MEMOIRS OF INDIA:

COMPRISING

A BRIEF GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT

Xl)e 6ast 3lntites;

SUCCINCT HISTORY OF HINDOSTAN,
FROM THE MOST EARLY AGES,
TO THE END OF
THE MAROUIS OF HASTINGS' ADMINISTRATION
IN 1823.
DESIGNED FOB
THE USE OF YOUNG MEN GOING OUT TO INDIA.

By R. G. WALLACE, Esq.
AUTHOR OF " FIFTEEN YEARS IN INDIA,"

Forsan h£ec olim meminisse juvabit. Vincill.

LONDON:
PKINTED for'
LONGMAN, HURST, RKES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1824.

London!
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Strcot-Square.

TO
THE MOST NOBLE
THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS,
&c. &c. &c.
ASA SMALI^ TOKEN OF SINCERE GRATITUDE
AND ADMIRATION,
THIS EFFORT OF MY TEN
IS INSCRIBED, WITH
THE GREATEST RESPECT.

A 2

Ee.-f.8X3

PREFACE.

The Author of this work spent a great part of his
life in India. In the year 1805 he had opportunities
of seeing Madras and part of the Carnatic. He
served a few years in Mysore and Malabar. From
1810 till 1813 he was in Bengal, &c. In the be
ginning of 1814 he was at Bombay ; soon after he
marched with the 65th regiment for Guzerat, and
Spent some time on the frontiers of Scindea's do
minions. The force to which he belonged invaded
Cutch-Booge in 1816, and attacked the pirates in
Okamundel. In I8I7 he was in the Deccan, where
he served tUl the termination of the last Mahratta
war. For several years he held a staff" situation,
which increased his opportunities of personal ob
servation. He had often to regret the want of such a work
as he now presents to the public. On every favour
able occasion he laid up materials for this under
taking; and since his return home, be has been
engaged in digesting the whole into the contents
A 3

VI PREFACE.

of this volume. A considerable part of his labour,
however, does not appear. This consisted in a
pair of maps, and a set of drawings, intended to
illustrate his book ; but finding that their publica
tion would enhance the price too much, he has
consigned them to oblivion. In revising his manu
script, he threw into an Appendix some Notes, which
he thinks will be useful to the reader ; and in going
over the whole again with care, he has given in an
Addenda such matter as he further conceived to be
interesting. He is, therefore, conscious of having
bestowed much pains on this production of his
pen. Some authors have complained of a want of
public interest respecting the affairs of India ; or
rather that their books were unfortunate in not
passing rapidly from the shelves of their pubhshers
to those of our numerous libraries and reading
societies. He hopes, however, that there ia a great
increase of curiosity respecting India.
Hindostan in ancient and modern times presents
an interesting spectacle to both the Christian and
philosopher. If memory recurs to those pages of
history which describe commerce, it will be found
that struggles between rival states for the spices,
gems, and silks of the East, occasioned the discovery
of America, and the expansion of civiUsation in
Europe, after barbarism and priestcraft had sunk
the noble remains of liberty and science in dark
ness. Let observation be directed to the modern

PREFACE. VU
state of that extensive region of Asia, and it will
occur to the contemplative mind, that there must
be something extraordinary in institutions which
have withstood the sword of conquest and the
persuasive force of Christianity, while their en
feebling effect has been so great upon the inhabit
ants, that from the fabulous invasion of Bacchus to
the real possession of Hindostan by an English
company of merchants, every invader has found
the natives unable to oppose vigorous encroach
ment. In short, a spirited individual *, only a few years
ago, deemed the pursuit of research so important,
as to merit the devotion of a considerable sum
from his moderate fortune, which he offered as a re
ward for the best essays on the most likely means of
civilising the natives, and of diffusing the light of the
Claristian religion through the Eastern world.
Whatever an author's motive for writing may
be, he should aim at promoting the interests of
morality and religion ; so that public utility may
be obviously paramount to all other objects. Such
is the sentiment of the writer of the following
pages. What he has attempted to accomphsh may
be described in a single sentence.
He has endeavoured to abridge much that has
been written on India j and to speak of what he
himself saw, felt, and thought whilst in that country,
* The Rev. Dr. Buchanan.

Vlll PREFACE.
as a plain soldier and an unprejudiced gentleman,
anxious for the interest of truth and the welfare
of his native land.
To assume that he has successfully executed his
task would be presumptuous; but he has assiduously
laboured not to mislead. To the justice and judg
ment of a discerning public he submits his work
with respectful deference, humbly saying to all in
the beautiful language of the Roman poet —
Vive, vale : si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus imperii ; si non, his mere mecum.
Horace, lib.i. epist.6.

This work will be found divided into three
books, of a geographical, historical, and miscellane
ous description; and each book, into chapters, or
subjects, according to the natural sections which
the matter suggests ; followed by a copious Index..

ADVERTISEMENT.

It was intended that a map should accompany
this work, containing the name of every place
mentioned in it. In attempting, however, to make
one upon a scale suitable to an octavo volume, the
Author found it would be too crowded for easy
reference. The best map he could give would be
more ornamental to the book than useful to the
reader ; and the expense of this work would be so
much increased by a geographical sketch of the
extensive regions he describes, that in abandoning
the idea of adding a map, he is confident he has
consulted the best interest of the public. Arrow-
smith's new map of Hindostan is now in general
circulation ; to it he refers the reader for the in
terior of India ; and reference to any of the com
mon geographical delineations of the globe will be
sufficient in all other respects.

CONTENTS.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.
Geographical Outline of India

Page 3

CHAPTER II.
The Islands of India . _ *.

51

CHAPTER III.
Geographical Description of India - - 88
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
History of India, from the most early ages until
the present time - - - - 128
CHAPTER II.
The Discoveries and Conquests of the Portuguese
in India - - - - - 150
CHAPTER III.
On the East India Companies of Holland, France,
Denmark, Ostend, Svi^eden, Prussia, and
Russia; also on the Trade of Spain with
India - - - - - 184
CHAPTER IV.
On the Settlements and Conquests of Great Britain
in India, till the end of Marquis Wellesley's
Administration - - - - 220

Xii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

Page

From the Administration of Marquis Wellesley in
India, until the return of Marquis Hastings 252

300

CHAPTER VI.
Of the Three Presidencies, Calcutta, Madras, and
Bombay - - - ~ "
BOOK III.
CHAPTER I.
Miscellaneous Remarks on India, for the benefit of
young adventurers - - - 316
CHAPTER II.
Preparation for India, and passage out - - 358
CHAPTER III.
Cautions to be observed on arrival in India - 365
CHAPTER IV.
Remarks on subjects connected with residence or
service in India - - - - 370
CHAPTER V.
On returning from India, and in conclusion - 379
Appendix, containing a few notes illustrative of the
text ------ 383
Addenda - - - - - 411
Index ------ 483

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

BOOK I.

India is divided into three distinct parts by the
hand of nature. Hindostan Proper extends from
the Himalaya, or region of eternal snow, to the
river Nerbudda, which falls into the Gulf of Cam-
bay, nearly in a latitudinal line with the mouths of
the Ganges. The Deccan is all that space from
the Nerbudda to the river Krishna, which springs
not far from the western shore and flows into the
Bay of Bengal. All the rest of India thence to
the island of Ceylon is called the Peninsula; whose
table land is propped up by that amazing wall of
granite the ghauts, which, on the south-western
quarter, rise so high above the clouds, that while
storm howls on one side, zephyr reposes in perfect
security on the other.
There is hardly a place in this vast region that
bears the name it did in the days of Alexander
the Great. Many of those cities, which were then
objects of wonder, have passed away under the
mouldering pressure of time. Others of more

2 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
modern structure are now in heaps of ruins. I ey
serve but as fleeting monuments to instruct man
kind respecting the instability of human grandeur.
Such questions, therefore, as whether Palibothra
were the modern Allahabad or Patna ; or whether
the island described under the name of Taprobana
be Ceylon or Sumatra, seem of little use in the
present age. The discrepancy proves that the an
cients had a very confused knowledge of Hindostan;
and it must be confessed that its geography is as
yet very imperfect. Those parts which have been
accurately surveyed are laid down in Arrowsmith's
four sheet map tolerably well. But many others
are only approximations from the reports made by
native observers.
The inhabitants of all those countries known by
the names of Baloochistan, Afghanistan, Cabul,
&c., which lie westward of the river Indus, may
be called with propriety Indo-Persians ; and all
those who occupy the regions east of the Tiperah
wilds, which bound Bengal, under the names of
Arracan, Assam, Ava, the Birman Empire, Siam,
Pegu, Tunquin, Cambodia, Laos, &c., may with
equal correctness be called Indo-Chinese. North
ward of the great mountain^ called the Himalaya
range, which are covered with eternal snow, the
inhabitants are of the Tartar race ; and in the
islands of Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, the Sunda Chain,
Bornes, Celebes, the Moluccas, the Philippines,
&c., which gem the Indian Ocean, the natives are

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 3
a mixed people, assimilating to the aborigines of
the continents near them.
In order to systematise as much as possible this
brief geogrstphical description of India, it is in
tended h^f^the first place to travel round the outUne
of our sketch.

CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF INDIA.
Little was known respecting those countries
which lie between the river Indus and Persia, till
Captain Christie and Mr. Pottinger undertook to
travel through Baloochistan, disguised as Mussul
man horse-dealers. After a journey of fifteen
hundred miles from the mouth of that great river,
they joined Sir John Malcolm, at the Persian
court. In aU their course they found Hindoos, and
monuments of the Brahmanical institutions ; but
the mass of the inhabitants are Moslems of the
same origin perhaps as the Afghans and Sinds,
and probably descendants from the Tartars, who,
according to Chinese historians, invaded the
kingdom of Bactria, so long subject to the suc
cessors of Alexander. The Baloochees are govern
ed by petty chiefs ; some of whom live by plunder.
B 2

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

The king of Cabul claims their obedience as
sovereign ; but, owing to the distracted state of
that kingdom, every chieftain now acknowledges
no power but that of the sword. These chiefs are
at eternal war with each other. We accordingly
find, that the high feeUngs generated by feuds pre-
vail among them. Like the Highlanders of Scot-
land, they are proud, hospitable, and brave ; but
much addicted to debauch, and depraved in their
morals. They swear by their beards, constantly
go armed, and resent personal affronts with great
spirit. Baloochistan is by nature a strong rugged
country ; exceedingly cold in winter, but so in
tensely hot in summer, that the most burning wind
known in the world is generated in it, under the
name of Bade Sumoom, Its approaches are indi
cated to the natives by an unusual closeness of the
atmosphere. Its dangerous effects, however, may
be shunned by covering the body with even a very
thin cloth, and lying prostrate till the fiery fluid
passes ; but should this precaution not be taken,
says Mr. Pottinger, " the muscles of the un
happy sufferer become rigid and contracted, the
skin shrivels, an agonizing sensation, as if the
flesh was on fire, pervades the whole frame, and
in the last stage it cracks into deep gashes, pro
ducing hemorrhage, that quickly ends this misery."
Deserts and barren sands abound ; but the fertile
parts produce wheat, rice and pulses in abundance.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 3
together with sugar and several drugs for export
ation. In traversing some of the wilds, Mr. Pot
tinger has described distress from thirst with much
strength of feeling. " The shrab, or water of the
desert," says he, " floated around us, as though
it were mocking our distress, by its delusive repre
sentation of what we so eagerly thirsted for, the
absence of which, I can affirm with perfect confi
dence, from my individual experience, to be the
most insupportable of all the wants of what are
termed the absolute necessaries of life. A person
may endure, with patience and hope, the pressure
of fatigue or hunger, heat or cold, and even a
total deprivation of natural rest for a considerable
length of time ; but to be scorched under a burn
ing sun, to feel your throat so parched and dry
that you respire with difficulty, to dread moving
your tongue in your mouth from the apprehension
of suffocation which it causes, and not to have the
means of allaying those dreadful sensations, are,
in ray ideas, the extreme pitch of a traveller's
calamities." Both banks of the Indus for a considerable way
are inhabited by Sinds, under the government of
two chiefs called Meers, who, though tributaries
to the king of Cabul, now hardly acknowledge any
Subjection. The Sinds are distinguished from the
Baloochees, who wear turbans, gowns, and trowsers,
in little but their head-dress, which is a cap some
thing like the crown ofLour hat fancifully em-
B 3

6 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
broidered round the lower edge. A similar cap is
worn by the females; some of whom are very
beautiful. At Hyderabad, which is the capital,"
the artificers are very skilful in working iron and
gold ; and in many parts of the country there are
monuments, which indicate the superior prosperity
of the whole at some remote period. The small
province of Tatta, now part of this region, is the
Delta of the Indus. It is in many parts suscep
tible of the highest state of cultivation. A great
deal of it is now a desert, which in former times
was a perfect garden. Near the capital, which is
named from the province, there are prodigious
numbers of graves and mausoleums ; one of which
over the tomb of Mirza Eesau is uncommonly mag
nificent. Tatta is built upon the ruins of the an
cient Brahmanabad, which in old times was called
Pattala by the Greeks ; but there is scarcely a trace
now of the 140a bastions, which Abul Fazel de
scribed it to have had.
The river Indus, in a fine course of more than
1350 miles, fertilizes the whole country, and pro
duces the same eflTects as the Nile. Some of the
tributary branches of the Indus are equal to the
largest rivers in Europe. The Hydaspes, Hydra-
otes and Hysudrus are as large as the Rhone. The
Hyphases, forty miles longer than the Elbe, and
nearly all the inferior branches as noble as the
Thames.* • Vide Mr. Elphinstone's account of Cabul.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 7
Throughout Afghanistan, Hindoos are numer
ous. They are in fact found in considerable num^
bers as far as Astracan, and even in Arabia and
the northern parts of Persia ; where the love of
gain induces them to reside, though held in a state
of degradation, and only tolerated on account of
the increase of revenue which their industry and
taxation produce. The Afghans enjoy a consider
able share of liberty, and have a sort of political
constitution, that inspires an ardent thirst for glory
and independence. Love is cultivated among this
gallant race of men with much refinement ; and
the power the fair sex has, is so great, that, if a
lady of rank sends a chief her veil, he feels him
self bound by honour to espouse her quarrel,
though the destruction of him and his tribe should
follow. Ghizni, the ancient celebrated capital of
this country, was situated on a hill in the province
of Cabul. Its magnificent structures have scarcely
left a wreck behind, to mark their passage down the
flood of time ; but pilgrimages are still made to
the tombs of saints buried near it, of such sanctity
that the Mohammedans call Ghizni the second
Medina. For four centuries this was the seat of a
mighty empire. Sultan Mahmood, the conqueror
of India, ornamented it with noble edifices, the
shapeless masses of whose ruins can now scarcely
be traced. In A.D. II7I, the Ghizni empire
ceased, having been conquered and subverted by
Mahomed Ghori. B 4)

8 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Cabul may be said to extend to the great
northern mountains * ; the lower ranges of which
are inhabited by a wild race of men, who occupy
all the valleys of Caffristan, from its western
border to Cashmere, so justly celebrated for its
manufacture of beautiful shawls. The wool, of
which these shawls are made, is brought from
Tibet. It is the inside coat or down of sheep
peculiar to that mountainous region. The wool
is at first of a dark grey colour, but being bleached,
it becomes a beautiful white, and takes the various
dyes readily when spun. It is a curious fact,
that the borders are attached to the shawls after
fabrication, so delicately, that no eye can detect
the place of junction. To make a shawl of a
fine description is very tedious, t The coarsest
ones from the loom fetch about a pound ster
ling, but the finest sometimes sell for 100/. each.
Lambs' skins, of the Tibet sheep, are so highly
esteemed, that the dams are often killed before
yeaning, on purpose to have the .skin of a more
delicate texture than after its exposure to the air.
The valley of Cashmere t has been celebrated
from the most early times for its beauty. Nothing
can exceed its romantic advantages from nature,
of which Bernier has given a fine description. It
is all holy ground to the Hindoos, every part of it
being dedicated to some god. In the centre of a
* Vide Addenda, No. I. f Vide Addenda, No. II.
t Vide Addenda, No. III.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. U
plain near, the lake of Cashmere, studded with
little isles, were the gardens and pavilions of the
Mogul emperors, called, after those of Delhi,
Shalimar. Thither the nobles made annual visits,
to feast on the charms of this lovely valley, and to
choose wives from among the beautiful girls of
Cashmere ; whose delicacy of complexion and
symmetry of form were only surpassed by the
elegant turn of their minds, the liveliness of their
dispositions, and the sweetness of their tempers.
Abul Fazel says there were no fewer than twenty-
six roads out of this province into Hindostan.
The exports of Cabul consist of horses, poneys,
furs, shawls, Mooltan chintzes, madder, assa-
foetida, tobacco, almonds, pistachio nuts, hazel
nuts, and fruit ; among which are many of those
common to Europe ; for the climate about Perish-
war is almost Hke that of England, and in winter
very bracing, though it seldom freezes hard below
the Himalaya range. Their imports from India
consist of cotton, muslins, silks, and brocade,
indigo, ivory, chalk, bamboo, wax, tin, sandal
wood, sugar, broad cloth, musk, coral, and drugs
and spices of all kinds. The king of Cabul is
not now very powerful, for his authority has for a
long time been feebly supported ; but one of his
ancestors, Ahmid Shah Abdalli, was so much so,
that he decided the fate of India, which was upon
the point of being at the disposal of the Mahrattas.
Abdalli entered Hindostan with about 80,000

10 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
fighting men, and eighty pieces of cannon, in the
year I76O, and on the 7th of January following
the famous battle of Panniput took place. The
Mahrattas had a camp, it is said, of 500,000 men,
and 200 pieces of cannon ; all of which were taken,
and the greatest part of their army put to the
sword, on the same spot where Sultan Baber had
destroyed the power of the emperor Ibrahim Lodi
in 1525. Mooltan, Lahore, and a great part of
the Punjab, belonged to Cabul in its flourishing
state, but upon its decline the Seiks rose, and
they now possess nearly all those provinces.
Perhaps in no part of the world is there a
grander display of the sublime than along the
Himalaya. The higher ridges of the mountains
are seen in the distance clothed up to the snowy
regions, with fir and oak ; and the^cataracts formed
by the flow of water from melted snow, give
an indescribable grandeur to the scene. The
valleys, in the lowest ridges, are inhabited by a
rude and savage race, clothed in the skins of wild
beasts, and a coarse stuff" manufactured from the
long hair of their goats. They have but imperfect
notions of God, and drink to excess of an in
toxicating liquor produced from grain.
Beyond these mountains lie the extensive and
dreary regions of Tibet, extending from the
sources of the Indus and Ganges to the confines
of China, I6OO miles in length, and in breadth
from Hindostan to the great desert of Cobi. The

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 11
elevation of this country is such, that the cold is
almost insupportable, and under its influence, vege
tation is parched, as if by extreme heat. Many
of the great rivers of China and India have their
sources in the Himalaya mountains, whose alti
tude, above the plains of Bengal, is in some places
more than four English mUes. The ways of Pro
vidence are wonderful. In this region, which one
would suppose unfriendly to animal life, it abounds
to an amazing degree. The whole atmosphere
swarms with wild fowl and game, while the woods
are filled with beasts, and the plains covered with
herds and flocks innumerable. Among these are
the yak or bushy-tailed cow, covered all over with
very long hair, the musk deer, resembling a hog,
and the shawl goat. The latter is very small, with
straight horns, and covered with coarse long hair,
under which is found the glossy substance manu
factured into shawls in Cashmere. Gold is found
here in great quantities, and very pure, with which
the natives, who are numerous, purchase warm
clothing, and buy up English broad cloth with
great eagerness. The higher classes dress in rich
furs, and the poorer sort in the skins of beasts and
coarse woollens ; but they all wear a prodigious
weight of clothing, and very thick boots. At
one time, the Brahmanical institutions prevailed all
over this country, but the inhabitants are now
Budhists, acknowledging an incarnation in the
person of their high priest ; but they make pil-

12 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
grimages to Juggernaut *, and hold Benares in
the greatest reverence, as the original seat of the
arts and sciences. The most remarkable custom
here, is, that the women have several husbands,
there being seldom more than one wife to a whole
family of brothers ; the eldest of whom has the
privilege of choosing; but immediately after she
becomes the joint property of the whole, and con
fers her favours upon them by turns. Something
like this is practised among the Nairs of Malabar,
which shall be noticed in its proper place. All
civil power in Tibet is derived from the great
Lama, and he has several populous towns and
strong forts.
It is now well ascertained that the Ganges flows
from under an eternally hard mass of snow, a few
miles beyond the village of Gangotra, where fancy
has given to its source the shape of a cow's mouth ;
but it is, in fact, an aperture in the ice. To this
sacred spot Hindoo pilgrims repair from all parts
of India ; and it is considered such an exertion of
love to God, that its performance is believed to
redeem from troubles in this world and the next.
Indeed, this trial of Hindoo faith is almost super
human ; for the way to Gangotra lies for several
days' journey over mountains almost perpendicular,
the footpath winding along their sides with a
precipice of two thousand feet immediately below,
* Vide Appendix, note 1.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 13
and projecting rocks directly in many places over
head, with hardly a resting place for the foot, so
that a false step is certain destruction. But this
is not all ; they have to cross swinging bridges
of rope or cane, over frightful torrents ; and a
shivering creature from the island of Ceylon, almost
under the line, clothed in a thin cotton robe, has
to encounter transitions of climate in the same
day, which a Russian could scarcely endure.
Hundreds, nay, perhaps thousands of them, perish
every year in this enterprize, and the bottoms of
the precipices are white with their bones. In
short, some idea may be entertained of the almost
insurmountable obstacles on the near approach to
Gangotra by the reader, when he recollects that
Captain Raper and Lieutenant Webb, sent by Go
vernment to explore the sources of the Ganges,
found the difficulties so unconquerable on getting
near that place, that they were obliged to abandon
their purpose, though provided with every requisite
that unlimited expenditure could procure. *
The greatest fair in all India is held at Hurd-
warra, where the Ganges enters the plains of
Bengal. Here the pilgrims to the five sacred
junctions, mentioned in the Sastras, assemble ; and
as they combine commercial speculations with de
votion, every one brings or takes something. Two

* Vide Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. where Captain Raper's
Journal will be found.

14. MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
milhons of souls annually congregate at this place
for purposes of traffic, pilgrimage, and profit.
Here are exposed for sale, horses, mules, camels,
tobacco, antimony, assafoetida, dried fruits ; such as
apricots, figs, apples, pears, prunes,'raisins, almonds,
nuts, and pomegranates ; shawls, stuffs, blankets,
turbans, looking-glasses, and toys in ivory and
brass ; shields, bows and arrows, rock salt, piece-
goods, English broad cloth, muslins, sarcenets, cocoa
nuts; with slaves brought down from the hills,
many hundreds of whom are sold, from three to
thirty years of age, at the rate of from 1/. 55. to
18/. 2s. * each.
This prodigious mass, collected from various
parts of Asia, and speaking different tongues, would
be in the situation of the children of Noah at the
tower of Babel, were it not that there is a general
language of the fingers known and studied through
out Hindostan ; which enables the seller and the
buyer perfectly to understand each other. This
mode of making bargains is common at every fair in
the country. A purchaser goes up to a seller, and
narrowly examines a camel, or whatever he wants.
The person to whom it belongs makes him an en
quiring nod, which is answered by a positive shrug,
and they join their right hands, over which a part
of their muslin robe or cotton dress is thrown, to
conceal their operations from inquisitive eyes.
* Vide Captain Raper's Journal.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 15
Then follows a most animated scene of gesticula
tion, which is conducted with patience and gravity ;
but when two experienced men meet, a bargain is
concluded in a few seconds, and the price, fixed by
the fingers and eyes, in general so perfectly in
telligible, that disputes seldom occur.
Numbers of Fakiers, or rather Sanyassees, for
the former word signifies a devotee of the Moham
medan creed, and the latter, one of the Brahmanical,
assemble at this fair, to extort money under various
pretences ; some by torturing their bodies, and
others by displays of buffoonery. There are four
principal sects — Gosains, Bairagis, Jogis, and
Udasis. The Gosains worship Seeva, and generally
go naked, with a string of beads round the
neck, their bodies frightfully painted, and armed
often with sharp two-edged swords. Vishnu re
ceives the adoration of the Bairagis, who are
distinguished by peculiar stripes of yellow ochre *,
or sandal wood ashes, on the forehead. The Jogis
are followers of Seeva, but differ in some things
from the Gosains, and are known by large slits in
their ears, to which they hang various substances.
They and the Gosains bury their dead, which is a
custom very extraordinary in Hindostan, where
burning is the general mode. Nanac, the founder
of the Seiks, is the great object of respect with the
* For these distinctions, vide Asiatic Reseacches, vol, xi.
Raper's Journal.

16 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.'
Udasis, who are easily distinguished, by wearing a
conical cap, with a fringe. These four sects con-
sider each other heterodox, and sometimes have
sanguinary battles. In an engagement once at
this fair between the Gosains and Bairagis, the
latter left 18,000 dead on the field, and the former,
who were victorious, nearly as many, having fought
hand to hand, and foot to foot, with the broad-
sword and target, for a whole day. *
From Hurdwarra to the sources of the Ganges,
are temples of great antiquity, one of which, called
Raghunaut, is said by the Brahmans to have
existed 10,000 years. At some of these, the most
disgusting scenes of moral depravity are practised,
almost in open day. Captain Raper says, in speak
ing of the village of Rami Haut, " It is inhabited
by dancing women ; and the ceremony of initia
tion to this society consists in anointing the head
with oil, taken from the lamp placed before the
altar; by which act they make a formal abjura
tion of their parents and kindred, devoting their
future lives to prostitution. A short distance be-,
yond it, is a math or fane of * the god of love.'
The high-priest of Badrinaut was in a miserable
state from the wounds of the deity, although he
and all his Brahmans had taken a vow of eternal
chastity. When he applied for relief, he signifi
cantly attributed his state to a certain something
* Vide Appendix, note 2.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA, 17
which he did not pretend properly to understand,
called by him "a rarefaction qfthe atmosphere." His
dress was a quilted vest, of green satin, with white
shawl girdle, red turban, party-coloured socks, and
gold earrings, with pearl pendants ; triple rows of
pearls formed his necklace, bracelets of precious
stones ornamented his arms, and rings, sparkling
with gems, glittered on his fingers. The great idol
of the temple, during the season of pilgrimage, has a
superb table laid at two o'clock, and his velvet
couch is spread every night ; but in the inclement
part of the year he is shut up, and left to starve,
while the high priest and his sensual Brahmans
retire to a more congenial climate, to enjoy their
dancing girls.
The surrounding mountains contain many natu
ral curiosities ; h,ot and cold springs ; water-falls
from projecting ledges of snowy hills, rolling in
shower baths over precipices ; lead and copper
mines ; and such frequent earthquakes occur,
that nearly all the temples have been shattered.
Some of the shrubs, plants, and trees of Europe are
seen here ; the hazel and briar, the fir and oak, and
the strawberry, bloom in the valleys, and climb up
the hills till lost in snow. But a custom prevails
among the inhabitants not less interesting than
many other things, and this is the human sacrifice
they offer to the offended spirit of the great
mountain after a bad harvest, by hurling a man
from the top of a precipice, nearly a mile high,
c

18 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
down a rope made fast above and below. If he
have the dexterity to balance himself so as to reach
the bottom unhurt, a great reward awaits him ; but
should he fall, and any life remain in him, his head
is immediately severed from his body. *
Nepaul lies in the north-east of Hindostan. It
may be said to occupy the whole of that quarter
from the river Sutleje to Bootan, being a distance
of about 700 miles, but its average breadth does
not exceed 100, and it all lies between the latitudes
27° and 32°. It is one of the most mountainous
regions in the world ; the lower hills and valleys
only being inhabited ; so that by calculation its
cultivated area does not exceed ten millions of
acres, and its population may be estimated at two
millions of souls. The district properly called
Nepaul, is of small extent : it in fact consists of
little more than a beautiful oval valley twelve miles
long, and nine broad, watered by the Bhagmutty
and Bishenmutty rivers. On one side of the
Bishenmutty stands the capital called Catmandoo,
and on the other the ancient city of Pattan. For
several centuries this lovely spot was governed by
its own rajahs, but in the year 1768 it was invaded
and conquered by Parthi Narrain, the rajah of
Goorca, who afterwards removed the seat of his
government - to Catmandoo, which is now the
* This IS given on the authority of Captain Raper and
Lieutenant Webb, who witnessed the ceremony. Vide Asiati«5
Researches, vol. xi.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 19
metropolis of the whole Nepaulese territories. For
a considerable time before, the Goorcas had been
famous as warriors, belonging in general to the
Khetri sect. Theu* rajah claims descent from the
same origin as Sevagee, whose family is allowed
to be very ancient. This warlike people soon con
quered all the neighbouring provinces, seventeen
in number, and forced the numerous rajahs to be
come tributary to theirs, who is now despotic
sovereign of this extensive region.
Being forsaken by the principal families, who
followed their rajah to Catmandoo, Goorca is now
in a state of decay. It is famous for rock crys
tal, of which there is a great abundance near it.
Many of the small provinces that compose the
kingdom of Nepaul deserve but little notice.
Mocwanpore is remarkable for containing a very
strong fort, situated on the summit of a mountain,
to which, when sore pressed by an enemy, the
Goorcas send their families and treasure. This was
the case when Nepaul was invaded by the Chinese
Tartars. It is so very strong that Cossim Aly's
Armenian general, Goorgeen Khan, besieged it
during nearly the whole of the year 1762, in vain.
Kemaoon is one of the most fertile provinces, con
taining several fine valleys. Almora is also a pro
ductive district. The tree called phulwarah, the
nuts of which contain a vast quantity of fat, is
found on its hills. This province is watered by
the river Causila, which is deep and broad ; and
c 2

go MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
there being no bridge, it is crossed in a curious
manner by means of large gourds, several of which
are made fast to the waist of an excellent swimmer,
many of whom attend at proper stations. The
passenger has only to hold fast by his guide's
girdle, and he is ferried over with safety. Almora,
the capital of this district, is seated on the top of
a mountain. Serinagur is another large province
intersected by extraordinary chains of hills, and
covered with forests of oak, holly, horse-chesnut,
and fir : it has a very strong hill fort called San-
gur, which resisted the Nepaulese, who besieged
it for twelve months, about the year 1791. This
was their first attempt to conquer the country, but
it was not effected till 1803. An army of 10,000
men then entered it; and a furious battle was fought
near Gurudwarra, where the Serinagur rajah was
slain by a musket ball, his forces routed, and his
country became the prey of the victor. The valley,
in the centre of which Serinagur stands, is three
miles in diameter, watered by the Alcananda, a
fine broad river, which is crossed near the town by
a bridge of rope thrown across a narrow part,
eighty feet wide, where the rush of water has cut
a passage for itself through a mountain. Here the
houses are well built of stone, two stories high, and
slated ; but the streets are narrow ; and with the
exception of several curious pagodas, the rajah's
house is the only remarkable edifice, being built of
coarse granite to the height of four stories.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 21
These mountainous regions are covered with deep
forests in many places of Saul or Sissoo ; in others
they are barren : the elephant abounds, but he is
here of a small breed ; peacocks and pheasants are
in great numbers ; mines of copper, iron, and lead,
a,re here in inexhaustible plenty, as well as fine
marble ; and the sand of the rivers, when washed,
yields a considerable quantity of gold. The prin
cipal food of the inhabitants is wheaten bread, peas*
rice, pulses, and vegetables, with such seasoning
of animal food and curries as are permitted by the
rules of their castes. All the country is subject to
a sort of military government. The power of the
Goorcas is absolute, the subject having no protec
tion but that of the great council of state, called
Punjunni, which consists of the ministers and such
chiefs as the rajah nominates. By the decree of this
tribunal, any subject may be deprived of life and
land ; but except on particular occasions the ad
ministration of criminal and civil laws is according
to the Dharma Sastra, which is an ancient code
founded in equity. In some cases, however, the
mode of punishment is by levying a fine on the dis
trict where the offence has been committed, and in
default of payment, the offender and family are
seized. Nepaul has to its north the lofty Himalaya,
jjpvered with eternal snow. Though this range of
mountains be forty miles from Catmandoo, yet its
immense height (peaks of it being more than 22,000
feet above the sea) causes it to appear as if hanging
c 3

MBMOIRS OF INDIA,

over the town, to a spectator who stands at a little
distance south of the city. Eastward the moun
tains are inhabited by barbarous tribes called
Kyrauts, Hawoos, and Limbooas. The Company's
territories nearly embrace it on the other sides. Its
chief towns are, besides Catmandoo and Pattan,
Goorca, Bhatgong, Jemlah, Olmira, and Serinagur.
The capital is said to contain 50,000 souls, and
with its suburbs, or immediate dependencies, a
population of 168,000. Bhatgong is situated eight
mUes from Catmandoo : it is embellished with
some fine pagodas, excellent houses built of bricks,
and it has a palace which was once a magnificent
pile. It is the Benares of the Goorcas, and great
numbers of Brahmans reside here, who say the
town resembles the guitar of Mahadeva for its
beauty and harmony. The Bhagmutty and Bish
enmutty rivers, by which this fine valley is watered,
have their source in the gigantic mountain of Siva-
puri. From a high hill called Chandiaghiri, the
valley, said to contain half a million of souls, looks
lo\ely ; being thickly studded with villages, and
laid out in fine plantations of sugar cane, and irri
gated :by numerous silver streams. The Brahmans
say that this valley was once a lake. Its chmate
is that of the south of Europe, which is given by
its elevation of about 4000 feet above the sea.*
The seasons are nearly the same as in other parts
of India, but it has the monsoon earlier, and fre
quent showers. In three or four days' journey up

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 23
the mountains, a man may here change the heat of
Bengal for the cold of Russia ; and our officers and
soldiers are as much benefited, when invalids from
relaxation, by being sent up above the clouds of
Nepaul, as they would by being sent to the north
of Europe. The soil is cultivated by the Newars,
who live in the valleys. The people of the hiUs
are called Parbutties ; the other classes are Brah
mans, Khetris, and Rajpoots. There are not many
Mohammedans in Nepaul. There are generally
three harvests or crops in the year ; one of wheat,
one of fine rice, and one of coarse rice, or pulse or
vegetables. The capital, Catmandoo, is only remark
able for its great number of wooden pagodas ; its
streets are narrow, and the houses are built of
bricks, which are uncommonly good, all over
Nepaul, to the height of four stories, and covered
with tiles. It extends along the river Bishenmutty
about a mile, but it is no where more than half its
length in depth. In cultivating this valley spade
husbandry is preferred to the plough, and the
women perform a great part of the labour, AU the
fruits and vegetables of India grow here, with
many of those belonging to Europe. There is a
great variety of game. They have very few manu
facturers, although expert in working copper,
brass, and wood. It is wonderful how they accom
plish some of their undertakings with their tools,
which are of the very worst description. It is
said that the revenue does not amount to more
c 4

24 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
than thirty lacks of rupees per annum, being
only 375,000/. ; but the government requires little
for current expenditure, the civU and military es-
tabhshments being provided for by assignments of
land, and the whole territories let out in jaghires.
All the coins current in Hindostan pass in Nepaul ;
but the currency of their own mint is a sUver piece
worth fourteen-pence, caUed a sicca, with several
copper ones, the lowest of which is the 280th part
of a sicca. The regular forces are clothed with
English broad cloth, and armed with muskets and
bayonets ; but their irregulars have bows and
arrows, matchlocks and hatchet swords. Their
peace establishment may be about 10,000 men,
but they can bring a very large army into the field
on occasions of emergency ; for when their war-
standard, which is yellow, with the figure of Hanu-
nian, the Munkey deity, on it, is unfurled, the
chiefs flock to it with enthusiasm, war being their
delight and vocation. The Nepaulese were never
subdued by the Mohammedan invaders of India.
This, may account for their purity in many respects,
and strict conformity to the Brahmanical institu
tions ; yet it is extraordinary that buffaloes are here
offered as sacrifices to Bhavani, and the Newars feed
on the flesh. Bravery is the distinguishing trait in
the high castes of Nepaul. The men are therefore
open and candid, with a military simplicity of cha
racter. The Newars, or peasantry of the country,
are of the middle size, well buUt, with strong limbs

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 25
and broad shoulders, round faces, and small eyes.
Their countenances are cheerful, and many of the
women sprightly and pretty ; all fond of ornaments ;
and, like the Nair fair ones of Malabar, they may
have several husbands, it being lawful for them to
divorce at pleasure. Their complexion is between
a sallow and a copper colour. The vernacular lan
guages are Parbutti, Newar, Dhenwar, Muggur,
Kyraut, Hoovoo, Limboa, and Bhootea; but the
Brahmans study Sanscrit and several of its ramifi
cations. The restrictions and monopolies under which
commerce labours, have never enabled the mer
chants of Nepaul to compete with the neighbouring
states. Their trade is confined generally to an an
nual intercourse with Tibet and Bootan. Caravans
start, when the summer begins to melt the snow
in the passes through the mountains, with grain,
treacle, oU, sugar, cotton, chintz, iron, brass,
lead, woollens, pearls, corals, cowries, or small
shells that pass for money, dates and almonds, and
return with salt, saffron, borax, dried grapes, gold-
dust, cow-taUs, musk, blankets, bezoar, porcelain,
hiU poneys, sheep with six horns, the cow of Tar-
tary, called yak, dogs, shawl wool, and tea. No
other animal can be used in passing these mountains
for carriage but goats and sheep. These are not
of the species with large tails, so common to the
westward, but a small breed, possessed of great
strength and activity. Small bags are tied on their

26 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
backs, and a ram with a bell leads the flock, which
generally consists of from 50 to about 200, fol
lowed by a couple of shepherds and their dogs.
These sure-footed creatures pass over precipices
with their small burdens which no human foot
could traverse, and find vegetation among the crags
sufficient for their wants.
Like all other countries, the history of the valley
of Nepaul is involved in obscurity. The Brahmans
of Bhatgong have lists of princes that reigned over
it from times antecedent to our creation of the
world ; but nothing authentic is known till A. D.
1323, when Hur Sing Deo, rajah of Semrounghur,
a descendant of the Surya Vansa, princes of
Oude, conquered it. Under his posterity, NepaiU
Proper continued till I768, when it was entered by
the victorious Parthi Narrain, rajah of Goorca.
Runjeet Mull, of Bhatgong, the reigning prince,
was beaten in a pitched battle, and he died some
time after at Benares. The Goorcas then esta
blished their power at Catmandoo, and successively
overcame all the neighbouring states, having now
above forty-six petty princes tributary to them. In
1769 their aggressions were such on the Company's
territories, that a force under Major Kinlock was
sent against them, which penetrated as far as Se-
dowly, at the foot of the hUls of Nepaul; and,
although it was found impracticable to proceed
further, yet such an impression was made on the
government of Catmandoo, by the valour and con-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 27
duct of our troops, that a friendly treaty was
arranged between the two states, and part of Moc
wanpore ceded to us.' In 1790, the Nepaulese in
vaded Tibet with 18,000 men, and plundered the
treasures of the Lama a second time, which, rous
ing the indignation of the emperor of China, he
sent an army of 70,000 men against Catmandoo.
The flower of the Nepaul infantry had been frozen
to death in the gulfs of the Himalaya on their
-return, and the Chinese army beat the Goorcas in
several battles, forced them to regorge the whole
of the plunder to the Lama, and to become tri
butary to the emperor. For a considerable time
after this, a great jealousy was shown to the Com
pany's interest. Lord Cornwallis failed in his en
deavours to establish a political treaty with the
Nepaulese ; but when the Chinese army had entirely
evacuated the country, that object was effected.
A friendly intercourse thence subsisted till 1808,
when the goA^ernment was usurped by Bheem Sing
Tapah, during the minority of rajah Bicrama Say,
who about that time succeeded to the throne, at
the age of eight years. From this period, a system
was pursued so hostile to British interest, and the
safety of the frontier provinces, that in 1814 a most
respectable force was formed from the Bengal army,
and invaded it with success, but great loss, as shall
be detailed in its appropriate place. *
? Vide Addenda, IV.

28 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Bootan lies eastward of Nepaul, and extends to
the wilds bordering on China. The inhabitants of
its mountains are a small race of men, and subject
to the extremes of heat and cold ; for at Punakha,
in one of the valleys, the vertical sun burns, while
at Ghassa the people are chilled by eternal snow ;
yet these places are within sight of each other, and
the difference is produced by altitude alone ; so true
it is, that climate depends as much upon locality
as latitude. The Booteas are of Tartar origin, and
their complexion is fair : they are an active, hardy,
and warlike people ; expert in the use of the bow
and short sword. Many of those who inhabit the
mUd parts of- the country, possess great personal
advantages, being stout and broad-chested, of Her
culean strength and undaunted courage. Nearly
all the offices of husbandry are performed by the
women. The government is monarchical, and the
worship of Budha prevails.
Bengal is bounded on nearly its whole eastern
line by the wild and extensive district of Tiperah,
the mountains of which are inhabited by savages,
who have now scarcely any knowledge of the Brah
manical code, nor indeed of any other, although, in
ancient times, this was the seat of an empire which
brought armies into the field of 200,000 infantry.
From this region and Chittagong the government
of India recruit their establishment of elephants,
purchasing none under nine feet high. The inha
bitants of Rajemal, a northern district of Bengal

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 29
contiguous to this tract, are mostly of low stature,
but stout and well proportioned. Many of them
are not taller than four feet ten inches, with small
eyes, flat noses, and thick lips. These savage men
were reclaimed and civilised by the noble exertions
of Mr. Cleveland, their judge and magistrate, who
has a monument in the form of a pagoda, erected
to his memory near Boglipore : he died at the
early age of 29. An idea of his worth may be
entertained from the tribute paid to his memory by
the governor-general and council of Bengal, and
which remains for a testimony to future times, en
graved over his mortal remains. There he lies —
" Who, without bloodshed, or the terror of autho
rity, employing only the means of concUiation,
confidence, and benevolence, attempted and ac
complished the entire subjection of the lawless and
savage inhabitants of the Jungleterry of Rajemal,
who had long infested the neighbouring lands by
their predatory incursions, inspired them with a
taste for the arts of civilised life, and attached them
to the British government by a conquest over their
minds." To my understanding, this is one of the
most honourable monuments that ever was erected,
and worthy of being perpetuated till time shall be
no more.
The eastern parts of Silhet, over which the
Bengal government exercises authority, are within
350 mUes of Yunan in China ; but the intervening
space is so wUd, and the jealousy of the Chinese so

30 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
strong, that no intercourse subsists between them.
From the hills of Silhet, fine lime is sent to Calcutta,
which is found in inexhaustible quantities there,
although no where else in Bengal. Orange plant
ations are cultivated to such an extent in Silhet,
that a thousand of that fine fruit are sold for half-
a-crown. To mention all the savage tribes along the fron
tier of Bengal, in the Tiperah mountains, would
be tedious : a brief notice of one or two may be
interesting. The Garrows are a very lively people,
who live chiefly on raw animal food, and buUd their
houses or villages on piles in a very curious manner :
they are exceedingly fond of dancing. This amuse
ment is thus conducted: Twenty or thirty men
stand behind one another, each holding his hands
round the waist of him, in his immediate front, thus
forming circles, and hopping first to the right, and
then to the left, on one foot, they keep time to a
sort of drum, and a wild instrument like a clarionet.
The women dance in rows in like manner, but do
not mix with the men. Marriage is settled here by
a regular courtship, and all the violence of love is
felt. If the parents should refuse their consent
after the young people have agreed, they are well
beaten by their friends, and forced to submit to the
wishes of their children on this point. The youngest
daughter is always the heiress : if her husband die,
she marries one of his brothers ; which custom, no
ticed in our Holy Si;riptures, is to be found in other

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 31
parts of India ; but here, if all the brothers die,
she marries their father. They worship the sun
and moon, also Mahadeva ; drink to excess, and
when their chief men die, the heads of several slaves
are struck off, and burned with their bodies. Among
the Kayns, the women have their faces tattooed all
over in lines of a circular forni, which gives them
a hideous appearance. The Kookies live on the
steepest and most inaccessible hills ; they are en
gaged in constant warfare, and perhaps the most
vindictive race in the world, being of opinion that
nothing is so pleasing to God as to kiU a great
number of their enemies.
On the east of India, even to Canton, there are
numerous Hindoos, and some of their temples :
but the general worship, in all the civilised parts,
beyond Tiperah, is that of Budha. There are
thirteen Indo-Chinese dialects derived from the
Chinese language, all written in a character so
nearly alike, that in every part, the symbols convey
the same meaning, though the words, used to ex
press them orally, are so different as not to be un
derstood perhaps at a few miles' distance from the
town where custom has rendered them intelligible.
Therefore fellow countrymen when they fail to
comprehend one another have recourse to writing.
In the Cochin-China common language, there are
3000 characters ; the Chinese written tongue is
understood by twenty different nations : it indicates
real objects, not sounds.

32 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Our numeral, algebraical, astronomical, and che
mical signs, are like its wonderfid alphabet*, which
is, in fact, its dictionary, t
The foregoing remarks respecting the Indo-
Chinese languages, apply generally to all the coun
tries east of the Tiperah wilds, and Chittagong,
but particularly to the kingdoms of Cambodia,
Laos, Cochin-China, and Tunquin. These regions
lie to the eastward of the Birman empire ; and no
further notice may be taken of them in this work.
There is no native government, subject to one
sovereign authority, at present existing in India,
so extensive as the Birman empire ; therefore, a
brief account of it should be interesting-.
It includes the space between the 9th and 26th
degrees of north latitude, and the 92d and 104th
of east longitude ; about 1050 geographical mUes
in length, and 600 in breadth. To the north it
has Tibet and Assam t ; to the south the Indian
Ocean and the Siamese territories ; to the north
east the empire of China ; to the east Cambodia,
&c. ; and to the west the Tiperah mountains and
the river Nauf. This extensive empire contains
194,000 square mUes ; comprising Ava, Arracan,
Pegu, Martaban, Tenasserim, Junkseylon, Mergni,
Tavay, Yunshan, Lowashan, and Cassay. It is
* Vide Addenda, V.
t Vide Dr. Leyden's account of the Indo-Chinese, Asiatic
Researches, vol. ix.
t Vide Addenda, VI.

JIEMOIRS OF INDIA. 33
said to contain 8000 cities, towns, and vUlages,
without including Arracan. Colonel Symes esti
mates the whole population at 17,000,000; but
Captain Cox, who succeeded him as ambassador,
does not go beyond 8,000,000, which is probably
much nearer the truth. The principal rivers
are the Irawaddy, the Keenduem, the Lokiang,
and the Pegu. Its chief towns are Ummera-
poor, the capital ; Ava, the ancient capital ; Mon-
chaboo, the birth-place of Alompra ; Pegu, Ran
goon, Syriam, Prome, Negrais, Persaim, and
Chagaing. The climate is very healthy. Its seasons
are regular, and the extremes of heat and cold
seldom experienced ; the duration of the intense
heat, which precedes the commencement of the
rains, being so short, that it incommodes but vei'y
little. No soU can be more fertUe than many parts of
the Birman empire. The south yields abundant
crops of rice, and the north produces wheat, and
the various kinds of small grain and legumes
which grow in Hindostan. Sugar canes, tobacco,
indigo, cotton, and the different tropical fruits, are
indigenous. The tea plant grows very well near
Ummerapoor, but it has scarcely any flavour.
Besides the teak tree, which is superabundant in
many parts, there is almost every description of
timber that is known in India. There are mines of
gold and silver, rubies and sapphires, iron, tin, lead,
antimony, arsenic, sulphur, &c. It has amethysts,
D

31, MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
garnets, beautiful chrysolites, jasper, amber, and
marble. The weUs are found here which produce
petroleum oil.
The Birmans cany on an extensive trade with
China, Cotton, amber, ivory, precious stones,
betel nut, and edible nests, are transported up the
river Irawaddy, in large boats, as far as Bamoo ;
where they are bartered at the jee or mart, with
the Chinese merchants, for raw and wrought silks,
velvets, gold leaf, preserves, paper, and some
utensils of hardware.— The British in India import
to Madras and Calcutta, from the Birman dominions,
about 200,000/. worth of teak timber, annually,
which is paid for in English broad cloth, hardware,
coarse Bengal muslins, glass, Cossimbazar sUks,
cocoa nuts, &c.
Like the Chinese, the Birmans have no coin,
silver in bullion and lead being the current
monies of the country. The value of these are
estimated and approximated by artificial standards,
so fluctuating that every foreigner finds it neces
sary to have a native banker to manage his money
transactions. Rice is sold at the capital generaUy
at the rate of eighty-four pounds for 2s. 8d., but at
Rangoon 250 pounds may be had for that sum.
The courts of Ava and Pekin resemble each
other in many respects, particularly in excessive
vanity and pride. Like the sovereign of China,
the Birman emperor acknowledges no equal.
Amongst his titles are, the sovereign of tlie earth

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 35
— the emperor of emperors — the sovereign
esteemed for riches and happiness — the monarch
of elephants and horses, and all good things — the
lord of high-built palaces, of gold, &c. &c. There
are no hereditary dignities. Gold chains are the
badges of the order of nobUity. The king wears
twenty-four chains, his prime minister twelve, and
the other nobles created for life or during office
diflferent numbers down to three, which is the
lowest rank of nobUity. One-tenth of all produce
is exacted as the revenue of the crown, but the
amount fluctuates so much that no average can be
given. All we know accurately on the subject is,,
that the riches of the Birman emperor are im
mense. Every man in the kingdom is liable to be
caUed upon to serve as a soldier. Their standing
army is very small ; but 60,000 men can be raised
in a short time, when wanted, the great men of the
state holding their lands by mUitary tenure. The
establishment of war-boats is very respectable ;
at a very short notice the emperor can collect 500,
carrying from forty to fifty rowers, thirty soldiers
armed with muskets, and with a piece of ordnance
on the prow.
There is a striking contrast between the Birmans
and the natives of India. The Birmans are lively^
inquisitive, active, irascible, and impatient ; their
Bengal neighbours are exactly the reverse. In
Ava the females are not concealed from the sight
of men, though they are treated in a manner
D 2

36 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
destitute both of delicacy and humanity. Their
women are sold to strangers ; but this purchase
does not authorise a foreigner to carry a Birman
female out of the country. As in China, women
are not permitted to emigrate. In their features,
the Birmans resemble the Chinese. The men
pluck out their beards by the roots ; and both
sexes colour their teeth, their eyelashes, and the
edges of their eyehds, with black. Marriages are
not contracted until the parties reach the age of
puberty. Polygamy is prohibited by law, but con
cubinage is admitted to an unhmited extent. They
burn their dead. In their food the Birmans are
gross and uncleanly. Even reptiles are eaten by
the lower classes. The sitting posture is here the
most respectful. Their houses are raised on wooden
posts or bamboos, generally composed of bamboos
and mats, and but indifferently thatched ; but their
temples are splendid fabrics, glittering with gold. *
This precious metal is the type of excellence
among the Birmans. Every thing belonging to
the king has the word shoe, or gold, prefixed to it.
When a subject means to affirm that the king has
heard any thing, he says, " It has reached the
golden ears :" he who has obtained admittance to
the royal presence, has been at "the golden feet."
In short, what pleases the sight is delightful to
"the golden eye ;" and what gratifies the sense of
•* Vide Addenda, YU.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 37
smelling is pleasing to " the golden nose." * His
majesty is sole proprietor of aU the elephants in
his dominions. It is a high honour to be permitted
to ride on one. Male elephants are prized beyond
females in Ava, though in Hindostan the females
are in more estimation, on account of their supe
rior docility. The henza, a wild fowl, called in
India, the Brahmany goose, is the symbol of the
Birman nation, as the eagle was of the Roman
empire. In Ava, Pegu, and Siam, the Pali language,
which is derived from Sanscrit, constitutes the
sacred text. The character in common use is a
round nagari, formed from the square pali. It
runs in circles and segments of circles, variously
disposed, and is written from left to right. Their
common books are composed of the palmyra leaf,
on which the letters are engraven with styles. — The
laws of the Birmans are of Hindoo origin. Their
code is founded on the Dharma Sastra, which is a
commentary on Menu. It prescribes, like Chinese
jurisprudence, specific punishments for almost
every species of crime that can . be committed.
Their laws are described as being wise, and preg
nant with sound morality ; and their police as
better regulated than in most European countries.
There are no distinctions of caste among them ;
nor are they restricted to hereditary occupations,
* Vide Addenda, VIII.
D 3

SS MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
nor forbidden from participating with strangers in
every social bond. It is said that every peasant
can read and write the vulgar tongue ; for all their
monasteries are seminaries, where youths of all
descriptions are educated gratis, by the rhaans or
monks, who never buy, sell, or accept money.
They are fond of poetry and music. Colonel
Symes was shown the king's library ; the books
were innumerable, kept in boxes, ranged with great
regularity, the contents of each chest being written
in gold letters on the lid.
The Birmans are sectaries of Budha, who, ac
cording to Sir William Jones, reformed the doc
trines contained in the Vedas, 1014 years before
the birth of our Saviour. He is admitted by
Hindoos of all descriptions to be the ninth Avater,
or incarnation of the Deity, in the character of
preserver. — The Birmans acknowledge to have re
ceived their religion from Ceylon. Their priests
wear yeUow clothing ; they have a long loose cloak
of that colour which they wrap round them, so
as to cover most part of their bodies. Their
kioums, or convents, resemble the architecture of
the Chinese ; are entirely made of wood, and con
sist of one large hall, open at all sides. There
are no apartments for the private recreations of the
monks or priests ; publicity is the prevaUing system
of Birman conduct. They admit of no secrets
either in church or state. These priests profess
celibacy, and abstain from every sensual pleasure.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 39
They have no salaries ; never dress their own
victuals, but receive the contributions of the laity
ready dressed, and prefer cold food to hot. At
the dawn of day they perambulate the different
towns and villages of the empire, to collect sup
plies of boiled rice, oil, dried and pickled fish,
sweetmeats, fruits, &c. During their quick walk
they never lift their eyes from the ground, nor
stop to solicit any thing. The provisions are
thrown into a lackered box, which is carried on
the right arm. They eat but once a day, at noon.
Any surplus of provisions is always disposed of as
charitably as it was given, to the needy stranger,
or the poor scholars, who daUy attend for instruc
tion. Nunneries were abolished by law as injuri
ous to population.
The early history of this country is involved in
obscurity. During the successes of the Portuguese
in India, they interfered in the wars between the
Birmans and Peguers, but little was known of the
interior. In 1752 the sovereign of Pegu con
quered the king of Ava, which is the country of
the ancient Birmans. But soon after Alompra, a
man of low origin, rescued his country from that
state of degradation, drove out the Peguers, and
founded the present dynasty. In these wars the
French favoured the Peguers, and the English
assisted the Birmans. Alompra died in I76O, after
most extensive conquests and the display of pro
found wisdom, leaving the empire to his eldest son,
D 4

40 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

Namdogee Praw.— In I767, or 1131, of the Birman
era, the Chinese sent an army of 50,000 men
against the Birmans. But the whole were destroyed,
except about 2500, who were sent in fetters to
the capital, where they were forced to marry
Birman wives, and encouraged afterwards to con
sider themselves as Birmans. — It appears that all
strangers are invited to marry Birman women.
This custom, in the East, is singular ; for women
are, nearly every where else in that quarter, de
graded by intercourse with strangers. — Minderagee
Praw, the fourth son of the great Alompra,
ascended the throne in 1782. He founded the
new metropolis of Ummerapoor, to which the seat
of government was -removed from Ava. Since
which period the Birman power has been gradually
increasing to its present height. *
No notice was taken, of Persia in our western
outline beyond its mere nomination. The same
would be the case, with respect to China, were
that country not more closely connected with the
British empire in the East," by trade and locality.
Persia, at this day, is sunk into a state of vice and
moral degradation, which places it veiy low in the
scale of national estimation ; but China, in many
respects, is one of the most curious empires that
ever existed, even in the regions of imagination.
Doubtless, fanciful writers have described it with
* Vide Symes, Cox, Leyden, F. Buchanan, Dalryraple, and
Hamilton.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 41
a tincture of Utopian colouring ; but its unques
tionable antiquity, its amazing population, though
certainly this has been much overrated by those
who fixed the inhabitants of the fifteen provinces
at 335,000,000 ; its civilisation in the lower
branches of political economy, and the wisdom
which directs the experience of the past to meet
the exigencies of the present ; — conspire to render
the following brief notice of it perfectly apposite
in an outline of India.
The jealousy of the Chinese government, or
rather their experience of the encroaching disposi
tions of Europeans, has never permitted our curiosity
to be gratified with a full view of the interior of
that wonderful country. Lord Macartney, in
modern times, had the widest field for observation.
He arrived in Jangangfoe Bay, in the Yellow Sea,
about the latter end of September, 1792, and
travelled from the north-eastern coast through the
great cities of Tyensing and Tong-tchew to Pekin,
and thence to the emperor's summer residence at
Jehol, in Tartary, beyond the great wall. * But
in all this course the embassy was so strictly
watched, and closely guarded, that except what
occurred in their immediate neighbourhood, no
opportunity was afforded of seeing the Chinese in
their real character ; and it may be presumed that
the mandarins took care to exhibit their country
¦* Vide Addenda, IX.

42 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
in the most favourable and imposing light. Thus
having passed from the northern to the southern
extremity of China, and back again, Lord Macart
ney reached Canton in December, 1793 ; and we
may therefore safely rely upon those remarks which
Sir George Staunton has published as the basis of
our best information.
In this most ancient empire, where upwards of
two hundred millions of men have for ages been
kept together under one government, knowledge
and virtue alone qualify for public employments,
and every person is eligible to rise to the highest
honours ; for although there are nine orders of
mandarins, there is no such thing as hereditary
rank : there is no state religion, and no man is
questioned on account of mere matter of opinion.
The laws are, like the civil code of Rome, founded
on the principle of universal justice, which the
Creator has stamped on human understanding. —
There is every reason to believe that this empire
has endured full four thousand years. It consists
of fifteen provinces, exclusive of territories in
Tartary and Tibet, spread over an area of about
3,350,000 square miles ; the whole of which is in
a state of cultivation far beyond what is seen in the
most civilized parts of Europe. The very moun
tains are in some places tilled to their summits,
and irrigated by artificial means ; the rivers are
conducted in all directions across the country,
forming fine canals, upon which thousands of

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 43
families live in boats. There are many fine roads,
and curious bridges ; but nearly all the magnificent
edifices are for the public offices of the state, or for
the honour of God, who is worshipped under vari
ous forms. Husbandmen are held in the highest
estimation, and some of the Chinese emperors
have risen from holding the plough. The fine
arts have never advanced much in China. Their
language is so difficult that few of them ever attain
perfection in it : education is solely directed to wis
dom, self-knowledge, and the science of life. There
are regular posts or modes of quick communication
with all parts of the empire. Justice is administered
in every town, and criminals are punished with
great severity : the form of oath is very solemn ;
and it is rendered striking by a piece of china
ware being smashed with force on the ground, and
simUar destruction invoked on the soul and body
for hesitation, evasion, or reservation in speaking
the truth. War is not cultivated as an art. About
one hundred and eighty years ago the Tartars con
quered the Chinese, and they have given four
dynasties of emperors, without changing manners,
customs, and forms. Yet it must be acknowledged
that the Chinese are far behind the Christian
world in the conception of pure morality. Their
notions respecting liberty are all slavish. Fathers
have despotic authority over their children. Vari
ous kinds of slavery are permitted by law. Women
are not permitted to quit the empire, that emigra-

44 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
tion may be discountenanced, and their condition
is little better than bondage ; for although the
men be restricted to one wife, yet they may bring-
as many concubines into the house as they please,
and divorces are allowed upon very frivolous pre
texts. — The Chinese are, generally speaking, a
dirty, cunning, deceitful people ; with many of the
lower virtues, but scarcely one that would exalt
man to eminence in England. It must be allowed
that Europeans have, by their own selfish conduct,
drawn forth this dark side of the Chinese character.
In our early intercourse with this extraordinary
empire, its government did not evince that jealousy
which is now extreme. Russia was permitted
to establish a college and church at Pekin * ; and
the Portuguese were most hospitably received on
the shores, as well as the Dutch, till time proved
the danger of their encroachments.
Canton, situated in lat. 23" 7' N. lat. 113" 14' E.,
is now, however, the only place on the continent
of China where Europeans are allowed a temporary
residence for commercial purposes. It is seated
on the eastern bank of the Pekiang river, eighty
mUes from its entrance into the Southern Sea; and
near the city it is as broad as the Thames at
London Bridge. The climate here is cool, and
fires are necessary during the winter, Europeans
may enter the suburbs, and one street is entirely
» Vide Addenda, X.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 45
appropriated to their use ; but they are not per
mitted in the body of the city, which is surrounded
by high walls about five miles in circumference.
The front of every house is a shop ; and many of
them have signs, such as we have in our towns, for
attraction. Here the Chinese displays his wonder
ful equality of temper, in humouring our capricious
tars, and his ingenuity in fleecing them of their
cash. All the river, for many miles, is covered with
junks and boats. Some of the former carry one
thousand tons, and are curiously divided into com
partments belonging to the owners, one sometimes
having an hundred proprietors. Their ships are so
constructed, that they may strike on a rock with^
out sustaining any serious injury ; and if a leak
springs in one part, the cargo in another will not
be damaged. These junks trade to all parts of the
eastern seas, and the same compass is used as in
Europe ; but with a needle pointing to the south,
which is here considered as the attracting point.
The foreign factories extend along the banks of
the river : they are called hongs ; and each re
sembles a long court, with four or five separate
houses, built on a fine quay, with a parade in front,
called the Respondentia Walk. In the neighbour
hood are large Avarehouses. Below these are the
chop, or custom-houses, under a tontiff, called by
our mariners John Tuck. All transactions are
conducted by foreigners with the hong merchants,

46 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
who are a company in whom the monopoly of all
the outward trade is vested by the government,
under a charter of regulations. These hong mer-
chants have sometimes property in their hands, be
longing to our East India Company, to the amount
of two millions sterling.
The English establishment at Canton consists of
twelve supercargoes, and eight writers, whose allow
ances graduate from nearly 9000Z. a year to 1500/.
There are also a few medical, religious, and military
posts, remarkably well paid. All vacancies among
the supercargoes are filled up from the writers, who
have a free table, and about 400/. per annum.
They all reside three months at Canton during the
commercial season, and then remove to Macao,
where they have permanent houses.
Our exports to China are, woollens, camlets,
lead, tin, &c. ; and the average value is about
1,200,000/. But the Company's trade from India
to China is more miscellaneous, and consists of
cotton, pepper, sandal wood, putchick, sharks' fins,
olibanum, elephants' teeth, rhinoceros' horns, pearls,
cornelians, beads, betel nut, rattans, sea swallo,
birds' nests, &c. Though opium is prohibited, a
great deal of that valuable commodity is smuggled
by the hong merchants ; the average of which is
2000 chests, at 1200 dollars per chest. All this
trade averages about 2,000,000/. per annum ; but
the returns, comprising piece goods, sugar candy,
tutenague, camphor, tea, raw sUk, nankeens, and

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 47
china ware, &c. nearly equal the imports. — The
private trade to China, carried on by individuals
from Britain, authorised by the Company, does not
exceed 300,000/. on an average. The exports from
China are, tea, china ware, gold in bars, sugar, sugar
candy, rhubarb, china root, snake root, sarsaparilla,
leather, tutenague, Japan copper, varnished and
lackered ware, drugs, leaf gold, utensils, cast iron,
silk, raw and wrought, thread, nankeens, mother-of-
pearl, gamboge, quicksUver, alum, dammer, red
lead, vermilion, furniture, toys, and drugs. Of
these exports the Company take annuaUy to the
amount of about 3,000,000/., upon which they gain
35 per cent. The average in tea alone is about
30,000,000 of pounds weight annually, which yields
a revenue to England of about 4,000,000/. ; and the
China trade produces a circulation in London of
perhaps 20,000,000/. sterling every year. America
takes away great quantities of tea, so does Russia
from the Siberian frontier ; so that it is easily con
ceived how China must be enriched. In I67S only
4713 pounds of tea were imported annually by the
Company; such has been the rapid increase in
tea drinking.
The Chinese eat horse flesh, dogs, cats, hawks,
and owls ; yet milk is not used by them in any
form : such is the strange capriciousness of taste,
and the amazing diversity of customs. *
• Vide Staunton, Barrow, Milburn, Elmore, Johnson,
Ellis, &c.

48 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
We are obliged to trade with China through the
Portuguese settlement of Macao, which is an island
situated at the mouth of the Canton river. This
place was granted to that nation in gratitude for a
signal service performed, which shall be noticed
hereafter in the history of the Portuguese. Even
at Macao the Europeans are enclosed by a great
wall of oyster shells, which are found here of an
enormous size, within very narrow limits. The
Portuguese extent of territory on the island is not
more than eight miles in circumference. They are
therefore completely in the power of the Chinese
government for their supplies of provisions, but the
market is abundantly furnished from the continent.
There are about 4000 Portuguese inhabitants, many
of them half-castes, in the town of Macao, and
upwards of 8000 Chinese, &c. ; who have two large
temples, w^hile the former have thirteen churches. A
mandarin is the real governor of the town ; but the
Portuguese are allowed to amuse themselves with
the forms of government in a grand senate-house.
Perfect submission is, however, the lease by which
they hold possession ; and they are obhged to sub
mit calmly to all the encroachments of the Chinese.
In 1806, when we attempted to garrison Macao
from Bengal, the trade was stopped, and provisions
withheld tUl the troops were withdrawn. In I7OO
we were permitted to trade with Limpo and Amoy,
as weU as Canton, which circumstance speaks
volumes. The present emperor is the fifteenth son

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 49
of Tchien-lung, who died in 1799, at the age of 89
years, three years before which he resigned his
throne, after a reign of sixty years. A Chinese
salutes with a sort of salam, and the words " hou,
poo hou," which signify, " are you weU or not?"
literaUy they are, " well, not weU." All business
with the Chinese is transacted in a jargon of Eng
lish, of most laughable sound. A Chinese calls
rice, lice, not being able to pronounce the lettei r,
but they are very ready at picking up what answers
their purpose.
The town of Macao and the gardens around it
occupy the whole of the little peninsula which
belongs to the Portuguese. A long neck of land
joins it to the remainder of the island, and across
this the wall of oyster shells, before alluded to, is
built. Beneath a lofty eminence in the town,
Camoens' Cave is situated, in which, it is said, this
celebrated poet wrote a great part of the Lusiad.
The large oyster shells here are divided into thin
laminae, and being finely polished, serve for window
lights. No foreign women are allowed to go up to
Canton. The low Chinese, in their manners and
habits, are brutal, and their immorality is so gross,
that delicacy must leave to imagination what it
would degrade human nature to describe. Many
of their pictures are abominable ; but no true cri
terion of national character can be deduced from
the perversion of one passion. It excites our won
der in this country to behold some men, who are
E

50 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
truly honourable, pohshed in manners, refined by
the advantages of education, and dehcate in many
respects, yet gross to bestiality in one ; and it cer
tainly should not be urged against the Chinese, as
a general charge, that many of them have been
found so depraved, as to leave other nations as far
behind in invention, as they go before in industry
and perseverance. Their women scarcely ever ap
pear in public, but the lower orders have been
observed to be employed in household affairs, much
like other oriental females. The small feet, so
much talked of, are, like the artificial size of the
mandarin, confined entirely to the higher classes, or
men of large property, who can afford ideal re
finements in substitution for bodily activity. Their
peasantry, like our own, are too poor, and too busy,
to think of much but their belly, their back, and
the gross passions and appetites common to all
humanity. Thus we have travelled from the mouths of the
Indus along three sides of Hindostan. It remains
for us, in finishing our outline, to notice briefly
the principal islands which are comprized under
the general name of East Indies.

CHAPTER II.

the islands of INDIA.

We shaU endeavour briefly to describe the southern
outline of India under the heads Ceylon, Sumatra,
Java, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and the
Philippines. CEYLON.
The southern triangular projection of Afirica, and
the western coast of New Holland, form between
them a magnificent gap of about ninety longitudi
nal degrees, in the latitude of 32°. It is probable
that at some remote period the great body of Asia
extended, like Africa, in an unbroken state into
the ocean ; and that, in some of those wonderful
changes of position which the sea is known to
take, the waters rushed with irresistible impetu
osity round the huge bulwark of the Cape of Good
Hope, from the great Atlantic, through the de
fenceless flats of the East Indies, into the Pacific,
leaving the highlands and mountains dry. This
supposition is supported by tradition.
E 2

52 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
In the voyage to India round the Cape of Good
Hope, after passing the great island of Madagas
car, and the Mauritius, which lie eastward of it,
no land is seen tiU the Maldives and Ceylon are
approached. The Maldives project into the Indian
Ocean to the equator, being the extreme point of
a fine triangle, formed by the Arabian Sea on one
side, and the Bay of Bengal on the other. This
triangle is the Peninsula of Hindostan.
Ceylon, the Maldives, and Laccadives are tra
ditionally reported as once forming part of the
main land, though now separated by the sea. Cey
lon lies at the western entrance into the Bay of
Bengal, its shape being that of a large ham ; whUe
the Maldives and Laccadives run in a chain to the
south and west off the Malabar coast. We shall
briefly notice the latter two chains before Ceylon.
The Laccadives derive their name from Laksha
dwipa (a lack or 100,000 islets) ; they belong to
the bibby, or princess of Cananore, and are situ
ated about 75 miles from the coast of Malabar,
extending from the 10th to the 12th degree of
north latitude. These islands were visited by Vasco
de Gama in- 1499. Though very numerous they
are of small value, being of a barren and unpro
ductive nature, except for cocoa-nut trees. The
largest does not contain an area greater than six
square mUes. AU the inhabitants are Moplas, Mo
hammedans, the descendants of Arabian settlers on
the coast. They barter cocoa-nuts, jagory, or

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 53
coarse sugar, made from the juice of that useful
tree, oil made from the nut, ropes made from the
husk of the same, boats manufactured from the
trunk, and coral found upon the banks, with co
chin, anjango, &c., for provisions and other neces
saries of life. Their houses are entirely built with
the stems of cocoa-nut trees, and covered with the
leaves of that useful palm. Their beds and uten
sils are nearly all composed of the same material,
with parts of which they make fishing-nets, sails
for their boats, and cups for drinking.*
Malaya Dwipa, or the Isles of Maldive, run
from the eighth degree of north latitude to the
line. They are very numerous ; separated from
each other by narrow dangerous channels ; arid
many of them are mere barren rocks. There are
seventeen clusters of these islands inhabited by
Mohammedans ; but they stUl adhere to Indian cus
toms, and are divided into a sort of castes ; for
one island is occupied by weavers, another by mat-
makers, a third by potters, and so on, through all
the trades and professions of the East. Their boats
are made of the trunk of the cocoa palm. They
carry on a brisk trade with the neighbouring coasts
in manufactures of gold, silver, iron, and turtle-
shell ; all the produce of the cocoa-nut tree, and
couries and salt-fish. They are most adventurous
seamen, and during the N. E. monsoon, when the
* Vide Addenda, II.
E 3

54 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Steady weather prevails, they launch their frail
barks into the great ocean, sail into the eastern
seas with cargoes of shark fins, which the Chinese
esteem as an ingredient for their delicious soups ;
carry dried bonetto to Acheen, and trade with
Calcutta, bringing, on an average, merchandize to
the amount of 30,000/., and taking away cotton,
sugar, broad cloth, cutlery, silk stuffs, &c. to a
great extent. Each island is under a separate go
vernment of a mild patriarchal form. .No wars
have occurred among them for ages, and all the
inhabitants are described as a most inoffensive and
hospitable race. They have several times behaved
with the greatest tenderness to shipwrecked Euro
peans ; and the French had formerly a small set
tlement among them. In their manners and cus
toms they resemble the great continent ; and they
are equally credulous and superstitious. Their
greatest ceremonies are at the annual launches of
small vessels loaded with odours and flowers, which
are sent adrift for the use of the king of the sea
and the emperor of the winds. *
The island of Ceylon is known by several names.
It is called by the aborigines, Singhala ; by the
ancient Europeans, Taprobane ; by the neighbour
ing continent, Lanca ; and by the Mohammedans,
Serendib. It lies between 5° 40' and 10° 30' N.

* Vide Buchanan, Sonnerat, Elmore, Forrest, Leyden, and
Hamilton.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 55
and 79° and 82° E. The Gulf of Manar separates
it from the Coromandel coast, which is 160 miles
distant, at Cape Comorin, but the northern point
of the island approaches Tangore. In extreme
length, this fine island is about 300 miles, and in
breadth it varies from 100 to 40. It is crossed by
a lofty chain of mountains, which seem to be a
continuation of the Ghauts of Malabar ; for the
monsoons are the same here as on the continent,
and whUe it is raining for three months on one
side, the sun is shining in unclouded splendour on
the other. HammaUeel, or Adam's Peak, which
name it received from the converts of St. Thomas,
is the highest part of Ceylon. It lies about 60
miles to the north-east of Columbo.
We are informed by the Indians, that Ceylon
and the Maldives once formed a great island, and
that the whole was torn from the continent at a
stUl more remote period. The astronomical cal
culations, in the ancient Brahmanical books, con
firm this tradition, if their first meridian, which
passed through Oojain, be correct ; for the equi
noctial point was Lanca, which does not no'w; oc
cupy that position, whereas the Maldives exactly
agree, and the appearances between the two war
rant the belief that they were once the same.
Agriculture on this island is in a very rude state.
The soil is in general sandy *, and requires con-
Vide Addenda, XII.
E 4

56 , MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
stant irrigation; when it is laid properly under
water, it yields a good crop of rice, which is the
chief sustenance of the natives ; but a sufficiency
is not raised for home consumption, and vast quan
tities are annually imported from Bengal. The
peasantry, or husbandmen, live in straggling vil
lages, composed of the most simple materials, which
the forests furnish in abundance. They go nearly
naked, and each village forms a sort of society,
who have a joint property in the surrounding lands.
All their labour is performed by regular contribu
tion. They go out with their ploughs, which are
nothing but crooked pieces of wood shod with iron,
and drawn by a pair of miserably yoked oxen, and
score the ground by going repeatedly over the
same furrow, to a proper depth. The crops are
divided according to immemorial custom, which
awards a certain portion to the government, another
to the clergy, a third to the village officers and
necessary tradesmen, and the remainder to the
cultivators. A very respectable old man is in
general the magistrate, and organ of the society ;
who, assisted by a few others, compose a court that
settles all litigated subjects at one hearing. Over
these villages, the government has officers called
moodaliers, who inspect their proceedings, and
report to the highest authority. This is the rem
nant of ancient Hindoo civilization, which was
overthrown by an invasion of Rama, the great
rajah of Oude ; who is mentioned in a poem called

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 57
the Ramayuna, as having entered it over a bridge,
which his army of monkeys constructed across the
gulf of Manar, the remains of which, but whether
natural or artificial, it is hard to say, still are
visible. The principal harbours are Trincomalee and
Point de Galle ; but ships can anchor very weU off
Columbo, Batacolo, Barbareen, Matura, Caltura,
Negombo, Chilon, Calpenteen, Manar, and Point
Pedro, during the fine seasons on each coast.
There is very little iiUand navigation. The two
chief rivers are called Malivagunga, and Mulivaddy,
the former of which falls into the sea near Trin
comalee, and the latter not far from Columbo.
The Dutch left marks of their fondness for canals,
and lakes at the latter place, some of which have
been fUled up by the British, for the promotion of
health. Ceylon produces fine elephants*, though not of
the largest kind, wild horses and buffaloes, deer,
elk, gazelles, hares, wild hogs, and small tigers,
tiger cats, leopards, jackalls, hygenas, bears, and
a variety of monkeys, but the fox has not been
seen. AU our poultry are domesticated here.
Pheasants, parrots, and parroquets are numerous.
Nearly all the species of game abound. The honey
bird rifles the bee ; and there are tailor birds, fly
catchers, peacocks, and crows of the most impu-
* Vide Addenda, XIII.

58 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
dent description. Reptiles are innumerable, The
covra capellas, covra manillas, and whip snakes
are poisonous. There are rock snakes thirty feet
in length, but they are only dangerous from their
vast size. Some of the alligators are twenty feet
long, and as thick as an ox. Guanas, toads, liz
ards, blood suckers, chameleons, leeches, flying
lizards, and large bats abound. The rivers are
well supplied with fish, and the gardens with fruit.
There are apples, oranges, pomegranates, citrons,
lemons, melons, pumpkins, squashes, figs, almonds,
mulberries, bilberries, mangoes, shaddocks, man-
gusteens, rose apples, cushoo apples, and nuts,
custard apples, plantains, jack fruit, and cocoa
nuts. The plantations abound with pepper, carda
moms, coffee, the sugar tree, the betel palm, and
four species of the laurus cinnamomum. In the
woods are found the banyan, the cotton tree, mando
wood, satin wood, calamander wood, and ebony.
But what is stiU more curious, the tea plant has
been found in the forests of Ceylon, in a wild
state, though its properties are not the same as in
China, and it is extraordinary, that the repeated
trials to transplant its virtues have failed.*
Valuable minerals are found in various parts of
this rich island. The ruby, topaz, diamond,
amethyst, tourmalin, sapphire, crystal, cats' eye,
opal, and cornelian are concealed beneath the sur-
* Vide Addenda, XIV.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 59
face ; while lead, tin, iron, and quicksilver lie
deeper in the bowels of the hills. Fine pearls
enrich the coast.
The inhabitants of Ceylon are of various nations.
Its aborigines are the Cingalese ; but the Portu
guese, Dutch, Malays, and Mohammedans have
left their posterity round the coasts in great num
bers. The ceremonies, manners, and customs,
resemble those of the continent. The Tamul and
Portuguese languages are spoken generaUy over
the island. Many of the Cingalese are ingenious
artificers ; others called Bedahs are wild men who
live in the woods, and have their habitations on
trees like monkeys. Some of them are as timid as
antelopes. The apostacy of Budha, at an early
period, made a great progress on the island of
Ceylon, and the laxity it permitted in the Brah
manical tenets prepared the natives for easy con
version to Christianity. More than half a million
of the Cingalese are now professors of our faith ;
and it is probable that the whole island will be con
verted in a short time, since no native government
now counteracts the spread of our opinion and
example. From the arrival of the Portuguese on this island,
in 1505, to the final conquest of it, by the British
in 1814, it was always a scene of bloodshed,
cruelty, and death. Both the Portuguese and
Dutch were involved in constant warfare, not only

60 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
with the Candians, but with the deadly marsh
miasma of forests and mountains. At length the
insupportable tyranny of the king of Candy roused
the united resistance of his nobles, who, calling in
the assistance of the British government, deposed
their sovereign, and placed themselves at the dis
posal of the king of England, as shall be related
hereafter.* In 1802, Ceylon was constituted a royal govern
ment. It is placed under a council, consisting of
the governor, chief justice, commander in chief
of the forces, and the secretary. The revenues
now amount to above 400,000/., of which the East
India Company pay 60,000/. per annum for cinna
mon ; and the pearl fishery yields about 40,000/.
more. An European regiment and six native corps
were usually kept on the island, but of course the
military and civil establishment will now be con
siderably enlarged. Columbo is the capital, and seat
of government ; it is a strongly fortified Dutch town,
with a population of about 50,000 or 60,000 souls.
Ceylon is a beautiful island, and a most valuable
acquisition to the crown of England. Its appearance
from the sea is a IdVely diversity of green shade in
the foreground, while the distant purple of the high
mountains exercises the exquisite deceptions of
hope.t ' Vide Addenda, XV.
f Vide Percival, Knox, Symes, Jones, and Hamilton.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

SUMATRA.

