spoke too lightly of a situation which alarmed every body, he said, in a tone I shall never forget, Would you have me kill the poor boy with melancholy?' for he saw how pale I was, and thought I had gone out of the room. I had slunk behind the cortain, half killed already with his good humour. Finding that I was there, he begged us to retire a little, saying he would sleep. His servant alone stayed behind. The moment he heard us shut the door, he blessed me, and expired. The tears pour down my cheeks."

The character of the present representative of the Honeycombs, I shall leave the reader to gather for himself. He will probably be better acquainted with it than I am. I had two sisters who died in childhood. When I saw my father laid by the side of them and their mother in their last earthly home, my own home appeared none for me. I left it and made the grand tour, from which I have but lately returned. I have also been as far north as Petersburgh, and am acquainted with some curious circumstances relative to the court there, and the history of the late emperor. I stayed in most places a good while, and became more intimate with manners and customs than is usual. My greatest passion is for poetry and romance; but there is one thing in my character, which is peculiar to me above all other Honeycombs, and which I find a great substitute for the want of other goods and superiorities which they possessed; and that is, that if the poetical tendency did not incline me upon the whole into shady places, and bowers, where I can dream of enchantment, I should scarcely know which I enjoyed most, the country or the town. Bond-street and the woods of Buckinghamshire, Covent Garden and the gardens of the East, the solitudes of Spenser and Milton, and the tea-tables and coffee-houses of Pope and Addison,-behold me scarcely knowing to which of them I return the happier.

But enough of myself for the present. I will only add, that my face not being familiar to the town, nor my name either, (in consequence of my long stay abroad, and of the latter quietness of the Honeycombs,) it is my intention, especially as I have disclosed the name, to keep myself as little personally known as possible. If I get any credit by my writings, I shall be content enough with it, as I am. If otherwise, I had better remain so.

You are aware, sir, that the Journal thus introduced to the public, is not a mere journal; not a book of scraps and daily occurrences, but a collection of all sorts of writing; memoirs, verses, translations, adventures mirthful and pathetic, stories both true and imaginary, criticism, anecdote, &c. with a variety of essays on men and manners; which is a department, I fear, I shall be much tempted to increase. But I shall draw as much as possible on my predecessors. Sometimes my father will have an article for me, sometimes my grandfather, sometimes my wild ancestor Dick and I shall endeavour to make every number I send you contain two or three different ones, for the sake of variety. We have all written more or less (Heavens! what a generation of authors did the nunnery-opener produce !), the ladies not excepted. My grandfather says, that if we had had a dumb one in the family, she would have been the greatest contributor of any. The others, he pretends, had not time enough to write and talk too. But I must observe, that my grandfather, good fellow as he was, dealt more in sarcasm than any

of us. Gentle great-aunt Jemima! he had no right to talk so-had he? -seeing that thou thyself, his sister, with all thy leisure for meditation, and even his provocations to boot, hast scarcely obliged us with a dozen pages of thine own. Much transcription is there from others in thy gentle hand, from poetical friends (female ones, I guess), from Bishop Barrow, and Archbishop Tillotson, excellent reasoning people; and even from seraphic Jeremy Taylor, who did not do thee too much good, I fear, on this side the stars. But thy wild cousin, Betty Honeycomb, has left memorials of thee after thy decease; for which I love her. Other ladies lurk here and there, with a sly article in a corner. Sometimes, I must own, it is no better than a receipt for a rheumatism or a college-pudding. In James's time, there is a long disquisition on yellow ruffs and the death of Mrs. Turner. In Elizabeth's reign, the ladies are most romantic; in Anne's and the first George's, the most sprightly. I hardly know how I could extract some of the gay things which one of the giddy creatures above-mentioned, Betty Honeycomb of the Dorset branch, ventures to send up to town From the Bath.' Yet my grandmother sets it all down. Dear Betty! She was lucky enough to marry an honest man, as gay and good-humoured as herself; or it might have gone hard with her. She had a great regard for my grandmother, who she thought (and indeed not without reason, considering the letters) could be as lively as any body, when she had a mind; "only," said she, "Lucy, you have the grace to make it doubly as gay as I do, by not giggling with every foolish fellow. Ah, my dear, (and here," says the Journal," she heaved a sigh,) You are in the right for then, you know, you are never suspected of being wicked except where you ought to be; which is a great thing, and what makes life so respectable."-"This is the way," says the Journal," in which Betty runs on. Poor sou!! George Harvey got hold of something she said; and out of spite, pretended to look sorry; which has sadly put her out. He! the coxcomb :—who thinks all women his humble servants till they refuse him, and hypocrites when they do."

