worthy of study more than another, it is certainly the Bengali language.
Many people in England regard the natives of India much in the same light as they regard the natives of Africa. A perusal of the following tale will at least give them some conception of the stage of civilization at which the Bengali race has arrived, and of the intellectual attainments of the educated classes. A few words regarding the Province and its material progress may not be out of place.
The census of 1881 shows that the population, which now stands at 69,536,861, has increased 10·89 per cent in ten years. The Hindus number 45,452,806, and the Mohammedans 21,704,724. The average density of persons to the square mile is 371·41. In some districts the average density of the rural population exceeds 1000 to the square mile, and has caused some alarm. Hitherto there have been no migratory movements on a large scale, owing to the conservative habits
