Nevertheless, some of the native houses of the Fort would
form very agreeable residences to persons accustomed to the utmost
refinement. Being exceedingly lofty, the upper apartments have the
advantage of every breeze that blows, while the views both of sea and
land are splendid.
The immense size of these houses, and the elegance of their
decorations, evince the spirit and wealth of their owners; they become
absolutely beacons at night, in consequence of the frequency and the
extent of their illuminations. Numerous are the occasions, either of
holidays or other rejoicings, in which the natives of Bombay light
up their houses; rows of lamps hung along the wide fronts of the
verandahs, upon every floor, produce a good effect, which is often
heightened by the flood of light poured out of apartments decorated
with chandeliers and lamps of every description.
In passing through the bazaar at night, every third or fourth house
is lit up upon some festive occasion; one favourite and very pretty
method consists of a number of small lamps, arranged to resemble
bunches of grapes, and hung up in the trees of a court-yard. Sometimes
in the evening, a sort of market is held in the native town beyond
the Esplanade, and every stall is profusely lighted; the hawkers,
who carry about their goods in a more humble way upon their heads in
baskets, have them stuck with candles, and the wild shadowy effects
produced, amid the quaint buildings thus partially lighted, afford a
continual phantasmagoria.
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