extensive inundations. The Monsoons—a peculiar feature of the climate of all India, but especially of Southern India and Ceylon-are? Two opposite periodical winds, which blow each for nearly six months, and are called, respectively, the S.W. and N.E. monsoon. The S.W. monsoon continues blowing from? April till September; and during its continuance, the coast of Malabar is deluged with rain. And the N.E. monsoon blows from? October till April, and is coincident with the rainy season on the Coromandel coast; where, however, from the land being less elevated, the rains are more moderate, and the droughts of summer of longer continuance than on the Malabar coast.

The British Empire in India consists of the three Presidencies? Bengal, Madras', and Bombay. The Bengal Presidency consists chiefly of? The Lower Provinces, comprehending the territory watered by the lower courses of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, and their tributary streams, together with the maritime district of Cuttack, on the N.W. side of the Bay of Bengal; the North-western Provinces, comprehending the plain of the Jumna, and of the Upper Ganges above the influx of the Sone; the Punjaub; the Nagpore territory; and the Indo-Chinese provinces. The most noted cities in the Lower Provinces ? Calcutta (the stronghold of which-Fort William—in lat. 20 degs. 33 min. N., and long. 88 degs. 17 min. E.), the capital of the Presidency and of British India, about 100 m. above the mouth of the Hoogly (the westernmost branch of the Ganges); Moorshedabad (formerly the capital of the old Mohammedan province of Bengal*), also on the Hoogly, about 120 m. farther up; Patna, on the Ganges (about 280 m.) to the N.W., and Dacca, between the converging streams of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra (about 150 m.) to the N.E., of Calcutta ; and Juggernauth (called by the natives Pooree, in the district of Cuttack), to the N.E. of (the shallow inlet called) Lake Chilka. What and where are the Sunderbunds? They are a densely wooded

* The old Mohammedan divisions (the limits of which are not accurately defined) are now, most of them, becoming obsolete.

50 miles.

170 miles.

tract occupying the most southern part of the Delta of the Ganges (as far as the salt water of the sea is carried by the tides). Having a coast extent of about? And an average breadth of about? The principal cities in the N.W. provinces ? Agra (the residence of the lieutenant-governor of this portion of the presidency) and Delhi (formerly the capital of the Mogul Empire) on the Jumna; Benares (the most Holy City of the Hindoos, 17 m. above the influx of the Goomty), Allahabad (at the influx of the Jumna), and Cawnpore (one of the principal military stations in India, 124 m. farther up), on the Ganges; Lucknow (the capital of the former kingdom of Oude, on the Goomty, 35 m. to the) N.E. of Cawnpore, Meerut (35 m.) to the N.E., and Ajmeer (the capital of a detached district in Rajpootana, about 220 m.) to the S.W., of Delhi. What and where is the Punjaub? It consists chiefly of the triangular district watered by the Upper Indus and its tributary streams, the Five Rivers. Principal cities in the Punjaub? Lahore, on the Rauvee; and Amritsir (the Holy City of the Sikhs, 40 m. E. by N. of Lahore; Attock, on the (E. bank of the) Indus (immediately below the influx of the Cabool River); and Peshawer (commanding the entrance to the Kyber Pass) on the Cabool (40 m. above Attock). The Nagpore territory (formerly the rajahdom of Berar) lies? To the N.E. of the territories of the Nizam. Principal city? Nagpore, between the Wurdah and Wynegunga (which unite and flow into the Godavery). The Indo-Chinese territories dependent upon the Bengal presidency, are? Assam, a narrow district adjacent to Bengal, stretching eastward alongst the course of the Brahmaputra for upwards of 400 miles; Chittagong and Aracan, stretching alongst the N.E. shore of the Bay of Bengal; Pegu, which comprises the Delta of the Irrawady, together with a large inland tract; the Tenasserim provinces to the W. of Siam, stretching along the coast from the lower course of the Saluen to 10 degs. S. lat; and the Eastern Straits' Settlements, comprehending PuloPenang (Prince of Wales, or Betel-nut Island), off the W. coast; Province Wellesley, opposite to it on the mainland;

Malacca, comprehending the southernmost portion of the Malayan Peninsula; and Singapore (on a small island of the same name), to the S. of Malacca. The principal towns of Pegu? Prome, on the main stream; Rangoon, on the left branch; and Bassein, on the right branch of the Irrawady; and Pegu, to the N.E. of Rangoon, on a river of the same name. The principal town in the Tenasserim provinces ? Moulmein (or, Maulmain), on the left bank (of the estuary) of the Saluen (opposite Martaban). The districts of the Bengal Presidency under the immediate superintendence of the Governor-General of India are? The Punjaub, Oude, Nagpore, Pegu, the Tenasserim provinces, and the Eastern Straits' Settlements. The governments of the North Western Provinces, and of the residue of the Presidency, are administered respectively by ? The Lieutenant-Governor of the North Western Provinces, and by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The Madras Presidency (chiefly situated between 8 and 20 degs. N. lat., and 73 and 85 degs. E. long.) consists chiefly of? The peninsula to the S. of the Krishna, with the exception of Mysore and Travancore, together with the maritime district stretching alongst the western side of the Bay of Bengal, from the Krishna to Lake Chilka. The most noted seaports in the Madras Presidency? Madras, Masulipatam, and Tranquebar, on the E., and Calicut on the W. coast. And inland? Arcot (the former capital of the Carnatic,—a district comprehending the S.E. portion of the Presidency, from Cape Comorin to the Krishna, 64 m.), W. by S. from Madras (on the Palar', a river which flows into the Bay of Bengal, 40 m. to the S. of Madras); Tanjore, on the Cauvery; and Ootacamund (the "Cheltenham of India," familiarly called Ooty, having an elevation of 7400 ft.), on the Neilgherry Hills, the most noted sanitary station in Southern India. The Bombay Presidency (chiefly situated between 15 and 24 degs. N. lat., and 72 and 76 degs. E. long.) consists chiefly of? The western portion of Central India (extending from Ajmeer or Rajpootana, in the N., to the borders of the Madras Presidency in the S.) Its most noted cities are? Bombay (the capital of the Presidency),

