A Visit to l^adras: Being 
 a Sketch of the Local and Cha 
 ractorlstic Peculiarities of 
 that Presidency
 
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 VISIT TO MADRASj 
 
 BEING 
 
 A SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LOCAL AND CHARACTERISTIC PECULIARITIES 
 
 ®1&at Prejsitr^ncfi, 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1811. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR SIR RICHARD PHILLIPS ano Co. 
 
 liRlDE-COURT, BRIDGE'STKEET ; AND TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLEUS- 
 
 1821.
 
 A V\^\T !() MADRAS. 
 
 LETTER r. 
 
 rO HOBEilT CALDEilWOOD, ESQ. 
 
 Mddraa. — Catamaran. — Natives. — Duhushes. — Griffins.— 
 Surf. — Massoolali Boat. — The Beach. — Situation of the 
 Settlement. — Black Town. — Gardeu-Honses. — Fort. — Shop- 
 pincj. — Dinner. — Hookah. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, Madras, May \7th, 
 
 ScARrrLY had we anchored at this place, after a pleasant pas- 
 sage from MauritiuSj ere the general attention was directed to 
 three men, half erect in the water, making' toward the ship, 
 without any perceptible nieans of sujstaining theniselves. A 
 short time explained the wonder; they were seated on one of 
 those far-famed machines (imitations of which were used against 
 the Boulogne flotilla in 1801) called catamarans. This con- 
 sists simply of three logs of wood, each six or eight inches in 
 diameter, and about six feet long-, bound together by ropes, 
 one end being- rounded oflf", for the convenience of making- 
 swifter progress through the water. The surface is flat, and 
 being level with the sea, is, of cours^e, continually washed by it. 
 One or more men, according- to circumstances, squatted on 
 their knees, work it with paddles, alternately, on either side, for 
 hours together, in a position so singularly uneasy to my eyes, 
 that my joints almost ache at the recollection. On this slippery 
 fabric, however, will they venture off several miles to sea, with 
 letters or messages to shipping, when boats dare not, or will 
 not, make the atteinpt. The men are, of course, excellent 
 swimmers; and being continually washed oft' when the sea is 
 in the least degree rough, as quickly regain their seat and their 
 paddie (the only furniture of the raft) remaining thus for nearly 
 '^he whole day immersed in vvater. In diving, they are equally 
 expert, so that articles lost from the Massoolah boats are gene- 
 rally soon recovered, by their exertions.
 
 4 A Visit to Mud I us. 
 
 The trusty Morcury ot" the float, who had no other covotiiio 
 than a rag- round his middle and another twisted round fiis 
 head, in the form of a turhan, after a variety oC sulams, or salu- 
 tations of the head nearly down to the <leck, drew from the 
 folds of his liead-dress, a dispatch, announcing the death of 
 Admiral Drury, and the sailini>- of the exj)e(lition aoainst Java, 
 under Sir Samuel Auclimuty and ("ominodore Broui>liton ; 
 Lord 3Iinto, it appears, likewise arcom{)anied it. A %ioletit 
 hurricane or typiion came on two days afterwards, far exceed- 
 insf in violence anv that has occurred here since ITS'i, when 
 the fleet of Sir l^dward llui^^hes was nearly destroyed, (ireat 
 fears, therefore, are entertained for the safety oi" the armament. 
 
 Before the storm came on in the eveninii, nearly a hundred 
 sail of vessels, principally coasters, lay at anchor in tlio roads ; 
 in the morning^, the s^ieater part of these, iucluiiii):; his Majesty's 
 ships Dover and ("hichester, were strewed in fr;i<4iiients on the 
 beach. The horrors of the ni<jht are said to have been indescrii)- 
 able. Many of the native vessels, at all times ill-calculated 
 to encounter tempests, foundered at their a:uhor.N; others snap- 
 ped their cables and l)ecame en<4iilphe(i in the surf; while tlie 
 cries of the sufferers, now and the:! heard in the darkness, ami(5 
 the howling' of winds and waves, produced the most poiiiiriiif 
 distress, with scarcely the possibility of renderinn" them the 
 least assistance. On shore, large trees m ere torn up by the 
 roots, doors and nindow-shutters dashed with violence from 
 their hinges, palings, sentry-boxes, every thisigin short capable 
 of being- seized by th(> Mind, overturned and carried away. 
 The whole appearance of the roads oiferin^' a wide and wild 
 expanse of sea, well accords with the rudeness of the surf. 
 scarcely relieved by the view of the luri. the snowy whiteness 
 of the build int>s, an extensive town, and a serene blue sky. 
 To a nautical eye there is no shelter; every bree/e and tlitting^ 
 cloud is dreaded, l)y the seaman, as a disguised enemy. 
 
 Having remained on-board duiiuu' the night, I was roused 
 sometime about the hour of six, next moruiiiu'. by a loud clatter- 
 ing' of voices in the gun-room, in an unknown laiimiage. One 
 of the officers, it appeared, ^\ as amusing himself Aviih a grouj» 
 of natives, who had \eutured otlthus (>aily, on various (iratids : 
 as merchants, dunast:es, servants, mechanics, and Ixgiiars : 
 some knew not what t!iey wanted, and others, by tlieir ow tt 
 account, had merely come to encpiire atur •■ the health of master." 
 their common term fur f .uropeaus. The oroup would !ia\e 
 amused you. The figure ucneraliy did not ( xceed the middb- 
 size, slim in its form, ( nveioped in a bjiiii wliit(^ dress and tur- 
 ban, the features nnid and handsome, though gritunded on a 
 black face, the ears ornamented with riii^s, and the whole 
 appearance feininin<\
 
 In the Year 1811. 5 
 
 One of the party seeing ine peep from my cabin, obse- 
 <juiously approached, and, placing both hands on his forehead, 
 bowed nearly to the deck, exclaiming, " Salam, Master," the 
 usual salutation of a Hindoo. I was not yet »iressed; but my 
 nevv acquaintance seemed so attentive, so desirous to please, and 
 withal the custom of the country has so entitled the wiiole fra- 
 ternity to several liberties, that I could not find in my heart to 
 make him retire. A volley of inquiries afrer my health and night's 
 rest nearly ov{M-whe!med ine ; those were followed by a request 
 to become my dubash, acco^npanied by positive assurances of his 
 being a vert/, very lionest man. The smile excited by this de- 
 claration served to encourage the soliciJations of another can- 
 didate for my favours, who made a similar request, prefaced by 
 the sanie round of aftectiona'e querie^^ The first, however, 
 alarmed at the idea of losing me, immediately seized his rival 
 by the shoulders — " No, no, nia^ster"' — said he — " no character 
 — no honest man ;" — He was abused, and as q lickly grappled 
 by the throat, in return. I expected a delng-e of blows to follow ; 
 but, after violent mutual abuse, added to the clinching of fists, 
 and the utmost fury of gesture, the storm ceased, their hands 
 dropped from each other, and in five minutes more, to my great 
 surprise, they were again fast friends. 
 
 Anxious to see as much as possible of the manners, tricks, 
 and occupations of this motley assemblage, we admitted all 
 classes. One counienanee at length pleased me. — '• Well, 
 hoy,'' — for, be it remembered, every native, however old, is 
 usually called boy, — " can you recommend nje a good dubash?" 
 — '• Yes, yes, master — me very good dubash — me very 
 honest man, sir ; — have plenty of character, master," — and he 
 eagerly produced at least a quire of certificates from former 
 employers, many couched in a ludicrous or satirical strain. — 
 " Plenty officer know me, sir, — buy every ting dat master want 
 very cheap — muslin — nankeen — silk — palampou — fan — shirt." 
 — " Hold, hold, my friend — I am not a merchant, — besides I 
 have very little money." 
 
 The fellow grinned incredulity to my plea of poverty more 
 powerfully than he could express it by language. — " Ah, master 
 from England alway rich — have plentj^ of money fur })oor man." 
 — Englishmen and riches, 1 find, are univer^^ally coupled. — It 
 was impossible to resist so ilattering an assurance; and, there- 
 fore, after a little more conversation, I engaged this very 
 holiest man, as he called himself, in my service. 
 
 A dubas!;, you must be informed, is a customary ap[)cndage 
 to all temporary sojourners in ladia. To a naval officer, who 
 often arrives with the comforta')!e assiuance of not liaving a 
 hingle ac<piaintance to v. horn he can apply for the lrillin<4 inf(»r-
 
 ^ .^7 Visit to Mddiaif, 
 
 Illation and news of the place, he is a kind of ne(e>saiy evil; 
 ill fiirt, a eprcit's of valet-de-place. The duhash knows « here 
 llic priiirpil pt o[)le rtside; he rornniiiiiirafes the news of the 
 tow II : forms an hiiiiiMe ouide to all places ()f husiriess or 
 aimisciiu'iit ; keeps in constant attendance ; runs aho'jt in (he 
 sun; and will titiier conclude l)ari>fa!ns as a broker, or intro- 
 duce (he native merchant in person. In either case, iinpo- 
 siliun iiuisf \\v expected ; hut, j)erhaj'.s. trustino- (o the du- 
 l)a^h is (if the two llie wiser j)lan ; lie does noi always harij-ain 
 for a salary, hut trii«*s (o the Ltenerosity of his einploy(M' — to his 
 wits — I'.nd to a c< rt.'.in jM^r ceiilai^e on articles purchased at t!.*; 
 native shops, paid hy ;!;(^ xer.dcis, aiul called custom; he i>; 
 peculiarly lender on the poisit of hoiu^stv, and insists upon it 
 strenuously — a jirelty sure pioof of havin<>" very little. "^I'liis 
 class usually assail st raiiiicrs. Oil a liis^her scale, they become 
 more respectablr. possessiii'.; '.vealth, ofien enil)arkino- jn exten- 
 sive mercan'ile transactiii'is, arid lendinij;- lariie sums of money 
 to l^uropeaus upon their venUires. particulaily the officers ot 
 Indiameii, To these men also, souk^ of the ( 'ouijiany's civil ser- 
 vants often becwine iiidt bit (1 in l.ir;.><^ sinus, 
 
 iMy n( w iiC(pMi:it,sn( (\ >. I'o '('mtd ea-^er to anticipate my 
 M'ishes, wasa tiu AsImJic — -i;p';ie, iiiiid. insinualing-, submis- 
 sive, unreniiiMiu- Iv attenti^'- e\eii to inv looks; — where people 
 thu.'i \ (duutii' il V b^'. , UK' si:iv, -, \\r.\\ liitlicnlt it is not to [)!ay 
 the t^ran! ! .\ iMMi'vome p;,l,;'!(j'i:n. he .>-a:d, awaited my plea- 
 .'-ur.' oii-s!;(!c, aioii^- V ;!ii a !i u-iy ser\ ant, who. like himself, 
 never c!,( ai^'ii 'iyjjdi im r::i( id;'!'. This term may likewise re- 
 (jiiire ( \pIr::i:.i:oii, A sii-i: ^er is faceiiousiy denuiuinated a 
 '!'[(fl'|^ ^'. i ( !!. !iri;n- !;;;>( (;i!:ii!!'.<(l with llie more knavish 
 ti i( k^ of the p( ople aro;:n''' h:!i!. he be* nni(',>< i!h> dupe of i:)nii- 
 inerabie iiiijMisilioiis, a kip<l of air u une, in lac t. to leeches of 
 all clasi^es, who seem to l! ii;k tli<i.is(lv( s enl-tled to Hcece him 
 ill every jiraelicabit mo!(-. 'i lie ueriod o! j^i iltiiiai>"e is said to 
 exist f('r a ye;)r ; about \\!ii(ii liine the a(l\enturer, if he be 
 siiaip'. ni:y bi coiim' 'ap..!'.!! ul C(inba' itiLi' wMl! the host of con- 
 s|):ralo's ;i'_;;!in>( h:s pj-; ja r'v. P.ssi-nu' is cewiv iaijioi ted from 
 r.urope; siips-oi-'i'. ;:;■ ;i;!i\id c'l ihes'iliou; travellers, mer- 
 < han!.-. sa:l.i--- soliiici^. a'l p- v ti.is tax b r tlnir knowledge of 
 th:- ( oiiir rv ; ai:d, o': ' io' ;,i i:'. a! oi' eyei y tiesli cais^o of <lupes, 
 you u.iL;!iI siipjuis . iy \\\c (\p;(s<ion ol t':e Sable laces on 
 ^M o!;'.'' he, .(•!'. tii< \ V. , ; , . ;i fl c \ oil,; of ( iijoym^- a Liahi'dav. 
 
 To (le-s I'c s;.i[ ■ ;s ai ■:j\ iii!ie*< an ctt j)leasa;ii uiidi r^ ikinii;*, 
 a!;d soiiK 1: '.e-- < vi •■\ <l ; • :< 1 1 ik ; b;i! as (!',e w (Uuhrs ol the new 
 vf, !:<■ (•'■■;:M ii'^: \)<' o!;;(;\\isc ciioycd, y. v !(iok ad\ai'taoe of 
 a \J(is::(.iil;ilt b;' .1 ;!.at <;!ii;(' ofi' lo the -.iiip. Ti,is is the fir- 
 i .■, • d c.p!;\ ( _* "Ni . o! v.hiih pioijabiy yrui liavc hear(' : t!ic
 
 In the YfAir 1811. 7 
 
 bottom is fiat; the sides, bow, and stern raised, to keep oft' the 
 epray, wliicli is much assisted by tlie boat swiiniuir.g tiiij:!i out 
 of tlie water, in consequence of beino- formed of very h'ljht 
 wood, sewed together by means of the fibrous coat of the cocoa- 
 nut, not a nail being used in her construction ; sometimes, 
 liotwithsfariding every care, they are uj)set by the furious surge ; 
 catamarans attend them in bad weather to assisjf, in case of 
 accident, and a particular flag announces wlien it is datigerous. 
 
 Havijig gained the outer line, or bar, of the suif, for it com- 
 iuonly breaks ia three distinct ridges, each nearer than the other 
 to the shore, tfie rowers simultaneously paused ; their hitherto 
 cheerful song likev^ise ceased ; but, when the surf once broke, 
 and an opportunity offered fur pulling in with greater safety, 
 they exerted all their strength, bursting at tlie same moment 
 into loud and hurried exciatnations, whicli, combined vtith a 
 peculiar expression of countenance, prese»ite<l a very vivid and 
 natural picture of alarm. At every break, this was repeated ; 
 the force of the surge nas in<lescribable, whirling the boat most 
 fiiriously forward on its white and shattered summit, v.e scarcely 
 knew whither, while by the shocks, she trembled as if threat- 
 ening to fall into a thousand pieces. 
 
 I question, however, v/hether the importunity of t';e group 
 f?;at awaited our landinii, was not more annoying (h n the surf. 
 It WIS now a living surf — a mass of peojile, not cf v.arf^rs, that 
 ciovv'ded around and tfjreatened to f)vt.rH hvliii i;.?. - '' blaster, 
 me L'(>od tinbash." — •' Have one good boy "?" — '' 31 e very honest 
 isiarj," — " Do every ting for master." — " Bii.y very ciic'.p, sir." — 
 " Fiiie j)alanqiii!i — plenty of beartr for master."—" Have 
 < 'ooley boy, sir ? — take trunk, parcel, any ting," — and a hun- 
 dred similar exclamations issued from as many voices. The 
 loiygage was instantly Sfized by co:itending coolies (porters) ; 
 I liad no small difficulty in extricating my person from tlie same 
 fate ; and was almost ill-natured enough to envy our companion, 
 
 li , the possession of a horsp-whip, which he exercised, with 
 
 vast advantage to himself. In the coiifusion created by this 
 rabble, indeed, it is not uncommon for the cooiies, exc "j)i well- 
 watched, to trot off with their burdens to t':e thieving bazaar 
 and disposing of it for their own benefit ; but b-eing aware of 
 the trick, no Duenna of old ever more narrowly watc!)ed a 
 yo-in)g and blooming beauty than we did these nimble-fiugered 
 porters. 
 