61

Pulo Purichu, Indalas, Sumatra, also called
Java Minor, by Marco Polo, and supposed by
some to be the Ophir of Holy Writ, is about 1050
mUes - in length from Acheen to the straits of
Sunda, and about 165 in its average breadth,
through the extent of which there runs a high chain
of mountains, some peaks of which are 13,842 feet
above the level of the sea. A chain of small islands
skirts its western coast, which appear to have once
belonged to it ; and on its eastern side is situated
the island of Banca, whose tin mines are exceed
ingly valuable. It is separated by the straits of
Malacca, from the long peninsula of that name,
which extends 775 miles by 125, its average
breadth, to the isthmus of Kraw, which joins it to
India, beyond the Ganges. The western coast of
Malacca is also studded with islands, which seem
all to have once been a continuation of the conti
nent. Pulo Penang, or Prince of Wales's Island,
is one of great consequence ; and the Nicobars
and Andamans, which form a chain almost from
Acheen to the head of the Bay of Bengal are curi
osities, on account of the savages by whom they
are inhabited. We shall flierefbre briefly notice
this outline, before we retouch our principal
figure. The great Andaman, or the principal island of
the cluster, or chain so named, is about 140 mUes

62 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
in length by twenty broad ; and near the centre
of it, mountains rise to the height of 2400 feet
above the sea. Its inhabitants are supposed to be
oriental negroes, of the same origin as those in
habiting the interior of Malacca. In the Anda
mans, their number does not exceed 2500, and
they are perfect savages, living on fish and reptiles
of all descriptions. Their hair is short and woolly,
their noses flat, their lips thick, their eyes small
and red, their skin a deep dirty black, and their
appearance horribly frightful ; for their limbs are
very slender, their bellies protuberant, they go
quite naked, smear their bodies over with mud as
a preservative from the bites of insects, paint their
hair with red ocre, and their countenance is a most
disgusting picture of misery and ferocity. Their
chief occupation is fishing, hunting, and searching
for birds' nests among the rocks ; for they know
nothing of husbandry, at least they will not prac
tise it. In stature they seldom exceed five feet.
Providence has furnished them with a super
abundance of fish at one season of the year, which
they dry in the sun, and lay up in their wretched
huts for a time of necessity ; but their stupidity
and want of foresight is such, that they are often
obliged to eat the most obscene reptiles ; and it
has been asserted that they are anthropophagi.
They have among their numerous fish, mullet,
soles, pomfret, rock fish, skate, gurnas, sardinas,
roeballs, sable, shad, aloose, cockup, grobers.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 63
seerfish, prawns, shrimps, cray fish, small whales,
and enormous sharks. Their chief vegetable is
the fruit of the mangrove ; and their animal food
consists of lizards, guanas, rats, snakes, and the
edible birds' nests, which are so much esteemed for
soups by the Chinese. On the shores are found
beautiful shells, gorgonias, madrepores, murex,
and cowries.*
Our government in Bengal established a settle
ment here, about 1791, The beautifuUy pictu
resque spot called Port Cornwallis was chosen, in a
short time after, for improvement and colonization
with convicts from the British settlements in In
dia ; but it was found so unhealthy, that it was at
length abandoned, and Pulo Penang fixed upon
for that purpose.
The weapons of the Andamans are bows made
of bamboo, arrows headed with fish-bone, spears
made of heavy wood well pointed, and shields com
posed of hard bark. They salute each other by
lifting one leg, and striking their thigh smartly
with one hand. Their canoes are made out of the
trunk of trees ; and often merely by the help of
sharp flint and fire. In language they are distinct
from all the Indians. They worship the sun and
moon, and chaunt wild chorusses to appease the
spirits of the winds and waves. The Danish mis
sionaries of Nicobar, though long near neighbours,
* Vide Addenda, XVI.

64 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
were never able to make any impression on these
savages, who threaten to destroy all strangers, and
who, beyond all doubt, have been in the habit of
eating their enemies. Though the cocoa nut tree
abounds in the Nicobars, it is not found in the
Andamans. *
In the Nicobars, which islands are also nume
rous and some of them considerable as to size, the
natives are a different race of oriental negroes,
whose colour is of a copper hue ; their eyes are
small, their noses are flat, their lips thick, but their
hair is long and black. They shave their eye
brows, blacken their teeth, and flatten the backs of
their heads by compression of the occiput when
infants. In civilization they have made consider
able progress ; carry on cultivation to some extent ;
and export cocoa nuts, areca nuts, fowls, hogs,
birds' nests, ambergris, and tortoise shell ; importing
in return, cloth, silver, iron, and tobacco. They
live in villages, composed of from ten to twenty
huts, under a sort of patriarchal government so
simple, that it resembles a family compact. Their
food is chiefly the mellori bread, cocoa nuts, and
yams. A narrow piece of cloth is wound round
the waist, and passed between the legs, as in In
dia ; but here the end of it hangs down behind
like a tail ; and it gave rise to the opinion that
there were men with tails, which Lord Monboddo
* Vide Symes, Col. Colebrooke, and Hamilton.

MEMOIR.S OF INDIA. 65
believed, and the iSwedish navigator Kioping re
ported. Their notions of religion are confused,
and their priests are sorcerers who make hideous
grimaces, while they exorcise evil spirits and dis
eases. Their language is an almost unintelligible
jargon. The Danes established themselves here in 1756 ;
and missionaries of that nation continued their un
successful exertions tUl I787, when the settlement
was abandoned, after having proved the grave of
nearly all the Europeans that ever resided on Nan-
cowry, *
Prince of Wales's Island, the N. E. point of
which is in lat. 5° 25' N., and long. 100° 1 9' E.
is computed to contain I60 square miles. It was
received in 1785 by Captain Francis Light, of a
country ship, as a marriage portion with the king
of Queda's daughter. He transferred it to the
East India Company, and being appointed gover
nor of the infant settlement remained there till
1794, when he died. Its name was changed from
Pulo Penang, in compliment to his present majesty,
then Prince of Wales, and the new settlement was
called George Town. Here is a fine harbour that
affords perfect security to ships at all seasons of the
year. The island is diversified with hill and dale ;
some of the former rise 2500 feet above the sea ;
and showers are so frequent, that, with the excep-
* Vide Haensel, Fontana, and Hamilton.
F

66 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
tion of January and February, rain may be ex
pected every day in the year. Cooled by a fine
sea breeze, the thermometer seldom ranges above
90°, and it is sometimes as low as 66°.
When the island fell into our hands it was
covered with an immense forest, the trees of which
were large enough for the lower mast of a seventy-
four gun ship. Only a few fishermen occupied a
small part of the coast ; but at present there is a
population of more than 50,000 souls, among which
are British, Dutch, Portuguese, Americans, Arabs,
Parsees, Chinese, Chulias, Malays, Buggesses, Bir
mans, Siamese, Javanese, Bengalese, and all de
scriptions of Indians. There is a large fort well
furnished with cannon. Fine roads have been
made for several miles round the town, and many
bridges constructed by the convicts and company's
artificers. Some of the forests have been cleared
away, and the markets are well supphed with all
the necessaries and luxuries of life ; the various
fruits and vegetables of Asia and Europe having
been introduced with success, as well as many cu
rious productions which enrich the colonists. For
the soil is a fine rich black mould, produced from
the vegetable putrefaction for ages.
Here are cultivated, pepper, betel nut, cocoa
nuts, coffee, sugar, paddy, ginger, yams, sweet po
tatoes, mangusteens, rambosteens, pine apples,
geravas, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, leechees ;
and cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, pimento, kiapootee,
8

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 07
colalava, and some other exotics have been trans
planted successfully from the Moluccas, &c. The
American gum-vine, called caoutchouc, or urceola
elastica, is found here in great plenty. It creeps
along the ground to a great length, and sends out
roots from its various joints, the trunk being about
the thickness of a man's arm ; after which it mounts
a high tree, and expands in branches, clinging to
every support. A vast quantity of milky juice is
procured by wounding the bark or cutting the
vine in pieces ; and this fiuid, in its chemical pro
perties, nearly resembles animal milk.
Prince of Wales's Island promises to be a set
tlement of mighty consequence, and the seat of
universal commerce. From China are received
tea, sugar, lustrings, velvet, paper, umbrellas,
china ware, quicksilver, nankeens, tutenague,
sweetmeats, pickles, &c, ; in exchange for opium,
cotton, rattans, betel nut, pepper, bird's nests, san
dal wood, shark-fins, camphor, and tin, biche de
mar. All the staples of Europe and India find a
market here. It is, in fact, now what Ormus was
in former times, a great universal bazaar resorted
to by all nations. A governor and council subor
dinate, as Bombay and Madras are, to the presi
dency of Bengal, conduct the affairs of the com
pany, who have expended a vast sum on this fine
settlement. *
* Vide Leith, Elmore, Howison, Marsden, Johnson, and
Hamilton.

68 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Malacca Peninsula is inhabited by a variety of
distinct races, the principal of whom are the Ma
lays and Samangs. The Samangs are the oriental
negroes before noticed, and supposed to be the
aborigines. These live in a savage state in the
wUd mountains of the interior; but the Malays
occupy the sea coasts, are an enterprising and com
mercial people, live under a feudal government,
and have made some progress in arts and civiliz
ation. Their original country is said to have been
the kingdom of Palembang, in the island of Suma
tra, from. which they spread by colonization and
conquest over many of the coasts. The Malay
language is represented as an elegant compound of
Sanscrit, Arabic, and all the eastern tongues ; evert
Portuguese words are found in it. In Malay lite
rature are found translations of nearly all the po
pular productions in India, Arabia, and Persia.
They have many original works of an historical
and biographical description, with commentaries
on the Koran ; and amongst their poetical produc
tion is an epic poem, entitled " Hikarat Malacca,"
which recounts the founding of that city, and the
wars between the Malays and Portuguese under
Albuquerque. Previous to conversion by the Ara
bians to Sooni Mohammedanism the Malays be
longed to the Brahmanical Institution.
At that period, they were governed by a rajah,
who is now styled sultan ; and under him are the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 69
dattoos or nobles, who exercise feudal rights over
their vassals.
The city of Malacca was founded in 1252, and
about forty years after, during the reign of its
first sultan, Mahommed Shah, the Malayan empire
extended over all the Peninsula, and the islands of
Lingen, Bintang, Junkseylon, and part of Sumatra;
but in 1511, Alphonso D' Albuquerque conquered
the coast of Malacca, took the city, and forced
the government to fly to lohore, on the extremity
of the Peninsula, where it still exists.
Gaming and cockfighting are the favourite
amusements of the Malays. To these unconquer
able propensities they sacrifice fortune, life, and
character. Their last morsel, the covering of their
bodies, their wives and children, are frequently
staked on the issue of a pair of dice, or the life of
a cock. If lost, the desperate wretch sometimes
intoxicates himself with bang, or hemp leaf, unties
his long black hair, draws his deadly creese, and
runs the muck. This is so named, from his call
ing amok, or kill me, which he repeats, aiming
destruction at all he meets, till he is cut down in
self-defen-ce, or seized alive. But this, he pre
vents,, by all possible means, and generally dies
inflicting wounds till the last gasp. The Malays
are active, restless, and courageous. But they are
treacherous, ferocious, and vindictive. If you
offend a Malay he stabs you privately ; if you
punish him, his impetuous temper knows no
F 3

70 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
bounds, and he sacrifices his own hfe in immediate
retaliation, by committing open murder. *
It would be uninteresting to describe all the
smaU islands, that seem to have once been a con
tinuation of Malacca, to Sumatra and Java.
Equally unprofitable would be the tedious enume
ration of those which stud the western side of our
subject. Many of these are produced, along the
coast of Sumatra, by the growth of coral banks.
Sumatra is cooled by fine land and sea breezes.
The S. E. monsoon, or dry season, continues from
May till September, when it slackens, and changes
in November to the N. W. when the rainy months
set in, and cease in March graduaUy, without those
tempests common elsewhere.
The natural productions of this island are very
numerous. Gold is found, in great abundance, in
its rivers. Copper, iron, tin, and sulphur are also
in plenty. The earth is, in many places, im
pregnated with saltpetre and oil, which latter
article is a preservative of wood, &c. from white
ants, t They have also plenty of coal ; and several
mineral and hot springs, resembling those of Har-
rowgate. Rice is the great article of general cul
tivation, and, in some places, husbandry is managed
so well, that the earth yields 140 fold, but the
common return is thirty for one. The cocoa nut
tree, sago tree, and all the species of palms are
* Vide Marsden, Leyden, Elmore, Hamilton.
t Vide Addenda, XVII.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 71
here, with the sugar cane, and plantations of maize ;
chilly pepper, turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin
seed, and hemp, are numerous. All the plants
and shrubs of the East are found here. Silk worms
are fed on the dwarf mulberry. The broad green
castor oil plant gives its rich hue to the scene, and
the indigo plant rewards the peasant with its purple
dye. There are innumerable fruits, and the grape
flourishes here, but the vine is only cultivated by
Europeans. The poisonous upas of Java is also
a native of this island ; but the accounts of its
pestilential atmosphere are fabulous. It is, how
ever, a deadly poison. The camphor of Sumatra
is not now plentiful ; sometimes 300 trees are cut
down in a forest, before one is found containing
this valuable drug. In the deserts are elephants,
tigers, bears, and all the varieties of oriental wild
animals, and reptiles. AUigators are also natives
of this island. Among their fish, they have the
dugong, a large one, of the order mammalia, with
two large pectoral fins; that answer the purpose of
feet. They have all the birds and insects of the
East, except the bird of Paradise*, and a few
other peculiar ones, such as the cassowary and
loory. Nothing can convey an idea of the bril
liant illuminations which are sometimes occasioned
by the fire fly ; and at the commencement of the
monsoon, the exultations of the frog species keep
* Vide Addenda, XVIII.
F 4

72 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
night awake. From the rocks are collected the
Chinese dainties, called biche de mar, swalo, tripan
or sea slug (holothurion). Pepper is not now
grown to any great extent. The nutmeg and clove
were transplanted hither from the Moluccas, and
large plantations of these valuable spices are now
cultivated. Benzoin, which is a highly valued in
cense and styptic, being the basis of Turlington's
drops, is indigenous here, as well as cassia, the
shrub cotton, the coffee tree, and lignum aloes,
which is a wood that yields a fragrant scent while
burning. Among their trees are the poon, the
camphor, the marbau, the pinaga, the ebony, the
kayu gadis, the wood of which is like sassafras,
and the rangi, like manchineel or mahogany.
They have also the large banyan of India, but not
the teak.
All the various forms of government in Sumatra
are feudal and patriarchal mixtures. Their laws
are long established customs. A whole family is
held responsible for the debt of any of its members.
The father's property is divided equally amongst
his children. All crimes, murder not excepted,
may be expiated by pecuniary compensation to the
parties seeking redress. Oaths are administered
among the graves of their ancestors ; and they
swear, like the followers of Odin, over instruments
of destruction, such as creeses and gun-barrels.
Slavery and polygamy are allowed.
The natives are of a yellow complexion, with

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 73
flat noses and ears, standing at right angles with
the head, both which deformities are effected by
artificial means when infants. These are of course
considered with them great beauties, as well as
enormously long nails. They pluck out their
beard, and file down their teeth even with their
gums ; sometimes leaving them in points like a
saw, which they blacken with empyreumatic oil.
Among the higher ranks of both sexes, the teeth
are cased with gold, which by candle light, set off"
by the deep black tint given by the oil, has a
splendid appearance. Their dress is very simple,
and does not differ materially from the general
Indian costume. They live in small vUlages, buUt
on piles, and mount to their airy habitations by a
sort of stair or ladder, which they draw up after
them, as a security. Their chief luxury is smoking
opium, which is imported from Bengal. They
emit the smoke by the nostrils, and through the
passages of the eyes and ears, keeping the mouth
closely shut after taking a whiff. They live gene
raUy on vegetable food of the most simple form ;
and their rice is boiled in a green bamboo, which
has so much sap, that it resists the fire during the
operation. But every meal requires a new pot,
which nature supplies in exhaustless plenty. Their
wives are all purchased, and the chief wealth of a
father consists in debts due to him on account of
his daughters. The women are, therefore, slaves,
and may be sold again by their husbands.

74 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Along the coasts the natives are generaUy
Mohammedans, and many of them are of Malay
origin ; but the real Sumatrans of the interior are
in some cases savages, without any forms of wor
ship, and in others wild idolaters. Mr. Marsden
does not corroborate what Dr. Leyden has said
respecting the cannibalism of the Batta tribe, who
are rather a civilized people than otherwise. If
they eat their criminals, therefore, it is out of detes
tation of their crime ; and if they devour their old
parents, it is from a custom founded on affection.
In the southern part of the island, the man
grove * nearly covers the whole marshy extent of
the eastern quarter ; and the branches form curious
arches, curving from the trunk to the ground, so
that near the sea, oysters and shell fish stick to
them, and appear like fruit, which once gave rise
to a belief in natural history, that there were
oyster trees. Thus, we perceive how easily cre
dulity may be imposed upon ; and really it is no
wonder, for man seeing both within himself and
without, so many things that he cannot compre
hend, is prepared to see, feel, hear, taste, and
understand with the senses of others.
Bencoolen is our chief settlement on Sumatra.
It is situated on the S. W. side of the island, in lat.
3050' S. and long. 102" 3' E. Near it there is a
strong fort called Marlborough, which was founded
* Vide Addenda, XlX.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 75
in 171 ¦i. It is subordinate to the Presidency of
Bengal. The property of the East India Company
at this place is estimated at 400,000/.
The Sumatrans in the vicinity of this settlement
are polite and humane. Their principal punctUio
consists in never pronouncing their own names,
and a great embarrassment occurs when a stranger
makes such an enquiry. Some of the women are
very pretty, and have the same fondness for orna
ments that females every where evince. Their
hands are constantly cold. They are marriageable
between ten and eleven years, but soon grow old,
and even the men are short lived ; sixty years being
thought a great age. The Mohammedan boys
are circumcised generally in their sixth year. All
the diseases of India are known here. Burning
fever is cured by pouring cold water over the
patient, which brings on copious perspiration.
There is a great difference between the Malay and
Sumatran. The Sumatran is of the middle size, a
yellow colour, and slender conformation ; the
Malay is sometimes tall, generally robust, of a dark
coriiplexion, inclining to a copper tinge, with broad
features, and ferocious expression. There are not
in the world more desperate pirates than the
Malays. Their prows have attempted to board our
ships of war. The excellence of the Sumatrans
lies in the execution of most beautiful filagree
works of silver and gold, which they perform like
other Indians with extremely coarse tools, by un-

76 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
conquerable patience and industry. Silver is not
a native of Sumatra ; but gold is found, united
with copper, in the mines, and in veins near Padang,
where the Dutch founded a settlement subordinate
to Batavia. It is said that about 20,000 ounces of
gold are annually exported from Sumatra, with
some large cargoes of pepper, in return for opium,
English cloth, salt, &c.*

JAVA.
This island derives its present name from a mis
nomer of Ptolemy ; for Yava signifies barley, which
is not an indigenous grain, though now cultivated
in the mountainous parts by Europeans. Java is
separated from Sumatra by the Straits of Sunda ; a
channel of only twenty miles. The length of
Java is six hundred miles, by an average breadth
of ninety-five. It has a volcanic chain of mountains,
which occasionally explodes. The soil is in gene
ral far richer than the neighbouring islands. In
point of climate it differs but little. It is cooled
by land and sea breezes, and the extreme heat of
the marshes may be exchanged by a short journey
for the bracing atmosphere of the mountains, where
nearly all the grains, fruits, and vegetables of
Europe fiourish.
? Vide Marsden, Macpherson, Bruce, Elmore, &c.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 77
The Javanese proclaim their honourable descent
from the Wow Wow, which remarkable species of
ape inhabits their forests, and he is held in great
reverence. They are divided into five principal
governments. Bantam, Jacatra, Cheribon, the em
pire of Soesoehoenan, and that of the Sultan. All
these are subjected to the Dutch East India Com
pany's government of Batavia, which I have de
scribed in the historical account of the trade of
HoUand with India. It is estimated on good
authority that Java contains 3,000,000 of inhabit
ants, a considerable number of whom are Malays
and Chinese ; but the mass of the people are a
distinct race, that formerly professed the doctrines
of Brahma and Budha. They were converted to
Mohammedanism in 1406, by Sheik Ben Israel, an
Arabian, who became a powerful sovereign. The
kings of Bantam and Cheribon are descended from
him ; and his mausoleum, situated near Cheribon,
is one of the most curious and magnificent antiqui
ties of the east. There are splendid remains of
Hindooism at Borong Budor and Brambanan ; and
also in the districts of Mataram and Ballanbou-
ang. Java swarms with life ; and its inhabitants may
be said to eat and drink animalculae, for every
thing exhibits innumerable forms of living matter.
The forests are impenetrable from thick under
wood, creeping plants, spiders' webs of great
strength, and every description of snake and

78 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
venomous reptile. In the waters are prodigious
numbers of all the eastern monsters and fishes, whUe
the air teems with insects, and night blazes with
phosphorescent flights of the fire-fly tribe. From
the great cassowary to the little humming bird, the
mountains and woods abound in the feathered
race, and the boa constrictor is found here thirty
feet long, and as thick as a buffalo, of which he
makes but one meal.
But man* should be the great object with man ;
and if curiosity respecting our fellow creatures be
a general inclination of our nature, the Javanese
character furnishes a melancholy subject for con
templation. Here the government has been for
ages one of the most terrible forms of complete
despotism that ever disgraced the records of man
kind, which has sunk human nature below the most
sordid description of animal meanness with which
we are acquainted. The will of the prince is law.
He is restrained by no institutions, either civil or
religious. Surrounded by a set of men whom he
raises to honour or depresses to nothing by a breath
of his mouth, the people are abject slaves, and these
temporary nobles, sycophants who fawn and grovel
in the filth of capriciousness, for the privUege of
infiicting misery on their inferiors. A Javanese %
approaches his- prince in a crawling manner, and
* For an account of the Dutch on the island of Java, vide
the history of the East India Company of Holland, in another
part of this woi-k.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 79
endeavours to appear in his presence an idiot and
a pauper, to express emphatically the immeasurable
inequality of his condition, compared to that of
his sovereign. An inferior never presumes to stand
in the presence of superior rank ; he approaches
and withdraws like a beast, and sits like a monkey
covered with rags ; for his best apparel is never
exhibited in the presence of his king, as it would
shew something like an equality of enjoyment.
The Javanese are in body as in mind filthy, fond
to excess of intoxicating liquors, notwithstanding
the prohibitions of the Koran ; careless about the
chastity of their women ; depraved in their morals*
and addicted, hke the Malays, to a passion for gam
ing and cock-fighting, in which they are imitated to
a wonderful degree by the Chinese settlers. Their
principal weapon is the creese or serpentine dagger
of the Malays, which is made of Japan steel, and
inflicts a ghastly wound. In clothing, household
furniture, accommodation, ceremonies of marriage,
&c. they do not differ materially from the natives of
India on the continent. The young bride * is
paraded about with simUar noise and ostentation,
after which she becomes the slave of her husband
to all intents and purposes, and he may purchase as
many wives as he pleases. Their colour is a deep
brown, their eyes and hair jet black, their nose
broad and flattened, and their teeth ebonied and
* Appendix, note 3.

80. MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
decorated with gold. The women wear their hair
in a knot on the top of their head, ornamented with
jewels and flowers.
Java produces exceedingly fine rice, good pepper,
valuable sugar, excellent coff'ee, and coarse cotton,
with tobacco, which, added to bang, betel, and
opium, charms away the cares of the natives. The
fruits here are of the finest flavour ; and the man-
gusteen of this island is delicious and beautiful be
yond conception. It grows on a tree bearing at
the same time, like the orange, both fruit and
flowers. As it ripens, the fruit changes from a
bright to a dark purple, and in shape it resembles
a perfect sphere, resting on a green calyx, sur
mounted by a corona, divided charmingly into as
many rays as the fruit consists of lobes. The upas, or
anchar tree, is here without the deadly poisonous
atmosphere attributed to it by Foersch, and be
lieved to be fact by Dr. Darwin, with nearly all
the forest trees of the eastern islands. *
This island was taken from the Dutch and French
by Sir Samuel Achmuty, in 1811, under the au
spices of Lord Minto, but restored by the peace of
Paris. While it remained in our hands, very con
siderable improvements were introduced, and a
mildness given by equity to the native character
which may be the foundation of political happiness
at a future period, t
* Vide Addenda, XX.
f Vide Stavorinus, Marsden, Barrow, Leyden, Hamilton, and
Raffles.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 81

BORNEO, CELEBES, AND THE
MOLUCCAS.
Several smaU islands lie to the south-east of
Java, but I think it would be uninteresting to
notice them.
Between Sumatra, Java, New Guinea, the
Philippines, and Cochin-China, are situated the
two large islands of Borneo and Celebes, separated
from each other by the straits of Macassar ; and
immediately to the eastward lie the cluster caUed
the Moluccas. AU these islands are inhabited by
races of men like those already described. The
Malays and Chinese are settled round the coasts ;
but in the interior the natives are savages, and
some of the tribes anthropophagi, who drink out
of the skiUls of their enemies, and, at least once in
their lives, must embrue their hands in human blood.
They are known by the general name of Horaforas,
and, being found not only in these islands, but in
many other parts of India, there is strong reason
to suppose that they are aborigines. These natives
are divided into tribes, and some of them are ad
vancing towards civilisation under rude govern
ments. They cultivate the land, raise various
crops, and carry on commerce with the coasts ;
exchanging gold, diamonds, spices, gums, &c. for
opium, and different manufactures. One tribe of
these singular people are called Biajoos, and live

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

constantly in boats, on the sea, wandering about
like gipsies, or itinerant fishermen, from isle to
isle. They delight in the ceremony practised by
the Maldivians, of launching httle vessels loaded
with their sins and misfortunes, which, they believe,
will faU upon those mariners who may chance to
meet their unlucky barks. Another tribe of them
are called Tiroons, whose desperate acts as pirates
are famous in the eastern seas. The Macassars
and Buggesses of Celebes are expert workmen
in iron, copper, and gold.
Borneo is 750 miles long, by 350 in average
breadth. It is therefore by far the largest of the
Asiatic isles ; but the interior is little known.
Some of its rivers, such as Banjarmassin and
Passir, are large and navigable. There are fine
elephants on this island, and its forests are in
habited by a large specimen of the ourang outang.
The Dutch, French, and English have had settle
ments on Borneo, but none of them succeeded well.
In 1774'? the English East India Company esta
blished a factory at Passir ; but the climate was so
unfriendly, and the natives so treacherous, that it
was abandoned. The French ship L'Epreuve was
cut off here in i'TJ'h, and the whole crew assassi
nated, in the most horrible manner, by the attend
ants of a Malay chief, who was dining with the cap
tain. An expedition was soon after sent from Chan-
dernagor, to revenge the murderous act, and three
hundred, perhaps innocent people, were butchered .

MEMOIRS OF INBI^. - 83
in the attack on the town. The French councU's
instruction to the captain was, " To seize a number
of prisoners on the coast, and to put them on shore
again, after having cut off their noses, ears, and
hands."* Perhaps the barbarity of the former act
could only be equalled by the latter ; so true it is,
that civUised nations become savages, when they
give way to passion and vindictive ferocity. In
1700, the New English Company established a
factory at Banjarmassin, where the Dutch had long
been settled, but in 1707, they were nearly all
massacred by the natives.
Celebes is 500 miles in length, and 150 in aver
age breadth. It is deeply indented by two gulfs.
The southern one is called Buggess Bay, whUe
that to the north-east is named Tominee ; near
which, on the peninsula formed by it, is Fort
Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement, whence much
gold is received in exchange for opium, &c. In
1512, the Dutch got a footing in Macassar, on the
south-west coast, and in time subverted the em
pire of that name, which was the principal one of
the Buggess tribes, and perhaps the original seat
of their language, laws, and government. The
Dutch settlements were taken possession of by the
English, in 1812, but restored at the pacification
of Paris.
The Molucca islands comprise aU those clusters,
* I give this on the authority of Hamilton's Gazetteer, p.6Sl.
G 2

84 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
which lie between Celebes and New Guinea ; but
the name is generally restricted to the Dutch spice
isles of Amboyna, Banda, Ceram, Ternate, Tidore,
and Batchian. Here the natives are the same' as
in Borneo and Celebes, with a mixture of Papuas,
or Oriental negroes, who are supposed to be the
aborigines of New Guinea, as they are found there
in great plenty. These have been noticed before
in our account of the Andamans and Malacca,
and mention being made, in the history of the
Dutch East India Company, of these spice islands,
it would not be profitable to dwell on the subject
here.* THE PHILIPPINE ISLES.
Magellan, when he discovered these islands,
called them the Archipelago of St. Lazarus ; but
Ruy Lopes de VillaboloS named them the Philip
pines, in compUment to Philip II., of Spain, then
prince of the Asturias. They are very numerous,
lie between the 5th and 20th degrees of north
latitude ; and the principal ones are called Luzon,
Mindoro, Panay, Marandique, Negros, Masbate,
Zebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and Magindanao.
They were anciently called Bisayas, or Painted
Islands, because the natives painted their bodies
like Indians of old. Over all these, the Spaniards
* Vide Hamilton, &c. &c.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 85
assume sovereignty, but they are in constant war
fare with the pirates, who are a most unconquer
able race, and start up in new places, when
expelled from their old haunts and strong-holds.
Cheered with constant showers for a great part
of the year, the soU of the Philippines is very fer
tile : but terrible hurricanes sometimes occur, that
entirely destroy whole cultivated districts. The
intolerance of the Spanish government has been
such, with respect to religion and improvement,
that these fine islands have remained under Euro
peans, in a languishing state, though rich in gold,
and nearly all the productions of the eastern seas.
The natives live on rice, sago, plantains, bread
fruit, yams, and fish, and are so extremely indo
lent in the interior of the large islands, that they
are only induced by necessity to move. Even the
gold mines are worked so feebly, as scarcely to
defray the expences. Here the Bisayans go nearly
naked ; their houses are huts of palm leaves ; and
they require no doors to secure their property, for
a green bamboo serves them for a pot, a plantain
leaf for a plate, their fingers and thumb are their
forks, and a palm mat their cool bed. Many of
the Papuan negroes, whom the Spaniards found
here, were so wild and unapproachable, that they
were thought to be satyrs, and men with taUs,
some of them are still found in the eastern isles,
scarcely a degree above the beast in intellect ; and
G 3

86 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
their likeness to the ourang outang, has given rise
to the belief, that he knew the use of fire, and
dressed his own victuals. It is said, that the
Bisayans are foreign intruders, and have nearly
extirpated the Papuas, who were the original
possessors of the Philippines. But there are many
different tribes in this island, all agreeing, how
ever, with the general characteristics already de
scribed in the other islanders. These people are
governed by petty chiefs, and their laws are long
established customs. They purchase their wives,
are allowed only one by law, but as many concu
bines as they please ; and the bridegroom often
serves a number of years for his partner, as Jacob
did heretofore, for his two helpmates. Many ob
scenities take place at a marriage ceremony, which
is performed by sacrificing a hog.
Tagala is the general language, which is highly
esteemed for its melody ; and the literary na
tives had historical poems, and songs innumer
able, till the Spanish missionaries took such pains
to destroy these idolatrous records. Their religi
ous ceremonies are performed in woods and ar
bours, like the Druids, at which a priestess presides,
who, with a lance, pierces a hog, and works herself
lip to phrenzy, whUe the blood is flowing. The car
case is then divide.d and eaten, and the whole ends
with dancing. They bury their dead, and place
clothes, arms, and food on their tomb, believing

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 87
that they still enjoy the things of this world, but
their notions of a future state are exceedingly com
plex and confused.*
On the day of St. Lazarus, 1521, Magellan dis
covered these islands. In 1571, Legaspi conquered
Luzon, or Luconia, and estabhshed Manilla as the
capital of the Spanish possessions. Had the govern
ment countenanced industrious Chinese settlers,
the PhUippines would be, at this day, the garden
of the East ; but it was contrary to their policy.
In 1574, their infant settlement was attacked by a
Chinese pirate, with an army ; but he was re
pulsed. In 1590, the Spaniards successfully attacked the
pirates of Sooloo. After the Dutch settled at Ba
tavia, several wars ensued between them and the
Spaniards. In I762, Manilla w^as taken by the
British force, under General Draper, but it was
restored in I764. The Spanish trade is now a
mere trifle, and the colonies, neglected by the
mother country and unsupported by Mexico, are
sinking beneath the savage encroachments of nu
merous enemies.t * Vide Addenda, XXI.
t Vide Zuniga, Sonnerat, Leyden, &c.

G 4

88 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

CHAPTER III.

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF INDIA.

India, or Hindostan, the country of the Hindoos,
lies between the 8th and 35th degrees of north
latitude, and the 72d and 92d of east longitude.
Hindoo, in the Persian language, signifies black,
and sthan, country. From the most early times
this region was inhabited by the Indians, or black
men. It comprehends an area of 1,020,000 geo
graphical square mUes.
As Cashmere, Nepaul, &c. have been already
noticed, we have only briefly to describe the re
mainder of Hindostan Proper, the Deccan, and the
Peninsula. Hindostan Proper is generally subdivided into
Lahore, Mooltan, Guzerat, Ajmeer, Delhi, Agra,
Malwa, AUahabad, Oude, Bahar, and Bengal. *
The Deccan contains Aurungabad, Khandeish,
Beder, Hyderabad, Nandere, the northern Sircars,
Berar, Gundwana, Orissa,, and Bejapoor.
* Vide Arrowsmith's Map of India.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 89
It ought to be observed, that the British posses
sions in India are subdivided by the local authori
ties into civil and military districts. These, being
often changed, need not be mentioned. In the
Peninsula there are several tracts of country which
received new names when they were ceded to the
Company, or conquered by our arms. As nearly
the whole now belongs to us, I shall not mention
those partial designations, but confine myself to a
natural subdivision of it.
The Peninsula comprehends the Carnatic, or all
that region below the ghauts on the Coromandel
coast ; the Mysore, or all the countries above the
ghauts to the river Krishna ; and the Malabar
coast, which is the usual name of that region west
ward of the Malabar ghauts, from Cape Comorin
to Bombay, although it contains Canara, Cochin,
Travancore, &c.
So extremely curious are the chmate and natu
ral history of India, that philosophers of all ages
have been surprised, and their wondering specu
lations awakened by these subjects. It is never so
hot in Canton as in Calcutta, nor so cold in Cal
cutta as in Canton ; yet these places lie nearly in
the same parallel of latitude, and at about equal
distance from the sea. The seasons in India are
called the two monsoons * ; one from the south and
another from the north, which extend from Africa
* Vide Addenda, XXIII.

90 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
to the longitude of New Holland and the east coast
of China, and from the Himalaya mountains to the
latitude of the trade winds in the Indian Ocean.
But from the direction of the coasts, the interven
tion of mountains, the variation of the compass,
&c., the monsoons visit India from the S.W. and
N.E., and are thus denominated. The south-west
monsoon brings with it black clouds and storms
from the Indian seas. These clouds, filled with
rain, and urged forward by the winds, open their
flood-gates on the Malabar coast, in May, with
frightful storms, and astounding thunder explo
sions. The monsoon would thence spread, in a
regular sheet, over the Peninsula of India, were it
not stopped by the ghauts on the coast of Malabar.
Being turned northward by these lofty mountains
so as to expand over the table-lands of Mysore,
the Deccan, and Hindostan Proper, it visits these
regions in regular succession, but in a much milder
form than it bursts forth on the Malabar coast ;
for it makes astonishing struggles to conquer the
lofty ghauts, and seems to exhaust itself in the
loudest peals of thunder I ever heard against their
huge heads. The rain falls here for several days
together, literaUy in torrents. When the clouds
reach the Himalaya range, the strength of the mon
soon seems to revive from the opposition it meets
with there. Being again turned from its natural
course, it seems to visit Bengal from the north
west. The clouds are impeded in their progress

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 91
so as not to reach the Coromandel coast tUl Octo
ber, when the stormy season commences there.
All ships belonging to Madras are then forced to
fly for safety to the western coast of Ceylon, or
round to Malabar. The rains having spent their
fury on the Malabar coast in three months, and
gone off with the storm caUed elephanta, such fine
and lovely weather prevails there in October, that
zephyr scarcely ruffles the ocean, while all the fury
of the elements is felt on the other side of the
ghauts. When the south-west monsoon, which
commences in May and ends in October, prevaUs
on the western coast of India, the north-east mon
soon holds steadily on the eastern side of the Pen
insula. In short, the winds and seasons on the
two coasts are continually opposite.
Thus, although the operations of nature are re
gular throughout the whole of India, yet the inter
position of localities has produced great variety,
diametrical opposition, and wild eccentricity, at
which the finite wisdom of man must pause in won
der, without being able to explain the causes to the
satisfaction of his understanding. But whilst he is
lost in incomprehensibility, he is fUled with admir
ation at the infinite ways of the Almighty. Man
seems to be every where like the atmosphere he
breathes. On the mountain he is hardy, in the
plain he is soft ; in all situations he is liable to al
ternations of calm, gloom, agitation, and storm ;
but in India, where the law of local peculiarity

92 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
governs nature, the people are also under the same
influence, and still, like their atmosphere, they are
endless in variety, diametrical in opposition, and
wild in eccentricity ; which character is exempli
fied both in national and particular individuality.
The inhabitants of India may be thus enume
rated : — 1st. Hindoos, who are said to be ten dis
tinct nations *, but who come under the denomin
ations of Brahmans, Jains, Budhists, Seiks, and
Pariahs. 2d. Mohammedans, who are chiefly of the
sect called Soonis. 3d. Parsees, who are followers
of Zoroaster, and worship fire. 4th. Armenians.
5th. Jews. 6th. Nestorian Christians ; and 7th.
Europeans, who are Portuguese, Dutch, English,
French, Danish, Spanish, and Swedish, with their
spurious offspring by intercourse with the Indian
females, now forming a very numerous race. The
followers of Mohammed are to those of Brahma in
the proportion of one to ten ; but the other classes
are not near so numerous. It is on the western
coast only that the Parsees are settled. The Ar
menians are in all the great towns as merchants ;
the Jews and Nestorians are chiefly in Malabar ;
the Europeans all round the coast, which is now
occupied by their descendants, in the proportion
of one to ten of the natives ; but although an
exact census be very desirous, none has yet been
taken, and the following is the nearest approxim-
* On the authority of Colebrooke in the Asiatic Researches.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 93
ation to the whole population of India and the
islands.

Under the direct government of Bri
tain  60,000,000
Under our influence indirectly  40,000,000
Under independent chiefs beyond our
control  20,000,000
In the islands of the Indian seas . . . 20,000,000
Total population of the East Indies 140,000,000
The chief rivers of India are, the Brahmapootra,
the Ganges, the Indus, the Sutleje, the Krishna,
the Godavery, Jumna, Nerbudda, Cavery, Gog-
grah, Tuptee, Mahanuddy, Megna, Soane, Chum-
bul, Beyah, Gunduck, and Ravey. Its mountains
are, the Himalaya ridges, which cross the country
from the Brahmapootra river to Persia, rising one
above the other, and producing the three great
rivers, Indus, Ganges, and Brahmapootra; the
mountains of Kemaoon and Sewalic ; the eastern
and western ghauts ; and the Vindhyan chain,
which crosses India parallel to the Nerbudda.
The great cities are, Surat, Benares, Calcutta,
Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Agra, Lucknow, Patna,
Moorshedabad, Dacca, Poonah, Hyderabad, Nag-
poor, Catmandoo, Oojain, Jyenagur, Amritsar,
Lahore, and Seringapatam.
There are, generally speaking, two harvests.

94 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
called Khereef and Rubbee ; the first in Septem
ber and October, the latter in March and AprU.
The general food is rice, and the implements of
husbandry are simply awkward. It requires three
or four strokes of their Ul-formed plough to pro
duce a furrow. This instrument is often only a
piece of crooked wood, shod with iron, and drawn
by a pair of Ul-yoked oxen. Their harrow is like
a short ladder, upon which a man stands, whUst
he drives the bullocks that draw it to break the
clods with his weight. The cart, or car, caUed
hackery, generally used throughout India, is a
bamboo frame, supported by two wheels, the shape
of which frame is that of an acute triangle, and
the point of it passes up between two oxen, and
rests on a sort of ladder, in which their necks are
placed. What we perform with a spade and sho
vel, the Hindoos do with a sort of hoe in a sitting
posture. Their reaping-hook is a short crooked
knife ; and they tread out the grain in the fields by
means of oxen that are driven round a threshing
floor of baked clay ; after which it is secured in
earthen bee-hive-shaped granaries, about the size
of barrels, smeared over with cow dung to guard
it from white ants. In the vicinity of large towns
the implements of husbandry are better : but I am
speaking generaUy of the country. The inhabit
ants of small villages or towns have, in some places,
a joint interest in the crop, the labour being per
formed by contribution, and the cattle grazed to-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 95
gether ; but in numerous cases, the fields for tUlage
are private property, while those for pasture are
common to all. A fixed rent, which is estimated
according to the value of the crop, is paid for the
land to the zemindar, or person who holds it from
government, and the cultivator has, for his share,
barely what keeps him from absolute want. There
is in every considerable village and town a dhuram-
sallah, or inn, for strangers, with a person to attend
and furnish what may be required. Each village
has a magistrate, and many of them a court called
pancheat, or five old men, who decide upon all
matters of minor import at one hearing. Supeiior
courts are held at fixed places, both civil and cri
minal, where the laws are administered according
to the Hindoo and Mohammedan written codes and
customs. The Hindoos have an admirable coUec
tion, said by them to have been composed by
Menu, many millions of years ago, with commen
taries by learned pundits, a considerable part of
which has been translated by Sir WUliam Jones,
and some of their laws carefully digested by Sir
H. T. Colebrooke. They form a magnificent tes
timony in favour of the great antiquity and civilis
ation of the Hindoos.
These laws establish some curious points. They
must have been compiled at a time when civilis
ation had attained a place which it never surpassed
in India. At that period the Brahmanical autho
rity must have been in full force, for the laws are

96 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
all in favour of priestcraft ; where that is not con
cerned, they are often framed on the broad and
universal basis of natural equity. These laws dis
play a wonderful degree of refinement and barbar
ism : on commercial points, on the duties of kings
and magistrates, and on the various modes of lend
ing money and securing property, the most acute
wisdom and knowledge of human nature are indi
cated ; but in the various regulations for preserv
ing power and producing implicit obedience, inhu
manity, perjury, and slavery are resorted to : chU
dren and wives being made slaves to their parents
and husbands, the people were subjected to the
despotism of kings, and kings to the tyranny of
priests. The great difference then, between the
eastern world and the western in civUisation is this,
that whereas religion was formed in the latter for
a support to government, in the former government
was produced to support religion. The treatment
of women too forms another grand difference be
tween Europe and India. These • particulars cer
tainly divide the whole world into east and west,
giving a peculiar character to the institutions of
each. What distinguish the Hindoos, in general, are
the delicate and slender form of their bodies, their
equality of mind, their living on vegetable food,
their distribution into castes, their early marriages,
and their painted faces, which have continued the
same since the time of Alexander the Great. But

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 97
in travelling from Madras to Cashmere, up the
centre of India, the greatest variety is obvious to
superficial observation. There are not greater dif
ferences between the French, Italians, English,
Swedes, and Russians, than between the different
nations of India, who speak distinct languages,
and inhabit the several parts of Hindostan, which
are together nearly as large as all Europe.
The Vedas, or sacred books, of the Hindoos,
are written in Sanscrit, which is now a dead lan
guage, as well as the Purannas, which are com
mentaries on them. There are also the Prakrit,
the learned language of the Jains ; the Bali, the
sacred tongue of the Budhists ; and the Zend, in
which the books of Zoroaster are written, all de
rivations from Sanscrit, now unknown as living
tongues. But besides these very ancient languages,
there are ten distinct tongues, supposed to have
been spoken by ten different nations, which form
the groundwork of all the dialects of India. These
are the Saraswata, the Kanoge, the Gour, the Tir-
hoot, Orissa, Tamul, Mahratta, Carnata, Telinga,
and Gurjara.
Among the Hindoos, there are no titles of
nobUity in the gift of their rajahs, or kings, as in
Europe, but they can reward by bestowing a jag-
hire, or gift of land, w^ith an honorary appellation,
which is not hereditary. The Hindoos are divided
into many religious sects. Five worship a single
deity ; one adores the five great divinities ; several
H

98 MEMOIRS OF INDIA,
worship Chrishna under different forms, others
Vishnu, some Mahadeva, and several Bhavani.
Great alterations have taken place in the Brah
manical institution : and rituals founded on the
Purannas and Tantras, have obsoleted the Vedas.
Besides these are several phUosophical sects, whose
refinements equal those of Greece, Rome, &c.
Vishnu is worshipped under ten avaters, or incarn
ations, and he is expected shortly in the form of
a horse. But it is not by prayers to their gods, that
the Hindoos expect to work out their perfection,
but by such mortifications as Tarika performed,
who is reported to have nearly dethroned the king
of heaven by their powerful efficacy. These con
sisted in standing for a length of time in positions
that produced excruciating pain. Various modes
of suicide are believed to secure future happiness.
A woman is promised paradise, who burns herself
with her husband's dead body. Men are promised
the same, for starving themselves, burning their
bodies in dry cow dung, burying themselves in
snow> at the source of the Ganges, giving them
selves to sharks and alligators at Saugur Island *,
cutting their own throats at Allahabad, burying
themselves alive, and throwing themselves from
precipices. Long and expensive pUgrimages are
also made to ensure salvation, or happy transmigra
tion ; and a journey of 1000 mUes is sometimes
* Vide Appendix, note 4.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 99
performed, by tumbling all the way. To cut and
mangle the body, to be crushed under Juggernaut's
car, to renounce the world, and to live in deserts,
are other modes ; but it may be generaUy observed,
that the Brahmans seem to have invented these
various torments, pUgrimages and sanctifications for
purposes of deep policy ; for when they elevated
the man to fame who sacrificed himself, they
opened a road to ambition, and either sent trou
blesome spirits out of the world, or gratified them
with the praises of men while in it. Peter on his
pUlar was as vainglorious as Alexander at Babylon.
The Brahman religion has no visible head of the
church, each great pagoda being dependent on its
own fame and sanctity. Some Hindoo sects shave
the whole head, except a tuft of hair on the crown,
unless when undergoing mortifications, when it is
aUowed to grow wild, and to mat with oil and
ashes, so as to appear frightfiU. Some of the
Brahmans take a vow of celibacy, others marry.
All Brahmans are not priests, but they are never
theless held sacred, and placed above the law as
to life ; for it is the greatest of aU crimes to kiU
one of them, under any circumstances. The four
great castes of Hindoos never intermarry, nor eat
together, except at some great sacrifice that levels
all distinction for a moment. This happens in the
presence of Juggernaut. The same caste is not
an introduction to society in different parts of
India, where a man is a stranger. A freemason
H 2

100 MEMOIRS OF INDIAi
will be admitted into a lodge in a strange country,
by a sign and word, but a Hindoo remains an out
cast, when at a distance from his own little circle.
But he must scrupulously observe the rules of his
own society, or he would be expelled, and never
again be admitted to any other sect ; for the
Hindoo religion, so far from, aiming, like the
Mohammedan at conversion, will not receive a pro
selyte ; yet it looks with perfect charity on all wor
shippers, as pleasing to God, and objects of his
care. The Mohammedans and Hindoos now live
together in perfect harmony, though at first some
persecuted Hindoos were circumcised by force.
It is supposed that the Brahmans were philosophers,
who came into India, whUe it was in a barbarous
state, and subverted the horrid practices which still
prevail in the Eastern isles.
In Hindostan they reckon that four ages, con
sisting of many mUlions of years, have elapsed
since the creation, but the Chinese and Hindoos
are surpassed by the Jains, who believe that they
never had a beginning, and that the world was
never formed.
Polygamy and slavery are permitted by law,
but the customs and privileges of women are very
different in the various tribes of Hindostan, as
weU as their ceremonies, both civU and religious.
The Hindoo character is in general parsimonious,
except on occasion of marriage, and in the cele
bration of annual sacred feasts, at which vast sums

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 101
are expended in ostentatious display. In the mar
riage ceremony, the young bride and bridegroom
are paraded about with all the magnificence of
wealth which the parties can command ; and at
festivals, the idols are drawn through the public
streets, on gorgeous carriages, with amazing pomp
and noise. The lower orders have seldom more
than one wife, who is as little secluded from society
as a peasant's wife in Europe. Nearly all the
children go perfectly naked for two or three years,
but many of them have a silver plate, in the form
of a heart, suspended from a string tied round
their Iqins, to hide the sight of what modesty
prompts all nations to conceal. The females are
immoderately fond of ornaments, and their noses,
ears, wrists, fingers, ancles, and toes are loaded
with rings and jewels, in proportion to their cir
cumstances. Every where companies of dancing
girls will be found, who are devoted to pleasure.
They take great care of their beauty, preserve their
breasts from injury by keeping them in artificial
forms, or moulds, which fasten behind, while their
beautiful and delicate bodies are rendered soft and
glossy by constant ablutions, champoing with the
fingers, which opens the pores, and anointing with
perfumed oils. Their jet black hair is tied up in
a knot, decorated with white flowers and gold,
their eye-lashes are painted black, and their teeth
often stained with the same colour ; but sometimes
of an ivory whiteness, from their simple vegetable
H 3

102 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
food. Their smaU dehcate feet and legs are bare,
as also their arms, and part of their bodies ; for
the Hindoo female dress is in general one long
piece of white, coloured, or embroidered muslin,
or cotton, wound round the loins, so as to form a
petticoat, whUe the end of it is drawn gracefuUy
round the breast, and serves for a veU to cover the
head occasionaUy, or to hang on the smooth playful
arm. The Hindoo male dress, of the lower orders,
is nothing but a langutty, or loin cloth, but the
higher ranks wear rich turbans, trowsers, and
gowns, with party coloured sandals or slippers, and
gorgeous shawls, sparkling in gold and silver.
The whole of the Mogul empire may now be
considered as transferred to Great Britain. In the
reign of Acber, it yielded a revenue of 36,000,000/.
per annum, and was governed by an unwieldy
army of plundering irregulars. In 1812, the East
India Company's total revenue was 17>000,000/.,
but it has since greatly increased by conquests in
the Deccan. It now exceeds 22,000,000/., which
will under proper management gradually improve,
as population advances and security is felt. The
combined debts of the three presidencies amounted,
in 1812, to near 30,000,000/., which, owing to
wars and increased expenses, is not yet much re
duced. However, the assets of the Company are
immense, and their affairs must be considered very
prosperous ; for although the firee trade has slightly
injured their commercial profits, yet they have stUl

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 103
the monopoly of all that is truly valuable. Sup
ported by an army of 30,000 Europeans, and
150,000 natives, weU organised, commanded by
British officers, and kept in constant activity, the
stability of our empire rests at present upon a firm
basis. But the fabric of human wishes is always
in a tottering state ; and vain are the prognostica
tions of short-sighted mortals ! There are in India
about 40,000 British born subjects, in the Com
pany's service, as civilians, military officers and
soldiers, free merchants, and mariners, lawyers,
shopkeepers, and settlers. The civil servants are
about 2000 in number, and the establishment of the
three courts of judicature above 300.
Females appear to be more numerous in Hindo
stan than males. Perhaps I may be wrong in this
surmise ; for in some tribes several men have but
one wife ; yet in others, for centuries past, the
female chUdren were destroyed. The following
are facts in support of my assumption. Scarcely a
Hindoo ever remains unmarried tUl twenty-five ;
indeed they are all fettered with wedlock when
chUdren ; many of them have ten or twelve wives
in the course of their lives ; young widows never
marry again ; the companies of dancing girls are
prodigiously numerous ; and the number of Hin
doo females that attach themselves to Europeans
is very great. Women in India ripen soon, and
wither fast ; they are mothers in their eleventh
year, and decrepid with age at thirty ; but among
H 4

104 MEMOIRS OF INDIA,
men the wear and tear of life are not so, for
many of them enjoy health of body and mind tiU
ninety years old, and some reach a period consider
ably beyond 100.
Rice is their general food, with much spice, and
but little animal addition. To its use may be
attributed the slender form of their bodies, and
the even texture of their minds, free from many of
our perturbations, and calmly patient under suffer
ings, which in Europe would rouse most danger.
ous passions into immediate action.
The varieties of men have perhaps been thus
formed imperceptibly, by accidental causes, influ
enced by peculiarity of climate. A Hindoo hves
on rice, he is soft and watery ; a Chinese may
derive some of his qualities from tea ; as an Arabian
does from coffee, a Laplander from fish, and an
Englishman from beef and ale. Men are every
where radically the same in disposition and pro
pensity. Colour, in such instances as have come
under my observation, makes no difference in the
texture of the mind. Genius has been found in
slavery, and talent in chains. National physical
superiority is flattering to pride ; but in reahty
civilised man is the creature of institutions ; he is,
generally speaking, elevated or depressed in the
scale of human estimation, just in proportion as
the community to which he belongs is wise or
foolish. * " Vide Addenda, XXII.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 105
Having made these introductory remarks, which
are supported as weU by personal observation as by
numerous high authorities, we shall proceed rapidly
to describe the divisions of India.

THE PENINSULA OF INDIA.
That part of the southern triangle of India,
which extends from the river Krishna to Cape
Comorin, called the Peninsula, is divided into three
parts by the hand of nature : these are the Carnatic,
Mysore, and Malabar. Malabar is, in its extended
sense, all that country lying along the western
ghauts, next the sea, from Cape Comorin, where they
rise, to the river Tuptee, where they change their
direction eastward, and run off till lost in the neigh
bourhood of Boorhanpore. This region is in breadth
from forty to seventy miles, which is the general
distance of the ghauts from the sea shore. From
the western ghauts, in the latitude of about 15" N.
a chain of mountains runs off eastward, and winds
round northerly till it reaches the Krishna river, on
the Coromandel coast. These ghauts rise to un
equal heights, many of them towering far above
the clouds, but generally supporting a magnificent
terrace of 3000 feet above the level of the sea,
called the Mysore. Many of the mountains rise
above that country from three to four thousand
feet. AU the low country is called the Carnatic,

106 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
on the eastern side of the western ghauts, and the
one coast is denominated Coromandel, whUe the
other is styled Malabar. The whole country,
therefore, below the ghauts, we describe by the
names of Carnatic and Malabar ; and all above
these mountains, to the river Krishna, by the ap
pellation of Mysore. * From the source of the
Krishna, which is in the western ghauts near
Sattara, only about fifty miles from the sea coast of
Malabar, this fine river courses about 650 mUes,
in many beautiful meanders, and-falls into the Bay
of Bengal, near Masulipatam, where a considerable
portion of the Carnatic, along the eastern ghauts,
is called the Northej'n Sircars. The Krishna in its
course is joined by five other considerable rivers,
called the Warnah, Malproba, Gutpurba, Beemah,
and Toombuddra, besides a multitude of other
smaller ones, and at its junction with the sea, it forms
a magnificent body, though it is not navigable far
inland. There are four principal rivers in the Carnatic,
which have their source in the western ghauts of
the table-land. These are the Palar, the Cavery,
the Pennar, and the Vaggaroo ; but the country is
nevertheless in many parts ill supplied with water ;
to remedy which deep wells are dug, and large
tanks constructed, that yield a supply for indispens.
able irrigation, thrown up by very simple machinery.
* Vide Hamilton's East India Gazetteer.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 107
The soil is in general sandy, the climate the hottest
in India, from local position, but not subject to hot
winds, on account of the sea and land breezes,
which blow in daily alternation. Vegetation is
parched during the dry season, and few trees
grow without much care and labour ; the melia
azadarichta and the robinia mitis being, I have
been informed, the only ones which flourish spon
taneously in some parts of the interior. But the
coasts are beautified with palms, and -many parts
inland luxuriantly green from the effects of patient
industry ; yet the Carnatic requires annual supplies
of rice from Bengal, &c., which are paid for by an
extensive exportation of piece goods, in the manu
facture of which the people have been long cele
brated. The Nabob of the Carnatic, and the various
chiefs and Polygars who composed the govern
ment of the country, before our influence in it,
have now no political power ; they live on pen-.
sions or jaghires of land, and may be considered in
the light of independent gentlemen, or petty nobles.
Their power in the administration of justice has
been transferred to the Company's civil servants,
who as judges, magistrates, and collectors, have
the whole country divided into districts, and hold
native courts according to ancient custom.
In no part of India are there so many great
pagodas as in the Carnatic. The Hindoo idols are
worshipped in these magnificent fabrics with gross

108 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
enthusiasm. The bull is a general object of
adoration, and in some viUages, one is kept as a
living idol, and when he dies his body is buried
with great pomp. There are not many Mohamme
dans in the Carnatic, but Christian converts are
numerous in the vicinity of Tranquebar *, and
some other places. It is computed that there are
50,000 Christians. The Brahmans have nearly the
monopoly of all the different offices in the revenue
and judicial departments. Many of them, being
of the secular order, hold large tracts of land,
which are cultivated by their slaves. Nearly all the
peasantry are of the Sooder, or fourth caste. There
is a wandering tribe, called Chensu Carir, who
have no fixed habitations, and whose wealth lies in
droves of small asses, which convey them with
their children and mat houses, round the country,
like gipsies.
Malabar also belongs entirely to Great Britain,
in a political point of view, though a small part of it
be in the possession of the rajah of Travancore,
who exercises over it the rights of an independent
sovereign ; but he is restricted in all external
power. The revenue he pays the Company is con
siderable. There are in Travancore t about 90,000
Christians, and 30,000 Jews, and in the whole of
Malabar full 300,000 Christians of all descriptions ;.
but the mass of the inhabitants are pure Hindoos
with peculiar customs and manners, though Moham-
* Vide Appendix, note 5. - t Ibid, note 6.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 109
medans and Parsees are also very numerous along
the sea coast. In no part of India is the pride of
caste more upheld than here. Some time ago, it
was common for a Brahman, or a Nair, to cut a
low caste man, or a Pariar down, like a noxious
reptile that presumed to approach so as to come in
contact. There are castes here held so infamous as
not to be aUowed to approach the habitations of
others, and these miserable outcasts live in the
woods, like wild men. In some tribes on this
coast, the husband never cohabits with his own
wife ; she remains in the house of her brothers, and
bestows her favours on whom she pleases ; gene
rally on the Namboory Brahmans, who are thought
to be the most honourable fathers for offspring.
Thus no Niar is said to know his father. In
heritance therefore runs in the female line, the
sister's chUdren being equal heirs to all property
left by the head of the house. There are about
thirty different sects of Nairs ; many of them eat
animal food *, and in general they are fond of in
toxicating liquors. They are of the royal race of
Malabar, second in rank to the Brahmans, and
under them there are several other tribes of free
men and slaves. The astrologers of Malabar are
still held in high estimation. Infanticide, from
their predictions, was arrested by the Portuguese,
and it is now unknown. Formerly, thousands of
* Vide Addenda, XXIV.

110 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
infants, it is said *, lost their lives in Malabar, whose
stars were ascertained to predict misfortune ; as if
it were in the power of man to rob destiny by com
mitting murder.
The exports of Malabar consist chiefly of coir,
cocoa nuts, fine timber for ship buUding, which
grows in the ghauts, and is a species of oak called
teak, rice, ghee or clarified butter, dry ginger,
piece goods, cardamoms, pepper, sandal wood, sapan
wood, turmeric, arrow root, betel nut, and iron.
Malabar is a lovely country of hUl, > dale, and
valley, with a magnificent horizon on one side,
rising to the sky, and on the other a blue cheerful
sea. The rivers are very numerous, but having a
course only from the ghauts, they are of little con
sequence as navigable streams. There is an inter
esting diversity in this province, not to be found
in other parts of India, for the inhabitants live in
single houses scattered aU over it, peeping beauti
fully from amidst plantations of cocoa nuts, pepper
vines, and plantain groves.
Many of the villages are romanticaUy situated,
and embelhshed with great taste. The Brahman
and Teerettee girls of Malabar are very beautiful,
and their dress is simple and becoming. An Eu
ropean may here purchase a blooming young female,
for a few pounds sterhng. It is not lawful for a
proprietor of slaves to seU man and wife in separate
* By the Abbe Raynal.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. Ill
lots, but children may be separated from their
parents. Men are sold for about '^l., and children
for 2/. ; and parents who are freemen have power
to sell their own children. But it is to be hoped
that Great Britain will establish universal freedom
in India, and rescue human nature in the East, as
well as in the West, from degradation and bondage.
The whole of Mysore, with the exception of a
small part, nominally under the rajah, elevated
from obscurity upon our conquest of the country,
in 1799, belongs to the East India Company. It
it watered by several fine rivers which flow into the
Krishna, or towards the eastern ocean through the
Carnatic. It is generally a fine fertile country,
yielding rich crops of rice, several kinds of pulses,
(among which is the cynosurus coracanus, called
raggy,) ricinus palma Christi, poppy, tobacco, cocoa
nuts, and betel. The cattle are cows, buffaloes,
small horses, sheep, and goats, with nearly all our
varieties of poultry, a fine display of fruits, and
excellent vegetables. No climate in India is finer
than that of Mysore ; the air being refreshed by
showers during the breaking of the two monsoons,
and cooled by elevation, without being subject to
the rarefaction of the more northern parts. My
sore yields a considerable quantity of iron ore ; and
nearly all the butter used in the Carnatic is ex
ported from it in a preserved state without salt,
which is effected by keeping the butter till rancid,
and then boiling it till every watery particle eva-

112 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
porates, after which it is called ghee, and put up
in large flasks made of leather.
Although Mysore was for a long time subject to
the Mohammedan sway, yet there are not many
moslems in it ; the mass of the people being rigid
Hindoos, It is, on the whole, in a flourishing state ;
and certainly a far finer country than the Carnatic.
The people live in villages and towns, and their
houses are generally built with stone oi; mud, and
covered with tiles, whereas in the Carnatic, and
in many parts of Malabar, the dwellings are com
posed of wood or mud, and thatched with palm
leaves. The star pagoda, value about eight shillings, is
a current gold coin, in the Carnatic, Mysore, and
in Malabar; and rupees, of different denominations,
in value, averaging two shillings the sUver ones,
with a copper piece of different small standards,
like oiir pence and half-pence. In most other
parts of India, the gold coin is a mohur, worth
about thirty shillings, with silver and copper medi
ums, similar to those just mentioned. The day is
generally throughout Hindostan divided into sixty
parts, and an hour, or one portion, into twenty-
four minutes. Distances are computed by mUes
of an hour each, that is the length commonly
travelled over in twenty-four minutes, of about
two and a half English mUes.*
* Vide Addenda, XXV.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 113
Both in Mysore and in part of Malabar, the
Jains are numerous, and there are some interesting
remains of their skill in sculpture to be seen. The
palaces of Seringapatam are now, like many things
that have been, of little interest, and a heap of
ruins wUl soon mark the spots where they once
proudly stood claiming immortality. Such is the
fleeting nature of human grandeur.

THE DECCAN.
Deccan means the south, and formerly signified
all the countries of India southward of Hindostan
Proper. It is so understood by the author of the
circumnavigation of the Erythrean sea ; but the
word is now restricted to the high country between
the rivers Nerbudda and Krishna, while the region
below the ghauts, or northern part of Malabar, is
called the Concan,
The Nerbudda has its source in lat, 22° 54' N.
and long. 82° 15' E. at a sacred well called Omer-
cuntuc, and flowing westerly in almost a straight
line, falls into the sea, after a course of 750 mUes
in the gulf of Cambay, after watering the fine
province of Guzerat for a considerable way. This
quarter of India is also fertilised by the Tuptee
river, which rises in thelngardy hills, and falls into
the sea at Surat, after a course westerly of about
500 miles, part of which is through the strong pro-

114 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
vince of Kandeish ; and also the Godavery, which
has its source in the western ghauts, about seventy
miles north of Bombay, and flows easterly to the
Bay of Bengal, after a winding course of about
850 miles, where its mouths form several navigable
harbours. From this river to the south-western archipelago
of Bengal, the country is called Orissa. It is about
530 miles in length by ninety in average breadth,
and in general character it is a mountainous region,
inhabited by the Ooreas, who are a wild and un
civilised race of aboriginal Indians, driven to the
most barren parts by the Mohammedan and Mah
ratta conquerors. The sea coast, in many parts,
is however an exception ; and the great temple of
Juggernaut has for ages attracted such prodigious
numbers of pUgrims, that for many miles around
there is a polish of manners not surpassed in any
part of India. Orissa is watered by the Maha
nuddy, by the Byturnee, and Subunreeka rivers,
which flow, like the Godavery, into the Ray of
Bengal, after courses of considerable length. A
rugged chain of mountains extends from the Goda-
vey to the Mahanuddy, and forms a strong barrier
inland along this coast. The whole of Orissa may
now be said to be under the direct influence of the
company ; for much of the political power of the
rajah of Berar is at an end.
To- the westward of Orissa, lies the province of
Gundwana, a great part of which is also wild and

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 115
barren. The best parts are inhabited by the Mah
rattas, and the worst by the Gounds, who continue
almost in a state of nature. In the centre of the
Deccan, are situated the territories of the Nizam,
where a considerable portion of the population are
Mohammedans, and southward to the Krishna lie
the territories lately belonging to the Peishwa,
which are now part of the British empire, for very
httle has been restored to the Sattara rajah, and he
is entirely without external political influence. To
this great acquisition has also been added the pro
vince of Kandeish, ceded by Holkar at the termina
tion of the late Mahratta war, at least all his share of
it ; so that the whole Deccan, and Concan virtually
belong to the Company, for both the Nizam and
rajah of Berar have received subsidiary British
forces, which entirely places their political influence
at the disposal of Great Britain.
The whole of the Deccan, with that part of
Guzerat south of the Nerbudda, is a remarkably
fine country. In point of climate and natural ad
vantage, it ranks with any part of India, but long
distracted with war, famine, and plunder, it is in
many places very thinly inhabited. The people
live in walled towns, and every where the ruins of
former grandeur present a melancholy picture to
observation. The mountainous parts are inhabited
by wild tribes of various denominations, almost in
a state of nature ; but the Mahrattas occupy the
best districts, and conform to the principles, man-
I 2

116 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ners, and customs of the Hindoos ; though it is
said they were originally Persian emigrants* ; but
this is involved in great obscurity, and a difference
of opinion prevails respecting the origin of this
martial and restless race.
Every thing in the Mahratta states wears a war-
hke appearance. The summits of hills and moun
tains are strongly fortified, the towns are fortresses,
and nearly all the inhabitants go armed. While
these ambitious people had political independence,
civilisation and peace could never exist very long
in India. Their plundering excursions destroyed
civilisation, and never permitted peace to afford
security, which is the great object of all social
aims. Near the ancient city of Dowlutabad, are the
famous caves of Flora, which are certainly most
magnificent monuments of the Hindoo religion.
Here the whole side of a inountain has been ex
cavated, and the living rock formed into such
endless variety, as would baffle the most laborious
description. The finest diamonds in the world are found in
the. Deccan, for which the mines of Golconda
have been ever celebrated, and the whole region
is teeming with natural and artificial curiosities.

* . On the authority of Major Wilford, in the Asiatic Re
searches.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 117

HINDOSTAN PROPER.
It has been remarked, that from the river Ner
budda southward, India forms a fine triangle.
Another triangle may be said to be formed by the
countries northward of the Nerbudda ; for the
great rivers, Indus and Ganges, which are the
western and eastern boundaries of Hindostan
Proper, have their sources, at no great distance
from each other, in the Himalaya mountains.
Of all the great rivers in India, the Ganges is
the most useful to man. It performs a winding
journey of full 1500 miles, from its source to the
Bay of Bengal, receives a great number of fine
navigable rivers in its course, and fertilises the
richest provinces of Hindostan, bearing commerce
on its bosom, and affording employment to 300,000
of the natives. During the monsoon, the Ganges
rises thirty-two feet above its lowest level, and over
flows its banks, in some places being then 100 miles
in breadth, with the inhabited parts like islands
scattered over its glass-like surface. When at its
lowest the principal channel varies from 400 yards
to one and a quarter mile wide, but is commonly
about three-fourths of a mile in breadth. At 500
miles firom the sea, the channel is thirty feet deep,
when the river is at the lowest. Taking the medium
of the whole year, the quantity of Water discharged
I 3

118 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
by the Ganges is about 180,000 cubic feet, per
second of time.
We shall now proceed to notice the principal
provinces that compose Hindostan Proper. But as
the three seats of British government, Calcutta,
Madras, and Bombay, are described in another
part of this work, no particular mention is made
of them here.
Bengal is about 350 mUes in length by 300 in
average breadth, and its richness of soil is amaz
ingly great. Its general character is that of a
flat campaign country, yielding prodigious crops
of rice, wheat, and barley. The Delta of the
Ganges is annually enriched by the mud of the
river, and, there is not a stone to be found in it.
The important productions of Bengal are tobacco,
sugar, indigo, cotton, silk, and opium * ; and to
all the Indian fruits, are now added some from
China and Europe. Vegetables are in great plenty.
The potatoe flourishes here and in most parts of
India ; and the rivers yield a great variety of
fish, among which is that called the mangoe fish,
from its supposed resemblance in taste and flavour
to the delicate fruit so named. I say, supposed
taste and flavour, because, though I often eat the
mangoe fish in Calcutta, I never could discover
these qualities. All nature teems with life, from
* Vide Addenda, XXVI.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 119
the elephant and royal tiger *, to the fire-fly and
musquito. The inhabitants of Bengal are very numerous,
and generally average 200 to a square mile. In
the eastern districts, the Mohammedans are almost
as numerous as the Hindoos, but elsewhere they
do not constitute a fifteenth of the inhabitants,
who are rigid followers of Brahma. The Benga
lese are a quiet, soft race of men, who have gene
rally submitted to foreign dominion, without any
efforts for freedom.
Bahar, which is an equally fine province, lies
westward of Bengal, and Contains about 26,000
square mUes. It is more subject to the hot winds
than Bengal, and yields a vast quantity of salt
petre, which is largely produced during their con
tinuance. It has, therefore, been supposed that
these winds are essential to the formation^ of nitre
in this quarter. Cultivation is here carried on with
such care, that in the vicinity of Patna, the fields
look like fine English gardens.
Westward of Bahar, lies the province of Alla
habad, which is 270 miles in length by 120 in
average breadth. It is watered by the Ganges,
Jumna, Goomty, and Caramnassa, and it contains
the famous cities of Benares and Allahabad, two
of the most sacred places of Hindoo pilgrimage.
Its exports are diamonds, saltpetre, opium, sugar,
indigo, cotton, manufactures of cotton and silk, &c.
* Vide Addenda, XXVII.
I 4

120 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
The kingdom of Oude hes to the north of
AUahabad. It is in length about 250 mUes by
100 in breadth, and produces, with all the varieties
before mentioned, a considerable quantity of lapis
lazuli, which is very valuable. This province is
intersected by the Goggrah river, and bounded
on the west by the Ganges, while to the north and
east lie the territories of Nepaul. The Hindoo
race in Oude is much superior, both in mental
and bodily qualities, to the natives of Bengal.
They retain the warlike characteristics of their
ancestors, the conquerors of Ceylon. In this pro
vince Mohammedans are very numerous. The king
of Oude holds his court at Lucknow; but his
political power rests entirely with the Company,
who defend his kingdom from foreign aggression.
North of Oude, is the province of Delhi, in
which the Mogul emperors long exercised despotic
dominion over the East. It is about 240 mUes
long by 180 broad; but having been long the
scene of plunder and desolation, it is thinly inha
bited, and in Delhi, heaps of ruin every where
meet the eye. The best parts of it are in our
possession, and the worst are occupied by petty
chiefs, belonging to the Seik confederacy, who, in
stead of supporting the national rank which their
founders gained, now weaken each other by con
stant civil war.
All these provinces may be ranked as directly
under the cotttrol of the East India Company,

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 121
together with the greatest part of Agra, which is
about 250 miles long and 180 broad; and they
constitute the British possessions in the eastern and
northern quarters of Hindostan Proper, along
with the districts of Kemaoon, &c. lately ceded by
the Goorca government of Nepaul.
The territories of Dowlut Row Scindea, who is
now the most powerful of the Mahratta chiefs, are
situated principally in Malwah. He retains a con
siderable share of independence, which he secured
by judiciously bending to necessity, at the com
mencement of the last Mahratta war ; while
Holkar, and the rajah of Berar, by trying the
fortune of battle, placed their political consequence
in the hands of Great Britain. The Rajpoot states
lie in the province of Ajmeer, almost in the centre
of Hindostan Proper ; and the inhabitants are
among the bravest and noblest races of the Hin
doos ; considering themselves descended directly
from the ancient royal race, they are actuated by
very high principles of patriotism and honor * ; but
being divided by the feudal system of government,
which prevaUs among them, they never pursue a
combined effort for empire. Mooltan and Lahore,
which lie northward of Ajmeer, are possessed by a
few petty chiefs, who by their continual feuds re
tard the progress of improvement, and barbarise
their subjects. The province of Lahore, which
* Vide Addenda, XXyiU.

122 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
extends to the northern mountains, 320 miles in
length and 220 in average breadth, is one of the
finest in India, as to natural advantages, being
watered by five fine rivers, which form what is
called the Punjab; but, for the reasons before
mentioned, it is now but thinly inhabited, and
under a most disorganised government, amounting
nearly to complete anarchy. In this province the
Seik government, which is a theocracy and repub
licanism, was established by a philosopher, named
Nanac, who apostatised from the creed of Brahma
to pure Deisin, and received converts from all re
ligions, permitting them to retain their original
manners and customs. But as some account of
this curious nation is given hereafter, we shaU
merely say in this place, that the Seiks are, the only
state in India, which ever seems to have imbibed
republican principles, and in the confusion which
followed the death of Aurengzebe in 1707. those
principles, and the ambitious views which then ex
panded, raised the Seiks to a formidable and dan
gerous height of power ; but they have since sunk
into political insignificance, and are now divided
into separate interests and irreconcilable feuds.
By late conquests in Cutch, and the state of our
connection with the government of Baroda, the
whole sea coast, from the mouths of the Indus,
round to Bombay, is subservient to the. East India
Company, who may be said to command all the
resources of Guzerat and Katty war.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA, 123
The large and fine province of Guzerat occupies
nearly the same place on the west of India, as
Bengal does on the east, and yields, generally
speaking, simUar crops; but cotton is the great
article of export. In length, this province is about
320 miles, including that part of it which lies south
of the river Nerbudda, and 180 in average breadth.
It is rich in precious stones, such as cornelians
and agates, and at this day, as in 1582, when Abul
Fazel compUed the institutes of Acber, it is famous
for painters, carvers, and handicraftmen.
This province is inhabited by various classes of
Hindoos, some of whom, in the mountainous and
barren parts, are professed thieves, and the most
expert pilferers in the world ; others are receivers
of stolen goods, by public occupation ; and these
tribes have given rise to a set of men, who stake
their lives as security for the safety of persons and
property. These are the Charons and Bhauts,
who are of Brahman origin, and are held sacred
by the Bheels, or thieves, who account it the most
horrible crime to shed their blood ; upon this pre
judice the securities act, and when they faU in pro
tection, mutilate themselves in a most dreadful
manner. The tribe called Banyans are also very
numerous in Guzerat. They have a great respect
for animal life, and establish hospitals for the old
and sickly of the brute creation. Here also are
numerous establishments of Jains, of whom an

124 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
account is given hereafter, who carry fans made
of feathers to frighten away insects, lest they
should inadvertently deprive any thing that exists
of life.
Besides the Hindoos, Guzerat contains a great
many Mohammedans and Parsees. These fire wor
shippers came to India during the Mohammedan
persecutions, and being encouraged by the native
princes, on account of their great industry and in
offensive dispositions, they have greatly increased,
and acquired much property along the coast, even
to the extremity of Malabar. Their women are
placed on a complete equality with the men, and
their morality is so pure, that a single breach of
the marriage vow has not occurred for many years,
nor is there an instance of female depravity per
mitted among these very curious people, who are
in fact the Quakers of India. Like the Hindoos,
the Parsees contract their children in marriage,
when infants, but their widows, instead of burn
ing, or remaining single, marry widowers ; for the
relations of the deceased are bound to find the
survivor a partner, of the description mentioned.
They do not bury their dead, but leave the bodies
in open sepultures, to be devoured by birds ; which
is one of their most extraordinary customs. The
Parsees support each other hke the Quakers.
When embarrassments occur, an enquiry takes
place, and assistance is given, if the person's con-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 125
duct be correct ; that is, if misfortune have caused
his losses, instead of neglect or extravagance. All
their pursuits are of a commercial nature ; and
they are by far the best ship-buUders in India.
In this province also are numerous Boras, who
are the Jews, or hawkers of the east. They pro
fess the Mohammedan religion, but in every other
respect have the appearance of sons of Abraham ;
and they form every where a separate community,
having their head quarters, or high priest, at Boor-
hanpoor, in Kandeish.
The principal towns are Surat, Baroda, Ahme-
dabad. Broach, and Cambay ; and the chief rivers,
besides the Nerbudda, are the Myhe and Sabra-
mutty. Throughout the whole of Hindostan Proper, the
inhabitants generally live in walled towns and go
armed, having been long accustomed to irruptions
of plunderers. These towns have a gloo^iy hostile
appearance that banishes the idea of security and
happiness, notwithstanding their high walls and
proud towers. Vast tracts of fine couiltry have
been converted into jungles by famine and war ;
and ruined towns and vUlages every where pro
claim the frightful effects of depopulation. *
The author is aware how very defective these
geographical recollections are ; and that a full de
tail would have led him into volumes when he pro-
* Vide Addenda, XXIX.

