Calcutta, the capital not only of Bengal but of all India, being the seat of government and residence of the governor-general and council, has been so much talked of, and so often described, that nothing new or interesting concerning it can be offered to the reader. A traveller, therefore, who visits Bengal from curiosity and a desire to explore its grander and wilder beauties, will not long tarry in its metropolis, but, deciding on the mode in which he will travel, make his preparations ac