The Oriental annual, or, Scenes in India

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THE

ORIENTAL ANNUAL,

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OR

Scenes tn Kn&ta;

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COMPRISING

TWENTY-TWO ENGRAVINGS

FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS

BY WILLIAM DANIELL, R.A.

AND

A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT

BY THE REV. HOBART GAUNTER, B.D.

LONDON :

PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, BY

EDWARD CHURTON, 26, HOLLES STREET.
1836.

LONDON :

PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,

Dorset Street, Fleet Street.

THIS VOLUME IS,

BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION,

DEDICATED TO THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES

THE DUCHESS OF KENT AND THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.

PREFACE.

The first series of the Oriental Annual is now
completed. The signal success of the first two volumes
has encouraged the proprietor to incur a further ex-
pense in rendering the engravings still more worthy of
public patronage.

Upon this head it will be sufficient to say that five
of the subjects have been engraved by Brandard, and
two by John Pye ; the remainder by the best en-
gravers employed on the former numbers.

Next year will commence an entirely new series,
connected with the most interesting portion of Indian
history.

ENGRAVINGS

FROM

drafting#

BY

WILLIAM DANIELL, ESQ. R.A.

IN THE HARBOUR OF MASCAT (Frontispiece.)

THE ADJUTANT (Vignette Title.)

A RICH MAHOMEDAN Page 16

THE TIGER HUNT 43

THE CHOULTRY OF TREMAL NAIG AT MADURA . .51

HINDOO TEMPLE AT TRITCHENGUR . , .59

THE BRAMINEE BULL 71

A HINDOO WOMAN ...... 96

ON THE BALIAPATAM RIVER . . . .105

SCENE NEAR THE COAST OF MALABAR . . .132

THE SMALL DEER OF CEYLON . . . .141

LION AND BUFFALOE .... . 156

THE MONKEY AND CROWS 173

NEAR MASCAT .... ... 182

THE FORTS OF JELLALI AND MERANI MASCAT . . 191

BOMBAY . .... 213

TOMB OF A PAT AN CHIEF, OLD DELHI . . .231

TOMBS OF PATAN CHIEFS, OLD DELHI . . . 243

ON THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA . . . .257

ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE OF ELEPHANTA . • .263

ENTRANCE TO TPIE LARGE CAVE, SALSETTE. . . 272

THE UPPER CAVES, SALSETTE . . . .284

ERRATUM.

Page 167, line 21, for “the mover,” read “ them over.”

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER I.

EMBARK FOR MADRAS. A HURRICANE.

Shortly after the breaking-up of the monsoon, we
took our passage to Madras in a country ship : it was
a fine vessel, built of teak, and about six hundred
tons burthen. Besides our party, there was only one
passenger, a lady, on her way to join her husband
who had a command somewhere on the Coromandel
coast. I occupied a small cabin under the poop, on
the right-hand side as you entered the cuddy. The
ship was commanded by an old weather-beaten sea-
man who had lost an eye, over which he wore a black
patch, that gave a fierceness to the expression of his
countenance, naturally rough and grim, by no means
conciliating. He was besides deeply seamed with the
small-pox, which imparted to his broad rigid features
an asperity that repelled courtesy, and rendered him at
first unpopular among his passengers, though he was
a prodigious favourite with the crew. The fact was,
that although his face presented such an unfavourable
index of the inward man, it was really a false inter-

B

SCENES IN INDIA.

preter: for, under the most forbidding exterior, this
man possessed great kindliness of nature. His coarse
boisterous sincerity soon lost its rust, and we saw
through the superficial crust that there was the polish
of kindly feelings beneath ; and he shortly became an
object, if not of respect, at least of general well-liking.
There were two officers besides the captain, and a
crew of forty Lascars. One of the officers was a young
man of education and of considerable literary attain-
ments ; the other was a much commoner order of
person, although esteemed by the men as admirably
skilled in the science of seamanship.

On the afternoon of the second day after we had
left Calcutta, having cleared the Sunderbunds, we
amused ourselves by throwing out a bait for a shark,
A large fish soon took the hook, but so desperate were
its struggles, that it snapped the rope and escaped.
Another tackle, newer and stronger, was immediately
prepared, when the same fish almost instantly seized
it, and, after a mighty resistance, was drawn up over
the ship’s side and safely lodged upon the deck. The
hook of the first line was stuck fast in its throat,
while the last hook was securely fastened in its sto-
mach. Its strength was prodigious, and so furiously
did it lash the deck with its tail, as to render it dan-
gerous to approach within its sweep. With a single
stroke it overturned one of the guns; the carpenter
then severed the dangerous member with the blow
of an axe ; after which, the savage creature was
quickly despatched. It measured nineteen feet. When
opened, there was taken from its stomach a piece
of solid timber thirteen inches long, and as thick

THE WEATHER THREATENS.

3

as a man’s arm, which it had no doubt swallowed in
mistake for something more nutritious ; for so ra-
venous are these creatures, that they have been fre-
quently known to devour greedily not only wood, but
even pieces of iron.

Two days after we had fairly got into the bay of
Bengal, the weather began to threaten. The previous
night had been exceedingly sultry. The air appeared
stagnant, as if it had suddenly ceased to circulate,
and the heat in consequence became painfully op-
pressive. In the morning the wind blew fresh, and
all the sails were reefed, in consequence of the lower-
ing aspect of the heavens. There was a faint haze over
the sun, which gave a brassy tint to its beams, and
these were reflected dimly upon the surging waters.
The Lascars, who are never fond of preparing against a
gale, did their duty sluggishly, and looked grave and
uneasy. The captain foretold foul weather, though
to an inexperienced eye there was nothing to warrant
so unfavourable a foreboding. The wind continued
fresh all the morning, but did not materially increase
for the first two or three hours. After breakfast the
passengers, of whom there were but six, seated them-
selves in the stern gallery, some watching the progress
of the weather, and others making an effort to beguile
the dulness of the morning by playing at chess or back-
gammon, The whole scene was marked by an in-
definite dreariness ; no one expressed any positive ap-
prehension, yet the captain’s unqualified prediction of
a stiff gale imposed upon every countenance a gravity
not a little ominous of ill. There was something
startling in the very unusual appearance of the sky :

4

SCENES IN INDIA.

a mysterious but omnipotent hand had traced upon its
broad expanse mystical characters not to be definitive-
ly interpreted^ but yet; like the handwriting on the
wall in the palace of the Chaldean king; of most por-
tentous aspect. The only lady among us every now
and then expressed her fears; when a sudden gust
caused the vessel to lurch with an increased momen-
tum; as if the billows were already commencing a
fiercer conflict.

By noon the wind had risen to a steady gale; yet
there was nothing to excite immediate apprehen-
sion. The clouds had by this time obscured the sun,
over which they rolled in dark misshapen masses;
appearing at intervals as if they had been torn asun-
der by the wind and scattered in gigantic fragments
through the troubled air. The very forms they as-
sumed had that monstrous indistinctness of outline
such as the imagination shapes in sleep; bringing be-
fore the entranced eye shadowy nothings which im-
part a vague but actual feeling of terror. Fancy gave
them now an indefinite yet palpable existence — I
mean a vital existence — and each fantastic volume
that passed over the ship changing its form with every
fresh burst of the blast; seemed a new harbinger of
mischief.

“ The firmament is filled with scatter’d clouds,

And as they fly before the wind, their forms,

As in a picture, image various shapes —

The semblances of storks and soaring swans,

Of dolphins and huge monsters of the deep.

Of dragons vast, and pinnacles and towers.”*

* From the “ Mrichchakati,” or “ Toy-cart,” a Hindoo drama.

A GUN ESCAPES FROM ITS FASTENINGS.

5

By four o’clock in the afternoon it blew a perfect hur-
ricane, and the vessel was lying-to under a close-reefed
main-topsail. The ports were all fastened down, and
the guns drawn in upon the quarter-deck. The hatches
were well secured, and every precaution taken which
the most vigilant foresight could suggest against the
probable devastations of the storm.

While we were seated in the cuddy, not quietly
but very uneasily taking our tea, the vessel appeared
of a sudden to leap over a gigantic billow, and the
moment she had recovered her libration, she rolled so
heavily that her bulwarks were nearly under water.
The tables were forced from their stays, overturned,
and all the tea-things shattered to pieces ; we were
thrown from our chairs, and for a minute or two the
utmost confusion prevailed. Scarcely had we resumed
some degree of composure, before one of the guns
broke from its lashings, and rolled from side to side
of the quarter-deck each time the ship yielded to the
fierce impulse of the waters, threatening with every
shock, as it dashed against the bulwarks, to force its
way through into the deep, to the positive danger of
the vessel. In one of its furious migrations, it struck
a dripstone, which had been secured in a corner near
the cabins, released it from the strong wooden case in
which it was confined, and sent it bounding upon the
deck, placing in great peril those who were engaged
in the necessary duties of the ship. The noise oc-
casioned by these huge masses dashing from side
to side, added to the howling of the wind and the
fierce lashing of the waters, was painful in the ex-
treme. The Lascars were afraid to oppose themselves

b 3

6

SCENES IN INDIA.

to the destructive course of these ponderous bodies,
which had so unexpectedly escaped from their assigned
stations, and seemed about to add seriously to the
mischiefs already fearfully threatened by the storm.
At length, the second officer having dexterously cast a
noose over the gun, brought the rope suddenly round
the capstern, to which the carriage was soon fastened,
and here it was suffered to remain for the moment.
The stone was now easily secured, and thus our
immediate anxiety was quieted.

The wind continued to blow with terrific violence,
and the Lascars were evidently becoming indifferent
about working the ship. This is one of the cha-
racteristics of Indian sailors. In stormy weather,
whenever the case appears an extreme one, they
abandon themselves to dogged apathy which nothing
can rouse: their notions of predestination lead them
to -imagine that their time is come ; and thus, instead
of striving to avert the threatened calamity, they sul-
lenly await the apprehended destruction. Ships have
been frequently lost by this sluggish and unmanly
despair on the part of these blind predestinarians. It
has been wisely said by one of their own sages,
“ danger should be feared when absent, and braved
when present but they entirely reverse the maxim,
and give way to the most superstitious apprehensions.
It fortunately happened that we had a few Manilla
men on board, who by their active example stirred up
the torpid energies of some of the Lascars, which else
they might have refused to exercise.

As night drew on, and the hurricane rather in-
creased than abated, every precaution was used to

A HURKICANE.

7

make all secure for the night ; but the captain was
evidently thoughtful and uneasy, his cheek was flush-
ed and his eye restless. He gave his orders with all the
coolness and precision derived from long experience,
but it was evident that his mind was labouring under
unusual excitement. He turned continually to the
weather with an earnest but unquiet gaze ,* stood fre-
quently by the man at the wheel ; watched him as he
steered, every now and then seizing one of the spokes
with an impulsive eagerness which evinced a highly
perturbed state of feeling. I could not help observing
this, and it led to conclusions not at all calculated to
prepare me for a peaceful night’s rest. I began to be
extremely disquieted ; and though I did not venture to
express my apprehension, the saddest ideas were con-
tinually crowding upon my thoughts and filling my
breast with tumultuous emotions.

The wind was by this time frightfully violent.
At intervals the captain vociferated his orders through
a trumpet, which sounded amid the howlings of the
storm like the hoarse cries of some evil spirit by
which its merciless fury was excited and kept in play.
The uproar is not to be described ! At length all had
retired to their cabins save the captain and myself.
We were both seated in the cuddy ; I upon the car-
riage of a gun, to which I was obliged to cling to pre-
serve my equilibrium. He was smoking a cigar ; and
our conversation, now carried on with some difficulty,
turned naturally upon the hurricane, against which the
ship was at that moment most fearfully labouring.
Suddenly, a heavy sea struck her astern, but happily
on the quarter, and in an instant carried away the

8

SCENES IN INDIA.

quarter-gallery on that side, swamping the cabin into
which the poor lady before spoken of had retired for
the night. The force of the water was so great, that
it dashed open the door of the cabin, and its fair occu-
pant was borne head foremost into the cuddy, dripping
like a mermaid, her hair hanging about her shoulders
in long thin strips, when she was rescued by the captain
from further mischief. She was drenched to the skin.
It was a pitiable sight to see her quick and almost con-
vulsive gaspings — her eye upturned with a deep settled
glare of half-consciousness, that seemed as if her mind
were in a state between terror and agony, to neither
of which she could give expression, as the water had
nearly suffocated her. The blood had receded from
her cheeks, which were overspread with a dull bluish
white. In a few moments she recovered her breath,
when she shrieked and fainted. A dry boat-cloak
was thrown round her, and the captain gallantly
resigned to her his cabin, where she soon recover-
ed, and changed her wet attire. Although the da-
mage done was considerable, yet the breach made
by sweeping off the quarter-gallery was immediate-
ly stopped by the carpenter, who nailed up a few
stout planks, and covered them with a thick tar-
paulin.

It was late before I retired to my cot, and some time
before I could sleep: weariness, however, at length over-
came me, and in spite of the dreadful howling of the
hurricane I slept. I remember well my dreams were
troubled ; I had a confused perception of danger which
was more painful than the most vivid sense of peril.
The roar of the gale and the heavy booming of the ship

A STRANGE DREAM.

9

as she laboured through the waters broke sensibly
upon my ear, in spite of the repelling power of slumber.
Every instant I beheld, though indistinctly, objects of
horror, which were on a sudden dispersed by the heavy
pitching of the vessel, that for a moment restored
me to consciousness; but sleep soon again overpow-
ered my senses, and placed her terrifying phantoms
before me. I fancied myself upon a rock in the midst
of an illimitable ocean, the waters of which were
raging around with frightful commotion : a huge ra-
ven was perched close at my side, its hideous eyes
glaring upon me with an expression that I could not
mistake, and which shot through my frame a pang of
irrepressible agony. The waters lashed the base of the
rock with a fury that made it vibrate to the very
foundation, and I felt as if I should be every instant
cast among its mountainous billows. The whole sur-
face of the ocean was as red as blood, which disclosed
its hideous crimson every time the lightning, that
was perpetually breaking from the heavens, illumined
the shoreless expanse upon which my eyes were
fixed in terror. In the hollows of the waves lay
the bodies of the drowned, and of some persons yet
alive, struggling in the last agonies of a most ap-
palling death. At this moment the thunder crash-
ed ; the lightning glared, struck the rock, and shi-
vered it : the whole mass was riven ; it yawned at
my feet, and a frightful chasm threatened to engulf
me. The raven perched upon my breast, flapped its
wings in my face, and I fell backward into the hor-
rible abyss.

I awoke in agony, and to my consternation found

10

SCENES IN INDIA.

that my cot had struck against the roof of the cabin,
where it remained motionless ; it no longer swung.
For the instant I fancied the vessel was in the act
of sinking — I knew not what to think. When my
senses had somewhat recovered from the shock and
terrible impression of my dream, I sprang from the cot
upon the cabin- floor. I heard a dreadful uproar upon
deck, and with a half-frantic desperation threw my-
self into the cuddy. I had no other dress on than
that in which I had retired to my cot for the night.
The noise upon deck increased, and my anxiety by
this time amounted to positive torment. I reached
the cuddy door, and opened it with a heart full of
wild and tumultuous apprehensions. I had scarcely
done this, when a gigantic billow poured over the bow
of the ship, hissing and sparkling in the impeded
moonlight, and I stood upon the quarter-deck up to
my shoulders in water. I clung for an instant to the
ladder of the poop, which, as soon as I could recover
myself, I ascended. Here I witnessed a scene which
I shall never forget to the latest moment of my exist-
ence. When memory brings the picture to my mind,
with the long shadows of years between it and the
reality, it shakes me even now. I never carry my
thoughts back to this fearful night that the minutest
circumstance of the scene does not recur to my recol-
lection with the most awful distinctness : it is one of
those events only to be wiped from the records of
memory in that grave “ where all things are forgot-
ten.”

I looked around me upon a wide world of waters,
which were raging with fearful commotion. The

THE HURRICANE INCREASES.

11

lightning streamed over them, pouring like a liquid
torrent from the heavens in flashes so quick as to be
almost continuous, and illuminating the whole expanse
of the ocean. The wind howled so loudly, that I could
scarcely hear my own voice, and blew so fiercely, that
I was obliged to cling to the rail in front of the poop-
deck in order to secure my footing. As I cast my eyes
below, the ship appeared absolutely buried in the bil-
lows. All the ports were fastened so that no water
could escape, and she had shipped no less than five
tremendous seas. She was now upon her beam-
ends, labouring through the mighty swell with a
motion so unnatural, that the captain turned to me,
who was alone with him on the poop, and vocife-
rated, with an oath which made me shudder, that
we were going down. I quailed under his blas-
phemy, which the extreme peril rendered the more
horrible. He raved and stormed like a madman, and
ordered that the lashings of all the ports to leeward
should be instantly cut. The vessel now lay like a
log upon the sea ; the rudder had no power. She
was almost under water, while the hurricane was
raging at its utmost might, and every billow seemed
to rise like a mountain to overwhelm her. She still,
however, floated ; but the struggle could not last. I
had seated myself by the mizen-mast, against which
I leaned, expecting every instant to feel the waves
dash over and sweep me into the “ yeasty deep.” To
attempt to describe my reflections at this crisis would
be a vain effort. I was stunned by the awful scene ;
my senses were so overwhelmed, that no perceptible
image was presented to my mind. I had no positive

12

SCENES IN INDIA.

apprehension of the death which now appeared in-
evitable ; for my imagination was distracted by such
a confusion of indistinct and fleeting images, that I
could not collect my thoughts into a current of clear
and definite ideas. Insensibility was rapidly coming
over me ; I am satisfied that my senses would have been
lapped in complete oblivion before I could have sunk
under the surface of the raging sea. While I was in
this state of all but complete stupefaction, I heard the
welcome sound, though imperfectly through the hoarse
brawling of the wind, “ Ports all clear V* which had
scarcely reached my ear, before the ship righted, and
the captain’s frightful agitation subsided. The moment
the ropes were cut which confined the ports, these
latter were forced open by the prodigious pressure of
the water, which almost instantly escaped and left
the deck comparatively free. The vessel recovered
her position, and the immediate peril at once sub-
sided.

She was now put before the wind, and drove under
bare poles at the rate of ten knots an hour. I quitted
the poop, changed my clothes, and remained for the
rest of the night on the deck. At intervals the moon
burst from the dark purple masses that hurried rapidly
over her fair disk, and poured her clear silvery light
upon the turbulent ocean. The lightning diminished
shortly after midnight, but the wind continued with-
out the slightest abatement. The Lascars who com-
posed the watch had thrown themselves into the boat,
which was fastened between the main and fore masts,
and could not be induced to stir until they saw that
all immediate danger had subsided. The officer of the

SHIPWRECKS.

13

watch was obliged to use the most summary methods
to induce them to perform their necessary duties : they
crawled about with an apathy and indifference which
a smart application of the rope's-end, occasionally
administered by a very muscular arm, could scarcely
dissipate.

Although I had remained so long upon the poop,
drenched to the skin, with nothing on but the dress
in which I slept, in the very teeth of that terrific
hurricane, yet I had not felt in the slightest degree
chilled; on the contrary, the excitement from utter
hopelessness to the apparent certainty of escape from
threatened destruction, produced a glow all over my
body, and I continued upon deck, amid the rush of
waters and the roar of elements, without the least
desire to retire again to my cabin. The officer of the
watch, who was a rough sailor, a Newcastle man,
about the middle age, and the best portion- of whose
life had been passed at sea, entertained me with dole-
ful stories of his numerous escapes, and the vessels
he had seen go down, describing the cries of the
drowning with a melancholy minuteness of detail-
all but realizing to my excited mind the horrors by
which such dreadful calamities are accompanied. I
listened to him with painful interest, which continued
until he was relieved, when I quitted the deck and
retired to my cot, where I soon fell into a refreshing
sleep.

By sunrise the wind had much abated, the foresail
was set, and the ship resumed her course. Still there
was occasional rain and thunder at intervals :

c

14

SCENES IN INDIA.

From the dark womb in rapid fall descend
The silvery drops, and glittering in the gleam
Shot from the lightning, bright and fitful, sparkle
Like a rich fringe rent from the robe of heaven.

Nothing further occurred out of the common course of
events until we reached Madras.

The morning was beautiful when we anchored in
the Madras roadstead. The Masoolah boats were in-
stantly alongside, and my fellow-passengers and my-
self gladly proceeded to the shore. There was an-
other boat behind us with several passengers from
a ship., which had cast her anchor shortly after we
had cast our’s. The surf was very high, though the
day was fine, and only a slight breeze gently un-
dulated through the air. There was a cross swell,
boisterous and difficult, requiring all the skill of the
boatmen to get their boat into a favourable position
for riding securely over the surf. The catamarans
were close beside us, to pick us up in case of accident ;
for the ground-swell, which is so remarkable all along
this coast, was particularly heavy. With some difficulty
we were at length safely landed ; but the boat behind
us was not so fortunate. By some mismanagement,
the man at the helm had allowed her to advance too
far upon the crest of the breaker, which curled sud-
denly under her, raised her stern in the air, when
another surge instantly succeeding, turned her a com-
plete somerset, stem over head, and sent every person
within her sprawling in the surf. They were whirled
about in the most violent manner, performing many
disagreeable evolutions, their mouths filled with water
and sand, until rescued from their jeopardy by the

M A DBAS KOADS.

15

men who followed in the catamarans, and plucked
them from the rapacious jaws of the sharks within
a very few seconds after the disaster. They presented
a sorry picture as they stood upon the beach, dripping,
and wiping their faces, when they were beyond the
reach of danger. The whole of their baggage was
recovered from the impetuous waters. After having
liberally rewarded the active fellows who had saved
them from a watery death, they proceeded, like our-
selves, in palenkeens towards the towrn.

16

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER II.

A RICH MAHOMEDAN. NAUTCH GIRLS. A HOG-

HUNT.

I remained at Madras for two or three weeks,
when, joined by my old travelling companions, we
proceeded down the coast, nearly retracing our for-
mer route as far as Tanjore. Here we fell in with a
wealthy Mahomedan, who showed us particular at-
tention, treating us with great hospitality during our
stay, which made our time pass very agreeably. The
first visit we paid him was in the afternoon, just
after he had taken the siesta, and was enjoying his
hookha in the veranda of his dwelling. He was seated
on a rich carpet under a magnificent awning, attended
by two domestics, one of whom was protecting him
from the inconvenience of the sun’s rays with a chatta
composed of the palmyra-leaf, and the other was
waving over him a yak’s tail, in order to prevent the
impertinent intrusion of flies and mosquitoes. The
mussulmaun courteously invited us to his dwelling,
which was in the neighbourhood of the city, upon the
river Cavery ; and we visited him almost every even-
ing during our stay. He had a splendid mansion,
with a numerous establishment. One evening, be-
fore we quitted Tanjore, he gave a sumptuous en-

SPLENDID ENTERTAINMENT,

17

tertainment, to which we were expressly invited.
Our host was about five-and-thirty years of age ; he
had a tall commanding person , was remarkably cour-
teous in his manners, and of easy, unembarrassed
address. Like most persons of his race, he was
extremely fond of show, living in a state of almost
princely magnificence. In the evening, when we
reached his abode, we were ushered into a room
almost^ entirely panelled with English looking-glasses,
in gorgeously gilded frames, extending nearly from the
top to the bottom of the apartment, and so mul-
tiplying its extent, that it appeared all but inter-
minable. The rich Mahomedans frequently live in
great splendour, spending large sums of money upon
the furniture and decorations of their houses, in
which, however, there is much less of comfort than
of magnificence. How strikingly do they , confirm
the wise saying of a Hindoo philosopher! — Riches
amount to just as much as is bestowed in gifts or en-
joyed ; the rest goes to others.”

By the time the room was filled, it seemed to con-
tain a crowd as numerous as Satan’s newly raised
Pandemonium.

As bees

In spring-time, when the sun with Taurus rides,

Pour forth their populous youth about the hive
In clusters, they among fresh dews and flowers
Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank,

The suburb of their straw-built citadel.

New rubb’d with balm, expatiate and confer
Their state affairs — so thick the busy crowd
Swarm’d and were straiten’d.

After a variety of embracings, sprinklings with rose-

c 3

18

SCENES IN INDIA.

water, and sippings of an agreeably acidulated drink
something like our ordinary lemonade, the party squat-
ted themselves upon small Persian carpets, covered
with the most florid devices, spread upon a fine rush
mat beautifully white and of the finest texture.
When the guests were disposed in proper order, a
musician advanced, made his salaam, and gave us an
air upon the sarinda ; — a rude kind of violin, which
he managed with more dexterity than taste. He
was shortly joined by several other members of his
profession, and for a good half-hour we were doomed
to nothing short of a musical purgatory. To my
especial relief, this luxury of Oriental melody had
its termination, and several nautch girls were intro-
duced. The two principal were extremely pretty,
with figures of the most delicate symmetry. They
wore silk trousers of a pale scarlet, gathered round the
ankles, below which a thin gold bangle embraced the
small delicate leg. From these were suspended minute
silver bells, that kept a gentle and by no means dis-
agreeable tinkling, as these Oriental figurantes went
through the various evolutions of their native dances.
Upon the upper part of their persons they wore white
jackets closely fitted to the shape, terminating in a
short skirt, which descended loosely over the hip, but
was left open in front, so as to expose the trousers ;
under this jacket a transparent petticoat hung as far
as the knee. Over the head and shoulders was thrown
a veil of beautiful thin gauze, which crossed the bo-
som, and, when spread open, was made occasionally
to hide the entire figure of the dancer ; at each corner
was a rich tassel of gold or silver bullion. This veil

NAUTCH GIRLS.

19

the nautch girls manage with great grace and skill in
their dances, one while peeping from beneath it with
an arch expression of unequivocal meaning, at another
exposing the whole countenance, beaming with a ra-
diance that only makes the beholder regret so much
beauty should be allied to so much depravity. The
eye is usually lit up with earnest animation, every
feature being refulgent with expression, that, but
for the revolting leaven of sensuality which appears
to give it life, would be entrancing to gaze and to
dwell upon.

Nothing can exceed the transcendent beauty, both
in form and lineament, of these degraded women,
whose lives are as abandoned as their persons are fre-
quently enchanting. Although generally accompanied
by the most debauched of their sex, they are neverthe-
less continually engaged at large entertainments, even
by Europeans, for the purpose of amusing their wives
and daughters, as well as the wives and daughters
of their guests. It must be confessed, however, that
when they are admitted into houses to perform before
persons of character, they never in the slightest degree
offend against propriety ; upon these especial occasions,
nothing can be more modest than their dress and de-
meanour, while the gentle grace of their movements
and attitudes is often unrivalled. Their dances, ge-
nerally speaking, are much more decent than those
encouraged in the theatres of Europe, which young
and innocent girls are permitted to behold and applaud
without a blush ; and which, I must confess, with
some rare exceptions, are to my judgment far more re-
markable for their indecency than for their elegance.

20

SCENES IN INDIA.

The great charm of the Indian dances consists
almost wholly in those elegant attitudes which they
allow the dancer to display. You see no prodigious
springs, no vehement pirouettes, no painful tension of
the muscles or extravagant contortions of the limbs ;
none of that exquisite precision of step and pedal dex-
terity which constitute the chief charm of European
artists. You see no violent sawing of the arms, no
unnatural curving of the limbs, no bringing of the legs
at right angles with the trunk ; no violent hops, and
jerks, and dizzy gyrations. The nautch girl advances
gracefully before her audience, her arms moving in
unison with her tiny naked feet, which, although not
like snow in hue, still “ fall on earth as mute,” gliding
through the evolutions of a simple figure without any
of that exertion inseparable from European dances as
exhibited before public audiences. She occasionally
turns quickly round, by which the loose folds of her
thin petticoat are expanded, and the heavy silk border
with which it is trimmed opens into a circle round
her, showing for an instant the beautiful outline of
her form, draped with the most becoming and judici-
ous taste. Although in description the perfections of
this style of dancing may appear but negative, their
effects are nevertheless positive upon the beholder.
The ornaments worn by these women are often of
considerable value. Their throats are usually encir-
cled with several necklaces, sometimes composed of
pearls, sometimes of gold curiously wrought. A
large jewel hangs from the right nostril, suspended
by a plain gold ring. On the forehead, just be-
tween the eyebrows, they always wear an ornament.

A HOG-HUNT.

21

which has no doubt given rise to the Sevigne now
almost universally worn by European ladies. The
most unpleasant part of the nautch is the dissonant
music with which it is accompanied, and in which the
dancers themselves every now and then join with
voices as shrill and unmusical as the note of the pea-
cock.

There is little variety in an entertainment of this
kind in India. The guests,, one and alb squat upon
the floor, form themselves into groups, chatter with
the most vehement energy of action, or gaze at the
dancers, whom they applaud with an animation that
frequently drowns the very drums and viols supposed
to add such a charm to their favourite amusement.
In compliance with the pressing courtesy of our host,
we remained until his guests began to separate, ac-
cepting an invitation to join him in a hog-hunt on
the following day. He had a good stud of horses,
from which he promised that we should be well
mounted ; and we accordingly took our leave, with
an assurance that we would meet him the next morn-
ing by sunrise.

Shortly after daylight we were mounted and in the
field. The sport, for the first two hours, was very
tedious and uninteresting, as we saw no game ; and
I began to think of returning home, when a hog was
started from a patch of sugar-cane, and advancing in
a diagonal direction across the plain, was pursued by
at least a score of horsemen. I was mounted upon
a bony country horse, which did not appear to have
been much accustomed to the pressure of a European
saddle, as it would frequently stop when on the

22

SCENES IN INDIA.

gallop, suddenly turn round, and kick and snort as if
it had been stung by a dragon-fly. Happening to be
the nearest horseman to the hog when it broke cover, I
struck the spur into the flank of my hunter, and thus
urged it to full speed, in order to turn the animal’s
course ; but I had no sooner come up with it, than
my steed unexpectedly turned short round, threw out
its heels with desperate energy, struck the poor hog
in the ribs, rolling it upon the plain, and causing me
to make a somerset over its own neck; and then,
with the most provoking indifference, galloped off,
leaving me within two yards of the enraged brute,
which I expected every moment would unbutton my
waistcoat with its tusks, to the manifest peril of the
body underneath. Happily, the kick had so disabled
it, that the creature lay for several seconds without
attempting to move; of which circumstance I took
advantage, and rising with eager celerity, scampered
off after my fugitive hunter.

The hog soon recovered, and just as it was pre-
pared to try its speed afresh, our host rode up to it
sword in hand, and striking it on the back, com-
pletely severed the joint. The vanquished animal
fell, and almost instantly died. The body was imme-
diately borne off by some of the attendants. As I
could not regain my horse, and being a good deal fa-
tigued with my exertions, I seated myself upon the
summit of a small hillock that overlooked a ravine
terminating a sheer precipice of at least a hundred
feet. From the exalted position I had taken I could
command the whole plain, and see the sport though I
could not join in it. There was a large tract of thick

A DESPERATE LEAP.

23

jungle on my left, upon the borders of which were se-
veral patches of sugar-cane,, where it was evident
some of the swinish multitude had been taking their
meals, to the great annoyance of the proprietor of
these saccharine plantations. I had not been long
seated on this elevated spot, when I saw a boar, pur-
sued by several sportsmen, making its way at full
speed towards the precipice. The ground being very
uneven, the horses scarcely gained upon the chase, and
it appeared to have a fair chance of escape. On it
sped, dashing over every inequality of the ground with
heedless impetuosity. The shouts of its pursuers seem-
ed to render it desperate ; for, nearing the edge of the
precipice, it did not attempt to turn, but sprang head
foremost over the brink like another Marcus Curtius,
if one may venture to compare a hog to a heathen.
The spring was so great, that it did not strike the
ground until near midway down the precipice, where
the face of the escarpment bulged outward. Upon this
projection the boar pitched, and, like a newly-inflated
football, bounded again into the empty air. After two
or three similar bounds, sufficient to have broken
the ribs of Phalaris’s brazen bull, had it been sub-
mitted to a similar process of repercussion, the un-
happy brute reached the bottom of the ravine, when,
to my astonishment, it rolled over upon its legs, dart-
ed into the thicket, as if its precipitous descent had
been a mere pastime, and was out of sight in a few
moments. I must confess I thought the bold beast
deserved to escape, though it was a sad disappoint-
ment to its pursuers.

By this time my horse had been caught by one of

24

SCENES IN INDIA.

the followers, and we repaired to a tent pitched
at a convenient spot upon the banks of the river.
A chine of the hog which had fallen under the sword
of the Mahomedan was soon dressed, and at the
top of the table the tusked head appeared with
a large orange in the mouth, and garlanded with a
wreath — not of laurel, but of some shrub that answered
the purpose just as well. Our host, though a votary
of the Arabian prophet, had no objection to eating the
prohibited food and drinking claret, of which he was
excessively fond, in the presence of his domestics ;
who, he observed, although they might presume to
think he did wrong, did not dare to tell him so.
Not having a very earnest faith in the religion of his
forefathers, he looked upon himself as a free agent :
being moreover possessed of the means of exercising his
free agency, he took care to employ them to the full
extent of his will. He indulged so freely in potations
of his favourite beverage, that he was obliged to relin-
quish his horse for his palenkeen, into which he rolled,
and was borne upon the shoulders of four sturdy re-
tainers to his home. The rich Mahomedans in India
are fond of European society, and by no means scru-
pulous in violating the sumptuary laws of the Koran.
Those prohibitory canons contained in their scriptures,
which restrict them to certain meats and deny them
the use of wines, they consider severe restrictions;
and though they extol the prophet’s wisdom in enact-
ing them, and admit the providential agency that dic-
tated them, they nevertheless sufficiently show how
little they deem them worthy of respect, by the
open and indifferent manner in which they infringe

FATAL ACT OF SUPERSTITION.

25

them. They have various ingenious modes of evad-
ing the force of these laws, among which this is one :
a single drop of vinegar poured into a cask of wine
immediately changes it from a prohibited beverage to
one which any pious Islam may drink without scan-
dalizing the prophet. Other religious obligations may
be evaded by similar devices.

Before we quitted Tanjore, I witnessed one of those
awful acts of superstitious devotion so common in this
country. I was riding rather early in the morning
upon the banks of the Cavery, when I saw a group of
some half-dozen persons descend to the river’s brink.
The water was here many feet deep. Stopping my
horse to see what was going on, I observed one of the
group preparing to plunge into the stream. The in-
stant I saw him I suspected he was about to commit
an act of self-immolation. My whole frame thrilled
with an irrepressible emotion — I was riveted to the
spot ; and, in spite of the feelings by which I was nearly
overpowered, I could not resist the painful temptation
of witnessing the whole transaction. The victim was
a man somewhat past the meridian of life, but never-
theless apparently in vigorous health. He stood upon
the bank of the stream, and on either side of him was
a Brahmin, who fastened a large earthenware jar upon
his shoulders. After this was done, the man made
several prostrations, and entered the river. He slipped
off the bank, where the depth was considerable, but
the jars prevented him from sinking. The Brahmins
folded their arms and looked silently on. They attempt-
ed neither to save him from destruction nor to expe-
dite his death. He remained for some time floating,

D

26

SCENES IN INDIA.

as if in prayer. The surface of the water was unruffled,
except where it was disturbed by the motions of his
body, and seemed an apt emblem of that apathy with
which those ministers of a sanguinary religion looked
upon an act of detestable suicide.

The man made several efforts to fill the jars, using
the most deliberate exertions to accomplish his abo-
minable sacrifice. Finding that he could not succeed,
he at length drew himself to the bank, seized the root
of a shrub which was partially bared, and, bending
forward, succeeded in turning the mouth of one of the
jars towards the stream and filling it. This only
served to lengthen the dreadful process of death ; for
the other jar being empty prevented him from sinking,
whilst that which was full drew him sufficiently under
water to obstruct his breathing. In his struggles, how-
ever, he continually rose and partially recovered, only
again to be half-suffocated. Although this continued
for several minutes, the wretched man never once at-
tempted to get out of the river ; on the contrary, his
determination to die was evident to the last moment.
Seeing that his struggles were likely to continue, I
called out to the Brahmins to break the empty jar ;
but those haughty functionaries did not condescend to
notice my expostulations. At length, one of the by-
standers, more merciful than his priests, dashed a
stone upon the empty vessel, and the wretched victim
sank ,* a few bubbles rose to the surface, and the water
flowed over him, without leaving a visible memorial
of that superstitious tragedy. This man was of the
weaver caste, and I heard it said that his wife had
expressed an anxious desire to die a suttee ; but as

BURYING ALIVE.

27

the husband’s body had been probably taken by alli-
gators^ and she therefore could not go through the ce-
remony according to prescribed form,, she was spared
the necessity of dying a death., distinguished indeed in
her eyes,, but nevertheless truly horrible.

It is the custom, when a woman of the weaver caste
sacrifices herself to the manes of her husband, to descend
with his body alive into the grave, which is dug near
some sacred river ; but if the parties dwell at a dis-
tance from any holy stream, then the grave is prepared
near the most sacred spot in the vicinity. It is dug
very deep and large ; and, after a number of initiatory
rites, as unintelligible as they are fantastical, the widow
takes a formal leave of her friends, who are always pre-
sent upon these melancholy occasions, and descends into
the chamber of death. It frequently happens that she
is so stupified with opium as to be scarcely conscious
of what she is about, but goes through the necessary
forms with mere mechanical insensibility. As soon
as she reaches the bottom of the pit, to which she
descends by a rude ladder, the latter is withdrawn,
and she is left alone with the body of her deceas-
ed husband, generally in a revolting state of decay :
this she embraces, clasping it to her bosom without
the slightest expression of disturbance at the effluvia
it emits. Having finished her disgusting caresses, she
places it upon her lap, and gives the signal for the
last act of this shocking scene to commence, which
is even more dreadful than immolation upon the
funeral pile. The earth is now deliberately thrown
upon her, while two persons descend into the grave
to trample it tightly round the self-devoted sacrificant.

28

SCENES IN INDIA.

During this tardy but terrible process, the doomed
woman sits an unconcerned spectator, occasionally ca-
ressing the corpse, and looking with an expression of
almost sublime triumph, as the earth embraces her
body, at the anticipated honours which await her in
the paradise of her God. The hands of her own children
are perhaps at that very moment heaping around her
the cold dust into which she is so soon to be resolved.
At length, all but her head is covered, when the pit
is hurriedly filled in, and her nearest relatives dance
over her inhumed body with those frantic gestures
which, whether they betoken ecstasy or madness, it is
difficult on witnessing them to decide.

It is remarkable that these immolations are fre-
quently made by women to the manes of husbands
who have uniformly treated them with indifference,
and often with the most unjustifiable tyranny. Still
nothing, in many instances, checks the devoted hero-
ism of the Hindoo widow : no unkind treatment in-
validates in her mind the most sacred of all obliga-
tions ; she forgives every past unkindness, and directs
her thoughts to the future ; acting upon the beautiful
principle of the Persian poet, who has so eloquently
inculcated the Christian maxim of rewarding evil
with good : —

“ Learn from yon orient shell to love thy foe,

And store with pearls the hand that brings thee woe ;
Free, like yon rock, from base vindictive pride,

Emblaze with gems the wrist that rends thy side.

Mark where yon tree rewards the stony shower
With fruit nectareous, or the balmy flower.

All nature calls aloud ! — “ Shall man do less
Than heal the smiter and the railer bless?”*

* Hafiz.

MADURA.

29

CHAPTER III.

MADURA. CASTE. HINDOO LITERATURE.

After taking leave of our hospitable friend at
Tanjore, we proceeded to Madura, where we arrived
upon the evening of the fourth day. This now mise-
rable and dilapidated city is the capital of the ancient
kingdom described by Ptolemy as the Regio Pandionis.
So early as the third century of the Christian era it
was the most celebrated seat of learning in Hindostan.
Here was a college which gave birth to some of the
greatest lights of Hindoo science. It was visited by
learned men from all parts of India ; and its pro-
fessors, up to so late a date as the thirteenth century,
were pre-eminent for wisdom among the Hindoos at
the most flourishing era of their literature. No
persons were admitted as members until they had
passed an examination of extraordinary severity ;
and such was their spirit of emulation, that the wise
men of Madura were known and respected through-
out all the kingdoms of the East. At that period,
knowledge was so universally cultivated among the
Hindoos, that it was as rare to find a poor villager
who could not read as it is now to find one who can.
In fact, their whole social system seems to have under-
gone a complete revolution. During those ages, when

d 3

30

SCENES IN INDIA.

Europe was enveloped in an intellectual darkness that
exposed her to the contempt of the very countries
which are now drawing from the stores of her wisdom
and science a harvest that bids fair eventually to ripen
into universal civilization, Hindostan was distinguish-
ed by a race of philosophers who, but for the con-
quests to which that country has been subjected, and
the degrading dominion under which its population
has so long groaned, would probably have raised it
to an elevation in intellectual and social dignity not
inferior to ancient Greece in the brightest period of
her glory.

The present odious system of caste is one of those
pernicious innovations which have grown out of the
barbarous policy that succeeded the decadency of Hin-
doo literature ; for, until its glories had culminated,
those prejudices were few and faint. They have, how-
ever, in later times opposed a mighty barrier to the
introduction of Christianity among the native popula-
tion of Hindostan ; and had those bright lights of ge-
nius which poured forth the radiance of their luminous
minds from the college of Madura not been eclipsed by
the bondage of a foreign domination, there is little
doubt that the Christian church would have now stood
upon the site of many a subverted pagoda, and the
worship of a mere rude senseless block have been
changed for that of the living God.

It is difficult to ascertain how long the distinctions
of caste have prevailed among the Hindoos ; but this
is certain, that to however remote a period those po-
litical divisions of the popular body may be traced,
the narrow prejudices now entertained, and which

HINDOO LITERATURE.

31

those divisions tend to encourage and maintain, were
kept in abeyance by the wisdom formerly dissemi-
nated, and by the national education then extended
to all classes of the community. The people were
too well informed to succumb to degradation, of which
they at once saw the injustice, and which they felt
that they possessed mental energies to avert.

Nothing can be a greater delusion than to form an
opinion of the intellectual celebrity which the Hindoos
once enjoyed by their present ignorant and degraded
state. Their social condition is now as deplorable as
it was once elevated and enlightened. The acqui-
sition of knowledge was as generally as it was success-
fully pursued ; and the first anxiety of the parent
toward his children was to see them furnished with
the necessary means of acquiring that knowledge
then esteemed the richest earthly treasure. An ex-
tract from a letter of Sir Alexander Johnston, a
high authority upon all subjects connected with Ori-
ental literature, addressed to Mr. Charles Grant,
when President of the Board of Control, will help
to justify what I have stated upon the intellectual
attainments of the Hindoos, before the Mahomedan
conquests.

Education has always, from the earliest period of
their history, been an object of public care and of
public interest to the Hindoo governments on the pe-
ninsula of India. Every well-regulated village under
those governments had a public school and a public
schoolmaster. The system of instruction in them was
that which, in consequence of its efficiency, simplicity,
and cheapness, was a few years ago introduced from

32

SCENES IN INDIA.

Madras into England, and from England into the rest
of Europe. Every Hindoo parent looked upon the
education of his child as a solemn duty, which he
owed to his God and to his country, and placed him
under the schoolmaster of his village as soon as he had
attained his fifth year. The ceremony of introducing
him for the first time to the schoolmaster and his
scholars was publicly recorded, and was attended with
all the solemnity of a religious observance ; a prayer
being publicly offered up on the occasion to the figure of
Ganesa, the Hindoo god of Wisdom, which was at the
head of every Hindoo school, imploring him to aid the
child in his endeavours to learn and become wise.”

It is a singular fact that the system of national edu-
cation, introduced by the late Mr. Bell into this coun-
try, and by which his name will be immortalized in
its annals, should have emanated from a people whom
we have been but too much accustomed, under the er-
roneous impression excited by the present low ebb of
their literature, to look upon as little better than semi-
barbarians. The more, however, the treasures of their
forefathers’ wisdom is brought into view, the more
certainly shall we find that in mental resources they
were not at all behind the ancient Egyptians.

During the time that the college of Madura flou-
rished, all persons were admitted as members, without
any reference to caste, provided they had made the
necessary proficiency in those branches of learning
required by the canons of the college, which were
always most strictly enforced. At that period, as
well as now, the Pariahs were a degraded tribe : none
of their race had ever become in any degree eminent

THE COLLEGE AT MADURA.

33

in the walks of science. Now what remarkably evinces
the liberal spirit which prevailed among the literary
Hindoos of those days, is the circumstance that a Pa-
riah and his sister not only obtained admission into
the famous seat of learning at Madura., but that the
former was raised to the presidential chair, and the
works of the latter were used as class-books in the
college, being to this day esteemed among the gems of
Hindoo literature. The name of the former of these
distinguished persons was Tiru V aluvir ; that of his
no less distinguished sister Avyar. When the brother
presented himself for admission into that erudite body,
being from a stock generally ignorant, and universally
despised, he was asked with some bitterness who and
what he was. His reply was at once humble and
dignified.

“ I am a Pariah, but God has endowed me with a
power of intellect which elevates me to the first rank
among his creatures. I am not to be fettered in those
trammels which the foolish prejudices of men cast upon-
the minds of each other, to debase and enslave them.
My mind has a full perception of its own power, and
of its own dignity ; and I feel that I have a freeborn
right to take my station among the wise and good.”

He might have answered in the words of an ethical
writer* of his own nation — f<r Greatness is not the
fruit of birth : it is not attained but by the greatest
exertions ; whereas to become insignificant costs no
pains. To raise a stone to the top of a mountain re-
quires great labour, but it will descend with the utmost

* The Pundit Vishnoo-Shurma.

34

SCENES IN INDIA.

His claim was admitted, and he was shortly after-
wards examined with several other candidates. The
examiners, anxious to exclude him, for fourteen days
subjected him to the most rigid investigation they
could devise. He however not only eclipsed all his
competitors, but proved that he far surpassed even
his examiners in knowledge, which in the issue they
ingenuously confessed. The Pariah was admitted,
and his sister was considered worthy to be classed
with the greatest sages of her time.

Tiru Valuvir became an honour to the college, and
was venerated by all its members. Such was his ac-
knowledged superiority, that the year after his inau-
guration he was raised to the chair, and continued to
preside over the college of Madura from that time
until his death. He was the author of a work on
morals, entitled Koral, which to this day has a high
reputation among the Hindoos ; and his sister com-
posed several works, written in Tamul verse, and not
less esteemed than those of her brother.

Although these persons were Pariahs by birth, — a
race now held in such universal detestation among the
Hindoos, that whatever their shadow passes over is
considered polluted, — they were nevertheless so much
respected by all classes of the community for their
talents and literary acquirements, that it was es-
teemed the highest honour to hold communion with
them. Their society was everywhere courted: men
of the highest caste felt flattered by conversing with
the one, and the wives and daughters of princes held
it no degradation to be admitted to familiar intercourse
with the other. They fully realized the truth of a

TRIMAL NAIG.

35

saying of one of their own people ; " Of all precious
things knowledge is the most valuable : other riches
may be stolen, or diminished by expenditure, but
knowledge is immortal ; and the greater the expendi-
ture, the greater the increase : it can be shared with
none, and it defies the power of the thief.” Ever since
this period their numerous works have been adopted
as class-books for the higher orders of scholars in all the
Hindoo seminaries of learning throughout India. This
is a sufficient proof that the modern prejudices, which
are the bitter fruits of caste, did not exist, or but in
a very limited degree, while literature flourished in
Hindostan.

The city of Madura, up to the period of the great Ma-
homedan invasion by Mahmood, was the focal spot at
which all the pilgrims met in their journey to the temple
of Ramisseram, then the most celebrated in Southern
India, and resorted to by pilgrims from all parts of
the peninsula. Its importance may be conceived, from
the circumstance that the longitude in Hindoo geo-
graphy was calculated from the meridian of the little
island upon which this celebrated sanctuary stood,
as the longitude in English geography is determined
from that of Greenwich. At Ramisseram the ser-
vices of the temple were every day performed with
Gangetic water, daily supplied at a vast expense for
this purpose ; and the idol regularly underwent a
matutinal ablution with that consecrated element.
These pilgrimages were continued, though the con-
course was not so great as in earlier times, during
that dynasty of which Trimal Naig was so dis-
tinguished a member ; and it was to the protection

36

SCENES IN INDIA.

offered to the pilgrims, in their periodical visitations
to the shrine at Ramisseram, that he is indebted
for the reverence with which his name - has been
handed down to a degenerate but grateful posterity.
From the Mahomedan conquest we may date the
decay of Hindoo learning, and the destruction of the
fairest monuments of ancient Hindoo art. It was
not, however, until the worshippers of the Arabian
imposter obtained a footing in the southern part of
the Indian peninsula, and more especially under the
tyranny of Aurungzeb, that Madura became a prey
to the ravages of these bigoted and unsparing con-
querors.

