lo 
 
 J^ 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
AN 
 
 ENGLISHMAN'S LIFE IN INDIA : 
 
 OB, 
 
 ZxM anJr ^iibtnturc in tl]t 6asl 
 
 BT 
 
 HENRY MOSES, M.D, 
 
 " Let it be remembered tliat India is the school which has produced 
 some of our most eminent men, and which mainly helped to form the 
 great Captain of the age — the illustrious Wellington." — Our Indian 
 Empire. 
 
 BATH: BINNS AND GOODWIN. 
 
 LONDON : LONGMAN ; SIMPKIN ; HAMILTON ; WHITTAKER ; 
 
 LOW AND SON. 
 EDINBURGH : OLIVER AND BOYD. DUBLIN : J. m'GLASHAN. 
 
 MDCCCUII. 
 
BATH : rniNTED BY BIXNS AND GUODWJK. 
 
TO 
 
 ^t fjmmMt IJTrs. |lotoIc]T, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS BY PERMISSION INSCRIBED, WITH EVERT 
 
 SENTIMENT OF RESPECT 
 
 AND ESTEEM. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/englishmanslifeiOOmoserich 
 
Mi6 
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 Captain Basil Hall has somewhere observed in 
 his Travels and Voyages, that " of all places in the 
 noble range of countries so happily called the eastern 
 world, from the pitch of the Cape to the Islands of 
 Japan, from Bengal to Batavia, nearly every hole and 
 corner of which I have visited in the course of my 
 peregrinations, there are few which can compare with 
 Bombay. If, indeed, I were consulted by one who 
 wished as expeditiously and economically as possible 
 to see all that was essentially characteristic of the 
 oriental world, I would say, without hesitation, 
 * Take a run to Bombay, remain there a week or 
 two, and having also visited the scenes in the neigh- 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 bourhood, Elephanta, Carli, and Poonah, you will 
 have examined good specimens of most things that 
 are curious or interesting in the East* ** 
 
 It is to this island, which abounds with landscapes 
 of the roost enchanting description, that I wish 
 particularly to direct the attention of my readers; 
 and here it may be proper to observe, as affording 
 some guarantee for the correctness of these sketches 
 of the seasons, scenery, and society of Bombay, that 
 they have been compiled from copious notes made 
 during a sojourn in thnt favoured fragment of India. 
 I have myself s- 11 have here attempted to 
 
 de8cril>c. 
 
 At the present time " Indian affairs*' are engaging 
 much of our attention, and it is desirable that 
 Englishmen especially, should know more of the 
 manners, customs, and peculiarities of the people for 
 whom they are legislating. The great topic of the 
 day is railways. Railways are to accomplish every- 
 thing in India. Doubtless they will accomplish 
 much in a country almost roadless. A few months 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 ago, the first portion of the Great Indian Peninsula 
 Railway was opened for public traffic from Bombay 
 to Tannahj a distance of twenty-eight miles. This 
 event has been spoken of in the local papers as a 
 " triumph," to which, in comparison, all the victories 
 in the East seem tame and commonplace. "It will," 
 they say, " be remembered by the natives of India, 
 when the battle-fields of Plassay, Assaye, Meanee, 
 and Goojerat, have become the mere land- marks of 
 history. The proud arrays of England have con- 
 quered and kept in subjection hundreds of millions 
 of people, but her power was never so boldly ex- 
 emplified as on Saturday, April IG, 1853, when the 
 long line of carriages, conveying nearly 500 persons, 
 glided smoothly and easily away, amidst the shouts 
 of assembled thousands. It was then that the im- 
 mense masses of the native population paid true 
 and heart-felt homage to the power and greatness of 
 their European conquerors. The superstition of 
 ages seemed to melt away as the gigantic reality of 
 steam and mechanism passed before their wonder- 
 
VUl PREFACE. 
 
 ing eyes. A locomotive engine conveys an idea of 
 calm concentrated power. The natives saw this, 
 and they salaamed the omnipotence of steam as it 
 passed." 
 
 The moral and religious condition of India must, 
 of course, constitute a topic too important to be omit- 
 ted, even in the slightest and most desultory account 
 of that country. India has long been ripe for the 
 sickle ; but alas ! the mighty harvest of ignorance 
 and superstition has yet to be gathered in. That 
 railways will facilitate travelling and greatly lessen 
 the labours and sufferings of our missionaries, we 
 are quite certain. The iron road will soon traverse 
 those vast jungles, 
 
 " Where many a grave neglected lies, 
 Where sleep the soldiers of the Lord, 
 Who perished 'neath the sultry skies 
 
 Where first they preached that sacred word. 
 
 " But not in vain — their toil was blest, 
 Life's dearest hope by them was won, 
 A blessing is upon their rest, 
 
 And on the work which they begun." 
 
\^ 
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 May the prospect of this speedy communication in 
 India, give heart to those labouring for the regene- 
 ration of the Hindoo, and incite those at home, who 
 bear not the heat or burden of the day, to renewed 
 exertions in assisting so noble a cause. In common 
 with every well-wisher of the land that was our 
 temporary resting-place, we bid the missionary God 
 speed. 
 
 With an especial view to the benefit of those 
 youthful readers to whom authentic accounts of 
 foreign lands are generally peculiarly attractive, I 
 have endeavoured, while treating of the " clime of 
 the East," to lead their minds to the contemplation 
 of Him, whose goodness and greatness are reflected 
 in the grace and beauty with which, in that fair 
 clime, external nature is so profusely adorned. I 
 believe this volume may with advantage be placed in 
 the hands of the young, and not prove a valueless 
 present to those intended for the Indian service. 
 The cadet, writer, or merchant, will find some useful 
 hints about the preservation of health, the necessity 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 of early rising, of daily exercise, temperance, and 
 regularity of life in India. The article of clothing 
 has also been attended to. 
 
 I would add, in conclusion, that if I be thought 
 to have lingered too long upon the " voyage out," or 
 to have dwelt with needless minuteness on matters 
 which have often been described by travellers bound 
 for the East, my apology must be, that having been 
 myself deeply impressed by the ever-changing scenes 
 which the ocean, during a long voyage, never fails to 
 present to the observant spectator, I have been 
 anxious to communicate those scenes to my readers, 
 and more particularly the juvenile portion of them, 
 being persuaded that the impressions produced 
 upon the mind by the wonders of "the Great 
 Deep," are no less salutary than they are vivid and 
 abiding. 
 
 " Oh ! wliat precious things there be, 
 Shrined and sepulclu'cd in thee ! 
 Gems and gold from every eye 
 Hid within thy bosom he. 
 Many a treasm-c-ladcn bark 
 Bests within thy caverns dark ; 
 
vr-" 
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 And where towers and temples rose. 
 Buried continents repose — 
 Giant secrets of thy breast, 
 With their thousand isles of rest. 
 With their brave and beauteous foims. 
 Undisturbed beneath thy storms, 
 In a safe and peaceful homo. 
 Where the mourner may not come. 
 Nor the stranger rudely tread. 
 O'er their calm and coral bed. 
 Where the ocean biuied hes, 
 May no monuments arise. 
 For thy bosom beare no trace 
 Of our evanescent race. 
 On thy wild and wandering wave. 
 Bloom no laurels for the grave ; 
 O'er thy dread unfathomed gloom. 
 Lower no trophies for the tomb. 
 But there comes a day of dread. 
 To reclaim thy thousand dead ; 
 Bursting from thy dark control. 
 While in fire thy billows roll, 
 Shall thy countless multitude. 
 Soar from out thy shiinking flood." 
 
 Appleby, Westmoreland. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Introduction. Glance at Porto Santo. ProccUaria pela- 
 gica. Their food and habits. Holothuria physalis. 
 Exocetus volitans. Their visits to the English coast. 
 Vast fields of sea-weed, A man overboard ! Mada- 
 gascar at sunset. Search after the lost boy. Sorrow 
 of the crew. Have the sharks eaten him ] Sunday 
 on the ocean. Our sea-service. The Sesostris steam- 
 frigate. Her deck passengers. Bombay harbour. 
 Land-sharks and sea-gulls. First impressions of India. 
 Vasco del Gama. Moguls. Portuguese and Charles 
 the Second. Situation of Bombay. Strange people. 
 Goa. What have we done for India 1 Reflections . . . 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early impressions. A chat with the reader. Resources 
 of India. Beautiful scenery. A tiger ; but a stufied 
 one. My friend's bungalow at Colabah. Its flowers. 
 Principal buildings in the Fort. A great fire. Street 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOE". 
 
 architecture. Minah and other birds in towns. 
 Kindness to animals. Little children and their 
 pigeons. A word on cleanliness. An idle hour at 
 Frith's. Bad speculations. George the Fourth's bed- 
 stead. Native bazaars, and what may be purchased 
 in them. Markets. Extravagant rivalry. Hindoo 
 customs. One man with two sets of fingers. How 
 to make a box and inlay it. The Potdars, and change 
 for a rupee. Opium poisoners. The Arabian rose- 
 water sellers. Sweet-meat vendor. Blind beggars. 
 Parsee children. Popish seminary. Mohammedan 
 temples. Cripples and lepers. Devotees and 
 rogues. Comwallis and his friends. Bombay castle 
 and dock-yard. Sally ports and sepoys 36 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Climate. South-west monsoon. Mangoe showers. Put 
 your house in order. Letters and post-men. Paljm- 
 quins. Clearing tents off the Esj)lanadc. Warm 
 clothing. Why I was called a Griffin. The rains at 
 last descend. Atmospheric changes. Appearance 
 of the ocean. Awful thunder and lightning. Nature 
 is agitated. The stm darkened. Strife of the 
 elements. Tempest terrific to behold. Houses 
 shaken in the Fort. The floods. Scene pregnant 
 with horrors. Flying bugs and hideous spiders. A 
 rest for the pimkaha What the poor natives suffer 
 at this season. A glance from our bungalow. Won- 
 derfid changes in the vegetable world. Flowers and 
 fruits. Golden oriole and jungle-cock. Shere Khan 
 and his good works. Neglect of old tanks. Cool 
 breezes and Delhi shawl.". A peep into the sick 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 man's chamber. Jellies and sweet peas. How to 
 eat mangoes. Poisonous miasma. Hindoo festival 
 of Cocoa-nut-day. Offeiings to the ocean. Farewell 
 to the rains 71 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The old temples of India. Hypogsca, or subterraneous 
 caverns. Traditions of the East. Priests and people. 
 Temples of Aboo. Why islands were selected. Pious 
 journepngs. Mr. and Mi-s. H. Missionary-bit fana- 
 tics. A pic-nic. Beauties of an Indian morning. 
 Scenery in the harbour. Native boats. Sea birds 
 and picturesque objects. Closer view. of Elephanta. 
 The landing. Delicious shade from the sun. Stone 
 horse and elephant. The handiwork of Father Time. 
 Tamarind tree and flowers. Punkah painting. Native 
 village. Excavated rock. Birds of night. Land- 
 scape changes. The great temple of Elephanta. Tale 
 of a tiger. Description of the interior of the 
 cavern. Parting with friends 99 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Farewell to the monsoons. Silk cotton tree. Palms. De- 
 canna bean. Odoriferous pandanus, orchids. Anxiety 
 of the agriculturist. Imgation. Dry and wet crops 
 of the year. Early risers in Bombay. Muggy days. 
 Heavy dews of night. Drooping of leaves and 
 flowers. Insects. Tree lizard, its habits. Bungalow 
 lizard. Large kites. Snakes, cobra manilla. Death 
 of an officer from the bite of a carpet snake. Scor- 
 pions. Spiders. Child killed. Centipedes. Hornets 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 and wasps. Natural scavengers, their visits to your 
 cooking-house. Portuguese traps. Fine sense of 
 smell in fulvous vulture. The woods at noon. 
 Brilliant plumage of birds. Loss of song. Aleodo 
 Asiatica. Emerald Fly -catchers. Green Woodpeckers. 
 Butcher birds. Hoopoe. Sandpiper. Wanton de- 
 struction of Indian birds 142 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The hot Boaaon. Depressing days. Anglo-Indians. 
 Change of air necessary. Good effects of sea voyage 
 to invalids. Children bom in India. Their separa- 
 tion from their parents. Necessity of exercise. 
 Aunmgzebe. A Hindoo's idea of happiness. The 
 poor obliged to rise early. Wasliing at the tanks. 
 Bitter beer and spirit drinking. Dangers of exposure 
 to the sun. Good example of the natives. How to 
 ward off sickness. Flannel valuable in warm climates. 
 Luxury of a cold bath. Sleepy servants. Give your 
 dogs exercise. The blessed morning breeze. TiflSn. 
 Dress coats and white jackets. Dancing. The horec- 
 hair jupe. Dinner parties and their miseries. Wages 
 of domestics. Cooks and cookery. English dishes. 
 Preserved meats. How to make a fortune. Porous 
 jars and wine-coolers. Duties of the Abdar. Indian 
 hospitality. Boarding-houses. 163 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 How Englishmen lose caste. Expense of palanquins 
 and travelling. Hindoo gentlemen. Variety of char- 
 acters. Religious rank and distinction. Feasts and 
 
CONTENTS. XVll 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 festivals. Bhagabatee and Doorga. Native holidays. 
 Kartek and Ganesh. The fate of a goddess. Infant 
 betrothraents. The mystic fire. Frightful mons- 
 trosities. The darkness of the Hindoos. Peep at 
 the Esplanade. Tents of the Commander-in-chief 
 Bands of music. Portable houses. Singulai' wan- 
 dering people. A drunken English sailor, his fate. 
 Disadvantages of living in tents. The power of a 
 hungry mosquitoe. Tipula plumicomis. The prayers 
 on the sea-shore. Arabian Jew. Devout Pareees. 
 England's ten talents. What can we do individually] 
 Have we done our duty to India? Worthy bishops. 
 The presidency of Bombay. Its extent and popu- 
 lation. Mount Meru 182 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 Departure of day. Rapid advance of night. Indian 
 nights peculiar. Deserted roads. Sepoy guards and 
 flight of the begging crowds. Mosques. The cunning 
 snake charmer. Mohammedan devotee. A jjoor 
 Sudra. Large edible bat and beetles. The music 
 of Nature. Elater noctilucus. Infinity of living 
 creatures. Funei-al pyres. Back Bay. Vultures. 
 Covering a body. Burning it. Friends of the de- 
 parted. Children's indifference to the dead. Shore 
 strewed with human bones. Hindoos on death. 
 Government proclamations. Nizam of Hyderabad. 
 Do the Brahmins encourage self-immolation 1 Dangers 
 of the coast. Fate of the Donna Pascoa. Romantic 
 story of Colabah. English residences, Parsee pro- 
 perty. The nest of the Tailor-warbler. Barracks 
 and soldiers. Predisposing causes to cholera. Con- 
 
 b 
 
XVlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 tagion. Sick bungalows. English chapel and old 
 tombs. Sea-shells and cowries. Land-crabs, their 
 habits and haunts. 207 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Establishment of a wealthy merchant. Three classes of 
 servants. Ladies* maids and Ayehs. Affection of 
 Indian nurses, their love for your children. Sketch 
 of a Dobie, or washerman. How to get up linen. 
 Advice to new arrivals. Sketch of the Bheestie, or 
 water-bearer. The grunt at your bedroom door. 
 The Delhi brooch. Temptations to be avoided. 
 Sketch of the Dergie, or plaiu-scwing-man. His 
 beautiful work. English ladies and poor husbands. 
 A box on the car for stupidity. Indian butter. An 
 old favourite. Sketch of Meeta and Metraue sweep- 
 ers. Poor despised people. Chandalas forbidden to 
 reside in towns. Their calling. Grave-diggers and 
 executioners. The first visitor at your bungalow. 
 Troubles with superstitious servants. The Molly, or 
 gardener. The Gharry-wallah and his horses. Indian 
 jewellers. Their tools and workmanship. Wealth 
 and talents. How to make a gold chain. Danger of 
 fraud 232 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Sketch of the Guebres. City of Yezd. Atishgar, and 
 banishment of the Fire-worshippers out of Persia. 
 Their dissent. The Rusmiz and Cadmiz. Conversa- 
 tion with a Parsee. My friend Nesserwanjee. Love 
 of imitating English customs. Outcasts rejected. 
 
CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 How they dispose of their dead. Dockmehs, or 
 temples of silence. Religion. Orattianes and Ari- 
 manes. The Zendavista. Ormnzd and the great 
 spirit. Devout Parsees. The water called zor. 
 Sacred cord. The two converts. Sir Jamsetjee 
 Jeejeebhoy, his munificent gifts of charity, his 
 knighthood, and opinions of his friends, his wealth 
 and carriages. Lord Keane and the invitation to a 
 ball. Parsee ladies. Town and countiy house. Visit 
 to Sir Jamsetjee's house in the Fort. Elegant rooms 
 and furniture. Prodigal expenditure at feasts, &c. 
 A bridegroom's folly. Visit to the bun'a-babee. Her 
 jewels and diamond necklace. Mourning for the 
 dead. Our salaanft 252 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Bombay Jews, are they true Israelites'? Arabian and 
 White Jews. My opposite neighbours. Stolen peeps 
 across tlie street. Tlieir habits, dress, and how they 
 spend their time. My favom-ite boy. His dress and 
 Ayeh. Scene changes. A few words about a cat and 
 a dog. Tasso deserts me. Hospital for animals, and 
 behef in the transmigration of souls. Tasso's iin- 
 faithfulness. Little dogs have strange fancies. Six 
 o'clock at the Jewish family's house. Prayers, and 
 songs, and sweet music. My last look at the window. 
 Sorrow at separation from the Jewish child. Their 
 mnocent and happy life 278 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 'a canter over the sands. Government house at Malabar 
 Point and Parell. Unhealthy situation. Island of 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOK. 
 
 Salsette, its antiquities, not a part of the Infanta's 
 dowry. Village of Walka-es-Warre. Tanks, priests, 
 and people, there. Infatuated mendicants. A few 
 words on ablutions. Palma Christi, or castor-oil tree. 
 Bundarries. My visit to the Toddy-drawers. Silence 
 in the woods. Hour to collect toddy. Losing your 
 road. Bombay cathedi-al. Punkahs, and short and 
 long services. The dead quickly buried. Jackal 
 i-esurrectionists. Sudden deaths. A night visit from 
 a Raraoosie. Borahs. Bores and pedlara. Robbery 
 in my tent and Pedro's escape. The cook's Portu- 
 guese blessings. Bombay police, a useless body. 
 Public suspicions and opinions. Investigation and 
 awful revelations, &c. Conclusion.....*. 291 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 On the folly and danger of loading children with valu- 
 able ornaments. Account of the Mohurrum festival in 
 Bombay 322 
 
LIFE IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean — roll ! 
 Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 
 Man marks the eai'th with ruin — his control 
 Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain 
 The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 
 A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, 
 When, for a moment, hke a drop of rain. 
 He sinks into thy depths with bubbUng groan, 
 Without a grave, imknelled, imcoffined, and unknown." 
 
 Bybon. 
 
 A VOYAGE to India has often been described ; and 
 there is, in truth, little variety in the every-day 
 scenes on board a large vessel. The passengers you 
 meet with are pretty much of the same stamp, and 
 have been depicted, times out of number, by the 
 
 B 
 
I MISFORTUNES IN THE CHANNEL. 
 
 thousand and one voyagers to the East, who have 
 given us amusing portraits of the old officer returning 
 to join his regiment after a leave of absence; and 
 of the young cadet, fresh from the military college 
 of Addiscombe, with his head full of the Wellington 
 despatches and of Bengal tigers. 
 
 According to the good old custom, I kept an 
 accurate diary, and was as punctual in noting down 
 every little event, as our first mate was in recording 
 in his log-book the progress of the ship or the state 
 of the weather every twenty -four hours. In turning 
 over the leaves of this diary, I find but little worth 
 extracting. It is but a record of sunshine and 
 storms, and of many sad reflections upon taking 
 leave of all that was near or dear to me on earth. 
 
 The journal of my first week on board ship presents 
 a dreary catalogue of troubles, occasioned by the loss 
 of masts and sails in a gale of wind coming down 
 channel ; by the sea pouring in through the seams 
 of the deck, and deluging my bed and cabin ; and 
 by other discomforts peculiar to new ships that have 
 been fitted out in a hurry, and with but little regard 
 to the comfort or convenience of those destined to 
 live so many months on board of them. But these 
 treats were of short duration ; and a few fine days 
 set us all to rights again. 
 
 The carpenter, a clever and active man, was not 
 
AN ATTEMPTED MUTINY. 6 
 
 long in completing the new spars to supply the place 
 of those carried away, and our cabins were effectually 
 secured against any further intrusions of the sea. 
 
 Our crew consisted of a mixture of English, Irish, 
 and Scotch sailors ; and we had not been long on 
 board before the captain discovered that there were 
 two or three bad characters amongst them. One 
 morning, as we were sitting at breakfast, he was 
 summoned on deck and informed by these men, who 
 had been selected as spokesmen by the rest, that it 
 was their determination to work only in their watch; 
 that he was quite at liberty to confine them below 
 deck if he thought proper, but work at any other 
 time they would not. Having delivered this piece 
 of information, the mutineers returned to the fore- 
 castle, and the captain very coolly sat down again, 
 and finished his cup of coffee with us in the cabin. 
 As soon as the cloth was drawn, the mate was 
 ordered to get the irons out, to load with ball three 
 pistols, and to see that cutlasses were placed con- 
 veniently in every state-room, in case they should be 
 wanted in a hurry. Having finished these warlike 
 preparations, we waited the issue of the afternoon's 
 watch, to see if the crew would turn out as usual 
 to their duty. Two bells were at last struck, and, 
 much to our surprise, every hand appeared on deck. 
 The malcontents saw that they had a determined 
 
4 AMUSEMENT ON A LONG VOYAGE. 
 
 character to deal with in the person of Captain 
 
 W , and had thought it better to attend to his 
 
 orders at once. As a punishment, he gave them all 
 an extra hour's work ; and the two ringleaders were 
 set to holy-stone the decks until they begged his 
 pardon. One condescended to do this the following 
 morning, but the other rebel laboured at this hard 
 and distasteful work for eight days, before his spirit 
 was sufficiently broken to induce him to ask forgive- 
 ness for past offences. Thus were harmony and good 
 order once more restored on board our vessel, and, I 
 am happy to say, they were not interrupted again 
 during the voyage. 
 
 As we had a good library on board, my time was 
 profitably passed in reading, and in noting down every 
 event that had the slightest novelty to recommend 
 it to notice ; for the sea has a thousand charms to 
 those who travel for instruction, or with a laudable 
 desire to increase their acquaintance with the world 
 which they inhabit ; and, though a long voyage may 
 eventually tire the most sanguine inquirer in the 
 pursuit of knowledge, yet a large and marvellous 
 page of nature is open to him whose business is in 
 the great waters. Of such a man it may truly be 
 said, that he shall " see the wonders of the Lord." 
 
 The change of temperature which begins to be 
 very perceptible as you draw near the lovely group 
 
THINGS SEEN. O 
 
 of the Madeiras when you first put on the cool white 
 dress, and enjoy your walk upon the high poop, is a 
 pleasing relief after the fogs, rains, and chilly nights, 
 which have depressed your spirits and made you 
 dissatisfied with everything. The young voyager is 
 now delighted with the different colours of the sea. 
 When viewed in hazy weather, a yellow tinge is 
 spread over it ; but as he enters the torrid zone, a 
 dark brown is the prevailing colour. But these hues 
 are continually changing, for the bottom of the ocean 
 has a wonderful influence over them ; and the re- 
 flection of the sun, when the sky is clear and serene, 
 decks the mighty expanse in the most refreshing 
 green. When he reflects that this immense body of 
 water which surrounds him occupies a space on the 
 surface of our globe greater than that which is called 
 dry land, and covers an extent of 148,000,000 of 
 square miles, he is lost in the contemplation of so 
 sublime a work. 
 
 Again, there is his old welcome friend, the calm, 
 pale moon — which always appears to the English 
 eye unusually large, when viewed through the clear, 
 tropical atmosphere — looking so bright and beautiful, 
 that you scarcely know her again. Everything, in 
 fact, that you see, as the ship steals through the 
 waste of waters towards its destination, has a fresh- 
 ness and novelty about it which delight and en- 
 
b WONDERS OF TRAVEL. 
 
 chant those who are interested in the wonderful 
 works of God. 
 
 To quote the words of tlie ilhistrious Humboldt, 
 " One experiences an indescribable sensation when, 
 as we approach the equator, and especially in passing 
 from one hemisphere to the other, we see the stars 
 with which we have ])een familiar from inftmcy, 
 gradually approach the horizon, and finally dis- 
 appear. Nothing impresses more vividly on the 
 mind of the traveller the vast distance which sepa- 
 rates liim from his native country than the sight of 
 a new finnament. The grouping of the large stars, 
 the scattered nebulae rivalling in lustre the milky- 
 way, together with some spaces remarkable for their 
 extreme darkness, give the southern heavens a pecu- 
 liar aspect. The sight even strikes the imagination 
 of those who, although ignorant of astronomy, find 
 pleasure in contemplating the celestial vault, as one 
 admires a fine landscape, or a majestic site. With- 
 out being a botanist, the traveller knows the torrid 
 zone by the mere sight of its vegetation ; and, 
 without the possession of astronomical knowledge, 
 perceives that he is not in Europe, when he sees 
 rising in the horizon the great constellation of the 
 Ship, or the phosphorescent clouds of Magellan. In 
 the equinoctial regions, the earth, the sky, and all 
 their garniture, assume an exotic character." 
 
PORTO SANTO. 7 
 
 It was a lovely morning that revealed to me the 
 beauties of Porto Santo, the first land which we had 
 seen since bidding adieu to dear happy old England. 
 The pangs of separation had in a great measure 
 passed away, and I now began to look more soberly 
 upon my present lot, trusting alone to the goodness 
 of Him who could cast it in pleasant places. I went 
 on deck at 6 a.m., and ascertained from our second 
 mate, who had charge of the watch, that we were 
 only eight miles from the shore. I cannot conceive 
 a more lovely picture than this singular island pre- 
 sented as the rising sun illumined the peaks of its 
 lofty mountains, and dispelled the mists that still 
 floated in fleecy clouds over its tranquil valleys. 
 
 There are several small islands scattered about 
 Porto Santo, and they all appear to be the work of 
 some volcanic eruption. Porto Santo is, I believe, 
 the smallest inhabited island of the Madeira group. 
 It produces little corn, but its valleys feed numbers 
 of oxen, and wild hogs are found on its hills. Its 
 exports are few, and chiefly consist of wax, honey, 
 and dragons' blood; while a small grape supplies 
 a poor thin wine to its Portuguese cultivators. 
 
 We saw Madeira, that grave of England's con- 
 sumptive children, in the distance, but could form 
 no idea of its extent or elevation. As the wind had 
 died away, we were becalmed many hours under the 
 
8 THE STORMY PETREL. 
 
 lee of this land. The sky was cloudless, and the 
 sea so clear and transparent that the eye could pene- 
 trate many fathoms into the depths below. About 
 3 P.M. the thermometer fell rapidly, and all hands 
 were ordered on deck, to prepare for a coming 
 squall. Fortunately the wind was in our favour, 
 and the sudden appearance of Mother Gary's chickens, 
 congregating under the stern of our vessel, confirmed 
 the captain in his former belief that the fine morn- 
 ing was only a foxy one, and we might still expect 
 a continuance of boisterous weather. 
 
 A few words about the stormy petrel of these seas 
 may prove acceptable to some of my younger 
 readers. The proceUaria pelagica is a j)retty little 
 bird, about six inches iu length, with head, back, 
 and tail, of a coal-black tint, and with a broad trans- 
 verse bar of white on the rump. The scapulars and 
 secondary quills are tipped with white. It delights 
 to skim the waves of the boundless Atlantic, and 
 flies so near the surface as to appear as if running 
 upon the water. These birds feed principally on 
 the small marine mollusca, &c., that are cast upon 
 the surface. I have observed them in the most 
 awful storms, when it was scarcely possible for a 
 man to stand upon deck from the fury of the gale. 
 
 " Up and down ! up and down ! 
 From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, 
 
ITS HABITS. y 
 
 And amidst the flashing and feathery foam. 
 
 The Stormy Petrel finds a home : 
 
 A home, if such a place may be, 
 
 For her who lives on the wide, wide sea, 
 
 On the craggy ice, in the frozen air, 
 
 And only seeketh her rocky lair 
 
 To warm her young, and teach them to spring 
 
 At once o'er the waves on their stormy wing." 
 
 The stormy petrels congregate under the shel- 
 tered sides of vessels, where they are in a great 
 measure protected from the wind, and find plenty of 
 food raised up by the action of the rudder, and upon 
 the refuse thrown overboard from the cook's galley. 
 They have the power of ejecting from their stomach 
 an oily and foetid matter. These birds are easily 
 caught with a pin or fly- hook, baited with a piece of 
 fat pork, trailed over the side or in the wake of the 
 ship, from a thin line. Sailors have a superstitious 
 veneration for these little wanderers of the deep, as 
 they fancy their appearance prognosticates foul wea- 
 ther. But I have observed them on the finest days, 
 and even when we were becalmed upon the line. 
 
 Ornithologists have described four varieties. One, 
 the procdlaria leechi, has a fine forked tail, and was 
 first discovered by Mr. Bullock in the Island of St. 
 Kilda, whither many of the species resort in the 
 breeding season. 
 
 The nest of the procdlaria pelagica is placed 
 
10 THE HOLOTHURIA PHYSALIS, 
 
 among loose stones, where a single egg of pure white 
 is laid in the month of May. They have been 
 found in many parts of the islands north of Scot- 
 land, and on the coast of the Isle of Man, but quit 
 these stations in October or November, for warmer 
 latitudes. 
 
 Having passed the Deserters, another picturesque 
 group of islands connected with Madeira, the next 
 fresh object that engrossed my attention was the 
 holothuria physalis, or little men-of-war, as they are 
 commonly called by nautical people, from their re- 
 semblance to a vessel under canvas. We must 
 have sailed through thousands of them in an hour. 
 They all had their little sails expanded, and Avere 
 steering in the same direction as our ship. Their 
 sail is a thin, semi-transparent membrane, extend- 
 ing diagonally from one side of the animal to the 
 other. 
 
 When examined in a tub of water, on deck, it 
 appeared to be almost white ; but in certain lights, 
 and in its native element, its edges are tinged by the 
 most brilliant blue and crimson reflections. From 
 the body are suspended numerous hair-like ten- 
 tacula, or feelers, that are constantly engaged in 
 entangling the food upon which the animal lives. 
 When disturbed in the water, the sail is rapidly 
 folded up, and the little man-of-war sinks out of 
 
FLYING-FISH. 1 1 
 
 sigbt. We caught many of tliem in a bucket ; but 
 I was charged not to handle them incautiously, as 
 they would sting me, or paralyse the arm for some 
 hours after. I was surprised to see these frail and 
 delicate little creatures mounting securely over the 
 lofty billows, though a brisk breeze was carrying us 
 along at the rate of seven or eight knots an hour. 
 
 I must not omit in my catalogue the beautiful 
 flying-fish {exocetvs volitans), so often described by 
 travellers. Five days after our departure from Porto 
 Santo, we got into their track, and saw shoals of 
 them springing into the air, a height of ten or twelve 
 feet ; they would flutter horizontally some distance, 
 and then drop heavily into the ocean. The large 
 pectoral fins act as wings to this animal ; and as 
 the swimming or air bladder is of unusual size for 
 so small a fish, their extreme buoyancy in the at- 
 mosphere is easily accounted for. 
 
 The flying-fish has many enemies. The dolphin, 
 albacore, boneta, &c., are waging incessant war with 
 them in the sea ; and no sooner do they take to 
 flight, than the prowling frigate-bird, or wide-awake, 
 is ready to dash down among them, and drive them 
 once more to seek shelter in their own native element. 
 Some of our crew were very anxious to attract a few 
 on board of our vessel ; and during the night one 
 or two of them got into the chains, and held a 
 
12 TWILIGHT WITHIN THE TROPICS. 
 
 lantern out for that purpose ; but, after an hour's 
 patient watching, the plan was given up, though 
 said to be at times a very successful one. The 
 following night, three or four fish flew across the 
 ship, and three of them, striking the sails, fell dead 
 upon deck, and were served up the next morning 
 for breakfast. The one I partook of was about ten 
 inches long, and though nicely dressed, had little 
 flavour or finnness to recommend it as an article of 
 diet. 
 
 We have a few instances on record of the flying- 
 fish visiting our English seas. Pennant informs us 
 that a fish of this genus was caught in June, 17G5, 
 at a small distance l>elow Caermarthen, in the river 
 Towy ; and Jennings states that a second specimen 
 was taken in July, 1 823, in the Bristol Channel, ten 
 miles from Bridgewater. In August, 1825, many 
 were seen off" Portland Island, by a vessel outward 
 bound. Tlie air in the swimming-bladder of the 
 flying-fish has been supposed to be pure oxygen ; 
 but Baron Humboldt found it to consist of ninety- 
 four parts of azote, two of carbonic acid, and only 
 four of oxygen. 
 
 The close and dawn of day within the tropics 
 present many magnificent sights to a spectator on 
 shipboard. The brilliant constellations visible in 
 more southern latitudes — the brief though fearful 
 
FIELDS OF SEA-WEED. 13 
 
 storm — the soul- depressing calms so often en- 
 countered on the line — and the strange and solitary 
 birds that hover around your course, hundreds of 
 miles from any known land — all supply food to 
 the imagination, and tend to elevate the mind to 
 the great Author and Governor of all things. 
 
 It may be a little out of place here to speak 
 of what we saw on the return voyage ; but I cannot 
 refrain from alluding to the vast fields of sea-weed 
 that for two days so surrounded our vessel, as almost 
 to impede its progress through the water. This 
 floating fucus is supposed to be detached by storms 
 from the sub-marine rocks on which it is said to 
 grow ; but that which we fished up presented all 
 the appearance of belonging to a healthy growing 
 plant ; nor could I detect any roots, &c-, which 
 might have induced me to suppose that it had been 
 once attached to the rocky bottom of the ocean. 
 Our captain said it was carried by the great current 
 out of the Gulf of Mexico ; but there is no founda- 
 tion for this supposition. Many of the sailors 
 appeared to be quite familiar with its appearance, 
 ate large quantities of it, and said it was the tropic 
 grape that grew in Neptune's vineyard, and cured 
 all diseases. 
 
 Two great banks of this singular stringy-looking 
 weed are said to occur in the Atlantic Ocean. One of 
 
14 COLUMBUS. 
 
 them is often met with to the west of the meridian 
 of Fayal, one of the Azores, but the site of the 
 other has not been correctly ascertained. Burnet 
 tells us, that it vegetates within forty degrees of 
 latitude on each side the equator, and that vessels 
 homeward bound from Monte Video or the Cape 
 always pass through one field of it. It was known 
 to the Phoenicians as the Weedy Sea, and the 
 Spaniards and Portuguese call it Mar de Zaragossa. 
 It is related of Columbus, that the sailors who 
 attended him on his first voyage of discovery to 
 America, on passing through these fields of sea-weed, 
 urged him to proceed no further on the voyage, but 
 to return home again, as they superstitiously believed 
 that this hindrance was designed by God to put a 
 stop to his wild schemes. 
 
 It is astonishing what a trifle will create a bustle 
 and afford fresh subject for conversation at sea. A 
 dead whale floating past, a ship in the distance, a 
 passing shower, or even a shooting-star, all come 
 in for their share of discussion and debate ; for a 
 ship's company, generally speaking, are garrulous, 
 and fond of making the most of everything that 
 may occur to break in upon the monotony of a long 
 voyage. 
 
 Calms are favourable seasons for conversation, 
 which is often, as I have remarked, of a somewhat 
 
MADAGASCAR. 15 
 
 melancholy and dispiriting character. Few persons 
 can form an idea of the dreadful gloom that is cast 
 over a ship's crew when a death occurs on board ; 
 and more particularly so when that death has been 
 accidental. T had once the misfortune to be a 
 participator in a scene of this sad description, and 
 to be aroused from my bed by the fearful announce- 
 ment — " A man overboard ! " We were creeping 
 quietly along the eastern coast of Madagascar, and 
 had been amusing ourselves, the evening before, 
 by viewing from the poop that large and mountain- 
 ous island through a powerful telescope. We had 
 first sighted it at noon, and the varied scenery was 
 continually changing, as, with a light breeze, we 
 stole onwards. Not being very far from the coast, 
 we could easily descry, even with the naked eye, 
 fires blazing upon the shore, and objects moving 
 around them. 
 
 The mate, who appeared to be gifted with a re- 
 markably long vision, and who saw through his 
 glass things which no one else could see, declared 
 that a human sacrifice was going forward at a 
 
 k)articular spot named, and it was amusing to watch 
 he anxiety of the apprentice boys to witness this 
 xtraordihary scene, and to obtain permission to 
 look through the glass at the cannibals. I shall 
 never forget the picturesque appearance of the moun- 
 
16 AN ALARM. 
 
 tains, bathed as their strange and ragged forms were 
 in the rich hues of sunset. Some of these lofty hills 
 tapered to a point ; others bore an odd resemblance 
 to towers or gigantic columns. As far as the eye 
 could reach, mountains overtopped mountains, till 
 the summits were undistinguishable in the purple 
 haze of approaching night. I sat on the quarter- 
 deck for some hours, watching this moving panorama; 
 until at length darkness pitilessly shut out the lovely 
 prospect. 
 
 We had all been very merry that day, for we had 
 caught the trade wind again ; and the captain had 
 welcomed the meeting with a bottle of noble cham- 
 pagne at dinner. The crew had an extra allowance 
 of grog, and the boys had something very tempting 
 for supper. Between two and three the following 
 morning, I was disturbed by an unusual noise on 
 deck, and by a great deal of running to and fro on 
 the poop, over my little cabin. I sprang out of bed, 
 and hastened on deck to inquire the cause, feeling, 
 to say the truth, a little alarmed ; for just about 
 nightfall, there had passed us, pretty close, a sus- 
 picious-looking craft, which the captain took to be 
 either a pirate or a slaver from the African coast. 
 She burnt for a few minutes a white light at her 
 bow, but never, as is customar}'^ with honest vessels, 
 attempted to speak us. 
 
A BOY OVERBOARD. 17 
 
 The second mate, whom I found in the greatest 
 distress, told me that an apprentice — the poor boy's 
 name was Morgan — had fallen overboard from some 
 part of the rigging near the cross-trees. He was 
 seen to strike the rail in his descent. A small 
 step-ladder was immediately thrown over to him, 
 and, the alarm being given, one of the boats was 
 lowered down from the davits ; four or five of the 
 crew jumped into it half naked, and pulled off in 
 the direction in which it was supposed the boy would 
 be carried by the current. The night was not very 
 dark. Some bright stars were visible ; yet there 
 was a good deal of thick haze floating over the 
 sea. The ship, of course, was put about ; and but 
 a few minutes had elapsed before every hand had 
 turned out, and every eye was strained to catch 
 a glimpse of the boat, which had disappeared in the 
 fog. 
 
 It was an anxious moment to all on board. No 
 one spoke above a whisper. Occasionally the splash 
 of the oars was heard, and the deep voice of the man 
 who steered, calling " Morgan ! Morgan ! " reached 
 the ear ; but poor Morgan was never more to obey 
 his summons ; he had received one from higher 
 authority — the deep, deep sea, had closed over his 
 body, and his spirit had departed to Him who gave 
 it. Sorrow was depicted upon the countenances of 
 
 c 
 
18 MOXTRNING. 
 
 all, when the brave boatmen came on board without 
 him, and, after securing the boat, crept off one 
 by one in silence to their hammocks. They had 
 picked up the ladder, but not the boy. I returned 
 to my cabin, but not to sleep. My mind was 
 too full of the image of our departed shipmate. He, 
 an only child, was a poor sickly lad, and had been 
 my first patient on board. I thought of his poor 
 mother, till the picture was too painful to be dwelt 
 upon ; so I got up, aud returned to the deck, which 
 I paced till daybreak, feeling revived by the cool 
 night wind, that had rather increased during the 
 last few hours. As the white spray dashed from 
 the bows, I more than once fancied I heard poor 
 Morgan's voice calling from the angry waters below 
 me. 
 
 The old grey-headed boatswain was huddled up 
 behind the large water-cask, in a great monkey 
 jacket, for he had gone fast asleep after the trouble 
 and exertion of the search for the lost boy. How 
 easily, I thought, do some men take these awful 
 warnings to be prepared for death ! The mate 
 joined me on deck ; and we walked there together 
 conversing on the uncertainty of life, till the shades 
 of night were swept from off the bosom of the now 
 beautiful ocean. 
 
 The air was delicious, and Madagascar no longer 
 
THE cabin-boy's SIMPLICITY. 19 
 
 visible to us. A few albatrosses, those mighty in- 
 habitants of these regions, kept us company ; and 
 some stray Cape-pigeons uttered their piercing little 
 cry, as they followed in the wake of the vessel, 
 and picked up the morsels of bread which the black 
 cook seemed to take pleasure in throwing to them. 
 
 The heavy dews of the past eventful night were 
 still dripping from the sails and ropes ; the dogs 
 crept out from under the long-boat, and shook their 
 shaggy coats ; the sleepers were awakened, and all 
 was once more bustle and activity. Day had re- 
 turned to the world, and man accordingly went 
 "forth to his work and to his labour." The fine 
 trade wind diverted our attention, and compelled 
 us, as it were, to forget the lost boy who had been 
 taken from amongst us. 
 
 Troubles, it has been said, sit lightly on sailors ; 
 but we had on board a little cabin-boy, who had 
 been a great friend of poor Morgan, and who bitterly 
 felt his loss. In the course of the morning, this 
 poor lad came up to me on the quarter-deck, and, 
 after looking at me very earnestly, asked, with much 
 simplicity, whether I thought poor Tom was eaten 
 by the sharks by this time. There was something 
 so strange in the question and in the child-like 
 manner of putting it, that I felt for an instant at a 
 loss how to reply. 
 
20 A SUPERSTITION OF SAILORS. 
 
 After a moment's silence, I told him, that, by the 
 mercy of God, and through the merits of Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour, poor Morgan was, I hoped, in 
 a better world ; and that, if so, it was of very little 
 consequence to him whether he was eaten by the 
 sharks at sea or by the worms on shore ; that our 
 bibles told us, that at the last day the sea would 
 give up its dead, and that his comrade would not 
 be forgotten. 
 
 The little cabin-boy cried very bitterly ; nor did 
 an}i;hing that I could say appear to comfort him. 
 He was only twelve years of age, and an interest- 
 ing and well-disposed boy. He could not read very 
 well, but the black cook had taken some pains 
 to teach him and poor Morgan to read the New 
 Testament. 
 
 For several days a cloud was cast over the usual 
 cheerfulness of the ship's crew. The fiddle in the 
 forecastle was silent, and the hearty laugh was heard 
 no more — sailors are proverbially superstitious, espe- 
 cially about death. I was told that some of the 
 crew fully expected to see the ghost of the drowned 
 boy sitting on the bowsprit on the ninth night from 
 his death. The following Sunday it was pleasing to 
 see that, out of respect to the departed youth, almost 
 every man wore some article of mourning. 
 
 Speaking of Sunday, it is not a day often 
 
SUNDAY ON BOARD SHIP. 21 
 
 neglected, nor are its sacred hours allowed to pass 
 by unheeded on ship-board ; and though the beauti- 
 ful prayers in our fine church service, intended for 
 use at sea, are not always read aloud in the cabin of 
 every vessel, yet I think, generally speaking, the 
 Sabbath, in our English ships, is as well observed, 
 and is kept as holy, as circumstances will admit. 
 
 In this matter, everything, of course, depends 
 upon the captain, who has many blessed oppor- 
 tunities of doing good to those entrusted to his 
 care. I am now, it must be understood, speaking 
 with reference to the Merchant Service — that great 
 nursery for British seamen. The first Sabbath that 
 I spent at sea is still fresh in my memory. The 
 evening before exhibited quite a busy scene, and 
 newly-washed clothes were fluttering from every 
 rope, to dry. All the crew were engaged in setting 
 matters in order on board ; and on the following 
 morning all turned out in their best apparel. Every- 
 thing connected with the usual daily work on board 
 a large vessel was put out of sight, and the ends of 
 all loose ropes were, what is called, " Flemish coiled." 
 The decks, from the holy-stoning of the night before, 
 were snowy-white, all unnecessary labour was avoided, 
 and the men and boys were allowed as much spare 
 time for reading as was consistent with the safe 
 working of the ship. It was a pleasing sight to 
 
22 DIVINE SERVICE. 
 
 see them seated at their ease, many reatHug their 
 bibles, or other books suitable to the day. Thought- 
 less as sailors too often are, the bible is a book 
 generally to be found in some comer of each man's 
 chest ; and it is not an unusual thing to see there 
 also a bundle or two of religious tracts, put in, no 
 doubt, by some good mother or sister who had packed 
 the box. 
 
 On the day to which I allude, the captain said he 
 would have prayers read in the cabin. All the boys 
 were, very properly, ordered to attend, but the men 
 were allowed to act in this matter as they thought 
 proi)€r; and the mate rang the bell at eleven o'clock. 
 The momiog was unusually calm and serene, and 
 was singularly favourable to the perfonnance of a 
 duty of this description. I think all who could do 
 80, attended the summons ; and it gave me great 
 pleasure to see so many of our most careless sailors 
 fall dowTi upon their knees as they entered the 
 place set apart for prayer, and behave with all 
 reverence during the whole service. 
 
 There was something to me very impressive and 
 beautiful in the appearance of this little group of 
 persons, bound upon a long and dangerous voyage, 
 and now voluntarily collected together in a frail 
 vessel, and upon a treacherous sea, to offer up their 
 prayers, and to pour forth their praises and thanks- 
 
THE STORM. 23 
 
 givings before the throne of Him "whose paths are 
 in the great waters, and whose footsteps are not 
 known." 
 
 When the solemn introductory prayer was read, 
 beginning with " O Eternal Lord God, who alone 
 spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of 
 the sea, who hast compassed the waters with bounds, 
 until day and night come to an end, be pleased to 
 receive into thy Almighty and gracious protection 
 the persons of us thy servants," <kc. ; and when the 
 reader proceeded to " thou didst send forth thy com- 
 mandment, and the windy storm ceased, and was 
 turned into a calm," how little did any of us think, 
 during that quiet and peaceful morning, when the 
 elements were at rest, that, in a few hours afterwards, 
 our vessel was to be nearly dismasted in a tremendous 
 gale. Such, however, was the case. 
 
 Within but a few hours, a storm burst upon us 
 so suddenly, and with such awful fury, that before 
 we could take in any canvas to save them, our 
 main-topmast, main top-gallant mast, and royal, were 
 carried away. So little can they, who " have business 
 in great waters," judge what an hour may bring 
 forth. 
 
 But I have rambled from my purpose, and must 
 return to it, or we shall never reach Bombay. When 
 we were within a few days' sail of India, we were 
 
24 THE SESOSTRIS. 
 
 rudely summoned, by the commander of the Sesostrls 
 steamer, to heave to, and bear tidings to the great 
 men of Bombay, that she, the Sesostris steamer- 
 frigate, had been out six days in a hurricane, but had 
 weathered the gale, and was now going safely, with 
 her passengers and mail-bags, to Aden. 
 
 As we were compelled to haul in pretty close, 
 and were, out of compliment, obliged to take in our 
 stun-sails, I had a good opportunity of seeing this 
 beautiful vessel, the property of the Honourable East 
 India Company. Her quarter-deck was crowded by 
 a strange collection of black and white faces of every 
 caste and colour. Servants were running about in 
 their eastern costumes and overgrown turbans ; and 
 under the cabin windows might be seen — what was 
 a tempting sight to us, who had been so long at 
 sea — nets filled with all sorts of vegetables, fruit, 
 fresh meat, and other good things necessary for the 
 voyage. 
 
 After a request that she should be reported as 
 soon as we arrived in Bombay, from whence she 
 had sailed — which request was roared through a 
 speaking-trumpet, by a very little red-faced man, 
 who, by-the-bye, forgot to ask whether we were in 
 want of water, or had run short of anything — away 
 went the Sesostris, rolling, pitching, and smoking, 
 over the mountain- waves which the late storm had 
 
BOMBAY. 25 
 
 raised up, and whicli we had happily escaped by one 
 single day. 
 
 There appeared to be a singular variety of char- 
 acters on board of the steamer. I espied two or 
 three jaundiced-looking old men, who, as I supposed, 
 after heaping up riches and, perhaps, honours, were 
 tearing themselves away from India, to flutter for 
 a year or two about the sunny side of Cheltenham, 
 and then to die. Others there were, who were 
 pictures of sea-sickness and misery ; and in some 
 countenances there was a glow of hope, excited by 
 the thought of once more visiting Old England. 
 
 Two days after this encounter in the Indian Ocean, 
 we were safely riding at anchor opposite the Fort 
 of Bombay, and in one of the most lovely and 
 picturesque harbours it has been my good fortune 
 to visit. We had been just three months and a half 
 upon our voyage, and I really felt sorry that it was 
 over ; for the last ties that seemed still to bind me 
 to sweet home were now to be broken. 
 
 We had scarcely come to an anchor, before our 
 vessel was surrounded by canoes, punts, dingies, and 
 a dozen different kinds of shore-boats, all of which 
 had come off from the custom-house bunda, in the 
 full expectation of getting a job of some description 
 or other. One contained the custom-house officers ; 
 another, the parties to whom our ship was consigned ; 
 
26 BOMBAY BOATS. 
 
 another, the master dobie, or ship's washerman, who 
 kindly volunteered to wash for captain, mates, and 
 sailors, at an almost nominal charge. He had a 
 turban full of the highest testimonials, signed by all 
 the known and unknown officers of the Indian armv 
 and navj', extending over a period of thirty years at 
 the very least, and carefully enclosed in an oiled 
 paper envelope. 
 
 Another boat had been engaged by a collection 
 of Portuguese servant- boys, who were anxious to hire 
 themselves to captain, mate, passengers, or, in fact, 
 to any one that was silly enough to take them on the 
 strength of their suspicious-looking recommendations. 
 
 Another boat had pulled over a remarkably jolly- 
 looking Hindoo, who kindly offered to dispose, for 
 the commander, of any little thing he might have 
 brought out on his own account to speculate witlL 
 He said, in very good English, he was intimately 
 acquainted with all the London and Liverpool ships, 
 and had been the means of putting their captains 
 into the way of realizing large sums on their York- 
 shire hams, Cumberland bacon, greyhounds, (fee, <kc. 
 He was, in fact, a Jew of the St. Mary Axe caste. 
 
 Another, and perhaps the most acceptable boat 
 in the lot, was filled with all sorts of desirable 
 things ; fresh water, new-baked bread, goat's milk, 
 pots of country butter or ghee, eggs, poultry of all 
 
A MUSSULMAN. 27 
 
 descriptions, meat, vegetables, newspapers, foreign 
 and native, Manilla cheroots, Chinese punkahs, 
 hookahs, pumpkins, and fifty nameless articles, 
 difficult to remember. 
 
 Then there was a boat crowded with Lascars, fine, 
 strongly-made men, who had come off to assist in 
 unloading the ship ; for in warm climates our sailors 
 are unequal to this task without assistance. A 
 knowing-looking ]\Iussulman, seeing me staring 
 about on the quarter-deck, came up the ladder, and, 
 after making me a very low and graceful salaam, 
 begged my acceptance of a bunch of sweet green 
 leaves, and a real genuine Provence rose, which 
 appeared to me doubly sweet. He had tied them 
 up neatly on a painted stick ; and, having thus 
 introduced himself, he began to recommend, in very 
 glowing terms, a young gentleman sitting in the bow 
 of one of the boats, and holding over his head a 
 ragged pink umbrella, as a fit and proper person to 
 look aft«r my luggage, and act as my valet-de- 
 chambre during my sojourn in Bombay. I told him, 
 however, that I should probably have to be my own 
 for some years to come. He apologized for the 
 intrusion ; and was afterwards, with about two 
 dozen others, peremptorily, and rather hastily, ordered 
 oflf the deck by the mate, as some of the sailors had 
 discovered that our polite visitors had made several 
 
28 BOMBAY THIEVES. 
 
 mistakes in taking away with them articles not 
 hiwfuUy their own. 
 
 No sooner had they pushed off, than it was dis- 
 covered that the loose ends of every rope had been 
 cut off. We had evidently fallen among thieves, 
 perhaps the most expert and cunning which the 
 world could produce. One of our crew declared 
 that a Lascar was sawing off, with the greatest cool- 
 ness, and with his hands behind him, about three 
 yards of new rope, as he was conversing with him 
 about the nature of the cargo. It may appear 
 strange that the captain was not aware of this 
 national failing ; but it was his first voyage to 
 India. 
 
 We got a most acceptable supply of fresh water 
 from the pilot- boat, as we had suffered much during 
 the voyage from the bad tank that ours had been 
 put into. After so long an abstinence, I thought 
 I had never in my life tasted anything so delicious 
 as this water. Truly, we never know the value of 
 any blessing till we lose it. 
 
 " And this is India !" thought I, as, with a strange 
 feeling of pleasure and surprise, my eyes, as I sat 
 upon a chair on the quarter-deck, wandered over the 
 scenes on shore. " This is the far-famed country 
 concerninfr which I have heard so much ! the land 
 of gold and sunshine — of nabobs and diamonds ; 
 
INDIA. 29 
 
 the land of which tradition has told us so many 
 marvellous tales, and of which such wondrous 
 accounts have been handed down, ever since the day 
 when Vasco del Gama, the first European navigator, 
 found his way to India by doubling the Cape of 
 Good Hope — opened, on the 20th of May, 1498, 
 friendly communications with the Zamarin, or 
 sovereign prince of Calicut — and laid the foundation 
 of a scheme which was soon to disturb its tran- 
 quillity, and to relieve it of a portion of its riches. 
 How little did he dream that England was even- 
 tually to reap the benefits of his discovery, and 
 that a quiet little company of Leadenhall Street 
 merchants would, in due time, take counsel together 
 to turn the trade of Hindostan into a new channel, 
 and to deprive the Venetians, the Genoese, and 
 finally the Portuguese, of all the golden harvest they 
 had been so long reaping on the sunny shores of 
 the famed Indies. Here, then, was Bombay,* which 
 
 * Bombay takes its name from two Portuguese words, 
 hom hahia, signifying a good harbour or bay. It is stated, 
 that in the age of Periplus this island, then called Kalliena, 
 was little frequented. It had previously been an established 
 port, but Sandanes, one of the sovereigns of Barugaza, 
 prohibited any of the Egyptian vessels from entering the 
 harbour ; and if any were compelled to do so by accident or 
 stress of weather, a guard was immediately put on board, 
 and they were taken to Bai-ugaza. 
 
30 GEOGRAPHY OF BOMBAY. 
 
 the Moguls bad surrendered up to the Portuguese in 
 1530, and which was to be rather more than a 
 century afterwards a part of a wedding-gift of the 
 Infanta of Spain, on her marriage to Charles the 
 Second. 
 
 My mind pictured the fleet of five ships of war, 
 under the command of the Earl of Marlborough, 
 arriving here in 1662, to take possession of this 
 valuable acquisition, which is now the site of a 
 prosperous and populous city, remarkable for its 
 strong fortifications, magnificent harbour, fine docks, 
 and wealthy merchants ; in fact, one of the most 
 flourishing depots for the produce of the East that 
 we possess. 
 