 Palanquins, already arranoed on the beach for our party, 
 proved a most welcome retreat from the ^un, and of C!)urse 
 underwent a minute scrutiny. They are in fact coach-!)odie« 
 in miniature, allowing the passenger to extend liinipeif at length, 
 '^r to Kit upright, supported by cushions, his he<hU being in tk« 
 
 ^OYi^Et and ThxyzL's. A>. K Vfil. V. L
 
 •amc lin« with liis body; the coiiRtruotion in light: a ciiij^I* 
 pole, iherefore, at either etui supports it, each resting^ on the 
 Dare shoulders of two mei), who trot about the town, at ilie rate 
 of five miles an lour. The rey^ular nutnber of bearers for hire 
 18 torninotily six, or eight, who occasionally relieve each other ; 
 — in a family not f^o many; — on a journey, two or three more 
 perlia{)s may be added; luiu Eur(»peans travel, in this manner, 
 »ever;;l hniMlred miles, the men living on little else than curried 
 rice and fowl. 
 
 Amused Mith the novelty of this conveyance, it seemed but 
 a few minutes' brisk trot ere ue reached a tohrable inn, on the 
 verge of Black Town, and bordering the esplanade. Within 
 the fort there was a belter, but the situation appeared confined. 
 Our clioice, on the contrary, >vas open and airy, having a good 
 view of the fort and its numerous houses; and, besides other 
 recommendations, receiving the full benefit of the sea-breeze, 
 not a small one, believe m**, it) this region of sun and sand. In 
 this neighbourhood, also, were the shops, both European and 
 native, where tlie usual riick-tiacks and tinery s<»ught after by 
 strangers are sold. 3Iy purchases of course will be trifling; 
 but were I to return frun the very birth place of crapes, siiks, 
 and muslins, (juite emp!y-hatided, how would it be possible to 
 look mv female acfjuamtance in the face '^ 
 
 A new-comer, on casting his eyes around, after securitig a 
 footing on-shore, feels convinced he has entered a new world. 
 The surf, the 31assoolah boat, the dresses, features, and obse- 
 quious iinportumiy of the people, the handsome style of the 
 houses, white as snow, and set-otrwiih colonndes and porticoes; 
 the mount road, gardpn-l.ouses, eiCgant equipages, palanquins, 
 all strike him as obj<M ts he has never before seen combined. 
 Added to ;hrse. the intermixture of whites with all the nation>i 
 of the East, — the extetit of ihe town — its itiifiortance as the 
 second Prcs'denry of our Easiern Empire — its wealth as a 
 cotnmercial drp»')t, though desiitute of a port — press forcibly on 
 his imagination. 
 
 A worse situation for a great capital could scarcely have been 
 chosen, beinsj placed in a large, arid plain, the veofctation 
 scanty, and the soil, except in the oardeii*^ of the white inha- 
 ])itants, prodiiriiig little for general use. The action of the sun 
 upon the sand renders the heat often excessne ; it is likewise 
 ex[)0sed to burning wirxis, loaded with a sufforatijig fiery dnst, 
 that occasions much distress, keej)ing the thermometer for <lays 
 foirether at !(K)^. In such a situation, would you conceive that 
 love uave origin to this place? — \vX such is the ca«ie. Sir 
 William Eanghorne. about the time of the restoration, or. as some 
 ,>*.f-frt, durinir the civil war. fixed upon the site, not for its con-
 
 iHlheY^'ai- ]S\\. 'J 
 
 Veoience, bnt from being contiguous to the ohject of his amor- 
 ous vows : — *' What mighty measuresi spring from littie things !" 
 — A famous demi-rep of antiquity had influence enough to de- 
 stroy a town; but our modern enchantress more patriotically 
 raised one — and the deed tnay be permitted to cover a multi- 
 tude of sins; — may the votaries of Venus never leave behind 
 them a worse memento! — It was once (174()) taken by La 
 Bourdonnais and ransomed ; Lally afterwards made an attempt 
 upon it, and failed ; and, in 1782, it trembled before the arms 
 of Hyder Ally. 3Iadras and Pondicherry, the chief settle- 
 ments of England an<l France, on the coast of Coromandel, 
 were long the Rome and Carthage of India. Orme has well 
 detailed their struggles ; ever striving for the mastery, ever at 
 war, either by arms or intrigues, it became a happy circum- 
 stance for the harassed country, \j'hen, at length, one was 
 finally subdued. 
 
 Black Town, so called from the prevailing colour of the 
 population, contains little worthy of notice; it is defended from 
 sudden inroads by a ditch and a few works now little attended 
 to; the streets are small and irregular; the houses of the 
 natives commonly mean, ofen displaying squalid poverty, 
 though plastered with the white mortar called chunam. The 
 richer class, however, sometimes affect elegance in their habi- 
 tations and equipages, but though the majority of native mer- 
 chants have the reputation of uealtli, few comparatively seem 
 fond of displaying it. Several Europeans, iikev\ise, reside here 
 or have their shops and counting-lionsf^s in the vicinity; but for 
 a family-rtsidence, it is quite uiifashionabie, these being all two 
 or thrre miles distant, and called Gaicien Houses. The popu- 
 lation is very larye, some say 1-^jO,000, but ihi> probably is ex- 
 aggerated by a fourth ; it consists of all the Eastern nations 
 and religious stcfs, I\f()hamedruis, I'ersees, Armenians, the fol- 
 lowers of Confucius, Biack, or (as they are ttrmed) Portuguese 
 Christians, besides uhites from all the tiatrons of Europe; and 
 the usual disciples of Bhudha and Biamah. An obvious dis- 
 tincticui air»ong tlse latter strikes a siranyer at first sight. Some 
 have a perpendicular line of yellow p!<;tiient drawn on ihe fore- 
 head inunediately over the nose, while others have it extmded 
 horizontally; the foimer desigi atini; t!;e followers of Visfmou^ 
 the latter of Shiva, commoniy railed Mulnbars. Froiri tbo 
 forehead, the eye is directly attracted io the lips, on the lower 
 of which, is often curiously projected, from tlie mouth, a red 
 mass, or ball, resf^mbling a diseased excrescence, but formed 
 of the betel-leaf and areca-nut, mixed with a finer sort of chu- 
 nam, which corrodes aud bla( kens the teeth, (a beauty among 
 
 ]^2
 
 w 
 
 ►f t^itit In iMadrui, 
 
 the Hindoo f;isliiotiai)!cs) renders tlie a^ums livid, and imparts a 
 de< p-rcd co!(.tir to the saliva, so that the mouth seems as if 
 
 gojiied wifli blood. 
 
 A !e^v Pctrtuijuese and Armenian clmrclies, besides mosques 
 anil paL:oda«, are seatfered through Black Town. The raiiije 
 of buildini>s on the f)each near the landin<>--place, cousislinii^ of 
 {)rivate ottioes and the naval arsenal, at a distance looks orand ; 
 hut, on a nearer vievv, seetns uiitinisjied. llouse-rent is s^o uni- 
 versally <'ear, that a ropectable mansion for a family costs be- 
 tween five or six hundred pounds per annum. The *i-eneral 
 style of livinois likewi-^e exper^sive ; yet, paradoxical as it may 
 F.ppear, all the ijeressaries, and many of the luxuries, of life are 
 moderate in j-rice; l;ut the autociais of fa>!iiou having- esta- 
 blished here, \r- in olfier p'aee', a certain system of t!»eir own, 
 \i is expected to })e folljued i)y (he minor satelliles of the 
 sphere, if ifioy calculate on fie'riy countenanced. But the appro- 
 pi iale matision* of familiar inteic<nirse are the warden-houses, 
 so called ficuii being" situated riv,>re i*) the cou!i(ry amid trees, 
 flower.f, gardens, atfd all tiie otiier atfeii;!;;nts on rural life. 
 Here luxury seems to have r< ir< a'ed frcuu citie», to seek more 
 ex(piisite ioys in retirempiii : ! t re, likewise, the beauty and 
 fashion of the place meet to r •!) ilie riuin.! of jjleasure. 'I'he 
 Louses are generally detaches! : i'm y ate ii'so at scine distance 
 both from the fort and from HIack i on' n; the priricipal people 
 inhabit them; and the mfrc'.iant, fa?i;i;ucd will) the labours of 
 the day in the country-ho!!s(\ retires hiiiur at four or five 
 o'clock, !o rest f<.r tl.'e evenimr. in the bosiufi of his family. They 
 are in fact to 3Ia;lris, what so.ne of the h(>!ter subur't s are to 
 London, — \^•itll ti.is difiVrence. tli if in tiie laMer, are .seet) plain 
 unassu;!;ing men — in the tori!:' r, more c<i!i>e(jU(nfiaI characters, 
 uho, with many fine (pialitiis, ,'i;e arciised of a dtgree ofpriile 
 l)(»t altdg-etlKr hecoiuing- the n:;r( ae.tile character. 
 
 Here, likewise, are said to have or iiiiiiated some of those 
 daik schemes and u'ljnst projee!>, sij)]){)>p,'i to characterize that 
 lerrilile monster — an oriental polit'ciu!. I know not whether 
 it arises from reading or prejudice, but I am often tempted to 
 Icfk upon the whites, with an eye of susp'C'on. J can fancy 
 murder, and rapine, and violence ii! many a fice, lliat turns out 
 to lielong to very worthy riU'ti ; and, ujtw ithstandinir tales of 
 [)!under and extortion, ] hear of nuiny fortunes made in a very 
 lawful and honourable way. ?>!anv well-im aning persons in 
 J:]fi2land, I know will scarcely Ixdieve this; for the prosecution 
 of ."ome iclebialed personages and the vivid;iess of Burki's 
 ii;;M;J(!a!!on, hriliiant, in tiie ♦ x;rein(>, in ail its varied and mas- 
 tt'ily e.iltiurings, iia.e in<-'(>liinla: ilv as^'^.-iifd, in m;;nv mind.-, 
 i'^juslw'' :"!<'■! rcbiiery willi tlv eiine -t 'ii(ii:-. !t i^as, indeed.
 
 been the scene of many oi'our sfserils* a;:d t'^itsits; coura[>-e ami 
 policy, intn'o'iie, aiid perhaps pern(iy, ail th.e gooil and most of 
 the bad qualities of our narnre, have been exerted here, ia a 
 deyree not excelled even in Europe. 
 
 Fort Si. George is the second work in India, bein^ inferior 
 only to Fort Wdliam, and m as planiipd by l^ubiiis, the actual 
 M'riter of Anson's voyage, as well as of an Essay on IMathe- 
 matics, and likewise of a Treatise on Gunnery; he iVxei] here 
 in 1751, chief-engineer to ihe Goaipany. On one side, it .skirfs 
 the sea; on the otiier, an esj>!anade of some extent adjoins the 
 glacis; the construction is irreijular though good, but some 
 parts seem falling- to decay, for Hyder Ally is no longer thunder- 
 ing- at tl'.e gates. 
 
 Wiihi!) this structure, tlje intermixture of civil and miliiary 
 life appears remarkable. I; is it: fact a small though well-tilled 
 town, cotitaining several good houses, the extens-ive stores of 
 the Company, (he mercham's counting-ho'jses and other (»fhces, 
 interuiirgied with guns, bastions, and barracks. Here you 
 lijay contrast, at every step, the man of war with the man of 
 tiatHc, the muster-roll with the ledger, the bayonet with the 
 pen, the sentry-box with the desk and counter. The precau- 
 tion of keeping witliin the wails was at first adopted from the 
 facility with wiiich immense armies of cavahy formerly over- 
 ran the plains, destroying or carrying off every species of pro- 
 perty as well as the iidiabiianis, and retreating, before it was 
 known where tlse blow was st;;i< k. 
 
 The private houses ate \i''\\\, the apartmesits gencraiiy 
 8i)acit)us; and, as coulness i-^ "he principal object of airainrneiit 
 in the class of comi'orLs, fe-v are decorated vvjih those enciiess 
 massts of rich furniture, which disl.'nguisi! houses iti the motiier- 
 coufitry. An open space in the centre of the fort contaitis a 
 fine siatue of iiie late Pdasfjiiis Cnrnwrdiis, executed, if mv 
 memory be correct, by Bacini ; the Compaiiy certaiidy owed 
 him tiiis tr!!)U:e of respect. From tiie wt>rkf'i may be had a 
 good view of the sea; in the ev.iniug, the w;i!k is refreshing; 
 but walking-, ajMong the fair sex at least, is not in fashios;, for 
 a lady would almost as soon tliiuk of going- out naked, as with- 
 out an ecpiij;a«>.e. 
 
 T.'ic iiui in the fort, as already ren;arked, is snperior to any 
 in Biack-town, and also, . s 1 can vouch, nuicii dearer. Two 
 cemoanions and myself sat down, for a few minu es, to a plain 
 tifnn or lun. h, and the charge was forty-five shillinos, which 
 probably miuht have cost as nsany |)ence in England ; \i felj 
 to my lot to [)ay ; 1 could not a'/oid asking the snan v,hetiier 
 he iniagined 1 belonged to tiie Boj'ga! staff, or had been rob- 
 bing a rajah? Boniface smiled; bnt ! suppose f»eing ,vr//^;M-.
 
 }Z .1 I'i.sif to ,'\hulras, 
 
 it is quite risr'it we should pay for experience. There is, in 
 general, a coii^Mlerahlt' t;arrisiMi kept here, and alloj^ether it ia 
 prol)al)|y too strotJir for any attempts by the native powers, 
 thoiitfh it would fsurter severely from bombardment; but when- 
 ever it comes to this, it will, 1 believe, be quite time to re-em- 
 bark alio<j;e!her fur l•]I)^l;JMd. 
 
 Ilaviiio previously arranged the customary preliminaries of 
 a iiood dinner and the best wine, we had stdl abundance of 
 time for other objects; and, therefore, trotted back from the fort 
 to the native shop:*, each attended by his dtdjash, his servant, 
 and four relief-bearers, foruiing- aniono the whole of our party, 
 no trifling- cavalcade ; for here a middling man has as many 
 attendants as the prince of another country. The shops make 
 little display, a few streets constitufitig the bazaar, and the du- 
 bash being- the guide. It is his express occupation to argue 
 and bluster incessantly, beafiniy down the merchant from a 
 pagoda (''^>.) to a rupee, (■2s. 6d.) and from a rupee to a fanam, 
 (2A(/.) wiih all the skill of an able engineer familiar with the 
 best [)oints of attack; in a small way, the bargain usually pro- 
 ceeds thus : 
 
 The vender being introduced, demands at least double or 
 treble the sum he intends to take; this l)eing resisted, the price 
 is in a trifling deii^ree loweied; the dubash now interferes, in- 
 sisting on the exorbiiancy of the charge, when high words, in 
 an unknown language, and violent gestures ensue, till at length 
 the broker, pouncing upon (he goods like a tiger on his prey, 
 seizes them by main force, — the mercliatit stoutly resists, — it 
 seems a fair trial of strength between them ; but by degrees 
 they slip into the hands of the former, uho, fixing his own price, 
 leaves the seller apparently disconsolate and dissatisfied. This 
 farce is acte<l, with a perfect understandinu- among the parties; 
 without it, a bargain wtuild be nothing, and the price you may 
 C(»nclude is not the lowest, but after so juany words and so 
 much exertion hav<; been used in your service, how ungrateful 
 w«)uld it be not to sanction the bargain ? Sometimes, iruleed, 
 my dubash wrangled lustily for a fanam, when 1 thought he 
 was sill iciidei iiig a rup'O loo easily ; more than once I almost 
 fancied him, by hi> h^' >t and violence, in earnest, but interfer- 
 ence spoiled the market; for so essential is (his riot to business, 
 that It can scarcely be avoided by complying with the first 
 «lemand, however exoibitant. 
 
 The termination of the shopping excursion brought us to 
 dinner. In tropical climates, early meals are certainly con- 
 ducive to health ; but in India, this repast is reckoned early, if 
 brought to table before seven or eight o'clock. Tijffin is only 
 \Xi advanced-guard, to take the fiery edge off the euemy,
 
 Tn I he rear JSll. i!^ 
 
 liunerer, and appears about one o'clock. It is no other than 
 the English lunch, but so improved in splendour and variety, 
 that it is difficult to recoo^nize our old acquaintance. Several 
 of the older (and wiser) residents judiciously make their dinner 
 at this hour, and sit down to table, in the evenino-, more as a 
 matter of ceremony than to partake freely of its dainties : iti 
 merely male parties, where there are no engagements on hand, 
 the hookah and conversation succeed till the period of retiring 
 to rest. 
 
