THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 < -I 
 
 I ^ I 
 
 e I
 
 •"T^- / .> ''•^-^^ ,^ 6^ i^fff J^' 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 JOURNEY THROUGH THE 
 
 UPPER PROVINCES OF INDIA, 
 
 CALCUTTA TO BOMBAY, 1824—1825, 
 
 (WITH NOTES UPON CEYLON,) 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY TO 
 
 MADRAS AND THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, 1826, 
 
 Al^B LETTERS WRITTEN IN INDIA, 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 RIGHT REV. REGINALD HEBER, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXVIIL
 
 
 f^ 
 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 nilNTED.BY R. OILBERT, 
 ST. john's-sqvare.
 
 TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 CHARLES WATKIN WILLIAMS WYNN, M.P. 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR 
 THE AFFAIRS OF INDIA. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 In dedicating this Journal to you, I have the 
 melancholy satisfaction of fulfilling the intention of its 
 Author. Had he lived to revise and complete the Work 
 himself, he w^ould more ably have expressed to you his 
 sense of the oblis^ations w^hich he felt for his nomination 
 to the Bishopric of Calcutta, for the invariable kindness 
 he received at your hands during his residence in India, 
 and for the zeal w^ith w^hich you met and forwarded his 
 view^s for the vs^elfare of its inhabitants.
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 The friendship that you have ever entertained for 
 my husband was met on his part by feehngs of no 
 common nature ; and the affection which you bear his 
 memory, makes me sensible that you will highly ap- 
 preciate this testimony of his gratitude and regard. 
 
 I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, 
 Your much obhged and obedient, 
 
 Amelia Heber. 
 
 December 31, 1827.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The painful task of editing the works of the late Bishop 
 of Calcutta having devolved upon his widow, she is 
 anxious to state that her principal object in publishino- 
 the following Journal is, that its readers may be made 
 acquainted with the nature and extent of the duties 
 performed by the Bishop during the short time he pre- 
 sided over the Indian Church, as well as with the diffi- 
 culties he encountered in the visitation of his extensive 
 diocese. 
 
 Although written in the shape of a diary, the 
 greater part of the work formed his correspondence with 
 the Editor, a fact which she hopes will be borne in mind, 
 should some consider that he has dwelt less upon the
 
 vi PREFACE. 
 
 professional objects of his journey than might have been 
 anticipated. The Letters to his friends in England, from 
 which extracts are given, together with the sacrifice 
 of his dearest affections which he was so frequently 
 called upon to make, sufficiently prove that he never lost 
 sight of his high calling, nor suffered any circumstance 
 to interfere with the object for which he left his native 
 land. 
 
 In the unreserved confidence of such communica- 
 tions, it w ill be supposed that there was much of a nature 
 uninteresting to the public eye, and that omissions were 
 consequently necessary. Had it pleased God to spare 
 the Bishop's life it was his intention, after revisiting the 
 same countries, to publish, corrected by further expe- 
 rience, an account of his travels from the notes, in which 
 light only he considered the work now offered to the 
 world. If the Editor has retained too many proofs of 
 her husband's attachment to her and love for his children, 
 or too many traits of that kindness of heart for which 
 he w as so eminent, some allowance should be made for 
 the feeUngs of one whose pride it now is, as it was her 
 happiness, to have possessed the undivided affections of 
 that heart whose qualities she so well knew and so 
 fondly valued.
 
 PREFACE. vii 
 
 During a residence of five weeks in Ceylon, the 
 Bishop had not leisure to continue the account of his 
 first Visitation, which concluded in that beautiful country ; 
 but as it was a part of his diocese which, in many points 
 of view, particularly interested him, he intended writing 
 at some future period his recollections of the island, aided 
 by the Editor's journal, which for that purpose was 
 written more in detail. She has endeavoured to supply, 
 in some degree, the deficiency, by inserting a few pages 
 in the second volume. 
 
 Having thus explained the circumstances under 
 which the work was written, and her motives for its pub- 
 lication, the Editor begs to be allowed to express her 
 gratitude for the great and invariable kindness received 
 by her husband and herself during their residence in 
 India. For the active furtherance of his views in the pro- 
 motion of Christianity, for the deference paid to his wishes, 
 for the hospitality, friendship^ and respect which he met 
 with from his Clergy and from all the military and civil 
 servants of the Company, in whatever part of the coun- 
 try his Visitations led him, as well as from the King's 
 Government in Ceylon, she can now but offer her own 
 heartfelt thanks. That the Bishop highly appreciated 
 the reception which he experienced, may be generally
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 inferred from his journal ; but the Editor is convinced 
 that the following extract from a private letter v^ill be 
 peculiarly gratifying to the members of Government in 
 Calcutta, to whom, especially to Mr. Lushington, the Se- 
 cretary for the Ecclesiastical department, he always con- 
 sidered himself as under much obligation : " The mem- 
 bers of Government have done every thing for me which 
 I myself wished for, and which was in their power to 
 do; and Mr. Lushington has just now been exerting 
 himself in Council to carry a point for me of great con- 
 sequence." " Nothing can be fuller or more considerate 
 than the Letters which have been sent to the different 
 commissariat and military officers to attend to all my 
 wants in their respective departments.*" 
 
 The liberality of the honourable the Court of 
 Directors, in providing the Bishop with a house, and in 
 making him an additional allowance for the expences of 
 his Visitation, was duly estimated by himself, and is now 
 acknowledged with thankfulness by his widow. 
 
 The Editor trusts she may be forgiven for intrud- 
 ing any mention of her own feelings ; but she would find 
 it difficult at this moment to refrain from expressing her 
 deep and grateful sense of the respect and affection shewn
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 to her husband's memory by all ranks, all professions, 
 and all classes of British in India, and were it possible 
 that these sentiments could receive a stronofer colourinof, 
 it would be from the knowledo^e that the natives of that 
 country participated largely in such feelings ; that sin- 
 cerely as he is regretted by his own countrymen, he is 
 no less so by those for whose eternal welfare he sacrificed 
 his life. From these sources the bitter aofonies of his 
 widow's grief received all the alleviation of which such 
 sorrow is susceptible : and though time may soften the 
 poignancy of her loss, her gratitude can never be effaced; 
 and fervent and lasting will be her wishes for the welfare 
 of those whom she has left behind, and to whose per- 
 sonal kindness she was so deeply indebted in the hour of 
 her affliction. 
 
 To the right honourable Charles Watkin Williams 
 Wynn, the right honourable Robert John Wilmot 
 Horton, and those other friends who have contributed so 
 much to the interest of the work by allowing the Editor 
 to pubUsh the Bishop's private Letters addressed to 
 them, she returns her grateful thanks. 
 
 For the invaluable and kind assistance afforded 
 her by Sir Robert Harry Inglis in the publication of the
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 work, her warmest acknowledgments are due, and she 
 feels sincere pleasure in thus publicly recording her 
 sense of the obligation she is under to one of her hus- 
 band's truest friends.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 Voyage to India » - - _ p. xvii — xlviii 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Saugor — Tygers — Country Boats — Arab Ships — Village — Maldivian Vessels — 
 Garden Reach — Approach to Calcutta — Arrival — Old Government House 
 — Native Household ----- 1 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 CALCUTTA. 
 
 Description of Calcutta — Cathedral — Environs — Quay — Child-murder — Bar- 
 rackpoor — Menagerie — Female Orphan Asylum — Consecration of Churches 
 — Nach — Free-School — Botanical Garden — Bishop's College — Native Fe- 
 male Schools — Distress among Europeans - - - 22 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 CALCUTTA. 
 
 Pagodas — Barrackpoor — Serampoor — Decoits — Chandernagore — Christmas- 
 boxes — Idols ^ — Titty ghur — Suttee — Bore in the River — Salt-petre — 
 Confirmation — Governor-General's Native Levee - - 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CALCUTTA. 
 
 Rope-bridges — Wedding Procession — Hindoo Festival — Cholera Morbus — 
 
 Fruits — Ordination of Christian David - - - 65
 
 xii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CALCUTTA TO SIBNIBASHI. 
 
 Departure — Pinnace — Bengalee Boat— Hindoo Fanatics — North-Wester — Chin- 
 sura — Ranaghat — Sibnibashi — Ruins — Raja Omichund — Durbar — Decoits 83 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SIBNIBASHI TO DACCA. 
 
 Gypseys — Winged bugs — Matabunga — Fishing — Difficult passage in the River 
 — Brahminy Bulls — Titybania — Ornamented Boats — Strong Current — 
 Otters — Avalanches — Pawn — Khyzr — Elephants bathing - 99 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 DACCA. 
 
 Ruins — Visit from the Nawab — Visit returned — Death of Mr. Stowe — Conse- 
 cration of Church and Burial-ground — Confirmation — Armenian Archbishop 
 — Farewell Visit to Nawab — Meer Israf Ali - - - 140 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DACCA TO FURREEDPOOR. 
 
 Inundation — Gun-boat attacked — Mussulman Fakir — Furreedpoor — System of 
 
 robbery — Domestic Habits of Hindoos — Extract from Calendar - 157 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FURREEDPOOR TO BOGLIPOOR. 
 
 Blind Beggar — Crocodile — Ape — Silk Manufactory — Basket for catching Fish — 
 Bogwangola — Strength of Current — Begging Dervises — Ant-hills — Rajma- 
 hal Hills — Gour — Rajmahal — Sultan Sujah's Palace — Puharree — Caves — 
 Gossain — BogUpoor — Schools — ReUgion of Puharrees - - 169 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BOGLIPOOR TO MONGHYR. 
 
 Width of the Ganges — Charity of Dandees — Seeta Coom — Monghyr— Fort — 
 Zemindars — Pensioners — Baptist Mission — Desertion of Dandees — Cheap- 
 ness of Fire-arms - - - - - 217
 
 CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MONGHYR TO BUXAR. 
 
 Cattle swimming across the River — Brahmin Labourers — Patna — Bankipoor — 
 Granary — Hackeries — Dinapoor — Cantonment — Digah Farm — Chupra — 
 Floating Shops — Fort — Native Christians — Schools — Curreem Musseeh — 
 Varieties of Complexion _ _ _ . ^29 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 BUXAR TO BENARES. 
 
 Caramnasa — Ghazeepoor — Lord Cornwallis's Monument — Palace — Salubrity — 
 Rose-fields — Suttees — Lepers — Dak Journey — Seidpoor — Benares — Case 
 of Native Christians — Confirmation — Mission School — Description of Be- 
 nares — Native Houses — Pagodas — Vishvayesa — Observatory — Jain Temple 
 — Vidalaya — Hindoo Astronomy — Street-preaching — Amrut Row — Visit 
 from the Raja - - - . _ 258 
 
 CHAPTER XHL 
 
 BENARES TO ALLAHABAD. 
 
 Chunar — Intense heat — Trimbuk-jee — Hindoo Temple — Confirmation — Invalids 
 — Departure from Chunar — Large Fish— Retrospect of Benares — Quarrels 
 between Hindoos and Mussulmans — Sitting Dhurna — Natives' Opinions of 
 English Governors — Allahabad — Fort— Jumna Musjeed — Confirmation — 
 Preparations for marching — Festival of Rama and Seeta - 303 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ALLAHABAD TO CAWNPOOR. 
 
 Description of Caravan — Armed Peasantry — Camaulpoor — Fyzee Musseeh — 
 Visits from Zemindar and Imam— Mussulman Soldier turned Saint— Ryuts 
 oppressed by Soldiery— Futtehpoor— Serai — Beggars living in Tombs- 
 Stormy march to Kuleanpoor — Dak-journey to Cawnpoor— Hospital and 
 School — Description of Town and Climate - - - 339
 
 Xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CAWNPOOR TO LUCKNOW. 
 
 Entrance into King of Oude's Territories — Increase of Guards — King's Suwarrs 
 — Aumeen — Entrance into Lucknow — Court Circular — Narrow Streets — 
 Armed Inhabitants — Prime Minister — Rhinoceroses — Dil-Koushar — Con- 
 stantia — Deceased King's Wives — Breakfast at the Palace — Distribution 
 of Money at the Gates — King breakfasts at the Residency — Private Details 
 of the Government — Christians at Lucknow - - 368 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LUCKNOW TO BAREILLY. 
 
 Departure from Lucknow — Gratitude of Sepoys — Illness — Mussulman Suwarr 
 — Sandee — Dispute between two Villages — Shahjehanpoor — Rebel Chief 
 in the Forest — Anecdote of Rohilla Chief — Fertility of Rohilcund — 
 Futtehgunge — Hafez Rehmut — Visit from Tusseeldar — Furreedpoor — 
 Bareilly — Professional Duties — Character of Rohillas — Preparations for the 
 Mountains - _ _ _ - 408 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 BAREILLY TO ALMORAH. 
 
 First distant View of the Himalaya Mountains — Sheesghur — Visit from Raja 
 and Sons — Account of Terrai — " Essence of Owl" — Wretchedness of Inha- 
 bitants— Kulleanpoor — Tyger Hunt— Ruderpoor— Case of Malaria Fever 
 — Burning the Jungle — Tandah — Bamoury— Beemthal — Water-mill — 
 Khasyah Nation— Ramghur— Sikh— Mount Meru— Pilgrim to Bhadrinath 446 
 
 CHAPTER XVIH. 
 
 ALMORAH TO MEERUT. 
 
 Trees used as Gallows— Bhooteahs—Kemaoon subject to Earthquakes— 
 Havelbagh— Vegetation in Kemaoon— Animals and Birds— Wild Dogs- 
 Visits from Vakeel and Pundit— Cold at Pruny— Poverty of Ghurwali— 
 Koosilla River— Description of Okul Doonga— Pillibheet Rice— Emetic 
 Property of Wild Tea— Ghorkha Boy— Manner of catching Fish— Cashi- 
 poor— Women spinning— White BufFalo—Sugar-mill— Imperial Tree — 
 Moradabad— Making Ice — Yogis and Tygers — Canes set on Fire by Fric- 
 tion—Party of supposed Bheels— Thugs - - 490
 
 CONTENTS. x.y 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MEERUT TO DELHI. 
 
 Situation of Meerut — Church — Consecration — Valley of the Dhoon — Condor 
 
 Anecdote of Begum Sumroo — School— Hospital — Confirmation— Surgeon 
 appointed — Skinner's Horse — Heavy Rain — Delhi — Tomb of Humaioon — 
 Aqueduct — Firoze's Walking-stick — Immense Extent of Ruins— Shawl 
 Manufactory — Jumna Musjeed — Presentation to the Emperor — Palace — 
 Koottab-sahib — Present from the Begum — Late and present Emperors of 
 Delhi ------ 540 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DELHI TO AGRA. 
 
 Ruins of Tokligabad — Visit to the Raja of BuUumghur — Dancing Girls — Nawab 
 of Sikre — Hindoo Pilgrimage to Bindrabund — Muttra — Sacred Monkeys — 
 Death of one revenged — Lepers — Party of Fakirs — Escape of Trimbuk-jee 
 — Tomb of A char — Public Buildings — Dewanny Aum — Tage Mahal — 
 Abdul Musseeh — French in Central India - - 571 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AGRA TO JYEPOOR. 
 
 Preparations for the Journey through the Independent States of Western India 
 — Futtehpoor — City of Acbar — Great Mosque— Palace — Bhurtpoor— Mode 
 of sinking Wells— Letter from the Raja of Bhurtpoor— Good State of his 
 Country — Sir David Ochterlony — Sir John Malcolm — Wyre— Mowah — 
 Frontier of Jyepoor— Idol carried to Bindrabund — Deosa — Hindoo Festival 
 — Arrival at Jyepoor - - . . 592
 
 LIST OF PLATES TO VOLUME L 
 
 Pagoda to face page 47 
 
 Janghera » 219 
 
 Travelling Dak 273 
 
 Travellers and Peasantry in Oude 341 
 
 Nundi Devi, from Choumoka Devi — — 509 
 
 LIST OF WOOD ENGRAVINGS TO VOL. I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Boat with fruit - . _ _ _ 2 
 
 Panchway ------ 5 
 
 Mussulman Dandees at dinner - - 10 
 
 Village 13 
 
 Servants and horse - - - - 17 
 
 Ghyals at Barrackpoor - - - 31 
 
 Pagodas on the Ganges - - - 48 
 
 Swinging -__-.- 78 
 
 Men holding up sails - - - - 132 
 
 Peasant and Boy ----- 204 
 
 Monument to Mr. Cleveland - - 205 
 
 Page 
 Arrows _-_.-- 213 
 
 Pagoda 233 
 
 Granary 239 
 
 Native carriages 243 
 
 View on the Ganges - -' - - 249 
 Gateway at Ghazeepoor - - - 264 
 
 Imambara and Gate of Constantinople - 386 
 Sikh travelling ----- 484 
 Women spinning - - - - 521 
 
 IVIosque at Futtehpoor-sicri - - - 596
 
 JOURNAL 
 
 OF A 
 
 VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 On Monday, June 16th, 1823, we went down by the Ramsgate steam-boat, 
 to join the Thomas Grenville at the Lower Hope, accompanied by a party 
 of kind relations and friends who were willing to let us see as much of 
 them as we could before our necessary separation. Captain Manning had 
 the yards of the ship manned, and fired a salute in comphment to us. The 
 Grenville weighed anchor soon after we were on board, but met with an 
 adverse wind, and advanced a very little way down the river. 
 
 On the 17th we had again baffling winds, and could not get round the 
 North Foreland. About two o'clock, on the morning of the 18th, a fine north 
 breeze sprung up, which carried us very soon into the Downs. We lay off 
 Deal about six hours, waiting for passengers and a fresh supply of water, 
 much to the vexation of the old pilot who bitterly regretted that so fine a 
 breeze was allowed to remain useless. It continued, however, and we set off 
 auspiciously at six the same evening, sailing with the wind so well on our 
 quarter, and through so smooth a sea, that though the breeze grew strong 
 in the night, the motion of the ship was hardly perceptible. 
 
 In the course of the day I had proposed to read evening prayers regu- 
 larly, which was received with readiness on the part of Captain Manning. 
 Accordingly, after tea, I repeated, with the party assembled in the cuddy, 
 the General Confession, Lord's Prayer, Petition for all conditions of Men, 
 General Thanksgiving, &c. 
 
 b
 
 xviii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 On tlie 20th the ship's company were busied, during the early part of 
 the day, in lowering the quarter-deck guns into the hold, and getting up the 
 baggage for the passengers ; an operation, which we are told, is to take 
 place once a fortnight. The effect was singular; the whole deck being 
 strewed, during the greater part of the morning, with trunks and packages 
 either shut or open, looked as if we had been boarded and rifled by pirates. 
 To-day I finished " Quentin Durward," which I had kept as a resource of 
 amusement for the voyage. I began it yesterday, and could not stop 
 till I had quite eaten up my cake. It will, however, bear reading over more 
 than once. I am, certainly, much pleased with it. It has more talent and 
 interest as a story than most which have lately proceeded from the same 
 quarter. Lewis the Xlth is powerfully drawn, though, notwithstanding the 
 superiority of his talents, he does not, as a rich and vivid portrait, so com- 
 pletely please and amuse me, as James I. in " Nigel." Yet between the two 
 monarchs there are many points of resemblance. Ludovic Leslie is but a 
 very ordinary daubing of the Scots mercenary soldier, and only serves to 
 remind us, unpleasantly, of Dugald Dalgetty, and most absurdly, and to the 
 ruin of the conclusion of the story, to blunder at its end into the triumph 
 which the \\ishes of the readers had reserved for his nephew. Quentin him- 
 self is precisely " the Page" of " the Abbot :" a raw hvely lad, thrown by 
 accident into situations of great interest and intricacy, and, in no very pro- 
 bable manner, and by no great merit of his own, rising from poverty and 
 obscurity to fame and great wealth, and the enjoyment of the object of his 
 affections. The other characters, male and female, are mere sketches, but 
 sketches of great talent and vivacity. I like them all, from the grave, 
 courtly, sententious and tipsy old soldier Lord Crawford, down to the 
 good-natured, stupid burghers of Liege, and the weeping and the laughing 
 executioner. I would except, however, Hayraddin the Bohemian, whose 
 sketch I think a complete failure ; however ambitiously intended (and he 
 seems to have been a favourite with the author) he is a very tame compound 
 of Meg Merrilies, of Ronald Mac Eagh in " the Legend of Montrose," of 
 Pacolet in " the Buccaneer," and of the dumb lady in the service of the 
 Countess of Derby, as if a man, in his ambition after a new beverage, should 
 pour wine, whiskey, beer, and raspberry-vinegar into the same cup. And 
 after all, Hayraddin, with all his talk about planets, palmistry, and atheism, 
 does nothing but what a mere ordinary spy would have done as well, and 
 what, if he had been employed to do, he never would have attempted under
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xix 
 
 the disadvantage of any peculiarities of dress and manner. But though it is 
 very easy to find fault with Quentin Durward, it is decidedly better than 
 many of Scott's later works, nor is there any man now living but Walter 
 Scott who could have written it. So ends the last critique that I shall, in all 
 probability, compose for a long time to come ! 
 
 On the 21st we had the same gentle breeze, which, though now shifted 
 to nearly due North, answered our purpose extremely well. Our latitude 
 this day at noon was 48° 9' long. W. 7° 21'. The weather fine, though 
 cruelly cold for Midsummer. I was this morning engaged by Scoresby's 
 voyage to old Greenland, in 1822, but I find two circumstances for which, at 
 sea, I was by no means prepared : — that, namely, we have no great time for 
 study ; and that for me, at least, there is so much which interests and occu- 
 pies me, that I have no apprehensions of time hanging heavy on my hands. 
 
 June 22. — This day, being Sunday, the decks were all beautifully 
 clean, having been well scrubbed on Saturday-night. The awning was 
 spread over the quarter-deck, and the capstan and sides of the vessel con- 
 cealed and ornamented with flags of different nations. Chairs were set for 
 the officers and passengers on the poop, and round the afterpart of the deck, 
 and spars laid across the remainder as seats for the sailors, who attended 
 church in clean shirts and trowsers, and well washed and shaved. In the 
 space between the capstan and half-deck was a small table set for me and 
 the purser, who acted as clerk, and I read prayers, and preached one of my 
 Hodnet Sermons slightly altered, to a very attentive and orderly congrega- 
 tion, of altogether, I should think, 140 persons. The awning made really a 
 handsome church, and the sight was a very pleasing one. 
 
 June 24. — This morning we were roused, after a night of much 
 vexatious rolling, by the intelligence that a sail was in sight by which we 
 might send letters to England. I had some ready and finished others. She 
 was pretty close with us at about eight ; a small dark-sided brig, of very 
 beautiful build, and with a British pendant, which made her pass for a man 
 of war, though, on a nearer approach, the apparent slovenliness of her equip- 
 ment, and a crowd of foreign and dirty-looking people on board, gave rise 
 to various conjectures. Captain Manning hoisted out one of his cutters witli 
 ten oars, besides the quarter-master and the midshipman who commanded, 
 
 b2
 
 XX JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 a handsome boat, and making, from the appearance of the men, and their 
 discipline, a show little inferior to that of a man of war. He sent our 
 letters, together with two newspapers, and two bottles of milk, a present 
 which he said would fairly pay for the carriage of our dispatches to England. 
 She turned out to be a Falmouth packet, nine days out of Lisbon, crowded 
 with different adventurers who had volunteered their services to the 
 Spaniards and Portuguese, and were now returning dispirited and dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 About noon several porpoises were seen, and a remarkable fish passed 
 the ship, which some of the sailors called a de\-il-fish, others, I believe more 
 correctly, a sun-fish. It was a very large and nearly circular flat-fish, \\ith, 
 apparently, some rather \Tivid colours about it, like those tints wliich are 
 found in the jelly-fish. It impelled itself forward by lashing the water with 
 its tail, and swam exactly on a level \^it]\ the surface. I, at first, thought that 
 it was dead, but was soon satisfied to the contrary. The sailors seemed to 
 regard it as a curiosity. The afternoon was cloudy, cold, and rainy, a bad 
 summer's day in England, and what I should have still less expected in the 
 parallel of Spain. 
 
 Jime 25. — We had this day a considerable swell \nth a foul wind, 
 though not much of it. A grampus came close to the ship and played 
 round us for some time. In his apparent size he disappointed me, though 
 every body said that if he had been on deck, he would have measured four- 
 teen or fifteen feet. He presented, as I should conceive, a complete 
 miniature of a whale, blowing out water in the same manner. I find, indeed, 
 that Captain jNIanning, and most persons on board, suppose that the grampus 
 is only a young whale ; another, or the same grampus, in the course of the day 
 was seen chased by a group of porpoises, and a real (or full grown) whale 
 was also seen, but I was not then on deck. The \^ind quite sunk again 
 before evening ; a number of little birds, like swallows, continued flying on 
 the surface of the water and piping. The seamen called them " mother Carey's 
 chickens," and said that a storm might be expected. Accordingly, on the mnd 
 rising a little after sun-set, all hands were called to take in the royal or upper 
 top-gallant sails, and the company were told off with a reference to the 
 duties expected from them with more than usual hurry. It blew hard about 
 ten o'clock, and from two to three the storm was regarded as serious.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. XXl 
 
 On the morning of the 26th nothing remained but a violent roUing and 
 pitching sea. 
 
 June 30. Two brigs were seen in tlie offing in the same course with 
 
 ourselves, one of which gained on us fast, and overtook us about 3 p. m. 
 She was the Christiana of Liverpool, in ballast, bound for Bahia, and to 
 touch at Madeira by the way. An opportunity thus offered of sending our 
 letters to the latter place, and thence to England. 
 
 The poop of the ship would be no bad place for air, study, or recreation, 
 (it is indeed used as such by most of our young writers and cadets,) had it 
 not the terrible drawback of a vile stench from the wretched imprisoned 
 fowls, whose hen-coops cover it. These miserable birds suffer dreadfully for 
 the gratification of our luxury. Though less crowded on board the Gren- 
 ville than in most vessels of the kind, they are even here packed like bottles 
 in a rack, with hardly room to stir. 
 
 July 2. — During the night we made a somewhat better progress than 
 
 We had done for a good while. The breeze continued to freshen from the 
 
 N.E. and the day was pleasant. A vessel bound for London, three days from 
 
 Funchal, passed us at dinner-time. We regretted bitterly that we had sent 
 
 our packets by the Christiana, and that we had, (now that so much better an 
 
 opportunity occurred,) nothing ready to despatch ; but it was not to be 
 
 helped. Captain Manning hailed the vessel, and asked her Master to report 
 
 at Lloyd's that he had spoken the Thomas Grenville in such a latitude, " all 
 
 well," so that this, at least, our friends will have the satisfaction of seeing in 
 
 the newspapers ere many days are over. My wife's eyes swam with tears 
 
 as this vessel passed us, and there were one or two of the young men who 
 
 looked wishfully after her. For my own part I am but too well convinced 
 
 that all my firmness would go if I allowed myself to look back even for a 
 
 moment. Yet, as I did not leave home and its blessings without counting 
 
 the cost, I do not, and I trust in God that I shall not, regret the choice I 
 
 have made. But knowing how much others have given up for my sake, 
 
 should make me both more studious to make the loss less to them, and also, 
 
 and above all, so to discharge my duty, as that they may never think that 
 
 these sacrifices have been made in vain.
 
 xxii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 July 3. — We made an excellent progress during the night. At about 
 five in the evening we saw Madeira on our larboard bow. The horizon was 
 unfortunately hazy^, and the night shut in with clouds, otherwise we should, 
 about an hour after, have had a fine view of the land at about 20 miles 
 distance on the beam. As it was we could barely distinguish its outline 
 through the mist ; but the very sight of land, and the sense of progress 
 which it communicated were very exhilirating, and kept us all on deck till it 
 was quite dark. During this evening the gale and the sea had continued to 
 increase ; some of the cabins on the gun-deck had shipped water ; Mr. Burnet 
 predicted uncomfortable weather ; and the Captain, though he did not 
 shorten sail, gave orders to have all the lower ports secured. We went to 
 bed, therefore, not unprepared for a little tossing, though certainly not for 
 all that followed. The wind was high during the night, and the swell more 
 than commensurate, and our furniture, though we had secured it with unusual 
 care, seemed alive. The moon, during the latter part of the night, was clear, 
 and the view of the following surge from the cabin windows, was very ma- 
 jestic ; but to enjoy it, it was necessary to hold hard with both hands. 
 
 July 4. — The gale and tossing continued all the forenoon ; complaints 
 of sleeplessness, broken heads and shins, were universal ; and we were only 
 comforted by the assurance that we had seen, probably, the worst of the 
 ship's rolling, and that, even off the Cape of Good Hope, nothing more than 
 this was reasonably to be apprehended. Our progress too was very cheering. 
 Our run during the last twenty-four hours was computed at 200 miles, and 
 our latitude at twelve was 31° 10'. 
 
 July 5. — Nothing very material occurred this day, excepting that some 
 flying fish began to be seen round us, but of so small a sort, that, though 
 they were numerous, it was a long time before I could distinguish them from 
 the spray among which they fluttered. 
 
 July 6. — We had Divine Service, and I read a sermon on the Epistle 
 for the day ^. I did not feel quite sure whether the subject were too difficult 
 for the major part of my audience or no. But I thought its discussion might, 
 at all events, be serviceable to the educated part of my hearers, and I did not 
 despair of making myself understood by the crew. I am inclined to hope that 
 I succeeded with many of them. All were very attentive, and the petty 
 
 * Sixth Sunday after Trinity.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxiii 
 
 officers, more particularly, heard me with great apparent interest. I am, on 
 the whole, more and more confirmed in the opinion which Horsley has 
 expressed in one of his Sermons, that a theological argument, clearly stated, 
 and stated in terms derived from the ancient English language exclusively, 
 will generally be both intelligible and interesting to the lower classes. They 
 do not want acuteness or the power of attending ; it is their vocabulary 
 only which is confined, and if we address them in such words as they under- 
 stand, we may tell them what truths we please, and reason with them as 
 subtilely as we can. 
 
 The flying-fish to day were more numerous and lively. They rose in 
 whole flights to the right and left hand of the bow, flying off in different 
 directions, as if the vast body of the ship alarmed and disturbed them. 
 Others, however, at a greater distance, kept rising and fiilling without any 
 visible cause, and, apparently, in the gladness of their hearts, and in order to 
 enjoy the sunshine and the temporary change of element. Certainly there 
 was no appearance or probability of any larger fish being in pursuit of even 
 one hundredth part of those which we saw, nor were there any birds to 
 endanger their flight; and those writers who describe the life of these 
 animals as a constant succession of alarms, and rendered miserable by fear, 
 have never, I conceive, seen them in their mirth, or considered those natural 
 feelings of health and hilarity which seem to lead all creatures to exert, in 
 mere lightness of heart, whatever bodily powers the Creator has given them. 
 It would be just as reasonable to say that a lamb leaps in a meadow for fear 
 of being bitten by serpents, or that a horse gallops round his pasture only 
 because a wolf is at his heels, as to infer from the flight of these animals that 
 they are always pursued by the bonito. 
 
 July 8. — The sun was now fairly to the north of us, and our trade- 
 wind, though light, was steady. One of the sailors, a lad of about seven- 
 teen, was accused of having, in wanton cruelty, stabbed and cut a sheep so 
 severely that it bled to death. He had been cleaning knives near the 
 sheep-pen, and the animal was found in this condition shortly after. He 
 protested his innocence, and said the sheep had thrown down a board on 
 which the knives were laid. This story was a lame one ; but, with a very 
 praise-worthy moderation. Captain Manning merely ordered him for the 
 present into confinement, till the business could be more accurately inquired
 
 xxiv JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. - 
 
 into. It is, he says, his general rule, and the rule of most captains in the 
 Company's service, never to punish without a regular trial, or without some 
 pause intervening between the accusation and the enquiry. 
 
 July 9. — The boy's trial came on, but he was discharged for want of 
 sufficient evidence, wdth a suitable admonition. The day was fine. We 
 were on deck the greater part of the morning, having transferred our 
 Hindoostanee lecture thither. Our course continues south-west ; our latir 
 tude 20°. 57'. longitude 24°. 32'. The favourable breeze almost became a 
 gale towards night ; but we had less rolling than on former occasions. 
 
 Julij 11. — A flying-fish fell on deck this morning, and I examined it 
 with much interest. The form and colours are not unlike a herring, with 
 the addition of the two long filmy fins which support the animal in its short 
 flights. This, however, was as we were assured a very small specimen, not 
 exceeding the size of a small sparling or smelt. 
 
 Juhj 13. — We had divine service on deck this morning. A large 
 shoal of dolphins were playing round the ship, and I thought it right to 
 interfere to check the harpoons and fishing-hooks of some of the crew. I 
 am not strict in my notions of what is called the Christian Sabbath ; but the 
 wanton destruction of animal life seems to be precisely one of those worhs 
 by which the sanctity and charity of our weekly feast would be profaned. 
 The seamen took my reproof in good part, and left the mizen chains where 
 they had been previously watching for their prey. I trust that they will have 
 other and better opportunities of amusement ; this was a truly torrid day. 
 
 July 15. — A hot and close day, with much swell and little or no wind. 
 The sails flapped dismally ; the foretop sail was split ; and I saw with interest 
 the dexterity of the sail-maker in repairing the damage without unbinding 
 it from the yard. The evening was such as to portend both rain and wind, 
 and one of the men at the helm said that " he hoped it would blow its 
 hardest," so weary were the sailors of this dull and uninteresting weather, 
 Lat. 9 . 50'. In the course of this day some of the seamen went round 
 to solicit subscriptions from those who had not yet passed the line. They 
 shewed considerable anxiety for any decayed finery which the ladies might 
 supply them with, as decorations for Amphitrite ; and I was amused to learn
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxv 
 
 that they had a copy of Took's Pantheon, which they were dihgently con- 
 sulting in order to make their costume as Uke as possible to the authentic 
 dress and equipment of the classical Neptune and his family. 
 
 July 18. — The night was very blustering and rainy, and the motion of 
 the vessel unpleasant. Our progress, however, continued rapid and the wind 
 favourable. A sail was, about ten, seen a-head, steering the same course with 
 ourselves. On nearing her she shewed Danish colours. Captain Manning 
 expressed some little surprise at this meeting. The Danish flag, he said, 
 was almost unknown in India, whither, apparently, this vessel was bound. 
 The Danes have indeed a nominal factory, and a Consul at Serampore ; but 
 what little commerce is carried on is in the ships of other nations. In the 
 harbour of Calcutta (and no large vessels mount so high as Serampore) he 
 had never seen the Danish flag. This seems strange, considering how 
 long the Danes have been in possession not only of Serampore, but of 
 Tranquebar. The Swedish flag, he said, was never seen in the Indian 
 seas. I have been pleased, in my different conversations ^\ith our officers 
 concerning foreign seamen, to find that the American sailors bear a better 
 character now with those of our own country than I had understood, or than 
 they really used to do. They are not so grievously addicted to lying as they 
 were once said to be. They have less animosity against the English than 
 formerly, and their character seems to have recovered its natural English 
 tone. One of the officers spoke well of their conduct even during the late 
 war. A Company's ship, he said, on board which he was serving, had a 
 number of American prisoners to take home, who, for the additional allow- 
 ance of provisions usual on such occasions, undertook to assist in navigating 
 the ship. In this situation they behaved extremely well, and, at length, when 
 a vessel, supposed to be an American, hove in sight, and an action was ex- 
 pected, they came forward in a body to desire to be sent below, being equally 
 resolved neither to fight against their country, nor to break their faith witli 
 their captors. All the officers agreed in speaking very ill of the French, and 
 of their conduct towards their prisoners. This last they described as being, 
 in the highest degree, brutal and ungenerous. They said, too, that it was the 
 fault of the private seamen more than of the officers. The latter would often 
 be kinder, if it lay in their power, to the English than they usually were ; 
 but they could not prevent their men from insulting and abusing them, pil- 
 fering their provisions and water, spitting and pouring filth on them through 
 
 c
 
 XXYI JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 the gratings, and, whenever an opportunity offered, beating and throwing 
 things at them. An Enghshman on board a French ship, they said, was 
 always half-starved, and abominably treated, and they spoke of the national 
 temper, as shewn in their seamen, as utterly unkind, unchristian, and unmanly. 
 This is a sad picture, but they who gave it me were neither interested in 
 speaking untruly, nor, that I could perceive, inclined to judge harshly of 
 others. How far the character of the uneducated French in general may 
 have suffered under the influence of the Revolution and its consequences, or 
 what circumstances may operate to depress the character of their seamen 
 below the rest of the nation, my informants had not the means of judging. 
 
 Julij 20. — To-day, notwithstanding some threatening appearances in 
 the morning, we had our usual prayers and sermon. During the former I 
 found that sed^-hiees were necessary, as well as sea-legs, since the vessel was 
 so much on one side, that, while kneeling on a chair, (which I was obliged 
 to do rather than on the deck, in order that my congregation might hear me,) 
 I had some difficulty in keeping either myself or my fulcrum from going to 
 leeward. The afternoon and evening were pleasant, but though the con- 
 gregation at church was very good, there were many absentees at dinner. 
 Two large brown birds, which the sailors said were " boobies," flew some 
 time round the ship this evening. I began to day translating St. John's 
 Gospel into Hindoostanee. 
 
 Juli/ 22. — The day was pleasant and the night beautiful, just such an 
 one as a poet or a painter would wish to describe or represent at sea. I was 
 pleased, while looking over Gilchrist's Guide, with a little Ode by Koodrut, 
 of which the following is an imitation. 
 
 Ambition's voice was in my ear, she whisper'd yesterday, 
 
 " How goodly is the land of Room, how wide the Russian sway ! 
 
 How blest to conquer either realm, and dwell through life to come, 
 
 Lull'd by the harp's melodious string, cheer'd by the northern drum !" 
 
 But Wisdom heard ; " O youth," she said, " in passion's fetter tied, 
 
 O come and see a sight with me shall cure thee of thy pride !" 
 
 She led me to a lonely dell, a sad and shady ground, 
 
 Where many an ancient sepulchre gleamed in the moon-shine round. 
 
 And " Here Secunder sleeps," she cried; — " this is his rival's stone; 
 
 And here the mighty chief reclines who rear'd the Median throne.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxvii 
 
 Enquire of these, doth aught of all their ancient pomp remain 
 
 Save late regret, and bitter tears for ever, and in vain ? 
 
 Return, return, and in thy heart engraven keep my lore ; 
 
 The lesser wealth, the lighter load, — small blame betides the poor." 
 
 The last two lines are not in the original, which I thought, though 
 perhaps I was wrong, ended too abruptly without some such moral. My 
 little Emily will probably know, before she reads the above, that " Room" is 
 the Oriental name for the Turkish empire, — that *' Secunder" is Alexander 
 the Great, — and that the founder of the Median throne is Ky-kaoos, or 
 Deiioces. 
 
 Julij 25. — To-day the first or introductory part of the ceremony usual 
 on passing the line, took place. Soon after dark Neptune's boat was sup- 
 posed to approach the ship, of which notice was given, in the regular form, 
 to the officer on watch. A sailor from the fore-chains, in a dismal voice 
 aggravated by a speaking-trumpet, hailed Captain Manning as if from the 
 sea, and after a short conversation carried on with becoming gravity, 
 Neptune was supposed to take his leave, and a barrel, with a lighted candle 
 in it, was sent off" from the fore-chains to represent his boat dropping astern. 
 I was much struck by the time during which this continued visible at inter- 
 vals, rising and sinking on the swell, till it was, at least, two miles distant, 
 and I grew tired of watching it. Our latitude was this day 2° 10' N. 
 Several large birds were seen, which we were told were " tropic birds." 
 
 Jiili/ 26. — To-day we passed the line, and the greater part of it was 
 spent in the mummeries usual on such occasions, which went off* very well 
 and in good-humour. The passengers were not liable to the usual interro- 
 gatories and shaving, but the male part of them took their share in the 
 splashing and wetting, which make up the main fun of these naval 
 saturnaha. I was a good deal surprised at the contrivance exhibited by 
 the masqueraders, in dressing out (with help of a little oakum and paint, a 
 few fish-skins and decayed finery) the various characters of Neptune, Am- 
 phitrite. Mercury, Triton, &c. with far more attention to classical costume 
 than I expected. With the distance and usual aids of a theatre, the show 
 would not have been contemptible, while there was, as might be supposed, 
 a sufficient mixture of the ludicrous to suit the purposes of fiin and cari- 
 cature. 
 
 c2
 
 xxviii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 July 27. — We had again prayers and a sermon. 
 
 July 28. — Our progress continued rapid and our course favourable. 
 The latitude to-day was 4° 40' S. The night was very beautiful; and from 
 our situation on the globe, we had the opportunity of seeing many of the 
 most considerable constellations of both hemispheres. Those of the southern 
 Heaven fall far short of the other in number and brilliancy ; even the cross, 
 for which I had looked with much earnestness of expectation, and in which I 
 had lono- taken a sort of romantic interest, is neither extensive nor conspi- 
 cuous except from the comparative paucity of its neighbours. The Great 
 Bear still (though on the verge, instead of being at the apex of the sky) 
 retains its splendid pre-eminence over the whole host of heaven. The Pole 
 Star has disappeared. The Magellanic clouds are not yet visible. 
 
 We have now been six weeks on board. How little did I dream at this 
 time last year that I should ever be in my present situation. How strange 
 it now seems to recollect the interest which I used to take in all which 
 related to Southern seas, and distant regions, to India and its oceans, to 
 Australasia and Polynesia. I used to fancy I should like to visit them, but 
 that I ever should or could do so, never occurred to me. Now that I shall 
 see many of these countries, if life is spared to me, seems not improbable. 
 God grant that my conduct in the scenes to which He has appointed me, 
 may be such as to conduce to His glory, and to my own salvation through 
 His Son ! 
 
 July 30. — Our progress again good. The weather continues pleasant 
 and remarkably cool for the latitude. The wind brisk and sea rough. The 
 evenings now shut in very soon ; and, even at tea, it is necessary to have the 
 lamps lighted in the cuddy. 
 
 July 31.- — Our latitude this day was 12° 54'. A fine run, and one of 
 the longest which Captain Manning remembers making in this part of the 
 voyage. Yet, which is remarkable, all the vessels whose track is pricked on 
 his great chart, appear to have made their longest run nearly in the same 
 latitude. Captain Manning thinks that the strength of the wind in this 
 particular part of the ocean is occasioned by the projection of South America, 
 and the rarified state of the air over so large a tract of land within the tropics.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxix 
 
 August 1. — The wind became very high towards night, and the main 
 top-gallant sail was split in pieces. Two circumstances struck me as re- 
 markable this evening. First, that when the gale grew strong about sun- 
 get, the sky was clear in the wind's eye, while to leeward of us, came a 
 very heavy bank of clouds, which retained its figure and position as steadily 
 as if it were land. The second that, every now and then, there was a 
 total cessation of wind, a lull as the seamen called it, for two or three 
 minutes, after which the gale revived with more vehemence. Both these 
 features were pointed out to me as indications of the gale being likely to 
 continue for some time and to be serious. We have, however, reason to 
 be thankful that except a good deal of tossing, no harm occurred ; nor did 
 the gale increase to such a degree as to become alarming to those who 
 were least accustomed to the sea. 
 
 August 3. — Our day again fine, and the gale at first hardly exceeded a 
 stiff breeze. In the course of the afternoon, however, the wind again rose. 
 The sea was very high, and the motion of the ship great and troublesome, 
 pitching, rolling, and performing all sorts of manoeuvres. We assembled to 
 prayers at half-past ten o'clock with some difficulty ; the crew all stood in 
 consequence of the inconvenience of arranging the spars as usual, and I 
 therefore made the service shorter. Instead of a Sermon, I gave notice of a 
 Communion for the following Sunday ; and, in a short address, enforced 
 the propriety and necessity of attendance on that ordinance, and answered 
 difficulties, &c. The nights are now completely dark by six o'clock. 
 
 August 4 — 8. — I do not think that any thing very material has oc- 
 curred during these days. The wind has varied in our favour, and is now 
 N. E. by E. which enables us to make a good deal of easting, and our course 
 is regarded as a very good one. Our progress through the water has been 
 rapid ; at an average, during the last three days, of seven and a half knots an 
 hour, and to-day frequently ten and eleven. The motion is, of course, consi- 
 derable, but the weather is very delightful. Yesterday was downright March 
 weather, while to-day has all the freshness, mildness, and beauty of an English 
 INIay. Great numbers of birds are seen round the ship, and we are told that, 
 as we approach the Cape, their numbers will increase daily. Those called 
 " Cape Pigeons" are very pretty, not unlike the land bird whose name they 
 bear, and which they are said to resemble in flavour. For these last three days
 
 XXX JOURNAL OF A YOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 the existence or non-existence of the island of Saxenberg, has been a frequent 
 topic of conversation. Captain Manning and his officers evidently incline to 
 the affirmative, on the ground that it is more probable that a small isle, a 
 little out of the usual track, may have escaped general notice, than that three 
 different captains of vessels can have told a deliberate falsehood "without any 
 apparent motive. That a brig sent out to ascertain the fact may have failed 
 in making the discovery, they do not regard as at all extraordinary. They 
 quote repeated instances of vessels from India having failed to find St. Helena ; 
 and I think I can perceive that they do not rate the nautical science of many 
 commanders in the Navy very highly. They admit, however, that if Saxen- 
 berg Island exists at all, it must be set down wrong in lall the charts, and in 
 the reckonings of its pretended discoverers ; and that if ever met with again, 
 it must be by accident. This, they say, will be the less likely, because 
 delusive appearances of land are so common in these latitudes of the Atlantic, 
 that a real island, if seen, would be very likely to pass, among the rest, as a 
 fog-bank, while the prevailing winds generally confine vessels to one or the 
 other of two courses, according as they are outward or homeward bound ; so 
 that, in fact, abundance of unexplored room still exists, and is likely to exist, 
 in the southern iVtlantic, for two or three such islands as this is represented to 
 be. Captain ^Manning says that he always, if he finds himself at all near the 
 supposed situation, keeps a good look-out. He says that all the older charts, 
 particularly the Dutch, abound in islets, rocks, and shoals, the very existence 
 of which is now more than doubtful. Some of these dangers he conceives to 
 have been fog-banks, some to have been a repetition of those named else- 
 where, but of which they had mistaken the site ; others, however, he thinks, 
 were pious frauds, inserted on purpose to make young mariners look about 
 them. 
 
 August 9. — This morning I saw, or thought I saw, a common white 
 sea-gull, a bird in which I could hardly be mistaken, and which, in size and 
 other circumstances, sufficiently differs from the Cape pigeons. It, however, 
 rarely goes far from land, and is therefore considered as a presumption that 
 Saxenberg really exists somewhere in the neighbourhood. Nor is this all ; 
 one of the crew saw this morning a piece of sea-weed, and two of the pas- 
 sengers a large crab, both equally strong evidences of such a vicinity. From 
 that vicinity, however, we are fast proceeding ; and this, if Saxenberg exists, 
 is probably all that we shall see of it. ^^'hile such a topic, however, was
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxxl 
 
 under discussion, we almost overlooked, (what else would have drawn general 
 attention,) that the first albatross which we have seen, made its appearance 
 to-day, sailing majestically around us on its wide dusky wings, unquestion- 
 ably one of the largest birds which I ever saw. During these last two nights 
 the motion of the vessel was so violent as to throw my cot far beyond its usual 
 bounds, against the cabin-lockers and chest of drawers. After several rude 
 shocks of this kind, I unhooked and stretched it on the deck ; but even there 
 the inclination of the ship was such, that I had some difficulty in keeping 
 myself and my bed from parting company, and slipping or rolling to leeward. 
 
 August 10. — Last night I again slept on the floor, and passed it still 
 more uncomfortably than on former occasions, insomuch that I almost deter- 
 mined rather to run the risk of blows and bruises aloft, than to encounter 
 the discomforts of the new method. This morning, however, the wind be- 
 came again moderate, and I finished and preached my sermon, and, afterwards, 
 administered the sacrament to about twenty-six or twenty-seven persons, in- 
 cluding all the ladies on board, the captain, and the greater part of the under 
 officers and male passengers, but, alas, only three seamen. This last result 
 disappointed me, since I had hoped, from their attention to my sermons, and 
 the general decency of their conduct and appearance, that more would have 
 attended. Yet, when I consider how great difficulty I have always found in 
 bringing men of the same age and rank to the sacrament at Hodnet, per- 
 haps, I have no reason to be surprised. On talking with one of the under 
 officers in the evening, he told me that more would have staid, if they had 
 not felt shy, and been afraid of exciting the ridicule of their companions. 
 The same feeling, I find, kept one at least, and perhaps more, of the young 
 cadets and writers away, though of these there were only t^^ o or three ab- 
 sentees, the large majority joining in the ceremony with a seriousness which 
 greatly pleased and impressed me. And the same may be said of all the 
 midshipmen who were old enough to receive it. One of the young cadets 
 expressed his regret to me that he had not been confirmed, but hoped 
 that I should give him an opportunity soon after our arrival at Cal- 
 cutta. On the whole, the result of the experiment, (for such it was consi- 
 dered,) has been most satisfactory ; and I ought to be, and I hope am, very 
 grateful for the attention which I receive, and the opportunities of doing 
 
 good, which seem to be held out to me. I am the more so, because Mr. B 
 
 had, a few days before, predicted that I should have not above one or two
 
 xxxii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 communicants at most ; and added, as a sort of apology for himself, that he was 
 brou""ht up in the Church of Scotland, and therefore held all ceremonies 
 superfluous and unavailing. I reminded him that his Church and mine 
 agreed in the efficacy and necessity of occasionally receiving the Commu- 
 nion, but the conversation went no further. Possibly he meant that the 
 forms required by the Church of England, where they differ from those of 
 Scotland, were such as he did not approve of. If so, as I have reason to 
 believe that many persons, both in Scotland and on the Continent, have 
 strange notions of our ceremonies, his having been an accidental spectator of 
 them, (for he was on the poop all the time) may remove some prejudices. I 
 observed, indeed, that many of the seamen, though they did not join us, 
 looked on after they had left the quarter-deck with much seeming interest, 
 and I almost hope, that if another opportunity occurs before our landing 
 in Bengal, more will attend. Of the young men who did attend, I was 
 happy to observe that they had all religious books in their hands in the 
 course of the evening, and that they appeared, indeed, much impressed. 
 
 How different is the treatment which I meet with in the exercise of my 
 duties on ship-board from that of which Martyn ^ complains ! A great change 
 indeed, as every body tells me, has, since his time, occurred in the system of a 
 sea life. Most commanders of vessels are now anxious to keep up, at least, the 
 appearance of religion among their men ; and, in many cases, the danger is 
 said to be, not from neglect, but fanaticism. To this the custom (which is 
 now extremely common both in the navy and the merchant service,) of 
 jjraijer-meetings among the crew, where each, in turn, delivers an extem- 
 pore address to the Almighty, must greatly contribute ; and I hardly know 
 whether a custom, (however well meant, and however comfortable, and often 
 most edifying to men thrown into close contact with each other, surrounded 
 by dangers and hardships, and removed from all regular ministry of the 
 Gospel,) has not these benefits counterbalanced, by the self-conceit, the en- 
 
 " Henry Martyn went out to India, as Chaplain on the Bengal Establishment, in the year 
 1805. He translated the Testament and Book of Common Prayer into Hindoostanee ; and on 
 finding that the existing translation of the former into Persian was unfit for general use, he 
 undertook a journey into Persia, and, with the assistance of some intelUgent natives, completed 
 a new version of the Testament, and also translated the Psalms into that language. He died 
 at Tocat, on his return to England, in the year 1812. A memoir of his fife, with his journal, 
 has been published by the Reverend John Sargent.— Ed.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. XXXiii 
 
 thusiasm, and divisions in faith and doctrine which may arise from it. Yet 
 the practice, after all, is one, which none could venture to forbid, and the 
 dangers of which may be materially abated by supplying these good men 
 with some better guides to devotion than their own extemporaneous inven- 
 tion — and, still more, by a regular performance of Divine service accord- 
 ing to the English Liturgy, wherever, and whenever this is possible. On 
 board the Grenville, though the men are extremely orderly, no prayer- 
 meetings have been yet thought of, nor, for the reasons which I have 
 mentioned, do I wish for them. The men, however, are extremely well 
 supplied with bibles, prayer-books, and religious tracts, which many of them 
 read aloud to their less educated messmates every evening. The boys sent 
 by the Marine Society have regular instruction in the Scriptures every 
 day ; and the schoolmaster. Peacock, is an excellent man, who, I have reason 
 to believe, does much good among his messmates, as well as that he is very 
 assiduous and intelligent in teaching those who are immediately under his 
 care. Of Captain Manning himself, I had previously heard an excellent 
 character, and find every thing true which had been reported. 
 
 August 11. — We had a good night, and a smooth though rapid pro- 
 gress. I had the happiness of hearing, for the first time, my dear little 
 Emily repeat a part of the Lord's Prayer, which her mother has been, for 
 some days past, engaged in teaching her. May He who, " from the mouth 
 of babes and sucklings" can bring forth His praise, inspire her heart with 
 every thing pure and holy, and grant her grace betimes, both to understand 
 and love His name ! 
 
 After writing out my usual translation, I occupied myself during the 
 morning in mastering, by help of Gilchrist's preposterously arranged voca- 
 bulary, some of the Hindoostanee poetry in his " Guide." I have thus 
 more and more convinced myself that, what is called the florid Eastern style 
 is chiefly to be found in translations, and that the characteristics of the 
 originals are often rather flatness and vapidity, than exuberance of ornament. 
 But I really feel my liking for these studies increase as, by progress, they 
 become less difficult. This is, however, too early a day for me to form any 
 fixed opinion on either Hindoo or Persian literature. 
 
 August 14. — We passed some sea-weed this morning, which was consi- 
 
 d
 
 xxxiv JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 dered as a singular and perplexing occurrence, since no Saxenberg was ever 
 suspected in our present neighbourhood. It probably came from Tristan 
 d'Acunha. Several whales, some of them of a large size, played round the 
 ship for above half an hour. I obtained a very favourable view of one of them, 
 which struck me from its perfect resemblance to the grampus which I had 
 seen before, both in shape, and the colour and smoothness of its skin. The 
 water which it blew through its nostrils appeared in a form something dif- 
 ferent from what I had expected. I had imagined, I hardly know why, that 
 it was to be a small high slender jet-cVeaii, whereas it escaped in a thick 
 white cloud, like the steam from an engine, and with pretty nearly the same 
 noise. I was pleased to witness the apparent happiness of these poor ani- 
 mals, which were supposed to be two old ones with one or more young ; 
 and rejoiced that no southern whaler was in sight. While we were gazing 
 at these leviathans, one of the midshipmen caught a sea-bird on a hook ; 
 it was said to be a " Cape hen," (I believe a Gannet,) a little larger than 
 a large goose, with brown glossy feathers, large white eyes with black 
 pupils, a broad yellow bill, very slender legs, broad webbed feet, and long 
 wings resembling those of a kite. It bled a little, but seemed very slightly 
 injured by the hook. When set down on the deck, it looked round without 
 any appearance of fear, but endeavoured in vain to rise, its wings being too 
 long to admit of its doing so from a plain and solid surface. Mr. Gresley 
 took a drawing of it, after which it was, by the unanimous consent of the 
 spectators, returned in safety to the sea. During its continuance on deck, 
 it had shewn marks of sickness, which Captain Manning said these birds gene- 
 rally did in such a situation ; and even when in the water it seemed for 
 some time a Httle languid. By degrees, however, it began to ply its web- 
 feet and wings at the same time, and scudded rapidly over the surface of the 
 calm sea, with a motion between flying and swimming. Nothing can be 
 more genial than the climate of this day, or more resembling a fine May 
 morning in England. The month, however, answers to our February ; so 
 that we may yet look for some bitter March -wdnds before we shall have 
 passed the Cape. In the evening another bird, of appearance nearly similar 
 to the foregoing, but smaller, and with a more crooked beak, was caught, 
 but, less fortunate than the other, was killed for the sake of having his skin 
 stuffed. This last seems to be the bird called the sea-parrot. 
 
 August 15. — Another fine night. The wind has gone considerably
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxxv 
 
 astern of us, and studding-sails are set on the foremast. Lat. 35° 20' E. 
 Long. 1° 54'. Last night I believe we all thought much of home, as "vve 
 passed (which occurred about nine o'clock) the meridian of Greenwich. It 
 was a pleasing, though almost painful task, to figure to ourselves the 
 different employments of our friends in different places in England. God bless 
 them ! While our minds were thus occupied, a chance appeared to have 
 been drawing near of communicating with them sooner than we expected. 
 A vessel this morning came in sight, which Captain Manning appre- 
 hended to be bound to the Cape. Every body went in all haste to finish or 
 write their letters. I had already a huge packet accumulating. We came 
 up with the stranger about three o'clock ; she shewed Enghsh colours, and 
 proved to be a brig belonging to the Mauritius, and bound thither, sixty-four 
 days from Bourdeaux. Captain Manning sent a boat on board, with the 
 purser, partly to learn whether she was to touch at the Cape, partly to try 
 to purchase some claret. Major Sackville and I went in her. Our visit was of 
 use to the crew, both as Captain Manning sent them the true longitude, which 
 they had not got by more than two degrees ; and as we undertook the care 
 of a packet of letters which they wished to forward to Calcutta. They were 
 not to stop at the Cape, so that our packets turned out to have been made 
 up in vain. The Grenville looked very well when her stern was towards us. 
 She is really a fine vessel, and looks like a fifty-gun ship of war ; she has 
 completely established her character for fast sailing, having fairly distanced 
 every vessel which she has fallen in with, except the Christiana, whom we 
 spoke off Madeira, and who was so much favoured by the light wind and 
 other circumstances, as to make her superior progress no cause of wonder. 
 I am glad of this on all accounts, as it not only expedites our voyage, but 
 makes our kind-hearted Captain completely happy. The weather continues 
 beautiful. 
 
 I have been reading Hindoostanee to myself, and this morning finished 
 the following translation of one of the poems in Gilcluist's Hindoostanee 
 Guide. From his Paraphrase, I cannot say I derived any great assistance. 
 I have, however, endeavoured to be more faithful than he has been, though 
 the " ruhe ruhe" of the original is, I admit, untranslateable, and only to be 
 imitated afar off. 
 
 d 2
 
 xxxvi JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 SONNET BY THE LATE NAWAB OF OUDE, ASUF UD DOWLA. 
 
 In those eyes the tears that glisten as in pity for my pain, 
 
 Are they gems, or only dew-drops ? can they, will they long remain ? 
 
 Why thy strength of tyrant beauty thus, with seeming ruth, restrain ? 
 Better breathe my last before thee, than in lingering grief remain ! 
 
 To yon Planet, Fate has given every month to wax and wane ; 
 And— thy world of blushing brightness— can it, will it long remain ? 
 
 Health and youth in balmy moisture on thy cheek their seat maintain; 
 But — the dew that steeps the rose-bud — can it, will it long remain? 
 
 Asuf! why in mournful numbers, of thine absence thus complain, 
 
 Chance had joined us, chance has parted! — nought on earth can long remain. 
 
 In the world mayst thou, beloved ! live exempt from grief and pain ! 
 On my lips the breath is fleeting, — can it, will it long remain ? 
 
 August 17, — Read prayers and preached. The sea was too high to 
 allow the men to sit down, or the awning to be hoisted, and it was extremely 
 cold, a thorough English March morning. Om' run since yesterday has 
 been 234. miles. Lat. 35''23'. E. long. 11° 6'. 
 
 August 18. — The same breeze, which has now encreased to what seamen 
 call a strong gale, with a high rolling sea from the south-west. Both 
 yesterday and to-day we have had the opportunity of seeing no insufficient 
 specimen of those gigantic waves of which I have often heard as prevailing in 
 these latitudes. In a weaker vessel, and with less confidence in our officers 
 and crew, they would be alarming as well as aweful and sublime. But, in our 
 case, seen as they are from a strong and well-found ship, in fine clear weather, 
 and with good sea room, they constitute a magnificent spectacle, which may 
 be contemplated with unmixed pleasure. I have hardly been able to leave 
 the deck so much have I enjoyed it, and my wife, who happily now feels very 
 little inconvenience from the motion, has expressed the same feelings. The 
 deep blue of the sea, the snow-white tops of the waves, their enormous sweep, 
 the alternate sinking and rising of the ship which seems like a play-thing 
 in a giant's hands, and the vast multitude of sea-birds skimming round us, 
 constitute a picture of the most exhilarating, as well as the most impressive
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxxvii 
 
 character ; and I trust a better and holier feeling has not been absent from 
 our minds, of thankfulness to Him who has thus far protected us, who blesses 
 us daily with so many comforts beyond what might be expected in our present 
 situation, and who has given us a passage, throughout the whole extent of the 
 Atlantic, so unusually rapid and favourable. The birds which surround us 
 are albatrosses, and snow-peterels. The Cape pigeons have disappeared, 
 being probably driven to shore by the gale. The other birds come from the 
 southward, and are considered as indications of a tremendous storm in that 
 quarter, from which our unusually northern course has exempted us. Lat. 
 34 54' E. long. 15° 30'. This day ends the ninth week of our abode on 
 board the Grenville. 
 
 August 19. — During the night W'e made considerable southing, and 
 passed the Cape. In the evening we had a distant but tolerably distinct 
 view of the Cape Aguillas or Lagullos, the most southerly promontory of 
 Africa. Our wind is now lighter, but the swell still great ; such a swell, (and 
 indeed much more, all things considered, than we now feel), is to be ex- 
 pected on the banks of Lagullos, a range of submarine mountains, of extent 
 not yet ascertained, which project from the foot of Southern Africa, like a 
 vast buttress to support it against the invasions of the Antarctic Ocean. The 
 depth of water is considerable in every part of the bank, and consequently 
 fish are scarce at any distance from shore. In the creeks and bays of the 
 visible coast they are said to swarm. And thus we are in the Indian Ocean ! 
 
 August 20 — 23. — We have been these four days beating to and fro on 
 the bank of Lagullos, with a contrary wind or no wind at all, alternately, 
 suffering a good deal from the motion of the vessel. On the 22nd we were 
 on the supposed position of the Telemaque shoal, when a boy at the mast- 
 head cried out, " breakers." They turned out, however, to be only the re- 
 flection of the sun on the waves. So that the existence or situation of this 
 danger is still as dubious as ever. 
 
 August 24. — A southern breeze sprung up this morning, and we have 
 begun our progress eastward anew, though at present inclining much 
 towards the south, where Captain Manning hopes to find the wind more 
 settled. We had prayers and a sermon, but the weather was, as on last 
 Sunday, too unsettled to permit the men to sit down, or the awning to be
 
 xxxviii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO IXDIA. 
 
 extended. The breeze has, however, put all the party into much better 
 spirits, and considering the degree in wliich we have been previously 
 favoured, a four or five days delay here is a trifling draw-back. 
 
 August 30. — Alas ! our flattering breeze left us in a few hours, and 
 from J^Ionday till Thursday, we had very little wind, and that adverse ; yet 
 we did not remain absolutely stationary, hanng got into a powerful, and, 
 hitherto, little known current, from the S. W. which forwarded us on our 
 voyage almost as much as a light wind would have done. On Wednesday 
 evening and Thursday morning more particularly, though the weather was 
 such a perfect calm that the ship was absolutely her own mistress, and would 
 not answer the helm, yet we found to our surprise that during the twenty- 
 four hours we had advanced two degrees of longitude. On Thursday a 
 hght breeze blew, which, with the friendly help of the current, helped us on 
 three degrees more. And on Friday and Saturday we had a stiff gale, 
 which fairly placed us at twelve o'clock the latter day in lat. 36° 52' E. 
 long. 42° 59'. This was, of course, not effected without considerable tossing. 
 
 The day was rainy, and the sea broke over the quarter deck fiercely. My 
 wife, however, braved it, and walked a good deal, and all the men on board 
 were in high spirits. Captain Manning said, '' If there was virtue in canvass, 
 he would make the run of the following day better than this ;'' which was 
 246 miles by the log, and I believe the best we have had during the present 
 voyage. The current which so long befriended us is now replaced by another 
 of an opposite tendency, and which appears to come from the great channel 
 of jNlozambique, of which, in this day's run we have been crossing the mouth. 
 Our course is east, a little inclining to the north. The climate is very like 
 that of England in spring. The passengers however, and the young men more 
 particularly, are not healthy, and several absentees are remarked from every 
 dinner. Mr. Shaw says that he has seldom found a ship a favourable situa- 
 tion either for preserving or recovering health. The want of exercise and of 
 mental employment sufficiently account for this circumstance. My own 
 general good health I am convinced I owe in no small degree to my perse- 
 vering walks on the quarter deck, and my Hindoostanee studies. In these I 
 certainly am not idle, though alas ! I cannot say much of my own proficiency. 
 On Sunday 31st, we had again prayers and a sermon, though the weather 
 was too much unsettled to admit of the men sitting down, and consequently
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xxxix 
 
 the former were curtailed a little of their just proportion. Afterwards I 
 went with Captain Manning and Mr. Elliott the surgeon, to visit the sick 
 seamen, of whom there were three or four more seriously indisposed than 
 usual. One poor man who was recovering from the effects of a fall a few 
 days before, which had threatened to affect his brain, was very intelli"-ent, 
 and grateful to God for his deliverance. The others were not so favourably 
 disposed. I persuaded them, however, to meet me in the afternoon, and 
 join in a few prayers. 
 
 Friday, September 5. — Here follows a version of part of this day's lesson 
 from the Gulistan. It was the inscription, says Sadi, over the arched alcove 
 of Feridoon's Hall. 
 
 " Brother ! know the world deceiveth ! 
 Trust on Him who safety giveth ! 
 Fix not on the world thy trust, 
 She feeds us — but she turns to dust, 
 And the bare earth or kingly throne 
 Alike may serve to die upon !" 
 
 The next is not so good, but is almost equally literal : both seem to 
 confirm my suspicions as to the real character of Asiatic poetry. 
 
 " The man who leaveth life behind. 
 May well and boldly speak his mind. 
 Where flight is none from battle field, 
 We blithely snatch the sword and shield ; 
 Where hope is past, and hate is strong, 
 The wretch's tongue is sharp and long ; 
 Myself have seen, in wild despair. 
 The feeble cat the mastifTtear." 
 
 It is strange to see how flowery these passages become in Gladwin's 
 translation; yet I can safely say that my rude lines are most like the 
 original. 
 
 On Tuesday the 9th, at twelve, we were in lat. 26° 55', long. 76° 44', 
 with a fine wind from the south-east, which every body on board was willing 
 to hope was the " trade wind." In consequence we look forward to our pro- 
 bable arrival at Saugor anchorage before the 1st of October ; and some of
 
 xl JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 our party are almost tempted to murmm* at the singular rapidity with which 
 our passage has been favoured, as bringing us into India at an unwholesome 
 season. For my own part, I have no apprehensions either for myself or 
 those most dear to me. We are all, at this moment, in excellent health. Our 
 habits of living have been, for some time back, such as are most likely to en- 
 able us to bear a change of climate without injury, and even during the worst 
 and most sickly time of the year in Calcutta, by all which I can learn, little 
 more is necessary to preserve health than to be strictly temperate, and to 
 lemain quiet during the heat of the day, and while it rains. And, indeed, 
 while we are enjoying and have enjoyed such daily and remarkable protec- 
 tion from God during the whole of our voyage, it would be cowardice in the 
 extreme to distrust His further mercies, or to shrink back from those dangers 
 which, some time or other, a resident in India must expect to encounter, and 
 which a new-comer is, perhaps, as able to bear as any other person. I there- 
 fore feel at present nothing but pleasure in the anticipation of our speedy 
 arrival in that scene where I am hereafter to labour ; or if I feel any anxiety, 
 it is only as to the manner in which I may be able to acquit myself of 
 duties so important, and in a situation so new. Deus adjuvet per Jesum 
 Christum ! 
 
 Friday, Septemher 12. — Few things now occur to insert except my 
 progress in Hindoostanee. The following lines are also from the Gulistan, 
 rather more loosely translated than some of those which have preceded them. 
 I have, however, sufficiently preserved their character. 
 
 " Who the silent man can prize, 
 If a fool he be or wise ? 
 Yet, though lonely seem the wood, 
 Therein may lurk the beast of blood. 
 Often bashful looks conceal 
 Tongue of fire and heart of steel. 
 And deem not thou, in forest grey, 
 Every dappled skin thy prey ; 
 Lest thou rouse, with luckless spear, 
 The tiger for the fallow-deer !" 
 
 A tropic bird was seen to-day, very large, and white as snow, but with- 
 out the two long tail-feathers which are his principal ornament. The im- 
 mense distance from land at which these birds are seen is really surprising.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xli 
 
 The Isle of Bourbon is the nearest point, and that must be a distance of 
 2000 miles. For many days back the beautiful Cape pigeons have ceased to 
 attend us. 
 
 On Sunday y September 14, we had again Divine service, and I after- 
 wards (as has been my occasional custom for some time back) prayed with 
 the sick below. Their number still continues inconsiderable, and there is no 
 case of absolute danger, though one poor lad has had a very tedious inter- 
 mitting fever. Symptoms of our advanced progress are visible in the pre- 
 parations making in the cutter, which Captain Manning is sheathing with 
 zinc, and fitting up with masts and sails for the navigation of the Ganges. 
 His good-nature and obliging disposition have spared us another preparation 
 which at these times is usual. I mean, painting the ship previous to her 
 appearing in harbour ; an operation which must have made the whole popu- 
 lation of the vessel miserable for some days. I am heartily glad to escape 
 this. 
 
 September 18. — This evening we had a most beautiful sunset — the most 
 remarkable recollected by any of the officers or passengers, and I think the 
 most magnificent spectacle I ever saw. Besides the usual beautiful tints of 
 crimson, flame-colour, &c., which the clouds displayed, and which were 
 strangely contrasted with the deep blue of the sea, and the lighter, but 
 equally beautiful blue of the sky, there were in the immediate neighbourhood 
 of the sinking sun, and for some time after his disc had disappeared, large 
 tracts of a pale translucent green, such as I had never seen before except in a 
 prism, and surpassing every effect of paint, or glass, or gem. Every body 
 on board was touched and awed by the glory of the scene, and many ob- 
 served that such a spectacle alone was worth the whole voyage from Eng- 
 land. One circumstance in the scene struck me as different from all whicli 
 I had been led to expect in a tropical sunset. I mean, that its progress from 
 light to darkness was much more gradual than most travellers and phi- 
 losophers have stated. The dip of the sun did not seem more rapid, nor 
 did the duration of the tints on the horizon appear materially less than on 
 similar occasions in England. Neither did I notice any striking difference 
 in the continuance of the twilight. I pointed out the fact to Major Sack- 
 ville, who answered, that he had long been convinced that the supposed ra- 
 pidity of sunrise and sunset in India had been exaggerated, — that he had 
 
 e
 
 xlii JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 always found a good hour between dawn and sunrise, and little less between 
 sunset and total darkness. As, indeed, we are at present within three degrees 
 of the line, w^e must, a fortiori, have witnessed this precipitancy of the sun, if 
 it really existed any where, in a still greater degree than it can be witnessed 
 in any part of Hindostan. 
 
 September 19. — I wakened before dawn this morning, and had therefore 
 an opportunity of verifying, to a certain extent. Major Sackville's observations 
 on a tropical sunrise. I had no watch, but to my perceptions his account 
 was accurate. Our breeze continues very light, and the heat intense. Our 
 progress, however is steady, and we were this day at twelve, south lat. l** 16'. 
 Vic had again a fine sunset which, though inferior to that of the day before, 
 was decorated by two concentric rainbows of considerable beauty and bril- 
 hancy, the colours of the outer rainbow being arranged in a reverse succes- 
 sion to that of the usual prism, and which was visible in its companion. A 
 night of glorious moonshine followed, with a moderate breeze, and we were 
 supposed to pass the hne about eleven o'clock A. M. 
 
 Sej)tem1)er 21. — Nothing remarkable occurred on the 20th. This 
 morning we had divine service, with awning up, and the crew seated, the 
 first time that this has been possible since we passed the Cape. The weather 
 continues fine, but verij Jiot. In the evening w^e were apprehended to be 
 about 90 miles from the coast of Ceylon, and a trick was attempted on the 
 passengers, which is on such occasions not unusual, by sprinkling the rail of 
 the entrance port with some fragrant substance, and then asking them if 
 they do not perceive the spicy gales of Ceylon ? Unluckily no oil of cinna- 
 mon was found on shipboard, though anxiously hunted for, sxidi pej^j^ermint 
 water, the only succedaneum in the doctor's stores, was not what we ex- 
 pected to find, and therefore did not deceive us. Yet, though we were now 
 too far off to catch the odours of land, it is, as we are assured, perfectly true, 
 that such odours are perceptible to a very considerable distance. In the 
 straits of Malacca, a smell like that of a hawthorn hedge is commonly ex- 
 perienced ; and from Ceylon, at thirty or forty miles, under certain circum- 
 stances, a yet more agreeable scent is inhaled. 
 
 September 24. — A violent squall came on this morning about seven 
 o'clock. Happily Captain Manning foresaw it from an uneasy sensation in
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xliii 
 
 the ship's motion, and took in all possible sail, to the surprise of his officers, 
 who saw no reason for the measure. He was, however, only just in time, for 
 a moment after, we were laid nearly on our beam ends, and had we been carry- 
 ing any thing like our previous sail, must have been completely dismasted. 
 Tremendous rain followed, with some thunder and lightening, and continued 
 the greater part of the day. Towards evening the rain ceased, and the wind 
 became light. The weather was, however,, thick and hazy, and I never saw 
 so much lightening as continued to flash on every side of us during the greater 
 part of the night. Several of the passengers think this symptomatic of the 
 change of the Monsoon, the usual period of which, indeed, is not till the 
 middle of next month ; but it sometimes terminates prematurely, even as 
 early as our present date. This possibility has a little damped the spirits of 
 our party, since, though there are, I believe, several among us who will be 
 almost sorry when our voyage is at an end, none of us can look forward with- 
 out disappointment to the prospect of the indefinite delay, the uncertain 
 weather, and probable hurricanes to which this event would expose us. No 
 observation could be taken this day (September 25). During the early part 
 of the morning we lay completely becalmed, surrounded with very aweful 
 and magnificent thunder-storms, which swept past us in all directions, but 
 without coming nigh us. A water-spout was also seen, but at a distance. 
 At length alight breeze arose, but from the N. W., an unflivourable quarter. 
 We were, however, able to get on with it in a tolerable, though not very 
 direct course : in the evening it drew more aft, and, consequently, resumed 
 in part, its proper character of S. W. Monsoon, though so light as to do 
 little good. It is probable, however, that the slow progress of last night 
 may have been a dispensation of great kindness towards us, since the officers 
 are of opinion that a very severe storm has taken place in our present latitude, 
 within the last few hours. An uncomfortable swell prevails, indicating some- 
 thing of the sort, and the number of insects and land-birds around us seem to 
 imply a hard gale to have driven them so far out to sea. Among the insects 
 several dragon-flies appear, precisely like those of England, and some very 
 beautiful butterflies and winged grasshoppers. A turtle-dove and two hawks 
 perched on the rigging, all so much fatigued, as that the latter shewed no 
 desire to molest the former. The day beautifully clear, but intensely hot. 
 Both to-day and yesterday the fragrance of the land, or at least the peculiar 
 smell which denotes its neighbourhood, was perceived by the experienced 
 organs of Captain Manning and his officers ; but I could not catch any thing 
 
 e2
 
 xliv JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 in the breeze more than usual. We are all now in good spirits again, and 
 the officers, more particularly, rejoice in having ascertained the latitude 
 correctly, a circumstance agreeable at all times, but especially desirable 
 when about to approach a dangerous coast, at a time of the year when 
 the sun and stars are frequently obscured for weeks together. 
 
 September 27. — At eleven this day the Pagoda of Juggernaut, and the 
 two known by the name of the Black Pagodas were visible from the mast- 
 head, bearing N. W. about eighteen miles, and only distinguishable, on this 
 flat coast, from sails, by those who were previously aware of their forms and 
 vicinity ; three or four vessels were seen at the same time, supposed to be 
 small craft engaged in the coasting trade. Our lat. at twelve, was 19° 30'. We 
 had light wind with occasional squalls till twelve ; after which a dead calm 
 with a hea\7 and uncomfortable swell. I have been endeavouring, for these 
 last two days, to compose a sermon, but my head aches, and my feelings are 
 very unfavourable to serious mental exertion. It is some comfort to be 
 assured that very few days in India are so severe as the weather which we 
 now have, and our confined situation on ship-board makes us feel the heat 
 more oppressive than we should other\^ise do. The calm continued all day, 
 and the sea-breeze which arose at night, was by far too feeble to carry us on 
 against a heavy swell and current from the N. E. 
 
 Sunday 28. — Found ourselves to the westward of our late station by a 
 good many miles, and drifting in to the Pagoda of Juggernaut. We had 
 prayers as usual, and t preached, I hope, my last sermon on ship-board 
 during the present voyage. Afterwards we cast anchor in twenty-five fathom 
 water, with Juggernaut about fifteen miles to the N. W. visible with the 
 naked eye from deck, and very distinctly so with a glass. Its appearance 
 strongly reminds me of the old Russian churches. To the S. W. of us, at 
 a considerably greater distance, are seen two small hills, said to be near 
 Ganjan. — 
 
 " Procul obscuros colles, humilemque videmus 
 
 Italiam!" 
 
 About three o'clock a little breeze sprung up from the S. W. just enough 
 to enable us to stem the current. We weighed anchor, and crept slowly
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xlv 
 
 along the coast E. by N. The evening was cool and pleasant, and we 
 derived some amusement and mental occupation from watching the different 
 objects which we passed. The immense hostile current and swell were much 
 against us, and the night grew by degrees squally and rainy. The captain 
 and chief mate were up nearly all night and very anxious. The soundings 
 •showed a bottom of coarse sand and a little gravel. 
 
 September 29. — In the morning we had the mortification to find our- 
 selves still in sight of Juggernaut and the Black Pagoda, and in fact very 
 little advanced from our station at day-break the preceding day. The breeze 
 was quite incompetent to contend with the swell and current from the N. E., 
 and all which we could comfort ourselves with was, that we did not lose 
 ground, nor, as yesterday, drift to the westward. About noon a light breeze 
 again sprung up from the S. E., and we now advanced slowly to the N., so 
 as to see the Black Pagoda more clearly, and even to distinguish the coco- 
 palms on the coast. Several vessels were under the shore, one brig, some 
 sloops, and a kind of galliot of singular rig, besides some boats with large 
 square sails. The day was very pleasant and cool, and the night which fol- 
 lowed beautiful. Our breeze was good, and our progress would have been 
 excellent, but for the unfortunate current. As it was, after another anxious 
 night of unceasing sounding and exertion to Captain Manning and his offi- 
 cers, we were only advanced, at six in the morning of the 30th, about forty 
 miles, or not quite to the parallel of False Cape ; yet even this was consider- 
 able gain, and would have made us very happy, had not a dismal accident 
 overclouded all such feelings. About ten o'clock, as I was writing these lines 
 in the cuddy, a cry was heard, " Davy is overboard :" at first I thought they 
 said " the baby," and ran to the mizen chains in a sort of confused agony, 
 tugging at my coat-buttons and my sleeves as I went, with the intention of 
 leaping in after her ; when there, however, I found that one of the poor 
 boys apprenticed to Captain Manning by the Marine Society, had fallen 
 from the mizen-gaff, and that one of the midshipmen, Gotcer, not Davy, as 
 at first supposed, was knocked over by him in his fall ; the boy only rose 
 for a few moments and sunk for ever, but the midshipman was picked up 
 when almost exhausted. It was pleasing to see the deep interest and manly 
 sorrow excited by this sad accident in all on board. For my own part, I was 
 so much stunned by the shock of my first mistake, that I felt, and still feel a 
 sort of sick and indistinct horror, which has prevented me from sympathizing
 
 xlvi JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. 
 
 so deeply as I otherwise must have done, in the melancholy end of the poor 
 lad thus suddenly called away. 
 
 The coast was so low, that we could not discover any tokens of it, 
 and were compelled to feel our way by soundings every half hour, keeping 
 in from sixteen to twenty-nine fathom. All this part of Orixa, as I am 
 assured by Major Sackville, who has himself surveyed the coast, is very 
 ill laid down in most charts. It is a large delta, formed by the mouths of 
 the Maha-Nuddee and other rivers, the northernmost of which insulates Cape 
 Palmiras, and the remainder flow into what is called Cojam Bay, but which 
 is dry at low- water ; so that the real hue of coast is nearly straight from Jug- 
 gernaut to Palmiras. The night w as fine and starlight, and w^e crept along, 
 sounding every half-hour in from seventeen to twenty-three fathoms till 
 after midnight, when we entered suddenly into a rapid stream of smooth 
 water, which carried us considerably to the east. I happened to go on deck 
 during this watch, and was much pleased and interested with the sight. It 
 was exactly like a river, about half a mile broad, smooth, dimply, and 
 whirling, bordered on each side by a harsh, dark, rippling sea, such as w^e 
 had hitherto contended with, and which obviously still ran in a contrary di- 
 rection. It was, I have no doubt, from Major Sackville's sketch, the fresh 
 water of the Maha-Nuddee, which being lighter, specifically, than the ocean, 
 floated on its surface, and which appeared to flow into the sea at right angles 
 to the Ganges. I sometimes thought of Robinson Crusoe's eddy, — some- 
 times of the wondrous passage described in Lord Erskine's Armata, but was 
 not the less struck with the providential assistance which it afforded us. At 
 five o'clock in the morning of October 1, we were said to be in lat. 20° 38' ; 
 and as the wind was getting light, anchored soon after. 
 
 The fresh water of the Maha-Nuddee still remained flowing on the sur- 
 face, and nearly in a N.E. direction, but too weak and too shallow to con- 
 tend \dth the mighty Ganges, which ran like a mill-stream at a fathom 
 or two underneath, and against which nothing but a very powerful gale 
 could contend. Our hope is, therefore, in the flood-tide, and in the small- 
 ness of the distance which we have yet to pass before we get into pilot water. 
 At twelve, encouraged by a little increase of breeze, we weighed anchor 
 again, the passengers (most of them) lending their aid, and thus success- 
 fully and speedily accomphshed it. All sails that were applicable were set.
 
 JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA. xlvii 
 
 and the vessel, to our great joy, answered her helm, and evidently made 
 some little way. This, by degrees, accelerated, and by three o'clock we 
 were going along merrily. Captain Manning burned blue lights, and hoisted 
 a lamp at his mizen gaff, as a signal to any pilot who might be in our neigh- 
 bourhood. The signal was answered by several vessels, obviously at no 
 great distance, but the doubt remained whether any of these were pilots, or 
 whether they were merely like ourselves, in search of one. Captain Manning, 
 however, sent his cutter with one of the officers and ten men to that light 
 which was most brilliant, and the bearing of which appeared to tally ^^ith 
 the situation of a brig which he had observed. 
 
 At length, about eleven o'clock, a vessel was really seen approaching, 
 and, on being hailed, answered " the Cecilia pilot schooner." The cutter 
 soon afterwards came to our side with one of the branch pilots on board. 
 Sir H. Blosset, I heard with much pain, died five weeks after his arrival in 
 India, of an asthmatic complaint, to which he had been long subject. The 
 l^ilot spoke much of the degree to which he was regretted, and of the influ- 
 ence which, even in that small time, he had acquired over the natives, who 
 were delighted with the pains which he took to acquire their language. 
 
 About seven in the evening of October the 3d, we were safely anchored 
 m Saugor roads.
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 A JOURNEY, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Saugor: Tygers — Country boats — Arab ships — Village: Maldivian vessels — Garden Reach — 
 Approach to Calcutta — Arrival: Old Government House : Native household. 
 
 At day-break of October the 4th, we had a good view of the Island 
 of Saugor, a perfectly flat and swampy shore, with scattered tall 
 trees dark like firs, and jungle about the height of young coppice 
 wood, of a very fresh and vivid green. With a large glass I could 
 distinguish something hke deer grazing or lying down amid the 
 swampy grass, and also some ruinous cottages and barn-like 
 buildings. 
 
 These are the remains of a village began by a joint com- 
 pany, who undertook to cut down the thickets and reclaim the 
 marshes of Saugor, a few years ago. They found, however, that 
 as the woods were cut down on this side, the sea encroached, the 
 sandy beach not having sufficient tenacity of itself to resist its 
 invasions ; and the land was again abandoned to its wild deer and 
 its tygers ; for these last it has always been infamous, and the 
 natives, I understand, regard it with such dread, that it is almost 
 impossible to induce them to approach the wilder parts of its 
 
 B
 
 2 TYGERS. 
 
 shore, even in boats, as instances are said to be by no means 
 infrequent of tygers swimming off from the coast to a considerable 
 distance. This danger is probably, like all others, over-rated, but 
 it is a fortunate circumstance that some such terror hangs over 
 Saugor, to deter idle seamen and young officers from venturing on 
 shooting excursions, so much as they otherwise would do, on a 
 shore so dreadfully unwholesome as all these marshy islets are, 
 under a sun, which even now intensely fierce, is standing over our 
 heads " in a hot and copper sky." The stream of coffee-coloured 
 water by which we are surrounded, sufficiently indicates by its tint 
 the inundations which have supphed it. 
 
 One of the first specimens of the manners of the country 
 which have fallen under our notice, has been a human corpse, 
 slowly floating past, according to the well-known custom of the 
 Hindoos. About 12 o'clock some boats came on board with fish 
 and fruit, manned by Hindoos from the coast, of which the follow- 
 ing sketch is a tolerably accurate representation. 
 
 They were all small slender men, extremely black, but well 
 made, with good countenances and fine features, — certainly a hand- 
 some race; the fruits were shaddocks, plantains, and coco-nuts.
 
 COUNTRY BOATS. 3 
 
 none good of their kind as we were told ; the shaddock resembles 
 a melon externally, but is in fact a vast orange, with a rind of two 
 inches thick, the pulp much less juicy than a common orange, and 
 with rather a bitter flavour, certainly a fruit which would be little 
 valued in England, but which in this burning weather I thought 
 rather pleasant and refreshing. The plantain grows in bunches, 
 with its stalks arranged side by side; the fruit is shaped like a 
 kidney potatoe, covered with a loose dusky skin, which peels off 
 easily with the fingers. The pulp is not unlike an over-ripe pear. 
 
 While we were marketing with these poor people, several 
 large boats from the Maldive Islands passed, which were pointed 
 out to me by the pilot as objects of curiosity, not often coming to 
 Calcutta; they have one mast, a very large square mainsail, and 
 one top-sail, are built, the more sohd parts of coco-wood, the 
 lighter of bamboo, and sail very fast and near the wind ; each 
 carries from 30 to 50 men, who are all sharers in the vessel and 
 her cargo, which consists of cowries, dried fish, coco-nut oil, and 
 the coir or twine made from the fibres of the same useful tree ; 
 and each has a small cabin to himself. 
 
 Several boats of a larger dimension soon after came along- 
 side; one was decked, with two masts, a bowsprit, and rigged 
 like a schooner without topsails. The master and crew of this last 
 were taller and finer men than those whom we had seen before ; 
 the former had a white turban wreathed round a red cap, a white 
 short shirt without sleeves, and a silver armlet a little above the 
 elbow; the crew were chiefly naked, except a cloth round the 
 loins ; the colour of all was the darkest shade of antique bronze, 
 and together with the elegant forms and well-turned limbs of many 
 among them, gave the spectator a perfect impression of Grecian 
 statues of that metal ; in stature and apparent strength they were 
 certainly much inferior to the generality of our ship's company. 
 
 Two observations struck me forcibly; first, that the deep 
 bronze tint is more naturally agreeable to the human eye than the 
 fair skins of Europe, since we are not displeased with it even in the 
 
 b2
 
 4 NATIVES. 
 
 first instance, while it is well known that to them a fair complexion 
 gives the idea of ill health, and of that sort of deformity which in 
 our eyes belongs to an Albino. There is indeed something in a 
 Negro which requires long habit to reconcile the eye to him ; but 
 for this the features and the hair, far more than the colour, are 
 answerable. The second observation was, how entirely the idea 
 of indelicacy, which would naturally belong to such figures as those 
 now around us if they were white, is prevented by their being of a 
 different colour from ourselves. So much are we children of asso- 
 ciation and habit, and so instinctively and immediately do our feel- 
 ings adapt themselves to a total change of circumstances ; it is the 
 partial and inconsistent change only which affects us. 
 
 The whole river, and the general character of this shore and 
 muddy stream, remind me strongly at this moment of the Don, 
 between Tcherkask and Asof, — and Kedgeree, a village on the 
 opposite side of the river from Saugor, if it had but a church, would 
 not be unlike Oxai, the residence of the Attaman Platoff. 
 
 Several boats again came on board us ; in one of which was 
 a man dressed in muslin, who spoke good English, and said he was 
 a Sircar *, come down in quest of employment, if any of the officers 
 on board would entrust their investments to him, or if any body 
 chose to borrow money at 12 per cent. In appearance and man- 
 ner he was no bad specimen of the low usurers w^ho frequent almost 
 all seaports. While we w^ere conversing with him, a fowl fell over- 
 board, and his crew were desired to hand it up again ; the naked 
 rowers refused, as it is considered impure to touch feathers ; but 
 the Sircar was less scrupulous, and gave it up at the gangway. A 
 Panchway, or passage boat, succeeded him, whose crew offered 
 their services for 15 rupees to carry any passengers to Calcutta, a 
 distance of above 100 miles. This w^as a very characteristic and 
 interesting vessel, large and broad, shaped like a snuffer dish ; a 
 deck fore and aft, and the middle covered with a roof of palm 
 
 • A native agent, as well as a money-lender. — Ed.
 
 PASSAGE BOATS. 
 
 S 
 
 branches, over which again was lashed a coarse cloth, the whole 
 forming an excellent shade from the sun ; but, as I should appre- 
 hend, intolerably close. The " Serang," or master, stood on the 
 little after-deck, steering with a long oar ; another man, a little 
 before him, had a similar oar on the starboard quarter ; six rowers 
 were seated cross-legged on the deck upon the tilt, and plied their 
 short paddles with much dexterity ; not however as paddles usually 
 are plied, but in the manner of oars, resting them instead of on 
 ruUocks, on bamboos, which rose upright from the sides. A large 
 long sail of thin transparent sackcloth in three pieces, very loosely 
 tacked to each other, completed the equipment. The rowers 
 were all naked except the " Cummerbund," or sash ; the steers- 
 man indeed had in addition a white cap, and a white cloth loosely 
 flung like a scarf over one shoulder : the whole offered a groupe 
 which might have belonged to the wildest of the Polynesian 
 islands. Several of these Panchways were now around us, the 
 whole scene affording to an European eye a picture of very great 
 singularity and interest. One of the Serangs had a broad umbrella 
 thatched with palm leaves, which he contrived to rest on his 
 shoulder while he steered his canoe, which differed from the others 
 in having a somewhat higher stern. The whole appearance of 
 these boats is dingy and dirty, more so I believe than the reality.
 
 6 BANKS OF THE RIVER. 
 
 We were now approaching the side of the river opposite 
 Kedgeree : here all likeness to the Don disappeared, and nothing 
 met the eye but a dismal and unbroken line of thick, black, wood 
 and thicket, apparently impenetrable and interminable, which one 
 might easily imagine to be the habitation of every thing monstrous, 
 disgusting, and dangerous, from the tyger and the cobra di capello 
 down to the scorpion and mosquito, — from the thunder-storm to 
 the fever. We had seen the night before, the lightenings flash 
 incessantly and most majestically from this quarter ; and what we 
 now saw was not ill-fitted for a nursery of such storms as Southey 
 describes as prevailing m liis Padalon. The seamen and officers 
 spoke of this shore with horror, as the grave of all who were so 
 unfortunate as to remain many days in its neighbourhood ; and 
 even under our present brilliant sun, it required no great stretch 
 of fancy to picture feverish exhalations rising from every part of it. 
 As we drew nearer to the Sunderbunds then- appearance improved ; 
 the woods assumed a greater variety of green and of shade ; 
 several round-topped trees, and some low palms, were seen among 
 them, and a fresh vegetable fragrance was wafted from the shore. 
 The stream is here intense, and its struggle with the spring-tide 
 raises waves of a dark-coloured water, which put me in mind of 
 the river where Dante found the spirit of Filippo Argenti. I looked 
 with much interest on the first coco palms I saw, yet they rather 
 disappointed me. Their forms are indeed extremely graceful, but 
 their verdure is black and funereal, and they have something the 
 appearance of the plumes of feathers which are carried before a 
 hearse. Their presence, however, announced a more open and 
 habitable country. The jungle receded from the shore, and its 
 place was supphed by extremely green fields, like meadows, which 
 were said to be of rice, interspersed with small woods of round- 
 headed trees, and villages of huts, thatched, and with their mud 
 walls so low, that they looked like hay-stacks. 
 
 We anchored a few miles short of Diamond Harbour. The 
 current and ebb-tide together ran at a rate really tremendous,
 
 NATIVES. 7 
 
 amounting, as our pilot said, to 10 and 11 knots an hour. We 
 were surrounded soon after our anchoring by several passage ves- 
 sels ; among these was a beautiful ship of about 250 tons, with the 
 Company's Jack, and a long pendant, which we were told was the 
 Government yacht, sent down for our accommodation. 
 
 During this day and the next I made several fresh observations 
 on the persons and manners of the natives, by whom we were 
 surrounded. I record them, though I may hereafter see reason to 
 distrust in some shght degree their accuracy. I had observed a 
 thread hung round the necks of the fishermen who came first on 
 board, and now found that it was an ornament worn in honour of 
 some idol. The caste of fishermen does not rank high, though fish 
 is considered as one of the purest and most lawful kinds of food. 
 Nothing, indeed, seems more generally mistaken than the supposed 
 prohibition of animal food to the Hindoos. It is not from any 
 abstract desire to spare the life of living creatures, since fish would 
 be a violation of this principle as well as beef; but from other 
 notions of the hallowed or the polluted nature of particular viands. 
 Thus many Brahmins eat both fish and kid. The Rajpoots, be- 
 sides these, eat mutton, venison, or goat's flesh. Some castes may 
 eat any thing but fowls, beef, or pork ; while pork is with others 
 a favourite diet, and beef only is prohibited. Intoxicating liquors 
 are forbidden by their religion; but this is disregarded by 
 great numbers both of high and low caste; and intoxication is 
 little less common, as I am assured, among the Indians, than 
 among Europeans. Nor is it true that Hindoos are much more 
 healthy than Europeans. Liver-complaints, and indurations of the 
 spleen are very common among them, particularly with those in 
 easy circumstances, to which their immense consumption of " Ghee," 
 or clarified butter, must greatly contribute. To cholera morbus 
 they are much more liable than the whites, and there are some 
 kinds of fever which seem peculiar to the native race. 
 
 The great difference in colour between different natives struck 
 me much : of the crowd by whom we were surrounded, some were
 
 3 DIAMOND HARBOUR. 
 
 black as Negroes, others merely copper-coloured, and others little 
 darker than the Tunisines whom I have seen at Liverpool. Mr. 
 Mill, the principal of Bishop's College, who with Mr. Corrie, one 
 of the Chaplains in the Company's service, had come down to meet 
 me, and who has seen more of India than most men, tells me that 
 he cannot account for this diiference, which is general throughout 
 the country, and every where striking. It is not merely the differ- 
 ence of exposure, since this variety of tint is visible in the fish- 
 ermen who are naked all alike. Nor does it depend on caste, since 
 very high caste Brahmins are sometimes black, while Pariahs are 
 comparatively fair. It seems, therefore, to be an accidental differ- 
 ence, like that of light and dark complexions in Europe, though 
 where so much of the body is exposed to sight, it becomes more 
 striking here than in our own country. 
 
 At six o'clock in the evening of October the 6th, we went on 
 board the yacht, which we found a beautiful vessel, with large and 
 convenient cabins, fitted up in a very elegant and comfortable 
 manner ; and slept for the first time under mosquito curtains, and 
 on a mattrass of coco-nut coir, which though very hard is cool and 
 elastic. The greater part of this day was occupied in ecclesias- 
 tical business, so that I had less opportunity for observing the coun- 
 try and people round us. The former improves as we ascend the 
 river, and is now populous and highly cultivated. On the 7th 
 we left Diamond harbour, a place interesting as being the first 
 possession of the East India Company in Bengal ; but of bad repu- 
 tation for its unhealthiness, the whole country round being swampy. 
 Many ships were lying there. I saw no town, except a few native 
 huts, some ruinous warehouses, now neglected and in decay, and 
 an ugly brick dingy looking house with a flag-staff, belonging to the 
 harbour master. There are, however, many temptations for sea- 
 men among the native huts, several of them being spirit houses, 
 where a hot unwholesome toddy is sold. We proceeded with 
 a light breeze up the river, which still presents a considerable 
 uniformity of prospect, though of a richer and more pleasing kind
 
 ARAB VESSELS. 9 
 
 than we had seen before. The banks abound with villages, inter- 
 spersed with rice-fields, plantations of coco-palms, and groves of 
 trees of a considerable height, in colour and foliage resembling the 
 elm. We have seen one or two Pagodas, dingy buildings with one 
 or more high towers, like glass-houses. 
 
 The Hooghly is still of vast width and rapidity. Our ship 
 tacks in it as in a sea, and we meet many larger vessels descending. 
 One of these was pointed out to me as an Arab, of completely 
 European build, except that her stern was overloaded with open 
 galleries and verandahs, with three very tall masts, and carrying 
 more sail than English merchant ships generally do. She had 
 apparently a good many guns, was crowded with men, and had 
 every appearance of serving, as occasion required, for piracy as well 
 as traffic. Her " Rais,'' or master, had a loose purple dress on, 
 and her crew I thought were of fairer complexions than the Hin- 
 doos. These last perform their evolutions with a great deal of 
 noise, and talk most vociferously ; but the Arabs excelled them in 
 both these particulars. They shifted their sails with a clamour as 
 if they were going to board an enemy. The old clumsy Arab Dow 
 mentioned by Niebuhr is now seldom seen ; they buy many ships 
 from Europeans ; they build tolerable ones themselves, and even 
 their grabs, which still have an elongated bow, instead of a bow- 
 sprit, are described as often very fine vessels and good sailers. In 
 short, they are gradually becoming a formidable maritime people, 
 and are not unlikely to give farther and greater trouble in the 
 Indian Seas to ourselves and other European nations. 
 
 Accidents often happen in this great river, and storms are 
 frequent and violent. The river is now unusually high, and the 
 Brahmins have prophesied that it will rise fourteen cubits higher, 
 and drown all Calcutta; they might as well have said all Bengal, 
 since the province has scarcely any single eminence so high above 
 the river. Whenever we see the banks a few feet higher than 
 usual, we are told it is the dam of a ** tank," or large artificial pond. 
 The country is evidently most fertile and populous, and the whole 
 
 c
 
 10 
 
 MOHAMMEDAN SAILORS. 
 
 prospect of river and shore is extremely animated and interesting. 
 The vessel in which we are, is commanded by one of the senior 
 pilots of the Company's service, who with his mate, are the only 
 Europeans on board; the crew, forty in number, are Mohammedans, 
 middle-sized, active and vigorous, though slender. Their uniform 
 is merely a white turban of a singularly flat shape, a white shirt, 
 and trowsers, with a shawl wrapped round their hips. I was 
 amused to-day by seeing them preparing and eating their dinner, 
 seated in circles on the deck, with an immense dish of rice, and a 
 little sauce-boat of currie well seasoned with garlic, set between 
 every three or four men ; the quantity which they eat is very 
 great, and completely disproves the common opinion that rice is a 
 nourishing food. On the contrary, I am convinced that a fourth 
 part of the bulk of potatoes would satisfy the hunger of the most 
 robust and laborious. Potatoes are becoming gradually abundant 
 in Bengal ; at first they were here, as elsewhere, unpopular. Now 
 they are much liked, and are spoken of as the best thing which 
 the country has ever received from its European masters. At din- 
 ner these people sit, not like the Turks, but with the knees drawn 
 up like monkeys. 
 
 Their eating and drinking vessels are of copper, very bright 
 and well kept, and their whole appearance cleanly and decent, 
 their countenances more animated, but less mild and gentle than
 
 VILLAGE. 11 
 
 the Hindoos. They do not seem much troubled with the pre- 
 judices of Mohammedanism, yet there are some services which 
 they obviously render to their masters with reluctance. The 
 captain of the yacht ordered one of them, at my desire, to lay hold 
 of our spaniel ; the man made no difficulty, but afterwards rubbed 
 his hand against the side of the ship with an expression of disgust 
 which annoyed me, and I determined to spare their feelings in 
 future as much as possible. 
 
 We had hoped to reach Fulta, where there is an English 
 hotel, before night ; but the wind being foul, were obliged to 
 anchor a few miles short of it. After dinner, the heat being con- 
 siderably abated, we went in the yacht's boat to the nearest 
 shore. Before us was a large extent of swampy ground, but in a 
 high state of cultivation, and covered with green rice, offering an 
 appearance not unlike flax ; on our right was a moderate sized 
 village, and on the banks of the river a numerous herd of cattle 
 was feeding ; these are mostly red, or red and white, with humps 
 on their backs, nearly resembling those which I have seen at 
 Wynnstay and Combermere. Buffaloes are uncommon in the 
 lower parts of Bengal. As we approached the village, a number 
 of men and boys came out to meet us, all naked except the 
 Cummerbund, with very graceful figures, and distinguished by a 
 mildness of countenance almost approaching to effeminacy. They 
 regarded us with curiosity, and the children crowded round with 
 great familiarity. The objects which surrounded us were of 
 more than common beauty and interest ; the village, a collection 
 of mud- walled cottages, thatched, and many of them covered with 
 a creeping plant bearing a beautiful broad leaf, of the gourd 
 species, stood irregularly scattered in the midst of a wood of 
 coco-palms, fruit, and other trees, among which the banyan w^as 
 very conspicuous and beautiful ; we were cautioned against at- 
 tempting to enter the houses, as such a measure gives much 
 offence. Some of the natives, however, came up and offered to 
 shew us the way to the pagoda, — " the Temple," they said, *' of 
 
 c 2
 
 12 PAGODA. 
 
 Mahadeo." We followed them through the beautiful grove 
 which overshadowed their dwellings, by a winding and narrow 
 path ; the way was longer than we expected, and it was growing 
 dusk ; we persevered, however, and arrived in front of a small 
 building with three apertures in front, resembling lancet windows 
 of the age of Henry the Second. A flight of steps led up to it, 
 in which the Brahmin of the place was waiting to receive us, — an 
 elderly man, naked like his flock, but distinguished by a narrow 
 band of cotton twist thrown two or three times doubled across 
 his right shoulder and breast, like a scarf, which is a mark of dis- 
 tinction, worn, I understand, by all Brahmins ; a fine boy with a 
 similar badge, stood near him, and another man with the addition 
 of a white turban, came up and said he was a police-officer 
 (" police-wala"). The occurrence of this European word in a 
 scene so purely Oriental, had a whimsical effect. It was not, 
 however, the only one which we heard, for the Brahmin announced 
 himself to us as the " Padre" of the village, a name which they 
 have originally learnt from the Portuguese, but which is now 
 applied to religious persons of all descriptions all over India, even 
 in the most remote situations, and where no European penetrates 
 once in a century. The village we were now in, I was told, had 
 probably been very seldom visited by Europeans, since few per- 
 sons stop on the shore of the Ganges between Diamond Harbour 
 and Fulta. Few of the inhabitants spoke Hindoostanee. Mr. 
 Mill tried the Brahmin in Sanscrit, but found him very ignorant ; 
 he, indeed, owned it himself, and said in excuse, they were poor 
 people. 
 
 I greatly regretted I had no means of drawing a scene so 
 beautiful and interesting ; the sketch I have made is from recol- 
 lection, and every way unworthy of the subject.
 
 MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 13 
 
 I never recollect having more powerfully felt the beauty of 
 similar objects. The greenhouse-like smell and temperature of 
 the atmosphere which surrounded us, the exotic appearance of 
 the plants and of the people, the verdure of the fields, the dark 
 shadows of the trees, and the exuberant and neglected vigour of 
 the soil, teeming w ith life and food, neglected, as it were, out of 
 pure abundance, would have been striking under any circumstan- 
 ces ; they were still more so to persons just landed from a three 
 months' voyage ; and to me, when associated with the recollection 
 of the objects which have brought me out to India, the amiable 
 manners and countenances of the people, contrasted witli the 
 symbols of their foolish and polluted idolatry now first before me, 
 impressed me with a very solemn and earnest wish that I might 
 in some degree, however small, be enabled to conduce to the 
 spiritual advantage of creatures so goodly, so gentle, and now so 
 misled and blinded. '' Angeli forent, si essent Christiani !" As 
 the sun went down, many monstrous bats, bigger than the largest
 
 14 COTTAGES. 
 
 crows I have seen, and chiefly to be distinguished from them by 
 their indented wings, unloosed their hold from the palm-trees, 
 and sailed slowly around us. They might have been supposed 
 the guardian genii of the pagoda. 
 
 During the night and the whole of the next day, the wind was 
 either contrary, or so light as not to enable us to stem the current ; 
 it was intensely hot; the thermometer stood at about 96°. The 
 commander of our vessel went this morning to a market held in 
 a neighbouring village, to purchase some trifles for the vessel ; and 
 it may shew the poverty of the country, and the cheapness of the 
 different articles, to observe, that having bought all the commodi- 
 ties which he wanted for a few pice ^ he was unable in the whole 
 market to get change for a rupee, or about two shillings. 
 
 In the evening w^e again went on shore, to another village, 
 resembling the first in its essential features, but placed in a 
 yet more fertile soil. The houses stood literally in a thicket of 
 fruit trees, plaintains, and flowering shrubs; the muddy ponds 
 were covered with the broad-leaved lotus, and the adjacent 
 " paddy," or rice-fields, were terminated by a w^ood of tall coco- 
 nut trees, between whose stems the light was visible, pretty much 
 like a grove of Scotch firs. I here remarked the difference be- 
 tween the coco and the palmira : the latter wdth a narrower leaf 
 than the former, and at this time of year without fruit, with which 
 the other abounded. For a few pice one of the lads climbed up 
 the tallest of these with great agility, notwithstanding the total 
 want of boughs, and the slipperiness of the bark. My wife was 
 anxious to look into one of their houses, but found its owners un- 
 willing to allow her. At length one old fellow-, I believe to get us 
 away from his own threshold, said he w^ould shew us a very fine 
 house. We followed him to a cottage somewhat larger than 
 those which we had yet seen ; but on our entering its little 
 court-yard, the people came in much earnestness to prevent our 
 
 " A small copper coin, about the value of our halfpenny. — Ed.
 
 INDIAN FARM-YARD. 15 
 
 proceeding farther. We had, however, a fair opportunity of seeing 
 an Indian farm-yard and homestead. In front was a small mud 
 building, with a thatched verandah looking towards the village, 
 and behind was a court filled with coco-nut husk, and a little rice 
 straw ; in the centre of this was a round thatched building, raised 
 on bamboos about a foot from the ground, which they said was a 
 " Goliah,'' or granary ; round it were small mud cottages, each to 
 all appearance an apartment in the dwelling. In one corner was 
 a little mill, something like a crab-mill, to be worked by a man, for 
 separating the rice from the husk. By all which we could see 
 through the open doors, the floor of the apartments was of clay, 
 devoid of furniture and light, except what the door admitted. A 
 Brahmin now appeared, a formal pompous man, who spoke better 
 Hindoostanee than the one whom we had seen before. I was sur- 
 prised to find that in these villages, and Mr. Mill tells me that it 
 is the case almost all over India, the word *'Grigi," a corruption of 
 " Ecclesia," is employed when speaking of any place of worship. 
 Many of these people looked unhealthy. Their village and its 
 vicinity appeared to owe their fertility to excessive humidity under 
 a burning sun. Many of the huts were surrounded by stagnant 
 water ; and near the entrance of one of them they shewed us a 
 little elevated mound like a grave, which they said was their refuge 
 when the last inundation was at its height. So closely and mys- 
 teriously do the instruments of production and destruction, plenty 
 and pestilence, life and death, tread on the heels of each other ! 
 
 Besides tamarinds, cocos, palmiras, plantains, and banyans, 
 there were some other trees of which we could not learn the 
 European name. One was the neem, a tree not very unlike the 
 acacia, the leaves of which are used to keep moths from books and 
 clothes. Another I supposed to be the manchineel, — a tree like a 
 very large rhododendron, but now without flowers ; its thick club- 
 ended branches, when wounded, exuded a milky juice in large 
 quantities, which the natives said would blister the fingers. We 
 saw one jackall run into the w^oods : the cries of these animals
 
 16 MALDIVIAN VESSELS. 
 
 grew loud and incessant as we returned to the ship, and so nearly 
 resembled the voice of children at play, that it was scarcely pos- 
 sible at first to ascribe them to any other source. On our arrival 
 at the vessel we found two Bholiahs, or large row boats, with con- 
 venient cabins, sent to take us up the river, as it was impossible, 
 with such light winds, for the yacht to stem the force of the 
 current. 
 
 October 10. — At 2 o'clock this afternoon, we set out for Cal- 
 cutta in the Bholiahs, and had a very delightful and interesting 
 passage up the river, partly with sails, and partly with oars. The 
 country, as we drew nearer the capital, advanced in population ; 
 and the river was filled with vessels of every description. Among 
 these, I was again greatly struck by the Maldivian vessels, close to 
 some of W'hich our boat passed. Their size appeared to me from 
 150 to near 200 tons, raised to an immense height above the water 
 by upper works of split bamboo, with a very lofty head and stern, 
 immense sails, and crowded with a wild and energetic looking race 
 of mariners, who Captain Manning told me were really bold and 
 expert fellows, and the vessels better sea-boats than their clumsy 
 forms would lead one to anticipate. Bengalee and Chittagong 
 vessels, with high heads and sterns, were also numerous. In 
 both these the immense size of the rudders, suspended by ropes to 
 the vessel's stern, and worked by a helmsman, raised at a great 
 height above the vessel, chiefly attracted attention. There were 
 many other vessels, which implied a gradual adoption of European 
 habits, being brigs and sloops, very clumsily and injudiciously 
 rigged, but still improvements on the old Indian ships. Extensive 
 plantations of sugar-cane, and numerous cottages, resembling those 
 we had already seen, appeared among the groves of coco-nut and 
 other fruit trees, which covered the greater part of the shore ; a 
 few cows were tethered on the banks, and some large brick-fields 
 w'ith sheds like those in England, and here and there a white 
 staring European house, with plantations and shrubberies, gave 
 notice of our approach to an European capital. At a distance of
 
 APPROACH TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 17 
 
 about nine miles from the place where we had left the yacht, we 
 landed among some tall bamboos, and walked about a quarter of a 
 mile to the front of a very dingy, deserted looking house, not very 
 unlike a country gentleman's house in Russia, near some powder 
 mills ; here we found carriages waiting for us, drawn by small horses 
 with switch tails, and driven by postillions with whiskers, turbans, 
 bare legs and arms, and blue jackets with tawdry yellow lace. 
 A '' saees," or groom, ran by the side of each horse, and behind one 
 of them were two decent looking men with long beards and white 
 cotton dresses, who introduced themselves as my Peons or Hur- 
 karus ; their badges were a short mace or club of silver, of a 
 crooked form, and terminating in a tyger's head, something re- 
 sembling a Dacian standard, as represented on Trajan's pillar, and 
 a long silver stick with a knob at the head. 
 
 We set out at a round trot ; the saeeses keeping their places very 
 nimbly on each side of us, though on foot, along a raised, broadish, 
 but bad road, with deep ditches of stagnant water on each side, 
 beyond which stretched out an apparently interminable wood of 
 fruit trees, interspersed with cottages : some seemed to be shops, 
 being entirely open with verandahs, and all chiefly made up of 
 mats and twisted bamboo. The crowd of people was con^ider- 
 
 D
 
 18 APPROACH TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 able, and kept up something like the appearance of a fair along 
 the whole line of road. Many were in bullock carts, others driving 
 loaded bullocks before them, a few had wretched poneys, which, 
 as well as the bullocks, bore too many and indubitable marks of 
 neo'lect and hard treatment ; the manner in which the Hindoos 
 seemed to treat even their horned cattle, sacred as they are from the 
 butcher's knife, appeared far worse than that which often disgusts 
 the eye and wounds the feelings of a passenger through London. 
 
 Few women were seen; those who appeared had somewhat more 
 clothing than the men, — a coarse white veil, or " chuddah," thrown 
 over their heads without hiding their faces, their arms bare, and 
 ornamented with large silver *' bangles," or bracelets. The shops 
 contained a few iron tools hanging up, some slips of coarse 
 coloured cotton, plantains hanging in bunches, while the ground 
 was covered with earthen vessels, and a display of rice and some 
 kind of pulse heaped up on sheets ; in the midst of which, smoking 
 a sort of rude hookah, made of a short pipe and a coco-nut shell, 
 the trader was squatted on the ground. 
 
 By degrees we began to see dingy brick buildings of more pre- 
 tensions to architecture, but far more ugly than the rudest bamboo 
 hut, — the abodes of Hindoos or Mussulmans of the middle class, 
 flat-roofed, with narrow casement windows, and enclosed by a brick 
 wall, which prevented all curious eyes from prying into their 
 domestic economy. These were soon after mingled with the large 
 and handsome edifices of Garden Reach, each standing by itself 
 in a little woody lawn (a " compound" they call it here, by an easy 
 corruption from the Portuguese word Campaila,) and consisting of 
 one or more stories, with a Grecian verandah along their whole 
 length of front. As we entered Kidderpoor, European carriages 
 were seen, and our eyes were met by a Police soldier, standing sen- 
 try in the corner of the street, nearly naked, but armed with a 
 sabre and shield, — a pagoda or two, — a greater variety of articles in 
 the shops, — a greater crowd in the streets, — and a considerable 
 number of " caranchies," or native carriages, each drawn by two
 
 ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. 19 
 
 horses, and looking like the skeletons of hackney coaches in our 
 own country. 
 
 From Kidderpoor we passed by a mean wooden bridge over 
 a muddy creek, which brought us to an extensive open plain like a 
 race course, at the extremity of which we saw Calcutta, its white 
 houses glittering through the twilight, which was now beginning 
 to close in, with an effect not unlike that of Connaught-place and 
 its neighbourhood, as seen from a distance across Hyde Park. 
 Over this plain we drove to the Fort, where Lord Amherst has 
 assigned the old Government house for our temporary residence. 
 The Fort stands considerably to the south of Calcutta and west of 
 Chowringhee, having the Hooghly on its west side. The degree 
 of light which now remained rendered all its details indistinguish- 
 able, and it was only when we began to wind through the different 
 works, and to hear the clash of the sentries presenting ai-ms as we 
 passed, that we knew we were approaching a military post of great 
 extent and considerable importance. We at length alighted at the 
 door of our temporary abode, a large and very handsome building 
 in the centre of the Fort, and of the vast square formed by its 
 barracks and other buildings. This square is grassed over, and 
 divided by broad roads of " pucka," or pounded brick, with avenues 
 of tall trees stocked with immense flights of crows, which had not 
 yet ceased their evening concert when we arrived. We found at 
 the door two sentries, resembling Europeans in every thing but 
 complexion, which indeed was far less swarthy than that of the 
 other natives whom we had hitherto seen, and were received by 
 a long train of servants in cotton dresses and turbans ; one of 
 them with a long silver stick, and another with a short mace, 
 answering to those of the Peons who had received us at the landing 
 place. 
 
 The house consisted of a lofty and well-proportioned hall, 
 40 feet by 25, a drawing-room of the same length, and six or seven 
 rooms all on the same floor, one of which served as a Chapel, the 
 
 d2
 
 20 ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. 
 
 lower story being chiefly occupied as offices or lobbies. All these 
 rooms were very lofty, with many doors and windows on every side ; 
 the floors of plaister, covered with mats ; the ceilings of bricks, 
 plaistered also, flat, and supported by massive beams, which were 
 visible from the rooms below, but being painted neatly had not at 
 all a bad effect. Punkas, large frames of light wood covered with 
 white cotton, and looking not unlike enormous fire-boards, hung 
 from the ceilings of the principal apartments ; to which cords were 
 fastened, which were drawn backwards and forwards by one or 
 more servants, so as to agitate and cool the air very agreeably. 
 The walls were white and unadorned, except with a number of 
 glass lamps filled with coco-nut oil, and the furniture, though suf- 
 ficient for the climate, was scanty in comparison with that of an 
 Enghsh house. The beds instead of curtains had mosquito nets ; 
 they were raised high from the ground and very hard, admirably 
 adapted for a hot climate. 
 
 1 had then the ceremony to go through of being made ac- 
 quainted with a considerable number of my Clergy. Among whom 
 was my old school-fellow at Whitchurch, Mr. Parsons, some years 
 older than myself, whom I recollect when I was quite an urchin. 
 Then all our new servants were paraded before us under their 
 respective names of Chobdars \ Sotaburdars ', Hurkarus ', Khan- 
 saman '*, Abdar % Sherabdar f, Khitmutgars ^ Sirdar Bearer ^ and 
 Bearers, cum multis aliis. Of all these, however, the Sircar ' was 
 the most conspicuous, — a tall fine looking man, in a white muslin 
 dress, speaking good English, and the editor of a Bengalee news- 
 paper, who appeared with a large silken and embroidered purse 
 full of silver coins, and presented it to us, in order that we might 
 go through the form of receiving it, and replacing it in his hands. 
 
 ' Men who carry silver sticks before people of rank; or Messengers, all bearing the 
 generic appellation of Peons. "^ Steward. ^ Water Cooler. ^ Butler. ^ Foot- 
 men. ^ Head of all the Bearers, and Valet de Chambre. ^ Agent.— Ed.
 
 ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. 21 
 
 This, I then supposed, was a badge of his office, but I afterwards 
 found that it was the rehc of the ancient Eastern custom of never 
 approaching a superior without a present, and that in Hke manner 
 all the natives who visited me offered a " nuzzur," or offering, of a 
 piece of gold or silver money.
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Calcutta — Description of Calcutta: Cathedral: Environs: Quay — Child-murder— -Barrack- 
 poor : Menagerie — Female Orphan Asylum — Consecration of Churches — Ndch — Free 
 School — Botanical Garden — Bishop^s College — Native Female Schools — Distress among 
 Europeans. 
 
 October 11. — In the morning as the day broke, (before which 
 time is the usual hour of rising in India) we were much struck by 
 the singular spectacle before us. Besides the usual apparatus of 
 a place of arms, the walks, roofs, and ramparts, swarmed with 
 gigantic birds, the " hurgila," from " hur," a bone, and " gilana," 
 to swallow, larger than the largest Turkey, and twice as taU as 
 the heron, which in some respects they much resemble, except 
 that they have a large blue and red pouch under the lower bill, 
 in which we were told they keep such food as they cannot eat at 
 the moment \ These birds share with the jackalls, who enter 
 the fort through the drains, the post of scavenger, but unlike 
 them, instead of flying mankind and daylight, lounge about with 
 perfect fearlessness all day long, and almost jostle us from our 
 paths. We walked some time round the square, and were amused 
 to see our little girl, walking with her nurse, in great delight at 
 the animals round her, but rather encumbered with the number 
 of servants who had attached themselves to her. For her especial 
 
 ' It has since hecn ascertained by dissection, that this pouch has no connection with the 
 stomach, — but has a very small tube opening into the nostril, — through which it is supposed 
 air is admitted to enable the bird to breathe when the orifice of the throat is closed by any large 
 substance, which it attempts, for some time in vain, to swallow. At such time the pouch is 
 in this way inflated with air, and respiration goes on unimpeded. — Ed.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF CALCUTTA. 23 
 
 service, a bearer, a khitmutgar, a hurkaru, and a cook, were appoint- 
 ed, and there were besides the two former, one of the silver sticks 
 with her, and another bearer with a monstrous umbrella on a long 
 bamboo pole, which he held over her head in the manner repre- 
 sented on Chinese screens ; — my wife soon reduced her nursery 
 establishment, — but we afterwards found that it is the custom in 
 Calcutta to go to great expence in the equipage of children. 
 
 A lady told us she had seen a little boy of six years old, 
 paraded in a poney phaeton and pair, with his " Ayah," or nurse, 
 coachman, " Chattah-burdar," or umbrella-bearer, a Saees on each 
 side, and another behind, leading a third poney, splendidly capari- 
 soned, not in case the young Sahib should chuse to ride, he was too 
 young for that, — but, as the Saees himself expressed it, " for the 
 look of the thing." This, however, rather belongs to old times, 
 when as a gentleman assured me, he had himself heard at the 
 dinner party of one of the Company's civil servants, a herald pro- 
 claiming aloud all the great man's titles ; and when a palankeen 
 with the silk, brocade, and gilding which then adorned it, fre- 
 quently cost 3000 ^ rupees ; at present people are poorer and 
 wiser. 
 
 The approach to the city from the fort is striking ; — we 
 crossed a large green plain, having on the left the Hooghly, with 
 its forest of masts and sails seen through the stems of a double 
 row of trees. On the right-hand is the district called Chowringhee, 
 lately a mere scattered suburb, but now almost as closely built as, 
 and very little less extensive than, Calcutta. In front was the 
 esplanade, containing the Town Hall, the Government House, 
 and many handsome private dwellings, — the whole, so like some 
 parts of Petersburgh, that it was hardly possible for me to fancy 
 myself any where else. No native dwellings are visible from 
 this quarter, except one extensive but ruinous bazar, which occu- 
 pies the angle where Calcutta and Chowringhee join. Behind 
 
 The highest price of an English built palankeen in the present day, is 300 rupees, 
 
 ,— Ed.
 
 24 CATHEDRAL. 
 
 the esplanade, however, are only Tank-square, and some other 
 streets occupied by Europeans, — ^the Durrumtollah and Cossitollah 
 are pretty equally divided between the different nations, and all 
 the west of Calcutta is a vast tow^n, composed of narrow crooked 
 streets, brick bazars, bamboo huts, and here and there the 
 immense convent-like mansion of some of the more wealthy 
 " Baboos" (the name of the native Hindoo gentleman, answering 
 to our Esquire) or Indian merchants and bankers. The Town- 
 hall has no other merit than size, but the Government-house 
 has narrowly missed being a noble structure ; it consists of two 
 semicircular galleries, placed back to back, uniting in the centre 
 in a large hall, and connecting four splendid suites of apartments. 
 Its columns are, however, in a paltry style, and instead of having, 
 as it miffht have had, two noble stories and a basement, it has 
 three stories, all too low, and is too much pierced with windows 
 on every side. I was here introduced to Lord Amherst ; and 
 afterwards went to the Cathedral, where I was installed. This is 
 a very pretty building, all but the spire, which is short and 
 clumsy. The whole composition, indeed, of the Church, is full 
 of architectural blunders, but still it is in other respects hand- 
 some. The inside is elegant, paved with marble, and furnished 
 with very large and handsome glass chandeliers, the gift of Mr. 
 M'Chntoch, with a hght pulpit, with chairs on one side of the 
 chancel for the Governor-General and his family, and on the other 
 for the Bishop and Archdeacon. We dined to-day at the Govern- 
 ment-house ; to a stranger the appearance of the bearded and 
 turbaned waiters is striking. 
 
 October 12. — This was Sunday. I preached, and we had a 
 good congregation. 
 
 October 13. — We drive out twice a day on the course ; I am 
 much disappointed as to the splendor of the equipages, of which 
 I had heard so much in England ; the horses are most of them 
 both small and poor, while the dirty white dresses and bare limbs 
 of their attendants, have to an unaccustomed eye an appearance of
 
 ENVIRONS. 25f 
 
 any thing but wealth and luxury. Calcutta stands on an almost 
 perfect level of alluvial and marshy ground, which a century ago 
 was covered with jungle and stagnant pools, and which still 
 almost every where betrays its unsoundness by the cracks conspi- 
 cuous in the best houses. To the East, at the distance of four 
 miles and a half, is a large but shallow lagoon of salt water, being 
 the termination of the Sunderbunds, from which a canal is cut 
 pretty nearly to the town, and towards which all the drainings of 
 the city flow, what little difference of level there is, being in 
 favour of the banks of the river. Between the salt lake and the 
 city, the space is filled by gardens, fruit trees, and the dwellings 
 of the natives, some of them of considerable size, but mostly 
 wretched huts, all clustered in irregular groupes round large 
 square tanks, and connected by narrow, winding, unpaved streets 
 and lanes, amid tufts of bamboos, coco-trees, and plantains, 
 picturesque and striking to the sight, but extremely offensive to 
 the smell, from the quantity of putrid water, the fumes of wood 
 smoke, coco-nut oil, and above all the ghee, which is to the 
 Hindoo his principal luxury. Few Europeans live here, and 
 those few, such as the Missionaries employed by the Church 
 Missionary Society in Mirzapoor, are said to suffer greatly from 
 the climate. Even my Sircar, though a native, in speaking of 
 the neighbouring district of Dhee Intally, said that he himself 
 never went near the " bad water" which flows up from the salt 
 water lake, without sickness and head-ache. 
 
 To the South, a branch of the Hooghly flows also into the 
 Sunderbunds. It is called, by Europeans, Tolly's Nullah, but 
 the natives regard it as the true Gunga, the wide stream being, 
 as they pretend, the work of human and impious hands, at some 
 early period of their history. In consequence no person worships 
 the river between Kidderpoor and the sea, while this compara- 
 tively insignificant ditch enjoys all the same divine honours which 
 the Ganges and the Hooghly enjoy during the earlier parts of 
 their course. The banks of the Tolly's Nullah are covered by 
 
 E
 
 26 ENVIRONS. 
 
 two large and nearly contiguous villages, Kidderpoor and Allypoor, 
 as well as by several considerable European houses, and are said 
 to be remarkably dry and wholesome. To the North is a vast 
 extent of fertile country, divided into rice-fields, orchards and 
 gardens, covered with a thick shade of fruit trees, and swarming 
 with an innumerable population, occupying the large suburbs of 
 Cossipoor, Chitpoor, &c. This tract resembles in general appear- 
 ance, the eastern suburb, but is drier, healthier, and more open ; 
 through it lie the two great roads to Dum Dum and Barrackpoor. 
 Westward flows the Hooghly, at least twice as broad as the 
 Thames below London Bridge, — covered with large ships and 
 craft of all kind, and offering on its farther bank the prospect of 
 another considerable suburb, that of Howrah, chiefly inhabited 
 by ship-builders, but with some pretty villas interspersed. The 
 road which borders Calcutta and Chowringhee, is called, whimsi- 
 cally enough, " the circular road," and runs along nearly the same 
 line which was once occupied by a wide ditch and earthen fortifi- 
 cation, raised on occasion of the Maharatta war. This is the 
 boundary of the liberties of Calcutta, and of English law. All 
 offences committed wdthin this line are tried by the " Sudder 
 Adawlut," or Supreme Court of Justice ; — those beyond, fall in 
 the first instance, within the cognizance of the local magistracy, 
 and in case of appeal are determined by the " Sudder Dewannee," 
 or Court of the People in Chowringhee, whose proceedings are 
 guided by the Koran and the laws of Menu. 
 
