III, BGE Gilchrist | 1 1 1 ! THE GENERAL EAST INDIA GUIDE - a N D VADE MECUM: For the - PUBLIC FUNCTIONARY, GOVERNMENT OFFICER, PRIVATE AGENT, TRADER OR FOREIGN sojourneR, IN BRITISH INDIA, %intſ tije Štújacent ºarts of 3gia 1 M Mediately connected with THE HONOURABLE THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. BEING A DIG EST OF THE WORK OF THE LATE CAPT. WILLIAMSON, With many Improvements and Additions; eMBRACING The MoST VALUABLE PARTS OF SIMILAR PUBLICATIONS ON THE statistics, Literature, official Duties, And social economiY OF LIFE AND CONDUCT IN THAT IN- TERESTING QUARTER OF THE WORLD. by J. B. Grr.cººrsT, I.I.D. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY KINGSBURY, PARBURY, & ALLEN, Books ELLERS To THE HON. EAST INDIA COMPANY., Leaden HALL STREET. 1825. −−−|−−−−−− −•−=−= - ~~~~ P. R. E. F. A C E. The Volume now offered to the public is chiefly designed to communicate the information supplied by a residence of 22 years at Bombay and Bengal. During that period, many opportunities of visiting the districts under those presidencies, have afforded a considerable acquaintance with topics, the correct knowledge of which must be highly important, not only to the military or naval officer, but to those engaged in the civil departments of every description; who may thus be assisted justly to appreci- ate the character of the natives, and also of the European society in British India. In order to render this Volume more acceptable to those readers for whose information it has been compiled, a familiar rather than a didactic style has been generally adopted. The same intention has precluded a rigid ar- rangement, under abstract heads and chapters, or any attempt to render the contents at large too philosophically diffuse. From the commencement of the present century, and vi PREFA CE. even since the first appearance of this Wade-Mecum, the knowledge of Eastern literature has been assiduously cul- tivated, both in Europe and Asia. It has, therefore, been designed in this Digest of the former work by Captain Williamson, generally to avoid the introduction of those topics, which later writers have amply considered. Those readers, therefore, whose pursuits or inclination may lead them to seek very detailed information respecting the religious tenets of the various sects, the languages and literature of the East, &c. should consult those authors to whom the world is so much indebted. The fol- lowing publications are peculiarly suited for students in- tent on applying themselves to the most valuable sources of oriental learning. The Philological Publications of Gilchrist, those also of Wilkins, are equally indispensable for attaining a proficiency in the Persian language, and in the literature of the Hindoos—accomplishments essential for officers of every rank. To cadets who would incur a less expense, the Persian Vocabulary, by Hopkins, is particularly re- commended. Richardson's, Jones's, and Gladwin's Ori- ental publications should not be omitted, nor Ouseley's Essay towards facilitating the reading of Persian manu- scripts; which will materially assist those who would be- come adepts in the art of deciphering the most difficult Persi-Arabic writings, which abound in the East. Bal- four's Forms of Herkern should also be provided; to- gether with Sale's Koran, which supplies the fullest in- formation respecting the origin of the Mahometan reli- gion. Reynell's Memoir, united with his Atlas and Map, or the Map of India lately compiled by Walker, will prove the best guides in the geography of the East, and especially afford correct topographical information as to those provinces of Hindoostan which now belong PREFA CE. vii to Great Britain, or are placed under her paramount sway. It would be endless to enumerate minutely the re- quisite contents of a well-chosen oriental library, the ex- tent of which, after all, must often be regulated rather by the pecuniary ability than the literary inclination of a purchaser, especially as new publications, in periodical succession, frequently supersede their immediate prede- cessors in every branch of Eastern intelligence, acqui- sitions, and accomplishments. And here I take the li- berty of suggesting, that commanders of vessels bound for India, might, to good purpose, carry out an assort- ment of oriental works, either for circulation or sale, during the outward voyage, among the studious part of the passengers, who could thus imbibe, en passant, bene- ficial instruction. It is proper to inform or remind the adventurer to British India, that by inspecting the Court Guide, in conjunction with the India Register, for the current year, he will easily learn who are the patrons, to whom he can apply with the most probability of success. As to the published regulations for the control or guidance of persons proceeding to India, there must be frequent fluctuations. These will be easily ascertained by con- sulting the Directory, published yearly under the imme- diate sanction of the Court of Directors. I cannot conclude without soliciting the reader's indul- gence as to any typographical errors which he may notice; nor will he be disinclined, I trust, to excuse any mis- arrangements which may occasionally appear, even after the greatest attention in preparing numerous extracts for the press. And now, anxiously hoping that the following pages may amuse, while they convey instruction, they are consigned, by the compiler, to the mature considera- viii PREFA C E. tion of a discriminating, just, and liberal public; trusting that his motives, at least, will be thought to deserve the approbation of all his countrymen, who are more or less interested in the durable prosperity of the British Indian Empire, as the most estimable appendage of the parent state. J. B. G. London, Clarges Street, No. 11. lst June, 1825. C O N T E N T S. INSTRUCTIONs to Persons proceeding to India, re- specting appointments, outfit, and precautions to be observed - - Rates of passage, accommodations, and customs on board ship Diseases and remedies - Embarkation, probable length of passage Conduct on board ship Regulations respecting officers, crew, &c. Music on board ship—precautions respecting the care of Instruments Sea sickness Third mate's mess - - Fishing - - Course to India—Portuguese, Rio Janeiro Crossing the Line—Sabbath on board ship—Funerals at Sea—Cape of Good Hope - St. Augustine's Bay, Johanna, Ceylon Madras, Muhsoolu boats, Dobhashiya, coins Voyage from Madras to Bengal, Chuokee Boats, Pilot vessels, Baleswur, Kedgeree, Pinnace, Budgrow Precautions on leaving the Ship—Fire-fly—Exchange of Coins—Letters of credit—of introduction—Cautions respecting taverns, servants, &c. Estimate of primary and current expenses Acquirement of the language . - Reasons for retaining a number of servants, religious scruples - - Classification of servants - Bunniya and Darogha PAGE 1 to 16 17–27 27–3 l 32—35 35–41 41–42 42—44 45–46 47 48–52 52–55 55–60 60–63 63–68 68–71 72–85 85–90 91–93 93–97 97—98 98—100 X CONT ENTS. Moonshee, Jummadar, Chob-dar, Soonta-burdar, Khan saman, Surkar, Kranee - - Khidmutgar, Mushuulchee, Hooqqu-burdar, Hooqqu, Kuliyan, Goorgoory, and Neriaul Modes of carrying water, Bihishtee, Tatties - Bawur-chee, Durzee, Dhobee, Muhausut, Mate, and Surwan - - - Su,ees, Grass-cutter, Doob or Sun-grass, Malee, gardens of Europeans, mode of drawing water - Ab-dar, Compadore, Hurkaru, Dufturee, Furrash, Mihtur, Doriya, mode of keeping and feeding dogs Khulasee, Manj,hee, Golueya, and Dandy B,hereehara, sheep, mode of fattening them Chuokeedars, audacity of thieves - Durwan, Kuhar, insolence of the Ooriya bearers Hints respecting the lading of cattle - Umbrellas, punk, has, liveries - - Palkeens, nalkeen, dooly, miyanu-palanquin, bocha, taum-jaung, bangy - - - Ruth, garee-wan, fine breed of oxen, their speed, hackery - - Cautions against engaging European servants, either male or female - - Portuguese Ayahs, ridiculously vain of their genealogies Hindoostanee Ayah - - Daee, high rate of interest, shurraſs - - Flying kites, great dexterity, natives peculiarly tenacious of privacy in their dwellings Dress and ornaments of a Hindoostanee lady Scented oils, utr of roses - - Unctions in general use, bathing, alligators Invitations, visiting, loud music - \. Orphan Institution - - Vaccination in Bengal, mode of inoculating in use among the Brahmins, and among the Pahariyas Native Hospital at Calcutta - - Style of building among the natives, mode of thatching, domestic furniture, the beetle-leaf and plant Cheroots, women smokers Precautions against fire, heavy rains, protection against them - - PAG e. 100—112 1 12-122 122–127 127–138 138–146 146—155 155–159 159–163 163–164 164—172 172 173 173–179 179–183 183–185 185–187 187—188 188–189 189–192 193–200 200–202 202–206 206–207 207–212 212–218 218–219 219–230 230–232 232–235 CONTENTS. xi Bungalows, bricklayers, houses smeared with cow-dung, mindy applied to hands and feet, hinnah Great heats, modes of refrigeration, general plan of build- ing, various kinds of lime and cement, tarras floors, cutcha houses, ancient buildings, white ants, sleep- ing in the open air, floors on pots, north-westers, bungalows and out-offices. - - Mats of various sorts, shutrinjee, chiks, glass windows, talc as a substitute, purdas - - - Various kinds of timber, modes of floating them, prices and uses, mango-fruit, and plantations - Bamboos, mode of fitting-out trading-boats, taul or toddy tree, coir rigging, cocoa-nuts, oil from them, meemii-ke- tale, writing on cocoa-tree leaves, hot winds - State of society among Europeans, sitting-up, meals, wines, malt liquors, levees, sugar-candy, bread, camp- ovens, milk, ghee-butter, meats, buffaloes Wines, spirits, fish, poultry, table apparatus, furniture, china-bazar, Europe shops, wax and candles, insects, snakes of various sorts, antidotes to their poison, mus- quitoes, and curtains to repel them, cock-roaches, scorpions, centipedes, wasps, hornets, shainpoing.” Amusements, theatres, races, gaming, music, balls, Fort William, military establishments - - Bore, brakish waters, preservation of rain-water Great rivers, physical properties, fossile alkali, streams im- pregnated with minerals, inundations, Hindoo corpses, plague not known in India - - - Tanks and j,heels, eleemosynary alligators, suraees, gunjes, durgahs, Hill people, bunds, wells on great roads, hot- springs, sol-lunar influence on fevers, Hukeems, state of medicine, refrigerating principle, state of learning, Kayut,hs, Lálás, useful books, Seek,h College Posts, and conveyance of parcels, &c. travelling in a pa- lanquin, swelling of rivers, rice, mode of expelling weevils, meal from barley, wheat - Travelling by water, the Soondurbun, fire-wood, sharks, bull-headed alligator - - Opinions respecting Gour, and the great Delta of the Ganges PAGE 235–239 239–260 260–268 268–285 285–300 300–325 325–355 355–363 363—367 367–387 387–420 420–430 436–441 441–447 xii CONTENTS. Salt Manufacture - Hire of budjrows, rates and distances, precautions, con- traband trade, trading and baggage boats, tracking, Dukuets, or pirates, guards requisite, Qoolees, Chuokee- dars, and Duorahas, expert thieves, anecdotes, leger de main, puppet-shows, gymnastic feasts, Nuts, or Indian PAG e 447–448 gypsies, dancers - - - Slavery, how far tolerated; summary punishment of adultcry - - - - - Carriage of baggage, elephants, camels, bullocks, horses, horse furniture . - - Improvements in manufactures, newspapers, scribes Increase of the Company's servants, judicial proceedings, farmers, middle-men, peasants - Collections of revenues, increase of exportation, security of property, agency-houses, exchanges, commerce and situation of Calcutta, domies - - Steam Navigation to India, Bengal Sugar Company, Free Sugar Company - - - Letters from Colonel Nugent - - APPENDIx. I.—Articles required in an outfit .. - - II.-Extracts from Dr. Gilchrist's Dialogues, English and Hindoostanee - - Ill—Miscellaneous Remarks, Regulations, Orders, &c. IV.-General Observations on the Wade Mecum, &c. 448–478 478-481 481-508 508—509 509–510 510–516 5 17–5 18- 518–526 527–535 536—637 638—651 652–660 THE UNIVERSAL EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. GREAT numbers of respectable persons annually pro- ceed to India utterly unacquainted with the customs, &c. peculiar to that country; and thus are subjected to the greatest inconveniences. Owing to the absence of an experienced friend, or to the impossibility of obtaining some publication suited to guide under a case of no small difficulty, not only many a pound, which could perhaps be ill spared, has been thrown away, but much lasting in- jury has been entailed. Little apology then is needful for recommending this volume, chiefly the result of a long residence in Bengal and other provinces of the Pen- insula, to the attention, not only of those who are about to emigrate to the East, but of such also as have relatives or friends in that remote quarter. The channels for promotion and employment in the King's civil, military, and naval service, in all parts of the world, are so much alike that no parti- cular hints can easily be given respecting those of India, which are not common to the whole. A refer- ence therefore to the Occidental and Oriental Redbooks of every current year, will immediately exhibit the ** p 2 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. number and nature of the various offices in the Eastern hemisphere at the sole disposal of the crown. Having thus briefly settled this prominent division of local intelli- gence, the first enquiry is, whether an appointment be required in the Company's service, either in a civil, military, religious, legal, or naval capacity; or, whether the party is about to adventure as a merchant, free-mari- ner, or simply as a licensed resident within their domi- nions. If the Company's service be in question, it will be necessary to follow implicitly the regulations of the Court of Directors. From them alone can any nomina- tion be obtained ; and they have, from time to time, judged it expedient to promulgate these regulations for the better management of their affairs, and for obviating misconception on the part of every candidate, as well as to shield him from imposition. As they are subject to much fluctuation, and are too numerous to be embodied in this work, those topics have been excluded altogether; because the ‘EAst INDIA DIRECTo RY,” published an- nually, as edited by gentlemen holding offices at the India-House, will be found the best guide in all such matters, from its containing the code in force at the time of pubfication. Many persons formerly received commissions in the military and medical departments in India, from the Governor-general. For this, urgent necessity was the usual plea ; but that practice was severely censured, and has been, for a series of years, with a few fruitless excep- tions, completely exploded. The hope, consequently, of thus obtaining any employment in India, as a regular Com- pany's servant, should never be entertained; none being permanently bestowed but by the Directors. It is true, indeed, that to the recommendations of their govern- ments abroad, in behalf of peculiarly meritorious indivi- - EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 3 duals, they have, in very numerous instances, attended, especially when these did not encroach too far upon the legitimate patronage of that supreme executive court at home, which alone, with the tacit approbation of their immediate constituents, can annul and confirm all devia- tions from the ordinary rules of the service. Little argument is required to demonstrate the superior policy, or rather the imperious necessity, of sending young men from England in such a state of improve- ment as may enable them to become eminently useful, immediately on their arrival at the presidencies to which they may be nominated. This, to a certain extent, is effected by the institution of a college, and of a military academy, under the auspices of the Directors. At the former, those intended for the civil service should be duly grounded in the most useful languages, &c., of the East; while, at the latter, young gentlemen are instruct- ed in whatever may be essential towards their military career; including, of course, a competent rudimental acquaintance with the Hindoostanee tongue. Thus the natives are induced to entertain more respect for the junior civil and military servants, than could possibly be expected, while a want of every local requisite, and even of the very rudiments of professional science, was too conspicuous. The DIREctory, already spoken of, will be found to contain whatever relates to the proper qualifications of young men seeking employment under the Company. It should, however, be fairly stated here, that whenever any undue influence is exerted, by pecuniary means, to obtain an appointment, in whatever branch, expulsion, disgrace, or eventually heavy fines, &c., in all probability will be the result. As the risk of subsequent detection is very serious, great pains have been taken and heavy expenses incurred to com- B 2 4 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. municate all the requisite preliminary instructions to youths in the medical, civil, engineer, and artillery branches of the service. Both cavalry and infantry cadets have, on the contrary, been so entirely overlooked, that they may all proceed to British India without pos- sessing a particle of local intelligence, or any portion of those ordinary acquirements that every gentleman, educated for the army, should carry with him from home to the place of his destination abroad, as becomes an efficient officer, able and willing from the first to per- form his duty profitably for his employers. At least, no regular examination precedes a nomination to the rank of cadet in the infantry line, or cavalry; though the numbers belonging to those two corps alone are in the proportion of four to one. Thus the ignorance annually exported in these departments may be three-fourths more than attaches to the rest, even whose relative rank depends on their respective talents, finally adjusted after repeated trials ; while all the infantry and cavalry can- didates escape to India, in this respect, scot free, what- ever may be their fate, afterwards. Were certain qualifications declared essential, previous to admission, after a fair examination, there would soon be no lack of expectants well versed in the usual branches of useful learning, including an accurate knowledge of English grammar, and the rudiments also of the Hin- doostanee tongue. A regulation founded on such prin- ciples would subject the Company to little or no ex- pense; and so far from being injurious to the future pro- spects of any patron's individual protegé it must infal- libly promote them, by seasonably stimulating a boy to an early habit of mental exertion, from the natural fear of being rejected as quite unfit for the Company’s service in any military capacity. EAST IN DIA VA L E-MECU M. 5 The one thing most needful for every situation of im- portance and responsibility, undoubtedly is, a colloquial facility in the popular speech of India; for no man, who is not a practical linguist, can execute the duties of his office with safety, unless it be a mere sinecure; but there are so few in the East, that he is a lucky fellow indeed who can secure so snug a birth in any one of the public departments there ; for it is dangerous in the extreme to act through the medium of native agency, on any occa- sion, where malversation can possibly exist, as in the com- missariat or such confidential branches of the service. The Madras Government has done much more to ex- cite a general emulation among their junior subalterns to become proficient orientalists, than the two other presi- dencies, where the interpretership and quartermastership only, are held by the same person, to whom, on the former establishment, the paymastership of the battalion has recently been added; and if this additional stimulus could be conveniently adopted at Bengal and Bombay, likewise, the result, in course of time, would speak for it- self, by creating a very general competition in studying every useful provincial dialect, over and above the Hin- doostanee or military tongue, this being, in fact, ab initio a sine qua non to every British officer in Hindoostan. The soundest policy dictates the propriety of convinc- ing the natives of India, that justice will be impartially executed in all our civil and military tribunals, and as far as possible through the colloquial medium best known to those persons who are most interested in the pending decision of the particular court, whatever it may be. Nothing so effectually counteracts the prejudices which invariably possess the minds of subdued nations against their conquerors, as conciliatory treatment, and the equit- able judgments of the ruling powers for the time being. 6 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. This single object, therefore, merits the immediate ap- pointment of thirty or forty additional interpreters among the King's and Company's troops; for such a plan would greatly counterbalance any extra charge, and moreover establish on the spot, a universal nursery for oriental proficients, through the whole of the British Indian army, at an expense hardly perceptible, when compared with other disbursements in behalf of eastern learning for a very inferior number of emigrant students from this country to Hindoostan. Were the King's officers mere sojourners in the Com- pany's territories for two, or three seasons, at farthest, their total ignorance of eastern dialects at present would be of little moment; but since a great majority of them become stationary for a long period of time, surely this portion of local knowledge may soon be made to produce much good, besides preventing a great deal of harm; though its evident advantages, in a military point of view, be left here entirely out of the question. The office of a faithful interpreter being one which no unqualified candidate would venture to discharge, it can- not safely be prostituted to favour or influence alone, and necessarily becomes the legitimate prize of juvenile merit. It has been recently asserted, however, that instances of unworthy incumbents are occasionally discovered, where their brother officers, as members of the court-mar- tial, gratuitously perform the duties of such sinecurists; leaving the individual non-effective subaltern to pocket his allowances, with the exposure of his own incapacity, until some trial of an extraordinary complexion force him to resign a honourable post to a better man, on whose fidelity alone the life and character of an innocent per- son may sometimes depend. The annual savings which a proficient in the country EAST 1 N DIA WA D E-MECU M. 7 tongues may effect in all confidential transactions, by his skill and integrity, are inconceivable; and the loss through inexperience, dishonesty, and ignorance of the popular, or local speech, must be equally enormous: pub- lic agents, commissaries, paymasters, &c., can never, therefore, be sufficiently on the watch to prevent pecu- lation, deception, and embezzlement by their inferior Indian assistants in those departments of the service. It is difficult to account, on rational principles, for the existing want of regular interpreters in all the European artillery, and other corps; to say nothing yet of the whole King's troops in that quarter of the globe; be- cause, it must be admitted, there can hardly one month, a week, or even a day elapse, without continual inter- course with hundreds of Hindoostanees, intimately con- nected with each regiment as subordinates, domestics, or followers, who must necessarily be often summoned to attend courts-martial, as culprits, or witnesses for ex- amination, in their own several dialects: but in these cases no official linguist is to be found, whose duty it would be to act faithfully as interpreter before each of the regimental courts, when these are assembled for the due administration of justice, within the precincts of a garrison, cantonments, or camp. - The opportunity for the selection of civil servants duly qualified to fill offices of considerable importance, to which either large salaries, or handsome fees, &c. are at- tached, affords the ready means of rewarding the labours of meritorious individuals; and, with few exceptions, of enabling them, after a fair term of servitude, to return to Europe with competent fortunes. Hence, the Company have not found it necessary to stipulate for their granting any pensions to civil servants. Yet, whenever the pres- sure of infirmity, or misfortune, has exhibited to the 8 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. Directors an object justly entitled to their consideration, such civil servants, and, on many occasions, their widows and children also, have experienced that attention to their distresses which served to elevate them beyond the reach of adversity, independent of the fund. This has been established by voluntary contributions, in aid of the subscribers, their wives or children, in conformity with the rules of the several societies at each presidency, and in various departments of the service; as will be found minutely detailed in the India Register, &c. In the military branch, a marked level prescribes the rise of every individual, beyond which, except in a few instances of staff-appointments, the utmost merit may unhappily remain unrewarded. Also, in a climate so destructive, the discharge even of ordinary duties is fre- quently attended with results most injurious to the con- stitution. It has, therefore, been judged necessary to make some provision for those who may either be com- pelled to seek the re-establishment of health in their native country, under the indulgence of a furlough, or who, having passed the prime of their days in that quar- ter, may choose to withdraw from the effective strength of the army, passing their latter years in retirement, and making way for the more active, to supply their places in the performance of the more arduous duties of the camp and field of laborious warfare. In consideration of the important services rendered by their military and naval officers and surgeons, as also by their chaplains, the Company have established certain rates of income, under the general terms of full-pay, half- pay, and pension, for such as may retire from their service: those rates, together with all the regulations in force, will be found in the before-mentioned DIR Ector Y. No British subject, unless born in India, can claim the EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 9 right of residing within the Company's jurisdiction. This, including St. Helena, extends from the Cape of Good Hope, easterly, towards Cape Horn; comprehending all the In- dian Seas and the great Peninsula of Asia, so far as the British flag is displayed, with the exception, however, of the Island of Ceylon. On that island the whole establishment appertains to the Crown, though generally some of the Madras troops, or even a portion of the Bengal army, may be seen doing duty there, as auxiliaries. Even here, also, either office or licence is requisite to establish the right of residence in any pursuit. Necessity has imposed very arbitrary rules on the con- duct of government abroad. None but persons whose po- litical conduct and opinions are decidedly unexceptionable are permitted to reside within the Compºny's territories. Every European inhabitant is, or at least ought to be, re- gistered, and furnished with a licence, renewable at times, or subject to be cancelled by the Supreme Council. This regulation is maintained against whatever may tend, how- ever obliquely, towards colonization. Thus, in Calcutta, (kalkutta,) though purchases may be made of landed pro- perty, secured by puttas,” which correspond, generally, with our title-deeds, yet there does not appear to be any actual claim to the soil. Nor does this create any diffi- dence on the part of the purchaser, who, provided there be no latent mortgage, &c. always holds the property as a fee-simple. This rule does not, indeed, properly extend beyond the Muharutta Ditch, which formerly circum- scribed the town on the land side, making nearly a semi- circle, whose radius exceeded a mile and a half. Beyond *The Hindee, or general language of India, has thousands of words in common with the provincial Bungalee, which differ in the sound of the short vowels u and o only—thus, kalkotta, potta, gonga jol, is the latter modification, and kalkutta, putta, gunga jul, (ganges water,) the former of the selfsame vocables. - 10 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. that ancient barrier, (in old times, the protection against the incursions of the Muharutta horse,) though puttas may perhaps exist, their validity would not bear the test of li- tigation. The Company, it is true, have in various in- stances made grants of lands, but always under such terms as precluded any claim to property in the soil, as a perma- ment, independent, and paramount tenure. The free merchant, free mariner, or licensed sojourner, proceeding to India with the view of purchasing landed property, or becoming a renter in his own name, will find himself in an awkward, or even a hazardous, situation, should he lay out his money in supposed purchases, or in buildings, et cetera, beyond the ascertained limits of the town of Calcutta. People should therefore correct, in due time, erroneous impressions arising from misrepresentation or from misconception. They must, indeed, alienate them- selves from British opinions, and conform to local con- siderations; divested of every prepossession, and viewing our Indian possessions, not as colonies, but as conquests ºf a peculiar description, to which many of our laws and privileges are every way either unsuitable, or unwelcome. Of late years the competition for Indian passengers, as the most lucrative cargo to the East Indies, has been so multiplied, that great changes have occurred in the price and medium of conveyance to that distant country. Should, indeed, the projected voyages in steam vessels be found to answer expectation, it is impossible to conjecture what may yet become the shortest, cheapest, safest, and most pleasant vehicles of transition. In the interim, how- ever, it would be rather unfair, in a work of this kind, to award the palm of superiority to the regular Company's ships or private traders. Each class has its peculiar ad- vantages and drawbacks; and every individual commander is now strongly impressed with the idea, that upon his 12 EAST INDIA VAD E-M ECU M. justice, to admit of dispute. For, whatever a passenger may thus save in purse, he will assuredly lose in time and personal comfort : a remark, perhaps, applicable also in some degree to vessels from every port except London. Among an increasing body of celebrated dealers in those articles, which every adventurer must carry along with him to the East, the lists are so numerous and appropriate as to enable any youth to judge and select for himself, on li- beral or economical grounds, in proportion to the pecu- niary abilities of the parties connected with his final equipment, and to the style of life he may have previously enjoyed with regard to clothes, accoutrements, and every thing else. Few young men reach London wholly desti- tute of experienced monitors on the spot for their pend- ing transactions with long-established tradesmen, &c. en- gaged in providing every necessary for an Indian voyage, of the best quality, and at the most reasonable charge. The ordinary out-fit of passengers will necessarily dif- fer in a similar ratio with their relative wants en passant, or after their arrival. Whatever may be the case, it will be found least expensive to lay in the whole supplies of cloth- ing, so far as may be practicable, from the stock on hand; obtaining any additional articles from those tradesmen, by whom the family may have been usually furnished. One cannot too forcibly deprecate the common practice of bur- thening young folks with a variety of useless apparel, &c.; the greater part of which becomes the perquisite of servants, or, being found a burthen rather than a conve- nience, is generally thrown about in the most negligent man- ner. The grand object should be to provide what may be truly efficient after an arrival in India.” * For a list of articles required in an out-fit, according to the latest information, see Appendix, No. 1. EAST IN DI A VAD E-MEC U M. 13 Hats are so very subject to be injured on board-ship, and, indeed, to be blown overboard, that little attention need be paid to appearance in that article. In this, as well as in every other item of dress, a large portion may be supplied from the stock in use previous to embarkation. The old saying, of “going to sea to wear out one's old clothes,” has so far sense on its side, that whatever can be decently worn will be found full good enough for that purpose. Growing youths should observe the precaution of having every article of apparel made full large; else, by the time they have been some months at sea, they will be put to serious inconvenience. It is true, that few ships sail without a tailor on board, but he is not always to be had ; being generally employed by the purser; or he may be in the sick list, &c. Military persons, whose apparel and accoutrements can- not be ascertained previous to quitting England, should confine their attention to a supply of those materials which cannot fail to be useful on their arrival. Thus an officer of infantry may find it his interest to purchase a few yards of the best superfine scarlet broad cloth, or kersey mere, for making up his regimentals; an officer of artillery or of engineers, blue, &c. The most prudent plan, however, on the whole is, to consult intelligent officers just returned from India on matters of this sort, as they may always be found, and will, of course, be equally willing as able to afford the safest counsel to every cadet. The several corps, regiments, &c. not being exactly uniform in parti- cular points, such as the colours of the facings, the pat- terns of the swords, &c. nothing can be done, with pro- priety, in those instances. Some regiments of the line have gold, and others have silver lace; hence these regiments cannot ascertain their dress, as is sometimes to be done by the cadets for artillery, engineers, and cavalry. The 14 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. - infantry cadet, therefore, should equip himself in India with the uniform of the corps to which he may be appointed, on arrival: the additional expense of pro- viding his uniform in the country will be but a trifle more than its prime cost in England. Moreover, the metal parts of it are apt to receive damage from sea air; and young men become mortified to find, on unfolding their uniform coat, upon reaching their destination, that the gold or silver lace is tarnished, and the coat rendered too shabby to be worn. A small telescope, that may be easily carried in the pocket, will prove amusing on many occasions, and to a military man must ever be ranked among absolute ne- cessaries. From the very limited space allowed for baggage to each passenger, it is indispensable that every article should be packed close. Many prefer a large sea-chest; but it is the worst receptacle that could be devised; especially as it becomes useless on arrival in India, and should in every instance be superseded by four boxes, well covered with leather, and clamped with brass, measuring about 26 or 28 inches in length, 18 in breadth, and 18 in depth. Within each box should be a lifter, so that half the con- tents may be taken out at pleasure, and the lower tier re- main undisturbed. The contents of each part should be noted on a piece of stiff paper, pasted within the lid. A copy should also be written in a memorandum-book, so that the contents of the several boxes (numbered and let- tered with the proprietor's initials, thus, ** **** **) may be known without opening them. Only one of these need be in use at a time; the rest being sent down into the after-hold; which is usually opened once or twice a week, on stated days, for the convenience of those who may wish to examine their packages. EAST INDIA v ADE-MECUM. 15 Very considerable convenience ensues from sorting all linen into sets: for instance, a shirt, an under-shirt, a pair of stockings, two neck-handkerchiefs, and a pocket ditto. These should be rolled up as tight as can be effected by manual force, and surrounded with a towel, which, being pinned, keeps all fast and clean. In this form may linen be packed in a very small space. Foul linen should al- ways be put up in the same manner. One box, containing articles in reserve (hats, silk stockings, best coats, linen, waistcoats, &c.) should be separated from such as may be occasionally wanted. As each will occupy about five cubic feet, the whole may be comprised in half a ton of measurement. Blankets, &c. not in use, may be put under the mattress, and, for a standing bed-place, about four yards of coarse woollen, such as serge, perpet, shalloon, or baize, may be taken on board, to make a set of curtains. This in some situations, such as the steerage, will be found not only comfortable, but necessary. Those who have been on board any coasting-vessel, fitted up for the accommodation of passengers, will instantly approve this advice, and com- prehend how desirable it is that every box, &c. not in immediate use, should be consigned to the after-hold. Should more than four trunks be deemed necessary, they may generally be had ready made at most of the manu- facturers. The size above described ought not to be ex- ceeded, on account of the facility with which such may be suspended in slings made of canvass, and be carried on bullocks, one trunk on each side. This may become ne- cessary during a march or campaign in the East, perhaps immediately after landing there. Too much cannot be said on this point; since the degree of compactness an officer is able to attain, will generally determine the quantity he may be able to carry on a journey, and ensure 16 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. its early, as well as its safe, arrival both in peace and war. The Company, some years ago, issued their orders, that only certain stated sums should be taken by the com- manders of ships in their employ, according to the rank of passengers, respectively. A reference to the Direc- ToRY will shew what were prescribed, any trespass on which was declared tantamount to an ipso facto dismissal from the service. The regulations formerly included only as far as majors, under the supposition that all above that rank would indulge in the hire of cabins; for which they must, of course, pay extra. The specified sums were what the Company paid on all occasions where the passage- money was receivable from their own treasury. It is probable enough that the recent competition for procuring passengers of every class, has reduced the ope- ration of these rules within a very narrow compass. At all events, it is generally better to leave things of this nature to self-adjustment; the rise or fall in price being settled by the actual state of the market. In this instance, as it is daily growing more favourable to the purchaser than to the disposer of a passage to India, the difficulty of fixing any specific sum is greatly encreased. It needs no argument to prove, that a ship containing a great number of cadets, under the limited rates, would by no means be a gaining concern to the commander. Hence, formerly, the outward voyage was not his grand object in this point of view, because, even under the most favourable circumstances, he could not then make any great profit by his passengers. Yet, by his liberal treatment of them, he used to obtain that character which must still ensure a choice of rich persons returning to Europe, who, in the aggregate, rarely fail to make up for former trouble, and deficiency of pecuniary benefit, when this was actually the case. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 17 It is usual to enquire of the commanders their probable number of passengers, and to ascertain the dates at which their ships are, according to the arrangements made at the India House, to be despatched. Very serious complaints have been made against the uncertainty of final departure by the private India ships. The additional expence to their passengers, besides other disappointments, has been so great, that the evil will speedily produce its own re- medy by becoming insufferable. The experience of a season or two will alone induce the owners and captains in this line of business, to commence effectual improve- ments, on private and public grounds. The pursers are commonly employed to adjust the rates of passage, and to dispose of cabins intended for the ac- commodation of passengers. Matters being settled, it is necessary to apply to the secretary for an order to be re- ceived on board the vessel in question. This order, soon as obtained, is delivered to the commander, or to his pur- ser. The secretary likewise furnishes every Company’s servant with a certificate of his appointment; and to each free-mariner, &c. he gives a licence to proceed to India. These papers must be carefully preserved, and are therefore best consigned to the keeping of the purser, for delivery at the office of the secretary under that presidency to which the party may be destined. When certificates have been lost, much difficulty has arisen, and all the parties have been obliged to depose to that effect on oath. Those who are about to embark, will do well to cul- tivate an acquaintance with the respective commanders, and, when practicable, with their intended shipmates. Experience fully proves that civility rarely fails to be beneficial. It is reasonable to conclude, that previous acquaintance must engender some good will. The cap- tains navigating under the auspices of the India Com- C 18 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. pany, are men who have seen much of the world, and they rarely fail justly to appreciate marks of attention and respect, which flow voluntarily from persons with whom they have dealings. On the other hand, it must be rather uncomfortable to go on board a ship where all are total strangers; or, at the best, where, perhaps, the purser alone, and that with some hesitation and difficulty, acknowledges ever to have seen your face. Common sense points out that such a state of things is both impo- litic and uncomfortable. The truth is, that in the Company's ships, we find most of those good points established in the Royal navy, added to much desire in their commanders to be on a friendly footing with the passengers; while there is no doubt that their terms are as moderate as those of any compe- titors, whether British or foreign. To all these, (Ameri- cans, every thing considered, excepted,) there exist many objections. Should a passenger's circumstances enable him to hire a cabin, his comfort will be very greatly increased, even with barely room enough to swing a cot, or to put up a standing bed. But, lest he deceive himself as to the ac- commodation he may derive from such a retirement, he should pay a visit to the vessel, lying in the river, pro- bably at Gravesend, or the Hope, and there ascertain the exact dimensions he is to occupy. Should he use a swinging cot, it is an object, that the breadth of the cabin allow of its being triced up between the beams during the daytime, to be out of the way, and to give more space in the cabin. When suspended, it should be lengthwise; so that, as the ship rolls, or lays down on either side, the cot should swing even. If hung athwart- ships, unless the cabin be very broad, it will be perpetu- ally knocking against the bulk-head (or partition), and FAST INDIA WA DE-MECU MI. 19 the ship's side. Hence it is advisable, wherever the space admits, to make a standing bed-place fore and aft, fur- nished with rails, to keep the occupant from rolling out. Else, if it be made athwart-ships, and the vessel be work- ing against an adverse wind, he must, whenever the ship goes about, change the position of his pillow, from head to foot, alternately. In peaceable times, cabins are ordinarily constructed of wooden partitions, and have a door, with lock, &c. very complete; but, during war-time, they are usually made of canvass, fixed to the beams above, and rolling up thereto, whenever the vessel may be cleared for action. Some cabins include a port-hole, which, in large ships, is peculiarly comfortable ; especially under the Line, when a current of air is invaluable. In bad weather, however, when the port is shut, cabins that have only skuttles, about one-fourth the size of a port-hole, become preferable; especially if provided with glass shutters; which, if not previously attached, can be made at any time by the ship's carpenter. The skuttles, usually placed at intervals between the ports, being higher up in the side of the vessel, and nearer to the deck above the cabin, are well calculated for allowing the escape of rarefied air, which would float above the level of a port-hole. When a cabin is built so as to include a port, the gun appertain- ing to it is commonly sent forward, and lashed up to the ship's side, the muzzle pointing forward; but, on emer- gency, the cabin is knocked down, and the gun is run into its place. Hence,each kind of cabin has its advantages, and disadvantages. The right side of the ship, from stem to stern, is called the starboard, and the left the larboard. The line on which the masts stand, i.e. straight over the keel, divides them. The starboard, in most modes of applying the C 2 20 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. term, implies superiority over the larboard. Thus, the chief mate has his cabin usually about 12 or 14 feet long, by 10 or 12 in breadth, next to the great cabin, on the starboard side of the gun-deck. The second mate has one rather smaller, on the opposite, or larboard side. Then, again, the third mate on the starboard side, imme- diately before the chief mate's. Next before him is the fourth mate; while the surgeon and purser usually have their cabins on the larboard side, next before the second mate's. - What is called the “great cabin,” is a slip taken off across the stern of a ship, on the gun-deck, about 14 feet deep, leaving a passage on the larboard side for pas- sengers and officers to have access to the quarter-gallery, or privy, on that quarter. The great-cabin, including all the stern windows, is extremely light and airy; but its situation rather disadvantageous to those troubled with habitual sea-sickness. The bows and stern partake, in an accumulated ratio, of the ship's motion, as she pitches; that is, as she rises and sinks, alternately, at the head and stern. Thus, the centre of every vessel is the part least subject to agitation. - The captain occupies, in general, a cabin called the “state-room,” situated under the fore part of the poop, on the starboard side, with a glass door towards the quarter- deck. Its dimensions, as well as those of all the cabins already described, vary according to the ship's tonnage, but may be taken at about 15 or 16 feet square. The space including it, and the larboard side under the same parallel, is called “the cuddy;” (from the Persian kudu, a room, or house.) All behind is designated “the round- house;” and has a row of glass windows in the stern part, with two doors opening into “the stern-gallery.” A flight of steps, rather confined, serves as a communication, by EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 21 means of the starboard quarter-gallery, with the great cabin. These steps, under which is a water-closet, are particularly convenient to ladies, who usually have the starboard side of the great-cabin allotted to their accom- modation. When the passengers are very numerous, especially when many families are on board, the round- house is partitioned off into three or more cabins; the lar- board quarter-gallery, on the upper deck, having also a water-closet. In such case, the dinner-table is laid in the cuddy, instead of the round-house; but, as it is rarely spacious enough to allow the whole to sit down at the same time, the company are, commonly, divided into two parties, succeeding each other every day alternately. The sums paid for cabins entirely depend upon the demand, their size, the ship's destination, and the cir- cumstances of the person selling his accommodations. The several portions of the round-house and great-cabin, both of which are considered as the captain's property, of course are paid for in proportion to their respective dimen- sions. It may, however, be taken as some guide, that, outward bound, a slip, including one window, may pro- duce from £200. to £300. ; and that the several mates' cabins may be averaged at from £3. to £5. for every square foot of the enclosed area. There being an essential difference in comfort between a cot and a fixed bed-place, it may be acceptable to all readers to be informed of some minutiae attached to those conveniences respectively. A cot is an oblong case of canvass, having a deal frame at the bottom, with a canvass sacking well strained. The ends are furnished with small cords, called nettles, which pass round an iron thimble, or grummet; and those again are passed over two strong hooks, placed about seven feet asunder, fore and aft, whereby the cot is suspended. During the day-time, it is 22 F. AST IN DIA W A D lº-M ECU M. commonly taken down, and disposed of in some part, where it may, so far as the means allow, be out of the way. The best mode is to trice it up between the beams that support the superior deck. In this kind of bed, the cot always preserving its level, the motion of the ship is scarcely felt, unless when she is acted upon by a very short, broken sea. Hence, those who are much troubled with sea-sickness should always provide a swinging cot; taking care to hang it in such a place as may preclude the danger of its being bumped against the ship's sides, or the bulk-head, (a boarded partition,) than which nothing can be more unpleasant. In very bad weather, when the ship has rolled many streaks of her deck under water, the frame of a cot has been forcibly dashed against the beams. At such times, should the width of the space admit, it is proper to lengthen the nettles to their utmost, and thus the inconvenience may, generally, be avoided. A standing bed-place is convenient, as obviating the necessity for removing in the morning, and affixing at night. Thus, the bed-furniture is greatly preserved from injury by filth and vermin; while its occupant can “turn in” when he pleases, with the satisfaction of knowing that his trunk, by being under him, is secured from damage, as well as depredation; whereas persons who sleep in cots often experience considerable inconvenience in these par- ticulars. Those who have fixed bed-places in the larboard division of the great-cabin, are by far more privately, and more comfortably, situated than such as have them in the steerage, ranging along the bulk-head of the chief mate's cabin. In either case, there are always two tiers, or ranges, of bed-places, one above the other. The lower are certainly most convenient. As priority of embarkation, or at least of adjustment, gives a right to selection, it is advisable to visit the ship EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. 23 soon as an order for being taken on board is obtained; when a choice should be made of the situation for a bed- place. Those of the lower tier, nearest the stern windows in the great-cabin, are to be preferred, as more airy and light. The latter circumstance will be important to those who are studious, and partial to reading in bed, which, on board-ship, is considered as a favourite recreation. In bargaining with the captain, or his purser, it is pro- per to be very exact in stipulating for a birth in the great- cabin, and to notice the conveniences to be afforded, in the body of the receipt given for the passage-money. This caveat does not in itself lead to the suspicion of inten- tional deceptions; but, in the hurry of business of con- siderable importance, such lesser items will occasionally slip the memory, giving birth to disagreements not only attended with future distrust, but perhaps beyond the possibility of remedy. It should, however, be considered that a bed-place in the great-cabin, generally fitted up for eight, or, at the utmost, for twelve, will be charged somewhat higher than one in the steerage; the latter being an open passage, totally devoid of privacy, exposed to violent currents of air, not always of the sweetest odour, and subject to many obvious inconveniences. Among the ship's company, two or three men, or boys, are usually excused the general duty of the ship, that they may attend the passengers. When other matters are set- tling on board, care should be taken to engage one of these attendants to do all the work in the cabin, if one is hired; namely, to clean boots and shoes, brush clothes, clean the basons, provide hot and cold water, attend to the boxes in the hold; with a variety of et-cetera which will soon obtrude into notice. For such good offices, about three or four guineas will be expected; but it must not be supposed that, for such a compensation, a man 24 EAST IND I A VAD E-M1 ECU M. will devote his whole time to one passenger. Nor, indeed, is this necessary, since an active, intelligent fellow, used to such menial offices, may easily give satisfaction to at least four or five. When, from the scarcity of hands on board, such an aid cannot be obtained, a douceur to any of the officers' servants, with their master's approbation, will serve every purpose, with the probable advantage of being attended by one perfectly conversant with ship affairs, and possessing some influence with the captain's steward. With him all prudent passengers will keep on good terms; as he is no small man in his way, and has the power to afford many conveniences. These, in the estimation of people on shore, may appear insignificant, but are of considerable value to those unaccustomed to a sea-life, who are cooped up for months within such nar- row limits. This reflection naturally leads to the consideration of that conduct on all occasions to be maintained by those who wish to pass their time as agreeably as circumstances will admit, and to appear respectable. In the first place, the captain will exact from every one on board, of what- ever class, a perfect attention to the regulations of his ship. Were he to allow any deviation, the whole would be aiming at the same indulgence, and subordination would be annihilated. It is customary, whenever a per- son ascends from the gun-deck to the quarter-deck, or goes upon it from the cuddy, &c. to touch his hat, even though no one should appear there. A breach of this rule would be considered as grossly insulting, and might cause a rebuke, by no means pleasant to the feelings, or adding to the credit, of a gentleman. When it is consi- dered with what a high hand officers of ships are obliged to uphold their authority, over a numerous crew composed of all nations, and often including the most hardened and EAST IND I A VAD E-MI ECU M. 25 daring culprits, one cannot but applaud every practice tending to preserve order, regularity, politeness, and decorum. w The hour for breakfast is, generally, eight, for dinner, two, for tea, six, and for supper, nine. The first is announced by the great bell on the fore-castle, which always rings a sonorous peal when the watch, or guard, is to be relieved. Tea-time is known by the same signal. As the dinner hour does not correspond with the relief of the watch, it is usual to warn the passengers and officers by beat of drum : the tune of “Roast-beef" being daily heard, though it rarely leads to a participation of that viand whence its designation is derived. Very little notice is required to call together those who are disposed to partake of supper. For the most part, the company amuse themselves with cards, music, &c. during the evenings; or, when the weather admits, they walk the quarter-deck; observing to keep on the windward side; which is held to be reserved for the captain, the three senior mates, the purser, the surgeon, and those passengers who board at the captain's table. Although nothing very sumptuous is to be expected on board ship, yet there will be little or no cause to complain of deficiency. The breakfast usually consists of good tea and coffee, with excellent biscuit, and, at times, rolls. The butter cannot be highly praised; it being utterly impossible, in warm latitudes, to prevent its melting, so as to resemble liquid honey. As much fresh meat as possible being taken on board at the time of sailing, some joints of good beef and mutton may be served up for the first week; after which corned (or slightly salted) meat comes into use. An ample sup- ply of poultry, of all descriptions, fed in coops on the poop, and a small flock of sheep, perhaps from twenty-five 26 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. to forty in number, maintained there on hay, &c. enable the captain, for the most part, to exhibit fresh meat, of some sort, every day. This, added to abundance of prime beef and pork, salted for his use, together with tongues, pickles, sauces of all kinds, potatoes, rice, pastry, olives, &c. &c. form a tout ensemble, where even the most dainty may find something acceptable to the palate. It cannot be supposed, that wine is so freely dispensed as when on shore. The ladies, however, are generally supplied with as much as they may require during the repast. After the cloth is removed, the bottle is put round two or three times, according to the liberality of the commander. The last tour it makes being accom- panied with “good afternoon,” serves as a hint for the gentlemen to withdraw, till the hour for tea; when, as already observed, they frequently amuse themselves till supper is ready. This last meal is little more than a matter of form; it consists chiefly of cheese and biscuits, rasped beef, sago- soup, lobs kous, which is a curious medley of various ingredients, forming something midway betweene water- gruel and peas-soup. One tour of the bottle, attended with “good night,” closes the operations of the day. When one or two unruly youths happen to be passen- gers, they are too prone to disregard the usual signal for retreat, without having an extra glass or two, often from a false notion that such pertinacity is a sign of manly conduct, but sometimes from the grovelling idea of taking their pennyworth out of the captain, if the notion is once put into their heads by any evil spirit in the vessel, that they are on board a floating hotel, and may use their freedom with the commander as a personage merely on a level with “mine host of the garter,” bound to provide as much as EAST INDIA VAD E-M F.C. U M. 27 can be eaten or drank at a protracted meal, the bill of fare having previously been discharged in advance. Nothing can be more delusive or unjust than such sen- timents, and their adoption commonly terminates in partial or general discord. This, idlers, gourmands, and sots, will naturally foment, to gratify, if practicable, their own inordinate desires, from the beginning to the end of the voyage, however ruinous too such hospitality might prove to the health and morality of such guests, or to the pocket of their purveyor, who certainly had no idea of triflers constantly keeping their grinders going, and their throats wet, from a lack of every other employment. From the hour of a young man's embarkation, his future fame, at his destined port, is in great measure begun, and he becomes a sound character or a black sheep, from the ordinary hue of his behaviour en passant by sea to the establishment, on which he must soon commence the career of active life, with a good or bad name, according to his deserts since his departure from home. This consideration alone is enough to put every rational adventurer to the East completely on his guard against furnishing the master of any vessel with a fair occasion for branding him with an indelible stigma of intemperance, insubordination, gambling, or any other vicious propen- sity, when interrogated respecting the prominent disposi- tions of his juvenile passengers, by competent authority, or parties most interested in hearing the truth. This report will pave the way for free admission to genteel society, or consign a new comer to Coventry at once, in a country where every body is immediately recognised under their genuine colours, whatever these may be, and treated accordingly. The periodical appearance of a fatal epidemic, cholera 28 EA ST IN DIA W A D E-M ECU M. morbus, within the last ten years, all over India, has pro- duced no small alarm for the safety of adventurers to that fertile region of the globe, encreased by the want hitherto of some satisfactory theory and judicious treatment of this terrible disease: in which it has often been found that an antidote in one case has proved so perfectly the bane in another, as to frighten the best practitioners from adopting any rational method of cure for general use, and the com- mon weal of their fellow creatures. In the absence of all other assignable causes for this new calamity in the East, can the extensive introduction of vaccination have the smallest effect, or have any simi- lar visitations in other parts of the world been traced to this apparent improvement on inoculation, and the natu- ral small pox? Be this conjecture what it may, every thinking person will grant that a mind seasonably fortified against unreasonable apprehension on this score, with a body kept in the most healthy state by moderation and care, bids fairest to escape all such perils in every country which, like Hindoostan, is on the whole rather salubrious than the reverse. In the absence of all hereditary tendency to bodily complaints, there exist a few very ordinary predisposing causes to a great variety of subsequent evils, which might be easily prevented at first, in lieu of being cured with no small risk and expense afterwards. Excess in eating, drinking, exercise, and in every corporeal indulgence or mental function, may be stated as the first grand stumbling block of juvenile health and spirits, however buoyant or robust. It, of course, should be constantly avoided, as the rock whereon the best constitution may be irrecover- ably shattered to pieces during the outward passage, leaving a miserable wreck behind, ill fitted to brave the storms of any foreign clime. Constipation is the next EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. 29 latent impediment in the way of well doing. Induced, chief- ly, by the transition from a landman's to a seafarer's life, it steals insensibly upon the heedless lads on board ship, espe- cially when bashfulness prevents all idea of consultation, either with a medical man, or with considerate shipmates, more experienced than the patient's self. Thus may he prematurely cherish the dangerous seeds of hepatic affec- tions long before his arrival in British India, unless he is forewarned of this danger in due time. The safest remedy is undoubtedly some innocent but efficient diet, in the form of a light supper, regularly taken, say stewed prunes, thin sago, or flummery, with spruce or other beer; in short, any simple food which creates a periodical sum- mons to the water-closet, at least once a day, and, if practicable, very early in the morning, as that is the hour least liable to interruption of any sort. All the natives of the Asiatic peninsula, from habit alone, become, as long as they live, a species of machines, whose clock- work, in this lower department, never almost goes wrong, and consequently needs no extraneous aid from the apo- thecary’s shop, till some unforeseen morbid state of the bowels forces them also to take advice and physic from their doctors, though much more rarely than among Europeans, who are seldom so regular and abstemious as the Asiatics in matters of this description. There, cus- toms, which become a second nature, give the natives a better chance of good health than ordinary sojourners can well enjoy, until they imitate such salutary examples, including those partial ablutions and cleanly expedients, which are soon deemed indispensable by every British Indian. No person who ventures on so long a salt-water excur- sion as Hindoostan, should omit carrying with him a few boxes of aperient pills, that he may take one or two every 30 EAST INDIA V A.D E-M ECU M. night pro re nata. Among a long list of such nostrums, those prepared by Hume, of Long Acre, the king's che- mist, at two shillings per box of 48 pills, are probably the safest, and best, as many respectable persons have experienced, by taking one only every day immediately before dinner, whence they are denominated dinner pills, and enjoy an extensive sale commensurate with their acknowledged efficacy in obviating all costive tendency and stomachic disorders from that source, without inducing the smallest inconveniences in the shape of piles or any other local affection. That the vulgar prejudices at what are termed quack medicines are frequently too well founded, nobody will dispute, till a fair trial has fully established their reputation, as in the instance of James's Powders, and some others of the same sterling worth, among which the dinner pill may most beneficially be included. One objection still remains, more plausible in appear- ance, though not in reality, as the sequel will demon- strate. A person, solicitous to ward off as long as he can, indigestion, constipations, head-achs, &c. with their endless train of familiar ills and habitual miseries of even a temperate life, proposes to commence a daily preventa- tive in the form of a pill, taken previous to his principal meal, in a spoonful of plain water; but some sapient friend jeers poor Pill Garlic on the idea of learning a bad practice, by swallowing a nauseous substance ephemerally, which, without farther discussion, perhaps, is deemed conclusive logic, and the specific is rejected at once, however harmless in taste, smell, and every such property it may be. Yet, what are salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar, and a whole string of culinary ingredients, but medicines in a more customary form 2 And should man or beast entirely renounce the use of salt, on the simple plea that it is EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 31 found essential in nearly, every dish we eat, at all hours of the day or night P An adequate supply of Hume's dinner pills may enable certain constitutions to weather an Indian climate effec- tually for many years, which would otherwise have required renovation at home. One remarkable example has ac- tually occurred of a gentleman whom stubborn costiveness drove from Hindoostan in his youth, but whose malady has so happily yielded to the prescription in question which he carried out with him at a more advanced period of his age, that he is now enabled to bid perfect defiance to the whole catalogue of his quondum ailments. The water taken on board being strongly impregnated with filth, of various kinds and colours, soon becomes too nauseous for the use of delicate persons. The quan- tity of animalculae it contains could not be credited by a person who had not seen it! On this account, several filtering-stones are used, through which it finds a passage, leaving the impurities behind. This percolation is, how- ever, extremely tedious, and does not entirely remove the taint; though it assuredly so far sweetens it as to render the water very drinkable. The fecula left in the hollow of the drip-stone, are perfectly putrid. The ordinary beverage is table beer, or perhaps porter. In warm weather excellent spruce beer abounds; some- times, indeed, the whole crew are supplied with from one to two quarts daily. Nor is the punch-bowl suspended for empty shew By means of prepared lemon-juice, aided by a good stock of the fresh fruit, carefully sus- pended in nets in the stern-gallery, &c. good punch, lemonade, and negus, are often served to the company. Young persons should embark at Gravesend, or the Nore, rather than at Portsmouth. Thus they become settled before the generality of passengers arrive, and 32 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. escape that indescribable confusion attendant upon the sudden influx of whole hoys full of dead and live lumberſ For such they appear when interrupting the several opera- tions attendant upon a vessel's getting under weigh. Those who purpose delaying, from unavoidable business, to the last moment, should leave their cards of address with the purser, taking care not to be far from home, that, when proceeding to the India House to receive the packets, he may send notice of his being about to quit town. No time must then be lost in repairing to that port where the vessel may be ; it being customary to sail soon as the purser gets on board. Half an hour's delay has proved the loss of many a passage, and subjected the loiterer to such inexpressible anguish, that no man in his senses should run the risk of so terrible a disappointment on any consideration short of inevitable necessity. The great number of ships employed in the India Trade, occasions such frequent intercourse, that two months scarcely ever elapse without one or more being despatched to some part of India. Unless under very peculiar and pressing circumstances, it is unadvisable to proceed in any not bound to that part whither the passen- ger is destined. Though it appear, on paper, very easy to get from Madras, (Mudraj,) for instance, to Bengal, such a passage is not always practicable; and such a delay may elapse as will allow a vessel bound to Bengal, sailing perhaps a month or two subsequent to that pro- ceeding to Madras, to arrive at her port before the means might offer of getting on from Madras. Besides, freight and passage-money are much higher in India than in Europe. This, combined with the heavy expense attend- ant upon long detention on shore, would prove the econo- my, as well as the speed, to be on the other side of the question. EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 33 The time of sailing will, under common circumstances, decide the time of arrival. Ships leaving England, that is, the Land's End, in all April, may be expected to arrive at Madras in all September; when, if not delayed, they may with great ease run up the Bay in a week more. As the northerly monsoon often begins to prevail in Octo- ber, occasioning ships to stretch over towards Acheen- head, whereby from four to six weeks will be lost in getting to Balasore Roads, it is rather advisable, if at liberty to choose the season, not to sail later than March. Thus the arrival will take place at a time when the great heats are over, and the cold weather is approaching: two points equally eligible for health and society. The early, or late arrivals of covenanted servants, appointed for the same year, make no difference whatever in the rank they are relatively to bear; that being now determined by the priority of embarking, modified in a certain degree by the rank of their several nominees in the Direction, or by their academic proficiency at the civil and military col- leges. The pay, however, of all functionaries is calcu- lated from the date of presenting the requisite certificate, before spoken of, at the proper office, after reaching the settlement for which they are bound. The period of sailing will generally indicate the weather to be expected during the whole passage. Such as leave the pilot in the spring will round the Cape of Good Hope about Whitsuntide or Midsummer, when winter prevails in that quarter; it being in 34° south latitude. Advanc- ing to the northward, they will meet with the trade-winds from the Tropic towards the Line, where, in all probability, light and variable winds may cause some delay. Ships leaving England in our autumn, round the Cape at their Midsummer, and reach Madras generally in from eighteen to twenty weeks; carrying fair, but warm, weather all the I} 34 East INDIA vade-MEcuM. way. If they arrive about the middle, or latter end of March, they may, by remaining for a few days till the southerly monsoon is fairly established, sometimes reach the sand-heads in Balasore Roads in three or four days. This is obviously preferable to running over to the east- ward. - Nothing can happen more unpleasant than being wind- bound. Nor, indeed, can there be well conceived a more certain recipe for draining the purse. Every passenger must not suppose that, after having repaired to that port. where the ship rides, he is at liberty to go on board in- stantly, and to remain till she sails. On the contrary, though he should not fail to intimate his arrival, and to leave his card of address, he must put up at some inn, or lodging-house, at his own expense, till the signal be made for sailing, by firing a gun, and loosening the fore-top- sail, by that ship under whose convoy a fleet is to sail; or, if there be no convoy, by the senior captain; who is, by courtesy, designated Commodore. In peaceable times the hardship to either party is not so severe as in time of war, and there are instances of commanders stipulating for an extra sum to take all such risks upon their own shoulders, a precaution very desirable occasionally, es- pecially when an inexperienced youth has very little cash, and much less discretion than his fellow passengers. The Directors, considering the inability of their junior servants to pay the heavy charges to which they are sub- ject while in port, have given an extra sum to the com- manders of their ships for each cadet's diet in such situa- tions. This was no less necessary than considerate. It will have been seen, that persons going out in the civil service have fewer stipulations in their favour; for which the presumptive reason is, that they are commonly the sons of gentlemen possessing large property. The sum of EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 35 £3000, in days of yore, having been so often given for writer-ships, seems to indicate that very little occasion could exist for such solicitous interference in their behalf. Yet as all general rules admit of exceptions, there can be no doubt of various cases of distress even in this more for- tunate department of the service. When a ship arrives at any regular port, where accom- modations can be procured, the passengers are, in like manner, expected to reside on shore, at their own charge. This, to many, may appear unreasonable, or strange; but, considering what heavy losses a commander might else incur, which, divided among a number, appear trifling, and, at all events, may not prove ruinous, the propriety of such a rule will not be disputed. This explanation may serve as a hint to parents and guardians not to ship young folks in forma pauperis, under the prudent, but here inapplicable, precaution of taking away the means of being extravagant. Emergencies often arise, wherein a few pounds are indispensably necessary; and, as few go to sea with more cash than ordinary expenses may de- mand, it is not easy to remedy the error. Where a young man has established his character for imprudence, the only recourse is to place from twenty to thirty pounds in the hands of the captain, officers, purser, surgeon, &c. when known to his friends, with directions to supply what may be absolutely required, rather in form of a loan; keeping the youth in ignorance, if possible, of his having a banker on board, and giving him, at taking leave, perhaps five or six sovereigns, in order so far to carry on the deception. In the list of passengers some respectable characters may be found, who, on proper ap- plication, may be induced to perform this kind office to a stripling in such a manner as not to wound his feelings D 2 36 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. or expose him to unnecessary hardships during any period of the outward voyage. - As no shop of any kind exists in a ship, (excepting the purser's slop-shop,) there can be little opportunity for extravagance. The principal danger to be apprehended is from gaming, which in some ships reaches to a dreadful extent; always creating difficulty, and rarely terminating without bloodshed. This, added to emulation for the fa- vourable opinion of the ladies, may be considered as the usual causes of discord. The latter is, in a great mea- sure, restrained by that custom which fixes every passen- ger to the same seat at table during the whole voyage; whereby daily contests for vicinity are avoided. During the passage out, the cadet should be circumspect in his conduct, complaisant to all, and careful with whom he forms an intimacy: he should wait till he has studied the characters of the persons on board, before he selects his companions. This may always be done without appear- ing unmeaningly open to some, or particularly reserved with others. The officers and midshipmen on board the Company's ships are gentlemen, with whom the cadet may freely associate, if he finds them agreeable; but with the petty officers of a ship, as master-at-arms, carpenter, or boatswain, he must avoid all intimacy: for though these persons may be as morally worthy as those above them, yet in the naval as well as the military service there is a certain gradation of rank, which must be properly attended to by every officer. The ensign and cadet are allowed to associate with the general, and must not harbour among the petty officers. These observations are not intended to sanction pride or assumed consequence, than which nothing is more contemptible; on the contrary, they re- commend a pleasant condescending civility as due to every man. - - EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. 37 Besides the causes already enumerated that might break up the harmony of society on the long voyage to India, may be noticed the casual introduction of politics or na- tional reflections, than which no topics can well occur so objectionable in a mixed company, where the private his- tory of individuals or their connexions must be imper- fectly known to each other. This consideration should impose a salutary restraint even respecting the injudicious mention of crimes, punish- ments, calamities, &c. which affect particular persons, and consequently their families or relatives, who are thus sub- jected to the most painful sensations, by people who had no intention to wound the feelings of any man, far less of an estimable shipmate, innocent of all blame, beyond the misfortune of having been connected by blood or marriage with some worthless being, whose misdeeds have previ- ously been trumpeted through every newspaper. Humiliating hints about black blood and blue casts ought sedulously to be discountenanced, lest they raise a blush in animated faces, which otherwise would never have betrayed the smallest affinity with the obtrusive remarks. The most practical antidote to many evils of a tiresome passage to the East, would be due encouragement of scientific pursuits, useful employment, and harmless pastime, from first to last: which might occupy as many hours every day as would not prove detrimental to health, nor encroach too far upon the social enjoyments of a ship. Those who have separate cabins can be at no loss to follow the bent of their inclinations, to cultivate favourite and beneficial studies with considerable success during a period of five months, and they who act thus will com- monly be found the most agreeable portion of the captain's 38 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. temporary guests. Their conversation will be enlight- ened, their manners engaging, and their moderation in eat- ing, drinking, speaking, and every thing else altogether ex- emplary. In short, the individual possessed of a rational inoffensive hobby, may ride it the whole way to India with safety to himself, and advantage likewise to all who can- not singly mount so desirable a horse. Among a great variety of indispensable objects for local accomplishments, not one can claim precedence of collo- quial knowledge in the two languages of greatest utility in British India, namely, the Hindoostanee and Persian tongues; which, combined, form the common high-way to every one of the rest, either as classical or aboriginal mo- numents of speech, partially or generally, ºver the whole Asiatic peninsula. It may here be not unsuitably added, that for several years past, every adventurer to India has been able easily to procure free access to Gilchrist's gratuitous lectures in London on those two languages, Hindoostanee and Persian. Thus by punctual attendance from the short space of a few weeks to six or twelve months, nearly one thousand students have acquired, not only enough to enable them to prosecute their philological labour suc- cessfully while at sea, but a number have auspiciously passed their examinations as linguists soon after landing, and are now in actual possession of two or three staff ap- pointments, in consequence entirely of such laudable profi- ciency in this initiatory department of Oriental literature." Few ships, of any season, are entirely without some of the gentlemen who have profited by attendance on the * Every particular concerning Gilchrist's numerous publications and lecture-rooms will be ascertained by calling on the Company's book- sellers, at No. 7, Leadenhall-street, London; where cards of admission, gratis, will be obtained, on which the place, time, and subjects of each day's discourse are distinctly inserted. EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU MI. 39 lectures in question, and they are, with hardly an excep- tion, both qualified and desirous to communicate a very correct pronunciation, and often a large share of their own grammatical progress as practical Orientalists. From the long lists, occasionally, of such applicants for the outward passage, some captains of Indiamen have been induced to accommodate them with an apartment for the sole purpose of an eastern class-room or floating school; whence, in divers instances, the most advantageous results have proceeded, which tend to make this indul- gence a matter of the utmost importance to all concerned, and it would be still better were the practice to become general. When no convenience of this kind exists, the fools and knaves of each juvenile cargo, strive by every species of interruption either to annoy the studious or cor- rupt the minds of their youthful shipmates into frivolous and baneful pursuits, lest they should, immediately on landing at their respective places of destination, eclipse the whole flock of idlers, who may then learn, when too late, that the hour of comparative trial has come at last, which may for ever settle their several prospects of lucra- tive or barren appointments in different branches of the Company's service. The number of accidents from trivial causes renders it necessary to be extremely cautious as to smoking; which in all men-of-war, and India-ships, is permitted only on the fore-castle. Thus danger is avoided, and the stench car- ried away. It is to be lamented that this proper regula- tion is not observed throughout the merchant service; in which so much carelessness prevails, that it appears almost miraculous that so many vessels arrive in safety. A gen- tleman once embarked at St. Helena on board a whaler, of which the captain had a strong predilection for his pipe, which was scarcely ever out of his mouth. His 40 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. practice was, to smoke in the dinner cabin, throwing his hot ashes down upon the deck, in which was a skuttle, or small hatch-way, under his own seat. Two lieutenants of the navy, who were also passengers, used to remonstrate very freely, but without the smallest effect, against a prac- tice so improper. It happened, one morning, as they were off the Azores, that a suspicious-looking vessel hove in sight, laying-to under close reefed top-sails. The course was altered, and immediately the whaler was chased. Having at least forty- five young fellows, and about a dozen six-pounders on board, the ship was cleared for action. The surprise of all on board is inconceivable, at finding, that under the identi- cal hatchway, over which the captain had been perpetually smoking, was a magazine of about thirty barrels of gun- powder; some hooped in, and some having their chimes barely covering their contents, which proved to be ready- filled cartridges! Had the vessel in chase proved to be an enemy, and the whaler been compelled to defend her- self, it would have been utterly impossible, to have avoided being blown up, before the action could have terminated in victory or defeat. Many passengers are in the pernicious habit of reading in their beds by candle-light. This only requires to be known to the officers, to be completely over-ruled. Nor will they, unless in cases of indisposition, allow a candle to be burning after the passengers have generally retired to rest. Hence, only a few wax-tapers, or rushlights, can be re- quisite. Considering that a ship is composed of materials for the chief part highly combustible, and that in such a situation a fire spreads with astonishing rapidity, defying the exertions of all on board; also, that there is little chance of many lives being saved, unless other vessels EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 41 be in company, every means of guarding against so ter- rible a calamity ought assuredly to be adopted. Most ships have a small fire-engine on board, which is not only an admirable safeguard, but facilitates the wash- ing of decks; an operation usually performed once or twice a-week. At such times all the chests are sent be- low, and all the hammocks hauled upon deck, for the pur- pose of being aired. Seamen become habitually cleanly in their persons, and in their bedding; but recruits when on board, being less attentive to personal appearance and comfort, not only breed vermin, but sometimes propagate infectious diseases. Hence, a small quantity of vermin- ointment may prove an useful succedaneum. When the decks are washed, it is customary to exercise the seamen in the use of the great guns. For this purpose the drum beats to quarters; when all repair to their several stations, and, under the instruction of the several officers, go through the ordinary operations attendant upon that branch of discipline. No persons, of whatever description, females excepted, are exempted from being appointed to some post, where their services may be efficient. The military officers are allotted to commands on the poop, fore-castle, waist, &c.; having under them such cadets and recruits as may be on board; the whole acting as marines. The surgeon, with his mates, those of the sick who are incapable of taking an active part, to- gether with all females, descend to the cock-pit; which, being below the level of the water-line, is tolerably secure from danger; though sometimes a shot, between wind and water, will find its way even to that apparently safe retreat. The crew are always portioned into two watches, except when very numerous. Then, and during the time a vessel 42 EAST - IND I A VAD E-MECU M. is in port, they divide them, including recruits, &c. into three watches. The chief mate commands the starboard- watch; the second mate commands the larboard-watch; and, when there are three, the other, called the mid- watch, is commanded by the third mate. It is customary to relieve the watch every four hours, except in the inter- val between four and eight o'clock in the evening, which is divided into two reliefs, of two hours each, called “ dog-watches.” But for the intervention of these, there would be no change in the times of coming upon duty; as each of the starboard and larboard watches would, re- spectively, come on at the same hours daily. This would be the same, even if a mid-watch existed : whereas, di- viding the evening-watch, occasions an odd number, and changes the tour, or series, every day. Where fresh supplies of provisions are not attainable, it necessarily follows that each person on board can re- ceive only a stipulated allowance of meat, water, &c. This does not always affect those at the captain's table; though it is generally recommended to the passengers to be economical in their expenditure of water for washing, shaving, &c. In some ships they are restricted to a quart daily ; and if the crew are upon short allowance, which is understood to be the case when each man re- ceives less than two quarts, the passengers and officers have little or no fresh water allowed for the above pur- poses; but their beverage at table is rarely limited, ex- cept under the pressure of actual necessity. All things considered, the privations experienced by passengers to India are by no means so numerous, or se- vere in their operation, as might at first view be appre- hended. In many ships, ladies and gentlemen skilled in music are thus brought together, and by their united EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 43 talents afford a most pleasing recreation to all on board. Few vessels are totally destitute of some means to attract the parties towards the quarter-deck. There, in the cool of the evening, during fair weather, the merry dance for a while banishes ennui, and contributes to give a whole- some impetus to the circulation. Ladies partial to music should be particularly careful that the piano-fortes they take with them, be so con- structed as to exempt them from those wondrous effects produced by the climate of India. The instruments made for exportation can never be depended upon, unless clamped at every joint with plates of brass, and secured, in the more delicate parts, by means of battens well screwed and cemented to the sounding-board. Experi- ence has fully proved, that the pianos most appropriate for hot climates were made by Clementi, Kirkman, and Tomkinson; but it is equally true, that other artists in this line are becoming not less celebrated, by imitating, or excelling, the instruments of their predecessors. Ladies will derive considerable convenience and grati- fication from having an exterior case made to enclose the piano-forte, leaving a space of about an inch all around. This outward safeguard should be of planed deal, stained of a mahogany colour, or painted; and it should open in front, so as to admit of playing the instrument, while its lid should be fixed upon hinges, that it may be thrown back at pleasure. The lower part of the frame may be packed and laid by ; a spare frame of deal being substi- tuted during the voyage, with a set of shelves below, to contain music-books, &c.; all locked up by means of folding-doors. Both the exterior case and the frame should be furnished with lacquered iron handles, to lift them occasionally; but particularly to secure them to the 44 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. side of the ship, and to the deck. Without such a pre- caution the whole would be tumbled about, and shivered to atoms by the vessel's motion. Gentlemen who perform on stringed instruments, should be careful to provide an ample supply of strings, firsts and fourths especially ; they being not only very dear, and perhaps damaged, when procurable, but at times not procurable in any part of India, for love or money! Reeds for hautboys, clarionets, bassoons, &c. are similarly circumstanced. Nor would it be superfluous for a lady to take with her several sets of wires for her piano; they being very scarce. At all events, she ought to qualify herself to tune the instrument. This may be learned in a month, or six weeks, by attention to the instructions of a regular tuner, who will be well satisfied with a moderate compensation. This is a point whereon one should dwell rather particularly ; because, even in Calcutta, Madras, or Bombay, a good tuner is not always to be found; and in all other situations, throughout the interior, there is scarcely a professional person. Besides, in a country whose climate deranges the most skilful adjustment of the wires, often in a few minutes, merely by a slight exposure to heat, or damp, the expense attendant upon such frequent tunings, as are indispensable, would spee- dily absorb the full value of the instrument itself;-the ordinary rates being a guinea for a grand-piano, and twelve shillings for a square one. Thus, whether for con- venience, or economy, too much cannot be said to re- commend that every lady, before she embarks, should be able to tune her piano. It being impossible to say how soon, after leaving port, there may be rough weather, (indeed, sometimes ships get under weigh while the wind is blowing very fresh,) it is usual to lash the dinner-tables to the deck, placing EAST INDIA WADE-MECU M. 45 their feet in mortices cut into small blocks, called cleats, which, being strongly nailed down, generally keep the whole sufficiently firm. It is not easy to render the chairs equally secure ; but they are tolerably steadied by nailing two rows of battens on each side of the table, so as to embrace the legs of the chairs, which, in this mode of securing them, ought all to be of equal compass from front to rear. It requires, after all, some manage- ment to preserve an equilibrium when a ship rolls much ; as in a calm, or a gale of wind. In the former instance, the transitions of reclination from starboard to larboard, and vice versá, are often very great, owing to the heavy swell which alternately raises the ship, and again sinks her into the trough made by two successive waves. How- ever curious it may seem to persons unacquainted with sea affairs, it is nevertheless certain, that more masts are lost by rolling in a calm, than by stress of weather. As to that most distressing malady, sea-sickness, it is not possible to lay down any specific mode of precaution, or of remedy. It usually commences with the agitation occasioned in the vessel's motion, by the wind's force, or the water's undulation. Few experience more than a few qualms, while the water is smooth: as in going through the Needles with a leading wind, in fine weather; but when upon a wind, with a chopping sea, and sudden or forcible gusts, all who are not accustomed to the motion, become most oppressively sick. However they may be affected by this customary derangement, those suffering under its influence are more frequently objects of derisive merriment than compassion. The prevalent opinion is, that, in a few days, the complaint will disappear. Hence it is regarded as a matter of course, and a seasoning, which, by its mode of operation, rather conduces to health, than to a dangerous issue. That such is the 46 EA ST IN ID I A VAD E-MEC U M. usual result cannot be denied ; but there are some con- stitutions which cannot stand so forcible an attack. Women, in general, are most severely oppressed by it, and some few become its victims. It would be endless to enumerate all the recipes which those who fancy themselves qualified to prescribe, tender on this occasion to the unhappy sufferers. Acids and lau- danum, in repeated small doses, are most successfully ad- ministered; though they must often fail. That unfeeling advice given to the unwary, “to drink a glass of spirits,” invariably tends to aggravate all the symptoms, and with those not habituated to such strong remedies, produces all the inconveniences attendant upon super-added irrita- tion. The fresh air upon deck will be found considerably to diminish the force of the complaint; but the eyes should be kept shut, and the attention withdrawn from the sea, and from the rigging. Of both these, the motion is peculiarly calculated to increase that swimming in the head inseparably attendant on sea-sickness. If, notwith- standing these precautions, the nausea and derangement continue, it will be proper to retire to bed; observing the precaution of lying on one side, and keeping the eyes closed. There may, perhaps, be no harm in taking a small case of spirits on board; but such is by no means indispen- sable. They do not come properly within the scope of a gentleman's own expenditure; and, unless preserved with uncommon vigilance, will probably be drawn off by some adventuring fellow, provided with a pick-lock, while the owner is either asleep or absent. Every thing should be rigidly kept under lock and key. Ships, ofevery description, are infested with petty pilferers, and sometimes with more expert and daring thieves ; who purloin whatever can be EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 47 turned to use, without leading to discovery. The effects of careless passengers, especially, are considered to be fair booty. Blankets, sheets, &c. will all disappear towards the close of a voyage, or when in a port where they can be sold, or bartered away, if their owners confide too much in the honesty of their neighbours, and have apathy enough to permit such depredations to be committed with impunity. The third mate generally has a mess, in the expenses of which the fourth, fifth, and sixth mates sometimes partake; the purser and surgeon being invariably at the captain's table. The captain's clerk, who is usually a midshipman, the surgeon's mate, when there is one, and such passengers as pecuniary or other circumstances may compel to economise while on board, all mess with the third mate, who is allowed a certain space before the officers' cabins. This being inclosed with canvass, makes a very tolerable birth, wherein the table is laid. Those of the mess who belong to the ship, subscribe to lay in such articles of provision, chandlery, &c. as may suffice for their own consumption; the sums paid by passengers, who associate with them, being applied, in due proportion, towards the maintenance of the latter ; any balances aris- ing therefrom becoming the perquisite of the third mate. With the exception of so large a proportion of live stock as is destined for the captain's table, the mate's mess, in some ships, has been known to claim the palm in many other respects. When so many passengers are on board as to render it impracticable for the captain to accommodate the whole at his table, the later applicants are consigned to the mate's mess during meals ; but admitted, so far as convenient, to a participation of the amusements and society of the round-house. On some occasions the 48 FAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. mate's mess has, from the above cause, or motives of un- avoidable economy, been able to boast of rather eminent characters. Those who are fond of fishing, may sometimes derive much amusement from the possession of a stock of tackle suited to the occasion. In warm weather, especially towards the Line, when moderate weather and calms pre- vail, many sharks may be taken. The hook should be about a foot long in the shank, (the other parts bearing a just proportion,) which should be firmly attached to a stout piece of chain, from two to four feet in length, having at its other extremity a loop and swivel, to which the rope (such as is called inch and half rope, and ought to be full a hundred yards long) is tied ; the bait, a piece of fat pork, of about three or four pounds weight. The weight of the chain and hook will suffice to sink the bait to about thirty feet below the surface, where it will soon be discerned by the sharks, which generally keep under the vessel's bottom, or play around her at a considerable depth; though they will occasionally range along the ship's side, or bask under the stern, so as to be easily shot with a musquet-ball, or struck with a harpoon. Even at the depth of fifty feet the shark may be dis- tinguished as he approaches the bait, by a luminous appearance, extending in an oval form, in that direction in which he swims. He generally seizes the bait with avidity, turning on his side at the moment; without which he could not get it into his mouth, owing to the excessive length of his upper jaw. Soon as the bait is in his mouth, the fish, on feeling the resistance of the rope, makes a sudden plunge downward, at the same moment recovering his former position. The hook, being ex- tremely sharp, rarely fails to pierce the jaw, when, in an instant, the whole length of line will be run out. As no - EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 49 human force could properly be relied on to check the fish's course, the end of the rope is either fastened to some timber-head, or to a tackle fall. The latter is preferable, because it adds to the length of the line, and does not check the fish so suddenly ; otherwise the rope may be snapped, or the hook torn away from the shark's jaw. The quantity of heavy line, added to the weight of the hooks and chain, soon brings the fish under command, when he is towed up to the gang-way, and there, by means of a slip-knot passed over his fins, hoisted into the waist. Few persons will taste of a blue shark, it being consi- dered as unwholesome ; but, of the brown shark, which rarely exceeds five feet in length, (while the former has been known to measure near thirty,) most of the seamen will solicit a steak. The average sizes of sharks may be from six to twelve feet in length. It is very common to collect a pailful of young ones, each about a foot long, that take refuge in the parent's maw. Behind the fins are usually several sucking-fishes, adhering to the shark's sides. These are supposed to live upon its blood; but some doubts may be entertained, at least whether that is their sole subsistence, since, by means of a hook and line put out for ground fishes, sucking-fish have at times been caught, measuring rather more than two feet. Sharks are in general attended by what are called pilot- fishes. These are beautifully striped blue and white, in form much resembling the chub, and from ten to fifteen inches in length. When the shark displays himself, the pilot-fishes are seen playing about his head and sides; but when the ship is going fast, and the shark keeps under the bottom, or stern, at a considerable depth, the pilot- fishes often rise to the surface, assembling in the eddy E 50 EAST IN DIA W A D F-M ECU M. about the stern-post; but they are seldom, if ever, enticed to touch a bait. In the higher latitudes, the albacore, boneta, dolphin, &c. are often seen playing about a ship, in great num- bers; sometimes for scores of miles, as though intent on keeping company. Porpoises are yet more familiar, and delight in preceding the ship, at a few yards distance; affording, to the expert, excellent opportunities for striking them with harpoons. The liver of a porpoise is esteelmed by many to be as good as that of a pig; to which it bears some resemblance. The body of the fish is unpalatable. The flesh of the dolphin is extremely dry, as is that of the boneta, which is commonly replete with small white animalculae, not unlike short fat mag- gots. The albacore is inconceivably rapacious; often springing several yards out of the water, after the flying- fishes, as they skim above the surface, sometimes for full two hundred yards. Their great enemy darts along under their course with incredible velocity, and rarely fails to make a prey of one, or more, as they fall into the water in an exhausted state. While bonetas and dolphins may be taken by almost any bait, the albacore can be rarely attracted by any device wherein there is not some resemblance to the flying- fish. Numbers are taken when the ship is going fast through the water, by securing a three-inch hook to a slip of bacon fat, cut into the form of a fish, and further dis- guised by a long white feather, taken from a goose's wing, and stuck on each side. The line for such a pur- pose should be stout laid-cord; for, though bonetas rarely exceed twenty, and dolphins forty pounds, albacores have been often found to weigh from one to two hundred : nay, to three hundred weight. Their flesh may be compared to carrion; being coarse, tough, and very strong-tasted ; EAST IN DIA W A D E-MECU M. 5.I but, though not pleasing to the human palate, it is a very choice bait, attracting all fishes of prey. Albacores sometimes snap at the log, a small piece of triangular board, loaded at one corner with lead, and fastened to a long line wound on a reel. The log being lowered into the sea, will remain stationary; drawing the line off the reel in proportion to the velocity with which the ship is then passing through the water: the number of yards run off, while a minute glass is emptying, shows the number of knots (miles) sailed within the hour. It is not uncommon, in the vicinity of islands, to see turtles lying on the surface of the sea, fast asleep. These may sometimes be taken, by two or three careful men, in the jolly-boat, paddling her along with an oar out at her stern. The turtle should be secured by one of the crew dropping gently into the water, and swimming very cautiously till he can pass a slip-knot over the hind fin, generally called the fipper; the other end of the line being fast to some part of the boat. The work whence the present compilation has been greatly abbreviated, contained long descriptions of, and digressions upon, the successive places of resort for India- men, both on the outward and homeward voyages, includ- ing their natural and political history. Such statisti- cal accounts are little calculated for a Wade-Mecum, however necessary in those several publications that are met with in every select library, whether by land or sea; and which almost every passenger, while on board ship, has an opportunity of consulting leisurely, in books entirely dedicated to the objects of research. Even an ordinary geographical dictionary will be found to contain from the commencement to the termination of the journey enough upon the Cape de Verds, Canary Islands, Ascension, St. Helena, &c. to satisfy the wants and wishes E 2 52 EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECU M. of most eastern adventurers; till a more minute detail be deemed worthy of their acquisition on such themes by the careful perusal of those local authorities enumerated in all catalogues of eastern works, sea voyages, &c. many of which have probably been studied long previous to the determination of visiting the shores of British India. Every season teems with these literary productions, and the latest, when otherwise reputable, may constantly be pre- ferred for the most accurate and recent intelligence respect- ing the ports, coasts, islands, seas, and climes, that inter- vene from any given point of the occidental to the oriental hemispheres; some of which, such as the Cape of Good Hope, have been yearly improving long posterior to the first appearance of Captain Williamson's lucubrations on these distinct heads. It should be noticed, for the benefit of those who may touch at Ascension, either on their way to St. Helena out- ward-bound, or in coming homeward from that rendezvous, that several very fine fishes, especially the much admired bull's-eye, may be hooked, by trailing a bait, about fifty or sixty yards astern, while sailing round the island. Close in shore, among the crags, just beyond reach of the surf, half a boat load of old-maids might be caught in very little time. The modern course of ships proceeding to India, usually carries them near the Cape de Verds and Canary Islands; where, if wine is to be shipped, a detention may happen of ten or twelve days. This being, in all probability, the first opportunity of going on shore, after leaving England, the young adventurer may be properly cautioned not to ridicule, nor in any way to treat with disrespect, the religious cere- monies of the Roman Catholics who possess those islands. Under the exercise of prudence and discretion, all per- sons landing among the Portuguese are certain of receiv- EAST INDIA v A D E-MECU M. 53 ing every civility and attention; but, when insulted, none are more irascible or vindictive: the offender is sure to fall a victim to their unrelenting vengeance . At either of these islands, but especially at St. Jago, fresh provisions may be obtained in abundance. In all of them the tropical fruits abound, but should not be immoderately eaten ; lest a dy- sentery ensue, which in those latitudes is peculiarly fatal. Many vessels proceed down the Atlantic in a mid direc- tion, between the Azores and the Canaries, till they catch the trade-winds, which in that part blow constantly from the north-east, or nearly so. They then stretch over to the coast of Brazil, along which they run, to about 30° south, to avoid the south-east trade-wind prevailing to the southward of the line. Being now in the way of variable winds, they shape their course towards the Cape of Good Hope. Few quit this coast without putting into some port for a supply of wood, water, and a variety of fresh provisions. Rio Janeiro is most frequented by British In- diamen, for its safe harbour, and abundant supplies. Be- ing in latitude 23", it will be requisite to guard against the great heats, and carefully to avoid the nightly dews, which are here extremely heavy, and produce the most dangerous species of fever. The custom of the inhabitants throughout this coast being nearly alike, a description of one portion may suffice for the whole. The natives of this part of South America appear to be of a middling stature, and well-proportioned; their com- plexions dark, and, their hair lank and black. At Per- nambuco and Olinda, which lie in about 7° south, the houses of the better class seem well calculated to coun- teract the powerful influence of the sun; which, for six months, is nearly vertical, and does not form a very acute angle with the northern horizon at any time of the year. 54 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU MI. Notwithstanding the intense heat of the climate, the Portuguese inhabitants omit no religious duties. Nor do they ever appear in that dishabille we should expect to pre- vail among an effeminate people, under such local circum- stances. It must prove highly amusing to behold boys, of about six or seven years of age, full dressed according to court etiquette, with bags, ruffles, swords, &c. repre- senting the more ancient part of their population, in minia- ture. These young gentlemen, as well as their seniors, and especially the ladies, are seen every where, riding in vehi- cles very strongly resembling the chair-palanquins of India, but carried by only two men; one before and one behind. The profusion of compliments, and of real civilities, ex- perienced on these hospitable shores, become absolutely burthensome. Strangers are every where welcomed in the most kind and liberal manner; barges, rowing from twelve to thirty oars, being always at command, to take them to and from the ships, which cannot pass the Bar of Pernam- buco, but may lie full four miles from the shore, in seven fathoms. Fruits, fish, vegetables, and poultry, may be had to any amount, of the first quality. Their beef and mutton are not, however, much to be praised, and their pork, without being firm, is intolerably fat. This in every quarter of the globe, is one of the principal viands at the tables of the Portuguese, and is dressed in various ways, all equally offensive to a delicate stomach. In serene weather the acquisition of a supply of excellent water is rendered very easy ; the casks being floated to and from the shore; all fastened to ropes, and towed by large boats. The land lying low towards the beach, though backed at some distance by hills, brings vessels within a few leagues before their proximity to the continent is discovered; and they would probably often run into shallow water, were not large floating objects generally seen at some distance EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. Jo - - from land. Glasses will speedily distinguish persons moving on low frames, that might readily be taken for nothing less than some great fragment of a wreck. This may ultimately prove to be an Indian catamaran, stowed with a variety of fine fishes, chiefly rock-cod, taken by the industrious Indians, whose floating raft will often be mis- taken for the remains of some unfortunate vessel. A few days before an arrival on this coast, when it comes within the scope of the voyage, the usual cere- monies attendant upon crossing the Line are duly ob- served. Those who have never sailed so far to the south- ward, are impressed with the belief that sundry opera- tions, by no means pleasant, are to take place. Among other things, they may expect to be suspended from the fore-yard-arm, and thoroughly ducked by frequent dips into the sea. However unreasonable this may appear, there exists no doubt of such a practice having been per- fectly common about sixty years ago. It was then re- garded as an excellent joke, affording wondrous merriment to the veteran part of the crew. In time, the practice ceased ; either from the interposition of good sense, or owing to the judicious distribution of some liquor among the chiefs of the dramatis persona. The Sabbath is always observed on board every India- man with perfect decorum. Having no chaplain on board, unless perchance as a passenger, the captain, or one of the officers, reads the morning service, succeeded by a short lecture suited to the audience, who consist of all on board not confined by illness. The decency prevailing on such -occasions is exemplary; the whole standing bare-headed on the quarter-deck, and refraining from every act, or look, that might trespass on propriety. Funerals at sea can rarely boast of much display, but their attendants are often sincere mourners. Confined 56 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. within a narrow space, the loss of a companion is not easily forgotten, while every object reminds us of his fate. It has already been stated, that, in rounding the Cape, the weather may be expected to correspond with the season of the year. This is so well understood, that only during the summer season in that quarter, are vessels con- sidered safe in Table Bay, situated to the north of a low, flat, sandy isthmus, over which the sea appears to have flowed formerly into False Bay, lying a few miles to the southward. The mouths of the two bays have different aspects. Thus when that channel existed, the Table Mountain, whence the northerly bay derives its designa- tion, together with Cape Town, which stands between the mountain and that bay, together with Wineburg, Witti-boom, Constantia, &c. &c. including a length of about forty-five miles, by four, on an average, in breadth, must have been insulated. When a ship is to touch at the Cape, it is very desir- able, on every account, that her arrival should take place during the summer season; so that she may come to anchor in Table Bay, about half a mile distant from the wharf. The convenience, thus afforded, of going imme- diately into comfortable lodgings, where nothing is want- ing which can tend to the refreshment of persons fatigued by a confinement within such narrow limits, probably for ten or twelve weeks, is not to be calculated. Few of those who take lodgers will admit such as do not board with them. The rates are not fixed, but the average may be taken at from three to four rix-dollars for each lady or gentleman, half-price for young children, and one dollar for each servant, per diem. Thus, a single gentleman must be an economist, to pay his ex- penses of board, washing, horse-hire, &c. under thirty EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU MI. 57 shillings daily.—The rix-dollar is fixed at four shillings; but is an imaginary sum. Notes of any value may be had ; but gold and silver currency are scarcely ever seen ; the Dutch being extremely eager to obtain guineas at twenty-one shillings currency, and re-sell them at the rate generally of six and a half, or seven rix-dollars. Persons visiting the Cape should be careful to reserve their cash till about to pay their bills, and then to account their gold coin at its current value, as above shewn. Such is the estimation in which bullion is held, that no small coins are any where to be seen ; even shillings and stivers are paid in paper currency. Passengers from India ought to take a bag of rupees of the worst descrip- tion; for, whether (sikku) sicca or (trisoolee) tersooly, each will be gladly received, without distinction, at two shillings and sixpence. - The cookery of the Dutch is nearly on a par with their flesh-meats. Their beef, mutton, veal, and pork, is rarely of tolerable quality, and invariably made to float in strong sauce, of which butter and spices are the chief ingredients. The table is, in most houses, laid in a cen- tral hall, looking into a garden. The floors are all painted, that they may not absorb the damp when wash- ed, as they are almost daily; the beds tolerably good, and the apartments of a moderate size. Before every house is an elevated terrace, on a level with the ground-floor, having at each end a seat, usually of ma- sonry also. On this terrace, called the steupe, the Dutch promenade half the day in fair weather, enjoying their pipes, and occasionally taking their sopkies. These are small glasses of raw spirits, for the most part hollands, which their servants tender, at intervals, as a matter of COutSe. * The extensive gardens of the late Dutch Company, 58 EAST IN DIA WA L E-MECU M. through the centre of which is a broad gravel-walk, full half a mile in length, are crowded, on Sunday evenings, and on all festive days, by a promiscuous group, walking under the shade of the oaks and other trees planted on either side. There is also an institution, but of a more private nature, and frequented, with few exceptions, by the Dutch only. It is held at a neat house, where wines, &c. are sold, having attached to it a spacious garden ; not unlike some of our tea-drinking places in the vicinity of London, and is called Concordia. Many of the farms, within a morning's ride, are well worth seeing ; not as objects of imitation, but as display- ing much novelty, and affording a just idea of the character of a Dutch agriculturist in that quarter. The vineyards, and depôts of wine at Constantia, are remarkable ; espe- cially considering, that the soil which produces that luscious wine is confined to a very few acres, probably not more than forty; beyond which, sets from the same vines, under circumstances of perfect equality, in regard to site and culture, produce a very different liquor, little superior to that sold at the several wine-houses at six- pence per quart, and possessing a peculiar terraceous flavour, which does not diminish by keeping. The stranger not habituated to the use of the Cape wines, either white or red, should be extremely cautious on his first arrival to avoid them; and to drink port. A neglect of this precaution will produce considerable inconvenience, and may be attended with habitual diarrhoea. Many whalers frequent the coast to the eastward of the Cape, where they kill numbers of the white species, which supply spermaceti, and the oil bearing that name. In False Bay, including a space at least equal to two hundred square miles, black whales may often be seen EAST 1 ND I A VAD E-MECU M. 59 sporting about; as, indeed, they may in Table Bay, close in among the rocks, about half a mile below the fort. A few are killed by the crews of such ships as have not been so fortunate as to be filled with the former kind; but this seems almost as much for pastime as pro- fit; the oil extracted from black whales being very low in price; as neither burning well, nor making so good soap as the spermaceti kind. Although the winter months are held to be very dan- gerous for vessels riding in Table Bay, from the dreadful swell sometimes setting in from the north-west, towards which it is much exposed, it is, however, rare that vessels are lost therein during that season. This may, no doubt, be attributed to their very short stay, as they usually proceed to Seamon's Bay, the inhabited part of which is about twenty-five miles from Cape Town. The Sceptre, of 64 guns, together with a Danish 74, and about ten or twelve other vessels, were wrecked in Table Bay on the 5th of November 1799; a period when a gale of wind from the north-west is never expected. To make up for the defici- ency, that part of the year is attended with very stiff breezes from the south-east, which drive up the small gravel against one's face with such force as to give most acute pain. These south-easters, as they are called, certainly produce excellent effects; cooling the air, and destroying a vast number of insects. Nature has been truly liberal in the profusion of flowers she has scattered throughout this part of Africa. The plains are covered with heaths, or hethers, of an exquisite fragrance, of boundless variety, and of the most delicate colouring and formation. The whole country, where the soil is not absolutely barren, teems with all that could enrich a pleasure-garden. Among these, the 60 EAST 1 ND I A VAD E-MECU M. wild geraniums bear a large proportion: the plain beyond the camp at Wineburg absolutely resembling a rich carpet! Few ships remain long enough to allow of passengers proceeding to the interior; where, however, they would find much to admire. At some of the farms they may be well accommodated, with the great advantage of finding their purses far less burthensome on their return. The famous vineyards of Stellenbosch are well worth seeing, as is the Salt Lake, which annually dries, leaving a bed of muriate of soda many miles in diameter, and of un- known depth. Surely, in parts accounted sterile, such a depôt of manure ought not to be overlooked. The hot baths, situate in a most romantic valley, about forty miles from the Cape, demand the traveller's attention. Whe- ther he proceed on horseback, or in a waggon, a gun will be useful, on account of the prodigious quantity of game, of every description, and as a defence against the nume- rous wild beasts which infest all the woody country be- yond Hottentot Holland. A few vessels touch at St. Augustine's Bay, on the west coast of Madagascar. The treacherous disposition of the natives is however a great objection, so that the generality pass on to Johanna, the only island of the Comora cluster which the English have been in the habit of visiting. On account of the strong current setting round its southern extremity, vessels keep close to the shore as they ap- proach Saddle Island, which, at low water, is connected with Johanna by a ridge of sand. On this, the Hunting- don Indiaman was lost about fifty years ago, in attempting to pass, without going round Saddle Island; which de- rives its name from the appearance it bears, when viewed at a certain distance. The whole coast, from the southern point to the bay where the town is situated, presents, with EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 6] very little exception, a bold shore, divested of those dan- gerous reefs which render Mohillah, and others of its neighbours, difficult of access. The country is extremely mountainous; in some parts abounding with cocoa and other trees. Wild goats are numerous; but, being much in request among the natives, are very shy, and, in gene- ral, retire to the most rugged eminences. To the left of the town, about two miles distant, a long reef of black rocks encloses a bay, of which the beach is covered with a fine sand, shelving very gradually, and bearing a strong resemblance to that of Weymouth. The houses in the villages on the coast are rather mean, though appertaining to persons who have ridicu- lously assumed European titles of eminence. The island swarms with “Prince Ruperts,” “Prince Eugenes,” Dukes, Marquises, and Lords, all of whom are mean and knavish to an extreme. The common form of building consists of a long barn-like apartment, entered by a low door, in the middle of its length; and having another, opposite, at the back, which leads to the most dirty out- offices that can be imagined, wherein the culinary opera- tions, &c. are carried on. In the dwellings of those who admit lodgers, which may be said to include half the town, the places for sleeping, for one cannot call them bed-places, are raised, towards the two gable-ends, to the height of full six feet; and, in some, are parted off by a curtain of coarse chintz, or other cloth. These recesses are from three to five feet wide, and about ten or twelve feet long; according to the breadth of the house. The ascent to them is formed by several very broad stairs, covered with matting made of cocoa-tree leaves, or, in a few, with carpets. Each step is considered as accommo- dation for two persons to repose upon, feet to feet: in most instances, however, the steps are not long enough 62 EAST IN DIA W A D F - MI ECU M. to allow more than one person to lie down. This arrange- ment is by no means displeasing, nor is it attended with so much inconvenience as would be the case were the whole upon a level. The middle of the room is set apart for meals, usually served on tables of a wretched con- struction. The guests sit, as well as they can, upon little stools, or recline on the matted floor against the lower steps; which, indeed, is not only the most comfortable, but, among the natives, is considered as the most deco- rous, mode. Not a horse is to be seen on the island; but plenty of excellent cattle thrive uncommonly on the rich pastures of the valleys. Through most of these, streams of the purest water, every where broken by rocks, or gliding over shallow beds of gravelly sand, pursue their eager course. It is remarkable, that, among other poultry, the Guinea fowl should abound. Thousands may be seen in a wild state, if they may be so termed, when, by throwing a handful of grain at your feet, all will instantly approach to participate of the bounty. By referring to the India Register, at the proper place, it will be distinctly seen, that the island of Ceylon has been adopted as a royal possession, in the government ef which the Company have no share. The whole of the civil establishment are appointed by the king; and the military receive their commissions from the secretary at war, independent of the Company's chartered establish- ment. It generally happened, in former times, that some of the Madras battalions were on duty in the island; which has always been in a most perturbed state, till now, when sanguine hopes are entertained of peace and plenty reigning there for years to come. It is rather unusual for the Company's ships to touch here, except when sent to Columbo with stores, or calling there on their way home, r F. A. ST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 63 for cargoes and passengers. Only very small vessels can pass between Ceylon and the Main, notwithstanding the great width of the channel, on account of that immense reef, intermixed with shoals, stretching across its northern part. This reef, called ‘Adam's Bridge, is supposed to be formed by the summits of mountains, that, by some dreadful convulsion, were sunk below those waters, be- tween which they originally formed a stupendous isth- mus, like that of Darien, connecting Ceylon with the continent. Madras Roads being exempt from shoals, for some miles on either side, are entered without a pilot; ships in general anchoring off the fort, in from six to ten fathoms; the bottom a firm sand. The surf is here, at all times, rather high; but when a south-west, or westerly wind, prevails, becomes so tremendous as to debar all commu- nication with the shipping. From the beginning of Octo- ber to the middle of January, the flag-staff is struck, as a signal to vessels that no insurance is payable on account of such losses as may happen during that period, which is held to be replete with danger. So great is the appre- hension entertained of the perils attendant upon a conti- nuance on the Coromandel coast during that monsoon, that even our ships of war retire from the protection of such trade as may be carried on by adventurous indivi- duals, and seek an asylum in some well-sheltered port, such as Trincomalee. The country, or masoolah boats employed here carry from forty to sixty tons. They are made of plank, about two inches in thickness above, and three, below, fastened together by means of coir (the fibres of cocoa-nut rinds); passed through small holes pierced along the edges of the several planks, all around each. These planks appear as though sewed together with twine of the above descrip- 64 EAST IND I A V A D E-MECU M. w tion, and are fastened to battens and sleepers, answering for ribs and floor timbers. At the bottom, planks are laid in the opposite direction of these, which form the vessel, and near the gun-wales, several thwarts are secured across; they passing through the sides, and being firmly pinned in. There is no deck, and the rudder consists of a large kind of oar, rigged out at the stern. At a little distance, the masoolah-boats appear like rude imitations of English coal-barges. They row from ten to sixteen oars, and, when unladen, make more speed than persons accustomed to wherries, or to ships' pinnaces, would expect, passing through the surf, both coming and going, with amazing facility. Sometimes, indeed, owing to letting them swing round, instead of steering head-on, they fill, or overset. This, however, very rarely happens; and the mere act of swamping, unless in the first, or outward surf, is not attended with any imminent danger; the next wave generally impelling the boat, and all that it contains, high (but not dry) upon the beach, where it is soon run up out of the water's way. The masoolah-boats are, very properly, under the sole management of the master-attendant, or the beach-mas- ter. None can put off without licence; and no one is admitted to serve on board, but an expert and bold swim- mer. Instances of individuals of any description being lost are extremely rare. Such accidents have happened chiefly at the outer surf, (there being usually three fol- lowing waves to pass, or to accompany,) where the water is very deep, and immense numbers of ground-sharks are ever on the watch for what accident may throw in their way. It will readily be supposed that the shore is toler- ably bold, when it is mentioned, that our Indiamen, deeply laden, have been several times necessitated to warp to the very edge of the outer surf, in consequence EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. . 65 of an enemy's fleet having entered the roads, with the view to cut them out. In the first boat which approaches a ship, a number of debashes or dobhashiyas (interpreters) are sure, to arrive, bringing with them various articles of provision, fruits, &c. as presents to the captain and officers; whose favour each of them courts, under the hope to be employed as agent for the ship, or to supply necessaries, and provide lodgings for individuals. - These debashes are generally men of property, and of some consequence among the natives, from having at times so many purchases to make for those who arrive at Madras; but especially where the supplies necessary for a whole ship, or sometimes for a whole fleet, are in ques- tion. They all speak broken English, understanding far beyond what they can express in our language. They are servile to an extreme, and most completely trained in every money-making device. Few people, taking all things into consideration, are more hospitable than the Europeans residing at Madras. Any defect in that respect supposed to exist, may, by due consideration of peculiar circumstances, relating to person or place, always find some sufficient apology. Madras being so much frequented, and the number of European gentlemen resident there being comparatively trifling, it cannot be expected they should keep open house, or in- dulge their friendly dispositions in the exercise of unli- mited kindness. In fact, the expectations of those who visit Madras, on their way from Europe to India, are, for the most part, rather too sanguine. They have heard much of Indian hospitality, and wonder at that disappoint- ment which is purely the offspring of their own unreason- able anticipations. There cannot be any situation where a letter of introduction is of more avail, or indeed more F 66 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. necessary, than this. Such letter should be addressed to some person resident at Madras; or it may be perfectly nugatory, from the immense expanse over which the civil servants, as well as the military, are scattered. A young gentleman taking out a dozen letters, may, on his arrival, find them entirely useless, the parties being absent from the presidency. The passengers of every class are expected to reside on shore during the ship's detention in the roads. Few, in- deed, neglect to avail themselves of the opportunity offered of seeing one of our principal fortresses, and of observing the customs of a country so celebrated in history, and forming so essential a branch of the British empire. If an introduction be obtained, by any means, the usual re- sult will be an invitation to reside with the gentleman, if he keeps house. Otherwise, every attention will be paid in seeing the stranger accommodated, at the best house of that description which admits boarders; and which are commonly called “Punch-Houses.” This designation doubtless arose from the habits of those who first settled in India, and who, finding spirits, sugar, and limes, (a small species of lemon,) every where abundant, indulged in copious draughts of punch. That beverage is now completely obsolete, unless among sea-faring persons, who rarely fail to experience its deleterious effects. In all sea- ports, taverns or punch-houses are more frequented than in places where shipping lie in some distant road, or harbour. This occasions them to be more respectable in the opi- nions of those who keep them, but nothing could reconcile a gentleman, long resident in the country, to seek an ac- commodation among them. It would imply a total want of respectable connexions; and, in itself, appear a suffi- cient cause for avoiding his acquaintance. Totally ignorant of the language, and without any guide, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 67 it is by no means surprising that so many impositions are practised on our countrymen soon as they arrive in India. A debash of the lowest order, and of the most crafty disposition, perfectly experienced in all the ordi- nary requisitions of Europeans, and prompt to gratify their desires so long as profit attends the speculation, is ever at the elbow of the novice, serving as banker, purveyor, pimp, and interpreter. What more can be requisite to ruin an helpless, inconsiderate youth P Most of the gentlemen in the Company's service reside in the fort, or at houses a few miles off, in the country, or at St. Thomas's Mount, about six miles from Madras, where the artillery are usually quartered, together with the troops destined to defend the works, in case of attack. The Black-Town is not an enviable site for residence; but the situation, being subject to the land and sea breezes, the latter of which are as refreshing as the former are de- bilitating, reconciles the older inhabitants to many incon- veniences, among which, smoke is by no means the least obnoxious. The musquitoes are here tolerably numerous, as are also rats of all sizes, cock-roaches, and scorpions. The latter grow to an immense size, and are peculiarly venomous. That most loathsome companion, the bug, is to be found here in such swarms, that it is by no means uncommon to see them crawling about at all hours, and in all places. St. Thomas's Mount is certainly the more pleasant sta- tion, and may be fairly put in competition with any of those rural retreats, called “Garden Houses,” scattered every where in the vicinity of the capital. At these, many families reside all the year round; the gentlemen who have offices to attend, being conveyed to them in the mornings, either in palanquins, or in their carriages; the climate by no means favouring much exercise on horseback. F 2 68 EAST INDIA v ADE-MECUM. It being indispensable that every person should be con- versant with the several coins, or currency, in which pay- ments are made, or accounts kept, people arriving at this settlement should make themselves acquainted with the tables of coins, weights, and measures, in use at Madras: observing, that, throughout the dependent provinces, an endless variety in the two last are to be found; and that, consequently, all dealings must be regulated in proportion to the encreased, or diminished, variations, wherever si- tuated. The EAst INDIA D1 Rectory will be found to contain whatever may relate to this subject, including the three presidencies. It has been already stated, that the voyage from Madras to Bengal will depend, as to duration, entirely upon the season. Should the southerly monsoon prevail, Point Palmiras, at the southern boundary of Balasore Roads, may be made in from three to seven days. During the northerly monsoon, it is usual, experience having con- firmed what accident probably first suggested, to stretch over to the opposite side of the bay upon a wind, and then to run obliquely across on the other tack, so as to arrive in soundings off the mouth of the Hooghly, where the tides will speedily convey a vessel up to any place on the river, whatever may be the wind's direction. During the passage, under the former prevalence, the land is not, in general, seen till the water becomes obviously discoloured with sand. In the first instance, the course is made di- rectly from Madras Roads, to gain a good offing, whereby the dangerous shoals of Pulicat, about five miles north of Madras, may be avoided. The land all along the coast being invariably low, and the shallows projecting, in some places, full ten miles seaward, it is prudent to keep rather towards the middle of the bay, and, from a N. N. E. course, to change latterly to a N. N. W.; rounding in, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 69 #% when the latitude directs, till Point Palmiras is from four to six leagues distant. It is of very great importance to be correct in making that point, which is best regulated by a perfect knowledge of the latitude, there being a promontory very similar, thence designated “False Point;” by mistaking which many vessels have been lost. When in sight of Point Palmiras, it is usual to await the arrival of some pilot- vessel, of which one or more are always on the look-out below the Sand-Heads, and to proceed into the river under her guidance. - The country all along the sea-coast, on both sides of the river's mouth, being extremely low, and no hills of sufficient altitude to be distinguished at sea, especially on the right bank, very little gratification is offered to the eye by the surrounding scenery. The shelving beach, on either hand, is overgrown, in most parts, with trees rarely exceeding twenty feet in height, whose stems are sur- rounded with underwood, or grass jungle, in which deer are found in abundance. The sport must, however, be invariably declined, as an immense number of tigers occupy the same covers. It rarely happens that a party land for the purpose of shooting deer, or wild hogs, (which are equally abundant,) without meeting with some acci- dent; or, at least, being frightened, so as to produce the most salutary forbearance. All the way, from Balasore (Baleswur *) up to Kedge- *The English corruptions of Hindoostanee names of persons, places, &c. are so numerous, that I cannot but recommend a reference to a list in the Hindoostanee Dialogues, where I have endeavoured to rec- tify these misnomers, along with many equally bad, which the natives of India have on their side introduced ; both forming as curious an assemblage of kacoepy and kacography as any country can well produce from the colloquial intercourse of strangers and inhabitants, where all - - * 70 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. ree, the prospect, if we except those agreeable sensations arising from the display of vegetation, and from arriving at the ultimate thule of destination, rather wearies than pleases. Nothing is to be seen but a series of wilderness, perhaps here and there enclosing a few huts, or, in the broken intervals, displaying some insignificant village, of which the inhabitants are as poor as they are idle. The purser, for the most part, avails himself of the attendance of the chuokee-boats, which are always plying about the mouth of the rivers for the express purpose of receiving packets. In favourable seasons, these boats have been known to reach Calcutta, a distance of sixty miles, in one tide. Should a schooner be proceeding up the river, let there be no hesitation to embark in her. An equal accommodation cannot generally be found; while the whole risk, trouble, and delay, attendant on a passage in any of the common country boats, are at once avoided. The pilot may possibly expect some return for his good offices; but, if he likes his company, he will, in all pro- bability, set them ashore at Calcutta free of all expense. The purser's trip is not enviable when in a chuokee-boat, with no other than a very small semicircular covering of mats, under which it is impossible to sit upright, except exactly under its centre. In tempestuous seasons, and idea of grammatical propriety is mutually sacrificed to mere moment- ary convenience. A new comer, talking of Balasore, merely as an Englishman, would never be understood, except from the context, which might lead the hearer to know he meant Baleswur ; but this, on the other hand, could not readily be recognized by an ignorant European as the Balasore, according to his vicious pronunciation, from reading occidental works, or learning it from those jargonists who murder all such words with impunity during the whole of their lives, on the spot, sans ears, sans tongues, sans heads, sans every thing, connected with the faculty of speech. