We left the post-dock, and were carried in palanquins to the hotel, about a mile further on.  When we arrived there, we found it so occupied by some officers of a regiment on the march, that my travelling companion was received only upon condition that he would content himself with a place in the public-room.  In these circumstances, nothing remained for me but to make use of my letter of introduction to Dr. Angus.

My arrival placed the good old gentleman in no little embarrassment:  his house was also already filled with travellers.  His sister, Mrs. Spencer, however, with great kindness, at once offered me half of her own sleeping apartment.

Allahabad has 25,000 inhabitants.  It lies partly upon the Jumna (Deschumna), partly on the Ganges.  It is not one of the largest and handsomest, although it is one of the sacred towns, and is visited by many pilgrims.  The Europeans reside in handsome garden-houses outside the town.

Among the objects of interest, the fortress with the palace is the most remarkable.  It was built during the reign of the Sultan Akbar.  It is situated at the junction of the Jumna with the Ganges.

The fortress has been much strengthened with new works by the English.  It serves now as the principal depot of arms in British India.

The palace is a rather ordinary building; only a few of the saloons are remarkable for their interior division.  There are some which are intersected by three rows of columns, forming three adjoining arcades.  In others, a few steps lead into small apartments which are situated in the saloon itself, and resemble large private boxes in theatres.

The palace is now employed as an armoury.  It contains complete arms for 40,000 men, and there is also a quantity of heavy ordnance.

In one of the courts stands a metal column thirty-six feet high, called Feroze-Schachs-Laht, which is very well preserved, is covered with inscriptions, and is surmounted by a lion.

A second curiosity in the fort is a small unimportant temple, now much dilapidated, which is considered as very sacred by the Hindoos.  To their great sorrow they are not allowed to visit it, as the fort is not open to them.  One of the officers told me that, a short time since, a very rich Hindoo made a pilgrimage here, and offered the commandant of the fortress 20,000 rupees (2,000 pounds) to allow him to make his devotions in this temple.  The commandant could not permit it.

This fortress also has its tradition:—­“When the Sultan Akbar commenced building it, every wall immediately fell in.  An oracle said that he would not succeed in its erection before a man voluntarily offered himself as a sacrifice.  Such an one presented himself, and made only one condition, that the fortress and town should bear his name.  The man was called Brog, and the town is, even at this time, more frequently called Brog by the Hindoos than Allahabad.”