on an island (connected by a causeway with the Island Salsette, which lies to the N. of it, and) separated from the W. coast by a narrow channel, constituting its harbour (in which is the island Elephanta); Surat, near (about 20 m. from) the mouth of the Taptee; Poonah (formerly the residence of the Peishwa *), inland (about 75 miles) to the S.E. of Bombay; and Ahmedabad, to the N. of the Gulf of Cambay. Scinde, a dependency of the Bombay Presidency (bearing in its general features a remarkable resemblance to Egypt, though greatly inferior in fertility) comprehends? The region traversed by the Indus to the S. of its junction with the Punjnud. Chief cities? Hyderabad, on the Indus (about 120 m. from the sea); Tatta, at the head of its Delta; and Kurachee on the S.W. coast (about 20 m. from the mouth of the westernmost branch of the Indus).

The principal dependent states subordinate to the Bengal Presidency are? The dominions of the Nizam,t to the S.W. of the Nagpore territory (chief cities, Hyderabad and Golconda, Aurungabad and Ellora); the districts held by the Rajpoot chiefs (Ajmeer or Rajpootana), comprehending the greater part of the Indian Desert, in the N.W. of Hindostan (principal cities, Nagore, Jessulmere, Jeypoor, Bikkanere, and Odeypoor); Scindia's territory, which lies chiefly to the E. of the Chumbul (chief cities, Gwalior and Oujein); Holkar's territory, to the N.E. of the Bombay Presidency, and intersected by the Nerbuddah (chief city, Indore); and the territories of the Bundelcund chiefs, to the S.W. of Allahabad (chief towns, Jhansi and. Chatterpoor). The principal dependent states subordinate to the Madras Presidency? The kingdom of Mysore (chief cities, Seringapatam, on an island in the Cauvery and

* The Peishwas, originally the prime ministers and generals of the Rajah, or Chief, of the Mahrattas, assumed, one by one, the state and attributes of princes; and were, till the surrender of the last Peishwa to the British in 1818, the acknowledged hereditary acting chiefs of that formidable confederacy.

+ Nizam-the title of the sovereign of the kingdom of Hyderabad-was originally a family name; just as Scindia, Holkar, and Guicowar, originally names of successful Mahratta chieftains, are now assumed as sovereign titles by the inheritors of their power.

Bangalore, 70 m. to the N.E. of Seringapatam), surrounded by the territory of the Madras Presidency; and Travancore (chief city, Travancore), in the S.W. extremity of the Indian peninsula. The principal dependent state subordinate to the Bombay Presidency?. The territories of the Guicowar (chief city, Baroda), which comprehend the greater part of the peninsula of Guzerat, together with some districts to the E. of the Gulf of Cambay.

The independent states are? Cashmere (tributary to the extent of six shawls annually to Queen Victoria), to the N. of the Punjaub (containing the beautiful vale of Cashmere, traversed by the Upper Jhylum); and Nepaul and Bootan (the small state of Sikkim, tributary to the British, lying between them), on the southern declivity of the Himalayas. The capital of Cashmere ? Cashmere or Serinagur. Of Nepaul? Catmandoó. Tassisudon.

And of Bootan ?

Between Nepaul and the upper course of the Sutleje (on the lower slopes of the Himalayas—included in the Bengal Presidency) are the mountain districts? Kumaon and Simla. The town Simla (having an elevation of 7800 ft.), the most noted sanitary station in? Northern India.

Besides the British possessions in India, there are, belonging to other European powers? Goa, on the W. coast, belonging to the Portuguese; and Pondicherry, S. from Madras, and Chandernagore, on the Hoogly, belonging to the French.

Where is Ceylon (pyriform in shape, and called by the natives Cingala)? It is separated from the S.E. of Hindostan by Palk's Strait and the Gulf of Manaar (between which and Palk's Passage runs a chain of shoals, known by the name of Adam's Bridge). Its general aspect? The E. shore is bold and rocky, and the W. shore uniformly low; whilst the interior consists of an elevated table-land, crowned with lofty mountains, some of which are finely wooded, and others of them rocky and peaked. And what as to climate? Hot and moist, but with a temperature somewhat lower than that of the neighbouring continent. Chief towns in Ceylon? Columbo on the S.W., and Trin