But I am beginning my extracts before my time.

Allow me, Sir, if I am not trespassing too much on the laws of the mascherata, to subscribe myself, in gratitude for more than one publication, Your obliged and obedient servant,

HARRY HONEYCOMB.

SKETCHES OF INDIA.NO. 11.

Ar a considerable distance further down the river Ghoomtee, is situated the Dowlut Khaneh, a palace comprising a large extent of building, partly altered from, and partly rebuilt upon the site of a palace of Asoph u Dowlah, by his successor Saadut Allee. It comprised originally an extensive suite of apartments in the Native style, fitted up with every possible convenience, and calculated for the enjoyment of every Eastern luxury. There was a succession of courts and parterres, watered by tanks and fountains, and abounding with all the fruits and flowers most prized in the East; and summer-houses built of marble were placed among them, in which their inhabitants might sit to enjoy the refreshing airs of evening. An extensive range of baths, constructed of marble and adorned with mosaic work in coloured stones, was ever kept ready for use. And here the founder of this luxurious dwelling used most frequently to hold his revels. Saadut Allee, who affected every thing English, perhaps in flattery or gratitude to those who placed him on the musnud, transformed the greater part of this palace into a house upon the European plan, in which there are several large and comfortable rooms, and an excellent range of kitchens. A portion of the Native suite of apartments is still retained as they were, and the baths are kept constantly hot and ready for use. It appears, however, that in the present reign the palace has been neglected; and part has even been dilapidated, and the materials applied to other purposes. Among other things, a beautiful Baruh Durree, or pleasurehouse, of white marble, has been pulled down to form a part of the childish and fantastic fabrics which his Majesty takes pleasure in erecting.

In this palace are several good pictures by Zoffani and other eminent artists. Among them, the original of a well-known print, representing a cock-fight held at the house of Col. Mordaunt, then resident at Lucnow, at which were present Asoph u Dowlah, with many of his court, and most of the English then at Lucnow. The fat flabby person of tha Nawaub is represented in a light muslin shirt and drawers, with a little skull-cap on his head, in the centre of the room, having in his eagerness risen from the musnud on which he had been seated, and in the act of offering a bet with Col. Mordaunt on a cock then upon the boards. The expression of the Nawaub is admirable, an: the likenesses both of his attendants and of the Englishmen present, who are all eagerly engaged in the amusement of the pit, are said to have been excellent. Zoffani had made his sketch of this picture as he came warm from the scene, and completed it while yet fresh in his memory; but it was like to have been his ruin, for the Nawaub hearing of it desired to see it, and was very ill pleased to see himself represented in so unbecoming an attitude: he, however, contented himself with ordering that it might be destroyed, which Zoffani promised, but carefully abstained from performing, and as carefully concealed the obnoxious morceau till after the death of his master. His successor was less fastidious; and the picture, after being engraved, has been carefully preserved ever since. There is likewise in the same place an excellent full-length por trait of Sirjah u Dowlah, in whose countenance there is much of lofty mind and high command.

Two old palaces, one the Houssam Bagh, and another of which I have forgot the name, the residence of Sadut Allee's Begum and Zenanah, form interesting objects in the course of a ride from the residency to the old bridge, which is itself a fine structure: there are attached to these a suite of apartments, with a Baruh Durree, and a large set of baths, remarkable for being built of stone, instead of brick, like every other edifice in Lucnow. The baths are handsomely ornamented with mosaic work or marble, and the floor of one is laid of red porphyry; the whole, however, is in a sad state of disrepair.