 From the North-west angle of the fort to the city, along the 
 banks of the Hooghly, is a walk of pounded brick, covered with 
 sand, the usual material of the roads and streets in and near 
 Calcutta, with a row of trees on each side, and about its centre a 
 flight of steps to descend to the river, which in the morning, a 
 little after sun-rise, are generally crowded with persons, washing 
 themselves and performing their devotions, of which indeed, ab- 
 lution is an essential and leading part. The rest consists, in 
 general, in repeatedly touching the forehead and cheeks with
 
 QUAY. 27 
 
 white, red, or yellow earth, and exclamations of Ram ! Ram ! 
 There are some Brahmins however, always about this time 
 seated on the bank under the trees, who keep counting their 
 beads, turning over the leaves of their banana-leaf books, and 
 muttering their prayers with considerable seeming devotion, and 
 for a long time together. These are " Gooroos," or Rehgious 
 Teachers, and seem considerably respected. Children and young 
 persons are seen continually kneeling down to them, and making 
 them little offerings, but the wealthier Hindoos seldom stop 
 their palankeens for such a purpose. Where the esplanade walk 
 joins Calcutta, a very handsome quay is continued along the side 
 of the river ; resembling in every thing but the durability of 
 material, the quays of Petersburgh. It is unhappily of brick 
 instead of granite, and is as yet unfinished, but many houses 
 and public buildings are rising on it, and it bids fair to be a very 
 great additional ornament and convenience to Calcutta. Vessels 
 of all descriptions, to the burden of 600 tons, may lie almost close 
 up to this quay, and there is always a crowd of ships and 
 barks, as well as a very interesting assemblage of strangers of 
 all sorts and nations to be seen. Of these, perhaps the Arabs, 
 who are numerous, are the most striking, from their comparative 
 fairness, their fine bony and muscular figures, their noble counte- 
 nances and picturesque dress. That of a wealthy Arab " Nacoda," 
 or captain, is pretty much what may be seen in Niebuhr's Travels, 
 as that of an emir of Yemen. They are said to be extremely 
 intelligent, bold, and active, but very dirty in their ships, and 
 excessively vain and insolent whenever they have the opportunity 
 of being so with impunity. 
 
 The crowd on this quay, and in every part of Calcutta, is 
 great. No fighting, however, is visible, though we hear a great 
 deal of scolding. A Hindoo hardly ever strikes an equal, however 
 severely he may be provoked. The Arabs, as well as the Portu- 
 guese, are less patient, and at night, frays and even murders in the 
 streets are of no unfrequent occurrence, chiefly, however, among 
 
 E 2
 
 28 CHILD MURDER. 
 
 the two descriptions of persons whom I have named. There are 
 amonty the Hindoos very frequent instances of murder, but of a 
 more cowardly and premeditated kind. They are cases chiefly of 
 women murdered from jealousy, and children for the sake of the 
 silver ornaments with which their parents are fond of decorating 
 them. Out of thirty-six cases of murder reported in the province 
 of Bengal, during the short space of, I believe, three months, 
 seventeen were of children under these circumstances. 
 
 Though no slavery legally exists in the British territories at 
 this moment, yet the terms and gestures used by servants to their 
 superiors, all imply that such a distinction w^as, at no distant date, 
 very common. " I am thy slave," — " Thy slave hath no knowledge," 
 are continually used as expressions of submission and of ignorance. 
 In general, however, I do not think that the Bengalee servants are 
 more submissive or respectful to their masters than those of Europe. 
 The habit of appearing w4th bare feet in the house, the manner of 
 addressing their superiors by joining the hands as in the attitude 
 of prayer, at first give them such an appearance. But these are in 
 fact nothing more than taking off the hat, or bowing, in England ; 
 and the person who acts thus, is as likely to speak saucily, or ne- 
 glect our orders, as any English footman or groom. Some of their 
 expressions, indeed, are often misunderstood by new comers as 
 uncivil, when nothing less than incivility is intended. If you 
 bid a man order breakfast, he will answer, " Have I not ordered 
 it ?" or, " Is it not already coming ? " merely meaning to express 
 his own alacrity in obeying you. They are, on the whole, intelh- 
 gent, and are very attentive to supply your wishes, even half, or 
 not at all expressed. Masters seldom furnish any liveries, except 
 turbans or girdles, which are of some distinctive colour and lace ; 
 the rest of the servant's dress is the cotton shirt, caftan, and 
 trowsers of the country, and they are by no means exact as to 
 its cleanliness. The servants of the Governor-General have very 
 handsome scarlet and gold caftans. 
 
 The Governor-General has a very pretty country residence at
 
 BARRACKPOOR. 29 
 
 Barrackpoor, a cantonment of troops about 16 miles north of Cal- 
 cutta, in a small park of (I should guess) from 2 to 300 acres, on 
 the banks of the Hooghly, offering as beautiful a display of turf, 
 tree, and flowering shrub, as any scene in the world can produce. 
 The view of the river, though less broad here than at Calcutta, 
 is very fine ; and the Danish settlement of Serampoor, which 
 stands on the opposite bank, with its little spire, its flag-staff, 
 its neat white buildings, is at this distance a very pleasing object. 
 The house itself of Barrackpoor is handsome, containing three 
 fine sitting-rooms, though but few bed-chambers. Indeed, as in 
 this climate no sleeping-rooms are even tolerable, unless they 
 admit the southern breeze, there can be but few in any house. 
 Accordingly, that of Barrackpoor barely accommodates Lord 
 Amherst's own family ; and his Aides-du-Camp and visitors sleep 
 in bungalows, built at some little distance from it, in the park. 
 " Bungalow," a corruption of Bengalee, is the general name in 
 this country for any structure in the cottage style, and only of one 
 floor. Some of these are spacious and comfortable dwellings, 
 generally with high thatched roofs, surrounded with a verandah, 
 and containing three or four good apartments, with bath-rooms and 
 dressing-rooms, enclosed from the eastern, western, or northern 
 verandahs. The south is always left open. We went to Bar- 
 rackpoor the 28th of October. The road runs all the way between 
 gardens and orchards, so that the traveller is seldom without shade. 
 Our journey we made before eight o'clock, no travelling being prac- 
 ticable at this season of the year with comfort, aflerwards. We 
 staid two days, and were greatly pleased with every thing we saw, 
 and above all with the kindness of Lord and Lady Amherst. 
 
 At Barrackpoor, for the first time, I mounted an elephant, the 
 motion of which I thought far from disagreeable, though very dif- 
 ferent from that of a horse. As the animal moves both feet on the 
 same side at once, the sensation is like that of being carried on a 
 man's shoulders. A full-grown elephant carries two persons in the 
 "howdah," besides the " mohout," or driver, who sits on his neck,
 
 30 ELEPHANTS— PUNISHMENTS. 
 
 and a servant on the crupper behind with an umbrella. The 
 howdah itself, which Europeans use, is not unlike the body of a 
 small <y\g, but without a head. The native howdahs have a far less 
 elevated seat, and are much more ornamented. At Calcutta, or 
 within five miles of it, no elephants are allowed, on account of the 
 frequent accidents which they occasion by frightening horses. 
 Those at Barrackpoor were larger animals than I had expected to 
 see, two of them were at least ten feet high. That which Lord 
 Amherst rode, and on which I accompanied him, was a very noble 
 fellow, dressed up in splendid trappings, which were a present from 
 the king of Oude, and ornamented all over with fish embroidered 
 in gold, a device which is here considered a badge of royalty. I 
 was amused by one peculiarity, which I had never before heard of; 
 while the elephant is going on, a man walks by his side, telling 
 him where to tread, bidding him " take care," — " step out," warn- 
 ing him that the road is rough, slippery, &c., all which the animal 
 is supposed to understand, and take his measures accordingly. 
 The mohout says nothing, but guides him by pressing his legs to 
 his neck, on the side to which he wishes him to turn, urging him 
 forwards with the point of a formidable goad, and stopping him by 
 a blow on the forehead with the but end of the same instrument. 
 The command these men have over their elephants is well known, 
 and a circumstance lately occurred of one of them making a sign 
 to his beast, which was instantly obeyed, to kill a woman who had 
 said something to offend him. The man was executed before our 
 arrival. 
 
 Capital punishments are described as far from frequent, and 
 appear to be inflicted for murder only ; for smaller crimes, offend- 
 ers are sentenced to hard labour, and are seen at work in the 
 public roads, and about the barracks, in groupes more or less nu- 
 merous, each man with fetters on his legs, and watched by police- 
 men, or sepoys. These poor creatures, whatever their original 
 crimes may have been, are probably still more hardened by a 
 punishment which thus daily, and for a length of time together,
 
 xMENAGERIE. 
 
 31 
 
 exposes them in a degraded and abject condition, to the eyes of 
 men. I never saw countenances so ferocious and desperate as 
 many of them offer, and which are the more remarkable as being 
 contrasted with the calmness and almost feminine mildness which 
 generally characterizes the Indian expression of features. What 
 indeed can be expected in men who have neither the consolations 
 of Christianity, nor the pity of their brethren, — who are without 
 hope in this world, and have no just idea of any world but this ! 
 
 The cantonment of Barrackpoor is very pretty, consisting of 
 a large village inhabited by soldiers, with bungalows for the 
 European officers and other white inhabitants, who are attracted 
 hither by the salubrity of the air, the vicinity of the Governor's 
 residence, or the beauty and convenience of the river. In the 
 Park several uncommon animals are kept : among them the Ghyal, 
 an animal of which I had not, to my recollection, read any account, 
 though the name was not unknown to me. It is a very noble 
 creature, of the ox or buffalo kind, with immensely large horns, 
 and a native of Thibet and Nepaul. 
 
 It is very much larger than the largest Indian cattle, but hardly 
 I think equal to an English bull : its tail is bushy, and its horns
 
 32 MENAGERIE. 
 
 form almost a mass of white and solid bone to the centre of its fore- 
 head. It is very tame and gentle, and would, I should think, be a 
 creat improvement on the common Indian breed of horned cattle. 
 There is also another beautiful animal of the ass kind, from the 
 Cape of Good Hope, which is kept in a stall, and led about by 
 two men to exercise daily. They complain of its wild and un- 
 tameable spirit, and when I saw it, had hampered its mouth with 
 such an apparatus of bit and bridle that the poor thing was almost 
 choked. It is extremely strong and bony, of beautiful form, has 
 a fine eye and good countenance, and though not striped like the 
 zebra, is beautifully clouded with different tints of ash and mouse 
 colour. We met two lynxes, or " siya gush," during our ride, also 
 taking the air, led each in a chain by his keeper, one of them in 
 body clothes, like an English greyhound, both perfectly tame, and 
 extremely beautiful creatures, about the size of a large spaniel, and 
 in form and colour something between a fox and a cat, but with 
 the silky fur and characteristic actions of the latter. The other 
 animals, consisting of two or three tygers and leopards, two dif- 
 ferent kinds of bears — one Bengalee, the other from Sincapoor, 
 a porcupine, a kangaroo, monkeys, mouse-deer, birds, &c. are 
 kept in a menagerie, their dens all very clean, and, except 
 one of the bears and one hyaena, all very tame. The Bengalee 
 bears are precisely of the same kind with that which is described 
 and drawn, but without a name, in " Bewick's Quadrupeds," as 
 said to be brought from Bengal. They are fond of vegeta- 
 bles, and almost exclusively fed on them ; three of these are very 
 good-natured, and shew their impatience for their meals, (after 
 which they are said to be very greedy,) only by a moaning noise, 
 raising themselves upright against the bars of the cage, and caress- 
 ing, in a most plaintive and coaxing way, any person who approaches 
 them. The fourth is a very surly fellow, always keeps himself in 
 a corner of his den, with his face turned away from the light and 
 the visitants, and if at all teazed, turns about in furious wrath. 
 The Sincapoor bear is smaller than the others, and a very beautiful
 
 FEMALE ORPHAN SCHOOL. 33 
 
 animal, with a fine, black, close fur, a tan muzzle and breast, very 
 playful, and not greedy. All of them climb like cats, notwith- 
 standing their bulk, which equals that of a large Russian bear. 
 They were at one time supposed to be ant-eaters, but, Dr. Abel 
 says, erroneously. They burrow in the ground, have longer snouts 
 and claws than our European bears, and struck me forcibly as 
 a link between the badger and the common bear, though in every 
 thing but their vivacity they bear a general resemblance to the 
 sloth, or bradypus. 
 
 While we were at Barrackpoor, a cobra di capello was killed 
 close to our bungalow ; it was talked of by the natives in a 
 manner which proved them not to be common. In Calcutta 
 poisonous snakes are very seldom seen ; nor are they any where to 
 be much apprehended, except one goes into old ruins, neglected 
 pagodas, or dry and rubbishy places, where Europeans have not 
 often occasion to tread. The water- snakes, which are met with in 
 moist places, are very seldom dangerous. Alligators sometimes 
 come on shore to bask, and there is one in a small pond in the 
 park. They are of two kinds, one, which seems hke the common 
 crocodile of the Nile, has a long nose, and is harmless, unless pro- 
 voked. The other is somewhat smaller, has a round snubbed 
 head, and frequently attacks dogs and other similar animals, and is 
 sometimes dangerous to men who go into the river. I suspect that 
 both these kinds are found in Egypt, or have been so in ancient 
 times. I cannot else account for the remarkable discrepancy of 
 the relations which are given us respecting their ferocity and 
 activity, their tameness and sluggishness. The ancients seem to 
 have paid most attention to the formidable species. The other is 
 that which has been seen by Bruce and Sonnini. 
 
 November 2nd was Sacrament Sunday at the Cathedral, and 
 there were a considerable number of Communicants. — In the 
 evening we went to see the school for European female orphans, 
 an extensive and very useful establishment, supported by sub- 
 scriptions, of which Mrs. Thomason is the most active manager.
 
 34 CONSECRATION OF THE CHURCH AT DUM DUM. 
 
 It is a spacious and handsome though irregular building, airy, and 
 well adapted to its purpose, situated in a large compound in the 
 Circular Road. The neighbourhood has been fancied unhealthy, 
 but we saw no appearance of it in the girls. The establishment 
 seems well conducted ; the girls are not encouraged to go out 
 as servants ; when they have relations in England, they usually 
 send them thither, unless eligible matches occur for them among 
 the tradesmen of Calcutta, who have, indeed, few other opportu- 
 nities of obtaining wives of European blood and breeding. Even 
 ladies going out are not always permitted to take white maids, 
 and always under a bond, that in a year or two they shall be sent 
 back again. The consequence is, that the free mariners, and 
 other persons who go out to India, are induced to form connec- 
 tions with women of the country ; yet I never met with any 
 public man connected with India, who did not lament the increase 
 of the half-caste population, as a great source of present mischief 
 and future danger to the tranquillity of the Colony. Why then 
 forbid the introduction of a class of women who would furnish 
 white wives to the white Colonists ; and so far, at least, diminish 
 the evil of which they complain ? Security to a moderate amount, 
 that the person thus going to India should not become burden- 
 some to the Colony, would be enough to answer every political 
 purpose of the present restrictions. 
 
 Of opportunities for education there seems no want, either 
 for rich or poor ; there are some considerable schools for the 
 children of the former, of both sexes. There is an excellent Free 
 School for the latter, and the children of soldiers and officers have 
 the Military Orphan Asylum, from which, where legitimacy exists, 
 no tint or complexion is excluded. 
 
 November 4. — I went to consecrate a new Church at Dum 
 Dum, having previously obtained the sanction of Government for 
 the performance of the ceremony, both here and at St. James's in 
 Calcutta, as also a written assurance from the Governor in 
 Council, that the building should thenceforward be appropriated
 
 DUM DUM. 33 
 
 to the worship of God after the forms and laws of the EngUsh 
 Church. This I thought a sufficient title, and it was certainly all 
 that could be obtained in this country. Accordingly I determined 
 not to lose the opportunity of giving the sanction of a most im- 
 pressive form of dedication to these two Churches, as likely to do 
 good to all who shared in the service, and to offend nobody, while 
 if, which is utterly unlikely, any future Governor should desecrate 
 the piles, on his own head be the transgression. 
 
 The road to Dum Dum is less interesting than that to Bar- 
 rackpoor, like it it is a military village, the principal European 
 artillery cantonment in India. It consists of several long, low 
 ranges of building, all on the ground-floor, ornamented with 
 verandahs, the lodging of the troops, and some small but elegant and 
 convenient houses occupied by the officers, adjoining an open space 
 like the " Meidan" or large plain of Calcutta, which is appropriated 
 to the practice of artillery. The Commandant, General Hard- 
 wicke, with whom we spent the day, resides in a large house, 
 built on an artificial mound, of considerable height above the 
 neighbouring country, and surrounded by very pretty walks and 
 shrubberies. The house has a venerable appearance, and its 
 lower story, as well as the mound on which it stands, is said to be 
 of some antiquity, at least for Bengal, where so many powerful 
 agents of destruction are always at work, that no architecture can 
 be durable, — and though ruins and buildings of apparently remote 
 date are extremely common, it would, perhaps, be difficult to find 
 a single edifice 150 years old. This building is of brick, with 
 small windows and enormous buttresses. The upper story, which 
 is of the style of architecture usual in Calcutta, was added by Lord 
 CHve, who also laid out the gardens, and made this his country 
 house. We here met a large party at breakfast, and afterwards 
 proceeded to the Church, which is a very pretty building, divided 
 into aisles by two rows of Doric pillars, and capable of containing 
 a numerous congregation. It was now filled by a large and very 
 attentive audience, composed of the European regiment, the 
 
 F 2
 
 36 CONSECRATION OF ST. JAMES'S CHURCH. 
 
 officers and their families, and some visitors from Calcutta, whom 
 the novelty of the occasion brought thither. The consecration of 
 the cemetery followed, wisely here, as in all British India, placed 
 at some distance from the Church and the village. On our return 
 to General Hardwicke's, we amused ourselves till dinner time 
 with looking over his very extensive museum, consisting of a great 
 number of insects in excellent preservation, and many of them of 
 rare beauty, collected during a long residence in India, or sent to 
 him from most of the Oriental Islands ; a large stuffed collection 
 of birds and animals, perfect also, notwithstanding the great dif- 
 ficulty of preserving such objects here, besides some living animals, 
 a very pretty antelope, a vampire bat, a gibbon, or long-armed 
 ape, a gentle and rather pretty animal of its kind, a cobra di 
 capello, and some others. The vampire bat is a very harmless 
 creature, of habits entirely different from the formidable idea 
 entertained of it in England. It only eats fruits and vegetables, 
 and indeed its teeth are not indicative of carnivorous habits, and 
 from blood it turns away when offered to it. During the day-time 
 it is of course inert, but at night it is lively, affectionate, and 
 playful, knows its keeper, but has no objection to the approach 
 and touch of others. General Hardwicke has a noble collection 
 of coloured drawings of beasts, birds, fishes, and insects, to the 
 amount of many hundreds, drawn and arranged with great beauty 
 and regularity. We returned to Calcutta after dinner. 
 
 November 12. — I consecrated St. James's Church, before an 
 equally numerous congregation, but more miscellaneous in its 
 character than that at Dum Dum, and containing a large number 
 of half castes. It stands in the centre of the poorest and most 
 numerous Christian population of Calcutta, and thus attended, is 
 indeed most valuable ; a great many sailors also come to this 
 Church. Mr. Hawtayne officiates here ; he can boast the honour 
 of having converted a Hindoo of decent acquirements and respect- 
 able caste, who was baptized a few days ago. The Portuguese 
 are numerous, and have two large churches here. The one I have
 
 HINDOO FEAST. 37 
 
 seen, which is not however the largest of the two, is very hand- 
 some, exactly like the Roman Catholic churches of Europe, and as 
 being something more obscure and shadowy in its interior, is botli 
 more solemn and better adapted to the climate than the Protest- 
 ant places of worship. Their Clergy wear their canonical dress 
 of white cotton. A Roman Catholic Bishop, titularly of Thibet, 
 whose station is in the upper provinces, about this time passed 
 through Calcutta. I did not see him, but he called on Lord 
 Amherst. He is an Italian by birth, but has passed almost his 
 whole life as a Priest in Brazil, and since as a Bishop in the Por- 
 tuguese settlements of Congo and Loango. From thence a trans- 
 lation must, I should have thought, have been a great happiness, 
 yet. Lord Amherst said, he spoke of his past and future prospects 
 with a sort of doubtful regret and uneasy anticipation, and seemed 
 to stand in very needless fear both of the English and Native 
 governments. He is, I believe, the only Bishop of his Church in 
 this country, though there are two or three more in the southern 
 extremity of the Peninsula. 
 
 November 18. — My wife went to a Nach given by one of 
 the wealthy natives, Baboo Rouplall Mullich, whose immense 
 house with Corinthian pillars, we had observed more than once 
 in our passage along the Chitpoor road. She has given a full 
 account of it in her journal ^ I was kept away by a regard to the 
 
 ^ I joined Lady Macnaghten and a large party this evening to go to a Nach given by a rich 
 native, Rouplall Mulhch, on the opening of his new house. The outside was brilhantiy illu- 
 minated, and as the building is a fine one, the effect was extremely good. The crowd without 
 the gates was great. We were ushered into a large Hall, occupying the centre of the house, 
 round which run two galleries with a number of doors opening into small apartments, the upper 
 ones being for the most part inhabited by the females of the family, who were of course invisible 
 to us, though they were able to look down into the Hall through the Venetians, This Hall is 
 open to the sky, but on this as on all public occasions, it was covered in with scarlet cloth, with 
 which the floor was also carpeted. All the large native houses are built on this principle, and 
 the fathers, sons, and grandsons, with their respective families, live together, till their numbers 
 become too great, when they separate like the Patriarchs of old, and find out new habitations. 
 The magnificence of the building, — the beautiful pillars supporting the upper galleries, — and the 
 expensive and numerous glass chandeliers with which it was lighted, — formed a striking contrast
 
 38 HINDOO FEAST. 
 
 scruples of the Christian and Mahommedan inhabitants of Calcutta, 
 many of whom look on all these Hindoo feasts as indiscriminately 
 idolatrous, and offered in honour of some one or other of their 
 deities. The fact is, that there are some, of which this was one, 
 o-iven chiefly if not entirely to Europeans by the wealthy Hindoos, 
 in which no religious ceremony is avowed, and in which if any 
 idolatrous offering really takes place, it is done after the white 
 guests are departed. 
 
 About this time I attended the first meeting of the Governors 
 of the Free School which had occurred since my arrival. 1, on this 
 occasion, saw the whole establishment ; it is a very noble institu- 
 tion, consisting of a school where 247 boys and girls are lodged, 
 boarded, and clothed, and some received as day-scholars. They 
 are all instructed in English, reading, writing, cyphering, and 
 their religious faith and duties, for which purpose the different 
 
 with the dirt, the apparent poverty, and the slovenUness of every part that was not prepared 
 for exhibition ; the rubbish left by the builders had actually never been removed out of the 
 lower gallery, — the banisters of the stair-case, in itself paltry, were of common unpainted wood, 
 and broken in many places, and I was forced to tread with care to avoid the masses of dirt over 
 which we walked. 
 
 On entering we found a crowd collected round a songstress of great reputation, named Viiki, 
 the Catalani of the East, who was singing in a low but sweet voice some Hindoostanee songs, 
 accompanied by inartificial and unmelodious native music. As the crowd was great, we ad- 
 journed into a small room opening out of the upper gallery, where we sat listening to one song 
 after another, devoured by swarms of mosquitoes, till we were heartily tired, when her place was 
 taken by the Nach, or dancing girls, — if dancing that could be called which consisted in 
 strained movements of the arms, head, and body, the feet, though in perpetual slow motion, sel- 
 dom moving from the same spot. Some story was evidently intended to be told from the ex- 
 pression of their countenances, but to me it was quite unintelligible. I never saw public dancing 
 in England so free from every thing approaching to indecency. Their dress was modesty 
 itself, nothing but their faces, feet, and hands, being exposed to view. An attempt at buf- 
 foonery next followed, ill imagined, and worse executed, consisting of a bad imitation of Enghsh 
 country dances by ill-dressed men. In short, the whole exhibition was fatiguing and stupid, 
 — nearly every charm but that of novelty being wanting. 
 
 To do us greater honour, we were now shewn into another room, where a supper table was 
 laid out for a select few, and I was told the great supper-room was well supplied with eatables. 
 I returned home between twelve and one much tired, and not the least disposed to attend 
 another '^ich.— Extract from Editor's Journal.
 
 FREE SCHOOL. 39 
 
 Catechisms and other compendia furnished by the Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge are employed. Some few of the 
 day-scholars are Armenian Christians, whose parents object to 
 these formulae ; and there are one or two Hindoos, who are allowed 
 to attend, and who also stand on one side when the Catechism is 
 repeated, though they say the Lord's Prayer and read the Scrip- 
 tures without scruple. The children of Roman Catholics, of 
 whom there are also several, apparently make no such difficulties, 
 and even attend Church with the rest of the scholars. They are in 
 fact so ignorant and neglected, that many of them have scarcely 
 any idea of Christianity but what they acquire here. The girls' 
 school is a separate building of somewhat less extent than the 
 boys; both are surrounded by good compounds, and built on 
 the highest spot on this flat district. 
 
 The system of Dr. Bell is pursued in these schools, except 
 that the climate requires more sitting than he allows, and this 
 therefore is arranged more according to the Lancasterian system. 
 The boys are very well taught ; many of them write beautiful 
 hands, and are excellent accountants, for both which, indeed, they 
 have a strong natural turn. Their reading is not so good, since in 
 fact almost all of them have to learn English as well as reading, it 
 being a curious fact that scarcely any children brought up in this 
 country, either high or low, speak any thing, even with their 
 parents, but the broken Hindoostanee, and vulgar Bengalee, which 
 they learn from their nurses ; w^hile of these poor children, most 
 have Bengalee mothers. They exhibit, according to the head- 
 master, most of them considerable quickness, and a good me- 
 mory ; but are deficient, when compared with English boys of the 
 same age and rank in life, in common sense, courage, and honesty, 
 as well as in bodily strength. They seldom fight, and are 
 much afraid of pain, but when provoked scold each other most 
 fluently, and use very indecent and bad language. This is a 
 crime which they but too naturally learn from their heathen 
 neighbours, and for which it is most frequently necessary to
 
 40 BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
 
 punish them. The next most frequent crime is theft from each 
 other. Lying, to conceal their faults, and under fear of punish- 
 ment, is also very prevalent ; but on this I cannot lay much stress, 
 since even in English schools, among little boys of the lower rank, 
 T know it is so common as hardly to be exceeded. 
 
 Leprosy, in both its most formidable kinds, elephantiasis, and 
 leontiasis, are said to be almost as common here as in Syria and 
 Arabia ; and I have seen instances of both kinds among the 
 beggars in the streets, though certainly not so many as the accounts 
 which I had heard would have led me to expect. The sw^ollen 
 legs of the former complaint I have noticed in three or four excur- 
 sions ; of the latter only two instances have occurred to me, — one 
 a miserable native beggar, the other an European of the low^er rank. 
 The first has lost all his fingers, his nose, and several of his toes ; 
 the second is of a hideous mealy white complexion. Among 
 Europeans it is allowed to be very unusual, but when it comes, it 
 answers in all respects to the fatal disease described by ^lichaelis 
 in his " Ammerkungen iiber die Mosaische Gericht," &c. and can be 
 only palliated and a little delayed in its course, by any remedies 
 which medicine can supply. 
 
 Nov. 20. — We went to see the Botanical Garden with Lady 
 Amherst. Captain JNIanning took us down in his ship's cutter to 
 the " Ghat," or landing-place, at the Garden Reach, which is on 
 the opposite side of the river, and where we met Lady and Miss 
 Amherst who were waiting for us with one of the Governor's boats. 
 Of these there are two ; the largest is called the Sunamookee, and is 
 a splendid but heavy gilt and painted barge, rigged like a ketch* 
 with a dining-room and bed-room. The other, on which we were 
 now to embark, is the " Feel Churra," elephant bark, from having 
 its head adorned with that of an elephant, with silver tusks. It is 
 a large, light, and beautiful canoe, paddled by twenty men, who 
 sit with their faces towards the head, with one leg hanging over 
 the side of the boat, and the great toe through a ring fastened to 
 its side. They keep time with their paddles, and join occasionally
 
 BOTANIC GARDEN. 41 
 
 in chorus with a man who stands in the middle, singing what I was 
 assured were verses of his own composition ; sometimes amatory, 
 sometimes in praise of the British nation, the " Company Sahib," 
 and the Governor-General ; and in one or two instances were nar- 
 rations of different victories gained by our troops in India. The 
 tunes of many of them are simple and pleasing, but the poet has 
 not a good voice. His appearance is singular, — a little, thin, 
 squinting man, extremely conceited, with large silver manacles, 
 like those of women, round his naked ancles, which he jingles in 
 cadence to his story. In the fore-part of the boat is a small cabin, 
 very richly ornamented, like the awnings in English barges, but 
 enclosed with Venetian blinds ; and between this and the head 
 the mace-bearers of the Governor stand. The Union Jack is 
 hoisted at the head and stern of the boat, and the Company's flag 
 in the centre. With oars it would go at a great rate, but the 
 inferiority of paddles was now fairly proved, by the far more rapid 
 progress of Captain Manning's boat, though quite as heavy, and 
 with only ten rowers. 
 
 The Botanic Garden is a very beautiful and well-managed 
 institution, enriched, besides the noblest trees and most beautiful 
 plants of India, with a vast collection of exotics, chiefly collected 
 by Dr. Wallich himself, in Nepaul, Pulo Penang, Sumatra, and 
 Java, and increased by contributions from the Cape, Brazil, and 
 many different parts of Africa and America, as well as Australasia, 
 and the South Sea islands. It is not only a curious, but a pictu- 
 resque and most beautiful scene, and more perfectly answers Mil- 
 ton's idea of Paradise, except that it is on a dead flat instead of a 
 hill, than any thing which I ever saw. Among the exotics I noticed 
 the nutmeg, a pretty tree, something like a myrtle, with a beautiful 
 peach-like blossom, but too delicate for the winter even of Bengal, 
 and therefore placed in the most sheltered situation, and carefully 
 matted round. The Sago-palm is a tree of great singularity and 
 beauty, and in a grove or avenue produces an effect of striking 
 solemnity, not unlike that of gothic architecture. There were 
 
 G
 
 42 BOTANIC GARDEN. 
 
 some splendid South American creepers, some plantains from the 
 Malayan Archipelago, of vast size and great beauty; and, what 
 excited a melancholy kind of interest, a little wretched oak, kept 
 alive with difficulty under a sky and in a temperature so perpe- 
 tually stimulating, which allowed it no repose, or time to shed its 
 leaves and recruit its powers by hybernation. Some of the other 
 trees, of which I had formed the greatest expectations, disappointed 
 me, such as the pine of New Caledonia, which does not succeed 
 here, at least the specimen which was shown me was weak-looking 
 and diminutive in comparison with the prints in Cook's Voyage, 
 the recollection of which is strongly imprinted on my mind, though 
 I have not looked at them since I was a boy. Of the enormous 
 size of the Adamsonia, a tree from the neighbourhood of Gambia 
 and Senegal, I had heard much ; the elephant of the vegetable 
 creation ! I was, however, disappointed. The tree is doubtless 
 wonderful, and the rapidity of its growth is still more wonderful 
 than its bulk : but it is neither particularly tall nor stately. Its 
 bulk consists in an enormous enlargement of its circumference 
 immediately above the roots, and for a comparatively small height 
 up its stem, which rather resembles that disease of the leg which 
 bears the elephant's name, than tallies with his majestic and well- 
 proportioned, though somewhat unwieldy stature. Dr. Wallich 
 has the management of another extensive public establishment at 
 Titty-ghur, near Barrackpoor, of the same nature with this, but 
 appropriated more to the introduction of useful plants into Bengal. 
 He is himself a native of Denmark, but left his country young, 
 and has devoted his life to Natural History and Botany in the 
 East. His character and conversation are more than usually inter- 
 esting ; the first all frankness, friendliness, and ardent zeal for the 
 service of science ; the last enriched by a greater store of curious 
 information relating to India and the neighbouring countries, than 
 any which I have yet met with. 
 
 These different public establishments used to be all cultivated 
 by the convicts in chains, of whom I have already spoken. In
 
 NATIVE FEMALE SCHOOLS. 43 
 
 the Botanic Garden their labour is now supphed by peasants hired 
 by the day or week, and the exchange is found cheap, as well as 
 otherwise advantageous and agreeable ; the labour of freemen here, 
 as elsewhere, being infinitely cheaper than that of slaves. 
 
 During Lady Amherst's progress through the gardens, I ob- 
 served, that besides her usual attendants of gilt-sticks and maces, 
 two men with spears, also richly gilt, and two more with swords 
 and bucklers, went before her. This custom is, so far as I have 
 seen at present, confined to the Governor and his family ; but I 
 understand it used to be the case with most persons of condition 
 in Calcutta. 
 
 To the north of the Botanical Garden, and separated from it 
 by an extensive plantation of teak-trees, stands the new College 
 founded by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, under 
 the management, and at the suggestion of. Bishop Middleton, in 
 a beautiful situation, and the building, from a little distance, beau- 
 tiful also, in the Gothic of queen Elizabeth's time. 
 
 December 12. — I attended, together with a large proportion 
 of the European Society of Calcutta, an examination of the Native 
 Female Schools, instituted by Mrs. Wilson, and carried on by her 
 together with her husband and the other Missionaries of the Church 
 Missionary Society. The progress which the children as well 
 as the grown pupils had made, was very creditable ; and it may 
 show how highly we ought to appreciate Mrs. Wilson's efforts, 
 when I mention, that when she began her work there was no known 
 instance of an Indian female having been instructed in reading, 
 writing, or sewing; and that all those who knew most of the 
 country regarded her attempt to bring them together into schools 
 as idle as any dream of enthusiasm could be ^ She is a sensible and 
 amiable young woman, with patience and good temper sufficient 
 
 •^ At the end of the year 1826, Mrs. Wilson had about 600 scholars in various schools in 
 the suburbs of Calcutta. When the Central School is completed, these will all be concentrated. 
 At the commencement of this experiment, Mrs. Wilson thought herself fortunate when she 
 had obtained the attendance of six or seven children. — Ed. 
 
 G 2
 
 44 NATIVE FEMALE SCHOOLS. 
 
 to conquer most obstacles, and who has acquired an influence 
 over these poor little girls and their parents, as well as over her 
 grown pupils, which at first sight seems little less than magical. 
 It was very pretty to see the little swarthy children come forward 
 to repeat their lessons, and show their work to Lady Amherst, 
 blushing even through their dark complexions, with their muslin 
 veils thrown carelessly round their slim half-naked figures, their 
 black hair plaited, their foreheads specked with white or red 
 paint, and their heads, necks, wrists, and ancles loaded with all 
 the little finery they could beg or borrow for the occasion. 
 Their parents make no objection to their learning the catechism, 
 or being taught to read the Bible, provided nothing is done which 
 can make them lose caste. And many of the Brahmins themselves, 
 either finding the current of popular opinion too strongly in favour 
 of the measures pursued for them to struggle with, or really 
 influenced by the beauty of the lessons taught in Scripture, and 
 the advantage of giving useful knowledge, and something like a 
 moral sense to the lower ranks of their countrymen and country- 
 women, appear to approve of Mrs. Wilson's plan, and attend the 
 examination of her scholars. There is not even a semblance of 
 opposition to the efforts which we are now making to enlighten 
 the Hindoos ; this I had some days ago an excellent opportunity 
 of observing, in going round the schools supported by the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge with Mr. Hawtayne, and seeing 
 with how much apparent cordiality he was received, not only by the 
 children themselves and the schoolmasters, though all Hindoos 
 and Mussulmans, but by the parents and the neighbouring house- 
 holders of whatever religion. 
 
 On all these points, however, and on the great change which 
 seems to be taking place in the character of this vast nation, or 
 at least in the province of Bengal, I have written at considerable 
 length to my friends in England, and therefore shall not repeat my 
 opinions and observations here. 
 
 December 25. — This being Christmas-day I had a large congre-
 
 STATE OF EUROPEAN POOR. 45 
 
 gation and a great number of communicants, I think above 300. 
 Now, and at Easter-day, it is the custom in Calcutta to give very 
 splendidly to the communion collection, which is the fund for tlie 
 support of the European poor (for there are no poor's rates), and is 
 managed with great judgement and attention by a body of gentlemen, 
 calling themselves the select vestry of the Cathedral. There is a 
 good deal of distress among the Europeans and half-castes here, 
 arising from various causes, especially from the multitude of specu- 
 lations which have been tried of late years in Indigo and other 
 establishments. If a man once begins falling so far as to borrow 
 money, it is hardly possible for him to recover himself, the interest 
 of loans is so high, and the necessary expences of living so great, 
 while a return to England, except in forma pauperis and at the 
 Company's cost, is too expensive to be thought of by persons 
 under such circumstances. Nor are they luxuries only that ruin 
 the colonist in Calcutta. House-rent is enormous, and though the 
 poorer classes of Europeans and half-castes live in wretched dwell- 
 ings, in very unwholesome parts of the town, they are often 
 obliged to pay for these as much as would rent an excellent house 
 in most of the market towns of England, and would furnish them 
 with very tolerable dwellings even in London. Clothes too are 
 dear. On the other hand provisions, by those who will stoop so 
 low, are to be had for almost nothing from the remains of the 
 dinners of the principal European families, which the climate will 
 not suffer to be kept till another day, and are therefore disposed 
 of by the Khtinsamans at a very low rate indeed. Still there is 
 much real want, and I apprehend that a man who gives as a Chris- 
 tian ought to give, will in Calcutta find little opportunity for 
 saving, and still less for amusement and needless luxury. Deus 
 faxit ut quod debeo absolvam ! 
 
 My wife went a few days ago on a cruize to the Sand heads, 
 for the benefit of our child's health. 
 
 Captain Manning joined his ship at Saugor at the same time, 
 with a promise that when he next returns here, he is again to
 
 46 CAPTAIN MANNING. 
 
 become our guest. He is an excellent man, warm and single- 
 hearted beyond most I know, of considerable talent in his pro- 
 fession and in mechanics, and of very pleasing unaffected manners. 
 During the time he has been with us, I have had an opportunity 
 of knowing his character thoroughly, and am very glad to be able 
 to rank him among the number of my friends.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Pagodas — Barrackpoor — Serampoor : Decoits — Chandernagore— Christmas-Boxes — Idols — 
 Titty-ghur — Suttee — Bore in the River — Saltpetre — Conjirmation — Governor-General's 
 Native Levee. 
 
 On the 27th of December I paid a visit of two days to the 
 Governor at Barrackpoor. I went by water early enough in the 
 morning to preach to the congregation, which, for want of a church, 
 assembles in the great hall of the Government-house. The dis- 
 tance is about 24 miles, which, with a favourable tide and a good 
 set of rowers, may be ascended in two hours and a half, and de- 
 scended in less than two hours. The river continues of nearly the 
 same width as at Calcutta ; its banks are covered with fruit-trees 
 and villages, with many very handsome pagodas, of which build- 
 ings Calcutta only offers some small, mean, and neglected speci- 
 mens. The general style of these buildings is, a large square 
 court, sometimes merely surrounded by a low wall, with brick 
 balustrades, plastered so as to resemble stone, or indented at the 
 top, with two or sometimes four towers at the angles, generally, 
 in the present day, of Grecian architecture, and ornamented with 
 pilasters, balustrades, and friezes. In the centre of the principal 
 front is, for the most part, an entrance resembling in its general 
 character, and style of arrangement, the beautiful Propyla'um at 
 Chester castle. When the pagoda adjoins the river, a noble 
 flight of steps, the whole breadth of the portico, generally leads 
 from the water to this entrance. Sometimes the whole court is 
 surrounded by a number of square towers, detached by a small
 
 48 
 
 PAGODAS. 
 
 interval from each other, and looking not unlike tea-canisters, 
 leaving such a propyhneum as I have described in the centre of the 
 principal front. 
 
 In the middle of the quadrangle, or at least in the middle 
 of one of its sides, opposite to the main entrance, is the temple 
 of the principal deity, sometimes octagonal, with pinnacles and 
 buttresses, greatly resembling a Gothic Chapter House, but in 
 some instances taller and larger, with three domes, one large in 
 the centre, and a smaller at each side, with three gilded ornaments 
 on the summit of each, extremely like the old churches in Russia. 
 All these buildings are vaulted with brick, and the manner in 
 which the Hindoos raise their square or oblong domes seems to me 
 simple and ingenious, and applicable to many useful purposes. 
 
 It is very seldom that any thing like a congregation assembles 
 in these temples. A few priests and dancing women live in 
 them, whose business it is to keep the shrines clean, to receive the 
 offerings of the individuals who come from time to time to worship, 
 and to beat their gongs in honour of their idols, which is done 
 three or four times in the twenty-four hours. On more solemn 
 occasions, however, wealthy Hindoos give money to illuminate the
 
 PAGODAS. 49 
 
 building, and throw up fire-works, which are to be had in Calcutta 
 of great excellence and beauty. And in one instance, which I 
 omitted to mention before, on the celebration of the festival of the 
 goddess Kali at the Pagoda of Kalighat, near Russipugla, I saw 
 the towers at the corners of the building hung round with an 
 immense quantity of gilt paper, tinsel, and flowers, the court 
 crowded with coloured plaster statues as big or bigger than 
 life, representing Sepoys, horse and foot, drawn up in the act of 
 presenting arms, and a figure in their front on an elephant, to 
 represent the Governor General, also in the act of taking off his 
 cocked hat. In the middle of the court, and before the gate of 
 the sanctuary, was a very large temporary pavilion, I should sup- 
 pose 60 feet long by about 20, composed of coarse white cotton, 
 but glittering with ribbands, gilding, tinsel, and flounces of various 
 coloured silks, with slender gilded pillars, overshadowing a vast 
 Plateau, for it had exactly this appearance, of plaster filled with 
 painted gods and goddesses. Kali and all her family with all their 
 respective heads and arms, while the whole building rang with the 
 clamour, tinkling, and strumming of gongs, bells, and stringed in- 
 struments. Yet there were not many worshippers even then. 
 These Pagodas are often endowed with lands as well as rent- 
 charges on lands, though some of them depend entirely on volun- 
 tary contributions. Most of the larger ones are kept externally 
 very neat, and diligently whitewashed, while the Grecian ornaments 
 of which I have spoken, and which must have been borrowed from 
 the Europeans, are so many evidences of the repairs bestowed on 
 them occasionally and of late years. 
 
 During my stay at Barrackpoor, I witnessed one custom of the 
 Hindoos which I could not comprehend ; a Jackall was caught 
 in a trap and killed, and as soon as the breath was out of his bodv, 
 all the servants of that religion ran forward to wash their hands 
 in his blood, — which I am told they always do whenever they 
 kill, or witness the death of a wild beast. 
 
 The Indian squirrel, which abounds in the park, is smaller 
 
 H
 
 50 SERAMPOOR. 
 
 than ours, more of an ash colour, with two black and white streaks 
 down its back ; and not only lives in trees, but in the thatch of 
 houses. I saw several playing about the eaves of my bungalow, 
 and at first mistook them for rats, which at a small distance they 
 much resemble. 
 
 December 28. — I went this morning to return a visit which 
 I had received from Colonel Krelling, the Danish Governor of 
 Serampoor, a fine old veteran who has been above 40 years resi- 
 dent in Bengal, yet still preserves the apparently robust health 
 and florid old age of Norway, of which country he is a native. 
 With him I found his secretary, an officer of the name of Mans- 
 bach, also a Norwegian, whose mother I had met with many years 
 back at the house of Mr. Rosencrantz at Hafslan, on the Falls of 
 the Glommer. My conversation with them renewed some very 
 agreeable recollections on both sides, and I was glad to hear of 
 the health of some of those who had formerly shewn me kindness, 
 while they were much interested by my account of the Knudtzons, 
 of Penrhyn's travels in the province of Bergen, and of the glacier 
 which he had discovered. 
 
 Serampoor is a handsome place, kept beautifully clean, and 
 looking more like an European town than Calcutta, or any of its 
 neighbouring cantonments. The guard, which was turned out to 
 receive me, consisted of perhaps a dozen Sepoys in the red Danish 
 uniform ; they were extremely clean and soldier-like looking men, 
 and the appearance of the place flourishing. During the long war 
 in which England was engaged, and so long as the Danes remained 
 neutral, it was really so, and a vast deal of commerce was carried 
 on under the benefit of its flag. At the time of the Copenhagen 
 rupture, Lord ^linto sent two or three companies of infantry to 
 take possession of it. Since that period the settlement has 
 grievously declined, and so much the faster, because no stipulation 
 was made by the Danish Government at home at the time of the 
 general pacification, for the continuance of a grant of 200 chests of 
 opium yearly, which, previous to the rupture, the English East
 
 POLICE AT SERAMPOOR. 51 
 
 India Company were accustomed to furnish to the Danish Govern- 
 ment of Serampoor at the cost price, thereby admitting them to 
 share in the benefits of this important monopoly. This grant has 
 been earnestly requested since by Colonel Krefting, but hitherto 
 without success, and in consequence he complains that the reve- 
 nues of the settlement do not meet its current expences, and that 
 the Government have been utterly unable to relieve the sufferers 
 by the late inundation. Of Colonel Krefting every body speaks 
 highly ; and I have found great sympathy expressed in his misfor- 
 tunes and those of his colony. I fear, however, that Government 
 will not be able to grant his petition without authority from 
 England, though they shew him in other respects what kindness 
 and favour they can. 
 
 Many persons of different nations, who like a cheaper resi- 
 dence than Calcutta, take houses here. One of these was the 
 abode of Mr. Brown, many years senior Presidency Chaplain, and 
 the friend of Henry Martyn. A deserted Pagoda near it, once the 
 temporary residence of the latter, attracted my attention. It was 
 in Mr. Brown's time fitted up with books, and a bed for occasional 
 visitors at his house, but is now quite empty and ruinous. 
 
 The administration of Serampoor, as it respects the police, is 
 extremely good, and does much credit to Colonel Krefting and his 
 Danish magistrates. During the late inundation he was called 
 on for more vigorous measures than usual, since a numerous band 
 of " Deceits," or river-pirates, trusting to the genera Iconfusion 
 and apparently defenceless state of the place, attacked his little 
 kingdom, and began to burn and pillage with all the horrors which 
 attend such inroads in this country. The Colonel took the field 
 at the head of his dozen Sepoys, his silver-sticks, police-men, and 
 sundry volunteers, to the amount of perhaps 30, killed some of 
 the ruffians, and took several prisoners, whom he hanged next 
 morning, without deigning to ask aid from his powerful neighbours 
 at Barrackpoor. 
 
 From Serampoor I proceeded to Chandernagore, where I had 
 
 u 2
 
 52 CHRISTMAS.BOXES. 
 
 also to return a visit to Monsieur Pelissier, the French Governor. 
 It is, I think, a smaller town than the former, and with a less 
 striking appearance from the river ; the houses are mostly small, 
 and the streets presented a remarkable picture of solitude and 
 desertion. I saw no boats loading or unloading at the quay, no 
 porters with burdens in the streets, no carts, no market people, and 
 in fact only a small native bazar, and a few dismal looking Euro- 
 pean shops. In the streets I met two or three Europeans smoking 
 segars, and apparently with little to do, having almost all the cha- 
 racteristic features and appearance of Frenchmen. 
 
 I had half an hour's very agreeable conversation with the 
 Governor, and promise myself much pleasure from his acquaint- 
 ance. He is only just arrived at this place from Pondicherry, 
 where he had passed several years, and of which he seems very 
 fond ; of the climate of Bengal he complains as being too hot and 
 too cold, and says that his family have suffered in their healths 
 during their residence here. 
 
 I had about this time an opportunity of observing a custom 
 which prevails with different classes of Hindoos and Mussulmans, 
 of making presents to their masters or superiors at Christmas of 
 fruit, game, fish, pastry, and sweetmeats. Some gifts of this sort 
 came to us from different Baboos of our acquaintance. Our head- 
 servants sent presents of plum-cakes, fish, and fruit ; and even 
 our poor bearers came in a body, their faces decorated with an 
 extra quantity of raddle, chalk, and tin foil, to beg my accept- 
 ance of a basket of plantains and oranges. The outer gates of 
 most of the houses in Calcutta and Chowringhee are decorated with 
 garlands of flowers, tinsel, and gilt paper. These Christmas-boxes 
 are said to be an ancient custom here, and I could almost fancy 
 that our name of box for this particular kind of present, the deriva- 
 tion of which is not very easy to trace in the European languages, 
 is a corruption of " Buckshish," a gift or gratuity, in Turkish, Per- 
 sian, and Hindoostanee. There have been undoubtedly more words 
 brought into our language from the East than I used to suspect.
 
 HINDOO IDOLS. 53 
 
 " Cash," which here means small money, is one of these ; but of 
 the process of such transplantation I can form no conjecture. 
 
 January 1, 1824. — I this day preached at the Cathedral, it 
 being an old and good custom in India always to begin the year 
 with the solemn observation of the day of the Circumcision ; there 
 was a good congregation. I received to-day an explanation of 
 some very singular images, which stand in different streets of 
 Calcutta and its neighbourhood, representing a female figure, or 
 at least the figure of a youth, rudely carved in wood and painted, 
 standing erect on the back of a disproportionately little elephant, 
 and with a monstrous sort of spire or shrine on his head. They 
 are used, it appears, as a sort of hatchment, being erected on the 
 death of wealthy Hindoos, near their dwelling houses, but, differ- 
 ing in this respect from hatchments, are generally suffered to 
 remain till they fall in pieces. These are of wood. Most of the 
 Hindoo idols are of clay, and very much resemble in composition, 
 colouring, and execution, though of course not in form, the more 
 l^altry sort of images which are carried about in England for sale 
 by the Lago di Como people. At certain times of the year, great 
 numbers of these are in fact hawked about the streets of Calcutta 
 in the same manner, on men's heads. This is before they have 
 been consecrated, which takes place on their being solemnly 
 washed in the Ganges by a Brahmin Pundit. Till this happens, 
 they possess no sacred character, and are frequently given as toys 
 to children, and used as ornaments of rooms, which when hallowed 
 they could not be, without giving great offence to every Hindoo 
 who saw them thus employed. I thought it remarkable that 
 though most of the male deities are represented of a deep brown 
 colour, like the natives of the country, the females are usually no 
 less red and white than our porcelain beauties as exhibited in 
 England. But it is evident from the expressions of most of the 
 Indians themselves, from the style of their amatory poetry, and 
 other circumstances, that they consider fairness as a part of beauty, 
 and a proof of noble blood. They do not hke to be called black,
 
 54 PORTUGUESE IN INDIA. 
 
 and thouo-h the Abyssinians, who are sometimes met with in the 
 country, are very httle darker than they themselves are, their jest 
 books are full of taunts on the charcoal complexion of the 
 " Hubshee." Much of this has probably arisen from their having 
 been so long subjected to the Moguls, and other conquerors origi- 
 nally from more northern climates, and who continued to keep up 
 the comparative fairness of their stock by frequent importation of 
 northern beauties. India too has been always, and long before 
 the Europeans came hither, a favourite theatre for adventurers 
 from Persia, Greece, Tartary, Turkey, and Arabia, all white men, 
 and all in their turn possessing themselves of wealth and power. 
 These circumstances must have greatly contributed to make a fair 
 complexion fashionable. It is remarkable, however, to observe 
 how surely all these classes of men in a few generations, even 
 without any intermarriage with the Hindoos, assume the deep 
 olive tint, little less dark than a Negro, which seems natural to the 
 climate. The Portuguese natives form unions among themselves 
 alone, or if they can, with Europeans. Yet the Portuguese have, 
 during a three hundred years, residence in India, become as black as 
 Caffres. Surely this goes far to disprove the assertion, which is 
 sometimes made, that climate alone is insufficient to account for 
 the difference between the Negro and the European. It is true 
 that in the Negro are other peculiarities which the Indian has not, 
 and to which the Portuguese colonist shews no symptom of ap- 
 proximation, and which undoubtedly do not appear to follow^ so 
 naturally from the climate, as that swarthiness of complexion 
 which is the sole distinction between the Hindoo and the 
 European. But if heat produces one change, other peculiarities 
 of climate may produce other and additional changes, and when 
 such peculiarities have 3 or 4000 years to operate in, it is not easy 
 to fix any limits to their power. I am inclined after all, to suspect 
 that our European vanity leads us astray in supposing that our 
 own is the primitive complexion, which I should rather suppose 
 was that of the Indian, half way between the two extremes, and
 
 FIRE-WORKS AT SERAMPOOR. 5^ 
 
 perhaps the most agreeable to the eye and instinct of the majority 
 of the human race. A colder climate, and a constant use of 
 clothes, may have blanched the skin as effectually as a burning 
 sun and nakedness may have tanned it, and I am encouraged in 
 this hypothesis by observing that of animals the natural colours 
 are generally dusky and uniform, while whiteness and a variety of 
 tint almost invariably follow domestication, shelter from the ele- 
 ments, and a mixed and unnatural diet. Thus while hardship, 
 additional exposure, a greater degree of heat, and other circum- 
 stances with which we are unacquainted, may have deteriorated 
 the Hindoo into a Negro, opposite causes may have changed him 
 into the progressively lighter tints of the Chinese, the Persian, the 
 Turk, the Russian, and the Englishman. 
 
 My wife and little girl having returned from their cruize to 
 the Sandheads, much benefited by the change of air, we went on 
 the 7th of January, 1824, to Titty-ghur, a convenient and com- 
 fortable house, in a beautiful situation, most kindly lent to us for a 
 couple of months, by Dr. Wallich. It is on the banks of the 
 river, about two miles from Barrackpoor, and in the middle of the 
 Company's experimental botanic garden. The weather is now 
 very delightful, and we are comparatively free from the dense fogs 
 which at this season beset Calcutta and Chowringhee. 
 
 On the 10th of January there was a display of fire-works at 
 Serampoor, in honour of the patron saint at the Roman Catholic 
 chapel, which we saw to great advantage from our bholiah, sta- 
 tioned opposite to it on the river. They were, we were told, pro- 
 cured from China by one of the Roman Catholic Portuguese mer- 
 chants. I thought them very good, and the forms of most of 
 them were new to me. One was a strikino* imitation of the foliage 
 
 o o 
 
 of a tuft of bamboos, being in fact really a cluster of long and 
 slender bamboos, with fire-works affixed to them, which very beau- 
 tifully gave the effect of the graceful curve of that elegant plant, 
 and even the form of its leaves. There was also another, a sort 
 of Roman candle, which sent up flames, in shape and action, as
 
 56 SUTTEE. 
 
 well as the noise they emitted, not unlike large pigeons, and there- 
 fore called Chinese doves. A great crowd of boats and people 
 were on the river to see these fire-works, which are a very popular 
 exhibition with the lower orders. 
 
 Returning one day from Calcutta, I passed by two funeral 
 piles, the one preparing for a single person, the other nearly con- 
 sumed, on which a Suttee had just taken place. For this latter 
 purpose a stage had been constructed of bamboos about eighteen 
 inches or two feet above the ground, on which the dead body had 
 been laid, and under which, as my native servants told me, the 
 unhappy widow had been stretched out, surrounded with com- 
 bustibles. Only a heap of glowing embers was now seen here, 
 besides two long bamboos, which seemed intended to keep down 
 any struggles which nature might force from her. On the stage 
 was what seemed a large bundle of coarse cotton cloth, smoking, 
 and partially blackened, emitting a very offensive smell. This my 
 servants said was the husband's body. The woman they expressly 
 affirmed had been laid helow it, and ghee poured over her to 
 hasten her end, and they also said the bamboos had been laid 
 across her. I notice these particulars, because they differ from 
 the account of a similar and recent ceremony, given by the Bap- 
 tist missionaries, in which it is said that the widow is laid by the 
 side of her husband, on the platform, with her arm embracing him, 
 and her face turned to him. Here I asked repeatedly, and received 
 a different account. Yet the missionaries have had every possible 
 opportunity of learning, if not of actually witnessing, all the par- 
 ticulars of the ceremony which they describe. Perhaps these 
 particulars vary in different instances. At all events it is a proof 
 how hard it is to gain, in this country, accurate information as 
 to facts which seem most obvious to the senses. I felt very 
 sick at heart, and regretted I had not been half an hour sooner, 
 though probably my attempts at persuasion would have had no 
 chance of success. I would at least have tried to reconcile her 
 to life. There were perhaps twenty or thirty people present,
 
 SUTTEES. 57 
 
 with about the same degree of interest, though certainly not the 
 same merriment, as would have been called forth by a bonfire in 
 England. I saw no weeping, and heard no lamentations. But 
 when the boat drew near, a sort of shout was raised, I believe in 
 honour of Brahma, which w^as met by a similar outcry from my 
 boatmen. 
 
 January 15. — Dr. Marshman, the Baptist Missionary from 
 Serampoor, dined with me. Dr. Carey is too lame to go out. 
 The talents and learning of these good men are so well known in 
 Europe, that I need hardly say that, important as are the points 
 on which we differ, I sincerely admire and respect them, and desire 
 their acquaintance. In speaking of the Suttee of yesterday. Dr. 
 Marshman said that these horrors are of more frequent occurrence 
 within these few last years, than when he first knew Bengal ; an 
 increase which he imputes to the increasing luxury of the higher 
 and middling classes, and to their expensive imitation of European 
 habits, which make many families needy, and anxious to get rid, 
 by any means, of the necessity of supporting their mothers, or the 
 widows of their relations. Another frequent cause is, he thinks, 
 the jealousy of old men, who having married young wives, still 
 cling to their exclusive possession even in death, and leave in- 
 junctions, either with their wives themselves to make the offering, 
 or with their heirs to urge them to it. He is strongly of opinion 
 that the practice might be forbidden in Bengal, where it is of most 
 frequent occurrence, without exciting any serious murmurs. The 
 women he is convinced, would all be loud in their praises of such 
 a measure, and even of the men, so few would have an immediate 
 interest in burning their wives, mothers, or sisters-in-law, that they 
 would not set themselves against what those who had most influ- 
 ence with them would be so much interested in having established. 
 The Brahmins, he says, have no longer the power and popularity 
 which they had when he first remembers India, and among the 
 laity many powerful and wealthy persons agree, and publicly 
 express their agreement, with Rammohun Roy, in reprobating the 
 
 I
 
 58 BORE IN THE GANGES. 
 
 custom, which is now well known to be not commanded by any of 
 the Hindoo sacred books, though some of them speak of it as a 
 meritorious sacrifice. A similar opinion to that of Dr. !Marshman I 
 have heard expressed by the senior Judge of the Sudder Dewannee 
 Adawlut. Others, however, of the members of the Government think 
 differently. They conceive that the likeliest method to make the 
 custom more popular than it is, would be to forbid and make it a point 
 of honour with the natives ; that, at present, no woman is supposed 
 to be burnt without her own wish certified to the magistrate, that 
 there are other and less public ways to die (on that account more 
 liable to abuse than the Suttees) which might be resorted to if this 
 were forbidden, and that if we desire to convert the Hindoos, we 
 should above all things be careful to keep Government entirely out 
 of sight in all the means which we employ, and to be even, if pos- 
 sible, over scrupulous in not meddling with, or impeding those 
 customs which, however horrid, are become sacred in their estima- 
 tion, and are only to be destroyed by convincing and changing the 
 popular mind. When Christian schools have become universal 
 the Suttee will fall of itself But to forbid it by any legislative 
 enactment would, in their opinion, only give currency to the notion, 
 that we mean to impose Christianity on them by force, and retard 
 its progress to an almost indefinite period. 
 
 January 21. — We had this morning an opportunity of hearing 
 the remarkable phenomenon, not uncommon in the Ganges, called 
 the Bore, or rush of the spring-tide up the river, with a great ele- 
 vation of wave, and tremendous noise and rapidity. The sound 
 resembled that of a steam-boat, but was infinitely louder; we 
 were awakened by it, but before I could get out, it had either 
 passed, or else, as it always runs close to one or other of the sides 
 of the river, the high crumbhng bank prevented my seeing it. 
 Nothing at least was visible but the water shining beautifully 
 bright under a full moon in a cloudless sky, though the noise con- 
 tinued to be audible for some time longer. 
 
 o 
 
 I went this day to Calcutta, to attend a meeting of the Church
 
 SALT PETRE. 59 
 
 Missionary Society, and returned, after an early dinner, with Arch- 
 deacon Corrie. 
 
 A very beautiful civet cat was caught this morning in one of 
 the walks of the garden, and was overpowered by a number of men 
 and dogs, after a severe chase from one tree to the other, and a 
 gallant resistance. It is a very pretty animal, like a cat in all 
 respects except its size, which nearly equals that of a small fox, 
 and its long pointed nose. The common wild cat often occurs in 
 this neighbourhood, and the civet is not unfrequent. During the 
 fruit season, the garden is sadly pillaged by swarms of monkeys, 
 which then make their appearance from the jungles, as well as by 
 the huge bats, which entirely live on fruits and vegetables, their 
 vampire habits, as I have before observed, being utterly fabulous. 
 Though they then abound, not one is now to be seen : they pro- 
 bably sleep during the cool weather. 
 
 There is another powder-mill in this neighbourhood besides 
 those near Garden Reach, and half way between this place and 
 Calcutta. The immense quantities of salt-petre found in Bengal 
 account for their frequency. The tendency of the soil to produce 
 it is very annoying to the builders and the occupants of houses. 
 It can scarcely be prevented from encroaching in a few years on 
 the walls and floors of all lower rooms, so as to render them un- 
 wholesome, and eventually uninhabitable. Half the houses in 
 Calcutta are in this predicament, and their ground-floors useless. 
 Cellars are unknown in this part of India. 
 
 January 25. — On my return from Calcutta this morning, 
 where I went to preach at the Cathedral, I found that I had a fresh 
 reason for thankfulness to God in my wife's safety, and the birth 
 of a fine and promising little girl, to the exceeding delight of our 
 dear Emily, who rejoices in her new play-thing, kissing her little 
 sister over and over again. God grant that they may both grow 
 up in mutual love and equal virtue ! 
 
 February 2. — I went to Calcutta for a Confirmation, which I held 
 the next day in the Cathedral ; the number of persons who attended 
 
 i2
 
 60 CONFIRMATION. 
 
 were 236, — a good many more than were expected, as barely 
 two years have elapsed since the last performance of the ceremony 
 by Bishop ]Middleton. IMost of them were half-castes ; but there 
 were, however, several officers, and from 20 to 30 European 
 soldiers, and three grown up women of the upper ranks. They 
 were apparently very seriously impressed with the ceremony, which 
 to me, I will own, was almost overpowering. God Almighty grant 
 his indulgence to me, and his blessing on those for whom I then 
 prayed, for Jesus Christ's sake ! 
 
 February 5. — I returned to Tittyghur. I had a curious visit 
 a few days ago from a person who previously announced himself by 
 letter as the Rev. Jacob jNIecazenas, lately arrived from Rome, and 
 anxious to wait upon me. I asked him to dinner two days after, but 
 to my dismay, about 10 o'clock on the morning of the appointed day, 
 instead of the smooth well-spoken Jesuit I had made up my mmd 
 to expect, I heard a thundering voice in the portico, and was 
 greeted by a tall stout ecclesiastic with a venerable beard, a long 
 black cassoc, a calotte, and a triangular hat, who announced him- 
 self as Father INIecazenas of the Dominican order, and come to pass 
 the day with me ! I found he was a native of Teflis, but brought 
 up in one of the Roman Catholic Armenian Convents established 
 in Asia, and that he had passed his later years at Rome. He spoke 
 wretched Italian, a very little French, no English or Hindoostanee, 
 and scarcely more than a few words of Latin. I had an engagement 
 at the Government House during a part of the morning, which I 
 pleaded, and hunted about to find if I had any books which could 
 enable the poor man to pass his time rather less irksomely in my 
 absence, but I found that the few Latin books which I had un- 
 packed were in Calcutta, that I had no Itahan of any kind, and that 
 the only French books which I could get at, were the Tragedies of 
 Voltaire, — a harmless work certainly, but bearing so formidable a 
 name that I doubted whether, even if he could, he would read 
 them. I was not mistaken, the name was enough for him, and 
 though he made no objection in my presence, I was told that no
 
 FATHER MECAZENAS. 61 
 
 sooner was my back turned than with a deep groan he laid them 
 down, and desired a servant to take them away. Accordingly he 
 passed the greater part of the morning in walking up and down the 
 room, and looking out at the boats on the Hooghly. I pitied the 
 poor man, and when I had finished my necessary business, on my 
 return renewed my conversation with him, which got on better 
 than I at first expected. I asked him some questions about 
 Georgia and Armenia, but the most which I got was a list of the 
 different tribes of Caucasus, a specimen of the Georgian vocabulary 
 for the most common articles, and the Georgian alphabet, which he 
 wrote out for me, and which I was surprised to find differ very 
 materially from the Slavonic, the Armenian, and every other with 
 which I am acquainted. At last dinner came to his relief as well 
 as mine, and he soon began to display the appetite of a hardy 
 mountaineer. I have seldom seen any one make such quick dis- 
 patch with whatever was put on his plate, and he made a no less 
 good use of the three French words with which he seemed most 
 familiar, " a votre sante !" tossing down one bumper of wine after 
 another, laughing all the time with the voice of a lion, till I began 
 to fear some exhibition would follow, not very creditable either to 
 the Church of Rome or to the table of a Protestant Bishop. He 
 was,however, too strong to be affected by what he drank, except that 
 it a little increased his fluency and noisy hilarity; and as soon as the 
 cloth was fairly off the table, I thought it high time to call for coffee. 
 I had been all this time expecting to be asked to subscribe to 
 something or other, since, the dinner always excepted, I could not 
 perceive why else the good man should have shewn so much 
 anxiety for my acquaintance ; and accordingly at length he rose, 
 brought out an immense paper book, and after a short compliment- 
 ary speech, solicited my patronage to a fund he was employed in 
 collecting, to repair the temple of Fortuna Virilis, in Rome, which 
 was, he said, appropriated as a hospital and place of instruction 
 for Armenian and other youths, and pilgrims, but had been 
 grievously injured by certain excavations which the French made
 
 Q2 NATIVE LEVEE. 
 
 while in Rome, in order to examine the nature of its substruction 
 and foundations. His paper was to the same effect, but was written 
 in Eno-lish, and evidently the composition of some of the Calcutta 
 native writers. He then talked of credentials from Rome; but 
 though I asked for them, both in Latin and Itahan, he produced 
 none, but evaded the question. However, had he produced them, 
 he would not have been at all more likely to gain his object with 
 me, since I neither quite believed the story of the French having 
 committed an outrage at variance with their general conduct, nor 
 did I conceive myself called on to build up churches for the 
 members of a different communion in Rome, when all which I 
 can do is likely to fall so far short of the claims of charity in 
 India. If the poor man, who was very pressing, had asked 
 me for himself, and in the capacity which I suspect really 
 belonged to him, of a mendicant, he would have fared better. 
 As it was I was unrelenting, though civil ; and we parted, with 
 at least the satisfaction on my part, that I had given him a good 
 dinner. 
 
 Febtmary 7. — I went down to Calcutta this morning, to attend 
 a " Durbar,'' or native levee of the Governor's, which all the 
 principal native residents in Calcutta were expected to attend, as 
 well as the vakeels from several Indian princes. I found on my 
 arrival the levee had begun, and that Lord Amherst, attended by 
 his Aides-du-camp and Persian secretary, had already walked 
 down one side, where the persons of most rank, and who were to 
 receive " khelats," or honorary dresses, were stationed. I there- 
 fore missed this ceremony, but joined him and walked round those 
 to whom he had not yet spoken, comprising some persons of con- 
 siderable rank and wealth, and some learned men, travellers from 
 different eastern countries, who each in turn addressed his com- 
 pliments, or petitions, or complaints to the Governor. There were 
 several whom we thus passed who spoke English not only fluently 
 but gracefully. Among these were Baboo Ramchunder Roy and 
 his four brothers, all fine, tall, stout young men, the eldest of
 
 NATIVE LEVEE. 63 
 
 whom is about to build one of Mr. Shakespear's rope-bridges 
 over the Caramnasa. 
 
 After Lord Amherst had completed the circle, he stood on 
 the lower step of the throne, and the visitors advanced one by 
 one to take leave. First came a young Raja of the Rajapootana 
 district, who had received that day the investiture of his father's 
 territories, in a splendid brocade khelat and turban ; he was a little, 
 pale, shy-looking boy, of 12 years old. Lord Amherst, in addi- 
 tion to these splendid robes, placed a large diamond aigrette in his 
 turban, tied a string of valuable pearls round his neck, then gave 
 him a small silver bottle of attar of roses, and a lump of pawn, 
 or betel, wrapped up in a plantain leaf. Next came forwards the 
 " vakeel," or envoy of the Maharaja Scindeah, also a boy, not 
 above sixteen, but smart, self-possessed, and dandy-looking. His 
 khelat and presents were a little, and but a little, less splendid than 
 those of his precursor. Then followed Oude, Nagpoor, Nepaul, 
 all represented by their vakeels, and each in turn honoured by 
 similar, though less splendid, marks of attention. The next 
 was a Persian KhA.n, a fine military-looking man, rather corpulent, 
 and of a complexion not differing from that of a Turk, or other 
 southern Europeans, with a magnificent black beard, and a very 
 pleasing and animated address. A vakeel from Sind succeeded, 
 with a high red cap, and was followed by an Arab, handsomely 
 dressed, and as fair nearly, though not so good-looking, as 
 the Persian. These were all distinguished, and received each 
 some mark of favour. Those who followed had only a little attar 
 poured on their handkerchiefs, and some pawn. On the wliole it 
 was an interesting and striking sight, though less magnificent than 
 I had expected, and less so I think than the levee of an European 
 monarch. The sameness of the greater part of the dresses (white 
 muslin) was not sufficiently relieved by the splendour of the few 
 khelats ; and even these which were of gold and silver brocade 
 were in a great measure eclipsed by the scarlet and blue uniforms, 
 gold lace, and feathers, of the English. One of the most striking
 
 64 NATIVE LEVEE. 
 
 figures was the Governor-general's native Aid-du-camp, a tall, 
 strono'-built, and remarkably handsome man, in the flower of his 
 ao-e and of a countenance at once kind and bold. His dress was 
 a very rich hussar uniform, and he advanced last of the circle, with 
 the usual mihtary salute ; then, instead of the offering of money 
 which each of the rest made, he bared a small part of the blade 
 of his sabre, and held it out to the Governor. The attar he 
 received, not on his handkerchief, but on his white cotton gloves. 
 I had on former occasions noticed this soldier from his height, 
 striking appearance, and rich uniform. He is a very respectable 
 man, and reckoned a good officer.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CALCUTTA. 
 
 Rope Bridges — Wedding Procession— Hindoo Festival — Cholera Morbus — Fruits — Ordina- 
 tion of Christian David. 
 
 In passing Cossipoor on my return to Tittyghur, I called on Mr. 
 C. Shakespear, and looked at his rope-bridges, which are likely to 
 be most useful, in this country at least, if not in Europe. Their 
 principle differs from that of chain-bridges, in the centre being 
 a little elevated, and in their needing no abutments. It is in fact 
 an application of a ship's standing rigging to a new purpose, and 
 it is not even necessary that there should be any foundation at all, 
 as the whole may be made to rest on flat timbers, and, with the 
 complete apparatus of cordage, iron, and bamboos, may be taken 
 to pieces and set up again in a few hours, and removed from place 
 to place by the aid of a few camels and elephants. One of these 
 over a torrent near Benares, of 160 feet span, stood a severe test 
 during last year's inundation, when, if ever, the cordage might 
 have been expected to suffer from the rain, and when a vast crowd 
 of neighbouring villagers took refuge on it as the only safe place 
 in the neighbourhood, and indeed almost the only object which 
 continued to hold itself above the water. He has now finished 
 another bridge for the Caramnasa, at the expense of Ramchunder 
 Narain, whom I met at the Durbar, and who may expect to reap 
 much popularity with his countrymen from such a public benefit, 
 not only as facilitating intercourse, but as freeing their religious 
 pilgrims from a great anxiety. The name of the river in question 
 means, " the destroyer of good works," from the circumstance of 
 
 K
 
 66 CORPULENCY. 
 
 an ancient devotee, whose penances, like those of Kehama, had 
 exalted him to Indra's heaven, having been precipitated headlong 
 by Siva, till his sacrifices broke his fall half-way, directly over 
 the stream in question. He now hangs in the air, head down- 
 wards, and his saliva flows into, and pollutes the whole water in 
 such a manner, that any person who bathes in, or even touches it, 
 loses the merit of all his antecedent penances, alms, and other 
 acts of piety, reserving, however, the full benefit of his mis- 
 deeds of whatever description. All brahmins who are obliged to 
 pass it, (and it lies in the way to some of the most illustrious 
 places of pilgrimage,) are in the greatest terror. They are some- 
 times carried on men's shoulders, sometimes ferried over ; 
 but in either case, if they are in the least splashed or wetted, 
 it amounts almost to a matter of damnation, without hope or 
 chance of pardon. The people on the bank who act as water- 
 men, are not influenced by these superstitions ; but to Indians in 
 general Mr. Shakespear's bridge will be most valuable. The 
 span of this bridge, which is strong enough to bear a field- piece, 
 is 320 feet in length, its breadth 8 ; its flooring is composed of 
 stout bamboos, connected by coir-rope, with a net-work hand-rail 
 on either side, also of coir, as are the shrouds and principal tack- 
 ling which support the whole. The appearance of the bridge is 
 light and graceful, and its motion on passing over it not sufficient 
 to be either dangerous or alarming. 
 
 My wife tells me a curious circumstance which has occurred 
 in my absence, illustrative of the timid character which seems to 
 belong to the Bengalees. The coachman had asked leave to go 
 with me to Calcutta ; and as the carriage-horses w^ere consequently 
 idle, she ordered the Saeeses to lead them out for exercise. Some 
 demur took place, and on asking the reason, she was actually told 
 that they were afraid! She insisted, however, and the horses, 
 when they appeared, were quiet as lambs. The men at first, out 
 of pure precaution, had buckled up their heads so tight, that they 
 could scarcely breathe, and when ordered to unloose them, held
 
 LANDHOLDERS AND TENANTS. 67 
 
 them as if they had tigers in a leash : yet the horses, as I have 
 observed, were quiet, and these are men who have been all their 
 lives in the stable ! I have, indeed, understood from many quar- 
 ters, that the Bengalees are regarded as the greatest cowards in 
 India ; and that partly owing to this reputation, and partly to 
 their inferior size, the Sepoy regiments are always recruited from 
 Bahar and the upper provinces. Yet that little army with which 
 Lord Clive did such wonders, was chiefly raised from Bengal. So 
 much are all men the creatures of circumstance and training. 
 
 I had frequently heard of the admiration which the Indians 
 feel for corpulency, but no instance had occurred within my know- 
 ledge. I am assured, however, that a young man, whose height 
 and bulk I had noticed to-day at the Durbar, takes a large draught 
 of ghee every morning, in order to contribute to the bulk of which 
 he is vain, and that very frequently the natives contract liver com- 
 plaints by their anxiety to fatten themselves. 
 
 March 1 . — We bade adieu to Titty ghur with regret, but just 
 as we were on the point of setting out, a severe storm of thunder, 
 rain, and wind came on, which detained us about an hour, being 
 the first regular north-wester which we had seen. It fairly lashed 
 the river into high waves, and produced a delightful effect on the 
 air, laying the dust and refreshing vegetation, as if by magic. 
 My wife and children went by water, and I took in the carriage 
 with me our Sircar. He is a shrewd fellow, well acquainted with 
 the country, and possessed of the sort of information which is 
 likely to interest travellers. His account of the tenure of lands 
 very closely corresponded with what I had previously heard from 
 others. The " Zemindars" or landholders, let their lands, sometimes 
 in large divisions, to tenants corresponding to the Scotch tacksmen, 
 who underlet them again, and occasionally, which generally occurs 
 near Calcutta, to the cottagers and cultivators immediately, and in 
 very minute portions. The lands are sometimes on lease for a 
 good many years, sometimes from year to year only. The usual 
 rent for rice-land in Bengal, at least in this part of it, is two rupees 
 
 K 2
 
 68 IDOLS. 
 
 a begah, or about twelve or fifteen shillings an acre ; for orchards 
 five rupees, or about £1. 12s. for the acre. All rents are paid in 
 money, and the principle of " metairie," which I explained to him, 
 is unknown. The tenant in most of the villages is at the expense 
 of the buildings, but these are so cheap and frail, as probably to 
 cost less than thatching a stack in England, and can hardly be said 
 to last longer. Land in this neighbourhood sells at about fifty 
 rupees the begah, but did not fetch near so much before the 
 roads were opened, which has been a measure of exceeding utility 
 to the landholders here. The Baboo pointed out two or three 
 large houses which we passed, as the residences of wealthy Ze- 
 mindars, but w^ho had also still more splendid houses in Calcutta. 
 One of these, who was dignified by Lord Wellesley with the title 
 of Raja, has a really fine villa, surrounded with a sort of park, the 
 borders of which are planted with a handsome myrtle-leaved tree, 
 about as large as an Enghsh horse-chesnut, which is here very 
 common, but which he has defaced by chpping each individual 
 tree into a regular conical shape. This the Baboo pointed out as 
 a piece of extreme neatness and elegance. Another gateway on 
 the left hand, in a very picturesque wood of coco-trees and bam- 
 boos, was guarded by an immense wooden idol of a young man, 
 having only sandals and a sash painted black, the rest being flesh- 
 colour. It must have been I should think thirty feet high. The 
 Sircar said smiling, " that great idol stands sentry to all the gods 
 and goddesses within." It was in fact the entrance to the pagoda 
 at Kaida, which I had previously seen from the river. A little 
 further by the road-side was a huge tower-like structure, about 
 sixteen feet high, supported on eight or ten massive but low 
 wheels, of w^ood painted red, and adorned with a good deal of 
 clumsy carving. " That," he said, again smihng, " is our god's 
 carriage ; we keep it on the main road, because it is too heavy for 
 the lanes of the neighbouring village. It is a fine sight to see the 
 people from all the neighbourhood come together to draw it, when 
 the statue is put in on solemn days." I asked what god it be-
 
 NAWAB OF CHITPOOR. 69 
 
 longed to, and was answered " Brahma." He added, it required 
 between two and three hundred people to move it, which I do 
 not believe, though I can easily suppose that number may usually 
 assist. I asked if self-immolation ever took place here as at Jug- 
 gernaut, but he assured me " never that he had heard of." As 
 we passed through Chitpoor, he shewed me the house of the 
 " Nawab of Chitpoor." Of this Potentate I had not heard before. 
 He now is called by Europeans the Nawab of Moorshedabad, 
 where he resides, and is, it seems, the descendant of the Moham- 
 medan nobleman who was the Lord of the district before our con- 
 quest, and still retains a considerable appanage of lands and pen- 
 sions, to the amount of about 100,000 S. rupees monthly, with an 
 honorary guard of Sepoys, and many of the exteriors of royalty. 
 
 While he resided in his house at Chitpoor he was always 
 received by the Governor on state days at the head of the stairs, 
 and conducted, after an embrace, to a sort of throne at the 
 upper end of the room, and when he took his leave, he was distin- 
 guished by a salute from the Fort, and turning out the guard. 
 The Baboo told me all this, and did not fail to point out the 
 diflPerent measure which the Mussulmans in India had received from 
 that they had given to his countrymen. " When they conquered 
 us, they cut off the heads of all our Rajas whom they could catch. 
 When the English conquered them, they gave them lands and 
 pensions !" I do not exactly know whether he said this by way of 
 compliment or no. I have reason to believe that the sentiment is 
 very common among the Hindoos, and I doubt even, whether they 
 would or would not have been better pleased had we, in such 
 cases, been less lenient and liberal. Nevertheless it is evident 
 that in thus keeping up, even at a considerable expense, these 
 monuments of the Mahommedan power, our nation has acted 
 wisely as well as generously. It is desireable that the Hindoos 
 should always be reminded that we did not conquer them, but 
 found them conquered, that their previous rulers were as much 
 strangers to their blood and to their religion as we are, and that
 
 70 HINDOO PRIVILEGES. 
 
 they were notoriously far more oppressive masters than we have 
 ever shewn ourselves. 
 
 In passing through the village of Chitpoor, I was surprised to 
 see a jackal 1 run across the street, though it was still broad day, 
 and there was the usual crowd of market-people and passengers. 
 A man followed him laughing, and shaking his apron to frighten 
 him, which the animal however to all appearance scarcely heeded. 
 Some carrion had probably attracted him, but it is seldom that 
 they venture to shew themselves so early and in such public places. 
 A little further we passed a sort of Sepoy, dressed very splendidly 
 in the native style, with a beautiful Persian gun and crooked 
 hanjar, but no bayonet. My companion pointed him out with 
 much glee, as one of the attendants of Baboo Budinath Roy ^ 
 who lives in this neighbourhood, and has a menagerie of ani- 
 mals and birds only inferior to that at Barrackpoor. This 
 privilege of being attended by armed men is one greatly 
 coveted by the wealthy natives of India, but only conceded to 
 the highest ranks. Among the Europeans no person now claims 
 it in Calcutta, save the Chief-justice and the Commander-in-chief, 
 each of whom is attended in public, besides his silver sticks, by 
 four or five spears, very elegantly worked, the poles of silver, and 
 the blades generally gilt, with a place for the hand covered with 
 crimson velvet, and a fringe of the same colour where the staff and 
 blade join. The natives, however, like to have swords and 
 bucklers, or musquets carried before them, and some have lately 
 ventured to mount sentries at their gates, equipped very nearly 
 like the regular troops in the pay of Government. One of these 
 the Baboo soon afterwards pointed out to me, at the great house 
 of the Mullich family, near the entrance of Calcutta. I had after- 
 wards however reason to know, that this was without permission, 
 
 * He was subsequently made Raja Bahadur by Lord Amherst, and to his munificent 
 donation of 20,000 S. rupees, is the erection of the Central School for the Education of Native 
 Females in Calcutta, mainly to be attributed. Other charitable institutions are likewise largely 
 indebted to his liberality. — Ed.
 
 MARRIAGE PROCESSION. 71 
 
 and that Rooplaul MuUich got severely censured for it by the 
 Persian secretary, whose functions extend to the regulation of 
 precedence among the natives throughout India, and indeed to 
 many of the duties of our Herald's College. 
 
 March 5, Friday. — This evening I preached the first of a 
 course of Lent Lectures on the Sermon on the Mount. Unfor- 
 tunately I have all these to write de novo, my books and papers 
 being as yet inaccessible, and I have very little time for either 
 reading or composition. I must however do my best. The 
 Church was extremely well attended, far indeed beyond my ex- 
 pectations. In our way there we passed a marriage procession. 
 The sort of palanquin in which the bridegroom was carried was 
 according to the old Indian fashion, much handsomer than that 
 now in use, but probably not so convenient. The vehicle 
 of the bride was a common mehannah palanquin, closed up, 
 and looking like a coffin. The number of torches carried before 
 and on every side of the bridegroom was a practical illustration 
 of the glorious simile of the rising sun in the Psalms. By the way 
 ought not the word '"^^?, (Canticles iii. 7.) which our translators 
 render " bed" to be '* litter," or '' palanquin ?" It appears from 
 what goes before that Solomon had made ajouriieij in it, — ** coming 
 up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke", with all the dust of 
 his bearers round him, and escorted by 70 warriors during his 
 nightly journey. Nor are four-post bedsteads used (see ver. 9.) 
 in any part of the East. *' Pereant qui nostra ante nos !" I find 
 the same thought in Harmer, though in the midst of so mucli 
 nonsense, that I am almost ashamed of my own conjecture. I 
 believe it, however, to be right, though it has got into bad company. 
 
 March 8. — I had an interesting visit this morning from Rha- 
 dacant Deb, the son of a man of large fortune, and some rank and 
 consequence in Calcutta, whose carriage, silver sticks, and attend- 
 ants were altogether the smartest I had yet seen in India. He is 
 a young man of pleasing countenance and manners, speaks English 
 well, and has read many of our popular authors, particularly his-
 
 72 RHADACANT DEB. 
 
 torical and geographical. He lives a good deal with Europeans, 
 and has been very laudably active and liberal in forwarding, both 
 by money and exertions, the education of his countrymen. He is 
 secretary, gratuitously, to the Calcutta School Society, and has him- 
 self published some elementary works in Bengalee. With all this 
 he is believed to be a great bigot in the religion of his country's 
 gods, — one of the few sincere ones, it is said, among the present 
 race of wealthy Baboos. When the meeting was held by the 
 Hindoo gentlemen of Calcutta, to vote an address of thanks to 
 Lord Hastings on his leaving Bengal, Rhadacant Deb proposed as 
 an amendment that Lord Hastings should be particularly thanked 
 for " the protection and encouragement which he had afforded to 
 the ancient and orthodox practice of widows burning themselves 
 with their husbands' bodies," — a proposal which was seconded by 
 Hurree Mohun Thakoor, another wealthy Baboo. It was lost 
 however, the cry of the meeting, though all Hindoos, being deci- 
 dedly against it. But it shews the warmth of Rhadacant Deb's 
 prejudices. With all this I found him a pleasing man, not un- 
 willing to converse on religious topics, and perhaps even liking to 
 do so from a consciousness that he was a shrewd reasoner, and from 
 anxiety, which he expressed strongly, to vindicate his creed in the 
 estimation of foreigners. He complained that his countrymen 
 had been much misrepresented, that many of their observances 
 were misunderstood both by Europeans and the vulgar in India, 
 that for instance, the prohibition of particular kinds of food, and the 
 rules of caste had a spiritual meaning, and were intended to act as 
 constant mementos of the duties of temperance, humanity, ab- 
 straction from the world, &c. He admitted the beauty of the 
 Christian morality readily enough, but urged that it did not suit 
 the people of Hindostan ; and that our drinking wine, and eating 
 the flesh of so useful and excellent a creature as the cow, would, 
 in India, be not only shocking, but very unwholesome. I said 
 that nobody among us was required to eat beef if he did not like 
 it. He however shook his head, and said that the vulgar of India
 
 HINDOOSTANEE PENTATEUCH. 73 
 
 would eat beef readily enough if they were allowed to do so. He 
 asked me several questions respecting the doctrines of the Church 
 of England, on which I hope I gave him satisfactory information, 
 (preferring to remove his prejudices against us, rather than to 
 make any direct attack on his own principles). His greatest 
 curiosity, however, was about the Free-masons, who had lately 
 been going in solemn procession to lay the first stone of the new 
 Hindoo College. " Were they Christians ?" *' Were they of my 
 Church ?" He could not understand that this bond of union 
 was purely civil, convivial, or benevolent, seeing they made so 
 much use of prayer ; and was greatly surprised when I said, that 
 in Europe both Christians and Mussulmans belonged to the 
 Society ; and that of the gentlemen whom he had seen the other 
 day, some went to the Cathedral, and some to Dr. Bryce's church. 
 He did not, indeed, understand that between Dr. Bryce and the 
 other chaplains any difference existed ; and I had no desire, on 
 finding this, to carry my explanations on this point further. He 
 asked, at length, " if I was a Mason ?" " If I knew their secret ?" 
 " If I could guess it Y' " If I thought it was any thing wicked or 
 Jacobinical ?" I answered, that I was no Mason ; and took care to 
 express my conviction that the secret, if there was any, was per- 
 fectly harmless ; and we parted very good friends, with mutual 
 expressions of anxiety to meet again. Greatly indeed should I 
 rejoice, if any thing which I can say would be of service to him. 
 
 I have for these few days past been reading the Hindoostanee 
 Pentateuch, with my " Moonshee," or teacher, who has never seen 
 it before, and is highly delighted with its beauty and eloquence, 
 particularly with the account of Paradise, the flood, and the fall 
 of man. " It must have been a delightful place," said he, when 
 reading of Eden and its four rivers. He asked me many, and some 
 very interesting questions, and I began almost to hope that what 
 I had the opportunity of saying to him, would, joined to the ex- 
 cellence of the Scriptures themselves, have gradually some effect, 
 when one day he manifested a jealousy of the superiority of our 
 
 L
 
 74 BUILDINGS. 
 
 Scriptures over those of his countrymen, and brought me a book, 
 which he assured me greatly resembled the work of Moses, begging 
 me to read it, which I readily promised. It was a translation into 
 English of the " Supta Sati^' a. portion of the " Marcumdeya 
 Purana," and recounts the exploits of a certain goddess, named 
 *' Maha-Maya." (Great Delusion,) produced by the combined 
 energies of all the deities united, in order to defeat the demons 
 and giants. Some parts of it are not unlike the most inflated 
 descriptions in the Edda ; and though a strange rhapsody, it is not 
 devoid of spirit. But it has not the most distant approach to 
 any moral lesson, or to any practical wisdom. The translator is a 
 Brahmin from Madras, now in Calcutta soliciting subscriptions for 
 the sufferers by famine on the Coromandel coast. He called on 
 me the other day for this purpose ; for which also he had con- 
 trived to assemble a numerous meeting of wealthy natives, an 
 event so unusual as to excite much surprise among those Euro- 
 peans whom I have heard mention it. None of the sums sub- 
 scribed were very large, but it is a new thing to see a charitable 
 feeling of this kind awakened among them. I felt myself bound 
 to subscribe, if it were only to show them that in such under- 
 takings Christians would gladly co-operate with them, and even 
 entrust their money to their distribution. On talking, however, 
 with one of the most liberal of the subscribers, (Vomanundun 
 Thakoor,) I found they had not the same confidence in each other 
 which I placed in them. " Ramaswani Pundit," he said, " may 
 be a very good man, but I took care at the meeting that all the 
 money subscribed should be lodged with the house of Palmer and 
 Co., and be distributed at Madras by the English committee there. 
 I do not know the Madras Pundits, — but I know that Europe gen- 
 tlemen have character to lose." 
 
 The external meanness of all the shops, depositories, and 
 warehouses in this great city is surprising. The bazars are wretch- 
 edness itself, without any approach to those covered walks, which 
 are the chief glory of the cities of Turkey, Russia, and Persia, and
 
 MOSQUES. 75 
 
 which, in a cHmate like this, where both the sun and the rains are 
 intolerable, would be more than any where else desireable. Yet I 
 have read magnificent accounts of the shops and bazars of Cal- 
 cutta. But they were in the same authors who talk of the pictu- 
 resque appearance of its " Minarets,'' whereas there is absolutely 
 no single minaret in Calcutta ; nor so far as I have seen or heard, 
 in any of its neighbouring towns. Hamilton's book, where this is 
 mentioned, is generally regarded as very correct. How could 
 such a mistake occur in a matter, of all others, the most obvious 
 to the eye } There are many small mosques, indeed, but the 
 Muezzins all stand at the door, or on some small eminence adjoin- 
 ing. Minarets there are none. Perhaps he confounded the church 
 and steeple, and supposed that mosque and minaret were synony- 
 mous. But none of the mosques are seen in any general view of 
 Calcutta, being too small, too low, and built in too obscure corners 
 to be visible, till one is close upon them. They rather, indeed, 
 resemble the tombs of saints, than places for public worship, such 
 as are seen in Turkey, Persia, and the south of Russia. Though 
 diminutive, however, many of them are pretty, and the sort of 
 eastern Gothic style in which they are built, is to my eye, though 
 trained up to reverence the pure English style, extremely pleas- 
 ing. They consist generally of a parallelogram of about thirty-six 
 feet by twelve, or hardly so much, surmounted by three little 
 domes, the apex of each terminated by a flower, with small but 
 richly ornamented pinnacles in the angles. The faces of the build- 
 ing are covered with a good deal of Arabesque tracery, and pierced 
 with a small door, of Gothic form, in the centre of one of the 
 longest faces, and a small window, of almost similar form, on each 
 side. Opposite to the door, which opens eastward, and on the 
 western side, is a small recess, which serves to enshrine the Coran, 
 and to direct the eyes of the faithful to the " Kibla" of Mecca. 
 The taste of these little oratories is better than their materials, 
 which are unfortunately, in this part of India, nothing but brick 
 covered with plaster : while they last, however, they are really 
 
 L 2
 
 76 FESTIVAL OF CHURRUCK POOJAH. 
 
 great ornaments to the lanes and villages where they occur, and 
 might furnish some advantageous hints, I think, to the Christian 
 architects of India. 
 
 March 25. — Our friends, Mr. and Miss Stowe arrived, well 
 and in good spirits, after a very tedious voyage. 
 
 Ajyril 9. — The Hindoo festival of " Churruck Poojah" com- 
 menced to-day, of which, as my wife has given an account in her 
 journal ^, I shall only add a few particulars. 
 
 *" One of the Hindoo festivals in honour of the goddess KaU commenced this evening. 
 Near the river a crowd was assembled round a stage of bamboos, 15 feet high, composed of two 
 upright, and three horizontal poles, which last were placed at about five feet asunder. On this 
 kind of ladder several men mounted, with large bags, out of which they threw down various 
 articles to the by-standers, who caught them with great eagerness ; but I was too far off to 
 ascertain what they were. They then one by one raised their joined hands over their heads, and 
 threw themselves down with a force which must have proved fatal had not their fall been broken 
 by some means or other. The crowd was too dense to allow of my discovering how this was 
 effected ; but it is certain they were unhurt, as they immediately re-ascended, and performed 
 the same ceremonies many times. 
 
 On the 10th we were awakened before day-break, by the discordant sounds of native musical 
 instruments, and immediately mounted our horses, and rode to the Meidan. As the morning 
 advanced we could see an immense crowd coming down the Chowringhee road, which was aug- 
 mented by persons joining it from all the streets and lanes of the city. We entered the crowd, 
 taking the precaution of making the Saees walk close by my horse's head, who was frightened 
 at the music, dancing, and glare of torches, accompanied at intervals by the deep sound of 
 the gong. 
 
 " The double double peal of the drum was there. 
 And the startling sound of the trumpet's blare, 
 And the gong, that seemed with its thunders dread 
 To stun the living, and waken the dead." 
 
 In the midst of this crowd walked and danced the miserable fanatics, torturing them- 
 selves in the most horrible manner, and each surrounded by his own particular band of admirers, 
 with music and torches. ****** Their countenances denoted suffering, but they evidently 
 gloried in their patient endurance, and probably were supported by the assurance that they were 
 expiating the sins of the past year by suffering voluntarily, and without a groan, this agony. 
 
 We had considerable difficulty in making our way through the crowd ; but when we had 
 arrived at a short distance from the scene of action, the coup d'oeil was beautifully picturesque, 
 and forcibly reminded me of an English race-course : flags were flying in every direction, — 
 liooths were erected with stages for dancing ; the flowing white garments of the natives gave the 
 impression of a numerous assemblage of well-dressed women; and though on a nearer approach 
 their dingy complexions destroyed tho illusion, yet the scene lost nothing of its beauty. I never 
 saw in England such a multitude collected together ; but this is one of their most famous
 
 FESTIVAL OF CHURRUCK POOJAH. 77 
 
 The crowd on the Meidan was great, and very picturesque. 
 The music consisted chiefly of large double drums, ornamented 
 with plumes of black feathers, like those of a hearse, which rose 
 considerably higher than the heads of the persons who played on 
 them ; large crooked trumpets, like the " litui" of the ancients, 
 and small gongs suspended from a bamboo, which rested on the 
 shoulders of two men, the last of whom played on it, with a large, 
 thick, and heavy drum-stick, or cudgel. All the persons who 
 walked in the procession, and a large majority of the spectators, 
 had their faces, bodies, and white cotton clothes daubed all over 
 with vermilion, the latter to a degree which gave them the appear- 
 ance of being actually dyed rose-colour. They were also crowned 
 with splendid garlands of flowers, with girdles and baldrics of the 
 same. Many trophies and pageants of different kinds were paraded 
 up and down, on stages drawn by horses, or bullocks. Some were 
 mythological, others were imitations of different European figures, 
 soldiers, ships, &c. and, in particular, there was one very large 
 model of a steam-boat. The devotees went about with small 
 spears through their tongues and arms, and still more with hot 
 
 festivals, and the people had assembled from all the neighbouring villages. The noise of the 
 music continued till about noon, when the devotees retired to heal their wounds. These are 
 said to be dangerous, and occasionally to prove fatal. One of our servants, a " Musalchee," 
 or torch-bearer, of the lowest caste, (for it seems that none of a higher sort practise these cru- 
 elties,) ran about the house with a small spear through his tongue, begging money from his 
 fellow-servants ; this man appeared stupified with opium, which I am told is generally taken by 
 these poor wretches, to deaden their feelings ; and the parts through which the spears are thrust 
 are said to be previously rubbed for a considerable time, till numbness ensues. 
 
 In the evening the Bishop walked to the Boitaconnah, the part of the city where the trees 
 for swinging are erected ; they are not suffered to be placed near the European residences. He 
 arrived in time to be a spectator of the whole ceremony. The victim was led, covered with 
 flowers, and without any apparent reluctance, to the foot of the tree : hooks were then thrust 
 through the muscles of his sides, which he endured without shrinking, and a broad bandage 
 was fastened round his waist, to prevent the hooks from being torn through by the weight of his 
 body. He was then raised up, and whirled round ; at first the motion was slow, but by degrees 
 was increased to considerable rapidity. In a few minutes it ceased ; and the by-standers were 
 going to let him down, when he made signs that they should proceed : this resolution was re- 
 ceived with great applause by the crowd, and after drinking some water he was again spun 
 round. — Extract from the Editor's Journal.
 
 78 
 
 FESTIVAL OF CHURRUCK POOJAH. 
 
 irons pressed against their sides. All were naked to the waist, 
 covered with flowers, and plentifully raddled with vermilion, while 
 their long, black, wet hair hung down their backs, almost to their 
 loins. From time to time, as they passed us, they laboured to 
 seem to dance, but in general their step was slow, their counte- 
 nances expressive of resigned and patient suffering, and there was 
 no appearance, that I saw, of any thing like frenzy or intoxication. 
 The peaceableness of the multitude was also as remarkable as its 
 number ; no troops were visible, except the two sentries, who at 
 all times keep guard on two large tanks in the Meidan ; no police, 
 except the usual '* Chokeydar," or watchman % at his post, near 
 Allypoor Bridge ; yet nothing like quarrelling or rioting occurred, 
 and very little scolding. A similar crowd in England would have 
 shewn three boxing-matches in half an hour, and in Italy there 
 would have been half a dozen assassinations before night. In the 
 evening I walked in another direction, towards the Boitaconnah, 
 and the streets chiefly occupied by natives. Here I saw the 
 " swinging," which may be best understood from a sketch, how- 
 ever rude. 
 
 1 hese watchmen are less numerous, and not more efficient than their brethren in the streets 
 of London. They do not cry the hour, but proclaim their wakefulness by uttering loud howls 
 from time to time. They are armed with pistol, sword, and shield.— Ed.
 
 CHRISTENING. 79 
 
 April 15. — The weather is now very hot, unusually so, as we 
 are told, owing to the want of that refreshment which north- 
 westers usually bestow at this time of year, but my wife and I, by 
 rising at four o'clock, continue to enjoy a delightful ride every 
 morning, though by a httle after six the sun is so hot as to drive 
 us in again. We have tried to keep our rooms cool with " tatties," 
 which are mats formed of the kuskos, a peculiar sweet-scented 
 grass, set up before an open window, in the quarter of the prevail- 
 ing wind, and kept constantly wet by a " bheestie," or water-carrier, 
 on the outside. They are very pleasant when there is a strong 
 wind, but this year four days out of five we have no wind at all. 
 They have also this inconvenience, that if the bheestie neglects his 
 work for a few minutes (and unless one is always watching him he 
 is continually dropping asleep,) a stream of hot air enters, whicli 
 makes the room and the whole house intolerable. We are, there- 
 fore, advised to shut up all our windows about eight o'clock every 
 morning, merely agitating the air within by punkahs, and getting 
 rid as much as possible of all outward breezes. Thus we certainly 
 find that the atmosphere within doors is preserved at a much 
 lower temperature than the outward air, i. e. at eighty or eighty- 
 five degrees instead of a hundred. Thus confined, it is, however, 
 close and grave-hke ; but if we go to an open window or door, it 
 is Hterally like approaching the mouth of one of the blast-furnaces 
 in Colebrook Dale. 
 
 April 21. — I entered into my 42nd year. God grant that 
 my future years may be as happy, if he sees good ! and better, far 
 better spent than those which are gone by ! This day I christened 
 my dear little Harriet. God bless and prosper her with all earthly 
 and heavenly blessings ! We had afterwards a great dinner and 
 evening party, at which were present the Governor and Lady 
 Amherst, and nearly all our acquaintance in Calcutta. To the 
 latter I also asked several of the wealthy natives, who were much 
 pleased with the attention, being in fact one which no European 
 of high station in Calcutta had previously paid to any of them.
 
 80 CHOLERA MORBUS. 
 
 Hurree Mohun Thakoor observing " what an increased interest the 
 presence of females gave to our parties," I reminded him that the 
 introduction of women into society was an ancient Hindoo custom, 
 and only discontinued in consequence of the Mussulman conquest. 
 He assented with a laugh, adding, however, " it is too late for us to 
 go back to the old custom now." Rhadacant Deb, who overheard 
 us, observed more seriously '' it is very true that we did not use 
 to shut up our women till the times of the Mussulmans. But 
 before we could give them the same liberty as the Europeans they 
 must be better educated." I introduced these Baboos to the 
 Chief-justice, which pleased them much, though perhaps they were 
 still better pleased with my wife herself presenting them pawn, 
 rose-water, and attar of roses before they went, after the native 
 custom. 
 
 Ajmil 24. — The Cholera Morbus is making great ravages 
 among the natives. Few Europeans have yet died of it, but to all 
 it is sufficiently near to remind us of our utter dependance on 
 God's mercy, and how near we are in the midst of life to death ! 
 Surely there is no country in the world where this recollection 
 ought to be more perpetually present with us than India. All 
 persons experienced in this climate deny that any of the country 
 fevers are contagious. A very blessed circumstance surely, what- 
 ever may be its immediate cause. 
 
 Ju?ie 10. — -The time that has intervened since the 24th of 
 April has been spent in a very painful manner. I have had to 
 deplore the death of my excellent friend Sir Christopher Puller, 
 and for a considerable time had also to apprehend that it would 
 soon be followed by those of his widow and son ; but it pleased 
 God to bless with success Dr. Abel's medical skill, and they 
 embarked for England in the same vessel, which, six weeks before, 
 hadbrought them out with a husband and a father, — all happiness, 
 and agreeable anticipation ! May God protect and comfort them ! 
 
 During the greater part of last month the weather was 
 intensely hot and very sickly, though a temporary relief was
 
 NORTH-WESTERS. 81 
 
 afforded by a few north-westers, accompanied by heavy showers, 
 thunder, and hghtening. These storms w^ere some of them very 
 aweful at the time, but as they increased in frequency their 
 fury abated, and recently the weather has not been unhke a close 
 damp rainy autumn in England. The change these storms pro- 
 duced, both on the animal and vegetable creation, is great. The 
 grass and trees, which always indeed retained a verdure far beyond 
 what I could have expected, have assumed a richer luxuriance. 
 A fresh crop of flowers has appeared on many of the trees and 
 shrubs, the mangoes and other fruits have increased to treble and 
 quadruple the bulk which the first specimens exhibited, the 
 starved cattle are seen every where greedily devouring the young 
 grass, which young as it is, is already up to their knees ; the 
 gigantic cranes, most of whom disappeared during the drought, 
 have winged their way back from the Sunderbunds (their summer 
 retreats) ; the white and red paddy birds are fluttering all over the 
 Meidan ; and the gardens, fields, and ditches (and the ground-floors 
 of some of the houses too,) swarm with the largest and noisiest 
 frogs I ever saw or heard. One of these frogs I saw, about as 
 large, I think, as a good sized gosling, and very beautiful, being 
 green speckled with black, and almost transparent. Some of the 
 lizards (also green) are very beautiful, but they are less abundant 
 now than they were during the hot season. I have as yet seen in 
 Calcutta neither snake, scorpion, nor centipede, nor any insect 
 more formidable than a long thin starveling sort of hornet, or rather 
 wasp, which has now disappeared. Of the fruits which this season 
 offers, the finest are leechees, and mangoes ; the first is really very 
 fine, being a sort of plum, with the flavour of a Frontigniac grape. 
 The second is a noble fruit in point of size, being as large as a 
 man's two fists ; its flavour is not unlike an apricot, more or less 
 smeared with turpentine. It would not, I think, be popular in 
 England, but in India it may pass for very good, particularly 
 when the terebinthian flavour does not predominate. When not 
 quite ripe it makes an excellent tart. 
 
 M
 
 82 ORDINATION OF CHRISTIAN DAVID. 
 
 June 14. — I have had a very interesting and avveful ceremony 
 to perform in the ordination of Christian David, a native of 
 Malabar, and pupil of Swartz, who has been for many years a 
 Catechist in the employ of the Society for Promoting Christian 
 Knowledge in Ceylon, and now came to me, recommended by 
 Archdeacon Twistleton, and qualified with the title of a Colonial 
 Chaplaincy by Sir Edward Barnes, the governor of the island. 
 David passed an exceeding good examination, and gave much 
 satisfaction to every body by his modesty, good sense, and good 
 manners. He was ordained Deacon on Holy Thursday, on which 
 day also I held my Visitation, and had a good attendance of 
 Clergy, and a numerous audience, notwithstanding the early hour 
 at w^hich it was celebrated. On Trinity Sunday I had the satis- 
 faction (though by me it was felt at the same time, in some degree, 
 a terrible responsibility,) of ordaining him Priest. God grant that 
 his ministration may be blessed to his own salvation, and that of 
 many others ! He was lodged during his residence in Bengal in 
 the Bishop's College, and received much attention and kindness 
 from Lady Amherst, and many others. He preached on Thursday 
 evening at the old Church, and it was proposed to publish his 
 sermon ; but this I thought it best to discourage.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CALCUTTA TO SIBNIBASHI. 
 
 Departure — Pinnace — Bengalee boat — Hiyidoo Fanatics — North- Wester— Chinsura—Rana- 
 ghdt — Sihnibashi — Ruins — Raja Omichund — Durbar — Decoits. 
 
 June 15. — This morning I left Calcutta for my Visitation through 
 the Upper Provinces. This excursion, to which both my wife and 
 I had long looked forwards with dehghtful anticipations, will now 
 become a dreary banishment to me, as the state of her own health, 
 and the circumstance of her having an infant, are considered as 
 insuperable obstacles to her undertaking such a journey. Accom- 
 panied by my domestic Chaplain, Mr. Stowe, I embarked on board 
 a fine 16 oared pinnace for Dacca, which was to be the first station 
 on my Visitation. After about two hours squabbling with the 
 owner and navigators of the vessel, we got under weigh, with a 
 fine south breeze and the flood-tide. Archdeacon Corrie, with 
 his wife and children, accompanied us in a budgerow, and we had 
 two smaller boats, one for cooking, the other for our baggage. We 
 advanced to Barrackpoor that night, and in order to make up for 
 lost time, I urged the boatmen forw^ards a good while after it was 
 dark, the river being familiar to us all. The lights in Serampoor 
 and Barrackpoor, the tall massive shadows of the Government 
 House, and of two state barges in the river, which by this uncer- 
 tain light, appeared like vessels of considerable importance, made 
 our anchoring place very beautiful. Soon after we were made 
 snug for the night a strong storm of rain and wind came on. Our 
 course during this day was pretty steadily north-north-west by 
 quarter west, — the distance 24 miles. 
 
 M 2
 
 g4 BENGALEE BOATS. 
 
 June 16. — We weighed anchor about half-past four, and 
 arrived at Chandernagore by half-past nine. We there paid the 
 Governor, Mons. Pellissier a visit, w^ho pressed us to stay dinner 
 with him, which invitation we accepted. The Governor's house 
 has been much beautified since I was here before, and now has 
 really a very handsome appearance. Between Barrackpoor and 
 Chandernagore are some large and handsome pagodas, which are 
 however excelled in beauty by one of a smaller size, under a noble 
 grove of tall trees. 
 
 A Bengalee boat is the simplest and rudest of all possible 
 structures. It is decked over, throughout its whole length, with 
 bamboo ; and on this is erected a low light fabric of bamboo and 
 straw, exactly like a small cottage without a chimney. This is 
 the cabin, baggage-room, &c. ; here the passengers sit and sleep, 
 and here, if it be intended for a cooking-boat, are one or two small 
 ranges of brick-work, like English hot-hearths, but not rising more 
 than a few inches above the deck, with small, round, sugar-loaf 
 holes, like those in a lime-kiln, adapted for dressing victuals with 
 charcoal. As the roof of this apartment is by far too fragile for 
 men to stand or sit on, and as the apartment itself takes up nearly 
 two-thirds of the vessel, upright bamboos are fixed by its side, 
 which support a kind of grating of the same material, immediately 
 above the roof, on which, at the height probably of six or eight 
 feet above the surface of the water, the boatmen sit or stand to 
 work the vessel. They have, for oars, long bamboos, with circular 
 boards at the end, a longer one of the same sort to steer with, 
 a long rough bamboo for a mast, and one, or sometimes two sails, 
 of a square form, (or rather broader above than below,) of very 
 coarse and flimsy canvass. Nothing can seem more clumsy or 
 dangerous than these boats. Dangerous I believe they are, but 
 with a fair wind they sail over the water merrily. The breeze this 
 morning carried us along at a good rate, yet our English-rigged 
 brig could do no more than keep up with the cooking boat. 
 
 There is a large ruined building a few miles to the south of
 
 CHANDERNAGORE-DEVOTEES. 85 
 
 Chandernagore, which was the country house of the Governor, 
 during the golden days of that settlement, and of the French 
 influence in this part of India. It was suffered to fall to decay 
 when Chandernagore was seized by us ; but when Mr. Corrie came 
 to India, was, though abandoned, still entire, and very magnificent, 
 with a noble stair-case, painted ceilings, &c. ; and altogether, in 
 his opinion, the finest building of the kind in this country. It has 
 at present a very melancholy aspect, and in some degree reminded 
 me of Moreton-Corbet % having, like that, the remains of Grecian 
 pillars and ornaments, with a high carved pediment. In beauty of 
 decoration, however, it falls far short of Moreton-Corbet, in its 
 present condition. This is the only visible sign of declining pros- 
 perity in this part of the country. The town of Chandernagore 
 itself, though small, is neat, and even handsome. It has a Httle 
 Catholic church, and some very tolerable streets, with respectable 
 dwelling-houses. An appearance of neatness and comfort is 
 exhibited by the native villages ; and, as an Indian generally lays 
 out some of his superfluous wealth in building or adding to a 
 pagoda, it is a strong mark of progressive and rapid improvement 
 to say, as Mr. Corrie did to-day, that all the large pagodas between 
 " Calcutta and this place have been founded, or re-built, in his 
 memory.'' This, however, I must confess, does not tell much for 
 the inclination of the Hindoos to receive a new religion. Indeed, 
 except in our schools, I see no appearance of it. The austerities 
 and idolatries exercised by them, strike me as much, or I think 
 more, the more I see of them. A few days since I saw a tall, 
 large, elderly man, nearly naked, walking with three or four others, 
 who suddenly knelt down one after the other, and catching hold 
 of his foot, kissed it repeatedly. The man stood with much gra- 
 vity to allow them to do so, but said nothing. lie had the string 
 (" peeta,") of a Brahmin. Another man passed us on Sunday 
 morning last, hopping on one foot. He was a devotee who had 
 made a vow never to use the other, which was now contracted, and 
 
 ' A ruinous building in Shropshire. — Ed.
 
 86 NORTH-WESTER. 
 
 shrunk close up to his hams. Lately, too, I saw a man who held 
 his hands always above his head, and had thus lost the power of 
 brin^ino- them down to his sides. In general, however, I must own 
 that these spectacles are not so common, at least so far as I can 
 yet judge, as, before I came to India, I expected to find them. 
 
 Chandernagore was taken by Lord Clive and Admiral Watson, 
 in 17o7, after a gallant and bloody defence: and it is worth re- 
 cording, as a proof of the alterations which have taken place in 
 this branch of the Ganges, that Watson brought up a 74 gun ship 
 to batter it. It was afterwards restored to the French, who lost 
 it again during the war of the Revolution, but who have now 
 received some favours from the English Government, at which, 
 when compared with the severity shewn towards the colonists of 
 Serampoor, the latter think they have reason to repine. 
 
 We spent a very pleasant evening with Mons. Pellissier. Our 
 party consisted of his wife, daughter, and son, the physician and 
 secretary of the factory, and an Abbe, whom 1 supposed to be the 
 chaplain. The little church, which I had seen from the beach, 
 belongs to the " Tibet Mission," a branch of the Society '* pro 
 propaganda fide," at Rome, which seems to extend its cares all 
 over India, which it supplies for the most part with Italian priests, 
 though my old visitor, the Rev. Jacob Mecazenas, the Georgian 
 monk, is one of its agents. They have a bishop somewhere near 
 Agra, an Italian, and the priests, (for I understood there were 
 more than one at Chandernagore,) are of this nation also. We 
 returned to our pinnace soon after ten. 
 
 June 17. — About two o'clock this morning we had a north- 
 wester, accompanied with violent thunder and lightening. It lasted 
 about two hours, and was so severe, that we could not but feel 
 thankful that it had not overtaken us the night before, while we 
 were under sail. I have never heard louder thunder, or seen so 
 vivid and formidable lightening. Happily, our attendant boats 
 were close in shore, under the shelter of the high bank, while our 
 own mariners did their work exceedingly well and quietly, letting 
 go a second anchor, and veering out as much cable as they had on
 
 CHINSURA. 87 
 
 board. After having done all that under such circumstances was 
 to be done, they gave the cry of " Allah hu Allah !" and went to 
 prayers, a circumstance which, unaccompanied as it was by any 
 marks of confusion or trepidation, gave me a very favourable im- 
 pression of them, though I afterwards recollected that it was in 
 fact pretty near the hour when that call is uttered from the mosque, 
 which used to thrill me when I heard it in the Crimea, '' Prayer is 
 better than sleep ! prayer is better than sleep !" Our boat, with 
 this length of cable, rode well and easily, but we had some trou- 
 blesome work in closing the cabin windows, as our rooms, and all 
 they contained, were getting a complete cold bath. Indeed, there 
 really ran something like a sea in the channel of the river where 
 we now lay. What passed gave me confidence in the vessel and 
 her crew. The latter are numerous, sixteen rowers, four men 
 accustomed to the management of the sails, and the serang, all 
 Mussulmans, and natives of Dacca, and its vicinity. They are wild 
 and odd-looking people, light-hmbed, and lean, and very black, 
 but strong and muscular, and all young men, with a fiercer eye and 
 far less civil manner than the Hindoos of Calcutta, to which ex- 
 pression of character their dress contributes, (when they wear any, 
 which is the case this cool morning) being old uniform jackets of 
 the infantry and artillery, with red caps and dirty turbans wrapped 
 round them. As they sat round the fire this morning, cooking their 
 victuals for breakfast, they might pass for no bad representatives of 
 Malay pirates. The wind, though much abated, continued till after 
 five to blow so hard, that the boatmen declined heaving anchor ; 
 but having then shifted to the south again, we set off, and 
 sailed with great rapidity by Chinsura and Hooghly, which form 
 almost one town, with some large and handsome, though deserted- 
 looking, houses. At Chinsurah is a church, and beyond Hooghly, 
 at a place I believe named Banda, is a large Italian-looking 
 church, with what appears to be a convent. The river here con- 
 tracts very much, the banks are higher and more precipitous, and 
 the view of the channel, with our little fleet in it, extremely pic-
 
 88 ROBBERS. 
 
 turesque and pretty. I hailed INIr. Corrie, and was glad to hear 
 they had sustained no damage in the storm. The river now again 
 expanded into a broad sheet of water, with rice-grounds on each 
 side, and the villages further removed from each other, but each 
 marked out by its wood of tall fruit-trees. The country, except 
 that the river is so much wider, is not at all unlike some parts of 
 Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire on the Thames. There are 
 fewer pagodas to be seen, and none so handsome as those we have 
 j)assed. There is, how^ever, a rather more abundant sprinkling of 
 European-like houses and bungalows, the residences of the indigo 
 planters, as our boatmen tell us. And one of the villages, which 
 has two or three brick houses, and a small low^ tower attached to 
 one of them, was interesting to us, from the sort of resemblance it 
 offered to some in our ow^n dear England. A little above this village 
 we passed " a sign of a civilized country," being a gibbet, with two 
 men in chains on it, who were, as our Serang told us, executed two 
 years ago for robbery and murder in this neighbourhood, but not 
 on the river. The district bears a bad name for all sorts of rob- 
 bery. A mile or two higher up is a large island, which seems to 
 have been recently deserted by the stream, and not yet taken 
 possession of by man, being mostly bare sand, and bordered by 
 long grass and reeds (not bamboos), a very likely place for wild 
 beasts to harbour. It was indeed in this neighbourhood that Mrs. 
 Corrie saw the fresh print of a tyger's feet, exactly like those of a 
 cat, but each as large as a good sized plate. Here again the banks 
 of the river are precipitous, and Southey might have taken the 
 spot as the scene of his Kailyal, and the image of her guardian 
 goddess falling down the crumbling steep into the river. A few 
 miles further brought us to a broad channel, which diverged to 
 our right hand from the main bed of the river, being in fact a 
 stream flowing into the Hooghly, and itself derived from the 
 INlatabunga, a branch of the great Ganges, which flow^s from the 
 neighbourhood of Jellinghy to the centre of the Sunderbunds. 
 This, when there is water enough to float large vessels, is the most
 
 PINNACE AGROUND. 89 
 
 direct communication between Calcutta and Dacca, and we had 
 some reason to hope we might find it navigable at present. We 
 anchored therefore at the mouth, and sent the jolly-boat with the 
 Serang and Abdullah ^ to make enquiry at Seebpoor, a place where 
 toll is paid, a little within the entrance. I sent Abdullah, who 
 speaks English, in the belief that an European was stationed there, 
 from whom he was more likely to obtain information than a 
 Dandee. In the meantime, and after they had been gone a 
 quarter of an hour, the wind changed two points more westerly, 
 and began to blow harder, so that I perceived we should have 
 some difficulty to avoid going ashore, from which we were scarcely 
 half a cable's length distant. I therefore proposed to the boat- 
 men to weigh anchor, and proceed a little farther, while yet we 
 had the power. They readily assented, and were going to do so, 
 when the return of the Serang put a stop to our proceedings. He, 
 indeed, immediately called to them, on reaching the vessel, to go 
 on with what they had begun, at the same time sending some men 
 with long bamboos to the stern, to stave the vessel off the shore. 
 This was very necessary, since ashore she went in a few minutes, 
 and the wind freshening, and there being little or no tide to help 
 us here, I concluded that we were to continue fixed till the 
 rising of the river from the rains set us free. To my surprise, 
 however, the matter was settled in a few minutes ; all the crew 
 but the Serang, who remained to steer, jumped into the water 
 about as high as their waists. Half the party by main strength 
 and weight of pressure, thrust off the boat from the bank, while 
 as soon as she floated, the rest began to tow a head. They 
 thus carried her merrily along the lee shore for about 200 yards, 
 when the headland being passed, we had again sea room, and 
 they all swam on board like so many water-rats. This, of course, 
 
 •• This man was a Mussulman convert of Mr. Corrie's, who had travelled in Persia with 
 Sir Gore Ousley, and accompanied him to England, from whence he was returning in the 
 Grenville, in a state of great poverty, when the Bishop took him into his service as " jemautdar," 
 or head officer of the Peons. — Ed. 
 
 N
 
 90 VILLAGE OF RANAGHAT. 
 
 shews the extreme lightness of our vessel, and how little water 
 boats of her class require. In the meantime I was hearing the 
 report of Abdullah and the Serang, who as it appeared now, 
 had discovered no " Chokey" or toll-house, nor any thing of the 
 kind. They found, however, two large native boats which had 
 just come down the river, whose crew assured them there was 
 plenty of water for a vessel of greater burthen than ours, while 
 their account was in other respects so favourable as to distance 
 and time saved, that I made up my mind at once to go this way. 
 Accordingly, as Mr. Corrie's budgerow was in sight, I got into the 
 jolly-boat and went aboard to tell him my change of plan. We 
 parted w ith mutual kind wishes, and in the hope of meeting again 
 at Boglipoor the 20th of July. 
 
 Besides the saving of time which my journey to Dacca by this 
 course will occasion, I am not sorry to go through a part of the 
 country which I am told not many Europeans travei*se, and where 
 there are no stations or other usual places of intercourse between 
 them and the natives. We set sail about half-past one, and con- 
 tinued our course along the new channel till evening. We found 
 it about as wide as the Dee a little below Chester, flowing with a 
 gentle and equable stream from the north-east by north, through 
 fields cultivated to a considerable extent with indigo. Several 
 porpoises were playing round the vessel, and a good many fisher- 
 men came up to offer their wares for sale. We continued our 
 course through a country more bare of trees and more abundant in 
 pasture than those parts of Bengal which I had yet seen, till half- 
 past five in the evening, when the men, heartily tired, begged leave 
 to halt for the night at a place named Ranagh^t. This is a large 
 village, with two very noble villas, like those of the rich Baboos 
 in Calcutta, the property of a wealthy Hindoo family of the name 
 of Kishnapantee. A little before we reached these, we had passed 
 a ruined palace of an old Raja of Bengal (the boatmen knew no 
 more of him) and its name Urdun Kali. We took a short walk 
 after dinner, but found it too hot to go far. The scenery is still
 
 DEPARTURE FROM RANAGHAT. 91 
 
 like that near the Thames, and the hkeness is increased by the 
 circumstance that there are no coco-trees. The high crumbhng 
 bank of the river is full of small holes containing the nests of the 
 Mynas, and I saw a field of what I took for millet, which I did not 
 know was a product of India. Our boatmen, who had been in and 
 out of the water like any amphibious creatures, sometimes rowing, 
 sometimes pushing, sometimes di*agging our bark along the narrow 
 and winding channel, displaying great spirit, cheerfulness, and 
 activity, were seated on the bank dressing for supper the fish which 
 they had bought from the boats I mentioned ; while apart, at 
 cautious distance, and within their magic circle of chalk, our Hin- 
 doo servants were preparing a more fi'ugal repast of rice, currie, 
 and pine apples, which cost exactly a pice a piece. Of the small 
 fish a pice will buy two large handsfuU, as much as a man can well 
 keep in his grasp. The fires of these different messes were very 
 picturesque, and the more so, as a little further down, the crews 
 of the cooking and baggage boats had each their little bivouac. 
 I was glad these poor people got their supper over before the 
 usual north-wester and its fall of rain came to drive them under 
 cover. The wind, however, was a mere nothing, and even if it had 
 been a storm, it could not have touched us in our present 
 situation. 
 
 June 18.^ — Our course from Ranagh^t was up a ^\'ider and a 
 deeper stream, and chiefly to the N.W. a circumstance irreconcile- 
 able with Rennel's map, unless the discrepancy can be accounted 
 for by an extraordinary alteration of the river's channel. The banks 
 here are higher and more precipitous, the country woody, and 
 sometimes really very interesting, while coco-trees, of which we 
 supposed we had taken leave, re-appeared, and continued to tower, 
 from time to time, over the bamboos, banyans, and fruit-trees. 
 
 About half-past five we brought too for the night, at a place 
 which our crew called Sibnibashi, but so differently situated, 
 (being further to the south, and on a different side of the river) 
 from the Sibnibas of Rennel, that I at first thought they must be 
 
 n2
 
 92 SIBNIBASHI. 
 
 mistaken. We landed, with the intention of walking to some 
 pao-odas, whose high angular domes were seen above the trees of a 
 thick wood, at some small distance ; which wood however, as we 
 approached it, we found to be full of ruins, apparently of an 
 interesting description. Near our landing-place a row of large 
 Kedgeree pots, with their mouths carefully covered with leather, 
 as if just landed from a boat, attracted our attention. Abdullah 
 said that they probably contained Ganges water from Benares or 
 Hurdwar, which the Hindoos of high rank used for washing their 
 idols ; and that, in this case, they might be destined for the same 
 employment in the pagoda before us. As we advanced along the 
 shore, the appearance of ruins in the jungle became more unequi- 
 vocal ; and two very fine intelligent-looking boys whom we met, 
 told me, in answer to my enquiries, that the place was really Sib- 
 nibashi, — that it was very large and very old, and that there were 
 good paths through the ruins. These boys were naked, all but 
 their waist-cloths, like the other peasants ; they had, however, the 
 Brahminical string over their shoulders ; and Stowe, who, as 
 well as myself, was much struck by their manner, pleasing coun- 
 tenances, and comparatively fair complexions, observed, that the 
 Brahmins seemed really to maintain a certain degree of superiority 
 of intellect over the unprivileged classes. After a few questions, 
 they whispered to each other, and ran towards the jungle, leaving 
 us to pursue our track, which was narrow and winding, through 
 masses of brick-work and earthen mounds, with many tamarind 
 and peepul trees, intermixed with thickets of cactus, bamboo, and 
 a thorny plant a little like the acacia, on the whole reminding me 
 of some parts of the Roman wall at Silchester. We found four 
 pagodas, not large, but of good architecture, and very picturesque, 
 so that I much regretted the having left my sketch-book on board, 
 and the more so because it was now too late to get it before dusk. 
 The sight of one of the peons, who had followed me, though 
 without orders, with his silver mace, procured us much respect 
 from the brahmins and villagers, and the former were urgent to
 
 PAGODAS AT SIBNIBASHI. 93 
 
 show us their temples. The first which we visited was evidently 
 the most modern, being, as the officiating brahmin told us, only 
 fifty-seven years old. In England we should have thought it at 
 least 200 : but in this climate a building soon assumes, without 
 constant care, all the venerable tokens of antiquity. It was very 
 clean, however, and of good architecture ; a square tower, sur- 
 mounted by a pyramidal roof, with a high cloister of pointed 
 arches surrounding it externally to within ten feet of the springing 
 of the vault. The cloister was also vaulted, so that, as the brah- 
 min made me observe, with visible pride, the whole roof was 
 " pucka," or brick, and " belathee," or foreign. A very handsome 
 gothic arch, with an arabesque border, opened on the south side, 
 and shewed within the statue of Rama, seated on a lotus, with a 
 gilt but tarnished umbrella over his head ; and his wife, the earth- 
 born Seeta, beside him. A sort of desert of rice, ghee, fruit, 
 sugar-candy, &c. was ranged before them on what had the appear- 
 ance of silver dishes ; and the remaining furniture of the temple 
 consisted of a large gong hanging on the wall, and some Kedgeree 
 pots similar to those which we had noticed. From hence we went 
 to two of the other temples, which were both octagonal, with 
 domes not unlike those of glass-houses. They were both dedicated 
 to Siva, (who Abdullah, according to his Mussulman notions, said 
 was the same with Adam,) and contained nothing but the symbol 
 of the Deity, of black marble. On paying my fee to the brahmins 
 who kept these shrines, I was surprised to find that they would 
 not receive it immediately from my hand, but that they requested 
 me first to lay it down on the threshold. I thought it right to 
 explain that I meant it for them, and in return for their civility, 
 not as an offering to their god ; but they answered, that they could 
 not receive any thing except from their own caste, unless it were 
 thus laid before them. I therefore of course complied, though a 
 little surprised at a delicacy of which I had found no symptom in 
 those brahmins whom I had previously met with. This was not 
 the only unforeseen circumstance which occurred. As the two
 
 94 RUINS. 
 
 temples of Siva really contained nothing to see, I thought one 
 rupee was enough, in all conscience, between them, and told the 
 priests that they were to divide it. No sooner, however, had it 
 touched the threshold, than the two old men began scrambling for 
 it in a most indecorous manner, abusing each other, spitting, stamp- 
 ing, clapping their hands, and doing every thing but striking ; the 
 one insisting that it belonged to him, whose threshold it had 
 touched ; the other urging the known intentions of the donor. I 
 tried to pacify them, but found it of no use, and left them in the 
 midst of the fray. Meantime the priest of Rama, who had received 
 his fee before, and was well satisfied, came up, with several of the 
 villagers, to ask if I would see the Raja's palace. On my assent- 
 ing, they led us to a really noble gothic gateway, overgrown with 
 beautiful broad-leaved ivy, but in good preservation, and decidedly 
 handsomer, though in pretty much the same style, with the 
 " Holy Gate" of the Kremlin in Moscow. Within this, which 
 had apparently been the entrance into the city, extended a broken 
 but still stately avenue of tall trees, and on either side a wilder- 
 ness of ruined buildings, overgrown with trees and brush-wood, 
 which reminded Stowe of the baths of Caracalla, and me of 
 the upper part of the city of Caffa. I asked who had destroyed 
 the place, and was told Seraiah Dowla, an answer which (as it was 
 evidently a Hindoo ruin) fortunately suggested to me the name of 
 the Raja Kissen Chund. On asking whether this had been his 
 residence, one of the peasants answered in the affirmative, adding 
 that the Raja's grand-children yet lived hard by. By this I sup- 
 posed he meant somewhere in the neighbourhood, since nothing 
 here promised shelter to any beings but wild beasts, and as I went 
 along I could not help looking carefully before me, and thinking 
 of Thalaba in the ruins of Babylon ; 
 
 " Cautiously he trode and felt 
 
 The dangerous ground before him with his bow ; 
 
 * ♦ • * • 
 
 The adder, at the noise alarmed, 
 
 Launched at th' intruding staff her arrowy tongue."
 