 The Island of Bombay is beautifully situated on 
 the western coast of Hindostan, 18 deg. 5G min. 
 N. Lat, and 72 deg. 57 min. E. Long., and lies off" 
 the shore of Concan in the province of Bejapore. 
 It was united, in 1805, to the large and interesting 
 Island of Salsette, on the south, by a noble cause- 
 way constructed by the then governor, Mr. Duncan. 
 
 Bombay is said to be formed of two ranges of 
 whinstone rock, of unequal length, running parallel 
 to each other on opposite sides of the island, and 
 at the distance of two or three miles from each 
 other. The eastern range is about seven, and the 
 western about five, miles long; these ranges being 
 
r 
 
 FORT GEORGE. 31 
 
 united at the north and south by belts of sandstone, 
 which are only a few feet above the level of the 
 sea. 
 
 The harbour is bounded on the north and west by 
 Bombay, Colabah, and Salsette. On the eastern side 
 is Butcher's Island, and behind this, Elephanta. 
 Three miles south of Butcher's Island is Caranjah. 
 The channel thus formed by Colabah and Caranjah 
 is about three miles wide, and about seven or eight 
 fathoms deep ; and is rather dangerous, on account 
 of a sunken rock and bank occurring near the 
 entrance to the harbour. 
 
 The visitor in Bombay sees, comparatively speak- 
 ing, but little to gratify his curiosity. Here are no 
 ^ ruined temples, or deserted cities ; no jungles, or 
 deserts wild, where lurks the prowling tiger or the 
 savage Thug ; and were it not for the exquisite 
 scenery that surrounds it on all sides, this island has 
 in itself but few natural charms to engage our 
 attention or to merit minute detail. 
 
 Fort George is the grand resort for foreigners 
 and merchants, and its narrow dingy streets are 
 constantly thronged by crowds from all quarters 
 of the globe. The strange costumes and odd-look- 
 ing people you are constantly meeting puzzle you 
 amazingly, before you can find out who they are, or 
 before you can distinguish the different castes of the 
 
32 GOA. 
 
 natives. Here is one man with forty or fifty yards of 
 muslin rolled up into a turban on his head ; here 
 another with a tower of card-board, covered with 
 chintz ; there another with a peak coming down 
 between his eyes, and resting on the bridge of 
 his nose. Then, numbers whom you meet, have 
 peculiar daubs of coloured paint upon their fore- 
 heads; caste marks, which are renewed every morning. 
 The light and cool-looking dresses which all 
 persons wear — thin, long, flowing, white robes, and 
 silk or coloured linen trousers, make you quite envy 
 them, and long to cast off your tight uncomfortable 
 European dress for theirs. There are still a great 
 numlier of Portuguese here ; more, perhaps, than 
 in any other of the presidencies, but they belong 
 chiefly to the poorer classes. They have their 
 churches, chapels, and religious houses, and keep up 
 a great deal of the pomp and outward show of their 
 religion, which is now mixed up with many of 
 the popular superstitions of the Hindoos and Mo- 
 hammedans. 
 
 Goa still exists as their gate into India ; but this 
 once splendid and populous capital, Mr. Hamilton 
 describes as a wilderness, of which the monasteries 
 form the only tenanted portion, and of which a few 
 miserable monks, half of them natives, are the only 
 inhabitants, while whole streets may be traversed. 
 
POPERY IN INDIA, 33 
 
 from one extremity to another, without meeting 
 a human being, or any other signs of former popu- 
 lation, than pavements overgrown with grass ; 
 gardens and court-yards choked with under-wood ; 
 and princely dwellings, and venerable abbeys, 
 mouldering rapidly to decay. 
 
 The magnificent churches and monasteries of 
 Goa cannot easily be forgotten by those who have 
 visited this once fearfully celebrated seat of the 
 Inquisition. It is situated 250 miles to the south 
 of Bombay, and few can witness its perishing great- 
 ness, without feeling that the hand of an angry God 
 resteth upon it. But Goa still continues to supply 
 India with fresh recruits for the service of the Pope ; 
 and sadly did it mourn over the loss of Bombay, 
 and the thought that it was to come into the 
 possession of the vile English heretics. 
 
 We know that England is accused of injustice 
 towards India, but we cannot say that she has been 
 indifferent to the spiritual welfare and happiness 
 of its countless inhabitants. She has not, like the 
 Komanists wherever their agents have obtained a 
 footing, pulled down one set of idols to substitute 
 another set. The spiritual light which she has 
 poured into India is the true light of the gospel. 
 The pure and unadulterated word of God, as preached 
 by those English and American missionaries, who 
 
 D 
 
34 THE PLENTEOUS HARVEST. 
 
 have gone forth to offer to India salvation only 
 through the merits and death of a crucified Re- 
 deemer, without money and without price, has been, 
 in a measure, at least, effectual to enlighten its 
 benighted people. It is, indeed, but too true, that 
 we have but feebly obeyed the command of our 
 Divine Master, to " Go into all nations, and preach 
 the gospel to every creature." We have not done in 
 this matter so much as we might have done, and as 
 it was our duty to do. 
 
 While countless treasures have been drawn from 
 this fair laud, to minister to England's national 
 pride, and to subjugate to her power the nations 
 6f Southern Asia, how few are the voices which 
 in that vast wilderness of unbelief are at this present 
 moment preaching forgiveness of sins through the 
 blood of the Redeemer ! Tlie harvest truly is plen- 
 teous, and has been long ripe for the sickle, but 
 where, it may be asked, are the reapers to gather 
 it in ? Here and there, indeed, a lone man of God 
 is gloriously expending his health, his strength, his 
 life, in the great cause of man's redemption ; but 
 what are these among so many? What provision 
 is this for the spiritual wants of this mighty empire, 
 in which 120,000,000 of our fellow-subjects are lost 
 in the thick darkness of the grossest idolatry? It 
 
TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL RICHES. 35 
 
 is but as a drop of water in the ocean, a blade of 
 grass in the forest or the jungle. 
 
 If but the smallest fraction of the gains of Eng- 
 land's merchants as a body, were systematically laid 
 aside for this noble object, how great would be the 
 sum annually collected, and how many more labourers 
 might be sent out into the field of India? Shall 
 it be said of us, that we gather where we have 
 not strown ? We have received from India tem- 
 poral riches — let us give her those which are 
 eternal. 
 
36 GREEN SPOTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 u 
 
 I think I can Bce the precise and distinguishing marks 
 of national character more in these nonsensical minutia), 
 than in the most impoitant matters of state." 
 
 In thus taking up my pen but to jot down some of 
 my stray reminiscences of India, I would endeavour 
 to perpetuate the memorj' of days passed amidst its 
 peculiar scenes and people. Early impressions, in- 
 deed, are not easily eradicated. The memory clings 
 to them with a wonderful tenacity ; they fade not 
 from the mind, however roughly we may afterwards 
 be tossed about upon the stormy waves of life. 
 
 Early happy hours are the " green spots on 
 memory's waste ;" and on the recollection of such 
 green spots we all delight to dwell. Life is net 
 altogether a vale of tears and sorrow ; the Almighty, 
 in his great goodness, has provided largely for our 
 solace and gratification, if we would only use his 
 
MINUTE NATIONAL PECULIARITIES. 37 
 
 gifts aright ; but there are those who go grumbling 
 through the world, with their eyes closed to all its 
 fair creations. With such I would not wish to 
 travel. 
 
 It is not my intention to discuss or dwell much 
 upon the rise of our magnificent eastern empire ; 
 nor upon its progress, since the fortunes of war 
 placed India under the dominion of Great Britain. 
 Celebrated historians have already done justice to 
 this singularly interesting subject ; and have laid 
 before the reading public, volumes teeming with 
 instruction and amusement. 
 
 As a simple sketcher of common life and every- 
 day scenes, in this country once the land of fable, 
 1 will endeavour, as I proceed, to note down the 
 various little peculiarities that struck me as illus- 
 trating the character of its inhabitants — a charac- 
 ter thought to be but little changed since the death 
 of Nadir Shah, or the destroyer, Timour. The hand 
 of despotism, indeed, now no longer desolates this 
 once oppressed land — robbing a happy, or shedding 
 the blood of a peaceful, race, like that of the Hindoo. 
 The Christian banner of England now waves over 
 a large portion of the East Indies. Our protection 
 and assistance were offered, and accepted with a 
 readiness clearly manifesting that the Mohammedan 
 reign of terror was still fresh upon the national 
 
38 NATURAL RICHNESS OF INDIA. 
 
 memory. As opportunity may offer itself, we will 
 occasionally leave the busy haunts of men, and wander 
 among woods and silent forests ; mark the seasons 
 as they roll along; and take a glance at whatever 
 may be interesting to the naturalist, and to all who 
 love to ponder and commune with Nature in her 
 wildest moods. 
 
 ♦ All the treasures which earth offers to man have, 
 as is well known, been liberally scattered over the 
 face of this double-harvest-bearing clime ; which, 
 in consequence, has excited human ambition, and 
 spurred men on to explore it, in its never-failing 
 resources, even from the snowy heights of the won- 
 drous Himalaya range, down to the spicy shores of 
 Cape Comorin. 
 
 I shall take care to avoid the folly so often com- 
 mitted and complained of — the folly of giving too 
 high a colouring to pictures of domestic life in the 
 East ; but of the beauty and the magnificence of its 
 landscapes and scenery, I do not think it possible 
 that language can convey an adequate description. 
 Truth has been said to be at times more startling 
 than fiction ; and with good old sober truth for our 
 guide, my readers and I may, I hope, make our way 
 onwards very agreeably. 
 
 India is now brought so near us, through the 
 medium of steam, that our English readers natu- 
 
A STUFFED TIGER. 39 
 
 rally look for a little more of the minutiae of Indian 
 life than they formerly found in the narratives of 
 travellers. It is true, I can hold out no attractive 
 promises of tiger-hunts or daring adventures in the 
 jungle — a species of information which, as I well 
 know, has cast a charm over the works or some 
 writers on life in India. These subjects, however, 
 having of late entered largely into the descriptive 
 volumes of almost every adventurer who has ever 
 had an opportunity of letting off a percussion-cap 
 in the East, and of startling his friends at home by 
 its effects, have become familiar to the fireside 
 traveller; so, leaving the tigers to those who have 
 had the good fortune to meet with so many of them, 
 and who have turned them to such good account, 
 I must candidly confess, strange though it may 
 appear, that I never had the honour of meeting 
 either lion or tiger in my rambles in India, with 
 the exception, indeed, of a stuffed tiger, that occu- 
 pied a very important position in the bungalow of 
 a kind friend of mine at Colabah, and glared upon 
 you just as you entered the reception-room. 
 
 My friend used to stroke down the skin, and to 
 lament that so noble an animal as the tiger should 
 have become so scarce as seldom to be met with in 
 western India. I once expressed some little surprise 
 at this remark ; for having but just come over to 
 
40 A BEAUTIFUL BUNGALOW. 
 
 the country, I fancied that every clump of brush- 
 wood sheltered some horrible wild animal of some 
 kind or another, that was always in readiness to 
 pounce upon you unexpectedly. The kind captain, 
 however, informed me that I was about to commence 
 ^y y^'i: \ *^^^ assured me that I should think 
 
 very differently before that eventful period should 
 have expired. 
 
 What a beautiful bungalow was that of my friend! 
 From the road you looked do>vri a long vista of 
 mogree and scarlet-flowering acacia trees. In front 
 of a large and handsome porch, grew the custard 
 apple and the guava, in clumps, intermingled with 
 the lovely pomegranate, bearing, at one and the 
 same time, the blushing calabash fruit and its wax- 
 like flowers. Shading the dining-room windows was 
 a shrub, about eight feet higli, that every morning 
 during the two months of my residence with my 
 friend, was loaded with hundreds of large brilliant 
 yellow blossoms, which attracted around them all the 
 beautiful butterflies in the neighbourhood. The 
 building was octagonal in shape ; so that from 
 whatever quarter a stray breeze might come, you 
 could open the Venetian shutters and admit it at once. 
 But instead of lingering here, we must go back 
 to Fort George and Bombay, and cast another glance 
 upon its houses and people. 
 
STREETS OF BOMBAY. 41 
 
 The Fort and Town of Bombay stand principally 
 on a narrow neck of land, at the south-eastern 
 extremity of the island. The fortifications are strong 
 and substantial towards the sea, but are considered 
 weak on the land side. The Mint, Town-Hall, Cath- 
 edral, Scotch Church, Dockyards, Arsenals, and 
 Chistom-House, are handsome buildings, and, by 
 their style of architecture, give an English character 
 to the place, which rather contradicts your English- 
 formed ideas of oriental cities. The houses within 
 the Fort were originally built of wood, with ve- 
 randahs, and roofs covered in with tiles. But, in 
 1803, a great fire consumed many of them ; and, as 
 the population was yearly increasing, a number of 
 dwellings were erected on a salt-ground outside, 
 which had been recovered from the sea, and has 
 since grown up into a large, busy town. 
 
 Upon my first ramble through the streets of 
 Bombay, the houses struck me as being most un- 
 comfortable places to live in. So far as I could 
 judge, they wanted that life about them, if I may use 
 the expression, which we find in our cheerful English 
 residences. There are no glass windows, but their 
 places are supplied by dusty outside shutters. The 
 walls are all coloured or stuccoed, and the houses, 
 being: three or four stories high in the Fort, throw 
 gloomy but agreeable shadx)ws over the narrow streets. 
 
42 ORNAMENTED BUILDINGS. 
 
 Some of these buildings, inhabited by Hindoos, give 
 an idea of great antiquity, and are very curious in 
 their architecture. Many have great, projecting 
 balconies, roofed over, and supported on elaborately 
 carved wooden pillars, the shafts and capitals of 
 which exhibit various odd and fantastic devices, 
 standing out in bold relief, and evidently taken from 
 the Hindoo mythology. The ends of many of the 
 supporting timbers, that project far out from the walls, 
 are ornamented by grotesque figures, in strange, 
 uncouth attitudes, though often representing very 
 faithfully some of the favourite birds, animals, &c., 
 which are held sacred by the natives ; these figures 
 being supposed to watch over, as good spirits, 
 those within-doors. Between the legs of an ele- 
 phant, or a Brahminy bull, it is not unusual to see 
 a jackdaw's or a pigeon's nest constructed ; and 
 sparrows and minahs bring up their young ones, 
 undisturbed, in the open mouth of a buffalo, or 
 among the folds of a monster serpent. The minah 
 {gracula religiosa, Linn.), I may here observe, has 
 all the characteristics of the Encjlish starlinij about 
 him, though difiering in plumage from that well- 
 known bird. The minah is fond of the abodes of 
 man, and you meet with it in every town and village 
 in India. 
 
 In the streets of Bom!)ay it is not unusual to 
 
TAMENESS OF THE BIRDS. 43 
 
 see flocks of birds, so tame as scarcely to move out 
 of your way as you pass; but no one thinks of 
 disturbing them. The children, most unlike our 
 children at home in all their movements and actions, 
 take but little notice of them ; indeed, they are 
 taught to love and be kind to all God's creatures, 
 and to deprive nothing of the life which they cannot 
 give. The consequence of this part of their educa- 
 tion, which arises from the popular belief in the 
 transmigration of souls, and from which, we think, 
 English parents might gather a useful hint, is, that 
 we see here, as it were, perfect harmony existing 
 between man, beast, and bird. The tameness of 
 these birds, as I must confess, was not "shocking 
 to me ; " I was delighted to live in a country where 
 cruelty to the inferior animals was almost unknown, 
 and where the beautiful creatures of the great Creator 
 were justly valued, and not shot down for the mere 
 sport of the idle and vicious. 
 
 A stream of love, too, is thus infused into the 
 infant mind. We see it in childhood, and we see 
 its fruits in manhood ; for the domestic hearth of 
 the gentle Hindoo is never so happy as when sur- 
 rounded by his descendants, even to the second and 
 third generations. In short, nothing but poverty or 
 death ever separates the members of a Hindoo family. 
 
 Early of a morning, I have seen little children 
 
44 PECULIARITIES OF THE HOUSES. 
 
 filling the stone troughs, so often met with in Indian 
 villages, with water, to supply the wants of the many- 
 animals that pass up and down during the day, in 
 the dry, hot season ; and there was something so 
 touching in this innocent office, that I could have 
 kissed the dark little faces that smiled so sweetly 
 on the pigeons and other birds, as they came fear- 
 lessly to bathe in the fresh water so kindly supplied 
 for their use. But I love children, and must make 
 my way back to their houses again. 
 
 On each side of the principal entrance of a house 
 at Bombay, there is commonly a small Gothic niche 
 for the reception of lamps, which, in the dwellings 
 of the wealthy natives, are lighted every night with 
 a simple bit of cotton-wool, rolled between the fingers, 
 and stuck into a tin holder, which is sunk in cocoa- 
 nut oil. Some houses have a windinjj staircase 
 outside, so as to enable you to reach the flat roof, 
 without going through the building ; or to ascend to 
 an upper story, which, perhaps, may be occupied by 
 another branch of the family. The rooms are gene- 
 rally large, but very low, and badly ventilated ; and, 
 from the custom of burning sticks in the form of 
 long slender candles covered with powdered sandal- 
 wood and saltpetre, are redolent of this sickly-scented 
 smoke that hangs over everything. Some of the 
 roofs are only tiled in part, and the flat portion 
 
NARROW STREETS. 45 
 
 is covered with a fine cement called cliunam, which, 
 when thoroughly dry, becomes very white and 
 polished. Here may often be seen China vases, with 
 flowers planted in them ; stone seats in great variety ; 
 chairs, and couches for the idler or sleeper. 
 
 These roofs are much resorted to by Hindoo and 
 Parsee ladies, who go up to pray, unseen by the 
 busy world below ; for they are supposed to lose 
 caste if they appear in public, and are quite shut 
 out from holding any intercourse with strangers ; 
 consequently, their lives are passed in great seclusion 
 from the world, and this is the only opportunity 
 which they enjoy of looking occasionally upon the 
 surrounding beauties of their fair country, and of 
 contemplating at night, from their house-tops, the 
 wonders of the starry firmament. 
 
 Some of the streets are so narrow, that the 
 buildings on each side almost meet at the top ; and 
 such streets are, of course, awfully hot, every breath 
 of air being forbidden to enter. It is true, indeed, 
 that the sun cannot annoy or distress those who 
 are walking below ; and this is, certainly, so far an 
 advantage over the broad system j but, upon the 
 whole, these confined streets are a great drawback to 
 the health of the Fort and town. The grand end 
 aimed at in the construction of all Indian buildings 
 is, to defend them, as much as possible, from the 
 
46 DIRT AND DISEASE. 
 
 immediate influence of the sun's rays ; and various 
 are the devices resorted to, to effect this desirable 
 object. 
 
 The streets, when I first arrived, were suffered 
 to remain in a very offensive state, more particularly 
 in the northern quarter of the Fort, which is densely 
 inhabited by the poorer classes of Mohammedans 
 and Parsees, who were accustomed to cast out, 
 in front of their dwellings, everything that was 
 of no use within ; but scavengers are now employed 
 to clear away the pestilential accumulations that 
 impregnated the breath of heaven with every species 
 of abomination. Almost constant fever, dysentery, 
 and cholera, were, of course, the result of this horrid 
 and disgraceful state of things, which thus brought 
 along with it its own reward ; and taking into 
 consideration the condition of other native towns 
 which it was my lot to visit, we may easily account 
 for the dreadful ravages which these diseases occa- 
 sion in the East — sweeping off, as they sometimes 
 do, whole populations, in a very brief space of 
 time. 
 
 As the fortifications rise to a great height, you 
 liave not the least chance of enjoying the morning 
 or evening sea-breeze, unless it be from lofty bal- 
 conies, windows, or the flat roofs already mentioned ; 
 consequently, hundreds of persons leave the Fort 
 
BAZAAKS. — AUCTION-ROOMS. 47 
 
 at stated hours, and assemble in picturesque groups 
 upon the esplanade, the sea-shore, and in other airy 
 haunts, to chat over the past or coming events of 
 the day. 
 
 The bazaars here have but few outward attractions, 
 as the native shopkeepers make no show of their 
 goods outside ; not having yet learned the English 
 art of ticketing the trumpery in their windows, or 
 of catching the eye with the astounding intelligence 
 that everything within will be sold at an " enormous 
 sacrifice " by the owners. They sit cross-legged on 
 a chair by the door, casting up their accounts, or 
 fanning themselves leisurely with a punkah. If 
 you are in want of any article, they invariably show 
 you, in the first place, the worst specimen of it in 
 their possession, asking you, however, double its 
 value j and not until they see that you are about to 
 leave the shop, will they produce what you really 
 want. 
 
 A number of the best shops are kept by Parsees, 
 who are very fond of trading in English and French 
 goods, which they have either consigned to them in 
 the usual way of business, or which they pick up at 
 the large sales at Frith's Auction Kooms, in the 
 Fort, which generally take place once a month. At 
 these rooms I occasionally spent an idle hour, in 
 looking over the various and beautiful articles which, 
 
48 A ROYAL BEDSTEAD. 
 
 gathered together from all parts of the commercial 
 world, bad speculations and overcrowded markets 
 have caused to fall under the auctioneer's hammer, 
 and which he is often obliged to dispose of at prices 
 that must be ruinous to their owners. 
 
 Among the many unaccountable and strange things 
 that find their way to this haunt of all bargain- 
 hunters, I particularly remember seeing here a state- 
 bedstead, which was said to have belonged to George 
 the Fourth, as part of the furniture of the Pavilion 
 at Brighton. It had been sent out, in the hope that 
 its costly gilding and ornaments might tempt some 
 of the wealthy natives to purchase it ; but I suspect 
 it has never been sold. The adventures of that 
 bedstead, if one could have truthfully investigated 
 them, must have been rather curious. There was a 
 moral conveyed in its history, on the instability of 
 all human greatness ; " sic traaisit gloria mundi." 
 
 The bazaars are distinguished by name, as, the 
 Borahs, the China, the Parsee, <fec., &c. The Borahs 
 bazaar is occupied by a class of men I shall have 
 occasion, as I proceed in my sketches, to allude to 
 again in the character of travelling hawkers, so I 
 will not particularize them here, though they re- 
 semble the second-hand furniture brokers in London, 
 and their shops display the same endless variety of 
 odds and ends, new and old. 
 
THE MARKETS. 49 
 
 The China bazaar is filled with goods manufac- 
 tured in that industrious country. Here you may 
 purchase the beautiful feather screens ; punkahs of all 
 shapes and sizes ; carved ivory-work, in chess-men, 
 backgammon-boxes, netting-cases, and card- cases ; 
 grass-cloth kerchiefs, rich silks and satins, vases, 
 chimney-piece ornaments, and the familiar little cups 
 and saucers and teapots, so highly valued by china- 
 loving ladies. There are also found here camphor- 
 wood trunks, so useful to preserve furs, clothing, and 
 books from insects, and in particular from the white 
 ants, so destructive, in this country, to this sort of 
 property. 
 
 In the Parsees you meet with London, French, 
 and American goods, and all those knick-knacks which 
 ladies require ; besides articles of Bomjbay work- 
 manship — particularly the richly-inlaid work-boxes, 
 desks, and dressing-cases, which are so justly admired 
 by Europeans ; kincob, or gold cloth, so much worn 
 by the rich native children ; and the rich Indian 
 muslins. 
 
 There are one or two good markets in the Fort 
 for the sale of butcher's meat, fish, vegetables, and 
 poultry. Oysters are found in great numbers upon 
 the coast, as well as prawns, and other marine deli- 
 cacies. Everything in the shape of food is very 
 cheap ; and, with care, a single man may live most 
 
 E 
 
60 HINDOO MODE OF DRINKING. 
 
 corafortaLly on £100 a year. A dreadful system of 
 extravagant rivalry is, however, carried on amongst 
 the residents at Bombay, many of whom are thus 
 led into the wretched folly of living beyond their 
 means. Young officers, cadets, and writers, are 
 gradually affected by the prevailing epidemic ; and 
 many become so seriously involved in debt and 
 difficulties, as to be unable to leave the country 
 which has been their ruin, or ever to get out of the 
 clutches of the money-lending natives. 
 
 Some of the streets in the new town are ex- 
 clusively inhabited by castes who work at the same 
 trade. In one may })e seen the workmen in brass 
 and copper, which department of trade generally 
 embraces the manufacture of cooking-pans, drink- 
 ing-vessels,, tripod-lamps, and such articles of do- 
 mestic use ; for all these things are made of copper 
 or brass in Bombay, and hammered out to the 
 proper size and shape by manual labour. Every 
 poor native carries with him one of these brass 
 drinking-vessels, or duUtees, when he leaves home 
 of a morning. The design of these chattees, for 
 holding water and lifting it out of the tanks, re- 
 minded me of the earthen and bronze vases found 
 at Pompeii and Herculaneum. 
 
 The mode of drinking among the Hindoos is 
 curious. They never allow the vessel to touch their 
 
INDIAN ARTIFICERS. 51 
 
 lips, but holding the head well back, they pour the 
 fluid from a moderate height into the open mouth ; 
 and this, practice has enabled them to do with 
 perfect ease and convenience. For my own part, 
 I never attempted this feat without imminent danger 
 of choking. I was often surprised that they should 
 drink in this way, as they are usually very cautious 
 about opening their mouths wide, lest the evil oiie 
 should enter. The most ordinary actions of this 
 singular people are, with them, religious rites ; it 
 would be vain to attempt to describe one half of the 
 religious ceremonies which they practise during every 
 waking hour of their lives. 
 
 In another street or bazaar you see the palanquin- 
 builders, common house-joiners, cabinet-makers, and 
 so on. Indeed, if a person felt disposed to extend 
 his knowledge of such arts, he might here obtain 
 cheap lessons in inlaying, carving, gilding, dying, 
 and embroidery, in all their branches. 
 
 As the Hindoos invariably follow, as a religious 
 duty, the profession of their forefathers — which pro- 
 fession has been handed down to them, but little 
 changed by modern improvements, from one genera- 
 tion to another, — they have no secrets in their trade. 
 The tools with which they work are few, and ex- 
 tremely simple in their design and construction ; and 
 they always sit in the well-known Oriental posture 
 
52 THE ART OF INLAYIXG. 
 
 — their feet being educated to assist their hands in 
 almost every labour which they undertake. I have 
 often gained both amusement and instruction from 
 observing the important offices which Hindoo feet 
 perform. The joiner seizes the plank })etwecn the 
 soles of his feet, and there holds it firmly, till he 
 has planed it so as to make it suit his purpose. A 
 Hindoo workman has two sets of fingers, and such 
 a command has he over those of the feet, that he 
 can lift from the ground, and bring towards his 
 hands, almost any article of a light nature. Prac- 
 tice has given the natives of the East a control which 
 we do not possess over the muscles generally ; and 
 the freedom with which their articulations work, 
 surprises the stiff-made European. 
 
 The hands of the Hindoos are small, and beauti- 
 fully formed, and there is an easy grace about all 
 their movements. The Chinese, in my opinion, do 
 not surpass the Hindoos in the art of inlaying. In 
 this work they proceed as follows : — they first, with 
 great neatness, make a box of scented sandal-wood, 
 which grows on the Malabar coast, and which is an 
 expensive wood, and sold by weight in Bombay. 
 The pieces, before they are put together, are sawn 
 with a fine instrument, exactly to fit each into its 
 place j as this wood is so very brittle in India, it 
 cannot well be planed. Silver hinges and a silver 
 
CARVING AND CHASING. 53 
 
 lock are then put on, as steel or iron rusts so as to 
 be unfit for use ; even keys here, worn in the pocket, 
 rust. Having so far proceeded in their work, they 
 cut or saw out, from stained pieces of ivory of all 
 colours, a number of minute pieces, in the shape of 
 octagons, triangles, &c.; and nearly an equal number 
 from thin pieces of virgin silver. They then roughly 
 sketch, on the lid and sides of the box, the design 
 intended to be worked ; and having everything in 
 readiness, they cover a small portion of the wood 
 with a strong kind of glue, which does not dry 
 quickly ; the coloured ivory and silver plates being 
 disposed according to pattern, or as the taste of the 
 workman may direct. So small are some of the 
 pieces, that one hundred, or more, would lie on a 
 square inch. When the work is quite finished, and 
 the glue sufficiently dry, they level the whole with 
 fine glass paper, and afterwards polish it. The neces- 
 sary holes in the sandal wood are pierced by means 
 of a bow-string-pricker, as this hard wood would fly 
 to pieces if pierced in any other way. 
 
 Equally expert are some of the natives in carving 
 and chasing, in wood and metal, beautiful figures 
 of birds, beasts, and flowers, — using a rude little 
 instrument, about two inches long, not unlike 
 a common nail. They carve in ivory but indiffe- 
 rently. 
 
54 ORNAMENTS. 
 
 The Potdars, or money-changers, take up their 
 position at the corners of the streets, with their little 
 tables before them, ready to transact business at a 
 moment's notice. If you want small change for a 
 rupee, you have often to go or send to the Potdar 
 for it ; and if the applicant be a foreigner, he takes 
 pretty good care to deduct three or four pice for the 
 accommodatioD. These men act sometimes in the 
 capacity of pawnbrokers, by lending small sums of 
 money upon the gold and silver ornaments, which 
 all here possess in a greater or less degree ; for she 
 must be a wretchedly poor woman indeed, that 
 cannot show a silver bangle or anklet upon the arm 
 or leg. 
 
 I may observe that these bangles and anklets are 
 the chief ornaments of the Hindoo woman. They 
 are clasped round the arms and ancles in early youth, 
 and never removed. Many of them are soldered 
 on ; and instances have occurred in which the parties 
 wearing them have been murdered, or had the limb 
 cut off, with the purpose of gaining possession of 
 these ornaments, so often the only wealth which the 
 poor boast of on their marriage. A silver ring is 
 also commonly worn on the great and second toe; 
 and the nose and ears are pierced for the insertion 
 of similar ornaments. Those who are too poor to 
 purchase silver bangles, &c., wear hoops of coloured 
 
THE POTDAE. 55 
 
 glass, ivory, or bone, which make a curious jingling 
 noise as they walk. 
 
 The money-lenders purchase or exchange all sorts 
 of foreign coin ; and for the few sovereigns that I 
 found at the bottom of my purse, upon landing in 
 India, I received in change, from one of these men, 
 eleven rupees each, equal to twenty-two shillings of 
 our money. I was only sorry I had not more 
 sovereigns, to turn them into the Company's silver, 
 as I very soon found that money is obtained with 
 as much difficulty at Bombay as in England j and 
 that people work quite as hard for it there as here. 
 The golden expectations of youth are too often dis- 
 appointed in India. There is no country in which 
 you sooner become acquainted with the sad realities 
 of life. Even in that rich land, man must eat 
 bread by the sweat of his brow. 
 
 The Potdar of the street is not a trusty man to 
 deal with ; he will impose upon you whenever oppor- 
 tunity offers. A few days before I left Bombay for 
 England, I was rather anxious to bring home with 
 me some of the native ornaments, and gave their 
 weight in rupees for articles which, I was told, were 
 composed of pure silver. Upon my arrival in 
 England, however, I was much annoyed to find that 
 the rings, bangles, and nose-ornaments, were only 
 tubes of the precious metal, into which lead had 
 
56 THE OPIUM-SELLER. 
 
 been run, to increase their weight. I had, indeed, 
 paid rather dear for my whistle. But I must not 
 condemn all indiscriminately, for there are numbers 
 of highly-respectable Shroffs, or native bankers, who 
 have their own private offices in the Fort, and 
 belong to quite a different class from that of our 
 humble friend of the streets ; and as the business 
 of banking is chiefly confined, in the interior of 
 India, to the issuing and discounting of bills of 
 exchange, or what are called Jioondies, the Shroff 
 is a most useful man ; and from the immense num- 
 ber of these hoondies that are in circulation, we may 
 conclude that petty tradesmen would get on badly 
 without their assistance. Our Potdar of the corner 
 is furnished with an inkstand, pens and paper, acids 
 for testing the genuineness of coin, <fec., and gen- 
 erally a pair of old-fashioned spectacles ; for the 
 money-changer is generally an old man, and cannot 
 depend implicitly upon his own eyes. 
 
 The opium-seller has also his little table in the 
 public street, with his box and scales upon it, and 
 tempting samples of the " dreamy drug." One 
 glance at the man will convince you that he is one 
 of his own best customers ; the soiled and disorderly 
 turban and dress show you that he is not himself 
 As a poisoner, who shuns the broad day, he comes 
 creeping out of some narrow, dark alley, just when 
 
OPIUM-EATERS. 57 
 
 " Morn her rosy steps in the Eastern clime, 
 Advancing, sows the eai*th with orient pearl;" 
 
 and man is tempted to stroll abroad early to breathe 
 the cool atmosphere, and gaze upon the landscape 
 still glittering with the dews of night. This is his 
 hour for business ; for the effects of the last night's 
 dose are worn off, and the wretched victims who 
 surround his table are eager to purchase the day's 
 allowance of the slow yet sure poison which he 
 offers to tranquillize the wandering and disturbed 
 brain of each. 
 
 Alas ! what a fearful group is here ; youth, with 
 the sunken eye and languid frame ; old age, extreme 
 old age, tottering on two bamboos, in ragged and 
 neglected garments. Each palsied hand scatters 
 down the few annas demanded in payment, and then 
 the purchaser, as if he dreaded the detecting eye 
 of his happier and more resolute fellow-creature, 
 skulks feebly back to his home, to enjoy an arti- 
 ficial state of existence, too dearly purchased by a 
 premature and unlamented death, and by the de- 
 struction of every natural feeling implanted within 
 him. 
 
 This fearful species of intoxication is more gener- 
 ally practised among the inhabitants of British India 
 than has been commonly supposed. The Mohamme- 
 
58 USE OF OPIUM IN ENGLAND. 
 
 dans in particular are much addicted to its use ; 
 and much of the apathy and indifference observable 
 in the native character may be attributed to this 
 universal evil which would seem to be daily gaining 
 ground among them. Few can be surprised that 
 the Emperor of China fought hard to prevent the 
 importation of opium into his dominions by the 
 East India Company. Well might that monarch 
 regard that potent drug as a curse to a nation which 
 had already begun to suffer from its dangerous 
 seduction, and which showed for it a decided taste. 
 East Indian opium, which is inferior to that of 
 Turkey, is generally grown in Malwa, Bahar, and 
 Benares, the great seat of Brahminical learning. It 
 is stated that, in Malwa, 360,000 pounds are 
 annually produced, but it is often adulterated with 
 cowduDg, decayed leaves, and other filthy impurities. 
 Morewood has calculated that 16,500 pounds annu- 
 ally find their way into Great Britain ; but of course, 
 a large portion of this must be exported to the 
 colonies, as it cannot be consumed as a medicine in 
 such quantities. 
 
 A few facts, however, which I have been enabled 
 to glean, show that opium-eating is on the increase 
 in our own land, and the following startling account, 
 lately communicated to me, may, perhaps, surprise 
 some of my readers : — " The practice of taking 
 
THE ARABIAN STREET-MERCHANT. 59 
 
 opium, laudanum, ether, and morphia, has increased, 
 and is increasing, amongst the population of the 
 fens in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, to a fright- 
 ful extent. It prevails amongst the aged, the infirm, 
 and the young ; and it is confined to neither sex — 
 old men, old women, and young women, are equally 
 its victims. It may safely be averred, that every 
 second customer who visits the druggists, purchases 
 opium, laudanum, or some opiate or narcotic. It is 
 common to see the man or woman of twenty, thirty, 
 or forty years of age, daily going for his or her 
 sixpenny-worth of poison ; and we have heard of 
 yearly bills of £20 in one family, for opium and 
 laudanum. In the town of Wisbeach alone, there 
 are four hundred gallons of laudanum sold and 
 swallowed every year ; eight gallons of laudanum 
 per week ! " 
 
 After this revelation, I need not enlarge on East 
 Indian opium-eaters ; we will, therefore, turn our 
 attention to the Arabian, who perambulates the 
 streets of Bombay with his country wares and 
 produce. The curious-shaped bottles strung round 
 his neck, are filled with delicious rose-water, of which 
 the Hindoos and Parsees are passionately fond, and 
 which they sprinkle over their apartments and their 
 visitors, as the Roman Catholics do holy water. 
 The Arabians bring over from the Persian Gulf all 
 
60 THE SWEETMEAT -VENDER. 
 
 sorts of coogies, or water-filterers and holders, and 
 his sugar-loaf baskets of plaited grass-weed, strongly 
 made and useful, particularly attract the eye of the 
 English. He deals in costly perfumes, and tempts 
 you to purchase by the scents of otto, or attah, of 
 Persia, in miniature bottles, which he does not fail 
 to recommend in his soft language. He also deals 
 in dates, which are usually packed in round, unglazed 
 jars ; they are better and finer than those grown in 
 India, the Arabian method of drying them being 
 superior. The date is perhaps one of the most whole- 
 some fruits we have ; and the Arabs half live upon it. 
 His curious straw turban, made like his baskets, 
 distinguishes the Arabian from the crowds around 
 bim, and his spare figure and high cheek-bones 
 seldom fail to attract attention. 
 
 The sweetmeat- vender has his little stall spread 
 out in the street. What a curious collection of 
 things do we find here to tempt the appetite or to 
 quench the parching thirst of Indian children. 
 Here are rows of brown saucers with lids on, filled 
 with a species of electuary, made out of plantains, 
 sugar, rasped cocoa-nut, and butter, the whole being 
 flavoured Avith lime-juice ; fried peas and grain at a 
 pice a measure, papers of materials for making curry- 
 powder, glasses of toffy, heaps of fruits, jars of fresh 
 toddy, betal nut, and cakes decked out with scraps 
 
BLIND WANDERERS. 61 
 
 of tinsel, slices of melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, 
 and green sugar-cane, with nameless preserves that 
 are imported from China in sealed packages. 
 
 But who are these men whom we see in a long 
 string of ten or a dozen, holding by the skirts of each 
 other's robes, and each a staff in his right hand, all 
 led by a little boy, who guides them 1 They are the 
 wandering blind beggars of the land ; the victims of 
 amaurosis, a disease which is generally brought on by 
 too great exposure to the heat and glare of the sun. 
 Poor creatures ! we do indeed feel for you ! Oh ! 
 that we had power to touch those sightless orbs with 
 healing ointment, and give them sight once more. 
 How touching is that voice of supplication, asking 
 for the smallest sum, the least relief ! What was 
 Milton's blindness compared to thine, who hast to 
 travel over burning wastes, and dreary lands, to beg 
 thy daily pittance 1 What sweet and placid resigna- 
 tion do I see in that countenance 1 But He who has 
 thought fit to afflict thee, has implanted in the 
 breasts of thy fellow-creatures that most excellent 
 gift of charity, and the poor Hindoo drops his mite 
 into thy trembling hand, as he hurries past upon his 
 way. And is there no home in this mighty empire 
 where thy aged limbs may rest, before death summons 
 thee away 1 
 
 We will dwell no longer on this painful picture. 
 
62 PARSEE CHILDREN. 
 
 that casts a shadow on our path, but will turn to 
 those happy children that come laughing onward in 
 their little lilHputian coach, drawn by four beautiful 
 goats, with long ears and silky coats. Tliey are 
 going to take their evening drive, in charge of two 
 servants. The one who walks behind, holds over 
 them a splendid crimson China-satin chittree, with 
 a gold fringe of chaste design, as large as our gig 
 umbrellas ; and he who leads the animals is an old 
 and faithful domestic of the Parsee family, to whom 
 they belong. Let us examine the costume of these 
 loved ones ; for loved they must be, if we may judge 
 by the care and taste displayed in the arrangement 
 of the luxuriant curls that hang down the back of 
 each boy. They all wear flowered white muslin 
 tunics, full in the sleeves, gathered up in folds round 
 the wrist, and fitting tight round the neck and waist. 
 Under this almost transparent robe, may be detected 
 a yellow satin boddice, also fitting tight ; and then 
 we come to the full Turkish silk trousers, with white 
 socks and embroidered slippers ; skull-caps of kincob, 
 and a costly pearl or emerald in each ear, complete 
 the dress of the children of the Parsee gentleman ; 
 and what happy little round faces they exhibit ! you 
 see at once, that they are the children of wealthy 
 parents, as the sun has been carefully shaded away 
 from them, and a pleasing tinge on the cheek just 
 
THE PORTUGUESE ROMISH SEMINARY. 63 
 
 tells of tlieir own sunny clime. But they have passed 
 over the drawbridge, and under the old gateway that 
 leads out of the fort, and the sepoy on duty recom- 
 mences his walk, which had been arrested for the 
 moment, as these little birds-of-paradise flew past 
 liim to sport amid the flower gardens of By- 
 cullah j he had, perhaps, seen them every evening; 
 but we never tire of looking on beautiful children — 
 little angels are they, that are permitted to flit 
 around us to give us an idea of heaven, for of such 
 is that kingdom. 
 
 There is a dark, monastic-looking building near 
 us, enclosed by high walls, and shaded by a few 
 towering palm-trees that grow out of the court-yard. 
 Just an hour ago the vesper-bell might have been 
 heard calling its inmates to prayers, for it is a 
 Portuguese Romish seminary, for the education of 
 youth destined for the church ; and though the pupils 
 are tall, full-grown young men, they may be seen 
 coming out two-and-two into the esplanade like 
 school-boys parading for a walk. They all wear 
 short black gowns, with white collars turned over 
 the shoulders, a kind of Oxford cap, and buckles in 
 their shoes. The robust well-fed-looking men, in 
 puce surplices and bishops' hats, walking on each 
 side, are the priests connected with this establish- 
 ment. One of the members of this seminary told 
 
64 BEGGARS. 
 
 me, their priests will never allow them to read an 
 English Bible, on the plea that it is not faithfully 
 translated. I fear the translation they do read has 
 not tended much to improve their morals, if we may 
 judge from their daily walk and conduct. The 
 natives unfortunately judge our religion by theirs, at 
 least, some with whom I have conversed could not 
 clearly comprehend the practical difference between 
 corrupted Popery and Protestantism, seeing that we 
 all, as they said, called ourselves Christians. 
 
 The entrances to all the Mohammedan and Hindoo 
 temples and pagodas are beset with beggars of every 
 description, who keep up a perpetual baying all day 
 long, soliciting charity and alms from those that go 
 in to pray, or are passing in the streets. Here, the 
 cripple is put down by his friend upon a mat in a 
 shaded place, early in the morning, to excite the 
 compassion of the multitude. Some of these poor 
 creatures are so frightfully deformed, as to make you 
 turn away almost involuntarily from the hideous 
 lump of disease spread out before you. I have seen 
 at these places some very curious and novel distor- 
 tions of the vertebrae, and remember particularly one 
 man, whom I often stayed to look at, and whose 
 head was completely reversed, the chin apparently 
 resting a little below the nape of the neck. The 
 afflicted leper stands here, with his arms and legs 
 
EELTGIOUS DEVOTEES. 65 
 
 fully exposed. They look as if they had been 
 covered with old whitewash, which was scaling off 
 from the dark ground underneath ; but he stands 
 alone, and his companions in misery shun his neigh- 
 bourhood as contagious. Some of these men are 
 cripples by nature, and some by art, and very many 
 are arrant knaves and impostors. Sunyasse Brah- 
 mins, Faquirs, and other religious devotees, contrive 
 to obtain a very good livelihood at these temples, 
 and along the road sides ; and often startle you 
 with their painted bodies, and idiotic expression of 
 countenance. Such various and interesting descrip- 
 tions have been given of these people, that I have 
 scarcely anything fresh to offer on the subject. 
 
 But I would not, indeed, be understood to in- 
 sinuate, that all who are met with in India in the 
 character of religious devotees, are impostors. Many 
 of them have been known to suffer, by way of 
 expiation for their crimes, the greatest self-imposed 
 tortures; trusting, that by a life of present misery 
 they might, when death should arrive, be carried on 
 angels' wings to dwell for ever in happiness with the 
 houris of paradise. Sitting between two fires till 
 half roasted — swinging from a tree by a hook through 
 the back — pushing before them, as the Mohammedans 
 will do for hundreds of miles across a country down 
 to the sea, a little cart, on their hands and knees, in 
 
 F 
 
6Q MOXUMENT TO LORD CORNWALLIS. 
 
 their pilgrimage to Mecca — and holding a flower- 
 pot in the hand, as a man does, in a sort of sacred 
 enclosure or garden near to Bombay, till the roots 
 have grown through the back of it, and his nails 
 are like the talons of a bird ; these and other such 
 vain and useless penances are too well attested to 
 require any confirmation from me. Many such 
 deeds I have myself witnessed ; for the stranger, 
 upon landing in Bombay, generally takes an early 
 opportunity of seeing some of these poor deluded 
 creatures, who are to be met with in its vicinity. 
 
 In the centre of a large railed enclosure in the 
 Fort, there is a very handsome monument erected 
 to the Marquis of Comwallis, who superseded the 
 celebrated Warren Hastings in the office of Governor- 
 general of India. You seldom pass it without seeing 
 groups of people lounging about it, or sitting on the 
 steps leading up to it ; and the natives are very 
 fond of throwing in under the dome that protects the 
 figure, flowers and bits of coloured paper, and these 
 have gradually accumulated in such heaps as almost 
 to conceal two melancholy marble ladies, who are 
 gazing sweetly on the besieger of Seringapatam. 
 Upon making some inquiries, I learned that these 
 flowers, &c., were thrown in as offerings, and that 
 the hero had been made an idol of by some of the 
 Mohammedans — but this is not correct; they only 
 
PUBLIC EDIFICES. 67 
 
 resort hither to pray, because it is a quiet and 
 retired place, and the poor Parsee has a better view 
 from this elevated position of the rising sun. 
 
 The town-hall forms one side of this square, and 
 is certainly a very elegant building. At one end 
 of it are the news-room and library, which contain 
 some curious Hindoo deities, and other relics of 
 Indian antiquity. A branch of the Royal Asiatic 
 Society here holds its meetings. Close to the town- 
 hall is an enormous circular tank, capable of supplying 
 the whole garrison, and those who reside within the 
 walls, with water, in case of any popular outbreak ; 
 and about two hundred yards distant, and overlooking 
 the harbour, is Bombay Castle, a strong substantial 
 building, swarming with sepoys and officers. The 
 Green, as this square is called, is prettily planted 
 with rows of trees : and the old government-house, 
 now turned into a secretariate, cathedral, and mint, 
 stands near it. 
 
 The dockyard at Bombay is always a very busy 
 scene, as the East India Company build all their 
 steam and war ships there, and numbers of the 
 native labourers are employed in their construction ; 
 they are superintended by Scotch or English en- 
 gineers, and, with the aid of their instructions, the 
 machinery of these vessels, intended chiefly for the 
 Indian navy, is there made and put together; for- 
 
Q8 THE SEPOYS. 
 
 merly, it was sent out in a finished state, and of 
 course at a great expense. 
 
 As the harbour of Bombay is thouglit to be 
 unequalled in British India, and so favourably situ- 
 ated for commerce, with the advantage of its deep 
 tide-water, most excellent docks have been con- 
 structed for the accommodation of shipping. The 
 forests of Malabar supply them with abundance of 
 the finest teak timber for building purposes. 
 
 There are three principal entrances into the Fort ; 
 fine, handsome, military-looking gateways, with 
 guard-houses erected over their arches, and three or 
 four sally-ports between them, that run under the 
 massive fortifications, and cross the wet moat by a 
 narrow foot-bridge. A strong embankment outside 
 slopes down to the esplanade. They are all closed 
 at nine o'clock, every evening, and opened at gun- 
 fire (daylight), in the morning. Sentries are on 
 guard here, night and day. 
 
 Bombay has long been the nursery for our native 
 sailors and soldiers ; and the sepoy is proud of the 
 rank which he sustains in our armies of the East. 
 But neither he nor his superior officers can entirely 
 give up old customs and habits ; and when the 
 duties of parade are over, and they return to their 
 barracks, you will commonly find them squatted in 
 the centre of the room, eating their rice and curry 
 
THE ENGLISH SOLDIER IN INDIA. 69 
 
 out of cliattees. Their pay is less than that of the 
 English soldier, but their wants are fewer in com- 
 parison. No one can find fault with this arrange- 
 ment, when we consider what our countrymen have 
 often to suffer in this burning climate, banished as 
 they are, for a period of twenty -cme years, from their 
 own happy land. How few, how very few, are those 
 who live to return with the regiment with which 
 they went out ! 'Tis true, we hear of such and 
 such companies arriving at Chatham and elsewhere, 
 from India, in good health, after that length of 
 absence ; but how many of those who originally 
 composed it are to be found in its ranks % Yet 
 these circumstances do not appear to daunt the 
 British soldier. He knows his pay will be good in 
 India, and that, with care, he may lay by a little 
 every year for old age, should it please Providence 
 to prolong his life ; for the Honourable East India 
 Company are noble pay-masters to all their servants ; 
 and we often find in their employ many of England's 
 bravest sons. T have heard it stated, that every 
 soldier sent out to India costs the Government .£25 
 for the voyage alone. This enormous expense, with 
 £90 allowed to every officer, may account for the 
 length of the period during which they are required 
 to remain in India. 
 
 Camels, bufialoes, and other large native animals, 
 
70 PRINTING IN INDIA. 
 
 are not permitted to be led through the streets of 
 Bombay, as they startle the horses ; but groups of 
 them are met with outside oa the esplanade, and give 
 a truly Eastern character to the scene. I shall, 
 however, have occasion to allude again to this gay 
 place, as it appears in the hot season, when every 
 stranger and resident able to command a buggy, 
 turns out for a drive of an hour or two before dinner. 
 There are two or three good weekly papers pub- 
 lished in Bombay, and the same number in the 
 Hindoostannee language. The art of printing has 
 made great advance here, particularly the litho- 
 graphic branch, which is well adapted to Eastern 
 languages. But it is to be lamented that Christians 
 should use this valuable gift for the dissemination 
 of such works as the Koran, kc. Since I left 
 Bombay, an Indian paper informs me that 15,000 
 copies of this work have been lately worked off, 
 and sold at two rupees a copy. Formerly, the Koran 
 could not be purchased for less than twenty or thirty 
 rupees. 
 
THE RAINY SEASON. 71 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 "Two tyrant-seasons rule the wide domain, 
 Scorch with diy heat, or drench with floods of rain : 
 Now feverish herds rush maddening o'er the plains. 
 And cool in shady streams their throbbing veins j 
 The birds drop lifeless from the silent spmy, 
 And Nature faints beneath the fiery day : 
 Then bursts the deluge on the sinking shore. 
 And teeming plenty opens all her store." 
 
 Those who are familiar only with the climate of 
 England, with its sunshine and its storms, and with 
 the wild aspect of its long dreary winters, when the 
 northern districts of our island put on so early their 
 mantle of snow, and rivers and lakes, locked up in 
 their icy prisons, are bound together for weeks by an 
 invisible hand — those who are accustomed to the 
 regular variations of temperature, which, notwith- 
 standing the frequent and sudden changes that we 
 experience from heat to cold, give an almost decided 
 
72 THE SOUTH-WEST MONSOON. 
 
 character to the four seasons that sum up our year, 
 can form but an imperfect idea of other lands, where 
 the sun, for eight months out of the twelve, is 
 scarcely shadowed by a cloud, and where frost and 
 snow are almost unknown. Nature is boundless in 
 her resources; and the more we inquire and examine, 
 the more we are lost in wonder and admiration at 
 the great scheme for carrying on so beautifully the 
 designs of the Creator, so that seed-time and har- 
 vest, summer and winter, shall still be given to man, 
 and God's promises stand fast for ever. 
 
 Though some districts of India are often left nine 
 months together without rain, yet an ample pro- 
 vision has been made to counteract the ill effects of 
 so long a drought, upon a country so much exposed 
 to a burning sun. Vegetation, which with us would 
 speedily perish without an abundant supply of rain, 
 is there sufficiently nourished by that moisture which 
 plants, as they bud, and blossom, and produce their 
 fruit, have the power of hoarding up and retaining 
 from one rainy season to another, and by the heavy 
 dews that nightly fall upon their large, expanded 
 leaves. 
 
 Those remarkable periodical rains, commonly called 
 the south-west Monsoons, generally set in at Bombay 
 about the month of May, and terminate at the close 
 of August. Three weeks or a month before their 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE STORM. 73 
 
 commencement, some light precursory showers pass 
 over the land, but they seldom continue more than 
 a day or two, and are succeeded by the usual hot 
 and clear weather. Occasionally the preparatory fall 
 is accompanied by thunder and lightning ; but this 
 is not an invariable rule. These preparatory rains 
 are called " mangoe showers ; " the natives, who 
 have given them this appellation, believing that that 
 delicious fruit, the mangoe, the boast of this part of 
 India, could not come to perfection without them. 
 How far this opinion may be correct, I know not ; 
 but certain it is, that the mangoe begins to ripen at 
 this particular period of the year, and to acquire that 
 rich yellow tinge, which makes it so conspicuous on 
 the tree. 
 
 To man, these showers act as a warning to set his 
 house in order ; for he cannot tell how soon the 
 storm may arise, that must ere long burst upon him 
 with dreadful fury. Consequently, all persons, at this 
 season of the year, are busy tarring, painting, and 
 repairing the tiles or thatch forming the covering of 
 their houses, and making all secure, and impervious 
 to the coming rains. The sewers in the streets, and 
 other water-courses, are examined and put into good 
 order, and the large artificial tanks, from which the 
 inhabitants look anxiously for their eight months' 
 supply of water, are freshly cemented and carefully 
 
74 CHANGES. 
 
 repaired. Tents are now taken down, and the tem- 
 porary abodes erected on the esplanade, sea-shore, 
 and other cool situations, are speedily cleared off the 
 ground, and stored away in warehouses in the Fort, 
 until the return of the settled weather. 
 
 The merchant now thinks it necessary to enclose 
 all his country despatches in oiled or waxed paper 
 cases, as he is aware that the rivers will soon he 
 flooded, and that the Tapall must swim over with 
 the post-bags on his head. In the cocoa-nut and 
 date plantations, the old toddy-drawers are very 
 busy collecting all the large spreading leaves that 
 have fallen and been stripped from these valuable 
 trees, for the purpose of covering in verandahs and 
 sheds for cattle, and for rain dresses for the poorer 
 class of natives. Shcgrams, buggies, and bullock 
 hackery conveyances, have their sun-shades taken off, 
 and varnished coverings put on ; and all palanquins 
 are carefully examined, and their cracks filled up 
 with putty or chunam. 
 
 Those who can afford glass windows in their 
 bungalows have them now put in, to supply the place 
 of the common open Venetian blinds ; and the large 
 monument on the esplanade, erected to the memory 
 of the Marquis of Wellesley, is enclosed by a huge 
 wooden box built around the Iron railings that pro- 
 tect it, to be no more stared at by the Portuguese, or 
 
A GRIFFIN. 75 
 
 criticised by the modern arrivals from England, 
 until the rains are over. Officers commanding- 
 regiments at out-stations, who have been expecting 
 for months to receive the welcome orders from 
 head quarters to march, have now ceased to hope for 
 any change till after October, or the beginning of 
 November. The bazaars display a great variety of 
 China ; also of French, English, and native leaf 
 chittrees or umbrellas ; and the making-up of flannel 
 and other warm clothing for the European part of 
 the population, affords abundant employment to the 
 Dergees. 
 