126 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
posed to confine himself to the third of an octavo ;
but he trusts that, in the succeeding pages, and in
the miscellaneous remarks of his third book, the
enquiry of the reader will be awakened, to pursue
the subject into its proper depth.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

BOOK XL

The history of India suggests two natural divisions :
one from the most early ages till the discovery of
a passage from Europe round the Cape of Good
Hope, and the other from that important period
down to the days in which we live. Yet much
difficulty would arise in writing on India according
to this suggestion ; for the Mogul empire having
continued to influence the whole systeip in Hin
dostan till very lately, it would be , necessary to
make repeated breaks, in the narration of Europ
ean transactions, which are to us the most interest
ing. Indeed, it has been justly observed by
Goldsmith, that all history increases in value the
nearer it is to our own time. It is proposed,
therefore, in the first place, to travel briefly over
the ancient and modern history of India down to
the present period ; then take a view of the rise
and progress of European aflfairs in the east, and
rest in a more particular manner upon the public

128 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
occurrences since the administration of the noble
Marquis Wellesley. In the ancient part we shall
take Dr. Robertson and other authorities for our
guides ; and in the modern, or European history
of India, we shall follow the plan of Abbe Raynal ;
not, however, taking him for the best authority,
but invoking the spirit of truth to enable our judg
ment to collect a fair statement from the various
authors* who preceded him, and others who have
carried the subject forward till the period when we
became, as it were, identified with recorded facts.

CHAPTER L
HISTORY OF INDIA FROM THE MOST EARLY AGES,
UNTIL THE PRESENT TIME.
Those countries which make a jest of the age
given to the world by the Holy Bible, have been
always found the most deficient in historical mate
rials. — One of these is Hindostan. But the fairest
examination of the documents, alleged to have been
in the possession of the learned Brahmans, has only
tended to confirm scriptural record. The greatest
oriental scholars have added their weight to the
internal evidence which that sacred volume car-
* Vide Addenda, XXX.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 129
ries along with it. Sir WiUiam Jones wrote in the
last page of his own Bible: — " I have regularly
and attentively read these Holy Scriptures, and am
of opinion, that this volume, independently of its
Divine origin, contains more sublimity and beauty,
more pure morality, more important history, and
finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be
collected from all other books, in whatever age or
language they may have been composed."
It is, therefore, from this unerring source that
we learn many things concerning the early his
tory of India, which are to be found no where else.
It was the spices of the east that the Ishmaelites
were carrying down to Egypt, to whom Joseph
was sold by his brethren ; and even at this early
period, upwards of three thousand years ago, the
camel was used for the same purpose as it is at
present to cross the deserts of Arabia, and to carry
the productions of Hindostan to the west. The
science of this country was also at a very remote
time in the highest repute, for the wisdom of Solo
mon is compared to it ; and he is said to have ex
celled all the children of the east and of Egypt in
understanding. There is reason to believe that this communi
cation between the east and the west was long
carried on by land before it was attempted by
water; but at length great rivers and arms of the
ocean were made subservient to purposes of com-
K

130 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
merce.* The Persian Gulf and the Red Sea
soon became mediums through which the merchan
dise of India was transported ; and the gulf stUl
bears its ancient name, but the Erythrean sea has
received the appellation of red, not from any dis
position in the water or shore to that colour, but
from an Arabian king named Erythras, or the red.
Down this sea the Egyptians and Phoenicians soon
began to carry on trade with Hindostan ; and from
the aversion of the Egyptians, as well as the Per
sians, to a sea-faring life, the enriching commerce
of the east at length centred in Tyre and Sidon,
admirably situated on the shores of the Mediter
ranean foT communication with all parts of the
then civUised world.
In the early history of all nations, .there are few
materials for authentic records. Men, in the first
formation of societies, are too busily employed
about the present to think much of the future ;
and it is not untU the days of Herodotus, who
flourished about one thousand years later than
Moses, that we have annals of time upon which we
may depend.
According to this most ancient heathen author,
we find that the Persians, under Darius Hystaspes,
established themselves in India ; and that Scylax,
a Greek in command of a squadron fitted out for
the purpose, saUed down the Indus from its navig-
* Vide Dr. Robertson's India.

MEMOIRS OF INPIA. 13]L
able source, and completed a voyage of discovery
thence to the Arabian Gulf in two years and six
months. It is very probable that some of the Persian?
settled on the coast about Surat at this time ; fpr
there is a tradition to that effect, which would in
duce us to believe that these settlers became Hin
doos. * According to the best information t w?
possess, there are ten nations of Hindoos now
inhabiting India ; and the ancient opinion that the
Brahmans never received proselytes seems to be
erroneous, on the authorities I have quoted. It is
true, that an individual would not be received into
any of the four castes, but the Hindoo religion
being considered by the Brahmans as the only true
one, all men are aUowed to belong to the fifth
class, and in transmigration may be born into any
of the superior orders. The Brahmans never hesi
tate, upon being paid, to make offerings to idols for
Europeans, or any other class of men. They wiU
offer up prayers and invocations, and perform cer
tain ceremonies for us as well as for Hindoos ; and
Major Wilford says, if any body of men, rich
enough to endow pagodas, and pay Brahmans,
were wUhng to embrace Hindooism, there is no
doubt but they would find priests, and be in time
considered orthodox foUowers of Brahma. Thus

* Vide Major Wilford's Essay, Asiatic Researches, vol. xi.
f Vide Sir H. Colebrooke's Bssays in the Asiatic ,|le9fifirches.
K 2

132 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
it is said the colony of Persians, before mentioned,
embraced the tenets of the Rajpoots whom they
found about Surat, and assumed the privileges of
one of the highest sectaral divisions of that war
like race, adding the title Maha, or royal, and so
forming the word Maha-rajpoots, or Mahrattas. *
Although Greece looked upon all the rest of
mankind as barbarians, it is evident that the com
merce of India engaged the attention of some of
her greatest men, whose aims were bent on turning
that grand source of wealth to her advantage ; and
about one hundred and sixty years after the death
of Darius Hystaspes, Alexander the Great invaded
Hindostan. There is both external and internal
evidence sufficient to show, that amidst all the ex
cesses and inconsistencies of this wonderful man,
he kept his eye fixed on the grandest objects, and
meditated not only universal empire by land, but
also over the ocean. The glory and strength of
Tyre had roused in his breast the ambition of ap
propriating the trade of the east to himself, and in
founding the city of Alexandria at the mouth of
the Nile, after his conquest of Egypt, he contem
plated no less than making his namesake the em
porium of the rich commerce, which he clearly
foresaw would flow through it. Accordingly we
find that Alexandria continued the seat of the
Indian trade for a long time after, notwithstanding
* Vide Major Wilford's Essay, Asiatic Researches, v'ol.xi.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 133
many revolutions, which clearly shows how admir
ably well the site of it was chosen.
At the time that this young hero crossed the
Indus, the limits of India were the same as at pre
sent. It was divided into two parts, India on this
side and India on the other side of the Ganges.
But Quintus Curtius supposed, what is now ad
mitted by most geographers, that those countries,
lying between Persia and the river Indus, partly
belonged to Hindostan. Ptolemy describes it as
having Paropamisus, Arachosia, and Gedrosia
bordering on Persia, upon the west ; mount Imaus,
the same as the Himalaya mountains, on the
north ; the Ganges, and those countries in the
vicinity of that river, to the east ; and the Indian
ocean to the south. We are informed by Arrian,
that at this period the Hindoos had no slaves
among them, which, if true, shows that their no
tions of liberty have undergone a material change ;
for in our days there are slaves in several parts of
the country recognised by their code of laws.
They erected no mormments in honour of the
dead ; which is generally the case still, with some
exceptions. All the historians of Alexander's
campaign in India divide the Hindoos into seven
classes or castes ; but it appears that either the
Brahmanical institution was afterwards revised, or
that these accurate writers mixed up some of the
civil departments of government with the general
division ; for the arrangement does not correspond
K 3

134 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
with the modern institution according as we find it
established over the whole country.
It was very easy for authors, in other respects
entitled to perfect credit, to fall into error on this
intricate subject ; for they were but a short time in
the country, and received their information through
interpreters, who were perhaps not well acquainted
with the language of India. It is supposed that
the classification was described rather from observ
ation, than from accurate inquiry into the Brah
manical institution ; for, under the name overseers,
a distinct caste is mentioned as one of the seven.
These officers were appointed by the Maha Rajah,
or emperor, as private inquisitors into the conduct
of magistrates, and all men invested with power.
Their duty was daily to send a written report to
court of what they saw and heard. The reput
ation of these overseers was so high for sincerity,
probity, and patriotism, that we are told not one
of them was ever accused of telling an untruth.
Perhaps these disinterested officers were of the
Brahman caste, which was then, as it is still, divided
into the sacerdotal, ascetic, and lay orders. If
these three orders were classed separately as castes
with Khetris, Vyasees, Sooders, and Pariars, the
seven classes of the antients would agree with the
present distribution. Nothing gives us a more ad
vantageous opinion of the government and civU
pblicy in India at that period, than the estabhsh
ment of such officers. Indeed the Mogul empe-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 135
rors were so weU convinced of the superior civUis
ation of the Hindoos, that they graduaUy fell into
their system of government ; and we find, in mo
dern times, that overseers and public news-writers
were stationed in every soubahship and province,
in order to communicate daUy to court the result
of their observations.
The interesting particulars recorded respecting
the Brahmans, and the costume of the Hindoos,
at that early period show, that although there is still
a strong general resemblance, yet that material
changes have been introduced. Many of the
Brahmans may yet be seen, in India, quite ab
stracted from the things of this world ; but the
present dress of the Hindoos conforms a good
deal to that mixed costume introduced by the
Mohammedans. Some of the Brahmans with whom Alexander
conversed, by means -of an interpreter, boldly
answered his Majesty, that the only difference be
tween him and them was, in restlessness and am
bition. "You," said they, "like us, wUl die at
last, and possess no more space than any other
mortal !" * They were held in great veneration
by the people, and as at present were the deposi
tories of science, devoting their time to the study
of astronomy, and pretended divination. Their
sentiments respecting the creation, the majesty of
* Vide BoJIin's Ancient History s- India.
K 4

136 MEMOIRS OF INCIA.
God, and the elements or principles of all things,
did not much surprise the Greeks ; and, according
to Strabo, were not very different from their own ;
but the austerities of the naked Gymnosophists,
and their wonderful patience, are recorded with all
that exaggeration which surprise occasions. Some
of them continued whole days standing in the
same position, with their faces exposed to the rays
of the sun, and held it glorious to burn themselves
alive on the approach of old age, or sickness ;
deeming it beneath the dignity of a man to permit
death to surprise him. But others looked upon
suicide as an act of cowardice, and considered it
honourable to bear aU things, and run the course
assigned by God, Thus, even at that early period,
we perceive conflicting opinions among these sages.
But in many respects their resemblance to the
Brahmans of modern time is strong. Their food
was roots and water : — they held the doctrine of
transmigration, as at present. However, it is a
singular circumstance, that no mention is made of
any monstrous images in their temples, or of any
thing very repugnant to the Grecian idolatry,
which is a strong proof that the Brahmanical fabric
was essentially simUar to the general worship of
the western world.
Nearly all the authentic information which the
ancients possessed respecting India, was received
from the historians of Alexander, and from the
memoirs of Megasthenes, who was for several years

MEMOIRS OF INDIA, 137
ambassador at Palibothra, in the court of Sandra-
cottas, -maha rajah of Hindostan, But a stronger
proof of the undefined notion which the Greeks
had of the east, and also of the inaccuracy and
paucity of Hindoo records, is, that the most
learned moderns cannot agree as to the situation of
that ancient capital ; although there is nothing
more certain than the high civilisation of the
country at that time ; fine roads, with shady trees
planted on each side, being numerous, and the
most regular system of police established through
out the empire.
When the Romans became possessed of Egypt,
the pearls, diamonds, and sUks of the east, flowed
to them almost exclusively. It is probable that
the trade of India was the great attraction which
drew their arms thither ; for such was the rage for
silk in Rome, that it sold for its weight in gold.
The avidity of the ladies for ornaments was so
great, that a pearl from Ceylon, given by Julius
Caesar to ServUia, was worth 48,457/., and Cleo
patra's ear-rings were valued at 161,458/. Upon
the decline of the Romans, the trade of India was
divided between the Greek emperors of Constan
tinople, and the Persians. The eggs of -the silk
worm were brought from China by two Persian
monks, and the mode of procuring that valuable
commodity, by rearing these insects, became known
to Europe. But when the doctrines of Mohammed
began to be propagated by the sword of conquest.

138 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
all communication from Christian countries was
interrupted, and trade passed only throngh the
Arabians, from the sixth to the thirteenth century.
This enriching commerce excited the utmost rival-
ship among the commercial states of Europe. It
at length became centred in Venice ; but an ac
count which the adventurous Marco Polo published
of China, through which he had travelled, exciting
the speculation of Columbus respecting a western
passage to the East Indies, led to the discovery of
America, and also to the voyage round the Cape
of Good Hope by Vasco de Gama. This trans
ferred the commerce of Hindostan to the Portu
guese, and laid the foundation of their future
power. About the year of our Lord one thousand, the
Mohammedans commenced their destructive irrup
tions into the provinces of Hindostan. A.D. 1011,
Mahmood of Ghizni penetrated so far as Indraput,
now Delhi, and conquered the rajah of that place.
He was at that time only made tributary to the
Afghan sovereigns ; but in 1193, Cuttub ud Deen,
the slave of Mahomed Ghori, dethroned the Hindoo
prince of that place, and commenced the dynasty
which reigned till subverted by Gengis Khan.
Tamerlane took and pillaged Delhi in 1398, and
partially subdued various parts of India; but it
was not till 1525 that Sultan Baber firmly esta
blished the Mogul empire, which was consolidated
by his son Acber, who died at Agra in 1605, leav-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 139
ing a great name behind. He is esteemed as a
most magnificent prince. His vizier, Abul Fazel,
author of the Ayeen Acbery, was murdered by
banditti in the 47th year of his age. In the reign
of Acber's successor, Jehangeer, Sir Thomas Roe
was sent to India, as the first English ambassador,
and resided some time at his court in 1615. From
1678 to 1707, the famous Aurengzebe had been
absent from Delhi, effecting the conquest of the
Deccan, which had never been completely sub
dued ; and this long absence from his capital, laid
the foundation for the decline of the Mogul em
pire. Major Rennel says it attained its full mea
sure of extent in his reign. From this time
forward, the court became a prey to faction, and
several of Aurengzebe' s successors were murdered.
In this confusion the Mahrattas, who had been
driven to the mountains of the Deccan, became
powerful, and in 1735 they burned the suburbs of
Delhi. The viceroys of provinces also, taking ad
vantage of the weakness which they perceived in
the government, established separate kingdoms for
themselves. In 1738 the Nizam of the Deccan
called in the Persians under Nadir Shah, who en
tered Delhi, and demanded thirty millions sterling
for its ransom. The emperor, Mahomed Shah,
being unable to pay this vast sum, the city was
given up to plunder. It is said 100,000 of its in
habitants were massacred, and sixty-two miUions
sterhng of booty collected. During this horrible

140 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
scene, which happened in March, 1739, Nadir
Shah sat at the Roshun ud Dowlah mosque, to be
hold the butchery. In 1747 the Carnatic and
Bengal had been formed into independencies as
well as the Deccan. The Rohillas, a mountainous
race of native warriors, had re-established them
selves within eighty miles of Delhi, and soon after
the whole empire was split into as many petty
states as could assert their rights by the sword.
Anarchy now reigned in Delhi ; one emperor was
deposed, or murdered, after another, till the acces
sion of Shah AUum in I76I, who at length fled to
the British for protection at Allahabad, which was
taken by the army under Sir Robert Fletcher in
1765. Shah AUum returned to Delhi in I771,
where he was blinded with a dagger by Gholaum
Kaudir. This cruel and blood-thirsty RohUla chief,
after inflicting the most heart-rending tortures on
many of the royal family, was himself put to
death by Scindea, the Mahratta chief, in whose
hands Delhi continued till 1803, when Dowlut
Row Scindea was defeated near it by Lord Lake,
since which time the whole power of the Mogul
has merged in the East India Company.
We have not ventured to hint at the way in
which Hindostan may have been originally colo
nised. — The subject is of course involved in great
obscurity, and it is easy for a sceptic to raise argu
ments against received opinions, grounded upon
scriptural authority. From the Bible we learn.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 141
that the chUdren of Noah aspired to build a tower
whose top might reach to heaven. It may not be
inconsistent with the metaphorical style of the
Scriptures to suppose, that this is a representation
of the divisions and feuds which separated the pos
terity of Noah. Some of them, no doubt, pene
trated through the natural openings, into the fertile
plains of Hindostan, where population, left to its
own prodigious increase, would soon replenish the
east. Indeed, the researches of orientalists into
the depths of Sanscrit lore, lead to the beliefj that
it was the antediluvian language of Noah's ances
tors ; for its ramifications have been found to per
vade every tongue spoken on the globe, from the
regions of China to the wilds of America.
It appears, from the experience of mankind, that
civilisation advances much more rapidly in an
island of small extent, than on a continent, where
men are at liberty to choose that savage freedom,
which is dear to uncultivated human nature. The
early Hindoos, therefore, in all probability, ex
tended themselves over the face of India, and in
the course of a few generations lost all recollec
tion of their origin and the institutions of their
forefathers. FoUowing the dictates of instinct
and terrified imagination, they, like other bar
barians, worshipped those objects which most
readily presented themselves to their hopes and
fears. We have testimony sufficient to assure us,
that they fell into the most- frightful forms of

142 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
idolatry, shedding the blood of their chUdren in
profusion, to appease the supposed anger of
revengeful and cruel deities. Their principal
object of adoration was called Brahma ; but whe
ther this name indicated the sun, or the supposed
first cause of all that meets the wondering eye of
human intellect, is now unknown.
Tradition, and the concurring testimonies of
philosophers, lead us to believe that the Hindoos
were found in this state by some of the priests of
the western world, who were tinctured with the
laws of Moses and the learning of Egypt. Per
ceiving the ease with which credulity may be con
verted to self-interest, a plan was devised by them
for framing a system of government, deriving its
origin directly from the Almighty Father of
Creation. These priests, assuming the name of Brahmans,
were received as messengers from heaven. They
taught that Brahma had created all things, and di
vided men into four great classes, consisting of the
natural components which constitute a congrega
tion of people, viz. priests, warriors or nobles,
the gentry or middle ranks, and the lower order.
The first were represented as having sprung from
Brahma's head, the second from his arms, the third
from his body, and the fourth from his legs. Dur
ing life, these classes were confined to their lots ;
but they were instructed, that by strict conformity
to certain rules of sanctity, a transmigration would

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 143
promote them through the higher ranks, till at
length being born a Brahman, they would be ab
sorbed in eternal felicity. The ambition of the
nobles was gratified by the exercise of pompous
duties of state. From them, the rajahs or kings
were selected, who, deriving all power from the
Brahmans, found that it was their interest to suppress
the other orders. The roving appetite of the lower
classes for change and preferment, was also pro
vided for, by the fame conferred on religious knight
errantry, and self devotion. Opinion was concen
trated upon one point, which gives a peculiar fea
ture to the Brahmanical institution in its original
form. It was made the business of every man to
keep him dov/n, who was down. But, that it was
at first extremely simple in its construction, cannot
be doubted. All the seeming inconsistencies in
the works of creation were accounted for by the
operations of the preserving and destroying powers,
which were figured as Brahmas, brothers under the
names of Vishnu and Seeva, who became, in time,
the great objects of adoration,
As civilisation advanced, the machine of govern
ment became more complicated. Revisions were
found necessary, and these were effected by priests,
who, under the title of incarnations of one of the
great deities, held an all-powerful influence over
opinion. The Vedas and Purannas were thus pro
duced as the instructions of God, and ignorance
was caUed in as an auxiliary to power. Death was

144 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the punishment inflicted upon the man of low caste,
who presumed to read the scriptures ; boihng lead
was poured into his ears, if he opened them to the
voice of his maker ; and his eyes were sealed with
burning wax, for directing them towards the re
cords of his faith.
If, however, he was kept in darkness, he was
well supplied with the means of subsistence*, for
which implicit obedience and ready faith were re
quired. Menu framed his code of laws, which are
in some respects admirable, and various commen
taries upon the Vedas in a great measure superseded
their simple doctrines, substituting a most complicat
ed and bewildering system of church government
in their stead as ever proceeded from human inge
nuity. There is every reason to believe, that originally
the worship of Brahma did not differ materially
from that of Zoroaster's followers, or of the dis
ciples of Budha ; and that the disgusting images of
beasts and monsters were then unknown, which at
present shock the sight in every part of India.
Surya, or the sun, was the great object of worship
in Hindostan, in early times. I have seen his
image, that of a well shaped man, in a most ancient
temple in the fortress of Kantkote, in the province
of Cutch. He holds a sun in each hand, and has
behind him four diminutive attendants, with instru
ments something like tridents.
• Vide Addenda, XXXI.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 145
Indeed the gross deviations from the simplicity
of the Brahmanical institution occasioned several
successful attempts at reformation. In an age so
early as to baffle the research of antiquarians,
Budha apostatised ; and, denying the divine origin
of the Vedas, began to worship God under the
figure of a circle. It does not appear, however,
that the followers of Budha ever became very
numerous in Hindostan ; but in all the neighbour
ing countries, that faith soon superseded ancient
idolatry, and still holds its ground, having the great
Lama of Tibet for its head. The Budhists are
not divided into castes at present, except on the
island of Ceylon, where it is said* they still adhere
to the Brahmanical classification, with merely the
difference of placing the warriors before the priests.
In the reformation of Budha, the discipline of
Brahma was much relaxed, and a considerable
latitude given in the use of food ; but the founder
of Jainism made the care of animal life one of his
most particular injunctions ; establishing it as the
divine wiU, that nothing should be deprived by man
of existence, and teaching that the world never was
created. Their ideas of time are, therefore, the most
complex that can be conceived.! They offer no
kind of sacrifices in their religious rites, which are
simple ceremonies conducted by their priests in two
sorts of temples. One is covered, and much hke
» Vide Lord Valentia's Travels in India.
f Vide Appendix, note Y.
L

146 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the Hindoo pagoda ; the other is open above, hav
ing merely a high wall round colossean statues of
much respected men ; such as are to be seen at
KurciU, in the province of Canara, and at Baligole,
in Mysore. The Jains believe nothing but what
they can perceive; and the only objects they
worship are the deified spirits of holy men, who
are represented in a state of divine abstraction in
their temples, on altars of white marble. I have
seen several of these temples in Guzerat ; and the
following is a brief description of one.
The images were of white marble coarsely
sculptured, but with tolerable proportion. There
were ten of them seated on an altar ; all exactly in
the same posture. The centre one, on an upper
pedestal, was larger than life, to which the others
bore an exact resemblance, though different in size.
These idols were situated in the temple, under a
great pyramid, to which you enter by first going
up a fine flight of steps, and passing through two
circular, or rather octagon, apartments, over which
there are large domes. The first impression is that
you stand before representations of women with
large ears ; but on enquiry, it will be found, they
are all intended for men, and that the form is
merely feminine, to shew the superior beauty a
spirit acquires by transformation from flesh.
It is impossible to describe the solemn grandeur
of the sanctum sanctorum, in which the idols are
placed, when lighted up with large brass chande-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 147
liers, with attendant priests, while the great hall
in the centre, as well as the two wings and the
vestibule, are crowded with worshippers, who go
through a number of salutations, prostrations, and
ceremonies. I was permitted to go close up to the
images, upon leaving my boots under the great
dome ; and certainly, amidst all that surrounded
me, I felt a considerable degree of awe and respect.
Indeed a man of sensibUity, in the presence of
even marble statues, that represent a state of mental
abstraction, in which the Hindoos conceive there
is real perfection, or the likeness of God, feels an
elevation of sentiment towards the great Creator,
who has so visibly revealed himself, in every atom,
that meets human optics, and yet lies so completely
veiled with his own magnificence, as to be seen
by different imaginations in a vast variety of par
ticular forms. Such a man, so situated, is apt to
be impressed with the Brahmanical idea, that all
forms of natural adoration must be pleasing to God j
and, while he pities the delusion of mortal incon
sistencies, he will enlarge the sphere of his charity,
and believe that a pure heart, under any mode of
faith, wUl meet with favour in the sight of the
Almighty. That Jain worship was a reformation in Brahman
ism cannot be doubted. Any one wUl admit its
pretensions to superior purity, who compares the
simple forms of it to the complicated system of
Hindooism, and the monstrous idols which the
L 2

148 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Brahmanical pantheon displays, many of which are
too shocking for delicacy to describe. It would
be uninteresting to exhibit such monsters ; and it
seems only necessary to observe, that they are ob
viously creations of grossness and ignorance, which
have crept into Brahmanism in its day of degener
acy ; for originally there is nothing very repugnant
to human reason in its construction. Even in
some of its incarnations, particularly that of
Chrishna, there is a remote resemblance to the
history of our Saviour.
The last attempt, made by a native of India, to
substitute a new form of worship in Hindostan in
room of the Brahmanical institution, was made by
Nanac, the founder of the Seiks, towards the
middle of the fifteenth century. He was born at
a viUage called Tulwandy, in the province of La
hore. His great success in converting the Hindoos
to pure Deism, proves that they may be roused by
persuasion alone to change their religion, and
imbibe principles of enthusiastic republicanism, with
more ease than is generally supposed. The Seiks,
or disciples of Nanac, are now very numerous, and
besides nearly the whole province of Lahore, they
have the Punjab, part of Mooltan, and the greatest
share of the country between the Jumna and the
Sutleje. Their converts are permitted to retain
the manners and customs of their castes, in a great
measure. The cer mony of initiation is a solemn
oath, to devote themselves to the use of the sword

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 149
in defence of the state. Their priests are called
Immortals, and preside at a great assembly, which
meets, in prosperous times, at Amritsar, where
the chiefs, having taken a sort of sacrament, by
eating together of consecrated cake, transact the
business of the government, which is a theocracy ;
but this invisibility has induced each chief to con
stitute himself the head of the state, and, there
fore, the Seiks are weakened by internal divisions,
and constant struggles for power.
In Hindostan it is believed that the world has
existed for 7,205,000* year's, which period is di
vided into four ages, that bear names conveying
the same ideas as the golden, sUver, brass, and
iron times of classical notoriety. The present is
called the black age, and about 395,000 years of
it remain. Having thus briefly run over the general history
of India, we shall next proceed to describe the dis
coveries and conquests of the Portuguese, and other
European states in the East, which portion of this
work, we fondly hope, will be found pregnant with
entertainment and utility.
* Vide Appendix, note 8.

CHAPTER II.
tttE DISCOVERIES AND CONUUESTS OF THE PORTtJ-
GUESE IN INDIA.
After the extinction of commerce and literature
in Europe, it was long a prevailing opinion that
the central regions of the torrid zone were unin
habitable, from the burning nature of the sun's
rays. The intercourse of the Arabians with Spain
and Portugal gradually removed this prejudice.
Writings of antiquity, saved from the destructive
devastations of ignorance, imparted new ideas re
specting geography ; mariners became bold, with
the compass for their pUot ; and Henry, son of
John the First, king of Portugal, caused those seas
to be explored in which Diodorus Siculus had
placed the island of Atalantis : under his direc
tion, in the year 1419, Madeira was discovered,
which some learned men have considered as the
remains of it ; for Plato, in one of his dialogues,
says that this once extensive region sunk into the
sea, and disappeared in an instant. There are
men every where, whose ardent spirits wUl always
push forward if supported by hope. Under the
terrible expectation of being perhaps burned to
a cinder, the Portuguese navigatoi^ adventured;

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. l5i
and coasting along the western shores of Africa, at
length doubled its southern extremity, which was
then called the Cape of Storms ; but John the
Second, foreseeing vast consequences from this
discovery, named it the Cape of Good Hope.
Animated by the success of Columbus in 1492,
and in pursuance of that grand object, by which a
new world had been found, the discovery of a pas
sage by sea to India, Vasco de Gama was furnished
by King Emanuel with four ships, and doubling
the Cape in 1497, reached the Malabar coast after
a voyage of thirteen months.
In all successful undertakings there is a concur
rence of favouring circumstances. At Melinda,
situated on the eastern coast of Africa, which was
then a place of considerable trade, Gama received
most valuable information respecting the state of
India. Among those who crowded to see the
interesting strangers from Europe, he discovered
a Moor of Tunis, who understood the Portuguese
language. He was intimately acquainted with the
affairs of India, and disposed to be a firm friend to
the Portuguese. Under his guidance, Gama shaped
his course for Calicut, the capital of the Zamorin,
where he was received with aU that fond hope
which admiration excites. Through his intelligent
interpreter the Moor, he was enabled to communi
cate with the natives, and being at length intro
duced to the emperor, who was here styled as be
fore mentioned, he made a favourable impression
L 4

152 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
on that sovereign, and obtained the promise of
favours and privileges for his country.
Gama was conducted to the palace with great
pomp and ceremony, through an extensive, rich,
and populous city. Wonder was on tip-toe : and
such multitudes pressed upon the numerous guards,
palanquins, bands of music, and dancers around,
that several persons were crushed to death. He
was welcomed at the palace by the chief courtiers ;
and the high priest of the Brahmans, taking him
by the hand, led the way through many spacious
apartments guarded by centinels, into a magnificent
hall of audience. The waUs and floors were covered
with rich tapestry, and silk carpets embroidered
with gold. Here the Zamorin was seated on a
low throne, surrounded by his nobles, who sat
likewise on artificially decorated elevations, rising
one above another. The Zamorin' s dress was of
fine cloth of gold, most curiously flowered, and
adorned with diamonds of great value. He wore
sparkling pendants of precious stones in his ears,
and a sort of crown covered with pearls and rich
geffls on his head. His bare feet were decorated
with costly rings, and his neck and fingers glittered
with the wealth of Golconda. Gama presented the
rich gifts which had been sent by King Emanuel, "
with a letter ; and, in an appropriate speech, in
formed his majesty that his master, moved by the
renown of his greatness, would have attended to
offer his affectionate respects in person, had not the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 153
vast distance proved an invincible obstacle. The
Zamorin replied — " I have no doubt of the friendly
intentions of my brother Emanuel, king of Portu
gal, having convincing proofs before my eyes, in
the honour of this splendid legation ; and I am
willing to enter into strict league and amity, with
all the benefits of free commerce." Rich per
fumes were then presented, with a preparation of
betel and areca nut, in golden vessels, while a
return of presents was introduced, borne by attend
ants on sUver trays. *
The Arabian and Moorish merchants, dreading
the consequences of this treaty, conspired to destroy
it in the bud. Fortunately, at the critical moment,
Gama received, through the instrumentality of his
faithful Moor of Tunis, such information as en
abled him to baffle the dark designs of his enemies ;
but such was his personal danger, that apprehen
sive of his detention on shore, and of the destruc
tion of his companions by the Zamorin, whose
jealousy and fear had been artfully roused, he
directed his brother, who was on board, in the
event of his imprisonment or death, to set sail im
mediately, and inform the king of the particulars
of the voyage, instead of coming to his assistance,
or seeking vengeance.
What a noble instance of the magnanimity of
man ! Regardless of himself, Gama thought only
* Vide Addeiida, XXXII.

154 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of forwarding the interests of others. Yet, in
doing so, he secured, without aiming at it, fame
with posterity, the second dearest object to every
elevated mind. So true it is, that virtue rewards
her foUowers with honour here and hereafter,
while vice repays devotion with oblivion and
torture, deceiving in agency, and giving the em
brace of despair where hope was courted.
Gama, however, got privately on board ; and,
like a man of talent, zealous to serve his country,
instead of openly charging the Zamorin with a
conspiracy against his life, he, by a most insinuating
letter, roused his majesty's jealousies and fears re
specting the Moors and Arabians, and convinced
him of the great advantages which would arise from
cultivating the friendship of the king of Portugal.
Stimulated by imaginary prospects of gain and
power, the artful Asiatic prince sought to heal the
breach, by promising to punish the Moors and
Arabians, who had deceived him by false repre
sentations. In a letter to king Emanuel, he
assured him, that the arrival of his admiral and
fleet had afforded him high satisfaction. " The
same sentiments I shall always cherish," said he,
•' provided your subjects regulate themselves so as
not to give any occasion of disturbance here, and
that the treaty I have entered into with your
majesty may not prejudice my amicable correspond
ence with all other nations." Upon which Gama
sailed for Europe, and lived to see the glorious

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 155
result of his success, not having paid the debt of
nature till 1524.
The Portuguese were at first surprised into a
reverence for the Hindoo idols, seeing them only
in the obscurity of the great temples at Calicut, and
at the awful distance permitted by the Brahmans.
Ferdinand Lopes de Castanheda in his history says,
that they fell down and worshipped the images,
from finding the ceremonies of idolatry so much
like their own superstitions. But the priests and
enthusiasts of the Catholic faith soon observed such
horrible differences, that all the national energies of
Portugal were roused, by not only the motives of
gain and the extension of empire, but by the zeal
of conversion.
Inspired by the Pope with all the folly of con
quest, and put in possession of the coasts of India
by the benediction of the church, thirteen vessels
soon sailed from Lisbon, under the command of
Alvares Cabral. Like the memory of Columbus, that
of Gama is stained, by having carried away with him
some of the natives of India. They were, of course,
treated with all possible attention, and upon their
return made most favourable reports to their coun
trymen on the power of the Portuguese nation.
But this invasion of human right, and the impres
sion made on the Zamorin by the private represent
ations of the Moors and Arabians, caused Cabral
to find a very cool reception, and fifty of his men
were massacred. In return he sunk the vessels in

156 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the harbour which belonged to the instigators of
this treachery, and cannonaded the town.
Hostilities having thus commenced, Cabral found
many of the native princes along the coast ready
to join him in despoiling the Zamorin of power and
territory, anxious to free themselves from bondage
and tribute, and too blind to perceive that they
were only, like the fish in the fable, getting off the
gridiron into the fire. In this way, from first
establishing themselves at Cochin, and buUding
forts in different places, they soon got possession of
nearly all the trade of the whole eastern shores ;
for under the wise and gallant conduct of Alphonso
Albuquerque, they were every where victorious.
The courage and conduct of the Portuguese on
their arrival in India were admirable. It has oc
curred to my understanding that there is some
thing in adventure to India peculiarly rousing. The
energies of the various nations that have made con
quests in the east have been mostpowerfuUy excited
for some time, and then lulled into a calm which
led to the grave ; philosophically indicating that,
like the tempest of Hindostan, the human mind there
is roused by nature to expend itself at once, and
then to retire into long repose ; but unlike the un
known property, which gives to the monsoon, as
well as the face of the globe, periodical undiminished
force and resuscitated youth, it is unable to recover
the spring of action. This curious phenomenon is
exemplified in the history of the Hindoos, Mo-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 157
hammedans, Portuguese, Dutch, and French ; it
remains to be pointed out by the finger of time,
whether or not the course will be progressive in
application to the English settlements. The same
law has operated invariably on individuals who
settle or serve in India. For some years they are
the most active men in the world ; but a premature
imbecUity follows, which, if they remain too long
in the country, they never recover.
Fertile in genius, resource, and ability, Albu
querque aimed at empire for his country over the
east. His first object was to establish a capital, in
a situation easily defended, and with the advantage
of a good port for ships. After an attentive survey,
therefore, of the coast of Malabar, he fixed upon
the island of Goa, admirably and centrically placed.
The approach to this harbour, one of the finest in
the.world, is defended by the two fortified peninsulas
of Salsette and Barda. Rendered beautiful by the
hand of nature, the island, which is about thirty
miles in circumference, presents a most interesting
variety of hill and dale, with the blue ghauts
towering to the clouds on one side, and the
cool ocean bathing the other ; while a variety of
natural canals, formed by a fine river, which flows
from the mountains, gives cheerful diversity to the
scene, also pleasingly varied by wild woods, green
meadows, villas, pagodas, cottages, and churches. It
belonged at that time to the extensive kingdom of
Vijaya-nagar, but Adul Khan, the governor, was

158 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
in rebellion against his sovereign, and during his
absence on an ambitious project, Albuquerque sailed
into the harbour, and took the fort by storm.
He was not at this time, however, able to retain
it, for Adul Khan returned rapidly, with a vast
army, and the, Portuguese had to retreat to their
ships, being sorely pressed by famine, and disap.
pointed in receiving succour from Cochin.
Albuquerque had entered the city of Goa
triumphantly on horseback, under the acclamations
of the people, who were very willing to change
masters ; a Dominican carrying an ensign with
the cross in it, and another the keys of the fort
before him ; but he had to quit it in the darkness
of night, being attacked not only by Adul Khan's
whole army, but the treacherous citizens. When
on board his ships, his men were reduced to the
greatest misery for want of water and provisions.
In working dowm from the island along the wind
ings of the river, he was attacked constantly by the
enemy, who had possession of the two forts situated
on the points which defend the harbour. Batteries
blazed upon him during the day, while his men
were dying of thirst and hunger, having had only
dead horses and rats, with the fish of the river, for
some days before their retreat. In this exigency
Albuquerque determined upon a most desperate
thing. The event proved, that in extremities the
boldest undertakings are often the best. Landing
about 300 men, in the dead of night, he suddenly

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 159
scaled the two forts, where he found the garrisons
entirely off their guard, as he expected, put them
to death, carried away their cannon, and made
himself master of their ammunition and pro
visions. A short time after, being reinforced by the
arrival of a fleet from Europe, he attacked Adul
Khan, conquered his army under the walls of Goa,
and took the city by storm, when a vast slaughter
of the inhabitants ensued. This happened on the
25th November, 1510, since which time it has
continued under the controul of the Portuguese.
To repeople the city, Albuquerque ordered all his
young officers and soldiers to take native wives,
who were baptised, and forcibly converted to
Christianity. Like the rape of the Sabines, this violation of
human rights increased the good fortune of the
Portuguese. — The natives on the island and
continent, particularly the women, observing the
happy state of the Indo-Portuguese matrons, came
in thousands to be baptised, and soon formed a
vast Christian society. In 1548, the convent of
Dominicans was erected ; and in four years' time
17,290 Indians were baptised. The Jesuits and
Franciscans converted, during the life of St. Francis
Xaverius, in the east, upwards of five mUlions of
souls, and erected so many churches, that there is
is now scarcely a pagoda to be seen in the vicinity
of their stations, but the cross peeps from every

160 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
shade in whose gloomy recesses the mysteries of
idolatry once prevailed.
Most wonderful things are related by John de
Lucena and Daniel Bartholi of this eminent saint,
whose piety, zeal, and charity made an impression
upon the natives so favourable to Christianity, that
the horrors of the inquisition were scarcely suffi
cient to remove it. His death happened in 1552,
in China, occasioned by fever, after having spent
eleven years in various parts of the east. His
body was placed in a coffin fUled with quick-lime,
that his bones might be transported to Goa, when
the flesh was consumed. After some time it was
stUl found fresh and sweet, unchanged in colour,
and having the placid smUe and lively appearance
of life. The coffin, however, was deposited in the
earth at Manilla, till an opportunity occurred of
sending it round to Malabar ; but five months
afterwards a travelling Jesuit, being desirous of
seeing its state, found the whole in perfect preserv
ation. Didacus Pereria, therefore, pronouncing it
miraculous, had a magnificent coffin, adorned with
gold and silk, made for the body, and the saint
arrived at Goa surrounded by the emblems of mor
tality, but with all the appearance of enjoying a
tranquil sleep. The viceroy, accompanied by the
whole city, and a great part of the continent, went
out to meet the procession with incredible demon
strations of respect; joy, that his body had arrived
amongst them, and sorrow, that they should be

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 161
no more cheered by his heavenly exhortations.
The coffin was deposited in the chapel of St. Paul,
where thousands of the natives embraced the un-
corrupted body, laying their beards upon it, bath
ing it with theh tears, and champoing or rubbing
it with their hands, in the hope of rousing the
almost speaking clay to life. AU tongues spoke
loudly in praise of his uncommon zeal, piety, cha
rity, mildness, dangers encountered, chastity, tem
perance, fasts, prayers, miracles, constancy, pru
dence ; and the Jesuits were so apprehensive that
his body would be rubbed away, or carried off
piecemeal, that the coffin was surrounded by an
iron palisade.
These particulars are given merely for enter
tainment, not on account of any veneration for
superstition. It was easy for the Jesuits to em
balm the body of Xaverius, and to impose on the
credulity of fanaticism ; but the whole relation,
taken as biographical fact, establishes the high
value set upon the character of this worthy man ;
and that his acts of benevolence in the service of
his fellow-creatures, together with his fidelity to
God, were no fictions. But to place him at the
bar of judgment, it is only necessary to quote a few
of his sentiments from an address he made to his
friends, in reply to their affectionate remonstrances
against his departure for Japan and China, on ac
count of the dangers attending the voyage.
M

162 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

<(

I am surprised that ye who dedicate your
lives to the praise of God's power and mercy
should fear for my person. Have you forgotten
that he is the supreme governor of the universe,
and that every thing is ruled by his will ? As we
see ambassadors of temporal princes, relying upon
their characters and the power of their masters,
,pass confidently through an enemy's camp ; so it
becomes us, the interpreters of the divine law, and
teachers of the heathens, to rely upon heavenly as.
sistance, which, without weapons, can carry us
safely through earthly dangers by sea and land, by
fire and sword, or by whatever may seem to op
pose the accomplishment of Almighty wUl. It is
true, the victory is not always ours ; but all mise
ries are to be looked upon as trials of faith and con
stancy, and no disappointment ought to stop a zea
lous minister in attempting every thing that may
conduce to God's honour and the salvation of souls.
If a soldier, animated by perishable fame, adven-
tures his life, — if a mariner for gain leaves the
shore and exposes himself to the merciless waves,
would it not be shameful for a minister of Christ to
shrink from hazard in God's service ? — Should he
not look upon every thing as a trifle in comparison
of the kingdom of heaven and its increase? Let
no such thoughts enter your minds ; for no consi
deration of personal safety should hinder us from
promoting the interests of God."

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 163
Goa thus, in a short time, became the great cen
tre of Indian commerce, and Cahcut ceased tp
attract the ships of foreign nations.
The Venetians, soon after the arrival of the
Portuguese in India, apprehensive that the rich
commerce of the east, which they had long enjoyed,
would be transferred from its channel through
Egypt round the Cape of Good Hope, excited
the Egyptians and Arabians to oppose the settle
ment of the Portuguese on the shores of Malabar.
Albuquerque foresaw the aim of this confederacy j
and before their projects were ripe he made himself
master of Socotoro, an island situated so as to com
mand the mouth of the Red Sea. It was taken
possession of by Tristan D'Acunha, after the
slaughter of all the Arabians, who defended their
posts with undaunted courage, and refused quarter.
Though this island did not answer the purpose of
preventing the Egyptian fleets from passing into
the Indian seas, yet it was found valuable on ac
count of its fine aloes ; and a Portuguese fleet sta
tioned near it watched the proceedings of their
enemies and destroyed their ships and forces in
detaU. This was, however, so expensive to the viceroy
of India, that he attempted to seize Suez, but the
difficult navigation of the Red Sea baffled his abi
lities ; and after wUd speciUations of his genius,
respecting the practicability of turning the river
M 2

164 MEMOIRS OP INDIA.
Nile, and conquering Arabia with four hundred
horse, he turned his views to the possession of the
Persian GiUf.
At the mouth of it stands the island of Ormus,
which was, at the beginning of the fifteenth cen
tury, entirely a city, — for its site is a barren rock ;
but as it became the centre of trade between Per
sia and India, and had two good harbours, foreign
merchants from all commercial countries crowded
its streets at particular seasons, which were screened
from the sun by awnings. In short, a combin
ation of lucky circumstances made it at this time
not only the seat of universal commerce, but of
politeness, gallantry, and pleasure.
Albuquerque, in his first attempt to get posses
sion of this important station, was foiled by the
treachery of his own captains, after he had dis
played consummate skill and unsinking fortitude.
But, upon being reinforced from Europe, he re
sumed operations against the place, and at length
firmly established the Portuguese flag in the Per
sian empire, the sovereign of which had the con
fidence to demand tribute from the conqueror;
but he, producing some of the destructive imple
ments of war, told the envoy that this was the
kind of tribute paid by his master. The conduct
of Albuquerque in attacking Ormus, with the chief
of which he had no cause of quarrel, is another
proof that ambition will not be stopped by the
weak barriers of justice ; and the dissensions which

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. l65
produced his failure, demonstrate the power which
cunning and gold have often over genius.
The Portuguese being now firmly established in
the western parts of India, by the valour and con
duct of Albuquerque and his predecessors D' Al-
meyda and Ferdinand Cautinho, began to extend
their settlements eastward ; and Albuquerque
effected the conquest of several parts of Ceylon.
This fine island presented many inducements to
the viceroy for his chief settlement, but he rejected
them in favour of the Malabar coast.
He was, however, still debarred from full parti
cipation in the trade to China by not having a set
tlement to command Malacca, which was the cen
tre of attraction for the merchants of all nations.
Albuquerque longed for a pretext to attack it ;
and the jealousy evinced by the Malays to the
growing power of Portugal soon afforded him a
just one. Several of his men were massacred in a
most inhuman manner, and their viceroy soon ap
peared before the place, and notwithstanding des
perate opposition, succeeded in establishing a set--
tlement there in 1511. Thence he sent a detach
ment to plant a colony in the Molucca islands,
while he returned to Malabar to consolidate the
extensive conquests he had made.
The temperate and contented inhabitants of the
Moluccas had lived, undisturbed by foreign inva
sion, amidst their volcanic rocks on sago and cocoa-
nuts, without suspecting that they possessed a trea-
M 3

166 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
sure, which would raise them to general notice.
But the clove and nutmeg, unknown as spices to
the ancients, were here discovered accidentally by
the Chinese, and soon became a productive article
of commerce.
These valuable productions render the natives
quite independent, and, satisfied with the plenty
which nature has provided, they are averse to
labour. The sago tree is a kind of curious palm.
It is not, hke the cocoa nut tree, common over
India near the sea shore, nor is it found in the
interior, as that useful production is in some places.
It grows to the height of thirty feet by six in cir
cumference ; and beneath a thick bark the sap is
found which faUs into sago flour. Its maturity is
known by the long leaves of the tree being covered
with white powder, and by its trunk shedding
great numbers of long thorns, which protect it
whUe young. Being cut down it is sawed into
pieces, the sap is diluted in water, and strained
through a sieve for use, either baked, boiled, or
formed into a delicious jelly.
The cocoa nut tree is, perhaps, the most useful
production in nature. Of a beautiful form, it rises
with stately grace, sometimes to the height of
seventy feet. Its trunk is nearly straight and
cylindrical, marked with circular rings. The wood
is of a spongy nature, and not valuable for solid
work; the leaves are used for covering houses,
for umbrellas, saUs, fishing nets, and for writing on

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. l67
with a brass style. These leaves grow on the top
of the tree, and seldom exceed twelve, but they
are very broad and long, and covered when young
with a net work, of which sieves are made. The
nuts grow from the centre of this tuft, and hang
down in an interesting manner between the leaves.
Each is of an oval form, and about six inches in
diameter ; there are about six in a cluster, and
perhaps, the'same number of clusters on the tree.
This fruit is covered with a thick coat, of which
excellent ropes are made. Underneath is a good
sized nut, which the Indians form into cups, and a
variety of useful things. The pulp is agreeable
food, and it yields a great quantity of fine oU, In
the centre of the nut there is a drink of clear
sweetish liquor, which is both refreshing and whole
some. By cutting off the bud of one of the flowers,
and placing a vessel under it, a considerable quan
tity of juice is procured every day, of a whitish
colour, and an agreeable taste. When this sours,
it is good vinegar ; if distilled, it yields a strong
spirit called arrack; and if boiled with quicklime,
it gives tolerable sugar. This juice is called toddy,
and in a plantation the native reserves a number of
trees for fruit, and a proper proportion for juice,
because the buds which are cut become for that
season abortive. It is curious to see the Indians
mount those trees to prune the buds, and replace
the earthen jars, into which the liquid oozes. A
string is tied to each ancle^ to prevent the feet from
M 4

l68 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
separating more than the diameter of the tree.
The man who mounts, first sharpens a pruning
hook in the sand, by grinding it alternately with
the heel of each foot. It is fixed in the girdle,
which supports the only covering or clothing round
the loins, and an earthen pot is slung on the other
side. The trunk of the tree is then seized by a
twisted cord round the wrists, and the foot cord is
placed against one of the circular rings, by which
the body is raised, the feet are then drawn up, and
so on, tUl the top or tuft of leaves is gained, for
there is no impediment on the long stem of the
tree. Albuquerque died at Goa in 1515. He was the
greatest of all the Portuguese. It is impossible
while we drop a tear over his faults, not to rever
ence his virtues. Long after his death the poor
and oppressed Indians repaired to his tomb, as to
the shrine of a god, to ptay for his protection
against the rapacity and injustice of his country
men, and their own. He was too elevated and
noble not to be envied ; and his king began to
suspect that ambition of a disloyal nature lurked
in a heart, that only beat for his country's glory,
and honest fame. Inspired by him and the great
commanders, which the enterprises in India fprmed,
the Portuguese feared no odds ; they fought and
conquered one against an hundred, from the Per
sian Gulf to the confines of China.
His successor Lopez Soarez," who was also a

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. l69
humane and talented man, pushed the interests of
his country to China, which had been contemplated
by Albuquerque. At this period nothing was
known in Europe of that vast and curious empire,
except from the account published by the Vene
tian traveller, Marco Polo. Some of his appa
rently fabulous descriptions were confirmed by re
presentations transmitted to Lisbon, from the
viceroy of India ; and in 1518 a squadron sailed
for Canton, commanded by Ferdinand .Andrada,
having on board Thomas Perez, an ambassador
from the king of Portugal to the emperor. He
was politely received by the mandarins of Canton,
and conducted with great ceremony to Pekin ; and
though he had but slight opportunities of seeing
much of the interior, yet the observations made
during his journey convinced our authorities of
the antiquity, vast population, political economy,
and civUisation, to a very curious extent of China.
The towns were large ; the viUages numerous, and
beautifuUy situated ; the roads were in the most
perfect order; the country was intersected by
navigable canals ; even the hUls were cultivated to
their summits, and irrigated by machinery or re
servoirs ; and the multitudinous inhabitants of both
land and water were m.Ud in manners, sagacious
in aspect, and polite and attentive to each other.
The Chinese government did not then seem pre
judiced against Europeans. Perez was favourably
received at court ; and the ports of the empire

170 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
were upon the point of being opened, when Simon
Andrada, the brother of Ferdinand, appeared on
the coasts with another squadron, and disconcerted
the good understanding. He treated the Chinese
with haughty superiority ; built a fort, by seizing
forcibly part of the island of Taman, and pillaged
the country ; carrying off" young girls ; making
slaves of the inhabitants, and exercising all manner
of atrocities. Roused by indignation, the Chinese
attacked him, drove his troops into the sea, made
the ambassador Perez answerable for his invasion
of right, by imprisoning him, where he died some
time after, and banished the Portuguese from
China. Some years afterwards, however, permission was
granted for their ships to trade with the port of
Sancian, and a fortunate occurrence soon gave
them an establishment of their own. The island
of Macao, situated at the entrance of Canton bay,
was seized by a formidable pirate, named Tchang-
si-lao, who desolated the coasts of the emphe, and
destroyed all trade with Canton, by besieging that
city, xllarmed by his conduct and the strength
of his forts, the mandarins called upon the Por
tuguese ships of war, then at Sancian, for assist
ance. The siege was raised, the pirate destroyed,
and the emperor in reward for such signal service,
bestowed the island of Macao on the Portuguese,
under certain conditions, where they buUt a town
in 1540. This soon after led to their discovery of

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. I7I
the rich trade to Japan, for a vessel being acci
dentaUy wrecked on that extraordinary coast, the
saUorswere hospitably treated, and upon their return
to Goa inflamed the authorities and missionaries
with further desires of conquest and conversion.
The Japanese opened their ports to the Portu
guese with willingness, and a most extensive market
was discovered for the productions of Europe and
India. In return for which gold was paid, for
Japan is a mountainous country, abounding in that
metal, and other valuable minerals, but not so
fertile as to supply its numerous inhabitants with
the necessaries of life. But here we again see the
bounty of Providence, and a manifestation of the
wish that aU parts of the earth should be covered
with men ; for places, which are apparently so
barren as to resist the industry of husbandry, are
generaUy found rich in hidden treasures, which
may be bartered for the superfluities of other coun
tries. In this manner the Portuguese estabhshed their
power round all the coasts of the East, from the
Cape of Good Hope to Japan ; giving laws to the
natives, and setting what price they pleased upon
the productions of Europe and India, having a
complete monopoly of all the branches of trade.
From Japan they drew annuaUy about 600,000/.
in gold, silver, and copper; from China, the teas
and silks that were exchanged in Europe for the
wealth of Mexico and Peru ; from the Moluccas,

172 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
cloves and nutmegs ; from Bengal, the fine muslins
of Dacca ; from Coromandel, the various produc
tions of the Peninsula ; from Ceylon and Malabar,
the pearls, precious stones, and spices of those re
gions, with the ivory produced by the elephants of
the forests, and the sandal wood which perfumes
the ghauts ; from Guzerat, cotton, and the dif
ferent rich manufactures of Hindostan ; from the
Persian Gulf, the wealth of that extensive king
dom ; from the Red Sea, all the riches of its
shores, and from the coast of Africa, the precious
minerals of Zanguebar. Besides which they had
some of the islands in the Indian Sea, and in the
Atlantic Ocean, between Europe and the Cape of
Good Hope. They had settlements thence along
the coast of Tunis. In short, their power was
wonderful, and the conduct and virtue by which
it was acquired admirable.
But from this they degenerated and became such
oppressors of the natives, Jhat a general conspiracy
was formed against them by nearly all the powers
of India, in the reign of king Sebastian, who sent
out Ataida, a man of consummate mUitary know
ledge, to reanimate expiring virtue. He and his
lieutenants bravely repulsed the treacherous attacks
of the Zamorin in Malabar, the king of Cambay
in Guzerat, the king of Achem at Malacca, the
king of Ternate in the Moluccas, the Great Mogul
at Surat, and the queen of Onore. The noble soul
of one man, however, could not retard the rapid

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 17^
course of his country's falling star, though he lived
not to see it set in the eastern ocean. Luxury,
profligacy, corruption, and oppression, reigned at
all their settlements in India ; while the mother,
whose breast supplied them with strength, fell
under the dominion of Philip, the second king of
Spain. On the downfall of Portugal, the sun of
Holland rose, equally bright in the morning, as
glorious nearly at noon, but tinged with a dirty
and bloody red in its short evening.
Goa and Macao belong stUl to the Portuguese ;
but those monuments which they fondly hoped
would endure for ever, are now crumbling into
dust. Such is the perishable nature of earthly
hope ! What sensitive heart has not to heave a
sigh over the grave of its own wishes ! So true is
the reflection of the poet Southern, " All things
pass away and are no more." But before this pass
from under my pen, let the virtues and vices of
the Portuguese in India be briefly portrayed.
During an overwhelming attack made by the
Egyptian fleet that had passed down the Red Sea
unexpectedly, on a small squadron under Laurence
D'Almeyda, after a most determined resistance, his
vessel struck on a flat. It was impossible for the
other vessels to get near him, for Hocenus, the
Egyptian admiral, with his native auxiliaries sur
rounded the wreck, assaUing this unfortunate ship
on all sides. The battle continued during a whole
day, and at night a boat was sent to bring off' the

174 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Portuguese admiral, but he replied, " I shall never
leave those who have been my companions in
danger, nor desert this ship whUst hope or life re
mains to defend and save her for my country."
Next morning the battle was revived, and one of
Almeyda's thighs was shot away, but he ordered
himself to be placed in a chair on the deck, and
continued to give his orders with coolness till an
other ball carried away part of his breast and ribs,
when he expired. The Egyptians then boarded
the vessel, when Laurence Catus, a servant of the
deceased admiral, who was wounded in the eye
with an arrow, and who had thrown himself on the
body of his master, started up, and with his sword
killed several of the assailants, while another saUor,
named Andrew Van Portua, who had lost his right
hand, and received a musket-ball in his shoulder,
fought to the last with his left, dealing destruction
around. When Almeyda's father heard of his
son's death, he said, " It is mine to sustain his
place," and, brushing away the tear of mortal
weakness, he proceeded with a fresh force to attack
Hocenus, destroyed his whole fleet in the harbour
of Diu, took that important little island, and
amazed the continent by his valour and humanity.
In this engagement the brave Nonnius Vasques
Pereria was killed ; he passed through the ienemy's
batteries that lined the shore with his single ship,
and boarded Hocenus amidst his own fleet.
Old Almeyda did not live to see the termination

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 175
of his commenced success, for having fallen into
disgrace with king Emanuel by some misunder
standing, he was recalled, and killed at the Cape
of Good Hope, by a pointed stick having been
run through his body, in an affray between some of
the natives and his sailors. But Nonnius Acunia
took the fort of Diu, and the fortified island of Betel,
where the desperate Turks, having burned their
wives and chUdren, being determined to receive no
quarter, rushed upon the Portuguese like lions, mad
dened by revenge, and were not destroyed till they
had slaughtered seventeen officers and one hundred
and fifty men belonging to the force under Nonnius.
James Bottelho, a brave officer, having incurred
his king's displeasure, determined to remove it by
an uncommon instance of self-devotion. He set
sail from Goa in a boat eighteen feet long and six
broad, with hands sufficient to manage this frail
skiff, and arrived safely at Lisbon, with advice of a
glorious victory in India. He received Emanuel's
pardon, and a look of approbation dearer to his
heart than life.
Antonius Sylveria was left governor of Diu with
a small garrison. He was soon after attacked by
3000 Turks, supported by 20,000 irregulars, be
longing to the king of Cambay, while the Egyptian
fleet, which had got into the Indian sea for this
express purpose approached the walls. This great
naval force was commanded by Solyman, basha of
Egypt, and consisted of sixty-four stout galleys

176 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
belonging to the Grand Signior, manned by ex
perienced seamen, and having on board a large
force of Janissaries, then considered the bravest
troops in the world. Fire-ships were pushed up to the
fort, to involve the place in smoke, while the gene
ral storm of it was attempted both by land and sea,
but one of the most steady defences ever made re
pulsed the attacks. Mines were then carried under
the walls, and the roar of battle, day after day,
was heard not only under the burning sun, but in
the cool dark bowels of the rocks. Maffaeus, the
historian, says that some of the Portuguese soldiers,
when short of ammunition, charged their pieces
with their own teeth. At length Diu was relieved ;
and this noble defence made such an impression on
the king of France, that he sent for the picture of
Sylveria, and had it set in gold.
When Albuquerque attacked Malacca, his friend
Aranjo was a prisoner there, and the enemy
threatened to put him to death, the moment the
siege should begin. Anxious to save his life,
operations were suspended ; but he wrote to his
general : " Think of nothing but the glory of
Portugal, and let not a thought of me prevent you
from pursuing victory."
At a time when Ataida was much in want of
troops, and sorely pressed by enemies, he ordered
the ships to sail which every year carried the tri
bute to Lisbon. His officers remonstrated, and
insinuated that all assistance was required for the

MEM0IR8 OF INDIA. 177
defence of India. " We shall be enough without
them," said he ; " the state is in distress, and its
expectations must not be disappointed."
In the hottest part of a furious engagement the
son of Lopez Carasco was told that his father had
been slain. " We have one brave man the less,"
said he ; "we must conquer, or deserve to die like
him." A beautiful young female was sold to the amor
ous Thomas de Souza, as a slave. She had been
betrothed to a lover who almost adored her, and
who rushed into his presence frantic with grief,
offering to share her chains. Souza was deeply
affected at the interesting sight : — "I give you
hberty," said he, presenting the youth with a purse
of gold ; " go and live happy elsewhere." This
high-minded officer knew how to imitate the
Roman, and to captivate the human heart by con
quering his own.
Some of the viceroys were also, from motives of
humanity and benevolence, active in preventing
the human sacrifices in India, occasioned by the
horrid practices of idolatry and superstition. In
some parts of Malabar a custom prevailed of
always consulting magicians with respect to the
destiny of children : if prognosticated to be happv,
the infant became the object of parental affec
tion ; but if calamity was indicated, the innocent
little stranger was deprived of life. To the
N

178 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
honour of Lopez Soarez, he abolished this inhuman
usage. *
But in reversing the picture, we are forced to
acknowledge that vice sunk the Portuguese charac
ter lower than ever virtue raised it in India. In
the hour of its profligacy, when only the courage
of a robber remained to redeem it from contempt,
an Indian said, " Providence has decreed that there
should be but as few of them as there are of tigers
and lions, lest they should exterminate the human
species." The sepulchres of the Chinese emperors were
plundered by one, and the pagodas of Malabar de-
stroyed by another, while all who came to weep were
massacred. To impose upon man, oaths were taken
on song books, that they might be broken by
tarnishing honour with an insult on rehgion.
Deceit and perfidy of every description became
common. Kings and their children were carried
off and murdered. The native peasantry were
reduced to slavery. But providence has decreed
that depravity should die by the injection of its
own poison. When man is false to himself, he
cannot be true to his friends. From robbing
Indians, the Portuguese learned to rob each other.
But all their atrocities were surpassed by the In
quisition which they established at Goa, where the
* On the authority of the Abb6 Rayndl.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 179
most monstrous cruelties wereK exercised under
the sanction of rehgion.
IVJar Joseph, the venerable bishop of the Syrian
Christians of Travancore, was seized and sent to
Lisbon. Their churches were pUlaged ; their books
were burned ; while archbishop Menezes from Goa,
in 1599, marched, singing a hymn, round the
flames. In short, this innocent race, like the
contaminating Pariars of Malabar, had to take
refuge in the forests, fearing less from the wUd
elephant and tiger, than from the ferocity of feUow-
creatures, who worshipped the same God. So hke
is the resemblance between the fanatic and the
heathen. But certainly it is wrong to charge the misery
inflicted by the Inquisition on the Portuguese
government of India. In this instance the church
of Rome was alone criminal. But punishment
overtakes the servants of iniquity. Governments
embraced the terrors of that tribunal as an engine
of power, not from conscientious conviction of its
being serviceable to God. Against the Portuguese
in India it excited universal fear, with its companion
hatred ; and now two thousand priests have two
hundred mouldering churches, some of them still
magnificent structures, with scarcely a soul to
attend the ringing of their bells. The processions
of the auto dafe wiU long be remembered, with the
shrieks of victims, so pathetically described by the
N 2

180 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
French physician Dellon *, who was immured in
the dungeons of Goa for two years ; the black
dresses, the horrid executioners, the ghastly con
fessors, the san-benitoes painted with the holy cross,-
the grey samarras, the paintings representing
human creatures placed upon burning torches,
with demons seizing upon their fleeting souls, the
carrochas, the ringing of great bells, the parrains,
the military array, the viceroy in all his glory pre
siding as the slave of a Dominican, and at last the
actual flames curling about dying wretches, whose
groans and shrieks pierced the soul. The volun
tary sacrifices of the Hindoos excite no such
feelings of disgust: we pity but we admire. A
smUe plays round the beautiful lip, while kissing
the husband's body on the funeral pile of the living
and the dead. The devotee, placing his head
under the wheel of Juggernaut's car, says, " This
is my delight" A Christian may hate the one as
well as the other, but a Hindoo makes a wide
difference between giving what we must pay, and
taking what we cannot bestow.
There is a description of the Portuguese in India
by Baldaeus, in I67O, which equally apphes to their
descendants : " They are," says he, " generally
very idle, applying themselves seldom to any
business, leaving the management of their concerns
to slaves, and even the women committing the
• Vide Appendix, note 9.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 181
care of their children to ignorant female servants,
who also give them suck. Marriages are frequently
formed with the natives by the men, but this is not
such a general practice now as formerly. The
children from this connection are called Mistices,
and their offspring Castices. Fornication and
adultery are considered as errors of little moment,
and the men are so fond of variety that I have
known three female slaves in the stra*w at one time
to the same master. But they are averse to
drunkenness, notwithstanding which, quarrels and
murders are frequent among them. The men are
excessively proud, and fond of snuff"; as they walk
along the streets, they are continuaUy stroking and
setting up their whiskers. So jealous are they of
their wives and slaves, that the women seldom
appear abroad unveUed, and the windows of their
apartments are so contrived, that they can look
upwards, but not down into the streets."
Goa is situated in the province of Bejapoor;
lat. 15° 30' N. long. 73° 42' E. ; distant from Poonah
245; from Bombay 292 ; from Delhi 1158; and
from Calcutta 1300 miles.
The old city of Goa, which contains so many
fine and magnificent specimens of Gothic architec
ture, is eight mUes further up the river than the
new town, in which the viceroy and chief Portu
guese inhabitants reside. It is at the mouth of the
river, within the forts of the harbour. In the. old
city, one of the cathedrals is in imitation of St.
N 3

182 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Peter's in Rome, and its grandeur surpasses what
has yet been attempted in any other part of India
by Europeans. The statue of Vasco de Gama is
placed over the palace gate of the city. There are
in the Portuguese territories, which extend about
forty mUes in length and twenty in breadth along
the coast, in the vicinity of Goa, 200 churches,
and about 2000 priests, many of whom are ex
ceedingly ignorant ; and they have the old city
nearly to themselves. The Inquisition is of course
no more. It is the chapel of the palace, which is
an accurate model of that paragon of architecture
St. Peter's. The church of St. Dominic is beauti
fied with paintings by Itahan masters. In the
Augustinian convent there is a very valuable
library of theological works, mostly printed in the
sixteenth century. The monument of St. Francis
Xaverius is exquisite ; and his coffin is enchased
with silver and precious stones.
Although the Portuguese kept up a very con
siderable force, their conquests never extended far
from the sea coast. But from the Cape of Good
Hope to China, there are numerous descendants of
those settlers who colonised the different places
along the shore. Many of them are now blacker than
the neighbouring Hindoos ; which is a curious cir
cumstance, that shews how soon a new race of men
may spring up by crossing the breed ; for those
to whom I aUude, are all castices, that is the off
spring of an European Portuguese father and a

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 183
native. Their language is a dialect composed of
Portuguese, Hindostannee, and Malabar: and pro
nounced so in some places as to be nearly unin
telligible to a native of Portugal. Even at Goa,
the national language is now a corruption which,
in time, wUl form another of those numerous dia
lects which are found in India. Such is the poverty
of the inhabitants of this once famous city, that
women descended from the best famUies, earn their
subsistence by making lace or artificial flowers,
and working muslin. Necessity obliges them now
to be industrious,- and the productions of their
needle are sometimes very beautiful. Cochin lace
is the most durable of any in India. The Portu
guese have besides Goa, small establishments at
Damaun, and on the islands of Timor and Macao,
in China ; but their trade is inconsiderable. In
1 580, their power was at its summit, after which
it came down by degrees, tUl almost totally de
stroyed by the Dutch.

N 4

CHAPTER III.

ON THE EAST INDIA COMPANIES OF HOLLAND,
FRANCE, DENMARK, OSTEND, SWEDEN, PRUSSIA,
AND RUSSIA.  ALSO ON THE TRADE OF SPAIN
WITH INDIA.
The Hollanders, like the other states of Europe,
had received the fashionable productions of India
through Portugal, tUl the conquest of that country
by Philip of Spain, who prohibited his new subjects,
in 1594, frofii- corresponding with his enemies.
But these brave republicans had now become
soldiers and sailors, and they determined to seek
at the fountain head, what monopoly refused to
share down the stream. Cornelius Houtman was
dispatched with four stout ships, by a society of
merchants, called the Company of distant Countries,
and succeeded in reconnoitring the coasts of India.
He returned with a cargo of pepper and valuable
spices; and reported that the Portuguese were
every where hated*
A plan was immediately formed at Amsterdam,
for establishing a settlement on the island of Java,
and Van Nee, in 1598, arrived there with eight

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 185
ships. He was so fortunate in his negociations
with the native princes, that he returned to Europe
loaded with riches, and excited such emulation, as
nearly ruined the first company ; for different as
sociations were formed, whose interests clashing
with each other, threatened the destruction of the
whole. At length, with the assistance of a wise
government, these jarring elements were harmon
ised into a body of men styled. The East India
Company, armed with absolute power to make
peace or war in all parts beyond the Cape of Good
Hope, to legislate for themselves, and to retain
such territories as they might conquer.
This was quite an original idea. The Portuguese
had traded to India for the purpose of enriching the
king. Their viceroy had to act merely in agency
for the government of his country, while in the
case of HoUand, one republic was formed within
another, made mutually dependent by interest, yet
both masters in their own concerns.
Success is the child of energy. Admiral War
wick, with a fleet of fourteen ships, soon laid the
foundation of Batavia, formed a connection with
Bengal, beat the Portuguese, an€ established a
high character in the East for the courage of his
country. In 1624, Fort Zealand was commenced
on the western coast of Formosa, an island near
China, which soon became the centre of trade with
Java, Siam, the Philippine islands, Japan, and all
the East. In 1621, the Portuguese were driven

186 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
from the Moluccas, and the trade in cloves and
nutmegs fell into the hands of the Dutch. These
valuable fruits grow on bushes resembling our birch
and pear trees. Cloves preserved in sugar are
eaten as a dessert to promote digestion ; nutmeg
is said to be a poison, if used immoderately, but,
as a spice or medicine, it strengthens the stomach
and bowels, expels wind, and is serviceable in
dysentery. The Dutch soon formed settlements also in the
fine islands of Timor, Celebes, and Borneo ; the
last of which is perhaps the largest in the world.
It produces abundance of fine pepper, and some
diamonds ; but the inhabitants of all these are
barbarous, treacherous, and cruel. Some of them
are Christians ; but in general they are converts to
Arabian missionaries, whose tenets have only in
flamed their natural ferocity.
In Sumatra, Banca, and Siam, the HoUanders
also speedily formed settlements. From these rich
and extraordinary regions they got tin, elephants'
teeth, gum lac, sappan wood, gold, pepper, and
camphor. The tree which produces the camphor,
is one that grow^ as tall as our oak, with a leaf like
the laurel, having numerous clusters of white
flowers, which form into black berries as large as
peas. Oil is procured by the application of fire
from all parts of the tree, which is cut in pieces, .
soaked in water, and being heated, the camphor
rises into an iron receiver. This is the case all over

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 187
Japan, where the coarse camphor is plentiful, but
the Sumatra drug is the finest in the world, lodges
in a smaller species of plant, and is yielded without
distUlation. But it is now very scarce, all the trees
having been nearly cut down. It is deposited in
the trunk of the tree in flakes. The Indians use it
for removing obstructions. It also strengthens the
stomach, and combined with other medicines, it
increases their efficacy.
On the island of Ceylon, the Portuguese had
made themselves detested by the foulest murder
and perfidy; and when king Janiere was inhumanly
sabred in their councU chamber, the beautiful
young princess to whom he had been betrothed,
predicted their destruction, for said she " Of
whatever crime he may have been guilty, you ought
to have given him a legal trial. Rest assured this
treacherous act will turn to your ruin. Who wUl
not curse you that hears it ? How can any one
trust you again ? Alas ! You have involved me in
misery. Be therefore upon your guard, for you
wUl pay dearly for having rewarded a man thus,
who had done you such signal service." And they
were afterwards massacred and driven out of aU
their settlements by the combined forces of the
Ceylonese and the Dutch ; who then pushed up
the Malabar coast, stormed Cochin, and seized
upon aU their forts and territories except Goa.
Malacca even was at last taken, which for some
time held out in the eastern parts : and in less than

188 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
seventy years, the Dutch became in India what
the Portuguese had been in the meridian of their
glory. The Portuguese colonists embraced their
yoke with the docility of Hindoos ; and changed
masters without a regret for their country. Their
forefather's stern virtues were extinguished by the
luxury, indolence, and effeminacy of Asia. Thus
Holland became master of the areca, betel, cin
namon, and pepper of Ceylon ; which are in them
selves mines of gold, were there no other treasures
in this paradise of the East.
The areca is a small solid nut, which grows on
a most beautiful species of palm, neither so tall nor
so thick as the cocoa ; the betel is the leaf of a
plant that climbs like ivy, and the areca nut, whose
kernel is analogous to nutmeg, is wrapped in the
betel, powdered with lime, made from shells, and
chewed all over India by male and female, both
by day and by night. Ladies of gallantry breathe
it on their lovers. It is presented when friendly
visits are paid, and offered as a pledge of regard
when departure is intimated. They say it strength
ens the stomach, and excites inclinations of love.
The cinnamon tree is a species of laurel, the root
of which when distilled, yields coarse camphor.
Its fruit is a small berry, and from it is extracted,
by boiling, a perfumed white gum, of which candles
are made for very great men. There are three
layers of bark, two of which are cut every eighteen
months as cinnamon, till the tree dies, or faUs into

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 189
a decline, when, being removed, fresh shoots spring
up from the odoriferous stem left in the ground,
equally prolific.
When the Hollanders had conquered India, they
were anxious to have a proper station for the re
freshment of their ships on the passage, and under
the guidance of Van Riebeck, the Cape of Good
Hope was colonised in 1650, and in twenty years
upwards of two millions sterling expended on Cape
Town, its fine gardens, walks, and fortifications-
It is certainly an uncommonly fine settlement, and
at this day presents an interesting sight.
Under the mild government of England, the
Dutch inhabitants, who are now so numerous as to
form a populous city, which may be called the
capital of Southern Africa, seem contented and
cheerful. The climate is healthful ; nearly all the
fruits of Europe and Asia flourish here ; and the
people, instructed by beautiful forms of Lutheran
and Calvinistic Christianity, are simple in manners
and frank in their deportment. The females are
very pretty ; in some instances, that fell under the
author's observation, he thought them possessed,
in a high degree, of what the French term nciivetd
— a certain undescribable spmething, which we ad
mire in chUdren, and almost adore in a young
mistress ; but which, we would call credulity, if
the innocence of the lip was not a redeemer of the
prattle that falls from an unsophisticated tongue ;
and if an arch, sparkling, chaste eye did not

190 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
speak wit to the imagination, which the words were
not calculated to impress on the understanding.
Indeed it is said that the young girls here reverse
our mode of courtship. If so many happy mar
riages, as are reported, be the consequence, let
utility plead a pardon for indelicacy. Perhaps
Dr. Gregory may have been cold, when he told his
daughters never to let their husbands know the ex
tent of their love ; for the sentiment has the freez
ing feel of cunning, instead of the honest glow of
a candid heart. The Dutch farmers, however, in
the country, are in some instances rude specimens
of the effect of rural retirements when not influenc
ed by contact with advancing civUisation ; for the
march of thehuman mind in solitude is that of a crab.
Memory, intellect, every faculty of our nature, grow
and gain strength by intercourse with the world.
Batavia, the capital of Holland in India, caUed
after the ancient name of the Dutch, who are
descended from the Battle of Hesse, is situated in
the island of Java, lat. 6° 10" S. long. 106° 51"'E.
It is a paraUelogram of 4200 feet by 3000, orna
mented with fine wide streets, canals, pubhc
edifices, churches, mosques, and Chinese temples.
In 1811, it surrendered to Sir Samuel Achmuty,
Lord Minto, our Governor General, being present,
superintending the operations of the attack. General
Jansens defended his fortified camp at Mester Cor
nelius, to which he retired, with skUl and obsti
nacy ; but on the 25th August, he was defeated.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 191
and Fort Cornelius taken by storm. At the peace
of Paris it was restored ; and the Dutch received
it back much improved as to salubrity. Their
establishment is now prosperous. There are about
5700 taxed houses, which, with the viUages around,
in a circle of ten miles, contain a population of
about 120,000, and there are subordinate to it up
wards of 200,000 souls. Fully 10,000 of these
are Dutch, or free citizens^ and their wives, de
scended from HoUanders ; the rest are Javanese,
Malays, Chinese, and 20,000 of them are slaves.
Acute inflammatory febrUe diseases are very
destructive to life. The unhealthiness of Batavia
must certainly be occasioned by the miasma of its
morasses, ditches, and canals ; for all the inhabit
ants of this capital are sickly in appearance, but
recover their colour and spirit by a short residence
in the neighbouring mountains, which they soon
lose upon their return. Death is so common and
sudden, that it scarcely excites emotion in the sur
vivors. At the Cape of Good Hope and Chin-
surah, the Dutch are possessed of sensibility, and
at Cochin, some of their descendants are far from
phlegmatic; but at Batavia an apathy prevails,
which deeply affects the heart that can behold it.
In fifty years it has been ascertained that 47,000
soldiers and sailors died in the hospitals of Batavia,
though the European military forces on the island
were always but a handful of men. Beauty is here
without motion, and lifeless. The sparkling eye

192 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of Cape Town is no where to be seen. It is true,
the mode of living here is destructive of health
and life. Luxury and debauchery are caUed in as
auxUiarics to climate, and the poison of mud reek
ing constantly with putrefaction.
When the Dutch came to India, they were a
sober, industrious, temperate, and simple people ;
their valour was admirable, their prudence was
conspicuous, and their integrity such that they
sometimes only punished native perfidy by with
drawing their factories ; for it was their policy to
impress on the Indians, that in settling upon their
coasts, and guarding them from the rapacious Por
tuguese, they were doing them a signal favour.
The cloven foot of self-interest, which was after
wards substituted for public principle, did not then
appear. Hambroeck in magnanimity equalled
Regulus ; for being taken in a sally, he was sent
to persuade the surrender of Fort Zealand, under
penalty of death ; instead of which, his object in
going, was to inspire the garrison with fresh courage.
Their tender solicitations, backed by the tears of
his two daughters, that he might break his promise
of returning, were unavailing. " I have pledged
my honour," said he, " and my memory shaU
never be sullied with reproach." He then calmly
returned to meet his fate in the Chinese camp.
At Malacca, the Dutch got possession of the
fortress by bribery, after many fruitless attacks at
different periods. When this golden key had

MEMOIRS OP INDIA. 193
opened the gate, the governor was massacred to
save 30,000/., which had been promised in reward
for treachery. The Sabines were here imitated,
but on a different principle. Tarpeia was crushed
by their bucklers for her perfidy. Odious oppres
sions were at length every where practised ; the
spice trees were rooted up, that a complete mono
poly might belong to the Dutch company ; the poor
natives were reduced to beggary, arid butchered
when they wept for the loss of their vegetable gold ;
kings were dethroned, and tyrants raised for pur
poses of subserviency ; the wUl of man was sub
stituted for the wish of God ; and murder was called
in to accomplish what open force could not so well
achieve. In short, the noble HoUanders became
Asiatic Portuguese ; and the simple republicans
ceremonious despots. Such is the inconsistency of
man. We are creatures of imitation. Vanity may
whisper a different tale ; but let truth be told, and
it will be found that man is every where the same
creature, AU nature aims at conquest. Animate
and inanimate matter once in motion, go on till
stopped by their own friction ; and as in the ocean,
what flows to it fresh becomes salt, so in nations,
the small body mixes with the mass, and partakes
of its qualities. The conquerors of England be-
came Britons ; those of India Hindoos, in all but
name. Alligators and noxious reptiles are very nume
rous near Batavia, and the river Caiman takes its
o

194 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
name from the numbers of the former in it. There
are no stones near the city ; marble and granite
are imported from Chiaa. The sun's heat is not
excessive, for the thermometer ranges from 84° to
90° in the heat of the day, during the whole year.
Several islands protect the mouth of the harbour
from the swell of the ocean, and the anchorage is
very safe. The campong of the Chinese, or town,
is situated near the walls inland. It resembles a
great bazar, of 1500 mean houses,' huddled together,
containing ^,000 inliabitants, and 40,000 swine.
These industrious people cultivate the rice grounds,
sugar plantations, and gardens around, carry on all
kinds of manufactures and trades, and contract
for the supply of all things required in the civil,
mUitary, and marine departments.
The trade of Batavia is considerable. Opium,
camphor, benzoin, pewter, iron, saltpetre, gun
powder, and all warlike stores, spices, &c. are
monopolised by the company. From Bengal come
opium, drugs, and muslins ; from Sumatra, cam
phor, benzoin, birds' nests, and ivory ; from Cape
Town, garden seeds, butter, and wine ; from China,
porcelain, teas, silks, nankeens, alum, borax, brim
stone, cinnabar, mother-of-pearl, paper, sweetmeats,
and tobacco; from Japan, copper, sabre blades, cam
phor, soy, and curious articles of furniture var
nished, and flowered with mother-of-pearl. The
exports are pepper, sugar, coffee, rice, and aiTack,
with other indigenous varieties. Batavia arrack is

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 195
the best in the world. It is manufactured by the
Chinese, who call it sanchoo, or burned wine, from
various kinds of grain ; but the produce of the
sugar cane is, I understand, the principal of
Batavia arrack. The composition is mixed in hot
water, and the other ingredients are liquorice root,
aniseed, garlic, and the juice of the cocoa tree.
Exportation of specie is prohibited ; the duties are
heavy, and a free trade is prevented by restrictions.
Accounts are kept in rix dollars, an imaginary
coin of forty-eight stivers ; but the currency is
doits, stivers, dubeltjees, schillings, and rupees ;
the ducat, Japan copang, English guineas ; mohurs
from India; doubloons, florins, and guilders, with
all money in gold and silver, at a value propor
tioned to its purity.
Affairs are administered by a governor general,
who is president, a director general, entitled
governor of Java, nine counsellors, and two secre
taries. The authority of this body is absolute ;
and the governor general can exercise all their
functions on his own responsibUity. A fiscal is at
the head of the police and criminal administration.
All operations of trade are conducted by a Shah-
bunder. Never was such stiff formality and ceremony
observed as reign here, despotically, under a re
publican form. In 1764, to fix the etiquette of
rank, 131 articles were drawn up by the govern
ment, regulating places at table, the precedence of
o 2

196 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
drinking healths, the keeping of carriages, horses,
and servants. By one article, childrens' little
coaches are to be painted only according to the
rank of the mother. Counsellors' wives may wear
jewels worth 6000 rix doUars ; senior merchants'
4000 ; others must only shine in the proportion of
stars, numbered three, two, one. Ladies of rank
may walk out, or go abroad, in carriages, attended
by three waiting-maids, whose ornaments are
minutely described ; others with only one or two.
The Bengal Dutch civil servants are restricted
from surpassing those at Batavia, and the director
at Surat was only allowed four fans, ornamented
with feathers of the bird of paradise, cow, or yak
tails, and gold. Carriages were taxed downwards,
till keeping one was prohibited.
The salaries allowed by the Company to their
servants are small, so that many kinds of extortion,
bribery, and corruption, are resorted to for the
purpose of keeping up parade.
Their mode of living is a heavy breakfast, about
eight o'clock, an oppressive dinner at noon, the
effects of which are slept off, and a tempting supper
closes the day, at which large libations are poured
out to Bacchus in claret, madeira, gin, and beer.
Deaths are in the proportion of one to every five
Europeans annually. Most of the white women
are born at Batavia. They spend their mornings
among their slaves, in loose dresses, and, like their
nurses, sit on the ground cross-legged, chewing

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 197
betel. In the evening they go out richly decorated
for exercise, having their jet black hair bespangled
with diamonds and pearls, mingled with fiowers of
the Arabian jessamine and tuberose. Before supper
the ladies put on light muslin dresses, and the
gentlemen exchange their velvets and wigs for
white jackets, and ornamented night-caps, in which
they sit smoking till the hour of rest. Females
are at maturity in their eleventh year, and grow
old and ugly about thirty. No attention is paid
to the cultivation of the mind. Little social in
tercourse exists between man and woman, and as
the female is incapable by delicacy and vivacity to
soften the manly qualities, the male is not excited
by esteem to aim at raising what he only loves for
his own gratification. Both, therefore, instead of
being mutuaUy conducive to improvement, con
tribute to barbarise each other. The men- are
rude, and the women languid and insipid.
Nearly all their slaves are from Celebes and
Sumatra. These unfortunate forlorn creatures are
so often maddened by cruelty to desperation, that
running the muck is common. This is done when
reduced to desperation by melancholy, by rousing
the energies to insanity with a dose of opium or
bang. A rush is then made by the naked slave,
on friend and foe, with a creese, and it generally
happens that he wallows in the blood of vengeance,
flowing fi:om the ghastly wounds of innocent
passers by, before he is cut down, or taken to un-
o 3

198 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
dergo a refinement of torture, which exceeds des
cription ; but which has never been found to check
the crimey not any more than the sanguinary codes
in other countries-. Some generous men,, when re
turning to Europe with fortunes, manumit their
slaves ; and others, when at the point of death,
strive to propitiate heaven, by giving up a posses
sion which they can no longer retain.
The profits of the Dutch East India Company
have generally been above ten per cent. Their
stock was at first about 600,000/., subscribed by
nearly 2000 adventurers. It laid the foundation,
in Europe, for the various frauds committed in the
sale of public securities. We have completely
overthrown their power in the East. The Hol
landers have sunk as the English rose. " When
wUl you return ?" said a Dutch officer to a Portu
guese, as he was embarking, after the surrender of
a strong fort. " When your crimes are greater
than ours," was the instructive reply. The latter
might now return vdth fair hope of as good a re
ception as the Dutch.