 RAJA'S PALACE. 95 
 
 Our guide meantime turned short to the right, and led us into 
 what were evidently the ruins of a very extensive palace. Some 
 parts of it reminded me of Conway Castle, and others of Bolton 
 Abbey. It had towers like the former, though of less stately 
 height, and had also long and striking cloisters of Gothic arches, 
 but all overgrown with ivy and jungle, roofless and desolate. Here, 
 however, in a court, whose gateway had still its old folding doors 
 on their hinges, the two boys whom we had seen on the beach 
 came forward to meet us, were announced to us as the great grand- 
 sons of Raja Kissen Chund, and invited us very courteously in Per- 
 sian, to enter their Father's dwelling. I looked round in exceed- 
 ing surprise. There was no more appearance of inhabitation than 
 in Conway. Two or three cows were grazing among the ruins, and 
 one was looking out from the top of a dilapidated turret, whither she 
 had scrambled to browze on the ivy. The breech of a broken cannon, 
 and a fragment of a mutilated inscription lay on the grass, which 
 was evidently only kept down by the grazing of cattle ; and the 
 jackalls, whose yells began to be heard around us as the evening 
 closed in, seemed the natural lords of the place. Of course, I ex- 
 pressed no astonishment, but said how much respect I felt for their 
 family, of whose ancient splendour I was well informed, and that I 
 should be most happy to pay my compliments to the Raja, their 
 father. They immediately led us up a short, steep, straight flight 
 of steps, in the thickness of the wall of one of the towers, precisely 
 such as that of which we find the remains in one of the gateways 
 of Rhuddlan Castle, assuring me that it was a very " good road ;" 
 and at the door of a little vaulted and unfurnished room like that 
 which is shewn in Carnarvon Castle, as the queen's bed-chamber, 
 we were received by the Raja Omichund, a fat shortish man, of 
 about 45, of rather fair complexion, but with no other clothes than 
 his waistcloth and Brahminical string, and only distinguished from 
 his vassals by having his forehead marked all over with altemate 
 stripes of chalk, vermilion, and gold leaf The boys had evidently 
 run home to inform him of our approach, and he had made some
 
 96 THE RAJA OMICHUND. 
 
 preparation to receive us in Durbar. His own Musnud was ready, 
 a kind of mattrass laid on the ground, on which, with a very harm- 
 less ostentation, he had laid a few trinkets, a gold watch, betel-nut 
 box, &c. &c. Two old arm chairs were placed opposite for Stowe 
 and me. The young Rajas sat down at their fathers' right hand, 
 and his naked domestics ranged themselves in a line behind him, 
 with their hands respectfully folded. On the other side the Sota- 
 burdar stood behind me ; Stowe's servant took place behind him, 
 and Abdullah between us as interpreter, which function he dis^ 
 charged extremely well, and which was the more necessary, since 
 in strict conformity with court etiquette, the conversation passed in 
 Persian. I confess I was moved by the apparent poverty of the 
 representative of a house once very powerful, and paid him more 
 attention than I perhaps might have done had his drawing room 
 presented a more princely style. He was exceedingly pleased by 
 my calling him " Maha-rajah," or Great King, as if he were still a 
 sovereign like his ancestors, and acknowledged the compliment by a 
 smile, and a profound reverence. He seemed, however, much puz- 
 zled to make out my rank, never having heard (he said) of any " Lord 
 Sahib," except the Governor-General, while he was still more per- 
 plexed by the exposition of *' Lord Bishop Sahib," which for some 
 reason or other my servants always prefer to that of " Lord Padre." 
 He apologized very civilly for his ignorance, observing that he had 
 not been for many years in Calcutta, and that very few Sahibs ever 
 came that way. I told him that I was going to Dacca, Benares, 
 Delhi, and possibly Hurdwar ; that I was to return in nine or ten 
 months, and that should he visit Calcutta again, it would give me 
 great pleasure if he would come to see me. He said he seldom 
 stirred from home, but as he spoke his sons looked at him with so 
 much earnest and intelligible expression of countenance, that he 
 added that " his boys would be delighted to see Calcutta, and wait 
 on me." He then asked very particularly of Abdullah in what 
 street and what house I lived. After a short conversation of this 
 kind, and some allusions on my part to his ancestors and their
 
 VISIT FROM THE RAJA'S SONS. 97 
 
 ancient wealth and splendour, which were well taken, we took 
 leave, escorted to the gate by our two young friends, and thence 
 by a nearer way through the ruins to our pinnace, by an elderly 
 man, who said he was the Raja's " Muktar," or chamberlain, and 
 whose obsequious courtesy, high reverence for his master's family* 
 and numerous apologies for the unprepared state in which we had 
 found " the court," reminded me of old Caleb Balderstone. 
 
 We had not yet, however, done with our acquaintance. In 
 about an hour's time the Muktar returned, and had a conversation 
 with Abdullah, apparently to ascertain what my real rank was, 
 and with directions to act accordingly. At least after receiving 
 satisfaction on the points in question, he desired to see me, and 
 announced that his master intended visiting me. I at first declined 
 the honor, saying that we were travellers, that I was obliged to be 
 off very early in the morning, and that I had no means with me of 
 receiving him as I could wish to do. The old man, however, 
 persisted, saying that his master would come immediately, and 
 that " where there was friendship (joining his hands and cringing 
 almost to the threshold) ceremony was unnecessary." Stowe was 
 gone to bed, however I made ready to receive them ; but the 
 Raja after all, excused himself on account of the night air, and 
 only sent his sons, who had by this time completely transformed 
 themselves into eastern beaux, by the addition of white muslin 
 dresses, and turbans of gold brocade. They brought also a pre- 
 sent of mangoes, sugar, and pastry, and advanced with the usual 
 nuzzur, after the manner of Calcutta. They sate some time, 
 occasionally answering me in Hindoostane, but generally pre- 
 ferring Persian, of their acquirements in which they seemed 
 proud, and they expressed some surprise that I did not speak it. 
 They were like most of the young Indians I have seen, very 
 lively, gentlemanly, and intelligent, anxious to obtain information 
 about Europe, and expressing repeatedly the pleasure they ex- 
 pected from a visit to Calcutta. At length as a sign of their 
 *' ruksut," or dismissal, I poured some lavender water on their 
 
 o
 
 98 THIEVES. 
 
 hands and handkerchiefs, apologizing that I had no attar, and 
 saying that it was " belattee gulab," (foreign rose-water.) They 
 Hked it to all appearance much, and we parted excellent friends. 
 On the whole, I have been greatly pleased with the evening's 
 adventure. It has given me an opportunity of seeing the highest 
 class of Hindoo families, in their undress and daily habits of life. 
 I had heard much of their simplicity, as compared with the Mus- 
 sulmans; and even in the present instance, I am not quite sure 
 whether it is to this simplicity, or to the poverty which I at first 
 suspected, but which seemed contradicted by the appearance of 
 the boys in the evening, that I am to attribute the sorry appear- 
 ance of " the court,'' and the dilapidated state in which the man- 
 sion is allowed to continue. I ought to mention, that after the 
 boys were gone, the old Muktar remained for some minutes behind, 
 hoping they had given me satisfaction ; regretting that his master 
 had the asthma, and saying, how grand a present would have been 
 sent, if they had had more notice ; and at length, asking permis- 
 sion to accompany his young lords when they came to see me. 
 So ended the evening, but not so the night. The news had pro- 
 bably spread through the village, that a " hurra admee" (a great 
 man,) had come to see the Raja, with divers accounts of our riches 
 and splendour ; and about one o'clock an alarm of thieves was 
 given by my sirdar-bearer, who happening to look out of one of 
 the cabin windows, saw three black heads just above the water, 
 cautiously approaching the sides of the vessel. His outcry of 
 " Decoit ! Decoit !" alarmed us, but also alarmed them ; they 
 turned rapidly round, and in a moment were seen running up the 
 river banks. Thus we had a specimen of both the good and evil 
 of India.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SIBNIBASHI TO DACCA. 
 
 Gypsies— Winged Bugs — Matahunga — Fishing — Difficult passage in the River — Brahminy 
 Bulls — Titybania — Ornamented Boats — Strong Current — Otters — Avalanches — Pawn 
 — Khyzr — Elephants bathing. 
 
 June 19. — We again proceeded, still for the most part in a 
 northerly or north-westerly direction. The river this day was much 
 broader than we had yet seen it, with sandy banks, covered with 
 low silky rushes. Many cormorants, cranes, and porpoises were 
 seen, but no alligators or crocodiles, though these shores I should 
 have thought were well adapted to them. The day was very hot. 
 We anchored at a place called Kishenpol, where the river had a 
 decidedly western course. This place is not marked by Rennel, 
 who is indeed nearly useless here. The neighbourhood is dry, 
 sandy, and open, but with a good many villages in sight, each with 
 its adjacent wood, and the parts near the river cultivated with 
 indigo, which I am told delights in a sandy soil. Some scattered 
 ears of maize were growing among it. The banks were pre- 
 cipitous, and covered with fine long silky rushes, evidently of a 
 kind which would be very valuable for cordage, &c. like the 
 " espanto" of Spain. Here they are only used as thatch, for which 
 they are reckoned better than straw. This sort of cover is, I 
 understand, the favourite haunt of the tiger, who likes the neigh- 
 bourhood of water, and the power at the same time of lying dry 
 and clean. Abdullah told us several circumstances about the 
 tiger, which at least were curious, as shewing the popular notions 
 
 o2
 
 100 GYPSIES. 
 
 respecting him in India : ** He not fierce, but very civil when he 
 not provoked or very hungry ; he then meddle with nobody." He 
 ascribed to him in fact many of the noble and generous properties, 
 which, perhaps with equal justice, have been ascribed to the lion. 
 He had been, he said, when he was in service before, at one or two 
 tiger hunts. The tiger once wounded never thought of flying 
 afterwards, and except a short little roar when he sprung at his 
 prey or his enemies, he was always silent both under wounds and 
 in death. On asking, if a tiger should cross our path, what 
 would he do ; he steadily repeated, '* he do no harm, we not fire 
 at him." " Would he be frightened at us ?" " Oh no, he afraid 
 of nothing, and nobody." 
 
 On the other side of the river was a large encampment of 
 wretched tents of mats, with a number of little hackeries, panniers, 
 poneys, goats, &c. so like gypsies, that on asking what they were, I 
 was not much surprised to hear Abdullah say they were gypsies ; 
 that they were numerous in the upper provinces, living exactly like 
 the gypsies in England ; that he had seen the same people both in 
 Persia and Russia, and that in Persia they spoke Hindoostanee the 
 same as here. In Russia he had had no opportunity of ascertain- 
 ing this fact ; but in Persia, by Sir Gore Ousley's desire, he had 
 spoken with some of the wandering tribes, and found that they 
 understood and could answer him. I told him of Lord Teign- 
 mouth's conversation in Hindoostanee with the old gypsy on 
 Northwood, and he said that in Persia it was not every gypsy who 
 spoke it, only old people. He said they were so like each other 
 in all the countries where he had seen them, that they could not be 
 mistaken, though in Persia they were of much better caste, and 
 much richer than here, or in England, or Russia. But he added, 
 " I suppose in Russia, before Peter the Great, all people much 
 like gypsies." There were many curious circumstances which 
 I deduced from his information : first, the identity of the gypsy 
 race in Europe and India, and their connecting link seemed esta- 
 blished by a very observant witness, and certainly one unprejudiced
 
 FLYING BUGS. 101 
 
 by system. Secondly, on further enquiry, I found the people 
 whom he identified with our gypsies in Persia, were the wandering 
 tribes of Louristan, Curdistan, &c. whom he described with truth 
 as being of " good caste," vahant, and wealthy. It therefore fol- 
 lows, that these tribes, whose existence in Persia seems to be 
 traced down from before the time of Cyrus, and whose language is 
 generally understood to differ from the Persians of the plains and 
 cities, resemble in countenance and person the gypsies, and that 
 their ancient language has been a dialect of Hindoostanee. The 
 probability is indeed that Persia, not India, has been the original 
 centre of this nomadic population. In that case, however, it is 
 strange that we do not hear of them sooner in Europe, where they 
 could scarcely have existed in ancient times without being noticed 
 by classical writers. It is no doubt true, indeed, that all the prin- 
 cipal nations of Europe are derived from the same source with 
 them ; but still their continued adherence to a very ancient dialect 
 of the common language, and their steady pursuance of nomachc 
 habits, must have always distinguished them from the more settled 
 and civilized branches of the same family. But the time and 
 occasion of their arrival in Europe seems the chief problem in 
 their history. 
 
 One of the greatest plagues we have as yet met with in this 
 journey is that of the winged bugs. In shape, size, and scent, with 
 the additional faculty of flying, they resemble the "grabbatic" 
 genus, too well known in England. The night of our lying oft' 
 Barrackpoor they were troublesome ; but when we were off the 
 Raja's palace, they came out like the ghosts of his ancestor's armies, 
 in hundreds and thousands from every bush and every heap of 
 ruins, and so filled our cabins as to make them barely endurable. 
 These unhappy animals crowded round our candles in such swarms, 
 some just burning their feet and wings on the edge of the glass 
 shade, and thus toppling over ; others more bold, flying right into 
 the crater, and meeting their deaths there, that we really paid no 
 attention to what was next day a ghastly spectacle, the mighty
 
 102 ANTS— BIRDS— FISH. 
 
 army which had settled on the wet paint of the ceihng, and 
 remained there, black and stinking, till the ants devoured them. 
 These last swarm in my pinnace : they have eaten up no inconsi- 
 derable portion of my provisions, and have taken, I trust to their 
 benefit, a whole box of blue pills ; but as they do their best to clear 
 it of all other vermin, I cannot but look on them with some degree 
 of favour. 
 
 Besides the " raucharunga," a kind of king-fisher, which we had 
 seen before, some other birds, whose appearance is new to me, con- 
 tinue to shew themselves. One is a small black cormorant, or curlew, 
 which we see standing with its wet wings spread on the sand-banks 
 and shallows, praised as excellent eating ; another is in colour and 
 size not unlike a blackbird, but ^\ith a long tail. Abdullah says, 
 that early in the morning it "reads (meaning sings) very finely." 
 This equivocal use of the two words I have noticed in other 
 Indians, and it probably arises from the chant in which both 
 the Coran and the religious books of the Hindoos, are always 
 read. 
 
 The prospect of our little fleet at anchor, of the fires 
 made by the servants and boatmen on the shore, and of a little 
 crowd of villagers who came down, attracted by curiosity, or in 
 the hope of selling milk, was very beautiful this evening, and 
 presented the elements for a picture as perfectly Polynesian as 
 any in Cook's voyages. 
 
 June 20. — About ten o'clock, some fishermen brought a very 
 noble fish alongside of us for sale, of exactly the shape and appear- 
 ance of a chub, but weighing at least 20 or 25 pounds. After a 
 good deal of haggling they sold it for 12 anas (about eighteen 
 pence). The khansaman proposed salting the greater part, but 
 I made the servants very well pleased, by saying that I would only 
 have a little boiled for ourselves, and that the rest should be 
 divided among them for their Sunday dinner, an arrangement 
 which seemed to offend no religious prejudices either of Hindoo 
 or Mussulman, inasmuch as the different messes seemed all eager
 
 CATTLE. 103 
 
 to receive their portions, and in the evening at our bivouac, their 
 kettles were all supplied with it. The fish was very good, exceed- 
 ingly firm and white, like a jack, which it a good deal resembled, 
 except that the bones were larger and less numerous. Its name 
 is " rahoo." With occasional supplies of this kind, there is no fear 
 of our provisions falling short, except our bread, which is become 
 mouldy, and which in this part of the country we have no chance 
 of replacing. Our boatmen continued their course to-day later 
 than usual, and it was about seven o'clock when we brought up near 
 a large village, surrounded by marshes and paddy grounds, but 
 with a good deal of pasture intermingled. Its name is Cadampoor, 
 as we were told by an old man, who added the gratuitous infor- 
 mation, that he was himself the village " Gaowala," or cowman. 
 This he probably said in hopes that we might purchase some 
 milk, but our goats supply us abundantly. They are taken on 
 shore whenever we stop, to graze on the fiorin, which to my sur- 
 prise grows in large patches on these sandy banks. On our return 
 from our evening's stroll, we met the Gaowala with his herd, and I 
 had a fresh opportunity of noticing (what had struck me more than 
 once before,) the falsehood of the idea, that Indian cattle are 
 particularly wild or surly with white men. These animals in 
 passing us displayed no more shyness than a similar herd would 
 have done in England. 
 
 June 21. — Holland itself could not have furnished a thicker 
 or more stinking fog than hung over the banks of the river early 
 this morning. It cleared up towards seven, leaving the promise 
 of a tremendously hot day without a breath of wind. Indeed for 
 these three days, we have had by no means the sort of weather we 
 were told to expect, and if we find water enough for our course, 
 we must, I apprehend, thank the melting snows of the distant 
 Himalaya for it, more than any rain which has yet fallen in Bengal. 
 We had proof this morning of the neighbourhood of Europeans of 
 some description or other (probably indigo planters) in two 
 gentlemen, apparently in the pursuit of game, who appeared on the
 
 104 BOYS SINGING. 
 
 banks, mounted on elephants, and followed by two men with long 
 bamboos, as if to beat the bushes. Though they rode for two or 
 three minutes near us, they shewed no disposition to have any 
 communication with our party. I was at first going to hail them, 
 and felt vexed at myself afterwards for the shyness, or whatever it 
 was, which made me lose the opportunity of learning many points 
 respecting our present situation and our future course, on which I 
 wished much to be informed. A number of httle boys came 
 to the side of the river, and ran along by our vessel, which 
 the crew were towing slowly along, singing an air extremely like 
 that of " ^ly love to war is going." The words w^ere Bengalee, 
 and unintelligible to me ; but the purport 1 soon found out, by 
 the frequent recurrence of " Radha," to be that amour of Krishna 
 with the beautiful dairy maid, which is here as popular a subject 
 with the boatmen and peasantry, as the corresponding tale of 
 Apollo and Daphne can have been w^ith the youth of Greece and 
 Hellenized Syria. A few pice were thrown to these young singers 
 by some of my servants. Their mode of begging strongly recalled 
 to my mind something of the same sort which I have seen in 
 England. Dear, dear England ! there is now less danger than 
 ever of my forgetting her, since I now in fact first feel the bitter- 
 ness of banishment. In my wife and children I still carried with 
 me an atmosphere of home ; but here every thing reminds me 
 that I am a wanderer. This custom of the children singing, I had 
 not met with before, but it seems common in this part of the country. 
 All the forenoon, at different villages, which are here thickly scat- 
 tered, the boys ran out to sing, not skilfully, certainly, but not 
 unpleasantly. The general tune was like " iNIy boy, Billy,'' Badha ! 
 Radha ! forming the burden. 
 
 The increase of the population is very striking to day. It is now 
 apparently as dense as in any part of Bengal which I have seen ; 
 and the crowds of villagers bathing, washing linen, &c. the lowing 
 of cattle, barking of dogs, and all other rural sounds except 
 the crowing of cocks, enliven our progress between the high mud-
 
 MUSTARD-OIL. lO.j 
 
 banks, which would else be sufficiently tiresome. Dense, however, 
 as the population is, it seems exclusively Bengalee and agricul- 
 tural. Except the two Europeans, who might have come from 
 a considerable distance, we have seen no symptom of white men, 
 nor have we passed a single indigo manufactory, since one a few 
 miles on this side of Ranaghat. The barges, which are very nu- 
 merous, bring salt from Calcutta, and carry back chiefly mustard- 
 seed, which, in the shape of oil, is one of the most indispensable 
 necessaries in a Hindoo flimily. " We eat mustard-oil, (said my 
 sircar to me one day, when lamenting an additional tax which had 
 been imposed on this commodity,) we burn it, — we rub ourselves 
 with it, — it is quite as useful as rice." 
 
 We have been these last three days in some perplexity about 
 our further progress. The account given us of the depth of water 
 by the crew of the large pulwars which we passed at Seebpoor, 
 appears either to have been exaggerated, or to refer to the largest 
 and most circuitous of three streams which flow out of the great 
 Ganges into that where we are now gliding. The most direct of 
 these, by Catchergatty, is said to be generally at this season 
 tolerably supplied with water for a vessel of our small draught. 
 But the rain has for these three days been suspended, or nearly 
 so. We have the ill-luck to observe, by the mark on the bank, 
 that the river has actually been a few inches higher than it is 
 now ; and the different boats which meet us hold very different 
 language indeed, as to the probability of our reaching Dacca by 
 that course. The second, or next straightest channel, is notoriously 
 shallower than the Catchergatty, so that there only remains the 
 third, which is nearly by three days more tedious ; we are, however, 
 likely to obtain some more certain accounts to-night. The two 
 cavaliers, or elephanteers, whom we passed in the morning, and 
 whom I regretted the not having spoken with, it seems hailed the 
 cook-boat after we were gone by, and most civilly and modestly 
 without introducing themselves, wrote a note, which they commit- 
 ted to my peon, to the native daroga of Catchergatty, ordering him 
 
 p
 
 106 INDIGO WORKS AT BUNYBUNYA. 
 
 to give me all the assistance and information in his power, and to 
 convey any letters for me, either to Calcutta or Dacca. 
 
 We this afternoon passed a very large tortoise, considerably 
 above a foot, I should think, in length, basking on one of the 
 sand-banks. 
 
 We moored at about half-past six, after a very hot day, and a 
 fatiguing one for the poor men, at a place called Bunybunya, a 
 desolate, sandy spot, but which promised good air. On landing, 
 we found that beyond the immediate vicinity of our birth, the 
 country was really pretty. A considerable indigo work, with an 
 European bungalow, was at a little distance, the owner of which 
 was gone to Kishnagur, but which afforded us an amusing and 
 instructive occupation in walking round the works, and seeing the 
 manner in which indigo is made, by maceration in water in a suc- 
 cession of brick cisterns, and at last, by kiln-drying, to evaporate 
 the moisture from the dye. The daroga, for whom we had the 
 letter, was gone, we found, to a neighbouring village, to hold an 
 inquest over a man who had been found dead in a well. 
 
 June 22. — After unmooring again, we were disappointed to 
 learn that we had passed the nearest way to Dacca. There were 
 still, however, two rivers opening before us, and that which lay to 
 our right, we were told, was nearer than the other by some days ; 
 the serang went off in his jolly-boat to obtain intelligence from a 
 little village. He brought back word that there was water enough, 
 but that there were some bad and narrow places, where we should 
 have some difficulty in getting the pinnace along. I could not 
 conjecture what sort of narrow places we could have to apprehend, 
 inasmuch as the river was here almost a quarter of a mile broad, 
 and rocks, I knew, were things unheard of in Bengal. But what- 
 ever were the hindrance, I determined on proceeding this way, 
 since the rapid rise of the river, which might now inevitably be 
 reckoned on, would clear away every thing of the sort, most pro- 
 bably in a less time than would be lost by taking a circuitous route, 
 even if, (which we could not be sure of,) that route also should
 
 MUSSULMAN FAKIRS. 107 
 
 not produce its impediments. We therefore turned into this 
 branch, which trended directly south-east, and where we found 
 the wind indeed against us, but a strong, whirly, dimpKng stream, 
 urging us merrily forwards. In both these respects we had pre- 
 viously experienced the contrary ; so that we found that to this 
 point we had been ascending one branch of the Matabunga, flowing 
 westward towards the Hooghly, but that the present was another, 
 which reverted by a southerly course, and with greater rapidity, 
 to the mighty Ganges, from which it at first had issued. Our sails 
 were now useless, but so fine a stream promised our boatmen easy 
 work with the tow-line. If, however, the poor fellows formed any 
 such expectation, they were soon undeceived. They had, indeed, 
 no occasion to urge the boat forwards : stern-foremost, or broad- 
 side foremost, or whirling round and round like a reel, she was 
 hurried on with more than sufficient rapidity. But they had con- 
 tinually to bring her up short by main strength, or to jump into the 
 water, and with long bamboos, or with their arms and shoulders, to 
 stave her off, or push her over, different obstacles. This is not a 
 peaceable stream like the one we had quitted, but hurries with it 
 trees and bushes, as well as throwing up numerous sand-banks, be- 
 tween which our course was indeed very often narrow and perplex- 
 ing, though in the bed of the river there was always a considerable 
 depth of water, a circumstance which, obliging our boatmen to 
 swim every ten or twenty yards, materially increased their labours. 
 At the more difficult of these places we generally found a Mussul- 
 man fakir or two established, who came, or sometimes swam, to 
 beg alms, pleading the efficacy of their prayers in getting us past 
 the dangers ; and supplying at the same time, in many instances, 
 some useful hints as to the best course for our vessel, a service 
 cheaply rewarded by a few pice, which indeed few would grudge, 
 who are aware how oflen this is the sole resource of unfortunate 
 boatmen, victims to disease or premature old age, brought on by 
 the severity of their labours. Our own men, though all in the 
 prime of youth, well fed, and with figures such as a statuary might 
 
 p2
 
 108 STOPPAGE IN THE RIVER. 
 
 delight to model after, themselves shew too many symptoms of 
 the ill effects occasioned by their constant vicissitudes of water, 
 sun, and toil. The backs and limbs of many of them were scaly, 
 as if with leprosy, and they spoke of this complaint as a fre- 
 quent consequence of their way of life ; though this particular 
 eruption, they said, always left them if they remained any time 
 at home, and re-appeared on their return to their aquatic labours. 
 The same thing I have heard of among the boatmen of Madras, 
 w^here it is, ignorantly enough, mistaken for a saline incrustation 
 from the sea-water. Here the water is fresh, yet the same spectacle 
 is presented, and must therefore, I suppose, be attributed to 
 checked perspiration. 
 
 After advancing six or eight miles in this manner, sometimes 
 hanging on the sunken trees, sometimes scraping against sand- 
 banks, but still trundling on at a rate faster than might have been 
 expected, we arrived in a broad deep pool with unusually still water, 
 on seeing which the Serang immediately brought to, and leapt on 
 shore, exclaiming that we were near one of the difficult places. 
 It was now about four o^clock, and the day pleasantly cool and 
 cloudy, so that Stowe and I followed his example, in the hope of 
 seeing what was the obstacle. We found about 100 yards farther 
 a regular dam of earth, sand, and clay, thrown up across the river 
 (a quarter of a mile wide) by the force of this restless stream, which 
 now struggled on through the impediments which it had itself 
 raised, with great violence and impetuosity, through two narrow 
 and irregular channels, with a considerable fall, into a lower and 
 troubled, but still deep bason, some three feet below. No vessel 
 larger than a jolly boat could pass these channels in their present 
 condition, and the question was whether we were to return up the 
 rapid stream which we had descended, or get labourers to widen 
 the most promising, though the narrowest, of these sluices. This 
 was a question, however, very easily decided. The bank was 
 evidently nothing but earth easily worked, and of which the rub- 
 bish would be as easily washed away by the stream, and I therefore
 
 FISHING. 109 
 
 sent Abdullah to Matabunga, the nearest village, with directions to 
 find the daroga first, or if he were not forthcoming, to hire work- 
 people without delay. In the meantime I sat down to make a 
 drawing of the scene before me, and to enjoy the delightful sound 
 and coolness of the rushing water, as well as to observe the success 
 of a crowd of people, men, women, and children, who covered 
 every part of the bank, catching fish with long fish-spears, scoop 
 and casting nets. In the use of these instruments they were very 
 dexterous. I never in my life saw a net so thrown, either for the 
 extent of water covered, the precision of aim, or the apparent 
 absence of effort, as by one young man, a very little fellow too, 
 who stood near us. To these people we had in the first instance 
 applied to help us, but they excused themselves, saying they had 
 no tools. They were indeed already very fully and profitably em- 
 ployed, since the water was teeming with fish of all sizes, and the 
 young man whom I have mentioned told us that, at this time of 
 year nobody eat any thing but fish, and that every body might have 
 it. He said that a few days ago there had been no passage here at 
 all, for the river had been standing in tanks all the way to the 
 *' Burra Gunga," but that now the rains had once forced their way, 
 they would soon widen the channel, and that some large vessels 
 which he pointed out to us above and below the fall, had been 
 waiting several days for this to happen, but that now they would 
 get through at our expense. " Ucha oon ke waste." ** Good for 
 them," he added. At length Abdullah returned. No daroga, 
 however, lived nearer than the one we had left behind the day 
 before, and the villagers refused to come on the plea that it was a 
 Hindoo holiday. This objection he in part removed, by assuring 
 them of good pay. One old man, indeed, urged that the Brah- 
 mins would curse them, but Abdullah gravely rejoined, " the curse 
 be on me and mine," and eight men, being pretty nearly the whole 
 effective force of the hamlet, came off with hira. Seven of these 
 were equipped with very large and heavy hoes (which are here 
 universally used instead of the spade, and in a soil where there are
 
 110 BRAHMINY BULLS. 
 
 no stones, are certainly very serviceable tools). The eighth had 
 only his stick, but was, according to the strange usage of Bengal, 
 where nobody can do any thing without a leader, the " sirdar," or 
 master of the gang, without whom they would not work, and whom 
 they allowed (voluntarily, since there is nothing but custom which 
 makes them do so,) to receive their wages, and draw poundage on 
 them in consideration of his superintendance. This number fell 
 short of my wishes and expectations. They were, however, as 
 good, dexterous, and dihgent labourers as I ever saw. They got 
 on at a great rate in the loose soil, and we had soon the pleasure 
 to see that the stream w^orked almost as fast as they did. In fact, 
 between five o'clock and nine, they had enlarged the channel so 
 much as to make it almost certain that the stream in the night 
 would do all which yet was necessary. I gave the men three anas 
 each, including the sirdar. They were exceedingly grateful, and 
 it was, indeed, I well knew, more than they expected. But they 
 had worked very hard and wiUingly at an hour when few Hindoos 
 can be prevailed on to touch a tool, and the latter part of the time 
 up to their knees or middles in water. I bid them, however, come 
 again in the morning at four o'clock lest they should be wanted. 
 The country round these rapids (if they deserve the name) is really 
 pretty, open, and cultivated, but interspersd with groves, and dis- 
 playing as much variety as Bengal is susceptible of. We saw 
 several tortoises swimming near the bar. On the bank we found a 
 dwarf mulberry tree, the first we have seen in India. A very hand- 
 some and sleek young bull, branded with the emblem of Siva on 
 his haunches, was grazing in the green Paddy. He crossed our 
 path quite tame and fearless, and seeing some florin grass in Stowe's 
 hand, coolly walked up to smell at it. These bulls are turned out 
 when calves, on different solemn occasions, by wealthy Hindoos, as 
 an acceptable offering to Siva. It would be a mortal sin to strike 
 or injure them. They feed where they choose, and devout persons 
 take great delight in pampering them. They are exceeding pests 
 in the villages near Calcutta, breaking into gardens, thrusting their
 
 PEASANTRY. HI 
 
 noses into the stalls of fruiterers and pastry-cooks' shops, and help- 
 ing themselves without ceremony. Like other petted animals, 
 they are sometimes mischievous, and are said to resent with a push 
 of their horns any delay in gratifying their wishes. 
 
 June 23. — We were up this morning early to see the channel 
 which had been made, and our Serang's preparations for passing 
 it. The former was sufficiently wide, but the stream rushed 
 through it with a fall at least equal to that at London Bridge. 
 The latter were extremely simple. The boatmen confided to their 
 strength of arm, and long bamboos, which, with the real lightness 
 of the vessel, carried her through triumphantly, preceded by our 
 cooking and baggage boats. The only precaution which the 
 Serang thought necessary, was to fasten a long rope from the head 
 of his vessel to a stake on the little island between the falls, which 
 brought her up after passing the strait, in the deep and agitated 
 basin beneath it. 
 
 From hence we proceeded, during the day, along a deeper 
 and more navigable stream, though still frequently perplexed by 
 islets and bars. We saw several of the tortoises, which I men- 
 tioned, swimming round us, and the shells of many more on the 
 sand-banks. The country was extremely pretty, the high banks 
 being fringed almost down to the water's edge with bamboos, long 
 grass, and creepers, and the shore above covered with noble 
 banians, palms, and peepuls, with very neat villages under their 
 shade, while the figures of the women in coarse but white cotton 
 mantles, walking under the trees, and coming with their large 
 earthen jars on their heads, to draw water, gave a Hveliness to the 
 picture which was very interesting. Several indigo works were on 
 the river side, and I thought the appearance of the boats, the 
 houses, and the peasantry, all improved as we approached the 
 Burra Gunga. We had a storm of thunder and heavy lightening 
 to-day about noon. The Serang made fast on the lee of a small 
 sandy point. There was no real occasion for his doing so, but he 
 pleaded that if it came on to blow hard, he could not manage his
 
 112 INDIAN DEATH-WATCH. 
 
 vessel in a river of so rapid a stream, and the depth and direction 
 of whose channel was so uncertain. This indeed was one of the 
 points on which I had been cautioned, that I should never force a 
 Seran"" to proceed when he was anxious to " lugana" (make fast.) 
 These people, when engaged by the trip, have no interest in need- 
 less delays, and though they may sometimes be over-cautious, 
 they always know their own rivers, and the state of the weather, 
 better than we can do. Most, if not all the accidents which 
 occur to Europeans on the Ganges, arise from their making their 
 crew proceed against their wishes and judgement. We made a 
 tolerable progress this day, and brought to for the night under a 
 high steep bank, with some fine old banians, and a small village 
 overhung by beautiful flowering trees and tamarinds ; beyond was 
 a large circular space enclosed by a mud wall, which appeared to 
 be the ruins of a manufactory of coarse earthenware. The peasants 
 were civil and communicative, and we should have been well 
 pleased to make further enquiries, but a storm of rain drove us to 
 our cabins again. We here had an opportunity of judging of the 
 heiffht to which the annual inundation rises. The river bank rose 
 at least 25 feet higher than the present surface of the water, yet, 
 at this village, they were throwing up mud banks for causeways, 
 and making other provision for communication and security, to the 
 height of three or four feet more ; and all the table-land which 
 the bank supported, was planted with paddy, and obviously pre- 
 pared for the reception of water. 
 
 The jackalls were very noisy this night, and there was another 
 noise in my cabin so exactly like the bubbling up of water through 
 a narrow crevice, that I felt convinced that our vessel leaked, a 
 circumstance which would not have been wonderful, considering 
 how she had been bumped about during the two last days. On 
 enquiry, however, I was told that it was a sort of cricket, or Indian 
 death-watch, which always emitted this sound. This was the first 
 time I had heard it. 
 
 June 24. — We this day made a better progress, the river
 
 TITYBANIA. 113 
 
 being deeper and wider, while the stream continued almost equally 
 powerful. In the neighbourhood of the place where we halted 
 for the night, which was chiefly cultivated with rice, with some 
 patches of sunn hemp, were two villages, to one of which we 
 walked, and found it large, populous, and beautifully embosomed 
 in trees, some of them of a kind which I had not before met with. 
 A large tree bearing a small and not ill- tasted fig, attracted my 
 attention from the strange manner in which its fruit grew, attached 
 to the bark both of boughs and stems, like a gall-nut, oak-apple, 
 or similar excrescence. Its name is Goolun. We met during 
 our walk through the village, the brahmin of the place, a young 
 and intelligent man, who very civilly not only answered our 
 questions, but turned back to accompany us in our walk. He said 
 the name of the village was Titybania, that it, with a property 
 round it, amounting to a rental of 14,000 rupees a year, belonged 
 to a Hindoo family, whose name I forget, and who were now 
 engaged in a law-suit. That a muktar was named to receive the 
 rents, and that, as he shrewdly observed, " The Company get their 
 taxes, the poor people their receipts as usual, and all things go on as 
 before, except the two brothers, who are rightly served for quarrel- 
 ling." I asked if indigo was cultivated ; he said no, and that pro- 
 bably the soil might be too clayey for it ; but added, " The indigo 
 is a fine thing to put money into the purse of the baboo, but we 
 poor people do not want to see it. It raises the price of rice, and 
 the rent of land." The rent of indigo-ground, he said, was above 
 twelves anas the begah (five shillings an acre). That of rice- 
 ground five (about two shillings the acre). This is far less than 
 in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, but the place is certainly very 
 sequestered. No tygers, he said, are ever seen here. AVe passed 
 by some Mussulman cottages, distinguished by the poultry which 
 were seen round them, and a very small, but new and neat Hindoo 
 cottage, before whose door its owners were busy preparing a 
 small garden, an unusual sight in India, and at a short distance 
 from which a young banian tree was planted on a hillock of turf, 
 
 Q
 
 114 BOATS. 
 
 carefully surrounded with thorns, woven into a sort of dead-hedge, 
 with much care and neatness. I pointed out this last to the 
 brahmin, who merely said it would be a great tree in time, and 
 very beautiful in that part of the village. A handsome young 
 woman, adorned wdth unusual gaiety of silver anklets, &c. went 
 into the house, and the owner himself was a young man, so that 
 probably the banian was a votive offering on occasion of their 
 marrias-e, or the birth of their first child. At a small distance, 
 and on the brink of the river, was a little wretched hut of straw 
 and reeds, removed from all other dwellings, with a long bamboo 
 and a small ragged flag, stuck into the ground, on each side of its 
 front. It was, the brahmin said, the tomb of a Mussulman holy 
 man. While we were passing on, several other villagers collected 
 round us. Some of them seemed greatly amused with our unusual 
 figures and complexion, and our imperfect Hindoostanee, but 
 there was not the least expression of shyness, nor any real in- 
 civility. Abdullah said it was quite amazing to see how familiar 
 the common people had become with Englishmen during the last 
 twenty years. He remembered the time when all black people 
 ran away from a white face, and the appearance of a single European 
 soldier struck consternation into a village. " They used to them 
 now," he said, " they know they no harm do/' The country- 
 people in this neighbourhood seem contented and thriving, for 
 them, though of course their most flourishing condition would be 
 reckoned deep poverty in England. The boats on this river are 
 much neater than those on the Hooghly. Their straw tilts are 
 better made, their sterns not so unreasonably high, their sails less 
 flimsy, nay, many of them are painted, and have copper or gilded 
 eyes fixed into their bows and on each side of the helm ^ We 
 had two beggars by the boat, the one an old man with a white 
 beard, blind, and led by two boys, who were, he said, his children. 
 
 * These are not merely ornamental. Dr. Abel, when he accompanied Lord Amherst on 
 his embassy to China, observed the same thing, and the Chinese justified it by saying, " No 
 can see, No can savey." — Ed.
 
 INDIAN DOGS. 115 
 
 I asked how old he was, but he did not seem to understand my 
 question, merely answering that he had been blind forty years, and 
 had lost his eyes soon after he married. There are surprisingly 
 few beggars in Bengal. Of those whom I have seen, the greater 
 part have super-added some religious character to their natural 
 claims on our pity. This old man, however, had nothing of the 
 sort, and merely asked alms as a helpless and unhappy being. I 
 was heartily glad that I had come out provided. The other beggar 
 was a Pariah dog, who sneaked down in much bodily fear to our 
 bivouac, and was exceedingly delighted by a few pieces of mouldy 
 toast which we threw him. He was like a large terrier, and would 
 have been handsome had he been in better plight, and had he had 
 any thing like the confidence and alacrity of his species in England. 
 1 have been often struck, and more than ever in these remote dis- 
 tricts, by the variety of colours and breeds which Indian dogs 
 display, and their similarity to many in Europe. Terriers and 
 hounds, or something very like them, are however the most usual. 
 Are they indigenous, or is it possible that their stock can have 
 been derived from us ? I should think not, considering the recent 
 date of our establishment in the country, and the extreme small- 
 ness of our numbers any where but at Calcutta. 
 
 I forgot to notice that this morning, about eight o'clock, we 
 experienced one of those accidents which are not infrequent in 
 Indian rivers, and in small or ill-built vessels perilous. We were 
 skirting pretty near the base of a high crumbling bank, whose top 
 was at least thirty feet above us, when the agitation of the water 
 caused by our oars, and the motion of the vessel, dislodged some 
 of the sandy brink, and immediately a large body of sand and 
 loose earth, weighing perhaps several hundred weight, slipped 
 down in a formidable avalanche into the water, half filled our 
 cabin, and wetted me to the skin with the splash it raised, and 
 though it would hardly have sunk us had it fallen on our deck, 
 would doubtless have swamped the greater part of the boats we 
 see around us. 
 
 q2
 
 116 TOON TREES. 
 
 June 25. — The river this day rapidly increased in size, and 
 became very beautiful and interesting. The banks are still high 
 and precipitous, but the vegetation which overhangs them is 
 splendid, and some of the villages would be reckoned neat even 
 in Europe. Several considerable indigo works also appeared on 
 the banks ; but the bungalows attached to them did not seem to 
 be occupied by Europeans. We ascertained to-day that the tor- 
 toise of these waters is no contemptible eating, having some good 
 turtle-soup at dinner. There was not, indeed, much green fat, 
 but what there was was extremely sweet and good, without the 
 least fishy taste, and the lean very juicy, well-flavoured meat, not 
 unlike veal. We want, in fact, no comfort or luxury but bread, 
 having had none eatable for many days back. 
 
 We stopped for the night at a beautiful village with splendid 
 banian and peepul trees, and surrounded by natural meadows and 
 hedge-rows, so like English, that, but for the cocos, we could have 
 supposed ourselves there. The hedge-rows were of young toon 
 trees, which, to my surprise, I found so like ash, as easily to be 
 mistaken for it. Even the wood, when fresh felled, resembles ash, 
 more than the dark colour which it bears when wrought into 
 furniture in Calcutta. It differs, however, from ash, in being 
 extremely heavy. The inner rind, which is white and glutinous, 
 tastes like liquorice. 
 
 We passed through a large paddy field, which the villagers 
 were diligently weeding, and which they had already got extremely 
 clean. Part of it had evidently been eaten down by sheep or 
 cattle, a practice apparently common in India. The path which 
 we followed led us at length close to an indigo work, with a small 
 but very pretty bungalow, which on enquiry we found was occu- 
 pied by Mr. John Davies, belonging to the firm of Palmer & Co. 
 I meant at first to call, but found, on entering the compound, 
 that neither master nor mistress was at home, though there was 
 a fine and numerous family of white children, and the usual swarm 
 of black bonnes, &c. I thought of leaving my name, but did not
 
 FISHING BOATS. 117 
 
 like to give a man the trouble, on his return home, of coming late 
 in the evening a considerable distance to the pinnace, which I 
 knew would be the consequence of my doing so. 
 
 June 26. — Soon after day-light this morning we passed an 
 empty pinnace, (empty at least of all but its crew,) proceeding 
 from Dacca to Calcutta. From the Serang, whom I hailed in 
 passing, I had the disappointment of hearing that we were still 
 three days from the Burra Gunga, and eight from Dacca. It was, 
 however, a satisfaction to find that there was sufficient water, and 
 that, (of which we had lately begun to entertain some suspicions,) 
 our Serang really was in the right course. 
 
 About nine we passed a handsome upper-roomed house, with 
 large verandahs, the property also, as the workmen near it told 
 us, of Palmer and Co., but occupied by a Frenchman, one of 
 their agents in the indigo trade. An old gentleman with powdered 
 hair, and sundry other whites, male and female, came out, but dis- 
 appeared again before we could hail them. I sent, however, one 
 of my silver-sticks, with my compliments to the gentleman of the 
 house, requesting him to send us some leaven to make bread with ; 
 and with the further request, that, if not inconvenient, he would 
 favour us with a loaf. The answer came back, to my surprise, that 
 they had no leaven in the house, and no bread ! A singular answer 
 to receive from a domiciliated European in decent circumstances, 
 and most of all from a Frenchman ! 
 
 The river still continued to increase in size, and was now very 
 little narrower than some parts of the Hooghly, the banks of less 
 beauty than we have lately seen them. Our course for these last 
 two days has been generally S.E. by E., the wind strongly against 
 us, but the current as decidedly in our favour. The fishing-boats 
 here have very few of them oars ; they are moved by small pad- 
 dles, with great swiftness and dexterity. We have had the mor- 
 tification of seeing that they are unwilling to come near us, being, 
 I apprehend, afraid that our dandies will seize their fish without 
 payment. Three of our men took to the jolly-boat just now.
 
 118 THE MATTACOLLY. 
 
 to speak one of their canoes, when the poor men on board it, 
 as well as two or three other skiffs in the neighbourhood, paddled 
 off with all speed, and soon distanced their pursuers. This 
 does not tell well for the general character of dandies in 
 India, and indeed it is easy to see that though our crew dare not 
 plunder the country people in our presence, their morality is pretty 
 much like that of an English bargeman, — an animal by no means 
 scrupulous with regard to his neighbour's property. About four 
 o'clock we turned short to the left, leaving the Mohanna river with 
 its broad stream flowing southwards to the Sunderbunds, and 
 ascending a narrower and very rapid current nearly due north. 
 This our Serang called the Mattacolly, and he still holds out to us 
 the prospect of reaching the Burra Gunga to-morrow. A large 
 herd of cattle, apparently intended for the Calcutta market, passed 
 us ; they were swimming across the river, a task which they per- 
 formed very dexterously. They were not fat, but in other respects 
 fine and well-grown animals. Their white heads and horns had a 
 very singular appearance, all or nearly all the rest of their bodies 
 being under water. We passed one other indigo work to-day, 
 and that was ruined, the bank of the river having given way with 
 the house, which consequently now shewed us an architectural 
 section of its inside. We saw an ingenious water-pump, worked 
 by 12 men, and intended, as I conceive, to irrigate a piece of cane- 
 ground. We halted for the night at seven, by the side of a low 
 sand-bank, with a vast extent of open and marshy country round 
 us ; the river with its banks of mud, the flat prospect round, and 
 its own width, a good deal reminded me of the Dee below Chester, 
 in the neighbourhood of the King's ferry. 
 
 June 27. — The river expanded in about four miles into a noble 
 piece of water, I should think little less than a mile across, but 
 still running with increasing rather than diminishing rapidity. The 
 whole lake literally swarmed with small fishing boats, and we 
 passed some larger vessels loaded with jars of salt. The fishery, 
 we were told by these people, was of the "Hilsa" or " Sable Fish,"
 
 THE COMMERCOLLY. 119 
 
 and the salt was for preserving them. To the north-west, about a 
 mile further, we saw the mouth of another broad stream, which the 
 Serang said was the Commercolly ; colly and nuddee seem in this 
 part of Bengal synonymous. The correctness of this name was 
 confirmed by some people on shore, who told us that in about 
 four hours more we should be opposite the town of Boonshah, one 
 of the few names on Rennell's map of which we have been able to 
 learn any tidings. Every body laughed at the idea of our reach- 
 ing the Gunga to-day, indeed with such a current as we are now 
 contending against, we can hardly hope to advance a mile an hour. 
 The northern bank of this new river was flat and grassy, the 
 southern very high, precipitous, and displaying many recent marks 
 of the havoc made by the current, which must, I should apprehend, 
 be at this moment swollen unusually by some violent storm higher 
 up. Instead of a gradual rise, every thing resembles the circum- 
 stances of a sudden torrent. Trees, sods, bushes, earthenware, all 
 sorts of stray rubbish float past us, the river is covered with foam, 
 and floats rippling and whirling past. The poor men worked like 
 horses at the towing line, but could hardly make head against it. 
 This precipitous bank, however, is very woody, picturesque, and 
 populous, and the fishing-boats mooring under it in great num- 
 bers, give a pleasing air of life to the scene. 
 
 We passed to my surprise a row of no less than nine or ten 
 large and very beautiful otters, tethered with straw collars, and 
 long strings to Bamboo stakes on the bank. Some were swimming 
 about at the full extent of their strings, or lying half in and half 
 out of the water, others were rolling themselves in the sun on the 
 sandy bank, uttering a shrill whistling noise as if in play. I was 
 told that most of the fishermen in this neighbourhood kept one or 
 more of these animals, who were almost as tame as dogs, and of 
 great use in fishing, sometimes driving the shoals into the nets, 
 sometimes bringing out the larger fish with their teeth. I was 
 much pleased and interested with the sight. It has always been 
 a fancy of mine that the poor creatures whom we waste and
 
 120 MATTACOLLY. 
 
 persecute to death for no cause, but the gratification of our 
 cruelty, might by reasonable treatment be made the sources of 
 abundant amusement and advantage to us. The simple Hindoo 
 shews here a better taste and judgement than half the otter-hunt- 
 ing and badger-baiting gentry of England. 
 
 One of the fishing-vessels came on board with some fine 
 large fish, and one of the dandies had caught us a turtle in the 
 morning, which turned out extremely well, so that we had a feast 
 to-day. The Hilsa fish I had heard compared to a herring, but 
 to which it bore no resemblance that I could find, either in taste 
 or size, being at least six times as large. It is reckoned unwhole- 
 some to eat in any quantity. In going along I witnessed a distur- 
 bance on the shore, and found that one of the dandies had carried 
 off a fowl belonging to a Mussulman cottage. I of course made 
 him restore it, and cautioned the whole crew, that if I saw any 
 more misconduct of the kind, I would have the offender before the 
 next magistrate. I am not sorry to have had an opportunity of 
 reading them this lesson. 
 
 Between five and six this morning we passed Mattacolly, the 
 town whence this stream takes its name, or vice versa. It was the 
 largest assemblage of native dwellings (for there are no brick 
 houses among them) which I have seen since we left Calcutta, and 
 a very considerable number of native vessels, some of large size, 
 were moored before it. The Serang spoke of it as a place of great 
 trade, being the mart for salt to all the central provinces of Bengal, 
 and the principal source whence rice, mustard-oil, salt-fish, and 
 butter were obtained for the Calcutta market. The usual channel 
 of communication with Calcutta was by the Sunderbunds and the 
 Mohanna river, which we left behind, and whose principal stream, 
 as I then noticed, falls into them. Our people complain of the 
 dearth of rice. The last harvest was not a very good one, and the 
 famine in Malabar has in some degree occasioned scarcity in Ben- 
 gal. At least, rice is now more than twice the usual price. 
 
 We had several severe storms of wind and rain during the
 
 INDIGO. 121 
 
 day, and, unluckily for us, the place where we brought to for the 
 night was a spit of sand cut off from the land by a strong crop of 
 indigo, almost as high as our heads, and so wet that one miglit 
 have as well walked through a waterfall. Stowe succeeded in 
 turning a corner, and got into some green meadows beyond, with 
 a pretty little river like the Cherwell winding through them. I 
 was less venturesome, and contented myself with examining some 
 of the peculiarities of the indigo, with which I was previously un- 
 acquainted. It is, I find, a real vetch, having a blossom like a 
 pea, as well as a vetch-shaped leaf. It is chiefly cultivated on the 
 banks of the rivers, as the driest situations. One indiffo establish- 
 ment was near us, and Abdullah had already sent to know if any 
 leaven or bread were attainable. The answer was that the Sahibs 
 had nothing of the kind, and never got any thing better than the 
 unleavened bread of the country. So that it appears the old 
 Frenchman was not singular in his privations. We have lately 
 seen a few instances of a singular hat, worn by the boatmen and 
 peasantry. It is precisely the head of a small umbrella, made of 
 straw, like the umbrellas which they usually carry, but without a 
 handle, and tied under the chin by two strings, which come some- 
 where from its middle, resembling, in fact, pretty nearly the straw- 
 hats worn by the Chinese, except as being more clumsy. It must 
 be very useful, however, both in rain and sunshine, and I wonder 
 that it is not more general. Many of the larger boats which we 
 passed this day were painted black, the bamboo pillars which sup- 
 port the platform carved, and the sterns ornamented with large 
 brass studs. 
 
 June 28. — The river takes a remarkable twist here, so that 
 our course lay north-east by north. This indeed threatens to 
 lengthen our journey to Dacca, but it is a great relief to the men, 
 as they are enabled to make sail, and our progress is much more 
 rapid, though, certainly, not in so favourable a direction as yester- 
 day. We saw a striking specimen of the precarious tenure of these 
 high banks, and how slight causes will sometimes make them 
 
 K
 
 122 RUPERRA. 
 
 topple over. One of these cliffs or scaurs, for tliey pretty nearly 
 answer to the latter name, without any reason that we saw but 
 the agitation of the water occasioned by our vessel, though we 
 were at some distance, fell suddenly to the weight of many tons, 
 and immediately, as if answering a signal, in two other places the 
 bank gave way in the same manner. Had we been under any of 
 them, our vessel must have gone to the bottom, and the ripple 
 was distinctly felt, even where we were. About nine o'clock we 
 passed Ruperra, a considerable village, with a large ruinous 
 building. Ruinous as it is, after the specimen which Sibnibashi 
 afforded us, we were not surprised to find it still occupied by the 
 Zemindar of the district. In its present state, and rapidly as we 
 passed it with a favourable wind, it is not very easy to judge of 
 what it originally has been, but from its Grecian architecture it 
 can hardly be old, while it has evident marks of having been con- 
 structed in a striking and picturesque taste. But as I have before 
 observed, a building soon becomes ruinous here, and to repair 
 any thing does not seem the habit of India. Abdullah had 
 more than once told us strange things of the ' Birds of Paradise' 
 which we were to see as we approached the Great Ganges. I 
 confess I was slow to give credit to him, having always understood 
 that the remarkable birds usually so called, were inhabitants of 
 the Malayan and Sooloo Archipelagos only. He described them, 
 however, accurately enough, as large birds, of a gold colour, with 
 a crest and very long tail ; adding, that the feathers were the same 
 with those silky golden ones which he had seen sold in London. 
 This morning he called to us in a great hurry, that one of them 
 was in sight, perched on a tree not far from the water's edge. 
 Unfortunately I could not distinguish it, but Stowe, who saw it, 
 though imperfectly, said it appeared to answer his description. 
 
 The nets used for fishing these waters are very simple and 
 imperfect ; their casting-nets are indeed large, and good of their 
 kind, but of course chiefly applicable to the smaller fry. We 
 have seen no instance of the seine or drag-net, and the rest, even
 
 TYNYBANYA. 123 
 
 their largest, seem on the principle of a scoop, triangular, and ter- 
 minating in a purse. They are extended on two long bamboos, to 
 catch the stream and all it brings with it, and when supposed to 
 be tolerably full, are lifted suddenly. Sometimes they are thus 
 managed in boats in the middle of the stream, where they must 
 require considerable dexterity ; sometimes they are fastened to 
 bamboos in likely eddies, near the banks. In either case the tame 
 otters must be of most essential service to drive the fish and terrify 
 them from escaping. This rudeness of net struck me more, be- 
 cause on the Hooghly very large nets, apparently of the seine 
 kind, are used, with Kedgeree pots for floats. The river continues 
 a noble one, and the country bordering on it is now of a fertility 
 and tranquil beauty, such as I never saw before. Beauty it cer- 
 tainly has, though it has neither mountain, nor waterfall, nor rock, 
 which all enter into our notions of beautiful scenery in England. 
 But the broad river, with a very rapid current, swarming with 
 small picturesque canoes, and no less picturesque fishermen, 
 winding through fields of green corn, natural meadows covered 
 with cattle, successive plantations of cotton, sugar, and pawn, 
 studded with villages and masts in every creek and angle, and 
 backed continually (though not in a continuous and heavy line like 
 the shores of the Hooghly) with magnificent peepul, banian, 
 bamboo, betel, and coco trees, afford a succession of pictures the 
 most riants that I have seen, and infinitely beyond anything which 
 I ever expected to see in Bengal. To add to our pleasure this 
 day, we had a fine rattling breeze carrying us along against the 
 stream, which it raised into a curl, at the rate of five miles an 
 hour ; and more than all, I heard from my wife. We brought to 
 at seven near a large village, called Tynybanya. The banks near 
 the river were cultivated in alternate quillets with rice and cotton. 
 Then followed long ridges of pawn, which grows something like 
 a kidney-bean, and is carefully covered above and on every side 
 with branches of bamboo, forming a sort of hedge and roof, as high 
 as a man's head. When these branches and leaves become 
 
 r2
 
 124 BETEL-NUTS. 
 
 withered, (which they soon do) they look exactly like a high mud 
 wall, so like indeed, that when we first saw them in the course of 
 this morning, we both thought they were garden walls, and that 
 the pawn was cultivated wdthin instead of under them. Pawn 
 seems one of the most highly valued productions of India, if we 
 judge either by the pains taken in its cultivation, or the price 
 which it bears ; we were told that its retail price w^as sixty leaves, 
 (each as large as a bay-leaf) for an ana (Isd.) no contemptible rate 
 in a country where all products of agricultural labour are so cheap, 
 and where rice may be had at less than half an ana the seer, a 
 weight of nearly tW'O pounds. Yet the only use of paw^n (which 
 has a hottish spicy flavour) is to wrap up the betel-nut which the 
 natives of India delight in chewing, and for which I should have 
 thought many other leaves would answer as w^ell. Our servants, 
 indeed, have an idea that the root of the pawn is collected by the 
 apothecaries as medicine, and sold at a high rate for exportation, 
 but I never remember hearing of it. I tried chewing the betel to- 
 day, and thought it not unpleasant, at least I can easily believe 
 that where it is fashionable, people may soon grow fond of it. 
 The nut is cut into small squares and wrapped up in the leaf, 
 together with some chunam. It is warm and pungent in the 
 mouth, and has the immediate effect of staining the tongue, mouth, 
 and lips, a fiery orange colour. The people here fancy it is good 
 for the teeth, but they do not all take it. I see about half the 
 crew without the stain on their lips, but I do not think the teeth 
 of the others are better. 
 
 The betel is a beautiful tree, the tallest and slenderest of the 
 palm kind, with a very smooth white bark. Nothing can be more 
 graceful than its high slender pillars, when backed by the dark 
 shade of bamboos and other similar foliage. A noble grove of 
 this kind succeeded to the pawn rows at our village this even- 
 ing, embosoming the cottages, together w ith their little gardens, 
 and, what I see here in greater perfection than I have yet seen 
 in Bengal, their little green meadows and home-steads. We
 
 OFFERING TO KHIZR. 125 
 
 rambled among these till darkness warned us to return. The 
 name of this river is Chundnah. We saw a large eagle seated on 
 a peepul tree very near us. On the peepul an earthen pot was 
 hanging, which Abdullah said was brought thither by some per- 
 son whose father was dead, that the ghost might drink. I before 
 knew that spirits were supposed to delight in peepul trees, but 
 did not know, or had forgotten the coincidence, of the brahminical 
 with the classical x^^'-'-- 
 
 June 29. — This morning we continued our way with a strong 
 and favourable breeze against '' a broader and a broader stream, 
 that rocked the little boat," and surpassing the Hooghly almost as 
 much in width as in the richness, beauty, and cheerfulness of its 
 banks, which makes me believe that Calcutta is really one of the 
 most unfavourable situations in Bengal. We passed some fishing- 
 boats of very ingenious construction, well adapted for paddling in 
 shallow water, and at the same time not unsafe, being broad in 
 the beam and finely shaped. They were also clinker built, the 
 first of that kind which I have seen in India. About 12 o'clock 
 we passed on our left-hand a large and handsome European house, 
 very nobly situated on a high dry bank, with fine trees round it, 
 and immediately after, we saw before us a sheet of water, the op- 
 posite bank of which was scarcely visible, being in fact Gunga in 
 her greatest pride and glory. The main arm which was visible, 
 stretched away to the north-west, literally looking like a sea, with 
 many sails on it. Directly north, though still at a considerable 
 distance, the stream was broken by a large sandy island, and 
 to the south, beyond some low sandy islets and narrower channels, 
 we saw another reach, like the one to the north, with a sandy 
 shore, looking not unlike the coast of Lancashire, as seen trending 
 away from the mouth of the IMersey. To one of these islets we 
 stood across with a fine breeze. There the boatmen drew ashore, 
 and one of them came to ask me for an offering, which it was (he 
 said) always customary to make at this point, to Khizr, for a good 
 passage. Khizr, for whom the Mussulmans have a great venera-
 
 126 KHIZR. 
 
 tion, is a sort of mythological personage, made up of different 
 Rabbinical fables concerning Eliezer the servant of Abraham, and 
 the prophet Elijah, on which are engrafted the chivalrous legends 
 respecting St. George ! They believe him to have attended 
 Abraham, in which capacity he drank of the fountain of youth, 
 which gave him immortality. This is Rabbinical, but the Mussul- 
 mans also believe him to have gone dry-shod over Jordan, to have 
 ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot, and lastly, to be a valorous 
 knight, who helps the arms of the believers, and will return at 
 length on a white horse, a little before the day of judgement, 
 together with, and as the Vizier of our Lord, to destroy Dejjal or 
 Anti-Christ, and subdue the multitudes of Gog and Magog. But 
 as having access to the fountain of life, and as having passed 
 Jordan, he is particularly disposed to love and cherish the waters, 
 and all which belong to, or sail on them. Dacca, under the 
 Mogul dynasty, was placed under his peculiar protection, and he 
 naturally succeeded to that veneration, which in the same district, 
 the Hindoos had previously been in the habit of paying to their 
 Varuna, god of the seas and rivers. 
 
 Our vessel found something like a sea running in the mid- 
 channel, and I could observe our two sirdar-bearers sitting close 
 to each other with very melancholy countenances. I observed to 
 mine that this river was greater than the old Gunga, and was 
 amused by the faint and dismal assent he gave, though he endea- 
 voured to conceal his unmariner-like sensations. We stood across 
 to the other side, leaving a large sandy island on the right-hand, 
 and halted to wait for our boats, though in a bad situation, where 
 a heavy sea beat on the shore, and the pinnace thumped con- 
 tinually on the sand. We ought to have anchored further out, 
 but that would have been contrary to the naval tactics of Bengal, 
 which always incline to hug the shore as much as possible ; and 
 what followed made me rejoice that this was the case. A poor 
 miserable-looking man came along-side, and with joined hands, 
 and in accents of deep distress, asked for medicine. On enquiring
 
 BEGGARS. 127 
 
 what was the matter, he said that he and eight others, a boat's 
 crew, were all lying within a few yards, so ill and w^eak that they 
 could not navigate their vessel, and only himself and two more 
 had strength to crawl about at all. The complaint he called 
 '* play," which I was told was a bilious fever. We went to the 
 vessel, which presented, indeed, a dismal scene of misery. I 
 would not let Stowe go into the cabin, which he was about to 
 do, but made the poor fellows come to the gangway. Their case 
 seemed a very plain one, their tongues white, pulse very quick and 
 hard, and skin much suffused with yellow, and they had almost 
 given up hope of life. Our Serang said it was the Sunderbund 
 disease, in fact a marsh fever. Stowe immediately fell to work to 
 make some pills of calomel and colocynth, which they took very 
 thankfully, and left them more to take if required. 
 
 We soon found indeed, and on their account found with less 
 regret, that many things were to be done before we could resume 
 our voyage. As the wind was full against us, our top-masts w^ere 
 to be struck, and other preparations made for tracking. The boat- 
 men wished to shew their gratitude to St. George, (or St. Khizr,) 
 by a little feast ; and as the village w^here our lot was thrown bade 
 fair to be interesting, w^e disposed ourselves for an earlier and 
 longer walk after dinner than usual. Meantime we were besieged 
 by beggars : a wretched old leper, all over sores, a younger object 
 of the same kind, a blind man, with many others, came down to 
 the beach ; and when, after dinner, we walked into the village, a 
 very small and deformed dwarf, an old man, not above three feet 
 high, was brought on a man's shoulders. He seemed to set a 
 tolerably high value on himself, and instead of being grateful for 
 the alms I gave him as a beggar, wanted to be paid as a curiosity. 
 The most characteristic, however, of these applicants, was a tall, 
 well-made, but lean and raw-boned man, in a most fantastic array 
 of rags and wretchedness, and who might have answered admirably 
 to Shakespear's Edgar. He had a very filthy turban round his 
 head, with a cock's feather in it ; two satchels flung over his broad
 
 128 RELIGIOUS MENDICANT. 
 
 shoulders, — the remains of a cummerbund, which had been scarlet, 
 — a large fan of the palmetto-leaf in one hand, and over the other 
 wrist an enormous chaplet of wooden beads. He came up to our 
 boatmen with a familiar air, bade them salam with great cordiality, 
 then, half laughing, but with moments in which his voice assumed 
 a tone as deep as a curfew, appeared to ask their benevolence. 
 He was a INIussulman religious mendicant, and was come to con- 
 gratulate his brethren on their arrival, and receive their bounty. 
 That bounty was small : neither his own merits, nor those of 
 Khizr, could extract a single pice either from Serang or boatmen. 
 They gave him, however, a little rice, which he received in a very 
 bright and clean pot, and then strode away, without asking any 
 thing of us, and singing Illah, Illahu ! 
 
 The evening was very fine, and we had a beautiful stroll 
 along the beach and through the village, which, more than most I 
 have seen, reminded me of the drawings of Otaheite and the 
 Friendly Islands. It was surrounded by quillets of cotton, sugar- 
 cane, and rice, overgrown with bamboos and palms, and on the 
 shore were some fine specimens of the datura stramonium, which, 
 as night came on, opened a magnificent and very fragrant white 
 lily-shaped flower, while all the grass and bushes were gemmed 
 with brilliant fire-flies. A number of canoes were building on 
 the beach, many of them very neatly made, and, like those which 
 I have lately seen, clinkered. These were, however, dear, (at 
 least I thought so). On asking the price of one of them, the 
 carpenter who was painting her said 46 rupees. Dragon-root 
 grows plentifully in all these thickets. 
 
 On going at night-fall to enquire after our patients, we found 
 them already better, but very anxious for wine or spirits, which 
 they said always cured the Sunderbund fever. Rhadacant Deb 
 had assured me that no Hindoo ought, or would, on any account, 
 take spirits, or even any liquid medicine, from the hands of an 
 European. Yet these people were all Hindoos ; so that it ap- 
 pears that the fear of death conquers all the rules of supersti-
 
 FIELD OF CUCUMBERS. 129 
 
 tion, or else that these people in general really care less about the 
 matter than either Europeans, or such bigots as Rhadacant Deb 
 would have us believe. 
 
 The river, I should guess, at this place, is about as wide as 
 the Mersey a mile below Liverpool ; but its very flat shores make 
 it look wider. The place where we lay was evidently frequented 
 by people who either were frightened, or had recently been so, 
 since there were very many traces of that devotion which origi- 
 nates from a supposed dangerous enterprise. I saw no fewer than 
 three turf-built kiblas, for the devotion or thanksgiving of Moham- 
 medans ; and a small shed containing the figure of a horse, rudely 
 made of straw plastered over with clay, which I was at a loss 
 whether to regard as Mohammedan or pagan, since the Mussul- 
 mans of this country carry about an image of the horse of Hossein, 
 and pay much honour to that of Khizr. Near it was a small shed 
 of bamboos and thatch, where a man was watching a field of 
 cucumbers, w^hich interested me as being the same custom to which 
 Isaiah alludes in chap. i. ver. 8. I pointed out the coincidence 
 to Abdullah, who was greatly delighted, and observed, after some 
 praises of Isaiah, that, surely the old religion of the brahmins 
 must have had some truth, since they all, he said, looked forward 
 to an incarnation of Vishnu, on a white horse, to restore the world 
 to happiness. " They only not know," he said, " that Vishnu 
 already incarnate, and that he come again when they mention, on 
 white horse, as they speak ;" alluding, as he afterwards explained 
 himself, to the description of Christ in Revelations xix. ver. 11. 
 This man is certainly intelligent, and, for his situation in life, ex- 
 tremely well-informed. 
 
 And thus we are, literally, in India beyond the Ganges. We 
 have had the mortification, however, of learning that we have 
 come hither too soon, and that our Serang ought to have kept on 
 the western bank till almost opposite Jaffiergunge. Through his 
 ignorance we shall have the greatest strength of the monsoon to 
 
 s
 
 130 MONSOON. 
 
 contend with to-morrow, instead of having its force broken by a 
 weather shore, or one which partly answers to that description. 
 
 June eiO. — This morning we heard a very good account of our 
 patients, and left them with a small stock of bark and wine, 
 enough, I should hope, to set up men who are entirely unac- 
 customed to any stimulant. We found, unfortunately, but too 
 soon, the difficulty of proceeding on our way to Dacca. The 
 men towed us a few miles with much labour, against a fierce wind, 
 which thumped us every moment with right good-will, on the clay 
 bank, — then begged leave to rest, — then to try the middle of the 
 river. To this measure we were much inclined, as the stream 
 we thought would of itself be enough to carry our vessel down, 
 while the wind, (with the driver and jib,) would serve to steady us. 
 We soon found, however, that the pinnace, from its want of keeJ, 
 had no guidance or stability in the water ; that she neither 
 answered to her helm, nor in the least bore up against the wind ; 
 nay, that the stream itself had not so much hold on her shallow^ 
 construction as the wind had, even when all the sails were down. 
 I urged them to try their oars ; but the sea ran so high, and the 
 vessel rolled so much in the middle of the stream, that these too 
 were useless, or nearly so. We tried to regain the shore from 
 which we had parted, but found this difficult, without a very 
 serious loss of ground. Under these circumstances it seemed still 
 adviseable to stretch over to the western bank, which we had 
 prematurely quitted; and accordingly we stood across for the 
 sandy island, which, on our arrival, we found divided by a broad 
 channel. Our Serang was very coolly going to establish himself 
 for the night on the first land which he touched; but I insisted 
 on his at least proceeding over the next broad stream, so as to get 
 in a favourable direction for towing next day, and for remaining 
 with a weather-shore during the night. He obeyed, and we at 
 5 o'clock again took up our quarters on a sandy beach, the very 
 likeness of Southey's Crocodile Island, being pretty nearly the
 
 LIZARDS. 131 
 
 spot where we should have been yesterday evening, had our 
 Serang known where he was. The only interesting occurrence 
 was the capture of a very large and beautiful iguana, or lizard, 
 2 feet 9 inches long, with five toes on each foot, and a forked 
 tongue, beautifully marked with tyger-like stripes of yellow and 
 black. It was basking on the river bank, but w^as no sooner 
 disturbed than it ran into the w^ater, then, seeing the boats, instead 
 of diving, it began to creep up the bank again, when one of the 
 boatmen caught it in a snickle. They were all much afraid of it, 
 and spoke of its bite as poisonous, which from its appearance, I 
 am little inclined to believe. It did not, indeed, seem to have any 
 teeth at all. Stowe rambled about the island, and waded through 
 a marsh after some widgeons, and shot two ; on cutting them up 
 an egg was found in each. This supply will not be unseasonable 
 to our rapidly decreasing larder. 
 
 July 1. — This morning, the wind being more moderate, we 
 continued our course to the western bank of the river, without 
 any great loss of groand, and then proceeded favourably enough 
 by towing. The river soon became free from islands of any sort, 
 and expanded into the most noble sheet of fresh water I ever saw, 
 I should guess not less than four miles wide. The banks are 
 tolerably high when we are near them, but while we creep along 
 the one, the other is only seen as a long black line on the horizon. 
 Of course, though the view is striking, it is not picturesque, and 
 it would soon weary us, which could hardly be the case ^\ith the 
 beautiful Chundna. 
 
 I had the delight to-day of hearing again from my wife, and 
 this is worth all the fine scenery in the world. 
 
 The fishermen are a finer race here than those in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Calcutta, and their boats better. They have also large 
 seines, like those on the Hooghly. Yet many circumstances in their 
 equipments are extremely rude. Many have for sail a mat, or cloth, 
 suspended between two bamboos, one on each gunwale, like the 
 New-Zealanders; and one skiff passed us scudding under a yet 
 
 s2
 
 132 JAFFIERGUNGE. 
 
 simpler contrivance, two men standing up in her, and extending 
 
 each a garment with his feet and hands. I have seen some such 
 representations of Cupids and Venuses on gems, but Httle thought 
 that the thing had its prototype in real life, and was the practice 
 of any modern boatmen. 
 
 The noise of the Ganges is really like the sea. As we passed 
 near a hollow and precipitous part of the bank, on which the 
 wind set full, it told on my ear exactly as if the tide were coming 
 in ; and when the moon rested at night on this great, and, as it 
 then seemed, this shoreless extent of water, we might have 
 fancied ourselves in the cuddy of an Indiaman, if our cabin w^ere 
 not too near the water. About half-past five we stood across the 
 river, which ran really high, and washed the decks handsomely, 
 and brought to amid rice, indigo, and sugar-fields, near the native 
 town of Jaffiergunge, and had an interesting walk, though it 
 was too late for a long one. The people were cutting indigo, 
 which they then packed in large bundles, and loaded in boats. 
 It both looked and smelt something like new-made hay, though 
 with rather a stronger flavour. A good deal of wild celery was 
 growing on the bank, which Abdullah said the people of this 
 country boil and eat in large quantities, believing it to be very 
 wholesome. The night-blowing stramonium was also abundant. 
 
 July 2. — We entered the river of Jaffiergunge, called Com- 
 mercolly in Rennell's map, which here, however, as in other places.
 
 VIVACITY OF THE NATIVE INDIANS. 133^ 
 
 probably from some alteration in the course of the stream, is 
 utterly useless. The country all populous, highly cultivated with 
 rice, sugar, cotton, and indigo ; and though woody, the banks are 
 not oppressed with such exuberant and heavy arborage as those of 
 the Hooghly. We passed a considerable indigo factory, with a 
 very pretty house attached to it. There seemed more machinery, 
 and more activity here, than in any which we have seen. The 
 appearance of the workmen, whose naked limbs and bodies were 
 covered with the blue dye, was very singular. 
 
 The wind favoured our progress to-day; and though the 
 Serang did not care to abandon his trusty tow-line, the men had 
 light work, and were in high spirits. On passing a banian tree, 
 where were an old mat and a pitcher, one of them ran forwards 
 without giving any notice of his intentions, drew the mat round 
 his loins, placed the potsherd by his side according to rule, 
 and so ridiculously imitated the gestures of a " Yogi," (a religious 
 mendicant,) singing all the time in the dismal tune which they use, 
 putting his hands over his head, sprinkling earth on his face, &c. 
 that his comrades were quite disabled from their work with 
 laughing, and I was myself exceedingly amused. Indeed, not 
 having seen him run forwards, I really at first supposed him to 
 be the person he counterfeited, and wondered at the irreverent 
 mockery with which so holy a man was treated, till in a few 
 minutes he sprang up, threw his mat and handful of ashes at his 
 comrades, and catching up his truncheon of bamboo, resumed his 
 place in the team wuth an agility and strength which urged all the 
 rest into a round trot. This is only one out of twenty instances 
 which every day offers, of the vivacity of these fellows, who are, 
 in fact, always chattering, singing, laughing, or playing each other 
 tricks. Yet I have met many people in Calcutta who gravely 
 complain of the apathy and want of vivacity in the natives of 
 India. My own observation, both of these men and of the 
 peasants and fishermen whom we pass, is of a very different 
 character. They are active, lively, gossiping, and laborious
 
 134 NATIVES. 
 
 enou«'h when they have any motive to stimulate them to exertion. 
 Had I an indigo plantation, I would put them all to task-work, 
 and I am sure that, with due inspection to prevent fraud, few 
 labourers would surpass them in steady work, and still fewer would 
 equal them in cheapness. Their habit of coming late to their 
 labour, and breaking off early, arises from the variety of calHngs 
 which each man at present exercises, and the time which he loses 
 in preparing his food. Make it worth their while to establish 
 messes, where one should cook for the remainder, and give them 
 facilities of eating a noon-day meal on the scene of their work, 
 and they would, I think, be easily persuaded, with far greater 
 comfort to themselves, and advantage to their employers, to begin 
 and leave off work at the same time with English labourers. 
 Indeed, at some of the indigo works which we have passed, this 
 seems the case ; and I am sure that the fishermen and dandies 
 work as late and as early as any people. 
 
 The stream as we advanced became broader, and the country 
 assumed the character of inundation. The villages, on land a 
 little elevated, were each surrounded by its thicket of bamboos 
 and fruit-trees. Some fine tall spreading banians and peepuls 
 were scattered on the driest patches of the open country, but the 
 rest was a sheet of green rice, intersected in every direction by 
 shallow streams, which did not as yet cover the crop, but made it 
 look like rushes in a marsh. The low banks of the river w^ere 
 marked out by the bushes of Datura Stramonium, and long silky 
 tufted grass, which from place to place rose above the water, and 
 here our boatmen waded sometimes mid-leg, sometimes knee-deep. 
 Indigo, in this low country, is confined to the banks round the 
 villages, whence we saw several boats conveying it to the works 
 whic]i we had left behind us. 
 
 About tw^o o'clock we entered on an immense extent of flat 
 and flooded country, stretching as far as the eye could reach to 
 the north-west, without even trees or any similar object to break 
 the line of horizon. Here at Gwalparah, we for the first time
 
 SAIL TO DACCA. 135 
 
 since leaving the Ganges, had the stream in our favour. As the 
 wind was not altogether unfavourable, we hoisted sail, and the 
 stream strengthened as we got into the middle of the river. The 
 Serang told me we should do extremely well, provided we could 
 make a particular clump of trees, which we were in a very fair way 
 for, when suddenly the wind di'ew round to the south-east, and 
 began to blow hard, with rain, which fairly compelled us to bring 
 up on the opposite side of the " JeeP" to that which we intended, 
 on a rotten marsh, overgrown with beautiful jungle-grass, tall and 
 silky, and at least eight feet high, so as completely to bury the 
 men who endeavoured to get through it. Towards sunset the 
 breeze moderated, when by help of a little rowing, we got off from 
 shore, and found ourselves in a wide stream of muddy water, rushing 
 at the rate of eight or ten knots an hour, in which our sails just 
 served to keep us steady, and which carried us in little more than 
 an hour to the point we were anxious to attain. We received two 
 messages from Mr. Master, judge of Dacca, in the course of the day, 
 with a most liberal supply of bread, fresh-butter, and fruit. His 
 servants say we may easily reach Dacca to-morrow. 
 
 July 3. — This morning we advanced about twelve miles with 
 the current, making some little advantage of our sails. About 
 eight o'clock, however, the wind was so strong and so completely 
 in our teeth, that we were forced to bring to, as usual on a lee- 
 shore, but so soft and yielding, being in fact all marsh and reeds, 
 that no harm was likely to happen to the vessel. We lay in this 
 manner till past ten, when, it being very clear that, vA\\\ such a 
 wind, it was impossible for the pinnace to reach Dacca by Churcli- 
 time next day, I determined on going thither in the jolly-boat, 
 leaving Stowe, whose health would not admit of his joining such 
 an expedition, behind. I accordingly embarked, taking with me, 
 besides my clothes, a pocket-compass, and a common Bengalee 
 
 '' In the dry season a jeel is merely a swamp, but during- the rains, when near a river, it 
 becomes navigable for pinnaces. — Ed.
 
 136 TOLLS. 
 
 umbrella, which being of straw, I thought would keep off the sun 
 more effectually than my own. I took Abdullah and four of the 
 best rowers of our crew, leaving on board the pinnace four of Mr. 
 Master's police boatmen instead, who came to oiFer their services. 
 The adventures of such a voyage were not likely to be very 
 numerous. We found a really heavy sea in the middle of the jeel, 
 which washed our faces liberally. The width of this expanse of 
 water was on an average, I think, about a mile, shewing in many 
 places, marks of the vegetation which it covered, and bordered, 
 mostly, by tall rushes, jungle-grass, and rice-fields, as yet only 
 partially inundated. The stream was exceedingly strong, so much 
 so as perfectly to account for the height of the waves which the 
 wind raised by their opposition. This latter, however, became more 
 moderate after we had rowed about an hour and a half, and the 
 remainder of our progress was very rapid and easy, the men having 
 little more to do than now and then to give a pull at their oars. 
 A striped flag at the entrance of a smaller stream on our left-hand, 
 attracted my attention, and the boatmen told me that a toll was 
 paid there by all boats frequenting a market to which that nullah 
 led. These local taxes are all, throughout the Company's territo- 
 ries, applied to the improvement of the districts where they are 
 levied. A little farther Ave were hailed from the shore by a man 
 earnestly begging to be taken on board. The dandies only 
 laughed, but I told them to pull in and hear his story. He said 
 he was a soldier in the 14th, Colonel Watson's regiment, that at 
 their last night's halting-place he had missed the boat to which he 
 belonged, and that now all the flotilla was passed by, and unless 
 we gave him a lift he had no chance of getting to Dacca, the 
 country being all flooded, and he unable to bwim even a few yards. 
 I immediately turned the boat's head to the shore, and he came 
 on board, a very fine handsome man, naked save his waist-cloth, 
 and with a Brahminical string, but with all the carriage and air of 
 a guard's-man. Nobody could, indeed, mistake his profession, 
 even if he had not made his military salute very gracefully. He
 
 APPROACH TO DACCA. 137 
 
 said he had begged a passage that morning in six or eight boats, 
 but seeing him naked and pennyless they had all (as he said) 
 "run over to the other side, as if he had been a tyger." He added, 
 on seeing a Sahib his hopes revived, but continued he, " these 
 cursed Bengalees are not like other people, and care nothing 
 for a soldier, or any body else in trouble." " To be sure," he said, 
 laughing, " they always run away well." He pointed out some 
 budgerows and other large boats dropping down the stream a few 
 miles before us, and said his comrades were there, and he should 
 be very thankful if we would put him on board of any one. We 
 were about an hour overtaking them, but the first we approached 
 turned out to be a cook-boat, and he begged hard that I would 
 not put him in a vessel where he could not escape defilement, 
 (shewing his string). 
 
 We accordingly proceeded through the fleet, which consisted 
 of about twenty vessels, all deeply loaded, with their masts struck, 
 and their long cumbersome oars answering very little purpose, 
 except to keep them steady in the middle of the current. Such of 
 them, indeed, as were in its strength, were only to be approached 
 with caution, since as they dropped down at the rate of five or six 
 miles an hour, and were perfectly unmanageable ; they would, if 
 they had struck her, have swamped our little boat in an instant. 
 There was one, however, which we could board without difficulty, 
 but this was a washerman's boat, and our passenger again objected. 
 This second scruple excited such a burst of laughter from the 
 Mussulman dandies, that the soldier blushed up to the eyes as 
 soon as he had made it, and begged pardon of me, saying, " the 
 boat would do very well," then jumping on board with another 
 military salam, he left us to proceed with more rapidity when freed 
 from his weight. The towers of Dacca were already in sight, at 
 least the dandies could see them at the end of a reach of water, 
 perhaps twelve miles in length, along which we sped merrily. As 
 we drew nearer I was surprised at the extent of the place, and the 
 stateliness of the ruins, of which indeed the city seemed chiefly to 
 
 T
 
 138 APPROACH TO DACCA. 
 
 consist. Besides some huge dark masses of castle and tower, the 
 orio"inal destination of which could not be mistaken, and which 
 were now overgrown with ivy and peepul trees, as well as some 
 old mosques and pagodas, of apparently the same date, there were 
 some large and handsome buildings, which, at a distance, bid fair 
 to offer us a better reception, and towards which I, in the first 
 instance, proposed to direct our course, knowing the difficulty 
 which we should have if we passed them, in returning against the 
 stream. The boatmen said, they did not think the " Sahib Log" 
 lived in that part of the town, but were not sure, and the appear- 
 ance of a spire, which as it seemed to mark the site of the Church, 
 confirmed me in my resolution of bearing off to the left. As we 
 approached, however, we found these buildings also (though of 
 more recent date than Shah Jehanguire, and many of them of 
 Grecian architecture) as ruinous as the rest, while the spire turned 
 out to be a Hindoo obelisk. While we were approaching the shore, 
 at the distance of about half a mile from these desolate palaces, 
 a sound struck my ear, as if from the water itself on which we 
 were riding, the most solemn and singular I can conceive. It was 
 long, loud, deep, and tremulous, something between the bellowing 
 of a bull and the blowing of a whale, or perhaps most like those 
 roaring buoys which are placed at the mouths of some English 
 harbours, in which the winds make a noise, to warn ships off them. 
 *' Oh," said Abdullah, " there are elephants bathing ; Dacca much 
 place for elephant." I looked immediately, and saw about twenty 
 of these fine animals with their heads and trunks just appearing 
 above the water. Their bellowing it was which I had heard, and 
 which the water conveyed to us with a finer effect than if we had 
 been ashore. Another mile or thereabouts of rowing brought us 
 to some buildings of a more habitable description, and pretty 
 much like those of Calcutta. One of these, close to the water's 
 edge, was pointed out to me as Mr. Master's, who was himself in 
 the court of justice, but whose servants, though surprised to see 
 the style in which I arrived, had an excellent bed-room for me.
 
 ARRIVAL AT DACCA. 139 
 
 with every thing ready for hathing and dressing. I found myself 
 in no respect the worse for my boating, except that my face was a 
 httle burnt, in spite of my chahtah, by the reflection of the water, 
 while my shins (which had been exposed to the sun, owing to my 
 trowsers slipping up in the uncomfortable situation in which I was 
 compelled to sit,) were scorched as if I had laid them before a great 
 fire. These I washed in milk, which relieved them a good deal. 
 Mr. Master, when he returned, said that, though I had, perhaps, 
 done a rash thing in coming through the sun, yet certainly I took the 
 only means of arriving in time for Church. He said that he would 
 send a guard-boat to help the pinnace on, but that she could not 
 possibly get to Dacca under 24 hours. For my part, except my 
 shins, I never felt better. 
 
 t2
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Ruins — Visit from the Naxvdh — Visit returned — Death of Mr. Stowe — Consecration of 
 Church, and Burial-ground — Confirmation — Armenian Archbishop — Farewell Visit to 
 Naicdb — Meer Israf Ali. 
 
 July 4. — I preached to a small congregation, in a very small but 
 pretty Gothic Church. Mr. Parish read prayers, and gave notice 
 of the Consecration and Confirmation for the Wednesday and 
 Friday ensuing. About 4 o'clock the pinnace arrived, but Stowe 
 to my great concern sent word that he was too ill to leave it, 
 having had a very severe relapse of dysentery. I took Mr. Todd, 
 the surgeon of the station, to him, who pressed his making the 
 attempt for the sake of a more airy apartment than his cabin, and 
 in an hour's time, the wind having abated, he got into Mr. Master's 
 house and to bed, I hope not the worse for the exertion. Nothing 
 can exceed Mr. Master's kindness to us both, but I am sorry to 
 say, he is himself by no means in good health. 
 
 The river on which Dacca stands, has greatly altered its 
 character since Rennell drew his map. It was then narrow, but is 
 now, even during the dry season, not much less than the Hooghly 
 at Calcutta. At present it is somewhat wider, but from the upper 
 windows of Mr. Master's house, the opposite bank may be seen also 
 in a great degree flooded, and though the green rice rising with the 
 water, gives it no other appearance than that of a swampy meadow, 
 small boats are seen every where paddling about amid the crop, 
 which yields them way without difficulty.
 
 DACCA. 141 
 
 Dacca, Mr. Master says, is, as I supposed, merely the wreck 
 of its ancient grandeur. Its trade is reduced to the sixtieth part 
 of what it was, and all its splendid buildings, the castle of its 
 founder Shahjehanguire, the noble mosque he built, the palaces of 
 the ancient Nawabs, the factories and churches of the Dutch, 
 French, and Portuguese nations, are all sunk into ruin, and over- 
 grown with jungle. Mr. Master has himself been present at a 
 tyger hunt in the court of the old palace, during which the elephant 
 of one of his friends fell into a well, overgrown with weeds and 
 bushes. The cotton produced in this district is mostly sent to 
 England raw, and the manufactures of England are preferred by 
 the people of Dacca themselves for their cheapness. There are 
 still a few Armenians resident in the tow^n, some of them wealthy, 
 with a Church, and two Priests. Their Archbishop, who makes 
 once in four or five years a journey from Nakitchvan to India, is 
 now in the place, on the same errand with me. There are also a 
 few Portuguese, very poor and degraded. Of Greeks the number 
 is considerable, and they are described as an industrious and 
 intelligent people, mixing more with the English than the rest, 
 and filling many of the subaltern situations under government. 
 The clerk at the English Church (it happens singularly enough) 
 is a Greek, and the Greek Priest has sent to request permission to 
 call on me. Of English there are none, except a few indigo 
 planters in the neighbourhood, and those in the civil or military 
 service. But the Hindoo and Mohammedan population, Mr. Mas- 
 ter still rates at 300,000, certainly no immoderate calculation, since, 
 as he says, he has ascertained that there are above 90,000 houses 
 and huts. The climate of Dacca, Mr. Master reckons one of the 
 mildest in India, the heat being always tempered by the vast rivers 
 flowing near it, and the rapidity of their streams discharging the 
 putrid matter of the annual inundation more rapidly than is ever 
 the case in the Hooghly. The neighbourhood affords only one 
 short ride at this season, and not many even when the ground is 
 dry, being much intersected by small rivers, and some large and
 
 142 CHITTAGONG. 
 
 impenetrable jungles coming pretty close to the north-east of the 
 town. Boating is popular, and they make boats very well here. 
 Indeed I cannot conceive a situation which more naturally would 
 lead men to take delight in sailing. No vessels, however, larger 
 than the small country built brigs ever come to Dacca ; during the 
 rains, ships of any moderate burden might do so, but it would be 
 attended with some risk, and the inducements to enter this 
 branch of the Ganges are not sufficient to encourage men to 
 endanger their vessels or themselves, though as far as Luckipoor, 
 small European craft have been known to come. The majority 
 prefer Chittagong, though even this last has a harbour little adapted 
 for vessels of burthen. 
 
 Of Chittagong I learnt many interesting particulars. The 
 town of Islamabad itself is not large, and the English society is 
 still smaller than at Dacca. The country round is pretty and 
 romantic, consisting of a number of little round steep hills covered 
 with verdure, coffee, pepper, vines, and bamboos, on the summits 
 of which the villas of the English are generally placed. These are 
 not very accessible, the roads being often too steep and stony to 
 admit of carriages or horses, and the usual method of visiting 
 being in tonjons, and even these, no bearers but the practised ones 
 of Chittagong would be able to carry in such a country. At some 
 distance from the coast are mountains which divide this territory 
 from that of the Burmese, and are covered by almost impenetrable 
 woods and thickets. The climate, Mr. Master thinks, has been 
 over-praised. It is certainly cooler during the hot months than 
 Calcutta, but not than Dacca, while during the rainy season and 
 the winter, it is exceedingly raw, aguish, and asthmatic, being 
 subject to continual and very offensive fogs, from the quantity of 
 uncleared land, and the neighbouring mountains. But little has 
 been attempted at Dacca or Chittagong for the conversion of the 
 natives, and that little has had very small success. At the former 
 place is a Baptist minister, who is described as a very good and 
 diligent man, and has succeeded in establishing one Christian
 
 NAWAB SHUMSHEDDOWLAH. 143 
 
 school (but among the Portuguese and Greek Children), and some 
 few Bengalee schools for the natives. But in these last he has 
 either not ventured to introduce the New Testament, or has failed 
 in doing so ; a result so different from what has been the case in 
 every other part of India, that I suspect some want of address at 
 least in the instructor. He appears, however, to have received 
 considerable encouragement from the English flimilies, and I 
 apprehend that a Church Missionary establishment of the same 
 sort, would find the situation by no means a bad one. 
 
 July 5. — To-day I had visits from most of the civil and 
 military functionaries of Dacca. I had also a visit from Mr. Lee, a 
 sort of secretary to his highness the Nawab Shumsheddowlah, to 
 congratulate me on my arrival, and to appoint a day for his calling 
 on me. This potentate is now, of course, shorn of all political 
 power, and is not even allowed the state palanquin, which his 
 brother (whose heir he is) had, and which his neighbour the Nawdb 
 of Moorshedabad still retains. He has, however, an allowance of 
 10,000 s. rupees per month, is permitted to keep a court, with guards, 
 and is styled " highness." The palanquin, indeed, was a distinc- 
 tion to which his brother had no very authentic claim, and which 
 this man could hardly expect, having been very leniently dealt 
 with in being allowed the succession at all. He had in his youth 
 been a bad subject, had quarrelled with government and his own 
 family, and been concerned in the bloody conspiracy of Vizier Ali. 
 For his share in this, he was many years imprisoned in Calcutta, 
 during which time he acquired a better knowledge of the English 
 language and literature than most of his countrymen possess. He 
 speaks and writes English very tolerably, and even fancies himself 
 a critic in Shakespear. He has been really a man, Mr. Master 
 tells me, of vigorous and curious mind, who, had his talents enjoyed 
 a proper vent, might have distinguished himself. But he is now 
 growing old, infirm, and indolent, more and more addicted to the 
 listless indulgences of an Asiatic prince ; pomp, so far as he can 
 afford it, dancing girls, and opium, having in fact scarce any society
 
 14-4 ELEPHANTS. 
 
 but that of his inferiors, and being divested of any of the usual 
 motives by w^hich even Asiatic princes are occasionally roused to 
 exertion. To such a man a strong religious feeling would (even 
 as far as this world is concerned) be an inestimable treasure. But 
 to inspire Shumsheddowlah with such a feehng, there are, alas ! 
 few if any facilities. 
 
 Government has seldom more than five companies of infantry 
 at Dacca ; but this number is now doubled, and they have also 
 jient a small flotilla of gun-vessels, which are said to be on their 
 way. Had the Burmese really possessed any considerable force 
 of war-boats in the neighbourhood of Teak Naaf, Dacca might 
 easily have fallen their prey; and the alarm excited lately was 
 very great, and with some better reason than I had supposed. 
 Among other objects of fear and suspicion was the poor old 
 Xawab, whom the English suspected of plotting against them, and 
 sending information to the Burmese. That the Nawab would not 
 weep his eyes out for any reverses of the British army, is, indeed, 
 probable. But as to intelligence, he had none to send which was 
 worth the carriage, and was so far from contemplating the approach 
 of the Burmese with indifference, that he had taken means for 
 removing his family as soon as possible, in case of serious alarm, 
 while he himself requested leave to attach himself to Mr. Master, 
 to remain or go, whenever and wherever he might think proper. 
 
 Dacca, as Abdullah truly said, is " much place for elephant." 
 The Company have a stud of from 2 to 300, numbers being caught 
 annually in the neighbouring woods of Tiperah and Cachar, which 
 are broken in for service here, as well as gradually inured to the 
 habits which they must acquire in a state of captivity. Those which 
 are intended for the Upper Provinces, remain here some time, and 
 are by degrees removed to Moorshedabad, Bogwangolah, Dinapoor, 
 &c. since the transition of climate from this place to Meerut, or 
 even Cawnpoor, is too great, and when sudden, destroys numbers. 
 I drove in the evening, with Mr. Master, through the city and 
 part of the neighbourhood. The former is very like the worst
 
 DACCA. 145 
 
 part of Calcutta near Chitpoor, but has some really fine ruins 
 intermingled with the mean huts which cover three-fourths of its 
 space. The castle which I noticed, and which used to be the 
 palace, is of brick, yet shewing some traces of the plaster wliich 
 has covered it. The architecture is precisely that of the Kremlin 
 of Moscow, of which city indeed, I was repeatedly reminded in 
 my progress through the town. The Grecian houses, whose 
 ruined condition I have noticed, were the more modern and 
 favourite residence of the late Nawab, and were ruined a few years 
 since by the encroachments of the river. The obelisk, or " Mut" 
 which I saw, was erected as an act of piety very frequent in India, 
 by a Hindoo, who about 25 years ago accumulated a large fortune 
 in the service of the East India Company. Another mut of an 
 almost similar form, w-as pointed out to me a little way out of the 
 town. The pagodas, however, of Dacca, are few and small, three- 
 fourths of the population being Mussulmans, and almost every 
 brick building in the place having its Persian or Arabic inscription. 
 Most of these look very old, but none are of great antiquity. 
 Even the old palace was built only about 200 years ago, and con- 
 sequently, is scarcely older than the banqueting-house at White- 
 hall. The European houses are mostly small and poor, compared 
 with those of Calcutta ; and such as are out of the town, are so 
 surrounded with jungle and ruins, as to give the idea of desolation 
 and unhealthiness. No cultivation was visible so far as w^e went, 
 nor any space cleared except an area of about twenty acres for 
 the new military lines. The drive was picturesque, however, in 
 no common degree ; several of the ruins were fine, and there are 
 some noble peepul trees. The Nawab's carriage passed us, an 
 old landau, drawn by four horses, wdth a coachman and postillion 
 in red liveries, and some horse-guards in red also, with high ugly 
 caps, like those of the old grenadiers, with gilt plates in front, and 
 very ill mounted. The great men of India evidently lose in point 
 of effect, by an injudicious and imperfect adoption of European 
 fashions. An Eastern cavalier with his turban and flowing robes, 
 
 u
 
 146 VISIT OF THE NAWAB. 
 
 is a striking object ; and an eastern prince on horseback, and at- 
 tended by his usual train of white-staved and high-capped janiza- 
 ries, a still more noble one ; but an eastern prince in a shabby 
 carriage, guarded by men dressed like an equestrian troop at a 
 fair, is nothing more than ridiculous and melancholy. It is, how- 
 ever, but natural, that these unfortunate sovereigns should imitate, 
 as far as they can, those costumes which the example of their 
 conquerors has associated with their most recent ideas of power 
 and splendour. Stowe has been very ill ever since he arrived 
 here ; to-day he is better, but still so unwell as to make me give 
 up all idea of leaving Dacca this week. 
 
 I met a lady to-day who had been several years at Nusseerabad 
 in Rajpotana, and during seven years of her stay in India, had 
 never seen a Clergyman, or had an opportunity of going to Church. 
 This was, however, a less tedious excommunication than has been 
 the lot of a very good and religious man, resident at Tiperah, or 
 somewhere in that neighbourhood, who was for nineteen years 
 together the only Christian within seventy miles, and at least 300 
 from any place of worship. Occasionally he has gone to receive 
 the Sacrament at Chittagong, about as far from his residence as 
 York from London. These are sad stories, and in the case of 
 Nusseerabad, I hope, not beyond the reach of a remedy. 
 
 Juhj 6. — The Nawab called this morning according to his 
 promise, accompanied by his eldest son. He is a good looking 
 elderly man, of so fair a complexion as to prove the care with 
 which the descendants of the Mussulman conquerors have kept 
 up their northern blood. His hands, more particularly, are nearly 
 as white as those of an European. He sat for a good while 
 smoking his hookah, and conversing fluently enough in English, 
 (pioting some English books of history, and shewing himself very 
 tolerably acquainted with the events of the Spanish war, and the 
 part borne in it by Sir Edward Paget. His son is a man of about 
 30, of a darker complexion, and education more neglected, being 
 unable to converse in English. The Nawab told us of a fine wild
 
 VISIT OF THE NAWAB. 147 
 
 elephant, which his people were then in pursuit of, within a few 
 miles of Dacca. He said that they did not often come so near. 
 He cautioned me against going amongst the ruins, except on an 
 elephant, since tygers sometimes, and snakes always, abounded 
 there. He asked me several pertinent questions as to the intended 
 extent and object of my journey, and talked about the Greek 
 priest, who, he said, washed to be introduced to me, and whom he 
 praised as a very worthy, well-informed man. I asked him about 
 the antiquities of Dacca, which he said were not very old, the 
 city itself being a comparatively recent Mussulman foundation. 
 He was dressed in plain white muslin, with a small gold tassel 
 attached to his turban. His son had a turban of purple silk, ribbed 
 with gold, with some jewels in it. Both had splendid diamond 
 rings. I took good care to call the father " his highness," a dis- 
 tinction of which Mr. Master had warned me that he was jealous, 
 and which he himself, I observed, was very careful always to pay 
 him. At length pawn and attar of roses were brought to me, and 
 I rose to give them to the visitors. The Nawab smiled, and said, 
 *' what has your Lordship learned our customs ?" Our guests then 
 rose, and Mr. Master gave his arm to the Nawab to lead him down 
 stairs. The staircase was lined with attendants with silver sticks, 
 and the horse-guards, as before, were round the carriage ; this was 
 evidently second-hand, having the arms of its former proprietor 
 still on the pannel, and the whole shew was any thing but splendid. 
 The Company's sepoys were turned out to present arms, and the 
 Nawab's own followers raised a singular sort of acclamation as he 
 got into his carriage, reckoning up the titles of his family, " Lion 
 of War!" " Prudent in Counsel!" " High and Mighty prince," &c. 
 &c. But the thing was done with little spirit, and more like the 
 proclamations of a crier in an English court of justice, than a cere- 
 mony in which any person took an interest. I was, however, 
 gratified throughout the scene by seeing the humane (for it was 
 even more than good natured) respect, deference, and kindness, 
 which in every word and action Mr. Master shewed to this poor 
 
 u2
 
 148 VISIT TO THE NAWAB. 
 
 humbled potentate. It could not have been greater, or in better 
 taste, had its object been an English prince of the blood. 
 
 July 8. — Stowe, who has had a relapse, is rather better this 
 morning, but his situation is very uncomfortable. There is no pro- 
 bability of his being able to go with me up the country, or to leave 
 Dacca, perhaps, for many weeks. This is very distressing. To 
 delay my departure so long will be to endanger the whole prospect 
 of effecting my arrival at Cawnpoor during the rains ; or possibly 
 of performing at all, during the present year, the Visitation, on 
 Avhich, for so many reasons, I have set my heart, and for which I 
 have already given up so much. The prospect of being so long 
 burdensome to Mr. Master is not agreeable. Nor, though this is 
 a minor consideration, can I look forwards without annoyance to 
 so large a pecuniary sacrifice as is involved in abandoning a voyage 
 which I have already paid for, and have by so doing largely 
 anticipated the allowance made by Government, and wdiich I can 
 only expect to receive if I persevere in my journey. On the other 
 hand, I will not leave my friend so long as he is in danger, or till 
 I see him in a really convalescent state. 
 
 In the afternoon I accompanied Mr. Master to pay a visit to 
 the Nawab, according to appointment. We drove a considerable 
 way through the city, then along a shabby avenue of trees inter- 
 mingled with huts, then through an old brick gate-way into a sort 
 of wild-looking close, w ith a large tree and some bushes in the 
 centre, and ruinous buildings all round. Here was a company of 
 Sepoys, drawn up to receive us, very neatly dressed and drilled, 
 being in fact a detachment of the Company's local Regiment, and 
 assigned to the Nawab as a guard of honour. In front was 
 another and really handsome gateway, with an open gallery, where 
 the " Nobut," or evening martial music, is performed, a mark of 
 sovereign dignity, to which the Nawab never had a just claim, but 
 in which Government continue to indulge him. Here were the 
 Nawab's own guard, in their absurd coats and caps, and a crowd of 
 folk with silver sticks, as well as two tonjons and chahtahs, to
 
 DEATH OF MR. STOWE. 149 
 
 convey us across the inner court. This was a httle larger than 
 the small quadrangle at All Souls, surrounded with low and 
 irregular, but not inelegant buildings, kept neatly, and all white- 
 washed. On the right-hand was a flight of steps leading to a very 
 handsome hall, an octagon, supported by gothic arches, with a 
 verandah round it, and with high gothic windows well venetianed. 
 The octagon was fitted up with a large round table covered with 
 red cloth, mahogany drawing-room chairs, two large and handsome 
 convex mirrors, which shewed the room and furniture to consider- 
 able advantage, two common pier-glasses, some prints of the king, 
 the emperor Alexander, lords Wellesley and Hastings, and the 
 duke of Wellington, and two very good portraits, by Chinnery, of 
 the Nawab himself, and the late Nawab his brother. Nothinsr 
 was gaudy, but all extremely respectable and noblemanly. The 
 Nawab, his son, his English secretary, and the Greek priest whom 
 he had mentioned to me, received us at the door, and he led me 
 by the hand to the upper end of the table. We sate some time, 
 during which the conversation was kept up better than I expected ; 
 and I left the palace a good deal impressed with the good sense, 
 information, and pleasing manners of our host, whose residence 
 considerably surpassed my expectations, and whose court had 
 nothing paltry, except his horse-guards and carriage. The visit 
 ended in an invitation to dinner, but without fixing a day. I said I 
 should be happy, and hinted that an early day would suit me best. 
 So that it does not delay my journey, I shall like it very well. 
 
 Dacca is sometimes visited by earthquakes, though not very 
 severe ones. Mr. Master's house was much sliaken last year. 
 The general run of European houses here is about equal to tlie 
 second or third rate of those in Calcutta : the rents seem nearly 
 the same. Few are actually on the river, but those are the best, 
 and bear the highest prices. 
 
 July 22. — A long interval has occurred, during which I have 
 had neither time nor heart to continue my journal, having been 
 closely occupied in attending the sick and dying bed of my
 
 150 CONSECRATION OF CHURCH AND BURIAL GROUND. 
 
 excellent and amiable friend, Stowe, and in the subsequent neces- 
 sary duties of taking care of his interment and property. She for 
 whose eyes I write these pages, will gladly spare me a repetition 
 of the sad story of his decline, death, and burial. 
 
 I this morning left Dacca, after a residence of eighteen days, 
 marked by great, and to me, most unusual anxiety and sorrow ; 
 but during which, I, as well as my poor friend, received in our 
 affliction a degree of hospitality, attention, affectionate and delicate 
 kindness from the civil and military officers attached to the station, 
 and their famihes, and most of all from our excellent host, Mr. 
 Master, which I shall never forget, and for which, I trust, I shall 
 be always grateful. 
 
 I do not recollect any thing very material which I saw or 
 heard during this period, having, indeed, been pretty closely 
 confined to my friend's sick room. On Saturday, the 9th, I 
 confirmed about twenty persons, all adults, and almost all of the 
 higher ranks. On the following Sunday I consecrated the Church, 
 This perhaps ought, in strictness, to have preceded the Confir- 
 mation ; but the inversion afforded the Catechumens an immediate 
 opportunity of attending the Lord's Supper, of which they all 
 availed themselves, as well, I believe, as all the other inhabitants 
 of the station. The whole number of communicants was 34 or 5, 
 and I never witnessed a congregation more earnestly attentive. 
 On this occasion poor Stowe was to have preached, but that duty 
 now devolved on me. 
 
 In the evening I consecrated the burial ground ; a wild and 
 dismal place, surrounded by a high wall, with an old Moorish gate- 
 way, at the distance of about a mile from the now inhabited part 
 of the city, but surrounded with a wilderness of ruins and jungle. 
 It is, however, large and well adapted for its purpose, containing 
 but few tombs, and those mostly of old dates, erected during the 
 days of Dacca's commercial prosperity, and while the number of 
 European residents was more considerable than it is at present. 
 One was pointed out to me, over the remains of a Mr. Paget,
 
 TOMBS. 151 
 
 Chaplain to the Company in July 1724. I then Httle thought or 
 feared how strangely the centenary anniversary of his interment 
 would be kept up ! Some of the tombs are very handsome ; one 
 more particularly, resembling the buildings raised over the graves 
 of Mussulman saints, has a high octagon Gothic tower, with a 
 cupola in the same style, and eight windows with elaborate tracery. 
 Within are three slabs over as many bodies, and the old Durwan 
 of the burial ground said, it was the tomb of a certain " Columbo 
 Sahib, Company ka nuokur," Mr. Columbo, servant to the Com- 
 pany ; who he can have been I know not ; his name does not sound 
 like an Englishman's, but as there is no inscription, the Beadle's 
 word is the only accessible authority. Another tomb is over a 
 Chinese convert to Christianity and Protestantism, who seems to 
 have resided here about 100 years ago. The remainder are of 
 various, but not very remote date, in the usual Anglo-Indian style of 
 obelisk or pyramid, but all overgrown with ivy, and the destructive 
 peepul tree. Some fine elephants, with their mohouts, were browzing 
 on the trees and bushes round the wall, and amid the neighbouring 
 ruins. Indian cattle occupied the little grassy glades which inter- 
 sected what would else have been a trackless forest, and the whole 
 had so wild and characteristic an appearance, that I regretted that 
 I had no time to make a drawing. 
 
 One evening I drove with Mr. Master to see the prisons. 
 The first we visited was a place of confinement for the insane, 
 which the humanity of government provides in every district. 
 There were altogether a considerable number, the curable and 
 incurable, the male and female, separated in distinct wards, under 
 the care of the Surgeon of the station and several native Doctors. 
 The place was airy, well suited to the climate, and the prisoners 
 seemed well treated, though when I praised their cleanliness, Mr. 
 Master observed, that he feared they knew we were coming. The 
 patients, however, when asked if they had any complaints, only 
 urged (which some of them did very fluently) that they were 
 unjustly confined, and could prove themselves either to have been
 
 152 THE PRISON. 
 
 never mad, or now to be quite recovered. Two only seemed 
 dano-erous, and were kept in small grated cells, though several had 
 lio-ht handcuffs on. One of these talked incessantly with violent 
 ^gesticulations, menacing his keepers through his bars ; the other 
 was a gloomy and sullen wretch, stretched out on his mat, but now^ 
 and then uttering a few low words, which jNIr. Master said were 
 bitter curses. The first was a Brahmin schoolmaster, and had 
 murdered his brother ; the second was in a decent rank of society, 
 and had repeatedly attempted the lives of his wife and children. 
 iVIelancholy or mere fatuity seemed the most general characters 
 which the disease assumed. Mad persons may be sent hither by 
 their friends, on payment of a small sum, or, if poor, by the 
 " Daroga" of each " pergunnah," (the superintendant of a district) 
 whose duty it is to apprehend and send to the district asylum, any 
 dangerous or disgusting object of this kind w^ho may be at large. 
 
 The prison was very well arranged, with roomy wards, dry and 
 airy apartments, and permission given once a day to all the 
 prisoners to go out on a large plain, within a low^ outer wall, to 
 dress their victuals. This indulgence indeed, joined to the lowness 
 of even the main wall, makes it necessary to keep them all in irons, 
 but that is, in this chmate, a far less evil than a closer confinement, 
 or the increased interruption of the fresh air. The prisoners com- 
 plained loudly that their allowances were not sufficient. Mr. Master 
 told me that the present dearth of rice, made them, indeed, far less 
 than they used to be, but that the original scale w^as too high, 
 and more than a m.an could earn by labour. Some Burmans were 
 here, and the only persons not handcuffed (except the debtors). 
 They had been taken in the Company's territory, not in arms, but 
 unable to give any good account of themselves, and therefore sup- 
 posed to be spies. They seemed, however, poor simple peasants, 
 and Mr. Master said, he had recommended government to discharge 
 them, since in truth, there had always been a little smuggling trade 
 on the Munnipoor frontier for salt and ivory, and these men, he 
 verily beheved had no further or more sinister view^s. They were
 
 ARMENIAN ARCHBISHOP. lo3 
 
 middle-sized, well made men, in complexion and countenance half- 
 way between the Indian and Chinese, and a good deal tattooed. 
 The debtors were numerous and very miserable objects. So long 
 as they continue here, their creditors are bound to make them the 
 same allowance as government makes to the criminals, but a 
 Hindoo creditor, though murmuring grievously at this expense, is 
 generally (Mr. Master said, and Dr. Carey had said the same thing 
 before,) intensely cruel, and prefers the gratification of revenge, 
 even to that of avarice. Several of the debtors here were very old 
 men, and some had been kept many years in prison. 
 
 Another evening I went in a beautiful boat of Mr. Mitford's to 
 the " Pagla Pwll," or Mad Bridge, a ruin four miles below Dacca. 
 It is a very beautiful specimen of the richest Tudor Gothic, but I 
 know not whether it is strictly to be called an Asiatic building, for 
 the boatmen said the tradition is, that it was built by a Frenchman. 
 There is a very fine and accurate engraving of it in Sir Charles 
 D'Oyley's " ruins of Dacca.^' 
 
 I had two visits during the week from the Armenian Archbishop 
 of Ecmiazin (near what //i^?/ call Mount Ararat) who, attended by one 
 of the suffragans of the patriarch of Jerusalem, is making a visita- 
 tion of all the diiferent churches of their communion in Persia and 
 India. The Archbishop has every appearance of a mild, respect- 
 able, intelligent man, and he of Jerusalem seems a shrewd 
 fellow. I was anxious to be civil to them both, but they only 
 spoke Turkish and their own tongue. Fortunately one of their 
 Dacca congregation could officiate as interpreter, and then we got 
 on famously by the help of my Russian acquaintance and recollec- 
 tions. They were both well acquainted with Georgia, and 
 Abraham, of Jerusalem, had been at Mosdok, Nakitchevan, Ka- 
 lomna, and Mosco. I was able to do them some trifling services, 
 and we parted with mutual good wishes. 
 
 ' Julij 20. — I went to pay my farewell visit to the Nawab, who 
 had been really more than civil. Almost every day during the last 
 week, he had sent baskets of fruit, dressed dishes and pastry, some 
 
 X
 
 lol VISIT TO MEER ISRAF ALL 
 
 (which is a common eastern compHment) for my own dinner, others 
 with a special recommendation for my sick friend. All the return 
 I could make, and it was one which I heartily pray God in his 
 goodness may make useful, was the present of my Hindoostanee 
 prayer-book, which, being splendidly bound, and containing much 
 which a INIussulman would not dislike, I cast '' like bread on the 
 waters," though I fear on a stormy sea, and one turbid with 
 gross indulgences and prejudices. Poor old man ! I should rejoice 
 to learn that he had sometimes looked into its pages. This he 
 voluntarily promised to do in his last visit, and as we were alone, 
 we had a good deal of talk about politics and other things, in the 
 course of which he desired I would sometimes write to him. He 
 then said, " I am not going to offer you a valuable present, but 
 only trifles which are here common, but w^hich in Europe would 
 be curiosities. This muslin I do hope you will offer in my name to 
 your lady, and instead of your present stick, now that you are 
 lame (I had not quite recovered the effects of the sun on my legs) 
 that you will w^alk with my cane." Of the former I am no judge, 
 the latter is very pretty, of a solid piece of ivory, beautifully carved. 
 It is too fine for me to walk with, but I shall always value it. I 
 was received and dismissed on this, as on the former occasion, with 
 presented arms. 
 
 I went from the palace to the house of Meer Israf Ali, the 
 chief Mussulman gentleman in this district. He is said by Mr. 
 Master to have been both extravagant and unfortunate, and there- 
 fore to be now a good deal encumbered. But his landed property 
 still amounts to above 300,000 begahs, and his family is one of the 
 best (as a private family) in India. He was himself absent at one 
 of his other houses. But his two eldest sons had been very civil, 
 and had expressed a hope that I would return their visit. Besides 
 which, I was not sorry to see the inside of this sort of building. 
 Meer Israf Ali's house is built round a court-yard, and looks very 
 much like a dismantled convent, occupied by a corps of Uhlans. 
 There are abundance of fine horses, crowds of shabby looking
 
 VISIT TO MEER ISRAF ALL 155 
 
 servants in shewy but neglected liveries, and on the whole a 
 singular mixture of finery and carelessness. The two young men, 
 and a relation, as they said he was, who seemed to act as their 
 preceptor and as their father's man of business, received me with 
 some surprise, and were in truth marvellously dirty, and unfit to 
 see company. They were, however, apparently flattered and 
 pleased, and shewed their good manners in offering no apologies, 
 but leading me up a very mean staircase into their usual sitting 
 rooms, which were both better in themselves, and far better 
 furnished than I expected from the appearance of things below. 
 After the few first compliments, I had recourse to x\bdullah's 
 interpretation, and they talked very naturally and rather volubly 
 about the fine sport their father would shew me the next time I 
 came into the country, he having noble covers for tigers, leopards, 
 and even wild elephants. At last out came a wish for silver sticks ! 
 Their father, they said, was not in the habit of asking favours from 
 government, but it was a shame that the baboos of Calcutta should 
 obtain badges of nobiHty, while true Seyuds, descendants of the 
 prophets, whose ancestors had never known what trade was, but 
 had won with their swords from the idolaters, the lands for which 
 they now paid taxes to the Company, should be overlooked. 
 I could promise them no help here, and reminded them that an 
 old family was always respected whether it had silver sticks or 
 no, and that an upstart was only laughed at for decorations which 
 deceived nobody. " Yes," said the younger, " but our ancestors 
 used to have silver sticks, and we have got them in the house 
 at this day." I said if they could prove that, I thought that 
 government would be favourable to their request, but advised 
 them to consult Mr. Master, who was their fiither's intimate 
 friend. We then parted, after their bringing pawn and rose water 
 in a very antique and elegantly carved bottle, which might really 
 have belonged to those days when their ancestors smote the 
 idolaters. Mr. Master afterwards said, that if the Meer himself 
 had been at home, I never should have been plagued with such 
 
 x2
 
 156 VISIT TO MEER ISRAF ALL 
 
 topics ; that he was a thorough gentleman, and a proud one, who 
 wished for the silver sticks, but would never have asked the interest 
 of a stranger. The young men called afterwards to see me to my 
 boat, and brought me some toys for my children, and a travelling 
 cap often worn by Mussulmans in this district.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DACCA TO FURREEDPOOR. 
 
 Inundation — Gun-boat attacked — Mussulman Fakir — Furreedpoor — System of Rohbenj — 
 Domestic Habits of Hindoos — Extract from Calendar. 
 
 Having preserved these hasty recollections of the past week, I 
 return to my journey. 
 
 Being anxious to prevent Miss Stovve, who I feared had, on 
 hearing of her poor brother's illness, set out from Calcutta to join 
 him, from coming to Dacca, I did not take the direct northern 
 course by the great Jeels, but sailed eastward across the Delaserry 
 river and a wide tract of flooded country, which offered a strange 
 and dreary spectacle, from the manner in which the wretched 
 villages were huddled together on little mounds of earth, just 
 raised above the level of the inundation, while all the rest was 
 covered with five or six feet water. I thought of Gray's picture 
 of the Egyptian Delta, whose peasants 
 
 " On their frail boats to neighbouring cities gUde, 
 Which rise and glitter o'er the ambient tide." 
 
 But these villages do any thing but glitter. At length we passed 
 them all, and entered what might be called a sea of reeds. It 
 was, in fact, a vast jeel or marsh, whose tall rushes rise above the 
 surface of the water, having depth enough for a very large vessel. 
 We sailed briskly on, rustling like a greyhound in a field of corn : 
 while in one place where the reeds were thickest, and I tried the
 
 158 INUNDATION. 
 
 depth with an oar, there was, I should guess, at least ten feet water, 
 besides whatever else there might be of quagmire. 
 
 After this we entered a nullah, with rice only partially flooded, 
 and a succession of woods and villages, till at six we halted for the 
 night, in a very pleasant spot, near a large village, named Nawab 
 Gunge. I should have enjoyed my little walk, if my recollections 
 would have allowed me. 
 
 Juhj 23. — We commenced our journey this morning with 
 unusual alertness, but ere long it was interrupted. A sudden 
 turn of the river exposed us, about 12 at noon, to so strong a con- 
 trary wind, that after a few trials the men declared they could not 
 proceed, and begged leave to get their dinner, in the hope that the 
 breeze might moderate. I w^as not sorry for this delay, as I hoped 
 to receive information from Dacca which might set me at liberty 
 to go directly northward, but letters arrived which to my great 
 sorrow established the fact that Miss Stowe was on her way to 
 Dacca, and made it adviseable for me to push on to meet her as 
 fast as possible. I put, therefore, into immediate force the magic 
 of my own silver sticks, and the potent talisman of brass which 
 adorned the girdle of the Chuprassee whom Mr. Master had 
 ordered to accompany me to Hajygunge, and sent to the jemaut- 
 dar "" of the nearest village a requisition for twenty men to drag 
 my boats, with the information at the same time, that the service 
 would not be, as I fear it often is in this country, gratuitous. No 
 sooner, however, were the messengers seen approaching, than half 
 the village, fearing that it was some Government duty which was 
 required, were seen running away to hide themselves, and it w^as 
 not till the jemautdar had gone round to explain matters to some 
 of their wives, that any tolerable workmen made their appearance. 
 At last the prescribed number arrived, and we began moving w^ith 
 tolerable rapidity, and continued advancing prosperously till nine 
 o'clock at night, when the twenty men were extremely well satis- 
 
 '^ This appellation is variously given to a house-servant, the chief man of a village, and to 
 an officer in the army, of a rank corresponding to a lieutenant. — Ed.
 
 GUN-BOAT ATTACKED. 159 
 
 fied with two rupees among them ! and wilHngly promised to 
 attend next morning, so cheap is labour in this part of India. An 
 event has occurred on the Matabunga since we traversed it, which 
 shews the low state of morality among the peasants of India, and 
 how soon and how surely a sudden temptation will transform the 
 most peaceable into banditti. A large boat attached to the gun- 
 boats which arrived the other day at Dacca from Calcutta, loaded 
 with ammunition, got aground pretty near the same place where 
 we had the bank cut through. The country people were called 
 in to assist in getting her off, very likely from the same village 
 whose inhabitants we found so diligent and serviceable. The 
 ammunition, however, was packed in cases resembling those in 
 which treasure is usually conveyed in this country, and in con- 
 sequence as is supposed of this mistake, the boat, being by the 
 accident separated from the fleet, was attacked the following night 
 by (as is said) near 300 people, armed with spears, bamboos, hoes, 
 and whatever else a tumultuary insurrection usually resorts to. 
 They were repulsed by the Sepoys with difficulty, and not till 
 several had been shot. The affair made a great noise in Dacca, 
 nothing of the kind having been heard of for many years in that 
 neighbourhood. A commission had gone to the spot to enquire 
 into the case, and one of the small neighbouring Zemindars was 
 said to be in custody. Natives, Mr. Master said, are often 
 pillaged, and travel always in more or less danger. But Decoits 
 seldom venture on an European boat, and still more rarely on a 
 vessel in the Company's service, and guarded by soldiers. 
 
 In the course of our halt this day a singular and painfully 
 interesting character presented himself in the person of a Mussul- 
 man Fakir, a very elegantly formed and handsome young man, of 
 good manners, and speaking good Hindoostanee, but with insanity 
 strongly marked in his eye and forehead. He was very nearly 
 naked, had a white handkerchief tied as an ornament round his 
 left arm, a bright yellow rag hanging loosely over the other, a little 
 cornelian ornament set in silver round his neck, a large chaplct of
 
 160 MUSSULMAN FAKIR. 
 
 black beads, and a little wooden cup in his hand. He asked my 
 leave to sit down on the bank to watch what we were doing, and 
 said it gave his heart pleasure to see Englishmen ; that he was a 
 ^rreat traveller, had been in Bombay, Cabul, &c., and wanted to see 
 all the world, wherein he was bound to wander as long as it lasted. 
 I offered him alms, but he refused, saying, he never took money, — 
 that he had had his meal that day, and wanted nothing. He sate 
 talking wildly with the servants a little longer, when I again told 
 Abdullah to ask him if I could do any thing for him ; he jumped up, 
 laughed, said *' No pice !" then made a low obeisance, and ran off, 
 singing, " La lUah ul Allah !" His manner and appearance nearly 
 answered to the idea of the Arab Mejnoun, when he ran wild 
 for Leila. 
 
 July 24. — -I met yesterday evening with a severe disappoint- 
 ment. I had left Dacca cheered with the hope that my wife, who 
 had expressed great anxiety to accompany me in the event of 
 Stowe's illness terminating fatally, would be able to join me with 
 our children at Boglipoor ; but I received a letter from her, for- 
 warded by Mr. Master, which made me see that this would be 
 impossible. This news, added to the uncomfortable state of my 
 mind and feelings, kept me awake great part of the night, and I 
 arose ill and unrefreshed. 
 
 The labourers were after their time, and the wind being 
 moderate, we set off without them. They overtook us, however, 
 in two boats, in about three miles, and were of very material use 
 in helping us on to the junction of this stream with the great 
 Ganges. Just before we arrived at this point I saw two pinnaces 
 in the offing. In the hope that one might prove to be Miss 
 Stowe's, I immediately brought to, and sent off a letter to prepare 
 her for the sad tidings of her brother's death; but the boats 
 belonged to another party. 
 
 We now proceeded again with the tow-line : the wind was 
 strongly against us, the stream in which we were running almost 
 full south, but the additional coolies did wonders for us. Including
 
 FURREEDPOOR. 161 
 
 the crew, there were no less than twenty-eight men at the rope of 
 my pinnace, and eight to each of the other boats. About half-past 
 one we reached the place where our stream rejoined the Ganges, 
 which lay before us with its vast expanse of water. 
 
 The woods near Hajygunge and Furreedpoor lay like a long 
 dark outline on the horizon, at the distance of about twelve miles, 
 six miles being, I should guess, pretty nearly the width of the river. 
 I here dismissed the country people, but found that thougli the 
 wind was full south, it was still not over and above favourable, since, 
 though it would carry us up the river, it would effectually prevent 
 our making Furreedpoor. While Mohammed, (the Serang,) and 
 Abdullah were consulting as to w^hat was best to be done, I saw a 
 small pinnace creeping slowly towards us amid the long reeds, 
 which we hailed ; and as soon as it was ascertained who we were, 
 a young officer jumped into the dingy, and paddled up towards us, 
 whom I soon recognized to be my old shipmate Gresley, who, with 
 his companion, Lt. P., dined with me. There were few medical 
 applications which could have done me so much good as a motive 
 for an extra glass of wine, and the lively conversation of two young 
 men, for one of whom I had a sincere regard. We parted soon 
 after four, and I had a very good sail over the river, and might, I 
 soon found, have had a better, had not Mohammed, from his 
 exceeding terror of being carried out of his knowledge, or of being 
 compelled to pass a night at sea, instead of fairly saihng straight 
 for the river on which the villages stand, laboured hard, by keeping 
 his boat as near the wind as her construction allowed, to make the 
 opposite bank as soon as possible. We arrived there in conse- 
 quence about six o'clock, at least eight miles to the S. of the 
 point we wished for ; and, in the neighbourhood of a little village 
 overhung with palms, we made fast to a green meadow. Our 
 people had learnt caution by the recent events on the Matabunga, 
 and Abdullah came to request that I would give orders for two 
 sentries for the night. 
 
 Jubj 25. — I slept well, and have seldom wakened with more 
 
 Y
 
 162 FURREEDPOOR. 
 
 reason for gratitude. My health, which had been for some time a 
 good deal deranged, appeared renovated, and I felt myself ready 
 to adopt any line of conduct which circumstances might claim 
 from me. 
 
 We were obliged to track our boat, the wind having fallen, 
 and it was 10 o'clock before we reached the Hajygunge nullah. 
 Before we had advanced far, a boat came up with a letter from 
 Mr. Warner, the magistrate of these districts, and to my inex- 
 pressible delight, one from my wife, which Mr. Master had 
 forwarded. Her account of herself was comfortable, but I was 
 again forcibly convinced that it would be impossible for her to 
 join me at Boglipoor. My main anxiety therefore was, that she 
 should not fret about a separation which was unavoidable, and that 
 she should be convinced that I am likely to do extremely w^ell, 
 and travel very safely ; and that, though now alone, I should have 
 companions the greatest part of the way. 
 