 American boots and shoes have great sale ; for 
 those manufactured in the country, though very 
 neat, and well adapted for dry weather, will not 
 stand the wet ; the tanning of the leather is bad, and 
 the first few showers separate the soles from the 
 upper leather. Not being aware of this circum- 
 [ stance, I was one day deprived of the heel of my 
 I boot when out walking ; and I was heartily laughed 
 at on my return home, and immediately set down as 
 a " Griffin, " a term commonly applied to those who 
 have not passed twelve months in the country, and 
 gone through the usual amount of Indian troubles 
 and annoyances. 
 
 The day at length arrives when the windows of 
 heaven are to be opened, and man's anxious doubts 
 
76 A HURRICANE. 
 
 and fears are to be dispelled by this gracious pro- 
 vision for his wants. Dark clouds, towards noon, 
 gather in the south-west, and gradually steal over 
 the azure firmament, casting a gloomy shadow upon 
 the earth, and obscuring the intensity of the sun's 
 rays, as they flit over his surface in their onward 
 progress. A current of cool, strange air now denotes 
 some remarkable atmospheric change. Tlie ocean 
 is unusually agitated ; the waves are lifted up and 
 hurried onwards as tlie breeze increases ; the angry 
 waters come foaming and roaring towards the shore, 
 and are broken with violence upon the rocks, re- 
 ceding but to break again with redoubled force. 
 Distant peals of thunder echo among the lofty ghauts 
 far down the coast, and vivid streams of forked 
 lightning illumine their peaked summits. The dry 
 leaves of the lofty palms rattle overhead, and the 
 forests are agitated and shaken as the hurricane roars 
 through their solemn vistas, and breaks in upon 
 their profound stillness. The soaring kite flaps his 
 outstretched wings, as he rises alarmed from his 
 lone perch, and is hurried away upon the storm. 
 The cattle on the plains congregate together, as if 
 driven by some irresistible impulse to seek the 
 shelter and protection of each other, and lie down 
 with their heads close to the earth, as if conscious of 
 approaching danger; and the poor Hindoo wraps 
 
THE ARTILLERY OF HEAVEN. 77 
 
 his muslin kummerband tighter around him, as the 
 cool air expands its many folds, and exposes his 
 delicately-formed limbs to the chilly blast. The 
 skies become darkened, and sheets of blazing light- 
 ning, followed up by the roar of deafening thunder, 
 succeed each other with fearful rapidity ; and, though 
 in broad day, the eye can scarcely bear to look upon 
 the flaming heavens, so intense is their brightness. 
 The elements are indeed at war. Large drops of 
 rain begin to fall ; and falling, raise up, in conse- 
 quence of their weight, a cloud of dust ; and then, 
 within a brief space, the mighty floods descend 
 upon the thirsty land. 
 
 The tempest is terrific to behold, and man trem- 
 bles beneath the storm. He seeks in haste the 
 shelter of his mud-built cabin, and mutters a hurried 
 prayer to the stone idol which he has set up. The 
 high houses in the Fort of Bombay vibrate with 
 every clap of thunder ; doors and windows, and 
 walls and floors, are shaken by the loud artillery of 
 heaven. Torrents of water pour down from every 
 roof, and in broken streams bound over the sound- 
 ing verandahs below them, sweeping the various 
 streets as the flood rushes onward, laden with mud 
 and rubbish towards the sea. 
 
 To those persons who have but just arrived in the 
 country, and who, having never experienced the 
 
78 MOSQUITOES. — FLYING BUGS. — WEASELS. 
 
 setting in of this remarkable season, have formed 
 from description but an imperfect idea of that 
 change, the scene is pregnant with horror of every 
 kind. The newly-arrived English-woman, in par- 
 ticular, suffers exceedingly at this period, being 
 scarcely able to divest herself of the impression, 
 that everything around her is about to be destroyed 
 or washed away. Yet it is very seldom that acci- 
 dents occur, or that property is seriously injured. 
 Occasionally we hear of exposed houses being struck 
 by lightning on the island, of old palm-trees blown 
 <lown, and of leaf-roofs being dispersed to the four 
 winds of heaven ; for woe be unto him who lives 
 in a bungalow with a bad roof, or in one whose 
 spouts are out of order ; but, with these exceptions, 
 Europeans on shore have but little to be alarmed 
 about for their personal safety. 
 
 Myriads of mosquitoes, now driven in by the 
 rains, fill your apartments ; and your lamps at night, 
 if not properly covered over with a glass shade, are 
 liable to be suddenly extinguished by the large green 
 beetles that have sought shelter from the storm 
 without. Flying bugs almost poison you with their 
 foetid effluvia, and contaminate every article of food 
 upon which they may chance to alight. The musk- 
 weasels dart in under your China matting, and find 
 their way into your wine-cellars, and every cork 
 
LIZARDS. — CENTIPEDES. SPIDERS. — FLEAS. 79 
 
 they touch, every bottle they spoil. That nimble 
 and really useful reptile, the house-lizard, climbs 
 your walls in all directions, and comes out so regu- 
 larly from under your table after dinner to feed 
 upon the flies attracted thither, that you quite look 
 for the active little creature as a matter of course, 
 to amuse you during dessert time ; and if he fail 
 to appear, express regret, as I have heard an old 
 gentleman do, at his non-arrival. The loathsome 
 centipede gets into your coo king- houses, and hideous 
 spiders, with hairy bodies and long legs, take up 
 their quarters in every available corner and door- 
 way. They are not content with staying at home 
 quietly, like our own respectable though small 
 species, and of taking their chance of what may 
 be sent them ; but they must make daily tours all 
 over the establishment, as if it were expected that 
 they should pay visits to one another, now that the 
 season had brought them into town. In fact, all 
 the entomological tormentors of India appear to 
 have a design upon your house and happiness. A 
 continual buzzing is kept up around you day and 
 night. Ants creep up your legs, while fleas irritate 
 your body; and farewell to sleep, if your gauze 
 curtains display any rents at bed-time. 
 
 The punkahs or swinging fans, suspended in your 
 rooms, now have rest from their labours, for the 
 
80 PALANQUIN-BEARERS. 
 
 atmosphere is sufficiently cool without any artificial 
 currents of air. The sweet-scented cuscusmats, or 
 tatties, hung outside between tlie pillars that support 
 your verandah, and kept wet, in order to lower the 
 temperature of the heated breeze before it enters 
 your house, are now taken down and laid aside ; 
 and quite a change takes place in all your little plans 
 within doors. The poor thinly-clad labourers are 
 dreadfully susceptible of cold now ; and instead of 
 welcoming the monsoons as a providential visitation 
 ordained by the Almighty for their especial good, 
 they gnmible at their long continuance, and rejoice 
 at their departure. 
 
 'Tis true the natives suffer much at this inclement 
 season from fever and ague ; and the hummals or 
 palanquin-bearers, who are necessitated to be out 
 constantly in the rains while carrying their em- 
 ployers to the various scenes of their daily duties, are 
 much to be pitied, as they are liable to attacks of 
 rheumatic fever, and often fall victims to dysentery 
 and cholera in a few hours. These persons are such 
 strange figures, and are dressed up in such odd 
 garments, with their heads and faces tied up to pro- 
 tect them from the weather, that it is difficult to 
 decide to what caste or country they belong. As a 
 class of labourers, they often excited my compassion, 
 as I must say with our good queen Elizabeth, that 
 
DISCOMFORT OF PALANQUINS. 81 
 
 it is degrading to see men groaning under the weight 
 of their idle fellow-creatures ; and in India these poor 
 wretches have to endure much from direct exposure 
 to the sun, as they cannot, when bearing a palan- 
 quin, carry any chittree to shield them from its 
 dangerous heat. T never felt comfortable in one 
 of these palanquins, and hope some humane gover- 
 nor will endeavour to do away with this fashionable 
 mode of conveyance ; and that the poor hummals, 
 so long neglected, may rise a little in the scale of 
 civilization. I have seen them deposit their human 
 burdens, after a long journey, perhaps of four or 
 five miles in the hot season, and sink down almost 
 exhausted upon the door-step, bathed in profuse 
 perspiration that poured down from their panting 
 bodies ; and often, upon such occasions, have I 
 thought of the comparatively luxurious lives led by 
 our hackney coachmen. You hire these men by 
 the day, week, or month ; but if you keep your 
 own palanquin, they are considered as part of your 
 domestic establishment, and reside in the compound, 
 or somewhere close to your residence. 
 
 Palanquins are close and uncomfortable affairs, 
 and, moreover, are extremely awkward to get into 
 or out of. They are something resembling a sedan- 
 chair turned over upon its side, with a pole sticking 
 out at each end ; which pole, when elevated, rests 
 
 G 
 
82 THE GREAT PAINTER. 
 
 upon the shoulders of the bearers. While carrying 
 them, the hummals have often to rest and change 
 sides, as the swinging motion of the machine soon 
 injures the shoulder, though well protected by a soft 
 woollen pad. How any man can call it a luxury to 
 be carried about the country in one of these close 
 boxes, at the expense of so much seeming suffering 
 to his fellow-creatures, I cannot conceive. 
 
 We will now steal out from our bungalow, caring 
 little for the pelting storm, for we shall keep under 
 the magnificent plantain leaves that hang over the 
 foot-path, and take a peep at the face of nature — at 
 the fields and woods ; and see the wondrous change 
 whicli a few days' rain has produced in the vegetable 
 world. 
 
 " But who can paint 
 Like Nature 1 can imagination boast, 
 Amidst its gay creation, Lues like hers; 
 And lay them on so delicately fine, 
 And lose them in each other, as appears 
 In every bud that blows? If fancy, then. 
 Unequal, fail beneath the pleasing task. 
 Ah ! what shall language do]" 
 
 The dry and burnt up plain, that crackled under our 
 feet like the stubble of harvest, is now covered with 
 fine grass a foot deep, and of that rich emerald green, 
 which is so refreshing to the eye, and so novel in its 
 
RAPID VEGETATION. 83 
 
 appearance, that you feel transplanted, as it were, to 
 some strange land, or to the waving meadows of 
 England's Spring. The united influence of heat and 
 moisture are at work. Every tree and shrub has 
 sent forth some new leaves or tender shoots, and the 
 gums which so long protected them are now dissolved 
 and diffuse a delicious perfume around you. The 
 cool rains and mild temperature at this season pro- 
 duce a luxuriance of vegetation unknown perhaps in 
 any other country on the face of the earth. 
 
 The extraordinary and rapid growth of all seeds 
 now planted, appears more like the work of enchant- 
 ment, than the slow progress of nature familiar to 
 us in our northern latitudes. The gourd, melon, 
 and cucumber, have now gained the roof of the 
 peasant's hut, and promise by their shining blossoms 
 a plentiful supply of their cooling fruits when the hot 
 season shall arrive. Trees and plants, that during 
 the dry months had shut up all their pores, so as not 
 to be robbed of their juices by evaporation, and 
 roots, that lay buried in the deep sands or strong 
 clay districts, now spring suddenly into life and 
 beauty, in places that were before barren to the eye. 
 Creeping plants, that run along the ground, now 
 embrace the trunks of trees, and ascend them with 
 astonishing rapidity, running out upon their branches, 
 and so travelling from one to another, till the forests 
 
84 THE FOREST. 
 
 ill the neighbourhood of Bombay appear to be bound 
 together, and canopied over, by the thousand lovely 
 climbers that cast an almost night-like gloom on all 
 things below them. 
 
 From some of these branches may be seen the 
 charming blossoms of the convolvulus, and other 
 flowering parasitical plants, floating between heaven 
 and earth in graceful festoons, uninjured by the 
 floods of rain, and affording support to all those 
 delicate birds and insects that would perish without 
 this beautiful provision of the great Author of nature. 
 
 The woods are now alive with the feathered tribes, 
 and the soft cooing of the turtle-dove, a bird held 
 sacred in India, is repeated for miles around you. 
 The golden oriole, and the azure jay, descending 
 from the lofty trees, now feast upon the luscious 
 fruits ; and our own English barn-door bird, the 
 stately jungle-cock, makes the coverts ring again 
 with his loud and familiar note, as he sweeps through 
 the sounding woods, and is lost in their deep 
 shadows. 
 
 We must now turn aside from these pleasing 
 pictures of the Indian forest, at which we have but 
 hurriedly glanced. Memory fails me in recalling the 
 many beauties that surround us here on all sides, 
 and the abundant supply of food that the fields 
 promise to man. The sea, formerly so transparent 
 
POST- OFFICE MISMANAGEMENT. 85 
 
 and serene, is now discoloured by the large rivers, 
 that carry down enormous quantities of earth in 
 their swift and destructive progress. All coasting 
 traffic has ceased, and the cocoa-nut-sewn pattemars 
 and fishing dingie have sought the shelter of some 
 friendly creek or land-locked bay, for three months 
 at least. The Company's steamers change the time 
 of their going to Aden and the Persian Gulf with the 
 overland mails ; and whereas a very brief delay 
 would, at any other time, cause alarm, a week's 
 detention now beyond their time is scarcely spoken 
 of with surprise, as every one is aware that the mon- 
 soons are the cause. 
 
 Internal communication is now laid aside, and no 
 person who can possibly avoid it, travels either by 
 land or water. The mail bags,* usually forwarded by 
 
 * The Bombay Times thus describes the present bad 
 management (1849) of the post-ofi&ce in Gangetic India. 
 " Newspapers are charged by weight, so that before they can 
 pass for single postage, they must make use of the smallest- 
 sized sheet to be found in the meanest provincial town in 
 England ; the paper must be as thin as a bank note. In our 
 rainy season, if near full weight, it absorbs moisture so 
 rapidly, as to be charged double postage at its journey's end ; 
 the postage on a daily paper from moderate distances 
 amounts to £5 a-year ; the mails are carried in leather bags 
 on men's heads, and are so negligently made up, that 
 they occasionally reach their destination in a state of pulp. 
 Thousands of rupees are annually abstracted from letters^ 
 and every variety of misconduct prevails. " 
 
86 TANKS FOR WATER. 
 
 runners, each a stage of three coss, or six miles, are 
 detained for weeks, before an opportunity occurs to 
 ford or SNvim over the swollen rivers and nullahs ! a 
 work often of much' difficulty and danger. Weekly 
 reports of heart-rending shipwrecks fill the native 
 papers, and a catalogue of flooded districts, and other 
 disasters from the country, too often gives a painful 
 interest to the rainy season. 
 
 Yet we must not lose sight of the goodness of 
 the Almighty, in sending these blessed showers at 
 stated periods ; for, were they but once withheld, the 
 most dreadful consequences must ensue, and thou- 
 sands upon thousands of human creatures would 
 perish for want of water. We are helped to form 
 some little idea of the value of that necessary article, 
 when we see scattered over India the enormous 
 public and private tanks, which at the rainy season 
 must be replenished, to meet the demands of a large 
 population like that of India, and which have been 
 erected at a vast expense. Its successive rulers 
 never neglected this all-important duty ; and the 
 building of tanks, long before the Mohammedan 
 invasion, was a common act of charity among the 
 Hindoo rajahs, who thus handed their names down 
 to posterity, and enriched the districts in which they 
 resided. 
 
 Shere Khan, a Patau chief, set a noble example 
 
BAD POLICY OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 87 
 
 to others. He formed a high road across the entire 
 breadth of Hindostan, from the Ganges to the Indus, 
 along which he caused fruit trees to be planted, a 
 well to be sunk every two miles, and a caravansera 
 to be provided at every stage, so that travellers 
 might be accommodated at the public expense. 
 Ferose the Third, who is said to have built during 
 his reign a hundred bridges, forty mosques, and 
 thirty colleges, with many other works of utility, 
 also erected thirty reservoirs for the purposes of 
 irrigation, and the general good of the country. 
 
 Some of these tanks, which have now, through 
 the bad policy of the East India Company, been 
 allowed to fall into a sad state of decay, are still 
 very handsome and remarkable buildings. One 
 which I saw in Guzerat, cost originally, as I was 
 told, nine lacs of rupees in its construction ; and 
 even in the dry season, it contained an abundant 
 supply of the coolest and purest water. I recollect 
 being surprised, upon descending the long flight of 
 steps that led to it, to see the place swarming with 
 the large bull-frog, and with a curious species of 
 little tortoise ; these creatures, as I was informed 
 by those who went down to draw the water, were 
 fostered and preserved, as they contributed to ensure 
 the purity of the water, by keeping it continually 
 in motion. 
 
88 CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE. 
 
 A wealthy native, wlio had perhaps committed 
 some dreadful crime, and who on his death-bed had 
 repented, would often will away a large sum of 
 money, to be expended in a particular district where 
 water was scarce, in a public tank. Many have been 
 built under these circumstances, even during the 
 life-time of the unhappy individual, who well knew 
 this to be the greatest boon that could be conferred 
 upon an agricultural people. Every town and village 
 lias its tank ; many boast of three or four, and the 
 large capitals are generally well supplied with draw- 
 wells and natural reservoirs in their neighbourhood, 
 which by their presence often assure the wearied 
 foot-sore traveller, that his journey is drawing to a 
 close. In Bombay, the pluvia-metre is watched in 
 the rainy sea.son with much anxiety ; and the 
 quantity of water that falls in and about that island, 
 is satisfactorily ascertained. 
 
 The change that takes place during the continu- 
 ance of the south-west monsoons, from a temperature 
 of 100 or 120 deg., to one of 05 or 70, is truly 
 delightful to the European ; for the air is now cool 
 and delicious, resembling the close of an English 
 spring. Woollen clothing may now l)e worn with 
 comfort, and ladies wrap themselves up in their 
 large Cashmere shawls and Delhi scarfs, and enjoy 
 the bracing and invigorating breeze. Your sleep is 
 
THE TNVALID TN INDIA. 89 
 
 sweet and refreshing, and you rise in the morning 
 with an energy and life unknown in the hot months; 
 and though females cannot take much exercise out 
 of doors, yet they suffer not from confinement, as 
 a hundred little occupations now engage their at- 
 tention, that could not be pursued with any degree 
 of pleasure before. The lounging couch is deserted, 
 and the Anglo-Indian lady is once more acting in 
 the capacity of an industrious house-wife. 
 
 To carry out our reminiscences of this eventful 
 division of the Indian year, we will gently draw 
 aside the silken screen that closes the entrance to 
 that still chamber, where only the voice of pain and 
 passive suffering is occasionally heard to break in 
 upon the death-like silence. The musshall has placed 
 upon the floor the hand-punkah, which is torn and 
 broken by constant use through restless nights and 
 burning days. He thinks that massa can do without 
 it now. A bunch of roses and white mogree blos- 
 soms engages the sufferer's attention, and he shakes 
 upon his face, moist with the dews of approaching 
 death, a grateful shower of bright little globules, 
 that rest on the hollows of his cheeks. They are 
 Nature's tears. His long thin fingers untie the 
 slender cord that binds these cherished flowers to- 
 gether, and a half-expanded rose, still drooping with 
 the rains, is raised to the lips now trembling with 
 
90 VAIN HOPES. 
 
 emotion. Beautiful flower ! what visions of tlie 
 past dost thou conjure up 1 — green fields, bubbling 
 fountains, shady woods, and refreshing and balmy 
 gales ; and the oft-traversed scenes of early child- 
 hood pass in quick review before the dying man. 
 The flower falls from his hand ; the little globules 
 are united to bitter tears, tliat course their way 
 down his sunken cheeks; and an agony of grief 
 disturbs the swarthy attendant of the sick chamber, 
 who has stolen an hour's sleep uiX)n the matting 
 at the foot of the bed. 
 
 Yet this is a blessed season for the poor English 
 invalid. After weeks, perhaps months, of confine- 
 ment to a bed of sickness, in a close and heated 
 room, where neither day nor night has brought 
 relief, he oflers a thankful acknowledgment to Him 
 from whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift, 
 for the cool breeze that steals through his lattice, 
 and once more fans his feverish and burning brow. 
 Hope, that seemed, as far as he was concerned, to 
 have bid the world farewell, again returns. Home, 
 with its sweet endearments, rushes upon the wander- 
 ing memory, and his thoughts return to that far 
 distant land, which he will never see again. The 
 expiring spark of life still burns, and is fanned by 
 the reviving breeze ; and the death-stricken invalid 
 talks of a thousand things which he shall do when 
 
ENGLISH FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 91 
 
 lie shall be a little stronger. He feels certain that 
 he must now recover ; and he longs to be carried 
 down in his palanquin to the shore, to see riding at 
 anchor those English vessels, one of which, he hopes, 
 is to bear him away from the Indian land ; but he 
 will see his distant home no more. A change has, 
 indeed, " come o'er the spirit of his dream." 
 
 Instead of pampering the taste, and tempting it 
 with curries, and omelets, and other made dishes, 
 you have now a natural appetite. Your water and 
 wine require no artificial cooling ; and the ladies 
 pride themselves on the firmness of their jellies 
 and the durability of their hlanc-mange. Your 
 butcher's meat will keep longer uncooked, and you 
 may even calculate upon seeing your saddle of kid 
 a second time upon your table, cold. Butter ceases 
 to melt when out of water, and custards manufac- 
 tured in the morning do credit to the cook at supper 
 time. 
 
 It is pleasing to see boxes of mignonette, sweet- 
 peas, and pots of roses, flourishing in the verandah. 
 Even apple-trees and gooseberries are cherished in 
 this country as great rarities, and are tended with 
 the fondest care, because they speak of happy 
 England, and of all the fond affections and 
 associations of the heart when it was light and 
 young. Indeed, you can almost discover the resi- 
 
92 THE MANGOE FEAST. 
 
 deuces of our fair countrywomen by these little 
 mementoes of their early home. Few can form an 
 idea how high a value is set upon these trifles in 
 a foreign land. Long may the exiled daughters of 
 Britain cherish these sweet feelings, nor allow the 
 transitory pleasures of an Eastern life, however 
 attractive or brilliant, to wean their hearts away 
 from the land of their birth ! 
 
 Now, too, you look forward to a great variety of 
 vegetables at your table. The common and sweet 
 potatoes, yams, turnips, and carrots, the beautiful 
 egg-plant, tomatoes, green chillies and ginger, and 
 many others, are to be purchased in the native 
 markets ; and delicious fruits abound everywhere ; 
 the water and musk melons, cut in slices, are hawked 
 about the streets in large baskets, and your servants 
 are devouring cucumbers, white onions, and new 
 sugar-cane, all day long. Your gardens are almost 
 closed up with flowery shrubs, and the air is scented 
 with the jasmine and powerful tube-rose. 
 
 And now comes the long-looked-for mangoe feast, 
 fresh and luscious from the famed plantations near 
 Mazagaon. The guests being seated round a table, 
 each with a long napkin tucked under his chin, and 
 his coat- sleeves turned up to the elbows, a large 
 basketful of the fruit is placed in the centre of the 
 board, and you are soon almost suffocated with the 
 
THE PINE-APPLE. 93 
 
 powerful aroma that pervades tlie apartment. The 
 number of mangoes that a practised person may 
 eat with impunity, is really astonishing. A little 
 pale brandy is taken afterwards, by way of security, 
 and a bath, to get rid of the jaundiced complexion, 
 is sometimes absolutely necessary. A delicious pickle 
 is made from the fruit before it is quite ripe ; and it 
 enters very largely into the composition of chutnee, a 
 curious mixture much used in curries and Indian 
 made dishes. 
 
 Many attempts have been made, by the mer- 
 chants of Bombay, to send this truly royal fruit to 
 England. A case of mangoes was forwarded over- 
 land as a present to her Majesty, at Windsor, packed 
 in cotton wool, and hermetically sealed ; but whether 
 they arrived sound or not, I never learned„ Guavas, 
 custard-apples, figs, and shaddocks, are plentiful 
 at this season ; and pines, though not to be com- 
 pared to our English fruit, are very common, and 
 may be purchased for an anna or two. One great 
 reason why the pine-apple here is coarse and indiffe- 
 rent in flavour is, the little attention bestowed upon 
 its culture by native gardeners. The crown is simply 
 cut off, and struck into the soil again, and Nature 
 is allowed to nurse it in her own way, without any 
 assistance from man. Plantains we have in Bombay 
 ' all the year round. They are very good fried, and 
 
94 REGULATION OF THE WET AND DRY SEASONS. 
 
 are a wholesome and nutritious fruit. Oranges and 
 grapes do not appear to grow well on the island, 
 and Poonah supplies the tables of the rich at Bom- 
 bay with these universal favourites. 
 
 Towards the close of the monsoons the rains are 
 light and mild, and bright sunshine intervenes be- 
 tween the showers. In general, the rains are more 
 abundant in the first than in the second half of the 
 season. They pour down at Bombay in torrents for 
 many hours together, sometimes for days, at their 
 commencement ; after which, about sunset, the 
 weather clears up, and very little rain falls during 
 the night. As the wet and dry seasons, in this part 
 of India, are not regulated by the position of the 
 sun, but by the change in the trade winds, a greater 
 abundance of rain falls here than in those countries 
 which lie without the tropics, and are subject to 
 what are called variable rains. In this case, the 
 season of the rains depends entirely on the position 
 of the sun ; beginning before the sun reaches the 
 zenith of a place, and continuing for some time 
 after it has passed it. We find from observation, 
 that countries lying near the equator are never for 
 many days without rain, and that in those that are 
 situated more than five degrees of latitude from 
 the line, the seasons are generally distinctly marked. 
 
 From the rapid decomposition of vegetable matter, 
 
COCOA-NUT DAY. 95 
 
 a sickly and trying season is now introduced at 
 Bombay, and is much dreaded by Europeans residing 
 at out-stations, or in the jungle. From the same 
 cause, the atmosphere is filled with poisonous miasma, 
 destructive to the health of the inhabitants ; and 
 agues and the jungle-fever spread amongst those 
 that are exposed to the infected air. In the low dis- 
 tricts, where the rains have been excessively heavy, 
 many large tracts being flooded a foot or two deep, 
 the exhalations load the atmosphere with a vapour so 
 dense, as to obscure the stars at night. Dysentery, 
 also, is now prevalent, more, perhaps, at this critical 
 period than at any other ; which may in a great 
 measure be attributed to the abundance of green 
 food. Soldiers are, on this account, forbidden to 
 eat the fruit of the guava; that fruit being con- 
 sidered as very unwholesome, and as liable to pro- 
 luce this most distressing and dangerous disease. 
 [Great care is necessary, at this season, to guard 
 igainst the sudden changes of temperature. 
 
 A great Hindoo festival is now celebrated, and 
 known as cocoa-nut day. This holiday occurs on 
 the 18th of August; at which time the season is 
 supposed to open for traffic with the neighbouring 
 coasts, and native boats may venture out to sea. It 
 is a day of unusual excitement and merriment ; and 
 all Bombay is abroad to see the fair and the pro- 
 
96 HINDOO SUPERSTITION. 
 
 cessions that take place. Thousands from all parts 
 of the island assemble upon the sea-shore in Back 
 Bay, even so far as Malabar Point, bein^ accom- 
 panied by priests, j ogees, gosaens, and bearers and 
 attendants, who bring with them gilt cocoa-nuts, 
 flowers, mimic temples, deities, packages of cinnabar, 
 and all sorts of things to be presented as offeriogs 
 to the ocean. Faquirs, and a host of other idle and 
 worthless characters, mad with opium, bhoeng, and 
 arrack, vary the amusements of the pleasure-seeking 
 multitude, by acting the part of clowns in the most 
 grotesque and ridiculous manner, with their faces, 
 arms, and legs, daubed with paint, and their bodies 
 decked out with scraps of ragged finery. They 
 make up a sort of procession, and go down to the 
 sea, and cast in their gilt cocoa-nuts, which they 
 try to make the uninitiated in Hindoo mysteries and 
 frauds believe are of solid gold, but unfortunately 
 they too often float. Temples, flowers, and tinsel 
 ornaments, follow one another as propitiatory offer- 
 ings ; and every good Hindoo is now supposed to 
 offer up a prayer, to the effect that when he ventures 
 once more to tempt the wave in his frail bark, 
 success may attend his expeditions, and that he 
 may never suffer shipwreck. 
 
 After these vain ceremonies are over, the roads 
 are once more lined with thousands who are making 
 
FISHING EE-COMMENCED. 97 
 
 their way to the native village, where a grand fair 
 and festival is going on in honour of the day. The 
 night is usually passed in drunkenness and rioting, 
 by the rabble portion; though the respectable 
 Hindoo, after prostrating himself in the temple, or 
 bathing in the sacred tank, returns home at an 
 early hour to recount the many events witnessed to 
 the female portion of his family ; women being 
 seldom allowed to participate in those pleasures so 
 eagerly sought after by their selfish lords. 
 
 It is a curious sight to stroll along the shore the 
 day after this festival of cocoa-nuts, and find it 
 covered for miles with heaps of painted wood, 
 flowers, and tinsel, which the ocean, one would fancy, 
 had indignantly cast back again upon the beach ; 
 after this day a few of the fool- hardy venture out on 
 their short fishing excursions, though the storms of 
 the last three months still continue unabated. 
 
 The monsoon is not over until the end of Septem- 
 ber j and no sensible merchant will allow his vessel 
 to go to sea until the Elephanta gales have passed 
 away ; yet the Hindoo sailors now look upon a ship- 
 wreck as impossible, as they feel a sort of conviction, 
 after this ceremony, that old Father Ocean's anger 
 has been appeased, and if any of them are lost 
 through their religious belief, which is often the case, 
 particularly during the dreadful hurricanes of the 
 
98 CLOSE OF THE MONSOONS. 
 
 Elephanta, it is put down to the score of not having 
 made a proper offering. 
 
 And now for many weeks the country is rich and 
 lovely in all the glories of its floral productions, and 
 India may, in very truth, be called a land of sunshine 
 and flowers. Perhaps there are few countries where 
 flowers are more loved and thought of. They enter 
 into all Indian feasts and festivals I Turbans are 
 ornamented with bunches of the large white jessa- 
 mine, tied up with a rose in the centre ; flowers are 
 strewed over the marriage-bed and hung in wreaths 
 round the necks of the favourite deities in all the 
 temples and sacred places. 
 
 I have now brought the monsoons to a close, and 
 have endeavoured to recall a few events connected 
 with this remarkable feature of the Indian year. 
 From their termination to February, the cold months 
 occur, but they are hardly to be distinguished from 
 the hot and dry season that follows. The coast of 
 Bombay experiences the full effects of the south-west 
 monsoon. In July the rain increases in quantity, 
 and may be said to attain its maximum. Slowly 
 decreasing in August, and more rapidly in Septem- 
 ber, it departs amidst terrific thunder-storms about 
 the first or second week in October. 
 
THE OLD TEMPLES. 
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 " And near those mighty temples stand, 
 The miracles of mortal hand. 
 Where, hidden from the common eye, 
 The past long-buried secrets lie ; 
 Those mysteries of the first great creed 
 Whose mystic fancies were the seed 
 Of every wild and vain belief 
 That held o'er man their empire brief." 
 
 [The old temples of India have long claimed from 
 the antiquary a large share of attention ; not only 
 
 |©n account of the peculiarity of their construction, 
 )ut also because the period of their erection appears 
 
 Bn almost every case to be involved in the deepest 
 )bscurity. The hypogsea, or subterraneous cavern 
 
 "^structures, concerning which we have at present to 
 speak, are, perhaps, the most remarkable monuments 
 of human labour and perseverance to be met with 
 
100 INDIAN CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 in Asia. Their prodigious extent, massiveness of 
 structure, and variety of design, lead us almost to 
 doubt whether many of them were not originally 
 natural cavities, enlarged and beautified by the hand 
 of man. 
 
 In the mountains of the Soubah of Cashmere, 
 no fewer than twelve thousand of these grotto- 
 caverns have been explored, and found to be com- 
 posed of a series of apartments and recesses supposed 
 to be hewn out of the solid rock. Those of Kailasa, 
 near Ellora, which are 247 feet long, and nearly 15 
 wide, are said to contain all the mythological deities 
 of the Hindoos, though much injured and defaced 
 by time. Many of them contain statues of colossal 
 dimensions, and their walls are covered over with 
 elaborate embellishments of the most fanciful de- 
 scription. 
 
 But we can place no dependence on the current 
 traditions of the East respecting them, and it 
 would be fruitless to attempt to trace their early 
 history. The ancient chronologers of India would 
 seem to have had extraordinary notions of time ; 
 seeing that they tell us of kings who reigned thou- 
 sands of years, and of rajahs who attained an age 
 far beyond the nine hundred and sixty-nine years 
 of the Methuselah mentioned in the sacred Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
SUBTERRANEAN CAVES. 101 
 
 The Brahmins are regarded by the people of 
 India, as were the monks of old in our own country, 
 as oracles of wisdom and piety. They alone are 
 believed to have power to reveal the secrets of the 
 past, or to draw aside the curtain which mercifully 
 shrouds the future from human eyes. Their state- 
 ments and writings only serve yet further to per- 
 plex the confused accounts that have been handed 
 down from past ages, and to make our conjectures 
 more uncertain and unsatisfactory. Thus, the won- 
 derful mountain-caves and temples, situated near 
 the once flourishing but now nearly deserted city 
 of Dowlatabad, are said to have been built by one 
 Ecloo, Rajah of Ellichpore, and to be seven thousand 
 nine hundred years old ; such, at least, is the an- 
 tiquity assigned to them by the venerable priests 
 who generally conduct the visitor over these Hindoo 
 temples — once, doubtless, thronged by worshippers 
 — now lonely and silent. 
 
 The temples of Aboo, a lofty mountain range 
 about forty miles from the military station of Deesa, 
 in Guzerat, have not been long discovered, and are 
 peculiarly interesting to the traveller, from the cir- 
 cumstance of their all being carved out of black 
 marble ; but they have just as doubtful a date 
 assigned to them as those of Dowlatabad, though, 
 perhaps (the hardness of the materials of which they 
 
102 IDOL TEMPLES IN LONELY PLACES. 
 
 consist being taken into account), with more pro- 
 bability. 
 
 It is necessary to bear in mind, that structures of 
 this description suffer very little from exposure to 
 the dry atmosphere of a country like India. In our 
 own humid climate the case is widely different. 
 Here we sometimes find churches and public build- 
 ings crumbling into decay in the course of a single 
 century ; and even the vaunted stone of Caen, in 
 Normandy, cannot withstand the " skiey influences " 
 of two. 
 
 It may appear, at first sight, singular, that a 
 people so skilful in the fine arts as, if we may judge 
 by these beautiful monuments of a past generation, 
 must have been the inhabitants of Hindostan, should 
 have selected such lonely and uncouth places for the 
 sites of their idol temples. Islands, subterranean 
 caves, and almost inaccessible mountains, appear to 
 have been their favourite localities for the erection 
 of buildings, which, as we cannot doubt, were in- 
 tended as places for the daily celebration of their 
 peculiar worship. It is, however, to be considered, 
 that, from time immemorial, India has been a prey 
 to marauding chiefs and lawless usurpers, who robbed, 
 desolated, or destroyed, almost every important 
 place which they visited in their frequently-occurring 
 predatory excursions. Many of the idols set up in 
 
THE PRIESTS. 103 
 
 these temples during the hours of devotion were 
 thought to be of great value ; and it is not uncom- 
 mon even now to see them formed of gold or 
 silver, having for eyes diamonds and other precious 
 stones. These idols offered great temptations to the 
 plunderer ; and it was necessary, therefore, in order 
 to carry on the ceremonies inculcated in the sacred 
 Vedas, and, at the same time, to preserve the riches 
 of the temple from the spoiler's hand, that these 
 buildings should be erected in places presenting 
 great natural advantages in the way of security. 
 
 The officiating priests and other officers connected 
 with these religious establishments were accustomed 
 to reside upon the spot, in rooms set apart for their 
 accommodation ; and the deluded worshippers who 
 came, often laden with offerings, to pray, cared little 
 for distance, or for the difficulties of the road, seeing 
 that the more dangers they encountered in these 
 their pious journeyings, the more acceptable they 
 believed their service to be. Of the licentious 
 character of the rites celebrated in these Pagan 
 temples, it is needless here to speak. They have 
 passed away. Enough, however, remains to show us 
 their nature. While wandering over some of these 
 ruinous structures, once polluted by the exercise of a 
 vile and debasing superstition, and crowded by a 
 degraded multitude who were, we may conclude, 
 
104 MYTHOLOGIES OF EGYPT AND INDIA. 
 
 little better than the people of Sodom, and like unto 
 those of Gomorrah, the words of the prophet Jeremiah 
 flashed across my mind : — " Every man is brutish in 
 his knowledge : every founder is confounded by the 
 graven image : for his molten image is falsehood — 
 they are vanity and the work of others : in the time 
 of their visitation they shall perish. " * Having 
 
 * The Right Rev. M. Russell, in his views of Ancient and 
 Modem Egypt, says — " There is a striking resemblance known 
 to subsist between the usages, the superstitions, the arts, 
 and the mythology, of the ancient inhabitants of Western 
 India, to those of the first settlers on the upper Nile. The 
 temples of Nubia, for example, exhibit the same features, 
 whether as to style of architecture or the form of worship to 
 which they were devoted, with the similar buildings which 
 have been recently examined in the neighbourhood of 
 Bombay. In both cases they consist of vast excavations 
 hewn out in the solid body of a hill or mountain, and are 
 decorated with huge figures which indicate the same powers of 
 nature, or ser\'e as emblems to denote the same qualities in 
 the ruling spirits of the universe. As a further proof of this 
 hypothesis, we are infonned that the sepoys, who joined the 
 British Army in Egypt, imder Lord Hutchinson, imagined 
 that they found their own temples in the ruins of Dendera, 
 and were greatly exasperated at the natives for their neglect 
 of the ancient deities whose images are still preserved. So 
 strongly, indeed, were they impressed with this identity, that 
 they proceeded to perform their devotions with all the cere- 
 monies practised in their land. There is a resemblance, too, 
 in the minor instruments of their superstition — the lotus, 
 the lingam, and the serpent — which can hardly be regarded 
 as accidental ; but it is, no doubt, in the immense extent, 
 
ARRIVALS FROM POONAH. 105 
 
 said thus much in reference to the ancient religious 
 buildings scattered over India, I shall now proceed 
 to describe a delightful excursion to the island of 
 Gorapori, better known, for reasons that will appear 
 hereafter, by the familiar name of Elephanta. 
 
 It was about three months after the monsoons had 
 ceased to deluge the land, that I received a note of 
 invitation to spend an evening in the Fort, to meet a 
 few friends, and particularly a Mr. and Mrs. H., 
 who had just come down from Poonah. All the 
 great peoi)le liad gone to the Mahableshwur hills ; 
 the commander-in-chief having set the example by 
 proceeding thither in great state, surrounded by a 
 numerous retinue. Those who did not like the 
 trouble of climbing these mountains, that rise to an 
 elevation of some 5036 feet to the south of Bombay, 
 or who, perhaps, could not afford to follow in the 
 wake of the Burro Smb, ])ut who were, nevertheless, 
 
 the gigantic plan, the vast -conception, which appear in all 
 their saci'ed buildings, that we most readily discover the in- 
 fluence of the same lofty genius, and the endeavour to 
 accomplish the same mighty object. The excavated temples 
 of Guerfeh Hassan, for instance, remind eveiy traveller of 
 the cave of Elephanta. The resemblance, indeed, is singu- 
 larly striking ; as are, in fact, all the leading principles of 
 Egyptian architecture, and that of the Hindoos. * ♦ * 
 By whom and by what means these wonderful efforts have 
 been accomplished, is a mystery sunk too deep in the abyss 
 of time ever to be revealed. " 
 
106 TRAVELLING IN INDIA. 
 
 anxious to avoid the inconveniences which, at 
 Poonah, and in the neighbourhood, attend the hot 
 season, generally stepped into their palanquins early 
 in the morning, and, dismissing their bearers at the 
 foot of the ghauts, proceeded by a fast coach to 
 Panwelly and Bombay, the whole distance being only 
 75 or 80 miles. Some came to visit their children, 
 who were placed at good boarding-schools, conducted 
 by English masters ; some for change of air and sea- 
 bathing ; and others, to avoid l>eing enrolled in the 
 non-fashionable list of keepers-at-home ; to stay 
 quietly at home for a whole year being looked upon 
 as a thing exceedingly outre by the military and 
 merchant princes of the East ; who, so great is the 
 cost of travelling in style in India, annually expend 
 enormous sums in pleasurable excursions. 
 
 I must here introduce to ray readers the two 
 persons whom I have especially mentioned as being 
 present on the occasion to which I have alluded — 
 characters seldom met with in that gay country. 
 Mr. and Mrs. H. had passed the greater part of their 
 lives in India, and were singularly attached to the 
 country in which they had acquired a competent 
 share of wealth, with little injury to their originally 
 Scottish constitutions. Being childless, and having 
 no particular inducements to return to their native 
 land, they had purchased or built a cool bungalow in 
 
CHRISTIANS. 107 
 
 the neighbourhood of Pooiiah, and lived not for 
 themselves alone, but for the poor benighted heathen 
 around them ; devoting to their advantage, as I 
 afterwards learned^ certain days in every week, and a 
 large portion of an honourably- acquired fortune. 
 These worthy people had resisted or avoided the 
 temptations into which so many fall in the early part 
 of their Indian career, and had passed unscathed 
 through the fire. It were little to say of them that 
 they were regular in their habits, strictly honourable 
 in their engagements, and above the folly of attempt- 
 ing to outshine others, at the expense of living 
 beyond their own means. They were, in fact, 
 Christians, not only in name but in reality j and, as 
 Lsuch, pursued the even tenor of their way, with one 
 fixed purpose in view — the attainment of that rest 
 which remaineth for the people of God. They cared 
 little for the scoffs and sneers of the world, by whom 
 they were regarded as enthusiasts and missionary-bit 
 fanatics ; and were ever ready to return good for 
 evil. The broken-down officer, who, in his days of 
 prosperity, had cut them as not being persons of ton, 
 found a shelter under their hospitable roof ; and the 
 gay and thoughtless cadet, who once had laughed at 
 their wise saws and Scottish proverbs, lived to thank 
 them for snatching him from early destruction, and 
 to acknowledge them the instruments of his advance- 
 
108 A PIC-NIC. 
 
 ment to situations of honour and usefulness. In 
 company, these excellent persons were extremely 
 cheerful ; retaining, however, a little of the stiff- 
 ness and formality of the old English school of 
 manners. 
 
 The good lady's dress, too, exhibited the fashions 
 of a bygone age; and her husband's conversation 
 turned nmcli upon occurrences scarcely remembered 
 by the present generation. He spoke of railways, as 
 of something, the consequences of which it was 
 difficult to fathom ; and feared, not altogether, per- 
 haps, without reason, that in a few years they would 
 quite change the character of his countrymen, and 
 give them a dangerous taste for pleasuring, and 
 spending their Sundays and holidays in the French 
 metropolis. He remembered the arrival of the Mar- 
 quis of Comwallis in India, and had been at the first 
 party given by Lord George Bentinck, when all the 
 native gentry were first invited to meet the English 
 officers, and were placed upon a proper footing in 
 society, with the Londoners of Leadenhall Street. 
 
 During the very agreeable evening which I passed 
 in the society of these excellent persons, it wa s pro- 
 posed, that as there were several persons present who 
 did not reside in Bombay, and had seen little of the 
 charming scenery in its neighbourhood, we should 
 arrange a pic-nic party for the morrow ; and the 
 
AN INDIAN MORNING. 109 
 
 Island of Elephanta was at length fixed upon as the 
 place to be visited. We separated, therefore, with 
 the understanding, that we should meet at seven on 
 the following morning, at the Apollo Bunda^ where 
 a fine boat, well secured from the sun, was to be 
 engaged. 
 
 By gun-fire, the next day, I was up and ready. 
 The morning was lovely ] but this, by-the-bye, is an 
 unnecessary and truly English observation, and one 
 which I was heartily laughed at for making, on 
 meeting a friend in India — cdl mornings being lovely 
 there. On the present occasion, the gardens and 
 compounds were refreshed by the heavy night-dews, 
 and the fierce sun had not yet scorched the face of 
 nature. The wild gourd still spread out its broad 
 leaves over the natives' huts ; and the grape-leafed 
 castor-oil tree, laden with crimson clumps of spiny 
 seed-vessels, aj)peared to be greener than ever ; and 
 the cloudless sky was reflected from its azure depth 
 upon the bosom of a flowing tide, which came steal- 
 ing onward, in gentle ripples, towards the shore. 
 Groups of children were scampering about naked in 
 the water, and allowing the waves to roll over them, 
 as they swam out into the sea, and floated back again, 
 to coax their swarthy little companions, who were 
 splashing each other, to venture out further into the 
 deliciously cool element. 
 
110 AQUATIC BIRDS. 
 
 Through the opening in my tent, made to admit 
 at pleasure the grateful breeze of the morning, I 
 could command the view across Back Bay as far as 
 Malabar Point, where, as I observed, a flag was 
 floating in the grounds attached to the residence of 
 the Governor of Bombay, who had given a sumptuous 
 entertainment on the previous evening, and the re- 
 turning carriages of whose guests had disturbed me 
 during the night. Perched upon a piece of rock not 
 yet covered by the advancing tide, a party of oyster- 
 catchers were pluming their feathers, and spreading 
 out their wings to dry ; and dozens of sand-pipers 
 and other aquatic birds were to be seen sporting near 
 the low, bushy mangroves, and feasting upon the 
 marine insects which infest their leaves. 
 
 The pawney waUaha were preparing for the daily 
 supply of the different houses and tents, by filling 
 their sheep-skin bags with water, at the large tanks 
 on the esplanade ; and a camel-driver was leading 
 back to the encampment under the walls, a poor stray 
 camel, that limped a good deal, as if foot- sore from a 
 long journey over rough mountain -passes. Precisely 
 as the hour of seven was tolled from the lofty tower 
 of the English Cathedral in the Fort, I was upon the 
 Apollo Bunda, and joined a few friends, who had 
 been equally punctual with myself; nor had we long 
 to wait for the rest of the party. 
 
THE MAHEATTA SHORE. Ill 
 
 It proved, however, as it always does, whenever a 
 pic-nic party musters, that a great many necessary 
 articles had been forgotten. First, it was discovered 
 that Mr. C, the musical man of the party, had for- 
 gotten his cornopean. The case, indeed, had been 
 duly sent down to the water-side, but the instrument 
 was missing. Next, we found that we had no 
 powder-flask among us, and that there were no per- 
 cussion-caps to fit the pistols that were to be 
 discharged in the caves ; and lastly, it appeared that 
 no gentleman had brought a cork-screw. To supply 
 these various deficiencies took time : and it was 
 nearly eight o'clock, before, satisfied that all the 
 materials for the day's entertainment were on board, 
 we pushed off from the pier, and paddled out into the 
 bay, so as to obtain the full benefit of a flowing tide, 
 and of a slight breeze which attended it. The heat, 
 even at this comparatively early hour, was most 
 oppressive, and the ladies' punkahs were put upon 
 active service, as we slowly drifted past the walls of 
 the Forto Mr. and Mrs. H. had declined to take 
 part in our excursion, but had promised to meet us in 
 the evening, and learn the events of the day. 
 
 The scenery around us was striking ; on our right 
 was the Mahratta shore, with the high western chain 
 of ghauts towering above it ; on our left was Bombay, 
 with its spires, and mosques, massive fortifications, 
 
112 A REMINDER OF HOME. 
 
 and old Mohammedan tombs, glittering in the bright 
 morning sun, with here and there an enormous 
 cocoa-nut tree rising majestically from the mass of 
 public buildings ; behind us were the open sea and 
 Colabah ; and before us a strange little mound or 
 green hillock, peeping above the waters, and known 
 to many as Cross or Gibbet Island, some notorious 
 pirates having once paid there the penalty of their 
 crimes ; and not far off were Butcher's Island and 
 Elephanta. My satisfaction was for a moment inter- 
 rupted by our passing close under the stern of a 
 large English ship, which had " Liverpool ** painted 
 under her counter. My beloved country, so many 
 thousand miles distant, was at once forcibly recalled 
 to my recollection ; so easily will a trivial circum- 
 stance change the current of our thoughts, and cast a 
 shadow on the brightest hours which we enjoy on 
 earth. 
 
 Anchored around us were some strange-rigged 
 vessels from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, Arabian 
 built, with high prows ; and each ornamented by a 
 huge figure of some favourite idol, curiously carved. 
 These vessels had brought over for sale, horses, and 
 other products of their country ; all which find a 
 ready market in Bombay. 
 
 Here were native boats, with mat-covered houses 
 on deck, and laden with billets of wood from the 
 
FISHERS OF MEN. 113 
 
 Malabar coast, to supply the funeral pyres, which 
 may be seen of an evening, in Back Bay, blazing 
 high up into the heavens. From the sides of these 
 vessels were hung several pumpkins, large enough 
 to have accommodated, with ease, two or three 
 Cinderellas. There were also nets of onions, cocoa- 
 nuts, &c., from which might be inferred the nature 
 of the sailors' fare while on board. A few fishing- 
 boats kept us company for about two miles. The 
 fishermen had caught some fine 'pomfret and homhalo 
 for the supply of the markets on the island. The 
 rude and primitive character of their nets and tackle, 
 the boats, and wild-looking dress of those on board, 
 recalled to my remembrance the passage in St. 
 Mark's Gospel, in which our Saviour is spoken of 
 as walking on the Sea of Galilee, and seeing Simon 
 and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea ; 
 and then came the thought, that though eighteen 
 centuries had rolled away since our blessed Saviour 
 promised to make his disciples " fishers of men," 
 the poor benighted men before me were utterly 
 ignorant of those great and saving truths which 
 were destined, in the fulness of time, to be spread, 
 not only " throughout all the regions round about 
 Galilee," but throughout the whole of the habitable 
 globe ! Truly, "the harvest is plenteous, but the 
 labourers are few." 
 
 I 
 
114 THE GLORIOUS WORKS OP GOD. 
 
 A species of sea-eagle and some other large birds 
 were at this time wheeling over onr heads, and 
 occasionally diving down into the deep blue waves, 
 as their keen eye detected, among the small fry that 
 sported there, any fitting prey ; then they would 
 shoot up again, with a " ha-ha," like the note of our 
 laughing gull, into the azure sky, and there remain 
 poised and motionless. It was the first time I had 
 seen so much of the rich beauty of Indian scenery. 
 In whatever direction the eye wandered, some charm- 
 ing and picturesque object presented itself, till the 
 retina was almost pained by the quick succession 
 of brilliant and glowing images. The rich tints of 
 the distant mountains, clothed in their emerald 
 herbage — the islands around us — the city of Bom- 
 bay and its shipping in the distance — the sea — the 
 heavens — all contributed to form a picture indescri- 
 bably beautiful. I gazed — and gazed — and could 
 scarcely help exclaiming, 
 
 " These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good ! 
 Almighty ! Thine this universal fi-anie, 
 Thus wondrous fair ; Thyself how wondrous then I 
 Unspeakable ! who sitt'st above these heavens. 
 To us invisible, or dimly seen 
 In these thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
 Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine ! " 
 
 On drawing near to Elephanta, I was enraptured 
 
ELEPHANTA. 115 
 
 by a closer view of that island, fringed with palms 
 to the water's edge, and having the sides of its lofty 
 conical hills covered by a variety of plants, that were 
 to me unknown. Patches of bare rock near the 
 shore, relieved, however, by over-shadowing brush- 
 wood and luxuriant creepers, and here and there 
 affording, by their many fissures, firm hold for a 
 solitary cocoa-nut tree, gave a truly oriental charac- 
 ter to the landscape. It was in vain that you tried 
 to liken it to any English scenery ; these trees 
 effectually broke the spell. The boat was steered 
 into a little bay or creek, where some of the in- 
 habitants of the island had assembled to witness our 
 debarkation, and had kindly waded in up to their 
 arm-pits to pull the boat as high as possible on to 
 the strand. Some children added a little to our 
 amusement just at this place, by leaping into the 
 sea from a piece of rock, and diving for a consider- 
 able way across the passage we were cautiously 
 steering through. 
 
 We had now been just two hours upon the water, 
 and some of our party began to long for the cool 
 wells of Elephanta's caves, and their embowering 
 shades. A gentleman, who was an old resident in 
 Bombay, and who had taken charge of many a 
 merry party to this island, promised to introduce 
 us to all its beauties, and to elucidate the many 
 
IIG ARRIVAL ON THE ISLAND. 
 
 curious matters which we were about to see. Mr. C. 
 was a member of that peculiar grade of Indian 
 society, who have sprung from European fathers by 
 native mothers. He had been well educated, was an 
 accomplished and agreeable man, and had delighted 
 us during the voyage with scraps of a most romantic 
 and singular life. He was, in fact, one of those 
 nondescript personages so often met with in our 
 Eastern presidencies, who know everything, and are 
 known by everybody. 
 
 After some little difficulty, we effected a landing 
 on the eastern side of the island ; which landing, 
 however, was rendered rather dangerous and dis- 
 agreeable from the circumstance that the spring-tide 
 partly covered numbers of huge rocks and stones 
 wliich had, in the course of time, been severed from 
 the mountain, and which had rolled down below 
 high-water mark. To keep the boat clear of these 
 impediments, and run her as near as possible to the 
 shore, had been a work of much anxiety to the 
 owners; for Indian pleasure-boats of this description 
 are but slightly built, and will not stand much 
 grinding on a gravelly bottom. As it was, we 
 gentlemen had to wade on shore ; so that the boat, 
 thus lightened, might float to a little jetty of rocks 
 which enclosed a fishing-ground, and upon which 
 the ladies were enabled to land. 
 
STATUE OF THE ELEPHANT. 117 
 
 Once more upon terra firma we gave into the 
 charge of two servants who had accompanied us 
 the baskets of eatables ; and having selected, out of 
 ten or a dozen people eager for the office, one guide 
 who professed to talk a little English, but who 
 generally lapsed into bad Mahratta before he had 
 finished a sentence, we proceeded in single file up 
 a narrow footpath, half hid by low prickly shrubs 
 and trees, and affording a delicious shade after the 
 half-hour's exposure upon the sunny beach. 
 
 Had we landed upon the other side of the island, 
 we should have been spared the trouble of going 
 round to see the celebrated stone elephant, which is 
 carved out of the solid rock, and which has given 
 an imperishable name to this island. The figure has 
 been split into parts ; but whether by accident or 
 design, appears to be very doubtful. Some attribute 
 this act to the Portuguese ; since they, on their 
 invasion of India, are believed to have considered it 
 a religious duty to destroy every object connected 
 with the pagan worship of the natives. The statue 
 of the Elephant is situated on the acclivity of a 
 hill, about 250 yards from the water, and no doubt 
 was the first object of worship to those landing on 
 the island. Among the Hindoo deities we find 
 that Ganesa, who is a portly personage with the 
 head of an elephant, was at one time so honoured 
 
118 THE HORSE OF ALEXANDER. 
 
 and revered, that no religious work could be under- 
 taken without first invoking a blessing from him. 
 Hence we may conclude, that the stone elephant here 
 had peculiar honours paid to him before the devotees 
 climbed the hill to the temple. 
 
 Time is fast completing the destruction of this 
 interesting relic of a past age. In 1814, the head 
 and neck became disunited from the colossal trunk ; 
 and this portion of the figure lies partly buried in 
 the sandy soil. Some attribute this second mis- 
 fortune to a slight shock of an earthquake ; others 
 to the gradual decay of the black stone out of which 
 the statue is carved ; and this last opinion appears 
 to be reasonable; for, with a little eflfort, it is easy 
 to detach large scales from the stone. But writers 
 on the antiquities of this island think that the 
 splitting of the figure was caused by gunpowder, 
 and was the work of the Portufmese in their reliijious 
 zeal to annihilate every memorial here. 
 