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 71 such are generally the periods in which the Indiamen ar- rive, there is often a high swell between Kedgeree and Fulta, the river being in some parts from three to six miles across, and running to the southward, from which quarter the wind blows very forcibly for at least five months. Therefore, though very few accidents happen, the voyages between the ship and the capital cannot be considered safe. The chuokee-boats are all under the master-attendant, and bear the Company's colours, on a small staff, or, some- times at the head of the mast, made of a single bamboo, nearly as long as the boat; which commonly rows ten or twelve oars. Being of a light construction, and divested of all superfluous apparatus, they proceed at a prodi- gious rate. On an emergency, even when opposed by the tide, they gain from two to six miles hourly; according as they may be able to row along the slack water; to pole up against the more rapid streams; or to track up against wind and tide. When relatives, or particular friends, are on board any ship whose arrival is expected, it is customary to send a stout pinnace-budgrow to meet her at Kedgeree. In paying this kind attention, all the necessary provision,--a bed, table, chairs, &c. are put on board, together with such servants as are generally needful on the water. Few, who have any feeling for their noviciate companions on board, especially those who have been in India, quit the ship without taking with them as many as the pinnace can, without great inconvenience, receive. This accom- modation does not happen every day. Though few ships return to India without conveying one or more old standards, either civil or military: it is not always that notice can be received of a ship's being about to import; and when such notice has been received, it is not always recollected, or perhaps practicable, to send a pinnace to receive an old friend. 72 EA ST IND I A VAD E-M1 E.C U M. Many heedless youths, from sheer impatience, after a long voyage, to reach their destined abode with all pos- sible speed, have fallen premature victims to the scorch- ing rays of the sun in open boats. It is, therefore, highly probable that some improvements and salutary regula- tions have been latterly introduced, as to the medium of conveyance from the ship to Calcutta, which may render certain observations here superfluous; yet, if things still continue on the old footing, they cannot be too soon rec- tified, if the preservation of valuable lives be a considera- tion worthy of the smallest solicitude. Persons in a delicate state of health should, if possible, wait for some safe and comfortable conveyance. It is the most certain method, to commission the purser to hire a vessel, the moment he reaches Calcutta, and to send her off, under the charge of a servant, to prevent delay by the boatmen; which, otherwise, if paid by the day, would be inevitable. The misfortune is, that very few can endure to be so much longer confined on board, and thus impa- tiently reject this proposal. Here it may be expected that the greatest haste will make the worst speed; at the same time that the expenses are increased greatly, while the accommodations are proportionably deteriorated. Now and then, an adventurous manjhee, (or boat- master,) who knows how to make a good bargain, will linger about Diamond Harbour, or lay up in Culpee Creek, ready to go down, wind and tide permitting, to the first ship which arrives from Europe. These men are certain of a good fare, it being very common to give from fifty rupees (about six guineas) to one hun- dred for the trip. Such an opportunity, however ex- travagant the terms may appear, ought not to be lost; it being a great chance whether a second vessel of the same description may proceed to the ship. As to EAST IN DIA VAD E-M ECU M. 73 small boats, rowing four or six oars, and having either a thatched cabin, or a semicircular awning of mats, several of them may come alongside; but they yield not the smallest accommodation beyond shelter from the sun; while their manjhees will not fail to take every advantage of the distress, or difficulty, under which a passenger labours. It would be unjust to infer, from what has been said, respecting the readiness with which the boatmen avail themselves of the necessities of persons desirous to leave a ship, that they are peculiarly covetous, or prone to im- position. One need only look at home, to find that little mercy is shewn to such unfortunates as become the prey of watermen, along the whole extent of the English coast. With what hard-hearted, callous apathy does the boat- man view the distress of the unthinking youth, who either by neglect, or accident, remains on shore after the boats that frequent his own ship, then under weigh, have put off! What prayers, or arguments, short of those issuing from the purse, can urge him to relieve the anxiety of one, whose whole hope, whose only resource, lies in that voyage for which every preparation has been made, and for which expenses, often nearly ruinous to friends and connexions, have been defrayed These remarks do not apply to impatient people, who are in a hurry to quit their ships before they come to an anchor. If they will have their way, they must pay for such intemperate haste; it is an expense they have the option of avoiding. Really, when we come fairly to compute the risks in- curred by the master of a vessel, built expressly for accom- modation, and not intended to meet the rude surges of, what may be called, an arm of the sea; that from twelve to eighteen men are engaged ; that much time is lost in waiting arrivals; that full sixty miles are to be passed 74 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. over; and that, perhaps, four of five gentlemen, with all their luggage that is at hand, are conveyed ; when all these circumstances are considered, even fifty rupees cannot well be deemed exorbitant, at least, there appears far less reason to charge extortion on the Indian, than there is to condemn the cruel rapacity of the English boatman. Whatever may be the rate at which the boat, supposing it to be a pinnace-budgrow, is engaged, no apparatus of any description should be expected; for none will be found. There will usually be an open veranda in the front, having three or four steps below the deck, and on the same level with the front, or dining-room. The after- room narrows considerably towards the stern ; and, on account of the vessel's form, its floor is usually raised one or two steps. This is the sleeping apartment; and at the stern is a small slip, serving for a quarter-gallery. The roofs of these boats are usually flat; and some have side-rails above, to prevent luggage, or those who sleep there, from falling overboard. The sides are furnished, for their whole length, with Venetian blinds, in frames which lift up by means of hinges at their tops; and a long curtain, made either of tarpaulin, or of painted or white canvass, is nailed on the outside; letting down at pleasure, to keep out wind, rain, dust, &c. The baling- place is ordinarily about the centre of the front room; that being the deepest part of the boat's bottom. Bag- gage may be put under the deck; but that part is gene- rally occupied by the dandies, (or rowers,) if permitted to sleep there; or perhaps the manjhee may think it worth his while to make it a trading voyage, and lay in salt, rice, &c. to be disposed of to advantage on his arrival at the presidency. - From this concise detail it will be seen, that some pen- EAST IN IDIA WA DE-MECU M. 75 ance must be undergone, even in this kind of boat, and supposing it to be perfectly fitted up, as will rarely be . the case, with the above defences against bad weather. The sea-cot is now of singular use ; its hooks being withdrawn from the ship's beams, and inserted in those of the budgrow. Those who had standing bed-places, must spread their mattresses, &c. on the floor. All must sit upon their trunks, or on whatever may be at hand; and, now, every little article of convenience brought from the ship will become useful. Candles, candlesticks, tin- ware, glasses, &c. are invaluable. As to table-cloths, there being no table, they may be dispensed with; as also knives and forks, there being no plates: and pro- bably curry and rice, prepared by the boatmen, will form the bill of fare. Those who are fond of savoury dishes, may here gratify themselves with a repast in high esti- mation among the gentlemen of India: viz. a dandy's curry. Those, however, who have been in the habit of eating made-dishes, at a distance from the culinary opera- tions, may not altogether relish the manner of prepara- tion, nor be invariably pleased with the appearance of the cook. His habiliments will probably consist of a cloth wrapped round his waist, then passed between his thighs, and a small cap, if the party be a Mussulman. If a Hindu, the entire dress may be composed of a small cord tied round his waist, for the purpose of supporting a narrow piece of cloth passed between his thighs. Herpe- tic eruptions, in large patches, all over the back, breast, and arms, together with obvious symptoms of a more troublesome cutaneous complaint, about the fingers, &c. are by no means rare, yet never disqualify the scratching sufferer from officiating as cook to the crew Were such trifles to be objectionable, the dressing of a dinner might be somewhat difficult. 76 - EAST INDIA VAD E-M1 ECU M. \ It is utterly impracticable to row a budgrow against the tide, which commonly runs from three to six miles in the hour, and many difficulties present themselves, render- ing it by no means easy to track along the shore, especi- ally where the mud-banks shelve out a great way. The manjhee will therefore, probably, come to near some village, or in some creek, during the ebb; and, as it rarely happens that the first of the flood is taken, particu- larly during the night, in all probability the best part of three days will be expended between Kedgeree and Calcutta. If a few bottles of wine, a small quantity of biscuit, some cold meat, such as a rump of beef or a piece of pork, and a few entertaining books, with a pack of cards, have been supplied from the ship, so much the more agreeably will the time be passed; but every species of repletion and intemperance at this time rarely fails to bring on fevers, such as baffle the art of man. Those who heat their blood on first entering the country, whether by drinking, eating, or exposure to the sun, become subject to diseases of the liver, which are too often incurable, and, though after some years of inter- mediate suffering, perhaps drag their lingering victim to the grave. With respect to bathing, it is not only inconvenient and insalubrious, as practised by persons who have not a proper apparatus at hand, but highly dangerous, on account of the incredible numbers of alli- gators and sharks, which infest not only the great river, but every little creek and puddle, within reach of the tide;—a remark applicable to almost every tank, reservoir, stream, and ditch throughout India. The manjhee generally endeavours to reach Culpee, Fultah, or Diamond Harbour, with the first tide. At either of those places many articles of provision may be procured, and there will be found persons who can speak EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 77 a little English. These will invariably encourage the pur- chase of many things of no use whatever, but which be- come perquisites to the manjhee, on his passengers quitting the vessel. Abundance of poultry may be seen; but, with the exception of a curry, there will be no mode of dressing them; unless accidentally some person be on board who can trim a fowl and roast it. If fish are to be had, they will come under the same difficulty; so that, like Sancho, in the midst of plenty, a man may be next door to starvation, if he cannot make up his mind to par- take of the dandies' curry; or is quite ignorant, in pro- pria persona, of the culinary art. It is proper to add a caution against eating much fruit, though perfectly ripe. Unseasonable avidity in thi way has proved fatal to many, on their arrival. A few bananas will not incommode; but the cocoa-nut, how- ever pleasant and refreshing, should be very sparingly used; as it is extremely apt to affect the bowels, so also is the jack. Those who have never had an opportunity of seeing the fire-fly, will be agreeably surprised at the millions of those little luminaries, which at night bespangle every bush: displaying themselves in the most vivid manner. The hind parts of these insects, which may be about the size of common house-flies, are replete with a brilliant sub- stance, similar to that contained in the glow-worm, and, like it, equally innocent. By placing a few of these living lamps under the glass of a watch, the hour can be distinctly perceived in the darkest night, so long as they live; but the story told of a bird, called the buya, illu- minating its pendant close nest, by sticking the inside full of these insects, must be false, for death entirely destroys their phosphoric power. It is very remarkable that, in many parts of the ocean, immense shoals of the luminous 78 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. sea-maggot, each about the size of a man's finger, are seen at night, causing the water to assume a phosphoric appearance. In sailing through these living shoals, abun- dance may be drawn up in buckets. At the same time, innumerable fishes of prey may be heard, or seen, rush- ing among them, and, no doubt, making many a hearty meal. Persons arriving from Europe, "have rarely any but British coins; in the disbursing of which many imposi- tions will be practised. The best mode is to tender the whole, without delay, to some of the English agency- houses, who will readily pay their full value; as they, in- deed, often find it difficult to obtain a few guineas for their friends about to embark for England, without pay- ing an exorbitant sum to the shroffs, (surraſs,) or native bankers. Nor can these acquire them only from such per- sons as arrive with the Indiamen, and they are rarely ac- quainted with their real value. t All goods being landed under the inspection of custom- house officers, the passenger will have little opportunity of interfering, as to his baggage, or merchandize. Nor should he attempt, personally, to transact any business before he delivers his letters of credit, or introduction. That should be his first step; as it will afford the means of more easily managing his concerns, and, probably, of being comfortably situated, without the necessity of re- sorting to a tavern. Here it becomes an indispensable duty, to warn the young adventurer not to dissipate his money, ruin his health, and injure his reputation, by frequenting taverns. In England, where persons who do not keep house must occasionally sit down to a meal in public, custom has not only connived at, but sanctioned, the resort to coffee- houses, &c. These afford conveniences to thousands, who EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. \ 79 could never provide so comfortably at home, at the same expense. The coffee-houses in Europe may likewise be considered as the rendezvous of persons in the same line of business, and offering opportunities for adjusting numerous affairs, which, either from remote residence, or the pressure of other concerns, could not else be brought to immediate conclusion. The taverns in India are upon a very different plan. They are either of the first rate, at which public dinners are occasionally given, or of that mean description which receive all who have a rupee to spend, under the determi- nation of extracting that rupee, in some shape or other. The former class is very confined in numbers, but the latter are abundant, and may be readily distinguished by the promiscuous company, the shabbiness of the treat- ment, and the excess of imposition, especially on novices. It is easy to avoid the necessity for running into the mouths of these leviathans. All that is requisite, is to call at the first office, or shop, to learn the residence of the gentleman to whom the letter of introduction is ad- dressed. No ceremony should be used in explaining the circumstances, and in soliciting the aid of a servant to lead the way. No one ever yet heard of a want of civility on such occasions. In speaking thus confidently respecting a letter of in- troduction, the case of course alludes to a person not appointed to the service of the Company. It cannot, in- deed, be conceived what could induce any man of respec- tability to visit India, without a substantial recommenda- tion; or, indeed, unless under some agreement, or suffi- cient assurance of being employed in such a manner as might tend to certain advantage. Nothing can be more forlorn than the situation of a mere adventurer, on his arrival in India. With money in his pocket, he may East INDIA v ADE-MECUM. 81 ascertained before the vessel reaches her destined port. No youth, therefore, need arrive in a state of profound ignorance, unless too lazy to learn those things most re- quisite for his immediate comfort and welfare. The ordinary mode in which a European is accosted on his first arrival at Calcutta, is by the tender of a bearer, carrying a large umbrella, to shelter him from the sun or rain. There is something about a stranger, in that quar- ter, which instantly announces him to all the predatory tribe, who wait at the wharfs in expectation of living booty: but, otherwise, his total ignorance of the lan- guage would be sufficient to determine their conduct. The bearer, who is in league with that numerous horde of miscreants, called sircars, abounding, not only at Calcutta, but throughout the lower provinces, speedily conveys the hint to his associates. A smooth-faced chap, who speaks English well enough to be understood, and who compre- hends more than he will acknowledge, now advances, and making a respectful obeisance, called a salaam, by bend- ing his head downwards, and placing the palm of his right hand to his forehead, makes an offer of his services to the stray Briton. However a youth may be prepared, by the cautious in- junctions of friends, and the detail of knaveries practised by such characters, still it is by no means easy to avoid the snare. Reflecting on the anxiety inseparably attendant on arrival in a country where every thing is new, every thing strange, and where, in case of disappointment, all must be misery; it is not surprising that so much confidence should be placed on those who cheer the novice, by speak- ing to him in his native tongue. But, admitting the folly of confiding in any stranger, how is the case to be ame- liorated ? Ignorant of the language, as well as of the cus- toms; totally unacquainted with any soul on the spot; G 82 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. and eager to obtain a shelter from the oppressive heats; what is the poor adventurer to do? He cannot remain in the boat . He cannot take root, and vegetate, at the water side Nor can he perambulate the public roads, till fatigue sink him to the dust, or some benevolent Euro- pean, on perceiving his distress, shall offer him an asylum ! What then is to be done?—Why, the sircar must lead him to some paltry tavern, in which he is either interested, or from whose keeper he receives a douceur for intro- ducing a guest. In the meantime, his baggage, with the exception of such minutiae as may adhere to the fingers of the boat-men, or of those who have the handling them on shore, will follow, and there will be no want of atten- tion to immediate accommodation. The tavern-keeper, under the plausible pretext of aid- ing towards the completion of the youth's wishes, never fails to enquire whether the gentleman has any friends in town, or even in the country? If affirmatively answered, “mine host” feels himself tolerably secure of his money: but will probably assert, that the friend in town is out of the way, and will not be back for some days. Should the gentleman be totally destitute of friends, then comes the rich harvest. Imposition following imposition, swells the bill; which, if appearances warrant forbearance, is kept back as long as possible, under the pleasing assurance of perfect confidence. In the end, however, a catalogue of items is produced, which never fails to alarm, if not to ruin, the unsuspecting victim' Should, unhappily, the guest so far lower himself as to associate with the ordinary company of the common drinking-room, he is irretrievably gone. Quarrels, riots, and inebriety follow; till, in all probability, he becomes subject to the notice of the police. Should his face ever be seen at that office, his admission into any respectable EAST INDIA WA DE-MI ECU MI. 83 circle would be next to impossible. What with lodging, dinners, wines, &c. of the worst description, but all rated at the highest prices, he must be fortunate who escapes under a gold mohur (two guineas) per day. Double that sum is generally charged; so that a person starts at the rate of £1000 per annum, at least; while, in all probabi- lity, no established, or even apparent, provision exists, whereby he may be maintained. - Add the allurements held out by the sable beauties, who will contrive means to retail their charms so long as they think money is to be had, and no trifling expense will be incurred. Some fellow who c.... speak English, and thoroughly understands whatever relates to the interest of the concern, which, among other things, includes thiev- ing, lying, cheating, pimping, &c. is employed to delude the unwary stranger. The first essay is ordinarily made by describing the elegance of the native women, and their great perfection as singers and dancers; and rarely fails, especially with youths under such circumstances, to excite something more than curiosity. The dancing-girls are introduced, and so many fatal consequences follow, that nothing can be more dangerous than this irregular indul- gence; it never failing, first to drain the purse, and, in a few days or weeks, the constitution also. t Those servants who usually ply at the wharfs, and en- deavour to obtain employment, either among the officers of ships, or among persons fresh from Europe, for the most part speak broken English with sufficient fluency. This renders them, particularly serviceable to both those classes, by enabling them to provide, and to act, when, without such assistance, they would be in distress, and at a stand. It is a very general custom among the Moossul- mans of low condition, to give such of their male children as are born during their Lent, (or Ramzaun) the name of G 2 84 - EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. Ramzauny: meaning “born during the Ramzaun.” There being so many thus designated, renders the name ex- tremely common; and, as an infinity of rogueries have been practised by persons so called, it has rather got into disgrace. Hence, the adventurers above described are, by a slight, but ludicrous corruption, termed Rum-John- nies, which after all, may be only a slighter change from . ram-juna, a Hindoo dancing-boy. That a servant thus enabled to act as the medium of intercourse, must prove on many occasions highly conve- nient, may be confessed; but, like a two-edged sword, he may operate either way, as to himself may appear expe- dient; and while pretending to serve, may be pillaging his employer. It is to be lamented, that the stranger has no immediate resource; and, in case of injury, little re- dress. The mischief is not owing to any deficiency in the police, but arises from that invariable precaution with which Rum-Johnnies carry on their manoeuvres. They never fail to have a third person in the way, who is to dis- appear with the purloined articles, and to bear all the blame; while the principal affects great resentment at the villain's audacity, and sorrow for his master's loss. This is often so dexterously managed as to occasion serious quarrels, when friends, who see through the deception, endeavour to convince the infatuated party, that his confi- dential menial is at the bottom of the roguery. The dis- reputable circumstance of having a thief at his elbow, does not sit very easy on the stranger's mind: deriving so much convenience from Rum-Johnny's aid, and, having only the fair side of the knave's conduct in view, he is un- willing to give credit to what appears a gross misrepresen- tation, founded on prejudice. By this means, he sinks deeper into the mire, and renders it dangerous for his well-wisher to attempt his extrication. EAST IND I A VAD E-MI ECU M. 85 * , Captain Williamson says, “I recollect an instance of a “young gentleman's joining a regiment, about a hundred “miles up the country, who had among his servants a “khedmutgar, (or table-attendant,) of whom I never could “get a sight. The fellow was always sick, or busy; or “some excuse was invariably made. At length, one of “my own domestics informed me, that he was a Rum- “Johnny who had been discharged for theft from my ser- “vice, in which he held the office of mosaulchy, (or link- “boy.) I found out, that he had been employed in the “barracks at Fort-William, where he picked up a little “English, and had fastened on the gentleman, no doubt “with the intention to avail himself of the first good prize “wherewith to decamp. Finding, to his great discomfi- “ture, that I had been removed to that station, where he “found me, the scoundrel kept aloof, under the hope of “carrying his project into execution. Strange to say, it “was with extreme difficulty I could convince my young “friend that he was the dupe of a downright thief; who, “if I had not been improperly lenient, would have had “the certificate of his crime noted on his back, by the “ drummers of the regiment!” To state the evil, without pointing out the remedy, would be next to useless. When, however, the means are suggested of avoiding all, or any of the difficulties, at- tendant on arrival in a foreign land, the stranger must be understood to possess pecuniary resources; that is, to be able to pay his way. Otherwise, he can do nothing; and must undergo all the afflictions and miseries every where attendant upon despised poverty. It must not be forgot- ten, that what may appear in England to be liberal calcu- lations, will be otherwise in the East; where every article of European manufacture bears an enormous price, and house-rent is very expensive; while it is indispensably 86 EAST INDIA W A D E-MECU M. necessary to retain many servants. The first thing to be done, (setting a letter of recommendation out of the ques- tion,) is to report arrival at the secretary's office, depositing the certificate of the Directors' licence to proceed to India. Without this, the party is treated as an alien, not entitled to British protection. Nor does this arise from ill-will on the part of government, or the inha- bitants; but from that strict attention which the politics of the country imperiously require to be paid to the several characters, and descriptions, of persons residing within the territory of British India. All persons in the civil or military branches are equally required to produce the certificate granted at the India House, in order to identify the party. Should this have been lost, he himself, together with the commander who received the order for taking him on board, must attend, to make affidavit to that effect, before the appointment can be admitted upon the registers in India. Such as appertain to the civil service, being always strongly recommended, and often finding many old , acquaintances of their families on the spot, require but little advice. Nor does the cadet stand much in need of instruction, for providing himself with a home. He is only to wait upon the town-major, at his office in Fort- William, when he will receive the necessary order for ad- mission into the barracks and mess appointed for his reception. He who has not these advantages, must do the best his circumstances allow. He will find temperance not only cheap, but indispensable; for, should he at the outset indiscreetly injure his health, there would follow a thou- sand privations, and a certain increase of difficulties. As the first point he must get under cover. Nor will this be found so easy, as those may suppose who have never EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 87 quitted England. It will require some research, to pro- cure a small house with only bare walls; for a furnished house to be let is unknown in India; and lodgings are, if possible, still more out of the question. Fortunately, among the European shopkeepers in Calcutta, are some most respectable characters; men distinguished for their urbanity, philanthropy, and generosity. Application should be instantly made to one of these firms, for aid, and advice. The case should be candidly stated ; and, to insure confidence, there should be a deposit of money either with them, or at one of the banks. Thus, in a few hours, some small tenement will be obtained, either hired, or granted as a temporary accommodation, and all the articles really necessary will be provided, at one of the auctions daily occurring within the central parts of the town. The appointment of proper servants will now be impor- tant; but, under the directions of any old resident, by no means difficult. Such will be not only the most expe- ditious, but the safest, way of proceeding ; since those who recommend will, in all probability, be expected, according to the custom of the place, to become sureties for the honesty of all persons hired on their recommenda- tion. One servant who can speak English, or at least, an underling sircar, deputed from the warehouse, will prove a very agreeable resource, on all occasions of diffi- culty; but the good policy, or rather the abolute necessity, of immediately studying the language, is so apparent, that he who runs may read. Till that is acquired, to such an extent as may preclude the necessity for an interpreter on ordinary occasions, no person can be deemed inde- pendent; far less, capable of acting with effect, in any civil, military, or commercial capacity. Strange to say, many gentlemen reside from ten to S8 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECUM. thirty years in India, without ever being able to summon resolution to acquire sufficient of the Hindee language even to take their accounts' With such, the sircar is every thing. The consequences are, invariably, that he grows rich, and his master continues to the last in dis- tress, unless fortune or patronage fill his coffers so fast, that neither domestic peculation nor extravagance can keep them empty. Without pretending to make a very accurate estimate, an outline may be sketched of those expenses which every person must incur when keeping house, though in the most retired manner, and on the most economical plan. In doing this, it is considered that the instructions given for the outfit have been duly observed ; and, that wearing apparel, some plate, bedding, blankets, sheets, and pillow- cases, have been provided. If they have not, those arti- cles may be rated at from fifty to a hundred per cent. more than they would cost in England. The following brief catalogue will be found to contain only those conveniences which are indispensable. As prices, however, fluctuate. greatly, those given here and in the following pages, should be considered more as certain data on which to calculate, than as bona fide prices:— Rupees. One dozen of chairs; say at four rupees each - - ". One dining-table for six, say - - - - - 25 Two tepoys (tripods) 33 each - - - - - 7 One writing-table, with drawers - - - - 25 One bedstead of 6 feet 4 in. by 4 feet 6 in. - - . 30 Curtains to ditto; those for the exterior of chintz - 20 Inside ditto, of gauze, to keep out musquitoes - ... 10 Bookcase upon chest of drawers - - - ... 100 China and glass ware, say - - - - . - . 100 Shades to put over candles, one pair, say - - . 40 (Those with wooden pedestals to be preferred.) Carried forward - 405 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. S9 Brought forward . 405 A chillumchee (or metal bason) for washing hands, with its tripod, &c. . . . . . . . . . 25 A palanquin and bedding - - - - - ... 100 Table cloths and towels - - - - - . 50 One large and one small satringe (cotton carpet) 25 and 10 35 Various culinary articles, say - - - - . 40 A variety of small articles in cutlery, &c. say . . 45 Making in all on a rough estimate . . 700 In this estimate a horse is not included, because not in- dispensable; but, both as a convenience, and as tending to health, a cheap, safe, and quiet poney should be provided. Numbers are sold every week, at all prices; but one, in- cluding the saddle and bridle, from 250 to 300 rupees would be going far enough. Suppose the whole expense amounts to 1000 sicca rupees, or £125; this will be as little as any person can expend, so as to secure his credit or comfort. The common stock of wines, spirits, wax- candles, sauces, sugar-candy, tea, coffee, saltpetre, and a number of lesser items, would require full 600 rupees more; supposing that a year's supply were immediately provided. Thus, £200 will be necessary to establish a gentleman in his residence, supposing it to be fixed. Travelling alters the case, and will.be found considerably to increase the disbursements. A comparison between the before-mentioned prices and those in Europe, will shew that Calcutta is by no means a fa- vourable market for the purchase of furniture, wines, cattle, &c.; and should at once satisfy every free-mariner, free- merchant, &c. proceeding to India on speculation, that he must be provided with at least six hundred pounds to answer the demands of his outset. House rent cannot well be taken at less than £150 per annum; servants will 90 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. amount to about as much more; and his table expenses, pocket-money, &c., on the most moderate scale, will de- mand one hundred, after laying in his stock of wines, tea, &c. So that, in all, he may be said to do very well on the £600. Should he, indeed, be so fortunate as to make numerous respectable acquaintances, and become a fre- quent guest at their tables, a considerable portion of the expenses, stated at £100, may be retrenched. Such good luck, however, does not generally happen; and, at any rate, rarely comes at once, as it requires time to gain that foot- ing which may relieve the pressure of table charges. This, too, may be attended only with common civility, without affording the smallest prospect of further beneficial coun- tenance from such hospitality. - So much has been said on this subject, with a view to correct a prevalent opinion, that it is easy to get into society in India; and that then a gentleman may put his hands in his pockets, while his friends forward him rapidly. Such, assuredly, was the case in days of yore; but, with- in the last thirty years or more, there have been nu- merous retrenchments in all the public offices, so that the prospects of many young men who proceeded to India with the hope of being engaged in merchants' houses, have sadly failed. It should never be forgotten how far all persons, ignorant of the language spoken in common, namely, the Hindee, (vulgarly called the Moors',) are in- competent to any duty, beyond that of making out copies of accounts-current, and registering correspondence. Even these, to be performed with correctness, demand some local knowledge. This may serve to prove, that full one year must be provided for before any employment, which may ensure a livelihood, and afford the prospect of future advancement, can be reasonably expected. Of such importance does this appear, that, were one to EAst INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 9I advise a young friend, about to proceed to India, as to the manner in which he should pass his first year, it would be nearly in the following terms: “Rise at daybreak, and ride gently for one hour in the hot, and two hours in the cold season. Make a moderate breakfast, avoiding melted butter, salt meats, salt fish, sweetmeats, &c.; good tea or coffee being assuredly the most wholesome. Study the language for an hour or two, and attend some office gra- tuitously, in order to become acquainted with the accounts, price-currents, markets, provisions, commodities, &c. About two o'clock retire to rest, and about an hour before sunset, bathe, by means of three or four large pots of water poured over the head. Put on clean linen, and dine . moderately upon plain viands, taking care never to exceed two or three glasses of the best Madeira. Proceed for two hours with studying the language, and, after taking a cup or two of tea, or of coffee, or a crust of bread and a glass of Madeira, go supperless to bed, avoiding to sleep in a strong current of air.” Possibly, it may be urged, that a person intent on learn- ing the Hindee, so as to be competent to transact business in the course of twelve months, would not attain that ob- ject by four hours only of daily assiduity. Nevertheless, such a portion of time, appropriated under the guidance of an intelligent linguist, will certainly enable the student to make a wonderful progress; especially when combined with the resolution to enter as much as possible into fa- miliar colloquy in that language, and to put it in practice among the natives on all occasions. A gentleman determined to learn the language, began the study of Persian at rather an advanced age; which caused many to rally him on the new turn he had taken. He, however, persevered, and, in the course of two years, became more than commonly proficient. The explanation 92 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. he gave, as to the plan he had laid down, must convince any one, that a person, with a tolerable memory, may, in a moderate time, acquire any regular language. His mode was, for the first month, never to retire to bed until he had perfectly learned by heart twenty words, so as to explain them with promptitude, however catechized. After that first month, he was master of no less than six hundred words. During the next month, finding that former ac- quirements greatly facilitated his progress, he made a point of gaining twenty-five words daily ; thus acquiring in that month seven hundred and fifty words; making a total of thirteen hundred and fifty. In this way he added five words every day, till he found that, by the aid of derivations and compounds, he was well grounded in the language. His computation was, that, as few languages contain more than forty thousand words in common use, whenever he should be able to learn fifty words daily, he might, to use his own terms, “make the language fall before him in two years.” This is an arithmetical demonstration of the powers an- nexed to persevering regularity, and ought to induce every youth, for that is the season for acquirements, to adopt such a system as may insure the great object in view. So steady a mode of carrying on a pursuit cannot, however, be expected in young persons, many of whom have just escaped from the trammels of parental vigilance; and who, having passed so many years at their studies, rarely feel much disposition to prolong academic labours; while, at the same time, the pleasures of society are open to their participation. Still, it is to be hoped that this vo- lume may prove intrinsecally beneficial to a large portion, by pointing out the means whereby preferment may be obtained, and by shewing with what facility, as to all in- EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 93 tellectual pursuits, the foundation may be laid for a most superb superstructure. The number of servants, and the amount of wages, form- ing so conspicuous an item in domestic economy, cannot fail to attract the attention, not only of persons proceed- ing to India, but of their parents and friends, who often express much surprise at the apparent extravagance of the young débutants in this particular. Such notions of im- proper indulgence in retinue, though perfectly natural, as resulting from long habits, and the little necessity felt in Europe for keeping many servants, even in large families, by no means find a sanction when transplanted beyond the narrow limits of our own island. In many parts of Europe, custom has rendered permanent various practices which, no doubt, had their origin in the purest motives, and did not, in the first instance, appear likely to serve as the basis of future excesses and encroachments. The multiplicity of menials employed in the houses of European gentlemen in Bengal, results from the tenets of religion, especially among the Hindoos; a cause by no means likely to be soon removed. Yet what may be ef- fected by a relaxation of their present rigid principles, and the further extension of our customs, cannot be fore- told. Of the religious tenets and institutions, both of the Moossulmans and of the Hindoos, little need be said in this place. The division of the latter into sects, called by us casts, renders the occupations of all perfectly distinct. Thus a necessity exists of hiring such of each cast as can attend to those duties they undertake, without being sub- iect to the animadversions of their priesthood, or to those penalties attendant upon even the most trifling deviation from the prescribed path. The climate, too, arbitrarily 94 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. imposes the necessity for retaining some classes of ser- vants, unknown in England; or, at least, supposed to be exclusively attached to the convenience of ladies, and sick persons. When all matters are considered, it will be found, that the host of domestics appertaining to the establishment of a gentleman in Bengal, proves, in the aggregate, little, if at all, more expensive than the ordi- nary number retained by families of respectability in most parts of England. What with wages, liveries, lodging, board, washing, waste, negligence, and pilfering, we probably shall find the one man-servant and the two maids fully a match, in point of expense, with the whole body of those in the pay of one of our countrymen abroad. A gentleman in Europe can never well guess the ulti- mate amount of his disbursements, where his domestics are concerned either" in the appropriation, or in the ex- penditure. In India, the uttermost farthing is known ; each servant receiving a certain sum monthly, for which he is in attendance during the whole day, provides his own clothes and victuals, and pays for whatever cabin he may build or occupy. As to purloining victuals, there is little danger; for, with the exception of some of the lower casts, which are held in a state of utter abomina- tion, no native of India, either Moossulman or Hindoo, will so much as touch those viands of which an Euro- pean has partaken; or which have even been served up to his table. This must be understood as speaking generally, and without any reference to those few deviations which have occasionally been discovered ; for certainly there have been instances of servants, particularly Mahomedans, who so far trespassed against the doctrines of their reli- gion, as, in secret, absolutely to eat of ham, and other EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 95 viands. Such anomalies must be abstracted from the main position,--which is well known, by all who have resided in India, to be perfectly correct; though many have sus- pected that their stocks of liquors have been occasionally subjected to depredations by menial thieves, or tiplers, without being able to substantiate this charge on such rather rare occurrences. - However one cast may be below the other in a religi- ous point of view, yet they strictly regard the preserva- tion of that conspicuous distinction laid down by their sacred code. Thus, though they may worship the same deities, under the same forms, and with the same cere- monies, yet will they not allow of participation at meals; nor even of contact, at such times. The stranger will, no doubt, on his arrival, see with surprise during the evenings, about sunset, each individual, or perhaps, here and there, two or three, if of the same cast, squat- ting on the bare ground, within a small space levelled for the purpose, of which the limits are marked out by the line of dust, or rubbish, moved from the centre towards the exterior. In such an area, each man, or woman, cooks, and afterwards eats, the principal meal of the day. In fair weather, these areas are made under the canopy of heaven ; but during the rainy season, and perhaps in winter, they are made within the huts of the persons re- spectively, and, by the Hindoos at least, are in general neatly plastered over with cow-dung, which lays the dust, and is, moreover, considered as a sacred compost. So extremely scrupulous are the natives in the prepa- ration of their victuals, and their consumption, that, if any person not of the very same cast, (with the reservation of the brahmans, or priests,) should touch their bodies or their clothes, or any one article within the area, or even the surface of the area itself, the whole meal, together 96 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM, with any earthen-ware, standing within the circumvalla- tion, (if it may be so called,) would be instantly thrown away, as being polluted. Nay, any portion in the mouth must be ejected ; nor, till the party had performed an ablution, could he attempt to resume his culinary labours, or join in society with his compeers. No Moossulman, or Hindoo, will drink water out of any vessel touched, while in a state of repletion, by a person of inferior cast, or by an European. Earthen-ware of every kind, though new or empty, becomes defiled by such contact, so as to be utterly useless to the proprietor. Knowing these things, it must be both cruel and im- politic to trespass on a prejudice in itself perfectly inno- cent, and by no means interfering with the rights, or the convenience, of others. It is true, the patient Hindoo, even while suffering under privations from the destruc- tion, or at least the disqualification, of his meal, will rarely proceed to extremity against any European who may occasion such a loss and inconvenience. Under a supposition of the trespasser's ignorance, he rather, in his mind, finds an excuse for, and pardons, what he mildly terms the accident. But, let a native offend in a similar manner, and a war of words exhibits the irrita- tion of the Hindoo's mind. Nor would he be passive should one of his countrymen step over him while asleep; that being considered as not only indelicate, but productive of serious mischiefs; inducing the visitations of evil spirits, inflicting disease, and, at no very remote period, death. This strange infatuation appears perfectly ridiculous in any civilized being, but especially among a people who are all predestinarians. The European should be careful not to stride over any of his domestics, who may occasionally lay themselves down in the veran- da, &c. of his house: such an act on the part of an unclean EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 97 master, being considered as doubly mischievous; for all those who are without the pale of their peculiar creed are deemed impure.* The servants, whether of Europeans, or of opulent na- tives, are divided into two classes, indiscriminately called Nuokur, or Chakur. The first list below are judged ex- empt from all menial duties, which more properly belong to the last division, as their respective designations will at once testify. Baniayn, (buniya) merchant, banker, or money agent. Darogah, (daroghu) or Gomastah, (gomashtu) factor, or superintendant. Moonshy, (moonshee) secretary, or linguist. Jummadar, chief of the retinue. Chob-dar, silver-pole bearer. Soonta-burdar, silver-baton bearer. Khansaman, butler, steward. Sirkar, government, head of a house; agent for receipts and payments, as ...}. Kranee, clerk, or writer in the office. The second class comprises— Khidmutgar, valet, table-attendant. Mushuulchee, flambeau-bearer, link-boy. Hookull-burdar, pipe-bearer. Bihishtee, water-carrier, lit. heavenly, Bawur-chee, cook. Durzee, tailor. * I beg leave here to refer the reader to “Dialogues English and Hindoostanee,” designed “to promote the colloquial intercourse of Europeans with the natives of India, immediately on their arrival in Hindoostan.” These Dialogues I shall quote more largely, as they are not likely to be republished in their present form.—See Appen- dix, No. II. ... II 98 EAST INDIA v A DE-MECUM. Doby, (D,hobee) washerman. Mohote, or Mohout, (Muhawut) elephant driver. Surwan, camel-driver. Su,ees, Sa,ees, groom. G,husiyara, grass-cutter, dependant on the former. Chabook-war, horse-breaker. Malee, gardener. Al-dar, water-cooler, butler. Khursh burdar, purveyor. Hurkaru, messenger, guide, spy, &c. Piyadu, (Peon) nearly the same as the hurkaru. Hujam, or Naee, barber. Duſturee, office-keeper. Furrash, carpet-spreader, or furniture-keeper. Mihtur, sweeper; a female for the same duties being termed mihturance. Dorigh, dog-keeper. Khulasee, camp-equipage-keeper. Berriarah, shepherd. Chuokeedar, watchmºh. Durwan, gate-keeper, or porter. Kuhar, palkee-bearer. Aya, or Da,ee, a female attendant on a lady, in charge of children, a nurse. The Baniayns being, without doubt, the first in fortune, as well as in rank, claim priority of description.—These are, invariably, Hindoos, possessing in general very large property, with most extensive credit and influence. A baniayn invariably rides in his palkee, attended by several underling sirkars, hurkarus, &c. He, to a certain degree, rules the office, entering it generally with little ceremony, making a slight obeisance, and never putting off his slippers: a privilege which, in the eyes of the na- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 99 tives, at once places him on a footing of equality with his employer. Under such a system, it was easy for the baniayns to effect the ruin of any individual; while it was impossible for any man in distress to conceal his circum- stances, so as to obtain a loan, or to extend his credit. Hence, the courts of law were full of causes in which baniayms were plaintiffs. Of late years, the case has greatly altered; for, if we except a few large concerns, such as banking-houses, and the principal merchants, who, having yaluable cargoes on hand, are each under the necessity of retaining one of this gang, for the pur- pose of obtaining cash to make up payments, or to ad- vance for investments, baniayns are become obsolete. There was, formerly, little opportunity for securing money, except on mortgage, or in the Company's treasury. Few, however, now think of lending money at less than twelve per cent. which is the legal interest; and, as the Company never receive loans at that rate, except when pressed by exigency; and the great agency-houses con- tinue to make such an immense profit as enables them to pay so high for money accommodation; the floating pro- perty belonging to individuals, with little exception, falls into their hands. Thus there is little occasion for ba- niayns; whose former extensive influence is now confined to the above concerns, and to the management of ele- phant, bullock, or other contracts. Those animals they often buy of the contractor, either for a specific sum, or an annual contingent; so as entirely to exempt him from the responsibility and the management. This description of persons may be classed with the su- perior debashes of the Carnatic; and though there cer- tainly have been found some individuals who might fairly claim exemption from the accusation, yet, generally speak- ing, the present baniayms, who attach themselves to the H 2 - I ()0 EAST IN DIA V AID E-M ECU M. captains of European ships, may, without the least hazard of controversion, be considered as nothing more or less than Rum-Johnnies of a larger growth. Some usurp the designation of dewan,which implies an extensive delegated power; that office, under the emperors of Hindostan, and even now in the courts of Lucknow, Hydrabad, &c. being confidential, and never bestowed but on persons in high favour. The Darogah, Gomashtu, (factor, or superintendant,) is an office rarely held under Europeans, though extremely common in the services of native princes, and of men of opulence. Some of our merchants appoint persons to attend to their concerns in remote parts; such as the tim- ber-dealers in the Morungs, and the iron-smelters in vari- ous parts. The contractors for elephants, camels, bul- locks, horses, &c. have also their agents at the various stations. In general, these are common sirkars, who as- sume the title of darogah by way of pre-eminence, with- out any authority from their employers, and often without their knowledge. They, however, are rarely averse to such an assumption; which, while it gratifies their vanity, costs nothing. The darogahs, or, more properly, the sir- kars, frequently call themselves naibs, or deputies. This seems a more modest term; but, among the natives it is considered as equally consequential ; especially when the principal never eclipses the self-created deputy, by per- sonal attendance to his own affairs. Many of this class are considered as approaching to menials. The Moonshee, or linguist, is ordinarily a teacher of some language, particularly the Persian and Hinduwee, though numbers are employed only as interpreters, or scribes. Learning is their sole pursuit; and, so far as that can be attained in a country where little is under- EAST IN DIA WA DE-MECU M. 101 stood of philosophy and mathematics, some of them make considerable advances. But, in general, it will be found, that a few volumes of tales, the lives of great men who have either invaded, or ruled, the empire, some moral tracts, and the Koran, (for moonshees are Moossulmans) constitute the acquirements of this very haughty class of servants. A moonshee is never so well pleased, as when the payment of the domestic establishment is confided to his charge. Here he is sure to create an influence very injurious to his employer's interests: the whole tribe of menials, considering him to have full command of the whole concern, and viewing their master as a mere cy- pher, dread the moonshee's authority, and crouch before him in the most submissive manner. The baniayn rarely receives wages, or any immediate remuneration for his services; he knows full well, that no money can pass the files on his fingers without leaving some dust. The darogah is sometimes paid by centage on the quantity of goods he transmits, or on the amount of his account; but the moonshee is ever in the receipt of wages, which vary according to his own talents and reputation, or to the rank of his employer. Perhaps a few may be found who receive more, but two gold mohurs, (equal to four guineas) per month, may be taken as rather a liberal, than an ordinary, rate. Some receive no more than eight or ten rupees; but, whatever the learning of such men may amount to, their conduct is generally in- fluenced by motives wide from purity. Many of this class were formerly seen attached to those young officers, and civil servants, who found an easy mode of gratifying their ostentation by a display of study which they never rea- lized, and who employed these pretended tutors in all the drudgery of expenditure; not forgetting those meaner | O2 EAST IN D1A VAD E-MECUM. offices, which, while they disgraced themselves, levelled all distinction between the man of letters and the common pander. The private habits of moonshees, in general, by no means correspond with the respectability of their profession. At- tending their employers only at stated hours, and the resi- due of their time being wholly unoccupied, it is not sur- prising, that, with liberal salaries, they should rather court pleasure than shun it. Hence, with very few ex- ceptions, we find them debauched and unhealthy. The Jummadars are considered as the most confidential servants of a person of distinction, and through them the despatches, and consultations of the various members of the council, are usually conveyed. Some are retained merely to superintend buildings and commercial opera- tions: but such cannot be classed, strictly speaking, with those who are merely state servants; though the wages of each may be nearly on a par. The jummadar bears no insignia of office, but, generally imitates the appearance of a moonshee of a respectable class. He may, however, be often distinguished by the ornamental dagger, worn in his cummer-band, or waist-cloth: whereas the moonshee never wears any weapon whatever. The Chob-dar, or silver-pole bearer, is retained only by persons of consequence ; usually two are employed, and even four, in the retinue of very exalted characters. The pole, (or chob,) is about four feet and a half in length, tapering gradually, from the metal ferule at the base, to the top, which is about four inches in diameter, and generally embossed with some figure, such as a tiger's head, &c.; while the rest, for the whole length, is of some pattern, such as volutes, scales, flowers, &c. The pole consists of a staff, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, spreading towards the top, so as to as- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUMI. 103 similate to the form of the exterior case. This is of solid wrought silver, often weighing 150 rupees or more, into which, the staff being placed centrically, melted rosin is poured to fill up the intermediate space; thereby rendering the whole sufficiently substantial, without add- ing too much to the weight. The chob-dar is versed in all the ceremonies of court etiquette. He stands at the inner door of the audience chamber, announcing the approach of visitors, and con- ducting them to the presence. The chob being in itself of some value, and the office frequently of considerable trust, it is usual for chob-dars to give the security of creditable persons who vouch for their good conduct. Their average wages are from eight to twelve rupees. They attend early in the morning; and, besides announc- ing visitors, run before the palanquin, or, if there be no jummadar, by the side, to receive orders. They likewise carry messages, or letters, on formal occasions; especially to superiors. On these occasions, the rank of the servant bearing a message, or letter, implies the degree of respect which the master designs to express. So well is this under- stood, that the precursors of a great man always arrange themselves on this principle of gradation. The hurkarus and peons are the foremost ; next the soonta-burdars, then the chob-dars, and, lastly, the jummadar, who runs by the side of the palanquin, unless when occasionally replaced by a chob-dar, and thus throughout. In India, the retinue always precede the employer; a custom little suited to the climate, as appears by the clouds of dust which annoy the person seated in the palanquin. In the dresses of the jummadar, and the chob-dars, there is no characteristic difference, though the former usually make their jammas, or robes, of white calico; 104 East INDIA v A DE-MECUM. unless where coloured broad-cloth is given them for liveries: which, however, is not usual; and they consider white as more dignified; nor are they partial to co- loured turbans, or waistbands. The Soonta-burdar bears a baton about thirty inches long, generally curved at the top, so as to resemble an ordinary bludgeon. These batons are made of the same materials as the chob, or pole; but, while the latter are borne, when the bearers are proceeding with a palanquin, by a suitable balance near their centres, like trailed arms, the former are held by their lower extremities; which, since they are never rested on the ground, as the chobs are, require no ferules; the crooked end of the soonta being carried over the shoulder. Soonta-burdars are frequently employed by persons in a second or third rate of office, or opulence, where no jummadar, or chob-dar, is kept. The pay of these ser- vants varies from six to ten rupees monthly: the dress differs from that of the superior class; being generally confined to a much shorter jamma, reaching only to the knees, or just below them, and they have less objection to coloured turbans, &c. The Khansaman may be classed with the house-steward and butler; for in him both offices unite; and in his dress, he generally imitates the jummadar, or chob-dar. Those who have rarely seen a table set out in India, may wonder at the elegance and perfection displayed; espe- cially when it is considered, that those concerned in the preparation of the viands, would, on no account, taste them during the course of preparation, any more than when returned from the table. The wages of the khan- saman are supposed to correspond with his talents and the rank of his employer; though in a few instances, epicures, of very moderate income, have retained khansa- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 105 mans at very exorbitant rates. From twelve to fifteen rupees per month, may be taken for a common standard; from fifteen to twenty, in families of rank or opulence; and from twenty to forty among the first circle. A few cases might be adduced where not less than a hundred rupees have been given; a sum corresponding with £150. per annum of British currency. The Sirkar is a servant whose whole study is to handle money, whether receivable or payable; to confuse ac- counts, when adverse to his views; or to render them most expressively intelligible, when suitable to his pur- pose. These are pretty nearly the same as the Madras debashes. As peons and hurkarus rise to be chob-dars, and jummadars, and as khidmutgars succeed to the ap- pointment of khansamans, so may sirkars in time become baniayns, dewans, darogahs, gomastahs, &c. Many of them. even set up as shroffs, or bankers, and establish a very extensive credit. There are sirkars of all ages, from twelve, to sixty, or seventy. Nothing can more forcibly expose the characteristic traits of sirkars, than their usual tender of services to young men, under the declaration that they seek no pay, or remuneration in any form, beyond the pleasure of laying out their master's money to the best advantage. It should be noticed, that, on account of the immense variety of coins current in India, it is customary, when receiving a large sum, to employ an examiner, called a podar ; who, having acquired an accurate skill in the valuation of these coins, at once decides upon the cor- rectness of a payment. The precision, quickness, and touch of these persons are beyond description. It is said, that many of them can, even in the dark, distin- guish between several kinds of money, whose size and weight are nearly similar. Besides, even coins of the 106 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. same value, and from the same mint, differ greatly in both particulars; some being broad and flat, like a shil- ling, though not defaced ; while others are more dumpy, and, though of purer metal, not so ponderous. Many of the sirkars, especially of late years, unite the office of podar with their own. This, it might be sup- posed, would enable them to secure their employer from loss, but it is rather made the means of injuring both his pocket and his credit, by passing inferior money at an unjust value into his chest, and issuing it at a less rate, if to a native colleague; but, if to an European, then at a higher value; the sirkars of each joining in the device : when circumstances fit, this operation is reversed. Here it may be objected—“If the master knew the rate at which the money was paid to him, how happens it, that, after entering it in his books, he allows it to be paid away at a different, or, at least, at a lower rate than that at which it was received P’’ This query, though sufficient to stagger any other per- son, would not prove in the smallest degree difficult of solution to a sirkar. He immediately tells his master, that the batta, i. e. the exchange, is altered, and, in say- ing this, he may have truth on his side, from the fluc- tuations that take place in all coins, whether gold, silver, or copper, and which are so frequent, that no general rules can apply for any given long period. This fluctua- tion in the price of money is managed by the shroffs, or native bankers; who invariably, except on particular holidays, meet towards midnight, compare accounts, and settle the value of money for the succeeding day. Notice is then privately circulated; and, throughout the great town of Calcutta, covering perhaps three thousand acres, and well peopled, the whole of the parties concerned, nay, even the ordinary retail shopkeepers, are apprized of the EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 107 alteration. Sometimes the exchange is allowed to remain at the same rate for a few days in succession: this rarely takes place, except when a particular currency, say silver, is to be bought up at a low rate, to be sold again when the rate has been raised for that purpose. Soon as either purpose is accomplished, the exchange alters by the same invisible means. The number of pice in a rupee constitutes its value; as the number of rupees and annas do that of a gold mohur; which, if sicca, from the Calcutta mint, ought invariably to pass at sixteen rupees. But the regulations of govern- ment have too often been openly and daringly disobeyed. Thus at one time the whole of the silver currency disap- peared; the shroffs and sirkars had bought it up; so that persons in business were induced to offer premiums for silver; without which, mercantile concerns could not proceed. It is, indeed, well known, that, for several months, the troops at the presidency were paid in gold, issued to them at par; but which, owing to the infamous combinations above described, would not pass in any part of the market, unless a deduction of one-eighth was allowed. Sirkars contrive to defraud all parties with whom their masters have concerns; thereby disgracing them on many occasions, especially in payment of card- debts, which are soon distinguished by this Argus race. Besides the advantages thus made, the sirkars derive a very considerable emolument from purchases of every description made in the markets. Whenever an Euro- pean, even in person, buys goods of a native, his servants have, from time immemorial, a claim on the vendor of half an anna in every rupee the latter receives. This, which is called dustooree, or a customary gift, being a thirty-second of the disbursement, amounts to no less than 3, per cent : it may therefore be imagined what im- 108 EAST INDIA v ADE-MECUM. mense sums these sirkars must gain, when serving gentle- men who have large establishments: for even from the very domestics does the sirkar claim the above gratuity, when paying their wages. - Military persons have little occasion for such servants; therefore, unless in eligible circumstances, and of a very liberal disposition, a sirkar will not think it worth his while to serve an officer on a small salary; but it is quite different with a young civilian. Those sirkars who are employed by merchants, or manufacturers, derive the ad vantages attendant on the foregoing transactions, in a less degree than when serving other individuals; but they gradually acquire large property, and are often placed in situations of great trust; such as darogahs and gomastahs: In such establishments they are, for the major part, rela- tives to the baniayn, who assists with his purse on emer gency; therefore, though they may feel the necessity of paying attention to their ostensible employer, they pay their court, under the rose, chiefly to the former. The rates of wages are, in this branch, progressive ; some re- ceiving a bare livelihood, such as from five to eight rupees monthly; while those of longer standing, or who are more in favour with the baniayn, sometimes receive from fifteen to thirty. The dress of sirkars is extremely simple: their heads are shaved, excepting one lock, about two inches in dia- meter at the base, which is held sacred, and tied in a loose bow-knot. The turban is white, of fine muslin, wrapped perhaps fifteen or twenty times round the head, leaving the crown nearly bare, and the lock of hair protruding. Round the waist a piece of cloth is passed, so as to allow free- dom of motion; then tucked in, in a peculiar manner, and one skirt, passing between the thighs, is, in like manner, secured behind. Unless in cold weather, the body and EAST IN DIA VADE-MECUM. 109 arms are entirely bare; in moderate seasons, they are covered with a cloth sewed into two breadths, and thrown over the shoulders: a chintz quilt is likewise occasionally WOrn. For the convenience of keeping accounts, and making payments, one sirkar is allowed by the Company to each battalion of sepoys. It is surprising how these men, whose legal receipts amount, at most, to only twenty ru- pees monthly, accumulate property. Much money, in- deed, goes through their hands, and, as before observed, every finger is a file which takes off a trifle en passant. This class of servants rarely associate with the others, as they form a separate tribe of Hindoos, whose time is de- voted to the sole object of making money. They gene- rally read English well enough to know the contents of a bill; but, in giving receipts, usually sign their names in the Bengallee character. Few of them undertake to write English accounts; but, in their own way, which appears to us prolix, they are extremely regular. The superiors seldom touch a pen, leaving that office to confidential ser- vants, and employing the less expert as collecting clerks. These are eminently punctual, as most young debtors throughout the East must acknowledge. It is a peculiar circumstance, that scarcely an instance has been known of a sirkar absconding with the money entrusted to him : from this, however, the tide waiters must be exempted, who are by no means scrupulous; though they prefer ex- tracting the money from the novice's pocket, by means of extortion and fraudulent accounts. Considering him as being at least attached to, if not of the very same species as the sirkar, I shall give a short description of the Podar, of whom mention has already been made. He is not always an attendant at an office, though, in great concerns, his presence is indispensable. 1 10 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. He either receives from four to ten rupees per month, or is paid, by a very small per centage, for whatever money he examines. We often admire the dexterity of our money-tellers; but the podar, who counts by fours, (i. e. gundahs,) finishes the detail of a thousand in so short a time, as would cause even those to stare with astonish- ment. It is only mixed money that is counted, when large sums are passing; most payments are first sorted, when, the several kinds of rupees being made into par- cels, are weighed, fifty at a time: in this manner, a lac (i.e. 100,000) may be speedily ascertained ; each parcel of fifty being kept separate, till a certain number is com- pleted: when the whole are accounted, and removed into bags, to make way for further operations. Here it may be proper to remark, that no sirkar will take charge of money when his employer keeps the key; nor is it, on the other hand, customary for the sirkar to have the entire charge. So many tricks have been played by changing the coin, that it is now a general rule for every treasure- chest to have two large padlocks, of different construc- tion; the sirkar, or tusseel-dar, (cash-keeper) receiving one key, and the master retaining the other. This prevents aggression on either part, but is by no means pleasing to the baniayns, though they affect to be highly satisfied, because a command of specie will often enable them to make very advantageous purchases in Company's paper; but such a precaution inevitably debars their access to the master's cash. The Kranee, or clerk, may be either a native Arme- nian, a native Portuguese, or a Bengallee; the former not very common; the second more numerous; but the third to be seen every where. It is curious to observe how well many of the latter can write, without understanding a word of what is written. They have a steady hand, a EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. | 1 || keen eye, and an admirable readiness in casting up ac- counts. Those who are habituated to our mode of book- keeping, consider it greatly superior to their own; but it is not very easy to make them understand it. The multi- plicity of fractions, in consequence of the perpetual fluc- tuation in their currency, accustoms them to the most correct calculations. The rates of wages vary according to the abilities of individuals. Thus, a clever kranee in a public office, such as the auditor general's, or the pay- master general's, or the assay and mint, receives from forty to a hundred rupees monthly, while, in mercantile houses, they rarely receive more than thirty, generally, indeed, from ten to twenty. Many are glad to serve gratis, merely for the purpose of an introduction to that line of employment; as well as to perfect themselves in book-keeping, and in a proper style of correspondence. The use they make of English words is often highly di- verting: they study synonymes very industriously; por- ing over Johnson's dictionary, and carefully selecting such terms, as appear to them least in use; thinking that such must, of course, make finer language. The dress of a Bengallee kranee is exactly the same as that of a sirkar, of which tribe he may be considered a relative. The Portuguese kranees assume the British dress; but the Armenian invariably retain that of their own country, which is truly becoming. They shave their heads, and wear black velvet bonnets, in form not unlike a mitre. Their vests are of white linen, reaching down to the knees, so as not to conceal the knee-bands of their small-clothes. Their coats, or tunics, are usually of coloured silk, for the most part purple, lilac, crimson, or brown, and flow loosely rather below their vests; the sleeves are loose, and there is no collar. They use also stockings and shoes; and, when within doors, lay aside I 12 EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. their black bonnets, wearing in their stead white skull- caps, round like a small bowl, and often neatly tamboured with coloured silks. They have pockets in their vests, and in their small-clothes: some wear girdles under their tunics; and some silken sashes. Having disposed of those who pride themselves as ap- pertaining to the nuokur, it remains to detail the services, &c. of such as come under the general designation of chakur. The Khidmutgar, or, as he is often termed, the kismut- gar, is, with very few exceptions, a Moossulman. He pre- pares all the apparatus, and waits at table. For this pur- pose, he repairs to the house of his employer shortly after daybreak; when, after seeing that the breakfast apart- ment has been swept, and that the bearers have put on a kettle, he lays the cloth, with small plates, knives, forks, spoons, &c. together with bread, butter, sweetmeats, &c. but reserving all the tea-things for a side-table; at which, if there be no khansaman, he officiates, making the tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, or whatever is ordered. Where there is an European lady in the family, she may perhaps have the cups, &c. set upon the breakfast-table; but, on account of the steam arising from the various prepara- tions, this custom is by no means general; and often, after a while, it is relinquished in favour of the bachelor's mode, which is, in every respect, the most comfortable. Every gentleman must have one khidmutgar; but the ma- jority keep two, or even more ; not only adding thereby to their own expense, but considerably incommoding every party in which they may dine. As every gentleman, when at table, is attended by his own servants, it may easily be conceived, that where two or more are posted behind each guest, a living enclosure is formed, tending by its exhala- tions, added to those from their masters, and from the EAST IN DIA. W. A D E-MECU M. l 13 viands, to banish comfort, and to render all artificial means of cooling the apartment useless. Hence it is usual, at all public entertainments, to admit but one ser- vant for each person invited: on some occasions a better plan is adopted, namely, that of employing only as many servants as may be deemed absolutely necessary. Gen- tlemen fixed at Calcutta, or at any other place, as resi- dents, cause plates, knives, forks, spoons, napkins and glasses to be laid for the whole company; but at all mili- tary stations, each guest sends his servant with two plates, a soup plate, a small plate for bones, &c. a tumbler, a long glass for claret, and a smaller for, Madeira, a table spoon, a dessert spoon, perhaps also a marrow spoon, two or three knives and forks, and a napkin: these are usually taken to the rendezvous by one of his khidmutgars, who accompanies the ab–dar; the latter causing a bearer with a bangy, or sling, to carry the apparatus for cooling water. However luxurious the latter custom may seem, yet there is none more gratifying, or conducive to health. A glass of cold water is at times invaluable. When seated at table, the khidmulgar stands behind his master to change his plates, &c. which are cleaned by servants without; and, either to keep him cool by means of a small hand-fan, made of palm-tree; or to drive away the flies with a whisk, called a chowry, made of the hair from a wild ox's tail, or of peacocks' feathers, or of the roots of grass, called kuss-kuss, &c. Often, however, these offices are left to a bearer, who likewise stands behind his master's chair for that purpose. After dinner the khidmutgars retire to their own homes, and, about sun- set, attend their respective masters, if they have remain- ed; but should they sup where they dined, as is cus- tomary where suppers are laid, the attendance is repeated, the same as at dinner-time; after which the khidmulgars I 1 14 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. go to their respective houses without ceremony. The pay of this menial varies from five, to perhaps ten, rupees monthly; but the generality receive from six to eight. Much depends on the rank of the employer, and whether the khidmutgar is ever expected to officiate as khansaman, such is, indeed, the case with the families of single gen- tlemen, not in possession of large receipts; but the offi- ciating khidmutgar is honoured, almost invariably, by all the other servants, with the title of khansaman. Nor is such distinction always ill-bestowed; many of those who serve under gentlemen of a liberal disposition, and who take pleasure in keeping a good table, may be fairly compared with, at least, half the servants actually entitled to that designation, as to all the knowledge requisite to support its character. Few, however, of those who become thus capable of managing all that ap- pertains to domestic economy, refrain from making at- tempts to enter the superior circle. Nor are there want- ing persons ready to seduce such good servants from the employ of their acquaintances. About forty years since, when it was the fashion for ladies and gentlemen to wear the hair full dressed, a good peruquier was an indispens- able part of the establishment. The great difficulty of procuring persons properly qualified, induced several gentlemen to have lads instructed under those who were known to be expert. This often cost from eighty to a hundred rupees (ten or twelve guineas); but, in many in- stances, the pupils had no sooner learned the business, than offers were made clandestinely from other quarters, sometimes by intimate friends of their master, when some little disagreement was contrived so as to give pre- text for quitting their service. Khidmutgars are, with few exceptions, the sons of ayas da,ees, &c. in the service of European, or native * EAST IN DIA V A D F-M ECU M. l 15 ladies. Their first introduction to the table commonly takes place at eight, or nine, years of age; when they are usually smart, intelligent, and well-featured. At first they attend only at the house of their employers; receiv- ing no wages, or barely sufficient for clothing : by de- grees they become useful, and are allowed to attend him abroad. Their dresses are generally of the same form; but the quality of the cloth, the length of the skirts, and sleeves, and the trimmings, are matters of great conse- quence in the eyes of this vain tribe. All endeavour to obtain turbans and cummer-bunds (i. e. waist-cloths) of the same colour, and are not the less pleased if a tassel of silver fringe be added to the outer end of the former. They wear a coortah, or vest, reaching, at least, to the knees. During the hot season this is made of white calico, or of chintz; but, in the winter, one of perpet, or other woollen of European manufacture, is deemed more respectable. The long drawers are white, or of striped gingham. - º The Mushuulchee, or flambeau-bearer, may be considered as serving an apprenticeship to the Khidmulgar. This lad should be agile, and attentive; having to run for miles as fast as the ordinary rate of a carriage. He will find abundance of work in cleaning boots, shoes, knives, dishes, &c. together with numerous et cetera ; and the many valuable articles in glass-ware and crockery, given to his charge, for the purpose of being washed, require his diligent care. While a lad remains a mushuulchee, he may acquire much experience, as to the duties of a khid- mulgar. Some, indeed, are to be seen in the service of inferior persons, acting in both capacities, and carrying the umbrella; which is properly the duty of a bearer: but, where the mushuulchee performs the khidmulgar's duties, bearers are rarely kept. Few mushuulchees are al- I 2 1 16 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. lowed more than five rupees monthly, and for this they supply the flambeaux and oil, where such are used. The usual pay is about four rupees; the master, as is now the general custom, using a lantern instead of a mushuul, (or flambeau,) and supplying ends of wax candles, or whole tallow candles for that purpose. Many of this description of servants begin as coolies, or labourers, and gradually improve, so as to be admitted into the service of non-commissioned officers, &c.; whence they remove into the employ of gentlemen. A few come from the sepoy regiments, in which they have served as goorgahs, or fags, to some native officer, &c.; but, the generality of our sepoys are Hindoos, to whom various domestic operations occurring in the families of Europeans are ob- noxious, on account of the nature of many aliments in use among us. The mushuul, or flambeau, consists of old rags, wrapped very closely round a small stick, about two feet long, and two inches and a half in diameter; to this an iron ring is fitted, so as to confine the fire within about an inch at the tip. Being refreshed, from time to time, with oil extracted from the sesamum, it burns with great fierceness, and as the cloth consumes, the ring is brought back, by means of an old fork, thereby renovating the flame. The oil is either carried in a glass bottle, to the embouchure of which a reed is fitted, to prevent spilling; or it is contained in a brass vessel, holding nearly a quart. It is made expressly for the purpose, and thence called a tale daunny, (i.e. oil- pot). The dress of a mushuulchee consists of a turban, gener- ally coloured; a short pair of drawers, reaching half-way down the thigh, nearly the same as the jangheeahs of the native soldiery; and a cloth wrapped round the waist. F. A. ST 1 N DIA VAD E-MECU M. I 17 But if he waits at table, he imitates the dress of the khid- mutgar, so far as his pocket may allow. Persons of dis- tinction, among both Europeans and natives, cause their mushuulchees to carry what are called branch-lights. These consist of a semicircular frame of iron, supported on a centre stem, to which the side ribs join; upon the cir- cumference are five or seven spikes, on each of which a small mushuul is stuck. When they are all lighted, and raised above the head, by means of the stem, they make a great show. Two, or perhaps three branch-lights, may be seen borne before a great personage. Two or more ordinary mushuuls, or lanterns, are also carried near the palanquin, to prevent the bearers from stumbling. The next upon our list is the Hookull-burdar, or pre- parer of the pipe; a domestic of great consequence with those gentlemen who give themselves up, almost wholly, to the enjoyment of smoking. Some begin before they have half breakfasted ; and smoke, with little intermis- sion till they retire to rest; nor is there any custom which becomes so habitual. To so great an extreme, indeed, is it carried, that there has been more than one instance of two hookull-burdars being retained; one for the day, the other for the night. The wages are, in most services, from ten, to fifteen rupees per month ; occasion- ally less, but rarely exceeding; unless excessive parti- ality for his pipe should induce a gentleman to give more, under the common error of expecting satisfaction in pro- portion to the disbursement. To such an excess has this opinion prevailed, that I have heard of no less than one hundred rupees per month having been given to a hookull burdar. In some instances he contracts for the whole expense, receiving such a sum as may, be- sides his wages, include tobacco, gools, (or fire-balls,) 118 EAST INDIA VAD E-MI ECU M. and chillums, (or sockets for receiving the towah, or tile,) on which the prepared tobacco is applied. Some even provide the snakes, or pliable conductors. With respect to the tobacco used for smoking, few are to be found of the same opinion: and that opinion proba- bly formed under the grossest deception. The little vil- lage of Bilsah, in the Muharutta country, has been long celebrated, and not without reason, for the fragrance of the tobacco there cultivated. But the quantity sold an- nually throughout Bengal, where it produces from thirty to sixty, and even eighty rupees per maund, (if ascertained to be genuine,) is known to exceed full an hundred fold the amount of any crop ever raised at Bilsah. The sub- stitutes are various, but one kind, raised in the Bundel- cund district, supplies the greater portion; many, indeed, are of opinion that it is not inferior. May not its excel- lence be owing to the practice, common in that quarter, of sprinkling the plants at harvest time with a solution of molasses 2 We know that many fruits, for instance, the raspberry, yield but little of their flavour, until excited by the saccharine acid. That very cheap tobacco, the Cug- gareah, which ordinarily sells for about four rupees per maund, (of 82 lb.) has been rendered so mellow, and so fragrant, by being worked up with molasses, and kept in close vessels for some months, as absolutely to be admired even by persons who prided themselves on never smoking any but the true Bilsah. The usual mode of preparing tobacco for the hookull, is by first chopping it very small; then, adding ripe plan- tains, or apples, molasses, or raw sugar, together with some cinnamom, and other aromatics; keeping the mass, which resembles an electuary, in close vessels. When about to be used, it is again worked up well; adding a little tincture of musk, or a few grains of that perfume, EAST INDIA v AD E-M Ecu M. 119 or else pouring a solution of it, or a little rose water, down the snake, at the moment the hookull is introduced. In either case, the fragrance of the tobacco is effectually superseded; giving ample scope for the hookull-burdar to serve up rank mundungus, (as bad tobacco is termed,) in lieu of the supposed, or perhaps the real, Bilsah. The hookull-burdar rarely fails to smoke his master's best tobacco; which, however highly perfumed, will rarely be strong enough for his gratification. The defici- ency is supplied by the admixture of bang; a preparation from the leaves of the ganjah, or hemp, (the cannabis sati- vus,) and is extremely intoxicating. The leaves of that plant, when triturated with water, compose a drink of the same tendency, known by the name of subzy, (i. e. green,) which is a constant beverage among the more luxurious, who rarely fail, towards night-fall, to take an ample dose, of either bang, subzy, or majoom. the latter being sweet- meats impregnated with a decoction of the ganjah, or hemp plant, much used by all debauchees, and too often admitted within the sacred area of the zenanah, (or haram.) The use of any preparations of the ganjah, or hemp plant, is attended with much opprobrium. Like most intoxicat- ing drugs and spirits, they, in the first instance, excite to gaiety, but ultimately leave their victim in the most de- plorable state of stupefaction; the recovery from which is attended with dreadful head-ache, irritation of spirits, and hypochondria. Some hookull-burdars indulge freely in the use of musk, which never fails, after a while, to produce considerable derangement of the nerves; and, not unfrequently, that complete debility which is ever at- tended with the greatest depression. - A very common species of debauchery, in which I have known only one or two gentlemen to indulge, is the incor- poration of opium with the prepared tobacco, previous to 120 EAST IN DIA. V. A D E-MECU M. its being spread upon the towah; a custom so repugnant to discretion, as to leave little room for animadversion, the folly being usually of very short duration, and, inter- mediately, attended with the most abject degradation. Many native princes, who have been hurled from their thrones; and others who have been displaced from offices of trust, are said to have been treacherously overcome by means of opium thus administered. However complicated the hookull may appear, it is, nevertheless, extremely easy of construction. It is said, that one has been made in England; and there are a few in use here which were brought from Bengal. The ka- teaun, or small kind of hookull, used on the west coast of India, is certainly commodious: it has a larger bottom, in general, than the Bengal hookull; though some are very small, with beautiful imitations of flowers, and of coral, shells, &c. within them. Some of the real Persian kaleauns exhibit considerable ingenuity, and taste, on the part of their manufacturers. In the centre of the interior, bunches of flowers, beautifully coloured, far too large, and too delicate, to have been in- troduced at the embouchures of the vessels, may be seen. Over these, the glass, which is rarely of the best quality, though probably far superior to any of Hindoostanee for- mation, has evidently been cast, or blown. Many of these artificial bouquets are, however, made piece-meal, as discovered by examining their construction, after their exterior cases had been accidentally broken. Such were found to consist of a cone of rosin firmly cemented by heat to the bottom of the kaleaun. It appeared that the several leaves, branches, flowers, birds, &c. were intro- duced one after the other, in a heated state, and applied to the rosin, in which they buried themselves sufficiently to retain a firm hold. It was likewise ascertained that - EAST INDIA. V. A D E-MECU M. 121 some models of Persian architecture were combined in the same manner; while, on the other hand, others, especi- ally small figures of great personages, seated on thrones, elephants, &c. were never subjected to that device: in the latter instance, some grapes were, however, joined in the manner above described. The goorgoory is a very small kind of hookull, intended to be conveyed in a palanquin, or to be carried about a house; the person who smokes, holding a vase-shaped bottom by its neck, and drawing through a stiff, instead of a pliant, pipe, formed of a reed, arched into such a shape as to conduct its end conveniently to the mouth. In this implement, very generally used by the middling classes of natives, and especially among the women in harams, the pipe is rarely more than a yard in length. The meriaul is only a cocoa-nut, with the pipe-stem thrust through a hole at its top, and a piece of reed, about a cubit long, applied to another hole rather lower down. The nut-shell being half filled with water, we might sup- pose the air, or rather the smoke, would be cooled; but, from observation, it is doubtful whether any change take place in the temperament of either. These little hookulls, (for, however paltry, their owners do not omit to give them that designation) are often used without any reed to conduct the smoke; the lips being, in that case, applied to the small lateral aperture into which the reed should be fitted. One of these usually serves half a dozen men, who pass it round with great glee: it often forms an ap- pendage about the feet of a palanquin, if the opportunity offers for securing it there, without the master's know- ledge. The dress of a hookull-burdar, in the service of a gentle- man of rank, is like that of a chob-dar; a jamma being generally worn by such, but, in more humble situations, 122 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. the courtah of a khidmutgar is common. In the former situation, his office is confined entirely to the hookull ; while, in the latter, he is generally expected to wait at table, at least, on occasion ; but wherever the master, of whatever rank, may go, thither the hookull-burdar is ex- pected to proceed, so as to furnish the pipe in due season after dinner, or at any other time it may be required. The ordinary periods for smoking, are, after breakfast, din- ner, tea, and supper: such may be deemed regular, and, two or three charges at each time, are by no means con- sidered exorbitant. It has been already stated, that some gentlemen smoke day and night. In such a clinate, water is, during four months, at least, the main spring of existence, both in the animal, and the vegetable, kingdom; consequently, its supply becomes a profession, giving subsistence to thousands. The water-carrier, if provided with a bullock for the pur- pose of conveying two large leather bags, each containing about twenty gallons, is called a Puckaully; but if he carries the water himself, in the skin of a goat, prepared for that purpose, he then receives the designation of Bheesty. The bags for a puckaully are made of strong hide, sewed very firmly at the front, which is at right angles with the bottom, where the leather doubles, and, consequently, has no seam ; the back part is diagonal, forming a kind of spout behind, opposite the bullock's knee ; while the top is left open, rather in a funnel form, for about a foot, that the water may be poured in: the spout is first rolled up, and then tied with a strong strip of leather. Every puckaully carries also a small bag, that he may serve as an ordinary hand-bheesty, when required. This is made of the skin of a goat, taken off in a particular manner. Being put into a solution of lime, the hair soon EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 123 quits; when the inside fleshings are carefully scraped off. A tan is then made of the bark of baubool, (mimosa,) khut, (catechu) and alum. Bheesties are, with few exceptions, Moossulmans ; it being contrary to the Hindoo code to touch either the car- cases, or the skins, of animals killed in any way. Hence, a Hindoo of this profession is extremely rare, and will sel- dom be discovered ; owing to the necessity for change of name, so as to pass for a Moossulman. Hindoos will, nevertheless, drink of the water supplied from the mussock, (or bheesty-bag); though they are extremely partial to such as they can draw themselves, by means of a line and metal pot, with which most travellers are provided. Some few are extravagantly scrupulous, and will undergo excessive thirst, rather than partake of the bheesty's sup- ply. Dust, heat, and fatigue, however, rarely fail, after a while, to overcome their scruples. The puckaullies, or, as they are usually called, the bullock-bhecsties, replenish their bags by driving their cattle into some tank, or pond, up to their knees, or even deeper, then baling in the water, by means of a small leather bucket, holding about two quarts, or more. The hand-bheesty usually sinks his bag under water, when it soon fills. When drawing water from the wells, the leather bucket, called a dole, is used by both the puckaully and the hand-bheesty. The constant application of a wet skin to the clothes on the hip, necessarily disposes them to rot: on this ac- count, most bheesties use a piece of cloth, called karwah, which having been dyed in grain with a composition, con- sisting chiefly of the solution of shell-lac, effectually re- sists the moisture. The wages of a hand-bheesty are from four to five rupees, according to the agreement, as, whe- ther he is to furnish his own mussock, &c, which is the general mode. His duty, during the cold season, and in 124 EA ST IN ID I A VAD E-M ECU M. the rains, is little more than to supply water for the horses, and to fill a few pots for culinary purposes, bath- ing, drinking, &c. all of which may employ half an hour. But in the summer months, his labours are severe. Ex- clusive of the above requisitions, which are multiplied ten- fold, he has to water the tatties, (or frames filled with grass,) placed on the windward side of every house, to cool the air; which at that season is not only uncom- fortably hot, but will absolutely parch the skin of a per- son not accustomed to it. By daybreak the bheesty must begin to fill the several tubs, or immense nauds, (pans) of earthenware, placed near the house; this being done, he brings the tatties, and after wetting each thoroughly, as it lays on the ground, he places it against its respective aperture, supporting it with props, and, during the whole day, indeed often till midnight, sprinkling it in every part; and occasionally replenishing the vessels. In some very dry seasons, the bheesties are obliged to continue their labour during the whole night. There was an instance, in the year 1793, when the winds were rather hotter at night than in the daytime; so that it became absolutely neces- sary to keep the tatties up for a full week, or more ; and to procure additional bheesties, to perform the night duty. All the houses in India are tarrased, not only on the basements, but on every floor; therefore, previous to sweeping, the bheesty sprinkles the tarras slightly; to pre- vent the rising of dust. He likewise waters the precincts of the house, several times daily, but especially towards sunset, when gentlemen usually take their tea in the open air. If persons of respectability go any distance, perhaps two or three miles, in their palanquins, during the preva- lence of the hot winds, they are commonly accompanied by their bheesties, who carry a small quantity of water in their mussocks, to sprinkle the tatties applied to the sides EAST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. 125 of the vehicle; and thus the interior, which would other- wise be insufferably hot, is rendered agreeably cool. Those who do not take bheesties with them, have their gut- tatopes, (or palanquin covers,) which are ordinarily made of the karwah before described, well soaked in water before they set out: this, though not so effectual, is no bad sub- stitute. Water, dashed out from the end of a mussock, or bheesty-bag, would be apt to penetrate into the interior of a palanquin; and as its expenditure, while proceeding any distance, should be economically managed, there is a very simple device, which effectually answers every purpose. A small rose-head, similar to those affixed to the spouts of garden watering-pots, being firmly secured within the neck of the mussock, by means of the leather thong always attached to that part, divides the water more minutely and equally, and checks its too abundant supply. Tatties are made of the roots of that long grass found in most of the jungles in India, and corresponding exactly with the Guinea grass, once so ridiculously sent to the East as a great acquisition. The fibres are of a rusty brown colour, devious in their direction, and from ten to twenty inches long; of which, among us, clothes brushes, and carpet brooms, are made. The Hindoostanee name is kuss-kuss, and the general price may be about four rupees per maund, (of 82 lb.) It is enclosed in a frame made of split bamboo, chequered into squares, of about four inches each way, and in the whole sufficiently extensive to overlap the ex- terior of the door, or window, to which it is to be applied, at least six inches, or perhaps, a foot, at the sides and above. The kuss-kuss is placed very regularly on the bamboo frame, as it lies on the ground, in the same man- 126 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU MI. ner as tiles; each layer being bound down, under a thin slip of bamboo, extending the full breadth of the tatty. The great art is to make the tatty neither too thick, so as to exclude the wind; nor too thin, to let the dust pass through, without rendering the interior sufficiently cool After many experiments, it has been found that a maund of kuss-kuss, applied so as to cover about a hundred square feet, answers extremely well. But it is best to have one or two tatties made rather thin ; so as to apply in case of light winds: when it blows hard, these may be applied double ; one at the back of the other. At such times, the interior of a house will be very cool; sometimes rather too much so ; for the great evaporation caused by the heated air's passage through the cold medium, pro- duces perfect refrigeration. In the western provinces, and other parts of India, tat- ties are frequently made of a short, prickly bush, that thrives during the hottest months on sandy plains, espe- cially in places inundated during the rainy season. This shrub is called jewassah; its leaves are not unlike those of rue, but not so numerous, nor of so deep a green. It is extremely prickly, being every where furnished with spines about the size of a pin. When fresh, the jewassah is most pleasing to the eye, and its scent equally agree- able; but, after the first day, the verdure disappears, and the whole house is filled with leaves and thorns. Hence, the kuss-kuss, which, when fresh, is rather fragrant, though the scent is somewhat terraceous, is usually preferred in making those tatties which roll up, so as to be particularly applicable to palanquins, and are called cheeks; wherein nothing but kuss-kuss is ever employed. Where this root cannot be procured, or when, in the early part of the hot season, little has come to market, common grass, pared from the soil, or even small boughs, straw, &c. are occa- f º EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 127 sionally used to fill the space between two frames of bam- boo. These answer tolerably when well watered; but are objectionable on account of their disposition to rot. Kuss-kuss will keep for years. Very few puckaullies, or bullock-bheesties, are retained in the service of individuals; but usually attached to the establishments of barrack-masters and quarter-masters. They answer admirably for the supply of water at the sol- diers’ quarters and hospitals; where tatties are allowed, at the public expense, during the hot season. In most cases, the bullocks that carry the water, as well as the leather bags, appertain to the establishment, and the driver receives only the pay of a hand-bheesty. Where he supplies the whole, his pay is from ten to twelve rupees per month. The Bawur-chee, or cook, is an important servant, since he prepares most sumptuous dinners, although he never tastes any of the viands while in a state of preparation; and is, besides, often put to his wits to guard against the joint attacks of dust, wind, rain, sun, and birds of prey. In a regular, settled family, every convenience is afforded him ; such as a substantial and spacious kitchen, with fire- place according to the Indian style; a range of stoves, a scullery, apparatus of all sorts, &c. &c. But on a march, he must dig a number of holes with a mattock, to receive his fuel; which is usually green wood, or dried cow-dung. He must make choolahs, or fire places, by placing three lumps of earth, kneaded into a stiff paste, for each choolah, so as to support the boiler. He must burn his wood to embers, over which the meat is roasted, by means of a small spit, perhaps made of slit bamboo, but if of iron, with a crank at one end, whereby to turn it, as it rests upon two dogs, or iron spikes, driven into the ground, a few feet asunder. He must, in all probability, kill and * 128 EAST INDIA WA I) E-MECU M. flay a kid, or two or three fowls; some for curry, others for roasting, &c.; and, perhaps, after all, he may have to turn the spit himself; occasionally looking to the con- tents of the several boilers, &c. In a permanent kitchen, the fixed roasting-place is ge- nerally made of two inclined bars of iron, four or five feet in length, set sloping against a wall, at an angle of per- haps forty degrees. Each of these bars has eight or ten hooks, in any suitable pair of which the spit is turned by a boy: the spaces under them, or the triangle on each side, are filled with masonry, so that the heat may be retained, and the embers kept within certain bounds. For roasting in this manner, the embers are divided lengthwise, leaving a vacancy, or kind of trough, under the line of the spit, wherein a metal platter is sometimes set, to receive the dripping, which is returned to the meat by a bunch of feathers, (generally those from the wings of the fowls just killed,) tied to the end of a short stick. This little, meat, cleanly, and cheap dripping-ladle answers admirably; it being in the power of the bawur- chee to baste any part with great precision. In the sauces, a number of flies are found, such as rarely fail to visit the purlieus of the bawur-chee's camp, where they assemble in swarms; settling on the meat, or visiting the stew-pots, &c. where they are overcome by the heat, or fixed by the dripping, &c. Flies may, how- ever, be picked out; but those shoals of dust that skim during the middle of the day, often render the whole din- ner absolutely unacceptable. Where a large table-cloth has been spread over the knives, forks, &c. as laid for din- ner, there has been collected near a pound of sand under- neath; while the upper cloth was really covered full a quarter of an inch in depth. This can never be altogether obviated in moveable camps; but, when fixed for a while, EA ST IN D I A VAD E-MECU M. 129 z it is usual to set up mats, or konauts, (which are walls of cloth, kept upright by ropes and sticks,) on the windward side; whereby the inconvenience may be considerably lessened: but sometimes a b'hoot, or whirlwind, comes suddenly, and not only be-grits the whole of the cookery, but whisks away the fences, embers, &c. in an instant. The boilers are in general made in the country, of cop- per, tinned; in shape not unlike the common cast-iron pots used throughout the North, without feet, and with the addition of a flat rim projecting about an inch out- ward, serving both to keep steady a kind of inverted lid, and, as they have no handles, for the bawur-chee to apply two wet rags, wherewith to put the vessel off and on the choolah. Tinning is performed by persons who make it their livelihood; receiving from one to two rupees per score, for the several pieces, counting boilers, lids, &c., according to their size. The kully-ghur, or tinman, has the vessels well scoured, and then, by means of powdered rosin, gives the interior a coating, scarcely distinguish- able to the sight or touch. Some use no rosin; others employ borax; but, whatever the medium may be, or whether there be none, the vessel is heated sufficiently and equally, over embers, when the tin, being thoroughly melted, is rubbed round the interior with a large piece of fine cotton-wool, so long as any will adhere: the vessel is then set to cool. The above method prevails entirely for its cheapness and expedition; otherwise, for its want of durability, it would be exchanged for some more permanent, and less soluble, preparation. But tinning can be performed in almost every town; and it is rarely required more than once in two or three months; when a score of good- sized pieces may be done for as little as one of our artizans would charge for tinning a very moderate-sized K |3() EAST IN DIA VAD E-M1 E. CU M. kettle. Some gentlemen use tin boilers, sent from Eng- land; but, though certainly devoid of the inconvenience and danger attendant upon a want of tinning, such are highly objectionable ; being so soon burnt through, or rusted when laid by: though the bawur-chees generally adopt the precaution of smearing the bottoms of these vessels, in particular, with fine clay, sufficiently diluted to be laid on thin and smooth. The bawur-chee has nothing characteristic in his appa- rel; he is generally a sloven, rather than a beau, and may often be mistaken for a mushuulchee. In some families, mates, or assistants, are allowed, who do the drudgery, and whose pay is often included in that of his superior; in which case, four rupees are the common allowance, though the poor mate seldom receives more than half that sum; the cook-major adding the residue, as a per- quisite, to his own wages, which may be stated at from six to twelve rupees, according to ability. As in the case of khansamans, and hookull-burdars, a few instances may be adduced of exorbitant salaries; but we may generally take the single cook at eight rupees, and the mate at four. Where there is much work, as in taverns, &c., from fif- teen to twenty rupees are sometimes given monthly to the head bawur-chee. The Durzee, or tailor, is an indispensable domestic in every part of India. All such branches of service are there filled by males; except for the zenanah, or haram, where there may be from two to four females; all exclu- sively attached to the lady. These, knowing nothing of needlework, not so much as to hem a petticoat, the only alternative is, to employ a sempster, who under- stands cutting out and making waistcoats, small-clothes, pantaloons, shirts, &c.; many, indeed, can make a very tolerable coat, if furnished with a pattern. The durzee EAST INDIA WA DE-MECUM. 131 is invariably expected to be a proficient in whatever re- lates to the apparel of native women, as well as to be a competent judge of the value of different kinds of cloths made in the country, and of the exact quantity of mate- rials requisite for the several parts of dress. All this science is to be engaged at the average rate of seven or eight rupees monthly; the durzee finding his own needles and threads. Durzees capable of making gowns, &c. for European ladies being scarce, and, as it was said in speaking of khansamans, much in request, double the latter sum may always be earned by one of moderate skill in that branch. The inferior class of durzees, called keemah-dozes, who do no fine work, but are principally employed in tent-making, rarely earn more than four rupees monthly ; or, if paid by the day, not more than three and a half. The various pretexts under which the durzee obtains admission into the zenanah, added to the constancy of his attendance at the house, unless when any purchase is to be made, gives him an admirable opportunity for carry- ing on intrigue; for which the whole tribe are notorious: hence, if any cause of suspicion appears, the durzee is the first object of jealousy; when it generally turns out that, if not the principal, he is accessary, as a go- between. - - The durzee is instantly ascertained by his gait. Some durzees are personable men, but speedily become emaci- ated by debauchery; in which their liberal wages enable them to indulge. Yet they are, on the whole, excellent workmen; finishing apparel of all sorts in a remarkably meat manner, and often fitting it with great exactness: but they are devoid of invention; mostly following old patterns, and rarely suggesting the smallest improvement. The dress of a durzee much resembles that of a khidmulgars K 2 132 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. but in the hot season, the former wear no coortahs, being bare from the waist upwards; sometimes substituting a small cap (worn only by Moossulmans) for the turban, which is usually compact and neat. The Doby, or washerman, is also exclusively a domes- tic, not only washing his master's linen of every de- scription, but the zenanah apparel is given to him to wash and to iron. Sometimes, however, the latter operation is performed by an Istree-wallah, or ironer; yet this is only in very large families, or in large towns, such as Calcutta, Madras, &c. None but box-irons are used; and of these a large portion are heated by means of embers shut up in their cavities. The doby who washes for a single gentleman, will sometimes, at the risk of severe punishment, or of being discharged, take in the linen of low Europeans, or Portuguese, clandestinely : many have, indeed, been detected in letting out the linen given to their charge. Hence it is needful to keep a watch over those who commonly take all the foul articles every week, bringing home at that time what they received at the former delivery. The wages vary according to the labour; but from six to ten rupees may be taken as the standard ; the doby providing at his own expense soap, and every part of the apparatus. When an European lady is in the family, the pay is increased on account of the great additional labour, -nothing but white being worn at any time. In such a case, a small apartment should be ap- propriated, in which the finer articles may be got up by the lady's maid. The usual process of washing in India is, first to boil all the clothes in a large earthen naud, mixing with the water, plenty of soap, or ley, or sudjee (fossile alkali), or wood ashes. This operation is called the butteah. The EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 133 clothes are then well rinsed, either in a large tank or a running stream, when they are again rubbed with soap, and laid in a heap to soak. After a few hours they are washed again, and being folded up into whisps, or bun- dles, of a convenient size, are beaten forcibly on a board, cut into deep transverse grooves, and placed aslant in the water; in which the doby stands immersed up to his knees. After dashing each bundle several times on the board, he opens and rinses it in the water; repeating the dashing, as though he were beating the board with a flail, till every part of the linen appears to be duly cleansed. If a board is not at hand, (though every doby has at least one, four feet long, two broad, and four inches thick, with a stout stick to prop it,) any smooth stone is made to answer. This appears to be a most destructive method; but experience proves, that the fine calicoes of India will, even under such apparently rough usage, wear longer than our stout linéns washed in tubs, &c. - Every doby has drying lines, fixed at each end to pins driven into the ground, and then sustained by cross-sticks, on the forks of which the ropes rest. In the rainy season, the clothes are hung under shelter, where they soon dry; though not so quickly as in the summer months, when the heaviest articles are dried in a few minutes. The doby's wife (called the dobin), and his children who are of an age to be useful, usually assist in the process. This sect and that of the comars, or potters, are the only two privi- leged to ride, or even to carry burthens, upon asses, with- out suffering the most ignominious degradation: hence those animals are jocularly termed, “dobies' palfreys.” The dress of the doby is generally very plain, consisting of a turban, a dotee, (or waist-cloth,) and a chudder, (or sheet,) worn loosely over the body in cold weather. When dobies are at work, their lungs aspirate strongly, like 134 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. those of paviors, which produces a very singular effect; especially if, as it frequently happens, several of these board-thrashers assemble at the same piece of water. Dobies are very generally Hindoos; and ought, agree- ably to the ordinary tenets of that religion, to refrain from touching any animal substance, except leather used in the construction of shoes, and implements of war; but a particular exception is made in favour of this cast, (or sect,) who could not otherwise use soap when made of suet; though by far the greater portion of that made in Hindostan, is manufactured with oil expressed from the Sesaſauril. When on a march, the doby in each gentleman's service loads his clothes, wet or dry, upon his camels, bullocks, cart, &c.: the servânt's own apparatus being conveyed on a donkey. This is generally burthened with the wife, or some young children, the washing-board, its prop, the drying-lines, the sticks, box-irons, &c. &c.; an abundant accumulation of movables for so small an animal as an Hindostanee jackass, which is seldom to be seen half the size of the common breed in England. A Mohout is a person employed to feed and drive an elephant. Most of this profession are Moossulmans, and very dissipated in their conduct. Except at particular periods, on a long march for instance, the mohout has little to do; all the drudgery of bringing in fodder on the elephant, for its own use, as well as taking the animal to water, rubbing it down, oiling its forehead, painting its cheeks with vermilion or with ochre, putting on the pads, clearing away the dung, with a variety of such mat- ters, being in general done by the mate, or deputy, who is often nothing more than a cooly, or common labourer, employed for this especial business, but who ultimately succeeds to the charge of an elephant. Mohouts receive EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 135 from three to six rupees monthly: the lowest rates of wages being confined to those countries where elephants are caught, and the highest attainable only in the service of gentlemen of rank; who require this, as well as all other of their domestics, to dress more correctly than such as serve persons less opulent or dignified. The duty of a mohout, when actively employed, is to sit upon the neck of his elephant, barefooted, and furnished with an instrument, called a haunkus, (or driver,) where- with to guide the animal. This is commonly about twenty, or twenty-four inches long, and generally made of iron, though some have wooden shafts; the tip is pointed, and about six inches below it is a hook, welded on to the stem, forming nearly a semicircle, whose diameter may be four or five inches. At the butt of the shaft a ring is let through, for the purpose of fastening the haunkus to a line ; the other end of which is fastened to some soft cord, about half an inch in diameter, passing very loosely eight or ten times round the elephant's neck, and serv- ing, in lieu of stirrups, to keep the mohout from falling over to the right or left on any sudden motion, as well as to retain his feet in their due direction. When the elephant is to be urged forward, the point of the haunkus is pressed into the back of his head, while the mohout's toes press under both the animal's ears: when it is to be stopped, the mohout places the hook part against the elephant's forehead, and throwing his weight back, occasions considerable pain, which soon induces to obedience: when it is to turn to the left, the mohout presses the toes of his right foot under the right ear of the elephant, at the same time goading him about the tip of the right ear; thereby causing the animal to turn its head, and to change its direction: to turn to the right, vice versá. When the elephant is to lie down, in order to 136 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. be laden, the haunkus is pressed perpendicularly upon the crown of the head : but most elephants, after a year or two, become well acquainted with the words of command; obeying them readily, without being mounted, or even approached. Each mate, or cooly, is generally provided with a cut- ting bill, called a d’how, for the purpose of lopping off the lesser branches of barghuts, peepuls, and other trees, in common use as fodder. An elephant will usually carry as much of these on his back as he can consume in two days; but it is not customary to load more than will last for one day, on a march. Boughs, as thick as a man's arm, are very easily chewed by this stupendous animal ; which often uses one of full a hundred weight to drive the flies from its body. Besides the dhow, each mate is furnished with a spear, about six or seven feet in length, having a long pyramidal blade, ornamented at its point with a tassel, and armed at its other extremity with a blunter's pike: the former is used to urge the animal to exertion, the mate goading his hind quarters; the latter serves to stick the implement upright in the ground, or to press upon the elephant's arm while the load is putting on, or the rider ascending into the howdah. - The dress of the mohout is, in most points, similar to that of the khidmutgar; and that of the mate is, if any thing, but little better than the ordinary costume of poor labourers, though their pay may be rated from three to four rupees per month. In those provinces where ele- phants are caught, provisions are extremely cheap; there, few mates receive more than a rupee and a half, or two rupees. The occupation of a mohout appears unfavour- able to longevity, for a premature decrepitude generally disqualifies after a few years of service. This is attri- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 137 buted to the motion of the elephant; but may, perhaps very justly, be ascribed to conviviality in the too great intervals of leisure. The health of a Surwan, or camel-driver, is yet more subject to early decay, than that of a mohout, the motion of this animal being oppressively severe; causing such a vibration of the loins as is attended with great pain, and often with suppression of urine, together with tenesmus, especially in tender persons not accustomed to the motion. It is said to be less severe when trotting, than when walk- ing. The dress of this class resembles that of a mushuulchee of the superior order; the pay is from four to five rupees, if in charge of only two camels; but, if three, it is usual to allow a rupee more. The duty consists in seeing the camels properly fed, for which purpose the surwan pro- ceeds, every second or third day, to some village, for chaff of various kinds. The usual quantity of gram (a kind of pulse wherewith labouring cattle are fed) is given, part in the morning, and part in the evening; or perhaps all at the latter time: three seers, equal to about six pounds, are considered good keep. r Camels, being rarely very tractable, must be approached with great caution. Their bite is dreadful, not only from the size of the mouth and the strength of the jaw, as well as the form of the tushes, but because they rarely quit their hold. It often happens that the same camel kills several surwans. The only mode hitherto ascertained of governing these vicious animals is, by boring a hole in the nostril, and passing through it, from within, a piece of tough wood, with a knob about as large as a nutmeg. A strong piece of line is then fastened to the outer ex- tremity of the wood, that, on being pulled, causes the camel to lie down at pleasure. This contrivance, which is called a naukell, keeps him in tolerable order; though 138 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. it is prudent to have a stout bludgeon, in case of any at- tempt to seize. When camels are very vicious, it is com- mon to cut off their noses so far as the gristle extends: this privation is supposed to do much good; but I have seen numberless instances wherein it totally failed; while, on the other hand, it greatly depreciated the animal. A good surwan will always distinguish himself by the order of his cattle, by their freedom from injuries in con- sequence of galling under the saddle, and especially by the compact manner in which he places whatever burthen is to be carried. This should never exceed six maunds of 821b, each ; though the Company require, in all their contracts, that the camels furnished for their ser- vice should carry much more. Possibly, on a soil suited to the camel's foot, he may, on emergency, carry as far as eight maunds, equal to no less than 656lb.; but such must not be expected to last. If the soil is boggy, half that weight will be found sufficient, especially where slippery; for, when overladen, the animal will in such places be very subject to ruin; his hind legs sliding asunder, so as to bring the pelvis to the ground: this, which is termed splitting, renders him unable to rise, or, if raised, to proceed, in consequence of the violent injury sustained. On such an occasion the animal's throat is cut by some good Moossulman, who, as he performs that operation, and during the time the blood is flowing, recites a prayer and benediction, whereby the meat, which is esteemed a great delicacy, is sanctified and may be eaten. The Su,ee, or groom, attends but one horse, and has at- tached to him an under-servant, whose business it is to provide grass for fodder, and to perform various services relating to cleanliness, &c. This may be looked upon as the extent of his duty while stationary; but, when march- ing, the assistant, or, as he is called, the Gaus-kot, (i. e. EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. 