 High living, indeed, is by no means so general as it was some 
 years ago; for it has been discovered that late and hearty 
 meals corstribute too bountifully to the physicians. This is 
 universally admitted ; yet, as a pretty good sample of the usual 
 power of human reason opposed to human habits and passions, 
 some, while they acknowledge the truth of the new theory, re- 
 ligiously persist in the old practice, and eat and drink as if 
 they were, in the words of Scripture, to die to-morrow. Tiieir 
 temerity, however, is often putiislied by an attack of that arch- 
 enemy " the Liver." The doleful complaints produced by this 
 dread vtord, which, I ought to inform you, implies a diseased 
 state of the organ, seriously alarm a new comer ; they meet 
 liim in all companies, and in conversation serve for politics, and 
 fashions, and the weather. But, by degrees, the tones become 
 familiar, the reports appear exaggerated, and the young and 
 giddy European meeting perhaps with a few companions upoQ 
 whom cliniate has had no eflecf, forgets, in their conviviality, 
 his predetermined schemes of abstinence. 
 
 In fact, it is useless to preach on this tender tlieme to a true 
 Joiin Bull; Englishmen are proverbially fond of good livitjg; 
 take away their powers of stomach, and they sink to the level 
 of common every-day mortals. The native pride, t!ie spirit, the 
 independence of the animal, cpiits him along with his appetite ; 
 and, therefore, as I would not injure him, no, not for the world. 
 Jet him enjoy himself, even at the risk of the "Liver;"' I 
 would not write another line against a well-furnished table, for 
 the fortune of a nabob! 
 
 And to convince you of it, we have been all this time at 
 diimer, indulging in all the good things to be found in the town, 
 notwithstanding our lessons on moderation — so much for philo- 
 sophy ! Fancy our [)arty seated round tiie tal)!e, with the inde- 
 pendence of Britons, after a bountiful repast ; the countenance 
 shortened into tiie most expressive good-humour, drinking 
 wine at the temperature of 45°, vvith the thermometer at 86" ; 
 squeamishly particular lest a villainous musk-rat should have 
 once in its life run over the cork, and rendered it unlit for the use 
 •jf gentlemen j the very idea of which would almost make ;iri
 
 An^!o-Iii(lia«i faint, ilioiiirli fatm^d hy more Jhr\n a dozen black 
 attendjiiits. An i'lstiufJiciit :!;iij!0(l pniikali. uorkcd by simple 
 inac'liiiHM V, is jitteii used lor this purpose; I need not add the 
 piiilosdpliiral app!irafi(;ti. that it promotes tho cooling" proci^s* 
 (il"(>\ ;iporali(»o, and that the prcater the voliiiiie of air, the more 
 powuliil IS the rfi'ect. If iS on ilie same [)rinciple, that the 
 sea-bi(M /" cools many pUoes within the tropics, which wonld 
 be othcrwi.vp sc-trcely habitable. 
 
 But the most (av(»urite Inxury is the hookah, a complicated 
 instrnment ns<(l for smokino': I he \npour of the tobacco, or 
 any other Inrb that may be pr(>ferred. l)eino- rendered mild, by 
 passiiio- to the moulli through water. A servant, named 
 liookah-bndar is kept exprissly to attend it. And, oh, death 
 to the i)!ission of love ! I am informetl. that several ladies 
 ]ou<x resi(bnt, or born in the cnnnlry, indiiloe in this recreation. 
 Onlv fancv an interesting female face enveloped in fumes of 
 smoke, issuing- from her moulh, at the same time gracefully 
 swino'ing- a few fathoms of the elastic tube over her slumldcr! 
 <ire;it ns our j)artiality is for the sex, this spectacle, I am 
 afraid, woubl be a complete extinguisher to the softer ])assion. 
 
 Lirm-'i fi. 
 
 Ia'CuI Phr(ifro/t<f/]!. — J:si}la:ifif!r. — Piih/ic Drivr. — Mosqni- 
 /iifs, — (jii)ijioiri'j-r. — ( '/',(i»iji('('i/ii(. — (.'oil jurors. — thiqfilcra nj' 
 (mother l)i'X('r'ipt'i<)ti. — 'rincrirjq H((Z(i(ir. — Hindoo T/ieJ'(s. — ■ 
 i'^/ond. — .7 JJa//. — Jlhuloo Marrinf/r. — Cluirartrr. 
 
 .Madras, jMaij. 
 Siioii.D ever fortune, in a uliimsical mood, whiil you 
 toward this part ot the v,(;ri<!.!(t me, by all means, recommend 
 you to make out a vc^cabulisry by ihe way; A\ithou} this, you 
 will be almost as mu( h at a l(»ss, amonii- your countrymen here, 
 as if (Mu- nioMier-tonLiue \\ ;\s loii;()lf( n. What am 1 to under- 
 stand, for iiistaiue, ulna a civi! iViend sends nie a chit, to 
 know wiutlier 5 v. ill g(t out iii his hondy. and (iff in his hiitK/n- 
 loi' ; alleruards view tli<' clion/frirs :uid paqodtis iti the neigh- 
 bdurhood : return to a (/o-d'trn. or ;ui oi/t-rry ; have a com- 
 fortnbb' livckali, and drink sii.'i'jrincr, under the draught of the 
 jniiilidli, or in tli(,> viranddh of his i/ardf n-Zioiisc'/ — \\ ill vou 
 nut !)(• tempted to think that tlx' slang- lanouajie has travelled 
 hither from Seven-dials, yet this jargon continually assails the 
 ear. <)(ren do I raine my w ondciiiit^- eyes, ajid j)ut my facul- 
 tff«v Oil »li< ^tii \(h (o cndji ( tiTf du' probable import of th«k:«
 
 In the Year 1811. 15 
 
 and a hundred other equally obscure phrases. Sometimes 1 
 Iiave thoughts of hiring an interpreter; then, again, many 
 words seem to defy all explanation ; but now f have hit upon 
 the expedient, (where I can take the liberty) of requesting 
 those who address me, to speak in plain English, or, if this is 
 not attended to, I take care to demand an explanation, word by 
 Mord. 
 
 Allured by the serenity of the evening, we rambled over the 
 esplanade, without any regard to the vulgarity of the thing*. 
 Not a white face but our own to be seen. The Mount-road 
 (the grand avenue to 3Iadras) is fine; it is lined by rows of 
 large tree?;, and, in the cool of the da}, is frequented by nume- 
 rous equipages, adorned by many elegant women. This is, 
 indeed, the fashionable drive of the place, where the gay 
 children of pleasure meet to exchange the ceremony of nods, 
 or to retail tlie chit-chat of the moment, previously to the hour 
 of dinner. 
 
 But I nuist enter my protest against the ladies confining 
 their amusement to a carriage-airing alone. Why give the 
 legs a continual holiday, to the serious injury of the other 
 members of the body? A single walk is worth a dozen such 
 excursions ; yet, from neglect of this healthful occupation, how 
 many sad complaints do we hear brought against the barbarous 
 climate for spoiling a preHy face, or changing a fine com- 
 plexion. The fact is, they themselves, not the climate, are to 
 blame, and I see no excuse for these fair offenders but fashion. 
 When the sun declines, the tem})erature is not unpleasant 
 without doors; and there are neither bolts nor bars, nor jealous 
 men, to coop them up in a close-carriage or a suffocating 
 apartment. 
 
 Government-house is a spacious though heavy pile of build- 
 ing. The banqueting-room is magnificent. Architects say 
 it requires anew roof, and several other alterations, to render it 
 tolerable to an eye of any taste. It was erected, after his own 
 design, I believe, by the celel)rated I^ord Clive, one of the 
 many great military geniusscs produced by the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, and to whom England owes her first secure footing in 
 India. His other talents, therefore, may amply apologize for 
 any deficiency in architectural science. 
 
 St. Thomas's Mount, which gives name to the road, is a 
 slight elevation, two or three miles di*;tant, where the Portu- 
 guese liiwe a chajjol dedicated to that saint. Here, likewise, 
 he is said to have been interred ; and bones are shown as his, 
 with all the solcnuiities of popery, and revereiiced \vith all the 
 savage superstition of paganism; miracles are of course 
 common; but all the saints in tlie calendar have not pc>wer 
 
 It'oVAGF.S «//</ TrAVKIS, No. I. ]'nj. ] . M
 
 hi A yisit to Jladia^. 
 
 oiu'ii^Ii (c) u oik ilic iniiMcle orniakiui^- knavisli pritsts cease to 
 ini|)(is<' (111 tiie ('icdiilily of tlu! pioplc.. 
 
 \\'c> siin tile iSaboh's, or Cliepaux palace, at a di.slaiiee, but 
 no l*]iiropeaiis, umler any pretence, are admitted Avilhin its 
 walls, \\ithout the express p«'rinis.sioii ol" the iMiiilisii oovernor. 
 An otlicer's guard continually resides uitiiin the precincts, in 
 order to prevent improper intrusion of any sort, deisig'nino;- 
 natives having- more than once endeavoured to promote ilissa- 
 tistiution and intrigue against tliu Company's go\ eminent. It 
 is scarct'ly necessary to inlorm you tiialthe Nai^oh of the Car- 
 natic has neither territory nor political power, the (,'omj)any 
 having kindly relieved him troiii both cares; they suj)[)ly him. 
 tioMcver, liberally ^illi nioiny. 
 
 1 can almost laiicy this place to be the head-quarters of the 
 /nos(juilo trilu' ; for tlu^y seem more numerous, and, as my 
 skin can testily, bite more keenly than I ever before experi- 
 enced. The nature of the adjoining country accounts lor their 
 numbers; and the nights being often sultry, and the m indovs 
 conse<)uenlly left open fenln^ free admission of air, these insects 
 likewise find ingress to btMl-chambers, to the great annoyance 
 of the luckless stranger, >\ ho reclines undelended by •' 3Ios- 
 quito curtains." Their bite is p;iiuful, and to some truly ago- 
 nizing ; occasionally it ulcerates, producinii- an irritable sore ; 
 in general, however, the eli'eet is a livid pulfy swelling, so that 
 some of (3ur gnod-luokinu' inend---, who ha\(' ^one to bed pos- 
 sesses! oi a very tolerai)le s(,'t of h'aliiies, have arisen in the 
 nu):M:ng so nincli dislimiicd. as \', iih diiiicully to recooni/.e 
 tliemselves ! SomeliiiKs. indeed, the head becomes imnio- 
 deiPt( ly swc'lled, the ( y< s ioliiily dbsemH d, the cheeks, nose, 
 and forehead j)utr< <1 iiiM- dinu n^-icns iuv exceeding any thing" 
 like the usual measure (I the iiuman face di\ine. 
 
 Scarcely had 1 exieinied nivsell unihi' the simple covering 
 of a slut (. when tlie n:-. luy a.v-;ui!i((l me iu numbers; in vain 
 did I wit id my aims in iiire'!f iiiii^- atiiiudes ; in vain exert in- 
 numerable inissdi s in niv iie!ei!e( ; I w.is !eosw(eta morsel, 
 bciiiLi' Iresh from I'.urojjc, lo he so ensdy r<diii(piish(Ml ; and 
 when at leu^ih i( betaiiie mipt aclit aide to remain lenj>"er in 
 bed, I paiaded the reoin. fnils caieuhitini^- (1 liou^h no saint,) 
 'in >l^u•|^^ the lale of >i. Ha; ihclumevx belore moiiiiii!^'. At 
 da_v-da^^n. l.owcvi r, tlu Ihc Ix ^i a retreat, not willioiit consi- 
 deial Ic I11--S. and I thicN'v iiiv-a If don 11, to ^(«k a short re[)os<» 
 after fh( (xeitioiis of IJie ni^hi, IJul suddi niv 5ueii a volley 
 of ijr:;!! ^nii-. and small amis Itiiist fior.i a body of soldiers, 
 dv.t\ni tip to e\( i(is<' near my w.ndow. Hial sleep, which had 
 been some tiiiio ho\ erin^ rutiiid mv eM'-lid< in doubt, at lenirtf\ 
 foi -.om|, rn.- alloiit tlior.
 
 hilhe Year 1811. 17 
 
 Tlu; people ill power Iiere seem woiiderfully ibiid of smelling' 
 unnpo\> der ; I suspect they never tried it in earnest. The 
 saluting- batlery is scarcely ever at rest, for either news, or the 
 arrival or dej^arture of men-of-war, or the visits of the Nabob, 
 and other important personages, keep it constantly employed ; 
 the grand army of France cannot expend mucli more f)o\vder, 
 and, for my own part, 1 would as soon live in a l)esieged (own. 
 
 31 y reflections, very a-propos to the occasion, were inter- 
 rupted by a royal salute, announcing (hen a visit from the 
 Xabob; he is fond of this ceremony, and i\\{) Company 
 always pay it him, in return for his good-nature, in surrendering 
 the troublesome otHce of governing his own kingdom. A 
 Frenclunan, however, informed me, with a chuckle of mali- 
 cious satisfaction, that the prince was charged three rupees for 
 every gun fired ; 1 said it was imj)o.«sible, he insisted on the 
 fact ; l)ut I -would fain think it only the slander of our enemy. 
 I need isot remind you. (hat tljo dominions of his highiu>ss 
 Hrst came under tiie direct influence of the Company, in 17J)-, 
 in consetjuence of a treaty A^ilh Ford Cornwallis; and the 
 tranquillity of the country, no doubt, required that uieasure. 
 
 While in bed abusing (he soldiers for their noise, my trusfy 
 valet introduced a native barber. Attempting to rise, (o submit 
 tv) his razor, I v/as informed this uas utuiecessary, for, in the 
 characteristic style of Indian indolence, it seems the optjraliun 
 is usualiy perforsned in bed, and, as people tell you, fre- 
 quently when the person operated on is asleep, without (li<; 
 dexterous shaver once waking him. 
 
 When this was concluded, my man strongly reconuncnded 
 me to be champocd. ]>y all means, said I — while I am in 
 India, let me do as (hey do in India ; and I lay with iliQ patience 
 of a lamb, while the opera(or ])ulled my ears, rubbed my cheeks, 
 twitched my neck, cracked my joints, ktweded my muscles, 
 extended my limbs with a jerk, and twisted my whole frame 
 So his satisfaction. This operation, however, is truly refresh- 
 ing. .Joined to the bath, it renders the body pliable and plea- 
 sant, durinij- the renrainder of the day; the natives are expi'rt 
 at it; and, perhaps, no other but a Hindoo could do it so well, 
 for to their natural gentleness, is added all tiie delicacy of a 
 female. 
 
 lireakfast Avas but just renu)ved, when a tril>e of conjurei.s 
 appeared, consisting of half-a-dozen mcTi and a girl, armed 
 with the whole apparatus of legerdemain. Among a varie(y 
 uf these, a.nimate and inanimate, were several live snakes, ouc. 
 of which was at least nine i'vet long, as thick as my wrist, and 
 which entwined itself around the bosom of one of the j>arty, 
 \\ifh (to u^) horrible familiarity. Lik«.' bonie oth( v^.. f!o^\evf^J
 
 IS A I isil (u Mmlra^, 
 
 it was hiiniilcss; two or three, of a ditVcront (kvsrriptioii, lia<l 
 been (leprivfd ol" their poisonous fanos ; anioii^ these -vvas a 
 rol)/a fie ca[)ello, or hooiled snake, reUibrated f"c»r tlie virulence 
 oi' its poison, iin' whi<h no antidote has y<'t heeu tli^covered. 
 The iiood, tVoia m hieh the minie is derived, is a delicate iruMU- 
 hrane exicndini;- over the head, hut aj)parent only ^^ hen the 
 animal is irritated ; at this period tlie appearance is stnkini>, 
 and resenililes, it" 1 may he alloweil such a comparison, the 
 halo, or rays, usually drawn around the head of (uir Saviour. 
 The crealuie danced to rude music, and finished \)y fiuhtiuii' 
 with a monouos, (a sjpccies of monkey) at the command of 
 tlie chief juL;-gler, who, to oiu' no small Monder, seemed gifted 
 with the power of making- even the sticks aiul stones in his 
 magical hag do as he ordered. 
 