 Not far from the elephant stands the figure of a 
 horse cut out from the same material, and called the 
 '* Horse of Alexander ;" in memory, as some sup- 
 pose, of Alexander the Great, to whom, with no 
 greater probability, as Mr. Dalr^mple observes, have 
 also been attributed the excavations to which this 
 island owes its celebrity. Alexander, as I should 
 imagine, in the midst of his great designs and great 
 
THE TAMARIND TREE. 119 
 
 achievements, had matters of more importance to 
 attend to, than the carving of Hindoo deities in 
 this unimportant island. Be this as it may, the 
 stone horse of Elephanta is still attributed to him ; 
 and as India, and perhaps this part of it, was one 
 of his last conquests, it is just possible that this 
 hero of a thousand battles might have paid a visit 
 to this small island, and recorded the event upon 
 one of its rocky hill-sides after the fashion of the 
 Romans. 
 
 But to proceed ; we found the path very steep and 
 rugged, and moreover encumbered by loose stones ; 
 the late rains having, as our guide informed us, 
 carried away much of the soil, and thus rendered 
 our footing very insecure. We saw some very fine 
 tamarind trees, hung with their long thin green 
 pods, but not sufficiently ripe to be gathered. The 
 tamarind is a beautiful spreading tree ; its leaves are 
 wing-shaped or pinnated abruptly, being composed 
 of sixteen or eighteen pairs of green leaflets grow- 
 ing on the stem, and covered with a fine silky 
 down. Its flowers grow in loose bunches, and rise 
 from the sides of the branches ; the calyx and 
 petals are of a yellow tinge, variegated with red 
 veins ; the fruit, which is rather a valuable article 
 of export, is generally preserved in India without 
 any syrup. The natives entertain some strange 
 
120 THE FAX- PALM. 
 
 ideas respecting this tree, and tell you that it is very 
 dangerous to sleep under it during the night. 
 
 Many splendid flowers here attracted my atten- 
 tion ; some had fine trumpet-shaped blossoms, wide 
 enough to cover a breakfast cup. That curious 
 palm, the chaincerops humilis, or coryplia umhracula 
 of botanists, better known as the punkah, or fan- 
 palm, spread out its circle of united leaves, proceed- 
 ing from a short, stiff foot-stalk. This plant ap- 
 peared to flourish well here ; for we saw dozens of 
 it in various stages of growth ; some so young as 
 not to have burst from their cases ; others, many 
 feet high, and stift' and dry to the touch, sounding 
 like card-board when struck. There was something 
 so very artificial about these vegetable wonders, 
 fringed round with a sort of defensive armour like 
 spear points, that it was difficult to believe they were 
 actually growing. The Hindoos have converted 
 them to many useful purposes ; the large plants are 
 used for roofing, and the small are dried in the sun 
 for hand-punkahs, shades, tkc. The Chinese gather 
 them very young, and place them in a press, where 
 they remain till quite dry, and sufficiently flat to be 
 painted upon. Birds and figures are often beauti- 
 fully executed upon them ; after which they are 
 highly varnished, shaped into fans or screens, and 
 attached to ornamented handles. The inferior leaves 
 
THE ISLAND VILLAGE. 121 
 
 have the natural stalk for a handle, and can be 
 purchased for an anna, or so, in the bazaars at 
 Bombay. In situations favourable to its growth and 
 free expansion, this palm attains a considerable size, 
 and adds much to the beauty of Indian forest- 
 scenery, casting a grateful shadow over the weary 
 wayfarer when the sun has risen upon the earth. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour's journey up the steep 
 path-way that wound between two hills, rising 
 abruptly on both sides of us, which journey was 
 diversified by many falls, and by other disasters, of 
 such a kind, however, as rather to increase the 
 merriment of our party, we suddenly came within 
 view of a village composed of a rambling collection 
 of mud huts, not unlike those seen in the north of 
 Ireland, and, to all appearances, as neat and com- 
 fortable. Some wretched-looking women came out 
 to take a peep at us, attended by thirty or forty 
 jackal-bred dogs, who set up a howl loud enough 
 to be heard all over the island. As these dogs came 
 dashing through the jungle towards us, I raised my 
 gun and took a steady aim at the most daring ; but 
 no sooner did he suspect my intention, than he 
 turned tail, followed by the pack, and away they set 
 off full gallop down the hill, and were soon lost to 
 observation amidst the tangled foliage below us. 
 
 The inhabitants of this lone village, the only one. 
 
122 A CAVERN. 
 
 I believe, on the island, appeared to be a race quite 
 different from those of Bombay ; and as we saw 
 many fishing nets spread out to dry, I concluded 
 that they derived their principal support from the 
 sea that surrounds them. 
 
 Having walked about a quarter of a mile further, 
 we halted under the shadow of an overhanging rock, 
 in which, was excavated a large chamber. On each 
 side of the entrance to this chamber, were rude 
 figures which had once represented men, but which 
 were now defaced and almost destroyed by long ex- 
 posure to the atmosphere ; besides being overgrown 
 by the roots and branches of trees that shot out from 
 the rock above them. The doorway formed an im- 
 perfect triangle (a figure seen in Egyptian architec- 
 ture) but without the projecting slab at the top. I 
 peeped in, but was repelled, by its very uninviting 
 appearance, from exploring this chamber, the floor 
 and sides of which were coated with a slimy sort of 
 mud that had filtered through the hill ; besides this, 
 some one spoke of snakes and centipedes as taking 
 up their lodging there; and that decided me at once. 
 There seemed to be a rude altar erected in the centre ; 
 but all was gloomy, and of course very indistinctly 
 seen from the outside. I threw in a few stones, 
 which had the effect of startling two or three strange 
 birds, which flew out and disappeared quickly in the 
 
RESTING AT NOON. 
 
 123 
 
 woods, as if not accustomed to the glare of broad 
 day. 
 
 We rested here some time, the view from this 
 elevated position being very imposing and extensive. 
 Dark shadows were cast upon the sea from the 
 adjoining land; and the objects on the Mahratta 
 coast, which before had been but indistinctly seen, 
 were now brought out into fine relief by the sunshine, 
 which quite changed the character of the land- 
 scape, though without in the least detracting from 
 its beauty. There was a sweet tranquillity about the 
 place at this hour. Everything that had life had 
 sought the shade of the woods ; and even the gaudy 
 butterfly, that " child of the sun," had folded his 
 burnished and many- tinted wings, and had hid him- 
 self, for protection, in the cups of the drooping 
 flowers j the very air was still, and laden with grate- 
 ful odours. 
 
 As it was noon, the heat was intense, and some of 
 our party were but little inclined to leave the shade 
 of the rock, which, with its overhanging foliage, 
 formed a gorgeous canopy above us. A brief walk, 
 however, brought us into a fresh path, which wound 
 round the mountain, and led us to its opposite side. 
 Here the scenery bore a different character ; and the 
 gentlemen of the party had to walk first, in order to 
 beat down, with sticks, the long arrow-grass and 
 
124 A TALE OF A TIGER. 
 
 prickly tliorns, before it was possible for the ladies 
 to attempt to descend the hill. However, with some 
 slight difficulties, such as the tearing of veils, and 
 catching of flounces, we made our way through these 
 obstacles that concealed the pathway and the guide, 
 and found ourselves suddenly standing before the 
 great cavern pagoda, or Temple of Elephanta — a 
 place which once boasted of more pilgrims to its 
 many shrines, than ever visited the shrine of the holy 
 prophet at Mecca. 
 
 We were all glad that our fatigues were over, and 
 no one, perhaps, more so than myself ; for I had not 
 yet become inured to the climate. Heated as we 
 were, we all felt afraid of exposing ourselves too soon 
 to the cool temperature of the inviting cavern that 
 yawned before us ; so while we sat resting ourselves, 
 one of our party beguiled the time by relating an 
 anecdote having reference to the island of Salsette, 
 of which, from the elevated spot which we occupied, 
 we had an excellent view. This anecdote, as it has 
 strict truth to recommend it, I shall now present to 
 my readers ; and we may call it a Tale of a Tiger. 
 
 Some years ago (for I cannot be certain as to the 
 exact time), a party of officers from the barracks 
 were strolling along shore, near Sion Fort, Bombay, 
 when one of them, who was on the look-out for stray 
 game, perceived something, which had evidently left 
 
SEIZES A CHILD. 125 
 
 Salsette, swimming towards Bombay; and, to all 
 appearance, likely to land on the spot on which they 
 stood. As the natives never bathe in this bay, on 
 account of the sharks which infest it, the whole party 
 felt satisfied that it was not a man. On a sudden, it 
 altered its course, and landed higher up than was ex- 
 pected ; when, greatly to the astonishment of the 
 officers, they saw that it was neither more nor less 
 than a fine, full-grown tiger. The beast, having 
 given himself two or three shakes, like a Newfound- 
 land dog; trotted quietly up the beach, towards some 
 small cottages, and seized, near the door of one of 
 them, a little child who was there playing, and whom 
 he had no doubt marked as he was swimming. The 
 shrieks of the terrified child brought out from the 
 cottages a few persons, who, however, on learning the 
 circumstances of the case, disappeared again as 
 quickly as they had come. 
 
 The officers, two or three of whom had fire-arms, 
 boldly hastened towards the scene of danger j but 
 before they had got within shot of him, the monarch 
 of the jungle quitted his hold of the child, walked 
 back quietly to the sea, and had swum about twenty 
 yards back again, when a ball from a rifle put a stop 
 to his progress. He reared up in the water, plunged 
 violently once or twice, and then disappeared beneath 
 the discoloured waves. A canoe was soon procured j 
 
12G THE TIGER SHOT A2fD PAID FOR. 
 
 and after some trouble the noble animal was dragged 
 on shore in triumph, amid the cheers of numbers who 
 bad been attracted to the spot. 
 
 The skin was taken to Bombay, and the officer 
 who had shot the tiger received a good sum from the 
 East India Company. The sura they had offered for 
 every lion and tiger shot in the country, was, I 
 believe, twenty pounds for a lion, and fifteen for a 
 tiger ; but I am not quite certain as to the amount. 
 This was the last tiger killed or seen near Bombay, 
 and was supposed to have swum over to Salsette from 
 the main land ; as that island, after this invasion, was 
 pretty well hunted up, by many an adventurous 
 party, in the hope of gaining a similar reward, but 
 without success. This little story was related to me 
 by a brother of the gallant officer of the rifle. The 
 child, most fortunately, was more frightened than 
 hurt. 
 
 During the time occupied by the relation of this 
 thoroughly Indian anecdote, and by the conversation 
 to which it gave rise, our party had become cool ; 
 and, accordingly, we prepared to enter the Cave. 
 
 Numberless pilgrimages have been made, by the 
 lovers of antiquities, to this subterranean temple, 
 termed by Mr. Maurice " the wonder of Asia," the 
 excavation of which has been attributed to Semi- 
 ramis, as well as to the great Alexander. Three 
 
THE CAVE. 127 
 
 spacious entrances are afforded between four rows 
 of massive columns in the brow of the hill, about 
 half-way up its steep ascent from the shore. For a 
 few seconds after entering the cave, I could dis- 
 tinguish nothing, the change was so sudden, from 
 the broad light outside to the darkness within ; but 
 at length its extent and extraordinary sculptures 
 gradually revealed themselves to my astonished gaze. 
 I am anxious to present to my readers a minute 
 and correct description of what I saw here, and I 
 had each figure and compartment particularly ex- 
 plained to me at the time by a gentleman well versed 
 in the mythological history of Hindostan ; yet as 
 memory cannot be depended upon, and as my notes 
 are imperfect with regard to the dimensions of the 
 figures, and other matters of importance, I am 
 indebted in this matter to Maurice, Niebuhr, and 
 some other celebrated writers on India, for the 
 following account of the interior. 
 
 The length of this temple, measuring from the 
 entrance, which is on the north side, is 130 feet, and 
 its breadth 123 feet ; the floor not being level, the 
 height varies from 15 to 17^ feet. The roof was 
 supported by twenty-six pillars and eight pilasters, 
 disposed in four rows ; but several of the pillars are 
 broken. Each column stands upon a square pedes- 
 tal, and is fluted ; but, instead of being cylindrical. 
 
128 DIMENSIONS OF THE CAVE. 
 
 is gradually enlarged towards the middle. Above the 
 tops of the columns a kind of ridge has been cut 
 to resemble a beam about twelve inches square, and 
 this is richly carved. Along the sides of the temple 
 are cut between forty and fifty colossal figures, in 
 height from twelve to fifteen feet — none of them 
 being entirely detached from the wall. KSome of 
 these figures have on their heads a kind of helmet ; 
 others wear crowns, with rich devices ; and others, 
 again, are without any other covering than curled 
 and flowing hair. Some of them have four, and 
 others six hands, holding sceptres, shields, symbols 
 of justice, ensigns of religion, weapons of war, and 
 trophies of peace. On the south side, facing the 
 entrance, is an enormous bust with three faces, 
 representing the triple deity, Brahma, Vishneu, and 
 Siva. Brahma, the creator, occupies the centre posi- 
 tion. This face measures five feet in length ; the 
 width from the ear to the middle of the nose is 
 three feet four inches ; the width of the whole 
 figure is nearly twenty feet. On the right hand is 
 the preserver, Vishneu ; and Siva, the destroyer, is 
 on the left, having in his hand a Cobra di Capello, 
 or hooded snake, and on his cap a human skull. 
 To the left of this bust, amid a group of uncouth 
 figures, is one, a female form, to which Niebuhr has 
 given the name of Amazon, from the fact of its 
 
COLOSSAL FIGUEES. 129 
 
 being without the right breast. This figure has 
 four arms. The right fore-arm rests upon the head 
 of a bull j the left fore-arm hangs down, and once 
 contained something which is now mutilated and 
 undistinguishable. The hand of the hinder right 
 arm grasps a Cobra di Capello, and that of the 
 hinder left arm holds a shield." 
 
 At the east end is a passage, about eighteen feet 
 long, terminating in an open space that admits the 
 light through a sort of shaft- hole iu the rock, and 
 containing a spring of the finest water to be found 
 in this part of India. As Bombay has long been 
 proverbial for the badness of its water, the table of 
 the governor is occasionally supplied from this 
 delicious spring ; and many who are about to sail 
 from the country lay in a few dozens of it for the 
 voyage, as it keeps well. The approach to this 
 place is guarded by four figures, fourteen feet high, 
 beautifully executed, and more perfect than any to 
 be found in this temple. 
 
 At the west end, and almost opposite the passage 
 that leads to the well, is a room or recess about 
 twenty feet square, having, in the centre of it, an 
 altar, upon which are placed symbols of a worship, 
 " offensive to European notions of delicacy." The 
 entrance to this recess is also guarded by eight naked 
 figures, each 130 feet high, sculptured in a manner 
 
130 THE CHAMBER OF ABOMINATIONS. 
 
 which shows that the people by whom they were 
 executed must have made considerable progress in 
 the statuary's art. The whole of this portion of 
 the excavation is in a very ruinous condition, and 
 the roof appears to be fast sinking in ; thus threat- 
 ening a speedy destruction to this altar and its 
 detestable accompaniments. The floor is heaped up 
 with rubbish, that has crumbled from the side walls, 
 and has doubtless considerably diminished the height 
 of the apartment. The same may be said of the 
 other rooms. This, as my friend privately told me, 
 is called the chamber of abominations. He also 
 observed that, even in his memory, the whole of the 
 temple was much changed for the worse. The rains 
 are permitted to lodge between them four months 
 out of the twelve ; though a day or two's labour 
 and a few rupees expended in making a proper drain 
 would secure these interesting monuments from de- 
 struction. He thought that when tlie pillars should 
 give way, the mountain above must bury all. I 
 heard it stated in Bombay, that when the Portuguese 
 visited this island, they were so horrified by the 
 character of this heathen temple, that they ordered 
 a piece of heavily-loaded cannon to be planted op- 
 posite the entrance, with the hope of destroying the 
 principal pillars that support the roof, and burying 
 the cave in the ruins of the mountain above it. 
 
THE HINDOO TRINITY. ?S1 
 
 No such violence, however, is now needed. Like 
 all the works of man, this wonderful excavation is 
 fast crumbling away beneath the great Spoiler's hand. 
 The rock itself is soft and powdery to the touch, 
 and is fast perishing from age and long exposure to 
 the atmosphere ; and the cave has long been deserted 
 by the infatuated worshippers of the strange gods 
 which it contains ; while the enormous sums said 
 to be exacted by the priests and others connected 
 with it, have, doubtless, been diverted into other 
 channels. 
 
 The triple figure has been to some writers a 
 source of strange conjecture as to its real meaning, 
 and was long supposed to represent the Hindoo 
 triad ; though many believe it to be simply a figure 
 of Siva, to whom the temple, and almost all similar 
 structures in the West of India, are dedicated. This 
 temple is f?lled with the images and transformations 
 of Siva, the god of destruction ; and as we are now 
 in the midst of the heathen gods and goddesses, a 
 few words about the celebrated Hindoo trinity may 
 not prove uninteresting to my readers. The sacred 
 books of India distinctly recognize the existence oi 
 one supreme and invisible Author and Ruler of the 
 universe ; and Sir William Jones has furnished us 
 with a translation of the Vedas, from some of whose 
 texts we are enabled to glean their doctrines respect- 
 
132 OLD HINDOO IDEAS OF GOD. 
 
 ing the nature and attributes of the Deity. The 
 following, extracted from the Gayatri, or holy 
 passages, shows us what sublime ideas they enter- 
 tained respecting the Great Invisible One. 
 
 " Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, 
 the Godhead, who illuminates all, who creates all, 
 from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, 
 whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright 
 in our progress towards his holy seat. 
 
 " What the sun and light are to this visible world, 
 that are the Supreme Good and Truth to the intellec- 
 tual and invisible universe ; and as our corporeal eyes 
 have a distinct perception of objects enlightened by 
 the sun, thus our souls acquire certain knowledge by 
 meditating on the light of truth which emanates from 
 the Being of beings; that is the light by which alone, 
 our minds can be directed in the path to beatitude. 
 
 " Without hand or foot he runs rapidly and grasps 
 firmly ; without eyes he sees ; without ears he hears 
 all ; he knows whatever can be known ; but there is 
 none who knows him. Him the wise call the Great 
 Supreme Pervading Spirit." 
 
 In the Hindoo trinity, Brahma, who stands at the 
 head, is looked upon as the author of the world. He 
 is represented as ha\dng produced everything out of 
 himself, and all that was or is, partakes of his 
 essence. We cannot but smile at the history of his 
 
ORIGIN OF BRAHMA. 133 
 
 origin. The Supreme mind is said to have deposited 
 an eg'g in the waters which it created, and which egg 
 remained there inactive for many miUions of years, 
 till Brahma, who was snug inside of it, willed that 
 its shell should break ; and thus was he born in the 
 form of a divine male, to be for ever famed, through- 
 out all worlds, as the great forefather of spirits. 
 Brahma, considering his high position, and his rela- 
 tion to the Supreme mind, has but few honours paid 
 him ; only two or three temples having been erected 
 to his especial service in India. 
 
 Vishneu, on the contrary, has many followers. He 
 is represented in the sacred books as the Deliverer, 
 ever ready to interpose between man and any danger 
 that threatens his race. He is thought to descend 
 frequently to this earth, in various animated forms ; 
 for marvellous and anmsing are the transformations 
 ascribed to him. He first made his appearance as a 
 fish, of such small dimensions as to be easily placed 
 in a chattee of water ; but he gradually expanded, 
 until a cistern, a pool, and a lake, were too small to 
 hold this growing god. He was consequently thrown 
 into the sea, where he destroyed a giant, and ap- 
 peared blazing like molten gold, a million of leagues 
 in extent. Changing here to a boar, he raised, with 
 his tusks, from the bottom of the sea, our earth, and 
 then sunk out of sight. Wonderful are the works 
 ascribed to Vishneu ; but we have quoted sufficient 
 
134 SIVA AXD DOORGA. 
 
 to satisfy the reader of their absurdity, and we will 
 now turn to the third member of the Hindoo triad, 
 to whom the tem2)le of Elephanta is supposed to be 
 dedicated. 
 
 Siva is represented as of a bright silver colour, 
 sometimes having five faces, and at other times only 
 one with three eyes. The history of Siva's exploits 
 is strange and unnatural, from the circumstance of 
 a female partner called Doorga being mixed up with 
 his adventures. This Doorga, who is now the prin- 
 cipal of the female deities worshipped in India, is 
 reputed to be a warlike and terrific creature. She was 
 originally called Parvati, imtil she slew the giant of 
 that name, who had made slaves of the gods. To 
 overcome this enemy, Doorga caused 9,000,000 of 
 warriors to issue from her body, to fight against 
 Parvati's army of 100,000,000 of chariots, and 
 1 20,000,000 of elephants. After this fierce contest, 
 Doorga took the name of her huge enemy, which 
 was graciously bestowed on her by the emancipated 
 gods. 
 
 Parvati and Kalee have more worshippers than 
 any other god or goddess in India, and their temples 
 flow with the blood of animal sacrifices. Decoits, 
 thieves, and all the worst characters that spread terror 
 throughout Hindostan, pay peculiar honours to this 
 horrid woman and her friend Kalee. They recognize 
 the latter as the only goddess endued with power 
 
L. E. L. ON HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 135 
 
 sufficient to protect them from discovery, during their 
 pillaging excursions. Consequently, Kalee is a most 
 popular divinity, invoked by dark incantations for 
 blessing and aid on every unlawful occasion or ad- 
 venture in which Hindoo robbers engage. Elliot, 
 speaking of the extraordinary superstitions of India, 
 says, " If they did not create they at least furnished 
 the materials of the Grecian mythology, though 
 softened and beautified by that poetical imagination, 
 which formed, in ancient times, the golden age of 
 poetry upon earth." The lines of Mrs. Maclean on 
 this subject are doubtless familiar to many of my 
 readers. In allusion to EUora, and to the gloomy 
 superstitions of the East, as well as to the aptitude of 
 the Greeks, 
 
 " To turn, beneath their softer sky. 
 All that was faith to poetry; " 
 
 she thus writes : 
 
 " Hence had the Grecian fables birth, 
 And wandered beautiful o'er earth; 
 Till every wood, and stream, and cave, 
 Shelter to some bright vision gave ; 
 For all of terrible and strange, 
 
 That from these gloomy caverns sprung. 
 From Greece received a graceful change. 
 
 That spoke another sky and tongue, 
 A finer eye, a gentler hand. 
 Than in their native Hindoo land." 
 
136 HOPE FOR INDIA. 
 
 Thousands of devotees are said to have annually 
 visited this temple of Elephanta, from all parts of 
 the country ; and even after the breaking up of its 
 shrines, and the scattering of its priests, the cave was 
 not entirely deserted by the deluded worshippers, 
 who still fancied its headless gods had power enough 
 left to hear their prayers, and to accept their vain 
 oblations. Now, its glory has departed from it, and 
 '■' the sound of the church-jroino: bell, " stealingf across 
 the slumbering water from Bombay, is alone heard 
 to echo among the mountains, and caves, and once- 
 polluted temples, that formerly resounded to the 
 fanatical bowlings of its pilgrims, and the dinning 
 tom-toin that attends their ceremonies. Death and 
 time have here hushed all into silence. The people 
 whose boast these wondrous structures must once 
 have been, have long passed away, and their memory 
 has long been forgotten in the land. Let us hope, 
 that a brighter and happier day has dawned upon 
 India, and that its poor and benighted people, so 
 long neglected, may yet live to bless the means that 
 are now working together for their good, and to 
 worshi}) the true and only God, who dwelleth not in 
 temples made with hands. 
 
 We will now return to our party, whom we left 
 unpacking baskets, and spreading out on a China 
 mat the various matters we had brought from 
 
THE GOVERNOR OF THE ISLAND. 137 
 
 Bombay. Some of the ladies insisted on having 
 coffee ; and a Kitmutgar was accordingly sent to 
 collect sticks, to make a fire to boil it ; at which 
 commission I remember he grumbled excessively, as 
 it did not come within his regular code of duties as 
 a head table-servant to perform such menial offices ; 
 however, by a little persuasion, and by the promise of 
 some luxury, the name of which was unknown to me, 
 he was induced to go, and soon returned with an 
 armful of sticks, and an old soldier, who made us 
 a profound salaam, and politely informed us in Hin- 
 doostannee, that he was appointed governor of the 
 island, and had charge of the caves, and that it was 
 his duty to see that no one wantonly injured any of 
 the figures. He was invited to partake of what he 
 saw before him ; and as soon as we had sufficiently 
 refreshed ourselves, he requested us all to bend our 
 steps towards the Trimurti, and hear the wonderful 
 things he had to say concerning it. These things 
 said (and they amounted to nothing more than what 
 I have stated) he made us another very respectable 
 salaam, and several to the individuals who, after the 
 fashion of the gipsy, crossed his open palm with a 
 shining rupee or two, and vanished as unexpectedly 
 as he had appeared ; leaving those who understood 
 his language better than I did, exceedingly amused 
 by his parting address. The heat had not destroyed 
 
138 AN INDIAN POEM. 
 
 our appetite, nor did the monster figures in the least 
 scare us during the interesting service of dinner and 
 tea combined. Humorous anecdotes, related by the 
 Anglo-Indian, gave a zest to the entertainment, and 
 songs and music now enlivened our little party. 
 Some of these songs having reference to the country, 
 I shall endeavour to present a free version of one of 
 them, with all its imperfections, to my indulgent 
 readers : — 
 
 Now panting nature seeks repose, 
 
 The 8UU sinks low, the night-flower blows 
 
 And scents the sultry air ; 
 The camel, near yon cotton-tree. 
 Folds under him the wearied knee, 
 
 No burthen now to bear. 
 
 The vampire sails round temples old 
 Where legendary tale is told 
 
 Of Doorga's fierce allies ; 
 The bulbul sings liis farewell song 
 From flowery shrub, whence, all day long, 
 
 His grateful notes arise. 
 
 O'er woods and valleys with delight 
 The fire-fly bears his wandering light ; 
 
 Now is his happy hoiu". 
 When flowers are left alone for him 
 To sip their sweets upon the wing 
 
 Within each dewy bower. 
 
EVENING IN INDIA. 139 
 
 The bufifalo bellows on the plain, 
 And makes the forests shake again 
 
 As he walks foi'th and feeds ; 
 For all day long, within some pool, 
 He laid his panting sides to cool 
 
 Amidst the jointed reeds. 
 
 Now prowling jackals steal abroad ; 
 The tiger and the lion-lord 
 
 Lui'k in the jungle near ; 
 The peacock, brightened by yon ray 
 That decks the heaven at closing day. 
 
 Hides his plumed head in fear. 
 
 On nullahs' cypress-shaded brink, 
 The feverish herd come down to drink. 
 
 And bathe in waters pure ; 
 The hunting chetah creeps unseen, 
 And marks a victim in the stream ; 
 
 His evening meal is sure. 
 
 But hark ! what sound is that we hear 
 So softly falling on the ear ] 
 
 It is an evening bell. 
 That swings in yonder mosque's old tower 
 Rising above the high palm-bower, 
 
 For day now bids farewell. 
 
 The Hindoo to his prayers must go, 
 The lamps are lit in rows below. 
 
 And round about his god ; 
 See, now they kneel and make salaam. 
 Beside their Brahmin, holy man, 
 
 And kiss the place he trod. 
 
4 
 
 140 THE RETURN TO BOMBAY. 
 
 All prostrate fall and mutter fast 
 Each prayer as if it were the last 
 
 That they should ever sjiy ; 
 "While incense burns in niches round, 
 And flowers are strewed upon the ground — 
 
 ' Tis thus the Hindoos pray. 
 
 Man's labouring hours, by shadows known, 
 Upon the wings of time have fl^own ; 
 
 He hies him to his cot; 
 Peace and tranquillity are there ; 
 Regardless of the morrow's care, 
 
 Contentment is his lot 
 
 The caves of Elephanta are, as may be supposed, 
 often visited ; the island being only seven miles from 
 Bombay Castle, and five from the Mahratta shore. 
 The English traveller is apt, it is said, to indulge, 
 even here, his strange propensity to possess himself 
 of relics, and is occasionally known to break off a 
 nose or a finger, to carry home with him as a sub- 
 stantial proof of his having really visited this 
 "wonder of Asia," and tiffined under the sacred 
 rock of Gorapori. 
 
 The shadows of evening had stolen imperceptibly 
 around us, before we broke up our party ; and 
 the rich notes of the cornopean breathed a sweet fare- 
 well to cave and hill. As we wended our way along 
 the mountain-path towards the shore, I felt some- 
 thing like regret from the thought, that, in all proba- 
 
FAREWELL. 
 
 141 
 
 bility, I should never again yisit this beautiful island 
 of the sea ; and as we rowed slowly over the star-lit 
 waters towards Bombay, there was something, at 
 this witching hour, so calm and tranquil in the scene 
 around us, that conversation soon ceased altogether, 
 and each one among us seemed occupied by his 
 own musings. We found our friends in the Fort 
 anxiously awaiting our return; and after an hour or 
 two spent very agreeably, I bade adieu to many who 
 had contributed much to my happiness, both on this 
 memorable day, and on former occasions. A sor- 
 rowful feeling oppressed me ; for I had a painful 
 conviction that some of us would never meet again 
 in this world — a foreboding which has been realized; 
 but 
 
 " There are tones that will haunt us, though lonely 
 Our path be, o'er moimtain and sea ; 
 There are looks that will part fi-om us only 
 When memory ceases to be. " 
 
142 AFTER THE RAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The rainy season has passed away ; and the fearful 
 storms that lately swept over the dark waters of the 
 Indian Ocean, and hurled its billows with such 
 terrific force upon the coast, have gradually subsided 
 into a peaceful calm. 
 
 " Mercy's voice has hushed the blast," 
 
 and the low murmuring of the morning or evening 
 breeze is alone heard amidst those forests, which, but 
 a short time ago, bowed their sturdy limbs and path- 
 less jungles to the raging of the monsoon. The scared 
 jackal, that fled before this dreaded enemy, the only 
 invader of his profound solitude, returns again to 
 his ancient haunts, and " seeks his food from God." 
 The luxuriant vegetation, which so suddenly clothed 
 the surface of earth, painting the landscajje with 
 myriads of glorious blossoms of every hue, and 
 which sprang suddenly into life during that remarkable 
 
BRILLIANT FLOWERS. 143 
 
 period, is now fast drooping and dying around us ; 
 and the large crimson flowers of the lofty cotton-tree 
 {Bomhax ceiba) have vanished, and given place to the 
 bursting capsule with its silky treasure. Innumerable 
 wild annuals have gone through the many stages of 
 their short existence, and now wait the returning 
 rains, to bid them once more spring forth, welcome 
 to man as the voice of the turtle heard in the land. 
 
 But in this fair country, where summer and winter 
 can scarcely be distinguished from each other, and 
 where the leaves of many trees are only shed to 
 give place to new ones, the fading of the ephemeral 
 visitors which perfect an Eastern landscape are not 
 regretted, as are, among ourselves, the productions 
 of an English summer, when autumn shows her 
 " sere and yellow leaf" The gorgeous palms, which 
 Linnaeus has justly entitled "the princes of the 
 vegetable world," still rear their crowned pillars 
 above us ; and the peepul, the palmyra, and the 
 banyan, cast their grateful shadows over the scorch- 
 ing glades. Nor have flowers forsaken us. 
 
 In moist districts in the interior, the Decanna- 
 bean (butea superha) lights up with its glowing 
 scarlet blossoms the dark forests, and the odoriferous 
 pandanus scents the morning breeze. The glitter- 
 ing orchids, like butterflies sporting in air, and 
 the magnificent dendrobiums, give a charm to 
 
144 PARASITICAL PLANTS. 
 
 Eastern scenery, and delight the eye by the rich- 
 ness and beauty of their colours. The decaying 
 monarch of the jungle, rearing his blighted form 
 amidst the profusion of humbler shrubs, is not here 
 an object fit only for melancholy contemplation. The 
 past storms have wafted the seeds of various graceful 
 parasitical plants, and every rent or cranny in its 
 aged trunk displays some curiously-tinted blossems, 
 which scent from their floating tendrils the moist 
 atmosphere of the cool woods. Flourishing, as it 
 were, upon the wreck of nature, these epiphytes 
 seize upon the withering branches so favourable to 
 their growth, and again clothe them in new and 
 delicious apparel. A lovely species of trichozanthes 
 hangs its vivid scarlet fruit from the topmost 
 branches of the forest, but this climbing plant only 
 expands its white and fringed flower during the 
 silent hours of night. 
 
 The anxious agriculturist, who cast a wistful eye 
 over the arid plains, which, in case the expected raiiis 
 should be abundant, were to supply many thousands 
 with food, and who, with a desponding sigh, saw the 
 skins, half filled with water from the failing reser- 
 voirs, emptied into the little channels that conducted 
 the precious fluid to the planted fields of promise, 
 again has had his wants supplied ; and again the 
 valleys stand so thick with corn, that they laugh and 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 145 
 
 sing. The rice grounds, which were prepared in 
 March and April, ready to receive the seed in May, 
 have long been reaped, and the exhausted corn-jars 
 have again been replenished, to satisfy the wants of 
 those multitudes who, while they live upon His gifts, 
 refuse to give God the glory. 
 
 It is necessary to bear in mind, that in a climate 
 like that of India, a constant succession of the most 
 beautiful crops might be produced, if, for the pur- 
 poses of irrigation, a sufficient and regular supply 
 of water could be insured. Two seed -crops are, 
 however, generally secured in the year. The first is 
 the natural result of the periodical rains, and is 
 called the Miwreef, or wet crop, which is sown with 
 the rice in May and June, and reaped about the end 
 of October ; and the second, assisted by artificial 
 means, and called the riibbee, or dry crop, sown about 
 the first week in November, and reaped in March 
 and April. 
 
 Rice, cotton, indigo, and maize, are sown before 
 the monsoons commence ; and wheat, barley, oats, 
 millet, and other crops of smaller seeds, reward the 
 labourer at all seasons of the year. Thus, the 
 stranger is often astonished to see sowing and reap- 
 ing going on at the same time, in fields not far apart 
 from one another ; yet, with all this seeming plenty, 
 famine, in its most dreadful shapes, has frequently 
 
 L 
 
14:6 EARTHEN CORN-JARS. 
 
 stalked through this double-harvest-bearing land. 
 The rice, upon which a third part of the vast popu- 
 lation is fed, has perished for want of water, or has 
 been devoured by the locusts ; and the cattle and the 
 labourer have expired together. 
 
 Among the most desolating famines in India, of 
 which history has furnished us with accounts, that 
 which occurred in Bengal, in 1770, is the most 
 harassing to contemplate ; several millions of human 
 beings are said to have perished in it. Another 
 famine, that thinned the north-west provinces, proved 
 almost as fatal ; and had not the hand of charity in 
 a great measure averted the calamity, by relieving 
 daily 80,000 individuals at Agra, it would have been 
 impossible to have calculated the amount of deaths. 
 
 Such disastrous occurrences are, however, rarer 
 than they were formerly — the Indian husbandman 
 having been taught the necessity of providing 
 against the future, by storing up his corn in the 
 seasons of plenty.* 
 
 * Coin in Guzerat is often stored up near the farmer's house, 
 in large earthem jars, capable of holding the contents of three 
 or four of oui' ordinary sacks. These jars are secured by a 
 close-fitting lid, fastened down with clay or chunam, to pre- 
 vent the ingress of the desti-uctive white ants. Those wliich 
 I first saw were arranged side by side under a shed, close by 
 the owner's residence, and puzzled me much, before I could 
 find out their use. The Arabian story of All Baha, or ike 
 
THE NORTH-EAST MONSOON". 147 
 
 The rains are always variable and uncertain ; some 
 districts in the interior being flooded, while others 
 are barely visited by passing showers. In Bombay, 
 rain to the depth of thirty-two inches has been known 
 to fall, during the first twelve days of the south-west 
 monsoon ; this being the average fall of a whole year 
 in England. The consequence is, on such occasions, 
 that every road and field is flooded, and that the new 
 town, from its low, swampy situation, suffers severely. 
 
 The reader will perceive that I have not confined 
 my description entirely to the Island of Bombay. 
 Agricultural farming Is carried on on a very small 
 scale here, the land being poor, and naturally pro- 
 ducing little, excepting cocoa-nut trees, and some 
 trifling articles of fruit. The inhabitants are chiefly 
 supplied with vegetables, poultry, sheep, &c., from 
 Salsette ; and the teeming plains of Guzerat furnish 
 them with corn, which is conveyed by sea, as all 
 land carriage is very expensive and slow, on account 
 of the wretched roads, and the miserable mode of 
 conveyance adopted in India. 
 
 The cool and agreeable north-east monsoon, that 
 succeeds that of the south-west, or rainy wind, con- 
 tinues to blow steadily to the end of February. Dry 
 and fair weather is now certain throughout this great 
 
 Forty Thieves, occurred to me, for each jar might easily have 
 contained one, if not two, tall robbers. 
 
] 48 DAYBREAK. 
 
 peninsula, though the north-east monsoon brings with 
 it rain on the eastern side of the Coromandel coast, 
 from October to December. To March the north- 
 east winds prevail, in which mouth they gradually 
 cease altogether, and irregular veering winds, attended 
 by hot blasts and excessive and relaxing days may 
 be expected until the commencement of May or 
 June. We will now return to our recollections of 
 this hot season in Bombay, and of matters therewith 
 connected. 
 
 The scene has changed : the sun, so long obscured 
 during the rainy mouths, or only peeping out be- 
 tween the dark masses of electric clouds, now bursts 
 forth with redoubled power ; and man begins to de- 
 vise plans to meet the coming hot season, and to 
 shade his dwelling as much as possible from its 
 scorching rays. 'Tis early morn — day has just 
 broken over the high eastern ghauts, and the welcome 
 streak of light spreads rapidly over the lofty canopy 
 above us. You have taken your bath, and feel a 
 longing desire to go forth into the open air, to 
 ramble through the compound, or, in fact, to escape, 
 in whatever direction, from your confined bungalow, 
 the walls of which have scarcely thrown off the heat 
 of the past day. If early abroad, it is no uncommon 
 thing to find everything enveloped in a hot steaming 
 vapour, that strongly recalls to the memory the 
 
HEAVY DEWS. 149 
 
 artificial atmosphere of a close green-house, when 
 the sun is full upon it. Such mornings in Bombay 
 are called muggy, and are always the forerunners of 
 extreme heat. You are prepared for this unhealthy 
 evaporation, which is often very dense towards the 
 close of this season, by putting on a flannel jacket ] 
 having the fear of rheumatism, or country-ague, 
 before your eyes j disorders from which, in con- 
 sequence of imprudent exposure to the many 
 atmospheric changes that assail the European in 
 India, all, more or less, suffer severely. 
 
 There is an indescribable sweetness in the mornins: 
 at this hour (six o'clock). It is as if every leaf and 
 flower, nay, the very earth itself, were exhaling some 
 delicious perfume wherewith to refresh you, and 
 offering up an early tribute to the Giver of all good 
 for the past night's refreshing dews, which still 
 glitter in diamond globules around you. Vegetation 
 does rejoice, for it has been revived and nourished ; 
 and the pores of its leaves are freed from dust by 
 these gentle distillations, that fall from heaven un- 
 seen by man. 
 
 Night dews on this island are very heavy ; and I 
 have often been surprised upon returning home be- 
 tween nine and ten of an evening, to find my clothes 
 wet and uncomfortable from this cause, though the 
 atmosphere at the time was clear and serene. 
 
150 THE TREE-LIZARD. 
 
 With the breaking forth of the sun the mist 
 vanishes, and the loveliest of all hours bursts upon 
 the world. Soon, however, the leaves of many of the 
 trees and shrubs begin gradually to droop, so as to 
 offer as small a surface as possible to his withering 
 rays : I was often struck with this singular pheno- 
 menou, which we cannot look upon but as a beautiful 
 provision for the protection of plants at mid-day. 
 During these comparatively cool hours, there blossom 
 numbers of garden and wild flowers, whose beauty 
 before noon has faded and gone. 
 
 Butterflies, and a host of minor honey-sucking 
 insects, are now on the wing, seeking, while the calyx 
 that offers it yet lives, their morning's repast, and 
 flitting about like bright meteors ; till, having 
 satisfied their wants, they retire to the shade of some 
 thick grove, there to slumber till the sun sinks low, 
 and fresh blossoms open to them their evening 
 nectaries. Now may be seen the large tree-lizard, 
 remarkable for the curious pouch under his head, ver}' 
 busy and alert, springing from branch to branch, and 
 pouncing upon the poor flies driven into his domain 
 by the ascending sun ; his hour has now arrived, and 
 he must breakfast while opportunity offers. 
 
 There is another pretty saurian, which also claims 
 our attention ; and which has often afforded me 
 amusement of a morning from seven o'clock until 
 
THE BUNGALOW-LIZARD. 151 
 
 nine. He is very swift on his little feet, and is 
 compactly and elegantly formed ; having a fine brown 
 shining skin, beautifully mottled. He has no pouch 
 like the former ; is about fourteen inches in length 
 when full grown ; his favourite haunts appear to be 
 in old walls, or under the thatch or tiles of your 
 bungalow ; here you may spy him from beneath the 
 arch formed by the half tile, peeping cautiously out 
 with two very bright and sharp eyes, watching, like 
 his tree neighbour, for any stray insects that may be 
 tempted to creep in under the roof for shelter and 
 protection from the sun. If he is not successful in 
 his sport, he steals out occasionally from his hiding- 
 place, and you are surprised to see so small a head in 
 conjunction with so long a body. If the tiles are 
 not too hot for his feet, he looks about him anxiously 
 as if he had been decoyed into some unfavourable 
 position, which he wanted to change ; but the least 
 noise disturbs him ; even a bird flying past will 
 cause him to dart into another opening under the 
 roof, and in a second or two the little bright eyes 
 are again detected, for he is still hungry. I made 
 several attempts to secure a specimen of this lizard, 
 but was always unsuccessful. 
 
 Not so with the tree-lizards ; of them I caught 
 many for examination, by simply passing a loop or 
 running knot made of twine, and attached to the 
 
152 LIZARDS HARMLESS. 
 
 end of a long bamboo, over their heads, and thus 
 bringing them down from the bough on which they 
 were roosting, often to the amusement of the nwUy 
 or gardener, who appeared to take a lively interest 
 in the sport, as soon as he found that I did not 
 capture them for any cruel purpose. 
 
 Both species are very harmless, as indeed are all 
 the lizard tribe ; but when crushed or irritated in 
 the hand, they would endeavour to liberate them- 
 selves ])y trying to bite me. They have little power 
 over the muscles of the lower jaw. Like all other 
 reptiles in the East, they both have numerous 
 enemies ; and are thus prevented from multiplying 
 to a troublesome extent. The large kites, in their 
 mornings' circuits, do not consider them beneath 
 their notice ; and their young ones are devoured by 
 frogs and snakes. 
 
 The zootoca vivipara, or nimble lizard, so common 
 in summer on our heaths and sunny banks at home, 
 is not unlike the bungalow-lizard, though much 
 smaller. They both bring forth their young alive ; 
 the eggs being hatched while yet in the body of the 
 parent ; consequently they are ovo-viviparous. The 
 vivifying heat of the sun is thought to be necessary 
 for the extrusion of the young from the eggs. I 
 kept a female, that had been caught for me, some 
 weeks in a small box covered with a glass lid, and 
 
SNAKES. 153 
 
 was not a little surprised one morning, when I went 
 to give her the usual allowance of flies, to see five 
 or six young ones running about and tumbling over 
 their mother. Though but a few hours old, they 
 readily seized the imprisoned insects, and ate them 
 up so rapidly, that the parent stood but a poor 
 chance amongst them. 
 
 Snakes are not very common on the south side of 
 the Island of Bombay ; I only saw two or three 
 during my residence there, though I often hunted 
 for them in the old thorny spurge or Euporbia 
 hedges. The study of animated nature always 
 afforded me the greatest pleasure ; and India, where 
 all to me was novel and strange, opened a tempting 
 field for its pursuit. Our servants, well knowing 
 the haunts of these reptiles, would occasionally kill 
 one in the compound early in the morning, while, 
 rather torpid after the cold night, they lay coiled up 
 under the shrubs. The natives are very expert in 
 killing the most venomous snakes, and really seem 
 to be more terrified by the sight of some of them 
 than even strangers are. As the coolies, and many 
 of the poor people, go barefooted, they travel over 
 the waste lands with great caution ; and practice has 
 given them quickness of eye in detecting the snakes 
 on the ground. As they creep out of their hiding- 
 places after dark, and ramble about in search of mice 
 
154 AN OFFICER KILLED BY A SNAKE. 
 
 and insects, no one thinks of going out without a 
 lantern, and an attendant with a stout stick, wlio 
 walks before, and carefully marks the road, if an 
 unfrequented one. This of course is only necessary 
 in country places. 
 
 The cobra di capello and the bright speckled cobra 
 manilla, are not uncommon on the north and west 
 sides of the island ; and many of the private 
 gardens, that are densely crowded with shrubs and 
 flowering plants, are said to be infested at particular 
 seasons by a small brown snake. An officer, on 
 sick leave, who was residing in one of the govern- 
 ment bungalows at Colabah, about a mile from the 
 Fort of Bombay, was walking up and down one 
 iDoming under the verandah in a pair of thin slip- 
 pers, and accidentally trod upon a small snake that 
 was winding itself out of a hole in his path. AVithin 
 a few minutes afterwards he was seized bv the most 
 violent pain in his foot, which soon changed colour, 
 and swelled up enormously to the knee. Sickness 
 and convulsions, with the usual symptoms of having 
 been poisoned, rapidly appeared ; and medical aid 
 was immediately resorted to, but nothing could arrest 
 the progress of the fatal virus. Castor- oil, and 
 other native remedies, were useless here ; and the 
 poor gentleman expired in dreadful agonies twenty- 
 four hours after he had been bitten. The fangs of 
 
THE SCORPIOX. 155 
 
 the snake, as it is unnecessary to say, had easily 
 penetrated the flimsy slipper ; thus showing the 
 danger of going out in India with a thin covering 
 over the feet. This officer died from the bite of a 
 small snake, known as the carpet snake, from the 
 circumstance of its often creeping into rooms, and 
 hiding under the matting. The carpet snake, or 
 cobra manilla, is, I believe, one of the most poison- 
 ous and subtle reptiles found in the island, and 
 is very difficult to detect in the long and withered 
 grasses. 
 
 Turning from these formidable and life-destroying 
 enemies, which, in certain districts, excite such a 
 feeling of horror from their numbers, and which 
 have become objects of veneration and worship to 
 many of the tribes and castes of India, we will now 
 make a few passing remarks on some other very 
 common and troublesome creatures, that alarm the 
 visitor more from their loathsome aspect, than from 
 any power which they possess of inflicting a mortal 
 wound. 
 
 The scorpion is one of the dreaded inhabitants of 
 Bombay, but it does not attain that large size so 
 peculiar to Africa and the West Indies. It frequents 
 the old ruined bungalows, cotton stores, and other 
 unoccupied buildings ; and many of the native 
 coasting vessels, from the nature of their cargo, are 
 
156 A CHILD BITTEN BY A SCORPION. 
 
 said to be often infested by it. The scorpions I 
 saw in Bombay were of a reddish or dirty yellow 
 hue. They creep into go-downs, and cellars, and 
 wage a mortal war with the long-legged spiders 
 already spoken of. As they are very prolific, and 
 bring forth at a birth fifty or sixty young ones, it is 
 highly necessary to have a proper person occasionally 
 to purify their haunts, so as to prevent them from 
 increasing upon your premises. They inflict with 
 their armed tail a wound which, in irritable and 
 nervous subjects, is often attended by unpleasant 
 symptoms ; and I have heard of one or two instances 
 in which death ensued from the poison of the malig- 
 nant sting of an old scorpion ; but if I remember 
 correctlv, the victims in these cases were in a bad 
 state of health. During a short sojourn in Guzerat, 
 a distressing event of this kind, which occurs to my 
 recollection, took place in one of the military stations. 
 A soldier's wife had brought in some clothes that had 
 been placed out near the barracks in the sun to dry, 
 and having carelessly thrown them upon a bed, she 
 took up a child that was crying in a cradle, to quiet 
 it with the breast ; and, after hushing it to sleep, laid 
 it upon the bed where the clothes were deposited. 
 In a few minutes the child's screams aroused the 
 mother, when, upon examination, she discovered that 
 she had placed her sleeping babe upon a scorpion, 
 
THE CENTIPEDE. 157 
 
 that had been concealed in the clothes. The army 
 surgeon was immediately sent for, but the child ex- 
 pired a short time after his arrival. 
 
 The genus scoloj)endra, or centipede, is another 
 very common and troublesome insect in Bombay j 
 indeed, in some parts of the country, centipedes are 
 so numerous, that the inhabitants are obliged to put 
 the feet of their bed-posts in water to prevent these 
 crawling creatures from lodging themselves in the 
 mattress, a place in which they are fond of breeding. 
 Like the scorpion, they move about in dark and 
 unfrequented places, and issue forth at night in 
 search of food. I had always an instinctive dread of 
 this insect — more so, I really believe, than any other ; 
 and can remember, upon my first arrival in Bombay, 
 the precaution I took to guard against them — never 
 putting on a boot, shoe, or glove, without first 
 shaking, or carefully examining it. We have all 
 our particular dislikes to one kind of moving 
 creature or another. Some faint at the sight of a 
 spider — others at a harmless blue-bottle — I, myself, 
 being terrified beyond measure at the appearance of 
 a centipede, however small. 
 
 These centipedes inflict a painful, and, to young 
 children, a most dangerous wound. A labourer once 
 allowed me to examine his index finger, which had 
 been stung by a centipede while removing some old 
 
158 TODDY-DRAWERS. 
 
 timber ; and the flesh of which had shrivelled up and 
 appeared like dry parchment stretched over the bone. 
 He had ligamentous anchylosis of the first and 
 second joints. The whole finger was of course use- 
 less to him, and ought to have been removed ; but 
 the poor fellow could never make up his mind to the 
 operation. 
 
 The first centipede which I saw was in rather a 
 strange place. It fell from the bottom of a dinner- 
 plate that was handed to me at table, but was crushed 
 and dead. As the Hindoo servants imJl place every- 
 thing on the floor in the cooking-house, though they 
 have tables provided, it was easy to account for the 
 unwelcome presence of this horrid insect. The 
 centipede grows to five or six inches in length, and, 
 from the number of its legs, is enabled to move very 
 quickly. 
 
 The hymenopterous insects, such as hornets, wasps, 
 and bees, are very numerous on this and the neigh- 
 bouring islands. They form their cells in the old 
 trees and excavations of Elephanta and Salsette, and 
 bans: in immense clusters from the roofs of these 
 subterranean temples. Some of the hornets are of a 
 large size, and often spread terror among the toddy- 
 drawers in the palm-tope by swarming around the 
 trees they have to ascend during the process of 
 tapping. 
 
THE VULTURE. 159 
 
 The inferior inhabitants of the field and woods in 
 India appear to shun the heat of the mid-day sun, 
 as much as man does. It is seldom that you see a 
 bird flying about at this hour, unless it be the large 
 kite, or fulvous vulture, held sacred by the Hindoos, 
 and protected and encouraged by the English as the 
 natural scavenger of the town and country. He 
 cares little about the heat ; for he can keep his thinly 
 feathered body cool by the fanning of his powerful 
 wings. These birds are very tame, and will often 
 sit close to your cook while he is preparing your 
 dinner, and watch anxiously for any stray morsels 
 which that functionary may be pleased to bestow 
 upon them ; appearing, from the regularity of their 
 hours of attendance, to have a very good idea of 
 time. They usually announce their arrival by half a 
 dozen loud and shrill notes, uttered at intervals as 
 they sweep round your compound, and finally perch 
 themselves on the roof of an outbuilding, or the 
 topmost branch of a tree, where, if the day is very 
 hot, they spread out their wings and keep up a gentle 
 motion with them on the principle of a fan. 
 
 Your Portuguese servants, if not prevented, often 
 amuse themselves by setting, near their resting-places, 
 a rat-trap, baited with a piece of meat, which is soon 
 pounced upon by these unconscious birds, who then 
 find themselves caught by the leg between the teeth 
 
160 FEW SINGING-BIRDS. 
 
 of tbis cruel instrument. The Portuguese domestics 
 annoy in this way some Hindoo servant to whom 
 they owe a grudge, and upon whom they wish to 
 revenge themselves, by thus destroying the birds 
 which the Hindoos venerate. Shoot them, they dare 
 not ; since the report of the gun would draw the 
 attention of their master or of the police, who would 
 immediately have the offenders punished. 
 
 In every town throughout the East you meet with 
 these useful birds ; indeed, they have evidently been 
 created for the benefit of mankind in that country. 
 Were it not for their services, the air of that hot 
 climate would be constantly tainted by the decaying 
 of animal matter, so injurious to human health ; and 
 their keen eyes, and fine sense of smell, enable them 
 to discover at a great distance the dead animals on 
 whioli they feed. I have counted more than twenty 
 of these kites at a time upon the body of a kid, at 
 the distance of several miles from any village. The 
 jackals, however, had first had their share. 
 
 The woods, at this season, are alive with the 
 smaller birds, which keep up an incessant din with 
 their chattering and squabbling ; but excepting the 
 cooing of the turtle doves, and the occasional familiar 
 note of the Indian cuckoo, which is more sonorous 
 than our migratory birds, there are but few that re- 
 mind us of the sweet songsters of our own English 
 
BIRDS OF RICH PLUMAGE. 161 
 
 groves. Nature, however, in this respect, may be 
 said to distribute her favours and gifts equally ; since 
 the richness of plumage which distinguishes many of 
 these tropical birds compensates, in a great measure, 
 for the loss of a musical voice. Splendid, indeed, is 
 the apparel of numbers of them ; but the various 
 species most remarkable for brilliancy of plumage 
 have been nearlv exterminated on the Island of 
 Bombay, by the English and their unerring Joe 
 Mantons. 
 
 I have, in my rambles, noticed the small king- 
 fisher {alcedo Asiatica), a bird bearing a strong re- 
 semblance to our own solitary species ; indeed, I 
 might say identical with it. Another of this genus, 
 about the size of a missel-thrush, frequented some 
 trees that shaded a tank in our compound. The 
 back, wings, and tail-feathers, were of the most 
 splendid azure, and the head and body of a rich 
 brown, shot with purple — throat white, bill and feet 
 red. 
 
 The swallow-tailed emerald fly- catchers were very 
 common in the rocky districts above Malabar Point ; 
 and some small green woodpeckers, with crimson 
 and yellow throats, were often heard and seen by 
 me tapping the dead trees about Parel. I have also 
 seen here the Malabar shrike (lanius Malabaricus, 
 Lath.) ; hoopoe ( Upupa epops) j sandpiper {tringa 
 
 M 
 
162 WANTON DESTRUCTION OF BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. 
 
 hypoUucos) ; common house sparrow (JringUla 
 domestlca, Linn.) ; tree sparrow, {fringilla niontanaj 
 Linn.) ; and a variety of birds common to Great 
 Britain ; but space does not admit of my enumerating 
 more of them here. It is greatly to be lamented, 
 that hundreds of these beautiful island-birds are 
 annually most wantonly destroyed by the crews of 
 European ships for the sake of a few bright feathers ; 
 though seldom, I fear, to enrich the cabinet of the 
 true naturalist, or effectively to further the study of 
 Indian ornithology. 
 
 Since it was not the design of this work to illus- 
 trate the Fauna of Bombay and its neighbourhood, 
 beyond simply giving the reader, just as occasion 
 may offer, an outline or idea of some of its various 
 members, we will now turn for the present to other 
 matters of history more immediately connected with 
 that lord of the creation, Man, and take a peep at 
 him as he appears at Bombay, at home and abroad. 
 