139 grass-cutter,) carries the pickets, headstall, head and heel ropes, currycombs, clothing, &c. &c. to the next place of encampment. The labour, though certainly severe, is performed with tolerable alacrity, from the hope of one day succeeding to the post of su,ee. A good groom is invaluable in India; the horses there being invariably high-spirited, from want of castration, and often becoming, under the least provocation or li- cence, incorrigibly vicious. There we see gentlemen, when mounted, afraid to approach each other within ten or twelve yards, lest their horses should begin fighting. Some few have, indeed, been tempted, by the supposed passiveness of their respective steeds, to ride boot to boot; but rarely without experiencing some dreadful mis- fortune; many legs having been thus broken. Although much may depend on the natural temper of a horse, still there will remain much in the power of the su,ee. If he be timid, and the animal spirited, the latter gains such an ascendancy as renders him ungovernable. Being once let loose, and a mare within sight or scent, away goes the steed, completely disqualified for future saddling. It is inconceivable what control some su,ees obtain over their horses, which will allow the approach of no other groom. This is often attended with most ludicrous, or rather most distressing, circumstances; it being very common to see persons sitting on horses from which they dare not alight until their own su,ees arrive, and by secur- ing the head with a baug-door, (or leading halter,) grant them leave to quit the saddle. - When a person falls from his horse, the whole troop separate, lest the stray animal should attack them. In such a case, two or three active su,ees may prevent mis- chief; but few will attempt to catch a horse whose cha- racter for gentleness is not established. Every su,ee is 140 EAST INDIA. V. A D re- M ECU M. provided with a strong cotton cord, rather thicker than a stout window-line, of several yards long, which he fas- tens to the left cheek of the bit when leading, and does not loosen till his master has mounted; when, by drawing a slip knot, the animal is liberated from the groom's con- trol. In general the line (baug-door) is affixed before dismounting; otherwise, the horse will in all probability gallop away to his stable, which may be some miles dis- tant, leaving his incautious rider to walk after him. In consequence of the immense number of gad-flies to be seen at all times of the year, each su,ee carries a whisk, made by fastening horse hair to a short stick, commonly lacquered in rings of alternate colours. This implement, with which the flies are driven away, is called a chowry, and costs about six or eight pence. A small sheet of karwah, either double or single, is usually thrown over the su,ee's shoulder, or fastened round his waist, before he sets off to accompany his master. This is laid over the horse's back, when his master dismounts, to prevent the dry gripes; to which the animal, if much heated, would be subject, but for this precaution, and that of walking him about gently till perfectly cool. Thus, no gentleman ever rides without his groom. Many of these grooms run so fast as to keep up for many miles with a gig going at a smart pace; for, by habit, they become long-winded and capable of great fatigue. The dress of a su,ee, taken gene- rally, is between that of a khidmutgar and a mushuulchee; while the dress of the gaus-kot rarely exceeds that of a common labourer. The former receives per month from four to six rupees; five being the general rate : the latter has usually three, when paid independently of the su,ee; who often makes a small deduction, resistance to which would incur a discharge, either peremptorily or by the imputation of some neglect, &c. EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 141 The grass-cutter should provide a net for carrying a large bundle of fodder, and a paring instrument, called a koorpah, to cut the grass, about half an inch under the surface of the soil: the upper part of the root being con- sidered extremely nourishing. Hay is much less suited to India, nor is ever seen there, except that the Muharuttas make a coarse kind of hay, to feed, at certain seasons, their large bodies of horse; but their condition, in general, by no means recommends it for private studs. Yet that prac- tice has advantages, for where our cavalry horses would starve for want of green, or succulent fodder, the less delicate Muharutta charger readily plucks at any old thatch, and even on such diet will perform wonders. The horses of our army appear, indeed, to be too highly pam- pered ; at least, by such a mode of feeding, they are ill prepared for coarse foraging, such as may become neces- sary under the most ordinary circumstances of a cam- paign. The practice, too, of soaking gram for cavalry horses is peculiarly objectionable, for they not only re- quire it at all times, even when water (much less soaking- pots) cannot be had in any quantity, but most horses swallow the grains whole, without mastication. The grain supplied to cavalry horses ought rather to be reduced to a coarse meal, mixed with hay and straw, in equal quan- tities, cut very fine in a chaff-trough. When a camp has been settled only for a few days, on even the most luxuriant verdure, the whole will disappear. It is, however, speedily renewed after the first rain, pre- senting a beautiful light-coloured blade, very small, and of rapid growth. The proper grass for horses is the -doob, or sun-grass, not unlike our fine creeping-bent. This, when well beat with a stick and washed, should be kept for a day or two in an airy place, and is thus more wholesome, than when used, as it commonly is, imme- 142 EAST 1 N DIA VAL) E-MI ECU M. diately after being cut. The doob is not to be found every where; but in the low countries about Dacca, Mahomedpoor, &c. where the inundation is general during nearly three months in the year, it abounds, and attains to a prodigious luxuriance. It is often seen full two feet and a half high, and absolutely matting the ground. Cat: tle are turned into it promiscuously, and never fail to thrive. It is remarkable, that in a district where during the rains the soil is never visible, the little villages built on eminences, and the tops of large trees staring out of the water, being the only discernible objects, there should be no provision for the maintenance of cattle, except what can be drawn up by means of forked poles from, perhaps, a depth of twenty feet. This green food, highly impregnated with moisture, is scarcely wholesome, at such a season, for the poor animals, then cooped up in the hun- dreds of boats that surround every village. Whereas, if the doob were to be cut and stacked in February, when it is in high perfection, and the atmosphere moderately warm, it would be a more appropriate and less hazardous species of fodder. But the truth is, that cattle, in every part of India, are left as long as possible to shift for themselves: though a load of the finest hay in the world may be made in the low countries for about half-a-crown. In the Gentleman's Magazine for February 1809, there is a description of a grass discovered in Ireland, called the fiorin, which perfectly corresponds with the doob of Hin- dostan. This invaluable plant equally endures the severest cold of Iceland, and the scorching heats of tropical sum- mers. During these, indeed, the verdure disappears; but the root is unimpaired, and abounds with succulence. The doob is rarely sown in India; but after being cut below the surface by the koorpah, a tool in common use among grass-cutters, and chopped into pieces about two EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 143 or three inches long, it is mixed with mud, and plastered on the soil, which is previously saturated with water. In a very few days it will vegetate, especially if care be taken to moisten the mud. This grass is also well suited for transplanting, and thus very large plots are sometimes turfed. The stems throw out roots at every joint that is suffered to touch the ground; but when very thick and abundant it will tower and spindle, not unlike our pink and carnation plants. If set in small tufts, a foot asunder, they will soon cover the surface. The Malee, or gardener, next claims attention. His dress, unless at the head of a large establishment, scarce- ly exceeds that of a common labourer, nor are his wages much higher; four rupees being a very common rate, though sometimes six or seven are given to men of superior ability, and acquainted with some particular culture, important to their employer. Those who serve under the malee, are generally bildars, hired by the day, probably at five or six pice, equal to about two rupees and a half monthly. These bildars use a kind of mat- tock, called a phourah, which consists of a blade about the size of a common garden-spade, with a very strong eye at the top, riveted to the blade, and so fixed as to give the handle a direction of about 70° from the plane of the blade, which is slightly curved inwards. The handle is about thirty inches long, and driven nearly through, the eye, where it is occasionally-wedged, to keep the blade from turning upon it. While working with a phourah, the bildar stands in the same position as if using a pick-axe, throwing up at each stroke what- ever soil may accumulate. When the tool is new, much may thus be lifted; but when worn down nearly to the eye, the most active labourer cannot do much more than may be done by an ordinary bean-hoe. Those malees 144 EA ST IN DIA W A D E-M F.C.U. M. who serve gentlemen are usually provided with rakes and hoes; but, otherwise, they use only short iron spuds, set into wooden handles, the stem being cranked, and the whole length rarely exceeding eighteen inches. With these they beat to pieces the clods, and admirably level the surface; but, of course, not so quickly as our gardeners. With the same tool, of a smaller size, they dig up weeds; keeping the garden remarkably clean; and, under proper observation, raising an im- mense quantity of vegetables. It would surprise an European to see with what pre- cision malees sow and cover their seeds; the seasons for which they perfectly understand, even though the greater portion of their horticultural produce consists of exotics. This is the more remarkable, as there is no book of gardening extant in the Hindoo language; and if there were, the chances would be at least a thousand to one that the malee could not read it. The greater part of manure used in gardens is known by the name of kallah-matty, (black-earth,) collected from places set apart for the reception of filth of all sorts; except horse and cow-dung, &c. which are generally too much valued to be so appropriated. These are formed into cakes, between the hands, about the size of a plate- These cakes while moist, are stuck up against a wall ex- posed to the sun, where, in a day or two, they become thoroughly dry, and make excellent fuel, burning like good peats. These guttees, as they are called, are gene- rally prepared by the su,ee's wife, and stacked for culinary purposes. The gardens of Europeans, in India, are, with few ex- ceptions, laid out like our kitchen-gardens; having one main walk, with a few ramifications and parallels. These walks are all covered with soorkee, or brick-dust; though EA ST INDIA W A D E-MECU M. 145 where gravel, or rather shingle, can be found, it is gene- rally preferred. The whole area is intersected by little earthen channels, sometimes lined with semicircular tiles, whereby water is easily conveyed to every part. The peculiar gratification to the eye, and indeed to the feelings, from the proximity of perpetual verdure, in a country where, for months together, a green spot is scarcely seen, induces most persons, when laying down a garden, to appropriate a piece of ground in view from the house for a grass-plot. This is refreshed, every third or fourth day, by laying on water from the well, which is always made on some more elevated spot, to command every part to which the irrigation extends. The doob is the grass invariably selected; though its numerous seeds, as well as the cool shelter it affords, attract ants in great numbers, and of various colours and sizes, which are a perfect nuisance throughout the East. Gentlemen who rear turkeys find, from experience, that few can be brought up except where such grass-plots exist, and where shade and water are at hand. Most of our garden esculents thrive in India; cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuces, celery, beets, carrots, turnips, peas, cucumbers, French beans, radishes, potatoes, &c. are cul- tivated in abundance ; together with capsicums, love- apples, egg-plants, gourds of various kinds, calavanses, yams, sweet potatoes, and hundreds of the indigenous tribe. The common fruits are guavas, peaches, necta- rines, grapes, a few apples, but no pears, melons of various sorts, pine-apples, mangoes, oranges, citrons, limes, pomegranates, byres of a very large kind, comrin- gahs, (or winged apples,) currindahs, and, in general, most of the tropical fruits. Within the last twenty years, very considerable additions have been made by the intro- duction of various trees, and also of gardeners, from L -> 146 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU MI. China. The former have thriven admirably; while to the latter we are indebted for many valuable practices, com- mon to that industrious people, and which promise to con- tribute greatly to the perfection of Asiatic horticulture. The best of malees cannot be ranked with the least capable of the Chinese gardeners; though it is not to be denied, that they possess many strong recommendations; and are not a little proud of any improvements, or novel- ties, committed to their management. In the art of irri- gation they cannot be surpassed. That indispensable operation is performed, in most instances, by drawing water from a narrow well, into a cistern, or hollow, at its edge; whence, by means of the channels before described, each bed receives the necessary supply of moisture. A pair of very small oxen, worth about twelve or fifteen shillings each, suffice to draw up a moot, or leather bag, containing from twenty-five to thirty gallons. In general, a small hut is erected in the garden for the accommodation of the malee ; most of whose operations are performed after sunset: especially that of laying on water, and the setting of plants. Rat-catching is also an object of importance, and most successfully followed by moonlight; when those large black rats, called bandycoots, equalling most cats in bulk, are often speared, as they ramble among the cucumber and melon beds, wherein they make prodigious havoc. Nor is there any deficiency of rats of other sorts or sizes; they are to be found both in immense numbers, and in every variety; but the large Norway rat is most abundant. Moles are unknown in this country: most probably the soil does not suit; as it becomes so hard and dry during the hot season. The Ab-dar, or water-cooler, is scarcely less indis- pensable than the cook; for, without the exercise of his art, the delicacies of the table would be of no value. Hot EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 147 wine and hot water are by no means acceptable to those who inhale so rarefied an atmosphere, and who generally prefer such made dishes as abound in spice. It is true, that sometimes a khidmutgar, or a bearer, may be found capable of cooling liquors nearly as well as ab-dars of the lower class; but such are rare, and cannot always be depended on. Yet the success of even the best qualified al-dar must not be attributed to any chemical know- ledge, or to much comprehension of the manner, or mo- ment, in which the refrigeration takes place. They are all mere imitators, and by keeping within certain paral- lels, wide enough asunder, they hit upon their object; though not without much loss of time and materials. The apparatus of an ab-dar consists of a large pewter bason, nearly half an inch thick, and in form not unlike a very thick Cheshire cheese, of which the edges are rounded. At the top is a circular aperture, about a foot in diameter, for the introduction of two pewter flasks, (each containing about a pint and a half,) of a spherical form, with long narrow necks, nearly cylindrical, about ten inches long, and fitted with caps of the same metal, that come down about an inch and a half, every where close. This great bason is called a taus, and the flasks are called soories. To cool water, about a gallon is put into the taus, which is sloped by means of a small wooden frame, made for the purpose, or a few bricks, &c. : a handful or two of saltpetre is then put in, and the soories, being filled about two thirds with the water, are moved about in the taus, one in each hand, while the saltpetre is dissolving, which it usually does in two or three mi- nutes. The soories are then laid at rest; their necks pro- jecting out at the opposite side of the aperture, the sphere part being immersed, and a wet cloth laid over the whole of the opening. Thus the intense cold, generated by the 1, 2 148 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECUM. solution, acts upon the water within the soories ; so effec- tually indeed, in many instances, as to be unpleasantly condensed. Cracking of glasses is extremely common, for being somewhat heated by the atmosphere, when the cold water is suddenly poured in, nine in ten, so acted upon, will fly. Wine is always cooled in the common glass bottle wherein it is drawn from the cask, and when taken from the taus, which may be in about five minutes after being left at rest, is covered with a petticoat made of karuah, or other cloth, well wetted. The bottle is then placed on the table, in a stand made of turned wood, to receive the drippings, and usually stopped with a silver- mounted cork. Decanters are rarely used in India; for, besides being extremely subject to crack, wine does not keep so cool in them as in common glass bottles. The dress of the ab–dar generally resembles that of the khidmutgar, and his wages are like those of the superior classes serving in that capacity. He has, generally, some perquisites, such as charging for more saltpetre than is used, and disposing of the saltpetre water; which, in Calcutta and many other places, is carefully preserved in large jars, to be sold to those who boil it, to produce nitre in a more purified state. Ab-dars should not be allowed to cool water within the house, as the saltpetre greatly injures the walls, from which it can never be ex- tracted. Wherever a gentleman dines, his ab-dar attends in time to have water cooled as the dinner is served up. For a large party, it is curious to see perhaps two dozen of these servants labouring at their profession, under the shade of the house, and making a noise not unlike the quick motion of a stone-saw. Custom makes it pass un- heeded, unless so as to anticipate a cool draught. As water is the common beverage, and as the smallest hole EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 149 in the bottom of a soorie utterly spoils it, the defect must be well closed with solder. All the wine used at the table is cooled by the host's own servant; unless some very noted ab–dar be in attendance, who is often asked and easily persuaded to exert his skill. The Compadore, or Kursh-burdar, or Butler-konnah- sirkar, are all designations for the same servant, who acts as purveyor, sometimes under the orders of the master, but oftener of the khansaman, who never fails to share the profits made by over-charges, and by the dustooree, (or customary giſt,) from the venders of all articles for do- mestic consumption. This servant may be considered as appertaining to the order of sirkars, of which he should possess all the cunning, the smooth tongue, the audacious and persevering effrontery, when maintaining a palpable falsehood, with obsequiousness to conciliate his master, and make him believe it. Without these, the compadore can never thrive. His pay is generally about four, or at the utmost five rupees per month; but that is compara- tively no object, in a family where some hundreds are spent in housekeeping. To aid the deception, he inva- riably dresses so meanly, as to claim commiseration for his apparent poverty; while, at the same time, he pro- bably contrives to retain, one way or other, about an eighth part of the money intrusted to his disbursement. The khansaman usually enquires, during the evening, what will be required in the culinary department on the suc- ceeding day: if the family dine abroad, no directions are necessary; otherwise, fish, flesh, and fowl must be pur- chased. Between daylight and sunrise, after which all the prime articles in the market will have disappeared, the compadore proceeds, attended by one or two under- servants, (mushuulchees, khulasees, &c.) to purchase the re- quired articles. No time must be lost in returning home, 150 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. at least during the hot months; for such is the rapid pro- gress towards putrefaction, that veal, killed after mid- night, has become perfectly offensive in ten hours, after every possible precaution to keep it cool. A compadore must, of necessity, be a good accountant. Like the sirkar, he is well versed in fractions, and will compute down to a single gundah of cowries, (i. e. four Blackamoor's teeth.) This minuteness passes for honesty with many; who either put those very small parts out of the question, or satisfy themselves that the accounts are correctly taken, without even examining their contents. Every charge committed to paper, thus becomes sanc- tioned; therefore the compadore is anxious to have his items noted, that they may be beyond the probability, if not the possibility, of refutation. Not a cowrie can be expended without the compadore's knowledge. Under the plea of fidelity to his employer, he insists upon being privy to every disbursement; never failing to commend his own vigilance, and strictly attending every morning, with his hands full of papers, and his ink-pot, &c., in readiness to give a detail of the expenses of the preceding day; though he perfectly knows that detail is never regarded. The Hurkaru was formerly a servant used solely for carrying expresses, or such letters, messages, &c. as were to be sent beyond the circle of ordinary, or daily, com- munication: he was, indeed, what is now commonly called a cossid. We have retained, however, the designa- tion of dawk-hurkarus for those who convey the dawks, or posts. In every other instance, the duty of the hurk- aru, as an attendant upon a gentleman in office, &c. is similar to that of the peon, or piyadu, or running footman- His pay is generally the same, but the former usually EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 151 bears a lacquered walking-stick, armed at its extremity with a square spike, the ferule of which is ornamented with dark-coloured fringe or tassels. This stick is car- ried over the shoulder, and is the only distinction between the hurkaru and the peon: but, though the latter has no such insignia, he frequently claims precedence, causing the hurkaru to precede him in the retinue, while attending their employer's palanquin. - Both these servants, whose capacities are now perfectly blended, receive, when serving Europeans, from four to five rupees monthly. In every respect, beyond the fore- going exceptions, they dress like khidmulgars, but gene- rally with turbans and cummer-bunds of the same colour, as a livery; and when in the employ of great merchants, agents, and especially the principal officers of the govern- ment, they wear belts of coloured broad-cloth, with metal breast-plates; bearing either the initials or the arms of their employers, or inscriptions stating the offices to which they appertain. The generality of such inscriptions have the English designation in the centre, with a transla- tion in Persian, or Bengallee, (perhaps both,) around, on the margin, or vice versä. Many most extraordinary journeys have been made by hurkarus; and instances have been adduced of their tra- velling full a hundred miles in the four and twenty hours. The Duſturee, or office-keeper, attends solely to those general matters in an office which come not within the notice of the kranees, or clerks; such, for instance, as making pens, keeping the ink-stands in order, ruling account-books, and perhaps binding them, preparing and trimming the lights, setting penknives, together with a great variety of trifling services. His pay is from four to six rupees monthly; though a very few receive more. 152 EAST INDIA. V. A D E-M F.C.U.M. The dress depends on the cast of the individual: if a Moossulman, it corresponds, in some measure, with that of the khidmutgar; but if a Hindoo, of the kranee. The Furrash, or furniture-keeper, is generally a Moossul- man, and receives about four or five rupees monthly: his dress corresponding with that of a first-rate mushuulchee, or an inferior khidmutgar. His duty, among Europeans, consists chiefly in cleaning the furniture, putting up, or taking down beds, (which, in India, is always done with- out the aid of a carpenter,) beating carpets, preparing and trimming the lights, opening and shutting the doors for guests, handing chairs, setting tables for meals, with a variety of minutiae of a similar description. Among the natives, the office comprehends far more laborious employments, such as the arrangement of tents: in which they aid the khulasees, or tent-men, reserving to them- selves whatever relates to the interior. According to Abu Fazil, who describes the establishment of the Emperor. Akber, that monarch retained no less than one thousand furrashes, to attend his encampments, or parties of plea- sure. These, however numerous, were fully employed ; for “the equipage, on such occasions, consisted of 1000 elephants, 500 camels, 400 carts, and 1000 men, escorted by 500 cavalry. There were employed in this service 1000 furrashes, 500 pioneers, 100 water-carriers, 50 carpen- ters, 50 tent-makers, 50 link-men, 30 workers in leather, and 150 sweepers.” The number of large tents was so prodigious, that the royal precinct was enclosed by konauts (walls of cloth) eight feet high; and, in the whole, nearly two miles in length. Such a display in this country, would attract half the population to witness it. The Mihtur, or sweeper, is the lowest menial in every family; and his cast is held in execration, on account of the filthiness of his occupations. There are, nevertheless, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 153 various classes, even among these abhorred people ; of which the hullalcore are the lowest, while the loll-baygies assume the upper rank of infamy. But, however much these may arrogate to themselves from such distinctions of cast, all are considered, by both Hindoos and Moossul- mans, as alike impure, and polluting whatever they touch. Hence it would be considered the height of dis- respect were a mihtur, in the service of a native gentle- man, to handle any part of his master's raiment, or to step on the carpet intended for his master's seat. To touch his cooking utensils, &c. would be an unpardon- able offence, and subject the delinquent both to private and public castigation. Hair, or birch, brooms are never seen in India. The instrument for sweeping, called a jarroo, is made of bam- boo, split to the size of a wheat straw, about thirty inches long, and tied together, very firmly, for about six or eight inches at one end; forming a bundle of about two inches and a half in diameter. This instrument is furnished by the mihtur, who generally receives three, or sometimes four rupees monthly. His dress corresponds in general with that of a decent cooly, (or labourer;) but some pride themselves in wearing a short coortah. The mihtur is generally at little expense for provisions, as he is the only servant whose tenets allow him to par- take of what has been served up at the table of any per- son, whether European or native, not of his own sect. In this privilege the mihturanee, or female sweeper, whose duties are exactly the same, but usually confined to the women's apartments, must be included. The latter is, however, in general far more sober, cleanly, and dainty, than the male sweeper. When a dog is kept where there is no occasion to retain a professed doriya, or dog-keeper, the mihtur is expected to dress its victuals, and to supply it 154 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. with such refuse from the table, as he may not deem worthy of his own acceptance. The Doriya, though properly an out-door servant, re- siding at the doriya-konnah, or kennel, occasionally offi- ciates as mihtur, performing all the duties of that menial; but this is rarely done with good will; doriyas, though of a cast held equally in abomination with the ordinary sweeper, by persons of a different persuasion, invariably considering themselves as far superior. Though confined to one occupation, in general, a doriya can have very little knowledge of its duties, beyond the mere mechani- cal routine of dressing rice and meat for the dogs, and taking them out for an airing. He is usually provided with a short whip, consisting of a thong or two of raw hide fastened to a piece of small bamboo ; with this he corrects the animals, whose number varies according to their size. Thus, a brace of greyhounds, or at the most a leash, are considered as many as a doriya should lead out; while of small dogs, he is commonly surrounded by seven or eight. Each dog has a collar, to which a strong metal ring is very firmly sewed. To this is fastened a piece of stout cord, the other end of which is looped, so as to pass over the doriya's hand, and to be twisted round his wrist; the whole number are generally led by the left hand, the right exercising the whip. The dress of this servant and his pay mostly resemble that of the mushuulchee. The manner of preparing victuals for dogs is simple. The doriya provides a large earthen pot, proportioned to the quantity of provision to be boiled, into which he puts meat, cut very small, rice, turmeric reduced to a pulp, ghee, or granulated butter, salt, and abundance of water. The pot is placed on a choolah, or stove, and the ingredients stirred till they are sufficiently boiled, when EAST IN DIA VAD lº-MECU M. 155 the water is drained off into a vessel, and the more solid contents are spread upon a mat to cool. Each dog is tied to a separate picket, always in the ground for that pur- pose; so that he cannot quarrel with his neighbours. Old earthen vessels, every where abounding, are collected to receive each dog's mess: the meat and rice being first di- vided among them, according to bulk, and afterwards the gravy. Each then receives his portion; exhibiting, by vociferation and greediness, how eager he is to obtain his meal. In this manner dogs are usually fed, night and morning. The business of a Khulaseeis, properly speaking, confined either to the arrangement of camp equipage, or to the ma- nagement of the sails and rigging on board a budjrow. In the former, he must be able to set up tents of every de- scription; to pack and unpack; to load and unload; to make tent-pins; to sew the taut, (or canvass bags,) in which each part of a tent is generally enclosed, when on the elephant, camel, bullock, or cart, by which it is con- veyed ; to handle a phourah, or mattock, to level the inte- rior; and, in short, to complete the whole preparation within and without. Many khulasees are extremely expert in all these duties, and are, besides, excellent domestics; not hesitating to perform a variety of services about a house, such as swing- ing the punkah, (or great fan,) suspended in most dining- halls, rattaning the bottoms of chairs, helping to arrange and to clear furniture, and doing besides the duties of hurkarus, or peons. This variety of talent, no doubt, ren- ders the khulasee a most useful servant: hence more are now retained than formerly. As a public servant, whether attached to the train of artillery, or to a quarter-master's establishment, his merits are equally known. In the former he is enrolled in some 156 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. company, where rank may be obtained by continued good conduct. Though in a private capacity he rarely receives more than five rupees, in the latter instance, his average pay is six; which, with the chance of promotion to the several ranks of cossob, tindal, and serang, with encrease of wages at each gradation, is considerable. His duty in the artillery is, however, by no means trifling. During the whole day he is employed generally in the arsenal, or the store-room, or the artillery shed; or, eventually, in draw- ing timbers, cannon, &c. on transport-carriages; mount- ing or dismounting great guns, cleaning arms, working in the laboratory, piling or serving out shot, with nu- merous et cetera in the various branches of that depart- ment. Whether attached to the train, or serving with a regiment of infantry or cavalry, the khualasee, (or, as he is often termed while in the public service, the lascar,) must be adroit in whatever respects camp-equipage, making up ammunition of all kinds, sorting stores, pack- ing, loading, serving, and drawing field-pieces, limber- ing, yoking the cattle, marking out lines for a camp; and, in short, in whatever relates either to the ordnance, or to the quarter-master's duties. All attached to these services are clothed in woollens of English manufacture: those in the artillery wearing blue jackets with red trim- mings, and such as are attached to regiments of cavalry or infantry, such colours as assimilate with the dress of the corps respectively; unless when a quantity of any particular colour is on hand in the Company's stores; when it is disposed of by varying the dress of regimental lascars, pro tempore, as far as it will go. The whole of the khualasees wear blue turbans, of rather a flat form, having on their edges a red tape, about three- fourths of an inch in breadth; which greatly relieves the sombre appearance of their jackets. EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 157 The khualasees on board budjrows, which are generally of the pinnace or keeled kind, are nearly on a footing with those retained by individuals; allowing for a certain imi- tation of the public servant, and a smattering in what re- lates to the management of sails. This class is by no means numerous, being confined entirely to the aquatic equipages of great men. One of this description is by no means flattered when directed to handle an oar on board the budjrow, though he prides himself in rowing a jolly- boat furnished with oars on the European plan. The Manjy, Goleeah, and Dandy, are the steersman, bow- man, and common rower in a boat respectively. A gen- tleman who keeps a boat, must always retain the two first, and if it is constantly employed, the last also; or he may generally, by previous notice, obtain a crew of teeka-dandies, that is, job watermen, at any of the ghauts or wharfs along the river. The manjy is usually paid from five to seven rupees monthly ; the goleeah, from four to five; and the dandy, from two and a half to three and a half, or even four; all according to the kind of boat, and the dignity of the employer. There is no established dress for either of the above classes; though the manjy will, in general, be found to adopt a mixed costume, be- tween the khulasee and the mushuulchee. His business is to steer, and to give orders, which are very numerous in rivers perpetually changing their direction. Thus it is by no means uncommon to see a budjrow hoist and lower her sails, take to her oars, or to the trackrope, some scores of times during the course of a day's progress, just as the localities may render it necessary. Whatever au- thority be vested in a manjy, it is rare to see him able to enforce his orders: each of the crew has an opinion of his own, and knowing that his services cannot be dis- pensed with, he will in most cases adhere to his way 158 EAST IN ID I A V A D E-M F.C U M . of thinking, till peremptorily compelled, by the master's interference, to submit to orders, or overcome by absolute force. The Goleeah has particular charge of the bow, where he either rows the foremost oar, or keeps the boat from running against the bank, or upon shoals, by means of a luggy, or bamboo pole thirty feet or more in length; first casting it out in the proper direction, and then lap- ping it round several times with the end of a strong tail- strap, fastened to a ring on the forecastle, so as to pre- vent the pole from returning. Those who have not witnessed the dexterity of these people, and the rapidity with which they recover their poles, so as to make repeated resistances in dangerous situations, can form no idea of the strength, activity, and judgment necessary to qualify a man for this arduous situation. Often the fate of a boat depends on the cer- tainty of the goleeah's throw; especially under a cutchar, or sand-bank, perhaps twenty feet or more in height, where a strong current has cut away the foundation, oc- casioning immense bodies of the soil to fall in, attended by a noise like thunder. One of these falling upon a boat must sink her, as experience has too often proved. The very swell occasioned by the fall of such ponderous and bulky rubbish, amounting perhaps to fifty or sixty loads, is sufficient to sink the smaller vessels. Fortu- mately, the cutchars in general subside, as it were, per- pendicularly, without casting outwards, otherwise no ves- sels could navigate the Ganges, or the other great rivers at certain seasons, especially during the early winter months, when the cutchars are high, and the current strong. The Dandy certainly leads as hard a life as any scaven- ger's cart-horse. Let us imagine the effects, even upon EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 159 the most hardy constitution, of exposure to all weathers; at one moment under a burning sun, or numbed by a cold northerly blast; by turns on board or at the trackrope, moving at a slow pace against a rapid current, and wad- ing, without the smallest hesitation, through a million of puddles, often up to the neck, or even obliged to swim: the footing perhaps rugged, or along a heavy sand, or a deep mud; and the path lying through briars, bordering steep precipices ! All this the dandy undergoes, as before specified, for wages rarely equal to three-pence daily. It is true, he scruples not to participate with his companions the produce of the fields he passes through, together with fire-wood, and occasionally some stray poultry or a kid. Nor are this class, which consists promiscuously of Hin- doos and Moossulmans, very nice as to the means of ob- taining their clothing. Knowing such to be the inva- riable disposition of dandies, the European must blame himself, should his valuables be missing in consequence of his own neglect, or an ill-placed confidence. Hence it is advisable never, under any pretext, to allow one of the crew to enter the cabin of a budjrow, unless attended by a servant; whose whole attention should be directed to the prevention of theft. Most boats are baled by means of a skuttle in the cabin: this affords a very rea- sonable plea for entrance; but too much caution cannot be used during that operation, which may be required from two to fifty times within the twenty-four hours, ac- cording to the soundness of the vessel's bottom. To describe a dandy's dress is scarcely practicable; but a tolerable outline was given when treating of the passage from the ship at Kedgeree to the Presidency. The Berriarah, or Gurrearah, devotes his life to tending sheep and goats; and, in most situations beyond the me- _* 160 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. tropolis, obtains a place among the servants attendant upon the out-door concerns of a family. Sheep,” says Captain Williamson, “may be conie- times purchased in tolerable good condition, especially during the hot season, when they nibble the short stems, and even the roots of the finer grasses: yet those pro- curable in the villages, are usually mere skeletons, and their fat, if any, is of a bad colour. Gentlemen are therefore obliged to keep small flocks, perhaps from thirty to sixty, according to the average expenditure ; which, among officers in the army, may amount to one sheep in fifteen or twenty days. The meat is seldom good, nor the animal better for his keep, till put up for three or four months. The most approved mode of fatting sheep, is to have about a dozen on full feed, allowing as much gram as they can eat; which is about two pounds daily for each. Another dozen should be upon half feed, having an allowance of very fine chaff to com- plete their diet; or perhaps some cut grass, such as is brought in for horses. All these twenty-four sheep should be confined in an area, enclosed either by mud walls, or by railings of a suitable height; taking care to allow them access to sweet water, and to salt, of which a small quantity should be provided in a flat vessel. Thus they will fatten admirably in the course of six or seven months; their flesh becoming fine grained, juicy, and high flavoured. Besides these, about as many more, kept on a small allowance of gram, should be suffered to graze, in company with half a dozen milch goats and their kids, under charge of the berriarah, in some place remote from any camp or town, so as to insure their feeding clean; for all sheep, especially those of India, are apt to feed on any excrements which they find in 1 their way. EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 161 Within the last twenty years, great improvements have taken place, not only in rearing sheep for domestic ex- penditure, but also for the public markets, all over the country, wherever there are a number of respectable Europeans at one station. The great evil now is the over-feeding butcher's meat by private families, whence it is often too fat and bilious for a warm climate. The dress of the berriarah is usually similar to that of the cooly; with the addition of a substantial blanket, on account of the oppressive heats at one season, the heavy rains at another, and the sharp cold during three months. This blanket is generally black, the ordinary colour of the sheep. In the hot season, it serves to repel the heat ; during the rains, to keep the berriarah dry; and in the winter, to keep him warm. As any cross folds, or pleats, would rather retain, than cast off, the rain, these people have an effectual mode of managing the blanket; tying it together very regularly, after puckering the longest side, and placing that part over their heads. Whatever moisture may lodge within the short pleats above the ligature, cannot sink downwards, if it be properly made; while all the pleats below it, being in a perpendi- cular direction, serve as channels, to carry the water downwards. The blanket, indeed, becomes a bell-tent, of which the inhabitant is himself the pole. The wages of the shepherd are usually from three and a half to four rupees monthly ; but some gentlemen regulate them by the number of sheep maintained. This by no answers their expectations; for if the number be great, one or two deficiencies, imputed to the wolves, are rarely noticed; and if the flock be small, a shepherd is tempted to take a fat sheep to his own use. No sheep can be fatted, taking all things into consideration, under four rupees, equal to about ten shillings, including the origi- means M 162 EAST INDIA v AD E-MEcuM. nal price; which has risen of late years to about a rupee per head, for such as have six teeth. All below that age are generally rejected, because their food increases their growth rather than their flesh ; which is seldom of a good colour, but retains a certain light hue, like very young beef, after the second year. The wool of the Bengal sheep is coarse and lank, more resembling dog's hair than a fleece, and by no means valu- able as an article of commerce. The natives manufac- ture it into puttoos, a very heavy close kind of felt, which stands proof against the severest weather, and may be made in any form. Their usual shape is nearly conical, resembling a bell-tent, with a rudely worked border of some colour strongly contrasting with the body of the cloak. Thus, a black puttoo would have a white pattern, and a white puttoo a black. This extremely simple manu- facture is performed by means of a carding machine that entangles the wool, which is previously mixed in a very strong lather of soap. “The average price of a sheep fit for fatting,” says Captain Williamson, “is about a rupee; but that price has existed only for about twenty years. Before that date, the common value of a coarge (or score) was from six to eight rupees ; and at an early date, a sirkar to a contractor for European recruits, has bought several coarges for their use, at three, and three and a half rupees. Thus six sheep were purchased for a rupee, which, in British currency, would be five-pence each. The sheep were certainly not fat; being driven into the camp from the flocks grazing in the adjacent plains, and, in general, taken without much selection.” It is probable that the price of sheep is now rather on the in- crease than on the decline; and when they were supposed to be so very cheap, the seller must have before him only EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU) M. 163 Hobson's choice. He, therefore, wisely determined to accept the small sum of five-pence per head, rather than have them taken away without payment by the native purveyor, to an irresistible detachment of European recruits. So audacious are thieves in India, that they have been known to come into a cantonment with lighted mushuuls, in imitation of a marriage procession, or of a religious ceremony, and thus to attack a treasury where a strong guard was posted. They likewise crawl about in dark nights, so as to be mistaken for dogs, or other small ani- mals; thus gradually lulling the vigilance of a sentry, and making their way to the interior. They oil their bodies, and thus render it scarcely possible to retain a hold of them; and are armed with a small sharp knife, always carried in a girdle, which consists only of a stout piece of twine carried round the waist, supporting a very narrow lungooty, or clout, passing between the legs. When travelling through any part of the Company's territories, it is proper to require chuokeedars (watchmen) from the villages in the vicinity of the encampment; otherwise a robbery may be expected, without the most distant chance of recovering the property, or of tracing the thieves. Nor should such chuokeedars be sent away without a payment to each, of two annas, equal to nearly four pence; lest intelligence of the nonpayment should be conveyed to the next halting-place, and no chuokeedar be forthcoming; unless, indeed, one of the collector's peons be in the company, or his order be sent to the inha- bitants to provide whatever may be wanting. The reader must not imagine himself in England, but in a country where there is no public place of accommodation, no relay of horses, no public conveyance, and perhaps no other European within scores of miles. His fancy may M 2 164 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. picture to him the variety of preparations necessary be- fore a party, much more a single gentleman, sets out for the purpose of sporting, or of repairing to some distant station. He will then see the necessity of adopting the local customs, as well as employing every means that prudence can devise; observing particularly, that when he would bestow a gratuity upon any villager, &c. for pro- visions, or services, he should never fail to pay it himself: otherwise, the servants will diminish, if not altogether withhold, the donation. From the great number of servants sleeping within the houses at Calcutta, and each dwelling having a separate gateway, where a durwan (or porter) constantly attends, as well as owing to the great number ofchuokees, or patrole stations every where to be seen, few chuokeedars are employed there, except by merchants who have ware- houses full of valuable commodities, or shroffs (bankers) residing in that part of the town inhabited principally by natives. At the baugeechahs, or garden-houses, which generally stand, like our farm-houses, at some distance from other dwellings, chuokeedars are indispensable. Within the Company's provinces no head chuokeedars are to be seen; and, generally speaking, there is no ostensible person who comes forward to guarantee the safety of goods under charge of a chuokeedar ; though, when this most desirable assurance is wanting, the greatest vigilance is sometimes inadequate to the prevention of theft. It is not very easy to defeat the machinations of a most expert banditti, in a country where it is necessary, to prevent suffocation, to throw open every door and window during the night. A Durwan, or porter, has been described as stationed at the gate of entrance into that area, (called the com- pound,) within which most houses in Calcutta are situated. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 165 This servant usually receives from four to five rupees monthly, and generally dresses little better than a cooly. Soon as a palanquin enters the gate, the durwan vocife- rates lustily that a visitor approaches; when immediately some other servant, such as a peon or hurkaru, runs to enquire the name, &c. which is immediately announced to the master or mistress. - The durwan has a small lodge near the portal, where he is in constant attendance day and night. When the family have retired to rest, he shuts and secures the gates. It was formerly an invariable rule to close them during meals, till the head servant gave notice that all the plate, &c. were safe. This custom operated, no doubt, as a check upon many, who, but for such a restriction, would have purloined some valuable article of a portable description. The Cahar, or palanquin-bearer, is a servant of peculiar utility, in a country where, for four months, the intense heat precludes Europeans from taking much exercise. During a similar term, they are prevented by the puddles, in every place not artificially raised, and drained at a great expense. Indeed, even in the cold months, the palanquin cannot always be dispensed with, and still less the chattah, or large umbrella. Many gentlemen who arrive during the winter season, find the sun little more than agreeable; they, therefore, very incautiously dispense with the chattah, and allow themselves to be heated extremely. So many instances have indeed happened, of persons being carried off suddenly in consequence of such exposure, that all who visit India cannot be too earnestly exhorted to be very cautious of placing reliance on strength of constitu- tion: the strongest are in most danger; on them fever . seizes firmly, giving little time for the adjustment of their affairs, and still less scope for the exertion of medical skill. 166 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU MI. A set of bearers varies, as to number, according to the situation, occupation, and wealth of the employer. In Calcutta, where there is much visiting, seven at least must be kept, one of whom stays at home to cook vic- tuals for the rest; and as another will probably be the sir- dar, or head-bearer, who attends personally when his master is dressing, and generally has some charge of linen, &c. he will not, except on emergency, officiate under the bamboo. Thus only five will be left to carry the palanquin and the umbrella; the bearer of which at times relieves one of the four who carry the vehicle; and they alternately assume his part of the labour. There are, however, various tribes of bearers, generally provincial, to be found at Calcutta, chiefly those called Ooreeahs, i. e. natives of the province of Orissa, a tract of country lying between the Roopnarian and the northern sirkars. These are generally called “Balasore-bearers:” from the principal town. - It is not easy to describe the influence of this set of menials throughout those parts to which they extend their services; which is rarely more than a few miles around Calcutta. They are, in fact, a commonwealth, governed by one or more of their gang, and subject to the regu- lations from time to time established by councils con- vened in the most imperious manner, by the old sirdars; every trespass against which incurs not only the imme- diate punishment of ejection from among their society in the town, but absolutely a species of outlawry, even in their own country. To such a pitch had these bearers carried their auda- city, that more than once they withdrew from Calcutta, leaving its inhabitants in the most awkward predicament, till they chose to return, or their insolent demands were satisfied. If any offence be given to one or more, espe- * EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 167 cially to a whole set, it is instantly submitted to, their superiors, who have on many occasions issued their man- date, interdicting all Ooreeahs from engaging in the of fender's service. Where real injury is done, they never fail to carry the complaint before the commissioners of the police, or into the supreme court; the costs being defrayed by a general assessment. The prudence with which they proceed in the prosecutions, is not unworthy of notice, and cannot fail to save much vexation, trouble, and expense. They put the case very fairly before a fic- titious tribunal, consisting of sirkars, writers, &c. who, having been employed by gentlemen of the law, have picked up a smattering of that profession, and are per fectly acquainted with the forms attendant upon civil causes. These “base epitomes of legal greatness” pos- sess wonderful shrewdness, and by means of two fictitious advocates of a corresponding description, who, with an acuteness scarcely to be equalled, argue their respective sides of the question, are enabled to decide on the case with strict propriety. The fact is, that this mock court, being instituted for the purpose of preventing any native who chooses to have his cause pleaded before it, from being entangled in that net of perplexity, the supreme court, every endeavour is made to scrutinize the several turns and arguments to which the defendant may resort. Consequently, it is ever the study of the accusing party to strengthen his opponent's side, with every subtlety that can be devised. The sages delivered their opinions, as in our courts; cautious never to decide in favour of a plaintiff, unless the case appears fully established. It is a well-known fact, that, with the exception of a few haughty, opinionated individuals, who think that such a resort would degrade them, or perhaps discover that chicanery on which they rely for success, scarcely an J68 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. instance can be found where a native, residing in Calcut- ta, has failed to gain his cause against an European. To such a tribunal, as above described, the Ooreeahs almost invariably resort, when, if its decision is in their favour, they soon appear before the real court. It is fortunate for the European inhabitants of Calcutta, that, within the last thirty years, Patna, Dacca, and other cahars or bearers, have resorted to the presidency, to par- ticipate in those services formerly monopolized by the Ooreeahs. The latter, after attempts to intimidate their rivals, and to hinder the teeka or job-bearers, , who were formerly, to a man, of the Balasore tribe, from serving, even for the day, those who retained Patna, or other cahars, were, in the end, obliged to lower their tone, and to conciliate upon all occasions. Though by no means . reconciled to the new system, they find their mandates of less force, their influence nearly extinguished, and their numbers considerably decreased ; at least, they bear no proportion to the cahars from the country, who now ply in every quarter for teeka, (job-work.) Yet the Ooreeahs are certainly, in some respects, ex- cellent servants. They are very careful of furniture, and being generally able-bodied men, are capable, even with fewer numbers, of proceeding great distances. They are, besides, far neater in their persons and in dress; which, however, consists merely of a doty, wrapped round the middle, and tucked in with a wrapper, to throw over them in very inclement weather, but usually folded up, and carried over the shoulder. When their heights are une- qual, they use a small quilted pad of linen, stuffed with rags or cotton. This suspended from the palanquin pole, or bamboo, and placed between it and the shoulder of the shortest bearer of the two, (as they carry in pairs, two EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 169 before, and two behind,) serves to bring about an even bearing on each. The Balasore bearers, or Ooreeahs, preserve but one lock on the top of their heads, like the sirkars and other Hin- doos in general. They wear no turban, and paint their faces, arms, throats, and breasts, with sandal-wood and vermilion. Some wear about their necks a few small beads, chiefly of turned wood, and occasionally on either wrist, a stout silver ornament of the ring kind, called a bangle, or kurrah, or a pair of tiger's claws set in silver, back to back, suspended from their necks by a number of black threads. This is considered as a potent charm against Jºhaddoo, or witchcraft, and a preventative of va- rious dangerous diseases. The Ooreeah bearers never wear shoes, and they prefer clothes of an almond colour. Their number in a single set is generally, as before stated, seven : the head bearer, or sirdar, receiving five, or even six rupees monthly; sometimes a mate receives, or is said to receive, five, and the residue about four. Formerly the rates were generally one rupee less for each rank; but “the hay was made while the sun shone,” and they did not fail, while in power, to raise their respective wages. Where there is a lady in the family, three, or perhaps five, more bearers must be added; and a comfortable building must be set apart for these domineering servants, or they will not stay. Nor will they handle a chillumchee, (or wash- hand basin,) after it has been used; though they will pour water and lay the napkin and the shaving apparatus, and perform a variety of offices formerly supposed to be re- pugnant to their tenets; but they are less scrupulous since the country cahars have resorted in such numbers to Calcutta, and aided to overthrow that immense edifice of insolence, imposition, and pride; whereof, fortunately, w 170 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. the foundation was thus destroyed. The time is not very remote, when the council, as the sirdars vainly termed their meetings, used to send their summons to any Ooreeah in an European's service, and in case of refusal, or neglect, to mulct the party according to their plea- sure. Thus, no individual, however attached to his mas- ter, or tired of the noxious and tyrannic mandates of the sirdars, dared to disobey. The smallest relaxation in points of forbearance, or in the least tending to augment the duties of the whole class, whether individually or collectively, was certainly followed by the most severe inhibitions, and by fulminations, perfectly terrific to those brought up in ignorance, and under the complete domi- nation of a persecuting priesthood. A few instances oc- curred wherein the masters almost forcibly debarred their servants from obedience to the adjudications of this over- bearing usurpation, but it was in vain; the government, perhaps prudently, discouraged every attempt to change the system; while the Supreme Court, then newly robed, and panting for the exercise of power, whereby to shew their extensive authority, and their sedulous attention to the rights of “an oppressed people,” favoured every com- plaint wherein a native was to be redressed : this was done with the view to annihilate those multifarious extor- tions and severities, not to say cruelties, under which it was supposed they were groaning. This farce, like other good farces, has had its day. Where bearers are not constantly wanted, which is a very uncommon case, it is best to hire teeka-bearers. For ordinary excursions, five are usually employed : each re- ceiving daily four annas, or the quarter of a rupee. This mode has advantages and disadvantages; for these job- men cannot always be procured, nor will they come at the hour appointed. Then, again, they must go home to EA ST IND I A VAD E-MECU MI. 17| their meals; and they are by no means so careful of the palanquin, &c. as regular servants; nor will they attend to a variety of in-door services which may be peremptorily requisite. Besides, should occasions for employing them be numerous, they will prove very expensive: conse- quently, this mode can suit those only whose incomes are confined, and their ordinary avocations such as lead them no further than they can walk, without danger or great inconvenience, under the shade of a chattah, or um- brella. One sirdar at five, one mate at four and a half, and five bearers at four each, amount only to twenty-nine rupees and a half monthly; whereas five teekas, if em- ployed every day at a rupee and a quarter daily, will amount to thirty-seven and a half. This would be like riding in a Hackney-coach all day, when an excellen! equipage might be more economically kept. The Patna, Dacca, and other up-country bearers, ge- nerally receive less wages than the Ooreeahs; but they must be more numerous in a set; few consisting of less than eight, including the sirdar, who generally remains at home. His usual wages are from four and a half to five rupees, and the rest receive from three to four, month- ly. When in their own country, they serve for less wages than when employed elsewhere. Those at Dacca, where provisions are very cheap, seldom have more than two, or two rupees and a half; and they most reluctantly quit that part of the country, even under a very considerable ad- vance of pay. Therefore, when a corps marches from the Dacca district, every endeavour is made to procure bearers who are going to the several districts lying in, or near the route. This is a great convenience, as it is com- mon for bearers to proceed only to an appointed town, where they leave their employer to himself, to obtain others in their stead. Thus, in marching from the frontier .* 172 EAST INDIA. V. A D E-MECU M. to Lucknow or Cawnpore, it is necessary to obtain a new set of bearers at either of those places, to proceed to Be- nares. At Benares they will probably engage to go no further than Patna, if proceeding by the river route; or, if by the new road, only to Hazary-Bang, or perhaps to Rogonautpore, or to Bissunpore; where a final exchange must be made for a set that will proceed to Calcutta, Midnapore, &c. Yet this occasions no very serious diffi- culty; the occurrence being so common, and the prices so regulated by the ordinary practice, that, unless a gen- tleman has the character of using his servants ill, there is seldom any deficiency of candidates for employment. Bearers of all descriptions are apt to carry too much luggage for themselves, stowing it, to an unmerciful amount, on the back of some poor camel, or on some cart, which their master thinks is very lightly laden. The mischief is not suspected till he notices, day after day, the late arrival of his baggage, or receives a report that his cattle have sore backs, &c. &c.; and this in situations where no substitutes can be found for the disabled beasts. To correct this evil, it is desirable to give notice that what- ever is found thus clandestinely laden, shall be certainly destroyed. The bearers, as just observed, are generally concerned in these instances; because every other servant has usually some family, or shares some tattoo, (poney,) which conveys his luggage, and would be peculiarly liable to discovery. On the other hand, the bearer, probably a temporary servant, and a sort of alien in the camp, cannot dispose of his luggage like the regular servants: besides, all this tribe are either penurious or dissipated. They either hoard every cowrie, or run in debt, and then, to avoid payment—run away. The immediate business of a headbearer is to prepare EAST 1 N DIA VAD E-MECU M. 173 , for his master's dressing; to see that the linen is in proper order, boots and shoes cleaned, coat, &c. brushed, side- arms, &c. bright; also, that the palanquin is clean, and in good repair; that the water for drinking be purified, and the kettle put on in due time. The inferior bear- ers generally clean the furniture and carry the chowry, (or whisk,) and swing a kind of punkah, (or fan,) made either of a large palm leaf, or with split bamboo, and printed cotton; of which pieces are to be had stamped expressly for that purpose. To cool a room they are swung backwards and forwards, the butt of the punkah- stick resting on the ground. A punkah, when used instead of a chattah, (or umbrella,) is a very inferior defence against either sun, wind, or rain. The natives, in some parts, especially to the northward, used punkahs very generally ; but, of late, they seem to prefer chattahs, of which great numbers are now conveyed, as an article of merchandise, from the lower provinces to Benares, Luck- now, &c. The dress of the cahar, or up-country bearer, consists of a coloured turban, usually blue; the head bearer has generally a short coortah, not unlike that of the mushuul- chee, and, like the inferiors, wears a doty, in the usual manner; though some wear a kind of petticoat trowser, not unlike the Highland kelt. Cummer-bunds are also in general use; though mostly of a very coarse quality. Many gentlemen present their bearers, hurkarus, peons, su,ees, khidmutgars, and mushuulchees, annually with tur- bans and cummer-bunds, all of the same colour; so that the whole appear to a certain extent in livery. In this indulgence many of the natives take great pride, and can assume extraordinary airs, when they have to deal with the servant of a person inferior to their own master. In describing the various kinds of palanquins in use º 174 EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECU M. it should be observed, that probably the greatest ilaprove- ments which ever took place in any vehicle, have been made in the construction of this sine quá non of Indian luxury. The naulkeen, or naulkee, is the first in rank among the contrivances of this description. This im- mense carriage is only used by crowned heads, and may be compared to a portable throne, on which the prince sits with his feet crossed, and tucked up under his hams, (according to the custom of Asiatics,) having at his back a very large pillow, and under him a suitable bedding, both sumptuously ornamented. Many smaller pillows lie scattered about, to be applied as may be found agree- able. The frame of the naulkeen is about five feet long by four broad, well secured at the corners, and very closely taped at the bottom, both lengthwise and breadth- wise, so as to leave no interstices. The sides are raised with richly carved wood-work, generally gilded in a showy style. The naulkeen is carried, like a litter, by eight men, who support two poles, one running under each side-bar, and projecting before and behind ; two bearers being at each extremity, as with a palanquin. This vehicle, though it appear extremely ponderous, is said, by the bearers, to be far lighter than one of the Ma- hannah-palanquins. The dooly, or covered litter, certainly the parent of all the palanquin kind, is yet in common use among the less opulent classes, and especially for the conveyance of women. In our armies this little vehicle affords excellent means of transporting sick and wounded men, either to hospitals, or on a march. Time, however, at length produced the Mahannah-palan- quin. So general has been its adoption, that not only all Europeans, but also many of the natives, in every part, now either ride in mahannahs, or have their doolies constructed EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 175 - like them. The mahannah resembles an immense chest, standing on four feet, nearly a foot from the ground. Except about two-fifths of each side left open for a door; it is usually closed with very thin pannels, or canvass, leather, &c. The doors are sometimes made to close by means of two Venetian frames, that, when brought from their recesses, meet in the centre, but at other times run back, on small metal wheels, in grooves behind the pannels respectively. The roof is made of very thin pannelling board, laid longitudinally over slight battens a little cambered ; though some are quite flat. Over the boards a stout, but thin canvass is well stretched, and beaded down at the edges: this is usually painted white. The fore and back parts are in general closed, with the exception of two small Venetian, or perhaps glass windows near the top, to allow a draught of air. The exterior is painted ac- cording to the fancy of the proprietor, often very hand- somely, and well varnished. The front and hind poles attach at about three-fifths up the body of the vehicle; being riveted to iron ribs, firmly screwed by means of diverging claws to the main pieces: They are further steadied by iron stays, proceeding from the top and bot- tom corners of each end respectively to the pole; to which they are bolted at about eighteen inches from the body. The poles are always covered with leather. The body of a mahannah is generally about six feet, or six feet two inches long, and from twenty-six to thirty inches in width; the height is sufficient to allow a tall person's sitting upright without a hat. The beddings of most are covered with chintz of neat patterns; while, to prevent its being soiled, a small piece of carpet, tiger's- skin, morocco-leather, or some such article, is spread at the feet. 176 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. In most mahannahs there are racks serving to sup- port the back; others are provided with two small, or one large pillow, also covered with chintz. Above the doors it is common to screw in flat brass knobs, whereon to button either canvass or leather curtains, that will roll up occasionally, and buckle like the aprons of gigs, &c. There are also studs of the same description, fixed at the sides of the doors, to fasten the edges of the curtains; though their principal use is to affix cheeks made of kuss- kuss, to be watered during a journey of any distance. The mahannah is unquestionably a very heavy vehicle, and, being totally devoid of elasticity, far more oppressive to the bearers than any machine on a slighter construc- tion. Yet the average rate of travelling may be computed at from three miles and a half to three quarters, within the hour, in going great distances; such as from Chunar to Calcutta, at the proper season, when the waters are not out, and the heat not too oppressive. That estimate in- cludes all delays for exchanging the bearers, which, in travelling dawk, (that is, post,) will take place at certain stages, from ten to fifteen miles apart. Thus a journey of four hundred miles may be made with great ease in about five days, the night being often most favourable to expe- dition, especially from March to the middle of June. During that period, the roads are every where good, the grass jungles in most places burnt away, and fewer tigers lurk near the highways. It is often necessary to lie by for a few hours during the mid-day, when the ground is so hot as absolutely to scorch the bearers’ feet. At such times, the kuss-kuss tatties are peculiarly serviceable; but, in case none are affixed, the guttah-tope, or palanquin- cover, must be kept wet, as already observed in describing the occupations of the bheesty, or water-carrier. Ladies are usually conveyed about Calcutta, or any EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. 177 where for short distances, in a kind of palanquin, called a boc,hah. This has poles fixed much in the same manner as in the mahannah, but its body is a compound of our sedan chair, with the body of a chariot. . Its deep shape, and its seat, much resemble the former; but having two doors, one on each side, with one window in front, as well as a small one behind, all furnished with Venetians and glasses, in those respects, some claim an alliance with the latter. Most of the gentlemen residing at Calcutta ride in boc,hahs, which afford a better look-out, are more portable, and can turn about in narrow places, where a mahannah could not : besides, they are far lighter. The loc,hah made expressly for a lady, is fitted up with some elegance, and has always four large tassels, commonly of white silk, hanging at the four upper corners. There are usually pockets in front, and to the doors, the same as in chariots, &c. About Dacca, Chittagong, Tipperah, and other moun- tainous parts, a very light kind of conveyance is in use, called a taum:faung, i. e. “a support to the feet.” This consists of an arm-chair, with a low back, at the sides of which two poles are affixed, even with the seat. From the two fore legs of the chair, iron stays project forward, supporting a foot-board, placed diagonally, so as to meet the natural position of the soles when the feet are thrown forward, much the same as the foot-boards of coach- boxes, only on a very light construction. In some in- stances, the taum-faungs (vulgarly called tom:ſohns) are carried the same as the naulkeen; that is, by the four ends of the poles resting on the shoulders of as many bearers, all independent of each other. Experience has, however, proved such to be a very dangerous practice; for, if one of the bearers stumbles, the machine must inevitably be overset; and the fall from such a height, especially if pro- N 178 EA ST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. ceeding at a quick pace, is hazardous. To remedy this, it has become a custom to suspend two stout batons, by means of strong doubled cords, between the ends of the poles, before and behind; making such an allowance in respect to the length of cord, or sling, as may bring the poles about as low as the bearers’ hips. The batons are slung by their middles, one bearer supporting the fore, the other the hind part of each; all moving between the two side poles, but nearly in a line one behind the other. This does not altogether obviate the possibility of falling, by means of a stumble; but it lessens that danger consi- derably, and the seat being much lowered, renders the accident less severe. In this respect, the boc, hah is also safer than the mahan- nah; the former being so much nearer the ground, and the erect position of the rider rendering him less liable to injury. When the hind bearers of a mahannah fall, not only the legs of the vehicle, but the head of its inhabitant, may be injured; but such accidents are rarely so serious. If the fall take place when a bearer is pushing behind, resting the palm of his hand against the butt end of the hinder pole, as is very common, there will be an addi- tional impetus, by no means favourable to the machine, especially if the foremost bearers give way. Most of the mahannah palanquins have a box under the feet, and per- haps one under the head also, made water-tight, and fur- nished with a lock. This, when travelling, is extremely convenient, as articles trusted to a bangy might not arrive in due time. - The bangy is a slip of bamboo, about five feet long, in the middle four inches wide, and about an inch thick. Towards the ends it tapers a little, and has shoulders left, whereby to secure the nets, wherein are two baskets, made either of rattans or reeds, very closely worked, and EAST INDIA W A D E-MECU M. 179 covered with painted canvass or leather. The bangy-wollah, or bearer who carries the bangy, supports the bamboo on his shoulder, so as to equipoise the baskets suspended at each end. If not overladen, the bangy will generally keep pace with the palanquin; the bearer shifting the bamboo from one to the other shoulder as he proceeds. Many gentlemen have rhunts, or r'huts, for the convey- ance of their native ladies, either on a march, or to take an airing occasionally: in such case a man must be employed to drive, and to take care of the bullocks. He is desig- nated the g’horry-waun, or carriage servant. His dress generally resembles that of the khidmutgar; his pay being ordinarily from four to six rupees monthly. The con- struction of a rhut is so very curious as almost to deſy description. The ghorry-waun sits astride that part of the fore-frame which may be compared with the pole and traverse of one of our four-wheeled carriages, under a seiwaun, or semiaun, made of the same stuff as the covering, supported in nearly a horizontal position, by two slight poles fixed into iron ferules at the body of the frame, and proceeding at an angle of about 45° to the foremost edge of the seiwaun. The bullocks are managed by means of a strong cord, passed through the septums, or divisions between their nostrils, and tied over the crowns of their heads, where the rein, made also of rope, attaches: this effectually curbs the cattle. Such a device may appear to partake of cruelty; but experience has proved, that no other mode is adequate to keep this fiery, restless, and vicious breed of cattle in tolerable subordination. The g’horry- waun, by the application of a severe goad to the hind-quar- ters of the bullocks, keeps them on a smart trot. When they are tolerably quiet, the driver's feet generally suf- fice to keep them to their pace; but when all other N 2 180 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. methods fail, he twists their tails, and thus urges them to their best speed. The reins should serve both to stop and to guide; but, as the bullocks are not always prompt in turning when only so acted upon, the tail is often re- sorted to, as a never-failing rudder. A true home-bred Englishman can have little idea how swiftly a pair of oxen can draw one of these r"huts. He cannot readily imagine them travelling from four to six miles within the hour; and even in places where the g'horry-ka-leek, or track of a wheel, is scarcely to be found. A pair of Nagore, or of Guzzerat, bullocks stand- ing full sixteen hands at the withers, (making allowance for the humps on the shoulders of all cattle bred in that quarter;) have been known to convey ar'hut with ease at the rate of eight miles within the hour. But such in- stances are uncommon, and perhaps five miles may be the truest average. Nor do bullocks keep up an even pace like horses; on the contrary, they either proceed on their quickest trot, or walk; there is seldom a medium); for not . being trained to move in one set pace, but urged by starts, at the will of the driver, they want the habit which would improve their wind. That breed of oxen said to be raised chiefly in the Guzzerat and Nagore districts, is very fine. They are milk-white, handsomely formed, with fine eyes, and horns generally no more than a foot long, but gracefully turned, partly forward, and partly upward. The natives inva- riably paint or gild the horns; and sometimes mark the sides, necks, hams, and shoulders of their favorites with mindy, the plant generally known among botanists under the name of hinna. A conveyance on two wheels, in other respects similar to the rhut, is commonly used in India, both by men and women. The body is generally square, and the roof less EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 181 º: elevated. With few exceptions, these have red covers, in the sides of which, as in those of the r'huts, are small slits, serving for peep-holes. In these ghorries (i.e. car- riages) such are more necessary than in the r'huts; the former being almost invariably fitted up with cheeks, or screens; one of which is ever appended to the fore-part, between the interior and the driver. The commong horry now described is rarely, if ever, kept by any European ; but may be seen plying for hire in various parts of Cal- cutta. Some of these have shafts, in which a tattoo (poney) is fixed, with a very slight harness, barely suffi- cient to keep the crook-saddle in its place. This is a recent improvement; as is also the application of tattoos to rhuts. They are found to be more manageable, and far cheaper than bullocks; besides, their pace is much quicker; and, in case of failure, they are most easily con- verted into cash; an object of great moment to the parsi- * monious Hindoo. The g’horry-waun is also employed in a subordinate ca- pacity, driving a common cart, usually called a chuckrah, but named a hackery by Europeans. This vehicle car- ries, on an average, eighteen or twenty maunds, equal to about thirteen or fourteen hundred weight. It is drawn by two oxen; though, in the northern parts of the country, four are often attached to those which convey cotton or other gruff merchandize. Those retained by gentlemen for the carrying on of works, or for the transportation of baggage, if hired by the day, usually cost half, or at times three quarters of a rupee, when employed on the spot; but, if required to proceed many stages, a whole rupee is demanded. When the g'horry-waun is the menial of any officer, &c. his usual pay is from four to five rupees monthly; or four when stationary, and five when marching. His dress is little better than that of a 182 EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. common cooly. Like all other servants to whose care the feeding of cattle is entrusted, he contrives to extract some perquisite from whatever he either receives or pur- chases. What with dustooree, short weight, over-charges, repairs, and medicines, the g’horry-waun has been fully a match for his British compeers, in deriving emoluments from whatever money, &c. passed through his hands. The duty of a ghorry-waun is confined to the charge of his cattle; to see them properly rubbed down, and supplied with provender. This usually consists of small chaff from various kinds of pulse, or of the stems of badjra, jewar, &c. (various kinds of millet,) or of the bootah, (or Indian corn,) which being purchased in bun- dles, he chops with a common bill, on a log of wood. When bullocks are allowed gram, (already mentioned.) the usual portion for each is about two, or at the utmost three, seers; the seer weighing about two pounds avoir- dupoise. It is indispensable that this servant should un- derstand how to load his carriage to advantage, and to repair such parts as may not require the aid of an artisan. Thus, he must be competent to sew a saleetah, or large sacking cloth spread at the bottom of the hackery, and lapping up over every part, so as to prevent the loss of articles, or their injury by the weather. He must be able also to take off a wheel, and, above all things, he must be a careful, steady driver. This is the more necessary from the very small distance between the wheels in all Hindoostanee carriages; the whole load is generally placed above the level of their upper fellies, causing the gravity to be thrown very high in a hackery laden with bulky articles, which is thus very liable to be overturned. Yet fewer accidents of this kind happen than might be expected, considering how much night-travelling prevails in India. Perhaps the deep ruts on roads frequented by EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 183 carriages preserve the wheels in their course, so as to prevent the bullocks from deviating. The distance to which a hackery can travel in a day, depends entirely on the state of the roads, the strength and condition of the cattle, the heat of the weather, and the weight to be drawn. Under fair circumstances, it may extend from fourteen to sixteen miles; but the latter distance is considered a forced march. To the weight of the carriage and its load, that of the driver must be added, he usually sitting immediately behind the bul- locks. When the load is rather too heavy behind, so as to cause a tendency to tilting, he sits forward, between the cattle, and even occasionally upon the yoke itself. The latter position must be extremely oppressive to the cattle; but in hackeries laden with cotton, where the burthen necessarily occupies a great space, hanging over the rumps of the beasts, such a position is nearly in- evitable. The hackeries used in that branch of trade are very strong, and invariably drawn by at least three, or rather four bullocks. Sometimes buffaloes are used, for their immense strength, where heavy commodities are to be carried; though their pace is very slow, and they are ex- tremely addicted to lying down in every puddle. It is found eligible, when buffaloes are yoked, to travel en- tirely by night, those animals being greatly oppressed by the solar heat. The native merchants commonly mix one or two among their teams, and not unfrequently cause full thirty-five maunds, equal to about twenty-four cwt., to be laid on one hackery; but the daily distance with such a load seldom amounts to twelve miles. On the subject of drivers, a few hints may be offered respecting European servants and English cattle. Nei- ther the one nor the other is found to answer in India. | 84 E, AST INDIA VAD E-M ECU M. An European servant must have nearly as many natives to attend him as an officer requires, with a house, and numerous indulgences, such as nearly abrogate his services. Many have been taken to India, but generally, after sav- ing a little money, or making a few friends, especially by farriery, they have set up in business, and with very little warning, or ceremony, quitted their masters, who were, indeed, usually far from desiring their continuance. When all things are considered, it must be from an ex- cess of vanity, or of some kindred folly, that any gentle- man would retain an European coachman, or postilion, at full two hundred rupees monthly, all items included, when an excellent substitute may be found among the many natives who follow those professions, and to whom a twelfth part of that sum is a little fortune. As to an European butler, steward, &c., there is the same objec- tion, with the additional inconvenience of having not only an extra guest at all times, (for his fare, in every respect, equals that of his master,) but a spy in livery, to hear the table-talk, commercial, military, or political, and then retail it, together with his comments, to all the native domestics. Whenever a lady has carried out an European female servant, whether old or young, ugly or beautiful, a speedy separation has usually taken place: many, indeed, have deserted their mistresses while touching at Madras. Thus, only vexation and disappointment are to be expect- ed from the attempt to retain the services of such a per- son after her arrival in India. Bonds, contracts, or agree- ments, are all cancelled by the servant's behaviour, which precludes the possibility of detention. It may be sup- posed, that, by reference to a magistrate, any unwarrant- able conduct would be punished; but, however reason- able in Britain such an expectation, it would be found EAST IN DIA WA DE-MECU M. 185 totally inapplicable to India. It is, indeed, doubtful whether any justice would take cognizance of such a com- plaint, unless connected with some felonious proceeding, which might warrant a commitment. This may appear strange, and give but an indifferent opinion of the police in India. Yet, it is far easier for either European or na- tive to obtain redress in Calcutta, than at any of the public offices in England. But the necessity for uphold- ing the British character, however much formerly neg- lected by some persons in power, is now so well under- stood, that, without absolute compulsion, no magistrate would commit an European woman upon a charge of neg- lect of duty, inebriety, insolence, or other such impro- priety. The litigation of pecuniary differences would, of course, be referred to the Supreme Court; where the expenses are at least three times as heavy as in the British tribunal, and the prosecutor would, in the end, have little to boast of gaining his cause; though, possi- bly, he might at a high price gratify his resentments. Ladies embarking for India should seek to engage some native of that country wishing to return. Many of these women, whose characters will bear ample scrutiny, come to England in the charge of children, or with their mistresses, and would gladly return under the joint ad- vantages of emolument and protection. An advertise- ment will bring forward many applicants; or, a constant search among the advertisements in the various news- papers, will rarely fail to answer the purpose. Thus, on arrival in India, an useful interpreter is at hand; while, perhaps, a trusty and able servant is obtained; who, being attached, by many little kindnesses while on board- ship, will continue to serve, at least till another can be obtained. The female who attends a lady while dressing, &c. is 186 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. called an Aya; nearly such as the lady's maid among us. The wages of this servant are by no means uniform, but may be averaged at from eight to twelve rupees monthly. Some are half-cast children, born of European fathers and native mothers, and brought up in families from their infancy. To these, good treatment and kind- ness well compensate for the smallness of wages; and some among them will remain for years faithful and affec- tionate; but such are by no means numerous, when com- pared with the thousands who, at a certain age, either quit in search of places affording higher pay, or large per- quisites. The majority of ayas are of Portuguese ex- traction, being descended from those heroes who, in times of yore, “laid bleeding Asia prostrate at their feet;” but who now compose the most contemptible race to be found on earth. They are all “good Christians,” and, in several parts of the country, have small church-establishments, where they support missionaries; but in a humble style, which strongly represents the abject condition of Christi- anity, when under persecution. Yet, however much tarnished their ancient splendor, it cannot be denied, that, in religious matters, the sable Por- tuguese of Bengal have outdone the British. They had churches long ago, and one in Calcutta, built at a great expense by an opulent individual, and while only one English steeple could be seen under the presidency of Fort-William. Great alterations, however, in these re- spects are in daily progression. Many Portuguese ayas affect to be in possession of genealogies, whereby they prove their lineal descent from most illustrious characters; most of whom would, no doubt, be indeed abashed, by a sight of their ill-fated and degenerate posterity. It can scarcely be conceived what pride is retained by these women, who are fond of EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUMI. 187 adulation, and love even to adoration the dear word Signora. To see them full-dressed on Christmas Day is truly diverting; their costume being, as nearly as cir- cumstances will admit, that of the days of royalty in France, with a dash of the antique VERA-cRUz: to re- mind them, probably, of that eclipse which a gradual intermixture with the natives has cast upon their once tawny but now sable countenances. The humiliating reflections attendant upon such a comparison should rather prompt them to burn their pedigrees, and to avoid whatever could induce retrospection. But the aya prides herself on that remote affinity claimed from her records; she retains all the offensive hauteur of her pro- genitors, which, being grafted upon the most obnoxious qualities of the Hindoo or Moossulman characters, makes a tout ensemble as ridiculous as it is despicable. The Hindoostanee aya (a woman born either of Moossulman or of Hindoo parents) is rather rare, unless in cases where young women have lost their casts, and thus become aliens to their own sects. These are said to be the most valuable servants; much superior to such as come under the designation of baundy, (slave,) and which have, for the most part, been purchased in their in- fancy from those miserable beings who, during times of scarcity, have been compelled to sell their offspring; thereby preserving the lives of both. The obligation, however, does not hold good, according to the existing regulations under the British government, to which sla- very is totally repugnant; though the Mahomedan law authorizes the purchaser of a child, thus obtained, to re- tain it, and to command its services, upon the condition of proper food and raiment, till its liberation at a certain age. There is, nevertheless, in the operation of this law a wide latitude; it being extremely difficult for the slave 188 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. to substantiate his age, which can only be computed from what the purchaser asserts it to have been when the sale took place. Though very few Hindoostanee women, except such as come under the above description, serve in the capacity of ayas attendant upon ladies; many are employed as nurses to weaned children, of which, an aya rarely at- tends more than one. Hence, in some families, this class of domestics would be very numerous, were it not that few children, born of European parents, remain in India beyond their third or fourth year. The generality of those remaining, even for that term, under the care of ayas, become crafty, proud, and unmannerly; which has occasioned several ladies to engage as few as possible of those attendants, and to give their children in charge to bearers, or other male servants, under whose care they are found to be less vitiated, and, in general, far more healthy. Unless great attention be paid, ayas will initiate their young charges in many practices, and especially in language, such as will require great assiduity to correct; and, after all, this may not be com- pletely effected. Besides, they are usually very slovenly and offensive in their persons. The Da,ee is more generally an attendant upon native ladies. Their dress, in most points, corresponds with that of the Hindoostanee aya, but their pay is much less; few receiving more than five rupees, and the majo- rity serving for four. But from a number of domestic per- quisites, especially the remains of victuals, cast-off wear- ing apparel, donations on certain festivals, overcharges in purchases, dustoree on all articles bought by the lady, &c. &c., they manage to pick up a very good income, and not unfrequently lend money to their mistresses at the moderate rate of one anna (i. e. a sixteenth) per month, - EA ST IN DIA WA DE-MECU M. 189 for every rupee advanced. This is never done without a pledge, generally of silver or gold ornaments. - Such a rate of interest may appear very high, but is general on loans for short date; and then under good se- curity. The money-lending business, especially that on bunduck, or pledge, is confined entirely to the Hindoos. Moossulmans are prohibited by their institutes from re- ceiving, though not so strictly from paying interest. In- deed, owing to the less frugal habits of this sect, and their greater indulgence in ostentatious display, few in- dividuals are totally exempt from that heavy fine col- lected by the Hindoo shroffs and mahajans, from such in- considerate persons as have occasion for them. It is nevertheless remarkable, that the generality of such money-lenders as reside at our several cantonments, are very liberal in their advances to officers, who, when much in arrears, are often extremely pressed for cash to defray their immediate table expenses, and that, too, even on the most economical plan. An officer has been repeatedly kept from starving by the accommodation which the shroffs afforded, whose civility and forbearance form a striking contrast to the punctual and greedy claims of both the Christian and the Jewish Shylocks of Britain. When practicable, they will indeed obtain some kind of security for their loans. This is only reasonable; but they have been known to furnish many hundreds of rupees simply on an acknowledgment upon a scrap of paper, barely specifying the sum and date, without any form such as could have validated the claim in case of demise, or refusal of repayment. The truth is, that where they see no danger, they feel no reluctance. , Many native ladies, as well as men, but especially Mahomedans, are very dexterous in flying kites, called by them puttungs. The construction of these varies 190 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. greatly from those used by boys in England, being imi- tations of a bird with wings distended, though the extre- mities are short and rounded off. In order to preserve that figure, they are bordered with bamboo-wire, on which paper is pasted, of the lightest kind, but very tough. The loop is fastened to a very slight bamboo-rod passing down the centre. These kites have no tails, yet they are easily managed by those accus- tomed from their infancy to raise them, often to an incre- dible height. The lines used for this purpose are chiefly of thin and strong cotton, well twisted : about forty or fifty yards of the upper end of the cord nearest to the puttung, is rubbed with a fine size, in which levigated glass is mixed. This, when dry, has the appearance of very fine sand paper, such as is used for cleaning grates, &c. Sometimes, in the great cities, thousands of these kites are seen floating in the air, to the great amusement of their respective owners, and indeed of the spectators, who often take considerable interest in the numerous con- tests perpetually presented, by the intentional crossing of the several cords, which, being armed as above described, are calculated “to cut the thread of life,” and precipitate their several opponents. No sooner is the crossing of an adverse cord felt by the vibrations of that in the hand, than a sawing motion is given to each by the respective operators, when, in less commonly than a minute, one of the kites is seen to give way. On this sometimes are pending considerable wagers. The great art appears to be, to pass over the adversary's cord, and then to lower the kite suddenly, so as to make, momentarily, an angle in the cord thus passed over. An instantaneous pull sometimes succeeds in severing the EAST INDIA WAD E-MEU U M. 191 opponent's cord, it acting like a drawing cut, and pre- senting a succession of points, perhaps three or four yards long; while the under line, unless managed with similar activity, presents but one point, and thus is sub- ject to friction on that point only, consequently it must be considerably injured. The greatest judgment is, however, necessary to de- termine whether or not the operator presents an armed portion of his cord to an unarmed part of that of his op- ponent. Should the former be correct in this instance, he generally commands success, otherwise he may lose the day. An unpractised eye would be at a loss in com- puting the proper distance, when the length of line let out may perhaps exceed three or four hundred yards; but the natives form a correct estimate, and display great dexterity in avoiding to cross any cord under unfavour- able circumstances. This amusement generally takes place, during the cool of the evening, on the flat tops of the houses. The inha- bitants of the zenanah (or haram) enjoy it either from their compounds (or enclosed areas) or on the roofs of their chambers, on tarasses so built up with thin brick wall as to conceal them from the neighbours. This effect of jealousy is every where apparent; nor could any thing offend a native more than the erection of an edifice overlooking the interior of that enclosure in which his family resided. An instance of this was at- tended with considerable trouble and disadvantage: Colonel Watson, who was chief engineer under the presidency of Fort-William, obtained the grant of a large piece of land, to form a spacious dock for building and repairing ships. - In enclosing the allotted space, he overlooked the unto- ward circumstance of a claim, on the part of a neighbour- 192 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. ing and very opulent native, to a part of the circumscribed area, which was the sine quá non of the undertaking. The native said nothing, and, in all probability, would have given up his land, or at least have sold it on equitable terms, rather than have thwarted the Colonel's views; but, unfortunately, the latter erected a large windmill, so near to the native's house as to annihilate all the privacy which his family had enjoyed. The native remonstrated, but to no effect. The grant was urged against him, and in a tone of defiance. The question was then brought into court, when, the plaintiff gaining his cause, the wind-mill ceased to work, and with the exception of a slip, on which some vessels have since been built, the whole important and immense con- struction has fallen into decay. The Hindoostanee ladies do not wear shoes; and for walking they use slippers, which, soon as the lady returns to her seat on the satrinje, or carpet, are thrown aside. Those without heels, with the back part made to flatten down under the foot, (for that part is seldom, if ever, raised,) are called k'hous; while those made without any backpiece, the quarters terminating under the ancles on each side, and that have raised heels, to perhaps the height of an inch, are named chinauls. In either kind, as well as in the jooties worn by men, the toe-part is terminated by a long pointed strip, usually of leather lined with cloth, that curls inwards over the toes: without this, the shoes would be considered both unfinished and vul- gar. Men commonly wear only embroidered shoes, but women have an abundance of various-coloured foils, principally purple or green, fastened down to the body of the vamp, (which is of some bright-coloured broad- cloth,) and serving, by the manner in which they are disposed, to fill up the pattern of the embroidery. This EAST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. 193 may be either of gold or silver thread, or very small bugles, not dissimilar to seed-pearls. Those who cannot afford such decorations, are content with silken orna- ments. Neither men nor women use stockings; though, during the winter months, the more opulent wear a joor- aub, a short kind of sock, made of cotton or silk, or both intermixed, and of various colours. These, which are remarkably thick, rarely reach above the ancle. Per- sons of the first rank, have their jooraubs, as also their dustannahs, or gloves, made of shawl. These are of the form used in England for children; having a receptacle for the thumb, but the fingers are all contained in the same bag, or cyst. It is, however, very uncommon to see a woman, of whatever rank, wear gloves. This is, no doubt, owing to the pride they take in their hands, which are invariably ornamented with gold or silver rings, &c., to the utmost extent of their purses. In fact, the whole attention of a Hindoostanee woman, retained in the family of an European, is directed towards the accu- mulation of trinkets. These may be supposed to be to- lerably expensive, when it is understood that nothing lºss than solid silver is admissible. Gilt, or plated ornaments are held to be disreputable and unlucky; hence, the moo- lumbah, or plating trade, is very little followed in India; though the jewellers will sometimes pass off a coated, for a solid article; especially in gold work. The following are the ornaments chiefly worn by the Hindoostanee ladies. The maung-teekah, or frontal orna- ment, has usually a star, or radiated centre, of about two inches in diameter, set in gold, and richly ornamented with small pearls, of which various chains are attached, aiding to support it in its position on the centre of the forehead. A triple, or quadruple row of pearls, passes up the centre of the maung, or front; the hair being di- O 194 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. vided, and kept down very flat. The centre piece (and, occasionally, each end piece also,) is composed of pre- cious stones, such as the topaz, the emerald, the amethyst, the ruby, &c. Sometimes the centre is of one colour, and all the rays of some other; or the latter are alternate. Thus, the maung-teekah is not a very light ornament, but it is extremely splendid, and being generally set in gold, often very valuable. One of a very ordinary description will cost full twelve or fifteen guineas, though composed of coloured glass, or chrystal, or foils. When made of precious stones, the price may reach to any extent. The kurrum-phool is not unlike the centre piece of a maung-teekah, and about the same size, except that it is somewhat less in diameter. This ornament is fastened to the lobe of the ear, both by the usual mode of piercing, and by a chain of gold passing over the ear, so as to bear the weight of the kurrum-phool; which would else cause the lobe to be greatly extended downward. It is, how- ever, to be remarked, that most of the inferior women have large holes in that part of the ear, wide enough to pass a finger through; and that even the higher orders consider an aperture, such as would admit a pea, rather honourable than otherwise; from its indicating the great weight, and consequent value, of their jewels. The joomkah is always of solid gold, and consists of a hollow hemisphere or bell, curiously fillagreed, and about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The edges suspend small rods, or pendants of gold, each furnished with one or more small pearls, garnets, &c.; sometimes a dozen pendants being attached to the circumference of each joomkah. In the upper part is a small perforated stud, sometimes ornamented, through which a ring, about the thickness of a fine knitting-needle, and not less than half an inch in diameter, is inserted, it previously passing EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 195 through the ear in the part usually pierced. This ring, like every other fastening made to pass through the ears or nose, is of the purest gold. It is so pliant that the little hook made at one end, by bending the wire, to fix it into a minute loop, or eye, formed at the other end, by twisting it, may be straightened at pleasure by means of the nail only. European ladies are content with one appendage at each ear; while the females of Hindoostan think it impos- sible to have too many. Thus they affix a number of small rings, of pure gold, or, in case of poverty, of sil- ver, or even of tin, all along the border of the ear, which is pierced for that purpose in at least a dozen places, to receive these ornaments, from which much inconve- nience often arises, owing to the veil (already described) frequently hitching upon the small hooked ends of the wire. The nose has its share in the decorations of the Hin- doostanee ladies, and usually bears two ornaments. One, called a n'hut, commonly passed through the left nostril, is only a piece of gold wire as thick as a small knitting- needle, with the usual hook and eye, and furnished at the centre, or nearly so, with several garnets, pearls, &c. per- haps to the number of five or six, separated by a thin plate of gold, having usually serrated or escaloped edges, and being fixed transversely upon the wire, which passes through their centres, as well as through the garnets, pearls, &c. The common diameter of the circle of a n'hut is about two inches and a half. On the coast of Coro- mandel, a similar ornament is worn in each ear by men of respectability. The other nasal trinket, called a bolauk, is flat, in form not unlike that article of furniture called a footman, and has at its narrowest part a small ring with hook and eye. O 2 196 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. It is thus appended to the middle of the nose by means of a gold ring passing through the septum, or division be- tween the nostrils; the ornament lying flat upon the upper lip, and having its broad end furnished with pendants, similar to those on a joomkah. It is inconceivable what some women undergo for the sake of displaying their riches in this way. Not only does the bolauk interfere with the motion of the lips during meals, but it occasions sores the most unsightly in that very tender part to which the ornament attaches. The neck is not forgotten among those lavish decora- tions of which the native ladies are so fond. It is fur- nished with various kinds of necklace, especially the chumpauk-gully. This is made of separate rays, each in- tended to represent a petal of the chumpauk, (a flower indigenous throughout Asia,) and, having a fixed ring or staple at its butt, the whole may be strung close toge- ther, to the number of forty pieces, or more. This orna- ment is usually worn rather loose, that it may reach half way down the bosom. The mounting is gold or silver, according to the means of the wearer; and the rays or petals are in imitation of the maung-teekah ; either chrys- tals set on foils, chiefly white, or precious stones of one colour throughout the ornament. The haunseah is a solid collar of gold or silver, weighing from four ounces to nearly a pound. The latter must be highly oppressive to the wearer, especially as they are only used on high days and holidays: the general standard may be computed at about six or seven ounces. made of pure metal, they are easily bent, so as to be put on and off. Haunseahs are commonly square in front, under the chin, for several inches, and taper off gradually to not more than half their greatest diameter, terminating at each end with a small knob, cut into a polygonal form. Being EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 197 This ornament is sometimes carved in the Oriental style, either through the whole length, or only on the front. Most of the Hindoostanee women wear round their necks, strung upon black silk threads, tabeejes, which are silver cases, enclosing either quotations from the Koran or some mystical writings, or animal or vegetable sub- stance, Whatever may be the contents, great reliance is placed on their efficacy in repelling disease, and averting the influence of witchcraft, (j'haddoo,) of which the peo- ple of India, of every sect, entertain the greatest appre- hension. Hence, it is not uncommon to see half a dozen or more of these charms strung upon the same threads. The upper parts of the arms are adorned with semi- circular ornaments made hollow, but filled up with melted rosin. The ends are furnished with loops of the same metal, generally silver, and secured by silken skeaus. This trinket is called a baujoo-bund. The wrists are always profusely decorated. The more ordinary classes wear rings made of kaunch, or chank, (the common sea-conch) cut out, by means of very fine saws, into narrow slips, which, when nicely joined, appear as if formed from the most circular part of each shell. This, indeed, is some- times done; but such entire rings are very scarce, and usually preserved carefully in their original pure white- ness. The city of Dacca, so famous for its muslins, car- ries on a large intercourse with Chittagong, and the coast of Aracan, for conchs, which are used for beetling the finer cloths, manufactured in that populous and rich emporium of cotton fabrics. The noise made by chanking the cloths, which, being laid many folds thick upon a large board, are beat with conchs, wherein handles are in- serted, is peculiarly distressing to an unaccustomed ear; especially as the operation continues night and day with- out intermission. The small process, or button, at the 198 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. base of each shell, is sawn off, and, after being ground to a shape resembling that of a flat turnip, is perforated, for the purpose of being strung. When so prepared, these receive the name of kuntahs; two rows of which, each containing from thirty to forty, are worn round the neck of every Sepoy in the Company's service, as a part of his uniform. This simple ornament affords a pleasant relief to the sable countenance of a native, and serves to fill up a space that would otherwise appear extremely naked, be- tween the collar-bones and the chin. Some ladies wear on each wrist, a massy ring of solid silver, weighing from three to five ounces. These rings are commonly hexagonal, or octagonal, of an equal thick- ness throughout, and terminated by a knob at each end, the same as in the haunseah. This ornament, which is called a kurrah, being of pure silver, may be opened suf- ficiently to be put on, or off, at pleasure; the ends being brought together by an easy pressure of the other hand. A bracelet, formed of small pointed prisms of solid silver, each about the size of a very large barley-corn, and having a ring soldered to one of its sides, is very common. These prisms are strung upon black silk, as close as their pointed, or perhaps rounded, ends will ad- mit, in three or four parallel rows, and then fastened, the same as the baujoo-bund. Some of the bracelets, which bear the general name of poanchies, are of gold, intermix- ed with pearls; affording a very rich appearance. They are certainly more ornamental than t’choories, which are, in the end, very expensive, on account of the immense numbers that give way in the wearing. The thumb of each hand has generally an ornament called inah, (or looking-glass,) formed of a ring which fits the thumb, and has a small mirror, about the size of a half-penny, fixed upon it by the centre, so as to accord EAST INDIA WADE-MECU M. 199 with the back of the thumb. Each finger is provided with angooties, or rings, of various sorts and sizes, gene- rally of gold; those of silver being considered mean. The inah should correspond in this particular; but, on account of the quantity of gold required wherein to set the glass, many content themselves with silver mounting. That a small looking-glass may, at times, be commodi- ously situated at the back of the thumb, will not be dis- puted; but what shall be said for that preposterous custom, which Europeans have witnessed, of wearing a similar ornament on each great toe. A lady, at all priding herself on the splendour of her dress, must have a pair of very substantial kurrahs, or rings of silver, not weighing less than half a pound each, upon her ancles. She must also have a pair of paum-jebs, made flexible, and ornamented with little spherical bells, all of which tinkle at every motion of the limb. The or- dinary pattern of the paum-jeb, is mural, each piece being kept in its place by wires, passing through its two ends vertically. The toes have likewise their rings, called chellahs, usually about the fifth of an inch broad, very thin, and for the most part, with beaded edges. The women of Portuguese extraction, wear their hair in a large top-knot, secured by an immense silver pin, or rather a skewer; the broad part of which is either filla- greed, enamelled, or engraved. The Hindoostanee ladies wear no such ornament. They comb down their frontal hair, while abundantly moistened with tissy, (the muci- lage obtained by steeping linseed in a small quantity of water ;) and causing it to part from the centre in two diverging sweeps, or crescents, which come down to the exterior corners of the eye-brows, falling in immediately above the ears; they thus render the whole smooth, com- pact, and glossy. All the hair appertaining to the hinder 200 EAST IND I A VAD E-M ECU M, part of the head, is braided together for its whole length, and ultimately blended with black ribbon; which conti- nues the braid for many inches, or even a foot, or more, so as to render it doubtful, at a certain distance, whether the hair does not occupy the whole length. This is a point of the utmost importance with a native lady, for one of the greatest punishments a judge can inflict on a woman, is to have her head shaved. And it is very com- mon for a native to cause the hair of his baundy, or female slave, to be taken off for any trifling offence. Coral beads are in high estimation throughout Hindoo- stan, for necklaces, and bracelets for women. Though these beads are manufactured from the red coral, fished up in various parts of Asia, they are very costly, especi- ally when they run to any size. They are generally sold by the sicca-weight, or tolah ; that is, by their weight in silver, two and a half rupees weighing about one ounce; or eighty to the seer of nearly two pounds avoirdupoise. The lowest, and most poverty-struck woman in Bengal, would consider herself truly wretched if she could not, now and then, anoint her head with oil of some kind. The ladies of affluence invariably use scented oils, of which those impregnated with the bale, the jasmine, and sandal, are most in use. Doubtless, custom reconciles the nostrils of an Asiatic to “the rancid fragrance;” but, to an European, nothing can be more offensive. A full-dressed Hindoostanee lady is the living type of that sarcastic couplet of Swift: “Enrich'd with all the gay perfume, She wafts a stench around the room.” The sale of these oils, as also of the missy, is confined to a class of men called gundies, who carry their ware EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 201 about in small baskets. The missy is applied by both sexes to their teeth, and, by forming a black coating, or varnish, is supposed to preserve their enamel from the action of the lime contained in the pawn, or beetle, which they generally chew. From these gundies is also procured the soormah, or levigated antimony, used for blackening the edges of the eye-lids. The oils, and especially the utr, or ottah of roses, are very carefully packed in cotton- wool, and made to appear of great value. Wonderful are the deceptions practised by this class of hawkers, who are consummate in the arts of flattery and intrigue. From the exercise of one or the other, not unfrequently from the union of both, they could not fail to become very rich, but for the dissipated lives they generally lead. Of the perfumed oils in common use among the Hin- doostanee ladies, the preparation is very easy, being, for the most part, sweet oils of any kind, extracted from lin- seed, or from the cocoa-nut, or from any plant coming under the denomination of metah, (sweet,) perfumed by means of a small quantity of the essential oil of any fra- grant flower, particularly the rose, the jasmine, the bale, &c. All these oils are extremely common. That highly fragrant oil extracted from the rose, called altar, or by Europeans ottah, is by no means so common as might be expected, at least not in perfection. As to reputed attar, that may be had of every gundy, and at even a few annas per tolah (or half-ounce weight). Ge- nuine attar is sold only by particular persons, and at a very high price; commonly about four guineas (two gold mohurs) per ounce. The natives, for many years, pre- tended to make a great secret of the process whereby this valuable oil was extracted; whence they not only retained the whole profit, but could practise various deceptions of 202 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUMI. great advantage to themselves, but extremely injurious to the extract.* Some ladies anoint their bodies with scented oils, but they mostly prefer that extracted from the sesamum, or mustard seed; which is also generally used throughout every branch of culinary preparation, among the natives of every sect. When the oil is applied to the body, (over every part of which it is smeared, the person being gene- rally exposed to the influence of the sun, while the unction is performing,) it is in a raw state; but, when intended for sauce, it is, on account of the peculiar rankness of its flavour, subjected to a simple operation, whereby it is very considerably sweetened; though not divested of a certain flavour by which its use may always be detected. The oil is put into a deep earthen or metal vessel, having some kind of lid, such as a flat pan, &c. to retain the heat while the oil is preparing. When it boils and crackles, one side of the lid is raised, and a small quan- tity of cold water thrown in, the lid being shut down as quickly as possible, lest the oil, which rises immediately when touched by the water, should scald the operator. This is repeated three or four times, at short intervals, till the oil is nearly divested of its unpleasant and acrimo- nious flavour. Both sexes anoint their bodies with the oil of sesamum, commonly called by Europeans mushuul * Although many gentlemen had occasionally endeavoured to as- certain the proportions used by the venders of attah, it was not till about the year 1781, or 1782, that any attempt was made, on an ex- tensive scale, to compete with that class of distillers. The late Lieu- tenant-Colonel Anthony Polier, who resided for many years at his beautiful villa, some miles from Lucknow, appears to have been the first whose researches included the distillation of attah, in which pursuit he was remarkably successful, considering how much in- trigue, corruption, and ignorance he had to contend with. EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 203 oil, from its being invariably used by the mushuulchees to feed the flames of their links, or mushuuls. By the natives it is called kurwah-tale, or bitter oil. In some instances, turmeric has been mixed with it, to excite perspiration. This absurd practice is not very general, but it might have been supposed that the fallacy of such an opinion would long ago have been discovered, and the turmeric found rather to increase the obstruction inevitably produced by the oil, than to promote diaphoresis. The only probable use of the unction, is that of stopping the pores. Hence all the poor throughout India avail themselves, whenever they have the means, of a handful or two of kurwah-tale, to rub over their skins, during the winter season especi- ally. Many who can afford but light clothing, and are not competent to purchase quilted jackets, would be al- most frozen, were it not for this precaution. This practice, so extremely common, if not universal throughout India, seems to be at variance with the opi- nions of European physicians, who consider it highly dangerous to close too many of the pores at one time. That it is done with impunity in India, is sufficiently known; such unctions are indeed recommended in high fevers, by the native doctors, (generally Bramins,) who likewise prescribe a thick plaistering of pounded herbs to be in such cases applied all over the body. This, which rarely fails to produce relief, is evidently the basis of that refrigerant course adopted of late years, by some of the most celebrated medical practitioners. As a perfume, the more delicate ladies of India rub themselves with various drugs, not very gratifying to the olfactory nerves of Europeans; the same is also used for the hair. A few use a kind of pomade, made extempo- raneously of orange peels, ground fine upon a stone, and mixed with flour made from peas, called basin. This is 204 EAST INDIA VAD E-MEcuM. really fragrant, as well as cleansing, unlike the sandal which some substitute for the citric aroma. It is of a pe- culiarly sickly scent, which does not easily wash out of linen. With respect to religious ablutions, the natives of every sect, but especially the Bramins, are particular, even to fastidiousness. They all bathe daily, at least once before dinner, and in all weathers, repairing for that purpose either to some neighbouring river, or to a pond, (or tank.) There they walk in the water up to their waists, and plac- ing their thumbs in their ears, and their fore-fingers press- ing their nostrils, immerse themselves several times in succession, by squatting suddenly upon their haunches, generally repeating various prayers on these occasions. All take this opportunity to wash their doties, and other parts of their apparel, having dry clothes in readiness on the shore. It is curious at the ghauts, or wharfs, to see hundreds of persons bathing in this manner at the same time. The water is indeed often thronged for the whole day, especially at Benares, Allahabad, Betoor, and other sacred cities, to which pilgrims resort for that purpose at particular times, from immense distances. It is supposed that nearly a million of persons assemble to bathe in the Ganges; yet, as it must appear extraordinary to the European reader, scarcely ever does a person lose his clothes while bathing, perhaps in some measure owing to that astonishing concourse of barbers who officiate pre- vious to each person entering the sacred stream, and usually take charge of the vestments. At all the bathing places the sexes are intermixed, each being in their usual clothing. Women, however, of a superior class, are not suffered to go abroad except in close vehicles; and were they voluntarily to shew their faces to any male, except their husbands, they would be EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 205 in danger of losing their heads. Such never bathe in the river, without ample precautions. A spot is selected where the water shoals gradually, and the bather cannot be overlooked from any height, &c. There an area is en- closed by kanauts, supported to the height of eight feet or more, by means of bamboo poles, kept in their places by ropes fastened to stakes, or to poles driven into the sand. The lady is carried to an overlap or opening in the kanauts, mostly in a covered carriage, of which the driver retires, taking with him the oxen, and leaving the machine enclosed within the area, where it serves the purpose of a dressing-room. The female servants attend the interior, while the exterior is guarded by sentinels, or perhaps by eunuchs, on the land side; and, towards any navigable chan- nel a boat is stationed, to prevent the approach of strangers. Mahomedan women seldom bathe in this manner, but generally content themselves, like their husbands, with having five or six large pots of water thrown over their heads. Europeans ordinarily bathe in this way, daily, during the hot season; and, on some occasions, even the pious Hindoo resorts to the same domestic ablution, though it is held far inferior to immersion in the Ganges, or in some stream within a reasonable distance. Bigots will often travel several miles to be laved by the holy fluid, while others will scarcely go as many yards to enjoy that reputed blessing. All, however, must observe the law to a certain extent; and whether owing to habit or venera- tion, the number of trespasses is certainly very limited. It may be supposed, that in so hot a climate bathing must be a luxury; yet at some seasons the waters are by no means inviting, and it has been found, on going into a bath in December and January, that the sensations were truly painful. Mahomedans in opulent circumstances, and especially 206 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. those of rank, generally have baths lined with marble or masonry. These are placed in some private apartments, to which their families can have immediate access. They are sometimes furnished with an apparatus for heating water to any temperature, as in all the public baths at Calcutta, and the several great cities throughout the East. These baths, which are called hummums, are extremely convenient, and, if properly used, no less healthful. It is necessary after quitting them to be extremely cautious of exposure to the air, on account of the perfect cleans- ing given to the skin by the attendants, who, by means of hautties, (a kind of glove made of hair or very coarse wool,) bring off such a quantity of scurf as astonishes those who consider themselves to be very cleanly in their persons. These men cause every joint in the bather's frame to crack, thereby giving sometimes no inconsider- able pain: to which, however, the natives are so fully accustomed, as to consider it a luxury. Although the hummums are much frequented by Mahomedans, yet they appear to be chiefly supported by the resort of Arme- nians, Greeks, Portuguese, and English gentlemen. The waters throughout the East are infested by alliga- tors of an enormous size, of which some are most san- guinary depredators. It often happens that daily a bather is carried off from a ghaut, perhaps for a fortnight in suc- cession, when some lucky shot either kills the alligator, or drives him from the vicinity. Such is the faith in predes- tination entertained by all the natives, whether Moossul- mans or Hindoos, that, though on such occasions they proceed to the ghaut with obvious apprehension, they omit none of their ablutionary duties on account of those depredations they have daily witnessed. They, however, shew great anxiety to have the alligator killed. However recluse may be the Hindoostamee ladies, yet EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 207 they indulge in certain amusements peculiar to India. The acceptance and transmission of compliments and civilities, afford no small gratification: the arrival, or despatch, of a complimentary pawn, (beetle,) or of an elauchee, (cardamom,) being an affair of considerable im- portance among a race, whose whole time appears to be devoted to whatever is childish or insignificant. When visits are paid, much ceremony is used, and every endea- vour exerted, to appear well-bred and affable. On such occasions, a profusion of compliments are exchanged, while each narrowly observes the dress, the equipage, and the conduct of the other, but reserves her remarks till a free vent may be given to envy and jealousy, not forget- ting a little scandal. Some ladies affect to possess a mu- sical ear, and exercise not only their own lungs, but those of their attendants also, in vociferating various common- place songs. These captivating strains they accompany with tremendous thumps on a large long drum, called a dhole; or perhaps shewing the agility of their fingers in playing upon a very small kind of tambourine, called a coonjerry. - Very few European women are to be seen with the regiments in India. Such as adventure thither, soon fall victims to the climate, which nothing but the most vigor- ous constitutions, backed by temperance and uncommon prudence, can enable them to resist. Hence, the few that survive, though they present rather a masculine appear- ance, find it expedient to confine themselves much within the barracks; keeping out of the sun, and avoiding the use of strong liquors. The children of such women usually prove remarkably hardy; whereas the issue of an European father by a native woman, is usually of an effeminate, weakly constitution. It is peculiarly unfortunate, that a very great portion of 208 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. these creoles, mestees, &c. cannot be provided for in some manner serviceable to the state. Their numbers are considerable, especially females, who are allowed to remain with the orphan institution, often to a very ma- ture age. Some, indeed become attendants, or ladies' maids in respectable families; but for the most part they have no certain provision. It is probably owing to reflec- tion, as much as to their arriving at puberty, that so many of these unfortunate girls become insane. This does not occur among the boys; who are either apprenticed to some good business, if of the upper school, (in which only the children of officers are admitted,) or, if of the lower school, (wherein the children of the non-commissioned officers and privates are brought up,) are draughted, at a proper age, to the several regiments, both native and Eu- ropean, there to serve as drummers and fifers. This Orphan Institution is now intimately blended with the military establishments throughout India; the Com- pany making it a part of their regulations, for all persons admitted into their military service, to become, ipso facto, subscribers to the fund. It originated from the assiduity of a few officers, who, in 1782, framed a code, after en- tering into a voluntary subscription, to provide for the children of such deceased officers as had not left suffici- ent property to maintain their children, whether legiti- mate or otherwise. Among the gentlemen who suggested this undertaking, Colonel William Kirkpatrick was con- spicuous. He was at that time secretary to the late Ge- neral Giles Stibbert, who then commanded the Bengal army, and aided the institution by every public means, as well as by his private influence and bounty. Though the institution was placed under the guidance and control of men highly respectable, and perfectly qua- lified for the charge, and the officers, (with very few ex- EAST IND I A V A D E-MECU M. 209 ceptions) subscribed towards its support, the object would have been defeated, had not the Company contri- buted liberally. After all, it would certainly have been subject to diminution, if not to entire failure, about the year 1796, had not the army been newly modelled, and thus an immense addition been made to the funds, by an unprecedented promotion, and the assent of the su- perior ranks to subscribe in proportion to their pay; otherwise, all above the rank of major would have been exempt. The Company had, formerly, allowed for each child born to an European soldier the sum of five rupees monthly; but that indulgence was, at one period, wholly done away. Afterwards, when the institution was ex- tended to the non-commissioned officers and privates, three rupees were allowed monthly for every child re- tained with the parents, according to the liberty granted of retaining them till the completion of their third year. After this, they were peremptorily taken to the lower school, where the Company at first allowed for them, monthly, at the rate of three, but subsequently at five rupees each. It is not easy to describe the affecting scenes when the children are taken from their parents, to be sent to the foundation. The latter, indeed, know that every justice will be done to their offspring, and they cannot but express their sense of the kind intention of their benefactors; but, to part from a child, whatever may be its complexion, is a most painful struggle between duty and nature. - The good policy of making some provision for the chil- dren of the soldiery is obvious, as the expense of send- ing them to Europe would be disproportionate to the means of their parents. The boys are now amply pro- vided for; but the situation of the girls is lamentable. It is remarkable that the Society have never established P w 2.1Q EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. any factory, in which their minds, as well as their hands, could be employed, while their maintenance would be de- frayed by the produce of their industry. It has been urged, that the price of labour being so cheap through- out India, there could arise but little profit from the ex- ertions of the orphans. Yet, where labour is cheap, so are provisions; consequently, under proper guidance, enough might be earned to provide for the whole esta- blishment. If the refuse, or ferret cloths, manufac- tured for the Company, were to be handed over, in such quantities as might be in demand, to the female or- phans, for the purpose of being worked up into wearing apparel, there would always be a sale so extensive, especially among the lower classes of inhabitants, the sea-faring people, and the fresh arrivals from Europe, that no stock would remain on hand. It is a notorious fact, that if raw silk, after being wound off from the cocoons, or pods, were given to the orphans to finish, and to reel properly for the European market, there would be an immense saving of the article itself, and of the ex- penses in every part of the adventure; while the institu- tion could not fail to derive the most solid advantages. But, in Calcutta, a city carrying on so large a trade, there must be a variety of speculations open to the choice of the managers. The lighter kind of sails for shipping and small craft, hammocks, beddings, &c., dresses for patients in the hospitals, sheets, pillow-cases, book- binding to a certain extent, and a number of other em- ployments, might be peremptorily claimed for the or- phans as exclusive privileges. Every cartridge-case, and the greater part of the army clothing, together with all, excepting the leather and heavy canvass-work of tents, might be performed at the orphan-school; the Company of course making due remuneration. If, with such ex- EAST INDIA v AD E-MECUM. 211 tensive concerns, requiring so much manual labour, the Company do not give employ to five or six hundred girls, from three to twenty years of age, the fault must assuredly lie rather among the managers than with the government; to which the making some provision for the maintenance of that portion of the establishment dependant entirely upon the Company for support, must be a desideratum. The Directors very prudently objected to some of the original articles, wherein the founders appear to have been rather too sanguine, and to have waved several consider- ations of a political nature. Thus, the Company declined to warrant admission into their service of such boys as might appear eligible as cadets; the measure being in- compatible with the patronage of the Court; and, as in- definitely expressed, would have subjected the Company to a pledge, even respecting the sons of the native women. It was, therefore, prudently resolved, that “the children to be sent to Europe for education, should be the legiti- mate offspring of European parents only.” Of making provision for the sons of officers, there seems but little doubt. The great encrease of mercantile esta- blishments in Calcutta, and in general throughout the country, has opened a wide field for the employment of numbers conversant with the Hindui and Bengallee lan- guages, (which the orphans acquire habitually,) and with common accounts. It is to be lamented, that so few, if any, are sent on board the pilot-schooners, according to a clause in the original institution, or as mates on board the country-traders. They certainly would be far better qua- lified, for such situations, than Europeans, totally ignorant of the vernacular tongue, and whose constitutions are ill adapted to the climate. As to placing creoles of any de- scription in authority, whether civil or military, there can be but one opinion; since their admission, into either the p 2 212 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. one or the other, could not fail to lessen that respect and deference which ought most studiously to be exacted, on every occasion, from the natives of every rank. “ The expenses of sending children from India to Europe are very considerable. Few commanders of Indiamen will take a child for less than 800 sicca rupees, equal to £100. ; and, even then, some attendant must be provided, whose passage will probably amount to as much more. The best mode is, for several parents to hire a small cabin between decks, and to send a woman in charge of their united families, to the number, perhaps, of five or six lit- tle ones; all of whom may be thus duly attended, at far less expense than if each were sent under a separate charge. Few Europeans' children are kept in India be- yond their third or fourth year; and it is generally an object that the small-pox, or vaccination, the measles, and the hooping-cough, should have been passed previous to embarkation; lest infection should take place on board, from the seamen, &c., having been among persons labour- ing under those complaints. It was expected that vaccination would have made such a powerful impression on the Hindoos, that they would eagerly have embraced a preventive arising from that ani- mal, held so sacred by their whole sect. Yet it was found extremely difficult to induce the Bramins to adopt a prac- tice obviously so beneficial to mankind, even though it augmented the reputation of their idol. Those who were sanguine in their expectations, that vaccination would in- stantly be adopted among the Hindoos at large, had en- tirely forgot, that the people did not possess the smallest liberty, either of conscience or of conduct. They forgot that the priesthood possessed the most arbitrary power over the minds of their peaceful and timid disciples; that EAST IND I A VA. I.) E-MECU M. 213 the practice of inoculation was prescriptively confined to that priesthood; and that, notwithstanding the veneration in which the cow was held among them, a serious objec- tion existed, unless the matter were taken from a Hindoo of the highest cast. The vaccine inoculation was effected with great diffi- culty in India. A great number of experiments failed, chiefly owing to the virus having been destroyed on the way from Constantinople, whence matter was repeatedly forwarded by Lord Elgin to Dr. Short, at Bagdad. A whole year passed under the most mortifying disappoint- ments; but in June 1802, a successful inoculation was made at Bombay, on a healthy child, about three years of age; which furnished a supply for every part of India. By shipping several children, who had never experienced the våriolous inoculation, a succession of subjects was happily secured, which enabled Dr. Anderson to transmit the blessings afforded by this mitigated disease, even to Port Jackson. It was most difficult to be always provided with a succession of infective matter; as the virus being highly volatile, often escaped in conveying the pus from one house to another. This, added to the necessity of forming some depôt, and establishing certain principles necessary to the desired success, caused the Governor- General to nominate Mr. Willian Russell, of the Bengal Medical List, whose abilities and zeal peculiarly qualified him for the important situation of Superintendant of the Vaccine Institution. A series of ill health, which ulti- mately compelled that gentleman to return to Europe, caused the records of the first months to be somewhat in- accurate, notwithstanding every exertion on his part. His assiduity, however, enabled him to register almost every child, born of European parents, at that time in the settle- _* E, AST IND I A VAI) E-MECU M. 215 mins were endeavouring to depreciate, or rather to ex- plode vaccination, there started up among them a claim to the knowledge and practice of it at Bareilly, where ino- culation was almost unknown. An attempt was made to prove, from a copy of a very ancient Sanscrit book, en- titled, Sudhas Angraha, written by a physician, whose name was Mahadeva, that vaccination was practised in India many centuries ago. Yet in other copies of the work, the passage quoted from that produced at Bareilly was wanting. This, added to other circumstances, ren- dered the tale doubtful, and led to such an investigation as proved the imposition. It is, however, to be regretted that the deception was discovered; since nothing could have aided the views of government better, than such an ancient authority, to the practice as formerly common in Hindostan. It may gratify the reader to know the manner in which the Bramins, or Hindoo priests, who are the only persons of that sect allowed to inoculate, perform the operation. The following extract from Mr. Shoolbred's treatise, shews, that no alteration has taken place since Mr. Hol- well, from whom Mr. S. quotes, gave the public an ac- count of their practice, viz. “Inoculation is performed in Hindoostan by a parti- cular tribe of Bramins, who are delegated annually for this service, from the different colleges of Bindoobund, Allahabas, Benares, &c., over all the distant provinces. Dividing themselves into small parties, of three or four each, they plan their travelling circuits in such wise, as to arrive at the places of their respective destinations some weeks before the usual return of the disease. They arrive commonly in the Bengal provinces early in Febru- ary ; although, in some years, they do not begin to inocu- late before March, deferring it until they consider the 216 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. state of the season, and acquire information of the state of the distemper. The inhabitants of Bengal, knowing the usual time when the inoculating Bramins annually return, observe strictly the regimen enjoined, whether they determine to be inoculated or not: this precaution consists only in abstaining for a month from fish, milk, and ghee (a kind of batter, made generally from buffalo's milk). The prohibition of fish relates only to the native Portuguese and Mahomedans, who abound in every pro- vince of the empire. When the Bramins begin to inocu- late, they pass from house to house, and operate at the door, refusing to inoculate any who have not, on a strict scrutiny, duly observed the preparatory course enjoined them. It is no uncommon thing for them to ask the parent how many pocks they choose the children should have. They inoculate indifferently on any part, but, if left to their choice, they prefer the outside of the arm, midway between the wrist and the elbow, and the should- ders of females. Previous to the operation, the Bramin takes a piece of cloth in his hand, (which, if the family is opulent, becomes his perquisite,) and with it gives a dry friction on the part intended for inoculation, for the space of eight or ten minutes; then, with a small instrument, he wounds by many slight touches, about the compass of a silver groat, just causing the smallest appearance of blood. Then opening a double linen rag, which he al- ways keeps in a cloth round his waist, he thence takes a small pledget of cotton, charged with the variolous mat- ter, which he moistens with two or three drops of the Ganges water, and applies to the wound; fixing it on with a slight bandage, and ordering it to remain on for six hours without being moved : the bandage is after that time taken off, but the pledget remains until it falls off of itself. The cotton, which he preserves in a double calico EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 217 rag, is saturated with matter from the inoculated pustules of the preceding year; for they never inoculate with fresh matter, nor with matter from the disease caught in the natural way, however distinct and mild the species. Early in the morning succeeding the operation, four pots, con- taining about two gallons each, of cold water, are ordered to be thrown over the patient from the head downwards, and to be repeated every morning and evening, until the fever comes on, which usually is about the close of the sixth day from the inoculation, then to desist until the appearance of the eruption, (about three days,) and after- wards to pursue the cold bathing, as before, through the course of the disease, and until the scabs of the pustules drop off. They are ordered to open all the pustules with a sharp-pointed thorn, so soon as they begin to change their colour, and whilst the matter continues in a fluid state. Confinement to the house is absolutely forbidden; and the inoculated are to be exposed to every air that blows; the utmost indulgence they are allowed, when the fever comes on, is, to be laid on a mat at the door. Their regimen is to consist of all the refrigerating things the cli- mate and the season produce: as plantains, sugar-canes, water-melons, rice, gruel made of white poppy seeds, and cold water, or thin rice gruel, for their ordinary drink. These instructions being given, and an injunction laid on the patients to make a thanksgiving, (poojah,) or offering, to the goddess, on their recovery, the operator takes his fee, which from a poor person, is a punn of cowries, (in number eighty, and in value about a half-penny,) and goes on to another door, down one side of the street, and up the other; and is thus employed from morning till night, inoculating sometimes eight or ten in a house.” Mr. Shoolbred observes, on the authority of Mr. Glass, the surgeon at Boglepore, that, in that district, inocula- 218 EAST INDIA. VAD E-MECU M. tion is performed by the lowest casts. This is certainly true among the Pahariahs, or Hill people, inhabiting that mountainous country lying between Boglepore and Nag- pore. There, inoculation is performed in a very rough manner, merely by means of a blunt instrument, which, with some labour to the operator, and abundance of pain to the patient, is made to draw blood; the matter is then rubbed in with the finger. These same Pahariahs perform other surgical operations in the rudest way, but with most extraordinary success. It is curious, that among the D'hangahs (who appear to be the aborigines of Tamar, Chittrah, Puchate,) very few instances are to be found, in proportion to the bulk of their population, of persons marked with the small-pox. This may probably be attri- buted entirely to the simplicity of their manner of living ; plain rice, with a few vegetables, stewed, much the same as for a curry, but without its various spices, comprising their ordinary bill of fare. It cannot be owing to the cli- mate, which is peculiarly unhealthy. The hospital, now supported in Calcutta by voluntary contribution, for the reception of natives requiring surgi- cal assistance, was founded about 1793; those unfortu- nate persons who met with accidents having before no asylum, wherein they could find either solace or remedy. The first proposal for this charity appeared about 1791, in The World, (a Calcutta weekly paper,) and suggested the expediency of sending all those deformed persons who infested the streets of Calcutta, in quest of eleemo- synary aid, to some hospital, which should also accom- modate natives injured by accidents within the city. Many natives have vaingloriously asserted, that though the institution in question was founded by Europeans, it has been principally upheld by the liberality of opulent natives. This may, in some measure, be correct; yet EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 219 allowing it to the fullest extent, what have the natives done more than an ordinary duty, in affording assistance to their own countrymen, and that too, after being urged or guided to the measure? On the other hand, the Euro- pean inhabitants may certainly claim the palm, both as original founders of the institution, and subsequent bene- factors, in a case where their own countrymen were not to be benefited. The style of building in use among the natives, is very different from what we should expect in so hot a climate. Experience is, however, in its favour, and sanctions that which no doubt resulted from observation, rather than ex- periment. The walls of edifices intended to be permanent, are usually constructed of mud. This being laid in strata, of perhaps eighteen or twenty inches deep, each being suf- fered to dry before another stratum is added, becomes ex- tremely firm, and far more durable, though not so neat as unburnt bricks laid in mud cement. The thickness of the wall is proportioned to the intended height. About twenty- six to thirty inches at the base, may be considered a fair average, tapering above to about three-fourths of the breadth below. Some bungalows are run up with mud walls, which, after being chipped down to an uniform thickness, and properly plastered with fine sand, mixed with chaff, are neat enough; but all mud walls invariably crack consi- derably while drying; consequently, they are apt to har- bour within their fissures centipedes, scorpions, and even snakes. This is a most serious defect, fully counter- balancing any advantages obtained by that facility and cheapness with which the mud walls can be run up to a great height, provided due attention be paid to the per- pendicular. Few of the peasantry, even though possessing some pro- perty, carry their walls higher than eight or ten feet. The 220 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. generality of huts may be set down at seven feet at the exterior, though they will rise near a cubit more within, when filled up to the under part of the thatch. It is rare to see any window in the front; and in such as have in- closed areas, (by us called compounds, but by the natives ungnahs,) the cricky, or door, which is always very low, obliging even short persons to stoop considerably, is com- monly in some part of the environing wall, and partly concealed by an angle, so as to preclude the possibility of seeing anything of the interior when the door is thrown open. Every door has a frame composed of strong wood, of which the side pieces or uprights are tenoned into mor- tices, made in the threshold and the upper limbr The superincumbent part of the edifice is supported by a strong plank, or by several pieces of timber laid parallel, and secured by thorough-pins, for the whole breadth of the wall. No arch is turned to keep off the dead pres- sure of the enormous weight, that, in many instances, is thus borne up entirely by the door-plate. On the top of the wall, a stout piece of timber is laid, whenever the rafters are fastened, each by one or more nails, but pro- jecting at least a foot beyond the exterior, for the pur- pose of sustaining the thatch, which is made to hang over, with the intention to throw off the rain. Falling in torrents during many months, this would otherwise wash away the mud, and endanger the building. The thatches are usually made of theA. Or common wild grass, whose roots furnish that fibrous substance called kuss-kuss, already mentioned in the description of the tatties. Immense plains are covered with this kind of grass, commonly about two or three, and, in some places, five feet high ; serving as an asylum for every species of game, and causing many gentlemen, on first entering the country, to admire, what they at first take to be the pro- EAST INDIA WA D E-MECUM. 