Aurungzeb, who was an intolerant bigot, and a
furious Iconoclast, thought it an act of religious obli-
gation to lay the arm of demolition upon every temple
in which a heathen deity was enshrined. Thus some
of the finest monuments of Hindoo antiquity were
either unsparingly mutilated, or levelled with the
dust. Much, however, as the bigotry of these Islam
invaders had done to wipe from the fair chronicles of
time those noble records of man’s ingenuity and enter-
prise, which were once the pride of the enlightened,
and are now the boast of the half-civilized Hindoo,
nevertheless the glorious ruins scattered over the face
of one of the noblest countries upon earth attest the
triumph of human ingenuity, in an age too when the
forests with which barbarized Britain was overspread
were peopled with a race of savages, and in a country,
no less truly than poetically designated “ the land of
the sun,” where now the mental superiority of the
descendants of the conquerors of those savages has

THE CITY OF MADURA.

37

brought a population of upwards of a hundred million
under the control of a wiser and more beneficial le-
gislation.

Madura,, at this moment in the proud but dim
splendour of her decay, exhibits abundant memorials
of her former greatness, though these cannot vie in
antiquity with many structures of still grander con-
ception and execution to be seen in other parts of
India. Of late years, this ancient city has suffered
considerably by the petty chieftains in its vicinity,
whose continual struggles for supremacy have per-
petually exposed it to the depredations of contending
factions. During the Carnatic wars, in the middle of
the eighteenth century, it was occupied by a number
of turbulent Polygars, who held their dens and fortified
castles within the recesses of the thick jungles by which
this district was overspread. The city at that time
suffered in no small degree from the ravages of these
turbulent chieftains ; nor was it until the year 1801,
when it was transferred to the British government
by the Nawaub of Arcot, that it became secure from
the depredations of rival princes.

The present aspect of Madura is not attractive to
the traveller. The town stands upon an extensive
level, though the country around it is much ele-
vated, and about a hundred miles north by east of
Cape Comorin. The fort is near four miles in circum-
ference, and environed by a strong wall ; this is fur-
ther protected by a deep ditch, filled from the river
V aylaur ; though immediately before the rains, this
river becomes exceedingly shallow, consequently the
ditch which encompasses the fort, together with the

38

SCENES IN INDIA.

tanks and wells, are nearly all dry. A failure in the
fall of rain during the monsoon is attended with se-
rious inconvenience — indeed, a partial famine is the
invariable consequence.

The population of Madura has greatly decreased
since its cession to the British government in 1801 : in
1812 it amounted only to twenty thousand souls. The
natives, with very few exceptions, are deplorably poor,
living in small filthy huts, exhibiting all the squalid
misery of the most destitute condition. The streets
are narrow and dirty to the last degree — the drains
obstructed ; and thus, during the rains, pools of stag-
nant water eveiy where meet the eye, which soon be-
come extremely offensive and unwholesome. Immense
quantities of cattle are stalled within the fort ; in con-
sequence of which filth of all kinds accumulates to an
insufferable extent. It is also crowded with trees,
which obstruct the necessary evaporation, at the
same time infecting the air with noxious exhalations,
from their decayed leaves ; while the water of the
tanks, being seldom renewed, becomes putrid, and
emits a most deleterious effluvia. At Madura there
is a famous temple, consecrated to the god Vellaya-
dah, to whom his devotees bring offerings of a singu-
lar kind : these consist of leather shoes, the shape of
those worn by the Hindoos, hut much larger and
more ornamented. The deity of this place being ad-
dicted to hunting, the shoes are intended to preserve
his feet when he traverses the jungles.*

Such is the present state of a city once renowned

* See Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, voL ii. p. 472.

COLONEL MACKENZIE.

30

throughout the whole extent of a vast and mighty
empire ! The only traces which remain of. its former
greatness are the still noble ruins of those edifices
erected by Trimal Naig towards the beginning of the
seventeenth century, and the magnificent choultry
now standing entire, — a proud evidence at once of his
taste and munificence.

While Sir Alexander Johnston’s father, who held a
high official appointment at Madura, resided in that
district, he obtained a grant from the Nawaub of Arcot
of a considerable ruin, situated in the jungle about
a mile and half from the fort, and originally erected,
during the Nayaca dynasty, as a palace from which
the court of Madura witnessed the exhibition of gym-
nastic exercises and wild beast fights at the great Hin-
doo festivals. This was an extensive edifice, covered
by a roof, supported on either side by a double row of
massy columns, and overlooking a spacious plain. Mr.
Johnston, at great expense, and under the superintend-
ence of his friend, the late Colonel Mackenzie, con-
verted this ruin into a dwelling-house for himself and
family, and had it in contemplation eventually to con-
vert the building into a college; and by inducing
the most learned Brahmins from Benares, and other
places of established repute for literature, to visit it,
he was induced to hope that the celebrity of this once
famous city as a seat of learning might be revived.
He had a zealous and efficient coadjutor in Colonel
Mackenzie, whose extensive acquaintance with Hin-
doo history and science has perhaps never been sur-
passed. For this the colonel was much indebted to
Lutchmin, a learned Brahmin, who has devoted the

40

SCENES IN INDIA.

greater part of his life to the collection of authentic
materials for a general history of his country.

Within this ancient edifice Colonel Mackenzie was
in the habit of assembling all the most learned Hin-
doos of the neighbourhood^ and of challenging them
to discussions in mathematics; as well as in the ab-
stract and physical sciences. He caused large dia-
grams to be very accurately drawn upon the lofty
pillars of the building ; those on one side of the area
illustrating the science of astronomy according to the
Copernican system; and those on the other according
to that of Ptolemy ; showing; by this simple process;
the superiority of the Prussian mathematician over the
Egyptian. The system of the latter was that upon
which their own appears to have been founded; and
the fallacy of it was made manifest by Colonel Macken-
zie to many eminently learned Brahmins; who frankly
admitted it; and paid a just tribute of their respect
to the talents of that most able and highly meritorious
officer. Since his death; which was a severe loss to
his country and to Oriental literature; the project of
converting the building into a college has been aban-
doned ; though there appears some probability of its
being revived; as the present proprietor; Sir Alexander
Johnston; has offered to cede his right of proprietor-
ship to any body of learned natives who will take up
and pursue the original idea of his father.

I cannot better show the cause of Colonel Mac-
kenzie's visit to Madura than by an extract from
Sir Alexander Johnston's evidence before the House
of Commons; upon the subject of the Mackenzie
papers: — “ My mother; who was daughter of Mr.

A HUNTING PARTY.

41

Mackenzie’s friend and early patron, the fifth Lord
Napier — and who, in consequence of her father’s
death, had determined to execute the plan which he
had formed of writing the life of the inventor of loga-
rithms*— resided at that time with my father at
Madura, and employed the more distinguished Brah-
mins in the neighbourhood in collecting for her, from
every part of the peninsula, the information which
she required relative to the knowledge which the
Hindoos had possessed in ancient times of mathe-
matics and astronomy. Knowing that Mr. Macken-
zie had been previously employed by her father in
pursuing the literary inquiries in which she herself
was then engaged, and wishing to have his assistance
in arranging the materials which she had collected,
she and my father invited him to come and reside
with them at Madura early in 1783, and there intro-
duced him to all the Brahmins and other literary na-
tives who resided at that place.”

During our stay at this celebrated city, we join-
ed a party of sportsmen in pursuit of small game in
a jungle about six or seven miles’ distance. The officers
of the garrison made up the party, in order to give us
some idea of the sport which the neighbourhood af-
forded, and we started soon after daylight for the jun-
gle. Several natives of rank, belonging to the Nawaub
of Arcot’s court, joined us on their elephants ; while
our’s were hired from a sort of jobbing merchant in
the town, who was accustomed to lend them by the
day for a tolerably extravagant remuneration. The
ride before we came to the place where we had agreed
* Lord John Napier, of Merchiston.

E 3

42

SCENES IN INDIA*

.to meet the native sportsmen who were to join iis
was extremely pleasant. The morning was fresh, and
the face of the country beautiful, rising gradually as
we advanced, and at every turn of the road opening
before us into an extensive view of the distant plains
which sloped towards the coast, and then swelled
into lofty hills towards Cape Comorin. The ele-
phants moved on at a brisk pace, and we were at
the ground before the sun was much above the ho-
rizon. At first we found the jungles so inconveni-
ently thick, that I began to fear we should lose all
chance of obtaining a haunch of venison or the chine
of a wild hog, both of which we expected to secure,
as there were several of our party who were reputed
excellent shots.

We threaded the forest for some time, but neither
hog nor deer was roused. As we advanced, and the
elephant on which I rode was making its way through
a thick tuft of jungle-grass, out started seven or eight
little pigs, squeaking and running in all directions be-
tween the elephant’s legs, preceded by the mother,
which escaped into the thicket before any of the par-
ty had time to take a deliberate aim at her. Her
little family expeditiously followed her, except one,
upon which the elephant had trodden in their first
unexpected eruption, and crushed every bone in its
skin. The underwood was too close and tangled to
attempt pursuing the mother of the brood ; we there-
fore took the more practicable part of the jungle,
which soon opened into a large space comparatively
clear of wood. Upon one side there was an abrupt
ascent thinly scattered with trees, and on the top

A TIGER KILLED.

43

were a few native huts., composing a small pic-
turesque hamlet in the heart of an extensive forest.
While the heaters were in the thicket shouting to
scare the game into the open vista, an old elephant
upon which one of the officers rode, accompanied by
a wealthy native,, was seen to fix its eye upon a spot
where there was a tolerably thick growth of high grass
and underwood. In a short time something was seen
to move on this spot, when the elephant, cautiously
retreating, forced its body among the hushes of a
thorny tree which grew with great luxuriance just
on the edge of the vista. A moment after, springing
violently forward, its riders were dismounted by the
shock, and lodged, together with the Mahoot, among
the boughs of the prickly canopy. The sagacious
creature having reached the place whence it had
previously retreated, with a sudden sharp cry plunged
its head into the grass. In a few minutes it raised
itself ; a tiger crawled from the covert, and lay pant-
ing against a bank with two terrific wounds through
its body. The elephant, now seeing that no further
danger was to be apprehended, went back to the tree,
thrust its body among the branches as before, allowed
its disconcerted riders to remount, then advanced once
more towards its dying enemy, and repeated the in-
fliction ; at the same moment a shikarry terminated
the tiger’s sufferings by shooting it through the head.
Having skinned the beautiful beast, we returned with
this trophy of our success, and with several fine deer,
which we had the good fortune to encounter on our
way. Thus, upon the whole, we had reason to be
satisfied with our day’s sport.

44

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER IV.

THE NAYACA DYNASTY.

Although Madura is now so sadly fallen from its
ancient splendour, the remains of its public buildings
cannot but strike the traveller with a vast idea of the
pecuniary and mental resources of their founder. The
principal edifices which now claim attention within
this once flourishing district, are those raised by the
enterprising Trimal Naig, in the early part of the
seventeenth century. A brief account of the family
of this chieftain will not be out of place here, as it
forms the principal subject of the sculptures that adorn
a magnificent choultry, built by him to commemorate
their power and influence in southern Hindostan.

Madura formerly formed part of a principality sub-
ject to a Raya, who presided over fifty-six provinces,
from whom their respective princes held them by way
of feudal tenure. One of the chiefs of these feudato-
ries was Nagama Nayaca, a man of great influ-
ence and extensive resources, but who, in the midst of
undisturbed prosperity, was wretched because he had
not been blessed with an heir. During a pilgrimage
which he made to Casi, the modern Benares, in order
to propitiate the deity whom he served, he had a
dream, in which the promise of a child was made to

NAGAMA NAYACA.

45

him by a venerable man of smiling aspect, which pro-
mise was finally accomplished. In due time he had
a son, whom he named Viswanat’ha Nayaca. This
boy was placed under the ablest masters in every de-
partment of education, and grew up to be as much
admired as well for his wisdom and skill in arms as
for the beauty of his person and the general accom-
plishments of his mind.

A story is recorded of this youth having severed at a
single stroke the head of a buffalo, the horns of which
extended backward as far as the tail, cutting sheer
through those tough protectors, and thus performing
an act of decollation which none of the Raya’s officers
had the resolution to attempt ; it being necessary that
this victim of an annual sacrifice to Durga should be
immolated by a single blow. This feat of prowess so
delighted the Raya, that he loaded the young man
with jewels, advanced his rank, and promised him
still further honours. Some time after this, several
dependant princes revolted, when Viswanat’ha being
sent against them, made himself master of their terri-
tories, and, having appointed proper persons to govern
the conquered provinces in the name of his master,
was advanced by him to the highest dignities.

The King of Tanjore having invaded the dominions
of the King of Madura and deposed him, the Raya
sent Nagama Nayaca against the aggressor, whom he
had orders to expel from the conquered province, and
to restore the deposed monarch. Nagama immediately
marched with a considerable force against the sove-
reign of Tanjore, and routed him; but, instead of re-
storing the lawful sovereign, he usurped the govern-

46

SCENES IN INDIA.

ment, and, putting the fort of Madura in the best pos-
sible state of defence, determined to withstand the
siege that was threatened by the Raya, upon his re-
fusing to give up to their lawful prince the territories
he had usurped. When this perfidious determination
was made known to the Raya, summoning his nobles,
he asked which of them was willing to take the com-
mand of an army to be employed against his refrac-
tory officer. As none of the nobles seemed ambi-
tious of being raised to the dignity of so dangerous a
command, Viswanat’ha, who had already rendered
his master such signal service by vanquishing the se-
ditious feudatories, offered to head the troops ap-
pointed to march against his rebellious parent. The
sovereign, though he at first appeared to doubt the
sincerity of this proposal, finally gave his consent, and
the brave son marched with a powerful force against
the usurper. When Viswanat’ha reached the fron-
tiers of Madura, he sent to apprise his father of his
presence, and that he was come in his master’s name
to force him to return to his allegiance. Nagama,
surprised and enraged at finding his own son had
come to him upon such a hostile errand, bitterly
cursed the hour that he had offered up a prayer for a
boon, which, as he now averred in his rage, had turn-
ed out in the issue to be a bane.

Under the influence of ungovernable exasperation
at the foul revolt, as he chose to consider it, of his
own flesh and blood, he hastily collected his forces,
and, sallying from the fort, attacked the invading
army. Several desperate encounters took place, which
terminated in the entire defeat of the rebel, who was

viswanat'ha nayaca.

47

made prisoner ; the Raya,, however., pardoned him at
the intercession of his son, whom he advanced to still
higher dignities. Soon after this, the King of Ma-
dura, the successor of that prince who had been re-
stored to his crown by the valour of Yiswanat’ha,
dying, and his family becoming extinct, the noble son
of Nagama Nayaca was advanced to the throne by his
sovereign, as a reward for his distinguished services.
Immediately upon being invested with the insignia of
sovereignty, he departed for his capital, and com-
menced those improvements at Madura which were
so splendidly completed by his successor of the eighth
descent, of whom I shall have presently to speak.
He enlarged the fort, constructed temples, cut tanks,
sank wells, built colleges, raised dams to check the
force of the periodical inundations from the river,
dug water-courses, — and, in short, did everything
which a wise political foresight could suggest to im-
prove his dominions and the general condition of
those whom he had been so liberally appointed to
govern. He protected travellers and pilgrims pro-
ceeding to the sacred shrine at Ramisseram from
the rapine of the Polygars, who, under the assumed
sanction of their own petty regality, committed the
most outrageous violations of the public peace. These
were finally reduced to subjection, and the pilgrim-
ages made to the shrine were no longer interrupted.

About this time, Viswanat’ha, having sent a confi-
dential officer with a considerable force to chastise
five refractory Rajahs, his troops were defeated, and
the Prince was obliged to take the field in person.
Uniting his forces with those of his officer, he attack-

48

SCENES IN INDIA.

ed the rebels; but they fought with such desperate
bravery, that he was obliged to retreat with consider-
able loss. Mortified at this disgraceful issue, and
urged by the lamentations of the widows and orphans
of those who had fallen in the late conflict, he sent a
challenge to the five Rajahs, offering to engage them
all in single combat, to prevent the further effusion
of blood. The proposal being accepted, the agree-
ment, which was that the territories of the vanquished
should devolve upon the vanquisher, was engraved
upon a plate of brass, fixed upon a pole, and placed in
the centre of the field. The stoutest of the rebels,
completely armed and mounted, spurred his horse to-
wards the King, and made a furious stroke at him,
which was parried, and the contest continued for
some time without a wound having been either given
or received. At length, Viswanat’ha, bidding his
adversary be upon his guard, raised himself in his
stirrups, lifted his ponderous sabre, and, with a force
which no armour could repel, struck him on the crest,
and completely severed him in two. His companions
in arms seeing the fate of their most resolute cham-
pion, submitted to the mercy of the conqueror.

The account of this extraordinary contest is re-
lated by the Hindoo historian with all the wild ex-
aggerations of fable. The gods are said to have assem-
bled in the air to behold the conflict, and to have
showered the most fragrant flowers upon the con-
queror. From that period the reign of this excellent
Prince was uninterrupted either by domestic or fo-
reign wars. The rest of his life was devoted to the
improvement of his kingdom. He died about the

THE RAMNAD RAJAHS.

49

middle of the fifteenth century, and was succeeded by
his son, Parca Chrisnapa Nayaca, whose life presents
nothing memorable, except that he built a village near
Palametta, which he called after his own name ; de-
dicated a temple to Siva, dug a large tank, and de-
voted a number of houses to the accommodation of
Brahmins. He died after a tranquil reign of about
thirty years, when the crown devolved upon his son,
Parcavirapa Nayaca.

During the life of this Prince, part of the royal ter-
ritory was usurped by a rebel chieftain, who built two
strong forts within the district of Madura, in which he
alternately held his court. He was finally subdued and
reduced to obedience. Parcavirapa died after a tole-
rably quiet reign of twenty-seven years, and left three
sons, who successively sat upon the throne; the last
being succeeded by his nephew, who reigned thirty
years. He was a munificent prince : following the
example of his great progenitor, Viswanat’ha, he built
several pagodas, dug tanks, constructed agrars,* and
left behind him many noble testimonials of his libe-
rality and public spirit.

It was during this reign that the Ramnad Rajahs
established a petty supremacy. The founder of this
family, Wodeya Teween, had received authority over
a small district covered with jungle and infested by
robbers and other tribes of depredators, who not
only interrupted the pilgrimages to Ramisseram, the
road to which lay through this district, but continu-
ally plundered the peaceable inhabitants of the coun-
try. It happened that a priest of the King of Madura
* Houses for the accommodation of devotees.

F

50

SCENES IN INDIA.

being on a visit to the sacred shrine, then resorted to
by every holy man in southern India, was escorted by
Wodeya Teween. The priest was so sensible of his
good offices, that upon his return he presented him to
the King at Madura, and so extolled his loyalty, that
the chieftain was appointed to govern that part of the
country where he had been of late so actively employ-
ed, with an additional grant of territory. Upon this,
he built a strong fort at Pogaloor, and in a short time
effectually reduced the refractory to obedience, expelling
the robbers, and finally making the road to the temple
at Ramisseram perfectly free from those incursions
which had hitherto rendered it unsafe. He com-
pletely subdued the rebellious Polygars, and held so
tight a rein over them, that the whole country was
soon in a state of profound peace. For these eminent
services the King conferred on him the title of Rajah
of Ramnad. To him might justly be applied the
Hindoo proverb : “ A man of excellent qualities is
like a flower, which, whether found amongst weeds or
worn on the head, still preserves its fragrance.”

Wodeya Teween died after a long and prosperous
reign, and was succeeded by his son, who trod in the
steps of his father, and enlarged his dominion by fur-
ther conquests. About the same period the King of
Madura died, leaving three sons, who successively as-
cended the throne, the second of whom was the famous
Trimal Naig, who built the choultry represented in
the accompanying engraving, and recording, in the
sculptures by which it is so profusely adorned, the
events of his own dynasty. He is said to have laid
the foundation, in his kingdom, of ninety-six temples to

TRIMAL NAIG’S CHOULTRY.

51

Siva and Vishnu, and some progress was made during
his life towards completing these splendid edifices.
Most of them are now expunged altogether from the
mighty chronicle of human events, or are only to be
faintly traced : of some " the place thereof knoweth
them no more while of the rest it can only he said,
that they remain grand, indeed, but melancholy evi-
dences of the fallacy of human expectations.

Besides these fabrics and the choultry already men-
tioned, Trimalla Nayaca, commonly called Trimal
Naig, erected a splendid palace within the fort of Ma-
dura, The choultry, which is always associated with
the name of this Prince, is certainly the most remark-
able structure of its kind in Hindostan. Intended, as
it was, to chronicle, in a material more durable than
marble, the deeds of his ancestors and of himself, the
founder of this magnificent monument of Hindoo art
spared no expense to render it such a structure as
should secure the admiration of posterity. Knowing
what a powerful agent superstition is to give perma-
nency to, and obtain veneration for, a name, Trimal
Naig has so blended the history of his family with the
popular mythology, that, until the one shall be ex-
ploded, the names of his ancestors and himself will
be recorded in the popular annals of his country, and
embalmed in the memories of every generation. His
munificence is even to this day the theme of many a
romance and of many a song ; and amid the wrecks of
former magnificence at Madura, which seem to point,
as with an air of solemn mockery, at the misery of
her now poor and scanty population, the proud record
of her bygone glory is occasionally heard, like the

52

SCENES IN INDIA.

plaintive song of the nightingale,, amid the gloom and
loneliness of night.

As Madura was a sort of focal spot, where the pil-
grimages met from all parts of India, to the celebrated
sanctuary on the island of Ramisseram, Trimal Naig
was determined to erect an edifice that should he
worthy of such a sacred concourse; and sensible,
moreover, of the extreme veneration paid to any
sculptured representation of their favourite deities,
by placing them in connexion with the effigies of his
own ancestors before the eyes of the devotees, whose
minds, when about to visit their grand shrine, were
always excited to a high degree of devotional en-
thusiasm, he was fully aware that he should divide
their reverence, and attain for his progenitors, and for
himself eventually, a sort of popular canonization.
Thus, his ambition, though disguised under the plausi-
ble mask of public spirit and veneration for the sanc-
tity of religion, was the mainspring of those splendid
erections which have immortalized his name in the
native chronicles of the southern peninsula of India.

The choultry, of which Mr. Daniell has given so
faithful a representation, is in the form of a parallelo-
gram, three hundred and twelve feet in length, by one
hundred and twenty-five in width. It consists of
one vast hall, the ceiling of which is supported by six
rows of columns twenty-five feet high, most of which
are formed of single stones, and the whole composed
of a hard grey granite. The labour in carving these
immense masses must have been prodigious, especially
with the rude tools employed by the native workmen,
and when the inflexibility of the material upon which

ANECDOTE OF TRIMAL NAIG.

53

they worked is taken into account. Their execution
of the figures is extremely clean, and, save where the
rude hand of spoliation has defaced them, they are
nearly as perfect as at the first moment of their com-
pletion. The stubborn nature of the matter from which
they were shaped has been their security against the
ravages of time.

The view exhibited in the engraving represents half
the length of the area between the two central rows
of columns. On the second pillar, to the right of the
spectator as he faces the door at the bottom, is the
figure of Trimal Naig, the founder of this gorgeous
structure, in a group with six of his wives, three on
one side and three on the other, to whom, on account
of their lord’s munificence, the Hindoos continue to
pay divine honours, as well as to himself. Of the
principal wife in the front group a fact is recorded
which will convey some idea of the wealth and mag-
nificence of eastern Princes : she was daughter of the
Rajah of Tanjore, a Prince who possessed immense
treasure and exercised a prodigal liberality.

When the choultry was finished, upon which Tri-
mal Naig had lavished an enormous sum of money,
he conducted his wife into it with a certain air of os-
tentation, as if he expected she would be struck by
the extraordinary grandeur of the edifice. Upon his
asking her what she thought of it, she coldly cast her
eyes around, and told him, with an unmoved coun-
tenance, that it was far inferior in splendour to her
father’s stables. This mortifying declaration so exas-
perated the royal husband, that he instantly drew a
dagger from his girdle and plunged it into her thigh.

f 3

54

SCENES IN INDIA.

Trimal Naig has himself preserved the record of this
event, as the figure representing his favourite wife,
and standing nearest on the pillar to his own ef-
figy., has a large gash below the hip on the left side.
Upon this occasion, when his rage had subsided, he
did not suffer the hint given by his royal consort to
he lost, but increased the magnificence of the choultry
by considerably adding to the richness of its decora-
tions.

Upon the pillars beyond that ornamented with his
own image, and on the columns immediately opposite,
are other statues, representing his numerous lineage,
covered with different groupings, expressive of those
events which were' considered worthy of commemora-
tion in the respective reigns of his ancestors.. Upon
the ceiling the zodiacal signs stand out in bold relief ;
and on the ceiling of the palace it is remarkable that
there are several single figures, apparently of angels,
from which circumstance it has been surmised that the
famous Jesuit, Robertus de Nobilibus, was consulted
upon the erection of that celebrated structure. He
was a man so eminently skilled in Sanscrit literature,
that he translated into this language a work of his
own upon the divine unity, in order to confute the
doctrines of polytheism, or rather of pantheism, main-
tained with so much subtlety by the Sanscrit writers.

In different parts of Trimal Naig’s choultry there
are groups of mythological figures cut in bas-relief,
which refer to circumstances by no means obvious to
the general observer ; but there is one small group of
two, separate from all the rest, which tells a lament-
able story, recording in imperishable granite the basest

CRUELTY OF TRIMAL NAIG.

55

act of Trimal Naig’s reign. The two architects who
designed the choultry appear incarcerated in a cell.
This was actually done., in order that they might not
erect an edifice elsewhere that should eclipse that
raised at such a vast expense by the King of Madura.
To prevent the possibility of this, he had them im-
mured in a dungeon, the entrance of which was built
up, and they were thus buried alive.

In tracing the histories of tyrants, how generally
do we find that death has been the reward where
they have been faithfully served ! This act of unpro-
voked and gratuitous cruelty will ever degrade Trimal
Naig from ranking with the eminent men of times
past, notwithstanding his ambitious prodigality and
selfish munificence. He was an ostentatious but not
a great Prince ; and the more splendid actions of his
life descend to posterity sullied by that hue of moral
infirmity which was reflected upon them from his per-
sonal vices : so true is the beautiful aphorism of a
writer* of his own nation — “ The lustre of a virtuous
character cannot be defaced, nor can the vices of a
vicious man ever become lucid. A jewel preserves its
lustre though trodden in the dirt ; but a brass pot,
though placed upon the head, is brass still.”

The palace at Madura, which the present ruins
show to have been once a noble structure, was one of
the numerous edifices with which Trimal Naig adorn-
ed his native city, and which suffered considerable in-
jury during the numerous sieges maintained against
this capital of a once flourishing empire, between the

* Vishnoo-Shurma.

56

SCENES IN INDIA.

years 1740 and 1760, when it was frequently in the
hands of the refractory Polygars, who desecrated its
temples, and destroyed many of its public edifices for
the sake of plunder. The lower apartments of the
palace, once the abode of the most powerful prince of
southern India, are at present used for stalling cattle,
and for purposes equally remote from their original
destination. Even in its present state of decay there
is one chamber especially that cannot be entered with-
out forcing the mind back upon times when kings trod
its pavement, surrounded by their retinue of courtiers
and nobles. It is conjectured to have been the hall
of audience of the Madura sovereigns. The roof is
arched and highly ornamented, falling on either side
upon richly wrought pillars connected by arches,
forming a magnificent gallery, which is supported
upon similar arches, terminating in strong massy co-
lumns below. The architecture is something of the
Saracenic order, blended with the graver severity of
the Hindoo. It has all the grandeur of the choultry
without its exquisite richness of ornament ; the de-
tail, however, is alone wanting to render it a glorious
rival. The floor is stuccoed several feet below the
present surface, where there is a large reservoir, appa-
rently intended for the admission of water, and sup-
posed by some to have been constructed for the pur-
pose of a bath.

During Trimal Naig’s reign, Sadakay Tewen, Ra-
jah of Ramnad, having rebelled, was made prisoner,
taken to Madura, and put into irons. This severity
having excited the indignation of Sadakay Te wen’s
subjects, the pillage of pilgrims on their way to Ra-

DECLINE OF THE NAYACA DYNASTY.

57

misseram was renewed. The King of Madura,, in
order to put a stop to these outrages, released the
Rajah, when they immediately ceased. This Prince
dying soon after, was succeeded by his son-in-law,
who, to wipe out the stain of his predecessor’s rebel-
lion, marched with an army of sixty thousand men
against the princes of Mysore, who had invaded Ma-
dura, and drove them beyond the ghauts with great
slaughter. Trimal Naig was so gratified by this
proof of his allegiance, that he released him from
his tribute, and made him an independent sovereign,
extending the grant to his heirs in perpetuity. * Tri-

mal Naig died in the year 1661, after a reign of
forty years. From this period the glory of the family
gradually declined. During one reign, and that was
when the reins of government were held by a woman,
the dignity of the Nayaca dynasty was for a time
supported; but the irradiation was transient, and
the declension from this time was as rapid as had
been its original rise. Madura is. now in the pos-
session of the East India Company, who have hitherto
shown no disposition to lift it from its present political
and social degradation.

Ram Raz, a literary Hindoo of considerable ce-
lebrity among his own countrymen, and a correspond-

* The possession of the once powerful kingdom of Ramnad was
one of the late cases in dispute before the courts of India. The
hearing of the appeal, made by the descendants of her princes,
having been put off from time to time, the inconvenience caused
to the people of the country by that delay was the ground upon
which Sir Alexander Johnston proposed the modification of the
Privy Council which now prevails for the hearing of Indian
appeals.

58

SCENES IN INDIA.

ent of the Royal Asiatic Society, has kindly sent to
that learned body drawings of all the ornaments in
Trimal Naig’s choultry, which seem to exhibit every
specimen of Hindoo architecture. The Society have
had lithographic transcripts made from these curious
specimens of native talent, which, though defective
as works of art, compared with those of European
draughtsmen, are valuable nevertheless as being close
copies of the subjects which they represent, and con-
vey a very just idea of the elaborate decoration of
that structure which, even at this moment, confers no
mean celebrity upon the neighbourhood of Madura.

DruMTh by w: Dan'd.elZ, R..JL.

TRITCHENGUR

59

CHAPTER V.

TRITCHENGUR. HINDOO THEOLOGY.

Having determined to go into the Mysore., to visit
the celebrated colossal figure of Buddha,, we took leave
of our Mahomedan friend., and proceeded much in the
same route which we had before taken; as described
in the first volume of this work. We again visited
the temples of Tritchengur; the most sacred of which
is represented in the accompanying engraving. It is
one of the most elegant specimens of Hindoo archi-
tecture in this part of the peninsula. The ascent to it
is by no means tedious^ though it stands on the sum-
mit of a lofty hill, in which; at intervals; where the
slope is very abrupt; there are steps cut in the living-
rock; in order to facilitate the approach of those nu-
merous devotees who visit this holy shrine. The pro-
spect from the hill at different points is interesting
in the extreme j but it is astonishing to see with what
besotted apathy the pilgrims; who resort in vast num-
bers to the temple, look upon the fine features which
Nature; in her most bountiful magnificence; offers to
their admiration on this elevated spot. But sublimity
is beyond the reach of their torpid impulses; and they
gaze with sluggish indifference upon a scene that far
exceeds the poet’s vision; when rapt in that fine frenzy

60

SCENES IN INDIA.

of which one of the greatest sons of genius has spoken
in the most beautiful language of poetical inspiration.

Nothing can exceed the glorious splendour of the
prospect over which the eye of the traveller ranges
from the porch of this celebrated temple. The por-
tico is a fine specimen of early Hindoo architec-
ture. You ascend to it by several flights of wide
stone steps. The roof is supported upon eight square
massy columns, variously decorated from the pe-
destal to the capital. The gateway, which is very
lofty, and leads into a handsome vestibule, is sur-
mounted by a square pyramidal tower richly em-
bellished with tracery. On the top of the tower is a
row of five culices, fixed upon a narrow ornamented
ridge, in which the tower terminates. On either side of
the gateway is a high and strong wall, built of huge
masses of granite, squared and fitted with an accu-
racy that might bear comparison with a piece of ca-
binet-work. The most splendid part of the temple is
the gateway. The interior of this sanctuary is com-
paratively plain, and presents nothing particularly to
arrest the traveller’s eye. The porch was nearly filled
with pilgrims when we ascended, and I entered into
conversation with an extremely eloquent Brahmin,
whose whole soul seemed absorbed in metaphysics ;
and so deeply did he appear to have dug into the
mine of abstract philosophy, that I have no doubt
he would have expounded the cabala to his own sa-
tisfaction at least, if not to that of more learned
Rabbins.

It is quite a mistake to suppose that philosophy is
above the study of these heathen priests. Some of the

HINDOO THEOLOGY.

61

Hindoo sages have drunk as deeply from the springs of
speculative wisdom as the most renowned among the
ancient Greeks. This the records which even now
exist of their diligence and acquirements will abund-
antly testify. In confirmation of what I have said,, I
will present the reader with some recondite reason-
ings of a Hindoo philosopher, who probably wrote
before the earliest of the Grecian sages.

“ The Shoonyuvadees affirm that from nonentity all
things arose ; for that everything sprung to birth from
a state in which it did not previously exist : that entity
absolutely implies nonentity, and that there must be
some power in nonentity from which entity can spring :
the sprout does not arise from a sprout, but in the ab-
sence or nonexistence of a sprout. Goutiimu denies that
vacuum is the cause of existence, and affirms that the
cause is to be sought in concurring circumstances ; for
seed when sown cannot spring to life without rain ; or if
a latent principle of life, or an embryo state of existence,
be pleaded for, this will subvert the universally ac-
knowledged terms of father, maker, &c. The Shoon-
yuvadee admits the necessity of using the terms
maker, &c. but maintains that they are mere words
of course, and are often used when the things spoken
of are in a state of non-existence ; as when men say a
son will be born, or such a person had a son. Gou-
tumii now asks, do you mean by this assertion that
the living principle in the seed, or that the seed itself, is
absent ? You cannot mean the former, for that which
is destroyed can never become the cause of existence.
If, where the principle of life is wanting, existence may

G

62

SCENES IN INDIA.

be produced, why is not a harvest possible from seed
ground into flour ? And if you mean by non-existence
the absence of the seed, I would answer, that non-
existence can produce no variety; but the works of
nature are distinguished by an endless variety, and
therefore your proposition is confuted. From hence
it is plain, seeing existence cannot arise from non-
existence as a cause, that the first cause must be
sought for elsewhere.

“ Goutumu now engages the Yedantees, some of
whom maintain that Brumhu is the only cause of all
things ; others that the universe is a form of Brumhu ;
and others that the universe is a deception proceeding
from Brumhu; thus excluding every assisting and
efficient cause, Brumhu excepted. Goutumu, in op-
position to these ideas, says, that an assisting cause
must be acknowledged ; for, unless there were such an
assisting cause, we should not see so many changes
and fluctuations in the affairs of the universe. The
Vedantee says this must be attributed to the will of
God. Goutumu replies, you then admit a something
in addition to God, that is his will ; and this involves
a contradiction of your own opinion, and establishes
two causes. If you could admit, for the sake of argu-
ment, these two causes, then I would urge that these
changes arise only from religion and irreligion ; and to
affirm that the degrees of religion and irreligion in the
world are appointed by the will of God, would be to
attach an unchanging destiny to these things, which
cannot be admitted. It must therefore be concluded
that the fruits of human actions are the causes of the

RELIGION OF THE BRAHMINS.

63

changes and fluctuations that take place in the
world.”*

So far as appears from the writings of the most emi-
nent among their sages, the religion of the Brahmins
has always been decidedly pantheistic. Pantheism,
no doubt, prevails in the modern creeds of a large
portion of the Hindoo population, of which the im-
mense multitude of their deities, amounting to the
prodigious number of three hundred and thirty mil-
lions, is of itself a sufficient attestation. In fact,
everything in nature is deified. They confound God
and the universe, and their notion of the final consum-
mation with respect to man is absorption into the di-
vinity. One would imagine that Spinoza had taken
from their abstract theology the pernicious dogmas
which he propagated to a generation hungry and raven-
ous after novelty in religion. The asceticism of many
Hindoo visionaries has led them to contemplate God
as a mere abstraction, passing their lives in those
dreamy contemplations which absorb every perceptive
faculty of the mind, and render them the dupes of
their own prurient phantasies, placing the ultimate
happiness of man in mere uninterrupted quietism.
The doctrines of many of their philosophers, who un-
questionably had precedence of the Grecian sages in
point of time, were in a high degree metaphysical and
abstruse. Some of them taught that the deity was
identical with what they called nature — the universal
plenum, in which everything inert, passive, or ani-

* See Ward on the History, Literature, and Mythology of
the Hindoos, vol. ii. pp. 261-2.

64

SCENES IN INDIA.

mated, formed a positive and integral part of one infi-
nite whole. Even now, many of those modifications
of belief which distract the faith of modern Hindoos,
may be looked upon as a number of currents, branching
in so many meanderings from the one main stream.

The notion that God is a universal principle, per-
meating all things, both matter and spirit, in whom
the latter is finally absorbed at the consummation of
man’s destiny, seems to have been a doctrine imbibed
by Pythagoras from those eastern sages. The esote-
rick principles propounded by the Samian philosopher
to his pupils, after a severe noviciate of years, was
evidently adopted, with some modifications, from the
Brahminical schools of theology ; and these doctrines,
by passing through the alembic of his mighty intel-
lect, were purged of much of the dross with which they
were originally encumbered, and are no doubt the
foundation upon which the fabric of pantheism was
erected by the philosophic Jew of Amsterdam.

The belief of many among the modern Brahmins at
all learned in theology will be found generally to be
a qualified deism, as may be seen from the writings of
the late Rammahun Roy, who, though he differed in
many respects from the theologians of his own coun-
try, did so rather with reference to the forms of their
worship, than to the spirit of their doctrine. Although
he repudiated the absurdities which form the promi-
nent features of their temple worship, he was never-
theless essentially a Brahmin in faith whatever he
might have been in practice. He was rather a rare
instance of high moral feeling with a profound reve-
rence for religion in the abstract, apart from all specific

RAMMAHUN ROY.

65

creeds. He was tolerant to all believers ; and though
he expressed the greatest respect for the Christian
creed., the deism with which his own national faith
had imbued his mind led him to withhold his assent
from the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. I
do, however, believe, and I owe it to his memory to
state it thus publicly, that he had one of the purest
minds, and was altogether one of the best of men.

He seems to have felt deeply and to have embodied
in his own faith the sentiments so eloquently expressed
in Sir William Jones’s fine hymn to Narayana.

Blue crystal vault and elemental fires

That in the ethereal fluid blaze and breathe ;

Thou, tossing main, whose snaky branches wreathe
This pensile orb with intertwisting gyres ;

Mountains whose radiant spires,

Presumptuous rear their summits to the skies,

And blend their emerald hue with sapphire light ;
Smooth meads and lawns that glow with varying dyes
Of dew-bespangled leaves and blossoms bright,

Hence ! vanish from my sight! —

Delusive pictures, unsubstantial shows !

My soul absorbed, one only being knows,

Of all perceptions one abundant source,

Whence every object, every moment flows :

Suns hence derive their force.

Hence planets learn their course ;

But suns and fading worlds T view no more :

God only I perceive ; — God only I adore.

After quitting the Temple of Tritchengur our atten-
tion was continually attracted by the most affecting
scenes of distress. The rains had failed, and a famine
had prevailed through the country to an alarming
extent. Whole villages were depopulated, and no-

66

SCENES IN INDIA.

thing could exceed the misery that prevailed. Mo-
thers frequently came to us and offered to sell their
children for a single meal of rice. It was distress-
ing to witness sufferings which we could not alle-
viate,, and to be obliged to turn from supplications to
which we could give nothing but our sympathies ; for
our united means would, as an aggregate, have been
but as a drop in the ocean towards ameliorating the
general distress. The calamity was dreadful beyond
description. I have seen groups of miserable Pa-
riahs, almost maddened by hunger, scrape up the
ordure of our baggage bullocks, and absolutely fight
for it with desperate ferocity. This, when obtain-
ed, they washed for the occasional seeds of gram*
which were to be found in it. During this melan-
choly season I witnessed scenes of the most appalling
misery.

I remember walking out one morning just about
sunrise. Within a few yards of a village I saw a
poor woman seated upon the ground in a state of
complete exhaustion. Her back was supported by a
large stone ; and her hands hung, as it appeared, in-
sensibly by her side. From the waist upward she was
entirely naked, and the squalid misery of her appear-
ance defies description. Her eyes were closed, her
chin had fallen, her lips moved so gently as scarce-
ly to indicate the presence of life. Her long hair hung
over her shoulders, and partly hid her countenance,
which had the ghastly expression of death when the
spirit quits its prison with a fierce conflict. Her frame
presented the appearance of a skeleton covered with a

* Gram is a soit of vetch upon which cattle are feci in India.

LAMENTABLE EFFECTS OF FAMINE.

67

loose skill, through which every bone was hideously
prominent. It hung in folds upon her almost fleshless
body. At her breast an infant clung trying to draw
the nutriment which nature no longer provided. The
poor babe was likewise macerated nearly to a sha-
dow ; still it cried with anguish when her bosom re-
fused the maternal supply. I took in mine the hand
of the dying mother. I put my finger to her wrist :
the pulse was like the agitation of a thread just stirred
to the gentlest vibration. She could not speak. In
a moment the lips slightly quivered, the mouth be-
came fixed; and the soul was no longer associated
with the form on which I gazed. I took the child in
my arms and carried it to my tent. The poor infant
had evidently partaken of the severe sufferings of the
parent. Whether the person to whose charge I con-
fided it treated it properly, I know not; — but it died in
the course of the day. I would have given anything
I possessed to save that child. I saw it die without
a groan. The mother became a prey to the jackals
and vultures. In that village near which she died
many perished on the same day. The vulture; the
adjutant; the kite, and the Pariah dog here held a
horrid carnival. A miserable half-starved Hindoo at-
tempted to scare them from their banquet.

And he saw the lean dogs beneath the wall,

Hold o’er the dead their carnival,

Gorging and growling o’er carcass and limb,

They were too busy to bark at him.

I cannot forbear recording another circumstance; of
which I was a melancholy witness, as it will show
how stubborn the prejudices of caste are, and that

68

SCENES IN INDIA.

they operate with indomitable pertinacity even in
the agonies of death. On the day after the event
just recorded^ I entered the dwelling-house of a
poor Hindoo, detached from the village a few hun-
dred yards. A lean Pariah dog, foul with mange,
and attenuated to a mere outline, raised its head
as I stepped over the threshold, turning its dull
eye upon me with a still sickly glare, as if the lustre
of life had departed, and it had been moved in the
socket by some mechanical impulse independent of
that animal volition which gives to motion at once
such an expression and charm. Leaving the starved
brute “ to die unhonoured and unmourned/’ I en-
tered the chamber where the emissaries of death
had been executing his awful purpose, under circum-
stances peculiarly harrowing. In one corner of the
hovel appeared the corpse of an aged woman, in which
the dreadful process of corruption was so actively go-
ing on that it was frightful to behold, whilst the at-
mosphere was charged with those horrible fumes of
decaying mortality, at once disgusting and sickening
to inhale. In the centre of the floor was a man of
middle age, stretched upon a ragged palampore, ap-
parently in the last extremity. His wife lay on
the bare earth, scarcely a yard from his feet, much
in the same state: beside her a dead child, about
two years old. A little girl was kneeling on the
other side, and kept continually striking the mother’s
face, and asking in a tone of bitter petulance, to which
extreme hunger had excited it, for rice. The wretched
parent only answered by turning her eyes upward
with so slow and evidently painful a motion, that

PREVALENCE OF FAMINE.

69

I thought it was the last effort of departing life.
I called to a servant, who had accompanied me, to
bring a basket of provisions, which I opened before the
child. The unhappy father turned his eye upon me
with a look of horror, threw out his arms like a ma-
niac, seized the infant, dragged it from the polluted
food, and fell back dead. The mother was too far
gone to notice the action. I desired the servant to lift
her up. She breathed, though her respirations were
scarcely audible ; but she was insensible to everything
around her. She died in my servant’s arms. It was
altogether the saddest scene I ever witnessed. The
child survived its parents, and was claimed by some
of its relatives, who were fortunate enough to escape
the destruction to which so many fell victims during
this season of scarcity.

Nothing can exceed the sufferings endured by large
masses of the population in Hindostan when the pe-
riodical rains fail to scatter over the land that fertility
of which they are the fruitful and annual source. It
sometimes happens that those accustomed supplies are
withheld, or only partially distributed ; and then fa-
mine, either partial or general, according to the cir-
cumstances, invariably ensues among the poorer na-
tives, who are too indolent and withal too improvident
to lay up a store against such a melancholy but by no
means unusual contingency. When the visitation
does come upon them, it is but too frequently ac-
companied with horrors to which the greatest priva-
tions of the poor in more civilized countries would be
comparative though negative blessings. And yet
these horrors are witnessed by the wealthy among

70

SCENES IN INDIA.

their countrymen with an apathy that deplorably
shows the unbenign influence of a religion which nei-
ther encourages nor admits the operation of human
sympathies. What a different lesson does Christianity
teach,, and what a different practice does it enforce !

BEAHMINEE BULLS.

71

CHAPTER VI.

BRAHMINEE BULLS. — SERINGAPATAM.

Upon quitting Salem, we crossed the Cavery and
proceeded towards Seringapatam. On the hanks of
the river, in the neighbourhood of a small pagoda, we
saw a couple of Brahminee bulls, so sleek and fat as
to form a perfect contrast with the population around
them, everywhere suffering from the sad scarcity of
grain, while the bones of these sacred animals were
loaded with an encumbrance of consecrated flesh. It
was melancholy to see, that while thousands of human
beings were starving, the bulls dedicated to the stern
divinity, Siva, were so pampered that they would eat
nothing but the most delicate food, and this was ge-
nerally taken with a fastidious and palled appetite.
These bulls were very small, but very beautiful ;
the dewlap of one of them, hanging from his throat
and between his fore-legs, almost touched the ground.
I could not help feeling deeply the sad fact that the
miseries of their fellow-creatures were looked upon
with cruel indifference by the wealthy members of
the Hindoo community ; while before the dumb crea-
tures devoted to their gods, and those senseless blocks
which formed the disgusting effigies of their divinities.

72

SCENES IN INDIA.

that food was scattered which would have saved
whole families from perishing with hunger.

The Brahminee bulls are generally about the size of
calves of two years old, except in some districts, as in
Guzerat, where they are sometimes found as large as
the Durham ox. Upon their haunches there is an em-
blem of the god Siva, to whom they are devoted, and
held in such high reverence, that no one is permitted
to strike them, or to prevent them from feeding pre-
cisely where and upon what they please. They are
almost always to be seen in the bazaars, where they
unceremoniously enter the shops, begin to munch the
grain exposed for sale, and frequently turn over every-
thing in their way, to the great annoyance of the se-
date Hindoo, who nevertheless bears it all with a
religious patience, allowing the sacred intruder to con-
tinue its freaks so long as it may fancy agreeable.

One of the bulls represented in the engraving chose
to take a dislike to a small, rough-haired, terrier dog,
of the Scotch breed, which I had with me, and, unex-
pectedly raising him on its horns, nearly flung him
into the river. Snap, not at all pleased at such un-
courteous treatment, no sooner recovered his legs, than
he rushed upon the bull, seized it by the lip, to which
he clung with such persevering obstinacy, that though
the animal, with a stifled roar, galloped off at its ut-
most speed, the terrier still maintained his hold for at
least five minutes ; and when at length he did relin-
quish the bull’s lip, the enemy did not show the least
disposition to renew the encounter, but sought the
shelter of a pagoda, whither its companion actively
followed.

COLOSSAL STATUE.