 At length one of the group went through the ceremony of 
 s\\allo>ving- tlic sword, an operation N^hich 1 believe is no 
 longer disbelieved amoni;- you in iMigland.* liut as all mi- 
 rat les admit of some explanation, it may ))e necessary to say 
 that the sword, as it is called, is a Hat piece of iron, about 
 eighteen inches long-, an inch or more broad, and blunt at the 
 point as well as the edges. One end of this Ixing introduced 
 into the mouth, and the neck, at the same time, drawn upwards 
 ami })ack wards to form as straight a line as possible with the 
 stomach, it is thrust gently <lown the (esophagus into the for- 
 mer org.'ii!. wheie it may be sometimes distinctly felt, and 
 when withdrawn is commonly tinged with blood, i^vcn when 
 thus explained, the exi)Ioit is extraordinaiy ; tin- man seems to 
 feel no |)ain : he has been accustomed to it from his earliest 
 years; hu', it is said, nr\r'r lives to an advaact^l ai;<'. 
 
 Auotlier leaf, scarcely less suiprisin;^-, and not less rcvob- 
 ing, lollo\',e(i. A tin vessel being lilled whh lunib(^r, to the 
 amount of at least fifteen pounds weight, a string ^vas fastened 
 to each side, and (he other ends being attached to thin buttons 
 of wood, the laftei" wcve introduced undei' the upj)er eve-lids, 
 when these c!osin^• ujion the losx-r, and the liead l)eing then 
 elevated, tiie vesv(d Mas raised several inc he.> from the floor, 
 by the mere exertion of their muscular power! — 1 know not 
 when I felt more anxiety; the least slip threatened to tear the 
 eyes fVom their sockets. Hut failur(\ in any bodih' exertion 
 of dexterity, is never dr<'amt of by a Hindoo, for li:d)it and 
 temperance have reduced his musch s and jomts to the flexi- 
 bility of catgut. I'ven the ton<iU<' has not escaped his inge- 
 nuity. Another of the tribe ihreadeil a do/.en small beads by 
 
 " The nppi ariuirc of llic Tiidian .Iniziilcrs in Kii::I,im<I, iImi > Miirv allci )li<, 
 ;(!u\f u.'i> urin< II, lias rnridc tlii^ f'caf t'itiiiili'ir Ik « \< i\ ciir
 
 In the Year Ibli. 19 
 
 means ot this new substitute for fingers, in a sliorter time than 
 I could with both iiaiuls : in these perfbrniunces there was no 
 tlcception. The mere slight- of-liand tricks were all new to 
 us, and so nell performed, as to defy us all, stationed before, 
 behind, and on each side of him, to trace the manner how, 
 Tiu'ee or four rupees paid the party handsomely, who retired 
 making' as many salams as might have satisfied even the dig- 
 nity of the mogul. 
 
 A juggler of a different kind succeeded the disciples of 
 Katterfelto. Some of our cotnpanions being in want of the 
 light clothing of the country, directed a vender to be intro- 
 duced, who, having- descanted ou the quality of his goods with 
 the eloquence of Cheapside, the bargain Mas struck, and the 
 money produced, when the dubash, who had not hitherto in- 
 terfered, made a private signal of disapprobation, and on mi- 
 nute inspection, the cheat was discovered. They were, in 
 fact, old and nearly thread-bare articles, m ith a former owner's 
 name evidently erased, but vanq)ed up by means of a brown 
 stiffening matter to appear like new, and, as such, frequently 
 imposed upon strangers unacquainted with the trick. The 
 fellow's ingenuity, however, did not go unrewarded ; for he 
 beat a hasty retreat, under the discipline of a horsewhip. 
 
 Articles of this description are commonly stolen and pre- 
 pared for sale, in a celebrated mart for ingenious industry here, 
 termed the Thieving Bazaar. This I possessed curiosity 
 enough to visit. The establishment, it appears, is conducted 
 something on the plan of Jonatiian Wild's shop, for any fa- 
 vourite article of no great value, lost in the morning, may pro- 
 bably be procured here, in the evening, for a certain gratuity, 
 provided no questions be asked. It is tolerably extensive ; 
 ihe sales take place generally in the evening; and strangers 
 are admitted without reserve; but to those inclined to indulge 
 their curiosity, I would recommend the homely advice of liav- 
 ing their eyes about them, I did not venture near these well- 
 guarded premises before depositing* my purse, watch, hand- 
 kerchief, and other loose moveables at the inn ; and therefore, 
 like a skilful general, made good my retreat, without loss; one 
 of the officers, who was less cautious, had his pocket disbnr- 
 thencd of twenty dollars. 
 
 A Hindoo thief is, perhaps, in his own way, one of the most 
 expert members of the fraternity. For all the ingenuity and 
 sup))leness, both of body and mind, by M'hich he is characte- 
 rised in common matters, are exerted, in a superior degree, on 
 occasions of this kind ; he seldom uses violence ; finesse and 
 trick are his principal weapons ; and of these many amusing" 
 anecdotes are told. The story of the horse-stealer, who in
 
 '20 
 
 1 ) i^i/ /n Madias, 
 
 slii'niiiLi lilt' inodtMil" ^ctfiii^- t)Ii'\^itIl owv animal, arhially con- 
 Mi\<Ml to sK^al a scrond hcl'orc the face ol" (he owner, is a « oil- 
 known lacf. 
 
 An (iHiccr lately ojirani|)<Ml, tncnticMied an instance oi' a tent 
 beinn so tr(M|uently rohlud, not\^ itllstan(lin^• the \ i<>ilance ot" a 
 sentinel, tlial the latter was ot; the |)ui;!l ol heinii' punished as 
 an ac<(mi[>li('e. m hen the v( a! liiitl \>as discov<;re(l in tlie |)er- 
 son t)r a canip-followi V. who, hy strippinii' hiniselt naked, ex- 
 ce|)t a ini;- t!)ro\vn o\(r the hack, I'ound iVee inuress, l)y iniifat- 
 ini;-, upon all funis, the bark and actions ot' a pariah doi;'. 
 This rhey do very «'\actly, as well as the cries of the jackall 
 and w ihl-peacock, l)y uhich iiiany deceptions are j)ractised. 
 
 Another othcer, iiccnstonied to j)u) ti'iilinii' sums of money 
 on his lenl-tahh' at niiilit, affer the d;--ltnrsements of (he day, 
 discovered them so iVeipiently niis-inii' in the moi'iiin^i-, that 
 tliev \\<re at lenLi,i!i deposited Uiid* r his pillou. The dejjve- 
 datdi's (two camji-foliowers) snsj)ec!!!i(;- the j)lace ot conceal- 
 ment, and calcnlatini;'. perh;ips, on a sliil oieater prize, hit upon 
 the novel stiata^cm ttt" tlxioL;' a noose round his le*^ when 
 ash'eji, and while one siation<'d \\i(liout, hy a violent jerk, 
 drew him out of l)ed, the other j)rop(Mly placed \Aithin, fpiiefly 
 secured the booty ; and the subject of the trick suspectinu' it 
 to be merely the wan-oery >!]' jiis brother-officers, took no fur- 
 ther notice, till, in the moriiini;-, he discovered the theft. It is 
 also a fact, that a captain in one of the reoinu'nts employed in 
 the sief;-e of Hhurtpore. returning" tati^ned from the trenches, 
 threvv himself' doun to icst, and a\\akin<>- in an hour or t«o, 
 lound iiis beddiiio", clothes, and e\ ( ii trunks (»n which, as a tem- 
 porary bedstead, thev ami he himself had l)een laid out, car- 
 ried off u itlxMit the thieves* disturbiny him ! Stealinu' the bed 
 tVom under one, is, therefore, you see. m)t so improbable an oc- 
 currence as you may hasc suppox'd. 
 
 'Yo this instructive history f u\\\s\ not onut to add a charac- 
 t( ristic postscript. Our li\(dy (>.;ripanion \\ — , who, by his 
 tricks and \ i\aeity, !:as been a iiieat Munoyance to the nati\c.s, 
 A\ a«, at leiii>l!i. by ;iii expert manuuvre of an attendant, re- 
 lieved of li.s wa.tch. MavMii;- a i^ood know ledii'f; <^t 'he peo- 
 ple. ho\\('\(M", bv (but ot threats, and a species ot \Mdence in 
 makiiiLi' j)ai' of the :ironp for some time prisoners, it was, after 
 much siiiifllinii '""1 e\ as ion, restored, without even the caistom- 
 arv tribute of" .t present. 
 
 J'o an idit r like mys< if. the for» nomi in (his tierv climate is 
 the most tedious part of the da\. I'hc sun is, indeeil, all- 
 j)o>vtalul; If i"el;i\( s e\ ( r\ tibre ot t!ie boilv, and almost <'very 
 idea of llie mind, into somei 'imil: like w eakness ; m> !oiiiiL;"ers 
 d.ire ,ti(» iM[)t (o pt ramlMilat. the --trf e|s : im ii ot Imsim v-^ k<;cp
 
 In the \i'(t, 1^11. Z\ 
 
 £n their otlice.-,, iig-lit!y claii in the ?hiii fabrics ot'' the country; 
 and the women remain secluded in their inmost and coolest 
 recesses, rarely accessible to strangers. 
 
 We have, therefore, the choice oi" lounging- within-doors, half 
 naked, on a sofa, of visitmg- go-downs and outcries, or of play- 
 ing- billiards and sipping a species of local nectar, termed mvij,* 
 wliich Jupiter himseli', had he been forced to keep his court in 
 scorching- Madras, might not have disdained io (piatf. Away 
 from town, some of our dash-a-long- countrymen, in defiance of 
 the sun, employ themselves in riding- or sporting, and reap the 
 reward of their exertions in an attack of '" liver," or a stroke 
 of the SUM. Any thing, in fact, is preferred to a visitation from 
 the fiend ennui. This spectre, one of the worst of the ghost- 
 race, haunts all tropical climates, particularly the minds of 
 the young- and giddy, those unaccustomed to the climate, or 
 possessed of few mental resources; and the dread of it some- 
 times leads to the vice of gambling. Conmion occu[)a{ions, like 
 couisnon viands, do not seem to suit this latitude ; the mind, 
 like the palate, rerpiires to be roused from occasional torpor 
 by high stimuli, and hence is said to arise that j)artiality of the 
 natives for shew and splendour, voluptuousness and mere- 
 tricious allurements, supposed to characterize the majority of 
 people boruAvithin the tropics. 
 
 In the evening-, some military friends introduced us, in the 
 absence of better amusement, to a boarding-school dance, form- 
 ed of what are called ckechcs, or the oti'springof Euro|)eans by 
 native women. Several of these are pretty girls, often well- 
 instructed, occasionally accomplished, aiul variously tinged 
 from pure, or almost pure, white, to a dingy brown. The 
 governess seemed a scnsiole woman, but, in my life, 1 never 
 saw such a collection of curiosities as her pupils. 
 
 The first glance was enongh to discover that the room was 
 not overstocke<l with beauty; and in expectation of more than 
 an ordinary portion of taleisf, or good-humour, with which Na- 
 tuie often nntkes aineiMls for an unfbitunafe face, made my 
 advances to the plainest (dare I say ugliest t) countenance 1 
 coidd see, on some |)assing' topic. The lady, however, sur- 
 veyed me with a scowl, and. without deigning to answer, turn- 
 ed her back : I coiitiiuiod the conveisation, and she changed 
 her se:(t. 
 
 Partly prepared for this reccpiion, it scarcely surprised me; 
 but, changing my battery, attacked a second with such suc- 
 
 ' A in;\tiH<' of Madcir:), ji, r(o!, ssi^iir, :iiid spices; soinciiiiui;' like (lie 
 j)ortfr-('ii|) ot' ihi' ^^(■-^1 hi.iic,-..
 
 22 A t i/u to Madras, 
 
 cess as to <jr.\\\\ her assent fo becoming- my partner by a digni-* 
 TumI nod; not all my assiduities, however, or good-humour, 
 could extract a smile, or any other than monosyllabic answers 
 tVom my charmer. 
 
 A tew of my companions were not even so fortunate. " Miss 
 
 ,'" said one to a demure-looking damsel, seated in a corner, 
 
 '• will you permit me the honour of" your hand for the dance?" 
 — "No, 1 wont," was the reply. — Others drawled out, " I do-n't 
 kn-ow," or. •• I ca-nt prom-ise;" and a few would not stand up 
 even after having consented : it was impossible to suppress a 
 smile at this strange sample of the manners of an Indian 
 schooL and, in return, we received several angry and contemp- 
 tuous looks; and wu seemed, in fact, to be regarded altogether 
 >vitli a most distrustful eye. 
 
 In excuse, however, for their behaviour, it must be acknow- 
 ledged that the freaks of some yoiu^g military sparks, who oc- 
 casionally make j)arties to (juiz, as the phrase is, or to annoy 
 them, cause an excusable jealousy of the designs of others ; 
 and 1 j)resume we were not so perfectly sedate in aspect as not 
 to give rise to suspicion that our visit was for a similar purpose. 
 The men, T perceive, generally speak with a species of con- 
 tempt of this class of females, accusing them of being proud, 
 cold, and insensibb^ which, added to an indiftierent education, 
 and, in <>-eneral, but a slioht acquaintance with genteel societv, 
 render them, perhaps, not the most attractive companions. It 
 >^-ould be very unjust, however, to accuse the whole with the 
 defects or jjcculiarif iis of some ; Nnture never made women to 
 be constifutio!i;dly disngreeable ; and 1 understand that seve- 
 ral accomplished females of this class are to l)e found in India. 
 
 It was late ere \\v reached th(> inn, but (he substantial joys 
 of a good supper niadc^ amends for the disdain of our late 
 fair nssociatcs ; conviviality shone round the board, antl the 
 jovial spirit of the sons of Neptune, wild and untamed as their 
 element, animated all ^\ith a vi^onr of which you men who 
 live for every day. have scarcely any conception. Like but- 
 terHies. we exist only for an hour. — that is, we may be said to 
 liv on!v Mlieii upon terra finna : — let loose by fits and starts 
 fi-om the eotifiiiemeiit of a ship, and the framinels of (he i|uar- 
 ter-de-ek, tiie j)'issi()iis. from beini;- pent up. iiish forth with tlie 
 violence ot a hurricane ; flie juice of (he ernpe went freely 
 round : the ;i(h'entMre el th(> eveniiig was oidy remendiered in 
 a jell (I'cspr'it \>Iiicli but I have made a vow against send- 
 in"" yo 1 veivt a. and therefore shall be silent. 
 
 Our !;•. elv einipatiiea I? , who. bv iiis whim and local 
 
 knt)w !»(!_!. his 1m (11 tiie life (if' our party, at lenu'lh projxo.ed 
 to sally forth m (pK st of adventures. The modest goddess of
 
 fn the Year \SU. 23 
 
 nig-ht with sleep and silence in her train, had cast every object 
 into utter darkness. Diana too, sweet oracle of chastity ! had 
 effectually cleared the way, for not a Cyprian wanderer, at once 
 the victim and the scourge of larg-e cities, interrupted our pro- 
 gress. Fortune confessedly favours the adventurous; we had 
 not traversed many streets wljen the horizon, from total darkness, 
 seemed at once brilliantly illuminated ; the first cojijecture was 
 fire ; but, in a moment afterwards, a thousand torches, flying- to 
 and fro, amid a large concourse of people, proclaimed some 
 more joyful occasion, which, at least, promised all that we de- 
 sired — a new adventure. 
 
