Enough of the Hoogly.
"Calcutta, by the last census, 1891, had a population of 861,764; but it is
not so large as New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago; and London is the only
larger city in the United Kingdom. It became a town in 1686. After it had
attained considerable importance, in 1756, it was attacked by the Nawab of
Bengal, the king or rajah; and after a siege of two days the place yielded.
The tragedy of the 'Black Hole' followed."
"I have heard of that, but I don't know what it means," said Mrs. Belgrave.
"You observe the large open enclosure at the right of your map of the city,
the esplanade. Within it is Fort William, which has existed nearly two
hundred years. It had a military prison, which has since been called the
'Black Hole.' The nawab caused one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all he
had taken, to be shut up in a room only eighteen feet square, with only two
small windows, both of them obstructed by a veranda. This was but a little
more than two square feet on the floor for each person, so that they could
not stand up without crowding each other. They spent the night there,
pressing together, the heat terrible, enduring the pangs of suffocation. In
the morning all were dead but twenty-three.
"The nawab held the fort for seven months, when it was recaptured by Lord
Clive. Calcutta extends about five miles on the bank of the river, being
about two in breadth.
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