THE FRENCH EAST INDIA COMPANY.
During the reign of Philip the Fair, France
began to recover from the tyranny of the feudal
system. Agriculture, manufacture, and commerce
were revived ; but it was not till Catherine of

MEMOIRS OP INDIA. 193
Medicis bad crossed the Alps that the taste of this
lively nation for elegance was completely f^tmed.
The productions of the East were received frofl*
the Portuguese at first, after the trade of Venice
fell into their hands; but so early as 1503 an
attempt was made to get round the Cape of Good
Hope, which was unsOCcessfuL In 1601 a small
commercial society was formed in Bretagne, and
the vessels sent out reached the Maldives. But
Pyrard, who conducted the undertaking, was Very
unfortunate in his navigation, and did not retufn
home for ten years. In l6l6 another society was
formed, which did not succeed well ; and it was
not till 1642 that a settlement was made on the
island of Madagascar, preparatory to other's con
templated in India. This large island^ Separated
from Africa by the Mozambiqtte channel, wa^
covered with forests and morasses. It had been
neglected by the Portuguese, on account of its
supposed unhealthiness ; bat the French finding
that although the coasts were barren sands, yet
that inland the country was fertile and the air
salubrious, a factory was established upon it. The
French, however, were unhappy in not propitiat
ing the natives. Such a spirit of hatred was at
length excited in their breasts, that in repeated
attacks nearly all the early settle* 9 were destroyed,
and their hotfses eonsurtted.^
The national energies being roused by the rais^.
fortunes of these private^ societies, Colbert, in 1664,
o 4

200 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
established an East India Company on the model
of Holland, supported by the French government,
with a charter for fifty years. It was invested with
very great privileges, and the stock, amounting to
625,000/., was raised partly by a loan in the mother
country. Accordingly four ships reached Mada
gascar in 1665, and a permanent settlement was
made; but the French finding it impossible to
construct a safe harbour, never went to much ex
pense, and their unproductive colony was at length
abandoned. Surat was at this time the centre of Indian
commerce. The French, in common with the
other European Companies, established their prin
cipal factory there, and derived much assistance
from the Parsees, who had settled on this coast
so early as the seventh century, to escape from the
persecution of the Mohammedans, who conquered
Persia. These mild and industrious followers of
Zoroaster had conducted themselves with great
prudence, keeping clear of all political parties,
and being in India what the Quakers are in
Europe, friends to the whole human race. It was
in the year 1668 that the French established them
selves in this ancient and populous city under the
direction of one Caron, who had long served the
Dutch ; but being disgusted with ill-treatment, he
came over to his own countrymen, and did them
signal service by his experience and prudent conduct.
Anxious to secure for the Company a fortified

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 201
post of consequence that might become the
capital of that empire, which the French, from
their first arrival, panted to establish by conquest
over India, Caron surveyed the coasts, and fixed
upon Trincomalee, having one of the finest har
bours in the world on the rich island of Ceylon.
Assisted by a French squadron, under La Haye,
it was taken possession of; but this occasioned a
war between the Dutch and French Companies,
which proved disastrous to the latter ; for after
losing great numbers of brave men by sickness,
in this ill-concerted expedition, the fort surren
dered to the Dutch. La Haye then sailed for the
Coromandel coast, and attacked St. Thome, which
had been built one hundred years before by the
Portuguese, and which the Dutch claimed as their
conquerors. From this also they were driven two
years after ; and the prospects of the Company
would have been ruined had not Mr. Martin, a
merchant of talent, purchased a small village, and
some territory from the king of Bejapoor, near
which Pondicherry was buUt, and became the
capital of their trade and conquests. It bears the
same name as the little village which was called
Pudicheri. Here the French continued to improve from
1672, the year in which the settlement was made.
They formed connections with China, Siam, and
some other places in the East, and estabhshed fac
tories in the province of Bengal. War in Europe,

202 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
however, enabled the Dutch in l69'3 to attack the
French capital in India. Pondicherry was taken
in that year, and not restored tUl the peace of
Ryswick in 1697-
Meanwhile, 1688 persons had been placed on the
island of Madagascar, who, instead of the pros^
perity which they had ex;pected, found graves^ or
such dissensions as paralysed all hope of success.
Trade was carried on in such a way, and made so
subservient to views of ambition and conquest,
that instead of creeping cautiously along the
shore, they launched into the ocean, before ex
perience had taught them the best method of pro
tecting the European bark against Indian waves.
The Frenchmen of those days were all soldiers
instead of saUors or merchants. A warlike dis
position marches directly to its object, too often
with rashness, while the commercial spirit imitates
the fox, in accomplishing the same end by safe
and slow encroachments. Reynard patiently takes
his tail in his mouth, to try a stratagem, when be
cannot mount the roost without the risk of break
ing his neck ; but the cock jumps into the water
that drowns him, to get at the image of what
tempts his avidity. The French Company, there
fore, instead of being enriched by trade, were
always poor, and had often to subscribe for losses ;
whUe their rivals, the Dutch and English, were
sharing dividends of thirty per cent on adventures.
This course of ill-success was at length arrested

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 203
by Orry, the celebrated financier of the mother
country. He sent his brother out to Pondicherry
to execute his plans ; and circumstances at length
began to conspire in favour of France. Dumas
was so fortunate as to obtain from the court of
¦Delhi permission to coin money at the French
capital in India, which proved to be a grant worth
21,000/. per annum, and by purchase or cession
from the Tanjore government, districts were in a
short time secured, containing 113 villages, yield
ing a revenue of more than 20,000/. yearly. The
town of Karical then became a place of importance,
and it was accordingly strongly fortified by the
French. Their neighbour, the Nabob of Arcot, was
attacked by the Mahrattas, and being vanquished
and slain, his family found a place of refuge at
Pondicherry. The Mahratta general demanded the
surrender of his enemies, and the payment of tri
bute by the French, to the amount of 50,000/. per
annum ; but Dumas laughed at the Indian, and be
haved with such firmness and prudence that peace
ensued, and the Nabob of Arcot became the friend
and ally of the French.
La Bourdonnais, during these successes, was
sent on discoveries, and inspected the isles of Mas-
carenhas, Cerne, and Rodrique, which the Portu
guese had discovered to the east of Madagascar, in
the 19th degree of south latitude, but neglected.
He made such a report upon their natural advan
tages, that it was immediately attempted to colo-

204 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
nise the two largest, now called the Isles of France
and Bourbon. The unfortunate remnant of the
settlement in Madagascar here found an asylum,
and these islands proved to be the most permanent
possessions of the French in the East. A delight
ful climate and a fertile soil soon induced nume
rous adventurers to take up their abode where
health and plenty appeared to smile on industry.
The coffee tree was transplanted from Arabia : the
Isle of France, which had been uninhabited before
the French settled in Bourbon, under the manage
ment of the sagacious Bourdonnais, soon began to
glow with yellow harvests of wheat, rice, and cas
sava, which latter grain he brought from Brazil for
the slaves : a fiourishing town was founded, the
harbour of Port Louis fortified and improved,
docks were constructed, and ships buUt and equip
ped which swept the Indian seas.
While these islands rose to importance under
Bourdonnais, Chandernagor, the French colony on
the river Hooghly, in the province of Bengal, was
superintended by Dupleix, whose talents elevated
it from almost nothing to a state of grandeur that
excited admiration and envy. He was called to
Pondicherry in 1742, and during his administration
of the Company's affairs, their revenue rose to the
highest point it ever gained, and their prospect was
the brightest.
The English, of course, saw this with the impa
tience of self-interest ; and the French, with the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 205
fond hope of removing the only rival that impeded
their advancement. War ensued. Bourdonnais
besieged Madras, and took it in 174i, when he ob
tained plunder to the amount of 200,000/., and
agreed for a ransom of 440,000/., which was not
confirmed by M. Dupleix, who forced all the Bri
tish inhabitants of every description to quit it; for
he aimed at driving the English entirely from India.
The French government rewarded Bourdonnais
for his conduct in India with a dungeon upon his
return, great discord having arisen between him
and Dupleix ; and the British having received re
inforcements from Europe, Admiral Boscawen be
sieged Pondicherry with 3720 Europeans, 300
topasses, and 2000 sepoys in 1748. In a month
and eleven days he was compelled to raise the
siege, after losing 1065 Britons in repeated strug
gles, all of which were baffled by the conduct of
Dupleix, who had a garrison of 1800 Frenchmen
and 3000 sepoys ; but the fortifications were of
course equal to an army, and his artillery was
served with great skill.
Under a belief that Madras would never be re
stored to England, the French greatly improved it :
at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 17^9, it was
returned. But the restless spirit of Dupleix could
not remain within the bounds of moderation. He
pushed his system of aggrandizement along the
coasts of India for 600 mUes ; disposed of the
soubahship of the Deccan in favour of a crea-

206 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ture of his own, and sent an army under M.
Bussy to place him in power at Aurungabad.
Another creature, subservient to the interests of
France, was proclaimed Nabob of Arcot, which
secured for Dupleix cessions, as a valuable consi
deration, on the banks of the Cavery, so situated as
to command the water required to irrigate the
lands of Tanjore, which necessarily placed that
kingdom at his disposal. He was honoured with
high marks of favour by his king, and invested
with the dignity of a nabob by the Emperor of
Delhi, that he might influence the minds and ima
ginations of the natives by the ut^most display of
Asiatic pomp. Seated upon a tall elephant, glitter
ing with trappings of gold and silver, followed and
preceded by others in slow imposing procession,
he received' the prostrations of a slavish multitude
with all the exultation of unbounded vanity. He
sat in his durbar like the Great Mogul, and by
acting the despot soon learned to be one in reahty.
The rights of the natives were trampled upon.
Their customs and ceremonies were ridiculed and
insulted. They were forced to act contrary to the
rules of their castes, and their tears, lamentations,
and curses spread hatred and roused vengeance.
Dupleix became inflated vnth his own lightness ;
and at a time when he shoiUd have cautiously in
sinuated that he could scarcely walk, he trumpeted
to the world that he was pluming his wings for
majestic flights.

MEMOmS OF INDIA. 207
The English now saw that one of the two rival
states must fall ; and all the energies of tiie Com
pany were directed to arrest the glaring encroach
ments of Dupleix, whose inordinate ambition at
last bringing him under suspicion at the court of
Versailles, he was replaced by M. LaUy in 1758,
just when a bloody war was commencing between
England and France. Both parties strained every
nerve to meet the coming storm, which was seen
black and portentous over the continent of Ame
rica. Though Great Britain was not at leisure to
send out a large force to India, yet the abUities of
Colonels Clive, Lawrence, and Coote supplied the
place of troops. Never were harmony and emula
tion more conspicuous, — never were valour and
self-devotion carried to a more romantic length
than in those struggles between the English and
French Companies for empire in the plains of Hin
dostan. Valour was always common to both na
tions; but self devotion can only be claimed by
the victorious party, and it must be restricted to
the period in question ; for discord as often pre
vails in our councUs, as in those of almost any
other country.
Dupleix and Bourdonnais, unquestionably the
greatest men the French Company ever had in
their service in India, could not agree; for, in
fact, they were not magnanimous enough to sacri
fice their own passions to the interests of their
country ; and LaUy, who succeeded, had nothing

208 MEMOIRS OP INDIA.
but the impetuous courage of an Irishman to re
deem him from the contempt of an historian. He
was ungovernably passionate, gloomy, and irregu
lar ; so that there was an eternal inconsistency be
tween his words and his actions. Suspicious and
jealous, he roused in the breasts of others most dan-
gerous commotions, hostile to the ends he had in
view, by not knowing how to keep them suppressed
within himself In common with his predecessors,
however, he aimed at the destruction of his foes ;
and, having received strong reinforcements from
Europe, he attacked Madras, whUe the English
were engaged in a most dangerous war in Bengal
with the natives. This invasion of the French ter
minated in the capture of Chandernagor, and the
overthrow of every hope the French entertained of
increase on the banks of the Hooghly.
The siege of Madras by LaUy will ever be con
sidered memorable for skill and bravery on both
sides. It was commenced on the 17th December,
1758, and terminated on the 17th of February fol-
lowing, by the precipitate retreat of the French
army, who left fifty-two pieces of cannon and one
hundred and fifty barrels of gunpowder behind
them. All their territories were now wrested from the
French Company; and in I76I, beaten both by
land and sea, Pondicherry surrendered, after a long
and brave defence, to Colonel Coote. It was re
stored at the peace of 1763, taken again by Sir

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 209
Hector Munro in 1778, returned in 1783, cap
tured again in 1793, and given up once more at
the peace of Amiens with 25,000 inhabitants and
a revenue of 18,000/., arising from the town and
territory which extended five mUes along the coast.
Bonaparte intended to avail himself of this nest to
hatch a dangerous brood, and he sent out seven
generals, a great number of other officers, and 1400
regular troops, with a military chest containing
100,000/. All his plans were frustrated by the re
commencement of war, and the place was again re-
occupied in 1803, but Admiral Linois carried the
troops off in his ships, in proper time, to the Isle
of France ; for Pondicherry was then an open
town, the fortifications having been destroyed by
the English, in return for a similar act when the
French captured Fort St. David.
At the peace of Paris, Chandernagor was re
stored to the French, but they are not permitted to
fortify it. Pondicherry and Chandernagor are the
only settlements they have now in India ; for the
Isles of France and Bourbon were captured by an
expedition sent against them by Lord Minto in
1811. They now belong to Great Britain by
treaty. Pondicherry, which was once a beautiful city, is
hastening fast to ruins. The descendants of the
French in it, like those of the Portuguese and
Dutch in other places, are very poor, and even
p

210 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ladies support themselves by various modes of in
dustry. Since the decline of the French in India, which
commenced with the brilliant career of Lord Clive,
that active and restless people have never lost sight
of any opportunity to recover their influence. Upon
the return of LaUy to Europe, after the surrender
of Pondicherry in'176l, he was arrested, tried on
several charges, and sentenced to lose his head,
not, it appears, for any crime he had committed, but
to allay the popular indignation, which was excited
by the overthrow of hopes, formed with the most
sanguine fondness. Like our Byng, he was the
victim of prejudice and blind fury ; for he was not
answerable for what he could not control, and the
punishment ought to have fallen upon those who
placed him in a situation where conciliating quali
ties were required. To an intolerant, overbearing
spirit, the decline of the French must be attribut
ed ; and the elevation of the British to a contrary
system. Eyer since, the trade of France with India has
languished, with the exception of one short period
of five years. In I769, the charter of the French
East India Company was suspended, and a free
trade opened for all _the subjects of that nation,
under certain conditions. And in I77O, the Com
pany made over all their property to the king, ex
cept an interest in the shares. It stUl exists as a
body, but the trade is very trifling.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 211
During the rise and progress of Hyder AUi, and
his son Tippo, the French were indefatigable in
disciplining the armies of Mysore ; and in like
manner, when the Mahrattas combined against the
power of Great Britain in the East, one of the
most adroit manoeuvres of the Marquis Wellesley
was the disarming of the French at Hyderabad,
and their separation from the service of Scindea.
Pondicherry is in lat. 11° 56' N. long. 79° 58' E.
Distant from Calcutta 1 130 mUes. It contained,
when taken from LaUy, about 70,000 inhabitants,
and several magnificent buildings^ The streets
were broad, and planted on each side with a row of
green trees, the shade of which was particularly
grateful. Though the fortifications were destroyed^
the public buildings neglected, and the native in-
habitants scattered over India, yet the French re
stored it to beauty again, and fortified it strongly.
In subsequent attacks, however, these were once
more demolished, and this charming city is now
doomed to appear to the contemplative traveller,
like the ghost of a lovely thing that has been, and
passed away, leaving but a wreck behind.

THE DANISH EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Christianity having overthrown the barbafisiiig
system of Woden, one, of whose tenets, wag, that
the regions of bliss were only open to a warrior,
p 2

212 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the Danes, forsaking their cruel and'rapacious life,
mixed in commercial intercourse with other nations,
and became polished by imperceptible degrees.
Christiern the Fourth of Denmark, about the
year 1612, was anxious to share in the Indian trade,
and accident was friendly to his wishes. Bos
chower, a Dutchman, possessed of influence from
long residence on the island of Ceylon, was dis
gusted with some slight he had received from his
own government, and offered his services to king
Christiern. A society was accordingly formed for
purposes of trade at Copenhagen, and six vessels
saUed under Boschower for India. Unfortunately
he died during the voyage, and his second in com
mand, Ove Guidde de Tommerup, being coldly
received at Ceylon, sailed for Tanj ore, where he
found more encouragement. In return for some
handsome presents, and the promise of an annual
tribute of seven hundred pounds sterling, a cession
of territory was made, upon which the Danes built
Tranquebar, and the fortress of Dansburg. The
Portuguese, Dutch, and English were all too much
¦ engaged at the time to prevent what they afterwards
no doubt regretted. For the Dutch in 1689,
although the Danish Company was not in so flourish
ing a state as it had been, attacked Tranquebar,
and the place was only saved by an alliance with
the English.
- This, however, did not much retard the dechne of
the Danish Society, for it became bankrupt in 1730.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 213
A new East India Company was, however, formed
by the government, with very great privileges
and advantages. Their capital consisted only of
135,000/. divided into 84/. shares. With this fund
and the profits, they in forty years fitted out 800
ships, and nearly trebled their original stock. On
the west bank of the Hooghly river about sixteen
miles above Calcutta, the Danish Company built
the handsome little town of Serampore, extending
a mUe along a beautiful sheet of water, not more
than half a mile inland, and without territory, the
adjacent country being British property. During
the last long war the Danish settlements were in
our possession. They have been restored to the
mother country, under the same restrictions as the
settlements of France, Holland, and Portugal. At
this place the Baptist missionai'ies * carry on their
plans for converting the Hindoos ; they have been
very successful in translating the Scriptures into
different native dialects. Here also the debtors of
Calcutta find refuge from a jail, when unable to
satisfy their creditors ; for even in time of war it is
considered out of the jurisdiction of the supreme
court, and in time of peace the flag of a foreign
state enables them to enjoy liberty in poverty.
Tranquebar is situated in lat. 11° N. long. 79"
55'- E. Distant from Madras, 145 miles, S. by W.
WhUe Denmark continued neutral, the inhabitants
* Vide Appendix, note 10.
p 3

21 f* MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
here made large sums by lending their names to
cover British property, but in 1807 it was taken
possession of by the British government, and was
restored at the peace of Paris. The Danes are a
quiet, unmeddling people. Their missionaries have
been very successful in converting the Tanjorians
to Christianity, and in teaching them to be happy
after the loss of caste, by finding the means of sub
sistence in a new society ; the simplicity and beauty
of which have been much commended by different
observers. The Danes are certainly held in great respect
by the natives in the vicinity of their two settle
ments, which of course they owe entirely to theif
just and proper conduct, their unambitious deport
ment, and their delicate attention to the rights of
their fellow creatures, whose manners and customs
they do not arrogantly insult and ridicule, because
they happen to be different from their own.

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY OF
OSTEND.
Austria, from its situation, its poverty, and pride,
was not in a state to cope with the commercial parts
of Europe in trade. Every thing connected with
manufacture languished in a country where industry
Was not supported by the Countenance of power.
This state of things was seen by Prince Eugene,

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 215
who, with all the fine qualities of a soldier, possessed
those of a statesman. Having received a proposal
from the merchants of Ostend, for the formation
of an East India Company, he lent his whole energy
to the measure. In 1717, the first ships sent out
by the Ostend Company reached India. From
that period for a considerable time their affairs
flourished. Two settlements were made, one at
Coblom, near Madras, and the other at Bankibazar
on the Ganges.- Their capital was at first 450,000/.
and on this they gained 15/. per cent, for many
years ; but the policy of Austria was adverse to
commerce generally, and the competition of the
English in India, with other minor causes, at length
drove the Ostend Company out of the market.
Being neglected by the government, it sunk into
oblivion. The stock was sold off) and many of the
proprietors turned their views towards Sweden, for
the purpose of participating in the Indian trade.

THE SWEDISH EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Sweden began to hold a respectable station
among the nations of Europe from the time of
Gustavus Adolphus ; but it was not till the year
1731, that a rich merchant of Stockholm procured
from the king a charter for the formation of an
East India Company. Their success was at first
very great, and upwards of 54 per cent was clea,red
p 4

2l6 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
upon their adventures, but in time their privileges
were encroached upon by a necessitous and short
sighted government, and they were never able to
increase their stock much, which was at first
about 250,000/., nor to form permanent establish
ments in India. The seat of their commerce with
India was fixed at Gottenburgh, which communi
cates by artificial navigation with Stockholm, and
their factors reside at the principal stations of the
other Europeans trading with the East, but their
speculations are now on a small scale.

ON THE PRUSSIAN, SPANISH, AND
RUSSIAN EAST INDIA TRADE.
When the good fortune of Frederick the Great
gave him possession of East Friesland in 1744,
the advantageous situation of its capital, Embden,
for trade, induced him to establish an East India
Company, which was effected in 1751, with a
capital of nearly 165,000/., divided into two
thousand shares. Their speculations were, how
ever, very unsuccessful ; and in 1763 a dissolution
of the Company was the consequence.
The Spaniards, satisfied with their conquests in
America, and prevented from turning their am
bition to the East by the Pope's bull, which had
vested that quarter of the globe in the Portuguese,
reaped no advantage from their discovery of the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 217
Philippines, which MageUan had visited in 1521,
being then in the service of the emperor Charles
the Fifth. But in 1564, Philip the Second began to
establish a settlement in this distant quarter, and
gave his name to the discoveries of MageUan,
which had been previously called the ManUlas.
In 1571 the dominion of Spain was established
over nine of those volcanic isles, and the found
ation of the city of Manilla laid, which was strongly
fortified in 1590 by Gomes Peres de las Marignas.
It is situated between two volcanos, which are in
a constant state of fermentation. This settlement
was placed under a governor, subordinate to the
viceroy of Mexico ; and over the unfortunate
islanders the Spaniards have always exercised the
most cruel oppression, having converted the whole
of them within their reach to Christianity by terror.
From Manilla the Spanish galleons saUed annually
to Mexico, with the various productions of India,
which were paid for in cochineal and piastres.
Now that revolution has deprived the mother
country of Mexico, it is probable that the Philip
pines will be seized upon by some more commercial
state than Spain, or continue an unproductive cor
respondence with America.
Like Portugal, Spain carried on trade with
India, only on account of the king. The Philip
pines furnished for export tobacco, rice, canes,
wax, oils, cowries, ebony, dried fish, japan wood,
birds' nests, and sea dogs ; but agents were sta-

218 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
tioned at the chief European settlements in India,
who purchased all the valuable articles esteemed in
the mother country.
The Russians, from continuing longer in a state
of barbarism than other nations in Europe, had no
communication with India till after the conquest
of Siberia, towards the end of the sixteenth century.
Having then approached the confines of China
through Tartary, sharp contests arose in those
frightflU regions, which were at last settled by
negotiations in 1689, that fixed the Russian limits
at the river Kerbechi, about three hundred leagues
from the Great Wall. By this treaty the Chinese
permitted the Russians to send a caraA^an annuaUy
to Pekin ; but such infringements of manners and
customs occurred by this intercourse, that in 1721
it was arranged that all transactions between the
two nations should be carried on near the frontiers.
Accordingly, two large magazines were establish
ed at Kiatcha, and commissaries appointed to
superintend the exchange of merchandise, for
specie was seldom used in this traffic. In this
way Russia received tea, and many other luxuries,
at the commencement of the reign of Peter the
Great. But that sagacious prince, foreseeing the
great advantage of commerce with India, established
a communication through Astracan and Bucharia,
by which the commodities of Hindostan were
transported to Petersburgh. He subsequently also
had important objects in view in pushing his con-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 219
quests towards the Caspian Sea, and the confines of
Persia. Had the English adventurer Elton not
gone over to Kouli Khan, it is probably that the
trade of Russia with India would have been firmly
settled in that direction.
Viewing Russia as the most growing state in the
world, it is impossible not to contemplate her
future universal sway over Asia, if not prevented
by wise precautions. Her situation is such, com
municating by open roads prepared by the hand of
nature, with three great quarters of the earth, that
it is no wonder so many statesmen look upon the
present actions of the warlike Alexander with sus
picion and apprehension. In the mighty revolu
tions which futurity has within her womb, it is
niost likely that Russia and America are destined
to perform great parts on the stage of the world,
and that the plains of Hindostan will be the scene
of mighty struggles for empire.

CHAPTER IV,
ON THE SETTLEMENTS AND CONQUESTS OF GREAT
BRITAIN IN INDIA, TILL THE END OF MARQUIS
wellesley's ADMINISTRATION,
England, as a commercial nation, had risen to an
important station in the reign of queen Elizabeth.
Her bold navigators, Drake, Stephens, and Caven
dish, had extended the marine knowledge of their
country ; and in the year 1600 the enterprising
merchants of London established an East India
Company, under a charter for fifteen years, with
privileges similar to those enjoyed by the other
societies of Europe, then trading with the concur
rence of their governments to India. Sir Thomas
Roe, our ambassador to the court of the Great
Mogul, was favourably received, and the moderate
pretensions of the adventurers seemed at first to
meet with success. Small factories were soon
established at Surat, in Bengal, and on the Coro
mandel coast, and forts built in the islands of Java,
Poleron, Amboyna, and Banda. But the Dutch,
looking upon the settlements of the English with the
greatest jealousy, a bloody war soon ensued between
the two Companies, which nearly terminated in the
ruin of the infant stations. The English were

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 221
massacred on the islands of Java and Amboyna,
and being neglected by the ministry of James the
First, were left in a great measure to struggle with
difficulties, that nothing but admirable wisdom and
perseverance could overcome.
Captain Thomas Best had established a flourish
ing factory at Surat, about the year I6l2, but the
Portuguese, unwilling to admit such a rival, evinced
the most rancorous spirit of hostility ; and their
plans for the destruction of the British settlement
were only frustrated by the superiority of our
naval force, which beat the armaments from Goa
in three furious engagements. These successes
raised the glory of the English name in India,
and several advantageous connections were soon
formed with native powers, ever willing to side
with the strongest. The king of Persia opened
the trade of his dominions to our merchants, and
during the active reign of Cromwell, the Dutch
were every where beaten, and their settlements
taken. But Charles the Second, induced by his
necessities to sell the interests of his country,
permitted a rival company, for a valuable con
sideration, to be established, whose interests being
opposed to the other commercial body, nearly led
to the ruin of both. The Dutch at this time made
the most formidable attacks upon the English, and
in 1680 drove them ignominiously from Bantam.
When, with the spirit of Britons, the old Company
determined upon retaliation, King Charles sacri-

222 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ficed their interests for 93,749/-, which he received
from Holland. However, the credit of their name
for integrity and fair dealing in India,- had placed
such powerful means at the disposal of the local
authorities, that unsupported by the government
at home, they withstood the utmost fury of their
enemies. After escaping imminent perils, not only
from the treachery of their king, but from the
rancour and animosity with which the two com
panies pursued each other, the good sense of
England prevailed; they were taken under the
protection of parliament, and at length in 1702,
the two East India Companies of England united
their funds and became friends, since which
the most signal success has attended their pro
ceedings. Meanwhile the French were beginning to push
their ambitious projects forward with all the ac
tivity of hope. It was soon found that one of the
two powers, England or France, must fall. A
bloody war commenced in 1744, both in Europe
and India, which was carried on almost without
intermission till the death of George the Second,
in the year I76O, by which time the French had
lost all their settlements in India. The English
were established in firm power, not only along the
coasts of Coromandel, Malabar, and Bengal, but
also in Arabia, the Persian Gulf, and throughout
the Eastern Isles.
This amazing success is in a great measure to

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 223
be attributed to the uncommon genius of Lord
Clive, who had commenced his career as a writer
on the Madras establishment ; but finding himself
better calculated for the military than the civil
department, he joined the army, and soon dis
tinguished himself by acts of the most extra
ordinary valour. He was at length raised to rank,
that gave him command. After several campaigns,
distinguished by consummate skill and most daring
enterprise, he placed the Nabob of Arcot, opposed
by the French, on his throne, where he was sup
ported by the English in power. He completely
cleared the province of the French forces. Being
then called away to Bengal to punish the Soubah
of that province, the French who were consider
ably reinforced, attacked Port St. David, under
LaUy, and beseiged Madras. But they were
bravely resisted, and at last Colonel Coote, having
beaten the French general in the field, besieged
Pondicherry, and took his last strong-hold.
It appears that this wonderful prosperity com
pletely changed the policy of the East India
Company Hitherto their government had acted
seemingly without any view to conquest or ag
grandisement, and the good faith of England was
respected by the natives. In the unassuming
character of merchants they had been seen strug
gling with difficulties which excited compassion ;
and by industry and perseverance overcoming

2-2 f MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
obstacles that created for them in the breast of
every observer sympathy and esteem.
Surajah-Dowla, who had so inhumanly immured
the garrison of Calcutta in the black hole *, from
which out of 146 persons only 23 escaped with
life, had been deposed by Colonel Clive, and put
to death by his successor Meer-Jaffier Ally-Khan.
This revolution and the battle of Plassey, by which
it was brought about, had raised Colonel Chve's
former bright character to such splendour, that
honours were heaped upon, him both in England
and in India. By the emperor of Hindostan he
was created an omrah, and by the court of di
rectors on the 23d of June, 1758, nominated
governor-general. In I76O, he returned to Europe,
and was succeeded by Mr. Vansittart, who pursued
a different line of policy, though aiming at the
same end, the advantage of the Company.
He, however, instead of continuing hostile to
Shah AUum, the Mogul Emperor, formed a treaty
with him, and deposed Meer-Jaffier, whom Colonel
Clive had elevated, placing Cossim Ally-Khan
his son-in-law in the soubahship of Bengal. The
hypocrisy and dissimulation with which this revo
lution was effected are truly disgusting. Mr.
Vansittart said to Meer-Jaffier, " I solemnly de
clare, I have no other views but your good," whUe
he was deposing him ; and he ' held the same
* Vide Addenda, XXXIII.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 225.
language to Cossim, while stripping him of a large
portion of those territories, to the sovereignty of
which he professed to be raising him. Although
he also received from Cossim nearly 100,000/., as
a present or bribe, which was reported by some of
the members 4n council to the court of directors,
yet that body, in consideration of the vast im
provement of their revenue, highly applauded the
conduct of their governor-general, and allowed
him a handsome per centage on the increase.
However, the event proved that no confidence
can be placed in a creature elevated to power on
selfish principles. Cossim soon displayed the most
rancorous hatred against those to whom he owed
his elevation. He endeavoured to remunerate
himself for what he considered he had lost, by
the plunder and oppression of the subjects over
whom he was permitted to tyrannise ; and at
length many acts of hostility were committed
against the very power by whom he was supported.
Among these may be mentioned the barbarous
murder of Mr. Amyatt and his suite. War was,
therefore, declared against him, and his army was
beaten on the plains of Geriah ; but he escaped
into the dominions of Sujah-ul-Dowla, having first
massacred about 200 English prisoners, belonging
to the factories in his territories. The fate of
these unfortunate men deserves a sigh. When
the British army was approaching Moorshedabad,
Cossim, according to the barbarous customs of
Q

226 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
India, threatened to put all his prisoners to death,
if the force advanced. Major Adams who com
manded, was a man of humanity, and anxious to
prevent such a sad catastrophe, found means of
conveying advice to Mr. Ellis and the other pri
soners of their danger, and offering the means of
bribing the guards for their escape. But their
magnanimous reply was " Let no attention be
given to us ; we are ready to submit to our fate."
By this revolution Meer-Jaffier was again raised to
his former station, and Cossim being supported by
Sujah-ul-Dowla, who held the power and person
of the Great Mogul, a battle was soon fought at
Buxar, which placed the emperor of Delhi, Shah
AUum, in the hands of the English, to whom he
had before voluntarily surrendered himself.
Such important events, and the confusion into
which the politics of India fell during the ad
ministration of Mr. Vansittart, induced the court
of directors to dispatch Lord Clive as the only
man who could re-establish their affairs, and con
solidate their conquests. He reached Calcutta in
1765, invested with supreme military and civU
authority. His second career was commenced by
professing in council that he came to reform the
anarchy, confusion, and corruption which pervaded
every department of the governrnent. He, how
ever, while professing the most disinterested mo
tives, pursued a course of conquest, on the prin
ciple, which he made known in his public dis-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 227
patches, that the princes of Hindostan were now
so well convinced of our boundless views of am
bition, there was no safety but in taking what, if
not taken, would be turned to our own destruction.
" The very nabobs," said he, " whom we might
support, would be watching to destroy us ; we
must indeed become nabobs ourselves, in fact, if
not in name. In short, if riches and security are
the objects of the Company, this is the only method
for securing them."
Accordingly about 600,000/. were extorted from
Sujah-ul-Dowla, as the price of his safety ; and the
emperor made over for ever to the Company, the
collection of the revenue of the provinces of Bengal,
Bahar, and Orissa, with all legal formality, which
cessions, after the payment of all expenses, yielded a
clear revenue of 1,650,000/. Upon this the governor
and council styled themselves " The magnificent
merchants of the East India Company, the dewans
of the magnificent provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and
Orissa, servants of the magnanimous emperor Shah
AUum." It is excusable to indulge a smile at this
title. The- ridicule it excites becomes painful,
when we reflect how soon talent and genius are
absorbed in the viqes pf ambition ; and how quickly
prosperity leads a conqueror to trample on the
rights of mankind. Lord Clive, while he was thus
consistent in enriching himself and the Company
with the spoils of others, could make the nicest
distinctions on points of morality, and talk hke an
Q 2

228 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
angel about the self-destroying effects of luxury,
corruption, avarice, and rapacity.
Upon this great accession of territories and
riches, the proprietors of East India stock began
to be clamorous for a higher dividend than six
per cent, which had been the average for some
time. At a numerous meeting it was fixed at
twelve and a half; but parliament, remembering
the South Sea bubble, rescinded their resolution,
and established ten per cent as the maximum,
obliging the Company, moreoverj to pay 400,000/.
annually to the British government, in lieu of the
territories conquered in India, the possession of
which, it was asserted, belonged of right to the
crown. Soon after, however, when the charter
was renewed, the dividends were increased to twelve
and a half per cent, and an agreement made, that
should they decrease, the stipulated sum of 400,000/.
a year should be proportionally diminished, and
cease altogether, if ever the profits should be so
low as six per cent. It appears, indeed, that -both
at home and abroad, a universal thirst was felt to
share in the vast wealth of the Company, which
was soon found to be more imaginary than real.
The Company's servants formed a project of en
riching themselves by a monopoly of the inland
trade, in salt, betel nut, and tobacco, and immense
fortunes were made by individuals, at the expence
of justice and British character. These articles are
necessaries of life in India ; it may be easily con-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 229
ceived what hatred, disgust, and oppression were
occasioned when the prices rose enormously, and
when no native was permitted to participate in the
profits. In short, it appeared, that Lord Clive,
instead of having returned to Hindostan for the
purpose of reforming abuses, came out armed with
superior power, only to inflict'greater evil. Perhaps,
from a concurrence of circumstances, no country
ever endured more complicated misery than some
parts of India in the latter part of his administra
tion. The great landholders, finding that their
tenures were declared void, left the lands untilled.
A most cruel famine ensued, the frightful effects
of which were increased by the horrors of a bloody
war with Hyder AUi and the Nizam of the
. Deccan, which nearly ruined the credit of the East
India Company.
MeanwhUe, about the year I767, Lord Clive re
turned home. The affairs of India were managed
by Mr. Verelst and Mr. Cartier, till 1772, when
Mr. Hastings commenced his long career. It may
be easily conceived with v^^hat painful feelings
Lord Clive viewed the proceedings in parliament,
after his return. To find that after the most
brUliant successes and accessions of territory, which
had been pronounced most valuable acquisitions,
the Company he had served were involved in dis
tress, and forced to call upon a jealous people, for
a loan of 1,500,000/., to pay off" their CLurent
debts, must have filled a mind hke his, with chagrin
Q 3

230 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
and grief. It was proved at the bar of the House
of Commons, that if the Company had not in
creased their territories between the years I765
and 1768, that their dividends would have been
twelve and a half per cent by trade alone, whereas
the expences of their civil and military establish
ments had risen so much above the revenue, that
they only shared six per cent, and consequently
lost instead of gaining by their conquests. The
loan was granted by parliament on very severe
conditions. Such was the indignation excited by
the oppressions which had taken place in the East,
that a bill was passed for the better regulation of
the affairs of the East India Company, as well in
India as in Europe, by which a supreme court was
established in Calcutta, and a considerable share in
the government of Hindostan vested in the crown,
But this was not all, for heavy charges were pre
ferred against Lord Clive, of corruption, avarice,
and oppression. He defended himself^ however,
with great ability ; and although it was not denied,
that about the time of the deposition of Surajah-
Dowla, he received 234,000/., under the name of
private donation, an amendment was moved upon
the censure, " that Lord Clive did at the same
time render great and meritorious services to this
country." The remaining part of this great man's life was
spent in retirement and solitude. Though he was
acquitted by a pubhc tribunal, the memory of the

MEMOIRfe OF INDIA. 231
past tortured him, till existence became insup
portable. He languished in all the horrors of
melancholy and despair, amidst inexhaustible
wealth, which he was unable to enjoy, and at
length put a voluntary period to his life, proclaim
ing to the world, what has been so often proclaimed
in vain, that the highest gratification of human
wishes are insufficient to secure earthly happiness,
if at variance with virtue and religion.
It was fully expected, that on the arrival of
Mr. Hastings in India, the British character would
be redeemed from the detestation in which it was
held by the natives. His virtue and wisdom were
in high estimation, both at home and abroad. . He
had passed through the ordeal of a public life with
unsullied reputation. But the difficulties of his
situation forced him to pursue that crooked policy
which Machiavehan cunning has denominated
wisdom. The qualities of his excellent heart were
sometimes sacrificed at the shrine of ambition..
His imagination persuaded his understanding into
a conscientious belief, that he was acting in obedi
ence to his pulse, whilst he was in some instances
only consulting the cold maxims of his brain.
The first act of his government was an endea-^
vour to improve the revenue, which he found in a
most declining state, by appointing a Committee
of Circuit, empowered to seU all the lands in the
newly acquired provinces, by auction, to the highest
bidder. Mr. Hastings' intentions in this delega-
Q 4

232 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
tion of power were fair and weU intended. It is
unjust to attribute to him the corruptions of agents,
or the consequences of faUures. In five years an
alarming deficiency in the public receipts was dis.
covered, instead of that improvement which had
been fondly contemplated. One violent act often
generates another. To make up the exhausted
treasury with the spoils of war was next at
tempted. The vizier Sujah-ul-Dowla, nabob of
Oude, was assisted with troops in a destructive
campaign against the Rohillas, for which he paid
vast sums to the British government. Fresh en
croachments were found necessary to be made on
the emperor of Hindostan, who had thrown him
self into the arms of the Mahrattas. In a short
time the flames of war were kindled up in all parts
of India. But it is quite unfair to accuse Mr. Hast
ings of producing a general war. The ambitiou.?
views of the Mahrattas were the real causes. It
was well known to them that Mr. Hastings was
struggling with great difficulties, and they aimed
at driving the English from the shores of India.
The utmost dissension prevailed in the councUs of
Calcutta. General Clavering, Colonel Monson,
and Mr. Francis, being in nearly all cases adverse
to the projects of the governor-general. They
made public representations to the court of direc
tors against his proceedings, and hearkened to
several calumnious charges from rajah Nund
Comar, and other natives. A noble minded man

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 233
scorns to be reduced to take refuge in defence.
Conscious of his own worth, he thinks the world
should give him the credit he deserves. It is pro
bable, I humbly think, that Mr. Hastings acted on
this principle. • Instead of permitting his conduct
to be investigated, he had the rajah arraigned be
fore Sir Elijah Impey, chief judge of the supreme
court, for forgery. He was condemned and ex
ecuted, by the sentence of English law, for a
crime which, according to his own code, is only a
misdemeanor. This Hindoo was of the Brahman
caste, held so sacred, that life is not forfeited by
the commission of any crime; therefore his fate
produced a sensation of the most general indigna
tion in India, and nothing but inability prevented
the native population from instantaneous revenge.
It is true, his conviction was legal. True, he was
subject to the jurisdiction of the supreme court.
But strict law is sometimes-great injustice. It is
deeply to _be regretted, that this native was
executed. Mr. Hastings was not long troubled with opposi
tion from General Clavering and Colonel Monson,
who both fell victims to the climate. Mr. Francis,
seeing the hopelessness of opposition, returned to
England, to make fruitless representations to the
court of directors and His Majesty's ministers,
who were equally dazzled with the gigantic plans
of Mr. Hastings, for the extension of empire in
the East.

234 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
The Mahratta war, therefore, which had been
going on, for some time, in the west of India, was
now pursued with increased spirit. The Bombay
government had attempted to march a mUitary force
to Poonah, the capital of the Peishwa, who was
considered the head of the Mahratta confederacy.
Their general was beaten by Nana Furnese, and
forced to sign a disgraceful capitulation. But when
this occurred, a division of the Bengal army had
penetrated through the whole extent of Hindostan,
and was in full co-operation with Bombay. The
government of that presidency refused, therefore,
to ratify the treaty agreed to by their general. Our
affairs, at this period, were in a most critical and
alarming state. No man then in India, but Mr*
Hastings, could have commanded fortune. The
Mahrattas had formed a most formidable con
federacy among themselves, and combined with
the French, who were then endeavouring to regain
political influence at Pondicherry. This powerful
attack on us, with the avowed intention of driving
us into the sea, had been joined by the Nizam of
the Deccan, and also by Hyder AUi, the powerful
and warlike usurper of Mysore ; so that Mr.
Hastings saw all the most dangerous governments
of India, Hindoo, Mohammedan, and European,
in arms against him, flushed with the confident
hope that an end would speedily be put to British
domination. Undismayed by this state of things,
clearly perceiving that the native powers were oiUy

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 235
to be attached to the Company's interest by fear ;
consequently that it would be expedient to deprive
them as far as possible of the means of destruction,
he suddenly seized upon the resources of Oude
and Benares, and replenished his empty treasury
fiom their abundant wealth.
By this time, I78O, Hyder AUi had invaded the
Carnatic, and in September his son Tippo, assisted
by a French detachment, surrounded Colonel
BaUlie, and completely destroyed the division of
the Madras army under his command. But upon
the arrival of the gallant veteran Sir Eyre Coote, to
command on the Coromandel coast, the dreadful
ravages of the crafty Hyder were arrested, and he
was beaten in every direction. General Goddard
had attacked the Mahrattas in Guzerat. The
different divisions of the Bombay army were so suc
cessful that the Mahrattas and the Nizam were
soon glad to negotiate a separate peace for them
selves, and to enter into an offensive and defensive
alliance with the English. It is impossible not to
admire the consummate ability displayed by Mr.
Hastings, in thus turning the very arms that were
opposed to him, against the power of Hyder, with
whom they were so lately in league. Hyder AUi
continued to fight with various success. Though
unable to stand before the science and enterprize
of Sir Eyre Coote, he was formidable in other places.
His son Tippo had not only destroyed Colonel
BaUlie, but totally routed a strong detachment of

236 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the Company's troops under Colonel Braithwaite,
on the banks of the Coleroon. It was found ex
pedient to send General Mathews, with the dis
posable troops of Bombay, to invade the Mysore
dominions from Malabar.
MeanwhUe Hyder paid the debt of nature.
Tippo, leaving the army of his father, under the
command of his lieutenants, in the Carnatic,
marched with a light force rapidly through Mysore,
and got possession of the ghauts behind General
Mathews, whom he attacked, and forced to surrender
with the whole division under his command ; when,
contrary to the terms of capitulation, he and his
officers were thrown into the dungeons of Seringa
patam, loaded with chains, and tortured to death.
Animated by this success, and cheered by the
death of Sir Eyre Coote, whose military talents
had frustrated many a deep-laid plan of liis father
and their French allies, Tippo was pursuing his
good fortune, with the exultation of hope, when
peace between France and England deprived him
of French co-operation. Finding that he was
threatened by the Mahrattas, he readily listened to
reason, and concluded a treaty with the Company's
government on advantageous terms.
Mr. Hastings resigned the government of India
in 1780, at which time, although the Company had
acquired considerable accessions of territories in
Bengal, in the Carnatic, in Malabar, and Guzerat,
yet the prospect was clouded in a most threatening

Memoirs of india. 237
manner. The Mahrattas had encroached upon the
dominions of the court of Delhi, stripped the
Mogul of power, and seemed by their ambitious
projects to aim at universal empire in the East ;
while Tippo, the warlike sultan of Mysore, was
known to be the inveterate foe of Britain *, whose
rancour was stimulated by the French. The charac
ter of Mr. Hastings has been long the subject of
panegyric and censure. By one set of men he has
been raised to the most magnanimous standard ;
by another his virtues have been forgotten, and his
vices have sunk him below the rank of humanity.
Truth must admit that he possessed splendid
talents. He aimed at glorious things, but in ac
complishing his views he resorted, in a few instances,
to expedients which every candid heart must con
demn. WhUst he conscientiously believed that he
was pursuing plans which had the happiness of
those he governed in view, he was precipitated into
measures that produced misery to many. It was
the proud recollection of good motives that sup
ported him under the laborious investigation which
his conduct underwent after his return, and en
abled him to look down with superiority upon
those who an'aigned the purity of his intentions.
No man can attentively consider the public acts of
his brilliant administration, without sighing over
the disregard to human rights, in a few cases,
which characterise them. If he attacked the
* Vide Addenda, XXXIV.

238 memoirs of india.
princes of India, were they not all ready to
attack him ? He merely anticipated them. Ex
perience led him to know, that those who are bound
only by the bond of fear, cannot love ; and he
conceived that in depriving the Mohammedan
princes of usurped power over the Hindoos, he
was so far from injuring them, that he was con
ferring on them and their posterity a blessing.
Meanwhile the affairs of India had occupied the
serious attention of parliament. It was evident
that the extension of empire in Asia was considered
by the nation at large, as a sort of recompence for
the loss of America. Mr. Hastings was properly
styled the saviour of India; and the glory of our arms
in the East shed a sort of redemption over defeat
in the West. It was, however, considered hazardous
to leave entirely to the East India Company the
government of such an empire as chance had placed
in their hands. Mr. Fox accordingly introduced a
bill into the house of commons, which aimed at
depriving them of even the management of their
commercial concerns, but as this was thought little
short of downright robbery, it was rejected in the
house of lords, and soon after Mr. Pitt framed his
famous India biU, which was carried into law on
the 9th of August, 1784.
By the provisions of this bill, the management
of their commercial affairs was left to the Company,
but they were deprived of poHtical and civU
power, which was placed in the hands of a board
of control, composed of privy counsellors, who

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 239
were to be appointed by the king, and removable
at his pleasure. The civil and military government
of the country, and the revenue of the Company,
were to be checked and superintended by this
body. All dispatches from the court of directors
were subjected tP their inspection and authenticated
by their signature. His Majesty's decision in
council on any disputed point was to be considered
final. The appointment to the office of governor-
general, president, or counsellor, in the different
presidencies, was made subject to the approbation
and recall of the king. An enquiry was directed
to take place respecting the hereditary landholders
of India, who had been dispossessed of their pro
perty ; and a court was established for the trial of
Indian delinquents, with power to award fine and
imprisonment, and to dismiss, without appeal, from
the Company's service. This high tribunal consists
of a judge from each of three of the courts of law,
four members of the house of lords, and six of the
house of commons. This memorable and important
bill was further confirmed in 1787, by a declaratory
act of parliament, which had become necessary
by the frequent misunderstanding that occurred
between the board of control and the court of
directors. At this time the Company, so far from
having benefited by their conquests, were em
barrassed, and obliged to borrow 1,200,000/., al
though their sales of tea in Europe had risen from
six to 14,000,000/. annuaUy.

240 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Under this new arrangement, tiie greatest at
tention was paid to Indian affairs, and the pros
perity which followed proved the complete success
of the plan. Lord Cornwallis, to whom was
intrusted the arduous task of restoring the British
character in India to an honourable place in the
native mind, reached his destination in 1787, and
in two years raised the revenues, by wise and just
measures, in Bengal, from 1,800,000/. to 2,150,000/.
He leased out all the lands in perpetuity at an
equitable valuation to the actual occupants, by
which he gave security to property and possession,
and incited labour and industry. A code of re
gulations were enacted in the revenue department,
and for the guidance of all civil and mUitary ranks.
The army and magistracy were new modelled ;
and the system of corruption and injustice which
in some depaitraents prevailed, was assailed, if not
rooted out.
But the moderation of his lordship and the
equity of his conduct could not produce corre
spondent virtues in the ambitious Tippo Sultan.
He had, shortly after the peace of 1784, sent an
embassy to France, and panted for an opportunity
to renew the war. The opening of the French
revolution soon gave him hopes of support, and he
found no difficulty in picking a quarrel. Our ally,
the rajah of Travancore, had purchased two forts
called Cranganore and Acottah from the Dutch
East India Company. But in 1789, Tippo set up a

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 241
claim to them, and marched towards Travancore
with a considerable army. The English, being
bound by treaty, interposed, and as the claim of
Tippo was evidently unjust, after a long negoti
ation, war commenced in 1790, the Nizam and
the Mahrattas being still our allies.
His lordship finding it necessary to humble the
enemy in the heart of his own country. General
Meadows marched with the Madras army towards
Mysore, from the Carnatic, whUst General Aber-
crombie with the Bombay army invaded it from
Malabar. General Meadows experienced a very
warm reception. After a considerable advance
into the enemy's country, he found it necessary to
retire on his supplies ; for the monsoon was ap
proaching. Lord Cornwallis having arrived at
Madras in December 1790, and assumed the com
mand, the armies again advanced into the do
minions of Mysore. In March 1791, Bangalore
was taken by storm, and on the 13th of May
following, his lordship encamped in sight of
Seringapatam, near which, on the following day,
a battle was fought that obliged Tippo to cross
the Cavery. The monsoon now commenced with
great fury, and the army being much in want of
provisions, his lordship also found it necessary to
retreat on his commissariat to Bangalore.
In February 1792, the Madras and Bombay
armies formed a junction under the walls of Tippo's
capital. By a night attack soon after they forced

242 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the Sultan from his camp on the island, and closely
invested Seringapatam. Being at last reduced to
a hopeless condition, Tippo was obliged to sue for
peace, by which he was deprived of one half of his
territories, and upwards of four millions sterling.
Soon after, the war of the French revolution
commenced, and all the settlements belonging to
that nation on the continent of India were cap
tured by the English. In 1794, such was the
flourishing state of the Company's affairs, that their
charter was renewed, by a bill introduced by Mr.
Dundas, and speedily passed through both houses
of parliament, for twenty years, with all those ex
clusive privileges which the Company had. hereto
fore enjoyed.
At this period India was blessed with profound
repose. The British character had not only been
redeemed by the virtues of Lord Cornwallis, but
elevated in the eyes of eastern philosophy by the
celebrated Sir William Jones* one of the judges
of the supreme court in Bengal, from 1783 till his
lamented death in April 1794. Lord Cornwalhs
had now returned home to reap the fruit of a wise
administration, in the thanks of his king and
country. He was succeeded by Sir John Shore,
now Lord Teignmouth, who continued to pursue
the same equitable and conciliating steps as his
predecessor, in the government of the extensive
* Vide Addenda, XXXV.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 243
possessions which Great Britain, through the in
strumentality of a company of her merchants, had
acquired in the finest provinces of Asia.
During this long period, from I788 till 1795,
the memorable trial of Warren Hastings was going
on, under a prosecution of the house of commons,
before the house of lords. Twenty-nine of the peers,
however, only thought themselves competent to
vote on the question before the court ; for they
were distracted by the length of time the trial had
been pending, and the declamation of Mr. Burke,
whose flowery language was more calculated to
bewilder the understanding, than to promote the
interests of simple truth. Eight of these peers
gave a verdict of guUty ; but he was acquitted by
a majority of twenty-one, and left to enjoy the re
mainder of his life, which he did for many years,
in elegant ease and social retirement, cheered to
the last by a conscientious persuasion that all his
actions proceeded from laudable motives.
Meanwhile, nearly all the possessions of the
Dutch, and other European powers, in India, had
fallen into the hands of the English. But in the
interior of Hindostan, a most formidable conspir
acy was going on, and threatened the most serious
consequences in the beginning of 1798, when the
Marquis WeUesley, then Earl of Mornington,
reached Calcutta to arrest its progress, and dis
play a combination of talent which has seldom
been surpassed. The French, deprived of their
R 2

244: MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
settlements in India, had never ceased to regret^
their loss; and to hope that favourable circum
stances would enable them to establish an empire;
in Asia, of which our arms alone had deprived
them. By the possession of the Isles of France
and Bourbon, they were enabled, at all times, to
correspond with Tippo. Great numbers of their
scientific officers were now in his service, also with
different chiefs of the Mahrattas, and at the court
of the Nizam,. organising the native armies on Eu
ropean principles, ready to co-operate with Bo
naparte, whom they expected every moment to
approach from Egypt. This deep and daring
scheme had been long in embryo. It was now
upon the point of dangerous maturity.
By the intrigues of the French and the nego
tiations of Tippo Sultan, nearly the whole of the
independent princes, both Hindoo and Mohamme
dan, were in combination against us ; Persia and
Turkey had been invited to join the confederacy.
It was believed that Shah AUum had ceded Agra
and Delhi to the French. Monsieur Perron's bri
gade under Scindea amounted 'to 4^0,000 men with
400 pieces of artillery. The Mahrattas, with a
population of 40,000,000 of souls, a revenue of
17,000,000 sterling, and a territory of 1000 square
miles, were ready to attack us ; the five chiefs
who composed that empire were directed by
French councUs, and animated by republican
hopes. One of them, the warlike Holkar, had a

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 245
formidable body of infantry disciplined and ap
pointed like our sepoys, with an immense park of
artillery. When all this is naturally considered,
the mighty services rendered to the East India
Company in particular, and to Great Britain in
general, by the Marquis Wellesley during his ad
ministration, will appear.
The transactions of this period, in an historical
point of view, are extremely interesting. Tippo's
grand object was to destroy the English by means
of the French. In an embassy which he sent to
General Malartic, governor of the Mauritius, he
speaks thus: " What do you wait for? I am
ready to afford you succours. Show yourselves in
India. The unbounded violence and oppression
of the English have rendered all the princes of
India their enemies : they are enfeebled on every
side ; and from the great extent of territory which
they have acquired by artifice, they are dis
persed in all quarters. Look upon the present
time as a most fortunate opportunity. Send a large
army, and an extensive train of artillery, to my as
sistance, and effectually chastising our mutual ene
mies, drive them out of India." But in soliciting
the aid of his majesty the king of Cabul, he uses
other language : " A hundred thousand of the
followers of the faith," says he, " assemble every
Friday in the mosques of the capital, and, after the
prescribed forms of prayers, supplicate the Bestower
of all things according to the words of Scripture,
R 3

246 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
— * Grant thy aid, O God, to those who aid the
religion of Mohammed, and let us be of that num
ber at the last day. Destroy those, O God, who
destroy the religion of Mohammed, and let us not
be of that number at the last day.' Your majesty
must, doubtless, have been informed that my ex
alted ambition has for its object a holy war."
It was clearly the secret intention of Tippo Sul
tan, first to make the French instrumental in de
stroying the English ; secondly, to raise up a native
power sufficiently strong to overcome the conquer
ing Europeans ; and thirdly, to preserve such an
ascendancy over all, that he might, in the end, se
cure universal empire in India to himself The
object of the French was, to come in upon the
downfall of the English ; and the aim of the Mah
rattas was, to let the Mohammedans and Europeans
expire in the struggle, while they secured the spofl
by caution and management.
Amidst such conflicting interests, the prompt
and decided character of Lord Mornington carried
away the standard of victory. The cunning of
Tippo was unable to meet the wisdom of his lord
ship. Though the sultan attempted to cajole our
governor-general with the deepest hypocrisy, pro
fessing the most ardent friendship, whUst he medi
tated the foulest treachery, yet his schemes were
all seen through, and a declaration of war was
made against him by the Company's government,
at a time when he thought he lay entrenched be-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 247
hind the deepest dissimulation. It was followed up
with such effect, that Seringapatam was invested
by General Harris on the 5th of AprU 1799, and
taken by storm on the following 4th of May ; in
which operation Tippo met death with heroic for
titude, fighting tUl the last for glory and independ
ence, such as they were pictured in his vain
mind. Sir David Baird led the troops to the storm
of that fortress, in which he had been long con
fined. * The conquest of Mysore placed the af
fairs of India in such a state as enabled the gover
nor-general to send a considerable division of the
forces up the Red Sea under Sir David Baird, to
assist in driving the French out of Egypt. By suc
cessful negotiations with the court of Persia, the
king of Cabul was confined to his own dominions.
The Mahrattas had become our allies by success
ful negotiation, and seemed to view the destruction
of the Mohammedan power in Mysore with apa
thy, though they were not very active in contri
buting to it.
The famUy and relatives of Tippo Sultan were
removed from Mysore to the fortress of Vellore in
the Carnatic ; and the ancient Hindoo line of
princes, whose power Hyder AUi had usurped,
was restored to comfortable dependence on British
generosity, with nearly all the extent of territory
which the Mysore rajah originally possessed. The
* Vide Appendix, note 11,
R 4

248 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
remainder of Tippo's dominions was divided
amongst the conquerors and the Mahrattas. : • '..' '
UntU the reign of Aurengzebe, the history of
the Mahrattas is involved in great obscurity. Se-
vajee, a mUitary adventurer, who served with cre
dit under the powerful king of Bejapoor, was the
first who combined their discordant chiefs. He
was born in 1626, and died in 1680. During his
life the foundation was laid for a powerful empire,
and a strong hill-fort, called Sattara, gave him
title and security. It continued to rise, on the fall
of the Moguls, till 1761, when its progress received
a decisive check from Ahmed Shah Abdalli, king
of Cabul, who, on the 7th of January, gained the
memorable battle of Paniput, in which Ballajee-
rpw, the head of the Mahratta states, was entirely
defeated. He was the son of Bajee-row, prime
minister, or peishwa, to the Sattara rajah, the legi
timate successor of Sevajee, and had, in'conjiihc-
tion with Ragajee, the paymaster-general, or buck-
shee, usurped the authority of that priricC, whose
person he confined in the fort of Sattara,- while he
removed the seat of government to PoohaVand
permitted Ragajee to establish himself at Nagpoor.
This usurpation laid the foundation for others ;
and the Mahratta state became -at length divided
among five chiefs, the Peishwa, Scindea, the ra
jah of Nagpoor, Holkar, and the Guickwar.
United by no powerful head, these sovereigns often
made war upon each other. When at peace, they

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 249
directed their watchful attention to the state of our
government at Bombay. They had officered a
considerable part of their army with French and
English adventurers, and disciplined native regi
ments in the same way as our sepoys. The dis
trust which they had entertained of the ambitious
views of Tippo Sultan, prevented them from ren
dering active assistance to that prince. But as
they had placed themselves in a very formidable
attitude, and were now in possession of all the
power belonging to the court of Delhi, whose em
peror Scindea had as a sort of state prisoner, it
became necessary to arrest the progress of their
dangerous machinations.
Dowlut Row Scindea had gained such an ascend
ancy in 1795, that, upon the death of Madhurow,
the young peishwa, he usurped the principal share
of power ; but, in October 1802, his army was de
feated, near Poonah, by Jeswunt Row Holkar, and
Badjeetow, the peishwa, was forced to fly to Bas-
sein, where he concluded a treaty of perpetual
friendship with the British government, and agreed
to receive a subsidiary force into his dominions.
He was, therefore, in 1803, replaced in authority
by a British army, under the present Duke of Wel
lington, then General Sir Arthur Wellesley, to
whom the subsequent operations afforded an oppor
tunity of displaying those military talents which
have since baffled the efforts of the greatest cap-
tains of France.

250 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
To detail the glorious particulars of this war
would be a pleasing task, but we must restrict our
selves to a very brief notice. Lord Lake defeated
the army of Dowlut Row Scindea, near the city of
Delhi, in September 1803, while, a few days after,
the battle of Assay, gained by Sir Arthur Welles
ley, raised his own glory, and that of the British
name, to the highest elevation. This was followed
by the victory of Argaum, in the month of Novem
ber following, which, for that time, destroyed the
power of the rajah of Berar, and forced him to ac
cept of such terms as Sir Arthur was instructed to
offer. The warlike Holkar, after fighting with
great obstinacy, was completely defeated by Lord
Lake at Deeg, and obliged to throw himself^ with
the shattered remains of his army, into the strong
fortress of Bhurtpore, from which he was subse
quently driven, after the British army had sustained,
in various unsuccessful assaults on that place, a
greater loss than ever was experienced in killed
and wounded in any three great pitched battles
fought in India. In the beginning of 1805, the
crafty Holkar was glad to sue for peace on any
terms. On the 20th of August in that year, the
Marquis Wellesley embarked at Madras for Eng
land, leaving the British empire established in
India on the most firm basis, the French factions
every where destroyed, and the authority of the
Company acknowledged over an extent of territory

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 251
as great as all Europe, with a revenue of about
17,000,000/. steriing.
We shall, therefore, conclude this chapter with
the following state of India at this period, most ac
curately given by Sir John Malcolm.
The emperor of Delhi was under the British
protection. Secunder Jay, the subahdar of the
Deccan, was completely confirmed in our alliance,
and maintained a British subsidiary force. The
Mahrattas were entirely conquered, the govern
ment of Tippo annihilated, and that of the Mysore
family established. All the Carnatic belonged to
the Company. The conquest of Cuttack had con
nected the territories of Madras and Bengal, and
the cessions of Guzerat and Malabar combined al
most the whole coast from the Ganges to the Indus.
All the Douab was in our possession, and the right
banks of the Jumna, with a line of petty states,
from the mountains of Kemaoon to Bundlecund.

252

CHAPTER V.
FROM THE ADMINISTRATION OF MARQUIS WELLES
LEY IN INDIA, UNTIL THE RETURN OF THE MAR
QUIS OF HASTINGS IN 1823.
Notwithstanding the brUliant administration of
Lord Wellesley, the mighty wars in which he had
been engaged ever since his arrival in India had
increased the Company's debts so prodigiously,
that the directors at home became greatly alarmed ;
and the Marquis Cornwallis was despatched with
the olive branch in 1805, and reached Calcutta in
July of that year. The second administration of
this nobleman was not destined to be of long dura
tion. He died at Ghazipoor, near Benares, in the
month of October following. Sir George H. Bar
low remained at the head of the supreme govern
ment until the arival of Lord Minto, in July I8O7.
During this period the whole of India enjoyed
profound repose ; but in such an extensive coun
try, where there are so many petty chiefs, all as
piring at independence, frequent wars must occur.
The rajah of Travancore, whose territories lie in
the southern part of Malabar, had been forced, by
treaty, to receive a subsidiary force, and deprived

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 253
of all political power by the government of Madras.
Soon after the arrival of Lord Minto, a disposition
was manifested by the authorities there to shake
off all dependence on the Company; and it being
found impossible to arrange existing differences by
negotiation, a part of the Madras army entered
Travancore in the early part of 1809, stormed the
fortified lines of the rajah, and forced him, or
rather his prime minister, who had usurped the
power of his master, to make peace on any terms.
This service was scarcely performed when a very
alarming rebellion, which had been for some time
in embryo, broke out in the native part of the
Madras army, occasioned by the discontents of the
European officers, at retrenchments which were
carried into effect by the governor Sir George H.
Barlow, certainly in a most irritating and ungra
cious manner. It would answer no good end to
enter into such unpleasant particulars ; it may be
sufficient to observe, that a judicious display of sound
wisdom on the part of the government of Madras,
and the commander in chief, would have entirely
prevented an occurrence which must ever be deeply
regretted. To such a dangerous extent was this
rebellion carried, that the King's troops had to be
drawn out against the Company's, and some blood
was shed before its progress was arrested.
During the short peace of 1802, the French had
received back their settlements of Pondicherry and
Chandernagor, which upon the recommencement

254 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of hostilities were retaken by the British govern
ment in India without opposition, the very con
siderable mUitary force which Bonaparte had sent
out, escaping in their ships of war to the Mauritius.
The possession of these islands enabled the French
government to infest the Indian seas with priva
teers, whose daring operations were most destruc-
tive to the private trade carried on in the East. It
had long been an important object, to deprive them
of their nests, both there and at Batavia, on the
island of Java, which they now garrisoned for
Holland. Accordingly, expeditions were projected
from Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the Isles
of France and Bourbon were captured in 1811, by
General Abercromby and Colonel Keating, whilst
in the same year Sir Samuel Achmuty established
- the British power in the island of Java.
These were the principal transactions of Lord
Minto's administration, which was otherwise of a
most pacific character. His policy was to tempor
ise with the native powers. During the period of
his government, the Nepaulese and Mahrattas
began to display a spirit of encroachment, which
ought to have been punished by the sword, instead
of being compromised by unavaUing negotiations.
The Marquis of Hastings assumed the govern
ment of India on the 14th October, 1813. He
was received at Calcutta with the most lively de
monstrations of joy, and immediately directed all
his attention to the political state of the country.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 255
In the eastern parts of the British empire, his
lordship found, that the Nepaulese had actually
possessed themselves of a considerable portion of
the Company's frontiers, whUst in the west, pro
digious numbers of Mahratta plunderers, under the
name of Pindarries, carried desolation into all parts
of the Deccan. The province of Guzerat was
also infested by the ferocious Wagurs of Cutch, a
race of plunderers, daring in their excursions, and
mercUess in their exactions. His lordship, there
fore, finding no security in negotiation, had imme
diate recourse to arms, and the principal operations
of his brilliant administration are detailed under
the foUowing heads.