 }iy the civility of the people we were soon ushered through 
 the crowd, to the centre of the scene of rejoicing, which was in 
 front of a respectable house, where a Hindoo marriage, we were 
 informed, was then celebrating; and the parties being of con- 
 sequence, it is customary to display the joy of their families in 
 public. The house was illuminated by so many torches as 
 fairly to shame night out of countenance; but the surrounding 
 scene beggars all description. Figure to yourself about four 
 thousand blacks, collected within a moderate space, a vast 
 number painted red, white, and yellow, on the ground of the 
 natural black ; several dancing, many bearing torches elevated 
 on long poles, which cast a ghastly glare on tl)e hideous figures 
 beneath; some shouting, screaming, and jumping like maniacs ; 
 others beating tom-toms, and playing on uncouth instruments; 
 combine this with the dusky canopy of heaven, and the appear- 
 ance of the sooty musicians attired in tinsel, and the fantastic 
 finery of what we may suppose would be the garb of infernals 
 on a gala-day : — altogether, it required no great stretch of the 
 imagination to fancy myself in the precincts of Pandemonium. 
 Several open palanquins, variously ornamented, awaited the 
 friends of the happy couple at the door. One in the centre, 
 more gay than others, indicated its devotion to Hymen, the 
 canopy being tastefully interwoven witli feathers and odorifer- 
 ous flowers, festooned with the same, which had altogether a 
 pretty effect. 
 
 Anxious to witness the ceremony, we attempted to gain ad- 
 mission to the house, but v ere prevetited f)y information that 
 it was contrary to custom to receive Furopean visitors, at sucli 
 a time. This, I believe, is not really the fact; our informant, 
 who seemed director of the ceremonies witjjout doors, probably 
 suspected we were more intent on a frolic than the gratification 
 ol mere curiosity. Several friends, however, waited like our- 
 selves at the entrance, till a flourish from the demoniacal band 
 ushered the happy parlies into the street, preceded by a compaoy 
 of dancing girls. You may conceive our surprise, when, for a 
 
 VowGES and Tii\\Ki,H, Xo. 1. Vol. V. N
 
 Si ,^ Visit to Mudins, 
 
 niomonf, forc^etting^ tlie Hindoo custom, two children were 
 pointed out as the bride and hridee;room. The boy seemed 
 about twelve years of ao;e, the t>irl nine or ten, both possessing- 
 interesting faces, but to our ideas, forming a ludicrous caricature 
 on the characters of man and wife. Strictly speaking, fiowever, 
 this is only the act of betrothing, as the parties return to their 
 respective parents, and consummation does not take place for 
 some years afterwards. 
 
 The young couple were placed in the same vehicle, fnce to 
 face; the lover did not once appear to notice his mistress; his 
 eye seemed fixed on vacancy, till our uniform attracted his gaze. 
 The procession, in the meantime, moved slowly forward, during 
 which, infinite congratulations were offered on the occasion, 
 while the music, rockets, torches, and shouts of triumph were, 
 to our eyes and ears, really overpowering. At intervals, a halt 
 was made, to give the dancing girls an opportunity of exhibiting; 
 their motions were slow, their attitudes generally not ungrace- 
 ful, but occasionally too expressive for the meridian of strict 
 chastity. The greater part of the night is thus spent in parad- 
 ing the streets ; a kind of proclamation of happiness which, from 
 the mode of union between the parties, we should think might 
 be spared. How do you suppose the fair damsels of England 
 would feel, on being- thus handed over like quadrupeds to their 
 future masters ? 
 
 These extraordinary people seem to have scarcely a principle 
 of free-will in any thing; all their laws and customs, even in 
 trivial matters, bear on the point of shackling the operations 
 of the mind. They appear to exist, eat, drink, work, think, and 
 worship, almost by rote; for their political institutions most insi- 
 diously instil the necessity of continuing in the same path of life 
 trodden by their fathers, without presuming to aspire beyond it, 
 by which means alone, they are told, they can please the dis- 
 poser of all things. This principle we perceive even extends 
 to marriasje, and their affections are thus regulated by law ; yet 
 some of the " all for love" couples of iMirope will be surprised 
 to hear, that Hindoo m?)rri;igfs are not more unhappy than 
 others; nay. on the contrary, that the women are devoted to 
 their husbands, with a zeal, independent of religious motives, 
 that extends to self-immolation on their funeral [)!le. 
 
 Th;s, however, is said to be a passive rather than active affec- 
 tion, — a feeling of pride rather than of love ; — and what is often 
 mentioned as a pro(tf of want of natural affection among the 
 women all over Iridia. is the facility with which the lower class, 
 on the sliiiht»\st difHcnlty, (lis[)ose of their children to the highest 
 bidder, as well as commit infanticide. The Chinese, according 
 to the best writers, with stili greater barbarity, systematically
 
 in (he Year 1811. 25 
 
 practise I he same crime, from tbe same cause; yet both nations 
 are termed " highly civilized." The fact, perhaps, is, that as in 
 neither country do the wonien hold tiseir pro[jer rank in the 
 scale of society, so a disregard for their offspring may be but 
 the consequence of the degradations inflicted uj)on them, by a 
 rude condition of society. 
 
 Tlie Hindoo character is, in every respect, one of the most 
 singular in nature; it has exercised the ablest pens to delineate, 
 and mine therefore may be spared; but while you will acquit 
 me of the presumption ol attempting to draw what 1 am so 
 inqierfectly a((juai'»ted with, it is yet impossible to look at it 
 even superficially without wonder. It presents the picture of a 
 people marked for a succession of ages by a studied routine, 
 a minute sameness of opinions and manners, which the occa- 
 sional irruptions of Heathen, Mohammedan, and Christian con- 
 querors have not altered. History, perhaps, furnishes no other 
 instance of this description ; they are still, in every point, as we 
 see, unchanged; with the exception of a i'ew hardy moun- 
 taineers, nature seems to have cast the mind of each individual 
 of this vast country in the same mould ; for neither accident, 
 nor time, nor force, seems to have elicited any portion of that 
 healthful variety of character, on which the best interests of a 
 large community depend. 
 
 Viewed in the labours of the field or the loom, in courts or 
 politics, in affluence or poverty, in lovv or elevated stations, we 
 observe ingenuity, patience, docility, temperance, frequently 
 interwoven, particularly in political matters, with the worst of 
 crimes ; fraud, ill-faith, and treachery, are almost, indeed, the 
 distinguishing characteristics of an Indian court. By nature, 
 the people appear peculiarly adapted to the arts of peace ; yet 
 those who, perhaps, shudder at death from a sword, meet it con- 
 ientedly, under certain circumstances, from starvation. Some 
 perform voluntary penances almost surpassing human fortitude 
 to bear; while others joyfully court death, by precipitating 
 themselves under the chariot-wheels of a wretched idol. And 
 what is still more strange, though thus invincibly attached to 
 their religion, they present the novel spectacle of being the 
 most perfect bigots, without in the least desiring to make pro- 
 selytes. 
 
 A very surprising degree of art seems to have been exerted 
 at an early period, so to mix their religious and state policy as 
 that the former might, in time, gain the undisputed ascendancy^ 
 This was effected ; and the powers thus acquired by a knavish 
 priesthood, were perpetuated by the bold and astonishing 
 manoeuvre of a division into catites, an iiistitution unknown to 
 any other people. It is difficult to say which was the more ex- 
 
 ^' 2
 
 26 A Visit to Madras^ 
 
 traordinary, the art t!;at secured, or the simplicity that submitted 
 to these det»"r;ulino- (listinctioiis. Their direct tendency was, 
 evidently, to disunite the great body of the nation, giving to 
 each chiss, <!iiierei:t views and prospects in life; the various 
 ranks, therefore, became almost aliens to eacii other; iheir hopes 
 and interests were fre(|u<'iitly o[)posed : they had few feelinjrs 
 in common ; the iii^ui mountaoje barrier of cu.sfe, placed the 
 membeis of one y^reat portitm of the community at an immea- 
 surable distance from those of many ottiers, though nature had 
 destined all equally to enjoy her benehts. It seems also rea^^on- 
 able to suj)pose, that the same abominable restrictions consi- 
 derably fettered the operations of national genius, or mind; 
 for a people so ingenious in many of the arts, and familiar with 
 a few of the sciences, miglit be supposed to have made con- 
 siderable progress in moral knowledge; but this is not the case. 
 Genius, in fact, has no stimulus, and enterprize little reward, 
 where men are reduced to the state of passive machines; and 
 where the spirit of emulation, one of the great levers that 
 keeps the intellectual world in motion, is destroyed, by the law 
 which decrees that the son shall follow the occupation of the 
 father. 
 
 Yoii will be surprised to bear that this institution is some- 
 times defended. I once heard an ingenious man, long resident 
 in India, urge, more perhaps fr(mi the love of argument than 
 conviction, that it tended to public trancpiillity, by pointing out 
 to the lower classes, the routine of life to be pursued, and thus 
 afibrding little sco[)e for the exercise of the more turbulent pas- 
 8ioi:s. If these, however, have been by this means partially 
 quieted, others of a nobler kind were likewise smothered ; if 
 aml>ition, courage, and national glory, have been extinguished 
 or deadened in th«' breast of the Hindoostanee, this may partly 
 serve to explain why successive conquerors have, witii so much 
 ease, at all eras, ovtT-run his country. 
 
 In the neighbouring state of Tibet, where the government 
 and religion are still more completely identified, the degrada- 
 tion of our species is, perhaps, greater. The institution of the 
 Cirand Lama, where an infant incapable of speech is sometimes 
 the chief pcrfbriiier, says little for the intelligence of the 
 population; but iiives colour to the p!ea of raik^s ag^ainst the 
 niinistf'is of r« hgion, that they have always sacrificed the best 
 interests ot the liuman race !o their personal agiirandi/.emenf. 
 V\ ilh regard to the Hindoos, time seems to have fixed their 
 iiistitulions beyond the possibility of any human power to re- 
 move, unl- ss as-isted by one of those wonderful revolutions in 
 the minds of men which now .uid then change the moral 
 asp( ef «»f the world.
 
 In the Year ISU, 27 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Mlefjed Inhospiiality. — Jlniuscments. — Late Disaf/rccments. — 
 Missionaries. — Singular Character <>J' the Country. — Civi- 
 lians and Soldiers. — JUloirances to the Jlrmy and JVavy. — 
 .Inchoraye in the Roads. — Probable J'utnre Tranquillity of 
 the Presidency, — Adcentiirers. 
 
 At Sea, June \Oth. 
 
 Away from the heaf, the sand, and the mosquitoes of 
 Madras, and again refreshed by the invig-orating- breeze from 
 the ocean, we may pause for a few moments, in order to cast 
 a look, thoug^h by no means a '* long;ing" one, behind. 
 
 I know not how it is, but, by some means, I^Iadras has ac- 
 quired (he reputation of inhospitality ; and to tell you the truth, 
 willing- as I am to report well of all my acquaintance, none of 
 the officers found any personal experience to the contrary. 
 Several of our military brethren confirmed the unfavourable 
 impressions received from others. India is so generally noted 
 for attention to strangers, that it is almost a matter of course ; 
 Bengal is celebrated by all visitors, Bombay likewise receives 
 lis due meed of praise ; but I have not yet met with a single 
 voucher, written or verbal, in favour of the second presidency ; 
 on the contrary, much reproach, and a great deal of satire. I 
 forget the name of the writer who says that this virtue belongs 
 to elevated regions, from the cheerful sensations imparted to 
 the mind, by a rarer atmosphere ; while the denser vapours 
 engendered in lower situations, by dulling the edge of sensi- 
 bility, create churlishness. What a pity that the air of Madras 
 should counteract the good dispositions of the people! 
 
 But I am inclined to think there is little other evidence 
 wanting of the ill-humour of a place, than the bad report of 
 officers. They are, you may well conceive, the chronicles of 
 the spot they inhabit; with both leisure and inclination to learn 
 ail its anecdotes, intrigues, and secrets, willing to be pleased, 
 fond of general intercourse, seldom burthened, particularly the 
 naval part, with the sweets of life, and willing to enjoy them 
 when they can. They have a species of presicriptive claim to 
 the attentions of their less warlike brethren ; buf, independent 
 of this, it is really an act of good-nature to entice them from 
 the pleasures of the bottle, to the more rational charms of so- 
 ciety ; for, if deprived by circumstances of the one, necessity 
 may drive them to the other, for a companion, afid thus all (heir 
 follies and half their vices originate. 
 
 The public aniusemcnfs ;i!c confined lo balls at (he IVui-
 
 28 J Viiit to Madras, 
 
 tlieoii, very ceremonious, and plays; neither of wliitli, !io\vever, 
 occurred (iuriiig- our stay. 'I'he former constitutes the shew- 
 room for all the new faces imported from l']urope, to dazzle the 
 oyes of the Indians ; and, if a fair stranj^er has the i^ood for- 
 tune to he adtnired and followed at first, slie may calculate, I 
 have heen told, on speedily finding a hushand ; should any 
 accident, however, keep her for some time unnoticed, slie may, 
 on the coiitrary, lirii^er on hand. Spinsters, indeed, to tite diH- 
 credit t>f male i>allantry, are hy no means so uncommon here 
 as might be expected ; 1 know not the cause; some attribute 
 it to the men having become fastidious, some to the reluctance 
 of a battered Indian constitution to encounter European vigour 
 and beauty, some to the risk of picking up a partner who had 
 not (juitted l-]urope witliout jxii iici/lar reasons, some to in- 
 creased illicit intercourse with the native women. 
 
 The married ladies are accused of pride, or at least of an 
 immoderate love of precedency on public occasions, arising 
 eitiier from family-descent, fortune, or the situations held by 
 their husbands ; and from which several determined struggles 
 have taken place between the fair candidates for rank. The 
 tlauii'hter of a Scotch baronet, it s( ems. lat«dy claimed the post 
 of honour from a lady, whose husband held a higher ofKcial 
 situation than l)er own; the point was warndy contested; it 
 almost reached the point where j)oliteness ceases, when at length 
 it was recollected, that the hus)>an(l of the plebeian fair one was 
 likewise tlie son of a baronet, and the Caledonian matron was 
 tlius worsted. [ might repeat a hundred ludicrous encounters 
 of this descri[)tion, but you must hear only my own, not any 
 second-hand scandal. I'he men are, on the whole, what may 
 be termed somewhat stiff, full of business and money, and a 
 competent knowledge how to take care of it. 
 
 Y ou may prol)al)!y ex[)ect me to say something on the sub- 
 ject of the late fearful convulsion in the 3Iadras army; but, as 
 it seems almost buried in oblivion here, so it ought to be every 
 wl»ere else. .Nothing could be more pregnant with utter ruin 
 to the lintish power in India; for, during its continuance, not 
 otdy our supremacy, but our very name in the country, hung 
 by a thread. 1 have, of course, heard much on both sides of 
 the cjuestion, perhaps more in favour of the military than other- 
 wise, but amid conflicting opinions, it seems the general idea, 
 that the explosion mi<>ht have Iteen prevented, and that the 
 measures of the fiovernment savored of a desperation not very 
 <haracteristic of moderation or wisdom. Among the principal 
 of these, was the afiemjit to detach the native soldiers and 
 officers from their lliiropean commanders ; a lesson which it 
 is more to In hoped than cxijccted they will forget ; no measure
 
 In the Year iSW. 29 
 
 could be more inconsiderate in itself, none more calculated to 
 overturn all the subordination, civil as well as military, which 
 we have been labouring, for so many years, to establish. Both 
 parties, no doubt, were in fault ; both, in their eager desire for 
 superiority, displayed not less want of respect for themselves, 
 than utter disregard to the interests of their country; and both, 
 it is said by those who have no bias on the point, ought to be 
 equally and severely condemned. When we quitted England, 
 the contest was not then understood, but ere this, you doubtless 
 possess volumes on the subject ; there, it may be discussed dis- 
 passionately ; here, however, it is next to impossible, without 
 leaning to one side or the other. 
 
 A prevailing topic of conversation was the introduction of 
 missionaries for the purpose of converting the natives, which 
 by the older and better informed residents, is commonly con- 
 demned. This censure, perhaps, is premature. Of the vast 
 benefits, temporal as well as eternal, derived from an enlightened 
 religion, scarcely an adequate idea is entertained even by our- 
 selves; it has been the parent of morality, and civilization, and 
 science, the great refiner of European men and passions, the 
 healing balm sent from heaven to soothe the sorrows of the 
 human heart, in its struggles through life; and if these advan- 
 tages can be communicated to so many millions of our fellow- 
 creatures, the heart of the christian and philanthropist cannot 
 but rejoice. 
 