A MISTAKEN ASSERTION. 163 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 *' Oh, for one draught of cooling northern air. 
 That it might pour its freshness on me now ; 
 That it might kiss my cheek and cleave my hair, 
 And part its currents round my fevered brow." 
 
 It would be a difficult task to convey to the reader a 
 correct idea of the prostrating effect of some of the 
 dreadfully hot days which, during an Indian sojourn, 
 you have but too often to endure, with what share of 
 patience and resignation you may be blessed withal. 
 It has indeed been asserted, that, in a year or two, 
 you become accustomed, and in fact acclimated to 
 the heated temperature, and care but little about the 
 burning seasons as they roll j but I must say, that 
 many of the old Anglo-Indians, whom I had the 
 pleasure of knowing during my short residence 
 amongst them (some of them of twenty years' 
 
164 NECESSITY OF CHANGE OF AIB. 
 
 standing in the country), one and all asserted that, 
 so far from becoming accustomed to the heat by 
 degrees, they found that every year brought fresh 
 trials to the constitution, until, at last, though not 
 suffering from any organic disease, they were com- 
 pelled to seek a change of air, either at the Cape 
 of Good Hope, or in their native country. This 
 change from a relaxing to a bracing air is looked 
 upon as absolutely necessary every four or five years, 
 in order to insure to a European resident in India 
 even a moderate share of that greatest of all bless- 
 ings, health. 
 
 It is true, there are sanitary stations in the hilly 
 districts of India, to which every year, in the hot 
 season, numbers fly who can obtain a month or two's 
 leave of absence; but the enormous expense of 
 travelling deprives many a poor ensign or lieutenant, 
 perhaps encumbered with a family, of the power of 
 taking advantage of their fine temperature. The 
 efiect of a sea-voyage, as a restorative in cases of 
 general debility, is wonderful ; so marvellously does 
 the enfeebled system begin to revive as the ship 
 enters into cooler regions, and draws near to the 
 lofty mountains that look down upon Table Bay — 
 particularly if the voyage takes place about June or 
 July, about which time the winter quarter there sets 
 in. Sick officers who required a sea-voyage were 
 
 
CHILDREN BORN IN INDIA. 165 
 
 formerly allowed to proceed to the Cape to recruit 
 their health, perhaps for a year, when they would 
 not have been permitted to return home. Now, 
 however, the regulations are, I believe, altered ; as 
 it would take nearly the same time to go to the Cape 
 by ship, that would be required to reach England by 
 the present overland route. 
 
 Children born in India are, generally speaking, 
 poor, puny, sickly little things. Hundreds of them 
 languish and die during the first or second year of 
 their brief existence. Some, indeed, through extra- 
 ordinary care and good nursing, outlive the period 
 of infancy ; but unless they are sent home at the 
 age of seven or eight years, their lives are rarely 
 prolonged to old age ; it is not solely with a view 
 to their education that Indian-born children are 
 separated at an early age from their parents, and 
 sent to England. This separation is a dreadful trial 
 to the poor parents. Mothers, in particular, appear 
 to love, with an affection doubly ardent, the children 
 who, in a foreign clime, are the solace of their often 
 weary exile. 
 
 Every morning, before sunrise, the picturesque 
 sea-shores and public drives on the island are crowded 
 by a motley company of visitors in search of health 
 and exercise. As this is the only portion of the 
 day, during the hot season, in which you can really 
 
166 EARLY EXERCISE. 
 
 walk with any comfort or advantage, every one, who 
 can, avails himself of it for an hour or two's stroll 
 before breakfast, either on foot or on horseback ; 
 and an improved appetite, and greater willingness 
 to undertake the ordinary duties of the day, bear 
 witness to the beneficial effects of the practice. By 
 following up the custom regularly, you certainly 
 avoid much of that dreadful lassitude and sense of 
 weariness which oppresses those of your less resolute 
 English neighbours, who pass in their beds those 
 delightful hours which they ought to spend in the 
 bracinjj morning air. 
 
 Were early out-door exercise more practised than 
 it is, we should see but few wasting upon couches the 
 best portion of their lives, in listless inactivity ; and 
 giving way to that infectious indolence, which, as 
 the parent of one half of our diseases, cannot be too 
 resolutely resisted, and which grows so imperceptibly 
 by indulgence. May we not learn from the page of f 
 history, to trace the misery and slavery which have 
 been entailed on India, to the careless, sensual, and 
 effeminate habits of its original possessors 1 Aurung- 
 zebe, indeed, when he invaded it, at once understood 
 the character of the aborigines ; and by constant 
 watchfulness guarded his followers, during a period 
 of thirty years, from the fatal though seductive in- 
 fluence of climate and example ; but his successors 
 
"DEATH AND HIS BROTHER SLEEP." 167 
 
 soon fell an easy prey to indolence and luxury ; their 
 splendour and power passed away from them ; and 
 these Mohammedan conquerors sank, if possible, 
 lower in the scale of humanity than even their Hin- 
 doo subjects. 
 
 It has been thought that the approach of death is 
 contemplated with less terror by the natives of India 
 than by those of any other country in the world. 
 This may possibly arise from the Hindoo belief, that 
 a state of perfect tranquillity is the summit of happi- 
 ness ; and that to deaden the ever active principle of 
 life within us — that living principle which animated 
 the dust of the earth when God breathed into Adam's 
 nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living 
 soul — must be the great desire of all. " It is better 
 to sleep than to be active," say they ; " but death is 
 the best state of all ; for then the daily care of the 
 body ceases to trouble us, and the future shall be 
 to us an endless sleep ; a vacuum where no sound 
 disturbs." 
 
 This theory would seem, in India, to be prac- 
 tically followed up by the rich, who may in truth be 
 said to sleep away a third part of their short lives ; 
 and who resort to a thousand plans in order to bring 
 about this desirable end. As I have already ob- 
 served, they chew opium ; and the juice of an in- 
 toxicating substance prepared from a species of hemp, 
 
1G8 BATHS AND WASH-HOUSES. 
 
 and called heng or hluang, is in common use among 
 them. Cherris. another vegetable narcotic of this 
 class, esteemed as " the leaf of delusion/' is taken us 
 we would take wine, from the pleasurable feelings it 
 excites, though often producing insanity. Their 
 rooms are darkened, and the softest and most luxuri- 
 ous couches and rugs are distributed about the 
 apartment, as if to court sleep. 
 
 With the poor, however, who fortumUely have to 
 labour for their daily food, it is otherwise. They are 
 all early risers, and at peep of day you may see 
 swarms of them collected around the large public 
 tanks, taking their shower baths, by dexterously 
 swinging a vessel of water over their heads, and re- 
 freshing themselves in a variety of ways peculiar to 
 the East. Numbers of poor persons also fre*|uent 
 these tanks at this hour, to wash their linen ; re- 
 maining, till their garments are dried and fit to put 
 on again, up to their necks in the water. Evening 
 again brings crowds around these water cisterns, to 
 fill their chattees for domestic purposes. 
 
 In some of these respects the natives set us a good 
 example. I myself know, by experience, how great 
 an effort it is to rise early in India ; and many a 
 battle have I had, to conquer self, and get up and 
 sally forth, when aroused at gunfire. Often during 
 the night, the heat is so great, even in the best- 
 
 \ 
 
HINTS FOR PRESERVING HEALTH. 169 
 
 planned bungalows, that to sleep is impossible ; the 
 drowsy god refuses to visit your couch, and morning 
 dawns ere your eyelids close. Nevertheless, the man 
 who in India is anxious to preserve his health rnust 
 be an early riser. He must also, as he will quickly 
 learn, avoid the vile habit of drinking bitter beer at 
 all hours — a practice no more necessary in India than 
 England, yet very fashionable in Indian society. 
 The strictest teniperance, with great simplicity of 
 diet, is here necessary. Spirituous liquors of course 
 must be avoided ; and if, in seasons of languor and 
 depression, wine must be taken, let it be the best 
 that can be procured, and not the light, sour stuff, 
 which, imported in immense quantities, is swallowed 
 wholesale, because it is thought to be harmless. 
 
 Let the European also avoid all unnecessary ex- 
 posure to the sun ; for though he may be able to bear 
 its heat with but little inconvenience, such exposure, 
 particularly to the newly arrived, is injurious in the 
 extreme. Even the natives acknowledge its danger, 
 and guard against it by every means in their power. 
 The poorest native will not venture out in the day- 
 time without his chittree over his head, although the 
 head is already well protected by the ample folds of 
 the white turban, which cannot absorb many of the 
 sun's rays, and within which, as an extra security, 
 many persons put large green leaves, which they 
 
170 THE COLD BATH. 
 
 gather fresh for the purpose every morning, and 
 which must be cool and grateful to their shaven 
 craniums. Those of our countrymen who are liable 
 to attacks of dysentery, or to complaints of the liver, 
 are always recommended to wear, during the rainy 
 season, a flannel roller, to protect that important and 
 often-deranged organ ; and flannel vests are con- 
 sidered necessary all the year through. 
 
 These few hints may perhaps not prove unaccept- 
 able to some of my readers whose lot may one day 
 be cast in India. None of us can tell what a year, 
 nay, what a day may bring forth ; our life is made 
 up of strange adventures, and we know not what 
 may be on the morrow. 
 
 The first objects to which your desires point upon 
 getting up of a morning, are a cup of tea or coffee 
 and a bath. The latter is certainly the greatest of 
 luxuries, if you can, by any natural or artificial 
 means, cool the water sufficiently to produce a re- 
 viving shock. Many persons, I am aware, condemn 
 the very cold bath, and prefer the tepid ; in fact, the 
 cold bath, during my stay in Bombay, fell into 
 disrepute in consequence of two or three deaths, 
 which occurred during its actual use. I believe, 
 however, that the deaths of the supposed victims 
 of these baths were occasioned by their imprudently 
 
SYCEE AND CHOKRA. 171 
 
 plunging into very cold water when overheated by 
 exercise. 
 
 By eight o'clock the sun has risen too high, and 
 become too oppressive, to allow any European to 
 remain longer out of doors. All at home, too, by 
 this time, are ready for breakfast ; and if your 
 molly is a clever gardener, the table is not only 
 graced by sweet jBowers, but by delicious fruits ; both 
 of which must always be acceptable. Your sitting- 
 rooms have undergone a change ; every door and 
 window is darkened by the wet cuscus-7nats (tatties) 
 which, during your absence, have been suspended in 
 front of them. The large flounced centre punkah 
 floats monotonously from the ceiling ; and your 
 many servants begin already to look drowsy and 
 stupid, and are anxious to get out of sight, and to 
 take their accustomed nap as soon as possible in 
 some quiet corner of your bungalow. 
 
 If you are fond of keeping dogs, your sycee, or 
 groom, will sometimes condescend to look after them 
 in kennel j the chokra, or message-boy, having to 
 take them out every morning, all fastened together, 
 for a walk. You meet dozens of these boys on the 
 sea-shore, each with their string of dogs ; some 
 running races with them, or teaching them tricks ; 
 but others sitting still, or, as is often the case, sleep- 
 
172 DECREASED CONSUMPTION OF WINES. 
 
 ing, with tlie cord tied round their waist, to prevent 
 the dogs from running away. 
 
 About eleven o'clock the sea-breeze sets in ; and, 
 though out of doors this breeze is hot and furnace - 
 like, the temperature of your apartments, as the 
 blessed current passes into them, is lowered con- 
 siderably ; and about one o'clock, you can sit down 
 and enjoy your luncheon or tiffin. Tiffin, in India, 
 is a most agreeable repast ; seeing that it does not 
 take place till all formal visiting is over for the day. 
 The talkative and inquisitive visitors have, before 
 this happy hour, gone through their various and 
 well-known evolutions, and have mercifully left you 
 once more alone with your family, or with the really 
 valued friend — a treasure often difficult to find in 
 any country ; and the remainder of the day is at 
 your own disposal. 
 
 The English in Bombay dine usually at seven 
 o'clock. This gives them an hour or two's drive 
 before dinner ; but eight o'clock is the hour for 
 fashionable parties; and you are fortunate if you get 
 anything to eat before half-past. Coffee is handed 
 round soon after the cloth is drawn, and but little 
 wine is drunk ; a great change in this respect having 
 taken place during the last fifteen or twenty years. 
 
 Formerly, drinking was one of the crying evils of 
 our country-men in the East ; and, together with 
 
DRESS AT DINNER-PARTIES. 173 
 
 gambling and other seductive vices, was the ruin of 
 our young officers there ; but now, a man who either 
 drinks or games, is cut as a public nuisance, and 
 shunned by every one who has the least pretension 
 to respectability. 
 
 Gentleman who pay visits, are expected to do so 
 in dress cloth coats, or full regimentals, as the case 
 may be. This regulation may not appear very 
 remarkable to English readers ; but the fact is, that 
 to wear a woollen coat in India, during the hot 
 season, for three or four hours together in a crowded 
 room, is an amount of misery rather difficult for a 
 person at home to conceive. So ridiculous a custom 
 cannot be too much condemned ; for pleasure is 
 thus in a great measure destroyed, and, in some 
 cases, even apoplexy is induced by this stupid 
 fashion, which all sober-thinking people abhor. At 
 parties where ladies are not present, the host (if a 
 reasonable being) will sometimes request his guests 
 to put on their white linen jackets, which they 
 generally take good care to bring with them in the 
 drawer of their palanquin in case they should be 
 wanted. 
 
 The fair sex, in consequence of their style of dress, 
 do not suffer half so much as the gentlemen. With 
 them, the hoop and the horse-hair jupe are in great 
 request, and balloon out the thin muslin, or China 
 
174 EVERY GUEST TAKES HIS OWN SERVANT. 
 
 satin, in a manner which, as I could fancy, must be 
 very agreeable ; but these spreading garments have 
 their disadvantages ; they fill up a room ; and if 
 waltzing, &c., be introduced (for such things are 
 verily done in India, in spite of the thermometer 
 indicating 100 degrees), none but a gentleman with 
 a very long arm has the slightest chance of reaching 
 gracefully the narrow zone of his Elizabethan part- 
 ner. I am not surprised that the Asiatics laugh at 
 us for taking tlie trouble, as they say, to dance, 
 when for a few rupees we could hire pretty nautch- 
 girls to do the whole for us ; but Englishmen are 
 fond of keeping up English customs, and may be 
 forgiven for thus amusing themselves in a foreign 
 land. 
 
 Whenever you dine out, you must take your own 
 servant to wait upon you at table, or you have a 
 very poor chance of procuring anything like a satis- 
 factory dinner. This is another nuisance ; for should 
 your room be small, you have as many servants as 
 friends in it ; for the servants attend to none but 
 their own employers. These people quite delight in 
 the bustle and stir of a large party ; and all come 
 dressed up in a nondescript kind of livery, according 
 to the fancy, humour, or pride of their masters. 
 The only articles they retain of their own, are the 
 turban and tumed-up slippers j the latter of which 
 
PORTUGUESE COOKS. 175 
 
 often give rise to some ludicrous scenes of confusion. 
 Should two or three guests take a fancy to the same 
 dish at the same time, a race to the carver is not 
 very unusual ; for the native attendants are always 
 anxious to appear sharp and active on such occasions ; 
 and they not unfrequently hook one another with the 
 aforesaid turned-up slippers, and come floundering to 
 the ground. They keep up a perpetual jabbering in 
 Hindoostannee, behind your chairs ; and as they 
 chew betel-nut, garlic, and some other horri])le com- 
 l)ounds, they do not add much^ to the comfort of 
 your dinner table on a sultry evening. Yet there is 
 something very picturesque and pretty in the dress 
 of these Hindoo servants. One man will have on a 
 splendid orange-coloured robe, another a crimson 
 one, another a purple, and so on ; and their turbans 
 are snowy white, and often fringed with a drooping 
 gold-lace border, or have silver thread woven into 
 them. 
 
 The lower orders of the Portuguese are much 
 employed by English families, as cooks and butlers ; 
 for the Hindoos are useless as culinary servants, 
 from their peculiar religious notions about food. 
 Nothing could persuade a Hindoo to touch ham, 
 bacon, or butcher's meat. Without exception, I 
 should say that the Portuguese cooks are the most 
 troublesome people you have to deal with in India. 
 
176 THE PESTS OF INDIA. 
 
 They are constantly intoxicated ; and many of them 
 are monstrous thieves. They think nothing of 
 going away on some excursion of pleasure for three 
 or four days, and leaving you to get your dinners 
 cooked as you best can, or go without any ; for 
 none of your other dozen servants will render you 
 the least assistance, and would rather quit your 
 service than touch anything connected with the 
 cook's department. 
 
 Servants are the pests of India, for you live in 
 constant danger of being robbed ; and, I should 
 think, that a day seldom elapses in which you are 
 not robbed in one way or another. The only way 
 you can possibly get on with them is, by constantly 
 threatening to send them to the bazaar master, and 
 have them punished ; or by withholding their pay. 
 Their wages vary from ten shillings to thirty shillings 
 per month, in Bombay, according to their duties 
 and stations ; but one great blessing is, you have 
 no trouble in supplying them with food, and their 
 waf^es cover all demands. They sleep outside, in 
 the verandah, or in some passage or lobby during 
 the rainy season ; and, with all their faults and 
 imperfections, it is astonishing how soon you get- 
 attached to them. Many of them are married ; and 
 when that is the case, you allow them to erect a hut 
 in your compound to live in ; and, as they set forth 
 
SYSTEM OF HOUSEKEEPING. 177 
 
 their meals upon the floor, simply spreading out a 
 piece of matting, they require very little furniture : 
 a bedstead, a box or two, and half a dozen different- 
 sized brass and earthen chatties, or cooking-pots ; 
 and half a cocoa-nut filled with oil, and a cotton 
 wick, lights up their simple room at night. They 
 make a fire in a corner, between two or three stones, 
 to boil their rice and curry, which is the principal 
 food they live upon. 
 
 Of course, the cook and his Portuguese assistants 
 have nothing to do with them. He lives and sleeps 
 in the bobbergy -house, or kitchen ; but he is always 
 on good terms with the other servants ; and it is 
 very seldom that your domestic comfort is broken 
 in upon by fights or quarrels amongst them. 
 
 Each man has his particular duty to perform in 
 your house. The lady of the establishment never 
 interferes with anything. Your cook is called in 
 after breakfast, and told what to jDurchase for the 
 day, and what to prepare for dinner, which he cooks 
 to perfection ; for they are celebrated for their made 
 dishes and curries. You seldom see what he has 
 purchased, till it is on the table. At night you 
 inquire the cost. You are, in consequence, never 
 troubled with green-grocers,' butchers', or other bills 
 of this description, coming in at Christmas, as every- 
 thing in the way of food is paid for when ordered ; 
 
 N 
 
178 SCOTCH PRESERVES. 
 
 a happy system that would work well at home — 
 benefiting not only the vender by ready money 
 payments, which would enable him to sell his goods 
 the cheaper, but the purchaser, by the pleasing 
 thought of owing no man anything. 
 
 To return, however, to the dinner-table. It 
 appears to be the great ambition of all dinner-party 
 givers in India to have as many English dishes on 
 the table as possible. The hermetically-sealed meats, 
 soups, and confections, that are sent over in tin cases, 
 and principally manufactured in Glasgow for the 
 Indian market, are in high repute in Bombay; and it 
 is curious to sit down and dine upon Scotch salmon, 
 or turbot, as fresh as if but just caught in its native 
 stream ; or to partake of a dish of green peas, or 
 carrots, grown in the land of cakes. Green goose- 
 berries, currants, rhubarb, and other bottled fruits, are 
 much used in pastry, and, though excessively dear, 
 the bazaars are seldom over-stocked, as the very 
 dearness of these articles has made them fashionable. 
 Stilton, and other celebrated cheeses, are sent out 
 in lead cases, but soon become dry and hard ; and 
 if not carefully watched, fall a prey to creeping 
 things innumerable ; even these leaden cases are 
 not always proof against the adamantine teeth of 
 the bandecoote, or country rat, that infests your 
 store-rooms and larders. I remember being pre- 
 
REFRIGERANTS. 179 
 
 sented with a fragment of oaten cake, a package of 
 which had been sent overland, as a great treat, to 
 some friends in Bombay, though its carriage must 
 have cost at least a rupee an ounce. 
 
 Miniature fountains, playing in crystal basins 
 filled with the choicest flowers, are occasionally seen 
 on the tables of some of the merchant-princes of 
 the East; in fact, every plan that is calculated to 
 cool the atmosphere of their suffocating rooms, is 
 adopted. I have often thought that if any man, in 
 this age of wonders, were fortunate enough to hit 
 upon an invention that would lower the temperature 
 of these heated apartments in the hot season, to 70 
 or 72 degrees, he would make his fortune in 
 twelve months, and be loaded with honours as 
 i lasting as those which have been heaped even upon 
 a Nelson or a Wellington. Man's ingenuity has 
 certainly been put to the test here ; and not without 
 some desirable results. He has called in chemistry 
 to his assistance ; and attraction and repulsion have 
 been duly investigated. Every known refrigerant 
 has had its day, and even the ice that covers the 
 great American lakes has found its way into the 
 wine-coolers of the Anglo-Indian. 
 
 Porous jars of common country- ware are very 
 well adapted for cooling water. They are generally 
 made of a fine clay, and as they are not glazed, the 
 
180 NO BOARDING-HOUSES. 
 
 water slowly percolates through the sides, and the 
 consequent evaporation cools the fluid within. They 
 are commonly suspended by a cane-work handle 
 to the under branch of a tree near your bungalow. 
 Some cover them, as they do also vessels containing 
 wine, beer, &c., with a bag dipped in a solution of 
 muriate of ammonia, nitrate of potash, salt, and 
 water ; thus producing, in fact, a freezing mixture. 
 One of the great disputes between the abdar (water- 
 cooler) and his master, turns upon the neglect of 
 this really important duty, for you can drink nothing 
 in India until it has been properly cooled. This 
 cooling process certainly causes no small trouble in 
 a large family, for your servants are constantly 
 losing your cooling-bags, and cannot comprehend 
 their utility. 
 
 Much has been said of Indian hospitality ; and, 
 generally speaking, an Englishman is pretty certain 
 of a hearty welcome, when he arrives in the country, 
 if he has the least introduction to any English 
 family in the place ; and this may account, in some 
 measure, for the absence of boarding-houses in 
 Bombay; as there is only one that has the least 
 pretension to that name in the Fort : I believe this 
 is the case in Calcutta. Captains of vessels usually 
 sleep on board their ships in harbour ; and cadets 
 
THE UNKNOWN ADVENTURER. 181 
 
 and officers, upon landing in India, have quarters 
 immediately provided for them ; so it is only the 
 unknown adventurer who feels the want of an 
 hotel, when cast lonely upon the ancient shores of 
 Hindostan. 
 
182 VULGARITY OF WALKING. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Together let us beat this ample field, 
 Try what the open, what the covert yield ; 
 Tlie latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore, 
 Of all who blindly creep, or sightless soar ; 
 Eye Nature's walks ; shoot folly as it fl.ies, 
 And catch the manners living as they rise." 
 
 Pecuniary circumstances would not always admit of 
 my keeping a tattoo, or palanquin^ so my out-door 
 exercise depended in a great measure upon the use I 
 might make of my own legs ; and though it is 
 thought extremely vulgar to be seen walking any- 
 where, and you are supposed to lose caste by the 
 first offence of this kind perpetrated in public, yet 
 was I vulgar enough to walk every day ; and, truly, 
 if we allow such trifling matters as these to disturb 
 our happiness, we can expect but a sorry pilgrimage 
 in the vale through which all of us must wend our 
 
THE HINDOO GENTLEMAN. 183 
 
 way. Few can form an idea what enormous sums of 
 money are annually expended in India in palanquin 
 hire alone, by the people who are fearful of being 
 thought poor, or are too proud to walk short dis- 
 tances. I remember one individual, whose salary 
 was only eighty rupees a month, and out of which he 
 actually paid twenty to be carried half a mile twice 
 a day, to and from his place of business, by four 
 bearers. 
 
 My poverty in this case was, perhaps, an advantage 
 to me (for, gentle reader, I am not ashamed to con- 
 fess, that I was poor in India) ; it gave me a better 
 opportunity of extending my knowledge of the 
 country, and of observing the national character of 
 the people, with whom it was my lot to be mixed up 
 in their daily avocations, and of studying the habits 
 and customs of this large portion of the great human 
 family now living under the happy rule of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 There is something extremely pleasing and win- 
 ning in the natives. The Hindoo gentleman is polite, 
 affable, and agreeable, though to those unaccustomed 
 to Oriental salutations, his address may at times 
 rather savour of servility. He entertains a high 
 opinion of the English. His dress is very plain and 
 simple, consisting of a close-fitting robe and full 
 trowsers ; and, though the possessor of two or three 
 
184 ALL RELIGIONS TOLERATED. 
 
 lacks of rupees, he makes as low a salaam to you as 
 the poor hard-working coolie, who vegetates on a 
 few pice a day, and lies down at night, contented 
 and happy, under an old mat stretched over a few 
 bamboos. 
 
 Differing so much as they do in religious matters, 
 it is truly surprising to find in Bombay such a large 
 number of men peaceably engaged in the great pur- 
 suit of the mammon of this world. Here are Jews, 
 Turks, Portuguese, Armenians, Parsees, Arabians, 
 Hindoos, and an endless variety of castes, all quietly 
 living together, yet apart, respecting and obeying the 
 powers that be. No one interferes with his neigh- 
 bour, in matters connected with his faith. All 
 religions are tolerated ; and the Christian mission- 
 ary, in order to gain a convert, has an arduous work 
 to perform, and a thousand obstacles with which to 
 contend. 
 
 The history of the castes of India, no doubt, is 
 familiar to many of my readers ; but as it is probable, 
 that this little volume may fall into the hands of 
 young persons not yet conversant with Indian sub- 
 jects, I shall, as I have already done, occasionally 
 give short sketches of what has been gleaned from the 
 fabled accounts handed down in the sacred writings 
 of the East, so as to blend instruction with amuse- 
 ment. The term " caste," like many others in use 
 
THE HISTORY OF CASTE. 185 
 
 in India, is a Portuguese word {casta), and signifies a 
 race or lineage. These castes, of which there is now 
 such an infinite variety, are said to have originally 
 consisted of four orders. The Indian sacred books 
 tell us, that the Brahmins, who compose the first 
 order, proceeded directly from the mouth of the 
 Creator, the seat of wisdom ; the Cshatriaya, from his 
 arm; the Vaisya, from his thigh; and the Sudra, 
 from his heel. The Brahmins were priests, or holy 
 men ; the Cshatriaya, soldiers, or fighting men j the 
 Vaisyas, tillers of the land, or husbandmen ; and the 
 Sudras, servants, or daily labourers. 
 
 In Mr. Mills' work we learn, that all the impure 
 castes which have sprung from these are to be 
 ascribed to the force of circumstances which laws 
 could not reach ; while the children born of parents 
 , of different castes were regarded as belonging to no 
 caste at all — their unfortunate birth sinking them 
 beneath the degraded Sudra. These castes, in time, 
 became a formidable body ; and the sacred books 
 state, that the Brahmins, by supernatural means, 
 Ci'eated a Sovereign, to arrest the growing evil. This 
 ! wonderful person classified them, and gave to each a 
 I particular occupation ; and instead of thieves and 
 I robbers, they became industrious artisans. Thirty- 
 six classes are there spoken of ; but their actual num- 
 1 bers are not known. 
 
186 THE DOORGA POOJAH. 
 
 I have mingled with the enormous population that 
 covers the small island of Bombay (a population 
 amounting to 506,119 souls, without its depend- 
 encies), and have been a passive spectator of their 
 festivals, unrivalled perhaps in their attractive splen- 
 dour. One of the most striking of these festivals is 
 the Doorga Poojah, which is annually held in Bom- 
 bay, and which, commencing on the 15th of October, 
 continues for three or four days. It is held in 
 honour of a female already introduced to us at the 
 caves of Elephanta, as the slayer of the terrible giant 
 Parvati. A very splendid image of her is con- 
 structed ; and after various ceremonies, the Brahmins, 
 on the third day, touch different parts of the idol 
 set up to Bhagabatee, for such is her title in Bombay, 
 and then publicly declare, that the departed spirit 
 of Bhagabatee has come into her. The consequence 
 of this farce is, that hundreds, firmly believing all 
 this nonsense, bring costly gifts to the shrine ; all of ' 
 which are quietly taken possession of by the grave 
 priests (quite a Popish trick). But I shall quote 
 Malcolm's graphic description of this festival, as he 
 witnessed it in Calcutta, where holidays of this sort 
 are carried on with greater zest than in Bombay, and 
 are better supported by the rich Hindoo population, 
 who can always find plenty of money to expend 
 religious follies of this sort. He says, 
 
THE SACRIFICES. 187 
 
 " The first day is spent in waking up Doorga and 
 other gods, who are supposed to have slept since the 
 festival of Shayan Ekadashee. The second day, vows 
 are made, and offerings of water, flowers, sweet- 
 meats, &c., are presented. The third day is occupied 
 with ceremonies to bring the soul of Doorga into the 
 image. To effect this, the priest repeats prayers, 
 offers incantations, and touches the eyes, cheeks, 
 nose, breast, &c., of the image with his finger. The 
 image now becomes an object of worship, and crowds 
 offer it divine honours, presenting at the same time 
 large quantities of fruit, clothing, and food, which, of 
 course, are perquisites to the Brahmins. The fourth 
 day streams with the blood of animal sacrifices. The 
 worshippers dance before the idol, smeared with gore ; 
 drums beat, and shouts rend the air. The heads only 
 of the victims are offered, the worshippers eating the 
 carcases, and rioting in strong drink. Such Hin- 
 doos as worship Vishneu, not being permitted to shed 
 blood, offer pumpkins, melons, sugar-cane, &c., which 
 are cut in two with the sacrificial knife, that the 
 juice may flow forth. All these days the image is 
 1 kept in the house, and the services performed in 
 » inferior courts, so that the streets show little of con- 
 » fusion or stir. The evenings are occupied with songs 
 and dancing, often of an indecent character." The 
 author goes on to say, that the last great day brings 
 
188 THE PROCESSION. 
 
 the goddess abroad, carried in triumph upon the 
 shoulders of men, to be thrown into the river. 
 
 In Bombay, Bhagabatee was taken down to Back 
 Bay, but not thrown into the sea. The procession 
 here extended for nearly half a mile — one of the most 
 interesting I ever remember seeing in India. The 
 splendid holiday attire of the natives, each one 
 carrying a rich coloured umbrella, or some little 
 mimic temple, containing a wax figure about the size 
 of a Dutch doll — children glittering in cloth of gold 
 and jewels — cars decked out with flowers and green 
 leaves — bullocks drawing them, with bells round their 
 necks and silver plates on their heads — while every 
 available post on the line of march was occupied by 
 sweetmeat sellers, stalls of toys, and Surat and 
 Poonah figures. They marched down to the sea-side, 
 and every one tossed in his little temple, and then 
 returned quietly home again. 
 
 These exhibitions, observes Mr. Malcolm, not only 
 present Doorga, but several images, often as large as 
 life, very handsomely moulded, of wax, clay, or paper. 
 The figure of Doorga, which he thus describes as seen 
 at Calcutta, agrees with my own recollection of her 
 at Bombay. " Under an ornamented canopy stands 
 the goddess, stretching out her ten arms, each of 
 which has a different occupation. One transfixes 
 with a spear the giant Nahisha ; others hold imple- 
 
ECONOMY. 189 
 
 ments of war, flowers, sceptres, &c. Beneath her 
 feet is a lion, tearing the said giant ; and on each side 
 are her sons, Kartic and Ganesh. The whole is 
 home on a frame or bier, requiring twenty bearers. 
 The group is got up with much skill, and no little 
 ornament, some of which is really tasteful and 
 ornamental." 
 
 In concluding his description of this festival, Mr. 
 Malcolm observes, that " the men employed to cast 
 the fabric into the river, no sooner got a little way 
 from the shore in the boat, than they began to rifle 
 the goddess of her muslins, plumes, and gilded orna- 
 ments, so that often nothing but a mere wreck was 
 thrown overboard." I may remark, that the figure 
 was taken out at Bombay with all the drapery, by 
 those engaged to carry it when it arrived at the sea- 
 side, and only a trumpery frame-work was placed on 
 the head of a man who waded out and cast it from 
 him into deep water. Upon inquiring the reason 
 why the figure was not thrown in also, the person of 
 whom I asked the question told me that the wax 
 lady cost much money, and they should want her 
 again for Poojah next year ; a piece of economy with 
 which I was much amused. 
 
 There is seldom a month in which some of these 
 festivals are not held, either by the Hindoos or 
 Mohammedans ; and so great is their attraction, that 
 
190 BETROTHMENT OF CHILDREN. 
 
 many of the public offices are closed for want of 
 hands, and business is entirely suspended for the 
 time. The Brahmins reap rich harvests during these 
 feasts, and the hosts of religious mendicants, with 
 their hair matted with cow dung, and their bodies 
 smeared over with pigments, are set up once more 
 with plenty of pocket-money, extorted from these 
 simple and holiday-loving people. 
 
 I have joined the gorgeous processions attending 
 the betrothment of Hindoo children ; a striking 
 though certainly a painful ceremony to witness, if we 
 reflect, that the death of the boy, at this time only 
 six or seven years old, will condemn his little inno- 
 cent and unconscious bride to perpetual widowhood 
 and low servitude. The children are brought to- 
 gether for the first time, and may never see one 
 another again for years. Their parents often live 
 some hundreds of miles apart ; and when the time 
 comes for the consummation of the marriage, the 
 parties are perfect strangers to each other, and may 
 or may not live happily together. A cruel custom 
 has left them no choice for themselves. Sordid 
 avarice, high caste, and family aggrandizement, are 
 but too often the motives of a Hindoo marriage, to 
 the utter exclusion of the natural ties of a holy love. 
 The Brahmin, in blessing the pair, now perhaps 
 twelve or fourteen years of age, scatters over them a 
 
TEMPLE WORSHIP. 191 
 
 handful of rice, emblematical of fruitfulness ; his eye 
 is then fixed on the trembling girl, as he directs her 
 attention to the mystic fire burning between them, 
 and suggestive of that fearful Suttee, which now, how- 
 ever, thanks to the humanity of England, and to the 
 God who has taught her mercy, is abolished. Go, 
 Hindoo girl, with the husband of thy youth, and if 
 thou canst not now love him, may time endear him 
 to thee : no sacrifice is now required of thee. Should 
 it please Providence to make thee early a widow, thy 
 life is still thy own, while Christian England protects 
 thee. 
 
 I have looked at all hours into the Indian temples, 
 where crowds fell down and worshipped idols that 
 bore but little resemblance to things on earth or 
 things under the earth, being in truth horrible carica- 
 tures of humanity — frightful monstrosities, laved in 
 rancid cocoa-nut oil, and bedaubed with red paint, 
 over which a fair wreath of flowers withered in the 
 tainted atmosphere. Round and round walked the 
 worshippers, mumbling a vain repetition of some 
 stated formula, till the eye was wearied by their 
 motion, and the heart pained by the vanity of their 
 superstition. They knew not God, and did but 
 " grieve him Him with their hill altars, and provoke 
 him to displeasure with their images." 
 
 In such visits I always met with kindness from 
 
192 INSPECTION OF HINDOO TEMPLES. 
 
 those in charge of the temples. Many persons, as I 
 was given to understand, had been rather rudely 
 treated when inspecting these sanctuaries of idolatry ; 
 but from what I could learn, they had ridiculed all 
 they saw, and treated the officers of these establish- 
 ments with contempt and insolence. Can we be 
 surprised at the reception they met with 1 Though 
 I did not go beyond the porch, as I should then have 
 been obliged to uncover my feet according to the 
 custom of the country (for leather shoes would have 
 defiled the temple), yet I always removed my hat, as 
 the ground upon which I stood appeared to me, in 
 some sort, holy. Was it not, I thought, dedicated, 
 however ignorantly, to the one great Father of all, 
 who is indeed seen but darkly through his works by 
 these my poor benighted fellow-creatures? For 
 them, as well as for myself, a dying Saviour had 
 made an atonement on the cross, full, perfect, and 
 finished ; and does He not even now pity them, and 
 would He not gladly gather them into his fold, even 
 as he wept over the lost ones of Jerusalem 1 Some 
 such feelings must arise in the mind of every reflect- 
 ins: man who enters these buildinfjs. 
 
 Many of the English residents who live in con- 
 fined bungalows, or have houses near the Fort or 
 other close buildings, obtain permission to erect tents 
 and portable cottages, during the hot season, on the 
 
LACK OF PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. 193 
 
 open space of ground adjoining the esplanade. This 
 situation is a delightful one to tliose who like a 
 bustling and animated scene. A noble carriage- road 
 runs through it, and of an evening, from five to seven 
 o'clock, is crowded by an infinite variety of people 
 of all classes and denominations, but more par- 
 ticularly by those who have been pent up all day 
 in their offices ; it is certainly the most fashionable 
 resort on the island; every description of conveyance, 
 from the two-hundred-guinea London clarence, to 
 the one-horse shegram, and heavy rumbling native 
 carriage and bullock hackery, finding its way hither, 
 for an hour or two's display before dinner. 
 
 The ground is a dead level for two miles, with 
 Back Bay on one side, and Bombay fort and harbour 
 on the other — the road terminating in the new 
 town. Few trees grow upon it, as they are supposed 
 to obstruct the breeze, and the view, which is ex- 
 cessively pretty. When the Commander-in-chief 
 has his tents pitched here, the attraction is doubly 
 ^reat, as a military band performs every evening 
 opposite his compound : a treat not often enjoyed 
 ^y the good people of Bombay, who have not a 
 dngle public amusement, unless it be some stupid 
 lorse-races once a year, and a botanical garden, that 
 lobody appears to take any interest in. Theatrical 
 )erformances certainly were once attempted, but 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
1 94 MUSIC. 
 
 they met with little encouragement, in consequence 
 of some characters of doubtful reputation appearing 
 upon the boards. 
 
 Afany a half-hour have I passed near this stand, 
 watching the natives, who delighted to throng round 
 the musicians, exhibiting in their countenances 
 various expressions of pleasure and surprise, as the 
 rich notes floated sweetly upon the still evening air. 
 Some were in fact " possessed beyond the muse's 
 painting." The degraded and sensual Mohammedan, 
 whose soul seldom soared beyond the regions of 
 animal gratification, would pause here, as he passed 
 by and caught the melodies of other lands ; and 
 the noisy occupants of the bullock-gharry would 
 draw up their uncouth vehicle, and remain silent for 
 the time. Groups of children sat around, but the 
 passion for dancing, so universal in other countries 
 under the inspiration of music, was wanting among 
 them ; they were only attentive hearers like myself. 
 On such occasions, thoughts that long had slept were 
 revived, as the familiar notes recalled to memory 
 days that had fled for ever ; for, 
 
 " Like the gale that sighs along 
 Beds of oriental flowers, 
 Is the grateful breath of song, 
 
 That once was heard in happier hours. 
 
FINE-WEATHER HOUSES. 195 
 
 Filled with balm the gale siglis on, 
 
 Though the flowers have sunk in death ; 
 
 So, when pleasure's dream is gone, 
 Its memory Hves in music's breath/' 
 
 Some of the Hindoos have a \ery high opinion of 
 their own musical capabilities, and do not scruple to 
 say, thait the English are far behind them in this 
 matter, and in horsemanship. The latter part of 
 the assertion we may perhaps acknowledge. 
 
 Many of the fine -weather houses erected on the 
 esplanade are very pretty and ornamental ; being 
 principally constructed of bamboos, and having 
 thatched roofs interwoven with cane-work. The 
 gardens in front are separated by split bamboo 
 paling, into which are tastefully trained flowering 
 creepers and shrubs that have been grown elsewhere 
 in tubs ; while China jars and rustic seats combine 
 to produce a pleasing effect. What was but a few 
 weeks ago a long rambling piece of ground, un- 
 occupied except by a stray police-station, has thus 
 been transformed into a busy little town. Oflicers on 
 leave of absence from their regiments, or but newly 
 arrived in the country, and other strangers, gladly 
 avail themselves of the privilege granted them upon 
 application, and pitch their camp-tents here. 
 
 Indian jugglers, chumpH or snake-charmers, and 
 a variety of odd wandering characters peculiar to 
 
196 AN ENGLISH TAR ABROAD. 
 
 the East, add not a little to the amusements of this 
 place. Here the young soldier mounts his new 
 uniform for the first time in India, and gallops 
 happily amidst the varied medley of rich and beau- 
 tiful costumes. 
 
 Near one of the gateways that lead into the 
 Fort, may be seen a crowd of natives gathering 
 together, who appear to be enjoying a hearty laugh 
 at something in the centre of the group. We will 
 take a peep at the object of this sport ; an object, 
 I regret to say, by no means uncommon here. One 
 of those unfortunate specimens of our countrymen, 
 a drunken English sailor, has been making a variety 
 of ludicrous attempts to stand steady upon his own 
 legs ; but the demon spirit of cheap arrack tumbles 
 him down again, and again the air is rent with the 
 shouts and laughter of the ragged throng. He has 
 no jacket on, for that has been stolen from him; 
 and now he is threatening death and destruction to 
 what he calls sons of niggers and j^f'^coat fellows, 
 who won't lend him a hand to help him up again 
 upon his legs. He has been out to Dungaree, and, 
 as a matter of course, has made himself most par- 
 ticularly tipsy amongst the Portuguese drinking- 
 shops in that famed locality, and has contrived to get 
 so far towards his ship, having expended, perhaps, 
 half his hard-earned wages during the last twenty- 
 
A SKETCH FROM LIFE. 197 
 
 four hours, and completely verified the old saying, 
 that " sailors earn their money like horses, and spend 
 it too often like asses." Fortunately, however, for 
 the credit of our country, the natives understand 
 but little of what he says, though the 'words, " bad 
 man," whispered among the better dressed attracted 
 to the spot, grates disagreeably upon our ears, and 
 makes us feel not a little ashamed of our connection 
 with this " son of the ocean." A policeman, in 
 a yellow turban, blue gown, and red sash, finally 
 drags him off to the thanna, till he sobers down 
 again. The next morning, he returns to his ship in 
 the harbour, robbed of his money and clothes, and, 
 in all probability, dies in a day or two of brain 
 fever, from exposure to the sun. His friends at 
 home are told that he fell a victim to the effects of 
 the dreadfully unhealthy climate ; for the truth, with 
 respect to such matters, is seldom told ; and in this 
 manner are countries and places unjustly blamed; 
 the habits of the deceased individual being quite 
 overlooked or forgotten. This is not in the least 
 an exaggerated picture of the way in which too 
 many of our countrymen conduct themselves in the 
 East. I have sketched it from the life. How often 
 have I seen English sailors, overcome by the poison- 
 ous arrack and cheap spirits, which are so abundant, 
 lying near the docks of Bombay, covered with 
 
198 LIVING IN TENTS. 
 
 bruises and flies, and fast asleep — such a sleep as 
 the drunkard only knows — blistering in a dreadful 
 sun, the ridicule of what they call " tlie Iveatlien 
 hlacksy What an example is this ! Surely we 
 need not be surprised that our missionaries make 
 but few converts. 
 
 Tents may be purchased or hired from the manu- 
 facturers. Their charges vary from ten to twenty 
 rupees a month, according to size and quality. It 
 is surprising to see how quickly they will pitch you 
 a large marquee. Stables, cooking-rooms, bath- 
 rooms, «fec., are all made neatly of the same material, 
 and a great deal of taste is often displayed in their 
 construction. It is some time before you become 
 reconciled to this mode of living ; for you cannot 
 retire at night with that comfortable feeling of 
 security that a stone-built house gives. 
 
 One of the great disadvantages attending tent- 
 living is, the annoyance which you suffer from 
 mosquitoes, which, on some evenings, literally swarm 
 around your rooms. These pests of the tropics 
 delight in fastening themselves to the lining of 
 the canvas, in the day-time, where they remain 
 quiet and unobserved ; but as soon as the evening 
 shades prevail, and your lamps are lit at night, and 
 you are comfortably settled with your book, the 
 light attracts them at once, and each one sounds his 
 
THE HORRIBLE MOSQUITOES. 199 
 
 well-known but dreadful note of war in your ears. 
 That peculiar states of the weather have the effect 
 of driving all the mosquitoes within doors, there 
 can be little doubt ; for I have observed that, on 
 some evenings, your rooms are quite free from 
 them, while on others the nuisance is so great as to 
 compel you to open all the flies and tapework 
 windows, and to have them punkahed out by your 
 servants. 
 
 From the low and swampy character of Bombay, 
 so favourable to the propagation of these insects, 
 we are not surprised at being told, upon landing in 
 this island, that there are two luxuries you are 
 never to expect to enjoy here — good water, and a 
 quiet night's repose. So gently do the mosquitoes 
 alight upon an exposed part, that you are never 
 conscious of it until they have insinuated their 
 minute proboscis into an open pore, and laid the 
 foundation of an hour or two's misery. A hungry 
 mosquitoe will feast upon you, if undisturbed, for 
 about twenty minutes. He generally, when he has 
 the choice, selects a vein that is thinly covered with 
 cuticle j but, when suffering from a long fast, he is 
 not so particular, but bores down at a venture, until 
 he reaches the life- stream ; and, when satisfied, you 
 are astonished to see the great change that has taken 
 place in his aj^pearance. The tiny body has become 
 
200 NATIVES NOT ATTACKED BY MOSQUITOES. 
 
 swollen as round as tliat of a spider ; and he flies 
 heavily away to some secluded corner, until the 
 pangs of hunger again assail him. In this state 
 he is a very tempting morsel to our friend the room- 
 lizard. The wound, if not irritated, presents nothing 
 to the eye hut a small circular red patch, about the 
 size of half a split pea ; but if excited by friction, 
 it rises into a hard little tumour, and, in some cases, 
 will even run into a tedious sore. When the eyelids 
 are attacked, which is not unusual during sleep, 
 temporary blindness is not an uncommon result. 
 
 It is curious the natives are seldom attacked by 
 these insects. I was not a little interested in the 
 subject, and made many inquiries to ascertain the 
 truth of it ; but whether it is their dark-coloured 
 skin, or the oil that some of them use upon their 
 persons, I believe that they are in a great measure 
 protected from their attacks. A fresh arrival in 
 the country claims their especial attention ; and 
 I have often pitied the tortures that some endure 
 from these insect enemies. When reading or 
 writing, I was always obliged to wear gloves : and 
 though they made the hands awfully hot, yet, of 
 the two evils, the heat is the least. Blood is not 
 the natural food of these insects, though they are 
 80 skilful in extracting it ; marshy, wooded lands, 
 the banks of rivers, and old reservoirs, breed 
 
THE WISDOM OF GOd's PROVIDENCE. 201 
 
 millions of mosquitoes, that can seldom have an 
 opportunity of tasting blood. 
 
 The common plumed gnat of England (tipula 
 plwmicomis), is a small variety of this widely-dis- 
 tributed insect. It may appear strange, that even 
 in Lapland the inhabitants are so incommoded with 
 swarms of gnats, that the poor people scarcely dare 
 go abroad, without smearing their faces with a 
 mixture of tar and cream, to protect them from 
 their bites. Linnaeus has thought, that, independ- 
 ently of their supplying nutritious food to innu- 
 merable birds and fish, mosquitoes and other winged 
 pests are beneficial to the cattle which they attack, 
 by inducing them to take exercise, and so preventing 
 the ill effects of indolence and repletion in warm 
 climates, where food is generally so plentiful as to 
 require but little searching after. Be this as it may, 
 it is certain that many an apparent evil in nature 
 has been wisely ordained by the Almighty, for the 
 universal good of his creatures, though perhaps to 
 the inconvenience of man. 
 
 There is a shelving bank that slopes down from 
 the esplanade to the sea-shore, and here, of an 
 evening, numbers of the poor natives assemble to 
 pray at stated hours. I was often struck with the 
 earnestness of their devotions, and became familiar 
 with the faces of many who were most regular in 
 
202 THE FIRE-WORSHIPPER. 
 
 their attendance. One was an Arabian Jew ; but 
 why he came here to pray, I could never learn. 
 Another was a very aged, tottering old man, with a 
 beard of silvery whiteness, and a back bowed be- 
 neath the weight of years. His prayers were long 
 and fervent ; and it was impossible to look upon 
 him without feeling that that man was " in audience 
 with the Deity." With eyes raised upwards, as if 
 endeavouring to penetrate the dark blue canopy 
 overhead, his thoughts seemed fixed on something 
 far removed beyond the grovelling things of earth. 
 Could this man, I thought, be a blind idolater ? 
 
 Not far from him stood a tall Parsee, a man I 
 knew to be engaged all day in business in the Fort ; 
 yet his worldly cares never appeared to interfere 
 with liis religious duties. At his feet lay his high 
 card-board turban, for he stood uncovered during 
 this solemn hour. Prayer after prayer was repeated 
 by this earnest disciple of Zoroaster ; and how often 
 was the poor body prostrated and humbled to the 
 very dust, as the little book from which he read his 
 prayers brought to his remembrance sins of which 
 he had been guilty, or a feeling of his own unwor- 
 thiness flashed across his mind ! His favourite hour 
 was when the sun was sinking to his rest ; and as,- 
 from the bank, he obtained a view of the glorious 
 departing orb, as it dipped beneath the far horizon 
 
ENGLISH CHRISTIANITY. 203 
 
 and tinged the purple waters with a stream of re- 
 fulgent light, again and again did the poor fire- 
 worshipper throw himself forward on the earth ; 
 again and again did he press his forehead as if in 
 agony, and, with arms stretched out towards the 
 sinking luminary, again and again did he supplicate 
 it to convey his sorrows and his repentance to the 
 throne of Him whom he knew not how to approach 
 in any other way. I could not but think that this 
 poor ignorant idolater was using to better purpose 
 his one talent, the little light that had dawned upon 
 his dark mind, than many Christians use the full 
 blaze of gospel day. 
 
 "Within a few yards of this interesting scene rolled 
 the carriages of the wealthy children of England — 
 of those who, like myself, had received ten talents. 
 Had they become familiar with, or indifferent to, 
 the condition of these poor deluded worshippers 1 
 or, was there nothing that they could do individually 
 to assist the laborious efforts of the few missionaries 
 who had been sent out to proclaim Christ crucified, 
 in this land of pagan darkness ? or, was it indeed 
 true that many had rather retarded than advanced 
 that righteous cause in India, by their own bad 
 example and lax morality ? Let us hope, that it 
 was not altogether thus ; yet it is true, that we 
 have made but slow progress in the great work of 
 
204 A PARADOX. 
 
 evangelizing India, during the nearly two hundred 
 years that have elapsed since the British flag first 
 floated over the battlements of Surat. Were it not 
 for the massive tower of the Cathedral, and the 
 tapering spire of the Scotch Church, a stranger 
 would at times almost doubt whether Christianity 
 had ever been introduced at Bombay, where thou- 
 sands yet fall down to worship their graven images. 
 How is it, we may ask, that we can always find 
 money to protect the country with our armies, to 
 raise magnificent palaces for our governors, to fortify 
 our possessions, to sustain an Indian navy, to con- 
 struct public roads and canals, to unite our towns 
 and cities by projected railways, to contribute £G000 
 a year to support the brutal rites and atrocious 
 barbarities connected with the blood-thirsty temple 
 of Juggernaut, and yet say, that we cannot afford 
 to send out a few more missionaries, in return for 
 the enormous sums drawn from our Indian posses- 
 sions ? 
 
 " Can these things be, 
 And overcome us like a summer's dream. 
 Without our special wonder ] " 
 
 Four more bishops are at length to be sent out, in 
 order to lighten the onerous duties of those already 
 appointed. This is a gratifying movement in the 
 right direction. Conscience is beginning to accuse 
 
INDIAN BISHOPS. 205 
 
 US of our guilty neglect of India. But we want 
 more field-labourers ; men who will go out into her 
 highways and byways — into her jungle-villages and 
 her mountain-fastnesses; into those wild and se- 
 cluded districts, where the feet of him who bringeth 
 good tidings of great joy have never yet brushed 
 away the dews of the morning. 
 
 It is nearly thirty-six years since Dr. Middleton 
 was appointed first bishop of Calcutta, with episcopal 
 authority over the whole of British India. He was 
 a man of great piety and learning, and founded 
 "Bishop's College." He was succeeded by the 
 accomplished Keginald Heber, who carried out many 
 of his predecessor's good designs, but who was 
 removed by an early death from the sphere of his 
 usefulness. It has been observed, that these two 
 first appointments were most happily made, and 
 that lawn has seldom been worn by better men. 
 Since then, Bombay, Madras, and Agra, have been 
 made separate bishoprics; but even with this addi- 
 tion to the ecclesiastical staff, it was found quite 
 impossible to keep pace with the growing wants 
 of so large a country. The Presidency of Bombay 
 alone contains a large extent of Aurungabad, Can- 
 deish, and Guzerat ; and the number of souls under 
 the British government in India has been computed 
 at 80,000,000. 
 
206 NEED OF EDUCATION. 
 
 The establishment of public schools in many of 
 our large towns, where all the useful branches of a 
 religious and sound English education are taught 
 to the native scholars, has already worked wonders 
 at the presidencies. A writer in the QuAxrterly 
 Review, in dwelling upon this all-important subject, 
 has remarked that " a general knowledge of history 
 and geography will at once disperse that cloud of 
 more than Egyptian darkness, which, for so many 
 ages, has confined their view. When they cease to 
 consider Blount Meru as twenty thousand miles high, 
 and the world as a flower, of which India is the cup 
 and other countries the leaves, their minds may 
 become more open to rational views on the subject 
 of religion." 
 
SUNSET. 207 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " The moon, refulgent lamp of niglit, 
 O'er heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light, 
 When not a breath disturbs the deep serene. 
 And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene. 
 Around her throne the vivid planets roll. 
 And stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole ; 
 O'er the dark trees a yellow verdure shed. 
 And tip with silver every mountain's head." 
 
 The great orb of clay has rolled down into the far 
 west, but its lingering glory is still reflected every- 
 where around us. We can trace it gilding the tops 
 of the mosques and spires, and burnishing the green 
 leaves of the cocoa-nut palms, as they move gently in 
 the evening breeze. We can track it over the wide 
 expanse of waters, as it brings out in fine relief a 
 lone sail, homeward bound ; we can see it in the rich 
 purple haze that floats over all things. If we turn 
 
208 AN INDIAN NIGHT. 
 
 our eyes towards the east, we are surprised to see 
 how rapidly night is advancing upon us, and how 
 speedily the lofty mountains, and the towering peak 
 known as the "Queen of Mahratta's needle," are 
 becoming veiled from our view. Lights begin to 
 glimmer here and there upon the coast, and the 
 darkened sky over the horizon is illumined, for hours 
 after sunset, by flashes from clouds charged with the 
 electric fluid. The transition from day to night, in 
 those parts of India that are situated between the 
 tropics, being very sudden, we, here, know very 
 little of that lingering of the sun's reflected rays, 
 which constitutes the twilight of northern climes. 
 The heavens are for a brief space tinged with the 
 hues of all glorious things, unutterably, indescribably 
 beautiful, and then the brilliant picture fades away. 
 