NEPAUL WAR.
The interesting campaigns connected with the
Nepaul war, commenced soon after the arrival of
Marquis Hastings in India, but his lordship's declar
ation was not made till the 6th January, 1815.
This document, which comprises the origin of
the war, sets out with stating that the Nepaulese
conquests had approximated their frontier to that
of the British, their ally the Newaub Vizier, and
the protected Seik chiefs, from the borders of
Morung to the banks of the Sutleje. In all this
extent, it appears these encroaching and rapacious
warriors had appropriated to themselves our pos-

256 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
sessions, and that their government had lent a
deaf ear to repeated remonstrances. There is
proof that the Goorcas proceeded in a premeditated
system of conquest ; and not only seized the parts of
Mocwanpore that had been reduced by Major
Kinlock, but also several other districts, containing
twenty-two villages. To these provinces, below
the range of hills that separate Bengal from Nepaul,
the government of Catmandoo set up a claim that
they had once formed the Terrai, or lowlands of
the mountainous parts. But these territories had
belonged to the dominions of Oude, long before
the Goorcas had conquered Nepaul, and, therefore,
there was not the shadow of justice in such a
demand. To settle the disputes. Major Bradshaw
had been sent on the part of the Company ; and
the negotiations. were continued with commissioners
from Catmandoo, till at length it was necessary to
appeal to arms, for the ptirpose of dispossessing
them of the strong-holds which they had now
established within our frontier ; for such was their
insolence, that at length Major Bradshaw was
ordered to quit the place within our own provinces,
at which the conferences were carried on.. The
commencement of the rainy season had forced our
troops to retire into cantonments, soon after the
expulsion of the Goorcas from the disptited lands ;
upon which they returned, massacred the police
left to collect the revenues, and re-occupied the
districts. Requisite atonement for this new out-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 257
rage having been withheld, the British government
had no choice left, and therefore now resorted to
arms in defenceof their just rights. The proclam
ation stated that these arms should never be laid
down, until the enemy shaU be forced to make
ample submission and atonement for his outrageous
conduct, to indemnify the British government of
India for the expence of the war, and to afford
full security for the future maintenance of those
relations which he has so shamefully violated.
Of such importance was this war considered,
that the Marquis of Hastings left the presidency
of Fort M'illiam under a vice government, and re
paired to the upper provinces, for the purpose of
being in the immediate neighbourhood of the
scene of action. On the breaking up of the
monsoon in 1814, divisions of the British army
and their auxiliaries poured towards the passes into
Nepaul, dispossessed the Goorcas of all the terri
tories which had been seized by them below the
hUls, and took some of their strong forts. In one
of these assaults, made by the division under Major
General Sir Robert RoUo GUlespie, K. B., our
troops were driven back by repeated charges of the
enemy, who poured down from the heights in supe
rior numbers, and with most overwhelming courage,
upon which the gallant general led on the advance
in person, and fell in his noble professional efforts.
His death cast a gloom over the whole army in
¦ India, for among the brave British officers in the

258 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
East, not one was more highly esteemed for every
virtue that constitutes the character of a gentleman,
a soldier, and a scientific commander. His great
merit was fully appreciated by the Marquis of
Hastings, whp had bestowed upon him his entire
confidence. Major General Sir Robert RoUo GUlespie was
an Irishman descended from an ancient Scotch
family, who settled in County Down, in the reign
of James the Second. He was born at Innishargie
in 1769, so that his valuable life was lost in the
forty-sixth year of his age. But, "blood of the
brave, thou art not shed in vain," his memory will
live inscribed on the roll of fame. In person he was
elegantly formed, so that a poetical imagination
would compare him to the ancient heroes, who in
youth were so lovely as to resemble the fair sex.
But his composition was all fibre and elasticity.
Every movement indicated the activity of his soul
and body. His manly chest and square shoulders
at once proclaimed his capability of enduring the
warrior's toil. His countenance was fine and open,
its lines marked with the finger of thought, and its
eye beaming with the lustre of a highly polished
mind. Like lightning it excited admiration and
terror in his enemies ; but there was a mildness in
its rays that produced only the former sensation,
mixed with dove, in the bosoms of his friends, com
panions, and fellow soldiers. He had been edu
cated for the bar, and entered at Emanuel col-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 259
lege, Cambridge, but disliking the wig and gown,
his predUection for the army appeared at an early
age. He became a cornet in the 3d dragoons, from
which he was- promoted to a troop in the 20th dra
goons, and served a considerable time with that
fine corps in the West Indies, where his ability pro
cured for him a vote of thanks from the house of
assembly at Jamaica, and a superb sword as a mark
of esteem. In 1802, he was promoted to the rank
of Lieutenant Colonel, and returned to England.
In 1805, he travelled over land to India, spending
some time with the Russian and Austrian armies,
and passing through Constantinople and Bagdad to
Bombay. At the time of the dreadful massacre
at Vellore, he commanded at Arcot, and on the
day preceding it, he was to have dined with the
commandant of VeUore, but fortunately he was
prevented, and the next morning he received the
dreadful intelligence, that the officers and Euro
pean soldiers were butchered. He immediately
proceeded thither, and retook the place. He after
wards served against the Seiks in the Punjab.
When the expedition against Java was arranged,
he was selected for one of the distinguished com
mands under Sir Samuel Achmuty, whose entire
confidence and friendship he enjoyed. On the 26th
August 1811, he stormed the lines of Cornells, and
terminated the subjection of the whole island, hav
ing distinguished himself so preeminently, that he
was left in command upon the departure of Sir
s 2

260 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Samuel, when another opportunity occurred, by
which he added fresh laurels to the wreath that
already surrounded his brow. The sultan of Pal-
ambang, in a fit of most wanton cruelty, had mas
sacred the Dutch residents in his territories, and
retired to a strong-hold with his treasures, leaving
orders with his troops to put every foreigner to
death. Colonel Gillespie reached Palambang at
night during a frightful storm, and anxious to
prevent the effusion of blood, pushed on with a
small force, through an immense body of the fero
cious Malays to the palace, which was yet stream
ing with gore, where he narrowly escaped the blow
of a creese aimed at his heart, for a flash of light
ning fell upon the weapon just in time to enable him
to avoid it. Here, with a handful of troops, he
kept the population in awe, tiU a sufficient force
arrived, and saved the lives and properties of thou
sands of his fellow creatures. Shortly after he was
equally successful in preventing the projected
massacre of all Europeans at Djocjocarta. The
sultan of Mataran had fortified his palace with
92 pieces of cannon, and drawn together 100,000
partizans. Colonel Gillespie boldly and unex
pectedly arriving, stormed the place, and took
the sultan prisoner. For these eminent services •
he received the highest thanks of the constituted
authorities, and the honour of knighthood with
superior rank in the army. Upon his return to
India from Java, he joined the army, when organis-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 261
ing for the Nepaul war, and found a glorious grave
where his friends hoped he would reap further
honour and distinction.
Our army consisted of about 20,000 men, aux
iliaries included, formed under Sir David Ochterlony
into divisions, commanded separately by Major
Generals Wood, Marley, and Martindell. The
campaign was opened under very unfavourable aus
pices, for the losses sustained both in officers and
men were alarmingly great. The valley of the
Dhoon was at last taken possession of, but not
without a brave defence; fourteen European and
seven native officers, with 488 men, having been
killed and wounded in the operations from the 25th
November to the 2d December 1814. After this
the divisions continued to advance, and experienced
the most formidable obstacles, not only from the
nature of the country being one of the strongest
in the world, but from the daring bravery of the
Goorcas, who rushed upon our bayonets sword in
hand. Major Ludlow, after considerable success in at
tacking stoccades, was repulsed with great loss.
Major General Wood's division suffered very se
verely in an attack on the fortified post of Intgurh.
It appears that this officer was led under the guns
of this place by one Konckanaddee Sewaree, a na
tive of Nepaul, on whose report and fidelity he had
reason to depend, before he had time to recon
noitre. The viUain escaped in the confusion which
s 3

262 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
foUowed, a heavy fire being opened upon the head
of the column, many lives were lost in a few mo
ments. His Majesty's 17th foot, led on by their
brave commander. Colonel Hardyman, and sup
ported by two native regiments, advanced upon the
works, while a detachment was sent up the hiU
under Captain Croker, who, after driving the enemy
before him with spirit and perseverance, discovered
that the heights behind the post were filled with
troops. Upon this a retreat was sounded, and it is
probable that if the enemy had poured down at this
critical moment, the loss in the division would have
been enormous ; it was very considerable notwith
standing, and the enemy suffered also severely.
Captain Blackney commanding the left wing of the
22d regiment, Bengal native infantry, was attacked
at Summonpore by about 2000 Goorcas, who
after repeated charges, all the officers except Lieu
tenant Strettell being killed or wounded, forced
the Sepoys to fly, and captured a commissariat de
pot, and the baggage of the detachment. A post
at Persa Ghurrie under Captain Sibley on the same
day was also attacked by an overwhelming force,
and taken sword in hand, after that brave officer
had lost his life. "In these unfortunate affairs we
had 386 officers and soldiers killed, wounded, and
missing. The division under Major General Mar-
ley was also successfully resisted in its endeavours
to advance, and suffered severely.
But these disasters were more than counter-

MEMOIR* OF INDIA. 263
balanced by the continued successes of Sir David
Ochterlony and Colonel NicoUs, to whose judg-:
ment and skill the speedy termination of this bloody
war is justly to be attributed. The general orders
issued at Futtyghur on the 3d May 1815, in praise
of these excellent officers, by the Marquis of Hast
ings, are very flattering to them ; and apparently
convey an oblique censure to others.
The success of Colonel NicoUs (and the observa
tion wUl be supported by the brUliant consequences
which have attended similar exertions on the part
of Major General Ochterlony), under the compli
cated difficulties presented by the quahty of the
country, the fortifications by which its natural
strength was assisted, and the obstinate resistance of
a courageous enemy, should prove the superiority
conferred by military service, and the certainty
that a strenuous application of its principles must
entail honourable distinction on a commander.
Warfare in a mountainous region offers embarrass
ments which, when viewed at a distance, appear
insurmountable, but which dwindle into cpmpara-
tive insignificance under the grasp of valour and
genius. It is only in unusual situations, dema,nd-
ing readiness of resource and animated efforts, that
the difference between officer and officer can be
displayed ; and it ought to be always present to the
mind of every military man, that he who in cir
cumstances of perplexity tries and fails, has to
plead those chances from which no operation in
s 4

264 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
war can be secured ; his pretensions to the charac
ter of zeal i^and energy being in the mean time
maintained : while he who contents himself with
urging difficulties as an excuse for doing nothing,
voluntarily registers his own insufficiency.
Sir David Ochterlony had continued to advance
on the capital, and after various contests and diffi
culties in getting the battering train forward, his
division was encamped before Nehn on the 27th
December 1814, where the enemy's main army
was so strongly stoccaded, that his operations had
been directed chiefly against their supplies, which
were received from Billaspore. With such skill
did he seize, by night attacks, certain positions
around them, that he at length completely suc
ceeded in forcing them to an action, and driving
them to another chain of hills called Mungoo-ka-
Dhar, where they assembled in great force, their
right being covered by strong stoccades, and their
left resting on the fort of Tarraghur. In this
achievement Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, who
conducted the night attack on the 27th December,
that forced the Goorcas to abandon their position,
gained great and well earned praise, and his report
of the affair is interesting.
Colonel Thompson had with him a force of
about 2600 men, with four light guns of the moun
tain train, but 1200 of this force were irregulars,
armed with matchlocks. He marched immediately
after dusk in the evening, but such was the im-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 265
practicability of the intervening spaccj which as
to distance he could have marched over in three
hours, that the guns were only got up to the point
of attack at eight o'clock next morning. He
then advanced up the Diboo-ka-Tebba, to gain
a position near the stone stoccade, which he had
first to storm. It was situated on the highest peak
of four ridges of gi'anite, and presented a formid
able breastwork of loose rocks. The enemy came
down to the lowest approach, to receive our force
with a galling fire of matchlocks. But one ascent
after another was scaled, till at length the guns
opened upon the post, from the only spot where
artillery could be placed effectually without arti
ficial works. This, however, was at the distance
of 500 yards, and it was found that a six pound
shot was too light to make an impression. During
the night, therefore, the pioneers were employed
in making fascines and gabions, to push nearer on
the ensuing morning, but a little before sun-rise,
an immense body of the enemy came down from
the Mungoo-ka-Dhar, another strongly fortified
height, still more lofty, with the intention of sur
rounding and overwhelming him. The struggle
was long and obstinate, the enemy lost such im
mense numbers, that they were at last forced to
retire, but their attacks were so furious, and such
persevering courage was evinced, that Colonel
Thompson thought it advisable to throw up
works around him during the night. He was,

266 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
however, reinforced by Lieutenant Colonel Lyons,
and next morning the enemy abandoned the posi
tion. When our picquets took possession, it was
found to be very strong. The wall was ten feet
high outside, and four feet thick, composed of
loose stones, extremely well built. It was sur
rounded by a high bamboo fence, and within there
was a sort of citadel of solid masonry. The
enemy in his attack lost about 400 men in kiUed
and wounded, and our casualties were also very
considerable. In this daring way did Sir David Ochterlony
proceed, seizing one point after another, and con
tinually driving the enemy's army back, till on the
14th and 15th April 1815, a general engagement
was forced on Ummer Sing Thappa, the Goorca
commander in chief, in whom now merged the
civil and military authority of the government of
Nepaul, which terminated in the establishment of
our army on the heights of Malown, and in his
total defeat on the day foUowing. But these
operations were conducted in such a manner, and
the consequences were so glorious, that they de
serve to be noticed at some length.
On the night of the 14th of AprU, 1815, a
strong detachment marched from the village of
Purijur, and. occupied a post under the centre of
the enemy's position. This post was made the
head of a column of attack, that followed next
morning, upon a preconcerted signal being given.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 26/
The different divisions diverging from this to the
right and left, gained the several points laid down
in the brigadiers' instructions, and Lieutenant
Colonel Thompson and Major Lawrie, being well
supported, advanced up the Malown in gallant
style, under a heavy and well directed fire of
cannon and musketry : but before these officers
could establish themselves on the ridge, they were
charged sword in hand by the Goorcas, and, after
a severe struggle, forced down to the main body.
To gain this practicable part of the hills, there
fore, became the object on our side, and success
fully to oppose us was the aim of the enemy.
During the whole day, the contest continued with
unabated ardour, the enemy receiving continual
reinforcements, in proportion to the pressure ex
perienced by them ; and such was the resolution
with which they defended the ridge, that it was
with difficulty. Lieutenant Colonel Thompson main
tained his position on the side of the hill during
the night, with the assistance of temporary works
thrown up by the pioneers. Next morning the
attack was renewed at day-break. Indeed, it had
not ceased during the whole night, and the con
tinual blaze of war, the crash of rolling rocks
hurled from the summits of the range of steep
hUls, the whiz of rockets forming curves in the
air, and the roar of artillery re-echoed by the
various repeats of the mountains, exceeded any
thing that can be conceived. The first hght of

268 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
day on the 15th discovered Ummer Sing, on a pro
jecting cliff, within musket shot, holding a stan
dard in one hand, and in the other his hatchet
sword, encouraging his men, and pointing to the
weakest parts of our position. Immediately after
the heads of his columns appeared ; and forming
in excellent order, they rushed impetuously on
our batteries. Notwithstanding the destructive
shower of grape that fell upon their front from
our well served guns, they charged, and cut down
every man at them. The enemy was only repulsed
by repeated ¦ conflicts with the bayonet, in which
Boughtee Thappa and several chiefs were kUled.
After several hours' hard fighting, the enemy re
tired slowly up the range of the Malown, having
lost immensely, and infiicted much destruction on
our force. Their acts of individual valour could
not be exceeded by any troops in the world. Had
they been all armed with muskets and bayonets,
instead of swords and matchlocks, it is hard to
say how the struggle would have terminated.
Many of them seized our soldiers' bayonets with
one hand, and pushing the point aside, buried
their swords, which were heavy and formidable, in
the breasts that opposed them. But Colonel
Thompson was continually reinforced by Sir David
Ochterlony, who had foreseen every thing, and
provided for all with consummate skiU. He more
over formed a fine column of diversion, under
Captain Showers, who fell in a daring attack that

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 269
h'e made upon the enemy's fiank, in which he was
nobly seconded by the column under Colonel
Arnold, at a critical moment, when our Seik
auxiliaries had shamefully abandoned their post.
After fighting the whole of this day, and main
taining our several stations during the night, which
was one of the utmost privation, we gained the
summit of the Malown on the l6th, and in the
"course of that day completed the rout and dis
persion of the enemy's army. This victory was
not achieved without severe loss, six officers and
400 soldiers being killed and wounded, but in its
consequences it led to the most glorious results ;
for, shortly after, Ummer Sing Thappa surrendered
himself to Sir David Ochterlony, and accepted
such terms as the British government thought
proper to dictate. These comprised all the objects
announced in the declaration of war. A free
passage through Nepaul to Tartary and China
was also established by treaty, with several im
portant advantages as to trade and intercourse.
Thus terminated the Nepaul war, in a manner
most honourable to the British arms and interests,
notwithstanding the disasters which marked its
commencement. The high value set upon the
conduct of Sir David Ochterlony and the army by
which it was achieved, appears in the energetic
orders issued by the Marquis of Hastings on the
announcement of its final issue. " So complete
a fulfilment of his instructions, under difficulties

270 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
known beforehand to be of no common amount,
would alone have been sufficient to establish a high
rate for General Ochterlony's reputation as a com
mander. But there are details in the arduous
service so ably conducted by him, which must
meet from the mind of every one a' more particular
attention. The unremitting zeal, the sagacious
foresight, and the admirable decision which he has
had the opportunity of displaying, should make
him feel himself indebted to the embarrassments
he has had to encounter. They have only served
to mark in brighter colours the extent of his claim
to applause. The patience, the ardour, and the
intrepidity of all the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and soldiers of the division, must be justly
appreciated and admired by all who have con
templated their conduct. The governor-general
offers to General Ochterlony, and all who acted
under him, his warm applause : sensible as his
excellency believes they will be to that acknow
ledgement of their merits from government, a stiU
more elevating consideration attends them ; they
have to reflect, with honest pride, on the further
lesson which they have held forth to every power
in India. The British government is too satisfac
torily conscious of its own superior strength, ever
to abuse it by trespassing wantonly on any of its
neighbours ; but if its forbearance be insulted, and
its patience outraged by aggression, it wUl always
-prove, that whatsoever obstacles may retard its

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 271
earlier efforts, its perseverance will not fail ulti
mately to crush the assailants."
I shaU next pursue the course of events that
occurred during my further stay in India, which
I earnestly hope will be found sufficiently in
teresting.

MAHRATTA WAR, &c.
The Nepaul war, whose principal features have
been briefly described, was the first great public
service which the Marquis of Hastings was called
upon to achieve in India, and the abUity with
which it was arranged and conducted ought to
have assured the native princes, hostile to British
interest, that all the measures of his administration
would but add to the glory of England. In tra
versing the vast regions of Hindostan, which lie
between Fort WiUiam and the northern frontier,
his lordship travelled in great splendour. He had
a corps of 150 elephants and 400 camels, glit
tering in gold and silver howdahs, and frequently
100 native chiefs in his train, whose followers
alone formed a congregation of 200,000 souls,
whUe the followers of his own personal army were
45,000 in number : the account of 500 persons
dying in his camp sometimes daily, of cholera
morbus, was no exaggeration. But all this display
was sound policy, for he who aims at governing

272 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
foreigners, must, to do so with effect, conform to
their prejudices with respect to external things,
which have wonderful influence in India. Political
treaties were accomplished by his lordship on the
line of progression with several petty chiefs. While
the war with the Goorcas was going on, nego
tiations were in course with Scindea and Holkar
for the suppression of the Pindarries.
When the war against the Nepaulese had ter
minated, and his lordship found that treaties could
not bind these public robbers, he made arrange
ments for attacking them and all their supporters
and abettors.
Previous to this, his lordship had assisted His
Majesty's government in Ceylon, with troops from
the presidency of Madras, for the purpose of com
pleting the conquest of that fine island. The king
of Candy had for some time exercised the utmost
cruelty over his unfortunate subjects, and treated
the English with such dissimulation and treachery,
that no longer could confidence be placed in him.
His chiefs were in open rebellion against his au
thority ; and Lieutenant General Sir R. Brownrigg,
being implored by them to end the tyranny under
which they groaned, marched to Candy, which he
entered without the loss of a man, and assumed
the government of the whole of Ceylon.
It was a melancholy sight to behold the capital
surrounded by the traces of the most cruel exe
cutions. Numbers of the natives, who had been

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 273
impaled alive, were fixed on high poles by the road
sides. The king had escaped to the mountains ;
but, being pursued, he was abandoned, surrounded
and taken prisoner, his people manifesting towards
him, when divested of the terrors of despotism,
no other feelings than those of hatred and con
tempt. But it was a deplorable sight to see the
misery of several of his wives and female rela
tions. They were all, however, treated with deli
cacy and tenderness by General Brownrigg, and
soon after his capture, the king and his household
were sent to Madras on a pension. Thus has a
large accession been made to the British empire
in the East, and a conquest effected without
bloodshed, which baffled the Portuguese and
Dutch, and cost the English in former attempts a
vast sacrifice of human life. The garrison left in
Candy under Major Davie, when it was taken in
1803 by the British, suffered prodigiously, sixteen
officers and I72 European soldiers having been as
sassinated in a short time, and a total loss of above
600 men sustained. But such was now the change
in the feelings of the Candians' public opinion,
that our troops were hailed a^ deliverers. What a
study for tyranny and oppression !
His lordship had also directed an expedition, at
the suggestion of Sir Evan Nepean, governor of
Bombay, to invade the territories of the rajah of
Cutch, to punish the predatory Wagurs, who had,
like the Pindarries, carried fire and sword into our
t

274 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
provinces, and this important service was success
fully performed by Colonel East of the Bombay
army. No British force had previously invaded this pro
vince, which lies immediately north of Guzerat, but
a friendly intercourse was kept up by treaty between
our ally the Guickwar and the rajah of Cutch-
Booge. British interference had happily arrested
the progress of female infanticide *, which horrible
custom prevaUed in this quarter from the most
early records of time. From the warlike habits of
the inhabitants, a spirited defence was expected ;
but Colonel East, contrary to expectation, ap
proached the capital without much opposition, and
forced the rajah to comply with such terras as he
dictated. Cutch is naturally a strong mountainous country,
and, during a great part of the year, lies in an iso
lated form from the overflowing of the rivers Indus
and Puddar, in the angle of which this region is
situated. The country is thinly inhabited, and the
towns generally in ruins, but the capital, named
Booge, situated at the foot of a fortified hill, is
a walled city of considerable extent and great
antiquity, surrounded by many curious monuments
and mosques. Amongst the most magnificent of
these is the mausoleum of Row Lacka, the grand
father of the present rajah. It was raised to per-
* Vide Appendix, note 12.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 275
petuate the memory of fifteen of his ladies, who
performed the ceremony of suttee, or burning with
his dead body.
The interior building, on which a great dome
rests, is a fifteen-sided figure, and in each angle
stands a full-length marble statue, which I have
myself seen, of one of the fair victims to this bar
barous custom.* They are represented in the bloom
of life and beauty, richly decorated, with instru
ments of music in their hands. Around this
inner building runs a magnificent viranda, which
gives it externally the appearance of a square, and
at each angle there is a great entrance, with a
large marble elephant, facing the flight of stone
steps leading up to the grand portico. Tigers,
Uons, elephants, monkeys, and an endless variety
of fanciful objects, cut out of stone, ornament this
fabric. In the erection of their modern buildings,
the Moorish and Egyptian style of architecture is
blended, and the mixture of the wild pagoda with
the Grecian dome forms a very beautiful whole.
For many interesting particulars respecting the
expedition to Cutch, we beg to refer the curious
reader to a late work, intituled " Fifteen Years in
India," whUe we confine ourselves more particu
larly to the subject at the head of this section.
Marquis Wellesley had humbled but not destroyed
* Vide Appendix, note 13.
* t 2

276 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the Mahratta states. The ambitious chiefs who
now composed the confederacy had, in secret,
cherished hopes, during the pacific administrations
which followed, that they would one day resume
their power on pur downfall. Under the deep and
artful conduct of the Peishwa, they had entered
into private treaties of mutual support, fostered the
organisation and discipline which had been intro
duced into their armies by the French, founded
prodigious parks of artiUery, collected immense
arsenals of military stores, enlisted large bodies of
Arabs, and encouraged the Pindarries, who were
actually in their ipaf, to take annual plundering
excursions as exercises in war. The Marquis of
Hastings was aware of these proceedings, and,
while he professed the object only of reducing the
Pindarries to such a state as to respect the rights
of their fellow-creatures, he aimed at the future
tranquiUity of India, by placing the whole of central
Hindostan upon the system which had been ably
sketched out by the Marquis Wellesley.* As the
Mahrattas, in a state of combination, were capable
of bringing into the field a very large army, and
300 pieces of cannon, he put the powers at his
disposal in motion, and took the field with the
most magnificent British army that had ever been
collected on the plains of Hindostan, formed into
* Vide Appendix, note 14.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 277
divisions of unequal force, but proportioned to
the service, each under a general officer, and,
in the whole, amounting to one hundred thousand
fighting men. The main body, commanded
by the noble Marquis, being in number 13,000,
with 60 pieces of cannon, approached the terri
tories of Scindea, who, seeing himself upon the
point of being attacked before the other chiefs were
prepared to support the cause, signed a treaty for
himself, and agreed to aid the British army in the
accomplishment of the object in view, together
with other conditions which tended to secure his
co-operation in future. The Peishwa was likewise
bound by treaty ; but, while the advanced divisions
of the army were marching from various points to
wards the Nerbudda, upon the banks of which
river the Pindarry forts were situated, this treacher
ous chief attacked part of the Poonah subsidiary
force near that city, on the 5th of November, 1 817,
with 8000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry, in the hope
of destroying it; but he was nobly repulsed by
Colonel Burr *, of the Bombay army, who, with
only 2000 fighting men, maintained his position till
the arrival of General Smith with the remainder of
the subsidiary force. This action was sanguinary
on the part of the Peishwa, who lost above 500
men in the attack, though the casualties were, on
Colonel Burr's side, only one officer and fifty
soldiers. * Vide Addenda, XXXVI.
T 3

S78 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
The Peishwa, though repulsed, was still able
to remain encamped near Poonah, and to pre
vent all communication between General Smith,
who was on the northern frontier of his command,
and the force under Colonel Burr. General Smith,
therefore, received the first intimation of the attack
made on Colonel Burr from rumour. Finding that
the Bombay post was stopped, he suspected that
all was not right at Poonah, and proceeded by
forced marches towards it, where he arrived, and
formed a junction with Colonel Burr on the evening
of the 1 3th pf November, 1 8 1 7 *, notwithstan ding
the efforts of large bodies of the enemy's cavalry to
prevent it. The united British force now amounted
to about 5000 fighting men. The Peishwa's army
was encamped in a very strong position, defended
by a formidable line of batteries. It required
some time to prepare for attacking him. On the
evening of the l6th of November, Colonel MUnes,
of the 65th regiment, forded a little river that
separated the two armies, and took up a position
on the enemy's side with two brigades of infantry,
under a heavy cannonade, and in the face of re
peated charges from the flower of the Peishwa's
best troops. It was arranged by General Smith that
our line should charge the enemy's batteries at day
light next morning, and, for that purpose, during
the night the whole forces passed over, and formed
on the right of Colonel Milnes' division, but the
* Vide Addenda, XXXVII.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 279
Peishwa had retreated under the cover of darkness
with all his guns, and made good a most difficult
passage across a chain of mountains in his rear,
through which there was only one practicable
road, so that when morning dawned the distant
hUls were covered with the remains of his army.
A great part of his camp was left standing.
General Smith's operations called forth the most
flattering expressions of approbation from his im
mediate superior. Sir Thomas Hislop ; and arrange
ments being speedily made for the mihtary govern
ment of the city of Poonah, Mr. Elphinstone, the
political resident, accompanied by General Smith
and the field force, proceeded southward in pursuit
of the Peishwa, and continued to follow him with
unsurpassed perseverance, till that chief was fairly
hunted down, and glad to retire into obscurity at
Benares on a pension. But the operations which
led to this event will occupy their proper place
after the relation of other matters prior in date,
amongst the first of which is the treache'rous attack
made by the rajah of Berar, in co-operation with
the government of Poonah, on the subsidary force,
near his capital of Nagpoor.
On the 26th of November, 1817, Colonel Scott
took post on the heights of Seetabalee, which over
looked the city of Nagpoor and the British resi
dency. At the bottom there was an Arab village,
which, during the day, had been fiUed with troops
and guns, and, in the evening, pouring from the
T 4

280 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
cover of the houses, 8000 infantry, 3500 of whom
were Arabs, with thirty-five guns, supported by
12,000 cavalry in the distance, made a furious
charge against the post on all sides. The struggle
continued during the whole ,of the night and till
noon next day, the Arabs making repeated despe
rate charges. Early in the morning, having by
overwhelming numbers and persevering courage
gained possession of part of the heights, the de
fence was confined to the top of the right, which
was strengthened by a breastwork composed of
bags of rice. At this perilous moment Captain
Fitzgerald, with a small body of Madras cavalry,
charged a mass of the enemy's horse, and captured
several guns, which he turned against them, as well
as against those parts of the heights in their pos
session, and the explosion of a tumbril having
created some confusion. Colonel Scott seized the
crisis, charged along the summit with the bayonet,
and, after one of the most severe struggles, suc
ceeded in clearing the hill, at the same time his
cavalry wheeled round the base, and cut the enemy
up to such a degree, that they lost all hope of
success and retired with precipitation, having lost
six guns, and about 2000 officers and men. But
the loss on our part was also very severe, amount
ing to fourteen officers, and 333 of all other ranks,
killed and wounded. Nothing could exceed the
chivalrous conduct of every individual. The
officers had to fight with the musket and bayonet,

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 281
and, as it was a struggle for life against immense
numbers, the valour which saved the position can
scarcely be conceived. Major M'Kenzie, Captains
Lloyd, Fitzgerald, Macan, and M'Donald, Mr.
Jenkins, the resident. Lieutenants M'Donald, Wat
son, and Campbell, and Cornet Smith, distinguished
themselves. The names, indeed, of every officer
and soldier in this gallant defence deserve to be
engraved on something more durable than brass.
The assistant resident, Mr. Sotheby, was killed,
fighting bravely among the brave.
Soon after this Sir Thomas Hislop, with the
Madras army, reached the Nerbudda, and attacked
the Pindarries, who, being unprepared for meeting
a regular force, fled, and were intercepted by the
other divisions approaching on all sides, as to a
common centre. Sir Thomas Hislop, having a
more important enemy before him, did not rest
tUl he came in sight of the army of Mulhar Row
Holkar, encamped in a strong position near.
Maheidpore, on the river Sipoora, about twenty
miles north of Oojain. During the advance. Sir
John Malcolm had been negotiating with Holkar's
ministers in vain. On the 20th of December, I8I7,
the British array approached Maheidpore, and the
picquets were attacked by bodies of cavalry. The
next morning Sir Thomas Hislop moved towards
the river Sipoora, and, having beaten off several
attempts of Holkar's cavalry to interrupt his line
of march, he found the main body, consisting of

S82 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
about eighteen battalions of infantry, organised
and apppinted like our sepoys, with 100 guns in
batteries, and supported by an immense irregular
force of horse, that covered the sun-ounding plains,
advantageously posted on the opposite bank, their
left flank protected by the bed of the river, and
the right by a very deep ravine ; while their line,
which could be approached only by one ford, prac
ticable for guns, was protected by several ruined
vUlages. * It was Sir Thomas's intention, upon re
connoitring this strong position, to attack in flank,
but, to do so, it would have been necessary to make
a long detour, he therefore determined to ford the
river, the bank of which afforded some cover, and
charge the line exactly in front.
The divisions of the army were formed into
columns of attack for this purpose, and the artU
lery having cleared the bank of the Sipoora, in
the immediate front of Holkar's army, the Madras
rifle corps, supported by several hght companies
and a strong battery of horse artiUery, crossed the
ford under the protection of an enfilading fire
from the foot artiUery, stationed on their right.
The Sipoora is a considerable branch of the Ner
budda, but, like nearly all the other inferior Indian
rivers, it is almost dry during the summer, though
it rolls with impetuosity over its rocky bed in the
monsoon. On the sands lodged under the rugged
» Vide Sir Thomas Hislop's Report, dated Dec. 23, 1817.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 283
bank on the enemy's side, the infantry formed ;
and the cavalry having also crossed, at a precon
certed signal the whole rushed to the storm of the
enemy's left, where several batteries had opened
upon the ford with most destructive effect. During
this awful period, the light troops who covered the
formation of the line suffered severely, and nearly
all the rifle officers were either killed or wounded.
But the moment every thing was ready, the troops
pressed forward with such steady valour, that no
pause ensued, till the men were bayoneted who
served the enemy's batteries, which continued to
pour a torrent of grape till the moment our soldiers
reached the muzzles of the guns. At the same
time the line was overwhelmed in every part by
the shock of contact, and the cavalry charging
during the confusion that ensued, completed their
total route. Having, however, several batteries in
reserve near their camp, these opened a heavy fire
upon our advancing line. This led Sir Thomas
Hislop to suppose that a re-formation had taken
place. Upon pushing forward, however, the whole
camp was deserted, and our cavalry and light troops
continued the pursuit till exhausted.
This well-contested action continued from noon
till three o'clock, during which time the enemy's
cavalry pressed upon the reserve, and several
times attacked the baggage, but the Mysore auxil
iaries behaved with great spirit, and met their
charges in every direction. Seventy pieces of

284 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
cannon were taken, together with the whole of
the enemy's camp equipage, and the plain was
strewed with upwards of 3000 of their killed and
wounded. The success, of this battle was, in a
great measure, owing to the chivalrous conduct of
Sir John Malcolm, who led the most desperate of
the attacks on the left, and cheered the troops by
the most fearless personal exposure. His noble
and commanding figure was seen by the whole
line to outstride their ardour, and his lofty plume,
often waved by his right hand, was a banner of
union to the line. Great in his political cha
racter, and renowned as an elegant writer, this
scientific soldier has, on various occasions, dis
played an unsurpassed intrepidity, and a cool
ness of judgment in the hour of danger, which
promise future increase of glory, if opportunity he
afforded to the exercise of the great talents which
he possesses as a statesman, philosopher, and war
rior. Our loss was very severe in this battle, being
thirty-eight European officers, and 806 of all other
ranks, killed and wounded, but the advantages
were great and permanent.
General Doveton, who commanded the second
division of the army, hearing of the treacherous
attack made upon Colonel Scott, proceeded by
forced marches to Nagpoor, where he arrived on
the 12th of December, and the next morning having
drawn up in line of battle before the enemy's
batteries, the rajah came over and surrendered

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 285
himself to the resident, but his orders for the de
livery of the cannon and the dispersion of the troops
were not obeyed by the chiefs ; for upon General
Doveton' s approach at the head of his column, a
heavy fire was opened from the Sucker Durry
gardens. The whole of the hostile line was instantly
charged, and 75 guns, all their camp equipage,
and forty elephants taken. General Doveton did
not achieve this briUiant exploit without consider-
" able loss ; his kUled and wounded amounting to
nearly 200 of all ranks, and as the Arabs retired
to the palaces and fortified posts of the city, an
arduous duty was still before this gallant division.
The Arabs were strongly posted in the city, to
the number of 3000, supported by a considerable
body of Indian irregulars. From the want of
heavy battering guns, it was the 24th of December
before such an impression was made upon the gate
way, as to warrant the storm of the palace with
hopes of success and little loss. The place was,
however, defended with such obstinacy, that all the
repeated attacks, made with undaunted bravery and
skUl, were repulsed ; and a serious loss sustained
of ten European officers, and 104 of other ranks,
together with upwards of 200 native officers and
sepoys. But an iinpression was made upon the
Arab chiefs, and they agreed soon after to evacuate
the city, upon being permitted to march away with
the honours of war under certain conditions.
The consummate ability with which the Marquis

286 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of Hastings, who was the soul of all, had planned
the field movements in this war, was now developed.
Different divisions and strong detachments of the
army successively in all directions met the Pindarry
chiefs, who had escaped to the north of the Ner
budda on the approach of the Madras force.
Generals Donkin, Marshal, Sir William Grant Keir,
Brown, Hardyman, Sir John Malcolm, and Colonel
Adams surprised them on different occasions, cut
them up in cavalry attacks, and captured their bag
gage. They had no resting-place in the territories
of Scindea, and when they approached Holkar, they
found that he had been forced to throw himself
upon the mercy of his conqueror, yield a consider
able portion of his dominions, disband his forces,
and place himself under the protection of a British
subsidiary force. His sister Bheema Bhye, an in
triguing woman, was still at the head of a body of
troops, but Sir William G. Keir induced her to
come over to him by private negotiation, and dis
persed the force she commanded. Another of his sis-
ters who had been friendly to the British interests;
and adverse to the battle of Maheidpore, was pub
licly beheaded by the decree of a councU of war
shortly before that event. The remains of the
Nagpoor army had rallied under Suddoo Baba and
Munddow Row, but they were dispersed and cut
up by Colonel M'Morine ; and the rajah of Berar
was reduced to subjection, simUar to what had been
imposed on Holkar.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 287
All these successes followed each other so rapidly,
that by the month of March 1818, nearly the whole
of the Pindarry chiefs were overcome, and several
of them had accepted grants of land from the
British government.
Meanwhile, General Smith pursued the Peishwa
southward with the greatest perseverance, march
ing for a long time at the average rate of twenty
mUes a day, in the face of thirty thousand Mahratta
cavalry, who did every thing, in the power of such
an irregular and ill appointed mass, to impede his
progress. For several months, this harassing mode
of warfare continued, which was exceedingly san
guinary on the part of the enemy, though the loss
in the division under General Smith was compara
tively trifling. During this arduous campaign, one
of the Company's native regiments had an oppor
tunity of displaying the highest qualities of courage
and discipline, in nobly resisting an attack made on
it by the Peishwa's whole army.
The detachment of which this gallant corps
formed the principal part, consisted of a detaU of
Madras artillery and two six pounders, 2d of 1st
regiment Bombay native infantry, about 600 strong,
and 300 auxiliary horse, the whole under Captain
Staunton, who marched from Seroor, on the after
noon of the 31st of December, for the purpose of re
inforcing the troops left at Poonah, upon which place
the Peishwa's army was advancing. Poonah is only
forty miles from Seroor, and it was calculated that

288 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Captain Staunton would reach his destination in
full time ; but, by one of those rapid movements
which baffle foresight, his army had encamped on
the banks of the river Bheema, near the village of
Koragaum ; and Captain Staunton's detachment,
upon gaining the heights overlooking that place,
on the morning of the 1st of January, 1818, saw, to
their surprise, 20,000 cavalry and several thousand
infantry with guns encamped in the plain below.
To retreat was impossible. Captain Staunton had
just time to occupy part of the village, when he was
attacked, in the most determined manner, by three
divisions of Arabs, supported by immense bodies
of horse and the fire of two guns. The enemy's
troops were animated by the presence of the Peish
wa on a distant height, attended by several of
his sirdars or chiefs, who flattered his highness with
the prospect of witnessing the destruction of this
gallant handful of British troops, most of whom
were Mahrattas. This memorable attack com
menced about noon, and continued with unremit
ting fury tUl 9 P. M., at which period the detachment
had lost nearly the whole of the European artUlery-
men, and about one-third of the infantry and aux- '
iliary horse. The exertions which the European
officers had been called upon to make, in leading
their men to frequent charges with the bayonet,
had diminished their numbers. Lieutenant Chis-
holm of the artiUery, and Mr. Assistant Surgeon
Wingate, 2d of 1st regiment, were killed, and Lieu-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 289
tenants Swanston, Pattinson, and Connolan were
wounded ; leaving only Captain Staunton, Lieu
tenant Jones, and Mr. Assistant Surgeon Wiley,
nearly exhausted, to direct the efforts of the re
maining part of the detachment, who were nearly
frantic from the want of water and the unparalleled
exertions they had made throughout the day with
out any sort of refreshment, after a fatiguing march
of twenty-six miles. Doubtless, this detachment
would have been entirely destroyed, had it not been
for the rapid pursuit of General Smith, which forced
the Peishwa to draw off, and retreat during the
night of the first, upon which Captain Staunton re
turned to Seroor.
But General Smith continued the pursuit of the
enemy with indefatigable perseverance, and at
length on the 20th February, after a night march
of near thirty mUes, came up with his highness at
a place called Ashtee*, where, being completely
surprised, he was forced to throw the flower of his
cavalry between himself and danger. His best
general, Gockla, was killed in this brave but un
successful attempt to sustain the charge of our
dragoons. The greatest part of his treasure and
baggage fell into the hands of General Smith ; to
gether with the young rajah of Sattara, his brother
and their mother. Nothing could be of more im
portance than this capture, for the Company's
* Vide Addenda, XXXVIII.
u

290 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
government having determined to depose the Peish
wa and restore the ancient family, the possession of
the true representative of the honoured line of
Sevajee, in the person of the young rajah of Sat
tara, produced the highest degree of exultation.
General Smith immediately returned towards
Poonah, to hand over his valuable prize to Mr.
Elphinstone. The rajah being supplied with ele
phants, and all the external pomp of eastern gran
deur, formed a gorgeous spectacle at the head of
the British line.* He and his brother were, not
withstanding their splendour, mean and stupid-
looking young persons ; but the queen mother was
an exceedingly fine, intelligent woman, with the
remains of great personal attraction. Her com
plexion was fair ; she sometimes rode on horseback,
and managed her charger with skill and ease.
She exhibited none of that timidity which one
would naturally expect from an Asiatic female,
but, on the contrary, appeared to be a most able
political character.
Sir Thomas Hislop was now about returning
with the Madras army, and the Marquis of Hast
ings had left the field for the purpose of retracing
his steps to Fort William. The sensations with
which his lordship reviewed the glorious course of
his political and military career in India, must have
been most gratifying to his great soul, and the vast
* Vide Addenda, XXXIX.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 291
sum he had contributed to the amount of happi
ness enjoyed by 100,000,000 of people, every hour
presented itself, no doubt, to his intellectual eye.
Some of the divisions of the army had also reason
to exult in the prospect of important pecuniary
reward ; for the booty taken at Poonah, Nagpoor,
and Maheidpore was immense.
The Peishwa was now the only native chief who
remained in force, and he was so completely beset
on all sides, that much longer resistance was im
possible. But in several parts of the country,
bands of robbers, composed of disbanded soldiers
and mountaineers, still gave employment to de
tachments, and there were several strong hill-forts
in the possession of Arab garrisons, who, in the
distractions of war, set conquest at defiance. Ge
neral Hislop, in the route of his army returning to
Madras, reduced some of these refractory chiefs to
obedience. The circumstances attending the storm
of Talnier, a fort ceded to us by Holkar, situated
in Kandeish on the river Tuptee, were so extraor
dinary that they became a subject of parliamentary
inquiry. Sir Thomas, when within a march of Talnier,
had received intimation that the Killedar of that
place intended to resist the occupation of his fort
by British troops, although he had received the
order of his sovereign to surrender it, and, upon
the approach of the advanced guard, some guns,
and a number of matchlocks, were fired from the
u 2

292 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
walls. The fort was surrounded by deep ravines,
and quite inaccessible to reconnoissance by cavalry.
It was, however, closely approached by the en
gineers covered by light infantry ; and the Kil
ledar having returned no answer to an attempt
at negotiation, the field pieces were brought into
position, and the defences of the gateway demo
lished to such a degree, that Sir Thomas deter
mined upon storming it, in the hope of at least
making a lodgment within. For this purpose a
column of attack was formed and* pushed forward
to the gate. The Killedar, being alarmed at these
preparations, sent out a flag of truce and solicited
terms ; upon which he was desired to open his
gates and surrender himself and his garrison un
conditionally. After some little delay, the two
outer gates were opened and the head of the
column entered. At the third gate the KiUedar
came out through the wicket, and surrendered
himself to the adjutant-general. Colonel Conway.
A party of grenadiers was then pushed forward
through the wicket, and still further through
another gate, but they were at length stopped by
the fifth entrance being shut. The Arabs within
were clamorous to have some terms mentioned,
before they delivered themselves up to the mercy
of Europeans ; but after soine delay, the wicket of
this gate was also opened from within, and Lieu
tenant Colonel Murray, Major Gordon, and two or
three other officers entered it, foUowed by ten or

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 293
twelve grenadiers of the RoyalScots, upon which they
were attacked by the Arabs, and, before aid could
be afforded, cut down. Major Gordon and Captain
M'Gregor were stabbed to the heart, and Colonel
Murray and two other officers wounded in several
places with daggers. The gates being burst open,
the storming party entered the fort, and the Arabs
retreated to the stone buUdings, where they con
tinued to defend themselves untU all the garrison,
about 300 Arabs and Hindoos, were put to the
sword. " A severe example," says Sir Thomas
Hislop, in his report to the governor-general,
" indeed, but absolutely necessary, and one which
I have no doubt will produce the most salutary
eflTects on the future operations in this province.
The KiUedar I ordered to be hanged on one of the
bastions, immediately after the place feU. Whe
ther he was accessary or not to the subsequent
treachery of his men, his execution was a punish
ment justly due to his rebellion in the first instance,
particularly after the warning he had received in
the morning."
The coldness of this language freezes the heart !
" Absolutely necessary /" Who was the judge of
this necessity ? A mihtary commander, flushed
with victory, having nothing to dread from a little
delay, destroys the existence of three hundred of
his fellow-creatures for an outrage, which seems to
have been produced more by the precipitate, im
prudent, and haughty manner in which the wicket
u 3

294 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
was entered, than in any premeditated malice ;
and the Killedar was hanged, although he surren
dered himself on the good faith of an imphed
promise. What ! was his disputing the order of
General Hislop such a crime ? Might his motive
not have been excellent ? Did he not know that
his sovereign master had been conquered, and that
his cession of the fort might have been extorted ?
Is it not heart-breaking to a brave man to be
forced to yield ? Should not such feelings be re
spected by the brave, and every allowance be
made for passion and irritation in an enemy, when
sinking beneath superior force ? But I do not
presume to pronounce upon the conduct of my
superior. I merely venture to reason upon the
feeling excited in my breast by his own words.
There are military situations where horrible ex
amples are necessary. The evidence before the
public does not show that this was one of them.
Sir Thomas Hislop in justice should not be rashly
charged with the blood of 300 men, nor do I pre
sume to arraign him. His own state of the case
is before the reader, and. a judgment may be
formed thereon. His temper and forbearance on
former occasions called forth the applause of the
Marquis of Hastings, and far be it from me to
deprive him of the benefit. " To Lieutenant
General Sir Thomas Hislop," says his lordship, in
the orders he issued, 21st of February, 1818, upon
quitting the field army, •' it might seem superfluous

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 295
to offer praise ; yet there are titles to applause which
should not be absorbed in the lustre of victory.
The temper and forbearance with which his ex
cellency, possessing all the consciousness of su
periority from the quality of his troops, endea
voured to avoid a rupture with Holkar, and the
judgment with which he improved success after
his conciliating efforts had failed, demand high
commendation." All the officers in command of divisions or de
partments received his lordship's warm approba
tion also, in public orders when he was leaving the
field. Brigadier Generals Sir John Malcolm and
Doveton, Major Generals Sir William Grant Keir,
Marshall, Donkin, Sir David Ochterlony, and
Brown, Brigadier Generals Hardyman, Toon,
Smith, Munro, and Pritzler, and Colonel Adams,
were thanked in a most dignified manner, and this
fine general order concludes in the following im
pressive words : — " The alteration produced with
in three months, in the state of central India, is
beneficial to the inhabitants, in a degree which the
most sanguine could scarcely have ventured to
hope ; and to every officer who has been engaged
in the undertaking, the remembrance of having
had a share in eflfecting a change so interesting to
humanity, will keep pace with that consciousness
of having advanced the prosperity of the Honour
able Company by efforts of zeal and courage, for
which the governor-geperal offers his earnest thanks
u 4

296 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
however unequal that acknowledgment may be to
the merit which calls it forth."
The Peishwa was now the only obstacle to the
return of the whole army to quarters. He had
been driven entirely out of his own dominions by
the indefatigable and able pursuit of General
Smith. It was his fate to receive the last blow
from Colonel Adams, who intercepted his retreat
on the 17tii of April, 1818, kiUed upwards of 400
of his adherents, took his five remaining guns, and
all the camels and treasure elephants he had left.
The force under Colonel Adams had marched, on
the previous night, upwards of thirty-one miles, and
the pursuit and return made sixteen more, which
was hard service under a burning sun ; for the
heat begins in AprU to be terrible in the Deccan.
Not long after this the subtle Bajee-row *, finding
his game lost, which he had played not without
skill, surrendered his person to Sir John Malcolm ;
and received a princely pension; on condition that
he would resign all pretensions to power, and reside
quietly, for the remainder of his life, at Benares.
His Arabs^ his Portuguese infantry, and heavy
guns were still to be conquered ; for, not being
able to keep up with the rapidity of his flight, they
had been left at Sholapore, a strongly fortified town
in the south of his late dominions. General Munro
assaulted that place on the 10th of May,. 1818, and
" Vide Addenda, XL.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 297
having made a lodgment within it, a smart action
was fought, and several of the guns captured, but
the main body retreated. It was, however, closely
pursued by General Pritzler, who cut in among
them with his cavalry, and killed upwards of 800
in the route that followed, so that their total dis
persion was effected. Major De Pinto, who com
manded the Portuguese half caste battalion in the
service of the late Peishwa, here lost his life, and
nearly all the Arab chiefs shared his fate ; for these
ferocious soldiers of fortune think it a disgrace to
ask for quarter, or to part with their arms. Such
only as threw their weapons of defence away
escaped into the neighbouring woods and ravines.
In the course of the following month and June,
all the forts and strong-holds in the Deccan and •
Concan were taken, many of them by assaults.
The Arabs defended themselves with desperate
bravery, and in many places refused quarter.
During some of these awful attacks on the fortified
summits of high hills, the, thermometer stood at
145°, being 49° above blood heat in Europe.
The war was now completely at an end, and the
troops were placed in cantonments for the mon
soon. In its effects it consolidated the British em
pire in the East, and increased the resources of
the. Honourable Company upwards of four mil
lions in sterling money, per annum. All the ex
tensive region from the confines of China to the
eastern frontier of Persia, and from the Himalaya

298 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
range to the Cape of Good Hope, are now directly
or indirectly influenced by Great Britain. Since
1818, general peace has diffused the blessings of
security over those fine countries which were then
traversed by destructive armies. It is easy to con
ceive the difference. Places that were at that
- period scenes of desolation, now teem with domes
tic enjoyment. Without the security of high walls,
the husbandman may now sow his rice, and plant
his sugar-cane. He will no more, from his lofty
loop-holes, see the produce of his fields destroyed
by rapacious plunderers. His wives and his
daughters may now go to their wells for water
without the dread of abduction and murder.
Their naked chubby offspring may sport under the
plantain and cocoa, unmindful of worse enemies
than the snake. To think of the satisfaction with
which the Marquis of Hastings * has returned to
his country, without one single aspersion on his
fair fame, and how his dignified age will be cheered
by the recollection of the glory of a well-spent life,
which has been ever active in heaping benefits on
his fellow-creatures, are delightfiU subjects for
reflection, in which every feeling heart can parti
cipate. The military achievements during the adminis
tration of the Marquis of Hastings did not end
with the Mahratta war ; for, immediately after its
» Vide Addenda, XLl.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 299
termination, an expedition was sent up the Persian
Gulf under the command of Sir WUliam Grant
Keir, who added further laurels to his own fame
and that of Great Britain, by the reduction of the
Joasmere pirates ; and after his return, the force,
which was stationed on the Arabian coast, being
attacked, another expedition was sent thither un
der Sir Lionel Smith, which, in its operations, was
equally brilliant and successful.
During the peaceful flow of happiness there are
but few materials for history. To notice the nu
merous regulations which were framed during his
lordship's administration in India, for the security
and enjoyment of all ranks, would be a pleasing
task, but a tedious one for the reader. One of his
lordship's latest efforts of wisdom in India, was
directed against the horrid practice of burning
wives with the dead bodies of their husbands.
That ceremony is now placed under the inspection
of the police ; and as permission can only be ob
tained by an European magistrate being made sen
sible that the female wishes to die, and that her
expressed wish is the result of her own free will,
there can be little doubt but humanity will start
such difficulties, as will, in time, greatly diminish
this deplorable sacrifice of life.

300

CHAPTER VI.
OF THE THREE PRESIDENCIES, CALCUTTA, MADRAS,
AND BOMBAY.
The area of country at present subject to the pre
sidency of Calcutta, or Bengal, may be estimated
at 200,000 square miles ; and if this be divided
into twenty-four parts, three will represent rivers
and lakes ; eight, waste, irreclaimable, and barren
parts ; one, sites of towns and villages, &c. ; three,
free lands ; and nine, liable for revenue, according
to the most accurate estimates.
This extent of region comprehends the whole
soubahs of Bengal and Bahar, part of Orissa, AUa
habad and Berar, the Morung, Cooch Bahar, and
all the districts in Oude, &c. acquired since 1801.
The population has been ascertained by calculation,
without accurate census, to be about 40,000,000
of souls. The gross produce of the land amounts
annually to 43,000,000/. sterling money. About a
seventh of that sum comes into the Compafiy's
treasury. The whole revenue amounts to about
twelve millions, and the whole charges, civil, mUi
tary, &c., &c., to about seven in sterling money.
In 1809 the Company's Bengal debt amounted to

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 301
upwards of 20,000,000 sterling, and it has not been
much diminished.
The civil and military government of this presi
dency is vested in a governor-general and three
counsellors. For the administration of justice
there are, in the civil and criminal departments,
one supreme court stationed at Calcutta, six courts
of appeal and circuit attached to six different divi
sions, and forty inferior courts stationed in so many
different districts. The Mohammedan law conti
nues to be the ground-work of criminal jurispru
dence, but its administration has been greatly im
proved by the Company's government, the plead
ings being now written in the native languages,
the courts held openly at stated times, and all
suitors being aUowed counsellors, who are chosen
from the Mohammedan college at Calcutta, and
the Hindoo college at Benares.
Calcutta, the capital of British India, is situated
on the eastern bank of the river Hooghly, in lat.
22° 33' N., long. 88° 28' E. It is about one hun
dred miles from the sea, by the winding of the
river, which is, before the city, full a mile broad.
The approach is magnificent, each bank being
adorned with elegant villas and gardens. In the
year 1717 this extensive city * was a petty village,
and the country around it a jungle and marsh.
It now extends along the river upwards of six
* Vide Addenda, XLII.

302 MEMOIRS OF INDIA,
miles, and the numerous spires of churches, tem
ples, and minarets, with the strong fortifications of
Fort WiUiam *, and several imposing public edifices,
such as the government house, exchange, town hall,
college, writers' buildings, and the suburb called
Chouringee, which is a line of Grecian palaces,
render the external aspect of Calcutta perhaps
equal in splendour to any capital in the world.
Bi\t, upon a closer view of the houses, which are
about 100,000 in number, they will be found poor
mean buildings, with the exception of the Europ
ean part of the city, consisting of perhaps 8000
dwellings, occupied by British, Portuguese, and
Armenian + inhabitants. The whole population is
estimated at 600,000 souls ; and the surrounding
country is so numerously inhabited, that, in an ex
tent of twenty miles round, it is said there are
2,225,000 people.
The European society of Calcutta is numerous,
their habits convivial and hospitable, their mode
of living luxurious, and their appearance splendid
in the extreme. Visits are paid generally in palan
quins ; but covered and open carriages, of all the
descriptions fashionable in England, are numerous.
The table is covered with vast variety, and Madeira
and claret are introduced even in the houses of the
middling classes every day at dinner.
There would be no great interest in describing
. Vide Addenda, XLIII.
t Vide Addenda, XLIV.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 303
the public edifices of Calcutta, most of which are
common buUdings, on the usual principles of
European architecture. Places of public amuse
ment are not numerous. There is one respectable
theatre, and an assembly room, but little frequented ;
for, although no place in the world exhibits a more
numerous display of splendid private parties, yet
public intercourse is unfashionable, and pride has
separated general society into circles, whose centres
are like the heads of castes by which they are sur
rounded. *
The descendants of Europeans, called half castes,
are here very numerous ; and seven large schools
are supported by them. There are also excellent
male and female orphan asylums, hospitals, and a
variety of charitable institutions, which do honour
to the liberality of the inhabitants of Calcutta.
Since the establishment of an episcopacy in 1814,
in India, consisting of a bishop and three arch
deacons, &c., great attention has been paid to the
education of the natives. The late Dr. Middle-
ton, first bishop of Calcutta, was mainly instru
mental in founding the Mission College, for
instructing native youth in the doctrine and dis
cipline of the church of England, in view to their
becoming preachers, catechists, and school-masters,
and for other general purposes connected with the
extension of education and conversion. It appears
* Vide Addenda, XLV.

304 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
from the last report of the Calcutta School Society,
that there are 200 schools within the precincts of
its control, and that upwards of 5000 native chil
dren are studying various branches of European
literature in Calcutta and the vicinity. But what
proves beyond doubt that an amazing change has
taken place in the prejudices of the natives is, that
Hindoo females are now students at several of
our institutions. At the last anniversary meeting
of the Calcutta Female School Society, the com
mittee remark, that there were pupils from the
highest- as well as the lowest castes ; for instance,
there were two Brahmans, four Kaynsthus, and seven
Vishnubers, who are considered of the highest
rank. In short, a learned native has published a
treatise, in the Bengalee language, to prove that it
was formerly customary among the Hindoos to
educate their females, and that the education of
women is not, as is generally supposed, disgraceful
or injurious, but, if encouraged, will be productive
of the most beneficial effects.
Calcutta is as yet in an infant state : — no city
in the world has ever improved or grown more
rapidly, and if it continue for another century to
progress as it has done during the last, it will be
the wonder of posterity. Some of its institutions
are, however, susceptible of great improvement,
particularly the supreme court, whose jurisdiction
over Europeans extends to the distance of 1200
miles, and yet there is no circuit branch ; so that

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 305
a criminal, with all the witnesses necessary to con
vict him, must be brought to the presidency, where
punishment is inflicted, at a distance from the scene
of perpetration. Another defect is that all the
natives, who are subject to the jurisdiction of the
king's court, are tried by a British jury, of which
they may complain with good reason. In short,
executions have taken place in Calcutta for crimes,
on principles of British law, which according to
the Hindoo code were not capital offences. The
case of rajah Nund Comar is quite in point, and as
his fate has been described, an allusion to it is only
necessary. The external and internal trade of the presidency
of Calcutta averages about 14,000,000 sterling
annually, a great part of which is carried on by
private adventurers, since the opening of the ports
of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, to a free trade*,
but the East India Company have such an advan
tage in a monopoly of certain articles, and in the
privilege of framing local regulations, that no en
terprise can compete with, and many speculators
to the Indian shores have been completely ruined.
Upwards of six hundred ships and vessels take
their departure from Calcutta annually, with ] 50,000
tons of merchandise, and as the same number, on
an average, yearly sail up the river, the activity of
the scene may be conceived.
* Vide Appendix, note 15.
x

306 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
In Calcutta and its vicinity the curiosities are
not numerous, but interesting. There are no
great temples and mosques. The churches, chapels,
and meeting-houses are not very commanding edi
fices, compared with the private mansions, many of
which are truly magnificent. But when I was in
Calcutta, the black-hole was to be seen, and the
monument which commemorated its tragical story,
though so much shattered by lightning, that I
understand it now ceases to meet the eye. The
Company's Botanic Gardens are also worthy of
observation *, and the governor-general's country
residence at Barrackpore, in a beautiful park, is
another object, with the Danish, French, and Dutch
settlements up the river Hooghly, the banks of
which at all times present contrasts of natural
beauty and frightful superstition.

MADRAS.
Madras is the capital of the British possessions
in the Deccan, and south of India. It stands in
lat. 13° 5' N., long. 80»25'E., and is distant from
Calcutta 1030 miles, and from Bombay 77O.
The coast on which Madras stands is lashed by
a raging surf, over which the city appears to great
* Vide Addenda, XLV.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 307
advantage, and the numerous palms in its vicinity
look charmingly green. All the sandy beach seems
in motion with human life. The colonnaded edi
fices that meet the eye have the appearance of
marble, from the fine shell mortar with which they
are plastered and polished. Romantic boats and
canoes approach the vessel, filled with gracefully
formed natives, and the attention is divided between
bodies rustling in silk and decorated with jewels,
and others almost naked.
At Madras nearly all the civilians live in garden-
houses, so that the town does not present the
splendid appearance of Calcutta ; but the country
around, though naturally barren, is rendered arti
ficially beautiful; and fine roads, shaded with
trees, intersect it in all directions. The mode of
living at Madras is much the same as in Calcutta ;
but provisions of every description are much dearer
than in Bengal, and of course society is not so ex
tensive as in the supreme presidency. It is, perhaps,
on that account, full as pleasant, and more general.
The whole population of the black town of Madras*
and Fort St. George is about 350,000 souls. Ac
counts are kept at this presidency in star pagodas,
fanams, and cash ; while in Calcutta the currency
is in rupees, annas, and pice. Eighty cash make
one fanam, twelve fanams a rupee, and three and a
half rupees a pagoda, worth eight shillings. In
* Vide Addenda, XL VI.
X 2

308 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Calcutta twelve pice make an anna, and sixteen
annas a rupee, worth two shillings and sixpence.
Justice is administered on the same plan as in
Bengal ; a supreme court is established at Madras
on the model of that of Fort William. The reve-
nue is about five millions sterling per annumj which
is nearly all expended in paying the necessary
establishments. This presidency indirectly con
trols about twenty millions of the native population
of India, but its immediate subjects do not exceed
twelve millions ; for it has within its boundaries
the nominally independent principalities of Mysore,
Travancore, and Cochin.
In a commercial point of view this presidency is
inferior to Bombay. Its export trade is chiefly in
piece goods, and the whole value of its shipments
out and in annually does not exceed five millions
sterling,

BOMBAY.
The presidency of Bombay, which governs the
whole north-west coast of India, is situated on an
island formerly comprehended in the province of
Aurungabad. Lat. 18° 58' N., long. 72" 38' E.
Distant from Calcutta 1300 miles, and from
Madras 770.
Bombay Island is about ten miles in length, by
three in breadth, and it is joined to Salsette by a

MEMOIRS or INDIA. 309
vellard or causeway. The island of Salsette com
municates at low water with the continent. The
rise of the tide being here, during the springs, seven
teen feet, and possessing docks on a large scale,
Bombay is the first place in India for ship-building ;
an abundance of fine timber being imported from
Malabar. As a place of trade it stands high in
rank ; occupying the station that Ormus formerly
did, being now the western mart of all India. The
exports and imports of Bombay generally average
six mUlions of sterling money annuaUy, and above
200 ships of different nations arrive and depart
yearly from the fine harbour which is formed be
tween this island and the main.
All the marine force which the Company have,
consisting of fifteen fighting vessels, belongs to
Bombay ; for the pUot service, which numbers ten
schooners, employed in conducting vessels from
the Bay of Bengal up the river Hooghly, the navi
gation of which is intricate and dangerous, cannot
be described as a marine for offensive operations.
The cruisers of Bombayare chiefly employed against
pirates, who have infested the western coasts of
India, since the time of Alexander the Great ; and
in nautical surveys.
Justice is administered on the Bombay establish
ment on the same principles as at Madras and
Calcutta. Instead of a supreme court, there is a
king's recorder*, with three barristers and eight
» Vide Addenda, XLVII.
X 3

310 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
attorneys ; but such has been the extension of ter-
ritory by late conquests, that no doubt this presi
dency wUl soon be placed on the same respectable
scale, in point of judicature, as the other two
capitals. Madras and Bombay have their own
governors, and councils of three members like
Calcutta, but they are subordinate to the governor-
general. The inhabitants of the whole island of
Bombay are computed at 220,000. In this number
there are 8000 Parsees and 4000 Jews. The Por
tuguese inhabitants are also numerous, but, as in
other parts of India, the mass of the people are
Hindoos. There are many beautiful garden-houses on the
island of Bombay ; and the society of the place is
sufficiently diversified and agreeable, but the style
of living is far less luxurious and profuse than in
Bengal, though equally comfortable and elegant.
Till the termination of the late Mahratta war, the
territorial possessions under the immediate juris
diction of Bombay were small compared with
those of Bengal and Madras ; but by the deposition
of the Peishwa, a great part of whose dominions
have been added to this presidency, and by cessions
from Holkar and other chiefs, a most respectable
extent of country, not only round the coasts to the
river Indus, but in the most fertile parts of the
Deccan, now belongs to Bombay, with a revenue
which it is supposed will average five miUions ster
ling per annum. The native population, directly

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 311
controlled by the Bombay presidency, does not per
haps exceed eight mUlions of souls. The authori
ties upon which these calculations are made, are
not set forth as accurate, being merely an approxim
ation to what cannot be ascertained but by' a care
ful census.
We have been intentionally brief* in our notice
of the three presidencies of India, because in every
common gazetteer, their particular history is given
at large. Bombay owes its consequence to the
Portuguese, to whom it was ceded in 1530, but the
vicinity of their chief settlement, Goa, prevented it
from becoming the western emporium, though it
was strongly fortified, and always considered as an
important post. It was received by king Charles
the Second, in June l66l, as part of his que,efl,':S
marriage portion, from Portugal, and continued as
an acquisition of the crown till March 1668, when
it was transferred to the East India Company, who
found themselves greatly injured by the trade car
ried on by the king's servants. In 1686, the seat
of the Company's government was transferred from
Surat to Bombay, and it has since continued to rule
the western coast of India.
The harbour of Bombay is safe and (Commodious,
and the scenery sublime and romantic. In external
appearance Bombay bears no resemblance to either
Calcutta or Madras. The style of architecture at
* Vide Addenda, XL VIII.
X 4

312 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the two latter places is Grecian, the houses in and
about Madras being generally one story high, with
beautiful colonnaded fronts and terraced roofs, whUe
in Calcutta they are two or three stories high, the
lower apartments being thought unhealthy ; but at
Bombay the houses are constructed with wooden
pillars, supporting wooden verandas, sometimes
three stories high, and the roofs slated.
Calcutta and Madras owe their consequence
entirely to the East India Company, having been
both insignificant villages when factories were first
established at them. But Bombay and its vicinity
appear to have been places of vast importance to
the ancient Hindoos; for the numerous magnificent
caves on the islands of Elephanta and Salsette are
amongst the most remarkable antiquities of India.
The caves of Kenneri on Salsette are so numerous,
that they seem at one time to have formed a sub
terraneous city. One of the largest was formerly
fitted up as a Portuguese church, and the great
idols were defaced that had belonged to Paganism.
At the sides of the great portico there are yet two
gigantic figures, twenty-five feet high, standing
erect. The inhabitants of this subterraneous city
were supplied with water by fine reservoirs cut out
of the living rock, many of which are still full of
cool and delicious water.
These caves, however, magnificent as they cer
tainly must appear to every visitor from Europe,
are infinitely surpassed by those in the mountain of

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 313
Flora near Dowlutabad, for an exact description
of which, I refer the curious reader to the sixth
volume of the Asiatic Researches ; and to the
splendid publications of Mr. Daniels.*
Some of the other curiosities on the island of
Bombay have been already noticed, and we shall
now conclude this book in humble hope that its
contents have not disappointed the expectation of
the reader. * Vide Addenda, XLIX.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

BOOK III.

This portion of our work will be found to con
tain such miscellaneous remarks as a long residence
in diflTerent parts of the British possessions in India
have suggested. Our plan is first to make such
general and particular observations on India, as
may occur, and then to accompany a young ad
venturer, from his preparation till he have been
some time in that country, and shall return to the
place of his birth, either from debUity, or with
such independence as he may think suitable to his
future happiness. As we conceive his thoughts and
calculations must in a great measure be similar to
what our own were, we shall endeavour to guide
him by our experience.

316

CHAPTER L

MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS ON INDIA, FOR THE
BENEFIT OF YOUNG ADVENTURERS.
The area of the British empire in the East is
nearly equal to all Europe. There is such an in
teresting variety every where, that in travelling
from West to East, or from South to North, the
understanding is continually roused to reflection.
To appreciate properly the character of the Hindoos,
it is necessary to enter deeply into the constitu
tion of their castes, which produce their habits
and motives to action. They are certainly gifted
with talents in different degrees, in no way below
the standard of other men. All the virtues that
adorn our nature are found in Hindostan, as well
as the vices which degrade us. If men are estim
able for valour and fidelity to their king, the
warriors of India are behind no class on earth.
Innumerable instances of their self-devotion in the
service of their country might be adduced. The
Khetris resisted invasion till death — for in aU
those parts of India conquered by the Moguls, it
is said, that not one of that unadulterated caste
remains in existence. Victory or death was their

MEMOIRS or INDIA. 317
aim in fighting, and to this day it is customary with
some of the tribes that imitate them, to put an
end to the lives of their families, when unsuccess
ful in defending their independence, and die sword
in hand, with as much determination as those ex
hibited who fought round Leonidas at Thermo-
pylffi. An instance of this occurred at the storm
of Bobilee, a fort in the northern Sircars, by the
French, in I767. There had long existed a feud
between Rangaru, the chief of this place, and the
head of a neighbouring State, named Viseram
Rauze, who induced Monsieur Bussy to besiege
it. These forts, throughout India, are very like
old British fortifications before the general use of
artUlery, consisting of a strong rampart of earth
or stone, with a parapet, towers, and flanked gates,
through all which, numerous loop-holes enable
the besieged to hurl their weapons, or fire their
small arms at the approaching enemy.
M. Bussy invested it with a battalion of French
infantry, 550 strong, 250 cavalry, four field pieces,
and the whole of Viseram' s irregulars. The artillery
soon destroyed the battlements, and the force
assaUed it by escalade in four divisions, but every
man who attempted to mount the parapet was cut
down. This repulse only inflamed the ardour of
the soldiers ; and the artiUery having made a
breach in the wall, the storm was renewed, but
after fighting with perseverance for several hours,
not a man could enter the breach. Great numbers

318 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of Rangaru's soldiers had now fallen about him,
and while the French- were forming their shattered
column for a fresh attack, he addressed his officers
and the remnant of the garrison. " Noble souls,"
Said he, " no hope remains. You know your duty.
Preserve our wives and children fjrom the violation
of Europeans, and the stUl more ignominious autho
rity of Viseram Rauze." Upon which the oldest
man was despatched to tell the females their fate,
and to set fire to the sepulchral habitation, in the
form of a funeral pile, in which they were with
their children ready for the event. This temporary
building, composed of straw, brimstone, and other
combustible matters, was erected in the centre of
the square, and a match being applied to it, the
whole was instantly in a blaze. In the meantime,
quarter had been offered to Rangaru and his brave
companions by the French, who admired such
courage, but it was rejected with disdain ; and
after a most horrible struggle, in which M. Bussy
lost a great number of men, the fort was entered,
every one of its defenders opposing himself to an
antagonist, while he was able to wield his poniard.
Four only escaped with ghastly wounds ; and a
few days after two of these crept into the tent of
Viseram Rauze, and despatched him with thirty-
two wounds. Had they failed, the other two were
bound by an oath to revenge their master. Surely
such conduct was equal to that of the Roman, who
thrust his hand into the fire for missing the life of

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 319
Porsenna ; and although I am far from holding
up such barbarous acts as worthy of imitation,
yet men who can behave thus, would, if civilised,
possess all the generous traits that belong to chi
valry. Nor are the women less determined than
the men in devoting their lives, when called upon
by what they conceive to be duty or affection.
Thousands annually consume themselves with their
husbands' bodies, in the hope of inheriting future
bliss. Amiable Credulity ! Nay, they have often
voluntarily died with brothers and fathers whom
they tenderly loved.
We besieged Adjighur, a strong fort in Bundle
cund, in 1809. After a very brave resistance it
was evacuated by the garrison. Lutchman Dowah,
the chief) was unable to protect his wives, who re
mained in the place, and ¦ it was necessary to re
move them. For this purpose, an old man, the
father of one of the ladies, was sent to prepare
them with assurances of the most delicate treat
ment, but he was implored to end their existence,
as they had heard that Lutchman was slain. Ac
cordingly the old man cut all their throats, and
his own immediately after, for they were all found
lifeless when the house was entered. *
The bravery of the Honourable Company's
sepoys might also be adduced as a proof of
Hindoo courage. During the siege of Cudalore,
* I relate this on both written and oral authority.

320 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
in a desperate sally made by the French, our sepoys
foiled some of their veteran troops with the bayonet.
It is therefore not for want of animal courage,
and a proper love of king and country, that the
Hindoos have been for ages subject to foreigners.
This must be attributed to their institution of
castes, which weakened the whole national fabric
by infinite division and individual interest. In
stead of depending upon the physical strength of
the state, which is always found in the peasantry,
kept in activity of body and mind by necessary
toil, this hardy race was commanded never to
aim at glory, and by this radical defect their coun-
tiy sunk into dependence. Science is necessary
to direct the multitude, and noblemen are requisite
to command the population, but it is to the re
sources of the commonalty that every state must
look for its security. The poet has then justly
called a bold peasantry " their country's pride."
In Hindostan, however, there is no such thing.
The whole Brahmanical fabric is founded upon
exclusion and slavery, therefore those over whom
it exercises its influence must be unaspiring slaves.
Yet horrible as this is, it is better than no religion.
On its promises a poor tottering human being
depends, through all the inconsistencies of his
nature. In obedience to the dictates of Brahma,
he lays down his head under the wheels of the
great procession car, pierces his back with an iron
hook, and hangs thus, whirled round by a high

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 321
wheel, lies bleeding on thorns, and at last drowns
himself in a sacred river to feed crocodiles ; yet he
hopes aU this wUl procure for him salvation, when
fleeting life shall have passed away ; and in this
world he abstains fi-om the gratification of wicked
desires, in compliance with the moral laws of his
caste. The Hindoo subahdar of Barwa, a town in Bun
dlecund, in 1790, was an accomplished scholar, and
deeply versed in the sciences of Europe. At the
age of sixty he was studying the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, in the English language, yet some
time after, feeling his end approaching, he repaired,
according to the custom of his tribe, to Benares,
and drowned himself in the Ganges.
Near Mangee, a town in Bahar, at the con
fluence of the Ganges and Goggrah, there is a
banyan tree, consisting of about sixty stems, which
occupy an area of more than half a mUe in cir
cumference. Under this huge shade a naked
devotee sat in one posture twenty-five years, ex
cept during the four cold months, when, as a further
punishment, in compliance with his vow, he sat up
to his neck in the sacred river.
Yet the Brahmans who control the minds of the
Hindoos, commit the most atrocious crimes before
their eyes. At Amran, a town in Kattywar, held
by Hirjee Khowas, there is a monument to per
petuate the memory of a Rajghur Brahman, who cut
his own mother's head off, at the great gate of the
Y

322 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
fort, to prevent Hirjee Khowas from depriving him
of some disputed property. The victim on these
occasions glories in death, and consents to its in
fliction ; and while the innocent cause of the
catastrophe is doomed to damnation, by general
opinion, the matricide is honoured by his caste, and
feels no remorse. That this superstition should
not have been long ago destroyed by the seeds of
death within itself, seems to me most astonishing.
The Hindoos are an intelligent, acute people, in the
common concerns of life. Their natural intellec
tual faculties appear no way inferior to other men's.
I have talked to many of them possessed of dif
ferent degrees of information, from the peasant
that turned the clod to the learned pundit who
expounded the laws ; and on any subject out of
the sphere of their prejudices, I found them as
much disciples of Descartes as myself: that is,
they seemed to doubt whatever struck their senses
as requiring proof, and took nothing on the bare
assertion of others, without the concurrence of
their understandings ; yet whenever I touched
upon their particular creed, all was wUdness and a
chaos, which not one I ever met could reduce to
any thing more than imaginary comprehension.
The learned Brahmans can speak on the subject
with uncommon beauty. Some of them have ac-,
quired a considerable knowledge of our language,
and to hear them explain the charming morality
of their sacred code,, the sublime duties enjoined,

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 323
and the axioms and maxims by which they allege
that their lives' are governed, would almost per
suade Agrippa to believe Paul. Yet the wildness of
every system which the Vedas and Sastras pre
scribe, is such, that any well-informed European
would suppose the absurdity obvious ; and I gene
rally examined the face to see whether the heart
was in tune with the tongue, but except in the
professed sceptical classes, I believe all the
Hindoos have perfect faith in the Brahmanical
doctrines. Their wild notions with respect to chronology
and mythology have been long themes for wonder
and speculation. The same runs through all the
arts and sciences cultivated among them. Every
thing obscure is rendered incomprehensible, and
when involved in perplexity it is left as the utmost
length which human intellect can go. These cir
cumstances of the mind have of course kept its
faculties within the same small circle for ages,
which would have been the case in Europe, but
for those great luminaries who formed tangents
from the sphere of received opinion. But in India,
the poet, mathematician, astronomer, and musician,
are all bound in chains by sacred rules that no
man can understand ; and which, therefore, are
pronounced divine, as if the Almighty would in
struct mankind by lessons above his comprehension.
In music, they were restricted to 36 sacred melo
dies, and the hours by night and day for their
y 2

324 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
performance laid down. Their ancient instrument.
Called Dwitantri, had only two strings, which,
tuned in fifths, produced the heptachord. Like
ourselves they had seven notes, sa, ri, gu, ma, pa,
dha, ni. They have our major and minor modes,
but here simplicity ends, for their scale is divided
into three parts. First, from the navel to the
chest; second, from the chest to the throat; and
third, from the throat to the brain. * Besides the
36 sacred pieces, in many of which only two wild
notes are used, they have 48 lighter melodies for
dancing, which were invented by one of their gods
after morality had become corrupted. In this
state music now stands, the popular airs in India
being generally Persian. Poetry has greater in
tricacy. It is divided into 21 classes. In the first
of six syllables, 64 combinations are composed on
the syllables of each verse ; 4096 on those of the
half stanza ; and 16,777,216 on the ^4 syllables
which constitute the complete stanza. These
classes all rise progressively in difficulty, so that in
the last 67,108,864 combinations are composed on
26 syllables, within each verse ; nearly 4,503,621,
000,000,000 on 52 syllables, and more than
20,282,388,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 on a
hundred and four syllables which form the stanza.
The Brahmanical fabric is altogether so extra
ordinary, than when I reflect upon its ceremonies,
* Vide Asiatic Researches, vol. ix.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 325
festivals^ processions, and images, I can only
account for the principles upon! which it keeps
possession of the minds of rational creatures by
referring it to the old maxim, " Custom is second
nature/' What we behold daily we cease to think
strange. This has produced such harmony be
tween the Hindoos and Mohammedans in India,
that the latter have ceased to persecute the former,
and, indeed, many of them have now adopted the
modes which they behold from infancy, instead of
those brought from beyond the Iiadus by their
forefathers. The aborigines, in tiEie vicinity of
British and Mogul stationsi, have lost their purity
as ancient Hindoos, and embraced many foreign
opinions and habits. Indeed, nothing hut famUi-
arity could reconcile men to the monstrous objects
that are every where worshipped in India. In one
place is seen a huge form resembling a human
creature, but with three glaring eyes and sixteen
hands ; in another, the heads of elephants and
hogs fixed to the trunks of men. Here» indecent
figures quite naked, resembling Priapus ; there,
monkeys and many-headed horses. In one sacred
temple, a great fish with a man projecting fhjm its
mouth ; in another, disgusting shapes of men with
numerous hands all armed with weapons, and many
faces besmeared with oil and paint. But for the
innumerable hideous forms held in veneration by
100,000,000 of men, I refer the reader to Moor's
Hindoo Pantheon. Many of the stories attached
y 3

326 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
to those monsters are equally disgusting, and, one
would suppose, more calculated to excite hatred
and horror, than respect and love, yet such is the
amazing delusion under which a rational creature
may labour that idols are actually adored as living
gods by men in a state of such mental refinement,
that many of them cannot only argue most acutely
against those parts of our holy scriptures which
have produced great difference of opinion among
Christians, but arraign others upon which our
sects have never yet disagreed. I might here re
peat several ingenious objections which Hindoos,
with whom I conversed, made to Christianity, but
to show their refinement of thinking I refer to
Baldagus, a Dutch clergyman, who wrote on India
from personal observation in I67I. " A certain
Indian," says he, '• asked me once, whether, when
John baptised Christ, he did so in the name of
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I answered
yes. He replied that Jesus was thus baptised in
his own name, which he thought an absurdity.
I told him there was nothing absurd in the matter,
since Christ was not baptised upon his own ac
count, or as God alone, nor as a bare man, but as
being endowed both with the divine and human
nature. That the Son of God could not be bap
tised otherwise than in the name of God ; and
that under the word God, were comprehended the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; that Jesus
was the same in essence with the Father and the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 327
Holy Ghost; and that there were no degrees in
the Deity, for though the Father was the first,
yet the Son was as truly God as the Father and
Holy Ghost : wherewith he was well satisfied.
For the Indians being generally very ingenious,
they ask many acute questions concerning the
creation and end of the world, the immortality
of the soul, hell, and such like." Yet the in
credible things they believe concerning their own
deities, without ever doubting their truth, might
be supposed to render them pervious to the creeds
of other nations. I shall instance this by reference
to interesting known facts.
The followers of Gunputty believe that he is now
incarnate in the person of Chintamun Deo, who
resides at Chinchore, near Poonah. It is also
credited, that at the death of eight Deos, who have
preceded the present one, an image of the god
miraculously arose from the ashes. To this image,
or to the large statue of Gunputty, the incarnation
performs pooja, or worship, for the Brahmans say
that the image is the greatest, his power not being
aifected by the avater, or flesh. They also think
that Deo is so full of the divinity, that his senses
are absorbed, and therefore he acts the fool all his
life ; that is, he appears to possess only sufficient
sense to ask and answer in a childish manner.
But he eats, drinks, and marries several wives, like
other Brahmans. The former Deos are buried in
smaU temples near the river Moota, which passes
Y 4

328 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the palace in which the present one resides, with
flights of steps down to the sacred water, for daUy
ablutions and ceremonies. Women and priests may
be here seen constantly bathing and perfuming the
idols, while children are decking them with flowers,
and pilgrims and devotees making their rich offer
ings ; priests chaunting sacred pieces, musicians and
bards, dancing girls and jugglers, necromancers and
buffoons, all striving by gesture and action to in
crease the revenues of the Deo, who sits cross-
legged in listiess indolence and apathy. It is also
amazing how they venerate a statue of stone or
wood, into which it is believed a certain god has
been incanted. Long pilgrimages are made to
some of these images, which were stolen from par
ticular temples, or whose place of residence was
changed as they suppose by a miracle, on account
of some insult or neglect.
At Weerawow, in the district of Parkur, a sandy
tract to the south of Cutch-Booge, there is an image
of Goreecha, or Goreeka, so ancient that it is be
lieved to have once occupied a Banyan temple in
the renowned city of Gour, one of the great
capitals of India in remote times. This idol is of
marble, two feet high, sitting with his legs across.
It was for a long time, after the decline of Gour, in
Pareenaghur, another ancient town, which was de
stroyed during the invasion of the Moguls, but
Goreecha, or Goreeka, fell into the hands of a
Rajpoot chief, from whom he was stolen, or escaped

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 329
by a miracle to Weerawow. Seventy thousand
Banyans annually visit him at Morwarra, where the
ceremony is performed of producing him with
great mystery, as described in the first volume of
the Transactions of the Literary Society of Bom
bay, by Captain M'Murdo, who says that the rajah
occasionally mortgages the income he produces for
18,750/. Besides this large sum levied at Mor
warra, aU the adjacent towns and chiefs extort
contributions from the caravans of pilgrims, who
also suffer great hardships in the desert regions
around this remote spot, and numbers of them
perish every year in the same way as at Juggernaut.
At Daccour, in Guzerat, is the original idol of the
famous temple of Dwarka. It came thither no one
pretends to know how, about 600 years ago, since
which time that place has been held in esteem.
Dwarka * was the residence of an incarnation of
Chrishna, under the name of Runchor, and at it
there is one of the most celebrated pagodas in India,
but the Brahmans have been thrown into dejection
by the escape of their god twice ; for after great
trouble, when he fled to Daccour, they incanted
his essence into another statue, which crossed
over about 130 years ago to the island of Bate, and
they suppose that if their present one should take
offence, an end would be put to his worship at the
Goomty's sacred waters. To this wUd and re-
• Vide Addenda, L.