The masses of remarkable buildings in this part of the town, with their groups of gilt cupolas, lofty minarets, and mosques perched on commanding eminences, form a succession of views extremely imposing *and characteristic; nor is that which is obtained from the top of the bridge less striking, when the eye wanders over the same maze of Saracenic domes and turrets reflected tremblingly in the slow majestic current of the river, till it rests upon the long range and arcaded walls of the Dowlut Khaneh. In truth, the cluster of buildings, of which we have now to speak, are of themselves sufficient to rivet all the attention of a stranger possessed of any taste. These consist of the Great Mosque, the Imaum Baruh, and the Chaudnee Chowk, with the Roomee Durwazeh. The mosque is of great size, adorned with three domes, and two lofty minarets of a light and elegant model, and built upon a raised terrace, so that the elevation of the court before it is much greater than that of the external ground. Close to it is the Imaum Baruh, erected upon the same terrace, and containing a prodigious arcaded hall, constructed without a bit of wood, in which the inhabitants of the Mahomedan faith celebrate the Mohurrum: the tombs of Asoph u Dowlah and his Begum are in this place, still unfinished, but covered with rich brocaded cloth; incense and perfumes are constantly burnt before them, and many persons are as continually kept reading the Koran in the apartment near them. The Chaudnee Chowk is a broad market-place of considerable size, in which are erected booths for the sale of goods, and having at each end a lofty gateway, that to the West being built after the model of one at Constantinople, from whence it has obtained the name of Roomee Durwazeh: it is indeed a singularly rich and unique piece of architecture. The chief entrance to the great mosque is on the Southern side of this Chowk, a magnificent archway in a lofty screen with an extent of arcaded wall, and octagonal towers at either side. Opposite, to the North, a similar blind archway and wall answers to that, and completes the uniformity. The whole of these buildings are decorated with a profusion of gilt domes, turrets, cupolas, balustrades, and similar ornaments, producing an effect of richness and magnificence resembling that experienced on looking at a fine specimen of the florid Gothic, mixed with the more fanciful Saracenic style; and they compose a group, which for taste, as well as magnitude, can be eqalled by few, if any modern works of the kind in India.

The late Nawaub, who resided chiefly in the more modern palaces built by himself, took great pains in laying out the quarter of the town nearest to them with regularity and beauty. He built a long street, extending in a straight line, for a considerable way, along the inclosure of his palace, having rows of small shops on each side for a certain dis

tance, and being divided into compartments, at intervals, by arched gateways. It is also bordered by many respectable buildings, chiefly connected with the palace or with government, as stables for elephants and camels, the riding-school, and still further on by houses built in the English style, many of which are inhabited by English gentlemen in the service of his Majesty; so that this part of the town has assumed a symmetrical appearance quite unusual to a Native city. This road is further continued to the palaces of Delgousha and Constantia.

Delgousha, or "the heart expanding," is one of the king's numerous country-houses, surrounded by a large park, in imitation of an English place. The house is large and well situated, near the river, and contains several good rooms, ornamented with rich furniture, and a profusion of pictures and engravings, some of which, and particularly the former, are by no means indifferent; but they are hung ill, and so high that they cannot be viewed with any comfort. The park possesses a pleasant variety of ground, and is well stocked with deer, antelopes, peacocks, partridge, and quail.

Constantia is a curiosity in its kind, perhaps as great as any in Lucnow: it was built by General Martine, a French gentleman in the service of the late Nawaub, and his predecessor Asoph u Dowlah.

Martine was a native of Lyons, and came to India as a private soldier, where he served under Count Lally, and from his own activity and merit, advanced rapidly to a considerable rank; but having been disgusted or alarmed at certain threats which his commander let fall in the course of a negotiation entrusted by him to Martine once during the siege of Pondicherry, he took the earliest opportunity of making his escape and throwing himself on the protection of Sir Eyre Coote, who, doubtless glad to obtain the services and information of a man who had been very confidentially employed by his enemy, received him with distinction, and soon procured him a commission in the English army, in which he rose rapidly to the rank of captain; after which his brevet rank was by special favour permitted to go on till he reached that of major-general.

He accompanied Sir Eyre Coote to Lucnow, where he soon was established in the service of Asoph u Dowlah; and being a very ingenious mechanic, as well as an excellent surveyor and general engineer, he made himself so useful to that prince, that he could do nothing without his assistance, and in a comparatively short time he accumulated a prodigious fortune. Among the last of his undertakings was the building of Constantia, which was a speculation (like most things he did) in the hope of effecting a sale of it at a great profit to Saadut Allee. The place perhaps did not, under Martine's superintendence, cost above four lacs of rupees, but he demanded twelve as its price; which was refused, and the old man was so indignant at what he termed the meanness of the Nawaub, that he swore it never should be an habitation for him, and gave directions that when he himself died, his remains should be deposited within it, thus converting it into a tomb, which alone would prevent any Mahometan from occupying it as a dwelling.

It soon became necessary to obey these directions: the general only lived to see his future tomb completed; he breakfasted in it one day only I believe, and was never after able to enter it. He died, and lies embalmed in a vault which he had constructed: it is said to contain