 We must now again turn our attention to earth, 
 and take, during these quiet hours, a passing glance 
 at the scenes around us ; for an Indian night has a 
 character of its own. The noise and bustle of the 
 busy day are over ; the crowded esplanade is all but 
 deserted ; the prayerful Parsee has quitted the sea- 
 shore ; the last carriage, with its pale and languid 
 occupants, has passed through the gateway that leads 
 into the Fort ; the evening tattoo has been rolled at 
 the barracks ; the tired sentinel has been relieved 
 from his post of duty ; and the heavy tramp of the 
 
THE SNAKE-CHARMER. 209 
 
 sepoy guard, as he paces slowly up and down before 
 the low sallyport, halting occasionally to challenge 
 the stray rambler with the accustomed interrogatory, 
 Quon hie ? (Who goes there 1) is just heard to fall 
 upon the dull ear of night. 
 
 If we look across the battlements, we see rows of 
 bright lamps burning in some of the high houses, 
 which are occupied by English families, and of which 
 the inhabitants have now thrown wide open the large 
 Venetian shutters, in order to give free admittance to 
 the night air; and we may even detect from our 
 position upon the esplanade, the incessant movements 
 of room-punkahs, and the restlessness of those who 
 are pacing to and fro, in consequence of the excessive 
 heat. 
 
 The idle, begging crowds, that had for hours 
 haunted the entrances to the neighbouring mosques, 
 have now dispersed for the night; and the great 
 Hindoo temple dedicated to Momba Devi has echoed 
 back the last prayers of its idolatrous worshippers. 
 The wretched cripple, who, helpless as an infant, has 
 lain all day upon its steps, covered with sores like 
 a second Lazarus, has been carried home on a 
 stretcher by his friends, to lose a few hours in sleep, 
 but to open his eyes on the morrow to another day 
 of misery. The cunning snake-charmer has twisted 
 the fangless cobra di capello round his neck; has 
 
 p 
 
210 LABOURERS IN INDIA AND ENGLAND. 
 
 rolled up his painted sticks and brass balls ; has 
 made his final salaam to the gaping multitude, and 
 has started off to his native village, to enjoy the 
 profits of his day's deception, and to laugh in secret 
 at the credulity of mankind. 
 
 The Mohammedan devotee creeps into his mat- 
 covered hut, and has strangely found again the use 
 of the withered arm, which, during the whole past 
 day, standing by the side of the public footpath, he 
 has held up as an immovable member ; and now 
 counts over the many pice that the hand of charity 
 has compassionately bestowed upon him, in accord- 
 ance with the Prophet's precepts. He has made a 
 flourishing trade of his pretended religion, and lives 
 upon the labour of the industrious few. India is 
 heavily taxed by these imposters, and throughout its 
 length and breadth groans under their numbers. 
 
 There is a poor Sudra, a hard-working man, wend- 
 ing his way homeward, tired and weary, over the hot 
 dusty road. His feverish day has been passed in one 
 of those grim old buildings near the dock-yard, in 
 packing raw cotton into bales for exportation, to be 
 unpacked by his fellow-labourers in Manchester and 
 elsewhere. But how superior is their lot to his ; they 
 have no suffocating heat, in which to toil ; to their 
 name there is attached no debasing caste, which will 
 prevent — shall I say for ever? — the poor Indian 
 
THE EDIBLE BAT. 211 
 
 labourer from rising in the social scale of civilization. 
 Life, to him, is but a season of toil and insult, of 
 which in eternity he expects but the renewal ; for, 
 within the gates of Paradise he, as he is taught to 
 believe, can never enter ; but must still labour 
 outside, for the benefit and luxury of the faithful 
 chosen ones. He knows not that the Great Pro- 
 prietor has given a free invitation to all who will 
 come unto Him with a humble and a contrite 
 spirit. His day has been a day of suffering, but it 
 is over now ; and with the few annas secreted in the 
 folds of his ragged turban, he trudges homeward, 
 content, if not grateful, to partake of a frugal repast 
 of rice and plantains ; and after having enjoyed his 
 hookah, and a bath, and a half-hour's communion 
 with the red idol in the centre of his dwelling, he 
 will sleep well by the side of his simple family, 
 away among the cocoa-nut plantations, which are so 
 dimly and indistinctly seen from the spot on which 
 we stand. 
 
 The large edible bat startles us in our meditations, 
 as he hovers between us and the bright stars, like a 
 blot upon the face of the heavens. How swiftly 
 does he sail along upon his leathern wings, cleaving 
 the air, unheard by us — soft and noiseless ! His 
 home is in the ruined temples of Salsette and Ele- 
 phanta. Night has tempted him abroad ; and his 
 
212 EXUBERANCE OF LIFE. 
 
 keen eyes detect the dancing insects that (attracted 
 by the lights within) hum in myriads between the 
 rows of white tents scattered near the shore. The 
 withered grass at our feet appears to be filled with 
 life. Large beetles are issuing from the sun-cracks 
 in the earth, and are rattling their hard cases against 
 the dry stubble, as they rise heavily into the cool 
 air, and add their buzzing voices to the music of 
 the night. 
 
 The fire-fly {dcUer TioctUucus) hastens to join the 
 glowing circles that play joyously under the old 
 jack-trees, near the sanitarium ; now lighting up the 
 cups of fresh-blown flowers, now ranging over the 
 still tanks where the spotted frog croaks undisturbed 
 upon the buoyant leaves. Crickets weary the ear 
 with their eternal chirping ; and the timid musk- 
 weasel utters its piercing cry, as we stumble over it 
 in our path. Everything around us teems with 
 life ; and ere daylight has bid farewell to earth, 
 night sends forth her mighty hosts to re-people the 
 world. Vain would be the attempt of man to try 
 even to enumerate, much more to classify, the 
 infinity of creatures, great and small, that, between 
 sunset and sunrise, move abroad on the earth, 
 or fan the light air with their wings. The mind 
 becomes confused by the mere idea of such an 
 undertaking. 
 
A HINDOO GOLGOTHA. 213 
 
 There is one spectacle whicli particularly attracts 
 our attention, and whicli is perhaps more worthy of 
 our notice than the objects upon which I have so 
 hurriedly touched. It is the blazing upon the shores 
 of Back Bay, of the funeral pyres, which, in the 
 still hours of evening, often illuminate the heavens, 
 and scare the wild sea-birds as they return to their 
 place of roosting among the high cliffs on Malabar 
 Point. 
 
 My first visit to this Hindoo Golgotha is still fresh 
 upon my memory ; for it left a strong impression 
 not easily to be effaced. Five or six of these pyres 
 had been erected at the head of the bay ; a district 
 that has, I believe, for ages been set apart for the 
 purpose of burning the bodies of the dead. One 
 evening, soon after my arrival in the islaad, curiosity 
 tempted me to ride out in that direction, in order to 
 see these supposed beacons, which I had fancied 
 were lit to guide the fishing-boats home at night. 
 My surprise was great upon going up to one of 
 them, to see the legs of a dead Hindoo protruding 
 from between the logs of timber that were, ere long, 
 to consume the body. The pyre was about five 
 feet high, and having been clumsily built, it had, in 
 consequence, given way at one end ; a circumstance 
 which had not escaped the prying eyes of some huge 
 fulvous vultures, which were screaming overhead, 
 
214 FUNERAL PYRES. 
 
 and making sundry dives downwards, towards this 
 attractive spot, and which did not appear in the 
 least to thank me for disturbing them. 
 
 About fifty yards from this pyre was another, on 
 which was stretched the body of either a young man 
 or a female, which some attendants, with a careless- 
 ness of manner which showed little regard for the 
 deceased, were busily covering with small fagots about 
 a foot in length, which they pitched on to the pile 
 from a bullock-cart near at hand. After a sufficient 
 quantity of wood had been piled up, a torch was 
 applied to some inflammable material at the base, 
 and within an hour afterwards the whole was one 
 mass of fierce fire. There did not appear to be any 
 form or religious ceremony whatever ; nor was tliere 
 any weeping or lamentation, or other outward sign 
 of grief, from those who stood around, three or four 
 of whom I fancied were.relatives ; but "the heart 
 may break without a tear," and the sorrows of some 
 of these by-standers might be deep and lasting, 
 though I could not detect them. There they stood, 
 silent, and apparently unmoved, watching the angry 
 flames as they devoured the mortal body of one who 
 had now put on immortality! As soon as they were 
 satisfied that the wood was well ignited, they all 
 walked away together, towards a plantation, where 
 stands a ruined temple, under cover of which the 
 
BURNING THE DEAD. 215 
 
 whole party was soon lost to my view, with the 
 exception of one woman, who again paused for a 
 moment as if to take a last farewell. I would have 
 given much could I have known her real feelings, 
 and what was passing in her mind. 
 
 Lower down upon the shore were a company of 
 children playing round the dying embers of a funeral 
 pyre, just as if it had been a fifth of November bon- 
 fire ; but they from their infancy had been familiar 
 with these scenes of death, and they had for them 
 no terror. The neighbourhood of this place of 
 burning was strewed with human bones, some partly 
 calcined, others quite perfect, and white as the driven 
 snow, from having been tossed about by the waves 
 at high water, and left to bleach in the sun. The 
 perfect bones were those of children, who are buried 
 here in the sands, and whose bones are generally 
 disinterred by the first springs that flow up to them ; 
 the natives seldom take the trouble to bury them 
 deep enough to secure them against such casualties. 
 
 The Hindoo custom of burning their adult dead 
 is a very ancient one ; and it is thought to have had 
 its origin in the popular superstition current among 
 them, that, after the body has been destroyed by 
 fire, no evil being can have any further power over 
 the emancipated spirit. The Hindoos believe, that 
 should this religious duty be omitted through neglect, 
 
216 THE SUTTEE. 
 
 the surviving friends of the departed will, in all 
 prohability, have their happiness disturbed by fre- 
 quent visits from some unclean migratory soul, which 
 in that case is supposed to make a point of taking 
 immediate possession of the unburned and vacant 
 tenement. 
 
 It has been stated, that during the late wars in 
 India, the anxiety of the native soldiers to burn 
 their slain brethren-in-arms was so great that they 
 would often run the utmost risk of being taken 
 prisoners, in their endeavours to procure wood for 
 the purpose. This feeling is happily all that is now 
 left to preserve the memory of the dreadful Suttee, 
 which, by the persevering efforts and determined 
 conduct of its Anglo-Indian rulers, is now all but 
 absolutely abolished throughout our Indian empire. 
 From the time of Warren Hastings down to the 
 governorship of Lord Hardinge, each successive 
 Governor-general of our Indian possessions has 
 done something towards this good work; and though 
 it has been one of time and caution, acts of pro- 
 hibiti(m have been yearly made more stringent, as 
 previous laws proved insufficient to meet the evil ; 
 aud many native princes have now voluntarily come 
 forward to aid our present government in carrying 
 out its good intentions. 
 
 Proclamations have recently been issued by the 
 
BACK BAY. 217 
 
 Benfjal grovernment, statin jr, tliat no fewer than 
 twenty- three princes and chiefs have been induced 
 to abolish the horrible custom, and with it, female 
 infanticide, throughout their dominions. The Sikh 
 ruler of Jamoo has, unsolicited, followed their noble 
 example ; and the Nizam of Hyderabad has issued 
 a mandate to the same effect. Truly in all this 
 there is matter of rejoicing. If England had done 
 nothing more than this for the good of her Indian 
 possessions, she would have accomplished a great 
 work ; seeing that it was computed that, at one 
 time, from forty to fifty thousand females annually 
 sacrificed themselves to the flames, under the foolish 
 and vain idea, that by so doing they would be per- 
 mitted to enjoy Paradise with their husbands for 
 three core and fifty lacks of years, or about thirty 
 million and fifty thousand years. Such, I believe, 
 were the promises held out to them by their priests ; 
 though it has been denied that the Brahmins en- 
 couraged them in their self-immolation. 
 
 Back Bay, to all appearance a beautiful and well- 
 sheltered roadstead, is unfit, as a place of anchorage, 
 for shipping of any burthen ; the bottom of it being 
 covered with very dangerous rocks, which run out 
 in a sort of reef into the open sea. Occasionally 
 this bav has been the scene of some awful wrecks, 
 in consequence of having been mistaken in the 
 
218 SHIPWRECKS. 
 
 night for Bombay harbour ; the two bays being 
 separated only by a narrow strip of land, known to 
 mariners as " Old Woman's Island," or Colabah. 
 The Donna Pascoa, and the Lord William Bentinckj 
 two noble vessels, were wrecked here a short time 
 before my arrival. The south-west monsoon was 
 raging at the time when one of them ran upon the 
 reef of rocks ; and, expecting to go to pieces every 
 moment, they burnt a light in her bow, and sent up 
 rockets, in the hope of gaining some assistance from 
 the shore. While in this distressing position, the 
 Lord William Bentinck was making f<jr Bombay 
 harbour ; and seeing this light burning on board the 
 ship ashore, and another in the light-house not far 
 off, her captain became confused, and altered her 
 course a little, and, in consequence, struck upon a 
 bar at the entrance of the real harbour. The scene 
 next morning was described to me as an awful one ; 
 but many of the passengers were saved. I had the 
 pleasure of seeing a poor little girl who had been 
 washed out of the arms of her mother, and was 
 driven ashore^ alive, upon the breast of a heaving 
 wave. 
 
 Colabah can now scarcely be called an island, as 
 a splendid valade, built at a great expense, for the 
 accommodation of the public, unites it, at its most 
 southern point, with Bombay. 
 
A ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE. 219 
 
 A melancholy and romantic story is still told of 
 Colabah. Before Bombay was united to Colabah by 
 the valade alluded to. it was often impossible, though 
 the distance was very trifling, to go from one island 
 to the other without a boat ; for, during the rise of 
 the tide, the sea rushed through this little strait with 
 great force and rapidity, although at low water a 
 person might have walked across, I believe, without 
 wetting his feet. A young girl, of the Mohammedan 
 faith, was on her road to pay a visit to some natives, 
 who resided in Colabah ; and, having arrived in her 
 hullock-gharry, just when the tide was rising in this 
 place, she thought that, as the water was not deep, 
 she might cross without danger, and ordered her 
 syce, or driver, to urge the timid bullocks across the 
 stream. He did so ; but before they had proceeded 
 many yards, the animals became restive and obsti- 
 nate, and refused to go one way or another ; the 
 gharry was upset, and the poor girl, being thrown 
 into the rapidly increasing current, was swept out 
 into Back Bay. 
 
 This scene was witnessed, most fortunately, from 
 the Colabah side, by an Englishman, who had up to 
 this moment been a passive spectator. In an instant 
 his coat was off, and he was breasting the foaming 
 tide after the drowning girl, whom, at the risk of 
 his own life, he succeeded in bringing safely to the 
 
220 A SAD SEQUEL. 
 
 shore. He accompanied her home to Bombay, 
 where he received the thanks and benediction of her 
 parents. 
 
 Strange to say, but not more strange than true, 
 an attachment sprung up between the young English- 
 man and the Hindoo lady, whom he had rescued 
 from a watery grave ; and many were said to be the 
 private meetings that took place between the two 
 lovers — unknown, of course, to the unsuspecting 
 parents. At length, the Englishman, though he 
 well knew that his religion would be an insuperable 
 objection, determined to solicit from her father the 
 Mohammedan girl's hand in marriage. He did so, 
 and the haughty man of high caste at once indig- 
 nantly spurned his proposals. He acknowledged that 
 he loved the fair Englishman, but he never could 
 be one of his people ; so he bade him depart in peace. 
 
 The sequel was very sad. The Hindoo maiden 
 disappeared. Rumours were current, in Bombay, 
 that she had been privately murdered by her enraged 
 relatives ; but I do not suppose it was ever certainly 
 known what became of her, though the matter was 
 said to have been investigated by those in authority. 
 One of rumour's hundred reports at length reached 
 the ears of our poor countryman, who had "loved 
 not wisely, but too well ; " the shock was too great 
 to bear ; he died suddenly, the victim of a broken 
 
COLABAH. 221 
 
 heart. The whole family of the maiden left the 
 island, in consequence of the suspicion attached to 
 them j and so ended this strange eventful history. 
 After hearing this story, I seldom passed over the 
 valade, without thinking of the poor drowning girl, 
 and of my own brother, who had nearly lost his 
 life in the same way, before this dangerous place 
 had been made secure to travellers in all states of 
 the tide. 
 
 The small promontory of Colabah is naturally 
 connected with Bombay by a mass of whinstone 
 rocks, which, however, do not rise above the surface 
 of the waters. It runs out for about two miles into 
 the sea, in rather a south-westerly direction, and 
 forms a sort of tongue between Bombay harbour 
 and Back Bay. On its extreme point is erected a 
 light-house, which rises one hundred and fifty feet 
 above the level of the ocean, and may be seen, in 
 clear weather, at the distance of seven or eight 
 leagues from the coast. It is considered a healthy 
 place of residence, being freely exposed to the sea- 
 breeze ; and its beauty is greatly enhanced by the 
 charming view which it commands on all sides. In 
 consequence of these advantages, it is crowded by 
 English, Parsee, and Portuguese bungalows ; which 
 are all detached residences, surrounded by luxuriant 
 gardens, redolent of sweet flowers. The walks are 
 
222 THE morning's glory. 
 
 very cool, being well shaded from the sun ; and 
 there is a delightful drive through the island to the 
 battery, which is built near the light-house. 
 
 The property of this island belongs, principally, 
 like much of the property in Bombay, to Parsees ; 
 and a great number of the houses are rented solely 
 by English merchants, who rejoice to live there ; 
 being able to see, from their terraces, every vessel 
 that enters the harbour, and to catch the first glimpse 
 of the overland mail, the monthly bearer of joy or 
 sorrow, as she steams up to her anchorage off the 
 Apollo Bunda, and announces her arrival by the 
 cannon's mouth. 
 
 The boundary-hedges are enriched by a charming 
 creeping plant, which bears a scarlet, and sometimes 
 a rich mazarine-blue, pea-flower. When in full 
 bloom, these plants add greatly to the beauty of the 
 compounds. The " morning's glory," a majestic 
 description of convolvulus, wraps itself, after the 
 conclusion of the rainy season, round the palms, and 
 perfectly enchants you by its exquisite colours, as its 
 blossoms swing from the crowned top. This island, 
 like Bombay and many others in its neighbourhood, 
 was originally covered with dense forests of the 
 cocoa-palm and other trees, but they have been 
 cleared away in many places, to make room for 
 public buildings, roads, &c 
 
THE TAILOR WARBLER. 223 
 
 In one of the delicious compounds of Colabah^ I 
 had an opportunity of examining, for the first time, 
 the nest of the "tailor warbler." A pair of these 
 interesting little birds had selected the large leaf of 
 a plant growing in a stand close to the porch of a 
 bungalow, and having curiously drawn the edges of 
 the leaf, three or four inches above the foot-stalk, 
 together, had secured them effectually in that 
 position, by sewing them with some fine vegetable 
 fibre ; thus forming a cone, in which they had 
 deposited their nest, which was a beautiful specimen 
 of bird -architecture, composed chiefly of cotton-wool, 
 and of other soft downy materials, carefully inter- 
 woven together. The nest was not entirely con- 
 cealed, for a portion of its rim was so contrived as 
 to hang over the side, and thus give additional 
 support to the fabric when occupied. The leaf, 
 though thus confined, appeared to be healthy ; for 
 instinct had taught its little tenants not to wound 
 with their bills, when sewing it, the large arteries 
 which nourished it. . These little birds were carefully 
 protected by the lady of the house, who took a great 
 interest in their welfare ; and the servant had strict 
 orders to avoid, as much as possible, disturbing the 
 female, particularly during the process of incubation. 
 They succeeded, to the joy of every one, and par- 
 ticularly of myself, in bringing forth a young family ; 
 
224 CHEAP ARRACK. 
 
 but with the ill fortune of many pets of this descrip- 
 tion, that have sought the protection of man, they did 
 not escape the prying eyes of a large Persian cat, 
 which belonged to some old bachelor near. One 
 morning a terrible chirping and fluttering was heard, 
 and my friend, suspecting the cause, ran into the 
 garden. Alas I she was too late ! Puss had 
 scampered off across the grounds with one of the 
 young birds in her mouth ; the leaf was broken, and 
 the remaining birds had died from the fall. The 
 nest and leaf were dried and carefully preserved, as 
 furnishing a curiosity for friends at home. 
 
 Colabah has been selected as the site for a lunatic 
 asylum, and for barracks for the accommodation of 
 troops landing from England ; chiefly, because the 
 soldiers are here a good deal out of the way of 
 temptation, as drinking cannot be followed up in this 
 small island, with the facilities which are aff'orded 
 them in the fort and new town. Arrack and other 
 spirits are so cheap in India, that a man who has a 
 fancy for drinking, upon coming out to this country 
 is pretty certain to fall a victim to cholera, or to 
 some of the other diseases peculiar to the East ; and 
 in fact, the number of deaths that, resulting from 
 this vice alone, thin our European regiments, is very 
 great. T am tempted here to make an extract from 
 a report on this subject, addressed by Alexander 
 
A CAUSE OF DISEASE. 225 
 
 Thom, Esq., surgeon in her Majesty's 86th regiment, 
 to the Army Medical Board in London. 
 
 After tracing some of the predisposing causes to 
 the fearful mortality that attended this regiment, 
 which landed in Bombay during the wet season, July, 
 1842, and showing that forced marches, harassing 
 duty, encamping in tents, and vicissitudes of tempera- 
 ture, had, all and each, their share in the work of 
 death, Mr. Thom proceeds as follows : — " There is 
 another undeniable, and almost incalculable predis- 
 posing cause of disease, alike common in the 86th 
 and other European corps, in this and in other 
 garrisons in India ; viz., the use of raw and ardent 
 spirits. While I admit the extent of this evil, I do 
 not mean to say that it was greater in the 86th than 
 in any other corps. I have taken the trouble to 
 possess myself of information in figures on this sub- 
 ject, which satisfies me, that what I state is exactly 
 correct. The soldiers were allowed to obtain four 
 drams or Hots' of arrack, daily, the amount of which, 
 when put together, is about half a common bottle. 
 Tf a man does not exceed this, he thinks himself 
 temperate, and is considered so in his regiment. 
 Many, of course, do not avail themselves of this 
 indulgence, but there are few who do not take two 
 drams daily. Day by day this practice is followed 
 by too many men, and permitted.'^ 
 
 Q 
 
226 CHOLERA AND ITS VICTIMS. 
 
 These men, as we find from the report from 
 which I have made an extract, were the greatest 
 sufferers from cholera, in this and other regiments, 
 to which Mr. Thorn alludes ; though, he says, that he 
 does not mean to infer that inebriety was in every 
 case visited by this scourge of the Efist. The 
 soldiers suffered most ; their wives next ; the chil- 
 dren and officers still less ; while ladies had a total 
 exemption from this fearful malady. Had it been, 
 as he observes, contagious, all were equally liable to 
 its attacks ; in fact, scarcely an officer's compound 
 entirely escaped it ; yet, out of forty-two ladies living 
 in a cantonment at Kurrachee, only one had a slight 
 and doubtful attack of cholera, and not one died. 
 This he attributes to temperance ; to the absence of 
 fatigue and night marches ; and to living in cool and 
 well-ventilated bungalows ; seeing that these ladies 
 were subject, in common with the soldiers, to the 
 same atmospheric changes ; and that it was certainly 
 not their sex which protected them, as the soldiers' 
 wives suffered severely. 
 
 The East India Company have erected, on Cola- 
 bah, comfortal>le buildings, for the benefit of invalid 
 officers who may require sea air or sea bathing. 
 These buildings are called the " sick bungalows," 
 and are enclosed in a spacious compound. Close to 
 the principal entrance is a jack- tree, much decayed, 
 
, BEAUTIFUL SHELLS. 227 
 
 and supposed to be one of the oldest trees now- 
 standing on any of these islands. About half a 
 mile to the south of the sick bungalow, and adjoin- 
 ing the parade-ground, is a neat little thatched 
 chapel, where the English service is performed; 
 but all who wish to avail themselves of it must 
 bring their own chairs, as it does not contain any 
 seats. I went two or three times, and heard pleasing 
 discourses from the Rev. Mr. Pigot, the gentleman 
 who usually officiates there. 
 
 A few old Mohammedan tombs still rear their 
 domed roofs among the cocoa-nut trees ; and some 
 very ancient Portuguese houses, crumbling into ruins, 
 recall to memory the wealthy merchants who once 
 occupied these islands, and the heavily-laden Spanish 
 galleons that were wont to sail from these shores, 
 to enrich the nobles of Spain, or to gild the palaces 
 of the Venetians. 
 
 The sea-shore here was a favourite morning 
 ramble of mine ; and the collecting of the variety 
 of beautiful shells, which here abound, afforded me 
 amusement and instruction. The shells are literally 
 thrown up in heaps by the tide ; though the large 
 leopard-cowrie was the only one of any size which 
 I met here. There were numbers of the acorn, 
 spine, variegated cockle, spiral, snail, and bivalve 
 shells ; madripores, scipio or cuttle-fish bones, 
 
228 THE LAND-CRAB. , 
 
 pumice-stone, and many interesting marine produc- 
 tions, that enabled me to fill a good-sized box in 
 a few days. The small cowries are sought after 
 here by the natives ; for in many parts of India 
 they still pass current for money ; and to say a 
 thing is not worth a cowrie, is a common bazaar 
 expression. Cowries vary in value in different 
 places. At Calcutta — 
 
 4 cowries are equal to 1 gunda. 
 20 gundas - - - 1 pon. 
 32 pons - - - 1 current rupee, or 2560 cowries. 
 
 A curious species of land-crab infested the shores 
 of Colabah. I fancy these crabs must have been 
 the occypodeSf or swift- footed crab, of the naturalist ; 
 if not, they well deserved the name. Hundreds 
 might be seen at a time, in the morning and even- 
 ing, hunting about for any s£ray food that the sea 
 or the fisherman might have left. When disturbed, 
 they ran with incredible swiftness, holding high 
 above their bodies two extended claws, which they 
 would knock together with a singular sound, as if 
 to intimidate their enemies. As they ran into holes 
 which they had formed in the bank, that gently 
 shelved down to the shore, I used sometimes to 
 perplex them, by placing a stone over the entrance 
 of their holes, and giving chase to the excluded 
 
BISHOP HEBER. 229 
 
 owner. Upon finding that his own door was closed 
 against him, he would remain stationary for a 
 second or two, as if determining what to do next ; 
 then he would start off, and bolt down the first hole 
 in his road. If it chanced to be already occupied, 
 the lawful tenant and the intruder soon re-appeared 
 upon the surface, and a fierce fight ensued. 
 
 The body of these curious and amusing crabs, 
 which are of a light brown colour, and much about 
 the same size, is about an inch long, and almost 
 spherical in shape. They have, beside their claws, 
 four delicate long legs on each side, each armed with 
 a sort of hook. The claws are small and long, and 
 capable of grasping and carrying firmly a very large 
 substance. The eyes are protuberant and horny, 
 like those of the common salt-water crab. I am 
 inclined to think, that these crabs are the same 
 which Bishop Heber met with near Poonah, and 
 which are thus described by him : — 
 
 " The plain of Poonah is very bare of trees ; and 
 though there are some gardens immediately around 
 the city, yet as both these and the city itself are in 
 a small hollow on the banks of the river Moolah, 
 they are not sufiiciently conspicuous to interrupt the 
 general character of nakedness in the picture, any 
 more than the few young trees and ornamental 
 shrubs with which the bungalows of the cantonment 
 
•230 OBSERVATIONS ON CRABS. 
 
 are intermingled. The principal and most pleasing 
 feature is a small insulated bill, immediately over 
 the town, with the temple of the goddess Parvati 
 on its summit, and a large tank (which, when I saw 
 it, was nearly dry), at its base. All the grass-land 
 round this tank, and generally through the Deccan, 
 swarms with a small land-crab, which burrows in 
 the ground, and runs with considerable swiftness, 
 even when encumbered with a bundle of food almost 
 as big as itself This food is grass, or the green 
 stalks of rice ; and it is amusing to see them sitting 
 as it were upright, to cut their hay with their sharp 
 pincers, and then waddling off with their sheaf to 
 their holes, as quickly as their sidelong pace will 
 carry them." 
 
 As it has been commonly supposed that all land- 
 crabs retire at certain seasons of the year to the 
 sea-side to deposit their eggs in salt water, Mr. 
 Broderip has made an interesting observation re- 
 specting the land-crabs spoken of by Bishop Heber. 
 In the fourth volume of the Zoological Journal, he 
 says, that " when we call to mind the position of 
 Poonah, and read of the neighbouring river and 
 tank, we may feel inclined to ask whether the river 
 or the tank might not be the scene of ovipositing ; " 
 and he adds, that "it is not improbable that there 
 may be a race of land-crabs appropriated to con- 
 
PROVISION OF NATURE. 231 
 
 tinental or even insular situations, out of reach of 
 the ocean, and that fresh water may be as necessary 
 to their re- production as sea- water is to the land- 
 crabs of the West Indies. Such a supposition," he 
 thinks, " is in unison with the bountiful provisions of 
 Nature for the general diffusion of animal life." 
 
 Bidding adieu to the land-crabs and to Colabah, 
 we will now turn our attention to some of the 
 natives, who, in the way of their respective occu- 
 pations, minister so largely to an Englishman's 
 comfort and happiness in India ; and whose useful 
 services may be said to be indispensable in every 
 bungalow. 
 
232 SERVANTS IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 "I have known cases in which a kind-hearted woman 
 would have esteemed herself robbed of a privilege, if her 
 lover had asked any other person than herself so much as to 
 mend his glove ; yet is it not impossible for the same woman 
 two years after marriage, to say — * My sister, or my cousin, 
 will do that for you. I am too busy now,' " 
 
 Mrs. Ellis's " Women of England." 
 
 Man is every where a dependent creature, constantly 
 looking to others for support and assistance ; and 
 I scarcely know of any country where he feels this 
 dependence more than in India. In the case of an 
 Englishman, the climate alone is sufficient to produce 
 this effect. The domestic establishment of a wealthy 
 merchant is not thought to be complete unless he 
 have eighteen or twenty paid servants in his employ. 
 This display of slaves, as they are absurdly called 
 (for a man cannot be a slave who is master of his 
 
DIVIDED INTO THREE CLASSES. 233 
 
 own liberty, and properly remunerated for his 
 services), does not arise from any particular love of 
 having a great show of these people in your pay, but 
 simply from the circumstance that the individual 
 services of each cannot be dispensed with. Nearly 
 half your servants are kept entirely as palanquin- 
 bearers, and men to look after your horses and 
 carriages. 
 
 The servants who reside on your premises may 
 be divided into three distinct classes — Portuguese, 
 Hindoos, and Mohammedans ; in order that one man 
 may be useful, when another's religion will not allow 
 him to be so. Each has his separate work allotted 
 to him j and with this understanding they get on 
 very well together. Your Mohammedan servants 
 will not clean your boots, because the brushes are 
 made of the bristles of the hateful animal ; your 
 Hindoo servants will not touch a plate or dish that 
 has been defiled by yourself or by a Portuguese ; 
 and hence arises the necessity of having servants of 
 different castes. 
 
 It was the custom formerly — perhaps as a matter 
 of fashion — for a family going out to India to take 
 with them a well-educated lady's-maid, who could 
 fulfil all the duties belonging to her station, and also, 
 when necessary, assist in the instruction of your 
 children. This of course could only be accomplished 
 
234 THE AYEH. 
 
 by a wealthy family, and involved a serious outlay 
 and responsibility. However, it was the fashion ; 
 and numbers of young females, often respectably 
 connected, thus found their way out to India. If 
 they were good-looking, they seldom remained six 
 months unmarried ; and even those least favoured in 
 outward attractions soon found a partner and a home 
 amidst the hundreds of single old gentlemen, who 
 wanted housekeepers rather than wives, to complete 
 their happiness in their adopted country. The con- 
 sequence of all this was, that English ladies got tired 
 of trying experiments which proved so costly. Ayehs 
 came into fashion, and ladies'-maids went out. 
 
 Your ayeh, or nurse, takes care of the children 
 in the day, and sleeps in the same room with them 
 at night. She is often a faithful creature, and re- 
 mains with you for life. She loves, to distraction, 
 your little ones ; and they return it, by scarcely ever 
 bearing to be out of her sight. Her affection becomes 
 so strong, that she will often relinquish every tie that 
 binds her to her native land, to follow you and the 
 objects of her unconquerable attachment. She 
 teaches your children little Indian songs and tales, 
 many of which are very beautiful ; and it is marvel- 
 lous how soon they pick up from her the language 
 of the country, acting as they often do as little in- 
 terpreters to their parents. The ayeh spends all her 
 
THE DOBIE. 235 
 
 spare money, if not prevented, in buying little missey 
 and massa Poonali and Surat toys and sweetmeats. 
 Her idle hours are passed in the manufacture of 
 elephants, lions, and tigers, out of cloth, and stuffed 
 with saw-dust or sandal-wood powder, as rewards to 
 the children for good behaviour. She can use her 
 needle, but prefers sitting on the floor and teaching 
 your eldest boy how to make a turban out of his 
 father's red sash, or her own sarree. The ayeh has 
 often the entire care of the Anglo-Indian family, 
 where the mother has been taken away from among 
 them. The one I have sketched here was so situated. 
 She was an old woman, and had grown grey and 
 wrinkled in her master's service. The little ones 
 called her " mother," the elder children " ayeh dear," 
 for she had been a kind nurse to all of them. " She 
 is a fine character," said the widowed Dr. Y. to me 
 one day, " and the only person I have about me that 
 I can really trust." Many are the bitter tears often 
 shed, when circumstances compel you to leave behind 
 the poor ayeh, who has nursed the rising family, 
 now about to sail for England. 
 
 The djobie, or washerman, you may engage at so 
 much a month, according to the number or the 
 wants of your family. He comes to your bungalow 
 once a week, and brings with him his own servants 
 to carry away the articles upon which he is to 
 
236 THE WASHERMAN. 
 
 exercise his detergent art ; you give him a list of 
 them, which list your musshall reads over to him in 
 Hiudostanee ; he marking it off in his own way, and 
 you keeping another list yourself. If your family is 
 a numerous one, there is a mountain heap awaiting 
 him at the end of the week ; for the preservation of 
 health demands, especially during the hot season, 
 perpetual change of raiment. 
 
 The dobie takes your belongings out about a mile 
 into the country, where there are some large washing- 
 tanks provided ; and after having dipped them in a 
 description of bleaching liquid, he and his men set to 
 work to beat them on stones, till fully cleansed. 
 After this process, they are passed through fresh 
 water, and spread out to dry in the sun ; a work 
 which occupies but a few minutes, and which makes 
 them snowy white. Of course, the beating process, 
 which is carried on for some time, soon destroys 
 your garments ; buttons fly about in all directions, 
 and hooks and eyes are for ever separated. The 
 articles are then taken home to be ironed, which is 
 done by passing over them, in the usual manner, a 
 square brass box, filled with heated stones and char- 
 coal embers. Such things as require starching, or 
 what ladies call " getting up," are dipped into a 
 curious farinaceous compound, called conjee, and pre- 
 pared from arrow-root and rice. Nor is the Indian 
 
HIS HONESTY. 237 
 
 dobie ignorant of the mysteries of stiffening lace, 
 cambric, &c., only he never puts any blue into 
 his preparations ; water and everything else is a 
 dead white ; and, in consequence, everything on 
 which he exercises his skill soon turns yellow, like 
 the lace once thought so valuable. 
 
 As the destruction of buttons, &c., is carried on, 
 on a ruinous scale, studs are used in India wherever 
 the substitution is practicable. They can be pur- 
 chased from the native jewellers, finely executed in 
 gold, silver, or Cambay pebbles. 
 
 It is seldom that the dobie loses any of your 
 apparel, for his eye soon becomes familiar with your 
 private mark on them ; and until this is the case, you 
 may expect to receive occasionally the property of 
 others. His caste has the reputation of honesty ; 
 but, as a precautionary measure, the old Anglo- 
 Indian strongly advises you always to have a 
 month's pay in hand, in case of accident. I remem- 
 ber one, and I think only one, instance of dishonesty 
 on the part of this functionary ; and it occurred in 
 the house in which I resided, and which contained a 
 number of boarders. Among other things, some 
 very valuable French lace was carried off, and never 
 recovered. Information was quickly given to the 
 police, but the man of suds had decamped from the 
 island, taking away with him a large amount of 
 
238 THE PA WNEY- WALLAH. 
 
 property belonging to six other frmilies. The loss of 
 my landlord was about twenty pounds. 
 
 There is manufactured in Bombay a particular 
 kind of soap, which has the useful property of 
 enabling you to use sea-water for cleansing purposes ; 
 and which consequently is much prized by sailors, 
 who seldom fail to lay in a stock of it for their 
 voyage home. 
 
 The bheestie, or pawney-wcdlah (^jKiwiiey, water — 
 vxdlah, man), supplies your bungalow every morning 
 with fresh water. He brings it in the skin of a 
 sheep sowed up, with one leg left for a spout ; the 
 whole being secured by a leathern cord slung over 
 the left shoulder. He is a gentleman who stands 
 upon very little ceremony with you, and hurries 
 from one room to another, to fill the bath, chatties, 
 and jugs, whether the apartments be occupied or 
 not. His visits are paid very early in the morning, 
 so that you may have the water as cool as possible ; 
 and he troubles himself not at all as to whether you 
 are in bed or out of it — married or single. In he 
 rushes, dripping wet, and leaving behind him a 
 stream of the precious fluid ; for his skins are always 
 bad ones, and out gushes the water into your vessels, 
 and away he hurries to the next room. 
 
 Sometimes, indeed, you meet with a polite pawney- 
 wallah; one who will give a grunt outside your 
 
HONI SOIT, ETC. 239 
 
 door, as a sort of warning for you to be prepared 
 for him ; but this is so rare, that you soon become 
 accustomed to this sudden intrusion ; I have seen 
 persons newly arrived in this country furiously 
 enraged with these unceremonious water-purveyors, 
 on such occasions ; but it is a folly, as they never 
 can understand a word you say ; but strangers, who 
 do not know the language, always appear to forget 
 this. The bheestie is so much in the habit of find- 
 ing people in bed, that he seldom takes the trouble 
 to look at them. If he suspects that you are 
 rising, he may give two or three grunts, but you 
 cannot detain him long — aware, as you are, of the 
 many leaks from his antiquated sheep-skin. English 
 ladies in India are obliged to conquer, in some 
 degree, their fine sensibilities in such matters. 
 Liable as they are to perpetual intrusions of this 
 kind, they soon become indifferent to the customs 
 of the country, and appear practically to recognize 
 the good sense of Edward the Third's well-known 
 motto. 
 
 The pawney-wallah is a man upon whom you 
 must keep a sharp eye. He is not to be trusted 
 alone in an apartment containing small portable 
 articles ; and it is the duty of the muscalche, or 
 table servant, to attend him in his progress over 
 your bungalow. A friend of mine having occasion 
 
240 A CASE OP THEFT. 
 
 to leave her room for a few moments one morning, 
 perceived, upon her return, that a very attractive 
 Delhi brooch had been removed from her toilette- 
 table. The servants were summoned ; and suspicion 
 was immediately fixed uj)on the bheestie, who, having 
 been in the room during her temporary absence, was 
 ordered back, to give an account of himself. Of 
 course he most stoutly denied having touched the 
 missing article. He prostrated himself on the 
 ground, callii»g upon a variety of gods, celestial and 
 terrestrial, to prove his innocence. His luimmerband 
 was removed, and his slippers were shaken, and 
 bis mouth examined; but no brooch was to be 
 found ; and he was about to be dismissed as inno- 
 cent of the theft, when an accidental derangement 
 of Ins turban, in the hurry of departure, caused the 
 lost trinket to fall to the floor. The man was sent 
 down to the bazaar-master, and punished ; and was 
 banished from the district, as a warning to other 
 evil-doers. 
 
 It should, however, be considered, that, as a class, 
 water-carriers are often exposed to great tempta- 
 tions, through the culpable carelessness of indi- 
 viduals, or their servants ; nor do they often take 
 advantage of their many opportunities of pilfering. 
 Moreover, their civility and willingness to oblige you 
 at all hours, together with their low charges, render 
 
THE DEEGIE. 241 
 
 them favourites ; and the grunting bheestie is looked 
 for as regularly every morning at daybreak, as the 
 cold bath which it is his duty to replenish. 
 
 The dergie, or the plain-sewing man, does all 
 your needlework, sitting cross-legged under your 
 verandah. He executes his work beautifully, but 
 must have a pattern to copy ; which pattern, indeed, 
 if not watched, he is apt to copy too exactly; having 
 been known to introduce a patch into the back of 
 an officer's new uniform, in imitation of a similar 
 disfigurement in the garment sent for a pattern. 
 The dergie is the comfort of all ladies who, in their 
 foreign home, either will not, or cannot, ply the 
 needle for themselves. Happy is the man in India 
 who is blest with a wife who will hefself look to the 
 condition of his cotton socks, and other similar 
 matters. I know the blame is always thrown upon 
 the climate and the heat ; and it would be un- 
 reasonable to be vefry irate, even though the dergie 
 sHicmld have every week a basket or two full of 
 collars or wristbands to patch up ; yet, I have often 
 thought, home might have more charms than it 
 appears to have to the Anglo-Indian lady, and 
 the external world less demands upon her time. 
 How often does a wife, who was careful about many 
 things at home — I speak of that necessary care 
 which does not come under condemnation — shake 
 
 B 
 
242 THE NEEDLEMAN. 
 
 off all her responsibilities as it respects domestic 
 matters, and fall an easy prey to the indolent habits 
 and self-indulgent customs of this idle country. 
 
 " India," said a lady to me one day in Bombay, 
 " is a sad school for young wives, and a wretched 
 one for poor husbands." 
 
 The dergie is considered by good judges to be 
 a beautiful needleman ; and there are very few 
 articles of dress that he is not able to make up 
 satisfactorily from a pattern. He is honest, and, like 
 many other natives of the East, easily instructed ; 
 and he works very quickly with an awkward ivory 
 thimble, pushing the needle from him, instead of 
 towards him. He never fixes his work by means of 
 a pin, but keeps it on the stretch, by holding one 
 end of it tightly between the soles of his feet. As 
 he works, he hums some low-toned ditty, and looks 
 the picture of contentment. He usually sits near 
 your drawing-room door, upon a mat, which he 
 spreads out to keep all clean and tidy. His turban 
 he converts into a pincushion ; in a hole in the 
 centre of it he deposits the wax with which he 
 liberally coats every needleful of the thread which he 
 uses. The beating process already mentioned affords 
 him plenty of business. 
 
 The dergie is singularly good-tempered. I have 
 seen a lady box his ears — perhaps in a fit of ab- 
 
GHEE. 243 
 
 stractlon — for doing his work amiss. He took the 
 affront very good-humouredly, laughed, and appeared 
 amused by the onset of the wrathful fair one ; merely 
 saying, as, with the greatest composure, he sat down 
 again, to unpick the offending work, " Madam very 
 angry this time with poor dergie ; but me do it over 
 again, and please angry madam next time, hopes." 
 The dergie, who comes to you about eight o'clock in 
 the morning, brings with him his little brass chattee 
 full of his own particular drinking water, and a few 
 parched grains of corn that have been fried in ghee;''' 
 
 * Ghee is a description of clarified butter daily used by 
 the natives of Hindostan, and fonns an important article of 
 traffic through a great part of Central India. The manner 
 of preparing it is curious. Each district has, I believe, its 
 own receipt ; but the one in common use is as follows. The 
 new milk must be boiled in an earthen pot for two or three 
 hours, after which it is allowed to stand till quite cool, when 
 a little sour milk {tyre) is added to assist in the coagulation. 
 Next day the whole of the milk will be found sufficiently 
 coagulated, when the upper part, to the depth of five or 
 six inches, is to be taken from the mass and put into a clean 
 earthen jar to be churned. After churning for about half 
 an hour, a little boiling water is added, when, after a little 
 more churning, the butter separates. The butter so col- 
 lected is kept until it becomes rancid, when salt and betel- 
 leaf are added, and then it is potted for use. Churning is 
 a very simple process in the East. A split bamboo is turned 
 round quickly by the hand in the milk, and continued until 
 the butter forms. English families have their butter churned 
 in a bottle with a bamboo through the cork of it; the 
 bottle is shaken with the milk for half an hour. 
 
244 THE MEETA AND METRANE. 
 
 and on these viands he dines at one o'clock. After 
 this humble repast, he cleanses his mouth most 
 carefully ; gathers a little branch from any neigh- 
 bouring tree ; forms the end of it into a sort of 
 brush ; and passes another half hour in polishing 
 with this instrument his pearly teeth. He then taps 
 his forehead two or three times, as if ])le8sing him- 
 self, and again sits down upon his mat, to pore over 
 his quiet work, until the sun goes down, and the 
 shadows of night bid him depart. Such is the 
 native dergie, whose portrait I have sketched from 
 an old friend, who had worked for years for the 
 family with whom I resided. He was a great 
 favourite, and a type of his caste. 
 
 The services of the ineeta and metraiie, male and 
 female sweepers, or, as they are commonly called, 
 jarra-waUaJis, are indispensable in every bungalow. 
 A few words respecting these poor despised people 
 may not prove uninteresting to my readers. They 
 excite our sympathy, because they are poor, and 
 have been scouted for ages, nay, abhorred, in India, 
 in consequence of their supposed unfortunate birth 
 and lack of caste. Those who have interested them- 
 selves in the early history of the Chandalas (for 
 these people are members of this tribe), maintain, 
 that they were originally the oflfspring of a Sudra 
 and a woman of the haughty Brahmin caste. Hence 
 
THEIR DUTIES. 245 
 
 arose the intense dislike which all the Hindoos 
 entertain towards them. They are forbidden to 
 reside in towns, or in any way to associate with 
 those of caste. Their chief occupation consists in 
 carrying away the dead to their place of burning or 
 burial; in removing the daily accumulations of 
 pestilential refuse matter, that poison the approach 
 to most houses in the native villages ; in digging 
 graves for the carcases of dead animals; in executing 
 criminals ; and, in fact, in the most menial and 
 disgusting occupations in which a man can be 
 engaged. 
 
 The meeta is a sort of hanger-on about your 
 bungalow, and pays his first visit early in the morn- 
 ing, armed with a couple of short-handled brushes, 
 made out of the dried leaves of the plantain, or 
 date-palm tree. He walks round to that side of 
 your dwelling usually occupied as sleeping-passages 
 by your domestics, and if they are not astir, he 
 announces his arrival by running the handle of his 
 brush up and down the Venetian shutters outside ; 
 thus producing a noise not unlike a watchman's 
 rattle, and generally effectual to the awakening of 
 all the sleepers in the neighbourhood. He sweeps 
 out your rooms in conjunction with the metrane ; 
 the latter performing all the lowest duties of. a 
 chamber-maid; duties which your ayeh, from reli- 
 
246 LOSING CASTE. 
 
 gious motives, will not undertake. Having finished 
 matters within your house, they adjourn to the 
 stables, where they remove from your horses their 
 soiled litter, which, for similar reasons to those which 
 actuated your ay eh, your horse-keepers refuse to 
 touch. Your cooking-houses, and the approaches 
 to your bungalow, are also swept ; this being a duty 
 which your molly, or gardener, in like manner, 
 refuses to perform. They bring with them a num- 
 ber of baskets, to receive and carry away the 
 rub))ish ; placing one on the top of another, and 
 carrying away a pillar of them on their heads ; a 
 feat which it is worth rising early to witness, for it 
 is marvellous to see how nicely they poise them. 
 
 Your other servants avoid these poor people as 
 much as possible ; for they will lose caste, they say, 
 if seen even to converse with them ; to touch them 
 is thought to be pollution of the very vilest descrip- 
 tion. They appear, from what I could collect 
 respecting them, to be a quiet race of persons, who 
 gain an honest livelihood in the houses of the 
 wealthy ; though the small sum which they receive 
 from each employer per day, would excite the 
 contempt of many a street-sweeper in England. 
 A coarse muslin wTapper round the loins, and falling 
 as low as the knee, where it is tucked up, and a 
 small white turban, flat from carrying weights upon 
 
THE GHARRY-WALLAH. 247 
 
 it, constitute the whole of the costume worn by 
 these useful, thouofh despised people, who add so 
 much to the comfort of John Bull and his children 
 in India. 
 
 Your gJiarry -wallah, or horse-keeper, lives in the 
 stable with your horses ; and it is not unusual to find 
 him, if you peep in at night, fast asleep with his 
 family, by the side of the Arabian. He is a hard- 
 working man, and has to attend you when out 
 visiting. If you are on horseback, he runs after 
 you, and always carries a choivrie, or whisk of hairs, 
 in his hand, to keep the flies off the animal. If you 
 run a carriage, you put him in livery, and he sits 
 behind you on the step ; on such occasions he boasts 
 of being your syce, or groom. These stable-men are, 
 generally speaking, an obstinate race ; and it is a 
 difficult matter to persuade them to undertake the 
 care of more than one horse. Horses in India always 
 when in stable have the hinder-legs tethered to a 
 stake driven into the ground ; for they are so tor- 
 mented by insects, that it is dangerous to approach 
 them, unless secured in this manner. As the gharry- 
 wallah and your horses live upon the same sort of 
 corn (gram), you must see the latter fed yourself, 
 every day, to ensure them getting their proper allow- 
 ance, for you can place no confidence in these native 
 servants when out of your sight. 
 
248 THE NATIVE GOLDSMITH. 
 
 If you want to have an article of jewellery made 
 or repaired, you send for the goldsmith to come and 
 put all to rights. He brings with him his little char- 
 coal furnace, crucibles, and blow-pipe — in fact every- 
 thing necessary to melt, mould, or mend ; and it is 
 customary to supply yourself with the gold or silver, 
 which may be requisite for such operations, and 
 which may be readily purchased ; the current coin of 
 the country answering very well, where there is any 
 difficulty in procuring the precious metals. It is 
 excessively amusing to watch the native goldsmith, 
 as he is seated by the fire, and going through the 
 various processes connected with the fusing, or per- 
 haps purifying, of the metals. He fans his embers 
 up into a red heat with only a common punkah, 
 which he uses very dexterously. His working-tools 
 are curious, and complicated in their construction, 
 but appear to be well adapted for the purposes in- 
 tended, and satisfy you at once that they were 
 originally designed by no common minds. Not any 
 of the tools that I saw are copies of those manu- 
 factured in Birmingham or Sheffield ; which, seeing 
 that there are such large importations of these useful 
 instruments into India every year, may seem sur- 
 prising. The native goldsmith prefers working with 
 tools of Indian manufacture. He is accustomed 
 to them from long use, and the shape is religiously 
 
v*. 
 
 -v" 
 
 HIS VALUABLE STOCK. 249 
 
 preserved. Thev suit the feeble grasp of his delicate 
 hand, and though he gets on slowly with some of 
 them, yet time is not to him so valuable as to our 
 industrious artizan. He is skilful, and can set you 
 atones very neatly ; or make from a copy, chains, 
 rings, or brooches, if the pattern be not very difficult. 
 The native jeweller is also a cutter and polisher of 
 diamonds, though he cuts them unscientifically, from 
 the want of proper machinery. Consequently, Indian- 
 cut diamonds are but little esteemed at home j and 
 when they are valuable, and will bear it, are re-cut 
 before they are sent into the London market. Trin- 
 kets and all sorts of jewellery being so much worn 
 by the Indian ladies, our artist makes one of a 
 numerous class, who carry on a very profitable trade 
 in every town and village throughout Hindostan. 
 From him may be purchased the most costly gems, 
 and though to all appearances a poor man, he will 
 often, should you express a wish to purchase any of 
 these adult playthings, pull out from under his gown 
 a dirty roll of linen, in which he has folded an amount 
 of treasure that astonishes you, when spread out to 
 view. Here is a bit of brown paper, with a diamon 
 wrapped up in it, worth fifty pounds ; there a ruby 
 that graced the brow of some maharajah ; in another, 
 a portrait of some old king of Delhi, exquisitely 
 painted, and surrounded by brilliants ; in another fold. 
 
250 THE GOLDSMITH AT WORK. 
 
 fastened by a piu, is a nose ornament, set with mag- 
 nificent emeralds. He shows you a ring of plain 
 gold ; you examine it, and see nothing particular 
 about it ; he smiles, touches a spring — and the ring 
 falls to pieces, and forms a necklace two yards long, 
 that can be returned at pleasure into its originally 
 small compass. You perhaps want to buy a Trin- 
 chinopoly chain from him ; he does not keep them, 
 but says, "he can make you one very like." He 
 squats himself down in a corner of your room ; un- 
 winds from his neck some hundred yards or so of 
 fine gold wire ; cuts it into proper lengths ; ftistens 
 sixteen or eighteen ends together ; and in a few hours 
 bows himself into your presence, with the chaiu 
 finished, and all plaited by the nimble fingers of the 
 little dusty, dirty man, whom perhaps you had sent 
 for to solder your teapot-lid. 
 
 If you supply him with gold or silver when doing 
 anything, it is very necessary to watch him closely, 
 as he is, like too many of his countrymen, given to 
 pilfering. I remember a case in point. A friend of 
 nine had some old epaulettes, which he wished to 
 ave melted down, just for the sake of the silver 
 which they contained, and with which he desired to 
 have some trinkets repaired. The village jeweller 
 was sent for, the same man I have taken the liberty 
 of sketching here. He set to work in the usual way, 
 
AN INDIAN TRICK. 251 
 
 and when the wire was in a fused state, he pulled 
 out a small phial containing a powerful acid, of 
 which he was just going to pour some into the 
 crucible, when my friend arrested his arm, and told 
 him that the acid was quite unnecessary, and the trick 
 not a new one to him. I was a little surprised, and 
 asked, after the jeweller's departure, for an explana- 
 tion. The fact is, that when these artists cannot rob 
 you, as they always will do, if possible, of a portion 
 of the precious metal, they, as a last chance, pop 
 into the molten mass a little acid, which causes it 
 to boil over, — apparently to their great sorrow ; but 
 when they return home, they search the cinders into 
 which the gold or silver has run, and, in this cunning 
 way, rob you before your eyes. 
 
252 SIR JAMSETJEE JEEJEBHOY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 *' As Eastern priests in giddy circles run, 
 And turn their heads to imitate the sun." 
 
 Having made some allusion to the Giaours, Guebres, 
 Sabrians, Parsees, or Fire-worsliippers — for they are 
 all one and the same people — it may, perhaps, not 
 prove uninteresting to those who are not very 
 familiar with the history of this strange sect, if T 
 introduce to their notice one of these remarkable 
 men, and add him to our list of national portraits. 
 But before we speak of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy 
 individually, it is necessary that we should take a 
 little journey into Persia. We shall not linger 
 among its rose gardens, for we must pass over sandy 
 deserts and lofty mountains, as fast as our camels 
 will carry us, until we cross the borders of Farsistan, 
 and enter the Province of Irak Agemi. whence a 
 
YEZD. 253 
 
 guide will conduct us to the caravan zera of Yezd, 
 and the city of which we are in search. 
 