73

We did not stay long in the Mysore, which is ge-
nerally unhealthy ; but while we remained there, we
took the opportunity of visiting the celebrated Jain
statue near the village of Sravana Belgula, thirty-
three miles north of Seringapatam. There is a small
choultry close by the spot on which the figure stands,
where our bearers rested with the palankeens while
we proceeded to view this gigantic idol. It is an
image of Gomuta Raya, the divinity of the Jains ; a
sect differing in several particulars both from the Brah-
minical and Buddhist forms of worship. This part
of the Mysore was formerly the principal seat of the
Jain sect, once so prevalent in the south of India; and
the statue, which is still to be seen, is a remarkable
memorial of the power possessed by them in this neigh-
bourhood at that period. It stands seventy feet three
inches from the summit of a huge pedestal, consisting
of a hill of granite upwards of two hundred feet high.

This stone divinity is composed of the same material
as the pedestal, and is supposed to have originally
formed the cone of the mountain, which the ingenious
sculptor converted into an image, hewing away the
lateral substance of the rocky hill, until the figure
stood revealed to sight in all the majesty of size,
though certainly not of symmetry. The statue, though
formed, upon the whole, with tolerable exactness, is
deficient in harmony of proportion. It is manifest to
a very cursory glance, that the artist had by no
means a profound knowledge of anatomy. The figure,
nevertheless, is minutely defined in all its parts ; but,
although elaborately wrought, there is an evident
rudeness in the execution, from absence, not of labour.

H

7 4

SCENES IN INDIA.

but of skill. The effect,, however, is extremely grand
when this colossal image bursts upon the sight on
emerging from the jungle by which it had been pre-
viously hidden. It appears to start up into the sky
like the Demiurge of eastern superstition, as if it
could hold communion at once with heaven and earth,
upon the latter of which it seems to look down from
its sublime elevation with the immobility of stern
and inflexible power.

The associations on first beholding this gigantic
sculpture are of the most exalted description. Y ou for-
get for the moment that you are looking upon a mere
inert mass of granite ; but the ideas of power, vast-
ness, and other attributes of divinity, are irresistibly
associated in the mind, while a feeling almost amount-
ing to awe is kindled ; until the eye is turned from the
mighty mockery by the natural impulse of mental re-
action, and you are suddenly brought to the humi-
liating consciousness that it is nothing more than a
huge lump of senseless rock.

In the neighbourhood of Cabul there are statues
of similar colossal proportions with this at Sravana
Belgula, which have been well described by Lieu-
tenant Alexander Burnes, in his travels into Bokhara.
“ There are no relics of Asiatic antiquity,” says this
intelligent writer, “ which have roused the curiosity of
the learned more than the gigantic idols of Bameean.
They consist of two figures, a male and a female ; the
one named Silsal, the other Shahmama. The figures are
cut in alto-relievo on the face of the hill, and repre-
sent two colossal images. The male is the larger of
the two, and about a hundred and twenty feet high :

COLOSSAL STATUES AT BAMEEAN,

75

it occupies a front of seventy feet, and the niche in
which it is excavated extends about that depth into
the hill. This idol is mutilated, both legs having been
fractured by cannon, and the countenance above the
mouth is destroyed. The lips are very large, the ears
long and pendent, and there appears to have been a
tiara upon the head. The figure is covered by a
mantle, which hangs over it in all parts, and has
been formed of a kind of plaster, the image having
been studded with wooden pins in various places to
assist in fixing it. The figure itself is without sym-
metry, nor is there much elegance in the drapery.
The hands, which held out the mantle, have been both
broken. The female figure is more perfect than the
male, and has been dressed in the same manner. It
is cut in the same hill, at a distance of two hundred
yards, and is about half the size. It was not to be
discovered whether the smaller idol was a brother or
son of the colossus, but from the information of the
natives.

“ I have now to note the most remarkable curiosity
in the idols of Bameean. The niches of both have
been at one time plastered and ornamented with
paintings of human figures, which have now disap-
peared from all parts but that immediately over the
heads of the idols ; here the colours are as vivid and
the paintings as distinct as in the Egyptian tombs.
There is little variety in the design of these figures,
which represent the bust of a woman, with a knob of
hair on the head, and a plaid thrown half over the
chest ; the whole surrounded by a halo, and the head
again by another halo. In one part I could trace a

76

SCENES IN INDIA.

group of three female figures following each other :
the execution of the work was indifferent, and not
superior to the pictures which the Chinese make in
imitation of an European artist.

tf The traditions of the people regarding the idols of
Bameean are vague and unsatisfactory. It is stated
that they were excavated about the Christian era by
a tribe of Kaffirs, infidels, to represent a king named
Silsal and his wife, who ruled in a distant country,
and was worshipped for his greatness. The Hindoos
assert that they were excavated by the Pandoos, and
that they are mentioned in the great epic poem of the
Mahaburat. Certain it is that the Hindoos on passing
these idols, at this day, hold up their hands in adora-
tion : they do not make offerings, and the custom may
have fallen into disuse since the rise of Islam. I am
aware that a conjecture attributes these images to the
Buddhists, and the long ears of the great figure render
the surmise probable. I did not trace any resem-
blance to the colossal figures in the caves of Salsette,
near Bombay ; but the shape of the head is not un-
like that of the great tri-faced idol of Elephanta. At
Manikyala, in the Punjab, near the celebrated ftope/
I found a glass or cornelian antique which exactly re-
sembles this head. In the paintings over the idols I
observed a close resemblance to the images of the Jain
temples in Western India, on Mount Aboo, Girnar, and
Politana, in Kattywar. I judge the figures to be female ,*
but they are very rude, though the colours in which
they are sketched are bright and beautiful. There is
nothing in the images of Bameean to evince any great
advancement in the arts, or what the most common

SINGULAR CUSTOM.

77

people might not have easily executed. They cannot
certainly be referred to the Greek invasion, nor are
they mentioned by any of the historians of Alexan-
der’s expedition. I find in the history of Timourlane
that both the idols and excavations of Bameean are
described by Sherif-o-deen, his historian. The idols
are there stated to be so high, that none of the archers
could strike the head. They are called Lat and Mu-
nat, two celebrated idols which are mentioned in the
Koran. The writer also alludes to the road which
led up to their summit from the interior of the hill.
There are no inscriptions at Bameean to guide us in
their history; and the whole of the later traditions
are so mixed up with Ali, the son-in-law of Mahommed,
who we well know never came into this part of Asia,
that they are most unsatisfactory.”

Not far from Sravana Belgula is a neighbourhood
remarkable for a tribe among whom there exists a cus-
tom as singular as it is absurd. When a mother be-
troths her eldest daughter, she pierces her ears as an
initiatory ceremony, by which the girl becomes plight-
ed to her future husband. Before, however, the pa-
rent can accomplish this mystical perforation of the
daughter’s ears, she is herself obliged to undergo the
amputation of the first joints of the third and fourth
fingers of her right hand, and with the mangled limb
performs upon her child this singular ceremony of
matrimonial inauguration.

The amputation of the mother’s finger-joints is ac-
complished by a very summary process. The operator
is generally the blacksmith of the village, who simply
lays her finger upon his anvil, places the edge of a

78

SCENES IN INDIA.

blunt chisel upon the joint, and with one stroke of a
heavy hammer off flies the divided member, whilst
the sufferer seems to think no more of the matter
than she would of a corn being cut. In spite of this
clumsy method of operating, it is surprising how
soon the wound heals ; a poultice of turmeric is ap-
plied, and in a few days the hand appears relieved
from all pain or inconvenience. So pure is the state
of blood in these people, that the severest wounds
heal in an incredibly short space of time. Such a
thing as mortification is seldom or never heard of.
They are, however, very subject to tetanus, from
slight punctures in the feet, which invariably proves
fatal.

The tribe to which I have just referred is, I ima-
gine, confined to two or three districts of the Mysore,
and perhaps do not altogether embrace a population of
twenty thousand souls. I believe they are a low caste,
and associate with no one out of their own commu-
nity. When a girl is betrothed, should she happen to
be an orphan, the mother of the affianced husband is
obliged to submit to the loss of her finger -tops, pro-
vided she has not already undergone the necessary
mutilation. When that is the case, any further mem-
bral disfigurement is dispensed with, though, such is
the excess of joy evinced by parents at the marriage
of their children, that had the mother fifty fingers,
and the law of superstitious custom prescribed that
she should leave the tips of every one of them in the
shop of the village blacksmith, she would cheerfully
undergo the mutilation, to see her daughter provided
with a husband — the greatest earthly blessing in the

DOMESTIC DISCIPLINE.

79

estimation of a Hindoo woman. It frequently hap-
pens that parents will expend everything they pos-
sess in the world upon an entertainment given on
the marriage of a child, and readily encounter the
severest privations during the rest of their lives, in
order thus to gratify a momentary vanity.

I was much amused by an occurrence at a small
village through which we passed on our way toward
the Courg district, whither we directed our course
after we quitted Sravana Belgula. In a narrow
enclosure, behind a small hovel, we saw a woman
tied to a stake, and a man standing over her ad-
ministering severe chastisement with a thick bam-
boo, which he occasionally applied to her naked shoul-
ders so earnestly, that she screamed with a piercing
but dissonant expression of suffering. She bore the in-
fliction for some time without manifesting the slight-
est disposition to retaliate; but at length, goaded
by the unbending severity of her tyrant, she made
a sudden spring at his leg as he advanced to repeat
the castigation, and, seizing him by the calf with
her teeth, bit it so energetically, that he howled like
a scourged whelp. Springing aside, however, he got
beyond her reach, and then administered the disci-
pline of the bamboo at so furious a rate, that I thought
the woman’s bones in jeopardy. She now bore the
blows without wincing, fixing her full dark eyes upon
him with an expression of calm triumph which seemed
to say, You may kill me, now I have had my re-
venge !” The rattling of the hollow bamboo against
her ribs might have been heard, I am sure, at the
distance of a hundred yards : still she did not move

30

SCENES IN INDIA.

a muscle, but sat sullen and enduring, while the
man’s rage appeared to kindle in proportion to her
non-resistance.

There were several persons looking on with per-
fect unconcern, from whom I learned that it was a
domestic despot heating his wife for some act of so-
cial dereliction. Becoming uneasy at seeing the mer-
ciless mode of chastisement pursued by the enraged
Hindoo, I sent one of my native attendants to ex-
postulate with the man upon his undue severity.
The moment he attempted to interpose in this fa-
mily disagreement, the woman released herself from
the cords by which she was bound, rushed upon my
unhappy messenger, threw her head into his stomach
with the fury of an excited tigress, and poured upon
him a volley of such eloquent abuse for interfering be-
tween a husband and wife as perfectly astounded me,
though it only excited a smile on the countenances of
the generality of the bystanders. She had no sooner
put to flight the man whom I had sent as a pacificator,
for he scampered away from the scene of combat as if
he had been stung by a scorpion, than she took her
station at the stake, to which her better half again
bound her, and proceeded to thump her to her heart’s
content and his own.

It is a strange anomaly in human nature, but
with the Hindoo wife passive endurance is at once
a virtue and a social obligation. She esteems her
husband in proportion as he maintains what she con-
ceives to be the dignity of his character; and this,
in her mind, is most properly maintained when he
makes the wife feel his power and her own impo-

HINDOO WOMEN.

81

tence, — when he obliges her to treat him with the
deference due to a master, and forces from her the sub-
serviency of a slave. Nothing would so soon cause a
Hindoo woman to rebel against the authority of her
husband as the circumstance of his using that au-
thority mildly. So strong an impression has she of
her own inferiority in every respect as a rational and
social animal,, that her most active contempt would
be excited were she to be treated by the lord of her
heart with that equality which can alone render the
married state one of mutual confidence and happiness.
If her husband were to allow her to eat in his pre-
sence, she would despise him ; if he were to permit
her to approach when he is taking his refreshment,
she would no longer respect him : in short, if he did
not use her as the mere instrument of his pleasure
and of his comfort, she would consider him a degraded
member of that community to which it is his and her
pride to belong.

The state of utter ignorance in which women
are kept in India may in some measure account for
the perversity with which they adhere to and even
venerate customs that operate so oppressively upon
themselves. They never receive the slightest educa-
tion, and defer to their male relatives in every instance
where the passions do not interfere with reason and
assume the ascendancy ; which, indeed, now and then
may be observed among some of the lower and more
profligate classes. A Hindoo writer has said, “ A
woman can never be independent; in childhood she
must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband,
and in old age to her sons.” This is literally true.

82

SCENES IN TNDIA.

It is indeed pitiful to see women, often lovely
beyond what conception can shadow forth in the mere
external graces, or what may be called the accidents
of form and feature, yet lapped in an ignorance so
profound as to stifle the sweetest associations to which
the sight of beauty, under whatever aspect, must give
rise, and realize the humiliating reality of the mere
animal, in which the mind is utterly merged and al-
most brutalized. I should impute the social degrada-
tion of the modern Hindoos much to the ignorance in
which their women are suffered to live, and the domes-
tic tyranny to which they are subjected ; for it has ever
been found that man becomes refined in proportion as
woman is intelligent, and that where there is not a
high and delicate respect for the gentler sex, there
never can be a perfect civilization ; — of which the mo-
ral disorder, now so distorted a feature in the character
of Hindoo society, appears to me a sad but irrefragable
evidence.

However the native of Hindostan may look upon
woman, a proof of the beauty of her mind and the
noble powers of her intellect is exhibited in every
community where those powers are permitted to ex-
pand by a suitable culture. Mind, in the abstract;
has no distinction of sex ; and what is there to pre-
vent the mental faculties of woman from reaching to the
highest intellectual elevation, if they are directed with
the same fervency of purpose and ardour of pursuit as
have exalted the brightest names in our literature to
those dignities which posterity has gratefully assigned
to them ? In our own country, Mrs. Somerville may
stand forth an illustrious example of the supremacy

A HINDOO MOTHER.

83

of mind under the control and direction of a woman,
and how high a woman may rise in the scale of intel-
lectual attainment merely by her own inherent prin-
ciple, which is the secondary source of knowledge, and
therefore, in accordance with Lord Bacon’s well known
axiom, the germ of power.

“ The mind alike,

Vigorous or weak, is capable of culture.

But still bears fruit according to its nature :

’Tis not the teacher’s skill that rears the scholar.

The sparkling gem gives back the glorious radiance
It drinks from other light ; but the dull earth
Absorbs the blaze, and yields no gleam again.”*

With all their failings, nothing can exceed the in-
tensity of affection which Hindoo mothers feel towards
their offspring, of which I once happened to witness a
remarkable instance.

I was one morning riding upon the banks of the
river that flows almost immediately under the walls
of Poonah, in the Deccan, when I saw a very interest-
ing Hindoo woman, with an infant in her arms about
two years old, descend to the edge of the river to
bathe. She laid her child upon the bank, which was
here about three feet above the water, while she
walked into the stream. The rains had not long
ceased, and therefore the course of the river was at
this time more than usually rapid, especially near the
bank, where the water was deep. Here the channel
curved ; and as the water was turned off from its di-
rect course, the resistance of the bank increased its

* Uttara Rama Cherita.

84

SCENES IN INDIA.

impetus. The mother was busily employed in wash-
ing her long black hair, when a sharp quick shriek
from one of the bathers called her attention to the
spot on which she had laid her infant. She only saw
the ripple on the surface of the stream, but this was
enough to satisfy her that the object of her maternal
yearning was in jeopardy. She instantly threw her
dripping hair back upon her shoulders, her dark eye
dilating with the intense expression of her resolved
and holy purpose, and dashed fearlessly into the deep
turbid waters. She rose buoyantly upon their surface,
and, having reached the spot where her child had
sunk, disappeared beneath them. She rose again at
a considerable distance, made for the shore, and cast
herself upon the ground in despair. Her agony was
intense ; and as every expression of consolation from
her companions seemed only to aggravate it, she was
soon left by the other bathers upon the ground be-
wailing her bereavement. I could not venture to in-
trude upon the sacred privacy of her grief, as I knew
it would only be adding the pain of imagined pollution,
which my immediate presence would have inflicted,
to that of her present desolation.

The issue of this melancholy event was still more
sad. The body of the child was recovered some hours
after it had fallen into the river, and the wretched
mother mourned over it day after day, until it was in
such a state of dreadful decomposition, that no one
could approach it without disgust. The poor woman
was a few days after attacked with fever, and died.
She was the wife of a Sepoy. I had the curiosity
to go and see her the day after the accident. She was

A BEREAVED MOTHER.

85

bewailing the death of her babe in the most pa-
thetic strains : I did not venture to interrupt her
grief, but looked on in painful silence. She was
evidently unconscious of my presence, her whole mind
being absorbed by her sorrows. There were two or
three women near her, who looked on with heartless
indifference, chattering to each other, and occasion-
ally addressing to the mourner a few words of cal-
lous and repulsive consolation. Among the Hindoos
in general, and especially among the women, it is
surprising how little the sympathies are excited. Their
affections are strong towards their own offspring, but
seldom radiate beyond the domestic circle ; and thus
we find this strange moral anomaly among them, that
although they feel a domestic loss of the kind just re-
lated with extreme intensity, they never appear to
sympathise with those whom they may happen to see
suffering under a similar bereavement. One of the
women, on the present occasion, said to the miserable
parent in a sharp tone of rebuke, f<r Why do you
weep ? Have you nobody else to care for but the child
who is gone away from you ? Is he worth lamenting
when he has caused you so much sorrow ? Why did
he go away, if he cared anything for his mother?
Either he was not fit to be with you, or you were not
fit to be with him, and therefore it was proper that
he should go. This is your punishment, and you ought
to bear it with patience. You must have done some-
thing very wicked in a former birth, and this is the
bitter fruit of your crime. Come, come, dry your
tears, and be happy.”

These words of coarse reproof fell upon the mourn-

i

86

SCENES IN INDIA.

er s ear like snow upon water — they were absorbed
without leaving an impression. I quitted the scene,,
giving the husband a few rupees to meet the expenses
of the poor babe’s obsequies,, little thinking then that
he would so soon have a second blank left upon his
domestic hearth. The man was considerably affected,
but the loss of his child smote him much more severe-
ly than the death of his wife, towards whom, how-
ever, I found he had the character of having proved
at least a forbearing if not a tender husband ; which
is much to say, since among the Hindoos tenderness
does not commonly class with the conjugal virtues.

It is really melancholy to witness the social mi-
sery common to the domestic state in India. From
the ill-judged indulgence of parents, their children
usually grow up to be intractable and rebellious. If
the least check is opposed to their forwardness, they
resist with the vehemence of maniacs, and in defiance
of all parental authority act according to the impulses
of their unruly wills. We cannot be surprised, under
such circumstances, at the filial atrocities so frequently
witnessed on the banks of the Ganges, where almost
daily parents are suffocated by their offspring with the
mud of the sacred river.

SERINGAPATAM.

87

CHAPTER VII.

SERINGAPATAM. HYDER ALI. TIPPOO.

Before we proceed, it will not be out of place to
give a short account of the capital of Mysore. At the
spot near which this city stands the river Cavery
branches off into two streams : these, after diverging
obliquely to the right and left, again move towards
each other ; then, after a course of about four miles
and half, unite, enclosing the city of Seringapatam
which stands upon a conical island, about half a
league wide at the upper end, and a league and half
in length. The Cavery is here of considerable width,
and pours a large body of water rapidly through a
deep channel, interrupted by huge fragments of rock,
over and between which, during the periodical rains,
the river struggles and foams with great turbulence.
The island of Seringapatam is low, and extremely
unhealthy. The jungle fever, induced by the malaria
so constantly rising from this flat unwholesome spot,
is very prevalent ; and those whom it has once attack-
ed seldom entirely recover from its pernicious effects.
The country in the immediate neighbourhood of this
city is watered by canals, which are supplied by the
river. Dams are thrown across the stream, and the

88

SCENES IN INDIA.

water thus forced into the canals irrigates the country
to some extent.

The fort stands at the west end of the island, and
is a large building, designed by one evidently less
skilful as an architect than as an engineer, though
built with great strength. During the memorable
siege of Seringapatam, the glacis was found to be in
many places so high and steep as perfectly to shelter
the assaulting party from the fire of the besieged. All
the public buildings in the city are clumsily construct-
ed, bearing little appearance of architectural symme-
try ; on the contrary, looking mean and even rude.
They are chiefly surrounded by a lofty wall com-
posed of mud and stone. Hyder Ali’s palace, which
he called the Laul Baugh, situated at the eastern
extremity of the island, is an exception to this rule.
Although entirely constructed of mud, it has all the
light, airy elegance of the better Mahomedan struc-
tures, and the convenience as well as beauty of a mo-
dern palace. Near it is the tomb of the renowned
Hyder, enclosing likewise the bodies of his wife and of
his son, Tippoo Sultan ; they are deposited under slabs
of black marble raised a few inches from the ground.
There is still kept up at the expense of the British
Government an establishment of priests, who daily per-
form the customary services for the welfare of depart-
ed souls over the graves of those distinguished persons.

The suburbs of this capital are built on the highest
part of the island, — about the middle of it ; they are
composed for the most part of small mean tene-
ments, the whole occupying the space of five furlongs
square. There is a palace called Dowlut Bang, or the

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

89

garden of riches, and which was, I believe, built by
Hyder Ali, but improved by Tippoo. It is rather
an ordinary building, and is now in a state of dilapi-
dation. When Captain Basil Hall visited Seringa-
patam he slept in this palace, “ hut,” says he, f<r I
paid dearly for my temerity: indeed, I believe this
island is nearly the most unhealthy spot in the East
Indies. What is curious, however, I felt none of the
effects of the malaria poison as long as I remained on
the high level of the Mysore country ; but within a
few days after reaching the sea-coast of Malabar, was
seized with what is called the jungle fever, of which
I feel the consequences to this hour. The Duke of
Wellington, then Colonel Wellesley, when Governor
of Seringapatam, lived in the same palace, which he
rendered more commodious than it had ever been in
the days of Tippoo Sultan, or even of his father Hyder
Ali. He filled it with European furniture, and made
it less unhealthy by placing glass sashes in all the
windows, by which some portion of the noxious air of
the night could be kept out.”*

The public buildings in this once powerful capital
of one of the greatest princes whose actions modern
history records, are now turned into military offices,
and residences for different functionaries of the East
India Company’s government. Hyder’s palace is con-
verted into the dwelling-house of the resident sur-
geon ; his harem into an hospital for European troops.
The private apartments of Tippoo’s harem are now the
abode of a British Resident, and the rest of the build-

* See Basil Hall’s Fragments of Voyages and Travels, third
series, vol. ii. p. 238.

3

90

SCENES IN INDIA.

ing has become an artillery barrack. Although some
of these edifices in the palmy days of the Mahomedan
glory, under Hyder Ali in the Mysore, were occupied
by persons of the first distinction in the state, they af-
ford but indifferent accommodation to our countrymen,
who are especially partial to air and light, neither of
which are very liberally admitted into these struc-
tures, they being for the most part heavy without,
as well as close and inconvenient within.

In Tippoo’s time the population of Seringapatam
was estimated at upwards of a hundred and forty
thousand souls, a considerable population for so con-
fined a spot. The Sultan had a numerous and well-
appointed army, and such was his hostility to the
English that nothing less than their utter extirpation
would have satisfied his sanguinary antipathy. Like
the father of the great Carthaginian general, Hyder
Ali transmitted to his son his own detestation of those
national foes who had obtained a footing in India,
which seems likely only to he extinguished with their
existence as a nation.

It was this very hostility that proved in the issue
the cause of his family’s downfal, and the extinction
of a dynasty which he had established at so much
cost of labour and of blood. The energies of that
mind which established and bequeathed to Tippoo Sul-
tan such a powerful principality in southern India,
bore in their own fierce strength the elements of
ruin which finally overwhelmed it under the weaker
domination of his son. Although Hyder Ali was
a sagacious man, he was neither honest nor truly
wise, for he made everything subserve his ambi-

FALL OF SERINGAPATAM.

91

tion, and the ferocity of his passions was like an in-
cubus upon the loftier aspirations of his intellect. No
man ever more completely realized the Hindoo pro-
verb, “ a wicked person, though possessed of wisdom,
is no more to be trusted than a serpent with a jewel
in its head.” The fierceness of hostility bequeathed
by him to his successor, coloured the whole of that
Prince's political life, and drove him perpetually to
attempt the infliction of retribution upon those who
were the objects of his bitter hatred, his rash perseve-
rance in which precipitated his fall, and in that fall
the utter ruin of his family was involved. Had Tippoo
courted an alliance with, instead of provoking the en-
mity of, the British government in India, his banners
might be now floating over the battlements of Serin-
gapatam.

The fall of this city is one of the most memorable
events in the annals of British India. It was stormed
on the 4th of May 1799, by the army under Gene-
ral Harris, the garrison amounting to eight thousand
men. “ In less than seven minutes from the period
of issuing from the trenches the British colours were
planted on the summit of the breaches. It was regu-
lated, that as soon as the assailants surmounted the
rampart, one half of them should wheel to the right,
the other to the left, and that they should meet over
the eastern gateway. The right, which was led by
Colonel Baird, met with little resistance, both as the
enemy, lest retreat should be cut off, abandoned the
cavaliers, and as the inner rampart of the south-west-
ern face was exposed to a perfect enfilade. The assail-
ants on the left were opposed in a different manner.

92

SCENES IN INDIA.

Lieutenant Dunlop, by whom it was commanded, re-
ceived a wound in the ascent, and the Sultan pass-
ed the nearest traverse as the column quitted the
breach. A succession of well-constructed traverses
were most vigorously defended ; and a flanking fire of
musketry from the inner rampart did great execution
upon the assailants. All the commissioned officers
attached to the leading companies were soon either
killed or disabled, and the loss would at any rate
have been great, had not a very critical assistance
been received. When the assailants first surmounted
the breach they were not a little surprised by the
sight of a deep, and, to appearance, impassable, ditch,
between the exterior and interior lines of defence. A
detachment of the Twelfth regiment having discovered
a narrow strip of the terreplein, left for the passage of
the workmen, got up the inner rampart of the enfiladed
face without much opposition, and wheeling to the
left, drove before them the musketeers, who were gall-
ing the assailants of the left attack, and they at last
reached the flank of the traverse which was defended
by the Sultan. The two columns of the English on
the outer and inner rampart then moved in a position
to expose the successive traverses to a front and flank
fire at the same time, and forced the enemy from one
to another, till they perceived the British of the right
attack over the eastern gate, and ready to fall upon
them in the rear ; when they broke and hastened to
escape. The Sultan continued on foot during the
greater part of this time, performing the part rather of
a common soldier than of a general, firing several times
upon the assailants with his own hands. But a little

DEATH OF TIPPOO.

93

before the time at which his troops resigned the con-
test,, he complained of pain and weakness in one of his
legs, in which he had received a severe wound when
young, and ordered a horse. When abandoned by his
men, instead of seeking to make his escape, which the
proximity of the water-gate would have rendered easy,
he made way for the gate into the interior fort. As
he was crossing to the gate by the communication
from the outer rampart, he received a musket-ball in
the right side, nearly as high as the breast, but still
pressed on till he arrived at the gate. Fugitives from
within as well as from without were crowding in op-
posite directions to this gate, and the detachment of
the Twelfth had descended into the body of the place,
for the purpose of arresting the influx of the fugitives
from the outer works. The two columns of assail-
ants, one without the gate and one within, were now
pouring into it a destructive fire from both sides when
the Sultan arrived. Endeavouring to pass, he received
another wound from the fire of the inner detachment ;
his horse also being wounded, sank under him, and
his turban fell to the ground, while his friends dropped
rapidly around him. His attendants placed him in
his palenkeen, but the place was already so crowded
and choked up with the dead and the dying, that he
could not be removed. According to the statement of
a servant who survived, some English soldiers, a few
minutes afterwards, entered the gateway ,* and one of
them offering to pull off the sword-belt of the Sultan,
which was very rich, Tippoo, who still held his sabre
in his hand, made a cut at him with all his remain-
ing strength. The man, wounded in the knee, put

94

SCENES IN INDIA.

his firelock to his shoulder, and the Sultan, receiving
the ball in his temple, expired.”*

When the city was taken, and the sons of Tippoo
secured, “ the Sultan was to be searched for in every
corner of the palace. A party of English troops were
admitted, and those of Tippoo disarmed. After pro-
ceeding through several of the apartments, the Kelledar
was entreated, if he valued his own life or that of his
master, to discover where he was concealed. That
officer protested, in the most solemn manner, that
the Sultan was not in the palace ; that he had been
wounded during the storm, and was lying in a gate-
way on the northern side of the fort. He offered to
conduct the inquirers, and submit to any punishment
if he was found to have deceived. General Baird and
the officers who accompanied him proceeded to the
spot, covered with a promiscuous and shocking heap of
bodies wounded and dead. At first the bodies were
dragged out of the gateway to be examined, it being
already too dark to distinguish them where they lay.
As this mode of examination, however, threatened to
be very tedious, a light was procured, and Major
Allen and the Kelledar went forward to the place.
After some search, the Sultan’s palenkeen was disco-
vered, and under it a person wounded, but not dead.
He was afterwards ascertained to be the Rajah Khan,
one of Tippoo’s most confidential servants, who had
attended his master during the whole of the fatal day.
This person being made acquainted with the object of
the search, pointed out the spot where the Sultan had
fallen. The body being brought out and sufficiently

* Mills’s British India, vol. vi. page 115.

THE GHAUTS.

9 5

recognized, was conveyed in a palenkeen to the palace.
It was warm when first discovered ; the eyes were open,
the features not distorted, and Major Allen and Co-
lonel Wellesley were for a few moments doubtful whe-
ther it was not alive. It had four wounds, three in
the trunk and one in the temple, the hall of which,
having entered a little above the right ear, had lodged
in the cheek. His dress consisted of a jacket of fine
white linen, loose drawers of flowered chintz, the usual
girdle of the east, crimson-coloured, tied round his waist,
and a handsome pouch, with a belt of silk, red and
green, hung across his shoulder. He had an amulet
on his arm ; but his ornaments, if he wore any, were
gone.” *

Upon quitting the neighbourhood of the once flou-
rishing capital of Mysore, we bent our course towards
the coast of Malabar, where we concluded we should
find some vessel about to sail up the Persian Gulf, in
which we might procure a passage to Mascat, whither
we were very anxious to proceed. On our way to-
wards the Ghauts that separate Malabar from the
upland country, we were delighted with the abrupt
massy grandeur arid extreme diversity of the scenery.
A new prospect was presented at every point, or
rather the aspect of the country seemed so altered
by change of position within the intervals of a few
hundred yards, that it had all the appearance of ex-
hibiting a different view, unless where some remark-
able object existed to show its identity. Upon our
approach to a small town, my attention was arrest-
ed by the beauty of a large tank, surrounded with

* Vide Mills ad loc.

96

SCENES IN INDIA.

fine masonry, and having a capacious and highly-
decorated choultry at one end. In the distance was
the pyramidal tower of a pagoda. Near it, leaning
with her hack against a wall, upon which was the
statue of a sacred bull, formed of brick and covered
with chunam, stood a young Hindoo woman, of high
caste, dressed with a more than usual degree of
splendour. She had several rich necklaces round her
throat, a costly sevigne, or an ornament precisely si-
milar to it, upon her forehead, and long pendulous
earrings, composed of gems apparently of value. Her
wrists were encircled with broad gold bangles, and
over her left shoulder, crossing the body and falling-
over the right hip, hung a muslin scarf of the finest
texture and richly embroidered. The tali, or mar-
riage-knot, as Southey has called it in his masterly
poem. The Curse of Kehama, was round her neck,
which showed that she was a married woman.

Her limbs with fragrant oils were dyed,

Her hair with pearly fillets tied ;

Her neck fresh wreaths of chumpa* prest.

I was much struck with the easy and natural grace
of her form and attitude as she reclined carelessly
against the wall where first she had arrested my atten-
tion. Upon passing her, under the shadow of the wall,
on her right hand, a few yards beyond, lay two of
the most beautiful children I had ever beheld. They
appeared about five or six years old, were as near
as possible the same size, and so much alike that it

* The chumpa is a tree venerated by the Hindoos ; it bears a
very fragrant flower of a saffron colour.

y ...

*d Oc.tr 1, 1935. far

Edward,

SINGULAR TWINS.

97

would have been very difficult to distinguish them
apart. They were evidently twins., and the children
of the beautiful Hindoo whom we had just passed.
Being roused by the noise of our approach, they ran
to their mother, as if for protection. They were both
straight, and admirably formed ; their little limbs
exhibiting a gracefulness and precision of outline,
which showed that they had not been cramped into
obliquity according to those refinements exclusively
practised by the great in more civilized Europe.

I was arrested by the premature sagacity deve-
loped in the countenances of these children. They
were shy but not timid, and shrank from my ap-
proach rather with the seeming of considering it an
unauthorised intrusion, than from any apprehension
of harm. I expressed my admiration of them to the
mother, who said nothing, but received my lauda-
tions with a slight graceful inclination of body ; yet
the relaxed expression of her eye satisfied me my
praises were not unwelcome : and as if to show that
she appreciated my commendation, she turned the
boys round, when to my astonishment I perceived that
from the nape of the neck to their heels the whole
body behind was covered with a short thick hair, as
black and glossy as the feathers on a raven’s throat.
In front their skins were as smooth as the cheek
of a beautiful woman, and without the least speck
of deformity. Their legs were feathered behind like
those of a high-bred spaniel, and nothing could exceed
the strange contrast presented by the front and back
of their little bodies. They had come into the world,
as I at length ascertained from the parent, with the

K

98

SCENES IN INDIA.

same hirsute mantle in which they then stood before
me. Strange as the thing appeared, there was nothing
disagreeable in the back aspect of these children, for
the hair was so short that it did not in the slightest
degree conceal the figure, and of so soft a texture as to
excite an impression rather of delicacy than of coarse-
ness in these beautiful brothers.

On the day that followed our meeting with those
children and their lovely mother, a serious event oc-
curred which interrupted our progress for some time.
One of the coolies engaged in transporting our bag-
gage having thrown himself down under the shade of
some aloes to take his usual rest at our first halting-
place, was bitten in the side by a venomous snake.
In a short time he became violently sick, foamed
at the mouth, and exhibited symptoms of extreme
agony. It unfortunately happened that no one pre-
sent had the means of administering to his positive
relief ; he therefore lay in a deplorable state, being in
strong convulsions, and the effects of the poison be-
coming every minute more and more powerful, he was
evidently in a state of great suffering, and writhed
fearfully. At a venture, I poured a small quantity
of brandy down his throat, which for the moment
seemed to arrest the strong muscular action, and give
a little comparative ease; but the spasms soon returned
with aggravated violence, and all hope of saving him
vanished. He continued the whole day in a dreadful
state ; during the night delirium came on, which sub-
sided after some hours, leaving him lethargic and
speechless.

Finding his case hopeless, some of his companions

AN EMPIRIC.

99

sent for a sort of seer in the village near which we had
halted., who professed the power of curing diseases by
a spell; and pretended that the poison of the most
venomous reptile could not resist the potency of his
mystical but curative charm. The poor cooly at the
time of this man’s arrival was lying upon his back;
still breathing indeed; but in a state of perfect un-
consciousness as to what was passing around him;
and obviously at the last extremity. The professor,
nothing abashed by the apparent impossibility of re-
suscitating a dead man, or a man all but dead, auda-
ciously declared that the bystanders should see the
sufferer rise in his strength in a few minutes, — such
was the form of his declaration. He began accord-
ingly to gesticulate, to mutter, to hum, to look wild
and mysterious ; but in the midst of his afflatus,
the bitten cooly gave a quick gasp and died. As
soon as it became apparent to the empirical Hindoo
that his patient was actually dead, he expressed nei-
ther surprise nor emotion, but gravely averred that the
man had been guilty of some unpardonable crime, and
that as his soul was to go into the body of a snake in
the next birth for his sins in this, the great Siva’s mi-
nister was prevented by the sinner’s destiny from ex-
ercising the efficacy of his spell ; but,” he continued,
pointing to the body, f<r had that been a good man, I
could have rendered the poison of the reptile as harm-
less as milk.”

It may excite surprise that these imposters are
never suspected. Their failures expose them to no dis-
credit. They have a ready excuse which is always
received, and their infallibility becomes so settled an

100

SCENES IN INDIA.

opinion among their superstitious dupes, that they
always continue to retain an influence as morally per-
nicious as it is socially degrading.

Mr. Forbes, in his Oriental Memoirs, relates a cir-
cumstance which completely eclipses the magnetising
of Mesmer, and leaves the question still one to be an-
swered, whether other mortals besides Faust have not
their Mephistophiles. “ At Baroche,” says he, “I was
intimate with a Banian, named Lullabhy, the richest
man in the city, and of great influence in the Pur-
gunna. He was universally believed to possess the
power of curing the bite of venomous serpents by a
knowledge peculiar to himself, which he never im-
parted to another. By this art he certainly recover-
ed many natives from a desperate state, after being
wounded by the Cobra de Capello and the scarlet snake
of Cubbeer-Bur, without touching the patient, or pre-
scribing anything inwardly. The talent of Lullabhy
seemed to have no affinity with that of the ancient
Psylli, or the modern snake-charmers, but probably
was not unlike the science professed by Mesmer and
Doctor de Mainoduc. Be that as it may, his fame for
effecting these cures was everywhere established. Mr.
Perrott, then second in council, and some other of the
civil servants at Baroche, were satisfied with a cure of
which they had been frequent witnesses/’

“ Of all the Europeans I am acquainted with in
India, Mr. Robert Gambier, at that time chief of
Baroche, was, perhaps, the most incredulous respect-
ing talismans, charms, divinations, and preternatural
pretensions of the Brahmins. His opinion of Lulla-
bhy’s talent was publicly known. A circumstance in

LULLABHY.

101

his own garden now afforded a fair opportunity of de-
tecting its fallacy. One of the under-gardeners, work-
ing between the pavilions, was bit by a Cobra de Ca-
pello, and pronounced to be in danger. Mr. Gambier
was then holding a council in an upper pavilion, and,
at the desire of Mr. Perrott, immediately sent for Lul-
labhy, without informing him of the accident, of which
he remained ignorant until ushered into the chiefs pre-
sence. The gardener was lying on a slight bed of
coir rope,* in a veranda adjoining the council-room.
Being asked if he could effect a cure, Lullabhy mo-
destly replied, that by God’s blessing he trusted he
should succeed. The poor wretch was at this time
in great agony and delirious ; he afterwards became
speechless ; still Lullabhy was not permitted to com-
mence his operation. The members of council anx-
iously waited the chiefs permission, especially when
Lullabhy asserted that any farther loss of time would
render it too late. Mr, Gambier examined the man’s
pulse by a stop-watch, and when convinced his dis-
solution was inevitably approaching, he allowed Lul-
labhy to exert his influence. After a short silent
prayer, in presence of all the company, Lullabhy
waved his catarra, or short dagger, over the bed of
the expiring man, without touching him. The patient
continued for some time motionless ; in half an hour
his heart appeared to beat, circulation quickened;
within the hour he moved his limbs, and recovered
his senses. At the expiration of the third hour Lul-
labhy had effected his cure. The man was sent home
to his family, and in a few days recovered from the

* Rope made from the exterior coat of the cocao-nut.

K 3

102

SCENES IN INDIA,

weakness occasioned by convulsive paroxysms, which
probably would never have been so severe, or of such
long continuance, had the counteracting power been
sooner applied/5* — Those Indians are in truth strange
deluders !

* Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs, vol. iii. pp. 249-50, quarto edi-
tion.

COORGs

103

CHAPTER VIII.

COORG. ROBBERS HANGED. — PHAN SIGARS.

We now descended the ghauts through a very pic-
turesque country,, and pitched our tents in the territo-
ries of the Coorg Rajah. As he was an ally of the
British government,, to which he was much attached,
we expected to be well received by him ; nor were
we disappointed. The morning after we had made
the descent of the ghauts, I was on horseback a
little after daylight, when, suddenly turning an angle
of the road, my horse started at something which
appeared to obstruct its further progress. As the
light was not yet very perfect, from the unexpected
wheeling of the animal, I could not for the moment
discover what had alarmed it, but, upon a nearer in-
spection, I found it to be the body of a man suspend-
ed from the arm of a tree that nearly extended
across the road. It was in a dreadful state of decay ,*
but so common are offensive odours of all kinds in
India, that the traveller is never surprised at being
half suffocated without seeing anything to account for
his annoyance. Thus, though I had for some time
breathed an atmosphere neither wholesome nor agree-
able, I had nevertheless not the slightest suspicion of
my proximity to such a loathsome object. I turned

104

SCENES IN INDIA.

away from the sickening sight with shuddering dis-
gust. I had not advanced very far, before a simi-
lar object appeared, in all the revolting deformity of
decay and mutilation. It hung so low, that the
jackals had been enabled to gnaw the flesh from the
legs so far as the knees ; and the frightful distor-
tion of feature, from the summary and clumsy mode
of strangulation adopted by the native executioner,
altogether exhibited a picture which I can never
easily forget. I passed hastily on ; but my annoy-
ances in this way were not yet at an end.

I had not proceeded above a few hundred yards
before a third spectacle, still more revolting than the
two former, met my view: this was the body of a
woman hanging by the legs from a rude gibbet set up
by the roadside. This person had been hanged in
the usual manner, but the cord having snapped, some
passengers had probably reversed her position, by
way of expressing their indignation at her crime, of
which I shall have presently to speak. The face was
horribly disfigured by jackals, all the flesh having
been eaten away, and presenting the mask of a grim
and hideous skeleton. The vultures were kept off
by the continual passing of travellers ; else these
bodies would not have remained twelve hours un-
consumed: when I saw them they had been hang-
ing since the previous morning. I counted no less
than eight of those objects in the course of my
ride.

Upon inquiry, I ascertained that they were the
bodies of a dacoit-gang, called Phansigars, who had
been detected in attempting to murder a subject of

THE BALLIAPATAM RIVER.

105

the Coorg Rajah some distance down the coast. Six-
teen of the gang were taken and executed, eight at
one extremity of the Rajah’s territory, and eight at
the other : among them was one woman. I had an
account of the whole affair from an intelligent na-
tive, who was present at the executions of the eight
whose bodies I saw, which may not be uninteresting
to the reader, as characteristic of national habits, and
as showing the summary mode in which the laws
deal with criminals not within the British jurisdic-
tion.

Upon the banks of the Balliapatam river, on a very
elevated spot, was situated the palace of a native in-
dependent chieftain, who was said to protect different
tribes of robbers, from whom he received a consider-
able tribute. This is not an uncommon practice
among the petty chieftains in different parts of India,
by which they obtain no trifling addition to their re-
venue; for the robber-tribes to whom they extend
their protection always make them a liberal return
in plunder for the benefit thus enjoyed. In the dis-
trict of Madura this base system of political delin-
quency was adopted to a most disgraceful extent in
the middle of the last century by the Polygars in that
province and in those districts immediately bordering
upon it.

The building of which I have spoken stood upon a
remote but romantic hill, almost inaccessible, except
by a strongly fortified path, the river flowing beneath
with a deep placid current. The seclusion of the
neighbourhood rendered it the frequent scene of rob-
beries, and even of murders.

106

SCENES IN INDIA.

It happened that a Coorg horseman was passing
near the spot,, when he was accosted by an interest-
ing-looking girl, who told him a piteous story of having
been robbed and maltreated, and besought his assist-
ance in her difficulties. Excited by the appeal of a
handsome woman in distress, he offered to take her
behind him on his horse, and thus assist her a few
miles on her journey. She readily assented to his
proposal, with many protestations of gratitude, and
immediately mounted. Having engaged the unsus-
pecting traveller in conversation, she suddenly passed
a noose over his head, and drawing it with all her
strength, endeavoured to pull him from his saddle. At
this moment a number of persons started from the
neighbouring thicket and surrounded him. Being a
man of great strength and resolution, he contrived to
foil the diabolical designs of the robbers. Luckily, at
the moment the noose was applied he was in the act
of stooping his head, so that when the woman tight-
ened the instrument of death it passed over his mouth
instead of round his neck, and he seized it firmly
between his teeth. The murderess, fancying she had
sufficiently secured her victim, slipped from the horse ;
but the Coorg, striking his heels into the animal’s
flanks, it flung out its hind-legs with great vio-
lence, struck to the ground the girl, who immediately
relinquished the cord. The man, finding himself free,
released his head from the noose, drew his sword,
and cutting his way through the robbers, effected his
escape. He wounded two of them severely. These
men were shortly after taken, and through their
means twelve others fell into the hands of the Coorg

GANG-ROBBERY.

107

Rajah’s judicial functionaries, including the girl by
whom his subject had been betrayed into so danger-
ous a snare. They were all executed as I have de-
scribed.

We cannot be surprised at the numerous classes of
robbers with which every part of India abounds,, when
we consider the civil degradations to which such a
vast proportion of her population is subjected. The
prejudices of caste are so inflexible and exclusive as to
produce moral mischiefs which never can be got rid of
until those prejudices shall be repudiated. When men
are degraded below the dignity of their species, they
will naturally make reprisals upon their oppressors,
and cause them to reap the fruits of that harvest of
tyranny which the latter are perpetually sowing. The
oppressed looks upon his oppressor as his natural foe ;
and when those links that bind him to the conditions
by which all civilized societies are governed are once
snapped by the violence of arbitrary customs, and he
has the means of revenge within his grasp, he seldom
fails to exercise them with a reckless and malignant
spirit. In India thousands are forced from that pale
of kindred communion consecrated by the imposition
of certain civil and social laws, which it is held a dis-
grace to infringe. They are cast from the bosom of
society, and, while encircled in the vast coil of pol-
lution, are flung into the arena of guilt and crime.
Can we then wonder that, thus forced from the contact
of virtue into an atmosphere of moral contagion, they
should be imbued with the pestilence, and that the
infection should extend instead of yielding to the mild
process of moral influence. Gang-robbery in India,

108

SCENES IN INDIA.

which is carried on to a most dreadful extent, is one
of the bitter fruits of that exclusion peculiar to the
laws of caste, which are the most pernicious ever in-
troduced among human communities.

Some time after the capture of these Phansigars, I
passed the place where they had attempted to mur-
der the Coorg. It was a retired spot upon the bank
of the river, but at the same time so exceedingly pic-
turesque, that I almost wondered how such a scene
could be selected for the perpetration of such a crime.
Here was everything to withdraw the mind from all
vulgar associations and to lift it from nature up to na-
ture’s God. A mangrove-tree raised its roots from the
water, exhibiting one of those apparent anomalies in
nature which unites wonder with admiration. This
singular tree is certainly one of the most extraordinary
productions of the vegetable kingdom : it grows to the
height of from twenty to thirty feet; and is found
chiefly on the margin of rivers not far from the sea,
where its roots are nourished by the salt-water. It
is likewise found in low grounds overflowed by the
sea. A great number of long lateral branches pro-
ject on all sides from the trunk to a great length;
these are covered with clear glossy leaves of an ellip-
tical form, and nearly half a foot long.

Nothing can well exceed the strange appearance
which this tree presents on first beholding it. The
roots seem like a coarse network upon the surface of
the water, above which the trunk is elevated several
feet. From this there branch out a number of flexi-
ble shoots, that take a circular direction downward,
and, continually intersecting each other, resemble

THE MANGROVE-TREE.

109

a reticulated bower, which a prurient fancy might
take to be the abode of dryads, hamadryads, and
water-fairies. The interlacings of these shoots are
sometimes so thick, that nothing larger than a small
reptile could pass between them. They are fre-
quently covered with oysters, and it is no uncom-
mon thing for the crews of boats to gather from these
strange beds a generous meal of those crustaceous
luxuries.

The seed of the mangrove-tree begins to germinate
while the fruit in which it is enclosed is yet hanging
from the branch. At the top of the cell that confines
the seed a minute fibre gradually protrudes to the
length of ten or twelve inches. This process con-
tinues, in fact, until the weight of the mass separates
it from the parent branch, and it falls vertically into
the mud, the seed being disengaged from the cell in
which it was enclosed, when the soft loam that covers
it quickly excites the germinating principle.

These trees frequently grow in such thick clusters
as to form an impenetrable grove. Upon one of the
branches of that represented in the vignette, when I
saw it, there was a large Adjutant, a bird of the
crane kind very common in India, but of which some
account to the mere English reader may not be un-
welcome.

This bird is full five feet high, and when the wings
are extended, measures nearly fifteen feet from one
extremity to the other. The bill, which opens far
back into the head, is of so vast a size, that it will
readily enclose a full-grown goose : it is near three
feet long. The head and neck of this bird are bare,

L

110

SCENES IN INDIA.

but deformed by small spongy excrescences like warts,
and thin patches of strong curly hair. A long pouch
hangs from the bottom of the neck over the breast,
thinly covered with a short feathery growth, and
terminated by a tuft of long hair resembling a stunt-
ed tail. The shoulders, when the wings are closed,
appear to project considerably from the inosculation
of the neck with the trunk, and are edged with
soft white feathers ; the wings and back are blue.

