seen, either seated or on the wing; nor was even a chirp distinguishable above the dreamy hum of millions of mosquitoes floating about, in a calm so profound, that it seemed as if the surface of the water had never been disturbed since the Creation.  The air, though cool, felt so heavy and choky, that, by the time we had scrambled to the end of this strange tunnel or watery lane, we could scarcely breathe, and were rejoiced to enter the open air again,—­although, when we came out, the sun “flamed in the forehead of the morning sky,” and beat fiercely and hotly upon the parched ground, from which every blade of grass had been scorched away.

The village of Tamblegam, to which we soon came, is inhabited by a colony of Hindoo emigrants from the coast of Malabar.  It is a neat little place, of which the huts, formed chiefly of branches of the tamarind-tree and leaves of the plantain, standing under prodigiously high cocoa-nuts, are so very diminutive, that the whole looks more like a child’s toy-box village than the residence of grown people.  The principal edifice is a pagoda built of stone, exactly ten feet square.  Not fancying there could be any harm in taking such a liberty, we entered the pagoda unceremoniously, and one of our artists set to work sketching the bronze image which the natives worship as a deity, a figure not quite three inches in height; but the Hindoos were shocked at our impiety, and soon ousted the Admiral and his party.  Close by was a little tank or pool of water, beautifully spangled over with the leaves and flowers of the water-lily.  Here several groups of Indian girls had assembled to enjoy the coolness of the water in a style which we envied not a little.  Instead of plunging in and swimming about as with us, one person sits down, while others pour pitchers of water over the head.  We took notice also of one particularly interesting party of young damsels, who waded in till the water reached nearly to their breasts.  Each of these girls held in her hand a chatty, or water-pot, shaped somewhat like an Etruscan vase, the top of which barely showed itself above the level of the pool.  Upon a signal being given by one of the party, all the girls ducked out of sight, and at the same time raised their water-jars high in the air.  In the next instant, just as their heads began to re-appear above the surface, the vessels were simultaneously inclined so that the water might pour out gradually, and in such measure that by the time the bathers again stood erect, the inverted jars might be quite empty.  Nothing could be more graceful than the whole proceedings; and we sat in the shade of the pagoda looking at these water-nymphs for half-an-hour in great admiration.