 ]\Ir. Warner soon after called on me, and I accompanied him 
 to his house, where I found a very well furnished library. At 
 present his house was full of ladies, fugitives from Chittagong ; 
 but except his own family and inmates, he had no society, no 
 Europeans, not even a medical man being within very many 
 miles. In the evening we walked in the garden, and Mr. 
 Warner pointed out one tree on which two pelicans never failed 
 to roost, and another which had an eagle's nest. Eagles are, he 
 said, very common on all these rivers, and pelicans by no means 
 rare, and he expressed some surprise at learning how few of either 
 I had seen during my progress. A beautiful and fragrant purple 
 flower was shewn me as the jalap plant. Mr. Warner then took me 
 a pleasant drive in the carriage, and I had some very interesting 
 conversation with him ; on our return to the house I read prayers 
 and a sermon, and then went to my boat. On the whole, between 
 the books I found, the things I saw, and the people I met with, 
 I passed a pleasant, and I trust not an unprofitable Sunday. 
 
 Mr. Warner told me, that even now I was, in his judgement.
 
 GANG ROBBERY. 163 
 
 a fortnight too late to succeed in getting up to Cawnpoor, but that 
 to Benares I might do very well. 
 
 Among Mr. Warner's books I found in a volume of the Edinburgh 
 Annnual Register, a dialogue from an ancient Arabic MS. in the 
 Bodleian, translated six years ago by Dr. Nicol, containing a 
 dispute between a Christian monk and certain learned M ussulmans, 
 at the court of one of the Seljuckian Sultans, which I thought so 
 clever, and so evidently authentic, that it greatly delighted me, 
 and I borrowed it for Abdullah, as more likely than most things 
 which I have seen to do him good, and confirm his faith in Christ. 
 The original Arabic ought by all means to be published, if it is not 
 already, and sent out for circulation in the East by the Societies 
 interested in such good works. I here dismissed the police boat 
 and chuprassee with which Mr. Master had furnished me. It is 
 pleasing to see how popular Mr. Master is ; he is spoken of here 
 in just the same way as he is at Dacca. 
 
 Mr. Warner I find had not heard a word of the alleged attack 
 on the Company's boats on these waters. Such a thing might, 
 he said, have occurred in the Kishnagur district without his hear- 
 ing of it, but he conceived it must have been greatly exaggerated. 
 He said that the Indians can never tell a story without excessive 
 falsification one way or the other. He had frequently had cases of 
 assault brought before him, in which the plaintiff at first stated 
 that he had been attacked and nearly killed by above a hundred 
 men, when it turned out that he had received a beating from one 
 or two men, twenty or thirty others being possibly present, (as in 
 a village or market) but taking no part in the quarrel. In the 
 same way if a house or a boat is robbed, the complainant generally 
 exaggerates the number of Deceits to any multitude which he may 
 think likely to excite the magistrate's attention and pity. Never- 
 theless there was, he said, a great deal of gang robbery, very 
 nearly resembling the riband-men of Ireland, but unmixed with 
 any political feeling, in all these provinces. It is but too frequent 
 for from five to ten peasants to meet together as soon as it is 
 
 y2
 
 164 HINDOO PEASANTRY. 
 
 dark, to attack some neighbour's house, and not only plunder, but 
 torture him, his wife and children, with horrible cruelty, to make 
 him discover his money. These robbers in the day-time follow 
 peaceable professions, and some of them are thriving men, while 
 the whole firm is often under the protection of a Zemindar, 
 who shares the booty, and does his best to bring off any of the 
 gang who may fall into the hands of justice, by suborning witnesses 
 to prove an alibi, bribing the inferior agents of the police, or inti- 
 midating the witnesses for the prosecution. In this way many 
 persons are suspected of these practices, who yet go on many years 
 in tolerably good esteem with their neighbours, and completely 
 beyond the reach of a government which requires proof in order 
 to punish. Mr. Warner thinks the evil has increased since the 
 number of spirit shops has spread so rapidly. At present these 
 places bring in a very considerable revenue to government, and 
 are frequented by multitudes both of the Hindoo and Mussulman 
 population. They are generally, however, resorted to at night, 
 and thus the drunkenness, the fierce and hateful passions which 
 they engender, lead naturally to those results which night favours, 
 at the same time that they furnish convenient places of meeting 
 for all men who may be banded for an illicit purpose. I asked 
 what the brahmins said to this. He answered that the brahmins 
 themselves were many of them drunkards, and some of them 
 Deceits, and that he thought what influence they retained was less 
 for good or moral restraint, than evil. Yet he said that they had 
 a good deal of influence still, while this had been quite lost by the 
 Mussulman Imams and Moulahs. He spoke, however, favourably 
 of the general character of the people, who are, he said, gentle, 
 cheerful,, and industrious, these great crimes being, though un- 
 happily more common than in Europe, yet certainly not universal. 
 He had learned from different circumstances, more of the internal 
 economy of the humbler Hindoo families than many Europeans 
 do, and had formed a favourable opinion of their domestic habits 
 and happiness. As there is among the cottagers no seclusion of
 
 GAOL CALENDAR. 165 
 
 women, both sexes sit together round their evening lamps in very 
 cheerful conversation, and employ themselves either in weaving, 
 spinning, cookery, or in playing at a kind of dominos. He says it 
 is untrue that the women in these parts, at least, are ignorant of 
 sewing, spinning, or embroidery, inasmuch as, while the trade of 
 Dacca flourished, the sprigs, &c. which we see on its muslins, were 
 very often the work of female hands. This is a strange and 
 blended tissue of human life and human character ! which it is 
 most painful to hear of, since one cannot contemplate the evening 
 enjoyments of a happy and virtuous family, such as is described, 
 without anticipating the possibility of their cottage being made 
 during the night, a scene of bloodshed, torture, and massacre. 
 Yet, alas ! can we forget that in all these respects, India is too 
 like Ireland ! 
 
 July 26. — Still I had no news of Miss Stowe, and I was com- 
 pelled to remain at Furreedpoor. I am sadly weary of waiting ; 
 and the worst is, I am told that there will be very little more south 
 wind this year ; if so, my progress will be slow indeed. I got a 
 very pleasant walk this morning, without feeling tired, and break- 
 fasted and dined with the Warners. The interval between break- 
 fast and dinner I spent in the study, partly in writing letters, 
 and 'partly in looking over a curious document which he allowed 
 me to see, being his Gaol Calendar, as to be returned to the 
 Circuit Judge. His " Cutcherry,'' or Court of Justice, the gaol, 
 and a small unoccupied bungalow, are the only buildings, besides 
 his own house, in the station. The huts of the natives are in no 
 compact village, but scattered thinly up and down a large and 
 fertile extent of orchard-garden and paddy-ground. To return, 
 however, to the Calendar. So far as the present quarter, it stands 
 thus. 
 
 Case 1, Affray, and assault on a single person, by fourteen criminals. 
 
 2, One man charged with the murder of his fellow-workman in the fields. 
 
 3, One man charged with forgery. 
 
 4, Five with house-breaking.
 
 166 GAOL CALENDAR. 
 
 Case 5, Two charged with house-breaking. 
 
 6 Five charged with affray and riot, destroying property, &c. [This is connected with 
 the succeeding case of forgery, being an attempt, under colour of a forged instru- 
 ment first, and afterwards by violence, to obtain possession of an indigo work. — See 
 Cases 14 and 19.] 
 
 7, Four for house-breaking and attempt to murder. 
 
 8, Three for house-breaking. 
 
 9, Five for child-stealing. [In this case one of the accused parties, in whose house the 
 
 little girl was found, declared in his own justification, that desiring to obtain a wife 
 for his son, (a boy,) he had given some rupees to a neighbour, (one of the robbers,) 
 to buy one : that the said neighbour brought him the little girl, saying she was his 
 niece, and that he received her as such. But there was little doubt that this was 
 untrue, and that the design of the whole gang was to sell the child to some person 
 at a distance.] 
 
 10, Two for murder by poison, administered in brandy. 
 
 11, Five for false-imprisonment and murder. [A man was seen bound and dragged along 
 
 by the five prisoners, — was taken to the house of one of them, and there confined 
 two or three days, and beaten, as it is said, to death. They plead that the man was 
 mad, and his death occasioned by his distemper. It appears, however, that there was 
 previous malice, and that they were not bound to take care of him, if he had been 
 mad.] 
 
 12, Seven for house-breaking, with torture. 
 
 13, Three for homicide, in executing an arrest. 
 
 14, Seven for an affray and riot at another indigo factory, arising out of the same dispute 
 
 with the one formerly mentioned. 
 
 1 5, Four for piracy and attempt to murder. 
 
 16, One for murder, by striking with a bamboo. 
 
 17, Nine for an attack on a dwelling-house, plundering, beating, and false-imprisonment. 
 
 18, One for false-imprisonment, assault, and compelling the plaintiff to sign a paper con- 
 
 taining a false deposition. 
 
 19, Seven for forgery and subornation of forgery. See cases 6 and 14. 
 
 20, Six for robbing a boat. 
 
 21, Two for assault, with intent to kill. 
 
 22, Five for piracy and attempt to kill. 
 
 In all 91 prisoners for trial, not including a very curious case 
 now under investigation, in which a wealthy brahmin is accused of 
 having procured his enemy to be seized and carried before the 
 altar of Kali in his private house, and having there cut off his head, 
 after the manner in which sheep and hogs are sacrificed to their 
 deities. This offers certainly no favourable view of the morals of 
 the country, considering that the district of Furreedpoor is not
 
 BANDITTI. 107 
 
 larger than the ordinary run of Welch counties. Two circum- 
 stances worth notice are, the gangs in which most crimes are com- 
 mitted, and the nature of the defence usually set up, which, I 
 observed, w^as in nine cases out of ten, an alibi, being the easiest of 
 all others to obtain by the aid of fldse- witnesses. Perjury is 
 dreadfully common and very little thought of. 
 
 In the evening I again drove out with Mr. Warner. A large 
 lake is at a small distance from the house, which holds water all 
 summer. The natives say it was part of the original bed of the 
 Ganges which used to cover all Furreedpoor, till a Raja requiring 
 a portion for his daughter, implored Varuna to give him one. The 
 god sent a tortoise which sw am out, making a large circuit in the bed 
 of the river, and immediately within that space dry land appeared. 
 I read prayers to Mr. Warner's family circle, and returned to my 
 pinnace. Furreedpoor used to be a favourite station of banditti, 
 and so dangerous, that till a local magistrate with a strong police 
 was settled here, no valuable boat ever risked the passage. This 
 part of its former history may possibly have made the manners of 
 its present inhabitants more unruly, and account in some degree 
 for the heaviness of the calendar. 
 
 July 27. — ' This day passed as the preceding. I heard 
 nothing of Miss Stowe, and the disadvantage of any further delay 
 to my voyage seemed so serious, that I determined, unless some 
 news reached me in the course of this day or night, to go on. 
 
 July 28. — No tidings arriving, and having done every thing 1 
 could think of to ensure the gradual impartment of the sad news 
 of her brother's death to poor Miss Stowe, and provided as far as 
 I could for the comfort and safety of her dismal homeward journey, 
 about noon, when I was hurrying the Serang to make sail, 1 
 received a letter from my poor wife, with an account of the severe 
 illness of both our babies, and of the merciful deliverance which 
 our beloved little Emily had received from God. This letter griev- 
 ously agitated me, so much so that I think for some time I hardly 
 felt or understood what had happened. My first impression was
 
 168 JOURNEY CONTINUED. 
 
 to hurry home to Calcutta. But on reading the letter over again, 
 I knew I could implicitly trust my wife when she told me that the 
 danger was over, that if she had apprehended the probability of a 
 relapse, she would not have concealed it from me; that I was 
 engaged at this time in a solemn professional duty, to desert which 
 without the strongest grounds, would be a criminal distrust of 
 God, and neglect of his service ; that my presence would not help 
 my poor child, and that in case of the worst which I might hear 
 at Bogwangola, I might at all events then return to comfort my 
 poor wife under her affliction. On the whole I determined to go 
 on, though, when I had made that determination, and was actually 
 on the broad stream of the Ganges, it seemed as if I first became 
 sensible of the bitterness which I had escaped, and which might still 
 threaten me. I did not, however, repent of the resolution which 
 I had taken, and I hoped I acted right, and not unfeelingly to my 
 dear wife, in thus preferring a public to a private duty.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FURREEDPOOR TO BOGLIPOOR. 
 
 Blind Beggar — Crocodile — Ape — Silk Manufactory — Basket for catching Fish — Bogwangola 
 — Strength of Current — Begging Dervises — Ant-hills — Rajmahdl Hills — Gour — Raj. 
 mahdl — Sultan Sujah's Palace — Puharrees — Caves — Gossain — Boglipoor — Schools — 
 Religion of Puharrees. 
 
 We had a noble breeze, and went on rapidly, all sail spread, when 
 all at once, to my great surprise, the Serang brought up the pinnace 
 so suddenly, that he almost laid her on her beam-ends, and the 
 water flowed in at her lee cabin windows ; a very little more wind, 
 and she would have turned quite over. On running out to learn 
 the reason of this manoeuvre, I found Mohammed pale, Abdullah 
 scolding, and the crew endeavouring with more haste than good 
 speed, to get in the top and top-gallant sails. It appeared that 
 the steersman had seen a shoal right ahead, and so close under the 
 bows, that even the rapid bringing-up of the boat's head was 
 barely sufficient to avoid it. The fact is, however, that such mud- 
 banks as are usually met with here would have been less dangerous 
 with our flat bottom, than the expedient which they put in 
 practice. However, I ordered two men forward with long bam- 
 boos, to sound wherever there appeared suspicion in future ; and 
 exhorted them, when they found occasion to bring up so suddenly 
 again, always to let the sails go at the same time. 
 
 The river is here, I should think, from four to five miles wide. 
 We advanced up it with our fine breeze at a great rate, till nearly 
 seven, when we brought to in a swampy and inconvenient spot, 
 
 z
 
 170 BLIND BEGGAR AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 immediately opposite Jaffiergunge, being very nearly the same 
 place where, with poor Stowe, I had crossed the river a month 
 before. It now swarmed with fishing-boats, but offered vessels of 
 no other description. Many nullahs branch out of the main 
 stream in every direction. I found to-day that these people do 
 not apply the name of Gunga at all to this stream, but call it 
 " Pudda." My ignorance of this fact used to perplex me exceed- 
 ingly, both in asking questions and receiving answers. They know" 
 no Gunga but the Hooghly; and the Burra Gunga (Great Ganges,) 
 by which I tried to explain myself, was always mistaken by 
 Mohammed for the " Boori-gonga," a comparatively insignificant 
 stream near Dacca. 
 
 I forgot to mention in their proper places the things which I 
 saw while at Furreedpoor. One was a specimen of the native fox, 
 running near Mr. Warner's house, and so little afraid that one 
 might almost have laid hold of him. He was a beautiful little 
 animal, not much larger than a hare, of a more silky fur and squirrel- 
 like tail, than the English reynard, and is rather serviceable than 
 otherwise, inasmuch as though he sometimes catches small birds, 
 his chief food is of field-mice and white ants. Another circum- 
 stance was, that my boat was visited by a blind beggar, (a young 
 countryman,) with his wife, a fine young woman, her features not 
 very delicate, but her person remarkably well made, and the tallest 
 female whom I have seen in India. I gave them alms, and when 
 she thrust out her hand to receive them, she displayed massive 
 silver bracelets, worth, I should think, at least 25 or 30 shillings. 
 Yet these were beggars ; and to judge from their scanty and 
 wretched clothing in all other respects, I doubt not objects of 
 pity. But for this poor woman to sell her bracelets, was a thing 
 which probably never would occur to her as possible, except under 
 urgent and hopeless hunger. She had also rings on her ankles, 
 which, indeed, drew my attention to her sex, for her height made 
 me at first suppose her to be a young man, and her dress, whicli was 
 a coarse sackcloth mantle, might have belonged either to male or
 
 BEGGARS. 171 
 
 female. Her manner was extremely modest ; she never let go her 
 husband's hand, and was evidently annoyed by the sort of notice 
 she attracted from the boatmen and my servants. The old blind 
 man led by a little boy, whom we saw on the Chundna, made his 
 appearance also at Furreedpoor, a proof of his wandering habits. 
 The existence of these beggars, as it implies that they obtain some 
 relief, may seem to exculpate the mass of Hindoos from the charge 
 of general inhumanity and selfishness, so often brought against 
 them. At the same time, in a country where there is no legal 
 provision for distress, it is almost needless to observe, that in cases 
 of blindness, leprosy, lameness, and helpless old age, to give to 
 beggars as we have the means, is an obligation of justice as well 
 as charity. 
 
 July 29. — Our course the early part of to-day was chiefly along 
 the north-east bank, and in part through a succession of " aits," 
 beds of reeds, and overflowed ground cultivated with rice. The 
 weather pleasant, and not very different from an English summer 
 day. Indeed, I have as yet seen nothing to make me lose the opinion 
 that the rains in India are by no means an unpleasant season. 
 Several circumstances reminded me painfully of poor Stowe. At 
 about half-past nine we passed what he and I had, in our previous 
 passage, taken for a clump of tall trees; but which, now that 
 I saw it nearer, appeared to be a single but very majestic banian. 
 I looked in vain for the islet where we passed our evening, (his last 
 evening of health and high spirits,) and where he waded after the 
 wild ducks into the marsh, which so unhappily affected him. The 
 increasing flood had now covered it ; but I recognised the village 
 where we passed our first night in what we called, in merriment, 
 " India beyond the Ganges ;" where we saw the dwarf, and the 
 " lodge in the garden of cucumbers ;" while, standing out a little, 
 to avail ourselves of the wind in the next reach, we grounded on 
 a part of the same line of marshy islets which we had traversed 
 on foot a few weeks before. I could not help feeling that 
 now I had nobody to compare my impressions with ; none whose 
 
 z 2
 
 172 CROCODILE. 
 
 attention I might call to singular or impressive objects, — that I 
 was, indeed, a lonely wanderer! Such thoughts are, however, 
 useless, and perhaps they are hardly innocent ; with a great object 
 before me, with Providence for my guide, and with the power of a 
 constant correspondence with a beloved wife, I have no right to 
 regard myself as solitary or forsaken. But having nobody to talk 
 to will probably swell the size of my journal. 
 
 The country improved very much in the course of the morning, 
 and the number of fishing-boats was really extraordinary ; most of 
 them had their sails spread between two bamboos, one on each 
 gunwale, as common in the South Seas ; and the groupes, both of 
 boats and fishermen, skimming past the beautifully wooded bank, 
 afforded subjects for painting such as I should have delighted, had 
 I possessed the necessary talent, to transfer to paper. 
 
 About half-past one, and when we were not far from the stream 
 which diverges from the Pudda, between Pulna and Radanuggur, 
 Mohammed, in excessive carelessness or ignorance, contrived to 
 lose his way, by going directly north, round a large island in 
 the middle of the river, and consequently in a channel leading 
 back again towards Jaffiergunge. We soon found that we had 
 the stream with instead of against us, and asking some fishermen, 
 learned the mistake. We had scarcely, I think, gone a mile wrong, 
 when we attempted to return ; but having both wind and stream 
 against us, and very bad towing ground, it took up the whole 
 afternoon, till past six, to get out of the scrape again, and to moor 
 in the main stream, by some marshy ground, so completely 
 drenched with water, that my bearers were unable to find a place 
 to dress their victuals. This loss of half a day's fine wind was 
 excessively provoking. The delay, however, gave time for the 
 servants' boats to join us, which must else have been completely 
 distanced. We passed, this evening, the first crocodile I have seen. 
 It was swimming leisurely, pretty close to our boat, but I could 
 distinguish little but what looked like a heavy log of w^ood, drifting 
 down the stream. The people, however, called out, " Coomer !
 
 GAOWALE. 173 
 
 r 
 
 Coomer !" and my servants, being Calcutta people, seemed inter- 
 ested and curious to see it. Abdullah said it was rather a large 
 one, but that I should see enough to tire me by the time we got to 
 Rajmahal. 
 
 After all, our progress during this half day was not incon- 
 siderable ; and I began to entertain better hopes of a timely 
 arrival in the Upper Provinces than I had for some days ventured 
 to cherish. 
 
 July 30. — We still suffered this morning from Mohammed's 
 ignorance, which had completely embayed us in the curve of the 
 northern shore, so that to get round the point between us and the 
 Pulna reach occupied nearly half a day's grievous labour, up to 
 their breasts in water, to the poor boatmen. About half-past five 
 we arrived at the mouth of the ComercoUy ; the wind had now in 
 a considerable degree died away ; it was still, however, enough to 
 carry our boats in a full west course by my compass, across the 
 opening of the ComercoUy, (which is about as wide at this season 
 as the Thames at Vauxhall,) and some small distance along the 
 right bank of the main river, where we brought to on the margin 
 of a fine dry pasture of fiorin grass, one of the airiest and best 
 stations which we have had during the voyage. At a short dis- 
 tance was a collection of very poor huts, with a herd of cattle round 
 them. I walked to them, and found a complete dairy, or rather 
 perhaps, grazier's establishment, for they had not many milch cows. 
 They were the herds of the village, united under the common care 
 of two or three men '" gaowale," (cow-men) who kept them in these 
 and similar pastures, this being a celebrated grazing country. 
 The calves and young stock were penned up in two circular 
 enclosures of bamboo and thorns, and the cows and oxen lay 
 quietly ruminating on the outside. I saw no dogs, nor did the 
 herdsmen (for there were no females among them) seem to have 
 any weapons or means of defence against wild beasts, a sufficient 
 proof that they are not numerous here. The men, however, 
 seemed to be prepared for, and accustomed to watching in the
 
 174 GIPSEYS. 
 
 open air, having a greater wrap of turban round the head and neck, 
 and longer and warmer mantles than are usual in Bengal. They 
 are a caste by themselves, tall robust men, many with long beards, 
 and all wilder looking than the majority of their countrymen. I 
 was reminded of Crim Tartary, but missed the long spears, the 
 huge dogs, the high-mettled horses, and covered carts of those 
 noble shepherds. These men were very civil, and regretted they 
 had no milk for me, as they only took a very little from each cow 
 once a day, the remainder going to the calf One old man, how- 
 ever, brought up some milk which he was boiling for his own 
 supper, and willingly sold half of it for a couple of pice, my own 
 goats now supplying me with little. The evening was very fine, 
 and though the night was too dusky for me to walk far, I strolled 
 backwards and forwards, enjoying the delightful elasticity of the 
 dry turf, the fresh breezes of the river, and the fragrant breath of 
 the cows till near ten o'clock. A great many small boats still con- 
 tinued to glide along the stream, as if engaged in nightly fishing, 
 and the dash of their paddles, and the blowing of the porpoises, 
 were almost the only sounds which broke the general stillness. 
 Altogether it was an evening to enjoy and to be thankful for, and a 
 scene which I left with regret. 
 
 July 31. — About half an hour after we set out, and while we 
 were close to the shore, we passed by a number of extremely small 
 and mean huts, patched up in a temporary way with boughs and 
 rushes. I asked Mohammed what they were, and he answered 
 " they were people from the upper kingdom!' Abdullah said they 
 were a sort of gipseys, who lived by fishing. Some of them came 
 out of their booths as we passed, a race that no man can mistake, 
 meet them where he may, though they are, as might be expected 
 fi:om their latitude and their exposure to the climate, far blacker 
 here than in England, or even than the usual race of Bengalees 
 are. They are the same tall, fine limbed, bony slender people, 
 with the same large, black, brilliant eyes, lowering forehead, and 
 long hair curled at the extremities, which we meet on a common
 
 APE. 175 
 
 in England. I saw only one woman, and her figure was marked 
 by the same characters. In height she would have made two of 
 the usual females of this country, and she stepped out with the 
 stride and firmness of a Meg Merrilies. Of the gipsey cast of her 
 features, I could not however judge, since though half naked, she 
 threw a ragged and dirty veil over her face as soon as she saw us. 
 This trait belongs to the upper provinces. In Bengal a woman of 
 her rank would not have thought concealment necessary. There 
 were no boats immediately near them, but a httle further we over- 
 took several filled with the same sort of people. The river was 
 here much narrower than it had been for the last day or two, being, 
 as I suspect, divided by islands. Many birds of the crane and 
 stork species were feeding, and there were two at some distance 
 which I thought were pehcans. But if they were, they were 
 smaller than those of Russia, and had more brown on their wings. 
 We passed several stacks of millet, just gathered and piled up, 
 with a small stage and shed erected in the middle for a watch- 
 house. This is the season I was informed for reaping millet; they 
 thrash it out with oxen and a small roller. I also observed some 
 maize, of which I have frequently seen the ears at table, plain 
 boiled, and eaten with salt and butter, like artichokes. The rice 
 along the banks was growing very tall, green, and beautiful ; this 
 is the first crop, and to be cut next month as soon as the water has 
 reached it ; the rice is reckoned most valuable and wholesome 
 which remains the longest dry. 
 
 At a neighbouring village I saw an ape in a state of liberty, 
 but as tame as possible, the favourite, perhaps the deity, certainly 
 tlie sacred animal of the villagers. He was sitting in a little 
 bush as we stopped (to allow the servants' boats to come up) and 
 on smelling dinner, I suppose, for my meal was getting ready, 
 waddled gravely down to the water's edge. He was about the size 
 of a large spaniel, enormously fat, covered with long silky hair 
 generally of a rusty lead colour, but on his breast a fine shot blue, 
 and about his buttocks and thighs gradually waving into a deep
 
 176 SURDAH. 
 
 orange ; he had no tail, or one so short that the hair concealed it ; 
 he went on all fours only. I gave him some toast, and my sirdar- 
 bearer (a Hindoo) sent him a leaf full of rice. I suspect he was 
 often in the habit of receiving doles at this spot, which is the usual 
 place for standing across a deep bay of the river, and I certainly 
 have never yet seen a human Fakir in so good case. To ascend a 
 tree must be to a hermit of his size a work of considerable trouble, 
 but I suppose he does so at night for security, otherwise he would 
 be a magnificent booty for the jackalls. 
 
 We now stood across the bay, passed through another nullah, 
 and then again stood over a wide extent of marsh, of which the 
 long rushes still appeared above the water. Porpoises continued 
 to rise, which, considering the distance from the sea, is what I 
 should not have expected. 
 
 The extent of water here really surprised me ; we stood north- 
 west by north, and to the west and east I could not, from my 
 cabin windows, see any land. We anchored on a sandy islet partly 
 covered with reeds, partly with the remains of a crop of indigo, 
 which a herd of cattle were eating down. 
 
 August 1. — Our wind unhappily failed us in a part of the 
 river where we might have derived the most essential service from 
 it, and the greater part of the day we were towed. I feel much 
 regret at occasioning these poor men to labour on a Sunday, but 
 even if I lost a day, that day would not be spent by them in any 
 devotional exercises, and to lose one in my present journey, and at 
 this time of the year, might hazard all my hope of that journey 
 tending to God's service. Soon after we set out this morning we 
 found the river divided by a large island, and ascended the 
 northern branch, the southern leading towards Jellinghy. About 
 one o'clock we emerged into the broad stream, and continued our 
 progress as far as within two miles of Surdah. The country on this 
 side is very populous, well cultivated, and as beautiful as verdure, 
 shade, water, and the splendid variety of Indian shrubs and trees 
 can make it.
 
 COMPANY'S SILK MANUFACTORY. 177 
 
 At Surdah is one of the Company's silk manufactures, and the 
 river on which it stands is also the usual route from Dacca to the 
 upper provinces. We here stood directly up the Ganges in a 
 north-west direction, favoured by a little breeze. The crew on 
 leaving the shore set up as usual, though I believe I never before 
 mentioned it, their cry of " Allah hu Allah." I cannot help 
 admiring in the Mussulmans the manner in which their religion 
 apparently mixes itself with every action of their lives, and though 
 it is but too true that all this has a tendency to degenerate into 
 mere form or cant, or even profanation of holy things, for the con- 
 stant use of God's name in the manner in which some of them use 
 it, scarcely differs from swearing, it might be well if Christians 
 learned from them to keep their faith and hope more continually 
 in their minds, and more frequently on their lips than the greater 
 number of them do. Above all, it seems to be an error, parti- 
 cularly in a heathen country, to act as if we were ashamed of our 
 religion, to watch the servants out of the room before we kneel 
 down to our prayers, or to dissemble in secular matters the hope 
 and trust which we really feel in Providence. By the way, it is 
 only during this journey that I have had occasion to observe how 
 strictly the Mussulmans conform to the maxim of St. James, to 
 say, " if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." All the 
 Mohammedans whom I have heard speak of their own purposes, 
 or any future contingencies, have qualified it with " Insh Allah." 
 
 Abdullah asked me if the Gunga was one of the rivers of 
 Paradise ? I told him it was a difficult question, but that the four 
 rivers of Irak were generally supposed to be those meant by Moses. 
 I instanced the Frat and Dikkcl, but had forgotten the modern 
 names of the other two. He seemed sorry the Ganges had no 
 chance, but expressed some satisfaction that he himself had seen 
 them all when with Sir Gore Ousley. While passing Surdah, I 
 could easily distinguish a large brick building, with a long range 
 of tiled warehouses attached, which I was told was a silk manufac- 
 tory. Had it been another day I should have regretted passing 
 
 A a
 
 178 RUINED INDIGO FACTORY. 
 
 it unvisited. The Italian method of curing and managing silk is 
 practised here, having been introduced about 50 years ago, by 
 workmen brought from Italy at the Company's expense. I know 
 not whether it is now kept up with any spirit. On arriving at the 
 west bank we went on prosperously enough, till at last, near a 
 ruined indigo factory, and by that time of evening when the wdnd 
 usually failed us, we found the stream so strong as to require all 
 hands to pull against it, and the Serang said he could do no more 
 than get to some trees a little further, under which he thought 
 he saw a vessel. What he took for the sail when we arrived, how- 
 ever, turned out to be the wall of a ruined house, of which the 
 greater part had been swept away by the river, and we found a 
 most inhospitable beach, a fierce current, and nothing but desola- 
 tion. Some country-people came to us, and said we were in one of 
 the worst places of the whole river, that a large village and indigo- 
 work had been washed away here last year, that ropes were often 
 broken, and vessels sometimes lost, and that no boat of any size 
 ever came hither that could help it. This was very provoking, 
 but nothing was now practicable, as it appeared, except to make 
 our vessels as fast to shore as we could, though after we had done 
 so about an hour, and when it was too dark to move again, a fisher- 
 man who came up, said there was a very tolerable place for 
 bringing to, a few hundred yards further on. Our distance from 
 Bogwangola was 7 coss (14 miles). The line of coast differs 
 greatly from Rennel, but the changes which the river is making on 
 this shore, are obviously such as to account for very considerable 
 discrepancies. The latter part of our sail this day afforded a very 
 striking sea view. As the course of the river is from north-west 
 to south-east, the sun literally set into it without any appearance 
 of land on the horizon in that quarter. I was very strongly 
 reminded of a sun-set at the mouth of the Mersey. The Ganges 
 is not really so wide, but the general flatness of its shores makes the 
 distance appear greater, and the large pulwars with sails, gliding 
 in every direction, at a certain distance reminded me of the IManks
 
 BRICK-KILNS. 179 
 
 jagger-boats. I tried to find a place for walking, but did not 
 succeed. The whole country was intersected with ditches and 
 little nullahs, and the evening was shutting in too fast to attempt 
 discoveries. No rain had fallen for some days, but the weather 
 was not unpleasant, though now the night closed in with divers 
 prognostics both of rain and wind. A north-wester in our actual 
 situation would have gone near to wreck us. The night, however, 
 thank God, passed off in great stillness. 
 
 August 2. — We had little or no wind, and were compelled to 
 continue our toilsome and tedious course for about four miles 
 further. The channel into which we here entered, was full of 
 vessels carrying cotton down from the Upper Provinces. Their 
 freight upwards consists of European goods, salt-fish, salt, and 
 coco-nuts. I have missed the coco-nut tree for some days, and I 
 am told they are not found to the north of Jellinghey and Moor- 
 shedabad. Great herds of cattle are seen on the shore, and the 
 groupes of some of them, cooling themselves in the water, inter- 
 mingled with fishing-boats and pulwars, and with the meadows bor- 
 dered by low cottages and bamboos in the back-ground, would have 
 furnished Cuyp with more beautiful subjects, in his peculiar style, 
 than any which he could find in his own country. Since we lefl 
 the Hooghly, we had bidden adieu to those vast Egyptian brick- 
 kilns which are so common on its shores. I had scarcely seen any 
 thing of the kind either on the Matabunga, the Pudda, or the 
 river of Dacca. Here they are beginning to re-appear. Our 
 course continues nearly west, though a little inclining to the south. 
 I saw here a succession of baskets opening out of one another, 
 like traps, or rather on the principle of the eel-net in England, for 
 catching fish, which once entered, cannot conveniently turn round, 
 and therefore go on to a chamber contrived at the end, the 
 entrance to which is guarded with sharp reeds pointing inwards, 
 like a mouse-trap. The same invention is practised in Russia, 
 and probably in many other countries, though in England I have 
 only seen it applied to eels. 
 
 Aa2
 
 180 BOGWANGOLA. 
 
 About nine o'clock, while passing a large collection of boats, 
 the wind suddenly began to blow briskly from the north-east, and 
 I had an example of how soon and suddenly mischief may be done 
 among the weak and clumsy boats of the country. Our pinnace 
 broke from the hold of the men who were towing her, and came 
 ao-ainst the broadside of a large pulwar laden with corn, with so 
 much violence that I thought she had staved in her quarter, 
 breaking with a great crash the bamboo supporters of her plat- 
 form, the mat and wicker walls of her cabin, her oars, spars, and 
 every thing else that came in the way. She was no sooner made 
 clear of this vessel, which was done by the united strength of both 
 crews, and with loud cries of* Ullah," and " AH ! Ah !" than she 
 drifted bodily on our cook-boat, which had she reached, she would 
 probably have sunk. The crew, however, seeing their danger, 
 pushed themselves with much readiness and dexterity up between 
 a pulwar which we had just passed, and the bank, breaking, in- 
 deed, all their own oars, but avoiding a greater risk. Happily no 
 mischief was done, but such as a few hours would repair, but had 
 the boats been weak, and the wind stronger, both pulwar and 
 cook-boat would probably have gone to the bottom. The pinnace 
 held the place of the brazen pot in the fable, and was more likely 
 to be the breaker than the broken. She, however, had one of her 
 Venetians carried away, but luckily it was picked up again. 
 
 We arrived at Bogwangola between four and five, and stopped 
 there for the night. I found the place very interesting, and even 
 beautiful. A thorough Hindoo village, without either Europeans 
 or Mussulmans, and a great part of the houses mere sheds or 
 booths for the accommodation of the " gomastas," (agents or 
 supercargos) who come here to the great corn fairs, which are 
 held, I believe, annually. They are scattered very prettily over a 
 large green common, fenced off from the river by a high grassy 
 mound, which forms an excellent dry walk, bordered with mango- 
 trees, bamboos, and the date-palm, as well as some fine banians. 
 The common was covered with children and cattle, a considerable
 
 POLICE. 181 
 
 number of boats were on the beach, different musical instruments 
 were strumming, thumping, squeeHng, and rattling from some of 
 the open sheds, and the whole place exhibited a cheerfulness, 
 and, though it was not the time of the fair, an activity and bustle 
 which was extremely interesting and pleasing. The houses were 
 most of them very small, but neat, with their walls of mats, which 
 when new, always look well. One, in particular, which was of a 
 more solid construction than the rest, and built round a little 
 court, had a slip of garden surrounding its exterior, filled with 
 flowering shrubs, and enclosed by a very neat bamboo railing. 
 Others were open all round, and here two parties of the fakir 
 musicians, whose strains I had heard, were playing, while in a 
 house near one of them were some females, w hose gaudy dress and 
 forward manner seemed pretty clearly to mark their profession as 
 the Nach girls of the place. After leaving the shore, I followed 
 a very pretty glade, through what was almost a jungle, or rather a 
 woody pasture, though houses were still seen scattered at some 
 distance. I found here, to my surprise, two armed men, the one 
 with a short rusty spear, the other with a long antique eastern- 
 shaped gun. On asking who they were, and what they were 
 doing, they answered that they w^ere " Burkandazes," (inferior 
 police-officers) and had come into the w^ood for the sake of sport- 
 ing. They were very civil, and shewed me a dry and pretty, 
 though circuitous road back to the pinnace again. This led me 
 between some closes carefully fenced with bamboo, and planted 
 with dwarf mulberry-trees, about as high and as thickly set as 
 gooseberry-bushes in England, for the use of silkworms. The 
 whole walk was extremely beautiful, and more like the view of a 
 *' Fiatookah" in Tongataboo, in Cook's third voyage, than any 
 thing else by which I can illustrate it. 
 
 If thou wert by my side, my love ! 
 
 How fast would evening fail 
 In green Bengala's palmy grove, 
 
 Listening the nightingale !
 
 1S2 BOGWANGOLA. 
 
 If thou, my love ! wert by my side. 
 
 My babies at my knee, 
 How gaily would our pinnace glide 
 
 O'er Gunga's mimic sea ! 
 
 I miss thee at the dawning grey, 
 
 When, on our deck reclined, 
 In careless ease my limbs I lay, 
 
 And woo the cooler wind. 
 
 I miss thee when by Gunga's stream 
 
 My twilight steps I guide, 
 But most beneath the lamp's pale beam 
 
 I miss thee from my side. 
 
 I spread my books, my pencil try. 
 
 The lingering noon to cheer, 
 But miss thy kind approving eye, 
 
 Thy meek attentive ear. 
 
 But when of mom and eve the star 
 
 Beholds me on my knee, 
 I feel, though thou art distant far. 
 
 Thy prayers ascend for me. 
 
 Then on ! then on ! where duty leads, 
 
 My course be onward still, 
 O'er broad Hindostan's sultry mead. 
 
 O'er bleak Almorah's hill. 
 
 That course, nor Delhi's kingly gates. 
 
 Nor wild Malwah detain, 
 For sweet the bliss us both awaits 
 
 By yonder western main. 
 
 Thy towers, Bombay, gleam bright, they say, 
 
 Across the dark blue sea. 
 But ne'er were hearts so light and gay 
 
 As then shall meet in thee ! 
 
 Bogwangola has been several times, within these few years, 
 removed to different situations in consequence of the havoc made 
 by the Ganges. It has, therefore, no ancient building, and neither
 
 OXEN. 183 
 
 pagoda nor mosque of any kind that I could discover. Indeed it 
 has the appearance rather of an encampment than a town, but is 
 not on that account the less pretty. 
 
 August 3. — With little or no wind w^e proceeded by tow^ng, 
 to one of the channels which lead by Sooty, from the main Ganges, 
 into the Moorshedabad river. Here it was declared impossible to 
 proceed without a breeze, the stream running like a race in a narrow 
 channel between the main land and some marshy islands, the 
 other channel, which might have answered our purpose, having been 
 blocked up by an indigo planter, and the country being so much 
 flooded further on, as to make towing impracticable. Whilst I 
 w^as at dinner, however, the wind arose, and we made sail, but cer- 
 tainly not even in the Hooghly below Diamond Harbour, did I ever 
 see such a torrent. All our sails were set, and the masts bending 
 before the wind, the men went a-head up to their breasts in water 
 to help by towing, yet all scarcely helped us on two hundred yards. 
 This sort of work went on for nearly three hours, when the wdnd 
 began to slacken, and we w^ere forced to try another channel, and 
 got on in the first instance without difficulty, passing betw een rice- 
 fields, and close to a moderate sized Hindoo village, where I saw- 
 some of the finest draught oxen which I have seen in this country, 
 and by their bulk and sleekness doing honour to their proprietor's 
 humanity and good sense, as well as showing how good and ser- 
 viceable a breed may be raised in this country with a little cost 
 and care. The farm or cottage to which they apparently belonged, 
 was a mere hut of bamboos and thatch, but very clean, and its 
 sheds and granary, which enclosed as usual a small court, larger 
 and cleaner externally than is usually seen near Calcutta, which 
 neighbourhood certainly loses ground, in my opinion, the more I 
 see of the rest of Bengal. After crossing this formidable current 
 close to the mouth of the strait, which we had before vainly 
 endeavoured to stem, with great difficulty, we came to a miserable 
 drowned country, without habitations, a great deal of it jungle, 
 and the rice with which the rest was cultivated, looknig starved
 
 181 BUNIYAN'S SHOP. 
 
 and yellow with its over supply of water. If the river rose at all 
 hio'her, the crop I was told would be good for nothing, and that 
 it was now almost spoiled. It was a different kind of rice from 
 that grown near Dacca, and required to be reaped tolerably dry. 
 The water-rice is of an inferior quality. Along this wretched 
 coast it would be almost impossible for the men to tow, and there- 
 fore having a good breeze, I determined to run on till w^e should 
 get to sound land again. By the light of a fine moon we held on 
 our course till nearly nine o'clock, when hearing the cigalas chirp 
 on shore, which I knew was no bad sign, I told the Serang he 
 might " lugos." He did so with great joy, and we found fine dry 
 fields of cotton and silk-mulberries, with a grassy bank to the 
 river's edge, and a broad sandy path leading to a village at a little 
 distance. *' Now then Mohammed," I said with some triumph, 
 as I had had great difficulty in making him go on so far, " and all 
 you dandees, is not a night's sail better than a day's tracking ?" 
 " Yes, my Lord," was the answer of one of the men, " but toil is 
 better than peril, and the eye of the day than the blindness of the 
 night." It was plain that they w^ere all afraid of getting aground, 
 not knowing this part of the river, but in so fine a night, and with 
 due care, I could not think the danger at all probable. 
 
 I walked to the village with Abdullah to get some milk, and 
 to see the place. The soil was light, but apparently good, and we 
 passed through crops of cotton, millet, and barley. We found 
 a large herd of draught buffaloes, tethered two and two, but no 
 milk-giving animal of any kind. The herdsman referred us to a 
 cottage, w hence came out an old woman, to say that her cows were 
 gone to another place at some distance ; that the only people at 
 all likely to supply us, were the "Giriftu,'' tacksmen, or chief 
 tenants of the village, and a " Buniyan," or trader, whose shop w-e 
 should find a little further. We went along a lane till we came to 
 a large and clean-looking hut, with a small shed adjoining, where, 
 with a lamp over his head, and a small heap of cowries, some 
 comfits, elicampane, rice, ghee, and other grocery matters before
 
 EVENING WALK IN BENGAL. 185 
 
 him, sat the buniyan of the place, a shrewd, sharp, angular old 
 man in spectacles, being the first naked man I ever saw so 
 decorated. On Abdullah's stating our wants, he laughed, and said 
 that neither he, nor, to his knowledge, the giriftu, had either cow 
 or goat. " The land here," he said, " is never quite overflowed ; 
 it is therefore too good for pasture, and we never let our cows 
 look at it till after harvest." " But," said Abdullah, " the Sahib 
 will give a good price for it." " Whether you give or no,'' said 
 the old man testily, " it does not matter, unless you choose to milk 
 the cat !" Thus ended our search, from which 1 learnt two things : 
 how to account for the large herds of cattle which we saw in the 
 sandy and less valuable district behind us, — and that Hindoostanee 
 here, and not Bengalee, begins to be the common speech of the 
 peasantry, since the old woman and this man both spoke it and 
 conversed in it w ith each other. 
 
 The boats had in the meantime arrived, so that milk was not 
 wanted ; but the evening was so fine that I continued to walk up 
 and down, till Abdullah besought me not to take so much 
 exercise, saying it was that which had turned my hair so grey 
 since my arrival in India. 
 
 AN EVENING WALK IN BENGAL. 
 
 Our task is done ! on Gunga's breast 
 
 The sun is sinking down to rest ; 
 
 And, moored beneath the tamarind bough, 
 
 Our bark has found its harbour now. 
 
 With furled sail, and painted side, 
 
 Behold the tiny frigate ride. 
 
 Upon her deck, 'mid charcoal gleams, 
 
 The Moslems' savoury supper steams, 
 
 While all apart, beneath the wood, 
 
 The Hindoo cooks his simpler food. 
 
 Come walk with me the jungle through; 
 If yonder hunter told us true. 
 Far off, in desert dank and rude, 
 The tyger holds his solitude ; 
 
 Bb
 
 1 
 
 186 EVENING WALK IN BENGAL. 
 
 Nor (taught by recent harm to shun 
 
 The thunders of the English gun,) 
 
 A dreadful guest but rarely seen, 
 
 Returns to scare the village green. 
 
 Come boldly on ! no venom'd snake 
 
 Can shelter in so cool a brake. 
 
 Child of the sun ! he loves to lie 
 
 'Mid Nature's embers, parch'd and dry, 
 
 Where o'er some tower in ruin laid, 
 
 The peepul spreads its haunted shade ; 
 
 Or round a tomb his scales to wreathe. 
 
 Fit warder in the gate of Death ! 
 
 Come on ! Yet pause ! behold us now 
 
 Beneath the bamboo's arched bough. 
 
 Where, gemming oft that sacred gloom, 
 
 Glows the geranium's scarlet bloom *, 
 
 And winds our path through many a bower 
 
 Of fragrant tree and giant flower ; 
 
 The ceiba's crimson pomp display'd 
 
 O'er the broad plantain's humbler shade, ,- 
 
 And dusk anana's prickly blade ; J 
 
 While o'er the brake, so wild and fair. 
 
 The betel waves his crest in air. 
 
 With pendant train and rushing wings. 
 
 Aloft the gorgeous peacock springs ; 
 
 And he, the bird of hundred dyes, 
 
 Whose plumes the dames of Ava prize. 
 
 So rich a shade, so green a sod, 
 
 Our English fairies never trod ! 
 
 Yet who in Indian bow'r has stood. 
 
 But thought on England's " good green wood ?" 
 
 And bless'd, beneath the palmy shade, 
 
 Her hazel and her hawthorn glade. 
 And breath'd a pray'r, (how oft in vain !) 
 
 To gaze upon her oaks again ? 
 
 A truce to thought! the jackall's cry 
 
 Resounds like sylvan revelry ; 
 
 And through the trees, yon failing ray 
 
 Will scantly serve to guide our way. 
 
 Yet mark ! as fade the upper skies, 
 
 Each thicket opes ten thousand eyes. 
 
 * A shrub whose deep scarlet flowers very much resemble the geranium, and thence called 
 the Indian geranium. — Ed.
 
 ,.} 
 
 EVENING WALK IN BENGAL. 18^ 
 
 Before, beside us, and above, 
 The fire-fly lights his lamp of love, 
 Retreating, chacing, sinking, soaring. 
 The darkness of the copse exploring ; 
 While to this cooler air confest, 
 The broad Dhatura bares her breast. 
 Of fragrant scent and virgin white, 
 A pearl around the locks of night ! 
 Still as we pass in softened hum, 
 Along the breezy alleys come 
 The village song, the horn, the drum. 
 Still as we pass, from bush and briar. 
 The shrill cigala strikes his lyre ; 
 And, what is she whose liquid strain 
 Thrills through yon copse of sugar-cane ? 
 I know that soul-entrancing swell ! 
 It is — it must be — Philomel ! 
 Enough, enough, the rustling trees 
 Announce a shower upon the breeze, — 
 The flashes of the summer sky 
 Assume a deeper, ruddier dye ; 
 Yon lamp that trembles on the stream, 
 From forth our cabin sheds its beam ; 
 And we must early sleep, to find 
 Betimes the morning's healthy wind. 
 But oh ! with thankful hearts confess 
 Ev'n here there may be happiness ; 
 And He, the bounteous Sire, has given 
 His peace on earth — his hope of heaven ! 
 
 I wrote this endeavouring to fancy that I was not alone. I 
 believe only one note is necessary. The bird of " hundred dyes" 
 is the mucharunga, " many coloured.'^ I am not sure whether I 
 mentioned the fact before, but I learned at Dacca, that while we 
 were at peace with the Burmans, many traders used to go over all 
 the eastern provinces of Bengal, buying up these beautiful birds 
 for the Golden Zennanah ; at Ummerapoora it was said that they 
 sometimes were worth a gold moliur each. 
 
 August 4. — We made a tolerable progress the early part of 
 the day, and about ten arrived at the eastern or principal entrance 
 of the Sooty or Moorshedabad river. As we passed, a boat with 
 
 Bb2
 
 188 ANT-HILLS. 
 
 four der\dses, sturdy beggars enough, came after us singing. I 
 asked why they did not work, and was told by Abdullah, that it 
 was one of the miseries of the country, that they were all a caste 
 of beggars from father to son, trained to no labour, and even if 
 they desired it, not likely to be employed by any body. I gave 
 them, therefore, a pice a piece, for which they were more grateful 
 than I expected. This entrance, the Bhagirutty, is divided by 
 marshy islands from the other at the distance of about six miles. 
 After we had loosed from the shore, a pretty heavy gale, with 
 thunder and violent rain, came on. Had this occurred before we 
 set out, nothing but a pistol at Mohammed's ear would have in- 
 duced him to brave it, but as it was, it carried us at a rattling rate 
 beyond a very rapid and difficult part of the stream. The banks 
 here are very ugly and miserable, shewing nothing but reeds. I 
 here saw, for the first time, a number of those high ant-hills, the 
 work of the white ant, of which I had often heard. Many of them 
 were five or six feet high, and probably seven or eight feet in cir- 
 cumference at the base, partially overgrown with grass and ivy, 
 and looking at a distance like the stumps of decayed trees. I 
 think it is Ctesias, among the Greek writers, who gives an account, 
 alluded to by Lucian in his " Cock," of monstrous ants in India, as 
 large as foxes. The lie probably originated in the stupendous 
 fabrics which they rear here, and which certainly might be sup- 
 posed to be the work of a much larger animal than their real 
 architect. The pyramids, when the comparative bulk of the 
 insect which reared them is taken into the estimate, are as nothing 
 to the works of the termites. The counterpart of one of these 
 hills which I passed to-day, would be, if a nation should set to 
 work to build up an artificial Snowdon, and bore it full of halls 
 and galleries. Our good breeze carried us on till about half-past 
 four, when I saw, with a degree of pleasure which I did not anti- 
 cipate, but which arose no doubt from the length of time during 
 which I had been accustomed to a perfectly flat surface, a range 
 of blue elevations on my right-hand. At first I watched them
 
 INUNDATION. 189 
 
 with distrust, fearing that they were clouds. They kept their 
 ground, however, and I ran on deck to ask about them, and was 
 told, as I expected, that they were the Rajmahal hills. It is, I 
 think, Jenny Deans who complains that, after she lost sight of 
 Ingleborough in her way through Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, 
 and Lincolnshire, " the haill country seemed to have been trenched 
 and levelled." But what would she have said if she had traversed 
 Bengal ? At the place where we stopped for the night there were 
 some fine trees, but the rest of the country, for a considerable 
 space, was mere sand, on which the peasants were raising a few 
 patches of cucumbers and pulse. One of these men, who was 
 pursuing his work by moonlight, told me that there had been a 
 very large village on this spot, with its gardens, mango-orchards, 
 meadows, &c. ; but that the dreadful inundation of last year swept 
 away every thing, and covered the place with sand, as we now saw 
 it. I walked up and down this scene of desolation for some time, 
 but found nothing to mark that any habitation had ever stood 
 here. The sand lay smooth, yet wavy as we see it on a coast ex- 
 posed to heavy seas, and there were no marks of any thing living 
 or having lived, except some scattered sculls and bones of animals, 
 probably brought from a distance by the terrible stream which had 
 blotted out and hidden the community of this place. Abdullah 
 who joined me, after making some enquiries about our morrow's 
 course, said that the place was very like the deserts, not of Persia, 
 which are stony, but of the Arabian Irak and the country near 
 Bussorah. He observed, naturally enough, that this was a sad 
 place to look upon, and this as naturally brought on a conversa- 
 tion about God's judgements, Ililleh and the Birz ul Nimrouz, or 
 Babylon, and Nunya, or Nineveh. He had not seen the first, but 
 had heard of its " stinking wells, which burned like pitch when 
 set on fire," and was much interested to learn that it was the 
 Babylon mentioned in Scripture. The second, as well as the 
 tomb of the prophet " Yunus" in its neighbourhood, he had seen.
 
 190 HINDOO GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 and described, I believe, accurately, as a small village near Mousul, 
 chiefly inhabited by Christians, but with no conspicuous remains 
 of antiquity, except what is called the tomb of Jonah. He was 
 less fortunate, however, in his attempt to account for the inunda- 
 tions of Gunga, which he ascribed, so far as I could understand 
 him at all, to the combined influence of the north and south poles 
 on the mountain Meru ! I endeavoured to explain the matter a 
 little better, but could not convince him that the Ganges did not 
 rise immediately under the north pole. This is orthodox Hindoo 
 geography, and it is curious to find that the Mussulmans in India 
 have so completely adopted it. 
 
 Being now in the great road from Calcutta northwards, the 
 number of large vessels on the river is very much increased. 
 The majestic stream of the Puddah offered few but fishing-boats, 
 but here at every point of land we see a coppice of masts, waiting 
 like us for a wind, and many minutes seldom pass without other 
 vessels, with their masts down and all made snug, drifting past 
 us down the stream. The night was very still and close, the 
 first really oppressive one which I had felt since leaving the 
 Matabunga. 
 
 August 5. — We were tracked this morning along " a laild 
 which the rivers had spoiled," and then came to a " Mohanna," or 
 channel of the Moorshedabad river, where we were detained 
 several hours for want of wind ; about ten we had a fine breeze, 
 which carried us past this difficulty and another of the same. 
 The rapidity of the stream in this part is ascribed to the freshes 
 from the hills, which as we approach them appear taller and larger. 
 They resemble in some degree, in outline, the Peckforton hills in 
 Cheshire, and I could almost have fancied myself at one moment 
 on the estuary of the Dee, with my back turned towards the Welch 
 mountains, and looking across the plain of Chester up to Beeston 
 and the Stannaries. The river is here again divided by a string of 
 marshy islands. The country improved as we advanced, being
 
 RUINS OF GOUR. 191 
 
 prettily dotted with small woods, and cultivated chiefly with pulse, 
 a crop which shewed that we were leaving Bengal for Hindostan. 
 It still, however, continued as flat as possible, as if all had been a 
 bay of the sea, of which these hills which we were approaching 
 were the termination. And this at some remote period, I conceive, 
 must have been the case. Our advance up this part of the river, 
 craves, I find, a greater wariness in one respect than at any period 
 of our former progress, owing to the number of clumsy and ill- 
 managed pulwars through which we have continually to jostle our 
 way. We have been run foul of three or four times in the course 
 of this morning, and though we have received no harm, have, I 
 apprehend, done some, though not of any serious character. We 
 passed a manufactory of small rope on the shore, carried on, as 
 might be expected, in the simplest manner, but the fabric appear- 
 ing remarkably good. Our progress during the latter part of the 
 day was uncomfortable and tedious enough, and we were forced 
 to stop just as we had rounded the island and opened on a broad 
 bay, on the other side of which was Rajmahal. It was too wet to 
 walk, and altogether the halt was very uncomfortable. I could 
 not help feeling some regret that I was to pass so near the ruins 
 of Gour without visiting them, though by all accounts, they are 
 mere shapeless mounds, covered with jungle, and haunted, as 
 usual, by snakes and wild beasts. Yet the great antiquity of the 
 place, which is said to be mentioned in the oldest Hindoo poetry, 
 its size, which seems almost to have rivalled Babylon or Nineveli, 
 and the circumstances which led to its abandonment, are all 
 striking. 
 
 ** It was not in the battle, no tempest gave the shock." 
 
 The same mighty river whose active powers of destruction we 
 witnessed yesterday, by a different process turned Gour into a 
 wilderness. The main advantage of its situation was, that the 
 Ganges rolled under its walls ; two hundred years ago the Ganges 
 deserted its old bed for that which it at present occupies, six or
 
 192 RAJxMAHAL. 
 
 seven miles south of the former, and Gour began to decay. The 
 STovernors of Bahar and Bengal deserted it for other residences, 
 and 
 
 " Now, pointed at by wisdom and by wealth, 
 Stands, in the wilderness of woe, Masar !" 
 
 It is impossible to pass it without recollecting that what Gour is, 
 Calcutta may any day become, unless the river in its fresh channel 
 should assume a more fatal direction, and sweep in its new track 
 our churches, markets, and palaces, (by the way of the Loll Diggy 
 and the Balighat,) to that salt-water lake which seems its natural 
 estuary. The length of the ruins of Gour, as marked on Rennel's 
 map, is eighteen miles, and their breadth six. 
 
 August 6. — After passing for some time through a channel 
 between a newly-formed island and the south-western shore, we 
 emerged on the broad river again, and found ourselves close upon 
 the town of Rajmahal ; apparently not much of a place, but very 
 prettily situated, though still on the same perfect level, the hills, 
 to my surprise, being yet at a considerable distance. I had always 
 understood, and the maps had confirmed the idea, that the town was 
 at their foot ; and I could now easilv believe that I had underrated 
 their size, when I saw what an interval still separated me from 
 them, observing how indistinct the objects on them still appeared, 
 and knowing how much apparent distance is abridged by the 
 brilhant sun and clear skies of India. The banks of the river are, 
 however, here a little higher than I have seen lately, and a few 
 boulder-stones, and small masses of granite may be observed here 
 and there, brought probably, by water, from the hills. 
 
 As soon as it was cool, I walked to see the ruins of the ancient 
 palace built by Sultan Sujah, brother to the emperor Aurungzebe, 
 in 1630. I ascended what, for Bengal, was really a steep place, 
 passing a little brook, in which I almost fancied I saw gravel, a 
 phenomenon which I had not seen since I left England. The 
 path wound among cottages, toddy palms, and other fruit trees, as
 
 RUINS OF THE PALACE OF SULTAN SUJAH. 193 
 
 well as some little ruinous mosques, and a cutcherry, which struck 
 me as simple and elegant. It was merely a thatched shed, like an 
 Otaheitan house, with an earthenware ornament at each end of 
 its ridge-pole ; but it was supported on a basement of stone, 
 (another novelty,) with some broad, easy steps, and a small raised 
 platform in its centre. Its situation, surrounded as it was by trees, 
 reminded me of the Crimea, or might have been such a place as 
 Samuel or Saul sate to do judgment in, in Ramah. From hence 
 we ascended a little further to a large court, surrounded by 
 ruinous buildings, some of them not inelegant ; but of all, the 
 desolation was too recent, — the beams and pillars of the verandahs 
 remaining naked but entire, — to be beautiful or picturesque ruins. 
 It looked like a great house which had been lately burned. I was 
 a little at a loss to find my way through the ruins and young 
 jungle, when a man came up, and in Persian, with many low bows, 
 offered his services. He led me into a sort of second court, a little 
 lower on the hill, where I saw two European tombs, and then to 
 three very beautiful arches of black slate, on pillars of the same, 
 leading into a small but singularly elegant hall, opening imme- 
 diately on the river, though a considerable height above it, through 
 three similar arches to those by which we entered. The roof was 
 vaulted with stone, delicately carved, and the walls divided by 
 gothic tracery into pannels, still retaining traces of gilding and 
 Arabic inscriptions. At each end of this beautiful room was a 
 gothic arch, in like manner of slate, leading into two small square 
 apartments, ornamented in the same way, and also opening on the 
 river. The centre room might be 30 feet long, each of the others 
 15 square. For their size, I cannot conceive more delightful 
 apartments. The view is very fine. The river, as if incensed at 
 having been obliged to make a circuit round the barrier of the 
 hills, and impeded here again by the rocks under the castle, sweeps 
 round this corner with exceeding violence, roaring and foaming like 
 a gigantic Dee. The range of hills runs to the left hand, beautiful, 
 blue and woody, and I quite repented the injustice I had done 
 
 c c
 
 194 RUINS. 
 
 them in likening them to the Peckforton hills. They do not fall 
 short of the average of Welch mountains. On leaving this room 
 we turned to the right upon a short but striking terrace, carried 
 on the same level, and terminating with a sort of bastion, which 
 seems as if it had been the foundation of a kiosk, which by its 
 projection affords the most favourable view of the whole building, 
 and the fine range of hills beyond it. What I was shewn after 
 this would hardly bear looking at. It consisted of a dining-room, 
 about 30 feet by 20, lined with white marble, with many remains of 
 gilding and inscriptions in the Cufic character ; a small, but pretty 
 mosque, in a romantic situation, and a handsome gateway, but none 
 of them well worth going out of one^s way for. I was, however, 
 much pleased with a ruined caravanserai, to which I was next 
 conducted, and which is a noble specimen of that style of building, 
 with two fine gothic gates, opposite to each other, a great court, 
 as large, at least, as Peckwater Quadrangle, surrounded with 
 cloisters, and the whole in that state of verdant decay which is 
 most agreeable to an artist's eye. I was here going to offer my 
 self-appointed cicerone some trifling payment, but he stopped me, 
 by putting a petition into my hands, with the humble request that 
 I would give or send it, when I got to Boglipoor, to Mr. Chalmers, 
 the senior Judge. I said I was not acquainted with Mr. Chalmers, 
 and that knowing nothing of him, (the petitioner,) I could not 
 recommend his case. But he said that all he wished was, that 
 his case might meet Mr. Chalmers's eye, without going through 
 the post-office here. As I knew not what reason he might have 
 for the request, I told him I would either give or send his 
 paper to the Judge, but could do no more. 
 
 In my return to the river I met a large party from one out of 
 three budgerows which arrived at the same time with my pinnace. 
 They had been twenty-four days coming from Calcutta, had 
 had a disastrous voyage, having seen their baggage-boat go down 
 before their eyes, and their stock of European comforts being 
 nearly exhausted, I was glad to be able to supply them with
 
 PUHARREES. 195 
 
 some trifles out of my store, as also to lend them my peon to 
 shew them the way to the ruins. We had a smart storm of 
 wind and rain in the night, and when I looked out in the morning 
 of August 7, I feared that Mohammed would be afraid to launch 
 from the shore. He, however, ventured, but owing to the 
 weight and size of the vessel, and in part to the tardiness of the 
 Clashees in getting up the sails, we were driven by the eddy among 
 the rocks and the ruins which had fallen from the old palace into 
 the river, and remained beating for five or six minutes before we 
 were disengaged. I was disappointed to find that our approach 
 to the hills was still to be delayed, the wind being unfavourable 
 to advancing directly up the river. We were forced to proceed 
 along a nullah winding through marshes. We had in fact our 
 backs to the hills, and should not have come near them again till 
 near their termination, had I not told the Serang I wanted to see 
 Sicligully, which by his own statement was just as near as the 
 course he wished to pursue. We therefore turned short to our 
 left hand, and came down right on Boghpoor, enjoying a noble 
 view of the hills, which in extent, indeed, as in height as well as 
 beauty, far exceed what I had expected. They rise from the flat 
 surface of Bengal as out of the sea ; a large waterfall is seen from 
 a very considerable distance tumbhng down the mountain in several 
 successive cascades, that nearest the plain of very considerable 
 height. 
 
 The people of these mountains, and of all the hilly country 
 between this place and Burdwan, are a race distinct from those of 
 the plain in features, language, civihzation, and religion. They 
 have no castes, care nothing for the Hindoo deities, and are even 
 said to have no idols. They are still more naked than the Hindoo 
 peasants, and live chiefly by the chace, for which they are provided 
 with bows and arrows, few of them having fire-arms. Their 
 villages are very small and wretched, but they pay no taxes, and 
 live under their own chiefs under British protection. A deadly 
 feud existed, till within the last 40 years, between them and the 
 
 c c2
 
 196 JUDGE CLEVELAND. 
 
 cultivators of the neighbouring lowlands, they being untamed 
 thieves and murderers, continually making forays, and the Mahom- 
 medan Zemindars killing them like mad-dogs, or tygers, whenever 
 they got them within gun-shot. An excellent young man, of the 
 name of Cleveland, judge and magistrate of Boglipoor, undertook 
 to remedy this state of things. He rigorously forbade, and promptly 
 punished, all violence from the Zemindars (who were often the 
 aggressors) against the Puharree (Mountaineers) ; he got some of 
 these last to enter his service, and took pains to attach them to 
 him, and to learn their language. He made shooting parties into 
 the mountains, treating kindly all whom he could get to approach 
 him, and established regular bazars at the villages nearest to them, 
 where he encouraged them to bring down for sale game, millet, 
 wax, hides, and honey, all which their hills produce in great abun- 
 dance. He gave them wheat and barley for seed, and encouraged 
 their cultivation by the assurance that they should not be taxed, 
 and that nobody but their own chiefs should be their Zemindars. 
 And, to please them still further, and at the same time to keep 
 them in eflPectual order, and to bring them more into contact with 
 their civihzed neighbours, he raised a corps of Sepoys from among 
 them, which he stationed at Sicligully, and which enabled him not 
 only to protect the peaceable part of them, but to quell any distur- 
 bances which might arise, with a body of troops accustomed to 
 mountain warfare. This good and wise man died in 1784, in the 
 29th year of his age. A monument was raised to his memory near 
 Boglipoor, at the joint expense of the highland Chiefs and low- 
 land Zemindars, which still remains in good repair, having been 
 endowed by them with some lands for its maintenance. A garrison of 
 these INIountaineers, which was then kept up at Sicligully, has been 
 since discontinued ; the corps being considerably reduced in num- 
 bers, and partly quartered at Boglipoor, partly during the late call 
 for men, at Berhampoor. Archdeacon Corrie's principal business 
 at Boglipoor was to learn whether any encouragement existed for 
 foniiing a mission among these people. Their being free from the
 
 MUSSULMAN TOMB. 197 
 
 yoke of caste seems to make them less unlikely to receive the 
 Gospel, than the bigotted inhabitants of the plains. 
 
 Sicligully is a little town, or rather village, of straw huts, with 
 the ruinous bungalow and ruinous barracks of Mr. Cleveland's 
 corps, at the base of a high rocky eminence at an angle of the 
 Ganges, and commanding a fine view of two ranges of hills, that 
 which we had been approaching, and another which now opened 
 on us. The shore is rocky, and the country rises gradually in a 
 succession of hill and dale, to the mountains distant about three or 
 four miles. The rocky eminence which I mentioned is quite 
 insulated, and rather higher than the Red Castle Cliff at Hawk- 
 stone, which, from the fine timber growing on and round it, it a 
 good deal resembles. I saw some ruins on the top, and concluded 
 a fort had been there, but on enquiry found that they were the 
 remains of the tomb of a Mussulman saint, one of the conquerors 
 of Bengal, and as devout as he was valiant. 
 
 I climbed up the hill by a pretty good, though steep whiding 
 path, ending in a flight of steps, in the hope of getting a noble 
 prospect, but I found the jungle so thick all round the edge of the 
 rock, that I could only have here and there a view of the blue 
 summits of the hills, and nothing of which I could make a sketch. 
 The tomb itself, however, is well worth the trouble of climbing the 
 hill ; it stands on a platform of rock, surrounded by a battlemented 
 wall, with a gate very prettily ornamented, and rock benches all 
 round to sit or pray on. The " chamber of the tomb" is square, 
 with a dome roof very neatly built, covered with excellent chunam, 
 which, though 300 years old, remains entire, and having within it 
 a carved stone mound, like the hillocks in an English church-yard, 
 where sleeps the scourge of the idolaters. The ancient honours 
 of the lamp kept burning, &c. have long been discontinued, but I 
 was told that it was the general opinion both of Mussulmans and 
 Hindoos, that every Thursday night a tyger comes, couches close 
 to the grave, and remains there till morning. This is a very 
 picturesque legend, and it is one which it was not dangerous to
 
 198 JACKALLS. 
 
 invent, since it would be difficult to persuade either Mussulman 
 or Hindoo to watch all night in a tomb, to verify the fact of such a 
 visitant. Either the tyger, however, or some pious Mussulman, 
 keeps the tomb very clean, for both chamber and platform I found 
 well swept, and free from the dung of bats or any other animal, 
 an attention which I have not seen paid to other ruins in this 
 country. 
 
 As I went up the hill, and while still amid the houses of the 
 village, one of the Puharree was pointed out to me, — a middle 
 sized, well made young man, very black, but easily distinguishable 
 from the Hindoos by his long narrow eyes, broadish face, and flat 
 nose. His hair hung very thick, wild, and long about his ears 
 and shoulders, but he was unarmed, and had nothing wild or fierce 
 in his appearance. I asked him if he was a Puharree, and he 
 readily answered in the affirmative, so that some of them at least 
 understand Hindoostanee. I have a good chance of seeing many 
 more between this place and Boglipoor. 
 
 After this I rambled for some time on the hill at the back of 
 the town, which is all uncultivated except in a few patclies. It is 
 rocky, and covered with a good turf, and I know not why, except 
 that I had been thinking of Bodryddan all morning, put me in 
 mind of the crag at the back of Dyserth. It is, however, not so 
 steep nor, perhaps, so high as the last, and is much more woody, 
 having many fine trees and a great many bushes, among which two 
 jackalls passed us with as much fearless familiarity as dogs would 
 have done. The walk was a very pleasant one, and I was glad to 
 find that I can scramble here as well, and I think with as little fatigue 
 as in England. I had one warning, however, to walk more warily 
 in this country than in my own, which will not be thrown away 
 upon me : wishing to get by a near way to the river side, I passed 
 do\\Ti through the jungle by a narrow gulley, which had, I appre- 
 hend, been a water-course. I had not, however, gone far before 
 a close and strangely noisome smell of confined air and decayed 
 vegetables drove me up again, and almost made me sick. It
 
 PEER POINTEE. 199 
 
 did me no harm, but I shall keep away from all such dens in 
 future. 
 
 A number of alligators were swimming all evening round my 
 boat, lifting from time to time their long black heads and black 
 fore feet above the water. The expanse of the Ganges is at this 
 season truly magnificent, and being confined on one side by rocks, 
 it seems to spread itself so much the more proudly on the low 
 grounds on the north-east bank. 
 
 August 8. — I was disappointed to find that the wind was too 
 weak this morning to contend with the rapids in the direct line of 
 the river, and that we must again go away from these beautiful 
 hills, and enter the nullah which we had traversed the evening 
 before. Still, however, we had a fine though more distant view 
 of the range, but I was vexed to miss the celebrated pass of 
 Terriagully. About two o'clock we returned across a very large 
 jeel to the main stream of the river at Peer Pointee, but the chain 
 of mountains was now fairly left behind us, and we were no longer 
 in Bengal. 
 
 Peer Pointee is at the foot of a detached hill, which I should 
 have admired in Bengal, but I had just been looking at something 
 better. I was glad to observe, as we turned its promontory, that 
 there were yet some eminences beyond it, and that we were not 
 entering another so complete plain as that enormous one which we 
 had just traversed. Peer Pointee, Father or St. Pointee, was the 
 name of a Mussulman saint, who lies buried here. His tomb, resem- 
 bling that at Sicligully, though less picturesquely situated, stands 
 on a little cliff above the river, with some fine bamboos hanging 
 over it. I was struck both yesterday and to-day with the beauty 
 of the bamboos on this rocky soil, which I should not have sup- 
 posed favourable to their growth ; but on enquiry, I was told that 
 though the plant in a warm dry soil never grew so tall as in a moist 
 one, yet they are well known to be stouter, healthier, and better 
 timber in the former than in the latter, so that the bamboo of such 
 situations is always preferred for spears, oars, masts, &c.
 
 200 CAVE. 
 
 We halted for the night in a very pretty and pleasant place. 
 On the left hand was a beautiful green meadow, ascending with a 
 gentle slope to a grove of tall trees, in front of which was a pagoda, 
 so like an English church, that I was tempted to believe it was 
 really taken from some of the models which the Christians have 
 given them. On one side of this, and just in front of the vessel 
 as it lay, was a high woody promontory, jutting into the river, 
 among the trees of which other buildings or ruins shewed them- 
 selves. Beyond, and in the bed of the river, rose some high naked 
 rocks, forming some rapids which are dangerous to pass at this 
 season. As soon as I had assented to his stopping, Mohammed 
 begged leave to shew me a wonderful cave in the hill before us, of 
 which nobody had ever seen the end. I am not curious in caves, 
 unless they are very fine and extraordinary indeed, but went, 
 in the hope that I should at least see something interesting by the 
 way. I scrambled up the hill, followed by about half a dozen of 
 the boatmen, by a rugged path, such as might be expected, till 
 pretty near the top, where they introduced me to certainly a larger 
 and finer cave than I had anticipated, in a lime-stone rock, over- 
 hung with ivy and peepul-trees in a very graceful and picturesque 
 manner. The entrance was rude but large, and it has, I suspect, 
 been a quarry for lime-stone, or at least enlarged for that purpose, 
 the apartments within branching off two or three ways, and 
 bearing, so far as I could perceive by the imperfect light, marks of 
 art. There is also a sort of shallow cistern cut in the rock, which 
 seems very like a place for making chunam. The air had every 
 appearance of being perfectly fresh and pleasant, and I should 
 have liked to explore it ; but we had no flambeaus ; candles 
 would soon have been extinguished by the water which droj)ped 
 very fast from the roof, and I knew too much of caves to expect 
 to find any thing in this worth catching cold for. I therefore 
 declined the offer of one of the dandies to run to the village to 
 fetch " Mussauls," (torches,) much to their regret. 
 
 I was told that there were many other very pretty religious
 
 CAVE. 201 
 
 places about the rock, to which I desired Mohammed to lead me. 
 He took me round the base of the hill, and then shewed the way 
 up a sort of ladder, half natural of roots of trees, and of rocks, 
 half artificial, where the stone had been cut away into rude steps, 
 to a small rocky platform, half way up the cliff, facing the river. 
 There were some other small caves, evidently the works of art, 
 with low doors, like ovens, and some rude carving over and round 
 them. I crept into one, and found it a little hermitage, about 12 
 feet wide by 8, having at each end a low stone couch, and opposite 
 the entrance a sort of bracket, either for a lamp or an idol. The 
 boatmen, on my coming out, eagerly crowded in, but seemed 
 disappointed to find nothing more. They had heard, it seems, 
 that the cavern above communicated with one of these recesses, 
 and as we went along, kept peeping as English schoolboys or 
 seamen might have done, into every hole and corner of the cliff, 
 in the hopes of verifying the report. 
 
 I climbed from this place a few steps higher to another and 
 larger platform, with a low wall round it. Here I found two little 
 temples to Siva and to Kali, kept by an old " Gossain," (or 
 Hindoo hermit,) with two disciples, one a grown man, the other 
 a boy. The old man had long white hair and beard, and was 
 sitting naked, with his hands joined and his eyes half shut, amid 
 the breezes of the river. The boy was near him, and the man, on 
 hearing our voices, had got up in a hurry, and begun to murmur 
 prayers, and pour water over the lingam. A small gratuity, 
 however, brought him back to the civilities of this world, and he 
 shewed me not only Siva's symbol, but Kali, with her black face, 
 scull chaplet, and many hands. He also shewed me the remains 
 of several other images, cut on the face of the rock, but which had 
 been broken by the Mussulman conquerors. Under these last 
 were two small holes like those below, which they told me were, 
 in fact, their lodgings. I asked if they knew any thing about the 
 cave on the other side of the hill ; on which the old gossain, with 
 an air of much importance, said, that nobody had ever seen its end ; 
 
 D d
 
 202 CAVE. 
 
 that 2000 years ago a certain Raja had desired to explore it, and 
 set out with 10,000 men, 100,000 torches, and 100,000 measures of 
 oil, but that he could not succeed ; and, if I understood him 
 rightly, neither he nor his army ever found their way back again ! 
 These interminable caves are of frequent occurrence among the 
 common people of every country. But the centenary and millesimal 
 way in which the Hindoos express themselves, puts all European 
 exaggeration to the blush. Judging from the appearance of the 
 cave, and the size of the hill which contains it, I have no doubt 
 that a single candle, well managed, would more than light a man 
 to its end and back again. A little beyond these temples, 
 descending by a similar stair, is a small village inhabited chiefly 
 by religious beggars of the same description, and a very curious 
 little hermitage or temple, built of brick, in the hollow of a huge 
 decayed peepul tree, in a beautifully romantic situation, where the 
 Ganges runs roaring through the rocks vdth great noise and 
 violence. Mohammed, who was greatly pleased with the interest 
 I took in his curiosities, now told me there was nothing more to 
 see, and I returned, extremely amused and gratified, by the light 
 of a fine moon. 
 
 Abdullah, on my expressing a wish I had had a torch to 
 explore the cave, said that he had never liked caves since he saw 
 the wonderful one of Secunderie in Persia, which he visited with Sir 
 Gore Ousley and Mr. Morier. He said it was a very fine and lofty 
 cave, but after they had got down to a certain level, the poisonous 
 air rose as high as their knees first, and afterwards their breasts, 
 that a fowl held there died immediately, and if a man had 
 knelt or fallen down, he must have died too. I thought of 
 Legh and his companions. But in the sort of cave I had just 
 left, there was, I conceive, no danger of the kind. The name 
 of this interesting spot is " Puttur Gotta," I suppose from 
 " Puttur," a rock or stone, evidently the same word with "petra," 
 or " petros." 
 
 Sunday, August 9. — I had flattered myself till within these few
 
 WATCHMEN. 203 
 
 days that I should have passed this day at BogHpoor ; and I might 
 have done so, had it not been for the unlucky detention between 
 Bogwangola and the Moorshedabad river. As it was, the poor 
 men had not only a day of labour, but of hard labour, the wind 
 failing us very soon after setting out. 
 
 The dry land which we passed was chiefly bare of wood, and 
 cultivated with millet, pulse, and Indian corn. Each quillet of 
 this last had its little stage and shed for the watchman to scare 
 away the birds, " with sling and shout," as mentioned in Kehama. 
 I wondered to see so many when a quarter of the number would 
 have been amply sufficient, and asked why they did not take it 
 by turns, one or two at a time, to watch the whole field ? The 
 answer was, that they could not trust each other; surely an 
 unfavourable trait in the popular character. What wood there 
 is, is, I think, of finer quality than that of Bengal, consisting of 
 large round-topped trees, peepul and tamarind, with an underwood 
 of bamboo ; and though the soil seemed fertile, there were very 
 large and numerous herds of cattle, of a better size and figure 
 than those which I had been accustomed to see. There were an 
 unusual number of hurgilas, and a good many vultures on the 
 banks. Some of our dandees passing through a field of Indian 
 corn, plucked two or three of the ears, certainly not enough to 
 constitute a theft, or even a trespass. Two of the men, however, 
 who were watching, ran after them, not as the Bengalees would 
 have done, to complain to me with joined hands, but with stout 
 bamboos, prepared to do themselves justice, " par voye de faict." 
 The men escaped by swimming to the boat, but one of my 
 servants called out to them, — " Aha ! Dandee folk, take care ! you 
 are now in Hindostan ! the people of this country know well how 
 to fight, and are not afraid \" 
 
 The peasants here all walk with sticks as tall as themselves, 
 and wear black, rough-looking blankets, thrown over their 
 heads and shoulders. They are, I think, a more manly-looking 
 
 D d 2
 
 204 BOGLTPOOR. 
 
 race than the Bengalees, or at least the length and thickness 
 of their heards, and their dark Circassian mantles, give them 
 that appearance. 
 
 The plant in the comer of the subjoined sketch is Indian 
 corn ; the hill in the distance is over the village of Colgony, near 
 our last halting-place. There are, I think, more buffaloes in 
 proportion seen in Bahar than Bengal ; but the number of cattle 
 of all kinds is certainly greater. 
 
 Our day's course had hitherto lain through jeels and nullahs, 
 and we had some little difficulties and delays in getting back to 
 the Ganges, and afterwards from the Ganges to the branch on 
 which Boglipoor stands. We could not reach this place, but 
 stopped short of it at a rather pretty village, named Tingypoor, 
 with some green, English-looking meadows, hedges of cactus, and 
 tall, round-topped trees. 
 
 August 10. — I arrived at Boglipoor, or Bhaugulpoor, about 
 7 o'clock in the morning, and found, to my great joy, my friends 
 the Corries still there, established very comfortably in the circuit 
 house (a bungalow provided in each of the minor stations for the 
 district judges when on their circuit), which had been lent them
 
 CLEVELAND'S MONUMENT. 
 
 205 
 
 by the judge and magistrate Mr. Chalmers. I breakfasted with 
 them, and went afterwards with Mr. Chalmers to see the objects 
 principally worth notice, — the gaol, a very neat and creditable 
 building, with no less than six wards for the classification of the 
 prisoners, Mr. Cleveland's house and monument, and a school 
 established for the Puharrees by Lord Hastings. Mr. Cleveland's 
 monument is in the form of a Hindoo mut, in a pretty situation on 
 a green hill. The land with which it was endowed, is rented by 
 government, and the cutcherry, magistrate's-house, circuit-house, 
 &c. are built on it, the rent being duly appropriated to the repair 
 of the building. As being raised to the memory of a Christian, 
 this last is called by the natives " Grige," (Church) and they still 
 meet once a year in considerable numbers, and have a handsome 
 " Poojah," or religious spectacle in honour of his memory. 
 
 The school is adjoining to the lines, and occupies a large and 
 neat bungalow, one room in which is the lodging of the school- 
 master, a very handsome and intelligent half-caste youth ; the 
 other, with a large verandah all round, was, when I saw it, filled 
 with Puharree Sepoys and their sons, who are all taught to read, 
 write, and cypher in the Kythee character, which is that used by
 
 206 PUHARREE SCHOOL. 
 
 the lower classes in this district for their common intercourse, 
 accounts, &c. and differs from the Devanagree about as much as 
 the written character of Western Europe does from its printed. 
 The reason alleged for giving this character the preference is its 
 utility in common life, but this does not seem a good reason for 
 teaching it only, or even for beginning with it. No increase of 
 knowledge, or enlargement of mind, beyond the power of keeping 
 their accounts and writing a shop-bill, can be expected from it, 
 inasmuch as there is no book whatever printed in it, except Mr. 
 Rowe's spelling-book, and no single Hindoo w^ork of any value or 
 antiquity written in it. I urged this to the schoolmaster, who said 
 that by and by, when they had made some progress in the 
 Kythee he might teach them the Nagree, but they might, I am 
 convinced, easily learn both together, or if one at a time, then the 
 printed character, as simpler, is to be preferred. In the Kythee I 
 heard several, both men and boys, read fluently, and I could 
 understand their Hindoostanee very well. They are described as 
 quick and intelligent, fond of learning, and valuing themselves on 
 their acquirements. This school was originally set on foot by 
 Cleveland, but till Lord Hastings' visit had been shamefully 
 neglected by his successors in office. It was revived by Lord 
 Hastings, and is now very carefully and judiciously attended to by 
 the Adjutant, Captain Graham, an intelligent Scots officer, on whom 
 the whole management of the corps has, for the last five years, 
 devolved, the commanding officer. Captain Montgomerie, being in 
 the last stage of a decline. The corps consisted originally of 
 1300 men, who for many years were armed with their country 
 weapons, the bow and arrow. And it is an instance of Cleveland's 
 sound judgment and discrimination, that he named for their first 
 native commandant, in opposition to the remonstrances and in- 
 treaties of all the Zemindars of the place, a chief named Jowrah, 
 who was the Rob Roy, or, perhaps, more strictly speaking, the 
 Roderic Dhu of the Rajmahals, the most popular of all others
 
 PUHARREE CORPS. . 207 
 
 among his own countrymen, and the most dreaded by the low- 
 landers. The choice was fully justified by the event, Jowrah 
 having remained through life a bold, active, and faithful servant of 
 the Company in different enterprises against outlaws, both in the 
 Ramghur hills and his own mountains. After some years the men 
 were armed with muskets instead of bows, and are now in all 
 respects on the same footing with other native regiments, and 
 equally available for general service. It had become a mere 
 rabble, addicted to all sorts of vice and disorder till Lord Hastings 
 placed them on their present footing. In the first instance, he 
 proposed to arm two companies with rifles, but the men disliked 
 the service exceedingly, having a great objection to wear green ; 
 they now therefore are fusileers, but trained to light infantry 
 manoeuvres, in which they are said to excel. Their numbers, 
 however, are reduced from 1300 to 700, of whom 200 are not 
 genuine mountaineers, but Hindoos from the plain, — a mixture 
 which is not found advantageous to the former, and which must, 
 from their superstitions, materially impede the efficiency of the 
 unfettered and unprejudiced Puharree ; these last are said to be 
 admirably adapted for soldiers, and to be very fond of the profes- 
 sion. Having no caste, and eating any food indiscriminately, they 
 would be available for foreign service at a shorter notice than any 
 Hindoo could be; accustomed to mountains and jungles, they would 
 be extremely valuable on the eastern and northern frontier, as well 
 as on the Nerbuddah and in Berar, and in the possible event of 
 any general insurrection in India, it might be of great political 
 importance to have a force of native troops who prefer (as these 
 do) the English to the Hindoos, and whose native country occupies 
 a strong and central place in the British territory, — a sort of little 
 Tyrol. 
 
 At the school I met the present native commandant, one of 
 Mr. Cleveland's surviving pupils, an old man, much reverenced 
 by his countrymen, and who passes a great deal of his time there, 
 being extremely proud of his people, and interested in their im-
 
 208 HILL CHIEFS. 
 
 provement. He has also the character of a smart and intelhgent 
 soldier. His influence has been very valuable in getting the 
 school together again, much pains having been taken by a Por- 
 tuo"uese or two in the neighbourhood to dissuade the Puharrees 
 from attending, or sending their children. Even now, though 
 many of the younger children of the mountain-chiefs are sent, the 
 eldest sons are kept away, owing to a notion circulated among 
 them by these people, that they would forfeit the reversion of 
 their pensions by receiving any benefit from the Company of 
 another kind. This is an utter mistake, which Mr. Chalmers 
 hopes to rectify, but it has already done some harm. Captain 
 Graham is very popular among them, and by all which I hear 
 most deservedly so, and when once or twice he has talked of leaving 
 them for some other regiment, they have expressed exceeding dis- 
 tress and concern. Those whom I saw, were middle sized, or rather 
 little men, but extremely well made, with remarkably broad chests, 
 long arms, and clean legs. They are fairer, I think, than the Ben- 
 galees, have broad faces, small eyes, and flattish, or rather turned up 
 noses ; but the Chinese or ]Malay character of their features, from 
 whom they are said to be descended, is lost in a great degree on close 
 inspection. I confess they reminded me of the Welch; the ex- 
 pression of their countenances is decidedly cheerful and intelligent, 
 and I thought two or three of their women whom I saw, really 
 pretty, with a sort of sturdy smartness about them which I have 
 not seen in their lowland neighbours. These tribes have a regular 
 administration of justice among themselves, by the ancient Hindoo 
 institution of a " Punchaet," or jury of five old men in every 
 village, and as I mentioned before, they remain free from all taxes, 
 and are under the government of their own chiefs, but in all other 
 respects, they were great sufferers by Mr. Cleveland's death ; all 
 his plans for teaching them the simple manufactures, as well as 
 for furnishing them with seeds and implements of husbandry, fell 
 with him. Even the school was dropped. The pensions which 
 had been promised to the Hill Chiefs in consideration of their
 
 PUHARREES. 209 
 
 maintaining peace and the authority of the Company in their dis- 
 tricts, though regularly paid by the Supreme Government, never 
 reached their destination, being embezzled on various pretences. 
 And the old encroachments of the Zemindars on their frontiers 
 were allovs^ed to be renewed with impunity. The only man who, 
 during this interval, appears to have done his duty towards these 
 people, was Lieutenant (afterwards Colonel) Shaw, who was ap- 
 pointed to the command of the Rangers in 1787, and whose 
 memory is still highly respected by them. He published an 
 account (which I have not seen) of their customs, in an early 
 volume of the Asiatic Researches. 
 
 Lord and Lady Hastings went on a short excursion into the 
 hills in their return from the upper country, and were greatly 
 interested by them and their highlands. Lord Hastings promised 
 their chiefs to send a good stock of the most useful tools of 
 husbandry (they have at present no implements of this kind but 
 sharpened stakes) and a quantity of seed potatoes. He did not 
 forget the promise, and Captain Graham heard him give orders for 
 its performance after his return to Calcutta. But a Sovereign can 
 seldom do all the good he desires ; nothing in fact was done, and 
 the chiefs have since more than once complained that they were 
 forgotten. They are, however, better off now than at any time 
 since the death of Cleveland, for Mr. Chalmers, who is an active 
 and honourable man, has seen justice done to them in the payment 
 of their little stipends, which had frequently been embezzled on 
 various pretences by the native agents, and Government are 
 making a fresh survey of the debateable land, with a view to an 
 equitable arrangement of the claims both of the Puharrees and the 
 Zemindars, by which it is said the former will be great gainers. 
 Mr. Chalmers, and Captain Graham, with Colonel Franklin, well 
 known as an excellent Oriental scholar and antiquarian, who is 
 inspecting field-officer of this district, think very favourably of the 
 Puharrees. Notwithstanding their poverty, their living chiefly by 
 
 E e
 
 210 PUHARREES. 
 
 the chace and always going anned, the general conduct both of 
 chiefs and people has been orderly and loyal ever since their 
 fathers swore allegiance. They are hospitable according to their 
 small means, and have no sort of objection to eat with or after 
 Europeans. They are a little too fond of spirits, a taste which 
 Cleveland unfortunately encouraged, by sending them presents of 
 the kind, and allowing them to drink when at his house. Though 
 accustomed to make predatory inroads on their lowland and here- 
 ditary enemies, among themselves they have always been honest, 
 and what is an immense distinction indeed between them and the 
 Hindoos, they hate and despise a lie more than most nations in the 
 world. The soldiers who have committed any fault, own it 
 readily, and either ask pardon or submit to their punishment in 
 silence ; in the Cutcherry, the evidence of a Puharree is always 
 trusted more than that of half a dozen Hindoos, and there is hardly 
 any instance on record of a chief violating his w^ord. Though 
 dirty in their persons in comparison with the Hindoos, they 
 are very clean in their cottages, and their villages are kept free 
 from the vile smells which meet us in those of Bengal. The 
 men dislike hard work, and are chiefly occupied in hunting, but 
 the women are very industrious in cultivating the little patches of 
 garden round their villages. They are also generally chaste, and 
 it no doubt contributes to keep them so, that the premature and 
 forced marriages of the Hindoos are unknown ; that their unions 
 take place at a suitable age, and that the lad has generally to wait 
 on the lass during a pretty long courtship. They make very good 
 and faithful household servants, but are not fond of the way of Hfe, 
 and do not agree well with their Hindoo fellow domestics. Both 
 men and women are intelligent and lively, but rather passionate, 
 and they differ from most of the Hindoos, in being fond of music, 
 and having a good ear. Captain Graham has instructed some of 
 their boys as fifers, and found them apt scholars. They are fond 
 of pedigree and old stories, and their chiefs pique themselves on
 
 PUHARREES. 211 
 
 their families. No clanship, or feudal subjection, however, appears 
 to exist. If a man is dissatisfied with the head of his village, there 
 is nothing to prevent his removal to another. In short, Emily, 
 they are Welch, and one of these days I will take you into their 
 hills, to claim kindred with them ! 
 
 Mr. Corrie has obtained a little vocabulary of their language, 
 which, certainly, differs very remarkably from the Hindoostanee, 
 and I am told from the Bengalee. The old commandant, who has 
 been on service towards the Berar frontier, says he could converse 
 perfectly with the Bheels and Gooand tribes, so that they are ap- 
 parently different branches of the same great family, which per- 
 vades all the mountainous centre of India, the " Gaels" of the 
 East, who have probably, at some remote period, been driven from 
 all but these wildernesses, by the tribes professing the brahminical 
 faith. 
 
 The following is Captain Graham's account of their religion. 
 The Hill-people offer up frequent prayers to one Supreme 
 Being, whom they call " Budo Gosaee," which in their language 
 means " Supreme God." Prayer to God is strictly enjoined morn- 
 ing and evening. They also offer up propitiatory sacrifices of 
 buffaloes, goats, fowls, and eggs to several inferior, and some evil 
 deities. 
 
 " Malnad" is the tutelary genius of each village; " Dewannee" 
 the household god. " Pow" is sacrificed to before undertaking a 
 journey. They appear to believe in a future state of rewards and 
 punishments chiefly carried on by means of transmigration, the 
 souls of the good being sent back to earth in the bodies of great 
 men, and those of the wicked in brutes and even trees. 
 
 The great God made every thing. Seven brothers were sent 
 to possess the earth ; they give themselves the credit of being 
 descended from the eldest, and say that the sixth was the father 
 of the Europeans. Each brother was presented, on setting out, 
 with a portion of the particular kind of food which he and his des- 
 
 E e2
 
 212 PUHARREES. 
 
 cendants were to eat. But the eldest had a portion of every kind 
 of food, and in a dirty dish. This legend they allege as their 
 reason for observing no restriction of meats, and for eating with or 
 after any body. They say they are strictly forbidden by God to 
 beat, abuse, or injure their neighbours, and that a lie is the greatest 
 of all crimes. Hogs' blood appears to answer with them all the 
 pm-poses which holy-water does with some other nations. If a 
 person is killed by a tyger, it is the duty of his relations to avenge 
 his death by killing one of those animals in return, on w^hich occa- 
 sion they resort to many strange ceremonies. They are great 
 believers in witchcraft ; every ache which the old commandant 
 feels in his bones, and every disappointment or calamity which 
 befals him or any of his friends, he imputes to this cause, and 
 menaces or bribes some old woman or other. They have also 
 many interpreters of dreams among them, whom they call 
 " Damauns," and believe to be possessed by a familiar spirit. 
 When any of these die, they expose his body, without burial, in 
 the jungle. They also suppose certain diseases to be inflicted by 
 evil spirits, to whom they expose the bodies of such as die of 
 them, those who die of small-pox are cast out into the woods, 
 those who die of dropsy into the water. 
 
 They have no idols or images of any kind ; a black stone 
 found in the hills, is by some ceremonies consecrated and used as 
 an altar. They have several festivals which are held in high 
 reverence. The Chitturia is the greatest, but seldom celebrated 
 on account of its expense. It lasts five days, during which 
 buffaloes, hogs, fruits, fowls, grains, and spirits are offered up to 
 the gods, and afterwards feasted on. This is the only festival in 
 which females are permitted to join. During its continuance they 
 salute nobody, all honour being then appropriated to the gods. 
 Polygamy is not forbidden, but seldom practised. The bridegroom 
 gives a feast on occasion of the marriage ; the bride's father ad- 
 dresses a speech to him, exhorting him to use his daughter well ;
 
 PUHARREES. 213 
 
 the bridegroom then marks her forehead with red paint, links his 
 httle finger in hers, and leads her to his house. The usual mode 
 of making oath is to plant two arrows in the ground thus, the 
 
 person swearing taking the blade of one and the feather of the 
 other between his finger and thumb. On solemn occasions, how- 
 ever, salt is put on the blade of a sabre, and after the words of the 
 oath are repeated, the blade being placed on the under lip of the 
 person sworn, the salt is washed into his mouth by him who 
 administers it. 
 
 Thus far I have learnt from Captain Graham ; Mr. Corrie tells 
 me that further particulars of this interesting race are given in the 
 Calcutta Annual Register for 1821 ; what follows I learnt from 
 different persons in the course of the day. 
 
 The Hill country is very beautiful, and naturally fertile, but in 
 many parts of it there is a great scarcity of water, a want which the 
 people urge as an excuse for their neglect of bathing. As so much 
 rain falls, this might and would by a civilized people be remedied, 
 but the Puharrees neither make tanks, nor have any instrument 
 proper for digging wells. The thick jungle makes the hills un- 
 wholesome to Europeans during the rains, but at other times the 
 climate is extremely agreeable, and in winter more than agreeably 
 cold. Mr. Chalmers one night had a jug of water completely 
 frozen over to a considerable thickness in his tent, and close to 
 his bed. The Puharrees are a healthy race, but the small-pox
 
 214 PUHARREES. 
 
 used to make dreadful ravages among them. Vaccination has now 
 been generally introduced ; they were very thankful for it, bringing 
 their children from thirty and fifty miles off to Boglipoor to obtain 
 it. Wild animals of all kinds are extremely abundant, from the 
 jackall to the tyger, and from the deer to the elephant and 
 rhinoceros. Their way of destroying the large animals is, 
 generally, by poisoned arrows. The poison is a gum which they 
 purchase from the Garrows, a people who inhabit the mountains 
 to the north of Silhet, at Peer-pointee fair. 
 
 Xo attempt has yet been made to introduce them to the 
 knowledge of Christianity. The school at Boglipoor has scarcely 
 been in activity for more than 18 months, and being supported by 
 Government, it cannot, in conformity with the policy which they 
 pursue, be made a means of conversion. Mr. Corrie is strongly 
 disposed to recommend the establishment of a INIissionary at 
 Boglipoor ; but I am myself inclined to prefer sending him 
 immediately, (or as soon as he may have gained some knowledge 
 of the Pubarree language,) into one of the mountain villages. 
 I also would wish to employ some person to accompany the 
 INIissionary or Schoolmaster, who may instruct the natives in 
 weaving or pottery ; and to choose, in either of these capacities, 
 some one who had himself a little knowledge of gardening. 
 Civilization and instruction w^ill thus go hand in hand, — or rather, 
 the one will lead the way to the other, and they will think the 
 better of a rehgion whose professors are seriously active in pro- 
 moting their temporal interests. The Puharrees seem to have no 
 prejudices hostile to Christianity, any other than those which men 
 will always have against a system of religion which requires a 
 greater degree of holiness than they find it convenient to practise. 
 The discreet exertions of Missionaries among them will give no 
 offence either to Hindoos or Mussulmans, and a beginning may 
 thus be made to the introduction both of Christianity and civili- 
 zation, through all the kindred tribes of Gundvvana and the 
 Western Bheels, who are, at this moment, in the same habits of
 
 BOGLIPOOR. 215 
 
 rapine and savage anarchy which the Puharrees were in before the 
 time of Cleveland. 
 
 Boglipoor is in a pretty situation, and said to be one of the 
 healthiest stations in India. It is, however, much infested by 
 snakes, particularly the cobra di capello. It stands nearly half- 
 way between the Rajmahal and Curruckpoor hills, and commands 
 a distant view of mount Mandar, an insulated conical mountain, 
 apparently about as large as the Wrekin, renowned as a place of 
 Hindoo pilgrimage, and as having been employed by the gods to 
 churn the ocean with, in order to procure the *' amreeta," or drink 
 of immortality. It is, Colonel Franklin assures me, remarkable as 
 being a mass of granite, whereas all these nearer hills are of lime- 
 stone. He also told me that he had been to the end of the cave 
 of Puttergotta, which has been used as a temple to Siva. It is 
 pretty, and very accessible, but by no means deep. The hills to 
 the south of Boglipoor, beyond Mandar, towards Deogur, are very 
 wild, and now almost entirely uninhabited, but are full of vestiges, 
 not of Brahminical but Buddhist worship. Colonel Franklin has 
 himself a curious collection of idols of this latter kind, dug up in 
 this part of India, and is employed in a dissertation on the sub- 
 ject. I forgot to mention that all these hills are full of wild 
 poultry, exactly in crow, figure, and plumage, resembling bantams. 
 Their flavour is superior to the domestic fowl, and resembles that 
 of the partridge. They might, no doubt, be easily domesticated. 
 The Rajmahal hills stand in a detached cluster, containing, per- 
 haps, as much ground as Merionethshire and Carnarvonshire. They 
 are bounded on all sides by a plain, or nearly plain country ; after 
 which, on the east, are the Curruckpoor hills, and on the south the 
 very impracticable districts of Beiboom, Dranghur, &c. 
 
 August 11. — I had a drive with Mr. Corrie this morning, and 
 got a pretty good distant view of Mandar and the Curruckpoor 
 hills. Colonel Franklin supposes the ancient Palibothra, — a cele- 
 brated city and metropolis of Gangetic India, in the time of the 
 ancient Greeks, to have stood in this neighbourhood, and has
 
 216 PALIBOTHRA. 
 
 published several learned essays to prove it, which I remember 
 lookino- at many years ago, when I had little curiosity about the 
 question. He is a very agreeable and communicative old man, 
 and his collection curious and interesting. His opinions are 
 opposed to the alleged antiquity of the brahminical worship, and 
 he coincides in general with the late Mr. Bentley.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 BOGLIPOOR TO MONGHYR. 
 
 Width of the Ganges — Charity of Dandees — Seeta Coom — Monghyr — Fort— Zemindars- 
 Pensioners — Baptist Mission — Desertion of Dandees — Cheapness of Fire-arms. 
 
 At noon I again set off, with Mr. Corrie's budgerow in company. 
 This part of the Ganges has undergone great alterations since 
 Rennel's map was made. Boghpoor is laid down by him as 
 standing on a separate nullah; but now nothing remains of the 
 separation except a few marshy islands, immediately opposite the 
 town. I find that instead of exaggerating, as I feared to do, I 
 have, in my previous descriptions, under-rated the width of this 
 noble river. Last year, at the height of the inundation, a little 
 below Boglipoor, it was nine measured miles across ; and this year, 
 though far less ground is covered, it is supposed to be full seven ; 
 and here we are perhaps 600 miles, reckoning the windings of the 
 river, from the sea ! 
 
 During this night I was completely wakened by the uproar 
 which the jackalls made. On asking if any reason could be given 
 for such an unusual concourse, I was told that there was a field of 
 Indian corn adjoining, of which they are very fond, and that the 
 clamour which I heard was partly from the animals themselves, 
 partly from the watchmen, who were endeavouring to scare them 
 away. The noise was quite equal to that of an immense pack of 
 hounds, with half the rabble of a county at their heels, except 
 that the cry was wilder and more dismal. If his Excellency count 
 
 F f
 
 218 GYPSEYS. 
 
 Falkenstein, " the wild huntsman," still keeps up his aerial chase 
 in Germany, it is exactly such a cry as I should expect from his 
 hounds. 
 
 August 12. — We passed this morning another encampment 
 of gypseys, only differing from the former in having no boats. The 
 name by which they go in this country is " Kunja." The men, 
 many of them, wore large pink turbans ; three of the women, and 
 the children, followed us begging. These did not conceal their 
 faces, and indeed had no clothes at all, except a coarse kind of 
 veil thrown back from the shoulders, and a w^retched ragged cloth 
 wrapped round their waists like a petticoat. They are decidedly 
 a taller handsomer race than the Bengalee. One of the women 
 was very pretty, and the forms of all three were such as a sculptor 
 would have been glad to take as his model. Their arms were tat- 
 toed with many blue lines, and one of them had her forehead slightly 
 marked in a similar manner. They had no bangles on their wrists 
 and ankles, but the children, though perfectly naked, were not 
 without these ornaments. As we could not stop our boat, I rolled 
 up some pice in paper, and gave it to one of the dandees to throw 
 ashore. Unfortunately the paper burst, and the little treasure fell 
 into the river, while the wind freshening at the moment, it w^as 
 quite out of my power to give more. The dandees expressed 
 great concern ; indeed they are, to their narrow means, really 
 charitable ; they club a small portion of each mess every day, to 
 give to the beggars who come to the ghats, and if none appear, 
 they always throw it to some dog or bird. A more touching 
 instance of this nature was told me by a lady, w hich she herself 
 witnessed in a voyage last year. The Serang of the boat by an 
 accident lost his son, a fine young man. Every evening afterwards 
 he set apart a portion, as if the young man w^ere yet alive, and 
 gave it in charity, saying, " I have not given it, my son has 
 given it!" 
 
 I forgot to mention, that just as Mr. Corrie was setting out 
 yesterday, he received a letter in very bad English, addressed to
 
 SEETA COOM. 219 
 
 " The Abbot," from a person signing himself " Gopee Mohun 
 Doss, a brahmin, and tme friend of the Honourable Company/' 
 The writer requested an interview with him, that he might receive 
 instruction in Christianity. Mr. Corrie returned for answer, that 
 he would see the writer on his return down the river. He says 
 this is not the only indication he has met with of persons in this 
 neighbourhood, who seem not unwilUng to enquire into rehgious 
 subjects. One of the hill-people at the school has declared, of 
 his own accord, his intention of giving up Sunday to the worship 
 of God ; and there are several Hindoos and Mussulmans, who 
 make no objection to eat victuals prepared by Christians, saying, 
 that " they think the Christians are as pure as themselves, and 
 they are sure they are wiser." This letter was brought by a very 
 well dressed servant, who spoke of his master as a baboo, so that 
 there seemed no interested motive for the request which it 
 contained. 
 
 As we advanced, we passed at Janghera two very pretty rocks 
 projecting into the river, with a mosque on the one, and a pagoda 
 on the other ; while, in the distance, were the Curruckpoor hills, 
 not so tall or striking as the Rajmahal, but not inferior to the 
 Halkin mountains, and the range above Flint and Holywell. 
 Such as they are, they are very refreshing to the eye in these vast 
 regions of level ground. The Ganges has here exactly the 
 appearance of an arm of the sea, and a very noble one too. 
 
 A little to the east of Monghyr, in a pretty garden, is a 
 celebrated hot-well, named Seeta Coom, — the fountain of Seeta. 
 I wished to stop to look at it, but gave up the intention, as, should 
 the wind fail, the passage to Monghyr would be difficult and 
 laborious. The water has no medical properties, but such as may 
 arise from its heat and exceeding purity. When cold it is much 
 valued as a beverage, and some persons in Calcutta drink nothing 
 else. Immediately after leaving it we passed a low rocky hill close 
 to the water's edge, strewed all over with large round masses of 
 fluor and mica. Specimens of both these Colonel Franklin had 
 
 F f 2
 
 220 MONGHYR. 
 
 shewn me from the Curruckpoor hills, as also some very fine ones 
 of talc, or lapis specularis, which divided easily into thin but tough 
 laminae, as transparent as isinglass. Thirty years ago, he said, this 
 was the only approach to glass usually seen in the windows of 
 houses, even of Europeans, in these and the northern provinces. 
 Some other pretty hills followed, of rather antic shapes, parti- 
 cularly one with a house and a high gazebo on its summit. All 
 the hills seem to be of limestone, in a state of considerable decom- 
 position. The north-eastern bank of the river still continues as 
 flat as possible, very naked, and ugly. 
 
 The loss of the coco-tree does not materially injure the 
 landscape here, since its place is still supplied by the toddy, or 
 tara-palm, and the date-palm. The country, however, the hills 
 excepted, is certainly more open and less verdant than Bengal, 
 though, as a land to live and take exercise in, it decidedly seems 
 to have the advantage. This part, I find, is not reckoned either 
 in Bengal or Bahar, having been, under the name of the Jungle- 
 terry district, always regarded, till its pacification and settlement, 
 as a sort of border, or debateable land. Monghyr and a narrow 
 slip between it and the hills, are the first commencement of real 
 Hindostan, though in popular language, and in the estimation of 
 the people, the Terriagully Pass is the boundary. 
 
 Monghyr, as one approaches it, presents an imposing appear- 
 ance, having one or two extremely good European houses, each 
 perched on its own little eminence. The ghat ofiered a scene of 
 bustle and vivacity which I by no means expected. There were 
 so many budgerows and pulwars, that we had considerable difficulty 
 to find a mooring-place for our boat ; and as we approached the 
 shore we were beset by a crowd of beggars and artizans, who 
 brought for sale guns, knives, and other hardware, as also many 
 articles of upholstery and toys. They looked extremely neat, but 
 as I meant to buy none, I would not raise expectation by examining 
 them. There were also barbers in abundance, conspicuous by 
 their red turbans, one of whom was soon retained by some of my
 
 MONGHYR. 221 
 
 (landees, who sat down, one after another, on the green bank, to 
 have their hair dipped as close as possible, as became aquatic 
 animals. A juggler, too, made his appearance, leading a tall 
 brown goat, almost as high as a Welch poney, with two little 
 brown monkeys on its back. In short it was the liveliest scene 
 which I had encountered during the voyage. 
 
 I arrived early, and was therefore for some time a prisoner in 
 my boat from the heat, exposed to the teazing of various appli- 
 cants for custom. As it grew cool I walked into the fort, passing 
 by a small but neat English burial-ground, fenced in with a wall, 
 and crammed full of those obelisk tombs which seem almost 
 distinctive of European India. The fort occupies a great deal of 
 ground, but is now dismantled. Its gates, battlements, &c. are all 
 of Asiatic architecture, and precisely similar to those of the 
 Khitairgorod of Moscow. Within is an ample plain of fine turf, 
 dotted with a few trees, and two noble tanks of water, the largest 
 covering, I conceive, a couple of acres. Two high grassy knolls 
 are enclosed within the rampart, occupying two opposite angles of 
 the fort, which is an irregular square, with, I think, twelve semi- 
 circular bastions, and a very wide and deep wet-moat, except on 
 the west side, where it rises immediately from the rocky banks of 
 the river. On one of the eminences of which I speak is a collec- 
 tion of prison-like buildings ; on the other a very large and hand- 
 some house, built originally for the Commander-in-chief of the 
 district, at the time that Monghyr was an important station, and 
 the Mahrattas were in the neighbourhood ; but it was sold some 
 years since by government. The view from the rampart and the 
 eminences is extremely fine. Monghyr stands on a rocky promon- 
 tory, with the broad river on both sides, forming two bays, beyond 
 one of which the Rajmahal hills are visible, and the other is 
 bounded by the nearer range of Curruckpoor. The town is 
 larger than I expected, and in better condition than most native 
 towns. Though all the houses are small, there are many of them 
 with an upper story, and the roofs, instead of the flat terrace or
 
 222 MONGHYR. 
 
 thatch, which are the only ahernations in Bengal, are generally 
 sloping, with red tiles, of the same shape and appearance with 
 those which we see in Italian pictures; they have also little 
 earthenware ornaments on their gables, such as I have not seen on 
 the other side of Rajmahal. The shops are numerous, and I was 
 surprised at the neatness of the kettles, tea-trays, guns, pistols, 
 toasting-forks, cutlery and other things of the sort, which may be 
 procured in this tiny Birmingham. I found afterwards that this 
 place had been from very early antiquity celebrated for its smiths, 
 who derived their art from the Hindoo Vulcan, who had been 
 solemnly worshipped, and was supposed to have had a w^orkshop 
 here. The only thing which appears to be wanting to make their 
 steel excellent, is a better manner of smelting, and a more liberal 
 use of charcoal and the hammer. As it is, their guns are very 
 apt to burst, and their knives to break, precisely the faults which, 
 from want of capital, beset the works of inferior artists in England. 
 The extent, however, to which these people carry on their manu- 
 factures, and the closeness with which they imitate English 
 patterns, shew plainly how popular those patterns are become 
 among the natives. 
 
 August 13. — Mr. Templer, the judge and magistrate, break- 
 fasted with me this morning, and gave me such an account of 
 Monghyr and its spiritual concerns, as made me decide on staying 
 over Sunday. There are besides his own family, five or six others 
 here of the upper and middling classes, and above thirty old English 
 pensioners, many of them married and with families, without any 
 spiritual aid except what is furnished by a Baptist missionary, who 
 is established here. Of him Mr. Templer spoke very favourably, 
 but said that the members of the Church of England, though in a 
 manner compelled to attend his ministry, would value extremely 
 an opportunity of attending divine service, and receiving the sacra- 
 ment in their own way, while the number of children of different 
 ages, whose parents might be expected to bring them for Baptism, 
 was far from inconsiderable. I, therefore, requested Mr. Templer
 
 MONGHYR. 223 
 
 to give publicity to my arrival, and intention of performing divine 
 service on the Sunday. I dined with him, and he afterwards 
 drove me through what is really one of the prettiest countries that 
 I have seen, very populous, but cultivated in a rude and slovenly 
 manner. The rent of the best land is about two rupees for a 
 customary bega, nearly equal to an English acre, or to three Ben- 
 galee begas. They get three crops in succession every year from 
 the same lands, beginning with Indian corn, then sowing rice, 
 between which, when it is grown to a certain height, they dibble 
 in pulse, which rises to maturity after the rice is reaped. The 
 district is very fertile, and most articles of production cheap. The 
 people are quiet and industrious, and the offences which come 
 before the magistrate both in number and character far less, and 
 less atrocious, than is the case either in Bengal or farther on in 
 Hindostan. Theft, forgery, and house-breaking, being the be- 
 setting sins of the one, and violent affrays, murders, and highway 
 robberies, being as frequent among the other people, and all being 
 of very rare occurrence in the Jungleterry district. The peasants 
 are more prosperous than in either, which may of itself account 
 for their decency of conduct. But Mr. Templer was inclined to 
 ascribe both these advantages in a great degree to the fact, that 
 the Zemindarries in this neighbourhood are mostly very large, and 
 possessed by the representatives of ancient families, who by the 
 estimation in which they are held, have the more authority over 
 the peasants, and as being wealthy have less temptation to oppress 
 them, or to connive at the oppression of others. Though a 
 Zemindar of this kind has no legal control over his people, he 
 possesses greater effective control, than a great land-owner in 
 England exercises over his tenants. Most of them still hold cut- 
 cherries, where they attend almost daily to hear complaints and 
 adjust differences, and though doubtless oppressions may some- 
 times occur in these proceedings, yet many quarrels are stifled 
 there, and many mischievous persons discountenanced, who might 
 else give much trouble to the magistrate.
 
 224 MONGHYR. 
 
 In the upper parts of Bahar, and in the neighbourhood of 
 Benares, the Zemindarries are small, and much divided between 
 members of the same family. In consequence the peasants are 
 racked to the utmost, and still farther harassed by the law-suits 
 of the joint or rival owners, each sending their agents among them 
 to persuade them to attorn to him, and frequently forcibly ejecting 
 them from their farms unless they advanced money, so that they 
 have sometimes to pay a half-year's rent twice or three times over. 
 Nor are the small freeholders, of whom there are, it appears, great 
 numbers all over Bahar, so fortunate in their privileges as might 
 have been expected. They are generally wretchedly poor ; they 
 are always involved in litigations of some kind or other, and there 
 is a tribe of Harpies, of a blended character between an informer 
 and a hedge-attorney, who make it their business to find out either 
 that there is a flaw in their original title, or that they have forfeited 
 their tenure by some default of taxes or service. These free, or 
 copy-holders, have been decidedly sufferers under Lord Corn- 
 wallis's settlement, as have also been a very useful description of 
 people, the " Thannadars," or native agents of police, whose 
 *' Jaghires," or rent-free lands, which were their ancient and legal 
 provision all over India, were forgotten, and therefore seized by 
 the Zemindars, while the people themselves became dependent on 
 the charity of the magistrate, and degraded altogether from the 
 place which they used formerly to hold in the village society. 
 The permanent settlement was regarded by some as a very hasty 
 and ill-considered business. Many undue advantages were given 
 by it to the Zemindars, at the same time that even so far as they 
 were concerned, it was extremely unequal, and in many instances 
 oppressive. Like our old English land-tax, in some districts it 
 was ridiculously low, in others, though the increase of cultivation 
 had since brought the lands more up to the mark, it was first 
 ruinously high, so that, in fact, quite as many of the ancient Zemin- 
 darrie families had been ruined, as had been enriched, while 
 taking all the districts together, the Company had been losers
 
 LAND TAX. 225 
 
 to the amount of many millions. I should have supposed that by 
 its permanency at least, it had been the chief cause of the pro- 
 digious extension of cultivation, which every body allows has 
 occurred in Bengal and Bahar since they were placed under the 
 immediate government of the Company. But that increase, I was 
 told, might be accounted for by other causes, such as the main- 
 tenance of public peace, the perfect exemption from invasion 
 and the march of hostile armies, and the knowledge that a man 
 was tolerably sure of reaping the immediate fruits of his labour, 
 and that the acquisition of wealth did not expose him to the 
 malignant attention of government. In Bahar at least, the Ze- 
 mindars had not, even yet, any real confidence in the permanence 
 of the rate, and in fact there had been in so many instances revi- 
 sions, re-measurements, re-examinations, and surcharges, that some 
 degree of doubt was not unnatural. In all these cases, indeed, 
 fraud on the part of the original contractors had been alleged by 
 Government, but as some of the Bahar landlords had observed, 
 they did not hear of any abatement made by the Company in 
 those instances where the advantage of the bargain had been 
 notoriously on their side, while, they also observed, so long as, in 
 the recent measure adopted by Mr. Adam, the government pos- 
 sessed and exercised the power of taxing the raw produce of the 
 soil to any amount they pleased in its way to market, it was of no 
 great advantage to the landholder that the direct land-tax remained 
 the same. 
 
 On the whole, what I heard confirmed my previous suspicion, 
 that the famous measure of Mr. Law w^as taken on an imperfect 
 acquaintance with the interests of India, and that in the first 
 instance at least, a decennial valuation, executed in a liberal spirit, 
 would have avoided many inconveniences without losing any 
 great advantage. Mr. Templer surprised me by what he said of 
 the size of farms in this part of India. A wealthy " ryot," or 
 peasant, on one of the large Zemindarries, often holds as much as 
 200 English acres. 
 
 Gg
 
 226 INVALIDS. 
 
 August 14. — I had this morning one christening, and Mr. 
 Corrie had several. The child I christened was a very fine boy of 
 two years old, the son of an invalid serjeant, who came, attended 
 by his wife, a very pretty young half-caste, and by two of his 
 comrades and one of their wives as sponsors. All these were very 
 well-behaved decent old men ; they stayed talking with me some- 
 time ; they spoke well of India, but complained of the want of 
 some occupation for their minds. A lending library, they said, 
 would be a great comfort to their little society. I afterwards 
 mentioned the subject to Mr. Templer, and, I hope, put him in the 
 proper way to get one from Government, as well as a school for 
 these poor men's children, such of them as, by any accident, were 
 prevented from going to the Military Orphan Asylum. I under- 
 stand that these old soldiers are in general men of very decent 
 character, and though poor, brought up their families very decently. 
 Some of them, however, are liable to sudden fits of drunkenness 
 or infatuation, sometimes after many months of sobriety, during 
 which nothing can keep them from brandy so long as they have 
 either money, credit, or clothes. Monghyr is the station gene- 
 rally chosen by the more respectable characters, the reprobates 
 preferring Moorshedabad. The Company give them the choice 
 of residing either at Moorshedabad, Monghyr, Buxar, or Chunar, 
 and they sometimes change repeatedly before they fix. 
 
 In consequence of the intention I had expressed to have 
 service to-morrow, Mr. Templer told me that the Baptists had 
 given notice that their own meeting should not open, so that he 
 said we should probably have all the Christian residents of the 
 place and vicinity. The Baptist congregation in this neighbour- 
 hood was first collected by Mr. Chamberlain, an excellent man 
 and most active missionary, but of very bitter sectarian principles, 
 and entertaining an enmity to the Church of England almost beyond 
 belief He used to say that Martyn, Corrie, and Thomason, were 
 greater enemies to God, and did more harm to his cause, than 
 fifty stupid drunken " Padre " inasmuch as their virtues, and
 
 DANDEES. 227 
 
 popular conduct and preaching, upheld a system which he regarded 
 as damnable, and which else must soon fall to the ground. The 
 present preacher, Mr. Lesley, is a very mild, modest person, of a 
 far better spirit, and scarcely less diligent among the Heathen 
 than Chamberlain was. He has, however, as yet, had small suc- 
 cess, having been but a very short time in the country. Mr. J. 
 Lushington, whom I found here, has been detained some days, 
 owing to the dandees belonging to the horse-boat running away, 
 a practice very common on this river, these people getting their 
 wages in advance, and then making off with them. One of the 
 party asked Mr. Lushington whether there had been any quarrel 
 between the dandees and his servants, or himself ; on his answering 
 in the negative, it was observed that one fertile cause of boatmen's 
 desertion was the ill-conduct of Europeans, who often stimulated 
 them to do things which, in their weak and clumsy boats, were 
 really dangerous, and, against all law or right, beat them when 
 they refused or hesitated. A general-officer was some time since 
 heard to boast, that when his cook-boat lagged behind, he always 
 fired at it with ball ! I suppose he took care to fire high enough, 
 but the bare fact of putting unarmed and helpless men in fear, in 
 order to compel them to endeavour to do w^hat was, perhaps, 
 beyond their power, was sufficiently unfeeling and detestable. 
 They are, I suppose, such people as these who say that it is im- 
 possible to inspire the Hindoos with any real attachment for their 
 employers ! I am pleased with all I see of Mr. Lushington, who 
 is gentlemanly, modest, and studious ; he is going to Nusseerabad, 
 so that it is possible we may see a good deal of each other. 
 
 August 15. — Mr. Corrie read prayers, and I preached and 
 administered the Sacrament, in the hall of Dr. Tytler's (the garrison 
 surgeon's) house. There were, I should guess, sixty persons in 
 the congregation, among whom were two or three natives. The 
 Monghyr proselytes were very young persons, probably brought 
 over by the Baptist missionaries ; Mr. Lesley and the greater part 
 of his flock attended, but did not stay the Sacrament. There 
 
 G g2
 
 228 MONGHYR. 
 
 were, however, between twenty and thirty communicants, all 
 deeply impressed and attentive. In the evening I again preached 
 to pretty nearly the same congregation. During this stay at 
 Monghyr, I was advised by many old Indians to supply myself 
 with spears to arm my servants with in our march. Colonel 
 Francklyn particularly told me that the precaution was both useful 
 and necessary, and that such a shew of resistance often saved lives 
 as well as property. Monghyr, I was also told, furnished better 
 and cheaper weapons of the kind than any I should meet with up 
 the country : they are, indeed, cheap enough, since one of the 
 best spears may be had complete for 20 anas. I have consequently 
 purchased a stock, and my cabin looks like a museum of Eastern 
 weapons, containing eight of the best sort for my own servants, 
 and eight more for the Clashees who are to be engaged up the 
 country. These last only cost 14 anas each. This purchase 
 gave me a fair opportunity of examining the fire-arms and other 
 things which were brought for sale. My eye could certainly detect 
 no fault in their construction, except that the wood of the stocks 
 was slight, and the screws apparently weak and irregular. But 
 their cheapness was extraordinary ; a very pretty single barrelled 
 fowling-piece may be had for 20 S. rupees, and pistols for 16 the 
 brace.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MONGIIYR TO BUXAH. 
 
 Cattle swimming across the River — Brahmin Labourers — Patna — Bankipoor-— Granary- 
 Hackeries — Dinapoor — Cantonment — Dig ah Farm — Chupra — Floating Shops — Fort — 
 Native Christians — Schools— Curreem Mussceh — Varieties of Complexion. 
 
 August 16. — There was no wind this morning till near 12 o'clock, 
 but we had then just enough to help us out of the eddy of Monghyr 
 and across the river to the other side, along which our boatmen 
 had a painful day's tracking against a fierce stream. The Cur- 
 ruckpoor hills on the left hand continued to offer a very beautiful 
 succession of prospects. A chain of marshy islets seemed to 
 extend nearly across the river towards the end of our course, by 
 the aid of which a large herd of cattle were crossing with their 
 keepers. The latter I conclude had been ferried over the prin- 
 cipal arm, but when I saw them they were wading and swimming 
 alternately by the side of their charge, their long grey mantles 
 wrapped round their heads, their spear-like staves in their hands, 
 and, with loud clamour joined to that of their boys and dogs, 
 keeping the convoy in its proper course. The scene was wild 
 and interesting, and put me in mind of Bruce's account of the 
 passage of the Nile by the Abyssinian army. The bank at the foot 
 of the hills seemed fertile and populous as well as beautiful ; that 
 along which we proceeded is very wretched, swampy, without 
 trees, and only two miserable villages. Several alHgators rose as 
 we went along, but I saw none basking on the many reedy islets
 
 230 CROCODILE. 
 
 and promontories, which, during the hot months, are said to be 
 their favourite resorts. Mr. Lushington's budgerow kept up with 
 my pinnace extremely well, but the Corries were far behind. 
 
 We moored for the night adjoining a field of barley, the first 
 I had seen in India ; the ground was recovered, as it seemed, from 
 a sand-bank in the river, and full of monstrous ant-hills, looking 
 at a little distance like large hay-cocks. The peasant had just 
 finished threshing his barley, and was busy burying it in the dry 
 soil. A small shed as usual stood to watch where the straw with 
 the grain in it had been collected. The high ground of Peer 
 Puhar above Monghyr was still in sight. Just before we stopped 
 a very large crocodile swam close to the boat, and shewed himself 
 to the best advantage. Instead of being like those we had seen 
 before, of a black or dusky colour, he was all over stripes of 
 yellow and brownish black like the body of a wasp, with scales 
 very visibly marked, and a row of small tubercles or prominences 
 along the ridge of his back and tail. He must, I should think, 
 have been about fifteen feet long, though under the circumstances 
 in which I saw him, it was by no means easy to judge. My cabin 
 was extremely infested with insects this evening, particularly with 
 a large black beetle which I had not seen before, and which was 
 very beautiful, having a splendid mixture of jet, copper-colour, 
 and emerald about it. I had also a pretty green lizard, which I 
 carefully avoided injuring, knowing it to be an enemy to ants and 
 cock-roaches, both of which plagues are increasing, and unfortu- 
 nately do not now seem to check each other. Yet I was a little 
 perplexed how the " honest man should have found his way into 
 my closet." 
 
 August 17. — We had a fine breeze part of the day, and stood 
 over to the other bank, which we found, as I had expected, really 
 very pretty, a country of fine natural meadows, full of cattle, and 
 interspersed with fields of barley, wheat, and Indian corn, and 
 villages surrounded by noble trees, with the Curruckpoor hills 
 forming a very interesting distance. If the palm-trees were away.
 
 BRAHMIN LABOURERS. 231 
 
 (but who would wish them away ?) the prospect would pretty 
 closely resemble some of the best parts of England. In the after- 
 noon we rounded the point of the hills, and again found ourselves 
 in a flat and uninteresting, though fruitful country. The last 
 beautiful spot was a village under a grove of tall fruit-trees, among 
 which were some fine walnuts ; some large boats were building on 
 the turf beneath them, and the whole scene reminded me forcibly 
 of a similar builder's yard, which I had met with at Partenak in the 
 Crimea. Many groupes of men and boys sate angling, or with 
 their spears watching an opportunity to strike the fish, giving 
 much additional beauty and liveliness to the scene. 
 
 I have been much struck for some days by the great care with 
 which the stock of fruit-trees in this country is kept up. I see 
 every where young ones of even those kinds which are longest in 
 coming to maturity, more particularly mangoes, and the toddy or 
 tara palm (the last of which I am told must be from thirty to forty 
 years old before it pays any thing) planted and fenced in with care 
 round most of the cottages, a circumstance which seems not only 
 to prove the general security of property, but that the peasants 
 have more assurance of their farms remaining in the occupation of 
 themselves and their children, than of late years has been felt in 
 England. 
 
 The village near which we brought to for a short time in the 
 evening, belonged to brahmins exclusively, who were ploughing 
 the ground near us, with their strings floating over their naked 
 shoulders ; the ground was sown with rice, barley, and vetches, the 
 one to succeed the other. Abdullah asked them to what caste of 
 brahmins they belonged, and on being told they were Pundits, 
 enquired whether " a mixture of seeds was not forbidden in the 
 Puranas ?" An old man answered with a good deal of warmth, 
 that they were poor people and could not dispute, but he believed 
 the doctrine to be a gloss of Bhuddha, striking his staff" with much 
 anger on the ground at the name of the heresiarch. The brahmin 
 labourers are now resting after their toil, and their groupes are very
 
 232 CATTLE SWIMMING. 
 
 picturesque. The ploughman, after unyoking his oxen, lifted up 
 his simple plough, took out the coulter, a large knife shaped like 
 a horn, wiped and gave it to a boy, then lifted up the beam and 
 yoke on his own shoulders, and trudged away with it. These 
 brahmins, I observe, all shave their heads except a tuft in the 
 centre, a custom which not many Hindoos, I think, besides them 
 observe. 
 