221 * digious fine crops of hay. It is commonly burnt down every year during the hot season, when perfectly dry. The ashes thus left on the soil, are washed in by the succeeding rains, and occasion the grass to shoot forth again with incredible freshness and vigour. At such times, nothing can be more acceptable to the herds, which, during the preceding months, are sent to great distances, where a little herbage may be found; or are, perhaps, subsisted upon chaff made from straw, millet-stalks, and the refuse of the thrashing-floor. For several months this grass is relished by every description of cattle; but, after the sun has crossed the Line, on his return to the oppo- site tropic, it becomes harsh and dry, and so injurious to their mouths that they reject it, unkss severely oppressed by hunger. From the end of February, probably to the setting in of the rains in June, great numbers are employed in cut- ting the kuss, or khur, as it is indiscriminately called, with a kind of sickle, and tying it up into haunties, (or hand- fuls,) usually about six inches thick. These, conveyed on hackeries to the several markets, and especially to the military cantonments, are sold at various prices, accord- ing to the distance, the scarcity or abundance of the arti- cle, the time of the year, and the demand. From 1000 to 1200 bundles for a rupee, may be taken as a fair me- dium; though, during the rains, when thatches must often be made, or replaced, cost what they may, they have been sold at a rupee for every hundred; at other times 3000, or even 4000, have been supplied for that Sunn. The manner of constructing a thatch according to the best principle, both for neatness and durability, is as fol- lows. The whole side of the building intended to be co- vered in is measured, and that measurement exactly set t 222 EAST INDIA v ADE-MEcu M. out on some level spot, by means of four cords, fastened to as many stakes; which thus exhibit the form and extent of the thatch to be constructed. Each side of a qua- drangular, or other building, must be thus laid down. All hands are then set to work in placing either whole bamboos of the large kind, or bundles of three and four of the small kind, parallel, and about a foot asunder; all directed by the base line, towards which they stand at right angles; so that, when ready, they would lie in the same line with the fall of the chupper, (or thatch). These being duly prepared, are crossed at about five or six inches asunder by battens of split bamboo, fastened down at every intersection, with strong twine made of a finer kind of grass, called the moonje, which is very strong, especially when wetted. Each frame thus formed is raised into its place by the joint efforts of perhaps fifty or sixty men; some laying hold of the frame, others push- ing upwards with forked poles of various lengths, thereby to facilitate the ascent, and prevent the friction from any continued contact between the frame, and the several ready-laid rafters on which it is to lie, and to which it must be firmly lashed. The severai frames being duly fitted at the corners, are properly secured in their places, and to each other; after which, a slender kind of scaffolding is made under the eaves of the respective frames, to enable the grammies, or thatchers, to lay on the coating of grass. The eaves are first brought to the thickness of at least a foot, by placing very large bundles, previously well compacted, and squared at their ends, in a line between the frame, and a succession of very strong bamboo laths; each bundle is pressed as close as possible to its neighbour, and thus the whole of the lower tier is completed. The rest of the thatch is laid on in small portions, the EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 223 several bundles being spread open, and having their butts or lower ends compressed between two bamboo laths, tied in several places so as to secure their contents perfectly. Each parcel is then handed up, and laid with the butt downwards, at about two or three inches above its lower neighbour, causing the whole thatch to appear in over- laps from bottom to top, like so many ridges, of about an inch high, and running parallel for the whole breadth of the work. - The several corners are now covered with immense trusses of refuse grass, bound very firmly together, reach- ing the whole extent of the angle, or gore, and full two feet in diameter. These trusses, being bound down very firmly to their adjacent sides, are ultimately covered with layers of seerky, placed so as to over-lap about a foot above each other, and, in their turn, duly tied to the trusses; a simi- lar truss being laid along the ridge pole. This seerky is composed of the stems of the surput, or tassel grass, which grows to the height of ten feet or more. It is found to be a larger species of the celebrated Guinea grass, for- merly introduced as a supposed novelty into the East, but which proved to be nothing more than the common bain- seah, or buffalo grass, growing wildly in the greatest lux- uriance all over Bengal. The stems of the surput, when arrived at their full size, are as thick as a swan's quill, and bear a remarkable gloss. In the dry season they are cut, and being stripped of the parched remains of their leaves, are laid parallel on a board, their ends being pre- viously brought even to a line. A long wire needle is then passed through the several stems, as they lie contiguous, drawing after it a piece of packthread, which is after- wards knotted at both ends, to prevent its withdrawing either way. Four or five of these stitches are made in the same parcel of seerky; after which it is rolled up breadth- 224 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. wise for sale. Each parcel may be from two feet to a yard in breadth, and the stems composing it may be about four feet in length. The ordinary mode of selling this com- modity is by the hundred pieces, for which are given from three to ten rupees, according to circumstances. It is remarkable that seerky has been seen in use among a group of gypsies in Essex, while in India those itine- rants, whose habits and characters most correspond with those of gypsies, invariably shelter themselves under it. Being remarkably light, and when doubled or trebled, completely water-proof, they can thus construct a very comfortable cabin in a few minutes. It often happens, during the rainy season, that part of a thatch sinks or rots, and admits the passage of water to the interior. In such a case, a piece of seerky, properly placed, causes the water to flow over the defective part. When seerky cannot be procured, it is found expedient to throw a few pecks of chaff, or straw cut very small, upon the decayed thatch. The chaff is drawn in by the percolating fluid, but, being obstructed in its passage, swells in consequence of the continued moisture, and thus in a short time usually stops the leaks. The mode above described, of putting on a thatch, is confined to certain parts of the country. In other places they put on the grass in a reversed position, as wheat stubble thatches in England, the part which grew uppermost being placed lowest. But throughout India all thatching is done horizontally, and not vertically, as in England. The Indian thatcher begins at the bottom, the English at the side of a thatch, and using skewers and rods of hazel, &c.; while the Indian uses bamboo laths and twine made of grass, the latter being passed to and fro by means of long needles made on the spot, of bamboo, &c. The doors used by the natives are generally made of EAST IND I A VADE-MECU M. 225 such wood as the neighbouring country affords, and con- sist of a few vertical planks, kept together by two or more horizontal battens. The fastenings are, for the most part, made by staples and hooks, into which strong wooden bars slip and unslip with ease. The windows are always very small, perhaps not more than two feet square, and are closed by means of wooden shutters, having on the outside a jaump made of bamboo battens and mats. These being firmly put together, and suspended at their upper borders by hooks or rings fastened into the wall, or into the wooden plate covering the aperture, may be raised, as though on hinges, to any desired elevation, and preserved therein by bamboo stilts, made either with forked ends, or having small blocks of wood nailed to them, to prevent their points from passing through the mats. The same kind of defence is used for doors in ge- neral, but of a much larger size than for windows. When raised, they certainly are extremely useful in keeping off the sun and rain; when lowered, so as to lie parallel with and close to the wall, they are an admirable defence against wind and dust, though both, at certain times, will find their way through the several small apertures, in suffi- cient quantity to prove highly unpleasant. In houses constructed by the natives, the windows are placed very high, sometimes scarcely allowing a person to look out. This is done for the sake both of privacy and cool- ness, as the rarefied air escapes more readily than when the apertures are low. Thus most of the houses built by the French at Chandernagore, &c. are far cooler than those formerly built in Calcutta, owing to their windows being carried nearly to the tops of the rooms, while those at Calcutta have often seven or eight feet of wall above them. It has often happened, that persons sent up to work on the timbers supporting the flat roof above, Q 226 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. have fallen from their ladders or scaffolds, from the air in the upper part of the room being unfit for respiration. As to chimneys, they are utterly unknown among the natives, though in some cottages an aperture is left for the escape of smoke, but rather by neglect than by design. The smoke must escape when and how it can ; but it does by no means incommode a native as it does an European, who must always suffer some inconvenience when a fire is lighted within the sitting-room; but, when green wood is laid on, the latter cannot bear it. The former will, even at such times, be often seen smoking his goorgoory, as though the atmosphere were not sufficiently burthened with fuliginous particles to amuse his lungs. Victuals are rarely cooked within the house, when the weather is suit- able for cooking in the open air. Indeed, few persons, who are not extremely poor, are without some little shed pnder which they may cook at all times. The exterior surface of the wall is rarely plastered, even with mud, it being an object to preserve it rough, in order that the large cakes of cow-dung, intended for fuel, may be stuck up against it, and there be thoroughly dried by the sun. This is generally effected, in exposed situa- tions, and in fair weather, in one or two days at the ut- most. These cakes, called gutties, burn well, making a fire not unlike that from the use of peat. The interior of the wall is usually smoothed all the way up, or at least for about three feet from the floor, and smeared with a solution of cow-dung, as is the floor itself, which is rarely made of any thing but clay, well rammed down, or per- haps of tarras; but the latter is too costly for most indi- viduals, and, though indicating riches, is not so useful. In some houses a few joists of rough wood are thrown across from the top of one to that of the other wall, per- haps at the distance of a yard or more. A few instances EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 227 may be adduced, in each village of note, of a slight kind of flooring, either of rough planks, not fitted toge- ther, or of bamboo laths, made above the joists, for the accommodation of luggage, or for the dormitory of some of the family. With such exceptions, the only use made of the upper part is for the lodgement of brushwood, bamboo poles, ladders, farming utensils, mats, nets, &c. &c. according to the occupant's profession. The private apartments are commonly separate from what we should call the keeping-room, and have a sepa- rate entrance, if under the same roof; it is, however, very common to set apart for the zenanah, or female part of the family, some detached building, having a compound di- vided off, and perfectly sequestered from the other ac- commodations. The horses, oxen, cows, &c. are com- monly, when the weather permits, picketed out in the open air, with a large trough of mud to receive their chaff. During great heats, or heavy rains, they are shel- tered under sheds made for that purpose, and for the pre- servation of the palanquin, dooly, r'hut, or other vehicle the occupant may possess. Sometimes the kine are kept under the same roof with the major-domo, and all his family. Candles are not used in the houses of the na- tives, especially of the Hindoos, who would consider a lump of tallow within their areas as sufficient to pollute whatever they might contain. All use oil, poured into a small earthen vessel, nearly in the shape of a heart, or of a peepul leaf, called a churraug, and placed in one of the numerous niches in every wall, about four feet above the floor. The wicks are chiefly made of slips of rag, about a foot long, rolled up to the thickness of a goose-quill. For more immediate use, the churraug is often placed on a stem of wood, supported by a broad base, or a cross, with a small block at its summit, hollowed out to receive tº Q 2 228 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. the bottom of the lamp. Some use brass apparatus, and, in a very few instances, the stems or pillars are made with a slide, so as to vary the height of the churraug; which, in such case, assumes the more dignified appella- tion of pilsoze. The ordinary height of the lamp from the floor, including the plinth, pillar, and capital, is from twenty to twenty-six inches. Snuffers are unknown; their place is sometimes supplied by the fingers, but more generally by a pair of scissars, or a pair of duspan- nahs, (tongs,) such as are used by hookull-burdars. The oil in use for lamps is that already mentioned as extracted from the sesamum, of which the refuse cake is given to favourite oxen, &c. - - Although charpoys, or small beds, are in use among all classes, the generality prefer sleeping on mats, which are much cooler than any bedding. The whole of the apparatus for a dormitory consists of a durmah-mat, made from coarse reeds split open and laid flat, with the glossy surface uppermost; perhaps a satrinje, or small cotton carpet; a chudder, or sheet, to wrap round the body; and a tuckeah, or pillow, stuffed very hard. In cold weather, a goodry, or quilt, perhaps indeed two, may be added. Curtains are out of the question, as are all those paraphernalia which luxury has introduced in England. - - A peek-daun, or spitting pot, made generally of phool, which is a very tolerable kind of tutenage, is always placed at the bed-side, and is ever resorted to when chewing the pawn, or beetle. The vine bearing the aro- matic leaf so called, is most carefully cultivated in many parts of the country; the whole being supported, on trellises made of reeds and small bamboos, to the height of about five feet. The situation must be very dry. Hence, the banks of old tanks, and other elevated sites, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 229 are chosen for cultivating the pawn, of which it is said that, in the vicinity of any populous city, a bigah will produce full two hundred rupees yearly; provided the vines be of the sunſhah, or true sort: which is easily known by the yellow borders, and the ramifications of the leaf. This species is far more pleasant to the palate than the common green kind; which is, besides, tough, and possesses a certain acrid quality. - - Beetle, or pawn, is prepared by carefully picking ou any defective leaves, and removing the stalks up to their very centres. Four or five leaves are then laid one above the other, when the upper one is smeared with shell-lime, a little moistened with water. The seeds of the elatchee, or cardamom, are added, together with about the fourth part of a beetle-nut, (that is, of the areca,) and, the whole being lapped up by ſolding the leaves over their con- tents, the little packet is kept together in its due form, which is usually triangular, by means of a slice of beetle- nut, cut into a thin wedge, so as to transfix it completely. It is common to see a whole family partaking of pawns, the chewing of which occasions the saliva to be tinctured as red as blood. They certainly are fragrant, and excel- lent stomachics; but their too frequent use produces cos- tiveness, which, in that climate, ever induces serious illness. The saliva will not be tinctured, if the chunam (lime) be omitted. Hence, it is evident that the alkali pro- duces the colour from the juices contained in the pawn. The colour thus obtained does not stain linen. Some use the khut, which is the same as our Terra Japonica, and is procured by bleeding various kinds of trees, prin- cipally the mimosa, abounding in most of the jungles (or wildernesses.) A small quantity about the size of a pea, broken into several pieces, is mixed with the other 230 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. ingredients, before the leaves are lapped over, and trans- fixed with the spike of beetle, or, perhaps, with a clove. The khut does not appear to improve the pawn, and cer- tainly adds to its noxious quality. Some attribute the blackness of the teeth, in both males and females, throughout India, to the use of pawn, supposing that they are discoloured by the lime blended with which it is prepared. Such is, however, not the fact. Pawn is found to be highly favourable to the gums, yet so sensi- ble are those who chew it of the bad effects produced by the alkali upon the enamel of the teeth, that, in order to preserve them from corrosion, they rub them frequently with the preparation called missy'; thereby coating them with that black substance which does not readily give way, even to the most powerful dentifrice. It may, how- ever, be suspected that, in thus shielding the teeth from the alkali, some injury is done to the enamel by the sup- posed preservative; though by no means to that extent which the former would speedily effect, but for the use of missy. The natives only chew the pawn, rejecting the masticated ingredients when their flavour has been ex- tracted. Some reject even the saliva tinctured by the pawn, spitting it out into the peek-daun. A few, not content with the compound already described, mix to- bacco, previously reduced to a coarse powder, by rubbing the dried leaves with the thumb in the hollow of the other hand. One would think that potent weed must supersede all its companions, and cause them to be as little tasted, as though they had not been crowded into the jumble of flavours. It has been already explained, that earthen pipes, such as those called Dutch pipes, are unknown in India; but that the hookull, kalean, and goorgoory, are in general use. The lowest classes of Europeans and of natives, and, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 231 indeed, most of the officers of country-ships, smoke che- roots, exactly corresponding with the Spanish segar, though usually made rather more bulky. However fra- grant the smokers themselves may consider cheroots, those who use hookulls, hold them to be not only vulgar, but intolerable. Hence, sometimes a whole company has been driven away by some unlucky visitor, who, either from ignorance, or from disregard to the feelings of the more delicate, mounts his cheroot; thus abrogating in a trice, all distinctions of musk, cinnamon, rose-water, &c. The natives smoke cheroots without any precaution whatever to guard the lips and teeth from the highly aci- dulated fumes derived from the burning tobacco. Yet when, as sometimes has been the case, cheroots were brought into fashion, though but for a while, it was found expedient to use small silver or earthen sockets to receive the end of the cheroot; thereby avoiding contact with the tobacco. The natives, whether male or female, never use any dentifrice, nor have they any idea of hair-brushes; which could not, indeed, according to their tenets, be admitted within the mouth. The only apparatus employed for cleaning teeth, is a short piece of stick, commonly the branch of some bush, pulled at the moment for the occa- sion. This is either beat or chewed for a short time, till the fibres, for about half an inch at the end, separate, and form a kind of stiff brush, called dauntwun, which is ap- plied at right angles to the teeth. This is not a very de- licate implement, but, when aided by a plentiful supply of water, answers tolerably well; though it certainly can never prevent the accumulation of tartar within the teeth. #The ladies of Hindoostan smoke their goorgoories in high stile; as do those of inferior rank, with no less glee, their nereauls, or cocoa-nuts. It would, perhaps, be diffi- 232 EAST IN DI A VAD E-MECU M. cult to decide which of the sexes are most addicted to this habit. They both begin at a very early age, and never appear so happy as when engaged in its practice. After a while, the observer becomes reconciled to the sight of females smoking; though, however delicate may be the preparation of the tobacco, and however elegant the apparatus, still, when we see an European lady thus employed, a certain idea, not very conformable to femi- nine propriety, possesses the mind. The frequency of fires, occasioned by the common practice of thatching houses, has occasioned many regu- lations respecting what Europeans commonly call the Black Town at Calcutta. About thirty years ago, the principal streets were considerably widened, and it was ordered that the whole of the new tenements should be tiled. This, at the time, created some dissatisfaction, yet has not only proved a great advantage to the inhabi- tants at large, but is now confessed by the natives to have been highly beneficial, both to their health and their convenience. Formerly, it was common to see immense piles of grass along the banks of the river, brought thither for the purpose of thatching; of late years, however, the quantity has been considerably re- duced, there being not a twentieth part of the former de- mand. Owing to the cheapness of bamboos and mats, most of the natives build their huts chiefly of those ma- terials; the whole of the uprights, rafters, &c., being of bamboo, and the walls, partitions, &c. of mats, sup- ported by bamboo laths. The roofs are first covered with mats, or seerky, and then tiled, generally with that kind called nullies, which are about eight inches in length representing the half of a truncated hollow cone, whose base may be about four inches in diameter. These nullies are commonly laid upon roofs, at an angle EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 233 of about 30° of elevation from the horizon; but the chup- pers, or grass-thatches, usually are constructed at full 40°. At the military stations, where grass is invariably used for the covering in the cabins of the sepoys, &c. it is com- mon to order the surfaces of all thatches to be smeared with mud, from about November to the setting in of the rains. Many very extensive lines owe their safety to this precaution; whereby not only sparks are prevented from communicating with the grass, which usually is as ready as tinder to take fire, but even when the thatch is partially kindled, the flames are greatly impeded, and more easily subdued. The walls of huts being very frequently made of grass, tied in between bamboo laths, (like those fences put to folds in yeaning time, to keep the lambs warm during the night,) they require to be well coated with mud; otherwise, they would be constantly subject to accension, from the too common practice of making the choolah, or fire-place, very near the laths; thus producing danger both from the flame and from the embers. The attempt to put out a fire that has once got firm hold of a plain thatch is hopeless: the only chance of saving the street is to pull down all the neighbouring huts. This is not attended with that loss to which European towns would be subjected by such a preventive ; since, gene- rally speaking, a very tolerable hut, fit for the accommo- dation of a moderate family, may be built, complete, for about the value of a guinea, or even for much less. Although water is generally at hand, there being abun- dance of wells, or tanks, or puddles, in the vicinity of every village, still it is deemed necessary, by gentlemen whose bungalows, &c., are contiguous to bazars, (or mar- kets,) or to the lines of native troops, &c. where thatches are numerous, to have large vessels fastened along the 234 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. ridge-poles of their stables and other out-offices. These being constantly full of water, greatly assist in the pre- servation of those buildings on which they are placed, since, in case of any neighbouring conflagration, it is easy for one or more persons very thoroughly to wet the thatch; or they may reserve the water till the moment of exigency, to be thrown upon any part in immediate dan- ger. If the thatch should have taken fire, so as to ren- der it imprudent for persons to ascend to the vessels, they, being rather brittle, may always be broken to pieces by throwing bricks, or clods, &c. at them. Some gentlemen adopt the precaution above described, of plastering the thatches of their out-offices with mud. Such a practice is, however, highly hazardous for edifices intended to be durable; as the white ants never fail to visit such plaster- ed thatches, and to destroy the grass entirely: sometimes they even eat the timbers. Tiles certainly offer greater security than thatches, but they are insufferably hot; causing every thing placed under them to warp, crack, and otherwise to perish. Tiled stables are found to be very injurious to the health of cattle. The best plan would be to have a coating of tiles, laid in mortar, on a thatch; but, for such a mode of construction, very sub- stantial timbers are requisite. This, however, would not only be a guard against fire, but leaks also ; and render the interior remarkably cool during the hot season. The long continuance of the periodical rains, which often fall in torrents for whole days, and are frequently drizzling for near a week, with little or no intermission, renders it necessary to protect all exterior walls by cop- ings, either of tiles or thatch. The former mode is effected by small tiles, laid in the usual manner, but ce- mented with lime mortar ; or by very large ones, nearly semi-cylindrical, whose curve may measure full a yard, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 235 and whose breadth may be from fifteen to twenty inches; the thickness, perhaps, an inch and a half. These last are merely slung over the top of the wall, which is formed so as to retain them firmly, and are over-lapped about two or three inches. The thatches are generally made with a double pent, each face being about a yard in depth. They are secured by being fastened together at their junc- tion above, and by means of stakes passing through the wall; to these their eaves are tied with grass or coarse hempen twine. Nothing can be more uncomfortable than a leaky bungalow. The water trickles down the walls, dissolving the coat of mud, or sand plaster, and greatly disfiguring the interior. It often happens, that the outer walls are so far damaged by heavy rains, accompanied by a driving wind, as to be rendered unserviceable in the course of a night, the whole being completely sapped through. After such weather, the damages are frequently extensive. The walls surrounding gardens, &c. though substantially built, and duly coped, are seen to give way for scores of yards, falling with a tremendous crash. This is usually occasioned by some ditch near their bases, which, being filled by the heavy rains that soak into the banks, in a few hours yield to the great weight on their borders. Fortunately, such damages are speedily repaired, and at no very great expense ; a rod of wall eight feet high, and averaging two feet in thickness, being generally built for about ten shillings; in some places for half that sum. Most of the bungalows built by Europeans are run up with sun-dried bricks, usually of a large size, eight of them making a cubic foot; each being a foot long, six inches broad, and three inches thick. With these, in a proper state for building, work proceeds rapidly, but much care must be taken that the mortar, or slime used 236 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. for cement, be of a proper consistence, and well filled in. Bricks are generally made in wooden moulds laid on some level spot, previously swept, so as to remove stones, &c., and filled with mud. The surface is then levelled, either with the hand or with a strike, when the mould is raised, by means of handles, and washed in a large pan of water, and then placed on a fresh spot, contiguous to the brick already formed. • An expert labourer in this avocation, will, if duly supplied with mud and water, make from 2000 to 2500 bricks daily of the above dimen- sions. It will usually require one labourer to mix the soil, one to supply water, and two hand-barrow men, to keep one brick-maker in constant work; the whole expense be- ing about sixteen or eighteen-pence; which in England would cost full as many shillings. Some of the rauz, or bricklayers, in India are very clever, so far as relates to mere practical operations; but they have not the smallest idea of planning from paper, or on paper; or of computing the quantities of materials, or the amount of labour. They work with a small trowel, like that used in England, and chip their bricks, whe- ther sun-dried or burnt, with a small hammer, having either one or both its faces of a wedge form, and about three or four inches long, from the insertion of the han- dle. They preserve the perpendiculars by means of a bell- shaped weight, commonly of free-stone, or of lead, or iron, to which a long cotton cord is attached, having on it a piece of wood exactly as long as the diameter of the weight's base. This being pierced in the centre, and ap- plied endwise to any part, preserving it at the same time as nearly horizontal as possible, points out the exact spot which is perpendicular to the corresponding edge of the weight. The natives are extremely negligent regarding the EAST INDIA. V. A D F - M. F. C.U.M. 237 strength of their floors. They seem also to be fully satis- fied when the places where they lie down on their mats are tolerably dry; though the whole interior be so ex- tremely damp, that, if any seeds, such as wheat, peas, rice, &c., happen to fall, and to be swept to the skirts of the apartments, such are sure to vegetate. Whatever the flooring may consist of, whether clay or tarras, that of the eating apartment is almost invariably smeared with a solution of cow dung. This certainly gives a freshness, and may probably tend to salubrity; nor is it so devoid of neatness as an European would imagine; but the scent is by no means agreeable. Some ornament both the in- terior and the exterior of their houses, by dipping the palms of their hands, horizontally, into solutions of ochre, chiefly red, and then imprinting the walls with their hands thus coloured. These prints are put on irregularly, by no means proving the taste of the operators, who, never- theless, consider their huts to be beautified: the great design is, however, to typify the infinite power of the Creator, whose hands are supposed to be innumerable, and perpetually in action. Even horses, especially if white or dun-coloured, are very frequently marked in the same manner by means of mindy, (or himnah,) which, be- ing reduced to a pulp, is applied to the part in the de- sired form. This plaster, as it may be called, is allowed to remain till perfectly dry; when it commonly cracks and falls off, leaving a rich barré colour; though, if not allowed, either by the animal's restlessness, or from want of time, to impart its colouring matter duly, the stain will be much fainter; perhaps not unlike a light mahogany colour. The natives rarely omit to tinge about ten inches or a foot of the extremity of the tail of every light-coloured horse with mindy. Sometimes also, at about two inches 238 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. asunder, one or two rings are stained in the same manner. Nor is this herb restricted solely to the ornamenting, or rather the disguising of horses, oxen, &c. The Hindoos- tanee ladies generally stain the whole of the interior of their hands, including the fingers, as well as the soles of their feet, with mindy; the tips of all the nails are sure to undergo the operation. This often compels the party sustaining this gratifying penance, to sit motionless for hours, in order that the dye may take a firm hold of the skin. When properly managed, the stain will remain for at least a month, resisting every endeavour to wash it out, and seeming only to yield to the constant growth of the outer skin. Possibly an excellent dye for woollens might be obtained from the hinnah, which, being inspissated, or reduced to an extract, could be imported for dyers with peculiar advantage. The plant, which is not unlike myrtle, is in- digenous throughout Hindoostan, where it is principally employed for garden hedges, like yew, box, &c.; but, not proving a defence against cattle, and being of slow growth, the exterior hedges, instead of being formed of hinnah, are usually made of baubool, a species of mimosa, yielding some gum, and otherwise extremely serviceable, both from the excellence of its wood for all circular or angular work requiring great strength, durability, and toughness, and for its bark, which, for tanning, is at least equal to that of the oak. The natives consider the application of mindy to be attended with good effects; they say it is cooling, but more probably the reverse, it being certainly an astringent, and contributing to check perspiration : hence the hands of such as apply it feel harsh and dry. That it may be a corrective of the scent sometimes attendant upon an habitual discharge from the feet, may be true; but it may be questioned whether the EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 239 obstruction of such a discharge can be reconciled to pru- dence. It is, however, a complaint very rarely to be met with in India, doubtless owing to frequent washing, and to an abundant and general perspiration. - For some months, generally during the latter part of the rainy season, the weather is so close and sultry, that universal exudation takes place, even while a person is sitting still. The natives, as already remarked, guided by experience, have adopted precautions very different from what might have been expected under such a latitude, where Europeans have been prepared to see airy habita- tions, through which the wind could pass freely in every direction. But even these have at length become con- vinced that the most insupportable heats are derived from the glare of light objects; or, in other words, from the reflection of surfaces intensely acted upon by a vertical Sun. - Some notion may be formed of that intensity from the fact of meat having been broiled on the cannon mounted upon the ramparts of Fort-William. Europeans, there- fore, must conform to the habits of the natives to a certain extent, if they would retain health or comfort. Yet too many walk about without chattahs (umbrellas) during the greatest heats, endeavouring by such a display of indif- ference, to shew their great reliance on strength of con- stitution. This unhappy infatuation rarely exceeds a few days; perhaps at the end of a week (nay, the period has been much shorter,) is seen the funeral of the self-deluded victim. The first attack is generally by cold shiverings and bilious vomiting; delirium and death speedily ensue, when putrefaction advances with such hasty strides, as often to require immediate interment. The glare is certainly far more distressing at some sea- sons than exposure to the sun: but nothing can equal the 24() EA ST IND I A VAD I.-MECU M. effects of both glare and sun-shine acting upon the human frame during a Midsummer's day, when, perhaps, there is not a breath of air, when every leaf seems to repose, and every bird, saving the vulture, the adjutant, (or argee- lah,) and the kite, seeks some shady spot, as a shelter from the solar ray. At such times the peaceful Hindoo confines himself to an apartment from which light is gene- rally excluded. There he sits among his family, enjoying his pipe, refreshing himself occasionally by bathing, drinking the pure beverage from some adjacent spring or well; and in general avoiding to eat, except of ripe fruits, especially the turbooz, or water-melon, till the cool of the evening. In the meanwhile, however, he perspires co- piously, even though in a state of inactivity, unless when refreshed by a punkah, or fan, moved either by his own or some menial's hand. The birds just named, the argeelah, the vulture, and the kite, all of which are numerous throughout India, greatly promote the salubrity of the air, by devouring astonishing quantities of putrefactive offal, &c. Their instinct is wonderful. About mid-day, when the sun's beams strike with incredible force upon the earth's surface, these feathered scavengers ascend to the height of per- haps seven or eight hundred yards, so that the largest of them (the argeelah) is scarcely discernible. There they soar beyond the reach of reflection from the heated soil, enjoying the freshness of a cooler atmosphere, and de- scending only when allured by the scent of prey. Their sense of smelling must, indeed, be acute, for they are seen, especially the vultures, flying for miles, and from all quarters, towards some carcase, usually that of a Hin- doo, floating down the stream, or stranded upon some shelving bank, but so situated as to render it perfectly EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 241 certain that the visual faculties could have no concern in the discovery. Few of the natives have tatties applied to their doors, or windows; though by no means insensible to the grati- fication they afford ; but penury, or close and parsimoni- ous economy, forbid such a comfort; without which a constitution, not inured to the climate, would speedily give way. It is really curious to observe what may be ef. fected by habit. While the sun's rays act so fatally upon European frames, even though under the shade of a thick painted umbrella, and with a diet nearly similar to that of the most abstemious Hindoo, it is wonderful, that native children, of whatever age, whose rapid circulation, and sable colour, should, according to the estimates we form of temperament, be highly unfavourable to such exposure, run about at all seasons, bare-headed, and perfectly naked; seeming to set the sun, the wind, and the rain, alike at defiance. Natives will make long journeys, in the most torrid seasons, under nearly similar circumstances; nay, they even carry bangies, containing, on an average, full a maund, (821b. avoirdupoise,) sixteen, eighteen, twenty miles, or even more, under an oppressive heat which would kill an European outright; and this, too, for a few pence. If hence be urged the benefits of extreme tem- perance, it must be confessed that many, who discover such powers of endurance, may be ranked among the most ardent votaries of Bacchus, devouring fish, flesh, and fowl, highly spiced, whenever their purses, or the bounty of others, may supply them. When the several shopkeepers, in every city and town, are seen serving their customers, or, in their absence, smoking profusely in their little boutiques, exposed to the glare, and the burning winds; their skins parched, and their eyes vio- R EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECU M. 243 consequence, the air retained between the thatch, (which in the course of the day becomes extremely warm,) and the upper lines of the windows must be highly rarefied. Thus invariably, towards sunset, the inhabitants are observed to quit the inner hall, &c., either to sit out on chabootahs, (large terraces,) raised a foot, or two feet, above the level of the area, and abundantly watered: or they remove to the windward veranda (or balcony). On either of these occasions, the interior becomes intolerably hot, the rarefied air being drawn down by that current in- evitably attendant upon the removal of all the tatties, and by the throwing open of all the doors and windows. It has been shewn, that the French generally acted upon more philosophical principles; making their doors and windows remarkably high : but a very important im- provement may yet be made by tin ventilators, inserted near the summits of the thatches. It is a fact, that, during many months in the year, the houses built by most Euro- peans, and especially their bungalows, are so extremely heated, as to render it absolutely impossible to sleep in their interior, without some artificial means for keeping the air around the bed at a proper temperature. However faulty were the first European builders in India, the moderns have by no means made such improve- ments as experience might have led them to adopt. Whether from economy, or from more attention to exte- rior appearance than to internal comfort, scarcely a house is now built with such spacious, lofty, and substantial verandas, as are to be seen on the south side of almost every old mansion. Some of these antiquated edifices had verandas on several sides, and a few might be named which had them all around; as in the officers' quarters at Berhampore, and Dinapore. It can scarcely be doubted, that such verandas are, in every respect, admirably suited R 2 244 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. to the climate; since they prevent the sun from striking on the main wall; which, in exposed situations, has been known to give from 8° to 10° difference on the thermo- meter, under circumstances in every other respect similar. w It is remarkable, that, till within the last forty years, the ground-floors, that is, the whole of the basements, of those fine large houses to be seen in all quarters of Cal- cutta, and in various parts of the interior, were consigned to the reception of palanquins, gigs, water-stores, or to be wine-godowns, (or cellars,) butler-connahs, (or pantries,) and even, in some instances, stables. In those days, the family confined themselves to the first floor, which was then the summit of the habitation; leaving to their luggage, cattle, and menials, that part which has lately been discovered to be, in every respect, most suitable to the accommodation of the European population. In houses of agency, &c., we now see the basement converted partly into offices, and but rarely any portion of it appropriated as formerly ; while the generality of new houses are built upon a scale to favour this salutary change, by giv- ing sufficient height to the lower apartments. Thus, they adapt them to every purpose, and, in consequence of the accommodations thus gained, there is a considerable re- duction of the ground plan. The practice of building houses without verandas, can- not be approved; whereas the old mode of building them on pillars, was highly ornamental, and, at some sea- sons, not less appropriate. The keeping a house cool during the prevalence of the hot winds, depends, how- ever, entirely on shutting them out, except at some few apertures supplied with tatties. These being kept con- stantly moist, or, indeed, dripping wet, produce such an immense evaporation, as completely to cool the interior. EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 245 Of course, a suitable draught must be preserved, by open- ing some window, &c. on the lee-side. This is common- ly effected by means of Venetians, which allow the air to pass, but debar the access of glare. Without adverting to the expense, it should seem that a close veranda is far preferable to an open one; and, were it not for the immense additional charges, the European inhabitants of Calcutta would, doubtless, in imitation of the generality of bungalow-residents, have their apartments surrounded by a veranda, of full fourteen feet in width; with aper- tures of a good size, in the exterior wall, corresponding with those of the interior. This arrangement renders the generality of bungalows remarkably pleasant; but it must be noticed, that there is a very wide difference in the ex- pense incurred in rendering them so. Their roofs being of thatch, and their walls of sun-burnt bricks, plastered with mud and chaff, form a great contrast as to expense, both in labour and materials, to a house constructed of burnt bricks, and good lime, whose roof is of masonry, and in which timbers of great price are every where used. Accordingly, in almost every part of India, an excellent bungalow may be built for about five thousand rupees, completely fitted with glass doors, and windows, and with all the necessary out-offices duly tiled, or thatched, according to their purposes; while a house, suited to the accommodation of the same family, in Calcutta, could not be finished for less than ten times that sum. The bricks form a very small portion of the disburse- ments incident to building in India; being so cheap, that most of the made-roads about Calcutta, and in other parts, are formed by laying broken, or even whole bricks regu- larly, giving the centre two or three layers, gradually ta- pered off to the sides, and then covering them with a coat of rubbish, or, which is far better, of coarse sand. Such 246 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. roads are extremely firm, and far more durable than those made in England with gravel, flint, lime-stone, &c. But there must be great allowance for heavy machines and very heavy burthens; whereas, an Indian hackery can rarely weigh five cwt., nor can its load be averaged at more than fifteen cwt., being altogether only a ton. Now, in England, common narrow-wheeled waggons weigh from fifteen to twenty-five cwt. ; and, except where weigh- bridges limit their burthens, it is not uncommon to see them carrying from two and a half, up to four tons. Three chaldrons of coals will be found to average about seventy cwt. ; yet are often drawn by three horses through the streets of London. The lime used in Calcutta is brought down from the Morungs, and their vicinity, in large boats. It is gene- rally slaked; though sometimes imported in its quick state, or as nearly so as accident will permit. It may readily be concluded, that, after a passage of from three to four hundred miles, this article is deteriorated ; espe- cially as the voyage occupies three weeks or a month. The prices of this sort of lime, made from a very firm stone, called gutty, abundant in some parts, vary much according to the season, and the demand. It has been sold as low as six or seven rupees per hundred maunds, but, at other times, has reached to twenty and twenty- five, At Madras, and all along the coast of Coromandel, as well as on some parts of the Malabar border, an excellent lime is made from sea shells. This nearly equals that made in Italy from the refuse of marble, and receives a very fine surface, competing even with that of polished glass; at the same time that it is incomparably firm and durable. When iaid upon a wall, which is done only as a finish, it is carefully freed from grit, and kept working, EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 247 and rubbing, till nearly dry, to prevent the surface from cracking, when acted upon by the hot air at mid-day. When nearly dry, it is rubbed with coarse calico cloths, till it receive a beautiful lustre, which causes it to appear semidiaphanous. A few houses at Calcutta have been finished with this lime, conveyed by sea, from Madras; but the great expense has occasioned the common Morung lime to be generally employed, both for cement and white-washing. In the ordinary buildings constructed in the upper parts of the country, a weaker kind of lime is obtained by burning a substance called kumkur, which, at first, might be mistaken for small rugged flints, slightly coated with soil. In all parts of India, the lime-burners adopt the most expensive plan. Their kilns, rarely more than four feet in diameter, nor much exceeding that height, have not suffi- cient accumulation, concentration, or reverberation of heat, to burn the stones properly; neither do they, in general, break them sufficiently small, but throw them in, with very little attention to regularity or to economy. It is the same with the brick and tile-kilns; which are, for the most part, of a pyramidal form ; the raw bricks being laid intermediately with the fuel, and the exterior being plas- tered over with mud, perhaps to the thickness of half a foot. The best bricks probably ever seen in India were made by an engineer officer, who was carrying on some ex- tensive public works. He first built the whole of the walls of his bungalow with sun-burnt bricks, properly cemented with mud well filled in; taking care to arch over the door and window openings in such a way that the frames could be afterwards introduced. The whole interior was then laid with bricks and fuel, while the exterior of the veranda walls were also closed in with sufficient to heat them tho- roughly, and a complete coating was given, in the ordi- 248 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. nary way. The bricks baked uncommonly well, while the walls became a solid mass, capable of resisting all the elements, should they unite for its destruction. The bun- galow proved remarkably dry, and the plaster was found to adhere in a surprizing manner, while rats, snakes, &c., were all set at defiance; it being impossible for them to burrow in so hard a substance: the greater part of the cement, which happened to contain siliceous particles, was nearly vitrified. Forty years ago, the generality of houses were coated with the same kind of tarras as is employed for laying the floors, and the roofs. It was made of chunam, (white- lime,) one third; soorky, (brickdust,) one third ; and sand, one third. These mixed duly with a large portion of cut hemp, (wool being very scarce, and short hair not to be procured on any terms,) together with some jaggery, or refuse molasses, made a tolerably strong cement. The surface, after a house had been duly plastered, was washed, while the plaster was yet moist, with a strong solution of lime in - water. This would have been enough to render every man, woman, or child, in the place, blind, but for a par- tial remedy, by the admixture of some colouring matter with the finishing wash: but whether red, yellow, or blue, which were the prevailing colours, it was found that the alkali generally destroyed their appearance, and left a motley kind of work. The good taste of a few individuals, chiefly gentlemen in the corps of engineers, gradually overcame this vile imitation of Dutch and Portuguese finery; for they sub- stituted in their public works, a plaster composed of river sand, saturated with a solution of white-lime, of the con- sistency of cream. The addition of the usual allowance of cut hemp, gave this simple compound, (so to blend terms,) not only much additional durability, but a re- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 249 markably meat appearance ; especially when the body of the building was of that fine grey, thus obtained, and the cornices, &c. were finished of a pure white. Houses thus exteriorly finished, became yet further neat, by the con- trast of their Venetian windows, invariably painted green. Some prefer all verdigris; others, a deep clear green, for the framework, with verdigris for the several leaves, or valves. Almost every house has to each window, or outward door, folding Venetians, sustained by very strong hinges, which allow each fold, or shutter, to open outwards, and to lie back flat upon the exterior wall. They are thus kept from blowing about, by means of hooks, in the same manner as shutters in England. There are no sash- windows on the European construction, but they move invariably in two folds, one to the right, the other to the left; each opening inwardly, and lying within the thick- ness of the wall. There is nowhere more attention paid or required to . the foundation of a house than in India; the rains being so heavy as to sap all weak buildings exposed to their action, either above, below, or laterally. When houses are built with cutcha, (sun-dried bricks cemented with mud,) and either plastered with the same, or with mor- tar, the least crack in the roof, or the smallest hollow near the foundation, will be dangerous. The rain which, often for a whole day, descends in streams, soon soaking into the walls, is incalculably mischievous. Many houses, whose substance and general appearance indicate a better fate, may annually be seen in ruins, after a continued fall of heavy, or of drizzling, but oblique rain. The lat- ter is peculiarly unfavourable to buildings insecurely coated, drifting in under the plaster, damping the mud cement, and bringing down the heavy roofs with a most sonorous crash. Few cutcha houses are now to be seen w 250 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. with tarras roofs; such as are so built for the sake of cheapness, being generally intended for thatches, and thus becoming bungalows. The natives build sometimes on that kind of half and half plan, which commonly, in the end, cheats the contriver. Thus hovels of a small description have been built with cutcha for the interior, while the exterior of the wall was made of pucka (burnt bricks), from whose interstices the mortar was carefully picked out, as though to be pointed, for the purpose of causing the exterior plastering to penetrate the joints, and thus firmly to retain its position. There formerly existed a mode of mixing the ingredi- ents in better proportions, or with better materials, which, after a time, formed a very capital cement. Of this, many very well known edifices furnish ample proof, such as the old fort situate within the town of Calcutta. The impressions made by shots, of twenty-four and thirty-two pounds, fired by Admiral Watson against its western face, when his fleet lay within three hundred yards of it, in 1755, were quite insignificant; the brave admiral might have battered for a century, without bringing down the wall. In 1779, when the Company's cloth godown took fire, the third regiment of European infantry, then in gar- rison at Fort-William, marched out with engines, &c. to assist in its extinction; yet were they utterly unable to loosen the iron bars from the masonry; though provided with tackles, crows, axes, &c. This godown, which oc- cupied a large part of the northerly face of the old fort, was afterwards converted into offices, but with incredible labour. The masonry was as hard as a rock. When this occurrence took place, the old fort had been built about forty years; whereas, all the Company's, or any other buildings which now claim that age, are of a very differ- EAST IN 1) I A VAD E-MECU M. 251 ent complexion. The greater part of them, though not in a state of absolute ruin, are kept up at an inordinate expense, while such of them as have fallen down, display a crude mass of loose, friable, and mouldering rubbish. Nor are the ancient terraces less obdurate than the walls. Many of these may be seen among the ruins of cities and towns, of which we have scarcely any informa- tion, absolutely retaining their places, though the beams on which they formerly rested have been removed time out of mind. If these roofs had possessed any con- vexity, or been constructed according to the Syrian prin- ciple, we should have had less cause to admire their so- lidity and toughness; but such has not been the case even with those which, though certainly of no considerable dimensions, appeared firm enough to sustain cannon of small calibre. As to the manner in which these roofs are constructed in India, the beams are about two feet apart, and gene- rally have a scantling, ten or eleven inches deep, by five or six wide. Sometimes they are cambered to the extent of three or four inches, according to the length of the timber. These joists are laid on the bare wall, with their ends well charred. They are sometimes smeared with petroleum, (called by the natives, earth-oil,) to deter the white ants from attacking the wood; which they would certainly do, but for this precaution. The ends of the timbers are cased with masonry, so as to leave about four inches all round, and at their bases, that the timber may be removed, in case of decay, without damaging the wall. The interval is then filled up with cutcha work, which, not adhering firmly to the pucka wall, may be easily removed when the joist is to be changed. If plastered over, the whole will appear uniform. * 252 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. * In some parts of the country, especially in the upper provinces, the natives cover their houses with flat roofs of clay, beat very firm, and about a foot thick. This mode of construction requires care, but is very efficient. The walls and the joists ought to be substantial, and the surface of the clay rather convex, to direct the water into proper gutters or drains, and so to prevent the building from being damped. - Without this precaution, the heavy rains, constantly to be expected during three months in the year, would very speedily dissolve such tenements. But when due care is taken to prevent and to stop leaks, clay roofs are the most eligible, especially in the vicinity of bazars, markets, and lines, in which fires are frequent. Many gentlemen have adopted them, some wholly, others par- tially, for bungalows, and find little or no cause to regret their preference. It is, however, expedient to send up a man now and then, to lute any cracks occasioned by excessive heat; but, after a season or two, the clay becomes nearly as firm as mortar-tarras, and thus resists the various changes of temperature. Its greatest inconvenience is the harbour it affords to that inconceivably obnoxious insect, the white ant. These little depredators rarely fail to take advantage of every opportunity for the exercise of their destructive powers. Assembling by ten thousands, they will in a few hours eat out the bottom of a deal box, perhaps an inch thick, or render it a mere honeycomb. Of fir and mango-wood they are remarkably fond. It is remarkable that they should be partial to woods abounding in turpentine, while only a few drops of pe- troleum, which is imported from Pegu, Ava, and the Ar- vean coast, under the name of mutty ke tale, (earth-oil,) EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 253 proves a perfect preventive. Few things come amiss to these obnoxious visitants, which every where abound, and destroy wood, leather, cottons, woollens, &c. Nay, a story is current, that they were once accused of having devoured some thousands of dollars. Fortunately, on deeper research, it was discovered that they had only eaten away the bottom of the treasure-chest, and, like misers, had buried the hard cash some feet under ground. As there are no ceilings in India, each joist is neatly finished, having its lower edges rounded off with a bead- ing-plane. At right angles with the joists, smaller bat- tens, called burgahs, are laid; three or four inches wide, by about two or three deep, or vice versá. These are nailed upon the joists at such parallel distances, gene- rally about seven or eight inches, as may allow a large kind of tile to be laid on them. Over the tiles, rubbish, rather dry, and about four or five inches deep, is patted down gently, by some dozens of men, women, and chil- dren, who, squatting like monkeys on their haunches, and having batons about a cubit long, and of a trowel shape, though not so obtuse, continually beat the mate- rials till they become perfectly compact. The better me- thod, and in more general use, is, instead of rubbish, to put on a coarser kind of mortar, well worked up, but not very moist; which is beat in the same mode. After this has been duly compacted, though not quite dry, another coating of two or three inches, and of finer materials, is put on, and beat in like manner; then a third, perhaps only an inch deep, of still finer materials; and, ultimately, the whole is coated for about half an inch in depth with the finest ingredients mixed, after being sifted through a coarse cloth, with jaggree, (molasses, or coarse sugar,) and by some with peas-meal, called besun, which the na- tives consider to be peculiarly valuable in cement. This 254 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. last coat is laid on with a trowel, very firmly pressed, in . order to compact it the more, and to prevent cracking; which will, however, always take place, more or less, ac- cording to the degree of pressure and beating; or as the great body of the tarras may be made of good or bad materials. All partition-walls, dividing the several apartments, are necessarily of masonry, on account of the enormous pressure from above; and because the white-ants would reduce the interior of wood to the state of a honeycomb, before their depredations were much, if at all, noticed on the surface. These partition-walls are carried up about six inches above the tarras roof; which thus appears to be divided into chequers, corresponding with the several apartments. Small channels are cut to carry the water into the spouts or drains; from which jars, to contain about a hogshead, are filled with water for table use. Some spouts are made to extend a yard from the wall, and in some instances canvass hoses are attached to them for leading the water into the jars; but it is now more common to build pipes of pottery within the wall, or to clamp them to it with iron, till their lower ends, which are crooked for the purpose, form a proper debou- chure. From the latter mode, however, in heavy rains, the walls become damped, because the fall of water is greater than the pipes can instantly carry off. This may account for those deluges which, at times, almost instan- taneously take place. The tops of houses are invariably inclosed with breast- parapets, or balustrades; which give a very finished ap- pearance to these superb buildings. With the exception of ridges formed by the continuation of the partition- walls, the roofs afford a pleasant promenade at certain seasons, and some of them command interesting views. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 255 During the very hot weather, probably from the end of April to the setting in of the rains in the first or second week of June, many gentlemen have their cots (as the bed, with all its apparatus, is usually called) carried to the tops of their houses, and pass the night there. This appears a very hazardous proceeding; till it is considered that there is scarcely any dew at that season, and that the cots have generally curtains, which receive and ab- sorb what may happen to fall. More to the southward, indeed, near the mouth of the Hoogly, where the im- mense marshes, the ouze left by the returning tides, and the jungles which every where abound, produce the most deleterious exhalations, the practice appears hazard- ous; yet there have been very few instances of any seri- ous consequences; while, on the other hand, the greatest refreshment has been experienced by all who have adopted it, as they thus could rise early, divested of that most distressing lassitude attendant upon sleeping in an apart- ment communicating a febrile sensation, and peculiarly oppressive to the lungs. The injurious, if not fatal, ef- fects, so often adduced as cautions to persons impatient of heat, have however been produced not by sleeping in an open exposure, but in a current of air. This cannot be recommended. On the contrary, such a custom must be censured, as proved to be highly dangerous by several most melancholy cases. It has been already observed, that boarded floors are almost unknown in India. Various causes have com- bined to explode them; the depredations of the white- ant; the perpetual danger of their warping; and the difficulty of rendering the sounds of footsteps less audi- ble. This last may appear trivial; but where so many menials, &c., are ever moving about in various parts of a house, and that, too, with little ceremony, though, it is 256 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. true, they are all bare-footed, it must prove extremely inconvenient at those times when the family retire to rest, during the heat of the day. About forty years ago, all stairs were of masonry; but of late years they are of wood. These, resting on strong beams, obvious in every part except where they enter the walls, may be considered as tolerably safe from white-ants; while they are much neater, and more easily kept in order. All joists are either painted or tarred; the latter has a very unpleasant, indeed a mean appearance, and is not often practised: for the most part, white paint is adopted, with a very slight cast of blue to preserve it from fading. - Some paint the beaded or moulded edges of the door pannels, also the rounded corners of the joists, with some delicate colour; such as light sky-blue, light verdigris- green, or lilac ; and, for conformity, thus ornament the mouldings of the wall pannels. In the upper provinces it is common to colour the pannels with native ochres, of beautiful hues, leaving the mouldings, cornices, &c. white. These mouldings, &c. are all made by trowels shaped for the purpose, and not by moulds or stamps. In their execution the native will display great ingenuity, consummate patience, and often great delicacy : but, in design, taste, composition, perspective, consistency, and harmony, he will prove himself to be completely ignorant. As an apology it may again be justly pleaded, that in every branch the Indian mechanic is called upon after, perhaps, only a few days of observation, or, at least, with so little practice as would among us be considered rather an objection than a qualification, to perform that which we judge to be unattainable, except by the application of several years, closely attached to one individual object. Instead, therefore, of condemning, we should rather ad- mire their operations. EAST IN DIA W A D E-MECU M. 257 The operations necessary to construct a tarras roof are required for the floors in every part of the house ; but unless the basement stand very high, so as to allow of water-houses, &c. underneath, it is usual to have the ground-floor flued, by means of narrow channels or air- conduits, of about four inches deep, and as many wide, so as to be covered with bricks of an ordinary size. These flues are made in parallel lines, at, perhaps, a foot or more asunder, and pass entirely under the house, in both directions, having their several apertures covered by small iron grates to keep out rats, snakes, &c., which would else find an admirable asylum within these inter- secting channels. The lower tarrases are thus kept tho- roughly dry by the flues, which of course give ventilation to every part under the floor. As bricks are often scarce, because never made for general sale, except at public stations and great cities, and then of a very small size, it is common to build the ground tarras upon inverted pots, each being capable of containing about three pecks or a bushel. These pots may be had in any quantity all over the country, generally at the low rate of a farthing, or at the utmost, a halfpenny each. The pots are ranged upon the ground, within the area formed by the walls, side by side, but not quite in con- tact, each resting on its mouth, which consists generally of a rim projecting about three or four inches from the body of the vessel, which is nearly spherical. The loosest sand that can be procured, or, in its absence, any dry rub- bish, is then thrown in, so as to fill up all the intervals, and to cover the pots about four inches in depth. This surface being levelled, another stratum of pots is added if necessary; the whole process of filling up being simi- lar in both, and the tarras laid in the usual manner on the levelled surface. 258 EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. Throughout Bengal, at least in that wide expanse reach- ing from Gogra to Dacca, on the north-east, and from the Soane, along the plains at the foot of the hills, to the debouchure of the Hoogly, (which, together, form the limits of our richest and most populous purgunnahs, or districts,) by far the greater portion of the subsoil is a loose, gritty sand, very like what farmers term a lush. This, in a few places, receives a strong red tint from the ferruginous mountains every where to be seen along either boundary. From the extreme looseness of the subsoil, it is absolutely necessary to secure the foundations of weighty buildings by every possible means; and, in the sinking of wells, this quality of the soil often presents the most formidable obstacles. Under such circumstances, it is self-evident that a very firm foundation is required for those large mansions raised and inhabited by Europeans, and forming the bulk of Calcutta, together with the several garden-houses, and the numerous edifices on a large scale erected by the natives, especially their places of worship, which are most ponde- rously constructed. Nor can too much attention be paid to carrying off the water, which pours down from the tops of the houses, lest the bases should be sapped, and very serious injuries ensue. With this intention, almost every compound or inclosed area is either laid with pantiles, or is well coated with soorky, like the roads; while, in many instances, the junction of the wall with the level of the area is concealed and secured by a talus, blending with the building at about a foot or more above that level. With respect to bungalows, or any other temporary buildings, their foundations are usually very shallow, raised generally a foot or two from the surrounding level; and as their inner walls, that often run from sixteen to EAST 1 N DI A V. A D E-MECU M. 259 twenty feet in height, are well secured by the verandas which likewise preserve the precinct, for full twelve or fourteen feet, from being softened by the rains, very shal- low foundations are deemed sufficient. The surrounding parapet which limits, while it raises, the veranda, is usually of burnt-brick, cemented and plastered over with good mortar; but the whole of the residue of bricklayers' work is as already explained. The verandas of bungalows are sustained either by strong wooden posts, or by pillars of masonry. Their intervals are filled up with juumps, before described, which may be raised at pleasure to any angle, including about 10° or 15°, above the horizontal; or they may be suffered to hang perpendicularly against the exterior faces of the pillars. In tempestuous weather, and especially during those violent squalls called north- westers, in consequence of their usually either commencing on, or veering round to that quarter, it will be found necessary to place the bamboo props, whereby the jaumps are usually elevated, against their exterior sides. Thus the jaump is pressed to the pillar, and becomes greatly exempted from the danger of being blown away, which, nevertheless, frequently happens, though its weight may be full a cwt. and a half, or even two cwt. The force of these north-westers is next to incredible. One in particular, in November 1787, tore up an immense tree, called the Barrackpore Beacon, on account of its being situated at a point where it could be seen from Duckansore, along a beautiful reach of the Hoogly river. This fine piece of timber measured nearly twenty feet in girth, and branched out in the most luxuriant manner, reaching to full seventy or eighty feet in height: it was torn up by its roots, though some of the ramifications were much thicker than a man's body, leaving an excava- tion of not less than 15,000 cubic feet. s 2 260, EAST INDIA VAD E-M FC U M . The verandas of bungalows are generally allotted to the accommodation of servants of all descriptions; and ex- cept where, as in Calcutta, a separate lodging-room is provided, they serve for the home of the cahars, or bear- ers. These have each their mat, on which they sleep, forming a pillow of any ghettry, or bundle of clothes, and covering themselves with their quilts, &c.: blankets being very little used by domestics of any description. When a gentleman has company, the side-board is usually set out in the veranda, where also the several guests’ hookulls are prepared; and, in rainy weather, their water cooled. All servants come upon being called; there being no bells hung in any part of the country, and very few hand- bells are to be seen. The common call, Qui hiº (mean- ing, who is there f) often rouses a dozen of the slumber- ing crew, though it is occasionally repeated, with some vociferation too, before one will stir. Though to many bungalows there are abundance of out-offices, some of which may have been built for the reception of palanquins, and especially of a gig, (there called a buggy,) few persons allow either their mahanahs, or their boghahs, to be kept in such places. Throughout Calcutta the doors are pannelled, and have generally handsome brass mountings, with mortice locks. The windows are well glazed ; and, in many instances, the rooms laid with superb carpets, either of European, Persian, or Mirzapore manufacture. The two latter are generally made of silk; exhibiting rich patterns, with the most brilliant colours. The floors, or, more properly speaking, the tarrases, are generally covered with a mat- ting made of a species of rush, which possesses consider- able firmness and pliancy. This, after being duly cleansed from fibres, &c. is made up into bundles, about a cubit in length, and nearly the same in girth, in which state it is EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 261 well soaked. From these bundles, the mat-makers, who are usually of the Cunjour tribe, weave the mats upon a kind of woof made of twine, but perfectly concealed by the rushes. Some of these mats are plain; while others have various stripes, or chequers. With this manufacture a room of any size may be fitted; the work being either done on the spot, or at the houses of the persons employed. The colour is generally like faded straw; though sometimes are introduced red or black rushes, dyed for the purpose To accommodate persons residing in parts where floors cannot be fitted with whole mats, long strips, of about a yard wide, and four or five yards long, are sold in almost every great bazar. These require to be sewed side by side, like Scotch carpeting; but, exclusive of that disad- vantage, are not so eligible, as they are less carefully made, and in almost every instance manufactured from refuse materials. In the upper provinces, where the kudjoor (date-tree) abounds, a tolerable kind of matting is made from its leaves. This is not so durable, handsome, or even, as the sort just described ; and owing to the coarseness of the materials, is apt to catch the feet of chairs, besides the danger of fire from hookulls, &c. All these circumstances limit the use of kudjoor mats to very ordinary purposes, or to such rooms as are to be wholly or partially car- peted. - Mats are likewise made, in every part of the country, from green bamboos. These, split into very thin laths, of about half an inch, or less, in width, answer the same pur- pose as the former. They are, however, very uncomfort- able, harbouring great numbers of centipedes; as indeed do the kudjoor mats, but not to the same extent. Mats, if they may be so called, are also made by laying down rattans, and stringing them together with strips of their 262 EAST INDIA VAD E-MI ECU M. own bark, as is done in making the seerky used in thatch- ing. This sort is very rare, and the few seen in Calcutta, were said to have been brought by the Dutch from Ma- lacca, whence great numbers of rattans are yearly im- ported. A very beautiful kind of mat is made in some parts of the country, but especially in the south-eastern districts, about Dacca and Luckypore, from a reedy grass. The rind, being pared off very thin, and trimmed till about the eighth of an inch wide, is wove into mats, rarely ex- ceeding seven or eight feet long, by about four feet wide. These are peculiarly slippery, whence they are desig- nated seetul-puttee, (meaning cool leaves, sheets, breadths, &c.) Their colour resembles that of common horn, and their prices are generally from two to six rupees per piece; according to their fineness, and to the state of the markets. The principal uses of the seetul-puttee are, to be laid un- der the lower sheet of a bed, thereby to keep the body cool; which it effects to a great degree, by its remarkably slippery surface. Some pillows for couches are likewise covered with it. It has also been employed in making covers for mahogany tables; to which it is well adapted, on account of its repelling dust. For such use all the joinings should be well taped, and lined with blanket, or with karwah, &c. properly quilted. Besides the carpets before mentioned, and which are very high priced, there are manufactories of satrinjes at Mirzapore, and in many other parts. These serve all the purposes of carpets, but have no plush ; being in that re- spect very similar to Scotch carpeting, but, at the same time, very dissimilar in respect to pattern. The satrinje is merely a large coloured sheet, in which, except for about a cubit's breadth all around, the whole is divided into bars, or stripes, usually from two to six inches wide, proportioned to the extent of the fabric. The principal EAST INDIA WAD E-MECU M. 263 colours in these carpets are a crimson ground, with bars of deep or light red; or blue grounds, with white, yellow, or tawny bars; or green grounds, with deeper or lighter green, or crimson, or orange bars; or any of these, vice versä. The common price of a woollen satrinje, may be from twelve annas (; of a rupee) to three rupees per square yard ; according to fineness, substance, colour, de- mand, &c. e Of cotton satrinjes, the price rarely exceeds a rupee, or a rupee and a quarter, for the same extent; these, how- ever, will bear washing admirably. It is no uncommon thing to see a satrinje of full twenty by thirty feet; yet made only on a bamboo roller, round which the work gra- dually collects, as the threads are crossed, by passing the warp-lines, alternately over and under the woof-lines, in regular changes. Cheeks, or screens, to keep out the glare, are made in a similar manner. These simple, yet most comfortable ad- denda to Indian habitations, are formed of bamboo wires, (if the term may be allowed,) from four to six feet in length, and about the thickness of a very large knitting- needle, or, perhaps, of a crow-quill. A thin, clean-worked lath, of the same material, is put at the top and bottom. Many cheeks are made of bamboo wires, painted either green, or reddish brown, but generally the former. These require no particular care, except to keep them sepa- rate, as they are dried by laying them upon two rows of bricks, or against a wall, or upon scattered straw, when the weather is calm. When cheeks are intended to repre- sent any patterm, such as birds on branches, or Indian deities, &c., the whole of the wires are laid with their respective ends on two boards, over which two others are placed perfectly parallel, and even, so as to press the ends of the wires, and to prevent their 264 EAST IN DIA VAD E-M ECU MI. being easily displaced. . A pattern, being cut out on paper of the required size, is fastened down upon the wires, and its outline every where distinctly marked upon them; after which it is worked in on the former ground, say a green, with brown for branches, a deeper green for the leaves, and red, yellow, &c. for the birds: the whole is then left to dry. When ready for use, the cheek-wallah (or maker) fixes his apparatus close to the top, and tak- ing each wire in succession, fastens it down in its proper place, being guided by two lateral lines, as they are hand- ed to him by an urchin, perhaps not more than three or four years of age. In this way the representation is preserved. - The neatest patterned cheeks come from China ; but the Bengallee artist is improving, and bids fair to super- sede the importation. It is usual to have the whole cheek bound, all around, either with a light cotton tape, of about three or four inches broad, or with red, or blue, karwah. At the top of each cheek, generally, a piece of circular leather is attached, two being sewed together, though on different sides of the wires. To these are sewed cotton cords, usually white, or red and white, or blue and white, about an inch in circumference, and each a full yard in length. Their use is to tie up the cheek, when rolled towards the door-plate, when it is not wanted. Each end of the top lath has similar pieces of leather sewed on, for the cords by which the cheek is to be suspended. White cheeks are preferred, because they more effectu- ally keep out the glare, and also render the interior less exposed from without : consequently, they contribute most to coolness, and privacy. Among Europeans of respectability, in any part of Cal- cutta, it would be scarcely possible to find a house desti- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 265 tute of proper doors, of pannelled wood, or of windows, furnished, at least, with Venetians, if not with glass sashes. Whether for appearance, convenience, or real utility, nothing can equal glass; the use of which is now become so general, that almost every bungalow in the upper provinces, unless built merely as a shelter for a few months, is provided with it; some, only partially, but a great majority throughout. When glass cannot be had, or, owing to some mono- poly, the price is too high, windows are furnished with plates of talc. This may be largely procured at the several cities, especially towards the frontiers, chiefly at Lucknow, Benares, and Patna, being imported from Thibet, and the countries on the north of the Punjab, or Seik territory, in masses, often as large as a quartern loaf. This traffic is principally for the supply of that fine pow- der, used in the Hindoo holiday, called hooly, the carnival of that sect. The masses of talc commonly sell from a rupee and a half, to two rupees per seer (of about two pounds avoir- dupoise). The best is of pure pearl colour, with com- monly a yellowish, or faint blue cast. With proper tools, this mineral may be split into very thin leaves, which often present smooth surfaces, but are apt to have little scaly blisters, that greatly deteriorate their value. How- ever, a seer of talc, that splits well, will sometimes yield a dozen or more panes, of about twelve inches by nine, or ten by ten ; according to the form of the lump, which can only be split in the direction of its laminae. These panes, which prove an excellent substitute for glass, are so far diaphanous as to allow ordinary objects to be seen toler- ably distinct at about twenty or thirty yards. If, as occasionally happens, neither glass nor talc can be readily obtained, the best substitutes are light frames, 266 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. pannelled or filled up with wax-cloth, neatly nailed on. These not only keep out wind, rain, and dust, but in the cold season, preserve the warmth of rooms, yet admitting sufficient light for ordinary purposes. Another expedient is oiled paper, but this obstructs the sight of what passes abroad. To a person just arrived from Europe, such would appear a most distressing privation; but after pass- ing a few seasons behind tatties, without being able for months together to enjoy the light during the whole day, such recluseness would scarcely be felt. Although bungalows have not any ceilings of plaster, they are rendered extremely neat within, by means of a double sheet, made of very coarse cotton cloth, called guzzy, of which tents are usually constructed. These sheets, fitted to the several apartments respectively, are bound with strong tape, and have, besides, various tapes forming an union cross of eight limbs or rays, all meeting in the centre. As the cornices commonly project nearly a foot, abundance of space is left for lacing the sheet (called the chandny) to battens, nailed to pegs built in the wall. These battens, firmly secured all the way round, about an inch above the cornice, admit the sheet to be strained very tight, so as to bag very little, if at all, in the centre. Some whitewash their chandnies, and take so much pains in establishing a firm appearance, as to ren- der them very similar to well-made ceilings. Without this last mode of preparation, music has no effect in a bungalow; indeed, at the best, the most powerful instru- ment is heard under great disadvantages, owing to the number of apertures, the satrinjes, mats, couch and table covers, &c., all which considerably deaden the tones. Those who are very particular in whatever relates to their furniture, &c., have their verandas lined like their apartments, to give them a finished appearance; but in EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 267 such exposed situations, the cloths are apt to collect con- siderable quantities of dust, which is perpetually set in motion by their shaking when under the action of the wind. On this account seerky is a preferable lining for verandas. When there are no doors of any description, the usual expedient is to provide purdahs, made of karwah, (or guzzy,) or both mixed in perpendicular stripes, each eight or ten inches wide. Some, especially those who are stationary, make their purdahs of shalloon, perpet, or very coarse broad-cloth, in the following manner. The cloth is made into two sheets of equal dimensions, say nine feet by six, with strong double tapes, perhaps five or seven in number, inserted crosswise between them. The whole circumference of the purdah is then sewed very neatly, and bound with tapes, coloured like the cloth, and their ends bound by means of leather, covered with the same materials. Between every pair of tapes, a small bamboo, very tough, is introduced; or, perhaps, a stout lath made from a bamboo of the large sort. These sticks or laths serve to keep the cloth stretched out, and when the purdah is suspended, much in the same manner as has been explained for the mounting of a cheek, lie horizon- tally; thus preventing the wind from blowing in the purdah. It is a general rule to make a purdah full a foot wider on each side than the doorway it is to conceal ; also to carry it a foot above the door-plate, with a part about a foot deep, without any lath at the bottom, so as to trail a little on the ground. The purdahs made of karwah, or other cotton stuff, are generally quilted with cotton, or composed of many folds, or have coarse blankets inlaid between their outer coatings. The last is of the most effectual, neat, and durable construction; but, at the 268 EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. best, purdahs are a very indifferent resource; though often, from necessity, applied to windows. Their best use is to deaden sounds, and thus they are advantageously suspended outside sleeping, or other retired apartments; when, by closing the doors, privacy and quiet may usu- ally be effected. A purdah generally indicates that the apartments, within that entrance, are exclusively devoted to the accommodation of ladies; except when rolled up, and tied, as has been explained in regard to cheeks. The best timber for building, in whatever branch, is the sygwam, or teak, but too dear for general use, especially since naval architecture has been so much an object of speculation at Calcutta. Those who build houses of the first class, rarely fail to lay all their tarrases upon teak joists, which are of superior strength, and far less expos- ed to white ants. This circumstance has been attributed to the quantity of tannin contained in teak wood, and which some assert to be a perfect preventive, or antidote. Yet those noxious insects devour shoes and boots by wholesale, a fact which militates against that opinion. There is in teak wood evidently some property, hitherto unknown, which repels the white ant, at least for some years, but whose efficacy is doubtless diminished by expo- sure to the air; as very old teak timbers are more subject to depredation than new ones. The greater part of the teak used in Bengal and at Madras, is imported from the Pegu coast, in spars, planks, &c., of all sizes, and in im- mense beams, measuring from forty to fifty feet in length, and averaging from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter. It would certainly be attended with considerable bene- fit to the public, if that property of the teak wood, ena- bling it to resist both the white ant and the river worm, could be ascertained ; as it might be possible thus to im- pregnate, or to saturate other timber. This is the more EAST INDIA v AD E-MECU M. 269 desirable, as there are abundant proofs that mere hardness does not deter those voracious insects, which are found at times even upon lignum vitae. But the principal advan- tage, so far as relates to naval purposes, is, that the teak wood has a very limited portion, if any, of the gallic, or any other acid; since the nails driven into it are never corroded so as to destroy the surrounding wood. To this decay, called iron sickness, are attributed many losses of ships, supposed to have foundered at sea, owing to the starting of planks. This must often happen when the wood round a nail is destroyed by the acid, or by the action of salt water upon the iron. In repairing ships built of oak, many nails are found perfectly insulated, by the wood having been rotted and fallen away, which has never been the case with vessels built of teak. The generality of apartments being large, the halls measuring from thirty to forty feet in length, and from sixteen to twenty-four in width, and other rooms in pro- portion, it is evident that very substantial, as well as long timbers are required to support their flat roofs; for, with a few exceptions, truss-roofs are not in use. The mode introduced by Mr. Lyon, the Company's architect at Ber- hampore, contributed greatly to reduce the quantity of timber in a roof; but it was absolutely necessary that every timber should be perfectly sound. He exploded burgahs (or smaller battens) from the roofs, and in their stead, threw arches from the centre of one to the centre of the other timber; so that the intervals between the timbers were to appearance grooved, or fluted, longitu- dinally. This, however, was barely distinguishable, the arches being elliptic, rarely indeed including more than an angle of six degrees, on a circle having full ten feet of radius. Thus the joists were tolerably close, but their diameters admitted of considerable reduction, on account 270 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. of the continuity of such a series of arches, which gave great solidity. From their mutual pressure a joist might be freely removed, without in the least affecting the roof. The houses built and inhabited by natives have invari- ably flat roofs. In these the apartments are generally narrow and dark. Where they have verandas, they con- sist of arcaded fronts, always indented gothic; and pillars either of an hexagonal, or an octagonal form, resting on short pedestals, while the arch may be seen to break off rather too suddenly from the shaft, which continues up to baisez-mur, (or bassimere, as our architects vulgarly call it,) and divides the upper part into various compartments, all of which are ornamented with a profusion of carved work. In almost every Hindoostanee building of this description, there are an odd number of arches, to which others in the main part of the edifice generally correspond. The chambers, if such they may be called, are taken off from the ends of the halls by similar arcades; each of which, like those of the exterior, is furnished with a purdah. These narrow slips have no windows, or, at the best, only small loop-holes. To discover the intention of such oven-like recesses would perplex an European unacquainted with Asiatic customs; till he found that , those recesses in the cold season are peculiarly warm, and during those months in which the glare is obnoxious, remain cooler than such as admit more light. Almost every house is furnished with some means of ascending to the 'chut, (or flat tarras-roof) On this the natives often pass the evening, first abating the heat by several pots of water, which throw up a steam fully indicating the temperature at which the tarras had arrived. The natives are not partial, in general, to upper-roomed houses; though they affect to pride themselves greatly in the possession of doom.aulahs, (houses having a second EAST IN DE A VAD E-MECU M. 271 floor.) Ostentation is probably the reason of this pre- dilection in favour of ground floors, as thus all their at- tendants, &c. may be seen from the level of their com- pounds (or inclosed areas.) The stairs (unless a very mean boarded ladder is substituted) are narrow, steep, and unsafe. They are almost always built of solid ma- sonry, as far up as the first turn, (or landing-place,) after which they commonly consist of small bricks laid edge- ways in lime mortar, supported by stout timbers, placed at a proper angle, and resting on the nearest joist of the upper floor. In every Hindoostanee house the doors are very low, and often open into a long arcaded veranda, running the whole length of the interior, as in English inns; while, in the front, or towards the road, there is sometimes a hanging balcony, supported on continuations of the joists, of which the extremities are carved into grotesque forms; such as the heads of alligators, tigers, or serpents, and not unfrequently of small and uncouthly- formed human figures. Saul-wood is used to an immense extent, both in build- ings and ships; but is not to be compared, either for toughness, strength, resistance against insects, or dura- bility, with teak. Its price is much in favour of its gene- ral use, to which its great size and admirable straightness are valuable recommendations; but it is extremely apt, especially when exposed to the weather, to crack, though not to snap. There is something very peculiar in saul- wood; for it warps, even after having been employed in bulk for many years, riving into large fissures longitudi- nally; the white-ants also devour it with avidity. Mr. Lyon, already noticed, when he was building the General Hospital at Berhampore, caused an immense copper trough to be made, in which he boiled the beams in- tended for that edifice. Some were boiled in pure water, 272 EAST INDIA VAI) E-MECU M. others with tannin, and some with arsenic; under the hope of seasoning the timber, and also of giving it a repellent or preservative quality. This ingenious and highly praiseworthy experiment was by no means suc- cessful; for though, in the first instance, the timbers, especially those boiled in the solution of arsenic, seemed to defy the white-ant, still they were not completely se- cured from depredation; while, on the other hand, nine in ten rived so dangerously as to demand immediate props, and ultimate removal. Many authors have re- commended the boiling of timber, planks, &c. with a view to extract the sap, and thus to season them at once, but they have invariably neglected to communicate the results. Saul timber, when used in buildings, ought always to have the ends completely open to inspection ; both to prevent the white-ant from preying upon it under cover, and to insure its being duly aerated; without which, however charred and tarred, it will soon become rotten. This arises from its being bedded in masonry, which, during the rainy season, even under the best roofs, ab- sorbs a large portion of moisture, which will infallibly, in time, penetrate into the timber. It must be recol- lected, that not one in hundreds of houses in Calcutta, or that are built on their plan, contains a fire-place. Hence, during several months of the year, the walls will exhibit various indications of moisture, even to their very cornices; though this will often depend on the pro- per selection of sand for mixing in the plaster. It is now well known, that all sand taken up within the flow- ing of the tides is strongly impregnated with salt, which will keep the mortar wherein it is mixed constantly sub- ject to dampness; though the tarrases may be flued, or fixed on pots. Several, otherwise highly eligible, houses EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. 273 have been rendered untenable, merely by the incautious use of river sand; which occasioned whatever mats or carpets were laid down to be speedily rotted. The damp- ness was at first imputed to the vicinity of the river, till it was ascertained that tarrases and mortar, compounded of pit-sand, remained dry and free from so obnoxious a defect. Nevertheless, the greater part of the buildings, in and about Calcutta, receive a certain portion of river- sand, taken up within the reach of brackish water. While this practice continues, the walls and tarrases will be subject to occasional moisture; and, as daily seen in that city, the plastering will blister, or become mottled, and obviously unsound. Saul-timbers are found in all the forests, ranging un- der the hills, branching our possessions from Assam up to Hurdwar; more abundant in some parts than in others, but no where scarce. Many of these forests present thousands of acres, whereon the saul, siss00, and other useful timbers grow spontaneously; offering, if water carriage be at hand, the use of an inexhaustible depôt. The Indian woodfeller, after lopping and barking the trees, proceeds to launch it into the river, there to be fastened to others, intended to form a raft, or float, which, be- ing secured to a boat, may glide down with the current to some established market. His expenses are very tri- fling; for, with the exception of some duties, most inju- diciously imposed, his adventure will not cost more than two-pence per foot when arrived at the place of desti- nation, where it may commonly be sold, without risk or delay, for full three times that sum. The mode of floating timber is very different from that employed in England. A common pulwar, (or paunch- way,) of perhaps thirty feet in length, and six or seven in width, is equipped with two sticks of saul, say forty feet T 274 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. long, and two feet in girth. These are placed across her gunwales, at right angles with her length, and about six feet from her centre, and very firmly lashed down. The boat, being in about three feet water, has a tree brought up to each of her sides, where they are respectively lashed to the cross timbers, and thus, in succession, till she is judged incapable of receiving more. In the centre of the boat is a small cabin, eitherof thatch, or of arched bamboo laths, covered with durmah mats. Such rafts should on no account be launched when the river is at the fullest, or the current any way prone to deviate from the deepest channels, as it must do in great floods, during which, the waters find for a while, passages along hollows among the inland parts, beyond their limits in ordinary seasons. When a float of timber once gets over the river's bank, it must be by great good fortune, if the channel is ever re- gained. Hence, when the waters are falling, it is common to see very large pinnaces, budjrows, and boats of burthen, left upon some sand, on which they had struck, lut which the rapid ebbing of the floods prevented them from quit- ting. In such cases, some remain till the ensuing year, when the floods lift them; others are unladen, and by the joint efforts of hundreds of villagers, are pushed along the sands to the deep water; while those which appear un- equal to such a severe operation, are generally broken up and sold. When a float of timber is thus situated, it is best to cut the ropes of at least half the exterior sticks on each side, and so to lighten the boat, that she may be carried into a depth suited to receive them again. This operation, though very simple in description, requires great exertion, and despatch; the strength of the current, which often runs six or seven miles within the hour, rendering it very difficult to manage such immense logs; especially as EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM, 275 they are very apt to sink into the sands. Several floats proceed in company with great regularity, when the reaches are straight, and the waters deep. The boatmen, having then little to do, sit smoking their nereauls, with great composure. A sail is sometimes hoisted, but it is generally deemed expedient to check, rather than to acce- lerate the progress. Almost every float, or, at least, every company of floats, has a canoe attached to it. This, in doubtful waters, precedes, and directs the men in charge of the respective vessels, who, by means of luggies, (or bamboo-poles, from twenty even to fifty feet in length,) push off the floats from banks, or guide them along the deep water. Without such pilotage, they would be in perpetual danger of grounding, the inconveniences of which have been shewn to be by no means inconsiderable. Floats of timber cannot well come to an anchor, except in very still water. Hence, they are usually brought-to under steep banks, where there is great depth ; and where, in case the river should fall during the night, they would not be left high and dry. The greatest danger to which a timber float can be ex- posed, is that of running upon a sunken tree, which, hav- ing been washed away, by the strong currents which under- mined the bank whereon it stood, is hurled into deep water, where it probably lies exposed to view for the first year. During the hot season, when the waters are low, the boughs are often cut away by persons in want of fuel; or, perhaps, they are torn off by the succeeding rains, so far as to cause the floats to be concealed a foot or two under the surface. When thus situated, they throw up a great quantity of water, so that their locality may be ascer- tained at some distance; but, owing to heavy mists, and especially to clouds of sand, they frequently are not dis- T 2 276 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. covered by the boatmen, till it becomes impossible to avoid them. If the pulwar (the supporting boat) strikes upon one of the branches, her bottom will inevitably be staved in; and, in all probability, the immense body of water bearing upon the timbers, will either tear them away from the pulwar, or carry off her upper works, leaving her bottom entangled. In either case, the situation of the boatmen becomes highly critical; but, as they generally are expert swimmers, few are drowned on such occasions. The tim- bers, however, rarely fail to find the bottom. The great number of trees thus immersed, some of them equal to the largest English oaks, renders it extremely dangerous to go down with the stream during the night. In some strong waters, such impediments are numerous, and render the navigation very hazardous, even during the day-time; especially should a goon, or track rope, give way just after getting a boat above them. When this misfortune happens, the chances of escape are, compara- tively, very small. When boats, heavily laden, strike upon a tree, they sometimes go to pieces, in consequence of the water's ra- pidity. Yet, when so entangled as to be pierced in several parts, they generally remain entire, presenting, as the waters subside, the curious spectacle of a vessel, perhaps carrying twelve or fifteen hundred maunds, sitting, as it were, among the boughs, often ten or twelve feet above the surface of the stream. It is not unusual, during a week's travelling, to see one or more of these disastrous elevations, especially about October. The cargo may, perhaps, be saved, if not of a perishable nature, such as sugar, saltpetre, &c.; but the vessel, however expeditious- ly emptied, can never be got off; and must be broken up. In the upper provinces are some very fine oak timbers; EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 277 chiefly of a peculiar kind, nearly approaching to choco- late colour, extremely difficult to cut up, and, conse- quently, very heavy; from which they have the name of seesah, or, lead-wood. The prices of these trees rather exceed those of the saul, though their dimensions are generally about the same, and they are brought from the same forests, (namely, from the neighbourhood of Peela- beet). These prices would probably be greatly enhanced, did the natives require such very substantial wood for any of their buildings or manufactures. But carpenters dis- suade their employers from purchasing oak, by represent- ing it as subject to many defects; though the true reason is, that its hardness causes more grinding of, than work- ing with, their tools; which are almost always either too much or too little tempered. The great aptness of saul-wood to warp, would have favoured the importation of oak, notwithstanding the out- cry against its flinty hardness, but for the abundance of the sissoo, a wood possessing a very fine grain, and rather handsomely veined. It is intermixed with saul, in most of the great forests; but instead of towering up with a straight stem, generally grows into crooked forms, very suitable for the knees of ships, and for such parts as require the grain to follow some particular curve. This wood is extremely hard and heavy, and of a dark brown, inclining, when polished, to a purple tint. If properly seasoned, it rarely cracks or warps; nor is it so subject as saul to be destroyed by either white ants or river- worms. The domestic uses of sissoo are chiefly for furni- ture, especially chairs, tables, tepoys (or tripods), bu- reaus, book-cases, ecritoires, &c. &c., for all which pur- poses it is peculiarly appropriate, except being very pon- derous. This objection is, however, counterbalanced by its great durability, and by the extraordinary toughness 278 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. of the tenons, dovetails, &c. necessarily made by the cabinet-maker or joiner. Sissoo is of late more em- ployed than formerly for the frame, ribs, knees, &c. of ships, especially those of great burthen, being as tough and durable as the best oak. When this wood can be procured long enough for the purpose, it is often applied for bends, and, indeed, for a portion of the planking, or casing ; but a plank of ten feet can very rarely be had free from curve. Though well suited for stern and head- work, it is neither long enough for keels in general, nor sufficiently uniform in its diameter for the supply of stern- posts. Some sissoo-trees grow to a great height; but, un- luckily, the devious direction of their boughs renders it necessary to lop them away for minor purposes. If, in- stead of dividing into several large branches, at perhaps only ten or twelve feet from the ground, one large stem were to rise, however crooked, to double that height, there would be a great increase of substance: as it is, however, it may be accounted an excellent timber indeed that measures a ton, or forty cubic feet. This inconvenience is greatly angmented by the slovenly manner in which trees are felled throughout India. The axe (for no saws are used on such occasions) is laid to the stem often at a yard or more from the soil, while full a cubit in depth is destroyed in widening the orifice, so as to penetrate into the heart. This occasions considerable loss, which is frequently increased by the irregular man- ner in which the butt rends in quitting the root or stool. Were this wood more scarce, greater pains would proba- bly be taken to make the most of its length. As it is, we see that even those ship-builders who occasionally send their agents into the Morungs, or great forests to the north of Bahar and Purneah, allow the same loss to take place; thus obstructing the more general, as well as 280 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. having been burnt off. Timbers used immediately after being felled, as usually happens, are the first to be attack- ed by the ghoon; but even a year's seasoning will not al- ways afford security against, though it obviously retards their attacks. Possibly, if all wild saul trees intended for rafters, were to be immersed in some of the numerous pud- dles every where abounding in their vicinity, and of which a great majority are strongly impregnated with minerals, particularly iron, copper, and sulphur, the g’hoons might be altogether repelled. The immersion should continue for a year or two, and the trees be previously allowed to season standing, but cutting away a circle of bark, about six inches wide, near the ground, to stop the flow of sap. No mode answers so well as this, in England. In India, the advantages would be still more extensive, in conse- quence of the regularity, and particular effects of the three great seasons, into which the year is there naturally divided. It is curious, but true, that the g’hoon acts less on timbers that have been squared, than on such as have only been deprived of their bark; and that in the large species of saul, which is used in most parts of the country for great buildings, &c., it either is unable, or indisposed to burrow. Intermixed with the smaller species of saul, though by no means abundant, is another tree, bearing, in common with the oak, the designation of seesah, and that, too, ow- ing to the great specific gravity of its wood. This, how- ever, does not grow to any size, but appears admirably suited to many of those purposes for which lignum vitae and ebony are now used. In the same jungles, a most remarkable tree is some- times found, of which the interior is of a very dark colour, nearly approaching to black. Hence, the natives call it EAST INDIA WADE-MECUM, 281 the cowah (or crow-tree); but from the hardness of its wood, it might, with propriety, be termed the iron-tree. The carpenters view it much in the same light with the black-oak of Peelabeet; and tremble for their tools, when working on the cowah. Though on bungalows, built with a view to duration, the best materials are sometimes employed, and every part of their roofs are sustained by rafters of the best saul, by far the majority of such buildings, and nearly all at the military stations, are constructed on a much cheaper scale, having only mango-wood rafters, door-plates, &c. The great abundance of mango trees, the ease with which they are worked, and their growing in general with stems sufficiently straight to furnish beams, of per- haps two feet square, and from fifteen to thirty feet long, give them a decided preference over every other kind of wood brought from any distance. The wood of the mango is like that of the plane-tree, but tougher, and its fibres coarser. Yet, being very light, and easy to work, it is in very general use for raf. ters, door and wall-plates, frames for windows and doors, floorings of factories, and drying-rooms; also for wine chests, indigo-boxes, roofs of budjrows, and many other purposes, of individual convenience, and of mercantile service. It is, however, particularly subject to the white- ant; and, unless carefully preserved from damp, will speedily decay. Though a mango-plank is considered to be at least at par, when it measures twenty inches, or two feet, in width, yet great numbers may be found of double that breadth, and too large for any common saw. Very old tables may sometimes be seen made of mango- wood, which exhibit beautiful veins, and acquire a sub- stantial polish ; but such instances occur only from a 282 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. very careful choice of planks, which must be seasoned, and worked to great advantage; otherwise, a mango-wood table will appear coarse and mean. The mango tree itself, owing to the stiffness of the leaves, cannot be termed graceful. Yet its deep green, contrasted with the white spindling blossoms, (much re- sembling those of the horse-chesnut,) and its abundant foliage, produce a richness, which renders it peculiarly gratifying to the eye; especially as it appears in its greatest beauty during the early part of the hot season. Then the grass begins to parch, and the surface of the soil changes from an agreeable verdure produced by the rains, and, in some degree, cherished by the succeeding cold months, to a very sombre russet. The fruit is not much in hazard, after the blossoms have once fairly set; though, sometimes, severe blights occur, which render the whole abortive. When about the size of a very large gooseberry, the young mangoes make excellent pies, not unlike apple-pies, but with a certain terebinthinic flavour, which, if unpleasant at first, soon becomes palat- able. When about half grown, or beyond the size of a large walnut, they are fit for pickling. This fruit is also preserved in common mosaul-oil: being allowed first to remain about a month in the vinegar pickle. Many per- sons are very partial to the pickle thus made; though nothing is more rank; especially when the rinds are not pared off. Mangoes make also a very rich preserve, if prepared before the stones harden; else they will be very fibrous, and cut with peculiar harshness. Of the ripe fruit, it is impossible to describe the flavour; since various kinds are found even on the same tree. A stran- ger would conclude, on seeing mangoes of different colours, scents, and shapes, ripening together, that they had been grafted; but such is not the fact. There seems EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU MI. 283 to be some very peculiar property, that causes this shoot- ing out with such different bearings, which remain on distinct boughs; as though the tree were composed of various twigs, all proceeding from the same stem. What can be said of a fruit varying in flavour, from the finest apricot, down to a very bad carrot ? Such, however, is known to be not uncommon: though, for the most part, the whole crop of a tree will be nearly similar, both in shape and flavour. As for the produce of trees resulting from the kernels of the same kind of mango, the quality is quite uncertain, for, like potatoes raised from seed, there will generally be found a great variety. The Chinese considerably improve their mangoes by a very simple process. They select some healthy branches on a good tree, and, having pierced the bark with a sharp awl, surround that part with a lump of wet clay, or loam; which they secure by means of canvass, bound lightly with hempen bands. Above each part thus treated, a large pot of water is suspended, having in its bottom a small hole. This being partially stopped with a rag, al- lows the water to drip, whereby the clay is kept con- stantly moist. In about three months, small fibres shoot out through the punctured bark; which, on the branch being cut off, and the canvass removed, strike into the soil, and become roots. It is remarkable, that the fruit produced by branches thus treated, becomes more fleshy, while the stone diminishes considerably; being more flat, and rarely so firm as that of the common mango. By re- peating the operation on the branches of a tree thus cul- tivated, for several successions, the kernel becomes so reduced as scarcely to be noticed ; while the skin loses much of that highly acrid quality arising from its abund- ance of turpentine. - Mangoes are peculiarly stimulant, their free use pro- 284 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. ducing boils of considerable size, and often of very dif- ficult cure ; it being absolutely necessary to treat them as critical abscesses ; for, were any repellent to be ap- plied, serious consequences would inevitably follow. Per- sons lately arrived in the country, often devour this lus- cious fruit, till checked, either by a dozen or two of these most distressing companions, or, perhaps, in conse- quence of that kind of bowel-complaint prevalent in all hot climates. Though generally not very difficult to remedy when properly treated in its first stage, it soon turns to dysentery, carrying off a large portion of those whose constitutions are not remarkably sound. When eaten in moderation, mangoes. are gently aperient; but if, notwithstanding its acrid taste and effects, the rind should be incautiously swallowed, the stomach will be considerably disordered. The gland, or kernel, which in shape is something like' a very large, flat, Windsor- bean, is unpleasant to the palate, its flavour being very similar to that of the acorn. Swine, especially of the wild tribes, which often take shelter, during the season, in topes, or forests, of wild mangoes, eat the entire fruit, as it falls from the trees, with great avidity, and thrive amazingly. The generality of mango-topes owe their origin to reli- gious institutions, bequests, or charitable donations. To plant one, the land must be purchased in fee-simple. The trees being set out, perhaps thirty feet or more asunder, in rows, so as to form regular square intervals, the whole are fenced by means of a deep ditch. From this the ex- cavated soil is thrown inwards, and either planted with baubool, (mimosa,) or sown with that tall kind of grass al- ready described, which bears a very large tassel, and is known by the name of surput. Some topes are endowed with small sums for the purpose of maintaining a priest, EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 285. for whom a comfortable residence, and a substantial dur- gaw, (or temple,) are erected. The sale of the fruit (which generally proves a full crop in four or five years, the trees being then as large as a well-grown walnut-tree,) furnishes the means of sinking a well cased with masonry. But it is more common for the person who causes the tope to be planted, to sink the well also ; and to celebrate the marriage of the former with the latter, in a manner suitable to his rank or property. The well being sup- posed to possess the fecundatory powers, is considered the husband; the tope being typified as feminine, by the fruit it produces. However much we may be disposed to smile at a custom generally attended with much ceremony and expense, we cannot but admire its effects, which, in a tropical climate, are highly beneficial, both to the weary traveller and to the thirsty soil. Hence the sight of a mango-tope is generally attended with the most pleasing anticipations. Although mango-topes abound in every part of the lower provinces, their wood, except in bungalows, is rarely em- ployed in European architecture. Nor do the natives make much use of it as a timber; though large quantities are every year cut up for planks, which chiefly serve very ordinary purposes, where neither great strength nor dura- bility is required. Immense quantities of fine bamboos, commonly growing very straight to the height of sixty feet or more, though rarely measuring more than five inches diameter near the root, and gradually tapering off as they ascend, supply the contented native with rafters, joists, posts, pillars, laths, and a great variety of et cetera, all tending either to his shelter or convenience. Millions of these invaluable reeds (for they are of the arundo tribe) are annually brought to Calcutta, both by water and on hackeries ; in the former cases, being remarkably buoy- 286 EAST IN DIA WA D F - MECU M. ant, they are floated in clumps, or perhaps are made into rafts, on which boossah, (or chaff) and even corn, are laden; or they are tied to the sides of very large boats, which also carry from five hundred to as many thousands, as a cargo. The buoyancy of the bamboo is occasioned as much by its various cells, as by the lightness of the wood. These cells, in a common-sized bamboo, are about three quarters of an inch in diameter in those joints that are near the roots, where the wood is far more solid and compact than in the upper parts, towards which the cells become gradually wider, and the joints longer; thus re- ducing very considerably the substance of the bamboo, as is the case with reeds in general. This variety in the se- veral parts is very convenient, their appropriation being made as the work requires more or less substance. As the whole bamboo may be split like whalebone from top to bottom, without much exertion, it can be readily ap- plied to a great variety of purposes. In their whole state, bamboos are used not only for raf- ters in the construction of bungalows, but as yards for the sails of the common country craft. Those of extraordi- nary size are selected for top-gallant studding-sail booms, in vessels not exceeding four or five hundred tons; their immense strength exactly fitting them for that situation. The smaller open boats throughout the East, are gene- rally fitted with bamboo masts, selected from the lower part of the reed, the upper by its lightness being more suited for yards. Thus, for three-pence, a boat of about four or five tons may be furnished with both mast and yard from the same bamboo. In vessels of greater bur- then, two or more bamboos, even up to a dozen, are lash- ed together round a stout piece of wood, which, passing through the thatch, fits into a step on the vessel's bottom, and is well secured by chocks and lashings in various EAST IN IDIA VAD E-MECU M. 287 places. This stick, which serves as the base of the mast, is about fifteen feet long, and nine or ten inches in dia- meter. It is commonly left in a very rough state, that the bamboos which surround it may be more firmly held in their places. Thus the mast is run up, probably to the height of forty or fifty feet, according to the vessel's burthen, and at every two or three feet is bound by cords made of white hemp. The position of this awkward-look- ing pile is maintained by numerous stays, many of which, being allowed to point forward before the line of the mast's perpendicular, very considerably obstruct the brac- ing of the yard, the strength of which must be propor- tioned to the sail. Sometimes one well-selected bamboo may suffice; but in vessels of great bulk, say from sixty to ninety tons, two, or even three, stout bamboos are re- quired. The sail is usually made of a very coarse canvass, con- structed of that very indifferent kind of hemp, generally used for rice bags, &c., and known by the name of gunny. Each piece measures six or seven feet by thirty inches; consequently, the innumerable joinings made in a large sail, offer a very ready means for the wind's escape. The Hindoo is not very particular in this respect: with him a sail is a sail, so long as a bit remains adequate to giving the vessel way through still waters. It will naturally be asked, Why is such miserable tack- ling in usef The reasons are, 1. Because the native owner of a vessel will go to no expense beyond what may be indispensably necessary to set her afloat, however clumsy or subject to mishap, and to have her, as he thinks, ready for departure. 