 The opponents of the measure, while they admit its moral 
 utility, consider conversion quire impracticable with such a 
 bigotted race as the Hindoos, and that the folly of the scheme 
 is its least objection. IMen, say they, who have emulously re- 
 sisted the arguments, exhortations, threats, persecutions, and 
 murders of the 3rohammedans, are not likely to embrace, by 
 mere persuasion, another system of worship which they as little 
 understand ; the doctrines of Mahomet, in fact, had a greater 
 chance of success, by administering to the passions and senses 
 of a voluptuous people, than the more simple and self-denying 
 tenets of Christ. Their superstitions, likewise, are so intimately 
 connected with political circumstances, that they must fall 
 together; for when disenthralled from the former, the latter 
 cannot be expected to continue long, and the shock of such a 
 revolution in the national character must be fatal to the domi- 
 nion of Europeans; the empire of public opinion would be as 
 rapidly destroyed as it has been acquired. 
 
 It is even said, that should we succeed in the attempt, httle 
 will be gained by the exchange. The people will be neither 
 quieter subjects nor better men ; for unfortunately present ex~ 
 perience teaches, that, along with European instruction, they
 
 ;{() ^^ ] la'tt to Madras, 
 
 imbibe more than a proportion of our vices. Besides, their 
 feelinijs as well as prejudices must be adverse to tlie chaiitre. 
 On the one hand, is sure to be incurred tlie contempt and ab- 
 horrence of all castes and classes of their countrymen, for, 
 under such circumstances, their very touch would be considered 
 the deepest contanjination ; while, on the other, is receivfd 
 what may be thouo;ht merely a speculative advanta<ife. But 
 the grand objection is its being politically inexpcdienf. To 
 christianize, it is ur^^-ed, will be only to revolutionize the country. 
 as the temper of the people cannot but materially alter with 
 their faith; th^ir pliancy with the spirit of free-in<juiry to which 
 it gives birth ; and that some new Tippoo, persuaded, perhaps 
 bullied, into our belief, and taught his own strength in moral 
 as in physical power, might rouse the dormant energies of the 
 nation, and when too late, teach his instructors the fatal tendency 
 of their lesson. 
 
 The subject is so interesting, that I shall make no aj>()!ogy 
 for troubling you with these opinions. I'o an enthusiast in the 
 cause, who rushes forward in the work of salvation, regar<ile.ss 
 of consequences, they wdl doubtless seem feeble ; least of all, 
 will a zealous missionary turn aside from his apostolic functions 
 to the consideration of Morldly pru<lence. If tlie system, there- 
 fore, be adopted, the conduct of the persons employed si^ould 
 be rigidly scrutinized by government ; they themselves ouyht 
 likewise to remember their task is so much the more delicate 
 and difficult, on account of the people being a long remove 
 from the ignorance and barbarism characterizing the JNegroes, 
 the Hottentots, the Caffers, and the South Sea islanders, to 
 whom their labours in preaching the truths of the d'ospel have 
 been hitherto principally confined. 
 
 India, on the whole, is an extraordinary country. The 
 peo[)le, at least, constitute a fine stu<ly for a philosophizing ob- 
 server; and had the ancients known as much of it as we do, it 
 would doubtless have formed a regulation i)\' (heir scliouls, that 
 none shoidd presume to investigate the isature of ujun, without 
 having travelled thither. If, as the poet says, man be the 
 proper study of mankind, it may be there amply induit:ed, as 
 few places furnish more materials tor thinking; the christian, 
 the politician, the merely metaphysical speculator, all uiay ex- 
 ercise their contemplative and reasoning faculties to advantage: 
 nor will the mathematician, the naturalist, the linguist, or the 
 general scholar, be wholly unemployed ; and for the arts of war 
 and commerce, it is already celebrated. 
 
 Vet much as I rejoice to have had evesi a [)artial view of 
 this interesting- land, I would not wish to live in it. Wealth 
 being the univeisal pursuit, it forms the occupation o< every
 
 /« the Year 1811. ^\ 
 
 Snan you meet; and though in itself a most agreeable thinjo-, as 
 we all know, yet a visitor looks for some variety in the subdivi- 
 sion of professions and classes ; but of the latter, there are here 
 only two, the mercantile and milifarvo Neither is the climate 
 desirable. The beat, except m tiie upper provinces, almost 
 precludes the free exercise of the limbs, and when the novelty 
 is worn off, there will be little enjoyment in being dangled on 
 men's shoulders in a palanquin, or in beir)g stewed to death in an 
 Indian ball-room, or in eating one's-seif to death, if I may be 
 allowed this phrase, at an Indian feast ; while a few good 
 J^uropean servants will do more work, with much less trouble, 
 than the usual army of native attendants kept in respectable 
 houses, many of whom disdain to l)rus!i your coat though they 
 polish your boots; while others bring you water to wash, who 
 conceive themselves degraded by takii'g it away, for ^iuch are 
 tlie ridiculous caprices of caste. 
 
 Civilians appear to be the only persons who make money; 
 soldiers rarely, except, perhaps, the he:ul.s of fh{^ profession, and 
 those who have had the j^ood fortune to hold lucrative stafF- 
 appointments. Fortunes aie by no means so common as for- 
 merly ; and, notwithsfandiiig a litile exterior ^Isew, which is the 
 distinguishing feature of the country, the generality of })ersons 
 are not so rich as is believed. A servant of tlie Coni[)aiiy, who 
 goes out as writer, niay return, in t-vnUy cir thirty years, wi(li 
 thirty or forty thousand pounds, provided he takfs especial care 
 of it, but not otherwise; many, indeed, will not be so fortunate 
 without adventitious aids. They a!! look forward to the pros- 
 pect of spending it in their native country; but when this 
 period arrives, the day for enjoyment has commonly gone by; 
 worn out perhaps by the climate, or lingering with the '• liver," 
 and, as is usually the case, unsettled in life, they fii^d little 
 pleasure in a cold and humid climate, or in the cravings of a 
 train of needy relations after their wealth. Even a rich man, iu 
 this situation, is not a subject of envy, but rather a memento of 
 labour misapplied ; for he has risked his health, and droned 
 out his existence, in acquiring what is but a poor compensation 
 for either — a little money. Adieu to riches on such cotiditions. 
 One-fourth the sum, gained in England, will ensure fifty times 
 the enjoyment. 
 
 The military of the Company are more indifferently situated, 
 in some respects, than the aspiring young candidates for war- 
 like fame in Etigland would believe ; and, on arriving here, 
 fiiuling their expectations a little disappointed, sometimes feel 
 a temporary disgust to the service, terming it a genteel trans- 
 portation for younger brothers. Two or three years are com- 
 YoYAGEs and Travkis, .Yo, L Vol, l\ O
 
 32 .1 IV.s// to Madras, 
 
 monly occnpiod in acquuing^ the native lanj^uage ; the yoiurg" 
 advenuirer then cominonres ensiifn, and seldom gets his com- 
 pany iiiidtr tw elve or fourteen years service. 
 
 'i'he <ltify, likewise, is disa<^reeal)le, in being- confined (except 
 in the late expeditions to the French and Dutch islands,) to 
 the country itself', in heing quartered in detached parties and 
 unlVecjuentcd districts-, without society, books, or the means of 
 Ceneral knowlediiP. added to the long period to which they 
 have to look forward for a <'hange ; atui, not the least grievance, 
 let nie say, the deprivation of agreeable and intelliijent female 
 companions. There is also another powerful consideration to 
 an a<lventur(ius mind, in producinof dislike to this service. Many 
 a g;dlai!t f( lh)w falls here in the convicts with the refractory 
 native ( hiefs, whose name, j)ei haps, is little known beyond the 
 regimen?, or remembered beyond the month, and leavingscarcely 
 a memorial of his fate to Jiis friends; but who in Europe w»)uld 
 have received the merited tribute of honour and regret due to 
 the memory of the brave. 
 
 The su[)eri(»r ofticers frequently become the ablest men in 
 India, many at present not merely excelling in their profession, 
 but eminent as writers, sta esnien, and politicians. Others, 
 from tl'r-ir local knowledge of the coiiflictirjfj native interests, 
 and intimate acquaintance with the language, are fitted and, 
 indefd, commonly chosen for the office of Residents at the 
 native courts, a situation which none but the cleverest, best- 
 infornif-', and most acn'e men in the country can fill. All 
 theso en-isideraiiotis, ailded to their other merits and services, 
 sl.'ou'd have had their full weiiiht with persons in authority on 
 the Irttt^ unfortunate occasion, tor the Company's service is cer- 
 tainly oiu- of danger as well as j)rivation, and yet of" compara- 
 tive obscurity to its followers; b»it one which England, while 
 she retains India, must ccmstantly supply with her educated 
 youth, and which it is, therefore, her obvious policy and interest 
 to eiicouraire. 
 
 I sho:dd much wisli to spend a twelvemonth in visiting 
 the t'ilfrrcn! pre ( id( nci* s, and in making some excursions 
 tlii'Hi:;!i ijic c;iui!try. T<i do this, however, tiie oovenior- 
 gcni ral's '^avo v (uild, I ii uioistariil, be necessary for any one 
 riot i;i i!, (^"luiia.ny's s<'rv!(('. Straii^-ers ;:re jcidous! v o'lserved, 
 and i)!U<t render a due explanation of their plitis rtiid motives 
 in i,( ia:nbnlitiiii> the country, before ihey caTi obtain permission 
 tor i' -it [-jipM^e. llolditii!' his laaji'sty's cominission, these ob- 
 ^ti:<!(S. oi'cwnrs", do not aj)ply )o ni}self, but a visitor from j-ai- 
 ropc, n (,f> ,->ii()old perchance iinlnlye the faculty of loco-niolion 
 wul.'oiH these necessary prcliiuiiiaries, would ^oon tind himself
 
 U the Year 181 1. r?3 
 
 not on the road to the interior, buf, under charge of a few 
 peons of the police, pushed on-board the first s^hip for Europe; 
 this strict surveillance is, however, absolutely necessary. 
 
 To a naval officer, the station is by no means u'; pleasant, 
 provided he be pretty well furnished in that j)art of the animal 
 system called the pocket; without this he had better reuiain 
 on-board his ship, and contemplate the shore, its temptations 
 and pleasures, at a respectful distance. While all the neces^ 
 saries of life are cheap, the aggregate of living-, as already men- 
 tioned, is high ; even the single requisite of a paiarquin, an 
 absolijitly necessary vehicle for every person pretending to the 
 character of a gentleman, and without which he is irj danger of a 
 stroke of the sjm, is an expence his pay cannot afford. It is 
 remarkable, that the higher classes of the naval service receive 
 liberal allowances from the Company, while the junior are 
 treated like mendicants, whom it is bad policy to encourage. 
 At the same time it is impossible not to remark, and to feel, 
 the contrast presented by the army, where all, from the com- 
 mander in chief to the private, are well and even splendidly 
 paid. The amount of these allowances, as they are little 
 known in Europe, may be mentioned. 
 
 The commander-in-chief of the navy, besides a bouse on- 
 sliore, receives from the Company 3000/. ()er annum for his 
 table and incidental cxpences ; a post-captain 500/.; a rom- 
 mander 250/. : the lieutenants, surgeon, master, ofticers of ma- 
 rines, &c., holding- the next degiee of rank, a certain sum to 
 their mess, something less than 20/. each ! Captains in the 
 army, who rank with these ofliccrs, on the contrary, receive 
 upon full batta nearly 400/., and subalterns nearly 200/. per 
 annum, exclusive of government-pay. 
 
 Doubtless they deserve it ; but why should the same class 
 \\\ the navy be so far thrown into the shade l Can the annals 
 of India afford no record of their services? IJoes her com- 
 mtrce exist but by their exertions? Is not her territory in 
 danger of invasion every hour, were it not for theiraid, against 
 the envious and watchful rivalry of every state in l^^urope ? 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention, that the violence of the 
 surf, at all times here, has given rise to seventl projects in 
 embryo, for obviating- its effects, among- others that of a pier 
 or jetty, to shelter the roads from the N. E. monsoon. This 
 scheme, at first, actually received some countenance, though 
 a})surd in the extreme, for I think it would be nearly as prac- 
 ticable to build a bridge from Dover to Calais, iSor is there 
 any probable method of protecting vessels bound to this capi- 
 tal of the Coromandol coast, except by changing- its site altu- 
 gcther, which, from the expense, time, labour, and difiiculties 
 
 O 2
 
 34 .J rj.vf/ to Madnn\ 
 
 amending such remeral, is never likely to be attempted. The 
 cause of the surf alonp;- the whole of this coast, down to Ben- 
 ^■al, ha'i never, that I am auare of, been attempted to be ex- 
 plained : nor, indeed, has it l)een any ^vhere else philosophi- 
 cally considered, thoutih ottering many curious plienomena ; 
 such as prcvailin"- equally in calm and windy weather, on flat 
 or on steep shores, on the leeward as well as windward sides 
 of lands and islands, in sheltered coves as on more ex|)ose(l 
 portions of the coast. 3Iay not volcanic fire, aclini>on the bed 
 of the sea near this shore, have somethiny- to do m ith the surf, 
 particularly as a violent eruj)iion is recorded to lia\e taken 
 place, about sixty years ago, at a little distance from Pondi- 
 clierry ? 
 
 The latitude of 3radras is 13" 4' N. longitude, 80° 21' E. 
 The ri'-e and fall of ti(l(^ is so trifling as to bo scarcely percep- 
 tible. <)ctob(r, iVov(inber, and J3eceiuber, are consi<lered the 
 most dangerous months for shipping at aiiehoi', on account of 
 the hurricanes ; April and May are sometimes as bad ; the 
 win<ls comnienee, on tlif^e occasions, commonly from the north- 
 ward, or N. W. and vecM* round by degrees to the eastward. 
 Tiu' best means of evadinsi' their effects, is to cut or slip the 
 cabl(^ and run to s<'a. ke<>p!ng well ofltill the weather mode- 
 rates. I*'or the eon\(!i!(nce of vessels a|)|)roaching the coast 
 in the niL;fi», a lii.;;it is cxhibifed, observa})Ie at fifteen or 
 eiiihtecii iiiilis (listMiicc, 
 
 On liie bnid side, .'ii.dras is now pretty secure from infer- 
 ru]>fio:i bv lioiihlc ^.i,-!!," (,r v. ni bke neiglil)ours ; for it is re- 
 inarkal)!e ihif. thowiji n!;> cMi '-f (aj)i!al in fiiis eounlrv, il has 
 been more i"i etjufniiy aiui vccrnily in jeopardy than any ollitr. 
 IVindieherry fe.rnjerly. and .AJvsor*' l:tl<(rly. were its diadlv 
 and uncensMiL;" foes. '^1 he poMcr of France has lon^- been an- 
 nihilated; id!! it i^ onl\ twelve years sinre Tij)j)oo was hurled 
 to th(^ foiiils ( f iiis lalliers. isnd that the people of l-'ort St. 
 (leorge miti'i! i;e ';ii(l !'» bieathe tVeely. The ?«abob(or rather 
 iVanaui)) oi the ( aniatie, is liarn)l( ss. and entirely in our 
 power; some otln rs are nearly in the same situation; and ex- 
 cept another iinl)a|i]>v commotion should occur amon^our- 
 selves, its liaiMMiilht v ])roiiiis( s to <'ontinue uninlerru|)(ed so 
 lon^- as we jiresi r\ e, with any tolerable care, (lie stnpemious 
 " empire of opinion." 
 