 Having a good wind we proceeded a little further before sun- 
 set ; we passed a herd of cows swimming across a nullah about as 
 wide as the Dee ten miles below Chester, the cowman supporting 
 himself by the tail and hips of the strongest among them, and with 
 a long staff guiding her in a proper direction across the stream. 
 We soon after passed a similar convoy guided by a little boy, who, 
 however, did not confine himself to one animal, but swam from one 
 to another turning them with his staff and his voice as he saw 
 proper. So nearly aquatic are the habits of these people, from 
 the warmth of the climate, their simple food, their nakedness, and 
 their daily habits of religious ablution* I saw a very smartly dressed 
 and rather pretty young country-woman come down to the Ghat 
 at Monghyr to wash. She went in with her mantle wrapped 
 round her with much decency and even modesty, till the river 
 was breast high, then ducked under water for so long a time 
 that I began to despair of her re-appearance. This was at five 
 o'clock in the morning, and she returned again at twelve to 
 undergo the same process, both times walking home in her wet 
 clothes without fear of catching cold. The ancient Greeks had, 
 I am convinced, the same custom, since otherwise the idea of wet 
 drapery would hardly have occurred to their statuaries, or, at 
 least, would not have been so common. 
 
 We again brought to about seven o'clock, by a field just 
 ploughed ready for the rising inundation ; we are now not quite 
 half-way from Monghyr to Patna. The women here are still more 
 adorned with trinkets than those in Bengal. Besides the silver 
 bracelets, their arms are covered with rings of a hard kind of
 
 FESTIVAL OF JUNMA OSMEE. 
 
 233 
 
 sealing-wax which looks like coral, and another ornament either of 
 silver or bright steel is common, in shape something like a per- 
 forated discus ; it is worn above the elbow. 
 
 August 18. — This morning, after leaving the nullah, we pro- 
 ceeded with a fine breeze, along the left-hand bank of the river, 
 which is very fertile and populous, with a constant succession of 
 villages, whose inhabitants were all washing themselves and gettino- 
 on their best attire, it being the Hindoo festival of Junma Osmee. 
 
 The day was a very brilliant one, and, though hot, rendered 
 supportable by the breeze, while the whole scene was lively and 
 cheerful, — all the shops having their flags hoisted, — little streamers 
 being spread by most of the boats which we passed, and a laro'er 
 banner and concourse of people being displayed at a little pao-oda 
 under the shade of some noble peepul and tamarind trees. 
 
 The river is all this time filled with boats of the most pictu- 
 resque forms ; the peasants on the bank have that knack of grouping 
 themselves, the want of which I have heard complained of in the 
 peasantry of England. Two novel circumstances were seen this 
 morning ; the one the appearance of considerable herds of swine, 
 
 H h
 
 234 DERVISES. 
 
 of a small kind resembling the Chinese breed, which were grazing 
 near most of the villages ; the other a system of planting tara- 
 palms in the trunks of decayed peepul-trees. The first which I 
 saw I supposed had been sown there by accident ; but I soon found 
 that the practice was frequent, and that the peepul thus treated 
 had generally the greater part of its branches, and all the tops cut 
 away to favour the intruding plant, which stands as if it were in 
 a rude flower-pot. The hollow part of the tree must, I suppose, 
 be previously filled with earth. A very excellent fence is thus 
 obtained for the young tara plant ; but I conclude that they are 
 not Hindoos who thus mangle and violate the sacred tree of 
 Siva. 
 
 Towards noon the banks became again, though not rocky, 
 high and precipitous, and full of holes for the Muenas' nests. We 
 are fortunate in having a breeze, for the towing here would be 
 dangerous, the bank being crumbling and undermined, and the 
 stream flowing with great rapidity. A friend of Mr. Corrie^s had 
 two dandees drowned in this place last month. I was astonished 
 when he told me this, since it seemed almost as possible to drown 
 an alligator as men of their habits. I was answered, however, 
 that the poor fellows were worn out with towing, and that the 
 current washed them under the boats, whence they had not 
 strength to recover themselves. 
 
 Two dervises, strange antic figures, in many-coloured patched 
 garments, with large wallets, begged of us to day. I gave a trifle 
 to the elder, a venerable old man, who raised his hand with much 
 dignity and prayed for me. 
 
 At Bar, where I dined, is an old ruined house, with some little 
 appearance of a palace, once the residence of the Jemautdar of 
 the district, under the Mohammedan government. We brought 
 to about half-past six near an indigo-field, which filled my cabin 
 with bugs. The night was very hot and close. 
 
 August 19. — Another intensely hot day, but made bearable 
 by a breeze. I found a young scorpion in my cabin this morning
 
 BUFFALOES. 235 
 
 among my books. It seems to prove that such pests are not so 
 common in India as is often supposed, that I have now been ten 
 months in the country without seeing more ; and that, though I 
 have walked a good deal, and never particularly avoided places 
 where such things are to be looked for, I have only seen one cobra 
 di capello. I had supposed scorpions to be black, and was sur- 
 prised to-day to see an animal white and almost transparent. 
 
 The pinnace got aground in passing from the chain of nullahs 
 and jeels which we entered yesterday, into the main river, and 
 we were obliged to call in the assistance of some fishermen to 
 help her off; they laboured hard for near an hour, and were 
 grateful for a gratuity of two pice; they were nine in number, 
 besides a brahmin, who came down from a village while we were 
 just getting disengaged, and extending a basket full of scarlet 
 flowers, applied for a thank-offering to his god, in consideration of 
 our escape from danger. I thought he was merely asking for 
 alms, not quite hearing what he said, but Abdullah explained his 
 meaning. However, he had obtained his request. 
 
 Our halting-place was on a pleasant open shore, opposite to 
 Futwa, but still short of Patna. The country round is bare of 
 wood, but well cultivated and very populous : the land laid out 
 in alternate patches of grass-fallow, covered with cows, buffaloes, 
 and swine, and fields of millet and Indian corn, among which 
 appear also some patches of the castor-oil plant, which, now that 
 the coco-nut is no longer found, is the usual supply for their lamps. 
 
 I walked about a good deal, the evening being pleasant, and 
 was much interested. The buffaloes were all buried in the water, 
 scarcely shewing more than their noses and horns above its surface, 
 but as the sun went down they came out, sleek, black, and glossy ; 
 too wild and timorous to suffer an European to approach them, 
 but shewing no degree of fierceness. The pigs are small, black, 
 and shaggy, of a very wild appearance. At the nearest village to 
 which I walked were two or three cottages, which, though mere 
 
 H h 2
 
 236 FUTWA. 
 
 hovels of mud and thatch, yet from the size of their out-buildings, 
 and the treading of many cattle all round them, I should conceive 
 were really the residences of tolerably wealthy farmers. One of 
 these, an old man, was threshing out a small kind of millet, by 
 driving oxen over it round and round in a circle. They were just 
 leaving off work as I came up, and a hind was bringing a large 
 bundle of green Indian-corn, weeded from the thick crop for their 
 provender. I observed, however, that the animals, during their 
 previous employment, were not muzzled, according to the Scrip- 
 tural rule, at the same time that they were kept so constantly 
 moving that a few mouthfuls were all that they could get. While 
 I was examining this heap of grain, and asking the old man some 
 questions, his cows came up for the evening, and I pleased him 
 exceedingly, when the cowman ran forward to beat them from my 
 path, by forbidding him to strike them. " Good ! good !" he said, 
 with an air indicative of much satisfaction, "one must not beat 
 cows.'' It seems to me that the tender mercies of the Hindoos 
 towards animals are exhausted on cows only ; for oxen they have 
 no pity, — they are treated with much severity, but I have not here 
 seen them shew such marks of cruelty as those near Calcutta. Com- 
 fortable, on the whole, as this village seemed, many of the houses 
 must soon be rendered uninhabitable, if, as seems by no means 
 impossible from present appearances, the river rises a single cubit 
 higher. Their round granaries, however, are all raised considerably 
 above the other buildings, and must, I should suppose, be tolerably 
 safe. When I asked what was to become of the others if the 
 river rose, the answer was, they hoped it would not rise more 
 than a few inches higher, which would be sufficient for their 
 fields, without starving their cattle. 
 
 Futwa, which was directly opposite to us, is a large and 
 ancient town, on a river for which the people of the town 
 seem to have no other name than " Futwakee Nuddee." Futwa 
 is famous for a very long and handsome old bridge, (an object of
 
 PATNA. 237 
 
 some rarity in India) and a college of Mussulman law and divinity, 
 the Moulavies of which are widely renowned. The night was 
 very cool and pleasant. 
 
 August 20. — We arrived at the south-east extremity of Patna 
 about nine o'clock ; it is a very great, and from the water at some 
 little distance, a very striking city, being full of large buildings, 
 with remains of old walls and towers, and bastions projecting into 
 the river, with the advantage of a high rocky shore, and consider- 
 able irregularity and elevation of the ground behind it. On a 
 nearer approach, we find, indeed, many of the houses whose veran- 
 dahs and terraces are striking objects at a distance, to be ruinous ; 
 but still in this respect, and in apparent prosperity, it as much 
 exceeds Dacca as it falls short of it in the beauty and grandeur of 
 its ruins. As we approached, I proposed slacking sail to give 
 the Corries time to come up, but Mohammed said that opposite 
 the old castle was one of the most rapid and difficult passages of 
 the river between Hurdwar and Saugor, and that if we did not use 
 the fine wind we now had, we might be kept for weeks. We 
 therefore proceeded along this noble expanse of water, which I 
 really think grows wider instead of narrower as we advance, and 
 which here between wind and stream, was raised into waves little 
 less than those which the Mersey sometimes exhibits below Liver- 
 pool; my boat for this sort of service is really a very fine one. 
 At the eastern extremity of Patna is a large wood of palms and 
 fruit-trees, pointed out to me as the gardens belonging to a summer 
 palace, built and planted by the Nawab Jaffier Ali Khan. They 
 are renowned for their beauty and extent, being two or three miles 
 in circuit. We also passed a large and dilapidated palace, which 
 had been the residence of the late Nawab of Patna, Abbas Kouli 
 Khan, a splendid and popular person ; he left no successor, but 
 his nearest heirs are two very intelligent young men, who are said 
 to hold some lucrative employment under the English Government, 
 and to be much in its confidence. The houses of the rich natives
 
 238 BANKIPOOR. 
 
 which we passed, pretty much resemble those of Calcutta. They 
 have, however, the advantage of immediately abutting on the river, 
 and I saw one which, beneath its Corinthian superstructure, had a 
 ran 0*6 of solid buildings of the Eastern Gothic, with pointed arches 
 and small windows, containing a suite of apartments almost on a 
 level with the water, uninhabitable, I should suppose, from damp 
 during this season, but which must be coolness itself during the 
 hot winds. The continued mass of buildings extends about 
 four miles along the river, when it changes into scattered cot- 
 tages and bungalows, interspersed with trees, till some more 
 large and handsome buildings appear about three miles further. 
 This is Bankipoor, where are the Company's opium warehouses, 
 courts of justice, &c. &c. and where most of their civil servants hve. 
 I had an invitation from Sir Charles D'Oyley, and stopped my boat 
 literally at the gate of his house, which stands very pleasantly on 
 a high bank above the river. I met here a Franciscan friar, a 
 remarkably handsome and intelligent-looking little man, whom I 
 immediately and rightly guessed to be the Italian Padre, " Giulio 
 Cesare," of whom so much mention is made in Martyn's Life. I 
 found great amusement and interest in looking over Sir Charles's 
 drawing-books ; he is the best gentleman artist I ever met with. 
 He says India is full of beautiful and picturesque country, if people 
 would but stir a little way from the banks of the Ganges, and his 
 own drawings and paintings certainly make good his assertion. 
 The D'Oyleys offered me very kindly a bed-room on shore, which 
 as my boat was under the shelter of a high bank, I found much 
 cooler than the cabin. Soon after I arrived I received a large 
 packet of letters, and thank God, a more comfortable account of 
 those dearest to me. 
 
 The wind and the sea, for the river really deserves the name, 
 continued to rise during the greater part of the day, so that the 
 Corries it was very plain could not get past the rock on which the 
 fort stands. Indeed we afterwards heard that at Dinapoor, where
 
 GRANARY. 
 
 239 
 
 the stream is also usually violent, a budgerow and even a pinnace 
 had been very nearly lost, and the latter actually almost filled with 
 water, and driven ashore. 
 
 After dinner Lady D'Oyley took me round the only drive which 
 is at this time of year practicable, being, though of smaller extent, 
 much such a green as the race-ground at Barrackpoor. We passed 
 a high building shaped something like a glass-house, with a stair 
 winding round its outside up to the top, like the old prints of the 
 Tower of Babel. It was built as a granary for the district, in 
 
 pursuance of a plan adopted about 35 years ago by Government, 
 after a great famine, as a means of keeping down the price of grain, 
 but abandoned on a supposed discovery of its inefficacy, since 
 no means in their hands, nor any buildings which they could con- 
 struct, without laying on fresh taxes, would have been sufficient to 
 collect or contain more than one day's provision for the vast 
 population of their territories. It is not only in a time of famine, 
 that in a country Hke India, the benefit of public granaries would 
 be felt. These would of course be filled by the agents of the 
 Company in those years and those seasons when grain was 
 cheapest, and when the cultivator was likely to be ruined by the
 
 240 PUBLIC GRANARIES. 
 
 impossibility of obtaining a remunerating price. But the presence 
 of an additional, a steady and a wealthy customer at such times in 
 the market, to the amount of 3J3 of the whole produce, or even less 
 than that, would raise the price of grain 10 or even 20 per cent, and 
 thus operate as a steady and constant bounty on agriculture, more 
 popular by far, and as I conceive, more efficient than any Corn 
 Law which could be devised. It appears to me, therefore, that a 
 system of such granaries, even on a very moderate scale throughout 
 the Provinces, would not only essentially relieve famine, if it came, 
 but, in some degree, prevent its coming ; that it would improve 
 the situation both of Ryot and Zemindar, and make them more 
 able to pay their dues to Government, while, as there is no 
 necessity or advantage (but rather the contrary) that the corn 
 thus hoarded should be given away, the expense to the Company 
 would not be very much more than the first cost and subsequent 
 repair of the buildings, and the wages of the needful agents and 
 labourers. I am well aware of the usual answer, that it is better 
 to leave these things to private competition and speculation, that 
 much of the grain thus collected would be spoiled, and become 
 unfit for use, &c. But the first assumes a fact which in India, I 
 believe, is not correct, that there is either sufficient capital or 
 enterprise to enable or induce individuals to store up corn in the 
 manner contemplated. As for the second, it would obviously be 
 in years of over production, an equal benefit to the cultivator to 
 have a part of his stock purchased and withdrawn from present 
 consumption, even though what was thus purchased were actually 
 burnt, while, though to keep the granaries full of good grain, would 
 of course be more expensive to Government from the perishable 
 nature of the commodity, yet it would be easy so to calculate the 
 selling price as to cover this charge, and avoid the necessity of 
 imposing fresh public burthens. On the whole, therefore, I am 
 inclined to believe that the measure was a wise one, and well 
 adapted to the state of India, though it is one, undoubtedly, which
 
 PADRE GIULIO. 241 
 
 could only be carried into effect in peaceable times, and when there 
 was a considerable surplus revenue. I know my dear wife has no 
 objection to this sort of politico-economical discussion, and there- 
 fore send it without fearing to tire her. The building which has 
 called it forth is said to have many imperfections, which made it 
 very unfit for its destination. The idea itself, which is to pour the 
 corn in at the top, and take it out through a small door at the bot- 
 tom, I think a good one. But it is said to be ill-built, and by far 
 too weak to support the weight of its intended contents, while by 
 a refinement in absurdity, the door at the bottom is made to open 
 inwards, and consequently when the granary was full, could never 
 have been opened at all. It is now occasionally used as a powder 
 magazine, but is at this moment quite empty, and only visited 
 sometimes for the sake of its echo, which is very favourable to 
 performances on the flute or bugle. Underneath its walls I had a 
 good deal of conversation with Padre Giulio, who speaks French, 
 though not well, yet fluently. He is thoroughly a man of the world, 
 smooth, insinuating, addicted to paying compliments, and from his 
 various accomplishments an acceptable guest at all English houses 
 where French or Italian are understood. He spoke with great 
 affection of Martyn, who thought well of him, and almost hoped 
 that he had converted him from Popery. 
 
 He was apparently much pleased with the notice which I 
 paid him, and I certainly was much amused and interested with 
 his conversation. I found him a great admirer of Metastasio, and 
 of course not fond of Alfieri. He himself is, indeed, a Milanese, 
 so that he feels for the former as for a countryman as well as a 
 brother ecclesiastic. Their sect, he said, had had a heavy loss in 
 India by the recent death of the Romish Bishop of Thibet, who 
 came out a little before my arrival, and who was also an Italian of 
 good family, and a very elegant and accomplished scholar. He 
 died in this neighbourhood about two months ago. I recollect 
 Lord Amherst speaking of him, and he on his part, Giulio said, 
 spoke much of Lord Amherst's good-nature, and good Italian. 
 
 I i
 
 242 DIXAPOOR. 
 
 August 21. — The Corries arrived this morning ; with the Arch- 
 deacon and Mr. Northmore, who came over from Dinapoor, I had 
 to arrange the duties of the next day. The distance it appears 
 from Bankipoor to Dmapoor is full seven miles in the dry season, 
 at present between eight and nine, and through roads often im- 
 passable for a carriage. The majority of the Europeans in the 
 neighbourhood (now that the 44th regiment is no longer quartered 
 here) live in Bankipoor and Patna, so that Sir C. D'Oyley was 
 anxious that I should preach here rather than at Dinapoor. I 
 thought of doing both, but was dissuaded from a journey in the 
 heat of the day, and I settled to remain here till Tuesday morning, 
 and then go to Dinapoor to preach, and administer Confirmation. 
 I find that the river, which offers at this moment so noble a sheet 
 of water close to the garden-gate, is, in the dry season, two miles 
 off, and scarcely visible, there being only some small nullahs in the 
 intervening space, which is then cultivated with rice and oats. 
 
 August 22. — Mr. Corrie read prayers, and I preached to a 
 congregation of, I should suppose, fifty people, all of the upper or 
 middling ranks, of whom I think thirty staid to receive the Sacra- 
 ment. The service was performed in a large and convenient 
 room, the Court of Appeal, and a handsome service of communion 
 plate was produced, preserved from the time that the Company's 
 Chaplain, now removed to Dinapoor, was stationed at Patna. 
 A very earnest and general wish was expressed that Government 
 would allow them a Chaplain still. This, with the present esta- 
 bhshment, and the great demands on it^ is I fear never likely to be 
 granted, but it would be a very great advantage and convenience 
 to the place, and would be attended with little expense in com- 
 parison, if an allowance were made the Chaplain at Dinapoor for 
 a lodging and palanquin hire, and he were enjoined to visit Patna 
 once a month. Some measure of the kind, with regard to this 
 and many other stations almost similarly situated, I hope myself 
 to suggest to Government as soon as I am better informed in the 
 necessary details of the plans.
 
 HACKERIES. 
 
 243 
 
 Lady D'Oyley took me this evening through some of the 
 bazars, and a part of a long avenue of trees extending several 
 miles into the country. Many of them are of great size, but the 
 whole she said were planted by the senior judge, Mr. Douglas, an 
 old man who has been a resident in or near Patna for more than 
 thirty years, during which he has only been once from it as far as 
 Dinapoor. The houses of the natives here are almost all of mud, 
 but their tiled roofs and verandahs give them a better aspect than 
 the common Bengalee cottage. The hackeries are very different 
 from those of Calcutta, being little tabernacles, like the moveable 
 military shrines represented on ancient monuments, with curtains 
 and awnings, and drawn either by one horse or two oxen. 
 
 We had a very pleasant quiet evening, such as a Sunday evening 
 ought to be, and concluded with family prayers. On the whole 
 I have been greatly pleased and interested with this visit. 
 
 I observed in the course of the day a singular custom among 
 the Europeans here ; they have no regular burial-ground, but 
 inter their deceased relatives in their gardens and pleasure- 
 grounds. Little urns and obelisks of this kind meet the eye near 
 most of the bungalows, and there is one of the former under a fine 
 tamarind tree close to Sir C. D'Oyley's windows. 
 
 August 23. — This day, like those which had gone before it, 
 
 ii2
 
 244 DINAPOOR. 
 
 was passed very agreeably, so much of it as I could spare from 
 business, in the society of my new friends, but offered nothing 
 remarkable. There was a large party to dinner, which broke up 
 early, and I spent the rest of the evening in very agreeable con- 
 versation with the family circle. 
 
 August 24. — Sir C. D'Oyley sent me in his carriage half- 
 way to Dinapoor, where Mr. Northmore's carriage met me. The 
 Archdeacon went in a " Tonjon," a chair with a head like a gig, 
 carried by bearers. The whole way lies between scattered bun- 
 galows, bazars, and other buildings, intermixed with gardens and 
 mangoe groves ; and three days without rain had made the direct 
 road not only passable, but very reasonably good. As we 
 approached Dinapoor, symptoms began to appear of a great 
 English military station, and it was whimsical to see peeping out 
 from beneath the palms and plantains, large blue boards with gilt 
 letters " Digah Farm, Havell, Victualler," &c. " Morris, Tailor." 
 " Davis, Europe Warehouse," &c. The cantonment itself is the 
 largest and handsomest which I have seen, with a very fine quay, 
 looking like a battery, to the river, and I think three extensive 
 squares of barracks uniformly built, of one lofty ground-story well 
 raised, stuccoed, and ornamented with arcaded windows, and 
 pillars between each. There are also extensive and, I understood, 
 very handsome barracks for the native troops which I did not see, 
 those which I have described being for Europeans, of whom there 
 are generally here one King's regiment, one Company's, and a 
 numerous corps of artillery. Every thing in fact is on a liberal 
 scale, except what belongs to the Church, and the spiritual 
 interests of the inhabitants and neighbourhood. The former I 
 found merely a small and inconvenient room in the barracks, which 
 seemed as if it had been designed for a hospital- ward ; the reading- 
 desk, surplice, books, &;c. were all meaner and shabbier than are to 
 be seen in the poorest village chapel in England or Wales ; there 
 were no punkahs, no wall-shades, or other means for lighting up
 
 DINAPOOR. 245 
 
 the Church, no glass in the windows, no font, and till a paltry 
 deal stand was brought for my use out of an adjoining warehouse, 
 no communion table. Bishop Middleton objected to administer 
 Confirmation in any but Churches regularly built, furnished and 
 consecrated. But though I do not think that in India we need 
 be so particular, I heartily wished, in the present case, to see 
 things more as they should be, and as I had been accustomed to 
 see them. Nor, in more essential points, was there much to 
 console me for this neglect of external decencies. I had only 
 fourteen candidates for Confirmation, some of them so young that 
 I almost doubted the propriety of admitting them, and there were 
 perhaps a dozen persons besides in the Church. It is very true 
 that the King's regiment (the 44th) was absent, but the Com- 
 pany's European regiment, most of them young men, might have 
 been expected to furnish, of itself, no inconsiderable number, when 
 the conduct of those at Dum Dum on similar occasions is recol- 
 lected. There are, likewise, several indigo-planters in the neigh- 
 bourhood, many of them with families, and many others who had 
 themselves never been confirmed, to whom the Chaplain of the 
 station had long since sent notice, but who had none of them 
 given any answer to his letters ; he, indeed, (whom I found 
 extremely desirous of contributing to the improvement of the 
 people under his care,) lamented in a very natural and unaffected 
 manner the gross neglect of Sunday, the extraordinary inattention 
 on the part of the lower classes to all religious concerns, and the 
 indifference hitherto shewn by the Company's military officers now 
 at Dinapoor to every thing like religious improvement. While the 
 44th was here, a very different and admirable example was set 
 by Colonel Morrison and his officers, and the men themselves were 
 most of them patterns of decent conduct and regular attendance 
 in Church, not only in the morning but in the evening, at which 
 time their attendance was perfectly voluntary. 
 
 There had been a school for the European children and those
 
 246 DINAPOOR. 
 
 recruits who could not read, but this had fallen to decay, because 
 nobody would subscribe, and the Chaplain alone could not support 
 it. The Government sent six months ago, a lending library for 
 the use of their European soldiers, and allowed eight rupees a 
 month to the clerk for keeping it, but the brigade major, to whom 
 the books were consigned, had never unpacked them, alleging 
 (of which he was not the proper judge) " that they were too few 
 to be of any use," and " that there was no place to put them in," 
 as if a corner of the room now used as a Church would not have 
 answered the purpose perfectly. 
 
 Of the European regiment, though it was " in orders'' that 
 the men should attend Church every Sunday, very few ever came, 
 and seldom any officer but the Adjutant, and the neighbouring 
 planters seemed utterly without religion of any kind, never apply- 
 ing to the Clergyman except for marriage, burial, and the baptizing 
 of their children. Mr. Northmore, who gave me this account, 
 complained that he was often sadly discouraged, and led to fear 
 that some deficiency in himself was the cause of this neglect of 
 his ministry, but that he was comforted to find his attendance 
 both acceptable and useful to the sick men in the hospital, where, 
 indeed, I hear his conduct is marked by very great diligence and 
 humanity. For the lamentable state of things of which he com- 
 plains, there are many reasons for which he can in nowise be 
 accountable, and which, to prevent his being discouraged, I took 
 care to point out to him. One of these I shall probably find but 
 too prevalent throughout the Indian army, where the early age 
 at which the officers leave England, the little control to which 
 they are afterwards subjected, and the very few opportunities 
 affiDrded to most of them of ever hearing a sermon, or joining in 
 public prayer, might be expected to heathenize them even far 
 more than we find is the case. 
 
 But at Dinapoor something may be also ascribed to the 
 exceeding bad conduct of the late chaplain, which must have
 
 DIGAH FARM. 247 
 
 driven many from the church, whom it would be very difficult for 
 the most popular preacher to entice back again. And the want of 
 a decent church is the strongest cause of all. The present room 
 bai-ely affiDrds accommodation for half the soldiers who might 
 be expected to attend, without leaving any for the officers' 
 families, or the neighbouring planters. These, therefore, though 
 room is generally to be had, have an excuse to offer to their con- 
 sciences for not attending ; and it is really true, that for women 
 and children of the upper class to sit jostling with soldiers in a 
 small close room, without punkahs, with a drive of perhaps three 
 or four miles before and after service, is not a prospect which 
 w^ould make a man very fond of bringing his family to attend 
 Divine service. A spacious and airy church would greatly remove 
 these difficulties. Government did, I understand, promise one 
 some time back ; but the military officers, to whom the preparation 
 of the estimate and plan were left, took no trouble in the business. 
 On the whole, what I saw and heard, both at and after church, 
 made me low and sad, to which perhaps the heat of the day, the 
 most oppressive I have yet felt in India, greatly contributed. 
 
 On my return to the pinnace, which had meantime come on 
 from Bankipoor, I found that to avoid the fury of the stream, they 
 had moored her in a narrow nullah, which constitutes the harbour 
 of Dinapoor, and w^hich was filled with all kinds of vessels, while 
 one of its banks was covered with warehouses, and the other occu- 
 pied by a great cattle-fair. The heat was intense, and no breath of 
 air could visit us, whilst, as evening came on, we were sure of 
 being devoured by musquitoes. I soon made up my mind, and 
 told the Serang to leave the nullah and anchor in the middle of 
 the river, when I had dressed and left the pinnace, and to have 
 the jolly-boat waiting for me at night, on the beach, below the 
 battery. 
 
 In the evening Mr. Northmore called to take me a drive 
 before dinner. We went to " Digah Farm," the place I had 
 passed in the morning, which is extremely well worth seeing. It
 
 248 DIGAH FARM. 
 
 is a tavern, a large ground-floored house with excellent rooms, 
 very handsomely fitted up, surrounded with some of the most 
 extensive ranges of cow-houses, pig-styes, places for fattening 
 sheep and cattle, dairies, &;c. that I ever saw, all kept beautifully 
 clean, with a large grass court full of poultry, and in the middle 
 a very pretty flower-garden. To the back is a large kitchen-garden, 
 and beyond this stacks of oats and other grain, not unworthy of 
 an English farmer. The keeper is named Havell, a very respect- 
 able man. He is the butcher, corn-dealer, brewer, wine-merchant, 
 confectioner, and wax-chandler of all this part of India. 
 
 During the drive I endeavoured to put Mr. Northmore in the 
 way of getting some of those aids from the military officers of the 
 cantonment, to which, by the regulations of Government, he is 
 entitled. And afterwards at dinner, where were present most of 
 the officers now in garrison, I succeeded, I hope, in getting the 
 re-establishment of the school, together with the assurance from 
 the colonel of the European regiment, that he would urge his 
 recruits to attend, and promote only those men to be non-commis- 
 sioned officers who could read and write ; a measure which would 
 soon make reading and writing universal. The brigade-major was 
 not present, but I said all I could to the colonel about the 
 lending library, and a more regular attendance of the troops in 
 church, and was glad to find what I said, extremely well taken. 
 The library I think I have secured, since every body present 
 seemed pleased with the idea, when the nature of its contents and 
 the system of circulation were explained. The heat was something 
 which a man who had not been out of Europe would scarcely 
 conceive, and the party, out of etiquette on my account, were all 
 in their cloth uniforms. I soon put them at their ease, however, 
 in this particular, and I am almost inclined to hope that the white 
 jackets which were immediately sent for, put them in better 
 humour both with me and my suggestions. 
 
 I was much pressed to stay over the next Sunday, or at least 
 a few days longer ; but it is only by going to-morrow that I can
 
 CHUPRAH. 
 
 249 
 
 hope to reach Ghazeepoor, or even Buxar, by Sunday next ; and 
 all agreed, on telling them what I had to do, that I had no time 
 to spare in order to reach Bombay before the hot winds. 
 
 August 25. — I parted from Dinapoor under a salute of artil- 
 lery, and sailed along the northern bank, which, where we first 
 approached it, presented an outline far bolder and more abrupt 
 than most which I have seen on the Ganges, being a precipitous 
 bank of red earth overhung with trees and shrubs, with a native 
 house of some consequence on its summit. 
 
 About noon we arrived at Chuprah, a large town on the north 
 bank of the river, or rather on an arm of the river divided from 
 the main stream by some marshy islands. Chuprah was the scene 
 of a defeat received by Mr. Law, from, I believe. Sir Eyre Coote, 
 (then Capt. Coote.) It is now the chief town of the district of 
 Sarum, and the residence of the Judge and Collector ; and con- 
 tains also a good many large, handsome, native houses, and one 
 very pretty mosque, or pagoda, I know not which. Its archi- 
 tecture resembles the first, — but there are a peepul-tree, ghat, and 
 other things near it, which lead me to suspect the latter, and I 
 
 K k
 
 250 FLOATING SHOPS. 
 
 do not think its entrance tallies with the regard shewn in all 
 mosques to the Kibla. While I was in this place, vainly waiting 
 for the Corries, a very fine and fast-sailing budgerow arrived with 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anson, on their way to join his regiment at Meerut, 
 and we proceeded together. 
 
 Near our halting place, which was a very pleasant one, was a 
 little open shed occupied by a Hindoo ascetic, with a double 
 quantity of dung and chalk on his face, who was singing in a 
 plaintive monotonous tone to a little knot of peasants, who seemed 
 to regard him with great veneration. He did not beg of us, but 
 suspended his hymn while we passed between him and the Ganges. 
 He had not the tyger-skin, which those whom I saw at Boglipoor 
 appeared to take particular pleasure in displaying. A village was 
 near, and a fine orchard of mangoe-trees ; a number of bearers 
 passed with packages of various kinds, belonging, as they said, to 
 a certain potentate named the " Dum-Raja," who was crossing the 
 country to pay a visit somewhere in this neighbourhood. I was in 
 hopes of an opportunity to see an Indian of rank on a journey, 
 but it appeared that the great man had already passed. We 
 overtook a number of vessels to-day, two of them of a curious and 
 characteristic description. One was a budgerow at Chuprah, 
 pretty deeply laden, with a large blue board on its side like that 
 of an academy in England, inscribed " Goods for sale on com- 
 mission," being in fact strictly a floating shop, which supplied all 
 the smaller stations with, what its owners would probably call, 
 " Eui'ope articles." The other was a more elegant vessel of the 
 same kind, being one of the prettiest pinnaces I ever saw% with an 
 awning spread over the quarter-deck, under which sate a lady and 
 two gentlemen reading, and looking so comfortable that I could 
 have liked to join their party. I found that it was the floating 
 shop of a wealthy tradesman at Dinapoor, who, towards the middle 
 of the rains, always sets out in this manner with his wife, to make 
 the tour of the upper Provinces, as high as his boat can carry him, 
 ascending alternate years, or as he finds most custom, to Agra,
 
 FILIAL PIETY OF NATIVES. 251 
 
 Meerut, or Lucknow, by their respective rivers, and furnishing 
 glass, cutlery, perfumery, &c. &c. to the mountaineers of Deyra 
 Doon, and the Zennanas of Runjeet Singh and Scindeah. We 
 passed in the course of this day the mouths of no less than three 
 great rivers falling into the Ganges from different quarters, the 
 Soane from the south and the mountains of Gundwana, the 
 Gunduch from Nepaul, and the Dewah, from, I believe, the 
 neighbourhood of Almorah : each of the three is larger, and of 
 longer course than the Thames or Severn. What an idea does this 
 give us of the scale on which Nature works in these countries ! 
 
 The heat all this day would have been intense, had not the 
 breeze tempered it. No rain has fallen for many days. 
 
 August 26. — Our fine wind continued, which was the more for- 
 tunate since the sun was intensely hot and bright. In our way to 
 Buxar the Sirdar came to me with hands joined, and that sort of 
 anxious smile which signifies that its wearer is about to ask a 
 favour. He said that his parents lived close to the place where we 
 now were, and requested a two days leave of absence, (promising 
 to join me on Sunday night at Ghazepoor,) and also that I would 
 advance him a month's wages to leave with them. I could not re- 
 fuse him, though he is a very valuable person on board, and mention 
 it because it seems to shew that among these poor people there is 
 at least filial piety. The calling to see them was, indeed, natural ; 
 but the gift of the month's wages was what many valets-de-chambre 
 in England would have thought, I fear, " quite out of character." 
 I forgot to mention in the proper place that the Sota-burdar had 
 made a similar request at Bankipoor, where he had, he said, a wife 
 and three children still at home, and that Abdullah, whose friends 
 also live in Patna, had been to see them, and brought back with 
 him divers books, clothes, and other things, which he had left 
 behind him when he undertook that voyage to England in his 
 return from which we met him. He, however, did not ask for 
 any advance of money, as he said his relations were pretty well 
 off, and more able to help him than he them. He did not seem 
 
 K k 2
 
 252 BUXAR. 
 
 to anticipate much kindness of reception, but returned in good 
 spirits, and asked for another day's leave of absence. 
 
 I found Buxar, (which I had expected to see a little ruinous 
 fort, remarkable only as the scene of the battle which confirmed 
 the British in the possession of Bengal and Bahar,) a large and 
 respectable Mussulman town, with several handsome mosques, — 
 one of the largest and neatest bazars which I have seen, and some 
 good-looking European bungalows. We had some difficulty, 
 owing to a crowd of boats, in getting our little vessel moored in a 
 nullah, (or colly, as they call them here,) which is the usual 
 harbour of the place. I could have preferred the open river, but 
 the beach was very inconvenient, and the stream so strong that I 
 did not like to press the point. Nor was the creek in question by 
 any means so close and hot as that at Dinapoor. As soon as we 
 touched ground, I sent a letter to Captain Field, the fort adjutant, 
 requesting him to make my arrival known to the Europeans in 
 garrison, in order that, if there was any clerical assistance wanted, 
 they might call on me in the forenoon of the next day. I was 
 soon afterwards visited by captain Field, who said he had imme- 
 diately sent round the requisite notice, and apprehended that 
 there would be some glad to avail themselves of it. He told me^ 
 to my surprise, that he had no fewer than 150 Europeans in 
 garrison, his whole force amounting to 600 men. He also apolo- 
 gized for not having saluted me on my arrival, and on my telling 
 liim that I always supposed his fort was dismantled, he said that it 
 w^as still so far in good order that nothing but an European force 
 could take it, except by a very long siege. On hearing the 
 number of Europeans, I expressed my regret that I could not, 
 without great inconvenience, stay over Sunday ; to which he 
 replied, that he was convinced, (as they had so very seldom an 
 opportunity of attending Divine service,) they would thankfully 
 assemble if I would give them prayers and a sermon at 10 the 
 next day, to which, of course, I gladly consented. A welcome 
 shower of rain fell this evening.
 
 BUXAR. 253 
 
 August 27. — I went in the morning with Captain Field to see 
 the fort, which is a small square, with a high rampart cased with 
 turf, four circular bastions, a deep and wide ditch, a good glacis, 
 and a sort of lower fort, extending to and commanding the river. 
 The view from the ramparts is pleasing and extensive. There 
 is one quarter which is, I think, extremely assailable, and which 
 Major Dugald Dalgetty would unquestionably have pressed him to 
 fortify. Still, as he truly said, it might stand a siege of some 
 length from a native army, and its situation on the Ganges in its 
 nearest approach to the Goorkah territories, might make such a 
 defence by no means unimportant, in the event of a rupture with 
 those mountaineers. It is this possibility indeed, which now 
 constitutes the principal value of the great stations of Dinapoor 
 and Ghazeepoor. 
 
 After breakfast I went to Captain Field's house, which he 
 had arranged, as well as it admitted of, as a church. The prin- 
 cipal room, and the adjoining verandah, were filled with old 
 soldiers ; two little rooms on each side contained to my surprise, 
 a number of natives, mostly women and children, while some 
 officers and their wives were ranged round my desk. All were 
 very attentive, and the old soldiers more particularly, (who had 
 almost all prayer-books,) joined in the responses with a regularity, 
 an exactness, and a zeal, which much affected me, and shewed how 
 much, in their situation, they felt the blessing of an opportunity 
 of public worship. I more than half repented of my intention to 
 leave them before Monday. But I was aware that Ghazeepoor had 
 at least an equally numerous congregation, equally without a 
 clergyman ; and it occurred to me that the Archdeacon might 
 stay here, and join me in time for the Confirmation on Tuesday. 
 This good man had never told me of the native Christians at 
 Buxar ; yet they are most of them the children of his own quiet 
 and vui wearied exertions in the cause of God. Some of them 
 came up after church to beg for Hindoostanee Prayer-books and 
 Gospels, a few of which I was able to supply them with.
 
 254 MRS. SIMPSON. 
 
 The schoolmaster too, a Mussulman convert of the name of 
 "Curreem Museeh," mercy of Messiah, came up to offer the 
 report of his scholars, and to hope I would come and see them 
 assembled. I went in my Palkee, after consigning to Captain 
 Field some Bibles and Tracts for his men, through some pretty 
 o-reen lanes and shady places, resembling the neighbourhood of an 
 English village, escorted by Captain Field in his Tonjon, with 
 full pomp of orderly sergeant, spear-men, and other equipments 
 of an up-country commandant, and followed by a marvellous 
 crowd of women and boys, whom my silver-sticks attracted. 
 Being one of the great days in the feast of Mohurrun, we found 
 the tomb of a Mussulman saint decorated with three green ban- 
 ners, and other preparations for their prayers, but when we passed 
 nobody was there, and its appearance was so like a cross in a 
 market-town during fair time, that it did not detract from the 
 English appearance of the view. 
 
 We stopped at the door of a very neat native cottage, sur- 
 rounded by a garden of plantains and potatoes, with flowers trained 
 round the gate, and a high green hedge of the prickly pear. Here 
 lived a Mrs. Simpson, a native of Agra, and one of Mr. Corrie's con- 
 verts, now the widow of a Serjeant in the Company's service, and 
 getting her bread by teaching a few girls to read and work. She 
 asked anxiously about Mr. Corrie, but there was no appearance of 
 cant about her ; indeed her stock of English did not seem very 
 extensive. Here one of the English Serjeants, with his wife, a 
 very pretty native girl, baptized, as I understood, by Mr. Palmer 
 of Ghazeepoor, brought their son, a fine boy of four years old, for 
 baptism, and during the ceremony a number of females and 
 children remained in the garden and verandah, carefully kneeling 
 when we kneeled, and bowing at every repetition of the name of 
 Jesus. The scene was very interesting, and the beauty of the 
 back-ground, the frame of the picture, and the costume of the 
 worshippers, added to its picturesque beauty. At the close of the 
 ceremony Curreem Museeh went out to speak to them, and they
 
 CURREEM MUSEEH. 255 
 
 ran off, I did not know why. Mrs. Simpson said she had a very 
 small subscription raised by some ladies in the neighbourhood, 
 amounting to four rupees a month for her school, but that her 
 neighbours sometimes helped her. She owned that she had 
 seldom more than six or eight scholars, children of the European 
 soldiers chiefly, to whom she taught reading and working. She 
 asked for nothing but a prayer-book (she had a very good Hin- 
 doostanee New Testament and Pentateuch, and some spelHng- 
 books for her school), but accepted a small donation with much 
 thankfulness. 
 
 Curreem Museeh's house, which we next visited, was still 
 smaller than Mrs. Simpson's, and had not the few old pieces of 
 European furniture, which, in hers, marked her husband's nation and 
 profession. Adjoining it was a little school-house, which we found 
 full of women and children (about 30 or 35) on the ground, 
 which was spread with mats, with their books in their laps. This 
 served as their Church also, where they and a few of their hus- 
 bands, mostly European soldiers, who understood Hindoostanee, 
 met three times a week in the evening for prayer. This school is 
 supported, and Curreem Museeh's salary paid by the Church 
 Missionary Society, and they have been sometimes, though very 
 rarely, visited by a Missionary in orders. I regretted greatly that 
 I could not address them with any effect in their own language, 
 though I was strongly tempted to try ; they, many of them indeed, 
 knew a little English, but so little that they could not have been 
 at all the better for any thing said to them in that tongue, nor 
 except a few words, could they have understood the service this 
 morning. I heard them read, however, and (by choosing such 
 chapters of the New Testament as I was best acquainted with,) 
 was able to follow them and to show them that I did do so. They 
 read extremely well, distinctly, slowly, and as if they understood 
 what they read ; they afterwards answered several of the questions 
 in Watts's catechism, and repeated the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and
 
 256 BUXAR SCHOOL. 
 
 the Ten Commandments, giving a sort of exposition of each. I 
 was extremely pleased and surprised at all I witnessed here. 
 
 On my return to the pinnace, I found that the Corries were 
 not visible even from our mast-head, so that they plainly could 
 not arrive before night, while two officers, who had just come in a 
 budgerow from Ghazeepoor, said that if the wind failed ever so 
 little, I should not get there in one day. I therefore wrote a few 
 lines to Mr. Corrie, explaining my plans, and advising him to 
 stay over Sunday at Buxar, and set off, finding as an additional 
 reason for quitting my present situation, that the water in the 
 river had fallen nearly a cubit in the course of the night, and that 
 if I remained, I might have some difficulty in getting the pinnace 
 out of the Colly. I had the usual salute from the garrison, and 
 left Buxar after a day of great and unexpected interest. 
 
 The attendants in the school were of all ages, several young 
 boys, some little girls, but the majority full grown women. The 
 boys were in the usual attire of other Indian children ; the women 
 and girls were decently wrapped up in their long shawls, bare- 
 footed, with the anclets and armlets usual with their country- 
 women, but with no marks of caste on their foreheads. I heartily 
 wished for some of the enemies of missions to see, in this small 
 and detached instance, the good which in a quiet and unpre- 
 tending way, is really doing among these poor people. Curreem 
 Museeh was, I believe, a havildar in the Company's army, and his 
 sword and sash were still hung up, with a not unpleasing vanity, 
 over the desk where he now presided as Catechist ; he is a very 
 decent-looking, middle aged man, his white cotton clothes and 
 turban extremely clean, and his colour like that of most of the 
 inhabitants of these provinces, not very much darker than the 
 natives of the south of Europe. I am indeed often surprised to 
 observe the difference between my dandees (who are nearly the 
 colour of a black tea-pot,) and the generality of the peasants w^hom 
 we meet with on the shore or in the bazars. The difference of
 
 VARIETIES OF COMPLEXION. 257 
 
 climate will not account for this, for I have never in Bengal felt 
 the sun more powerful than it has been within these last few days 
 in Bahar; nor, though the people here wear rather more clothing 
 than the lowest ranks of Bengalees, does this amount to more 
 than a mantle over the head and shoulders, which after all they 
 put on during the rain and breeze, not in the sun. I cannot help 
 beUeving that as the language is different, so their race is also, 
 and that in Bengal are some remains of an earlier, perhaps a negro 
 stock, such as are now found in the Andamian islands, but who 
 have been subdued by, and amalgamated with, the same northern 
 conquerors who drove the Puharrees to their mountains.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BUXAR TO BENARES. 
 
 Cara)nnasa — Ghazeepoor—^Lord Cornwalliss Monument — Palace — Salubrity — Rose Fields 
 — Suttees — Lepers — Dak Journey — Seidpoor — Benares — Case of Native Christians — Co7i- 
 Jirmation — Mission School — Description of Benares — Native Houses — Pagodas — Vish- 
 vayesa — Observatory —Jain Temple — Vidalaya — Hindoo Astronomy— Street Preaching 
 — Amrut Row — Visit from the Raja, 
 
 A LITTLE to the south-west of Buxar we passed a large town 
 with some neat mosques and the remains of a fort, named Chowsar, 
 and a httle further the mouth of a considerable river, the Caram- 
 nasa, whose singular properties I have before mentioned. It is 
 for this river, which crosses the great road from Calcutta to 
 Benares, that the rope-bridge exhibited by Mr. Shakespear at 
 Cossipoor was intended by the Baboo Ramchunder Narain. At 
 this place it is the boundary between the provinces of Bahar and 
 Allahabad, and was, till the administration of Warren Hastings, 
 who pushed on the border to Benares, the extreme limit of the 
 Company's territories. How vastly have they since been ex- 
 tended ! The river is here much contracted in w^idth, as might be 
 expected after getting above the junction of so many great tribu- 
 tary streams, and the banks are generally high and abrupt. The 
 country has but little timber in comparison with Bengal, but would 
 not be thought deficient in this respect in most parts of Europe. 
 The trees are round-topped, few palms being seen, and the culti- 
 vation wheat, oats, and pulse, intermixed with grass leys, covered 
 with vast herds of cattle.
 
 COTTON-GRASS. 259 
 
 In passing along a colly, which we entered a little after we 
 left the Caramnasa, I heard some disputing on deck, and sud- 
 denly found the boat going over to the other side of the stream. 
 On enquiry, the Venetians being closed on the side where the 
 difficulty was, I was told that some European sergeants, with 
 some Company's boats under their charge, who had put up for 
 the night on that shore, had sent a message warning us off, lest 
 our tow-line should occasion them some little trouble. I was 
 angry, and asked the Serang why he attended to such an imper- 
 tinent order, and why he obeyed it without consulting me. He 
 answered that one side of the stream was really as good as the 
 other, and that as he expected soon to lugana for the night, he 
 had no desire to be in the neighbourhood of such people. How- 
 ever it is, I fear, a specimen of the way in which these gentry 
 order about the natives, and even the European traders ; not 
 seeing any uniforms or white people in the boat, they perhaps took 
 it for one of the floating shops which I have mentioned. 
 
 We brought to about a quarter of an hour afterwards, by a 
 vast grass field, divided into butts by rows of the tall and beautiful 
 cotton-grass. It is cultivated for the " Choppers" thatched roofs, 
 of bungalows, and also for ropes, and even for a coarse but strong 
 kind of canvass. It evidently was regarded as a valuable crop, from 
 the exactness with which it was planted. As no cows would eat 
 it except in extreme hunger, it is safe from their attacks, and the 
 intervening stripes of grass afford a rich and noble pasture. I 
 never saw, I think, finer land. The banks of the river are all a 
 light, marly loam, like garden-mould, dry, sound, and friable, 
 without any intermixture of stones or cold clay, and with very 
 little sand. Abdullah, who is a warm patriot, so far as his admira- 
 tion of the climate, soil, and productions of Hindostan goes, and 
 who is much pleased to observe the interest which I take in these 
 matters, said, " Ah, my Lord, why not get leave to buy land in 
 this good place and good climate, my Lady and children always 
 have good health here, settle it on young lady, native of country, 
 
 L 1 2
 
 260 GHAZEEPOOR. 
 
 and call it Harrietpoor." I laughed, and told him the reasons of 
 the law which hindered the English from buying land in India ; 
 he owned that it was a very good law to prevent the English 
 collectors and magistrates from being tempted to extort lands, as 
 the Mussulmans had done, from the people by false accusations, 
 and added, that it was wonderful how the English parliament took 
 notice of every thing, and every body, 
 
 August 28. — It is quite extraordinary to see how much and 
 how fast the waters are subsiding ; surely the rains have not ceased 
 thus early ! If they have it would augur ill for my getting to 
 Cawnpoor by water, and (what I am far more afraid of) would 
 make the neighbourhood of Calcutta very unhealthy. I have 
 been visited within these few days by several large wasps or 
 hornets, of greater bulk and duller colours than those of England, 
 but not so numerous as to be troublesome. 
 
 Ghazeepoor, where I arrived this day, is another large town 
 or city, and from the river very striking, though like all the 
 Indian cities I have passed, its noblest buildings on approaching 
 them turn out to be ruins. The river, though narrower than I 
 have been lately accustomed to see it, is still as wide as the 
 Hooghly at Cossipoor. At the eastern extremity of the town is 
 a very handsome though ruined palace, built by the Nawab Cossim 
 Ali Khan, the most airy and best contrived, so far as can be per- 
 ceived from its outward appearance, of any of the eastern buildings 
 which I have seen. Its verandahs are really magnificent, but its 
 desolation is so recent, that it is very far from being a pleasing 
 object on approaching near enough to perceive its decay. It 
 might still at no great expence be made one of the handsomest and 
 best situated houses in India. At the other extremity of the 
 town, and separated from it by gardens and scattered cottages, are 
 the houses of the civil servants of the company, mostly with ground- 
 floors only, but large and handsome, and beyond these is the 
 military cantonment, ugly low bungalows, with sloping roofs of 
 red tile, but deriving some advantage from the trees with which
 
 LORD CORNWALLIS'S MONUMENT. 261 
 
 (very diiFerent from the stately but naked barracks of Dinapoor) 
 they are surrounded and intermingled. The most conspicuous 
 object among them is the monument to Lord Cornwallis, who 
 died here in his way up the country. It has a white dome hke a 
 pepper-pot, but when the young trees, which are growing up 
 round it, shall have got a little higher it will not look ill from the 
 river. 
 
 Almost immediately as my vessel came to shore, Mr. Melville, 
 who had seen it in its approach, came on board to say that he had 
 given up his own house, and was staying with Mr. C. Bayley, who 
 hoped for my company also. In their agreeable society I passed 
 the three days which I remained at Ghazeepoor, and from them 
 obtained so much valuable information that I cannot help regret- 
 ting I had not time, and have not memory to put down half of it. 
 Some difficulties were felt about a proper place for divine service 
 next day, the place (an old riding-house) which had been used as 
 a church before the station lost its Chaplain, being in so ruinous a 
 state that the Quarter-Master had reported it sometime since to 
 Government as unsafe for any persons to assemble in. A INIr. 
 Watson, a tradesman in the place, however, offered his long room, 
 generally used for auctions, and sometimes for assembhes, which, 
 now that the European regiment was absent, and the probable 
 congregation less numerous than it otherwise would have been, 
 answered the purpose extremely well, being large, airy, and 
 furnished both with seats and punkahs. 
 
 During our drive this evening I had a nearer view of Lord 
 CornwaUis's monument, which certainly does not improve on close 
 inspection ; it has been evidently a very costly building ; its 
 materials are excellent, being some of the finest free-stone I ever 
 saw, and it is an imitation of the celebrated Sybill's temple, of 
 large proportions, solid masonry, and raised above the ground on 
 a lofty and striking basement. But its pillars, instead of beautiful 
 Corinthian well-fluted, are of the meanest Doric. They are quite 
 too slender for their height, and for the heavy entablature and
 
 262 LORD CORNWALLIS'S MONUMENT. 
 
 cornice which rest on them. The dome, instead of springing 
 from nearly the same level with the roof of the surrounding 
 portico, is raised ten feet higher on a most ugly and unmeaning 
 attic story, and the windows (which are quite useless) are the most 
 extraordinary embrasures (for they resemble nothing else) that I 
 ever saw, out of a fortress. Above all, the building is utterly 
 unmeaning, it is neither a temple nor a tomb, neither has altar, 
 statue, or inscription. It is, in fact, a '* folly" of the same sort, 
 but far more ambitious and costly, than that which is built at 
 Barrackpoor, and it is vexatious to think that a very handsome 
 church might have been built, and a handsome marble monument 
 to Lord Cornwallis placed in its interior, for little more money 
 than has been employed on a thing, which, if any foreigner saw it, 
 (an event luckily not very probable) would afford subject for 
 mockery to all who read his travels, at the expense of Anglo- 
 Indian ideas of architecture. Ugly as it is, however, by itself, it 
 may yet be made a good use of, by making it serve the purpose 
 of a detached " torre campanile^' to the new Church which is 
 required for the station ; to this last it would save the necessity 
 of a steeple or cupola, and would much lessen the expense of the 
 building, but the times are, I fear, unpropritious for any grants of 
 this nature from the Indian Government. Yet the wants of this 
 station are so urgent, for when they have European soldiers here 
 again, they will have no building of any kind to receive them for 
 worship, and the representation which the principal civil and 
 military servants have made to me, is so strong, that it is abso- 
 lutely my duty to urge the case, and I will certainly do so. 
 
 Sundaij, August 29. — Mr. Corrie, (who from illness, had been 
 unable to undertake the whole duty at Buxar, and had arrived 
 here yesterday,) read prayers, and I preached and administered 
 the sacrament this morning, to a small but very attentive congre- 
 gation, almost exclusively of the higher class. Afterwards I 
 examined some children from the regimental school, which seems 
 well-managed. Though the fathers are absent, the wives and
 
 GHAZEEPOOR. 263 
 
 children of the 38th Regiment remain here, and Government is 
 also forming a considerable force of Sepoys. 
 
 August 30. — In the evening I drove with Captain Carter, the 
 quarter-master, to fix on the best spot for a church, and found 
 none so good as that which I have already mentioned. The pre- 
 sent, or rather the late church, is a very large building, thatched 
 like a barn, with a wide span which has forced the side-walls out 
 of the perpendicular ; indeed, the whole is in a very forlorn con- 
 dition, and I am surprised it has stood through these rains. 
 
 August 31. — This morning early Mr. Melville took me to 
 see the prison, which, like all the Company's gaols which I have 
 seen, is very clean, airy, and apparently well-managed, — and the 
 old palace, now used as a custom-house, which I had so much 
 admired coming up the river. The town, through which we 
 passed, has no large houses except one, the property of a wealthy 
 Mussulman, which is extremely like some of the old houses in 
 Scotland, as represented in prints and described by the author of 
 Waverly. Like all other native buildings it looks dingy and 
 neglected, but appears in good substantial repair, and is a striking 
 object, more so, perhaps, than most of the Corinthian verandahs of 
 Calcutta. The bazars, through which we drove, are neat ; and 
 one of the streets so wide that one might have supposed oneself in 
 an English country town. There are the remains of an old castle 
 here, now reduced to little more than a high green mound, scat- 
 tered with ruins, and overhung with some fine trees. But the 
 palace is, indeed, a very handsome building. It is approached 
 from the land through a fine gateway, which, though differing in a 
 few particulars from the English gothic, certainly belongs to the 
 same style of architecture, and excels the corresponding structures 
 of Dacca, in being, instead of brick, of excellent stone. It is in 
 good repair, and has still its massive teak folding-doors clenched 
 with iron studs, and with the low-browed wicket in the middle, 
 like an English castle or college.
 
 264 
 
 PALACE. 
 
 The most striking differences between the English and Asiatic 
 gothic, lie in the broad projecting stone cornices which adorn the 
 latter, and to which I recollect no counterpart in Europe, though 
 something approaching to them may be found in the heavy but 
 picturesque eaves of the Florentine palaces, and though they are 
 pretty closely imitated in wood, in some of our old English black- 
 and-white houses. In their gateways, likewise, and most other of 
 their buildings, they avoid all those flanking projections, round or 
 octagonal turrets and stair-cases, which our ancient English archi- 
 tects were so fond of; and, instead of these, cut off the corners 
 of their buildings into an octagonal form. There is good sense in 
 both these variations. In a climate where every breeze is precious, 
 those projections, which are useful shelters in England, would be 
 only nuisances ; and the depth of shadow and architectural effect 
 of which they thus deprive themselves, is supplied in a great 
 degree by the projection of their kiosks and cornices, which are, 
 at the same time, extremely convenient in a country so hot, and at 
 certain seasons so rainy. There are two or three courts within 
 the palace, surrounded by ruinous buildings, with an appearance, 
 at first sight, of meanness, but offering, in detail, many beautiful 
 specimens of architecture. The arches here, however, are few of 
 them gothic, being mostly of that kind which is generally called 
 Moorish, specimens of which may be seen, if I recollect right, in
 
 GHAZEEPOOR. 265 
 
 Murphy's prints of the Alhambra. The columns are slender and 
 octagonal. The arches semi-circular, but indented, and the 
 bases of the columns are ornamented with flowers and leaves 
 which seem interposed between them and their plinths. The tops 
 of the windows are like those of the arcades, but generally enclosed 
 in a square tablet like what we see in Tudor gothic, — the doors 
 the same. The banqueting-house is a very striking and beautiful 
 building in the form of a cross, open every way, and supported by 
 a multitude of pillars and arches, erected on an under-story of an 
 octagonal form. Its south-east side abuts immediately on a terrace 
 rising from the river ; the four projections of the cross seem 
 calculated to answer the double purpose of shading the octagonal 
 centre, and giving room for the attendants, music, &c., and the 
 double line round the centre is a deep trench, which used to be 
 filled, we are told, with rose-water, when the Nawab and his 
 friends were feasting in the middle, which still shews the remains 
 of a beautiful blue, red, and white Mosaic pavement. It is now 
 used as a warehouse to the custom-house, and the men w4th 
 swords and shields who yet mount guard there, are police peons. 
 The building, however, is in a rapid state of decay, though it still 
 might be restored, and, as a curious and beautiful object, is really 
 worth restoring. 
 
 I set off for Benares after breakflist, but made little progress, 
 both the stream, and, by an unfortunate chance, the wind, being 
 unfavourable. Ghazeepoor is celebrated throughout India for the 
 wholesomeness of its air, and the beauty and extent of its rose- 
 gardens. Perhaps these in a good degree arise from the same 
 cause, — the elevated level on which it stands, and the dryness of 
 its soil, which never retains the moisture, and after the heaviest 
 showers is in a very few hours fit to walk on with comfort. That 
 this must contribute to health is evident ; and I suppose, from all 
 which I have observed, that it must be favourable to the growth of 
 flowers. It is also another auspicious circumstance in the situation 
 of the city and cantonment, that it has a noble reach of the river 
 
 M m
 
 266 ROSE-FIELDS. 
 
 to the south-east, from which quarter the hot winds generally 
 blow. Be this as it may, the Enghsh regiments removed hither 
 from the other stations, have always found their number of deaths 
 diminish from the Indian to the European ratio ; and the apparent 
 health of the inhabitants, both English and native, really struck 
 me as doing justice to the favourable reports of the air. The 
 country round is as flat as India generally is, and the roses were 
 not in bloom. There was, however, a very brilliant display of 
 flowers and flowering shrubs of other kinds in the different lanes 
 and hedges, as well as in the pleasure-grounds of the European 
 residents. 
 
 The rose-fields, which occupy many hundred acres in the 
 neighbourhood, are described as, at the proper season, extremely 
 beautiful. They are cultivated for distillation, and for making 
 "" attar." Rose-water is both good and cheap here. The price of 
 a seer, or weight of 2lbs. (a large quart,) of the best, being 8 anas, 
 or a shilling. The attar is obtained after the rose-water is made, 
 by setting it out during the night and till sun-rise in the morning, 
 in large open vessels exposed to the air, and then skimming off* 
 the essential oil which floats at the top. The rose-water which is 
 thus skimmed bears a lower price than that which is warranted 
 with its cream entire, but Mr. Bayley said there is very little per- 
 ceptible difference. To produce one rupee's weight of attar, 
 200,000 well-grown roses are required. The price, even on the 
 spot, is extravagant, a rupee's weight being sold in the bazar 
 (where it is often adulterated with sandal-wood,) for 80 S. R. and 
 at the English warehouse, where it is warranted genuine, at 
 100 S. R. or £10 ! Mr. Melville, who made some for himself one 
 year, said he calculated that the rent of the land, and price of 
 utensils, really cost him at the rate of ^ve pounds for the above 
 trifling quantity, without reckoning risk, labour of servants, &c. 
 
 The whole district of Ghazeepoor is fertile in corn, pasture, 
 and fruit-trees. The population is great, and the mosques, and 
 Mussulmans in the shops and streets are so numerous, and there
 
 SUTTEES. 267 
 
 are so few pagodas of any importance visible, that I thought I had 
 bidden adieu for the present to the followers of Brahma. Mr. 
 Melville, however assured me, to my surprise, that it was in the 
 large towns only that the Mussulmans were numerous, and that, 
 taking the whole province together, they were barely an eleventh 
 part of the population, among the remainder of whom Hindooism 
 existed in all its strength and bigotry. Suttees are more abundant 
 here than even in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, but chiefly 
 confined to the lower ranks. The last yearly return amounted 
 to above forty, and there were several of which no account was 
 given to the magistrate. It has been, indeed, a singular omission 
 on the part of Government, that, though an ordinance has been 
 passed, commanding all persons celebrating a suttee to send in 
 notice of their intention to the nearest police officer, no punish- 
 ment has been prescribed for neglect of this order, nor has it ever 
 been embodied in the standing regulations, so as to make it law, 
 or authorize a magistrate to commit to prison for contempt of it. 
 If Government mean their orders respecting the publicity of 
 suttees to be obeyed, they must give it the proper efficacy ; while, 
 if suttees are not under the inspection of the police, the most 
 horrible murders may be committed under their name. This struck 
 me very forcibly from two facts which were incidentally told me. 
 It is not necessary, it seems, for the widow who offers herself, to 
 burn actually with the body of her husband. His garments, his 
 slippers, his walking-staff*, — any thing which has at any time been 
 in his possession, will do as well. Brahmin widows indeed, are, 
 by the Shaster, not allowed this privilege, but must burn with the 
 body or not at all. This, however, is unknown or disregarded in 
 the district of Ghazeepoor, and most other regions of India. But 
 the person of whom I was told was no brahmin ; he was a labourer, 
 who had left his family in a time of scarcity, and gone to live, (as 
 was believed,) in the neighbourhood of Moorshedabad, whence 
 he had once, in the course of several years, sent his wife a small 
 sum of money from his savings, by a friend who was going up the 
 
 M m 2
 
 268 SUTTEES. 
 
 country. Such remittances, to the honour of the labouring class 
 in India are usual, and equally to their honour, when entrusted 
 to any one to convey, are very seldom embezzled. Some years 
 after, however, when the son of the absentee w^as grown up, he 
 returned one day from a fair at a little distance, saying he had 
 heard bad news, and that a man unhiown had told him his father 
 was dead. On this authority the widow determined to burn 
 herself, and it was judged sufficient that an old garment of the 
 supposed dead man should be burned with her. Now, it is very 
 plain how easily, if the son wanted to get rid of his mother, he 
 might have brought home such a story to induce her to burn, 
 and it is also very plain, that whether she was willing or no, he 
 might carry her to the stake, and (if the police are to take no cog- 
 nizance of the matter) might burn her under pretence of a suttee. 
 How little the interference of neighbours is to be apprehended in 
 such cases, and how little a female death is cared for, may appear 
 by another circumstance which occurred a short time ago at a 
 small distance from the city of Ghazeepoor, when, in consequence 
 of a dispute which had taken place between two small freeholders 
 about some land, one of the contending parties, an old man of 70 
 and upwards, brought his wife of the same age, to the field in 
 question, forced her with the assistance of their children and 
 relations, into a little straw hut built for the purpose, and burned 
 her and the hut together, in order that her death might bring a 
 curse on the soil, and her spirit haunt it after death, so that his 
 successful antagonist should never derive any advantage from it. 
 On some horror and surprise being expressed by the gentleman 
 who told me this case, one of the officers of his court, the same 
 indeed who had reported it to him, not as a horrible occurrence, 
 but as a proof how spiteful the parties had been against each 
 other, said very coolly, " why not ? — she was a very old woman, — 
 what use was she ?" The old murderer was in prison, but my 
 friend said he had no doubt that his interference in such a case 
 between man and wife was regarded as singularly vexatious and
 
 SUICIDES. 269 
 
 oppressive ; and he added, " The truth is, so very little value do 
 these people set on their own lives, that we cannot wonder at their 
 caring little for the life of another. The cases of suicide which 
 come before me, double those of suttees ; men, and still more, 
 women, throw themselves down wells, or drink poison, for appa- 
 rently the slightest reasons, generally out of some quarrel, and in 
 order that their blood may lie at their enemy's door, and unless 
 the criminal in question had had an old woman at hand and in his 
 power, he was likely enough to have burned himself" Human 
 sacrifices, as of children, are never heard of now in these provinces, 
 but it still sometimes happens that a leper is burnt or buried alive, 
 and as these murders are somewhat blended also with rehsious 
 feeling, a leper being supposed to be accursed of the gods, the 
 Sudder Dewannee, acting on the same principle, discourages, as I 
 am told, all interference with the practice. The best way, indeed, 
 to abolish it, would be to establish lazar-houses, where these poor 
 wretches should be maintained and, if possible, cured, or at all 
 events kept separate from the rest of the people, a policy, by 
 which more than any thing else, this hideous disease has been 
 extirpated in Europe. 
 
 All these stories have made a very painful impression on me. 
 If I live to return to Calcutta, it is possible that by conversation 
 with such of my friends as have influence, and by the help of what 
 additional knowledge I may have acquired during this tour, I may 
 obtain a remedy for some of them. And it is in order that this 
 anxiety may not pass away, but that I may really do some little 
 for the people among whom my lot is thrown, that I have put 
 down more fully the facts which have come to my knowledge. 
 I have on a former occasion noticed the opinions of most public 
 men in India, on the important question of putting down suttees 
 by authority. Whether this is attempted or not, it seems at 
 least highly necessary that the regulations should be enforced 
 which the Indian Government itself had declared desirable, 
 and that those instances which are really murder, on Hindoo
 
 270 CHARACTER OF HINDOOS. 
 
 as well as Christian principles, should not escape unpunished. 
 Of the natural disposition of the Hindoo, I still see abundant 
 reason to think highly, and Mr. Bayley and Mr. Melville both 
 a^^reed with me, that they are constitutionally kind-hearted, 
 industrious, sober, and peaceable, at the same time that they shew 
 themselves on proper occasions, a manly and courageous people. 
 All that is bad about them appears to arise either from the defec- 
 tive motives which their religion supplies, or the wicked actions 
 which it records of their gods, or encourages in their own practice. 
 Yet it is strange to see, though this is pretty generally allowed, 
 how slow men are to admit the advantage or necessity of propa- 
 gating Christianity among them. Crimes unconnected with reli- 
 gion are not common in Ghazeepoor. There are affrays, but such 
 as arise out of disputes between Mahommedan and Hindoo 
 processions at the time of the Mohurrun, in which blood is some- 
 times drawn. The police is numerous and effective, and the Than- 
 nadars, &c. though they had been here also, in the first instance, 
 forgotten in the perpetual settlement, have been better provided 
 for since than those of Bahar; but the tenants on the small and 
 divided estates in these provinces, are worse off than those on the 
 larger properties in Bahar. Estates here are seldom large, and 
 the holdings very minute. 
 
 The language spoken by the common people is Hindoostanee, 
 of a very corrupt kind. The good " Oordoo" is chiefly confined 
 to the army and courts of justice. When a person under examina- 
 tion once answered in it with unusual fluency and propriety, Mr. 
 Melville's native chief officer said, with a sagacious nod, " That 
 fellow talks good Oordoo ! He has been in prison before to-day !" 
 All legal writings, records, &c. are in Persian, a rule which Mr. 
 Melville thinks good. Persian holding in India the place of Latin 
 in Europe, in consequence of this regulation, all the higher officers 
 of the court are educated persons. Persian is, as a language, so 
 much superior in clearness and brevity to Hindoostanee, that busi- 
 ness is greatly facilitated by employing it, and since even Oordoo
 
 HINDOO LAW OFFICERS. 271 
 
 itself is unintelligible to a great part of the Hindoos, there is no 
 particular reason for preferring it to the more polished language. 
 The honesty of the Hindoo law-officers is spoken very ill of ; they 
 seem to become worse the nearer they approach the seat of justice. 
 The reason perhaps is not hard to discover ; they are in situations 
 where they may do a great deal of mischief; their regular salaries 
 are wretchedly small, a part even of these arise from fees often 
 oppressive and difficult to obtain, and they are so much exposed 
 to getting a bad name even while they exact merely what is their 
 due, that they become careless of reputation, and anxious by all 
 underhand means to swell their profits. Much evil arises in India 
 from the insufficient manner in which the subaltern native servants 
 of Government are paid. In the case of the town duties, a toll- 
 keeper, through whose hands the dues of half a district pass, 
 receives as his own share three rupees a month ! For this he has 
 to keep a regular account, to stop every boat or hackery, to search 
 them in order to prevent smuggling, and to bear the abuse and 
 curses of all his neighbours. What better could be expected from 
 such a man, but that he should cheat both sides, withholding from 
 his employers a large portion of the sums which he receives, and 
 extracting from the poor country-people, in the shape of presents, 
 surcharges, expedition and connivance-money, a far greater sum 
 than he is legally entitled to demand ? 
 
 September 1. — We advanced this day across the river by the 
 aid of a favourable wind, which just lasted long enough to induce 
 me to decline a very kind invitation sent by Mr. Bayley and Mr. 
 Melville to return to them (being still within sight of Ghazeepoor) 
 and proceed by Dak on Friday afternoon. The wind, however, 
 was of considerable service, since the place where we now were, 
 Zermineeh, is famous for the time which boats are often detained 
 there. After crossing the river, we proceeded a very little way 
 against the stream. 
 
 September 2. — In addition to the stream, we had now the 
 wind against us, but notwithstanding were dragged on with mucli
 
 272 CHUCKEEPOOR. 
 
 difficulty six or eight miles, as far as a village named Chuckeepoor, 
 where further progress, without great additional help, became 
 impossible, the banks being high, steep, and crumbling, and the 
 river perilously rapid. There were at least twenty vessels of 
 different sizes already set fast and moored, a little a-head of us, 
 waiting for a westerly wind. I therefore sent to the Jemautdar of 
 Chuckeepoor to desire him to hire fifty men for the next day, to 
 pull the boats past the difficulty, and, since Mohammed confessed 
 that he now saw no chance of the pinnace reaching Benares before 
 Sunday evening, to hire bearers also to carry me to Seidpoor, on 
 the regular Dak road, where I felt convinced that my Ghazeepoor 
 friends, knowing how the wind was, would have relays stationed 
 for me. The Corries arrived at the same point a little before me, 
 as in tracking, a budgerow, even of the heaviest kind, has an 
 advantage over a vessel with sails and rigging. 
 
 September o.- — Forty-five men attended this morning, of 
 whom some were dispersed among the other boats, but with the 
 addition of her crew, the Cora had forty men at the drag-line ; of 
 these we had two, lest one should break, both new and strong 
 ones. This was a necessary precaution, because if the tow-line 
 breaks, the boat is in considerable danger. The country-people 
 said, that they had seen a budgerow literally dashed to pieces the 
 year before in the very place where we were lying. The people 
 were saved with great difficulty, but every thing on board was lost, 
 and hardly two planks of the boat remained together. The stream 
 is indeed like that of a cataract, and the bank so high and crum- 
 bling, that the trackers work at a great disadvantage, as they dare 
 not come close to the edge, and have to wind their way through trees 
 and brushwood, and among the pillars of an old pagoda. At length 
 having occupied four hours in advancing nine miles, the current 
 becoming slacker, the boatmen said they could get on without 
 further help. I therefore dismissed my labourers, well satisfied 
 with a present of four rupees to be divided among them, and set 
 out on my first Dak journey. I had twelve bearers, the road
 
 DAK JOURNEY. 273 
 
 between this place and Seidpoor lying through fields and broken 
 country, a double number being, as I was assured, necessary, 
 particularly as it was not certain that I should find a relief on this 
 side Benares, a distance of 24 English miles. I had my clothes 
 and writing-desk in two petarrahs, (a sort of wicker box,) which 
 one man carried slung on a bamboo across his shoulders, my 
 mate-bearer to run with me, and, besides light refreshments, I 
 was told to take my pistols. Such is the usual style in which dak 
 journeys are made in India ; and it may serve as an additional 
 proof of the redundant population and cheapness of labour, that 
 this number of bearers are obtained for such severe and unpleasant 
 work, at about 12^. for the stage, varying from 6 to 10 miles. The 
 men set out across the meadows at a good round trot of about 4 miles 
 an hour, grunting all the way like paviours in England, a custom 
 which, like paviours, they imagine eases them under their burthen. 
 The road, however, soon became too uneven for a rapid progress, 
 and we were above three hours in reaching Seidpoor, a distance 
 of 8 miles. There were indeed some difficult fords by the way, 
 owing to the late rain, and no better road than the paths leading 
 from one village to another. The Ganges was in sight almost all 
 the time, though our course lay a little inland. The country is 
 fertile and populous, with a good deal of fine timber, but very few 
 palms ; the cultivation chiefly of millet, pulse, and Indian corn. 
 In coming to any deep nullah, or steep bank, the bearers displayed 
 considerable adroitness in supporting their burthen. Only four 
 can usually put their shoulders to a palanqueen at the same time. 
 But those who were not under the poles thrust stout bamboos 
 under the bottom of the palanqueen, and took hold of the ends on 
 each side, so that the strength of six men more was, for the 
 time, brought into action. They required indeed such aid, since 
 the road was certainly far from good, while the bearers were not a 
 very stout set, and probably were agricultural labourers, not in the 
 habit of dak travelling. The motion is neither violent nor unplea- 
 
 N n
 
 274 SEIDPOOR. 
 
 sant. It is incessant, however, and renders it impossible to draw, 
 and not very convenient to read, except a large print. 
 
 Seidpoor I found a little country town, with very narrow 
 streets, having verandah'd ranges of shops on each side ; the houses 
 generally one story above the ground, built of clay, with red tile 
 roofs, and extremely projecting eaves. There were a little old 
 mosque and a pagoda, both of stone. The latter, like most in this 
 neighbourhood, was surmounted by a sort of pyramidical spire, 
 which, seen amidst the tall peepul trees, by which it was sur- 
 rounded and overtopped, gave the place some little air of an 
 English village. I made the men set me down under the shade 
 of the peepul trees, and sent my bearer to the dak-master of the 
 place. A very good looking young man soon made his appearance, 
 with pretty much the air of a smart young farmer, who had a 
 commission in a volunteer corps. His dress was the common 
 shirt and cummerbund, but his turban was very neat, he had 
 embroidered shoes, his sword, the mark of his office, was tied 
 with a military belt round his waist, and had a silver-hilt and red 
 scabbard, and his beard was trimmed very sprucely, a la militaire. 
 He w^as followed by two police burkandazes ^vith their usual 
 equipment of sword and shield, and a number of bearers, whom, 
 he said, the dak-wala, being obliged to go from home, had left 
 ready for me, by his orders, in consequence of a letter he had 
 received from Mr. Melville. He was, he added with a low 
 bow, the jemautdar at my service, and asked if I wished either 
 himself or his men to guard me. I thanked him, but said this 
 was quite unnecessary ; but he repUed, he would, how^ever, see 
 me through the town, and, in fact, was of considerable use in 
 clearing the way through the baskets, bags, and hackeries, of a 
 small but crowded market-place. He had brought eight bearers, 
 besides two more with a sort of flambeau, wrapped up in coarse 
 canvass painted red and white, useless enough in the middle of 
 the day, but who always accompany dak travellers.
 
 DAK JOURNEY. 275 
 
 We set off at the same round-trot as before, but along a 
 much better road, being smooth, wide, and straight, through corn- 
 fields and meadows, with an evident, though abortive attempt, to 
 rear a row of young trees on each side. The English magistrates 
 of India are fond, and with reason, of such avenues, and many have 
 been planted of late years ; the young trees are each of them sur- 
 rounded with low mud banks by way of fence, but the precaution 
 appears very often insufficient to save them from the cows, and, 
 still more, the goats of the common people. After proceeding 
 about 4 miles, we came to the ferry of the Goomty, which is, at 
 this time of the year, a considerable river. I expected to be 
 delayed here, but nothing of the kind occurred. The boat, a 
 broad and substantial one, had a platform of wood covered with 
 clay across its middle. The palanqueen, with me in it, was placed 
 on this with its length athwart the vessel, the mangee steered, and 
 some of the dak bearers took up oars, so that we were across in 
 a very short time. Two men mounted on camels, were at the 
 same time endeavouring to ford the stream. I saw them making 
 a long circuit among some marshy islands, but did not witness 
 their ulterior progress. They crossed, however, for they overtook 
 me at the next village. 
 
 About three o'clock we came to a pleasant village with a 
 good bazar and some fine bamboos, where I determined to wait 
 for my baggage, which had fallen behind. I sate accordingly in 
 the shade, amused by the usual little sights and occurrences of a 
 village, and only differing in the costume and complexion of the 
 people from what one might have seen in England. Several 
 country lasses passed with their kedgeree pots of water on their 
 heads, their arms loaded with alternate rings of silver and red lac, 
 their bare ancles also in silver shackles, their foreheads dyed red, 
 and their noses and ears disfigured by monstrous rings of the same 
 metal. A set of little naked boys suspended their play at a sort 
 of prison-bars, and came near to look at me ; the two camels, which 
 I had passed, came slowly up the street, and a httle boy smartly 
 
 N n 2
 
 276 DAK JOURNEY. 
 
 dressed, and mounted on a very pretty poney, I suppose the son 
 of the Zemindar, came out to take his evening ride, conducted by 
 an old rustic-looking saees, with a leading rein. At length a 
 young man in a sort of Cossac military dress, and with a sabre by 
 his side, ran out in a great hurry from a little shop, and with an 
 air and manner which well became one who had been passing 
 some time in an ale-house, asked me if I knew any thing of the 
 " Lord Padre Sahib.^' On telling him I was the person, he 
 checked " his faultering voice and visage incomposed," joined his 
 hands, and gave me the " buhoot salaam" of Mr. Brooke, that he 
 had charged him to go and meet me, to let me know that dinner 
 was at four o'clock, to ask whether he could be of any use to me, 
 and if not, to bring back word how soon I might be expected, and if 
 there were any gentlemen with me. I told him I was waiting for my 
 baggage and servant, on which he ran ofFasif he were " demented," 
 and pvdling out a trooper's horse from under a shed, scampered away 
 towards the Goomty, with a zeal which made my bearers burst into 
 a laugh. He returned, however, almost immediately, having met 
 some farmers, who, seated on their little poneys, with their coarse 
 cotton mantles over one shoulder, and their long naked legs and 
 broad feet thrust into short rope stirrups, were returning, I believe, 
 from Seidpoor market, and who, as well as the camel riders, who 
 now came up, assured me that no petarrahs or servant had yet 
 crossed the ferry. The horseman now begged his dismissal, that 
 he might carry the news of my approach to Mr. Brooke, and 
 asked again whether I should be there to dinner ? At this question, 
 which, considering what he had said before was absurd enough, 
 the bearers again laughed, and I begged him to tell Mr. Brooke, 
 with my salaam, that I hoped to be at his house before night, on 
 which he set off along the Benares road at full gallop. 
 
 I was a good deal annoyed at the non-appearance of my 
 luggage, till one of the camel men told me that it was quite safe, 
 for he had seen it before he left Seidpoor, under the care of the 
 jemautdar, who had been unable to get bearers for it I therefore
 
 SECROLE. 277 
 
 again set out, and was soon after greeted by a second trooper, an 
 elderly man, with a long beard dyed a carotty red, which made a 
 whimsical contrast with his dusky skin, but which, as I afterwards 
 learned, is no infrequent piece of foppery in Asia with those who 
 do not think the " hoary head a crown of glory/' For his services 
 I found I was indebted to the kindness of Mr. Macleod, the 
 magistrate of Benares, and either naturally or accidentally, I 
 found him a much clearer-headed fellow than the other. He 
 offered to go on to Seidpoor to enquire about my baggage, till I 
 told him it had been left in the care of the jemautdar. " Good, 
 he is a good man," said he ; " but as night is coming on I will 
 tell the burkandaz of this village to go to meet it at the Goomty, 
 and bring it safe on to the next dak-house, where we can give 
 further orders, and I will soon overtake your honour." These 
 mounted gens d'armes are the usual attendants of magistrates of 
 the higher rank in all the Upper Provinces, who have also an 
 apparatus of spears in their train, more imposing, in my eyes, than 
 all the silver-sticks of Calcutta. 
 
 At the dak-house, where I arrived about dusk, Mr. 
 Macleod's kindness had stationed bearers, and mussaulchies^ 
 whose lights were now really useful. Mr. Brooke too, had 
 stationed four burkandazes, with swords and shields, to see me 
 safe and shew me the way, so that my last stage which lay 
 chiefly through a wide avenue of tall trees, was very picturesque, 
 from the various tints and groupes seen by the light of the flam- 
 beaux, the sabres, the whiskers, turbans, and naked limbs of my 
 bearers, guards, and conductors. We left Benares considerably to 
 the left in order to reach Mr. Brooke's house at Secrole. Mr. 
 Brooke has been 56 years in India, being the oldest of the Com- 
 pany's resident servants. He is a very fine healthy old man, his 
 manners singularly courteous and benevolent, and his tone, in 
 speaking Hindoostanee and Persian, such as marks a man who has 
 been in the habit of conversing much with natives of high rank. 
 Though I was his guest, I was not in his house, but in one he had
 
 278 SECROLE. 
 
 borrowed from Dr. Yekl, the surgeon of the station, a very good 
 house, and extremely well qualified either for lodging guests or 
 givinir entertainments. 
 
 c5 c? 
 
 At dinner to-day were, besides Dr. Yeld, only Mr. Frazer 
 and iNIr. ]\lacleod, whose care of me on the road I mentioned, and 
 whom I had met at Ghazeepoor. I remember to have known him 
 by sight in Oxford, as rather my junior, and a great friend of 
 Wilson, since well known as author of the " City of the Plague." 
 I now find him a very agreeable and w^ell-informed man, less 
 altered, I think, in exterior, than most of my college contempo- 
 raries. On the w^hole the day was a very interesting one ; and the 
 details of my little journey, though unmarked by any important 
 event, had introduced me to scenes and situations which were 
 new to me, and which I have not been sorry to write down while 
 the effect of the first impression remains unpalled by repetition. 
 ISIr. Frazer is chaplain of this station, and, I am told, extremely 
 popular and exemplary. 
 
 September 4. — This morning was chiefly passed in arranging 
 with iNIr. Frazer, Mr. Morris the Church Missionary, and other 
 gentlemen, the ceremonies of the following day. In order to give 
 the persons confirmed an early opportunity of receiving the Com- 
 munion, it was desirable that the Confirmation should, as at Dacca, 
 precede the consecration of the church. This evening was the 
 time first fixed on by me for the former, but it was found that the 
 Mohammedan fast of the IMohurrun, now just terminating, which 
 always concludes with processions, firing guns, beating drums, and 
 other music, would make it impossible for any body to hear what 
 was said, inasmuch as the principal processions pass usually close 
 to the church-yard. It was therefore at length determined, as the 
 only arrangement suited to the circumstances of the time and 
 climate, that the morning prayer and Confirmation service, without 
 the Communion, should be read at 7 o^clock on Sunday morning, 
 and that the church should be consecrated and the Communion 
 administered at 7 o'clock the same evening.
 
 CONFIRMATION. 279 
 
 September 5. — At six this morning I attended the Hindoos- 
 tanee place of worship, a small but neat chapel, built by a 
 subscription raised when Mr. Corrie was here, and under his 
 auspices. The congregation consisted of about thirty grown 
 persons, and twelve or fourteen children. Mr. Morris, the Church 
 Missionary, read the Morning Service, Litany, and Commandments, 
 from the Hindoostanee compendium of our Liturgy, which unfor- 
 tunately is as yet without the Psalms. I gave the Benediction for 
 the first time in Hindoostanee, and then hastened to the Church 
 which I found a small but very neat building. The candidates for 
 Confirmation were thirty, of whom four were young artillery-men, 
 and fourteen native Christians. To the latter I repeated the ques- 
 tion, and pronounced the Benediction, in Hindoostanee. The case of 
 one of these men had occasioned me some perplexity the day before, 
 when Mr. Morris stated it to me ; but I had now made up my mind. 
 He was a convert of Mr. Corrie's, and six years ago married a 
 woman who then professed herself a Christian, but soon afterwards 
 ran away from him and turned Mussulman, in which profession 
 she was now living with another man. The husband had applied 
 to the magistrate to recover her, but, on the woman declaring 
 that she was no Christian and did not choose to be the wife of 
 one, he said he could not compel her. The husband, in conse- 
 quence, about two years ago applied to Mr. Frazer to marry him 
 to another woman. Mr. Frazer declined doing so, as no divorce 
 had taken place ; on which he took the woman without marriage, 
 and had now two children by her. For this he had been repelled 
 from the Communion by Mr. Morris, but still continued to frequent 
 the church, and was now very anxious for Confirmation. After 
 some thought, I came to the conclusion that the man should be 
 reproved for the precipitancy with which he had formed his first 
 connexion, and the scandal which he had since occasioned ; but 
 that he might be admitted both to Confirmation and the Commu- 
 nion, and might be married to the woman who now held the place 
 of a wife to him. It seemed a case to which St. Paul's rule
 
 280 MISSION SCHOOL. 
 
 applied, that if an unbelieving husband or wife choose to depart, 
 on religious grounds, from their believing partner, this latter was, 
 in consequence, free. At all events, as the runaway woman was, 
 if a wife, living in open adultery, it was plain that he had a right 
 to " put her away." Though the laws of the country provided 
 him no remedy, yet, as a matter of conscience, this right might be 
 fitly determined on by his religious guides ; and / conceived 
 myself warranted to declare him divorced and at liberty to marry 
 again. My determination, I found, gave great satisfaction to Mr. 
 Frazer and Mr. Morris, both of whom said, that without some 
 such permission the state of new converts would be often very 
 hard, and that the usual remedies supplied by the canon law would 
 be, to men in such circumstances, utterly unattainable. I had 
 some conversation with the man, who spoke a little English, and 
 saw no reason to repent my decision, since I found him tolerably 
 well informed in the principles of Christianity, and, to all appear- 
 ance, earnest in its profession. 
 
 We dined between services. In the evening the church was 
 extremely full, and there were, I think, fifty communicants, almost 
 all who had been confirmed attending. To the natives I gave the 
 Communion, with the accompanying words, in their own language. 
 
 September 6. — I went this morning with Mr. Frazer to the 
 Mission School in the city, which is kept in a large house well 
 adapted for the purpose, and made over to the Church Missionary 
 Society, together with other tenements adjoining, by a rich 
 Bengalee baboo, not long since dead in Benares, whom Mr. Corrie 
 had almost persuaded to become a Christian, but who at length 
 appears to have settled in a sort of general admiration of the 
 beauty of the Gospel, and a wish to improve the state of know- 
 ledge and morality among his countrymen. In these opinions he 
 seems to have been followed by his son, Cahsunker Gossant, now 
 living, and also a liberal benefactor to this and other establishments 
 for national education in India. The house is a native dwelHng, 
 containing on the ground-floor several small low rooms, in which
 
 SCHOOL. 281 
 
 are the junior classes, and, above, one large and lofty hall supported 
 by pillars, where the Persian and English classes meet, besides a 
 small room for a library. The boys on the establishment are about 
 140, under the care of an English school-master, assisted by a Per- 
 sian Moonshee, and two Hindoostanee writing-masters, the whole 
 under the inspection of a catechist, Mr. Adlington, a clever young 
 man, and a candidate for orders. The boys read Oordoo, Persian, 
 and English before me extremely well, and answered questions 
 both in English and Hindoostanee with great readiness. The 
 English books they read were the New Testament, and a com- 
 pendium of English history. They also displayed great proficiency 
 in writing, (Nagree, Persian, and English) arithmetic, in which 
 their multiplication table extended to 100x100, geography, and 
 the use of the globes. To judge from their dress, they were 
 mostly belonging to the middling class of life. Many, I think the 
 majority, had the brahminical string. I asked the catechist and 
 school-master if any of these boys or their parents objected to 
 their reading the New Testament. They answered that they had 
 never heard any objection made, nor had the least reason to 
 believe that any was felt. The boys, they said, were very fond of 
 the New Testament, and I can answer for their understanding it. 
 I wish a majority of English school-boys might appear equally 
 well-informed. The scene was a very interesting one ; there were 
 present the patron of the school, Calisunker Gossant, a shrewd 
 and rather ostentatious, but a well-mannered baboo, his second 
 son, a fine and well-educated young man, Mr. Macleod and INlr. 
 Prinsep, the magistrates of the place, both very acute critics in 
 Hindoostanee and Persian, some ladies, and "> crowd of swords, 
 spears, and silver-sticks on the stair-case, (whose bearers, by the 
 way, seemed to take as much interest as any of us in what was 
 going on.) One, however, of the most pleasing sights of all, was 
 the calm but intense pleasure visible on Archdeacon Corrie's face, 
 whose efforts and influence had first brought this establishment 
 
 o o
 
 282 BENARES. 
 
 into activity, and who now, after an interval of several years, was 
 witnessing its usefulness and prosperity. 
 
 In our way to and from the school I had an opportunity of 
 seeing something of Benares, which is a very remarkable city, 
 more entirely and characteristically Eastern than any which I 
 have yet seen, and at the same time altogether different from any 
 thing in Bengal. No Europeans live in the town, nor are the 
 streets wide enough for a wheel-carriage. Mr. Frazer's gig was 
 stopped short almost in its entrance, and the rest of the way was 
 passed in tonjons, through alleys so crowded, so narrow, and so 
 winding, that even a tonjon sometimes passed with difficulty. 
 The houses are mostly lofty, none I think less than two stories, 
 most of three, and several of five or six, a sight which I now for 
 the first time saw in India. The streets, like those of Chester, 
 are considerably lower than the ground-floors of the houses, which 
 have mostly arched rows in front, with little shops behind them. 
 Above these, the houses are richly embellished with verandahs, 
 galleries, projecting oriel windows, and very broad and overhanging 
 eaves, supported by carved brackets. The number of temples is 
 very great, mostly small and stuck like shrines in the angles of the 
 streets, and under the shadow of the lofty houses. Their forms, 
 however, are not ungraceful, and they are many of them entirely 
 covered over with beautiful and elaborate carvings of flowers, ani- 
 mals, and palm-branches, equalling in minuteness and richness the 
 best specimens that I have seen of Gothic or Grecian architecture. 
 The material of the buildings is a very good stone from Chunar, 
 but the Hindoos here seem fond of painting them a deep red 
 colour, and, indeed, of covering the more conspicuous parts of 
 their houses with paintings in gaudy colours of flower-pots, men, 
 women, bulls, elephants, gods and goddesses, in all their many- 
 foniied, many-headed, many-handed, and many-weaponed varieties. 
 The sacred bulls devoted to Siva, of every age, tame and familiar 
 as mastiffs, walk lazily up and down these narrow streets, or are
 
 RELIGIOUS MENDICANTS. 283 
 
 seen lying across them, and hardly to be kicked up (any blows, 
 indeed, given them must be of the gentlest kind, or woe be to the 
 profane wretch who braves the prejudices of this fanatic popula- 
 tion) in order to make way for the tonjon. Monkeys sacred to 
 Hunimaun, the divine ape who conquered Ceylon for Rama, are 
 in some parts of the town equally numerous, clinging to all the 
 roofs and little projections of the temples, putting their impertinent 
 heads and hands into every fruiterer's or confectioner's shop, and 
 snatching the food from the children at their meals. Faqueer's 
 houses, as they are called, occur at every turn, adorned with idols, 
 and sending out an unceasing tinkling and strumming of vinas, 
 biyals, and other discordant instruments, while religious mendicants 
 of every Hindoo sect, offering every conceivable deformity, which 
 chalk, cow-dung, disease, matted locks, distorted limbs and dis- 
 gusting and hideous attitudes of penance can shew, literally line 
 the principal streets on both sides. The number of bhnd persons 
 is very great (I was going to say of lepers also, but I am not sure 
 whether the appearance on the skin may not have been filth 
 and chalk) and here I saw repeated instances of that penance 
 of which I had heard much in Europe, of men with their legs or 
 arms voluntarily distorted by keeping them in one position, and 
 their hands clenched till the nails grew out at the backs. Their 
 pitiful exclamations as w^e passed, " Agha Sahib," " Topee Sahib," 
 (the usual names in Hindostan for an European) " khana ke 
 waste kooch cheez do," " give me something to eat," soon drew 
 from me what few pice I had, but it was a drop of water in the 
 ocean, and the importunities of the rest as we advanced into the 
 city, were almost drowned in the hubbub which surrounded us. 
 Such are the sights and sounds which greet a stranger on entering 
 this " the most Holy City" of Hindostan, " the Lotus of the 
 world, not founded on common earth, but on the point of Siva's 
 trident," a place so blessed that whoever dies here, of whatever 
 sect, even though he should be an eater of beef, so he ivill hut be 
 charitable to the poor brahmins y is sure of salvation. It is, in fact, 
 
 o o2
 
 284 AM RUT ROW. 
 
 this very holiness which makes it the common resort of beggars ; 
 since, besides the number of pilgrims, which is enormous from 
 every part of India, as well as from Tibet and the Birman empire, 
 a great multitude of rich individuals in the decline of life, and almost 
 all the great men who are from time to time disgraced or banished 
 from home by the revolutions which are continually occurring in 
 the Hindoo states, come hither to wash away their sins, or to fill up 
 their vacant hours with the gaudy ceremonies of their religion, 
 and really give away great sums in profuse and indiscriminate 
 charity. Amrut Row, for a short period of his life Peishwa of the 
 IMaharattas, and since enjoying a large pension from our Govern- 
 ment in addition to a vast private fortune, was one of the chief of 
 these almsgivers. On his name-day, that is in Hindostan, the day 
 on which his patron god is worshipped, he annually gave a seer 
 of rice and a rupee to every brahmin, and every blind or lame 
 person who applied between sun-rise and sun-set. He had a large 
 garden a short distance from the city with four gates, three of 
 which were set open for the reception of the three diflPerent classes 
 of applicants, and the fourth for the Peishwa and his servants to go 
 backwards and forwards. On each person receiving his dole, he 
 was shewn into the garden, where he was compelled to stay during 
 the day lest he should apply twice, but he had shade, water, 
 company, and idols enough to make a Hindoo (who seldom eats 
 till sun-set) pass his time very pleasantly. The sums distributed 
 on these occasions are said to have in some instances amounted to 
 above 50,000 rupees. His annual charities altogether averaged, 
 I was informed, probably three times that amount. He died 
 the second night of my residence at Secrole ; Mr. Brooke said he 
 was really a good and kind man, rehgious to the best of his know- 
 ledge, and munificent, not from ostentation but principle. There 
 are yet, I understand, some living instances of splendid bounty 
 among the Hindoos of Benares, indeed Calisunker is no bad spe- 
 cimen, and on the whole my opinion of the people improves, 
 though it was never so unfavourable as that of many good men
 
 NATIVE'S HOUSE. 285 
 
 in Calcutta. " God," I yet hope and believe, in the midst of the 
 aweful and besotted darkness which surrounds me, and of which, as 
 well as its miserable consequences, I am now more sensible than 
 ever, " God may have much people in this city !" 
 
 By the time the examination at the school was over, the sun 
 was too high to admit of our penetrating further into these 
 crowded streets. Close to the school, however, was a fine house 
 belonging to two minors, the sons of a celebrated baboo, who 
 had made a vast fortune as Dewan to some Europeans high in 
 office, as well as to some natives of rank resident in and near 
 Benares, which we had time to see. It was a striking building, 
 and had the advantage, very unusual in Benares, of having a vacant 
 area of some size before the door, w^hich gave us an opportunity of 
 seeing its architecture. It is very irregular, built round a small 
 court, two sides of which are taken up by the dwelling-house, the 
 others by offices. The house is four lofty stories high, with a 
 tower over the gate of one story more. The front has small 
 windows of various forms, some of them projecting on brackets 
 and beautifully carved, and a great part of the wall itself is covered 
 with a carved pattern of sprigs, leaves, and flowers, like an old 
 fashioned paper. The whole is of stone, but painted a deep red. 
 The general effect is by no means unlike some of the palaces at 
 Venice as represented in Canaletti's view^s. We entered a gate- 
 way similar to that of a college, with a groined arch of beautifully 
 rich carving, like that on the roof of Christ Church great gateway, 
 though much smaller. On each side is a deep richly carved recess, 
 like a shrine, in which are idols with lamps before them, the house- 
 hold gods of the family. The court is crow ded with plantains and 
 rose-trees, with a raised and ornamented w ell in its centre ; on the 
 left-hand a narrow and steep flight of stone steps, the meanest part 
 of the fabric, without balustrades, and looking like the approach 
 to an English granary, led to the first story. At their foot we were 
 received by the two young heirs, stout little fellows of thirteen and 
 twelve, escorted by their uncle, an immensely fat brahmin pundit.
 
 286 NATIVE'S HOUSE. 
 
 who is the spiritual director of the family, and a little shrewd- 
 looking, smooth spoken, but vulgar and impudent man, who called 
 himself their Moonshee. They led us up to the shew-rooms, 
 which are neither large nor numerous ; they are, however, very 
 beautifully carved, and the principal of them which occupies the 
 first-floor of the gateway, and is a square with a Gothic arcade 
 round it, struck me as exceedingly comfortable. The centre, 
 about 15 feet square, is raised and covered with a carpet, serving 
 as a divan. The arcade round is flagged with a good deal of 
 carving and ornament, and is so contrived that on a very short 
 notice, fom* streams of water, one in the centre of each side, 
 descend from the roof like a permanent shower-bath, and fall into 
 stone basins sunk beneath the floor, and covered with a sort of 
 open fret-work, also of stone. These rooms were hung with a 
 good many English prints of the common paltry description which 
 was fashionable twenty years ago, of Sterne and poor Maria, (the 
 boys supposed this to be a doctor feeling a lady's pulse) the 
 sorrows of Werter, &c. together with a daub of the present 
 Emperor of Delhi, and several portraits in oil of a much better 
 kind, of the father of these boys, some of his powerful native 
 friends and employers, and of a very beautiful woman of European 
 complexion, but in an Eastern dress, of whom the boys knew 
 nothing, or would say nothing more than that the picture was 
 painted for their father by Lall-jee of Patna. I did not, indeed, 
 repeat the question, because I know the reluctance with which all 
 Eastern nations speak of their women, but it certainly had the 
 appearance of a portrait, and as well as the old baboo's picture, 
 would have been called a creditable painting in most gentlemen's 
 houses in England. 
 
 I have indeed, during the journey, been surprised at the pro- 
 gress which painting appears to have made of late years in India. 
 I was prepared to expect glowing colours, without drawing, 
 perspective, or even shadow, resembling the illuminations in old 
 Monkish chronicles, and in the oriental MSS. which are sometimes
 
 FAMILY PAGODA. 287 
 
 brought to England. But at Sir C. D'Oyley's, I saw several 
 miniatures by this same Lall-jee, dead some years since, and by 
 his son now alive, but of less renowned talent, which would have 
 done credit to any European artist, being distinguished by great 
 truth of colouring, as well as softness and delicacy. The portraits 
 which I now saw, were certainly not so good, but they were 
 evidently the works of a man well acquainted with the principles 
 of his art, and very extraordinary productions, considering that 
 Lall-jee had probably no opportunity of so much as seeing one 
 Italian picture. 
 
 Our little friends were very civil, and pressed us to stay 
 for breakfast, but it was already late. We looked, however, before 
 we went, at the family pagoda, which stood close to the house, and 
 was, though small, as rich as carving, painting, and gilding could 
 make it. The principal shrine was that of Siva, whose emblem 
 rose just seen amid the darkness of the inner sanctuary, crowned 
 with scarlet flowers, with lamps burning before it. In front, and 
 under the centre cupola, was the sacred bull richly painted and 
 gilt, in an attitude of adoration, and crowned likewise with scarlet 
 flowers, and over all hung a large silver bell, suspended from the 
 roof like a chandeher. I thought of the Glendoveer and Mount 
 Calasay, but in the raree-show before me there was nothing sub- 
 lime or impressive. One of the boys in the Mission school, 
 whose quickness had attracted my notice, and who appeared so 
 well pleased with my praise that I found him still sticking close to 
 me, now came forward, shewed his brahminical string, and volun- 
 teered as cicerone, telling us in tolerable English the history of the 
 gods and goddesses on the walls. The fat pundit seemed pleased 
 with his zeal, but it was well perhaps for the little urchin, that the 
 corpulent padre did not understand the language in which some 
 of the remarks were made. They opened my eyes more fully to 
 a danger which had before struck me as possible, that some of the 
 boys brought up in our schools might grow up accomplished 
 hypocrites, playing the part of Christians with us, and with their
 
 288 SCHOOLS. 
 
 own people of zealous followers of Brahma, or else that they would 
 settle down into a sort of compromise between the two creeds, 
 allowing that Christianity was the best for us, but that idolatry 
 was necessary and commendable in persons of their own nation. 
 I talked with Mr. Frazer and Mr. Morris on this subject in the 
 course of the morning ; they answered, that the same danger had 
 been foreseen by Mr. Macleod, and that in consequence of his 
 representations they had left off teaching the boys the Creed and 
 the Ten Commandments, as not desiring to expose them too early 
 to a conflict with themselves, their parents, and neighbours, but 
 choosing rather that the light should break on them by degrees, 
 and when they were better able to bear it. They said, however, 
 that they had every reason to think that all the bigger boys, and 
 many of the lesser ones, brought up at these schools, learned to 
 despise idolatry and the Hindoo faith less by any direct precept, 
 for their teachers never name the subject to them, and in the 
 Gospels, which are the only strictly religious books read, there are 
 few if any allusions to it, than from the disputations of the Mus- 
 sulman and Hindoo boys among themselves, from the comparison 
 which they soon learn to make between the system of worship 
 which they themselves follow and ours, and above all, from the 
 enlargement of mind which general knowledge and the pure 
 morality of the Gospel have a tendency to produce. Many, both 
 boys and girls, have asked for Baptism, but it has been always 
 thought right to advise them to wait till they had their parents' 
 leave, or were old enough to judge for themselves ; and many 
 have, of their own accord, begun daily to use the Lord's Prayer, 
 and to desist from shewing any honour to the image. Their 
 parents seem extremely indifferent to their conduct in this respect. 
 Prayer, or outward adoration, is not essential to caste. A man 
 may believe what he pleases, nay, I understand, he may almost 
 say what he pleases, without the danger of losing it, and so long 
 as they are not baptized, neither eat nor drink in company with 
 Christians or Pariars, all is well in the opinion of the great
 
 BENARES. 289 
 
 majority, even in Benares. The Mussulmans are more jealous, 
 but few of their children come to our schools, and with these 
 there are so many points of union, that nothing taught there is at 
 all calculated to offend them. 
 
 September 7. — This morning, accompanied by Mr. Macleod, 
 Mr. Prinsep, and Mr. Frazer, I again went into the city, which I 
 found peopled as before with bulls and beggars ; but what sur- 
 prised me still more than yesterday, as I penetrated further into 
 it, were the large, lofty, and handsome dwelling-houses, the beauty 
 and apparent richness of the goods exposed in the bazars, and the 
 evident hum of business which was going on in the midst of all 
 this wretchedness and fanaticism. Benares is, in fact, a very indus- 
 trious and wealthy as well as a very holy city. It is the great 
 mart where the shawls of the north, the diamonds of the south, 
 and the muslins of Dacca and the eastern provinces, centre, and 
 it has very considerable silk, cotton, and fine woollen manufac- 
 tories of its own ; while English hardware, swords, shields, and 
 spears from Lucknow and Monghyr, and those European luxuries 
 and elegancies which are daily becoming more popular in India, 
 circulate from hence through Bundlecund, Gorruckpoor, Nepaul, 
 and other tracts which are removed from the main artery of the 
 Ganges. The population, according to a census made in 1803, 
 amounted to above 582,000, — an enormous amount, and which one 
 should think must have been exaggerated ; but it is the nearest 
 means we have of judging, and it certainly becomes less improbable 
 from the real great size of the town, and the excessively crowded 
 manner in which it is built. It is well drained, and stands dry on 
 a high rocky bank sloping to the river, to which circumstance, as 
 well as to the frequent ablutions and great temperance of the 
 people, must be ascribed its freedom from infectious diseases. 
 Accordingly, notwithstanding its crowded population, it is not an 
 unhealthy city; yet the only square, or open part in it, is the new 
 market-place, constructed by the present Government, and about 
 as large as the Peckwater Quadrangle in Oxford. 
 
 p p
 
 290 VISHVAYESA. 
 
 Our first visit was to a celebrated temple, named the 
 Vislivayesa, consisting of a very small but beautiful specimen of 
 carved stone-work, and the place is one of the most holy in Hin- 
 dostan, though it only approximates to a yet more sacred spot 
 adjoining, which Aulum Gheer defiled, and built a mosque on it, 
 so as to render it inaccessible to the worshippers of Brahma. The 
 temple-court, small as it is, is crowded like a farm-yard with very 
 fat and very tame bulls, which thrust their noses into every body's 
 hand and pocket for gram and sweetmeats, which their fellow- 
 votaries give them in great quantities. The cloisters are no less 
 full of naked devotees, as hideous as chalk and dung can make 
 them, and the continued hum of " Ram ! Ram ! Ram ! Ram !" is 
 enough to make a stranger giddy. The place is kept very clean, 
 however, — indeed the priests seem to do little else than pour 
 water over the images and the pavement, and I found them not 
 merely willing, but anxious, to shew me every thing, — frequently 
 repeating that they were Padres also, though it is true that they 
 used this circumstance as an argument for my giving them a 
 present. Near this temple is a well, with a small tow^er over it, 
 and a steep flight of steps for descending to the water which is 
 brought by a subterraneous channel from the Ganges, and, for 
 some reason or other, is accounted more holy than even the Ganges 
 itself All pilgrims to Benares are enjoined to drink and wash 
 here ; but a few years ago, a quarrel having occurred between the 
 Hindoo and Mussulman population of the town, arising from the 
 two religious processions of the Mohurrun and Junma Osmee 
 encountering each other, the moslem mob killed a cow on this 
 spot, and poured her blood into the sacred water. The Hindoos 
 retaliated by throwing rashers of bacon into the windows of as 
 many mosques as they could reach ; but the matter did not end 
 so : both parties took to arms, several lives were lost, and Benares 
 was in a state of uproar for many hours, till the British Government 
 came in with its authority, and quelled the disturbance. 
 
 In another temple near those of which I have been speaking,
 
 OBSERVATORY. 291 
 
 and which is dedicated to " Unna Purna," supposed to be the 
 " Anna Perenna" of the Romans, a Brahmin was pointed out to 
 me, who passes his whole day seated on a little pulpit about as 
 high and large as a dressing-table, only leaving it for his necessary 
 ablutions, and at night, though then he sleeps on the pavement 
 beside it. His constant occupation is reading or lecturing on the 
 Vedas. The latter he does to as many as will hear him, from 
 eight in the morning till four in the evening. He asks for nothing, 
 but a small copper bason stands by his pulpit, into which any who 
 feel disposed may drop the alms on which only he subsists. He 
 is a little pale man, of an interesting countenance, which he does 
 not disfigure by such ostentatious marks of piety as are usual here, 
 and is said to be eloquent, as well as extremely learned in the 
 Sanscrit. 
 
 One of the most interesting and singular objects in Benares is 
 the ancient Observatory, founded before the Mussulman conquest, 
 and still very entire, though no longer made any use of It is a 
 stone building, containing some small courts, cloistered round for 
 the accommodation of the astronomers and their students, and a 
 large square tower, on which are seen a huge gnomon, perhaps 
 20 feet high, with the arc of a dial in proportion, a circle 15 feet 
 in diameter, and a meridional line, all in stone. These are very 
 far from being exact, but are interesting proofs of the zeal with 
 which science has at one time been followed in these countries. 
 There is a similar observatory at Delhi. 
 
 From the observatory we descended by a long flight of steps 
 to the water's edge, where a boat was waiting for us. I liad thus 
 an opportunity of seeing the whole city on its most fivourable 
 side. It is really a very large place, and rises from the river in an 
 amphitheatrical form, thickly studded with domes and minarets, 
 with many very fine ghats descending to the water's edge, all 
 crowded with bathers and worshippers. Shrines and temples of 
 various sizes, even within the usual limits of the river's rise, almost 
 line its banks. Some of these are very beautiful, though all are 
 
 p p2
 
 292 JAIN TEMPLE. 
 
 small, and I was particularly struck with one very elegant little 
 structure, which was founded, as well as the ghat on which it 
 stands, by the virtuous Ali Bhaee. On rowing past this, Mr. 
 Prinsep said that he had, as a special favour, obtained permission 
 for me to see a Jain temple. These Jains are a body of sectaries 
 held in detestation by the Hindoos, but who agree with them in 
 their adoration of the Ganges, and in their esteem for Benares. 
 They are not very numerous, and are themselves divided into two 
 sects, who hold each other in great abhorrence, and were recently 
 in arms in the streets of Benares, and were only parted by the 
 same strenuous peace-makers who interfered in the war of the 
 cows and swine. Those who reside here are chiefly from Bun- 
 dlecund, and many of them very rich merchants, who are exceed- 
 ingly jealous of their religious mysteries, and had never been known 
 to admit strangers into the penetralia of their temple. Mr. 
 Prinsep had, however, called most good-naturedly on the high- 
 priest, and on one of the leading members of the congregation, the 
 day before, and had said so much about me, both personally and 
 officially, that they offered to admit me, at first alone, and at 
 length relaxed so far, as to receive him and Mr. Macleod as inter- 
 preters. Mr. Prazer was not specially included, but Mr. Prinsep 
 did not doubt he might go too. The high-priest is himself re- 
 garded as an incarnation of the deity. 
 
 After climbing a steep flight of steps, and threading a succes- 
 sion of the narrowest alleys I ever saw, we arrived at the door of 
 a large and lofty but dingy house, at the top of which peeped out 
 a little gilt cupola. Here we climbed another steep stair-case, 
 and were received in a small but neat vestibule, without furniture, 
 except three or four chairs, and with a beautiful oriel window 
 looking on the river, by the priest, a tall large man, with a very 
 shrewd and intelligent countenance. He begged us to be seated, 
 and observed he was sorry he could not converse with me in any 
 language which I was sufficiently acquainted with, to make me 
 understand all I should see. Two or three others, Jain merchants.
 
 JAIN TEMPLE. 293 
 
 now entered, and the priest led us into a succession of six small 
 rooms, with an altar at the end of each, not unlike those in Roman 
 Catholic chapels, with a little niche on one side resembling 
 what in such Churches they call the " Piscina." In the centre of 
 each room was a large tray with rice and ghee strongly perfumed, 
 apparently as an offering, and in two or three of them were men 
 seated on their heels on the floor, with their hands folded as in 
 prayer or religious contemplation. Over each of the altars was an 
 altar-piece, a large bas-relief in marble, containing the first, five, the 
 last in succession twenty-five figures, all of men sitting cross-legged, 
 one considerably larger than the rest, and represented as a Negro. 
 He, the priest said, was their god, the rest were the different bodies 
 which he had assumed at different epochs, when he had become 
 incarnate to instruct mankind. The doctrines which he had 
 delivered on these occasions make up their theology, and the pro- 
 gress which any man has made in these mysteries, entitles him to 
 worship in one or more of the successive apartments which were 
 shewn us. 
 
 They call their god, I think, Purnavesa, but he is evidently 
 the same person as Buddha, being identified by his Negro features 
 and curled hair, and by the fact which the priest mentioned, that 
 he had many worshippers in Pegu and Tibet. Yet when I asked 
 if he was the same with Buddha, he did not expressly allow it, 
 merely answering that his proper name was Purnavesa. ^Ir. 
 Prinsep asked one of the merchants, what was the difference 
 between their religion and that of some other persons whom he 
 named, and who are their religious opponents. The man coloured 
 up to the eyes, and said with bitterness, '' As much as between the 
 Hindoo and the Christian, as much as between the Christian and 
 the Mussulman." *' We worship the same God," the priest said 
 more calmly, " but they are ignorant how to worship him." Mr. 
 Prinsep afterwards told me that the merchant to whom he spoke 
 had been one of the most active in the recent disturbance, and 
 had been *' in trouble'.' on that account. On our return to the
 
 294 VIDALAYA. 
 
 vestibule, where we first entered, the priest expressed his satisfac- 
 tion at the interest which I had taken in their temple, and the 
 hope of his congregation and himself that I would accept a trifling 
 present from them. One of the laymen at this raised a cloth, and 
 displayed two large trays, one full of sweetmeats, fruit, sugar, &c. 
 the other of very handsome shawls. The latter were far too 
 valuable for me to accept with propriety, and I told them that the 
 first would be quite sufiicient, and that it did not become a Priest 
 to be greedy of costly apparel. I then picked out some of the 
 raisins, and begged them to send the fruit to Mr. Brook's, but to 
 excuse my taking the shawls. The merchants looked heartily 
 glad, I thought, that they w^ere let off so easily, and accompanied 
 me down stairs with many compliments and offers of service in 
 any way that I would command them. With the Priest I had a 
 very friendly parting at the stair head. 
 
 There yet remained to be visited the mosque of Aurungzebe, 
 and the Yidalaya or Hindoo College, which fortunately both of them 
 lay pretty nearly in our direct way home. The former is a hand- 
 some building in a very advantageous situation, but chiefly remark- 
 able for the view from its minarets, which are very lofty, and 
 derive still greater elevation from the hill on which they stand. 
 The day was not favourable, but we still saw a great distance. 
 The Himalaya range may, as I was told, be sometimes seen, but 
 nothing of the sort was now visible, nor any mountains at all in a 
 horizon of great extent. The ground, however, of this part of 
 Hindostan is not without inequalities, and though it is certainly 
 for the most part one immense plain, it is such a plain as one sees 
 in miniature in England or on the Continent of Europe, not such 
 a mere dead level as Bengal. The bank on which Benares itself 
 stands, is of some height, and there were several ridges of hills 
 as at Chunar and other places within sight, which would fully rank 
 on a level w4th Havrkstone. 
 
 The whole country seems in cultivation, but less with rice 
 than wheat. The villages are numerous and large, but the scat-
 
 SELF-IMMOLATION. 295 
 
 tered dwellings few, and there is but little wood. Fuel is, conse- 
 quently, extremely dear, and to this circumstance is imputed the 
 number of bodies thrown into the river without burning. Suttees 
 are less numerous in Benares than many parts of India, but self- 
 immolation by drowning is very common. Many scores, every 
 year, of pilgrims from all parts of India, come hither expressly 
 to end their days and secure their salvation. They purchase two 
 large kedgeree pots between which they tie themselves, and when 
 empty these support their weight in the water. Thus equipped, 
 they paddle into the stream, then fill the pots with the water 
 which surrounds them, and thus sink into eternity. Government 
 have sometimes attempted to prevent this practice, but with no 
 other effect than driving the voluntary victims a little further 
 down the river ; nor indeed when a man has come several hundred 
 miles to die, is it likely that a police-officer can prevent him. 
 Instruction seems the only way in which these poor people 
 can be improved, and that, I trust, they will by degrees obtain 
 from us. 
 
 The Vidalaya is a large building divided into two courts galle- 
 ried above and below, and full of teachers and scholars, divided into 
 a number of classes, who learn reading, writing, arithmetic (in the 
 Hindoo manner,) Persian, Hindoo law, and sacred literature, 
 Sanscrit, astronomy according to the Ptolemaic system, and 
 astrology ! There are 200 scholars, some of whom of all sorts 
 came to say their lessons to me, though, unhappily, I was myself 
 able to profit by none, except the astronomy, and a little of the 
 Persian. The astronomical lecturer produced a terrestrial globe, 
 divided according to their system, and elevated to the meridian of 
 Benares. Mount Meru he identified with the north pole, and 
 under the southern pole he supposed the tortoise " chukwa" to 
 stand, on which the earth rests. The southern hemisphere he 
 apprehended to be uninhabitable, but on its concave surface, in the 
 interior of the globe, he placed Padalon. He then shewed me
 
 296 HINDOO ASTRONOMY. 
 
 how the sun went round the earth once in every day, and how, 
 by a diiFerent but equally continuous motion, he also visited the 
 sio-ns of the zodiac. The whole system is precisely that of 
 Ptolemy, and the contrast was very striking between the rubbish 
 which these young men were learning in a Government establish- 
 ment, and the rudiments of real knowledge which those whom I 
 had visited the day before had acquired, in the very same city, and 
 under circumstances far less favourable. I was informed that it 
 had been frequently proposed to introduce an English and mathe- 
 matical class, and to teach the Newtonian and Copernican system 
 of astronomy ; but that the late superintendant of the establish- 
 ment was strongly opposed to any innovation, partly on the plea 
 that it would draw the boys off from their Sanscrit studies, and 
 partly lest it should interfere with the religious prejudices of the 
 professors. The first of these arguments is pretty much like what 
 was urged at Oxford, (substituting Greek for Sanscrit,) against the 
 new examinations, by which, however, Greek has lost nothing. 
 The second is plainly absurd, since the Ptolomaic system, which 
 is now taught, is itself an innovation, and an improvement on the 
 old faith of eight worlds and seven oceans, arranged like a nest 
 of boxes. 
 
 The truth is, that even the pundit who read me this lecture, 
 smiled once or twice very slily, and said, " our people are taught 
 so and so," as if he himself knew better. And Mr. Prinsep after- 
 wards told me that learned brahmins had sometimes said to him, 
 that our system was the most rational, but that the other answered 
 all their purposes. They could construct almanacs, and calculate 
 eclipses tolerably by the one as well as the other, and the old 
 one was quite good enough, in all conscience, to cast nativities 
 with. Nor can we wonder at their adherence to old usage in these 
 respects, when we consider that to change their system would give 
 them some personal trouble, and when we recollect that the 
 church of Rome has not even yet withdrawn the Anathema which
 
 BENARES. 297 
 
 she levelled at the heresy that the earth turned round, as taught 
 by Copernicus and Galileo. There are in this college about 200 
 pupils, and 10 professors, all paid and maintained by Government. 
 
 During my progress through the holy places I had received 
 garlands of flowers in considerable numbers, which I was told it 
 was uncivil to throw away, particularly those which were hung 
 round my neck. I now, in consequence, looked more like a sacri- 
 Jice than a priest, and on getting again into the gig was glad to 
 rid myself of my ornaments. On talking with Mr. Macleod on 
 the civility and apparent cordiality with which I had been received 
 by these heathen priests, he said that my coming had excited 
 considerable curiosity, from the idea that I was the Patriarch of 
 Constantinople ! He had heard this from a learned Mussulman 
 Moulavie, Abdul-Khadur, who spoke of it as the current news 
 that such a person was to arrive, and asked when he might be 
 expected. The origin of the idea, when explained, was not an 
 unnatural one. Of the Bishop of Calcutta, eo nomine, I had 
 previously reason to believe nothing had been heard or known in 
 Hindostan, or any where out of the immediate neighbourhood of 
 the Presidency ; but the news now was that the " Sirdar Padre," 
 or " Mufti," of all the '* Sahib log" was coming to visit the dif- 
 ferent Churches. The only two persons they had heard of 
 answering to this character were the Pope and the Patriarch. 
 They were not ignorant of the religious difference between the 
 English and the Roman Catholics, so that they could not suppose 
 me to be the former. But they are not equally well informed as 
 to our discrepancy from the second ; and many of them believe, 
 that though we abhor images, we still pay some reverence to 
 pictures. The Moulavie himself thus explained his meaning, 
 saying, (in consequence of Mr. Macleod's expressing his surprise at 
 his first question, " Whether the Papi Roum were not coming ? ") 
 that he did not mean old but new Rome, or Islambol, and that he 
 meant the head of those Christians, who, like his Honour, abhorred 
 images, but not pictures. I know not whether he quite believed 
 
 Q q
 
 298 BENARES. 
 
 Mr. Macleod's disclaimer of such worship, but he professed him- 
 self ignorant till that moment of the existence of a third sect 
 among the Nazarani, and glad to find that the Sahibs diflPered, even 
 less than he had supposed, from the true believers. None of the 
 gentlemen most conversant with the natives apprehended that my 
 arrival had created any suspicious or jealous feeling, or that my 
 avowed errand, (to see that the inferior Padres did their duty,) was 
 thought other than natural and commendable. It is, however, 
 thought that the natives do not really like us, and that if a fair 
 opportunity oflPered, the Mussulmans, more particularly, would 
 gladly avail themselves of it to rise against us. But this is from 
 political, not religious feeling ; and it has been increased of late 
 years by the conduct of Lord Hastings to the old Emperor of 
 Delhi, a conduct which has been pursued by succeeding adminis- 
 trations, but which entirely differed from the outward respect and 
 allegiance which the Company's officers had professed to pay him, 
 from Lord Clive downwards. The elevation of the Nawab of 
 Oude to the kingly title, and Lord Hastings^s refusal to pay him 
 the same homage which all his predecessors had courted every 
 opportunity of doing, and which even the Maharattas did not ne- 
 glect when the late Shah Aullum was their prisoner, have awakened 
 questions and scruples among the fierce Mahommedans about 
 obeying an unbelieving nation, which were quite forgotten while 
 the English Company acted as the servant and " Dewan" of the 
 house of Timur. The behaviour of Lord Hastings was very dis- 
 advantageously contrasted in Benares with that of Warren Hastings, 
 who, in the height of his power and conquests, gained infinite 
 popularity by riding publicly through the city, as usual with the 
 high functionaries of the court of Delhi, behind the howdah of the 
 hereditary prince, with a fan of peacock^s feathers in his hand. 
 This, however, is a digression. I am satisfied from all I hear, that 
 the natives of this neighbourhood have at present no idea that 
 any interference with their religion is intended on the part of 
 Government ; that if any thing, they rather esteem us the more
 
 BENARES. 299 
 
 for shewing some signs of not being without a rehgion, and that 
 any fancies of a different tendency which have arisen, on this 
 subject, in Bengal or other parts of India, have been uniformly put 
 into their heads by ill-designing persons among the Portuguese, 
 half-caste, or European residents. Nevertheless, all my informants 
 here, as well as in most other places where I have heard the ques- 
 tion discussed, are of opinion that a direct interference on the 
 part of Government with any of the religious customs of the 
 country, (the suttees for example,) would be eagerly laid hold of 
 and urged as the first step in a new system, by all who wish us ill, 
 and that though it would probably not of itself occasion a rebel- 
 lion, it would give additional popularity, and a more plausible 
 pretext, to the first rebellion which such disaffected persons might 
 find opportunity for attempting. Meanwhile I cannot learn that 
 the missionaries and the schools which they establish, have excited 
 much attention, or of an unfavourable nature. Their labours, 
 after all, have been chiefly confined to the wdves of the British 
 soldiers, who had already lost caste by their marriage, or to such 
 Mussulmans or Hindoos as of their own accord, and prompted by 
 curiosity, or a better motive, have come to their schools or 
 churches, or invited them to their houses. The number of these 
 enquirers after truth is, I understand, even now not inconsiderable, 
 and increasing daily. But I must say, that of actual converts, 
 except soldiers' wives, I have met with very few, and these have 
 been all, I think, made by the Archdeacon. 
 
 The custom of street-preaching, of which the Baptist and 
 other dissenting missionaries in Bengal are very fond, has never 
 been resorted to by those employed by the Church Missionary 
 Society, and never shall be as long as I have any influence or 
 authority over them. I plainly see it is not necessary, and I see 
 no less plainly that though it may be safe among the timid Ben- 
 galees, it would be very likely to produce mischief here. All 
 which the Missionaries do, is to teach schools, to read prayers, and 
 preach in their Churches, and to visit the houses of such persons as 
 
 Qq2
 
 300 BENARES. 
 
 wish for information on religious subjects. Poor Amrut Row, the 
 charitable Ex-Peishwa (whose ashes I saw yet smoking on All 
 Bhaee's Ghat as I passed it) was, I find, one of these enquirers. 
 Mr. ]\Iorris, the missionary, had received a message with his High- 
 nesses compliments, desiring him to call on him the middle of the 
 week, as he " was anxious to obtain a further knowledge of Chris- 
 tianity !" It is distressing to think that this message was deferred 
 so long, and that, short as the interval which he had calculated 
 on was, his own time was shorter still. Yet surely one may hope 
 for such a man that his knowledge and faith may have been 
 greater than the world supposed, and that, at all events, the 
 feeling which made him, thus late in life, desirous to hear the 
 truth, would not be lost on Him whose grace may be supposed to 
 have first prompted it. 
 
 I received a visit from the Raja of Benares, a middle aged 
 man, very corpulent, with more approach to colour in his cheeks 
 than is usually seen in Asiatics, and a countenance and appearance 
 not unlike an English farmer. My few complimentary phrases in 
 Persian being soon at an end, Mr. Brooke interpreted for me, and 
 I found my visitor very ready to converse about the antiquities of 
 his city, the origin of its name, which he said had anciently been 
 Baranas, from two rivers, Bara and Nasa, which here fall into the 
 Ganges, (I suppose under ground, for no such are set down on the 
 map) and other similar topics. I regretted to learn, after he was 
 gone, that he resided at some distance from the city on the other 
 side of the river, and where I had no chance of returning his call ; 
 but I was told that he expected no such compliment, though he 
 would be pleased to learn that I had wished to pay it him. The 
 Maharaja's equipage was not by any means a splendid one ; he had 
 silver sticks, however, behind his carriage, and the usual show of 
 spears preceding it, but no troopers that I saw. He is rich, not- 
 withstanding, and the circumstances of his family have materially 
 improved since the conquest of Benares by the English from the 
 INIussulmans.
 
 BENARES. 301 
 
 September 8. — I this morning went to some of the points in 
 the city which I was most anxious to fix in my memory, which 
 had indeed been a Httle confused by the multitude of objects 
 which I saw yesterday. I rode a very pretty but hot and obstinate 
 Java poney. These poneys bear a high price in India, and deserve 
 it, as though httle creatures, they are beautiful, lively, and very 
 strong and hardy. I am told I was wrong in not bringing up 
 my Arab, since I shall find a good horse absolutely necessary for 
 my journey overland, and really good ones are very dear and 
 difficult to procure. A Turkoman horse, if I can obtain one, is 
 said to be the best for my purpose, since though not very fleet, 
 nor handsome, they are strong, sure-footed, good-tempered, and, 
 when not too much hurried, never tire. The horses of the Dooab 
 and Rajpootana have been lately a good deal improved by an 
 intermixture of English blood, and are generally tall and handsome, 
 but are dear, and often verv vicious, and on the whole better 
 adapted for a hunt or a battle, than the patient and continued 
 exertions of a long march. 
 
 Nothing remarkable occurred during my ride in Benares this 
 morning, except the conduct of a little boy, a student in the 
 Vidalaya, who ran after me in the street, and with hands joined, 
 said that I *' had not heard him his lesson yesterday, but he could 
 sing it very well to-day if I would let him." I accordingly stopped 
 my horse and sate with great patience while he chanted a long 
 stave of Sanscrit. I repeated at proper pauses, " good, good," 
 which satisfied him so much, that when he had finished, he called 
 out " again,'' and was beginning a second stave when I dis- 
 missed him with a present, on which he fumbled in his mantle 
 for some red flowers, which he gave me, and ran by my side, 
 still talking on till the crowd separated us. While he was speak- 
 ing or singing, for I hardly know which to call it, the people 
 round applauded him very much, and from the way in which they 
 seemed to apply the verses to me, I suspect that it was a compli- 
 mentary address which he had been instructed to deliver the day
 
 302 BENARES. 
 
 before, but had missed his opportunity. If so, I am glad he did 
 not lose his labour ; but the few words, which, from their occur- 
 rence in Hindoostanee, I understood, did not at all help me to his 
 meaning. 
 