2. The materials are pro- bably of his own growth, or he deals in them, or, which is often the sole motive, he finds them, in the first instance, far cheaper than those more substantial ; and, 3. Even 288 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. if other materials of a better quality, and in every instance more appropriate, were to be had for the same money, he would not very readily deviate from the customs of his ancestors. Were a vessel fitted up on European princi. ples to be wrecked, the whole family would impute the accident to the sin of adopting the customs of a race held in abomination by even the lowest casts (or sects) throughout the country. Nevertheless, the manjy and dandies are sometimes grievously put out of their way by some shrewd native, who resolutely breaks through the general prejudice, and imitates that which his faculties convince him is founded upon science. Not that he will understand how the principle operates; no, he sees the practice is good, and he adopts it: whereas, if any regu- lation were to be framed to enforce his compliance with our system, in that, or in any other particular, we should assuredly witness his receding, if possible, from every idea of improvement; or, if under the necessity of conforming, that his whole deportment would betray the reluctance and antipathy he felt on the occasion. Exclusive of the bamboo, the natives have an ample resource for rafters, as well as for posts and pillars, in the cocoa-nut tree, which grows wild throughout the parts within reach either of sea-water, or sea air. It is not in- deed confined to such situations; but in proportion as it is distant from them, so the natural growth of this tree gradually diminishes, giving way to the taul, (or fan- leafed palm,) which, though less umbrageous, and in many instances less useful, attains a great height, and furnishes a much larger quantity of wood. In general, few Bengallees will cut down a nereaul, (or cocoa-nut tree,) which supplies so many requisites. Thus, the outer coat- ing, often weighing from one to two pounds, when strip- ped off longitudinally, furnishes those fibres called coir, EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 289 used for small rigging and cables. This kind of rope is particularly elastic and buoyant; floating on the surface of the sea to any extent. Therefore, when, owing to the strength of the current, a boat misses a ship, it is usual to veer out a quantity of coir, having previously fastened an oar, or a small cask, &c. to its end. Thus the boat may be easily enabled to haul up to the ship's stern. Were a coir hawser kept on board every ship in the British marine, how many lives would probably be saved It is remarkable, that fresh water rots coir in a very short time, corroding it in a most unaccountable man- ner; whereas salt water absolutely strengthens it, seem- ing to increase the elasticity. This shews that coir is by no means fit to be used in running rigging, nor as shroud- hawsers, &c., especially for vessels subject to approach low latitudes; it being easily snapped in frosty weather. Nothing can equal the ease with which a ship rides at anchor when her cables are of coir. As the surges ap- proach the bows, the vessel gradually recedes, in conse- quence of the cable yielding to their force; but, soon as they have passed, it contracts again, drawing the vessel gently back to her first position. The lightness of the material doubtless adds to this effect; for the cable would float, were not the anchor sufficiently heavy to keep it perfectly down. A hempen cable always makes a curve downwards, between the vessel and the anchor, but a coir cable makes a curve upwards. Therefore, if a right line were drawn from the hawse-hole, to the ring of the an- chor, it would be something like the axis of a parabolic spindle, of which the cables would form, or nearly SO, the two elliptic segments. A considerable trade is carried on, from all parts of India, with the Maldives, and Sechelles, (numerous U 290 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. clusters of islands near the west coast of the peninsula,) for coir and cowries : the latter being used for inferior currency, while the coir is greatly valued, on account of the fibres being much larger and firmer than those grown upon the continent. Not only these islands, but all within the Indian seas, abound with cocoa-nut trees; which, in many of them, stands absolutely in the water. These owe their origin to the growth of nuts blown down or drop- ped when ripe, and buried in the sands; above which their acrospires soon appear, when the tree shoots up with greater vigour than its inland competitors. It is said, that, about a hundred and fifty years ago, the Se- chelles and Maldives were known only as concealed sands, highly dangerous to the navigator; and that, after they had, by the action of the sea, accumulated so as to become superficial, a vessel laden with cocoa-nuts was wrecked upon one of these banks, which, in consequence of the seed thus furnished, speedily threw up whole forests of the tree. Others attribute the first supply to the adventitious floating of nuts from the Malabar coast. Nothing appears to discredit either of the accounts; but the former appears by far the most probable. Whatever be the fact, the islands in question not only produce m- mense forests of cocoas, but are inhabited by a people governed much in the same way as the other Arabian islands, (for such we may call these, as well as Johanna, Comora, Succotra, &c.;) whose commercial relations may be said to consist of coir and cowries, bartered with their neighbours of the peninsula, and the Arabs of Muscat, &c., for cotton cloths, rice, sugar, &c. To whatever chance it may have been owing, the navigator now feels less anxiety when near these isles. Though so little ele- vated as to remain nearly in their former state of immer- sion, their cocoa forests, which generally tower to the EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 291 height of thirty or forty feet, being visible at the distance of many miles, enable him to ascertain his locality with correctness, and to avoid the numerous shoals, by a due attention to the bearings and soundings. The natives are said to be extremely well acquainted with their archipe- lago, and to pilot vessels of great burthen with perfect precision and security. The native further values the cocoa-nut for its water, by us called cocoa-nut milk. This pleasant beverage, generally amounting to three quarters of a pint, is con- tained within the shell. It is purest when the nut is young and tender, so as to allow the husk and shell to be cut like a stringy turnip. At this time, very little coagulum adheres to the interior of the shell, and that little is soft, like milk barely turned by rennet. Gradually, the water becomes turbid, and acquires a stronger taste; while the coagulum increases to about a third, or even half of an inch in thickness; hardening and becoming tough, but easily snapped into pieces. When in this state, it abounds in oil, at first remarkably sweet, though of a pe- culiar flavour, and much used in their culinary operations by the native Portuguese, in lieu of ghee. “The mode of extracting the oil is very simple. A piece of wood, say two feet long, six inches broad, and two or three thick, bears at one extremity a stem of iron, driven in by means of a spike. This stem must be stout, and should measure about ten inches; but, towards its sum- mit, spreading into the form of an inverted crescent, somewhat concave, and deeply jagged at its circumfer- ence. Sitting, as usual, on the ground, the operator keeps the baton from tilting, by placing one of his feet firmly upon it. In that position he takes the nuts, com- monly broken into two or more pieces, by a forcible stroke of some heavy implement, or by dashing them on U 2 292 EAST INDIA v A DE-MECUM, the floor. Then, by rasping the interior of each piece against the jagged edges of the iron, he causes the coa- gulum to fall, in the form of a coarse powder, into a vessel placed below to receive it. To effect this with more facility, the stem slants obliquely from the baton, allow- ing room for the receiver to be put immediately under the crescent. The raspings are now put into hot water, in which they are well stirred and pressed with a large wooden spoon. When by this means the oil is separated, it is drawn off by opening a little hole near its surface, as it floats upon the water. It is inconceivable how much oil is thus obtained in a few minutes; but, both from its own nature, and the mode of extraction, it soon becomes offensively rancid. Yet in this state it is by no means objectionable to the Portuguese, who, as well as the Hin- doos, are partial to it as an unguent for the hair. To a fresh European, the scent of this powerful finish to the charms of an Indian Venus is highly objectionable: of all the offensive smells in India, it certainly is the worst. But, as before observed, if used immediately after ex- traction, nothing can be sweeter. It also burns re- markably well, and is therefore in general use for lamps, among all the European inhabitants. The residuum, after separating the oil, fattens poultry better than grain. The pork of swine fed upon cocoa-nuts is delicious, as must be confessed by all who have visited the Andamans and Nicobars. The coagulum, as a food for man, cannot be recommended, for, though the natives eat of it freely, experience shews that it is extremely difficult of diges- tion; so that, when eaten as a meal, much inconvenience, if not indisposition, will generally follow. Nor is the water of the young nut fit for persons whose bowels are not of the strongest; it being aperient, and, when used beyond a certain quantity, extremely apt to induce dysen- EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECU M. 293 tery. The amount of a nutful may, perhaps, be drunk with perfect safety. During very hot weather, if the nuts are fresh gathered, or suffered to remain a while in cold water, it is not very easy to withstand the temptation. The shell of the cocoa-nut is most valuable when suf- fered to ripen upon the tree. It then acquires great hard- ness, and a fine dark chocolate colour, interveined by fine lines of a rich dun, or clay, or perhaps striated with those tints. The shells will then take a good polish, and when tastefully mounted, are ornamental to the sideboard. Yet they are brittle, compared with their solid appearance; and it requires a great length of time to divest them wholly of a strong scent, reminding those accustomed to the oil, of that peculiar and powerful rancidity it invariably ac- quires by long keeping, and especially by exposure to the air. Previous to the introduction of lamps in the halls, pas- sages, &c., in the houses of Europeans, cocoa-nut oil was to be had for about three-pence, or four-pence, per seer; (the measurement of a seer coming very nearly to the English quart, in some places exceeding it, but in others falling short). Since that practice has obtained, the price of candles being doubled, the oil has been pro- portionably enhanced. No kind of animal oil is in use among the natives of India, either as food, or in manufactories; except indeed, that most curious production, the meemii-ke-tale, or oil extracted from the bodies of malefactors. Being well fed for a month, or more, previous to their execution, for the purpose of encreasing their fat, large fires are said to be lighted under them while on the gibbet, and metal vessels placed to receive the drippings. That this practice heretofore obtained, under the government of the native princes, appears undoubted; but, that it is now 294 FAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. obsolete, is equally certain. Still meemii-ke-tale (human oil) may be had at many places; though not genuine, but composed of whatever materials may form a mass resembling the original. Several of these masses have been seen of a dark, opaque brown, appearing some- thing like coagulated blood mixed with dirty jelly, and become hard by exposure to the sun, or by inspissa- tion: its smell was intolerably offensive. On the whole, this celebrated extract, which is supposed to cure all con- tractions, and stiffness of the joints, is a subject of asto- nishment, when considered as in use among a people so very peculiar in their tenets, and professing so much humanity, not only towards their brethren, but towards all animated nature. Had Shakspeare been acquainted with the existence of the meemii, he certainly would have given it a place in Hecate's cauldron. Were the natives intent on obtaining animal oils, they might procure the greatest abundance. Porpoises, turtles, alligators, dog-fishes, and sharks, all of which contain large quantities, exist in every part where the water is brackish; some of them, indeed, become even more nu- merous as their distance from the sea increases. Whales are occasionally seen in the Indian Sea, and in the Mo- zambique Channel are extremely common. But, to per- sons habituated from their infancy to the use of high- savoured viands, any sweet oil would be insipid. They require a haut-goût in their sauces, though they contrive to render even their strongest preparations extremely palatable; but, to relish them properly, the culinary ope- rations must not be always witnessed. Bawur-chees, or cooks, when employed for Europeans, are sometimes ex- tremely filthy; far more so than when dressing their own victuals. Few of the natives are sparing in the use of water on such occasions, even though it should be brought EAST INDIA VAD E-M ECU M. 295 from some distance ; yet, it is equally true, that whole villages are sometimes content to use water from a pool, comparable only with that into which Ariel ushered the surly Caliban. The trunk of the cocoa-nut tree not only answers for canoes, when the central pith is scooped out, but, when split, as it may easily be into slips of any width, forms excellent rafters. When so applied, the soft part is taken away, leaving only the exterior case, which is hard, tough, and elastic, and about three inches in thickness. A trunk of about a foot in diameter commonly rives into five staves, each about seven inches wide. These should be placed edgeways on the walls, that their scantlings may be in a proper direction. Rafters thus made, if not more than twenty feet long, or thereabouts, not too heavily laden, and under cover, will stand for generations, without shew- ing the smallest symptom of decay. - Cocoa-nuts are often sawed into two equal parts, for the purpose of being made into ladles. A hole is made on each side, about half an inch from the edge, and a stick is passed through, serving as a handle; as we see in the jets used by brewers for taking liquor out of their vats. When sawed into two equal parts, across the grain of the coir coating, cocoa-nuts make excellent table brushes, causing the planks to assume a very high polish from their friction. As this operation requires some strength, the edges of the shell, if left in, (as is sometimes, though im- properly, done,) should be perfectly smooth; being once rendered so, they will never scratch, however forcibly the brush may be applied. It is a good mode, to strip off the coir, and, after soaking it in water, to beat it with a heavy wooden mall until the pieces become a little pliant, when they should be firmly bound together with an iron ring. Their ends being then levelled, the implement is fit for use. 296 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. * A little bees-wax rubbed occasionally upon them, adds greatly to the lustre of the furniture. The stem of the toddy-tree is similar to that of the cocoa, but grows to a greater height, and serves the same purposes. On first seeing a grove of toddy-palms, one would suppose that a strong wind must inevitably tear up the whole by their roots, wihch consist of innumerable small fibres, that penetrate but a very little way, compara- tively, into the soil. When one of these trees is blown down, a small cavity is made, rarely so much as a cubic yard. The leaves differ widely from those of the cocoa, which are rather spear-shaped, a foot, or more, long, by perhaps two inches at their broadest part, and attached to each side of the rib, which may be from ten to fourteen feet in length. They hang gracefully on every side of the trunk; covering the nuts, which grow on very short, stiff stems, close under the place where the leaves start from it in all directions. A tuft of similar, but smaller branches, grow with rather a vertical tendency. The toddy-palm, on the contrary, has about ten or a dozen large leaves, radiated from their stems, arranged in folds like a lady's fan half spread; but the outer edges are indented considerably. The leaves form each about three-fourths of a circle, but their sizes vary considerably. These leaves are made into punkahs, or fans, of various sizes. When torn into strips of about two inches wide, the medium breadth of each fold, they serve the natives instead of paper. The greater part of accounts kept by Ben- gallees are written on such leaves, by means of any sharp- pointed instrument. This perforating the glossy rind, or coating, on either side of the leaf, the marks remain ever after distinct and legible, especially if the written leaves are rubbed with kaujool, or lamp-black, which sinks into the porous parts laid open by the instrument, but is easily EAST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. 297 wiped off from the rest of the surface. Some hundreds of these leaves may be seen, secured together at one end by a twine passed through each, like waste paper in a grocer's shop; thus forming a voluminous collection. The fruit of the taul consists of two, or three lobes, or pods, similar to those in a horse-chesnut, and like them, concealed in a pithy, spherical coating, but with a smooth exterior. Each lobe is hollow, and contains a small quan- tity of very clear liquor, partaking, in a very slight degree, of the flavour of rose-water. The lobes themselves, which are about the size of a small bun, are rather of a crisp, but gelatinous substance, and pleasant to the palate. Their exterior is covered with a very thin, brown rind, like that of an almond; rather astringent, but by no means acrid. The liquor, called toddy, is obtained by making an in- cision under the head of the tree, when a thin wedge being introduced, the toddy gradually exudes into a vessel sus- pended to receive it. This liquor is very pleasing when fresh drawn, but in a few hours acquires a harsh flavour, ferments, and becomes highly intoxicating. It answers admirably as leaven, making very, light dough; but if kept, as is too commonly done, till rather sub-acid, it communicates to the bread a most unpleasant tartness. Groves of toddy-trees, in some parts of the country, yield a handsome revenue, with great profit to the ren- ters. Like the cocoa-nut tree, they have within their sum- mits a substance in flavour very like a cabbage, for which mariners fell them, with the view of carrying that part to sea, where, left within its rind, it will keep for many months, and for use requires much boiling. The stem of the toddy-palm is annulated, but not very deeply. Of this the toddy-men take advantage, ascending to the summit, and descending again to the plain, with wondrous agility. They use a strong twine, about a yard 298 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. long, or more, doubled into a loop of half that length, into the ends of which the great toes are put, so as to keep it perfectly extended. The man first embraces the tree as high as he can reach, to raise himself from the ground; his feet being instantly carried on opposite sides of the trunk, as far asunder as the loop will admit. Then sustaining himself by means of the loop, he slides his arms upwards to take a second spring, following, in due time, by the removal of his feet, as much higher as he has been able to reach. In this manner, successively stretching up his arms, and swarming with his feet, he reaches the summit, where, while he either suspends the pot, or releases it, his weight generally rests on the loop. The great art, both in ascending and descending, is to keep the loop always stretched. Should it be allowed to slacken, in all probability it would fall off. Few persons following this profession, require more than half a minute to mount the highest palmiru, by which name the toddy- palm is most generally known to Europeans. The natives designate it the taul (or taul-gautch). Very few kinds of wood, except those mentioned, are ever used for domestic architecture; though in some few. situations, the soondry and jarrool are employed for the minor purposes. The natives, however, consider them to be more applicable to the construction of small craft, and to the formation of carriages of various descriptions. The soondry is a remarkably tough, heavy, and elastic wood; while the jarrool, though rather harder, more resembles the beech than any other English timber trees. For boat- building, it ranks next to the teak, many of the donies, (or coasting vessels,) measuring from fifty to a hundred and fifty tons, being principally built with it. When teak is scarce, the shipwrights use jarrool to repair the upper works of large vessels. EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 299 In the construction of houses and bungalows, the Euro- pean architects have been rather prone of late years, to sa- crifice comfort to appearance. The old houses built before punkahs, tatties, glass-sashes, &c., were in use, evince an attention to coolness, without disregarding convenience. Though building is now much cheaper than forty years ago, the walls are much less substantial, and there is a want of local fitness in the arrangement of the apartments. It should be considered that a plan excellently suited to the climate of England would be totally inconsistent with the temperatures attendant upon the changes of season in India, and with the several practices and operations necessary to meet those changes. It must never be for- gotten, that, at some seasons, and at some hours in all seasons, every door and window is usually thrown open; and that, during the continuance of the hot winds, such apartments as cannot be kept moderately cool, by tatties applied to some apertures on that floor, whence the current of refrigerated air may find admission, will be scarcely habitable, and, at night in particular, will glow like ovens. The hot wind commonly rises with the sun, blowing very gently at first, and increasing gradually till about one or two o'clock; after which, it subsides into a perfect calm. This is its ordinary course, but some whole days remain calm, while at other times the wind blows a hurri- cane through the whole night. It has indeed been known to continue, with very little change of temperature, or va- riation of force, for full ten days; while the nights were rather hotter than the days; so that extra b'heesties were retained to water the tatties during the night. That was, to be sure, a very singular season, attended with a prodi- gious mortality, great numbers dying suddenly. The fit, which resembled apoplexy, attacked all'ages alike, and 300 EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. was equally fatal to the abstemious and temperate, as to the licentious and the gormandizing. In describing the habitations of the lower orders of na- tives, it was shewn that their chief attention was paid to privacy, and to the exclusion of the glare. The superior ranks are not less intent upon the same objects; though from many of their state apartments it does not appear that either the one or the other were objects of the small- est consideration. Some of the Durbars are uncommonly exposed; and from the crowd, the observation of fasti- dious ceremony, and the constant succession of entrances and exits, form a most uncomfortable tout ensemble. Yet it appears that the natives have made little or no variation in their system, not only within the time that Europeans have been acquainted with them, but, if we examine their ancient structures, not for centuries before a Briton trod their soil. Nearly the same aspect is given to all their buildings, especially to their places of worship. Nimauzes (or open temples) where the Moossulmans are in the habit of offering up their prayers, invariably front the west, under the notion of facing the shrine of Mahomed. After what relates to the domestic habits and the archi- tecture of the country, the next object of curiosity is the manner of living among Europeans in India. Of these there are two distinct classes, though perfectly on a foot- ing ; the fixed residents of Calcutta, and those among the civil and military, who are liable to be detached from the Presidency. Formerly, only such gentlemen as held of- fices of considerable emolument, or were married, sup- ported the expense of a regular table. Such might be said to keep open house; at least, several spare covers were usually laid, especially at supper-time, under the hope of seeing their friends come in to partake of the en- tertainment. The dinner hour was known, (for almost EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 30] every family then dined between two and three o'clock,) and little or no ceremony was required; the host being as much pleased with the compliment paid by the visit of a young friend, as the latter was to find a welcome among the most opulent and respectable portion of the European community. Nor was the benefit accruing to the latter, confined to economical saving. Such as became habitually inmates of this description, were generally recommended to the notice of Government, or to such situations (if not in the Company’s service) as afforded an immediate mainte- nance, or eventually led to lucrative speculations. A va- riety of instances could be adduced, of young gentlemen having been thus rescued from that most unpleasant situ- ation, a want of respectable friends. These, as Shak- speare properly remarks, “had greatness thrust upon them.” Such was the state of society about fifty years ago, and such was the fair expectation with which not only young gentlemen, but many “far advanced upon Time's list,” landed on the shores of the Ganges. Then it required that some very substantial personal objection should exist to deprive any individual of an implied right to the most friendly reception. Still, however, there pre- vailed a certain distinction, rather too fastidious, in fa- vour of those who came with appointments to the Com- pany’s service, especially in the civil line. To a certain extent, such were reasonable, from the expectance of fu- ture association in the same services; but the preference was doubtless carried too far. The gradual increase of commercial intercourse, with several parts of that extensive territory, which has be- come subject to the influence or the control of the British government, invited many adventurers to quit Europe un- der assurances of employ in the East. Their expectations 302 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. were generally confirmed by permanent establishments in various parts of the country; whereby a complete change has taken place, as to the estimation of free merchants, as they are generally termed. Among this class have appeared numbers whose indus- try in the conduct of extensive concerns has rendered them conspicuous; and it would not, perhaps, be too bold to predict, that, in a few years, the success of their efforts may stimulate to such an increase of private tra- ders, as cannot fail to produce events of great national importance. - Thus it may be anticipated, that the commercial so- ciety of India will, in time, grow out of the knowledge of such as surveyed its state some forty years ago. It is, however, to be lamented, that from such an augmen- tation of all ranks, it has been found necessary to drop many customs suited only to a limited society. Instead of these has been adopted a certain reserve, not exactly conformable to the very sanguine ideas of those who may have read of the ancient regime of Oriental hospitality, the disuse of which has unavoidably kept pace with the additional imports consequent to extended commerce. There will, however, even at this day, be found much to approve; and a mind endued with sensibility will have occasion to acknowledge many a civility, very nearly akin to kindness, and sufficiently poignant to give an ample scope for grateful acknowledgments. Morning visits are not, generally speaking, so uncom- mon as they were. Formerly, few went to pay visits of ceremony during the forenoon; for the dinner-hour being early, there was little time for such unsocial compliments. Now that it is generally delayed till about sun-set, that is to say, to perhaps five or six, or even to seven o'clock, the forenoon is more applicable to the reception of visi- EAST IN IDIA WA DE-MECU M. 303 tors; these, if on any terms of intimacy, do not hesitate to join the family at a little avant-diner, commonly called a tiffing, and known in England by the name of lunch. This kind of refreshment (for it is not considered a repast) is usually taken between one and two o'clock, and con- sists of grilled fowls, mutton chops, cold meats, and sometimes of curry and rice. Being conducted without ceremony, and in a very desultory style, the coming in of friends never occasions the slightest discontinuance. The various formalities are, however, now transferred from P. M. to A. M. and it is usual to see the town of Calcutta thronged with palanquins during the whole of what is called the forenoon; but which commonly extends to three o'clock. About this time, especially during nine months in the year, most persons are at home, divested of their usual dresses, and reclining in some cool apart- ment on a bed or a couch, for the purpose of repose, and to prepare for that change of linen, and for those ablu- tions, not forgetting the bath, which are both refreshing and indispensable in so sultry a climate. Gentlemen who visit ladies, commonly repair to their houses between eight and nine o'clock in the evening; ordinarily under the expectation of being invited to stay and sup; an invitation that is rarely declined. Among ladies intimately acquainted, morning visits are common, but all who wish to preserve etiquette, or merely return the compliment by way of keeping up a distant acquaintance, confine their visits to the evening. Attended by one or more gentlemen, they proceed in their palanquins, on a tour devoted entirely to this cold ex- change of what is called civility. Among the several justly-exploded customs, we may reckon that which existed until within the last thirty years, of sitting up, as it was called. The practice was 304 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. evidently founded on good will and hospitality; though it bore so strong a resemblance to the exhibition of a cargo of slaves, as to occasion many a caricature, and much satirical expenditure of ink. This sitting Up generally took place at the house of some lady of rank or fortune, who, for three successive nights, threw open her mansion towards the evening, for the purpose of re- ceiving all, both ladies and gentlemen, who chose to pay their respects to such ladies as had recently arrived in the country. The fair damsels were thus at once introduced to the whole settlement, and not unfrequently obtained offers from men of the first consequence. Many matches have indeed been concluded even before the third night of exhibition. If we consider the fatigue attendant upon the return of these numerous visits, (for the slightest omission would have been an unpardonable offence,) and that the novelty of riding in a bochah, (or chair-palanquin,) would not be agreeable to all, we may form some idea of what many a delicate female, melting with the heat, tight- laced, and tormented with musquito-bites, must have un- dergone during the performance of this ceremony. To the gentlemen of the settlement it might have been abun- dantly pleasing; they having nothing to do but to post about in their palanquins from one sitting up to another, and there either to admire, or to quiz, the fair sufferers, accord- ing as their taste, or caprice, might dictate. The throng has, in some lovely instances, been so very great, that even a fourth night has been required for the benefit of bache- lors from the interior. The great increase, not only of inhabitants, but of houses, some of which are situated at an inconvenient dis- tance, has rendered the custom of sitting up nearly obso- lete. The modern instances of its continuance are, in- deed, so very few, and those few so modified, as barely to EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 305 shew that it is not quite disused. Now, a lady is received on landing, by her friends, who, generally, after a few days of repose and preparation, invite their acquain- tances to be introduced to their fair companion, who in the course of a week usually returns their visits. This is merely a partial show, compared with what formerly took place, and is no more than would be practised in England on a similar occasion. It is true that, where superlative attractions exist, many, who probably are not in the habit of visiting the family, will often avail themselves of the opportunity to chaperon some acquaintance. The company rarely sit long after dinner, unless among convivial souls who are incommoded by the presence of the ladies. Such were formerly very numerous; but of late, the society of the sex has been more duly appreciated, and the gentlemen quit the bottle to retire to the chabootah, (or terrace,) there to enjoy the cool air of the evening, and to take tea, or smoke their hookulls. Those who have business to attend, then proceed to their offices, &c., while the larger portion separate to partake of a family supper with some of their female acquaintances. Very little ceremony is used on such occasions; the gentlemen leav- ing their hats in the palanquins, and ordering their ser- vants to proceed, as a matter of course, to the houses whither their palanquins are to be conveyed. In many in- stances, these evening visits are paid in a very airy manner; coats being often dispensed with, the gentle- men wearing only an upper and under waistcoat, both of white linen, and the former having sleeves. This would appear an extraordinary freedom, if not established by custom. It generally happens, indeed, that gentlemen newly arrived from Europe, especially the officers of his Majesty's regiments, wear their coats, and prefer under- going a kind of warm bath of the most distressing descrip- - x 306 EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. tion, both to themselves and to their neighbours. In time, however, they adopt the local usages, and, though they may enter the room in that cumbrous habit, they rarely fail, soon as the first ceremonies are over, to divest themselves of it, having a servant in readiness with an upper waistcoat. Supper, though enumerated among the ordinary meals of a family residing at the Presidency, seems to be merely the means of concentrating the party. Few take more than a glass or two of wine, generally claret, with, per- haps, a crust, and a morsel of cheese; the appetite at this hour, say ten, being by no means keen. After supper the hookull is again produced, and, after sitting awhile in conversation, the lady of the house retires, after whom few remain long. On the whole, it may be said, that at least four out of five are in bed before twelve, if not before eleven o'clock. All concerned in card-parties are of course excepted, especially if the stakes run high; for such, no measure, or calculation, exists; the whole night being occasionally passed at tradrille, which is the favourite game, or at whist, &c. Such exceptions fortunately are not very numerous; and it would certainly be difficult to find any city, wherein celibacy among the males is so pre- valent as at Calcutta, that can boast of so few excesses of any description. The European inhabitants of respecta- bility certainly live well, keeping as good tables as the seasons may enable them to furnish, and drinking only the best wines. Claret, Madeira, and Port, are in general use. Of the former, there are two kinds; one called English claret, which is the best wine that France produces, manufactured, after its arrival in England, with an addition of brandy, &c., that it may endure the hot climate of In- dia, and of other liquids, to give it a richer body. The other claret is the purest which can be obtained 308 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. five or six years, become possessed of a stock of excellent Madeira; observing, however, that, in that time, every fifth pipe will have been drawn off, to fill up its neigh- bours; therefore, in computing the value of such remain- ing pipes, that of the pipe thus expended must be includ- ed. Nothing can injure a cargo of Madeira more than to place near it a cask of coal-tar, which communicates to the wine a most nauseous flavour and scent, render- ing it totally unfit for use. The port-wine used in India is generally of a light kind, not unlike what we may term Southampton port. Several years ago, when claret began to be scarce, a large quantity was sent out, and bought up with readiness; but, on account of its astringent, and, consequently, heating quality, it fell into disrepute. It is, nevertheless, highly esteemed as a restorative, especially in a conva- lescent state after obstinate bowel-complaints, and in cases of debility not proceeding from obstructions. Such exceptions are indeed rare; for, I believe, very few of the local diseases are unconnected with obstruc- tion. In fact, almost every ague, which is a very com- mon complaint in many parts of the country, and is gene- rally designated the Hill, or the Jungle-fever, according to the situation in which it is engendered, either origi- nates from, or resolves into, confirmed hepatitis. Porter, pale-ale, and table-beer of great strength, are often drunk after meals. All these are found in the utmost perfection, for indifferent malt-liquors do not en- dure the voyage, and, even should they arrive in a sound state, would meet no sale. A temporary beverage, suited to the very hot weather, and called country-beer, is in general use, though water, artificially cooled, is com- monly drunk during the repasts; and nothing can then be more gratifying, but especially after eating curry. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 309 Country-beer is made of about one-fifth part porter, or beer, with a wine glassful of toddy, (or palm-wine, which is the general substitute for yeast,) a small quantity of brown sugar, and a little grated ginger, or the dried peel of Seville oranges, or limes, which are a small kind of lemon, abounding in citric acid, and to be had very cheap. The great cheapness and abundance of the materials, added to the frequent and great thirst to which Euro- peans in India are subject, might seem strong induce- ments to the free use of punch, lemonade, sangaree, negus, &c. The reverse is, however, the case; for, with the exception of the lowest classes, all such beverages are justly discarded. They are deleterious; rarely fail- ing, in the first instance, to injure, and ultimately to dis- grace all who yield to the temptation. Fortunately, that temptation is not strong, as liquors of a superior quality are found to be more wholesome and pleasant, and, in the long run, not much dearer. Besides, there is a cer- tain odium attaches in India to all who are in the habit of drinking spirits, whether raw or diluted. In a cli- mate so ungenial to European constitutions, and where, as just remarked, thirst is often very distressing, the fre- quent recourse to brandy shrob pauny (brandy and water) never fails to produce that sottishness at all times despi- cable, but peculiarly unsuited to Oriental society, in which at least the better half are men of very liberal education, and all are gentlemen. - It may indeed be said, without fear of refutation, that fewer deviations from propriety are to be found in the British-Indian settlements, than in one-tenth the num- ber of inhabitants of the same classes in any other country. This superiority results, not simply from the advantage z 310 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. possessed by almost every individual in the Company's service, and in the mercantile branches, of an education in the most respectable seminaries, &c., and of being early initiated in the walks of decorum and integrity among their respective friends in Europe. It proceeds, in a great measure, from the nature of the climate, and from that mode of association which the duties attendant upon each profession, as well as certain localities, seem imperiously to inculcate. It has been before shewn, that taverns, punch-houses, &c., are by no means places of resort, as in Europe. There is no such thing as a coffee-room, merely as such; unless we so consider the few houses of certain French and English traiteurs and restaurateurs, who occasionally ac- commodate committees of shipping, or town meetings, &c., and who send out dinners to any part of the town, or its vicinity, on terms advantageous to both parties. Therefore, under such exceptions, which are rare, and setting apart the civic operations of the beef-steak clubs, &c., it may properly be said, that coffee-house associa- tion is unknown in Calcutta, at least among the respect- able members of the community. Neither does any corps in the Company’s service keep a mess; all the officers dining either at home or in small parties, ac- cording as their several fancies or occasion may lead them. Among the gentlemen of the civil service, the society is far less diversified than in Europe; therefore, inter- course with persons in any way unacceptable, may be easily avoided. In this instance, however, there is the most liberal consideration: while any hope of reform may remain, there will rarely be found a disposition to exile a man from that converse with his countrymen, without which he can neither preserve the appearance of EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 31 l respectability among the natives, nor, in all probability, receive the approbation of Government. Hence, what is commonly called a black-sheep, is a most marked and forlorn character throughout the East, and, conse- quently, is very scarce. Many years ago, when it was customary for the Governor-General, and some of the leading gentlemen, such as the Members of Council, &c., to have weekly public breakfasts, persons of all characters mixed pro- miscuously, and good and bad were to be seen around the same tea-pot. This occasioned a native of some con- sequence to remark, that, “among Europeans, all who wore a hat and breeches were gentlemen.” The sarcasm was not, however, quite applicable; the breakfast being considered as merely the preface to a levee. It was, therefore, to be expected, that on such occasions, per- sons of every description, who had public business to transact at the levee, would avail themselves of the op- portunity, without reference to the opinions of others regarding their private conduct. After the arrival of Marquis Cornwallis, these public breakfasts were discon- tinued, and succeeded by open levees. This was certainly pleasanter for both the Governor and the governed. There are, however, to this day some remains of the former ceremony preserved among a few of the principal gentry ; who, on certain days, expect to see their friends, and others who may wish to consult them. Some have two levees, if they may be so designated, weekly; one for Europeans, and one for natives; but such cannot be considered official. A breakfast in India bears a strong resemblance to the same meal in Scotland, with the exception of whiskey ; the introduction of which, (if to be had,) or of any other spirits, would be considered both nauseous and vulgar. 312 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. The general bill of fare consists of tea, coffee, toast, bread, butter, eggs, rice, salt-fish, kitchery, (a kind of olio,) various sweetmeats prepared in the country, especi- ally preserved ginger, and orange marmalade, honey, &c.; and, after hunting or shooting, occasionally cold meat, with proper accompaniments. During a great portion of the year, breakfast is rather a substantial meal. European gentlemen generally rise about day-break, and either proceed to the parade, or to their field diversions, or ride on horseback, or on elephants; thus enjoying the cool air of the morning. From the middle of March to the middle of October, the sun is very powerful, even when the atmosphere is overcast with very dense clouds. This induces all who ride for health, or pleasure, to avoid violent exercise ; proceeding generally in small parties, each attended by his suee, who carries a whisk of horse-hair, fastened to a short lacquered stick, to drive away flies, which are ge- nerally very troublesome both to horses and riders. . It is not uncommon to see the backs of horses covered with these noxious insects, which, by their buzzing, and their attempts to alight on the face, produce extreme irritation. During some part of the year, when scarcely a leaf is in motion, and the clouds hang very low, exercise, even so early in the morning, is often more injurious than refresh- ing. At such seasons, nothing but the abundant perspi- ration which then relaxes the whole frame, and absolutely oozes through the light clothing in common use, could prevent the occurrence of inflammatory diseases. Many from uneasiness, in consequence of this unpleasant exu- dation, change their linen three or four times within the day. Yet, however refreshing such a change, it cannot be recommended ; experience proving that a consider- able loss of strength is the inseparable consequence of EA ST INDIA VAD E-MIEC U M. 313 such an indulgence. It is best to have night apparel, and to ride out in the linen worn during the preceding even- ing ; exchanging this for a clean suit on returning, so as to sit down to breakfast in comfort. Those who are subject to bile cannot too cautiously regard their diet, which should be sparing, and confined to viands dressed in a simple manner. Many gentlemen of the faculty, in England, consider eggs moderately boiled, as rather beneficial in bilious cases; from a notion that the yolk assimilates with the bile, and carries it off. But practice is better than theory; and such as maintain this hypothesis should view the number of patients who appear to owe their pains and sorrows merely to the prac- tice of eating eggs for breakfast. In the climate of Eng- land, to a person with a robust constitution, and a digestion which might vie with that of an ostrich, eggs may be innocent; but, in the East, where relaxation weakens the powers of digestion, they are a pernicious article of diet. If, as physicians assert, assimilation take place, it assuredly is on the wrong side; for, as all oriental practitioners will probably allow, by the use of eggs the bile is considerably augmented, but not carried off. However grateful many of the other articles, such as salt-fish, &c. may be, as they cannot tend much to the preservation of health, they should be discarded from the breakfast-table. Many" on this subject can speak feel- ingly. Unable to withstand what appeared a very allur- ing temptation, thirst, heat, and uneasiness generally fol- lowed the imprudence, and gave occasion for many a nauseous dose, which had been avoided by a moderate exercise of discretion. Let juvenile readers then, espe- cially, who may be about to proceed to India, forbear to indulge in breakfasts such as have been described. The tea used in India is green, or hyson, with very 314 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. little bohea. Rarely can either kind be obtained in good condition, as the climate speedily renders tea, if exposed to the air, unfit for use. On this account, leaden catties, generally containing from four to ten pounds, are em- ployed for preserving it. These catties fit in pairs, or, if large, singly into neat boxes provided with locks. Little tea being sold retail, it is usual for a few friends, per- haps three or four, to join in the purchase of a chest. Thus, they would secure the purchase of a good quality; yet, to say the truth, it is seldom of much importance whether the tea be good or bad; for it is always made at a side-table by some menial who knows nothing of the matter, and who never tastes it; hence a cup of good tea is really a rarity. This must appear extraordinary, when it is recollected, that many vessels, in five or six weeks only from China, unlade at Calcutta. The Arabs convey an abundance of fine coffee from Mocha to every part of India. This they sell at a high price. Bourbon and the Mauritius raise coffee of an inferior quality; and, within a few years, considerable plantations have been formed at Chittagong, the produce of which is abundant, but not to be compared even with the French coffee. Some coffee has been found to have a very salt, and rather bitter taste, the cause of which was unknown till it was found to be occasioned by the frazils (or baskets) being immersed in sea water, in order to give the berries that greenish, horny appearance, which is supposed to be the indication of a superior quality. Sugarcandy is always used with tea, coffee, and, in- deed, for all such purposes. It may be procured of va- rious degrees of purity, and either of indigenous manu- facture, or imported from China. The former is sold by the maund, but the latter is in tubs made of thin deal, and EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 315 other light wood, in which the candy, about sixty pounds weight, is packed among dried bamboo leaves. Though the sugar-cane has been supposed to be indi- genous in India, yet only within the last fifty years has it been cultivated to any extent. Since the failure of crops in the West Indies, many years ago, it has become a most important article of commerce. It is strange that the only sugarcandy used till that time was received from China. Many gentlemen, however, have since speculated deeply in the manufacture, and, while amply serving themselves, have rescued the country from a very impo- litic imposition. Sugarcandy, of the first quality, is now manufactured in various parts of Bengal, and it is at length admitted, that the raw sugars from thence are pre-eminently good. Some of a very superior fineness, called Soonamooky, from a place of that name in the Burdwan district, has been sold at a high price. Further information on this subject, the readers will obtain from Mr. Colebrooke's excellent Essay on the Hus- bandry of Bengal. Bread is not made of flour, but of the heart of the wheat, which is very fine, ground into what is called soojy; a kind of meal, which so far from being pulve- rized, bears a strong resemblance to rather coarse sand. Soojy is kneaded like flour, but there being no yeast in the country, (at least such as is known in England by that name,) it is leavened by means of toddy; which is the juice obtained, as already described, by making incisions into the taul, or palm-tree. In many parts of India, taul trees being very scarce, are carefully preserved for the sake of the toddy, which is sold to the nonbaies, (or bakers,) at a high price. In Bahar, where these trees are peculiarly abundant, groves containing several hundreds are often let out to the kulwars, or distillers, to great advantage. 316 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. These venders of misery have the art of rendering the toddy peculiarly potent, by causing it to work upon the kernels of the datura, which grows wild in every part of India, and possesses throughout, in the stem, root, leaf, or nut, a most deleterious property. Toddy strongly im- pregnated with datura (the name it bears in the East) acts very rapidly on the brain ; producing, when drunk to excess, mania, and frequent apoplexies. Bread is usually made into small single loaves, weighing about a pound each, and double loaves, including double the weight. A large proportion, of both sizes, is baked in tin moulds, of a brick form. These are generally pre- ferred, because they are rarely scorched, and require no rasping, as all the other bread, baked in the form of heavy cakes, generally does. Soojy (the basis of the bread) is frequently boiled for breakfast into stir-about, and eaten with milk, salt, and butter; though some moisten it with porter;—a curious medley, by no means suited to every taste, or every di- gestion. The camp-oven, in common use, consists merely of a very large naud, or pot, rather of a conical form, and ca- pable of containing from thirty to fifty gallons. This vessel is prepared for the purpose, by a hole punched through the bottom, large enough to admit a man's arm. It is then placed, mouth downwards, over a corresponding cavity, dug out of the soil, so as to fit close every way; but in order to allow a proper draught of air, two or more sloping apertures are left, passing under the circumfer- ence of the naud. The vessel is next covered with turf, &c., and thus rendered capable of retaining a considerable heat, long enough to bake small bread. The interior be- ing filled with chips of wood, charcoal, gutties, (dried cow- dung,) or whatever fuel may be at hand; a strong fire is EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 317 kept up till the naud appears to be nearly at a red heat. The hole, which served for a chimney, is then closed, and the embers being withdrawn, the bread is introduced upon pieces of iron plate or tin, boards, leaves, &c. &c. The natives invariably eat unleavened bread, generally wheaten, or of barley-meal. Being made into a good dough, it is flattened between the hands, with very great dexterity, into cakes, called chow-patties. These are either put at the edges of the heated choolah, or fire-place, or baked upon a convex circular plate of iron, in diameter about ten inches, or a foot. This plate, called a towah, exactly resembles the girdle made in Scotland for baking oaten bread, and is used in the same manner. - Milk is abundant throughout India, especially among the Hindoos, who venerate the cow, and follow all occu- pations relating to the dairy; yet from the general custom of smoking the insides of all vessels used for milk, it will not be obtainable in a state suited to the palate of an European, unless a clean pitcher, &c., be sent to the gu'allah, or cow-keeper, that the cow may be milked into it. That fuliginous taste, so obnoxious to Europeans, is perfectly palatable, and perhaps agreeable to the natives, who assign as a reason for smoking their vessels, that it prevents the milk from turning. It is, however, a ques- tion whether the operation of scalding, always performed when practicable, while the milk is warm, be not the true preventive against acidulation. Certain it is, that sour milk is very rarely found in India, though for full half the year, the thermometer is generally up between 750 and 95° in the shade; and in a Bengallee hut, frequently rising to 110°, or more. The milk obtained from buffaloes is much richer than that from cows, though the butter is very inferior, gene- 318 EAST INDIA. V. A D E-MECU M. rally white, and brittle. It, however, possesses qualities suited to the climate, and which occasion the preference given to it by the natives. After being warmed to a cer- tain degree, so as to become liquified, it is kept in that state for a long time nearly stationary; losing thus its aqueous particles, and being rendered fit for keeping. When thus prepared, it is called ghee. Others, instead of this tedious process, keep the milk simmering for some time over a great heat; but not without danger of burn- ing, or at least, of giving it a certain empyreumatic fla- vour. Few of the natives touch cow-butter, to which they attribute many bad effects, though they drink ghee . by the quart, and pride themselves not a little in being able to afford so luscious an enjoyment. The free use of ghee among those whose purses can provide the indul- gence, while it tends to that corpulence of which they are inordinately vain, contributes greatly to the genera- tion of bilious diseases, which so often attack the more opulent natives. Ghee and idleness may be said to occa- sion half their ailings. As an article of commerce it is of some importance; many thousand maunds are sent every season from some of the grazing districts, such as Pur- meah and Sircar-sarun, to the more cultivated parts, and especially to the western provinces. It is generally con- veyed in dubbahs, or bottles made of green hide, which, being freed from the air, and worked up while in a pliant state into the form of a carraboy, such as is in use for spirits of turpentine, &c., will keep sweet for a long time, if the mouth of the vessel be well closed. In this manner ghee is conveyed by water in dubbahs, often measuring nearly a hogshead. A smaller kind of dubbahs, containing from fifteen to twenty gallons each, are made to be slung across the backs of bullocks, and thus carried to places EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 319 distant from navigable streams. The price of ghee varies according to demand and quality. Buffaloes’ milk may be supposed to possess a very con- siderable portion of cream, since one-sixth part turns to butter; whereas, in England, if a cow, and it must be a good one, yield twenty gallons of milk within the week, this will rarely produce ten pounds of butter, which is . equal to only one-eighth part of the mass of milk. The d’hoob grass, which grows wild in almost every part of the country, is peculiarly nutritious; but the food of cattle of all descriptions throughout India, is more dry and solid than that offered to cows in England. Hence, though the quantity of milk yielded by a buffalo may not be . equal to that of an English cow of equal weight, the pro- duce in butter, from an equal quantity of milk, will be in favour of the former. The difficulty of preserving milk from the taste of smoke has been already stated. Be- sides the cause described, the difficulty is increased by the very small proportion of milk yielded by cows in In- dia; which are, with few exceptions, white, and rarely grow larger than the generality of yearlings, or steers, in England. In some grazing districts they thrive well, at- taining to full thirteen hands high, and weighing, when fit for the butcher, from four to five hundred weight; but such are not very numerous. Butter produced from cows' milk, except from such as are well fed, is very indifferent. Gentlemen keeping dairies, scarcely ten for all India, certainly obtain excellent butter; but that sold by the muckun-wallahs (the butter-men) would appear to a stranger not to be made from the same species of animals. Con- sidering the price of a cow; this butter is remarkably dear, as is usually the case with articles of inferior quality. Gentlemen, as before mentioned, usually keep for the 320 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. supply of their tea-tables a few goats, which afford milk of a remarkably fine quality, and are herded with store sheep intended to supply vacancies among the fatting stock. The kids produced, generally twice in the year, by each milch goat, (mostly twins, and not unfrequently three or even four at a birth,) serve to keep up the num- ber of the flock, besides yielding occasionally a most deli- cate viand for the table. Nor is any meat more sweet or wholesome than a kid allowed to suck the mother at pleasure; being as white, and, in proportion, as fat as any veal. Kid-meat is in general request, as admirably suited for rich curries, and also roasting remarkably well. It may be had of any butcher; and when of a good size, and duly fatted, a whole kid weighs about six pounds. By the word butcher, must not be understood a shop- keeper, exposing the several joints of various animals for sale, as in English markets. On the contrary, a fat kusse (cut-goat) or two, and two or three kids, daily, with, now and then, a half-fatted ox during the cold months, com- prise the whole business of an Indian butcher in full trade. The greater part of his profit is derived from slaughtering oxen, calves, pigs, sheep, and kids, for families. For this service he receives a few annas, (or two-pences,) accord- ing to the size of the animal: in most instances butchers take the skin, pluck, and sometimes the head, as a per- quisite. - r It is impossible to produce finer mutton than is served up in India; nor can there be finer beef than that seen in most cantonments, and among fixed residents. At some of the principal military and civil stations, gentlemen, who keep a regular table, usually fatten several bullocks for winter slaughtering. Some of these are fed full two years on gram; and, exclusive of being burthened with fat on the kidneys, &c., have their flesh absolutely marbled by EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 321 the admixture of fat among the fleshy parts. Sometimes the officers of a regiment join to fatten four or five head, the parts of which are either divided according to mutual concurrence, or drawn for by lot. This supplies fresh beef during the winter; very few bullocks being killed at any other time, from the extreme difficulty of preserving the meat. To persons who have never witnessed the hasty strides of putrefaction in hot climates, this forbear- ance from beef, for so large a portion of the year, may ap- pear unnecessary. It is, however, a fact, that, during the close weather, prevalent throughout the rains, and for a certain part of the hot season, meat, though killed only about midnight, will often become putrid, long before the time when it ought to be on the spit; and that, too, in spite of every precaution. The markets at Calcutta are open at day-break; when very fine meat, of every kind, with various sorts of choice fish, fruits, vegetables, &c., may be purchased on very reasonable terms. Beef may sometimes be seen there in the hottest weather; for being cut up into small joints, a bullock may be readily sold off among so many customers; but, generally, the prime pieces, with all the best fish, &c., are bought up by sunrise. The refuse joints are usually bought by Portuguese, Europeans of the lower classes, or persons who supply the shipping, the only customers for bazar-pork. The whole of the non-commissioned and privates, in the several regiments of Europeans, are served with meat, rice, spirits, and fire-wood, by contract; receiving their several quotas early in the morning, under the inspection of their commissioned officers, who make their reports of any deficiencies, either in quantity or quality. Those gentlemen who produce pork at their tables, are very particular as to the manner in which the pigs are fed. Y * 322 EAST IN TYIA VAD E-MECU MI. Many are so fastidious, as not to allow any to be served up, unless educated, as it is called, in their own sties. The very circumstance of being born elsewhere, absolutely dis- qualifying, and rendering of no avail, all that change of bulk, and all that purification, derived from perhaps a whole year of confinement to a clean sty; in which they are fed only with the best corn (gram). This is carrying daintiness to an extreme ; but it must be confessed, that swine in that part of the world are so offensively greedy in the indulgence of their appetites, as to give occasion for many very reasonable scruples regarding the use of bazar-pork; which is indiscriminately killed from the fat- test of those wanderers that sometimes feast upon the most offensive lay-stalls. A very laughable circumstance occurred in 1803, at Berhampore. An officer, who had been many years at Gibraltar, where a joint of meat, of any kind, was a rarity, and probably gave occasion to no questions as to its edu- cation, produced at his table a very fine corned leg of pork, of which all his guests ate with great avidity. One of them, when the repast was over, begged leave to enquire how the gentleman kept his pigs; what had been on table, being of a flavour so superior, that he presumed it was educated in some very particular manner. “Oh no,” answered the host, “I never trouble my head about sties. My man bought a whole side of it this morning of Neeloo the butcher, for eight annas.” (15d.) This un- timely disclosure operated not only like magic, but like emetic tartar. The whole company were affected with violent sickness, and retired to give vent, both to the pork and to their feelings, on so dreadful an occasion. However, none died in consequence of having been thus poisoned; but the whole station received the tale with EAST IN DI A VAD E-MECU M. 323 horror, and resolved, to a man, never to accept another invitation from the unfortunate hero of the rock. Very few officers have piggeries; they commonly con- tent themselves with hams and cheeks imported from England. The grossness of the viand is, however, so very inappropriate to the climate, that, even after the most delicate management, pork is by no means con- sidered as a choice dish; sucking pigs are more generally approved. Veal can so very seldom be obtained in the market, of a quality fit for the table, that four or five friends com- monly join to rear calves for their own expenditure, di- viding every calf that is slaughtered. The best and most economical plan is, to agree with some butcher, to re- ceive of him a cow and calf, the latter being newly born, and to return him the mother, after the calf has been killed, together with four rupees (10s.). By this mode, the calf will thrive admirably if the cow be well fed; but it is a common and useful practice to give the calf, three times daily, as much scalded milk as it can drink, drench- ing it either with a horn or a quart bottle. From three to four quarts, in each of which the yolk of a fresh egg is beat up, will commonly produce the desired effect, ren- - dering the meat very fine by the end of a month; the usual age at which they are slaughtered. What with the food of the mother, the milk and eggs given to the calf, and the necessary attendance, a gold-mohur (£2.) will generally be expended upon each calf, unless several be kept together as a successive supply for the table; in which case, about twelve rupees will be found the average expense. In this is reckoned the expense on a calf which will, now and then, perhaps one in five, prove a bad one; and, notwithstanding every precaution, either scour or pine. Y 2 324 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. From the extreme antipathy which the horned cattle of India always exhibit towards Europeans, it is impossi- ble to remedy many bad practices and neglects to which these animals are subject under the care of the native servants. An Indian ox or cow, when at liberty, is always carefully shunned, lest it should indulge its savage dis- position. A stranger, on first entering the country, would suppose the cattle to be wild instead of domesticated ; for not one in a thousand will admit the approach of an European; nor are they always more gentle towards strangers of any description. As to what are called tame buffaloes, they are commonly fiercer than any British bull, and, with calves at their sides, will attack man and horse with unbounded ferocity. Hence, it is extremely proper to be cautious of approaching herds, or single cattle of either kind, even when tolerably mounted. Sometimes, in riding through the country, and especially where jeels (lakes) are to be forded, or pools to be passed, the unwary traveller finds himself, on a sudden, within a few yards of a whole herd of buffaloes, which, to avoid the heat of mid-day, will wallow in the muddy water, so deep that only their noses and eyes are above the surface. Among rushes, &c. even those parts are not discernible, or, if in an open expanse, may be easily mistaken for clods of mud; for the horns lie back towards the false ribs. On a sudden, the whole herd sometimes rise, and, at least, frighten the horse, of whatever the rider's heart may be made. Such a surprise, and from animals that, according to the old saying, “give but a word and a blow, and the blow comes first,” is far from pleasant. In such situa- tions, all depends on the conduct of the leading bull. If he snorts, shakes his horns, and advances, the danger is imminent. But it frequently happens, that, whether EAST IND I A VAD E-MI ECU M. 325 owing to lassitude, or the absence of any object particu- larly irritating to buffaloes, of which a red coat may be considered the extreme, the herd content themselves with rising from their reclined postures, and, after those who roused them may have passed on, again sink into the friendly pool. The British settlers in India are extremely indebted to the Dutch for many essential improvements. The small town of Chinsurah, situate about twenty-eight miles north of Calcutta, on the banks of the Hoogly river, has, in this instance, proved serviceable to India at large. The Dutch, to whom it appertained before the war, in- troduced the culture of that invaluable esculent, the po- tatoe, received from their settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. They were also the first to shew any disposition for horticulture. From them the British received annu- ally the seeds of every kind of vegetable for the table, and several plants much wanted, especially various kinds of pot-herbs. They likewise supplied vines, from which innumerable cuttings have been dispensed to every part of Bengal and its upper dependencies. The whole of the lower provinces, at least those parts skirting the ranges of hills that bound them, produce immense quan- tities of wild vines, which during the rains bear par- tially grapes of a red colour, and about the size of a pistol-ball. These vines tower over the high saul trees, or creep along the rocky masses, especially throughout the Ramghur district, in all the majesty of wild luxu- riance. Here is a field for speculation! Suppose, that the wines which should be made proved not of the best qua- lity, still the most important advantages might be derived from the brandy and vinegar to which they might be con- 326 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. verted. As to wood for the staves, and iron for the hoops, they are both on the spot; and, for distillation, abundance of sufficiently skilful men may be found among the natives. Fuel is every where abundant; it is, indeed, a perfect nuisance. The only impediment alledged is, that the neighbouring streams are not generally navigable, or, perhaps, only for a few months in the year. They might, however, be easily rendered adequate to every purpose, there being lime-stone in various adjacent hills, while, among the convicts, who are in a state of idleness for the most part, many persons might be selected fully capable of constructing whatever masonry or timber work should be found necessary. Some years ago, this suggestion was submitted to the Directors. The Indian minister of that day was forcibly struck with the obvious facility of founding an immense national concern: and, had he remained in office, would probably have taken means to ascertain every point with the utmost exactitude: the result must have been per- fectly satisfactory. Rum is made in Bengal, as in the West Indies, from refuse sugar : its quality is by no means inferior. After being six years in the godown, (warehouse,) it has been compared with Jamaica Rum, warranted ten years old, and the preference decided in its favour. As to arrack, which is, in a manner, peculiar to the East, the native distillers produce excellent alcohol, which, after being properly rectified, and kept for some years, proves an ex- cellent spirit, and is supposed to be far more wholesome than rum. Though, on the whole, the fish brought to the Cal- cutta markets cannot be compared with such as are seen at Billingsgate, &c., there are some kinds, which might EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 327 please the most dainty epicure. The hilsah, (or sable fish,) which seems to be in the mid-way between a mackarel and a salmon, as to form, general appearance, and flavour, is, perhaps, the richest fish with which any cook is acquainted. It so abounds with fat, that most persons, after being served with a portion, immerse it in boiling water, brought in a soup-plate; which causes a large quantity of grease to float. When baked in vinegar, or preserved in tamarinds, the hilsah is remarkably fine. Like the salmon, these run up to the very spring-heads, seeming to abound more and more as they approach them, though they grow to the largest size immediately within the tide's reach. Passing beyond that, they dart up as far as possible during the season, returning, after spawn- ing, to the sea. They are in perfection towards the latter end of the rains. The bickly (or cockup) very strongly resembles the jack, and grows to an enormous size. They have been seen more than eight feet long, and weighing full a maund (82lb.). The average size at which they are brought to market, may be from eighteen to thirty inches long; and their weight from two to ten, or twelve pounds. They flake like cod, to which also their flavour assi- milates. Soles, of a diminutive size, are sometimes to be had at Calcutta: the natives call them kookoor jibbys, (dogs' tongues,) in allusion to their shape. These are sometimes caught in the brackish waters, among the bicktys, or cockups, or in the flat sands about Diamond Harbour, &c. Prawns of a very good size, and very small cray- fish, are found in most parts of the country, also a kind of eel called baum. This, however, bears more resemblance to the gar, or guard-fish, of which millions may be taken 328 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. in'most of the fresh-water jeels, (lakes,) though rarely exceeding a foot in length. The rooy, or rhooee, is a species of the carp, as is also the meergah. They both abound in the great rivers, and in all the waters which connect with them, though the r’hooee are most numerous, and thrive greatly in ponds. The meergah are of a browner colour, and in weight rarely exceed ten pounds, whereas the r’hooee are often found of fifty pounds weight, and sometimes up to a maund. The cutlah is a species of perch, though some consider it the bream kind. It is found only in great rivers ; is generally of a dark colour, approaching to black, and commonly weighs from ten to sixty pounds. The r' hooee, the meergah, and the cutlah, may be taken by angling ; also the soly, a species of the jack, and nearly as voracious. Trouts, as large as smelts, are sometimes seen in those small streams that have their rise among mountains, but not so distinctly spotted as in Europe. They are, indeed, very scarce, and have generally a small red, gold, or black spot on each scale. The adipous fin, by which all the salmon tribe are distinguished, is scarcely elevated above the loins. The fresh-water anchovy, called by the natives chelwar, is found in shoals on every flat sand throughout the great rivers. These are generally scared, so as to precipitate themselves on the beach. Two men, wading in the water up to their knees, gradually draw a line of fifty or sixty feet in length, every where laden with small coloured rags, in such manner as to enclose the chelwars in a cres- cent, and ultimately to drive them ashore. Occasionally are found among the booty, mullets of a small size, re- markably sweet and firm. Shoals of them are commonly seen struggling against the current, especially in the cold EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 329 months, with their eyes out of the water. Their motions are very nimble, and they are not to be taken by angling; but it is not uncommon to see several killed by a round of small shot from a common fowling-piece. The tingrah, a kind of fresh-water gurnet, is extremely voracious, and grows to a good size, often weighing eight or nine pounds; though the average is from two to four. They are very strong, and when hooked, afford ample amusement. The skait grows to full twelve or fourteen pounds, and is common in all great rivers, but must be han- dled with caution, on account of its dreadful spine about the centre of the tail. The two last-mentioned fishes are rarely seen at table; nor the buallee, which is rather flat, and like eels, has a continued abdominal fin. This fish is ex- tremely coarse, but desperately rapacious; seizing almost any bait with avidity, but when hooked, affording little sport. The puflah, of the same description, but instead of weighing, as the buallee often does, from ten to fifteen pounds, seldom reaches so many ounces. Its flesh is re- markably rich and sweet, but when hooked, it is as little disposed as the former to resist. The most esteemed fish is that called by the natives tupsey, but by Europeans man- go-fish, on account of its appearing about the time that mangoes first come into season, when it comes up with the tide. In appearance it is not unlike the smelt, though rather deeper, and with reddish fins. The flesh is fine, and the roe deservedly esteemed to be delicious. An im- mense quantity are cured by being slightly salted and sun- dried; after which, they are smoked for a short time over a fire made of chaff, &c. Turtle of about a cwt., are found in almost every river and creek, and in some of the large jeels ; though very rarely seen in standing waters, and then, perhaps, only in 330 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. a state of migration. Their flesh is peculiarly unwhole- some ; and so far from being like the sea-turtles, com- posed of parts resembling fish, flesh, and fowl, may be aptly compared with bacon of the coarsest description, and somewhat rancid. The batchwah, or fresh-water her- ring (though it has no scales) is one of the best fishes the Indian rivers produce; but a general prejudice against its selection of food is entertained, and with much justice. The most appropriate baits for fishes, generally, are the goorgoory, (or gryllus monstrosus,) and the cock-roach (or blatta). It would be endless to recount all the kinds of fishes in the streams and lakes of India; but it may be justly stated, that in some parts their numbers are so great as to corrupt the waters. With respect to the minor spe- cies of fish occasionally served at table, they are very nu- merous, and, in most places, abundant. Every creek and jeel is full of them, and in every village in their vicinity there are persons provided with an apparatus for catching an ample supply. On the larger pieces of water are usual- ly either canoes or dingies, which, with their owners, are subservient to the jemmadars, or head-boroughs, and may also be set in motion for a very trivial present, ostensibly made to the labourer, but commonly transferred privately to that proud, imperious, and avaricious officer. Of PoultRY, which next come under consideration, there is great variety. Fowls, capons, ducks, geese, turkies, and pigeons, have been sold in every city, or great station, at very moderate prices, though now rather on the increase. As a general average of fine chickens, called chujahs, ten could be had for a rupee (three-pence each); of middle-sized, or meem-kabobbies, (small roasters,). seven or eight for a rupee (about four-pence each); and of good-sized roasters, or kabobbies, five for a rupee, (about sixpence each). EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 331 Capons can be procured only in particular parts of the country. They are generally white, and so cheap that ten or twelve may be bought for a rupee. In the moun- tainous Tomar district, where they are produced in im- mense numbers by the Pahariahs", or Hill people, no less than twenty-nine have been purchased for that sum, or for one penny each. Ducks thrive prodigiously throughout India, but not turkies, which are extremely tender, and cannot endure the great heats of summer, unless allowed to graze upon a plot well watered, and generally sheltered from the sun. It is not uncommon to see them crowding to some little verdant spot under the shade of the lee-side, where a cur- rent of air, refrigerated by the tatties, passes out from the bungalow, &c. Without such a restorative, they would pine away, and speedily disappoint the hopes of their owner. Among the grass on the plots generally preserved near the dwelling, it is common to see immense numbers of ants of all descriptions, which resort thither both for cool- ness, and to collect the seeds perpetually falling. It is strange, but true, that these little depredators are not easily deterred, by the water being laid on occasionally, from forming their nests in such plots of grass, though they generally prefer some dry hard walk, or level area. Along these they form little paths, by laying the gravel, * These Pahariahs are more immediately distinguished by the desig- nation of Dangahs. They are of a small stature, very poor indeed, rather squalid, but capable of undergoing great fatigue. They are most adroit in the exercise of the bow; and after performing the little labour needful for the cultivation of the vallies, they generally repair At certain seasons to the military and civil stations in the neighbouring districts of Ramghur, &c., where they serve as bearers, especially on the new road, which is much frequented by gentlemen travelling dawk, (post,) in palanquins, to or from the upper stations. 332 EAST IN ID I A VAID E-MI ECU M. &c., aside; so that when robbing some store, their pro- gress may not be obstructed. These paths may be traced for fifty or sixty yards. They are occasionally double ; one being appropriated for the egressors, and the other for those returning laden with the booty. When the tur- kies light upon such a line of march, they fall to with a voracious appetite, seeming to rival English pheasants in that particular, and exhibiting their satisfaction on re- ceiving a supply of this favourite food. In thus devour- ing the ants, they do great service, for there can be no companions more unpleasant than those little tormentors, whose bite, which is extremely keen, produces consider- able irritation. Some of these ants grow to full three quar- ters of an inch in length, and are capable of causing great pain. Many object to destroy them, from an opinion that they feed on white ants. This is doubtful, though they are ready enough to march off with the body of a dead white ant, as they would with any other morsel of animal substance. The difficulty of rearing turkies, renders them ex- tremely scarce. Hence it is not uncommon to pay a gold mohur (two pounds) for a well-grown fat turkey-cock. Few, either cocks or hens, are to be procured in any part of the country for less than half that sum, and then chiefly from Portuguese families, who gain a livelihood by rearing them; especially about Bandel, a Portuguese town, thirty miles above Calcutta, where also are reared ducks and geese in abundance. At all the great stations, both civil and military, there are persons by whom fami- lies can be supplied. Fowls are reared by the same persons; and indeed almost every Mahomedan family maintains a few for its own use, and for sale. Among Hindoos, nothing could be more criminal than such an employment: the very touch of a fowl being the acmé of - EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 333 pollution. How necessary then it is to be guarded in changing the dress of native soldiers. Their zeal and fidelity are unquestionable, but they instantly revolt at any invasion, however slight, of their religious tenets, or of their vulgar prejudices. Let those who affect to consider such to be easily overruled, take a trip to Bengal, and insist on any Hindoo menials, or others, under their authority, wearing a feather in their turban. As to the numerous species of wild game, such as an- telopes, hog-deer, hogs, geese, ducks, teal, snipes, orto- lans, quails, partridges, florikens, (or bustards,) pigeons of sorts, wild and tame, hares, &c., they are generally to be had in abundance. Of these there is a particular ac- count, in that superb work, the Wild Sports of the EAst, where the details of every branch of hunting, shoot- ing, &c., will be found. There are no wild rabbits in India; but of the tame there are great numbers at Calcutta, and some of subor- dinate stations. The prices vary according to demand, age, and condition. It is extremely difficult to preserve them from their numerous enemies, dogs, jackals, foxes, cats, rats, bats, snakes, hawks, crows, &c. . To the supply of the table, naturally succeeds a de- scription of what relates to the convenience and service of gentlemen resident in the East. The dinner table is invariably laid with two cloths; one of the usual size, the other only large enough to cover the surface. This is removed when the meat is taken off; so that the dessert is laid upon the lower one. A napkin is placed with every cover, also a tumbler, or fummer, a long glass for claret, and one of ordinary size for Madeira. Each glass has a cover, to be lifted off by a stud in its centre. In opulent families, these covers are usually made of silver, otherwise of turned wood. 334 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. It is remarkable, that some of the common indigenous woods have the peculiar property, when used for this purpose, of imparting a most offensive smell and flavour to water, &c., if left for a few minutes. The knives and forks are all of European manufacture, though, within these few years, some excellent imitations have appeared. Yet the native can, as yet, scarcely work at so low a rate as an English artisan, though he has the advantage in cheapness of living, and in being gene- rally exempt from a variety of taxes. This deficiency pro- ceeds, on the part of the natives, from their being obliged to perform all those operations by hand, which the Eng- lish both accelerate and perfect by machinery. Yet the greater part of the plate used throughout the country is made by native Smiths, who, in some instances, may be seen to tread very close on the heels of our jewellers, not only in the graceful forms of the articles, but in the patterns, whether carved or embossed. Such specimens of perfection are, however, rare, and produced chiefly under the superintendence of European masters; though pieces, displaying much skill, and some taste, have been made by sonaars, (goldsmiths), totally independent of such aid or instruction. Speaking, however, of the com- mon workmanship of this class, it is unworthy to be com- pared with British plate, on account of its indifferent shape and rude ornaments. Hence, plate sent from England, or made by Europeans settled in India, very generally sells for full 25, or even for 50 per cent more than what is manufactured by native artisans. The whole of the glass-ware used in India is sent from England, and commonly sells at from two to three hundred per cent. on the prime cost. Nor is this unreasonable, considering how brittle is the commodity, EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 335 and that the extent of sale is not considerable enough to render it, individually, an object of adventure. Table-cloths and napkins are manufactured in several parts of the country, especially at Patna, Tondah, and most of those cities where piece-goods are made. Of some fabrics of this description the beauty is very strik- ing ; nor is their durability less remarkable; lasting in constant use for more than twelve years. The prices of course vary according to quality. Some of a coarser texture, and a plain diaper, are extremely cheap. Such are, however, extremely flimsy, and never appear credit- able. Towels are also manufactured at various prices. A kind, generally of mixed coloured borders, wove in, is made at Chittagong. These are rough, like what we call huckaback, and are peculiarly calculated for drying and cleaning the skin after washing, but are not so durable as the plain diapers. Great quantities of furniture are sent from Europe, being taken to pieces, and packed within a very small space. Of this description, mahogany tables and chairs form by far the greater portion; few other articles being shipped, except now and then we see a few bureaus, secretaires, ecritoires, &c. All such commodities would bear even a higher price than is now charged for them, were it not that, among the natives, as well as among European carpenters and joiners settled in Calcutta, the British mechanics experience considerable and very suc- cessful rivalship. The excellence and variety of the woods, produced in almost every part of India, and the facility with which they are brought to market, present the most favour- able aids to the Indian artisans. Owing to their want of capital, their work is rarely found to answer: 336 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. for as they cannot afford to buy a stock of wood before- hand, and to allow time for its seasoning, it warps, and sometimes rives from end to end. On the contrary, when a gentleman is at the pains, and has the oppor- tunity, to saw up his own wood, and to season it pro- perly, it will commonly be found fully to answer his ex- pectations, both in respect to durability and polish. Though, in some instances, there is an obvious cheapness in employing a native carpenter: it may safely be as- serted, that, in the end, what with delay, impositions, imperfections, &c., it is frequently found to be a dear purchase, of a trifling saving. Persons arriving in India should visit the several depôts of furniture at every auction-warehouse, and generally at the godowns (ware- houses) of the European shopkeepers. There is, besides, a whole street called the china-bazar, as well as various scattered boutiques, appropriated entirely to the display of European articles and china-ware of every descrip- tion. These are all sold, for ready money only, by a tribe of Hindoo speculators, who, by attending at auc- tions, make cheap purchases, and become perfectly ac- quainted with the qualities of every article, or, at least, with what gives a preference in the eye of an European. In this bazar (or market) almost every thing may be obtained that an European can require for common purposes. He may, indeed, purchase an ample library, either of new or of second-hand books; and, generally speaking, may equip himself so as to keep house at full thirty per cent. cheaper than by application to the European shopkeepers. Though a few trades, such as coachmaking, jewellery, cutlery, armoury, &c., are perfectly distinct, and uncon- nected with any other speculation, commodities in gene- ral are not separately classed, and exhibited in shops EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 337 solely allotted to them. On the contrary, what is called an European shop, affords a rich display of that hetero- geneous kind of cargo imported in every merchant-ship from that quarter. Consequently, each shop offers an astonishing variety of wares. Liquors of all kinds, guns, pistols, glass, tin and copper ware, crockery, stationery, shoes and boots, hosiery, woollens, linens, ironmongery, hats, cheese, grocery, and a great number of articles of the most opposite natures, may be found in the spacious rooms and godowns allotted to the exhibition of the mis- cellaneous profusion. Though it is not common to see European goods, espe- cially those not immediately perishable, selling for less than thirty or forty per cent. advance upon the salt-water invoices, it sometimes happens, that an immense impor- tation of some few particular articles may lower them to full fifty per cent. under prime cost. This is easily ex- plained. For instance, should hats, shoes, and boots, bear a great price at the time a fleet is about to be des- patched for Europe, the commanders and officers note it down, for the purpose of giving those articles a large pro- portion in their next outward-bound cargoes. Thus each, unwittingly, becomes the dupe of his own avarice; and, on the return of those ships to India, experiences a lament- able disappointment. However in Europe genuine china-ware may be ad- mired, in the East, Europeans seem, for the most part, indifferent to its beauties; preferring the ornamented Staffordshire-ware, which, owing to its bulk and brittle- ness, necessarily bears a high price in every quarter of India. It is a disadvantage of using this ware in so re- mote a situation, that when from numerous accidents, to which such articles are subject, even under especial vigi- lance, but particularly in the hands of native menials, the Z 338 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. set may be much reduced, it is utterly impracticable to restore it. With China-ware it is very different; for it is not easy to distinguish between two complex patterns, if tolerably alike; and as there is always a very large stock on hand in the china-bazar, there is almost a certainty of being furnished with any number of plates, dishes, &c., required to complete the set, or even to augment it, if necessary. It may, however, be a proper precaution not to buy a set of china-ware of any very particular pattern; but to select one from those numerous rich patterns every where common, and annually imported. It appears, in- deed, that, unless under particular orders, the Chinese deviate but little from their established fashions, as may be seen in their constant manufacture of that kind of crockery we generally term dragon china, which has been in use among them for centuries. A very expensive article of general consumption is wax- candle. Of late years, in consequence of the increased demand, the price has more than trebled. Here appears that want of system which too often tends to annihilate what might be made, under due regulation, a most ad- vantageous concern. Honey is of little value in India, the natives considering it unwholesome, and the Hindoos being particularly averse to destroying so many lives, for the purpose of robbing their combs. These circumstances tend to diminish the collection of wax, which, in some districts, hangs for years neglected upon the briars in the jungles. Besides, the jealousy of the zemindars, (or land- holders,) who rarely omit to exact a heavy duty upon whatever is taken from their soil, deters those who pos- sess a spirit of enterprise from becoming dealers in the article. Half a million of maunds might doubtless be annually collected, were proper encouragement given, EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 339 and a sale insured to the adventurers, at any particular towns in the several districts where bees are abundant. The very unpleasant scent of tallow, and its great apti- tude to gutter in so hot a climate, occasion its use to be confined to Europeans whose circumstances will not per- mit the use of wax. This occasions all who return from India, after long residence there, to be extremely incom- moded by the smell of mould candles, the smoke of which is to them peculiarly offensive, and strongly reminds them of the cheraugs, or oil-lamps, in common use among the natives, and in the zenanahs of Europeans. The whole of the doors and windows being thrown open, during the evenings especially, the current of air, passing through every part of the interior, would extin- guish the several lights, unless large glass covers, called shades, were applied by way of preventives. Some of these are made to stand on pillars, or pedestals, generally of wood, with brass ferules, and broad plinths, either square or circular, to prevent their being easily overset. The other kind of table-shade is by no means so con- venient, being an irregular tube, standing on its base, or broader extremity; and though spreading in the centre, drawing narrower toward the upper part. This kind is required to be much longer, so as to shelter the flame of a candle standing on a candlestick, which should not properly be more than six inches high. The inconveni- ences by which this shade is attended are self-evident, as it cannot be carried about, or lifted in toto, like the pe- destal shade. The lights affixed to the walls, either on sconces or brackets, or suspended from hooks, are gene- rally on the same principle; with this necessary difference, that oil is chiefly burnt in them, by means of a small glass tumbler half filled with water, on which the oil floats, and z 2 340 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. supports a very slight tin tube with fourtin wings, to each of which a piece of cork is affixed. During the rainy season, when insects of every description are beyond cre- dibility numerous, it is often absolutely necessary to re- move all lights from the supper-table. Otherwise, moths, flies, bugs, &c., would be attracted in such numbers as, if not to extinguish them, to prove extremely obnoxious. When the lights are retained on the table, it is customary to place the candlesticks in soup plates, &c., filled with water; by this means such insects, especially the stink- ing bugs, which fly with great force, are often precipi- tated and drowned. It is not unusual in this manner to catch whole platesful, which would otherwise continue to torment the company. Nothing can exceed the irritation produced by these bugs when they get into the hair, or between the linen and the body. Nor are they in them- selves innocent; for though they neither bite nor sting, such is their acrimony, that if bruised so as to leave any moisture on the skin, great heat may take place, and sometimes blisters, followed by excoriations difficult to heal. The same effect is produced by the urine of lizards, which frequent the interior of houses, and may often be seen in great numbers crawling about the walls, or on the ceiling, (if so may be termed the roofs already described,) in pursuit of the smaller and more delicate insects, which they snap up with great dexterity and greediness. It is really amusing to observe with what sagacity and care they approach their prey, and with what rapidity they dart forth their long tongues armed with gluten. Frogs, toads, and occasionally snakes, patrolling about the skirts of the apartments, even of the best houses in the country, must be put up with as matters of course; as must also the alighting of cock-roaches on the face while at table, or at cards, &c. Nor, indeed, must the resident EAST INDIA VAD lº-MECU M. 341 in India be very squeamish in regard to bats, which freely indulge in aérial circuits over the heads of the company, on which, too, they now and then find it con- venient to halt awhile. These all appear terrible draw- backs, but after a time are scarcely noticed: such is the power of habit. Certainly a very considerable portion of the enjoyments, which might otherwise be indulged in, are in a manner proscribed by these nuisances. Yet, whether it be owing to that ennui generally prevalent, or to that kind of reconciliation which takes place between the pest and its sufferer, we see all the old residents treat insects, frogs, toads, &c., with great indifference; though, to be sure, when a snake, of whatever class, makes his entrée, an astonishing degree of activity, far beyond what the former lethargic symptoms could indicate, sud- denly prevails. Large snakes have been seen coiled, or rather twined, among the Venetians of bungalow windows. The grass- snake, which is of a beautiful green, with a reddish head, loves to secrete itself under the leaves of tables, and in situations of that description, where it may be easily dis- lodged, or touched, by accident. Such a propensity is peculiarly obnoxious in a serpent whose bite is generally fatal. This snake may occasionally be seen twisted round the smaller boughs of trees, whence, if disturbed, it drops with great readiness, and proceeds along the tops of the grass with admirable celerity, and from similarity of colour, scarcely allowing the dazzled eye to follow its course. The Cunjoors carry a great variety of serpents about the country, which they exhibit for a mere trifle. Some, such as the adjghur or boa-constrictor, which has been known to reach the immense length of thirty feet, destroy by the extent of their bite, or by compression; while the 342 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. lesser species seem to be provided with poison to make up for their deficiency of bulk. The skeleton of an adjghur was found near Chittagong, about fifty years ago, having in its fauces the skeleton of a full-grown deer; the horns of which, it was supposed, had occasion- ed the suffocation of its unwieldy devourer. One of this kind has required eight men to lift him into his basket, an operation to which, either from habit, or fatigue, it submitted with great resignation. The covra capella is the same as the hooded-snake of America, thus desig- nated from a peculiar spreading of the throat when in a state of irritation, so as to give it much resemblance to a flounder, but with a curious figure extremely similar to a pair of spectacles, which, being under the throat, is fully exhibited as the snake rises, as he is wont to do, nearly half his length before he darts upon the object of resentment. These snakes are peculiarly venomous, and, though averaging from three to five feet, sometimes at- tain a larger size, perhaps from six to nine feet. One was exhibited by the Cunjoors, or Saumpareahs, (snake- men,) which actually measured about thirteen feet. The daumeen grows to a large size, perhaps from eight to twelve feet, but has no venomous teeth, or fangs. He lashes with his tail, coiling into a bow, and awaiting the approach of dogs, men, &c., before he lashes; which he does with such severity as often to cut the integu- ments very deeply. The natives entertain an opinion that the tail of this snake is venomous. This might be supposed, from the almost certainly fatal effects produced by its operation; but the mischief may be attributed to that laceration produced by a very rough scaly body, such as the tail is, proceeding with great force over parts well known to be peculiarly irritable, and occasioning a strong tendency to that most horrible affection the EAST 1N DIA VAD E-MECU M. 343 tetanus, or locked-jaw, from which not one in a thousand recovers. The covra manilla rarely grows to more than fifteen or eighteen inches. It is of a mottled appearance, very indicative of its deleterious property, as its bite is supposed to be invariably fatal. The double-headed snake is so called because its body is nearly cylindrical, the tail terminating in a short cone, resembling a second head. This snake, chiefly seen in hilly countries, is oc- casionally washed down by the annual floods to the plains, where it is found in drains and hollows, from which it is not well qualified to escape. Its average length may be from two to three feet, and its thickness, or circumference, from four to six inches. It may be acceptable to the reader, while on this sub- ject, to be informed of that antidote to the poison of snakes, the volatile alkali, or eau-de-luce. A few drops, diluted sufficiently in a wine glass full of water, if taken in time, and repeated every two or three hours, or even more frequently, has been known to counteract the venom after its effects had been so fully ascertained as to leave but little chance of recovery. Nor should any one go out shooting without a small bottle of this, closed by a ground stopper, in his tin box of apparatus. Mr. Boag, in a very interesting communication to the Asiatic Society, informs us, that “The symptoms which arise from the bite of a serpent are, commonly, pain, swelling, and redness in the part bitten; great faintness, with sickness at stomach, and sometimes vomiting, suc- ceed; the breath becomes short and laborious; the pulse low, quick, and interrupted ; the wound, which was at first red, becomes livid, black, and gangrenous; the skin of the wounded limb, and sometimes of the whole body, assumes a yellowish hue ; cold sweats and convulsions come on, and the patient sinks sometimes in 344 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. a few hours, but commonly at the end of two, three, or four days. “This is the usual progress when the disease termi- nates fatally; but, happily, the patient will most com- monly recover; a reflection which should moderate the fears of those who happen to be bitten by snakes, and which, at any rate, should as much as possible be re- sisted; as the depressing passion of fear will, in all cases, assist the operation of the poison. “The volatile alkali is the remedy mostly employed by physicians, both in India and in Europe; but the belief which formerly prevailed, that it possessed some specific power, which corrected the poison, seems to be now very generally relinquished; and it is now acknowledged to have no other action than that ascribed to it by Mr. Williams, (of Benares,) of stimulating the vascular sys- tem to a more vigorous exertion. “The calces, or, as they are more properly called, the oxyds of some metals, as arsenic, mercury, and silver, have been made use of; the efficacy of which, as reme- dies in this disease, merit a more attentive consideration. “We are indebted to Font ANA for any knowledge we possess regarding the use of the lunar-caustic; which is a preparation of silver in the nitrous acid ; and, con- sidering the length of time that has elapsed since his publication, and the advantages resulting from its use, it is wonderful it has not excited more general attention. “He first mixed the venom with the lunar-caustic, applied this mixture to a wound, and found that the venom was rendered entirely innocent, while the cor- roding power of the caustic was diminished. He next wounded a variety of animals, with venomous teeth, sca- rified the wounds, and washed them with a solution of EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 345 lunar-caustic in water: by this means, the lives of the greatest number of the animals were saved, though they were such as he knew to be most easily killed by the poison, and the death of others was retarded. He also tried a weak solution of the same remedy, internally, with remarkable success; and upon the whole, he con- gratulates himself in seeing his labours at length re- warded, by the discovery of a true specific remedy for the bites of serpents. “A ligature should, as soon as possible, be made above the part bitten, so as to impede, but not entirely to stop, the circulation of the blood: for the bite of a serpent is, for the most part, superficial, and the poison is carried into circulation by the smaller vessels on the surface; the wound should then be scarified, and washed in a solution (rather weak) of the lunar-caustic in water.” Mr. Boag recommends a warm bath for the bitten limb, and thinks the addition of a small quantity of nitrous acid would produce excellent effects. He speaks of it only as a suggestion; and where time may admit, and the means be at hand, there certainly ought to be a fair trial made of so promising a theory. The misfortune is, that, owing to the great heat of the climate, and the dread ever entertained of the result, all the symptoms pro- ceed with rapidity. That gentleman speaks of several hours elapsing between the accident, and the fatal ter- mination: but it has been found, that not one in ten of those bitten during the hot months, and especially when at work, or heated with travelling, &c., survive more than an hour. There have, indeed, been cases in which half that time was the utmost; and some in- stances of persons dying within the quarter of an hour. Though snakes generally avoid the human race, they have been known to come very fiercely to the attack. EAST IN IDIA VADE-MECUM. 347 other with great rapidity up to his throat. This being constricted by the grasp, the fangs are thus exposed, and being presently extracted, the captive is rendered entirely harmless. Though of a diminutive size, the musquito is a most formidable enemy to the repose of almost every thing possessing animation, but especially to Europeans, whose manner of living tends considerably to general, as well as to local, inflammation. When, indeed, their habits are compared with those of the natives, a very great difference prevails, and what in Europe might be called modera- tion, may in Asia be very properly construed into excess. So great is this difference, that, in ordinary cases, the physician's first care is to lower the temperament of his British patient, especially if of a plethoric habit, or lately arrived from Europe, thereby to repress the usual ten- dency towards inflammation; while, on the contrary, it generally requires some effort te keep the frugal native from sinking under that typhus, to which he is most subject. Musquitoes generally remain inactive during the day, retiring to the borders of muddy pools or drains, where they deposit their ova, which, in a few days, produce a noxious million. These may be seen in their several stages, at most times of the year, and especially during the hot season, when such puddles are often both replete with, and covered by, young musquitoes. These unpleasant companions not only make a very disagreeable humming, but thrust their trunks, as the common gnat does his proboscis, between the threads of a stocking, &c.; and while sucking the blood of their victim, produce a very smarting sensation, which does not immediately cease. If scratched, a musquito-bite usually rises into a small white hard lump ; which, on f 348 EA ST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. further provocation, proceeds to suppurate; frequently degenerating into a very obstinate sore. Instances have occurred of very serious consequences from an unguarded indulgence of the nails at the moment of irritation. Every bed (commonly called a cot) is furnished with a set of inner curtains, made of gauze, manufactured for that purpose in several parts of Bengal, and known by the name of koppradool. These curtains being very thin, and generally of a green colour, not only debar access to the musquitoes, but without much obstructing the air, they offer a pleasant medium between the eye, and any glare which may enter directly from the exterior, or be reflected by the walls, which in most houses are white, as already explained in describing the European archi- tecture of the East. It is expedient to put up these curtains before it is dark; otherwise musquitoes, being then on the wing, will, if possible, find their way to the interior; whence it is not very easy to fan them out. Besides, by this easy precaution, snakes or rats cannot easily get under the pillows, or into the bed; situations in which they have occasionally been found. The rats are often induced to burrow into the pillows, which are usually stuffed with the silky-cotton called seemul, wherein the seeds are left, and by their oily nature particularly attract this descrip- tion of vermin. The females sometimes resort thither when about to bring forth their young: hence, it is not uncommon to find them in possession of a pillow or bol- ster, or eventually, of the mattress; especially if no per- son has slept on them for a few nights. On board budj- rows, rats are often very troublesome, destroying boots, shoes, &c. without mercy; and during the night, even attacking the powder and pomatum at the back of the head. Of this the cock-roach also is very fond ; but the EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 349 sensation it produces is nothing more than a tickling, as though the fingers of another person were introduced among the hair; whereas a rat makes a more desperate attack, often giving a strong pull, or occasionally gnaw- ing at the accumulated grease which adheres to the head itself. Hence, it should be a rule always to have the bedclothes stripped off, and the pillows turned over before getting into bed; for even if nothing of the ser- pent kind be discovered, rats and mice may sometimes be dislodged. Various instances have, however, occurred of snakes found in beds whereon gentlemen were about to repose. A very curious circumstance happened many years ago, of a lady being called by her servant to see a snake that lay very contentedly between two of her infants, which slept on a small cot. Their perilous situ- ation produced, as may be readily supposed, the most dreadful anxiety. With great fortitude and presence of mind, she directed the servant to go to one side of the bed, and to seize one of the children by a leg and an arm, while she did the same with the other; and thus to snatch them away. This was a bold measure; but had the mother caused a chafing-dish to be brought into the apartment, and set thereon some milk to boil, the smell would instantly have attracted the snake to creep out, in quest of his favourite food. Though all snakes are peculiarly fond of a certain warm temperature, inclining to summer heat, they will, in general, very freely take to the water, especially when pursued. Many persons pretend to distinguish such as are venomous, by their aversion to water; but such a rule is very fallacious. Covra capellas have been repeatedly seen to dart into puddles and ponds with seeming eagerness. It is ex- tremely dangerous to proceed along pathways, leading through grass covers, or jungles, at night. Numbers 350 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. of snakes, at that time, will quit the heavy grass to lie in the current of air which passes along those paths, re- sembling the vistas cut through coppices, &c. whose sides are confined, perhaps to the height of several feet, by grass and underwood. From such descriptions it may be supposed that, in India, every step is attended with danger; neither day nor night offering security. This is not always the case; though every person should act throughout with caution, as if supposing these dangers were imminent. This ap- prehension, though not very agreeable, will generally in- sure the means of safety. Against scorpions, centipedes, &c., too much circumspection cannot be used. In some parts of the country they are very numerous, producing great pain, and very severe local inflammation. Instances have been known of serious indisposition induced by the stings of scorpions in particular. The young ones are generally of a yellowish, dun, or clay colour; becoming darker as they advance in growth, till they acquire a bottle colour. They have been found, though very rarely, measuring nearly eight inches from the mouth to the point of the sting, which much resembles a large dark-coloured thorn from a rose-bush. There are, however, two kinds of scorpions, of which the above described is certainly the most formidable. Fortu- nately, that is seldom seen in places much frequented. The other kind are often found by dozens in the folds of a tent, &c., laid by in a dark place among old rubbish; and not unfrequently in the cracks of old mud walls. Many a servant, walking about a house at night, or rum- maging among old stores, is stung by the beeghu (scorpion). The part affected generally swells, and smarts, or rather aches, considerably: but that easy remedy, a rag moist- ened with vinegar, affords speedy relief. The same appli- cation is equally proper when bitten by a centipede, called EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 351 by the natives kaungoojer; from their opinion, that it is apt to creep into the ear. That such a circumstance may have happened, cannot be denied; though it might prove extremely difficult to produce a well-authenticated in- stance. The centipede is by no means shaped for such a purpose; being of some breadth, and growing, rather quickly, to such a size as must preclude the possibility of his entering the ear. Several have been seen measuring nine and ten inches in length; and as broad, though not above a third as thick, as a man's finger. Half those dimensions may, probably, constitute the ordinary bulk. Wasps and hornets, through all seasons, every where abound. The hornets commonly nestle in the ground, or in the hollow of a tree, or perhaps form a small cell in some corner, or under a thatch, and there deposit their larva. The wasps sometimes appear in such numbers as to occa- sion considerable uneasiness. They not only make their nests within the walls of bungalows, if cracks or distances between woodwork furnish the opportunity, but boldly construct their combs within the apartments; sometimes attached to a cornice, but generally in one of the upper corners of a window-frame, so as to have ready means of retiring. The destruction of these intruders is not always practicable, without considerable danger. The best mode is, after covering a man with a blanket, to place on his head a pot of embers, on which a lump of sulphur is laid; so that, by his standing under the comb, the fumes may stupify, or at least expel, the wasps; after which the comb may be removed without difficulty. The greatest danger is when wasps take possession of some spot very near to the thatch ; for instance, if they attach their dwelling to one of the rafters. As half the thatches are extremely decayed, and take fire like tinder, it must be obvious how carefully the operation should be managed. 352 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. A slow match, containing a large portion of sulphur, and fastened to the end of a pole, is, perhaps, the safest con- trivance; for were a single spark to fly into the thatch, it probably would, like Doctor Slop's wig, be “nearly con- sumed before it were well kindled.” Bees are by no means so bold as wasps or hornets, but they frequently take possession of some bush, or even of several parts of a hedge round a garden, especially one well stocked with flowers; rendering it unsafe to approach that quarter. The combs are sometimes large, but on the average, when full, may weigh from four to ten pounds. No bees are domesticated in India; though, from the great abundance of food to be had at all seasons, they might be easily maintained. Yet wild honey is so cheap and abundant as to preclude the necessity for taking any further pains to obtain it, than merely to cut away the combs from their thorny defences. Bugs, such as infest beds in Europe, are beyond ima- gination numerous throughout the East. They swarm in every charpoy, (or bedstead,) of whatever size or descrip- tion, in use among the natives. Hence, it is scarcely pos- sible to prevent their infesting the furniture, and especially the boxes, drawers, &c., in which clothes are kept ; and the most careful, cleanly person, may sometimes find a stray bug crawling upon his linen, or lying concealed among the plaits. Musquito curtains are, on this account also, very useful; but they should be searched daily, lest there be on them any stragglers, &c. The best defence against these disgusting tormentors is, that in general use as a preventive against ants, centipedes, &c.; viz. causing each post of a bed to stand upon a stone, a foot in diame- ter, and five or six inches deep, wherein is cut a deep trough, constantly full of water. Some use metal pans, which have a neater appearance, and secure the carpet, East INDIA VAD E-MEGUM. 353 mat, &c., from being injured by the damp, which will find its way through the hardest stone. The natives rarely have posts to their bedsteads; though a few, occasionally by means of a staple, affix at the head a kind of tester. Those who could afford the best furni- ture, and every convenience, are more pleased when at- tended by a slave, or menial, who with a small punkah (or fan) gently agitates the air, to keep off flies and musqui- toes. It is obvious how offensive such a practice may occasionally prove, and that should the servant fall asleep while performing his tedious office, the master will speedily be awakened. Some, especially natives, cannot go to sleep without being lulled, by means of an operation called by Europeans shampoing. This consists in a gentle pressure of the feet and legs, as also of the arms and hand, or, occasionally, of the body also, between the hands of the operator, who passes from one part to another, either slowly, or rapidly, according to the fancy of his or her master. That considerable benefit is obtained from sham- poing, cannot be doubted, especially relieving from severe fatigue, as well as from a certain languor and watchful- ness, common in hot climates, and no doubt proceeding from indigestion, or from a nervous affection. Captain Cook found this custom prevalent in the Island of Tonga- taboo, where it was called toogey-toogey, in allusion to the beating of a drum with the fists. Now it is remarkable, that the common small drums used in India, which are suspended in front of the body, are called doog-doogies, and in some places the natives of India shampo by beat- ing with the fists, calling the operation, not by the com- mon term debounah, (or pressing,) but doogaunah. It is a question whether the latter term be a corruption, or a de- rivative from the doog-doogy. A similar practice obtains in Egypt, and, indeed, throughout the Turkish empire; 2 A 354 EAST IN ID I A VAD E-M I.C.U.M. especially at the baths, where shampoing is a matter of course. Captain Cook was relieved from a severe rheu- matic complaint by an operation of this description; with this difference, that, instead of soothing pressure, the parts affected were not beat gently, but squeezed forcibly between the hands. Gouty pains are said to have been in like manner removed; but these could only be flying pains, for the parts locally attacked by the gout, could scarcely endure the operation, without subjecting the party to excruciating torture. Besides benefit occasionally derived from shampoing, it may be considered as one of those luxuries which, like the hookull, the snuff-box, the brandy-bottle, &c., become so habitual as to plunge the indulgent into indescribable uneasiness whenever they are out of reach. It is there- fore prudent to avoid shampoing, except when restlessness or unseasonable vigilance is induced by excess of any description. In such cases, immediate relief is often of importance; but recourse to this indulgence should be re- served for emergencies, since its effects are gradually les- sened by repetition, and the want of a menial to perform the operation may excite much irritation and disquietude. The greatest attention is requisite daily to aerate every apartment in a proper manner. Without that precaution, all the aids of shampoing, musquito-curtains, water-pots, bathing, &c., will avail little, as fevers and obstructions of the liver invariably follow, whenever the atmosphere within a chamber is allowed to become foul. There is, indeed, nothing more weakening or destructive to the constitution, than sleeping in a chamber ill-ventilated. To continue in such a place, after being in any degree indisposed, is indeed little less than insanity. Nothing will be found to contribute more to health than sleeping cool, adverting at the same time to the precautions already N. AST IN DIA VAD 12-M ECU M. 355 enjoined, not to place the cot so that any forcible current of air should pass over it, lest perspiration be obstructed, and the worst consequences ensue. The winter months will often require the use of one, or perhaps two thick blankets; while the summer heats will render oppressive all bed-clothing above the body; occasioning the gene- ral use of long drawers, which are generally made of thin silk, or fine calico. Some are made with feet, thereby effectually preventing musquitoes from biting in that quarter, but otherwise not the most pleasant. During the hottest part of the year, many dispense with their shirts, retaining their banians, or under-shirts, the skirts of which are confined by long drawers, usually fastened by a drawing cord of silk. Early rising is par- ticularly to be recommended, for the purpose of taking exercise before breakfast. Among military persons this salutary practice is generally inculcated malgré lui; and among civilians, it ought to be enforced by the additional motive of devoting the forenoon to official attendance, or to whatever duties may demand their immediate care. The amusements of Europeans in India are by no means numerous, nor of any continuance; the climate, the localities, and the occupations precluding such va- riety or gratification as may be enjoyed in Europe. Cal- cutta has, however, a very tolerable theatre, central, and sufficiently spacious to contain what spectators are gene- rally collected from the town. The temporary theatres erected at the several military stations, have afforded considerable gratification to their several audiences. In these cheap “ epitomes of Roman greatness,” many a good play has been performed in an excellent style, such as brought to recollection the mo- ther-country, and occasioned comparisons by no means de- rogatory to the Asiatic boards. Exclusive of the exertions 2 A 2 356 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. of officers who indulged in this recreation, many of the non-commissioned and privates of the European regiments contributed richly to the catalogue of histrionic charac- ters. Some, though perhaps not endowed by the graces, nor enriched by erudition, have displayed an accurate discrimination of an author's design, and commanded the applause of audiences comprising many competent judges of dramatic excellence. The Calcutta race-course, situated about a mile and a half to the southward of the town, is by no means duly preserved, being much injured by the carriages of gen- tlemen who frequent it as a ride. There is indeed a clerk of the course; but he has no power to enforce the observ- ance of the rules laid down by the Jockey Club. He cannot, in fact, prevent the course from being miserably defaced and cut up ; nor, even when the horses are run- ning, can he keep it clear from obstructions. This evil arises from the general indisposition of those who frequent the place to join in the sports, or even to encourage them; hence a want of courtesy is prevalent, and the horses run under great disadvantages. It may be said, that, as they run only during the cold months, when the turf is toler- ably firm, little injury is done by the carriages which travel over it; but a rut, or track, made at that time, speedily hardens and becomes dangerous both to horses and riders. Where few however are interested, few will be considerate. Many horses have started at Calcutta, which would make no contemptible figure even at Newmarket. Ac- cording to the distance, and the time in which the course has been run over, a few could be mentioned which might compete with the best of the second class of Bri- tish racers. Taking into consideration that such are en- tirely the result of chance purchases, and not of careful EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 357 breeding, it may be fairly argued that the horses of India, or those brought from Candahar, Lahore, the Mahar- rattah states, &c., possess considerable speed. Many, indeed, of that small indigenous breed, usually held in contempt, especially on the turf, have displayed very great powers, and distanced horses not only of consider- able value, but of high reputation. The race-grounds are not better preserved in other parts of the country, than at the Presidency. There is, however, ample room for excuses, as there are few horses kept for running; the races in those quarters being merely desultory, and the course generally marked out, pro tempore, on some un- cultivated spot, which, having a tolerable surface, may, for two or three days at Christmas, sufficiently serve the purpose of amusement. Though there are tattoo (pony) races, at Calcutta, few of that class are brought forward, except after ample proof of their qualifications. The pony races are indeed often the most distinguished on the clerk's register. At the out-stations, matches or sweepstakes are made solely with a view to merriment, or from whim and frolic; or they are the result of occasional elevation after a hearty regale. Nor indeed can mirth be easily repressed on seeing a clumsy-looking beast with heavy heels, and a head like a yam, taking the lead of “trim-built wherries,” that seem to challenge competition. As a curious instance, a very shabby, heavy-looking tattoo, belonging to Captain Caesar Jones, started in this adventitious manner, and, to the surprise of all, fairly distanced several celebrated steeds. He was sent to Calcutta, where his uncouth appear- ance excited only ridicule; but there was no standing against his speed and bottom. Hence, he acquired the name of TAKE-1N, a designation which the knowing ones feelingly acknowledged to be highly appropriate. 358 EAST IN D I A VAD E-MECU M. The spirit for betting at races does not run very high in India, though some characters there have devoted their whole attention to this species of gambling. So little is the encouragement to speculations on the turf, that, with the exception of a few fat pigeons, it may be said that no money has been made by racing; the wagers rarely ex- ceeding a few gold mohurs. Every horse, too, becoming so thoroughly known to all the sporting community, there is little opportunity for deception or contrivance. The smallest indication of collusion would, in that quarter, instantly destroy reputation, and produce shyness, if not an absolute estrangement towards the offending indivi- dual. This would be less felt in Europe, where a man may change his quarters, and for a long time screen him- self from public or general disapprobation; but in India, when an individual is cut at one station, he will rarely experience common civility at any other; his character generally preceding him by many a day's journey. Gambling was formerly one of the most prominent vices at Calcutta; but has since considerably diminished. Those who recollect the institution of Selby's Club, and who now contemplate the very small portion of time dis- sipated, even by the younger classes, at cards, &c., by way of “profit and loss,” cannot but approve the salu- tary reform introduced by Marquis Cornwallis. Whatever may have been his foibles, his prejudices, and his errors, in other matters, he was certainly entitled to the appro- bation of the Company, as well as to the gratitude of their servants, for having checked so effectually a certain licentious spirit, which, till his arrival, had been totally uncontrolled, indeed, unnoticed, in any shape, by his predecessors. To expect that any Governor should be able to annihi- late every bad practice, would be to suppose him in- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 359 vested with supernatural powers; but, it is assuredly within the reach of every person bearing that high office, to chase the abandoned into their secret recesses, and to render them at least timid, if not innocent. By remov- ing such characters from office, and by persevering in a resolution to give lucrative employments only to the most assiduous and correct of the Company's servants, expe- rience shews that much may be done. Common sense points out the impropriety of allowing a gambler to occupy any office requiring either great trust or particular application and vigilance. Now, as the posts held under the Company are generally of either one or other of those descriptions, or may perhaps unite both, it is ob- vious that a man whose brains are ever casting the dice, and whose carriage rolls upon the four aces, never can be safely trusted. * Those who are partial to cards, as an amusement, may find abundance of evening parties, where, for the most part, tradrille and whist (the favourite games) are played at low stakes, productive of no regret or inconvenience. Quadrille is barely known in India, nor are “round- games” much in use: cribbage is played in some fami- lies, and, occasionally, loo. In the games just men- tioned, the European inhabitants of Calcutta, as well as those dispersed over the country, are generally profi- cients, far more so than persons of the same description in England. Many are well acquainted with chess and back-gammon; and excellent players at fives, billiards, &c., are to be found in every quarter. Cricket is not much in vogue; being confined principally to a club at Calcutta, and to occasional Christmas matches at army stations. On the whole, though as an exercise far less violent than fives, it is less adapted to the cli- mate; the alternate successions of exertion and inactivity 360 East INDIA va DE-MEcuM. rendering the players liable to severe colds, and conse- quent obstructions. Music may be considered as a great source of gratifi- cation in a country where ennui is so much to be dreaded; but the climate is unfavourable to instruments of every kind, especially to pianos, and offers a formidable objec- tien to the indulgence of a musical ear. No persons can be more liberal in their purchases of instruments, or of select music, than the ladies of India; often giving two hundred pounds for a good grand-piano; but the in- cessant apprehension of warps and cracks, is a grievous drawback on the interest they feel in the possession of even the best instrument. Repairs, of every sort, whe- ther of violins, pianos, flutes, &c., are exorbitantly dear, and not always practicable, even at Calcutta, either owing to dissipation, the want of some essential article, or the quantity of work in hand. Nor is it easy to ob- tain the temporary accommodation of an instrument while one is repairing, unless at such a rate as precludes all of moderate income from availing themselves of the opportunity, when it may chance to offer. With respect to “preparing an instrument for the climate,” much may certainly be done, by using only the best seasoned wood, and clamping the case with metal, both within and without. Yet all this has little connexion with the belly, or sounding-board; which cannot be much strengthened without considerably de- teriorating the tone, and causing a piano to be at once condemned, for wanting that richness which cannot be given to one whose vibrations are obstructed. The only chance is, to keep a piano well covered with blankets during the heats, as also in very damp weather, and when about to be opened for performance, to unclothe it gradually. By such precautions, it may remain tolerably EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 361 in tune, and not sustain much injury from the variations of seasons. After two or three years the danger may be less; but it will be prudent never to relax in point of prevention, lest the instrument should suddenly fail. Except such little parties as, in a few families, assem- ble during the afternoons to enjoy the pleasures arising from the musical talents of some lady, Calcutta has little to offer in this captivating branch of amusement. If we cast out of the account accidental quartetto parties, or the solitary warblings of some flute-player, &c., the whole may be deemed a blank. Now and then a subscription concert, for the benefit of a professor, who lives more by eleemosynary bounty, than by the encouragement of his abilities, calls the town together, not to listen to the fine melodies and rich harmonies of Haydn, &c,. but to see, and to be seen, to talk, and be talked to. India is not, indeed, the soil to which a man of science or taste should repair, with the hope of liberal reward for his trouble and expenses; much less of being cherished for genius and acquirements. One or two insulated exceptions are not sufficient to refute this assertion. It must be acknow- ledged, that, now and then, a professor has been seen pampering under the influence of high and boundless pa- tronage; but the per contra shews a number who have lingered through all the penalties attendant upon humble merit, till the grave has kindly terminated their ill-fated labours. Assemblies, balls, routs, &c., are not very nume- rous in India. The Governor-General, and the Members of Council, occasionally circulate invitations during the cold months; and, at times, some spacious public rooms are engaged for the same purpose, on speculation. The old fort, in which stood the Black Hole, ren- dered so famous by Mr. Holwell's affecting narrative, has been cursorily mentioned. This fortress is now 362 FAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. converted into public offices and warehouses, for which purposes it is well adapted, from its centrical situation, and the great solidity of the walls, &c. The defences are extremely simple, perhaps sufficient for the times in which they were constructed, and the prowess of the troops by which they were likely to be attacked. Being on the bank of the Hoogly, a retreat by water might be easily effected under the cover of shipping, and thus supplies could generally be afforded. According to the present system of warfare, and in expectation of an attack by an European army, the smallest reliance could not be safely placed on the old fort, which could serve only as an immediate asylum in the event of insurrection. In this case, many houses that now command the works must be destroyed, which, from the want of cannon on the ramparts, would be no easy operation. The town is protected chiefly by Fort William, a more modern work, capable of containing at least fifteen thousand men, and, indeed, requiring nearly ten thousand properly to man the defences. The ordinary garrison consists of two or three regiments of Europeans, a battalion of artillery, with a very large establishment of artificers, &c. attached to the arsenal, where stores of every description are lodg- ed in bomb-proofs. Provisions for six months' consump- tion, are always kept in the fort. A native corps of from four to five thousand, intended to aid in the defence, are cantoned at Barrackpore, a station sixteen miles from Cal- cutta, on the banks of the river, and exactly facing the Danish town of Serampore. Of these troops, twelve hundred constantly do duty in the fort, being relieved monthly in regular rotation. Fort William is the grand depôt of Bengal, and may be considered as the key to that part of the Company's possessions, if not to the whole; for probably there could be no effectual resist- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 363 ance, were that fortress in the hands of an enemy. If a vessel be properly secured, the bore will have little effect on her safety, though the swell may cause her for a while to pitch rather deep. During the rainy season there is no bore; the tide being so weakened at its entrance into the narrows near Fultah, as not to be competent to form such a wave as precedes it at other seasons; but in exchange for this, a violent eddy and great agitation of the waters takes place between Diamond Harbour and that place. “It has been several times my lot,” says Captain Wil- liamson, “when proceeding with the last of the tide from Barrackpore to Calcutta, to meet the bore, generally near Chitpore; but as its approach was indicated by the put- ting off of all the small craft from that shore, along which it invariably pursued its course, and to remain near which would be dangerous, my boatmen always followed the example, and kept along the centre, where, though we were furiously tossed about, no danger existed. Once, indeed, in turning Sulky Point in a sailing boat, I was obliged to dash through the bore, which I did not sup- pose to be so near, notwithstanding the dingies, &c., were putting out. The surf assuredly appeared awful, but we mounted over it, stem on, without difficulty, and speedily recovered from a certain pallid complexion which had in- sensibly crept over our countenances as we approached the roaring waters.” From what has been said, it must be evident that the bore travels at the same rate as the incipient spring-tide, the velocity of which is different in various parts, but may be taken at an average of full twenty miles within the hour. Notwithstanding this rapidity, vessels, such as budjrows and other craft intended for pleasure or for burthen, ordinarily ride safe at anchor, sustaining no in- jury from the bore, though they may perhaps drag their 364 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. anchors a few yards. But to insure this security, care must be taken that the broadside should not be exposed, else there will be great danger of over-setting. This dan- ger is not unfrequent, owing to the manjies and dandies (boatmen) neglecting, especially during the night, to swing the stern round, either by means of a spring, or a small hawser, or by luggies (bamboo-poles), so that the vessel's head may meet the bore in its direct course. Those who are anxious to make the best of their way, should not delay putting off till the tide may have fairly set in, but ought to be out in the stream just as the bore is ranging along the bank. They may thus receive the first impulse, which is prodigiously forcible, and endea- vour, by the exertions of their boatmen, to keep up as much as possible with the leading waters. It is wonder- ful how great a difference this sometimes makes in the start from Calcutta. Sometimes a budjrow may by this precaution reach beyond Bandle, and nearly to the ulti- matum of the tide's way, after which the current is inva- riably in opposition, at various rates, according to the season of the year. During the dry season, which lasts from the end of October to the middle of June, though sometimes the rains are of greater duration, or set in ear- lier, the Hoogly is nearly in a state of rest above Nia- serai ; but during the rains, and especially about August and September, not only the beds of the rivers, but the country around, present a formidable body of water. Within the banks the current may average from four to eight miles an hour, according to localities; but what is called the inundation, rarely exceeds half a mile, and scarcely ever moves at a full mile within that time. In this, due allowance must be made for the state of the waters, whether rising or falling. In the former case, they will become nearly stationary till they may overflow EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. 365 where nearest the sea, and thus obtain a vent. In the latter case, such parts as may be near to great rivers, then subsiding within their banks, must be greatly ac- celerated. As the parched soil of Egypt is refreshed by the over- flowing of the Nile, so the waters of the Ganges, by their annual expansion and abundance, renew the fertility of many millions of acres, and restore the blessings of health to those industrious and peaceable peasantry inhabiting that flat country through which they majestically wind their course. At Calcutta and Dacca, each of which is about seventy miles from the sea, the water is unpalatable, from its saline impregnation. Even the sand, taken from the beds of rivers, is found to retain so much moisture, not- withstanding the heat of the climate, as to disqualify it from mixture in the cements used for building, but espe- cially for making tarrases, known in England under the designation of grist floors. The great tank at Calcutta, occupying about ten acres, is not less than two hundred yards from the river. The soil is generally a rich sandy loam near the surface, but becomes looser, and inclinable to a fine gravel, after dig- ging about ten feet. The tank is about sixty feet from the top of its banks (which are level with the streets) to its bottom ; and the river is from four to seven fathoms deep opposite its site. It might be supposed that such a dis- tance would secure the waters of the tank from becoming brackish; but the soil favours the communication with the river, and, during the hot season, occasions the tank to be so strongly impregnated, as to be unfit either for culinary purposes, or for washing. It is more remark- able, that the wells in the different out-works of Fort- William, some of them four or five hundred yards from 366 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. the river, partake equally of the moisture. On this ac- count the Government were at a great expense in forming an immense reservoir, (to be filled, if required, by rain water,) occupying the whole of one of the bastions. During the rainy season, the rivers are full up to their banks, and run with such force, often six or eight miles in the hour, as to occasion the tide to be little felt, either at Calcutta, or Dacca. Thus, the whole of the water, both of the rivers, and of the tanks and wells, becomes fresh and pure. On the other hand, during the hot months, viz. March, April, May, and part of June, when, except during a north-wester, or a squall incident to the season, not a drop of rain is to be expected, the waters are every where proportionably low; and, as the tides come up with extreme force, the portion of sea-water must be considerable. Such is the fact; for those who visit either Calcutta, or Dacca, at that season, and drink even of the tank-water, are sure to feel its cathartic ef- fects, and, eventually, to suffer under a kind of itch, which is very troublesome. At Dacca, where the air is more saline, all visitors undergo the penance of a copious eruption. Some old residents have a return of it every hot season, though extremely careful never to touch river water. Like the inhabitants of Calcutta, they allot a spacious godown to the reception of immense jars of earthen-ware, which, being placed side by side, in close rows, are successively filled by the ab–dar, or servant whose business is confined to the care, and the cooling, of water for table expenditure. The water thus preserved is caught in large vessels, placed under several spouts, during heavy rains. The quantity varies according to the consumption; but that of a family at Calcutta, may be computed at full sixty or seventy hogsheads within the year. In the course of a few weeks, in each vessel will EAST IN ID I A V AID. I.