Travels in India (Tavernier) 21.4.1

21.4.1

On the 16th I wrote to the Nawāb to know what reason he had for ordering his Receiver not to pay me. On the 17th, in the evening, I left for Hugli in a boat with fourteen oars, which the Dutch lent me, and that night and the following I slept on the river. On the 19th, towards evening, I passed a large town called Nadiyā, and it is the farthest point to which the tide reaches. There arose so furious a wind, and the water was so high, that we were compelled to stop for three or four hours and draw our boat ashore. On the 20th I arrived at Hugli, where I remained till the 2d of March, during which time the Dutch made me welcome, and sought to give me all the amusement which the country could afford. We made several excursions on the river, and we had for food all the delicacies which are found in our European gardens, salads of several kinds, cabbages, asparagus, peas, and principally beans, of which the seed comes from Japan, the Dutch desiring to have all kinds of herbs and pulses in their gardens, which they are most careful to cultivate, without having been able, however, to get artichokes to grow. On the 2d of March I left Hugli and arrived on the 5th at Kāsimbāzār.