330 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
mote corner of Guzerat, about 20,000 Hindoo
sectaries repair annually, for purposes of devotion ;
and at this beautiful temple, and two others on the
island of Bate, separated only by a narrow arm of the
sea, a revenue of 30,000/. per annum is produced
by voluntary offerings. The chief of Bate, who
is high priest of his own temple, receives the
dresses and sweetmeats presented to the god, and
retails them out again to the devotees at low prices,
so that imposition is there practised openly, and
yet the delusion is so strong, that all appears divine.
At Ararara, situated a few miles from Dwarka,
Vishnu performed the exploit of cutting open the
large conch shell in which the demon Shunkudwar
concealed himself and the Vedas which he had
stolen. He excused himself for the theft by saying
that he hoped to have been put to death by Vishnu,
which would have secured him future happiness.
In short, statues of wood and stone are absolutely
believed to be real gods, and worshipped accord
ingly. Their table is laid every day, and their beds
made at night. They are bathed and perfumed with
most scrupulous regularity. At the great pagodas of
Ramisseram *, Seringham, Conjeveram, Chillamba-
ram, and Tripetty, in the south of India, though
nearly two thousand miles from the source of the
Ganges, the idols are bathed every day with water
carried by pilgrims from Gangoutra, or the sacred
junctions. This is sold again to the devotees, and
* Vide Addenda, LI.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 331
produces a revenue. In many of their magnificent
temples, Europeans are permitted to approach near
the idols, taking off their shoes ; the Brahmans
encourage curiosity. But in some places the
images are "Shown with great mystery, and they are
often kept in dark recesses, far from the entrance,
so that the gloom and magnificence, the wild
sounds of shrill instruments of music, and the roar
of great drums and conch shells, with the dis
figured faces of the worshippers, and the abstracted
appearance of the Brahmans really bewilder the
senses. Tripetty, in the Carnatic, is so sacred, that it is
said no European or Mohammedan ever saw its
interior. An incarnation of Vishnu is worshipped
here. The natives say that the pagodas are built
of great carved stones, like those which excite our
wonder at Chillambaram, Dwarka, &c., and covered
with plates of gilt copper so curiously ornamented
with figures, that they are pronounced the works of
superior beings. At the famous pagoda of Malla-
cargee and Brahma Rumbo, situated on the south
bank of the Krishna, in a desert, 118 miles from
Hyderabad, the idols are only shewn by the flashes
of a brass speculum, that fall upon thera so as to
leave imagination to form a sublime picture, from
a faint outline of something which cannot be de
scribed. These temples are enclosed by a great
wall, forming a square, 600 feet long by 510, and
covered with curious sculptures. But to eirter into

332 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the description of such fabrics in India, would fill
volumes. They are nearly all in the Egyptian
style of architecture, and so massy that they have
endured amidst the wrecks of matter around them,
from times of which there is now no trace. By what
powers of mechanism they were constructed, is a
curious enquiry for the antiquarian.
At this day the only method the natives have of
raising great bodies to any desired elevation is by
forming an inclined plane of earth, as their build
ing proceeds, which answers the purpose of our
scaffoldings and cranes. Up this mighty stones
are moved by the application of manual labour,
aided merely by the powers of the lever. In many
places the domes which ornament the mosques and
the pagodas in northern India, where the Hindoo
architecture is now of a mixed kind, between the
Egyptian and Grecian, are formed on a mound or
ball of baked clay, after which the earth is removed
and the inside polished. Simple as those methods
are, all the fabrics in India might have been con
structed in this way, and the caves excavated by
the repeated applications of the chisel alone.
Sculpture never attained very high perfection in
Hindostan. The execution of the rarest specimens
is not to be compared to our school, though some
of the airy statues of females in the caves of Elora
and Elephanta are exquisite as to the finest pro
portions of form ; but in painting and sculpture a
good outline is the first advancement towards per-

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 333
fection which a scholar makes. To cause the
canvas or marble to glow with living expression, to
teach passion how to speak in stone, and to pro
duce by light and shade an alto relievo on a flat
surface, with an imitation of grief, joy, hope,
anguish, despair, so natural as to impose upon
judgment, are points which nothing I ever saw in
my extensive travels in India supports. The black
marble bull in the beautiful pagoda of Tanjore is
perhaps a specimen of the highest degree to which
the art of sculpture was carried. In ancient times
Tanjore was the Benares of the south, and it still
retains that character, many of the Brahmans being
literary men. The rajah of Tanjore is a learned,
ingenious, and liberal minded man, having been
educated by the Danish missionaries, and carefully
instructed in European learning, yet he continues
firmly attached to the Brahmanical faith. The
whole of Tanjore is like a garden, and a perfect
contrast to many other parts of the coast similar as
to soil and local advantages. Fine canals conduct
the water of the Cavery, secured by prodigious
mounds, across the whole country and irrigate every
field. Indeed the whole southern quarter of India bears
traces of having been once cultivated to a high de
gree ; but two thousand years seem to have made
scarcely any difference in the manners of its pea
santry. In customs, food, houses, and clothing,
the poor Hindoo is nearly the same now as his

334 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
forefathers were then. There are, however, ad
mirable forms of village government remaining
among them, which are strong testimonies of an
cient civilisation. Those of the same caste live in
many places like a great family, having a com
munity of rights, the oldest man being the chief
magistrate of the association, with a committee
under him to settle all litigated matters on princi
ples of equity. Such is the beautiful simplicity of
many communities at present in India, that far ad
vanced as we undoubtedly are in arts and sciences,
yet from Hindoo rural felicity our politicians might
derive important information ; and as they have
encouraged a system of education improved on
Indian suggestion, so, by adopting what is admir
able in the remnant of Hindoo policy, they may still
further advantage the interests of their country.
Many of the small vUlages in the Carnatic, &c.,
consist of a row of houses on each side of a wide
street with a range of cocoa nut and plantain trees
before the doors. Some of the larger villages have
streets which cross at right angles, forming a fine
square in the centre. Here the choultry, or house
appointed for travellers, stands. If no river passes
near, artificial reservoirs, faced with stone, preserve
a plentiful supply .of rain water. The dwelling-
houses have in general an open viranda running
along the whole front, and under the trees before
the doors, the inhabitants both men and women
occasionally sit, which has a cheerfuf effect. This

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 335
description applies properly to the south of India,
for in Hindostan Proper, where the hot winds pre
vail, the houses are constructed so as to exclude
the air, and they appear externally of an unpre
possessing form.
In the Carnatic, the washerman of the village
will be seen in one place making his coUection ; the
schoolmaster in another, teaching the children to
write in the sand ; the smith busy at his anvil ; and
the barber seated crosslegged under a tree, operat
ing on the head, and addressing the hearing with
that loquacious rattle for which his calling is famous
all over the world ; while the shrill tones of music
are heard in a neighbouring pagoda mixed with the
loud voice of the great drum. At the same time,
perhaps, a party of jugglers will be playing off their
tricks for the amusement of the idle, and fantasti
cally dressed fakiers strutting about to extort money
by the extravagance of their stories and gestures.
The cutwal or magistrate will be found adminis
tering justice and promoting harmony, surrounded
by his aged advisers, who with gravity and wisdom
admonish the young to imitate the old, and place
before their eyes a bright example in their own
conduct. No female exclusion is here observed.
The women, ornamented with trinkets, are seen
nursing their little ones, or employed in their house
hold affairs, while the young girls, whose black hair
is generally braided up and ornamented with fiow
ers, are drawing water from the wells.

336 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
The Brahmans, who control opinion, are, like the
other three great original castes, subdivided into
numerous sects and professions, and in the clerical
order they have no supreme head. In every pa
goda the high priest is an independent sovereign,
supporting all his inferiors attached to the institu
tion out of its revenues, and contracting with the
civil power for military aid or forbearance. He is,
in short, every thing that an abbot is, except in
owing obedience to the Pope ; for his submission to
the colleges at Benares is merely matter of choice.
His Brahmans are like monks, and the only chain
of subjection, by which the various pagodas of each
sect are combined, consists in the reverence paid to
antiquity, and the pUgrimages and offerings to great
idols at particular places. In this way a constant
intercourse is kept up between the remote parts of
India and Benares ; and a correspondence, main
tained for the general interests of the particular
worship, carried on at every temple throughout
Hindostan. But there is no doubt, in my mind,
that at one time the whole Brahmanical institution
was combined under a supreme head, whose great
pagoda was perhaps at Palibothra on the sacred
Ganges. The manner in which the Brahmans five
is an interesting subject for meditation. Many of
them, when ambition or hope courts them forward,
are as active and enterprising as Jesuits ; whUe
others dose away their lives in listless indolence,
apparently abstracted from all the concerns of this

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 337
world. At Malabar Point, on the island of Bom
bay, there is a cleft in a rock of such sanctity, that
it attracts pilgrims from all parts of India for re
generation by passing through it, which is a work of
great difficulty. Near this was a celebrated ancient
pagoda now in ruins. It was polluted, like the
other temples and caves near Bombay, by the
Portuguese : there is a modern one near its ruins,
dedicated to Sacksimi, the goddess of plenty, which
is held in great veneration. The aperture in the
rock and this temple support a beautiful village of
Brahmans built round a delightful tank. Under
the shade of trees planted around this fine sheet of
water, the Brahmans perform their religious cere
monies and bathe in the sacred pond, to which there
are on all sides magnificent flights of stone steps.
Many of these learned and religious men have lived
here from childhood without having ever felt the
desire of gratifying curiosity by a visit to Bombay.
Such is the extraordinary nature of man, when
stimulated, his activity knows no bounds, yet under
relaxation he falls into the opposite extreme. Many
of the Brahmans are exceedingly immoral ; bands
of dancing girls are attached to their pagodas for
purposes of prostitution. They aim not at power,
being devoted to pleasure. But, on the other hand,
the activity and art with which they pursue their
objects are well known. Cromwell did not usurp
with more address than Bajee-row, the first of the
ruling Peishwas of Poonah. Tallyrand did not

338 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
change sides with more talent than Purneu, who
preserved his influence with Tippo till the last, and
after his death secured the friendship of the East
India Company, and turned the reverses of his late
master to the advantage of his present. In behold
ing the stupendous works which he projected for
the embellishment of Mysore, and the improve
ment of agriculture, I clearly saw the genius that
had executed those fabrics in old times, with per
haps as simple means, which are now attributed to
the gods.
Between Ceylon and the continent is the famous
bay of Condatchy, which contains a pearl fishery
that yields government an average revenue of
40,000/. per annum. The pearls are of a beautiful
whiteness, yet not so much esteemed by the natives
of India as the yellow ones of Ormus. About
every seven years the banks are fished, being laid
off so as to come annually round. In this time the
pearls are supposed to attain maturity; but it is
believed, that if left much longer, they become so
troublesome, from their size, to the fish, that they
are thrown into the sea. Most of the divers are
trained up from children on the island. The
usual time they remain under water is two minutes,
during which period the oysters are collected in a
net tied round the neck, from which is a signal
cord communicating with the boat, by which they
are assisted in regaining the surface. Some of
those unfortunate creatures perish in attempts at

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 339
remaining long under water, which -is an object of
great emulation. Four minutes are occasionally
spent under the fluid, and one man remained, in
1797» six minutes below. They are paid accord
ing to the number of oysters they catch ; and such
is their perseverance, that sixty-seven returns have
been made by one diver in a fore-noon, with from
50 to 100 oysters in his net every time. Many
lose their lives, and others are horribly lacerated
occasionally, by ground sharks ; but the divers are
so superstitious that they still believe their con
jurors and priests can save them, and government,
as well as the farmers of the pearl fishery, pay
several of that description of impostors for remov
ing their fears. It is quite a lottery in what oyster
a pearl may be found ; for there are numerous
blanks to a prize, and the latter is often so small as
not to exceed the size of a mustard seed. The
oysters are, therefore, often disposed of unopened
to the highest bidder. When the pearls are found
they are instantly drilled by men who are very
expert in this way ; and sometimes a valuable prize
is got for a mere trifle.
It has been supposed, that at some remote pe
riod, the Carnatic and Coromandel formed a splen
did seat of extensive empire over part of India, and
the ruins of Travicarry perhaps now mark the site
of government. Here several large streets can be
traced, and the gateway of a gorgeous pagoda eight
stories high. It is now, however, only reniarkable
z 2

340 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
for extensive petrifactions of trees into flint, or
a kind of stone, nearly as beautiful as cornelian,
and a very large tank which covers several acres.
Many of the hill-forts, both below and above the
ghauts, are places of great strength. All the prin
cipal ones are now occupied by British garrisons ;
but impregnable as they are by nature,- they add
but little to the real strength of the country ; for,
whatever force is sufficient to traverse the plains,
may soon reduce the hills by starvation. Few
traces of Mohammedan splendour meet the eye in
the south of India ; but in Hindostan Proper, and
even in the Deccan, there are numerous edifices
which, though now in ruins, lend romantic beauty
to the scene.
In modern times the south of India \yas subject
to the government of Visiapoor, now called Beja
poor, situated not far from the Krishna. Aureng
zebe conquered it in 1689, at which time the native
historians say it contained 984,000 inhabited houses.
It is now greatly in ruins, and exhibits a spectacle
of the Mogul fallen glory ; for some of the mosques
remaining are magnificent structures. The mau
soleum of Ibrahim Adal Shah is about 400 feet
long and 150 broad, covered with an immense
dome, supported by square pillars, carried to a
great height. Some of the other domes are 120
feet in diameter. The fort was eight miles in cir
cumference, built of massy stone ; and the ruins all
round this extend to such a distance, that it is like

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 341
a mere point in the centre of a great circle. To
iraraortalise the capture of this strong place, Au
rengzebe caused an immense cannon to be cast.
This great gun is stUl to be seen at Bejapoor. It is
of brass, fourteen feet long, and nearly the same in
circumference, and it would receive an iron ball of
2,646 pounds weight.
In the centre of the Deccan, to the extent of
420 miles by 220, lie the dominions of the Nizam,
with a population of 8,000,000 of souls, not more
than a miUion of whom are Moslems, although the
government has been Mohammedan since A. D.
1585. When Aurengzebe completed the conquest
of this region in 1687, he fixed the capital of the
Deccan at Aurungabad, from which the royal resi
dence was transferred to Hyderabad, by the late
Nizam Ali, which has reduced the magnificence of
that once splendid city, Aurungabad, to ruin. At
the new capital, which is now a very considerable
town, containing about 12,000 inhabitants and
some fine mosques and palaces, the Mogul charac
ter appears in more variety than in any other part
of India ; for the court of Delhi is now a mere
cipher. A numerous retinue of noblemen sur
round the throne, who spend their fortunes in
ostentatious display, or profligate profusion. Their
palaces glitter with costly articles of plate, while
their lofty rooms are hung with the lustres of
Europe. Many of them dress in English broad
cloth, for the weather here is cold, though in 17°
z 3

842 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
north ; yet its elevation is such that, for three
months in the year, Fahrenheit's thermometer is
pften as low as 35°, and seldom ranges higher than
45° ; but, immediately before the monsoon, the
sun is exceedingly powerful. These luxurious
nobles live in a free manner, and some of them
cultivate the society of Europeans. They are edu
cated generally for the military profession. Their
complexions are fair, and sometimes ruddy. They
are fond of showing their children to the English,
and they are, when young, very pretty. Our
ladies, who visited their wives, gave us almost as
favourable a description of the charms of the fe
males, and the decorations of their apartments, as
Lady Mary Wortley Montague did of the Kahya's
fair Fatima. Their dresses were of the finest gold
Dacca muslin, flowing in rich profusion, exposing
the fine sweU of their bosoms, and the delicacy of
their arms, while their ready smiles spoke good-
humour and happiness. Under their gowns they
wore sUver muslin drawers, and their silk slippers
were embroidered with gold. Their hair was de
corated with pearls and flowers, and they exhibited
a profusion of costly trinkets. Numerous maids
richly attired waited their commands, and sweet
meats and perfumes were brought in, with delight
fully cool sherbets and ices. They had musicians,
dancers, and story-tellers to entertain them, and
their little ones were brought in to be shown with
exultation. When they pay visits, it is in great

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 343
state ; and their carriages glitter with costly orna
ments of silver and gold. It does not appear that
many men of rank have more than one favourite
wife. When they avaU themselves of the right of
having a plurahty, the ladies live in separate houses,
and have distinct establishments. The Mohamme
dan nobles and gentry drink wine, and dine re
clined on low couches ; but when entertaining
Europeans they sit at table, and have various
courses of delicately dressed dishes, with a very
splendid dessert. Dancing, recitation, and story
telling are their favourite amusements, while they
loll on their low velvet sofas, and enjoy their
hookas. The stories are generally of the extrava
gant description, told in the Arabian Nights ; but
their recitations are often beautiful pieces from the
Persian and Hindoo poets. Many of the pictures
in those fine tales are real copies from life of
oriental customs and manners, which are common
in India. During the flourishing state of the Mo
gul empire, the court of the Khalif al Rashid, in
Bagdad, was scarcely so gorgeous as that of
Delhi. The shadow of its shadow only remains at
Hyderabad, but even stUl it is worthy of admir
ation. At the courts of many of the rajahs the an
cient customs and manners of India are preserved ;
but all the public ceremonies have been often
described. Many of the Hindoo ladies of high rank enter
into the schemes of government and the intrigues
z 4

•34 f- MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of state, with spirit and ability. They are not so
much confined as the wives of Mohammedans ;
and it is supposed, on good grounds, that previous
to the invasion of Mahmood of Ghizni, no such
thing as the seclusion of females existed in Hin
dostan. Certainly at this day there is no more of
it among some of the lower orders, than in Europe ;
but, agreeably to custom, women hide their faces
from strangers with part of their garment. Many
of those whom I saw seemed to me as intelligent,
as domineering over their husbands, and as per
fectly free in their habits, taking their local pre
judices into account, as our females of the same
rank. In the historical part of this work is
described the unembarrassed manner of. the queen
of Sattara, and also, in the sarae, mention is made
of two of Holkar's sisters, one of whom was be
headed by her chiefs, for interference with state
affairs, and the other commanded a division of
troops, when she surrendered to Sir W. Grant
Keii\ In short, we are not sufficiently acquainted
yet with the rights of women in Hindostan.
Material exceptions are to be made to any general
description of female life in the East. The pecu
liar customs respecting women in Malabar have
been noticed ; and even among the Mohammedans,
females have in some places extraordinary privi
leges. In the province of Jutwar, contiguous to
Cutch, the Jut women can, when they choose,
leave their husbands and marly other men. When

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 345
this is determined upon, the wife collects all her
acquaintances, breaks her husband's furniture, and
persecutes him till he agrees to a separation. The
females are held in such respect, that a traveller
cannot have a better protector than a woman in
passing through hordes of these robbers. In
Afghanistan, ladies have also great influence over
men. I have mentioned the consequence of a' veil
being sent to a chief there by a distressed female.
Many instances of sincere attachment came to my
knowledge among the middle orders in India, and
it certainly is but fair to extend what exists in part
to the whole. I consider the custom which enjoins
a woman to die with her husband, as a recognition
of love in the Brahmanical code, for, although it
springs from selfishness to call upon a beloved
object to perform a sacrifice repugnant to the feel
ings of nature, yet it proves that the introduction
of it contemplated man as unhappy in death, with
out the objects that contributed to his felicity in
life. The Mohammedans erect splendid monu
ments in memory of their wives, and the Tauje
Mahal, near Agra, is one worthy of particular
notice. This mausoleum was erected by the em
peror Shah Jehan, to commemorate the celebrated
and beautiful Noor Jehan Begum. It is about
190 yards square, in a superb enclosure of 300.
A dome rises from the centre, which is seventy
feet in diameter. At Noorabad, in the same pro
vince, there is another gorgeous monument situated

346 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
in a fine garden, laid out by Aurengzebe to per
petuate the personal and mental accomplishments
of Goona Begum, a princess celebrated for many
pathetic pieces of poetry written in Hindostannee.
Her shrine bears this simple but affectionate tribute
in Persian ; " Alas ! Alas ! Goona Begum."
The province of Aurungabad, in which a great
part of the Nizam's territory lies, contains many
curious ruins in its former capitals, Dowlutabad,
Aurungabad, and Ahmednuggur. * Dowlutabad
was taken about the year 1293, by AUah-ud-Deen,
and reduced to permanent subjection by Mallik
Naib, the emperor of Delhi's general, in 1306.
It became in the 14th century such a favourite
with the emperor Mohammed, that he injured Delhi
by his endeavours to establish his capital in this
central situation. But it is now a heap of ruins,
and all the glories of the Moguls in the west of
India, are absorbed by Bombay, the British capital
in this quarter, of which particular mention has
been made.
Surat, which for a long time continued the prin
cipal station of the East India Company's govern
ment, is still a very populous city, containing full
200,000 souls. It is situated on the south side of
the Tuptee river, about twenty miles from its junc
tion with the sea. This city is one of the most
ancient in India, and, it is said, still bears the same
* Vide Addenda, LII.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 347
name it did, when the Ramayuna, a Hindoo poem
of great antiquity, was written. It was called by
the Mohammedans of India, " The gate of Mecca,"
because the pilgrims embarked here for Arabia. At
this place the Parsees established themselves at an
early period. They are mentioned by Abul Fazel as
very numerous in his time. At present their number
amounts to about 15,000. In 1807 a census was
taken, and there were 1200 of the mobid or sacer
dotal class, and 12,000 of the behdeen or laity.
Surat is 177 miles from Bombay, 243 from Poonah,
and 1238 from Calcutta, via Nagpoor, lat. 21° 13'N,,
long. 73° 3' E.
In passing through the Deccan, a traveller is
struck with the different appearance of the Hindoos.
When in the Carnatic he was accustomed to tall
graceful figures, -with narrow chests and slender
bodies. As he proceeds through the DCccan and
Hindostan Proper, he observes these general cha
racteristics no more. The countenance assumes a
brighter tint, the limbs are strong, the shoulders
broad, and the stature that of the middle size in
England, with frequently those fine, manly, tall
fellows whom we so often see in Europe. The
Rajpoots are a race of as fine-looking athletic men
as could be produced in the world, while the moun
taineers and many of the Mahrattas seldom ex
ceed the height of five feet three inches. In the
higher classes of life the complexion is often that
of Spain and Portugal. Their clothing is of cotton

348 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
and silk, stuffed and quilted ; with warm Cashmere
shawls. The peasantry wear a coarse kind of
woollen, like camlet, which is perfectly water proof,
and made so as to cover the head and body. The
shepherds who tend the flocks, from whose wool
this stuff is manufactured, live with their famUies,
in many parts of India, in the deserts, having
moveable houses for their wives and chUdren, like
large baskets or beehives, and when exposed to the
weather, the men are perfectly secured by their
dress as if inside a tent.
The whole of Hindostan Proper is sacred ground.
All the rivers are dedicated either to gods or
goddesses, and every mountain, city, and village
have been the scenes of exploits, which form the
Hindoo mythological romances ; but the great
temples were nearly all destroyed or mutilated by
Mohammedan fury. Yet such was the persevering
spirit of the Indians, that they impressed many of
the Moguls with a belief of their absurd opinions.
Abul Fazel, who wrote a most able description of
the empire of Acber in 1582, assures us that the
river Sopra, near the ancient and sacred city of
Oojain, sometimes flowed with milk, at which he
expressed astonishment, but no doubt. In another
place he gives an account of the pilgrimages made
by the natives to Nagercote, a city on a mountain
in the province of Lahore, where devotees imagine
they obtain their wishes by cutting out their
tongues. " It is most wonderful," says he, " that

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 349
they grow again in the course of two or three
days, and sometimes in a few hours. Physicians
believe that when the tongue is cut, it wUl grow
again ; but nothing, except a miracle, can effect it
so speedily as is here mentioned." The royal
master of this fine writer was, however, an enthu
siast himself, and of a most superstitious turn of
mind ; no doubt his minister was of the same bent
when he credited such absurdities. Acber, it is
said, made a pilgrimage on foot of 230 miles, to
worship at the tomb of Khaja Moyen-ud-Deen,
for the purpose of obtaining male issue ; after
which he had three sons ; and of course this passed
as another miracle, performed by the greatest
Mohammedan saint ever known in India, the con
tributions at whose tomb still support 1100 peerz-
adas, or attendant priests. Here are the remains
of. a magnificent palace, built by Shah Jehan, in a
fine garden, and near it is the celebrated lake of
Pooshkur, where there are numerous Hindoo tem
ples round its romantic shore. The ruins of one,
destroyed by Aurengzebe, denote it to have been
of amazing magnificence. The statue of Brahma
is here, with four heads, the size of a man. Pil
grimages are made to this temple frora all parts of
India. But it would fill a volume to notice only
a few of the curiosities in this holy land, where
there are yet fine roads for several hundred miles,
shaded with fruit trees. Every thing bears the
traces of the country having been once culti-

350 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
vated like a garden, and civUised to the highest
degree. The ruins of Kanoge are situated in the province
of Agra, on the west bank of the Ganges, which
city is supposed once to have been the capital of
a vast empire. Its mouldering remains cover an
area equal to all London, but no temples of con
sequence remain, though the plain is covered with
broken idols and remnants of Hindoo worship.
Two mosques are now the only fabrics of conse
quence. This city was plundered and destroyed
in the invasion of Mahmood of Ghizni, in the
year 1018. Ferishta mentions some of its rajahs,
several years before, and describes it as a city of
wonderful splendour. Here the most general
language in India is said to have had its origin,
and it is but reasonable to suppose, that the empire
which circulated this tongue so diffusely over the
continent, under the name of Hindostannee, must
have been very extensive. Gour, which was the
great capital of Bengal, in ancient times gave rise
to Bengalee, which is only current in that pro
vince. Its ruins extend fifteen miles by three
or four in breadth, along the old banks of the
Ganges, in Rajemal, near the town of Maulda.
Many of its materials have been carried away to
buUd palaces and mosques in Moorshedabad ; only
a great mosque, lined with black marble, and
of exquisite workmanship, and two lofty gates
of the citadel, remain in a state of preservation.

,ME,MOIRS OF INDIA. 351
The still more ancient cities, which produced the
derivations from the Sanscrit, in which the sa
cred records of the Brahmans, Jains, and Budhists
are written, have passed away and left not a trace
behind, to reconcile the wide differences of opinion
of learned orientalists on the subject.
Many ingenious Europeans, in travelling over
India, and beholding such marks of remote an
tiquity and civilisation, which seem on a superficial
view to warrant the Brahmanical chronology, have
been staggered in their belief of scriptural history ;
I have heard several officers, whose understandings
were otherwise sound and acute, talk lightly of our
sacred volume, merely from the mental conviction
which they felt, that the time allotted for such
advancement in arts, science, and civilisation, was
too short for the march evidently made, till the
period when we have authentic accounts of this
part of Asia. I gave the subject, of course, most
attentive consideration, and I ara convinced that
no arguraent can be founded upon ruins, or
their non-existence ; for in one hundred years,
decay of buildings is so rapid in India, that cities
melt away almost like snow, having been at all
times built of perishable materials. The immense
size of towns, whose ruins we yet behold, is also
no good foundation to build any hypothesis upon :
for we have observed, in modern times, with what
rapidity, prodigious masses of men have been con
gregated to any point which became the seat of

352 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
empire. Kanoge only swelled the population of
Delhi, and Gour, of Moorshedabad, whUe perhaps
Palibothra sunk as Kanoge rose ; for we see the
common course which events' take in the East,
exemplified in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.
Nor was the advancement of the Hindoos ^'n art,
science, and civilisation ever such, as to establish
a very high scale for them in the antiquity of the
world. In rural economy, I admit, they seem to
have excelled nearly all nations. It is true, the
Hindoos in very remote times constructed amazing
pyramidal pagodas of huge stones, excavated
mountains, and cut down rocks by repeated strokes
of the chisel to resemble the forms of men and
beasts ; but the sculpture does not entitle the
artists to rank with ancient Greece, and it is
evident that when the Vedas and Purannas were
written, science was in its infancy. I must, how
ever, draw myself away from this subject ; but I
beg to refer any sceptical reader to Sir William
Jones's Essay in confirmation of the Mosaic re
cords. The ancient grandeur of India merged, in mo
dern times, in Delhi, which was once the largest
and most populous city in the world, having been
the capital of the Patau, and still that of the
Mogul empires. When in its most flourishing
state, it is said to have contained 2,000,000 of
souls, and its ruins at this day extend over a space
of twenty square miles. Modern Delhi, built in

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 353
1631, by the emperor Shah Jehan, is situated on
the western bank of the Jumna, 976 mUes from
Calcutta. It is seven miles in circumference, and
has seven fine gates of free-stone. An account of
the mouldering palaces, colleges, canals, and ex
tensive gardens here, would fill volumes. Many
of the mosques are still preserved in fine order,
particularly the Jama Musjid, or great cathedral,
which was built in six years, and must have cost
an enormous sura. The royal palace is about a
mile in circumference, and the gardens of Shali
mar are said to have cost 1,000,000 sterling.
Sensibility, in wandering over their ruins, sinks
into melancholy. All their walks and arbours are
now desolate, which were once full of life, beauty,
"and hope. Three thousand pavUions, mosques,
and sepulchres, lie around in mouldering heaps.
All these vast dilapidations of human ' splendour
may be seen at once, from the top of the Cuttub
minar, a celebrated pUlar nine mUes from Delhi.
It is 242 feet high, and consists of a base of 27
sides, fluted into semicircular and angular divi
sions. The great shaft has four balconies, at stages
up its altitude, which are gained by means of a
spiral staircase, and a majestic cupola of red granite
crowns the whole. It was built A.D. 1205, by
Cuttub Shah, whose tomb is near it, and it has,
therefore, stood 618 years. This minar is said to
have been intended for a grCat mosque, which was
begun, but not finished. About 50 mUes N. E.
A A

354 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of Delhi, on the old banks of the Ganges, are the
famous ruins of a once celebrated city called Has-
tinanagara which was held sacred by the Hindoos.
The natives say it was entirely destroyed by white
ants, and this, I suppose, has arisen from the pro
digious ant-hills near it, which rise up all round in
conical pyramids to a great height.
The Patans and Moguls have left behind them
vast monuments of their power in India. I was
at first surprised, in travelling over the country, to
observe very few bridges ; and those I saw in the
Carnatic and Mysore were only composed of pro
digious square stone pillars placed on their ends in
the river, and covered with similar stones. But
I soon discovered, that the great rivers of India
are so liable to overflow their banks during the
monsoon, that bridges over some of them could
not be constructed, that would withstand the im-
petuosity of the rush of waters. That wonderful
bridges were made in ancient times, we have
evidence by the ruins of the magnificent bridge
300 yards in length, at Sivana Samudra. Rammas
bridge, which is said to have united Ceylon to the
continent, I do not mention, because I believe it
to be, like the Giant's Causeway, a natural pro
duction. At Jionpore, in the province of Alla
habad, there is a bridge of ten aixhes, over the
Goomty river, which has stood since the reign of
Acber, although our troops have, I am most
credibly informed, frequently sailed over it during

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 355
the monsoon, and yet though submerged for many
days at a time, it has suffered no damage from the
current. This bridge is so complicated in its con
struction, that no native architect could build, or
place one like it now. There is another in the
province of Lucknow, over the Sye, of fifteen
arches, which is a fine specimen of Moorish archi
tecture. Near this capital is Constantia, the
palace erected by General Martin, who rose from
the ranks of the Company's service. Lucknow is
a very populous city, contains several splendid
fabrics, and here is the magnificently lighted se
pulchre of Asoph-ud-Dowlah, whose eccentricities
form an era in pageantry. The ruins of ancient
Oude are in this province, which city is mentioned
in the Ayeen Acbery to have been once 148 coss
in length and 36 in breadth, which perhaps is a
satire on native exaggeration, for a coss being at
least 1| English raUes, this measurement would
make it exceed all belief.
Benares, the most sacred city of the Hindoos,
situated on the Ganges, about 460 miles from
Calcutta, is the ancient seat of learning ; and con
tinues to be to all India what Rome was once to
Europe. It contains about 600,000 inhabitants,
and many of the houses are six stories high. Here
nearly all the rajahs and great Hindoos of India
have vakeels, who perform religious ceremonies for
them. The greatest pagoda was pulled down by
Aurengzebe, who, with its materials, built a pro-
A A 2

356 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
digious and magnificent mosque, from the minars
of which the city and its numerous temples, and
grand flights of steps down to the river, may be
seen with great advantage. About 8000 houses are
occupied by Brahmans, who live on charity, though
many of them are extremely rich.
To notice all the objects worthy of curiosity in
this quarter of the East, would considerably exceed
the limits assigned to these observations. Only
two or three others shall be briefly mentioned
before we close this book, which it is very earnestly
hoped contains a great deal of interesting matter,
with much information of a useful nature for young
adventurers to India.
The capital of Bahar is Patna, seated on the
south side of the Ganges. It contains about
150,000 inhabitants. In the British burying ground
there is a monument to commemorate the murder
of all the English here in 1763, two hundred in
number, by the German adventurer Somro, who
was in the service of Meer Cossim. Some writers
suppose this to have been the site of Palibothra;
while others give the preference to Allahabad,
which is seated at the junction of the Ganges and
Jumna. The fort of Allahabad is one of the
strongest in India, and the place is so sacred that
pUgrims repair hither to be drowned. Inside the
fort there is a most extraordinary excavation, of
vast magnitude, supported by pUlars. The natives
believe it extends under ground to Delhi, for the air

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 357
is SO impure, that no one has been able to examine it.
Another of these remarkable caverns is situated
near Gayah, in Bahar. It is a room with a vaulted
roofi forty-four feet in length, eighteen in breadth,
and ten in height, and dug_.OHt of solid rock, with
an entrance six feet high, and two and a half wide.
On the interior there are several inscriptions ; and
in the hills around are a great many other caves,
all supposed to have been dedicated to the worship
of Budha. Frora the pilgrims who resort thither,
a greater revenue is derived by government, than
from the pagoda of Juggernaut, the sum received
here annuaUy being about 16,000/.
Dacca is such a modern city, that it is not
noticed in the Ayeen Acbery, though it now contains
150,000 inhabitants, and exports the finest muslins
in the whole world. These beautiful specimens
of Indian manufacture are produced by the assist
ance of wheels, reels, and looms, of the most simple
form that can be conceived. Nothing but Hindoo
patience could accomplish such wonderfuUy ele
gant productions with such means. Some of the
women spin with the distaff", sitting on the edge of
a hole, which they make in the ground, sufficiently
deep for the length of the thread, and it is amazing
how even and fine they form it, with their deli
cately small fingers.

A A 3

358

CHAPTER II.
PREPARATION FOR INDIA, AND PASSAGE OUT.
The descriptions of young men who proceed to
India, may be classed under the denominations of
Company's civil, military, and marine servants ;
king's officers, and private adventurers. It is
necessary that they should all be well educated,
grounded in pure principles of moral and religious
duty, and accustomed, by regular scholastic discip
line, to notions of obedience and subordination ;
but it is certainly of more importance for a youth
to be well acquainted with European literature,
than to devote a precious portion of time in
studying oriental languages at home, when he is so
soon to be in a situation where he can assist theory
with practice.
In the above classification, all the young men
who go out as writers, curates, assistant-surgeons,
cadets, midshipmen in the Bombay marine, ensigns
in king's regiments, or as master's mates in the
Bengal pUot service, have a good prospect be
fore them. Certain allowances await them on
arrival in the country. A proper exercise of wis
dom, on their part, is not to fix their expectations

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 359
too high ; for the sanguine disposition of youth is
pregnant with great and very often fatal disappoint
ment. It will also be judicious for them to treasure
up this truth, that their prospects are in different
degrees essentially good. It depends, in a great
measure upon their own good conduct, to com
mand the smiles of health * and fortune. These
two fundamental principles of thought will guard
the mind against the encroaches of false hope and
dangerous despair. It is proper for the other de
scription of youth, I mean private adventurers, to
bear in mind that, unless they go out to some com
mercial establishment as free traders in the Indian
seas, or to be employed in some way by established
European settlers, there is not on the face of the
earth a worse theatre for action. The various
offices under government are filled with native
clerks, and there is scarcely an avenue open to
a stranger. If he be a well-educated person, he
can only look for employment as an assistant in
some of the schools at the presidencies, or as an
editor of a newspaper, or in some other chance
capacity, for which he may long look in vain. If
a tradesman he may find employment ; but unless
he has capital, the climate forbids his successful
establishment, for all laborious occupations are
performed by natives ; and Europeans in India soon
become so exhausted, as to be quite unfit for me-
' Vide Addenda, LVIL
A A 4

360 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
chanical exertion. A permission from the court
of directors of the East India Company, is neces
sary, for a private adventurer, which is generally
given in the form of a free mariner's indentures.
This, however, does not prevent the local autho
rities from ordering the stranger out of the coun
try if he misbehave, to do which they have absolute
power. But many Europeans have smuggled
themselves into India ; and if an adventurer be
very correct and circumspect in his conduct, he
will not find much difficulty in evading the local
regulations on this subject. *
It is assumed, that all young men who adventure
to India, embark for that distant region to better
their condition, with the hope of returning to their
native land for the purpose of enjoying that otium
cum dignitate which ought to be the reward of an
actively employed manhood. For this purpose,
habits of economy and care should be early formed,
and from the first conception of the idea of making
India the sphere of exertion for independence, a
regimen of both mind and body should be com
menced, and undeviatingly pursued. To presei've
health in India, strict temperance in all things is
indispensably necessary ; to acquire wealth, a fixed
practice of living under income, whatever it may
be. Youth most unfortunately often imagine that
they are called upon, when mixing with society,
* Vide Appendix, note 16.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 361
to imitate the highest in extravagance of expendi
ture. The generous principle from which this
imagination of the heart flows, is honourable to
man's nature, but discreditable to his judgment ;
for the increase of salaries is a reward for service,
and as etiquette has established a scale for expence
in proportion to rank, it is an absurdity for a junior
to ape seniority. It is like the dwarf foolishly at
tempting the stature of the giant, and generally
meets the fate of the frog in the fable, that burst
by over-exertion to rival the ox in size.
In fitting out for India, we would strongly ad
vise the young adventurer to take nothing with
him but what may be absolutely necessary. In
this small stock, we place a few very useful books
of reference. But to carry out the stores of camp-
equipage, the saddles, bridles, bales of broad cloth,
and varieties which many young men do, is alto
gether mistaken profusion. In nine cases out of
ten, the stock which a young gentleman takes out
is injured by want of care, or is of a different de
scription to that which he finds necessary on arrival
in India. He also discovers that he could have
equipped himself there at half the expence which
he did in London, and his regret and chagrin are
increased by the want of those means of which he
was deprived by rash anticipation. The wisest
plan is to embark with only what is necessary for
the voyage ; and with such scientific apparatus as
may be useful in all situations, either for amuse-

362 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ment or improvement, carrying out a bill on some
house of agency ; or a sum of money for equip
ment in India. The bill is the better mode of the
two, for it serves as an introduction, and provides
against probable loss, for the exchange on English
money varies very much in India, and a system of
fraud is practised on Johnny Newcorae at each of
the presidencies, which it requires no common
prudence to repel.
The passage to India now seldom exceeds four
months and a halfj but it is a period to which
great importance ought to be attached. An ad
venturer is fortunate, who meets with a gentle
manly experienced commander of the ship, for
much depends upon his temper and manner, in
keeping up proper ceremony and preserving that
agreeable harmony which is so very easily dis
turbed by selfishness and imprudence, in the nar
row sphere to which the passions and inclinations
of society are confined on board a vessel, where
there is no such thing as avoiding daily intercourse
without the most intolerable imprisonment. In
deed the situation of a set of fiery impatient young
men, cooped up within the sides of a wooden
house, surrounded by the ocean for four months,
is so critical that it requires every possible atten
tion and care to prevent the many unhappy conse
quences which may arise out of accidents. When
good temper and a general disposition to please
prevail, the hours fly away swiftly, and there is so

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 363
little to draw away attention while scudding before
the trade or monsoon, which steady weather is ex
perienced during the greatest part of an Indian
voyage, that an improving course of reading may
be pursued, and the mind invigorated while the
imagination is amused.
There is a roving disposition, or propensity, in
human nature, which leads young men to think
little of the pain of separation from the delightful
associations of boyhood till after departure. It is
then that the unobserved tear trickles down that
cheek which, perhaps, felt but a faint flush of
emotion when bidding adieu to objects, the loss of
whom affection had never been taught by expe
rience to appreciate. Even during the voyage,
the painful sensations of an exile, far from all he
loves, are not so keenly felt as when he lands, and
meets with none of those endearments which
usually awaited him upon returning home from
former excursions. The mind is very highly ex
cited during a voyage to India, and imagination is
kept on the alert by the most pleasing visions of
expectation. It often happens that these delight
ful day-dreams are found to be just as unsubstantial
vapours as their nocturnal sisters, and it therefore
becomes an exercise of prudence in every young
man, to prepare his understanding for a situation
in which he will require the full exercise of his
reason to combat those yearnings for a return to
joys which he is apt to imagine are fled for ever.

364 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
But he raay rest assured, that such feelings wUl
not continue to destroy his peace of mind; and
that he will soon form new associations and friend
ships ; to part with which will, at some future
period, occasion no inconsiderable wound to his
dearest sympathies. Let each adventurer, there
fore, think seriously upon these probable changes
in his mind, and he will be able to endure them
without that despair which has maddened several
araiable young raen into acts of suicide.

365

CHAPTER IIL
CAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED, ON ARRIVAE IN INDIA.
Upon landing at any of the presidencies, crowds
of natives, who speak tolerable English, press upon
strangers, and it requires no small share of pru
dence to guard against imposition. They approach
with the most insinuating addi-ess, and produce
characters which are calculated to remove sus
picion. The necessity a stranger is under of placing
himself in the power of some interested person, as
well frora want of information as for the supply of
his absolute wants, ensures eraployraent to great
numbers of the most cunning description of raen
in India. Their objects are, to get charge of the
luggage for the purpose of conveying it to some
tavern, the proprietor of which rewards thera for
bringing hira guests ; to engage such servants as
the stranger may require, all of whom pay for their
places ; to exchange English money and purchase
the refit, which every one requires after a long
voyage, by which they make considerable profit.
To avoid the consequences of reposing confidence
in such designing knaves, I would suggest that the
stranger should leave his luggage on board the
ship, and go on shore with any letters of introduc-

366 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
tion he may have, or for the purpose of reporting
his arrival at one of the public offices, where he
will receive information that may be serviceable..
Such young men as do not belong to the civil or
military service, will do well to be guided by the
advice of the captain of the vessel ; for I can as
sure them, that by placing themselves at the dis
posal of an agent, who will offer himself at the
landing-place, they may, probably, be led into
folly and inconvenience, which they will long re
member with deep regret. In short, I consider
caution on this head of such importance, that I
have known the worst misfortunes of several ad
venturers originate in connections which they acci
dentally formed with natives, on arrival in India.
The next point, to which I would advert, is the
caution that ought to be exercised in the choice of
companions. In general, our youth contract in
public schools, from mixing with ranks in life far
above them in fortune, notions of extravagance
and splendour, which are agreeable to the gene
rous and liberal feelings of that animated period
of existence. But if these propensities be not
checked, they inevitably lead to the formation of
habits, which completely destroy that prospect of
independence for which a man is adventuring his
life, and spending his time in an uncongenial
climate, at a distance from all the associations of
childhood. If the inconsistency of human nature
was not proverbially known, it would surprise any

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 367
man to behold young adventurers in India living
in such a state of intemperance and luxury, as if
the pursuit of pleasure and the expenditure of
wealth and health, were the objects for which they
had left the bracing regions of Europe, to sojourn
in the burning plains of Hindostan. It is a la
mentable fact, that the votaries of fashion every
where stimulate each other to excess, by a constant
struggle to make what is to follow surpass every
thing that has gone before in magnificence ; but,
in no part of the world, is this truth more obvious
to common observation, than in India, where a
rage for display seems to be a species of epidemic,
that attacks every stranger, if not resisted by sound
judgment and strength of understanding. I, there
fore, warn every young adventurer to reflect, at
the threshold of his undertaking, upon the views
which he and his friends have had, in making
India the scene of his operations, and to act in
consistency thereto, by avoiding companions who
evidently proclaim the danger of their course by not
following reason as their guide, which would lead
them to practise the strictest rules of self-denial, as
a sure and certain means of expediting the accom
plishment of their fondest hopes.
Instead of that profusion and waste of time and
money which characterise the youthful, civil, and
raUitary servants of government in India, the ra
tional aim of every one should be on his first
arrival to qualify himself for promotion, by ac-

368 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
quiring local information on all subjects, and
making himself master of some of the useful native
languages. The faculties of the human mind are
so actiye, that if intellect does not find them pro
fitable eraployraent, they wUl run into useless
luxuriance of their own accord, in the same way
that a rich garden yields a multitude of weeds, if
not supplied with proper seed to receive the benefit
of its generous fertility. Is it not most necessary,
therefore, for every adventurer to recollect, that if
he does not, on his arrival in India, lay the found
ation, or sow the seeds' of industry, patience,
perseverance, and care in his mind, that indolence,
restlessness, imbecility, and luxury wiU grow up
in their stead, and propagate their pernicious off
spring. But whilst I earnestly press upon the young
adventurer, the necessity of being reserved in his
general intercourse with strangers, I by no means
insinuate that he should not cultivate the society
of worthy young men of his own age and profes
sion. He should, on the contrary, endeavour to
become the centre of a well-selected circle of
friends. In the choice of them he should be guided
by the qualities of the heart, in preference to those
of the head. It is an araiable and philanthropic
disposition, to aim at improving others while we
endeavour to perfect ourselves ; to receive in
formation from those who can impart it, with the
generous intention of bestowing it on others, whose

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 369
opportunities may not have been equally fortunate.
I strongly advise every youth to shun the contagion
of vice and folly, but to look upon ignorance with
charity ; and, wherever the desire of improvement
is manifested, to encourage the young shoot that
may lead to excellence, with tender attention. It
was finely said of the late amiable Dr, Hunter,
who died at an early age in India,
" Though vers'd from earliest years in"classic lore.
Though rich in later times with Asia's store,
He never knew the vanity that flies
Association with inferior ties ;
But still with sentiments to nature warm,
Lov'd all that trifles in a human form."
Were young men not credulous and unsuspecting,
they would not be such objects of the fears, hopes,
and affections of their parents. We see in our
children our own green years, and whilst memory
recurs to the generous confidence, which we often
reposed on the smiling aspect with self-exultation,
she reminds us how frequently deceit and villany
lurked beneath, like vipers under a beautiful rose,
and we start with apprehension for the safety of
our offspring when first exposed to the treachery
of the world. It is happy for the young, that they
know not the dangers which surround them ; like
many a tall ship, they push over quicksands and
shoals, in ignorant security, the knowledge of
which might produce hesitation pregnant with
danger. B B

870

CHAPTER IV.
REMARKS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH RESI
DENCE OR SERVICE IN INDIA.
The civil and military servants of the Honourable
Company are not long in India before they become
important members of society ; for the civilians, as
soon as they pass through the college exercises,
are attached to some of the departments of govern
ment as assistants, where in time they advance to
distinction ; and military officers, upon joining their
regiments, become guardians over the happiness of
their inferiors, and, therefore, are responsible for
the discharge of most useful duties. Magistrates
in this country have not near so much infiuence
over the population as civilians in India have
among the lower orders of the natives. They may
inflict great misery, or promote the comfort and
enjoyment of all around them. By oppressive
conduct, either through the malevolence of their
own dispositions or by inattention to the native
agents, who act under them, many of whom are
rapacious and mercUess, they injure their own
reputation, and the dearest interests of their em
ployers ; but, by watching and promoting the

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 371
welfare of the poor unprotected Hindoos, they
both lay up a hoard of bliss for themselves, in
reflection upon the past, and materially serve the
cause of their country, whose pride and glory
consist in the justice and benevolence of her sons.
Both civil and mUitary adventurers, therefore, have
a wide and noble field before them in India, and
it should elevate their souls to reflect on the power
which they have of doing good.
In journeying over the extensive and interesting
regions, which young adventurers see in a few
years' service in the East, it is a inost dehghtful
thing to have the mind well stored with the his
torical occurrences which have rendered particular
places remarkable. Nothing, I beheve, expands
the understanding more than reflections upon the
past with a view to the benefit of the future. We
are thus carried away entirely from the selfish
present moment, and rest upon something that
raises us in our own estimation, because it is su
perior to our proper cares. To the mUitary stu
dent, India offers an ample school for instruction,
as weU as to the civUian. The former, while
viewing the scenes of battles and manoeuvres, will
learn to avoid those errors which led to defeat and
disaster, and to imitate the particulars which com-
manded victory and success ; whilst the civil as
well as the mihtary servant wUl sigh over the spot
where villany was achieved, and learn to despise
actions which are stamped with infamy.
B B 2

372 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
The prejudices of the natives of the country
should every where be respected, and their man^'
ners and customs studied, that no unintentional in™
suit may be oflfered, or injury inflicted upon their
minds. It is as cruel as it is ungentlemanlike to
scoff or ridicule strangers for things which make
them respectable in their own eyes, and respected
by their friends and associates. How would we
feel under the sneer of haughty proud foreigners
who laughed at us, because their vanity led them
to make what was familiar to themselves a univer
sal standard ? If we cautiously inquire, we shall
find a reason for almost every custom which has
been introduced into huinan society ; and although
Europeans are at first inclined to look upon the
manners and usages of the East as absurd, yet, in
time, they behold that every thing is the natural
effect of institutions. They soon discover that
many of the Hindoo customs are well suited to the
climate and nature of Asia, and learn to doubt
their own judgment of others, the use of which
they find beyond their comprehension. In this
temper of mind, a civil or military servant of the
Company in India will behave to all the natives in
such a manner as to command their respect, confi
dence, and esteem. It ought to be impressed upon
the understanding of every European in India, that
his individual conduct may be productive of good
or evU ; for men are every where inclined to pro
nounce upon the whole from the examination of

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 373
a part. How often is every country disgraced by
the shameful behaviour of particular members
of it.
A true Christian, while serving in India, will
pity the delusion of the Hindoos, at the same time
that he admires their faith and constancy. Instead
of considering them sunk below the level of human
respectability, he will set a proper value upon their
creed, and clearly perceive that their religion, bad
as it is, raises them above the atheist or scoffer at
divine things. He wUl behold them with that uni
versal charity * which his own sacred records
breathe, and, whilst he avails himself of such oppor
tunities as occur of diffusing the light of our Gos
pel amongst the Hindoos, he will carefuUy abstain
from all interference with their religious ceremonies.
No man of sound judgment and enlarged capacity
can doubt that Christianity wUl, in time, overthrow
the fabric of Brahma; but the influence of our
Holy Scriptures in Hindostan will not be known
till education has, like a pioneer, gone before and
cleared away the filth of prejudice and superstition.
This is, at present rapidly going forward, and I am
confident that God, in his own good time, will bring
about the total conversion of the Hindoos, agree
ably to his revelation. The arguments raised
against this by a late respectable French mission.
ary t, and also against the circulation of the Bible^
* Vide Addenda, LIII.
f Vide Appendix, note 17.
B B 3

374 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
are contrary to the promises of Christianity. The
Abbe Dubois may be perfectly right in saying
that the time for converting the Hindoos has not
yet arrived. For government to try experiments
on this subject, would be most dangerous. If our
government had aimed at the conversion of the
Hindoos, there is no doubt that a very numerous
Christian society would have been speedUy formed
amongst them ; but it has not been our policy ;
and perhaps it is wise to leave the word of truth
to its own influence. The efforts which are now
making in India to educate the natives, are, per
haps the most effectual towards the interests of the
Christian religion of any that have yet been made.
But is my humble belief, that if the British mission
aries were permitted to locate the converted Hin
doos upon the waste lands in our provinces, either
in conformity to ancient Hindoo civilisation, or to
plans found practicable in Europe for bettering the
condition of the poor, such a foundation for native
Christian society would be laid, as could never
again be shaken by the attractions of idolatry.
Round such a nucleus the native population would
gradually congregate, till civihsation * extended
from the mouths of the Ganges to the Indus, and
from the Himalaya mountains to Ceylon.
Young men go out to India, at that period of
life, when the love of pleasure and self-gratification
* Vide Appendix, note 18.

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 375
supersedes considerations of remote interests : the
future, for which life is risked in a dangerous cli-
mate, is sacrificed without refiection to the present.
Such is the inconsistency of our nature. Hence it
is, that so many amiable youths of most respectable
families form connections, by marriage in India,
which blight the fond hopes of their parents ; whUst
others become entangled by the voluptuous charms
of some sable beauty, and, before they are aware,
find themselves surrounded by a numerous offspring
of half caste Ulegitimates, the difficulty of provid
ing for whom embitters their future lives. Both
these dangers ought to be avoided by a sound
exercise of wisdom and restraint ; but I certainly
pity the youth less who marries and becomes the
father of chUdren of his own colour, of whom he
need not be ashamed,- than the unfortunate man who
entails disgrace upon the natural objects of his
affection, and who at length has to leave them in
an inferior walk of life, when he returns to his na
tive country. The Indian beauties, while young,
possess fascinations of the most bewitching descrip.
tion, and often fix the affections of Europeans to
such a degree, that every thing is sacrificed to
them. But they soon grow old and ugly, and not
being linked to the heart that fondled them by
mental congeniality, they are forsaken very often
for some young countrywoman, who adventures to
the East in search of a husband. Such is the
effect of familiarity in blunting sensibihty; thatl
B B 4

376 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
have known several of these cast mistresses and
their children receive very kind attention from the
ladies who supplanted them in affection ; whUst, in
other cases, I have discovered a deep source of un-
" happiness in the jealousy of the wife, who viewed
every tender remembrance of her husband for his
illegitimate children and their mother, as a declen
sion of her hopes, and an insult offered to her su
periority. Of all things I enjoin young adventurers
to form early resolutions against connections with
the half caste, Hindoo, or Mohammedan women,
either by marriage, or in the common way, as not
only involving their own happiness and future pros
pects in misery and disappointment, but entailing
upon others anguish and ignominy, for which the
gift of lU'e is no recompence.
Marriage, being the most important change in
life, deserves in every part of the world great cir
cumspection previous to contracting it. The
chances are numerous against happy marriages in
India, where young people meet, whose modes of
life have been very different. The gentleman is at
first sight charmed with a pleasing exterior, and in
the generosity of what he terms love, invests the
object of desire with every thing which his imagin
ation suggests as necessary to felicity. When it
is too late, such a precipitate wooer finds very often
that the disposition, temper, education, taste and
inclination of his choice are totally different from
his conceptions, and he is obliged to form himself

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 377
upon a new model, or to forego all his fond pictures
of conjugal bliss. Happy is the young adven
turer, who carries with him to India some image
of loveliness from the scenes of his boyhood, whose
impression and recollection wiU attract him back
again to form a union with sentiments and habits
similar to his own. Upon this principle I would
strongly urge young men to form resolutions against
marriage in India, during their first term, or ten
years of service ; at the expiration of which, they
should avail themselves of the privUege of return
ing home on leave, as well to renew their consti
tutional vigour, as to form a matrimonial plan of
life. Allowing that a youth goes out to India at
the age of eighteen, and returns home on three
years' leave when twenty-eight, he will then be in
the maturity of his judgment for fixing his own
happiness in the choice of a wife ; he wUl be esta
blished in his profession, in a fair way of providing
for a family, and at that period of life, when he
may reasonably expect to see his children settled
before the scene of this world closes upon him for
ever. Upon returning to India, he should exert every
energy he possesses to secure independence, or the
power of retiring from the service when he pleases.
For this noble purpose, from the commencement of
his career something should be saved every month,
and regularly transmitted to an agent, to be in
vested in government securities, as an accumulat-

378 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ing fund. It is wonderful how a small nucleus
increases, by a continual roll in this manner. In
short, very few fortunes are ever made in any other
way, and the young adventurer raay depend that
if he follows this plan, he will soon command
means which wUl ensure success, and warm the
frozen regions of the north, when he feels inclined
to exchange foreign heat for native cold. No man
should ever calculate on becoming independent by
chance. Industry, integrity, and perseverance
command fortune, and economy secures her favours
as a refuge, when activity fails from the inevitable
wear and tear of life. In every situation it is
man's best policy to be true to his trust, and faith
ful to his employers, never, therefore, let the ad
venturer to India be false to himself, when in
official situations, by robbing the public, or the
government, but, nobly just, return to his mother
earth, enriched with consciousness of his own
worth.

379

CHAPTER V.
ON RETURNING FROM INDIA, AND IN CONCLUSION.
With respect to the period of retiring from the
service, or returning home, much must depend
upon health and inclination. Numbers destroy
the happiness which they have in prospect, by re
maining too long, whilst others, by departing before
their independence is secured, lay up for them
selves subjects of chagrin and regret. The point,
where contentment should rest, is of such a move
able nature, that it requires firmness of judgment
to fix it. A man's mind expands, like his horizon,
as he advances, and, continually opening new de
sires and prospects, leads him often to place enjoy
ment within the precincts of imagination, instead of
the sober confines of reality and experience. He
ought at first to fix the object of his wishes, and
when he has realised it, sit down with gratitude
to the protecting power that enabled him to succeed.
I leave the choice of the period of retirement
to taste alone. After twenty years' service in India,
there are so many links to be broken in quitting it,
so many valuable old friends to be left behind, so
many familiar pleasures to be sacrificed, and habits
to be reformed on the prospect of returning home,
that he is riot an object of. envy who has to endure

380 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the struggle.. If he have a family to transport with
him, the heavy expenses attending their passage,
if his fortune be confined, wUl consume a consider
able part of his little fund ; and if he has permitted
his ideas of comfort in retirement to soar beyond
the bounds of simple sufficiency, he will be miser
ably disappointed. The real wants of life may be
supphed in this country by a very moderate for
tune, and much solid happiness enjoyed in social
retirement, but after the experience of luxuries in
India, which habit has constituted necessaries of
life, it requires a considerable exertion of sound
sense to bear those deprivations which the old
Indian has inevitably to endure.
The European mind falls into a warmth of liberal
feeling in India, which leads a man to expect much
from relations and friends upon returning to his
native shore, but there is no train of thought more
deceitful. It would be an ungrateful task to lay
open the selfishness that exists in all famUy circles ;
but I warn adventurers to secure their own inde
pendence by industry and economy, and never to
trust, upon coming home, to their nearest and
dearest blood for what they cannot afford to them
selves. When a man has returned to his native land,
let him not idly sigh for joys of which recollection
reminds him, but let him sit down with gratitude
to that God who has enabled him to realise his
reasonable expectations, assured that he is formed
to be happy in any situation, and that as much real

MEMOIRS OF INDIA. 381
enjoyment and comfort may be had under the free
constitution of his own country, as in any other
part of the world. He is, therefore, bound, where-
ever he may settle, not to become a drone, but,
like the busy bee, to contribute every thing in his
power to the prosperity of the hive to which he
belongs, the interest of his country, and the honour
of his king. In short, to crown an active life by
an useful old age, cheering the poor around him,
in proportion to his means. Thus he will find
his last reward, a grave amidst the tears and bless
ings of his neighbours,
I have at length come to the close of ray pro
posed plan. With most anxious hope that the con
tents of this volume may be useful in their practical
effects, I bid the reader farewell. 1 beg to assure
the British public, that I have been desirous of
promulgating only what should merit the good
opinion of thera and their posterity.
" Live we a longer or a shorter date.
If wise men praise us, or if blockheads hate ?
No — but the greetings of the good impart
Peculiar pleasure to the feeling heart :
Cheer the dull prospect of this earthly state.
And reconcile us to imperious fate."

APPENDIX.

Note 1.
The temple of Juggernaut is situated in Orissa,
on the bay of Bengal, about 300 mUes south-west
of Calcutta. By late accounts from India it ap
pears that its celebrity is upon the decline, and that
such vast multitudes do not now annually press
towards it as formerly. The following particulars
are abridged from the Rev. Dr. Buchanan's descrip
tion, in his " Christian Researches."
Such numbers of pilgrims die on their way to
this pagoda, that for fifty miles around the country
is covered with human bones. Hundreds of old
people travel annually thousands of miles to die
there. Some of the pilgrims measure the whole
way they have to travel with their bodies. The
dogs, jackalls, and vultures, live in the vicinity on
human prey, as the bodies are not buried, but left
to be devoured. When the crowds of pilgrims first
see Juggernaut, they raise a tremendous shout.
Around the pagoda for several miles it is like a
vast encampment. Sometimes great numbers are
killed by the rush of the multitude when the great
outer gate of the town is opened.
The idol Juggernaut, or the Moloch of the East,

384 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
is seated on a throne in the pagoda, between his
brother and sister, Boloram and Shubudra. He is
made of a large block of wood, having a frightfully
large visage, painted black. His arms are of gold,
and his apparel is gorgeous. The other two idols,
equally hideous, are of a white and yeUow colour.
Both sexes look with moral turpitude upon the in
decent figures, cut out of stone, that surround them
on the walls and gates. These idols are paraded
about on their cars or pagodas of artificial frame
work, seventy feet high, drawn along by men with
cables, during the days of the grand annual festival,
or Rutt Jattra, while the wheels are often red with
the blood of devotees of both sexes, that throw them
selves beneath, to be crushed to death. These devo
tees, with clotted hair, and painted bodies and faces,
are seen every where practising their various tortures.
It is supposed that there is constantly a multitude
of 100,000 souls^in and about Juggernaut, and the
wild shouts from this huge mass are appalling when
the idols are brought out of the pagoda, to be
placed on the triuraphal car. The multitude,
having green palms in their hands, fall down and
worship the idol : then the procession moves for
ward, preceded by elephants and dancing girls.
Upwards of one hundred priests are performing
the ceremonies in the different stories of the pa
goda. The priests sing and shout ; sometimes
telling the people that the god is pleased ; at others
that he will not move, and tha,t no force can draw
the car, unless he smUes and gives the approving
nod. Their action and gesture are altogether
lascivious, and the shouts of approbation in propor
tion to their grossness, are yells of sensual delight.
The idol is said' to laugh with joy when the wheels
of his car drink the blood of a devotee.

APPENDIX. 385
Juggernaut's annual expenses are :
His table  ^4,514
Wearing apparel - . - - 339
Servants' wages, dancing girls, &c. - 1,250
Contingencies ... - 1,373
Elephants and horses - - - 378
Rutt, or annual state carriage - - 839

£8,693

Note 2.

The military fanatics of India make it their glory
to sacrifice themselves in what they esteem a just
cause, and on such occasions not a man ever flinches
from his ground. An instance of their self-devotion
occurred at the battle of Argaum, 29th of Novem
ber 1803, in which the present Duke of Wellington
routed the army of the Berar rajah. It is told in
the following spirited manner by Colonel Stewart,
in his " Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland."
" The army was drawn up in one line of fifteen
battalions, the cavahy forming a reserve, or second
line, the 78th being on the right, and next to them
the 74th ; and the 94th forming the left of the line.
When this regiment (which was supported by the
Mysore horse) reached and formed on their proper
ground, the whole moved forward, the 78th direct
ing its march against a battery of nine guns, which
supported the enemy's left. As they approached,
a body of 800 infantry rushed out from behind the
battery, and, at full trot, made for the intervals be
tween the 74th and 78th. Surprised at this daring
advance, the regiment obliqued their march, to
close the interval, and with ported arms moved
forward in quick time to meet their assailants. But a
muddy deep ditch (before unperceived) intervened,
c c

386 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
and prevented an actual shock with the bayonet.
The enemy, however, stood by the ditch, with a
resolution almost unparalleled in Eastern troops,
firing till their last man fell. The following morn
ing upwards of five hundred dead bodies were
found lying on the ground where these men had
been drawn up. They were a party of desperate
fanatics, who fought from a religious principle."
Vol. ii. page 197-
Note 3.
Marriage takes place in India when the parties
are infants, the contract being entered into by the
parents. Upon which occasions an effort is made
to display all possible consequence, and the savings
of many years are expended freely in ostentation.
The young bride and bridegroom are paraded
about in carriages, palanquins, on horseback, or on
bullocks ; in proportion, to the circumstances of the
persons concerned, so is the magnificence or penury
of the exhibition ; and the extent to which this
vanity is carried may be conceived by the reader,
from the following abridged account of the marri
age of young Vizier Ally, as given in Forbes's
" Oriental Memoirs."
It took place at Lucknow in 1795. The nabob
Asoph-ud-Dowlah, whose adopted son the bride
groom was, had his tents pitched on the plain near
the city, two of which were lined with the finest
English broad cloth, and cost 50,000/., being each
120 feet long, sixty broad, and the poles sixty feet
high, with walls cut into lattice-work, for the sable
beauties of the seraglio, and those of the nobUity,
to see through. His highness was covered with
jewels, to the amount of at least two miUions
sterling. *' From thence," says Forbes, " we

APPENDIX. 387
removed to the Shumeeana, which was Uluminated
by 200 elegant girandoles from Europe, as many
glass shades with wax candles, and several hundred
flambeaux ; the glare and reflection were dazzling
and offensive to the sight. When seated under this
extensive canopy, above a hundred dancing girls,
richly dressed, went through their elegant, but rather
lascivious dances and motions, and sang some soft
airs of the country, chiefly Persic and Hindoo-
Persic." Thence they formed a procession to a beautiful
garden, and the march was grand beyond con
ception. " It consisted of about 1200 elephants,
richly caparisoned, drawn up in line, like a regi
ment of soldiers. About a hundred elephants in
the centre had houdahs, covered with silver ; in the
midst of these appeared the Nabob, mounted on
an uncomraonly large elephant, within a houdah
covered with gold richly set with precious stones.
The elephant was caparisoned with cloth of gold.
On his right hand was Mr. George Johnstone, the
British resident at the court of Lucknow ; on his
left the young bridegroom : the English gentlemen
and ladies, and the native nobihty, were intermixed
on the right and left. On both sides of the road,
from the tent to the garden, were raised artificial
scenery of bamboo-work, very high, representing
bastions, arches, minarets, and towers, covered with
lights in glass lamps, which made a grand display.
On each side of the procession, in front of the line
of elephants, were dancing girls, superbly dressed
(on platforms, supported and carried by bearers),
who danced as we went along. These platforms
consisted of 100 on each side of the procession,
all covered with gold and silver cloths, with two
girls and two musicians at each platform.
" The ground from the tents to the garden,
c c 2

388 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
forming the road on which we moved, was inlaid
with fire-works ; at every step of the elephants the
earth burst before us, and threw up artificial stars
in the heavens to emulate those created by the
hand of Providence ; besides innumerable rockets,
and many hundred wooden shells that burst in the
air, and shot forth a thousand fiery serpents ; these,
winding through the atmosphere, illuminated the
sky, and aided by the light of the bamboo scenery,
turned a dark night into a bright day. The pro
cession moved on very slowly, to give time for
the fire-works inlaid in the ground to go off. It
was further lighted by above 3000 flambeaux,
carried by men hired for the occasion. In this
manner we moved on in stately pomp to the garden,
which, though only a mUe off, we took two hours
to reach. When we arrived at the garden gate,
we descended from the elephants, and entered the
garden, illuminated by innumerable transparent
paper lamps or lanterns of various colours, sus
pended to the branches of the trees. In the centre
of the garden was a large edifice, to which we
ascended, and were introduced into a grand saloon,
adorned with girandoles and pendent lustres of
English manufacture, lighted with wax candles.
Here we had an elegant and sumptuous collation
of European and Indian dishes, with wines, fruits,
and sweetmeats ; at the same time about a hundred
dancing girls sung their sprightly airs, and per
formed their native dances.
" Vizier Ally was at this time thirteen years of
age, and his bride ten ; they were loaded with
jewels, so that they could hardly bear their weight ;
and the wedding ceremony was repeated for three
successive nights, to the no small gratification of
Asoph-ud-Dowlah's vanity."

APPENDIX. 389

Note 4,

Had the Marquis Wellesley continued in India
to complete his plans, it is supposed that the whole
system of human sacrifices would have been sup
pressed. His humanity and intrepid spirit stopped
the murders committed at Saugur Island, where, on
an average, there were twenty-three persons de
stroyed every month. His lordship passed a decree
in council, " declaring the practice to be murder,
punishable by death." The law, entitled a Re
gulation for Preventing the Sacrifice of Children at
Saugur, and other places, is dated the 20th of
August, 1802. This was a noble imitation of the
Mohammedan governors, who at one time saved
whom they pleased, and suffered no deluded female
or other person to commit suicide. But as the
practice is sanctioned by public opinion, no posi
tive law can entirely prevent it. We know the
effect of our own enactments respecting duelling.
Note 5.
The first Protestant mission to Tanjore or to
India, was founded by Bartholomew Ziegenbalg,
of the university of Halle in Germany. In 1707
he buUt a Christian church at Tranquebar, in which
he is buried. He translated the Bible into the
Tamul tongue in fourteen years. Our pious king,
George the First, patronised this learned missionary,
and with his royal hand wrote a letter to him and
John Ernet Grundlerus, at Tranquebar, dated
23d of August, 1717, in terms expressive of great
goodness of heart, and zeal for the cause. In this
letter, his Majesty says, that in his kingdom, " a
laudable zeal for the promotion of the gospel pre-
c c 3

390 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
vails," and he assigns that as a reason for the great
pleasure the success of the mission gave him, by
which he shows not only the ardour of his own soul
for the conversion of the heathen, but the desire
he felt to please his people : and in another letter
written to the members of the mission, ten years
afterwards, he says, " In the mean time, we pray
you may enjoy strength of body and mind, for the
long continuance of your labours in this grand work,
to the glory of God, and the promotion of Christ
ianity among the heathens ; that its perpetuity may
not fail -in generations to come."
The missionaries have been ever animated to
exertion, as well by the inspiring influence of God
a!s the heart-cheering eloquence of man. They
have numerous letters from the most learned men
in Europe, and the archbishop of Canterbury
aided the wishes of his sovereign, "George the
First, with all his power: — among many paragraphs
of his letter, written in latin, to the Protestant
mission at that time, are these beautiful words.
" Let others be pontiffs, patriarchs, or popes ;
let them glitter in purple, in scarlet, or in gold ;
let them seek the admiration of the wandering
multitude, and receive obeisance on the bended
knee. Ye have acquired a better name than they,
and a more sacred fame. And when that day shall
arrive when the chief Shepherd shall give to every
man according to his work, a greater reward shall
be adjudged to you. Admitted into the glorious
society of the prophets, evangelists, and apostles,
ye with them, shall shine like the sun among the
lesser stars in the kingdom of your father, for ever.
" O happy men ! who, standing before the tri
bunal of Christ, shall exhibit so many nations con-
Verted to his faith by your preaching : happy men !
to whom it shall be given to say before the assem-

appendix. 391
bly of the human race, ' Behold us, O Lord, and
the children whom thou hast given us :' happy
men ! who, being justified by the Saviour, shaU re
ceive in that day the reward of your labours, and,
also shall hear that glorious encomium ; ' Well
done, good and faithful servants, enter ye into the
joy of your Lord.' "
Dr. Buchanan speaks thus of the Tanjore Chris
tians from personal observation. " After the
sermon was ended, I returned with the missionaries
into the vestry or library of the church. Here I
was introduced to the elders and catechists of the
congregation. Among others came Sattianden,
the Hindoo preacher, one of whose sermons was
published in England some years ago, by the so
ciety for promoting Christian knowledge. He is
now advanced in years, and his black locks have
grown grey. As I returned from the church, I
saw the Christian families going back in crowds to
the country, and the boys looking at their oUas or
leaves upon which they took notes of the sermon.
What a contrast, thought I, is this to the scene at
Juggernaut ! Here there is becoming dress, human
affections, and rational discourse. I see here no
skulls, no self-torture, no self-murder, no dogs and
vultures tearing human flesh ! Here the Christian
virtues are found in exercise by the feeble-minded
Hindoo, in a vigour and purity which wiU surprise
those who have never known the native character
but under the greatest disadvantages, as in Bengal.
It certainly surprised myself; and when I reflected
on the moral conduct, upright dealing, decent
dress, and decorous manners of the native Christians
of Tanjore, I found in my breast a new evidence
of the peculiar exceUence and benign influence of
the Christian faith." c c 4

392 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

Note 6.

The Syrian Christians of Travancore inhabit the
interior of it. When Vasco de Gama arrived at
Cochin, in the year 1503, they had a Christian
king. At this early period there were upwards of
one hundred Christian churches. For 1300 years
before this, they had enjoyed a succession of bishops
appointed by the patriarch of Antioch. But the
Portuguese exercised great cruelty over them, and
subjected thera to the inquisition of Goa. It ap
pears that their religion was the same nearly as
the Protestant church of this day. Their priests
married ; they owned but two sacraments, bap
tism and the Lord's supper. They invoked no
saints, nor had they any images ; they did not be
lieve in purgatory, and had no other dignitaries in
their church but bishops, priests, and deacons.
St. Thomas established Christianity at a very early
period in Travancore, and at length suffered mar
tyrdom near Madras.
At Muttac^ierry, near Cochin, the Jews have
two respectable synagogues, and are divided into
two classes called Jerusalem or white Jews, and
ancient or black Jews.
The white Jews came to India soon after the
second destruction of the temple. On their ar
rival the king of the country granted them a settle
ment at Cranganore, A. D. 490. They continued
at Cranganore for nearly 1000 years under seventy-
two governors, and were joined by many other
Jews, but at last discord arose among them, and
one of their chiefs called in the assistance of an
Indian rajah with a great army and destroyed their
houses, palaces, and forts, driving thera from Cran
ganore, when they fled to Cochin and found an

APPENDIX. 393
asylum at Muttacherry. White Jews look upon
black ones as half castes. It is supposed the latter
came to India many centuries before the former.
Vide Rev. Dr. Buchanan, and other authorities.
Note 7.
TnEjains talkin their books of 2,000,000,000,000,000
sagaras, or oceans of years. Now a palya is an
estimate of the time a vast pit, fiUed with chopped
hair, would take to be emptied at the rate of one
hair in a century ; and a sagara is ten cotes of cotes
of times a palya, or 1,000,000,000,000,000 palyas
are equal to one sagara. Asiatic Researches, vol. ix.
Note 8.
The Suttee Jong, or age of purity, 3,200,000
years. The Tirtah Jong, or partial corruption, 2,400,000
years. The Dwapour Jong, or partial depravity,
1,600,000 years.
The Kalli Jong, or depraved age, 400,000 years.
It is believed that about 5000 years of the Kalli
Jong or present age have expired. In the first age
men lived 100,000 years ; in the second 10,000 ;
in the third, 1,000 ; and in this, human life is
limited to 100. Note 9.
" During the months of November and De
cember," says Dr. DeUon, " I heard every morn
ing, the shrieks of the unfortunate victims who
were undergoing the question. I remembered to
have heard, before I was cast into prison, that the

394 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
auto da fe was generally celebrated on the first
Sunday in Advent, because on that day is read in
the churches that part of the Gospel in which
mention is made of the last judgment ; and the
inquisition pretend by the ceremony to exhibit a
lively emblem of that awful event. I was likewise
convinced that there were a great number of
prisoners, besides myself; the profound silence,
which reigned within the walls of the building,
having enabled me to count the number of doors
which were opened at the hours of meals. How
ever, the first and second Sundays of Advent passed
by, without my hearing of any thing, and I pre
pared to undergo another year of melancholy cap
tivity, when I was aroused from my despair on the
11th of January, by the noise of the guards remov
ing the bars from the door of my prison. The
Alcaide presented me with a habit, which he
ordered me to put on, and to make myself ready
to attend him when he should come again. Thus
saying, he left a lighted lamp in my dungeon. The
guards returned about two o'clock in the morning,
and led me out into a long gallery, where I found
a number of the companions of my fate, drawn up
in a rank against a wall ; I placed myself among
the rest, and several more soon joined the melan
choly band. The profound silence and stillness
caused them to resemble statues more than ani
mated bodies of human creatures. The women,
who were clothed in a similar manner, were placed
in a neighbouring gallery, where we could not see
them ; but I remarked that a number of persons
stood by themselves at some distance, attended by
others who wore long black dresses, and who walked -
backwards and forwards occasionaUy. I did not
then know who these were ; but I was afterwards
informed that the former were the victims who were

APPENDIX. 395
condemned to be burned, and the others were the
confessors. After we were all ranged against the
wall of this gallery, we received each a large wax
taper. They then brought us a number of dresses
made of yellow cloth, with the cross of St. Andrew
painted before and behind. This is called the san
benito. The relapsed heretics wear another species
of robe, called the samarra, the ground of which
is grey. The portrait of the sufferer is painted
upon it, placed upon burning torches with flames
and demons all around. Caps were then produced
called carrochas ; made of pasteboard, pointed like
sugar loaves, all covered with devils and flames of
fire. " The great beU of the cathedral begun to ring
a little before sun-rise, which served as a signal to
warn the people of Goa to come and behold the
august ceremony of the auto dafe ; and then they
made us proceed from the gallery one by one. I
remarked, as we passed into the great hall, that the
inquisitor was sitting at the door with his secretary
by him, and that he delivered every prisoner into
the hands of a particular person, who is to be his
guard to the place of burning. These persons are
called parrains or godfathers. My godfather was
the commander of a ship. I went forth with him,
and as soon as we were in the street I saw that the
procession was commenced by the Dominican
friars, who have the honour, because Saint Domi
nic founded the inquisition ; these are followed by
the prisoners, who walk one after the other, each
having his godfather by his side, and a lighted
taper in his hand. The least guilty are foremost ;
and as I did not pass for one of thera, there were
many who took precedence of me. The women
were mixed promiscuously with the men. We all
walked barefoot, and the sharp stones of the streets

396 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
of Goa wounded my tender feet and caused the
blood to stream, for they made us march through
the chief streets of the city ; and we were regarded
every where by an innumerable crowd of people,
who had assembled from all parts of India to be
hold this spectacle ; for the inquisition takes care
to announce it, long before, in the most remote
parishes. At length we arrived at the church of
St. Francis, which was, for this time, destined for
the celebration of the act of faith. On one side of
the altar was the grand inquisitor and his counsel
lors, and on the other the viceroy of Goa and his
court. All the prisoners are seated to hear a ser
mon. I observed that those who wore the horrible
carrochas came in last in the procession. One of
the Augustine monks ascended the pulpit, and
preached for a quarter of an hour. The sermon
being concluded, two readers went up to the pul
pit, one after the other, and read the sentences of
the prisoners. My joy was extreme when I heard
that my sentence was not to be burnt, but to be a
galley slave for five years. After the sentences
were read, they sumraoned forth those miserable
victims who were destined to be immolated by the
holy inquisition. The images of the heretics who
had died in prison were brought up at the same
time, their bones being contained in small chests,
covered with flames and demons. An officer of
the secular tribunal now came forward and seized
these unhappy people, after they had each received
a slight blow upon the breast from the Alcaide, to
intimate that they were abandoned. They were
then led away to the bank of the river, where the
viceroy and his court were assembled, and where
the faggots had been prepared the preceding day.
As soon as they arrive at this place, the condemned
prisoners are asked in what religion they choose to

APPENDIX. 397
die ; and the moment they have replied to this
question, the executioner seizes them, and binds
thera to a stake in the midst of the faggots. The
day after the execution, the portraits of the dead
are carried to the church of the Dominicans. The
heads only are represented (which are generally
very accurately drawn, for the inquisition keeps
excellent limners for the purpose) surrounded by
flames and demons, and underneath is the name
and crime of the person who has been burned."