 This evening I dined with Mr. Sands, one of the circuit judges, 
 at whose house I had the pleasure to find Mr. Melville, who had 
 just arrived from Ghazepoor. He and Mr. Macleod offered again 
 to take me to Benares, which, as they said, I had only half seen. 
 I was, however, thoroughly tired with the days of bustle I had 
 gone through. On Sunday I had three services, on Monday one, 
 the consecration of the burial ground, besides the school-examina- 
 tion. On Tuesday I had been sight-seeing from five till nearly 
 ten o'clock ; to-day I was out an almost equal time, similarly 
 employed, besides a regular evening drive, and receiving and 
 paying visits, while all the intervals between these engagements 
 were occupied with reading and answering a large mass of papers 
 from Bishop's College, Madras, and Calcutta. I therefore begged 
 leave to postpone my further researches till my next visit. To 
 see it as it deserves, indeed, Benares would require a fortnight. 
 
 My boats arrived this morning off the mouth of the small 
 river which leads to Secrole, but as the state of the weather was 
 such as to make it probable it would soon be almost dry, they 
 were sent on to Rajaghat, and thence proceeded directly to 
 Chunar, whither I was advised to go myself by land. The 
 weather has indeed been such as is very seldom experienced at this 
 time of year, and such as threatens to be very unfortunate, not 
 only for my voyage, but for the country. No rain has fallen for 
 many days ; the wind has blown steadily and very hot from the 
 west, and every thing foretels a speedy termination of the '' bursat," 
 or rainy season. In consequence I shall have a very laborious 
 and slow tracking on the river, and what is much worse, the tanks 
 are barely half full, the country but imperfectly irrigated, and 
 famine, murrain, and all their attendant horrors, may be looked 
 for. God avert such calamities from this poor country !
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BENARES TO ALLAHABAD. 
 
 Ckunar — Intense Heat — Trimhuk-jee — Hindoo Temple — Confii^mation — Invalids — Departure 
 from Chunar — Large Fish — Retrospect of Benares — Quarrel between Hindoos and Mussul- 
 mans — Sitting Dhurna — Natives^ Opinions of English Governors — Allahabad — Fort — 
 Jumna Musjeed — Confirmation — Preparations for marching — Festival of Rama and 
 Seeta. 
 
 September 10. — The events of yesterday are not worth recording. 
 Mr. Maeleod had promised to drive me in his gig half way to 
 Sultanpoor, and at five o'clock this morning he was at my door. 
 My palanqueen had been sent on before, so that I had the advantage 
 of making a quicker progress, as well as of enjoying his interesting 
 conversation for about 7 miles, when the carriage road ended in a 
 little nullah, where we found the palanqueen waiting for me, in 
 which I proceeded to Sultanpoor, where I found a boat in readi- 
 ness to convey me to Chunar, at which place I was to be Colonel 
 Alexander's guest. 
 
 The view of Chunar is, from the river, very striking. Its 
 fortress, which is of great extent, formerly of first-rate importance, 
 and still in good repair, covers the crest and sides of a large and 
 high rock, with several successive enclosures of walls and towers, 
 the lowest of which have their base washed by the Ganges. On 
 the right, as we approached it, is seen a range of rocky and 
 uneven hills, on the left a large Indian town, intermingled with 
 fine round headed trees, with some very good European habita- 
 tions, and a tall Gothic tower like that of a parish Church in
 
 304 CHUNAR. 
 
 England, which belongs in fact to the Mission Church, and is an 
 imitation of that in Mr. Corrie's native village. The whole scene 
 is entirely English ; the mosques and muts are none of them 
 visible in this quarter ; the native houses, with their white walls 
 and red tiled roofs, look exactly like those of a small English 
 country town ; the castle with its union flag is such as would be 
 greatly admired, but not at all out of place, in any ancient 
 English seaport, and much as I admire palm-trees, I felt glad that 
 they were not very common in this neighbourhood, and that there 
 were in point of fact none visible, to spoil the home character of 
 the prospect. But such a sun, thank heaven ! never glared on 
 England as this day rained its lightenings on Chunar. I thought 
 myself fortunate in getting housed by ten o'clock, and before the 
 worst came on, but it was still enough to sicken one. There was 
 little wind, and what there was was hot, and the reflexion and 
 glare of the light grey rock, the light grey castle, the light grey 
 sand, the white houses, and the hot bright river were about as 
 much as I could endure. Yet, I trust, it is not a little that over- 
 powers me. Breakfast, however, at Colonel Alexander's, and a 
 good draught of cold water set me quite up again, and I was occu- 
 pied the rest of the morning in obtaining details of the schools and 
 mission from Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Bowley. We dined with 
 Colonel Robertson, the commandant of the fortress and station, 
 and met a very large party, including among others Sir G. Martin- 
 dell, the General in command at Cawnpoor ; he is a fine, mild, 
 unaffected old officer, with an experience of India, and particularly 
 the upper provinces, scarcely shorter than Mr. Brook's, and per- 
 haps more various and extensive. 
 
 In the evening Colonel Alexander drove me in a gig a little 
 way into the country, which is really pretty. The European 
 dwellings are all on the side of a steep slope, covered with wood 
 and gardens, with their drawing-room verandahs opening for the 
 most part on a raised terrace. Behind, and rising still higher up 
 the slope, is the native town, the houses all of stone and mostly
 
 CHUNAR FORT. 305 
 
 of two stories, generally with verandahs in front let out into 
 shops, the whole not unlike a Welch market-town, but much larger, 
 and probably containing 15,000 people. Beyond is an open 
 country, intersected by a broad nullah, with a handsome Gothic 
 bridge, and beyond this an open extent of rocky and woody 
 country, which is a good deal infested by wolves and bears, but 
 seldom visited by a tyger. The bears rarely do any harm unless 
 they are first attacked. The wolves are apparently more daring and 
 impudent than in Russia ; they are said frequently to come to the 
 houses and sheepfolds, and sometimes even attack and carry off 
 children. The inhabitants of Chunar will not admit that it deserves 
 the character which it usually bears, of excessive heat, but if this 
 day and night were a fair specimen, I have certainly felt nothing 
 to equal it. It happily grew cooler towards morning, and I got a 
 few hours good sleep, which I much needed. 
 
 September 11. — This morning Colonel Robertson called to 
 take me to see the fort, which well repays the labour, though this 
 is not trifling. The site and outline are very noble ; the rock on 
 which it stands is perfectly insulated, and either naturally or by 
 art, bordered on every side by a very aweful precipice, flanked, 
 wherever it has been possible to obtain a salient angle, with towers, 
 bartizans, and bastions of various forms and sizes. There are a 
 good many cannon mounted, and a noble bomb-proof magazine 
 for powder, which has been lately in a great measure stripped for 
 the supply of the Birman war. Colonel Robertson, however, told 
 me, that the ammunition on which he should most depend for the 
 defence of Chunar are stone cylinders, rudely made, and pretty 
 much like garden-rollers, which are piled up in great numbers 
 throughout the interior of the fort, and for which the rock on 
 which the fort stands affords an inexhaustible quarry. These, 
 which are called " mutwalas," (drunkards) from their staggering 
 motion, are rolled over the parapet down the steep face of the hill, 
 to impede the advances and overwhelm the ranks of an assaulting 
 army, and when a place has not been regularly breached, or where, 
 
 R r
 
 306 TRliMBUK-JEE. 
 
 as at Chunar, the scarped and sloping rock itself serves as a rampart, 
 few troops will so much as face them. Against a native army, 
 Colonel Robertson said Chunar, if resolutely defended, would, he 
 thought, be impregnable, and except in one quarter it would stand 
 no contemptible siege against an European force. Even there the 
 rock which commands it might easily be so much lowered as to 
 prevent any danger, and the stone of which it consists is so 
 valuable, that the neighbouring Zemindars had offered to cart it 
 away at their own expense, provided Government would give up 
 the duty now laid on Chunar-stone when transported to different 
 parts of India ; but the offer was declined. 
 
 On the top of the rock of Chunar, and within the rampart, is 
 a considerable space, covered with remarkably fine English hay- 
 grass, now nearly ripe for cutting, several noble spreading trees, 
 and some excellent houses for the officers, few of whom, however, 
 when not on duty, remain here, the reflexion of the sun from the 
 rock being very powerful, and the expense of bringing water for 
 the Tatties great. Within this principal circle, and on a still 
 higher point, are two inner fortifications, one containing the 
 Governor's house, the hospital, and the state-prison, now inhabited 
 by the celebrated Maharatta chieftain Trimbuk-jee, long the 
 inveterate enemy of the British power, and the fomenter of all the 
 troubles in Berar, Malwah, and the Deccan. He is confined with 
 great strictness, having an European as well as a Sepoy guard, and 
 never being trusted out of the sight of the sentries. Even his 
 bed-chamber has three grated windows open into the verandah 
 which serves as guard-room. In other respects he is well treated, 
 has two large and very airy apartments, a small building fitted up 
 as a pagoda, and a little garden shaded with a peepul-tree, which 
 he has planted very prettily with balsams and other flowers. Four 
 of his own servants are allowed to attend him, but they are always 
 searched before they quit or return to the fort, and must be always 
 there at night. He is a little, lively, irritable-looking man, dressed, 
 when I saw him, in a dirty cotton mantle, with a broad red border,
 
 . TRIMBUK-JEE. 307 
 
 thrown carelessly over his head and shoulders. I was introduced 
 to him by Colonel Alexander, and he received me courteously, 
 observing that he himself was a brahmin, and in token of his 
 brotherly regard, plucking some of his prettiest flowers for me. 
 He then shewed me his garden and pagoda, and after a few com- 
 mon-place expressions of the pleasure I felt in seeing so celebrated 
 a warrior, which he answered by saying with a laugh, he should have 
 been glad to make my acquaintance elsewhere, I made my bow 
 and took leave. He has been now, I beheve, five years in prison, 
 and seems likely to remain there during life, or till the death of 
 his patron and tool, Bajee Row, may lessen his power of doing 
 mischief He has often offered to give security to any amount 
 for his good behaviour, and to become a warmer friend to the 
 company than he has ever been their enemy, but his applications 
 have been vain. He attributes, I understand, their failure to 
 Mr. Elphinstone, the governor of Bombay, who is, he says, '' his 
 best friend, and his worst enemy," the faithful trustee of his 
 estate, treating his children with parental kindness, and interesting 
 himself, in the first instance, to save his life, but resolutely fixed 
 on keeping him in prison, and urging the Supreme Court to distrust 
 all his protestations. His life must now be dismally monotonous 
 and wearisome. Though a brahmin of high caste, and so long a 
 minister of state and the commander of armies, he can neither 
 write nor read, and his whole amusement consists in the cere- 
 monies of his idolatry, his garden, and the gossip which his servants 
 pick up for him in the town of Chunar. Avarice seems at present 
 his ruling passion. He is a very severe inspector of his weekly 
 accounts, and one day set the whole garrison in an uproar about 
 some ghee which he accused his khiinsaman of embezzling ; in 
 short, he seems less interested with the favourable reports which 
 he from time to time receives of his family, than with the banking 
 accounts by which they are accompanied. Much as he is said to 
 deserve his fate, as a murderer, an extortioner, and a grossly per- 
 jured man, I hope I may be allowed to pity him. 
 
 R r 2
 
 308 CHUNAR FORT. 
 
 In the last inclosure of the fortress, on the very summit of 
 the mountain, and calculated to make a defence even after all the 
 lower works had fallen, are several very interesting buildings. 
 One of them is the old Hindoo palace, a central dome surrounded 
 by several vaulted apartments, with many remains of painting and 
 carving, but dark, low, and impervious to heat ; on one side of 
 this is a loftier and more airy building, now used as an armoury, 
 but formerly the residence of the Mussulman governor, w ith hand- 
 some rooms, and beautifully carved oriel wdndows, such as one 
 reads of in Mrs. RadclifFe's castles. A little further on in the 
 bastion is an extraordinary well or reservoir, about 15 feet in 
 diameter, and cut to a great depth in the solid rock, but the water 
 of which is not sufficiently good to be used, except in case of 
 necessity. In front of the Hindoo palace, in the pavement of the 
 court, are seen four small round holes, just large enough for a man 
 to pass through, below which is the state prison of ancient times. 
 Well is it for Trimbuk-jee that his lot is thrown in better days ! 
 This is a horrible dungeon indeed, with neither light, air, nor 
 access, except what these apertures supply to a space of 40 feet 
 square. It is now used as a cellar. But the greatest curiosity of 
 all remains to be described. Colonel Robertson called for a key, 
 and unlocking a rusty iron door in a very rugged and ancient wall, 
 said he would shew me the most holy place in all India. Taking 
 off his hat, he led the way into a small square court, overshadow^ed 
 by a very old peepul-tree, which grew from the rock on one side, 
 and from one of the branches of which hung a small silver bell. 
 Under it was a large slab of black marble, and opposite on the walls, 
 a rudely carved rose inclosed in a triangle. No image was visible, 
 but some Sepoys who followed us in, fell on their knees, kissed 
 the dust in the neighbourhood of the stone, and rubbed their 
 foreheads with it. On this stone, Colonel Alexander said, the 
 Hindoos all believe that the Almighty is seated, personally, 
 though invisibly, for nine hours every day, removing during the 
 other three hours to Benares. On this account the Sepoys appre-
 
 CONFIRMATION. 309 
 
 hend that Chunar can never be taken by an enemy, except between 
 the hours of six and nine in the morning, and for the same reason, 
 and in order by this sacred neighbourhood to be out of all danger 
 of witchcraft, the kings of Benares, before the Mussulman con- 
 quest, had all the marriages of their family celebrated in the 
 adjoining palace. I own I felt some little emotion in standing on 
 this mimic mount Calasay. I was struck with the absence of idols, 
 and with the feeling of propriety which made even a Hindoo reject 
 external symbols in the supposed actual presence of the Deity, 
 and I prayed inwardly that God would always preserve in my 
 mind, and in his own good time instruct these poor people, in 
 what manner, and how truly he is indeed present both here and 
 every where. 
 
 We now went back to Colonel Alexander's, and thence to 
 Church, where I had the satisfliction of confirming nearly 100 
 persons, 57 of whom were natives, chiefly, as at Benares, soldiers' 
 wives and widows, but all unacquainted with the English language, 
 and perfectly Oriental in their dress and habits. They were most 
 deeply impressed with the ceremony, bowing down to the very 
 pavement when I laid my hand on their heads, and making the 
 responses in a deep solemn tone of emotion which was extremely 
 touching. The elder women, and all the few men who offered 
 themselves, had been Mr. Corrie's converts during his residence 
 here ; the younger females had been added to the Church, either 
 from Hindooism, Mahommedanism, or Popery, by Mr. Bowley. Of 
 the last there were not many, but strange to tell, they were, he 
 said, as ignorant in the first instance of the commonest truths of 
 Christianity as the Hindoos. After dinner to-day, colonel Alexan- 
 der drove me to a beautiful place about three miles from Chunar, 
 a garden of palm and other fruit-trees, containing a mosque and a 
 very large and beautiful tomb of a certain Shekh Kaseem Soliman 
 and his son. Of their history I could learn nothing further than 
 that they were very holy men, who died here when on a pilgrim- 
 age, and that their tombs, and the accompanying mosque, were
 
 310 xMUSSULMAN WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 built and endowed by one of the emperors of Delhi. The build- 
 ino'S and the grove in which they stand are very solemn and striking, 
 and the carving of the principal gateway, and of the stone lattice 
 with which the garden is enclosed, is more like embroidery than 
 the work of the chissel. A party of ^lussulmans were at their 
 evening prayers on one of the stone terraces, all as usual, decent, 
 devout, and earnest. Colonel Alexander expressed a regret that 
 Christians fell short of them in these particulars. I answered at 
 the moment, that perhaps in proportion to the spirituality of our 
 rehgion, we were too apt to neglect its outward forms. But on 
 consideration, I am not sure that the imputation, which I have 
 heard before, is just, or that iNIussulmans when in the act of prayer, 
 are really more externally decorous than the majority of Christians. 
 We are all much impressed with religious ceremonies to which we 
 are not accustomed, and while as passing and casual spectators of 
 a worship carried on by persons in scene and dress, words and 
 posture, all different from our own, but all picturesque and strik- 
 ing, we may easily overlook those less conspicuous instances of 
 listlessnesS or inattention, which would not fail to attract our 
 notice, where the matter and mamier are both familiar. I am 
 sure that the Heathens and INIussulmans, and there were many of 
 them, who looked in on our congregation this morning, had no fault 
 to find with the decency and external abstraction either of the 
 native or European worshippers. The night was intensely hot, but 
 I, and by my advice. Colonel Alexander, passed it in very toler- 
 able comfort, by sleeping on a couch in an open verandah. 
 
 September 12. — This morning I had the agreeable surprise to 
 find that Messrs. ]\Iacleod and Frazer had come over from Benares 
 dm*ing the night. We went to church together, where I also 
 found jNIr. Morris. I had consequently four Clergymen with me, 
 besides the Catechists Bowley and Adlington, — a more numerous 
 body than could, thirty years ago, have been mustered in the whole 
 Presidency of Fort Wilham. The congregation, too, was more 
 numerous than I have seen out of Calcutta. The Invalids of the
 
 SACRAMENT. 311 
 
 garrison who attended, amounted to above 200 Europeans, besides 
 the officers and civil servants and their famiUes, and I should think 
 100 natives. About 130 staid the Sacrament, of which the natives 
 amounted to nearly 70, and I was led to observe that the women 
 of their number who had been Mussulmans, pertinaciously kept 
 their veils down, and even received the bread on a comer of the 
 muslin, rather than expose the bare hand. One of the others, a 
 very young woman who had been confirmed the day before, instead 
 of extending the hand, threw back her veil, and opened her 
 mouth, by which I guessed she had been brought up a Roman 
 Catholic. All were very devout and attentive, — ^some shed tears, 
 and the manner in which they pronounced " Ameen" was very 
 solemn and touching. The Hindoostanee prayers read extremely 
 well, but they are so full of Arabic and Persian words, that those 
 converts who have not been Mussulmans must, I fear, find some 
 difficulty in understanding them. 
 
 After dinner we again attended church, first for Hindoostanee 
 prayer, afterwards for the usual English service. The former was 
 attended by I should suppose 200 persons, many of whom, how- 
 ever, were heathens and Mussulmans, who distinguished themselves 
 by keeping their turbans on. Mr. Morris read the prayers, 
 omitting the Psalms and the First Lesson, neither of which, unfor- 
 tunately, are as yet translated into Hindoostanee, though the 
 latter is in progress, and Mr. Bowley preached a very useful and 
 sensible sermon. He speaks Hindoostanee with the fluency of a 
 native, and I was pleased to find that I could follow the argument 
 of his sermon with far more ease than I expected. 
 
 Chunar, or " Chunar-Gurh," that is Chunar Castle, used to be 
 of great importance as a military post before the vast extension of 
 the British frontier westward. It is one of the principal stations 
 for such invalids as are still equal to garrison duty ; and on them 
 at the present moment, owing to the low state of the Company's 
 army, and the demand for men in the east, all the duty of Chunar 
 depends, which, from their health, they are barely equal to, though
 
 312 INVALIDS. 
 
 they are, Europeans and Sepoys together, above a thousand men. 
 The Sepoy invahds have mostly grown old in the service, and are 
 weather-beaten fellows, with no other injury than what time has 
 inflicted. Some of the Europeans are very old likewise ; there is 
 one who fought with Clive, and has still no infirmity but deafness 
 and dim sight. The majority, however, are men still hardly 
 advanced beyond youth, early victims of a devouring climate, 
 assisted, perhaps, by carelessness and intemperance ; and it was a 
 pitiable spectacle to see the white emaciated hands thrust out 
 under a soldier's sleeve to receive the sacrament, and the pale 
 cheeks, and tall languid figures of men, who if they had remained 
 in Europe, would have been still overflowing with youthful vigour 
 and vivacity, the best ploughmen, the strongest wrestlers, and the 
 merriest dancers of the village. The invalids of Chunar have 
 borne a very bad character for their profligacy and want of disci- 
 pline ; but Colonel Alexander says that he never commanded men 
 who, on the whole, gave him less trouble, and a favourable 
 character is given of many by the INJissionary, Mr. Green- 
 wood. I should judge well of them from their attendance in 
 church, and the remarkable seriousness of their deportment while 
 there \ 
 
 " During the Bishop's stay at Chunar, a memorial was addressed to him through Colonel 
 Robertson, commandant of the garrison, by the gentlemen who compose the committee for the 
 care of the Church and the Mission premises, expressing a hope that Government would allow a 
 small monthly sum to assist in preserving a building which had been erected, and hitherto 
 maintained without any assistance from Government. To this memorial, the Bishop returned 
 the following answer from Allahabad to Colonel Robertson. 
 
 " I have to acknowledge the receipt of your obliging letter, as well as the very interesting 
 and important memorial contained in it. In answer to both I beg leave to say, that among 
 the many circumstances which rendered my visit to Chunar an agreeable one, a principal was 
 the pleasure I derived from witnessing the dimensions, the solidity, and good taste of the 
 Church, as well as the highly creditable manner in which divine service was performed, and 
 the numerous, orderly, and devout attendance of the Europeans of your garrison, as well as 
 their native wives and widows. I feel, therefore, no less forcibly than the gentlemen of the 
 Church committee themselves an anxiety, that so striking a proof of the piety and liberality of 
 mdividuals at the station, should not be suffered to fall to decay through a want of the fostering 
 hand of Government; and that the gallant men who have spent their health and strength in
 
 CHUNAR. 313 
 
 September 13. — This morning I went again with colonel 
 Alexander and my two friends from Benares, to see the tomb of 
 Shekh Soliman ^ and after breakfast I w ent on board, taking leave 
 of my friends with a more earnest wish to meet again than travellers 
 can often hope to feel. Nothing occurred this day or the next 
 much worth recording. We made a very slow progress with the 
 tow-line, under a burning sun, and without wind. The country is 
 pretty, but the river falling very low, with great bare banks of 
 brown earth visible on each side. The boatmen all cry out that 
 there will be famine in these provinces, though in Bengal, where 
 rice is the staple crop, the harvest will probably be a very fine one, 
 the danger there being of too much, rather than too little water. 
 This heat brings all odious insects out of their lurking-places ; I 
 found in my cabin a large scorpion, not like that which I had seen 
 
 their country's cause, should not be deprived, in their age and infirmities, of the comforts which 
 the ordinances of religion are only able to supply. I beg you, therefore, to believe that the 
 objects of your application, so far as I apprehend them to be compatible with some general 
 measures to the same good end, which I have reason to anticipate from the care of Government, 
 shall not want my best recommendation, or my earnest wishes for their success with a Govern- 
 ment, which, I willingly bear them witness, to the extent of the means entrusted to them, have 
 always shewn themselves anxious for the encouragement and support of such feelings and such 
 conduct, as I witnessed in the veterans of Chunar. 
 
 " May I request you to convey to the gentlemen of the Church committee, ray thanks in 
 the name of the Church of England and religion in general, for the liberality which they have 
 shewn, and the judgement with which that liberal expenditure has been conducted ; and to accept 
 at the same time my best thanks for all the kindness with which you have personally favoured 
 me." 
 
 " (Signed) REGINALD CALCUTTA."— Ed. 
 
 " The following is an extract of a letter from Colonel Alexander to the Editor, dated 
 London, 13th July, 1827. 
 
 " It may, at a time when every thing relating to the memory of such a man is precious, 
 be interesting to you to hear, that during the few days the revered Bishop honoured me with 
 his company at Chunar, in our early drive one morning in my gig, I pointed out to him a large 
 stone idol, of curious manufacture, which had just been sculptured, and was nearly ready for 
 transmission to Benares, to be set up in one of the temples. His Lordship descended from the 
 gig, and sui-veyed it with deep attention, but said little. Those, however, who knew him, may 
 easily imagine what were the workings of his mind at the sight of such an object, not many 
 months before hewn from the neighbouring quarry." — Ed. 
 
 S S
 
 314 MIRZAPOOR. 
 
 before, but black and hairy, and two more were found by my 
 servants. Near Seidpoor the Corries' boats were attacked by a 
 swarm of large wasps which stung every person on board ; it is a 
 celebrated place for sugar, which indeed seems cultivated to a 
 great and increasing extent in all this part of the country. At 
 most of the ghats leading to the villages I see large rollers of 
 Chunar-stone, apparently just landed from boats, and intended to 
 crush the sugar-canes. The demand must be great to elicit such 
 a supply. 
 
 Septemher 15. — We passed Mirzapoor, the size and apparent 
 opulence of which surprised me, as it is a place of no ancient 
 importance or renown, has grown up completely since the 
 English power has been established here, and under our govern- 
 ment is only an inferior civil station, with a few native troops. It 
 is, however, a very great town, as large, I should think, as Patna, 
 with many handsome native houses, and a vast number of mosques 
 and temples, numerous and elegant bungalows in its outskirts and 
 on the opposite side of the river, — a great number of boats of all 
 kinds moored under its ghats, and is computed to contain between 
 2 and 300,000 people. 
 
 This is, indeed, a most rich and striking land. Here, in the 
 space of little more than 200 miles, along the same river, I have 
 passed six towns, none of them less populous than Chester, — two, 
 (Patna and Mirzapoor,) more so than Birmingham ; and one, 
 Benares, more peopled than any city in Europe, except London 
 and Paris ! And this besides villages innumerable. I observed 
 to Mr. Corrie that I had expected to find agriculture in Hindostan 
 in a flourishing state, but the great cities ruined, in consequence 
 of the ruin of the Mussulman nobles. He answered, that cer- 
 tainly very many ancient families had gone to decay, but he did 
 not think the gap had been ever perceptible in his time, in 
 this part of India, since it had been more than filled up by a new 
 order rising from the middling classes, whose wealth had, during 
 his recollection, increased very greatly. Far indeed from those
 
 JANGHUIRABAD. 315 
 
 cities which we had already passed, decaying, most of them had 
 much increased in the number of their houses, and in what is a 
 sure sign of wealth in India, the number and neatness of their 
 ghats and temples, since he was last here. Nothing, he said, was 
 plainer to him, from the multitude of little improvements of this 
 kind, of small temples and Bungalows, partly in the European 
 style, but obviously inhabited by natives, that wealth was becoming 
 more abundant among the middling ranks, and that such of them 
 as are rich are not afraid of appearing so. The great cities in the 
 Dooab, he said, were indeed scenes of desolation. The whole 
 country round Delhi and Agra, when he first saw it, was filled with 
 the marble ruins of villas, mosques, and palaces, with the frag- 
 ments of tanks and canals, and the vestiges of inclosures. But 
 this ruin had occured before the British arms had extended thus 
 far, and while the country was under the tyranny and never-ending 
 invasions of the Persians, Aifghans, and Maharattas. Even here 
 a great improvement had taken place before he left Agra, and he 
 hoped to find a much greater on his return. He apprehended 
 that on the w^hole, all India had gained under British rule, except, 
 perhaps, Dacca and its neighbourhood, where the manufactures 
 had been nearly ruined. 
 
 We slept this night off a village called Janghuirabad, in a 
 pretty situation, with a grove of fine round-topped trees, under 
 which a large pulwar was building. Several sugar-mill rollers 
 were on the beach. The bank was very high, and much of it 
 having been recently deserted by the water, the smell was very 
 unpleasant. I have great reason to be thankful that under this 
 tremendous sun, my spirits and appetite remain as good as usual. 
 
 September 16.— We passed an old Gossain, who said his age 
 was 104, and that he had no complaint but dimness of sight. He 
 told me that the last ten years had been remarkable for an inter- 
 ruption, and frequently an entire cessation of the rains in Sep- 
 tember, which he never remembered before. He thought it would 
 continue two years longer, ** for," says he, " every thing changes 
 
 s s 2
 
 316 SUBSIDING OF THE WATERS. 
 
 once in twelve years for good or bad ; the bad is nearly gone now, 
 — the good will come, only be patient." 
 
 We moored at night near a sand-bank in the middle of the 
 river, in company with several other vessels, among others the 
 fleet of General Martindell, but, from the nature of our quarters, 
 with little facility of communication. The heat had continued 
 intense all day, but about midnight the wind changed to the east, 
 and was refreshing and even cold. 
 
 September 17. — After another day's sailing we moored under 
 a high precipitous bank, which, like all those we now see, was 
 worn into a regular succession of steps, following all the w^avy 
 lines of its face, and marking the gradual, though in the present 
 year, most rapid subsiding of the w ater. The uppermost of these 
 was at least thirty feet above the present level of the river, and 
 higher still the usual bank or sand-hill arose about tw^enty feet 
 more. I climbed with some trouble to the top of this for my 
 twilight walk, taking Abdullah with me. After passing the usual 
 margin of high jungle-grass, with its beautiful silky tufts hanging 
 over our heads, w^e got into a field of Indian-corn w ith a pretty 
 good path through it, but no other appearance of a village, and 
 the country, so far as the imperfect light allowed me to discover, 
 more w^ild and jungly than any which I had passed since Sicligully. 
 A brilliant light, however, beamed up among the trees at some 
 distance, and I walked towards it in the idea that it was a cow- 
 man's cottage, and that I might get some milk, the goats I had on 
 board being dry. On approaching it, however, and when we got 
 within about one hundred yards, it suddenly disappeared, and we 
 found neither path nor village. Abdullah observed, that these 
 people could have been about no good, that it was *' very like a 
 jugglery fire, and we had better turn back again." I answered, 
 that I thought they were more like thieves than jugglers, to which 
 he replied it might be so, for a slip of country near us, either now 
 was, or had been very lately under the Nawab of Oude, and w'as 
 a mere nest of thieves. '' Well," said I, " if they are thieves, it
 
 NATIVE WATCHMAN. 317 
 
 will not be desirable to have them so near our boats to night, and 
 we will at least go up to the place where the fire has been. As 
 for jugglery you know we are Christians, and the devil cannot hurt 
 us." I had not, indeed, the smallest idea that there was risk, 
 inasmuch as we were two of us, and my boat within hail. I felt 
 also sure that a village was not far off, or at least a cowshed, from 
 a shepherd's pipe which I had heard in that direction just before 
 we came to shore. I still wondered we saw nothing, till I came 
 close upon a little shed of straw, out of which a man thrust his 
 head, and in answer to my question of " who's there ?" answered 
 " a watch." Abdullah asked him why he had put out his light ; 
 he said that he was watching his cucumbers, that he had lighted 
 a fire to keep off wild beasts, but on hearing our voices had covered 
 it up with turf, lest its light should attract more company than he 
 desired to his garden. The village, he said, was still at some 
 distance, and with the little light which remained we should not 
 easily find it. In fact, it was so dark by the time we returned to 
 the bank, that I was obliged to call for a lantern to find my way 
 down again. I asked what beasts the man had to apprehend, and 
 he answered wild hogs and wolves; the former would certainly be 
 likely to visit his cucumbers, and a fire might keep them at a 
 distance, but the latter must be much more audacious in this 
 country than in Europe, if they would come near a living and 
 waking man. It is probable, however, that the imperfect means 
 of defence possessed by these poor people, together with theii; 
 fatalist principles and consequent neglect of precautions, may give 
 mischievous animals a greater confidence than they are likely to 
 possess in the neighbourhood of the strong, hardy, and intelligent 
 peasants of Russia or Sweden. 
 
 The district of which Abdullah spoke as subject to the Nawab 
 of Oude, is about four miles a-head of our present station, and is 
 called Lucha-geery. It was a part of the jointure of Saadut Ali 
 Khan's mother, who refused to alienate it when Allahabad and 
 the neighbouring province were ceded to the Company. Since
 
 318 SNAKES. 
 
 her death it has been exchanged for a large tract of our conquests 
 in Nepaul. While subject to the Begum and the Nawab, it was 
 indeed a nest of thieves, but is now under the same police with the 
 rest of the Company's territories. 
 
 The day had been as hot as its predecessor, but towards 
 sun-set a light pleasant air sprung from the east, in which quarter 
 also I saw a collection of clouds with some lightening, and other 
 indications of rain, if not immediately, yet, it might be hoped, in a 
 day or two. 
 
 September 18. — This morning, as I was at breakfast, the 
 alarm was given of a great snake in the after-cabin, which had 
 found its way into a basket containing two caps, presents for my 
 wife and myself from Meer UshrufF Ali of Dacca. It was imme- 
 diately, and without examination, pronounced to be a large 
 " Chreetu," cobra di capello, and caused great alarm amongst 
 my servants ; however, on dislodging it from its retreat, it merely 
 proved to be a water-snake. It appeared to have been coiled 
 up very neatly round the fur of the cap, and though its bite would 
 not have been venomous, would certainly have inflicted a severe 
 wound on any body who had incautiously opened the basket. I 
 had once or twice since leaving Chunar, fancied I heard a gentle 
 hissing, but the idea of a snake in the boat seemed so improbable, 
 that I attributed it to different causes, or to fancy. Much wonder 
 was expressed at finding it in such a place, but as I have seen one 
 ^f the same kind climb a tree, it is probable that it had ascended 
 one of the ropes by which the boat is moored at night. I had 
 heard at Patna of a lady who once lay a whole night with a cobra 
 di capello under her pillow; she repeatedly thought during the 
 night that something moved, and in the morning when she snatched 
 her pillow away, she found the thick black throat, the square 
 head, and green diamond-like eye, advanced within two inches of 
 her neck. The snake was without malice, his hood was uninflated, 
 and he was merely enjoying the warmth of his nest ; but, alas! for 
 her, if she had during the night pressed him a little too roughly !
 
 LUCHA-GEERY. 319 
 
 The banks under Lucha-geery are more than usually pictu- 
 resque, being very lofty and steep, covered down to high-water 
 mark with beautiful pendant creepers, and backed by a consider- 
 able jungle. The stream was so rapid that we were obliged to 
 cross to the other side, and fortunately had a light easterly breeze 
 again to assist us. The sun, however, was, I think, hotter than 
 ever. I was amused to find that these boatmen have the same 
 fancy with our English sailors about whistling for a wind. 
 
 Within these few days all the vermin part of Noah's house- 
 hold seem to have taken a fancy to my little ark. To the scor- 
 pions, the cock-roaches, the ants, and the snake, were added this 
 morning two of the largest spiders I ever saw, and such as I 
 regretted afterwards I did not preserve in spirits. In a bottle 
 they would have made monsters fit for the shelf of any conjurer in 
 Christendom. About three o'clock, as we were doubling a sand- 
 bank, some fishermen came on board with a large fish, which they 
 called " rooh,'' something like a carp, and weighing, I should guess, 
 20 pounds, for which they only asked six anas, and I bought it for 
 my servants. I asked if they had any more, on which they 
 produced two others, betw een them a fair load for an ass, and of a 
 kind which I never saw before. They were ugly fish, with heads 
 a little like toads, a smooth skin without scales, of a pale olive 
 colour, one high dusky-coloured upright fin on the back, and 
 another on each side, with a forked tail ; their name " Baghee." 
 Abdullah said they were eatable and wholesome, so I bought them 
 also as a feast for the dandees. The Mussulmans, however, ob- 
 jected to them on the Mosaic ground of having no scales, so that 
 they fell to the share exclusively of the Hindoos, who form the 
 crews of the baggage and cook-boats, and they were beyond 
 measure delighted and grateful. Two alligators shewed them- 
 selves to-day, but at some distance; they are evidently shy, but 
 fish seem extremely abundant in this part of the river. While I 
 was writing the above, another very fine '* rooh" was brought on 
 board, the fishermen swimming with it from the land ; and being
 
 ;]-20 DIHA. 
 
 content to dispose of it for four anas, I bought this too for the 
 Mussulman dandees, so that every person on board had fish to-day, 
 and the cost did not exceed half-a-crown, no great sum to make 
 40 people happy for the afternoon. 
 
 The east wind blew pleasantly all the afternoon, bringing up 
 a good many clouds, but no actual rain. It helped us across some 
 very bad passes of the stream, where without its aid, we might 
 have been detained many hours, or even days. A little after five 
 o'clock we arrived at a village called Diha, where there is a large 
 nullah, which when navigable affords the easiest and most direct 
 passage to Allahabad. At present the water was too shallow, and 
 we went by the main stream. Mohammed wanted to stop here, 
 but as we had wind and day-light still, I urged him to proceed a 
 little further and to moor on the eastern bank, along which I 
 apprehended the great dak-road to run, and designed to push on 
 in my palanqueen to Allahabad that night. Unfortunately the wind 
 soon grew fainter, and the stream being very strong, it was quite 
 dark before we reached the eastern shore. I determined on going 
 myself to ascertain if there was a village near, both as liking to 
 explore, and under the idea that by seeing the Thannadar, could 
 any such be found, I should judge better for myself as to the 
 possibility or expediency of engaging bearers, either immediately 
 or for the next morning. I accordingly set out, having a dandee 
 with a lantern, Abdullah and one of the Tindals with each a 
 spear, a defence which the former assured me might not be super- 
 fluous, and would at all events maJie me respected. I had only 
 my great stick as usual, but that is a tolerably large one, and well 
 used, would in this country be no inconsiderable weapon. I had 
 another fruitless ramble through very high corn, some of it literally 
 above my head, and over a broad extent of fallow and pasture, 
 but found no village. Some lights were visible, but they were 
 extinguished as my party drew near, and it was not easy to discover 
 whence they proceeded. I had the caution to mark the position 
 of the stars before I set out, or we should have had much trouble
 
 BRAHMIN WATCHMAN. 321 
 
 to find our way back again. At length we stumbled on a herds- 
 man's shed, where we found two men, whom the sight of our spears 
 put, not without some cause, in great alarm, and from whom we 
 could get little for some time but protestations that they were 
 very poor, and entreaties not to hurt them. They had put out 
 their fire, they said, because it was a lonely place, and seeing our 
 light, and hearing our voices, they were afraid ; they spoke of the 
 nearest village as a coss and a half distant, and displayed great 
 reluctance to undertake to guide us there. There was no Thannah, 
 they said, nearer than two coss. They spoke not Oordoo, but what 
 Abdullah said was the true Hindoo. Milk they called not " doodh, " 
 but " gaoruss," " cow-dew" from " russ," *' ros." Rain they 
 called " russ' simply. They told us of a good path through the 
 Indian corn to the river, in following which we came to another 
 shed of the same sort, where a man with his wife and children 
 were cooking their supper. The man called to us for heaven's 
 sake not to come near him, for he was a brahmin, and our approach 
 would oblige him to fling away his mess. In answer to my desire 
 that he would sell some milk, he said he could sell us none, but if 
 I chose to take a small jug which stood on one side, I might. 
 " Nay," said I, " I take nothing without paying." " I am a 
 brahmin," he replied, " and dare not sell milk, but I give it you 
 voluntarily." '* Well, brahmin," I answered, " take up the jug 
 and bring it to the boat, and I will give you a present, not for the 
 milk, but voluntarily, and because you are a good fellow." He 
 immediately started up with exceeding good-will, and went with 
 us, talking all the way, but in a dialect which I comprehended but 
 little. I only understood that he boasted of his own courage in 
 not being afraid of us when we came up ; most people would have 
 been so, he said, but he had a brother who was a Sepoy, and he 
 had been to see him with his regiment at Sultanpoor, and there- 
 fore he was not afraid when he saw a Sahib at the head of the 
 party. He said he was one of the village watchmen, and that it 
 was less degrading for a brahmin to be thus employed, than as a 
 
 T t
 
 322 RETROSPECT OF BENARES. 
 
 cultivator, which seems to be by no means an usual occupation for 
 them in this part of India, though it is often seen in other districts. 
 I returned by a circuitous but level path along the beach, which 
 was sand, and so precisely as if the tide had just left it, I could 
 have fancied myself in one of my evening walks by the sea-side in 
 England, had not the dark naked limbs, and the weapons of my 
 companions, reminded me that I was in a far distant land. I was 
 a good deal disappointed at the result of this expedition, since 
 I had been anxious to reach Allahabad in time to have service on 
 the following day (Sunday.) That, however, was now apparently 
 impossible, and I was obliged to be content with my walk, and with 
 the good appetite which it procured me. 
 
 The clouds had been gradually rising from the eastward all 
 day, but no rain fell where I was, though some seemed to fall in 
 the neighbourhood. The night was cool and pleasant. I find 
 all the people here, particularly the Mussulmans, pronounce 
 Allahabad, " Illahabaz." Allah is certainly very often pronounced 
 Ullah or Illah, but why " Abad/' the Persian word for abode, 
 should be altered, I do not know. 
 
 September 19. — This morning we were gratified by a light 
 sprinkling of rain, I trust the forerunner of more. The fine 
 easterly wind, however, failed, and the poor men had a hard, 
 though not a long day's tow to Allahabad, where I arrived about 
 two in the afternoon. As it is here that my journey by water 
 terminates, I shall set down some information concerning Benares, 
 which I have learned since my leaving it. 
 
 The city of Benares is certainly the richest, as well as pro- 
 bably the most populous in India ; it is also the best governed in 
 respect to its police, which is carried on by a sort of national 
 guard, the Chuprassies, of whom I have made frequent mention, 
 chosen by the inhabitants themselves, and merely approved of by 
 the magistrates. There are about 500 of these in the city, which 
 is divided into 60 wards, with a gate to each, which is shut at 
 night, and guarded by one of these people. In consequence, not-
 
 RELIGIOUS TUMULT. 323 
 
 withstanding the vast population, the crowds of beggars and 
 pilgrims of all countries, (of Maharatta pilgrims alone there are 
 generally some 20,000 in the place, many of them armed, and of 
 warlike and predatory habits) robberies and murders are very rare, 
 while the guards being elected and paid by the respectable 
 householders, have an interest in being civil, well-behaved, and 
 attentive. 
 
 The army at Secrole is never called in except in cases of 
 extremity, according to an excellent rule laid down and strictly 
 observed by the government of Bengal, never to employ the 
 military force except in affairs of real war, or where an active and 
 numerous police is visibly incompetent to provide for the pubhc 
 safety. Only one instance of the military being called in has 
 occurred at Benares during the last twenty-five years, which was 
 on occasion of the quarrel I have already noticed between the 
 Mussulmans and Hindoos. At that time Mr. Bird was magistrate, 
 and he gave me a far more formidable idea of the tumult than I 
 had previously formed. One half of the population was literally 
 armed against the other, and the fury which actuated both was 
 more like that of demoniacs than rational enemies. It began by 
 the Mussulmans breaking down a famous pillar, named Siva's 
 walking-staff, held in high veneration by the Hindoos. These 
 last in revenge burnt and broke down a mosque, and the retort of 
 the first aggressors was to kill a cow, and pour her blood into the 
 sacred well. In consequence every Hindoo able to bear arms, and 
 many who had no other fitness for the employment than rage sup- 
 plied, procured weapons, and attacked their enemies with frantic 
 fury wherever they met them. Being the most numerous party, 
 they put the Mussulmans in danger of actual extermination, and 
 would certainly have at least burned every mosque in the place 
 before twenty-four hours were over, if the Sepoys had not been 
 called in. Of these last, the temper was extremely doubtful. 
 By far the greater number of them were Hindoos, and perhaps 
 one half brahmins ; any one of them, if he had been his own master, 
 
 T t2
 
 324 RELIGIOUS TUMULT. 
 
 would have rejoiced in an opportunity of shedding his Hfe's blood 
 in a quarrel with the Mussulmans, and of the mob who attacked 
 them, the brahmins, yoguees, gossains, and other religious men- 
 dicants formed the front rank, their bodies and faces covered with 
 chalk and ashes, their long hair untied as devoted to death, 
 shewing their strings, and yelling out to them all the bitterest 
 curses of their religion, if they persisted in urging an unnatural 
 war against their brethren and their gods. The Sepoys, however, 
 were immoveable. Regarding their military oath as the most 
 sacred of all obligations, they fired at a brahmin as readily as at 
 any one else, and kept guard at the gate of a mosque as faithfully 
 and fearlessly as if it had been the gate of one of their own temples. 
 Their courage and steadiness preserved Benares from ruin. 
 
 One observation of some of the Hindoo Sepoys was remark- 
 able. The pillar, the destruction of which led to all the tumult, 
 had originally stood in one of the Hindoo temples which were 
 destroyed by Aurungzebe, and mosques built over them. In the 
 mosque, however, it still was suffered to exist, and pilgrimages 
 were made to it by the Hindoos through the connivance of the 
 Mussulmans, in consequence of their being allowed to receive half 
 of all the offerings made there. It was a very beautiful shaft of 
 one stone, forty feet high, and covered with exquisite carving. 
 This carving gave offence to several zealous Mahommedans, but 
 the quarrel which hastened its destruction arose as I have stated, 
 from the unfortunate rencontre of the rival processions. Respect- 
 ing the pillar a tradition had long prevailed among the Hindoos, 
 that it was gradually sinking in the ground, that it had been t\\dce 
 the visible height it then shewed, and that when its summit was 
 level with the earth, all nations were to be of one caste, and the 
 religion of Brahma to have an end. Two brahmin Sepoys were 
 keeping guard in the mosque, where the defaced and prostrate 
 pillar lay, *' Ah," said one of them, " we have seen that which ice 
 never thought to see, Siva's shaft has its head even with the 
 ground ; we shall all be of one caste shortly, what will be our
 
 RELIGIOUS TUMULT. 325 
 
 religion then ?" " I suppose the Christian," answered the other. 
 " I suppose so too/' rejoined the first, *' for after all that has 
 passed, I am sure we shall never turn Mussulmans.'' 
 
 After the tumult was quelled, a very curious and impressive 
 scene succeeded ; the holy city had been profaned ; the blood of 
 a cow had been mixed with the purest water of Gunga, and 
 salvation was to be obtained at Benares no longer. All the brah- 
 mins in the city, amounting to many thousands, went down in 
 melancholy procession, with ashes on their heads, naked and 
 fasting, to the principal ghats leading to the river, and sate there 
 with their hands folded, their heads hanging down, to all appear- 
 ance inconsolable, and refusing to enter a house or to taste food. 
 Two or three days of this abstinence, however, began to tire them, 
 and a hint was given to the magistrates and other public men, that 
 a visit of condolence and an expression of sympathy with these 
 holy mourners would sufficiently comfort them, and give them 
 an ostensible reason for returning to their usual employment. 
 Accordingly all the British functionaries went to the principal 
 ghat, expressed their sorrow for the distress in which they saw 
 them, but reasoned with them on the absurdity of punishing them- 
 selves for an act in which they had no share, and which they had 
 done their utmost to prevent or avenge. This prevailed, and after 
 much bitter weeping, it was resolved that Ganges was Ganges still, 
 that a succession of costly offerings from the laity of Benares 
 might wipe out the stain which their religion had received, and 
 that the advice of the judges was the best and most reasonable. 
 Mr. Bird, who was one of the ambassadors on this occasion, told 
 me that the scene was very impressive and even aweful. The 
 gaunt squalid figures of the devotees, their visible and apparently 
 unaffected anguish and dismay, the screams and outcries of the 
 women who surrounded them, and the great numbers thus assem- 
 bled, altogether constituted a spectacle of woe such as few cities 
 but Benares could supply. 
 
 Yet even this was exceeded by a spectacle of a kind almost
 
 326 SITTING DHURNA. 
 
 similar, which Benares offered on another occasion. Government 
 had then, unadvisedly, imposed a house-tax of a very unpopular 
 character, both from its amount and its novelty. To this the 
 natives objected, that they recognised in their British rulers the 
 same rights which had been exercised by the Moguls, — that the 
 land-tax was theirs, and that they could impose duties on commo- 
 dities going to market, or for exportation : but that their houses 
 were their own, — that they had never been intermeddled with in 
 any but their landed property, and commodities used in traffic, — 
 and that the same power which now imposed a heavy and unheard 
 of tax on their dwellings, might do the same next year on their 
 children and themselves. These considerations, though backed 
 by strong representations from the magistrates, produced no effect 
 in Calcutta ; on which the whole population of Benares and its 
 neighbourhood determined to sit " dhurna" till their grievances 
 were redressed. To sit " dhurna," or mourning, is to remain 
 motionless in that posture, without food, and exposed to the 
 weather, till the person against whom it is employed consents to 
 the request offered ; and the Hindoos believe, that whoever dies 
 under such a process becomes a tormenting spirit to haunt and 
 afflict his inflexible antagonist. This is a practice not unfrequent 
 in the intercourse of individuals, to enforce payment of a debt, or 
 forgiveness of one. And among Hindoos it is very prevailing, not 
 only from the apprehended dreadful consequences of the death of 
 the petitioner, but because many are of opinion, that while a 
 person sits dhurna at their door, they must not themselves presume 
 to eat, or undertake any secular business. It is even said that 
 some persons hire brahmins to sit dhurna for them, the thing being 
 to be done by proxy, and the dhurna of a brahmin being naturally 
 more aweful in its effects than that of a soodra could be. I do not 
 know whether there is any example under their ancient princes of 
 a considerable portion of the people taking this strange method of 
 remonstrance against oppression, but in this case it was done with 
 great resolution, and surprising concert and unanimity. Some of
 
 SITTING DHURNA. 327 
 
 the leading brahmins sent written handbills to the wards in Benares 
 nearest the college, and to some of the adjoining villages, declaring 
 very shortly the causes and necessity of the measures which they 
 were about to adopt, calling on all lovers of their country and 
 national creed to join in it, and commanding, under many bitter 
 curses, every person who received it to forward it to his next 
 neighbour. Accordingly it flew over the country, like the fiery 
 cross in the " Lady of the Lake," and three days after it was 
 issued, and before Gove rnment were in the least apprised of the 
 plan, above 300,000 pers ons, as it is said, deserted their houses, 
 shut up their shops, suspended the labour of their farms, forbore 
 to light fires, dress victuals, many of them even to eat, and sate 
 down with folded arms and drooping heads, like so many sheep, 
 on the plain which surrounds Benares. 
 
 The local government were exceedingly perplexed. There 
 was the chance that very many of these strange beings would 
 really perish, either from their obstinacy, or the diseases which 
 they would contract in their present situation. There was a pro- 
 bability that famine would ensue from the interruption of agricul- 
 tural labours at the most critical time of the year. There was a 
 certainty that the revenue would suffer very materially from this 
 total cessation of all traffick. And it might even be apprehended 
 that their despair, and the excitement occasioned by such a display 
 of physical force would lead them to far stronger demonstrations 
 of discontent than that of sitting dhurna. On the other hand, 
 the authorities of Benares neither were permitted, nor would it 
 have been expedient, to yield to such a demand, so urged. They 
 conducted themselves with great prudence and good temper. 
 Many of the natives appeared to expect, and the brahmins perhaps 
 hoped, that they would still further outrage the feelings of the 
 people, by violently suppressing their assemblage. They did no 
 such thing, but coolly reasoned with some of the ringleaders on 
 the impossibility that Government should yield to remonstrances 
 so enforced. They however told them expressly, in answer to
 
 328 SITTING DHURNA. 
 
 their enquiries, that if they chose to sit dhurna, it was their own 
 affair ; and that so long as they only injured themselves, and were 
 peaceable in their behaviour to others, government would not 
 meddle with them. They did not omit, however, to bring a strong 
 body of Europeans from Dinapoor and Ghazepoor, to the neigh- 
 bouring cantonment, without appearing to watch the conduct of 
 the natives, or putting it into their heads that they suspected them 
 of violent intentions. At last the multitude began to grow very 
 hungry, and a thunder-shower which fell made them wet, cold, 
 and uncomfortable. Some of the party proposed a change of 
 operations, and that a deputation of 10,000 should be sent to 
 address the Governor-General personally. This was eagerly 
 carried by a majority heartily tired of their situation, and the next 
 question was, how these men should be maintained during their 
 journey ? when one leading brahmin proposed a tax on houses. 
 A string was here struck which made the whole instrument jar. 
 " A tax on houses ! If we are to pay a tax on houses after all, we 
 might as well have remained on good terms with our Government, 
 sitting under our vines and fig-trees, and neither hungry nor rheu- 
 matic." A great number caught at the excuse for a rupture, and 
 rose to go home, but the remainder determined that all should go 
 to the Governor, every man at his own charge. The seeds of 
 disunion were already sown, and the majority absented themselves 
 from the muster which was held three days after. From ten to 
 twenty thousand, however, really assembled with such provisions 
 as they could collect, and began their march, still unmolested by 
 the magistrates, whose "whole conduct was wise and merciful ; they 
 well calculated that provisions would soon fall short, and travelling 
 become wearisome, and merely watched their motions at some 
 distance with a corps of cavalry. They knew that hunger would 
 make them plunder, and that the hilly and jungly road from 
 Benares to the neighbourhood of Burdwan, afforded few facilities 
 for the subsistence of so great a multitude. Accordingly, in a few 
 days they melted away to so small a number, that the remainder
 
 BENARES. 329 
 
 were ashamed to proceed. The supreme Government followed 
 up their success most wisely by a repeal of the obnoxious tax, and 
 thus ended a disturbance which, if it had been harshly or impro- 
 perly managed, might have put all India in a flame. 
 
 Benares being in many respects the commercial, and in all, the 
 ecclesiastical metropolis of India, I was not surprised to find 
 persons from all parts of the Peninsula residing there. But I was 
 astonished to hear of the number of Persians, Turks, Tartars, and 
 even Europeans, who are to be met with. Among them is a 
 Greek, a well-informed and well-mannered man, who has fixed 
 himself here for many years, living on his means, whatever they are, 
 and professing to study the Sanscrit. I heard a good deal of him 
 afterwards in Allahabad, and was much struck by the singularity and 
 mystery of his character and situation. He is a very good scholar 
 in the ancient language of his country, and speaks good English, 
 French, and Italian. His manners are those of a gentleman, and 
 he lives like a person at his ease. He has little intercourse with 
 the English, but is on very friendly terms with the principal 
 Hindoo families. He was once an object of suspicion to Govern- 
 ment, but after watching him for a long time they saw nothing in 
 his conduct to confirm their suspicions, and during Lord Hastings's 
 first Pindarree war, he voluntarily gave, on different occasions, 
 information of much importance. So few Europeans, however, 
 who can help it, reside in India, that it seems strange that any 
 man should prefer it as a residence, without some stronger motive 
 than a fondness for Sanscrit literature, more particularly since he 
 does not appear to meditate any work on the subject. He was a 
 partner in a Greek house in Calcutta, but is now said to have 
 retired from business. There is also a Russian here, who by a 
 natural affinity lives much with the Greek. He is, however, a 
 trader, and has apparently moved in a much humbler rank of 
 society than his friend. 
 
 Though Benares is the holy place of India, the brahmins 
 there are less intolerant and prejudiced than in most other places. 
 
 u u
 
 330 GOVERNORS OF INDIA. 
 
 The eternal round of idle ceremonies in which they pass their 
 time, is said to have produced, in many of them, a degree of 
 weariness of their own system, and a disposition to enquire after 
 others which does not exist in Calcutta. I was told that the 
 Archdeacon, when here, was an object of great interest and respect 
 with them, and had he resided longer it is probable that he would 
 have had more converts than at Agra. It is also, generally speak- 
 ing, loyal, and well- affected to the Company's Government, though 
 its inhabitants being in fact superior in rank, wealth, and educa- 
 tion, to those of the average of Indian towns, talk more of public 
 men and public matters. 
 
 I was curious to know what Governors of India had stood 
 highest in their good opinion, and found that they usually spoke 
 of Wan-en Hastings and Lord Wellesley as the two greatest men 
 who had ever ruled this part of the world, but that they spoke 
 with most affection of Mr. Jonathan Duncan. " Duncan saliib 
 ka chota bhaee," " Mr. Duncan's younger brother" is still the 
 usual term of praise applied to any public man who appears to be 
 actuated by an unusual spirit of kindness and liberality towards 
 their nation. Of the sultan-like and splendid character of Warren 
 Hastings, many traits are preserved, and a nursery rhyme, which 
 is often sung to children, seems to shew how much they were 
 pleased with the Oriental, (not European) pomp which he knew 
 how to employ on occasion. 
 
 " Hat'hee pur howdah, ghore pur jeen, 
 Juldee bah'r jata Sahib Warren Husteen ! !" 
 
 Of Lord Hastings I have not found that they have retained any 
 very favom*able impression. Yet the extent of his conquests, and 
 his pleasing manners during his short visit, must, I should think, 
 have struck them. 
 
 Allahabad stands in perhaps the most favourable situation 
 which India affords for a great city, in a dry and healthy soil, on
 
 ALLAHABAD. 331 
 
 a triangle, at the junction of the two mighty streams, Gunga, and 
 Jumna, with an easy communication with Bombay and Madras, 
 and capable of being fortified so as to become almost impregnable. 
 But though occasionally the residence of royalty, though generally 
 inhabited by one of the Shah-zadehs, and still containing two or 
 three fine ruins, it never appears to have been a great or magnifi- 
 cent city, and is now even more desolate and ruinous than Dacca, 
 having obtained, among the natives, the name of " Fakeer-abad," 
 " beggar-abode." It may, however, revive to some greater pros- 
 perity, from the increase of the civil establishment attached to it. 
 It is now the permanent station (the castrum Hybernum) of the 
 Sudder Mofussil commission, a body of judges whose office is the 
 same with regard to these provinces as that of the Sudder 
 Dewannee Udawlut for the eastern parts of the empire. The 
 necessity for such a special court had become very great. The 
 remoteness of the Sudder Dewannee had made appeals to it 
 almost impossible, and very great extortion and oppression had 
 been committed by the native agents of the inferior and local 
 courts, sometimes with the connivance, but more often through 
 the ignorance and inexperience of the junior magistrates and 
 judges. They, when these provinces were placed under British 
 Governors, having been previously employed in Bengal and Bahar, 
 naturally took their Bengalee followers with them, a race regarded 
 by the Hindoostanees as no less foreigners than the EngUsh, and 
 even more odious than Franks, from ancient prejudice, and from 
 their national reputation of craft, covetousness, and cowardice. 
 In fact, by one means or other, these Bengalees almost all acquired 
 considerable landed property in a short time among them, and it 
 has been the main business of the Sudder Mofussil Udawlut, to 
 review the titles to all property acquired since the EngUsh 
 Government entered the Dooab. In many instances they have 
 succeeded in recovering all or part of extensive possessions to 
 their rightful heirs, and the degree of confidence in the justice of 
 their rulers, with which they have inspired the natives, is said to 
 
 uu2
 
 332 ALLAHABAD. 
 
 be very great. They make circuits during all the travelling 
 months of the year, generally pitching their tents near towns, and 
 holding their courts under trees, an arrangement so agreeable to 
 Indian prejudices, that one of these judges said it was, in his 
 opinion, one main source of their usefulness, inasmuch as an Indian 
 of the humbler class, is really always under constraint and fear in 
 a house, particularly if furnished in the European manner, and can 
 neither attend to what is told him, nor tell his own story so well 
 as in the open air, and amidst those objects from which all his 
 enjoyments are drawn. At Allahabad, however, w^here their per- 
 manent abodes are, these judges have a court-house, though a very 
 humble one, thatched, and inconvenient. 
 
 The only considerable buildings or ruins in Allahabad are the 
 fort, the Jumna Musjeed, and the serai and garden of Sultan 
 Khosroo. The first stands on the point of the triangle formed by 
 the two rivers, and is strong both naturally and artificially. It has 
 been a very noble castle, but has suffered in its external appearance 
 as much as it has, probably, gained in strength, by the moderniza- 
 tion which it has undergone from its present masters, its lofty 
 towers being pruned down into bastions and cavaliers, and its high 
 stone rampart topped wdth turf parapets, and obscured by a green 
 sloping glacis. It is still, however, a striking place, and its prin- 
 cipal gate, surmounted by a dome, with a wide hall beneath 
 surrounded by arcades and galleries, and ornamented with rude 
 but glowing paintings, is the noblest entrance I ever saw to a place 
 of arms. This has been, I think, injudiciously modernized without, 
 after the Grecian or Itahan style, but wathin, the high Gothic 
 arches and Saracenic paintings remain. The barracks are very 
 handsome and neat, something like those of Fort William, which 
 the interior disposition of the fort a good deal resembles. On 
 one side, however, is a large range of buildings, still in the oriental 
 style, and containing some noble vaulted rooms, chiefly occupied 
 as officers' quarters, and looking down from a considerable height 
 on the rapid stream and craggy banks of the Jumna. The Jumna
 
 JUMNA MUSJEED. 333 
 
 and Ganges are here pretty nearly of equal width ; the former is 
 the more rapid of the two, and its navigation more dangerous 
 from the rocky character of its bed, and its w^ant of depth in the 
 dry season. At present both streams were equally turbid, but in 
 another month, I am told, we should have found the water of the 
 Jumna clear as crystal, and strangely contrasted with the turbid 
 yellow wave of the more sacred stream, which is, how^ever, when 
 allowed some little time to clear itself, by far the most palatable 
 of the two, and preferred by all the city, both native and Euro- 
 pean. 
 
 The Jumna Musjeed, or principal mosque, is still in good 
 repair, but very little frequented. It stands on an advantageous 
 situation on the banks of the Jumna, adjoining the city on one 
 side, and on the other an esplanade before the fort glacis, planted 
 with trees like that of Calcutta. It is a solid and stately building, 
 but without much ornament. It had been, since the English 
 conquest, fitted up first as a residence for the General of the 
 station, then used as an assembly-room, till Mr. Courtney Smith, 
 apprehending this to be an insult to the religious feelings of the 
 Mussulmans, persuaded the Government to restore it to its sacred 
 character, and to repair its damages. The Mussulmans, however, 
 are neither numerous nor zealous in Allahabad, and seemed to 
 care little about the matter. Nevertheless the original desecration 
 was undoubtedly offensive and unjust, and the restitution a proper 
 and popular measure. 
 
 The finest things in Allahabad, however, are Sultan Khosroo's 
 serai and garden ; the former is a noble quadrangle, with four fine 
 Gothic gateways, surrounded within an embattled wall by a range 
 of cloisters for the accommodation of travellers. The whole is 
 now much dilapidated, but was about to be repaired from the 
 town duties, when unhappily the Birmese war arrested this excel- 
 lent appropriation of an unpopular tax. Adjoining the serai is a 
 neglected garden, planted Avith fine old mangoe trees, in which are 
 three beautiful tombs raised over two princes and a princess of the
 
 g34 ALLAHABAD. 
 
 imperial family. Each consists of a large terrace, with vaulted 
 apartments beneath it, in the central one of which is a tomb like a 
 stone coffin, richly carved. Above is a very lofty circular apart- 
 ment, covered by a dome richly painted within, and without 
 carved yet more beautifully. All these are very solemn and 
 striking, rich, but not florid or gaudy, and completely giving the 
 lie to the notion common in England, which regards all eastern 
 architecture as in bad taste and " barbarous." 
 
 The houses of the civil servants of the Company are at some 
 distance, both from the fort and the town, extending along a small 
 rising ground, in a line from the Ganges to the Jumna. They are 
 mere bungalows, and less both in size and ornament than at any 
 station I have yet seen in these provinces. The situation is, how- 
 ever, pleasant and healthy. The city of Allahabad is small, with 
 very poor houses, and narrow irregular streets, and confined to the 
 banks of the Jumna. 
 
 I remained ten days at Allahabad, waiting the arrival of tents 
 from Cawnpoor. During this time I had the pleasure of con- 
 firming twenty persons, two of them natives, and of preaching and 
 administering the sacrament to seventy or eighty, of whom some 
 were also natives, or at least in the native dress. The residents 
 here are exceedingly anxious for a Chaplain, but that one should 
 be appointed at this time, I entertain but few hopes, though it is 
 very sad that such a congregation should want one. For the 
 present I hope to procure them one of the Church Missionaries. 
 
 Amid the other necessary preparations for my land journey, 
 more numerous by far, and more various, than I had anticipated, I 
 had to purchase a horse for my own riding, no elephant being 
 either to be begged, bought, or borrowed in Allahabad, and no 
 reasonable hope being held out of my procuring one in Cawnpoor. 
 Indeed most people tell me that a horse, during the greater part 
 of the journey which I have before me, will be a far preferable 
 conveyance. To procure a tolerable one was not, however, an 
 easy matter. Arabs are excessively scarce and dear, and one
 
 HORSE DEALERS. 335 
 
 which was sent for me to look at, at a price of 800 rupees, was a 
 skittish, cat-legged thing, not worth half the money. I went 
 with Mr. Bird, whose kindness and hospitality were unremitting 
 during my whole stay, to look at a drove of up-country horses, 
 just arrived from Lahore and Turkistan, and was exceedingly 
 amused and interested by the picturesque groupes of men and 
 animals which met the eye in a crowded serai about nightfall, as 
 well as with the fine forms of some of the colts offered for sale, 
 and the singular appearance and manner of the grazier who owned 
 the " Cofilah," or caravan, and his attendant saeeses. The former 
 was an elderly man, six feet high, and more than proportionally 
 corpulent, with a long, curling, black beard, spreading over his 
 white peyrahoom. The latter were also large-limbed, tall men, 
 with long hair in black strong ringlets hanging down their backs 
 and over their ears, their little turbans set knowingly on one side, 
 and neither they nor their master much darker than Europeans. 
 Indeed, they exceedingly resembled some of the portraits of 
 Italians by Titian; they rode well, and shewed great strength; 
 but what most amused me was the remarkable resemblance between 
 horse dealers all over the world, in turns of expression, in tricks 
 of trade, nay, even in tone of voice and cast of countenance. I 
 had fortunately an excellent judge in Mr. Bird, but even he was 
 perplexed for some time how to advise me. At length I fixed on 
 a very handsome colt, too young, certainly, but strong, and very 
 good tempered, for which I gave 460 rupees. The old man went 
 and came over and over again, before he would take the price, but 
 I was pertinacious ; and at last, on Abdullah's suggesting that an 
 additional present of something besides money would please him 
 better, I gave him a piece of Dacca muslin, sufficient for a turban, 
 and worth about 8 sicca rupees, as well as a small phial of lauda- 
 num and brandy for an ear-ache, of which he bitterly complained. 
 This satisfied him, and we parted very good friends, Mr. Bird 
 being of opinion that the price was really a fair one, and the 
 horse extremely promising. It was also necessary to buy five
 
 336 FESTIVAL OF RAMA AND SEETA. 
 
 tattoes for my servants to ride in turns, as there were no baggage- 
 elephants to mount them on. This, however, was easily accom- 
 plished, and the animals, saddles, bridles, and all, were obtained, 
 though very good ones of their kind, for 16 rupees each. A long 
 string of other necessaries followed, and I had the mortification to 
 find that few of the things I had brought with me from Calcutta 
 could be put on the backs of camels. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty that a carpenter could be found in the whole city to 
 drive a nail, or a blacksmith to make a horse-shoe; it being the 
 festival of Rama and Seeta, all the world was employed in seeing 
 the hero with his army of monkeys attack the giant Ravanu. 
 Many other hindrances and disappointments occurred, but the 
 delay they occasioned gave me an opportunity of seeing something 
 of the Ramayuna festival, which consists in a sort of dramatic 
 representation during many successive days, of Rama's history and 
 adventures. The first evening I went with Mr. Bird to the show, 
 for as such it is now considered, and so entirely divested of every 
 religious character as to be attended even by Mussulmans without 
 scruple. I found Rama, his brother Luchmun, and his betrothed 
 wife Seeta, represented by three children of about twelve years 
 old, seated in Durbar, under an awning in the principal street of 
 the Sepoy lines, with a great crowd round them, some fanning 
 them, of which poor things they had great need, some blowing 
 horns and beating gongs and drums, and the rest shouting till the 
 air rang again. The two heroes were very fine boys, and acted 
 their parts admirably. Each had a gilt bow in his left hand, and 
 a sabre in his right, their naked bodies were almost covered with 
 gilt ornaments and tinsel, they had high tinsel crowns on their 
 heads, their foreheads and bodies spotted with charcoal, chalk, 
 and vermilion, and altogether perfectly resembled the statues of 
 Hindoo deities, 
 
 " Except that of their eyes alone 
 
 The twinkle shewed they were not stone."
 
 FESTIVAL OF RAMA AND SEETA. 337 
 
 Poor little Seeta, Avrapt up in a gorgeous veil of flimsy finery, and 
 tired to death, had dropped her head on her breast and seemed 
 happily insensible to all which was going on. The brahmin 
 Sepoys who bore the principal part in the play, made room, with 
 great solicitude, for us to see. I asked a good many questions, 
 and obtained very ready answers in much the same way, and 
 with no more appearance of reverence or devotion than one 
 should receive from an English mob at a puppet-show. " I 
 see Rama, Seeta, Luchmun, but where is Huniman ?" (the 
 famous monkey general.) " Huniman," was the answer, *' is not 
 yet come ; but that man,'' pointing to a great stout soldier of 
 singularly formidable exterior, " is Huniman, and he will soon 
 arrive." The man began laughing as if half ashamed of his des- 
 tination, but now took up the conversation, telling me that " next 
 day was to be a far prettier play than I now saw, for Seeta was 
 to be stolen away by Ravana and his attendant evil spirits, Rama 
 and Luchmun were to go to the jungle in great sorrow to seek 
 for her," 
 
 (" Rama, your Rama! to greenwood must hie !") 
 
 That " then (laughing again) I and my army shall come, and we 
 shall fight bravely, bravely." The evening following I was 
 engaged, but the next day I repeated my visit ; I was then 
 too late for the best part of the show, which had consisted of 
 a first and unsuccessful attack by Rama and his army on the for- 
 tress of the gigantic ravisher. That fortress, however, I saw, — an 
 enclosure of bamboos, covered with paper and painted with doors 
 and windows, within which was a frightful paper giant, fifteen feet 
 high, with ten or twelve arms, each grasping either a sword, an 
 arrow, a bow, a battle-axe, or a spear. At his feet sate poor little 
 Seeta as motionless as before, guarded by two figures to represent 
 demons. The brothers in a splendid palkee, were conducting the 
 retreat of their army ; the divine Huniman, as naked and almost 
 as hairy as the animal whom he represented, was gamboling before 
 
 X X
 
 338 FESTIVAL OF RAMA AND SEETA. 
 
 them, with a long tail tied round his waist, a mask to represent 
 the head of a baboon, and two great painted clubs in his hands. 
 His army followed, a number of men with similar tails and masks, 
 their bodies dyed with indigo, and also armed with clubs. I was 
 never so forcibly struck with the identity of Rama and Bacchus. 
 Here were before me Bacchus, his brother Ampelus, the Satyrs, 
 (smeared with wine lees) and the great Pan commanding them. 
 The fable, however, can hardly have originated in India, and 
 probably has been imported both by the Greeks and Brahmins 
 from Cashmere, or some other central country w^here the grape 
 grows, unless we suppose that the grape has been merely an 
 accidental appendage to Bacchus's character, arising from the fact 
 that the festival occurs during the vintage. There yet remained 
 two or three days of pageant, before Seeta's release, purification, 
 and re-marriage to her hero lover, but for this conclusion I did not 
 remain in Allahabad. At Benares, I am told, the show is on such 
 occasions really splendid. The Raja attends in state with all the 
 principal inhabitants of the place, he lends his finest elephants 
 and jewels to the performers, who are children of the most 
 eminent families, and trained up by long previous education. 
 I saw enough, however, at Allahabad to satisfy my curiosity. 
 The show is now a very innocent one, but there was a hideous 
 and accursed practice in " the good old times,'' before the British 
 police was established, at least if all which the Mussulmans and 
 English say is to be believed, which shews the Hindoo superstition 
 in all its horrors. The poor children who had been thus feasted, 
 honoured, and made to contribute to the popular amusement, 
 were, it is said, always poisoned in the sweetmeats given them the 
 last day of the show, that it might be said their spirits were 
 absorbed into the deities whom they had represented ! Nothing 
 of the sort can now be done. The children instead of beino- bought 
 for the purpose, from a distance, by the priests, are the children of 
 neighbours, w^hose prior and subsequent history is known, and 
 Rama and Seeta now grow old like other boys and girls.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ALLAHABAD TO CAWXPOOR. 
 
 Description of Caravan — Armed Peasantry — Camaulpoor — Fyzee Musseeh — Visits from 
 Zemindar and Imam — Mussulman Soldier turned Saint — Ryuts oppressed by Soldiery — 
 Futtehpoor — Serai — Beggars living in Tombs — Stormy March to Kuleayipoor — Dak Journey 
 to Cawnpoor — Hospital and School — Description of Town and Climate. 
 
 At length, on Thursday morning the 30th of September, we began 
 our journey, having sent off some hours before our motley train, 
 consisting of twenty-four camels, eight carts drawn by bullocks, 
 twenty-four horse-servants, including those of the Archdeacon and 
 Mr. Lushington, ten poneys, forty bearers and cooUes of different 
 descriptions, twelve tent-pitchers, and a guard of twenty Sepoys 
 under a native officer. The whimsical caravan filed off in state 
 before me; my servants, all armed with spears, to which many 
 of them had added, at their own cost, sabres of the longest growth, 
 looked, on their little poneys, like something between cossacks and 
 sheriff's javelin-men ; my new Turkman horse, still in the costume 
 of his country, with his long, squirrel-like tail painted red, and his 
 mane plaited in love-knots, looked as if he were going to eat fire, 
 or perform some other part in a melodrama ; while INIr. Lush- 
 ington's horses, two very pretty Arabs, with their tails docked, and 
 their saddles English (" Ungrigi") fashion, might have attracted 
 notice in Hyde-park, the Archdeacon's buggy and horse had 
 every appearance of issuing from the back gate of a college in 
 Cambridge on a Sunday morning ; and lastly came some mounted 
 
 X X 2
 
 340 CARAVAN. 
 
 gens d'armes, and a sword and buckler- man on foot, looking 
 exactly like the advanced guard of a Tartar army. Rain, however, 
 long prayed for, but which was now^ an inconvenience to us, 
 prevented our starting all together, and it was late in the evening 
 before we arrived at Cooseah, 16 miles from Allahabad, where 
 we found two excellent tents, of three apartments each, pitched 
 for our reception, and the tea-kettle boiling under the shade of 
 some stately trees in a wild country of ruins and jungle, now 
 gemmed and glowing with the scattered fires of our cofilah. 
 
 This was the first night I ever passed under canvas, and, 
 independent of its novelty, I found the comforts of my dwelling 
 greatly exceed my expectation. The breeze blew in very fresh 
 and pleasantly through the tent door, the ground, covered with 
 short withered grass, w^as perfectly dry, though rain had so lately 
 fallen, and my bed and musquito-curtains were arranged with as 
 much comfort as in Calcutta. The only circumstance which struck 
 me as likely to be annoying, even to a lady, was the publicity of 
 the situation, — her bed within a few inches of an open door, a 
 body of men-servants and soldiers sleeping all round that door, 
 and a sentry pacing backwards and forwards before it. After all, 
 however, this publicity is more apparent than real. The check of 
 the tent prevents effectually any person from seeing what passes 
 within who does not come purposely up to peep, and this the 
 sentry would not allow. 
 
 At five o'clock on the morning of October 1st we again began 
 our march, and proceeded about twelve miles, to the second 
 customary station, called Cussiah, a grove of neem-trees, more 
 extensive than that which we had left, and at a small distance 
 from a large but ruinous village. We passed through a country 
 much \\ilder, worse cultivated, and worse peopled than any which 
 I had seen in India. What cultivation there was consisted of maize, 
 growing very tall, but sadly burnt by the continued drought. This, 
 however, was only in patches, and the greater part of the prospect
 
 THE DOOAB. 341 
 
 consisted of small woods, scattered in a very picturesque manner 
 over a champaign country, with few signs of habitations, and those 
 most of them in ruins. I was strongly reminded of the country 
 of the Tchemoi-morski cossaks, to which the groupes of people 
 in dresses nearly similar, and all armed, who passed us on the road, 
 undoubtedly, in a great measure, contributed. I had been disposed 
 to wonder at Colonel Franckhn's counsel to buy spears for my 
 servants, and at the escort which had been ordered me; but I 
 soon found, that whether necessary or not, such precautions were 
 at least customary. Every traveller whom we met, even the com- 
 mon people going to market, had either swords and shields, spears, 
 or match-lock guns, and one man had a bow and quiver of arrows, 
 in that circumstance, as well as in his dress and person, extremely 
 resembhng a Circassian warrior. The road was rugged ; nothing, 
 indeed, so far as I had yet seen, could appear more unfounded 
 than the assurances which I have heard in Calcutta, that an open 
 carriage is an eligible method of travelling in the Dooab, on any 
 other ground than cheapness. I have been often told that the 
 road as far as Meerut would answer perfectly for a gig. The 
 fact is there are no roads at all, and the tracks which we follow 
 are very often such as to require care even on horseback. By 
 driving slowly, no doubt a gig may go almost any where, but it is 
 any thing but an agreeable pastime to drive along tracks which, 
 when beaten, are so poached by the feet of horses and cattle, and 
 so hardened by the sun as to resemble a frozen farm-yard, while if 
 the traveller forsakes these roads, he encouncers cracks deep and 
 wide enough to break his wheels. Here and there is a tolerably 
 level mile or two, but with a few such exceptions, there is no fast 
 or pleasant driving in this part of India. 
 
 Both men and women, whom we met on the road, I thought 
 decidedly taller, fairer, and finer people than the Bengalees. Some 
 of the Sepoys, indeed, of a regiment who passed us, were of com- 
 plexions so little darker than those of Europe, that as they 
 approached I really at first took them for Europeans. Every
 
 3i2 THE DOOAB. 
 
 thing seems to assimilate gradually to the scenes and habits of the 
 eastern and southern parts of Europe. The people no longer talk 
 of their daily rice, but say " it is time to eat bread to-day." 
 Instead of the softness and gentleness so apparent in those Indians 
 whom we first saw, these men have a proud step, a stern eye, and 
 a rough loud voice, such as might be expected from people living 
 almost always in the open air, and in a country where, till its 
 acquisition by the English, no man was sure that he might not at 
 any moment be compelled to fight for his life or property. Much 
 of this necessity is passed away, but something yet remains. The 
 nation is still one of lawless and violent habits, containing many 
 professed thieves, and many mercenary soldiers, who, in the pre- 
 sent tranquillity of the country, are at any instant ready to become 
 thieves, and the general sense of moral feeling is, in this particular, 
 so low, that one ceases to wonder that banditti are from time to 
 time heard of, and that every body finds it desirable to take his 
 arms with him on a journey. 
 
 I was greatly pleased with my new horse, but I was annoyed 
 in the course of the ride by one of his shoes breaking. At Cassiah 
 I enquired of the " tussildar," or tacksman, a very decent sort 
 of gentleman-farmer, where a smith could be obtained, and he 
 told me to my sorrow that the people of the country seldom shod 
 their horses, and that I should not meet with one nearer than 
 Futtehpoor, a distance of three days journey. There was no 
 remedy but patience, and I had my horse led as quietly as possible. 
 In other things there was enough to occupy my attention, as I was 
 assailed by complaints from every part of the cofilah, of some 
 deficiency or other in our equipments, or some experienced, or 
 apprehended inconvenience. My own tents were found to be so 
 large as to require elephants to carry them, the camels were too 
 few, and some of them were very weak, there were no " sitringees," 
 or tent-carpets, and no tent for the Sepoys. In the midst of all this 
 hubbub, it began to rain hard, and the camp-followers with one con- 
 sent began to say that we must halt next day to supply these defi-
 
 * THE DOOAB. 343 
 
 ciencies, and to dry the tents, which being so large, could not be 
 carried in a wet state. To halt on a Saturday I was very unwilling, 
 inasmuch as I had always proposed to rest on the Sunday follow- 
 ing. I did my best, therefore, to persuade them to get on ^vith 
 all which could be done that day, and since the camels were too 
 few, applied to the tussildar for some hackeries to help them. 
 Even to this, however, the poverty of the village was unequal, 
 and I was glad to obtain four baggage-oxen, to make up the 
 deficiency in the Company's appointments. Meantime arrived a 
 Sepoy, with sitringees from General Morley, and I sent back by 
 him some of the most useless articles of our equipage, thus mate- 
 rially lightening one of the heaviest laden camels. The rest were 
 relieved by the accession of the oxen, and if the tents got dry, the 
 ** clashees" (tent-pitchers) again allowed that we might proceed 
 in the morning prosperously. The evening was fair and very 
 pleasant, and we all found abundant interest and employment in 
 walking round the motley groupes of men and animals which 
 made up our caravan, seeing the camels, horses, and oxen fed, 
 and talking with the tussildar, who, with a little retinue of swords, 
 shields, and spears behind him, again made his appearance. I 
 attempted to have some conversation with the jemautdar, who 
 commanded the Sepoys, but found him a very shy and modest 
 man, little disposed to talk, while for asking many questions, my 
 language was hardly sufficient ; to him and the soldiers I gave up 
 some of the servants' tents, as they had been completely over- 
 looked by the Commissariate at Allahabad. 
 
 In the course of this evening a fellow, who said he was a 
 Gao-wala, brought me two poor little leverets, which he said he 
 had just found in a field. They were quite unfit to eat, and the 
 bringing them was an act of cruelty of which there are few 
 instances among the Hindoos, who are generally humane to wild 
 animals. In this case, on my scolding the man for bringing such 
 poor little things from their mother, all the crowd of camel- 
 drivers and camp-followers, of whom no inconsiderable number
 
 344 CURRAH. 
 
 were around us, expressed great satisfaction and an entire con- 
 currence in my censure. It ended in the man promising to take 
 them back to the very spot (which he described) where he had 
 picked them up, and in my promising him an ana if he did so. 
 To see him keep his word two stout waggoner's boys immediately 
 vokmteered their services, and I have no doubt kept him to his 
 contract. 
 
 October 2. — The night was drizzly, so that when I arose at 
 four in the morning I found the tent too wet, in the opinion of 
 the Tindals, for the camels to bear it. About eight o'clock, how- 
 ever, a drying wind having sprung up, we were enabled to send off 
 the two small " routees," (or breakfast tents,) to serve as a shelter 
 till the arrival of the larger tents, and partly on horseback, partly 
 in my palankeen, I reached a place a few miles short of our 
 destined station before noon. At Coty, our halting-place, we 
 remained till the cool of the evening, and then went on to 
 Camaulpoor, near Currah. Here w^e encamped amid a vast field 
 of tombs and ruins, (of the former our guide said there was " a 
 lack all save five,") and the whole scene, with its jungle, and 
 deserted appearance, was singularly picturesque and romantic. 
 The inhabited part of Currah is still, however, considerable, and 
 we soon found that there were people in the neighbourhood, by 
 the number of little shops at once set up under the trees around 
 us, with an eye to our custom. 
 
 Currah owes its fame, it seems, and stately buildings to a 
 celebrated saint named Camaul Shek, who, with his son and several 
 of his disciples, Hes buried here. The tomb is still in tolerable 
 repair, which is more than can be said of any of the others, which 
 have been splendid but are now mere ruins, in a grave and solemn 
 style of architecture, being a square tower pierced on each front with 
 elegantly formed and carved Gothic door-ways, and surmounted 
 with a dome of a very judicious form, and harmonizing with the 
 general character of the building, not being semi-circular but 
 conical, and in the same form of a Gothic arch, as is displayed in
 
 CURRAH. 345 
 
 the other arches of the building. Besides this large chapel are 
 many raised tombs, of different sizes, from small terraces, with 
 kiblas for prayers, down to stone coffins as they are sometimes 
 called in England, and as they are found in similar forms and with 
 nearly the same ornaments, in our old Cathedrals. These ruins 
 and sepulchres reminded me of Caffa ; but there was no other 
 similarity ; instead of the bare rocks which surround that ancient 
 city, we had a grove of noble trees, under which our horses, 
 camels, and bullocks were disposed in different clusters, and the 
 tents, the fires, the baskets of fruits, rice, ghee, &c. exposed for 
 sale, and the varied and picturesque costume of the crowd 
 assembled under it, the red uniform of the Sepoys, the white gar- 
 ments of our own servants, the long veils and silver ornaments of 
 the female villagers, and the dark mantles, dark beards, and naked 
 limbs of the male peasantry and coolies, mingled with the showy 
 dresses, swords, shields, and spears of the Chuprassies, gave the 
 whole scene the animated and interesting effect of an eastern fair, 
 an effect which the east, perhaps, can alone supply, and which I 
 greatly regretted my want of skill to convey effectually to my 
 friends in Europe. My dear wife will, I trust, sooner or later see 
 many such scenes in my company. 
 
 These tombs, ruins, and jungles are favourable to robbery, 
 for which Currah and Camaulpoor bear a very bad name, and an 
 additional body of ten Chuprassies, besides the four Sepoy sen- 
 tries, were thought necessary by the Zemindar of Currah to keep 
 watch at night over our extensive encampment. 
 
 October 3. — This day being Sunday was a day of rest to us 
 all, and to none of us I believe was it unacceptable. Its value to 
 the animals, soldiers, and labourers was never perhaps so power- 
 fully impressed on my mind, as now that I saw them round me, 
 after three days of great fatigue, in the actual enjoyment of a 
 twenty-four hours' repose and relaxation. I had church in my 
 tent, which, besides our two families and Abdullah, was attended 
 by two of Mr. Corrie's former converts, Fyzee Musseeh and Anund 
 
 Y y
 
 346 FYZEE MUSSEEH. 
 
 Musseeh, who joined him at Benares, and are attending him up 
 the country. The latter is a fine young man, who speaks and 
 reads En^-hsh well. Fyzee Musseeh understands it but imperfectly, 
 except in reading, but is an interesting and remarkable person. 
 He is the son of a w^ealthy Ryut near Moradabad, who, though 
 himself a Hindoo, sent his son to a celebrated Mussulman pre- 
 ceptor, in the hope that a knowledge of Arabic and Persian would 
 recommend him to the service of the king of Oude. The lessons, 
 however, w^hich the young idolator received opened his eyes to the 
 absurdity of the religion which he had hitherto professed. He 
 turned Mussulman, was circumcised, and received the name of 
 Fyzee Mohammed, and was regarded for several years as one of the 
 most promising students among " the true believers." His in- 
 creased knowledge, however, of his new creed was far from satis- 
 fying him of its proceeding from God, and he was still more 
 induced to waver by learning that a very holy Mussulman saint 
 in the neighbourhood had, on his death-bed, confessed that he 
 found no comfort but in the words of Jesus the son of Mary. To 
 obtain a know ledge of these w ords, he went to a Romish priest at 
 Lucknow, and applied to him for a copy of the Gospel. The 
 Priest took considerable pains w ith him, but Fyzee Mohammed no 
 sooner saw the images in his chapel than he cried out that this 
 could never be the religion of which he was in quest, and under- 
 took another journey in search of Mr. Chamberlain, the Baptist 
 minister, who was then in the service of the Begum Sumroo. He 
 had but little conversation with him, but obtained the book he 
 wanted, which completely convinced him, till he w^as again dissatis- 
 fied with the explication which he obtained of some of the difficult 
 passages. He at length w^ent to Agra, another long journey, and 
 after staying some time in Mr. Corrie's neighbourhood, was bap- 
 tized into, and has ever since continued a steady member of, the 
 Church of England, under the name of Fyzee Musseeh. He is a 
 little man, middle aged, with a very mild and meditative cast of 
 countenance, of no talent for public speaking, and his whole
 
 FYZEE MUSSEEH. 347 
 
 manner reserved, shy, and timid. He is, however, an admirable 
 scholar in every part of eastern learning, of much disinterestedness 
 and modesty, reads English pretty well, though he is too diffident 
 to speak it, and is still very greatly respected as a learned and holy 
 man by many both of the Hindoos and Mussulmans. His retired 
 manner and want of oratorical powers have as yet deterred Mr. 
 Corrie from recommending him as a Missionary or Catechist, but 
 I am myself inclined to believe that his sterling sense and intel- 
 lectual powers may well counterbalance any external deficiencies. 
 Fyzee Musseeh travels independently of us on a poney, with one 
 servant, for his circumstances are respectable. He lodges in the 
 caravanserais, and from time to time calls on the Archdeacon. 
 This morning he brought a singular account of a conversation he 
 had had the night before with a stranger, a Hindoo in outward 
 appearance, who, on entering the serai, drew his carpet near him, 
 and conversed on indifferent subjects till the usual hour of Mus- 
 sulman prayer, when, supposing him to be a Mussulman, he said, 
 " I will pray with you," and chanted a distich which Mahom- 
 medans are in this country fond of repeating : 
 
 " If the grandson of Jesus had died for the sins of men, 
 Then all the Christians would have been Mussulmans." 
 
 The meaning of this couplet is not very easy to make out. All I 
 can conjecture is, that there is some confusion between sister's son, 
 or cousin, and grandson, the name of Agawzee being, though less 
 properly, applicable to these relations likewise, that an allusion is 
 made to the notion entertained by Mussulmans, that our Lord 
 himself was not crucified, but taken up to heaven, and that Judas 
 was executed in his stead and in his likeness ; and lastly, that they 
 confound Judas, or Jude, the relation of our Lord (not Iscariot) 
 with the traitor, and that they mean to say, that had the atonement 
 on the cross been what Christians suppose, they would have been 
 the true professors of Islam, and the subsequent mission of 
 Mohammed would have been unnecessary. Be this as it may, the 
 
 y y 2
 
 348 VISIT FROxAI ZEMINDAR. 
 
 couplet gave occasion to Fyzee Musseeh to set his new acquaint- 
 ance right as to many particulars in the history of Christ, to which 
 the man listened with profound attention. When he had ended, 
 he asked some very pertinent questions, and at length said, " May 
 God reward you. Sir ! God, I believe, has sent me to this place 
 to meet you, for you have told me much which I did not know 
 before, and much that I was desirous of learning. I am a Hindoo, 
 but have been for some time a searcher after truth, and was inclined 
 to turn Mussulman, if I had not found that the Mussulmans also 
 acknowledged Eesa as a prophet, and that therefore it was 
 desirable to learn something of his religion in the first place. I 
 shall now pray to God and to Jesus to guide me farther." They 
 prayed together, and parted next morning, the man saying that 
 Fyzee INIusseeh should hear from him again. 
 
 This is interesting in itself, and on many accounts ; but it is 
 particularly curious, inasmuch as Fyzee IMusseeh says it is only one 
 of many symptoms of a considerable change taking place in the 
 Hindoo mind, a growing contempt of idolatry, and an anxiety 
 after other forms of belief. At present he says the INIussulmans 
 get many converts. Ere long, perhaps, Christianity also may come 
 in for its share of the harvest. 
 
 Fyzee Musseeh was not our only visitor; the Zemindar, a very 
 well dressed and gentlemanly man, on a good horse, and with a 
 greater retinue than usual, also called and sate some time. Mr, 
 Ward, the collector of Allahabad, had prepared us to expect him, 
 and told us that he was a man of good family, and respectable 
 character. The conversation was, of course, general enough, till 
 I luckily introduced the subject of field-sports, on which he was 
 eloquent. I observed, that there was much jungle in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and asked if there were any tygers. ** Tygers ! No,'' 
 said he, " not for several years back ; and as for jungle, there is 
 three times as much cultivated land now as there used to be under 
 the government of the Vizier. Then there were tygers in plenty, 
 and more than plenty ; but there are better things than tygers
 
 VISIT FROM AN IMAM. 349 
 
 now, such as corn-fields, villages, and people. However, in the 
 jungle which still remains, we have deer, wild hogs, and arnu.'* 
 This latter name belongs to a species of gigantic buffalo, which I 
 had understood to be very uncommon, but which it seems, though 
 rare, is here sometimes to be met with. The thickest jungles, 
 he said, were on the banks of the river, and they were the most 
 abundant in game of every kind. On the whole it is curious and 
 interesting to find both the apparently progressive improvement of 
 the country under the British government, as contrasted with its 
 previous state, and also how soon, and how easily, in a settled 
 country, the most formidable wild animals become extinct before 
 the power of man. The tyger will soon be almost as great a rarity 
 in our eastern as in our western dominions ; the snake, however, 
 will hold his ground longer. I forgot to mention, that while at 
 Allahabad I was one night roused by the entrance of several men 
 armed with sticks and spears. Abdullah, who was at their head, 
 called out, " Lie still, my lord ; these people have seen a very 
 large chichta (cobra di capello) creep into your window." I did 
 not lie still, however, but got a stick and joined the party ; 
 after an accurate search nothing was found except a large hole in 
 the floor, into which, probably, the animal had made its escape. 
 The bearers might have killed him when they first saw him, but, 
 unless they are urged to do so, they seldom will, from their super- 
 stitious veneration for serpents, a feeling very common among the 
 Hindoos, and which accounts, in part, for the number of snakes 
 yet found in these provinces. Next morning a farther search was 
 made, but nothing found ; and I could observe that this double 
 discovery of snakes entering my bed room, was considered by my 
 Hindoo servants as a sign of great good luck, and raised me in 
 their estimation. 
 
 We had yet another visitor ; the Imam of the neighbouring 
 mosque, a very handsome man, with a splendid beard, a cheerful, 
 though rather sarcastic countenance, and two of the merriest, 
 most intelligent eyes that I have seen, called, as he said, in his
 
 350 VISIT FROM AN IMAM. 
 
 capacity of Padre, to offer his respects to his Bishop. He had 
 been a pilgrim to Mecca and Medina, had visited Jerusalem, 
 mount Sinai, and Cairo, and had testimonials from a Greek 
 Archimandrite at Bethlehem to his good character and good 
 acquirements. He sate with us some time, and I was able to 
 understand him very tolerably. Mr. Corrie was much amused 
 with him, and said he was a good specimen of a travelled worldly 
 Mussulman, with little seriousness in his peculiar creed, and pro- 
 bably few thoughts of religion at all. I asked him to drink coffee, 
 teUing him that he must know very well that in Turkey, Egypt, 
 and Arabia, Mussulmans and Christians eat together without 
 scruple. He bowed, and answered with a smile, " I know that 
 well, my Lord, but it is not the custom in this country." He was 
 pleased, however, with the offer, and said, with my permission, 
 since we seemed curious about his travels, he would return in the 
 evening and bring his journal, which he had kept regularly. I 
 answered, that if his journal was as entertaining as his conver- 
 sation, he might find it worth his while to get it printed at Calcutta. 
 In the evening, however, it turned out to be a very short and dry 
 diary, merely curious to a person making a map. Indeed, to do 
 him justice, when I talked about printing it at first, he shook his 
 head, as if he thought it would not answer. He now told us how 
 it came to pass that he first w^ent to Mecca. A certain Mussulman 
 of good connections, and bred a soldier, had been, after the late 
 pacification of India by Lord Hastings, completely thrown out of 
 employment. In his distress what to do, he applied to a relation 
 high in the service of the Nawab Vizier, for help and advice, 
 whose answer was " Turn Saint." " How so !" was the reply ; 
 *' every body knows that my life has not been saintly ! " " But 
 your beard," said the adviser, " is very much so, and a few weeks 
 will enable you to assume the proper tone and carriage. I have a 
 brother who is a man of acknowledged learning and holiness ; I 
 will get him to countenance you, and introduce you to different 
 devout Mussulmans, and then you have only to get disciples, and
 
 INDIAN ARMY. 351 
 
 you* will live very well." lie did so, — put on a coarse raiment 
 and a sad exterior, preached up pilgrimage to Mecca, declared 
 himself ready to conduct a caravan thither, and soon found people 
 enough, among whom our guest was one, to follow him and sub- 
 scribe their money for this holy undertaking. The profits, however, 
 he made during the voyage, and by a dustoory " on all the alms 
 either given or received by the party, were so considerable, that 
 on his return some of his confidential disciples had a quarrel with 
 him for a more equal distribution of booty, and scandal arose, 
 which compelled the saint to go and make disciples elsewhere. 
 " Nevertheless," said the Hajee who gave us this account, com- 
 posing his face to a due expression of gravity, *' he is doubtless a 
 holy man, and of great eloquence.^' I suspect our visitor may 
 have been, on this occasion, not one of the geese, but the foxes. 
 
 October 4. — We went this morning to a station named 
 Choubee Serai, through a country differing little from that 
 which we had passed already. In the march we met a strong 
 column of infantry, about 2,300 men, with a long train of baggage, 
 elephants, camels, bullocks, and camp-followers, on their march 
 from Cawnpoor to the eastward. The groupes afforded by the 
 line of march, the little parties halting under trees, the loaded 
 animals, the native women conveyed in " dhoolies," or litters, and 
 hackeries, the naked limbs of the baggage-drivers and camp-follow- 
 ers, the different gradations of horse, from the wild shaggy Tattoo, 
 to the sleek and gentle Arab, with the uniforms and arms, were 
 some of them beyond description beautiful. What would not 
 W^ouvermand have made of an Eastern army ? 
 
 Some of the Sepoys asked Mr. Corrie's servants to whom our 
 party belonged, and where we were going. On being told it was 
 the Lord Padre Sahib going to Bombay, one of them exclaimed, 
 " The Lord Sahib goes to the side of Bombay, we go where 
 
 * A customary deduction from all money paid, given, or received on any possible occasion, 
 made by the person through whose hands it passes, and one of the most fruitful sources ot 
 cheating in India.— Ed.
 
 352 CHOUBEE SERAI. 
 
 fighting is I" It is possible that he had never heard of any Lord 
 Sahib but the Governor-general, and was therefore naturally 
 surprised to hear of his going in a direction so contrary to that 
 where the stress of public affairs called him. On our arrival at 
 Choubee Serai, we found the people complaining sadly of these 
 troops, who had, they said, taken whatever they wanted without 
 payment, had broken and wasted more than they consumed, and 
 beaten the peasantry for not bringing the supplies faster. The 
 laws of British India are, in these respects, no less just than those 
 of England, and the magistrates, I have every reason to believe, 
 are, to the utmost of their power, anxious to afford complete pro- 
 tection to the people. There are some articles, however, such as 
 grass, fire-wood, and earthen pots of the cheap and coarse kind 
 used once for cooking a dinner and afterwards broken by all 
 Hindoos of a respectable caste, which the Zemindars are expected 
 to furnish gratis to the Company's troops, and all persons travelling 
 with public " Purwannus," or Government orders, for which the 
 Zemindars receive a yearly abatement of their taxes, but which may 
 sometimes, when many and extensive requisitions are made, press 
 hard on the poor Ryuts. I was, therefore, as careful as I possibly 
 could be to ascertain the amount of the different things demanded 
 by my people, or furnished by the villagers, to take care that no 
 unreasonable demands were made, and that nothing more than 
 the letter of the law required, was either taken or accepted by our 
 people without payment. This was the first thing I did on alight- 
 ing from my horse, (my arrival in the camp and that of the supphes 
 usually taking place about the same time) and while a readiness 
 to listen to all complaints obtained me from the peasantry the 
 name of *' Ghureeb-purwar,'' (poor man's provider) the object was 
 easily accomplished with a caravan so small as ours. With an 
 army, however, of course, the case is very different, and the 
 officers at Cawnpoor to whom I thought it right to mention the 
 complaints I had heard, said that they feared the Sepoys often 
 took provisions without payment, when the bustle of a march and
 
 CRUELTY TO A CAMEL. 353 
 
 other circumstances rendered them secure from the observation of 
 their European officers. Still they said, the neighbourhood even 
 of these last was a great check to them, and the difference between 
 their minor encroachments, and the open plunder and violence of 
 a native prince's camp, was what nobody could believe who had 
 not seen it. 
 
 Soon after I had got through the complaints and difficulties 
 of the Commissar iate, an elderly European in a shabby gig drove 
 up, and entering into conversation with Abdullah, asked him some 
 questions about my horse. On hearing that he had lost a shoe, 
 he professed himself a blacksmith, and said he had been farrier 
 many years to a dragoon regiment, and was now a pensioner, on 
 his way to Allahabad in search of employment in his trade. He 
 produced some specimens of very neat horse-shoes, and I soon set 
 him to work to remove the Indian shoes, which pinched my horse's 
 feet, and replace them with some of a better fashion. He was a 
 very good and tolerably reasonable workman, a Lancashire man 
 from the borders of Yorkshire, with a dialect and physiognomy 
 rather approaching the latter than the former county. In the 
 evening he went on to the serai a little farther, having, as he 
 frankly observed, *' been in vary gud luck to meet us," since he found 
 a profitable job without any delay in his journey, and obtained 
 a letter of recommendation, as a neat artist, to Allahabad. In the 
 course of this evening my attention was attracted by the dreadful 
 groans of one of our baggage-camels at some little distance among 
 the trees. I went to the spot and found that two of the " Sarbanns," 
 or camel-drivers, had bound its legs in a kneeling posture, so that it 
 could not rise or stir, and were now busy in burning it with hot 
 irons, in all the fleshy, muscular, and cartilaginous parts of its 
 body. They had burned six deep notches in the back of its neck, 
 had seared both its cheeks immediately under the eye, its haunches 
 and head, and were now applying the torturing instrument to its 
 forehead and nostrils. I asked what they were doing, and they 
 answered that " it had a fever and wind, and would die if they did 
 
 z z
 
 354 MUNDISERAI. 
 
 not treat it in this manner." I called Abdullah and asked him 
 if such a remedy was usual. He said it was so in this country and 
 in Persia, but that the Arabs in similar cases found a little warm 
 water-gruel with garlick sufficient. I should have thought so too, 
 but the poor animal's sufferings were now over for the present, and 
 by and bye they actually gave it a large ball of garlic. It was better 
 they told me, some hours after, but on renewing my enquiries in 
 the morning, I heard that it was finally released from its misery. 
 
 October 5. — Another stage of 14 miles to Mundiserai. The 
 parched state of the country had till now threatened a famine. 
 Rain had fallen at Benares and Allahabad, but none as yet in the 
 country through which we had marched. The fears expressed by 
 the poor people every where had been very touching. One of the 
 Tussuldars had asked me to pray for them, and said with a curious 
 mixture of Eastern compliment and undoubted truth, " We poor 
 people have had great trouble here, but now your worship is come, 
 if it pleases God, we shall have rain." I assured him of my 
 prayers, and had, indeed, used, both in the Church at Allahabad, 
 and during our morning and evening family prayers of every day 
 for the last fortnight, the Collect containing that petition. This 
 morning, soon after we had reached our encampment, their deep 
 distress was relieved, and several smart showers fell during the day 
 and night, at which we rejoiced most sincerely, since, though for us 
 the dry weather was better, it was impossible to put our conve- 
 nience in competition with the food of millions. The change of 
 weather, however, seemed to disagree with our people, who were 
 several of them taken ill, but were relieved by proper remedies. 
 
 October 6. — The march before us being longer than usual, 
 the loaded waggons began to set out soon after midnight, and Mr. 
 Lushington and I were on horseback at three, to enable the 
 clashees to take down our tents. The sky was cloudy, and as we 
 picked our way with some difficulty in the dark, through watery 
 roads and a wild open country, my recollection w^as forcibly drawn 
 to those times when my youngest brother and I used to ride some
 
 FESTIVAL OF SEETA. 355 
 
 miles to meet the mail in our way to school, and afterwards to 
 College. Thence I naturally passed to the journies of a riper age 
 in the same neighbourhood, my wife's parting adieu and exhorta- 
 tion to take care of myself, and to w rite as soon as I got to London, 
 at a time when we little thought of ever enduring more than a 
 month's separation. Hodnet, dear Ilodnet, as we left it, and as it 
 is now, Moreton, and all the names and recollections connected 
 with them, combined to make me sad, and I was obliged to turn my 
 attention to Bombay, and the meeting to which I look forwards 
 there, to restrain some emotion which I was not sorry the darkness 
 concealed. We rode on in silence about seven miles, when, in passing 
 a village, we w^ere roused by the lights, tinsel, flowers, mummery, 
 horns, gongs, and shouts of Seeta, Rama, Luchmun, and their 
 followers, in the concluding feast after the destruction of the paper 
 giant Ravanna. The show^ was really pretty at a certain distance, 
 but the little performers were all sadly tired, and I was not sorry, 
 for their sakes, that this was their last night of acting. 
 
 One of the byestanders told us our road, which we should 
 otherwise have had some difficulty in finding, and we went on 
 through a winding street, and amid the mud walls of cow-houses 
 and sheds, when a coolie came up to me and said that Dinoo, 
 one of my sick servants, had fallen off his horse and was dying. 
 I immediately went into the watch-house, and found him stretched 
 on a mat which they had brought out for him, complaining of 
 great pain, but speaking little and moaning dismally. I was 
 much shocked, and the more so because I did not know what to 
 give him ; indeed my medicine chest was gone on with the palan- 
 queen, and all the town, except the watchman, were busy with the 
 show. I asked if they could get a dhooly for him, and bring him 
 on to our next station, Futtehpoor. The watchman, who was 
 now joined by another man, said " there were no bearers in the 
 village." *' What," said I " all those men whom I saw following 
 Rama, can none of them put their shoulders under a bamboo and 
 carry this poor man a few coss, when they are sure of being well paid 
 
 z z 2
 
 356 FUTTEHPOOR. 
 
 for it ?" " My Lord," was the characteristic answer, " they are all 
 coolies, not bearers, they can only carry loads on their heads, and 
 cannot carry a man !" I grew impatient, and said that I insisted 
 upon his being brought some way or other, and by hand, for the 
 motion of a hackery was more than he could bear, and that if 
 he was not brought in three hours time to Futtehpoor, I would 
 complain to the CutwaJ. I repeated this to the Jemautdar of the 
 village, who now made his appearance, and he promised faithfully 
 that help should be forthcoming. At length (an European would 
 never guess how the matter was settled) four women came for- 
 ward with one of the country cane-bedsteads ; the patient was 
 placed on it, and the sturdy lasses took it up on their heads like 
 Cariatides, and trudged away with it. I left a spearman by way 
 of escort, and went on before, mth but little hope that the poor 
 man would reach the camp alive. 
 
 The day was now breaking, and we went on at a brisker pace, 
 my young horse confirming me more and more in my good opinion 
 of him, till while stopping to let him drink in a plash of water, he 
 all at once lay down and began rolling. I was not hurt, and the 
 circumstance would not have been worth mentioning, had not the 
 saees given as a reason for it, that the Turkmans fed their colts 
 with buffalo's milk, and that my horse had probably thus acquired 
 both the fondness for water, and the folly of his foster mother ! 
 Certainly he seemed altogether unconscious of having done wrong, 
 and imagined, perhaps, that the cold bath would be as agreeable 
 to me as to himself; indeed, I gave him no reason to suppose the 
 contrary, but shall in future watch him more closely on similar 
 occasions. 
 
 The road for some miles from Futtehpoor lies over an open 
 plain, as level as any part of India, and seeming marked out 
 by nature for the scene of a great battle which should decide 
 the fate of the country. Here we were met by the Cutwal of 
 Futtehpoor, who, in much civility had come out on horseback to 
 pay his respects, attended by the usual up-country retinue of
 
 FUTTEHPOOR. 357 
 
 shield and spear. I could not help smiling as the thought 
 occurred, how different from the " great man," whom he probably 
 expected, he must have found me, on a horse, without attendants, 
 or even saees, and having on every part of my hat, jacket, and 
 trowzers, the muddy stains of the nullah. However, the inter- 
 view passed with great propriety on all sides, but as I was still 
 wet and cold, and his retinue could not possibly keep pace with 
 me, I begged him to spare the compliment of accompanying me 
 into the town. 
 
 Futtehpoor is a large place, with more appearance of pros- 
 perity than any town I have seen since Allahabad. It contains 
 some tolerably good houses, and a very elegant little mosque, 
 built within these few years by the nephews and heirs of the cele- 
 brated eunuch Almass Ali Khan, long minister to the Nawab of 
 Oude, and who held for many years the whole southern and 
 western Dooab from Meerut to Allahabad in farm. He was remark- 
 able for his wealth, his attachment to the Enghsh, and, as it is said, 
 for his talents. 
 
 Futtehpoor is surrounded, like most of these towns, with 
 tombs, in the midst of which our tents were pitched. Near us 
 was a large but ruinous serai, which had, however, more of its 
 interior detail perfect than most which I have seen in India. It 
 corresponded in many respects with those of Turkey and Crim 
 Tartary, — a large court with two gateways opposite to each other, 
 surmounted by towers not unlike those of a college, with a cloister 
 or verandah all round raised about a foot from the ground, with 
 a pucka floor, and having little fire-places contrived against the 
 wall, just large enough to hold the earthen pitchers in which all 
 the cookery of the country is carried on, and behind this, a range 
 of small and dark apartments a step lower than the verandah. No 
 payment is required for lodging here, except a few cowries to the 
 sweeper, while for a very few pice grass and water will be furnished 
 to a traveller's beasts, and wood and earthen pots to himself; 
 for provisions the neighbouring bazar is ready. These serais
 
 358 SERAIS. 
 
 are generally noble monuments of individual bounty, and some 
 were in ancient times liberally endowed, and furnished supplies 
 of gram", milk, and grass gratis to the traveller, as well as 
 shelter. Their foundations are most of them alienated, but even 
 so far as shelter only is concerned, it is a very great blessing in 
 this country, where the general poverty of the natives, and the 
 prejudices of caste, forbid a stranger hoping for admission into any 
 private dwelling. Even now, though ruinous, they are kept 
 tolerably clean, and their benefit is so great to all persons, whether 
 Europeans or natives, who are not rich enough to possess tents, 
 and occasionally to some even of those who are, that I rejoice to 
 learn that their restoration is one of the objects proposed by 
 Government in the application of the internal tolls to works of 
 pubhc improvement. 
 
 The only plague attendant on our present situation arose 
 from the swarms of sturdy INIussulman beggars, calling themselves 
 " ]\Iarabouts," or holy men, and living in the tombs around us. I 
 gave alms to one old man who addressed me by the claim of being 
 a fellow- servant of the same God, and had, in consequence, my 
 ears deafened for half the morning by continued cries of suppU- 
 cation from people in the full possession of youth, health, and 
 strength, who would not even have thanked me for less than half 
 a rupee, and who had about as much sanctity in their appearance 
 and demeanour as friar Tuck, or Fray Diavolo. At last the Arch- 
 deacon went out, and talked to them in their own way, and they 
 dispersed. Dinoo, to my surprize, arrived in camp about an hour 
 after us, very materially better, and there seemed no doubt but 
 that in a dhooly he would be able to proceed. 
 
 There were some hard showers during the day, and the night 
 was so rainy, that though the morning of October 7th seemed 
 rather more promising, I gave up all idea of attempting to stir 
 the tents, and sent Mr. Corrie word to this effect. He called on 
 
 " A kind of vetch on which horses are chiefly fed in India. — Ed,
 
 JOURNEY TO KULEAUNPOOR. 359 
 
 me, however, to say that he had no doubt of being able, by the 
 help of the Cutwal, to obtain hackeries from the town to carry 
 the flies, which are the heaviest parts of the tents ; that the camels 
 would have no difficulty with the remainder, and that the loss 
 of a day now would prevent our arriving in time for Sunday at 
 Cawnpoor. I told him that all the natives said the day would 
 be rainy ; but he answered that he thought the clouds were 
 breaking, and that the natives never were to be depended on 
 when the question was about moving. Under these circumstances, 
 I ordered the camels and baggage to be got ready, having first 
 ascertained that there was a serai at Kuleaunpoor, where we 
 might get shelter should our tents be useless. The routees were 
 gone on over-night. Mr. Lushington and I accordingly set out 
 immediately, that we might get in before the morning grew hot, 
 and a dismal ride we had! I had anticipated at least some 
 showers, and was not discouraged by the first or second which fell. 
 But by the time we had got something less than half way, it set 
 in for a thoroughly tropical wet day, with a fierce N.W. wind, and 
 thunder and lightening, the rain falling in a continued torrent. It 
 was in vain to stop, for we were already wet to the skin, and had 
 indeed no shelter within reach, and we had only to keep our 
 horses steadily to the storm, and to be thankful to God that it did 
 not come on before we had day-light sufficient to see our way 
 through a wild and flooded country, where the nullahs were 
 already in many places as high as our horses' bellies. 
 
 After travelling about five miles in this way, and when we were 
 still four from our halting-place, we fortunately overtook one of the 
 palanqueens, in which was a leathern bottle of brandy, which did us 
 both infinite good. The road, too, was now better, and as his horse 
 was fresher than mine, Mr. Lushington galloped on, in the hope 
 of getting a fire lighted. I followed more leisurely, passing, to 
 my concern, the greater part of our baggage on the road, and 
 having, consequently, reason to apprehend that we should find no 
 dry clothes ready for us. In fact, I found Mr. Lushington stripped
 
 360 KULEAUNPOOR. 
 
 to his flannel waistcoat, and cowering over a little fire of sticks 
 and cow-dung, in a shed of very unpromising appearance, the 
 ground having been by far too wet to enable our advanced party 
 to pitch the routees, and the serai turning out unfortunately one of 
 the worst and most ruinous of the kind. More brandy was not 
 forthcoming, but we added sticks to the fire, and I ordered break- 
 fast, for which, fortunately, the materials were arrived, while some 
 of the advanced party of bearers, stripping themselves naked, 
 volunteered to go back, and by their fresh strength help their 
 companions to bring up the pettarahs with our clothes, more 
 quickly. This answered well, as we had the satisfaction of finding, 
 when they arrived, that they were really dry. Things now looked 
 more promising ; our horses and ourselves were under the common 
 shelter of the ruinous cloister, with just room for a little table 
 between them and the fire. A crowd of poor shivering servants 
 was huddled round this on every side but that which we occupied ; 
 and another shed at some little distance was used by Mr. Corrie's 
 khansaman as cook-room, and, should they arrive, would serve as 
 parlour and dressing-room for their party. But each successive 
 detachment of the caravan, as they continued to drop in, gave, as 
 might be expected, worse and worse accounts of the road. It was 
 " knee-deep," — it was " middle-deep," — it was " half a spear's 
 depth in water." Still the rain kept pouring on, but without 
 thunder or wind ; and as we looked from our shed on the swimming 
 dung-hills of the serai, and the poor wet camels patiently standing 
 or lying down among them, I thought what a whimsical contrast 
 the scene offered to the description in Irving' s story of the " Stout 
 Gentleman. ^^ 
 
 Our caravan continued to arrive during the day, which 
 cleared up towards evening, but not time enough to prevent all 
 our bedding from being hopelessly wet through. Meantime we 
 were not quite without employment, since besides seeing our 
 horses taken care of, we had all manner of complaints to adjudi- 
 cate between the villagers, our servants and Sepoys, and two
 
 KULEAUNPOOR. 361 
 
 companies more of sepoys who were also driven in to shelter. I 
 could not help feeling very uncomfortable about the Corries and 
 their children. The people who came up said they had obtained 
 shelter in the house of a Zemindar, but whether a gig and palan- 
 queen could get through the waters which were between us, was 
 more than we could form a judgment of. At length, just as we 
 had given them up and were sitting down to dinner, they arrived, 
 happily all well, and having received a hospitable entertainment 
 from the Zemindar in question, at whose house they had asked 
 permission to boil a little gruel for the children, and who had 
 immediately invited them into a comfortable verandah, and, though 
 a Hindoo, sent to purchase them a fowl and currie. The Arch- 
 deacon expressed much unwillingness to eat these in his house, 
 knowing, he said, how strong a prejudice would, a few years since, 
 have been excited against such a step. But on his saying, " Oh 
 do not let us pollute your house," the good man returned an 
 answer which, Mr. Corrie observed, shewed, more than most 
 things, how fast caste was wearing away, " We have different cus- 
 toms, but are we not of the same flesh and blood ? — My house is 
 much honoured by your company." 
 
 When the Corries saw what sort of a place they were come to, 
 they at first regretted that they had not accepted the Zemindar's 
 invitation to stay all night. His khansaman, however, had 
 managed matters for them better than could have been expected, 
 and except that their apartment admitted the rain in places, it 
 made about as good a bed-room as a common blacksmith's shed 
 in England would have done, but clean, and very sufficient for the 
 climate. Our palanqueens made excellent beds, and we had so 
 many unexpected comforts, my khansaman having provided an 
 excellent dinner of kid-soup and bouille, and the chest of wine 
 having come up, that we had abundant reason for thankfulness, 
 which was increased by finding that our sick men were not worse 
 for their journey. 
 
 It was evident, however, that the tents could not again be 
 
 3 A
 
 363 JOURNEY TO CAWNPOOR. 
 
 moved without a thorough drying, and as I had appointed Saturday 
 mornino" for the confirmation at Cawnpoor, Mr. Lushington and I 
 aoreed with the bearers of our palanqueens, for a trifling additional 
 sum, to carry us next day, two marches in one, to that station, 
 should the weather be such as to make it practicable. We left the 
 tents, servants, and the two police-men whom we had brought from 
 Allahabad, with the Corries, and set off ourselves after breakfast 
 on the 8th of October. The day was fine, and though the roads 
 were in a very bad state, it was delightful to hear the mutual con- 
 o-ratulations of our bearers and the villagers whom we passed, 
 both parties full of thankfulness to God, and considering them- 
 selves, with apparent reason, as delivered from famine and all its 
 horrors. One of these mutual felicitations, which the Archdeacon 
 overheard the day before, was very interesting, as it was not 
 intended for his ear, and was one of the strongest proofs I have 
 met with of the satisfaction of the Hindoos with their rulers. " A 
 good rain this for the bread," said one of the villagers to the other. 
 " Yes," was the answer, " and a good government under which a 
 man may eat bread in safety." While such a feeling prevails, we 
 may have good hopes of the stability of our Indian Government. 
 In crossing a nuddee, which from a ford had become a ferry, 
 we saw some characteristic groupes and occurrences ; the price of 
 passage in the boat was only a few cowries, but a number of 
 country-folk were assembled, who could not, or would not, pay, 
 and were now sitting patiently by the brink, waiting till the torrent 
 should subside, or, what was far less likely to happen, till the boat- 
 men should take compassion on them. Many of these poor people 
 came up to beg me to make the boatmen take them over, one 
 woman pleading that her " malik our bucher," (literally master, or 
 lord, and young one) had run away from her, and she wanted to 
 overtake them ; another that she and her two grand-children were 
 following her son, who was a havildar in the regiment which we 
 had passed just before ; and some others, that they had been 
 intercepted the previous day by this torrent, and had neither
 
 JOURNEY TO CAWNPOOR. 363 
 
 money nor food till they reached their homes. Four anas pur- 
 chased a passage for the whole crowd, of perhaps 30 people, and 
 they were really very thankful. I bestowed two anas more on the 
 poor deserted woman, and a whimsical scene ensued. She at first 
 took the money with eagerness, then as if she recollected herself, 
 she blushed very deeply and seemed much confused, then bowed 
 herself to my feet and kissed my hands, and at last said, in a very 
 modest tone, " it was not fit for so great a man as I was, to give 
 her two anas, and she hoped that I and the ' chota Sahib,' (little 
 lord) would give her a rupee each !" She was an extremely 
 pretty little woman, but we were inexorable, partly I believe, in 
 my own case at least, because we had only just rupees enough to 
 take us to Cawnpoor, and to pay for our men's provisions ; how- 
 ever I gave her two more anas, my sole remaining stock of small 
 change. 
 
 When this was all done, the jemautdar of the neighbouring 
 village came to ask for the usual certificate of his having rendered 
 us assistance. I wrote it out for him on the top of my palanqueen, 
 having provided myself for such purposes with paper and Sir 
 Thomas Acland's inkstand, when a new scene followed. He was 
 very grateful for the good word I gave him, but he had a brother, 
 a fine young man, now in the service of the Peishwa Bajee Row, 
 in the neighbouring town of Betourah, but who was anxious to 
 get into the Company's service, " would I have the goodness to 
 give him a recommendation to the judge Sahib of Betourah ?" 
 " I do not know the judge Sahib of Betourah." " But Huzoor (your 
 worship) is Malik of the land, and your Firmaiui will be obeyed." 
 *' Suppose I could do your brother any good, I do not know him, how 
 shall I recommend him ?" " Huzoor may believe me when I tell 
 him that my brother is one of the best men in the world !" *' But 
 I am only a traveller, and have no power." " Huzoor is pleased to 
 
 say so — but" in short I could hardly get him away from the 
 
 palanqueen side, particularly as I did not chuse to set off till I had 
 seen the poor people embark, for whose passage I had paid. We 
 
 3 a2
 
 364 JOURNEY TO CAWNPOOR. 
 
 then parted, the jemautdar still declaring that he would follow me 
 to Cawnpoor, and bring his brother with him. 
 
 The natives of India seem to attach very great importance to 
 a written recommendation by an Em'opean, or person in a public 
 station, in which, as in many other points, they strongly resemble 
 the Russians. The whole scene which I have described, mutatis 
 mutandis, (crucifixes for brahminical strings, &c.) might have 
 occurred at a ferry on the Don or the Dnieper. The mixture of 
 simplicity and cunning, the importunity, the patience and the 
 flattery, seem to belong almost equally to the peasantry of both 
 countries, or more accurately speaking, perhaps, to the state of 
 society in which they are placed. 
 
 We arrived between three and four at Searsoul, the station 
 half-way between Kuleaunpoor and Cawnpoor, a moderate sized 
 village, with some neat houses, and a handsome serai. Our 
 people, however, were so much tired with wading up to their 
 middles in water, that we bade them get their dinners, and go to 
 sleep till midnight, when we should again set off. We ourselves 
 did the same as far as dinner was concerned, and after a little walk 
 round the village, which was completely insulated by the inunda- 
 tion, retired to our palanqueens, which for security we had had 
 carried into the court-yard of the tannah or police-office. We 
 also engaged four mussaulchies, less for their light, the harvest- 
 moon being sufficient, than to serve as guides through the flooded 
 country. 
 
 October 9. — The night and morning were again fine, and the 
 waters much abated. Still we were seven hours going sixteen 
 miles, and I had the disappointment to find on arriving at Mr. 
 Williams's house, that, despairing of my reaching Cawnpoor in such 
 weather, he had sent round to say that the Confirmation was 
 postponed. It might, however, I found, be easily arranged for 
 Sunday morning, and in the hospitality, cleanliness, and comfort 
 of his house, we found abundant compensation for our recent 
 iabom's.
 
 CAWNPOOR. 365 
 
 During my stay at Cawnpoor not many events occurred worth 
 noticing. On Sunday the 11th, I confirmed upwards of eighty 
 persons, a considerable proportion of whom afterwards received 
 the sacrament. I visited on Monday the new miUtary hospital, 
 and regimental school of the 16th Lancers, both of which are in 
 excellent order. There is one ward of the former furnished with 
 tubes of a new invention for the admission and refrigeration of 
 air, which is introduced through two great valves like gigantic 
 chimneys with cowls on them, and let off through the roof by a 
 multitude of small iron tunnels with heads like ventilators. It is 
 said to answer tolerably, but not better than tatties, which are here 
 hardly more expensive. Externally the machinery is a great 
 deformity to the building. The regimental school is on the 
 national system, and conducted extremely well. An institution of 
 a wider scope and loftier pretensions was established some years 
 ago in Cawnpoor for the children both of Europeans and natives, 
 which obtained a very liberal subscription from the English resi- 
 dents, and has since received from Government a handsome grant 
 of 400 s. rupees per month. It has an excellent house, with good 
 school-rooms, an English master and mistress at a large salary, and 
 a Persian moonshee, but I found it attended but by few European 
 and half-caste, and still fewer native children, in deplorable want 
 of books and other similar supplies, and with a master who had 
 apparently been brought in as a party measure, who was previously 
 altogether inexperienced in the improved system of education, 
 and actually declined to be examined in any of the points most 
 necessary to his usefulness. Except their catechism, which they 
 said well, there was nothing satisfactory in the appearance, num- 
 bers, or proficiency of the European children. The native boys 
 were learning Lindley Murray's grammar, without any tolerable 
 knowledge of the language in which it is written, and had for their 
 single class-book Joyce's scientific dialogues, which they stam- 
 mered over by rote, but could none of them construe into Hin- 
 doostanee. I asked if they had any Hindoostanee books, and
 
 366 CAWNPOOR. 
 
 could read them into English ? If they learned geography, mathe- 
 matics, or even wrote English exercises by double translation or 
 otherwise ? Nothing of the sort seemed to have entered the 
 master's head. He taught them to write a fair hand, and to work 
 ridiculous and useless sums in fellowship, the double rule of three, 
 and this was all his ambition. Archdeacon Corrie kindly under- 
 took during his stay at Cawnpoor to put him into a better train, 
 and I wrote out a list of books, which I recommended to the com- 
 mittee to supply him with, as well as some of the primary and 
 simplest elements of Bell's system of education. Thus, I hope, 
 things will be amended ; at present they are bad enough, and 
 when compared with the establishment at Benares, not at all 
 creditable to those who have employed more ample means wdth so 
 little judgement. 
 
 Cawnpoor is a place of great extent, the cantonments 
 being s ix miles from one extremity to the other, but of very scat- 
 tered population. Its population, however, abstracted from the 
 civil and military establishments, is still considerable; there are 
 many handsome mosques, and the view of the town from the 
 course gives quite the idea of a city. The European houses are 
 most of them large and roomy, standing in extensive compounds, 
 and built one story high with sloping roofs, first thatched, and 
 then covered with tiles, a roof which is found better than any 
 other to exclude the heat of the sun, and to possess a freedom 
 from the many accidents to which a mere thatched roof is liable. 
 I received much civility and kindness from General INIartindell 
 and the other military officers, and especially from Colonel Lums- 
 daine, who took great pains in getting our party all which was 
 required from the Commissariate. 
 
 Of the climate of Cawnpoor I had heard a very unfavourable 
 account, which, however, was not confirmed by the residents, who 
 said that during the rains it was a very desirable situation, that the 
 cold months were remarkably dry and bracing, and that the hot 
 winds were not worse than in most other parts of the Dooab. The
 
 CAWNPOOR. 367 
 
 great inconveniences of the place are, as they represent it, its 
 glare and dust, defects however which are in a considerable degree 
 removed already by the multitude of trees which they are planting 
 in all directions. There is no regular Christian Church. Divine 
 service is performed alternate mornings and evenings in a thatched 
 but convenient bungalow, nearly in the centre of the station, and 
 in a riding-house adjoining the cavalry barracks. Government has 
 sanctioned the building of two churches, but on a scale, I am told, 
 of so rigid inspection and economy, that nobody will undertake 
 the contract. The shops in Cawnpoor are large, and, though far 
 from showy, contain some good things, which are sold very little 
 dearer than in Calcutta. The necessaries of life are barely half the 
 price which they are there, and an excellent house may be rented 
 for eighty or ninety rupees monthly. On the whole, it is in many 
 respects one of the most considerable towns which I have seen 
 in northern India, but being of merely modern origin, it has no 
 fine ancient buildings to shew ; the European architecture is con- 
 fined to works of absolute necessity only, and marked by the 
 greatest simplicity, and few places of its size can be named where 
 there is so absolutely nothing to see.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CAWNPOOR TO LUCKNOW. 
 
 Entrance into the King of Dude's Territories — Increase of Guards — Ki?ig's Sutuarrs — A&meen 
 — Entrance into Lucknow — Court Circular — Narrow Streets — Armed Inhabitants — Prime 
 Minister — Rhinoceroses — Dil-Koushar — Constantia — Deceased King's Wives — Breakfast at 
 the Palace — Distribution of Money at the Gates — Kiyig breakfasts at the Residency — Pri- 
 vate Details of the Government — Christians at Lucknow. 
 