At a distance, these birds look like human beings
pacing to and fro on the margin of the sea, where they
are continually seen looking for whatever the tide
may cast upon the beach, calculated to appease the
voracity of their appetite. So ravenous are they, that
they will swallow large bones, and even tortoises have
been found entire in their stomachs. They will de-
vour hares, rats, some of which are as large as a
small cat, snakes, lizards, frogs, and all kinds of ver-
min, which pass into their stomach so readily, that,
when shot, snakes have been taken alive from them
several hours after they had been swallowed. I once
knew an instance of a tame bird of this species hav-
ing devoured a hind quarter of kid which the cook of
the party, to whom it belonged, had inadvertently
placed within its reach. The adjutant is naturally
timid, but when excited will open its huge bill with an
aspect of formidable menace, and emit a hoarse dis-
sonant roar as loud as that of a bear or buffalo. It
would seem to have derived the name of adjutant from
the singular circumstance of its appearing at a distance
like a person in military undress, which in India con-
sists of a white jacket and trousers. Its stately march

THE ADJUTANT.

Ill

and erect figure gives it an official air, until a nearer
proximity dispels the delusion, and one of the most
unsightly birds in nature is presented to the view.

These creatures may he truly called the scavengers
of India, as, especially near the sea-coast, they remove
immense quantities of filth, which, if left to corrupt
upon the earth, would be a perpetual cause of pesti-
lence.

An idea prevails among the Hindoos, that the
bodies of adjutants are possessed by the souls of
Brahmins ; shooting them, therefore, they consider
an act of unpardonable wickedness : indeed, many
persons profess to believe that they bear a charm-
ed life, and are utterly proof against the murder-
ous influence of powder and shot. In deference to
these prejudices, they are seldom molested by Euro-
peans.

112

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER IX.

PHANSIGARS.

While Europeans have generally travelled through
India in comparative security, arising from the dread
inspired by the power and dominance of the British
government, the path of the native has been beset
with perils by the hordes of ferocious robbers which
everywhere abound, from the highest regions of the
Himalaya mountains to the southern extremity of
Hindostan.

This is one of the sad fruits of imperfect legislation,
that, by an unpardonable tolerance of delinquency by
the petty governments into which this vast country is
divided, leaves the public peace exposed to outrageous
violations. Impunity is an encouragement to crime,
and until the laws which emanate from the native
tribunals of India are enforced with strict and im-
partial severity, man will prey upon his fellow with
that sanguinary ferocity which nature dictates to the
wild beasts of the forest only.

Encouraged by the general apathy of the native
princes, tolerated desperadoes commit their depre-
dations with comparative impunity ; and in many
instances their extraordinary dexterity is equalled
only by the savage brutality with which they per-

PHANSIGARS.

113

petrate their deeds of blood. Despised but dreaded
by every class of the community, save only those out-
cast tribes with whom alone they maintain any inter-
course, they look upon themselves to be the common
enemies of mankind, and act generally therefore upon
a principle of fierce retaliation wherever they make
their base reprisals for the general odium in which
they are held.

Among the most detestable of the dacoit tribes in
India, are the Phansigars, a race of robbers probably
unequalled in any part of the world for cold-blood-
ed and heartless depravity. Their system of plunder-
ing is as peculiar as it is horrible: when they rob
they invariably murder, except where the victim
happens to escape, which is a circumstance of rare
occurrence.

These robbers derive their name of Phansigars from
the instrument with which they accomplish their atro-
cious murders. Phansigar signifies a strangler, and
they employ a phansi, or noose, which they sud-
denly cast over the heads of those whom they in-
tend to plunder, and strangle them. By this method
of murderous precaution, their victims are unable to
raise any outcry ; for the compression of the noose
upon the throat effectually prevents the voice from
rising to the lips. They thus secure their booty with-
out resistance, and with little chance of detection,
acting invariably upon the maxim that dead men tell
no tales.

It is strange that these tribes belong to no particu-
lar caste, but are made up of all, being composed
of Hindoos and Mahomedans, Pariahs and Chandel-

l 3

114

SCENES IN INDIA.

lahs : — even Brahmins are frequently found among
them. This arises from the circumstance of their
never destroying the children of those persons whom
they rob and murder. The children they take care
of and bring up to their own horrible mode of life,
which at once accounts for the strange mixture of
castes composing their community. Brahmins, how-
ever, degraded by their own class, have been occa-
sionally known to join them, though this is not often
the case.

A gang of these robbers varies from a dozen to sixty
or seventy persons. They always commit their de-
predations at a distance from their place of common
resort, being frequently absent for several months ;
and they return to their homes to spend the pro-
ceeds of their ill-gotten booty in the most revolting
debauchery. Their victims are travellers whom they
happen to fall in with on the road. Assuming the
garb of pilgrims, or appearing as families removing
to a distant part of the country, by their peaceable
and homely guise, they beguile the unwary, who,
when thus lulled into security, become easy victims.
Each company of these murderers has a chief, to
whom they scrupulously defer. He directs all their
operations, but in general is not actively employed,
except in gaining intelligence, and in those less ha-
zardous offices which require more astuteness than
courage or manual promptitude.

When upon active service, they usually separate
into parties of from eight to twelve, who again subdi-
vide into twos and threes, following each other within

PHANSIGARS.

115

sight, in order to take immediate advantage of any
casualty that may occur favourable to their san-
guinary purposes. They then instantly unite, and
from their numbers easily hush their victim or vic-
tims in everlasting silence. None of the parties into
which the main body divides on these occasions ever
keep far asunder : thus, if one division requires a re-
inforcement, it is soon obtained, and they have a sort
of telegraphic mode of communication, known only to
themselves, by which their chief is soon apprized how
they are going on.

These parties frequently meet at small towns and
villages as if by accident, where they unite as occasion
may require ; but their murders are usually committed
in places distant from public resort, as they are little
likely to be interrupted. Having with them a num-
ber of children of different ages, they escape sus-
picion. The children who accompany them being
always ignorant of their practices, can never betray
them by any unguarded prattle, and their artlessness
is generally a presumptive guarantee to the traveller
of his own safety. Before a party of Phansigars com-
mit a murder they remove their youthful companions
from the scene.

Two or three of them will sometimes take up their
station in a choultry, and when a victim appears their
companions are instantly apprized ; these latter then
drop in under the guise of travellers, engage in casual
conversation as if strangers to their own party, and
having lulled the unsuspecting traveller into perfect
security, accomplish their purpose while he sleeps ; or

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SCENES IN INDIA.

rather, they violently rouse him, and when he starts
from his recumbent position in sudden surprise, they
cast the noose over his head and strangle him.

A single traveller is never attacked by less than
two Phansigars, and if there is the least chance of
resistance, the two are always joined by a third ; but
such is the skill which they employ in their deadly
trade, that they are scarcely ever frustrated in the
accomplishment of their purpose.

The usual mode of perpetrating their murders is as
follows : when their victim is lulled into perfect secu-
rity, one of the party suddenly passes a noose formed
of a twisted handkerchief, or a strip of thin muslin,
over his head, and drawing it dexterously round the
neck, instantly tightens it with all his strength. The
moment this is accomplished, a companion strikes the
struggling man on the joint of his knees behind,
which causes him to fall forward, and thus to accele-
rate this summary process of strangulation. When
he is prostrate, they kick him violently in the tem-
ples until his sufferings terminate, which is gene-
rally within the space of a minute. The whole thing
is so rapidly and adroitly performed, that the sufferer
has no power to make resistance ; and whatever his
strength may be, it is seldom or never of any avail
against these practised adepts in murder.

Such is the plan commonly pursued ; and al-
though there may be an occasional deviation in the
details of the process, yet the method of strangulation
is never departed from. So cautious are these mon-
sters, that they do not attempt a robbery, which, as I
have said, is invariably accompanied with murder.

PHANSIGARS.

117

until they have taken every practicable precaution
against surprise, and secured themselves, so far as
human foresight can extend, against the possibility of
failure. They have been known to follow their victim
for weeks before the desired opportunity has occurred,
and their patience in waiting for this is only equalled
by the heartless ferocity with which they finally
accomplish their purpose. They are deterred by no
consideration, either human or divine, from the atro-
cities of their profession ; and so lightly do they value
the life of a fellow-creature, that they will often take
it for the few rags which cover the body of the poor-
est traveller. Should any person unexpectedly pass
upon the road before the body of their victim is re-
moved, they throw a cloth over it, making doleful la-
mentations, as if for a departed relative ; or one of
them will fall down, and writhe in apparent agony,
in order to divert the attention of the unwelcome
passengers from the object of their pretended sorrow.
If the opportunity presents itself, they usually perpe-
trate their deed of blood near some jungle, and, as I
have already stated, at a distance from the frequented
track of travellers. They prefer the proximity of a
nullah, as the body is more easily disposed of; but
they always bury it, if possible, in some remote spot,
where the soil is light or sandy, as this favours
the necessary expedition of all their proceedings.
Here a grave is quickly prepared, into which, after
having barbarously mutilated the corpse, they cast
it with its head downward. It is gashed all over
to prevent its swelling, and thus raising a tumulus,
or causing cracks, which might attract jackals and

118

SCENES IN INDIA.

other beasts of prey, and lay open their guilt to
the casual passenger. Sometimes the legs are dis-
jointed at the knees and hips, and turned back up-
on the body, when haste obliges them to dig too small
or too shallow a hole, which is then hastily filled. But
if there should appear no chance of interruption, the
murderers sometimes pitch a tent upon the spot, and
regale themselves over the dead body which they
have just consigned to so melancholy and succinct a
burial.

The calculating caution of these people, under cir-
cumstances so revolting to our common nature, is
a distinguishing feature of their system of plunder.
They seem to leave unconsidered no circumstance
that can in the slightest degree tend to wrap their
crimes in concealment : everything appears to be pre-
pared with almost philosophical foresight; and the
provision made against the chance of detection is so
perfect, that it is all but impossible to trace them in
their career of blood.

When they have committed a murder in a place
unfavourable for the burial of their victim, they en-
close the body in a sack and cast it into a well, or
hide it in some secluded part of a neighbouring jungle,
secure from the ravages of vultures, jackals, and other
beasts of prey, until a favourable place is discovered,
whither it is removed, and disposed of as already de-
scribed. Should a dog happen to accompany the per-
son whose life they take, it is always killed, lest
the faithful creature should lead to the discovery of
its master. So systematic are they in their detest-
able vocation, that if they fail in the performance

PHANSIGARS.

119

of a single particular in the regulations established
among them for putting to death the object of their
plunder, the Hindoo Phansigars consider they have
committed an offence against the sanguinary deity to
whom they tender their daily homage, and make an
oblation as an offering of expiation. They esteem
it a meritorious act to present to their dumb divinity
a portion of the gains obtained by the death of a fel-
low-creature ; and, in truth, it is not surprising that
they should be so perfectly reconciled to the shedding
of human blood, if they can persuade themselves that
the deity whom they are taught to worship as the one
great source of all things, can accept, as an act of
grateful adoration, such abominable offerings.

Thus we see that religion is made a sanction for the
blackest crimes. With such perversion of mind, we
can scarcely wonder at the extent of human depra-
vity.

The Phansigars, though they most commonly attack
single travellers, have been known to destroy a whole
party of eight or ten persons. Sometimes the booty
they obtain during their excursions is very large,
though at others it is so trifling as scarcely to supply
them during these predatory journeys with the com-
mon necessaries of life. When they have collected
their plunder, a division is regularly made, the most
valuable portion of it being set apart for the Polygars,
or petty chiefs who connive at their depredations,
and are thus liberally remunerated for their pro-
tection. Another portion is appropriated to the ex-
penses of religious offerings, which they never fail to
make after a successful expedition ; and the priests,

120

SCENES IN INDIA.

with a heartlessness of purpose only second to that
of their tributaries, make large demands upon them
for the benefit of their spiritually kind offices with
the deities whom the plunderers are desirous to pro-
pitiate.

Inured as these people are to the most appalling
crimes, they are rigidly scrupulous in performing the
rites of their abominable worship, and willingly de-
vote a great portion of their gains to the shrines
of their idol divinities. After these two important
portions are taken from their booty, the remainder
is divided among them in certain proportions, accord-
ing to their admitted claims. To their chief is ap-
propriated a double share, he being considered the
animating spirit of the society. The person who casts
the noose and actually strangles the victim receives a
share and half; so does he who mangles the body.
All who were present, but not actually engaged, have
each one share ; and they who were not present half
a share. These divisions are made with such re-
gularity, that there is neither bickering nor dissa-
tisfaction. Each person disposes of his portion as he
pleases, and it is generally sold to the readiest pur-
chasers for at least a twentieth part of its value. To
obviate suspicion, it is always got rid of at a distance
from the scene.

The reason these people give for mutilating and bu-
rying the bodies of those whom they despatch is as
follows They relate that a certain goddess, to whom
they pay especial adoration, used to relieve them from
the trouble of interring the corpses of their victims by
devouring them — thus securing the murderers from all

PHANSIGARS.

121

chance of detection. Upon one occasion, after having
despatched a traveller, the body was, as usual, left
unburied. One of the Phansigars employed, unguard-
edly looking behind him, saw the epicurean divinity
in the act of feasting upon it. Irritated at this pry-
ing upon her carnivorous indulgence, she vowed —
and the vows of heathen divinities are irrevocable—
that she would never again devour a body slaughtered
by Phansigars, they having by that one act of auda-
cious curiosity forfeited all title to her future protec-
tion. As something like an equivalent, however, for
thus withdrawing her divine patronage, she conde-
scended to pluck one of the fangs from her celestial
jaw and presented it to them, stating that they might
use it as a pickaxe, which would never wear out. She
then opened her ethereal side, pulled out one of her
ribs, which she gave them for a knife, annealed to
such a temper that no contact with any earthly ma-
terial could ever blunt its edge. Having done this,
she stooped down, tore off the hem of her garment,
spun in the bowers of Paradise from the looms of in-
dustrious Suras,* and presented it to them for a noose
which would never fail to strangle every person about
whose throat it should be cast. She moreover com-
manded them for the future to mutilate and bury the
bodies of those whom they destroyed. Thus they pre-
tend to a divine sanction, while they are committing
the most frightful outrages against the common peace
of society. Acting as they do under such a persuasion,
we can scarcely be surprised at the crimes of men

* Good spirits.

M

122

SCENES IN INDIA.

who can implicitly resign their reason to a thraldom
so odious and besotted.

Such is the utter moral aberration of these wretched
beings,, that they do not appear conscious of any real
degradation being attached to their savage profession.
Their usual reply to those who ask them how they
can be guilty of so outrageous a crime as that of
shedding human blood, is, — “ My father and mother
were Phansigars, and I must pursue that to which
they brought me up. How should I live, if I did
not follow the business with which I am best ac-
quainted V* They do not for a moment admit that it
is a greater sin to put to death a human being than
a dumb animal ; and being generally predestinarians,
if they happen to be taken, they express not the
slightest dread of execution, conceiving their time is
come, and therefore the best thing they can do is to
make up their minds to meet death with fortitude,
especially since they cannot obviate the fixed course
of destiny by shrinking from a doom which, in some
form or other, is the common lot of man.

If you ask a Phansigar, when apprehended, how he
has obtained his livelihood, he will not hesitate to tell
you, nor blush to confess the number of murders he
has committed ; he will also recount, with savage
delight, his celebrity among the tribe of which he was
a member for his dexterous application of the fatal
noose.

PHANSIGARS.

123

CHAPTER X.

PHANSIGARS CONTINUED,

When we look at the depravity of the various da-
coit gangs so common in India, we are to consider
this, as I have already said, one of the evils of that
defective legislation which prevails through all the
native governments. The whole social system is ra-
dically defective ; and where a large mass of men is
cast from the bosom of the community into degrada-
tion and contempt, the spirit of retaliation for wrong
will prevail among them, and the desperate reaction
of crime must be the natural consequence. Where
man forces his fellow-man to become his enemy, by
casting upon him a moral taint and shunning him
as a moral pestilence, it is natural to expect that
the fiercest passions of his nature, then loosed from
the restraint of all civil ties, will rebel against the
tyranny, and that he will put them in array against
his oppressors. The justice of this inference is
practically proved in India every day and every
hour. Where there are many outcasts from society,
there must be as many enemies ; and to those
rigid and exclusive laws which separate men from
each other by an impassable wall of partition, ele-

124

SCENES IN INDIA.

vating one class at the expense and to the positive de-
gradation of the other, are we to attribute the rise and
progress of those desperate bands of plunderers which
swarm over the fertile plains of one of the finest coun-
tries under heaven. Nor let us imagine that the most
ferocious even among the Phansigars are not rather
fair claimants for our pity than for our detestation ;
since, ferocious though they be, they are, perhaps,
rather the victims of depraved education than by na-
ture the fell ministers of crime. From infancy they
are taught to look upon murder and upon plunder as
their just and lawful occupation. They are gradually
inured to scenes of bloodshed, and taught to believe
that their destiny has forced upon them the avoca-
tion which they are destined to follow. Monsters
as they may appear in the eyes of the pious Christian,
whose religion has kept him from falling into a moral
desuetude so shocking to the feelings of our better
nature, yet, if we look upon them as the wretched
dupes of a horrible delusion, we shall perhaps abate
something of the fierce indignation with which we are
naturally apt to regard such delinquents, and ra-
ther feel our regret awakened at the existence of those
restrictions which have raised a race of desperadoes,
driven to embrace the desperate alternative of vice
because they are denied all encouragements to vir-
tue. Their ferocity and hardness of heart is the
natural consequence of their education ; for how can
we expect that the blander sympathies of humanity
should be reflected from bosoms upon which no gen-
tle emotion has ever been impressed, but which have
been hardened from the earliest period of life by a

PHANSIGARS.

1 25

progressive initiation in practices the most sanguinary
and revolting.

All Phansigars bring up their children to their
own profession, unless prevented from pursuing it
on account of constitutional weakness, or from some
bodily defect. In that case they are left to follow
the bent of their propensities, which generally inclines
them to pass their lives in sluggish inaction.

The process of initiation is progressive : a boy at
the age of ten years is first permitted to accompany a
party of Phansigars upon an expedition of plunder,
having been gradually prepared for this by being inured
to sights of cruelty apart from their profession almost
since the period that perception first dawned upon his
mind. Upon those occasions, when the boy is to be
initiated, he is placed under the guidance of an ustade,
or tutor, who is usually one of his near relations, and
whom he is taught to treat with extreme deference
and respect, submitting with perfect acquiescence
to everything his preceptor requires of him. He
first serves him in a menial capacity, carrying his
clothes, taking messages, dressing his food, washing
his linen, and performing various other acts of servile
employment. Upon many occasions the father be-
comes his son’s instructor, but the boy is no more
obedient to him than to a tutor not related to him : in
both cases the authority is absolute and the obedience
implicit.

Should the child happen to be questioned by any
travellers in the road, so well is he prepared against
betraying the slightest hint of his companions’ oc-
cupation, that he always renders a plausible ae-

m 3

126

SCENES IN INDIA.

count of their object and destination, and this being
given with the apparent artlessness of childhood, he
passes almost invariably unsuspected. Even should
suspicions arise, the traveller has no means of realizing
them ; and whenever the Phansigars are conscious of
being suspected, they always change their route, and
soon put themselves beyond the reach of a too vigilant
scrutiny. It is one fundamental law of their com-
munity never to expose themselves to any risk of de-
tection where this can be safely avoided ; and so
inviolably do they adhere to this cautious regulation,
that no prospect of gain, however great, can tempt
them to violate it, where the violation would expose
them to obvious hazard.

The protection which they receive from the Poly-
gars secures them in most cases from molestation.
The child under initiation is instructed to consi-
der his interest as opposed to that of society in gene-
ral, by whom he is detested, and against whom,
therefore, he is to look upon himself as in a state of
perpetual hostility. This is one of the natural conse-
quences of exclusion. To deprive a fellow-creature of
life is represented to him as an act of no more enor-
mity than the common and often necessary act of
killing a reptile which insidiously lies in his path,
and would bite or sting him as he passes. The boy is
not at first allowed to witness the murders ; while
these are taking place he is sent with one of the
watchers to a distance from the scene, lest the reaction
of terror at beholding a deed so revolting to humanity
should create a shock that would withhold him from
embracing the inhuman profession of phansigary. He

PHANSIGARS.

127

is merely permitted at first to view a dead body, his
mind being gradually prepared for the sight ; after
which the dreadful secret of his trade is communi-
cated to him by degrees. So soon as he expresses a
wish to be engaged in this horrid service, the whole
process is at once disclosed. Meanwhile he is allow-
ed a small share of the booty in order to whet his
appetite for murder, since it is only by murder that
this booty is obtained. He is from this time permitted
to assist in matters of minor importance, while the
crime is perpetrating ; or if there is nothing for him
to do, he is allowed to be present, in order that he
may observe how this essential part of the Phansi-
gar’s business is managed. It is not, however, until
he has attained the years of manhood, and evinced
both prudence and resolution, combined with bodily
strength and activity, that he is allowed to apply
the noose — an advancement in dignity to obtain which
he usually devotes at least eight or ten years of his
life.

Before he can claim the full privilege of committing
murder, he must have been formally presented by his
ustade with a dhoute — the ordinary name of the instru-
ment of death employed by these systematic murder-
ers. This ends his noviciate, and sets him loose upon
the world a licensed man-slayer. When the cere-
mony of presenting the dhoute is to take place, a for-
tunate day is fixed upon, and the grand festival of
the Dusserah is considered the auspicious period. All
being duly prepared, the tutor takes his pupil apart,
and presents him with a new noose, which he solemn-
ly enjoins him to use with skill and discretion, as it is

128

SCENES IN INDIA.

to be the means of his future subsistence, and as his
safety will depend upon the dexterity and judgment
with which it is employed. The moment he receives
the dhoute he is released from all restriction, and tries
his skill at strangulation the next opportunity that
offers.

The veneration which the Phansigar entertains for
the person by whom he has been initiated into the
abominable mysteries of their vocation, continues
through life. Whenever he meets him, after a long ab-
sence, he touches his feet, as a mark of profound respect ;
frequently divides with him the plunder which he has
obtained in many successful excursions ; and when his
tutor becomes old and helpless, he provides for him
with an anxiety worthy of a better state, until death
removes him beyond the influence of his anxiety or
the need of his care.

The course of education which the Phansigar un-
dergoes is so progressive and so exciting ; such expecta-
tions are held out, and such advantages anticipated ;
the spirit of emulation is so successfully roused, and
the field of adventure so attractively portrayed, gra-
dually winning the heart to a love of that by which
our common nature is shocked and repelled, and
warping it by gentle degrees to the most revolting
prepossessions, as to cause in the members of this
singular community such an intense attachment to
their detestable occupation — that nothing can induce
them to relinquish it. Although some of them have
been employed in the Company’s armies, they have
never entirely abandoned their original mode of life.

PHANSIGARS.

129

but have always returned to it when opportunity
offered of a successful enterprise.

Even when so bowed by the weight of years as to
be unable to take an active part with the younger
members of their tribe, they do not quit the service,
but act as watchers, procure intelligence, and decoy
the unwary traveller by a well-feigned tale of dis-
tress, into some remote spot, where he is silenced for
ever, and sleeps his last sleep in the solitude where
no human eye ever beholds his grave. The old or
disabled wait upon the younger, prepare their food,
and perform all the various servile offices to which
the more efficient members of their community have
neither time nor disposition to attend. The social
elements which unite together this strange race, ab-
horrent as they are from every tie of humanity, are
of so binding a nature, that few of its members ever
secede to take a higher stand among their less de-
graded fellow-creatures. They unite more nearly, by
intermarriages, those bonds of conjunction in which they
are so closely held together. Thus the tie of relation-
ship is so extended, that their union becomes the more
fixed, from the mysterious influence of that indissolu-
ble link attached by the wisdom of the Creator to our
finest sympathies, to keep alive the desire of mutual
communion for which man was especially constituted,
and without which he could have no real happiness.

Desperate and degrading as their employments are
known to be, the Phansigars frequently marry into
families that have the name of being respectable;
it not being much the custom in India for women

130

SCENES IN INDIA.

who are about to enter into connubial engagements
to inquire very scrupulously into the characters of
those whom they intend to espouse. Among these
robbers,, the wives are seldom ignorant of their
husbands’ proceedings. Though they do not assist
them in their atrocities, they not only feel no re-
pugnance at them, but enjoy the fruits of those atro-
cities with as keen a relish as if they had been the
gains of an honest industry. These murderers rarely
admit into their community persons of mature age ;
and even when they do, it is after a long and severe
trial of their fidelity.

The most odious circumstance in the character of
Phansigars is, that they often strangle their victims
from the mere love of inhumanity, and for the sake
of exercising dexterity in their horrible calling; in
too many instances they cannot shield their crimes
under the palliative, weak as it may be, of pecuniary
temptation. One remarkable feature in these people
is, the utter indifference they feel at being looked
upon as human monsters. They do not hesitate to
acknowledge that they are mere brutes endued with
reason, which renders them the more formidable to
society, against whom they wage a savage and per-
petual war. They unblushingly compare themselves
to tigers, maintaining, with a plausible logic every
way worthy of their occupation, that as those fe-
rocious beasts are impelled by irresistible necessity,
and but fulfil the design of their creation in prey-
ing upon other animals, so the proper victims of
Phansigars are men, whom alone it is profitable to
them to destroy, and who therefore are their na-

PHANSIGARS.

131

tural and lawful prey. They further maintain that
those persons whom they strangle were predestined to
be murdered., and that therefore they only fulfil the
irrevocable decree of destiny in putting them to death.
It is their professed belief that they are as surely des-
tined to become Phansigars as their victims were to
be killed, and consequently express surprise when
they hear themselves traduced as murderers. They
are all fatalists, and imagine themselves to be ac-
tuated in whatever they do by an invincible neces-
sity; we shall therefore be the less surprised that
compunction is a stranger to their bosoms.

However great the sufferings of those unfortunate
beings who happen to fall into their hands, they be-
hold them with indomitable indifference, and fre-
quently make their writhings the subject of their
coarse and brutal jests. Although such a state of har-
dened insensibility may appear, upon a superficial
view, justly to challenge our detestation, nevertheless,
in spite of the horror with which a contemplation of
their enormities must naturally fill our bosoms, the
calm and philosophic Christian will readily perceive
that in their condition there is in truth far more cause
for the exercise of pity than for that of any severer
feeling. They are the wretched creatures of stern and
debasing circumstance ; they are the moral victims of
a system of social legislation subversive of all civil
union, except among parts and parcels of the com-
munity.

It is to be remembered that they have never tasted
the fruits of virtue. They have been reared in an at-
mosphere of vice, where nothing but pollution could

132

SCENES IN INDIA.

thrive. They have imbibed with their maternal ali-
ment the frightful principles which direct their lives.
Religious fanaticism and the dark policy of a bar-
barous superstition have cast around them the fet-
ters of a spiritual slavery, from which they are not
likely to emancipate themselves until those causes are
greatly abated or entirely removed. It has been said
by a wise man of their own country, that religion is
the ladder by which men ascend into heaven but
their religion is a ladder by which they descend into
the lowest depths of guilt and infamy.

Like all classes of persons addicted to habits
which the laws do not recognise, the Phansigars
are licentious in an extreme degree. The booty
they acquire during their marauding excursions they
spend in the vilest debauchery, and when it is all
got rid of they go in pursuit of more. They are ge-
nerally in a state of intoxication, except while in
quest of plunder, when, with their usual habits of
caution, they rigidly refrain from any indulgence
likely to lead them into danger. They commonly
inhabit places on the border of some jungle, near a
river or a tank, where they can perform their ablu-
tions, and on the banks of which there is usually a
small temple devoted to the worship of their favour-
ite deity. Here their wives and daughters, who sel-
dom take part in their robberies and murders, may
be seen enjoying the luxury of the morning bath,
or performing the abstersions exacted by their creed.
In these romantic seclusions they live apart from, and
despised by, the more respectable classes ; but as
they scrupulously forbear exercising their horrid avo-

Union,. BiiiUsheds OotZl, 7635. forl.t/U

PHANSIGARS.

133

cations near their own abodes, they excite no terror
among those who happen to reside within their vici-
nity. Their deeds of robbery and of death are
committed at a distance from their homes, in order
that those domestic sanctuaries may not be disturbed
by the officers of justice ; and should detection fol-
low a murder, they are always apprehended in the
neighbourhood of the spot where the murder is per-
petrated.

Although the society of these plunderers is com-
posed almost entirely of men, yet women are occa-
sionally admitted, and upon some occasions allowed
to apply the dhoute ; as was the case in the attempt
upon the Coorg already mentioned. They some-
times select a handsome girl, and place her in a
convenient spot, where, by her beauty or a well-
feigned story of distress, she may interest some un-
suspecting passenger, whom she betrays to almost
certain destruction. Should he be on horseback, she
will induce him to take her up behind him ; after
which, when an opportunity offers, she throws the
noose over his head, leaps from the horse, drags him
to the ground, and strangles him.

Besides the Phansigars, there are in India other
tribes of robbers far more numerous, indeed, but
none so sanguinary. The Pindarees, who of late
years have been so formidable as to require an
army to crush them, are now nearly if not quite ex-
terminated; but the Bhills, a race of mountaineers
inhabiting the hilly tracts of Candeish, Malwa, and
Raj put an a, are still a daring race of marauders.
(< Existing,” says Sir John Malcolm, “ as they have

N

134

SCENES IN INDIA.

hitherto done,* under despotic governments,, which
placed them beyond the pale of civil society, and which
not only gave them neither encouragement nor protec-
tion, but authorised the lowest of the fiscal officers to
take their lives without trial ; considering themselves
a proscribed and contemned race ; ignorant to a de-
plorable degree ; believing in witchcraft, blindly obe-
dient to the orders of their chiefs, subject to extraor-
dinary privations, and constantly exposed to danger
from their fellow-creatures, and from the ferocity of
the wild beasts with whom they shared the forests,
the Bhills have in consequence become the enemies of
order and peace. They have cherished predatory ha-
bits as the means of subsistence ; and receiving no
mercy or consideration, they have sought, from na-
tural impulse, to revenge the wrongs they have sus-
tained. Time has interwoven their habits of life and
feelings with their superstitions, until they actually
believe that they were created to prey upon their
neighbours. f I am Mahadevas thief/ is the common
answer of a Bhill detected in a crime ; and his pro-
mise of amendment is usually so qualified as to period,
that it seems more like a truce than a pact of perma-
nent good conduct. Nevertheless, from what has oc-
curred since this tribe became subject to the British
government, we may anticipate a gradual, and ulti-
mately a complete, change in their character and con-
dition. The men, though habituated to a life of ra-
pine, are not sanguinary ; and the females of the tribe,
who possess great influence over them, are of kind

* See a paper in vol. i. of the Transactions of the Asiatic
Society.

THE BHILLS.

135

dispositions, and many of them are intelligent and
industrious.”

With all their rapacity, the Bhills have certain
notions of honour, to which they are known so scru-
pulously to adhere, that no traveller ever doubts their
pledge of protection. With a Bhill guide, a person
may travel through the districts most infested by
them without the slightest molestation. They would
put any one of their tribe to death who should rob a
person so protected Their skill in robbery is extraor-
dinary. They have been known to make a hole
through the wall of a bungalo, and carry on their de-
predations so stealthily as to clear the room, and even
take the bed-clothes from a person asleep without
waking him. When they enter a house or a tent,
they are always naked, and so covered with oil that
it is almost impossible to seize them. Upon each arm
is usually fastened a sharp knife, with the blade pro-
jecting upwards ; thus, if they are laid hold off in the
dark, the person seizing immediately releases them : —
indeed, they are very rarely taken.

An officer, with whom I was acquainted, had a
narrow escape from death by attempting to seize a
Bhill who was in the act of robbing him. It happened
in the neighbourhood of Guzerat. This person was
asleep in his tent, when, suddenly waking, he felt
the quilt slightly twitched : suspecting that some one
was not far from his bedside, he soon began to
breathe hard, as if he were in a sound sleep. In a
short time the twitch was repeated with some ad-
ditional force. Satisfied that there was a robber
near him, he suddenly sprang from his bed : a Bhill

136

SCENES IN INDIA.

as suddenly rose, and attempted to escape through
an opening which he had previously made in the
canvas. The officer, being a strong and active man,
dexterously tripped up the heels of the robber, who
instantly fell, and the other, laying hold of his
arm, received a severe wound, which made him im-
mediately relinquish it. In a moment the Bhill was
on his feet, and rushed towards the opening. My
friend, regardless of the gash already inflicted upon
him, made a second attempt to seize the intruder ;
but the latter having disengaged one of the knives
from his arm, struck him with it in the face, laid his
cheek completely open, and effected his escape. The
wound was so desperate, that for several days the offi-
cer’s life was despaired of.

A WILD DOG.

137

CHAPTER XI.

A WILD DOG. THE COORG RAJAH.

While we halted at a village in our progress to-
wards the Coorg capital, a native offered me for sale
one of the wild dogs of the ghauts, which I was
anxious to see. Having been recently taken, and
confined in a cage, it looked sulky and fierce. It
was about the size of a small hound, strongly limb-
ed, with a large head and a long bushy tail. The
head was of extraordinary length in proportion to
the body, but very narrow ; the jaws opening much
higher into the skull than in any other species of
dog with which I am acquainted. From the great
elongation of the forehead, the eyes appeared seated
so near the nose as to impart a particularly repel-
ling expression to the face. When any one ap-
proached the cage, the animal growled fiercely, at the
same time manifesting symptoms of fear; but the
moment a piece of meat was thrown in, it devoured
it with ravenous eagerness,

I declined the purchase, knowing the difficulty of
taming those creatures, especially if caught after they
are full grown. Even if taken quite young, then-
natural ferocity is never effectually overcome.

These dogs hunt in packs, destroying deer, hogs,

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138

SCENES IN INDIA.

and buffaloes. They are even said to hunt the tiger,
which they surround, and having wetted their thick
bushy tails with their own secretions, whisk them in
the tiger’s eyes, and while the enraged animal is
suffering from this unexpected infliction, they fall up-
on it in a body, and it thus becomes a comparatively
easy prey. I state this upon the testimony of the na-
tives, who relate it as a generally known and admitted
fact.

The claws of these dogs are exceedingly strong and
sharp, approaching nearer to those of the feline than
the canine races. Thus armed, their great strength
and ferocity render them formidable even to the most
savage beasts of the forests. They always tear out
the eyes of their prey; their attack is therefore in-
variably at the head. Though not extremely swift of
foot, yet such is their patience and capability of en-
durance, that they proceed regularly through the jun-
gle in the track of their victims, until the latter are
exhausted ; they then commit frightful havoc among
the herds of harmless animals. When urged by ex-
treme hunger, they have been known to attack and
destroy travellers, though they are so alarmed at the
discharge of fire-arms, that a pistol loaded with pow-
der is a sufficient security against any invasion from
those ferocious creatures.

These dogs are found in most of the hilly dis-
tricts, but are said to abound chiefly in the western
ghauts. Very little seems to be known of their pecu-
liar habits, and I believe the species has not hither-
to been noticed by European naturalists. They are
not frequently seen, and from their natural ferocity

THE COORG RAJAH.

139

it appears impossible to domesticate them. The na-
tives are much afraid of them, and relate a great
number of fabulous stories respecting them, always
expressing satisfaction whenever they capture or de-
stroy any of them.

The dog offered for sale upon the occasion just
referred to had been taken in a trap, and was no
doubt eventually destroyed, if the person to whom it
belonged had not the good fortune to find a pur-
chaser within a short period of the capture, as the vo-
raciousness of the animal would have rendered it an
intolerable burden on the finances of a poor Hindoo.

Nothing particular occurred during our further pro-
gress to the capital of the Rajah, by whom we were
received and welcomed with a munificence and hospi-
tality worthy of a liberal and enlightened prince.

When we reached the Coorg capital, we selected a
convenient place about a mile and half from the
town, where we pitched our tents. Next morning
we were waited upon by a functionary of the Ra-
jah, bearing us a civil message from his master,
desiring that we would visit his palace on the follow-
ing day. We accordingly repaired to the palace at
the time appointed, and were received by the Prince
in a large hall of audience, where his levees were al-
ways held, and where, in fact, the public business of
his government was usually transacted. Round the
room were hung several pictures of Englishmen who
had distinguished themselves in India, among which
were portraits of Lord Clive, and Colonel Wellesley,
now Duke of Wellington. The room was extrava-
gantly fitted up with a profusion of European furni-

140

SCENES IN INDIA.

ture and ornaments. Several guns and pistols in cases,
all of British manufacture, were placed in different
parts of the room, the lids of the cases being open in
order that visiters might be able to inspect the ge-
nuineness of the instrument.

The Rajah was a handsome man about the middle
age ; he had quick penetrating eyes, which occasionally
fixed upon you with such ardency of expression that
it was painful to encounter their gaze. He had the
character of a worthy prince, and seemed to me fully
to ratify in his own person an apt saying of one
of his own countrymen, “ The heart of an excellent
man resembles the cocoa-nut, which, though hard
without, contains refreshing water and delicious food
within.”

He was exceedingly attentive, and anxious to show
us his partiality for cabinet-work made by British
artisans, receiving our approbation with evident
satisfaction, but was much more familiar than I
with the names of celebrated makers in this coun-
try of the different European articles which his taste
directed him to procure. He had several splendid
looking-glasses, and four or five pianofortes made by
dementi, of whom he spoke as if that great com-
poser had been a visiter at his court, and his High-
ness had received instructions from him in the sci-
ence of musical sounds. He was very proud of his
guns, near which there were two or three highly or-
namented matchlocks, as if to show that the native
gunsmiths were not without taste and ingenuity in
embellishing their arms, though they were far behind
those of Europe in skill of construction.

CEYLON DEER.

141

The Rajah continued in conversation with us for
some time, and when he dismissed us, invited us to
repeat our visit whenever it might be agreeable. On
the following morning we strolled into a sort of park, in
which he had a great number of curious animals, and
among these were two small deer from Ceylon, the
most beautiful little creatures I had ever seen. They
were about the size of a fox, of a deep reddish brown,
the body covered with bright spots, which gave them
quite a refined beauty, as if they were creatures fit only
to be the pets of royalty. This species of deer is the
smallest of the cervine tribe, and has no horns, in some
respects corresponding with the Cervus Guineensis of
Linnseus. They abound in Ceylon, where they are
taken in traps, and disposed of on the coast for a mere
trifle. It is the most exquisitely formed creature that
can be imagined, its small taper legs being scarcely
larger than a lady’s finger. Its flesh is esteemed a par-
ticular delicacy, and remarkably wholesome. These
tiny animals are caught in great numbers in the interior
of Ceylon, and almost daily taken to Columbo and
other towns, where they are sold for about two shillings.
On the peninsula they are esteemed a rarity, and are
frequently purchased father for the exquisite sym-
metry of their forms than for the delicacy of their
flesh, which, however, is far superior to that of any
other deer. The Rajah had several, and highly
valued them, having a great fancy for animals of
all kinds. Those we saw were quite tame, allow-
ing us to approach within a few yards of them
without appearing in the slightest degree disturbed
by our proximity. They are called the moose-deer

142

SCENES IN INDIA.

by the Cingalese, though, further than is usual with
creatures of the same race, they bear no resem-
blance to that animal, of which they may be mutu-
ally said to constitute the antipodes, the one being the
largest and the other the smallest of the deer tribe.

Besides these creatures, the Rajah prided himself
upon his collection of more savage animals, having
sundry lions and tigers in cages, some of which were
under such control, that I have heard he was in the
habit of introducing them into his palace before his
guests, without even submitting them to the restraint
of a keeper. He had a great passion for animal-fights,
which he often indulged; and we were told that
in a few days he intended to entertain us with a
sight of what some of his subjects could do against
those ferocious animals. This was confirmed on the
following morning by the arrival of a messenger from
his Highness, who informed us that his master purposed
having an exhibition of animal-fights and native
gymnastics on a specified day, to which he hoped we
would favour him with our company. These fights
are common in the Mysore during the Dusserah
feast, and are celebrated throughout this part of In-
dia. The Oriental athletse, who use the cestus, are,
I imagine, peculiar to that district, and Hindoos of
low caste, yet as perfectly distinct and unmixed in
their generation as the highest among the social divi-
sions of the people. They are a strong and hardy
race of men, and their whole lives are devoted to
the acquisition of dexterity in their favourite pur-
suit. They are called Jetties, and perform feats of
strength as remarkable for their variety as for exhibit-

WILD BEAST FIGHTS.

143

ing the muscular capabilities of the human form. No-
thing can exceed the fine manly symmetry of pro-
portion which these men display, nor is their activity
inferior to their strength.

On the day appointed we repaired to the palace.
After a liberal entertainment, in which several
dishes were served up in the European fashion, with
a plentiful supply of Port wine. Claret, and Ma-
deira, we retired to a gallery that overlooked a large
area full a hundred yards square. The sports com-
menced as soon as the Rajah arrived. A small but
sturdy goat was introduced into the enclosed space.
Upon its forehead was fixed a steel spur, like that
placed upon the leg of a game-cock when armed
for battle. This instrument was four inches long,
about as thick at the base as a man’s middle fin-
ger, and exceedingly sharp. It was strapped across
the forehead at equal distances between the eyes and
the sockets of the horns ; for of these the animal had
been deprived, in order to give it more freedom in the
encounters to which it was trained. It paced the area
with a firm proud step, as if aware that it was about
to have an opportunity of exhibiting its prowess to
the Prince of the country.

When all was ready, the door of a large cage was
slid aside, and a boar started out with a grunt that
betokened a desire of freedom, but no relish at having
to show its valour before company. It was imme-
diately urged towards the goat, which erected its stiff
wiry mane, reared upon its hind legs, and retreated ;
but whether this was an impulse of fear, or a feint to
draw its adversary into a more favourable position for

144

SCENES IN INDIA*

attack, was not so evident. The boar stood perfectly
still, striking its jaws together with a sharp; quick
champ; and covering its tusks with a creamy foam
that flowed copiously from the mouth; and occasion-
ally fell in flakes upon the ground. As the goat re-
tired; it was brought forward by one of the attendants
on the sports; and placed near its foe; which turned
upon the armed adversary its small glittering eyes;
champing as before; but continuing perfectly still. The
goat; at length; emboldened by the apparent immo-
bility of its antagonist; made a butt with its forehead ;
the boar; suddenly turning; received the spear in its
shoufder; but striking its enemy in the flank at the
same moment; inflicted a long ghastly wound; which
disabled it from continuing the conflict.

A second goat was introduced; which the boar,
in spite of its wound; soon disabled. It was now at-
tacked by a third. This was a much larger animal
than either of the former ; and the boar’s energies be-
ing reduced by its exertions and the wound already
received in its shoulder; the match did not appear
very equal; though; from the quickness of its motions
in its two former conflicts; I confess; I apprehended
that it would come off victorious in this third encounter.
The moment the large goat was brought forward; it
advanced fiercely to the attack; receiving and avoiding
its adversary’s charge without sustaining any injury
beyond a slight opening of the skin on its left haunch.
As if exasperated by the wound; it turned furiously
upon its foe; and buried the spear with which it was
armed in its body, just below the ribs. The boar
rolled upon its side, when the infliction was again re-

FIGHT BETWEEN A COORG AND A TIGER. 145

peated, and the goat borne off in triumph, crowned
with a garland, by its keeper.

The next scene was of a far more awful character.
A man entered the arena, armed only with a Coorg
knife, and clothed in short trousers, which barely
covered his hips, and extended halfway down the
thighs. The instrument, which he wielded in his right
hand, was a heavy blade, something like the coulter
of a plough, about two feet long, and full three inches
wide, gradually diminishing towards the handle, with
which it formed a right angle. This knife is used with
great dexterity by the Coorgs, being swung round in
the hand before the blow is inflicted, and then brought
into contact with the object intended to be struck, with
a force and effect truly astounding.

The champion who now presented himself before the
Rajah was about to be opposed to a tiger, which he
volunteered to encounter almost naked, and armed only
with the weapon I have just described. He was ra-
ther tall, with a slight figure ; but his chest was
deep, his arms long and muscular. His legs were
thin ; yet the action of the muscles was perceptible
with every movement, whilst the freedom of his gait,
and the few contortions he performed preparatory to
the hazardous enterprise in which he was about to:
engage, showed that he possessed uncommon ac-
tivity, combined with no ordinary degree of strength.
The expression of his countenance was absolutely
sublime when he gave the signal for the tiger to be
let loose: it was the very concentration of moral
energy — the index of a high and settled resolution
His body glistened with the oil which had been rubbed

o

146

SCENES IN INDIA.

over it in order to promote the elasticity of his limbs.
He raised his arm for several moments above his head
when he made the motion to admit his enemy into the
area. The bars of a large cage were instantly lifted
from above ; a huge royal tiger sprang forward and
stood before the Coorg, waving its tail slowly back-
ward and forward,, erecting the hair upon it, and
uttering a suppressed howl. The animal first looked
at the man,, then at the gallery where the Rajah and
his court were seated to see the sports, but did not
appear at all easy in its present state of freedom : —
it was evidently confounded at the novelty of its posi-
tion. After a short survey, it turned suddenly round,
and bounded into its cage, from which the keepers,
who stood above, beyond the reach of mischief, tried
to force it, but in vain. The bars were then dropped,
and several crackers fastened to its tail, which project-
ed through one of the intervals.

A lighted match was put into the hand of the
Coorg ; the bars were again raised, and the crackers
ignited. The tiger now darted into the arena with a
terrific yell ; and while the crackers were exploding,
it leaped, turned, and writhed as if in a state of
frantic excitement. It at length crouched in a cor-
ner, gnarling as a cat does when alarmed. Mean-
while its retreat had been cut off by securing the
cage. During the explosion of the crackers, the Coorg
stood watching his enemy, and at length advanced to-
wards it with a slow but firm step. The tiger roused
itself and retreated, the fur on its back being erect,
and its tail apparently dilated to twice the usual size.
It was not at all disposed to commence hostilities;

THE COORG AND TIGER.

147

but its resolute foe was not to be evaded. Fixing
his eyes intently upon the deadly creature, he ad-
vanced with the same measured step, the tiger re-
treating as before, but still presenting its front to its
enemy* The Coorg now stopped suddenly ; then mov-
ing slowly backward, the tiger raised itself to its full
height, curved its back to the necessary segment for a
spring, and lashed its tail, evidently meditating mis-
chief. The man continued to retire ; and as soon as he
was at so great a distance that the fixed expression of
his eye was no longer distinguishable, the ferocious brute
made a sudden bound forward, crouched, and sprang
with a short, sharp growl. Its adversary, fully pre-
pared for this, leaped actively on one side, and as the
tiger reached the ground, swung round his heavy knife,
and brought it with irresistible force upon the
animal’s hind-leg just above the joint. The bone was
instantly severed, and the tiger effectually prevented
from making a second spring. The wounded beast
roared ; but turning suddenly on the Coorg, who had
by this time retired several yards, advanced fiercely
upon him, its wounded leg hanging loose in the
skin, showing that it was broken. The tiger, now
excited to a pitch of reckless rage, rushed forward
upon its three legs towards its adversary, who stood
with his heavy knife upraised, calmly awaiting the
encounter. As soon as the savage creature was within
his reach, he brought down the ponderous weapon upon
its head with a force which nothing could resist, laid
open the skull from ear to ear, and the vanquished
foe fell dead at his feet. He then coolly wiped
the knife on the animal’s hide, made a dignified sa-

148

SCENES IN INDIA.

laam to the Rajah, and retired amid the loud accla-
mations of the spectators.

His Highness informed us that this man had killed
several tigers in a similar manner; and that, although
upon one or two occasions he had been severely-
scratched, he had never been seriously wounded. The
Coorgs, moreover, are known often to attack this ter-
rible animal in the jungles with their heavy, sharp
knives, and with almost unfailing success. Upon the
present occasion, nothing could exceed the cool, cau-
tious, and calculating precision with which the reso-
lute Hindoo went through his dangerous performance.