- M. E.C U Mr. 367 be found innumerable larvae, occasioned by musquitoes, and other insects, which would, in time, taint the fluid. It is, therefore, customary to strain the whole immedi- ately as the larvae are discovered, and afterwards to plunge into each jar an immense mass of iron, made red- hot; to destroy whatever animalculae have escaped through the strainer. Some alum is then dissolved in water, and a sufficient quantity put into each vessel to fine its contents. Some, after the foregoing operations, (and the practice should be more generally adopted,) sprinkle a quantity of very fine sand on the surface of the water in each jar ; thereby giving, to whatever gross particles it may contain, a tendency to precipitation. It may, at first view, appear that, in the common course of society, gentlemen must be subject to partake of water not so scrupulously purified, and perhaps brought from some neighbouring tank, or from a river, impregnated by the influx of a brackish tide. Such may be the case occasionally; but it will be found, on reference to what has been said of the duties of the ab-dar, or water ser- vant, that purified water is carried by a bearer, in a bangy, or perhaps in a soorye, or earthern jug, to the house at which his master dines. In camp, it is a general custom for every guest's servant to supply his master with water of his own purifying, either by means of alum, or some other similar astringent. The waters in the great rivers have various sources. The Ganges receives almost all the other rivers in its course, from those mountains among which it has its source, to the Bay of Chittagong, where it empties itself into the sea in an immense expanse. The properties of this river we may divide according to the countries through which it passes. Hence the various opinions entertained of its qualities. These have been generally 368 EAST INDIA v AD E-MECUM. mentioned in a loose, indiscriminate manner, without distinguishing the various soils whereby its purity must be affected, in a country where, as in Egypt, annual inunda- tions prevail; or where, at least, such immense rains fall as would astonish a person not habituated to the most impetuous showers. The Ganges takes its rise at the back of the Kammow Hills, beyond Hurdwar, where it issues forth a narrow, but rapid stream, from among broken rocks, and soon spreads to some extent in the fertile plains of the Rohil. cund district, which it divides from the province of Delhi. The natives of India rarely venture beyond Hurdwar. They have, however, an opinion that the true Ganga, as they term the Ganges, originates at that spot; and, considering the cow as the greatest blessing given to mankind, emphatically term it the Cow's Mouth; implying thereby the purity, as well as the value, of the waters. But those mountains which give birth to the Ganges, are likewise the sources of the Barampooter ; a river ex- ceeding even the Ganges in capacity. These two im- mense streams deviate at their origin to opposite quar- ters: the Ganges proceeding westward, and the Baram- pooter to the east. The former, after winding at the back of the Kammow and Nagrocote Mountains, passes Hurdwar, and, proceeding in a devious track through the plains of Oude, Allahabad, Benares, Bahar, Jungleterry, Mauldah, Comercally, Dacca, and other subordinate dis- tricts, receives the Luckyah, as a branch from the Baram- pooter, and a few miles below Dacca unites with that river; whence, under the designation of the MEGNA, they pursue their course for about sixty miles to the east- ern part of the Bay of Bengal, forming by their junction a EAST INDIA v A DE-MECU M. 369 volume of water, encreasing from about seven to twenty miles in width. - In the upper country, the Ganges receives various in- ferior streams, such as the Doojoorah, the Cally-Nuddy, the Goombeerah, the Gunduck, the Mahanuddy, the Rooee, the Jumma, the Goomty, the Carimnassa, the Gogra, (or Dewah,) the Soane, the Coosah, and various other streams not vying in extent with the Ganges, but generally equal to the Thames at London. The Gogra, the Soane, and the Coosah, are, indeed, rivers of the second class ; as wide as the Thames at Gravesend. From Sooty, which is in the Jungleterry district, the Ganges throws off a considerable branch. This, widen- ing in a curious manner, under the name of the Baug- Retty, passes Moorshedabad, formerly the seat of the government of Bengal, under Sooraja Dowlah, Meer Jaffiers, and their ancestors. At length, after a course of about 150 miles, it meets at Nuddeah, with the Jellinghy, also detached from the Ganges, whence the two form a large river under the name of the Hoogly, which, flowing under Hoogly, Bandel, Chinsurah, Chandernagore, Serampore, Calcutta, and many infe- rior places, empties itself into the western end of the Bay of Bengal, having previously received the Roopna- riam, and the Dummoodah. - In its course from Bagwangolah, which stands near to Sooty, the Ganges sends a great variety of small streams through the Jessore and Mahomedpore districts. These meeting with large inlets from the sea, form an immense labyrinth of deep waters, intersecting that wild country called the Sunderbunds, in such various mazes as to re- quire a pilot for their navigation. After detailing the courses of the rivers, some reasons 2 B 370 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. should be assigned for their rise and fall, as thereon many physical points of the utmost importance will be found to depend. A description of the different soils through which they pass will also assist in judging more correctly respecting the causes of that variety of charac- ter attached, in various parts, to the waters. The Thibet Mountains, which form the north-east boun- dary of a long valley, stretching from Napaul to Sirinag- hur, are covered with snow all the year. Their height is so great, that, on a clear day, they may be seen from the Golah at Patna, though distant little less than 300 miles. From the north-west part of this Alpine range, the Ganges and Barampooter derive their sources, as before de- scribed, back to back, from the same mountains. To the dissolution of a part of the snow which clothes their sum- mits, may, perhaps, be safely attributed a slight increase that takes place in those rivers, about the middle of May, fluctuating more or less, at intervals, till the periodical rains set in, generally about the middle of June. Some have ascribed their rise to heavy rains in the countries through which the streams pass; but such cannot be the true cause. I. Because, those rains must be extremely heavy if they tended to swell the rivers; the ground being parched, and requiring great moisture to saturate it. II. The increase is not attended with any turbid appearance, such as would indisputably result from so heavy rains, as, after saturating the thirsty soil, to raise such large rivers often a foot or more. III. Because there are other rivers which derive their sources from the Kammow Hills and the Morungs, not so distant from the Thibet Hills but that they might be expected to receive their share of the rains, and to shew some in- crease. Yet the rise is confined to the Ganges and Ba- rampooter, whose sources lie among the snow-clad moun- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 371 tains. IV. Because the increase happens at the hottest time of the year, and the water loses the genial warmth imparted by the solar ray, becomes harder, and, in the upper country, near Annopshier, about sixty miles below the Cow's Mouth, is found, at that particular season, to cause acute bowel complaints, which is not the case at other seasons. Add to this, that, among the natives of the countries above Hurdwar, the goiture, or wen in the throat, in some measure prevails: a strong symptom of the dissolution of snow. The following may, generally, be considered as the soils peculiar to the several provinces through which the Ganges flows, after leaving Hurdwar. The west bank is generally high all the way to Benares. It consists, with little exception, of lime, concreted into irregular masses, much like roots of ginger, or Jerusalem artichokes, of various sizes, some weighing about five or six pounds, others scarcely an ounce. These are of a ginger or ash colour; though some, more mixed with the gravelly part of the soil, are of a yellowish red. This kind of concre- tion is known throughout India by the name of kunkur, and, when burnt, yields a very inferior kind of cement, friable, and not very tenacious in regard to the body to which it is applied, nor hardening so as to resist moisture effectually. All the rivers, therefore, which issue from the western bank, are, more or less, impregnated with this kind of lime; while, on the opposite bank, the waters partake of a strong solution of nitre, with which most of the plains of Oude, Fyzabad, Gazypore, &c. abound. Such is the abundance, that the Company prohibit the importation of saltpetre manufactured in the Nabob Vizier of Oude's dominions. Otherwise, its cheapness, (being usually sold at Furruckabad for about two shillings and sixpence per 2 B 2 372 EAST INDIA v A DE-MECUM. cwt.,) would destroy the manufactories at Patna, where it commonly sells for double that price. The country lying between the Ganges and the Goom- ty, (on the eastern bank,) from Currah to Benares, is re- plete with alkali in a fossile state, known by the name of sudy. This is usually found on the surface, especially at the close of the rainy season, when it begins to shew itself very obviously, and is pared off with mattocks; rising in large cellular strata from one to three inches in thickness, and much resembling thin free-stone, though far more porous. In this state it is carried to market, where it is purchased by the manufacturers of soap at Allahabad, Patna, and other places. It is generally combined with oil. At Calcutta it is commonly sold at about fifty per cent. profit. It is made in baskets, is of a dark colour, and very moist. It is remarkable that the inhabitants of these countries have never attended to the effects produced by these substances. On the western bank the people are subject to nephritic complaints, which they generally express un- der the vague term of kummer-ka-dook (pains in the back;) while, on the eastern bank, they are troubled with the moormoory, (gripes,) with which those living inland, especially from their use of tank-water, are severely afflicted. During the rainy season, these powerful agents com- bine, and give birth to most alarming and excruciating maladies, which, however, readily yield to a few gentle cathartics, aided by congee, (rice-water,) by which the intestines are sheathed. The natives generally use opi- ates, whereby they often fix the disease. In the dry season, that is, from the end of October to the middle of June, the river water, having deposited the noxious EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 373 particles, is remarkably clear and wholesome ; except when the before-mentioned rise takes place, about the middle or end of May. The bed of the river being invari- ably a coarse sand, occasionally blended with immense sheets of kumkur, whereof the banks are formed for miles in some parts, easily receives the lime and alkali, leaving the running waters clear, and free from those sub- stances. - Europeans, in any situation, never drink of water fresh drawn; it being always left to stand for at least a day; during which a copious deposit takes place; in the rainy season, perhaps a full fourth of the contents of the vessel. Some gentlemen are very particular in having their water boiled. - The low plains of the Shawabad and Buxar districts, situated on the western bank of the Ganges, are chiefly cultivated with rice, while the higher parts produce white corn, opium, sugar, &c. The swamps near Saseram, bor- dering the range of hills at the western boundary, and which come round to Chunar, are annually in a state of partial corruption, sufficient to occasion malignant dis- eases. These are prevalent about November, when the sun's power promotes an astonishing evaporation, filling the air with miasma, and spreading destruction among all the living tribes. But those waters are in themselves highly dangerous, both on account of the putrefaction of the vegetables they contain, and of the powerful coalition of various mineral streams, which, having in the rainy season exceeded their ordinary limits, stray into the low country, and mix with the already deleterious mass. Find- ing a discharge for their redundancy, by means of the multitude of fissures, or small channels, every where exist- ing, these blend with the purer torrents occasioned by the 374 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. impetuous rains, and cause a fever to prevail, which, in addition to the lime and nitre already afloat, perform won- ders in the cause of desolation. This assemblage of rivulets forms that great river the Soane, which, for its short course, not being more than sixty miles from its numerous sources in the hills before noticed, presents an uncommon expanse. It is generally from three quarters of a mile to two miles in breadth; but, in the dry season, its stream contracts to a very narrow channel, winding in the most fanciful meanders, and caus- ing, by its waters being dispersed in a very flat bed, more quicksands than are probably to be found in any other river. It is worthy of remark, that in that part of he world, several rivers which have sandy beds appear suddenly to be lost, owing to sand banks thrown up so high during the stream's violence, as to be above the wa- ters when the rains have subsided. The current continues very perceptible; but as the bar prevents the water from going forward, it passes through the intervals of the very coarse grit which forms the bar; and, perhaps, at the dis- tance of half a mile lower, re-appears. The natives, dis- posed to attribute every thing extraordinary to some in- visible agent, never fail to consider this as a curse upon any village that may be opposite to such a bar, under the opinion that the waters ceased to run in its vicinity on account of some known or concealed impiety perpe- trated by the inhabitants. The Gogra, or Dewah, takes its rise in the hills north of Gorackpore, dividing Napaul from the Company's posses- sions. Its impetuous course rolls through a country nearly desolate, and its banks are bounded by most extensive forests and wildernesses. The soil is not so impregnated with nitre as in other parts, nor are the streams which form its volume tainted so strongly with minerals. Per- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 375 haps, owing to the length of its course, which may be about 250 miles or more, the more weighty particles may be deposited ; for it is held that this river contains less ob- noxious mixtures than any part of the Ganges. Of lime it may certainly partake, since it runs through some tracts abounding with kunkur; but its course is chiefly through clay, sand, and a species of black potter's marle, of which crockery is made in some parts of north Bahar, in imita- tion of our Staffordshire ware, though very inferior as to form and finishing. For this the neighbourhood of Sewah is famous. - The province of Bahar abounds in nitre; and every petty rivulet either takes its rise from some swamp strongly impregnated with it, or passes through soils yielding it profusely. Those streams that originate in the Chittrah, Ramghur, Gyah, and Monghyr Hills, are often so highly saturated with deleterious substances, as to betray their bad qualities even to the eye. The Mahana, the Mutwal- lah, and various mountain rivers in that quarter, which rush into the Ganges between Patna and Boglepore, are frequently tinged with copper, of which some small veins are to be found. This was experienced by the 12th bat- talion of native infantry marching from Patna to the Ram- ghur station, when the whole corps were so extremely affected by the water, as scarcely to be able to ascend from the camp, then at Dungaie, to the summit of the Kanachitty Pass; such was the state to which it had, by its cupreous solution, reduced both men and beasts. For- tunately, it was very cold weather, and the use made of the waters had been very limited. * Some officers of the same corps being on a shooting party, during the next year, happened to encamp at Dun- gaie. The kettle had been put on; the water, indeed, was ready for breakfast; but the gentlemen, on alighting 376 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. from their horses, as usual, had water brought them to wash ; when the contraction it occasioned in their mouths instantly reminded them of their former escape, and thereby get them on their guard. They found, on enquiry, that, either for want of memory, or through indolence, their servants had taken the water from the rivulet running at the foot of the pass, instead of drawing it from a well in the town, which was at no great distance. Many such streams pour into the Ganges, either singly, or in conjunction with others. As to chalybeate influence, that cannot be wanting; for the whole range of hills in the elevated parts of Ramghur, Rotas, Chittrah, Tomar, Pachete, Berboom, Ragonautpore, Midnapore, &c., may be termed one mass of iron; lying in huge projections ex- posed to view, and giving the soil a strong rust colour. The natives in those parts fuse immense quantities for sale. The country from Benares to Patna is generally fertile in the extreme, abounding in rich plains, and affording far purer water than is to be found above that interval. At Gazypore and Buxar the waters receive no additional adul- teration, except from the Caramnassa, which certainly is an impure stream. Such it is especially regarded by the natives, particularly by the immense hordes of pilgrims and devotees who cross this river between Saseram and Benares, on their way from the Maharrattah country, to visit the holy Hindoo city of Kassi, which is the name they give to Benares. A rich man, residing as far off as Poo- nah, the capital of the Maharrattah empire, near Bombay, bequeathed a large sum of money for building a bridge, thereby to obviate the necessity pious travellers were under of being carried over on the backs of men, who gained a livelihood by transporting those who, from over- nice scruples, would not wade through this stream, as they * EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 377 must have done through hundred of others, before they got so near their holy object. Unhappily for those scrupulous devotees, the bridge has decayed, till it seems unlikely to perform its office. The soil being sandy, and the architect understanding but little of his profes- sion, piers had repeatedly been raised to about seven or eight feet high, but always gave way; so that the poor itinerants must still pay their pence, and ride across as before ; unless the edifice be entrusted to European architects. The Coosah comes down from the Morungs, a wild, mountainous country, replete with impenetrable forests, and containing a few minerals. On that head, however, little is known; the extent of the wilds rendering it im- possible to explore the supposed riches contained in the bosom of the mountains. From this quarter, and the continuance of the forest before described, which stretches eastward to Assam, and westward to Peela- beet, or further, the whole of the lower countries are supplied with saul and sissoo timbers, and some firs. Quitting the country in which it has its rise, the Coosah, after a foaming course of about forty miles, enters the extensive plains of Purneah, through which it passes in a more tranquil state, though ever rapid, till it joins the Ganges a little below Colgong, which stands on the opposite bank, and where the Termahony, a small sluggish stream, in breadth about eighty or a hundred yards, blends its waters with the great river. The Ter- mahony is very deep, and, in the rainy season, equally impetuous. Like the Coosah, it flows, during its short course, chiefly through a flat country, and as the soils in this part are sabulous, the effects of the waters on the inhabitants are not remarkable. The Ganges. may be considered as far more pure 378 EAST INDIA. WADE-MECUM. between Raje-Mahal, in the Jungleterry district, and Mauldah, or Bagwangolah, than for some distance above. During the dry season, it is remarkable for the clearness and lightness of its waters. During the rainy season they are greatly changed, when the immense inundation which prevails throughout Bengal, properly so called, and which, moving in general at a rate not exceeding half a mile in the hour, may be considered as stagnant. We now lose the great body of sand which in all the upper country forms the bed, not only of the Ganges, but of every river whose course continues uninterrupted during the dry season, though its stream may become insignificant. Here it should be remarked, that sandy beds generally produce the finest beverage, and that the water will be found more pure in proportion as the sand is coarse. Hence the waters in the deep parts of such streams are invariably the sweetest; for the coarse sand will naturally find its way to the greatest depths, at the same time precipitating the impurities. On the con- trary, the light floating sands, which every little motion will agitate, set the impurities also in action. Such are generally found on the borders of the stream, whence most persons derive their supplies, and where it may usually be seen in an active state; or, if at rest, blended with slime, or fibrous substances. We should ever remember the different effects of fine and coarse sand as strainers. Coarse sand allows heavy or coarse bodies to pass through it freely, provided the particles be not adhesive, or too gross for filtration. Thus, when such sand is deposited in the bed of a river, the lesser particles of lime, or of minerals and their ores, will sink and remain fixed. Not so with fine sand. This has a greater tendency to compactness, and, gradu- ally filling up the smallest intervals, becomes firm, and * 380 EAST INDIA VAD E-M ECU M. Under the circumstances of a flood which lasts for many months, fluctuating from the middle or end of July to the beginning of October, (though in low situations the water does not drain off, before the middle of December,) the inhabitants may be supposed to suffer all the miseries of a general ruin and subse- quent scarcity. The reverse is, however, the case; for, unless the rains fall in such torrents as to wash away their habitations, and to occasion a rise in the fluid plain so rapid as to overwhelm the growing rice, the more ample the bursauty, (the rains,) the more plentiful is the crop, and generally the less sickly the season. This will appear sufficiently credible on considering that amplitude of inundation serves, not only to divide the septic matter contained in the water, but also to accelerate its action, and to cause its proceeding with added impetus to discharge itself into the bay. At this season, rivers are only known by the currents, and con- sequent swells, which appear amidst this temporary ocean. The navigation, for several months, assumes a new appearance. Vessels of great burthen, perhaps of two thousand maunds, (each 80lb.,) equal to nearly one hundred tons, are seen travelsing the country in all directions, principally with the wind, which is then within , a few points on either side of south. Noted cities, ex- alted mosques, and populous gunjes, or grain-markets, on the river's bank, are no objects of attention. The boatman having set his enormous square sail, proceeds by guess, or, perhaps, is guided by experience, through the fields of rice, which every where raise their tasseled heads, seeming to invite the reaper to collect the pre- cious grain. The depth of water is generally from ten to thirty feet, as the country may be more or less elevated. EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 381 º It is curious to sail among these insulated towns. At this season they appear almost level with the surround- ing element, and hemmed in by their numerous dingies, or boats. These, exclusive of the necessity for preparing against an over-abundant inundation, are requisite for the purposes of cutting the paddy, rice being so called while in the husk. When the final secession of the inundation is about to commence, the whole of the boats are in motion, and the paddy is cut with astonishing celerity. It is fortu- nate, that, owing to the country on the borders of the sea being higher than the inundated country, the waters can- not draw off faster than they find vent, by means of the rivers which discharge themselves into the Bay of Ben- gal. The growing rice would otherwise be subject to various fluctuations unsuited to its nature, and causing the straw to bend. Thus its growth would be injured, even if recovered from its reclined state so as again to assume on the surface a vigorous appearance. The waters of the inundation, it will be seen, are a mixture of all the streams flowing from every part of the extensive valley formed by the ranges of mountains stretching from Chittagong to Loll Dong, or Hurdwar, on the east and north-east, and from Midnapore to La- hore, on the west and north-west, a course of not less than fifteen hundred miles, and generally from two to four miles in breadth. It may be supposed, that, by these tributary streams, many impurities must be con- veyed, as already particularized. To these must be added the offensive, and certainly not salutary, effect produced by the Hindoo custom of consigning every corpse to the waters of the Ganges, or of any stream that flows into it. The Hindoo religion requires that the deceased should 382 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECUM. be burnt to ashes on the borders of the Ganges, and that those ashes, with all the remnants of wood used in the pile, together with the small truck bedstead on which the body was brought from the habitation to the river side, should be committed to the stream. The whole- someness of such a practice, in a country where, putre- faction proceeding so rapidly, infection and its effects are prodigiously extensive, cannot be disputed. Such an ordinance may vie with the acts of any other legis- lator, however enlightened. But, either the poverty, the indolence, or the sordidness of the people has converted this wholesome precaution into a perfect nuisance. From fifty to a hundred bodies, in different stages of putrefaction, may be seen floating past any one spot within the course of a day. These having been placed on a scanty pile, and that not suffered to do its office, either on account of hot, cold, or wet weather, have been pushed, by means of a bamboo pole, into the stream, to the great annoyance of travellers by water, and all per- sons abiding near those eddies. There the nuisance may be kept circling for days, till forcibly removed, or till the pariah dogs swim in and drag the carcase to the shore. It then speedily becomes their prey, or that of carrion birds. Amidst such a combination of putrid animal and vege- table substance, of mineral adulteration, and of the miasma naturally arising from the almost sudden expo- sure of an immense residuum of slime, &c.; added to the cessation of the pure sea air, the wind changing after the rains from the southerly to the northerly points, are we to wonder at the malignancy of those fevers prevalent throughout the province of Bengal Proper, from the end of September to the early part of January, when the EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 383 swamps are generally brought into narrow limits, and the air is laden with noxious vapours? Though it appears that the general sickness prevail- ing throughout Bengal at this season, is induced by nearly the same causes which, according to our best in- formations, engender the yellow fever in America, yet no symptom of that alarming complaint has ever been known in India, nor does the bilious, or putrid fever, of Bengal at all assimilate as to symptoms with the Ameri- can malady. It is common to see whole villages in a state of jaundice, and the ravages of the disease are, in some years, truly formidable: but, though it may be deemed epidemic, we may, at the same time, annex an endemic distinction, as to each village separately. Ex- cept in cases of putrid accession, or of obvious typhus, there does not seem any danger of infection; and it has been proved that the malady, by proper care, may be wholly averted. At several civil stations, and at some of the principal military cantonments, formerly consider- ed as the emporium of fever, the inhabitants have pre- served an ordinary state of health merely by cutting a few drains, or by banking up such places as formerly proved inlets to inundate plains which now remain sufficiently free from water to allow of pasturage during the whole of the rainy season. 2 The confinement occasioned by a long term of rain, necessarily alters the habit, while the incumbent atmo- sphere, laden with moisture, at the same moment disposes the system to the reception, or the generation, of disease. The poor native does not change his diet, and probably retains the same damp clothes for many days. In case of illness, his temperate system of living seems to be his greatest aid; those medicines that in him effect a great 384 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. change, being found comparatively feeble when adminis- tered either to one of a dissolute life or to Europeans. These, being accustomed to a mode of living more sub- stantial and stimulant, can be acted upon only by the more potent of the materia medica. It has often been asked with surprise, how it happens that the plague has never visited Bengal. The question was founded on the supposed affinity between that coun- try and Egypt, as to annual inundations, and the narrow- ness, as well as filth, of the streets in great cities. These, if the conjecture were correct, would induce pestilence, as the same causes are said to operate in Turkey. The case is widely different. In Egypt, though the lands are inundated, rain is scarcely ever known; the floods coming from the southerly mountains. Hence the inhabitants suffer all the disadvantages of a hot atmo- sphere, during eight months in the year; and for the re- maining four, are exposed to the insalubrity occasioned by the inundation, especially when draining off As to the narrowness of the streets, and the filth they contain, something may be said in alleviation. The houses in Turkey are much higher than those in India, and built of more solid materials. The inhabitants also, though universally the followers of Mahomed, partake of some of the bad habits of the neighbouring countries, and being in a more variable climate, more pointed atten- tion is paid in their edifices to durability and closeness. In India the utmost jealousy subsists between the Moosul- mans and the Hindoos, but the latter are most numerous in every place, even in cities where Moosulman princes hold their durbars, or courts. This jealousy occasions the Hindoos to regard as a contamination every vestige of a Moosulman; and, as ablutions are enjoined by the Hindoo law even more than by the Moosulman's book EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 385 of faith, the Koran, we may consider the person of a Hin- doo to be as clean and wholesome as repeated washings can make it. He wears only a small lock of hair, growing from a spot on the crown of the head, about the size of a dollar. His clothes are washed as often as his body; and, on the whole, it appears almost impossible for him to contract any disease arising from, or communicated through, a deficiency of individual cleanliness. The houses of the natives throughout India, if we ex- cept about one-third of Benares, a twentieth of Patna, the same of Moorshadabad, and a very small part of the Black Town of Calcutta, are built of mats, bamboos, and straw. In the latter, under late regulations, they have been tiled. The generality of village-huts are built with mud walls. On the whole, however, whether from cracks in the walls, or intervals between them and the thatches, windows, &c., the air finds a free course throughout. To this may be added, that the natives do not sleep on fea- ther beds, flock, &c., but generally on mats of reeds. This of itself may be considered as a preventive against infection. The fires kept up in the houses of natives in Turkey, are in fixed stoves, or under chimneys, which do not an- swer the purposes of fumigation. Whereas the Indian, by means of a movable stove, unintentionally fumigates the whole house, making the eyes of all smart with the smoke. This fuel is not bituminous; but, in every situation, either wood, or the dried dung of cattle. Besides, the floor of a Hindoo's house is, perhaps daily, washed with a thick solution of cow-dung, whence a freshness is diffused, not perhaps very gratifying in point of savour to an Euro- pean's nostrils, but assuredly anti-septic, and answering various good purposes, especially as the walls, to the height of three or four feet, are smeared with the same 2 c 386 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECUM. mixture. The use of tobacco is common to both Turkey and India, and may be considered as contributing to resist the damps during the rainy season, as well as infection. As to apprehensions arising from filth, fortunately they are not better founded than those just noticed, from the narrowness of the streets. This lucky escape from dis- ease is not, however, attributable to attention on the part of the natives individually, or to the fostering care of the native governments. Towns of any importance are generally built on the borders of navigable rivers, which abound throughout the country. The swarms of vultures, kites, crows, and of a large kind of butcher bird, stand- ing at least six feet high, called the argeelah, added to the immense numbers of pariah dogs, generally roving at liberty, and having no owner; together with a multitude of jackalls, that patrol the cities, as well as the plains, during the night; all contribute to remove whatever car- rion, or putrescent matter they can discover. The argeelah, just mentioned, may be occasionally seen all the year round, but generally comes with the first showers in June, and stays till the cold season is far ad- vanced. It then retires, to breed, into the heavy covers on the borders of the large unfrequented lakes near the mountains. This bird has been fully described in the representation of the Ganges breaking its banks, in the Wild Sports of INDIA. It is by some called the bone-eater, from its peculiar powers of digestion; swal- lowing whole joints, such as a leg of lamb, and after the meat has been digested, returning the bone as clean as though it had been boiled for a whole day. The fitness of this bird to eat the most putrid substances has been sufficiently proved, by rubbing an ounce or more of emetic tartar into a piece of meat, which an argeelah has swal- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 387 lowed, without shewing any symptoms of uneasiness, though for hours after very closely watched. From this it may be inferred, that ordinary stimulants do not dis- agree with the stomach of this unsightly, but innocent and useful animal. Inland towns are usually built near some large jeel or lake, or on some ravine, which, during the rains, forms a rapid water-course. Such as are near hills, are often for many days together impassable, owing to torrents which, through their means, find a way to some expanse or navi- gable river. The jeel, or for want of one, the tank near- est to the town, usually becomes the receptacle of every Hindoo corpse, and, at the same time, supplies the inha- bitants with water for every purpose. This intolerable practice, and others equally offensive, may be thought sufficient to deter men, who pretend to the utmost delicacy and purity in all respects, from drinking at so contami- nated and corrupt a reservoir. Tanks and jeels are, in almost every part of India, full of rushes, and of the conferva, which, together with duck-weed, docks, &c., both cover the surface and fill up the deeps. They are, generally, full of small fishes of various descriptions; and if of any extent or depth, either harbour or invite alligators, which infest the running and stagnant waters in every part of the country. These voracious animals travel at night from one jeel or tank to another; often announcing their presence by snapping up some poor unsuspecting Hindoo, who wades up to his middle for the purpose of performing his ablutions, and offering up the prayers customary on such occasions. In many tanks, alligators are known to be numerous; nay, in some places, they are subsisted by the eleemosy- nary donations of travellers, who disburse a small sum, or present some provision to a faqueer (or mendicant 2 c 2 388 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. priest), to provide food for the alligators. These come forth from the waters, on hearing the well-known voice of their holy purveyor; from whom they seldom fail to receive each a small cake of meal, or some other provi- sion. This liberality does not, however, occasion any qualmish scruples of gratitude; it being found, that alli- gators thus handsomely treated are not a whit more re- served in the application of their teeth to bathers, &c., than those which have never been honoured by such li- beral consideration. The respiration and effluvia proceeding from an ani- mal, perhaps twenty or twenty-five feet long, and from six to twelve in circumference, must affect even a large body of water. Allowing that such a monster consumes air equal to ten men, which, is no unfair calculation, and that twenty gallons of water contain one of air; as a man, on an average, consumes one gallon of air in a mi- nute, the alligator must consume twelve hundred gallons, equal to near twenty hogsheads, in an hour. Thus, in twenty-four hours, the quantity of water contaminated by one alligator would amount to four hundred and eighty hogsheads. From this, we may conceive the effect produced by seven or eight alligators in a tank not exceeding two acres in measurement, and nowhere above twelve or fourteen feet in depth. We must, also consider the abundance of fishes; for did not that abundance exist, the alligators would speedily decamp. To these two sufficient draw- backs, may be joined all that has been said of the impuri- ties added by the inhabitants, and we shall form such a nauseating and unwholesome combination as must cause us to wonder how any one is left to tell the fate of his lost companions. Amidst the mountains, the inundations cannot be of EAST INDIA. V. A DE-MECU M. 389 any duration, end the waters of every description are limited as to extent, the, streams being very small, ex- cepting a few hollows between two hills, or, eventually, a valley in which a pool may exist, yet alligators are there to be seen. They are generally small, but very savage, making up by their rapacity and activity for the want of that bulk which renders the alligator of the great rivers more apparently dangerous. By the term small, we must not conclude them to be diminutive, but that they rarely exceed twelve or fourteen feet in length. Such will, however, seize a bullock when wading in a tank or jeel; stealing upon him with the utmost caution, so as not to disturb the fluid, and even keeping the dorsal spines depressed till the very moment of seizure. Then, fastening upon the unwary animal's leg, and throwing his whole weight backwards, at the same time swinging round forcibly, so as to raise the greater part of his dis- gusting frame above the surface, the alligator by one violent effort, which appears almost instantaneous, commonly succeeds to drag the poor animal into a sufficient depth. Pain, surprise, and the unrelaxing bite of his devourer, combine to disable him from making any adequate resist- ance. Being also kept completely immersed by the subtle and experienced assailant, no more is seen, except that the waters appear for about a minute violently agi- tated by the efforts of both parties. The alligator is, however, compelled to raise his head above the surface when in the act of deglutition. This is seen daily, even when a fish becomes the victim. On these occasions, the stupendous animal rears himself in the waters, exposed sometimes so far as the shoulders, and ordinarily biting the fish in two, when, with the utmost ease, he swallows what would make a hearty meal for thirty or forty men of keen appetite. An alligator has been frequently seen thus * 390 EAST 1 N DIA VAD E-MECUM. to swallow a rooee, or river carp, weighing from fifty to sixty pounds: a size by no means uncommon in the great rivers of Bengal. The great demand for water by the natives, in every part of India, occasions the digging of an immense num- ber of tanks and wells, chiefly by persons of property, under the pretence of aiding the poorer classes; but, in fact, with a view of becoming popular, or transmitting their names to posterity by affixing them as designations to the tank or well in question. This is equally the case as to plantations, generally of mango trees; and in the building of seraies, for the accommodation of travellers. These, Europeans generally understand to be caravan- seraies; but that term can only apply to those parts of Arabia, &c., furnishing caravans; which are not known in the great peninsula of India. There, from the extent of sea-coast, navigation absorbs the chief part of the trade. Seraies are usually known by the name or title of the founder. Thus, Maraud ka Seray implies that the public accommodation for travellers was founded by Maraud; respecting whom the people in attendance either have some traditional account, or supply a history invented for the occasion. Seraies are now going fast to decay. The power of the native princes has been so abridged, and their influence so little felt, that, generally speaking, were a rich or ex- alted character to found a seray, even on the most liberal footing, his expectation of immortal fame would scarcely be realized. The rage is now more for gunges, or grain markets; hauts, or villages, holding periodical markets; maylahs, or annual fairs; and, in fact, for such esta- blishments as afford a profit, or which, from becoming notorious in the way of trade, are more likely to perpe- tuate the celebrity of the institution. EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 391. Durgaws (commonly called mosques) appertain ex- clusively to those of the Mahomedan faith, and mhuts, which are, properly, places of Hindoo worship, also ma- dressahs, or colleges, with endowments for faqueers, or Hindoo priests, seem to maintain their ground. These, like the abbeys of monkish times, are ever to be found in the best situations; especially with a command of ex- cellent water. The tanks in the hills, which have resulted from arti- ficial means, are generally small, full of weeds, and rarely lined with masonry. Their banks are soft, and the waters, being accessible to cattle on every side, are foul and tur- bid. Sometimes, during the hot months, these become nearly dry, affording, if any, a most offensive and insalu- brious beverage. Nevertheless, the indolent native will often drink this, rather than send half a mile to a purer spring. The generality of these tanks have originally a regular supply from numberless springs, fed either by a natural syphonic process from higher lands, or by percola- tion of the profuse dews that, throughout the immense jun- gles on the higher soils, fall during the hottest months. From the want, however, of proper attention to preserve the tanks from the incursions of cattle, which, being very wild in their nature, often swim or wade over to the oppo- site sides, these springs are quickly choaked ; and in such open soils easily find other vents, and expose the inhabitants to great suffering from drought. In many instances wells are dug in the tanks, and cause a great saving of labour; as when once a spring discharges into the tank, in such a situ- ation, it is not necessary to dig the whole area to an equal depth. This is a cheap expedient, adopted by such as have vanity enough to attract public notice, but not money enough to do the work completely, or to a great extent. We are thus led to the consideration of those effects 392 EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. produced in hilly countries, by the waters in common use. Nor are we deceived in our expectation as to the results naturally arising from so forcible an agent. Throughout the hilly country, exclusive of the diminutive features at- tached, all over the world, to the various classes of moun- taineers, there is, obviously induced by the diet, and most especially by the waters in use, an additional diminution of bulk, on a comparison with that of the natives in the adjacent low lands. In Tomar, the back part of Chittrah, and Ramghur, the immense extent of low woods almost debars population; and the hill people, known by the name of Dhangahs, subsist principally on rice, wild fruits, and occasionally a little game, and drink of water such as has just been described, collected either in small pools, or in artificial tanks. Now, in those places the inhabitants are extremely stinted in their growth, squalid, troubled with wens, half devoured with a kind of scurvy, herpetic eruption, and appear even at a very early age to lose their vigour. They have, besides, a peculiar kind of ophthal- mia, partly induced by an excessive passion for liquor, there distilled in large quantities, and by their exposure to a damp impregnated atmosphere; while, in their huts, their whole happiness seems to consist of an intense fumigation, chiefly from green-wood, such as would wholly suffocate one not habituated to it from his birth. The difference between these haggard objects, and the inhabitants of the plains from which the mountains take their rise, requires no comment. It most forcibly arrests the traveller's attention, causing him to doubt whether, within the short interval of perhaps six or seven miles, he may believe his senses, which represent a change from vigorous and personable manhood, to a state decrepid, hideous, and dwarfish, more resembling the Weird Sisters EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 393 than our imaginations can conceive, or our best performers represent. Some tanks, dug by the more charitable among the rich, are on a very extensive scale, covering ten or twelve acres. Many are of great antiquity, and have been very deep, perhaps thirty feet; but, by the growth of vegetable matter, added to the heavy bodies of sand and dust that nearly darken the air in the dry season, of which much falls into the waters, their depth is considerably reduced. In some, various shoals appear, indicating the accumu- lation of rubbish, and in a manner reproaching those who use the element with indolence and ingratitude. In such places fish abound, and grow to an astonishing size, some- times affording excellent angling; but their flavour ill cor- responds with their appearance, being, for the most part, intolerably muddy. The quantity of weeds, the shoals, and various posts sunk in different parts of the tank, armed with tenter-hooks, for the purpose of preventing poachers from robbing the stock, are insuperable bars to the use of nets. Boats are not in use in such places; and there seems to be no attention to any thing relating to such waters, except that the shecarries, or native sportsmen, exercise much ingenuity and skill in their depredations among the wild geese, wild ducks, teal, widgeons, &c., with which, during the winter months, all the waters of India are profusely stocked. Then every unfrequented puddle is covered with wildfowl, which often alight during the dark nights on waters situated in the very hearts of cities; in which sometimes tanks are seen of such size, as to secure the birds, when collected near the centre, from the reach of small shot. This, though not to be classed with daily occurrences, is by no means singular. By far the greater number of tanks, especially those by 394 EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. the road-side, or contiguous to cities and populous towns, are walled in with masonry. These have at one, or more sides, either a long slope, or a flight of excellent stone steps. Some, indeed, have both ; the former being in- tended for the use of cattle, which come to drink there, or are brought laden with large leather bags to be filled with water for the use of the inhabitants. From the great pe- riodical rains, and the swelling of the soil during the sea- son of excessive moisture, the masonry is generally burst in various places, and either sinks or is prostrated into the tank. A due attention to the proper proportion of base, so as to give a substantial talus both within and with- out the walls, added to the precaution of leaving vents for the free discharge of the springs, or the superabun- dant fluid, into the tank, would most assuredly counteract so destructive a weakness as now generally exists. There is scarcely any very old masonry which has not suc- cumbed thereto, except the great bund, or dyke, at Juan- pore. This, according to tradition, was built about fifteen hundred years ago, and having been made of a very ob- durate kind of kumkur, found in those parts, blended with excellent lime, probably burnt-from the same stones, appears now a complete mass of rock, capable of resisting the ravages of time. This bund, which bears all the vene- rable marks of antiquity, was originally thrown up to limit the Goomty; a fine river that rises in the Peelabeet coun- try, and washing Lucknow, the capital of Oude, passes through the city of Juanpore under a very lofty bridge, built on strong piers, terminating in gothic arches. From the want of due breadth in these arches, the waters rise during the rainy season to an immense height, creating a fall of which that at London Bridge, at its worst, is in- deed but a poor epitome. The distance between the top EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 395 of the bridge and the water below it, in the dry season, is not quite sixty feet; yet it is on record, and in the me- mory of many inhabitants of Juanpore, that the river has been so full as to run over the bridge, which is flat from one end to the other, lying level between two high banks, distant about three hundred and twenty yards. Formerly, when the waters were high, they are said to have overflowed on the left bank; forming an immense inundation throughout the country lying east of Juanpore, and extending down towards the fertile plains of Gazy- pore. The hollow or low land, by which they penetrated, was about two miles in width; the bund was therefore built to a suitable extent. It is now about two miles and a half long; in most parts about thirty feet broad at the top, and double that width at the base. Its height va- ries from ten to twenty feet. The record states it to have proved effectual in resisting the inundation; which, how- ever, on account of the bund being at right angles with the river, so as to occupy a favourable position, and cut off the torrent, continued to flow annually as far as its base. In time the sediment deposited by the water, thus rendered stagnant, filled up the hollow, raising its surface as high as the other parts of the river's boundary, and creating a soil peculiarly valuable, now chiefly occupied by indigo planters. The insalubrity occasioned by the many swamps left by the inundation, was at the same time averted, and the dread removed that the Goomty would, in time, force a new channel for the entire body of its stream. Large tracts, before of little value, acquired a deep staple of soil, which yields sugar, indigo, wheat, barley, &c., in abundance and perfection. The rage for digging tanks has, in a certain measure, subsided; and little of that very absurd ostentation is now prevalent which produced such immense works, rendered 396 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. useless by their too great number, or carried to an excess as to their size. It would perhaps be difficult to ascribe it to any other motive than that of unparalleled vanity, for a man to have dug near seventy tanks, all nearly con- tiguous, on a plain not many miles distant from the mili- tary station of Burragong, in the district of Sircar Sa- rung, situate between the Gunduc and the Gogra. The population did not require more than one tank, especially as a stream of tolerably good water passes within a few hundred yards of the site of these monuments of osten- tation. The inhabitants tell various stories as to the per- son who lavished his money in this useless manner; and (which would, no doubt, vex the real prodigal to his very heart,) the modern narrators differ widely even as to the name and rank of the individual. With respect to seraies, we may at least praise the con- venience they afford, without bestowing much admiration on the charity of their founders. Some seraies are very extensive, covering six or eight acres. They generally consist of a quadrangle, built across the road, which passes under two lofty arched gateways, having battle- ments or turrets over them. The gates open to an extent sufficient to allow any laden elephant, however stupen- dous, to pass freely. They are made of strong wood, well bound with iron, and studded with iron spikes, of which the points are on the outside, for the purpose of preventing elephants from forcing them by pressure. The surrounding walls of the quadrangle are generally about fourteen feet in height, and from two to four in thick- ness, according either to the antiquity of the building, or to the parsimony of the builder. They are lined all around with a shed, built on pillars, and divided by mats, &c., into various apartments, all sheltered from the sun and rain by means of doors, &c. of bamboos, mats, grass, EAST INDIA WA D E-MECUM. 397 &c., as the country may afford; or eventually, a part is built up with thin brick, or with mud. In the central parts of the seray there are generally some shops, ranged on each side of the road, and one building appropriated to the cutwal, or superintendant of the place, whose office is, properly, to regulate all mat- ters, and to see that travellers are duly accommodated; that the bytearahs, or cooks, dress their victuals, and that the chuokeedars take due charge of the goods con- signed to their care. All this, however, is done in a slovenly way; the greatest impositions are often prac- tised; and the itinerant journeys on from one scene of thievish combination to another. Although a seray may be built near a river, or to some sufficient stream, yet there is invariably, in the area, a well, ordinarily lined with circular tiles, or masonry. The water is drawn from such wells, for the most part, by means of a truck-pulley, suspended between the limbs of a forked bough cut for the purpose, and having a wooden pin through it as an axle. Each traveller draws water for himself, and for that purpose carries a line gene- rally about twenty feet long. Few indeed travel, even on foot, without a lootah, or brass water-vessel, of which there are various sizes, from a pint to half a gallon; a tully, or flat brass plate, with a border about an inch high, nearly perpendicular; and a cuttorah, or metal cup. Some even carry their daikçhees, or metal boilers; though, in ge- neral, they purchase for a farthing, or, at the utmost, for a halfpenny, a new earthen pot, capable of holding per- haps three quarts, or a gallon, with a lid of the same ; in which, if they do not intend to employ the people of the seray, they dress their own victuals; leaving the crockery, which no one else will use, it being considered as pol- luted. 398 EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECUM. The water of wells in the seraies, or in populous towns, is certainly far fresher and better than is to be had, in ge- neral, from small rivers. But much will depend on the soil, the lining of the well, its depth, and, indeed, on its width. A quick draught necessarily insures a plentiful flow, and prevents corruption from any impurity that may casually fall in from above. At a certain depth there is usually found a stratum of sand; this is remarkably fine, and, in some places, retains such a large portion of fluid as to become a perfect quicksand. In many parts, and espe- cially in the Ramghur district, which, on an average, may be a thousand feet or more above the level country, this sub-stratum presents a most serious difficulty in the sink- ing of wells. The natives throughout India have a great respect for such as plant mango topes (or woods). These are, in gene- ral, managed with great care; the trees being set each way at regular distances, forming parallel vistas, both length- wise and breadthwise; the width of which are equal each way, and varying from twenty to forty feet. When first planted, they are well inclosed with a ditch and bank, sufficient to prevent cattle from injuring the young trees, which are also watered at intervals during the dry season, generally from a well dug at the expense of the planter, on one side of the tope. If the proprietor be rich, the well is usually large, lined with masonry, and furnished with cisterns of the same, or of hewn stone, so that cattle may be refreshed in numbers. Two pillars of masonry, or substantial wood, are erected, each supporting the end of a timber, stretching across the well at about five feet above the brink. On this timber a shieve of wood is fixed, with one or more grooves for the reception of the cord used in drawing water. The first-fruits of plantations are, with few exceptions, EAST INDIA va DE-MEcuM. 399 considered as appertaining to the tutelar deity of the planter, and are tendered to him as offerings on the part of the tope. The priests who officiate on these august oc- casions, commonly find means to save the sacred cha- racter of their invisible patron from any suspicion of glut- tony, by taking upon themselves the office of proxy, on this and every occasion wherein mastication is needful. On many of the great roads, such as that leading from Benares to the upper stations, are very large wells, con- veniently situated near some shelter, though perhaps dis- tant from any town. Occasionally a hut or two may be in the vicinity, for the residence of a bunneah, (or kind of “chandler,) or for a vendor of spirits. Some of these wells are furnished with various sets of pillars and shieves, very substantial in their construction, so as to bear the weight of a leathern bag, formed by stitching the edges of a whole hide, divested of its superfluous angles, &c., to an iron hoop of a foot and a half in diameter. By means of two arched irons, rivetted, at their crossing in the middle, by a swivel and loop, the bag, or moot, is managed in the same way as a bucket in Europe. Many of these moots are ca- pable of containing at least half a hogshead. They re- tain the water more steadily in ascending than any vessel whose sides are fixed and firm ; and as they are drawn into a cistern, or over a bed made hollow for their re- ception above the brink of the well, no great exertion is required to empty them, the waters discharging volunta- rily when the moot is suffered, by the slackening of the rope, to touch the bottom of the bed or cistern. It may reasonably be inferred, that a weight of water contained in an ordinary ox or cow hide, though of small growth, must be more than manual strength could manage ; especially as the pulley is extremely small, rarely more than six or seven inches in diameter, nearly 400 EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECUM, as much in width, and moving on a rude piece of wood for an axis. Of this, probably, nearly half has been lost by the excessive friction a piece of machinery so unfi- nished and ill-proportioned must occasion. Not one in a thousand is ever lubricated, but the hole in the shieve is generally adequate to admit an axis treble the size of that in use; whence the pulley must jump from one inequa- lity to another; creating, at every such transition, a check of some consequence to the power from which it derives its motion. To draw water by means of the moot, two men and a pair of oxen are requisite: the size of the moot being proportioned to the bulk of the cattle, which are yoked in the ordinary manner, drawing by means of the rope fastened round the centre of the yoke, and passing be- tween them. The strength of the oxen is aided very considerably by the declivity of the path they follow; so that, in proceeding from the well, as they draw up the moot, they descend a talus, or slope, of which the angle may vary from fifteen to twenty-five degrees. The driver frequently seats himself on the yoke, to increase the weight acting in opposition to the moot. As the quantity of earth derived from the shaft of the well rarely suffices to give the talus sufficient slope, one half the length of the bullock's track (which is regulated by the length of the rope, and may usually measure about twenty-five yards,) is sunk in the ground, and the height near the well raised with the proceeds of the ex- cavation. This insures a sufficient addition to the ener- gies of the cattle in descending, which they do with great effect when goaded by the driver. Arriving at the bottom of the slope, or when the moot is raised above the surface of the well, the cattle stop, and the man in at- tendance at the brink draws the moot over the bed, or EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 401 cistern, which is made to project over about one-third of the well. Some of the wells seen at the sides of the great roads measure fifteen or sixteen feet in diameter, and have slopes cut out of the soil, lined on each side with ma- sonry. These lead to an opening in the well's circum- ference, near to the ordinary level of the water, which, in the dry season, is generally within very narrow limits. Near the opening is sometimes an iron ladle, fastened by means of a chain. This convenience, for the most part, is held sacred; and he who pilfered one from its place of security, would, in those parts, be considered as a consummate villain. But it appears from many obvious marks of violence, that there are men so depraved as to steal these chains and ladles, when necessity may urge them to take advantage of a fair opportunity. Wells founded on such a principle, in a climate where excessive heats prevail for three months, may be deemed invaluable. Yet they are really little used, their surfaces in general being covered with duck-weed, and they rarely are without an ample colony of frogs. Where, huts are built near them, their waters, being rather less stagnant, are, of course, more wholesome, as well as more palata- ble. The encampment of a regiment in their neighbour- hood soon sweetens them. Some are rendered foul by their containing fish. It would be difficult to account for fish being there, unless they fall with the heavy showers attendant upon those violent squalls called north-westers, during the hot sea- son, when multitudes of small fry have been occasionally found, even on the tops of houses, in various parts of the country. Some assert that many, have been found alive: Captain Williamson had seen some lying dead; once, in particular, near Allahabad, after a very heavy 2 D 402 EAST INDIA VAD b.-MECU M. shower of rain. It does not appear possible that, even if sucked up by a water-spout, and immediately returned with the rain, they could survive the rapidity of the ascent, and the force with which they fall. It is remarkable, that only three kinds of fish are ever seen in wells; viz. the solee, which, in a great measure, resembles our pike, and is equally ravenous; the gurrye, or mud-fish, very similar in form to our miller's thumb: and the singnee, or bayonet-fish, so called from its having three terrible spines in its dorsal and lateral fins, the wounds made by which are, generally, very severe. This fish has a purplish skin, without scales, is thin, like a sub- stantial pork-knife, and has a broad flat head. Like the gurrye, it is found only among mud and slime, wherein it works very nimbly. Both species can live a long while in moist mud, as is proved by their being found in recent puddles, where water had formerly been dried up. It is remarkable that both the gurrye and the singnee taste very sweet, and are never muddy, the latter in parti- cular. If we except those small streams that come down from mountains containing ores, which must, of course, im- pregnate the waters in those parts, the number of mineral springs yet discovered in Bengal, and the subordinate stations under that presidency, is small indeed. Possibly numbers may exist, though not generally known ; one having been accidentally discovered within a few yards of the road on the west bank of the Mahana, a small river which rises among the hills near the Catcumsandy- pass in the Ramghur district. This would very proba- bly have escaped notice, but for the nauseous smell, and black greasy appearance of the soil whence it issued. The flavour was soapy, but strongly sulphuric; and a slight scum, which appeared to rise with the spring, was EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 403 peculiarly acrid. It was probably never analyzed, but might have proceeded from a bed composed of sulphur and bitumen, especially as coals are found within that district. There is a very remarkable hot-spring at a place called Seetah-Coon, within three miles of the fort of Monghyr. This, it appears, has been known for ages. It is about twelve or fourteen feet square, and may be from seven to eight feet deep in the middle. That, how- ever, must be a conjecture; the sides being of masonry, shelving in greatly, and the bottom not remarkably clear of weeds, &c. The water is very hot, so that an egg has been moderately poached at this spring; and it is said that one was boiled in it, but probably not to any degree of firmness. The most complete proof of a large por- tion of caloric contained in this spring, is the melan- choly fact, that an artillery soldier, in the year 1777, at- tempting to swim across, was scalded in such a manner as to expire shortly after being taken out. The natives, who judge by appearances, and especi- ally by the quantity of vapour that is found during the winter to rise from the spring, affirm that the water is then considerably hotter than at any other season. The fallacy of such an opinion is easily detected, and has indeed been proved. Several gentlemen have been at the trouble of keeping a register of its daily variations, which were found to be extremely small, probably between 140° and 1600 of Fahrenheit. . This well, of which the waters are considered remark- ably wholesome, stands on the borders of a small plan- tation of mango-trees; near three or four other wells, of which the waters are cold, and have not any distinguish- ing quality. The redundant water from the hot well affords a stream, whose section may be equal to thirty 2 D 2 404 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. square inches. It passes into a large marsh, of at least twenty acres, close to the plantation, where it nourishes a greatyariety of aquatic plants, that appear to grow with more than ordinary vigour. The same negligence in regard to botany and natural history, which appears to operate throughout India, (if we except the labours of some zealous individuals,) seems to operate against enquiry into various important matters relating to the mineral waters. These would doubtless be found in abundance, were either the cost of research so moderate as to permit active individuals to explore the vast regions, whose very boundaries are as yet scarcely known; or, were the Government of India to defray the expense of a few capable men, whose time should be wholly devoted to an enquiry into whatever might apper- tain to botany, mineralogy, natural history, and the various branches of knowledge on which chemistry and physic depend. An extraordinary negligence has been shewn respecting the hot well at Monghyr, standing within two miles of the Ganges, not more than three miles from the Fort of Mon- ghyr, (a grand depôt for stores, garrisoned by upwards of two thousand invalids,) and in the direct tract from Cal- cutta to the upper provinces. Though the waters of this well are sent for from all parts of the country, and it is bottled in large quantities for persons, especially ladies, going to sea; yet, strange to tell, its properties have never been duly analyzed. Various medical men have differed as to its basis; some asserting it to be chalybeate; others, im- pregnated with soda; while some declared it to possess no particular impregnation, nor any active principle. It must be evident, that, in a country whose soil is sub- ject to be parched during so many months in the year, EAST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. 405 heavy fogs and miasma must abound. Consequently, during the four months following the cessation of the an- nual rains, it frequently happens that the atmosphere is laden, till a very late hour in the day, with mists and va- pours. In great cities, the bad effects of these are not so perceptible, on account of the general fumigation which takes place during the evenings. Then the bulk of the inhabitants, as if by general consent, kindle fires to cook their victuals, of which they rarely eat till six or seven o'clock, the cold remains of the repast being reserved for the morning. This fortuitous circumstance tends to purify the air, and thus to obviate a large portion of those evils to which villages, which stand more exposed in the midst of the marshy tracts, are imminently subject. In such, it is common to find a very large portion of the inhabitants annually laid up with obstinate intermittents, from which they are rescued by their moderation as to diet, and a few medicinal simples every where common, and whose appli- cation is sufficiently understood. Great numbers are, however, cut off by the disease itself, or by the obstruc- tions it generally creates. Those are ever to be dreaded, even though a perfect cure should apparently have taken place. It is by no means uncommon to see persons, es- pecially Europeans, who have, to appearance, been cured of Jungle, or Hill-fevers, as they are locally designated, and which correspond exactly with our Marsh-fever, laid up at either the full or change of the moon, or possibly at both, for years after. “Many have affected,” says Captain Williamson, “to doubt the planetary influence on the human constitution; but to me there appears every reason to accredit the opi- nion, as I have seen so many instances among my own intimate friends, as well as a thousand ordinary cases 406 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. among soldiers, camp-followers, villagers, &c.” Captain W. adds the following extracts from the treatise of Dr. Francis Balfour, of the Bengal Medical Establishment. ‘‘ OF THE PA ROXY SMS OF FEVERS. “In Bengal, there is no reason to doubt that the hu- man frame is affected by the influence connected with the relative situations of the sun and moon. In certain states of health and vigour, this influence has not power to shew itself by any obvious effects; and, in such cases, its ex- istence is often not acknowledged. But in certain states of debility and disease, it is able to manifest itself by ex- citing febrile paroxysms; and the propensity, or aptitude, of the constitution to be affected with febrile paroxysms in such cases, may be denominated the paroxysmal dis- position.” “OF PERFECT TYP Es. “Febrile paroxysms universally discover a tendency to appear, and to disappear, in coincidence with those posi- tions of the sun and moon that regulate the rising and falling of the tides. The diurnal and nocturnal encrease of sol-lunar power acting on constitutions, in which the propensity of the paroxysmal disposition is complete and perfect, produces paroxysms every twelve hours, in coin- cidence with the periods of the tides; and constitute types which, on acco”nt of this regular coincidence, I denomi- nate perfect.” “O F IMPERFECT TYPEs. “The diurnal and nocturnal encrease of sol-lunar power, acting on constitutions in which the propensity to pa- roxysm is incomplete, or imperfect, has power only to produce paroxysms in coincidence with every second, / EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 407 third, or fourth period of the tides, or others more re- mote; constituting types which, on account of this irre- gular coincidence, I have called imperfect.” Doctor Balfour states, in a note, that, “In several cases of the plague, recorded by Dr. Patrick Russel, the febrile paroxysms returned obviously every four hours, in coinci- dence with the periods of the tides; and his predecessor and relation, the author of The Natural History of Aleppo, asserts positively, that the generality of the fevers there, and indeed in almost all acute cases, are subject to ex- acerbations once or twice in twenty-four hours.” From Cordiner's Description of Ceylon, Captain W. quotes the following passage:—“Medical men have dis- covered this swelling (viz. the elephantiasis) ‘to be an effect of fever, which returns on the patient monthly.” The natives, generally in the first instance, have re- course to the bit-noben or kala-neemuk, (black-salt,) a so- lution of which, though certainly very disgusting on account of its taste, strongly reminding us of the scent of gun-washings, or of rotten eggs, proves an excellent cathartic, and, if duly persisted in, rarely fails to rid the patient of an immense quantity of bile. That being ef. fected, a strong decoction of cherrettah, a root about the size of slender birch twigs, but of a redder colour, and possessing some of the properties of Peruvian bark, is fre- quently taken. But certainly the best medicine in the catalogue of Indian simples is the lotah, or kaut-kullaigee, which is the kernel taken from the pod of a creeping kind of cow-itch. This kernel is extremely bitter, and pos- sesses all the virtues of the bark; but with this advantage, that, in lieu of binding, it commonly proves very mildly aperient when taken to the amount of two or three nuts daily. It has been often given, with great success, during the paroxysms of an ague; the stomach and intestines EAST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. 409 ciently acquainted with some properties of certain plants; yet, owing to a total ignorance of pathology, physiology, nosology, and especially of the circulation of the blood, and of chemistry, as applicable to analysis and synthesis, it is utterly impossible they should be able to act, except by rote, and according to their ideas of specifics; whereby the virtues of the medicines in question are supposed to be applicable to all the stages, not only of the same, but of various diseases, totally opposite in their natures. It surely need not be pointed out, how uncertain must be the results under such circumstances, even when each sim- ple is administered separately, and with a patient attention to its operation. When, however, it is considered that on most occasions where the native Huckeems, or Hakeems, prescribe, they rely greatly upon compounds of herbs and minerals, each having its virtues recorded in some popu- lar distich, to dispute which would be considered an open avowal of consummate ignorance, we may fairly hesitate to receive information from so impure a source. Without depreciating the merits of many simples in use among the natives, their competency to estimate them may be justly disputed; but, at the same time, no doubt could be enter- tained that their several books may afford great advan- tage by giving hints, which, being properly, but guardedly followed up, may enrich our catalogue of valuable remedies. This cannot be done in a few days, nor even in a few years: whenever it be effected, the memory of that president, whose life was devoted to the service, not only of his ex- isting fellow-creatures, but of posterity also, will doubt- less be duly venerated. The Botanic Gardens established at the several Presidencies, under the care of medical gen- tlemen duly qualified, offer the means of verifying the tests of chemistry and time; the former have not as yet been 410 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. properly investigated; and the latter has not run its due course, to enable the philosophical world to decide with precision. In the first volume of the Asiatic Researches, the late Matthew Leslie, Esq. very sensibly observed, that “there are in our Indian provinces many animals, and many hun- dreds of medicinal plants, which have either not been de- scribed at all, or, what is worse, ill described by the natu- ralists of Europe.” In this remark there is much truth ; but a certain portion of the very extensive meaning of Mr. Leslie, who was, assuredly, a man of considerable abilities, and who had much opportunity for research, will be received with caution, from the consideration of his avowed partiality towards native physicians, who, as just stated, are by no means competent to guide us through the mazes of botanical research. The state of medicine among the natives throughout India, is not such as to induce the belief that we shall obtain any valuable information among the Huckeems, of whom full ninety- nine in the hundred are self-taught, as well as self-suffi- cient. What, then, is to be expected among persons thus practising a profession, to which the old adage of ars longa, vita brevis so admirably applies, when we see not even one didactic page to which they can resort; no public institution where knowledge is either bestowed or received; no liberal, enlightened patron, under whose auspices genius may be enabled to penetrate into the mines of science Can we refrain then from smiling at our countrymen who, quitting the aid and guidance of their well-informed medical friends, resort to such quacks, whose reputation they thus unjustly raise among the gaping crowd, and who have the art to propagate the most unbounded reliance on their nostrums ? That here and there a simple of peculiar efficacy may be in use EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 411 among such persons, is not denied ; but an appeal may be safely made to our more enlightened medical societies, whether to an ignorant man, brought up in vanity, and regardless of the minutiae of physical causes and effects, even the most simple medicine can be safely intrusted P The greatest part of the burlesque is, that these highly- renowned physicians, to a man, rely upon proper con- junctions of the planets, lucky hours, &c., not only for the culling, but for the mixing, and administering of their medicines; without regard to those critical moments of which our silly disciples of Hippocrates and Galen are so very watchful. We must, however, do the natives the justice to allow, that the refrigerating principle lately adopted by some leading English physicians, owes its origin solely to the ancient practice of the Brahmans, or Hindoo priests, of whom the generality affect to be deeply versed in phar- macy. “I believe,” says Captain Williamson, “that, if taken in time, few fevers would be found to degenerate into typhus, and that very seldom any determination to- wards the liver from acute cases would occur, were the refrigerating course to be adopted. Often have I known my servants, when attacked with fever, to drink cold wa- ter in abundance, and to apply wet cloths to their heads, with great success; the former has generally lowered the pulse considerably, by throwing out a strong perspiration, while the latter has given immediate local relief.” Were it not that cast (sect) opposes a formidable bar- rier to the more extensive practice of European physi- cians among the natives in general, the native doctors would speedily be consigned to their merited contempt. Such, however, are the prejudices arising from religious tenets, among the Hindoos in particular, that, even when at the last extremity, many would rather die than suffer 412 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECUMI. any medicine to enter their mouths, if prepared, or of which the liquid part had been barely touched, by one not of their own cast. Where such infatuation prevails, igno- rance will maintain her empire, till, by the gradual aboli- tion of vulgar errors, the light of science and reason begins to glimmer among the people at large. It will not suf- fice, that a few skilful European professors are seen and admired by a grateful few : that has already happened; but the dread of religious anathema, and of domestic ex- communication, is too forcibly opposed to such weak demonstrations. It has been said “that the natives have no disposition for the sciences.” This is a severe charge on a hundred millions of people. Allow it to be true; and look back to the state of Britain, while under the control of the Druids, who are now well ascertained to have been the same in their days, as the Brahmans of Bengal, &c., are at this time:–who can fail to admire the change? Who could suppose it possible that such a change could have been effected among a people, who, if we are to give cre- dit to Caesar, and to other authorities, were completely barbarous, and “who shewed no disposition for the sci- ences?” In opposition to so absurd and so malicious an assertion, it may be stated, that when Mr. Reuben Bur- row was in India, as head of the mathematical depart- ment, he was solicited by several of the natives to instruct them in astronomy, algebra, &c. Unhappily, although possessing pre-eminent talents, Mr. Burrow was not ex- actly calculated to conciliate the good will, nor to excite the admiration of persons who did not, like himself, blaze at the spark of science. This important deficiency in suavity of manners caused the natives to quit him; indeed, it tended to disgust those of his countrymen who, being compelled by their EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 413 avocations to attend his lectures, were subjected to his caprices. One native, however, of moderate opulence, was not to be scared by what appeared a trifle, when compared with the acquirements he hoped to possess. He bent to the storm, and, by unremitting application, speedily rendered himself competent to converse with Mr. Burrow on his usual topic. In time, the student be- came a favourite, and was allowed to attend his preceptor when the latter was deputed on a survey of considerable extent, and to measure a degree of latitude in the west- ern districts. Such was the progress made by this native under the auspices of Mr. Burrow, that in a few years he qualified himself to instruct others in the ordinary courses of the higher mathematics. It is self-evident, that to whatever extent we instruct the natives of India to analyze the produce of their soil, and to present it to us in a marketable shape, so much must Britain be benefited by the extension of her com- merce, and by the possession of a territory whose value would thus be proportionally raised. Under the present very limited establishment of physicians and surgeons, as well as from the scanty benefits derived from the Bo- tanical Garden, when seen in this point of view, no very sanguine hopes can be indulged of any important advan- tages in that direction. While the Company can barely afford a surgeon and two assistants to a regiment of 2000 men, it is not to be supposed they could form such establishments as might give us a thorough com- mand over the mineral and vegetable productions of their territory, or tend to create a spirit of enquiry among the natives. The want of printed books, in every country an evil, in India is a drawback of great moment. There all books, all proclamations, (except such as we print at 414 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. Calcutta, &c.) all newspapers, &c., &c., are manuscripts. It is not to be imagined how few volumes are to be seen even of this kind. We might have supposed that where provisions, lodging, clothing, fuel, &c., are so remark- ably cheap, learning would become general. The reverse is however the case; not one in five hundred can read or write, even indifferently. There are abundance of small day-schools to which children may be sent at a very trifling expense, but there they learn very little. Generally a bed of sand serves for paper, and a finger, or a piece of stick, for pen and ink; consequently, no traces of any instruction remain for the future consideration of the pupil. The more affluent and zealous commonly provide for their children a board about a foot long, and nine or ten inches wide. This being painted black, and varnish- ed, becomes an admirable tablet, whereon the young folks are enabled to write their lessons with a reed pen, the ink being generally chalk and water. To these, though certainly more perfect than the former mode, the same objections exist. They want stability; and the lesson is no sooner repeated by rote, and written much in the same manner, than it is forgotten, at least it never again ob- trudes on the eye, since, in order to make way for further instruction, it is necessarily expunged. The koits, or scribes, and the láláhs, or accountants, (though the latter often confine their occupations to mere reading or transcribing,) are nearly the same among the lower classes, especially where the Naugry character is in question, that the moonshees are among the superior orders. These almost invariably use the Persian language and character, in all public as well as private matters. So far, indeed, is this carried, that Persian is held to be both the language of the Court and of the Law. As those who study the Persian are aided by moonshees, EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 415 so are such persons as would acquire the Naugry charac- ter necessitated to employ for that purpose koits or láláhs. The wages of these are from two to five rupees per month; but in some families the servants contribute to. the extent of a few annas, or even as far as a rupee; in consideration of which douceur, the láláh commonly writes letters for them to their friends, and explains the answers, &c. Such servants as have the charge of money to be disbursed on their master's account, commonly take care to be on good terms with this cullum-burdar (quill-driver); who, as has been said of compadores, generally taxes all items he knows to be over-charged, by a small deduction in his own favour. Persons of this class often keep little schools, such as have been described, and then are designated gooroos ; a. term implying that kind of respect entertained for pas- tors in general. - If we contemplate the extreme inattention to literary attainments throughout Hindoostan, the great cunning of the priesthood, and their sedulous endeavours to pre- vent the natives from receiving the least information re- specting philosophy in general, it must appear surprising that so much has been done by the artizans of Bengal towards the adaptation of their labours to the conve- nience of British residents. Our admiration of these people cannot but be heightened, from the circumstance. of particular trades being confined to particular casts, or sects; for though we may possibly at first view consi- der that to be an advantage, inasmuch as it should seem to perpetuate knowledge in an hereditary line, those who have resided in the East fully know that no such heir- loom ability is to be found. On the other hand, we im- mediately recognise the bar raised against genius; which, when to be found within the cast, may struggle for ever 416 EAST IN DI A VA L E-M F.C.U.M. under some base, forbidding, and loathsome degradation; or, if it should start in another sect, cannot adopt its native intention, but must resign in favour of some other pursuit, perhaps requiring no genius; or, eventually, one of a very different bent. The evil effects on the useful arts in general from such a system, are certainly great, but by no means to be com- pared with the degradations, and consequent imbecility, inseparable from the total suppression of every thing tending to excite emulation. When we see a numerous hereditary priesthood, we cannot but picture to ourselves the arrogance thus privileged in the whole of that tribe, and the humiliation which marks the actions, as well as the sentiments, of all who do not stand within the hallowed pale. Such a contrast can exist only while one party can deceive, and, while the other deems accusation to be nothing less than blasphemy. We cannot, there- fore, be mistaken respecting the only means of correc- tion,--a knowledge of the world, and of its inhabitants; or what we, in other terms, call learning. Pour but a little of this into the minds of a certain number; satisfy them that morality in Europe, and morality in Asia, are the same thing; that whether we do our duties in a black or a white skin,'matters not; that men were born to aid each other, and not to become the slaves of party, sect, or colour; and that he who knows most respect- ing the works of the Creator, is most likely to have a proper sense of his bounty: convince the natives of India, or of any other nation, that such is the truth, and that you practise, while you teach, the doctrines of Christianity, and nothing will, in the end, be able to stand against so formidable an attack. - Those intent upon acquiring a knowledge of the lan- guage (not only the Bengallee, and the Hindoo, both of EAST IN D H A VA HD E-MECU M. 4.17 which may be considered vernacular, but the Persian also,) may purchase such translations as are extant of the works of Indian authors. By means of such trans- lations, the originals will be more readily understood, . and the study rendered both brief and pleasing, if proper attention be paid to all material points, and in reading the translation, the student does not indulge in the erro- neous opinion that he is making himself master of the original. Almost every book written in the East is the production of some court sycophant. A few have re- sulted from the labours of men who, being disposed to meditation, have committed their reveries to paper; and a very small portion have displayed such marks of ability, as leave us to regret they were either not better educated, so as to enlighten their countrymen, or that they were not born in those parts of the world where their talents might have been fostered and duly appreciated. With regard to ethics, numbers have amused themselves, to all appearance, more from ostentation than from “being virtuous over-much.” The facility with which scraps from the Koran (the Bible of the Mahomedans) may be set forth in glowing terms, in a language rich in ex- pression, has no doubt induced many a very tolerable lay-man to annoy his neighbours, by the repetition, page after page, of the most tiresome tautologies, where- on his fame has been built: of this description abundance exist, all alike unworthy of review. “I have always thought,” says Captain Williamson, “the poets of India to be particularly happy in those little tales which convey a moral, though a very worldly one, under some alluring allegory. From this, however, I exempt the celebrated Heetop.ADEs, translated by Mr. Wilkins. This, by general consent, is allowed to be the store from whence Pilpay's Fables have been taken; 2 E 4.18 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. but the original can never appear in competition with their offspring; for, while the latter are interesting, and afford a very rich treat, by their apt application to the af. fairs of life, the former are heavy, dull, tedious, and of a most motley character; the subject is generally forced, and spun out into all the varieties garrulity could invent. “The Asiatic student,” he adds, “may find in the several works of Gilchrist, Baillie, F. Gladwin, Sir W. Jones, Sir William Ousely, Richardson, and Wilkins, abundance of instruction in the several languages most current in Hindoostan. The Asiatic Researches will give him a considerable insight into a number of interesting and important matters relating to the natural history of the East, the manners, and the climate under considera- tion : while, by means of Colebrooke's Digest of the Hindoo Laws, and Rousseau's Dictionary of Mahomedan Law, he may become very generally acquainted with that important branch of knowledge.” In almost every country, where the inhabitants are either considered by their neighbours, or deem them- selves, to be civilized, the records of the state, the several libraries, whether scholastic, traditionary, scien- tific, or amusing only, are open to the inspection of per- sons of all nations; and, above all, the sacred institutions are subject to visitation, and even to research. In India, no such recreation or benefit is ever afforded to the inquisitive traveller. He may remain for years within a stone’s-throw of what, to him, would appear an invalu- able treasure, without being able to obtain the smallest indulgence in aid of his pursuits. When application, however, has been made for information on particular points, it must be allowed, that, in a few instances, information has been furnished, more explicit, on par- EAST - IN IDIA WA I) E-MECU M. 419 ticular topics, which to the inquirer has proved extreme- ly interesting. In truth, we have no exclusive right of complaint; for all nations, and all sects, except their own, have been equally subject to denial; or, when indulged, have been compelled to perform some ceremonies obnoxious to their faith or to their persons. Whether this be absolutely necessary, or has been devised solely with the intention of deterring the curious, may not be difficult to deter- mine. So far we know, that, in order to obtain admis- sion to a knowledge of certain forms, or to the perusal of certain records, various operations, amounting nearly to apostacy, though no recantation be made, must be performed. There is room to doubt whether any true accounts of the antiquity of the Seek College at Benares, and of the migrations of the Hindoos from the countries bordering on Palestine, actually exist. Many persons, of consi- derable talents, and of great erudition, are disposed to treat the whole of what has been delivered to us, with so much solemnity, by the Pundits, or learned Brahmans, as a deception, intended to ridicule our curiosity, and to repress, or at least to divert it from the true course. Circumstances may be adduced in support of this hypo- thesis; and we cannot but regard the manner in which the Pundits arrogate to themselves the whole knowledge of their history, which is carefully concealed from a large portion even of the Brahmans, as a circumstantial proof of our having been designedly led astray, both by a fictitious record, and by a well-concerted fable, invent- ed for the occasion: this may be aptly compared to the whale and the tub. Fortunately, no material point ap- pears to rest on the antiquity, or otherwise, of the Hin- doo mythology, or the records of the Seeks, regarding 2 E 2 420 EA ST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. the origin of that people; though it would, perhaps, be found that their true exposition might tend to afford many proofs in favour of the mission of our Saviour. When the immense extent of territory we hold in India is considered, and that perhaps no country in the world offers greater facilities, not only for literary correspond- ence, but for the researches of naturalists, the convey- ance of gross articles, and the manufacture of raw mate- rials, which every where abound, we cannot but lament the want of such institutions as might enable us to turn such important advantages to the immediate benefit of Great Britain, on the most unbounded scale. We are absolutely ignorant of a million of facts now included, either directly or by affinity, in our endless catalogue of desiderata, which need not remain in that disgraceful list, provided due means were taken to correct our errors and to extend our resources. During the dry season, or at least for four months in the year, scarce a part of the country opposes the progress of a traveller, unless through those immense wildernesses already described. It may, on the whole, be said that one half the country is passable at all seasons by land ; though the progress will doubtless be slow, and difficult, during the heavy falls of rain. Intercourse is never at a stand. The dawk, or post, proceeds at all seasons; and is rarely more than two days longer on its way from Calcutta to the upper provinces, than at the favourable time of the year. Bridges and ferries are found on all the great roads; whereby regiments have occasionally marched, on emer- gency, with such dispatch as could scarcely have been exceeded even during the hot season. The communication with Europe, overland, has been established, during peaceable times, for full thirty years; EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 421 but it was not till about twelve years ago, that the public have been permitted to avail themselves of so essential a means of correspondence at fixed rates, and under parti- cular regulations. Prior to that period, the Company used to receive, and dispatch, packets overland, in which occasional indulgences were granted to favoured indivi- duals. The utility of some permanent and certain con- veyance for letters, from a quarter daily becoming more opulent, and more important, cannot be doubted: were it only for the purpose of transmitting bills of exchange payable after sight, the notices of bankruptcies, the in- formation of intended consignments, the state of the markets, &c., such a systematic communication must be invaluable to the several merchants. To the Government it is of the highest importance. With the exception of such parts as may be infested by tigers, the post seldom or never fails of arriving with- in an hour of its appointed time, except, as has been observed, when the waters are out. In this case, many circuitous roads must be followed, whereby the way is considerably lengthened. Taking the average, a hun- dred miles per day may be run over by the dawk, or post, in fair weather. Each mail-bag is conveyed by an hurkaru, (or runner,) who is attended by one or two doogy-wallahs, or drummers, who keep up a kind of long- roll, as they pass any suspicious place. Two mushulchees, or link-bearers, generally accompany each dawk; and where tigers are known to commit depredations, one or two teerin-dauzes, or archers, are supplied to protect the party. But such puny aid is of no avail; for the onset of the tiger is too sudden, and too discomfiting, to allow any effort of consequence to be timously adopted. The very act of seizure is a death-blow, from which it was 422 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. never heard that any one recovered; provided the un- happy victim were not so particularly situated as to pre- vent it from decidedly taking effect. A tiger invariably strikes his prey with the fore-paw, in so forcible a manner as often to fracture the skull; which generally is the object aimed at, many oxen having had their cheekbones shivered by the contusion. It sometimes happens that the marks of one or two claws are to be seen, but they are generally en passant, and by no means the result of primary intention. The wrist of a tiger being often nearly two feet in circumfer- ence, may give some idea of the violence with which the coup-de-grace falls on the head of a human being. The mushuuls, or flambeaux, are intended to intimidate the tigers, as are also the doog-doogies; but experience has shewn that, when hungry, tigers are not to be restrained by any such device. Instances, indeed, have occurred of the mushuulchees themselves being carried off. It would, nevertheless, be presumptuous to judge from such par- tial data, that many tigers are not deterred by the noise and fire accompanying the letter-carriers. On the con- trary, it seems probable that many young tigers, or such grown ones as may not be hungry, nor attended by cubs, are frequently intimidated by these precautions. “A re- sidence of two years at Hazary-Bang, the station for a battalion in the Ramghur district, enabled me,” says Cap- tain Williamson, “to form a fair estimate of the dangers to which the dawk, and travellers in general, were sub- ject. During some seasons, the roads were scarcely to be considered passable. Day after day, for nearly a fort- night in succession, some of the dawk people were car- ried off, either at Goomeah, Kannachitty, Katcumsandy, or Dungaie ; four passes in that country, all famous for the exploits of these enemies to the human race.” EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 423 So few valuables are ever sent by the post, that thieves never attempt any depredations on the letter-bags. Hoondiés (banker's drafts) would be of no use whatever to them; and as bank-notes are not in general currency, no object is held out for enterprise of that description. Nor do the dawk-bangies, or parcel-dawks, offer any sub- stantial inducement; for, even if any plate, watches, or trimkets, were sent by such a conveyance, the want of a market, and the impossibility of confiding in any village jeweller, would render the act both hazardous and un- availing. Hence the dawk generally proceeds in perfect safety throughout every part of the country, while the bangies may be considered equally secure. It has frequently been asked why, in a country so completely under British control, mails were not estab- lished, similar to those in use throughout England. Be- fore this can be effected, an immense revolution must take place, not only in the minds of the natives, but in the features of the country. At present, there appears, on the part of the inhabitants, no desire to communicate by land, except for the purpose of attending hauts, (mar- kets,) maylahs, (fairs,) or for a resort to certain places of worship, &c. For such purposes, a pedestrian trip suf- fices; or, at the utmost, a pony, worth only a few shil- lings, is either borrowed or hired. The contact of various casts, or sects, being considered a pollution, it is not to be supposed that a Hindoo would like to be pent up, for hours together, with a Mahomedan, who makes no scruple of killing and eating a cow; or that the Moossul- man would, in his turn, feel comfortable under similar circumstances with a British kaufur, (unbeliever,) who, besides his condemnation of the prophet, makes no scruple of eating pork. Admitting that all parties were agreed to associate within a stage-coach, there would not 424 EAST INDIA. V. A D E-MECU M. be intercourse sufficient to support the expenses, where horses are so dear, and the necessary repairs could not, in case of accident, be promptly effected. Then, again, the roads must be made suitable at an enormous ex- pense, and afterwards supported by heavy disburse- ments, or by a contribution of labour on the part of the land-holders, by no means agreeable to their feelings. All this may in time pass under a complete metamor- phosis. The produce of the country will be more gene- rally estimable; the people will relax greatly from the vigorous attention now paid to religious tenets; and as their prejudices may give way to their true interests, they will extend their speculations without fear or re- striction. Those who then inhabit India, will see roads, mails, and inns; whereas, at present, there are only path- ways and runners, but no inns. There are, to be sure, seraies and choulties, for the accommodation of tra- vellers, but these are mostly going fast to decay; and, at the best, can be viewed only as shelter for men and cattle, goods being usually left exposed to the weather. The bytearens, or female cooks, who proffer their ser- vices, at such places, and who, on receiving money beforehand, buy and cook such victuals as may be or- dered, or the place may afford, cannot be considered otherwise than as menials, and not to be classed with our inn-keepers; no, nor even with the poorest village retailer. There is, however, a wide field for practical improve- ment, as may be fully understood from the following statement. The dawk rarely travels the stage of eight miles (four cosses), on the average, at a less expense than twenty-five rupees per month. This sum is absorbed at each chokey, or relief at the end of a stage, by a moonshy, who pretends to be very scrupulous in ascertaining that EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 425 all the parcels are right, but who is more intent on re- ceiving little presents of ottah, (meal,) spices, &c., sent to him from the neighbouring villages, in return for letters conveyed by the dawk-hurkarus, who are sometimes laden pretty heavily with such contributions. It appears that the above sum would carry on the system with double the speed, and double the efficiency. Instead of send- ing off four, five, and six men with the dawks, let a horse- man convey the bags for about twelve miles, on an al- lowance of fifteen rupees per month for man and horse; and, during the rainy season, when the roads are deep, let a fresh horse be allowed for the several returns, in- stead of causing the same man and horse to return with the counter-dawks. On this allowance a very good steed might be kept, the celerity of the dawk would be greatly increased, and there would be no occasion for moonshees, except at such chokies as might be upon diverging roads, where it would be necessary to have the proper parcels sorted out, and delivered to the various branch-dawks. Travelling in a palanquin by dawk (post) is effected much in the same manner as the dispatch of the dawks, Bearers are stationed at the several stages, for the pur- pose of relief; each station, in general, supplying eight bearers, and a bangy, in all nine men, together with one or two mushuulchees for night-stages. The expense of travelling in this manner depends greatly on the distance. If for only a short journey, such as may be compassed within eight or ten hours, it is only needful to send for- ward a set, or two, of bearers, who then receive their daily hire of four annas (8d.) each, while out from home; or a hurkaru (or messenger) may be dispatched to col- lect bearers at the several stages. Thus relays may be properly supplied, and the cost will not exceed a rupee for three miles; equal to ten-pence a-mile : whereas, in 426 FAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. the ordinary mode of having bearers provided by the post- master, each mile will cost full one rupee, (2s. 6d.) be- sides various little disbursements by ways of burees, or presents, to every set of bearers in the journey. These may be fairly estimated at two rupees for every set, or relief, which, if the distances run by each should average ten miles, will be about twenty rupees (21. 10s.) for every hundred miles. The ordinary rates of this kind of con- veyance are four miles per hour during the cold season, three and a half during the hot season, and from two to three during the rains, provided the waters are not much out; otherwise, no estimate can be formed. The above includes stops. The establishment of dawk-bangies for the conveyance of parcels, at rates proportioned to their weights, has produced considerable convenience to residents at a dis- tance from the Presidency. Till this plan was adopted, few could send small articles, such as trinkets, &c., to the Presidency, but under favour of some individual who was travelling thither, and who might possibly be some months on the way. The same inconvenience attended the return; so that it was not uncommon for a gentle- man whose watch required inspection, to be four or five months deprived of its use. This is now done away, and a watch, &c. may be sent from Cawnpore to Calcutta, there undergo repair, and be returned with ease in the course of a month or less. The same kind of convenience is, of course, afforded respecting books, and all other articles too bulky, or too heavy, to proceed by the dawk, but not of sufficient im- portance to induce the employment of a boat, or of a bangy, to convey them. Nor, indeed, could a single bearer travel with a bangy more than twenty miles within the twenty-four hours. Thus he would be full a month EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 427 in going from Calcutta to Cawnpore; whereas, the dawk- bangies, travelling by relays of bearers, can almost keep up with the dawk-hurkarus, who carry the mail-bags sus- pended at the end of a stick over their shoulders. The communication by water between Calcutta and the several subordinate stations, whether civil or military, is much used; during the rainy season in particular. At that time, few stations are inaccessible to craft of some description, though but for a while. Those immense falls of rain which fill the ravines, and make every little creek navigable for boats of ten or fifteen tons, swell the Ganges, and the other great rivers, to an astonishing height; causing them to run with awful velocity. The rivers generally rise in May but a few inches only; in June, they often approach the summits of their banks, between which they fluctuate, rising and falling till the great swell, which takes place in August. The river sometimes rises twice, thrice, or even four times, during the season; but, in general, one ample inundation serves all the purposes of agriculture, provided the rains do not afterwards abate too suddenly in September, before the rice is cut. Such an untimely cessation is attended with great mortality: the immense expanse of slime, suddenly exposed to the influence of the sun, then on the equinoc- tial, throws forth the most destructive miasma, whereby are propagated epidemics of the most dangerous descrip- tion. The swelling of the great rivers is a matter of consider- able uncertainty. Sometimes they rise very early, before the quantity of rain that falls in the lower provinces in- duces the expectation of such a rise. Then it is not un- common to see the Cossimbazar river, commonly called the Baugrutty, nearly dry at night, and full twenty feet or more deep the next morning. In other seasons, the 428 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. waters are very tardy; a matter of serious moment to the husbandman, who is naturally anxious to plant his crop of rice in due time, so that it may be securely attached to the soil before the great inundation. The growth of the rice stalk is certainly one of the most curious proofs of Nature's adaptation of that plant to the situation in which it is cultivated. It will not thrive unless the stem be immersed for several inches; and, owing to the for- mation of its stalk, which draws out like the concentric tubes of a pocket-telescope, it can put forth many feet in the course of a few hours, so as, apparently, to grow as fast as the water rises, and to keep its pannicle from being overflowed. It is by no means rare for the rice stalks to shoot forth from five to six feet during the twenty-four hours. It has been seen to do much more. In parts subject to the regular annual inundation, all the villages are built on rising grounds. Many stand on artificial mounds, formed by excavations around their bases, so that they are nearly surrounded by moats, in which their dingies, or small boats, are immersed during the dry season, and which afford admirable refreshment to their buffaloes during the summer heats. It sometimes happens, that the waters rise so high as to endanger even these elevated villages, some of which are then com- pletely inundated. To avoid this danger, most of the houses are built on piles, or stakes, so as to raise their floors from four to six feet above the ground, and they are open enough to permit the waters to pass through with freedom. In the dry time of the year, the cattle are occasionally kept within these inclosed areas under the floors; but, while the inundation is at its height, so as to insulate a village completely, all the live stock are kept in boats moored around it, and fed with a species of doob, or doop-grass, dragged up from the bottom of the waters EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 429 by means of split bamboos, made to serve as forks. Without so providential a supply, the cattle must be led many miles, to some part of the country whose eleva- tion exempts it from inundation. The description of a country so completely under water, cannot but cause considerable surprise. The fact is, however, too well known to be disputed. Even at Berhampore, which is not considered as within the ordi- nary verge of inundation, it is common to see boats of great burthen, perhaps fifty tons, sailing over the plains, as through a boundless sea. As to the country lying between the mouth of the Jellinghy and the de- bouchures of the Ganges, that is always overflowed for full three months, perhaps to the average depth of ten or twelve feet. “I have sailed over it,” says Captain Wil- liamson, “full a hundred miles by the compass; aided, indeed, by some remarkable villages, mosques, banks, &c., well known to the boatmen, who, probably from their earliest days, had traversed the same expanse dur- ing every rainy season.” Were it not for the water being strongly coloured, and the strength of the current, it would not be easy in many places to distinguish the great rivers which are crossed in steering through this fresh-water ocean. The water of the inundation is generally of a bluish tinge, derived from the mass of vegetable matter at the bottom, of which a certain quantity decays, and partially taints the fluid. A large portion is concealed by the d'haun, (or rice.) This, in the first instance, bears the appearance of a long grass, of a rich green, rising above the surface, so as to be mistaken at a little distance for terra firma : gradually, the pannicles shoot forth, of a pale dun colour, turning, as they ripen, to a deep dun or light clay. The grains of rice, which are called by Europeans 430 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. paddy, retain the name of d'haun, while they are in their coats; as we often see a few grains among the rice im- ported. These coats feel peculiarly harsh, and are fluted longitudinally, so that no water can lodge upon them. Each grain is fastened to a short stalk, joining a main stem, and furnishing a very pleasing bunch of grain, not very dissimilar to an ear of oats, but far richer, both in colour and in quantity. Rice, having no husk or chaff, is easily separated from the straw, which is eaten by cattle for want of other provender, and, being very long and soft, makes excellent litter. Where the inundation prevails, the straw is of little use: the grain being cut in boats, and the straw settling at the bottom as the waters subside; thereby adding to the natural fertility of the soil. In the more elevated parts, the straw is cut the same as in the rubbee, or corn crops, and bundled for do- mestic purposes. There, its length rarely exceeds two feet, whereas, among the inundations, it is often seen from fifteen to eighteen feet in length. The head, or pannicle, generally bears from a hundred and fifty to three hundred grains of rice. There are two modes of clearing rice from the shell; the one by the very simple process of scalding, which occasions the rice to swell, and to burst the shell, so that the latter is removed with very little trouble; the other is, by putting the d'haun into an immense wooden mortar, called an ookly, and beating it by the application of two or more beetles, called moosuls, of about four feet in length, by three inches in diameter, shod at the bottom with iron ferules, and thinned towards their centres, so as to be grasped by the women ; each alternately impel- ling one, in nearly a perpendicular direction, among the d'haun in the ookly. After the shells have been duly se- parated, the rice, now called choul, is winnowed, either in EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 431 a strong draught of air, or by means of a kind of scoop, made of fine wicker-work, called a soop ; wherewith the native women can most dexterously separate different kinds of corn, and effectually remove all rubbish. The coat of rice is peculiarly harsh, and not much relished by cattle. It has been mixed with dung, for fuel, with ex- cellent effect. The natives, in general, make little distinction be- tween the rice separated by scalding, which is called oosnah, and that dressed by the ookly, which is called urwah. Some of the more fastidious prefer one or the other, according to particular prejudices handed down in their families, or supposed to appertain to their respec- tive sects. The scalded rice seems, generally, deficient in flavour; the grains being larger, and less compact. The beaten rice certainly boils with rather more dif- ficulty, but appears whiter and drier. The scalded rice does not immediately separate from the coat, but is usually submitted to the operation of a machine com- posed of a stout beam, nearly equipoised by means of a thorough-pin, on a fork, of wood, also fixed in the ground. It is inconceivable what quantities of rice, of a coarse reddish cast, but peculiarly sweet, and large grained, are prepared for exportation about Backergunge, near the debouchure of the Megna. In that quarter fuel is cheap, and water conveyance every where at hand; so that the immense crops raised in the inundated districts find a ready sale. The average return from a bigah of 1600 square yards, of three bigahs to our statute acre, sown with about twenty-five seers of d'haun, may be taken at nine maunds. The demand always regulates the value, especially when great consignments are for- warded to the coast of Coromandel.' - 432 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. Large quantities of rice are usually cleared by contract; the operator receiving the grain at the door of the golah, or warehouse, where he sets up his cauldron and machines, and returning twenty-five seers of clean rice for every maund (forty seers) delivered to him; he finding the fuel, and reserving the husks. In a country where labour is so cheap, it is not necessary to have recourse to me- chanical devices for diminishing the expense of such ope- rations; yet were tide wheels to be used at Backer- gunge and elsewhere, or a floating mill, like that moored between Blackfriars and London Bridge, to be made out of some condemned hulk, an immense advantage would be gained in regard to time. By the proper adaptation of machinery, whereby the rice might be hoisted in, or lowered down, either by the force of water, or of steam, and the beetles be properly worked, the grain would cer- tainly be prepared for market in less time, and less charge for cooly hire, in landing, loading, &c. Should this hint be well received by any speculating European, it might ... tend to lower the prices of rice at those times, when, either from want of labourers, or from the expediency of shipping off with as little delay as possible, the saving of a few days might prove an important object. At all events, the work might be done more regularly, frugally, and independently than by manual process. The rice grown in the low countries by no means equals that produced in the uplands, where it is culti- vated with great care, and subjected to many vicissitudes, owing to the state of moisture in which its roots are re- tained. In many parts of the most hilly districts d'haun is to be seen in every little narrow valley, winding among the bases of those stupendous eminences from which the tor- rents of rain supply a superabundant flow of moisture at one time; while, at others, only the little rills proceeding EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 433 from boggy springs seem to feed the artificial pools, in which the growing plants are kept in a state of semi-im- mersion, by means of small embankments made of mud. In every instance the d'haun is to be kept duly watered; else it withers and becomes unproductive. In order to preserve the water as much as possible, the bed, or level, nearest to the springs, is raised as high as can be afforded, and its exterior border banked up with soil, to about a foot and a half. The next level may be from a foot to a yard lower, to receive the overflow, which is again passed on to the next lower bed; and thus in succession, for per- haps a mile or more; the ends of the beds requiring no embankment, as the land rises on either side. Such si- tuations afford a certain crop, in ordinary seasons; and should the rains fail, the dews falling on the adjacent hills, generally covered with jungle of some kind, ordina- rily afford moisture enough to keep up the springs, thus causing sufficient dampness to prevent the rice from perishing, before some ample showers may again float the whole of the irrigated cultivation. Rice thus pro- duced is commonly small in grain, rather long and wiry; but remarkably white, and admirably suited to the table. The natives, though they admire its appearance, are not partial to it, generally preferring the larger-bodied grain, with a reddish inner rind, which does not readily separate, when new, from the rice. This kind, as before observed, is assuredly the sweetest, and is, on that account, preferred by those who distil arrack. Remoteness from sea air is said to be the reason why the up-country rice possesses less saccharine matter than that grown near the sea-coast, and among the inundation; but this appears an erroneous judgment. There is, no doubt, a great increase of saccharine matter in plants (of the same genus) cultivated on spots well manured. Now 2 F 434 EA ST INDIA VAD E-MECU Mſ. few, if any, of the places devoted to the cultivation of rice in the upper country, receive much aid from manure; nor are they, in general, subject to the reception of nutri- tious particles, such as are either floated down, or engen- dered and deposited by the inundation, which may be viewed as the grand depôt of whatever can enrich the soil. Looking to the large tracts of plain, not subject to such an immense flow of feculous moisture, but seeming merely as reservoirs for the retention of local rains, it will appear, that the superior sweetness of the rice produced about Backergunge, Dacca, Hajygunge, Luricool, Ma- homedpore, Comercolly, Jessore, &c., is to be attributed solely to the superior fatness of the soil, on which the most luxuriant crops of cotton and esculents are raised during the dry season. When the soil is fresh turned up for the second crop, it is generally very offensive, and, doubtless, by no means favourable to the health of the cultivators, who, at that season, (commonly in Novem- ber, December, and January,) are subjected to very obsti- nate agues. Rice is very subject to the weevil, which often mul- tiplies so fast among it, as to threaten destruction to the whole depôt. The natives have a very simple preven- tive; for, by placing one or two live cray-fish within the heap, their effluvia quickly expel the predatory tribe. Here is a question for naturalists and philosophers; a question pregnant with interest to the agricultural world, namely, Whether there is any particular, and what pro- perty in a live cray-fish, that produces this effect upon in- sects under such circumstances ! Whatever may be the cause, the effect is well known; therefore the inquiry is so far forwarded as to furnish data, or at least hints, re- specting those results which may be expected both from marine productions and other living bodies. The inha- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 435 bitants of the lower provinces being chiefly Hindoo, whose religious tenets lead them to consider almost every animal as unclean, few experiments could be expected to take place among them. Otherwise, we might probably have found that any living animal, such as a rat, a frog, &c., if confined in a small box, and placed within a heap of rice infested by weevils, would produce a similar effect. Rice is not subject to this species of depredation when in the coat, that is, in the state called d'haun; but the natives are averse to retaining it in that form, because the grains shrink considerably, and, when beat out for sale, do not occupy so much space as when exposed to the air. Hence, it is an object with the rice-merchants to dispose of their crops before March, unless the markets should be so glutted as to cause that grain to sell, as it has sold in some years, at such low prices as could not fail to ruin the farmer. It has been known so cheap as seven and eight maunds (equal to seven cwt.) for a rupee. When this happens, merchants who have the command of money rarely fail to make immense fortunes. Many have been known to possess four or five lacs of maunds. Rice is the most common article of food among the natives, whether Hindoo or Moossulmans, throughout the lower provinces, where it is to be found in far greater abundance than corn of any description. The inhabitants of the upper provinces subsist chiefly on the meals of wheat and barley; which, being well kneaded with water, are made into chow-patties, or bannocks, baked at the com- mon choolahs, and are both palatable and nourishing. The natives consider rice to be very injurious to the sight; but, probably, whatever injury arises from its use pro- ceeds entirely from eating it too hot, and in such quan- tities at one meal, generally about sunset, as can scarcely fail to injure the stomach. Barley-meal is considered, 2 F 2 436 EA ST IN DIA W A D E-M N.C. U ºf . and with great justice, to be very nourishing, but heating; therefore most who prefer ottah (meal) to rice, use that made from wheat. Large quantities of rice are carried upwards, towards the Nabob Vizier's dominions, where it sells to great advantage; while, on the other hand, im- mense consignments of corn, chiefly wheat, barley, and r’hur, are made from those parts towards the lower dis- tricts; where they are consumed by persons of all classes. While the Baugrutty, (the Cossimbazar river,) and the Jellinghy, both of which branch from the Ganges, and, uniting at Nuddeah, form the Hoogly, which passes Cal- cutta, are open, boats of all kinds proceed that way; but chiefly through the former channel, on which Moors- hedabad, Berhampore, Cossimbazar, and Jungypore, are situated. This is the shortest line of communication by water, between the Presidency and the upper provinces; but, unfortunately, open only for about six months in the year; rarely having water before the middle of June, and commonly reduced to a very low ebb by the middle of December; though in some years it remains for a month or six weeks longer, navigable for small boats. In such it may be passed, provided they be dragged over the shal- lows, which, often for a mile or more, oppose the progress of whatever may draw more than a few inches of water. In such a case, the bottom of a boat should be good, otherwise she may be strained by the immense exertions of perhaps fifty men, who, ranging along either side, and dragging by means of ropes, as well as by pushing and lifting behind, force her along the shallows, and thus pass her over all the more prominent obstacles. “I have more than once,” says Captain Williamson, “had a very small pulwar-budjrow navigated, if I may so call it, down the Baugrutty, from Mohanahpore, at the mouth of that river, as far as Berhampore; which, by land, is full forty EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 437 w miles, and, by water, cannot be less than seventy. But there are so many bars, or shoals, between Berhampore and Augah-Deep, about thirty-five miles by land, lower down, as to render that part absolutely impassable, ex- cept when the river has an average depth of two feet, or two feet and a half.” During the dry months, the whole of the commodities transmitted from the upper provinces to the Presidency, with the exception of some few articles of small compass, which may be landed at Bagwangolah, and proceed to Augah-Deep overland, are sent down the Ganges for the purpose of proceeding through the Soonderbunds. This highly interesting, but difficult navigation, reaches from the Megna to Calcutta, near which a canal offers a safe and easy communication between the Hoogly and the Salt-Water Lake, which lies at the back of Calcutta. The generality of trading and passage vessels proceed by this cut, paying a moderate toll, either on the tonnage of the former, or the number of oars of the latter. But the salt vessels despatched from Joynaghur, &c., with the produce of the different pans in that quarter, commonly take the lower passages near Chingree-Cauly and Culpee, which are by far the most dangerous, though rather more direct. The Soonderbunds, or Sunderbunds, consist of an im- mense wilderness, full fifty miles in depth, and in length about an hundred and eighty. This wilderness, which borders the coast to the water's edge, forming a strong natural barrier in that quarter, occupies the whole of what is called the Delta of the Ganges. It is every- where intersected by great rivers, and innumerable creeks, in which the tides are so intermixed, that a pilot is absolutely necessary, both to thread the intricacies of the passage, and to point out at what particular parts the 438 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. / currents will, at certain times, be favourable in proceed- ing either to the east or the west. In many places there is scarcely breadth for the passage of a single boat, and even then the boughs of the immense trees, and of the subordinate jungle, are found so frequently to hang over, as nearly to debar the progress of ordinary trading ves- sels. Fortunately, these narrow creeks are short, or, at least, have in various parts such little bays as enable boats to pass. One or two are, however, so limited throughout in width, as to render it expedient that mus- quets should be discharged before a boat proceeds, in order that others may not enter at the opposite end of the narrows: but for such a precaution, one of them would be compelled to put back. The water being brackish, or rather absolutely salt, throughout the Sund- erbunds, it is necessary for all who navigate this passage, to take a stock of fresh water equal to at least a fort- night's service. Even the villages, here and there, on the banks of the great rivers, are sometimes supplied from a great distance; especially during the dry season, when the tides are very powerful. The regular trading vessels, which pass through the Sunderbunds, perhaps every month, or two, are usually provided with very large nauds, or gounlahs, made, like a flat turnip, of a black earth which bakes very hard. Casks are never used in India for water; all ships in the country trade have one or more tanks made of teak wood, rendered perfectly water-tight, and containing from twenty to fifty butts. The water is thus carried in a small compass, and remains sweet much longer than in casks. Even, could no other reason be assigned, it were obvious, that, in a tank, the surface of wood neces- sary to contain fifty butts of water, will not exceed six hundred and fifty square feet; whereas, each of the fifty EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 439 butts would present a surface of more than forty feet, whence the whole must amount to two thousand square feet. Where a ship is navigated by lascars, many rules and ceremonies are adopted for the preservation of the water from impure contact. When native troops are on board, only particular persons are allowed to lay it in, or to serve it out, and even under such precaution, many of the more fastidious shew great aversion to using the tank water; often suffering greatly, both from hunger and thirst, rather than drink of it, or even taste of viands pre- pared with it. But this prejudice has, of late years, sub- sided considerably, in consequence of the frequent occa- sions the British government have had to send native troops by sea, on distant expeditions. Casks would certainly prove obnoxious to servants, and others, proceeding through the Sunderbunds, owing to an opinion general among them, that we convey spirits, meat, &c., in such vessels. These having once been used for such a purpose, could never be viewed by them as receptacles for beverage, without disgust and execration. - - The town of Calcutta is supplied with firing by persons who resort to the woods about twenty-five miles from Calcutta, where they cut the smaller kinds of serress, jar- rool, soondry, g’hob, &c., into junks about four feet in length, which are rived into two or four pieces, accord- ing to their diameter, then carried to market, and de- livered at a purchaser's door. This is the only fuel used in the kitchens of Europeans, and forms the supply of nine-tenths of the native population also: the remainder use the gutties made of dung. Those who have occasion to pass through the Sunder- bunds, which can only be done by water, should be ex- 44() EA ST IND I A VA. D. E-MECU M. tremely careful not to venture ashore, unless at some of the little towns, whose vicinity, from the jungle having been partially cleared away, may afford some security against the attacks of tigers. The romantic scenery, every where inviting the eye, must not allure the traveller to relax his caution; nor should the abundance of game, especially of deer, lead him among those dangerous COverts. Nor are the waters less dangerous. Sharks, of an un- common size, are every where numerous and greedy; while their competitors, the alligators, not only infest the streams, but often lie among the grass and low jungle, waiting for a prey, with which they immediately plunge into the water. Instances have been known, both of tigers swimming off to board boats, and of alligators striking the dandies (boatmen) out of the boats, with their tails, and snapping their victims up with a nimbleness fully proving the false- hood of that doctrine, which teaches to escape from the crocodile by running out of the right line, because the animal cannot turn to follow. If those who either gave, or believed in such advice, were to see with what facility an alligator can turn about, or with what agility he can pursue, and catch, the large fishes that abound in the great rivers of India, the folly would be so self-evident, as to cause an immediate dere- liction of so preposterous an opinion. Besides, the koomer, or bull-headed alligator, which, generally speaking, is the only kind to be seen in brack- ish waters, is peculiarly fierce and active ; far more so than could be supposed, at first sight, of an amphibious animal of the lacerta tribe, (for it is nothing more than an immense lizard, or guana,) whose length has been thirty feet, and whose girth has equalled twelve feet. EAST INDIA W A D E-MECU M. 441 Such is the ravenous disposition of the koomer, that it will not hesitate to seize cattle that proceed to drink of the river water where it is fresh. This, however, does not often happen; the places where cattle proceed to slake their thirst, being, for the most part, rather shallow, so that an alligator, sufficiently formidable for such an attack, could not lie concealed. Oxen have been seized by the head, or the fore leg, but have either been rescued by their drovers, or succeeded in escaping from their merciless enemy. They were all so lacerated as to be completely disfigured. The size of a boat may make much difference as to the time required to make the Sunderbund-passage. Gene- rally, from ten to twelve days will elapse in making the shortest cut in a budjrow of from twelve to sixteen oars; while a light pulwar, that can pass through the lesser creeks, and make way against the tides, which are ex- tremely intricate, on account of the numerous channels that wind in every direction, may perhaps get through in seven or eight days. Much will depend on the route. If Dacca, or any part of the Megna, be the destination, full ten days will be requisite; but if the Comercolly track, which opens into the Ganges nearly opposite to Nattore, be followed, the great body of the wilderness will be avoided, and the fertile districts of Jessore, Mahomed- pore, and Comercolly, will be passed through with faci- lity and gratification. Many opinions, and some bold assertions, have been offered regarding the Sunderbunds. Some consider the immense wilderness that borders the coast, to be of no great antiquity, and pretend, that probably one hundred years would be too much to allow for the duration of that soil now covered with such stupendous forests. 