 We left Cawnpoor on Monday afternoon, the 18th of October, 
 having sent our baggage and tents early in the morning to the first 
 station, which is only six miles from the northern bank of the 
 Ganges, the passage of which, by camels and elephants, usually 
 takes up a considerable space of time. The Ganges is still a 
 noble stream ; its width, at the usual place of ferrying, is, I should 
 think, not far from a mile and a half, but it is divided at this season 
 by a large sand-bank, and the water is in many places shallow. Its 
 banks on both sides are flat and ugly, but the southern side has 
 the advantage in its numerous bungalows, surrounded by their 
 respective gardens. We had heard much of the misgoverned and 
 desolate state of the kingdom of Oude ; boats had been recently 
 menaced, in their way to Cawnpoor, by some of the villagers 
 adjoining the river, and my guard had been increased, without 
 any application from me, from thirty to forty-five sepoys, by the 
 obliging care of General Martindell. The immediate vicinity of 
 the river we certainly found uncultivated, and the peasants who 
 passed us here were still more universally loaded with defensive and
 
 ONNAW. 369 
 
 offensive weapons than those of the Company's territories in the 
 Dooab. We found them, however, peaceable and courteous, 
 though our escort was mostly gone forward, and Mr. Lushington 
 and I had cantered on by ourselves, leaving the remainder of the 
 party behind, and, in fact, had repeatedly to ask our way as the 
 evening closed in. 
 
 When we arrived at our tents, a letter was put into my hands 
 from Mr. Ricketts, the Resident at Lucknow, stating that the King 
 of Oude had sent a purveyor, or collector of taxes, (I hardly know 
 how to translate the word " Aumeen,") with two chobdars, and 
 ten " suwarrs," or horsemen, to obtain supplies for us during our 
 march. These persons, however, together with Mr. Ricketts's 
 own messenger, had expected us at Onnaw, a village four miles 
 further on, but a supply had been obtained by their authority of 
 all which was necessary for our present encampment. 
 
 October 19. — We started early on two elephants, which, after 
 all, the good-natured exertions of Captain Lumsdaine had obtained 
 for us, though not till I had purchased a second horse for my 
 journey, a purchase, indeed, which most of my friends tell me, in 
 such a journey, I shall not find superfluous. The elephants are 
 extremely convenient in the commencement of a march, while 
 it is yet too dark to ride on horseback with comfort ; and by 
 sending on our horses half-way to wait for us, we have the relief 
 and pleasure of a ride during the pleasantest time of the morning. 
 It was very dark, and the road excessively bad, through a country 
 naturally broken and marshy, and now rendered almost impassable 
 by the recent rains. 
 
 In the village of Onnaw, which we reached about half-past 
 four in the morning, it was very difficult to find our way, and 
 nobody was awake except one poor foot-traveller, who, himself a 
 stranger, had sat down on the brink of a large pool in which, 
 apparently, the only track visible terminated, and, wrapped up in his 
 mantle, his sword and shield under him, and at intervals blowing 
 the fusee of his long matchlock gun, was waiting, as he said, for 
 
 3 B
 
 370 ONNAW. 
 
 day, and prepared for any possible attack which might in the mean- 
 time be made on him. We did not Hke to wait so long, and began 
 knocking at the door of the nearest house, a cottage rather larger 
 than ordinary. No answer was returned, and my spearmen were 
 at once going to break the door, or rather gate, for it was built 
 round a small court-yard. I forbade this step, however, on which 
 one of the followers of the elephant crept like a cat up the mud 
 wall, and dropped down inside of the little enclosure, calling loudly 
 for a guide to shew the way. He was received with a volley of 
 abuse in a female voice, which was not at all calmed by my 
 assurance that she had nothing to fear, and that, if her husband 
 would come and shew us the way, he should be well paid for his 
 trouble. She declared her husband was not at home, but at last, 
 as she said, merely to get rid of us, herself vouchsafed to open the 
 gate, and give us some few directions. Our road we found, in fact, 
 lay through the pool I have mentioned ; and she said, if we kept 
 well to the right hand, without going beyond an old tree, it was 
 probable we should find safe footing. With these directions we 
 were fain to be content, and they carried us on safely. 
 
 We wondered all this time that we heard nothing of the 
 King's people, or Mr. Ricketts's servant ; shortly after, however, 
 as the day dawned, we saw the former galloping after us. They 
 were mounted on very tolerable horses, and armed with sabres 
 like the suwarrs of the Company's magistrates, but extremely ill- 
 dressed, and more like thieves than peace-officers or soldiers. 
 The Aumeen, and Mr. Ricketts's servant had, they said, gone on 
 to prepare things for our reception at the encampment, where we 
 arrived about eight o'clock, and found it in a grove of trees, as usual, 
 near a half-ruined village, but surrounded with a greater extent of 
 well-cultivated ground than we were prepared to expect in this 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 The Aumeen here called on me, and offered his nuzzur. He 
 was a decent elderly man, looking like an Arab merchant, and was 
 attended by two of the King's chobdars, also respectable men, and
 
 PEASANTRY OF OUDE. 371 
 
 Mr. Ricketts's servant, one of the tallest and most powerful men 
 I ever saw. They were followed by a troop of country people 
 with the usual supplies, which were, however, yielded very 
 grudgingly, and with bitter lamentations, all the crowd, particu- 
 larly the women, declaring that they were fleeced to the last 
 penny. They were apparently well satisfied, and certainly a good 
 deal surprised, however, on my telling them that I should pay for 
 the fowls and milk, and give a gratuity of two rupees among the 
 wood and grass-cutters ; the whole expense only came to three 
 rupees and a half, so cheaply may a great deal of oppression be 
 remedied in this country ! 
 
 Nothing remarkable occurred during our continuance here, 
 except the care with which the sarbans, and saeeses, brought all 
 the animals, and every thing which could be stolen, immediately 
 under the eye of the sentries. On my observing this circum- 
 stance, the reply was immediate, " We are in the Nawab Vizier's 
 country." Hardly any, even of his own people, call him King, 
 and I must say his name seems to be treated very disrespectfully 
 under all denominations. 
 
 The waters were so deep a few days ago in the rivers which 
 we had passed during this day's march, that palanqueens were 
 floated over by the help of kedgeree-pots, eight of which were 
 competent to support the vehicle, with its contents. It was, 
 however, no very agreeable way of passing a pool of deep water, 
 pushed on by people swimming. 
 
 October 20. — The journey this morning was of seven very 
 long coss, through bad roads, with a deep river, and several gullies 
 made by the recent rain. Our station was a large walled village, 
 with gates, and bazar in a much handsomer style than usual, but 
 the walls bearing marks of decay, and many of the houses roofless, 
 though the shops were neat, and the appearance of the people 
 comfortable and thriving. All was quiet when we arrived ; but 
 the servants who had gone on before with the breakfast tents, had 
 found the place in a state of siege. A large sum of money, said 
 
 3 B 2
 
 372 FALLEN ELEPHANT. 
 
 to be 30,000 rupees, on its way to the treasury at Lucknow, had 
 attracted a number of the neighbouring peasantry, who were as- 
 sembled outside the walls with their weapons, waiting for the 
 departure of the treasure, while sentries were posted by the escort 
 on all the old towers, and the gates were fast closed. One of our 
 servants applied for a passage in vain ; the warders were civil, but 
 peremptory, pointing to the lurking enemy, and asking how they 
 should endanger the treasure of " the refuge of the world." At last, 
 on more of our sepoys coming up, and finding that we were strong 
 enough to protect them, they gladly opened their gates, and the 
 armed peasantry dispersed themselves. Our camp was fixed 
 beyond the to^^Tl, near a large pool of water, amid some tall trees, 
 and having at a little distance a grove surrounded by a high wall 
 with a gothic gateway, the garden, as we were told, of a former 
 minister of Oude, named Nawall Sing, who had built the village, 
 and from whom it derived its name. 
 
 Adjoining the pool we saw a crowd of people assembled 
 round a fallen elephant ; apprehending that it was one of our own 
 I urged my horse to the spot. On asking, however, whose it was, 
 a bystander said it belonged to " the asylum of the world," and 
 had fallen down from weakness, which was not surprising, since 
 instead of an allowance of twenty-five rupees a month, necessary 
 for the keep of an elephant, I was told that these poor creatures, 
 all but those in the immediate stables of his majesty, had for some 
 time back, owing to the dilapidated state of the finances, and the 
 roguery of the commissariate, received only five ! They had now 
 given the wretched animal a cordial, and were endeavouring to 
 raise it on its legs, but in vain. It groaned pitifully, but lay quite 
 helpless, and was in fact a mountain of skin and bone. Another 
 elephant of very large size, and in somewhat better plight, was 
 brought to assist, and I was much struck with the almost human 
 expression of surprise, alarm, and perplexity in his countenance, 
 when he approached his flillen companion. They fastened a chain 
 round his neck and the body of the sick beast, and urged him in
 
 PEASANTRY OF OUDE. 373 
 
 all ways, by encouragement and blows, to drag him up, even 
 thrusting spears into his flanks. He pulled stoutly for a minute, 
 but on the first groan his companion gave he stopped short, 
 turned fiercely round with a loud roar, and with his trunk and fore 
 feet began to attempt to loosen the chain from his neck. In fact, 
 his resistance and refusal to sanction their proceedings were so 
 decisive, that an immediate cry arose of " le-jao," take him 
 away, in which I very cordially joined. I asked them if they 
 could get nothing which the fallen animal was likely to eat, 
 urging that weak as he was, even if they did get him to rise, he 
 would certainly fall again. They seemed sensible of this, and 
 two of them ran for a great bundle of greens and a pot of water ; 
 the greens he ate readily enough, but refused the water, which 
 they accounted for by saying he supposed it was physic. He 
 was said to be very old, which the size of his tusks confirmed. 
 Among the groupe thus assembled were some of the tallest 
 and finest men I Iiave ever seen here, or indeed in Europe. All 
 the crowd were civil and communicative, and I could not help 
 thinking that the peasants of Oude, in every thing but honesty, 
 bore a high rank among those of their own class throughout 
 the world. 
 
 In the course of the day a messenger, mounted on a fast 
 trotting camel, (a style of conveyance for couriers very usual in 
 these provinces,) arrived from Mr. Ricketts, his saddle perched 
 high on the top of the hump, his carbine and sabre hanging down 
 on each side, and guiding the animal not with a bridle, but with a 
 small cord fastened to a ring through his nostrils. The message 
 from Mr. Ricketts was that his own aid-de-camp, with one of the 
 King's, would meet me next morning at about six miles from 
 Lucknow, and that if I chose they would bring with them spare 
 elephants for our party. This was fortunate, since on enquiry 
 we found that we had still nearly ten coss between us and 
 the Residency, a greater distance than our animals or foot atten- 
 dants could get through without some rest, or before the middle
 
 374 MEER HUSSUN KHAN. 
 
 of the day. Mr. Ricketts's offer, however, made the arrangement 
 
 easy. 
 
 October 21.— We set out at half-past three o'clock, and for 
 some time lost our way, there bemg no other road than such tracks 
 as are seen across ploughed fields m England, the whole country 
 bemor cultivated, thouo-h not enclosed, and much intersected bv 
 small rivers and nullahs. The King's suwarrs were, I found, for 
 shew only, since they knew nothing about the road, and as for 
 defence I should have been very sorry to be obliged to rely on 
 them. I was pleased, however, and surprised, after all which I 
 had heard of Oude, to find the country so completely under the 
 plough, since were the oppression so great as is sometimes stated, 
 I cannot think that we should ^vitness so considerable a popula- 
 tion, or so much industry. Yet that considerable anarchy and 
 mis-rule exist, the events of yesterday afforded a sufiicient reason 
 for supposing. 
 
 The bulk of the population is still evidently Hindoo. All 
 the villages have pagodas, while many are without mosques ; by 
 far the greater part of the people who pass us on the road, have 
 the marks of caste on their foreheads, and it being now a Hindoo 
 festival, the drumming, braying, and clattering of their noisy music 
 was heard from every httle collection of houses which we passed 
 through. At length, and sooner than we expected, we saw a con- 
 siderable " Suwarree," or retinue, of elephants and horses approach- 
 ing us, and were met by Captain Salmon and the King of Oude's 
 ofiicer, the latter followed by a train of elephants splendidly 
 equipped with silver howdahs, and sufficient to accommodate 
 more than three times the number of our party. A good many 
 suwarrs, in red and yellow, followed Captain Salmon, and a most 
 irregular and picturesque body of infantry, with swords and 
 shields, long matchlock guns, and other guns of every sort and 
 size, spears like spits, composed, sheath and all, of iron, and some 
 silvered over, large triangular green banners, and every thing most 
 unlike the appearance of European war, made up the cortege of
 
 ENTRANCE INTO LUCKNOW. 375 
 
 Meer Hussun Khan. The whole formed a stage procession of the 
 most interesting and shewy kind, in which there was no regularity 
 and little real magnificence, for the dresses of the men and trap- 
 pings of the elephants were all the worse for wear, and the silver 
 howdahs did not bear a close examination, but where flowing and 
 picturesque dresses, glowing colours, numbers, and the majestic 
 size of the noble animals which formed the most prominent part 
 of the groupe, produced an effect more pleasing in the eye of a 
 poet or an artist, than the sprucest parade of an English review. 
 
 While I was changing elephants, a decent looking man stepped 
 up to me, and begged to know my name and titles at full length, 
 in order, as he said, " to make a report of them to the asylum of 
 the world." I found, on enquiry, that he was the writer of the 
 court circular, a much more minute task, and one considered of far 
 more importance here than in Europe. Every thing which occurs 
 in the family of the King himself, the resident, the chief officers of 
 state, or any stranger of rank who may arrive, is carefully noted 
 and sent round in writing. And I was told that the exact hour 
 at which I rose, the sort of breakfast I ate, the visits I paid or 
 received, and the manner in which I passed my morning, would 
 all be retailed by the King's chobdars, for the information of their 
 master, whose own most indifferent actions, however, are with 
 equal fairness written down for Mr. Ricketts's inspection. As I 
 mounted my new elephant, the same sort of acclamation of " Bis- 
 millah ! Ullah Acbar ! Ullah Kureen !" was made by the attend- 
 ants, as I had heard on the Nawab of Dacca's arrival and departure. 
 It is, I find, the ancient Mussulman fashion, and during their stay 
 in Lucknow, my chobdars and bearers learnt it also from those of 
 the King and the resident. How long they will continue it I do 
 not know. It seems a very pious custom, and one which I should 
 not wish to check, though I certainly should not allow them to 
 adopt the proclamation, which follow^ed on this occasion, of my 
 name and title, so mangled as name never was before. 
 
 We now proceeded, three elephants abreast, that on which
 
 376 ENTRANCE INTO LUCKNOW. 
 
 Mr. liUshiiigton and I rode, in the centre. Meer Hussun Khan 
 on the right, and Captain Sahiion on the left, with the motley 
 multitude before and the spare elephants behind. The Corries 
 had fallen back, being unable to keep up with us. We thus ad- 
 vanced into Lucknow, through a very considerable population, 
 and crowded mean houses of clay, with the filthiest lanes between 
 them that I ever went through, and so narrow that we w^ere often 
 obliged to reduce our front, and even a single elephant did not always 
 pass very easily. A swarm of beggars occupied every angle and 
 the steps of every door, and all, or nearly all the remaining popu- 
 lation were, to my surprise, as much loaded with arms as the 
 inhabitants of the country, a circumstance which told ill for the 
 police of the town, but added considerably to its picturesque effect. 
 Grave men in palanqueens, counting their beads and looking like 
 Moullahs, had all two or three sword and buckler lacquies attend- 
 ing on them. People of more consequence, on their elephants, 
 had each a suwarree of shield, spear, and gun, little inferior to that 
 by which we were surrounded, and even the lounging people of 
 the lower ranks in the streets and shop-doors, had their shields 
 over their shoulders, and their swords carried sheathed in one 
 hand. 
 
 I recollected Sir W. Scott's picture of the streets of London 
 in " the Fortunes of Nigel," but I should apprehend that Lucknow 
 offered at this moment a more warlike exterior than our o^^ti 
 metropolis ever did during its most embroiled and troublesome 
 periods. As we advanced, the town began to improve in point of 
 buildings, though the streets remained equally narrow and dirty. 
 We passed some pretty mosques and some large houses, built like 
 the native houses in Calcutta, and the bazars seemed well filled, 
 so far as I could distinguish from the height at which I sat, and 
 the general narrowness of the area. At last we suddenly entered 
 a very handsome street indeed, wider than the High-street at 
 Oxford, but having some distant resemblance to it in the colour of 
 its buildings, and the general form and Gothic style of the greater
 
 LUCKNOW. 377 
 
 part of them. We saw but little of it, however, as we immediately 
 turned up through some folding-gates into a sort of close, ^^^th 
 good-looking houses and small gardens round it, and a barrack and 
 guard-house at its entrance. One of these houses I was told 
 belonged to the Resident, another was his banqueting-house, con- 
 taining apartments for his guests, and a third very pretty upper- 
 roomed house in a little garden was pointed out as that which the 
 King had assigned to receive me and my party. Here, therefore, 
 our companions took their leave, and Mr. Lushington and I found 
 ourselves in a very prettily arranged and well-furnished dwelling, 
 with excellent stables and accommodations for our numerous fol- 
 lowers. It was the house usually assigned to the King's physician, 
 now absent, and was extremely well suited to my purpose, both as 
 being near the Residency, and sufficiently detached from it to allow 
 me to have some part of my mornings to myself The Corries 
 arrived in about half-an-hour, and shortly afterwards we were 
 summoned to breakfast at the Residency, where we found so large 
 a party as completely to give the idea of a watering-place. After 
 breakfast I was told the prime-minister was come to call on me, 
 and Mr. Ricketts introduced us to each other in form. He is a 
 dark, harsh, hawk-nosed man, with an expression of mouth which 
 seems to imply habitual self-command struggling with a naturally 
 rough temper. He is, I understand, exceedingly unpopular. He 
 was originally khansaman to the present King, when heir-apparent 
 and in disgrace with his father, Saadut Ali. His house is the most 
 splendid in Lucknow, and his suwarree exceeds that of the King, 
 who is said to be so attached to him as to have given himself entirely 
 into his hands. His manners, though not his appearance, are those 
 of a gentleman ; he is said to be a man of undoubted courage, and 
 to be a pleasant person to do business with, except that too much 
 confidence must not be placed in him. He was very civil to me, 
 and very tolerant of my bad Hindoostanee, but I saw that he was 
 nursing some ill-humour towards Mr. Ricketts, and found at length 
 that offence had been taken because Lord Amherst had not himself 
 
 3c
 
 378 LUCKNOW. 
 
 written to the King to introduce me, as had, he said, been the con- 
 stant custom with other Governors General whenever any person 
 of a certain rank in the country visited Lucknow. We explained 
 to him that my regular progress was through those stations where 
 there were chaplains, and that, therefore, it was probable that 
 Lord Amherst did not know that I intended to visit Lucknow, and 
 he seemed satisfied. Possibly Lord Amherst was not aware that 
 such an etiquette was usual, and in my own case it was certainly 
 ignorance which prevented my asking for such credentials *. How- 
 ever the minister seemed satisfied, his dark countenance cleared 
 up, and he said that the introduction of their friend the Resident 
 was quite enough for them, and that the King hoped to make 
 Lucknow not unpleasant to me. The remaining conversation was 
 about the cities and countries which I had visited, how I liked 
 the first sight of Lucknow, and concluded with the minister's 
 inviting me, on the part of the King, to breakfast with him the 
 Monday following. 
 
 This is the usual way of being presented at this court, and 
 
 * The following letter from the Governor General was subsequently sent to the King of 
 Oude. 
 
 " TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF OUDE. 
 
 " Written lOtk December, 1824. 
 " I have lately been informed, by a letter from the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, of the gracious 
 reception which his Lordship experienced from your Majesty, and of the gratification which he 
 derived from his visit to your Majesty's Court of Lucknow. 
 
 " I had no opportunity of making known, previously, to your Majesty, the Bishop's intention 
 of visiting Lucknow, as his proceeding to that capital was a sudden thought, and he had not 
 beforehand contemplated that the course of his public duties would allow of his deviating so far 
 from his proposed route. This being the case, I feel myself now doubly called on to address 
 your Majesty, both in explanation of the above apparent omission, and to offer my sincere 
 acknowledgments for the flattering and cordial reception given by your Majesty to the head of 
 the British Church in India, of which the Bishop writes in the warmest and most grateful 
 terms. 
 
 " (Signed) AMHERST. 
 
 " (A true Copy) 
 "(Signed) A. STIRLING, 
 
 " Persian Secretary to Government." — Ed,
 
 LUCKNOW. 379 
 
 the reason given for not naming an earlier day, was that the King 
 had a bad feverish cold. I found, indeed, half Lucknow laid up 
 with the same influenza, though of a slighter degree, with that 
 which had prevailed so universally in Calcutta during the rains. 
 In fact, I know not how, the sight of the town, its various villainous 
 smells, and its close population, gave me the idea of a very 
 unhealthy place, though I found that the old residents disclaimed 
 the imputation. I felt much chagrined, on more accounts than 
 one, to find that Mr. Ricketts's marriage could not take place before 
 the 1st of November; if this were out of the question, however, 
 it was very unlikely I should be able to leave it before that time, 
 from the different things that were to be done. Under these cir- 
 cumstances it was a satisfaction to me to find that, if a week's 
 notice was given, I should be sure of a numerous attendance at 
 the Sacrament, — that many persons had been asking about Con- 
 firmation, who only needed some days to prepare themselves, and 
 make up their minds to the ceremony, and that a full share of 
 those other opportunities of usefulness might be expected which I 
 had found at Allahabad, Monghyr, and other places where there 
 was, as here, no resident chaplain. 
 
 The great detentions which I have already met with have not 
 only thrown me much behind the reckoning which I formed from 
 my conversation with Colonel CunHffe, but, joined to the expe- 
 rience which I have already had of marching, have obliged me to 
 calculate on a much slower progress hereafter than I looked for- 
 ward to when first that reckoning was made. In so long a journey 
 as this I find it evident that a Sunday halt is not only adviseable in 
 a religious point of view, but necessary for the animals and men 
 who accompany me. To be useful I must arrange my stay in each 
 station so as to include a Sunday, and shall thus be often kept, 
 besides these halting days, several others, which I should have 
 employed, more to my liking, in pressing onwards towards the 
 meeting to which I look forward with daily increasing earnestness. 
 To go dak any considerable part of the way would be a great addi- 
 
 3 c 2
 
 380 LUCKNOW. 
 
 tional expense, and, it so happens that it would save me very little 
 time, since I must still adjust my stay in the different stations 
 according to Sundays, and wait for my servants and baggage to 
 rejoin me. As, to the best of my calculation, it seems very impro- 
 bable that I can reach Surat before the beginning of April, I 
 was well pleased to learn from Mr. Hyde, one of the party at the 
 Residency, who had recently come across from Bombay, that tra- 
 velling in Guzerat was not only practicable but pleasant till that 
 time. Mr. Hyde is a great traveller, and the only Englishman 
 whom I have heard of, except Lord Valencia, who has visited India 
 from motives, exclusively, of science and curiosity, since the country 
 has been in our possession. All others, however science might 
 engross their attention, have, like Leyden and Sir W. Jones, had 
 some official and ostensible object, whereas this gentleman is merely 
 making a tour. He left England seven years ago, with the inten- 
 tion of being absent a few months, and has been since rambling on, 
 without plan, and chiefly as his course has been determined by the 
 motions of others. Having attached himself to Mr. Bankes, I 
 believe in Spain, he accompanied him into Egypt, Nubia, Syria, 
 and Arabia. Mr. Rich enticed him from Palmyra on to Babylon 
 and Bagdad. From Bussorah he came to Bombay, touching in his 
 way at some of the ports of Oman and Yemen, in the hope of 
 finding an eligible opportunity of returning home by sea ; and then, 
 finding himself in a new and interesting country, determined to 
 make the tour of India. Added to his zeal for seeing new coun- 
 tries, he has an uncommon share of good-nature and cheerfulness, 
 and is exactly the person whom I could conceive Bankes selecting 
 as his travelling companion. 
 
 I do not know that there is any use in writing a regular journal 
 of the manner in which I passed my time at Lucknow. There 
 was, as must be the case, a good deal of sameness, in morning 
 rides, evening sight-seeing, late breakfasts, and later dinners. 
 There were several pleasant people among the crowd, and I was 
 daily more and more pleased with my host and future hostess, and
 
 DIL-KOUSHAR. 381 
 
 from him I obtained much information as to the manners and 
 customs of northern India. The King very good naturedly sent 
 an elephant every morning for Mr. Lushington and myself, and a 
 chariot for the Corries, that we might see the sights of Lucknow 
 to more advantage. There is a menagerie with a greater number 
 of scarce and curious animals, but in far worse order, than that 
 at Barrackpoor ; and on the other side of the river Goomty, in 
 a well-wooded park, is a large collection of different varieties of 
 cows, camels, and deer, and five or six very large rhinoceroses, the 
 first animals of the kind I ever saw, and of which I found that 
 prints and drawings had given me a very imperfect conception. 
 They are more bulky animals, and of a darker colour, than I had 
 supposed, and the thickness of the folds of their impenetrable 
 skin much surpasses all which I had expected. These at Lucknow 
 are gentle and quiet animals, except that one of them has a feud 
 with horses. They seem to propagate in captivity without 
 reluctance, and I should conceive might be available to carry bur- 
 thens as well as the elephant, except that, as their pace is still 
 slower than his, their use could only be applicable to very great 
 weights, and very gentle travelling. These have sometimes had 
 howdahs on them, and were once fastened in a carriage, but only 
 as an experiment which was never followed up. There is, on the 
 same side of the river, a poultry-yard of beautiful pigeons ; and on 
 the river itself is a steam-boat, a vessel fitted up like a brig of 
 war, and other things which shew the King to be fond of mecha- 
 nical inventions. He has, indeed, a very skilful mechanist, an 
 English officer, in his service, and is himself said to know more of 
 the science, and of the different branches of philosophy connected 
 with it, than could be expected in a person who understands no 
 European language. 
 
 Another pleasant ride is to " Dil-koushar," Heart's Delight, 
 a small summer palace of the King's, about three miles from the 
 city. The house is small and ugly, with a high front like a 
 grenadier's cap, and two low wings, like some of the old French
 
 382 GENERAL MARTIN. 
 
 and German chateaus. It is said to be prettily arranged and 
 furnished inside, but this I did not see. 
 
 The park is extensive, and some parts of it extremely pretty, 
 being sufficiently wild and jungly to offer a picturesque variety, 
 and in parts sufficiently open for air and exercise, as well as to 
 shew off its deer and neelghaus to advantage. Some parts of it 
 put me in mind of the few remaining glades of Needwood forest. 
 There are not only neelghaus and the common Indian deer, but 
 some noble red deer in this park, which contribute much, with a 
 broad and excellent drive through it, and the form of its lodge, 
 to give it an English air, which, however, is from time to time 
 destroyed by the tall jungle grass, with its beautiful silver tufts, 
 and the monkeys. These, as well as all which I have yet seen 
 in this country, resemble the corpulent one which I described on 
 the banks of the Pudda in every particular, except that of wanting 
 a tail, which he, I suppose, had lost by some accident. Though 
 they seem better adapted for climbing than running, they are 
 tolerably swift on the ground. I have more than once taken them 
 at first for Pariar dogs. They are very tame, never being shot at 
 or injured, and are not, I think, the lively frolicsome animal which 
 they are in Europe supposed to be. There is a sort of cage in the 
 middle of the park where they are fed, at least where some gram 
 is thrown to them to scramble for once in two or three days, 
 whether founded by the King or some pious Hindoo I know 
 not. I suspect the latter, because the people who keep it are 
 Fakirs and beg, and because there is a statue of Huniman in front 
 of it. 
 
 Another popular drive is to Constantia, a very large and most 
 whimsical house and grounds, in the worst possible taste, but 
 displaying in its outline and some parts of its arrangements, an 
 eccentric and uneducated genius, built by the late General Martin, 
 a Frenchman, and originally a common soldier, who rose by good 
 fortune more than any brilliant services, to the first rank in the 
 Company's army. His tomb is in one of the cellars, a marble
 
 LUCKNOW. 383 
 
 altar-shaped sarcophagus, with a very modest inscription, and a 
 bust also of white marble. It is surrounded by four figures of 
 grenadiers as large as life, with their arms reversed, in the elegant 
 attitude used in mihtary funerals, and the whole would have had 
 an extremely good effect, had not the grenadiers which, it is said, 
 Martin meant to have been of marble also, been paltry plaster 
 figures, painted after nature in red coats ! Whose taste this has 
 been I could not learn \ 
 
 There are one or two other very English-looking country- 
 houses near Lucknow, all, I believe, the property of the king, and 
 it may be said that from the Residency all the way down the prin- 
 cipal street, and afterward through the park of Dil-Koushar, and 
 the neighbouring drives, Lucknow has more resemblance to some 
 of the smaller European capitals (Dresden for instance) than any 
 thing which I have seen in India. The King's troops, besides the 
 irregular gentry of whom I saw a specimen on entering the city, are 
 dressed in the same way that the British Sepoys used to be twenty 
 years ago, and as they are represented in Kerr Porter's " Storming 
 of Seringapatam." They are armed with musquets and bayonets 
 under British officers, and not ill-disciplined, but their numbers 
 are not more than are required for the usual purposes of parade 
 and mounting sentries. His horse-guards are fine tall men, and 
 well-mounted, but are in discipline and military appearance a little, 
 and but a little, better than those which attend the Nawab of 
 Dacca. The British subsidiary force, which is at the disposal of 
 the Resident, is, by a strange choice, placed in a cantonment five 
 miles from the town, separated by the broad and rapid stream of 
 the Goomty, where there is indeed a fine old bridge, but one which 
 might in a few minutes be rendered impassable by any force with- 
 out a regular siege, so that in case of a commotion in the city, 
 either King or Resident would have to rely entirely on the single 
 
 " AH the furniture of the house was sold on General Martin's death, and the looking 
 glasses and lustres were purchased by the Company to ornament the Government-house in 
 Calcutta. — Ed.
 
 384. LUCKNOW. 
 
 company which is always on guard at the Residency, but which 
 would be as nothing when opposed to such an armed population as 
 that of Lucknow. That they have never yet been exposed to this 
 danger seems a sufficient proof of the quiet disposition of the 
 people, as well as of the opinion which they entertain of the 
 supposed stability of the Company's empire ; yet the English, both 
 at Lucknow and Cawnpoor, often spoke of the anarchical condition, 
 the frequent affi*ays, the hatred of the European and Christian 
 name, the robberies and murders by which this city is distinguished, 
 and I was cautioned expressly by more people than one, never to 
 go into the populous parts of the city except on an elephant, and 
 attended by some of the Resident's or the King's chuprassees. It 
 so happened that the morning before this counsel was given, Mr. 
 Lushington and I had gone on horseback through almost the whole 
 place, along streets and alleys as narrow and far dirtier than those 
 of Benares, and in a labyrinth of buildings which obliged us to ask 
 our way at almost every turn. So far from having chuprassees, we 
 had as it happened but one saees between us, and he as much a 
 stranger as ourselves, yet we found invariable civility and good 
 natm*e, people backing their carts and elephants to make room for 
 us, and displaying on the whole a far greater spirit of hospitality 
 and accommodation than two foreigners would have met with in 
 London. One old man only, when my horse shewed considerable 
 reluctance to pass an elephant, said, shaking his head in a sort of 
 expostulating tone, " this is not a good road for sahibs." Some of, 
 the instances, indeed, which were related of Europeans being 
 insulted and assaulted in the streets and neighbourhood of Luck- 
 now, were clearly traced to insolent or overbearing conduct on the 
 part of the complainants themselves, and though of course there 
 are bad and worthless people every where, though where every 
 body is armed, and there is no efficient police, street-brawls will be 
 less infrequent than in cities more fortunately circumstanced, and 
 though by night narrow streets ill-watched and unlighted must be 
 dangerous, I am not disposed to think that the people of Oude are
 
 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 385 
 
 habitually ferocious or blood-thirsty, or that they are influenced by 
 any peculiar animosity against the English or the Christian name. 
 It is certain, however, that they have not a good character, and that 
 in no part of the country should valuable property be trusted in 
 their way without proper precaution. I had heard of some travel- 
 lers having been menaced by the villagers on the Oude bank of the 
 Ganges a short time before, and when, on leaving Lucknow, I 
 ordered my mate-bearer, who had staid with me after the tents 
 had set off, to follow, as I could do without him, he pleaded 
 (though he had a spear) that he was afraid to go alone. Abdullah 
 laughed at this, but afterwards went very gravely to examine into 
 the state of the pistols, and was careful at night to bring them 
 to my bed-head, observing that " in this country a man does not 
 trust his own father." This, however, is a digression. I return to 
 Lucknow, and its public buildings. 
 
 The minister's house is a very large pile of building, in a bad 
 part of the town, and both in architecture and situation a good 
 deal resembling the house of the MuUich family in Calcutta. 
 There are many stately khans, and some handsome mosques and 
 pagodas scattered in different corners of these wretched alleys, but 
 the most striking buildings in Lucknow are, the tombs of the late 
 Nawab Saadut Ali, and of the mother of the present king, the gate 
 of Constantinople (" Roumi Durwazu,'') and the " Imambara," or 
 cathedral. The Imambara consists of two courts, rising wdth a 
 steep ascent one above the other. It contains, besides a splendid 
 mosque, a college for instruction in Mussulman law, apartments 
 for the religious establishment maintained here, and a noble 
 gallery, in the midst of which, under a brilliant tabernacle of 
 silver, cut glass, and precious stones, lie buried the remains of its 
 founder Asuphud Dowla. The whole is in a very noble style of 
 eastern Gothic, and when taken in conjunction with the Roumi 
 Durwazu which adjoins it, (of which I add a sketch from memory,) 
 I have never seen an architectural view which pleased me more 
 
 3d
 
 386 
 
 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 from its richness and variety, as well as the proportions and general 
 good taste of its principal features. 
 
 ...H.-^ 
 
 The details a good deal resemble those of Eaton % but the extent 
 is much greater and the parts larger. On the whole it is, perhaps, 
 most like the Kremlin, but both in splendour and taste my old 
 favourite falls very short of it. Close to this fine group, is a large 
 and handsome, but dull and neglected looking pile, which is the 
 palace or prison appropiiated to the unfortunate widows and con- 
 cubines of deceased sovereigns. Some ladies are still there, as it 
 is said, who belonged to Asuphud Dowlah. Those of Vizier Ali 
 and Saadut Ali are, naturally, many of them alive, though they 
 must mostly be in years. An Indian King, who allows his 
 elephants to be starved, is, I fear, not very likely to attend much 
 to the feeding of his old women, and the allowance which these 
 poor creatures receive is said to be always so miserably in arrear, 
 that they have occasionally been reduced to extreme distress. 
 Once they fairly broke loose from their prison, sallied in a body 
 into the adjoining bazar, and carried off all they could lay hands 
 on, exclaiming that they had already pawned or sold all their 
 trinkets, and almost all their clothes, that they were perishing with 
 
 ' The Earl Grosvenor's seat in Cheshire. — Ed.
 
 BREAKFAST AT THE PALACE. 387 
 
 hunger, and that the King must pay for what they took, as well as 
 bear the disgrace of reducing his father's wives to shew themselves 
 to the people. The measure was a bold one, but, probably, 
 did them good as to their subsequent treatment, for the King 
 is allowed by every body to be a kind-hearted, well-meaning 
 man, and the general sympathy and horror excited were very 
 great. 
 
 None of the royal palaces (there are I think three in Lucknow 
 beside this gloomy one) are either very large or striking. That 
 in which the King received us to breakfast, and which is the one 
 which he usually occupies, is close to the Residency ; a cluster of 
 mean courts with some morsels of shewy architecture intermingled, 
 like the offices of a college. We went there in long procession, 
 the Resident in his state palanqueen, made open like the nuptial one 
 which we saw in Chowringhee, I in a tonjon, the rest of the party 
 in all manner of conveyances. The Resident had a very numerous 
 suwarree of armed men, silver-sticks, &c. and my servants were so 
 anxious that I should make a good appearance on the occasion, 
 that they begged permission to put on their new blue coats, 
 though the day was so hot it was painful to see them thus loaded. 
 There was the usual show of horse and foot-guards in the ap- 
 proaches to the palace, and the street was lined with the same 
 picturesque crowd of irregular gendarmerie, which I had seen on 
 entering the town. We were set down at the foot of a strangely 
 mean stone staircase, resembling rather that leading to a bath- 
 room than any thing else, on the summit of which the King 
 received us, first embracing the Resident, then me. He next 
 offered an arm to each of us, and led us into a long and handsome, 
 but rather narrow, gallery, with good portraits of his father and 
 Lord Hastings over the two chimney-pieces, and some very 
 splendid glass lustres hanging from the ceiling. The furniture 
 was altogether English, and there was a long table in the middle 
 of the room, set out with breakfast, and some fine French and 
 
 3 D 2
 
 388 BREAKFAST AT THE PALACE. 
 
 Eno-lish china. He sate down in a gilt arm-chair in the centre 
 of one side, motioning to us to be seated on either hand. The 
 Prime Minister sate down opposite, and the rest of the table was 
 filled by the party from the Residency, and about an equal number 
 of natives, among whom were one of the King's grandsons, the 
 Commander-in-chief, and other public officers. The King began 
 by putting a large hot roll on the Resident's plate, and another on 
 mine, then sent similar rolls to the young Nawab his grandson, 
 who sate on the other side of me, to the Prime Minister, and one 
 or two others. Coffee, tea, butter, eggs, and fish, were then carried 
 round by the servants, and things proceeded much as at a public 
 breakfast in England. The King had some mess of his own in 
 a beautiful covered French cup, but the other Mussulmans eat as 
 the Europeans did. There was a pillaw, which the King recom- 
 mended to me, and which, therefore, I was bound to taste, though 
 with much secret reluctance, as remembering the greasy dainties 
 of the Nawab of Dacca. I was surprised, however, to find that 
 this was really an excellent thing, with neither ghee nor garlic, and 
 with no fault except, perhaps, that it was too dry, and too exclu- 
 sively fowl, rice, and spices. Mr. Ricketts told me afterwards, that 
 the high-bred Mussulmans of this part of India affect to dislike 
 exceedingly, as vulgar, the greasy and fragrant dishes of the Ben- 
 galees and Hindoos, and that the merit of their cookery is to be 
 dry, stimulant, and aromatic. 
 
 During the meal, which was not very long, for nobody ate 
 much, the conversation was made up chiefly of questions from the 
 King as to the countries which I had visited, the length of time 
 which I had been in India, and the objects of my present journey ; 
 as also how I liked what I had seen of Lucknow, with the rest of 
 what Falconbridge calls the "ABC book" of a traveller, when 
 such a " piked man of countries" is at the breakfast table of a 
 great man. I took care to thank him for his kindness in sending 
 the guard and the Aumeen to meet me, as also for the loan of the
 
 BREAKFAST AT THE PALACE. 389 
 
 elephant and chariot. I understood pretty well all which he said, 
 though he does not speak very distinctly, but I seldom ventured 
 to answer him without the aid of Mr. Ricketts's interpretation, 
 being aware of the danger of giving offence, or using vulgar or 
 " unlucky" words. He said his servants had told him I spoke 
 Hindoostanee remarkably well ; I answered that I could speak it 
 to people in the camp or on the river, but I was not used to speak 
 it in such a presence. He said, very politely, I had only to go on 
 according to the progress I had already made, and the next time 
 I came to see him he would not allow me an interpreter. The 
 fact is, however, that I have gained very little in Hindoostanee 
 lately, considerably less than before I was constantly with the 
 Archdeacon and Mr. Lushington. It is much easier to get them 
 to interpret than myself to labour at an explanation, and, in 
 marching, I have little or no time to read. Hindoostanee, not 
 Persian, is here the court language ; I suppose this has arisen 
 from the King's desertion of his old allegiance to the house 
 of Timur, since which it has been a natural policy to frame 
 the etiquette of his court on a different model from that of 
 Delhi. 
 
 After breakfast the King rose and walked, supported as 
 before by Mr. Ricketts and me, into a small adjoining drawing- 
 room, where his crown stood on a sofa-table. It is a very 
 elegant one, of what heralds call the " Oriental" form, a velvet 
 cap surrounded with pointed rays of diamonds, and a white heron's 
 plume in front. I was no judge of the merit of the diamonds, but 
 was able honestly to say, I had never, except on the Emperor 
 of Russia's crown, seen a more brilliant show. He asked me 
 if there was any difference between his crown and that of the 
 King of England. I told him what the difference was, and said 
 his Majesty's was more like that of the Emjieror of Constanti- 
 nople, " Padshahi Roum." The conversation ended by his givino- 
 me a copy of his own works, and a book of some sort to the Arch-
 
 390 DISTRIBUTION OF MONEY. 
 
 deacon. We then took leave, and ended the morning by making 
 a tour of the palaces, the new Imambara, the Menagerie, and the 
 tombs of the King's father and mother. We went as before in 
 our tonjons ; and Mr. Ricketts, on going out of the palace-gate, 
 sent me a purse of thirty rupees in quarters, saying it was usual, on 
 such occasions, to throw silver among the beggars. He had scarcely 
 done this when our chairs were actually swept away from each 
 other by a crowd of miserable objects of all kinds, who had 
 waited our coming out, and had already learned my name. I at 
 once saw that in such a scramble the strong and young would get 
 every thing, and therefore bid the chobdars and other people 
 round me to keep them off, and bring near the blind, lame, leprous, 
 and very old. They executed this work zealously and well. The 
 Cawnpoor sepoys particularly, twelve of whom had begged leave 
 to attend me on this occasion, with their side-arms and ramrods, 
 as orderlies, laid about them with such hearty good-will, that they 
 made a very effectual way, and really seemed anxious to bring for- 
 ward the greatest objects, so that I had the satisfaction of making 
 my hundred and twenty pieces of silver a good deal more useful 
 than they otherwise would have been, as well as advancing with a 
 progress considerably more rapid than I could have done without 
 such tools as iron ramrods. I had, however, the mortification to find 
 that some of the weakest and most helpless of those who were 
 admitted to the side of my chair, were hustled on their return to 
 the crowd, to snatch from them the alms which they had received ; 
 and one poor old woman, to whom I gave half a rupee on account 
 of her great age and infirmities, was, after I had passed, thrown 
 down, trampled on, and her hands, arms, and breast dreadfully 
 pinched and bruised, to compel her to unlock her grasp of the money. 
 The Resident's people rescued her, or she probably would have 
 been killed. I observed, by the way, that my chobdar and the rest 
 of my escort, seemed to think that it was strange to give more to a 
 woman than to most of the men; and I had noticed on many occa-
 
 KING OF OUDE. 391 
 
 sions, that all through India any thing is thought good enough for 
 the weaker sex, and that the roughest words, the poorest garments, 
 the scantiest alms, the most degrading labour, and the hardest 
 blows, are generally their portion. The same chuprassee who, in 
 clearing the way before a great man, speaks civilly enough to those 
 of his own sex, cuffs and kicks any unfortunate female who crosses 
 his path without warning or forbearance. Yet to young children 
 they are all gentleness and indulgence. What riddles men are ! 
 and how strangely do they differ in different countries ! An idle 
 boy in a crowd would infallibly, in England, get his head broken, 
 but what an outcry would be raised if an unoffending woman were 
 beaten by one of the satellites of authority ! Perhaps both parties 
 might learn something from each other ; at least I have always 
 thought it very hard to see beadles, in England, lashing away 
 children on all public occasions, as if curiosity were a crime at an 
 age in which it is, of all others, most natural. 
 
 This custom of throwing away money at presentations and 
 other " high times," is said to be the cause of the number of beg- 
 gars in Lucknow. They are, indeed, very numerous, but on no 
 other occasion did I see a crowd of them, and in any large city, 
 the certainty that money was to be scrambled for, would bring 
 together a multitude, perhaps as great as that I saw to-day. 
 
 The King of Oude is rather a tall man, and being long-backed 
 and sitting on a somewhat higher cushion than his neighbours, 
 looks particularly so at his own table. He has evidently been 
 very handsome, and has still good features and a pleasing coun- 
 tenance, though he looks considerably older than he is, or than he 
 as yet chooses his painter to represent him. His curling hair and 
 whiskers are quite grey, and his complexion has grown, I under- 
 stand, much darker within these few years, being now indeed, 
 perhaps, the darkest in his court. On Mr. Home's canvass, how- 
 ever, his locks are still " like the raven," and his " bonny brow is 
 brent." The same immutability of youth, indeed, I have noticed in
 
 392 NUZZUR. 
 
 other royal portraits. The King of Oude, however, is evidently 
 fond of dress, and is said to be a critic in that of others as well 
 as his own ; and his palaces, his new Imambara, his throne-room, 
 jewels, and all the many other fine things which we visited this 
 day, though extremely costly, and marked by a cultivated taste, 
 and an eye familiarized with European models, are less solid 
 and massive in then' properties, and impress the mind with far less 
 magnificence than the proud Roumi Durwazu, and the other 
 works of his more frugal and fortunate father and uncle. His 
 manners are very gentlemanly and elegant, though the European 
 ladies who visit his court complain that he seldom pays them any 
 attention. Lady Hood and Lady Mac Mahon were, however, 
 exceptions to this rule. 
 
 By a recent order of Government all presents of shawls, silks, 
 ornaments, or diamonds, whether made to ladies or gentlemen, are 
 taken from them on leaving the palace, by the Resident's chobdar, 
 and sold on the account of Government. Nothing is kept but the 
 silken cords which the King throws round the necks of his visitors 
 at parting, and books, which, as nobody buys them, remain the un- 
 molested property of the presentee. 
 
 Still presents are given and received, when such a public mark 
 of respect is thought proper, but in a manner well understood by 
 both parties. If a person of rank is introduced to the King, a 
 tray of shawls is offered, accepted, and put by in store at the 
 Residency. When the great man takes leave, on departing from 
 Lucknow, he offers a similar nuzzur, which the Company supplies, 
 and which is always of rather superior value to that which the 
 King has given. Thus the King gets his own shawls and some- 
 thing more returned to him in due course of circulation, and except 
 that every such interchange of presents costs the Company about 
 five hundred rupees, the whole is reduced to little more than a bow, 
 and the occasion of a fee to his Majesty's chobdars and hurkarus. 
 I was asked if I chose to go through this mock interchange of pre-
 
 KING BREAKFASTS AT THE RESIDENCY. 393 
 
 sents. But I had no authority to draw from the Company's funds 
 the presents which I was to return, nor any desire to encroach on 
 the discretion which is, in such case, exercised by the Resident. I 
 answered, therefore, that, as a Clergyman, I could not be supposed 
 to derive honour from the present of fine clothes and costly orna- 
 ments, and that I was anxious for nothing so much as the posses- 
 sion of his Majesty's works; this I found was well taken. 
 
 I had the usual compliment paid me of an offer to have a fight 
 of animals under my window at breakfast, which I declined. It is 
 a sight that religious persons among the Mussulmans themselves 
 condemn as mhuman, and I did not want to be reckoned less mer- 
 ciful to animals than then* own MouUahs. Nor was the King, who 
 is himself pretty well tired of such sights, displeased, I found, that 
 his elephants and rams had a holiday. 
 
 The King, to finish my court-days all at once, returned my 
 visit on the Thursday following at the Residency, and was received 
 by the Resident and myself at the head of the stau's, in all points 
 as he received us, and was conducted between us, as before, to the 
 middle of the long breakfast-table, and after breakfast I presented 
 liim with a copy of the Bible in Arabic, and the Prayer-Book in 
 Hindoostanee, which I had got bound in red velvet, and wrapt up 
 in brocade for the purpose. The morning went off so much like 
 that which had preceded it, that I remember nothing of import- 
 ance, except that during breakfast he asked me to sit for my por^ 
 trait to his painter, and that after breakfast he offered me an escort 
 of twenty suwarrs through his territory, of which, in conformity with 
 the principle on which I acted, of declining all needless parade, I 
 accepted only ten, stating that I found those his Majesty had sent 
 me before quite sufficient. 
 
 I lastly met him again, under circumstances perfectly similar, 
 at the Residency on the day of Mr. Ricketts's marriage, at which 
 he had expressed a wish to be present. At this breakfast he was 
 more communicative than he had been, talked about steam-engines, 
 
 3 E
 
 394^ KING OF OUDE. 
 
 and a new way of propelling ships by a spiral wheel at the bottom 
 of the vessel, which an English engineer in his pay had mvented ; 
 mentioned different circmnstances respecting the earthquake at 
 Shii'az wliich had been reported to him, but were not named in 
 the Calcutta newspapers, and explained the degree of acquaintance 
 which he shewed with Enghsh books, by saying he made his aides- 
 de-camp read them to him into Hindoostanee. He was full of a 
 new scheme of authorship or editorship in the form of a Hindoos- 
 tanee and Arabic Dictionary, wliich he was pleased to find was 
 likely to be well received at the College of Fort William. Cap- 
 tain Lockitt, indeed, said that it would in all probability be a very 
 useful book, for he had men about him quite competent to do it 
 respectably. He asked so much about my publications, that Mr. 
 Ricketts told me I was bound to offer to send them to him as soon 
 as I returned to Calcutta, and, on my assenting, made a very pretty 
 speech on my behalf. The King said he should receive them with 
 great pleasure, and had no doubt he should get their meaning 
 explained to him. I cannot tell how this may be, but am now 
 bound to make the trial. The marriage ceremony went off very 
 well. The King, his grandson, the minister, &c. remained in the 
 room as spectators, and after it, Mr. Ricketts presented him with a 
 splendid velvet and gold saddle-cloth, and housings. Thus ended, 
 afler another embrace, and a promise of returning *' one of these 
 days," my intercourse with one of the very few crowned heads I 
 have ever come into contact with. I have been the more parti- 
 cular in describing what passed, because I know my wife will not 
 be uninterested in it, and because this is in fact the most pohshed 
 and splendid court at present in India. Poor Delhi has quite 
 fallen into decay. 
 
 I sate for my portrait to Mr. Home four times \ He has made 
 
 " The Editor has ^eat pleasure in repeating her obligations to Mr. Home for having, un- 
 asked, sent to her a copy of the portrait mentioned in the text ; and in adding the expression of
 
 KING OF OUDE. 395 
 
 iseveral portraits of the King, redolent of youth, and radiant wdth 
 diamonds, and a portrait of Sir E. Paget, which he could not help 
 making a resemblance. He is a very good artist indeed, for a 
 King of Oude to have got hold of He is a quiet gentlemanly 
 old man, brother of the celebrated surgeon in London, and came 
 out to practise as a portrait painter at Madras, during Lord Corn- 
 wallis's first administration, was invited from thence to Lucknow 
 by Saadut Ali a little before his death, and has since been retained 
 by the King at a fixed salary, to which he adds a little by private 
 practice. His son is a Captain in the Company's service, but is 
 now attached to the King of Oude as equerry, and European aide- 
 de-camp. Mr. Home would have been a distinguished painter had 
 he remained in Europe, for he has a great deal of taste, and his 
 drawing is very good and rapid ; but it has been, of course, a great 
 disadvantage to him to have only his own works to study, and he, 
 probably, finds it necessary to paint in glowing colours to satisfy 
 his royal master. 
 
 Of the King's character, and the circumstances which have 
 plunged this country into its present anarchy, I will now detail 
 the outlines of what I have been able to learn. He was, by a very 
 common misfortune attendant on heirs apparent, disliked by his 
 father, Saadut Ali, who had kept him back from all public affairs, 
 and thrown him entirely into the hands of servants. To the first 
 of these circumstances may be ascribed his fondness for literary 
 and philosophical pursuits, to the second the ascendancy which his 
 khansaman minister has gained over him. Saadut Ali, himself a 
 man of talent and acquirements, fond of business and well qualified 
 for it, but in his latter days unhappily addicted to drunkenness, left 
 him a country with six millions of people, a fertile soil, a most 
 compact frontier, a clear revenue of two millions sterling, and up- 
 
 the gratification which she has felt on learning that Mr. Ricketts has, at his own expence, traQ3« 
 mitted another copy to Calcutta for the Bishop's college. 
 
 3 E 2
 
 396 KING OF OUDE. 
 
 wards of two millions in ready money in the treasury, with a well 
 reo-ulated system of finance, a peasantry tolerably well contented, 
 no army to maintain except for police and parade, and every thing 
 likely to produce an auspicious reign. Different circumstances, 
 however, soon blighted these golden promises. The principal of 
 these was, perhaps, the young Nawab's aversion to public business. 
 His education had been merely Asiatic, for Saadut Ali, though he 
 himself spoke English Hke a native, and very frequently wore the 
 English uniform, had kept his son from all European intercourse 
 and instruction. He was fond, however, as I have observed, of 
 study, and in all points of Oriental philology and philosophy, is 
 really reckoned a learned man, besides having a strong taste for 
 mechanics and chemistry. But these are not the proper or most 
 necessary pursuits of a King, and, in this instance, have rather 
 tended to divert his mind from the duties of his situation, than to 
 serve as graceful ornaments to an active and vigorous intellect. 
 When I add to this, that at one period the chace occupied a con- 
 siderable part of his time, it will be seen how many points of re- 
 semblance occur between him and our own James the First. Like 
 James he is said to be naturally just and kind-hearted, and with all 
 who have access to him he is extremely popular. No single act of 
 violence or oppression has ever been ascribed to him or supposed 
 to have been perpetrated with his knowledge, and his errors have 
 been a want of method and economy in his expences, a want of ac- 
 cessibility to his subjects, a blind confidence in favourites, and, as 
 will be seen, an unfortunate, though not very unnatural, attach- 
 ment to different points of etiquette and prerogative. 
 
 His father's minister, at the time of his death, was Hukeem 
 Mendee, a man of very considerable talents, great hereditary opu- 
 lence and influence, and to the full as honest and respectable in his 
 public and private conduct as an Eastern Vizier can usually be ex- 
 pected to be. The new sovereign was said not to be very fond of 
 him, but there seemed not the least intention of removing him till
 
 KING OF OUDE. 397 
 
 his power was undermined, most mifortunately for all parties, by 
 the British themselves. 
 
 The then Resident at Lucknow was said to interfere too 
 much in the private affairs of the King, and in the internal and 
 regidar administration of the country. The minister would not 
 allow it, and the King was so much irritated by this real, or sup- 
 posed interference, that he sent, by some of his European servants, 
 the private intelligence to Lord Hastings, of which mention is 
 made in the justificatory memoir of the latter. Lord Hastings 
 readily took up the affair ; but in the meantime some of the King's 
 servants, among whom was his khansaman, worked upon their 
 master's timidity, by representing the danger of coming to an 
 open quarrel with the Resident, the probability that the Enghsh 
 would not credit the complaints brought against their own country- 
 man, and urged him to a compromise before it was too late. In 
 consequence the King retracted the complaint, and ascribed it to 
 the incorrect information and bad advice of the Hukeem Mendee, 
 who was in consequence deprived of many of his principal employ- 
 ments, which were transferred to the present minister, with the 
 general consent of all parties, and with the concurrence of the 
 Hukeem himself, as a man personally acceptable to the Sovereign, 
 of pliant and pleasing manners, and not likely to aim at, or obtain 
 more power than it was thought fit to entrust to him. Soon after, 
 however, the new influence succeeded in getting the Hukeem 
 Mendee deprived of one profitable post after another, in stripping 
 him of many of the Zemindarries in his hands, and at length in 
 having him thrown into prison, whence he was only released by the 
 interposition of the British Government. He now lives in great 
 splendour at Futtehghur. 
 
 Expecting me to go to Futtelighur, he sent me, through Mr. 
 Williams of Cawnpoor, a very civil invitation to his house, with the 
 assurance that he had an English house-keeper, who knew perfectly 
 well how to do the honours of his establishment to gentlemen of
 
 398 KING OF OUDE. 
 
 her owTi nation. (She is in fact a singular female, who became the 
 wife of one of the Hindoostanee Professors at Hertford, now the 
 Hukeem's Dewan, and bears, I believe, a very respectable cha- 
 racter.) Hukeem Mendee was too powerful a man to be summarily 
 got rid of, but more violent means were taken with others. One man 
 of high rank was murdered in open day in the city ; others were 
 driven out of the country, and every death and every banishment 
 was a fresh occasion of adding a new place, or a new Zemindarrie 
 to the minister's hoard. 
 
 While he grew rich, the King grew more and more in debt. 
 No check whatever was given either to the receipt or issue of 
 public money. The favourite had succeeded in getting both the 
 secretaryship and treasurership in his own hands ; and all that was 
 known was, that the Minister built a magnificent house, and the 
 King lavished great sums in all manner of trinkets, while the troops 
 and public functionaries were without pay, and the peasantry 
 driven to despair by continual fresh exactions. Of the two mil- 
 lions which his father had left, the King had lent one to Lord 
 Hastings to carry on the Nepal war. For this he was to receive 
 interest, but unfortunately for him, he accepted, instead of all pay- 
 ment, a grant of fresh territory under the Himalaya mountains, 
 which is entirely unproductive, being either savage wilderness, or 
 occupied by a race of mountaineers, who pay no taxes without 
 being compelled, and whom he has not the means of compelling. 
 After a second loan Lord Hastings encouraged the Vizier to assume 
 the title of King. But the w orst consequence of both these loans 
 was, that by laying the British Government under a great obliga- 
 tion to the King, they compelled Lord Hastings to suspend all fur- 
 ther urging of the different measures of reform in the administra- 
 tion of justice and the collection of the revenue, which had been 
 begun in Saadut Ah's time, for the benefit of the people of Oude, 
 and which the Hukeem Mendee, while he remained in power, had 
 been gradually introducing, by the suggestion of the British Resi-
 
 KING OF OUDE. 399 
 
 dent, and after the models afforded in our provinces. The chief 
 of these was the substitution of a regular system of Zemindarrie 
 collectors for the taxes, instead of a number of " fenniers publics," 
 who take them from year to year by a sort of auction, collecting 
 them afterwards in kind or in any way which suits them best, and 
 who, by a strange injustice, are themselves the assessors, and, in 
 many instances, the only accessible court of appeal, as well as the 
 principal persons who derive a profit from the amount collected. 
 This wretched system, it must be owned, is very common through- 
 out the native governments ; but, when a sovereign is himself a 
 man of talents and energy, or when his Minister has any regard for 
 his own reputation, it has many checks which, in the present case, 
 did not operate. In consequence, three or four times more than 
 the sums really due were often extorted by these locusts, who went 
 down and encamped in different parts of the country, and, under 
 various pretences, so devoured and worried the people that they 
 were glad to get rid of them on any terms. Nay, sometimes, when 
 one Aumeen had made his bargain with the land-owners and 
 tenants, and received the greater part of the payment in advance, 
 a second would make his appearance with more recent powers, 
 (having out-bid his predecessors,) and begin assessing and collect- 
 ing anew, telling the plundered villagers that they had done wrong 
 to pay before it was due, and that they must look to the first man 
 for repayment of what they had been defrauded of. " All this has 
 been done," was said to me, " and the King will neither see it nor 
 hear it." It was not likely, however, to be done long without re- 
 sistance. The stronger Zemindars built mud-forts, the poor Ryuts 
 planted bamboos and thorny jungle round their villages ; every 
 man that had not a sword sold his garment to procure one, and 
 they bade the King's officers keep their distance. The next step, 
 however, of Government, was to call in the aid of British troops to 
 quell these insurgents. This the King of Oude had, by the letter 
 and spirit of existing treaties, a right to do. His father and uncle
 
 400 KING OF OUDE. 
 
 had purchased this right by the cession of nearly one-third of their 
 whole territories, — by the admission of two or thi-ee garrisons of 
 subsidiary troops into their remammg pro\inces, and by the dis- 
 banding of by far the greater part of their owti army, on the ex- 
 press conchtion that the English should undertake to defend them 
 against all external and internal enemies. Still Saadut Ah had 
 used tliis right very spaiingly. He w^as not fond of admittmg, far 
 less requesting, any more foreign interference than he could help. 
 And his o^mi guards, consisting of 2000 regular infantry, 1000 horse, 
 300 artillery, and the irregulars whom I have noticed, were enough 
 for all usual occasions, and were in excellent order and discipline. 
 Now, however, all was changed. The soldiers themselves w^ere so 
 ill paid that it was difficult to keep them together ; the artillery, 
 a beautiful little corps, first mutinied and then disbanded them- 
 selves to the last man, and the King had really no option between 
 either altering his system, or governing ^^dthout taxes, or calhng in 
 British aid. That aid w as demanded and given ; and dm-ing the 
 greater part of Lord Hastings time this wretched country was pil- 
 laged under sanction of the British name, and under the terror of 
 Sepoy bayonets, till at length the remonstrances of the British 
 officers employed on this service became so urgent, and the scandal 
 so notorious and so great, not to omit that the number of the dis- 
 affected increased daily, and that the more parties w^ere sent out 
 in support of the Aumeens, the more were called for, while every 
 peasant who lost lands or property in the progress of the system, 
 became a Decoit and made inroads into the Company's pro\dnces, 
 that a different course was imperiously forced on Government. 
 Accordingly, the Resident was instructed to urge anew on the 
 King the adoption of a regular system of leasing the cro\^Ti dues 
 for a certain number of years, like that adopted m the Company's 
 territories, and leasing them to the Zemindars themselves, not to 
 these greedy Aumeens. He was directed also to require proof, 
 before granting the aid of troops, that the sums said to be ^nthheld
 
 KING OF OUDE. 40t 
 
 were really due. To the first of these proposals the King an- 
 swered, that he would introduce the system gradually and \vith 
 such modifications as suited his country. He even named a dis- 
 trict in which he would begin it ; but, though two years have now 
 elapsed, nothing has yet been done. The second was met by 
 sending a number of documents to the Resident, of whose history 
 and authenticity he could know nothing, but which the officers 
 sent with the detachment declared they believed to be often per- 
 fect forgeries. Mr. Ricketts, therefore, about a year ago, declined 
 granting any more military aid, unless the King would, first, imme- 
 diately carry into effect his promised reform ; secondly, unless he 
 would allow an English commissioner, versed in such matters, to 
 accompany each detachment, and determine on the spot the jus- 
 tice of the Aumeen's claim ; thirdly, unless he would himself, 
 after the example of his royal ancestors, hold frequent and public 
 Durbar, to receive petitions from his subjects, and attend to these 
 specific complaints ; and fourthly, unless, to prevent the con- 
 stant incursion of robbers from his Majesty's into the Company's 
 territories, he would allow the Judge and Magistrates of the 
 adjoining districts to pursue and seize decoits within his frontier. 
 
 To these proposals his answers have been very ingenious and 
 plausible. To the first he says that such great changes cannot be 
 the work of a day ; that, when half his subjects are in arms against 
 him, is not precisely the time to obtain a fair assessment or a per- 
 manent settlement of the land ; but if the British will first, as he 
 calls on them in the terms of their treaty to do, put down his rebel- 
 lious Zemindars, destroy their mud-forts, and disarm their people, 
 he will pledge himself to adopt, in course of time, and with due 
 deliberation, such a system as will give satisfaction. To the 
 second he answers with some reason, that the introduction of 
 English judges and revenue officers, for such the proposed com- 
 missioners would be, into his counti'y, would make his own officers 
 cyphers, and his own power contemptible, and that he would 
 
 3 F
 
 402 KING OF OUDE. 
 
 sooner bid adieu to his crown at once, and turn Faqueer. To the 
 third, that he has not understood it to be the custom of either the 
 King of England or the Governor-General, to hold such an open 
 Durbar as they recommend, nor will those who have seen a Luck- 
 now mob anticipate any beneficial effects from such excessive 
 accessibility.) But to prove his regard for his people, he has in- 
 structed his prime minister to hold a Durbar for these precise 
 purposes twice a week, who is charged to report all cases of im- 
 portance to his own ear. The fourth he answers by saying, that it 
 is very hard to accuse him of harbouring robbers, while we refuse 
 him all aid in putting down the very Zemindars whose fortresses 
 and fastnesses are the common nests of robbery and rebellion; 
 that if we help him to subdue his rebels, he will keep his robbers 
 in order himself: but that it would be a cruel mockery to continue 
 to call him a king, if any neighbouring magistrate might enter his 
 dominions at pleasure. He urges that " all his difficulties have 
 arisen from his entire confidence in the friendship of the Company. 
 That this induced him and his ancestors to disband an excellent 
 army, till they scarce left sentries enough for the palace ; and thus 
 they have become unable, without help, to enforce payment of their 
 ancient revenues. That this induced him to lend to the British 
 Government all the money which would have else enabled him to 
 ease the people of their burthens, and to meet without inconveni- 
 ence whatever loss of income a new assessment may, for some time, 
 render inevitable. That he never has refused, and never will re- 
 fuse, to give the best consideration in his power to any measures of 
 reform which may be, in a friendly manner, proposed to him ; but 
 he refers those who represent him as a tyrant, or who speak of his 
 country as depopulated, to every traveller who has marched along 
 its principal roads, and has observed the extent of cultivation 
 through which they are carried." He concludes by saying, that 
 " he is aware, that notwithstanding the tone of equality and inde- 
 pendence which in their treaties and official correspondence the
 
 KING OF OUDE. 403 
 
 Company have allowed him to mamtain, he is in fact in theii* power ; 
 but if he is to reign at all, for which he knows that he has no gua- 
 rantee but British good faith, he intreats that his requests for the 
 performance of a positive treaty may not be met by stipulations 
 which would render that treaty vain, that he may be defended 
 from the only enemies he has, or is likely to have, his rebelhous 
 Zemindars, and protected in the exercise of functions which are 
 essential parts of that sovereignty which has been so solemnly and 
 repeatedly guaranteed to him." The statement, of which these 
 are the purport, I thought very curious; they certainly shew 
 strongly the perplexities and mischief arising from the subsidiary 
 system which seems for so many years to have been our favourite 
 poHcy in India, and to which it must be owned a considerable part 
 of our political greatness is owing. 
 
 I can bear witness certainly to the truth of the King's state- 
 ment, that his territories are really in a far better state of cultiva- 
 tion than I had expected to find them. From Lucknow to Sandee, 
 where I am now writing, the country is as popidous and well 
 cultivated as most of the Company's provinces. The truth per- 
 haps is, that for more than a year back, since the aid of British 
 troops has been withheld, affairs have been in some respects grow- 
 ing better. The Zemindars have in a few instances carried their 
 point, the Aumeens have been either driven away entirely, or been 
 forced to a moderate compromise, and the chief actual sufferers at 
 the present moment are the King, who gets little or nothing even 
 of his undoubted dues, and the traveller, who unless he has such a 
 guard as I have, had better sleep in a safe skin on the other side of 
 the Ganges. It should be observed, however, that I have as yet 
 seen no sign of those mud-forts, stockades, and fortresses, on which 
 the Zemindars and peasantry are said to rely for safety ; that the 
 common people north of Lucknow are, I think, not so universally 
 loaded with arms as those to the southward, and that though I 
 have heard a good deal all the way of the distressed state of the 
 
 3f2
 
 404 LUCKNOW. 
 
 country, as well as its anarchy and lawlessness, except in the single 
 instance I have mentioned, where the treasure was attacked, I have 
 seen no signs of either, or had any reason to suppose that the 
 King's writ does not pass ciu*rent, or that our Aumeen would have 
 the least difficulty in enforcing it in our favour, even without the 
 small payment which I give, and which is evidently accepted as a 
 gratuity. I cannot but suspect, therefore, that the misfortunes and 
 anarchy of Oude are somewhat overrated, though it is certain that 
 so fine a land ^nll take a long time in ruining, and that very many 
 years of oppression ^nll be required to depopidate a country which 
 produces on the same soil, and with no aid but irrigation, crops of 
 wheat and pulse every year. 
 
 It seemed strange to me why, since so much of the present 
 calamities of the comitry were ascribed to the misconduct of the 
 minister, his removal was not demanded in the first instance, after 
 which all subsequent measures of reform might be looked forward 
 to as attainable. But it was apprehended that the King would 
 rather abdicate than be dictated to in this particular, and that it 
 was thought better to vu'ge an effectual change of system, than the 
 mere removal of an individual who might be replaced by some- 
 body not at all better. I asked also if the people thus oppressed 
 desired, as I had been assured they did, to be placed under Eng- 
 lish Government ? Captain Lockitt said that he had heard the 
 same thing ; but on his way this year to Lucknow, and conversing, 
 as his admirable knowledge of Hindoostanee enables him to do, fa- 
 miliarly with the suwarrs who accompanied him, and who spoke out, 
 like all the rest of their countrymen, on the weakness of the King 
 and the wickedness of the Government, he fairly put the question 
 to them, when the jemautdar, joining his hands, said with great fer- 
 vency, " miserable as we are, of all miseries keep us fi-om that !" 
 " Why so ?" said Captain Lockitt, " are not our people far better 
 governed ?" " Yes," was the answer, " but the name of Oude and 
 the honour of our nation would be at an end." There are, indeed.
 
 CHRISTIANS IN LUCKNOW. 4a5 
 
 many reasons why high-born and ambitious men must be exceed- 
 ingly averse to our rule ; but the preceding expression of one in 
 humble rank savours of more national feeling and personal frank- 
 ness than is always met with in India. He was a soldier, however, 
 and a Mussulman who spoke thus. A Hindoo Ryut might have 
 answered differently, and it is possible that both accounts may be 
 true, though this only can I vouch for as authentic. It ought to 
 be borne in mind, that the oppression and anarchy to which Oude 
 is a prey, are chiefly felt and witnessed in the villages. In the 
 towns the King's authority passes unquestioned, and I have not 
 heard that the dustoury levied is irregular or excessive. An insur- 
 rection in Lucknow would be a dreadful thing, and most ministers 
 will be careful how they excite it. 
 
 The population of Lucknow is guessed at three hundred thou- 
 sand. But Mussulmans regard every attempt to number the peo- 
 ple as a mark of great impiety, and a sure presage of famine or pes- 
 tilence ; so that nothing can be known wdth accuracy. It is, I really 
 think, large enough and sufficiently crowded to contain that num- 
 ber. There are two bridges over the Goomty, one a very noble 
 old Gothic edifice of stone, of, I believe, eleven arches ; the other 
 a platform laid on boats, and merely connecting the King's park 
 with his palace. Saadut Ali had brought over an iron bridge from 
 England, and a place was prepared for its erection ; but on his 
 death the present sovereign declined prosecuting the work on the 
 ground that it was unlucky ; so that in all probability it will lie 
 where it is, till the rust reduces it to powder. 
 
 There are, in Lucknow, a considerable number of Christians 
 of one kind or other. Besides the numerous dependants of the 
 Residency, the King has a great many Europeans and half-castes 
 in his employ. There are also many tradesmen of both these de- 
 scriptions, and a strange medley of adventurers of all nations and 
 sects, who ramble hither in the hope, generally a fruitless one, of 
 obtaining employment.
 
 406 CHRISTIANS AT LUCKNOW. 
 
 I had numerous congregations, both at the Cantonments and 
 the Residency, the two Sundays which I staid. The Hindoostanee 
 reads well in prayer, particularly those words which are derived 
 from the Arabic, as most of the religious terms in the translation of 
 our Liturgy appear to be. I like the sound of " Aram UUahi jo 
 sare fahemon se bahur hue;" — " The peace of God, &c.;" and of 
 " Khoda Khader, Mutluk, jo Bap our Beta our Ruk Kodus hue ;" 
 — " God victorious, Mighty, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 
 I had also twelve candidates for Confirmation, and administered the 
 Sacrament to twenty-five persons, and found the people extremely 
 anxious to assemble for public worship. The first Sunday I preached, 
 indeed, three times, and twice the second, besides giving two Con- 
 firmation Lectures on the Friday and Saturday, and some other oc- 
 casional duty. Mr. Ricketts is himself in the habit of acting as 
 Chaplain at the Residency every Sunday ; but the people in the 
 King's employ, and the other Christian inhabitants, complain that 
 Government are very jealous of their attending at that place, and 
 they express great anxiety to establish a similar meeting for devo- 
 tional purposes among themselves. It would not be expedient at 
 present to send a Missionary here ; but they might have a school- 
 master, furnished by our Society with a stock of sermons to be read 
 every Sunday. I have requested Mr. Corrie to enquire for such a 
 person. There are a few Roman Catholics, mostly Portuguese, or 
 their degenerate descendants, who have a small chapel, and a Pro- 
 paganda Franciscan priest. And, to shew the strange mixture of 
 adventurers who are attracted hither, I had applications made to 
 me for charity by a Spaniard from Lima in Peru, who had come in 
 search of service, and a Silesian Jew, who pretended that he had 
 been an officer in the Russian army, and had been encouraged to 
 bend his course in this direction by the golden dreams which men 
 in Europe build of the opening for talent and adventurous spirit in 
 India. I shoidd have thought this last fellow a spy, had he not 
 been quite without papers or documents of any kind, or if it had
 
 LUCKNOW. . 407 
 
 not been unlikely that a Russian spy would have openly professed 
 to have served in the Russian army. He was exceedingly igno- 
 rant, spoke wretched French and German with a strong Jewish 
 accent, and, instead of having served in the army, had every ap- 
 pearance of having sold oranges all his days in Leipzic.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LUCKNOW TO BAUEILLY. 
 
 Departure from Lucknow-^Gratitude of Sepoys — Illness — Mussulman Suwarr — Sandee — 
 Dispute between two Villages — Shahjehanpoor — Rebel Chief in the Forest — Anecdote of 
 Rohilla Chief — Fertility of Rohilcund — Futtehgunge — Hafez Rehmut — Visit from Tussul- 
 dar — Furreedpoor — Bareilly — Professional Duties — ^Character of Rohillas — Preparations 
 for the Mountains. 
 
 On Monday, November 1st, having united my two kind-hearted 
 friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts, and taken leave of them, the 
 Corries, and poor Lushington, whose bad health obliged me to 
 leave liim behind mider the care of the Residency surgeon, Mr. 
 Luxmoore, I set off from Lucknow alone, and, I confess, with more 
 regret and depression of spirits than I expected to feel on such an 
 occasion. I had become quite intimate with Mr. and Mrs. Ric- 
 ketts ; for the Corries and Lushington I feel a sincere regard, and 
 I could not but be painfully sensible how great the probability 
 was, in such a climate, that this might, on earth, be our last meeting. 
 I had the satisfaction, however, to leave the Archdeacon much 
 better than he had been, and to find that Mr. Luxmoore thought 
 favourably of Lushington's case. But it was, altogether, a sad 
 leave-taking. Lushington was very low, in spite of many endea- 
 vours to speak cheerfully, the Corries much agitated, and their 
 little girls in tears ; and I do not think I felt least of the party, 
 though I believe I talked the most on various subjects. 
 
 I had found great difficulty in ascertaining the best road to 
 Bareilly. That marked down in Paton's routes was declared, by
 
 ROAD TO BAREILLY. 409 
 
 the Dak Moonshee, and the King's Aumeen, the only persons from 
 whom I was likely to obtain information, to be no longer prac- 
 ticable, the villages specified there being either deserted, or so far 
 impoverished as to afford neither supplies nor shade. A very 
 direct road, which is marked on Arrowsmith's map, and which 
 runs north-west from Lucknow to Shahabad, was said by the 
 sarbann to be probably good and practicable at this time of 
 year : but the Aumeen declared he could not possibly go with me 
 that way ; that it was mostly wild jungle and inhabited by Zemin- 
 dars at present in a state of rebellion. I argued the matter some 
 time, for the difference of distance is really great, and with a guard 
 of fifty men there was no danger to be apprehended. But the 
 old man said that though, perhaps, we might be safe from open 
 attack, we should certainly get no supplies, — that nobody ever 
 went that way but Faqueers and hunters, and that the King had 
 himself ordered him to take me the " Shahi Rustu,'' King's high- 
 way. I then gave up the point, which I afterwards was sorry 
 for, for the Jemautdar of the horse-guards whom the King sent 
 with me, assured me that one was as much a Shahi Rustu as the 
 other, and that I should have found the Shahabad road not only 
 three days shorter, but, in his mind, much more pleasant. He 
 owned that there were plenty of thieves and Zemindars, but none 
 that were likely to meddle with us, or of whom any but a timid 
 old Aumeen would be afraid ; and he spoke with a good deal of 
 glee of the deer and the wild hogs which we should have met with 
 in these woodland marches. It must be owned, however, that none 
 of the British officers at the Lucknow Cantonments, nor any body 
 at the Residency, or of the Europeans in the King's service, had 
 ever been this road, or believed it to be practicable, so that we 
 might possibly have been occasionally put to some inconvenience 
 for supplies. As it was, I found it impossible to get the distance 
 to Bareilly divided into less than fourteen stages, and was com- 
 pelled, therefore, to send off the tents and baggage on Simday 
 
 3 G
 
 410 PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. 
 
 mornino", in order that I might reach that place for divine service 
 on the 14th, and rest the intervening Sunday by the way. 
 
 My separation from Mr. Lushington enabled me to send back 
 to Cawnpoor one elephant and six camels, besides the two elephants 
 which belonged to Mr. Corrie's tent. I also sent back a routee, 
 but kept two small double-poled tents, in order to save trouble 
 and time by pitching them on alternate days. I had still three 
 elephants and twenty-two camels, including two spare ones, a 
 number which was rendered necessary by the length and arduous 
 nature of the journey before me, as well as by the number of 
 tents and quantity of baggage required by my escort. That con- 
 sisted, besides the King's ten guards, of forty Sepoys, under a 
 " Soubahdar," a native officer, and four non-commissioned offi- 
 cers. I thought this number unnecessary, but was told it was 
 according to rule ; and it so happened that I occasioned no incon- 
 venience to the service, since the officers and men who were 
 assigned me were actually under orders for Xusseerabad, and might 
 just as well accompany me thither. My new Soubahdar was intro- 
 duced to me on the Saturday by his predecessor, who was himself, 
 against his will, ordered back to Cawnpoor. The new one is a 
 grave, modest-looking old man, with a white beard, a native of 
 Rajapootana, and of high caste, but of far more reserved manners, 
 and greater diffidence, than the former. He is, however, a Hindoo, 
 and they are certainly a less dashing race than the Mussulmans. 
 
 All my tents and baggage being gone, except what clothes a 
 bag held, and all my servants but two, I set out at half-past four 
 o'clock, on one of INIr. Ricketts's elephants, accompanied by 
 Captain Salmon on another, and attended by a third with the two 
 servants. Mr. Ricketts had thought it proper that Captain Salmon 
 and a body of Suwarrs should go with me through the city ; and 
 the King, whose howdahs had no tilts to them, had kindly stationed 
 two more elephants half-way, to receive me as soon as the sun 
 should be gone down. In this way I made the journey rapidly
 
 GRATITUDE OF SEPOYS. 411 
 
 and agreeably, and reached my tent at Hussungunge, 20 miles 
 from Lucknow, a little after eight in the evening. In the way, at 
 Futtehgunge, I passed the tents pitched for the large party which 
 were to return towards Cawnpoor next day, and I was much 
 pleased and gratified by the Soubahdar and the greater number of 
 the Sepoys of my old escort running into the middle of the 
 road to bid me another farewell, and again express their regret 
 that they were not going on with me " to the world's end.'' They 
 who talk of the ingratitude of the Indian character, should, I 
 think, pay a little more attention to cases of this sort. These men 
 neither got nor expected any thing by this little expression of 
 good-will. If I had offered them money, they would have been 
 bound, by the rules of the service and their own dignity, not to 
 take it. Sufficient civility and respect would have been paid if 
 any of them who happened to be near the road had touched their 
 caps, and I really can suppose them actuated by no motive but good 
 will. It had not been excited, so far as I know, by any particular 
 desert on my part ; but I had always spoken to them civilly, had 
 paid some attention to their comforts in securing them tents, fire- 
 wood, and camels for their knapsacks, and had ordered them a 
 dinner, after their own fashion, on their arrival at Lucknow, at the 
 expense of, I believe, not more than four rupees ! Surely if good- 
 will is to be bought by these sort of attentions, it is a pity that 
 any body should neglect them ! 
 
 The suwarrs furnished by the King for this journey were a 
 very different description of men from those who previously 
 accompanied me. They were evidently picked for the purpose, 
 being tall, strong young fellows, on exceedingly good horses, and 
 as well armed as could be wished for the nature of their service. 
 
 We passed again through Nawalgunge, and I asked after the 
 sick elephant, but was told he died the same morning that we went 
 on towards Lucknow. 
 
 November 2. — I went five coss to Meeagunge, which was 
 built by the famous eunuch Almass Ali Khan, whose proper name, 
 
 S G 2
 
 412 MALLAON. 
 
 while in a state of servitude, was Meea. It consists of a large fort 
 of bricks, with eight circular bastions, surrounded by an exterior 
 enclosure, at perhaps 500 yards distance, of mud, but also in the 
 shape of a fortification, with great Gothic gateways corresponding 
 to those in the central enclosure. Between are avenues of very 
 noble mangoe-trees, with which indeed the whole intervening space 
 is planted, though at such considerable intervals, as not to inter- 
 cept the breeze. It is a fine old-fashioned park, but now trees, 
 towers, gates, and palaces are sinking fast into rubbish and forget- 
 fulness. Almass had here a park of forty pieces of artillery, and 
 when he received a visit from the Nawab Saadut Ali, he built him 
 up a throne of a million of rupees, of which, when his Highness 
 was seated on it, he begged him to accept. The fort is now filled 
 with the bazar of a poor village, erected under the shade of the 
 mangoes ; the park was laid down, when I saw it, in quillets of 
 beautiful green wheat and barley. 
 
 I had been unwell for the last two days, and was obliged to 
 perform my journey of the 3d in my palanqueen, the best way in 
 which a sick man could make it ; I travelled seven coss to Seetal- 
 gunge, the country level, fertile, and well cultivated. The whole 
 of this day I felt extremely ill, and was in much perplexity what 
 to do, as I was some days' journey from any medical adviser. The 
 application, however, of leeches to my temples relieved me con- 
 siderably, and I was able to get into my palanqueen the next 
 morning, intending if possible to push on, so that if I grew worse 
 I might be able to get assistance by sending a servant on to 
 Futtehgunge, the nearest station, on a swift-trotting camel. 
 
 This day's march, the 4th, brought me to a large town called 
 Mallaon, in the neighbourhood of which my tents were pitched. 
 Here I remained the whole of the next day, being too ill to move. 
 At the time that I gave orders for this halt, I know not why, but the 
 whole caravan seemed to be convinced that I was not Ions for this 
 world. Abdullah worried me a good deal with his lamentations 
 on my premature end in the wilderness, recoimnending all manner
 
 ILLNESS. 413 
 
 of unattainable or improper remedies, and talking all sorts of 
 absurd wisdom, at the same time that his eyes were really full of 
 tears. The poor sirdar said nothing, but shewed a most pitiful 
 face every ten or twelve minutes through the tent door. The 
 "goomashta/' or master of the camels, the old soubahdar, the 
 Aumeen, and many others came to offer up their good wishes and 
 prayers for my recovery ; and, perhaps, the best and most useful 
 proof of their good-will was, that I heard no needless noise in the 
 camp the whole day ; and, if a voice were raised, " chup ! chup !" 
 " silence ! silence !" followed immediately. Abdullah offered to 
 push on with the camels to procure assistance ; and I promised him 
 that, if I were not better next morning, I w^ould send him or some 
 other messenger. But through the mercy of God, the remedies 
 I took, almost in utter ignorance, proved successful, and I found 
 myself so much better on the morning of Saturday, November the 
 6th, as to be enabled to perform my day's journey with ease in the 
 palanqueen ; and I received the felicitations of all the elders of the 
 camp on my recovery. 
 
 I believe my complaint to have been the Calcutta and Luck- 
 now influenza, a little aggravated, perhaps, by my journey in the 
 sun after tiffin on Monday afternoon. I did not feel, however, 
 the same excessive and distressing languor as is said to have 
 haunted convalescents in that disorder, or more indeed of weak- 
 ness than might fairly be accounted for by the discipline which I 
 had undergone. 
 
 Our stage to-day of seven coss, through the same level and 
 fruitful style of country, was to Belgaram, a place remarkable as 
 being the station first fixed on for the British " advanced force," 
 as it then was, which was afterwards fixed at Cawnpoor. There 
 are still several traces of what the King's suwarrs said were bells 
 of arms, and officers' bungalows, which certainly might be such, 
 but were now heaps of ruins. 
 
 The town of Belgaram itself is small, with marks of having been 
 much more considerable, but still containing some large and good.
 
 414 FERTILITY OF OUDE. 
 
 though old Mussulman houses, the habitations of the tussuldar, 
 cutwall, &c. Here again, after a long interval, I found a good 
 many scattered palms, both of the date and toddy species, and 
 there is a noble shew of mangoe-trees in every direction. I found 
 myself well enough in the evening to walk round the place, 
 attended by the goomashta, whom I found a very sensible man, 
 willing to give information, and well acquainted with most points 
 which relate to the agriculture, rent, and taxes of this part of 
 India. He said, what I could easily believe from all which I saw^ 
 that the soil of Oude was one of the finest in the world ; that 
 every thing flourished here which grew either in Bengal or Persia ; 
 that they had at once rice, sugar, cotton, and palm-trees, as well 
 as wheat, maize, barley, beans, and oats : that the air was good, 
 the water good, and the grass particularly nourishing to cattle : 
 but he said, " the laws are not good, the judges are wicked, the 
 Zemindars are worse, the Aumeens worst of all, and the Ryuts 
 are robbed of every thing, and the King will neither see nor 
 hear." I asked him the rent per begah of the land. He said 
 generally four rupees, but sometimes six ; and sometimes the 
 peasant had all taken from him. I observed that it was strange 
 that, under such usage, they continued to cultivate the land so well 
 as they seemed to do. " What can they do ?" he answered, 
 " they must eat ; and when they have put the seed in the ground 
 they must wait till it comes up, and then take what they can get 
 of it." I still, however, suspect exaggeration in all these stories. 
 
 We passed a neat garden of turnips and some potatoes 
 looking very promising ; these last, he said, were at first ex- 
 ceedingly disliked by the people, but now were becoming great 
 favourites, particularly with the Mussulmans, who find them very 
 useful as absorbents in their greasy messes. Our elephants were 
 receiving their drink at a well, and I gave the suwarree some 
 bread, which, before my illness, I had often been in the habit of 
 doing. " He is glad to see you again," observed the goomashta, and 
 I certainly was much struck by the calm, clear, attentive, intelligent
 
 MUSSULMAN SUWARR. 415 
 
 eye which he fixed on me, both while he was eating and after- 
 wards, while I was patting his trunk and talking about him. His 
 mohout told me that three or four years ago his trunk had received 
 a very serious wound from the claw of a tyger which sprang on 
 him, and from which he was rescued with great difficulty; the 
 trunk was nearly torn off, but he was recovered by having a 
 bandage applied kept constantly wet with brandy. He was, he 
 said, a fine tempered beast, but the two others were " great 
 rascals." One of them had once almost killed his keeper. I have 
 got these poor beasts' allowance increased in consideration of their 
 long march ; and that they may not be wronged, have ordered the 
 mohout to give them all their gram in presence of a sentry. The 
 gram is made up in cakes, about as large as the top of a hat-box, 
 and baked on an earthen pot. Each contains a seer, and sixteen 
 of them are considered as sufficient for one day's food for an 
 elephant on a march. The suwarree elephant had only twelve, but 
 I ordered him the full allowance, as well as an increase to the 
 others. If they knew this they would indeed be glad to see me. 
 
 As I was slowly returning to my tents, a handsome young 
 Mussulman came up, and seeing an European in plain clothes, 
 with only three unarmed people, began talking civilly in point of 
 language, but in a very free and easy sort of manner ; he was 
 smartly dressed, with a gold-laced skull-cap, an embroidered 
 muslin shirt and drawers, ear-rings, collar, and ring, which professed 
 to be of garnets with a few diamonds, and a shewy shawl wrapped 
 round his body, but none of his clothes clean or well put on, and 
 had that sort of jaunty air about him, which as it is more unusual, 
 is even more offensive in an Eastern than a Western buck. He 
 was followed by seven or eight very dirty ill-dressed fellows with 
 swords, shields, and matchlocks, and had himself a sword, with a 
 tarnished silver hilt, and a large pistol which he carried in his 
 hand and kept playing with while he was speaking. He was 
 evidently more than half drunk, and had the manner of a foolish 
 boy who wants to play the great man, but is not sure how he will be
 
 416 MUSSULMAN SUWARR. 
 
 received, and undecided whether he is to pick a quarrel or no. 
 He salamed, and asked me what I was about, and where I had 
 been, w hich I answered civilly but shortly ; he then enquired whence 
 I came and where I was going. I asked him why he wanted to 
 know ? to which he answered, that he was a man of consequence 
 in the neighbourhood, and it was his business to make enquiries; 
 but added more civilly, that seeing a Sahib, he came to oflPer salu- 
 tation. I said I was obliged to him, and asked his name, which he 
 told me, but which I forget, except that he professed to be a 
 Syud, enquiring at the same time what my name was. " Lord 
 Padre Sahib" did not explain the matter at all ; he resumed, how- 
 ever, his enquiries about my route next day, and where I intended 
 to halt. I had forgotten the name, and on turning towards the 
 goomashta, he, very eagerly and with an expressive look, said 
 *' Sandee," which I knew was not the place, but as he seemed to 
 wish to see no more of the gentleman, I did not interfere. 
 He then again launched out into an account of his own influence 
 in the neighbourhood, " East, West, North, and South," and added, 
 as I seemed a good man, he would come in the morning with his 
 friends to protect me. I thanked him, but said he need not 
 trouble himself, since besides my own servants, I had already 50 
 Sepoys, and 10 of the King's suwarrs. While I said this a very 
 whimsical change took place in his countenance. His head was 
 before thrown back in a protecting way, and his eyes were half 
 shut. These he now opened very wide, and raised his head 
 to a perpendicular posture so suddenly, that, since I had, during 
 the conversation, drawn up pretty closely to him, in order to pre- 
 vent, if necessary, any further evolutions with his pistol, our noses 
 and breasts were almost brought into contact. He hastily drew 
 back, called me " Huzoor," instead of " Ap," and again renewed 
 his offer, not of protection, but of service. I cut the matter short, 
 however, by taking a civil leave of this young descendant of Fatima 
 and the Imams. When he was gone I asked the goomashta if he 
 knew any thing of him. He shook his head, saying that there were
 
 SANDEE. 417 
 
 many such hurramzadus about the country, who were too proud 
 to enter into the Company's army, and who could not find employ 
 in the little army of the King, and were, consequently, idle, 
 drunken, and ready for any mischief. I asked if he were a Zemin- 
 dar ; he said he did not believe that he was either Zemindar or 
 Tusseeldar, or that, whatever his family might be, he had any other 
 profession or character than that of suwarr, and a candidate for 
 employment in some of the mercenary armies of India. He con- 
 cluded with hoping we should see no more of him, which, indeed, 
 I thought most likely. I was a little tired with my walk, but 
 slept all the better for it, and waked at half-past three on Sunday 
 the 7th, with no traces of sickness. I had ordered the tents and 
 luggage to a station seven coss distant, but the foolish khansa- 
 man finding a want of trees and water there, instead of pushing on 
 further, or trying to the right or left, returned tw o coss to Sandee, 
 so that the animals and people had a nine coss march, while our 
 actual progress was only five ! I was very angry w hen I came up 
 and found what had happened, but it was then too late to be 
 remedied. 
 
 The country through which we passed to-day was extremely 
 pretty, undulating, wdth scattered groves of tall trees, and some 
 extensive lakes which still shewed a good deal of water. The 
 greater part of the space between the wood was in green wheat ; 
 but there were, round the margins of the lakes, some small tracks 
 of brushwood and beautiful silky jungle-grass, eight or ten feet 
 high, with its long pendent beards glistening with hoar frost, a 
 sight enough, in itself, to act as a tonic to a convalescent European. 
 The morning was very cold, however, to my feelings, and though I 
 had a woollen great coat, pantaloons, and worsted stockings, I was 
 not sorry to draw my cloak also about me. Sandee is a poor little 
 village, shaded by some fine trees, with a large jeel in the neigh- 
 bourhood swarming with wild-fowl. It was described to me as 
 a very dangerous place for travellers without my present advan- 
 tages, and I was told that from thence to the Company's frontier 
 
 3 H
 
 418 IRRIGATION. 
 
 the country bore an extremely bad character, and several robberies 
 and murders had taken place lately. For us there could, I should 
 think, be no fear, but when I went to take my usual walk in the 
 evening, the jemautdar of the King's horsemen and one of his 
 troopers came up with their swords and pistols and begged leave 
 to join me. 
 
 I had an opportunity, on this occasion, of seeing the manner 
 in which the ground is irrigated from wells, of which there are 
 great numbers. The water is poured into narrow channels con- 
 ducted all over the field, round the little squares into which tlie 
 land is divided all through India, and the use of which I before 
 understood but imperfectly. I now found that these ledges 
 are adapted to receive and retain the precious fluid with as little 
 waste as possible, each serving as a small lock, in which, when 
 the water has done its duty, a hole is made by the hand and 
 the stream passed on to the next. The industry and neatness 
 exhibited in this work were very pleasing, and I rejoiced to 
 see the favourable appearance which the young wheat bore. 
 The lake was half dry already, and would, they said, in three 
 months time be quite so ; as it recedes, it leaves a fine bed of 
 grass and aquatic plants, on which a large herd of cattle was now 
 eagerly grazing. The Ganges, I was told, was not above four 
 coss distant, and an angle of the Company's frontier hardly so far. 
 One of the King's couriers passed, dressed like a suwarr and 
 well armed, on a good horse, and riding at a great rate with a 
 mounted and armed attendant behind him. There were, the 
 jemautdar said, a great many of these people, who brought news 
 from different quarters, the greater part of which was afterwards 
 inserted in the court intelHgencer. The only regular post in 
 Oude is carried on by the British Government, and is under the 
 management of the Resident. This was a lonely Sunday, except 
 that in the evening I said prayers with Abdullah. I hope, how- 
 ever, it was not a mispent one. I hope and believe I was really 
 thankful to God for his late goodness to me. My travelling to-day
 
 SUROMUNUGGUR. 419 
 
 was not to be avoided, since, otherwise, I could not have reached 
 Bareilly by the following Sunday. 
 
 November 8. — Our march to-day, thanks to the blunder of 
 yesterday, was ten coss, or twenty miles, to a large village with an 
 old fortress, named Suromunuggur. The country improved in 
 beauty, becoming more and more woody and undulating, but was 
 neither so well inhabited nor so well cultivated as that which we 
 had gone through before. The King's Aiimeen had urged my 
 people to pitch their tents two coss short of Suromunuggur, at 
 another village, but the water was bad and dirty, and they remem- 
 bered my recent scolding too well to stop again short of the 
 appointed place. In consequence, however, of their advance, a 
 messenger came from the " Foujdar" (chatellain) of Suromunuggur, 
 asking why we were not content with the quarters at first assigned 
 us, adding that the men of their place neither wanted to see the 
 King nor any of his friends, that they had no supplies to spare, 
 and were able and determined to defend themselves against us. 
 At almost the same time a similar message came from the first 
 village, bidding us go on in God's name, for they did not want us 
 there ; but if the people of Suromunuggur refused to receive us, 
 tiiey would help us with 500 men. I was asleep in my palanqueen, 
 it being early in the morning when this occurred, but Abdullah, 
 who was a little in advance, answered the first messengers 
 very properly, that " His Lord did not come there to take any 
 part in their quarrels ; that it was known to all the country that I 
 was travelling peaceably, and that instead of using the King's 
 authority to strip the Ryuts, I had paid for every thing which was 
 brought, and had not allowed either servant or soldier to take a 
 blade of corn without leave of the owner. That if their trades- 
 men would not furnish us with supplies, we would buy them else- 
 where, and content ourselves with telling the King and the 
 Resident the reception we had met with ; but that he, Abdullah, 
 did not dare propose to me to go, in consequence of their foolish 
 
 3 H 2
 
 420 SUROMUNUGGUR. 
 
 threats, to any other place than that which I had ordered." The 
 people seemed satisfied, and ran off. Abdullah, when I came up, 
 said that he thought this would be the case, and that there would be 
 no occasion to trouble me with the matter, which was probably only 
 a quarrel amongst the villagers themselves. The message from the 
 nearest village came by one of the King's hurkarus, who accompanied 
 me, and in fact required no answer. I saw no trace of the 500 men 
 as I passed it, and should be much surprised if 100 effective men 
 could have been found in it. At all events my escort would have 
 chased them all. At Suromunuggur I found the tents peaceably 
 pitched, the sentries posted, and every thing with the appearance 
 of quiet. The Foujdar, however, though he had sent some milk, 
 and a fine kid for my use, and a little fire-wood for the kitchen, 
 was still jealous and uneasy at our neighbourhood. He did not 
 like to admit us indiscriminately into his bazar, and proposed that 
 two of my servants and two of the sepoys should come in, to market 
 for the rest. I returned answer, through Abdullah, that it was my 
 particular order that not a single soldier or servant of mine should 
 leave their places ; that we only wanted food, and the usual neces- 
 saries for travellers, and that if his tradesmen would bring their 
 baskets out into the field, they would find us no bad customers. 
 Four or five people of this sort came out accordingly, as well as 
 some labouring men, who, for an ana each, brought as much 
 wood and grass as were sufficient for the party. The only quarrel 
 which occurred, was from the misconduct of one of the elephant- 
 drivers, always a brutish and impudent set, who began to help himself 
 and his animal out of a field of maize. The old man to whom it be- 
 longed, came to me with a lamentable outcry, but was satisfied, since, 
 indeed, no estimable harm had yet been done, with my making the 
 fellow give back the little he had taken, and threatening him with 
 a flogging. The kid which had been brought I saw paid for, and 
 as I did not want it myself, gave it to the King's suwarrs, whose 
 conduct and countenance throughout the discussion, had been
 
 SUROMUNUGGUR. 421 
 
 extremely good and soldierly. In the course of the day all 
 jealousies seemed to have passed ; and when I went for my evening's 
 walk, merely adding a couple of spearmen to my yesterday's 
 cortege, I asked if they would let me go into the village, and 
 found no objection made ; indeed, they said, the King's Aumeen 
 and the Foujdar were already well reconciled. 
 
 The fortress is pretty much like a large serai, surrounded by 
 a high brick-wall, with round towers at the flanks, and two gothic 
 gateways opposite to each other. That by which I entered had a 
 tall iron-studded door like a college, with a small wicket in one 
 leaf, which alone was now open ; within, on each side of the 
 passage, was a large arched recess, about three feet from the 
 ground, where were seated twelve or fifteen men, armed as usual, 
 with one or two guns, and matches lighted, but mostly having 
 bows and arrows : all had swords and shields. They rose and 
 salamed very respectfully as I came in, and I passed on through 
 a narrow street of mud-houses, some looking like warehouses, and 
 the whole having more the air of a place where the peasantry of a 
 small district were accustomed to secure their stores, than the 
 usual residence of any considerable number of people. Half-way 
 along this street I was met by the Foujdar himself, a peasant like 
 the rest, and the old Aumeen, who came out of a house together. 
 The latter had every appearance of having been drinking, but 
 said " he had been at his daily work, arranging with his friend 
 here, matters for Huzoor's comfort and progress next day !" After 
 salutation I went on to the opposite gate, which was supplied 
 with warders in the same way as the previous one, and then 
 entered a little straggling bazar, which, with some scattered huts, 
 completed the hamlet. I saw no mosque, but a small pagoda, 
 and the warders were, apparently, not Mussulmans, but Hindoos, 
 which I had previously found was also the case with my old 
 Aumeen. Thus ended a day which had a commencement appa- 
 rently so formidable, but of which I cannot help entertaining some 
 doubt that the difficulty was, in the first instance, considerably
 
 ^22 DESERTION OF A SEPOY. 
 
 exao'O'erated by Abdullah and the other servants, partly to increase 
 the apparent dignity and prudence of the answer returned, partly 
 from the love of the marvellous which the vulgar in all countries 
 cherish. I was not sorry, however, to have witnessed this little 
 specimen of the warlike habits of Oude. The jemautdar told 
 me during my w^alk, that these people and those of the other 
 village had long been on bad terms, and that many men had been 
 killed on each side. This will perhaps account both for the 
 anger of the one party in the morning, when they thought that 
 we were leaving their enemies to sponge on them, as also for the 
 benevolent oflPer of the other to lend us their best aid in injuring 
 their neighbours. But, altogether, it was not unpleasant to find 
 myself at the head of so respectable a force as to make it 
 extremely improbable that any of these hot-bloods would court 
 a quarrel. 
 
 Some little adventures had occurred during this journey, in 
 the detail of my escort, which I forgot to mention in their places. 
 A sepoy had deserted with his musquet and clothes, which I 
 chiefly notice, because it was regarded as utterly hopeless and idle 
 to pursue, or even to describe him in my report of the circum- 
 stance to the officer of the next station, and still more, because his 
 desertion was spoken of by all in the camp with surprise, and as if 
 it were the voluntary abandonment of a comfortable situation. Two 
 other Sepoys had been ill for several days in much the same way 
 with myself; I had treated them in a similar manner ; and they were 
 now doing well, but being brahmins of high caste I had much 
 difficulty in conquering their scruples and doubts about the physic 
 which I gave them. They both said that they w^ould rather die 
 than taste wine. They scrupled at my using a spoon to measure 
 their castor-oil, and insisted that the water in which their medir 
 cines were mixed, should be poured by themselves only. They 
 were very grateful however, particularly for the care I took of 
 them when I was myself ill, and said repeatedly that the sight of 
 me in good health would be better to them than all medicines.
 
 OUDUNPOOR. 423 
 
 They seemed now free from disease, but recovered their strength 
 more slowly than I did, and I was glad to find that the soubahdar 
 said he was authorized, under such circumstances, to engage a 
 hackery at the Company's expence, to carry them till they were 
 fit to march. He mentioned this in consequence of my offering 
 them a lift on a camel, which they were afraid of trying. 
 
 Another sepoy, a very fine young fellow, called on me this 
 evening to beg permission to go to see a brother who was with 
 some companies cantoned at a Httle frontier post, eight coss to our 
 left hand, the name of which I forget. He said that as he was 
 to go into Rajapootana, he did not know when he should meet 
 him again ; and added that he could easily travel the eight coss 
 that night, and would rejoin me at Shahjehanpoor. I told him not 
 to hurry himself to do so, but to take the straight northern road to 
 Bareilly, by which means he might fall in with me before I reached 
 that city, and that I would give him a pass for four days. He was 
 much delighted ; and I mention the circumstance chiefly to shew 
 the falsehood of the common notion, that these poor people will 
 take no trouble for the sake of their kindred. 
 
 A pretty trout-stream, named like the large river at Lucknow, 
 the Goomty, winds under the walls of Suromunuggur, through a 
 beautiful carpet of green wheat, interspersed with noble trees. It 
 is strange, indeed, how much God has done to bless this land, and 
 how perversely man has seemed bent to render His bounties 
 unavailing ! 
 
 From Suromunuggur we proceeded, on the 9th, to Oudunpoor, 
 five coss and a half. We passed in our way through Shahabad, a 
 considerable town, or almost city, with the remains of fortifications, 
 and many large houses. Oudunpoor is what would be called a 
 moderate-sized market-town in England. It has a fine " tope'' (or 
 grove) of mangoe-trees adjoining, where the tents were pitched, 
 covering six or eight acres, with a little shrine of Siva in the 
 middle, and an open shed near it. The country is chiefly 
 cultivated with cotton. This place also, some years ago, bore a
 
 424 OUDUNPOOR. 
 
 very bad character, and is still dangerous for persons without 
 a guard. On a frontier, it may be well supposed, idle and mis- 
 chievous people, the refuse of both countries, are likely to establish 
 themselves ; but by what I learned, both here and at Shahjehan- 
 poor, there is little to choose in this respect between the two sides 
 of the boundary line. 
 
 An old man, 109 years of age, was brought to my tent to beg 
 to-day. He had his bodily organs perfect, but was apparently 
 childish. He was evidently regarded with great veneration, both 
 by the country people and my own servants, who said, " He must 
 have been a good man to be allowed to live so long." In India, 
 indeed, where the average duration of human life runs so low, 
 such instances are naturally reckoned more wonderful than in the 
 north of Europe. I know not how the idle stories arose, which are 
 found in the ancient Greek writers, of Indian longevity. I remem- 
 ber Malte Brun supposes they must have been taken from the 
 upper provinces; but here, in one of the finest and healthiest 
 climates of the whole east, the age of man very seldom exceeds 
 seventy. This old man had no means of support but begging, 
 and his character of a religious person ; he was, however, very 
 cleanly and neatly dressed, with a large chaplet of beads, and was 
 attended, to all appearance very carefully, by a man who called 
 himself his disciple. 
 
 Some men came with two young bears, exactly like those at 
 Barrackpoor, and very tame. They wanted to make them fight 
 before me, which I declined, but gave the men a trifle, and the 
 bears my remaining stock of stale bread, for which I had no more 
 human use. I asked where they were caught, and they told me 
 in the mountains of Bundelcund. 
 
 In the evening I walked round the town, before the principal 
 house of which, under a spreading tree, I found the old Aumeen, 
 stripped all but his waistcloth, cooking his supper in the simple 
 manner of a Hindoo. He followed me shortly after, and begged 
 to introduce the principal " mohajun," or merchant, of the place.
 
 SHAHJEHANPOOR. 425 
 
 who wanted to see me. He was, as it appeared, a dealer in cloth, 
 and in the other multiform commodities which generally stock an 
 Enghsh country shop ; a fat man, with a red turban, warmly and 
 plainly, but neatly dressed, and looking like one well to pass in the 
 world. He told me, in Eastern style, that my fame had gone 
 through all the country, and that I was considered as the only 
 great man who had come from foreign parts to Lucknow, with less 
 disposition to take than to give money. " Most of them," he said, 
 " come to strip us poor people." I certainly found myself, this 
 evening, rather the sheared than the shearer, inasmuch as I had to 
 take leave of the King of Oude's people, and give them their 
 presents ; they were all well satisfied with what they received. 
 I had, again to-day, given up the goat which was brought for my 
 use to the suwarrs, and I found that these two successive dinners 
 pleased them far more than even their fee, as being less expected. 
 Nothing, however, seemed to give so much satisfaction to the 
 Jemautdar as a certificate under my hand, and with my great seal, 
 of his good conduct. The Aumeen also, who, besides a couple of 
 coarse shawls, got forty rupees, was greatly delighted with a similar 
 paper, kissing the seal, and pressing it to his forehead with high 
 respect. I told them I wished them to see me over the frontier 
 next day, but they said they hoped for my permission to escort me 
 fairly to Shahjehanpoor. 
 
 November 10. — From Oudunpoor to Shahjehanpoor is seven 
 coss, of the same cultivated country. The frontier here is only 
 an ideal line. Soon after I had entered the Company's territo- 
 ries, I was met by ten suwarrs, very gaily dressed, but neither 
 so fine men, nor so well mounted, as those of the King. They had 
 been sent to meet me by Mr. Neave, the Judge of Shahjehanpoor. 
 With them and the King's people, who would not relinquish their 
 station, I rode on in high style, Cabul, (the name of my horse,) 
 showing off in his best manner, as being much animated by so 
 numerous a company; though, as we pranced up the street of 
 Shahjehanpoor, I could not help thinking, that in the midst of this 
 
 3 I
 
 426 SHAHJEHANPOOR. 
 
 barbarous cavalcade, with musqueteers, spearmen, and elephants 
 closing the procession, my friends at home would have had some 
 difficulty in recognising me, or believing me to be a man of peace. 
 
 At the entrance of the town I passed the river Gurruk, a 
 quiet, winding stream, over a little mean old bridge, by the side 
 of a much more splendid one, begun some months since at the 
 expense of the ex-minister of Oude, the Hukeem Mendee, who 
 has a house and considerable property within the British territories 
 in this district. The bridge would, if completed, have been a 
 very good and extensive one, but is now much dilapidated, a great 
 part of the unfinished work having fallen in during the rains. 
 
 Shahjehanpoor is a large place, with some stately old mosques, 
 and a castle. These are mostly ruinous, but the houses are in 
 good plight. The bazars show marks of activity and opulence, and 
 I could not help observing that there really is a greater appear- 
 ance of ease, security, and neatness among the middhng and 
 lower classes of the Company's subjects, than among those of 
 the King of Oude. I found my tent pitched just beyond the 
 town, not far from the gates of the Compound of Mr. Camp- 
 bell, the Collector of the district, whose guest I was to be. I 
 breakfasted and dined with him, and met most of the gentlemen 
 of the station. 
 
 I found no professional duties to perform ; but endeavoured, 
 during the day, to persuade these gentlemen to remedy, in some 
 little degree, in their secluded situation, the want of a chaplain, 
 (of which they complain, but which I see no chance of supplying 
 at present,) by meeting at some convenient place on Sundays, and 
 taking it by turns to read a selection, which I pointed out, from 
 the Church Prayers, the Psalms, and Lessons of the day, and a 
 printed Sermon. I urged on them the example of Mr. Ricketts 
 at Lucknow, and hope 1 produced some effect ; at any rate I am 
 glad I made the trial, and I think I gave no offence by doing so. 
 
 The conquest of Rohilcund by the English, and the death of 
 its chief in battle, its consequent cession to the Nawab of Oude,
 
 ROHILLAS. 427 
 
 and the horrible manner in which Sujah ud Dowlah oppressed and 
 misgoverned it, form one of the worst chapters of EngUsh history 
 in India. We have since made the Rohillas some amends by 
 taking them away from Oude, and governing them ourselves ; but, 
 by all which I could learn from the society this day concerning 
 the present state of the province of Bareilly, the people appear by 
 no means to have forgotten or forgiven their first injuries. The 
 Mussulman chiefs, who are numerous, are very angry at being 
 without employment under Government, or hope of rising in the 
 State or Army, and are continually breaking out into acts of insu- 
 bordination and violence, which are little known in the other 
 provinces of the Company's empire, but are favoured here by the 
 neighbourhood of Oude, and the existence of a large forest along 
 the whole eastern, southern, and northern frontiers. In this forest 
 a rebel chief is by many supposed to have lurked the last seven 
 years, for whose apprehension Government have vainly offered no 
 less a sum than 10,000 rupees. Many robberies are, certainly, still 
 perpetrated in his name ; but the opinion of the magistrates at 
 Shahjehanpoor is, that the man is really dead, and that his name 
 only, like that of Captain Rock, remains as the rallying point of 
 mutiny. The military officers of our dinner party had often been 
 in this forest, which they describe as extensive, and in some 
 places very picturesque, with some few tracts of high land, whence, 
 even in this neighbourhood, the snowy range of Himalaya is 
 visible. 
 
 The Rohilla insurgents are usually very faithful to each other, 
 and, as in Oude there is neither police nor pursuit, it very seldom 
 happens, if they once escape, that they can be laid hold of after- 
 wards. One of the most notorious of them, who had long eluded 
 justice, came into the hands of Government not long since under 
 very singular circumstances. He had passed over into Oude, and 
 bought a Zemindarry there, which was last year seized on, under 
 circumstances of excessive injustice, by the servants of the 
 favourite, who, at the same time, carried off one of his wives. The 
 
 3 I 2
 
 428 EXPLOIT OF A ROHILLA. 
 
 Zemindar, equally high-spirited and desperate with Hamilton of 
 Bothwellhaugh mider similar circumstances, rode immediately to 
 Lucknow, scaled, by the assistance of his servants, the wall of the 
 minister's private garden, and waited there well-armed, but alone, 
 till his enemy should make his appearance. The minister did not 
 himself appear, but his two youngest sons came out to walk with 
 their ayahs. The Rohilla knew them, pounced on them like a 
 tyger, and holding them between his knees, told the terrified 
 women to go and call their master. The palace was soon in an 
 uproar, but he sate still, with his back against the wall, the infants 
 under his knees, and a pistol in each hand, calling out " draw near, 
 and they are both dead !" The minister wept and tore his flesh, 
 promising him every thing if he would let them go ; to which he 
 answered, " the restoration of my wife, my own safety, and the 
 guarantee of the British Resident for both !" The woman was 
 immediately brought out, and the minister went like one frantic to 
 the Residency, begging for God's sake either Mr. Ricketts or 
 Major Raper to go with him. The latter went, and the Rohilla, 
 after a horrible pause, in which he seemed still to be weighing the 
 sweetness of revenge against the promises held out to him, rose, 
 took his wife by the hand, and led her away. He w^as not, how- 
 ever, satisfied with the security of his continuance in Oude, but 
 soon after surrendered himself to the British, saying, that he knew^ 
 he must look forward to a confinement of some time, but he pre- 
 ferred their severities to the tender mercies of the minister, who, 
 in spite of his promise, had, he was convinced, already laid snares 
 for him. He is now a prisoner in the castle of Allahabad, but it 
 is generally believed that he has made his peace, and that his con- 
 finement will not be a long one, though his oifences before -w^ere 
 serious enough, and though it would be a strange reason for par- 
 doning him, that he had been about to kill the two children of the 
 prime minister of an allied powder. 
 
 The soil and climate of Rohilcund are very fine ; the former 
 produces every thing which is to be found in Oude, and the com-
 
 ROHILCUND. 429 
 
 modities are reckoned better, because, being under a better system 
 of government and lighter taxes, the peasants bestow more pains 
 on them. Their sugar, rice, and cotton are the most high-priced 
 in India, and I was surprised to see not only the toddy and date- 
 palms, but plantains common, while walnuts, strawberries, grapes, 
 apples, and pears likewise thrive here. 
 
 I drove out after dinner, and thought the country pretty. 
 It has the same fine tall trees with Oude, and the cultivation is 
 decidedly neater, but the ground is not so agreeably undulating as 
 that which I have come over for the last few days. The hot winds 
 are not much felt here, and on the whole it seems one of the most 
 favoured districts betw^een Lahore and Ava. I asked if they ever 
 saw ice formed in the pools ; but I do not think they could posi- 
 tively say they had ; though hoar frost is no unusual occurrence, 
 and ice is obtained without difficulty in shallow trenches, made for 
 the purpose, and filled with water. 
 
 There are five companies of Sepoys at Shahjehanpoor, and 
 several similar detachments scattered up and down the country. 
 They seem, indeed, to have their hands tolerably full of work, and 
 to lead nearly the same lives which soldiers similarly situated do 
 in Ireland. They have, however, not the misery of enforcing 
 revenue laws, and the greater number of cases either arise from civil 
 suits respecting property, the decrees of which it is not the man- 
 ner of the Rohillas to attend to very scrupulously, or from an 
 inveterate habit of " lifting" cows and sheep, which the beggarly 
 Zemindars and idle long-legged " gillies" of one village are always 
 apt to feel a pride in exercising against those of the next. " Take 
 care of that long-tailed horse of yours," was the first caution which 
 I received. " Keep him carefully at night under the sentry's eye, 
 or you will never carry him over the ferry of Anopshehr.'' I, 
 therefore, gave an especial caution to the people about Cabul. 
 The other horse having his tail cut, they are not so likely to 
 meddle with. 
 
 November 11. — From Shahjehanpoor to Tillhier, is seven
 
 430 TILLHIER. 
 
 coss, through a level and extremely well-cultivated country, inter- 
 sected by the river Gurruk, another branch of which we crossed 
 by a ferry. At Tillhier our encampment was in a noble grove of tall 
 trees, with a large tank of clear water adjoining, the whole so like 
 some of Poussin's landscapes, that one might have supposed him 
 to have visited Rohilcund. The tindals, however, in the first 
 instance, had stupidly chosen to pitch my tent where no shade 
 approached, and close by the public track. As the day bid fair to 
 be hot, I insisted on their doing their work over again, and thus 
 gave them a lesson, which, I have reason to think, will make them 
 in future more attentive. 
 
 The people here have a curious idea, which I have never seen 
 any sign of in Bengal, that the shade of the tamarind-tree is un- 
 wholesome to man and beast. It is certain that trees of this 
 description, though useful in so many ways, are seldom planted in 
 those beautiful groves where cofilas usually halt. 
 
 Mr. Neave and Mr. Campbell had the goodness to send some 
 of their suwarrs with me. I did not see the necessity of it, but 
 was told it would secure me attention from the village Thannadars 
 and Tusseeldars. 
 
 In the evening, as usual, I walked about the town and neigh- 
 bourhood, but attracted a considerably greater crowd than I 
 expected, or than was quite convenient, though the people were 
 exceedingly civil, anxious to shew me one curiosity after another, 
 and neither asked, nor, apparently, expected any fees for their 
 trouble as ciceroni. I found a large party of Mussulmans cele- 
 brating the vigil of a saint who lies buried by the further side of 
 the tank I mentioned. They had covered his tomb with a green 
 cloth, had planted a number of green banners round it, and were 
 drumming, after a very dissonant manner, to call the faithful to 
 prayers. The congregation already assembled were, apparently, 
 of the lower class of trades-people. Knowing that such solemnities 
 generally produce an attack on the pockets of any great man who 
 goes near them, and being well conversant with the Mussulman
 
 TILLHIER. 431 
 
 forms of worship, I should not have approached, but I happened to 
 turn on them, round a corner, before I was aware. The imam 
 immediately ran forwards, with some fragments of the sacred tomb 
 in his hand, reciting the " bismillah" as he came along, and 
 pressed me to draw near. I was consequently obliged to put a 
 rupee down on the fragments, and had the honour, in return, of 
 having my name recited in the prayers which followed. 
 
 There is a large but ruinous serai in the centre of the town, 
 some very elegant fragments of the house, which, under the late 
 Patau Dynasty, was occupied by the Jemautdar of the district, and 
 a ruinous old fort, pretty much like that at Suromunuggur, within 
 which the present Tusseeldar has built a small, but very neat, and 
 almost elegant bungalow. Some noble old banyan-trees grow in 
 different parts of the town, and my evening walk was, on the 
 whole, an interesting one. 
 
 A strange receipt was suggested by one of these people for 
 the benefit of CabuFs health, whose beauty attracts general notice, 
 as well as his docility and fondness for me. It was a boiled 
 sheep's head once in fourteen days ! and the object was to make 
 him strong and help his digestion. I asked Abdullah if he had ever 
 heard of such a " messala," or mess, before ? He answered, it was 
 sometimes recommended, and he had tried it himself to his sorrow, 
 since the horse never lived to have the dose repeated. 
 
 The same adviser wanted me to take off a joint of Cabul's 
 tail, under the hair, so as not to injure his appearance. ** It was 
 known," he said, " that by how much the tail was made shorter, 
 so much the taller the horse grew." I said " I could not believe 
 that God gave any animal a limb too much, or one which tended 
 to its disadvantage, and that as He had made my horse, so he 
 should remain." This speech, such as it was, seemed to chime in 
 wonderfully with the feehngs of most of my hearers, and one old 
 man said, that " during all the 22 years that the English had held 
 the country, he had not heard so grave and godly a saying from 
 any of them before." I thought of Sanclio Panza and his wise
 
 432 TILLHIER. 
 
 apothegms, but I regretted that, without doing more harm than 
 good, I could not, with my present knowledge of Hindoostanee, 
 tell them any thing which was really w^orth their hearing. Yet, if 
 my life is spared, I trust the time may come ! — They told me the 
 true name of the village is Camaun ; why the Sahibs called it 
 Tillhier they could not tell. I suspect that several mal-entendus 
 of this kind have occurred in Paton's routes, through the hasty 
 manner in which names are sometimes asked for and set down by 
 young officers on a journey. One of Mr. Neave's suwarrs had a 
 very handsome white horse, a native of Cutch, with the hoUowest 
 back I ever saw, though yet quite young. He said, and Abdullah 
 confirmed it, that all the Cutch horses have this " neshan," or 
 mark, but it does not increase with age. The Cutch horses bear 
 a good price, as being supposed to have Arab blood in them. 
 
 I have several times lately made enquiries about tygers, but 
 both in Oude and in Rohilcund they are evidently rare, and unless 
 a man goes into the woods to look after them, are very seldom 
 seen. Fifteen or sixteen years ago they said a man had been 
 killed by a tyger at Shahjehanpoor, and six or eight years ago, for 
 they were not positive as to the exact time, some cow^s had been 
 carried off by one in this neighbourhood. The Sahibs from 
 Shahjehanpoor, they added, had a hunt and killed the tyger. 
 They call this animal not " bagh," or " bahr,'" but " shehr," which 
 is, strictly speaking, a lion ; but there are no lions in this part of 
 India ; and they explained to me fully, that the " shehr" was, in 
 their acceptation, the same animal which was elsewhere called 
 ''bahr." 
 
 November 12. — From Tillhier to Futty gunge, is a distance of 
 seven short coss, over a level, open, and comparatively naked 
 country, with few villages, and less signs of cultivation, except that 
 its very nakedness is, in these wooded countries, a sign, which I have 
 not seen since I left Lucknow. The road, however, was very good ; 
 we passed a small river by an excellent new bridge, and notwith- 
 standing all which I had heard of the warlike and predatory habits
 
 ROHILLAS. 433 
 
 of the Rohillas, the passengers whom I have met these two last 
 days have been much less universally loaded with offensive and 
 defensive weapons than in Oude, or even in the Dooab. Futteh- 
 gunge is a poor village, surrounded by a ruined mud wall, with 
 two handsome brick gothic gateways. There is a noble mangoe- 
 tope adjoining, covering, I should think, from twenty to thirty 
 acres, under which my tent was pitched, and this time in a very 
 convenient situation. 
 
 Here again the increased neatness and apparent comfort of 
 the cottages over those of Oude, struck me forcibly. Undoubt- 
 edly a regular government, under which a man may eat the fruit 
 of his labour, and display his little comforts without fear of their 
 being taken from him, is an inestimable blessing. But it must be 
 observed that I was not struck by any material difference between 
 the villages of Oude and those which I had passed in my way 
 between Allahabad and Cawnpoor, so that other causes, besides a 
 difference of regime, may be supposed to operate in favour of the 
 Rohillas. They have, indeed, the character of a cleanly and in- 
 dustrious people, and their land, before its conquest and transfer 
 to Oude, is said to have been a perfect garden. From that time 
 it grew worse and worse, till on its cession to us by Saadut Ali, it 
 was a frightful scene of desolation and anarchy. Its subsequent 
 recovery has been rapid, but is not yet complete. 
 
 Within these two days I have noticed some fields of tobacco, 
 which I do not think is a common crop in the districts through 
 which I have hitherto marched. The Hindoostanee name is 
 " tumbuccoo," evidently derived, as well as the plant itself, 
 through the Europeans, from America. How strange it is that 
 this worthless drug should have so rapidly become popular all 
 over the world, and among people who are generally supposed to 
 be most disinclined from the adoption of foreign customs ! 
 
 The Daroga of Futtehgunge called on me in the course of 
 the morning, a fine looking man with a full black beard, and a 
 complexion very little darker than a southern European. He 
 
 3 K
 
 434 HAFEZ REHMUT KHAN. 
 
 brought a present of two large geese, and was better dressed than 
 most public functionaries of a corresponding rank in India. I 
 asked him to sit down, which greatly pleased him. He told me 
 that Futtehgunge, which means the Mart of Victory, was founded 
 by the Nawab Suja ud Dowla, in memory of the great battle in 
 which the last Patan Chief, Hafez Rehmut Khan, was slain, and 
 which was fought between this place and Cuttrah in the year 
 1776, a little to the southward. This unfortunate man was an 
 excellent sovereign, and the country under his government, not- 
 A\ithstanding the anarchy which had preceded it, was highly cul- 
 tivated. He has been described as a noble old warrior with a 
 long grey beard, who led his cavalry on in a brilliant style against 
 the allied armies. When his nobles, at the head of their respec- 
 tive clans, either treacherous or timid, gave way, he remained 
 almost alone on a rising ground, in the heat of the fire, conspi- 
 cuous by his splendid dress and beautiful horse, waving his hand, 
 and vainly endeavouring to bring back his army to another charge, 
 till seeing that all was lost, he waved his hand once more, gave a 
 shout and gallopped on the Enghsh bayonets. He fell, shot 
 through and through, and the brutal Suja ud Dowla apphed for his 
 body, that it might be cut in pieces, and his grey head carried 
 on a pike through the country. The English general, however, 
 had it wrapped in shawls and sent with due honour to his relations. 
 Still a sad stain seems to rest on the English name for the part 
 they took in this business, and this with the murder of Nundemar, 
 and the treatment which the Raja of Benares met with, are the 
 worst acts of Mr. Hastings's administration. 
 
 The noble mangoe-tope was planted by the Jemautdar whom 
 Hafez Rehmut established here, and is about 36 years old. These 
 trees begin to decay in about 60 or 70 years, and seldom last much 
 more than 100. 
 
 The Daroga was followed by the Tusseeldar, a man of not so 
 splendid an appearance, but one whom I saw, by the bustle my 
 servants made to receive him, was a person of some importance.
 
 ROHILLA NOBLE. 435 
 
 I found, in fact, in the course of such conversation as I was able to 
 carry on with him, that he was of an illustrious family, which in 
 ancient times had been sovereigns of the greater part of Rohilcund, 
 but had been displaced by the family of Hafez Rehmut. He was 
 also, in comparison with the people of the eastern provinces, a fair 
 man. His address was good and gentlemanly, but he had little to 
 say except what related to the greatness of his ancestors, who had, 
 he said, reigned at Rampoor. He told me one curious fact, how- 
 ever, that the wheat now cultivated in Rohilcund, was propagated 
 from seed brought from England since the conquest, by ]\Ir. 
 Hawkins. The English at Shahjehanpoor had not mentioned this 
 circumstance, though they spoke highly of the excellence of the 
 bread made in this district. It answers, indeed, the beau ideal of 
 Anglo-Indian bread, being excessively white, utterly tasteless, and 
 as light as a powder-puff ; when toasted and eaten dry with tea it 
 is tolerably good, but I would as soon bestow butter on an empty 
 honey-comb, which it marvellously resembles in dryness, brittleness, 
 and apparent absence of all nourishing qualities. It is lamentable to 
 see fine wheat so perversely turned into mere hair-powder. The 
 native bread is nothing but baked dough, but I like it the best of 
 the two. The Tusseeldar brought as a present three very fine 
 lambs, which, my own dinner being already provided for, I sent to 
 the sepoys and to the other folks of the camp. I meant to have sent 
 them all to the sepoys, but I was assured that two would be sufficient 
 for them, so far does a very little meat go with Hindoos, and when 
 well mixed up in currie ; it is to be owned, however, that a consider- 
 able number of the sepoys were likely to scruple eating meat. 
 
 During the last week we have almost every day fallen in with 
 large parties of pilgrims, going to, or returning from, the Ganges, 
 as well as considerable numbers of men bringing water from 
 Hurdwar. The greatest proportion of the pilgrims are women, 
 who sing in a very pleasing, cheerful manner, in passing near a 
 village, or any large assembly of people. Once, as they passed my 
 tents, their slender figures, long white garments, water-pots, and 
 
 3 k2
 
 436 NATIVE DYNASTIES. 
 
 minstrelsy, combined with the noble laurel-like shade of the mangoe- 
 trees, reminded me forcibly of the scene so well represented in 
 Milman's Martyr of Antioch, where the damsels are going to the 
 wood in the cool of the day, singing their hymns to Apollo. The 
 male pilgrims, and those who carry water, call out, in a deep tone, 
 " Mahadeo B61 ! B61 ! B61 !" in which I observed my Hindoo 
 servants and bearers never failed to join them. 
 