In order to vary the sports, several men were intro-
duced into the arena, armed with sticks in the form of
a crescent, tapering towards one end like a Scotch
mull, and loaded at the other with iron. They are
from twenty-six to thirty inches long at the largest
extremity, and about as thick as a child’s wrist. By
persons accustomed to the use of this instrument it
is thrown with astonishing dexterity, as was proved
upon the present occasion. A frame, nearly two feet
square, containing a flat surface of clay, four inches
thick, was placed at a distance of forty-five yards from
the spot where the man stood who was to throw. In
the centre of this frame was stuck a circular piece of
iron, about the size of a cheese-plate. The first who
threw the stick was a short Hindoo, with a robust,
muscular frame, of more strength than symmetry.
Fixing his eye intently upon the object which it was
his aim to strike, his left foot being forward and his
body slightly curved, with a rapid evolution of the arm
he discharged the loaded wood. It whizzed through the

NATIVE GYMNASTICS.

149

air, and hitting the iron, forced it through the clay to
the distance of several yards. The man now made his
salaam with an expression of conscious triumph; and
gave place to one of his competitors; who advanced;
and with equal skill sent his instrument through the
aperture made in the clay; striking the wall beyond;
with a force that showed such a weapon in battle
to be scarcely less formidable than the matchlock or
musket. Four others tried their skill; but not' with
equal success. Each struck the frame and forced his
instrument through ; but not one hit the centre, though
the man who made the fifth throw was very near it.
They all, nevertheless, seemed to think themselves
entitled to the applause of the company ; and he who
had been least successful appeared much disappointed
that the plaudits which followed his performance were
so faint and few.

After these men had retired, a person entered with
a sort of quarter-staff, full six feet long, and as thick
as a man’s thumb, with a wooden ball at either end,
enclosed in a quilted cotton bag. He was followed
by three slender Hindoos, with sticks nearly a yard in
length, and of much the same thickness as the single-
stick used by the players at that rustic game in England.
When all was ready, this party commenced their play ;
he who had the long staff defending himself against
the attacks of the three with extraordinary agility and
adroitness. His evolutions were so rapid, that he ap-
peared every instant to present his front to each of his
antagonists ; and the instrument, which he held at
the centre of the shaft, he turned with such amazing
rapidity, protecting his back and front at the same

o 3

150

SCENES IN INDIA.

instant,, that every attempt to hit him was completely
foiled. His body, all but naked, was covered with
foam with the violence of his exertions. At first he
acted solely on the defensive, when seeing his assail-
ants somewhat off their guard, with the rapidity of
lightning he struck one of them upon the head with
a forward stroke from the padded end of the staff, and
as rapidly darting it backward, met another directly
upon the temple with such force that both instantly
fell. The third man immediately leaped within his
guard, and gave him a blow upon the ribs that rang
through the arena. Starting aside, he swung round his
weapon with tremendous velocity ; but his antagonist,
by actively stooping, escaped for a moment the in-
tended visitation. No sooner, however, had he raised
himself, than he received the ball plump upon his
forehead, which sent him upon his back as if he had
been shot. The little Hindoo, who had so skilfully
foiled three adversaries, was now proclaimed victor,
received a nod of approbation, and retired with the
fallen champions, who did not seem at all satisfied
with the issue. This was, altogether, the most in-
teresting exhibition of skill I had ever beheld. The
amazing activity of the man who played with the
quarter-staff, — so to speak, for it was very similar, —
altogether defies description. It was, moreover, a
bloodless conflict, which rendered it by no means
painful to see, though it must be confessed that the
blows inflicted were sufficiently severe.

A pair of wrestlers now appeared before us to con-
tend for the honour of the Rajah’s smile, — a reward
as highly prized by them as a mural crown by the

WRESTLING.

151

ancient Romans. One was tall and thin., the perfect
model of an Indian Apollo. His chest was broad ;
his waist remarkably taper ; his gait erect, and every
motion full of decision and grace. His arms were
long; his hands small as a woman’s. His adversary
was at least three inches shorter, with a very ro-
bust body, but ill-formed legs ; these being rather
bowed, stumpy, and destitute of muscle. His arms,
however, exhibited a legible index of muscular ener-
gy that could not be mistaken. They were long
and covered with hair, like those of a huge bear ;
whilst his broad, expansive chest, no less sinewy
and hirsute, showed evidently that he would prove a
formidable opponent. The expression of his counte-
nance was mild, but determined ; and he eyed his
more graceful adversary with a smile that seemed
to acknowledge his personal advantages, but at the
same time indicated that they were not likely to
win for him the palm of superiority in the coming
encounter.

The handsomer wrestler had a restless and ardent
motion of the eye, that gave the spectator an im-
pression either of want of confidence in his own pow-
ers or an apprehension of his adversary’s physical
superiority ; nevertheless he did not quail, but ad-
vanced to the struggle with a calm yet fearless deter-
mination. The head of both champions was perfectly
bare, with the exception of a single lock of hair about
three inches long, which grew from the crown and
hung rather quaintly over the left ear ; the bald cra-
nium imparting a look of keenness and delicacy to the
countenance of the handsomer competitor, though it

152

SCENES IN INDIA.

detracted somewhat from the general dignity of his
form and lineaments.

The men wore no clothing, except a narrow strip
of cloth round the waist ; and thus they advanced to
the encounter. For some time they did not close, hut
remained at a certain distance from each other, mak-
ing a variety of sudden springs, and throwing their
bodies into strange contortions, as if to show their
amazing suppleness, and the extraordinary power
they possessed of putting them into positions out of
the ordinary course of nature. It was obvious that
these preliminary movements were adopted merely to
distract the attention, in order that any advantage
might be taken of a momentary lapse of caution on
either side. This skirmishing continued so long that
it began to be fatiguing, when the Rajah showing
much impatience, it was communicated to the wrest-
lers, who, by mutual consent, immediately came to
close quarters, and prepared in good earnest to strive
for the mastery. Each grasped the other firmly by
the wrist, and placing their heads together they began
to push, as if to try each other’s strength. The taller
man appeared to have the advantage when they first
joined hands, as he stood over his antagonist, and
from the superior length of his limbs kept him for
some time at arm’s length, thus preventing the prompt
exercise both of his strength and of his skill. At last
the shorter wrestler, having succeeded in closing, placed
his arm round the neck of his opponent, which he ap-
peared to grasp with the clutch of a Hercules. The
struggle now became excessively animated ; the com-
batants writhed and twisted round each other without

WRESTLING.

153

much apparent superiority,, though it was manifest that
the shorter was the stronger of the two. At length,
the latter suddenly striking his heel in the joint of his
adversary’s knee, and seizing him firmly by the hip at
the same moment, gaye him a violent fall. The taller
wrestler, by an active turn of the body, succeeded in
preventing what in India as well as in England con-
stitutes the triumph of wrestling, a fair back fall, and
pitched with his shoulder upon the ground. Notwith-
standing the force of the shock, he was on his legs in
an instant, and approaching his antagonist, whom the
late advantage appeared to have put somewhat off his
guard, seized him with a vigorous grasp, and quick as
lightning flung him completely over his head, but the
man pitched upon his legs like a cat.

The struggle was now renewed with increased en-
ergy, yet the superior strength of the shorter wrest-
ler was becoming more apparent ; — the other had evi-
dently less stamina. He appeared distressed, and in
proportion as he felt his energies decreasing, the more
desperate became his struggles. Having, as it seemed,
collected all his powers for one final effort, he lost
his balance; the lesser champion, seeing his oppor-
tunity, grasped him by the thigh behind with his left
hand, and placing the right upon his chest, threw him
upon his back with a force that seemed to shake every
fibre of his frame. The man, however, rose in a
moment, and with a disconcerted look made his salaam
to the Rajah, then bounded from the arena with the ac-
tivity and fleetness of an antelope, as if to show that
he was nothing the worse for his exertions, however
mortified he might feel at his defeat.

SCENES IN INDIA.

1 54

The victor awaited another competitor : in a few
moments a gigantic fellow advanced, at least six
feet high, with a broad iron frame, but the muscles,
though prominent, seemed to want that firmness of
texture and closeness of tension which are the great in-
dications of elastic vigour. This man was past the
middle age, and had gone beyond the prime of his
strength. His ponderous body seemed, notwithstand-
ing, to make fearful odds against the lighter candidate,
already weakened by a long and arduous struggle.
The big Hindoo advanced with a surly aspect, which
completely turned the balance of sympathy against
him, and the bout commenced with many clumsy evo-
lutions upon his part, and as many active ones on
that of his opponent. At length they closed, but the
smaller wrestler clung so close to his Herculean an-
tagonist, that the latter could not throw him. He
exerted his great strength to no purpose, the quickness
and elasticity of his rival foiled all his attempts. He
snorted with his exertions, and at length became vi-
sibly excited. He had been a successful champion
in his better days, and was loth to yield to younger
men the reputation he had once enjoyed. His limbs
no longer retained their wonted pliancy ; and though
from his large muscular frame and superior weight he
was still a formidable opponent, these, nevertheless,
could not countervail the superior advantages of youth
and greater flexibility of limb. He moreover showed
so much less skill than the man to whom he was
opposed, that it was evident he owed his former re-
putation chiefly to his immense strength, of which
sufficient remained to show that in the prime of his

WRESTLING.

155

days he must have been a person of uncommon phy-
sical capabilities. His excitement was manifestly
increasing every moment, and by a fortunate turn of
his leg he succeeded in throwing his man upon the
face. The prostrate wrestler immediately extended
his legs and arms like the spokes of a wheel, and
stiffening the muscles, defied all the efforts of his huge
antagonist to turn him upon his back. In this po-
sition he lay for several minutes, and when he found
that the large Hindoo relaxed his efforts, he sud-
denly sprang upon his feet, and closing with him,
renewed the contest with undiminished vigour. He
had recovered his breath during the time he lay on
the ground, whilst his adversary had exhausted his in
the fruitless exertions he made to throw him. The
little man now clearly felt his advantage, for he caused
his huge opponent to reel and stagger in a way that
made it clear to all how the contest must terminate.

Upon a sudden, to our astonishment, we saw the
big wrestler lifted from his legs and thrown complete-
ly over the head of the smaller with a force quite
astounding. The poor fellow pitched upon his crown,
falling upon his back senseless. The blood gushed
from his ears and nose, and I certainly thought he was
dead ; but within a minute he rose, made a sullen
obeisance to the gallery, and waddled from the arena,
evidently much mortified at the issue of his exertions.
The victor received the smile of his Highness with an
inelegant salaam ; for he happened to be an exception
to the general rule, the Hindoos being almost universally
elegant in all conventional acts of external courtesy.
He then retired, and the sports closed for the day.

156

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XII.

WILD BEAST FIGHTS. JETTIES. — JUGGLERS.

Next morning, we again repaired to the palace at
an early hour ; the Rajah was ready to receive us, and
after a slight refreshment we took our station in the
gallery to witness the second day’s sports. We were
prepared for an unusual sight. A lion was to be
turned into the arena with an African buffalo, pur-
chased by his Highness some months before, and which
still remained uncommonly wild and fierce. The buf-
falo of Africa is larger, and consequently more power-
ful, than the buffalo of India, and it is said frequently
to kill the lion when it encounters the latter in their
native jungles, though the lion generally obtains the
mastery, A conflict between them sometimes termi-
nates in the death of both. Even in India the buf-
falo is a formidable creature, and when one is eject-
ed from the herd, it runs at everything that comes in
its way, until destroyed either by its own violence,
or by the superior strength of some wild animal.

I once knew an instance of a buffalo, mad-
dened by being expelled from the community of its
fellows- — which is often the case, though from what
circumstance is not, so far as I know, ascertained —
and, fearless of the odds, which were evident in such

A BUFFALO AND A LION.

157

an unequal contest, rush, with its nose between its fore
legs, its tail in the air, and exhibiting every symptom
of frantic hostility, towards an elephant, upon which
a friend of mine was mounted. The wary animal
calmly waited its approach, with head declined and
its tusks projected ; — the maddened buffalo plunged
forward and was completely impaled. After a mo-
ment, the elephant shook the quivering carcass from
its tusks, pushed its huge foot upon the still panting
body, and passed quietly on its way.

We had not long taken our station in the gallery,
before the buffalo was driven from its stall. The mo-
ment it entered the enclosure it began to bellow and
plunge violently, throwing the dirt from its heels
into the air at least a dozen feet high. It was a
bony animal, as large as a Durham ox, though not,
perhaps, quite so tall, its legs being short in propor-
tion to its size. It had an immense head, with long
horns, that curled like those of a ram, whilst its large
projecting eye and dilated nostril gave it an expression
of extreme fierceness. There was scarcely any hair
upon its body, except on the neck and tail : at the
extremity of the latter appeared a large tuft, very
thick and coarse. It was altogether a noble creature,
full of strength and fury,

“ Crook-knee’d and dew -lapp’d, like Thessalian bulls.”

After a few moments the bars of the lion’s cage
were raised, and the kingly animal bounded forward.
It was one of the finest I had ever seen. A Hindoo
sage has said that “ the elephant, the lion, and the
wise man seek their safety in flight ; but the crow, the

p

158

SCENES IN INDIA.

deer, and the coward, die in their nest/’ In the pre-
sent instance, however, the lion was fully vindicated
from the obloquy of such vulgar wisdom, as will be
presently seen.

It stalked majestically forward, but, seeing the buf-
falo, dropped upon its belly, swept the ground with
its tail, and then uttering a short growl, made two or
three leaps, and sprang upon its adversary’s neck with-
out further preliminaries. The sudden shock brought
the buffalo upon its knees ; but immediately recovering,
the latter threw back its head with a violence that dis-
lodged the lion, casting it with prodigious force against
the strong wooden palings of the enclosure, at the
same time striking one of its horns into the flank of its
assailant and opening a hideous gash. The lion was
for a moment stunned ; nevertheless, before its enemy
had time to take advantage of its condition, it was
on its legs, and had again sprung upon the buffalo’s
neck, which it lacerated dreadfully. There was now
a deadly struggle ; but the latter, repeating the same
action which had before disengaged it from the gripe
of its tawny foe, threw the lion again against the
palings with still greater violence than before, and
there gored it with an animation and goodwill that
soon entirely disabled the noble beast from renewing
the contest.

The buffalo was by this time so exhausted that it
fell by the side of its prostrate enemy. After some ex-
ertion the keepers got it upon its legs and led it from
the scene of combat. The lion was with difficulty
dragged into its cage, but in a few days appeared little
the worse for the punishment it had received from the

JETTIES.

159

horns of its formidable antagonist, which died the day-
after the combat. The lacerations in the neck were so
extensive, and it became so furious under the pain of
its wounds, that no one could venture to apply any
thing to repair the mischief.

This was altogether a painful sight ; I almost sick-
ened at witnessing the fierce and deadly ferocity with
which those two powerful animals strove to destroy
each other. Though the strength of the buffalo evi-
dently exceeded that of the lion, this was more than
counterbalanced by the activity of the latter, and the
deadly weapons with which it was armed ; although,
moreover, it appeared to have had the worst in the
encounter, yet the result proved the reverse to be the
case.

After this a few other animal fights of minor import-
ance and little interest took place. A pair of native
Mysore boxers then appeared before the Rajah to ex-
hibit their skill in an art practised upwards of two thou-
sand years ago in Europe, and perhaps even before that
period in Asia. These boxers are called Jetties, from
the instrument, a sort of csestus, with which the right
hand is armed. It is made of buffalo horn, with four
sharp projections like knuckles. There is a fifth near
the little finger of greater prominence than the rest.
These horny knobs are very sharp, and a blow in-
flicted with this instrument, if delivered with the full
force of a muscular man, would cleave open a man’s
skull ; but as it is placed upon the fingers between the
lower joints and the main knuckles of the hand, the
fingers passing through a narrow opening below the
knobs, just large enough to receive them when the fist

160

SCENES IN INDIA.

is doubled and the instrument thus secured,, the pow-
er of hitting is considerably lessened. A heavy blow
would probably dislocate the fingers of the striker,
from the awkward position of the weapon, which does
not cover the knuckles, but, as I have said, is fixed
immediately between them and the finger-joints. The
mode of hitting is by a sharp perpendicular cut, which
instantly makes an incision and lays the flesh open
to the bone. The Jetties are never allowed to strike
below the head ; but wrestling forms the principal fea-
ture of their contests, which are decided more by their
skill in this art than by the use of the csestus ; that
being a mere accessory, though in truth a most for-
midable one, as the parties are frequently so dis-
figured in these encounters that, when they are over,
scarcely a feature remains perfect.

A good deal of skill is displayed in these combats,
and sometimes a considerable period elapses before a
successful blow is struck, the combatants being very
dexterous in defending their heads from the stroke of
that formidable weapon with which their right hands
are armed. They are generally fine men, perfect mo-
dels in shape, and larger than the generality of Hin-
doos. They are a distinct caste, and their profession is
traced as far back as the remotest historical records of
Mysore. Their choicest champions exhibit yearly at
the great festival of the Dusserah, when many cou-
ples of them contend at the same time before their
prince. They are much feared by the peaceable inha-
bitants of the neighbourhood in which they dwell,
though a race, I believe, in general of sober habits;
but the circumstance of their possessing the means

JETTIES.

161

of inflicting summary chastisement upon aggressors,
forces a kind of constrained outward respect from those
around them, who inwardly despise both their caste
and their occupation, which in every country is a
degraded one. The native princes have at all times
given great encouragement to these and similar stern
trials of skill, and though the reward obtained by the
vanquisher falls far short of the punishment received,
still such is the stimulus imparted by the mere am-
bition of obtaining the approbation of their prince,
that these men will occasionally undergo an almost
incredible degree of infliction merely to gain his smile,
accompanied with the trifling, though more substan-
tial, reward of a few rupees.

The two Jetties who now entered -the arena were
young men of fine forms, about the middle height,
neither very robust nor very muscular, but with
frames remarkable for compactness and admirable
proportion. Their attitudes were imposing, and they
exhibited a natural grace and apparent refinement
altogether different from those persons who pursue
occupations of a similar character in Europe. They
approached each other, holding up and crossing
their left arms, and putting themselves into posi-
tion for the strife. They shortly separated, mak-
ing various motions with the left hand, and fre-
quently shifting their position with great activity, in
order to withdraw attention from the meditated point
of attack, — but their eyes were mutually fixed upon
each other with a keen and intense expression which
nothing could divert. Several blows, struck with the
rapidity of lightning, were as successfully parried,

p 3

162

SCENES IN INDIA.

and it was difficult to guess upon which side the
advantage was likely to turn,, so equally did they
appear to be matched. Every now and then they
mutually produced a short clapping noise by striking
the palm of the left hand upon the muscles of the right
arm. This was frequently repeated; and although
several minutes elapsed before any decisive blow was
struck, yet it was by no means uninteresting to see
the activity which they displayed; and the fine mus-
cular development of their well-proportioned limbs as
they moved before each other with the intense earnest-
ness of men seeking to obtain superiority in manual
skill.

An opportunity was at length afforded to one of the
combatants; who; rushing upon his adversary, hit
him a smart blow upon the cheek, laying it open to
the bone. The wounded man suddenly stooped and
lifted his adversary in the air, when he received
another blow upon the crown from the csestus, which
in a moment covered his neck and shoulders with
blood. He, however, succeeded in throwing his man,
who in rising received in his turn a gash on the
temple, that again sent him backward. The ra-
pidity with which he sprang upon his legs was sur-
prising. Both the men now closed and planted seve-
ral successful blows, by which they were shortly so
disfigured that it made me quite sick to behold them ;
when the Bajah, at the anxious solicitation of one of
the company, in which we all eagerly united, gave
the signal for them to desist. They were both libe-
rally rewarded for the skill and courage they had
shown, with which they were so well satisfied, that one

JUGGLERS.

163

of them said he should be very happy to receive a
similar punishment every day., if it were to be followed
by a similar recompence.

After the struggle was over, it was pleasing to wit-
ness the good humour that seemed to exist between
these two combatants. They remained within the
arena looking on at the sports, squatted upon the
ground, and chatting with perfect good fellowship,
notwithstanding the severity with which they had
so lately punished each other. I am told that these
encounters do not in the slightest degree interrupt the
personal friendship often existing between these men ;
neither does their friendship prevent them from inflict-
ing the severest punishment during those encounters,
in which their proudest ambition is to obtain manual
superiority.

To me the most interesting part of the sports was
the performance of the jugglers, a party of them being
now introduced. The usual preliminaries took place,
such as swallowing the sword, eating fire, and a few
other tricks, common to every exhibitor at the pro-
vincial fairs in our own country. After which, one of
the men taking a large earthen vessel, with a capa-
cious mouth, filled it with water and turned it upside
down, when all the water flowed out ; but the moment
it was placed with the mouth upwards, it always
became full. He then emptied it, allowing any one
to inspect it who chose. This being done, he desired
that one of the party would fill it : his request was
obeyed; still, when he reversed the jar, not a drop of
water flowed, and upon turning it, to our astonish-
ment, it was empty. These and similar deceptions

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SCENES IN INDIA.

were several times repeated ; and so skilfully were they
managed^ that, although any of us who chose were
allowed to upset the vessel when full, which I did
many times, upon reversing it there was no water to
be seen, and yet no appearance of any having escaped.
I examined the jar carefully when empty, but de-
tected nothing which could lead to a discovery of the
mystery. I was allowed to retain and fill it myself,
still, upon taking it up, all was void within ; yet the
ground around it was perfectly dry, so that how the
water had disappeared, and where it had been con-
veyed, were problems which none of us were able to
expound. The vessel employed by the juggler upon
this occasion was the common earthenware of the
country, very roughly made ; and in order to con-
vince us that it had not been especially constructed
for the purpose of aiding his clever deceptions, he per-
mitted it to be broken in our presence : the fragments
were then handed round for the inspection of his High-
ness and the party present with him.

The next thing done was still more extraordinary.
A large basket was produced, under which was put a
lean, hungry Pariah bitch ; after the lapse of about a
minute, the basket was removed, and she appeared
with a litter of seven puppies. These were again
covered, and upon raising the magic basket a goat was
presented to our view; this was succeeded by a pig in
the full vigour of existence, but which, after being
covered for the usual time, appeared with its throat
cut ; it was, however, shortly restored to life under
the mystical shade of the wicker covering. What ren-
dered these sudden changes so extraordinary was, that

JUGGLERS.

165

no one stood near the basket but the juggler, who
raised and covered the animals with it. When he
concluded, there was nothing to be seen under it ;
and what became of the different animals which had
figured in this singular deception, was a question that
puzzled us all.

A man now took a small bag full of brass balls,
which he threw one by one into the air, to the num-
ber of thirty-five. None of them appeared to return.
When he had discharged the last there was a pause of
full a minute ; he then made a variety of motions
with his hands, at the same time grunting forth a
kind of barbarous chant ; in a few seconds, the balls
were seen to fall, one by one, until the whole of them
were replaced in the bag : this was repeated at least
half a dozen times. No one was allowed to come
near him while this interesting juggle was performed.

A gaunt-looking Hindoo next stepped forward, and
declared he would swallow a snake. Opening a box,
he produced a Cobra de Capello not less than five
feet long, and as big as an infant’s wrist. He stood,
however, apart, at some distance from us, and, like
his predecessor, would not allow any person to ap-
proach him, so that the deception became no longer
equivocal. He then, as it appeared to us, took the
snake, and putting its tail into his mouth gradually
lowered -it into his stomach, until nothing but the
head appeared to project from between his lips, when,
with a sudden gulp, he seemed to complete the dis-
gusting process of deglutition, and to secure the odious
reptile within his body. After the expiration of a
few seconds, he opened his mouth and gradually drew

166

SCENES IN INDIA.

forth the snake, which he replaced in the box, making a
salaam to the Rajah. This was by no means a pleasing
sight, but his Highness laughed heartily, and threw
the performer a handful of rupees ; thus clearly show-
ing that his pleasure was no counterfeit, like the jug-
gler’s trick.

The next thing that engaged our attention was a
feat of dexterity altogether astonishing. A woman,
the upper part of whose body was entirely uncovered,
presented herself to our notice, and taking a bam-
boo, twenty feet high, placed it upright upon a flat
stone, and then, without any support, climbed to the
top of it with surprising activity. Having done this,
she stood upon one leg on the point of the bamboo,
balancing it all the while. Round her waist she had
a girdle, to which was fastened an iron socket ;
springing from her upright position on the bamboo,
she threw herself horizontally forward with such
exact precision that the top of the pole entered the
socket of her iron zone, and in this position she spun
herself round with a velocity that made me giddy
to look at, the bamboo appearing all the while as if
it were supported by some supernatural agency. She
turned her legs backward until the heels touched her
shoulders, and grasping the ankles in her hands, con-
tinued her rotation so rapidly that the outline of
her body was entirely lost to the eye, and she look-
ed like a revolving ball. Having performed several
other feats equally extraordinary, she slid down the
elastic shaft, and raising it in the air, balanced it
upon her chin, then upon her nose, and finally pro-
jected it to a distance from her, without the application

FEAT OF DEXTERITY.

167

of her hands. She was an elderly woman, and by no
means prepossessing in her person, which I conclude
was the reason that the Rajah, though he applauded
her dexterity, did not give her a proof of his liberality.
We, however, threw her a few rupees, with which she
appeared perfectly satisfied.

The next performer spread upon the ground a cloth,
about the size of a sheet : after a while, it seemed
to be gradually raised ; upon taking it up, there ap-
peared three pineapples growing under it, which
were cut and presented to the spectators. This is
considered a common juggle, and yet it is perfectly
inexplicable. Many other extraordinary things were
done which have entirely escaped my memory ; but
the concluding feat was too remarkable to be easily
forgotten.

A tall, athletic fellow advanced, and making his
salaam to the gallery, threw himself upon the ground.
After performing several strange antics, he placed his
head downwards with his heels in the air, raised his
arms, and crossed the mover upon his breast, balancing
himself all the while upon his head. A cup, contain-
ing sixteen brass balls, was now put into his hands ;
these he took and severally threw them into the air,
keeping the whole sixteen in constant motion, crossing
them, and causing them to describe all kinds of figures,
and not allowing one of them to reach the ground. When
he had thus shown his dexterity for a few minutes, a
slight man approached, climbed up his body with sin-
gular agility, and stood upright upon the inverted feet
of the performer, who was still upon his head. A
second cup, containing sixteen balls, was handed to

168

SCENES IN INDIA.

the smaller man, who commenced throwing them un-
til the whole were in the air. Thirty-two balls were
now in motion, and the rays of the sun falling upon
their polished surfaces, the jugglers appeared in the
midst of a shower of gold. The effect was singu-
lar, and the dexterity displayed by these men quite
amazing. They were as steady as if they had been
fixed into stone, and no motion, save that of their
arms and heads, was visible. At length, the upper
man, having caught all his balls and replaced them in
the cup, sprang upon the ground, and his companion
was almost as quickly upon his legs.

After a short pause, the man, who had before ex-
hibited himself with his body reversed, planted his
feet close together, and standing upright like a column,
the smaller juggler climbed his body as before, and
placing the crown of his own head upon that of his
companion, raised his legs into the air, thus exactly
reversing the late position of the two performers. At
first they held each other s hands until the libration
was complete, when they let go, the upper man wav-
ing his arms in all directions to show the steadiness of
his equilibrium. The legs were kept apart sometimes,
one being bent, while the other remained erect ; but
the body did not seem to waver for a single instant.
After they had been in this position for about a mi-
nute, the balls were again put into their hands, and
the whole thirty-two kept in motion in the air as
before. It was remarkable that, during the entire
time they were thrown, neither of them once came in
contact, — a proof of the marvellous skill . displayed.
It is certain that the manual dexterity of these men

JUGGLERS.

169

is not exceeded, if approached, by the jugglers of any
other country in the world.

When they had done with the balls, the upper man
took a number of small cylindrical pieces of steel,
two inches long ; several of these he placed upon hi
nose, producing a slender rod full a foot in length,
which, in spite of his difficult position, he balanced
so steadily that not one of the pieces fell. He then
crossed the taper column with a flat bar of copper, half
an inch wide and four inches long ; upon this he
fixed one of his little cylinders, and on the top of
that a slight spear ; the whole of which he balanced
with perfect steadiness, finally taking off every sepa-
rate piece and throwing it upon the ground: thus
concluded this extraordinary performance. Grasping
hands as before, the little man sprang upon his feet,
and made his obeisance to the gallery.

This feat appears to have been something similar,
though much less extraordinary, to one mention-
ed in the autobiography of the Mogul Emperor Jehan-
guire ; the truth, however, of which I am much dis-
posed to question, as it appears to me to involve phy-
sical impossibilities.

One of seven men,” says the imperial author,
“ stood upright before us, a second passed upwards
along his body, and, head to head, placed his feet up-
wards in the air. A third managed to climb up in
the same manner, and planting his feet to those of the
second, stood with his head upwards ; and so alter-
nately to the seventh, who crowned this marvellous
human pillar with his head uppermost. And what
excited an extraordinary clamour of surprise, was to

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170

SCENES IN INDIA.

observe the first man, who thus supported upon the
crown of his head the whole of the other six, lift one
foot as high as his shoulder ; standing thus upon one
leg, and exhibiting a degree of strength and steadiness
not exactly within the scope of my comprehension ”*
I confess I should be disposed to doubt the authen-
ticity of the manuscript from which this record is
taken, as it relates a number of circumstances mani-
festly impossible, and, to my mind, completely con-
tradicts the historical character of Jehanguire.

The sports having terminated, we made our bows
to the Rajah and retired.

* See Memoirs of the Emperor Jehanguire, written by him-
self, and translated from a Persian manuscript by Major David
Price.

THE COORG RAJAH.

171

CHAPTER XIII.

THE COORG RAJAH AND HIS SUCCESSOR.

We were altogether much gratified with the kind-
ness of the Coorg Rajah during the short stay that we
made at his capital. When we took our leave, he
made us presents of shawls ; and we quitted him
with a favourable idea of his generosity and hos-
pitality. This prince always entertained a high re-
spect for our countrymen, showing those who visited his
territories the greatest attention. To the last moment
of his life this feeling never subsided. Though his pas-
sions were violent, and his anger was soon roused, yet
he was readily appeased, and then his enmity instantly
vanished. His alliance with the British government
was singularly cordial and sincere ; and I have heard
it said of him that, with reference to his good faith
towards that government, he was fond of quoting
the words of a philosopher of his own nation, no
less beautiful than true : — “ The friendship of a good
man is not easily interrupted, and if lost, is soon re-
gained : a golden bowl is not readily broken, but if
broken, is soon repaired. The friendship of the vicious
is soon lost, and never regained but with great exer-
tion : an earthen bowl is quickly broken, and cannot
be repaired, even with the greatest labour.”

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SCENES IN INDIA.

The successor of this prince has by no means fol-
lowed in his father’s steps. Having ventured to put
himself in hostile array against a power which no
native force has yet been able successfully to oppose,
he has lost his principality, and is now a state-pri-
soner, his possessions having fallen into the hands of
the East India Company. The present Rajah and the
interesting boy mentioned by Captain Basil Hall in
his visit to the Coorg district, are identical. That
boy, in his manhood, has shown himself to be a cruel
tyrant, and in his reverse of fortune we can follow
him neither with our respect nor with our sympathies.
I cannot forbear mentioning here a circumstance which
took place when he quitted his capital a prisoner : it was
related to me by an eyewitness, as a marvellous proof
of animal sagacity. The Rajah had an extensive stud
of fine elephants, among which was one that had been
in the habit of carrying a taper before the prince when
he retired to rest, and of performing various domes-
tic offices. When the royal Coorg quitted the town,
this elephant approached the palenkeen in which its
master was reclining, fell upon its knees, made several
salaams, exhibiting every token of the profoundest
respect, and appearing to feel acutely its sovereign’s
disgrace. This is not all : — the poor beast, after the
Rajah’s departure, began to pine, and when my in-
formant quitted the country was reduced to a state of
deplorable infirmity ; by this time it has more than
probably ceased to exist. The attachment of these
creatures, where they are kindly treated, frequently
puts human friendships and human attachments to
shame.

Dra-wr^bi/ W Bani&lZ JL -A. Engraved, by Ft Brandard

THE MONKEY AND CROW.

173

I do not stay to describe our journey to the coast,
which had nothing particular to render it interesting.
We determined to proceed forthwith to Cochin, ex-
pecting there to be able to procure a passage in some
vessel that would take us up the Red Sea. We stop-
ped a few days at Tillicherry, where a curious inci-
dent occurred, which, as Mr. Daniell has thought it
worth making the subject of a picture, I cannot but
think it worth recording.

In the jungles about this neighbourhood there is
a large species of monkey, frequently tamed by the
natives, and at a village a short distance from this
celebrated seaport we had an evidence of the remark-
able sagacity of this animal. A few yards from
the house of the person to whom it belonged, a
thick pole, at least thirty feet high, had been fixed
into the earth, round which was an iron ring,
and to this was attached a strong chain of consi-
derable length, fastened to a collar round the mon-
key’s neck. The ring being loose, it easily slid up
the pole when he ascended or descended.. He was
in the habit of taking his station upon the top of the
bamboo, where he seemed perched as if to enjoy the
beauties of the prospect around him ; — this was really
striking. The crows, which in India are very abund-
ant and singularly audacious, taking advantage of
his elevated position, had been in the daily habit of
robbing him of his food, which was placed every morn-
ing and evening at the foot of the pole. To this he had
vainly expressed his dislike by chattering, and other
indications of his displeasure equally ineffectual ; no-
thing that he could do was of any avail to scare away

Q 3

174

SCENES IN INDIA.

these unwelcome intruders upon his repasts. He tried
various modes to banish them, but they continued
their periodical depredations. Finding that he was
perfectly unheeded,, he adopted a plan of retribution as
effectual as it was ingenious.

One morning, when his tormentors had been parti-
cularly troublesome; he appeared as if seriously indis-
posed : he closed his eyes; drooped his head; and exhi-
bited various other symptoms of severe suffering. No
sooner were his ordinary rations placed at the foot of the
bamboo; than the crows, watching their opportunity,
descended in great numbers, and, according to their
usual practice, began to demolish his provisions. The
monkey now began to slide down the pole by slow
degrees, as if the effort were painful to him, and as
if so overcome by indisposition that his remaining
strength was scarcely equal to such exertion. When he
reached the ground, he rolled about for some time,
seeming in great agony, until he found himself close
by the vessel employed to contain his food, which
the crows had by this time wellnigh devoured. There
was still, however, some remaining, which a solitary
bird, emboldened by the apparent indisposition of the
monkey, advanced to seize. The wily creature was
at this time lying in a state of apparent insensibility
at the foot of the pole, and close by the pan. The
moment the crow stretched out its head, and ere it
could secure a mouthful of the interdicted food, the
watchful avenger seized the depredator by the neck
with the rapidity of thought, and secured it from doing
further mischief. He now began to chatter and grin
with every expression of gratified triumph, while the

COCHIN.

175

crows flew around, cawing in boisterous chime, as if
deprecating the chastisement about to be inflicted upon
their captive companion. The monkey continued for
a while to chatter and grin in triumphant mockery
of their distress ; he then deliberately placed the cap-
tive crow between his knees, and began to pluck it
with the most humorous gravity. When he had
completely stripped it, except the large feathers in
the pinions and tail, he flung it into the air as high
as his strength would permit, and, after flapping its
wings for a few seconds, it fell on the ground with a
stunning shock. The other crows, which had been
fortunate enough to escape a similar castigation,
now surrounded it, and immediately pecked it to
death.

The expression of joy on the animal’s countenance
was altogether indescribable ; and he had no sooner
seen this ample retribution dealt to the purloiner of his
repast, than he ascended the bamboo to enjoy a quiet
repose. The next time his food was brought not a
single crow approached it, and I dare say that, thence-
forward, he was never again molested by those vora-
cious intruders. The scene was, in truth, well worth
witnessing.

On our way down the coast to Cochin we found the
country extremely picturesque. The houses of the
natives were frequently buried amid thick groves of
palms, mangoes, jacks, and plantains, skirting the
bottoms of the small hills which here and there dot
the surface of the landscape. Above them are mag-
nificent woods of forest-trees perfectly free from rat-
tans and other climbers, which mar their growth and

176

SCENES IN INDIA.

greatly injure the timber. The teak and black-
wood abound in these jungles, the former frequent-
ly attaining to the majestic height of one hundred
and fifty feet. Scarcely any part of the hills in this
province is cultivated; the lower elevations are co-
vered with rank wiry grass, and other useless growths
of a superabundant vegetation.

The Tiers of this district, and indeed throughout
the whole province of Malabar, are a fine race.
They are the cultivators of the soil. Nothing can
exceed the beauty of their women, who are models
of the human form, possessing countenances of great
symmetry. Their complexions are a clear light brown,
much like those of the women of Italy, only far more
uniform and brilliant. The more respectable classes
among them wear no covering on the upper part of their
bodies, and yet there is not the slightest indication of
immodesty in their actions or address. They consider
this exposure of themselves a mark of delicacy ; for
women of bad character among them invariably cover
the neck and shoulders, which they affect as the dis-
tinction of their avocation.

The better classes wear a hat made of chip mat-
ting, the top of which is encircled by a wide brim ;
this they put on with a good deal of taste, allowing
it to droop over the right shoulder, thus showing to
advantage their small handsome features. There is
nothing remarkable in the appearance of the men
except the air of cleanliness which universally dis-
tinguishes them, forming a strong contrast with many
of the tribes by whom they are surrounded. Among
these are the Niadis, an outcast tribe not nume-

THE NAIRS OF MALABAR.

177

rous, but of very filthy habits. They are reckon-
ed so impure that not even a slave of caste will
touch them. They occupy wretched hovels built
under the shade of trees, and generally wander about
in small companies, keeping at a distance from the
public roads. When they see a passenger approach-
ing they howl like a pack of hungry jackals. They
eat carrion and offal of every description, and are al-
together in a destitute condition.

The Tiers, though seldom wealthy, are generally in
good circumstances, living upon the produce of their
land, which they cultivate with sufficient industry,
but with no great skill. The Nairs are a superior
caste to the Tiers. They are the pure Sudras of Ma-
labar, and all pretend to be born soldiers, though they
embrace various professions. Those of the highest rank
among them perform the distinguished office of cook ;
for, as every Hindoo desires that his food should be
dressed by persons of higher rank than himself, the
office of cook is one of distinction. There are eleven
classes of Nairs, and from this caste the militia of
Malabar is formed. They are governed by Rajahs,
to whom they pay the most abject homage. These
princes hold a despotic tyranny over them. A Nair
would not hesitate a moment to cut down a Pa-
riah who happened to pass within the length of his
arm.

The Nairs marry in infancy, but the wife always
remains with the parents, and cohabits with any per-
son she chooses of equal rank with her own. This
practice is not considered in the slightest degree dis-
graceful, nor does the husband reject the offspring of

178

SCENES IN INDIA.

his wife, even though none of her children should be
his. Such a system of social degradation,, as may be
supposed, does not tend to elevate the characters of
this caste, and they have generally all the vices which
a course of systematic immorality must inevitably en-
gender. They are a debased tribe, though they rank
higher than the Tiers, who are far their superiors in
moral dignity and social respectability.

I may mention here a singular circumstance which
occurred among some Nair children while a military
friend of mine was stationed at Cannanore, a town
upon the sea-coast of this province. A number of
boys, none of whom exceeded the age of twelve years,
and some of them were considerably younger, whilst in
the charge of their flocks — for they were goat-herds —
which grazed near the parade-ground of the British re-
giment stationed at Cannanore, had there an oppor-
tunity of witnessing the mode of punishment adopt-
ed in the British cantonment. Struck, as it appears,
with its justice, they established among themselves
a punitive discipline precisely similar. It was deter-
mined that any instance of theft detected among them
should be punished with death. Having witnessed
the military execution of a soldier and flogging, they
came to the resolution that graver and minor offences
among them should be visited with chastisements of
equal severity. A short time after they had esta-
blished their system of legislation, a boy was detected
in having appropriated to his own use — a direct viola-
tion of their laws — some seeds of the jack fruit with
which he had been intrusted. He was immediately
subjected to a kind of court-martial, found guilty, and

MALABAR VILLAGES.

179

sentenced to be hanged upon a tree. The sentence was
accordingly carried into execution, and the boy was
actually found dead within a few hours after. This
circumstance caused a great sensation at the time j
but, from the youth and number of the offenders, it
was considered inexpedient to proceed against them
with rigour. Their confederacy, however, was
broken, their laws were abrogated, and the fear of
punishment prevented the recurrence of any similar
extra-judicial acts among these juvenile legislators.

“ The villages of Malabar,” says Hamilton,* “ are
the neatest in India, and much embellished by the
beauty and elegant dress of the Brahmin girls. The
houses are placed contiguous in a straight line, and
built of mud, so as generally to occupy two sides
of a square area, a little raised, and kept clean and
free from grass. The mud is of excellent quality,
and in general neatly smoothed, and either white-
washed or painted ; but the houses being thatched with
palm-leaves, are extremely combustible. Both ba-
zaars and cottages have been introduced by foreigners ;
the Nambouries, Nairs, and all the aboriginal natives
of Malabar, living in detached houses surrounded by
gardens, and collectively named Desas. The higher
ranks use very little clothing, but are remarkably
clean in their persons, cutaneous distempers being
never observed, except among the slaves and the very
lowest castes.”

In the neighbourhood of Cochin we found a large
number of persons afflicted with elephantiasis, which
is scarcely seen in any other part of this coast. Here

* See “ Description of Hindostan,” &c.

180

SCENES IN INDIA.

we purchased a vessel for eight thousand rupees,,
about eight hundred pounds, and changed her Dutch
name of Yong Yrouw Jacomina to that of the
Cornwallis. She was a sloop of eighty tons bur-
then.

We now changed our minds of going up the Red Sea,
on account of rumours that the plague was raging, and
shaped our course towards the Persian Gulf. The
morning was beautiful, and as we passed gently up
the coast with a light breeze, the distant mountains of
Travancore rose majestically above the level coun-
try with a grand and imposing magnificence. For
miles we found the water covered with a thick, tawny
scum, which, upon examination, appeared to be com-
posed of very minute leaves, of oblong shape and
yellowish hue. We coasted for thirty days, but with-
out making much progress, and our daily amuse-
ment was catching dolphins, which abounded, and
afforded us excellent sport ; though, when caught, they
are no great delicacy even at sea, where fish is gene-
rally a treat.

Cocoa-nut trees grow in great abundance upon this
coast, and are valuable property to the poorer natives,
who obtain from them sundry necessaries, and sell the
nuts at a good profit. This tree supplies them with
toddy — an exudation of sap produced by making an
incision in the trunk, from which many pints drop
in the course of one night. It is sweet, and exceed-
ingly agreeable when taken before sunrise ; but after
it has been allowed to ferment, a strong spirit is dis-
engaged, which the poor natives drink in great quan-
tities : it therefore finds a ready sale.

ANIMAL SAGACITY.

181

From the nut of this tree a very useful oil is
extracted, which is used by the Hindoos for domestic
purposes, for the services of their temples, and for
anointing their bodies. It is now becoming in Europe
an article of considerable domestic consumption, being
employed with great success in the manufacture of
soap and candles, as it is a purer and better material
than tallow. The husk of the nut is manufactured
into cables and smaller cordage, and has the peculiar
property of being preserved in salt water.

The leaves of the cocoa-nut tree are employed for
thatching houses, and the wood for sundry purposes.
Upon the whole, this is the most useful production of
the vegetable world in India, and it is frequently ex-
posed to depredations from two animals as opposite
in character as in size. The one is the elephant,
which comes from the jungles and commits dread-
ful havoc among the plantations. Entering a cocoa-
nut tope, it fixes on a tree which appears within the
compass of its mighty strength, and seizing it with
its trunk as high as it can reach, sways it to and fro
with the nicest calculation of its resistance. If the tree
does not readily yield, the wily animal tries another
and another, until it meets with one which it can
master. When the tree is so loosened as to be about
to fall, the elephant places its foot upon the root, and
lowers it gently with so calculating a sagacity, that
one would almost think it had studied the laws of
mechanical force.

The other formidable enemy of the cocoa-nut tree
is a huge crab, or rather lobster, from twenty-four
to thirty inches long, which abounds on the shores

R

182

SCENES IN INDIA.

of those islands that form the Indian Archipelago.
This creature having prodigious nippers, ascends the
tree, to which it clings with great ease ; and when it
has reached the top, seizes the stem of the nut in its
vast pincers, separates it from the cluster, and lets it
drop upon the ground beneath. The lobster then de-
scends, tears off the exterior coat with astonishing fa-
cility and quickness, cracks the nut, and sucks out the
tender pulp. This lobster is a great delicacy.

On the sixth week after our departure from Co-
chin, we encountered a severe gale, which did us
some damage, and our provisions were nearly ex-
hausted. A duck curried was the only fresh food
we tasted for several days, and a half-starved tur-
key was all that remained of our stock. Flying-
fish were here happily abundant, many of which flew
upon our deck, affording us on more than one occasion
an unexpected luxury. We came at length to an an-
chor off Dagomar, a small town upon the Arabian
coast, where we received a pilot on board to take us
to Mascat.

On the second day after quitting Dagomar,
about noon, we reached Mascat harbour, which is
protected by stupendous rocks; between these is a
narrow entrance of some danger, unless you have
a skilful pilot. On the right of this strait is a cu-
rious conical rock, standing apart from the masses
behind it, and quite surrounded by the sea, in which
it appears to stand sentinel at the entrance of the
harbour. At the base it has a cleft, resembling a
mighty sabre-stroke, which seems to have thrown
it slightly out of the perpendicular. It is a pic-

*

MAHRATTA PIRATES.

183

turesque object, but much increases the danger of
approach to Mascat in stormy weather. Just as we
came in sight of it, five boats bore down upon us,
which, by their suspicious manoeuvres, we had no
doubt were Mahratta pirates. These boats are nu-
merously manned. We showed them eight wooden
guns, and flourished our fire-arms in such a way
as to lead them to suspect that ours was an arm-
ed vessel,-— which it seems they took it to be, for,
finding we showed no disposition to run before them,
they bore away towards the Malabar coast.

These pirate boats are long and narrow, generally
carrying from fifty to sixty men, mostly Arabs. They
hoist an immense latteen sail from a slight yard at
least fifty feet long, and are fast sailers. Two of
these boats might have taken us with ease ; but our
vicinity to Mascat was no doubt one strong reason,
coupled with our bold appearance, for not attack-
ing us. These pirates are much dreaded, and ren-
der a voyage up the Persian Gulf at all times dan-
gerous. They are exceedingly ferocious, sometimes
committing atrocious cruelties upon those who are
so unfortunate as to fall into their power. The
celebrated Angria, so formidable in the latter part
of the seventeenth century, was the first who ren-
dered the Mahratta piracies worthy of a place in
history. Of him and his successors a short account
may not be unwelcome to the reader.

184

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE ANGRIAS.

About the middle of the seventeenth century, Can-
ojee Angria was made Governor of Severndroog. He
was originally a private Mahratta soldier, and had
raised himself to the highest offices by his valour
and conduct. He served under the Rajah both as
admiral and general. When he became Governor
of Severndroog, he assumed the authority of an in-
dependent sovereign, and upon the first opportunity
seizing several of the vessels which he had formerly
commanded, officered them with persons whom he
had attached to his cause, and began to commit acts
of piracy. He at first confined himself to the neigh-
bourhood of the island under his dominion, until, by
repeated successes, he had rendered himself sufficient-
ly formidable to extend his depredations. He then
soon possessed himself of nearly the whole of the Mah-
ratta fleet.

Alarmed at the successes of this daring adventurer,
the Mahrattas built three forts upon the main
land, within point-blank shot of his little territory,
a small rocky island, well fortified and difficult of
access. He, however, baffled all their precautions
and continued his depredations, making himself mas-

TULL AGEE ANGRIA.

185

ter of a large portion of their territory,, in which
were several commodious harbours, where he built
fortresses, and established himself so securely that
they were unable to dislodge him. He fortified the
passes and defiles ; and by taking into his service
every desperate fellow who could obtain no employ-
ment elsewhere, his name became a terror to the whole
country within the influence of his arms. He was
at length so powerful at sea, that his vessels took the
Darley East-Indiaman, with a hundred and fifty men,
and the Restoration, an armed ship of twenty guns,
fitted out purposely against them. They captured,
also, from the French a ship of forty guns, having on
board four hundred slaves ; and had the audacity to
attack Commodore Lisle, who commanded a small
fleet, among which was a ship of sixty guns, another
of fifty, besides several frigates and smaller vessels.
From this time the family became independent princes,
and for near a century were the terror of these seas.
Their successes rendered them formidable even to the
British and Dutch governments.