442 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. That the whole of the country south of the Ganges, from Bogwangolah to Saugur, and in the other direction to Luckypore, &c., was formerly covered by the ocean, may be readily believed, both from the nature of the soil in general, and from the various marine productions found occasionally, when wells are dug to any considerable depth. The ancient city of Go UR, of which only an immense assemblage of ruins, covering full thirty square miles, are to be seen, stood not very far from Mauldah. That able geographer, Major Rennell, states it to have been the capital of Bengal seven hundred and thirty years before Christ, and that it was deserted in consequence of a pes- tilence; that it formerly stood on the banks of the Ganges, from which it is now distant nearly five miles; the river having, as is very common in that quarter, changed its course : the Mahanuddy, which passes within two miles of it, is navigable throughout the year. Many parts of Go UR are now full twelve miles from the Ganges. The following extract from Major Rennell's Memoirs (p. 55) may serve to illustrate the position I have to as- sume regarding the Sunderbunds: he says, “Taking the extent of the ruins of Go UR at the most reasonable calcu- lation, it is not less than fifteen miles in length, (extend- ing along the old bank of the Ganges,) and from two to three in breadth. Several villages stand on part of its site: the remainder is either covered with thick forests, the habitations of tigers, and other beasts of prey, or is become arable land, whose soil is chiefly composed of brick-dust. “The principal ruins are a mosque, lined with black marble, elaborately wrought, and two gates of the citadel, EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU MI. 443 which are strikingly grand and lofty. These fabrics, and some few others, appear to owe their duration to the nature of their materials, which are less marketable, and more difficult to separate, than those of the ordinary brick buildings; and are transported to Moorshedabad, Mauldah, and other places, for the purpose of building. These bricks are of the most solid texture of any I ever saw ; and have preserved the sharpness of their edges, and the smoothness of their surfaces, through a series of ages. “The situation of Gour was highly convenient for the capital of Bengal and Bahar, as united under one govern- ment; being nearly centrical with respect to the populous parts of those provinces, and near the junction of the principal rivers that compose that extraordinary inland navigation for which those provinces are formed ; and, moreover, secured by the Ganges, and other rivers, on the only quarter from which Bengal has any cause for apprehension.” The author, though generally so perspicuous, has not clearly stated what quarter is meant in this instance; the greater part of Bengal being divided from Go UR by that same river, the Ganges, which is here described as a protection to Gou R against incursions from Bahar. Leaving, however, that question as irrelevant on this occasion, we may observe, that throughout the Delta of the Ganges, which forms an area of full twenty thousand square miles, (it being nearly a right-angled triangle, whose sides average about two hundred miles,) we have not one vestige of remote date. It has, no doubt, been asserted by some travellers, and several of the natives have declared, that, in some parts of the Sunderbunds, ruins of great extent are to be seen. 444 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. These are said to be the remains of cities which formerly flourished on the borders of the ocean, but were aban- doned in consequence of the depredations of the Bur- mans, or Muggs, who inhabited the country lying south of Chittagong, and who have, within the last fifteen years, called to our memory that such a nation was still in existence. Admitting the existence of such reputed ruins, we have no right to place them to the account of the earlier ages. We have no records of their existence; the whole of the details that have hitherto been offered to the world, either by native traditionists, or European surveyors, give no account of any such fragments; while, on the other hand, every presumption is in favour of the whole Delta being comparatively modern. Major Rennell, (at page 347 of his Memoirs,) observes in a note, that “a glass of water taken out of the Ganges, when at its height, yields about one part in four of mud. No wonder then that the subsiding waters should quickly form a stratum of earth; or that the Delta should encroach upon the sea.” If we estimate the course of the Ganges, (setting apart the Barampooter,) at fifteen hun- dred miles, and take its mean width at half a mile; which is, indeed, reducing that magnificent flow of water to a mere stream, we have then a surface of seven hundred and fifty square miles, of which one-fourth is said to be mud, or matter light enough to be kept suspended by the vio- lence of the current. This should give nearly two hun- dred square miles of soil. The foregoing computation proves the Delta to contain twenty thousand square miles; therefore, if Major Ren- nell's hypothesis be correct, the whole of the Delta might have been formed in one hundred years; taking the depth EAST IN 1) I A V A D F-M ECU M. 445 of the river, when at its highest, to be equal to the depth of the soil. But, if we recollect that probably many fa- thoms of sea were filled up by the encroachment that thus took place, we may be correct in allowing ten times that period, i. e. a thousand years, for the completion, or, ra- ther, for the gradual accumulation, of so extensive an ad- dition to the terra firma of Asia. At page 348, Major Rennell argues very strongly, though unintentionally, perhaps, in support of the hy- pothesis, that Go UR formerly stood on the borders of the ocean, and was probably the Tyre of Hindoostan. He says, “As a strong presumptive proof of the wandering of the Ganges, from the one side of the Delta to the other, I must observe, that there is no appearance of virgin earth, between the Tipperah Hills on the east, and the province of Burdwan on the west; nor on the north till we arrive at Dacca and Bauleah.” Uniting all these points, and agreeing with Major Ren- nell that the Ganges discharges, on a medium, 180,000 cubic feet of water in a second, we may easily imagine that the present Delta has been formed by the sedimentary portion propelled forward in constant succession, till it gained the highest level to which the annual inundation could raise it; after which, the black mould on the sur- face must have been produced by the constant accumu- lation of vegetable matter that rotted thereon. It is a qurious, but well known fact, that from Sooty to that part of the Cossimbazar Island which lies nearest to the tide's way, inundation is prevented only by an em- bankment, called the poolpundy, maintained at a very great and regular expense. Here is an obvious demon- stration that the present course of the Hoogly was not settled till within a few centuries; for almost all rivers, 446 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. long subject to such overflows as those in Bengal, ulti- mately raise their banks, by an annual deposit of matter, to such a height as afterwards prevents the passing of their streams into the adjacent country. There can be little doubt, that the city of Gour stood on a spot which, in very ancient times, was washed by the sea; and we may, without being accused of great credu- lity, admit that the Ganges, probably, then debouched into the sinus, or bay, at that same spot. Nor should we doubt, that those sands from Balasore to Chittagong, which are, at this day, so dangerous to navigation, will, at some remote period, be encreased and raised, so as to become, in the first instance, islands; and ultimately, parts of the continent. The present chan- nels would thus serve for the courses of future rivers, which, in so loose a soil, may, like the Ganges in our times, be subject to changes of locality, should the floods ever become so impetuous as to open new beds, into which the streams would then be diverted. The Sunderbunds, whatever may be their date or origin, present, at this day, a most inhospitable aspect, and give to the exterior of the country, a feature by no means cor- responding with the interior. They are, in truth, a hide- ous belt of the most unpromising description, such as must cause any stranger wrecked on that coast, who should not proceed beyond the reach of the tide, to pronounce it a country fit for the residence of neither man nor beast. When Major Rennell remarked “that they furnish an inexhaustible supply of wood for boat-building;” he might have added, of timber for ship-building. Many very large vessels have been launched from this quarter; but no pains having been taken to season the timber, their du- rability could not be expected. Nor is the wood itself of EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 447 the best quality for naval architecture; for, though very strong, and bent with facility to any necessary form, it is extremely subject to be worm-eaten. This is unfavourable to its more general use, unless for such vessels as are in- tended to be coppered: for such, the jarrool may answer, as may also the soondry, both which abound in every part of the Sunderbunds. The whole coast, from Balasore to Chittagong, has at times been occupied by a class of natives called Molun- gies, who manufacture salt from sea-water. The produce of the several chokies, or manufactories, is immensely va- luable, as already shewn, and suffices for the consump- tion of the whole population of all the Company's domi- nions, besides what is exported into those of the Nabob Vizier, &c. About fifty years ago, salt used to be sold at a rupee, or a rupee and a half, per factory maund of seventy-two pounds; averaging about one halfpenny per pound; but since the Company monopolized the manu- facture, and imposed a heavy duty, the price of salt has gradually advanced. The importation of salt, by sea, is prohibited, ex- cept under partial or temporary licences; but it is brought from the mines to the northward of Delhi, in large quantities, though not of so good a quality, it being generally very bitter, especially the Salumbah, or more opaque rock-salt, which is far less serviceable for curing meat than the Samber. Both kinds are brought in small prismatic masses, and, though in common use among the natives of the upper provinces, are never, except from necessity, allowed to appear at the tables of Europeans, though employed in their culinary preparations. Salt is also obtained, but not of a prime quality, by piling up large quantities of the sand forming the beds 448 EAST INDIA VAI) E-MECU M. of rivers, after the waters have subsided into very nar- row channels. On these heaps, water is poured in abun- dance, which, being afterwards drained into reservoirs, the salt either crystallizes by solar heat, or by being boiled in large iron pans, like those used for crystallizing sugar from the expressed juice of the cane. In travelling by water, many preparations, totally un- heeded by European tourists, require a necessary atten- tion previous to departure. It has been already mention- ed, that no furnished house, lodgings, public vehicles, or inns, in short, no preparation for the lodgment or convenience of temporary sojourners, are to be expected in any part of India; with the exception of the taverns and punch-houses already described. Therefore, for an excursion by water, a budjrow must be hired, either by what is called teekah, or so much for the trip, according to the distance, with some allowance for demurrage; or at a certain monthly sum; generally rated at ten rupees per oar. Sometimes return-budjrows are to be hired at a cheaper rate. In either case, the person hiring has no concern with the pay, or provision, of the several men em- ployed in navigating the vessel. A boat may, at most seasons of the year, proceed to Berhampore (the river being open) in about seven or eight days. The distance by water is nearly double that by land, owing to the winding course of the river, which formerly could compete with that passing under Lucknow; which, owing to the mazes of its course, received the name of Goomty, or winding. Within the last thirty years, however, many of the narrow isthmuses have been cut through, whereby the distance from Moorshedabad to Calcutta has been reduced full twenty miles. Some yet require the aid of art, to perfect what the hand of time seems preparing for still further abbreviating the pas- EAST INDIA WA DE-MECU M. 449 e sage by water. Probably, in a course of years, the river may be brought into a tolerable line. How long it will remain so, is another consideration; as the soil is every where, except about Rangamatty, (the red soil,) a few miles below Berhampore, so loose as to be totally unqualified to restrain the violent current which, during four months in the year, prevails in every part. The passage to Chittagong can rarely be performed in a common budjrow, a great part of it being across the mouth of the Megna, in an open sea, subject to very heavy swells, if not to squalls, such as give much trouble even to those who are on board substantial sloops, and other vessels coming under the description of sea-boats. However, during the cold months, an adventurous manjy, for a handsome gratuity, will sometimes hazard the trip with his budjrow. The best mode is to embark at Calcutta on board one of the Chittagong traders, of which some are commonly on the point of sailing, and to make a sea trip at once, in a secure, and a tolerably pleasant manner. This mode does not indeed offer all the conveniences of a large budj- row, but that is balanced by the safety and celerity of the voyage. A budjrow will rarely complete the trip to Chit- tagong under three weeks; whereas a coasting sloop will commonly perform it in as many days, after quitting the pilot, either in the northerly or southerly monsoon, the coast being east, with a very little southing. After a budjrow has been offered for hire, it will be but common prudence to send a carpenter on board to search her bottom, and to place a servant on board for a day and a might, to ascertain how much water she may take in during that time. Some of the best, in appearance, are extremely rotten, and can only be kept afloat by constant 2 G EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. 451 crew, that his money may be sooner earned; but, when paid by the month, there will be no end to excuses, de- lays, and evasions. The dandies will generally be wanting in number, and their quality very indifferent. The best mode, on such occasions, is to apply to the police, which, under proper evidence of criminality, will put a peon (or messenger) on board, at the expense of the delinquent, and make such a change in the posture of affairs as cannot fail to please the employer. This is a safe and efficacious mode of proceeding; whereas, when the person hiring the boat takes justice into his own hands, and abuse and blows are dealt out, under the hope of gaining the point, the dandies, now assured of a ground of complaint, so far from doing their duty, will either abscond wholly, or secrete themselves so as effectually to impose an embargo. Yet sometimes a recourse to corporal correction may be advisable, if not necessary. Such, however, must be inflicted with extreme caution, and with such a mix- ture of resolution and conciliation, as may produce the , desired effect, without establishing a character for bruta- lity or unnecessary harshness. If, during the trip, oc- casion for complaint should arise, it is best to refer the matter to any persons in office, whether native or Euro- pean, within a suitable distance. The manjies have an insuperable antipathy to this mode of proceeding, be- cause it deprives them of all grounds for justification or representation; the want of which, in the hearing of an European magistrate, speedily produces their corporal punishment; while, in the estimation of a cutwal, or chief of a village, it surely subjects them to some pecu- niary loss, whether by fine, by deduction from the sum to be paid as hire, or by an obligation to maintain one or more peons, according to the nature of the offence. 2 G 2 452 EAST INDIA WA DE-MECUM. Most budjrows have two apartments, exclusive of an open veranda in front. The latter is on a level with the dining apartment; but the chamber, which is more to- wards the stern, rises one or two steps above their level, in consequence of the form of the vessel's stern. As the chamber contracts considerably towards the after-part of its floor, it will be necessary to ascertain whether a small cot (a bedstead) can stand in that part of the budjrow, without inconvenience; as also, whether the height be- tween the floor and the roof will admit of bed-posts. If not, the curtains must be suspended from hooks, nails, &c., driven for that purpose into the beams that support the roof. Though floating on a river, whose waters are celebrated for their virtues and purity by the whole population of Hindoostan, it will, nevertheless, be indispensably neces- sary to take on board a large goulah, or jar of water, which may be lashed to the mast, to serve for culinary purposes or beverage. In a few hours it will have set- tled thoroughly, and should then be drawn off, as re- quired, into smaller vessels, called by Europeans kedjeree- pots, but gurrahs by the natives. The former designation probably resulted either from the supplies of crockery furnished to our shipping at Kedjeree, or from the very common circumstance of that preparation of rice, split peas, &c., called kitchurry, which may often be seen boil- ing, wholesale, in vessels of this description, for the sup- ply of a dozen dandies, &c. The forepart of every budjrow is decked, and has two hatchways, with appropriate coverings. The whole of that part under the deck, which reaches from the veranda to the stern, is generally considered by the manjy as a privilege, of which he rarely fails to avail himself, when it is possible to render the trip a trading voyage. Against EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 453 this, too much precaution cannot be adopted; for not only will the budjrow be so heavily laden as to draw more water, (an object of considerable importance,) but to track with far greater difficulty, and to leak abundantly. If any contraband trade can be carried on with tolera- ble safety, it is usually in this manner: because, owing to the general deference paid by the custom-house officers, and chokey-peons, in every part of the country, to Euro- pean gentlemen, and their equipages, few, or none, will attempt to search a budjrow under hire. The facility with which goods can be landed, is such as to obviate, almost totally, any danger to be apprehended in the per- formance of that part of the adventure. Government has, it is true, placed a number of checks on this kind of fraud. It is, however, unhappily out of its power to go so far into the remedy as would put a total stop to illicit commerce, without subjecting their own servants, of whatever rank, to the intrusive, and, ulti- mately, the insolent researches of those natives by whom they should, on every occasion, be treated with the utmost respect and consideration. It is inconceivable with what secresy and caution the manjies act on such occasions. A gentleman hiring a budjrow at Patna, to proceed to the Presidency, vainly importuned the manjy, day after day, and hour after hour, to complete his crew, and to have all in readiness for embarkation: at length all was ad- justed, and the vessel proceeded in high style. The gentleman was unaccountably drowsy, and often wondered at the rapidity with which he seemed to be making his passage, but was not displeased to find him- self so speedily floated towards the place of destination. It was in vain that he endeavoured to prevent the manjy from stopping at Chandernagore, a French settlement, about twenty-two miles from Calcutta; when, to his great 454 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECUM. surprise, he saw several boxes of opium, which had been concealed in various parts of the budjrow, and particularly under the floors, handed out to some sirkars who were at the ghaut, or landing-place, anxiously awaiting her ar- rival. However unpleasant might be the above-mentioned cargo, the grievance cannot be compared with the truly offensive practice common among all the boatmen of Hindoostan, of cutting such fish as they purchase, catch, or steal, into slices, and hanging them over the quarters to become sun-dried. This custom should never be to- lerated on any account; not only because the effluvia are cruelly distressing, but that, wherever it is allowed to obtain, all the rats are sure to be attracted from whatever boats, or banks, may come in contact with the budjrow. Nor can they be got rid of except by emptying the vessel completely, and fumigating her with sulphur; or by sinking her for a while, so as to drown the vermin, of all descriptions, which harbour in the numberless recesses, chinks, &c., to be found in every quarter of an old budjrow. * When a single gentleman desires to proceed on the most economical and expeditious plan, he should not have even a cook-boat in his suite, but confine himself entirely to whatever convenience his budjrow may afford. On this plan, the several boxes, &c., may be arranged within the cabins, or, at the utmost, under the deck; taking care, however, to debar the dandies from visiting that part of the vessel, by placing stout battens, or bamboo-laths, across, to confine them to the fore hatchway, down which they ordinarily keep their clothes, fire-wood, &c., &c., and, oc- casionally, make a choolah, or hearth and fire-place, of mud, whereon to cook the victuals of the crew. This operation is performed by one of the dandies, who is thus EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 455 exempted from all ordinary duties, and is generally capa- ble of serving up an admirably well-savoured curry. The after-part of the hold is commonly spacious enough to hold a tent of a common size. It may, however, be- come a question how far it would be prudent to put camp equipage in the way of the rats, which would, probably, for the sake of shelter in the vicinity of the culinary ope- rations, soon burrow into the hearts of the packages, and do inconceivable damage. If, however, no other place can be allotted for the reception of a tent, and the wea- ther such that it cannot be stowed on the poop, no alter- native is left, and the risk must be encountered, of destruc- tion, or, at least, of very serious injury. A tent of some kind, though not indispensable, will be found extremely convenient, when proceeding by water to any distant station, especially during the hot season. As the boatmen usually come to about sunset, or, perhaps, a little earlier, if invited by any favourable situation, or the proximity of some large town, a small tent may easily be taken ashore, and pitched on the elevated bank. The freshness of the air, and the wide range of prospect, afford a most comfortable relief to a person, obliged during the day to remain under the heated roof of a cabin, with its windows closed to keep out the sun, hot winds, and flying sand. Many gentlemen have one small boat employed chiefly in going forward with such a convenience, and which, after the bed, &c. has been shipped at daybreak on board the budjrow, that no delay may arise in departing, waits to receive the baggage left on the spot, with which it pro- ceeds at such a rate as soon makes up for the detention. A boat of this kind is extremely useful in many instances, but especially in procuring supplies from an opposite bank, for going to or from shore in shoal water, for towing a budj- 456 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. row in strong waters, for carrying out an anchor, or rope, to warp by, &c. &c. - Where only a budjrow and such a small boat are em- ployed, the latter has generally a choolah, or hearth &c., prepared within it, under a small thatch. She commonly carries the proper supply of dry fire-wood; that obtained on the way being, with few exceptions, green, and causing the viands to acquire a very smoky, unpleasant flavour. The poultry are also usually conveyed on the thatch of the cook-boat, in small tappahs, or cages, made of split bamboos. This part of the stock may consist of a dozen fowls, a few ducks, a goose or two, and, occasionally, one or two milch goats. These being supplied, during the day, with foliage cut for that purpose, and being sent to some verdant spot when the boat comes to, in the evening, rarely fail to furnish milk enough, of a very superior qua- lity, for tea, morning and evening. The traveller must not expect beef, mutton, or veal in any part of the country, except at military or civil stations. There he may, perhaps, purchase a supply of meat to give some variety to his diet, as he passes from one stage to another; but, unless in some very particular situations, he must content himself with poultry of various kinds, chiefly chickens, and kids, of which the meat is excellent. He may, at some of the principal towns where Moosulmans reside, occasionally find a butcher, who can furnish a joint of kussy (cut-goat); or he may perchance pick up a tole- rable sheep, which, at all events, will serve for gravy, and supply his pointers and spaniels with two or three days' substantial provision. - The mention of cutting up a sheep for such purposes, may appear extraordinary to a European reader, but it must be recollected, that such sheep are rarely worth more than two shillings, that in some parts the country swarms EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 457 with them, and that their wool is not valuable, owing to its being lank, coarse, harsh, and not of a strong fibre. It is, indeed, more like hair, such as grows upon horses turned out during the winter, and comes off by handfuls as the spring advances. The boats employed for carrying baggage are of two kinds; woolachs and patellies. The former are built in the lower provinces, with round bottoms; and often draw much water. The latter are chiefly up-country built, have flat bottoms, and are clinkered. This construction fits them admirably for the shallows, which, after the rainy season, abound in all the rivers beyond the tide's way, and especially at a distance from the sea. Some of the woolachs used by the more opulent native merchants carry from fifteen hundred to three thousand maunds, (eighty to a hundred and twenty tons,) but their medium may be taken at from four to eight hundred maunds, which is also the general measurement of patellies in the common employ of grain-merchants, &c. There are many of full two thousand maunds, but such are cal- culated only for great rivers; though in the channels such a depth of water may be found, that several ships of five hundred tons burthen, have been built at Patna, which is by water, six hundred miles from the sea. Those chan- nels, however, are so crooked, and the currents so strong, as to render it very difficult for the ordinary number of dandies, proportioned to the tonnage, to navigate such un- wieldy boats with safety and expertness. The best size for a baggage-boat to attend upon a budj- row, especially in proceeding against the stream, may be from three to five hundred maunds. The patelly is far better calculated for shallow water, and for the conveyance of horses, than a woolach; but the former being so low in the water, is rather subject to be swamped in rough water, 458 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. and, owing to its construction, is very apt to become hog- backed, and, ultimately, to give way in the middle; an accident which seldom or never happens to the latter. When horses are to be carried in boats, as is very com- mon, a platform consisting of brush-wood, mats, and soil, is required, at about a foot from the bottom of the boat. The thwarts being rarely a yard asunder, one must be taken out to make a stall sufficiently wide; of course, if three or four horses are put on board the same boat, a corresponding number of thwarts must be withdrawn. When the animals are to be embarked, the thatch oppo- site the stall must be raised high enough to allow a horse to leap in from the bank, without danger. This often proves a very difficult operation; for some horses are extremely averse to enter on the solid platform of a large substantial ferry-boat, such as that at Ghyretty, even when placed on a level with it, by means of a fixed, or moveable pier. When, therefore, the obstacles are considered, the admission of a horse into a covered boat, when, probably, he is standing above his knees in water, and has to rise, under every disadvantage, over the boat's gunwale, it will not be surprising that many hold out for hours, notwithstanding every effort on the part of the syces, (or grooms,) and that a large portion are severely lamed in the attempt. It is curious to observe how very quiet and temperate horses become after embarkation. They seem to forget the propensity they invariably display on shore, to attack each other, even when at a considerable distance; but, while in a boat, though parted by only a few feet, they become so tractable that their natures appear completely changed. Notwithstanding this periodical, or, rather, local ti- midity, it will be proper to secure that part of the boat's EAST IN ID I A VAID E-MIEC U M. 459 side against which a horse may be able to kick. Many instances have occurred, of fiery steeds driving their hoofs through the planks, which are not always very sound; and, even if undecayed, are generally by far too thin to resist so severe an operation. More than one patelly has foundered outright, with all the contents, in consequence of such an accident. The best mode of prevention is, to fasten a quantity of jow (an aquatic species of fern) to the inside, as a lining, whereby the planks may be secured from injury. When a vessel is tracked against the stream, it is usual for the dandies, or boatmen, to go ashore, each furnished with a club of bamboo, about two feet in length, to which a piece of strong cord is fastened at one end. At the same time, the ghoon, or track-rope, is veered out from a pulley in the mast head, or from a block lashed to it, to as great a length as the situation requires. From about seventy to a hundred and fifty yards may suffice, though, in very shoal water, mixed with deeps, or, where the ground is foul, even a greater length may be re- quisite. The ghoon, about two inches round, is made of white rope well laid. If made of tarred rope, it would be too heavy, and oppose great resistance, by its want of elasti- city, to the exertions of the dandies. Each of these, fixing the end of his cord to the ghoon, and resting the bamboo club over his shoulder, so that it may act, in some measure, as a lever, proceeds at an easy pace, his body leaning well forward, each following at about four feet behind the other. The foremost at the track-rope has a great advantage over his followers, not being sub- ject to the numerous checks and vibrations occasioned by the frequent impediments, whether bushes, banks, masts of other vessels, &c., which operate very forcibly EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 461 It is very unpleasant to pass a ghaut where numbers of boats are lying. A man is sent up to the mast-head of each, in succession, for the purpose of passing the ghoon ; which, when liberated from one, swings on to another, causing a severe shock to the hinder dandy of the tracking party. Some use a very simple device for passing the ghoon over their mast-heads. It consists merely of a kind of fork, made by tying the end of the ghoon, of each vessel respectively, when at rest, to a long bamboo, about a quarter of a length down. The ghoon being pulled, the bamboo is raised, and carries with it that of the boat in motion, a man slipping the latter over the mast-head with great facility. It is not always that people on board boats, lying at ghauts, will turn out to pass the ghoon ; on which occa- sions, words are rarely of much avail. A pellet-bow, which sends clay-balls to about a hundred yards distance with considerable force, has been known to produce an instantaneous effect. The first shot rattling against the matted sides of a vessel's interior, rarely fails to cause wondrous activity on the part of her crew; though, now and then, to produce the desired effect, it has been neces- sary to repeat the operation. All gentlemen travelling by water, should compel the manjies of their several boats to carry at their mast-heads a small flag, of some obvious distinction. This prevents them from lying to, and concealing their vessels amidst a forest of masts, as they are apt to do, when intent upon a clandestine trading voyage. Besides, as in the course of a day's tracking, and especially when sailing, it is very common for a budjrow to get many miles a-head, such a device then becomes a guide as to the propriety of com- ing to, for the might, or, intermediately, for dinner, &c. The number of miles which can be run over in the 462 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. course of a day in a budjrow, will necessarily vary ac- cording to circumstances, the quantity of water in the river, the direction and force of the wind, and the com- petency of the crew. According to the well-informed and accurate Major Rennell, “ from the beginning of November, to the middle or latter end of May, the usual rate of going with the stream, is forty miles in a day of twelve hours; and, during the rest of the year, from fifty to seventy miles. The current is strongest while the waters of the inundation are draining off; which hap- pens, in part, in August and September.” It has been remarked that the rivers generally rise a few inches in May; which is to be attributed to the melting of the snow on those hills where the Ganges and Berampooter have their source. Both those rivers, which have their rise at the base, but on opposite sides of the same mountain, and, after separating to full twelve hundred miles asunder, unite, and form that immense volume of water called the Megna, receive a supply from the same quarter, and at the same time. We cannot, however, expect that the force of their currents should be much increased before the rains are fairly set in. This may be, generally, about the 10th of June, when their waters, indeed, roll so impetuously, that many a boat has pro- ceeded from Patna to Monghyr, a distance of one hun- dred measured miles by land, and full one hundred and twenty by water, between daybreak and sunset. Major Rennell adds, “Seventeen to twenty miles a-day, according to the ground, and the number of im- pediments, is the greatest distance that a large budjrow can be towed against the stream during the fair season; and, to accomplish this, the boat must be drawn through the water, at the rate of four miles and a half per hour, for twelve hours. When the waters are high, a greater EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 463 progress will be made, notwithstanding the increased ve- locity of the current; because, the filling of the river- bed gives many opportunities of cutting off angles and turnings; and, sometimes, even large windings by going through creeks. As the wind, at this season, blows up- wards, (against the current,) in most of the rivers, op- portunities of using the sail frequently occur.” It must not, however, be supposed, that the boat ac- tually makes a progress of four miles and a half within the hour; for the dandies rarely walk more than two miles in that time; but the velocity of the current being taken into account, it would shew, that, if a log were to be heaved, the difference between the log and the boat's ad- vance would give the result alluded to by the Major, whose general correctness cannot be too much admired. In using the sail, there are various changes; being sometimes full, then again close-hauled, and, perhaps, ultimately, lowered on a sudden, as the course of the river may change; and this, perhaps, twenty or thirty times within the day. Yet, when the reaches lie tolerably fair, as sometimes happens for a whole day together, and the wind is brisk in favour, a budjrow will run off from four to six miles within the hour. The river is often so low as to render navigation very tedious, even under all the above favourable circumstances, the mauffy being forced to abide by the strong deep waters, and to wind in among the sands, which cause the channel very fre- quently to change its direction. During the rains, and especially in the cold months, travelling by water is extremely pleasant, if with the stream; but, whatever facilities may be afforded, in any shape, a trip upwards, at whatever season, can afford little gratification. What with tracking, getting aground, remaining long among eddies, in which human carcases 464 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. are floating in all the various stages of putrefaction, the dust flying, &c., &c., nothing but ennui or impatience can reasonably be expected. Here and there a walk may be taken; but he who ven- tures ashore must be watchful to embark before the budj- row may be obliged to put far out for the purpose of pass- ing some endless shallow. Otherwise, he may have to walk under a vertical sun, through bushes, or over plough- ed or muddy lands, and among ravines, for many an hour before the opportunity may offer for getting on board. To crown the whole, he may, perhaps, come to some nullah, or small stream, over which no conveyance is to be had, either by bridge or boat. . . A zeal for bringing home a few birds or a hare, has often decoyed a traveller into scrapes of this kind, and caused him to utter many an imprecation against the river for winding, the manjy for going on, and his own folly for subjecting himself to such unpleasant circum- stances. The navigation of the large rivers is the most hazardous. When it is considered, that the Ganges runs for upwards of a thousand miles through a country nearly level, and whose undulations are scarcely perceptible, except in a few places where the hills come down to the water's edge, as at Sickregully, Pointee, Colgong, Chunar, &c., it must appear obvious that but little shelter can be expected from these squalls, called north-westers, which from the end of February till the setting in of the rains, occur almost daily, and blow with considerable violence. Even when under a high bank, it will require much care, and good tackle, to prevent a budjrow from being blown out into the middle, where, if top-heavy, as is too often the case, and the proper means be not taken to keep her head to the wind, she will stand a chance of being overset. EAST IN DIA WA DE-MECU M. 465 Portunately the approach of a squall is always strongly indicated by a black appearance above the horizon, and by distant lightnings. When these are sufficiently cha- racterized to leave little doubt of the storm's passing that way, shelter should be sought in some creek, or under some high bank of firm appearance. There the budjrow should be well secured by carrying out hawsers, made fast to substantial stakes, driven into the ground by means of large malls, with all which every boat should be amply provided. Luggies (or bamboo-poles) ought to be car- ried out on the lee-side, to resist the wind, and cause the upper parts of the vessel to bear up duly against the severe gusts which commonly usher in the gale. If the vessel is on a lee-shore, the luggies must, of course, be between her and the bank, to prevent her from bumping against it, and the anchor should be carried out to windward, into deep water, to keep her from being forced ashore. This danger is particularly to be appre- hended on long shelving sands, where many a well-con- ditioned boat has had her bottom beat out, by the force with which the surges, coming across an expanse of per- haps a mile or more, have dashed her against the hard sand. Such situations are peculiarly hazardous, and ought to be most carefully avoided. The misfortune is, that, from eagerness to get forward, and from the hope that a north- wester may be either moderate or pass another way, peo- ple, in general, keep pushing on, and allow many a secure asylum to be passed very imprudently. Those who have experienced the effects of a violent squall about Sheerness, may be proper judges of what is to be ex- pected from a most furious gale, often continuing for an hour or more, in a river which may be said generally to flow between banks full two miles asunder, and which 2 H 466 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. are, in most parts, from three to five, in some, full seven miles apart. About Bengal, especially in the Sunderbund passages, decoits, or water-robbers, are sometimes numerous. They often assemble in fleets, composed of long narrow boats, rowing from twelve to thirty oars, or paddles, at pleasure, and carrying from thirty to sixty or seventy men. Some- times their fleets have been so formidable as to put a stop to all commerce, and to require the presence of a strong government force, backed by liberal offers of re- wards, before the rivers could be navigated in safety. Between Dacca and Backergunge, among the islands formed by the several minor branches of the Ganges, and by the innumerable creeks, with which the banditti are perfectly familiar, it has often been impossible for any boat to make its way, even for a few miles, without being boarded by these decoits. As to rewards, little good is to be expected from them; the system adopted by the marauders is such as to render abortive any lures of that description. Where all partici- pate, all will be found faithful to the cause, whether vir- tue or vice be the leader; and, where localities are such as to afford perfect security from the common run of pursuers, and numbers render the association too formi- dable to admit any hope of success on the part of small detachments; in such instances, rewards can rarely pro- duce the smallest benefit. Wherever a boat, or even a fleet, comes to for the night, it is indispensable to keep a sharp look-out against thieves, who, from the several villages in the neighbourhood, rarely fail to assemble, during the night, under some bold chief, and to make an attempt to plunder by main force. It is scarcely credible to what a height this daring species EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 467 of robbery has been sometimes carried. Were there no other occasion, this would be an ample cause for obtain- ing, if possible, a guard of sepoys, for the purpose of pro- tecting the boats; but, strange to say, the villagers some- times refuse, unless compelled, to sell their poultry, &c. to passengers, both by land and by water, though not only a liberal, but an exorbitant remuneration has been offered. This does not proceed from unwillingness to gain money, nor to sell the article in question, but merely from a spirit of opposition which pervades a large portion of the native population, who are often too adverse, to contribute to the comfort, or, more properly, to the existence of Europeans; not that the natives of India are so debased, immoral, or vindictive, as they have been sometimes represented. Every gentleman proceeding by land, from one station to another, should obtain a small guard of a naik, and four, or even two, sepoys, whose presence will generally prove a considerable check on the adventurous disposi- tion of the villagers in that quarter. This precaution alone will not, however, be sufficient. Application should be made to the jemmadar, or head-borough, of each village where the party may encamp, for a certain num- ber of chuokeedars, (watchmen,) proportioned to the num- ber of tents, horses, &c., and the whole of the pro- perty of every description should be nominally put under the charge of the men thus furnished, observing, that the regular pay, which may be from four to six pice, or half- pence, for each, should be punctually paid to the jemma- dar when the camp breaks up the next morning, and every item is found to be in a state of safety. - When coolies (porters) are wanted, to carry the beds, ta- bles, &c. of a party, application should be made, in like manner, to the jemmadar. When, at the next stage, these 2 H 2 468 F. AST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. are discharged, it will be proper to be attentive to the regular payment of every individual thus furnished. Otherwise, the servants to whom it may be entrusted to discharge them, will generally withhold a large portion, or even the whole, of what has been ordered. By this regular attention to these matters, the villagers will come forward with more alacrity; though, it must be confessed, they are generally very unwilling to engage as coolies. Nor is this surprising, since the jemmadars gene- rally on such occasions extort from them at least half their earnings. The evil, as matters now stand, being incu- rable, must be borne as gracefully as the feelings will allow, content with the reflection of doing justice our- selves, though we know for certain that our liberality, in the end, flows into a wrong channel. When practicable, it is highly expedient to obtain from the European collector's office, or even from any of the natives under his immediate authority, who may be de- puted to, or resident at, such places as lie near the road, a rhahwaunah, or passport. In this it should be set forth, that, whatever necessaries, or coolies, or chuokeedars, or dowraws, (guides,) may be requisite, should be furnished by the jemmadars of villages who are called upon for such supplies. This always ensures respect and attention, and causes all the persons addressed, to be vigilant in the discharge of their duties, lest complaints should be pre- ferred to the collector, who would speedily summon them to his court, and punish them in a suitable manner. Thieves, whether housebreakers, or collectors on the highways, however audacious, very rarely make an imme- diate attack on Europeans. This, no doubt, proceeds from their sense of the importance attached to the safety of our countrymen, the murderer of whom would be assuredly de- tected, and suffer the full sentence of the law. Besides, EAST IN DIA. V. A D E-MECU M. 469 all the people of Hindoostan know, that, except watches which, for want of pawnbrokers, and accomplices skilled in the melting of metals, are of no use to the robber, Europeans never travel with any valuables. No gentle- man ever carries money about him; though his servants may have in their waists a few rupees, for such disburse ments as cannot be delayed without inconvenience. Hence, the boxes, &c. of gentlemen, are generally aimed at, because the cash and valuables are contained in them. For the same reason, the most confidential ser- vants are most commonly objects of attack. Your true Hindoostanee robber is, in general, very active, robust, and capable of great deception. He will patrole about a tent, during a dark night, like a dog, or a jackal; the howl of which he can imitate so as to deceive the sentries, and throw them completely off their guard. If allowed to approach a tent, he will select that side where several servants are asleep under the fly, or awning, and gradually insinuate himself into the interior, either by passing under the walls, or between the overlaps. If he cannot easily effect this, he draws his choory, (knife,) which is sharpened for the occasion, and makes a slit in the cloth, or canvass, large enough to pass his body through. Then, in the most cautious manner, and retain- ing his breath as much as possible, he gropes about for those articles which, during the day-time, he had seen deposited in some particular part of the tent, and, after making an opening large enough for his purpose, or by opening one of the doors, he watches the opportunity to escape with his booty. The attempt to seize a thief under such circumstances, is extremely hazardous, and should be strongly repre- hended. Being perfectly naked, and having the body highly lubricated with oil, it is impossible to grasp him 470 EAST IN DIA V AD E-MECU M. in any part; while, on the other hand, he must be ex- pected to use his knife very freely, under the determina- tion of escaping. A curious circumstance happened in 1783, at Banky- pore. The tent of a staff-officer was entered, during the night, by a fellow of this description, who, it being moon- light, and one part of the tent only closed by a cheek, was discovered by the gentleman as he lay in bed. Seeing his property in danger, he sprang up to disengage a hog- spear that was tied up to that pole of the marquee which was nearest the bed; but the thief got the start of him, by seizing the officer's sword, which was suspended by a hook that buckled on to the other pole. The adventurer being thus armed, prevented the gentleman from getting possession of the spear. After one or two menacing flou- rishes, he darted out of the tent, sword in hand, and was speedily beyond the reach of pursuit. Another very ludicrous circumstance occurred some years antecedent to the above. A gentleman who inha- bited a small bungalow, on the banks of a river, and who was very ill of that complaint the liver, for which he was under a course of mercury, perceived, in the dusk of the evening, a thief prowling about the apartment in which he was sitting. The fellow was extremely industrious: and threw a number of articles, not even sparing the bed- linen, out at a window that stood open. The gentleman affected to take no notice, but resolved, when the thief should follow his booty, to take him by surprise, while in the act of collecting them from under the window. This was by no means an imprudent resolution, as it appeared probable that the rogue might be secured, and the property recovered. At length, after having thrown out whatever was convenient to his purpose, and having peeped out of the window, the thief made suddenly to- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 471 wards the gentleman, and snatched from his head a beau- tiful shawl, with which he skipped out of the window. . This feat demanded instant action; the gentleman called lustily for his servants, who, awaking from their slumbers, ran to obey the vociferated summons, and were just in time to see a small dingy (boat) pulling away to the opposite bank, with the goods, the thief, and his accom- plices on board. All who travel by land, should be on their guard never to allow jugglers, or show-men, of whatever description, to enter their tents, which they will endeavour to do, under pretence of shewing off their mummeries, with the intention of ascertaining the posture of whatever move- ables may be within. In this, they are sometimes mis- taken; it being usual to have all boxes, camp-baskets, &c., assembled about the foot of the tent-pole, at night, and to secure them by means of a chain passing through their respective handles, &c.; the ends of the chain being furnished with a padlock. In fair weather, the safest mode is to have all the things removed out of the tent, and placed in a heap, under charge of a sentry, who then need pay little attention to any other object, as the thieves are most intent on those trunks, &c., which they suppose to contain money, plate, &c. As to articles of apparel, they are of little value, and would, probably, lead to discovery. The handles of swords, and breast-plates of officers, being generally of solid silver, may be reckoned among the first desiderata, and should be placed in a state of security. As to the discovery of robbers, they have no such dread as prevails among thieves in Europe. In India, whole villages are inhabited by thieves, who keep the country around in a state of perpetual terror and of vigilance. Hence, when a jemmadar furnishes chuokeedars, he often 472 EAST 1 ND I A VAD E-MECU M. does it with great reluctance, being apprehensive of a visit from some neighbouring gang of notoriety, who act with greater confidence, because the village, at which the robbery takes place, will be accountable for whatever pro- perty is stolen. Hence, a party is always safest when encamped near a village of professed thieves. These will commonly for- bear to depredate under that circumstance; conscious that the value put upon the several articles stolen, though not in the least overrated, must be full tenfold their value to the robbers. It must be observed, that, in order to render the claim to remuneration clear and decisive, a requisition should have been made to the jemmadar for chuokeedars. It may otherwise be argued, that the property was not under his protection. Sometimes, by way of cavil, a jemmadar of such a description, will find fault with the position of an encampment, and use many pleas for the purpose of rais- ing objections, whenever the losses sustained are laid be- fore the collector, or judge of the district. If, however, he should refuse to grant chuokeedars, it will be necessary to keep a very sharp look-out; this being a strong indica- tion of intended mischief. Almost every jemmadar of character will reprobate the indulgence of that kind of curiosity which leads gentle- men, on their first arrival, to pay the smallest attention to the performances of mountebanks, jugglers, puppet-show- men, &c. These are all notorious thieves, and are at- tended by numerous confederates, who patrole about under the semblance of country-bumkins, come to view the camp. Thus, they take advantage of any opportuni- ties, in consequence of servants, &c., quitting their se- veral charges, to witness the exhibitions of the attractive portion of the gang. EAST IND I A VAD E-M1 ECU M. 473 There have been various instances of the success of this stratagem, which need not surprise, considering the almost incredible perfection to which leger-de-main, the tour de passe-passe, and gymnastic exhibitions, are brought in India. In offering to notice a few of the feats dis- played by these people, it may be observed that, with regard to drawing yards of thread from the noses and ears of spectators; cutting their turbans into pieces, and join- ing them again; changing eggs to chickens, and mango- stones into growing bushes bearing the ripe fruit, mak- ing pigeons lay eggs, &c.; all such are considered as mere common-place deceptions, confined to the lower orders of this class of vagabonds. The passing a sword-blade, about two feet long, and two inches in breadth, down the gullet, so as to be dis- tinctly felt by the application of a hand to the operator's stomach, is certainly the most extraordinary part of the exhibition. In this there is no deception. The sword is entire, and firmly fixed to the handle; while its solidity is such as to remove all doubt respecting pliancy or eva- sion in any mode. All we can say of it is, that the prac- tice is adopted at an early age; and that the implement used is gradually encreased, from a small rattan to that above described. As to vaulting, the number of somersets and capers made, with seeming facility, while bounding over the backs of elephants or of camels, placed side-by-side, is truly astonishing. Throwing spears at each other, and catching them under the arms, while in the act of mission, mutually, cannot but cause both dread and surprise. The accuracy with which this is constantly done, seems to preclude all admiration at the skill of the celebrated William Tell. - Jumping through a frame which supports several, per- 474 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. haps a dozen, tulwars, (cutlasses,) of which the edges are remarkably sharp, and which appear to preclude the pas- sage of a man's body through the little interval left among their points, must be viewed with admiration. Such must be felt, seeing the running bare-foot along a piece of cloth, perhaps ten yards in length, supported, at about a foot from the ground, by several men, each of whom holds, under the cloth, a sharp tulwar, of which the edge is turned upwards. The astonishing agility with which this is performed, absolutely requires to be seen to be duly appreciated. Some curious performances in balancing are worthy of notice. Of these, the stringing and unstringing of eggs, is, perhaps, the most extraordinary. A man balances on his head a kind of platter, of rather a conical form, (in- verted,) and projecting, perhaps, six inches every way. It is furnished all around with draw-loops of perhaps a foot in length, and about two inches asunder: their whole number amounting to twenty or more. On his left arm he bears a basket, containing as many eggs as there are loops attached to the platter. Using one foot for a pivot, he keeps moving round by the aid of the other, so as to make about ten revolutions in a minute. While in motion, he successively takes the eggs from the basket, and, with his right hand only, puts each into a loop, drawing it tight, so as to retain the egg firmly in an equipoised state. In this manner,he strings all the eggs, and again, always moving the same way, unstrings and replaces them in the basket. When the whole are strung, the music quickens its time considerably, and the operator, con- forming to the change, accelerates his pace in proportion, till the velocity acquired by the eggs is such, as to occa- sion their whirling on a level with the platter. EAST INDIA WA D E-MECU M. 475 This appears to be the most arduous of all the exercises in that branch, which depends, principally, on delicacy and caution. If we consider the many chances of failure, from a slip of the foot, a want of attention to the due elevation of the elbow, the aptness of the unemployed loops to become entangled, the giddiness to be apprehended from so quick- ly turning full half an hour, always the same way, and the possibility of allowing a newly-laden loop to fall too sud- denly into its place, and the hazard in withdrawing it, when about to take out the egg; all these are certainly points very difficult to compass, or to avoid, and entitle the artist to unlimitted approbation. In Cordiner's Description of Ceylon, some feats of the jugglers in that island are noticed as being beyond com- parison; but can any thing be conceived more dexterous than that operation, so common in Bengal, of balancing a bamboo ladder, about fifteen feet long, on a man's chin, and allowing a well-grown lad, or a young woman, to as- cend to the summit, by winding in and out between the steps, (which barely admit the body to pass,) and ulti- mately to descend, head foremost, in the same manner, after balancing, horizontally, with extended arms and legs, on either standard of the ladder. “I have often wondered,” says Captain Williamson, who had witnessed these extraordinary feats, “ what the man's chin could be made of.” “Swarming up a stout bamboo pole,” he adds, “full twenty feet long, balanced on a man's hip, or shoulder, and descending again, by first attaching to the summit by the toes, and measuring a whole length downwards, the back being against the bamboo ; then turning the oppo- site way, and thus in alternate succession, always ap- peared to me equally dangerous and astonishing. To per- 476 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. form this, a man must possess unconscionable strength in his toes and ankles: the first slip would infallibly be the last.” The puppet-shows called kaut-pootlies (wooden infants,) are certainly superior to Mr. Punch and his wife, as exhi- bited throughout England. In India, there is to be seen far greater variety, both in the subject, and in the several dramatis persona. There, something like a regular piece is represented, and it rarely requires a glossary, or inter- preter, to define the several scenes. The kaut-pootly-wallah, or puppet-dancer, does not con- fine himself to a small sentry-box-like theatre. On the contrary, when he is to display before any respectable persons, he makes a point of paying his respects during the day, and of soliciting the loan of either a small tent, a konaut, a satrinje, or some such article, for the purpose of enclosing and covering in the necessary space, so that he and his coadjutors may prepare their parts in secresy. It is commonly contrived that the performance be by candle- light, and at some little distance from the line of tents. This is almost a sine qua non with this tribe, who, being in league with rogues of all descriptions, rarely fail to profit by the absence of servants from the charge of their mas- ters' property, and, while perhaps both master and man are grinning at the objects presented on the proscenium, are employed in removing from the tents whatever articles, of a portable description, may be exposed to depredation. Sometimes the farce is concluded by a shower of clods, &c. thrown from a distance, and the whole fly in con- fusion. Among the itinerant amusements of India, are the feats of the nuts, or tumblers, a people totally distinct from all the other inhabitants of the country, and correspond- EAST IN ID 1 A V A D F-M ECU M. 477 ing in a number of instances, with the gypsies of Eu- rope.” That cast, or tribe, of nuts, known by the name of bau- zeegurs, generally affect to follow the Mahomedan faith; but the purneah peeries, or budeea tribe, follow either that or the doctrines of Brahma, just as may suit their pur- poses or their locality. Either sect have so few religious ceremonies, as to render it doubtful whether they profess more than may serve to screen them from the imputation of atheism;-a charge which would sink them even lower, in the estimation of every inhabitant of Asia. They inter their relations in a very slovenly manner, and are often found lying drunk about the grave. Their marriage forms are extremely simple. The bride and bridegroom mutu- ally mark each other's faces with red ochre, after which, they lock their little fingers together, and avow their union. The nuts never go to law, nor submit their differences to any arbitrators, except of their own profession. From the extreme jealousy of the men, and the frequent ex- cesses of both sexes in the use of gaunjah, and other in- toxicating draughts, such differences are by no means rare; and they contribute partly to the support of their rulers, who receive a fourth part of whatever is earned, or perhaps begged, borrowed, or stolen, by the several sets, which ramble over the country, either by order, or accord- ing to their own fancies. t Such regular debauchery, added to violent exercise during their early years, reduce the period of life among these people to a very short compass. Few live beyond the age of forty, and by far the larger portion die before * See a paper in the Asiatic Researches by Col. Richardson. EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 479 full growth, which is understood to be about the age of eighteen. This regulation, however, is capable of an easy evasion by such proprietors of taffahs as feel an interest in the detention of any particular girls under their autho- rity. To say the truth, very little cause of complaint seems to exist on such occasions. The girls are usually well clothed and fed; and, on the whole, experience as much comfort as their habits, and those envious traits ever to be seen among persons of the same profession, will admit. Some, however, contrive to redeem themselves from this species of demi-slavery, by means of sums accumu- lated for years, and concealed from the scrutinizing eye of the proprietor, with extreme solicitude. When such a redemption takes place, it is never done overtly, but by the pretended interference of some gentleman or opulent native, who, either from love or charity, feels disposed to pay the ransom. Were the possession of the property to be acknowledged by the anxious female, it would in- stantly be seized as a droit, and she would probably un- dergo that severest of Hindoostanee punishments, the loss of all her kase, or hair. It is not uncommon for persons purchasing slaves, or rearing deserted children, to affix the badge of slavery immediately, and to cause it to be worn during life, by the unfortunate being thus devoted to tyrannical autho- rity. This type of dependance consists simply of an iron ring, similar to those on light fetters, which is worn on either of the ankles, generally on the left. There it is rivetted in the usual manner, with the intention of being always seen. To remove the ring is considered highly criminal on the part of all concerned, and should the slave be thereby enabled to abscond, would subject the abettors to payment of his or her value. 480 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M . When a native, especially a Hindoo, of high cast, sus- pects that his wife is guilty of infidelity, he generally proceeds to repudiate her in the most public manner. It often happens that he is saved that trouble, either by the intervention of her father, brother, &c., who, under pre- tence of conducting her home, leads the offender to some lone spot, where with his tulular he severs her head from her body, and deliberately leaves both to be devoured by jackals, &c. This office is likewise occasionally perform- ed by the husband himself, who must, however, be care- ful not to betray his intention, lest a powerful dose, mixed among his takorry (vegetable curry) should prevent the completion of his design, or possibly cause him to fall a sacrifice to the lover's resentment. A very curious instance of this occurred in 1789. A sepoy had long maintained a criminal connexion with the wife of a sonaar, (goldsmith,) then absent in another part of the country. The lady's father, who had no other child, on learning the particulars of the intrigue from one of her servants, remonstrated, but in vain. He then de- termined to sacrifice her, and ordered that she should quit her own home, for the purpose of being conducted to his house, which was in a village some miles distant. Suspecting his intention, the adultress communicated the circumstance to her lover, who advised her to follow her father, and promised to prevent his doing her any in- jury. Accordingly she allowed her parent to precede her, as usual, (for no woman ever walks before a man, especially if it be her husband, or any relative;) they ar- rived at a small jungle, when, as he was about to draw his tulwar to sauf-kur (literally, to make clean, but, in the ac- cepted sense, to kill or destroy) her, the lover darted forth, and at one blow took off his head. The lady and her lover were both apprehended, and 482 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. ficulty, qualify him, almost exclusively, for the transport- ation of tents, and cumbrous baggage, in such parts of the country as remain heavy or swampy during the more settled part of the year. Though we may suppose that till the plains of Bengal were cultivated, they were over-run with elephants, like other parts of India, of which that animal is a native, still it appears that their principal haunts were along that hilly wilderness in which they are now found in a grega- rious state. It is well known that the elephant thrives best near the sea, and in its vicinity attains his greatest bulk. He is there also exempt from various diseases, especially the ophthalmia and the dropsy, both of which attack at least four in five of such as are removed to dry soils. This circumstance, as well as the peculiar forma- tion and substance of the foot, appear to render the ele- phant peculiarly appropriate to the use of such persons as have occasion for carriage-cattle (cattle that bear bur- thens) in the lower provinces. Endued with wonderful sagacity, he will only proceed on soils which bear him up to a certain extent. Soon as he feels a peculiar vibration, indicating a want of firmness below, he instantly declines further progress, and turning round, or receding, with an activity little to be expected from his clumsy form, hastens to quit the apprehended danger; and without regard to things or persons, makes the best of his way to terra firma. Sometimes, however, this majestic animal becomes bogged, and, notwithstanding his immense strength, is completely incapable of self-extrication. On such an oc- casion, nothing more is necessary than to supply him with abundance of straw, or cut grass, tied in bundles. These he forces down with his proboscis, till they are all EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 483 under his feet, and, by their accumulated resistance, af. ford the means of gradually bearing him up, and raising him to the surface. His egress is ensured by an ample stock of the same materials, together with faggots, &c., thrown before him, in number sufficient to form a kind of pathway, along which the elephant moves with won- drous caution. On such an occasion, he should, like a mule on a mountain, be left to himself, as he will manage with perfect prudence; whereas, if actuated by a mohout (driver), he may be again plunged into difficulty. The stature of elephants, in general, may be rated be- tween seven and nine feet. At the former standard they are admitted upon the Company's establishment. Pro- vided the animals be stout, and competent to carry a pro- per burthen, such blemishes as would depreciate them considerably among the natives, who entertain many pre- judices in this particular, are not considered. The principal defects, in the eye of a native merchant, are, 1. A broken tail; or a deficiency of the forked hair at its termination. The former arises from the habit the elephants are in, of laying hold of their opponent's tails with their trunks, and of twisting them so, that, occasion- ally, they are absolutely snapped, or, perhaps, tumefy, and, in the end, sphacelate. 2. An uneven number of claws to the feet There should be on each fore foot, five, and four on each hind foot. 3. Bad tusks; that is, such as are decayed, or, having been broken in contests, cannot be rendered ornamental. An elephant born with only one tooth, or tusk, is highly prized, as being sure to overwhelm its owner with good fortune. 2 I 2 484 EAST IN DIA W A D F-M ECU M. 4. Having a black, or spotted palate; either of which is supposed to be an indication of bad health, as well as of misfortune. 5. Bad eyes; though sometimes very serviceable ele- phants are seen totally deprived of sight, which yet travel admirably with burthens, but are unfit for the howdah. These are extremely careful to put their trunks forward as they proceed, whereby they are warned of any hol- lows, &c. Blind elephants are peculiarly attentive to the words of command given by their drivers. 6. The want of hair on the forehead, lean jaws, small jagged ears, narrow feet, thin legs, short bodies, and a contracted barrel, or carcase, are capital defects, and become serious objects of attention in the purchase of this animal. An European, not accustomed to view elephants critically, would conclude that, in these re- spects, little variety would be found. Yet there are as many estimable, or agreeable, points in a fine elephant, as in a fine horse; though we rarely examine the perfec- tions of the former, from being less in the habits of cherishing, or of driving, them in person. According to the regulations, an elephant must be able to carry twenty-five maunds, or within a twenty-sixth part of a ton. Yet, though the several contractors stipulate, without hesitation, that their elephants will carry that weight at all times, not one in a hundred of those in the service, or in the possession of individuals, could bear it even for one day's ordinary march, which should not exceed eight coss, (sixteen miles,) all beyond being con- sidered a forced march. The elephant is furnished with two pads, of which the under one, called a guddaylah, is commonly made of red karwah, stuffed with cotton, to the thickness of an inch and a half, and well quilted. The upper pad, called a EAST IN D! A VAD E-MECU M. 485 guddy, is made of tawt, a narrow kind of very coarse can- vass, and stuffed very hard with straw, to about the thick- ness of six inches. These are put on, the one over the other, and firmly secured to the body by stout ropes pass- ing round the whole, as well as under the tail, by way of crupper. This thickness may appear too great; but it is to be considered that an elephant ought, by the contract, to carry either four common marquees, each weighing, when dry, 425 lb., and, when wet, 597 lb.; or six private tents, each weighing, when dry, 275 lb., and, when wet, 426 lb. Therefore, when I take the medium at twenty- five maunds, it is but striking a fair balance. An ordinary elephant requires two servants; namely, a mohout (driver,) who sits upon his back, and guides, by means of a crooked instrument of iron, called a haunkus, aided by words of command, and the application of his toes behind the animal's ears. The other servant, called a cooly, or grass-cutter, performs all the more menial offices, such as taking the elephant out for charrah, (fodder,) of which it can carry as much as will suffice for two, or, if well laden, for three days. The feet of an elephant require considerable care; they being extremely apt to chafe, and wear away at the soles, so as to render him, for a time, completely unser- viceable. This generally happens where the soil is dry and harsh, as throughout the upper country, but may, in a great measure, be prevented by paying them with astringent applications, by which the skin may be rendered harder, and the foot, in general, somewhat callous. When an elephant is chafed on the back, the part is usually rubbed with ghee and turmeric, and the pad cu- shioned so as to raise the spot under which is the excoria- 486 EAST INDIA VAD E-MI ECU MI. - tion. If suffered to continue in a state of irritation, the smallest sore will speedily assume a most formidable ap- pearance, owing to the peculiarly cellular formation of an elephant's flesh. The mode of catching elephants for the public service is very simple, requiring more perseverance than skill, yet attended with a heavy expense. In those wilder- messes near Chittagong, Tipperah, &c., along the eastern boundary, hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of villagers are assembled. These form a circle round what herds they discover, and gradually frighten them into a kind of trap, called a keddah, of which the entrance is in the crescent form, leading to a large area, properly enclosed by an immense trench, and by large piles well bound together. After a while, the animals are driven, or en- ticed, into a smaller area, from which they are taken into a narrow passage, for the purpose of being secured, and led away to the stands, at which they remain till completely tamed. It was formerly the practice to break their spirit by privations and severity; but, of late years, it has been found preferable to soothe as much as possible; a change attended with the most happy results. So far has this plan succeeded, that many elephants are now better re- conciled in one month than formerly in four or five. At the same time, many inconveniences, especially those severe ligatures, which invariably made desperate sores about the ankles, &c., are almost wholly avoided. The practice of decoying the large single males, which separate from the herds, and are called sauns, or goondahs, is extremely curious. Two or three females are generally sent out for the purpose of inveigling the ferocious males thus ranging about. Such female elephants, which are called khoomkies, are highly valuable, especially if 488 EAST IN DI A VAD E-MECU M. much higher. These added to the average charges for food, chiefly badjra, or millet stems, which must be paid for, and rice or barley, perhaps to the extent of 30 lb. daily, will advance the expense of maintaining an ele- phant in the upper provinces, to full thirty, or thirty-five rupees monthly, exclusive of the wear and tear of gear of all kinds. On the whole, it may be computed that an elephant well kept, will cost full forty rupees (five pound) monthly. Considering that, in England, few gentlemen keep their horses for much less, and that an elephant performs drudgery, equal to a team of three stout cart horses, the above may be deemed very moderate. The misfortune is, that an elephant is not, like a horse, promptly or generally useful; and that, owing to the na- ture of the climate, as well as of the soil, months often elapse before the proprietor of an elephant may be able to avail himself of his valuable powers. Camels are very generally kept by the officers of the army throughout the upper provinces, above the Delta of the Ganges, where the soil is more appropriate to their form, than muddy, slippery tracts, in which these ani- mals are extremely subject to fall. When such an acci- dent happens, it is a great chance but they are rendered useless; as, owing to the great length of the hind legs, and the want of any membranes, or muscles, calculated to prevent their easy divergence in diametrically opposite directions, the pelvis is extremely apt to split, and the power of extrication, or even of support itself, is entirely lost to this very valuable quadruped. Though we generally attach the term camel to that spe- cies of the camelus found in India, where great numbers are bred by persons who make a very large profit from their labours, the animal under consideration, having but one hump, or bunch, on its back, should, properly, be EAST IN DIA VAD E-MI ECU M. 489 called a dromedary. Whatever may be the true designa- tion, the utility of the animal in a climate, and on a soil, to which it is so admirably suited by nature, is indisput- able; though the extent of its powers, as described by naturalists, or travellers, may be fairly questioned. “I have now before me,” says Captain Williamson, “a very respectable publication, wherein it is said, that “a camel will carry a weight of 1,200 lb., and will perform a journey of three hundred leagues in eight days.' Now, my own experience convinces me very fully that few ca- mels will carry more than eight maunds, when making, on an average, stages of from fourteen, to sixteen, or, at the very utmost, twenty miles within the day, for two months, allowing a weekly halt.” - So sensible are the Government of India, of the inabi- lity of a camel to perform any thing like the service above described, that, in all their contracts, in which it must have been seen they take care so to proportion the bur- thens, that none but the choicest of cattle could move under them, it is especially provided that such camels as may be admitted upon the Company's establishment of carriage-cattle, should be rated in the proportion of three camels to one elephant. Thus they assign to each camel a burthen composed of two private tents, the weight of each, when dry, being 275 lb., and when wet, 426 lb.; in- cluding poles, pins, mallets, bags, &c. Taking as a standard the medium, one wet, and one dry tent, the average burthen will be only 701 lbs., a greater load than any camel, except one of extraordinary pow- ers, could carry in a proper manner, so as to answer ge- neral purposes, when marching with a regiment. The value of a camel varies according to size, form, age, condition, and disposition. Supposing a mediocrity, as to all those points, from eighty, to a hundred and twenty 490 EAST 1 N DIA WA DE-MECU M. rupees may be taken as a standard. Where no military movement is in question, the prices are indeed often lower, and, in cases of emergency, they have been known, though very rarely, to rise to four, five, and six, hundred rupees. Most gentlemen keep two or three camels, to carry their tent, liquors, and cot. If on a moderate scale, two will generally do the work; but should the tent be large, the liquors and linen abundant, and the cot extensive, or on a heavy construction, a third camel will be necessary. There is, indeed, no worse policy than that too often adopted, of burthening an animal with as much as it can stand under. When the moment of difficulty comes, as it rarely fails to do, vexation, and an enormous increase of expense invariably follow. Hence, it will be found ad- visable, though the primary expense be increased, and the subsequent monthly charges a trifle greater, always to retain three, rather than two camels; unless the intend- ed burthens be very compact, and not subject to a great addition of weight in wet weather. The difference between tents, wet, or dry, according to the Company's standard, ascertained by actual experi- ments, should guide all persons about to proceed on a march, so to proportion the loads imposed on their cattle as not to endanger their total failure. It should never be forgotten, that excoriations, however trivial at first, spee- dily rankle into wounds, not simply painful, but gene- rally, trenching deeply on the immediate powers, as well as of the condition, of those useful dumb animals, which submit to the last moment to the will of their heedless employers. Camels, as well as elephants, lie down, so as to bring their stomachs to the ground, while receiving or discharg- ing their burthens. At such moments, the former are ex- EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 491 tremely irritable; snarling, and watching an opportunity to bite. To say the best of these animals, they are never to be trusted, their dispositions being, for the most part, sanguinary and treacherous, though they are not carni- vorous, being fed chiefly on gram, and chaff of various kinds. A camel, like the bull-dog, rarely lets go his hold. - The expense of maintaining a camel may be averaged at about four or five rupees monthly, exclusive of its por- tion of the surwan's (the driver's) wages. The large crook saddle, with its jolah, or canvass trappings, and its salee- tah, or canvass sheet made of tawt, for the purpose of lading tents, and especially for bringing in chaff, may be averaged, for wear and tear, at about a rupee monthly. From this it will be, seen, that if a surwan, attending three camels, should receive six rupees for pay, and that each of the camels should cost six more, the whole ex- pense, amounting to twenty-four rupees monthly, would fall far short of that incurred by one elephant. The advantages attendant upon an elephant, are, that the load is all carried compact and entire; that he can travel in swampy districts, where no other animal could proceed at all; and that he is serviceable to ride upon, and to join in the line to beat hogs, and other game, out of heavy covers. On the other hand, a camel will travel, without sustaining the smallest injury, on those dry soils which destroy an elephant's feet. He is, also, more pa- tient under heat, and the absence of fodder and water. His prime cost is considerably less; his maintenance cheaper; and, where a division of carriage becomes neces- sary, one camel may be sent off, while the others are re tained. But camels rarely thrive, if exposed during the rains. Hence, it is customary to build sheds for their reception. This, however, is done at a very trifling ex- 492 EAST 1 ND 1 A VAD E-MECU M. pense, and might, doubtless, be dispensed with alto- gether, at least in the upper provinces, by the purchase of young animals which had never been so domesticated. Few gentlemen retain their camels while serving near the Presidency, where fodder is at a most enormous price, and the mange commonly attacks them within a few weeks of their arrival. The heavy, awkward, and apparently slow, gait of a camel, generally induces a belief that its rate of travelling is disadvantageous, inasmuch as it may denote inability to keep up with the generality of elephants. This, how- ever, is a great mistake, for it is very common to see the latter, when in the least over-burthened, or when the weather is hot, or the road sandy, very late in arriving at their destination. The camel, on the contrary, under an appropriate load, will move on at a regular pace, generally making a distance of seven feet, from the centre of that spot whence it lifts a foot, to where it again sets it down. Few elephants do so much; they walk quicker, but their strides are rarely so extensive. The propensity of a camel to stale, on being eased of his burthen, renders it indispensable to drive him to a distance immediately the tent is off his back. Other- wise, the urinous stench attached to the spot would ren- der it very unpleasant, or, rather insupportable. The native chemists extract large quantities of ammonia from those stands where camels have been kept for many weeks. The greatest inconvenience-attached to a camel is his utter inability to swim across a river, which to any other animal would be no impediment. Occasionally, indeed, camels have been seen to swim for a few yards, but, in general, they turn upon the side, and, unless instantly rescued, would infallibly be drowned. This may arise EAST IN DI A VAD E-MECU M. 493 from the general roundness of their bodies, which are very easily acted upon by the super-incumbent weight of the neck and head, which become levers, not sufficiently op- posed by their almost fleshless limbs. Some camels rea- dily enter into ferry-boats, even of the rudest construction, while others must be urged by the display of fire in their rear, or even by the actual cautery. When once on board, they are generally quiet, but seem to entertain less dread than horses, of their insulated situation. * In this particular, the elephant has a most decided su- periority. He enters the water with alacrity, and, guided by the mohout, who preserves his seat on the animal’s neck, till the latter may, by way of frolic, descend to walk on the bottom, keeping, at the same time, the end of his proboscis above water, makes his way to the oppo- site bank, though perhaps a mile distant. If there be occasional shallows, whereon he can refresh himself, two or three miles are passed with equal facility. In their wild state, elephants cross very large rivers, in herds; the young ones swimming by the sides of their mothers, which occasionally support their gigantic calves by means of their trunks, either passed under the body, or slightly hooked in with the young one's proboscis. When domesticated, elephants lose much of their natural energy in every instance. Thus, instead of viewing a tiger without fear, they gradually become so timid, as to be dreadfully agitated at the sight, or smell, even of a dead one. Hence, in tiger hunting, elephants recently taken from the keddahs, if sufficiently trained to be safe in other respects, are usually fittest for the sport, and afford their riders a better chance of success. In marching to any station not very remote, those who cannot afford, or who deem it unnecessary to retain either an elephant, or camels, usually purchase, or hire, bul- 496 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. very frequently, in a day's journey, considerable injury must be sustained from such a practice, by articles of lading subject to breakage. Notwithstanding such a propensity, it is found, that liquors may be safely conveyed by bullocks; but, in order to ensure the bottles from breaking, every one should be lashed separate, wrapping round it a small loose band, of that soft kind of hemp known by the name of paut, and stitching the several rounds together in the same manner as Florence oil flasks, &c., are envelop- ed by small bands of fine straw. The paut grows in every part of the country, but chiefly in Bengal, where it attains to a considerable diameter, perhaps an inch and a half, and often to an height of eleven or twelve feet. In 1807, was presented to the Bath Agricultural Society, a specimen of paut, measuring more than ten feet in length. This was the remainder of a quantity in which had been packed some bottles sent from Bengal, and it had never been so much as put to the hackle. Nothing is so effectual as this material to preserve bottles from fracture. When properly wolded, they may either be packed in boxes, &c., without any addition of straw, &c., or they may be advantageously put into strong bags of tawt, and thus, with seeming negligence, be carried on either side the bullock. This mode has been found, from repeated experiments, to be by far the . safest, as well as the least expensive, and best suited to the animal. The necessity for boxes is thus obviated, and a good bullock can easily carry five dozens of wine for any length of time, and for any number of miles, that a regiment would commonly march. When tents are carried on oxen, it is necessary to divide the load as equally as possible. Those which EAST IN DIA WA D E-MECU M. 497 carry the two flies, ought not to be encumbered with mal- lets, pins, &c., it being a great desideratum to make sure if practicable, that the flies, the pole, and a certain portion of pins, together with a mallet or two, arrive early. It is of less consequence that bullocks bearing the walls, sa- trinjes, &c., be somewhat later; since raising the flies, which is the main part of the operation of pitching the tent, may be performed, and shelter afforded, before the arrival of the walls, &c. Though a very large stout bullock may here and there be found, capable of carrying a pair of clothes-trunks, with a small cot above them, such must not be generally ex- pected. The trunks will, if properly constructed, sit close as they do on a camel; but the cot will assuredly swag, so as to cause great unsteadiness of gait, and subject the animal to chafe under the pad. Besides, the disposition of most bullocks is such, as by no means to warrant the lading them with any article subject to great injury from a fall. It has been already said that the bullock is the worst kind of carriage used in the army, but for draught it is essentially serviceable. Without this animal, it is indeed difficult to say how the service could proceed in India. A great deal, however, depends on breed, due feeding, and proper exercise. Only certain parts of the country, such as the Purneah and Sircar-Sarun districts, produce oxen of a standard and frame suited to the ordnance depart- ment. On the Bengal Establishment alone, of that de- partment, full five thousand head of cattle are employed, besides a large number of elephants and camels, allotted to the conveyance of camp equipage. The proportion of bullocks allowed for the draught of field-pieces of various calibres, with which they are ex- 2 K 498 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. pected to keep pace with the ordinary rate at which troops march, are as follow :- - - To a 24 Pounder - - - - - 24 Bullocks. 18 Ditto . - - - - - 18 Ditto. 12 Ditto . - - - - - 12 Ditto. 6 Ditto . - - - - - 6 Ditto. 3 Ditto . - - - - - 4 Ditto. 8 Inch Howitzer - - - - 14 Ditto. 5%. Ditto . - - • • - 10 Ditto. 4. Ditto . . - - - - 6 Ditto. Artificer's Cart - - - - 10 Ditto. Tumbrel . - - - - - 6 Ditto. It may surprise those not personally acquainted with In- dia, to learn that horses are very little employed in car- riages. It has been already shewn, that, with the excep- tion of the r'hunts let out for hire about Calcutta, of which some are drawn by one, or by two tattoos, all the vehicles used by natives, and all the laborious part of whatever relates to building, trade, and agriculture, are consigned to oxen. Of these the prices are, in some places, so low, that a small pair, fit to be worked at a well in a gentle- man's garden, may usually be had for about ten rupees (25s.); while the generality of husbandmen rarely pay more than six rupees (15s.) for a pair, adequate to the very insignificant tillage bestowed on the soil. The indigenous breed of horses, if Bengal can boast of such, is remarkably small, hardy, and vicious. It may, however, be reasonably doubted, whether this breed, called tattoos, be not a degenerate race from some supply obtained, at a very remote period, from Durbungah, and the districts ranging under the northerly frontier. That breed, generally distinguished by the appellation of seris- sahs, is again questionable, and may, in all probability, be traced to the tazees, bred in the Maharrattah country, and in every part of the Punjab. FAST IN DI A VAD E-MECU M. 499 Considering the great strength and perseverance of tat- toos in general, it is rather surprising that they are not used for more purposes, than merely to carry a load on a march, or to convey some infirm, or rather affluent, travel- ler, from one part to another. As few castrations take place among the males, and the sexes intermix without restraint, the species would multiply rapidly, were it not that little care is taken of the pregnant mares, and less of the progeny; which usually has to shift for itself, and to cut its own grass wherever a scanty meal may be obtain- able. A selection made of tattoos, male and female, fitted for breeding from, would furnish a supply of cattle, far more useful to the peasant, than those miserably defective oxen which, in spite of the professed veneration of all Hindoos towards those sacred animals, are often kept toiling at the plough till nature interposes in behalf of the worn-out deity, and compels the reluctant peasant to allow the hour of dissolution to pass on in peace. The Company, with a view to obtain a certain, regular, and efficient supply of horses for cavalry regiments, have, for about seventeen years past, maintained an establish- ment for breeding, from select mares, in North Bahar. The liberality with which this has been supported, and the admirable selection made of persons for the management of every branch, should give the most favourable result; especially as the spot chosen for its site is peculiarly eli- gible in point of grazing. It does not, however, appear that the expected benefits have been produced. A calculation, made about the year 1794, went so far as to demonstrate, that, by the end of the twelfth year, full fifteen hundred horses would annu- ally be supplied from the stud. As an agency still exists for the purchase of cavalry horses, though the whole strength of the light regiments of cavalry do not exceed 2 K 2 500 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. six thousand horses, even including the body-guard, the stud appears by no means competent to furnish one-fourth of that number within the year. The tattoos of Bengal rarely grow to the height of twelve hands. They are slight-limbed, and cat-hammed; but carry immense burthens during a day's march, and are no sooner turned off, having their fore-feet tethered, than a general war seems to be proclaimed among all of them within sight or hearing. Kicking and biting are the or- der of the day; and woe betide the incautious wight who should, at such a time, approach within reach of their heels. Few tattoos ever have the bursautty; a peculiar break- ing out about the legs, (by no means resembling the grease,) to which horses, in general, are extremely subject throughout the low countries; especially if their stand- ing be not remarkably dry, and exercise given in propor- tion to their allowance of gram. This is a species of pulse, growing on a low plant of the tare kind, and commonly sold at about a rupee per maund. Of this gram, a horse will eat from three to six seers, (of 2 lb. each,) according to his size or appetite ; half in the morning, and half at night. When high fed, and but little rode, the most valuable horses, in particular, be- come victims to the bursautty, which, though disappear- ing in spring and summer, invariably returns, and gene- rally, with increased force, during every rainy season. No cure has been discovered for this ruinous disease, though gentlemen, of eminent abilities, have devoted their attention towards its eradication. Its abatement has, in some instances, been effected; but, notwithstand- ing the utmost skill and perseverance, the blotches have returned, in sufficient force to satisfy all medical men, EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. 503 There are annual fairs, called maylahs, in various parts of the country, where the horses of this breed (serissahs,) are exhibited in immense numbers. The greater part of them are annually exposed at Buxar, and purchased by natives, either for their own use, or for re-sale in various parts. The price of a serissah is not easily named. A very large portion of them sell for less than one hundred, while some reach as high as six hundred rupees. A hundred and fifty rupees at a medium, may be a tolerably accurate standard, if the purchase be made at a fair, but, if second- hand, from a horse-dealer, from fifty to a hundred per cent. may be added. Very handsome sets, of four and six, averaging fifteen hands and a half, have been pur- chased at Buxar for about two hundred rupees each, and re-sold, to friends, for five and six hundred, a few weeks after. The horses in highest estimation are chiefly imported from the Punjab, and Persia, by regular dealers, who come down annually after the rains, accompanied by many camels, generally of an excellent breed; which, besides conveying the tents, &c., of the party, bear heavy bur- thens of shawls, dried fruits, and, occasionally cats of the most beautiful description. Such gentlemen as wish for horses of great strength, ordinarily purchase toorkies; which, being extremely stout and phlegmatic, answer well for persons of great weight and of a timid disposition. The Persian horses have generally a finer shoulder, and attain a better standard than the toorky, which rarely measures fifteen hands, and, in general, may be about fourteen. Both kinds are remarkable for heavy, lob-ears, and are always well advanced in years before they are brought for sale. Yet, they commonly sell for eight 504 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. hundred or a thousand rupees, and, when of a handsome colour, well formed, and of a good size, will produce from fifteen hundred to three thousand rupees. The jungle-tazee, bred in the Punjab, or Seik country, is, in general, handsome and spirited. These are brought at an earlier age, as is the majennis, bred in the same quarter, and usually the offspring of a jungle-tazee horse, and a Persian or toorky mare; or vice versá. Both these kinds may be rated as rising to full fifteen hands; and their prices are usually on a par with the toorky. It is highly necessary, when purchasing of a native dealer, to look very accurately into every matter relating to soundness and quietness. Those dealers, who are ex- cellent jockies, administer such doses of opium to their vicious cattle, as cause them for a while to appear pre- eminently passive: a circumstance easily detected, by insisting on the animal being left under charge of the pur- chaser's own syce (groom) for a day or two before the money is paid. In bargains with European gentlemen, the whole of the transactions are generally free from disguise, but, when native is opposed to native, the affair is conducted with much assumed mystery. A cloth is laid over the knees of the seller and purchaser, as they squat vis a vis on the ground close together, and the hookull introduced and re- sorted to whenever any little difference takes place. At other times, the parties have each one hand, generally the right, under the cloth, when, by means of pressures on the palms, which denote hundreds and of the fingers, which denote in their due order 20, 40, 60, and 80, they soon come to a mutual understanding. This affectation is sometimes carried to such an extent, that nearly a whole day has passed in keeping up the farce, though afterwards it was divulged as a great secret, that the EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 505 bargain had been made during the first five minutes; but the seller was desirous to uphold a character for being very tenacious of the sum originally demanded. Almost every light-coloured horse, such as a grey, or a dun, has its tail stained for many inches near the tip with mindy, (hinna,) as used by the ladies of Hindoostan. A ring of the same is generally added about two inches above, and the same in depth. From the inconvenience and heat which attend the retention of full manes, which are considered indispensable towards the beauty of a horse, it is usual to braid them with silk or thread ties of various colours, chiefly red or yellow. The practice has certainly the intended effect, but causes a large portion of the mane to fall off. The hair of the tail is never cut for a native, and but rarely for an European; on account of the millions of gad-flies, which, but for such a de- fence, would irritate the animal greatly, and occasion him to fall off, both from his condition and his food. Stables for horses should be amply spacious, and covered with thatch instead of tiles, which throw too great heat into the interior. The head-ropes, which com- monly branch out from the head-stall in different direc- tions angularly forward, ought to be substantial and ra- ther long. The heel-ropes ought to be full twenty feet long, and kept a little off the ground, by a small bar or prop, to prevent their being rotted by the wet. One end of each heel-rope is furnished with a loop of rather thin- ner and softer rope, plaited flat, so as not to injure the pastern, round which it loops on. But for such preven- tives, the syces dare not rub down their cattle; which would, besides, fight desperately, unless thus restrained. Stalls of plank are by no means suited to the climate, nor would they offer any defence against the horses of India, very few of which are castrated. The best, but, EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. -507 ral casts, the same as those of the people of India; thus, an auctioneer advertises a toorky, or a majennis of high cast, to be sold on such a day. The term may, however, be considered as rather technical and arbitrary in its meaning. The extravagant price to which all articles of horse furniture have at times risen in India, operated as a consi- derable injury to the European manufacturer, (who rarely makes much profit on goods intended for exportation,) for within the last forty years, numbers of persons, both Eu- ropean and native have established themselves as saddlers and harness-makers. At first they were not much en- couraged, from a belief very generally prevalent, that leather tanned in India was inferior to that exported from England. It was, however, soon ascertained that the bark of the baubool (mimosa) was at least equal to that of the oak; and that the leather thus prepared by several Europeans, who had constructed tanpits on a large scale, was equal to what the ships conveyed to India, and full fifty per cent. cheaper. Thenceforward, all the leather-work of carriages built in India, some of which might vie with any to be seen in Europe, was done with country hides. Shoe- makers, both European and native, resorted to the same means of supply, and offered both boots and shoes of the best prepared leather, the want of which had, for a long time, caused the very meat shoes made for about a shil- ling the pair, by the latter class, to be held in little esti- mation. Saddlers and harness-makers have appeared, whose labours have proved eminently valuable; their materials and their work being alike excellent. This must, how- ever, be understood of articles manufactured from leather tanned in a regular manner, and not of that paltry brown 508 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. paper-like rubbish manufactured in pots and pans by in- digent natives. These often work up a skin within the third or fourth day after it has been stripped from some starved sheep, or goat. This leather may always be dis- tinguished by a narrow streak of white, that is, of raw hide, remaining in the middle of its thickness. Saddles made of such crude materials, but in every other respect by no means to be condemned, may be had at Monghyr, where also bits and bridles are made, with singular neatness, for about ten rupees (twenty-five shillings). Those of superior materials, and made under the inspection of an European, will cost full as much, or perhaps more, than the sums ordinarily paid in London for saddles, &c., of prime quality, and highly finished. The climate is extremely adverse to the tanner, who cannot easily obtain raw hides, because the consumption of beef and mutton is confined to the European and Maho- medan population. He has also great difficulty in con- veying the skins to the pits, before the commencement of fermentation may become obvious, and disqualify them for the purpose. A person who quitted India about forty years ago, when the generality of articles of almost every description in use among Europeans, were sent from England; and when only one or two European tailors were to be seen in all Bengal; when, also, a newspaper was scarcely in existence,—would now, on landing in that country, be astonished at the improvements made in various branches of manufacture. He would contemplate the advance made in the mechanical arts as the certain forerunner of independence. He would view also the several news- papers published at Calcutta, (besides magazines, &c.,) whose columns teem with advertisements on a large scale, as the paramount results of great enterprise, founded upon EAST INDIA .V. A D E-MECU M. 509 extensive capitals, and backed by an almost unlimited credit. As the type is rather large, the expense of ad- vertisements must, in some great houses, prove a conspi- cuous item among the disbursements. In this respect, the Hindoostanee, or rather the Per- sian, newspapers are miserably deficient; as, indeed, they are in whatever should belong to a publication de- voted to the important purposes of mercantile, or of poli- tical intelligence. Far from containing a single adver- tisement, or from communicating any matter relative to the arts, these bulletins, for they are no better, are pen- ned by persons about the several native courts, according to the whim of a sycophant, or to the mere tattle in the suburbs of a city. They are often manufactured hundreds of miles from the places whence they are supposed to emanate, and contain accounts of battles and sieges, ca- pitulations and defeats, halts and marches, known only to the fabricators. There being no presses in use among the natives, every communication, whether private or public, must be in manuscript. Hence, the profession of scribe yields in some places no bad livelihood; especially at Delhi, which, being the ancient seat of government, and the immediate residence of a nominal king, commonly called the Great Mogul, supplies every quarter of India with Akbars, (newspapers,) written in the Persian language and character, on long narrow slips of a paper manufac- tured in India, either from bamboos, reeds, or cotton- wool. These slips, rolled up to about an inch in width, are enclosed in a small cover pasted together, and de- spatched to the several quarters of Hindoostan. Within the last thirty years, the number of servants employed by the Company has been greatly augmented ; not only on account of their extension of territory, but 510 EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. in consequence of the very judicious separation of two offices, incompatible to be held by the same individual. The collector is now, except in a very few zillahs of less note, confined to the collection of the revenues, having under him one or more assistants, according to the extent of his district. The whole of the judicial proceedings are under cog- nizance of a judge, who, aided by his register, decides civil causes between parties residing within his jurisdic- tion; while the criminal catalogue is handed over to a court composed of natives versed in the Mahomedan and Hindoo laws, though the former are, generally, the guide. Three of the Company's servants of long standing, having likewise under them a secretary, or register, superintend the proceedings of these native judges. Such tribunals are established in various parts of the country, particularly at Calcutta, Moorshedabad, Dacca, Patna, Benares, and in the Ceded Provinces, under the names of Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit. There are, besides, judges, each having a register and an assis- tant, stationed at Benares, Moorshedabad, Patna, and Dacca, for the especial purpose of administering justice, and for the correction of abuses within those cities re- spectively. The difference made by the conduct of the British government, in suppressing an immense number of far- mers on the large scale, and of middle-men who again stood between those farmers and the peasants, has been immense. In many places, the lands are now in the pos- session of an industrious population, holding them from the renters, or proprietors of villages and small talooks, consisting of perhaps three or four thousand bigahs. The revenues are thus rendered far more easy of collec- tion, and, consequently, more certain; it being now the EAST IND I A VAD E-MECU M. 511 interest of every honest renter to be forthcoming with his rents at the office of the collector, at the several periods when they should be paid. Those periods are not equidistant, as in England; but generally settled for the convenience of the tenants, as their several crops may be reasonably expected to be- come marketable. The division is by a certain number of annas, or sixteenths, in each rupee, payable at particu- lar seasons; allowance being made for the different species of grain, &c., cultivated. There being no har- vest of grain from the beginning of November to the be- ginning of March, the collections generally fall light in the intermediate months; but about April and May, a large portion usually becomes payable, and again, in Bengal, after the rice is harvested. On the whole, the rent may be commonly taken at four instalments, two of which are considerable, and two of smaller portions of the rupee. The heavy kists, or collections, of Bengal, are from August to January, in the proportion of two-thirds of the whole rent; the great crops in that quarter being cut after the rains. The gruff kists, which include the rubbee, or small harvest of white-corn, sugar, &c., come in be- tween January and the beginning of May. The fruits, fish, &c., from April to July. In Bengal, the year be- gins in April; in Bahar, in September. All the collec- tions are made in money. Mr. Grant, formerly collector of Bhauglepore, published a small tract on the subject of the revenues, which may be strongly recommended to the reader. It is to be feared, that, however beneficial the existing system may be, and however equitable the arrangements made under the Mocurrery settlement have proved them- selves, still the Company are not likely to be benefited 512 EA ST IN ID I A VAD E-MECU M. in proportion to the assiduity they have displayed, or to the tenderness with which the rights of their subjects have been regarded. This, however, is certain; that, according as the enter- prise of individuals may, by degrees, give additional value to the soil, by an immense increase of exportation, from various parts of the country, of a million of commo- dities, till lately, either unknown or unheeded, so will the duties collected at the several chokies, (custom-house stations,) and at the several ports, together with the demand for British manufactures, be proportionally aug- mented. It should be very generally made known, that the Company receive into their treasury all the realized pro- perty of persons demising in India, under letters of ad- ministration, or under the acts of executors, duly acknow- ledged and certified by the supreme courts of justice at the several presidencies. This effectually secures the in- terest persons in Europe may have in the estates of friends, &c., dying in India. So rigidly is this observed, that the relatives of any private soldier may fully ascer- tain how his property, if any, has been disposed of, and receive whatever sums may be forthcoming from the sale of his effects, &c. Such a measure fully guards the principal of any sum left in the Company's treasury. At the same time, the most pleasing facility is given to individuals thus en- abling them, or their attornies, to receive the interest, either at the presidency, or in the moofussel, (that is, from the collectors,) as may be convenient; but such can only be done under a specific power of attorney. The generality of traders, who resort to distant inland markets, near which to reside, or who in favourable situ- ations, become conspicuous as manufacturers, whether of 514 EAST IN DIA VAD E-MECU M. expected to have an apartment, or two, in his dwelling, devoted to the accommodation of such of his country correspondents as may occasionally visit the presidency. Combining all these circumstances, his charges for commission ought to be such as, among us, would appear extravagantly high. The same causes operate towards raising the expences of a suit in the supreme court of judicature equally above those of the British courts; though the latter are certainly high enough. The terms of receiving, or paying money, in exchange with Europe, China, or other parts, are completely arbi- trary; being governed solely by the value of money to any particular firm at the time of negotiating. There have been instances of some firms declining to offer more than two shillings and sixpence for a sicca rupee, bills being given payable at six months after sight in Europe, while others, whose stability appeared equally solid, offered two shillings and minepence for the same accommodation. In point of commerce, Calcutta may, perhaps, be pro- perly classed with Bristol; making this allowance, that what the former wants in the number of vessels employed, is made up by their average tonnage being considerable, and the value of their cargoes far superior. The length of the voyage must likewise be taken into consideration. A vessel may, during profound peace, make three voyages within twelve months, from Bristol to America, or the West Indies, and back again, and the same either to the Baltic, or to the Levant: whereas, few Indiamen make more than one return to their moorings in the Thames under fifteen months; the majority are out from fifteen to twenty months. Hence, all our British ports appear more crowded, taking the year round, than Calcutta, which, from July to November, or even to January, often presents a forest 516 EAST IND I A VA H E-MECU M. through Channel Creek. This is adopted by the greater part of the vessels conveying rice and salt from the Soon- derbunds. These vessels are of a very stout construction, suited to those wide expanses of water they cross in that very hazardous line of navigation. - The average depth of water, within a stone's throw of the eastern bank, on which Calcutta ranges for several miles, (including the suburbs up to the Maharrattah Ditch,) is from six to eight fathoms when the tide is out. At particular places, the water deepens very suddenly, but, in most parts, a shelf, abounding with mud, runs out for sixty or seventy yards, down to low water mark, where the bank falls off, so that ships of any burthen may moor within a very few yards. The great front thus given to the town, affords innumerable facilities to those concerned in shipping; especially as the custom- house, which is on the quay belonging to the old fort, stands nearly centrical, in respect to the European po- pulation. The domies, which are small craft intended for the coast- ing trade carried on principally by native merchants, commonly lie higher up, opposite the Chitpore m'hut, or temple. There, in tiers, much the same as the shipping in the Thames, these pariah vessels present a contrast with the superb edifices under British management, and at once characterise not only the ignorance, but the nar- row minds of their owners. Few donies measure more than a hundred and fifty tons, or have more than two masts. Sloops are by far most common, and the generality are equipped with coir cordage, as well as with country-made canvass. - The greater portion of these vessels either return in ballast, after delivering their cargoes of rice, at various ports in the Northern Sircars, or, in the Carnatic; or they º EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. 517 bring light cargoes, composed chiefly of coir and cowries, from the Sechelles and Maldivies. To these they, also, now and then, make a bold voyage, at favourable sea- sons, with small invoices of coarse cottons, fit for the use of those islanders. Here, and there, we see a doney with some European on board to navigate her; but only natives are generally employed ; and the Europe-ships, which arrive with crews from their respective countries, are often compelled to take a portion of lascars on board, for the purpose of aiding those who survive the pestilential miasma, to which they are so inconsiderately, or, more properly, inhumanly, subjected, while lying at Diamond-Harbour, &c. Those who escape with their lives, are usually much weakened by severe attacks of the ague, which they rarely lose, till relieved by an alterative course of mercury, in conjunction with the change of air experi- enced by getting out to sea. On the navigation from Europe to India, a project has been entertained, the success of which will greatly faci- litate the intercourse between Britain and her remote dependencies. I refer to the steam vessel just now (March 1825) on its departure, and which is expected to reach Calcutta in two months from the time of her quitting the shores of England. Another project very lately proposed to the public, should it succeed as there is good reason to desire and expect, would tend in an incalculable degree to promote an improved and industrious cultivation of the soil of British India, by justly remunerating the free labourer, and securing the fair returns of honourable commerce. I refer to the BEN GAL SUGAR CoMPANY, which pro- poses “to establish in the most suitable provinces, under the superintendence of persons acquainted with the 518 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECU M. process adopted in the West Indies, factories, furnished with the most approved apparatus made use of there; and without interfering with the cultivation of the land, to encourage the growth of sugar by moderate cash ad- vances to the natives, in anticipation of their crops.” The same result may be fairly expected from the opera- tions of the FREE SUGAR CoMPANY ; which is designed to encourage “the cultivators of sugar by free labour, in all parts of the world which are adapted to the growth of that article; to those in the West Indies and America, no less than to those in the East Indies and Africa, who shall exclusively employ free labour in its production.” And now I cannot satisfy myself to conclude this un- avoidably miscellaneous, yet, I trust, not uninteresting, volume, without recurring once more to its principal object; the communication of knowledge the most im- portant for a young adventurer to British India. Further to promote the essential object of such a work as the present, I refer to a variety of regulations enforced by the orders of the Directors, or of the Indian Government.” Nor can I withold from the cadet, ardent and inexperi- enced, the salutary counsels of Colonel Nugent, the result of long and accurate observation. I quote the following letters from the life of that distinguished officer in the “East India Military Calendar.” LETTER I. “I know you will excuse, as your friend and kinsman, my offering you my advice as to your conduct in the line of life you have now entered. You must be extremely guarded and careful in your conduct during the passage to India, as a man's character, from observation made by his * See Appendix. Nº III. EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 519 shipmates, frequently lands with him, and either advances or diminishes his prospects of success in the service, as it may prove true. No person can bear a better character than the Captain you are going out with ; but gentlemen in his situation are apt to require more respect and consi- deration than people are in general disposed to yield to an individual to whom they pay a sum of money to be al- lowed to sit at his table. Put every consideration of that kind out of your mind, and treat Captain with the same degree of respect as if he were Captain of a line of battle ship, and you had not paid him one farthing for your passage. You have been strongly recommended to him by two of his most particular friends, and I am certain, if on any occasion you ask his advice, he will readily afford it, and in every way in his power promote your accommodation on board his ship. The captains of the regular ships are very often questioned by the governor of the settlement where they arrive, as to the conduct of their passengers. You see, therefore, how much will depend on his good report. “You will have on board two, or three of the Field Officers of the establishment, to whom I would also recommend you to pay the utmost respect and atten- tion; they will naturally feel well disposed towards a young brother soldier, and their recommendation, in your behalf, after your arrival in India, would be of the utmost service to you. “To the officers of the ship, and your other fellow passengers, your own disposition is naturally so good, that I need offer you no remarks as to your conduct, except to avoid intimacies with individuals, until you have fully appreciated their characters. “Personal cleanliness in so confined a space as a ship, is so essential to your health, as well as to your own com- 520 EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. fort, and that of your messmates, that it would scarcely be necessary to mention it, had I not so often seen the disgust a neglect of it has created on board ship. When you arrive in the warm latitudes, you will see many of your shipmates getting, early in the morning, buckets of water thrown over them. “ Never on any account venture, either at sea or in har- bour, to trust yourself in the ocean ; leave to the sharks their own dominion without dispute: nor from idle cu- riosity go from your ship to any other, nor be very fond of trusting yourself up the shrouds, as you might be seized with a giddiness, which would at once put an end to your voyage. “ Avoid gaming and drinking while on board, and after you land in India, as you would a contagious disorder. You will see victims enough to the latter after your ar- rival, to make you avoid it. Malt liquor and spirits have killed more people in India than the climate. I never knew any one addicted to them escape the liver complaint. “ You will readily get one of the recruits or soldiers on board, whom the Captain will permit to attend you as a servant; be sure to make him take your cot upon deck every morning that the weather will permit, and accustom yourself to early rising. You will find the mornings most delightful in the warm latitudes, and the middle of the day you can devote to study and reading. A knowledge of the different country languages is not only the certain road to an increase of pay and allowances, but to situa- tions of the highest importance. You should also keep alive the knowledge you have acquired of the Latin and French. “ Observe the utmost moderation as to wine at the Captain's table. Your modesty on that score will not escape observation. EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. 521 ." Your education has been such as to render all obser- vations as to religion superfluous, but I cannot help re- marking, that there is no situation in which religious ideas are excited more strongly than in a ship. The reflection that you are divided from eternity by only a few inches of plank, naturally disposes the mind to such thoughts, and whoever has attended divine service at sea, must have made the same observation. “ Do not forget when you go on the quarter-deck to move or pull off your hat: it is a ceremony always used on board ship, and considered as disrespectful if neg- lected. If you find the weather-side of the deck crowded, always go to the lee-side to walk up and down, and be sure to take as much exercise of that kind as you can. “ I would recommend to you, if you find a good drill sergeant on board, to put yourself under his tuition, as often as you can, when the weather will admit. It will improve your carriage, and make you well acquainted with the use of a musket. “ Having thus stated to you every thing which occurs to me as necessary on board, I have only a few words to add as to your proceedings when you arrive at Should that happen late in the evening, I would recommend to you to stay on board until the next morning, and to be sure not to leave the ship without thanking the Captain and Officers for the kindness and attention which I hope you will experience from them, and to assure them of your grateful recollections. “ When you go on shore first, go to to whom you are particularly recommended, and after that deliver your other letters personally. I have not the smallest doubt of your being invited to take up your abode with some of the persons to whom you are recommended. You will then report yourself in person to the Adj.-Gen., 522 EAST INDIA VAID E-MECU M. and intreat his directions as to the uniform you should make up, telling him that you were advised by your friends in England, not to make up any till your arrival. You will, then get yonr baggage, &c. from the ship. The moment you are properly equipped, get some friend to present you, first to the Commander-in-Chief, and then to the Governor, and if they have levees do not neglect to attend them.” LETTER II. “Having, I will hope, after a pleasant and speedy passage, landed at —, and having been introduced to the Gov. and Com-in-Chief, you are now to enter into a society to which you are entirely a stranger; in a country, where the natives, customs, and manners, are very dif- ferent to what you have been accustomed. “I would recommend to you, from the moment you land, to keep a minute and exact account of your receipt and expenditure, which I consider as not only the first step, but the sure road to obtain an independence. It will not occupy above two minutes of your time at breakfast. It will be a kind of journal of your life, for on reference you will always find where you were, and what you were about: and above all, it will alarm you to a sense of your own situation, for when you find the expenditure exceed the receipt, you will naturally enquire into the cause, and easily perceive the article, wherein the excess has arisen, and reduce it accordingly. If, unhappily, notwithstanding this caution, you should find yourself embarrassed, I would advise you to apply to a friend, and such, if your conduct is good, you will not find wanting to relieve you: then place yourself immediately under stoppages, and strictly observe to repay his kindness. This mode I should prefer to your being in debt to the natives, the conse- quences of which have often been ruinous. EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. 523 “You will in eight and forty hours after your landing, be able to equip yourself like others on the same station with yourself. I would then recommend you, under the view, and with the advice of some friend, to send for a broker and dispose of your coloured clothes, sea-bedding, and other articles which will be no longer useful to you. “Having, as I will hope, on the passage, acquired a perfect knowledge of the use, construction, and mode of cleaning a soldier's arms and accoutrements, you will now devote your time and attention to a knowledge, both prac- tically on the parade, and theoretically from books, of military tactics. Often on the tiller head, in the great cabin, did a brother officer and I, then on our return to India, with pieces of card, perform manoeuvres, that we supposed would not have disgraced a Potsdam Review. We both afterwards, having been appointed to commands, found in the service the advantage of having amused our- selves that way, instead of using the cards as instruments of mutual ruin and destruction. “I have endeavoured, in my first letter, to impress upon your mind the utility of acquiring a knowledge of the country languages. With the Hiñdostanee you will readily get acquainted, as it is the language most commonly used. To become a good Persian scholar you will, when your income will justify the expense, which is not consi- derable, hire a moonshee, or teacher; and as our recent accessions of territory in the Mahratta country have been very great, and you will, I doubt not, be frequently sta- tioned there, I strongly recommend acquiring a knowledge of that language. “Never suffer a drop of spirits" to enter your lips; the * “Too much commendation cannot be bestowed on the Hon. Court of Directors, for the establishment of station libraries for the use of the non-commissioned officers, and private European soldiers, 524 EAST INDIA VADE-MECU M. habit of drinking them steals imperceptibly on a man, until at last he becomes a complete beast and sot. Malt liquor is equally pernicious to the health. You will find when you join the mess of your corps, your pay and al- lowances will allow you to take your pint of wine every day, which is fully sufficient. “Never enter the door of the tavern at —. It is the resort of all the mauvais sujets in the service, and of seafaring persons, whose time on shore is usually spent in drunkenness and dissipation:—a more likely place to get into a quarrel I know not. “Your letters, and above all, I hope, your own good conduct, will introduce you into the best society. There is a degree of jealousy existing between the civil and mi- litary services, but I never, during — years' residence in India, suffered such illiberal ideas to take possession of me, and, in consequence, lived on the happiest terms with the most respectable of both services, as I trust you will do. - - “Let me earnestly recommend to you never to form a permanent connection, that is to say, to bring under the same roof or tent with yourself a native woman. You will from that instant be held cheap, and in a manner de- graded in society. You will have all the expense and inconveniences to a soldier of matrimony, without any of its comforts, and may become the parent of a family, as the want of some rational employment to beguile the tedium of barracks, often induces soldiers to indulge in spirituous liquors. What- ever tends to occupy the mind during the rains or hot winds, as well as improve the morals of the soldier, will also keep him from the dangerous habit of drinking spirits; and as it may be calculated that each European private, by the time he reaches the corps to which he is attached in India, costs the Company 100l. it stands to reason that every rational avocation for the mind, tending to keep off disease and evil propensities, should be introduced into the service.” 526 EAST INDIA VAD E-MECUM. never raise your hand to them. If in a civil capacity, they will as easily obtain redress from the law as an inha- bitant of this country. If military, there is not one among them, except the very lowest, who does not consider himself of a higher caste than yourself: judge what such a man's feelings must be on receiving personal chastise ment. There have been instances of their stepping out of the ranks, and, regardless of all consequences, inflicting immediate death on the person who struck them. Treat them with mildness, with firmness, and with justice, and they will follow you to the mouth of a cannon, or to the top of the best defended breach; and above all, never in- terfere with their religion. At the same time be on your guard against deceit, and a disposition to pilfering among the servants. “Be extremely punctual in the hour of attendance on parade duties, and scrupulously exact as to the uniformity of your own dress there. Without such attention, how can you rebuke a poor soldier for neglect? “Although you will never lose sight-of your attachment to your native country, or of loyalty to its sovereign, you will now recollect that you have also other masters to whom you have sworn allegiance. Enter not rashly into associations for redress of alleged injuries, but re- member your oath, and that whatever injuries you may conceive you suffer from the government abroad, those who feed, pay, and clothe you, are resident in this country, and until an appeal has reached them, and their decision been received, you cannot have any plea for re- sisting their authority; and even then, should their deci- sion not answer your wishes, you have the option to resign their service; but never, in any instance whatever, have you the option to bear arms against them or your country. “Wishing you now health, fame, and wealth acquired with honour, I remain,” &c. A PP E N DIX. No I. ARTICLES REQUIRED IN AN OUT FIT, (See p. 12.) NECESSARIES FOR A LADY PROCEEDING TO INDIA. 72 Chemises. 36 Night Gowns. 36 Night Caps. 3 Flannel Petticoats. 12 Middle ditto, without bodies. 12 Slips. 36 Pr. Cotton Stockings. 24 Pr. Silk ditto. 2 Pr. Black Silk ditto. 18 White Dresses. 6 Coloured ditto. 6 Evening ditto. 60 Pocket Handkerchiefs. 4 Dressing Gowns. Silk Pelisse. 3 Bonnets. 12 Morning Caps. 24 Pr. Long Gloves. 24 Pr. Short Gloves. 528 ARTICLES REQUIRED IN AN OUT-FIT. 4 Corsets. 6 Pr. of Sheets. 6 Pillow Cases. 36 Towels. Riding Habit. A Cot, and a Couch. Pieces of Ribbon. Dressing Box. Leather Writing Desk. Bullock Drawers. Washing Table. Chair. Swinging Table. For the Cabin. Ladies would find Black the most convenient wear during the voyage. Every thing that is not to be used on board should be carefully packed in tin cases. Biscuits, Bristol and Waters, and Preserves, are en- tirely left to the decision of the lady. NEC ESSARIES FOR A CA DET. , 1 Cot. 1 Hair Mattress and Bolster. | 1 Feather Pillow. } 1 Pr. of Blankets. | 1 Coloured Counterpane. J The whole of these must be taken on shore, as they will be found to answer better than any Country ones. 4 Pr. of Calico Sheets. 8 Pillow Cases. A RTICLES REQUIRED IN AN out-Fit. 529 6 Doz. Calico Shirts.-These must be quite plain. l 3 5 6 Doz. Night Caps. Doz. pair of 3 brown Cotton Stockings.-Brown are recommended, being somewhat cheaper, and much stronger for wearing under boots. Pr. of White Jean Trowsers. White Jean Jackets. 6 Do. do. Waistcoats. 24 24 3 3 6 . 2 24 8 l : These should be reserved for India: they will be required immediately on arrival. Coloured Pocket Handkerchiefs.-These should not be given away, as they will be found very useful in the Country. White Pocket Handkerchiefs. Black Silk Handkerchiefs. Do. do. Stocks. Pr. of Calico Pantaloon Drawers, Pr. White Silk Stockings. Towels.-Can be procured in India, but not much cheaper than in Europe. Yards of Flannel.—No one should commence wear- ing it till they are advised so to do in India : in many cases it has been found of great benefit. Blue Camlet dresses for Voyage. Blue Cloth Cap for do. Blue Cloak.—This should be made either of Cloth or Camlet, lined with red; it will be found of great service. Sett Shoe Brushes. Clothes do. Tooth do. Hat do. Pr. Boot-hooks. 530 ARTICLES REQUIRED IN AN ouT-FIT. l 4 1 l 2 3 l 6 1 i l l Boot-jack. * * - Bullock Trunks.-These will prevent a Cadet pur- chasing any in the Country, and he can con- veniently have 2 in the cabin together. Blue Coat—for India. Round Hat—do. Setts of Combs and Brushes, Pounds of Wax Candles. Sliding Lamp and Shade for cabin.—This will be equally useful in India, and should be taken on shore. Small Looking Glass, with sliding front. Pounds of Soap. Pr. of Wellington Boots.-Boots are made in India very cheap, and tolerably good. Pr. of Shoes. Hunting Saddle and Bridle. ſl Riding Whip. Yards of Scarlet Cloth, sufficient for 1 Coat and 1 Jacket. 1 Regulation Sword. 1 Do. Sword Knot. - 1 Regulation Cap.–This should be taken to India untrimmed, with two setts of trimming, one - Gold, and one Silver: the one not re- quired may be disposed of in India. 4 Pr. of Military Gloves. 2 Buff Shoulder Belts. 1 Crimson Silk Sash. 1 Gorget. U 1 Epaulette (Gold). Regimental Blue Frock Coat.—This must be made perfectly plain, and might be used to land in. Pewter Wash Hand Bason. A RTICLES REQUIRED IN AN OUT-FIT. 5.3i 1 Pewter Goglet. 1 Tumbler. 1 Camp Stool. 2 Pounds of Marine Soap. 1 Leather Writing Case. 6 Pr. of Musquito Trowsers.-These will be found useful after crossing the Line, and will prevent many restless nights. 1 Boot-jack. § Piece of Shoe Ribbon. 1 Clothes Bag with Lock. Stationery (a small quantity.) The following books, or part of them, will be found not only very instructive, but very profitable, during a four months' voyage, to a Cadet. Gilchrist's Hindoostanee Dialogues. - Dictionary. —- Gooli Bukawulee. - Persian Rudiments. James's Military Dictionary. Torrens's Evolutions. New Sword Exercise. Campbell on Light Infantry. Map of India. 1 Canteen, complete, containing: 1 Queen’s Metal Tea Pot. I Do. do. Coffee Pot. 2 Large Silver Spoons. 2 Do. do. Forks. 2 Small do. do. 2 Do. Spoons. 6 Tea Spoons. 2 M 2 532 ARTICLES REQUIRED IN AN OUT-FIT. 6 Large Knives and Forks. 6 Small do. do. 2 Tea Cups and Saucers. 2 Hot Water Plates. Small Plates. 2 Tumblers. 2 Wine Glasses. Dishes (of Sizes). 1 Cork Screw. 2 Tea and Sugar Cannisters. 1 Muffineer. 1 Nutmeg Grater. Necessaries to be provided in India. 1 Doz. pair White Regulation Trowsers. — These should be made of Nankeen, and lined. 1 Camp Table and Chair. - 1 Camp Cot and Musquito Curtains.—This should have a painted cover, to prevent the Cot getting wet when marching during the monsoon. Those things which are packed in tin, must not on any account be opened during the voyage. A Tent can be obtained either from the Government, or in the Bazaar. - It is recommended to a Cadet to purchase only a Pony at the Presidency, as horses are purchased up Country much cheaper. Every Cadet, on his arrival in India, should merely land with a change of clothes; when he has seen the Officer com- manding the Barracks for young Officers, he will be able to procure a trustworthy servant, who can go on board and land all his baggage. A RTICLES REQUIRED IN AN OUT-FIT. 533 : : NECESS Alti ES FOR A WRITER. Cot, or Couch. Hair Mattress and Bolster. Feather Pillow. Counterpanes. Pr Sheets (Calico). Pillow Cases. Doz. Calico Shirts. Doz. White Neckcloths. Doz. Coloured do. - - Black Silk Handkerchiefs.-These will be found use- ful on the Voyage. Doz. Towels. Doz. White Pocket Handkerchiefs. Doz. Coloured do. do. Night Caps. Pr. White Silk Stockings. Doz. half Brown Cotton do.—Half stockings are more comfortable in warm climates. Pr. Wash Leather Gloves. Pr. Dress Gloves. Pr. Thin Gloves, for use on board ship. , - - Pr. Musquito Trowsers. Pr. Braces (White Cotton). Surtout Coats. Superfine Evening Coats. Coloured Waistcoats. Pr. Light Kerseymere Trowsers. Pr. Dress Black Pantaloons. Thin Waistcoats with Sleeves. Do. Waistcoats. Pr. Trowsers. 534 ARTICLES REQUIRED IN A N obſ'T-FI'f. ~ 3 Pr. Black Silk Stockings. 8 Pr. Calico Pantaloon Drawers. Flannel for Waistcoats, about 12 yards. 2 Dressing Gowns. " 1 Foul Clothes Bag, with lock and key. 1 Blue Cloth Cap for voyage. 2 Fine Hats, in bor lined with tin. 6 Pr. Shoes. 2 Pr. Dress do. 6 Pr. Boots. 1 Hunting Saddle and Bridle. 1 Riding Whip. - 1 Leather Writing Case, with patent lock. 3 Blue Camlet or dark Jean Dresses, complete. 2 Setts Shoe Brushes and Blacking. 2 Clothes Brushes. 2 Hat do. 2 Hair do. 4 Nail do. 8 Tooth do. A small quantity of Plate, such as Tea Pot, Spoons, and Forks: this is left entirely to the discretion of the person jitting out, as also a few Steel Knives and Forks. A Canteen completely fitted up would be found convenient. Wash-hand Stand, complete for Cabin. Camp Chair. Do. Table Setts of Bullock Drawers. Book Case. Cabin Lamp. Pounds of Wax Candles. Do. Windsor Soap. Do. Common do. Boot-jack. ARTICLES It EQUIRED IN AN ouT-FIT. 535 1 Pr. Boot-hooks. 1 Dressing Case, complete. 2 Pr. Slippers. 1 Sea Chest may be taken if required. A small quantity of Tobacco may be taken, it will be found the most acceptable present to a Sailor, for any civility he may shew. Books. Gilchrist's English and Hindoostanee Dictionary. —— British Indian Monitor, Guide, and Story Teller. Dialogues. Persian Rudiments, with his Hindoostamee and English Vocabulary. Gooli Bukawulee. Jones's Persian Grammar. - The whole of these books will be found very acceptable on the voyage; and considerable benefit may be derived from 4 or 5 months real study during that period, and for a considerable time after arrival in British India. N.B.-What follows has been extracted from the intro- duction to the Dialogues, as it will not be inserted in the future editions of that work, now almost out of print. 