 Yezd has long been celebrated for its manufactures. 
 We are delighted with its porcelain works, and long 
 to carry home with us some of those soft rugs and 
 carpets, so much sought after by the luxurious Turks, 
 to supply their harems. The hand- loom is busy at 
 work. Rich silks and showy cottons attract our 
 notice, as we ramble through the close and ill- 
 ventilated bazaars, and foreign merchants, in odd 
 costumes, crowd around us, and dispute the footpath 
 with us. " Dog of an infidel," cries one, as, elbow- 
 ing his way out of an opium shop, he puffs a cloud 
 of scented tobacco-smoke in our face. " By Allah, 
 that's a Giaour," says another. We have excited 
 curiosity. A short, plump, animal-looking Mussul- 
 man, armed with a little brief authority, taps us on 
 the shoulder, and demands our business in the city of 
 Yezd -y^ and if we cannot satisfactorily prove to him 
 
 * " The district of Yezd is, somewhat inconsistently, in a 
 geographical point of view, considered as belonging to Irak, 
 for it assuredly makes part of Khorasan. It is an oasis in 
 the vast desert which reaches from the Elburz to Kerman, 
 The city is built in a large sandy plain nearly encompassed 
 by hills; but a thinly-inhabited tract in which there are 
 several respectable towns and villages extending in the 
 direction of Ispahan, from which it lies due east. In spite of 
 the dryness of the soil and climate, the territory produces 
 
254 BLACK MAIL. 
 
 that we are neither Giaour nor Guebre, he insists 
 upon our paying him at once a sum of money varying 
 from five to fifty rupees, just as he may estimate our 
 ability to comply with his demands. 
 
 Such is the way in which these hated Moham- 
 medans levy their black mail upon all poor pilgrims 
 who annually resort hither to pay their vows at the 
 shrine of one whom they detest, and whose name has 
 become a by-word among them. The love of gain, 
 however, has long got the better of their religious 
 scruples ; and the fire, which Zoroaster is said to have 
 first kindled in the temple of Yezd, and which is fed 
 with costly wood night and day, by a few un- 
 believers, who are permitted to live in the city and 
 
 good fruits, silk, and com, but not enough of the latter to 
 serve more than forty days' consumption. Yezd, with all 
 these disadvantages, is among the most prosperous cities in 
 Persia ; and this it owes to its commerce and manufactures. 
 It is one of the great entrepots between east and west. 
 Caravans from Cabul, Cashmere, Bokhara, Herat, Mushed, 
 Kerman, are met by merchants from Ispahan, Shiraz, Cashan, 
 Teheran, and an immense interchange of commodities takes 
 place. On the other hand, its manufactiu-es of silk and 
 other stuffs, its felts, sugiu-candy and sweet-meats, command 
 a ready market everywhere. The population was stated to 
 Captain Christie to be about 50,000 souls, and among them 
 are 300 families of Guebres, or followers of Zoroaster, an 
 industrious and patient race, who in spite of a heavy taxation 
 turn their attention busily to trade and agriculture." — 
 Travels in Khorasan. 
 
SECTS OF FIRE-WORSHIPPERS. 255 
 
 keep it up, still continues to blaze in spite of per- 
 secution. In process of time these Fire-worshippers 
 became a dispersed people ; and Mohammedan 
 tyranny is said to have driven out thousands, 
 friendless and destitute, into foreign lands. Num- 
 bers of these poor exiles found a shelter in Guzerat. 
 Some were sold as slaves to different Indian princes ; 
 and after the death of their leader they were scattered 
 to the four winds of heaven. 
 
 Wherever they are now met with in Hindostan, 
 they tell you that they brought with them some of the 
 sacred fire that burns in one of Zoroaster's beloved 
 Atishgahs at Yezd ; that in their new home they 
 have erected a temple for its reception and honour ; 
 that DasturSj or priests, watch over it ; and that no 
 one of a faith different from theirs is permitted to 
 enter the sacred building. Here, however, as else- 
 where, the uneasy spirit of dissent has broken the 
 tender ties of kindred and country which originally 
 bound this persecuted sect together ; and the Fire- 
 worshippers of India are now divided and sub- 
 divided into many jarring parties. 
 
 The Rusmiz, not content with the doctrines which 
 Zoroaster taught them, have imbibed, from long 
 association, many of the popular superstitions of 
 their Hindoo neighbours. Thus, young people, 
 whom curiosity tempted at first to join as spectators, 
 
256 SUN-WORSHIP FORBIDDEN. 
 
 the gaudy and glittering ceremonials of Brahmanism, 
 grew up in time converts to it. 
 
 The Cadmiz alone boast of having preserved pure 
 the faith of their forefathers. It is unnecessary to 
 say, that their religion has sunk to an idolatrous 
 worship of the fire and sun : though a Parsee in 
 Bombay told me that he did not worship the sun ; 
 for that he knew to be folly ; but as the sun was the 
 most glorious thing which the Great Spirit had 
 created, he fixed his eyes upon it as he repeated his 
 Zendavista ; for he knew that God was behind it. 
 When I told him that God was everywhere, and that 
 he had especially forbidden man to bow do>vn and 
 worship the sun, and moon, and stars, and all the 
 host of heaven ; that nothing could displease Him 
 more than such worship^he was silent ; so I went 
 on, and told him, that one of the great objects Eng- 
 land and other christian countries had in view in 
 sending out missionaries to India, was to persuade 
 the Hindoo to forsake the worship of blocks of wood 
 and stone. 
 
 Here, he interrupted me ; and said in an excited 
 manner, that the Hindoos were a horrid and bad 
 people ; pointed out to me all their errors, and 
 appeared thankful that he was not one of them. So 
 prone are we to see the defects of our fellow-creatures, 
 while we shut our eyes to our own. 
 
A PUZZLING QUESTION. 257 
 
 I was about to remind him of the sacred fire which 
 he himself worshipped in the temple, when a sudden 
 thought seemed to flash across his mind. 
 
 ** You say," he observed, " that you send out 
 Padres to teach the Hindoos not to pray to wood 
 and stone ; how is it then, you have so many in 
 England who worship a figure in their temples, just 
 as the Portuguese do here ? but I cannot remember 
 the name they give it, or that of the woman, of whom 
 they have so many pictures, and about whom they 
 talk so much." 
 
 Nesserwanjee had here put to me a rather difficult 
 question. 
 
 I will not detain my reader with the answer which 
 I gave to his queries. I was at that time, like 
 himself, very young, and I can remember that I did 
 not satisfy him ; for I found it a topic very difficult 
 to discuss with one who was ignorant of the Word 
 of God and of the plan of salvation. Poor Nesser- 
 wanjee ! he came to see me almost every evening 
 to learn, as he said, all about the English, and the 
 customs of my native land ; and to practise upon 
 a piano-forte that belonged to a gentleman who 
 lived in the same house in which I resided, and who 
 had, to gratify and encourage native talent, kindly 
 taught him music. He had always a bunch of 
 mogree flowers for me in the top of his turban, for 
 
 S 
 
258 EVIL SPIRITS. 
 
 he knew they would please me. I think I still see 
 his fine handsome face full of smiles as he entered 
 my room, curious to find out if I could spare time 
 ''to talk a little with him." He was a dandy in his 
 dress; for the cotton robe usually worn by the 
 Parsees, he had substituted one made of exquisitely 
 fine cashmere ; the ordinary white socks had been 
 changed for open-worked silk-stockings, and the j)retty 
 little turned-up slippers had been cast aside for 
 heavy American shoes ; and all this was, as he said, 
 in order to be " like the English." 
 
 The Hindoos say that the Parsees of India are 
 outcasts of Persia, but this they indignantly deny, 
 though it is supposed that many of them were driven 
 out in the eighth century. The 29th of September 
 they celebrate in Bombay, as the commencement 
 of their new year, and the day also of their pro- 
 phet's birth. They have a curious way of disposing 
 of their dead. The body is carried out on an iron 
 frame, if a poor person, to one of the public dock- 
 rtiehs, or temples of silence, the bearers of the corpse 
 having their shoulders tied together by a sacred 
 cord, to scare away the gins, or evil spirits, who 
 delight, they say, to flit about the dead on their 
 passage to the tomb. A dog performs the same 
 duty when a Parsee is dying He sits in the sick 
 chamber, and thus, by his presence, scares away the 
 
ARTICLES OF FAITH. 25D 
 
 wicked demons from the bed. The " temples of 
 silence " are large cylindrical buildings, twenty-six 
 feet high, built of solid masonry, and open at the 
 top. They are some miles from the Fort in 
 Bombay, and many of the wealthy Guebres have 
 private temples of their own. Inclined planes slope 
 down from the walls of the interior, on which are 
 deposited the bodies, loosely wrapped in a linen gar- 
 ment ; and as the bones accumulate, they are thrown 
 into a well at the bottom, which has a communication 
 by a subterranean passage, to enable a person to 
 creep in and remove them when the pit is too full. 
 The bodies so exposed are soon torn to pieces by the 
 fowls of the air, and it is in Persia considered a 
 happy omen if the right eye is devoured first by the 
 carrion vulture. 
 
 The Parsees believe that our earth, with its in- 
 habitants, is under the control of the ruling spirits 
 known as Oramanes and Arimanes. Oramanes, or 
 Ormuzd, as he is sometimes called, is worshipped as 
 the originator of all that is good and pure, in heaven 
 and earth; while Arimanes, or Ahriman, is thought 
 to be continually engaged in the dissemination of 
 evil. In the Zendavista, which is one of their 
 rituals of devotion, the resurrection is confidently 
 spoken of; fifty years will be occupied in judgment 
 of the human race. Fire, earth, air, water, are each 
 
260 SACRED FIRE. 
 
 to yield up the portion they possess of the body 
 of man, which, they say, as soon as he dies, enters 
 into these elements ; the soul will be re-united to its 
 earthly body, and the juice of the plant Hom, and 
 the milk of a certain bull, will recall the wandering 
 spirit to its home, and man will then live again, and 
 throughout all eternity. Wicked men have, by their 
 doctrine, to undergo a sort of purgatory — a horrible 
 suffering for three thousand years — when Ormuzd 
 will have mercy on them, and permit them to enter 
 into heaven. Ahriman, with all his demons, will 
 in the end be converted, and worship, as ministering 
 angels, the Great Spirit. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the Parsees have no temples 
 for worshipping in. Their temple is the world ; and 
 fire and light, air and water, have each a peculiar 
 adoration paid to them. The atishgah, or fire- 
 temple, is only to protect the sacred flame from 
 extinction or defilement. As fire is worshipped, they 
 never make an improper use of it. For this reason, 
 a fire once lighted in a house is never extinguished, 
 though they will now, I believe, put out the flames of 
 a burning house. They will not use fire-arms ; and 
 I remember a Parsee, from whom I had purchased 
 some cheroots, refusing to give me fire to light one 
 of them. "My religion will not permit me," he 
 said. Many of the devout Parsees, though they 
 
INTELLIGENCE OF THE PARSEES. 261 
 
 have both money and inclination to travel by sea, 
 and visit foreign countries, will not do so, fearing 
 they should, in a long voyage, pollute the waters 
 they hold so sacred. A holy water, called zor, is 
 used by them in driving away bad spirits, and a 
 drop of the venerated juice already spoken of as 
 restoring life to man, is put into the mouth of the 
 new-born babe, and of the dying man, to cleanse 
 them from all impurities. The investiture of young 
 people with the sacred cord and shirt, as a shield 
 against Ahriman, is perhaps one of their most 
 solemn and interesting ceremonies. Altogether, 
 there is much superstition mixed up with their 
 religion, though we find that chastity, honesty, truth, 
 and charity, are required of them, and practised by 
 them. 
 
 Viewing the Fire-worshippers as a body, we 
 cannot but look upon them as an intelligent, and 
 even enlightened people, when compared with the 
 Hindoos. It may be thought presumption in me, 
 if not in any man, to venture to predict respecting 
 any particular sect in India, that before many years 
 have rolled by, it will be induced, through the 
 preaching of the gospel, to embrace Christianity ; 
 yet, I cannot but think, from what I have seen of 
 the Parsees, and of the great anxiety which they 
 have shown to educate their sons, and to have them 
 
262 PARSEE CONVERTS. 
 
 taught to read and write the English language, that 
 the day is not far distant when their sacred fires 
 will have died out, and when, instead of look- 
 ing, as they now do, to the genii of the elements 
 for protection, and to the sun as their mediator, 
 they will turn from the visible creature to the 
 Creator, and will look up only to Jesus, the sole 
 Mediator between God and man. 
 
 A gentleman in Bombay, who had the instruction 
 of several Parsee children, told me, that it was really 
 astonishing how soon they were taught to read and 
 write the English language ; and that he would 
 sooner teach half a dozen of these boys, than one 
 heav)' European lad. During my residence on that 
 island, there were two Parsee youths who had been 
 induced to embrace Christianity, in Bombay, through 
 the well-directed exertions of one of the Scotch 
 missionaries; but so bitter were the Fire-worshippers 
 against them, that their friends had driven them out, 
 and had denied them the common necessaries of 
 life. It was stated to me, that in consequence of 
 this unexpected animosity, the East India Company 
 had not only to protect but to support them. They 
 were two fine young men ; they regularly attended 
 the Scotch Church, and were, to all, objects of great 
 interest. Some of their enemies said, that they had 
 only changed their religion to please those who had 
 
A LIBERAL FIRE- WORSHIPPER, 263 
 
 it in their power to procure tliem good situations, 
 but T have every reason to suppose that such was 
 not the case. 
 
 With respect to Zoroaster, the founder or promul- 
 gator of the Parsee religion, and the author of the 
 Zendavista, but little is known. Some state that he 
 was a king of Bactria, and devoted his whole life to 
 the study of magic and astronomy. Others, that he 
 was simply the restorer and reformer of the ancient 
 faith of Persia. To M. du Perron is due the honour 
 of first drawing out from its obscurity and giving to 
 the world, a translation of the Zendavista, a work 
 that had been carefully concealed by the Parsees. It 
 consists, as their traditions assert, of twenty-one 
 nosks or books, of which only one, the Vendidad, is 
 preserved entire. The Abbe Foucher remarks, that 
 the Zendavista " bears exactly the same reference to 
 the books of Zoroaster, that the Eomisli missals and 
 breviaries do to the Bible." 
 
 Having said thus much about the Fire-worshippers 
 in general, we will now turn our attention to Sir 
 Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the patriotic and charitable 
 Parsee, who, by his liberal contributions, has done so 
 much for the improvement of the island of Bombay j 
 and whose munificent gift of £500 towards the 
 Bombay subscription for the relief of the suffering 
 Irish in Ireland, during the potato famine of 1847, 
 
264 A PARSEE GENTLEMAN KNIGHTED. 
 
 has, no doubt, made his name familiar in England. 
 This striking instance of Oriental liberality is well 
 worthy of being recorded, and requires no comment 
 from me ; the noble action speaks for itself. A few 
 months ago, at the opening of the Grand College in 
 Bombay, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy intimated, that he 
 had lodged with government the sum of <£1 000, on 
 which interest at six per cent, would be allowed, or 
 about £60 per annum, for assisting, in the purchase 
 of books and instruments, the Alumni, who had 
 distinguished themselves ; and £500 beside, which, 
 at a like interest, would afford £30 per annum, for 
 the purchase of prizes for the pupils while in college. 
 "These stimulants," remarks the Editor of the 
 Bombay paper, from which I have extracted the 
 above, ** to intellectual exertion, and this culture of 
 general knowledge, are the best auxiliaries in libe- 
 rating the mind from the bondage of superstition, 
 and in establishing, by the greatest but most irre- 
 sistible means, the truths of a Christian and rational 
 religion." 
 
 I think it was in the year 1844, that her present 
 Majesty conferred the honour of knighthood upon 
 Sir Jamsetjee, after he had founded the college that 
 bears his name in Bombay. This was a peculiar 
 mark of the high estimation in which he was held in 
 England ; and there were few in Bombay, who, when 
 
PROriTABLE TRADE IN OPIUM. 2Q5 
 
 the news arrived, did not rejoice, and compliment Sir 
 Jamsetjee in no measured terms. It is true, that his 
 Parsee brethren on the island were a little at a loss 
 to understand what the addition of aS'iV, before their 
 kinsman's name, had to do with his elevation ; and 
 they were naturally very curious to know how much 
 money a "Sir" would receive from the kind and 
 good Queen of England ; but they had it all ex- 
 plained to them in time, and Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeeb- 
 hoy is said to wear his honours as a fine old Parsee 
 gentleman should do. Sir Jamsetjee and his son 
 Cursetjee are rich merchants and shipowners in 
 Bombay. From what I could learn during my resi- 
 dence on that island, the bulk of the father's immense 
 wealth had been made in the opium-trade with China, 
 before the " celestial ports" were so effectually opened 
 by the English. Sir Jamsetjee has a prepossessing 
 and benevolent countenance. He is of moderate 
 stature, and a little inclined to corpulency. He 
 dresses in the simple costume of his people, and care- 
 fully preserves in its exact shape the high card-board 
 turban that so distinguishes the Parsees from any 
 other race in India, while it adds so much to their 
 height. 
 
 Of an evening. Sir Jamsetjee may be seen with 
 his family driving about the fashionable esplan- 
 ade, in a handsome carriage built in London, after 
 
2GG DISASTERS IN AFFGHANIts-Jj^?- 
 
 the model of one said to be a favourite with Her 
 Majesty. His splendid horses quite attract atten- 
 tion, for the Parsees pride themselves on being the 
 best judges on the island of this noble animal, and 
 on their skill in horsemanship. 
 
 In 1840, General Sir John Keane, after blowing 
 up the Cabul gate of Ghuznee, and planting the 
 British colours on the battlements of that citadel, 
 returned from Affghanistan by Bombay, on his road 
 to England, to be raised to the peerage, by the title 
 of Baron Keane of Ghuznee and Cappoquin, with a 
 pension of £2000 a-year. Every one at this time 
 was speaking of the glorious successes of our army 
 in the East, little dreaming of the dreadful tragedy 
 that was shortly to be enacted, when thousands of 
 our brave troops were, with their famished and 
 frozen leaders, to perish horribly in the Bolan Pass, 
 mown down like grass before the scythe of the 
 frantic Affghans. 
 
 It may appear a little foreign to the subject before 
 us, but I cannot refrain from (|Uoting a passage from 
 Sir Ilobert Peel's speech in the House of Commons 
 touching this deplorable event. " When had you 
 before," asked the right honourable baronet, " in the 
 whole cycle of your history, any disaster like that 
 which has befallen you in Affghanistan ? a disaster 
 which I admit is not irreparable — a disaster which I 
 
SIR jamsetjee's entertainment. 267 
 
 trust will be speedily repaired by the spirit and 
 vigour of your councils, and by the gallant exertions 
 of your armies ; but when did you ever read in the 
 History of England of such wholesale slaughter as 
 that which has befallen your forces, and which a 
 private individual reports in every newspaper ? Here 
 is what that individual writes : — ' My life has been 
 spared in a most wonderful manner, and I am the 
 only European who has escaped from the Cabul army. 
 Two natives only have reached this place (Jellalabad), 
 making with myself three persons out of an army of 
 thirteen thousand. 
 
 Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, thinking that he must 
 show his satisfaction at our apparent conquests, took 
 advantage of Sir John Keane's temporary sojourn in 
 Bombay, to issue cards of invitation to that officer, 
 his staff, and numbers of the English resident on the 
 island, to a splendid ball which he intended giving in 
 honour of our great victory. The invitation was 
 accepted, and a magnificent entertainment was the 
 consequence. Every luxury that wealth could pur- 
 chase loaded the tables on this occasion. A gentle- 
 man in Bombay told me, that in the course of this 
 evening's festivities, a great bustle and stir was ob- 
 served among the Parsee friends of the family who 
 had assembled to witness the ceremonies. There was 
 much whispering and laughing going on, and they 
 
268 A BOLD STROKE. 
 
 had grouped themselves together in little companies 
 near the principal entrance to the ball-room, as if 
 expecting to see something very droll or very curious 
 make its entrance. These circumstances, of course, 
 attracted the attention of the English, and one of the 
 officers jokingly hinted, that perhaps a tame tiger 
 was to be introduced for their amusement. My 
 friend thought, that perhaps Sir John Keane was 
 about to be presented with some substantial remem- 
 brance of the worthy Parsee Knight's approval of 
 his late gallant conduct as an officer. The company, 
 however, was not long kept in a state of suspense. 
 Sir Jamsetjee had left the room with his sons, but 
 to re-enter it with his wife leaning upon his ann, 
 and followed by his sons and their wives and 
 daughters. The surprise of those present can be 
 more easily conceived than described. It was the 
 first occasion on which a Parsee lady had ever been 
 seen in public. 
 
 Sir Jamsetjee had long had his doubts respecting 
 the justice of the selfish custom which debarred the 
 ladies of his and other Parsee establishments from 
 enjoying themselves like rational creatures. He had 
 gone to a great expense in giving his daughters a 
 good English education, and he determined upon this 
 occasion, and thenceforward, to show his contempt 
 for such absurd nonsense as the supposed losing of 
 
ITS RECEPTION. 269 
 
 caste or rank, by allowing Parsee ladies to associate 
 with persons of a different faith from his own. He 
 was thus practically acting up to one of the common 
 opinions held among the Parsees ; " for God," they 
 say, " delights in the happiness of his creatures ;" 
 and they hold it meritorious to enjoy the best of 
 everything they can obtain. The breaking through, 
 on the part of Sir Jamsetjee's family, of long-estab- 
 lished customs so common in India, was a subject of 
 serious conversation among the fire- worshippers of 
 Bombay, and constituted fully a nine-days' wonder 
 among the Hindoo and Mohammedan community. 
 Some thought the ultra-liberal Parsee must be a little 
 out of his reason ; others suspected that he had lost 
 his Icusti, or sacred girdle ; and all were unanimous 
 as to his having now only one soul, and that, of 
 course, the evil one ; and they pitied his family, who 
 were led away by his bad spirit. Sir Jamsetjee, 
 however, soon afterwards appeased their anger, and 
 quieted their fears as to his sauity, by building a new 
 Fire Temple on the island at his own expense. His 
 good example in allowing the Parsee ladies their full 
 enjoyment of sweet liberty, was not, I am sorry to 
 say, followed out, as he hoped it might be, in other 
 Parsee families. The Parsee ladies still continue to 
 be shut up in their houses, though many of their 
 husbands have acknowledged to me the folly of the 
 
270 ARTISANS AT WORK. 
 
 custom ; owning that it made them appear in the eyes 
 of strangers little better than Hindoos. 
 
 Sir Jamsetjee has a handsome country as well as a 
 town residence. The latter is situated in Rampart 
 Row, Fort George. I had the pleasure of going over 
 it one day in company with a few friends, who were 
 particularly desirous to see, if possible, some female 
 branches of the family, who were reported to be 
 extremely fair and beautiful. It was a very large 
 square building, enclosed in front, and separated from 
 the street by a court-yard. After ascending a flight 
 of steps we entered the hall, a good room, with the 
 floor plastered with fine chunam. The walls were 
 hung round with portraits of some celebrated Man- 
 darins, well executed in water-colours, by Chinese 
 artists. We were rather amused at the domestic 
 arrangements of this apartment, and the good use 
 made of it. Seated upon mats in the Oriental 
 posture, were all the mechanics employed by the 
 family, busily engaged in their different occupations. 
 In one corner was a shoemaker cutting out leather 
 of various colours for slippers. In another was a 
 dergie, embroidering pretty little sculars, or under- 
 dresses for children, by running lace-patterns into the 
 muslin. A harness-maker was finishing off" a saddle ; 
 and another man was giving to palanquins a fresh 
 coat of varnish, in anticipation of the rainy season. 
 
THE JEWEL-ROOM. 271 
 
 Indeed, it was quite evident from what we saw here, 
 that Sir Jamsetjee's large family afforded constant 
 employment to numbers of these people. 
 
 After inspecting every trifle worthy of notice, our 
 conductor, who was a Parsee storekeeper, and, I 
 think, a connection of the family, conducted us to the 
 foot of a long staircase, where there was a strong 
 stone-built room, having a low door sunk deep in 
 the massive masonry. As this door was bound with 
 iron bands, and secured by three huge padlocks 
 (Brahmas, no doubt), our curiosity was a little ex- 
 cited to learn what could possibly be kept inside, 
 requiring such precautions for its safe custody; when 
 Merwanjee told us, that the room being fire-proof, all 
 the plate and jewels were deposited here every night; 
 and thief-proof, too, thought I, as we ascended the 
 staircase that terminated in a series of long passages 
 covered over with fine Manilla matting. These 
 passages or promenades (for, in Eastern houses, they 
 are used as such) were well lighted by open spaces 
 like windows without panes, each commanding a 
 view of a pretty garden tastefully constructed in a 
 quadrangle formed by the buildings around it. Here 
 were placed seats of porcelain, stone, and the stumps 
 of trees curiously carved. 
 
 The first room which we entered was one fitted 
 up in the English style, all the furniture having been 
 
272 FRENCH AND CHINESE ROOMS. 
 
 manufactured in London. The walls were richly 
 coloured ; for paper can never be used in India, as 
 the white ants would eat it up in a few days. Here 
 were portraits of some branches of Sir Jamsetjee's 
 family, painted in oil by an artist who had come out 
 to Bombay on speculation, and who had pocketed 
 five hundred rupees for each picture. The second 
 drawing-room, as we were informed, was furnished 
 in the French style ; and if lofty pier-glasses, 
 statuary, vases of artificial flowers, musical clocks, 
 elegant chandeliers, marble brackets, with groups of 
 alabaster figures on them, Bohemian glass, gilt 
 couches and chairs, are in favour with our continental 
 friends, this room afforded, no doubt, a good specimen 
 of their taste in domestic decoration. The next 
 and most interesting apartment to us was the Chinese 
 drawing-room. We were delighted with everj'thing 
 we saw here, as it contained so many beautiful 
 articles brought from China. The whole of the 
 furniture appeared to be made out of papier mach6, 
 ivory, or mother-of-pearl. There were three superb 
 folding-screens, with the most brilliant designs in 
 gold, silver, and pearl-work. The tables were set 
 out with bronze figures of birds, tortoises, Chinese 
 idols, and magnificent Japan jars ; one table bore, 
 in a glass case, a noble silver epergne, representing 
 a plantain tree, with peacocks spreading out their 
 
AN EXPENSIVE WEDDING. 273 
 
 tails under it, that had been presented to Sir Jam- 
 setjee by the merchants of Bombay, as a mark of 
 respect to the worthy knight. Lounging-chairs, 
 sofas, queer little couches, ottomans, and Persian and 
 Turkey rugs and prayer carpets, were distributed 
 about in great profusion, and made one almost 
 fearful of walking upon such beautiful fabrics. We 
 spent some time in this room, the last of the state 
 apartments, if I may so term them. 
 
 The Parsees, I may observe here, are a very 
 sociable set of people, fond of pleasure and amuse- 
 ments, which, after business hours, they pursue 
 eagerly, and are extremely liberal and hospitable 
 one towards another. They resemble the Persians 
 in this respect, and are prodigal in the expenditure 
 of money for show, or for the celebration of any 
 particular family event. In celebrating their mar- 
 riages they are ridiculously profuse in their liberality. 
 Hundreds are invited to the feast ; and presents of 
 shawls and other costly things are made to friends 
 in all directions. A bridegroom has been known 
 to expend half his fortune in a public entertainment 
 kept up on the most extravagant scale for three 
 weeks or a month after the ceremony. I was once 
 invited to one of these merry meetings, held in a 
 large marquee for want of proper house-accommo- 
 dation. The amusements consisted of the dancing 
 
 T 
 
274 SIR ja^setjee's dixing-hall. 
 
 of nautcli girls ; rose-water sprinklings ; making 
 little presents to one another of favourite spices 
 neatly folded up in green leaves ; devouring all sorts 
 of confections for which the city of Yezd is so 
 celebrated ; and invoking blessings upon the newly- 
 married people, in songs that were certainly not very 
 musical. 
 
 We were now anxious to get a peep, if possible, 
 at that portion of this large house occupied by Sir 
 Jamsetjee's family ; and having obtained permission, 
 we inspected some of the dormitories, which we 
 found to be comfortable and well -ventilated rooms, 
 containing the conveniences usually found in such 
 apartments at home. Merwanjee took us into a 
 long dining-hall, where a table was set out for some 
 repast. Like the Hindoos, the Parsees are very 
 particular about eating and drinking out of any 
 vessel that has been defiled by one of a different 
 faith, and they object to share in the cup of one 
 of their own people, fearing that by so doing they 
 may partake of their sins. The hare, dog, vulture, 
 and some other birds and beasts of prey are for- 
 bidden food, though dogs and cocks have a sacred 
 character attached to them. All poisonous reptiles 
 they instantly deprive of life, as creatures which 
 Ahriman delights to send forth as messengers of 
 his evil intentions towards man. 
 
THE ladies' apaetments. 275 
 
 We followed Merwanjee througli a series of other 
 rooms, aud up another flight of stairs out on to the 
 flat roof, where we enjoyed a most splendid view of 
 the whole island of Bombay. Seats were placed on 
 the leads for the accommodation of the ladies, who 
 retire hither morning and evening to pray, and to 
 read over their book of Zendavista, and study the 
 Dabistan and Dassateer, as the two latter contain 
 a history of various superstitions commonly prac- 
 tised among them, and a sketch of the life of one 
 Hoshung, who, they say, first worshipped the true 
 fire. 
 
 Upon our return, Merwanjee, at our request, 
 introduced us to a part of Sir Jamsetjee's family. 
 Upon entering their private room, we found an old 
 lady and three young-looking girls sitting close 
 together, upon low chairs, with their feet tucked 
 under them ; but we could not discover that they 
 had been engaged in any employment, for Eastern 
 ladies have no resources within themselves. The 
 rich, generally speaking, are taught nothing, and are 
 kept in a sad state of ignorance ; all they know of 
 the world is principally gleaned from story-tellers, 
 or from the foolish traditions handed down by the 
 Dustoors, Mobads, and Herboods — orders of the 
 priesthood among the Parsees. Sir Jamsetjee's 
 family are certainly an exception to this rule, for 
 
276 THE BURRA BABEE. 
 
 both his sons and daughters have been well edu- 
 cated. 
 
 The burra-bahee, or old lady, appeared delighted 
 to find that one of our party (a lady) could converse 
 freely with her in Hindostanee. She wore a crimson 
 sarree, that had been put on gracefully over her 
 head, and hid everything in its folds, save two small 
 hands, that were loaded with beautiful rings j for 
 truly, 
 
 " Rich and rare wore the gems she wore/* 
 
 and which sparkled and glittered all over her person. 
 Her nose ornament had a very large pearl in it, but 
 sadly disfigured that prominent feature on one side. 
 She appeared a little anxious, I thought, to display 
 her ornaments, baubles which are cast aside by the 
 Anglo-Indian lady in this country as being too 
 common, or too much like the natives; and seeing 
 that we admired a fine emerald on her finger, she 
 unfastened from under her sarree, at Merwanjee's 
 suggestion, a sort of hoop-necklace set with the 
 largest diamonds I ever remember seeing ; and the 
 splendid string of jewels was handed about for us 
 all to examine. The ladies were particularly in love 
 with the beauty of the brilliants, and upon return- 
 ing the necklace, said it must have cost a very large 
 sum of money. The burra-babee smiled as she 
 
A YOUNG MOTHER. 277 
 
 clasped it round her wrinkled neck, and remarked, 
 that it was only Jier ev&ry-day necklace ; and that 
 she did not wear her very good ones except on 
 festive occasions. 
 
 Her companions were very shy, and not at all 
 disposed to enter into conversation — one of them, 
 who was attired in a white sarree, and had a very 
 melancholy cast of countenance, had retired to a 
 recess near the window soon after we had entered 
 the room ; upon inquiry, we learned that she was 
 the daughter-in-law of the chatty old dame, and 
 had just lost her second boy ; who, a few days 
 before, had been placed by the side of his little 
 brother in the Temple of Silence belonging to the 
 family. We could scarcely believe that so young 
 a creature had already been the mother of two chil- 
 dren. " She is mourning over them very bad," said 
 Merwanjee ; and fearing that by prolonging our 
 stay we might be intruding upon this sorrowing one, 
 we made our low salaams to the burra-babee ; and 
 thus ended an agreeable visit to the house of Sir 
 Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. 
 
278 THE JEWS OF BOMBAY. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk 
 with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you, 
 drink with you, or pray with you." — Merchant of Venice. 
 
 The Jews iu Bombay constitute rather a large item 
 in the population.* Five or six thousand have 
 settled down in the city and neighbourhood, and 
 
 *The results of the census taken in May, 1849, have been 
 published; and it appears, that in the island of Bombay, 
 comprising in all twenty square miles of ground — four-fifths, 
 at least, of which are uninhabitable swamp or rock — there 
 are in all no fewer than 566,119 inhabitants, of whom 
 354,090 are males, and 212,029 females. Of these, 6,936 
 are Brahmins; 289,995 are of other castes of Hindoos; 
 1,902 are Jains; 124,155 are Mohammedans; 114,698 Par- 
 sees; 1,132 Jews; 7,456 native Christians; 1,333 Indo- 
 Britons; 5,417 Indo-Portuguese ; 5,088 pure Europeans; 
 889 Siddees, Negroes, and Africans; and 7,118 of other 
 castes imspecified. From this census we learn, that the 
 Europeans are less than 1 in 100 of the whole population. 
 
A MIXED PEOPLE. 279 
 
 obtain for the most part an honest livelihood, as 
 house-builders, carpenters, and cultivators of the 
 soil. That a Jew should be thus employed may 
 appear singular to many who are familiar with their 
 history, and their known dislike to anything like 
 manual labour; for who ever heard, among our- 
 selves, of a Jewish farmer, or a Jewish carpenter? 
 We are tempted, however, to doubt the purity of the 
 race met with in all the commercial towns in India ; 
 and to suppose that they, like the Parsees, Moham- 
 medans, and other interlopers, have degenerated, 
 from long association with a people at total variance 
 with anything like Christianity. 
 
 The following brief account given of the Jews in 
 Bombay, may, perhaps, throw some light on this 
 interesting subject, and bear us out in the idea, that 
 they are a mixed people, and not the pure race of 
 Hebrews met with in Poland, Germany, or in the 
 corners of the dingy second-hand shops of Holywell 
 Street, London, where these exiles from " Vader- 
 land " buy, sell, and get gain, and do not, so far as 
 we are able to learn, trouble themselves much about 
 the realization of the prophecy that will one day 
 certainly restore them to Palestine. Let us, how- 
 ever, remember that our own sacred Scriptures 
 pointedly make known to us that kindness and 
 respect towards this ancient and peculiar people are 
 
280 WHITE AXD BLACK JEWS. 
 
 most acceptable iii the sight of God ; and though 
 the veil may still be upon their hearts, they are the 
 chosen ones of the Almighty, for "blessing is for 
 them that bless them, and cursing for them that 
 curse them." 
 
 A writer in an Indian periodical {Dynanodaya), 
 informs us, that " Some of the Jews in Bombay have 
 more recently come from Arabia, and are called 
 White Jews. Some have come from Cochin, and 
 are called Black Jews ; but by far the greater por- 
 tion who have settled in this country, and to whom 
 Mahratta is tlie vernacular language, are called 
 Israelites, or Beni Israel. When their ancestors 
 arrived here, is not certainly known. They say it 
 was about IGOO years ago, that the ship in which 
 they came was wrecked, and that seven men and 
 seven women, who escaped, settled at Nagao (some 
 thirty miles to the south-east of Bombay). They 
 were, at one time, generally engaged in the manu- 
 facture of oil, but at present many of them are 
 masons, carpenters, cultivators, <fec." The writer 
 goes on to say, that when the missionaries first came 
 out to the island of Bombay (thirty or forty years 
 ago), the Israelites were generally unable to read, 
 and even almost wholly ignorant of their own 
 Scriptures ; that they had generally ceased to observe 
 the Sabbath as a day of rest, " and were^ in many 
 
MORAL PROGRESS. 281 
 
 respects, conformed to the customs of their Hindoo and 
 Mohammedan neighbours.'''' It is stated, in a printed 
 journal of the earlier missionaries, that the magis- 
 trates described them at that time as being the most 
 drunken and troublesome people on the island. 
 The missionaries, it appears from the author whom 
 I have taken the liberty of quoting, have from the 
 first taken a deep interest in the Israelites or Jews. 
 They early established among them schools, in which 
 both sexes were taught to read and write. They 
 furnished them with the Bible, translated into the 
 vernacular language, and instructed several of them 
 in Hebrew, so that they might be able to refer to 
 the original Scriptures. The consequence of this was, 
 that the Jews forsook many of those things which, on 
 becoming acquainted with the Scriptures, they found 
 to be forbidden : and that they have greatly ad- 
 vanced in intelligence, wealth, morality, and general 
 respectability. 
 
 Such is the pleasing account given of the poor 
 Jews in Bombay ; and we cannot be surprised, that 
 the missionaries should have first turned their earnest 
 attention to them, when they found that this rem- 
 nant of a once highly- favoured people had sunk so 
 low as to have forgotten the God of their fathers, 
 and to have turned to worshipping the idols of 
 Brahminism. 
 
282 A FAMILY OF ARABIAN JEWS. 
 
 The dress of the Jews in Bombay differs but 
 little from the costume worn by other Eastern 
 people. Their robes are fuller, and of a superior 
 texture. The men, generally speaking, attract the 
 attention of a stranger, by their commanding figures 
 and expressive and thoughtful features. They have 
 two regular synagogues in Bombay, and one at 
 Revadunda, where they read the Scriptures in 
 Hebrew and Mahratta. In the Fort they have two 
 private houses where public worship is held. On 
 the sea-shore of an evening, I have observed many 
 Jews offering up their prayers among the numbers 
 of different castes who resort thither for that pur- 
 pose; and, like Jacob of old, worshipping their 
 Creator, leaning on the top of their staff. 
 
 A family of Arabian or white Jews, resided in 
 a narrow street directly opposite the house in which 
 I lodged j and as my sitting room was pretty lofty, 
 I had daily opportunities of observing this little 
 colony of Israelites from my window, and was often 
 amused by the way in which the female portion of 
 this establishment passed their time. As their 
 Venetian shutters were kept wide open all day, I 
 could, without being observed by them, see distinctly 
 into their principal sitting room ; and even if I were 
 detected casting furtive glances across the street, my 
 Jewish neighbours appeared quite indifferent about 
 
BLESSING THE DOOR-POSTS. 283 
 
 the matter. This careless indifference about being 
 overlooked, at times induced me to suppose that it 
 was possible my name was familiar to them, and that 
 they were pleased that one of their own religion had 
 taken up his quarters so near them. But of course 
 this was merely conjectural, though I believe they 
 knew my Jewish-sounding cognomen. 
 
 They were seldom astir before I returned from my 
 morning's walk, and precisely at nine o'clock the 
 master of the house went out on his daily business ; 
 but before leaving the step, he would turn round to 
 place the palms of his hands upon the door-posts, to 
 bless, as I fancied, the dwelling and its inhabitants ; 
 or, it might be done in commemoration of the Pass- 
 over. This he did regularly, and with an air of 
 apparent solemnity ; his lips, as I could detect, 
 seemed moved in the utterance of words that were 
 inaudible to me. He wore a patriarchal-looking 
 beard, that swept far down his white robes ; and was 
 particularly neat and cleanly in his personal appear- 
 ance. His thick cumbrous turban was folded with 
 taste, but his bright orange-coloured slippers, being 
 cut much lower than those usually worn by the 
 Hindoos, were so loose upon his feet as to oblige 
 him to shuffle along to keep them on at all, as he 
 walked. 
 
 His lady seldom went from home ; and when she 
 
284 A JEWISH CHERUB. 
 
 did, it was to take a little exercise in a covered 
 shegram ; on which rare occasions she wore a dark 
 muslin mask over her face, as the Egyptian women 
 do. Her whole day appeared to me to be exhausted 
 in the care of a lovely cherub boy, about two years 
 old, whom she nursed and played with for hours to- 
 gether, upon a low settee near the window. Never 
 were a mother's affections more concentrated in one 
 earthly object than hers were in this sweet child ; he 
 was indeed " the ocean to the river of her thoughts." 
 Abour ten o'clock, and after their breakfast of rice, 
 fruits, and chocolate, the old ayeh was called up, to 
 undress our little friend. First, he was placed full 
 stretch upon a large soft pillow, to be champoohed 
 by his nurse ; an operation that appeared to give him 
 excessive i)leasure ; for it was done so gently, and 
 mixed up with so many kisses, that he would toss his 
 plump little legs about and laugh so heartily, that I 
 was generally soon aware what was going on opposite. 
 When this was over, he fell fast asleep after his exer- 
 tions ; and, with his tawny skin, resembled an 
 exquisite piece of chiseled marble, tinged with the 
 yellow hue of age. As he lay where the morning 
 breeze could blow softly over him, hushed in the deep 
 slumber of happy innocence, with the fond mother 
 w^atching by his side, I thought I had never seen so 
 sweet a group ; Canova might have chosen it for a 
 
GAUDILY DRESSED. 285 
 
 study. Sometimes the child was dressed up in the 
 most extravagant finery j gold bangles were clasped 
 round his arms, and anklets set with glittering stones 
 were jingling about his feet ; a necklace of gold-coins, 
 three or four deep, was thrown over his fat little 
 shoulders, and he was then put into a nondescript 
 red silk dress, with a spangled skull-cap having a 
 long streaming tassel to it ; and all this was done to 
 please the father, on his return. 
 
 After tiffin was over the scene was changed. The 
 only son was then undressed, and dropped into a sort 
 of hammock, suspended in the room where the ayeh, 
 during the absence of the mother, had again to 
 punkah him to sleep, and to amuse herself by killing 
 the mosquitoes that annoyed him. There was, how- 
 ever, another object that shared, in some measure, the 
 affections of the Israelitish woman ; and this was a 
 very large and beautiful cat, which, like most of his 
 tribe, was fond of wandering from home, and giving 
 trouble to his owners. He was covered with a long, 
 curly, cream-coloured fur ; a fine specimen of the 
 Persian breed ; and as he sat purring under a jalousie 
 that projected far over the window, I was often 
 amused to see the strange variety of cats that came to 
 visit and admire him. They had all a foreign air 
 about them, and usually made their appearance on 
 the roof of the house, whence they would peep over 
 
286 AN ASSEMBLY OF CATS. 
 
 curiously, to ascertain first whether Sajee were at his 
 accustomed post, before leaping down upon the 
 jalousie and paying their respects to him. Thus it 
 was not uncommon to see five or six sitting sedately 
 together on the window sill, eyeing every person that 
 passed in the street below. Some were partly dressed 
 up like the monkeys that accompany our barrel-organ 
 boys ; and one that was the property of a little Pon- 
 dichcrry Frenchman, next door, was half-shaved, and 
 ornamented with tri-coloured ribbons. Puss was as 
 fond of the baby as its mother was ; and, whenever 
 he could do it unnoticed, he would steal into the 
 hammock, and famous romps they would have 
 together. 
 
 One morning, poor Sajee was missing ; servants 
 were sent in all directions in search of him ; but in 
 vain. They came early over to my house, to know if 
 1 had seen him from my window ; but I could give 
 them no information ; unless it were, that I had 
 myself experienced a somewhat similar loss, by the 
 disappearance of a small spaniel, which I had brought 
 over with me to the country ; and that I strongly 
 suspected they both had been stolen. 
 
 Tasso, soon after his arrival with me in India, 
 suffered much from frightful fits, occasioned by a 
 deforce of heat to which he had never been accustomed. 
 Curious to say, in a short time, he cast his warm 
 
TRANSMIGRATIOX OF SOULS. 287 
 
 English coat, which was replaced by a much thinner 
 covering ; and after this salutary change, his fits 
 entirely left him, and the poor fellow recovered his 
 wonted health and animation ; and life once more 
 appeared to afford him real enjoyment. The natives 
 understood his complaint ; and when his fits attacked 
 him in the street, and he would come suddenly to a 
 full stop for a second or two, and then, running 
 violently round in a circle, would drop down, foam- 
 ing and panting, upon the pavement, convulsed in 
 every limb, they would run into their houses, and 
 bring out large vessels of water to throw over him — an 
 operation which, though it brought him round again, 
 occasioned the poor creature a degree of suffering that 
 was painful to witness ; and I often regretted having 
 brought him out. The kindness shown to my dog 
 must be attributed to the belief of the natives in the 
 transmigration of souls ; a belief which induces them 
 to protect and cherish all animals alike. 
 
 On the following day, the Jew sent over his bote 
 salaam to me, with the pleasing intelligence, that 
 his favourite cat had been discovered at the native 
 hospital for the preservation of animals ; and that 
 my dog, Tasso, had been seen there, enjoying him- 
 self in the society of Pariahs, baboons, and long- 
 tailed monkeys ; adding, moreover, that if I sent 
 one rupee, with a person who could identify him, 
 
288 THE HOSPITAL FOR ANIMALS. 
 
 to pay for his board and lodging, he would be 
 immediately restored to me. Upon learning this, 
 I dispatched my boy, with the required fee in his 
 pocket, to effect Tasso's release ; and a few hours 
 afterwards I had the pleasure of once more patting 
 my old fellow-traveller on the back. He was in 
 excellent condition, and must have been living on 
 the fat of the land ; indeed, generally, these im- 
 prisoned animals have plenty of food, and are well 
 taken care of. "Whether it were the remembrance 
 of his former good quarters and old associates, by 
 which the dog was actuated, I cannot tell — but 
 Pedro, my boy, came into my sitting-room a few 
 mornings afterwards, and with a woe-begone counte- 
 nance, informed me, that "that little dog like 
 hospital 80 much, he go again ; " and sure enough, 
 Tasso had slipped his collar, and made his escape. 
 
 To show that dogs do take strange fancies for 
 animals of a species different from their own, I 
 need only mention a case where a pet poodle in my 
 possession, in England, passed the greater part of 
 every day in company with a monkey that was kept 
 chained in a large yard. They would play together 
 for hours, and the monkey would put his arms 
 round the neck of the poodle, and nurse it as if it 
 had been one of its own offspring. This great 
 intimacy continued for some months, until the 
 
EVENING PRAYER. 289 
 
 monkey was sent away for pulling the slates off an 
 out- bull ding. 
 
 As I was not in a position to pay a rupee every 
 week for a day or two of Tasso's company, I thought 
 I had better make a present of him to this Hindoo 
 Zoological Society: and, unless he have gone to 
 that bourne from whence no little dogs return, I 
 have no doubt but, that at this moment, my brown 
 spaniel, which was born and educated in the Isle 
 of Man, might be recognized in this hospital near 
 Bombay. 
 
 But to return to our Jewish friends. Six o'clock 
 saw the happy family again re-united ; and at this 
 hour the shutters were finally closed for the night, 
 and the sound of prayer ascended to the Giver of all 
 good, for the mercies of the past day. Although I 
 could not see him, it was impossible to mistake the 
 voice of the father, or the sacred service in which he 
 was engaged. The daily duty ended, and supper 
 over, the mother would sing, accompanying her 
 voice, one of the sweetest I ever heard, with the 
 Spanish guitar j and, as they generally sat up late, 
 I often heard, on awakening in the night, the sweet, 
 pensive airs she used to play ; for, unlike the gene- 
 rality of the children of Israel, she could sing the 
 songs of Zion in a strange land. 
 
 Eight months had rolled by, and the day at length 
 
 u 
 
290 GRATEFUL RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 arrived on which I was to leave this neighbourhood. 
 I took a last parting look at the window where the 
 little boy was wont to amuse me, but I was disap- 
 pointed. He who had so long engaged my affection 
 was not there ; and as I turned out of the narrow, 
 close street, I was surprised to find how much I had 
 loved- him. A long and dangerous illness, with 
 fifteen weeks* confinement to my room, may, in some 
 measure, account to the reader for the great interest 
 which I took in this Hebrew family. They had 
 often intimated by signs to me, the pleasure they 
 experienced in seeing me once again at my accus- 
 tomed post ; and the poor mother would at times 
 shake her head, as if grieved to see the long thin 
 face that sickness had so reduced ; for she knew 
 that I loved her only child, and I am certain that 
 she rejoiced in my recovery. The happy and inno- 
 cent life which they appeared to lead, contributed, 
 with many other little circumstances which I had 
 remarked during this long season of suffering and 
 trial, to leave a pleasing impression of the Jewish 
 domestic character upon my mind ; and for years 
 afterwards, I often fancied, during the still hours of 
 night, that I heard the warbling voice of the Israel- 
 itish woman. 
 
MALABAR HILL. 291 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Then am I to leave thee ! and must we soon part? 
 Yet time shall not banish past hours from my heart, 
 Kemembrance shall call them, though oceans divide. 
 And memoiy shall point to what distance must hide, 
 
 A DELIGHTFUL canter over the fine smooth sands 
 carries you, in about an hour, from Fort George to a 
 picturesque road that winds among broken rocks, 
 ornamental bungalows, and dense woods, up to 
 Malabar Hill. This very elevated promontory runs 
 out in a south-westerly direction, like its opposite 
 neighbour, Colabah, but does not extend so far into 
 the ocean. It forms a western boundary of Back 
 Bay. On its extreme point, and exposed to every 
 breeze that steals over the island, a pretty-looking 
 house rather in the cottage style had been built for 
 
292 TEMPLE CAVES OF KENNERY. 
 
 the governor of Bombay to reside in, during the hot 
 season of the year, a telegraphic communication being 
 kept up between the cottage and the castle in the 
 Fort. 
 
 The principal residence of the governor is at Parell, 
 and is situated iu a more central part of the island. 
 This residence is a handsome-looking building, and 
 contains some noble reception-rooms. It was origin- 
 ally a church belonging to the order of Jesuits, and 
 was purchased by the East India Company for its 
 present purj^ose. Its low and swampy park, how- 
 ever, and the unhealthy character of its neighbour- 
 hood during the monsoons, rendered it not so 
 desirable a situation as had been anticipated. 
 
 A good road of a few miles in extent takes you 
 from Parell to the causeway that connects Bombay 
 with Salsette. This latter island has some hills of 
 considerable elevation clothed with brushwood to 
 their summits. Tanna and Gorabunda are the 
 principal towns ; and are peopled by the descend- 
 ants of Portuguese families. One of the hills is 
 perforated by excavations cut into the rock, known 
 as the temple-caves of Kennery, and well worth a 
 visit of inspection. The most remarkable is a 
 Bhuddist temple fifty feet long by twenty wide, 
 where a colossal statue of Bhudda, with his hands 
 raised in supplication, is on the east side of a lofty 
 
WALKA-ES-WARRE. 293 
 
 portico. It does not appear that this island was 
 included in the marriage contract already mentioned, 
 for after the surrender of Bombay, the Portuguese 
 still persisted in retaining it, until 1773, when, 
 during the confusion of a civil war which followed 
 the assassination of Narrain Row, the principal fort 
 was stormed by the English, who have ever since 
 retained it undisturbed. 
 
 This island supplies Bombay with rice, sugar, fruit, 
 sheep, and many other very valuable commodities, 
 and is about twenty miles in length. The views from 
 Malabar Hill and Point are truly enchanting. Look- 
 ing down the rugged sides of this rock, where the 
 Tara and other palms grow spontaneously, the eye 
 rests for a moment upon the deep blue waters which 
 gently lave its base, and which are dotted here and 
 there by odd-shaped coasting-vessels, tacking about 
 the bay, or running ashore on the opposite banks, to 
 discharge their timber cargoes. The view from the 
 Point comprehends a vast extent of the Indian Ocean 
 and numerous lovely-looking islands ; but distant 
 hills that overtop one another shut in the prospect 
 towards the north-east, and form a grand and noble 
 range. 
 
 We pass on our road a large native village called 
 Walka-es-warre, that is said to contain a population 
 of some three thousand souls. This village has but 
 
294 DURRUM SAULAH. 
 
 little to recommend it, for the streets are close and 
 offensive, from the dirty character of the inhabitants ; 
 though I have often been amused in passing through 
 it of an evening, by watching the Banian merchants 
 sitting in front of their shops, the business of the day 
 being over, intently engaged in the intricacies of a 
 game of chess ; each player had a little crowd around 
 him, who were watching the moves as if each had a 
 large stake set upon the result. Chess is a favourite 
 game with the Hindoos and Mussulmans, and I 
 believe we have to thank the former for its intro- 
 duction into England. A work explanatory of this 
 Indian amusement, published some years ago in 
 Bombay by a native, lays down rules which vary 
 but little from those in use among ourselves. 
 
 The village of Walka-es-warre is rather celebrated 
 for its old Temple, and for the traditional sanctity 
 attached to it by the idle Brahmins, who reap at 
 certain festive seasons of the year their accustomed 
 rich harvest. This temple stands at the head of a 
 fine sheet of water, near to which is a commodious 
 dumim savlafi, for the shelter of the pilgrims and 
 travellers, who, during the rains and at their termi- 
 nation, resort hither to bathe in this pool of Bethesda. 
 On such days the steps leading down to it are 
 thronged with the lame, the halt, and the blind, 
 waiting, not for the moving of the waters, but for 
 
FREQUENT ABLUTIONS. 295 
 
 some kind friend to push them in and give them a 
 good washing ; for the filthy and wFetched appear- 
 ance of some of these infatuated mendicants makes 
 this quite an act of charity. 
 
 I may here observe to my younger readers, that 
 ablutions occupy an important part in all Brahminical 
 ceremonials. The poor Hindoo, whose bodily infirmi- 
 ties forbid his crawling across the country, or whose 
 limited means will not afford him a conveyance that 
 might carry him to that holy stream which, as he is 
 taught to believe, can wash away all sins, is per- 
 mitted by the rules of his religion to bathe in the 
 nearest sacred river to his own residence, and it shall 
 be accounted unto him for righteousness. In so 
 doing, however, he must earnestly entreat the Ganges 
 to make this ablution as effective as it would have 
 been if performed in its own waters, so that he may 
 be freed from all impurities of flesh and spirit. The 
 Mohammedans are even more particular about these 
 observances than the Hindoos : for if really orthodox, 
 they wash after every little work which they perform. 
 They are, however, a very mixed sect in India, and it 
 would be a difficult matter to discover what creed 
 some of them profess. 
 
 I saw outside the walls of this village some luxu- 
 riant specimens of the tree whose seeds produce our 
 castor-oil [palma Christi). This showy and beautiful 
 
296 THE PALM A CHRISTI. 
 
 annual, as I need scarcely remark, is indigenous to 
 the soil of Hindostan. The leaves, which bear a 
 striking resemblance to those of the vine, are of a 
 fine bluish green, and the flowers have long stamens 
 of a purplish hue. The capsule, or seed-vessel, as 
 it approaches maturity, puts on a brilliant crimson 
 tinge, and is covered with an armour of short spines, 
 like the horse-chesnut. The seeds, the most useful 
 part of the tree, are quite black ; and each has a 
 little cell of its own, whence, when fully ripe, it is 
 shot out by the sudden expansion of its case. These 
 trees seldom attain a height beyond twelve feet ; 
 and as they are so ornamental, and easily cultivated, 
 they are frequently introduced, in India, into gardens 
 and shrubberies, for their beauty alone. The ex- 
 pressed oil, which is very fluid in warm climates, is 
 })urnt in the lamps of the natives, producing a fine 
 clear light, and not much smoke or smell. 
 
 Sauntering one evening in this district, 1 thought 
 I^would pay a visit to some of the hundaiTies, or 
 toddy-drawers, and inspect the process of collecting 
 the palm-wine. Having tied my tattoo under a 
 spreading tree by the road-side, I got over a low 
 fence, and made my way into a vast tope, or planta- 
 tion of palms ; being preceded by a small party of 
 drawers, bearing upon their shoulders three or four 
 large red burnt chattees to contain the toddy. The 
 
COLLECTING PALM-WINE. 297 
 
 fierce sun was sinking low in the west, and shot its 
 glorious rays under the leafy canopy above us, which 
 was so close and thick as scarcely to permit us to 
 see the least patch of sky overhead. The land- 
 breeze whispered through the forest as we walked 
 along, noiselessly, over the withered accumulation 
 of centuries of fallen leaves and bark, and surveyed 
 the long aisles formed by the mighty monarchs of 
 the Eastern vegetable world. There was a strange 
 solitude about the place, broken in upon, occasion- 
 ally, by some heavy bird that flapped down upon 
 the crowned top of a palm, where it soon hid its 
 head under its wing, and was at rest. 
 
