India is in some respects the most difficult country in the world to understand. One thinks of it at times as one great nation, governed, it is true, by England, but still constituting one homogeneous people. Nothing is further from the truth. It is a vast conglomeration of principalities and races, in some instances as different from each other as is France from Germany. The natives do not even speak a common tongue. There are in India no less than two hundred distinct dialects, each unintelligible to speakers of any of the others; while, as if this were not enough, the people of the same community are subdivided into castes which will not even eat with one another. And how appalling is their number - three hundred millions, - nearly one-fifth of the entire race, and double the population of the Roman Empire when its extent was greatest! The amount of territory occupied by these millions is enormous. The province of Lower Bengal is as large as France; that of Madras exceeds Great Britain and Ireland; that of Bombay equals Germany in area; and the size of the Punjab rivals that of Italy.

A Mohammedan.

To comprehend the heterogeneous mass inhabiting India appears at first as difficult as to explore an Indian jungle; but there is one trusty clue to guide us through the labyrinth,- Religion. This will explain to us the customs of that land as nothing else can; for all these millions are so superstitious and fanatical that feelings of incredible intensity control their conduct from the cradle to the grave. After Hinduism, the second great religion which prevails in India is Mohammedanism. Nineteen out of every twenty people in India are either Hindus or Mohammedans. Victoria, Empress of India, has more Moslem subjects than the Sultan himself. There are no less than fifty-seven millions of them, or more than the entire Japanese nation. Their wealth and power, it is true, have largely disappeared; but in the places where the Moslem crescent reached the zenith of its glory their splendid architectural remains rival in elegance and grace the finest forms of Gothic or of Grecian art, and in themselves repay a journey around the world.

The Hugli River.

The gateway to India on its eastern coast is Calcutta, the rival of Bombay. As we approached it, the multitude of ships and steamers on the river Hugh exceeded anything that I had ever seen. For several miles we sailed past vessels of the largest size, frequently anchored five abreast. I was informed that one of these ships had just brought from England a hundred and twenty tons of gin and forty tons of Bibles. If this proportion is maintained on all of them, we may discover why the advent here of Christian nations is not regarded by the natives as an unmixed blessing. It is, however, probable that the gin is chiefly intended for the Europeans, while the poor heathen have to take the Bibles.

Unlike most Indian cities, Calcutta offers very little of historic interest. Two hundred years ago it was a cluster of mud huts. To-day, by reason of some handsome structures, such as its Post-office, it is proudly called the "City of Palaces." Unfortunately, however, hovels are still so numerous that I believe no other town in India reveals in such immediate contrast the two extremes of British wealth and native degradation. In what may be called Anglicized Calcutta are broad streets lined with statues and imposing buildings. The latter, being constructed of brick covered with painted stucco, are as a rule inferior to the public edifices of' Bombay which are built of stone; nevertheless their size often renders them quite palatial in appearance.

A Native Palace.

The favorite promenade of Calcutta, known as Maidan, extends for more than two miles on the river-bank, and is as level as a parlor floor. Broad carriage-roads wind over it between expanses of soft turf and through a multitude of tropical plants. During the day its famous driveways are almost deserted. For while the sun retains it in his fiery grasp all Europeans shun it like a heated oven.

On The Maidan.