536 APPENDIX. No. II. EXTRACTS FROM DR. GILCH RIST'S DIALOGUES, ENGLISH & HINDOOSTANEE. (See p. 97.) in the compilation of a dialogical work it becomes a matter of sound policy to confine the conversation gene- rally to one party, because he can thus be taught to speak not only with grammatical precision, but to ma- nage his own language in the manner most conducive for the execution of orders and the gratification of his own wishes, upon every occasion; while it must be wholly impossible to put such words in the mouths of the per- sons addressed as they will actually adopt to every question or remark there may be at least twenty different modes of reply, and an author must be fortunate indeed, should his work contain the very answers that will be made to all his reader's queries of any kind in a foreign tongue, unless his book be thus extended to a size far be- yond the ordinary limits of these productions. nothing is so common as the solitary response irshad from the hindoostamees when accosted by a querist, meaning, ac- cording to circumstances, “your commands, sir;” “what do you say?” “i did not hear you, pardon me,” &c.; which would at once throw a mere dialogist all aback, from his not being prepared to hear only one word where he expected twelve or half a dozen at least. these con- siderations have given features to this undertaking, rather out of the beaten track, except where i was in some mea- DIALOGUES. 537 sure compelled to give colloquial communication the ap- propriate form of dialogues, as useful examples in the usual style of similar exercises, which every student should cut and carve for his self, from the moment he becomes a colloquist, and this ought to be done with all convenient expedition, so far as his intercourse with the natives of india shall put this plan of self-instruction within his reach. that my students may accomplish this necessary task on safe and competent grounds, immediately as they reach the shores of hindoostan, i have therefore conceiv- ed it my bounden duty to furnish them with those por- tions of local knowledge which may prove of no small consequence to their future welfare as gentlemen, and their rapid progress through a vernacular medium as oriental scholars, during which period they can daily in- crease their stock of general information; for this should ever accompany pari passu, all our efforts to become ex- pert linguists, that the acquisition of mere verbal funds may not rather diminish than increase those intellectual powers, and that common sense, which are frequently sunk under a heavy load of sheer pedantry and classical lore, very different indeed from real science and practical wisdom. convinced that numbers of europeans reside for years in india, who have not enough of local knowledge, to dis- tinguish a hindoo from a moosulman, i shall devote a por- tion of this work to directions, that may, in some degree, prevent those disagreeable consequences resulting from confirmed and contagious ignorance, apt enough to con- found two widely distinct classes of people, under the ungracious appellation of blackey, a blunder which would be unpardonable in any student, who may learn the con- tents of this introduction, and thence know how to regu- 538 DIALOGUES, late his conduct and conversation, even before he sets a foot on the british indian shore. the hindoos are all uncircumcised idolators, of ancient footing in india. the moosulmans are deists and follow- ers of moohummud ; and their standing there is not above nine centuries, they are in fact our predecessors in con- quest; and are subdivided into four grand classes, termed sueyud, shekh, mooghul, puthan. in pages 186-7 of the guide, a list will be found exhibiting their ordinary appel- latives, with those of the hindoos also, and some other particulars, which it would be superfluous to repeat here. the moosulmans are fonder of wearing beards, their whiskers are commonly larger, and their whole appear- ance more fierce, masculine, and robust than the hindoos, the rajpoot tribe excepted. these last tie or fix the strings of their garments on the left side, while the moo- sulmans prefer the right: but they both reverse this mode in binding the collars of their vests. the hindoos in general mark their foreheads, and other parts of the face and body, with various pigments: they adorn them- selves occasionally with beads, bracelets, rings, and other trinkets; they wear round the neck a string of small beads, termed mala, and often across the shoulder and breast a collection of threads untwisted, generally called june,00, a token, from junnana, janna, to show, ken, know, whence its meaning as a distinguishing badge of their tribes.—on the contrary, finger-rings and particular in- signia of state are almost the only ornaments worn by the moosulmans, in other apparent or obvious circum- stances of counting rosaries, the form of the hair, turbans, &c., it is no easy matter always to discriminate them from the hindoos: their names however being all signifi- cant, as i have explained in the guide, can hardly ever be confounded by a hindoostanee scholar. ENGLISH AND HINDſ)0ST A N E E. 54 i same can be executed consistently with the religious pre- judices of the servant, a considerable degree of local in- formation is requisite to decide impartially upon cases of this kind. to a stranger, they will often prove per- fect paradoxes. few offices of the table can well be per- formed by the hindoos, who have any pretensions to cast; though the whole may by our moosulman servants. some casts of hindoo bearers, less scrupulous on more important matters, will not pour the hot water brought by them for tea upon eggs: while others, more trouble- somely tenacious in other respects, do it without hesita- tion. innumerable similar instances could be produced, where new-comers and uninformed old residents in india are exposed to commit the grossest injustice, and, if they give way to the violence of passion by proceeding to blows, sometimes with the most unhappy effects. yet, aware as i am, that even the mildest temper or most de- termined apathy is liable to be constantly ruffled and un- dermined, by the stupidity, perverseness, and chicanery of the natives, i would propose that impetuous young men, when irritated, should, in preference to personal: correction, and as the least of two great evils, let the storm blow over among the lower order of natives in a volley of words, like buetoolmal, murdood, muloon, kafir, &c., whose meanings he will learn perhaps, too soon, without any specification in this place. . the tatar invader tuemoor lung (miscalled tamerlane), observes, in one of his mandates respecting the hindoo- stanees, that, “regardless of honour, and indecent in “ their dress, they sacrifice their lives for trifles, and are “indefatigable in unworthy pursuits, whilst, improvident “ and imprudent, their ideas are confined, and views cir- “cumscribed. when reduced to poverty, they patiently “ have recourse to the most menial employments, forget- 542 DIALOGUES, “ting their previous circumstances, and seldom quitting “ the world without injuring their benefactors: but, “whilst the acquisition of riches tempers every atrocity, “indolence pervades even their most momentous trans- “actions. like those demons, who, with a view to de- “ ceive, can assume the most specious appearances, so “the native of hindoostan has no pretensions to huma- “nity but the figure; whilst, imposture, fraud, and decep- “tion are by him considered meritorious accomplishments. “by these arts they amass wealth, whilst the conceited “dupe, who invests them with the management of his “concerns, suddenly finds his property reduced to no- “thing. the tendency of this mandate is to preclude a “confidence in their actions, or an adoption of their ad- “vice. but when necessity compels you to have recourse “to their assistance, employ them as the mechanical, and “support them as the living instruments of labour.” i give this extract rather as a caveat against too much con- fidence, than as any authority for maltreating the people, whom their conqueror probably paints with a caricatu- rist's pencil. that many excuses made by the natives who frequent calcutta, are mere pretexts and scandalous impositions, none can be more conscious than myself. but until every master be sufficiently versed in the statistical his- tory of india, to decide between points of evasion and those of religious disqualification; or until an active, in- telligent police adjust these matters, i would seriously re- commend, that no hands should be raised to enforce obedience, except the legal arm of magistracy, among our dependants of every description. when a thoughtless youth talks of kicking and correct- ing with a cane, any native of rank or education, if no other more generous reflection will have weight with 544 DIA Log UEs, praise their horses, cattle, or any thing belonging to a native, had better be avoided by those who envy not the one, nor covet the other; and are averse to expose their insufficient acquaintance with hindoostanee customs, at the expense of their politeness also. some strange no- tions of a similar sort still exist in the remote parts of our own country, where the common people, when thus complimented, are apt enough to observe, in rather a petulant tone, “the poor thing fares only like its neigh- bours, though you say it looks better.” in good truth, our rustics occasionally still tremble at the very idea of unlucky feet and malignant eyes: nay, there is a well known anecdote of a haughty scottish earl in the neigh- bourhood of edinburgh, that indicates a little of this vul- garity in such a mighty breast. a clergyman from the city was walking with his lordship through an avenue of fine thriving trees, and remarked, how very well they throve; on which the great little man replied, “so they ought, for they have nothing else to do.” this from a libertine peer might have been construed as a cutting repartee to a fat parson, were it not recognised for an ostentatious display of lordly pride, which on another occasion displayed itself thus. the obsequious divine having lamented, that he understood the earl had been lately complaining of indisposition, was with grave pomp- osity informed, “true i was not well, but i never com- plain.” so very opposite are our notions of good breeding and accomplishments, that in most cases to conceive an indian gentleman capable of acting, dancing, or sing- ing, would be to degrade him to the lowest occupations in society, calculated for the mercenary vulgar alone. yet, these very men do not imagine, that an accidental eructation is any deviation from politeness, or that good ENGLISH AN D H IN DO O. STA N E E. 545 manners are intruded on, by talking openly on subjects, which we either carefully disguise, or altogether refrain from alluding to, in genteel company, though the na- tions on the continent, including the french, are not so scrupulous. i must not omit to notice certain modes of expression in india, very importantly connected with the subjects here discussed, and shall therefore briefly advert to the interrogative answer—muen ne nuheen kiya? did not do it? kyoon, guya nuheen 2 what, is he not gone? often meaning simply, i have done it—he is gone ; and to the word j,hooth, a lie, joke, &c. so frequently used without any offensive intention by the natives of that country. the former mode, though perhaps not altogether the most respectful, is nevertheless so intimately connected with the idiom of the language, that great allowances should be made for the use of it by the natives: and where it may otherwise have the appearance of disre- spect, it is better in such cases to consider it rather as proceeding from ignorance, than an intention to offend. as jhooth means joke, as well as lie, and is very frequently used in the former sense, a certain degree of familiarity will fully justify the use of it; without the least inten- tion in the speaker, of impeaching the veracity of the person to whom it may be applied; we must therefore overlook the circumstance of sometimes being accused of telling a white lie, and pocket the slight affront with all possible forbearance, and since it is not meant in that light, let us take the fair side of the observation only. there are many europeans who do not return the salute of a hindoostanee, from the absurd conception of degrad- ing theirselves, by performing this obvious duty of urban- ity. the real gentleman may surely be civil to all, with- out being more familiar than he deems proper with any. 2 N 546 * - DIALOGUES other europeans unwittingly acknowledge the salutation with the left hand, which is accounted, for reasons inad- missible here, very insulting, and much more unpolite, to say the least of it, than presenting among us the left for the right; or this even covered with a glove; and the still more frigid offer of a solitary finger, when a friend expects a cordial shake of the hand. are any of us cal- lous to the haughtiness, indifference, or neglect of our superiors in the observance of such ceremonies? no!—we should not therefore wonder if the hindoostanees employ their dexterity in making reprizals; and that they have already done so, with too much success, will i doubt not be evident from the sequel. when invited to the entertainments of the hindoo- stanee gentlemen, who spare no expense to render them agreeable to us, we too often lay aside that decorum and decency of behaviour, which is the smallest return they can expect, for the hospitality that requested our attend- ance.—instead of making suitable allowance for the edu- cation, manners, and customs of the natives, we rudely condemn the music, dancing, singing, and other parts of the exhibition that please them most, without reflecting on our relative situation as guests only. should the drama, or pantomime offend our modesty, nothing is so easy as to retire in silence, and, for a few minutes at least, to smother disgust and disapprobation in our own breasts. surely a prudent retreat of this sort would more fully establish our superiority in breeding and morality, than vociferous exclamations of “beastly stuff.” or in- sulting demonstrations of dislike in every feature and motion. rude clamour is by no means the unerring test of a pure and immaculate spirit, which rather meditates in silence on the weakness of humanity, than upbraids another with the consequences of tuition and habit; of ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA NE E. 547 which we, as well as the indians, are all more or less the abject slaves. it has long been customary in the east, for every do- mestic to occupy a distinct department; whence the vexation and inconvenience which attends on house- keeping there, until habit and necessity reconcile us to submission. no servant in india will cheerfully perform another's duty. certain offices can in fact be executed only by a race of mortals, depressed to the lowest stage of life for those express purposes. here again it would be cruelty and madness, to force any other attendant to assume a duty, to which a particular tribe have been born, and are trained up from their earliest years, and who, though outcasts from all society but their own, are so far from feeling the hardship of their lot, that even they pride theirselves on the due observance of certain discriminative marks of their cast. the access which the people here alluded to have ob- tained to our kitchens, their being employed instead of a furrash to sweep our rooms, and above all, their introduc- tion as our cooks, and deputy waiters, or scullions, most powerfully conspire to rivet the belief, which both moo- sulmans and hindoos cherish, that we are a defiled and impure race. i was once told very gravely by a khansa- manjee, to whom i was proposing, as an expedient to pre- vent the grooms from stealing the horses's grain, to get the sweeper to steep it: “why, sir, take that trouble P “you have only to touch it yourself, and not a man “afterwards can meddle with it for any purpose what- “ever.” our utensils of every sort are very improperly exposed to be licked by each cur that haunts our houses; but in a country like india, we ought no longer to over- look apparent trifles, when nearly connected with the es- timation and rank we must preserve in the eyes of its in- 2 N 2 548– DIA LOGUES habitants. this circumstance, and that of our out- cast cooks, deter every moosulman almost from partak- ing of any repast prepared in our houses, which, as an insulated fact, though of no great moment, yet when combined with others, becomes serious enough to make me wish for a radical reformation in the kitchen depart- ment. it might speedily be effected by encouraging the mugs, moosulmans, chinese, portuguese, and hindoos to act as cooks; rather than to persevere in employing the lowest and filthiest of the human race (people who eat carrion, act as executioners, and exclusively perform the meanest offices of life), in services so intimately connect- ed with the pleasures of the table, and the preservation of health. should gentlemen begin to affect an observ- ance of forms in this respect, it is not only probable we would rise much higher in the general estimation of the natives, but doubtless we should also be less subject to a disgusting and often dangerous indifference in our ser- vants, as to cleanliness in the preparation of our food, &c. we now, indeed, often give them too much reason to conceive, judging of us by their own prejudices, that the use of the filthiest utensils and the dirtiest rubbers in our kitchens and pantries are inconsequential to us; pro- vided a little apparent decency (they probably know not why) is kept up before our faces in the parlour or hall. toothpicks from brooms, and strainers from the worst parts of their wearing apparel, are expedients in times of hurry that we often suspect our servants to adopt. should any doubt remain on the subject, i can only say, that i have myself detected instances of both. whatever favourable estimation they may form of our courage, sagacity, and religious forbearance, it will be long before they assign us a respectable comparative rank in the 550 DIA LOGUES cutta, of introducing a mihtur or other person of the lowest cast, to bring in and carry away pork when used at our tables. this originated in the insolent refusal (to give it no worse epithet) of our moosulman servants, to perform an office that merely subjected them to the trifling pains of ablution by water: when indeed there were any among them, who thought even this pains necessary. this custom is now generally exploded. no moosulman, since our eyes have been opened in this respect, will think of refusing to lift plates or dishes, although, ac- cording to his religious tenets, defiled by pork. yet in a collateral contrast in the article of common civility and politeness, as expressed by us and the hindoostanees, we are no less shamefully imposed on, than we formerly were in regard to the practice of bringing the mihtur to our very table. we uncover the head, they do this to the feet; and these are acknowledged marks of reciprocal respect among superiors, equals, and inferiors; the omission of which would be deemed the highest insult, both among them and us respectively, when a native steps aside to say his prayers, whether there be a carpet on the spot or not, he must pull off his slippers; not as a positive act of worship, but as a decent observance or preparation only. we act in a similar manner previous to devotion, by uncovering our heads, and this we do even to a friend on visiting his dwelling; but he never conceives by this act that we mean to make an idol of him ; or that we consider his house farther than mere civility goes, as pos- sessed of any degree of sacredness, assigned by us to a temple of worship. what the hindoostanees do with their shoes in their mosques, &c. they also carefully ob- serve in a similar manner in the mansions and apartments ENG I, I SH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 551 of each other; and if this be true, as doubtless it is, the parallel is, i hope, in every respect no less so. in every part of hindoostan that i have travelled over, the people invariably uncover their feet before they enter an apartment where they believe any thing decent or human dwells. but mirabile dictu ! they intrude on the british inhabitants of calcutta and its environs, without the slightest attention to this act of politeness, most scrupulously observed among themselves, as if they were determined to trample us under the pride of cast by evincing, that to a hindoo or moosulman alone it was necessary to pay this common mark of civility or respect. among men who are biassed by religion and inveterate prejudices, and who wish all europeans to be considered as unclean and contaminated creatures, contrasted with their noble selves, surely the honest pride and indignation ofevery european british subject will be excited to co-operate in combating and exploding so monstrous an innovation on the respect, certainly due to us as men, and particu- larly so by the natives of india. it is so far fortunate, that the unreasonable advantage taken by the purseproud hindoostanee upstarts of our apathy and ignorance, is in a great degree confined to the metropolis of bungalu and the sister presidencies; but as the evil is daily spreading, and the audacity extending even to the lower order of our servants, it may be high time to attempt to crush this cockatrice-egg for ever, with no other act of violence be- yond the resolution of doing ourselves justice in the mildest way. - the advocates for the continuance of our indifference on this point are of course all the baboos, deewans, sur- kars, moonshees, and other jees in calcutta; who have had 552 DIA LOGUES the art and address to persuade some otherwise intelligent men, that the freedom here complained of, is quite inno- cent in its nature ; nay, that to preserve themselves from contamination in our dwellings, they cannot act other- wise. our dogs are accused of defiling our floors, and we of spitting on them by the spotless hindoostanees; who also say that our carpets and mats are therefore equally polluted with the streets, on which no decent person of course walks barefooted. i have already, i trust, demonstrated that religion is here out of the ques- tion; but the fact of it's not being yet on this occasion urged by our inferior servants, whose souls certainly are as worthy of preservation as those of their more exalted brethren, fully proves that theological reasons cannot be urged in extenuation of the offence, committed against us and every law of hospitality. granting, however, that such arguments might be urged, whether is it more rea- sonable, that we should be scandalously and openly in- sulted; or that the purity or delicacy of those, who com- plain of the uncleanness of our apartments, should be saved, by their being put to the expense of a few anas for socks, (which are occasionally used by them) to be worn on their visits to our houses 2 as we do not insist on the better sorts of natives sit- ting on our floors, but allow them chairs, i can perceive no pretext whatever for any further indulgence; nor can i imagine that the favourite moonshee or dependant who shall persist in approaching his employer with shoes on his feet, after the matter is explained to him, can be really a man entitled to any consideration. i shall sus- pect that he possesses an arrogant head, if not a very treacherous heart. men in debt, or under pecuniary ob- ligations to their native attendants, will perhaps be oblig- ed by them to succumb, as it is not the nature of an ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA NEE. 553 indian to let his master reassume that dignity, which a crafty and opulent servant has for a length of time trod upon, with triumphant insolence. i introduced the practice of leaving shoes at my door while in india with every success, nor have i met with one man who could for a moment defend any attempt to keep them on. so far from it, that persons from the upper provinces have often testified their surprise to me, at our suffering the impertinence of the calcutta people in this essential point of respect so long. among ourselves, some wiseacres urge, that the native who comes bowing and cringing into our company, can- not really mean to disrespect us by wearing his shoes. but to this my reply is, the introductory homage is mo- mentary, and not much observed ; the slipper freedom on the contrary is permanent, and attracts the regard and admiration of every domestic, who has not yet insinuated so far into the good graces of his superior, as to venture on the introduction of his brogues also. other gentle- men, sensible of the impropriety of the act, but conceiv- ing the proper remedy now impracticable, without a more hearty concurrence in the cause than our apathy will ap- parently admit of, have ludicrously proposed to order their servants of all descriptions, under the penalty of high displeasure, not to offend their master's delicacy of sight, by the future unseemly exposure of their naked feet. this perhaps, or receiving every non-conforming hindoostanee in a bare room, would be preferable to the derogatory mode submitted to now ; unless for the sake of private and public conciliation, along with domestic peace, it might be advisable at once to permit every body in boots or a species of buskin socks, called paetabu, to wear them in our presence, which would obviate all chance of contamination on one hand, or pedal nudity on 554 DIA LOGU LS the other; and thus regulated, might soon appear to pro- ceed from no want of proper deference to the person visited in that manner, which cannot otherwise be the CaSe. the excuse sometimes urged, for taking the shoe liberty with gentlemen who may oppose it, that “ of the offender being allowed to use it in the houses of much greater men,” is scarcely worth notice: since as an argu- ment it merely amounts to this, “a. b. c. allow me to tread on them ; x, y, z. should not complain when tram- pled on also.” the natives wearing their shoes in some instances at their own maches frequented by us, is rather in favour of, than against my arguments. we often im- properly wear our hats at their houses, and they in return shew their determination to be on a footing with us, even at the sacrifice of a sense of propriety in favour of them- selves. but were a contrary construction to be put on this fact, and were it, and the excuse above quoted, to be allowed any degree of weight in favour of the assumption of shoes on the part of the natives, both might be suc- cessfully opposed by a fact also very notorious—that of the curious european stranger being made, contrary to all rule, to unslipper himself, when desirous of viewing the inside of the palaces of any of their great men. if he be in boots, as these are considered an indispensable part of military dress, the ceremony is waved, which shews, that the idea of his defiling the apartments has little weight in the extraordinary mark of respect other- wise required of him. it is indeed rather one among many of those instances seized by the crafty hindoo- stanee, to lower the european character in an obvious comparison:—what they well know to be meant by.us as a mark of respect, equal to that paid by us to the highest among ourselves in india, is not sufficient for them, while 556 DIALOGUES confer it upon the descendants of the prophet called meer, such a one, but we are mistird and jeed without cere- mony, as being of an inferior order for whom jee is high enough. we should never lose sight of one object which many of the natives have in view; when they thrust theirselves into the private assemblies of men of rank; when they affect to have free ingress to their houses; when they can use the freedom to loll on their couches, and occasion- ally are indulged by a game at chess with them and their families, with their shoes on. this intercourse, not being altogether consonant to the religious prejudices of many of the natives, cannot prove agreeable to them ; but, it serves the dangerous purpose, to confound their wonder- struck countrymen into the most abject submission. per- ceiving the height of insolence and supposed power, to which the monied men have ascended, it is naturally pre- sumed they could hurl the thunder of influence against any wretch, who should be rash enough to assert his liberty to breathe the vital air in their despight. an opulent hindoostanee requires no more than the mere appearance of intimacy with the great, to enable him to brow-beat or oppress his neighbours, or those who have real cause of complaint against him. the mere abi- lity to assert—“well, i have had such a confidential con- “versation with our chief to-day, he honors me so highly “that i wear my shoes in his company; nay, between “ourselves, i have had it in my power to accommodate “ him with a lak,h or two of rupees, by way of loan.”— this is more than enough to petrify the hearts of a thou- sand indian auditors with terror and dismay. a rich, sleek, insidious baboo-jee, who lends cash to superiors, on such occasions is sufficiently versed in the arithmetic of hindoostanee policy to secure the money, and a species ENGLISH AN D H IN DOOSTA NEE. 557 of compound interest, on principles perfectly congenial to his feelings, however repugnant to those of his patron, who, good easy man, most probably never adverted to the deep-laid scheme of circumventing his honour and probity in this way, for the basest purposes. it is not enough that the legislature have wisely prohi- bited presents, as only a modified species of bribery and corruption, when the wealthy natives can still with im- punity, and the most pernicious consequences, lend the chief or other officer of a district enormous sums, and can also lose to them whatever they choose at play. men long acquainted with indian affairs, and whose hearts are as sound as their heads are clear, need not be warned, of what they themselves will most conscientiously avoid. this is not exactly the case, however, with the in- experienced youth, who proceed for hindoostan to occupy the highest stations in the state, and who, unless put on their guard, may yet split on this latent rock, so obnoxi- ous to the happiness and prosperity of british india, and to the good effects of the salutary laws and regulations, which are or should be blended, framed, and administered, with the liberal and benign spirit of the british constitu- tion, by the several governments in that most fertile and delicious portion of the globe. a wealthy native having such access to the principal officers of any district as above detailed, has the easiest task imaginable, without the expense of a single douceur, to constitute himself receiver general of bribes for the whole; and to retire in independence, before his unsus- pecting protectors could well be aware of his conduct and designs. the wages of corruption here, are similar to the gambling debts at home—considered as sacred to honor. the donor is equally bound to conceal with the receiver: whence the difficulty of learning, till too late, 558 DIALOGUES * what a native favourite has been carrying on in his un- conscious superior's name. a preventive is surely much better than a cure, for this undermining evil, and should be adopted by every honest man in power as soon as possible. i have been an eye witness of a whole district in motion to complain of a native magistrate for his rapacity and extortion, but who were silenced in one moment, by the man cunningly managing to procure for his son a khilut, or honorary dress, from the investigating british officer; who unguardedly delivered it to the boy on his waiting upon him. the khilut had been brought on purpose by the father, and was disposed of, as above related, about an hour before his accusers could appear, to bring him if possible to justice, this apparent mark of influence and favor, though so surreptitiously obtained, had the desired effect of appalling the sufferers, they retired, and left their oppressor to chuckle over, and enjoy with impunity, the iniquitous fruits of his own adroitness. that the indians are adepts in the science of circumven- tion, no man conversant with them can deny; it behoves all of us, therefore, to prevent their making us the uncon- scious abettors of their injustice. this they obtain the means of perpetrating, through circuitous channels, and under the most trivial circumstances of real or imaginary ascendancy, with a success, equalled only by the ef. frontery and perseverance exerted by them in all such infamous pursuits. if the hints communicated here, and in my other works, shall tend to conduct any of my countrymen with credit and safety through those endless mazes of hindoostanee tergiversation, to which they must be exposed, i shall consider myself amply repaid for the pains i have not failed to take, as must be evident from my freedom of speech on this interesting theme, involv- 560 IDIA LOGUES dustry, without whose friendly aid each lofty genius were a barren tree, and fancy's flights a garden full of weeds. idleness, on the contrary, is the prolific parent of all vice, and the insidious assassin of every virtue, especially when cherished in the lap of a warm delicious region, beneath a vertical sun and cloudless skies, whose serenity alone is calculated to lull the most vigilant spirit that ever breathed, to inglorious repose, and into the miseries of life which follow in her train. mere animal exercise and motion applied in the most laudable manner, though wholesome and requisite, are not such powerful antidotes to vicious propensities as mental exertions and pursuits; every individual, therefore, must find it a matter of the greatest moment to his present and future happiness, to mount as speedily as possible some scientific, professional, useful, or innocent hobby, on which he may ride with safety, success, and pleasure, the live-long day and every conscious hour of night, even amidst the luxurious plains of british india, uncorrupted or defiled by their glaring impurities. if the readers of my lucubrations can only extract a saving portion of animating fire from them, to constitute their departure from this country a starting post in any profitable career, a victory over indolence and intemperance will be gained before the battle hath well begun; and the most docile steed that i can furnish for running the proposed race, is an accurate knowledge of the hindoostanee tongue, with a taste for oriental litera- ture, in its utmost extent. that solitary sacrifices and promiscuous intercourse on the altar of unhallowed de- sire, is in fact sowing the seeds of bad health on the brink of a premature grave, no man acquainted with the human frame, and its exposure to infection, can deny; and all who shall foolishly attempt to save their purses by those expedients, may pay dearly in enervated persons for their ENGLISH AND HIN DOOSTAN EE. . 561 economical plans of weathering the storm of precocious excitement, in the centre of universal immorality in this instance, or that of general concubinage. many people have lived long enough after their return from the east, to think that the last mentioned resource was ultimately productive of worse consequences than any bodily com- plaint whatever, the numerous crying sins, for which they had thus become responsible, being alone a terrific idea on this side of time, independent of everlasting punishment, beyond the present state of existence, for their procreation. the last, but by no means the least panacea, is undoubtedly that of seasonable matrimony, to which it will be wise to fly from the various ills of every other nostrum, being better, in the language of scripture, to marry than to burn, with concupiscent oil, that may daily add fuel to the lambent flame in this holy condition, which is the very reverse in all the rest, as most rakes and libertines have found, when too late, to their cost. to counterbalance the increased expense of matrimonial incumbrances, a new stimulus to sobriety and lucrative labour, with additional influence and respect in the eyes of god and man, besides domestic felicity and comfort, occupy the bright side of the picture, and contribute with renovated activity to exalt, embellish, and render society delightful, while an old battered bachelor has to mourn in silence over his lot forlorn, and cheerless passage to the gloomy-tomb. the rigid seclusion of the female ser, by the asiatics in general, has produced a species of anacreontic poetry, the subjects of which must, of course, greatly detract from the elegance and beauty otherwise visible in many of those amatory effusions; so striking, indeed, that the great father of orientalism in the west was fascinated with their charms; and from the total want of serual terminations and pronouns in the melo- 2 o 564 DIA LOGUES, tions on this subject, and those marks of respect for the support of our own consequence and relative rank among them, which we ought by all proper means invariably to exact from them, with as much of the suaviter in modo as possible. among the former, there is one article that requires par- ticular notice, because it seems but little attended to, even by the natives, and therefore without explanation may not be well understood. i allude to our mode of wetting wa- fers, and immediately after presenting our letters, thus closed with them, to our servants, whether hindoos or moo- sulmans. the indelicacy, if not the impropriety of this, must be obvious on the slightest reflection, and an atten- tion to matters of this kind, will ever mark the conduct and disposition of the true bred gentleman. the practice of wetting wafers, as we do, cannot be very agreeable, even to ourselves: but as the remedy is very simple, the mode stigmatized here, i trust, will soon be exploded al- together. a little water may be kept on our writing desks to dip the wafer in, and this can be done, either by our servants or ourselves, from not attending to an expedient of this sort, we sometimes see a native writer bring, even to his master, a letter with a wafer to be closed by him, with a gesture that seems to say, “though you indeli- cately oblige me to receive a note from your hands im- properly wetted, yet my superiority of nature shall be evi- dent to every by-stander, by my obliging you to perform for me an office, that your very scullion would hesitate to execute!” such other unexplained circumstances as may be here noted, i must leave entirely to the investigating enquiries of new comers, to enable them fully to under- stand them. we should never give a native a letter closed with a wafer wetted, except in water. we should never present ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTAN E E. 565 anything to them with our left hands; nor put our feet on a chair or table occupied by them; nor in their presence lift up our feet, so that the soles of our shoes may face to- wards them. we should never touch them unnecessarily, especially their beards, nor take off their pugrees, or tur- bans; this last act being understood by them as an insult, figuratively equal to depriving them of their heads, we should not give them three of any thing, when we can conveniently avoid it, and we should observe that they are not fond of sums in cyphers. a nod of the head from us, as a salute, is much less respectful in their estimation than a courteous motion with our right hands. it has been al- ready explained, that the left hand is for this purpose in- admissible; nevertheless, as an expedient of polite neces- sity, we see their great men at their own durbar or levee constantly keep both hands going; lest either on the right or on the left, among the number of salutations of. fered, one might possibly pass unacknowledged.—in the same manner, the sacredness of the beard is waved on solemn occasions, when they ardently invoke each other by it to the performance of some required concession; and the exchange of pugrees is likewise considered the most solemn tie of reciprocal friendship. we should not say to any native kya mangta, literally what do you beg : but kya chahiye, what is necessary P and vice versä, we should say panee, &c. chahiye not mangta, when calling for anything. we should be cautious of giving to a warfaring follower, or armed servant, an order for the simple chastisement of another, in the terms of maro ! for an explanation of the danger of this, and for some particulars regarding the best mode of exacting truth from the natives, i shall subjoin as follows. “the reader must learn, that marna, like the verb to smite, has a very equivocal meaning; properly it should signify to kill, being the regular efficient from mur- 566 DIALOGUES, na, to die; whereas it commonly signifies to beat only, the place, time, and manner it is introduced, serve to illus- trate its particular acceptation; but which, however, can- not in every instance be accurately ascertained, without a proper knowledge of the language : an acquisition, that in courts martial may sometimes contribute to preserve the life of a fellow creature, and which will always be of use, in doing that justice, which is expected from, and is really consistent with the character of a british officer. an order, in particular cases, hastily and inconsiderately given, with the verb marna, might be attended with the most fatal consequences ; especially if an armed sipahee were inclined to do a rash action, by taking advantage of such an ambiguous command, as oosko maro, smite him, to which he might perhaps be impelled, either from a malicious intention to ruin his own officer, or from a desire of revenge on the unfortunate victim to his villany. if ever such an accident should happen, the decision of a court upon it must almost entirely depend on the knowledge which the members (or the person who acts as interpreter for them) may have of the hindoostanee language. the advantages, nay, the necessity of an ac- quaintance with which, from this and many similar cir- cumstances which might be adduced, may be rendered so obvious, as in a great measure to exculpate the author from a charge of presumption, when he ventures to re- commend the matter to the serious attention of those, whose duty, interest, or inclination, may lead them at any time to be connected with the natives, it will, however, be impossible for him also to avoid the imputation of be- ing, on this subject, interested and selfish; he therefore candidly avows it in part, but at the same time takes the liberty of observing, that his readers in general, for their own sakes, will in fact be as much interested in a compli- ENGLISH AND HIN DOOSTAN EE. 569 superior, or the people standing by, when the former may be absent, and the latter under his (the sipahee's) con- troul: when an inferior thous his superior, the following reproof will silence him immediately:-ube too khubur- dar ho hum se toon tan jo kud hee pher kure tou too khoob mark,ha ega; hum teree uesee be udubee se hurgiz burdasht nukuringe; which i shall english thus: “take thou care, sirrah, if ever thou thouest us again, thou shalt be severely punished; we shall never put up with such insolence from thee.” after what had been observed above, it is incumbent on me to mention, that in some cases too and tera may be very properly used by an inferior, thus, u,e sahib muen tera ghoolam hoon o too mera khawind hue jo chahiye so moj,he keejiye.’ ‘o! sir, i am thy slave, and thou art my master; do with me as seemeth good unto thee.’ here is absolute obedience and resignation to the will of one person, and therefore it could neither have been so properly expressed by toomhara, your, and toom, you; nor can it possibly be considered as disrespectful. if a man be not anxious to preserve the respect and atten- tion due to his station as an individual, it is not likely that he will be very solicitous about the consequence and dignity of his country and nation; though surely nothing can be more destructive to subordination and discipline,than that the meanest indian soldier should have the audacity to address a british officer in the language of contempt, and that the latter should either be so ignorant or so in- different as to submit to an insult derogatory in a great degree to both his rank and his understanding. a native, on being checked for the disrespect in question, from a consciousness of having committed a fault, will imme- diately change his mode of address to “ap,” or “ap ka,” your honour, and so on. we should enquire into the cast, or relative rank among theirselves, of our servants 570 DIALOGUES, * of all descriptions, and be careful that none are admitted to attendance upon us, in capacities that may lower us in the estimation of the surrounding natives. acts of un- cleanliness in our servants we should firmly reprehend; and even lead them to believe our delicacy on these points to be founded on something more than mere squeamishness of appetite; since it is of religious purity alone that they on this score can form any adequate idea. an observation here occurs that may be worthy the consi- deration of the zealous missionaries of our holy religion. it is a fact, that hindoo proselytes to the moohummudun faith have been made, and not unfrequently among fa- milies of rank and consideration in the country; while the christian doctrines have failed among all classes, ex- cept those whose example is more likely to deter than lead the great body of the people. yet the roman catho- lic missionaries have tried the allurement of a sufficient mixture of eastern pomp and pageantry in their religious ceremonies: but the less objectionable, though, for the end desired, the more effectual innovation of giving to moral purity a religious basis, has been totally overlooked, or spurned at as altogether inconsistent with the doctrines taught by them to the natives. we should be careful in sending verbal messages, to give no handle to our ser- vants to deliver them in insolent language. this they are ever eager for an opportunity of doing; and when it occurs that such is delivered to ourselves, we ought ever to be more apt to consider it as proceeding from the bearer, than consistent with the intention of the sender, and to check it by a proper rebuke accordingly, although a superior may unwittingly desire his servant verbally to call such a gentleman, yet the servant has no right to de- liver his message in such terms; it should be “humare ENGLISH AND HINDOOST ANEE. 57.1 º, sahib me ap ko sulam kuhla bheja hue.” “sir, my master gives his compliments;”—or “humare Sahib me ap ko yad kiya hy,” “sir, my master is thinking of you.”. servants often conceive that, paying a necessary degree of respect to their own masters, they are exempt from all deference to other gentlemen, hence their unrestrained noisy im- pertinence before strangers; their replying to enquiries sitting, and often smoking; with other instances of marked disrespect, in the absence of their masters, a grave and dignified rebuke will ever have the wished-for effect, without further trouble, on occasions of this kind: we should however carefully check every tendency to in- stances of this species of impertinence which we may observe in our own servants. i shall conclude this article with a solemn, but humble word of advice in behalf of the lower classes of my own countrymen, in which hu- manity and policy are equally concerned. when public duty calls upon gentlemen to deliver a european offender into, hindoostanee custody, it behoves them to enjoin his keepers in the most pointed manner to afford him that humane treatment, to which every prisoner of whatever nation is entitled. it is, i fear, too usual with the natives to take opportunities of this kind for the practice of every indignity, and the exercise of every species of unpro- voked cruelty, that the pretence of a struggle for liberty will in any measure justify... we should therefore minutely sift into matters of this kind, where the prisoner has reason to conceive himself ill-used: and at the same time that we point out to him the inefficacy and ill consequences to himself of refractoriness, he should ever meet a ready justice, in the punishment of any unnecessary harshness with which it may appear he has been treated. were any of my readers to conclude, from what i have ENGLISH AND HINDOOSTA NEE. 573 too, i have, by the advice of several intelligent friends, yielded to the tide against me, by publishing at once a large collection of dialogues, colloquies, &c. in this work, but without a constant reference to the rules on which their construction depends, after having given as many illustrations of the grammatical principles on which the whole are founded, as any reasonable student can require, and probably more than could be expected in a performance like the present. it has been very justly observed, that thousands of people speak english remarkably well, with- out being able to assign any other cause for their doing so, than the simple rule of practice to which from infancy they have been accustomed: the very same rule therefore may, with the most salutary consequences, be supposed to apply to the popular mode of learning the general lan- guage of india. at all events, these dialogues must prove very useful exercises for regular scholars in their progress through the rudiments of the hindoostanee, to facilitate a reference to the dialogues, i have attempted to sys- tematise them, as much as possible, in the following use- ful and easy manner. thus, under the article speaking, its various ramifications of telling, explaining, ordering, directing, saying, con- versing, observing, &c. &c. will all appear; and under eating, may in like manner be found drinking, sipping, sucking, smoking, snuffing.—the names of eatables and drinkables, as well as the utensils connected with them, will in general be met with under breakfasting, &c., but such very necessary sentences, as cannot well come regu- larly under any particular head, may be treated as mis- cellaneous, and will occur in the course of our progress, wherever they may appear most beneficial to all classes of readers, among whom the civil, military, and medical 574 DIALOGUES, servants of the honourable company will perceive their several duties have not been overlooked. how far the arrangement will answer present expecta- tion, is a question which time only can answer satisfac- torily, however simple and concatenated the principles may appear on which the whole has been founded. the prominent verb or principal word of every sentence, will naturally lead to the classification of the dialogues, and thus point out the page very readily to every reader, who may previously consult the index or contents for that purpose. - when conversations in hindoostanee take a literary or historical turn, without some acquaintance with the tech- nical terms of grammar and common names, it would be impossible for a beginner to bear any part in the colloquy, satisfactorily for his self or the audience, unless certain facilities be afforded him here for such an ordeal. towards the end of the dialogues, a large collection of grammatical words, such as verb, noun, &c. will be found; and still further on, among the names of places, the learner has at his command a variety of persons, famous in scripture or history, whose appellations are very differently pro- nounced in the eastern and western world: so much so indeed, as to make their identity rather equivocal, though in many instances the coincidence be pretty correct; thus, habiyul abel, ibraheem abraham, adum adam, ibnyumeen benjamin, and so on. - when a person discovers, that with a little assiduous and persevering attention to the mere orthograpical key of this work, he is enabled in the course of a week, to read many sentences in the hindoostamee with elegance, and grammatical precision, he will naturally feel some wish to know why and how this happens, 576 DIALOGUES, satisfaction and a greater chance of being understood by the high and low people of india, than he can derive from any other mode yet submitted to the public. we may conclude this portion of the preface, by fairly asserting, that in spite of every precaution there are many words, with a final inspirate, so uncommonly troublesome to be- ginners, that months may elapse before they can master the requisite inspiration, though the h be often a very essential discriminative letter, as in sat,h, with; bag,h, a tiger; dood,h, milk; gurh, a fort; kooch,h, some ; thus distinguished from sat, seven ; bag, a bridle rein; dood, smoke; g,hur, a house; kooch, the breast; and kooch, a march; in kooch,h, with a few such, the h is scarcely per- ceptible to the ear, and in all the rest, in fact, it is by no means a full very distinct aspirate; sat,h must not there- fore be made satuhu, sathu, nor satuh, but merely sath, with a smooth gentle inspiration, as close after the t as l is to r in curl, purl, &c. in our language. the references from one work to another should often be made, with the view to impress the subject more com- pletely on the mind, and, in some cases, to let the scholar reap the fruits of his own diligence, by discovering a few repetitions and omissions, which he cannot possibly find out unless he reads and weighs every part with more than ordinary assiduity. in this event he certainly will catch me apparently tripping, and be thereby enabled to correct some errors purposely left for the due exercise of youthful reflection upon them. it would answer a very good end, were the letter a in rat, night, pat, a leaf, written in pencil upon every beginner's thumb nail, thus, awe that he may not make a little animal in english out of the first, and an honest irishman from the second monosyllable, by not calling them raut, paut, with the long awe, but rat, pat, 578 DIALOGUES, cially the h, so liable to be introduced or omitted by heed- less englishmen when and where it ought not, a vulgar practice that exposes them to substitute alut for halut, or, though not quite so bad, hurna, a buck, when they mean urna, a wild buffalo, the aspirants to whom i allude make more than an inch out of an ell, for they convert this to hell, while in the very same breath they reduce hear to the organ ear, whence by their aid perhaps this verb originally sprang. In acquiring the hindoostanee, through the medium of these sheets, the learner will find it his interest to go en- tirely through them in a cursory manner, that he may im- mediately possess a tolerably accurate idea of their con- tents in general, previous to that particular, reiterated perusal, which alone is calculated to stimulate thought and reflection to an adequate comprehension of every es- sential part, which ought to be indelibly imprinted on the memory, rather as the produce of intellectual exertion, than of mere parrot-like efforts by a thoughtless school- boy, whose soul may occasionally prove sluggish enough to require hard knocking at the door of its mansion before one can stimulate the spirit within to persevering exertion, even during this very essential pursuit of future ease, honours, and fortune, in the distant regions of the east, through the medium of the grand colloquial speech of all india, should any sapient sneerer cock his nose at the term grand or popular, which i apply to the hindoostanee, let him recollect, that i have an equal right to raise the dignity and renown of this important tongue, which others have who talk of the divine hebrew, the sacred sunskrit, the sublime arabic, the celestial persian, or who reverence the name of a heaven-born premier, a grand turk, or the great mooghul.—all this is a matter of mere taste, and ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 579 when i prefer the utile dulci-de gustibus non est dispu- tandum. on the particular theme of eastern pedantry, i have ob- served so much in page 248 of the guide, that it would almost prove a mere repetition to state more to the same purpose here; i cannot, however, suppress the following remarks. although persian writings are too often liable to the very same misplaced display of arabic erudition, which every person will detect even in the best hindoo- stanee authors, i have been credibly informed, that the present monarch of persia is very partial to simplicity of style in his epistolary correspondence and compositions; consequently, that the modern language of his dominions now inclines much more to the ancient puhluwee, than ever it has yet done, since the moosulmans subjugated that delightful country, and its fascinating original tongue. how far the present countenance, which the hindoostanee receives from the highest authority now in india will be equally successful in reducing its compositions in future to the level of common sense, and the comprehension of the people at large, time only can tell; and i fondly hope, that the hoary sage will not frustrate all my endeavours for so desirable an event to the natives of india, as well as ourselves. - to persian works composed by the people of india, the very same objections may be started that actually exist against hindoostanee compositions executed by moosul- mans born in bungalu. to the former, the real vernacular speech of persia must be very imperfectly known, and that it has a considerable bias to the publuwee seems pretty evident from many particulars, which cannot with propriety be introduced here. writers, under such cir- cumstances, must conceal their want of local knowledge 2 P 2 ENGLISH AN ID H IN DOOSTAN E E. 581 the persevering efforts which i have made to banish all learned lumber from the hindoostanee, will not, at this period, i flatter myself, be misconstrued into any wish for the expulsion also of all concord, propriety, accuracy of speech, and pronunciation, by those men who, not having at first acquired the grammar of that language, wisely af. fect afterwards to undervalue and despise it. the absurd and risible blunders that inexperienced or foolish scholars must at first commit, in their indiscriminate essays to speak grammatically to individuals of the various tribes and nations scattered over india, as johnson observes on a similar occasion, “may for a time furnish folly with laughter, and harden ignorance in contempt, but useful diligence will at last prevail, and there can never be want- ing some who distinguish desert.” should my exposure of hindoostanee pedantry ever be maliciously represented as a hostile attack on the learned languages of the east, let my enemies carefully peruse the polyglot translation of esop's fables, and then candidly declare how little i merit such censure, and how much those very acquisitions are esteemed by me, though i have not yet enjoyed leisure enough for any great progress in them myself. that arabic and sunscrit are the grand sources of profound oriental literature, i never was silly enough to deny; on the contrary, i respect them in the higher regions of science, as they richly deserve. it is only when these deep fountains overflow their natural bounds, and come sweeping down like a torrent on the plains of common sense, language and ordinary discourse, that i take up arms to oppose their overwhelming career. i, perhaps absurdly, conceive that a wide diffusion of classical east- ern erudition is neither very requisite for our general trans- actions in india, nor that it is so conducive to mental in- provement, happiness, and morality, as our own, however 582 DIA LOGUES, much i may rejoice to see the british youth in progress of time sufficiently initiated in the grammar, idiom, and use- ful works of all the languages spoken or understood in india, after learning the most essential of the whole, be- fore they proceed to that distant region. whoever reflects for a moment, that the people who speak their own gene- ral language grammatically, are invariably understood much better by the vulgar in each province, than they can comprehend the provincial dialects, i fancy he will not hesitate to decide in favour of learning the hindoo- stanee on sound principles at once, leaving those particu- lar acquisitions to future exertion when they also prove essential. if education be an ingredient in the character of a gentleman among us, its limits must be narrow in- deed, when they do not embrace a grammatical knowledge of our own tongue; then why despise the same criterion in other languages 2 some very young students have been absolutely deterred from learning the most popular speech of india, by assurances that neither i nor my scholars can make ourselves understood by the natives. if those good men, who so confidently say so, could only accompany my pupils or me, by way of trial, through all the intermediate stages of society in hindoostan, i am confident of convinc- ing them in person, that they never were more mischiev- ously deceived or mistaken in their lives, and that to deter others, who cannot know better, from a useful pursuit, by fabricated stories of blunders which never existed, is a species of green-horned bull-baiting, neither very manly nor becoming in any gentleman. the sunskrit being the grand palladium of every hindoo art and science, a knowledge of it is indispensable for any person who expects to be, when circumstances require it, an adept in the religious and civil history of india: on the other hand, the arabic is no less advantageous in all ENGLISHI A N D H IN DO OSTAN E E. 583 that relates to mohummud and his followers, though my suspicions are strong against every hope of learning one solitary truth in the whole circle of science, that does not actually exist or has not already been much better ex- plained in most of the european tongues. youths of extraordinary talents might be deputed, at the expense of the state, with encouraging allowances, ex- pressly to acquire beneficial arts and recondite knowledge abroad, in the several walks of life, for which their various capacities may prove best adapted, wherever these really can be found, were the common weal the pole star of all governments, or utility preferred by them to worse pursuits. men who leave their native homes, merely in quest of fortune in foreign climes, have commonly important duties to perform, which allow them little leisure to culti- vate that local science and information with sufficient ac- curacy, which might probably be acquired in every region of the globe, were people resident there with no other official avocations, one class of such scholars may, with great propriety, be compared to simple gleaners in the wide fields of a literary harvest, from whom the public can expect but a slender stock for the commonwealth of letters; whereas men appointed purposely to this duty, must become reapers at once, and, to preserve their own character, will naturally return loaded with an ample sup- ply of literary materials to their patrons and employers. in this way, a few years will effect more in the service of real knowledge, than a century possibly can procure by the other, in which it must be recollected, that half of the subsequent time is too often fruitlessly spent in forgetting or correcting all the mistakes generated during the pre- ceding period of desultory research; and on the whole, it has long since been discovered how truly advantageous national ignorance is to the few who rule the roost, be- ENGLISH AND H IN DOOST AN E E. 585 pressive vexation, extortion, and cruelty towards our na- tive subjects; and how much loss of character, how much disgrace and ruin to the unfortunate european, whose ig- norance has delivered him over to that helpless and de- pendent thraldom, and wedded his fair fame and his best hopes to the chances of so foul a connexion, making him responsible in his reputation and fortune for the corruption of a servant, whom this one defect has erected into his master, and into the arbiter of his fate; how much public loss and calamity; how much individual shame and ruin, have resulted, and are daily resulting, from this cause, a very short acquaintance with the affairs of india will too clearly show. to these serious evils the government of this country has determined to oppose the best remedies it can devise, instruction in these languages has been provided, both in england and in bengal, for the junior members of the service, every imaginable facility is fur- nished, as you are now experiencing, to the diligent student, and amongst other incentives, we are this day employed in one, and not the least efficacious means to stimulate and quicken study.”—on the various works pre- paring for publication his lordship observes, that “meer sher ulee, the head moonshee in the hindoostanee depart- ment of the college, having compiled and arranged, in the hindoostanee language, a work on the history and geo- graphy of india, has been encouraged by the college to print it for publication. the dissemination, by means of the press, of works composed by natives eminent for their knowledge and practical skill in this dialect, must gra- dually polish, and fix a standard of excellence in a lan- guage, which, though long employed as an elegant medium of colloquial intercourse, and as the vehicle of poetical imagery, has hitherto been little used for prose compo- sition.” ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 587 east, are yet little aware of the vast advantages they would derive by being able to converse immediately with clients, liable to be betrayed by every third person who may act as interpreter, in law pleas, where often secrecy of coun- sel alone can command success. young men connected with the maritime or nautical affairs of india, cannot have recourse to a better monitor than roebuck's valuable little work styled a naval vocabu- lary, which is well calculated for study at sea, when there are intelligent indian sailors to consult on the subject by every passenger. to corroborate my notions of the hindoostanee's supe- rior claims to attention, even above the persian tongue, as well as my own acknowledged success in that depart- ment, i shall insert extracts of letters from the late resi- dent at dilhee, and major smith, who is not only a native of india, but a gentleman of so much knowledge and ex- perience as an excellent oriental scholar and military cha- racter, that he has been actually employed in high confi- dential situations by our government, while the former is at present chief secretary in the secret and political depart- ment in bengal. “i trust that i shall be able to give you some satisfac- tory information on the subject on which you express a natural anxiety. in every part of india in which i have been employed, from calcutta to the vicinity of lahor, and from the mountains of kumaoon to the nurbuda, among ufghans, murhatus, rajpoots, j,hats, seek,hs, and the va- rious tribes which inhabit the countries through which i have travelled, i have found the general use of the lan- guage in which you instructed me. there are various dialects and modes of speaking; great patience is fre- quently required to understand or be understood; our ears are not always prepared to receive the sounds that 588 DIA LOGUES, are uttered ; and at first the natives cannot understand our tone and manner, without frequent repetition: these difficulties are likely to occur in most places; but from my own experience, and the information which i have re- ceived from others, i would venture to walk from cape comorin to cashmeer, or from ava to the mouths of the indus, confident that i should everywhere find people who could speak the hindoostanee. i do not mean to say that i should not find people who could not speak it: it is well known that many different languages are talked within the vast space which i have mentioned; it would be strange if it was not so; but hindoostanee is the language which is generally useful, and it is more extensively general, i believe, than any other language in the world. i am nothing more than a half-way proficient in the language, but the greater my ignorance, the stronger is my testi- mony, and as far as my testimony will go, the general utility of the hindoostanee shall be extolled. i think that the world is particularly indebted to you, and ought to be thankful for your zealous and honourable exertions, in promoting the circulation of this most useful and im- portant branch of oriental literature. zuban dan i oordoo hue uesa ki aj hue qanoon i hindee ko os seriwaj. and i beg leave to assure you, that i am, with esteem, your's faithfully. (signed) “c. t. metcalfe.” “ calcutta, aug. 29, 1806.” 590 dialogues, zeal for the honourable cause, in which you have been so long engaged. “mootd kuhta hymera ajyih hur natid se; “soton kee neend men kurne ko khululja,oonga. “i send you the opinion of one of the first and best informed men at madras, on the subject of the languages, necessary for carrying on the duties at that presidency, as far as hindoostanee is concerned.” extract of a letter from a gentleman at madras, dated “19th june, 1802.” “it is scarcely necessary for me to notice the hin- doostanee dialect, the extent and force of which are suffi- ciently known to all persons who have directed their at- tention either to the business or to the literature of india. a copious knowledge of that dialect is, in my judgment, alone sufficient for the transaction of ordinary affairs in any part of the territories under this government; but it will be obvious to you, that the use of it will be found more extensive and more common in those parts which have been more immediately, and for a longer period of time, subjected to the mahomedan yoke. throughout the territories of the nabob of arcot, and the balaghaut do- minions of the late tippoo sultan, the use of the hin- doostanee dialect is familiar to all persons employed in the public offices of government, and to a great portion of the common people; but this observation is more ex- tensively applicable to mysoor than to the carnatic. all the officers of the sultan's government having been maho- medans, who are generally too proud or too ignorant to understand any but their own language, the hindoostanee necessarily became the general channel of communication ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 591 in the departments of the army, the law, and the revenue. it is long since the same causes have ceased to affect the general manners of the carnatic under the nabobs of arcot. the armies nominated for its protection have been composed of natives of every description, and exclusively commanded by european officers: few traces of a judicial establishment are discoverable : the nabobs of arcot have taken into their service european ministers; and those mi- nisters have necessarily employed interpreters or dubashes, the effect of all which causes has tended to diminish the mahomedans' influence, and to revive the original manners of the hindoo inhabitants of the different provinces. in the northern circars the traces of the mahomedan con- quest, in this respect, are more faint than in the carnatic. and i believe that they are less perceptible in most of the southern provinces. in speaking, therefore, of the ge- neral utility of the hindoostanee language, it may be proper to qualify it by an exception with respect to the judicial department, particularly in the northern circars, and in the provinces south of the coleroon; for i doubt that a person possessing a knowledge of the hindoostanee dialect alone, would be competent to discharge the duties of a judge in those districts.” local information and history, with a knowledge of eastern languages, ought to be the first objects of atten- tion, and these may be successively acquired in the order of their real utility. if the reader have attentively perused the story-teller and guide, i need not now inculcate the hindoostanee as the first object, but leave him to be guided solely by the effects of my arguments on his mind relative to that important language, and the publications enume- rated at the end of it as most essential to his studies in the very threshold of oriental literature. 592 DIALOGUES, the next work which i would recommend, is the east india register for the current year, as one replete with such valuable information, that no person proceeding to india should be without a copy; nay, every body connected with the company's service should have the above book always by them, for reference and advice, which can seldom be procured so accurately elsewhere, and which i have refrained from inserting in this volume merely because i consider the above directory as a sine qua non for those who may wish to consult my own publications on the subject of indian affairs. the asiatic monthly journal from the commencement, will likewise prove an interesting performance; and to cadets let me mention, in terms of the highest praise, the military mentor, as one of the best books ever yet published, to make a youth a good officer, a brave soldier, an accomplished gentleman, and an honest man. it will be found an inestimable companion by night and by day; one from whom no vice can be learned, and every virtue may be acquired, which should warm the heart, and guide the head of a juvenile warrior. every well disposed young man will honour his portable mentor the more he reads and ponders upon the excellent instructions with which it is filled, conveyed in the easy unaffected style of paternal solicitude, enlivened with elegant and affecting anecdotes, to enforce or demonstrate the truth of the many honourable principles which the mentor is con- stantly inculcating. i shall never forget how much i owe to a little work called “a master's present to an appren- tice,” which i received from my instructor when leaving school, and continued to study it often for some years after- wards, not only out of respect to him, but from the ad- vantage i was daily deriving from a practical system of ethics, exactly suited to my station and capacity, the º ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 593 military mentor is to a young officer or cadet just such a treasure, and, elegantly bound, would prove a very ap- propriate present from a sincere friend, as a memorial of real affection and esteem for a youth about to leave him or her, perhaps, for ever. many of the subjects in the mentor are of great importance to civil as well as military servants of the king and east india company, such as friendship, love, gaming, drinking, duelling, health, pru- dence, reading, languages, &c. &c. &c., the whole of which are treated in a concise, but masterly manner, and cannot fail of edifying and gratifying every rational reader. letter xl. on languages, is so short, that i shall insert the whole. “all languages are not of equal importance. life is so short, that in regard to study, whatever is not useful, may, in some views be considered as pernicious. the principles of the latin language are of the highest utility. this contri- butes likewise much to the knowledge of the french; which, being now the language of all europe, ought to be acquired in its utmost perfection. “with regard to the other languages, an officer ought certainly to endeavour to render himself master of that of the country where he is about to make war; for without this knowledge he will be constantly liable to commit the greatest faults. it will not be in his power to communicate with the inhabitants, he cannot employ the best spies, and he will be compelled, on the most delicate and important oc- casions, to make use of interpreters, without whom he cannot stir a single step, and who, perhaps, seek every opportunity to betray him. it is truly astonishing that most parents, who destine a young man to the profession of arms, instead of having him taught the modern euro- pean languages, prefer his consuming the greater part of his youth in acquiring the greek and latin, not, as i have 2 Q 594 DIALOGUES, already observed, but the latin may be highly useful for an officer, as there are few countries where this language is not known; and in the most distant parts, it may often supply the want of the vernacular tongue. but i cannot forbear declaring against the custom of universities and colleges, in causing a youth to waste five or six of the most valuable years of his life in learning an idiom which he might acquire in two or three by another method. “precision, energy, and simplicity of style, are im- portant acquisitions for a military man; who ought to know how to express himself with neatness, as well by writing as verbally, it may be very possible to plan with skill a military operation ; but this has sometimes been known to miscarry, from the orders having been con- fusedly given, and thus misapprehended. you ought, therefore, to accustom yourself betimes to attempt at writing with purity and precision.” that the latin, when properly pronounced, may be as useful as mentor supposes, there can be little doubt; but as long as the english persist in a mode of their own, so long will their latinity be useless, in a colloquial point of view, among the nations of europe; while the scottish pronunciation, on the contrary, will carry a man all over the continent, provided, in other respects, he be a tole- rable scholar. i have known a caledonian, with a slender stock of latin, stand interpreter between a learned fo– reigner and an oxonian, who could hardly make the stranger comprehend one word, till the other gave it the proper sound. the story of the englishman and german conversing in latin, is well known. john bull observed, “sunt me omnia pacata in germania 1" to which the german gruffly replied, “multa sunt peccata in germania sed spero plures virtutes;” and had it not been for a highlander, who happened to be of the party, they could 596 DIALOGUES, her previous ecquaintance with english on grammatical principles, she would soon make a fool of him in those very pursuits. suppose two youths, of equal capacities, were to start at eight, nine, or ten years of age, as general scholars, one in the common way to be prematurely crammed with latin and greek rules, on versification, and the lord knows what; the other to learn, progressively, reading, writing, arithmetic, english grammar, composition, &c. till twelve or thirteen, and then to proceed, when indispensable, with these dead tongues, i would stake every thing on the head of the latter, by the time both had reached their sixteenth year, especially if due pains be taken to lead him gradually, from simple to complex, from easy to difficult themes, rather by expanding his mind with ra- tional instructions, than by loading his memory with too many rules, that he may learn to think actively for him- self, instead of becoming a mere passive machine. the transition from well conducted english studies to the latin, or any foreign speech, will enable him to reason upon it as he had been accustomed to do with the other, and he will speedily observe, that the grammar of all languages is so much alike in general principles, that he has only to be well versed in his own, to make it the na- tural stepping-stone to every other tongue. it would only be repeating my remarks from the guide, were i again to dwell on the necessity and advantage of giving english lessons, more or less easy, as pupils ad- vance, without some of the leading words in them, as il- lustrated in page 158 of that work which i here recom- mend to the serious attention of every preceptor, who may improve upon the hint in various ways for the benefit of his pupils, through every stage of their progress in english or other tongues. ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA NEE. 597 in the life of sir william jones, we have an instructive lesson, not only from his andrometer, but from the suc- cessful method which his enlightened mother adopted for the education of her promising son, as related by his noble biographer and friend, lord teignmouth. “in the plan adopted by mrs. jones for the instruction of her son, she proposed to reject the severity of disci- pline, and to lead his mind insensibly to knowledge and exertion, by exciting his curiosity, and directing it to useful objects. to his incessant importunities for infor- mation on casual topics of conversation, which she watch- fully stimulated, she constantly replied, “read, and you will know;” a maxim, to the observance of which he always acknowledged himself indebted for his future at- tainments. by this method, his desire to learn became as eager as her wish to teach ; and such was her talent of instruction, and his facility of retaining it, that in his fourth year he was able to read, distinctly and rapidly, any english book. she particularly attended at the same time to the cultivation of his memory, by making him learn and repeat some of the popular speeches of shakespeare, and the best of gay's fables. “ in common cases, premature instruction has often been found to retard, rather than accelerate, the progress of the intellectual faculties; and the success of it so much depends upon the judgment of the tutor, and the capa city of the scholar, upon the skill of the one, as well as upon the disposition and powers of the other, that it is impossible to prescribe a general rule when instruction ought to begin, or a general mode by which it should be conveyed; the determination in both cases must be left to the discretion of parents, who ought to be the most com- petent to decide. “in his sixth year, by the assistance of a friend, sir 600 DIALOGUES, gressive improvement of every other art and science; but whether this shall happen in my time or not, the praise of being an advocate for so necessary a reform can hardly be denied me by those who must reap the greatest advan- tage from such a change, if they peradventure cast their eyes on these sheets, when the writer of them is numbered with the dead. to the foregoing list of useful publications, i subjoin with real pleasure, johnson's oriental voyager, as a very agreeable companion to a young man on the passage to india, not only for the local information it contains, but for the laudable example such a work sets before every reflecting mind, and the excellent bias which it is admi- rably calculated to give to those who, in early years, read little, and think far less on the passing scenes of life. to the honourable east india company's booksellers, no. 7, leadenhall-street, london, whoever shall apply for a catalogue of books, connected with indian affairs and the literature of the east, will not, i am convinced, call in vain, as they appear to possess a larger stock of every thing in that department than any other booksellers in the metropolis; and what is of some moment when pur- chasers are not affluent enough to provide a complete library for literary pursuits, they will be supplied with a list of those publications only that hardly can be dispensed with, by persons anxious to convert a long tedious voyage to the laudable purpose of self improvement in local know- ledge and eastern tongues, they are moreover both able and willing to furnish such advice and information to people proceeding to india, as will prove highly useful pre- vious to their departure from this country, after arrival in india with an adequate supply of books, and other ne- cessaries for an east india voyage, limited or extended ac- cording to circumstances. 602 DIALOG UES, acquainted with the sense and due application of all the words they use in any discourse. what is on the table? mez per kya hue? a book and a pen. kitab uor ek qulum. give me the book. kitab mooj,he do. take the pen to my brother, qulum mere bha,ee ke pas le chulo. but return in a moment. pur ko,ee dum men phira,o when yih and wooh occur as the, it will be equally con- venient to resolve them into this and that, proximate and remote, which as personal pronouns for he, she, or it, will be illustrated hereafter. hee and ee, as definite affixes, never can be very trou- blesome, since they merely give an emphasis or force to the word, similar to our very, self, indeed, self same, even; quite, just, just, as, &c. in expressions like, -this is the very soldier who fled,—yih woohee sipahee hue job,haga tha; —go thyself sirrah,-ube too hee ja: get some grass from the groom and give it to the horse. to which shall i give the grain, to this or that? where are all the grooms? collect all our grooms here, don't omit even one, for the whole are required to be present just now. having gone to the dog give him water to drink. come with the dog here and tie him with these ropes. su,ees se kooch,h ghas man- gla,o uor ghore ko do. kis ko danu doon is ko ya oos ko 7 sub su,ees kuhan huen P sub humare su,eeson ko yuhan hazir kuro ek bee ko mut ch,horo, kyoon kur chahyie ki subhee ubhee muojood hon. koottee ke pas jakur cosko panee do peena ko. koote ke sat,h a,o yuhan uor oose in russiyon se band,ho. speaking logically we may affirm that the donative and 604 DIALOG UES, beginners, and wonder, after analysing the above exam- ples, and those of his own making, why it should hitherto have puzzled hisself or any other body. i shall repeat here, that its government is retrospective, and its concord prospective; whence chhokre kee buhin, &c. in the first instance, aud chhokree ke bha,ee, &c. in the second; ch,hokra, a boy; chhokre, the second state, or infl. governed by kee, feminine, because in concord with buhin, sister, and so forth. let ka be supposed a final declinable adjunct, that makes every genitive a sort of adjective; thus, kam means use, kam-ka, ke, or kee, of use, use's, that is, useful. i want to purchase a useful kam kee koottee ke do pille bitch's two he pups. muenkhureeda chahta hoon. will you sell that useful cos kam ke kootte kee pil- dog's she pups to me? liyan mere hat,h bechoge? each of these sentences proves, that every genitive must be, as already inculcated, declined like ka, ke, kee, to pre- pare the scholar for meeting one or all of them, according to circumstances in this very case which should at first be invariably translated by 's, in preference to of, though the persian, i, e, is more properly of, and often, between a noun and adjective, quite insignificant. our own language has many such genitive adjectives, which, if not so elegant, are, in lieu of others, more learn- ed at least, ga, o ka dood,h, cow's milk; gud,hee ka dood,h, asses milk, to which, being unfashionable, we do not yet prefer vaccine, or asine, whatever may be done in half a century hence, in matters of this sort; ga,o ke dood,h ka, ke, kee, of cow's milk, or cows milk's ; gaoke dood,h men, in cow's milk; ga,o ke dood,h ka rung soofued hue, cow's milk's colour is white ; ga,o ke dood,h kee qeemut ka thikana aj kul kooch,h nuheen, there is no medium now-a- 606 DIALOG UES, some other invisible postposition that may easily be under- stood from the examples already produced. the context alone of any sentence can demonstrate the particular meaning of the postpositions in question, and they must be so translated. he hit with a ball. he brought from without. he said to the boy. lurke se kuha. seize him by the hand. osko hat,h se pukro. ke, with compound postpositions, is often dropt, and even they at times are omitted, leaving the ke in apparent discord with the noun following. a king who had (no son) ek padshah jiske (yuhau) in Ot a SOIn. betanu tha. a king whose son was not ek padshah jiska beta shair a poet. nu tha. yuhan above, is more frequently understood than ex- pressed; the student should, therefore, on seeing a final e, ke, re, ne, or kee, ree, nee, for which he cannot other- wise account, presume some ellipsis or other, as in jiske beta nu tha, meaning in whose house, family, &c. there was no heir. consult the guide, page 83. do so for god's sake, not for so kuro khooda kee khatir, golese mara. bahur se laya. mine. meree nuheen. adverbials assume ka, ke, kee, on all occasions, whence they can say most conveniently. kuheen ka hakim yuhan ke hakim ke sath ja,ega, wuhan ke hakim kee khatir, kuhan ke hakim ke yuhan, ub ke i. e. now's year, now of year in. meaning this or the sal. present year. bahur ka sahib aya hue the governor of some place will go with the commander of this place, for the chief of that place's sake, to the house of the magistrate of (what do you call) yon place, this year. a strange gentleman (or one ENGLISH AND HIN DOOSTA N E E. 609 inflectible words in uh, to assign a third declension for them only, particularly when this is so very obscure that it often escapes notice almost entirely. when shoohrut fame, assumes t, it is feminine, but mas- culine as shoohru, a rule rather extensive in its application to such arabic words as are liable to have their finals either in u or t ; the former stamps them of the first class, but the latter of the second, and this also is the effect pro- duced on both masculines and feminines, tegh, sword, (teghen, teghon, swords,) becoming teghu, has only teghe, teghon of the first class. Qubeelu, family, wife, is a regu- lar masculine of the first declension, and rueyut, a subject, even with masculines, is constantly feminine. wooh murd meree rueyut hue, that man is my tenant, vassal, subject, &c., but such anomalies are of rare occurrence. very little is now required on the degrees of compari- son, to render them perfectly obvious to those scholars who have studied the remarks on this theme in pages 73 and 216 of the guide, to which we may nevertheless sub- join lurke se lurkee goree hue, the girl is fairer than the boy; lurkee se lurka gora hue, the boy is fairer than the girl; lit. boy than girl fair is—girl than boy fair is: a trans- position which finely elucidates the nature of hindoo- stanee construction, thus contrasted with our language. lurka buhoot gora hue, the boy is very fair; pur lurkee oos se uor goree, but the girl is more fair or fairer; such wooh sub se goree hue, true, she is the fairest of the whole. wooh moojh se b,hula hy, he is better than i (me;) of those fair ones she is the fairest, on goriyon men yih sub se goree hy; goree goree lurkee, a very fair girl, the boy is very fair, yih lurka buhoot gora hy. there is a species of assimilation, if not comparison, ex- pressed so : ungoor ka sa ch,hala, a blister like a single 2 Q* -610 DIALOGUES, grape; ungoor sa nuya gosht, new flesh like a cluster of grapes, or the granulations of a wound, in the first, the ka rather refers to individual, and the sa to general simili- tude; but expertness in the proper use of ka and sa, on such occasions, can be gained by great practice and ex- perience alone. to prevent any misconception of the pronouns, after what has been stated in page 69 of the guide, we may here recapitulate, that mooj,h-e, tooj,h-e, is-e, oos-e, kis–e, tis-e, are equivalent to moj,h-ko, &c. as humh-en, toomh- en, inh-en, oonh-en, &c. are to hum-ko, humon-ko ; and at the same time observe of the other pronouns, that with nouns in the pl. on they do not retain this sign also, hum log, we people; hum teen buhinen, we three sisters ; hum teen buhinon ko, to us three sisters; hum teenon se, from us three; humon pur, on us. mere, tere, humare, toom- hare, often supply the place of mooj,h, &c. or vice versä, but this chiefly in poetry, and more rarely in prose or ordinary discourse. while ra is to the two first personals, what ka is to all other nouns, the last may, by the intervention of a word, be used after mooj,h, tooj,h, hum, toom, so—mooj,h ghureeb ka bap, the father of poor me : toojh bechare kee ma, the mother of helpless thee; hum duolutmundon ke ghore, the horses of us wealthy; tom bhulon kee bat, the speech of worthy you. mere tu,een kuha, he told me; ki mere oopur log ruk,hte huen, that they put it upon me: tere pur nuheen, not on thee; teree turuf ata hue, he comes towards thee; ap ne upne tu,een mara, he slew his self. never moojh ke oopur, or mere-ke tu,een, &c. ra and na, being in fact anomalous substitutes for ka, ke, kee, these seldom can immediately follow those as a postposition, in their pronominal capacity. 612 DIA LOGUES, cumstances, may be gathered from page 70 of the guide, and the various exercises in that rudimental work so well calculated to elucidate this rather intricate portion of pro- nominal construction, which in the persian is founded on the very same principles, whence a light is reflected on the hindoostanee that nothing afterwards can obscure, and this is a result perfectly reciprocal. in the same member of a sentence the pronoun and its own possessive form cannot always follow each other, as in our language, but it rather takes upne, upnee. bu- khanu,e khood khahum ruft, i will go to my house; muen upne (never mere) ghur ko ja,oonga, if you will go to yours; ugur toom upne (never toomhare) ghur koja,o, and he to his ; uor wooh upne (never oske) ghur ko. they nevertheless say, mun o buraduri mun, i and my brother, muen uor mera bha,ee; as we do; he and his friend, wooh uor coska dost; they and their sisters, we uor onkee buhinen, when both are subjects of the verb, and not affecting the consecutive as an object, that requires a reflective or reactive tendency towards its self or their selves. thus muen uor mera chucha toomhen kooch,h denge, my uncle and i will give you something; but for myselfi will take nothing from my uncle: pur upne waste upne chuche se muen kooch,h nu loonga. he speaks to his self, apse ap bolta hy. he fights with his self, upne seap lurta hy, which may likewise mean, he fights with his own people, family, parti- cularly when upnon is introduced for upne. ap, self, is subject to the same rule that khood is in persian, i will tell my friend, if you will inform your brother, that he also may apprise his acquaintance, muen upne dost se kuhoonga jo toom upne bha,ee se kuhoge, ki wooh b,hee upne ashna ko khubur dewe; mun bu dosti khood khahum - ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA NEE. 613 gooft, ugur shooma buraduri khood rakhaheed gooft ki o neez bu ashna,e khood khuburbidihud. toom kuon Sahib ke nuokur ho? what gentleman's ser- vant are you? too ko,ee Sahib ka noukur hue 2 art thou any gentleman's servant? in which neither kis nor kisee, are preferred to the uninflected forms. mooj,h-ko, to me, se-pur, from me, on me, are simple modes common to both grammars, but the moment a com- pound postposition occurs, it generally requires the adjec- tive form, as an inflected or feminine genitive. beside me, mere pas, (nizd i mun); toomharee turuf, bu turfi shooma) towards you, is an idiom that appears to us rather beside mine, near of me, your side, in the hindee, and in fact may often be so applied; meree bat bolta hy, he is speaking of me, or repeating my words, wooh toomharee turuf ho to ho, pur yih meree hue, that may be your side, but this is mine. all the pronouns being inflected in the singular, they may be placed so far under declen. or class 1. and every learner who knows to which first state or nominative the second state or obliques mooj,h, tooj,h, humon, toomhon, is, in, oos, on, kis, kin, jis, jin, tis, tin, kahe, kisoo, kisee, kinhoon, &c. belong, after what has been said in this work and the guide, from pages 76 to 89, will be able to decline the whole series, with the aid of simple and com- pound postpositions, in every possible case and form. the scholar cannot too often observe, that the genitive of the first and second personals and reflective pronoun, is also a possessive or adjective pronoun, which will al- ways be made still more obvious in the whole subsequent series, by affixing ka, as an inherent component part of almost all the pronouns, with which this declinable com- modious particle can assimilate, instead of the ra, na, 614 DIALOGUES, already discussed. kiska, kiske, kiskee, therefore thus far resembles the latin cujus, cuja, and jinhon ka, ke, kee, quorum, quarum. the pronouns require the ka to agree in number with them ; muen upne bap ka beta hoon, or hum upne bap ke bete huen, may both mean, i am the son of my father, not- withstanding the difference of construction. among us, no scholar would say, you was taught, though speaking to one person. i hope the following examples, and those in page 117, last paragraph, will put this matter beyond all doubt in future. too ujub turiḥ ka luonda hue, thou art a strange sort of brat. toom zor tumashe ke luſke ho, you are a very comical boy. while on the personal pronouns we must recollect, that the courtesy and arrogance of the natives make the plural often apply to one person : toom kuon, ho, who are you? hum sipahee huen, i am a soldier; uor we humare b,ha, ee huen, and he is my brother ; hum toom jate t,he, you and i were going this will prove at first rather perplexing to the scholar, but he may readily overcome the difficulty with a little attention, and should from the commence- ment learn to speak in the singular or plural number, with facility and ease, as he may find it his interest or duty to do so among the natives hereafter. as mere, tere, are used for mooj, h, tooj, h, these last are by the poets occasionally substituted for the former, in expressions like tooj, h ishq, thy love, mooj,h dil, my heart, but they seldom occur so in common discourse. mooj,h natuwan kee halut, the condition of hapless me with the examples in page 114, clearly shows howaka, ke, kee, may mediately follow such pronouns in the genitive, which is immediately formed by ra, re, ree. ENGLISH AND HINDOOSTANEE. 615 kyoon cose boolate ho, why do you call him ? yih (toom- hen or) tooj, he kya hue, what is this to (you, or) thee? when e en are found as pronominal postpositions, ko, &c. cannot appear, but the emphatic ee may sometimes deceive the learner, if not apprized of this, in sentences such as, isee ko maro cosee ko mut, beat this (here) one, not that (there) one; mooj, hee se kuha toom ne, you told me indeed, or my very self it is probable enough, that in, con, &c. are the remains of some dual form, and inhon, oonhon, &c. the real plural, though the distinction, if it ever existed in the hin- doostanee, seems now-a-days to cause little or no differ- ence in the application of these pronouns, unless perhaps to apply in, oon, from courtesy to one person, that inhon, oonhon, may more readily discriminate many, or that the addition of on rather belongs to such words in the pro- nominal than adjective state. see page 115. kuon kuon, kis kis, kya kya, jis jis, jiskis, jis kisee, jistis, somewhat resemble the latin quisquis, cujus cujus, &c. wbile kuonsa, juonsa, tuonsa, ko,eesa, rather assimilate with qui libet, quivis. we kuon kuon kitaben huen? what sort of books are those? mooj, he kuonsee doge? which of them will you give me? juonsee chaho tuonsee lo, which- ever you choose, take the same; kis turuhoose buna,oon, how shall i make it? jis turuh ho suke tis turuh buna,o, in the way it can be done, make it in that manner. wooh d, hobee jo pich,hle sal humare yuhan t,ha so aj p,hir aya hue, the washerman who was with us last year, the same has returned. as both jo and so are occasionally other parts of speech tban pronouns, the students must distinguish them from the context. jo wooh uesa kure so too b, hee kur, if he act thus, do thou so likewise. kuonsa din, what day, uor kuonsee rat, and which night, ENGLISH AND HIN DOOSTAN EE. 617 .* as possible, in india we have the first of these oppor- tunities, and many, for whom the preceding work is in- tended, possess both of these advantages in the prosecu- tion of their studies. every rational man must lament the very little attention we have hitherto paid, even here, to this most necessary qualification in the acquirement of a living language. the chief, and perhaps the only reason that can be assigned for this apparent neglect, may be found in what follows. when we leave england, or on our arrival in india, books, composed by authors who knew little of the orthography, and still less of the orthoepy of eastern tongues, were put into our hands, and it must be well known to all how difficnlt it is to shake off bad habits, especially when ac- quired at the early period of life, when most of us come to this country. in reading the asiatic languages in their respective cha- racters, it is utterly impossible to acquire their true pro- nunciation, without the aid of an instructor perfectly ac- quainted with these languages. it therefore becomes me- cessary, for general information, to appropriate at first the characters we are best acquainted with to that purpose. this was long a desideratum in the literary world, but we have great reason to rejoice, that it has been accomplished in the perfect manner which this little work will now un- fold. if we may be allowed to judge from appearances, the present scheme of writing the eastern languages in the roman characters, has met with general satisfaction ; for, although it has now been before the public for a con- siderable time, nothing has, to the best of my knowledge, ever appeared in refutation of it in any point of view. such a system was more wanted by us than any other people, being the nation which enjoys greater intercourse with the asiatics than any other of europe. 620 DIA Logu Es, must embrace the names of places, rivers, and persons, common to europeans and asiatics, but so differently pro- nounced as to prevent their knowing each other's words for the identical topics of discussion; thus it might be long before any englishman could trace in moosa, his old acquaintance moses converted to a rat, mother eve to mama huwa, mistress air, and job, to uyoob or even sabir, pa- tient. in like manner it must prove equally difficult for a hindoostanee to recognize his own divine appellation of bih-isht-ee to the saving angel, who administers water to the thirsty under a vertical sun, commonly called a water- bearer, when still farther degraded by honest john bull to a beasty!! adam's wine on the scorching plains of india may be counted nectar indeed by the dying sipahee, of whom it is often emphatically said, after receiving so fatal a wound that he instantly dies, golee is turuh lugee ki panee mangne nu paya, the ball hit him so that he had not time even to call for cold water, that sovereign balm or angelic restorer of momentary comfort to life in every extremity. some of the synonimes are omitted; among the rest room, and dar os sulam, which lasti have always considered the arabic or hebrew mode of expressing jerusalem, as the buet ol moquddus or holy-house. the following cross reading list of names of places, &c. somewhat transposed and with considerable additions, ex- tracted from the former edition of the stranger's east indian gºtide, will be found useful. vulgar. Correct. (taron, haroon. abas, ubbas. abel, hubiyul. abyssinia-n, habush-ee. abraham, ibraheem. acberabad, ukbur-abad. ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 621 vulgar. adoni, adam, agimere, agra, or- avicenna, aleppo, alerander, ali, allahabad, alligunge, allypore, amednagur, amedabad, amenabad, am rutsur, anjengo, arabian, ararat, urcot, archimedes, armenian, . arrah, aristotle, arsaces, artaweraces, a&sam, attock, asoph, aurungabad, ava, azimgur, baal, babylonia, correct. udonee. adum. ujmer. agru. aboo-ulee-seena. hulub. sikundur. ulee. ilah-abad. ulee-gunj. ulee-poor. uhmud-nugur. uhmud-abad. umeen-abad. imrutsur. unjung. urub-ee, tazee. joodee. urkath. urshumeedus. urinunee. ara. urustoo, ushuk. ardisheer. asam, asham. utuk. asuf. uorung-abad. aWa. užeem-gurh. buul, bal. iraq. 622 DIALOGUES, vulgar. backergange, bagdad, bagwangola, bahar, balaam, balagate, balk, balasore, bangalore, barramaul, barripore, baugpore, bauleah, bednore, beor, benares, bencoolen, bengal, benjamin, berar, bereilly, berhampore, bermah, birbhoom, bissenpore, boglipore, bombay, bootan, budgebudge, burdwan, burragong, burrampoter, bussorah, Correct. baqur-gunj. bugh-dad. b,bugwan-gola. bihar. buluim. bala-ghat. bulukh. baleswur. bunguloor. baruh-muhal. baree-poor. bagh-poor. buoliya. bidnoor. ba,oor. bunarus. bunkool. bungala. ibnyumeen. birar. burelee. buhram-poor. bruhma. beer-b,hoom. bishmoo-poor. bhagul-poor. mumbue. b,hotan. bujbujiya. burdwan. bura-ganw. bruhm-pootr. busra. * vulgar, buarar, cabul, cadiz. cain, cairo, calcutta, calicut, calpy, cambay, camanore, Canara, candahar, candeish, candia, canoge, canopus, carnatic, cashgur, cashmere, cattock, cawnpore, cavery (river), caveripauk, ceylon, chaldea, chandernagore, chosroes, chicacole, china, chingleput, chinsurah, chitpore, chittagong, ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 623 correct. buksur. kabool. qadis. qabil. qahiru. kulkuttu. kalee-kot. kalpee. kumbayu. kununoor. kunura. qund,har. khan-des. qundiyu. qinnuoj. soohuel. kurnatuk. kash-gurh. kushmeer. kutuk. kan,h-poor. kawuree. kawureepak. suelan. iraq. chundur-nugur. khosroo. seekakol. cheen. chungul-put. chichra. cheet-poor. chut-ganw. vulgar. cheitore, christ, chunar, chuprah, circar, circassia, cochin, coimbetore, colar, cole, eolumbo, commercolly, comorin (cape), constantine, cooch-behar, corah, constantinople, coringa, coromandel, cossimbazar, cossipore, cuddalore, cufa, culna, Cyrus, dacca, david, - damascus, daniel, darius, deccan, delhi, dinagepore, correct. cheetoor. museeha. chinar. ch,hupra. sur-kar. churkus. kocheen. koyumatoor. kolar. kol. kulumboo. koomar-khalee. (jubul-) kamuroon. qoostunteen. koch-bihar. kora. istumbol. korungee. korumundul. qasim-bazar. kashee-poor. kuduloor. koofu. kulna. khroosruo. d,haka. da,ood. dimushq. daniyal. dara, darab. duk-khin. dihlee, dillee. deenaj-poor. ENGL18 H AND H IN DOOST ANEE. 625 COrrect. juleel. gunga-puttun. gunga. gunjam. ghuzu. ghazee-poor. juoza. goorjee. ghiznee. goo,a. yajoogwu majoog. gola-gurh. gul-konda. jaloot. goottee. yoonan, room. goaliyar. guntoor. goojrat. guya. hajee-poor. ham. huzaree-bagh. hurat. hirqul. huroodees. hijlee. booqrat. oomerus. hooglee. hurdwar. huriyal. hureepal. vulgar. hyderabad, india, indostan, indus (river), ingeram, irak, isaae, islamabad, ismael, ispahan, israel, jacob, jaffierabad, jaffnapatam, jaggernaut, .janagur, japhet, jaunpore, jehanabad, jelasore, jerusalem, [dar os sulam P jeremiah, jessore, jesus, jew, job, john, jonas, joseph, joshuah, judda, jungypore, correct. huedur-abad. hind. hindoo-stan. sind. injram. Iraq. is,huq. islam-abad. ismueel. isfahan. isra,eel. yaqoob. ju, ufur-abad. ju, ufur-puttun. jugur-nath. jue-nugur. yafis. juon-poor. juhan-abad. jaleesur. buet-ool-moo-qud- dus. urmiya. jusur. eesa. yahoodee. uyoob, sabir. yuhya. yoonoos. yoosoof. yooshuubin noon. jiddu. jungee-poor. 2 R 626 DIA LOGUES, vulgar. kedgeree, keirpoy, kishenagore, korah, korassan, krishnah, lahore, libanon, lollbazar, lot, lucknow, luckypore, ºnacao, madras, madura, "magi, mahmud- or mahomed-abad, mahomet, malabar, malacca, malda, maldives islands, malva, mangalore, mangee, manickpore, manilla, mary the virgin, or lady. - masuli-patam. 7matura, correct, kujree. k,hirpa,ee. kishun-nugur, qaroon. khorasan. krishna. lahuor. lubnan. lu, ul-bazar. loot. luk,h-nuo. luk,hee-poor. muka,o. mund-raj mudru. mujoos iyan. muhmood- or moohummud-abad. moohunnmud. muleewar. mulaka. malda. juzair-or-ru-beeu. malwu. munguloor. manj,hee. manik-poor. mundeela. beebee muriyum. * much,hlee-put-tum. mecca, muthra. mukka. vulgar. media, medina, melaveram, messiah, michael, midnapore, mirzapore, mogulpore, mymensing, monghyr, moor, moorshedabad, moses, mullickpore, multan, munnypore, muscat, mustaphabad, muroodabad, mysore, magore, nagpore, napaul, nattore, naurangabad, mazareth, nebuchadnezzar, neelgur, negapatam, negro, nellore, merbuddah, megracot, 628 DIALOGUES, vulgar. potiphar’s wife, pulligate, purneah, pythagoras, rachael, radnagore, rajahmundry, rajemal, rajeshaye, ramanad, ramnagur, rampore, rangoon, rohilcund, rome, roymungul, rungpore, ryacottah, sadras, Samarcand, santipore, Correct. zuleekhu. palee-ghat. pooruniya. feesaghooris. raheel. rad,ha-nugur. rajubundree. raj-muhul. raj-shahee. ram-nud. ram-nugur. ram-poor. ram-goon. rohil-khund. room. ra,e-mungul. rung-poor. ra,e-kut,ha. sudrung-puttun. sumur-qund. santee-poor. vulgar, Saugur, saul, Saurum, selimabad, selky, serampore, seringapatam, seth, setledge, shawjehan-abad or -pore, shawabad, sheba, sheergotty, shem, siam, sylhet, soame, socrates, solomon, sooksagore, * these lists of english and hindoostanee corruptions, tation always, but frequently for abhorrence, on the same miserable helots and shew them to their children in that spire the young lacedemonians with an early disgust at being sounder policy thus to prevent than to cure diseases grounds, of holding up jargonist englishmen and hindoo- succeed in eradicating reciprocal corruptions, is a tale when i am numbered with the dead, and beyond the reach to produce a radical reform of the gibberish so long af. surly old bull dogs of england, who bark at every one * the reader will look across and consider both pages as only one. ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 629 correct. vulgar. COrrect. sagur. soonamookey, sona-mook hee. taloot. soorol, soorool. Satun. sumbulpore, soombool-poor. suleem—abad. sunderbund, soondur-bun. sulkiya. surat, SOOrut. Sreeram-poor. sursotty, Surus–wutee. sreerung-puttun. tamlook, tumlook. sees. tanjore, tunjoor. sutluj. tannasore, thane-sur. shah-juhan-abad-or tartary, tooran. poor, viz. dihlee. tartar, tatar. shah-abad. tatta, tuttee. bilqees. telingana, tulunganu. sher-ghatee. thibet, tibbut. Salul. tigris, teer. dujla. syam. tipperah, tipra. silhut. tranquebar, trinka-bar. sohun. vellore, weloor. sooqrat. zacharias, zukriya. soolueman. zoroaster, zurdusht. sook,h-sagur. by the defaulters on both sides, are preserved, not for imi principle which induced the spartans to intoxicate their beastly condition, as the expedient best calculated to in- the brutal vice of inebriation, from the conviction of its incident to any state. how far my scheme, on similar stanees to the ridicule and compassion of my pupils will which shall be left in the hands of time to tell at leisure, of blame or praise for my persevering efforts ultimately fected by the baboons of india, and cherished by the that finds fault with their own peculiar buo wuo, in the 630 DIALOGUES, absurd conversion of a,o come! to uo and, ja,o go 1 to juo, soldier to a sea monster, neither a man nor a boy, but a years more for scores of my orthoepigraphical disciples the language of that immense region with the sterling mint, without running either to italy or france for those mon possess, and in tolerable perfection, for every pur- system has long since demonstrated. this conviction en- merous, intelligent, and also considerate enough to im- british india, by discarding the corruptions on either side for dustuk, sunud, &c. &c. whatever may be the fate of the word to a grand sovereign body of merchants, or even to coverably merged in pultun. to aid this general reforma- pupils from the london hindoostanee lecture room, to for- names of provinces, districts, cities, towns, forts, villages, rately all those particulars in their respective vicinities, gazetteer on orthoepigraphical principles, or to aid the now extant, in making it still more perfect by the adop- other from the continental schools of europe, by no means to the above categories might be added, by the same in- in asia, africa, and europe, agreeably to their various read- divisions of the earth only, as for such a task, american know that still grander portion of this terrestial sphere by english. corruptions. english. a friend, furung. barracks, advocate, udbikut. barge, as you were, uj-wur. battalion, asparagus, paragas. bayonet, assistant, usishtun. beef-steak, attention, tel-chun. bearer, attorney, turnee. bill, above bail, bubbiliya. biscuit, backward, bhagwut. bond, bank, bunkool. boar, barber, bal-bund. broth, * Ng list a ND iſ N Doost AN E E. 631 barley, or the still stranger metamorphosis of sipahee seapoy 111 it can hardly require above two or three and converts, in every province of hindoostan, to stamp impression of truth and consistency from our own english roman dies, which we and the americans already in com- pose of hindee-roman orthoepigraphy, as my me plus ultra courages me to hope, that my scholars will soon be mu- prove both the native and european jargonist's lingo in or such needless innovations as court for udalut, warrant honourable lady kumpunee, in the application of this this fraction of a battalion, which has been now also irre- tion of speech, were the whole of the most distinguished ward to me, by proper opportunities, correct lists of the rivers, mountains, passes, &c.; when able to learn accu- we would soon be duly qualified to compile a new pocket intelligent and industrious author of the large volume tion of my anglo-american scheme, in preference to every so simple as our own alphabet reformed after my plan. dustrious oriental bees, the names of all persons famous ings in ancient or modern times, and in these three grand history is too recent among those eastern nations, who the name of nuya doonya, or new world alone. corruptions, english. corruptions. barik. breeches, birjis. bujra. brush, boors. pultun. butler, bootruel. bugnet. button, bootam. beefeesteekee. buckles, booklus. buehra. camp, kumpoo. beel. cannon, kuman. biksit. babbage, kobee, ban. - captain, kuptan. bukus. cartridge, kartoosh. burat. chariot, churt. 632 DIA LOGUES, english. corruptions. english. chaise, sej. gridiron, change step, chunjetap. ground fireloek, charge bayonet, churt bugnet. gunner, colonel, kurnul. guard. command, kuman. half-cock fire lock, cork, kak. halt, corporal, kupruel. hock, couch, koch. indian file, counsellor, kuonsulee. invalid, court-martial, kotmasool. journal, crust, kuras. kettle, custard, katsur. lace, cutlets, kutleez. lantern, decree, digree. list, desk, dekus. lieutenant, dumplin, dumkeen. lord, ensign, inshuen. mangoe fish, fish, pis. mark, fir bayonet. pes bugnet, mark time, forewards, falwut. mast, french beans, furans-bin. note, funnel, foondil. office, general, junrel. open pan, gin, jeen. order arms, glass, gilas. parsley, grenadier, guran-deel. parole, * which means a steeple, meenaret, pillar, column, but tations, i know not; lath, luth, lathee, however, mean with which pat is so prone to play on his neighbour's + rather more solid, however, than irish aqua vitae, f so fond are nations of significant corruptions, that goat of jove; while ruseed arrived, and ruput also have ENGLISH AND H IN DO OSTAN E E. (533 corruptions. gril-dan. gran-fueluk. gurneel. garl. ap-ka-fueluk. hal. - huqq. elchin fuel. ingleez. jinrul. ketilee. lues, lalteen. nistee. luptun. lat." mungo pis. marka. marten. mustool. lot. apiss. opunee-pun. urdul ram. peeturselee. purwul. english. patrole, pile arms, plate, postilion, poultice, present arms, pudding, rampart, ramrod, receipt, recover arms, report, score, secretary, sequestration, serjeant, sheriff, short drawers, shoulder arms, side board. sign, slippers, sloop, slow time, stand at ease, stew, corruptions. putrul. phuelarm. pulat. poosteer. potlis. furjunt arm. poteen.t rampot. ramrut. ruseed. rikab-ram. ruput: corje. sukurturee. shikust-reshum. sarjun, sir-jan. shureef. sal duras. choldaram. salbot. Suheeh. silubut. soluf. sulooten. tundel tis. estyoo. whether of the tuscan or corinthian order in these accep- not a gold stick, but a plain irish cane, cudgel, or shilaly, crown, or to poach in forbidden ground. of this now famous name. the three rams above may denote the bag, stirrup, and their own meanings. - 634 DIALOGUES, english. subparna, supernumerary, tart pye, tar, towel, trail arms, hindoostanee. ab-dar, bag-dor, baranee, bap-re bandee, bawurchee, bih-ish-tee, b,bo,ee, b,ha,ee, boot-kudu, buhungee, bukhshee, bukree bund,hoo,a, bukhshish, bhuwunliya, b,hata, butta, burga, buniya, char-khanu, cheera-bund, . ch,heet, ch,hetank, chihil-sutoon, corruptions. sufeenu. sook,h lumba. tat-po,ee. tukus. tuoliya. tileram. english. tripe, trooper, trunk, tumbler, violin, vice-president, hindoostanee and corruptions. hobdar. backdoor. brandy. baubry. bondy, boberjee. beasty. boy. pagoda. bangy. burey. backrey. bandy-wan. bores. bowleah. batty, betty. burgher. bannian. charconnah. cherrybend. chintz. chattock. chelseatomb. hindoostamee. ch,hota Sahib, choona, do-bhashiya, dugha-baz, dalee, deen moohummud, da,ee, duhee, dur-wesh, do ha,ee ghoorab, g,hus-iyara, hank-re! hoggu, huodu, huqq-na-huqq, hur-karu, ja,o, jumu,\ldar, kaghuz, kanjee, khan, k,hana, khanu, ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTAN E E. 637 hindoostanee. corruptions. corruptions. panchway. shurbut, sherbet. prow. sipahee, seapoy." pottah. siyahee, shy. cackyman. sookkan-ee, sea-coney." cossid. Soorahee, suroy. cazy, kadi. sur-hung, serang. curry. sur-pech, sir-peach. carryboy. surposh, sir-poos. roy. surraf,'t shroff. orupee. taree, toddy. rooty. tash, tissue. riot. theeka, ticket. 7"Ow. tir-pa,ee, tea-poy. Track. toofan, tiffoon. ramjohnny. tunzeb, tanjib. saub, saib. ulbuttu, alberto. see?". uruq. arrack. zimne,anah. ushrufee, asherſy. sablem. utlus, atlas. shut, shit. utr, otter. sally gram. zumeen dar, jemmydar. that it would be labour in vain to reduce it through nuvab, the corruption has been redeemed by the appearance of written on a person said to have been only a waiter in a both of which he obtained. at robert’s call he quickly ran, but, when return'd from india's shore, lest he might answer, nay—bob 1 sea-monster or beast, little dreaming the creature called a his officer; and every body, even now, would be at a loss and the indians term sookkan-ee, helm's-man. by johnny bull, who never can forget his favorite sir-loin, sir-jan. - ENGLISH AND H IN DOOSTA N E E. 641 Native Corps of the line, should be held by Officers fully competent to the performance of the duties; and also with a view of encouraging a more general study of the native language, is pleased to enact the following rules, for the attainment of these desirable objects:— Officers applying, under the sanction and approbation of the Commanding Officers of their Corps, for the situa- tion of Interpreter, shall be required to pass an examina- tion in the Hindoostamee language, before a Committee of competent Officers, to be assembled, by order of the Commander in Chief, at the Head Quarter Station of the Division. - The Committee will forward to the Adjutant General of the army, a detailed report of the examination, with a certificate specifying the nature of the Officer's profi- ciency; and will state their opinion of his competency to conduct the duties of an Interpreter to a General Court Martial. - The favourable certificate and opinion of the Committee will be sufficient authority, in the first instance, to render an Officer eligible to hold the situation; but before he can be finally confirmed in it, he will be required to un- dergo, with the sanction of the Governor General in Council, a further examination, by the Public Examiners of the College of Fort William, and to obtain from them a favourable certificate and opinion of his qualifications; and for this purpose he will (on the occasion of his arrival within the limits of the Presidency Division, either in the course of relief, or otherwise,) be directed to repair to the Presidency. But Officers within the limits of the Presidency Divi- sion, at the time of their application for the situation of Interpreter, will not be required to pass any preliminary examination. 2 s 642 MISCELLAN EOUS R EMARKS, The foregoing rules will be applicable to all Officers recommended to officiate as Interpreters; and Officers now actually holding the situation of Interpreters, will be required to pass the examination above prescribed, twelce months after the promulgation of this Order to their Corps. ORDERS OF THE COURT OF DIRECTORS, March 7, 1823. The Cadet (upon his being examined and approved) will be ranked according to his actual departure from England, so that the sooner he proceeds to India, the higher his rank will be above those who may be appointed in the course of the same season as himself. On his ar- rival at the Presidency to which he is appointed, he will enter into pay as a Cadet, at Four Shillings and Two Pence per day, and be promoted to a Commission in the Company's Army, according to his seniority in the List of rank above alluded to, provided he shall not have for- feited his claim to such promotion by any disobedience of the Court's orders, or misconduct during his passage Out. It is further expected, that the Cadet will, upon his arrival in India, conform strictly to all the rules and regula- tions of the Institutions established at the Presidency to which he is appointed for the instruction of the Cadets, and that he will endeavour to qualify himself for his future situation, by professional acquirements, and by the at- tainment of a knowledge of the languages of the country; in ſailure of which, he will render himself liable to be dismissed the service, and ordered back to England at his own expense. 648 MISC E L L A NEO US REM Alt KS, - officers, candidates for the office of interpreter and quarter-master. In obedience to the commands of the Honourable the Governor-General in Council, we have attentively read the Documents which accompanied your letter, and have given to the subject the careful deliberation which our respective experience prompted, the result which we shall beg leave to offer, after having stated certain con- siderations which have influenced us in coming to such decision. In determining the qualifications which should be re- quired in an interpreter to a native battalion, we look more to that knowledge of the languages, and their va- rious dialects, which is essentially necessary and prac- tically useful, than to a high proficiency of book-lore, which though advantageous and probably attainable, when talent and local advantages accompany each other; yet neither the opportunities which officers have of acquiring it, nor their means, justify us in exacting it. A good colloquial knowledge of the dialects generally used by the Sepoys, a facility of explaining all orders in those dialects, and of interpreters from them, must be considered of the first importance, as comprising the principal duties of interpreters; and, indeed, we consider all other study (with reference of course to the case under immediate consideration) as subordinate to this, and but as the means by which this object is to be attained. The languages most used by the Sepoys, and generally by almost all the tribes with whom an officer of a Sepoy corps is likely to have intercourse, are the Oordoo or Court Hindoostanee, and the Hindoowee or Khuree Bolee, with no mixture of Persian; and between these, with various shades of difference, may be comprehended most of the dialects of the different provinces under this Presi- 650 MISC ELLAN E O US REMARKS, T H E R E Port of ENs 1 GN To DD's Ex A MINAT ion. To W. B. Bayley, Esq. President, and Members of the Council of the College. GENTLEMEN, In compliance with your orders, we have the honor of informing you that we met at the College Hall this morn- ing, for the purpose of ascertaining the proficiency ac- quired by Ensign Todd, in the study of the Hindoostanee and Persian languages, according to the tests laid down by the Committee appointed by Government for fixing the degree of proficiency in the Native Languages proper to be required in Military Officers, Candidates for the Office of Interpreter and Quarter-Master. The exercises selected by us for the examination of Ensign Todd, consisted of the following papers:— 1. A Hindoostanee Story, in Oordoo dialect and in the Persian character, to be translated into English. An Extract from the Prem Sagur, in the Khuree Bolee dialect, and in the Nagree characters, to be translated into English. 2. Vocables in the Oordoo and Khuree Bolee dialects, and in the Persian and Nagree characters, to be translated into English. 3. An English Exercise to be translated into Hin- doostanee. This contained a sketch of the formation of the 1st and 2d battalion of the 9th Native Regiment (the regiment to which Ensign Todd is at present posted), and was extracted from Captain Williamson's Bengal Native Infantry. 4. The 16th article of the 10th section of the Articles of War, to be translated into Hindoostanee. 5. The oath to be adminstered to the witnesses, and the mode of administering it among the Hindoos and Mus- sulmans, in the Persian and Nagree characters. f It EGULATIONS, OR DERs, &c. 651 Ensign Todd was also examined by us severally in the following Hindoostanee Books: 1. Khirud Ufroz. 2. Bagh o Buhar. 3. Prem Sagur. - And in Persian, in Goolistan, and Unwaree Sohylee, various portions of which he read and explained with great correctness and facility. The Papers, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, were also translated by him with tolerable correctness, and evinced a very considerable knowledge of both the Oordoo and Khuree Bolee dialect. He writes also the Persian and Nagree characters with great neatness and facility. The result of this examination enables us to state con- fidently our opinion, that Ensign Todd has acquired such al knowledge, not only of the Persian language, but also of the Oordoo or Khuree Bolee dialect of Hindoostanee, as comes fully up to the standard prescribed by the Go- vernor-General in Council for Military Candidates for the Office of Interpreter and Quarter-Master to native corps, and which was communicated for our guidance by Mr. Secretary Lushington on the 22d of April last. We have the honor to be, (Signed) W. PRIce, Examiner, A. Lockett, Officiating Examiner. College of Fort William, 7th Oct. 1823. GENERAL OBSERVATIONs, &c. 653 by the amended list annexed to the above, and a few more preliminary remarks in the following portions of the book; particularly if a reference be made at the same time to the English and Hindoostanee Dictionary, or its reversed abridgement by myself. In pages 97 and 112, a distinction has been attempted in the meaning of muokur and chakur, where in my humble opinion no difference in reality exists, and nothing in their etymology appears to justify the dogmatic style of the paragraphs to which this stricture alludes. Coortah of page 115, is one of a thousand instances where the final aspirate h is most absurdly affixed by Eu- ropeans to oriental words, which should terminate in a or u only; to call therefore raja, rana, peshwa, wala, &c. rajah, ranah, peshwah, walah, is much on a footing with the fellowr, idear, iotar, &c. of cockney vulgarity, often heard instead of fellow, idea, and so on. In the true spirit of perversity, a different abuse of the h occurs when ankoos, hook, crook; hurgeela, a species of crane ; sahib, lord, master; are severally changed to haunkus, which Williamson terms a driver, from hankna, to drive; argeelah, his vulture; and seb, saib, an apple; to say no- thing of sipahee thus becoming a seapoy, seaboy, or sea- beast; and siyahee ink, appearing as shy, instead of siyah-ee, blackness, not only in the abstract, but tangible in the state of ink, like our black-ing for shoes and boots. Williamson first corrupts ankoos, a goad, by a vicious aspirate; and, through this very blunder, aspires to the rank of an etymologist, with a plausibility that would deceive most people; for few are aware that the discri- minative form unksee, signifies a tenter, hook, &c. Since much of this volume was committed to paper, though not published till June, 1825, numerous improve- ments in the general encouragement of oriental literature 658 G ENERAL OBSERVATIONS incorrect. turban, palanquin, mahana, dooly, bochah, taumjanny, rhut, ghorrywan, semiaun, mindy, chuckrah, hakery, bootah, jewar, badjra, saleetah, sutrinje, khous, moolumbah, maungteehah, n’hut, joomkah, bolauk, chumpauh, hanseeah, tabeej, bajoo bund, poanchy, tehoory, inah, paumjeb, chellah, tissy, correct. surbund? palkee. miyanu. dolee. bocha. tang jang,h P ruth. garee wan. shuh miyanu. menhdee. ch,hukra. ruhkula P b,bootta. juwara. bajura. shuleetu. shutrunjee. kuosh, kufsh. moolummu. mangteeka. nut,h. j,hoomka. boolaq. chumpa. hunsiya. tu,uweez. bazoobund. puhonchee. chooree. a,eenu. pazeb. chhula. teesee. incorrect. baundy, tolah, missy, gundy, metah, attar, ottah, basin, hummum, hautty, coonjerry, ferret, cricky, grammy, churraug, pilsoze, veranda, choubootah, argeelah, jaump, ghettery, qui hi, hooly, chandny, purdah, sygwam, burgah, toddy, shrob, nonbay, carraboy, kusse, chowpatty, 660 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS incorrect. correct. incorrect. ottah, ata. jemmadar, r’hur, urhur. dowrawy gounlah, gumla. rhahwaunah, koomer, koomheer. dingy, ghoon, goon. taffah, manjy, manjhee. kase, woolach, olaq. guddaylah, patelly, putela. keddah, decoit, dukuet. saun, • To enable every reader of this volume to furnish hisself may encounter on the surface of the globe, as a sojourner to annex a letter and diorama intended expressly for that longer be bewildered with a puzzling polygraphy, which regions and nations by a variety of persons, from the total cultivated and encouraged according to those deserts, that therein, to minds and certain organs naturally commen- Daily practice in writing the universal character, after month only, will make it perfectly familiar as a kind of bols have uniformly disappeared, being in truth, needless expelled by myself as drones in the republican hive of good to mankind. A little reflection will convince any body conversant the letters actually enumerated on the diorama, their which pervades the plan, is maturely considered, the subdivisions, than exceeds twenty, or at most, two dozen labials, comprising several individuals, when taken uni- only differently modified in the mouths of various tribes stenographic grammaclature may yet be contrived from procurable be not counter-balanced by the impractica- the beaten path of any language, until previous steps be but effectual, as I have literally done. The letter men- ON THE WAD E-MECUM. 661 correct. incorrect. Correct. jumuadar. goondah, ghoondu. duoraha. jolah, j,hola. ru Wunna. khoomky, koomukee ? dengee. r'hunt, ruth. taefu. akbar, ukkbar. kes. mocurrery, mooqurruree. guddela. tannian, tang, hun. k,hud,ha. monsoon, Inu OSunn. sand 2 sanr? with a consistent scheme for spelling any language he or resident in foreign climes, it has been thought adviseable purpose, and I feel quite convinced the public will no exists in most books of travels through newly-discovered want of one catholic system like mine; provided this be a serious perusal or two will of course clearly develop surate with such an arduous task. it has been duly comprehended, during the space of one short hand, whence the whole tribe of superfluous sym- incumbrances among all the languages of the earth, and letters, which have hitherto done infinitely more harm than with themes of this nature, that were we to reckon by amount must be formidable indeed ; but when the spirit number virtually keeps pace rather with the sixteen literal of congenial characters; for a set of cognates, like the versally, constitutes, in some measure, a single symbol, and races of rational creatures. From this very hint a the catholic one I have projected, if the advantages thus bility of suddenly introducing too great a deviation from cautiously taken to render the transition not only plausible, tioned above is as follows:– 662 G EN ERAL OBSERVATIONS “In one of the earliest volumes of your miscellany, my first essay on a universal language and character, with an explanatory diagram, made its appearance, under many disadvantages, from the want of an appropriate set of types, and that experience in the pursuit of an object, which more than ten years’ persevering cultivation has since afforded, I presume, with commensurate effects. At the period here mentioned, I promised to prosecute the scheme to practical perfection; I therefore do feel bound in honour to convince the subscribers of your Journal that I am still a man who never wished to conceal, under a bushel, whatever light he could throw upon any useful subject; far less, to shrink from the defence of his own doctrines, however eccentric and worthless they may ap- pear in the eyes of superficial observers, or of those pro- found scholars who deem learning alone the summum bonum of social life, in lieu of real knowledge. With the professed view of courting liberal criticism from the Bri- tish Indian community in particular, and the public at large, you are most welcome to insert the whole Diorama in your number for June; and I flatter myself it will find favour not only in your sight, but prove acceptable also to the majority of your Oriental readers at home and abroad, who will be both able and willing to appreciate my pend- ing lucubrations according to their deserts, when the whole have been fairly submitted for that tribunal's sen- tence, whence, as there is no appeal, respectful submission in me becomes a matter of course to its irrevocable judg- ment. In the mean time, it is possible some seasonable hints may be generously communicated through the me- dium of your popular Journal, and I shall not fail to use them thankfully during the progress of the Polyglossal British Atlas, now in the press; that the work may be thus brought, if practicable, at once to perfection—the O N T H E V AD E-MECU M. 663 grand aim of all my philological labours, since their origin, nearly half a century ago. After the luminous ob- servations published a few years before his Lordship left India, by so accomplished a writer as the Marquis Has- tings, in praise of the English language, contrasted with every other, my feeble voice on such a theme here would be quite superfluous, if not impertinent; especially as it is generally taken for granted, from recent leading articles in his literary creed, that the acute and classical Mr. Can- ning even, is equally partial to his native tongue; which, were its glaring cacography now reformed on rational principles, would soon become, in preference to French, the most current speech over the whole civilized world, be- cause it could then be communicated efficiently to all foreigners, within the space of a few months, instead of as many years, hitherto required for that purpose, and might thus be deemed a sine quá non accomplishment to the literati of both hemispheres. The Diorama, in its present state, must speak for itself; and if assailed in those parts that may yet be considered vulnerable, I mean either to defend myself boldly, or ho- nestly to acknowledge every detected mistake; my object being, in fact, rather to inculcate the utility of cultivating common sense, and of establishing permanent truths among mankind, than to obtain the fleeting triumph which any polemic victory or defeat could ever produce. A variety of attempts have been heretofore abortively made to establish a general standard for occidento-oriental orthoepigraphy; but none of their projectors, myself ex- cepted, ever contemplated the possibility of therewith combining a universal language and a catholic character, on principles of such evident utility and simplicity, that he who runs may almost read their practicability in each de- partment of my new view of literal economy; and adapted, 664 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS as it is, to every dialect under the sun, ultimate failure in this project will prove rather a misfortune attributable to public apathy than to any fault of mine. To many of my earliest pupils, who probably consti- tute a large proportion of your subscribers, I must ex- plain a deviation or two from my first system of Hin- dee Roman orthoepigraphy, to reconcile them at least to all subsequent improvements, and upon similar grounds, viz. those longings after perfection, which Providence has wisely implanted in every ingenuous breast, as the soul's surest guide and noblest claim to immortality, after its body has been mingled with the parent dust. The ridiculous alphabetical name and occasional sound of our letter u, was originally denoted in my Dictionary by eu, but shortly afterwards, for obvious reasons, yoo was invariably substituted for eu. In the like manner, kea, keea, were converted to kya, kiya, restricting the power of y, uniformly, to its consonantal sound, heard alone in the English words printed thus—y-awn, y-ou, y-olk, &c. never pronounced eye-awn, eye-ou, or eye- olk. This judicious step having been seasonably taken, consistency of principles obliged me to obliterate en- tirely the vocal sound which y has in my, cry, by super- seding this for ever with ue, ui, perceptible in buy, guide, guile, guise; and in the Scottish pronunciation of, not tyoosday, but as it is more plainly exhibited in Tuesday; besides, the fact of this ue being in per- fect unison with the Oriental mode of forming this very common diphthong vowel, audible, if not visible in the organ, letter, and pronoun, indiscriminately called eye, is a bivocal, very different indeed from the y, no- ticed above in y-awn, for the iota, with us, indicates ai, ae, ue, ui, eye, not the yaw, as in yaw-n, which the Hindoos term yu-kār, never wy. Previous to the emen- ON THE WAID E-MECUM. 669 genius, and inclination, may continue to direct his exer- tions in this most useful line of Orientalism while at sea, say from four to six months; at the termination of which, he might thus become a tolerable Oriental scribe and de- cipherer, by the practice of reading in and writing from those classical Hindoostanee or Persian books that his- self or shipmates may happen to possess, either in manu- scripts or print. This branch of local qualifications is hourly becoming most essential, and may yet be constituted an indispen- sable accomplishment for all responsible lucrative offices in the Company's service; let me therefore earnestly en- treat each promising emigrant to British India, before departure from London, to supply hisself with the requi- site publications, for not merely a portable Oriental library, but the materials to acquire the art of writing on proper paper, with congenial pens and ink, to secure the greatest chance of ultimate success for every self-taught penman, who by seasonable application at No. 7, Leadenhall-street, may obtain good copy lines, or Ouseley's Complete Per- sian Manuscript Guide, at a very moderate price. The reader is requested to read kotte kee for kottee kee, in page 603. THE END. • → …，