In 1754 the reigning prince, Tullagee Angria,
having captured several of their vessels and treated
his captives with extreme rigour, it was determined
by the Bombay government to attack him in his
stronghold; which determination was hastened by
the pirate’s success against three Dutch ships — one
of fifty, another of thirty-six, and a third of eighteen
guns — burning the former two, and capturing the
latter. Upon this he grew so insolent, that he
boasted he should eventually be master of the Indian
seas, and commenced building two large vessels, one of

r 3

186

SCENES IN INDIA.

which was to carry forty guns. In obedience to the
determination of the Bombay government. Commodore
James, then commander of the British marine force
in India, sailed for the pirate’s retreat with only
four ships, — the Protector of forty-four guns, the
Swallow of sixteen, and two bomb-vessels, — being the
whole force then available.

The morning after the English Commodore had set
sail, he fell in with seven of Angria’s grabs and eleven
gallivats, and gave them chase. The day following he
was joined by the Mahratta fleet, consisting likewise
of seven grabs and eleven gallivats, which united with
him against the common enemy. These, however,
shortly quitted the commodore, and anchored in Com-
mon) Bay, where their crews landed and trifled away
thirty hours ; being prohibited by their religion from
eating on board their ships, and being also enjoined a
number of ablutions, and certain religious rites to be
performed on shore.

Next day, while the Mahratta crews were on land
performing their customary devotions. Commodore
James received intelligence that the enemy’s fleet was
anchored in the harbour of Severndroog. After some
delay, the English commander collected his dilatory
allies, and proceeded forthwith to the pirate’s strong-
hold. As soon as Angria’s admiral saw them ap-
proaching in such force, he ordered that his ships
should slip their cables and run out to sea, the
gallivats towing the larger vessels. This gave them a
manifest advantage over our ships, as there was al-
most a dead calm, and they could consequently make
but little way. The chase continued the whole

SEVERNDR00G.

187

day ; but so backward were the Mahrattas to engage
their formidable foe apart from the English com-
modore, that although, from the light structure of
their boats, which carried a single sail of immense di-
mensions, that turned readily to the wind, thus catch-
ing every breath of the breeze, they had, during the
several preceding days, considerably outsailed our
vessels, yet now, when the opportunity presented
itself of showing their skill and spirit against an
enemy from whom they had received such grievous
injury, instead of embracing it with that alacrity
which the impulse of retribution would naturally
dictate, they kept far astern, while the pirates
showed a perseverance and dexterity in their flight
as surprising as it was successful. They threw out
from their vessels everything that tended in the
slightest degree to perplex or interrupt their course;
and as there was scarcely any wind, they not only
crowded all their canvass upon the yards, but fas-
tened to the flag-staffs rugs, jackets, turbans, and
anything that could tend in the slightest degree to
accelerate their progress. By these means they baf-
fled all the exertions of the English commander,
and drew him so far from his station that he was
obliged to relinquish the pursuit and return to Severn-
droog.

This fortress was situated on an island within a
quarter of a mile from the main land ; but the water
within the frith was so shallow, that no ship above
three hundred tons5 burthen could pass through it.
The fort was strongly, but not regularly fortified.
Like that at Gibraltar, a great part of the works were

1-88

SCENES IN INDIA.

hewn out of the solid rock with immense labour ; and
the other portions,, where masonry was employed, were
constructed of massy cubes of stone, from ten to twelve
feet long, fastened with a cement which gave them
the stability of one unbroken mass. The bastions
were mounted with fifty-four guns. The largest fort
on the main land belonging to Angria was called Fort
Goa. It was built precisely in the same manner as
that on the island, equally strong, and presenting a
formidable battery of forty guns ,

It seems strange that this dreaded pirate should
have been allowed to carry on his depredations with
impunity for such a length of time. The Bombay
government, indeed, had long determined to suppress
them, but nothing effectual had ever been done ;
for though several expeditions were undertaken,
they had hitherto all failed. Commodore Mathews,
with his squadron and a small army of Portuguese,
had joined the Bombay sea and land forces in an
enterprise against one of Angria’s forts, but was de-
feated by the treachery of his allies, the Portuguese,
who, dreading the enemy’s power, thought it prudent
to make peace with the pirate, and leave their asso-
ciates, thus weakened, to the decreased chance of suc-
cess. The expedition failed in consequence ; and
the ships and troops returned to Bombay, except the
Shoreham man-of-war, which struck upon the rocks
and was wrecked.

It being now evident that no final advantages were
to be expected against this daring marauder, who had
by this time become the terror of the Indian seas, un-
less the co-operation of the Mahrattas was first ob-

BOMBARDMENT OF SEVERNDROOG.

189

tained, a treaty was entered into with that power,
their sovereign agreeing to unite his forces with those
of the British government, so soon as a feasible plan
should be resolved upon for the reduction of Angria’s
forts. It was during this alliance that Commodore
James proceeded against the Governor of Severndroog,
as already stated. Disgusted at the base pusillanimity
of his Mahratta allies, he determined to attack the
pirate's principal fort with his own small squadron :
consequently, on the day after the chase of his grabs
and gallivats, he commenced a smart cannonading at
break of day. The bombardment, though brisk, made
little or no impression upon the walls, which were
here nearly twenty feet thick and fifty-four feet high :
the commodore therefore shifted his station, so as to
bring Fort Goa within the range of his lower guns,
while he directed those of the upper tier against Severn-
droog. The defence on this side being weaker, after'
some hours’ cannonading he succeeded in destroying
one of the bastions, and part of the parapet with
which it was connected.

About noon, a shell happening to fall upon one of
the houses within the fort, set it on fire, and the wind
being strong, the flames soon communicated exten-
sively to the neighbouring houses : these the garrison
were prevented from saving by the severity of the
cannonading, which was continued with undiminished
energy. The fire spread with great rapidity, and after
some time communicated with one of the magazines,
which exploded, producing a tremendous confusion,
and, very shortly after, a general conflagration. The
consternation was beyond control, — men, women, and

190

SCENES IN INDIA.

children rushed from their houses, ran to the farther
side of the island, and embarked in boats, in hopes of
reaching the main land in safety ; but the Swallow, of
sixteen guns, intercepted their flight, and made the
greater part of them prisoners. Some few escaped,
though only to carry terror among their friends.

The British commander now directed all his fire
against Fort Goa, which was surrendered after a stub-
born resistance ; but immediately upon suspension of
the fire from the commodore’s ship, the governor
crossed the strait, with a few chosen men, to the island
of Severndroog, which had been entirely evacuated
upon the blowing up of their second and chief maga-
zine, that laid the town in ruins.

Though the island had suffered extremely from the
fire of the British ship and the blowing up of the ma-
gazines, the natural defences were still remarkably
strong, and the governor determined to hold out until
he should receive succours, which he hourly expected.
The commodore was now in possession of the three
forts upon the main land, whilst the enemy retained
only possession of that upon the island : against this
latter the cannonading was continued, and a summons
sent to the governor to surrender. He, however, re-
fusing to capitulate, a number of seamen were land-
ed, under cover of the fire from our ships and the
batteries on shore, who, resolutely assaulting the gates
with their axes, cut open the gate of the sallyport,
and procured an entrance with very. little loss.

Thus easily was possession obtained of a place
which had bid defiance to all the governments of
Europe and Asia for nearly half a century. The ships

HARBOUR OF MASCAT.

191

of Angria had swept the Indian seas with impunity,
and frequently extended their captures to the Persian
Gulf: Mascat was only protected by the natural
strength of its position and the security of its har-
bour.

The harbour of Mascat is large, and one of the
securest known. It is protected by a range of high
rocks in the form of a horseshoe, there being a narrow
entrance for small boats only, whilst larger vessels are
obliged to go round the rocky ridge and enter at the
main opening on the north side. The town lies on the
western side, on the shore of a deep basin, where ships
may anchor, secured from every wind that blows.
There is a fort on the same side, near the entrance of
the harbour, called Fort Jellali, built by the Portu-
guese when they had possession of Mascat. It stands
upon a large, lofty rock behind the town,, and, seen
seaward, is extremely imposing. The fortifications
are strong, and of fine stonework. From the beauty
of the masonry, it is clear that Hindoo workmen were
employed, as the fortifications have all the charac-
teristics of their strong and compact mode of building,
though the plan and aspect of the fort is decidedly
European. The bastions and towers are of great
strength, and during the time they were in pos-
session of the Portuguese, were mounted with formi-
dable batteries, served by a numerous and efficient
garrison.

The fort is now occupied by the Arabs, and no
longer formidable, presenting only a few brass can-
non, and having been suffered to go into a sad
state of decay. In the first Angria’s time, though the

1 92

SCENES IN INDIA.

Portuguese were no longer masters of Mascat, — as it
fell about this period into the hands of the Arabs,, —
yet he considered it too strong for him to attempt its
reduction, and being so far distant from his territories,
he no doubt thought it would be a useless acquisition.

After the surrender of Severndroog, the piratical
chieftain could no longer make head against the Bri-
tish and Mahratta confederation. Immediately upon
the capture of Angria’s stronghold, the English com-
modore anchored off Bancoote, the most northern town
of the pirate’s dominions, which capitulated at the
first summons. This place, which has an excellent
harbour, is now added to the East India Company’s
possessions. The country around it abounds with
excellent cattle, and supplies the presidency with
superior sheep and oxen, extremely cheap. The best
beef, perhaps, in India is obtained in this neighbour-
hood. The place, after its capitulation, was ceded
by treaty to the Bombay government ; but all other
places on the coast which Angria had occupied were
given up to the Mahrattas, and the British flag,
hoisted on the several forts that had lately capitu-
lated to the English commander, was struck, and re-
placed by the Mahratta colours. Nothing further was
attempted after the fall of Bancoote, the season being
too far advanced to render it prudent to continue
longer at sea ; Commodore James, therefore, returned
to Bombay, where he received the highest acknow-
ledgments for his signal services.

After the breaking up of the succeeding monsoon,
Rear-Admiral Watson put into the harbour of Bom-
bay with his squadron. While the ships were clean-

FORT GERIAH.

1 93

ing and repairing, Commodore James was despatched
with a small fleet to sound the depths of the water at
the entrance of the harbour of Fort Geriah, the capital
of Angria’s dominions. This service he performed;
and having reconnoitred the fort, returned to Bom-
bay with so favourable an account of the practica-
bility of an attack, that this was finally determined
on. Meanwhile Admiral Watson despatched a fri-
gate and sloop, and several of the Company’s armed
vessels, with orders to cruise off Fort Geriah. These
were shortly after joined by Commodore James in
the Protector, accompanied by the Guardian frigate.
He remained on this station about a fortnight, until
the admiral arrived and joined the two squadrons,
on the 11th of February 1806.

Upon the arrival of the English fleet, Angria became
alarmed : he had never for a moment imagined that
so large a force could be collected against him. See-
ing, therefore, the formidable array which they pre-
sented, when united with the ships and armed vessels
which had preceded them, he was so overcome by his
apprehensions, that, with a pusillanimity hitherto sup-
posed to have been foreign to his nature, he instantly
abandoned the fort. This precipitation destroyed the
confidence of his adherents. The Mahrattas, hoping
to take advantage of his terrors, — for he had made
overtures of peace to them apart from their allies, —
sought to possess themselves of his wealth before the
British admiral should be apprised of the real posture
of affairs. Seizing the promising opportunity while
Angria was labouring under anxious perturbation of
mind, they insisted upon his sending an order to

s

194

SCENES IN INDIA.

his brother, who was left in command, to put them
in possession of the fort. This political duplicity is
always a leading principle in Mahratta policy, it being
a maxim with them, that anything is honourable
which is done for the advantage of a state. With
all their cunning, however, they could not elude the
vigilance of Admiral Watson, who, finding that the
fort had been abandoned by Angria, and left under
the command of his brother, sent to the latter a
peremptory summons to surrender. His summons
not being attended to, the admiral divided his fleet
into two lines, one composed of the King’s ships,
the other of those belonging to the East India Com-
pany. Weighing anchor early in the morning after
Angria’s flight from his capital, he stood in for the
harbour in two divisions, the first being led by his
own ship, followed by five others, — the second con-
sisting of five frigates and four bomb-ketches. A
smart fire was kept up from the enemy’s batteries,
and from their grabs, which flanked the fort. When
the united squadrons, under the command of the Bri-
tish admiral, were brought into position, they opened
a tremendous fire upon the fort and grabs, which soon
silenced both.

In the course of the cannonading, a bomb was
thrown into an armed ship taken by Angria from
the East India Company, which blew up with a dread-
ful explosion, setting on fire the vessels in her imme-
diate neighbourhood ; and so rapid was the communi-
cation, that in a short time the whole of the pirate’s
fleet was destroyed. During the night the British
admiral landed all his troops, under the command of

FORT GERIAH SURRENDERED.

195

Colonel Clive, in order to frustrate the admission of
the Mahrattas, which he had learned from a deserter
was the intention of the besieged, as the governor had
received orders from his brother upon no account to
admit the English within the walls.

All the troops being landed, and prepared to act as
circumstances might require. Admiral Watson sent a
peremptory message to the commandant of the fort,
declaring that if it were not delivered up to him within
an hour from the time of his communication, the at-
tack should be renewed, and no quarter extended to the
garrison. The governor desired that there might be a
cessation of hostilities until he could have his brother’s
determination upon the English admiral’s message ;
stating that as his brother, when he left him in com-
mand, strictly forbade a capitulation, he could not
comply with the terms of the summons until he heard
from him who alone could give an answer.

Plausible as this pretence appeared, it was evidently
only a feint to cover the sinister design of giving the
place into possession of the Mahrattas, with whom the
pirate was anxious to secure a peace. His wily efforts
to gain time were of no avail ; for Admiral Watson,
seeing through the flimsy disguise, on receiving the
commandant’s reply, opened again upon the fort a se-
vere fire, which, within half an hour, induced Angria
to hoist a flag of truce. It was now, of course, ex-
pected that the enemy’s colours would be hauled down
and our troops admitted ; but as this was delayed un-
der the shallowest pretences, the cannonading from
our ships was renewed with so terrific an energy that
the garrison soon capitulated unconditionally. Co-

196

SCENES IN INDIA.

lonel Clive then marched into the fort and took pos-
session.

The garrison had suffered little loss,, nor, on our
side, was it at all severe. Upon entering Geriah, Co-
lonel Clive was surprised to see what trifling mischief
the works had sustained, notwithstanding the tremen-
dous fire which had been directed against them. So
great was the height and so extraordinary the thick-
ness of their walls, that the garrison found an inde-
structible shelter behind them. All the ramparts
not hewn out of the solid rock, as at Severndroog,
were built of huge masses of stone, so prodigiously
ponderous that no weight of metal could make an
impression upon them. A year’s cannonading would
not have effected a practicable breach ; yet such was
the vigour of the fire poured from the British ships
against these impregnable ramparts that it terrified
the garrison into a surrender, in spite of the solidity
of their battlements.

The treasure found within this town was not
great. The money and effects were valued at about
a hundred and twenty thousand pounds. Besides
this, there were on the batteries two hundred guns,
in good condition, six brass mortars, and a large quan-
tity of ammunition of every description. The grabs
which were burnt, consisted of eight ketches and one
armed vessel. Upon the stocks were two large ships,
in great forwardness, one of which was to carry forty
guns, and the other twenty-six. Besides these, there
was a large number of gallivats — small vessels that
attend on the armed ships, to tow them when neces-
sary, and are likewise used for boarding.

A BRIBE OFFERED.

197

Colonel Clive, having obtained possession of Geriah,
took care to prevent the Mahrattas from holding any
intercourse with the garrison, whom they would have
bribed to put them in possession. This intention was
obviated by the vigilance of Colonel Clive, who did
not permit them to approach the British lines. They
made an offer of fifty thousand rupees to Captain
Buchanan and Captain Forbes to be allowed to pass
their guard; but the offer was rejected with indig-
nation ; and the Mahrattas, who boast of their wily
policy, were surprised to find that our officers were
inaccessible to a bribe, however large, which an East-
ern prince would not hold it beneath his dignity to
accept as a full and adequate return for a similar
benefaction.

With the surrender of Geriah the power of Angria
was completely broken, and his adherents dispersed.
By degrees he was dispossessed of the whole of his
forts ; and he who had been a terror to all the native
powers within the influence of his arms soon lost his
ascendency ; though the descendants of this family, up
to the latter part of the eighteenth century, committed
their piratical depredations under the once dreaded
name of Angria.

198

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XV.

MASCAT.— -THE GOVERNOR. THE HARBOUR.

A few hours after we saw the Mahratta pirate-
boats, we were towed into Mascat harbour, the wind
having subsided to a complete calm. We passed a
frigate belonging to the King of Omar, which we sa-
luted, and the compliment was returned. On the
following day we paid a visit to the Governor and his
son, who treated us with great courtesy, entertaining
us with fruit and sherbet. The house, which was
near the water, was rather a mean building; nor
was his Highness's suite either numerous or splendid.
Some eight or ten Arabs, equipped in a shabby mili-
tary costume, stood at the entrance of the veranda,
forming a sort of guard, and marshalled in military
order, to pay us the customary honours as we passed
over the Governor’s threshold.

The Imaum of Mascat bears the title of King
among the people under his domination, which is
mild and equitable. His capital is a town of some
importance. Immediately behind it there is an exten-
sive ridge of naked rocks, rising to a vast height
from the surface of the strait ; and the whole aspect
of the surrounding country is that of almost com-
plete sterility. Date-trees, which will grow in very

MASCAT.

199

desolate places,, are the only vegetable productions
that can be said in any degree to abound. A few
almond and tamarind trees are occasionally seen ;
but nothing can well exceed the repulsive feature of
desolation which strikes the traveller upon the failure
of rain, and this happened to be the case at the pe-
riod of our visit. We were told that there had not been
a day’s rain for four years, and certainly the scanti-
ness of vegetation seemed a sufficient voucher for the
truth of this assurance. The inhabitants were suffer-
ing severe distress, in consequence of the scarcity of
water; and the hot winds during the whole of our
stay were so oppressive as to be at times almost into-
lerable.

We found provisions at Mascat reasonable, and
the meat, poultry, and vegetables, remarkably good ;
this probably struck us the more forcibly, as the
day before our arrival we had been reduced to our
last turkey, which was all but starved to death when
its throat was cut to make us a curry. For more than
a week it had been kept alive by being crammed with
stale fish and mouldy biscuit, the only aliment with
which it could be supplied ; and as we had scarcely
any fresh water, the miserable creature was all but
dead when it was killed. Had we continued at sea
a couple of days longer, we should have been in a
wretched condition, as the whole of our provisions
were exhausted.

The harbour of Mascat, which is of great extent, is
deep enough to float the largest vessels ; and even in
the cove, immediately before the town, several ships
of war were at anchor while we were there. It is

200

SCENES IN INDIA.

protected by several forts; but the principal are the
two represented in the engraving, Jellali and Merani,*
both built by the Portuguese. About the middle of the
seventeenth century, they were dispossessed by the
Arabs, who have retained them ever since. The two
engravings exhibit different views of the same forts,
which are both striking objects as seen from the
sea and harbour. Since the Arabs have been mas-
ters of them, they have fallen into decay. Here the
calm grey water, upon which the sun’s rays seemed
to dance as if they loved to sport and sparkle on its
placid bosom, recalled to my mind the beautiful image
of a Hindoo bard : t

“ Behold awhile the beauties of this lake,

Where, on its slender stem, the lotus trembles,

Brush’d by the passing swan, as on he sails,

Singing his passion.”

The city of Mascat is so fortified by nature, that if
these fortresses were kept up, they would present in-
superable difficulties to an invader. Arrian calls it
Mosca, and speaks of it as being, even in his time, a
considerable emporium of the trade of Arabia, Persia,
and India. Mascat has always enjoyed this ad-
vantage, and even now possesses an extensive trade,
being the great mart of the Persian Gulf. The two
churches built by the Portuguese during the time that
the town was in their possession are now desecrated
to very different purposes than those of religion, one of
them being converted into a magazine and the other
into the residence of some of the government function-
* See Frontispiece. + Bhavabhuti.

BANYANS.

201

aries. During the domination of the Portuguese, Mas-
cat was in a flourishing condition, though they were
never upon terms of amity with the Arabs, who
sought every opportunity to dispossess them ; and
this they finally accomplished, through the treachery
of a Banyan merchant. This person enabled them to
make themselves masters of the city, in consequence of
the abduction of his daughter by the governor. The
Arabs have continued to hold possession of it ever
since that period.

The Banyans are still numerous here, living un-
der the protection of the Arabs, with whom they
dwell in perfect harmony. They are allowed to fol-
low their own modes of worship, and to be governed
by their own laws. They set up their idols within
their own houses, and are permitted to burn their
dead upon the shore. The police is so admirably
conducted, that there is not the slightest danger in
walking the streets during any part of the night.
The laws are rigidly enforced. Extensive theft is
punished with death ; slighter thefts are visited with
mutilation, — generally with the loss of a hand : thiev-
ing, therefore, is so uncommon, that merchants leave
their property in the streets without the slightest
scruple.

A few days after our arrival, we made an excur-
sion to Muttra, a small town about two miles dis-
tant, and paid a visit to an English officer who
commanded an Arab ship of war. The crew seem-
ed to be under perfect control, and to place absolute
confidence in him. They appeared well acquaint-
ed with European naval tactics ; but there was

202

SCENES IN INDIA.

a want of smartness and ready alacrity in their
manner of handling the ropes and performing the
various duties of the ship that showed at once
their great natural inferiority to British seamen. On
our way to Muttra we found the scenery new,, and,
I may add, even interesting. The rugged peaks,
upon which no marks of vegetation could be traced,
and the barren aspect of the coast, gave an air
of desolate grandeur to the whole scene remarkably
imposing. The sight was the more striking from
being unusual, and its natural repulsiveness was
abundantly countervailed by the severe sublimity by
which it was singularly characterized.

There is a something indescribably grand in that
wild and stern desolation which Nature sometimes dis-
plays, as the traveller traces the almost endless variety
of feature which she presents in different regions of
the world. Whatever asperity those features may ex-
hibit, they are never positively repulsive. There is a
visible symmetry amid the superficial ruggedness, and
a blended harmony of arrangement that cannot fail to
arrest the eye wherever it turns, and to elevate the
mind with an impressiveness that causes it to fflook
through Nature/’ even in her harshest aspect of deso-
lation, and trace there the marvellous workings of an
Omnipotent hand. View her how you will, the asso-
ciations which crowd upon the mind are never painful ;
— they may provoke a grave and solemn tone of
thought, but it is always such as produces a pleasing
reaction upon the heart, which takes an impression
through the mind, softened by its reflection, and
strengthened by its own quick and fervid impulses.

ARAB BOATS.

203

I never yet looked upon any of those fearful linea-
ments in nature, the sight of which causes the blood to
creep through the frame with a sluggish flow,, or to
rush onward with an almost painful revulsion,, that I
have not felt my soul working with those lofty aspi-
rations which elevate it from the common contempla-
tion of things into a sublime purity of sentiment at
once edifying and entrancing. The least attractive
flower contains its honey as well as the most beau-
tiful.

On our return from Muttra,, I was particularly
impressed with the poverty of vegetation every-
where visible. The monotony of the prospect was
nevertheless occasionally relieved by several pictu-
resque castles,, standing upon the very peaks of the
rocks,, and frowning over the precipices beneath them
with a solitary solemnity that addressed a mute but
intelligible sentiment to every bosom. The rugged
outline of the mountain-scenery opening upon our
sight in an endless variety of form., as we gradually
advanced,, and breaking in perpetually changing con-
figurations upon the clear blue sky, which brought it
into prominent relief, forcibly struck us, from its sin-
gular and impressive novelty. The peculiar shape, too,
of the vessels which here and there dotted the clear
expanse of the gulf, as we moved leisurely upon its
placid waters, contrasted beautifully with the grim
and lifeless sterility of the general scene.

Some of these boats, which are called buggolas, are
of singular construction. They are ordinary trading-
vessels of the Arabs between Mascat and the Malabar
coast, where they are generally built, and chiefly, I

204

SCENES IN INDIA.

believe, at Cochin. These boats are sometimes up-
wards of two hundred tons’ burthen, having high
stems, with a sort of small poop ; under this is the
principal cabin, inclining towards the bow, which is
low and pointed. The cabins, as in the budgerows,
are lighted by Venetian sashes.

The buggola is rigged something like a lugger, and
carries two immense latteen sails. The larger boats
hoist a jib, when the weather requires a press of
canvass. They are usually commanded by a lazy
Arab. He resigns the whole management of the
vessel to a subordinate, who never even consults
him, but leaves him to the enjoyment of his siesta
and the luxuries of eating, drinking, and smoking.
The sailors look upon him as a father, and treat
him with an affectionate familiarity which, accord-
ing to our notions of subordination, would be sub-
versive of all discipline. This is far from the case
with them ; for, whenever he exercises his authority,
he meets with implicit and willing obedience. The
attachment between these commanders and their men
is much the same as that which used to exist in
Scotland between the head of a clan and his inferior
clansmen ; nor is it^ever to be shaken, except by posi-
tive tyranny.

Shortly after our return to Mascat, we were in-
formed that despatches had arrived over land from
England, and were ready to be forwarded to the Bom-
bay government ; but in consequence of the weather,
which was now rather threatening, none of the bug-
gola boats would undertake to carry them. We were
in consequence applied to ; and as it was our ultimate

BUGS AND COCKROACHES.

205

intention to proceed to Bombay, though we should
have otherwise prolonged our stay at Mascat, still,
there being nothing attractive to detain us further,
we consented to take charge of the despatches, and
proceed without delay towards our destination.

The Yong Yrouw Jacomina, otherwise the Corn-
wallis, was immediately got in readiness for the
voyage. At this period the heat in the cove was so
excessive that we could not remain on board the
vessel without suffering great inconvenience. The
thermometer stood at a hundred and ten degrees in
our cabin. The reflection of the sun from the sheer
uncovered rocks that towered on all sides above the
harbour, was a chief cause of the heat being so in-
tense. Two days before we sailed, an American
vessel entered the port ; on the following morning
we met the captain, who invited us to go on
board, and entertained us very hospitably. He as-
sured us that, upon reaching Mascat, his ship was so
overrun with bugs that it was a perfect purgatory,
but in one night after he had anchored, the whole of
them had been cleared by the cockroaches, which then
swarmed as numerously as the bugs had previously
done ; he, however, found the former the lesser evil.
This frequently happens in India : a ship swarming
with bugs no sooner puts into port than she is board-
ed by myriads of cockroaches, which devour the whole
of them in a few hours ; thus verifying the Hindoo
proverb — “ Little things should not be despised : many
straws united may bind an elephant.”

When our vessel was ready we weighed anchor, and
moved slowly out of Mascat harbour, with despatches

T

206

SCENES IN INDIA.

on board for the Bombay government. The heat con-
tinued so great that we were anxious to get beyond
the immediate influence of the reflected sunbeams,
which, slanting from the rocks, were cast into the
cove in a focus that rendered the atmosphere positive-
ly intolerable. Our progress was at first retarded by
a dead calm ; and when we cleared the port we were
obliged to creep along the coast for several days, the
breezes were so light.

Being soon short of water, and unable to obtain
any from the land, happening to fall in with several
country boats, we purchased a large portion of their
stock, paying them five rupees for each half leaguer,
the leaguer measuring about twenty gallons. Our
progress was painfully slow while we continued in
smooth water ; and what rendered this the more dis-
tressing was, the apprehension which continually arose,
that our stock of provisions would be exhausted before
we could get to the end of our voyage, and that we
might have no opportunity of replenishing.

The breeze now freshening, we got into a rough-
er sea, and bent our course direct for Bombay.
The weather shortly became foul, and our vessel
proved leaky. After labouring a good deal for some
hours, we found that she had three feet water in
the hold, and that it was fast increasing. All hands
were summoned to the pumps, and the carpenter
reported, upon examining her seams, that it would
be necessary to return into smooth water in order
that her sides might be caulked; as the intense
heat of the sun in Mascat harbour had caused the
pitch to run. Greatly to our annoyance, we put

EFFECTS OF THE LAND WIND.

207

back and sent a boat on shore to obtain some dam-
mar, a sort of resin used in this country for the pur-
pose of covering the bottoms of boats. Having pro-
cured the necessary supply, we anchored in a small
creek, where the seams were well covered with the
dammar, and we were soon in a condition to put
to sea. There was little to interest us on our course.
Our chief amusement was fishing; and one morn-
ing we caught a small shark nine feet long, in the
stomach of which, when it was cut open, we found
a large piece of a coir cable, which had actually begun
to digest. The fish gave us a good deal of trouble, as
our Lascars were not very skilful in securing it. Its
plunges upon the deck were not a little dangerous
until it received a gash in the tail from a hatchet,
which effectually prevented mischief. Our monotonous
voyage at length terminated, and we cast anchor in
Bombay harbour, by the side of an Indiaman.

The gentle spring that but salutes us here,

Inhabits there, and courts them all the year.

Happening to know one of the officers, I went on
board the next day, and saw my young friend in
a sad condition. A few nights previously, it being
extremely hot, he had slept with the port open,
which admitted a draught through his cabin. While
he slept, the insidious land wind blew upon him,
and he awoke with his lower extremities paralyzed.
When I saw him, he could move his hands only; and
apprehensions were entertained by the surgeon of the
ship that he would never recover the use of his limbs.
These apprehensions were sadly verified in the issue.

208

SCENES IN INDIA.

for he died a complete cripple within two years from
this period.

We delivered our despatches and were honoured
with an invitation to dine at Government-house. As
the weather was oppressively hot, and within the fort
at Bombay is by no means the coolest part of the
island, we pitched our tents upon the esplanade,
which at this season had the appearance of an irre-
gular encampment, all the military men and many of
the junior civilians living under tents for the benefit
of a cooler air.

A day or two after our arrival at Bombay I was
strolling about sunset on the beach of Colaba, — a
small island separated from Bombay, only when the
tide rises, by a narrow creek, the passage being perfectly
dry at low water, — when my attention was arrested
by a singular object. A man approached me in the
common costume of the lowest orders, having only a
cloth wrapped round his loins. I could not help being
forcibly attracted by his appearance. His skin was
perfectly white, as white as chalk ; and when he came
near me I perceived that it seemed glazed, as if it had
been seared with a hot iron. His hair, for he wore
no turban, was precisely the colour of his skin, and
hung in long strips upon his lean and withered shoul-
ders. His eyes, excepting only the pupils, were of a
dull, murky red, and he directed them perpetually to-
wards the ground as if the light was painful to him,
which, upon inquiry, I discovered to be the case. His
gait was slow and tottering, and his limbs were shrunk
to a state of attenuation quite ghastly. His ribs were so
prominent that they might be counted at a distance of

A LEPER.

209

several yards, and the whole anatomical development
was so singularly conspicuous, that he seemed to
stand before me a living skeleton. He did not at first
venture to approach within several yards of me. I
advanced, but he gently retreated, beseeching me to
give a miserable man a few pice to save him from
death, as he was an object of universal scorn, and an
outcast from his tribe. His supplication was piteously
imploring. He bid me not come near him, as he was
a polluted creature, against whom the hand of every
one was raised, and for whom there was no pity. By
speaking kindly to him, I in a short time obtained his
confidence when he stood still and allowed me to stand
close beside him. I asked him the reason of his ex-
traordinary appearance. He told me that he had been
for years a martyr to the leprosy, which, though at
length cured, had left upon him the brand of irre-
mediable pollution. The very hue of his skin had
changed from a deep brown to a cadaverous and
sickly white, and no one could mistake that he had
been a leper.

In India lepers are held to be accursed of the
Deity ; they are in consequence universally shunned,
and many yearly die in an abject state of destitution
truly deplorable, from the universal abandonment to
which their dreadful visitation exposes them. Though
this poor man was of the lowest caste, none of the
members of his tribe would hold intercourse with him,
and he was cast forth a wanderer, where he could
find none but such as were labouring under a similar
infliction who felt any sympathy in his wretchedness.

Nothing can be more melancholy than the thought

t 3

210

SCENES IN INDIA.

of a human creature so situated. Not only an outcast
from general society, but shunned even by the most
degraded of his tribe,, he has no home hut such as he
makes for himself apart from the haunts of men, who
frequently drive him into the jungles, where he becomes
the prey of wild beasts ; or when he refuses to with-
draw himself beyond the remotest neighbourhood of
human habitation, in violation of every law both hu-
man and divine, the members of his own family will
frequently put the wretched creature to a cruel death.

So attached are the Hindoos to life generally, which
they consider upon any terms the greatest boon of Hea-
ven, that they seldom relinquish it by a voluntary
death, except when fanaticism, which with them is a
positive frenzy, urges them to some deed of self-im-
molation, in order to obtain the immediate posses-
sion of an immortality of bliss. But although these
acts of frantic devotion are not uncommon, yet the
circumstance of Hindoos putting themselves to death
merely to get rid of the burthen of a sorrowful exist-
ence, is comparatively rare. The leper will bear
about with him the curse of his leprosy, with all its
attendant miseries, and pour forth his complaints to
the unconscious winds ; yet, even in the midst of pri-
vations and bodily sufferings which it is appalling
to contemplate, he will endure his load of misery, and
cling to life with a pertinacity scarcely to he conceived.

In order to show the summary mode of proceeding
against these poor afflicted creatures, a quotation from
Ward’s Preface to his View of the History, Litera-
ture, and Mythology of the Hindoos, may suffice : —
“ Mr. W. Cary, of Cutwa, in Bengal, was once pre-

LEPERS.

211

sent at the burning alive of a poor leper. The friends
of this wretched man had dug a deep pit, and had
kindled a large fire at the bottom, when the leper,
unable to walk, rolled himself over and over until he
fell into the pit ; but as soon as he felt the power of
the flames his screams were dreadful, and he used
every possible effort to rise and extricate himself,
calling upon his relations, who stood around, to help
him. Upon these relations, however, he called in
vain ; for, instead of affording the help he claimed in
accents that might have softened a tiger, they pushed
him back into the fire, where he struggled for a while,
and then perished.”

Knowing the wretched condition of the unfortunate
leper in India, I could not but pity from my heart the
miserable object before me : but pity was to him no
boon ; I therefore gave him all the money I had, and
turned homeward, while his blessing came upon my
ear with a deep and thrilling tenderness.

212

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XVI.

BOMBAY. THE FOBT. — PARSEES.

Bombay was originally composed of a cluster of
small islands, with numerous back-waters, pro-
ducing a rank vegetation — at one time dry, and at
another overflowed by the sea. So unwholesome
was it formerly considered, that no person settled at
this presidency was supposed to have a chance of
living more than three years. This is not the case
now ; though still within the fort, and especially
during the rains, it is very unwholesome.

The island of Bombay is at present the principal
British settlement on the west coast of India : it is
seven miles long and three broad, and forms, with the
neighbouring islands of Colabah, Salsette, Butcher's
Island, Caranjah, and Elephanta, one of the finest
harbours in the Indian seas. Upon the first of these
islands stands a lighthouse, which rises from the sea
to the height of a hundred and fifty feet, and the light
at its summit is seen at a distance of seven leagues.
The capital of this island is about a mile long and two
furlongs broad, and surrounded by strong fortifications.
What is called the modern town is built in a low un-
wholesome spot, the ground being so flat that many
of its houses are on a level with high-water mark ;

BOMBAY.

213

many are below, and very few above it, at the spring-
tides.

During the monsoons it is necessary to go from
house to house in boats ; and for several months the
unwholesome effects of these inundations are felt by
the inhabitants. Formerly, the whole of that part of
Bombay which at present forms the esplanade was
covered with cocoa-nut trees; but now the whole
space is cleared from the higher extremity of the
island to Dungaree, a large town solely inhabited by
the native population.

The accompanying view is taken from the back of
the island, behind the fort, which is seen on the pro-
montory ; and Colabah lighthouse appears in the dis-
tance on the right. The castle presents a regular
quadrangle, with numerous works, especially towards
the harbour. The fortifications of Bombay are consi-
dered extremely strong, except on the land side, where
they would offer but a feeble resistance to an enemy
once landed and capable of making regular approaches.
The town within the fort was begun by the Portu-
guese, but has been finished by the British : the
houses, however, which have at different times been
erected, are built much upon the same construction as
those raised by the Portuguese ; so that the town has
still a mean appearance, compared with the presiden-
cies of Calcutta and Madras. The sea washes the
walls of the fort on three sides ; on the fourth is the
esplanade.

The town on the north side is inhabited principally
by Parsees, who, though a highly enlightened race of
people, are generally so filthy in their houses, that it

214

SCENES IN INDIA.

is quite disagreeable to pass through the streets in
which they live. Bombay is a barren rock, and
therefore holds out no prospects to the agriculturist;
but in a commercial point of view it is a place of
importance. It has the finest docks of any settle-
ment in India, from which many ships of war of
the first class have been launched, and many large
Indiamen. All these have been built solely by Par-
sees, who rent the docks from the Company, and pos-
sess an exclusive monopoly in this department, all
the repairs of whatever ships put into Bombay to refit
being done by them. They are decidedly the best
shipwrights in India. The Jumsetjee family were,
and I believe still are, the head builders on the island,
to whom great wealth has accrued from their success
in this lucrative business.

From the year 1810 to 1820 they built twelve
ships of war, four of which carried seventy-four guns ;
besides a great number of merchant-ships, from a
thousand to six hundred tons’ burthen.

The teak forests, from which the supply of timber is
derived, cover the western side of the ghaut moun-
tains in the province of Arungabad, the numerous
rivers which descend from those hills affording a ready
conveyance for the timber.

The ships constructed of teak are far more durable
than any others, but in general they sail more heavily.
Those launched from the docks of Bombay have the
reputation of being the best ever built out of Eu-
rope ; they are therefore more highly valued than
those launched from any other oriental port. The
great staple exported from this island is cotton, which

POPULATION OF BOMBAY.

215

is sent yearly to China in large quantities. A screw
is employed in packing the cotton, by which fifteen
hundred pounds’ weight is reduced to the measure-
ment of one ton. The screw is worked by a capstan
which has eight bars., and to each bar there are
thirty men.

In the year 1816, the population of Bombay, in-
cluding natives and all the different foreign races,
amounted to nearly a hundred and sixty-two thou-
sand souls, thirteen thousand of which were Parsees*
In addition to the above aggregate, it is computed that
from sixty to seventy thousand persons resort to this
island for commercial purposes, where they take up
their temporary abode ; and that it is therefore never
without a floating population averaging the sum of
those two amounts.

Some of the wealthy natives live in great splendour,
having large establishments, and houses so capacious
as to afford habitations to the families of several
married children at the same time.

There is only one English church in Bombay, and
that is within the fort ; but there are several Portu-
guese and Arminian churches, both within and with-
out the walls ; besides which, there are three or four
small synagogues, the Jewish inhabitants amounting
to about a thousand. The largest pagoda, a building
of no very striking beauty, is in the black town, and
dedicated to Momba Devi.

The Arminians here form a respectable though not
a numerous body of Christians. They differ both
from the Greek and Latin churches, and have, under
the severest oppressions, like the still more primitive

216

SCENES IN INDIA.

members of the alpine churches of Piedmont, main-
tained inviolable the tenets and institutions of their
ancestors. They are subject to a prelatical hierarchy.

The Parsees possess a considerable portion of the
island, many among them being persons of great
wealth and engaged in extensive commerce. In al-
most every European house there is a Parsee part-
ner, who supplies the principal portion of the ca-
pital. These people are a quiet, inoffensive commu-
nity, admirable men of business, universally shrewd
and intelligent, and partial to the society of Eu-
ropeans. They are a fine race, with handsome fea-
tures, black, lively eyes, bushy beards, which they
shave, except on the upper lip, light brown com-
plexions, and remarkably expressive countenances.
Their women, when young, are pretty; but they
soon grow coarse, and their habits in general are
filthy : there are indeed exceptions, but such are com-
paratively rare.

These people worship the elements, especially fire ;
and numbers of them may be seen every morning at
sunrise on the esplanade prostrating themselves before
the great prototype of fire as he rises from the ocean,
in the fresh and genial glory of his brightness, to fruc-
tify and gladden the earth. The women are never
seen among them during their devotions, in which they
are not allowed to participate.

The Parsees adhere rigidly to their ancient cus-
toms. Their mode of burial is peculiar. Near Ma-
labar point, and close by the shore, is their chief
cemetery, a circular, uncovered building, from fifty
to sixty feet in diameter, and near thirty feet high.

PARSEE CEMETERY.

217

It is built up within, leaving a parapet about a
yard and a half high,, the interior space sloping in a
gentle convexity to the centre., where there is a well
five yards broad. Immediately round this well are
grooves, in which the bodies of the dead are depo-
sited, and left exposed to the vultures. As soon as
those voracious birds have stripped the bones, the
surviving relatives return to the cemetery and cast
them into the well, whence they are removed at
certain periods, by means of subterraneous passages,
and flung into the sea.

There is a story current that the person who has
charge of the cemetery watches every body deposit-
ed within it, to observe which eye the vultures or
crows first pluck out ; if it be the left, the doom of
the deceased is evil ; if the right, happy. The public
burial-places of the Parsees at Bombay are five in
number ; but the more wealthy generally build one
for themselves and families.

This island owes its original importance to the Por-
tuguese, to whom it was ceded in 1530. They
retained possession for upwards of a century, when
Charles the Second of England claimed it as a part
of his queen’s portion. During the Portuguese go-
vernment it was a comparative desert ; but almost
from the moment it fell under British domination it
became a flourishing settlement. It was finally trans-
ferred from the crown to the East India Company,
the 27th of March 1668, upon payment of an annual
rent of ten pounds in gold on the 30th of September
of every successive year. In 1691 this island was vi-
sited by the plague, which, when its ravages ceased.

218

SCENES IN INDIA.

left only three civil servants alive. In 1702 it was
again devastated by this dreadful scourge, and the
garrison reduced to seventy-six men.

From its position, Bombay commands an extensive
traffic with those countries which lie upon the shores
of the Persian and Arabian gulfs, with both the west-
ern and eastern coasts of India as well as with China,
where it exports vast quantities of cotton-wool. The
other chief exports are sandal-wood, pearls, gums, and
drugs, from Arabia, Abyssinia, and Persia ; pepper
from the Malabar coast ; birds’ nests and other pro-
duce from the Maldives, Lackadives, and eastern is-
lands, and elephants’ teeth from Cambay. The China
ships generally arrive at Canton towards the end of
June or beginning of July, and lie there idle, except
delivering and receiving their return cargoes, until the
month of December or January.

In 1808 the quantity of cotton brought to Bombay
for exportation was eighty-five thousand bales of
seven hundred and thirty-five pounds, making a total
of sixty-two million four hundred and seventy-five
thousand pounds’ weight.

This settlement likewise carries on a considerable
commerce with Europe and with different parts of
America, though their most extensive trade is to
China. The imports from Europe are principally
articles of the finer manufacture, such as cottons and
other piece goods, wine, beer, and articles for domestic
consumption.

Here are excellent rope-walks, equal to any in
Great Britain, except in the King’s yard at Ports-
mouth. The dockyard is very capacious, and admi-

SIR JAMES MACINTOSH.

219

rably contrived, being well supplied with naval stores
of all kinds, and fitted up with every convenience
for ship-building and repairs of vessels ; for which
purposes a large stock of timber is kept up. The
new dock constructed by Major Cooper is a noble
work, scarcely inferior to the finest docks in Eu-
rope.

A court of judicature is held at Bombay by a single
judge, with the title of Recorder, the authority and
practice of this court being altogether conformable to
those of the Supreme Court of Calcutta. The law
practitioners are three barristers and eight attornies.
That few crimes of magnitude occur at Bombay is
proved by a public statement made by Sir James
Macintosh, the Recorder, in May 1810, that for
six years prior to that period he never had occasion
to condemn any criminal to death. Petty crimes,
however, are of frequent occurrence, the number of
persons convicted between the 10th of June 1812,
and the 24th of January 1814, amounting to no
less than eight hundred and seven ; of whom eighty-
six were for wounding, beating, and assaulting ;
four hundred and seven for theft, and a hundred
and ninety-one for vagrancy. The police magis-
trate in his report on this occasion, describes Bom-
bay as the resort of the vagrants and unprincipled
of every province from the mouth of the Indus to Goa,
who are mere sojourners for the purposes of thiev-
ing, and immediately withdraw to the continent to
realize their plunder and convert it into money. In
1813, the famine which prevailed throughout Ajmeer,
Guzerat, and Cutch, had caused an increased influx

220

SCENES IN INDIA.

of vice, profligacy, and poverty from these regions.*
The travelling distance from Bombay to Calcutta is
thirteen hundred miles, and to Madras seven hundred
and seventy.

The scene upon the esplanade during our stay
was usually animated, and frequently reminded us
of a far distant, but far dearer land. The cadets,
who lived in a small enclosed encampment without
the fort, used to play at cricket every afternoon to-
wards sunset, and the game was often contested
with great spirit and skill. One morning a Jew ven-
tured within the enclosure occupied by these young
men, and offered for sale some bottles of atar of roses.
He had already presented himself at the door of my
tent, showing me his perfume as an extraordinary bar-
gain ; and I had purchased a small bottle from him,
for which I paid him a rupee, a very trifling sum con-
sidering the value of the perfume. He, however,
stated, that having obtained it from an Arab ship
wrecked near Cochin, he was enabled to sell it for
a mere trifle. I had not the slightest suspicion that
I was not purchasing genuine atar, though I was
dealing with a Jew. Shortly after he left me I open-
ed the bottle and found in it nothing hut cocoa-nut
oil, the cork having been scented to disguise the im-
posture.

The Jews at Bombay are just as practised in de-
ceptions of this kind and in the art of chaffering as their
brethren of Rosemary-lane or Monmouth-street in the
other hemisphere. In the present instance, the im-

* Vide Hamilton ; also Public Documents passim.

SUMMARY RETRIBUTION.

221

poster did not escape with impunity; for the mo-
ment he had sold one bottle within the cadet en-
campment, it was opened, and the deception detect-
ed. A hue and cry was instantly raised, and the Jew
seized by a dozen strong young men just fresh from
Europe. He was tried upon the spot by a sort of
drum-head court-martial, and unanimously sentenced
to be tossed in a blanket. He petitioned loudly to
be released, fell upon his knees, shed tears, poked
his broad forehead into the palm of his hand, and
supplicated with abject entreaties that he might
be allowed to depart. When asked to return the
money for his counterfeit perfume, he solemnly swore
he was the most ill-used man in the world, as the
Sahibs had taken his oil but forgotten to pay him for
it. He would rather have parted with his heart’s
blood than with the rupees.

No blanket being at hand, as such a thing is not
commonly used in that warm country, a carpet was
taken up from one of the tents, the Jew tumbled
into it neck over heels, and the next moment he
was tossed as if from a bull’s horns by the hearty
exertions of eighteen youths, who felt they were
administering summary justice upon a scoundrel who
had been guilty of a daring and audacious fraud.
It was ridiculous to see the unhappy Jew dart-
ing into the air, sometimes with his head uppermost,
at others with his feet, — now describing a broken
arch, then so many crooked lines, and roaring all the
while like a gored ox. This well-deserved punish-
ment was continued for about five minutes ; he was
then rolled out of the carpet, without having sustained

u 3

222

SCENES IN INDIA.

the slightest injury. No sooner did he feel the ground,
than he was on his legs in an instant, and darted
from the scene of his disgrace with the agility of a
greyhound.

On the night of this amusing incident a circum-
stance occurred which led to very different conse-
quences. Among the cadets then encamped upon
the esplanade was a fine young man, whom I had
known a sprightly, promising hoy in England. I was
spending the evening with him in his tent, where he
had invited two or three friends. Some time after
our meeting, he engaged in a game of backgammon
with one of his guests, who had but a few months
before obtained his ensign’s commission. The lat-
ter was an Irishman of mild and gentlemanly man-
ners ; my friend, on the contrary, being a person
readily and exceedingly excitable. It unfortunately
happened that the run of luck was altogether on
the side of the Irishman, who occasionally bantered
his irritable opponent upon his ill play, but with
the greatest good-humour. The latter at first looked
grave and vexed, bit his lip, and dashed the dice
upon the backgammon-board with an energy as unne-
cessary as it was ungentle. This was several times
repeated, but without any more direct manifestation
of temper ; — the game at length terminated.

Mortified at having been beaten several times in
succession, the vanquished youth urged his successful
opponent to another trial of skill : the latter would
have declined, but my young friend was urgent, and
they again seated themselves at the table, and began
to play. Success still continued to follow the more

A RASH QUARREL.

223

deliberate Irishman., who, moreover, played with a
temper and coolness which gave him an additional
advantage over his intemperate adversary. I was
watching the game with some interest, when the rash
youth, excited to a sudden paroxysm of rage at a
merry remark by his gay competitor, in consequence
of the former having made an injudicious move, dash-
ed the dice-box into his face, at the same time stamp-
ing and swearing like a maniac.

