“‘Greatly labouring for fearful apprehension that sudden non-appearance should dictate condemnation from the sensible benignity of your excellency’s reverence, and feeling in concatenation that explanation was indispensable, I have herewith the honour to inform you, that one of my family (now consisting of six children effective of various denominations) was recently solemnized in holy matrimony and adoptedly conducted according to prescribed rite and custom of native religion. This solemnization was carried into production my house in country by Boitacoolah T’hannah, wither in my patriarchal duty have repair for a few day. “‘According to last order of your reverence, have instruct to Gopee Nauth, of China Bazaar, to disperse to your quarter goods as per margin,[8] for which he expect the favour of early remittance. I have also passed to credit of master account 16 rupees 8 annas, leaving balance my favour 256 rupees 5 annas 3 pice, as per account enclosed. Trusting from this statement of explanation your honour not think me absent without leave, I have honour to be, with deep respect and consideration, “‘Your most obedient humble servant, “‘CHATTERMOHUN GHOSE, _Sircar_. “‘To his Exc. Ensign Gernon, South Bks.’” “Well,” said Marpeet, “that beats cock-fighting.” CHAPTER X. Two great sources of attraction to young men existed in Calcutta at the time of which I am now writing (upwards of twenty-five years ago), and do still exist, for anything I know to the contrary, Tulloh’s and other auction-rooms, and the China bazaar. At the former almost daily sales took place of every kind of property from a ship to a penknife, a rabbit to an elephant; in the latter, all the heterogeneous commodities of an American store were to be seen mingled pell-mell—raspberry jam, Milroy’s saddles, best pickles, regulation-swords, wall-shades, China dishes, hog-spears, Harvey’s sauce, &c.—of which, however, more anon. Catalogues of the various articles to be disposed of at the day’s sale at Tulloh’s are (or were) left daily at the houses in or near Calcutta, and made their appearance, regularly with the newspapers at the break-table, tempting to extravagance, by stimulating latent desires or creating fictitious wants. In our commercial country and its dependencies, where Plutus is the deity chiefly adored, it seems proper and strictly in character that the pulpits connected with his worship, however remotely, should be ably and efficiently filled. Here, in England, we know this to be generally the case, and what lustre the eloquence of some of our leading auctioneers has shed on the profession; how truly, indeed, more than one of them merit the praise which Johnson, happily quoting from Horace, bestowed on the genius of Goldsmith:—“_Nihil quod tetigit non ornavit._”