Note 10.
The baptist mission commenced about the year
1793. Dr. Carey is deeply learned in several of
the Indian languages, and Mr. Marshman is one of
the best Chinese scholars of the present day. At
the press of Serampore, translations have been
printed of the Scriptures in the Sanscrit, Bengalee,
Orissa, Mahratta, Hindostannee, Guzeratee, Seik,
Carnata, Telinga, Burman, and other eastern lan
guages. Note 11.
*' History," says Colonel Stewart, in his
*' Sketches," speaking of the storm of Seringapa
tam, which Major General Baird comraanded, " has
seldom produced a more striking difference in the
fortunes and circumstances of a man's life, than in
the case of this officer. He now entered as a con
queror within the walls of a town where he had been
led in as a prisoner, and kept in chains for three
years, suffering under the most cruel treatment, _yor
he was wounded and taken prisoner in Baillie's defeat.
As a conqueror, he showed a bright example of the
difference between ferocious and generous minds.

398 memoirs of INDIA.
His revenge, when retaliation was in his power,
was shown by endeavours to save the now prostrate
enemy and the inhabitants from the fury of his
troops, who knew what he and his brave fellow-
sufferers had been made to endure, and were con
sequently more than usually exasperated."
Note 12.
In some tribes of Rajpoots the female children
are destroyed, and wives are purchased from other
tribes. This unnatural custom is supposed to have
originated in pride. The Jerajahs, Jaits, and Raj-
kumars practise infanticide, and the mother herself
is comraonly the executioner, either by putting
some opium into the infant's mouth, or drawing
the umbilical cord over the face. Colonel Walker,
political agent in Guzerat, investigated the matter
by desire of Governor Duncan, whose humanity
prompted him to aim at its abolition. It had been
a custom there for 2000 years, and Broach or Bary-
gaza is mentioned by very ancient authors as its
chief seat. According to calculation, 300 children
were murdered annually in Kattywar and Cutch.
Colonel Walker's correspondence with the chiefs
of those countries is extremely interesting, and
fully detailed in the records of the times, but par
ticularly in Moor's Hindoo Infanticide. He en
treated many of thera to let their daughters live,
and at first received positive refusals and insulting
letters. A curious one from Futteh Mahomed,
to whom he wrote, in addressing the Row of Booge-
booge, is all I can insert. " It is notorious that
since the avatara of Sri Chrishna, the Serajahs, who
are descended from the Jadoos, have^ during a
period of 4,900 years, been accustomed to kUl their
daughters ; and it has no doubt come to your

APPENDIX. 399
knowledge that all of God's creation, even the
mighty emperors of Hindostan, besides all others
the conductors of the affairs of this world, have
preserved friendship with this court, and never
acted in this respect unreasonably. But you, who
are an amir of the great sircar, the Honourable
Company, having written to me on this subject, I
have felt much uneasiness, for it does not accoi'd
wath your good character. This durbar has always
maintained friendship with the Honourable Com
pany ; and notwithstanding this, you have acted so
unreasonably in this respect, that I am much dis
tressed. No one has, until this day, wantonly
quarrelled with this court, who has not, in the end,
suffered loss. Do not again address me on this
subject." Nevertheless, Colonel Walker did per
severe, and at length by publicly discussing and
exposing the enormity of the practice, many of the
supporters were led to abhor infanticide ; and
although Governor Duncan had only received a
cold approval frora his superiors, he had- the satis
faction of saving raany thousands of infants by his
spirited and benevolent interference through Colo
nel Walker. The suprerae government acknow
ledged that his plan was worthy of humanity ; but
added, . " the speculative success of it cannot be
considered to justify the prosecution of measures
which may expose to hazard the essential interests
of the state." Yet it is probable that no specula
tion in India ever raised the British character so
high in the estimation of the natives ; for many of
the mothers came, some years afterwards, to Colo
nel Walker's tent in Kattywar, and placed their
female children in his hands with all the natural
marks of affection, emphatically calling their little
ones his children. Public opinion, however, was
still adverse to the preservation of them, for, in

400 memoirs of INDIA.
many instances, the little ones were disguised as
boys. The innocent creatures appeared ashamed
of acknowledging their sex, and assured Colonel
Walker that they were not girls, calling on their
fathers with infantine simplicity to corroborate
their assertions. Ffteen Years in India.

Note 13.
It is really melancholy to think that a custom
should be supported for ages by men, which de
prives children of their mother when it is the will
of Providence to call away the father. Can any
thing be more affecting than to see a lady in the
bloom of life, decked with flowers, arrayed in all
her jewels, perfumed and painted, led round the
funeral pUe of her husband, amidst the exulting
shouts of a crowd, to be consumed by blazing
faggots ? In some parts of the Carnatic, a pit is
made, and the widow leaps into the flames, or is
thrown in by the Brahmans. But in most other
places, she takes the dead body in her arms, kisses
it, and places the head on her bosom, as she sits
down in a sort of shed erected over the funeral
pile. A procession then goes round it, great
shouts are raised, and it is set on fire. If the blaze
spreads properly, pain is over in a few moments,
for the smoke produces suffocation ; but the fire is
sometimes so bad, that the legs and arms are
roasted before life is extinct. But what fortitude
it requires on the part of the victim to see the
preparations, to go through the ceremonies, to dis
tribute presents ! All which she is expected to do
with ease and satisfaction. The Roman lady who
showed her husband how to die, and presented
him with the dagger reeking from her own heart,
exhibited not an example of greater magnanimity
than that of a Hindoo wife performing suttee.

APPENDIX. 401
The sacrifice of human life in this way is enor
mous, for sometimes great numbers of concubines
perform suttee, in common with the widows of a
deceased great man. In the year 1803, it was as
certained that two hundred and seventy-five widows
were burned with their dead husbands within thirty
miles of Calcutta ; and in 1804, one hundred and
fifteen suttees were performed near the city. Al
lowing two millions of Hindoos within the circle
of this estimate, and seventy millions for the num
ber of natives in India who observe that ceremony,
the annual loss of lives is little short of 7000. On
the 12th of September 1807, near Barnagore, three
miles from Calcutta, the body of a Koolin Brah
man named Kristo Deb Mookergee, who died at
the age of ninety-two, was burned. He had left
twelve wives, three of whom were burned with
him. One was a venerable lady, having white
locks. Being unable to walk from age, she was
placed upon the pUe by the Brahmans. The two
others were young, and one of them was very
beautiful. The old lady was placed on one side of
the body, and the two others on the opposite side,
when an old Brahman, the eldest son of the de
ceased, set the pUe on fire, which was instantly in
a blaze, amidst the shout of Brahmans, and din of
tom-toms and tooteries which drowned the dying
cries of the victims. *' The Koolin Brahmans,"
says Dr. Buchanan, " are the purest, and marry
as many wives as they please. Hindoos think it
an honour to have a Koolin Brahman for a son-
in-law. They sometimes have great numbers of
wives. Rajeb Bonnerjee, of Calcutta, has forty ;
Raj Chunder Bonnerjee, forty-two; Ramrajee
Bonnerjee, fifty ; and Biijod Bookerjee of Bisram-
pore, now dead, had ninety." Fifteen Years in India,
D D

402 memoirs of INDIA.

Note 14.
The plans of Marquis Wellesley for the govern
ment of India were so far beyond the grasp of
common men, that they were misrepresented at
the time, and ill-understood afterwards, by those
whose duty it was to foUow the road prescribed by
his lordship's genius.
During the decline of the Mogul empire, many
of the Hindoo princes usurped power which was
invariably directed towards the accomplishment of
ambitious views. The whole country was thus
gradually involved in war, and it became a scene
where every petty chief enriched himself by plun
der, and acknowledged no right but that of the
sword. When the British government became
possessed of the power which the Mogul emperor
was no longer able to use for the benefit of man
kind, it became a duty to reduce those turbulent
chiefs to obedience, or at least to neutrality. As
extension of territory was not the policy of the
Honourable Company, and therefore, the conquest
of native independent princes prohibited, the
local British authority in India found it a most
difficult task to deprive them of external political
power. The Marquis Wellesley's system com
prehended a general plan of neutralising their pri
vate operations, by placing a subsidiary force in
the dominions of each : a number of smaU well-or
ganised bodies ready to move in any direction upon
the shortest notice, composed of British troops and
well-disciplined natives, at the disposal of a poli
tical agent at the different native courts, being thus
in a sort of well-connected chain stationed through
out India, would be fully sufficient to secure the
peace and prosperity of the country. In short, a

AJ'PENDIX. 403
subsidiary force has the effect of reducing a native
prince almost to the level of a subject, without
depriving him of the pomp or consequence, within
his own dominions, of sovereignty. Nearly all the
native princes are now either directly or indirectly
reduced to obedience, and deprived of political
power ; which effect the Marquis Wellesley clearly
foresaw, from the operation of his subsidising plan.
Others considered it so pregnant with danger, that
its practical operation to the full extent was left
to be proved by the talented nobleman who has
lately returned crowned with glory from the East
Note 15.
In the year 1797, America was admitted to a
free trade with India and China, and from that
period the East India Company of England, being
undersold both in the Indian and European mar
ket, sustained very serious losses.
The merchants of Great Britain, from the above
period, endeavoured to participate unrestrictedly
in the valuable trade to those distant countries ;
but the court of directors met their applications to
parliament with such strong arguments, that their
object was frustrated till the renewal of the charter
in 1813, by Lord Castlereagh's BUl, when a free
trade with India was granted to the subjects of
Great Britain under certain restrictions.*
Scarcely any alteration took place in the Com
pany's political power, except by a small increase
of the infiuence of the crown, in regard to the
nomination of governors-general. But a free en-
trance to the chief ports of India was granted to
all British speculators, on condition that their
voyage should be made in conformity to local
* Vide Addenda, LVI.
D D 2

404 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
regulation, and their return restricted to such
harbours as were to be fixed by a decision of the
Privy Council. This free trade was to be carried
on by vessels not exceeding 350 tons burden, and
piece goods were only to be introduced into the
port of London. The China trade, however,
which is the only source of commercial emolument
to the Company, is secured to them exclusively by
charter. Note 16.
The government of India is in many respects
armed with despotic power ; and it is necessary
that every adventurer should know how his right
of loco-motion is circumscribed ; how he may be
removed from acquired property and connection
without trial or condemnation before any court of
justice ; and how he is prohibited fiom publishing
his free opinion upon public occurrences, by the
press being under the censorship of the chief secre
tary to government at the three presidencies.
No European is permitted to travel in India,
or to go into the interior, without a passport, except
ing civU and military servants of the Company,
when on route to join their stations or regiments.
Any European may be sent home from India,
by an order in council, at a moment's notice, whe
ther he has a licence to remain or not, if the go
vernment deem him a dangerous subject.
The liberty of the press does not extend to
India, and as government there have power vested
in them by charter, to frame such regulations as
they may consider expedient, they can suppress
any newspaper or public print that dares to write
in opposition to their views.
Mr. Buckingham, a gentleman of great talent,
who established a popular paper in Calcutta, in

APPENDIX. 405
1818, which obtained such circulation as to ensure
to hira and his family the prospect of independence^
has lately been sent home for giving publicity to
matter offensive to the powers in authority there ;
but as his case is now before the pubhc, and hkely
soon to become the subject of legal investigation*
I shall merely allude to it as illustrative of my
text. With respect to the right of loco-motion, I am
convinced that nothing would be more injurious to
the interest of Great Britain, or inhuman to the
Hindoos, than to permit speculative Europeans to
wander away from the presidencies at pleasure.
They would every moment insult the natives by
ignorance of the usages of the country ; and if they
happened to be designing men of talent, their
ability would soon be directed to the Company's
destruction. There are instances on record of
European deserters in India becoming most daur
gerous enemies : existing circumstances, therefore,
justify the first regulation. But as to the second,
it appears to be a most dangerous exercise of power,
and fitter for a Hindoo or Mogul government^
than one deriving its functions from the British
parliament, the zealous guardian of a free constitu
tion. To tear a man away from his property, to
injure him, perhaps, irreparably in his prospects, to
break his mind, and to cloud his days with adver
sity, without the verdict of a jury, that bulwark
of a Briton's birth-right, seem to me monstrous
things, unjustified by any necessity. If there was
no tribunal in the country, before which alleged
crime could be proved and punished, exigency
might apologize for an arbitrary act. It is deeply
to be lamented that such a power should be given
to a government that owes obedience to a king
who has no such authority; and it seems to my
D D 3

406 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
understanding so absurd, as to deserve a place in
the catalogue of human inconsistencies.
On the subject of the last right possessed by the
government of India, I beg to observe, that the
freedom of the press has done so much for the
civilisation and improvement of the whole earth,
that it is a most deplorable misconception to arrest
its operation in any part of the world ; to correct its
abuse is another matter. Truth is the brightest ob
ject of human pursuit : and it never blazes with more
effulgence than when placed in opposition to false
hood. Discussion elicits truth, therefore the free
utterance of opinion serves truth. Why it should
be dangerous to make the truth known every where,
I cannot perceive ; seeing that truth should be the
delight of virtue. To deny freedom to the press is
to say, " I am afraid that my motives should be
examined." Happy is the man who has such a
mentor ! Happy is the king, or governor, who can
sit alone and read what he believed was unknown
to all but his own conscience ! Such a person may
change his course ; he may be drawn away from a
precipice. In short, it is the freedom of the press
which has forced our kings for ages to be true
friends to themselves, which has prevented revolu
tion, and which, perhaps, is that unknown principle
that invigorates the constitution of England, and
restores her to health and youth periodically. I
cannot clearly understand how a free press in India
could do harm, if it does good in any other
country. It is the will of the British parliament,
and the court of directors, that the inhabitants of
India should be governed equitably ; civilised and
enlightened by the diffusion of education. What
can contribute more effectually to this than a free
press ? Will not every Hindoo say, when he
hears that it is not permitted in India, '• The Com-

APPENDIX. 407
pany's servants are afraid to have their actions
scrutinized by competent witnesses — they dare not
appear before the bar of public opinion." How
ever, I am aware that a great deal may be said on
the other side. I also know that the utmost
liberality characterises the government of India on
all subjects connected with literature, philosophy,
and religion. It is only on political topics that the
editor of any paper in India is restrained; and
when I reflect upon the state of that country, and
the folly of particular editors, there may be strong
reasons given for the right exercised by the local
authorities. In short, I doubt my own opinion on
the subject. Note 17.
" The question to be considered may be reduced
to these two points," says the Abbe Dubois, late
missionary in Mysore ; — " First, Is there a possi
bility of making real converts to Christianity among
the natives of India? Secondly, Are the means
employed for that purpose, and above all, the
translation of the Holy Scriptures into the idioms
of the country, likely to conduce to this desirable
object ?
*' To both interrogatories," continues the Abbe,
" I will answer in the negative ' it is my decided
opinion, first, that under existing circumstances
there is no. human possibUity of converting the
Hindoos to any sect of Christianity ; and, secondly,
that the translation of the Holy Scriptures circulated
among them, so far from conducing to this end,
will, on the contrary, increase the prejudice of the
natives against the Christian religion, and prove in
many respects detrimental to it.
" If any of the several modes of Christian
worship were calculated to make an impression,
D D 4

408 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
and gain ground in the country, it is no doubt the
Catholic form, which you Protestants call an idolatry
in disguise : it has a pooja, or sacrifice (the mass is
termed by the Hindoos pooja, literally sacrifice) ;
it has processions, images, statues, tirtan or holy
water, fasts, tittys or feasts, and prayers for the
dead, invocation of saints, &c., all which practices
bear more or less resemblance to those in use
among the Hindoos. Now, if even such a mode of
worship is become so objectionable to the natives,"
(he has before said that it was hated and despised)
" can it be reasonably expected that any one of the
simple Protestant sects will ever prosper among
them. " The naked text of the Bible, exhibited with
out a long previous preparation to the Hindoos,
must prove detrimental to the Christian religion,
and increase their aversion to it, inasmuch as this
sacred book contains in almost every page accounts
which cannot fail deeply to wound their feelings,
by openly hurting prejudices which are held most
sacred. " What will a well-bred native think, when, in
reading over this holy book, he sees that Abraham,
after receiving the visit of three angels, under
human shape, entertains his guests by causing a
calf to be killed, and served to them for their fare ?
The prejudiced Hindoo will at once judge that
both Abraham and his heavenly guests were no
thing but vile pariars ; and without further reading
he will forthwith throw away the book, containing
(in his opinion) such sacrilegious accounts.
" In the mean while he will become more and
more confirmed in the idea, that a religion which
derives its tenets from so impure a source, is alto
gether detestable, and that those who profess it
must be the basest and vilest of men.

APPENDIX. 409
" Such are the effects which, in my humble
opinion, the reading of the naked text of the Bible
cannot faU to produce on the unprepared minds of
the prejudiced Hindoos." Note 18.
The Marquis Wellesley founded the College of
Fort WUliam on the 4th of May, 1800. From that
period till 1807, it produced about one hundred
volumes in oriental literature, on subjects most in
teresting to mankind, and connected with the
civilisation of the East. This establishment is still
carrying on the diffusion of knowledge, though
now on a much reduced scale. The Asiatic So
ciety, formed by Sir William Jones, have contributed
largely to information on Indian subjects ; and
the Bombay Literary Society also deserve the
thanks of mankind for their exertions. But there
is a general apathy complained of in the British
public respecting their extensive empire in the
East, which is deeply to be lamented. There is, in
fact, no sympathy between the Western and Eastern
world. In manners and customs the people of the
West are a distinct race from those of the East, and
it would never be suspected by a person unac
quainted with history, that both originated in the
same stock. Yet there is such a grand field for
the expansion of benevolence and philanthropy
in the consideration, that upwards of 100,000,000
of our fellow men may be eternally benefited by
the interest which we take in their welfare, that
the coldest heart should be warmed into a lively
glow on such a subject.

ADDENDA,

On a second revision of this work, the following notes occurred
to the author, not only as illustrative of the text, hut as useful to
young persons.

I.
In travelling from the river Burrumpooter or,
more classically, Brahmapootra, which is the largest
river of India, through Bootan, Nepaul, Lahore,
and CabiU, to the city of Herat, on the borders of
Persia, we find these regions bounded, on the north,
by one continued chain of mountains. This range
from its eastern extremity, in about lat. 28° and
long. 93°, on to Cashmere, runs in a north-westerly
direction to lat. 35°. In this course it is known by
the name of Himalaya, which means region of per
petual snow. But from Cashmere to its western
extremity it bears the name of Hindoo Coosh,
which is the particular designation of one of its
highest snowy peaks. The highest peak in this
prodigious range of mountains is called Dhawala-
geri. It has been ascertained to be 27,677 ^Q^^t
above the level of the sea. No part of the Andes,
in South America, towers to such an amazing

412 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
height. It is, therefore, the highest mountain, at
present known, in the world. The skeletons of
horses have been found, in these mountains, so far
from the plains, that they never could have existed
in such a situation. It is a curious fact in geology.
Along with many others of a similar nature, it tends
to confirm our sacred account of the universal
deluge. IL
The shawls of Cashmere supply the whole civi
lised world. It is said, they are manufactured at
sixteen thousand looms, each of which gives em
ployment to two or three men. The work is so
inconceivably tedious, by which the fine patterns
are produced, that not more than a quarter of an
inch is completed in a whole day. It is not un
usual to find a loom occupied with one shawl for
an entire year. When the pattern is new or very
intricate, the superintendent workman describes to
those under him the figures, colours, and threads,
which they are to use, keeping before him the draw
ing from which he makes them work. His wages
varies from eighteen pence to two shillings a day ;
while the common workmen receive from three-
halfpence to sixpence daily. The wool is imported
from Tibet in bales or packages of twelve pounds
weight, at an expense of 11. 8s., or thereabouts
each. It is said there are about 80,000 shawls
manufactured, on an average, annually in Cash
mere ; which would be five for each loom, for
although a very fine one would occupy a loom per
haps a year, yet ten or twelve of the inferior sort
may be fabricated in that period.

ADDENDA, 413

IIL

The beautiful vale of Cashmere, the happy
valley, as it is called, is nearly one hundred miles
in length, and siurounded by high mountains which
enclose it on every side. Its soil is fertUe, and
watered with innumerable streams, which flow
down the mountains and serve to supply the several
lakes that are situated in the valley. The climate
is delightful, and, what is most singular, it abounds
in the various fruits and flowers of both northern
and southern regions. The town of Cashmere, or
the capital of the province, is situated on the river
Thelum, over which there are three wooden bridges.
All the houses in Cashraere are built with flat roofs,
covered over with a thick bed of mould, and planted
with flowers, which, in the summer season, present
a most lively appearance. IV.
No scenery can be more romantic and subhme
than the general aspect of Nepaul. The snowy
regions or Himalaya seem to hang over it. All
the country is extremely mountainous, and inter
sected with numerous rivers. The roads are cut
in the sides of the mountains, and often seem liter
ally to hang over the deep wide precipices that
yawn beneath. Here and there, villages are to be
seen perched on their lofty sides ; and low down
in the valleys are fishermen's huts scattered along
the banks of the streams. In some parts the
sides of the mountains are covered with tall forests,
chiefly composed of the pine tree, which here grows
to a great size, and is so resinous that its branches
serve for torches. Many of the common trees are

414 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
serviceable to the natives not only for building,
dyeing, and making cordage, but for food, the
pith, in times of scarcity, supplying the poorer
classes with an inferior kind of bread. It is surpris
ing to see how cultivation has crept up these preci
pices. Corn-fields can be traced to the very sum
mits of some of them ; for industry wUl conquer
even the most barren and stubborn land- The
husbandman here builds a succession of strong walls,
at different heights upon the declivity. He then
fills up the intervals between every two with soil, so
that a succession of levels is formed for the reten
tion of water, and the nutrition of various crops.
Thus they are imitating the Chinese.

V.
It appears that, notwithstanding the intricacy and
difficulty of the Chinese language, the art of print
ing was known in that country at a very remote
period. We can easily conceive, how an expert
hand may put together the words of the English
language, which are composed of twenty-five letters,
from moveable types, arranged in compartments
before him. But the Chinese language consists of
80,000 different characters. It would, therefore,
be impossible to lay out such a number of letters
before a printer ; for he might require hundreds of
each in printing one book. Our improved method
being impracticable to the Chinese, they are far be
hind us in the art of printing. Their books are
issued from the press in a very different way from
ours. Every work is first engraved on thin boards,
each of which is the size of two pages. The board,
when wet with the ink, is stamped down on the
paper, and thus two pages are struck off' at once.

ADDENDA. 415
which are folded together, with the blank sides in
wards. When sewed into a book, the fold forms
the outer edge of the leaves, which are never cut.
After the edition is worked off, the boards are care
fully laid up, to reprint the work at any future
time.

VI.
Assam is an extensive country to the north-east
of Bengal, governed by an independent rajah. In
length it is 7OO miles by 70 the average breadth.
The 25° and 28" of north latitude, and 94<* and
99° of east longitude may be said to comprehend
this mountainous region. It is watered by the
Brahmapootra river. No country, perhaps, in the
world of equal extent, has so many navigable
rivers. Besides the great Brahmapootra, sixty
streams have been ascertained to flow from the
mountains through its valleys ; thirty-four firom the
north, and twenty-six from the south ; all of which
are of sufficient depth, during the rains, for boats
of the largest size ; and a very great many of thera
admit a commercial intercourse, at all seasons, on
shallow boats. Gold is found in the winding beds
of these rivers, in great quantities.
In 1582, this country was described by Abul
Fazel, as follows ; " The dominions of Assam join
to Camroop ; he is a very powerful prince, lives in
great state ; and, when he dies, his principal at
tendants, both male and female, are voluntarily
buried alive with his corpse."
The country is now thinly inhabited ; for at the
death of every rajah, bloody wars take place, be
fore the succession is settled. These have desolated
the fertUe vales of Assam. Gergong is the capital ;
but the Swerga-rajah, or rajah of the heavens.

416 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
which is his blasphemous title, resides at Rung-
poor, a strong mUitary post near Gergong. In
1793, a detachment of British troops assisted maha
rajah Surgee Deo in regaining his throne, from
which he had been expelled by an insurrection.
Their services were requited by a commercial
treaty with the Bengal government ; since which
time an intercourse has been kept up ; but the cli
mate of Gergong has been found fatal not only to
Europeans but to the natives of Bengal.
VIL
Above the town of Rangoon, which is situated
at the head of a bay, formed by the mouth of the
river Irawaddy, stands a beautiful temple. It is
built on a rising ground, which is ascended by a
flight of 100 magnificent steps. Round the sum
mit of the hUl, terraces are cut and planted with
rows of trees, whose rich foliage gives good effect
to the lofty spires of the temple that rise above it.
The centre and tallest of the spires is crowned at
top with a sort of cup, in the form of an umbreUa,
which, as well as the spire that supports it, is
richly gilt, and glitters beautifully in the sunshine.
At Pegu the great temple has 100 tall spires, all
richly gUt; and they seem, at a distance, like a
forest of gold ; whence the edifice is called the
Golden Temple. The centre spire, with the cap
or umbrella, is fifty-six feet in circumference. It
is called the Tee ; and round its rims are hung a
multitude of small bells, which keep up such a
continual sound, that the Tee is heard, night and
day, at a considerable distance.

ADDENDA. 417

VIII.

The emperor's palace, in the city of Ummera
poor, is a spacious stone building with four gates.
Its east entrance is caUed the golden gate ; its
west, the gate of favour ; its south, the gate of
justice ; and its north, the gate of state. Our
ambassadors entered at the golden gate, and passed
through different superb apartments to the hall of
audience, which was supported by seventy-seven
pillars. At the end of it is a high gUded lattice,
which conceals the throne. On his majesty's ar
rival, the folding doors of this lattice were thrown
open. The throne is richly carved and gUded ;
and two tables stand near it, covered with large
vessels and ornaments of gold. The emperor
seemed scarcely able to ascend the flight of steps
that lead to his seat, from the weight of his dress.
He hteraUy appeared to be cased in gold, with a
wing of the same metal on each shoulder. His
crown was a high cap, richly studded with preci
ous stones ; and his fingers were covered with
rings. Four priests in long robes chaunted a song
at the foot of the throne, and the numerous officers
of state were dressed in rich sUks.

IX.
The great wall of China is justly considered one
of the wonders of the world. It is known to have
been completed 300 years before the birth of
Christ. It winds over a chain of mountains for
an extent of 1200 mUes. In the valleys it is
fuU thirty feet high, and even on the ledges of
rocks never less than twenty. Such is its thick.
ness, that the top is flat, paved with stone, and so
E e

418 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
broad that a carriage might drive along it. There
are towers along its entire length, at intervals of
100 yards ; they vary from ten to forty feet in
height. This great work is calculated to contain
materials enough to build a wall six feet high and
two feet thick, whose length, 50,000 miles, would
twice go round the world.

X.
Pekin, the capital of China, is considered to be
at least twice the size of London. One large
street, four miles in length, and 120 feet broad,
runs through the central part of the town, and is
crossed by another of equal length and breadth.
Nearly all the other streets are narrow and dirty.
The emperor's principal palace is situated within
the walls of the city ; and the pleasure grounds
around it are laid out in a singular manner. This
space is about a mile square ; and it is surrounded
by what is called the yellow wall, from the colour
of the varnished tiles that compose it, and which
glitter like burnished gold. The grounds are laid
out in lakes and hills, formed entirely by artificial
means. All these heights are richly planted, and
a number of small pleasure houses have been buUt
on them ; while the lakes, being sprinkled with
islands, cause the whole to have a most romantic
effect. But his majesty has a great many other
palaces, which are all spacious, strong buildings.
The walls which surround Pekin, or a space of
twenty-three square miles, are forty feet high, and
twenty thick at bottom, rising like a pyramid to
the breadth of twelve feet on the top. Along the
wall stand high square towers, and outside of it
there runs a deep fosse. These towers, the
numerous triumphal arches which have been buUt

ADDENDA. 419
in memory of remarkable men or great national
events, the glittering temples, and innumerable
flags and streamers hoisted by the shop-keepers
and merchants, give the city, at a distance, a most
singularly grand appearance to a stranger, who is
for the first time approaching. XI.
The cocoa nut tree is converted to no less than
360 uses by the natives of India, furnishing them
with cordage, timber for building, arrack, vinegar,
oil, sugar, milk, food, paint, and several kinds of
domestic utensils. XII.
Europeans were, for a long time, unsuccessful
in raising our common table vegetables on the island
of Ceylon. A colony of Chinese gardeners was in
troduced, for that purpose, by our government.
They have not only succeeded in producing veget
ables in great quantities, but also have some thriving
sugar plantations under their management. Such
is the effect of industry and perseverance. Their
houses are very neat. At the upper end of the
principal room, there is a high stand, over which
hangs a tablet, written in Chinese characters, and
containing the names of the forefathers of each
family. A lamp is kept constantly burning before
this to remind them of their native country.
XIIL
The great elephant craal or trap, on the island
of Ceylon, is situated about sixteen miles from
Negombo. It is in the shape of a funnel ; com-
E E 2

420 memoirs of india.
posed of strong posts, made of whole trunks of
trees, driven well in the ground, and lashed to
others placed horizontally, with strong ropes.
Fires are lighted near it on the outside, to intimi
date the elephants when entrapped ; for otherwise,
they would easily break through it. When these
animals are driven or decoyed into the trap, they
are prevented from returning by raen placed at the
entrance with torches. At length the unfortunate
elephant is driven down the funnel, till it becoraes
so narrow that he cannot turn. The hunters then
close on their captive ; two tame elephants, sta
tioned on each side of the craal, put in their trunks,
and seize that of the wild animal. He is then
unable to move ; and the hunters getting over the
craal, fasten huge ropes round his legs and neck :
after which, the stakes in front are removed, and
he is forced forward by the two tame elephants,
which press against him, to the tree or post where
he is to be chained. For a long time he undergoes
daily discipline, till at length he becomes quiet
and resigned to his fate. Grief and indignation
are strongly expressed by the eye of the elephant
when he finds himself mastered. After trying
every effort of his amazing strength for liberty, he
sinks into deep melancholy, refuses food, and
sometimes starves himself to death.
XIV.
Among the natural curiosities of Ceylon are
swarms of red monkeys, whose gambols are truly
diverting. Their great enemies are snakes *, which
they kUl by seizing them near the throat, and
crushing the head of the snake on a stone or against
the tree, till life is extinct. The monkeys are
* Vide LIV. of this Addenda.

addenda. 421
dreaded by all kinds of birds, and it is most curi
ous how ingeniously they form their nests, on the
very trees inhabited by monkeys and snakes, so as
to be secure frora these devourers of their eggs and
young ones. Sorae form thera with a long opening
like a purse, leave the entrance at the very bottom,
and fix them hanging to the end of a slender branch.
The tailor bird sews her little nest to a leaf at the
tip of some branch, with some fine fibres which
she picks up, making use of her bill for a needle.
There are bird-catching spiders on the island of
Ceylon, whose legs are four inches long, and their
whole body covered with thick black hair. But,
perhaps, nothing is more curious in that burning
climate than the pitcher plant or nepenthes. It
is an herbaceous plant, with thick roots and a
simple stem, crowned with bunches of flowers.
The leaves have no footstalks, but partly embrace
the stem at the base, and are terminated by tendrils,
each of which supports a hollow vessel of an ob
long shape, which is covered with a top, like the
lid of a box. These singular appendages contain
each about a wine glass full of clear, wholesome,
well tasted, and particularly refreshing water. In
the morning the lid is closed, but it opens during
the heat of the day, and a portion of the water
evaporates ; this is replenished in the night, and
each morning the vessels are all full. It seems that
these fountains are intended by Providence to
cheer birds and other animals, for the little beauties
of the woods are often seen dipping their parched
bills into the cool goblets of the nepenthes.
XV.
The king of Candy's throne was removed to
England, at the termination of the war, by which
E E 3

422 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
he was deposed, and now forms a splendid and
highly valuable trophy belonging to the crown of
the United Kingdom. It is covered with pure gold,
studded with precious stones, and of beautiful work
manship. The two arms of the chair consist of
golden lions, whose eyes are amethysts, as large as
a musket ball. It is a curious circumstance, that
the royal sceptre of the Candian monarch should
have been a just emblem of cruel and despotic
tyranny, being a rod of iron headed with gold.

XVI.
Among the natural curiosities of the Indian seas
are the following wonderful fishes :
The whales which venture up the Bay of Bengal
are seldom very large, and generally perish there
in combats with the sword-fish, by which they are
pursued from the Southern ocean. I have seen
what I thought a large dead one, floating down the
bay like a little mountain ; and its stench was
such, that though our vessel was a considerable
way from it, we were obliged to shut our mouths,
and hold our noses, while we gratified curiosity by
looking at it. The sword-fish, which is often seen
in the Indian seas, is of a large and most powerful
description. Sir Joseph Banks, as president of the
Royal Society, received from the captain of an
East Indiaman part of the bottom of his vessel,
with the sword of one of these fishes imbedded in
it, which is now lodged in the British Museum.
The fish had such force as to drive its sword com
pletely through the bottom of the ship, but it was
killed by the violence of the effort. Beautiful
dolphins are sometimes caught in the Indian seas.
They swim with such amazing rapidity, that they

ADDENDA. 423
have been known to go round a vessel saihng at the
rate of six miles an hour. A shoal of these fishes
foUoAved Sir Richard Hawkins upwards of a thousand
leagues. The dying dolphin changes its colour
several times, and excites the tear of sensibUity, by
a seemingly silent appeal to compassion, which has
probably given rise to the classical fables respect
ing it.
Sharks are of enormous size in the Eastern seas.
One was caught with a human corpse in his maw,
that weighed 4000 pounds. The shark has 144
teeth, which he erects when darting towards his
prey ; and as his large goggle eyes shoot fire, I
know of nothing more frightful than his appear
ance. A great many remora, or sucking-fishes,
always attend the shark. Our saUors have called
them pilots, because they are seen to precede him,
and smell what he is approaching. Some naturalists
have caUed them the shark's enemies, and asserted
that they drain away his moisture by suction ; for
it seems they live on his body : but I am certain
that he does not devour them ; though I never
saw him refuse any thing else, I have seen the
pilot fish pass through his frightfully gaping mouth,
when turning to swallow our baits.
I never saw the cuttle-fish in India, but I have
heard that it grows to a great size there. It has
eight arms, and possesses most extraordinary quali
ties, for which I refer the reader to its natural
history. The young reader wUl also be amused
by referring to the natural history of the remora, or
sucking-fish, of which so much has been fabulously
related by the ancients. The Indians of Jamaica
and Cuba, in the West Indies, formerly used the
sucking-fish in the catching of others, somewhat in
the same manner as hawks are employed by a
-falconer in seizing. birds. E E 4

424 memoirs of india.
The nautilus is another curiosity of the Indian
sea. It has eight feet, web-toed like those of a
duck, but exquisitely fine and transparent. By
some unknown power it can screw its body out of
a curious shell, and assume all the appearance of a
little ship. Two feet are raised like masts and
rigging, with a membrane that passes for a saU,
and certainly catches the zephyr which floats on the
waves when it is expanded. The other feet hang
paddling on each side, and serve for oars to row with.
Poets have given imaginary pleasures to the saUing
excursions of this little beauty of the ocean. But
it is probable, that when it swells the light sail to
the breeze, and forsakes the shell, its swiftness is
employed to escape from the crab, sea-scorpion,
and trochus, not to, amuse itself.
Another curious little fish is the fly-shooter, or
beaked chaetodon, which knocks down its prey by
cautiously levelling a drop of water from its tubular
snout, like a ball from a musket. M. Hommel,
the governor of the hospital at Batavia, ascertained
this extraordinary fact by ocular demonstration.
The flying-fish is of a beautiful shape, something
like a herring. There are innumerable shoals of
them in the Indian seas, which serve as food to
the large fishes ; when they are chased, they take
to the air, and fiy a considerable way like birds ;
but in this element also they have enemies ; for
the albatross, or tropic birds, are always on the
wing, watching for them. Their wings soon dry ;
and I have seen fiights of them faU on our ship,
quite exhausted. While skimming along the ocean,
they look very like swallows, having black backs,
white bellies, and forked tails. Their wings glitter
like silver in the sun.
Gold fishes are natives of China ; and the most
beautiful kinds are caught in a small lake in the pro-

addenda. 425
vince of Chekyang. Some are a fine orange red,
sprinkled over with gold dust ; others white like
silver, spotted with red. When dead they lose aU
their lustre. The mangoe fish of the river Hooghly,
near Calcutta, is, I think, the most beautiful in
India ; shaped like a small trout, it is charmingly
speckled with bright yellow, or golden spots, on
a dark ground. It has a fine beard, of long
orange threads, which, when the fish is dead, lie
close to its body ; but in swimming they serve as
fins, and give, when expanded, a stately and gay
appearance to the fish.

XVII.
Of aU insects, the white ant, or termes, is the
most [wonderful. Though a small creature,, it is
able to produce much mischief; and its instincts
place it in a rank with animals of the largest size.
In sorae parts of India, they forra their settlements
or cities, in the forra of huge cones, with turrets
and watch-towers. They forra regular streets,
nurseries, stores, habitations ; work in divisions,
under a seeming government, and take all the pre
cautions for security and order that wisdom could
suggest, even to animals possessed of intellect.
But among them there is neither invention nor
variety of taste. Every ant brings with it from the
egg aU its knowledge. They can undermine
houses, destroy the supports and the wood work,
make their way through the floors, consume clothes,
furniture, books, and every article that is not
made of stone or of metal. It is wonderful what
they do sometiraes in India : they have let excel
lent Madeira wine flow on the ground, by eating
away the casks that contained it ; and a military
guard was once brought to a court martial, I am

426 memoirs of INDIA.
told, at Madras, for the loss of treasure. The
defence was, that the white ants had eaten it ; and,
upon examination, it was found that they had
really devoured the bottoms of the chests, so that
the treasure sunk deeply into the sandy ground,
and was not easily discovered. There are several
species of these destructive creatures in India,
some large, being nearly the size of a wasp, and
others not larger than a small grain of rice. They
have an insuperable antipathy to cow-dung, and
will not approach any thing upon which' it is
smeared, till after it has lost smell and taste by ex
posure to the air ; consequently, in many parts of
India, the floors and walls of houses are washed
every week with a solution of that substance in
water. The insects of India are very numerous. There
are many varieties of the beetle tribe. The forests
are sometimes illuminated with the glow-worm.
At times the death-watch is heard, and the bom
bardier playing off his artillery. I have seen
flights of locusts in Kattywar. The caterpillar
tribes are, in some places, innumerable ; and they
hang from the branches of every little shrub in
Guzerat, being concealed in little cases shaped
like a barrel. These habitations are evidently
made by the caterpillar of tender twigs, glued to
gether, and lined with a substance like fine sUk.
I have seen these insects dragging their houses after
them ; for they can come out to feed, and travel
from one shrub to another. The silk -worm is em
ployed very extensively in Bengal. After each
monsoon the ephemera break forth in countless
numbers, and endless variety. I have seen thousands
of them end their brief period of existence, by a
flap of their variegated wings against our mess
candle-shades, being attracted towards the light.

ADDENDA. 427
There are bees, wasps, gnats of a most mischievous
description, called musquittoes, lice, fleas, prodigi
ous spiders, bugs, innumerable centipes, or scolopen-
dra, and leeches of a most voracious appetite, &c.
XVIII.
The bird of paradise is said to be the most ele
gant of all the feathered race. It is about the
size of a thrush, with the most beautiful variety of
colours that can be conceived, and a luxuriancy of
plumage, which would require a long description.
I therefore refer the young reader to its natural
history. It is a native of Papua, or New Guinea ;
and though it has been seen in many parts of
India, yet it is not known to breed there. It was
long supposed that this bird had no feet, and that it
never rested. The poets fable it as constantly floating
in the atmosphere. But these, and many other stories
respecting it, are set at rest. One of these beautiful
creatures was brought in a living state to Eng
land ; it had, however, entirely lost the fine floating
side feathers, and did not long survive its arrival.
Among the remarkable birds of India may be
mentioned the peacock, the vulture, the falcon, the
owl, the tailor bird, the flamingo, the albatross, the
bustard, and the parroquet tribe.

XIX.
The mangrove is always found in marshy places
near the sea, where the tide can wash its stem. It
is ten or twelve feet high, divided into a vast num
ber of branches, and thickly covered with leaves.
The trunk and lower branches send out several
pliant shoots, which descend to the ground, and
then take root ; these become in time so interlaced

428 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
as to form a thick grove, somewhat resembling the
banyan tree. Nature conducts the seed of this
tree to the earth in an exceedingly curious manner.
Its fruit produces a single seed, enclosed in an
oval case. This seed, when ripe, begins to sprout
without falling frora the tree, and proceeds in the
forra of a woody thread, tiU it reaches the ground,
the seed being at the hanging end of it. The
bark of the mangrove, which the Chinese employ
to strike a black dye, gives out a strong smell of
sulphur ; and the wood has the same odour. It
burns briskly, with a bright blaze.
XX.
For our only authentic account of the Javanese,
I beg to refer the curious reader to Sir T. S. Raf
fles' History of Java. This accurate observer des
cribes them as a very virtuous people, but debased
by the vices of their rulers.
The anchar or poison tree of Java is one of the
largest in the forests of that island. Its trunk rises
often to the height of seventy feet, without pushing
forth a branch. The bark, being wounded, yields
plentifully the juice, frora which the celebrated
poison is prepared. Of the inner bark a coarse
kind of linen is made ; it has also been worked
into ropes which are very strong, but it requires
much bruising and washing before it can be used ;
for, if any of the poisonous gum remains in it, and
touches the skin, a painful sore is the consequence.
A cup full of poison may, in a short time, be col
lected from a large tree. The anchar, like the
trees in its neighbourhood, is on all sides surround
ed by shrubs and plants ; and, in no instance, can
it be observed injurious to vegetation. What
could have induced the Dutch naturalist, Foersch,

ADDENDA. 429
to assert such fables, nay, downright falsehoods,
respecting this tree, it is impossible to conceive.
He begins his account of it with a flourish, that
he would only relate simple unadorned facts, of
which he had been an eye-witness. After this, he
describes the country round the tree, for ten or
twelve miles, as entirely barren. Not even grass
would grow near it. For fifteen or eighteen miles
round it, not only no human creature, he said,
could exist, but also no living animal of any kind
had even been discovered. Even birds flying over
this tree, he assures us, fell down dead. The fact
is, that he never was nearer an anchar tree than
eighteen miles. He reported from the wUd stories
of some ignorant native, and misled all Europe for
thirty years. Our naturalists found one of the
largest of these trees so completely environed by
the common shrubs of the forest in which it grew,
that it was with difficulty approached ; several vines
and climbing plants, also, in perfect health, ad
hered to it, and ascended to nearly hah" its height.
But that cruninals alone were, for a long time, sent
to fetch poison from the anchar tree, in the forests
of Java, is weU known ; and that numbers of them
perished, is also fact ; sorae, perhaps, from contact
with the poison, and others from the attacks of
snakes and wUd beasts. What Foersch relates re
specting thirteen criminals, . whose execution he
witnessed, may be true. He says, they were sen
tenced to suffer death by a lancet, poisoned with
upas. Being tied to stakes, their breasts were
bared and lanced by the common executioner. In
sixteen minutes, he says, by his watch, they were
aU dead. Their pain began in five minutes after
the wound had been inflicted, and continued in
creasing tiU death released them from suffering.

430 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Such has been the rapid effect of this poison in our
experiments on animals.
The large boa is the greatest of all the serpent
tribe. It is not only an inhabitant of Java, but also
of America and Africa. Most likely it was an
enormous specimen of the boa that stopped Regu
lus and the victorious Roman army. According
to a letter printed in the German Ephemerides, a
gentleman witnessed a combat, on the island of
Java, between the boa and a large buffalo. When
the serpent had mastered the buffalo, and twisted
itself round his body, the bones of the dying ani
mal were heard to crack almost as loud as the re
port of a gun. After all the buffalo's bones were
smashed, the boa licked the whole body over, and
thus covered it with a mucilaginous substance. It
then began to swallow the whole ; and in the act
the throat suffered so great a dilatation, that it took
in at once a body that was thrice its own thickness.
In the Bombay Courier of August 31, 1799, there
is an account of a man who was killed on the
island of Celebes by an enormous snake. He had
gone on shore frora a vessel close to the island.
His companions heard him, some time after, scream
out for assistance. But on going ashore, they found
him crushed to death. The attention of the ser
pent being entirely occupied by its prey, the peo
ple rushed upon him and cut oft' his head, just as he
was going to swallow the dead man. The snake
had seized him by the right wrist, where the marks
of the fangs were very distinct ; and the mangled
corpse bore evident signs of having been crushed
by the monster twisting itself round the head, neck,
breast, and thigh.

ADDENDA. 431

XXI.

The Peloo Isles were probably first noticed by
the Spaniards from the PhUippines. They are
situated between the 7th and 8th degrees of north
latitude, and the 134th and 135th of east longitude.
Their name seems to be derived from the tall
palm trees with which they are covered. The
chief islands are Carvora, Oroolong, Pelelew, and
Angoor. These islands are well wooded. Ebony
is found here, with the manchineel tree, and the
cabbage, and bread fruit tree. Yams and cocoa
nuts, betel nut, plantains, oranges, lemons, sugar
canes, and bamboos also abound.
When the Antelope was wrecked here in 1783,
the conduct of these islanders was so kind, that it
comraanded the gratitude of the crew. Yet the
natives were engaged in incessant wars, and raassa-
cred their prisoners. They are rather above the
middle stature ; their complexions being deeper
than the Indian copper colour, but not black.
Their hair is long and flowing, and inclined to
curl. The raen go entirely naked ; but the women
wear little aprons, or fringes, made from the husk
of the cocoa nut, and dyed yellow. When both
sexes grow up, their teeth are blacked by means of
a dye. They seem to have no religion. In return
for the kindness shown by Abba ThuUe, the prince
of Peloo, to the crew of the Antelope, the East
India Company sent hira a present of live stock,
besides seeds of several sorts, European swords,
and hardware, with arms and ammunition. None
of the islands first visited by the English had any
kind of grain, nor any quadruped whatever, except
some grey rats and a few cats. In 1791 the cap
tain of the Panther, a Bombay cruizer, was so

432 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
pleased with the manners of the natives, that he
resigned his command, determined to spend the
remainder of his life among them ; but, after a re
sidence of fifteen months, he grew tired, and sailed
in a boat to Macao. The interesting history of
Prince Lee Boo is well known. I need only add
that, by late accounts, it appears the live stock left
on the Peloo islands has wonderfully increased,
and that the civUisation of the natives has been
considerably improved by our accidental inter
course. I am sensible that many other small islands in
the Indian seas ought to have been noticed in this
work ; but, as I have nothing original to say res
pecting them, I prefer a reference to Hamilton's
East Indian Gazetteer, which inteUigent work
comprises all I could say on the subject.
The Papuan Isles are certainly objects of cu
riosity, but we know very little respecting them
from authentic sources. It appears that the na
tives are absolute savages. In 1791, when the
Panther was off the coast of New Guinea, the na-
, tives decoyed the surgeon into their rude canoes
and murdered him, after which they discharged a
shower of arrows into the ship, and wounded four
of the crew. For all we know respecting these
islands, &c., I beg to refer the reader to Forrest,
Leyden, Sonnerat, Keating, Maccluer, Zuniga, and
Hamilton.

XXII.
I AM aware that there are systems, which very
learned men have advocated, quite opposed to my
assumption. Man, according to my judgment, is
a creature whose mind is formed by the institutions
of his country. He stands high or low in the scale

ADDENDA. 438
of mental improvement, just in proportion as these
institutions are wise or foolish. That there are
idiots from accidental malconforraation, and that
there are great differences in the capacities of men,
perhaps also from accidental causes, do not unhinge
my argument. But it has been asserted * that there
are races of men whose organisation is such as to
prevent the possibility of their advancement in civiU
isation, arts, and sciences, to any point near what
we have attained. Whether this be true or not, it
would be presumption in me to assert, because I
do not know it, of my own knowledge ; but, till it
is proved, I will not believe that the Creator of
man gave any region of the habitable earth proper
ties which had power to destroy the intellect of
man. I am aware that the Esquimaux, and many
other savage races of men, exhibit so complete a
torpor of intellect as not to be able to count thirty.
But they are in fact in the state of children. My
little girl of two years old bursts into passionate
exclamations at what is new to her, dances in an
excess of joy, or melts into a flood of sorrow: does
not the uninformed mind, when matured by age,
do the same ? My child has not inteUect to dis
cover the common mode of getting what she feels
and pants for out of my pocket ; am I to suppose
on this account that her intellect can never be im
proved to the state of mine ? Those who advocate
such systems as our holy religion cannot approve
of, seem to argue like Dr. Spurzheirp, who attri
butes crimes to nature, which are entirely the off
spring of human laws for the security of property.

* Vide Mr. Lawrence on Physiology, Zoology, and th€ Na
tural History of Man, &c.

F F

434 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.

XXIII.

The tropical winds are three. First, the general
trade winds, which extend to about 30° of latitude
on each side of the equator, in the Atlantic, Ethi-
opic, and Pacific Oceans. Second, the monsoons,
or shifting trade winds, which are in the Indian or
Eastern Ocean, and do not reach above two hun
dred leagues from the land. Third, the land and
sea breezes, which are periodical winds, and blow
from the land, from night to about midday, and
from the sea, from about noon to midnight. These
winds do not extend above two or three leagues
from the shore. In small islands the land and sea
breezes seem to flow from, and to the centre of
each, in the same way as rays of light come from
the sun. XXIV.
Most Hindoos will eat animal food of particular
kinds. Even many of the Brahmans use it. In
marching through India, we were never prevented
from slaughtering goats, kids, sheep, and lambs :
but in many places a general order was issued to the
troops prohibiting the killing of oxen, cows, pea
cocks, monkeys, &c. Total abstinence from animal
food is not at all general among the Hindoo sects.
It is only a characteristic of a few of them. The
Banyans and Jains never, if possible, destroy
life. There is an hospital at Surat, endowed by
the Banyans, for the use of old and helpless ani
mals of every description, where they are fed and
taken as much care of, as human beings are in our
charitable institutions.

ADDENDA. 435

XXV.

There is a remarkable object of worship, men
tioned by sorae authors, in Mysore, called Kala
Bharaiva, which signifies the black dog. Kala
and Bharaiva are names of Seeva. Though I re
sided sorae years in Mysore, I certainly never heard
of the black dog; but the French missionary Abbe
Dubois says in his late work, that there is an idol
so called, and that women sacrifice their fingers to
it, in the way described in the following passage of
Hamilton's Gazeteer, p. 591. " About Silagutta,
the principal object of worship with the Morasa
tribe is an image called Kala Bharaiva ; and oc
casionally at this temple, a singular sacrifice is
made. When a woman is frora fifteen to twenty
years of age, and has borne sorae children, terrified
lest the angry deity should deprive her of her in
fants, she goes to the temple, and, as an offering to
appease his wrath, she cuts off one or two of the
fingers of her right hand." XXVI.
Among the natural productions of Bengal the
angeah grass may be mentioned as a curiosity ; for
it grows to such a length and thickness, that a
single stalk of it resembles a large rope. Another
very great curiosity is the moving plant of Bengal.
The stem is round, smooth, and branching ; the
leaves grow three together on the same leaf-stalk,
and consist of two small ones, with a third of con
siderable size in the middle, which is long and
tapering to a point ; the flowers are of the same
shape as those of the sweet pea, and grow in clus
ters at the end of the stalk. There is a constant
F F 2

436 memoirs of india.
motion kept up among the leaves of this plant.
Some will move but little, while others are greatly
agitated. This motion is not caused by the air, as
in the aspen tree ; nor by the touch, as in the sensi
tive plant. Repeated experiments have proved
this. When the plant is in full bloom, its leaves
shake the most, so that motion seems necessary to
its healthful existence. Even a branch cut off, if
kept in water, wUl continue to move in a close
room for sorae days.
XXVIL
The Bengal royal tiger is soraetiraes fifteen feet
long frora the tip of the nose to the tip of the taO.
His height has been known to be four feet ; and
such is his strength, that he can carry away a
buffalo, of perhaps a thousand pounds weight.
When impelled by hunger, he boldly attacks the
human species. At other times he shrinks away
frora the sight of man. The son of Sir Hector
Munro was killed by a Bengal tiger in 1792 ; and
the following is the account given by an eye wit
ness. " We went to shoot deer on Saugur island,
of which we saw innumerable tracks, as well as of
tigers : we continued our diversion till nearly three
o'clock ; when, sitting down by the side of a jungle
to refresh ourselves, a roar like thunder was heard,
and an immense tiger seized our unfortunate friend,
poor Munro, and rushed again into the jungle,
dragging him through the thickest bushes and trees,
every thing giving way to its monstrous strength ;
a tigress accompanied his progress. The united
agonies of horror, regret, and fear, rushed at once
upon us. I fired on the tiger ; he seemed agitated.
My companion fired also ; and in a few moments
after this, our unfortunate friend came up to us,

addenda. 437
bathed in blood. Every medical assistance was
vain ; and he expired in the space of twenty-four
hours, having received such deep wounds from the
teeth and claws of the animal, as rendered his re
covery hopeless. A large fire, consisting of ten or
twelve whole trees, was blazing near us at the time
this accident took place, and ten or more of the
natives were with us. The human mind can scarcely
form any idea of this scene of horror. We had but
just pushed our boat from this hateful shore, when
the tigress made her appearance, almost raging
mad, and remained on the strand all the time we
continued in sight." XXVIII.
For much authentic and curiotis information, re
specting central India, I beg to refer the reader to
Sir John Malcolm's late work, on that part of Hin
dostan. No attentive officer, I think, can have
served in India for several years without agreeing
with me, that the instances of honour and valour,
displayed by various classes of Hindoos, are numer
ous. Sir John Malcolm, in his evidence given to
the house of commons on the affairs of India,
states, that he has known innumerable instances of
honour among the natives, particularly the military
tribes, which would in England be considered more
fit for the page of roraance than of history. " There
is," he observes, " a large class of menials, such
as Gentoo palanquin boys, at Madras, who amount
to twenty or thirty thousand, a great proportion of
whom are employed by the English government,
or the individuals serving it, who, as a body, are
remarkable for their industry and fidelity. During
a period of nearly thirty years, I cannot call to
mind one instance being proved of theft, in any ¦
F F 3

438 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
one of this class of men, whose average wages are
from three to eight rupees a month, or from seven
shUlings and sixpence to one pound. I remember
hearing of one instance of extraordinary fidelity,
where an officer died at the distance of nearly three
hundred miles from the settlement of Fort St.
George, with a sum of between two and three
thousand pounds in his palanquin. Those honest
men, alarmed at even suspicion attaching to them,
salted him, brought him three hundred miles to
Madras, and lodged him in the town major's office,
with all the money sealed in bags."
XXIX.
Nothing can exceed the rich and luxuriant ap
pearance of the face of nature in raany parts of
Guzerat and Bengal. Whole plains are covered
with fine fruit trees, and the most beautiful diver
sity of crops. The eye is not only pleased with the
different shades of green, and the vast varieties of
flowers that border the fields, but with the bright
plumage of the feathered race, and the pranks of
monkeys which occupy the trees. Under many a
spacious banyan tree the religious devotees will be
seen practising their austerities or sitting in a state
of absorption in the cool shade.
The banyan tree, or Indian fig, has a stem,
branching to a great height and vast extent, with
heart-shaped entire leaves, ending in acute points*
This tree is beautifully described by Milton : —
" Branching so broad and long, that in the ground
The bending twigs take root, and daughters grow
About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade
High over arched and echoing walks between."
Of all trees, it is the most charming of nature's pro-

ADDENDA. 439
ductions, and contrary to most other things in
animal and vegetable life, it seems to be exempt
from decay. It is continually increasing. The
Hindoos look upon the banyan tree as an emblem
of the Deity ; from its long duration, its out
spreading arms, and overshadowing beneficence. I
have reposed under the Cubbeer Burr, which
is the name of a banyan tree in Guzerat of pro
digious size. More than five regiments might be
accommodated under the delightful shade of its
canopy, impervious to the hottest beams of the
sun. It is about 2000 feet in circumference, mea
sured round the principal stems ; the overhanging
branches, not yet struck down, cover a much larger
space. The chief trunks of this single tree (which
in size greatly exceed our English elms and oaks)
amount to 350 ; the smaller stems; formed into
strong supporters, are more than 3000. It is filled
with green wood pigeons, doves, peacocks, and
feathered songsters ; crowded with squirrels, and
families of monkeys ; and shaded by bats of large
size, many of them measuring upwards of six feet
from the extremity of one wing to the other. These
hang to its upper branches in a torpid state, during
the day. The tree affords shelter and sustenance
to all its inhabitants ; being covered amidst its
bright foliage with small figs of a rich- scarlet, which
are exceedingly pleasant to the taste. Many ani
mals in it live upon each other, and continual war
fare and stratagem are kept up between snakes,
birds, monkies, &c.
Among the various trees and plants of India
the following may be mentioned : the sugar cane,
the bamboo, the yam, the banana, the palm tree,
the sugar tree, the betel tree, the cotton tree, the
jack tree, which is a fine species of the bread
fruit; the tobacco plant, the cashew apple tree,
F F 4

440 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
the palmetto tree, the white fig or plantain tree,
the castor oil plant, the white poppy, the pine
apple, the guava tree, the mango tree, the peach
treci, the leechu tree, &c. with all the different
spice trees and plants mentioned in other parts of
this work, for nearly all the productions described
in our notice of the common Indian islands are
produced in Hindostan or round its sea coast.
Among the wild beasts * of India may be
enumerated the lion, the tiger, elephant, rhin
oceros, hog, buffalo, wolf, hygena, leopard, and tiger
cat, &c.
In the number of its reptiles are the tortoise,
frog, alligator, guana, chameleon, lizard, &c.
Among its serpents are the hooded or spectacle
snake, called in Portuguese cobra-de-capello, the
rat snake, black snake, common ringed snake,
whip snake, and sea snake. There are scorpions
of a most deadly nature. Among its worms is the
Indian thread worm, which attacks the muscles of
the legs of both Europeans and natives, and grows
there, sometimes to the length of four yards. For
sorae time after this monster has perforated the
leg, no pain is felt, but as it grows and rolls itself
round in a circle, inflammation takes place and
considerable pain. The best way is to rub the
part affected with mercurial ointment twice a day,
till ulceration reveals the head of the worra, which
must be carefully taken up and fastened to a small
twig, that it may be drawn out very gradually and
wound round it every day. For if it breaks, and
any part remains in the leg, it will grow again to
a great size in a short time.
* Vide LV. of this Addenda.

ADDENDA. 441

XXX.

Raynal may be tolerable authority in matters of
commerce, but French writers are prone to give
a partial account of European transactions in India,
out of prejudice to their own nation. Mr. Hast
ings is particularly abused by them : on this sub
ject, Mr. MUl has been, I think, too much of an
imitator. The historian, who aims at informing
posterity and instructing mankind, should consult
his own judgment, before he joins in popular
clamour, either of censure or praise. He should
endeavour to place himself in the situation of him,
whose character he describes ; and surrounded by
all the facts he can collect, he should, I think, ask
his own heart — what would I have done under
these circumstances? I perfectly agree with an
intelligent gentleman, who has written to me, on
this subject, thus:' — " With Mr. Hastings the ques
tion was, are the English to remain in India?
With England the question was, did he adopt the
best means of enabling us to remain there ? Let
the result answer. No other man, then in India,
could have preserved it to us. This may be safely
asserted. That any one, who has since gone
thither, could have preserved it, is more disputable."
XXXL
Except in times of great famine, no one, how
ever poor, stands in danger of starvation in India.
Hospitality to strangers, and affording relief to
mendicants of all descriptions, are duties prescribed
to all Hindoos by their Sastras. Menu enforces
hospitality with powerful arguments. The Sastra
decrees " that if a family are unable through

442 memoirs of india.
poverty to entertain a stranger or guest, they shall
beg for his relief" A traveller, when he wishes
to get rest for the night, is always sure of finding
it, and every thing necessary, at the first viUage.
Consequently, in every town and vUlage, there is
some public place for the reception of strangers.
If they ask assistance, they are supplied with fire,
a new earthen pot to cook in, rice, or split peas,
oil, spices, &c. To plant fruit trees for travellers,
to make wells and tanks for their use, and to build
houses for the accommodation of strangers, are
duties, which every Hindoo strives to perform.
Vast sums are expended by the opulent in this
way. A native of Burdwan, named Ramapalu, is
mentioned, who in the course of his life made
100 tanks, each of which cost about 4000 rupees,
or nearly 500/. each. There are several fine
orchards in India, with care-takers ; and every
stranger may enter them and eat as much fruit as
he pleases. A native of Serampore, who was for
merly sircar to the Dutch East India Company,
fed on an average 200 strangers, at and from his
house, every day, for many years, spending annually
on this kind of hospitality about 6000/.
XXXII.
I HAVE been a little particular in describing the
reception of Vasco deGama, at the Zamorin's court,
because, in all the native courts of India, the
sarae ceremonies are yet practised with very few
exceptions. XXXIII.
There are but few more affecting circumstances
in history than the fate of those brave men, who

addenda. 443
were immured in the Black Hole of Calcutta, by
Surajah-Dowla, in June 1756. Their sufferings
are pathetically described by J. Z. Holwell, Esq.
The following is a brief abstract of his interesting
letter to WiUiam Davis, Esq.
Governor Drake, of Calcutta, had imprisoned an
Indian merchant, and thereby drawn upon the
English the resentment of the Soubah of Bengal,
Surajah-Dowla, who attacked the fort and factory
of Calcutta. Drake, on the approach of the Indian
army, abandoned the place. But the fort was
bravely defended by Mr. Holwell, the garrison, and
the gentlemen of the factory, who at length, being
overpowered, surrendered, on condition that their
lives should be spared. Mr. Holwell says, that he
believes the Soubah merely gave a general order
for their security during the night, and that the
tragedy which followed must be attributed to the
cruel and revengeful spirit of some of the inferior
officers. They were forced in the dusk of the
evening, by the armed guards, into a room, cora-
monly called the black-hole prison. This horrible
place was a square of eighteen feet. Imagination
can alone picture what a scene it became, when
146 persons were pressed into it, in the hottest
season of a burning climate. The wounded and
the dying were even forced into it ; the female
garb was no protection ; the lady shared the fate
of the soldier. Immediate suffocation was pre
vented by two small, strongly grated windows, but
the circulation of air which they admitted was only
sufficient to increase misery by prolonging torment.
When Mr. Holwell entered, he immediately saw
the dreadful nature of their situation. From one
of the windows, he endeavoured to prevail upon
the guard by the promise of a large sura of money,
to remove them from this grave, or, at least, to

444 memoirs of india.
withdraw one half of their number to another
prison. But the guard, after sorae inquiries, re
turned with this horrible answer, " I cannot, sir,
no one dares to awake the general." Their bodies
were soon drained of moisture, by profuse per
spiration. 'A raging thirst ensued. Mighty struggles
were made to force the door ; it opened inwards,
and their exertions were only serviceable by pre
cipitating thera sooner into the arms of death.
The weak were trampled under the feet of the
strong. All those situated at any distance from
the windows began to grow outrageous, and raany
delirious ; " water, water !" becarae the general
cry. Sorae skins of water were brought ; but they
had no means of getting it into the prison, ex
cept by hats forced through the bars of the win
dows. The sight of it increased thirst to such a
dreadful degree, that many sunk in struggles to be
first served. So little could be conveyed through
the bars, that it scarcely served to moisten the
burning lips of the dying sufferers. The stench
frora the putrid bodies becarae intolerable. Respect
was for a long time paid to the brave Mr. HolweU.
At length all distinction was lost. Nearly crushed
to death, he was forced from the window. He
got to the farthest part of the prison, over the
dead, and laid himself down to die on their reek
ing bodies. His pain increased to a maddening
pitch. In phrenzy he again started up, and by an
exertion of unnatural strength, once more gained
the window, crying "water for God's sake!"
His surviving companions had thought him dead.
Respect for their beloved commander still re
mained alive. They cried out with one voice,
" give hira water ! give him water !" Nor would
one of them at the window attempt to touch it
till he had drunk. Such is the effect that a gener-

addenda. 445
ous and noble mind has over the affections of in
feriors. The water only increased his thirst, as
a sprinkling on fire increases flame. He kept his
mouth moist by sucking the perspiration out of his
shirt ; and, O deplorable situation ! he was even
robbed of that liquid ; for he detected one of his
companions plundering him ; their mouths and
noses often met in the contest for that moisture,
which his exhausted body still retained.
The survivors, finding that water only increased
their misery, changed their cry to, " air, air !" tUl
nearly every one expired with a heart rending sigh
for, "air, air!" A vapour arose from their bodies,
which Mr. Holwell compares to what is felt by
holding the head over a bowl of strong spirit of
hartshorn. From eleven o'clock till two in the
morning Mr. Holwell sustained the weight of a
Dutch seijeant on his back, and another soldier
leaning with his whole weight against his head.
He was at length forced frora pressure to sink frora
the bars of the window, by which he, had held.
On getting behind the living, he found Mrs. Carey,
an officers' wife, in the third rank, raving for air.
His friend, the Rev. Mr. Bellamy, lay dead, with
his son, the lieutenant, melancholy sight ! hand in
hand! Mr. Holwell again resigned himself to fate. He
lay down on the dead to die ! Towards morning
the survivors, recollecting that he might have in
fluence to get them out of prison, caused search to
be made for hira. He was still warra, and upon
being lifted to the window, recovered sensation and
reason. About a quarter past six o'clock, a. m.,
after great delay and difficulty in opening the
door, twenty-three persons were found alive out of
146 ! but in a condition which made it very doubt
ful whether they would see the morning of the

446 memoirs of india.
next day. Mrs. Carey survived, but her youth and
beauty caused her to be detained for the conqueror,
or some officer of state. Her husband was no
more. The others, after long suffering, were re
leased. Poor Holwell, though in a burning fever,
with his body covered with painful boils, was
taken with the other prisoners, to the capital of Ben
gal, loaded with chains.
On the 25th of July they were conducted to the
palace to have an audience, and to know their
fate. Their release was hastened by the compas
sionate intercession of woman, who so often as
suages the suffering of man. The Soubah' s grand
mother solicited their liberty at a feast, to which
she was invited on his safe return. On seeing
their condition, he looked at them with strong
marks of compassion in his countenance, ordered
two of his officers to see their irons instantly struck
off, and to conduct thera safely wherever they
chose to go, giving thera a strict charge, to see
that they suffered no injury or insult by the way.
XXXIV.
Tippo Sultan was the inveterate foe of all Euro
peans, though he made use of the French, and
told them that he only hated the English.
His throne was covered with plates of gold.
Over it was a canopy of the same metal, supported
by eight pillars. This canopy was fringed with
large pearls, and crowned with the form of a bird
of paradise, made entirely of precious stones. Un
derneath the throne lay the figure of a tiger in
the act of devouring a white man, and this con
cealed a curious piece of mechanism, that produced
sounds, resembling the cries of a person in dis
tress, mixed with the roarings of a tiger. His
cannon, in several instances, were ornamented with

ADDENDA. 447
the head of a white man, and a tiger devouring it.
He told the French that this represented an Eng
lishman ; to the Mahrattas he said the same ; but
to the Mohammedans he represented it as the
head of an European, promising to destroy every
Christian, and establish the Mohammedan creed.
One of his palaces had a curious painting on its
front, which represented the defeat of Colonel
BaUlie. The rare face of the palace was painted
with fine representations of the trades of India,
&c. When looking at these paintings in the great
porches or virandas of the beautiful edifice at
Seringapatam, to which I allude, I was reminded
of Dido's palace, as described by Virgil. Tippo's
wealth was immense. He had three magnificent
palaces, 7OOO elephants, 6OOO camels, 11,000
horses, 400,000 buUocks, 100,000 buffaloes, and
600,000 sheep. His family consisted of twelve
sons and eight daughters. There were 800 females
in his seraglio. His treasure was immense.

XXXV.
Sir William Jones was born in London in 1746,
and died at the premature age of 48. To his
works I refer the reader for many beautiful effu
sions of the Persian muse, and for much of what I
know respecting oriental science and literature. He
was the founder of the Asiatic Society, to whose
researches I am much indebted. In one of his
last annual discourses to that society, he has done
more to give validity to the Mosaic history of the
Creation, than has been done by any contemporary
writer. The following is his epitaph, written by
and for himself It is admired equally for its truth
and elegance :

448 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Here was deposited
the mortal part of a man
who feared God, but not death ;
and maintained independence,
but sought not riches ;
who thought none below him
but the base and unjust ;
none above him but the wise and virtuous ;
who loved his parents, kindred, friends,
and country :
and having devoted his life to their service,
and the improvement of his mind,
resigned it calmly,
giving glory to his Creator,
wishing peace on earth,
and good will to all his creatures,
on the 27th day of April,
in the year of Our Blessed Redeemer 1794.
XXXVI.
On the morning of the 5th of November, 1817,
Mr. Elphinstone, the resident at Poonah, received
a most insolent letter from his highness the Peishwa,
and observing an armed force approaching the
Sungum, where he resided, he made his escape to
camp. In a few minutes the British residency
was in a blaze, and all his valuable property,
manuscripts, and oriental curiosities, valued at
10,000/., were either plundered or consumed. At
the same time the European cantonments were set
on fire, and entirely destroyed. Amidst the blaze,
the Peishwa's army, estimated at 15,000 cavalry
and 8000 infantry, approached the British position
in battle array. A Portuguese named Pinto, who
held the rank of major in the Peishwa's army,
commanded a battalion of infantry organised in
the European style, and his park of artillery, con
sisting of fourteen guns, were served by Portuguese.
An officer present in this action, described the ap
proach of this host, by comparing it to the waves
of an angry sea. All the heights were covered

ADUKNDA. 449
with elephants, bearing the Peishwa and his great
officers of state, who came out to witness the ex
pected destruction of the force at Kirkee.
Colonel Burr had only, to oppose this army, 3000
fighting men. With these he bravely advanced to
meet the shock. The attack began with a dis
charge of artillery on both sides, and an attempt by
the enemy's infantry to make an impression on our
line, which was soon followed by a charge of their
cavalry. In a body they pushed directly for the
Europeans ; but receiving a cool and deliberate
fire, turned, and forced their way through the 7th
Bombay native infantry. These brave sepoys were
for some time intermixed among them, and fought
nobly with their bayonets. Large masses of the
cavalry got into the rear, and the engagement be
came very critical, depending in a great measure
on the steadiness of the Europeans in the right
wing, who were quite unbroken. Just at the proper
moment Major Ford, who commanded the Peishwa's
brigade, arrived with his men frora the canton
ments at Dapore, and opening a well-directed fire
upon the masses of the enemy that had got into
the rear, struck a panic to their hearts, which was
comraunicated to the whole, for they retreated in
the utmost confusion, leaving vast numbers of dead
on the field, and never after dared to hazard a re
newal of the fight.
Mr. Elphinstone, now governor of Bombay, most
gallantly exerted himself throughout the day,
in setting a distinguished example of zeal and ani
mation to the troops. XXXVII.
General Smith (now Sir Lionel Smith, C. B.)
encamped exactly before the Mahrattas, the river
G G

450 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
Moota Moola running between, and the village of
Yellara, which is situated near the bank, under a
height, which was called Picket Hill, being on his
side, with a fine plain extending for near a mile to
the enemy's lines on the other bank. The river
was, however, very rocky and difficult to pass,
having deep banks, and being lined with Arabs.
From the hill I had a full view of the position oc
cupied by the Peishwa's army. The city of Poonah
was on his left, whence his line extended to Harris's
tope, having encamped on the ground where the
British cantonments had stood. His forces were
now estimated at 30,000 fighting men.
On the following morning, 14th of November,
1817, proper reconnoissances having been made,
some guns were placed on Picket Hill, which
swept the banks of the river with grape-shot ; but
the Arabs having good cover, rendered it impos
sible for us to examine the ford with accuracy.
An attempt, therefore, made during the night to
cross the river, was unsuccessful. During the
whole of next day, there was constant skirmishing
between the Arabs and riflemen, which produced
a very great display of personal bravery ; for the
Arabs crossed the river, and several of them lost
their lives in daring attacks upon Captain Clutter-
buck, and part of the light company of the 65th
regiment. Next day Colonel Milnes crossed the river, as
stated in the text, and, in fact, fought the Peishwa's
army with one half of General Smith's force, re
taining the field of battle on the enemy's side of
the river, till joined before day-light on the ensu
ing morning by the other division.
What induced Sir Lionel Smith to fight the
battle of Poonah with one-half of his forces, and
when the victory was gained, not to push on and

ADDENDA. 451
reap all the advantages of it, puzzled some of the
old officers, who talked a good deal on the subject.
Powerful motives, no doubt, suggested the hue of
conduct pursued by General Smith, who is un
doubtedly an officer of talent and genius. He
was anxious, perhaps, to save the effusion of blood,
which might be the consequence of a rash attack
upon an enemy so vastly superior in numbers.
Moreover, it was the object of both Mr, Elphin
stone and General Smith to preserve the city of
Poonah from plunder and destruction, which
a rash battle in its immediate vicinity might have
occasioned;

XXXVIII.
The village of Ashtee is situated a few mUes to
the north of Punderpoor, a large town on the
Bheema river. When the British squadrons gained
sight of the plain of Ashtee, they heard the enemy's
trumpets and drums loudly proclaiming surprise ;
and saw the Peishwa in rapid retreat, whUe Gockla
with a great part of the cavalry was drawn up in
line of battle across the main road ; he having
vowed to his highness that he would cover his re
treat or lose his life.
General Smith hesitated not a moment. He dis
patched his staff to the different commanding offi
cers with orders, the substance of which was that
the cavalry should move down in separate columns
of attack, the 22d dragoons in the centre, the 2d
Madras native cavalry on the left, and the 7th
Madras native cavalry on the right, while the
Bombay horse artillery were directed to take up the
best position according to circumstances, and at
the discretion of Captain Pierce. The rifle com
panies of the 65th regiment marched with such
G G 2

452 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
persevering spirit, that they kept up with the
Bombay light battalion, though mounted on tats
or little country horses, and were up to form a re
serve. The cavalry dashed down the heights in
fine style to charge Gockla. The 'ground was so
rugged that the horse artillery could not get for
ward in time to form line with the cavalry, who
made directly for the centre of the masses before
them. It was an awful sight. A dead silence
prevailed. Gockla had chosen his ground with
great judgment behind a nullah, and other ob
stacles, which he justly calculated would keep
back the artillery. His appearance was very for
midable, the front ranks of his line having their
spears couched, whUe the rear ranks seemed drawn
up on a ridge higher than the front, armed with
matchlocks. They opened a heavy fire upon the
cavalry, when within 150 yards of their line, which
was not returned till we arrived within a few paces
of the Mahratta front.
The 22d dragoons coraraenced the action on our
side, by discharging their pistols in the faces of the
eneray, and charging their centre. For a few
seconds it was a close and warm combat. General
Smith, full of anxiety to see the cavalry close with
the enemy, had galloped into the space between
the right of the 7th and the left of the artillery, the
guns having now come up. In this situation he
was much exposed. Gockla knew that our artillery
could not be used on account of the confused scene
which a close combat presents. He had a chosen
body in reserve behind his left wing, for the pur
pose of attacking our rear or flank ; and, while the
shock of the charge made by the 22d dragoons had
forced his centre to give way, he wheeled with the
greatest rapidity round his left, and passing be
tween our guns and the right of the cavalry.

