Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/529

 has been erected at Allahabad at the expense of the inhabitants; it formerly took place in the Circuit Bungalow, or in the Fort. The church is a very handsome one, and the internal arrangements are good.

29th.—About 3 a tufān came on,—rain in torrents, with heavy hail,—dust in whirlwinds; in the course of a quarter of an hour the thermometer fell ten degrees, from 88° to 78°. It was fine to witness such a commotion. The roof of our house was under repair,—streams of water came pouring into every room from all parts of the roof, until the house was full of it; much damage was done to the pictures; and we were obliged to quit the place, and take refuge at the house of a friend.

May 11th.—The ice-pits opened, the allowance to each subscriber eight seer per diem,—about sixteen pounds' weight daily. The thermometer is 89°. There being no wind, the tattīs are useless, and in spite of the thermantidote the heat is over*-powering; we begin to long for the fresh breezes of England; I shall rejoice when we are on board a good vessel and out at sea again.

21st.—About half-past 9 the moon was almost completely eclipsed, and the night was so dark I could not see the way as I was driving home. The natives were making offerings of rice, fruit, vegetables, &c., to restore the light quickly, and to ward off impending calamities.

22nd.—A tufān or a storm of dust blew furiously at night, succeeded the next morning by heavy rain, thunder, and lightning; the day after it was oppressively hot,—another storm cleared the atmosphere, and the thermantidote became quite delicious, it poured in such a volume of cold air.

31st.—Went to the Bandh in the evening, but soon returned; the air was so hot, it was like breathing liquid fire.

June 1st.—The heat in church was so oppressive, I will not venture there again; pankhas and thermantidotes are in full play during the time of Divine service,—but even with their aid in cooling the air, the heat is intolerable.

26th.—The rains appear to have set in, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The darkness was so great to-day at