The injured party instantly quitted the tent with-
out uttering a word ; and I endeavoured, but in vain,
to persuade his aggressor to follow and apologise for
the unwarrantable provocation he had offered him.
Nothing could appease his vehemence; he said he was
determined to brave all consequences, and urged, in
justification of his violence, that he had been im-
pudently sneered at. I foresaw at once the conse-
quences, but not the extreme consequences, of this
reckless folly. As, however, my suggestions appeared
to give umbrage, I soon ceased to urge them, and
quitted the unhappy youth with certain forebodings,
the worst of which were too soon realized.

Early the following morning I entered his tent. He
was absent ; but I had not been long within it, when
I saw him brought home to die. I assisted the very
person whom he had so grievously insulted the pre-
ceding evening to bear him from his palenkeen and
place him on his bed. He was soon stripped, and the
wound examined by a surgeon who had been hastily
summoned. Its appearance was to my mind any-
thing but promising ; it was small, the orifice ap -
pearing scarcely larger than sufficient to admit a

224,

SCENES IN INDIA.

pea., and a thin stream of blood trickled tardily
from it. The ball had passed into his body between
the ribs. Minute as the wound appeared., it never-
theless had a certain aspect of fatality which I can-
not describe. This was probably the effect of asso-
ciation a priori, the immediate effect produced height-
ening and aggravating the cause.

From the first moment I saw the unhappy young
man borne helpless from his palenkeen, and heard that
his extremities were paralysed from a shot through
the body, I had no hope. When the surgeon quitted
his tent, he confirmed this impression, stating that
the patient could not live forty-eight hours. I looked
upon the prostrate man as he lay panting upon his
bed, and my heart rose to my throat with such a
fierce and indomitable impulse of emotion, that I
thought I must have choked : I was relieved by a
flood of tears. Suppressing my distress, I approached
the couch. The wounded youth grasped my hand
firmly, and said — ef My friend, I am dying; I feel
that the streams of life are cut off from the fountain,
which must soon cease to flow. I already seem to
be more than half dead ; for I have no feeling below
my heart. My sensations are too ominous to be mis-
taken : it is time my peace were made with Heaven,
where I am shortly to appear ; but with what result !
Well, I have brought this upon myself ; it is the
just penalty of my rashness.” Such were his expres-
sions, as near as I can recollect them; and though
many years have elapsed since they were uttered, they
nevertheless seem to rise as vividly to my memory as

FATAL DUEL.

225

if they had been pronounced but yesterday. This was
one of those events which never quit the mind, but
cling to the recollection like a wild untractable creeper
to the forest-tree.

From this time my unhappy friend was never easy
unless the person who had shot him was at his bed-
side. He expressed towards him the most kindly
feeling., exonerating him from all blame, and taking
the whole odium upon himself. The young Irishman
scarcely quitted him for a moment, but with a pale
countenance, and his eyes frequently suffused with
tears, that eloquently told the depth of his emotion,
administered all his medicines to the dying man ;
though every pang which he witnessed thrilled through
his own frame with a sympathetic agony so fierce and
prostrating, that he could scarcely maintain his spirit
amid the frequent repetitions of the shock : I never
witnessed grief more intense.

On the second evening, I learned from the survivor
in this fatal encounter, that immediately upon reach-
ing his tent on the night he had been struck, he
sent a challenge to his aggressor, who met him the
next morning on the beach about sunrise, when three
shots were exchanged, at the desire solely of the of-
fending party, the third of which proved fatal.

To the surprise of the medical attendant, the
wounded man lingered for six days. I was with
him during his last moments. It was a sad sight;
and when my thoughts recur to it, the recol-
lection shakes me even now. He had not for one in-
stant entertained the slightest hope of recovery, and

226

SCENES IN INDIA.

there was at first rather a stern than a calm confiding
resignation to his fate ; but this subsided after a while,
and was succeeded by a patient submission to the
determination of Providence. The last day of his
life he gave me his keys, desired I would take charge
of his papers, and having dictated a will, which I
wrote and attested, resigned himself meekly and
calmly to death. He spoke with confidence of the
Divine mercy : it was true, he said, that he had been
sadly remiss in his religious duties, but this had hap-
pened more from thoughtlessness than irreverence. I
was surprised to see this perfectly quiet acquiescence
in the decision of an immutable will, with which he
looked forward to the moment that comes to all,
but comes to few without exciting emotions of doubt,
if not of alarming apprehension. The tone of his
conversation was solemn, but firm. He occasionally
shed tears ; but through those tears the clear light of
hope beamed, which imparted to them a brightness
and a glory not to be described. They dried upon his
cheek, yet left not there the hue of sorrow nor the
stain of remorse : he had made his peace with Heaven,
and spoke with a holy confidence of a welcome into
God’s joy.

He remained calm until evening, when his senses
began to wander. This wandering increased rapidly
and to a painful excess, until, about midnight, it had
attained to a perfect paroxysm of madness. Such was
his strength, that, although the whole of his body
from the fifth rib downward was paralysed, it required
the efforts of three persons to keep him down. His
exertions were prodigious, and his outcries appal-

MELANCHOLY DEATH.

227

ling. After a desperate struggle, he died at two o’clock
in the morning.

He had no relative near him ; this was a sad and
bitter reflection. As I looked upon the fair and beau-
tiful corpse — for he was a remarkably handsome
youth, and finely formed — I could not but read
a lesson that will be remembered to the end of my
days. The young Irishman was deeply affected : he
assisted me to lay him out. Though he died after a
severe paroxysm, his countenance nevertheless had
subsided into an expression of placid repose.

Next morning three young surgeons came for
the purpose of ascertaining where the ball was lodged,
which they had in vain endeavoured to extract. I
was present during this painful scene, and saw the
body mangled and hacked as if it had been the car-
cass of a hog. I forbear to enter into the details of
the revolting process of dissection — for such it was —
and the cold, callous indifference with which these
young medical practitioners tried their clumsy skill
upon the remains of my poor young friend. The ball
was at length found, lodged in the lumbar region
on the right side. It had passed through the back-
bone, and of course ruptured the spinal marrow :
when found, it was flattened and jagged.

On the same day, early in the afternoon, I attend-
ed the body to its last receptacle, accompanied by all
the brother officers of the deceased, who followed
with silent and solemn sympathy ; and when the sub-
lime service for the dead was concluded, three vol-
leys were fired over the grave that received his man-
gled remains. As I stood in the gloomy churchyard

228

SCENES IN INDIA.

and listened to the solemn service for the dead, I could
not forbear recalling the beautiful lines of Y oun : —

“ What is the world itself? thy world ? — a grave !

Where is the dust that has not been alive ?

The spade, the plough, disturb our ancestors ;

From human mould we reap our daily bread.

The globe around earth’s hollow surface shakes,

And is the ceiling of her sleeping sons.

O’er devastation we blind revels keep ;

Whole buried towns support the dancer’s heel.

The moist of human frame the sun exhales ;

Winds scatter through the mighty void, the dry.

Earth repossesses part of what she gave,

And the freed spirit mounts on wings of fire.

Each element partakes our scatter’d spoils,

As nature wide our ruins spread : man’s death
Inhabits all things but the thought of man.”*

Night 9th.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

229

CHAPTER XVII.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

During my stay at Bombay, a story of a Parsee
was related to me, which I think will not be consi-
dered by the reader out of place in these pages. It
was said to have happened about the beginning of the
last century. Jumsajee Merjee was a priest who had
got into bad odour with his tribe by his licentious
conduct and neglect of the duties of his holy office. In
consequence of having allowed the sacred fire to be-
come extinguished, he was expelled from the commu-
nity to which he belonged. Provoked at his degrada-
tion, he quitted Bombay, securing a passage for himself
and an only daughter in a ship bound to Calcutta,
proceeded up the Ganges, and finally took up his
abode among the ruins of old Delhi.

These ruins are still splendid in their decay, and
scattered over a surface of twenty square miles.
Some of the tombs of Patan chieftains are in a
high state of preservation; and the one represented
in the engraving, which overlooks, though at a dis-
tance, the comparatively modern city of Shahjehana-
bad, is even now almost entire, and a few years ago
only showed slight marks of the dilapidations of
time. It stands upon an eminence, surrounded by

x

230

SCENES IN INDIA.

the splendid remains of palaces, temples, and mauso-
leums, pointing, in the triumph of its own decaying
grandeur, to the pageantries of earlier times, when
kings and courtiers thronged those halls which are be-
come the refuge of reptiles or form the lairs of wild
beasts. Although this once magnificent city was the
greatest in Hindostan before the Mahomedan inva-
sion, it now presents nothing but a scene of sublime
desolation. The soil around it is arid and unproduc-
tive, and during the dry season the river is not naviga-
ble but for boats of the lightest burthen.

Hither the exiled Parsee proceeded with his only
daughter, a beautiful girl of sixteen, who voluntarily
accompanied her father in his melancholy exile, and
beguiled his hours of bitter dejection. Conceiving that
he had been deeply wronged, he determined to throw
off all respect for the laws that govern society, and
signalize his sense of personal injustice by retaliating
wrong where none had been received. To his daughter
he did not communicate his intentions ; but, arriving
at the place which he had determined upon for his fu-
ture abode, told her that there she must henceforward
make up her mind to fix her home. She acquiesced
with buoyant readiness, being always eager to give
her parent pleasure by implicit submission to his
wishes. They were alone: two bullocks bore their
little property, which consisted of nothing more than
a few household necessaries, their wearing apparel,
and two hundred rupees in gold.

The bullocks were driven by the Parsee, his daugh-
ter occupying the back of one ; and he finally halted
at the entrance of the Patan’s tomb already mentioned.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

231

It was an octagonal building of considerable size,, rising
into a regular and graceful dome. The architectu-
ral ornaments, though few, were in good preserva-
tion, Placed upon an elevation, it commanded the
surrounding plain, and afforded at the same time a
beautiful view of the modern city. There was a small
entrance, under a richly embellished pediment on the
river side of the tomb. The door had been broken
down, and the walls were a good deal defaced.

Upon reaching this spot the Parsee entered, in order
to ascertain whether it might be converted into a
practicable dwelling, his daughter meanwhile remain-
ing outside with the. bullocks. The passage was of
some length, and a good deal encumbered with rub-
bish. He proceeded, nevertheless, without much dif-
ficulty until his progress was arrested by an unex-
pected impediment. Having reached the end of the
entrance passage, terminated by two alleys, branch-
ing off circularly to the right and left, he was about
to enter the one at the right, when he found his neck
and chest encircled by something which gradually
increased its tension, until he felt the pangs of suf-
focation. His arms were kept down to his sides, so
that he could not move them ; and this was accom-
panied with such a frightful constriction, that he be-
gan to imagine the unquiet spirit of some great crimi-
nal had assaulted him for invading the solemn deposi-
tory of the dead. He heard no sound — this, no doubt,
his own loud gaspings might have prevented ; and at
length such was his agony, that, uttering a loud cry
of distress, and at the same time exerting all his
strength, he pressed forward, and reaching a door-

232

SCENES IN INDIA.

way entered a large octagonal chamber, lighted by
several apertures in the roof, where, overcome by
terror and bodily suffering, he fell upon the pave-
ment. The consciousness of his guilt now rushed
for the first time upon his heart, filling it with a
thousand vague terrors. The visitation of the Omni-
potent had, as he thought, fallen upon him. He fan-
cied himself doomed to a death as mysterious as it
was dreadful ; and, though he struggled with all his
might, his efforts were unavailing, and he gave himself
up for a lost man. As he could not describe, neither
shall I attempt to depict, the horror of his feelings at
that fearful moment.

His daughter, hearing from without a sharp pier-
cing cry, immediately entered the passage. She had
been unloading the oxen, and as some of the pack-
ages were bound with strong cords, she was obliged
to cut them ; — a large knife therefore was in her
hand when she rushed into the tomb. The dark-
ness for a moment embarrassed her ; but guided
by the loud breathings of one whom her quick ear
instantly satisfied her was in jeopardy, she sprang
fearlessly over the rubbish. Arrived at the termina-
tion of the passage, she was soon guided by the sound
to the apartment in which her father was lying.
When she entered, the immediate change from almost
total darkness to light, which fell directly upon the
object of her search, who was lying under one of
the apertures in the roof, prevented her for the mo-
ment from ascertaining the danger to which he was
exposed. He was unable to speak, and only an-
swered her questions by a loud guttural gasp, which

THE GUEBRE TRIEST.

233

sounded like the cry of one in the immediate agony of
strangulation. In an instant, the instinct of filial ten-
derness suggested to her the extent of her parent’s
danger. She rushed to the side of the prostrate man,
and at once the mystery was resolved. A large snake
was coiled round him, with its head opposite to his
face, and gradually tightening its folds in order to
crush him to death. The daughter, roused to an un-
wonted spirit of energy by her father’s peril, raised
the knife, which she still held, and striking with all
her force upon the monster’s body, severed the
spine. The snake instantly uncoiled from its vic-
tim, and writhed with agonized contortions about the
apartment. It did not attempt to renew the attack ; and
the Parsee, by this time having recovered his breath,
seeing the condition of his enemy, took the knife
from his daughter’s hand, and attacking the powerful
reptile, quickly despatched it. It proved to be a young
boa constrictor, about eighteen feet long — a fortunate
circumstance for Jumsajee Merjee, for had it been a
full-grown snake of that species it would certainly
have destroyed him.

As soon as he had killed the boa, as a precau-
tion against any similar attack, — a circumstance by no
means probable, as those creatures are almost invari-
ably found single, — he kindled a fire in the principal
apartment of the tomb, and lighting a torch, pro-
ceeded to examine the different recesses, in order to
clear them from any unwelcome occupants to which
time and neglect had given an undisturbed possession.
He found a number of large bats clinging to the
walls, which dropped upon the ground when his torch

2Si

SCENES IN INDIA,

came in contact with their deformed bodies, some of
them measuring three feet from the extremity of one
wing to that of the other, and showing their teeth
with a determination to resent further aggression the
moment he placed his fingers within two inches of
their noses. With deliberate prudence, he knocked
about a dozen or two of these creatures on the head,
and flung their carcasses to the vultures. He de-
stroyed, besides, a number of snakes, frogs, lizards,
scorpions ; and when, after several hours of minute
search, he fancied he had sufficiently cleared the place
of its noxious inmates, he prepared to make it the
temporary dwelling of himself and daughter, until a
more commodious asylum could be found ; and being
a disgraced man, he thought that such an asylum
suited best with his condition.

The next day, he drove his bullocks to a village at
some distance, where he disposed of them for a few
rupees, and returned to the tomb. Here he dwelt for
some time in perfect security ; and after a while was
joined by three other Parsees, who had been like-
wise degraded from their community, and were glad
to associate with one under a similar interdiction.
They were all men of reckless daring, as is generally
the case with those upon whom society has fixed
the brand of alienation. Among these men without
characters, and alike indifferent to the opinion of their
tribe and to the consequences of their misdeeds, the
lovely daughter of Jumsajee lived intact, like a jewel
surrounded by common earth, the brightness of which
is no longer obscured than while the crust of the mine
is around it ; — the lustre is still within.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

235

“ What words shall picture what those looks conveyed —

The lore of love those lotus eyes revealed !

What firmness could resist the honest warmth
Of Nature’s mute expressiveness, nor fall
Before those orbs, that now, like opening buds,

Beneath the creeper of the tremulous brow
Expansive bloomed, and, now retiring, shrunk
But half averted from the answering gaze,

Then dropped the veiling lashes o’er their brightness ! ”

Like most Eastern women of her tribe, she calmly
acquiesced in whatever line of conduct her parent
might think fit to pursue, without presuming to ques-
tion either the propriety or prudence of his determina-
tion. She performed the necessary domestic duties of
his household in silence; and if she did not acquiesce
in, she never attempted to oppose, what was done by
him, to whom she had been taught from infancy to
consider absolute obedience an imperative and religious
obligation.

Not long after his union with the three desperadoes
of his own tribe, there were certain indications of a
lawless course of life, which did not tend to render
the tomb either a desirable or a happy home to the
fair daughter of Jumsajee Merjee. It was soon evi-
dent to her that her father had become a freebooter,
which she could not but think, in the silence of her
sombre dissatisfaction, a vocation ill becoming a priest
of the Guebres, the ancient worshippers of fire, and
the only true votaries, as she imagined, of the most
primitive religion. She frequently witnessed scenes
which caused her heart to loathe her home ; yet she
uttered not a word of complaint, though it was evi-
dent, from the restless motion of her eye and the hur-

236

SCENES IN INDIA.

ried vacillation of her step, that she was under the
influence of a perturbed spirit.

Her father could not be unobservant of this change
in his daughter, from the buoyancy of youthful con-
fidence to the feverish aspect of continual apprehen-
sion : yet he chose not to notice it. He flattered
himself that if she sympathised in his disgrace, as
a child ought to do, according to his notions of filial
obligation, she would soon become reconciled to what
only now shocked her tender sensibility because it was
new to her inexperience, and she had yet to learn
how to appreciate the true demarcation between real
good and evil.

Such was the shallow sophistry of his reflections,
which he rather desired than believed ; hut his con-
clusion to these reflections always was, that whatever
direction his daughter’s feelings might ultimately take,
he should, nevertheless, force them to succumb to his
paternal influence. He had, however, yet to learn
how impossible it sometimes is to warp the human
heart against its natural bias. It may acquiesce in
silence and in agony ; hut it will never be really sub-
dued by tyranny, though it may he silenced, racked,
and broken. The heart that turns to virtue, like
steel to the magnet, though it may he violently torn
from the object to which it clings, will not there-
fore relinquish its tendency. The impediment once
removed, it will leap with the accelerated force of
vehement reaction to the good which it adores, and
unite with it the closer for the temporary restraint.
Oppression may crush the most energetic spirit, but
can never enslave it, when it has once attained that

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

237

high moral elevation which stamps upon our frail hu-
manity the impress of God’s image. A spirit may
indeed be extinguished, but cannot be subdued.

It could no longer remain a secret from the daugh-
ter that Jumsajee had united himself to a band
of desert robbers. He was visibly amassing trea-
sure from his depredations. He was in the habit of
absenting himself for days together ; he would then
return with his companions, laden with booty, which
was always secretly deposited in some dark recess of
the tomb. The four Parsees, having been alienated
from their tribe, ceased to observe those forms to
which all true Guebres adhere with rigid scrupu-
losity. They extinguished fire with indifference ;
they saw the sun rise without making a single
prostration ; they beheld the moon and stars, but
not one thought was directed to Him who has so
beautifully spangled the heavens, and written upon
the broad page of the sky the grandest record of his
omnipotence; they had, in fact, abjured their faith,
and Zerdusht was no longer to them either an oracle
or an object of veneration. Caring not with whom
they associated, so long as such association procured
them advantages, they became companions of the
lowest among the Hindoo outcasts.

In the course of time the name of Jumsajee was
notorious as chief of a formidable gang of robbers;
but as he took care that the scene of his predatory
exploits should be at a distance from the tomb
which he had made his dwelling, he thought him-
self secure from all chance of discovery. He now
occasionally absented himself, with his three com-

238

SCENES IN INDIA.

panions, for several weeks, leaving his daughter
with the wife of the only one of them who was
married. Such fellowship by no means tended to
soothe the harassed spirits of this unhappy girl, as
her companion, so far from seeing anything base in
the practices of her husband and his associates, advo-
cated the propriety of robbing, especially under the
circumstances in which they were placed, deeming
anything justifiable from which individual benefit
might accrue. The poor girl, instead of being released
during the absence of her father from having the fruits
of vice continually forced upon her view, was con-
strained to hear its perpetual vindication, which ren-
dered her home such a scene of mental conflict, that
she would have preferred a life of rigid asceticism to
that which she was now obliged to lead.

Upon one occasion, in following his predal avocation,
the Parsee nearly lost his life. The party, of which
he was head, had committed a robbery in the terri-
tory of Napaul upon a wealthy traveller, whose money
they had secured, and having done this had separated,
to obviate the risk of detection. Meanwhile Jumsajee,
who had not quitted the spot, observed two horsemen
making towards him at full speed, and well armed,
accompanied by the person who had been plunder-
ed. It was clear that the Parsee was the object of
their speed ; and as there appeared little probability
of being able to make a successful resistance, his only
chance was in immediate flight.

He rode a small dark roan Arab, of great strength
and fleetness, upon which he knew he could rely.
The moment was critical, the horsemen were fast ap-

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

239

proaching ; he therefore dashed his heels into the flanks
of his steeds which bounded off like an antelope, and
was in a few moments at the top of its speed. Every
object lost all definite outline to the eye of the rider as
he was carried forward with a sort of winged swiftness
that rendered him almost breathless. He urged his
horse up a steep ascent, which the hardy little animal
seemed to climb with a dexterity equal to its fleetness.

The horsemen, though left far behind, continued
the pursuit with unabated perseverance, so that he
trusted his chance of escape entirely to his horse.
The mettled Arab bounded up the steep, panting and
straining ; but it was evident that such exertion
could not last long, as the Parsee was a heavy
man, — moreover, the horses of his pursuers being
much stouter, and their riders lighter, the probability
of escape seemed every moment to lessen. They
now gained rapidly upon him, and the certainty of
capture seemed inevitable, in consequence of the Arab
stumbling upon a fallen tree and throwing Jumsajee
with violence over his head. For a moment he was
stunned; but rising, he remounted with admirable
agility, urging his steed furiously towards the brink
of a precipice.

The armed horsemen were by this time close at his
heels, and his ear caught the gasping eagerness with
which they sought to capture him. He heard the pant,
the strain, and the suppressed snort, so common when
exertion has almost reached its climax, and exhaustion
is fast succeeding to the failing efforts of the over-
wrought muscular energies. Looking behind him, he
perceived that he had not a moment to lose, and with

240

SCENES IN INDIA.

that desperation which calculates upon no choice be-
tween a voluntary and inflicted death but the former
alternative, he spurred his faithful Arab towards the
ravine. With one mighty bound, it sprang forward at
the prick of the spur ; stood a moment with inflated
nostril, dilated eye, and projected ears, over the ter-
rific void ; then plunged desperately down the gulf
with a spring that carried it several yards beyond the
brink. One of his pursuers was at the moment close
behind him, and, not being aware of the precipice, he
had not time to check his horse, which leaped likewise
over the brink. It, however, first made an effort to
turn, which was ineffectual, then followed the Parsee’s
Arab so close that there was only a few seconds be-
tween the leaps.

Jumsajee’s horse had taken so tremendous a spring
as entirely to clear every projection of the precipice,
and pitched upon the thick underwood which grew
densely in the ravine below. This broke its fall,
and probably saved the life of its rider; though the
horse was killed upon the spot, and Jumsajee escaped
with a broken arm and leg. The other horseman was
not so fortunate. The struggle which his horse had
made before taking the fatal plunge prevented it from
springing beyond the uneven surface of the mountain ;
it consequently struck upon a large piece of rock
that projected midway, which was torn from its bed
with the force of the shock, and came, together with
the horse and rider, to the ground, where it rolled
over them and crushed them to death. Amidst all
his sufferings, Jumsajee had sufficient cause for congra-
tulation, as he had escaped certain destruction with the

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

241

fracture of two of his limbs, and his enemy lay dead
at his side. Unable to stand, he crawled from the
thicket into which he had been thrown, and with ex-
treme difficulty reached an opening in the jungle where
a narrow path had been cut through the underwood,
which gave him some hope of assistance in his present
miserable plight. His hope was not long disappoint-
d, for he had not been there many hours when a so-
litary Pariah passing through the wood saw him, and
readily offered that assistance which he so much
needed. The Pariah had a miserable hovel upon the
borders of the jungle, surrounded by beasts of prey and
infested by noxious vermin, into which he bore the
wounded man upon his shoulders, and laid him upon
the coarse, tattered rug that formed his own bed.

This poor Pariah was a despised outcast, who dwelt
apart from his race, owing his daily subsistence to
the uncertain produce of the forest. He dwelt in
utter solitude, yet his human sympathies were not
crushed, but full of robust life. He attended upon his
suffering guest with unremitting attention for six
weeks. Jumsajee, through the natural soundness of
his constitution, had recovered from his injuries in this
time. He now took leave of his host, to whom, in the
overflowing of his heart, he gave all the money he
happened to have about him ; which was a fortune to
the needy Pariah, who received it with such acknow-
ledgments as sufficiently showed the completeness of
his destitution. The Parsee, upon his recovery, quitted
the jungle, and at length reached his home, after an
absence of two months, his daughter having already
began to mourn for him as for one dead.

Y

242

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

Although Jumsajee Merjee had prudently adhered
to his first plan of committing his depredations at a
distance from his home, his fame as a robber had ne-
vertheless spread far and wide ; he therefore thought
that he should be more secure if he quitted the lonely
tomb which he had hitherto made his abode, and fix-
ed his future dwelling among the less solitary but
more sequestered buildings upon the same plain. There
was such a choice of places, that the difficulty of se-
lection was not great; and after examining several
edifices still in a sufficient state of preservation to
afford him and his family a commodious abode, he
chose an elegant mausoleum among a cluster of
several which, though dilapidated within, were per-
fectly entire without, and promised a securer asy-
lum, as he thought, than the one he had lately oc-
cupied. This latter, being placed upon an eminence,
and commanding a striking view of modern Delhi,
was occasionally visited by stragglers for the mere
beauty of the prospect, and his privacy was in con-
sequence disagreeably invaded. The circumstance of
its being inhabited created no surprise, as nothing can
be more common in India than to see ruins taken pos-

THE GUEBRK PRIEST.

243

session of by those who have not the means of erect-
ing dwellings for themselves.

The Parsee’s new residence was a small mausoleum
between two of still great magnificence, the beauti-
ful domes of which rose grandly from a flat roof that
covered the whole space occupied by the building.
The walls were surmounted by delicate minarets,
which formed a marked contrast with the general
solidity of the structure. Jumsajee had selected the
smaller edifice, as less likely to attract observation,
there being nothing in its external appearance to invite
the scrutiny of the inquisitive traveller. His daughter
was quite a passive party in this change : she acqui-
esced in her father’s determination ; but the very mo-
tive which dictated the change was to her a sufficient
reason for regretting it. The same process was adopt-
ed in the new dwelling which had been pursued in
the old one to get rid of the bats and reptiles, until
the whole were ejected by the fiery ordeal.

Shortly after this removal, an incident occurred
which gave an unexpected direction to the mono-
tonous course of events that had hitherto marked the
life of the Parsee’s daughter. As she was one day
returning from the river with her brass pitcher upon
her head, she was pursued by a buffalo that appear-
ed excited to the extremest pitch of fury. She had
no means of escape, and, knowing the impossibility of
avoiding the infuriated beast, she turned and calmly
awaited its approach. She looked on the threatened
destruction of herself with calm self-possession, nor
did she for one moment blench as the peril ap-
proached.

244

SCENES IN INDIA.

When the buffalo was within a few yards of her, a
youth suddenly sprang past the beautiful girl from
behind, and stood before her enemy. The excited
animal instantly made a plunge towards him, but he
adroitly avoided the intended mischief by a vigorous
spring. The buffalo, not to be thus easily foiled; turned
shortly upon him; and when it was just in the act of
raising him upon its horns and hurling him into the
air; he made a desperate leap forward upon the ani-
mal's back; and with the quickness of thought; taking
a second spring, alighted on the ground upon his
feet ; he now suddenly seized the buffalo by the tail,
and began to twist it, to the terror of the enraged
brute, which, after turning furiously round in two or
three unavailing attempts to reach its punisher, darted
forward across the plain, and was quickly out of
sight.

The poor girl, who had stood perfectly calm and col-
lected during the whole period of her own peril, was so
agitated at witnessing that of the stranger, that, over-
come by the strong reaction of her feelings, as soon as
there was no longer cause for apprehension, she faint-
ed upon the pathway. Her preserver, taking a small
quantity of the water still remaining in the vessel
which had fallen from her head, threw it into her face,
and she quickly revived. Distressed at finding her-
self in the arms of a stranger, and too evidently one
of a people with whom she had never yet held com-
munion, she felt painfully embarrassed. Her brave
rescuer, who proved to be a young Englishman, seeing
her uneasiness, and being aware of the unconquerable
reluctance of Parsee women to have any intercourse

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

24 5

with persons not members of their own tribe, re-
tired from her immediate vicinity, at the same time
showing her the most tender and delicate attention.
She was evidently touched by the subdued courtesy
of his manner; and while she offered him her ac-
knowledgments for the generous interposition by
which her life had been saved, there was a tremu-
lous hesitation in her speech which showed that she
said less than she felt. Observing this, he presumed
that she was only deterred from inviting him to her
home by the conventional restrictions of her tribe ; he
therefore followed her at a respectful distance, until
she reached her sepulchral habitation.

Her father was not a little surprised to see her ac-
companied by an Englishman ; but she soon made
him acquainted with the cause, by stating, with elo-
quent simplicity, the peril from which the young
stranger had just rescued her. The father listened
with anxious interest, and warmly recognised the de-
liverer of his child, whom, in spite of his occasional
harshness, he really loved with earnest affection, as
one to whom he was bound by the strongest ties of
gratitude.

Inviting him into a part of the tomb to which his
daughter had not access, Jumsajee entertained his
guest with English wines and sherbet ; after which the
latter related to him that he had been dismissed from
the British army, for having challenged a superior
officer ; that he had in consequence quitted the neigh-
bourhood, in order to seek employment in the Mah-
ratta service, being determined not to depart from
India a disgraced man.

y 3

246

SCENES IN INDIA.

The Parsee was interested in the young stranger s
narrative,, who had travelled from Cawnpoor to the
plains of Delhi, without anything but the clothes
he then wore, except a small bag containing five
hundred rupees. The trifling similarity between the
young Englishman’s position and his own kindled a
sympathy in the breast of the Guebre priest ; and he
pressed him, at least for the moment, to take up his
abode in some of the ruins around him, as he could
be there secure from being apprehended by the British
authorities, in case his hostile intentions should have
transpired. This suggestion was not at all opposed to
the latter’s feelings, which were actuated by the con-
sciousness that he should be within the immediate
vicinity of the Parsee’s daughter : he had seen her
but for a short period, yet the peculiar circumstance
which caused their meeting had thrown over it a co-
louring and a glow not to be effaced from his memory.

There happened to be a compartment in the tomb
occupied by Jumsajee and his family of which they
made no use; here, after having applied a torch to
the walls and crevices, as a hint of banishment to all
reptile occupants, the Englishman determined to take
up his temporary quarters. This was a singular as-
sociation ; perhaps it had never before occurred that a
European had dwelt under the same roof with a Gue-
bre ; but the fact was, that Jumsajee had nearly re-
pudiated all the prejudices of his tribe, and become
very little nice in his choice of associates. He had
not made any excursion from the tomb since his
accident, though his companions occasionally exer-
cised their skill in a small way; still the English

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

247

stranger was utterly unconscious that he was abiding
with common plunderers, and they did not think there
could be the slightest necessity for making him wiser
upon so delicate a point.

The new guest seemed entirely to have forgotten
his original intention of offering his services to the
Mahrattas, but continued, day after day and week
after week, to occupy the recess in the tomb. The
Parsee now began to absent himself, as formerly, upon
plundering excursions, and thus the Englishman had
occasional opportunities of seeing and conversing with
the daughter. At first she manifested a suppressed
repugnance to meet him ; but by degrees this abated,
and she finally met him without embarrassment. The
woman who had been her only female companion
since her parent’s banishment from the home of his
fathers was not a person whom she could either con-
fide in or respect ; it was therefore a relief to her
sometimes to converse with one who seemed to enter-
tain a silent sympathy with her solitary state, and to
whom her society was evidently more than a common
gratification.

The consciousness of being appreciated was a feeling
to which she had been hitherto unaccustomed ; and in
proportion as it was new and enjoyed, so did its no-
velty and freshness diffuse a charm over her naturally
buoyant but now subdued spirit, of which she anxious-
ly encouraged the endurance. It opened a new world
to her unsophisticated view ; or, if it did not open a
new world, it at least suggested new trains and ob-
jects of speculation which to her were delightful,
because they raised her spirit from the depression of

248

SCENES IN INDIA.

undefined apprehension, and from the torpid monotony
of seclusion to the awakened liberty of thought;
while hope presented a prism through which she saw
the wide field of existence tinged with the most
brilliant hues, and diversified with the most beautiful
objects.

These frequent interviews between the lovely Par-
see and the young Englishman ripened by degrees in-
to a warmth of attachment that finally broke down
the barrier of social prejudices, and opened a familiar
intercourse : it was reciprocal, and alike dear to
both. There existed the warmest affection between
them, which was mutually recognised and acknow-
ledged. In proportion to her innocence was the un-
mingled confidence which the Parsee girl reposed in
the man who had won the affections of her young and
guileless heart.

She loves, but knows not whom she loves —

Nor what his race, nor whence he came :

Like one who meets in Indian groves
Some beauteous bird without a name,

Brought by the last ambrosial breeze
From isles in undiscover’d seas
To show his plumage for a day
To wondering eyes, and wing away.

Will he thus fly — her nameless lover 1
Allah forbid !

His feelings were no less ardent ; and though in
the object of his earnest attachment he saw a being
whose mind was darkened by the absurdities of a
Sabean creed, yet he distinguished such a clear cen-
tral light of moral purity amid the spiritual darkness

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

249

in which her quick perceptions were shrouded,, that
the incidental deformity was completely merged in the
positive intellectual beauty. Amid the deep absorp-
tion of his thoughts,, the question would frequently
rise to his lips, though they did not utter it — if she
is so pure as a heathen, what would she be as a
Christian ? Time ripened the attachment, which was
only not perceived by the father because he was so
much from home. The stranger declared his affection
to the lovely Parsee girl, and with all the artlessness
of her free and sanguine nature she confessed how
deeply it was returned. She now, for the first time,
disclosed to him the occupation of her parent, which,
though he had been so long under the same roof with
the Guebre, but apart from his family, he had not yet
perceived, attributing all he saw to the peculiarity of
Oriental habits. He was a good deal disquieted at
the disclosure ; and the beautiful girl, who in the quick
scrutiny of her love perceived his emotion, did not
hesitate to express her abhorrence of a mode of life
which had long been to her a source of intense
misery.

The Englishman looked upon her with that sort of
thrilling commiseration which invariably draws the
heart closer to the object ; and in the romantic ardour
of his passion, its fervent sophistry rising to his mind
as the sober dictate of truth, he persuaded himself
that he was influenced by a holy impulse to snatch
her from the moral contagion to which she was per-
petually exposed, and place her in a more elevated
position among her species, where she might have the
full opportunity of embracing that good which was

250

SCENES IN INDIA.

evidently the object other natural predilection. He was
young and enthusiastic,, and had been withheld from
entering into the service of the Mahrattas by the at-
tractions of this interesting heathen, to whom he had
now declared the state of his heart.

Looking forward to the probable direction of his
future life, it was not very evident to him how his
attachment to the Parsee girl could be consistent with
his future prospects. His family were well connected
in England, but not wealthy; and the circumstance
of his having been dismissed from the service in
which they had fancied him ultimately provided for,
left him little hope of any future provision from
them. The difficulties appeared so many, when he
directed his views onward, that he soon ceased to al-
low them to disturb his mind, but, occupying himself
with the present, was the happiest of human beings.
He possessed the devoted affections of a lovely girl,
whose whole sum of happiness was in his custody,
and the result was such as could scarcely fail to follow
from an attachment so fervent between two persons
by whom the restrictions imposed by society upon the
actions of its members had not been practically felt,
and who were, therefore, not likely to be governed by
laws which, in their present position, they did not
fancy themselves called upon to recognise.

After a while, it became too evident to be matter of
speculation that the interesting daughter of Jumsajee
Merjee was soon to become a mother. The father’s
anger at this discovery knew no bounds ; he struck
the poor girl to the earth, and forced her paramour to
quit the tomb. He immediately held a consultation

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

251

with the three Parsees as to what punishment should
be inflicted, when they came to the unanimous con-
clusion that she ought to die. Her alliance with a
Christian was, in the estimation of these heathen rob-
bers, a deadly sin. The father had some struggles to
overcome before he could bring his mind to so fearful
a determination. He at length, however, vanquished
his paternal scruples, and determined to take the right
of punishment into his own hand.

After balancing for some time what sort of death
she should die, he decided upon cremation ; and it
was likewise resolved that the author of her shame
should expiate his offence by undergoing the same
sentence. The young Englishman, though banished
from the tomb, nevertheless did not quit the neigh-
bourhood, resolving not to abandon the object of his
attachment to the heartless tyranny of a parent, who,
as he had never consulted her happiness, could have
no just right of control over her actions — at least, not
according to her lover’s code of equity. When he
heard that Jumsajee seriously thought of putting her
to death for an offence of which she was perhaps the
least culpable party, his heart sickened within him ;
and he made up his mind, whatever might be the
consequences, to leave no means untried to rescue her
from so dreadful a doom. He cared not for his own
life if he could only be the means of saving hers, and
therefore determined to brave all consequences.

Full of his purpose, he sought the presence of the
exasperated and inexorable father, and implored a
reversal of the sentence which the Parsee had passed
upon his fond and guiltless child. He besought

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SCENES IN INDIA.

him, in terms of earnest supplication, to relax from
the fierce severity of his determination, promising
to repair immediately to the presidency with his
daughter, and give her a lawful and inalienable
claim to his protection by making her his wife. The
parent heard him with a grim smile, and, instead
of answering, desired his companions to seize and
bind him ; at the same time protesting that he should
not only visit his daughter with the punishment of
death, but that her seducer should partake of her
doom. Expostulation was useless ; the unhappy
lover was in the power of his enemy, and incapable
of resistance.

His arms were now secured by strong cords ; he
was thrust into that compartment of the tomb which
he had lately occupied, and the next day was fixed
upon for the execution of the unhappy lovers.

The morning was dull and overcast, and the time
appointed for the awful sacrifice to the indignation of
an inexorable parent was just before the sun should
descend behind the distant horizon. Towards the
afternoon, fitful gusts announced the approach of a
tempest.

“ Bright Indra’s bow appears : the genial rains
From the full clouds descend and drench the plains.
Quick lightnings flash along the troubled sky,

Pierce the fresh moistened earth and parch it dry.

Like curling dust the distant showers appear.

And the swan flies before the watery year.”*

The thunder muttered, and there were occasional
showers : still, the necessary preparations for the exe-

* Specimens of Hindoo Poetry.

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

253

cution were not interrupted. A quantity of dry wood
had been conveyed into the tomb during the mornings
and immediately behind the building a stout stake
was driven into the earthy about the size of a man’s
leg, and just five feet high : it was a dry bamboo ;
and to this the victims were to be attached, in order
that they might consume together. The preparations
were at length completed. When this was announced
to the Parsee’s daughter, she exhibited no emotion,
and did not utter a word. She feared not to die ; and
to her there was a consolation in the thought that
she was about to be accompanied in her journey to
another world with him in whom all her affections
were absorbed. The natural romance of her nature
was roused into unusual action by the awful position
in which she was placed ; this kindled her enthusiasm,
and she hailed death as the removal of an eternal
barrier between her and the object of her adoration.
She supposed that he was no less reconciled than her-
self to that stern adjudication, which would remove
two affectionate hearts beyond the reach of mortal
tyranny.

Her lover, though neither so calm nor so full of an-
ticipation, was still tolerably resigned to the fate that
awaited him — the absorbing passion of his soul quick-
ening his resolution, and flinging a sort of halo round the
dismal preparations of death. There was, nevertheless,
an occasional wavering of mind as it dwelt involun-
tarily upon the change he was about to undergo, the
fearful question arising whether his separation from
the object of his love might not be eternal. His firm-
ness was rather the result of temperament, and of

z

254

SCENES IN INDIA.

those stimulating feelings which his peculiar situation
excited,, than a settled habit of soul, induced by the
fervour of religion, and of hopes engendered in the
bosom of such as love it for its own sake, and fol-
low it because obedience to God is with them, not a
slavery, but an acceptable service.

Towards the afternoon the rain had entirely sub-
sided ; still, peals of thunder were heard at intervals,
while the flashes that succeeded were distinct and
vivid. These threatenings of the heavens did not re-
tard the preparations for the sacrifice which the vic-
tims of a father’s wrath were about to undergo. Large
logs of wood were piled immediately round the stake,
just allowing room for the criminals to stand, side by
side, within a circle of three feet diameter. Under
the logs was placed a quantity of light fuel, and the
whole covered with a profusion of ghee, to accelerate
combustion.

About a quarter of an hour before sunset the vic-
tims were led forth, and bound to the fatal pyre. They
■were not allowed to approach each other until they
reached the stake. By this time the thunder had
become awfully loud, and the lightning fearfully me-
nacing ; this, however, did not divert the purpose of
Jumsajee Merjee. His victims were led to the stake, and
being placed within the circle, were both tied together to
the bamboo with strong silken cords. An awful silence
prevailed ; nothing was heard save the perpetual crash-
ing of the thunder. The lips of the poor girl became
white, and trembled with emotion, as she looked upon
the object of her affection at her side, and thought of
the sufferings she should be doomed to witness. Her

THE GUEBRE PRIEST.

255

emotion sustained him, and he cheered her in a calm
tone, first breaking the silence, which had not before
been interrupted by a human voice since they had
been led from the tomb to the place of execution.
They had occasionally conversed upon the vast supe-
riority of the Christian over the heathen faith; she
had therefore imbibed from her lover some notions of
a Redeemer, although those notions were imperfect.
She felt, however, a holy confidence that both were
about to undergo a change for the better, and was
therefore comparatively insensible to the terrors of
death.

When all was prepared for the consummation of
this awful judgment, the lovely girl tenderly begged
her father to embrace her he silenced her affect-
ing appeal with a solemn, but obdurate malediction.
Her head drooped as the curse issued deliberately from
his lips, and a tear suffused her eye as she turned it
slowly upon her companion. His was fixed upon her
with a glance that quickly recalled her to a sense of
the position in which she was at that moment stand-
ing, and her face kindled with a lofty expression of
resignation that seemed to bid defiance to the terrible
array of death.

A lighted torch was now placed within her grasp
and that of the young Englishman ; but just as they
were about to apply it to the fuel, a flash of lightning
struck the stake to which they were both tied and
shivered it in pieces. Two of the Parsees were struck
dead ; and the father fell upon his knees in consterna-
tion, imagining that the Guebres’ God had, in his
wrath, elanced a stream of sacred fire from heaven

256

SCENES IN INDIA.

and destroyed two of his companions, for their having
ceased to reverence that holy element. The intended
victims were released — the Deity was supposed to
have interfered in their behalf. The daughter was
restored to her father’s favour, who henceforward
eschewed robbery, and accompanied his child and the
young Englishman to Calcutta. Here the two latter
were immediately married according to the rites of
the Christian church, and eventually inheriting the
father’s wealth, proceeded to England, where the wife
became a Christian; and the husband never found
cause to regret that he had espoused the daughter of a
Parsee.

m-' ;v »■

ELEPHANTA.

257

CHAPTER XIX.

ELEPHANTA. A GECKO. A CATTI.

One of our first excursions after our arrival at
Bombay was to Elephanta, a small island situated
within the harbour,, and called by the natives Ga-
rapori. It is about five miles and a half from the
Mahratta shore., appearing something like a long hill
split in two, there being a low, narrow valley run-
ning between two abrupt eminences which skirt it
on either side. The island is rather more than six
miles in circumference, and uninhabited, except occa-
sionally by a few miserable outcasts, who resort thither
when they can find no more commodious shelter —
such, at least, was the case when we visited it. About
a furlong from the beach there used to stand a huge
misshaped figure of an elephant, rudely carved from
an immense mass of black rock, and from which the
island received its modern name of Elephanta, given
to it by the Portuguese. This figure has now fallen.
The engraving represents it just as it stood previously
to 1814, when the head and neck dropped off; it is, I
believe, the only representation that has ever been given.
This colossal sculpture, when I last saw it, was sur-
rounded with so thick a growth of underwood that I
had some difficulty in making my way to it. While I

z 3

258

SCENES IN INDIA.

was passing under its body., I heard a sharp, modulated
sound, so unusual that it caused me to start, and on
turning suddenly round, I saw a large green lizard,
nearly a foot long, which crawled into the grass, and
I lost all further sight of it. I made some inquiries
about the existence of such an animal on this island,
for it struck me that it must have been a species of the
Gecko, so well known in Egypt as a poisonous lizard ;
but I could not obtain any satisfactory information
upon the subject, for no one seemed to be conscious of
the existence of such an animal. I nevertheless felt
satisfied in my own mind that I had seen one of those
venemous reptiles. The Egyptian Gecko is a creature
of so singular a character that a description from the
work of an eminent naturalist will not, I apprehend,
be unwelcome to the reader.

Of all the oviparous quadrupeds,” says the Count
de la Cepede, “ this is the first which contains a
deadly poison. Nature, in this instance, appears to
act against herself. In a lizard, whose species is but
too prolific, she exalts a corrosive liquor to such a de-
gree as to carry corruption and dissolution among all
animals into which this active humour may penetrate :
one might say, she prepares in the Gecko only death
and annihilation. This deadly lizard, which deserves
all our attention on account of its dangerous proper-
ties, has some resemblance to the cameleon ; its head,
almost triangular, is large in comparison with its
body; the eyes are very large; the tongue flat, co-
vered with small scales, and the end is rounded. The
teeth are sharp, and so strong, that, according to Bon-
tius, they are able to make impressions on the hardest

THE GECKO.

259

substances — even on steel. The Gecko is almost en-

tirely covered with little warts, more or less rising ;
the under part of the thighs is furnished with a row
of tubercles, raised and grooved ; the feet are remark-
able for oval scales, more or less hollowed in the mid-
dle, as large as the under surface of the toes them-
selves, and regularly disposed one over another, like
the slates on the roof of a house. The tail of the
Gecko is commonly rather longer than the body,
though sometimes not so long ; it is round, thin, and
covered with rings or circular bands, formed of several
rows of very small scales. The colour of the Gecko is
a clear green, spotted with brilliant red. The name
Gecko imitates the cry of this animal, which is heard
especially before rain. It is found in Egypt, in India,
at Amboyna, and the Moluccas. It inhabits by
choice the crevices of half-rotten trees, as well as
humid places. It is sometimes met with in houses,
where it occasions great alarm, and where every ex-
ertion is used to destroy it speedily. Bontius writes
that its bite is so venemous that, if the part bitten
is not cut away or burned, death ensues in a few
hours.”

The following is the account of Bontius : — “ This
creature, which is not only found in Brazil, but also in
the isle of Java, belonging to the East Indies, and which
by our people is called Gekko, from its constant cry,
is properly an Indian salamander. It is about a foot
long ; its skin is of a pale or sea-green colour, with
red spots. The head is not unlike that of a tortoise,
with a straight mouth. The .eyes are very large,
starting out of the head, with long and small eye-

26 0

SCENES IN INDIA.

apples.* The tail is distinguished by several white
rings. Its teeth are so sharp as to make an im-
pression even on steel. Each of its four legs has
crooked claws., armed at the ends with nails. Its
gait is very slow ; but wherever it fastens it is not
easily removed. It dwells commonly upon rotten
trees, or among the ruins of old houses and churches.
It oftentimes settles near the bedsteads, which makes
the Moors sometimes pull down their huts. Its con-
stant cry is gekko ; but before it begins, it makes a
kind of hissing noise. The sting t of this creature is
so venemous that the wound proves mortal, unless
it be immediately burnt with a red-hot iron or cut off.
The blood is of a palish colour, resembling poison
itself.

The Javanese used to dip their arrows into the
blood of this creature ; and those who deal in poison
among them, — an art much esteemed in Java by both
sexes, — hang it up, with a string tied to the tail, on
the ceiling ; by which means, it being exasperated to
the highest pitch, sends forth a yellow liquor out of its
mouth, which they gather in small pots set under-
neath, and afterwards coagulate into a body in the sun.
This they continue for several months together, by •
giving daily food to the creature. It is unquestion-
ably the strongest poison in the world. The urine of
this animal is of so corrosive a quality, that it not
only raises blisters wherever it touches the skin, but
turns the flesh black and causes a gangrene.” J The

* Eye-balls. t It has no sting, but bites.

t A rather singular circumstance occurred whilst I was upon
a journey from Bombay to Poonah. Having slept under a tent at

THE GECKO.