ADDENDA. 453
attacked the 7th in rear with irapetuosity. General
Smith was cut down, and some confusion was pro
duced ; but Major Daw, witii part of the 22d,
charged Gockla, who was kUled in this desperate
but brave attempt. The whole of the Mahrattas
immediately fled. General Smith had received the
blow of a sabre on the back of his head, but for
tunately the wound was not dangerous. The
slaughter of the eneray was great, and they were
pursued for raany miles. AU the plain was strewed
with their dead and wounded. The main body was
overtaken, but the Peishwa escaped on a fleet horse.
A great many of his elephants and camels, some of
them loaded with treasure, were taken, and the
Sattara rajah, his mother, and his two brothers
rescued, as I have related in the text. Our loss was
only one officer, and thirty non-comraissioned, rank
and file killed and wounded, with some horses.
Gockla's body was found covered with wounds.
It was burned in the evening, the ceremonial being
accompanied with all due honours, according to
the customs of his caste. His person was large, his
features fine and manly, his complexion nearly fair.
He had received several deep cuts on his face ; but
it could not be ascertained under whose hand he
had fallen. Several inferior chiefs shared his fate
around hira. He wore on the morning of the action
a rich dress of gold kinkob, a kind of thick satin
finely flowered, with a pearl necklace, diamond
earrings, and an ornament for the turban of great
value, which becarae the plunder of sorae of the
camp followers ; for the bodies of all the officers
were found nearly naked upon the return of the
cavalry, our infantry with the camp equipage, &c.
having in the meantime arrived.
It is impossible not to respect the spirit of
Gockla. The judgraent with which he prepared
G G 3

454 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
to receive General Smith, was only equalled by his
valour and skill in bravely endeavouring to retrieve
the day, upon finding that his centre could not
withstand the charge of the 22d dragoons ; and
the muse of history will encircle his name with a
laurel for fidelity and devotion in his country's
cause.

XXXIX.
During the cool of each morning, the queen
mother of Sattara and her two sons rode richly
caparisoned Mahratta horses, and only mounted
their elephants in the heat of the day. The queen
managed her horse with great dexterity, and rode,
according to the custom of the ladies of her country,
as gentlemen do with us. She bore the traces of
great beauty, wore a rich dress of embroidered
muslin, with but few ornaments ; she did not con
ceal her face, and was both familiar and talkative
with such officers as approached. I have conversed
with her on the line of march in Hindostannee, which
she spoke in a very sweet tone of voice. In person
she was rather above the middle size, and her com
plexion was almost fair. She evinced an ardent
desire to appropriate every thing that was captured
to herself; for she claimed all the elephants and
camels, with every fine horse and tent she saw, as
her own. Her age seemed between forty and fifty.
She had none of that timidity which one naturally
supposes to belong to Hindoo ladies. Her sons
were richly dressed in gold muslins and kinkobs,
with pearl necklaces of three rows set in gold, and
sparkling with precious stones ; their turbans and
earrings were very costly ; they wore trowsers with
feet like stockings, and slippers turned up at the
toes, covered with precious gems. They had a

ADDENDA. 455
long procession of elephants and camels, with flags,
streamers, and various instruments of music. Upon
approaching towns or villages the trumpets were
sounded, and the musicians, who rode on camels,
began to beat their great drums, when the inhabit
ants came out in crowds, and prostrated themselves
before their legitimate sovereign. XL.
Upon the deposition of Bajee-row, late Peishwa,
the rajah of Sattara was invested with the ancient
rights of his family, and a considerable tract of
territory round the fortress of Sattara placed under
his government. His restoration does not, how
ever, give him much political power ; but it places
ample means at his disposal to make himself and
others happy in private life, or in ostentatious dis
play. His history forms a parallel to that of the
ancient family of Mysore, and his political exist
ence is precisely of the same nature.
Sattara, his capital, is forty-seven miles south of
Poonah. The name signifies seventeen, being the
number of walls, towers, and gates, the fortress
originally possessed. It was taken from the sove
reign of Bejapoor, by Sevajee in 1651. I have
been in it. It stands on a hill belonging to a range
which it completely commands. The height of the
fort is about 300 yards above the plain^ its length
1200, and its breadth varying from 300 to 80 On
the western point. There is a table land formed
by the hand of nature on the top, which is a huge
rock of granite ; it is cut perpendicularly all round,
at an average of thirty feet. On this solid founda
tion the rampart is buUt of masonry, about eight
feet high and as many broad. Numerous towers.
G G 4

456 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
and bastions are erected round it ; and there were
twenty-seven guns mounted on the works, when we
took it in 1818. There is only one gate, exceed
ingly strong, but a sally-port, defended by two
towers, opens in an opposite direction. Four fine
tanks contain an abundance of water ; and in short
there is a small town on the summit, with an ex
cellent house, in which the rajah resided, when a
prisoner. The petah, or city of Sattara, lies be
low in the plain under the north face of the fort ;
it is of great extent. The houses are built of stone
and lime, with good streets. The top of the hill
commands a most delightful view of the valleys of
Sattara, through which the Krishna and Oomronly
rivers meander and glitter to the eye with pleasing
variety, sometimes hid beneath the rich foliage of
fruit trees, and occasionally breaking forth in un
expected turns upon the sight. These lovely vales
are decorated with numerous smiling vUlages, and
curious pagodas, the whole appearing to the eye
like an extensive garden from its high state of cul
tivation. XLL
The Countess of Loudon will also participate
with her noble lord, the sweet reflection of having
done every thing in her power, during a long resi
dence in India, to benefit her fellow-creatures of
all colours. Her ladyship was a munificent friend'
to all the institutions in the East for the alleviation
of distress, or the diffusion of knowledge ; the zeal
ous patroness of the education of the poor ; the
kind supporter of the widow and orphan ; the un
solicited benefactress of the friendless, and a trans-
cendant example of tenderness, morality, and reli-

ADDENDA. 457
gion. Her benevolence was the theme of poetry
as well as prose.
" Soft as the silver moon's refreshing rays
Thy dewy kindness on poor blacky plays.
And cheers the drooping head that friendless lies.
And gives the heart, just sinking, hope to rise."
The Farewell at Champaul Ghaut ; a Poem, written in 1814.

XLII.
The history of the East India Company's esta
blishments in Bengal is interesting. In 1553 the
Portuguese began to trade with the natives on the
banks of the Ganges. They at length established
factories at several places in Bengal. Their in
fluence was such, that other Europeans had, for a
long time, to trade through them. Soon after the
embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, the English were per
mitted to establish a factory at Pipley, a small
town situated on the Subunreeka river, twenty-two
mUes from Bulasore. In 1642 the chief seat of
our trade in Bengal was fixed, by Mr. Day, at Bu
lasore ; but owing to the extortions of the officers
of the Great Mogul, all our factories were at length
withdrawn. A decided preference was evinced by
the native authorities for the French, Dutch, and
Danes, who were permitted to establish themselves
in the vicinity of the Portuguese chief settlement
at Hooghly, situated twenty-six mUes above Cal
cutta. In 1670, owing to the prudent conduct of
Mr. Job Charnock, the English were re-established
in Bengal, and re-occupied a factory at Hooghly,
which they had been permitted to build in 1640,
soon after a great rupture between the Moguls and
Portuguese. The Moguls besieged the Portuguese
settlement at Hooghly in 1632, and took the place
by storm, after four months' hard fighting. Mat-

458 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
ters, however, were afterwards adjusted between
the hostile powers. In 1686 the English came to
blows with the Moguls, in consequence of a quar
rel between some of our soldiers and the Nabob's
collectors of revenue in the bazar. After this
Hooghly was thought an unsafe station ; and on
the 20th of December, 1686, the agent, and coun
cil of the presidency of Bengal removed the seat of
government to a little village, called Chuttanhutty,
now named Calcutta, from a small place near it.
Mr. Boughton, an assistant surgeon of the Com
pany's service, had cured the daughter of one of
the Mogul emperors of a dangerous disease, and
obtained for his employers, if my information be
correct, a title to the villages of Chuttanhutty and
Calcutta. In I696, during the rebellion of Soubah
Sing, the English, Dutch, and French were per
mitted to build forts at Calcutta, Chinsurah, and
Chandernagor. In 1698 the fort of Calcutta was
strengthened, and called Fort William in compli
ment to the king of England. Here the Company
flourished till 1756, when it was taken. Next
year it was recaptured by Admiral Watson and
Colonel Clive, who, on the 20th of June, 1757,
fought the battle of Plassey, and laid the found
ation of British empire in Bengal.
XLIII.
Fort William is superior to any other fortress in
India. It is constructed on the most scientific
principles of military architecture. The barracks
in it are superb. In this fortress the Company
have an excellent arsenal, and a gun foundry.
The new fort was commenced in 1758. When I
viewed the curiosities of Fort William, Vizier Ally,
once nabob of Oude, was confined in it, in a room

ADDENDA. 459
made to resemble an iron cage, for the murder of
Mr. Cherry, where he lingered out seventeen years
of his life, and died at the age of thirty-six, in the
year I8I7. The vicissitudes of his life are worthy
of a brief notice.
The mother of Vizier Ally was a menial servant
of low caste. She attracted the notice of Asoph-ud-
Dowlah, nabob of Oude, who was a very eccen
tric character. Having no children of his own, he
was in the habit of sending pregnant women, whom
he met, to his palace ; and among others he sent
the mother of Vizier Ally, whom he afterwards
adopted according to the forms of Mohammedan
law. The Nabob is said to have expended 200,000/.
annually on English manufactures. He had 100
gardens, 20 palaces, 1200 elephants, 3000 fine
saddle horses, 1500 double barrel guns, I7OO
superb lustres, 30,000 table shades, and as many
large mirrors, girandoles, and clocks, two of which
cost him 30,000/. He often entertained his
European friends with champaign dinners, in a
carriage drawn by elephants. There were a thou
sand choice beauties in his harem. In his trea
sury were jewels to the amount of 8,000,000
sterling. All these became the property of his adopted
son, Vizier Ally, whose wedding cost the Nabob
300,000/. It is described in another part of this
work. Vizier Ally, wh#n he became nabob, having
broken his faith in several instances with the
Honourable Company, was deposed, and placed on
a pension of 25,000/. per annum. Being of a tur
bulent and intriguing disposition, it was thought
expedient that he should reside near the presiden
cy, and, he had reached Benares, for the purpose
of proceeding thither, when he most treacherously
murdered Mr. Cherry, the Company's resident^

460 memoirs OF INDIA.
who had invited hira to breakfast. Upon a signal
given, his armed retinue rushed in and cut Mr.
Cherry and his assistant, Mr. Graham, to pieces.
They then departed with the determination of mas
sacring all the Europeans at that station, but were
fortunately delayed by a noble defence made by
Mr. Davis with a hog spear. Hearing of their ap
proach, he posted himself at the head of his stairs,
and blocked up the' passage with the dead bodies
of his assailants. By this time a detachment
arrived from the cantonments. Vizier Ally and
his followers fled, and escaped into the territories
of a native prince, who refused to give hira up ex
cept on condition of his life being spared. This
our government thought it expedient to promise,
and he was accordingly confined in the manner
described. When I saw him, he was a poor ema
ciated being. XLIV.
The Armenian merchants of India are a public
spirited set of men. When Sarkies Joannes of
Calcutta heard of the recovery of George the
Third in 1789, he paid the debts of all the prison
ers at that time in gaol, which so much pleased
His Majesty, that he sent him his picture in minia
ture through Lord Cornwallis. Their dress is very
splendid. In show and equipage they are exceed
ingly ostentatious ; their ladies are covered with
jewels, and wear crowns sparkling with precious
gems. XLV.
In Calcutta a civilian's lady considej's herself a
superior being to the wife of a military officer ; the

ADDENDA. 46 1
latter looks down with contempt on the partner of
a country captain, who, in her turn, despises the
shopkeeper, and frets if neglected by the mer
chant's wife. " To hand a lady to table, or to her
carriage," says Tennant, " is an affair which re
quires deep cogitation, if it be aspired to by a
gentleman whose rank is unequal to the office, in
stead of paying a compliraent he is guilty of rude
ness, and commits an unpardonable offence. When
the ladies take the floor to dance, the most perfect
acquaintance with all that has ever been written
upon heraldry would not enable you to make a
satisfactory arrangement either of the ladies them
selves or of their partners." The Countess of
Loudon discountenanced this fastidiousness ; it is
to be hoped effectually. XLV.*
The governor-general's palace in Calcutta, and
his gardens at Bas^;ackpore, are perhaps inferior to
^ne in the world ilhijnagnificence and extent. In
ra^streets of Calcutta-may be seen Chinese and
FreffB^men, Persians and Germans, Arabs and
SpaniarS^ Americans and Portuguese, Mohamme
dans, Hindoos, and English, all thronging together.
Coaches, phaetons, chaises, gigs, hackeries or
country carriages, palanquins, camels, elephants,
and horses, also var/.i|^e scene. At night the
jackalls keep up a constarit serenade for vast quan
tities of broken victuals th^^wn away from every
house during the day. Thafg||e several kinds of
boats on the Hooghly, but tr^^ost elegant and
commodious are called budger^ffl^They vary in
size. Some of them are sixty feetl^^gth. They
are generally furnished with from t^^^^^to twenty
oars and have one mast in the centferAsThere is

462 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
usually one large apartment with two sleeping
rooms, and in travelling on the Ganges each bud-
gerow is generally attended by one or two small
boats, to carry kitchen utensils and luggage. The
Moors build their budgerows long and narrow.
Sometimes they are a hundred feet in length, and
not eight feet wide, so that, instead of having
rooms, like the English travelling boats, they erect
an awning along the deck, supported by piUars,
which are usually gilt and painted. The whole
being gaily ornamented, and the rowers in fancy
dresses, the sight is very pleasing to behold ; and
the fine weather, which continues with certainty
in this climate for several months, enables them to
live in the open air very comfortably, merely re
quiring a canvas screen round them at night.,
XLVL
Madras, hke Calcutta, rose from an insignificant
village in a few years, under the English. In
1639 Mr, Day was invited by the local governor
to form a settlement on his coast, and a grant of
five miles of territory around, where Madras now
stands, was obtained from the king of Vijaya-nagar.
Here Mr. Day laid the foundation of Fort
St. George, Sir Edward Winter in 1665, upon
being superseded in the government of it, by
Mr. Foxcroft, seized and imprisoned him. He
kept possession of the fort and government for
three years, when he delivered them up to commis-
missioners from England, on condition of receiving
a full pardon for all offences. Madras has suffered
from no external attacks since the French were
repulsed in 1759, although approached very near
by Hyder AUi in I767 and I78I. Since the re-

ADDENDA. 463
turn of Sir George Hilario Barlow in 1814, it has
been well governed by the Honourable Hugh Elliot.
The town of Madras is situated upon a flat
sandy shore, where the surf runs with extreme
violence. Externally the houses are like marble
temples ; the intei'ior, however, does not corre
spond with the outside ; the apartments presenting
nothing but white walls ; few of them have ceil
ings, frora the irapossibility of finding any material
that shall resist the ravages of the white ant. To
a stranger approaching Madras frora the sea, the
whole scene appears like enchantment. The clear
blue sky, the polished white buildings, the bright
sandy beach, and the dark green sea, combine to
abstract the mind. All my faculties seemed be-
wUdered when I was entering the roads. The
catamarans were paddling towards us, with naked
Indians, who looked for some time as if they were
walking on the water ; for the catamaran is merely
a log of wood or two, laced together. In the dis
tance were the Mossolah boats dashing through
the surf) crowded with natives in long muslin
gowns and turbans, their ears and noses decorated
with large rings of gold and pearls. They climbed
our ships' side and saluted us with almost super
human grace. I gazed at their jet black faces,
and delicately formed persons, reminding me more
of elegantly tall females than men. On going
ashore, the motley group, to be seen in the streets,
is equaUy interesting. The stranger is instantly
surrounded by dobashes, or natives, looking for
service with Europeans. The surf roars in his
ears ; their clamorous appeals add to his distrac
tion. Every thing he sees is new and extraordi
nary. He at length, lost in wonder, retires to
rest ; fantastic dreams follow him ; he disturbs the
economy of his bed ; the musquittoes enter, and

464 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
he awakes the next morning, bitten all over by
these voracious devils, which raay be corapared to
the infernal furies of cold cliraate.
XLVII.
Sir Williara Jones long ornaraented the East of
India, like the morning star ; and Sir James
Macintosh rose in the western hemisphere of Hin
dostan, like the planet of evening. He was
mainly instrumental in founding the Bombay
Literary Society, whose labours have shed con
siderable light on the history of western India.
Sir James's address to Lieutenants Macguire and
Cauty, who were tried before him at Bombay, for
rioting at night, &c. should be copied into the
common place book of every officer in the service.
Fifteen Years in India, p. 159.
XLVIII.
The foUowing particulars respecting Bombay
are deemed interesting^
Bombay is one of a cluster of six small islands,
which form together one of the safest and most
commodious harbours in the world. Near the
southern extremity of the island stands the light
house, which rises to the height of 150 feet above
the level of the sea, and shews its light at the
distance of twenty-one mUes. Nearly the whole
of Bombay belong to opulent Parsees. Their
wealth is only equaUed by their industry. Some
of the entertainments given by the late great
Parsee, Pestengee, cost 12,000/. In the last famine
which desolated India, a Parsee merchant fed
5000 poor persons daily, for three months. The
Company's dock yard of Bombay is entirely under

ADDENDA. 465
the control of the family of the celebrated
Lowjee. He and his successors have built four
seventy-four gun ships, two thirty-eight, two thirty-
sixes, besides twenty-five merchantmen, from 1000
to 600 tons burden, &c., and some smaller craft.
The Parsees assist each other, like the quakers;
none of them have been convicted by a court of
justice for any crime or immoral practice for many
years. Their wives and daughters are remarkable
for virtue and affection. The pamphlet and bam-
balo of the Bombay reef, two species of fish so
called, are remarkably fine.
The island of Elephanta, in Bombay harbour,
so famous on account of its caves is about three
miles in circumference. It consists of two rocky
mountains and some rice fields, in. a small valley
between them, with a few cocoa nut plantations.
The great stone elephant at the bottom of the
principal mountain, firom which the island derives
its name, is now broken down, and lying in scat
tered fragments. Upon clambering up to the
caves, I found a Serjeant's guard of sepoys in charge
of them, and a snug house built on the summit.
The great cave is a huge chamber hollowed out of
the rock, so as to leave four rows of massive
columns standing, which appear to support the
roof. These form magnificent avenues. The cave
is 220 feet long, and 150 broad. At the upper
end of this great room is the immense three headed
idol, representing Brahma, Vishnu, and Seeva, with
their symbols, &c. reaching nearly from the floor
to the roof) a height of fifteen feet. Each face
alone is five feet in length. Many of the fables
related in Hindoo mythology, are represented in
this cave on the living rock. The whole is a
wonderful specimen of art and labour.
I went also to see the caves of Kenneri on th^
H h

466 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
island of Salsette. The great one is hoUowed out
of the rock. It is ninety feet long and near forty
wide, with a high fluted concave roof. Two rows
of columns divide it into three aisles ; at the ex
tremity of the centre one is a huge circular figure,
about nineteen feet high, and forty-eight in cir
cumference, which is believed to have been wor
shipped by the Jains. There are figures on. the
tops of the pillars, executed in fine style, repre
senting bulls, elephants, lions, and fanciful animals.
Farther up the mountain are numerous other caves,
but of a smaller description, which are supposed
to have been the habitations of the priests belong
ing to the large cave or temple.
Bombay has been much improved by its present
governor, Mr. Elphinstone, who has caused new
barracks to be built on the island of Calabah,
which will shortly be connected with Bombay by
a vellard, or great causeway. XLIX.
As I had an opportunity of inspecting the caves
of Elora, during my service in the Deccan, I
beg to present the reader with a slight sketch of
what I saw.
I approached the mountain of Elora across a
fine plain, on which our army was encamped. The
mountain is of a semicircular form, and in extent
about 2000 yards. .After passing a walled town
called Cassebeara, I came to the extensive ruins of
the city of Elora. Here I was met by a Brahman,
who undertook to conduct me up to the caves.
The mountain is a solid mass of fine granite, about
400 feet above the level of the plain. There are
eight principal caves, and about twenty small ones,
along its face, some of which are not worth notice.

ADDENDA. 467
Among the large caves, one is like Elephanta,
and another resembles the great cave on Salsette.
There is a pagoda here cut out of the sohd rock,
100 feet high. Thousands of colossean figures,
fourteen feet high, ornament the waUs. A miser
is seen, in one of the caves, cut out of rock, ten
feet high, with his chUdren and wife, imploring
charity, while a thief is stealing away bags of
money from behind him. The largest cave is
called Rhylas or Paradise. It is 245 feet long
and 143 broad. Some of the caves are of three
stories, communicating with each other by a flight
of stairs. Each story has a grand viranda, sup
ported by fine pUlars running along its front.
The great pagoda has thousands of figures, both
within and without, in basso relievo, together
with numerous separate statues, representing the
conquest of Ceylon, &c. There is between the
pagoda and the scarped rock a considerable space.
Under the rock are a viranda and galleries, in
which fifty giants stand as guards. The height of
the scarp is ninety feet, and from the galleries the
pagoda appears as if it had been placed on the
backs of elephants, tigers, and lions, and as if
its weight were crushing them to death ; for only
the heads, legs, and part of their bodies appear
outside. L.
I AM aware that a good account of Dwarka
pagoda is much wanted. The following brief
sketch comprises the particulars which I have been
able to collect respecting it, and other places con
nected with it.
Dwarka means the gate ; it is a town, and cele
brated temple in the province of Guzerat, situated
at the south-west extremity of the Peninsula,
H H 2

468 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
caUed Kattywar, the point of which is named
Okamundel, or the wild district. This place is at
present possessed by Mooloo Manick, who has
twenty-one villages, containing a population of
12,000 souls under him. Chrishna, the favourite
Hindoo deity, long resided here, both before and
after his expulsion by Jarasandha from Mathura.
It is, therefore, a celebrated place of pilgrimage.
About 20,000 pUgrims arrive there annually, and
the revenue derived to the temple, &c. amounts to
18,000/. on an average every year.
In performing this pilgrimage the following
ceremonies take place. The pilgrim bathes, for
which he pays a certain sum. He then visits the
great idol and makes offerings in proportion to his
circumstances. Then he goes with a certificate,
to a pagoda at Aramra, only a few miles distant,
where he is stamped with a hot iron instrument,
on which are engraved the shell, the ring, and the
lotos flower, the insignia of the gods. The im
pression is generally made on the arms. At
Aramra, the pilgrim embarks for the island of Bate,
which is in sight, where he makes other offerings
at a sacred temple there, and receives _the final
benediction. The Brahmans of India use the
chalk of Dwarka for marking their foreheads. It
is, therefore, a principal article of exportation,
being supposed to have been deposited there by
Chrishna, Merchants carry it all over India ; and
the Brahmans have a secret by which they can
distinguish it from all other chalk, though simUar
in appearance. They can, in like manner, at all
the temples in India, distinguish water brought
from the sources of the Ganges, from any other.
The Okamundel is separated from Kattywar by
a run, or swamp, formed by the sea making a
breach from the north-west shore, near Pindletaruk,

ADDENDA. 469
and extending in a south-east direction, again al
most connects itself with the sea at Muddee, which
is about fourteen miles distant from Pindletaruk.
The breadth of this channel gradually decreases ;
at Muddee it is not more than a mile, and is sepa
rated frora the ocean by a low bank, about fifty
yards wide. The highest spring tides flood the
run to the depth of eighteen inches ; at other times
it is dry, incrusted with salt, and may be crossed
with ease. From the earliest period of history,
commerce and agriculture have been disregarded
here by the inhabitants, who addicted themselves
to piracy, and still persevere in the habits of their
forefathers. They are of Wagur origin, having
come, it is said, originally frora Cutch. Their ap
pearance is wild and barbarous. It may be said
they live by plunder. In courage and enterprise
they are not surpassed by any people of India.
The reliance they place on their deities at Dwarka
and Bate inspires them with confidence to under
take any thing. Runchor, the god of Dwarka,
is supposed to protect them while at sea. His
priests are the chief instigators of piracy. Many
vessels are fitted out in his name, as sole
owner, and actually belong to the temple, which
receives the plunder they bring back ; as well as a
part from all private adventurers. Recently, these
predatory expeditions have been greatly restrained
by the British naval power; but the inhabitants
retain all their ancient propensity to the practice.
In 1809 we compelled the chiefs of Dwarka, Bate,
&c., to enter into treaties to restrain their subjects
frora acts of piracy ; but since that period expedi
tions have several tiraes been sent against the
pirates of Okamundel.
Bate signifies an island of any kind, but the proper
name of this small one is Shunkudwar. It derives
this name from a Hindoo demon who lived here in
H H 3

470 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
a large shunk, or conch shell. An incarnation of
Vishnu, called Shunknarrayan, destroyed him, and
established his own worship on the island, where it
continued until the flight of Runchor from Dwarka,
to escape a Mohainmedan army. He is now su
preme. Bate has one good harbour, and a fort so
strong, that it resisted our naval attack in 1803,
when the British lost a number of men before it.
About 150 vessels of different sizes belong to the
port of Bate. The town contains about 2000
houses, with a population of 10,000 souls ; but
besides the town of Bate, the government or chief
of that island has .A.ramra, Positra, Bhurwalla, and
some other places. The whole revenue does not
exceed 30,000/. per annum, from the temple and
all other sources.
In 1816 I belonged to the field-force sent against
the pirates of Okamundel. After rooting out seve
ral nests, we invested Dwarka, and the chief of
that place was forced to surrender it. The town
is small. It is surrounded by a weak wall and
towers. An arm of the sea runs up along one of
its faces, and forms a fine bathing place. The
charms of this delightful sheet of water, which
flows over sand so sparkling, that the bottom can
be seen at all times, perhaps suggested the idea
to some artful Brahman of establishing his worship
here, under an incarnation of Vishnu. When the
temples were built is quite unknown. Where the
materials were procured is doubtful. The natives
say they were built in one night by the gods. I
could not obtain any information whatever respect
ing their early history, except such fables as my
judgment pronounced absurd. They are, how
ever, works of unquestionable magnificence ; pro
digious expense and labour must have been in
curred in their erection. It does not appear to me
that the antiquity of these pagodas is near so great

ADDENDA. 471
as some others I have seen in India. There is a
freshness about them which the great pagodas in
the south of India have not. Yet their antiquity
is certainly great, and there is proof that they have
existed neaiiy in their present state for upwards of
800 years. Bate was taken in 1462 by Sultan
Mahmood Begra, of Ahmedabad, and at that time
there were accounts of the Dwarka pagoda for 500
years back. The priests pretend that the original
island of Dwarka sunk, when Chrishna was trans
lated to heaven ; and that their pagodas were built
by the gods to keep up his worship, where they
now are, but that they are not near so magnificent
as the old pagodas. In their books it is pretended
that they have accounts of the present pagodas for
sorae thousands of years : in short, since the death
of Chrishna, Krisnu was the eighth avater, or in
carnation of Vishnu, His era is not exactly known.
Budha was the ninth avater of Vishnu, and Sir
William Jones was of opinion that he existed in
the year 1014 before the birth of Christ.
On approaching Dwarka, I was struck with the
magnificent external appearance of the temples.
Within the wall which surrounds the town there
are two very large ones, and four much sraaUer.
They stand on very elevated ground. One is an
immense pyramid, at least 140 feet high, crowned
with glittering balls, having a flag near the top,
with a sun and moon. It is curiously carved from
bottom to top, like the pagodas in the south of
India, and composed of prodigiously large stones.
There are seven stories in the pyramid, and two in
the base on which it rests. The other great pa
goda is not so high, but it is broader ; the roof is
carried up curiously, by one retirement after an
other, till it ends in a circular form, surmounted
by a ball and flag. Round the outside of that
H H 4

47^ MEMOIRS OF INDIA,
temple, both above and below, there are curious
galleries or virandas, which were crowded with
Brahmans, who live in the upper part of the
temples. The four small pagodas are pyramids,
with flags, and glittering tops, but they are not
very striking objects, compared with the two large
temples. All these are built in the ancient
Egyptian style of architecture. A handsome dome
is put over the entrance to one of the pagodas, but
I conceive this to have been a modern addition.
You go from the bathing-place up to the temples
by a long flight of stairs, and pass through a strong
gate, when the whole at once breaks upon the
sight with a wonderfully grand effect. Indeed the
bathing-place is also an object of curiosity. It
extends along the shore in front of the town for
400 yards, and there are noble flights of stone steps
down to the water, which is so clear, that you can
see the sacred fishes sporting about, quite tame,
and feeding from the pilgrims' hands. Along the
bank, below the walls of the town, there are hun
dreds of httle temples in the Grecian and Egyptian
styles, supported on pillars, to screen the pilgrims
from the sun, and for the Brahmans, barbers, &c.
to sit in, who prepare the devotees for visiting the
idols. Runchor, the supreme idol, is on a throne in the
great temple, and I could only see that he was
gorgeously dressed, and covered with gold brocade.
His face was frightfully painted, and he looked
horrible amidst the glare of lamps that surrounded
him in his abode, from which the light of day is
excluded. In the other temples there are idols
called Trincongee, CuUangee, &c. &c., which re
late to the exploits of Runchor, if my information
be correct. I was nearly crushed to death by the
pressure of the crowd. The great drums were

ADDENDA. 473
beating ; the trumpets were sounding ; large conch
shells were roaring ; shrill instruments of music
were heard in all directions ; the Brahmans were
praying aloud, and extorting offerings from the un
willing devotees, some of whom were most anxious to
purchase their certificates at as cheap a rate as possi
ble; the devotees were prostrating themselves, and
muttering various dialects ; and, in short, the
whole was a scene of noise and confusion, which to
be conceived must be experienced.
We went afterwards to Ararara and Bate ; but
the temples are not worth description after Dwarka.
Game is very plentiful in Okamundel, Hares,
partridges, quails, foxes, &c,, are numerous, with a
wild hog starting frora every copse. The camel
breeds here, and thrives well on the various shrubs
that grow into almost impenetrable jungles in many
parts of Okamundel, It is said that there are wild
camels in the jungles of Okamundel,
It should be mentioned that the Dwarka pagodas
are enclosed in a square, whose side is about 200
yards, by a wall fourteen feet high, and of con
siderable thickness. Besides the great gate frora
the sea face, there are other small ones, which
communicate with the town. I think there are
about 1000 houses within the walls of the town,
well built of stone and lime, with tiled roofs ; but
there is a petah, or suburb, near the bathing-place,
which contains a great many people, and I think
the population does not fall short of 10,000 souls.
The town of Dwarka was taken by escalade by our
troops in 1820; upon which occasion the pirates and
Arabs, in the service of Mooloo Manick, took post
in the pagodas, where they might have defended
themselves for a long time. Their priests, appre
hensive for the safety of the temples, persuaded the
garrison to evacuate the sacred precincts, when

474 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
our men were getting over the wall, after sustain
ing sorae loss. The Arabs and pirates then took
post in a swamp, where they were surrounded, and
forced to surrender by discharges of grape shot,
but not tiU they had killed and wounded several of
our officers and soldiers. To prevent the pirates
from re-forming their forces, I understand there is
a British detachment now stationed in the Oka
mundel. LI,
Ramisseram is an island situated in the straits
between the island of Ceylon and the continent.
It is eleven miles in length, by six the average
breadth. There is a pagoda here of very great
antiquity. The entrance to it is through a lofty
gateway, 100 feet high, covered with carved work.
Its door is forty feet high, composed of single
stones, placed perpendicularly, with others crossing
over. The square of the whole is about 600 feet,
and it is certainly one of the finest pieces of archi
tecture in India,
Seringham is a sacred island, formed by the
rivers Cavery and Coleroon, near Trichinopoly.
The pagoda is composed of seven square en
closures, one within the other, the walls of which
are twenty-five feet high, and four thick. These
enclosures are 350 feet distant from one another,
and each has four large gates, with a high tower.
The outward wall is four miles in circumference.
Its gateways are ornamented with pillars, several
of which are single stones, thirty-three feet long,
and five in diameter. The idols are placed in
magnificent chapels, in the inner enclosure.
Conjeveram is a town of considerable size in the
Carnatic, forty-six miles south-west from Madras.
The pagoda here is dedicated to Mahadeva, or the

ADDENDA, 475
mother of the gods. It is a magnificent structure.
There is an edifice near it for the accomraodation
of pilgrims, supported by one thousand stone
pillars, carved with figures of Hindoo deities in a
very masterly manner.
The Chillambaram pagodas are situated on the
sea coast of the Carnatic, a little to the south of
Porto Novo, 120 miles from Madras, You enter
thera by a stately gate, under a pyramid 122 feet
high, built with large stones, above forty feet long,
and more than five feet square, all covered with
plates of copper, adorned with a variety of figures,
neatly executed.
There are in the Carnatic, many other great
monuments of the arts, demonstrative of the civilis
ation of that part of India at a very remote
period. Many of them are now in ruins. Others
have been repaired at a vast expense, by devout
individuals. To describe them all would lead me
beyond my limits, LII.
When Dowlutabad was taken by AUah-ud-Deen,
it was caUed Deoghur, or Tagara, which means the
city of God, It belonged to a powerful Hindoo
rajah, and from the immense treasure found in it,
the Moguls changed its name to Dowlutabad,
which means the rich city.
One of the greatest curiosities of the Deccan is
the hUl fort of Dowlutabad, in which the Nizam
has a garrison. It is cut out of the solid rock, and
apparently impregnable ; for the perpendicular
heio-ht of each face is about ninety feet, and it has
a wet ditch, thirty feet broad, and twenty deep.
From the capital of the scarp, the hUl shelves up
to a point, so gradually, that even if the besiegers

476 MEMOIRS OF INDIA,
could mount the first perpendicular, their labour
would be little more than commenced. The hill
itself may be about 350 feet high from the base,
and it is cut nearly into a square. It is quite a
shell, the fort being excavated out of it, with tanks
for the retention of water, and winding passages
that astonish those who have visited its interior.
These excavations were made before the invention
of gunpowder, and the immense body of solid stone
cut away was transported from its original situation
to various parts of the fort and city, by the tedious
means of human labour. LIII.
There is a letter on record from Jeswunt Sing,
rajah of Judpore,to the emperor Aurengzebe, which
places the universal charity of the Hindoos in a
very amiable point of view.
" Your royal ancestor, Acber, whose throne is
now in heaven, conducted the affairs of this empire
in equity and firm security for the space of fifty-
two years, preserving every tribe of men in ease
and happiness ; whether they were followers of
Jesus or of David, of Moses or of Mohamraed; were
they Brahmans, were they of the sect of Dhariens,
which denies the eternity of matter, or of that
which ascribes the existence of the world to chance,
they all equally enjoyed his countenance and fa
vour ; insomuch that his people, in gratitude for
the indiscriminate protection which he afforded
them, distinguished him by the appellation of Jugot
Grow, guardian of mankind. If your majesty
places any faith in those books, by distinction caUed
divine, you will there be instructed, that God is
the God of all mankind, not the God of Moham
medans alone. The Pagan and the Mussulman are

ADDENDA, 477
equally in his presence. Distinctions of colours
are of his ordination. It is he who gives existence.
In your temples dedicated to his name, the voice
is raised in prayer ; in a house of images where the
bell is shaken, still he is the object of adoration.
To vilify the religion and customs of other men,
is to set at nought the pleasure of the Almighty.
When we deface a picture, we naturally incur the
resentment of the painter ; and justly has the poet
said, ' Presume not to arraign, or to scrutinize the
various works of power divine.' "
LIV.
Mr, Percival, in his account of Ceylon, men
tions the Indian ichneumon as a great snake de
stroyer. It is a little creature like a mangoose.
On seeing a snake it instantly darts upon it, seizes
the snake by the throat, and kills it, however large,
by repeated attacks. It is said, the ichneuraon
knows certain herbs, which are antidotes against
the poison of every species of snake, Mr, Percival
witnessed many experiments. The ichneuraon
never would attack a snake, but in an open place,
where upon being bitten, he could run and eat of
the herb which he knew to be an antidote against
the poison. He always returned with redoubled
vigour to the attack after tasting the antidote,
LV,
Among the field-sports of India, hunting the
tiger with elephants, and the wild hog with spears
on horseback, are the raost noble and dangerous.
No country has a greater variety of garae than
India. The cheeta or a sraall species of leopard
is used in hunting the antelope. Hawks are also

478 memoirs of INDIA,
used by sorae of the natives in field-sports. The
natives have raany ingenious and curious ways of
catching game and fish. One is by gluing the
feathered race to a long rod with bird-lime. The
rod consists of a great raany different joints, which
are put on as they are wanted by the sportsman,
who pushes it gently towards his object, till it
touches and makes a prisoner of the unsuspecting
creature, which takes it for a small branch, or some
harmless twig. Water fowl are caught by a decoy
placed over the head of the sportsman. The birds,
not being afraid, permit hira to swim towards
them, when he catches them by the legs, and puUs
them under water, without alarming the other
ducks, or whatever he may be after. Fish are
hunted into nets by a great raany boys and girls,
who form a circle in a fish pond, and beat the
water with their hands and feet, making a great
noise at the same time. The frightened fishes fly
frora them towards the centre, and leap into a
large net, held so as to catch them.
LVI.
For an alphabetical abstract of the act 53 Geo. 3.
c. 155. dated the 2 1st July, 1813, I refer the reader
to the East India register and directory to be found
in nearly every coffee-room in the kingdom. By
this act the Company's charter is extended to the
10th of AprU, 1831, but it is not to cease and be de
termined until the expiration of three years' notice
by parliament after that period, and payment of
what is due frora tiie pubhc to the Company.
I also refer the reader to the East India Register
and Directory for regulations respecting mUitary
and other oificers retiring from the Company's
furlough regulations, &c., &c. ; tables of

ADDENDA. 479
pay and allowances ; a catalogue of oriental publi
cations, or works on India, comprising the general
literature of that country ; with many other useful
heads, and the present state of the Company's civil
and military service. LVIL
There are not in the world more liberal or con
siderate masters than the East India Company.
The members of this distinguished body both indi
vidually and collectively truly deserve the title of
honourable. It is their wish that every man in their
employment should be happy. Certain indepen
dence is placed before their servants. Every one
of their officers both civil and military may com
mand the smiles of fortune by honour and fidelity.
Military officers have nearly three tiraes the pay
and allowances in India, they receive in England.
The civil servants have salaries rising frora 40/. to
1000/. a month, or from nearly 500/. to 12,000/.
per annum. Officers belonging to His Majesty's
regiments serving in India, have the sarae pay and
allowances as the Company's officers of the same
rank. They have not, however, the same prospect
of independence. Nearly all local staff situations
are held by Company's officers. Many of them
could not be held by King's officers, who take no
oath of fidelity to the Honourable Company, Com
mands, however, are given to King's officers ac
cording to seniority ; and the situations of brigade-
majors, brigade- quartermasters, aides-de-camp, with
a few other small posts, are open to captains and
subalterns, but all the departments under the local
governments are filled with their own servants.
To be just before we are liberal, is right. When
we reflect, however, that many King's officers

180 MEMOIRS OF INDIA.
serve twenty years in India, their exclusion from
lucrative posts is a great hardship. In twenty years
a military man seldom gets above the rank of a
captain. Though his pay be three times as much
in India as in Europe, his expences are far greater.
He returns home poor and discontented. It must
be acknowledged that if the Company's officers
were excluded, they would have more reason to
complain. India on the whole is a fine country for mUitary
men. The art of war can be no where studied
with more success than in the long campaigns which
every soldier there experiences. Europeans may
preserve health, if they take care. It is now well
known that removal to the northern parts of India
renovates the constitution after being relaxed by
residence in the southern quarter of Hindostan.
My experience authorises rae to state, that the best
plan for government to adopt, when a regiment
arrives in India, from either Europe, or the Cape
of Good Hope, is to station it for some time on the
sea coast, where the commanding officer should be
directed to have bathing parades three mornings
every week, and on the alternate days exercise
inarches of about ten miles, or useful drills. Sol
diers should not be paraded sooner than an hour
before sunrise, nor should they be kept out too long,
under the increasing heat of the day. Yet I am
persuaded, that exposure to the sun, when an
European is climatized, is not injurious to health,
provided the fluids of the body be left to their na
tural powers of preserving due temperature. If
they be irritated by gross food or spirituous liquor,
fever and liver complaints are the consequences.
The night air on the sea coast is delightful to the
senses. Our soldiers, if not prevented, wiU carry
out their mats and sleep under its bewitching fresh-

ADDENDA, 481
ness, but it is dangerous unless the body and head
are well covered. After chraatization the night air
in the interior seems to be as little injurious to
health as the noon-day rays of the sun.
After a regiment has had this seasoning for a few
months on the sea-coast, it should be sent into the
Deccan, or Mysore, which regions, being elevated
about 3000 feet above the level of the sea, are cool
and healthful. The corps, in the course of a few
years, might be marched to the northern stations
to receive the benefit of streams of air flowing from
mountains of snow. Thus Europeans would, in
my humble opinion, preserve health for ten or
twelve years, and return to their country with un
broken constitutions, even after twenty years' resi
dence in the East,
The East India Company's army has lately in its
formation been considerably improved. Instead of
a regiment of two battalions being placed under
one colonel, each battahon has now a general officer
at its head. This arrangement not only provides
for a great many veteran officers, but gives a spirit
to each separate corps which it had not on the old
system. In short, the aspect of affairs in India is
at present most flourishing.
In future ages when the historian shall look back
on the records of time, he will pause in unquahfied
admiration at the space which the Honourable East
India Company of England fill in the annals of the
world. What wUl he behold? A company of
British merchants struggling with the greatest diffi
culties, and overcoming kings and principalities by
the force of integrity, perseverance, enterprise, and
industry. Unambitious of empire, yet forced by
the ambition of their enemies to become sove
reigns ; placed upon thrones to which they never
aspired, by the efforts of others to deprive them of
I I

482 ADDENDA.
their property, and to drive them out of a country
in which they had been permitted to settle ; in
clined to spare the fallen and raise the oppressed ;
sometimes made unwUling parties to the grasping
desires of their servants, but ever anxious to expose
their vUlany to public execration. If national
gratitude be due for great and signal services
rendered to our country, every Briton owes a large
sum to the East India Company. In short. Provi
dence seems to have raised them up as one of the
great supports of England in her long and mighty
struggle for political existence.

INDEX.

Abercromby, General, jAge 241, 254.
Abject slavery of the Javanese, 78.
Abul Fazel, quoted, (in many places), 9.; his death, 139..
Achmuty, Sir Samuel, subjugates Java, 254,
Acottah, 240.
Act, 53 Geo. 3, cap, 155., 478,
Adams, Colonel, defeats the Peishwa, 286. 296,
Adams, Major, 226,
Addenda, 411,
Adjighur, tragic event there, 319.
Afghanistan, some account of it, 7,
Ahmid IShah Abdalli gains the battle of Panniput, 9,
Albuquerque, Alphonso, his great exploits, 157,; death and
character, 168,
Alcananda, a river in Serinagur, 20,
Alexander the Great, his invasion of India, &c,, 132,
Alexandria, its site happily chosen, ib.
Allahabad, some account of it, 120, ; its curious fort, 356,
Almeyda, Laurence de, his noble conduct, 173,
Almora, a province of Nepaul, 19.
Altitude, its effect on climate, 28,
Alvares Cabral arrives in India, 155.
Ambition, the road to its gratification in India, 98.
Amboyna, massacre of the British there, 220.
America enjoys a free trade with India and China, 403,
Amyatt, Mr., his barbarous murder, 2?5,
Anchar, or poison tree of Java, 428.
Andamans described, 61, I I 2

484 INDEX.
Anecdote of the high priest of Badrinaut, 16.
Angeah grass of Bengal, 435,
Animal food eaten by many Hindoos, 434,
Animal life, great superabundance of it in Tibet, 11.
Antiquity of monuments in India, remarks on the subject, 351.
Appendix  Note 1, on Juggernaut, 383. Note 2, on the fa
natics of India, 385, ; and other notes under their proper
heads.
Arabians, they attack the Portuguese, 163.
Aramra pagoda, 468,
Aranjo, his disinterestedness, 176,
Areca, an account of this nut, 188,
Argaum, battle of, 250.
Arnold, Colonel, 269.
Arracan, 32.
Arrowsmith's four sheet map, in what correct, &c., 2.
Ashtee, action of, 289, 451.
Asiatic Eesearches, sixth volume, referred to for a description
of the caves of Elora, 313,
Asiatic Society, 410,
Assam, 32. 415,
Assay, battle of, 250.
Ataida, his patriotism, 176.
Atalantis, island of, search made for it, 150.
Atmosphere, man seems to be every where like it, 91.
Aurengzebe conquers the Deccan, 139.
Aurungabad, 341.
Austria attempts to share in the trade of India, 215.
Ava, 32.
Baber, sultan, invades India, &c., 138.
Bad^ Sumoom, the danger of it, &c., 4.
Badrinaut, state of the high priest, 16.
Bahar described, 119.
Baillie, Colonel, his defeat, 235.
Bairagis, some account of them, 15,
Baird, Sir David, 247. S97.
Badjeerow, 248,; flies to Bassein, 249-
Baldaeus quoted, 180, 326,

^NDEX, 485
Ballajee-row, 248.
Baloochistan, some account of it, 3,
Bamboo, used for boiling rice in, 73,
Banca, famous for its tin mines, 61.
Bantam, the English driven from it by the Dutch, 221.
Banyan tree, described, 438.
Banyans, some account of them, 123.
Baptist mission at Serampore, 213, 397.
Barlow, Sir George H., 252, 253.
Batavia, an account of it and the Dutch, 190,
Bate island, some account of it, 469.
Battle between the Gosains and Bairagis at Hurdwarra, 16,
Beards, sworn by in Baloochistan, 4,
Bedahs of Ceylon, some account of them, 59,
Benares described, 355,
Bencoolen, some account of it, 74.
Bengal, some account of its eastern frontier, 28. ; description
of the province of, 118.
Bengal royal tiger, some account of this animal, 436.
Benzoin, some account of it, 72,
Bernier's account of Cashraere referred to, 8.
Best, Captain Thomas, 221.
Betel described, 188,
Bhagmutty river, 18,
Bhatgong, some account of it, 22.
Bhauts of Guzerat, some account of them, 123.
Bheem Sing Tapah, 27.
Bheema Bhye, 286,
Bhurtpore besieged, 250,
Biajoos, some account of them, 81,
Bicrama Say, rajah, 27,
Bird-catching spiders of Ceylon, 421,
Bird of paradise, described, 427.
Birds, remarkable, of India, 427.
Birman empire, some account of it, 32.; emperor's palace,
&c., 417.
Bisayans, some account of them, 84.
Black hole of Calcutta, some account of Mr, Holwell's suffer*
ings in it, &c., 442. I I 3

486 INDEX.
Blackney, Captain, 262,
Boa constrictor, some account of it, 430.
Board of control, its powers, 238,
Bobilee, storm of it, 317,
Boglipore, a town of Rajemal, '29,
Bombay Literary Society, 464.
Bonaparte expected from Egypt, 244, 254,
Bones of the pilgrims near Gangotra, 13.
Bootan described, 28,
Boras, some account of them, 125.
Borders of the Cashmere shawls, curious fact, 8,
Borneo described, 82,
Boscawen, Admiral, besieges Pondicherry, 205.
Bottelho, James, his daring conduct, 175,
Boughtee Thappa, his death, 268.
Bourdonnais, M., 207-
Brahmanabad, once called Pattala, 6,
Brahmanism, its history, 142,
Brahmans, some account of them, 99,
Braithwaite, Colonel, 236.
Bride, how she is paraded about in India, 79, 386.
Bridges of India, some account of them, 354,
Brown, General, 286,
Brownrigg, Sir R,, conquers Ceylon, 272,
Buchanan, Dr., the Rev., &c,, 383,
Buckingham, Mr., his case, 404.
Budha, his religion, 31,
Budhists, some account of them, 144,
Buffaloes sacrificed to Bhavani in Nepaul, 24.
Burke, Mr,, 243,
Burr, Colonel, his brave stand at Kirkee, 278. 449,
Bussy, M, 317.
Buxar, battle of, 225.
Cabul, some account of it, 8, 9.
Caffristan, where situated, 8,
Camac, General, 234.
Camoens' cave, 49.
Campbell, Lieutenant, 281.

INDEX. 487
Camphor tree described, 186.
Candy, the king of, conquered, 273.; his throne described,
421.
Canton, some account of it, .44.
Caoutchouc, or urceola elastica, some account of it, 67,
Cape of Good Hope, 151, 189.
Carnatic, 106,
Cartier, Mr., 229,
Cashmere, 9, 413.
Catching elephants and taming them, 419.
Catmandoo, 18,
Causila, a river in Almora, 19.
Cautions to be observed by young adventurers on arrival in
India, 365, ; respecting the choice of companions, 366, ;
profusion and economy, 367, ; conduct and behaviour, 369,
Caves of Elephanta and Kenneri described, 465, ; of Elora,
466.
Celebes, 83.
Ceremony of marriage, note on this subject, 386.
Ceylon described, 54.
Character of the Dutch in India, 191.
Charles II. nearly ruins the East India Company, 221.
Chillambaram pagodas, 475.
China, remarks on its present state, &c,, 39,
Chinese colony in Ceylon, 419,
Chinese language, and method of printing it, 414,
Chisholm, Lieutenant, 288.
Chittagong, famous for elephants, 28.
Christians of the Carnatic, 107. 389. ; of Malabar, 108.
Christie, Captain, travels through Baloochistan, 3,
Cinnamon tree described, 188,
Cities, the chief ones of India, 93.
Clavering, General, 232, 233,
Cleveland, Mr., his monument, 29.
Clive, Lord, his history, &c., 223. ; second administration, 226. ;
his death, &c., 231,
Cloves, some account of this spice, 186,
Cochin China, 31.
Cocoa nut tree described, 166, 419.
I I 4

488 INDEX.
Coins or currency of India, 112. 307,
Colebrooke, Sir H. T., 95.
College of Fort William, 409.
Committee of circuit appointed by Mr. Hastings, 231,
Condatchy Bay, 338.
Conjeveram pagoda, 474.
Connolan, Lieutenant, 289.
Conway, Adjutant-general, 292.
Coote, Sir Eyre, then' Colonel, takes Pondicherry, 223, ; beats
Hyder AUi in all directions, 235.
Coral banks produce islands in the Indian seas, 70,
Cornwallis, Lord, his administrations, 240, 252,
Cossim Ally, 19.
Cossim Ally-Khan elevated by Mr,Vansittart, 224,
Cranganore, 240.
Creese, a weapon so called, described, 79.
Croker, Captain, 262.
Cutch, some account of it, 274.
Cuttub ud Deen invades India, 138,
Cuttle fish, 423,
Dacca, some account of it, 357,
Danes, their history, 212.
Daughters, a great source of wealth in Sumatra, 73,
Davie, Major, 273.
Dead buried by the Jogis and Gosains, 15.
Debauchery, its effects on society exemplified, 196.
Deccan, description of it, 113.
Declaration of war against the Nepaulese, 255,
Deeg, battle of, 250,
Delhi described, 120. ; its ruins, 353,
Delicacy of the Cashmere females, 9,
Dellon quoted, respecting the horrors of the inquisition at Goa,
179, 394,
Delta of the Indus, 6.
Depravity of the Brahmans of India, 16.
Despotic powers of the government of India, 404,
Despotism, its effects exhibited in Java, 78,
Dharma Sastra, an equitable cHjJe, 21.

INDEX, 489
Difference between the eastern and western world, 96,
Difference in the appearance and conformation of the Hindoos,
347,
Distance, how calculated in India, 112.
Dolphins, some account of them, 422.
Donkin, General, 286.
Doveton, General, 284,
Dowlut Row Scindea, his territories, 121,
Dowlutabad fort described, 475.
Dress of both sexes in India, 102.
Dress of the high priest of Badrinaut, 16,
Dubois, Abb^, quoted, &c., 407-
Dundas, Mr,, his bill, 242,
Dupleix, his actions in India, 206.
Dugong of Sumatra, some account of it, 71.
Dwarka pagoda, some account of it, 329, 467.
Ear-rings of Cleopatra worth 161,458/., 137.
East, Colonel, his expedition to Cutch, 27.4.
East India Company of England, 220.
East India Company of Holland, 184,
Eggs of the silk worm brought from China, 137.
Egyptians, their wars with the Portuguese in India, 163.
Elephant craal or trap described, 419.
Elephants of small size in the north of India, 21, 28.
Ellis, Mr., his generous conduct, 226.
Elora, caves of, 116. 312. 466.
Elphinstone, Mr., 279,
Elphinstone's account of Cabul quoted, 7.
English establishment at Canton, 46.
Erythras, 130.
Eugene, Prince, his attempt to share in the trade of India, 214.
Exports of Cabul, 9.
Fakiers, 15.
Females, Hindoo, some account of them, 101.
Feuds in Baloochistan, 4.
Fever, how cured in Sumatra, 75.
Field sports of India, 477.

490 INDEX.
Fifteen Years in India referred to, 275.
Fishes, wonderful, of the Indian seas, 422.
Fitzgerald, Captain, 280.
Fletcher, Sir Robert, 140.
Flying fish, some account of it, 424.
Fly-shooter fish, ib.
Forbes's Oriental Memoirs quoted, 303.
Formality of the Dutch in India, 195.
Formosa, island of, 185.
Fort St. David attacked by LaUy, 223.
Forts in India, general description of them, 317.
Fox, Mr., his bill, 238.
Francis, Mr., 232.
Free trade to India, 305, 403. 478.
French East India Company, 198.
Furnese, Nana, 234.
Ganges, river, 117.
Gangotra, some account of, 12.
Garrows, some account of them, 30.
Gayah, the cave of, 357.
Geographical description of India, 88. ; under which head are
described its climate and natural history, 89. ; its inhabitants,
population, &c., 92. ; its laws, &c., 95.; Hindoo manners and
customs, 100. ; the British empire with its revenues and re
sources, 102.; the peninsula of India, 105.; the Deccan, 113,;
and Hindostan Proper, 117.
Geographical outline of India, 3. ; under which head are de
scribed the western boundaries, Baloochistan, 4. ; the Indus,
5. ; Afghanistan, 7. ; Cabul, Caffristan, and Cashmere, 8. ;
the northern boundaries, Himalaya mountains, 10.; Tibet,
11.; Sources of the Ganges, 12.; Fair of Hurdwarra, 13.;
Nepaul, 18.; Bootan, 28.; the eastern boundaries, Indo
China and Tiperah wilds, from 29 — 33. ; China, 37. ; Canton,
44. ; Macao, 48, ; southern boundaries, the islands of the
Iftdian seas, 51,
George I,, his encouragement to the Tanjore mission, 389,
George II., state of the East India Company at his death, 222.
Ghauts, some account of them, 105.

INDEX. 491
Ghizni, where situated, 7,
Gholaum Kaudir blinds Shah AUum, 140.
Gillespie, Sir Robert RoUo, his death and biography, 258.
Goa described, 181;
Goats of Tibet, 11,
Gockla, his death, 289,
Goddard, General, 235.
Golconda, 116,
Gold, its power over genius exemplified, 163,
Gold fishes, some account of them, 424.
Goldsmith, Dr., his opinion of the value of modern history, 127,
Goona Begum, her monument, 346.
Goorca, present state of it, 19.
Goorgeen Khan, ib.
Gordon, Major, 292.
Gosains, 15.
Government, revenue, &c, of Ceylon, 60,
Graves of ancestors, oaths taken among them in Sumatra, 72.
Gregory, Dr., his advice to his daughters referred to, 190,
Guickwar, 248.
Gundwana described, 114,
Guzerat described, 122.
Gymnosophists, 136,
HammaUeel, or Adam's Peak, 55.
Hanuman, the monkey deity, 24,
Harbours of Ceylon, 57,
Hardyman, Colonel, 262.
Harris, General, 247.
Hastings, Warren, his administration, 231. ; character, 236, ;
his trial, 243,
Hastings, Marquis, arrives in India, 254, ; is forced into war
with Nepaul, 255. ; conquers that country, 269. ; his war
with the Mahrattas, 271.; conquers them, 298.; increases
the revenue of the Company upwards of four millions sterling
thereby, 298.; sends an expedition up the Persian Gulf, 299.;
forms regulations respecting suttee, ib.
Hawoos, some account of them, 22.
Herodotus, his account of India, 131,

492 INDEX.
Himalaya mountains, 10, 411,
Hindoo Coosh, 411.
Hindoo Tadies, some account of them, 343.
Hindoos, their chronology, 393.
Hindostan Proper, 117.
Hislop, Sir Thomas, 279. ; gains the battle of Maheidpore, 281, ;
puts the garrison of Talnier to the sword, and hangs the
Killedar, 293,
History of India, 128. ; under which head are described its an
cient state, 129.; Alexander's invasion, 132,; state of India
at that time, 133.; the Brahmans and their religion, 135,;
the trade of India during the flourishing state of Rome, 137, ;
Mohammedan invasion, &c., 138. ; the way in which Hindos
tan may have been originally peopled, 140. ; the rise and
progress of Brahmanism, 142. ; apostacy of Budha, 145. ;
Jainism, ib.; and the origin of the Seiks, 148,
History of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese,
150.; Vasco de Gama sails for India, 151,; reception at Ca
licut, 152.; Alvares Cabral arrives in India, 155.; Albuquer
que's great actions, 158.; his death, 168.; his successor, Lopez
Soarez, extends trade to China, ib. ; the Portuguese are per
mitted to settle on the island of Macao, 170. ; establish them
selves in Japan, 171. ; arrive at the height of their power, ib.\
begin to degenerate and decline, 172. ; instances of their mag
nanimity, 174. ; examples of their cruelty and vice, 178. ;
character of their descendants, 180. ; description of Goa,
181,; present state of the Portuguese in India, 183,
History of the Dutch in India, 184.; Van Nic's successful
voyage and return, 185, ; Admiral Warwick founds Batavia,
ib. ; the Dutch become possessed of the spice islands, 186. ;
overcome the Portuguese, 188,; their character and present
state in India, &c., 192,
History of the French in India, 198.; they purchase Pondi
cherry, 202. ; colonise the Isles of France and Bourbon, 203. ;
rise to considerable power under Dupleix at Chandernagor,
204. ; wars between them and the English, 205. ; they lose
all their settlements, 209. ; present state of their power in
the East, 211.
History of the Danes in India, 211,; establish themselves in

INDEX, 493
Tanjore, and build Tranquebar, 212.; build Serampore, on
the river Hooghly, 213. ; are successful in converting the na
tives of Tanjore, 214. ; present state, ib.
History of the East India Company of Ostend, 214.
Swedish East India Company, 215.
Prussian East India Company, 216.
Trade of Spain with India, ib.
Prussian trade, 217.
History of Great Britain in India, 220. ; Sir Thomas Roe sent
as ambassador to the Great Mogul, 220. ; Captain Best's fac
tory at Surat, 221.; wars with the French, 222. ; Colonel
Clive's actions, 223. ; Mr. Vansittart, 224. ; Lord dive's re
turn to India, 226.; account of his administration, &c., 227. ;
retirement, character, and death, 230. ; Mr. Hastings' admi
nistration, 231. ; resignation and character, 236, ; his trial,
243. ; Mr. Pitt's bill, 238. ; administration of Marquis Corn
wallis, 240. ; of Lord Teignmouth, 258. ; of Lord Morning
ton, 242.; state of India in 1805, when the Marquis of Wel
lesley returned home, 251. ; second administration of Mar
quis Cornwallis, 252. ; arrival of Lord Minto, and war in
"Travancore, 253. ; mutiny in the Madras army, and capture
of the French settlements in the Mauritius and Java, 254. ;
arrival of the Marquis of Hastings, ib. ; Nepaul war, 255. ;
subjugation of Ceylon, 273.; expedition to Cutch, 274. ;
Mahratta war, 276. ; expedition against the Arabian pirates,
299.; of the three presidencies, Calcutta, 300., Madras,
3(36., Bombay, 308.
Holkar, 244. 248,
Hongs, description of them at Canton, 45.
Horaforas, some account of them, 81.
Hospitality in India, 441.
Hot springs of Sumatra, like those of Harrowgate, 70.
Hot winds, supposed to generate nitre, 119.
Human sacrifice offered near Badrinaut, 18,
Hur Sing Deo conquers Nepaul, 26.
Hurdwarra fair, 13.
Hyder Alii, 229, 235, ; invades the Carnatic, 235,

494 INDEX.
Ibrahim Lodi, emperor, 10,
Ichneumon of Ceylon, some account of it, 477^
Idols, their table laid regularly, 17.
Imitation, its effects on raen every where, 193.
Impey, Sir Elijah, 233.
Imports of Cabul, 9.
India, or Hindostan, 1.; geographical description of it, 88.
Indo-Chinese, 2. 32.
Indo-Persians, 2.
Indus, 5.
Infanticide arrested in Cutch by British interference, 274. 398.
Inquisition at Goa, 179.
Insects of India, 426,
Introduction to Book First, describes the work, and the natural
divisions of India, 1,
Introduction to Book Second, explanatory of the method
adopted by the author, 127.
Introduction to Book Third, states its contents and nature,
315,
Islands of India, 51.; under which head are described the
projections which form the Indian ocean, 52. ; the Laccadives,
ib.; the Maldives, 54,; Ceylon,ib.; Sumatra, and its contiguous
isles, 61,; Java, &c. 76. ; Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas,
81,; and the Philippine isles, 84,
Israel, Sheik Ben, converts the Javanese, 77. ; his mausoleum,
ib.
Jains, their notions of time, or their chronology, 393,
Jainism described, 145,
Janiere, King, murdered by the PorJ^uguese, 187,
Jansens, General, 190,
Japan, some account of it, 171,
Java described, 76,
Jenkins, Mr., 281,
Jeswunt Sing, rajah of Judpore, his celebrated letter to Aureng
zebe, 476.
Joasmere pirates, 299.
Jogis, some account of them, 15.
Jones, Lieutenant, 289.

INDEX. 495
Jones's, Sir WiUiam, testimony in favour of the Bible, 129.; his
character and death, 2^2, 447.
Juggernaut, 11,; and Appendix, note 1, 383,; his expenses,
385.
Junks, some account of them, 45,
Justice, the barriers of it too weak to stop ambition, 164,
Kanoge, ruins of, 350.
Kayns, some account of them, 30,
Keating, Colonel, 254,
Keir, Sir WUUam Grant, 286. 299,
Kemaoon, 19,
Khetris, their great courage, 316,
Kinlock, Major, his operations in Nepaul, 26,
Kioping, the Swedish navigator, reported that he had seen men
with tails, 64,
Konckanaddee Sewaree, 261,
Kookies, their savage customs, 31.
¦ Krishna river, 1,
Kyrauts, some account of them, 21.
Laccadives described, 52. '
Lahore, province of, 121.
Lake, Lord, defeats Scindea and takes Delhi, 140. 250. ; de
feats Holkar at Deeg, ib. ; besieges Bhurtpore, ib. ; and
forces Holkar into a peace highly advantageous to the Hon.
Company, ib.
LaUy, M. his actions, 207-
Lama of Tibet, 12.
Lambs' skins of the Tibet sheep, 8.
Language of the fingers in India, 14,
Languages, original ones of India, 97.
Lapis lazuli, produced in Oude, 120.
Laurie, Major, 267.
Lawrence, Colonel, 207.
L'Epreuve, the murder of her crew, 82.
Leyden, Dr, 32, 74.
Light, Captain Francis, receives Pulo Penang, 65.
Limbooas, 22.

496 INDEX.
Lime of Silhet, 29.
Linnois, Admiral, 209,
Lloyd, Captain, 281.
yOudon, Countess of,'her amiable character, 456.
ludlow. Major, 261.
yons, Lieut,-Col,, 266.
dacan, Captain, 281.
Macao, some account of it, 48.
Macartney, Lord, his embassy to China, 41.
M'Donald, Captain, 281,
M'Donald, Lieutenant, ib.
M'Gregor, Captain, 293.
M'Morine, Colonel,^ 286.
M'Kenzie, Major, 281,
Mackintosh Sir James, his high character in India, 464.
Madagascar colonised by the French, 199.
Madeira discovered, 138.
Magellan discovered the Philippine islands, 84.
Maheidpore, battle of, 281.
Mahmood, sultan of Ghizni, invades India, 138.
Mahomed Ghori conquers Ghizni, 7-
Mahrattas, their power, 244. ; their history, 248, ; war against
them by the Marquis of Hastings, 271.
Malabar, the province of, 108,
Malacca, peninsula of, 68.
Malartie, General, 245,
Malays, their treachery, &c., 69,
Malcolm, Sir John, 3, 251. 281. 284. 437.
Maldive islands described, 53,
Mallacargee pagoda described, 331,
Mangoe fish, 425.
Mangrove, some account of it, 74, 427,
Mangusteen, some account of it, 80.
Manilla, 87.
Marco Polo excites Columbus to inquiry, 138.
Marley, Major General, 26,
Marsden, Mr,, does not corroborate Dr, Leyden, 74.
Marriage, its ceremony in India, 386,

INDEX, 497
Marshal, General, 286.
Martindel, Major General, 261.
Mathews, General, 236. ; surrenders to Tippo, ib.
Mauritius, 254.
Meadows, General, 241.
Meers, chiefs of Sind, 5.
Megasthenes, his account of the Indo-Chinese, 31.
MUk not used by the Chinese in any form, 47.
Milnes, Colonel, 278.
Minto, Lord, his administration, 252.
Mirza Eesau, his mausoleum, 6.
Miscellaneous remarks on India, 316.; under which head are
observations on the character of the Hindoos, 317. ; the
bravery of the Company's Sepoys, 319.; the crimes of the
Brahmans, 321.; their wild notions respecting chronology,
&c., 324,; their idols, 325. ; Dwarka pagoda, 329. ; Tripetty,
331.; Mallacargee pagoda, ib.; curiosities in the south of
India, 333, ; village govermjient, 334. ; the activity and in
dolence of the Brahmans, 336. ; the pearl fishery on the
coast of Ceylon, 338, ; Mohammedan style of architecture,
340. ; Mohammedan manners, &c., 342. ; the Hindoo ladies,
243. ; Aurungabad, 346, ; Surat, 346. ; the Deccan, 347. ;
Hindostan Proper, 348. ; ruins of Kanoge, 350. ; ruins of
Gour, ib. ; of Delhi, 352. ; the bridges of Hindostan, 354. ;
ruins of Oude, 355. ; Benares, ib. ; Patna, 356. ; Dacca,
357. ; on the East India Company, &c.,. 479,
Mocwanpore, some account of it, 19.
Mohammedan manners described, 341.
Moloch, the, of the East, 383.
Molucca islands, 83.
Monboddo, Lord, believed there were raen with tails, 64.
Monkeys, red, of Ceylon, 42.0.
Monopoly of the Company's servants, 228.
Monson, Colonel, 232, 233.
Monsoons described, 89.
Mountains, chief ones of India, 93,
Moving plant of Bengal, 435,
Muck some account of this horrid Malay practice, 69.
Munro, Sir Hector, takes Pondicherry, 209,
K K

498 INDEXc
Munro, Brigadier General, 295, 296.
Murray, Lieutenant-Colonel, 292,
Musk deer of Tibet, 11.
Mysore described. 111.
Nadir Shah's invasion of India, 139.
Nairs, some account of them, 109,
Names of places in India not now what they were, I.
Nanac, founder of the Seiks, 15. 122.
Nancowry, exertions of the Danish mission there, 65.
Nautilus, some account of this fish, 424.
Nepenthes, or pitcher plant, some account of it, 421.
Nepaul, description of it, 18. ; war, 255. ; scenery, 413.
Nepean, Sir Evan, 273.
Nerbudda river, 1,
Newars, 23.
Nicobars, 64.
NicoUs, Colonel, 263.
Nizam, 229, 234.
Nizam's territories, 115.
, Noble instance of magnanimity, 153. ,
Nund Comar, rajah, 232.
Nutmeg, 166.
Ochterlony, Sir David, 261. 263. 269.
Ooreas, some account of them, 114.
Oriental negroes, 62, 64. 68. 84,
Orissa, some account of it, 1 14,
Ormus, some account of it, 164.
Ostend East India Company, 214,
Oude described, 120,
Ouran Outang, once supposed to have known the use of fire,
86.
Oyster trees, what gave rise to the beUef that there were
such, 74.
Palibothra, 2,
Panniput, battle of, 10,
Papuan Isles, notice of them, 432,

INDEX, 499
Papuas, the oriental negroes, 84.
Parliamentary proceedings, 229, 238. 243.
Parsees of India, 124.
Parthi Narrain conquers Nepaul, 18,
Patna, 356,
Pattinson, Lieutenant, 289.
Pegu, 34, ; the temple of, described, 416.
Peishwa, 276—278, 296.
Pekin, some account of it and the emperor's palace, &c., 418.
Peloo Isles described, 431.
Peninsula of India, some account of it, 105.
Perishwar, 9.
Perron, M., 244.
Persia, low character it bears at present, 37, '
Persians supposed to be the original stock whence the Mah
rattas sprung, 131.
Philippine isles, 84.
Pindarries, 255. 276. 285.
Pinto, Major de, his death, 297.
Plassey, battle of, 224.
Plato, his account of Atalantis, 150.
Policy of the Hon. East India Company changed by pros
perity, 223.
Pondicherry, some account of it, 211,
Port CornwaUis, 63,
Portuguese, their discoveries and conquests, 150.
Pottinger, Mr., 3.
Preparation for India and passage out, with practical advice to
young adventurers, 358.
Press, the, in India, subject to a censorship, 404.
Prince of Wales Island, or Pulo Penang, described, 65.
Printing in China, how effected, 414.
Pritzler, Brigadier General, 295. 297.
Productions of the northern mountains of India, 17. ; of Ceylon,
57. • of Pulo Penang, 66. ; and others under their heads.
Proprietors of East India Stock, 228.
Prostitution sanctioned by Brahmanism, 16.
Prussia her attempt to trade with India, 216.
Ptolemy, his misnomer of Java, 76.
K K 2

500 INDEX.
Punakha, 28.
Punjab, some account of it, 122.
Purannas, commentaries on the Vedas, 97-
Queen Mother of Sattara, her behaviour, 290. 454.
Quintus Curtius quoted, 133.
Raffles, Sir T. S,, referred to for our only authentic account of
Java, 428.
Raghunaut temple, 16.
Ragajee, buckshee, 248.
Rajah of Nagpoor, ib.
Rajemal, some account of it, 28.
Rajpoots, their female infanticide, 398.
Rama, rajah of Oude, invades Ceylon, 56.
Rami Haut, Captain Raper's account of it, 16.
Ramisseram pagoda, 474.
Rangoon temple described, 416,
Raper, Captain, his journal quoted, 13,
Rassa Deva's fane, 16.
Raynal, Abb6, 128, 441,
Remarks on subjects connected with residence or service in
India, 371.
on the prejudices of the natives, 372.
on the conversion of the Hindoos, 374.
on female connections in India, 375.
on marriage, 376,
on independence, 377.
on returning from India, 379.
Remora fish, 423,
Rennel, Major, quoted, 139.
Reptiles of India, 440,
Republican principles give a pecuhar character to the Seiks,
122.
Resources of Oude and Benares seized by Mr. Hastings, 235.
Riebeck, Van, colonises the Cape of Good Hope, 189.
Rival East India Companies of England form a junction, 222.
Rivers, the principal ones of India, 93.
Robertson, Dr., his history referred to as an authority, 128.

INDEX. 501
Roe, Sir Thomas, 220.
Rohillas, 140, 232.
RoUin's Ancient History quoted, 136,
Row Lacka, his mausoleum described, 274.
Ruins of Delhi, 352,
Runjeet Mull conquered by Parthi Narrain, 26,
Russia, her trade with India and China, 218.
Ruy Lopes de VUlabolos changes the name of the Philippines, 84.
Sago tree described, 166.
Saltpetre of Bahar, 119.
Sangar, 20.
Sanscrit, its derivations, 97. ; great antiquity, 141.
Sanyassees, some account of them, 15,
Sattara described, 45,'.
Saugur Island, suicides committed there, 98, 389.
Saul, or Sissoo, 21.
Schools for the education of the natives in India, 303.
Scott, Colonel, his brave conduct, 279,
Sculpture of Hindostan, 332,
Seiks, their history, 148.
Serinagur, 20.
Seringham pagoda, 474,
ServUia's pearl worth 48,457^., 137-
Shalimar, the gardens of, in the valley of Cashmere, 9,
Sharks, some account of them, 423.
Shawl goat of Tibet, 11.
Shawls of Cashmere, 8. 412.
Sinds, some account of them, 5.
Slaves sold at the fair of Hurdwarra, 14. ; also in Malabar, 110,
Smith, Major General, now Sir Lionel, 278.; forms a junction
with Colonel Burr, ib. ; forces the Peishwa to retreat from
Poonah, 279, ; pursues the Peishwa, 287- ; gains the action
of Ashtee, 289. ; rescues the family of the Sattara rajah,
289.
Smith, Cornet, 281.
Soarez, Lopez, his actions, 168.
Sotheby, Mr., kiUed at Nagpoor, 281.
Sources of the Ganges, 12.

502 INDEX.
Souza, Thomas de, his self-denial, 177-
Speculation respecting the varieties of men, 432.
Spices, the clove and nutmeg unknown as such to the ancients,
166.
Staunton, Sir George, his account of China, 42.
Staunton, Captain, his gallant stand at Koragaum, 288.
Stewart, Colonel, referred to, 385. 397.
Subsidising system of Marquis Wellesley, 402.
Suicide, its various modes in India, 98.
Sumatra, the island of, described, 61.70.
Surat, some account of it, 346.
Suttee, the nature of this ceremony, 275. 400,
Swanston, Lieutenant, 289.
Swedish East India Company, 215.
Sword fish, some account of it, 422.
Sylveria, Antonius, his gallant defence of Diu, 175.
Syrian Christians of Travancore, 392.
Tailor-bird of Ceylon, 421.
Talnier, 291.
Tamerlane pillages Delhi, 138-
Taprobana, 2.
Tartars invade Bactria, 3.
Tatta, province of, 6.
Tauje Mahal, near Agra, some account of it, 345,
Tea plant, a native of Ceylon, 58.
Teeth filed down and ornamented with gold by the Sumatrans,
73,
Teignmouth, Lord, 242,
Termes, or white ant, some account of it, 425.
Thirst, difficulty of enduring it, 5-
Thompson, Lieutenant Colonel, 265. 267, 268,
Thread worm of India described, 440,
Tibet, some account of it, 10.
Time, how measured in India, 112.
Tiperah wilds, 2. 28.
Tippo defeats Colonel Baillie, 234, ; destroys Colonel Braith-
waite's detachment, 236. ; sends an embassy to France, ib. ;
sues for peace to Lord Cornwallis, 241, 244,; his confederacy

INDEX, 50S
against the Company, 245. ; his deep policy, ib. ; his death,
247, ; his throne, &c,, 446.
Tiroons, desperate pirates, 82.
Titles of the East India Company of England, 227.
Tranquebar, 212.
Trees and plants of India, some of them noticed, 439.
Tributary branches of- the Indus, 6.
Tripetty pagoda, 331,
Tropical winds described, 434.
Udasis, some account of them, 15,
Ummer Sing Thappa, 266, 268,
Ummerapoor, some account of it, 417.
Upas, or poison tree, 71,80.
Valley of Cashmere, its great beauty, 8, 413,
Vansittart, Mr., 224,
Varieties of men, speculation respecting their formation, 104,
432,
Vasco de Gama, 151, 442,
Vedas, the sacred books of the Hindoos, 97.
Veils sent by ladies as a signal of distress in Afghanistan, 7.
Verelst, Mr., 229.
Village society in Ceylon, 56.
Viseram Rauze, his death, 317.
Visiapoor, or Bejapoor, described, 340.
Vizier Ally, his marriage, 386.
Vows of chastity, how kept by the Brahmans, 16.
Wagurs, 255. 273.
Wall of China, 417-
Warlike disposition, unfavourable to early settlements in India,
exemplified in the history of the French, 201,
Warwick, Admiral, founds Batavia, 185.
Watson, Lieutenant, 281,
Webb, Lieutenant, his journey to Gangotra, 13,
Wellesley, Marquis, then Lord Mornington, his administration,
243,; frustrates all Tippo's plans, 246.; sends an expedition
to Egypt, 247. ; puts a stop to suicide at Saugur Island, 389.

504 INDEX.
Wellington, Duke of, then General Sir Arthur Wellesley, re
places Badjeerow on the throne of Poonah, 249.; gains the
battle of Assay, 250.; and Argaum, ib.
Whales of India, 422.
Wild beasts of India, 440,
Wiley, Assistant Surgeon, 289.
Wilford, Major, quoted, 131,
Wingate, Assistant Surgeon, 288.
Wives, only one in a family of brothers in Tibet, 11.
Woden, one of his barbarous tenets, 211.
Wood, Major General, 261.
Wool of the Tibet goat described, 8.
Wow Wow, a monkey of Java, from which the natives derive
their origin, 77.
Xavier, or Xaverius, St, Francis, some account of him, 159, ;
his speech to his friends, 162.
Yak, the bushy -tailed cow of Tibet, 11,
Yunan, a town in China, 29,
Zamorin, some account of this prince, 152.
Zealand, Fort, on Formosa, 185,
Zemindar, the chief landed proprietor under government in
India, 95,
Zend, the language in which the sacred book of the Parsees is
written, 97,
Ziegenbalg, Bartholemew, 389.
Zoroaster, 97.

THE END.

London:
I'rinted by A. & R. Spotliswoode,
New-Street-Square.