every language of the civilized world is to be heard, and the costumes and habits of every nation are to be seen.  The finest view of the whole island and town of Bombay, as well as the neighbouring islands of Salsette, Elephanta, Kolabeh, Caranjah, and the mainland, is to be had from the Malabar point.  The country, at some distance from the town, consists chiefly of low hills, which are covered with beautiful woods of cocoa-nut and date-trees; in the plain surrounding the town there are also many such groves divided into gardens by walls.  The natives are very fond of building their dwellings under the dark shadows of these trees; while, on the contrary, the Europeans seek for as much light and air as possible.  The country-houses of the latter are handsome and convenient, but not to be compared with those of Calcutta, either in size or magnificence.  The town lies on a level, along the sea-shore.

The active life of the rich inland and European commercial population must be sought for in the fortified parts of the town, which constitute a large quadrangle.  Here is to be found merchandise from all parts of the world.  The streets are handsome, the large square called The Green especially so.  The buildings most remarkable for their architectural beauty are the Town-hall, whose saloon has no equal, the English Church, the Governor’s Palace, and the Mint.

The Open Town and the Black Town {226} adjoin the fortified portions, and are considerably larger.  In the Open Town, the streets are very regular and broad, more so than any other Indian city that I saw; they are also carefully watered.  I observed many houses decorated with artistically-carved wooden pillars, capitals, and galleries.  The bazaar is an object of great interest; not, as many travellers affirm, on account of the richness of the merchandise, of which there is not more to be seen than in other bazaars—­in fact, there is not even any of the beautiful wood mosaic work of which Bombay produces the finest—­but from the diversity of people, which is greater here than anywhere else.  Three parts, indeed, are Hindoos, and the fourth Mahomedans, Persians, Fire-worshippers, Mahrattas, Jews, Arabs, Bedouins, Negroes, descendants of Portuguese, several hundred Europeans, and even some Chinese and Hottentots.  It requires a long time to be able to distinguish the people of the different nations by their dress and the formation of their faces.

The most wealthy among people owning property here are the Fire-worshippers, called also Gebers, or Parsees.  They were expelled from Persia about 1,200 years since, and settled down along the west coast of India.  As they are remarkably industrious and hard-working, very well disposed and benevolent, there are no poor, no beggars to be found among them—­all appear to be prosperous.  The handsome houses in which the Europeans reside mostly belong to them; they are the largest owners of land, ride out in the most beautiful carriages, and are surrounded by innumerable servants.  One of the richest of them—­Jamsetize-Jeejeebhoy—­built, at his own expense, a handsome hospital in the Gothic style, and provides European medical men and receives the sick of every religious denomination.  He was knighted by the English government, and is certainly the first Hindoo who could congratulate himself on such a distinction.