom which appears

general and necessary in railway travelling in India. We were, however, unpleasantly reminded of being in a tropical region by the rapidity with which sandwiches became uneatable, and sweet cakes were made the abode of a colony of ants. We found some compensation in the fruit of the banana or plantain, a most valuable article of food in India, very plentiful, cheap, nutritious, and refreshing; it is equally acceptable to rich and poor, and is prized by all. Those who know it only as procured in English fruit-shops can little appreciate its real excellence.

At length, as evening advanced, we perceived that we were approaching a city, and drove into the station at Ahmedabad, the termination of this line of rail. As this is the capital of an extensive cotton district, the place was very crowded, and the scene of many greetings and much bustle; but our friend soon perceived his carriage waiting for us, and having put our luggage into his bullock-cart to follow, we drove off, all highly gratified that this long-expected visit was now actually to be accomplished. There were many interesting objects on our way, but they did not attract much attention from us; we were anxious to see his Eastern home, and the lady who was at the head of it. At length we passed through a large wooded compound to a handsome-looking house with a portico, and were introduced to drawing-rooms fitted up in English style, where Mrs. Tagore kindly received us, and led Miss C. and myself to our apartments, which she had taken pains to arrange so as to promote our comfort. When dinner was announced she conducted us in, doing her part as hostess admirably.

The table was spread as in an English gentleman's house, and, except the presence of Hindoo servants, there was little to remind me that I was separated from

my native land by nearly a whole hemisphere. There was even less to make me realise the idea, as we were conversing with animation in English round the hospitable table, that I was the only individual there of Saxon race, that the young lady with me, to whom English had become more familiar than her own language, and who was a Christian, was the daughter of a Coolin Brahmin, one of the highest and most exclusive of sects,—and that my other friends, who had not embraced Christianity, were of the ancient unmixed races of Hindoos who had, without renouncing their nationality, broken through the bonds imposed by ancient custom, and were anxious to bring Western civilisation into their own country. This meeting was a happy one to all of us, and we felt it to be an omen that we should realise long-cherished hopes and aspirations.

CHAPTER II.

AHMEDABAD AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.

THE city of Ahmedabad is said to have been founded A.D. 1412 by the Sultan Ahmed Shah, as the capital of the then rich empire of Guzerat, and he named it after himself. Ancient Hindoo capitals supplied materials for raising many of the structures of the new city. It was built along the river Sabarmati, which forms the base of a city of semicircular form. It remained a powerful place under various rulers, until in the eighteenth century the Marathas obtained possession of it. In 1780 the English stormed and seized it. Afterwards it was restored to the Marathas, and remained in their hands until 1818, when, on the fall of the Peishwa, it finally reverted to the British. The city is surrounded by a substantial wall, averaging fifteen feet in height and five in thickness, which is more than five miles in length. There are bastions at almost every fifty paces and eighteen gates. The walls are in substantial repair, for in 1832 the municipal authorities levied a special tax for their thorough restoration.

Three centuries of Mahometan rule left many traces of grandeur in the architecture of the city; the splendid tombs and mosques, built with much richness of detail and often beauty of design, show that it was once inhabited by a very superior race. But great devastations are evident everywhere, and the general appearance of