261

inhabitants of the East Indies say that the best
remedy against this poison is the curcumie root.
Such a Gekko had got within the body of the wall of
the church in the Receif, which obliged us to have a
great hole made in the said wall to dislodge it from
thence.” *

After rain,, the Gecko quits its retreat; its walk
is not very quick ; it catches ants and worms. The
eggs of this creature are oval,, and commonly as large
as a hazel-nut. The female covers them carefully
with a slight shelter of earth, and the heat of the sun
hatches them. The Jesuit mathematicians sent into
the East Indies by Louis the Fourteenth have de-
scribed a lizard in the kingdom of Siam, named Tokaie,
which is evidently the same as the Gecko. That which
they examined exceeded one foot in length to the end
of the tail. The name Tokaie, like that of Gecko, is
an imitation of sounds made by the creature.

Hasselquist writes thus concerning the Gecko. “ It
is very common at Cairo, as well in the houses as
without. The venom of this animal has a singularity,
in that it issues from the balls of its toes. It seeks
all places and things where salt has been employed ;
and where it has walked over them, this dangerous
venom marks the track. In the month of July 1750,

Panwell — a low, swampy station, a few miles from the presi-
dency— upon rising in the morning I discovered a black spot
upon my forehead, the size of a sixpence. It appeared exactly as
if the skin had been seared, and was rather tender, though not
so much so as to cause me any inconvenience. It continued for
nearly a month, during which period a new skin formed over the
spot. What had produced it I never could ascertain.

* See Churchill’s voyages, vol. ii. p. 12.

262

SCENES IN INDIA.

I saw two women and a girl at Cairo who narrowly
escaped death from having eaten cheese upon which
this animal had shed its venom. I had another occa-
sion at Cairo of being convinced of the sharpness of its
venom., as it ran off the hand of a man who was en-
deavouring to catch it ; his hand was instantly covered
with red inflamed pustules, attended by a sensation
like that which is caused by the stinging of a nettle.
It croaks at night almost like a frog.”

This reptile yields in malignity to no serpent
whatever. Foskall, the Danish naturalist, says of it,
— “ The Gecko is called in Egypt, Abu Burs, f Father
of Leprosy/ that is, extremely leprous : at Aleppo,
simply Burs, f Leprosy/ It is frequent in the houses
at Cairo ; wanders about in summer weather ; has
much the same squeak as a weasel; is not much
seen in winter, but hides itself in the roofs of houses,
and reappears in the middle of March. If the tail
be separated from the living animal, it will give
signs of life and motion half an hour afterwards.
They say this lizard hunts and lives on poultry. Its
name is said to he derived from its properties ; for if
it drops any of its spittle on salt intended for the
table, it would produce a leprosy on any man who
should partake of it ; for this reason they carefully
put away salt, or keep an onion by it, which the lizard
cannot bear. Others think its name is taken from
the resemblance of its colour to that of a leper.”

It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the ample
account furnished of this reptile, there is no evidence
whether it has the fang-teeth of venemous serpents, or
whether, being imbued with venom throughout, it

A STONE ELEPHANT.

263

poisons by its touch, its exudations, and its saliva, and
no otherwise. Bontius speaks of its bite or sting. It has
recently been ascertained that theOrnithorinchus para-
doxus of New Holland possesses a venom, emitted from
the spurs with which Nature has furnished it.*

Upon quitting the stone elephant, we ascended the
hill in our palenkeens by a steep path, and about mid-
day came to the first cave, which is merely a small
unfinished chamber, supported by two pillars. It pos-
sesses no feature to engage the traveller’s attention.
About a third further up the hill, the principal cavern
opens upon the view, as you ascend a narrow path
thickly wooded on either side. The entrance of this
excavation is less imposing, when first seen, than might
be expected, and generally disappoints the traveller.
It is low, and the face of the rock from which it is
hewn is so broken as entirely to destroy all beauty of
proportion; but when you are sufficiently near to look
into the temple, the sight is truly imposing. Y ou see
a vast chamber cut out of the solid rock, the roof
supported by rows of beautiful columns, the capitals
of each forming a cushion, so admirably cut as to
appear as if yielding to the weight of the superincum-
bent mountain. The principal temple is surround-
ed by handsome colonnades, the pillars of which are
carved with great delicacy. It is a square apartment,
and every side is covered with groups of figures in alto-
relief. At the bottom, facing the vestibule, in a recess
about the centre, is a colossal bust with three faces,
which are upwards of five feet in length ; the whole

* See Calmet’s Dictionary of the Bible, 4to. Fragments.
Vol. iv.

264

SCENES IN INDTA.

statue being six yards high. It is supposed to repre-
sent the Hindoo triad — - Brahma,, Vishnu, and Siva.
This, however, has been questioned by some modern
inquirers, who, I think, appear to have left the matter
precisely as they found it.

The area of the temple is a hundred and thirty feet
long by one hundred and twenty-three broad, the roof
being originally supported by twenty-six pillars and
sixteen pilasters : of the former, eight are broken and
several others much mutilated. The height of the
chamber varies from fifteen to eighteen feet. The
walls are covered with gigantic figures in alto-relief,
many of which exhibit great nicety of proportion
and no mean skill of execution. The groups have
all a reference to the mythology of the Brahmins ;
while the caverns of Kenneri and Carli, in the neigh-
bourhood, are decidedly Buddhist temples. All the
Hindoo deities have peculiar symbols belonging ex-
clusively to each, by which they may be recognised as
readily as ancient families in Europe by their armorial
bearings , This temple,” says Mr. Moore, " may be
called a complete Pantheon ; for among the hundreds
— I may say thousands, of figures there sculptured,
every principal deity is found. Many deified heroes
in the more modern mythological romances, contained
in some of the Puranas and Tantras, will have been
exalted since the excavation of this wonderful cavern ;
but I strongly believe that all the gods of the Vedas,
or, if I may so term them, all the legitimate Hindoo
deities, will be found in its different compartments, if
not indeed too much defaced for recognition.”*

* Hindoo Pantheon, p. 241.

ELEPHANTA.

265

There is one piece of sculpture in a recess of this
temple remarkable for the spirit and beauty of its
execution ; it is a colossal figure, fourteen feet high,
representing the Siva Vindex of the Hindoo Pantheon.
It has been much mutilated by the Portuguese, the
whole of the lower extremities having been completely
broken away ; nevertheless sufficient remains to give
a just idea of this fine sculpture. The expression
of the countenance is admirable, exhibiting an unre-
lenting ferocity, characteristic of the divinity which it
pourtrays, yet blending with that ferocity a certain
majesty that seems to elevate it above the vulgar bru-
tality of human passion. It originally had eight arms,
several of which are now broken, and is marked with
the awful insignia of an avenging deity. There are
many other statues of equal size, but I think none of
equal beauty as a work of art.

When Bishop Heber visited this cavern, he con-
fesses that his expectations, though highly raised, were
much exceeded by the reality. “ Both the dimen-
sions, the proportions, and the sculptures,” says he,
“ seemed to me to be of a more noble character and a
more elegant execution than I had been led to sup-
pose. Even the statues are executed with great spi-
rit, and are some of them of no common beauty,
considering their dilapidated condition and the coarse-
ness of their material.” Here full justice is done to
this extraordinary excavation ; but with an unaccount-
able departure from his general mild and gentle cau-
tion, that amiable and really great man comes to the
hasty and unauthorised conclusion that the temple
caves at Elephanta are not of extreme antiquity. The

2 A

266

SCENES IN INDIA.

following are among his chief reasons for such a de-
cision.

" The rock out of which the temple is carved is by
no means calculated to resist, for any great length of
time, the ravages of the weather. It evidently suffers
much from the annual rains ; a great number of the
pillars, nearly one-third of the whole, have been un-
dermined by the accumulation of water in the cavern ;
and the capitals of some, and part of the shafts of
others, remain suspended from the tops like huge sta-
lactites, the bases having completely mouldered away.
The ravages are said to have greatly increased in the
memory of persons now resident in Bombay, though
for many years back the cave has been protected from
wanton dilapidation, and though the sculptures, rather
than the pillars, would probably have suffered from
that vulgar love of knick-knacks and specimens which
prevails among the English more than most nations of
the world/’

After stating a few other reasons of much less
weight, the amiable and learned bishop comes to the
following conclusion : — “ On the whole, in the perfect
absence of any inscription or tradition which might
guide us, we may assign to Elephanta any date we
please. It may be as old as the Parthenon, or it may
be as modern as Henry the Seventh’s chapel ; but
though the truth, probably, lies between the two — I
am certainly not disposed to assign to it any great
degree of antiquity.”

It may be worth while to examine these corollaries,
and the premises from which they are drawn. In the
first place, the assertion, that the rock out of which
the temple is carved is by no means calculated to

ANTIQUITY OF ELEPHANTA.

267

resist for any great length of time the ravages of the
weather/' is altogether gratuitous. Nothing appears in
the cavern itself to establish this fact ; for the dilapi-
dated state of the pillars and statues does not proceed*
as Bishop Heber supposed* from the gradual process of
decay* but from external violence. It is a well known
fact* that the first settlers among the Portuguese*
in their blind zeal against idolatry* defaced many
of these Hindoo temples* exercising upon them the
rage of intemperate bigotry. In the caves of Ele-
phanta and Salsette* they kindled fires at the bases of
the columns* and when these were in a state of red
heat* suddenly threw water upon them* by which
process they subverted a great number and mutilated
many more. Instead* therefore* of the columns hav-
ing mouldered away to their capitals* they have been
rudely thrown down by physical agency* and some of
those which remain are at this moment so perfect
as entirely to overthrow the bishop’s conclusion ; since*
if the progress of decay has been so rapid as to have
greatly increased in the memory of many living men*
and some of the pillars have been so strongly acted
upon as to have entirely mouldered away* it cannot
be likely that any one pillar in the cavern should have
escaped the operation of its own inherent principle of
decay. Supposing* for a moment* that this cavern is
not of greater antiquity than Bishop Heber imagines* —
say fifteen hundred years* — still* if the mouldering is
so rapid as to be perceptible by persons now living*
the whole structure would have been one heap of ruins
long before the lapse of half the number of ages which
the learned prelate admits it most probably to have
existed. I confess I am among those who lean to the

268

SCENES IN INDIA.

arguments which have been advanced in favour of the
extreme antiquity of these excavations, and am in-
clined to assign to them as remote a date as those
which have been so long celebrated in Upper Egypt.

The great temple at Elephanta is no longer em-
ployed as a sanctuary of devotion by the Hindoos,
which is to my mind an additional presumption that
it is not comparatively a modern structure; as such
structures would be much less likely to be deserted
than those of which the origin is cast back into the
remotest antiquity, when the world was still in its
youth, and consequently the habits and manners of
men, by comparison, in a state of infancy.

We spent an entire day in this interesting cavern,
not returning to Bombay until after sunset. Another
party besides ours had visited the island, whom we
had joined, and passed quite a convivial day together.
Among the latter was an officer, with an attendant, who
happened to have great personal attachment towards
him, in consequence, as I understood, of some service
which the former had rendered him under circum-
stances of peculiar embarrassment. This man was al-
together a remarkable person ; he was a Catti, a tribe
of which Captain Macmurdo has given the following
characteristic account : — “ The Catti differs in some
respects from the Rajpoot ; he is more cruel in his dis-
position, but far exceeds him in the virtue of bravery ;
and a character possessed of more bravery than a Catti
does not exist. His size is considerably larger than
common, — often exceeding six feet. He is sometimes
seen with light hair and blue-coloured eyes. His
frame is athletic and bony, and particularly well

A CATTI.

269

adapted to his mode of life. His countenance is ex-
pressive, but of the worst kind ; being harsh, and often
destitute of a single mild feature.”

This description perfectly agreed with the man to
whom I have alluded, with the exception only of
the expression of his countenance, which was hand-
some, and betokened nothing either harsh or un-
feeling ; on the contrary, his whole demeanour, though
indicating extreme decision of character, was gentle
and courteous. The officer whom he attended men-
tioned his extraordinary dexterity in the use of his
weapons; as a proof of which, he engaged that the
Catti, armed only with a stout bamboo, should defend
himself against the united attack of any four natives,
armed with swords, or whatever weapons they might
choose to select, except firearms and missiles.

The man readily agreed to undertake so unequal a
contest, when four of our followers were selected, and
armed with heavy sabres. A square place was mark-
ed out as the lists, in which the combatants were to
display their dexterity. The conflict was short and
decisive. In a few seconds, the Catti, having prostrated
two of the swordsmen, the two others declined any
further trial of skill. His dexterity, strength, and
quickness were amazing ; he baffled his antagonists
at every turn, displaying uncommon adroitness in the
exercise of his bloodless bamboo. His opponents seem-
ed astounded at his prowess, and were glad to relin-
quish the contest.

We did not reach Bombay until some time after
sunset.

2 a 3

27 0

SCENES IN INDIA.

CHAPTER XX.

SALSETTE. ELEPHANT HUNT.

Our next excursion was to Salsette, an island
eighteen miles long and thirteen broad, united to
Bombay by a causeway built while Mr. Duncan was
governor of the presidency. The island of Salsette was
formerly a place of great sanctity, having numerous rock
temples hollowed out of its hills, two or three of which
are of great splendour. About the centre of the island
is an artillery station, beyond which the country, be-
fore dull and uninteresting, becomes more picturesque.
The greater part of the land is covered with a thick
jungle, from which numerous hills arise, chiefly com-
posed of granite, without order or uniformity, and
imparting an agreeable variety to the otherwise mono-
tonous prospect. The forests abound with tigers and
other beasts of prey, so much so that solitary travel-
ling in this island is at all times dangerous. In conse-
quence of the valleys being narrow, enclosed by lofty
hills, and covered with a thick forest, Salsette is very
unhealthy. It was here that the seeds of that fatal ma-
lady were received which deprived Jacquemont, the
French naturalist, of his life, and science of a valuable
labourer.

The hamlets are chiefly composed of a few mise-

SALSETTE.

271

rable huts, scarcely deserving the name of villages,
and inhabited by the destitute among the poorest
Hindoos. Tanna, the capital, is a considerable town,
populous, and with an aspect of prosperity that ren-
ders it a cheerful residence to about a hundred Eu-
ropean soldiers who have retired from the service
and settled there with their families. The entire po-
pulation of Salsette is estimated at fifty thousand
souls; and the inhabitants generally, though the large
majority of them are destitute to the last degree, are
so peaceable, that in the year 1813, it was stated
by the magistrate, that for upwards of two years no
native of the island had been committed for trial.
The dialect of the people is a strange jargon, being a
mixture of several native dialects combined often with
a barbarous English, which renders them altogether
unintelligible to a stranger.

Our halt for the night was in a small valley entirely
surrounded by hills. It was a romantic spot, partially
cleared from the jungle, and in the centre grew a small
but vigorous banyan tree. Beneath its shade our fol-
lowers quietly took up their quarters, having first pre-
pared their curries, and refreshed themselves after a
hot and painful march.

A party of Nautch girls, on their way to Tanna,
entertained our party with the native dance and song.
As I gazed on the really merry scene I could not help
feeling with the Arabian poet,*

“ But ah ! thou know’st not in what youthful play,

Our nights, beguil’d with pleasure, pass’d away ;

* Lebid.

272

SCENES IN INDIA.

Gay songs and cheerful tales deceiv’d the time,

And circling goblets made a tuneful chime ;

Sweet was the draught, and sweet the blooming maid,
Who touch’d her lyre beneath the fragrant shade.

We sipp’d till morning purpled every plain,

The damsels slumber’d, but we sipp’d again :

The waking birds that sang on every tree,

Their early notes, were not so blithe as we.”

On the following morning we proceeded to the
mountain in which the celebrated caves are excavated ;
these are so numerous, that the principal hill is lite-
rally perforated like a honeycomb. The road was so
rugged and narrow as to render the progress of our
palenkeen-bearers slow and difficult.

Although obliged to proceed singly all the way, we
were amply repaid in the issue for the difficulties and
toil of our journey. The excavations in this hill are
not only numerous, but likewise remarkable for their
rich and elaborate decorations. One of the caves, a
large chamber nearly square, and covered with mag-
nificent carving, is called the durbar ; — no doubt from
its appropriation to certain purposes of state during the
time that this island was under the Mahomedan domi-
nation.

The principal temple in the series is really a splen-
did thing of its kind, and was converted by the
Portuguese into a place of Christian worship. You
ascend to the entrance by a few steps, when you
advance into a lofty portico bounded externally by a
richly carved parapet. On one side is a high pillar
surmounted by three lions rudely carved, but still in
good preservation. The main props of the roof of the
vestibule are two square thin columns, the shafts of

EXCAVATED TEMPLE.

273

which are not distinguished by the slightest ornament.
Upon entering the temple you are struck by the ex-
treme exuberance of the sculpture. It is larger than
the Elephanta cavern,, and much more lofty. A
splendid colonnade of octagonal pillars decorates three
sides of the area, which forms a parallelogram.
Some of these pillars are elaborately wrought, others
are comparatively plain., though none are without
ornament.

The roof is vaulted, there being circular ribs of teak
wood corresponding with the arch, and extending
nearly to the capitals of the columns on either side.
For what purpose they were placed there does not
appear, though Bishop Heber takes them to be an ar-
gument against the remote antiquity of the cavern;
but this is about as conclusive an argument as to say
that Windsor Chapel was not built before the reign of
Charles the Second, because some of the ornaments of
the choir were carved by Gibbon, who was born during
the reign of that monarch. The teak ribs may have
been added since the temple was excavated ; or if they
have existed without showing signs of decay for six-
teen or eighteen hundred years, the latest probable date
assigned even by Bishop Heber himself to these ex-
cavations, there surely can be nothing to obviate the
inference that their existence may not have doubled
that period.

In this beautiful chamber we passed the night ;
and by way of affording the reader some entertain-
ment while he supposes us to be taking our rest, I
will give a description of an elephant hunt, just com-
municated to me by Mr. Benjamin Torin, at which

274

SCENES IN INDIA.

a friend of his, Mr. Nathaniel Kindersley, was pre-
sent, and of which he sent him the account. I give
it pretty nearly in Mr. Kindersley’s own words.

Here I am again at Periacolum ; and now that I
have ample leisure I shall give you a minute account
of an elephant hunt, at which I was present. It is
one of the most magnificent spectacles that can be
imagined. I arrived at the pits just as the day broke
on the ninth of the present month, and having desired
that none of my establishment should accompany me,
orders were immediately issued for drawing the ele-
phants up. I ran to the summit of a hill forming
one side of the entrance into the enclosure prepared
to receive the herd, and a finer scene I never wit-
nessed. The sun had not yet risen ; and there lay a
valley before us extending several miles, enclosed on
either side by a wall of hills, like those of Courtal-
lum, the whole covered with heavy forest jungle.

I stood upon an elevation which commanded a com-
plete view of the' scene. There was a line of fires more
than a mile in extent, kept up by upwards of three
thousand people, by which the herd of elephants was
surrounded, being gradually urged towards the enclo-
sure by the fiery circle narrowing upon them, from
which they retreated in terror. What little wind
there was blew from the north, and the light feathery
smoke lay upon the tops of the trees like a thin mist,
overspreading the whole southern part of the valley,
but leaving the enclosure perfectly clear.

The summits of the hills were covered as usual
with those morning vapours which in this country
produce that nameless singularity of effect when

ELEPHANT HUNT.

275

the slanting beams of the rising sun penetrate their
unsubstantial bosoms, and become refracted in ten
thousand varying hues over the smiling landscape.
Everything was so still that, but for the operations
of the men in the valley, who formed the line of
which I have spoken, Nature might be said to be not
yet roused from her repose. The general calm op-
posed a striking contrast to the close array of hunt-
ers actively employed in accelerating the motions of
those gigantic creatures which were about to be en-
trapped. Groups of armed men were warming them-
selves over the expiring embers of watch-fires that
had been kindled in different passes of the hills, where
they had been placed as guards lest any of the herd
should attempt those passes. Their position was pic-
turesque ; and while their arms occasionally reflected
a sudden blaze of the dying fires excited by their
breath, the dim outline of their figures, robed in white
tunics, placed in direct relief against the dark clothing
of the hills, would have furnished a fit subject for the
pencil of the sublime and terrible Neapolitan.*

Not an elephant was yet to be seen, but an occa-
sional roar from the jungle announced that the herd
was gradually approaching the snare. As soon as the
order for driving them forward reached the line, there
was a general and busy stir. The fires brightened,
and the important business of cooking for the mul-
titude commenced previously to opening the grand
act of the drama, — that of securing the elephants
within the enclosure. This was a large space, sur-
rounded by a deep ditch, except at the entrance.

* Salvator Rosa.

276

SCENES IN INDIA*

nearly two yards broad, and several feet deep. Within
this ditch was a low railing of strong pointed stakes,
rising full eighteen inches from the surface of the
ground. At the lower end of the enclosure were a
number of deep pits not more than two feet apart,
and covered with light materials, but so skilfully as
to resemble the ground. The jungle within the railed
area was extremely thick, and preserved with great
care, in order to divert the animals’ attention, as they
advanced towards the snare into which they were has-
tening ; for their perception of danger is so acute that
it is a difficult matter to baffle it ; and even under cir-
cumstances similar to those which I am now detailing,
I imagine it would be next to impossible to entrap
them, if they were not thrown off their guard by their
terrors.

The driving commenced at nine o’clock in the
morning, the sun pouring a clear broad flood of light
upon the scene, tinging the hollows of the mountains,
and clothing in one broad mass of radiance their tall
but well wooded summits. Tomtoms, horns, shouts,
muskets, and rockets were employed to urge forward
the refractory herd, which had become exceedingly
excited by the close proximity of the fires. The pro-
digious roaring of these huge creatures, uniting with
the din raised by the hunters, produced such a hurly-
burly that I was nearly stunned. I now changed my
situation, placing myself upon an elevation above the
opposite angle of the entrance towards which the ele-
phants were rapidly but reluctantly progressing.

After some time the herd crossed a vista of the
forest, where a rude road had been cut. They

AN ELEPHANT HUNT.

277

passed in battalions. In the first division I counted
twenty-five. This was succeeded by a second and a
third, the whole amounting at least to seventy ele-
phants. You may imagine what a fine sight it was
to behold so many of those stupendous creatures in a
state of nature, varying in height from two to fourteen
feet. At length a huge male stalked majestically from
the jungle, bringing up the rear and occasionally turn-
ing round upon its pursuers with a most menacing as-
pect ,- but its contemplated aggression was repelled by
the line of fires. Nothing, however, could induce it
to advance beyond the vista. There it made a sudden
pause, and sounding an alarm with that shrill note
peculiar to the elephant, and which is called trum-
peting, the whole herd instantly faced about, set up
a terrible roar, and vigorously charged the line ; the
larger leading the charge in single file, and the
smaller following with all speed, the jungle crashing
before them, and their determination appearing so
fierce that I trembled for the men opposed to this tre-
mendous array of strength and desperation.

The beaters redoubled the din of their tomtoms,
horns, and other clamorous instruments, while the
musketeers tried to check the career of the elephants by
smart volleys; still nothing could stop them until they
were brought up by the line of fires. This was repeated
three times, but the desperate creatures were as often
driven back, until they grew weary of such ineffectual
efforts, and remained still, as if determined calmly to
await the issue. At length it was announced that
four large and three small elephants had entered the
snare ; but as it would have been impossible to close

2 B

278

SCENES IN INDIA.

the entrance upon them without excluding their com-
panions, and thus giving them a chance of escape,
we determined, as the most prudent course, to des-
patch them forthwith. In less than a quarter of an
hour three were shot dead. The young ones fell into
the pits, but one of the four old ones made its escape
through the entrance with six or eight balls in its
head.

The driving was tried again towards evening, and
there is no doubt we should have secured them all in
the course of the night, had not a fire unfortunately
broke out which threatened the entrance of the en-
closure. This was, nevertheless, prevented, though
it burned with great rapidity and fierceness. Ex-
traordinary exertions were used, but nothing could
arrest its progress north and east, quite down to the
edge of the enclosure, where it was stopped by the
ditch. It was not got under until past midnight;
thus many hours were lost, for there was no chance of
being able to urge the elephants forward in the face of
such an awful conflagration. Quiet, however, being
at length restored, we anxiously looked forward to the
morrow with hopes of more confirmed success. As
you may suppose, we passed an anxious night. The
least shift of the wind would have at once rendered
all future efforts fruitless, and thus have baffled our
anxious expectations. With the dawn it was dis-
covered that a large male bison had fallen into one
of the pits, and a noble creature it was. Its pugna-
cious appearance, combining ponderous strength with
extreme activity, its clear dark brown coat as glossy
as that of a sleek Arabian charger, its ample and

AN ELEPHANT HUNT.

279

majestic horns rising from its forehead like a glory,
the round, bright, full eye glowing with noble fero-
city, and seeming to beam with a glance of ardent
indignation at being thus entrapped in a pit, and
thereby rendered unable to show its desperate powers
of retaliation, altogether impressed me with a feeling
amounting to respect for the bovine species — of which
this animal may certainly be considered the monarch
— such as I had never before entertained.

I forgot to mention, that the day before, about
noon, a single elephant rushed into the enclosure. It
was quite frantic, threatening to charge the fence,
which there was reason to apprehend it would break
down, as this happened to be weak in that spot
before which the creature stood with a fearful aspect
of mischief. We were all instantly upon the alert;
and I, being the most active, was the first to get a
shot at the enraged animal, and dropped it headlong
into the ditch, quite dead, with a single ball. It was
not above five yards from me when I fired, and being
so large a mark I could not well miss taking a fatal
aim ; there was, however, something awful in such a
gigantic creature all rage and strength, in one instant
converted from a stupendous exemplar of the living
principle, into a mere huge mass of inanimate flesh,
bones, and sinews.

In the evening of the 10th the whole herd, with
the exception of the large male already spoken of, and
one or two others, crossed the vista, where their re-
treat was immediately cut off by a line of fires. Thus
hemmed in, they had no alternative but to try the pass,
and about sunset the first elephant went through. A

280

SCENES IN INDIA.

more interesting moment cannot be imagined. I am
unable to tell you my feelings ; the mental excitement
— the feverish glow of spirits — the rush and bounding
of the blood from the heart to the very extremities,
palpably felt, and impelling action by an irresistible
physical impulse, all beyond the power of description.
Everything was now secure. The beaters, pressing on
the herd, hurried them forward with tremendous out-
cries, and, in the course of twenty minutes, sixty-four
elephants were securely lodged within the snare. The
scene was truly awful; the whole number enclosed
rushed simultaneously towards the stakes,' bellowing,
roaring, shrieking, and manifesting every symptom of
violent fury. The foremost being checked in their
precipitate career, gave the shrill scream of alarm,
and endeavoured to retreat, but it was too late. They
had advanced into the toil, and there was no chance
of escape. Blue-lights, rockets, muskets, and fire,
were severally seen through the dusk, creating a con-
fusion and uproar not to be described.

Several young elephants had been rolled into the
pits at the first rush. As it was now too late to
proceed further in accomplishing the objects of the
hunt, arrangements were made for securing the pri-
soners during the night. In order the better to effect
this, the whole enclosure was surrounded by natives,
fires were lighted, and a constant watch was kept.
Scarcely a minute elapsed without some attempt be-
ing made by the captives to effect their escape ; and
three separate charges were tried by the whole body
upon the entrance of the snare, but they were success-
fully repelled by the fires and musketeers, placed

AN ELEPHANT HUNT.

281

behind the fence to guard this important pass. We
were sleeping, or, I should rather say, supposed to
be sleeping, in our clothes, and ready for action,
within ten yards of all this mighty turmoil. In the
morning, we found that the whole of the jungle, which
nearly covered their prison, had been cleared during
the night by the elephants, save only some large
trees, that defied both their strength and sagacity.

The work of destruction commenced at a few mi-
nutes after six o’clock, and by eleven the whole of the
larger elephants were killed. It was a frightful scene
of carnage. The number destroyed was sixty, and thir-
teen only were saved. We were all glad when it was
over, for the slaughter had at last become truly horrible.
The ground was strewed with gigantic carcases, and
never did I see so frightful an array of death. The
resistance was now confined to one or two of the
larger elephants, which were speedily despatched. Af-
ter this monstrous carnage, nothing remained but to
secure the younger prisoners, which was readily ac-
complished by driving them into the pits, and having
fastened a rope to the neck and hind-leg of each, these
pits were gradually filled with bundles of straw, allow-
ing the captives by degrees to step higher and higher
towards the surface, until they were able to walk out
of their prisons. They were then made fast to trees,
and we began to try a more familiar acquaintance
with them by giving them water-plantains and sugar-
cane; by these and similar means some of them were
rendered comparatively docile in a few hours, whilst
others continued refractory for several days. The most
refractory, however, were easily tamed.

2 b 3

282

SCENES IN INDIA.

As the bodies of the first day’s victims were becom-
ing very offensive, we changed our quarters, moving
off to a place about five miles’ distance from the pits.
I started from Madura that night, rejoiced to quit a
scene which had fatigued me exceedingly, and pro-
duced a painful excess of excitement which I was glad
to have the opportunity of abating by repose.

The only accidents that had occurred during this
formidable hunt were two, at least of a serious nature.
One poor fellow had his leg fractured by an elephant,
which charged him in the plain before the herd was
secured within the snare ; and a palenkeen-bearer’s
arm was broken by a musket-ball. It is really asto-
nishing that so few accidents happened, when the
number of people employed is considered— not less in
the whole than four thousand, and that for twelve
days — together with the nature of the sport, and the
extreme hazard to which every individual employed
is necessarily exposed. You will probably recollect
my reading to you part of a newspaper account of the
destruction of an elephant at Exeter Change, when
some fifty persons, and amongst them a file of soldiers,
took a whole day to despatch it. Now we, in an en-
closure not more than two hundred yards in diameter,
destroyed fifty elephants in about five hours, and cer-
tainly forty-five of them were killed by five persons.
I send you the tail of a large elephant, that fell in-
stantly dead to a two-ounce shot of mine at a dis-
tance of seventy yards. It had been previously knock-
ed down twice, but rose again. We counted seventeen
balls in the front and on one side of its skull after it
was dead ; allowing four only for the side on which it

AN ELEPHANT HUNT.

283

lay, it had received twenty-one balls in its head before
it finally fell to rise no more.

I dare say you have now had quite enough of the
hunt, and so have I, nor shall I ever feel any desire
to see another ; at the same time, I would not have
missed this, as an opportunity may probably never
again occur of witnessing so grand a one.

284

SCENES IN INDIA,

CHAPTER XXI.

CAVERN TEMPLES AT SALSETTE.

The following morning I took my gun, with a
determination to try the jungle for game, hut pre-
viously amused myself with examining some of the
smaller excavations. I found that these abounded to
an extent scarcely credible, but all that I entered
were, in every respect, vastly inferior to the large
cavern already described. The sculptures were fewer,
and of a much meaner order, though occasionally there
were some striking groups to be seen — illustrating the
mysteries of Buddhism, to which these caves were, by
universal consent, originally dedicated.

From the portico of one of the caverns the prospect
is singularly striking. A long ledge, of several feet in
width, supported at either end by the solid rock from
which it is cut, protects the spectator from the in-
fluence of the sun, and allows him to enjoy without
inconvenience the beauties of a scene remarkable for
its peculiarity and grandeur. The portico is termi-
nated towards the body of the building by a row of
tall, massive columns, gracefully proportioned, and
with no ornament, except on the bases and capitals.
With the superincumbent ledge, which they support,
they form a vestibule of great elegance. Under its

A CAVERN TEMPLE.

285

grateful shade I stood for some minutes,, contemplating
the splendour of the view around me, beholding every-
where a mighty record of God’s omnipotence. It is
hardly possible to imagine how frequently this con-
viction is forced upon the mind while travelling in
this magnificent country —for here the prodigies of Art
bear a sort of collateral testimony to the wonders of
Nature; but yet, how does the vast and stately gran-
deur of the mountain, crowned with everlasting snow,
rising in solemn dignity from the plain, with all its
accompaniments of animal, vegetable, and mineral pro-
duction, and projecting its lofty crest into the clouds,
as if to hold communion with beings of a higher
world — how does it bring down to the lowest extreme
of comparative insignificance the mightiest productions
of human labour ! It is clear that Nature has every-
where furnished the elements of Art ; the one is an
accessory to the other ; and consequently, wherever Art
prevails in its greater dignity and success, the glories
of Nature are heightened to the contemplations of the
philosopher, and even to the commonest admirer of
the Creator’s works !

In no country upon earth, not even excepting Upper
Egypt, have the prodigious powers of the human mind
been displayed to a greater extent than in India; and
I confess I never entertained so exalted an idea of
human capability as it deserves until I had witnessed
those stupendous productions of man’s ingenuity, so
frequently presented to the traveller’s eye on the
peninsula of Hindostan.

Struck by the scene before me, I sat myself down
upon a stone under the rocky porch of the cavern.

286

SCENES IN INDIA.

Before me gushed a narrow but deep stream, which
tumbled down the mountain in a broken line, ap-
pearing at the distance like a narrow stripe of silver
lace upon a green velvet mantle, but, upon a nearer
approach, bounding and hissing over opposing rocks
with the force and energy of “ a thing of life.” Just
before it reached the place where I had seated myself,
its waters gurgled and fried over a bed of rocks, which
formed a considerable slope in the hill, and produced
a cascade that sung one of Nature’s lullabies with a
far more sublime, if with a less harmonious, cadence
than babbling brooks. As I sat in this romantic shade,
I felt

“ The freshness of the breeze that sweeps the blossoms
And wafts around the champaka’s perfume,

Breathing melodious with the buzz of bees
That cluster in the buds, and with the song
The koil warbles thick and hurried forth,

As on the mangoe’s flowery top he sits,

And, all inebriate with its nectar, sings.”

On the right of this picturesque waterfall was a
deep glen, in which the growth was so close that
there the tiger roamed undisturbed and made his lair,
without fear of intrusion from a human foe. Across
the stream was an abrupt conical hill, in the bosom of
which a small cave-temple had been hollowed. It had
a low square portico, supported upon three plain pillars.
There was nothing in the interior, which I afterwards
examined, to attract attention. Its appearance was
sufficiently striking from the opposite portico, under
which I was sitting. Some of our party had taken
their station near the summit of the hill, in order to

MEETING WITH A TIGER.

287

enjoy with less interruption the surrounding prospect.
Our attendants were dispersed hither and thither ;
a group of them standing before the entrance of the
smaller excavation, some sleeping under the shade in
the natural recesses of the hill, and others threading
the jungle in pursuit of game.

After I had received all the enjoyment from my
reflections which they were capable of affording, I
descended the mount, and entered a thicket in the
valley below, which led me into an almost impassable
forest. Here and there, however, were comparatively
clear patches, and occasionally spots under cultivation,
where I had the common sport of partridge and quail
shooting, and contrived to kill a couple of hares.
Having shot as much game as I thought would be
useful, I desired the attendant who accompanied me
to take it to the cavern ; whilst I proceeded further
into the jungle ; but I was careful not to lose sight
of certain localities, which indicated my situation and
the way by which I was to return.

I had a double-barrel gun made by Mortimer, one
barrel of which was charged with shot and the other
with ball; — a practice I invariably observed, lest a
deer or some large game should cross my path upon
which small shot could make no effectual impression.
The growth was so thick in some places, that I
could scarcely advance, and I at length grew so tired
of the little progress I made, in proportion to the
labour employed, that I resolved to return. I had
advanced but a short way towards the entrance of
the wood, when, to my surprise, I saw a tiger leisure-
ly crossing the path, within ten yards of the spot

288

SCENES IN INDIA.

upon which I was standing. My uneasiness was con-
siderable at seeing myself within reach of a creature
whose powers of mischief are so formidable, and
whose method of destruction is so summary. I was
quite alone, but my gun was, at least, a probable
protection. To my great gratification, the tiger pass-
ed on its way without attempting to molest me.

The jungle through which it advanced was com-
paratively thin, so that I did not lose sight of the
beautiful beast when it entered the thicket. The
moment it crossed my path all sense of danger ap-
peared to subside within me, and impelled by an
impulse, as unaccountable as it was irresistible, I
levelled my gun and fired. The ball told upon the
tiger s hind-leg, which I could instantly perceive was
broken; but the enraged animal, uttering an appal-
ling yell, rushed from the thicket, and came bounding
before me upon three legs with a restrained and un-
natural motion, yet evincing a determination of re-
venge as difficult to avoid as it was imminent and
menacing. I had no power of destroying my angry
foe, as I had but one barrel loaded, and that was with
common shot. There was no time to lose, for the
creature was within a few yards of me ; I therefore
raised the gun to my shoulder, and knowing the tiger
could not spring, allowed it to approach within six
yards from where I stood, when I fired at its head, in
the hope of blinding it. My fire made a signal im-
pression, for the agonized beast rolled upon its back,
yelling as if in dreadful agony. Meanwhile, seeing
that it was still full of sturdy life, I threw my
gun upon the ground near me, and climbing a tree,

A TIGER KILLED.

289

awaited the issue of my imprudent aggression. After
the lapse of about a minute, the tiger rose and shook its
head, still continuing to yell with frightful vehemence.
I could perceive that its face was dreadfully lacerat-
ed by the shot ; nevertheless it soon became evident
that the wounded animal had not been totally blind-
ed, for with a sudden sharp roar it shuffled towards
the tree, the wounded leg dangling behind it perfectly
useless.

When it reached the tree which I had ascended,
to my consternation it attempted to scramble up the
trunk ; and as this was low and its branches nu-
merous, I began to fear that I had calculated upon
my security too soon. The ferocious brute was al-
ready upon the lower boughs, and I was beginning to
think of some effectual mode of frustrating its savage
design against me, when I perceived a charcoal-burn-
er advancing armed with the instrument of his vo-
cation. Reaching the spot where the tiger was still
struggling to propel its ponderous body between the
thick branches of the tree, on which I was already
beginning to tremble for my life, he planted a well-
directed stroke upon the creature’s hind-leg that had
not been wounded, and dividing the tendons, my ene-
my dropped powerless before him. With a deliberation
that showed he was no novice at this sanguinary
work, he despatched the now impotent animal by
giving it one or two desperate gashes on the throat,
which severed the windpipe, and soon laid it lifeless at
his feet.

At my request he skinned it, and carried it behind
me to the cavern, where I was greeted by the earnest

2 c

290

SCENES IN INDIA.

congratulations of my friends, when they had heard
the account of my escape ,* and giving the poor Hindoo
a gold mohur,* he departed, so well satisfied that he
declared he desired no better fortune than to encounter
a tiger every day with a broken leg, if the reward of
despatching it should be equal to that which he had
just received.

We now prepared for our departure from this
interesting island. It was still early, and the sun
was very powerful, especially in the valleys, where
its rays were caught and reflected by the bare face
of the mountain ; still, as a great part of our
route lay through narrow paths, thickly overshadowed
by the almost undisturbed growth of centuries, we
were not much incommoded. Some of our party
amused themselves with shooting, but I was not
among the number, having already had sufficient sport
for one day, and not having recovered from the ex-
citement produced by the morning’s peril.

We halted a day at Tanna, where there were some
European officers, who received us with great hospi-
tality ; and when they heard of my encounter with
the tiger, related several escapes still more narrow,
thus completely blunting the edge of my adventure,
which to me had been one of much alarm notwith-
standing. Here we passed the night, and on the fol-
lowing morning returned to Bombay.

As the period of the monsoon was now near, I
determined to take the opportunity of exploring this
island and its immediate dependencies before the rains

* The value of the Bombay gold mohur is about thirty-five
shillings.

THE JAIL AT BOMBAY.

291

should set in. I did not, however, see much worth
recording. Beyond the city within the fort, and the
fort itself, there is little to engage a traveller’s at-
tention. The black town is large and populous, but
the streets are narrow, the houses low, mean, and
filthy ; in short, its whole aspect excites impressions
of great wretchedness and destitution among the larger
proportion of its population, though this is really not
the case : for there is a good deal of wealth, even
amongst those whose dwellings present to the eye not
only the absence of all comfort but the presence of
much actual privation. The monotonous features
which this town exhibits are somewhat relieved by
a few European buildings, there being several Portu-
guese chapels and one or two Armenian churches.

The most conspicuous edifice is the jail. Here
I saw a culprit condemned to death for murder.
The man’s aspect was sullen and ferocious. He
was confined in a small cell, which opened into
a narrow court, where he was allowed to walk
by day, being locked up at night. He was eating
his rice with an appetite and apparent relish that
rather surprised me, hearing he was to be executed
the following morning. I did not interrupt his
meal, which he despatched with amazing promp-
titude. I then entered into conversation with him
upon the nature of his crime, and endeavoured to
ascertain his ideas of a state of future retribution.
He was very morose, and unwilling to give any
explanation of his feelings. When I urged him,
he said, looking at me with a grim smile, “ Can
you furnish me with anything that will remove the

292

SCENES IN INDIA.

bitters of death ? My cup is prepared, and I must
drink it ! ”

“ No, indeed,” said I, “ I have no power to render
your doom a welcome one, which would be the case
if I could remove its bitters : but perhaps I might be
able to impart some consolation to a wretched spirit.”

“ Those are idle words ; such are the officious bab-
blings of fools. What consolation can you impart who
are in a far worse condition than I am ? My time is
come ; what then remains for me but to die ?”

“ Do you not feel sorrow for the dreadful deed which
has brought you into such a sad situation ?”

“ Why should I feel sorrow? He deserved the death
I inflicted upon him. It was to be his doom, and I
was to be the instrument of bringing it upon him. I
am not to blame. It was my destiny, and I must die
for it. What then ? I shall but fulfil the conditions
of my mortality.”

His notions of predestination were so stubborn and
rooted that I could not stir them ; and he at length
became exceedingly impatient. I left him to fortify
himself for death, which, as I afterwards learned, he
met on the following morning with sullen indifference,
eating a large plate of rice immediately under the
gallows, as he said scoffingly, to prepare him for his
long journey.

Such is generally the brutal apathy with which
Hindoo criminals expiate with their lives any capital
violation of the laws. Though their love of life is ex-
treme, and they will adopt every possible means to
avoid the sad issue of humanity until Nature sends
forth her summons, they nevertheless meet it when

SCENE IN A JAIL.

293

it unexpectedly comes upon them, with a factitious
hardihood induced by those notions of absolute ne-
cessity which renders them stubborn predestinarians.
This, however, is by no means universal among them ;
but, when the notion is entertained, it is inveterate,
and almost invariably the belief of the profligate
among their communities.

After quitting the murderer I was introduced by the
keeper of the prison to a young officer confined for
debt. It still wanted a full hour of noon ; but he had
evidently been indulging in “ potations deep,” as his
speech was thick and his gait unsteady. He was
quite a young man, as it struck me, about two-and-
twenty. His face was flushed, his cheeks bloated, his
eyes red and bloodshot, his dress disordered, his hair
thick and uncombed, and his whole appearance bore visi-
ble notations of the burning brand of early debauchery.
He invited me into his apartment, in which were two
fractured chairs, a broken teak table, and a small
camp bed. The floor was strewed with various articles
of dress. Upon the table lay two or three fractured
glasses, some cigars, a common native hookah without
a mouthpiece ; — in fact, every thing before me was a
melancholy token of the worst habits,

“ And seemed to speak variety of wretchedness.’'

The young epicurean did not appear conscious
that there was anything like misery in the world.
His mirth was boisterous, his laugh incessant,
his conversation voluble, and yet, amidst it all,
there was a morbid indifference that seemed to have
overlaid his youthful and elastic spirit like a cold win-

2 c 3

294

SCENES IN INDIA.

try blight upon the opening primrose. I could find
no room for mirth, though my companion assumed a
gaiety foreign to his condition. He told me that his
motto was “ a short life and a merry one that he
had given and received fifteen shots within the last six
months without a scratch on either side ; that it was,
therefore, evident he was not to be the victim of gun-
powder.

“ I bear a charmed life !” said he, flourishing his
clenched fist over his head ; and when this ebullition
had subsided, with puffed cheeks that were one uni-
form tinge of deep crimson, his eye the while rolling
dull and languid beneath the lid, he gulped a deep
draught of arrack, slightly diluted with water.

Habits of intemperance were so confirmed in this
unhappy youth, that he was never sober beyond
three or four hours in the morning. The characters
of death were already written legibly in his pursed
and flaccid forehead. The worm was evidently at
the root, but he seemed not to heed it, or, if he
did, it gave him no concern. It was useless talking
to such a man ; I therefore quitted him with a pain-
ful emotion of sorrow at the blight which had so
sadly fallen upon him. Within a month from the
time I saw him he was in his grave.

The most remarkable place in Bombay is Malabar
Point, a conspicuous promontory, in which there is
a large rift in the cliff. This is considered a sa-
cred spot by pilgrims and other Hindoo visionaries
who resort thither for the purposes of spiritual ex-
purgation. By passing through this aperture they
imagine that they obtain remission of their sins, and

sterne’s maria.

295

as it is rather narrow, the exility of the half-starved
devotee renders that comparatively little laborious to
him which is really a matter of difficulty to the more
bulky sybarite. This act of devotion is attended with
some danger during the monsoons, for the cliff being at
a great elevation above the beach, and among rocks
at no time easy of access, the lashing of the surge
at their base, when the sea dashes over them, some-
times almost to the brow of the cliff, renders the
footing of the penitentiary frequently precarious, and
requires much caution to perform this act of silly
superstition.

Near this spot is an agreeable village almost entirely
inhabited by Brahmins, where there is a fine large
tank, walled all round with beautiful masonry, with a
descent to the water by a broad flight of stone steps.
Here these holy men — holy at least by profession, if
not by nature —pass their lives in indolent enjoyment,
which for the most part consists in indulging, without
stint, the suggestions of appetite. Some of them are
said never to pass beyond the immediate neighbour-
hood of their homes, yet the spot is so healthy that
they generally attain to a good old age.

Not far from Malabar Point stood the house for-
merly occupied by Mrs. Draper, the celebrated Maria
of Sterne. This circumstance has consecrated it to a
certain extent in the eyes of many persons ; but there
is nothing else to signalize it, and probably by this
time it no longer exists, though when I left Bombay,
it was still in a very habitable state, occupied by a
subaltern officer and his family.

There is a large village at Bombay called Maza-

296

SCENES IN INDIA.

gong, entirely inhabited by Portuguese. Here the
finest mangoes in India are produced. So much
esteemed are they that they are sent to all the south-
ern parts of the peninsula sufficiently near to obtain
them in good preservation. The Portuguese have
been exceedingly successful in cultivating this fruit,
as the mango of Goa, a Portuguese settlement on the
Malabar coast, next to that of Mazagong, is the most
highly prized. It is said that those mangoes produced
in the neighbourhood of this village had attained such
celebrity during the reign of the Emperor Shah Jelian,
as to be regularly sent to Delhi for the imperial table.

There are two plain but not inelegant Roman
Catholic churches at Mazagong, and a convenient
dock for vessels of small burthen. About eight miles
from the capital, at the extremity of the island, is
a small fort called Sion, built upon an elevation,
which rises abruptly from the plain, something like a
depressed sugar-loaf. This fort commands the frith
between Bombay and Salsette, across which a cause-
way was built under the direction of Mr. Duncan,
when governor, with a drawbridge in the centre, but
too narrow for carriages to pass except in fine wea-
ther.

There is another small native town on this island
called Mehim, situated on the northern side ; it is
chiefly distinguished by a Portuguese college for Roman
Catholic priests, though nothing can be more con-
temptible as a seat of learning. This town and the
adjacent villages contain a population of near sixteen
thousand souls.

As the season had now advanced we engaged a

CONCLUSION.

297

house on the beach, struck our tents, and took pos-
session of our more substantial residence, where we
remained with very little to vary the monotony of an
in-door life during the period of the monsoon.

I have now brought the first series of this work to
a close, and, as the two first volumes have obtained
a popularity beyond what I had ever anticipated, I
am anxious to contradict a report which has prevail-
ed to my prejudice respecting the right of authorship.
It has been rumoured that in this work X have merely
arranged the materials supplied by my brother, the
Reverend Richard Macdonald Gaunter. Now, in order
to check the tendency of such a rumour, I take this
public opportunity of most unequivocally contradicting
it, and declare that Mr. R M. Gaunter, so far from
having furnished a single hint, did not even know of
the existence of the Oriental Annual until the first
volume was printed. The report, however originat-
ing, is a mischievous calumny ; and I trust that those
persons who have heard and believed it will receive
this public assurance, that the whole of the volumes,
quotations of course excepted, were exclusively writ-
ten by me ; and I entreat them further to believe that
I am incapable of putting my name to a book which I
did not write.

THE END.

LONDON :

PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.