 'I'he ereat indneemeiit (or F'.nglislimen ad^cntniers here, 
 and in th^ olio r capitals of ('aJeulia and liombay, is the faei- 
 hty uhieli trade and sliop-kf f ping afiord of making monry. 
 \e<'ordmgly, all thr prcsideneieK contain considerable numbers 
 «)f this class, u lio consider themselves nnn el no ordinary ini- 
 j'otlntur; Ijnl nheni i( [Mi/ylrs tli'>',e unai^'inatntrd with t/ie
 
 lit ihe Year ISll. ^5 
 
 ^:msuiefto, how they could possibly find their way hither. You 
 may, perhaps, think that it requires interest, money, and strong- 
 reconunendations to do this; — no such thing-; — the court of di- 
 rectors are never consulted on the subject. A captain of a 
 trading-ship enters a person on his books, under a fictitious 
 name, as part of his crew, who, as soon as ho arrives in the 
 country, takes up his quarters on-shore, and there remains, 
 being put down run, or deserted, on the books ; and so lon<i^ 
 as he behaves well, government takes no notice of him. 
 
 3Iany others have been bona fide seamen, clerks, stewards, 
 and servants in the Indiamen, and have actually deserted, 
 keeping concealed till the ship sailed, and then setting up as 
 tradei^men, innkeepers, and sho[) (T beg pardon, for tliis word 
 is a grosc insult in all our colonies) store-keepers I mean, and 
 their caj)tain, at a future time, from motives of humanity, docs 
 not interrupt their new avocations. In process of time, they 
 get wealthy, rise gradually in the scale of importance, return 
 to Kngland. purchase a mansion and estate, set up for the 
 first borough that offers, and, sometimes, deign to take under 
 their special patronage, those who have title and family, but, 
 perhaps, not much of " this world's goods" to introduce them 
 into the world of fashion. And their success in life would not 
 only be honourable to themselves, but little remarked, were it 
 not for the pride and foolish importance which the majority 
 assume in their native country, M'ho were little, or not at all, 
 noticed in the scene of their fortunate industrv. 
 
 , ij \. n
 
 LETTiaiS FROM AFRICA, 
 
 BY SK.NOK THA> I1>I:ANT, OH AVEIUO, 
 
 CA^OKA^ THE SCULPTOR. 
 
 Palmyra, Dec. 17, 1818. 
 
 IVJIaking but a sliort stay at (irand Cairo, I embarked in the 
 lU'iolihouriiood ot Babylonia ; and Uirning- away from Rhodes, 
 prond of its ISiloiiicter, J found running- upwards, Cimopolis, 
 and the city that c.ills to rcmenil)ranre the depraved licentious- 
 ness of Adrian, the I^ower Abydos, Licopolis, and many other 
 places not mentioned with \\h. 
 
 The picttircs(jue [)ros[)((t of a thousand cavities called to 
 my mind the anchorites of Thebes. 
 
 Following- the well-employed jourm^y, I observed Abotis, 
 Arroditophopolis, and Tentea, where, in the temple of Isis, I 
 tasted, with wonder, the J]gy[)tian learning- ; and, turning- to- 
 wards the opposite shore, I j»a>sed by ( "oenas, and Apollino- 
 polis 3linor; reviewing- near thereto the city of the Hundred 
 (iates. 
 
 Here is ( arnak with its boundless walks of sphinxes, the 
 I'ropylivon, porticoes ot liranitc. the couils, the sijuares, and 
 the temple, with eighfccn rank^; of columns hieroglyphicallv 
 gculpiurcd, the cir(-iunierence of \^ liich seven Tnen har(lly sj)an 
 -with their arms. 
 
 Luxor, with its obelisks and innumerable colonnades. 
 
 Behold M( il't;i*'t-Ahu covered with endless ruins, and with 
 the uionstions colo'^sus that sainted the appearance of the king- 
 of the stars, and still shado\\8 the 'I'jicban plain. 
 
 Follow and beJiold Kowin,wli(re the se'at of 3[emnon makes 
 a rich (lisp|;i\ : and the briirht nnage of the great Sesostris, 
 
 lint the' tombs ol' tln-Ne subterranean abodes, that which an 
 Italian ((Giovanni Hel/oni,) opened last year, under the aus- 
 pices of Mr. Salt, consul-general of I->ngland in IOg-y{)t, feeds 
 the (joulit, whether it is the production of a mortal hand. 
 
 The interior is enter»>d throu^ih an ample gate, when a path, 
 with walls beautitully s( tiiptured. leads to g^alleries still more 
 beautiful, I'y tin side oi \vl!i(l) air the royal rooms, which pre-
 
 Letters from Jj'iiciu 2 
 
 serve in dirtuse painting tlie E^'yptian mysteries, and (he <lit- 
 ferent nations first known. The sanctuary of Isis captivates 
 both the eye and the mind. 
 
 Then a catacomb of alabaster, adorned with hieroglyphics, 
 both externally and internally, rises in the centre of the greater 
 wing, which alone might enrich and give reputation to a mu~ 
 seuni. Why were not you with nie in that hour when I found 
 in the great Thebes the whole world ? 
 
 Having so opportune a motive, I directed to you from thence 
 a letter. Tearing myself away, as it were, by force, from the 
 divine Hecatompylos, I passed Armuntis, Crocodilopolis, La- 
 topolis, and Apollinopolis 3Iajor, saluting- afterwards, amongst 
 its pleasing hills, the remote Syene. 
 
 Having visited the temples of that frontier, and the well that 
 was the looking-glass of the sun, and the island Elephantine, 
 (or Elephantine Island) the abode of Emefet, I joined the 
 illustrious party of my Lord 13elmore, intent upon visiting- 
 rsubia; and, having passed the last cataract, improperly called 
 the first, the caves of graniie, and the sumptuous edifices of 
 Philoe, Sec. reached Sie(j Ihsamhal, the ancient Aboceis, aban- 
 doned to Petronius by the unfortunate Candace, and where is 
 still the best monument of Ethiopia, re-opened by order of the 
 aforesaid Mr. Salt, by our Belzoni, and by us another time 
 when the iNisis had covered it with sand. The name of Mr. 
 Salt is dear to (he republic of the literati, and to amateurs of 
 travels, by calling' to their remembrance the interesting 
 accounts of Abyssinia. 
 
 From Ibsambal, passing over to Ischiet, we n^et Daud Kas- 
 fhef, one of the seventy children of Hassan, v^ho received us 
 with an agreeable politeness, under a canopy of pabns, in a field. 
 Oh, if you had seen how different from our own are the customs 
 of the ptople of Nubia! 
 
 Here Cnptain Correy, brother of Eord Belmore, and myself, 
 were seized wiih the desire of passing the penultimate cataract, 
 in order to arrive by the way of Sennaar at the pleasant island 
 of 3Ieroe, which is the Saba conquered by Moses before the 
 liigh mission, when, under the name of Soutifauti, he enjoyed 
 hiiib credit at the court of Pharaoh. 
 
 We were immersed in the new project, when some people of 
 the provinces, subject to the Grand Negus, told us, that the 
 Mamelukes confined in Dongola by the brave Mahomet Ali, 
 notably suspected all those who came from Egypt ; wherefore 
 we retroceded, and, on the ^Grh December, 1817, I cut in the 
 name of ilids and my own, upon the highest top of the cataracts 
 of Nubia. 
 
 That river which fertilizes so many kingdoms, and niakes
 
 •i LttttfYS j'lum ^ij'rita. 
 
 ilirni fruitful, is hero divided into luillions of various sireams, 
 wliuli, iTiisfjitin;^ out from ainoug-st the stones, and folding into 
 lit'.'ips of flowers, form Xo tiie eye a spectacle not elsewhere 
 known in nature. 
 
 Havinii- found under the torrid zone the sites of the ancient 
 I'hthuris. .Assci<ia, ^'icroseia, ( 'orthes, Pselchas, Thutzis, TaU 
 mis, Ta[)liis, and Thitzi, and havino- returned to Syene, I soon 
 duected my steps towards Omhos Sacra, to (Jrocodile, to Stili- 
 thia, Anul»is, to Koptos, the friend of the maritime Berenice, 
 and which experienced all the rigour of Diocletian, to Dios- 
 polis Mmor, Ahydos ^fajor, which preserves considerable 
 remains of the temple of Osiris, to Panopolis, Anlinoopolis, Her-* 
 inopolis Mayna. Tariis Su[)erior, and toOsirineus in 8iut, where 
 I met with the French traveller, Count Forbin. 
 
 Spendiiif*- some time in Radamnrc, where is the distillery of 
 ruju, and a suiiar-bakery, under the direction of the hospitable 
 5Ir. Hiine, T went down to the pyramids of Saccara, and by the 
 plain of ^remphis. to those of Ghizeh, where I found 31. Bel- 
 zoni anxious to j)enetrate info the second of those heaps, tliought 
 to be of Cephrenus. Knowing- his intellii^enoe, I emleavoured 
 only fo animate him still more to the undertakino-, and after a 
 stay of some days, we traversed a place inaccessible lor many 
 o-enerations ; and 1 know not how to express my feelings at 
 waiidcrinii" amongst those (avities. 
 
 A very lonii-inclined i^allery, entirely of fine and massy g^ra- 
 uife ; a passage at the end so narrow, that a man bending' 
 horizontally can hardly enter: then a horizontal gallery, which 
 looks info the hall where is the foml) worn away ; a perpendi- 
 cular uallct v, somewhat inclined, v.ith a room on the left side of 
 fliejjassane; various collections of .s:»line productions figured 
 upon tile walls: various it)scri|)lions ; and, finally, crosses 
 drawn upon these same \\ails: this is what we saw. 
 
 |juprj>ini^ from this delirium to the light, i wished to ascend 
 the hiohest pyramid, nmi arrived at the top; I appeared to 
 fiuuh the si.Hs: 1 remaiiuMl there the whole night, which was 
 tlie Ins? of niy iitV. |\tify centuries had been silent under my 
 fiet, nhilsf I was pondfraUng the cause and effects of the 
 cre;ition. 
 
 Tilt' followiiiir moniin"f the rising' sun illumined me, which 
 slioiic around the horizon with a j)omp never dreamt of, either 
 by [).ii!iter or by pott. 
 
 I'rom tlr> [)ia(»' V v, rote to you. to Dioniui, 3Iorghen, Bar- 
 tolomei, I'nidenuuite, 3Iorichini, Ferroni, A'acea, SearpellinI, 
 f'amellieri, DelCico, to the Cardinal (ionsalvi, to the Chevalier 
 F'ossombroni, and to other lights and souls of my country. 
 
 I have scarcely mentioned to you the celebrated woman of
 
 Letters from Africa. 4 
 
 Mizraim ; she has been a prey to all the scourges of time, so 
 that we can only write upon her remains, " Here was Memphis." 
 Turning from the pyramids, I entered into Grand Cairo, and 
 thetice down to Alexandria, in order to expedite to you the plan 
 of my researches: for you and the Regent of England were the 
 first to second my efforts. 
 
 During the above-mentioned period, I went to pay homage 
 to the man who governs E^^ypt, worthy of being inserted in 
 the pages of history by the side of Mseris and Menes, or with 
 JEuergetes and Ptolemy, son of Laij;os. 
 
 Returning to Grand Cairo I repaired to Asia: and, plunging 
 into the deserts of Etam and those of Kedar, to see on one 
 side Pharan, raid on tiie other Casiotis, which includes in its 
 bosom the bones of the great Roman yet unrevenged. 
 
 As I left iil,i>ypt, which was deserting me, I was reminded 
 what Amru wrofe to the great Omar, desirous of a picture of 
 that country: figure to yourself, O i^rince of the Faithful, a 
 vast and arid desert, witJi a river in the middle, which is 
 attended in its cour^^e by two opposite hills, the borders of the 
 ground rendered fertile by that flood so blessed by Heaven. 
 Most just is the picture, and in that too which afterwards 
 follows. 
 
 Continuing my route I passed the isthmus of Suez, and the 
 fragments of Rinocerura, Rapha, and Agrippiades, and leaving 
 behind me Besor, I comforte<l my weary eye with the olives of 
 Gerara, the happy land of the Philistines. 
 
 Departing from Gaza 1 went to Beersheba, to Sorek, upon 
 the borders of which lived Dalilah, to Timnath and Gabatha, 
 known already by the feats of Samson ; and getting out of the 
 way of the tribe of Simeon, I advanced into the mounts of 
 Judah and Benjamin, arriving by the plain of Booz at Jeru- 
 salem, in the very time of the Greeks demanding from Heaven 
 flieir sacred fire. 
 
 At the view of ihe^^Hill of Sion and Mount of Olives, at the 
 appearance of the city, I felt both as a Christian and as a philo- 
 sopher, touched by an hitherto unfelt emotion, which, somewhat 
 retarding my steps, covered my heart with pleasing melancholy, 
 and my mind with incessant nieditation. Oh! what a difTer- 
 erice between the figurative and the true. 
 
 Having reverenced those places which record the beginning 
 of the greatest religion in the world, T contemplated, with in- 
 describable transport, the Tower of David, the Temple of 
 Solomon, the Palace of Herod, the Fountain and the Pool of 
 Sdoah, the Siieep-(>ool, and that of Beer-sheba, the Kedron, 
 the Golden-gale, tlie VWil of ISeheniiah, which concealed the 
 true fiery element, the Mount of Offence, and that of Scandal, 
 TovAGEs and Tkavils. No, 1. Vol. V. P
 
 ij Lftteis from j^/'iiai. 
 
 wi:li ihe ^ alley oi' T(»plie(, where the priests of Israel sacri- 
 lieed human viciims to Moloch; the SepiiKhre of Manasseh in 
 the Ciardeu of Uzza, the Sepulchres of the Kinp-s, and those 
 of Af).sal<tiii, of Jehoshaphat, of Zaehariah, son of I3arachiali ; 
 the only architectural objects I thoug'ht worthy of you amongst 
 the moderii anti(juities of the IIel)rewti. 
 
 You are never satiated with deli<i!it over the ruins of Jeru- 
 Kalem ; and, taking the advantage of a company of pilgrims, I 
 went with them to IJahurim, whence Shitnei threw stones at 
 the Psalmisf, in Adummim, or Place of IJlood, to the Fountain 
 of Klijah, to Jericho, which no longer gives odour to the chaste 
 flower, down to Gilgal ; I purified njyself in the Jordan at 
 Bethabara, where John baptized. 
 
 Before me were Reuben and Gad, with the Plains of Moab, 
 and the Land of the Amorites. 
 
 Amongst the crowd of pilgrims were distinguished the 
 Britons, Bengs, Mangles, frby and Legh, and the exemplary 
 companion of the Italian Belzoni. 
 
 Returning to Jerusalem, I was present at (he tragic quarrel 
 which occurred between the (Greeks and l^atins, near the 
 Tomb of Jesus Christ. I wrote to the hero of the pontificate, 
 exhorting him to interfere, in order that, in future, such scan- 
 dalous occtirrences might not happen. 
 
 1 then undertook another journey, and the places I saw were 
 the A alley of the Giants, the Lands of Jacob, the Sepulchre 
 of Rachel, near Rainalh, the Cistern of David, Bethlehem, a 
 smiliiio town of Judea, the Villa of the closed Garden, the 
 sealed Fountain, and the vessels of Solomon; the Hills of Fn- 
 gaddi, Tema, the country of Almos; and Giloh, country of 
 Ahitophel ; the Grottos of Adullam, and the Wood of Ziph, 
 where the successor of Saul, David, often hid himself; the 
 Valley of Mamre, the Field of Damascus ; whence re-proceed- 
 ing, the Aale of Terebinthus, fatal to Goliah, and the surround- 
 ing |>Iaces renowned by the nativity and abstinence of the 
 precurser. I, lastly, saw Bethany. 
 
 Having drawn from the library and Uie archives of the friars 
 what I thouy^ht of service to my purpose, F bid adieu to the 
 Daughter of Sion, and by the I*ool of (iibeon, Beth-horon, 
 Succoth, the Valley of Rephaim, Azekah, Fmmaus, Anathoth, 
 the country of Jeremiah {)laced auainst Modin, the glory of 
 the Maccabees, and by Aramatlijea, passing Sharon, I stopped 
 at .Joppa, which still ijoasts of its rocks warm with the tears of 
 Andromeda. Here arrived the T^riati ships, f)earing the pre- 
 cious stores and purple which the son of Abibal sent to the 
 tjapient king, and here, too, daily arrives the pilgrim, Jed from 
 amr to pay the vow.
 
