There is only one small country among the mountains which has not been
conquered by the English, and that place is Nepaul. It is near the
Himalaya mountains. See that great chain of mountains in the north: they
are the Himalaya--the highest mountains in the world. The word "him," or
"hem," means snow--and snowy indeed are those mountains.

There is a great river that flows from the Himalaya called the Ganges. It
flows by many mouths into the ocean; yet of all these mouths only one is
deep enough for large ships to sail in; the other mouths are all choked
up with sand. The deep mouth of the Ganges is called the Hoogley.

It was on the banks of the Hoogley that the first English city was built.
It was built by some English merchants, and is called Calcutta. That name
comes from the name of a horrible idol called Kalee, of which more will
be said hereafter.

Calcutta is now a very grand city; there is the governor's palace, and
there are the mansions of many rich Englishmen. It has been called "the
city of palaces."

There is another great river on the other side of Hindostan called the
Indus. It was from that river that Hindostan got the name of India, or
the East Indies.

VILLAGES.--Calcutta is built on a large plain called Bengal. Dotted about
this plain are many villages. At a distance they look prettier than
English villages, for they are overshadowed with thick trees; but they
are wretched places to live in. The huts are scarcely big enough to hold
human creatures, nor strong enough to bear the pelting of the storm. When