 We soon reached the scene of action, and, casting 
 my eyes to the tops of the trees, I saw that each of 
 them had a vessel tied under its leaves. To empty 
 these vessels of the exuded juice that had collected 
 since the morning, was the purpose of my com- 
 panions' present visit. One of the men squatted 
 down on the ground, to fasten his kummerband 
 securely about him (for they can do nothing in India 
 standing up), and after taking off his turban, and 
 twisting the lock of hair on the top of his head 
 into a knot, and cracking all the joints of his 
 fingers, he placed a strap around his own body and 
 the tree which he was about to ascend, and then 
 threw it with much dexterity over the first step cut 
 
298 THE BUNDARRIES. 
 
 in the bark ; and thus, by a series of movements, 
 throwing the strap successively over each step above 
 him, he was not long in reaching the chattee at the 
 top ; the height being some ninety or a hundred 
 feet from the ground. Having first made a secure 
 seat of the strap, he untied the cord that fastened 
 the vessel to that part of the tree whence the 
 bruised flower-stem, from which the juice flows, 
 could hang into it; and tying a long coir rope round 
 its rim, cautiously lowered it down, with its con- 
 tents, to the bundarries below, to be emptied by 
 them into one of the vessels which they had brought 
 with them. This being done, at a given signal he 
 hauled it up again, and after probing the wound 
 afresh with a knife, and securing the chattee once 
 more in its place, he descended cautiously, and at 
 a slower pace than that at which he went up. He 
 appeared to be a little fatigued by his exertions, and 
 gave the strap to another, who proceeded to collect 
 the toddy from the next tree ; and so each ascended 
 in his turn. 
 
 Some of the old palm-trees, that have been sixty 
 or seventy years under the knife operation, groan 
 and bend fearfully, as the climbers approach the 
 top ; but they say there is no danger, as the south- 
 west monsoon generally blows down all the palms 
 which, in consequence of age, will not bear the 
 
" CHATTEE NA SAIB." 299 
 
 weight of a man ; and I believe it is very rarely 
 that an accident occurs. I was very anxious to 
 taste some of the fresh- drawn toddy, but, from my 
 poor knowledge of the language, had some diffi- 
 culty in making my wishes understood. One of the 
 elder men, however, as soon as he comprehended 
 my signs, shook his head, saying, at the same time, 
 " Chattee na saih, cliattee na saib ; " and it struck me 
 at once that I should defile the vessel if I drank 
 out of it, and that he had no other to give me ; so 
 I made a cup of my hand, and presented to him 
 this ancient drinking-vessel, which he immediately 
 filled with toddy, and repeated the draught until 
 I was satisfied. 
 
 The palm-wine is the same grateful beverage 
 which, in India, they hawk through the streets for 
 sale, every morning before sun-rise ; for it is only 
 fit to drink for an hour or two after being collected, 
 fermentation rapidly taking place, and converting 
 it into an intoxicating fluid, which, by distillation, 
 yields the well-known spirit called arrack. As a 
 return for the old man's kindness, I put into his 
 hands an anna, with which he was wonderfully 
 delighted — making me several profound salaams, 
 and grinning after each bow, to evince the pleasure 
 he felt. 
 
 In some districts, where the palm-trees are very 
 
300 I LOSE MY WAY. 
 
 close together, they are connected together by ropes, 
 so as to enable the toddy-drawers to go from one to 
 another, without the trouble of descending. I have 
 often felt nervous and dizzy in seeing the drawers 
 ascend some of the towering cocoa-nut trees that 
 stand alone in the Fort, or on Colabah, for it really 
 appears to be a very dangerous exploit. But they 
 are accustomed to it from childhood, and their bare 
 and flexible feet have a safe hold in each of the 
 little steps that are notched into the bark, every 
 three or four feet from the bottom to the top. 
 
 It was quite dusk before I was again seated on 
 my tattoo; and as it was the first time I had 
 strayed so far from home in this direction, I had 
 not proceeded half a mile on my way back, before 
 I discovered that I had lost my way, and that, in- 
 stead of advancing, as I thought, down to the shore, 
 I was cantering just in a contrary direction across 
 the island. At last I halted opposite some huts by 
 the roadside ; and turning the tattoo's nose into the 
 open door-way of one, in which I saw a party sitting 
 cooking round a fire, inquired the road to the 
 esplanade, or Fort George, in the best Hindostanee 
 I could muster ; but I might as well have addressed 
 them in Welsh or German, for anything they could 
 understand. The grown-up people stared at me as 
 if I were a robber, and some children who were 
 
A PORTUGUESE SPIKIT-STORE. 301 
 
 asleep in a corner, hearing the chattering, put their 
 heads up above the rags that covered them, and 
 seeing the pony's nose inside the door, burst out 
 into immoderate fits of laughter, in which the little 
 black wretches persisted, until, my patience being 
 exhausted, I turned the pony out into the road, not 
 knowing which way to turn. 
 
 I threw the reins over old Deesa's neck, and, 
 giving him a pretty smart cut, left him to take me 
 whithersoever he listed. He put his nose down to 
 the ground, snorted once or twice, and then set off, 
 as hard as he could go, down a long lane, where the 
 trees hung over so thick that 1 had to take my hat 
 off. and hold my head down upon his shoulders, to 
 prevent its being knocked off, and even with these 
 precautions I got well lashed by the branches before 
 I found myself going down a long street in the new 
 town. Deesa did not slacken his pace until he 
 turned a corner, and came to a full stop outside a 
 Portuguese spirit-store and dancing-room, from 
 whence proceeded the sounds of vile music and 
 boisterous merriment ; crowds were going in sober, 
 and coming out mad and furious with strong drink. 
 
 I had fortunately not to wait long in this polluted 
 atmosphere, before I detected the face of a boy 
 whom I knew, and who was the servant of a gentle- 
 man in the Fort. He told me I was three miles 
 
302 BOMBAY CATHEDRAL, 
 
 yet from borne, and if I would not tell his master 
 where I had seen him, he would get me a guide. 
 I was so tired, that I would have made him any 
 promise, however absurd. A chokra, or errand- 
 runner, was soon procured, as well as a palanquin, 
 and giving him the pony to follow after me, in about 
 an hour and a half I found myself at home, and 
 just in time to save from the trouble of setting out 
 in search of me, two servants, who had kindly armed 
 themselves with lanterns and sticks, and other little 
 comforts, and who had obviously intended to make 
 a night of it. So terminated my first visit to the 
 toddy-drawers. 
 
 During my residence in Bombay, 1 had frequent 
 opportunities of attending divine service in the 
 Cathedral, and was often struck by the smallness of 
 the congregation assembled there on the Sabbath- 
 day, particularly of an afternoon. This sad neglect 
 did not arise from any lack of earnestness on the 
 part of those who laboured in Bombay, as faithful 
 ministers of Christ. The Bishop (Dr. Carr) often 
 preached ; and his sermons, so far as my poor 
 judgment could decide, were sound, eloquent, and 
 impressive discourses ; from which few could rise 
 without feeling that they had, in some measure, 
 been improved by them. Yet, what rows of empty 
 pews did he and others, Sunday after Sunday, preach 
 
THINLY ATTENDED. 303 
 
 to ! Nay, even of a morning, exclusive of the 
 military, wlio are, in fact, compelled to attend, how 
 few were the civilians collected in this house dedi- 
 cated to the worship of the Most High ! It is true, 
 there are other places for Christian worship in Bom- 
 bay, for this island lacks nothing in this respect ; 
 but they all wore a vacant aspect, with the excep- 
 tion of the Scotch Church ; yet there are, I should 
 imagine, a sufficient number of Protestants resident 
 in Bombay, to fill, even to overflowing, all the 
 churches and chapels on the island, without any 
 addition from the large amount of European "ship- 
 ping constantly riding at anchor in the harbour. 
 
 A visitor is struck upon entering the cathedral, to 
 see so many of the natives collected around its 
 doors. Some peeping curiously in, as if a novel 
 ceremony were going forward ; while the children 
 were evidently attracted by the solemn music pro- 
 ceeding from a fine organ. What a desire one felt 
 to take in along with one, these poor little idola- 
 ters, and let them taste, if possible, of that living 
 water, that they might thirst no more ! What a 
 desire one felt to fill, from the thronged streets, 
 those empty benches which professing Christians had 
 deserted ; so that the word there preached might 
 not be lost, and that they who had left kindred 
 and country, to come out here to labour in the 
 
304 MONUMENTS AND STATUES. 
 
 gospel, might not feel that they laboured almost in 
 
 vain ! 
 
 Large punkahs, ten and twelve feet long, are sus- 
 pended over the body of the cathedral, and kept in 
 continual motion by coolies outside the building, 
 who pull a cord which is attached to the fans, and 
 carried over a pulley through the window opposite ; 
 so that a grateful current of air is kept in circu- 
 lation. These punkahs just clear the heads of the 
 congregation when standing up ; and by their novelty 
 at first rather diverted my attention, especially if 
 there happened to be a very tall person under them. 
 A small punkah is also suspended in front of the 
 pulpit and reading-desk ; for it is impossible, during 
 the hot season, to remain long with any comfort 
 without this appliance. 
 
 There are at the west end of the cathedral a few 
 monuments and statues that have been erected to 
 commemorate distinguished officers, who have died 
 in this presidency. How young were the ages re- 
 corded on many of them ! But however pleasing 
 it may be to see these mementoes of affection 
 reared in our churches at home, their introduction 
 into such places in India cannot but be regretted 
 and condemned ; since it is difficult, as I found, to 
 persuade the ignorant natives that we do not wor- 
 ship the individuals thus commemorated, seeing 
 
PRAYER FOR THE GOVERNMENT. 305 
 
 that we erect their monuments in our temples, and 
 enshrine their stone figures in our sacred places. 
 Surely with such acute observers as the Hindoos, we 
 ought to avoid what to them may be the appearance 
 of evil. 
 
 The Cathedral in Fort George consists of a nave 
 and two short side aisles, supported by handsome and 
 polished chunam columns. The tower rises to a good 
 height, and serves, I believe, as a landmark for 
 mariners. The whole structure, with a small burial- 
 ground, is neatly enclosed with an iron railing, and 
 is kept in good order. The church service, after one 
 of the introductory sentences, commences with the 
 litany in the hot season, for the weather is so oppres- 
 sive that it is scarcely possible to sit long in a place 
 of worship. The prayer used, during the sitting of 
 that august body, for the High Court of Parliament, 
 has been adapted in the following manner : — " Most 
 gracious God, we humbly beseech thee, as for the 
 empire in general, so more especially for British 
 India ; for the Governor-general, the Governor, the 
 Supreme Courts of Judicature, and all that are put in 
 authority, that thou wouldest be pleased," &c. &c. 
 
 As within the tropics decomposition advances with 
 fearful rapidity, a hasty burial of the dead is ab- 
 solutely necessary for the safety of the living. Graves 
 are dug very deep, to prevent the horrible bandecoots 
 
 X 
 
306 SUDDEN DEATHS. 
 
 and other midnight prowling animals, from rifling 
 them of their contents ; and in some districts which I 
 have visited in the interior of the country, it was neces- 
 sary to place heavy stones over the coflfins, or the 
 jackals would have acted the part of resurrectionists, 
 and carried away your departed friend. I have often 
 thought, that this exhumation of the dead by wild 
 animals, so common in India unless great precautions 
 are taken, may have had originally something to do 
 with the Hindoo custom of burning the bodies of the 
 departed. 
 
 Sudden deaths are not uncommon in Bombay, and 
 dysentery carries off its hundreds annually from 
 among the ill-fed and ill-clothed pauper population. 
 Few Europeans escape its attack ; but the treatment 
 of this disease in India, by our array surgeons, like 
 many other things in the present day, has undergone 
 a change for the better. Formerly our troops in the 
 East were said to be fairly poisoned by the enor- 
 mous doses of calomel exhibited in this disease. An 
 old army surgeon states, that it was no uncommon 
 thing for an individual to take before he died eight 
 or nine hundred grains of pure calomel. I remem- 
 ber making a passing inquiry about a friend, with 
 whom I had conversed the day before, while he was 
 apparently in good health and spirits ; the answer I 
 received was, that he was dead and buried ! Man, in 
 
TWO GRIFFINS. 307 
 
 India, may truly be said, in the emphatic words of 
 Job, to flee as a shadow. 
 
 I had been absent from Bombay many months, 
 and had returned again rather broken in health, after 
 a sojourn in Western India, and an attack of its 
 jungle fever ; and as it was the height of the hot 
 season, I determined, that till the rains should set in, 
 I would take up my quarters upon the esplanade, in 
 a tent which I had hired for the purpose. I was 
 rather fortunate in getting this tent pitched within a 
 few yards of high water mark — an advantageous 
 position for a delicate person, and from the great 
 demand for ground- room at the time, a very difficult 
 one to secure, after the land had been staked out by 
 the authorities. I was not without company, for a 
 large number of tents had already been pitched, and 
 a strange set of people lived inside of them ; conse- 
 quently, to walk between the rows and see what was 
 going on among my neighbours, was a species of 
 amusement of which I was rather fond. 
 
 The tent on my right was occupied by two young 
 officers, good specimens of the griffin kind ; quite 
 boys in outward appearance, their white faces indi- 
 cating their recent arrival on the island from some 
 northern country. They seemed very anxious to get 
 tanned as soon as possible ; seeing that they were 
 accustomed to spend the greater part of their day 
 
308 BORAHS, OR INDIAN PEDLARS. 
 
 out in the sua ; consuming during these idle hours 
 so many manilla cheroots, that I fancied at times 
 some wager must have been depending bt'tween 
 them, as to how many they could convert into 
 smoke in a given period. When not in uniform, or 
 expecting a visit from a superior officer, they each 
 mounted a large Arab fur cap, something in shape 
 like a sugar-loaf, adorned by a red cotton top, that 
 drooped down on the side and served as a tobacco- 
 pouch. A white jacket, and what are used in India 
 as sleeping trousers, or defences against mosquitoes, 
 completed their attire ; and there they sat opposite 
 the fly of their tent for hours together, cracking jokes 
 on every native that passed by, and collecting horah 
 men around them, under the ill-founded idea, that 
 they were going to become large purchasers of their 
 commodities. But in these sharp merchants they 
 occasionally met their match, and once or twice the 
 butt-end of a large chittree reminded them that the 
 Hindoo was not to be trifled with every day, how- 
 ever sweet his temper might be. 
 
 The borahs are the pedlars of the East, and gain a 
 living by hawking about from house to house the 
 different articles they pick up from the public sales, 
 which articles are transmitted from place to place in 
 large baskets, on the heads of coolies. These itine- 
 rant hucksters spread out a mat by your tent-door, 
 
RICH. — GOSSIPS. 309 
 
 and display thereon an infinite variety of native and 
 foreign merchandize. It would be impossible to 
 enumerate a tithe of the strange things which they 
 offer for sale. The five continents, one might sup- 
 pose, had each contributed their produce to help in 
 filling the borahs' baskets. London goods, however, 
 are honoured with much space here. Shirts are 
 shown you at so much the dozen (often considerably 
 cheaper than you can buy them at home) ; socks, 
 collars, swords, epaulettes, plated dish covers, hot- 
 water plates — much used in India, for the punkah 
 starves your dinner — saddles and bridles, 'native toys, 
 musical boxes, guitars, and even down to the penny 
 yellow, whistle, that delights the country child at an 
 English fair ; these, and almost all other things, are 
 to be found in the borahs' baskets. The owners of 
 these baskets are often wealthy men. They abound 
 in news ; and as they speak English well, can give 
 you all the current chit-chat of the island. They 
 know every European resident ; and perhaps more 
 about private character, than to the individual con- 
 cerned would be agreeable. If ever, therefore, you 
 are at a loss for social information, the borahs are the 
 persons to whom to apply. 
 
 These borahs are of Arab origin, and dress in the 
 costume of their country. They call themselves 
 Ismaeliah, from one of the many followers of Mo- 
 
310 BORED BY A BORAH. 
 
 hammed, who lived in the age immediately suc- 
 ceeding that of the prophet; and as they are amusing 
 in their conversation, and have acquired the art of 
 flattery, they are great favourites with some English 
 ladies, and often succeed in running away with the 
 greater part of their pin-money in gew-gaws and 
 native ornaments. They never will believe that you 
 are poor, or unable to purchase their goods ; and 
 generally end their persuasions by saying, that 
 " English saib very rich ; always have little money 
 to buy something of poor borah." The borah shows 
 much anxiety to learn all he can respecting the 
 manners and customs of the English at home. I 
 remember one of them boring me for about three 
 hours by asking me the most extraordinary questions 
 relating to England ; whether it were really true 
 that Englishmen travel in their own land without 
 horses, bullocks, or hummals (palanquin-bearers), as 
 some saib had told him they did, and that the 
 carriages they used were like the Company's steam - 
 packets, and ran upon iron rails from one town to 
 another at the rate of sixty miles an hour. I told 
 him that it was even so ; illustrating my description 
 of a railway by a diagram ; and after showing him 
 that the motive power was the same in both cases, 
 he, with the assistance of the drawing, at last 
 thoroughly comprehended this, to him, hitherto in- 
 
A DRUNKEN CAPTAIN. 311 
 
 explicable wonder. He never forgot to call and 
 inquire about ray health when he passed, and 
 seemed to feel much the trouble which I had taken 
 in revealing to him the mysteries of a locomotive 
 engine. In fact, the borahs all appear to thirst 
 after knowledge, and are easily instructed. 
 
 The tent on my left was occupied by a captain in 
 the army and his family. It was a very handsome 
 double-poled one, and covered a large portion of the 
 compound. Beautifully picturesque it was to look 
 upon, but miserable and wretched were its occupants. 
 The captain was a man of the most dissipated habits, 
 and his poor wife and innocent children were treated 
 like brute beasts by this monster in human form. 
 How he ever retained his commission, leading the 
 dissipated life which he appeared to do, was to me 
 a miracle, for, like all drunkards, he was perfectly 
 careless of public opinion. I think it was only my 
 second evening on the esplanade, when I was dis- 
 turbed by the most pitiful cries of a female in 
 distress calling loudly for assistance ; I ran out, and 
 found that the voice proceeded from the captain's 
 tent ; and was about to enter it, when, to my 
 amazement, the whole of one side was forced out, 
 and the poor lady, followed by her children who 
 were leaping off the tops of drawers and tables to 
 escape from their father's fury, made towards my 
 
312 PEDRO. 
 
 tent ; the children, many of them half naked, taking 
 shelter with the cadets above me. This tragedy was 
 often enacted, and more than once I felt inclined to 
 report him at head-quarters as a nuisance to the 
 neighbourhood, but I thought the poor family would 
 in this case be the greatest sufferers. I have recalled 
 it to memory simply as affording an instance of the 
 results which often follow those unhappy marriages, 
 which in India too commonly take place between 
 English officers and half-caste women ; and may 
 here observe, that when such unfortunate unions 
 occur in the armv, both husband and wife are 
 generally cut by the officers of the regiment to 
 which they are attached. 
 
 With some trouble, and but little expense, for 
 furniture is reasonably cheap in Bombay, I contrived 
 to get my little tent snugly fitted up ; Pedro, my 
 Portuguese boy, appearing to take great interest in 
 arranging these matters to my satisfaction. He 
 was a thin, slim lad, of about eighteen years of age, 
 with a winning expression of countenance, and 
 short, curly, jet-l)lack hair. His favourite dress 
 was of Orleans cloth, and on Sundays and high days 
 he exhibited a very showy lace front to his shirt, 
 which piece of finery, he said, had been the work 
 of some of the old nuns in his native town of Goa. 
 I often envied him two good gifts which he possessed 
 
LETTERS FROM HOME. 313 
 
 in perfection — a splendid set of pearly white teetli, 
 and the sweetest temper that boy was ever blessed 
 with. He was conscientious, and truly honest ; 
 and, unless on occasion of a wedding, or a funeral 
 of some relation — for he certainly appeared to have 
 a good number of stray cousins — he seldom wished 
 to go from home, except it were to mass, or the 
 church service held in the neighbouring town. 
 
 Altogether, I was very well contented with this 
 new way of living. The evenings were certainly 
 long, and often tedious ; but my health improved, 
 and I contrived to pass them happily, by writing, 
 and in company with those friends that never re- 
 proach one — instructive books ; and during the day 
 I was fully occupied. I had perhaps too much 
 time for reflection ; and the bitter idea of being 
 separated from all that was near and dear to me, 
 cast occasionally its dark shadow across my path, 
 and made me feel as if I were alone in the world. 
 
 One night, as I was poring (by the aid of a 
 cocoa-nut-oil lamp, that was flickering in the air, 
 in consequence of the number of drowsy beetles 
 that kept humming around it) over some old letters 
 received from England — having nothing to disturb 
 the solitude of my little home, save the snoring of 
 Pedro on one side, and the heavy, uneasy breathing 
 of my cook on the other — for they both slept be- 
 
314 AX ILL-FAVOURED NOCTURNAL VISITOR. 
 
 tween the passages of the tent, and had rolled 
 themselves up an hour or two previously — my atten- 
 tion was rather suddenly arrested by observing the 
 fly, or' door-way, of my sitting-room gently moved 
 oji one side, by the hand, as I thought, of a man. 
 I felt, for the moment, a little alarmed ; but not 
 again observing the circumstance, went on with the 
 perusal of my letters ; fancying that the movement 
 might have been occasioned by a current of air 
 passing under the canvas from the sea-shore. 
 
 The Cathedral had tolled out the hour of eleven 
 some ten minutes before ; and I was preparing my 
 couch for rest, when again I detected the movement 
 of the fly, and called out, ^^ Carmunta, V (Who is 
 there X) when an ill-favoured-looking scoundrel put 
 his head and shoulders inside the tent, and made me 
 a salaam. As it was a time of night at which I had 
 never before been visited by any of the natives, I was 
 at a loss to account for the strange appearance of the 
 man ; and involuntarily grasping a small dirk-knife 
 which lay on my writing-desk as a paper cutter, I 
 called loudly to both my servants ; in a second they 
 were with me ; for native servants in India are very 
 light sleepers, and are aroused in a moment. The 
 man had by this time walked in ; and after squatting 
 down, seemed surprised to see me so agitated, as I 
 must confess I was. Pedro, who was more alarmed 
 
THE RAMOOSIE. 315 
 
 than I expected he would have been, after bringing 
 the lamp to bear upon his features, recognized him at 
 once as the ranwosie who guarded my drunken neigh- 
 bour's compound. The cook inquired his errand, 
 and how he dared to intrude himself upon his master 
 at that unseasonable hour. His answer was, that 
 unless I hired one of his people to guard my tent, he 
 would not answer for the safety of my property 
 another night ; that it was customary for all English 
 saibs to do so ; and that if T would promise to give 
 him half the usual wages, three rupees a month, he 
 would look after my tent as well as the captain's. 
 
 As I had never before heard anything about these 
 ramoosies, I asked Pedro if what the man told me 
 were the truth ] and as he confirmed his statements, 
 I agreed for the sum named, and dismissed him. 
 
 After passing a rather uneasy night, the following 
 morning I sallied out early into the Fort, to consult 
 a friend with respect to the hasty promise which I had 
 made. He told me T had acted quite rightly ; and 
 that if T did not keep a ramoosie, I should assuredly 
 be robbed ; in short, that nobody lived in tents on 
 the esplanade, or, in fact, anywhere in India, without 
 them ; and so ended the matter for the present. 
 Four or five mornings after this unexpected visit, I 
 was rather roughly awakened, just at daybreak, by 
 Pedro, who had got up earlier than usual, and who 
 
31 G I AM ROBBED. 
 
 had discovered, that the tent liad been entered during 
 the night, and that every portable article which it 
 contained had been carried off, as if by the hand of 
 an enchanter. He wrung his hands in the greatest 
 sorrow, as he fully expected I should now give up 
 living in tents, and dispense with his services. I 
 hastened to rise, and found, upon inspection, that 
 his tale was too true. Pots, pans, glasses, knives 
 and forks, and books — all had departed. Articles 
 within a foot of the camp-bed on which I was 
 sleeping, had been cautiously removed, and carried 
 off by the thieves. My first thought turned to m}'" 
 writing-desk ; for, besides the few rupees I possessed, 
 it contained some remembrances that money could 
 never restore. By a mere accident, it had escaped 
 notice. The thieves had actually stepped over it ; 
 the opening which they had made for themselves, by 
 pulling up a tent pin or two, being immediately 
 behind the valued desk. 
 
 Unfortunately, I was not the only sufferer, for 
 the marauders had decamped with my cook's ward- 
 robe ; and he certainly bestowed upon them some 
 remarkable Portuguese denunciations, for robbing, as 
 he said, a poor fellow like him. Pedro, as I found, 
 had been more favoured ; for he had taken good care, 
 every night, after the ramoosie's visit, to put all his 
 valuables under his bedding, arid, in particular, had 
 
EOBBERY COMMON IN BOMBAY. 317 
 
 made a pillow of his Orleaus suit. My cups and 
 saucers having accompanied the tea-kettle and teapot, 
 I was necessitated to beg a breakfast from a neigh- 
 bouring gentleman, who did not appear the least 
 surprised on hearing of my losses. He said it was an 
 every-night occurrence in Bombay, but advised me 
 to give information to the head of the police force, 
 which I did ; but, from that day to this, I never 
 heard anything more about the stolen property, 
 though 1 was pretty well satisfied that the thief 
 lived next door to my tent. As it is commonly 
 reported in Bombay that the native police are 
 often implicated in these robberies, and that a 
 regular systematic plan is followed up to prevent 
 detection, I thought it but a loss of time and 
 money to pursue this investigation further, though 
 I did cause a district in the native town, known 
 as the " thieves' bazaar," to be well searched. 
 
 The amount of property annually stolen in Bom- 
 bay being really enormous, it is astonishing that this 
 gang of professed thieves is not put down by the 
 strong arm of the law. Any attempt to capture 
 any of these midnight visitors yourself, is quite out 
 of the question. They enter your dwelling perfectly 
 naked, with their bodies well smeared over with 
 cocoa-nut oil ; and any one daring enough to shoot 
 or wound them, is said to become a marked man ; 
 
318 AN EXPOSURE. 
 
 and though years may intervene, you live in dread 
 of ultimately falling a sacrifice to the smouldering 
 revenge of these town Thugs. 
 
 Since the above was written, great interest has 
 been excited in Bombay by an investigation of the 
 conduct of the police. According to the Bombay 
 Times, the heads of almost every department in the 
 establishment have become so deeply involved with 
 natives within their jurisdiction, as to be open to the 
 gravest imputations. The chief magistrate exercised 
 no supervision or control over the others, nor kept 
 any separate records. Government property was 
 sold to the chief creditors of the members of the 
 establishment at half the price offered for it by 
 others. The cash thus secured, was thrown into 
 a box, into which were thrust all varieties of pro- 
 perty which fell into the hands of the police — 
 money, watches, jewels, specie, <fec., and no one 
 knew who kept the key ; no account was kept of 
 the goods, and a very small proportion of them 
 seem ever to have been accounted for. The price 
 of the property just referred to was received in 
 1846 ; up to the present time it has not been 
 accounted for. Tenders made four years since by 
 intending purchasers of police-property remain still 
 unopened. Warrants were issued by the chief 
 magistrate and remained for years unserved. One 
 
THE LAND WE LIVE IN. 319 
 
 influential native employe was known to keep an 
 extensive gambling establishment, where gambling 
 was at all hours of the day seen by the police to be 
 in progress — no one interfering. Crimes of all kinds 
 were hushed up and compounded for ; and the whole 
 of the subordinates seem to have been in the last 
 degree corrupt. " Such," observes the editor, " has 
 been the system prevailing for years in the com- 
 mercial capital of Bengal, under the very nose of 
 government ! Is it to be wondered at that belief in 
 the corruption of the provisional police and police 
 courts should be almost universal 1 " 
 
 And now I think I have exhausted my reminis- 
 cences of Bombay and its beautiful islands. I lay 
 down my pen with regret, and if my readers derive 
 but half the pleasure from the perusal of my little 
 volume, which I have experienced in its composition, 
 I shall feel amply repaid for any labour which it may 
 have occasioned me. 
 
 In conclusion I would express my hope, that 
 these " Recollections " may make some of my 
 younger readers more satisfied with the land they 
 live in. I would fain believe, that though England 
 has its snows and its long winters, its fogs and 
 other discomforts, with which we are constantly 
 finding fault, there are many, nevertheless, who 
 
320 GLITTERING BUT DELUSIVE. 
 
 would not willingly resign its solid advantages and 
 real enjoyments, for all the glittering pleasures of 
 the far-famed East ; half of which pleasures must, 
 after all, be confessed to owe their attraction chiefly 
 to the illusions of imagination. 
 

 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 The following letter of advice, On the Folly and 
 Danger of Loading ChiMren luith Valuable Oma/ments, 
 by Narayan Dinnanatbji, Marathi Interpreter, Su- 
 preme Court, Bombay, will be perused with interest 
 by many of my English readers : — 
 
 The general practice existing among the inhabi- 
 tants of this country, of adorning their children 
 with gold and other valuable ornaments, having, in 
 numerous instances, led to the perpetration of the 
 most heinous and atrocious crimes, has brought 
 down from our enlightened press the severest re- 
 marks upon the folly and danger of such a custom ; 
 and even the bench has not been wanting in giving 
 expressions to its mingled feelings of surprise and 
 
 Y 
 
322 APPENDIX. 
 
 regret, that a practice so fraught with mischief 
 should remaiii in full force, notwithstanding that 
 numerous instances of its frightful consequences have 
 occurred. 
 
 On every occasion that an innocent helpless child 
 falls a victim to the cupidity of a wicked and heart- 
 less fellow-being, all classes of the community, from 
 the greatest of the Shets that move about in stately 
 carriages, down to the poorest citizen that is obliged 
 to toil in the streets to earn his daily bread ; from 
 the most learned Brahmin who spends the greatest 
 portion of his time in the study of the Veda and 
 the Shastras, to the most ignorant of the com- 
 monalty that cannot even write his own name — I 
 say, all of them, who have any knowledge of these 
 woeful occurrences, hold discussions among them- 
 selves on the enormous crimes the hateful custom 
 has given rise to, are for the time convinced of the 
 folly and dangerous consequences of the practice, 
 and regret from the very bottom of their hearts 
 that it should have existed among them at all. But 
 this is only the temporary excitement of their 
 feelings. No sooner have a few months, nay, even 
 weeks, rolled over the woeful and atrocious event, 
 than the feelings of astonishment and horror that 
 had for a time completely taken possession of their 
 minds, gradui.lly subside, till at last the frightful 
 
ON LOADING CHILDREN WITH ORNAMENTS. 323 
 
 fact is altogether forgotten, and those very people 
 whose humane feelings had been shocked at the 
 atrocity of the crimes arising from this reprehen- 
 sible practice, and who had been a short while ago 
 convinced of the folly of keeping up among them 
 such a dangerous custom, cease to utter a single 
 syllable about the subject, and the baneful custom 
 continues to prevail among them to as great an 
 extent as ever, without even a single voice being 
 raised against it. 
 
 Such are the general facts regarding this evil 
 custom, and such the state of mind of those among 
 whom it is kept up ; and I do not think any of 
 you here present upon this occasion, will consider it 
 far away from the truth, if I were to give you, as 
 my firm and decided opinion, that the state of mind 
 of the elder sons of India is such, that as long as 
 they continue to exercise any influence on the state 
 of our society, no great reformation of this custom 
 will ever take place ; and that we should therefore 
 look for the much-desired innovation, to that portion 
 of our rising generation that will be blessed by 
 Providence with the benefits of a liberal education, 
 which will liberate their minds from the shackles 
 of this and other similar foolish practices, and teach 
 them to think that that custom, at least, which can 
 in no way have even a shadow of religious sanction, 
 
324 APPENDIX. 
 
 and is at the same time fraught with such evil 
 consequences, ought above all things to engage their 
 serious attention with a view to its entire discon- 
 tinuance. 
 
 When, therefore, I was called upon, some time 
 ago, to produce an essay, agreeably to the rules of 
 this society, I thought of this subject, which, though 
 not of equal importance with other questions that 
 have engaged our attention, possesses, I should hope, 
 no common interest for us. 
 
 This custom is not, like Chemistry, the wise 
 daughter of a foolish mother, but, on the contrary, 
 it is the foolish daughter of a wise mother. In 
 searching for its origin, we can very easily trace 
 it back to the parental affection, which our benevo- 
 lent Creator has so wisely implanted in our breast 
 with a view to the preservation and multiplication 
 of our species. The Father of the universe has 
 not confined this important affection to the human 
 species alone. The same benevolent motive that 
 has actuated Him to confer this blessing upon man, 
 has likewise induced Him to extend it to most of 
 the lower animals. 
 
 This affection for children seems to have gradually 
 degenerated in our country into an anxiety to 
 decorate them with valuable ornaments. But, by 
 our following this custom, we have in some measure 
 
I 
 
 ON LOADING CHILDREN WITH ORNAMENTS. 325 
 
 defeated the very object of our wise Maker. By 
 our folly, ignorance, and vanity, we have converted 
 an affection that the Supreme Being has implanted 
 in our hearts for the express purpose of the pre- 
 servation of our offspring, into love for show and 
 finery, which tends in no small measure to their 
 very destruction. In European and other countries, 
 where this evil practice does not exist, there is 
 scarcely an instance to be found of a child being 
 murdered ; while in our country, where the custom 
 prevails, there have been numerous cases of child- 
 murders, happening on account of the strong 
 temptations the custom in question holds out to 
 evil-disposed persons to commit them. We have 
 heard instances in which little children have been 
 enticed away by designing rogues from their sweet 
 homes, and murdered by them in the most cruel 
 manner possible, in some dark corner of the town, 
 solely with the view of possessing themselves of 
 their ornaments ; and, horrible to say, instances 
 have not been wanting in which the very domestic 
 servants of the family, in the receipt of a small 
 monthly pittance, have acted similarly, yielding to 
 the strong momentary temptation of enriching them- 
 selves at once. 
 
 Child-murders, which this practice gives rise to, 
 are not generally such as are effected in a speedy 
 
326 APPENDIX. 
 
 manner, with some effective weapon, by means of 
 which the unfortunate victim is deprived of its life, 
 • by a single stroke or so, without giving it much 
 unnecessary pain ; but are in most cases committed 
 in the most brutal manner possible. No sooner is 
 the victim conveyed to a secure place, than, in order 
 to silence it at once, a coarse piece of doth is 
 /ordbli/ rammed down its throat, and the scene that 
 ensues is heart-rending to relate, and almost im- 
 possible to describe. The only object the bloody 
 ruffians have now in view, is to p9ssess themselves 
 of the jewels on the person of their helpless victim 
 in the most rapid manner possible, however ex- 
 cruciating the pain may be that they occasion by 
 their careless and merciless mode of stripping it of 
 all ornaments. Should the child happen to have 
 ear-rings and a nose-ring, they are seldom taken out 
 in the ordinary manner, but are forcibly pulled out 
 of those delicate parts of the body, leaving them in 
 a lacerated, bleeding, and painful state. When the 
 innocent victim has massive bangles and anklets on 
 its person, which is unfortunately very often the 
 case, we have heard of instances in which the mon- 
 sters, with a view of facilitating their infernal 
 operation, have resorted to the cruel expedient of 
 severing those limbs, and that, too, with the most 
 blunt and awkward weapons, giving in the course 
 
ON LOADING CHILDEEN WITH ORNAMENTS. 327 
 
 of this shocking mangling the most excruciating 
 pain to their victim. 
 
 Now, permit me to ask you whether we are to 
 allow our dear innocent children to be thus deco- 
 rated for ever, as so many pretty lambs used in 
 sacrifices, and now and then to fall victims to the 
 rapacity of needy and cruel ruffians, without taking 
 into our consideration any measure to prevent the 
 evil ? Shall these atrocious and heart-rending deeds 
 be still committed without the least effort being made 
 by us to remove the cause that leads to their per- 
 petration? Shall the press proclaim in vain the 
 numerous instances of monstrous cruelty inflicted 
 on helpless little beings, without raising in our 
 breast feelings of horror, compassion, and shame? 
 horror at the atrocity of the deed itself, compassion 
 for the sufferings of the innocent victims, and shame 
 for our not having yet taken a single step to remedy 
 the enormous evil ? Shall the bench be allowed to 
 appeal to our heads and hearts, from time to time, 
 without inciting us to the exercise of the virtue 
 which our merciful and benevolent Creator has so 
 wisely implanted in our minds ? Or, is it come to 
 this, that the love of show and finery has become 
 so predominant in our hardened and corrupt hearts, 
 that we scruple not to gratify it at the occasional 
 sacrifice of the lives of our dear little children? 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 I sincerely trust not. I most anxiously hope, that 
 that inherent though now suppressed virtue will 
 not be allowed to lie dormant and inactive in our 
 hearts for ever, but will once more burst into a 
 glowing flame. 
 
 Is not the horrible instance of the most cruel 
 death inflicted on the son of a respectable Hindoo 
 in this island, and that too, as if to inflict still 
 deeper and more smarting wounds in the hearts of 
 his unfortunate parents, a few days before the joyful 
 one appointed for the celebration of his marriage, 
 coupled with the circumstances of his arms and legs 
 having been tied tightly down under his belly, a 
 large piece of cloth thrust down into his throat, 
 his hands chopped off, the more conveniently to 
 take off his gold bangles, and his whole body being 
 otherwise so frightfully mangled as to render it the 
 most unsightly object to look at — is not all this 
 suflScient to induce us to adopt energetic measures 
 to abolish this reprehensible custom? Shall not 
 the barbarous manner in which a Brahmin boy was 
 murdered last year on Walkeshwar Hill, rouse us 
 from our wonted lethargy and make us cry loud 
 against this obnoxious practice ? Shall not these 
 instances of unparalleled atrocity, joined to numerous 
 others that have preceded them, make us ashamed 
 of our past indifference in a matter of such vital 
 
X 
 
 ■J 
 
 ON LOADING CHILDREN WITH ORNAMENTS. 329 
 
 importance to the well-being of our society, and 
 make us resolve at once to take active measures 
 for applying a suitable remedy to an existing evil 
 of such magnitude % What great obstacle have we 
 in our way beyond that sordid practice of decorating 
 our children, which has insensibly grown into a 
 custom % Does our religion throw even the shadow 
 of an obstacle in the way of our attempts to accom- 
 plish this laudable object? Does any doctrine of 
 our creed enjoin us to adhere religiously to the 
 practice of adorning our children with valuable 
 jewellery? or does it denounce even a sentence of 
 heterodoxy against those who fail to follow the cus- 
 tom strictly % No ; on the contrary, it can be most 
 satisfactorily shown, that the doctrines of our re- 
 ligion, I mean the Hindoo religion, have a tendency 
 to discountenance this evil practice, when it is found 
 to lead to such a heinous crime as child-murder. 
 By the spirit of these doctrines the life of a child 
 is held very sacred indeed, on account of its help- 
 lessness and incapability to do harm to others. 
 To murder a Brahmin, who has devoted himself to 
 the study of the sacred works, and employed most 
 of his time in inculcating moral doctrines, and 
 spreading the means of salvation among the people, 
 is considered more wicked and sinful than to take 
 away the life of one who has spent his life less 
 
V. 
 
 330 APPENDIX. 
 
 usefully for his fellow-beings. Again, with a due 
 regard to the comparatively helpless condition of 
 women, it is held more sinful to deprive a woman 
 of life than even a holy Brahmin ; and to murder 
 a child is considered still more sinful again, because 
 of its innocence and incapability of defending itself 
 against the unprovoked attacks of others. Can a 
 religion, then, which denounces such heavy punish- 
 ments upon the heads of those who are guilty of 
 child-murder, be for a moment 8uj)posed to coun- 
 tenance any event to tolerate a practice which, in 
 numerous instances, leads to this most heinous offence 
 in the eye of our Holy Writings 1 
 
 With these observations, that have suggested 
 themselves to me on this subject, I beg to leave the 
 matter for your consideration, with a sanguine hope 
 that the opinions herein expressed will find a 
 favourable response in the heart of every one of my 
 friends present this evening. 
 
 II. 
 
 The following: account of the Mohurrum Festival is 
 taken from an Indian paper, and the Bombay Tiines 
 Calenda/r and Almanack, for 1851 : — 
 
 The Mohurrum Festival closed in peace and 
 tranquillity, no attempt at rioting or disturbance of 
 any kind having been made during the ten days 
 
THE MOHURRUM FESTIVAL. 331 
 
 over which it lasted. On Monday night, the 3rd, 
 the Taboots were carried in procession and paraded 
 the principal streets of the native town as usual, 
 from midnight until about three o'clock next morn- 
 ing, accompanied by music, flags, and flambeaux 
 innumerable. We never remember to have seen 
 the streets so thronged on any previous occasion. 
 Multitudes of all nations — excepting Parsees, of 
 whom not one was to be seen in the route of the 
 procession — assembled to witness the gorgeous sight, 
 and at about half-past twelve o'clock on Monday 
 night, the scene on the Bhendy Bazaar road ex- 
 hibited one of the most brilliant pageants to be 
 witnessed in India, and it is to be regretted that 
 some " cunning limner " was not present to take it 
 down on canvas; a panorama of this sight would 
 attract crowds to view it even in Bombay, and we 
 are surprised that some enterprising artist has 
 never yet attempted to delineate on canvas a series 
 of our numerous native festivals, with a view to 
 their exhibition at home. 
 
 The principal Taboots were followed by small 
 parties of mounted police, accompanying whom we 
 observed a sprinkling of the Governor's body-guard. 
 Although there could not have been fewer than 
 one hundred thousand persons of all castes, creeds, 
 and nations, joined in this immense procession, the 
 
v_ 
 
 332 APPENDIX. 
 
 greatest order prevailed, and not the slightest tumult 
 could be observed. Mr. Spens, the senior Magis- 
 trate of Police ; Mr. LeGeyt, one of her Majesty's 
 Justices of the Peace, who volunteered his services 
 to assist in maintaining order ; Captain Baynes, 
 the Superintendent of Police, and Captain French, 
 Town !Major, were most conspicuous in their efforts 
 to preserve order and regularity in the procession. 
 The most beautiful of the Tazias was that con- 
 structed by the butchers. This Taboot alone had 
 between ten and twelve thousand followers. Its 
 "nagarras" (kettle-drums) were the loudest, its 
 musicians were the best trained, its immediate 
 attendants the most numerous and wealthy, and its 
 banners the gayest of the whole. The burning of 
 blue-lights at intervals in front of the Taboots, the 
 flashing back of the lights from the many hundred 
 torches which surrounded them, while all around 
 was almost dark (the moon being far on the wane 
 about 2 A.M.) the wild music and the gay attire 
 of the Moslem host, gave to the procession all the 
 appearance of a gorgeous dramatic entertainment 
 got up in the best style of the age. 
 
 Picquets from the several native regiments were 
 stationed at the Green Market, Mr. Rennie's Stables 
 in the Bhendy Bazaar, at Pydonee, the Esplanade, 
 the Mombadavee Chowkey, and near the Null. As 
 
THE MOHURRUM FESTIVAL. 333 
 
 numbers of Parsees reside in the neighbourhood 
 of the ISTacoda's street and the Green Market, the 
 Taboots were prevented from passing through those 
 streets. This led to an unpleasant disaster about 
 one o'clock in the morning, when two large Taboots 
 arrived at Pydonee, close to the Jain Temple, where 
 three roads branch off to Calbadavee, the Green 
 Market, and Nacoda street. The attendants on 
 these Taboots were anxious to parade the latter 
 street, past the house of the late Mohammed Ali 
 Kogay, whose memory is held in great respect by 
 the Mohammedan community, but being prevented 
 by the Police, the carriers of the Taboots made a 
 rush to get past them, on which one of these beau- 
 tiful constructions toppled over and fell to the 
 ground, by which it was much injured — the mate- 
 rials of which it was made being chiefly glass and 
 talc. The bearers of the other Taboot, supposing 
 that an attack was being made upon them, in the 
 confusion incident on the falling of its companion, 
 threw it on the ground, and ran off amongst the 
 crowd. Fortunately it met with little or no injury. 
 This accident caused an immediate stoppage of the 
 procession, and much excitement and confusion pre- 
 vailed amongst the crowd for a short time. The 
 mob blamed the Police for the disaster, and insisted 
 that it had been purposely caused by them. Loud 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 cries of " Deen ! Deen ! " were raised, and a dis- 
 turbance was, it was feared by the by-standers, about 
 to arise. It fortunately happened that Mr. Spens 
 and Mr. LeGeyt were on the spot at the time of 
 the accident, and by their joint efforts harmony was 
 restored in a short time. These gentlemen, with an 
 intrepidity which does them the greatest credit, 
 threw themselves into the midst of the crowd, and, 
 being thoroughly acquainted with the character and 
 language of the people whom they were addressing, 
 very quickly satisfied them that their only safety 
 lay in their obedience. The fallen Taboots were 
 once more raised on men's shoulders and carried off 
 in procession as before. In the mean time two 
 parties of the military — one consisting of fifty men 
 and an officer of the 78th Highlanders, and the 
 other of a like number of the 14th regiment Native 
 Infantry, under an European officer, were brought to 
 the spot and formed across the two streets through 
 which the Taboots were prevented from passing. 
 With the exception of this little unpleasantness, 
 nothing whatever occurred to disturb the order of 
 the several processions. No violence of any kind 
 was offered to any one during the whole night, and 
 the Police sheets next morning contained nothing 
 beyond the ordinary number of assault cases — not 
 one of which, so far as we can learn, had any con- 
 nection with the Mohurrum. 
 
THE MOHURRUAI FESTIVAL. 335 
 
 As an account of the origin and objects of this 
 festival may be interesting to the general reader, we 
 re-publish the following succinct description of it 
 from the Bombay Times Calendar and Almanack, 
 for 1851 :— 
 
 " The Mohurrum is a celebrated mourning festival, 
 held annually in remembrance of the first martyrs 
 of the Mussulmans — Hassein and Hossein, the eldest 
 sons of Fatima and Ali, from whom the whole race 
 of the Syuds has generated. Hassein was poisoned 
 by an emissary of the usurping Calipha, and Hossein, 
 the last victim of the descendants of the Prophet's 
 family to the King of Yuseed's fury, suffered a cruel 
 death, after the most severe trials, on the plain of 
 Kurballa, on the tenth day of the Arabian month 
 Mohurrum, the anniversary of which catastrophe is 
 solemnized with the most devoted zeal. 
 
 " Hassein and Hossein were, as above stated, the 
 two sons of Ali, by his cousin Fatima, the daughter 
 of Mohammed ; and after the murder of their father 
 by the contrivances of the Calipha, they with their 
 families removed from Shawn, the capital, to Medina. 
 After residing there for several years, the people of 
 Shawn, being tired of King Yuseed's tyrannical 
 rule, invited Hossein to return to the capital, and 
 take up his lawful right as Emaum (Leader of the 
 Faithful). Before accepting this invitation, Hossein 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 sent Moslem, his cousin, as messenger, to report the 
 true state of affairs to him ; but on his arrival with 
 his two sons at Shawn, he was seized by order of 
 King Yuseed, and cast from a precipice, and his 
 two innocent sons were barbarously murdered, for 
 the sake of tlie reward offered for their heads. 
 This forms the subject of the ten days' bewailing 
 during the Mohurrum. Tlie Mohammedans are 
 divided into two distinct sects, called the Sheas and 
 the Soonies. The former believe Ali and his 
 descendants to be their lawful leaders after Mo- 
 hammed, and the latter are persuaded that the 
 Caliphas, as Aboubuker, Omar, (fee, are the only 
 leaders to be accredited — thence quarrels, animosi- 
 ties, and dislikes, are hoarded up, to be avenged 
 during the Mohurrum. 
 
 " The Festival begins on the first day of the moon 
 (Mohurrum). Tazias (a term signifying grief, and 
 applied to a representation of the Mausoleum 
 erected over the remains of Amam Hossein, at Kur- 
 balla) made of ivory, ebony, sandalwood, cedar, and 
 some wrought in silver fillagree, and, indeed, of 
 every variety of material from pure silver to bamboo 
 and paper, according to the rank and wealth of the 
 party, are exhibited in every direction, and conveyed 
 in procession through the streets. Mourning as- 
 semblies are held morning and evening, in the 
 
THE MOHURRUM FESTIVAL. 337 
 
 Emambarrali, during the Mohurrum ; and the 
 head priest or preacher recites a subject for each 
 day's service, from the various books composed on 
 the subject, descriptive of the life and sufferings of 
 Hassein and Hossein. The Murseeah, a poetical 
 composition of great merit, and embracing all the 
 subjects they meet to commemorate, is chaunted 
 with great effect ; the names of their lawful leaders 
 are recounted with blessings, and those of their 
 usurpers, the Caliphas, with curses. Then comes 
 the procession of Dhul Dhul, the name of Hossein's 
 horse killed at Kurballa, beautifully caparisoned ; 
 and finally the Tazias are deposited with funeral 
 rites in the public burial grounds, when the Mo- 
 hurrum ceases, until the return of another year. 
 
 " The Taboot is a slight frame-work of bamboo, 
 in the shape of a mausoleum, covered and orna- 
 mented with coloured paper ^ and tinsel, and is 
 designed to represent the mausoleum built over the 
 remains of the slaughtered Hossein. They vary 
 considerably in size and appearance, according to 
 the taste and ability of those who build them. In 
 some of them is the representation of the tomb 
 of Hassein and Hossein. Before these Taboots, 
 incense is burned, and various other rites are also 
 performed. The Taboots, it is said, are peculiar to 
 India. They, of course, are not mentioned in the 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 Koran, and they are not built either by the inhabi- 
 tants of Persia or Arabia. Many Mohammedans 
 regard them with strong disapprobation. In Bom- 
 bay, the larger portion of the Mohammedans unite 
 in building the Taboots. These are taken out, and, 
 accompanied with music, carried in procession 
 through the Bhendy Bazaar, from midnight of the 
 ninth until 3 o'clock of the morning of the tenth 
 day, and from 2 to 6 o'clock on the afternoon of 
 the same day, on their way to the beach in Back 
 Bay, where the greater part of the Taboots, after 
 being stripped of whatever was possessed of value, 
 are cast into the sea. 
 
 "The practice of building Taboots seems to be losing 
 ground in Bombay, a portion of those who formerly 
 united in this, having adopted the views of those 
 opposed to such things. The Indian Mohammedans, 
 who do not unite in building the Taboots, are accus- 
 tomed to go on this occasion to the mosques for five 
 successive evenings, to listen to the account of the 
 death of Hossein. Their demonstrations of grief, 
 however, are not equal to those of the Moguls and 
 Persians, who, while listening to the recital, weep 
 aloud and smite violently upon their breasts. These 
 are accustomed to meet in the Musjid, a little to the 
 east of the American Mission Chapel, near the 
 Baboola tank, in Mirza Mahomed Ali Khan street. 
 
i 
 
 THE MOHURRUM FESTIVAL. 339 
 
 In Bombay, there is, strictly speaking, no representa- 
 tion of the battle which was fought previous to the 
 death of Hossein. Some two or three horsemen 
 bearing flags enter the large yard adjoining the 
 Emambarrah, with loud wailings, and are followed 
 by two horses caparisoned to represent those which 
 were for the use of the fallen Hossein. One person 
 on horseback, with a long sword apparently run 
 through the head and covered with blood, joins in 
 the wailings. A female infant in deep mourning 
 sitting at the door of a small mausoleum, which is 
 carried on the shoulders of men, constantly casts 
 ashes or cut straw upon her head in token of grief. 
 These pass round in a circle, accompanied or followed 
 by the company on foot, who beat upon their breasts, 
 crying, 'hai Hassein, hai Hassein.' Sometimes a 
 person represented in a dying state, his body covered 
 with wounds and blood, and darts and daggers run 
 into it, is carried about in the procession." 
 
 The procession of the horse at the Emambarrah on 
 Monday night was also on a very grand scale, and 
 was attended by the whole of the Sheah sect of the 
 Mohammedans resident in Bombay. By the politeness 
 of Mitza Mahomed Ali Khan, a number of European 
 gentlemen were invited to be present at the cere- 
 monies on this occasion. 
 
 On Tuesday the 4th, the Taboots were brought out 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 for the last time and paraded through the streets in 
 the same manner as on the previous night, and be- 
 tween four and six o'clock in the evening the whole 
 of them, to the number of fifty or thereabouts, were 
 taken and cast into the sea at Back Bay, after having 
 been stripped of their finery. The largest Taboots 
 were those of the butchers, the Sepoys of the Marine 
 Battalion, and the 6th Regiment Native Infantry. 
 The whole affair went off very quietly, and no dis- 
 turbance of any kind took place, although some badly 
 disposed Parsees residing in a street near the market 
 place^ did all they could to provoke one by throwing 
 stones from the windows at the Taboots of the Siddees 
 as they passed along. This caused some confusion 
 for a short time, and the Mussulmans were a good 
 deal exasperated at this misconduct on the part of 
 the Parsees. A strong body of police happened to 
 be at hand, which overawed the mob, and by the 
 timely interference of Captain Ba}'nes and the Magis- 
 trates then on the spot order was soon restored, and 
 the procession passed peaceably on towards the beach. 
 The police entered the houses from whence the stones 
 were thrown and took down the names of all the in- 
 mates, who, we trust, will be punished for their 
 transgression. The countless thousands who accom- 
 panied the Taboots to their last resting-place, dis- 
 
THE MOHURRUM FESTIVAL. 341 
 
 persed immediately after these were deposited in the 
 sea. 
 
 To show that these festivals do not always pass 
 off so quietly, we extract the following from a Bom- 
 bay paper. 
 
 " The Mohammedan festival of the Mohurrum occa- 
 sions among that sect in India a degree of fanatic re- 
 ligious excitement which frequently occasions loss of 
 life in the cities of the native states. In the Company's 
 territories the armed processions are not allowed, 
 and the population is generally kept in check during 
 the festival by precautionary measures on the part of 
 the police authorities. Notwithstanding such pre- 
 cautions, four men have been set upon and cut to 
 pieces during the recent Mohurrum at Bombay. The 
 affair arose out of a schism in a sect of Mohammedans 
 called Kojahs, who had a club-house in a suburb of 
 Bombay called Mahim. The Kojahs were converted 
 to Mohammedanism about two centuries since by a 
 Persian prince, an alleged descendant of whom (Aga 
 Khan) has recently arrived at Bombay, and set him- 
 self up as head of the sect, which he has endeavoured 
 to lay under contribution. About half the sect have 
 acquiesced in his claims, the other half resist them. 
 The Aga's followers have long been anxious to dis- 
 possess their rivals of the upper room in their joint 
 
342 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 club-house at Mabim, and during tlie great day of tbe 
 Mobumim, while the bulk of the population and all 
 of the police were engaged in the procession of the 
 Taboots to the sea- beach, a body of the Aga's follow- 
 ers, some of them armed with swords, proceeded to 
 the club-house and literally hacked to pieces four of 
 the chief men of the opposite party whom they found 
 there. At the coroner's inquest a verdict of 'Wilful 
 murder' was returned against twenty, nineteen of 
 whom are in custody, and have been committed for 
 trial." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BATH : PRINTED BX BINN8 AND GOODWIN. 
 
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