These palanquins being painted black, looked like so many stretchers carrying corpses to the churchyard or patients to the hospital.
On the road to the town, I was particularly struck with the magnificent gauths (piazzas), situated on the banks of the Hoogly, and from which broad flights of steps lead down to the river.
Before these gauths are numerous pleasure and other boats.
The most magnificent palaces lay around in the midst of splendid gardens, into one of which the palanquin-bearers turned, and set me down under a handsome portico before the house of Herr Heilgers, to whom I had brought letters of recommendation.

The young and amiable mistress of the house greeted me as a countrywoman (she was from the north and I from the south of Germany), and received me most cordially.

I was lodged with Indian luxury, having a drawing-room, a bed-room, and a bath-room especially assigned to me.
I happened to arrive in Calcutta at the most unfavourable period possible.

Three years of unfruitfulness through almost the whole of Europe had been followed by a commercial crisis, which threatened the town with entire destruction.

Every mail from Europe brought intelligence of some failure, in which the richest firms here were involved.