 Letters from ./Jj'rica. 6 
 
 From Joppa J went by the shore to Ekron, v^shJod, which 
 kept the ark a prisoner, to Ashkalon, now destroyed, and hav- 
 ing- returne<l to Joppa, I ascended the inheritance of Ephraim 
 to the Sepulchres of Benjamin and Simeon; to Sichem, whence 
 we mounted Ebal and Gerizim, to :he Well of Jacob, and the 
 Sepulchre of Joseph ; and meeting with the Abbe de Mazure, 
 a warfij panegyrist of France, and measurer of Judea, I went 
 with him to Sdoa, upon ihe road that leads from Jerusalem to 
 Neapolis. 
 
 Neapolis, or Napolosa, lies upon the ruins of Sicheri), and 
 here, returning from Siloa, I found the ancient Samaritans, or 
 Cuteans, who were prayino- from error, by a well, believed to 
 be Jacob's. I taiioht them the truth, which doctrine excited 
 against me no small disturbance ; so far, tiiat the said Sama- 
 ritans, thinkiiig me one of (heir brethren, wished by all means 
 to retain me in the country; and what is more singular, exacted 
 that I should promise marriage to a woman of their sect. 
 
 The Christians of Napolosa took up my defence ; whence, 
 getting off at my own hazard, foreseeing the favour of the for- 
 mer, I took shelter in Samaria, where there is no vestige of the 
 importunate Samaritans. I wrote to you, that, with the excep- 
 tion of some columns, there is nothing interesting in Sebaste. 
 
 On leaving Samaria the tribe of Issachar presented them- 
 selves to me in Galilee, with the fountain of Israel, and plain 
 of Ekdraelon, over which the eye cannot reach ; Endor, at the 
 foot of the second Hermon, known by the victory of Deborah 
 and Barak, Sophos, the native place of James and of the 
 friend of his master; Cana, the country of Simon and Natha- 
 nael ; Tabor, terminating with Heaven; beautiful parts of 
 Zabulon ; Bethsaiada, the country of Peter and Andrew on 
 the shores of that waterj abundant in the deeds of the Divine 
 Instructor of virtue. 
 
 Returned to Tiberias, I undertook the analysis of those 
 mineral waters ; and in the city where lives, in retired delight, 
 that deserving man of society, the noble gentleman Raphael 
 de Piciotto, consul-general of Austria in Syria, whose roof 
 and whose fortune never denied to any one a constant sacred 
 hospitality. 
 
 And you must know, a-propos, that, amongst the Hebrews 
 dispersed in the various regions of the globe, and amongst those 
 of Asia and of Africa particularly, there exists an ancient 
 custom of coming to finish their days upon the spot, bedewed 
 by the sweat of their ancestors. Such a sentiment gladdens 
 their heart from the most tender years of youth, and hence it 
 is moving to see arrive in the ports of Palestine, the aged 
 l,sraelite, who, leaning upon the shoulder of his old consort, 
 
 P 2
 
 7 Letters J'rom j^Jricjt. 
 
 approaches witlj her ainid«4t the cheers of hope, to deposit his 
 rausred spoils in the sepulchre of their forefathers. 
 
 The heats suffered upon the lake of Geiiiiesareth haviiio" 
 moderated, I revisited the Irihe of Issurhar, and Itavitig- ascended 
 Cartnel 1 dr()|)ptd down to llepiivi, to J^ora, to ('esarea, to Ma- 
 iiasseh ; and passino- in the tril)e of Asiier over tlie space of 
 Setneron and the Waters of Ceiideria. 1 continued afterwards 
 the Belns to Ftoleiiiais, still dyed with that blood \\ liich the 
 cruel Djezar caused to flow in torrents. 
 
 Thus following- the course of the Plia-nician shore, every 
 moment appeared to me an age which interfered with that 
 which should show me in a miserable rock, surrounded with 
 water and with sand, that once powerfid mistress of the seas. 
 
 The Greek Archbishop, D. Cirillo Debbas, received me cor- 
 dially isi his house, and causing to be prepared a frugal repast, 
 placed on the ground, after the fashion of the East, and setijng- 
 i)imself down beside me, spoke as follows : — " Eat with good- 
 will, that God may preserve it to thee. I receive thee negli- 
 gently after the manner of the apostles, and this scanty food I 
 consume with thee in good-will, as I do daily with the other 
 guests. If I liad more I would give thee more, but my only 
 income, which is that of the Arciibishj)ric of Tyre, does not 
 produce me annually above 200 crowns (schdi) of thy country, 
 the half of which I employ to nourish the poor of my diocese. 
 Besides being- their spiritual, I am also their temporal, physi- 
 cian, and lend gratuitously my remedies wherever tiiey arc 
 necessary. The other prelates live more secure under cover 
 of the mountains, but I am tnore fortunate tlian they are, who 
 divide with my flock the days of sorrow and of joy." May 
 those be blessed who speak and reason with so much truth. 
 
 Leaving Tyre with the benedictio'is and siticere embraces 
 of my host, I passed t!ie Well of JiivinLC W^atters, the I*se!alo 
 Eleutlierius, anfl Sarcpfa. when the smiling plain of that Sidon 
 opened itscdi before me, whic'i strui)gled hard with its apjjroach- 
 ing fall. 3lonsi( iir Muffin, Ereiich ('onsul, [jolitely offered me 
 reception, and I (h'plore the loss he has since susiained in a 
 companion wlio was die model of the tender sex. 
 
 IMie J^ady l']st:ier Sr;tnhope, who, for >-o many years, has 
 attracted the attention of" Asia and [']uro|)e, by the singular 
 manner of life she h; s adopter!, is encamped one hour's distance 
 from Sidoi), in a small habitation called Ceruba; and, i:t order 
 to render herself still more remarkable, insists upon her will 
 being obeyed, that no I^uroj)ean shall a'.ptoaoh her, even for a 
 tuoment. To blanu; her for it, woidd it tiot l)e an act of in- 
 tolerance ? 
 
 Traversing that mountain which includc;s so many mountain;^.
 
 Letters from Jifrica. 8 
 
 and may properly be called a kingdom, and which 1 shall call 
 Libania, I hastened forward to Cilicia, and thence to Damascus, 
 the name of which imposes more than is due to it. 
 
 In all the circuit of Libanus, as well as in Carmel, I collected 
 a thousand fruits and petrified testaceous substances, the proof 
 of a tremendous deliioe. 
 
 i^ly intention of going- from Dainascns to Palmyra not suc- 
 ceeding- ai that time, I came to lialbeck, where it appeared to 
 me as if Thebes were revived in the midst of Syria. 
 
 An entire volume would be insufficient for the description of 
 the Temple of the Sun. 
 
 Six columns arise amidst the marshes, each in height seventy- 
 one feet, and twenty-one feet eight inches in circumference. 
 Three stones of granite occupy the space of one hundred and 
 seventy-five feet and a half, and another has sixty-nine feet of 
 length, twelve of breadth, and thirteen of thickness. You 
 alone, Sublime Genius! can solve the problem whether it is 
 the work of common men, or of a race of beings superior to 
 our own. 
 
 Re-ascending mount Libanus, I wished to smell its boasted 
 cedars, see Eden, the grottos of Canobir, and the horrible cave 
 of the great Egyptian hermit. Oh, hovv the pure and sweet 
 life of the patriarchs flourishes here! Here is that simplicity and 
 peace that man in vain seeks amongst mankind. 
 
 Again returning to Phoenicia I went to Tripoli, to Tortosa, 
 witness of the great congress in the first crusade ; to Eluthe- 
 rius. Sober; to the city of Gabale, which preserves one of its 
 amphitheatres ; to Laodicea, where the Signor Agostino Laz- 
 zari entertained me with more than social treatment; and pene- 
 trating amongst tlje mountains of the Arsarites, worshippers of 
 doys and of the base senses, I arrived at the 31ilky Waters of 
 Orontes and at An'iocl.', an object worthy of contest. 
 
 From Theopolis, by a road (covered wit'.i abusive irdiabitants, 
 1 came to the more fiduris'iing Aleppo, t'ltuco to the Euphrates, 
 and hardly toucliing Mesopotamia, the sound of ISineveh and 
 Babylon already struck fny fanry, and drew it av.ay more ra- 
 pidly than the steed of Elimaides, the chariot of Cyrus. 
 
 Passitig- again t!;rougli Aleppo, I kept the other roal of Da- 
 mascus by Apamea, Cima, and Emesa, where the dciicately 
 fair-haired, white-compiexioned nvmphs, display theniselves, 
 with their black eyes, more beautiful than were ever produced 
 by the native of Urbino or by Titian. 
 
 Whilst 1 was enjoying the presence of Emesa, the catastro- 
 phe of the Palmyrenes came to nsy memory, and the blood of 
 the acute Longinus almost drevv from me a tear. 
 
 Warmly recommended to the governor of DaKia-^cus hy the
 
 9 Letters Jrom JiJ'rica. 
 
 excellent Piciotto, consul-general of Austria in Aleppo, a son 
 worthy of his father, I advanced towards Palmyra, in company 
 with a single guide, and, after five days of a most trcmbiesonje 
 journey, reposed in the court of Odenatus and Zenobia. 
 
 But what can I tell you of this memorahle spot, which so 
 much electrifies the intellects, unless that about thirfy tosvers, 
 the Temple of the Sun, and 3(10 columns scattered here and 
 there, over a soil covered with sand, and still slandiny lo eter- 
 nize to the world the great Palmyra? What I pass over in 
 silence shall blossom in my future little work. 
 
 In fifteen months, and about 7,000 miles, I have passed 
 through the ^rediterranean, 3risraim, Nubia, Kedar, I<lii?nea, 
 Philistia, Judea, Samaria, (iaidee. PhdMiicia, Coele, Syria, and 
 Mesopotamia, having seen the sea of Pentapolis. have diiink 
 of that of Tiberias, and the Nile, the .Fordan, Orontes, and 
 Euphrates; have ascended the Pyrartiids, Sion, Gerizim, Tabor, 
 Libanus, and Carmel, and have reposed in the tombs of 
 Thebes, amono-st the catiiracts of JVubicJ. and upon the dust of 
 Memphis, Heliopoiis, Ashkalon, Tyre, Sidon, Balbeck, Pal- 
 myra, Samaria, and Jerusalem. 
 
 Mount Sinai, May S, 1810. 
 
 1 write to you from the most memorable heights in the worbi ; 
 but hear how I came hither. 
 
 Having closed tl>e letter, 1 directed to you from the ruins 
 of Palmyra, I followed the silent contemplation of those re- 
 markable remains, and, under the protection of the hospitality 
 of the modern Palinyrenes, who are the best Arabs I know of, 
 I passed hours joyful and tranquil. 
 
 Their questions turned upon Jionebortc (Buonaparte) and 
 my Lady Stanhope; the former they remembered from his ex- 
 pedition into Soria, for the fume of him resounded greatly 
 amongst them: and the latter for the liberality displayed in the 
 journey she undertook in the desert. 
 
 Their curiosity and my own being satisfied, I continued my 
 journey with my guide, and arrived at Damascus. Thence, 
 through Cu'le-Syria, I ascended Libanus once more, which I 
 was delighted to contemplate amidst the horrors of the winter, 
 and descending to Berytus by PJHx-nicia, the pleasant Philistia, 
 and the wearisome J'^iam, I returned to the Nile. 
 
 After one days repose, I went to offer my personal tribute 
 to the Pyramids, and (l-jirajxisi of these heaps, while 1 was 
 writmg my name upon the third, called Phryne, I perceived 
 that Frfdidui was the anagram of Dia /'"rint^ 
 
 1 then return* (1 to Cairo, and as the pestilential scourge was 
 beginning to mow down human victims, instead of remaining
 
 Letters from .^frietu 10 
 
 there I tliought l)ettei- to continue my journey, and three days 
 of sand made me ejaculate Dulce Videre Suez. 
 
 Haviiifj admired the progress and decrease of the waters, I 
 put myself on-board an India ship, commanded by the excellent 
 Captain Landale ; and, embarkitsg- afterwards in a small boat, 
 I sailed as fnr as Der EssaJ'rmi, where it is believed that Israel 
 passed over, and traversino- almost in a right line the famous 
 fciea, I approached Del el Hamman. 
 
 Departing by the waters of Suez, I had ordered ray Arabs 
 to wait for me at a place indicated, and judge of my surprise 
 upon my arrival to find no one rhere! 
 
 The solitude of the place, the inefticacy of the bark to conti- 
 nue as far as Tor, the wind contrary for my return to Suez, 
 the want of provisions, and water particidarly, were the 
 mournful thoughts that sat heavy at my heart. 
 
 But that immutable eternal Providence, ever present where 
 he least appears so, but where most necessary, caused in an 
 instant my guides to approach : whence by the path of the 
 Chosen People, I trod upon Paran and Sin, and sighing, ar- 
 rived at the sides of these mountains, which are Sinai and 
 Horeb. 
 
 The first idea I conceived when for the first time I heard of 
 Mount Libanus, was that of an insulated mountain, and in such 
 respect all the ideas of men are alike, whence I shall call it the 
 Country of Libuny, instead of Libanus ; that country as large 
 almost as our Abruzzo, and larger than our Tyrol, which com- 
 prises luxuriant valleys, fertile meadows, flowing rivers, beau- 
 tiful hills, very high mountains, populous towns, ten bishoprics, 
 seventy principalities, and which can produce 50,000 champions 
 for the protection of its precious liberty. 
 
 Cairo, December 1, 1820. 
 
 Leaving Horeb and Sinai, from the summits of which I 
 gazed at lands which form lucid points in the blaze of human 
 intellect, I descended into the country of Elim, where still are 
 to be seen the palms and the wells that quenched the thirst of 
 the Jews. 
 
 Having cooled myself in Tor, where I tried its waters, I 
 returned by the road of Suez to Cairo, and going down to 
 Alexandria, I turned towards the Lake Mareotis, thence to 
 that oi Maadie and Etko, and making an excursion in merry 
 company to the beautiful Rosetta, I traversed the branch Bol- 
 bitina, the Delta, and arrived at the ruins of Batis, and the 
 mouth of the Sebene, upon the Fammeticus branch, in modern 
 D;imietta. 
 
 Embarking thence upon the Lake of Memale, and arrived
 
 1 i Li'tfcrs from JiJ'ilca. 
 
 at the inlands of Mafarid. I advanced into the canal of 3Ioez, 
 wlieiuc f iniiilit vi<'\v ilie scattered remains of Taiiis, and re- 
 turiiMii» to the hike, recoi»ri:zed the Tatiitics and Pelu.siac 
 months, with tlie JJofias oj' Jla/ii. 
 
 Disfinharked upon the shore, I arrived through the desert at 
 (he sides of iiiount Casius, and the day foUowing ascended that 
 ccK hrr^fed eminence, whence I canje to Peiusium, that famous 
 key of Koypt, and trusting myself once more to the waves, I 
 visited the ishmd.s of Tennis and Thuna, and passing over the 
 Mcnilesiati mouth I returned to Darnietta. 
 
 Reposinii' a litlh, I took diversion upon the lake, and pene- 
 trated by tlic canal of .^Joez into t!iat of Salahie, and descend- 
 ing inio the desert, I fcutid endle.-s fields of soda, holh vige- 
 tahle and mineral. 
 
 Will nee aj)proaehir)g (he Nile, I arrived hy tiie canal of 
 Asuiini, at the city of Benhi, the ancient 31endes ; thence upon 
 the hranch Fammeticus to the bed fatal to l^ouis IX. ; and 
 finallv returne<l to Cirand Cairc. 
 
 iNt>w that, thanks to the inactKinimous ^'iceroy of f]gypf, 
 the IJrave Mahomel Ali, and his faithful minister liiugoss 
 Jiistiff, I am furnished wilh ample and generous means of pene- 
 trating into spaces shut u() by the seal of a^e**, I am [)reparing 
 to a[)proach the torrid zone, where I hope to shew to Italy that 
 1 am not entirely unworthy of belonging to her.
 
 UMVERSn V OF C.ALIFORMA LIBRARY 
 
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