 My new acquaintance, the Tusseeldar, called again in the 
 evening to ask if he could do any thing more for me, and to say 
 he w^ould see me again at the next station. I had in the mean- 
 time, happened to find his pedigree and family history in Hamil- 
 ton's Gazetteer, and pleased him much, I believe, by asking him 
 which of the six sons of Ali Mohammed Khan he was descended 
 from ? He said, " Nawab Ali Khan ;" and added, that his own 
 name was Mahommed Kasin Ali Khan. The father and founder 
 of this family, Ali Mohammed Khan, was a peasant boy, saved from 
 a burning village, about the year 1720, by Daood Khan, an Afghan, 
 or Patau freebooter, who came into this country about that time, 
 and after a long course of robbery and rebellion, at length became 
 its sovereign. He adopted the foundling to the prejudice of his 
 own children, and, on his decease, Ali Mohammed succeeded to 
 the throne, and held it to his death. His six sons, as usual in such 
 cases, quarrelled and fought. Nawab Ali Khan, the fourth, was 
 for some time the most successful ; but all were at length over- 
 thrown by another chieftain, said to be of better family, Rehmut 
 Khan. He, in his turn, was killed in battle by the English and 
 men of Oude ; and thus ended the sovereignty of Rohilcund. Of 
 such strange materials were those dynasties chiefly composed, on 
 whose ruins the British empire has been erected, and so easily did 
 " the sabre's adventurous law" make and mar monarchs in the 
 olden times of Hindostan ! 
 
 A miserable little sickly man, wrapped in a ragged blanket, 
 asked charity, saying, he was going with his wife and two children 
 the pilgrimage to Mecca ! What a journey for such a person ! I
 
 JOURNEY TO FURREEDPOOR. 437 
 
 advised him to return home, and serve God in his own land, 
 adding, that He was every where, and might be worshipped in 
 India as well as by the side of a black stone in Hejaz. He smiled 
 in a melancholy way, as if he were partly of the same opinion, 
 but said he had a vow. At home, indeed, he perhaps, to judge 
 from his appearance, left nothing but beggary. I do not think 
 that this pilgrimage is very popular with the Indian Mussulmans. 
 This is only the fourth person whom I have met with who appeared 
 to have made it, or to be engaged in it ; and yet the title of Hajee, 
 which such persons assume, would, apparently, point them out 
 to notice. 
 
 November 13. — From Futtehgunge to Furreedpoor is seven 
 coss, through a country equally well cultivated, and rather prettier, 
 as being more woody, than that which I saw yesterday. Still, 
 however, it is as flat as a carpet. The road is very good, and here 
 I will allow a gig might travel well, and be a convenience, but it 
 would have made a poor figure in the plashy country on the other 
 side of Lucknow, and have not been very serviceable in any part 
 of the King of Oude's territories. We encamped in a smaller 
 grove of mangoe-trees than the four or five last had been, but the 
 trees themselves were very noble. The chief cultivation round 
 us was cotton. The morning was positively cold, and the whole 
 scene, with the exercise of the march, the picturesque groupes of 
 men and animals round me, — the bracing air, the singing of birds, 
 the light mist hanging on the trees, and the glistening dew, had 
 something at once so Oriental and so English, I have seldom 
 found any thing better adapted to raise a man's animal spirits, and 
 put him in good temper with himself and all the world. How I 
 wish those I love were with me ! How much my wife would enjoy 
 this sort of life, — its exercise, its cleanliness, and purity ; its con- 
 stant occupation, and at the same time its comparative freedom from 
 form, care, and vexation ! At the same time a man who is curious 
 in his eating, had better not come here. Lamb and kid, (and we 
 get no other flesh,) most people would soon tire of. The only
 
 438 JOURNEY TO BAREILLY. 
 
 fowls which are attainable are as tough and lean as can be desired ; 
 and the milk and butter are generally seasoned with the never- 
 failing condiments of Hindostan, smoke and soot. The milk would 
 be very good if the people would only milk the cow into one of 
 our vessels instead of their own ; but this they generally refuse to 
 do, and refuse with much greater pertinacity than those who live 
 near the river. These, however, are matters to which it is not 
 difficult to become reconciled, and all the more serious points of 
 warmth, shade, cleanliness, air, and water, are at this season no 
 where enjoyed better than in the spacious and well-contrived tents, 
 the ample means of transport, the fine climate, and fertile regions 
 of Northern Hindostan. Another time, by God's blessing, I will 
 not be alone in this Eden ; yet I confess there are very few people 
 whom I greatly wish to have as associates in such a journey. It is 
 only a wife, or a friend so intimate as to be quite another self, 
 whom one is really anxious to be with one while travelling through 
 a new country. 
 
 The Tusseeldar called again this afternoon, and brought three 
 more lambs or goats, I am not sure which, for both are called 
 "buckra" here. I, however, thought it too bad to take the firstlings 
 of his flock in this unmerciful manner, and declined them as civilly 
 as I could, giving him at the same time a certificate of my satisfac- 
 tion with his attentions, with my great seal appended, — a distinc- 
 tion of which I have discovered the value in native eyes, and mean 
 only to give it to gentlefolks. He took his leave with a profusion 
 of compliments, having got a " neknamee," or character, and kept 
 his mutton. 
 
 The evening was beautiful, and I walked round the village, 
 which, however, had nothing in it worth seeing. 
 
 November 14. — From Furreedpoor to Bareilly is a distance of 
 eight short coss, not much more than twelve miles, but to the 
 cantonment, in the neighbourhood of which my tent was pitched, 
 it is a mile and a half less. Mr. Hawkins, the senior judge of 
 circuit, had offered the use of a large room in a house of his in the
 
 BAREILLY. 439 
 
 immediate neighbourhood of my encampment, for divine service, 
 and I had the pleasure of finding a numerous congregation of the 
 civil and military officers, with their families, as well as a good 
 many Christians of humbler rank, chiefly musicians attached to the 
 regiments stationed here, with their wives. I had, I think, six- 
 teen communicants. 
 
 Bareilly is a poor niinous to^vn, in a pleasant and well- 
 wooded, but still a very flat country. I am told, that when the 
 weather is clear (it is now hazy) the Himalaya mountains are 
 seen very distinctly, and form a noble termination to the landscape. 
 Nothing, however, of the kind is now to be seen, though the dis- 
 tance is barely sixty miles. The nights and mornings are become, 
 really, very cold, and in my tent I find a blanket, a quilt, and ray 
 large cloak, no more than enough to keep me comfortable. 
 
 November 15. — I breakfasted and dined to-day at General Van- 
 renen's, and met a very large family party. They are extremely hos- 
 pitable, kind-mannered and simple-hearted people, and the General 
 has seen more of different parts of India than most men whom I have 
 met. After breakfast I had a number of children brought to be bap- 
 tized, three couples to be married, and one young woman, a native, 
 but engaged to be married to an English soldier, who was a can- 
 didate for baptism. She spoke English a little, though imper- 
 fectly, and to my surprise was not much better acquainted with 
 Hindoostanee, being a native of Madras. Her intended husband, 
 however, a very respectable young man, had evidently taken much 
 pains to instruct her in her new belief. She repeated the sub- 
 stance of the Lord's Prayer and Creed very well in Enghsh, and 
 afterwards explained, in answer to my questions, the different 
 clauses intelligibly in Hindoostanee. In Telinga, her husband 
 assured me, she was very perfect in both. I explained to her 
 myself, as far as our means of communication went, and got him to 
 explain to her more fully, the obligations which she was to take on 
 herself in baptism and marriage. For the former she seemed very 
 anxious, and to judge from her extreme seriousness during the
 
 440 ROHILCUND. 
 
 ceremony, and the trembling earnestness with which, both in 
 Enffhsh and Hindoostanee, she made the promises, I trust it was 
 not performed in vain. This day I baptized and married her. 
 Her name was Cudjee, but her husband wished that she should 
 now be called Susan. These ceremonies all took place at 
 General Vanrenen's house, he having good-naturedly appointed 
 the people to meet me there, as being more roomy than my tent, 
 and more centrically situated with reference to those who were 
 likely to attend. 
 
 I heard, in the course of conversation, many interesting parti- 
 culars respecting the province of Rohilcund. Mr. Hawkins has 
 been here many years, and holds to all intents and purposes the 
 situation of civil governor : he has been in India forty-two years, 
 during which time he has never returned home, and is evidently 
 an extremely useful man in his present situation. I have not for a 
 long time met with any one so interesting ; how I wish she for 
 whom I write this may one day see him ! The account which he* 
 gives of the Rohillas is not very flattering. They are a clever and 
 animated race of people, but devoid of principle, false, and fero- 
 cious. Crimes are very numerous, both of fraud and violence, and 
 perjury almost universal. When he first came here the English 
 were excessively disliked, and very few would so much as salam to 
 either General or Magistrate; at present they are brought into 
 better order, and, probably, better reconciled to a government, 
 under which their condition, so far as tranquillity and the impartial 
 administration of justice extend, has been greatly improved, and 
 their land, from a mere desert, to which the tyranny of Oude 
 had reduced it, restored to its former state of cultivation and 
 richness. But the country is burdened with a crowd of lazy, 
 profligate, self-called suwarrs, who, though many of them are 
 not worth a rupee, conceive it derogatory to their gentility and 
 Patau blood to apply themselves to any honest industry, and obtain 
 for the most part a precarious livelihood by spunging on the 
 industrious tradesmen and farmers, on whom they levy a sort of
 
 BAREILIX 441 
 
 " black-mail/' or as hangers-on to the few noble and weakhy 
 famihes yet remaining in the province. Of these men, who liave 
 no visible means of maintenance at all, and no visible occupation 
 except that of lounging up and down with their swords and shields 
 like the ancient Highlanders, whom in many respects they much 
 resemble, the number is rated at, perhaps, taking all Rohilcund 
 together, not fewer than 100,000 ; all these men have every thing 
 to gain by a change of Government, and both Mr. Hawkins and 
 General Vanrenen said they hardly knew what it was that kept 
 them down, considering the extremely inadequate force at present 
 in these provinces. Twice, indeed, since the English have been in 
 possession, their tenure of the country has appeared exceedingly 
 precarious ; and once when Jeswunt Row Holcar advanced to the 
 fords of the Ganges, the whole European population of Bareilly 
 were compelled to take refuge within the walls of the jails, which 
 they were prepared to defend to the last extremity. 
 
 The natural remedy for this state of things would be to find a 
 vent for a part of this superabundant population, by raising fencible 
 regiments, who, as they are really faithful to those whose salt they 
 eat, would sufficiently keep their countrymen in order, and mate- 
 rially relieve the regular troops in some of their most unpleasant 
 duties. They should be cavalry, on something like the footing 
 of our yeomanry corps ; they should be commanded by the 
 Judges and Magistrates, with the aid of an Adjutant and Major 
 from the regular army; and should be officered, so far as Cap- 
 tains and Lieutenants, by the most respectable of the native 
 gentry. Such a measure I am the more convinced, the more I see 
 of upper India, would very greatly contribute to the efficiency of 
 the police, and the popularity and permanency of the Company's 
 Government. 
 
 A strong impression has lately prevailed in all these provinces, 
 arising I cannot learn how, that the English were preparing to 
 evacuate the country. The people, with whom Mr. Shore has 
 had to deal, have pleaded this to justify their rebellion, or, at least, 
 
 3 L
 
 442 BAREILLY. 
 
 to account for their temerity \ Every movement of troops and 
 officers towards tlie east has been regarded as a part of the same 
 system of abandonment and abdication ; and it is even thought that 
 my travelUng, with a certain degree of official splendour, in an 
 opposite direction, as it has attracted considerable notice and 
 curiosity among the inhabitants of these distant regions, has had 
 the effect of giving them more favourable thoughts of the security 
 and permanency of the British Government. 
 
 November 16. — I breakfasted and passed the day with Mr. 
 Hawkins at what he calls his country-house, — a large and hand- 
 some building very prettily situated, with a farm of 400 acres 
 round it, little less neat and English-looking than if it had been in 
 Norfolk. His trees are very fine, but the whole view is flat, though 
 here again I was told I ought to see the mountains. In our return 
 to Bareilly, I saw some interesting animals : a fine covey of wild 
 peacocks arose at some little distance ; a mungoose or ichneumon 
 crossed the track, and at Mr. Hawkins's door w^e found a 
 beautiful and rare animal of the deer kind, w^hich had just been 
 sent him as a present from the hills. It is now about the size of a 
 large fallows-deer, with upright horns, not palmated, but is still 
 young, and is expected to grow so tall and stout as to bear a saddle. 
 It is of a brown colour, mixed with grey and black, and its hair 
 very thick, and as coarse and strong as hogs' bristles. Mr. Hawkins 
 said he thought it would turn the edge of a sw^ord. It is a 
 gentle and tame creature, eating from and licking the hands of 
 
 ^ The following circumstance is here alluded to. A strong body of free-booters having 
 committed various devastations in the neighbourhood of Saharunpoor, a detachment under the 
 command of Captain Young was sent against them, which was accompanied by the honourable 
 F. J. Shore, who held a civil employment in that district, with his suwarrs. The banditti fled 
 into the fort of Koonga, a place of considerable strength, which could only be entered by breach- 
 ing ; at the suggestion of Mr. Shore a tree was formed into a battering ram, and directed against 
 the gate, he himself manning the foremost rope. When the breach was sufficiently opened, 
 Captain Young, Mr. Shore, and another officer entered, followed by their men. The contest 
 was severe from the superiority of the enemy's force, but decisive. Mr. Shore was opposed to 
 several single combatants, and received two sabre wounds in the breast. — Ed.
 
 BAREILLY. 443 
 
 any one who caresses it. It is called goonh, and is considered a 
 great rarity in the plains, though among the mountains it is not 
 uncommon, and sometimes used to carry the children of great men. 
 It seems to be as yet unknown to European naturalists, at least I 
 never heard the name, nor saw any drawing like it ; were the horns 
 palmated it would most resemble the elk. 
 
 I had been for some time in much doubt as to the expediency, 
 after the many delays which I had experienced in my journey, of 
 proceeding to Almorah, but what I heard during these few days at 
 Bareilly determined me in the affirmative. Though an important 
 station, it has never been visited by any Clergyman ; and I was 
 very anxious not only to give a Sunday to its secluded flock, but 
 to ascertain what facilities existed for obtaining for them the occa- 
 sional visits, at least, of a minister of religion, and for eventually 
 spreading the Gospel among these mountaineers, and beyond them 
 into Thibet and Tartary. The former of these objects I have 
 good hopes of being able to accomplish ; a residence in these cold 
 and bracing regions may, in many cases, do as much good to 
 Chaplains and Missionaries, exhausted by the heat of the plains, 
 as a voyage to Europe would do ; and good men may be well em- 
 ployed here, who are unequal to exertion in other parts of our 
 eastern empire. To the second there are many obstacles, not 
 likely, as yet, to be overcome; and in encountering which con- 
 siderable prudence and moderation will be necessary. But there 
 are facilities and encouragements also, which I did not expect 
 to find ; and if God spare me life and opportimities, I yet hope 
 to see Christianity revived, through this channel, in countries 
 where, under a corrupted form indeed, it is said to have once 
 flourished widely through the labours of the Nestorians^ My 
 opinion as to the advantage which might arise from such a visit, 
 w^as fully confirmed ; and I found reason to believe that late 
 
 '' The Nestorians are a sect of ancient Christians, who take their name from Nestorius, 
 Bishop of Constantinople, who lived in the fifth century, and whose doctrines were spread with 
 much zeal through Syria, Egypt, Persia, India, Tartary, and China. — Ed. 
 
 3 L 2
 
 444 PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY INTO KEMAOON. 
 
 as the season was, and much as I have to do, the present is 
 Hkely to be the best, if not the only opportunity for such an 
 excursion. 
 
 The whole skirt and margin of the mountains are surrounded 
 by a thick forest of nearly two days' journey, with a marshy soil 
 and an atmosphere, during two-thirds of the year, more pesti- 
 lential than the Sunderbunds, or the grotto Dei Cani ; a literal 
 " belt of death," which even the natives tremble to go near, and 
 which, during the rains more particularly, the monkeys themselves 
 are said to abandon. After the middle of November this is dry, 
 practicable, and safe ; so that the very delays which have thrown 
 my arrival in Rohilcund so late, have given me an opportunity 
 which I may, under the usual circumstances of my visitation, 
 never have again, of penetrating into Kemaoon. Above all, every 
 body tells me that, except in a case of real necessity, a journey into 
 the Himalaya should never be undertaken by women and children : 
 that camels, elephants, tents, and palanqueens, nay, even horses, 
 such as are usually ridden in the plains, must be left behind at 
 Bamoury Ghat, and that nothing but mules, mountain-poneys, 
 the " yak," or Thibet cow, and active unencumbered foot-pas- 
 sengers, can make their way along the tracks and beside the 
 precipices which are to be traversed. This, if true, destroys 
 much of the hope which has already reconciled me to leaving 
 many interesting spots unvisited, that I might see them at some 
 future opportunity with my wife and children ; and though I have 
 little doubt that these difficulties are greatly exaggerated, still 
 it is plain that without a previous reconnoitring, I could never 
 take them such a journey, in defiance of such assurances. For 
 the present excursion. Captain Satchwell, the acting Commissary 
 General of the district, promised me the use of some mules, 
 which Government was sending up to Kemaoon for the public 
 service there. Mr. Boulderson, the Collector, offered me the 
 loan of an able and experienced poney; and I received a letter 
 from Mr. Traill, the Commissioner for the affairs of the hill
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY INTO KEMAOON. 445 
 
 countries, offering me every assistance in the last four mountain 
 stages. Under these circumstances, I made up my mind not to 
 miss the opportunity, and arranged to send off my tents, &c. on 
 Wednesday evening, being the earliest moment at which my neces- 
 sary arrangements could be completed. 
 
 November 17. — This day was chiefly taken up in packing. 
 My plan was to take my whole caravan to Bamoury at the first 
 rise of the hills, where the air is good, and supplies are plentifiil, 
 and leave them encamped there till my return. Accordingly I 
 sent off in the evening the greater part of my escort, servants, 
 and animals, retaining only ten sepoys, some bearers, my horse, 
 and the suwarree elephant with his mohout and coolie.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 BAREILLY TO ALMOUAH. 
 
 First distant Vieio of the Himalaya Mountains — Sheesgur — Visit from Raja and Sons — 
 Account of Terrai — "Essence of Owl" — Wretchedness of Inhabitants — Kulleanpoor — 
 Tyger Hunt — Ruderpoor — Case of Malaria Fever — Burning the Jungle — Tandah — 
 Bamourij — Beemthdl — Water-Mill — Khasya Nation — Ramghur — Sikh — Mount Meru — 
 Pilgrim to Bhddrinath. 
 
 NovE^iBER 18. — I went this morning from Mr. Hawkins's house to 
 a village named Shahee, about sixteen miles, over a country like all 
 which I had yet seen in Rohilcund, level, well cultivated, and 
 studded with groves, but offering nothing either curious or in- 
 teresting, except the industry with which all the rivers and brooks 
 were dammed up for the purpose of irrigation, and conducted 
 through the numberless little channels and squares of land which 
 form one of the most striking peculiarities of Indian agriculture. 
 The country is almost entirely planted with wheat, with a few 
 fields of Indian corn, and the pulse called dal. I looked out 
 vainly all the morning for the mountains, which, at the distance of 
 fifty miles, for the nearest range is no further, ought certainly now 
 to be within sight. All I saw, however, was a heavy line of black 
 clouds, in the direction in which I knew them to be ; and when this 
 gradually melted before the rising sun, it was succeeded by a grey 
 autumnal haze, through which nothing was distinguishable. 
 
 At Shahee I found Mr. Boulderson, the collector of the dis- 
 trict, encamped, in the discharge of his annual duty of surveying 
 the country, inspecting and forwarding the work of irrigation, and
 
 FOREST. 447 
 
 settling with the Zemindars for their taxes. His tent, or rather his 
 estabhshment of tents, was extremely large and handsome. That 
 in which he himself lived was as spacious as those which were first 
 sent me from Cawnpoor, with glass doors, a stove, and a canvass 
 enclosure at one end, which, in Calcutta, would have passed for a 
 small compound. He had a similar enclosure at some little 
 distance, adjoining his servants' tent, for cooking ; and, on the 
 w^hole, my tent, a regulation field-officer's, and my whole establish- 
 ment, which I had till now thought very considerable for a single 
 man, looked poor and paltry in comparison. For such a journey 
 as mine, however, I certainly would not exchange with him ; and 
 the truth is, that to persons in his situation, who have no occasion 
 to go far from home, or to make long marches, these luxuries are 
 less cumbersome than they would be to me ; while, on the other 
 hand, they pass so much of their time in the fields, that a large 
 and comfortable tent is to the full as necessary for them as a 
 bungalow. Mr. Boulderson had good-naturedly waited two days 
 at Shahee to give me time to overtake him, and now offered to 
 accompany me to the foot of the hills at least, if not the first stage 
 amongst them. In the passage of the forest, with which he is 
 well acquainted, he says he expects to be of service to me. He 
 strongly recommends our pushing on through the forest in a single 
 march. The distance, he allows, is too great, being 26 miles ; but 
 he regards it as a less evil to ourselves, our attendants, and 
 animals, than remaining a day and night at Tandah, the intermediate 
 station, a spot which at no season of the year can be considered as 
 quite safe, either from fever or tygers. Against the former of these 
 dangers I had been furnished with a set of instructions by Mr. 
 Knight, the station surgeon of Bareilly. Natives, Mr. Knight 
 thinks, are more liable to the complaint, and recover from it with 
 greater difficulty, than Europeans, who are, in the first instance, 
 better protected against the damp and unwholesome air, and whose 
 full habit of living, and the high temperature of their health, make 
 the work of depletion with them at once more easy and more
 
 448 WILD BEASTS. 
 
 effectual, than with men whose pulse is always feeble, and who 
 sink at once into despondency on the attack of a disease which 
 they know to be dangerous. 
 
 As to tygers, though we may possibly hear their roars, and 
 see traces of their feet, it is not often that they venture near the 
 fires of an encampment, or the formidable multitude of men 
 which such an encampment as mine presents to them. Still, if a 
 tyger shews himself, it will, in all probability, be at Tandah ; and 
 though I should not dislike to see the animal in its natural state, 
 I am bound, for the sake of my half-naked and careless followers, 
 and my numerous train of animals, still more than my own, not 
 to hnger twelve hours in a spot of so bad reputation. In the day 
 time, at this season, and by those who merely pass along the beaten 
 track, neither fevers nor tygers are usually to be apprehended. 
 The latter, indeed, on any approaching bustle, keep themselves, at 
 those hours, so close in cover, that those who seek them find it 
 difficult enough to start them. Mr. Boulderson is a keen sports- 
 man, and told me several interesting facts respecting the wild 
 animals of this neighbourhood. The lion, which was long sup- 
 posed to be unknown in India, is now ascertained to exist in con- 
 siderable numbers in the districts of Saharunpoor and Loodianah. 
 Lions have likewise been killed on this side the Ganges in the 
 northern parts of Rohilcund, in the neighbourhood of Moradabad 
 and Rampoor, as large, it is said, as the average of those in the 
 neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope. Both lions, where 
 they are found, and tygers, are very troublesome to the people of 
 the villages near the forest, who having no elephants, have no very 
 effectual means of attacking them with safety. The peasantry 
 here, however, are not a people to allow themselves to be devoured 
 without resistance, like the Bengalese ; and it often happens that, 
 when a tyger has established himself near a village, the whole 
 population turn out, with their matchlocks, swords, and shields, 
 to attack him. Fighting on foot, and compelled to drive him from 
 his covert by entering and beating the jungle, one or two generally
 
 HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 449 
 
 lose their lives, but the tyger seldom escapes ; and Mr. Boulderson 
 has seen some skins of animals of this description, which bore the 
 strongest marks of having been fought with, if the expression may 
 be used, hand to hand ; and were in fact slashed all over with cuts 
 of the " tulwar," or short scymitar. A reward of four rupees for 
 every tyger's head brought in, is given by Government ; and if the 
 villagers of any district report that a tyger or lion is in their neigh- 
 bourhood, there are seldom wanting sportsmen among the civil or 
 military officers, who hear the news with pleasure, and make haste 
 to rid them of the nuisance. A good shot, on an elephant, seldom 
 fails, with perfect safety to himself, to destroy as many of these 
 terrible animals as he falls in with. 
 
 In the afternoon Mr. Boulderson took me a drive in his 
 buggy. This is a vehicle in which all Anglo-Indians delight, and 
 certainly its hood is a great advantage, by enabling them to pay 
 visits, and even to travel, under a far hotter sun than would other- 
 wise be endurable. The country, however, in this neighbourhood, 
 and every where except in the immediate vicinity of the principal 
 stations, is strangely unfavourable for such vehicles. Our drive 
 was over ploughed fields, and soon terminated by a small, but, to 
 us, impassable, ravine. We had, however, a first view of the range 
 of the Himalaya, indistinctly seen through the haze, but not so 
 indistinctly as to conceal the general form of the mountains. The 
 nearer hills are blue, and in outline and tints resemble pretty 
 closely, at this distance, those which close in the vale of Clwyd. 
 Above these rose, what might, in the present unfavourable atmos- 
 phere, have been taken for clouds, had not their seat been so 
 stationary and their outline so harsh and pyramidical, the patriarchs 
 of the continent, perhaps the surviving ruins of a former world, 
 white and glistening as alabaster, and even at this distance of, 
 probably, 150 miles, towering above the nearer and secondary 
 range, as much as these last, (though said to be 7600 feet high,) 
 are above the plain on which we were standing. I felt intense 
 delight and awe in looking on them, but the pleasure lasted not 
 
 3 M
 
 450 HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 
 
 many minutes, the clouds closed in again, as on the fairy castle of 
 St. John, and left us but the former grey cold horizon, girding in 
 the green plain of Rohilcund, and broken only by scattered tufts 
 of peepul and mangoe-trees. 
 
 November 19. — This morning we went seven coss to Sheeshghur, 
 over a worse cultivated country than the last day's stage, and one 
 which had, evidently, suffered much from want of rain. The heavy 
 and happy fall which had given plenty to Oude and the Dooab 
 did not extend here, and except in a few places, where irrigation 
 had been used, the rice and Indian corn had generally failed, and 
 the wheat and barley were looking very ill. Where there are 
 rivers or streams, irrigation is practised industriously and success- 
 fully, but there are few wells, and they do not seem, as in the 
 Dooab and Oude, to draw water from them by oxen for their fields. 
 The rain wliich falls is, in most seasons, said to be sufficient. 
 
 On leaving our encampment we forded the river Bhagool, and 
 afterwards, once or twice, fell in, during our march, with its 
 windings. At last, soon after the sun rose, and just as we had 
 reached a small rising ground, the mist rolled away and shewed 
 us again the Himalaya, distinct and dark, with the glorious icy 
 mountains, towering in a clear blue sky, above the nearer range. 
 There were four of these, the names of three of which Mr. Boul- 
 derson knew, Bhadrinath, Kedar Nath, and the peak above the 
 source of the Ganges, the Meru of Hindoo fable. The fourth, to 
 the extreme right, he did not know, and I could not find it in 
 Arrowsmith's map. Bhadrinath, he told me, is reckoned the 
 highest. From hence, however, it is not the most conspicuous of 
 the four. That we saw the snowy peaks at all, considering their 
 distance, and that mountains twice as high as Snowdon intervened, 
 is wonderful. I need hardly say that I wished for my wife to share 
 the sight with me. But I thought of Tandah and the Terrai, and 
 felt, on recollection, that I should have probably been in consi- 
 derable uneasiness, if she and the children had been to pass the 
 intervening inhospitable country.
 
 HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 451 
 
 Sheeshghur is a poor village, on a trifling elevation which is 
 conspicuous in this level country. It has a ruinous fort on its sum- 
 mit, and altogether, with the great surrounding flat and the blue 
 hills behind it, put me in mind of some views of Rhydlan. The 
 Clwydian chain, indeed, is not crowned by such noble pinnacles as 
 Bhadrinath and Gangotree, but I could not help feeling now, and 
 I felt it still more when I began to attempt to commit the pros- 
 pect to paper, that the awe and wonder which I experienced were 
 of a very complex character, and greatly detached from the sim})le 
 act of vision. The eye is, by itself, and without some objects to 
 form a comparison, unable to judge of such heights at such a dis- 
 tance. Carneth Llewellyn and Snowdon, at certain times in the 
 year, make, really, as good a picture as the mountains now before 
 me, and the reason that I am so much more impressed with the 
 present view, is partly the mysterious idea of aweful and inaccessi- 
 ble remoteness attached to the Indian Caucasus, the centre of 
 earth, 
 
 " Its Altar, and its Cradle, and its Throne ;" 
 
 and still more the knowledge derived from books, that the objects 
 now before me are really among the greatest earthly works of the 
 Almighty Creator's hands, — the highest spots below the moon — 
 and out-topping, by many hundred feet, the summits of Cotopasi 
 and Chimborazo. 
 
 I had two sets of visitors to-day, the first were a set of Natch- 
 women, accompanied by a man, who beat a small drum, and a 
 naked boy, who seemed the son of the elder of the three females. 
 The whole party were of the " cunja," or gipsey caste, with all its 
 most striking peculiarities. The women would have been good- 
 looking, had not their noses been distorted, and their ears 
 lengthened by the weighty ornaments suspended from them. 
 Their arms, legs, and necks were loaded with rings and chains, 
 and their dress was as tawdrily fine as their poverty would admit 
 of. The man and boy were in all respects but clothing, the same 
 
 3 M 2
 
 152 VISIT OF A RAJA. 
 
 description of animal which might steal a hen or open a gate for a 
 traveller in the neighbourhood of Norwood. I gave them a trifle 
 but declined seeing their performance. The second set of visitors 
 were an old Raja and three sons and a grandson, who were intro- 
 duced by Mr. Boulderson. Their ancestors had possessed a con- 
 siderable territory, but the Patan wars had lowered them down to 
 simple, and far from wealthy, landowners, whose main dcpendance 
 is, at present, on a pension of 4,000 s. rupees a year, allowed them by 
 the Company. The Raja was a homely, cheerful old man with a 
 white beard and unusually fair complexion ; and excepting the few 
 swords and shields in his train, neither he nor his sons had much 
 which differed from the English idea of respectable yeomen. 
 Their visit was not long : I gave them, at taking leave, lavender- 
 water by way of pawn and attar; and the old Raja (on account of 
 the supposed sanctity of my character, in which I heartily wish I 
 more accorded with their ideas of me) desired me to lay my hand 
 on his back and that of his sons, and bless them. His business 
 with Mr. Boulderson chiefly respected an embankment which he 
 wished to make on the neighbouring small river Kullee, in order 
 to throw the water over many acres of land, some of which we had 
 crossed, which were now altogether dependant on rain, and some- 
 times, as in the present year, unproductive. The embankment 
 had been commenced, but was opposed by the Nawab of Rampoor, 
 a descendant of Ali Mohammed Khan already mentioned, and 
 who still holds a very productive jaghire, as large as an English 
 county, extending from the neighbourhood of Moradabad almost 
 to the foot of these mountains. He maintained that the proposed 
 work would drown some of his villages. We went in the afternoon 
 to see the place ; and I endeavoured, by the help of a very rude 
 extempore levelling instrument, made of the elephant-ladder, four 
 bamboos, and a weighted string, to ascertain the real course which 
 the water would take, and how high the dam might be raised 
 without danger of mischief. My apparatus, rude as it was, was 
 viewed with much wonder and reverence by these simple people ;
 
 MALARIA. 453 
 
 and as I kept on the safe side, I hope I did some good, or, at least, 
 no harm by my advice to them. The ryuts of the Nawab, indeed, 
 as well as the Raja and his sons, professed themselves perfectly 
 satisfied with the line proposed. 
 
 Mr. Boulderson said he was sorry to learn from the Raja that 
 he did not consider the unhealthy season of the Terrai as yet 
 quite over. He, therefore, proposed that we should make a long 
 march of above twenty miles the following day to Ruderpoor, in 
 order to be as short a time in the dangerous country as possible. 
 I was, for several reasons, of a different opinion. My people and 
 sepoys had already had two long marches through very bad and 
 fatiguing roads. That to Ruderpoor was described as worse than 
 any which we had yet seen. As Ruderpoor is reckoned only a 
 shade less dangerous than Tandah, to halt there on the Sunday 
 would be impossible, and we should have on that day also a march 
 of tw^enty-five miles through the forest to Bamoury. Besides my 
 reluctance to subject the men to so great fatigue on such a day, I 
 had always understood that lassitude was among the most ])owerful 
 predisposing causes to fever, and I could not think, without un- 
 easiness, of any of them being tired out and lagging behind in so 
 horrible a country. The direct w ay to Ruderpoor lay through the 
 Nawab's territory, and Manpoor, the intervening station, was by no 
 means a desirable one, either from its air or the mutinous character 
 of its inhabitants. A little to the right, however, was a village 
 named KuUeanpoor, within the Company's border, and at least not 
 more unwholesome than its neighbours. The distance was eight 
 or nine short coss, which would do nobody any harm. There 
 would remain a stage of six or seven miles to Ruderpoor on 
 Sunday, which might be done without any nightly travelling, and 
 leave both men and cattle fresh next morning for our long march 
 to the mountains. For Europeans there was in either place little 
 risk ; our warm clothing, warm tents, elevated bedsteads, musquito 
 nets, (a known preservative against malaria) and our port wine, 
 would probably be sufficient safeguards, but for the poor fellows
 
 454 FORESTS. 
 
 who sleep on the ground, and are as careless of themselves as chil- 
 dren, it behoved me to take thought, and I\Ir. Boulderson, for the 
 reasons which I have mentioned, agreed -with me in the opinion 
 that KuUeanpoor should be our next stage. 
 
 I asked i\lr. Boulderson if it were true that the monkeys 
 forsook these woods during the unwholesome months. He 
 answered that not the monkeys only, but every thing which had 
 the breath of life instinctively deserts them, from the beginning 
 of April to October. The tygers go up to the hills, the ante- 
 lopes and wild hogs make incursions into the cultivated plain ; 
 and those persons, such as dak-bearers, or military officers, who 
 are obhged to traverse the forest in the intervening months, agree 
 that not so much as a bird can be heard or seen in the frightful 
 solitude. Yet during the time of the heaviest rains, while the 
 water falls in torrents, and the cloudy sky tends to prevent evapo- 
 ration from the ground, the forest may be passed with tolerable 
 safety. It is in the extreme heat, and immediately after the rains 
 have ceased, in May, the latter end of August, and the early part 
 of September, that it is most deadly. In October the animals 
 return ; by the latter end of that month the wood-cutters and the 
 cowmen again venture, though cautiously. From the middle of 
 November to March, troops pass and repass, and with common 
 precaution no risk is usually apprehended. 
 
 November 20. — The way to KuUeanpoor turned out exceed- 
 ingly bad, rugged, and intersected by nullahs and " gools," or canals 
 for the purpose of irrigation, so that our baggage, though sent off at 
 five in the evening of the 19th, did not arrive till five the next morn- 
 ing, and both camel-drivers and sepoys complained a good deal. It 
 turned out, however, that they had been themselves partly to blame, 
 in not, according to my directions, taking a guide, and consequently 
 losing their way. The country is by no means ill-cultivated 
 thus far, but as we approach the forest it gradually grows marshy 
 and unwholesome, and the whole horizon, at some little distance, 
 was wrapped in a thick white mist which Mr. Boulderson called
 
 MOUNTAINS. 455 
 
 " Essence of Owl," the native name for the malaria fever. The 
 villages which we passed were singularly wretched, though there 
 is no want of materials for building, and the rate of land is very 
 low. It seems, however, as if the annual ague and fever took away 
 all energy from the inhabitants, and prevented their adopting 
 those simple means of dry and w ell-raised dwellings, and sufficient 
 clothing, which would go far to secure their health and life. 
 They are a very ugly and miserable race of human beings, with 
 large heads and particularly prominent ears, flat noses, tumid 
 beUies, slender limbs, and sallow complexions, and have scarcely 
 any garments but a blanket of black wool. Most of them have 
 matchlocks, swords, and shields, however; and Mr. Boulderson 
 pointed out two villages near which we passed, which had last 
 year a deadly feud, ending in a sort of pitched battle, in which 
 nine men were killed, and several wounded. It was necessary to 
 dispatch a corps of sepoys to the spot to settle the quarrel, by 
 bringing a few of the ringleaders on both sides to justice. So 
 expert are men, even when most wretched, in finding out ways 
 and means of mutually increasing their misery ! 
 
 The only satisfaction to be derived from a journey through 
 such a country, is to look steadily at the mountains beyond it, 
 which increase as we advance in apparent magnitude and beauty. 
 The snowy peaks, indeed, are less and less distinguishable ; but 
 the nearer range rises into a dignity and grandeur which I by no 
 means was prepared for, and is now clearly seen to be itself 
 divided into several successive ridges, with all the wildest and 
 most romantic forms of ravine, forest, crag, and precipice. They 
 are now perceptibly and obviously, even to the eye, the highest 
 mountains I ever saw sufficiently near to judge of them. There 
 may be some peaks of the Norwegian Alps, such as Dovre and 
 Fille Fiel, and there are, as is, I believe, ascertained, some points 
 of Caucasus which considerably surpass them, and take a middle 
 place between them and the Giants in their rear, but the general 
 chain of Norwegian hills, so far as I can recollect, does not equal
 
 456 SECOND CHAIN OF THE HIMALAYA. 
 
 these now before me ; and the white peaks of Caucasus I saw only 
 from a great distance. Notwithstanding the height, however, of 
 this secondary chain of the Himalaya, I could see no snow on it, 
 but iVIr. Boulderson assured me that in a few wrecks more it would 
 be pretty plentifully powdered, and the probability was that even 
 now^ I should have some showers of snow in my passage. On the 
 northern side of the hills he had known snow lie till the latter end 
 of May, when nothing could be more strange and sudden than the 
 change in the feelings of a traveller descending from those regions 
 to the hot winds and fiery furnace of the plains. 
 
 At the foot of the lowest hills a long black level line extends, 
 so black and level that it might seem to have been drawn with ink 
 and a ruler. This is the forest from w^hich we are still removed 
 several coss, though the country already begins to partake of its 
 insalubrity. It is remarkable that this insalubrity is said to have 
 greatly increased in the last fifteen years. Before that time Ru- 
 derpoor, where now^ the soldiers and servants of the police Thanna 
 die oflP so fast that they can scarcely keep up the establishment, 
 was a large and wealthy place, inhabited all the year through 
 without danger or disease. Nay, Tandah itself, ten years back, 
 was the favourite and safe resort of sportsmen from Bareilly and 
 Moradabad, who often pitched their tents there, without injury, 
 for ten days together. The forest was, in fact, under a gradual 
 process of reclaimer ; the cow^men and w oodmen were pushing 
 their incursions farther every year, and the plain where we were 
 now travelling, though always liable to fever and ague, was as 
 populous and habitable as many other parts of India where no 
 complaints are heard. The unfavourable change is imputed by the 
 natives themselves to depopulation ; and they are no doubt philoso- 
 phically right, since there seems to be a preservative in the habita- 
 tion, cultivation, nay, perhaps in the fires, the breath, and society 
 of men, which neutralizes malaria, even in countries naturally most 
 subject to it. The instance of Rome and its adjacent territory is 
 exactly a similar one, and I recollect being told that in proportion
 
 MALARIA. 457 
 
 to the number of empty houses in a street, the malaria always 
 raged in it. The depopulation of these countries arose from the 
 invasion of Meer Khan, in 1805. He then laid waste all these 
 Pergunnahs, and the population, once so checked, has never 
 recovered itself. There was, indeed, in former times, a cause which 
 no longer exists, which tended materially to keep up the stock of 
 inhabitants in the Terrai, inasmuch as, from the nature and circum- 
 stances of their country, they were free from many of the oppressions 
 to which the other peasants of Rohilcund were liable, paying very 
 light taxes, and living almost as they pleased under the patriarchal 
 government of their own Rajas. Their taxes are still light 
 enough, but the hand of the law is, under the present government, 
 felt here as in other parts of the province ; and as the inhabitants 
 of the more wholesome district have fewer motives than formerly 
 to fly from their homes to these marshes, so the inhabitants of the 
 marshes themselves have less powerful reasons for clinging to their 
 uncomfortable birth-place, and the tide of emigration is turned 
 into a contrary direction. 
 
 Kulleanpoor, (the town of granaries,) is a very wretched place, 
 but stands on an apparently dry and open plain, with one or two 
 clumps of fruit-trees, where, certainly, I should not have sus- 
 pected any thing amiss in the air. At this time of the year 
 there probably is nothing unwholesome ; and all the year round, 
 the people of the place said, both its air and water bore a better 
 character than most of its neighbours. Many of them, however, 
 looked very sickly, and the Thannadar, who came to pay his 
 compliments, was yellow as gold, with his nails as blue as if he 
 had been poisoned, and shaking pitifully in the cold fit of the 
 country fever, which had, he said, hung on him for some months 
 back. Here indeed, as in other aguish countries, the disease often 
 kills very slowly, and many persons have a regular attack every 
 May, which leaves them wretchedly weak in November, and from 
 the effects of which they have just time to recover before the fatal 
 month comes round again. With others, however, it is far less 
 
 3 N
 
 458 MALARIA. 
 
 ceremonious, and assumes, from the beginning, a typhus form 
 which seldom leaves the patient many days in suspense. Mr. 
 Boulderson has had it twice ; the second time he was left by it in 
 so bad a state of health as to make it necessary for him to go to 
 the Cape. By his account it is precisely an intermittent fever, but 
 of the worst kind, resembling, in most of its symptoms, that of 
 Walcheren and the Sunderbunds, and arising from nearly the 
 same circumstances of soil and climate which may be supposed to 
 produce the latter. 
 
 The natives have a singular notion that it is not the air but 
 the water of these countries which produces ^' Owl." The water is 
 certainly not clear or well-tasted, either at Sheeshghur or Kullean- 
 poor, and Mr. Boulderson has brought a stock of Bareilly water 
 for our own drinking. I cannot, however, see any thing about it 
 which is likely to do so much mischief, and the notion is an unfor- 
 tunate one, inasmuch as it leads them to neglect all precautions 
 against the other and more formidable causes of disease. I have 
 tents sufficient to shelter all the people who accompany me, and I 
 had offered, at Sheeshghur, if the sepoys found themselves crowded, 
 to receive the Soubahdar and some of the non-commissioned 
 officers, at night under my own tent. Yet it was with great diffi- 
 culty that I could persuade either them or the camel-drivers to 
 forsake their favourite system of sleeping with their heads wrapped 
 up, but with the greater part of their clothes off, in the open air, 
 round their fires. They were exceedingly unwilling to pitch their 
 tents at all, saying, it did not signify, that the fog did no harm, and 
 the water was the cause of all the mischief. In fact there was 
 good reason to hope, from what we learned in Kulleanpoor, that 
 the mischief was over for the present year, and that our old Raja 
 of yesterday had been indulging in the very usual amusement of 
 making matters as bad as possible. 
 
 I had to day, again, a princely visitor, in the Raja Gourman 
 Singh, another of these border chieftains, whose father, " Lall 
 Singh," (Red Lion,) had been sovereign of all Kemaoon, till he
 
 LALL SINGH. 459 
 
 was driven by the Gorkhas to take shelter within the Company's 
 border. Government gave him a jaghire of eight villages in the 
 Terrai, and his son holds a Zemindarree of twelve or thirteen more. 
 On the conquest of Kemaoon by the British arms, they had hoped 
 to be reinstated, but the conquerers found it convenient, according 
 to our usual policy in the East, to act as much as possible on the 
 principle of maintaining things as they found them. And their 
 cousin, the Raja whom the Gorkhas had set up, was confirmed in 
 the same dependant sovereignty which he held under them. 
 Gourman Singh's claim to the throne is, however, disputed, and 
 with apparent justice, by another cousin, the son of his father's 
 elder brother, who has a house near Ruderpoor. The existence of 
 this person, then a child, was unknown, when the appointments 
 and jaghire of old Lall Singh were continued to his son, and he 
 remained in great poverty till two or three years ago, when a 
 pension was given him also. Indeed, Gourman's title of Singh is 
 a proof that he was of the second house, the elder, or royal branch, 
 having the title of Chund. Lall Singh was, however, a great 
 favourite with all the Enghsh in these parts. Mr. Hawkins and Mr. 
 Boulderson both spoke of him as one of the finest old men whom 
 they had seen, with considerable talent, an uncommon degree of 
 dignity in his air and countenance, and one of the most heavenly 
 tempers that can be conceived. Though by no means deficient in 
 firmness, he was never known to utter an angry word, or to punish 
 any of his dependants till a day and night had intervened to give 
 time for reflection. With narrow means he was splendidly 
 charitable to the poor ; and, in fact, as good and holy a man, (a 
 male Alia Bhaee,) as his very imperfect religion would enable him 
 to become. He was regarded as a saint both by Hindoos and 
 Mussulmans, and a message from him would have brought together 
 all the population of the border, from the Ganges to the Lohoo 
 Ghat, to lay down their lives in any cause which he might favour. 
 He behaved with admirable fidelity to the English on all occasions, 
 but he was almost ruined by Meer Khan's irruption. It was, 
 
 3 N 2
 
 460 TYGER HUNT. 
 
 however, partly made up to him by a pension, to himself and his 
 son, of 10,000 rupees, and the latter is considered as wealthy. 
 
 The young Raja had been described to me as a fine animated 
 man, with whom I should be much pleased, but I saw him under 
 unfavourable circumstances. He had had the same fever with the 
 rest of the world, was looking very yellow, and, as Mr. Boulderson 
 said, unusually silent and out of spirits. His manners and appear- 
 ance were, how^ever, gentlemanly, and his shew of attendants far 
 greater than that of the poor Raja of Sheeshghur. He expressed 
 his intention of meeting us again at Bamoury, at the foot of his 
 own hills, and wanted Mr. Boulderson to accompany him from 
 thence to a village which, though actually on the verge of the 
 forest, he recommended as more healthy and better adapted for a 
 civil and military station, than Ruderpoor. Ruderpoor is, indeed, 
 his property, and Mr. Boulderson observed, that he was evidently 
 very anxious to remove the Thanna to some distance. The 
 young man said that people in this country liked to live without 
 trouble or interference ; that the police were now continually 
 requiring their attendance either as witnesses or arbitrators ; that 
 they sometimes got subpoenas as far as to Bareilly ; that, in short, 
 when the attorney was added to the ague, the place became in- 
 supportable, and that unless his tenants were left to themselves, 
 they would all desert their homes. 
 
 He mentioned, in the course of conversation, that there was 
 a tyger in an adjoining tope, which had done a good deal of mis- 
 chief, that he should have gone after it himself had he not been ill, 
 and had he not thought that it w^ould be a fine diversion for Mr. 
 Boulderson and me. I told him I was no sportsman, but Mr. 
 Boulderson's eyes sparkled at the name of tyger, and he expressed 
 great anxiety to beat up his quarters in the afternoon. Under such 
 circumstances, I did not like to deprive him of his sport, as he 
 would not leave me by myself, and went, though with no intention 
 of being more than a spectator. Mr. Boulderson, however, advised 
 me to load my pistols for the sake of defence, and lent me a very
 
 TYGER HUNT. 461 
 
 fine double-barrelled gun for the same purpose. We set out a 
 little after three on our elephants, with a servant behind each 
 howdah carrying a large chatta, which, however, was almost needless. 
 The Raja, in spite of his fever, made his appearance too, saying 
 that he could not bear to be left behind. A number of people, 
 on foot and horseback, attended from our own camp and the 
 neighbouring villages, and the same sort of interest and delight 
 was evidently excited which might be produced in England by a 
 great coursing party. The Raja was on a little female elephant, 
 hardly bigger than the Durham ox, and almost as shaggy as a 
 poodle. She was a native of the neighbouring wood, where they 
 are generally, though not always, of a smaller size than those of 
 Bengal and Chittagong. He sat in a low howdah, with two or 
 three guns ranged beside him, ready for action. Mr. Boulderson 
 had also a formidable apparatus of musquets and fowling-pieces, 
 projecting over his mohout's head. We rode about two miles, 
 across a plain covered with long jungly grass, which very much put 
 me in mind of the country near the Cuban. Quails and wild fowl 
 rose in great numbers, and beautiful antelopes were seen scudding 
 away in all directions. With them our party had no quarrel ; their 
 flesh is good for little, and they are in general favourites both with 
 native and English sportsmen, who feel disinclined to meddle with 
 a creature so graceful and so harmless. 
 
 At last we came to a deeper and more marshy ground, which 
 lay a little before the tope pointed out to us; and while Mr. 
 Boulderson was doubting whether we should pass through it, or 
 skirt it, some country people came running to say that the tyger 
 had been tracked there that morning. We therefore went in, 
 keeping line as if we had been beating for a hare, through grass so 
 high that it reached up to the howdah of my elephant, though a 
 tall one, and almost hid the Raja entirely, ^^^e had not gone far 
 before a very large animal of the deer kind sprung up just before 
 me, larger than a stag, of a dusky brown colour, with spreading, 
 but not palmated horns. Mr. Boulderson said it was a " mohr," a
 
 462 TYGER HUNT. 
 
 species of elk ; that this was a young one, but that they some- 
 times grew to an immense size, so that he had stood upright 
 between the tips of their horns. He could have shot it, but did 
 not like to fire at present, and said it was, after all, a pity to 
 meddle with such harmless animals. The mohr accordingly ran 
 off unmolested, rising with splendid bounds up to the very top of 
 the high jungle, so that his whole body and limbs were seen from 
 time to time above it. A little further, another rose, which Mr. 
 Boulderson said was the female ; of her I had but an imperfect 
 view. The sight of these curious animals had already, however, 
 well repaid my coming out, and from the animation and eagerness 
 of every body round me, the anxiety with which my companions 
 looked for every waving of the jungle-grass, and the continued 
 calling and shouting of the horse and foot behind us, it was impos- 
 sible not to catch the contagion of interest and enterprize. 
 
 At last the elephants all drew up their trunks into the air, 
 began to roar, and to stamp violently with their fore feet, the 
 Raja's little elephant turned short round, and in spite of all her 
 niohout could say or do, took up her post, to the Raja's great 
 annoyance, close in the rear of Mr. Boulderson. The other three 
 (for one of my baggage elephants had come out too, the mohout, 
 though unarmed, not caring to miss the show,) went on slowly but 
 boldly, with their tnmks raised, their ears expanded, and their 
 sagacious little eyes bent intently forward. " We are close upon 
 him,"' said Mr. Boulderson, " fire where you see the long grass 
 shake, if he rises before you." — Just at that moment my elephant 
 stamped again violently. " There, there," cried the mohout, " I 
 saw his head !" A short roar, or rather loud growl, followed, and 
 I saw immediately before my elephant's head the motion of some 
 large animal stealing away through the grass. I fired as directed, 
 and, a moment after, seeing the motion still more plainly, fired the 
 second barrel. Another short growl followed, the motion was 
 immediately quickened, and was soon lost in the more distant 
 jungle. Mr. Boulderson said, " I should not wonder if you hit
 
 TYGER HUNT. 463 
 
 him that last time ; at any rate we shall drive him out of the cover, 
 and then I will take care of him." In fact, at that moment, the 
 crowd of horse and foot spectators at the jungle side began to run 
 off in all directions. We went on to the place, but found it was a 
 false alarm, and, in fact, we had seen all we were to see of him, and 
 went twice more through the jungle in vain. A large extent of 
 high grass stretched out in one direction, and this we had now not 
 sufficient day-light to explore. In fact, that the animal so near me 
 was a tyger at all, I have no evidence but its growl, Mr. Boulderson's 
 belief, the assertion of the mohout, and what is perhaps more 
 valuable than all the rest, the alarm expressed by the elephants. 
 I could not help feeling some apprehension that my firing had 
 robbed Mr. Boulderson of his shot, but he assured me that I 
 was quite in rule ; that in such sport no courtesies could be 
 observed, and that the animal in fact rose before me, but that he 
 should himself have fired without scruple if he had seen the 
 rustle of the grass in time. Thus ended my first, and probably 
 my last essay, in the " field-sports" of India, in which I am much 
 mistaken, notwithstanding what Mr. Boulderson said, if I harmed 
 any living creature. 
 
 I asked Mr. Boulderson, in our return, whether tyger hunting 
 was generally of this kind, which I could not help comparing to 
 that chace of bubbles which enables us in England to pursue an 
 otter. In a jungle, he answered, it must always be pretty nuich 
 the same, inasmuch as, except under very peculiar circumstances, 
 or when a tyger felt himself severely wounded, and was roused to 
 revenge by despair, his aim was to remain concealed, and to make 
 off as quietly as possible. It was after he had broken cover, or 
 when he found himself in a situation so as to be fairly at bay that 
 the serious part of the sport began, in which case he attacked 
 his enemies boldly, and always died fighting. He added tliat tlie 
 lion, though not so large or swift an animal as the tyger, was 
 generally stronger and more courageous. Those which have been 
 killed in India, instead of running away when pursued through a
 
 464 MARCH TO RUDERPOOR. 
 
 jungle, seldom seem to think its cover necessary at all. When 
 they see their enemies approaching, they spring out to meet them, 
 open-mouthed, in the plain, Hke the boldest of all animals, a mas- 
 tiff dog. They are thus generally shot with very little trouble, 
 but if they are missed or only shghtly wounded, they are truly 
 formidable enemies. Though not swift, they leap with vast 
 strength and violence, and their large heads, immense paws, and 
 the great weight of their body forwards, often enable them to 
 spring on the head of the largest elephants, and fairly pull them 
 down to the ground, riders and all. When a tyger springs on an 
 elephant, the latter is generally able to shake him off under his 
 feet, and then woe be to him ! The elephant either kneels on him 
 and crushes him at once, or gives him a kick which breaks half his 
 ribs, and sends him flying perhaps 20 paces. The elephants, how- 
 ever, are often dreadfully torn, and a large old tyger sometimes 
 clings too fast to be thus dealt with. In this case it often happens 
 that the elephant himself falls, from pain or from the hope of 
 rolling on his enemy, and the people on his back are in very con- 
 siderable danger both from friends and foes, for Mr. Boulderson 
 said the scratch of a tyger was sometimes venomous, as that of a 
 cat is said to be. But this did not often happen, and in general 
 persons wounded by his teeth or claws, if not killed outright, 
 recovered easily enough. 
 
 November 21. — Our road to-day was, though intersected 
 by two or three water courses, rather less rugged than the 
 day before. The country, however, is dismal enough, leaving 
 every where the marks of having been cultivated at no distant 
 period, but now almost all overgrown with a rank vegetation of a 
 dusky, poisonous-looking plant, something like nightshade, and 
 tall jungle-grass, often considerably higher than the head of 
 a man on horseback, through which we pushed our way like Gul- 
 liver in the Patagonian corn-field. At last we emerged on a some- 
 what higher and drier ground, where were some of the largest 
 peepul-trees I ever saw, but still offering a wild and dismal shade
 
 RUDERPOOR. '165 
 
 choked up below with the vile underwood which I have men- 
 tioned, and a narrow and boggy path winding through it. On the 
 other side w'e found ourselves among ill-cultivated rice-fields, 
 beyond which was a magnificent range of mangoe-topes, and some 
 tombs and temples peeping out from among them. On my ex- 
 pressing some surprise to see these appearances of wealth and 
 splendour at Ruderpoor, Mr. Boulderson observed that I should 
 soon change my opinion. 
 
 • We found, in fact, on drawing nearer, all the usual marks of a 
 diminished and sickly population, a pestilential climate, and an over- 
 luxuriant soil. The tombs and temples were all ruins, the houses 
 of the present inhabitants, some two or three score of wretched 
 huts, such as even the gypseys of the open country would hardly 
 shelter in ; the people sate huddled together at their doors, 
 wrapped in their black blankets, and cowering round little fires, 
 with pale faces and emaciated limbs, while the groves which 
 looked so beautiful at a distance, instead of offering, as mangoe- 
 topes do in well-peopled and cultivated spots, a fine open shade 
 with a dry turf and fresh breeze beneath it, were all choked up 
 with jungle and nightshade Mke the peepul-trees we had lately 
 passed amongst. Mr. Boulderson said that every time he had been 
 here before, he had found tygers in these topes, and that he would 
 have now sent an elephant or two through the bushes by way of 
 precaution, had he not known from the testimony of the Raja 
 Gourman Singh, that there was no other in the neighbourhood but 
 that which we had pursued the day before, and which was four or 
 five miles off. 
 
 With all this Ruderpoor is a very striking and, in many 
 respects, a beautiful spot. The soil is evidently of an exuberant 
 richness. The grass far overtopped the miserable houses; the 
 few slovenly fields of wheat and " badgerow," a kind of maize, 
 were uncommonly strong, flourishing, and luxuriant. The plan- 
 tains in the gardens were the tallest and broadest I had ever seen, 
 and the castor-oil plant, the prickly pear, and the aloe, formed 
 
 3 o
 
 466 RUDERPOOR. 
 
 thickets of impenetrable solidity. A bright and rippling stream, 
 which I should never have suspected of yielding unwholesome 
 water, ran round the village ; and our tents were pitched on a grassy 
 lawn, eaten down by cattle, and therefore not troublesomely high, 
 under the shade of some enormous old mangoe-trees, and command- 
 ing a very advantageous view of the mountains, of which, however, 
 the nearer ranges were now all which were visible. Here again 
 we found the village magistrate ill of fever and ague, too ill 
 indeed to come out to meet us. The second in authority, who 
 brought his apology and nuzzur, said, however, that no new fevers 
 were likely to be contracted now, the cold season having set in, 
 and the people having begun to go out to burn the jungles. After 
 breakfast I read prayers with Mr. Boulderson and Abdullah ; and 
 when the day grew warm the head man of the village ventured 
 out to call on me, and beg for some medicine. He was a decent- 
 looking man, very neatly and cleanly dressed, but looking grievously 
 ill, and I felt very sorry that I had so little skill to help him. His 
 fever had been on him some time, and he had hot and cold fits 
 every alternate day, but both increased at each return in violence 
 and duration. I made him sit down, which he was very unwilling 
 to do, though quite unfit to stand, and he told me his case very 
 clearly and intelligently. His hot fit was then on him, his pulse 
 high, and his tongue white, with a Httle mixture of yellow. No 
 safiron could be yellower than his skin. I would have given him 
 an emetic but was afraid, and judged beside that his complaint had 
 been too long on him to receive benefit from it. I therefore 
 gave him some calomel pills, bidding him take two as soon as he 
 got home, and one or two every day the fever returned, giving him, 
 for the intermitting days, a bottle of decoction of gentian, having 
 scarcely any bark by me. Nothing could be more grateful than 
 he seemed ; and I am sure that, if faith in a remedy is likely to 
 contribute to its efficacy, that requisite at least was not wanting in 
 him. Mr. Boulderson afterwards told me that gentian was an 
 usual and valuable medicine in the malaria fever.
 
 ROUTE TO BAMOURY. 467 
 
 We walked about a little in the afternoon, and finished our 
 day with evening prayers. 
 
 November 22. — The march between Ruderpoor and Bamoury 
 is not one which can with propriety be made by night, and we 
 therefore kept our tents and people quiet till four o'clock in the 
 morning, when they all, as I then supposed, set off in admirable 
 military order, with advanced and rear guard, and main body, the 
 venerable soubahdar on his little poney in the centre. Mr. 
 Boulderson could not conveniently march so soon, and, on my tent 
 being pulled down, I went to one of his, which he meant to leave 
 at Ruderpoor to await his return, and read and wrote till he was 
 ready for breakfast at half-past seven ; at eight we ourselves started 
 on our elephants, and under the shade of chattahs which protected 
 us quite sufficiently from the sun. In fact, on an elephant's back 
 a traveller is so well raised above the reflected heat of the plain, 
 and gets so much of whatever breeze is stirring, that, at this time 
 of the year and in these latitudes, I should care little for the sun 
 even at the hottest time of the day. 
 
 Our road lay along an elevated causeway across an open 
 marshy plain, with many marks of former cultivation, but all now 
 neglected except as pasture. Just as we were setting out the 
 Raja Gourman Singh joined us on his Httle elephant, with a small 
 train of suwarrs and peons armed with matchlocks, and bringing 
 with him a brace of florikens, which he had shot the previous day. 
 I had never seen the bird before ; it is something larger than a 
 black-cock, with brown and black plumage, and evidently of the 
 bustard species. We thus went on about five miles, when to my 
 great vexation, I found the mules, which I supposed were half- 
 way to Bamoury, grazing by the road side, and the muleteers 
 sitting huddled up in their blankets ; I found that, out of pure 
 laziness and not liking to set off so soon as four o'clock, these 
 people, who were encamped a little separate from the rest, had 
 eluded Abdullah's vigilance, and had not set off with the cofila ; 
 that one of the mules had broken his girth at the spot where I 
 
 3 o 2
 
 468 BAMOURY. 
 
 found them, and that, on the pretence that they were unable to 
 mend it, they had thus stopped short, in about as bad a place as 
 they could have selected. My mohout undertook to mend the 
 girth, which operation indeed was only that of tying a fresh knot 
 on a piece of rope, and I scolded them on as well as I could, in 
 which the mohout joined me, asking them if they meant to remain 
 all night in the forest. They evidently heartily disliked the 
 journey on w^hich they were going, and one of their original num- 
 ber had deserted two nights before. I had, however, no dis- 
 posable attendants to leave to force them on, and I did not 
 think that they would either venture to desert their mules in the 
 forest, or remain there all night themselves, and trusted to their 
 fear of tygers as a sufficient motive for their following me as closely 
 as possible. They again dropped behind, however, before we 
 reached Tandah, and only two out of four men, and seven out of 
 twelve mules made their appearance at night at Bamoury. 
 
 About six miles from Ruderpoor the plain became wdlder and 
 more forest-like. The grass on either side of the road was almost 
 as high as my elephant, with beautiful white silky tufts. A great 
 many scraggy trees were scattered on either side, whose branches 
 and trunks shewed the marks of the yearly conflagration with 
 which the cowmen prepare the pasture for their cattle. The 
 jungle in this place was still too green to burn ; but we saw some 
 smoke rising in different places before us, and Mr. Boulderson 
 observed that it was fortunate that the fires were apparently all on 
 the leeward side of the road. The last time he passed the forest, 
 he and his brother had been in considerable danger from the 
 flames, and were obliged to put their elephants to a full gallop, 
 and cross a deep and difficult nullah to avoid them. The process, 
 however, full as much as the cool season, by admitting a free 
 current of air between the trees, contributes to make the forest 
 healthy, and when the young grass has sprung up, and the 
 scorched trees have recovered their leaves, many beautiful glades, 
 ]\ir» Boulderson said, open on both sides, and the ride is both pic-
 
 TANDAH. 469 
 
 turesque and pleasant. x\s it was, I own, I saw nothing appalling 
 or menacing in the " valley of death." The grass was high and the 
 jungle thick, so thick that it was sometimes with difficulty that, 
 even on the raised causeway, we could force our way through it ; 
 but there was nothing of that dark, dank, deadly-looking vegetation 
 which we had seen at Ruderpoor; and the majestic trees which 
 from time to time towered over the underwood, the songs of the 
 birds, and the noble hills to which we were approaching, made 
 me think I had passed very many days in India more unpleasantly. 
 
 Tandah is a small place, from which the woods are cleared, 
 now quite overgrown with long grass, with a little brook winding 
 close to the road, and a hut for a police establishment, which 
 I know not why, but at a great expense of human life, is kept 
 up here. This is the only place where water is to be found, 
 till travellers are close on Bamoury. Half-way between the two, 
 Government some years since endeavoured to sink a well. They 
 expended a good deal of money, and a sad number of lives, both 
 of natives and superintendants, and after all, found no water; 
 though if the workmen had had the wit to dig a small channel for 
 the water from the hills, the object might have been answered 
 cheaply and effectually. As it is, it is something strange that the 
 high-road to Almorah has been made, at a great expense, to run 
 this way at all. It is, indeed, some little shorter than either of the 
 other two, by Lohoo Ghat and Chilkeah, and the way over the 
 hills is shorter and more easy. But then Chilkeah is free, in com- 
 parison, from malaria ; and the belt of forest so narrow in that 
 direction, that a safe communication might be secured at all times 
 of the year. For this and other reasons I made up my mind to 
 return from Almorah that way. 
 
 At Tandah Mr. Boulderson had posted his gig, with a fresli 
 horse, further on, about half-way through the forest. I accom- 
 panied him, and found the road better than I expected, though 
 we had several delays from broken bridges, thick jungle, &c. 
 and were often obhged to walk some little distance. The day
 
 470 INHABITANTS OF KEMAOON. 
 
 was cloudy and the breeze cool, so that we did not in the 
 least suffer from the heat ; but it was curious to see how care- 
 fully my companion on such occasions kept his gun, loaded 
 with ball, in his hand. This caution was particularly observable 
 soon after a jackall had crossed our path. The jackall, INIr. 
 Boulderson observed, is certainly not, as is said, the provider for 
 large animals, who want no assistance in finding and killing their 
 game. But wherever a tyger is, the jackall and the vultures 
 usually follow him, and pick the bones which the lordly savage 
 leaves behind. They do not, however, venture to do this till he 
 has fairly left the place ; and if hunters or travellers find the carcase 
 of a bullock or deer with the vultures and jackalls feeding, they 
 know that the tyrant has withdrawn : while if the smaller animals 
 are looking round and round, as if desiring, yet afraid to draw- 
 near, they prepare themselves immediately for flight, or to encoun- 
 ter a formidable enemy. We, however, saw nothing of the kind, 
 but had a peaceable and pleasant journey till we came to a tract 
 where the fires had already been active, where little huts and herds 
 of diminutive cattle were seen peeping out under the trees, and we 
 overtook the rear-guard of our caravan, who told us we were near 
 Bamoury. 
 
 The population which we saw were Khasya, or inhabitants 
 of Kemaoon, who yearly come down, after the unwholesome time 
 is over, to graze their cattle and cultivate the best and driest spots 
 of the forest with barley and wheat, which they reap and carry 
 back with them before April is far advanced, when they return to 
 reap the similar, but somewhat later crops, which they had sown 
 before they left their own country. At the same time they obtain 
 an opportunity of disposing of their honey and other commodities 
 of the hills, and buying different little luxuries with which the 
 plains only, and the more civilized parts of Hindostan can supply 
 them. Many of them were close by the way-side, very dark and 
 meagre people, but strongly and neatly made, and not so diminu- 
 tive as the inhabitants of such mountains generally are. They
 
 INHABITANTS OF KEMAOON. 471 
 
 were all wrapped up in the long black blankets of their marshland 
 neighbours, but very few of them had arms. Mr. Boulderson said 
 they merely carried them against tygers, for there was scarcely a 
 more peaceable or honest race in the world. 
 
 We now passed a rapid and gravelly brook of beautiful water, 
 overhung by shady trees, with Khasya tents all round it, by 
 which the main body of our caravan had halted to repose and 
 drink. We pushed on, however, and soon began to rise up 
 a gentle ascent, into the gorge of a delightful valley, with 
 woody mountains on either side, and a considerable river run- 
 ning through it, dashing over a rocky bottom with great noise and 
 violence. 
 
 A little above this beautiful stream some miserable pucka 
 sheds pointed out the Company's warehouses and police establish- 
 ment ; and a sentry in a green uniform, who presented arms as we 
 came up, and a daroga who could hardly speak Hindoostanee, 
 shewed us that we were already in a new land, and within the 
 limits of the Himalaya. There is a very small and uncomfortable 
 room adjoining the warehouse, which is usually occupied by tra- 
 vellers. Here we took shelter, till our tents were pitched, and 
 the view was so beautiful as they rose, one after the other, 
 in the green but stony meadow beneath, that I was some time 
 in recollecting that I had many things to do ; and that no time 
 was to be lost in preparing for a journey under very different 
 circumstances from those in which I had yet travelled. I found 
 two chuprassees with letters from Mr. Traill and ]\Ir. Adam at 
 Almorah ; the former saying that he had sent down his own poney 
 for my use, together with 21 coolies from Almorah, being con- 
 vinced that I should want nearly that number for the conveyance 
 of my own baggage and that of my people. He added that two 
 new hill-tents, which he had ordered for himself, were now on 
 their road upwards, and that he had halted them at Bamoury in 
 the idea that they might be serviceable to me. 
 
 Mr. Adam spoke of his own bad health which had obliged
 
 472 PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY TO ALMORAH. 
 
 him to remove from Almorah to Havelbagh ; and said that though 
 he could not be present to receive me, I should find his house at 
 the former place ready. While I was reading these letters, the 
 daroga returned with a pretty little boy, his son ; they brought 
 two plates of beautiful pomegranates and lemons, with a pot of 
 honey and another of milk, as a present. For the three first of 
 these the lower range of mountains is celebrated. The fourth is, 
 as we afterwards found, a scarce article in this country, and there- 
 fore proportionably valued. I received them with thanks, as 
 indeed they were all very acceptable, and took an opportunity, 
 shortly after, of giving the little boy a rupee, as a civiller method 
 of making a return, than giving it immediately to the father. To 
 my surprise, the child blushed exceedingly, and said he was 
 ashamed to take it, and that the things w^ere not worth so much. 
 This was very unlike a young Bengalee ; however, on my telling 
 him it was not as payment, but out of good-will, and for him to 
 buy " metai,^' sweetmeats, with, his countenance brightened up, 
 he pressed it to his forehead and packed it up carefully in the 
 folds of his girdle. He spoke Hindoostanee hesitatingly, and like 
 a foreign language, but I understood him very well. On going 
 down to the tents I got packed up the things which I was most 
 likely to want for my journey, in the bullock-trunks and the square 
 petarrahs, to be carried by three mules ; another mule was required 
 for the kitchen-furniture, and three more were necessary, that the 
 servants whom I took with me might ride in turns. Our seven 
 mules, the remaining five not being heard of, were thus accounted 
 for. My bed was found not too heavy for six of the hill-coolies, 
 (bearers from the plain being ascertained to be nearly useless). 
 One man carried my writing-desk ; another two chairs and the 
 physic chest ; two had each a basket of provisions and crockery ; 
 two carried a leaf of the folding-table ; six the baggage of the 
 sepoys ; and the remainder were employed as muleteers, &c. 
 Sepoys were not absolutely necessary, but as I had them, I thought 
 I might as well take some, and I directed the soubahdar to enquire
 
 KEMAOON. 473 
 
 what men would volunteer for this service, on which ten privates, 
 a havildar and a naick, two officers answering to our serjeant and 
 corporal, very readily came forward. The rest of the party I had 
 intended to leave at Bamoury till my return. It appeared, how- 
 ever, that there was no forage for the elephants or camels, the 
 trees which grew in the neighbourhood being all of a kind which 
 they will not eat. This, with the circumstances which I have 
 already mentioned, and the desire to see something more of 
 Kemaoon, determined me to send them to Chilkeah, and I gave 
 directions accordingly. Here, however, a new difficulty arose. The 
 mules which had been described to me as furnished with every 
 requisite for a journey, had neither bridles nor saddles of a proper 
 kind for travelling in a string, or bearing considerable weights. 
 Nor had any body, except Abdullah, ever seen the sort of pannel 
 which was necessary. He lost no time, but sate down with a large 
 packing-needle and twine, and, in less than an hour, made out 
 of some of the camel furniture a serviceable saddle and bridle, such 
 as are used in Persia. The camel-drivers set to work in imitation, 
 and by night all the seven mules were equipped and ready to be 
 loaded next morning. While these things were going on, the 
 Daroga's little boy, who had been watching us attentively, came 
 up and, with joined hands, asked me to take him with me as my 
 servant. I told him I was going a long, long journey, over moun- 
 tains, and through jungles, and beyond the sea, and that he would 
 be sadly tired ; on which he blushed and said " he was sure 
 he should not ;" I was pleased with his intelligent countenance 
 and manner, and wished that I could have taken him with me and 
 brought him up a Christian. But these people are Rajpoots of 
 very high caste, so that his father would, certainly, have stipulated 
 that his caste should be respected ; and above all, I had really no 
 means, without great inconvenience, of carrying a child of that age 
 in such a journey as I was engaged in. I therefore told him, in as 
 good-natured a way as I could, that he had better stay with his 
 father ; and the little fellow went away very gravely, and apparently 
 
 3 p
 
 474 SEPOYS. 
 
 disappointed. Mr. Boulderson, meantime, had taken his fishing- 
 rod down to the river, and now returned with some, not large, but 
 very beautiful trout, in all respects like those of our own country. 
 These formed an agreeable accession to our dinner ; and the cool 
 mountain breeze, the rustling of the forest, and the incessant roar 
 of the rapid stream, made me feel as if I were in Europe again ; 
 and I again longed exceedingly for her, who of all others of my 
 acquaintance, would most have enjoyed our present situation. 
 Mr. Boulderson made me here a present of two sheep, one of 
 which I gave to the sepoys for a feast after their long march. The 
 other was required for the mountains, where, except game, meat of 
 any kind is seldom to be obtained. With soldiers of all countries 
 these little attentions go a great way, but with sepoys I think more 
 than with any others. General Vanrenen told me that by harsh- 
 ness they were immediately discouraged, but that by speaking to 
 them kindly, and shewing a regard to their comforts, there was no 
 exertion which they might not be induced to make with cheerful- 
 ness. T, certainly, have not given them extraordinary trouble in 
 general, but a 25 mile march in this climate is enough to try a 
 soldier's temper ; and the cheerfulness wdth Avhich they all answered 
 my enquiries as I overtook them on the road, the readiness with 
 which they turned out to go up the hills with me, and other little 
 circumstances, have made me hope that I am by no means an un- 
 popular person with them. 
 
 November 23. — This morning I mounted Mr. Traill's poney, 
 a stout shaggy little white animal, whose birth-place might have 
 been in Wales, instead of the Himalaya. Mr. Boulderson was on 
 a similar one which he had brought from the hills some years 
 before. He was equipped for the journey with a long spear, had 
 his gun, a double-barrelled one loaded with ball and shot, carried 
 close to him, and two men with matchlocks who seemed his usual 
 attendants. By his advice I had my pistols, and he also lent me a 
 double-barrelled gun, saying, we might see tygers. After a good 
 deal of trouble in getting the mules and coolies started, we pro-
 
 PASSAGE OF THE NEARER RANGE OF THE HIMALAYA. 475 
 
 ceeded on our journey as it began to dawn, a night march being 
 not very safe amid these mountains, and the beauty of the scenery 
 being of itself a sufficient motive to see all which was to be seen. 
 The road was, certainly, sufficiently steep and rugged, and, particu- 
 larly when intersected by torrents, I do not think it was passable 
 by horses accustomed only to the plain. I was myself surprised 
 to see how dexterously our poneys picked their way over large 
 rolling pebbles and broken fragments of rock, how firmly they 
 planted their feet, and with how little distress they conquered 
 some of the steepest ascents I ever climbed. The country as we 
 advanced became exceedingly beautiful and romantic. It reminded 
 me most of Norway, but had the advantage of round-topped 
 trees, instead of the unvaried spear-like outline of the pine. It 
 would have been like some parts of Wales, had not the hills and 
 precipices been much higher, and the vallies, or rather dells, 
 narrower and more savage. We could seldom, from the range on 
 which the road ran, see to the bottom of any of them, and only 
 heard the roar and rush of the river which we had left, and which 
 the torrents which foamed across our path were hastening to join. 
 
 We saw several interesting plants and animals ; Mr. Boulderson 
 shot two black and purple pheasants, and a jungle hen ; we saw 
 some beautiful little white monkeys, called by the people " Gounee," 
 gamboling on the trees ; and heard, which, perhaps, pleased me most 
 of all, the notes of an EngHsh thrush. The bird, however, though 
 Mr. Boulderson said it is of the thrush kind, is black. For a short 
 distance the vegetation did not differ materially from that of the 
 plains. The first pecuharities I saw were some nettles of very great 
 size, and some magnificent creepers which hung their wild cordage, 
 as thick as a ship's cable and covered with broad bright leaves, from 
 tree to tree over our heads. After about an hour and a half's ascent, 
 Mr. Boulderson pointed out to me some dog-rose trees, and a 
 number of raspberry bushes, with here and there a small but not 
 very thriving ever-green oak. We soon after saw a good many 
 cherry-trees, of the common wild English sort, in full blossom, and 
 
 3 p 2
 
 476 BEEMTHAL. 
 
 cas we turned down a steep descent to Beemthal, we passed under 
 some pear-trees with the fruit already set, and a wild thicket, I 
 will not call it jungle, of raspberry and bilberry bushes on either 
 side of our path. We had sufficient proof during our ride, that 
 the country, wild as it is, is not uninhabited. We met two or 
 three companies of Khasiya peasantry going down to their annual 
 cultivation in the forest. The men were all middle-sized, slender, 
 and active, of not dark complexions, but very poorly and scantily 
 dressed. All were unarmed excepting with large sticks. The 
 women might have been good-looking if they had been less sun- 
 burnt and toil-worn, or if their noses and ears had not been so 
 much enlarged by the weight of the metal rings with which 
 they were ornamented. Their dress was a coarse cloth wrapped 
 round their waist, with a black blanket over the head and 
 shoulders. All had silver bracelets and anklets, apparently of 
 silver also, a circumstance, which to an European eye, contrasted 
 singularly with the exceeding poverty of their general appearance. 
 Their industry seems very great. In every part where the 
 declivity was less steep, so as to admit a plough or a spade, we found 
 little plots of ground, sometimes only four feet wide, and ten or 
 twelve long, in careful and neat cultivation. Some of these were 
 ranged in little terraces, one above the other, supported by walls of 
 loose stones ; and these evidences of industry and population were 
 the more striking, because we literally did not pass a single habita- 
 tion ; and even at Beemthal, besides the Company's guard-room and 
 warehouses, only one miserable hut was visible. Beemthal is, how- 
 ever, a very beautiful place. It is a little mountain- valley, surrounded 
 on three sides by woody hills, and on the fourth by a tract of green 
 meadow, with a fine lake of clear water. A small and very rude 
 pagoda of grey stone, with a coarse slate roof, under some fine 
 peepul-trees, looked like a little church; and the whole scene, 
 except that the hills were higher, so strongly reminded me of 
 Wales, that I felt my heart beat as I entered it. As we alighted, 
 a man came up with another basket of fine trout ; and after a good
 
 BEEMTHAL. 477 
 
 deal of brushing and patching, we succeeded (no very easy task,) 
 in making the ruinous apartment appropriated for travellers look 
 reasonably decent and comfortable. It was in the first instance 
 more like " lonesome lodge," in the old ballad of " The Heir of 
 Lynne," than any thing which I have seen. It was a single small 
 room, with a clay floor, two windows without glass, the shutters 
 broken to pieces, and a roof of unhewn rafters of fir, with the 
 bark laid between them. There was a fire-place, however, and 
 some remains of a grate, a prospect the more agreeable, inasmuch 
 as even now, though nearly the hottest part of the day, we 
 found the sun by no means unpleasant, and walked up and down 
 in our cloth coats and worsted stockings, as if we had been in 
 England. Beemthal is, indeed, 3200 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and 2700 above the plain of Rohilcund. Yet even now. 
 Mount Gaughur, which closed our present prospect, was 5400 feet 
 higher than we were ; and, if we had been on Mount Gaughur, 
 we should have seen peaks of 16,000 feet above us still ! 
 
 We passed a very cheerful and pleasant evening, round our 
 blazing hearth ; and, by help of blankets and great coats, found our 
 beds extremely comfortable. 
 
 November 24. — Mr. Boulderson left me this morning, and 1 
 believe we parted with mutual regret; his pursuits and amuse- 
 ments were certainly very different from mine, but I found in him 
 a fine temper and an active mind, full of information respecting the 
 country, animals, and people among whom he had passed several 
 years ; and on the whole I do not think I have acquired so much 
 of this kind of knowledge in so short a time from any person whom 
 I have met with in India. I myself remained at Beemthill this 
 day, partly to rest my people after their two severe marches, partly 
 to see another lake or " Thai" at a short distance, which was said 
 to be finer than that before me. 
 
 I set off as soon as Mr. Boulderson had left me, about six 
 o'clock in the morning, on the white poney, with a Khasiyah guide, 
 Mr. Traill's saees, and two sepoys, who had for some time shewn on
 
 478 WATER-MILL. 
 
 all occasions a great zeal to accompany me. One of these is the 
 man who got leave to see his brother. The other is a brahmin, a 
 very decent, middle-aged man, one of the number who was sick in 
 Oude. He is fond of telling me stories of his campaigns, which he 
 says have many of them been among mountains in Malwah and 
 Bundelcund. He owns, however, that the mountains here are larger 
 than any which he has yet visited ; even respecting these I found 
 him not ill-informed, both as to the holy places situated among 
 them, Bhadrinath, Gungootree, &c. the situation of the source of 
 the Ganges, which he correctly stated, in answer to a question 
 which I put to try him, to be on this side of the snowy mountains, 
 and the scenes where battles were fought during the Gorkhali war. 
 The other soldier had not much to say, but was exceedingly civil 
 and willing to oblige, and had a pair of the longest and most 
 nimble legs, and the strongest arms I have seen. The latter 
 were of some use to me this morning, our stupid guide having 
 led me along a path so narrow, that Mr. Traill's poney had neither 
 room to turn nor to advance with me on his back, nor could 
 I conveniently dismount, having one knee pressed against a steep 
 bank, and the opposite foot hanging over the rocky edge of a brook, 
 some ten feet high. I had nothing for it but to climb the bank, 
 and in so doing I found a most valuable support in this man's arm, 
 while nothing could exceed his zeal in the cause. The poney still 
 could not advance till his holsters were taken off, and to avoid such 
 risks in future, I told the long-legged sepoy to go on next to the 
 guide, and give warning if we were coming to a place which the 
 horse could not pass. The path lay along a very elevated valley, 
 nearly bare of trees, but cultivated with a most persevering in- 
 dustry, almost to the mountain's top. The bleak appearance of 
 the place, its general features, its strong soil and the extent of 
 agriculture, a good deal reminded me of that part of Llanarmon 
 which is near the " Tavern Dwrck." I passed no village, nor 
 more than one house. This last, however, was very interesting, 
 being a water-mill with an overshot wheel which is supplied by the
 
 KHASIYAHS. 479 
 
 brook, where I so narrowly missed a tumble. The mill, though 
 exceedingly rude, was of the same sort as in other countries, but was 
 the tiniest specimen which I ever saw. The stones were not larger 
 than would serve a reasonable handmill ; the building so small that 
 nobody could enter but on their hands and knees ; and the sacks of 
 corn and flour disposed about the door, were all on the same Lilli- 
 putian scale. The lake which I went to see, the name of which is 
 Nongungee, disappointed me. It is a very pretty, secluded moun- 
 tain tarn, with some rock and wood around it, and its surface 
 covered with fine water-lilies, but neither so large nor so beautiful 
 as Beemthal. I was glad, however, that I had come, and returning a 
 different way, had a very fine view of the other side of this secluded 
 valley, which is more rugged and woody than that on which I had 
 been hithertoo looking. 
 
 The Khasiyah nation pretend to be all Rajpoots of the highest 
 caste, and very scrupulous in their eating and drinking. They 
 will not even sell one of their little mountain-cows to a stranger, 
 unless he will swear that he neither will kill it himself, nor transfer 
 it to any body else in order to be killed : and as these cows give 
 very little milk, and as their abhorrence of feathers leads the 
 cottagers to keep no poultry, a stranger passing through their 
 country, who cannot kill his own game, or who has not such a 
 friend as Mr. Boulderson to do it for him, stands a bad chance of 
 obtaining any supplies, except very coarse black bread and water, 
 with perhaps a little honey. They are a modest, gentle, respectful 
 people, honest in their dealings, and as remarkable for their love 
 of truth as the Puharrees of Rajmahal and Boglipoor. As their 
 language is different from that of Hindostan, I was anxious to know 
 whether it resembled that of these other mountaineers, but found 
 that a party who, on one occasion, accompanied Mr. Traill to Bengal 
 were unintelligible to the southern Puharree. Indeed their real 
 or pretended Rajpoot descent would, of itself, prove them to be 
 a different race. Those who went with Mr. Traill, I learned 
 from Mr. Boulderson, who was also of the party, took no notice
 
 480 MOUNT GAUGHUR. 
 
 whatever of the Rajmahal hills, even when passing over them. 
 Mr. Boulderson said, " are you not pleased to see mountains 
 again ?" *' What mountains ?" was then- reply. " These mountains 
 to be sure," returned he. " They are not mountains, they are 
 play-things," was their answer. In comparison with their own 
 they might, indeed, say so without affectation. 
 
 November 25. — This morning we began to pack by four 
 o'clock, but owing to the restiveness of the mules and the clumsi- 
 ness of the people, divers accidents occurred, the most serious of 
 which was the bursting of one of the petarrahs. At length we got 
 off, and after coasting the lake for one mile, went for about thirteen 
 more by a most steep and rugged road, over the neck of mount 
 Gaughur, through a succession of glens, forests, and views of the 
 most sublime and beautiful description. I never saw such pros- 
 pects before, and had formed no adequate idea of such. My 
 attention was completely strained, and my eyes filled with teai*s, 
 every thing around was so wild and magnificent that man appeared 
 as nothing, and I felt myself as if climbing the steps of the altar of 
 God's great temple. The trees, as we advanced, were in a large 
 proportion fir and cedar, but many were ilex, and to my surprise I 
 still saw even in these Alpine tracts, many venerable peepul-trees, 
 on which the white monkeys were playing their gambols. A 
 monkey is also fomid in these hills as large as a large dog, if my 
 guides are to be believed. Tygers used to be very common and 
 mischievous, but since the English have frequented the country, 
 are scarce, and in comparison, very shy. There are also many 
 wolves and bears, and some chamois, two of which passed near 
 us. My sepoys wanted me to shoot one, and offered, with my 
 leave, to do so themselves, if I did not like the walk which would 
 be necessary. But my people would not have eaten them. I 
 myself was well supplied with provisions, and I did not wish to 
 destroy an innocent animal merely for the sake of looking at it a 
 little closer ; I therefore told them it was not my custom to kill 
 any thing which was not mischievous, and asked if they would
 
 MOUNT GAUGHUR. 481 
 
 stand by me if we saw a tyger or a bear. They promised eagerly 
 not to fail me, and I do not think they would have broken their 
 words. After winding up 
 
 " A wild romantic chasm that slanted 
 
 Down the steep hill, athwart a cedar cover, 
 A savage place, as holy and enchanted 
 As e'er beneath the waning moon was haunted 
 By woman wailing for her demon lover," 
 
 we arrived at the gorge of the pass, in an indent between the two 
 principal summits of mount Gaughur, near 8,600 feet above the 
 sea. And now the snowy mountains, which had been so long 
 eclipsed, opened on us in full magnificence. To describe a view 
 of this kind is only lost labour, and I found it nearly impossible to 
 take a sketch of it; such as I was able to make I, however, send 
 with this packet. 
 
 Nundidevi was immediately opposite; Kedar Nath was 
 not visible from our present situation, and Meru only seen as a 
 very distant single peak. The eastern mountains, however, for 
 which I have obtained no name, rose into great consequence, and 
 were very glorious objects as we wound down the hill on the 
 other side. The guides could only tell me that " they were a 
 great way off, and bordered on the Chinese empire." They are, I 
 suppose, in Thibet. 
 
 Bhadrinath is a famous place of pilgrimage for the Hindoos. 
 The Khasiya guide, however, said that the temple was consider- 
 ably on this side the snow, which last none but the deotas had 
 visited before the " Sahib Log," (Europeans,) came into the 
 country. Mr. Traill has ascended a considerable way up it. 
 Almorah, I was told, might be seen from hence ; the hill on which 
 it stands, they made me see, I believe, but I could not distinguisli 
 any houses. On mount Gaughur I found the first ice which I have 
 come in contact with. The little streams on the northern side of 
 the hill had all a thin crust on them : and the hoar frost, in one or 
 
 3 Q
 
 482 RAMGHUR. 
 
 two places, made the path so shppery, that I thought it best to 
 dismount from the poney. Indeed, though the sun was already 
 high, and I was warmly dressed, a walk down the hill to our 
 halting-place at Ramghur, was by no means unpleasant. 
 
 Ramghur is a very small and poor village, the first which I had 
 seen in Kemaoon, seated by a fine rapid stream in a narrow winding 
 valley, the sides of which, to a very great height, are cultivated in 
 narrow terraces, with persevering and obstinate industry, though 
 the soil is so stony that many of the little fields more resemble 
 the deposit of a torrent than an arable piece of ground. The 
 Company's warehouse and guard-house stand at a little height 
 above the village ; and the head man of the place came to meet me 
 with some small trout, and, what to me were a great rarity, some 
 young potatoes. The view much reminded me of Driostuen, in 
 Norway ; and though the snowy mountains w^ere not visible, and 
 though, except on mount Gaughur, there was not much wood, the 
 picture formed was exceedingly striking. 
 
 There was a castle at Ramghur during the time of the Gorkha 
 power, now dismantled and gone to decay. A good deal of iron 
 ore is also found in the neighbourhood, which the inhabitants of 
 the small village were employed in washing from its grosser impu- 
 rities, and fitting it to be transported to Almorah for smelting. 
 Why they do not smelt it on the spot I could not learn, since 
 there is wood enough on mount Gaughur. 
 
 I walked to the village in the afternoon, and found Mr. Traill's 
 chuprassee putting all the milch-goats which the poor people 
 possessed in requisition, to obtain some milk for my tea. The 
 goats were very reluctant, but a little was at length obtained, 
 which, much against the chuprassee's will, I paid for, and also gave 
 a few pice to some of the children, which soon drew a crowd after 
 me. The houses, people, children, and animals shewed marks of 
 poverty. Almost all the children were naked, and the grown 
 persons, except their black blankets, had scarcely a rag to cover 
 them. The houses were ranged in a line, with a row of still
 
 RAMGHUR. 483 
 
 smaller huts opposite, which seemed to be for their cattle, though 
 in England they might have passed for very poor pigsties. The 
 houses, indeed, were little better, none of them high enough to 
 stand up in, the largest not more than ten feet square, and the 
 door, the only aperture, a square hole of about four feet every 
 way. The people were little and slender, but apparently mus- 
 cular and active; their countenances intelligent and remarkably 
 mild, and one or two of their women were not very far removed 
 from pretty. This tribe of the Khasiya nation, the chuprassee 
 told me, are decidedly of migratory habits, dividing their time 
 between the hills and the forest, according to the seasons, and it 
 was thus that he accounted for the miserable state of their habi- 
 tations. They very cheerfully and civilly shewed me the manner 
 in which they wash the ore, which is done by enclosing it in large 
 wicker baskets, like those made to catch eels in England, 
 surrounded partially by a goat-skin, but with a hole at the smaller 
 extremity. This is placed under a stream of water conveyed in 
 the same manner, and within an almost similar hut as the corn-mill, 
 which I had seen the day before, and the earth is thus washed 
 away, leaving the iron behind. 
 
 Even here are numerous traces of the superstition of India. 
 We passed some rudely carved stones, with symbols of brahminical 
 idolatry ; and three miserable-looking beggars, two brahmins, and 
 a viragee, came to ask alms, in a strange mixture between Khasiya 
 and Hindoostanee. A traveller, wrapped in long cotton cloths, 
 with a long matchloch on his shoulder, a shield and sword on his 
 left side, on a pretty good horse, and attended by a ragged saees 
 carrying two petarrahs, passed us and went on to the village. 
 Abdullah said that he knew him by his dress to be a Sikh, and that 
 he had probably been in search of employment as a soldier, either 
 from the Raja of Kemaoon, the Gorkhas, or, perhaps, the Chinese. 
 He was a very picturesque figure, and curious as a specimen of the 
 irregular mercenary troops of India. 
 
 3 Q 2
 
 4<a4 
 
 RAMGHUR. 
 
 My own sepoys had a grievous quarrel with the " Goomashta," 
 or agent of the Company's warehouse, and I was appealed to 
 loudly by both parties; the soldiers calling on me as Ghureeb 
 purwar, — the Goomashta, not to be outdone, exclaiming, " Donai 
 Lord Sahib ! Donai ! Raja." I found that good flour, which sold 
 at Ruderpoor at 38 seer for the rupee, was here at 15 seer only, 
 and that the mixture which the man offered to the soldiers was 
 really so full of bran, and even chaff, as to be fit for nothing but 
 an elephant. The man said, in reply, that he went by the Com- 
 pany's measure, and the regulation price ; that all flour, except such 
 as we saw, was scarce and dear in this part of Kemaoon ; that 
 he was allowed, in consequence of his situation, to charge more ; 
 and that the people and soldiery of the country desired no better 
 than that which he furnished. I terminated the quarrel at last by 
 paying the difference in price, amounting to no more than one 
 rupee, between the good and the bad, and all sides were satisfied 
 and thankful. 
 
 November 26. — This morning we proceeded along a narrow 
 valley to a broken bridge over the torrent, so like, in scenery and
 
 PASSAGE OF THE NEARER RANGE OF THE HIMALAYA. 485 
 
 circumstances, to that called Alarm Brug, in Dovre in Norway, 
 that I could have almost fancied myself there. We forded the 
 stream without difficulty, though over a very rugged bed ; but, 
 during the rains, one of the chuprassees told me, a rope, which I 
 saw hanging loosely across the ruined arch, was to transport the 
 postman or any other passenger. He was seated in a basket hung 
 by a loop on this rope, and drawn over, backwards and forwards, 
 by two smaller ones fastened to the basket on each side. This is 
 an ingenious though simple method of conveyance, which is 
 practised also by the catchers of sea-fowl on many parts of the 
 coast of Norway ; it was the only way formerly in use of passing 
 torrents or chasms in these countries ; and the stone bridges which 
 the English have erected are very ill able to resist the floods of 
 the rainy season, which rush down these steep descents with great 
 violence and rapidity. Bridges on Mr. Shakespear's plan are best 
 calculated for this country. 
 
 The snowy peaks had been concealed ever since we descended 
 Gaughur, but the country is still very sublime ; less woody, less 
 luxuriant than the southern side of that mountain, but still 
 moulded in the most majestic forms, and such as I hardly knew 
 whether to prefer or no, to the splendid scenery which I had 
 passed. The road is yet more rugged and steep than that over 
 the Gaughur, and the precipices higher ; or rather, perhaps, their 
 height is more seen because the trees are few^er and more stunted, 
 and there is nothing to break the view from the brow to tlie very 
 bottom, with its roaring stream, and narrow shingly meadows. I 
 know not what is the reason or instinct which induces all animals 
 accustomed to mountain travelling, such as mules, sheep, black 
 cattle, and such poneys as I was now riding, to go by preference as 
 near the edge as possible. I have often observed, and been 
 puzzled to account for it. The road is, indeed, smoother and most 
 beaten there, but it has been this predilection of theirs, which has, 
 in the first instance, made it so. My present poney had this pre- 
 ference very decidedly, and I often found him picking his way
 
 486 PASSAGE OF THE NEARER RANGE OF THE HIMALAYA. 
 
 along, what I should have thought, the extreme verge of safety. 
 I was satisfied, however, that he knew best, and therefore let him 
 take his own course, though my constant attendants, the two 
 sepoys, often called out to liim, " Ah Pearl, (his name) go in the 
 middle, do not go on the brink." The fact is, that though there 
 is some fatigue there is no danger in any part of the road, if a 
 person is properly mounted and not nervous. 
 
 The long-legged sepoy, who is I find a brahmin as well as 
 his comrade, is certainly an excellent walker ; when I stopped, as 
 I made a point of doing from time to time, for my party and my 
 horse to take breath, he always said he was not tired ; and he fairly 
 beat the Kemaoon chuprassees, though natives of the country. 
 Both he and the elder man profess to hke their journey exceed- 
 ingly, and the latter was greatly delighted this morning, when on 
 climbing a second mountain we had a more extensive and panora- 
 mic view of the icy range than we had seen before, and the guides 
 pointed out Meru ! " That, my Lord, (he cried out) is the 
 greatest of all mountains ! out of that Gunga flows !" The 
 younger who is not a man of many words, merely muttered Ram ! 
 Ram ! Ram ! 
 
 I had expected, from this hill, to see something like a table-land 
 or elevated plain, but found instead, nothing but one range of moun- 
 tains after the other, quite as rugged, and, generally speaking, more 
 bare than those which we had left, till the horizon was terminated 
 by a vast range of ice and snow, extending its battalion of white 
 shining spears from east to west, as far as the eye could follow it ; 
 the principal points rising like towers in the glittering rampart, 
 but all connected by a chain of humbler glaciers. On one of the 
 middle range of mountains before us, a little lower than the rest, 
 some white buildings appeared, and a few trees, with a long zig- 
 zag road winding up the face of the hill. 
 
 This, I was told, was the city and fortress of Almorah. The 
 other nearer features in the view w^ere some extensive pine 
 forests, some scattered villages of rather better appearance than
 
 PASSAGE OF THE NEARER RANGE OF THE HIMALAYA. 487 
 
 those which we had left, and the same marks of industry in the suc- 
 cessive terraces by which all the lower parts of the hills are inter- 
 sected. These have by no means a bad effect in the landscape. 
 The lines are too short and too irregular to have a fonnal appear- 
 ance ; the bushes and small trees which grow on their brinks look 
 at a little distance exactly like hedges ; and the low stone walls, so 
 far as they are discernible at all, seem natural accompaniments to 
 steeps so rugged and craggy. 
 
 The mountains which I passed in these stages were all, so far 
 as I saw, of limestone. There are, indeed, vast detached masses of 
 granite lying every where on the sides of the hills, in the vallies 
 and the torrents ; and the peaks of the mountains, if I had climbed 
 up to them, would doubtless have proved of the same substance. 
 But limestone and coarse slate are the materials of which the road 
 and walls are made ; and the few cottages which I have seen of a 
 better appearance than the rest, (I passed two more villages in 
 this day's march,) are built and roofed with the same materials, as 
 are also the Government warehouses. I saw many European 
 plants to-day. Cherry-trees were numerous. I observed a good 
 deal of honeysuckle and some hips and haws, and one of the guides 
 brought me a large handful of bilberries. I saw, however, no ice; 
 and indeed I had many opportunities of observing, that high as we 
 had climbed in the course of the day, we were not so high as when 
 on the top of Gaughur. Nothing could be finer than the climate. 
 Though the sun was hot before we got to our station, the distance 
 being seven coss, it was not unpleasant at any time of the day ; 
 nor, though in the shade it was certainly cold and chilly, was it 
 more so than is usually felt in England in the finest part of 
 October. 
 
 My sepoys who, as all water-drinkers are, are critics in the 
 beverage, praised exceedingly the purity and lightness of the little 
 streams which gushed across the road. Mr. Boulderson, indeed, 
 had told me that the Khasiyas pride themselves much on their 
 springs, and have been known to refuse advantageous situations in
 
 488 PASSAGE OF THE NEARER RANGE OF THE HIMALAYA. 
 
 the plain, saying, " how can we get good water there ?" This, 
 however, does not seem to militate against their annual emigration. 
 All the villages which we passed were empty, the people having 
 o-one to Bamoury for the -vnnter. One or two cottages, however, 
 were still inhabited round the Company's post, the master of one 
 of which, who, though dressed like a common Khasiya peasant, 
 said he was the Zemindar of the district, brought me some beauti- 
 ful lemons and some young potatoes, both the produce of his 
 garden. Potatoes are much liked by the mountaineers, and are 
 becoming very common. They are, perhaps, among the most 
 valuable presents which they are likely to receive from their new 
 masters. 
 
 My attention here, as elsewhere, is never quite withdrawn 
 from jNIissionary enquiries, but in these annual emigrations I see 
 a great hindrance to their reception of the Gospel or the educa- 
 tion of their children. At Almorah, however, and in the other 
 towns, the case is, in some respects, different. 
 
 The Company's post is a small bungalow, with a still smaller 
 guard-room, which latter could only accommodate the Naitch and 
 his party whom we found in possession, while the stony soil all 
 around would not admit of our pitching the tents. The soldiers 
 and servants were, therefore, obliged to sleep in the open air. 
 
 During the afternoon, and soon after I had finished my early 
 dinner, a very fine cheerful old man with staff and wallet, walked 
 up and took his place by one of the fires. He announced himself 
 as a pilgrim to Bhadrinath, and said he had previously visited a 
 holy place in Lahore, whose name I could not make out, and was 
 last returned from Juggernath and Calcutta, whence he had 
 intended to visit the Burman territories, but was prevented by the 
 war. He was a native of Oude, but hoped, he said, before he fixed 
 himself again at home to see Bombay and Poonah. I asked him 
 what made him undertake such long journeys ? He said he had had 
 a good and affectionate son, a havildar in the Company's service, 
 who always sent him money, and had once or twice come to see
 
 PILGRLM. 489 
 
 him. Two years back he died, and left him sixteen gold mohurs, 
 but since that time, he said, he could settle to nothing, and at 
 length he had determined to go to all the most holy spots he had 
 heard of, and travel over the world till his melancholy legacy was 
 exhausted. I told him I would pay the gomashta for his dinner 
 that day, on which he thanked me, and said " so many great men 
 had shewn him the same kindness, that he was not yet in want, 
 and had never been obliged to ask for any thing.'' He was very 
 curious to know who I was, with so many guards and servants in 
 such a place ; and the name of " Lord Padre" was, as usual, a 
 great puzzle to him. He gave a very copious account of his 
 travels, the greater part of which I understood pretty well, and 
 he was much pleased by the interest which I took in his adven- 
 tm-es. He remarked that Hindostan was the finest country and 
 the most plentiful which he had seen. Next to that he spoke well 
 of Sinde, where he said things were still cheaper, but the water 
 not so good. Lahore, Bengal, and Orissa, none of them were 
 favourites, nor did he speak well of Kemaoon. It might for all he 
 knew, he said, be healthy, but what was that to him, who was 
 never ill any where, so he could get bread and water ? There was 
 something flighty in his manner, but on the whole he was a fine 
 old pilgrim, and one well suited to 
 
 " Repay with many a tale the nightly bed." 
 
 A nightly bed, indeed, I had not to offer him, but he had as com- 
 fortable a birth by the fire as the sepoys could make him, and I 
 heard his loud cheerful voice telling stories after his mess of rice 
 and ghee, till I myself dropped asleep. 
 
 3 R
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ALMOKAH TO MEERUT. 
 
 Trees used as Gallows — Bhooteahs — Kemaoon subject to Earthquakes — Havelbagh — Vegeta- 
 tion in Kemaoon — Animals and Birds — Wild Dogs — Visits from Vakeel and Pundit — Cold 
 atPruny — Poverty of Ghurwali — Koosilla River — Description of Okul Doonga — Pillibheet 
 Rice — Emetic Property of Wild Tea — Ghorkha Boy — Manner of catching Fish — Cashipoor 
 
 — Women Spinning — White Buffalo — Sugar Mill — Imperial Tree — Moradabad — Making Ice 
 
 — Yogis and Tygers — Canes set on Fire by Friction — Party of supposed Bheels — Thugs. 
 
 November 27. — As we had to climb the eastern side of so steep a 
 hill as that on which Almorah stands, I conceived that the sun 
 might possibly be troublesome, and started a little earlier than I 
 had done the two preceding days ; we descended into a valley with 
 a very rapid river, the Koosilla, running through it, over a rugged 
 and stony bottom. The abutments of a bridge which had, as 
 usual, lost its arch, and had only its slack rope, pointed out the 
 place where we were to cross by rather a difficult ford. One of 
 my followers, a poor Pariah dog, who had come with us all the 
 way from Bareilly for the sake of the scraps which I had ordered 
 the cook to give him, and, by the sort of instinct which most dogs 
 possess, always attached himself to me as the head of the party, 
 was so alarmed at the blackness and roaring of the water that he 
 sate down on the brink and howled pitifully when he saw me going 
 over. When he found it was a hopeless case, however, he 
 mustered courage and followed. But on reaching the other side, 
 a new distress awaited him. One of my faithful sepoys had lagged 
 behind as well as himself, and when he found the usual number of
 
 TREES USED AS GALLOWS. 491 
 
 my party not complete, he ran back to the brow of the hill and 
 howled, then hurried after me as if afraid of being himself left 
 behind, then back again to summon the loiterer, till the man came 
 up, and he apprehended that all was going on in its usual routine. 
 It struck me forcibly to find the same dog-like and amiable quali- 
 ties in these neglected animals, as in their more fortunate brethren 
 of Europe. The dog had, before this, been rather a favourite 
 with my party, and this will, I think, establish him in their good 
 graces. 
 
 We had two more toilsome ascents, and another deep and 
 black ford to pass before we reached the foot of the hill of 
 Almorah. The town is approached by a very long and steep 
 zig-zag road, which a few resolute men might defend against an 
 army. On seeing the impenetrable nature of this whole country, 
 one cannot help wondering how it ever should have been con- 
 quered. Its first subjection, however, by the Ghorkhas was in 
 consequence of a disputed succession, and forwarded by the dis- 
 sensions of the people themselves. Its recent conquest by the 
 British was aided by the good-will of all the natives, whom the 
 cruelty of their masters had disposed to take part with any invader. 
 The Khasiyas in every village lent their help, not only as guides, 
 but in dragging our guns up the hills, and giving every other 
 assistance which they could supply. 
 
 I was met by Mr. Traill about half a mile from the town, 
 mounted on a little poney like that which he had sent me. We 
 rode together under a spreading toon-tree, so like an ash that I at 
 first mistook it for one. There are four of these trees in the four 
 approaches to the town, one or other of which is the usual 
 gallows, when, which happens rarely, a capital execution takes 
 place. Under the Ghorkhas all four were kept in almost constant 
 employment. I have, indeed, had reason to find, from the conver- 
 sation of my guides with Abdullah, that this province is one of the 
 parts of our Eastern Empire, where the British Government is 
 most popular, and where we are still really regarded as the 
 
 3 R 2
 
 492 HEIGHTS OF MOUNTAINS. 
 
 deliverers of the people from an intolerable tyranny. I mentioned 
 this to Mr. Traill during our ride. He said that the Ghorkha 
 government had, certainly, been very tyrannical, less from the com- 
 mands or inclination of the Court of Catmandu, than from its want 
 of power to keep in order the military chiefs, by whom the 
 conquest of the province had been effected, and who not only had 
 divided the lands among themselves, without regard to the rights 
 of the ancient proprietors, but, on any arrears of rent, sold the 
 wives and children of the peasants into slavery, to an amount which 
 was almost incredible, punishing at the same time, with barbarous 
 severity, every appearance of mutiny or discontent which these 
 horrible proceedings excited. He said that, at the present moment, 
 hardly any young persons were to be found through the country 
 who, during the Ghorkha government, had been of a marketable 
 age. Children there were in plenty, but only such as had been 
 born shortly before, or since the transfer of the dominion to the 
 British. The Court of Catmandu sent repeated edicts against the 
 practice, which was in a fair way to extirpate their new subjects. 
 But all which they did, or thought it necessary to do, was of no 
 avail, and the country was at the very lowest ebb of misery, when, 
 happily for its surviving inhabitants, the Ghorkhas took it into their 
 heads to quarrel with the English. 
 
 Nundidevi, the highest peak in the world, is stated to be 
 no less than 25,689 feet above the sea, and 4000 feet and up- 
 wards higher than Chimborazo. Bhadrinath and Kedarnath are 
 merely two ends of the same mountain, its height is 22,300 
 feet. The peak which the chuprassees called Meru, is properly 
 Sumeru, as distinguished by the modern Pundits at least, from the 
 celestial and fabulous one. It is really, however, pretty near the 
 sources of the Ganges, and about 23,000 feet high, though the 
 three great peaks of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick, 
 whence the Ganges really flows, are from this point obscured by 
 the intervening ridge of Kedarnath. Kedarnath, Gungothee, 
 Sumeru, and Nundidevi, are all within the British territorv, and
 
 BHOOTEAS. 493 
 
 Mr. Traill has been to the northward of them, though the peaks 
 themselves have never been scaled. Nundidevi is, as the crow 
 flies, 40 miles from Almorah, but following the winding of the only 
 accessible road, it is eight or nine days march. Between it and 
 the Chinese frontier, two remarkable races of men are found, the 
 first the Bhooteahs, a Mongolian tribe, worshippers of the Delai 
 Lama, who are said to be the descendants of one of the hordes 
 who crossed the snowy mountains with Tamerlane ; the other, a 
 savage race, who neither plough nor dig, but live by the chace 
 and on wild fruits only. They call themselves the original inha- 
 bitants of the soil, and appear to be the same people with the 
 Puharrees of Rajmahal. I saw some Bhooteahs during my stay at 
 Almorah, who had come down with a cargo of "chowries," tails 
 of the "yak," or mountain-ox. They are a short square-built people, 
 with the true Calmuk countenance and eye, and with the same 
 remarkable cheerfulness of character and expression, by which the 
 Calmuk tribes are in general distinguished. Their dress was also 
 completely Tartar, large boots with their trowsers stuffed into 
 them, caftans girded round the waist, and Httle bonnets edged 
 with black sheep's skin. 
 
 Beyond them is the Chinese frontier, strictly guarded by the 
 jealous care of that government. Mr. Moorcroft did, indeed, pass 
 it some years ago, and was kindly received by one of the provincial 
 Governors, but the poor man was thrown into prison and died 
 there, as a punishment for his hospitality, and, since, nobody has 
 been allowed to go beyond the frontier village. When Mr. Traill 
 visited it they shewed him great respect and attention ; brought 
 him fire-wood, milk, eggs, earthen vessels, and would receive no 
 payment, but on his mounting his horse to push on a httle further, 
 he was immediately surrounded and brought back, though in the 
 civilest manner, by the Tartar horsemen, who pleaded the positive 
 orders of the emperor. To the north, however, the small inde- 
 pendent Tartar kingdom of Ladak has shewn itself exceedingly 
 hospitable and friendly. Mr. Moorcroft, when he was there, was
 
 494 ALMORAH. 
 
 treated with unbounded kindness and confidence, and their Khan 
 has since sent a formal offer, which I am sorry was decUned, of his 
 allegiance to the British government. 
 
 To return from this digression. I found Almorah a small but 
 very curious and interesting town. It chiefly consists of one long 
 street, running along the ridge of the mountain from the fort west- 
 ward to a smaller block-house eastward, with scattered bungalows, 
 chiefly inhabited by Europeans, to the right and left hand on the 
 descent of the hill. The main-street has a gate at each end, and, 
 on a small scale, put me in mind of Chester. The houses all stand 
 on a lower story of stone, open to the street, with strong square 
 pillars, where the shops are, looking like some of the rows. 
 Above the buildings are of timber, exactly like those of Chester, 
 in one or sometimes two very low stories, and surmounted by a 
 sloping roof of heavy grey slate, on which many of the inhabitants 
 pile up their hay in small stacks for winter consumption. The 
 town is very neat, the street has a natural pavement of slaty rock 
 which is kept beautifully clean : the stone part of the houses is 
 w ell white-washed, and adorned with queer little paintings ; and 
 the tradesmen are not only a fairer but a much more respectable 
 looking race than I had expected to see, from the filth and poverty 
 of the agricultural Khasiyas. 
 
 We passed two or three little old pagodas and tanks, as well 
 as a Mussulman burial-ground. The Mussulmans were treated 
 with great rigour here during the Ghorkha government. They are 
 now fully tolerated and protected, but their numbers are very small. 
 Government, on the conquest of Almorah, very liberally built a 
 number of small bungalows in airy situations round it, for the 
 accommodation, gratis, of any of their civil or military servants, 
 who might come to reside here for their health. They are small 
 low cottages of stone with slated roofs, and look extremely like 
 the sea-bathing cottages on the Welch coast, having thick walls, 
 small windows, low rooms, and all the other peculiarities (most 
 different from the generality of Anglo-Indian houses) which suit a
 
 ALMORAH. 495 
 
 boisterous and cold climate. Yet, in summer, the heat is consider- 
 able, and the vallies very far from wholesome, being, some of them 
 indeed, only a shade better than Tandah, and the rest of the 
 Terrai. On the hill tops, however, there is always a fine breeze, 
 and, even in May and June, the nights are chilly. 
 
 There is another reason w^hy the bungalows of this country 
 are built low. Kemaoon is extremely subject to earthquakes; 
 scarcely a year passes without a shake or two, and though all have 
 been slight since the English came, it would not be wise to build 
 upper roomed houses, unless, like the natives, they made the super- 
 structure of timber. In the best of these bungalows I found Mr. 
 Adams, who received me most hospitably. He introduced me to 
 Sir Robert Colquhoun, the Commandant of the local troops of 
 Kemaoon, who invited me to accompany Mr. Adam and himself, 
 on Monday, to his house at Havelbagh, where the native lines are, 
 and where Mr. Adams is residing at present, as being a milder 
 climate than that of Almorah. Mr. Adams had a party to dine in 
 the evening, and I found that almost all the civil and military offi- 
 cers here were Scotch. 
 
 Sunday^ November 28. — This day I enjoyed the gratification of 
 being the first Protestant Minister who had preached and adminis- 
 tered the sacraments in so remote, yet so celebrated, a region. I had 
 a very respectable congregation of, I believe, all the Christian inhab- 
 itants of Almorah and Havelbagh. Mr. Adams allowed me to make 
 use of the two principal rooms in his house, which, by the help of 
 the folding-doors between them, accommodated thirty or thirty-five 
 persons with ease. I w^as, after service, introduced to Lady Col- 
 quhoun, who is celebrated in the province as a bold rider along the 
 mountain paths. I was also introduced to Captain Herbert, who 
 has the situation of Geologist in this province, and who seems a 
 very well-informed, as he is a very pleasing and unassuming man. 
 He and Sir Robert Colquhoun were just returned from a scientific 
 expedition to the eastern frontier, and gave an interesting account 
 of the Ghorkha troops there, whom they described, as they have
 
 496 HAVELBAGH. 
 
 been o-enerally represented, as among the smartest and most Euro- 
 pean-like soldiery of India. We had family prayers. 
 
 I forgot to mention that, during this day, I walked up to the 
 fort of Almorah, a very paltry thing, so ill-contrived as to be hable 
 to an escalade from any daring enemy, and so ill-situated as to be 
 commanded from two points of land on opposite sides, and not to 
 have a drop of water within its walls. It is out of repair already, 
 and certainly not worth mending. 
 
 November 29. — I went down this morning to breakfast and 
 to remain, during the rest of my stay in Kemaoon, at Sir Robert 
 Colquhoun's, at Havelbagh, by a steep and winding, but firm and 
 safe road carried down the northern side of the mountain of 
 Almorah, into a larger valley than I had yet seen in Kemaoon, 
 where are lines for the provincial troops, and several bungalows for 
 the civil officers. The situation is very pretty, and indeed fine. 
 At a considerable depth below the houses, through a narrow rocky 
 glen, the deep black Koosilla runs with much violence, crossed 
 by one of those suspension-bridges of branches and ropes made 
 of grass, which have been, from considerable antiquity, com- 
 mon in these mountains, and appear to have given the original hint 
 both to the chain-bridges of Europe, and those which Mr. Shake- 
 speare has invented. The situation is striking, and the picturesque 
 effect extremely good, but the bridge at present so much out of 
 repair, (a great many of the branches which compose its road-way 
 being broken or decayed,) that I did not care to trust myself on 
 it, particularly as I could not stand or cling so securely as the 
 bare-footed natives of the country, on broken and detached pieces 
 of wood. I saw, however, one of the Khasiyahs pass it, but with 
 some apparent difficulty, and Mr. Traill talked of having it taken 
 down to prevent accidents. During the dry season the river is 
 fordable, and by persons on foot passed easily enough. On horse- 
 back, as I had occasion to find some days after, it is by no means 
 a good ford, and none but mountain poneys could keep their legs 
 on a bottom so uneven and rocky.
 
 HAVELBAGH. 497 
 
 Havelbagh is probably 2500 feet lower than Almorah, and, in 
 summer, many of the vegetables of hot climates flourish here 
 extremely well. The sugar-cane, however, does not thrive suffi- 
 ciently to yield sugar, but plantains and mangoes come to some per- 
 fection. It is remarkable, that though the summer is much hotter, 
 there is, in winter, more and harder frost here than at Almorah. 
 In the neighbourhood of the snowy mountains, the vegetation, 
 as much of it as exists, is nearly approaching to that of Europe. 
 Raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, and bilberries are found in 
 considerable numbers. The birch and willow here, as in Norway, 
 are the latest trees which shew themselves to persons ascending 
 the hills ; but the sides and lower ravines of their feet are covered 
 with noble silver-fir. But few cedars are now found in the 
 province; tradition describes them as having been once very 
 numerous, and as having been destroyed owing to their value as 
 building materials, a fact which seems attested by the circumstance 
 that all the beams in the old Raja's palace at Almorah, when that 
 was taken down to make room for the fort, were found to be of 
 cedar. In the present forests, fir is the prevailing timber, but, 
 except the silver-firs already spoken of, of a very bad and worth- 
 less, though tall and stately kind. Great devastations are generally 
 made in these woods, partly by the increase of population, building, 
 and agriculture, partly by the wasteful habits of travellers, who 
 cut down multitudes of young trees to make temporary huts, and 
 for fuel, while the cattle and goats which browse on the mountains 
 prevent a great part of the seedlings from rising. Unless some 
 precautions are taken, the inhabited parts of Kemaoon will soon 
 be wretchedly bare of wood, and the country, already too arid, 
 will not only lose its beauty, but its small space of fertility. Of the 
 inhabitants every body seems to speak well. They are, indeed, 
 dirty to a degree which I never saw among Hindoos, and extremely 
 averse to any improvement in their rude and inefficient agriculture, 
 but they are honest, peaceable, and cheerful, and, in the species of 
 labour to which they are accustomed, extremely diligent. There 
 
 3 s
 
 i98 NATIVE BIRDS. 
 
 are hardly twelve convicts now in the gaol of Alraorah ; and the 
 o-reat majority of cases which come before Mr. Traill are trifling 
 affrays, arising from disputed boundaries, trespass, and quarrels at 
 fair and market. The only serious public cases which are at all 
 prevalent, are adultery, and, sometimes, carrying off women to 
 marry them forcibly. They use their women ill, and employ them 
 in the most laborious tasks, in which, indeed, a wife is regarded by 
 the Khasiya peasant as one of the most laborious and valuable of 
 his domestic animals. These people, though rigid Hindoos, are 
 not so inhospitable as their brethren of the plain. Even Europeans 
 travelling through the country, who will put up with such accom- 
 modations as the peasantry have to offer, are almost sure of being 
 well received, and have no need of carrying tents with them> 
 provided their journey is made at a time when the peasantry are 
 at home to receive them, and not during the annual emigration 
 to the plains. The population of Kemaoon amounts to about 
 300,000 ; that of Ghurwal, on the other side of the Alacananda, 
 is yet more considerable, and the people in a higher state of civili- 
 zation and intelligence. Of this latter province only a small part 
 constitutes the " reserved dominion of the Raja of Kemaoon." The 
 capital of his little territory is called Dera. He is described as a 
 mild-tempered man, but a careless governor, and too fond of money. 
 
 There are larks in Kemaoon of a sort not very different from 
 the English, as well as quails, partridges, and pheasants. The 
 thrush is, as I have mentioned, black. A little bird, whose note 
 nearly resembles that of a robin, is black and red ; and there is 
 no singing-bird here exactly answering to any in Europe, except 
 the goldfinch, which is found at the foot of the snowy mountains. 
 Eagles are numerous and very large and formidable, and, as their 
 nests are high up in inaccessible crags, and amid the glaciers, it is 
 not easy to abate the nuisance. They do much injury to the 
 shepherds and goatherds, and sometimes carry away the poor naked 
 children of the peasants. 
 
 Of wild quadrupeds, besides those which I have mentioned
 
 NATIVE ANIMALS. 49» 
 
 in my journal of the way up the hills, there are hares, much larger 
 and finer than in Hindostan or Bengal, and not inferior to those 
 of Europe. The chamois is not uncommon in the snowy moun- 
 tains, but scarce elsewhere. There are also lynxes ; and bears are 
 common and mischievous throughout the province. Though they 
 do not, except when pressed by hunger, eat flesh, preferring roots, 
 berries, and honey, they, as if out of capricious cruelty, often worry 
 and destroy a passenger. They are said particularly to attack 
 women, a peculiarity which has been remarked in the bear in other 
 countries, and which is one of the many presumptions that they 
 belong to the same class of animals with the baboon and oran- 
 outang. The musk-deer is only found in the highest and coldest 
 parts of the province, and the neighbouring countries of Thibet 
 and Tartary. It cannot bear even the heat of Almorah. The 
 same observation applies to the yak ; they droop as soon as they 
 leave the neighbourhood of the ice. The shawl-goat will live, but 
 its wool soon degenerates, a very unfavourable presumption as to 
 the event of the experiment of colonizing them in Europe, which 
 has been tried in France on so large a scale. On the other hand, 
 the animals of the south seem to do very well among the snow. 
 English dogs, impaired by the climate of the plains, improve in 
 strength, size, and sagacity, among the Bhooteas; and, what is 
 very remarkable, in a winter or two they acquire the same fine, 
 short shawl-wool, mixed up with their own hair, which distinguishes 
 the indigenous animals of the country. The same is, in a 
 considerable degree, the case with horses : those which the Bhooteas 
 bring down for sale are very beautiful, though rather shaggy little 
 creatures, resembling extremely the Siberian poneys which I saw 
 in Petersburg. The tyger is found quite up to the glaciers, of 
 size and ferocity undiminished, but I could not learn whether he 
 had shawl-wool or no. The fact of his hardiness, however, proves 
 sufiiciently that he, the lion, and the hyaena, (which is also com- 
 mon here,) may have hved in England and France without any 
 such change of climate as my friend Mr. Buckland supposes to 
 
 3 s 2
 
 500 WILD DOGS. 
 
 have taken place. Another instance fell under my knowledge of 
 how much the poor hyaena is wronged, when he is described as 
 untameable. Mr. Traill had one several years, which followed 
 him about like a dog, and fawned on those with whom he was 
 acquainted in almost the same manner. Mr. Adam, and Lady 
 Colquhoun, had each of them beautiful flying squirrels, which, 
 they told me are not uncommon in the colder and higher parts of 
 these woods. They were as tame as squirrels usually are, and had 
 all the habits of the European animal. They were, however, a 
 little larger, or perhaps appeared so from the large folds of loose 
 skin covered with beautiful soft and thick fur, which, when they 
 pleased, they extended by stretching out their hind and fore feet. 
 Mr. Traill had several skins of chamois in his possession. The 
 animal seems nearly of the same size and colour with those which 
 I saw, and with the pictures of the European one. It is, however, 
 I think, more shaggy, and better protected against the cold ; more 
 like, in fact, a common goat, and its horns seem larger. 
 
 Small marmots of the alpine kind abound in the neighbour- 
 hood of the snow, but none of the " Leming" or Lapland species, 
 that I could hear of. If they existed, their numbers and annual 
 incursions into the cultivated districts would, probably, soon make 
 them well known. 
 
 The rats of this country are the same with those of India, and 
 are very numerous and troublesome. One of the most curious 
 animals I saw or heard of was a wild dog belonging to Mr. Adam* 
 These animals are considerably larger and stronger than a fox> 
 which, in the circumstances of form and fur, they much resemble. 
 They hunt, however, in packs, give tongue like dogs, and possess 
 a very fine scent. They make, of course, tremendous havoc 
 among the game in these hills ; but that mischief they are said 
 amply to repay by destroying wild-beasts, and even tygers. This 
 assertion was at first made, at least in print, in Captain Williamson's 
 Field-sports of India, but obtained very little credit. None of 
 my Kemaoon friends, however, doubted the fact, which, they said,
 
 VISIT FROM A VAKEEL. 501 
 
 Was the universal belief of the Khasiya peasants, and was corro- 
 borated by the fact of tygers having been found lately killed and 
 torn in pieces, which could be ascribed to no other enemy. Mr. 
 Traill did not, indeed, suppose that they would actually chase a 
 tyger by preference, but that if in the pursuit of other game, they 
 fall in with either tyger or lion, they had both the power and the 
 will, from their numbers, swiftness, courage, and ferocity, to rush 
 in on him and tear him in pieces, before he would have time to 
 strike more than one or two blows with his tremendous paws. 
 Each of these would no doubt kill a dog, but in the meantime a 
 hundred others would be at his throat, his back, and sides, and he 
 would sink under the multitude of his comparatively feeble 
 enemies. Mr. Adam's dog was exceedingly wild and fierce. He 
 was brought for me to see him, led by two men, who held him 
 between them in a long chain, and he struggled desperately all the 
 time to recover his liberty. He has begun to endure, with some- 
 what more placability, the presence of the man who feeds him, 
 but is at present wilder, I think, than any fox I ever saw who had 
 been so much as two months in captivity. If he were domesticated, 
 I could conceive his being a fine and valuable animal. Of dogs 
 he bears the strongest resemblance to those of the Esquimaux and 
 Kamtchadales, as represented in Bewick's engravings. 
 
 I had two native visitors during my stay at Havelbagh. One 
 was a vakeel from the Ghorkhali Government, who is now 
 residing in Kemaoon, and begged to pay his respects. He was a 
 little, stout, square-built man, with a true Calmuk countenance, 
 figure, and complexion, the latter being considerably fairer than 
 those of Hindostan. He had an intelligent eye and frank lively 
 manner, but my conversation with him was necessarily very limited. 
 He brought some musk, in its form when first taken from the 
 animal, as a present ; and I invested him with a shawl, with which 
 the kindness of Mr. Traill supplied me, as usual on such occasions, 
 from the Government storehouse. I had the satisfaction to learn 
 that he was much pleased with his visit and the little I was able
 
 502 VISIT FROM A PUNDIT, 
 
 to say to him. My second visitant was the Pundit of the Criminal 
 Court of Kemaoon, a learned brahmin, and a great astrologer. 
 He had professed to Mr. Traill a desire to see me, and asked if I 
 were as well informed in the Vedas, Puranas, and other sacred 
 books of the Hindoos, as another European Pundit whom he had 
 heard preach some years before at the great fair of Hurdwar ? He 
 evidently meant the Baptist Missionary Mr. Chamberlayne ; and it 
 pleased me to find that this good and able, though bigotted man, 
 had left a favourable impression behind him among his auditors. 
 Mr. Traill told him that I had been only a short time in the 
 country ; but he was still anxious to see me, and I regretted much 
 to find, when we met, that his utterance was so rapid and indis- 
 tinct that I could understand less of his conversation than of most 
 Hindoos whom I have met with. He explained to me, however, 
 that three or four years before the British conquered Kemaoon he 
 had, through his acquaintance with the stars, foretold the event, 
 and that his calculation, signed and dated, was lodged with the 
 Raja at Derea. He said he had now discovered three new stars, in 
 the shape of a triangle, south-east of the great bear, which, by 
 their position, assured the north an ascendancy over the east, and 
 impHed that we should triumph in our present struggle with the 
 Birman empire. I asked him some questions about the form of 
 the earth, the source of the Ganges, the situation of mount Meru, 
 and received better answers than I expected. He said that, in 
 old times, the Ganges was supposed to rise from mount Meru, 
 but that modern Hindoos, at least the enhghtened, gave the name 
 of Meru to the North Pole, and were aware that Gunga rose from 
 the peaks, one of which I had seen above Gungotree, and south of 
 the great snowy range, which he called, not Himalaya, but Him- 
 machund. He laughed at the fancy of the elephant and tortoise, 
 whom the Pundits of Benares placed as supporters to the earth, 
 and said it was a part of the same system with that which made 
 the earth flat, and girded in by six other worlds, each having its 
 own ocean. I drew a diagram of the world with its circles, &c,
 
 VISIT FROM A PUNDIT. 503 
 
 and he recognized them with great delight, shelving me the sun's 
 path along the ecliptic. He expressed a great desire to learn 
 more of the European discoveries in astronomy and geography, 
 and listened with much attention to my account (in which I fre- 
 quently had recourse to Mr. Traill as interpreter,) of the Coper- 
 nican system, and the relative situations of England, Russia, 
 Turkey, Persia, Arabia, and India. He asked if we had yet dis- 
 covered the shorter way to India through the ice of the North 
 Pole, of which, he said, he had heard from a brahmin of Benares, 
 who had his account from Colonel Wilford : and he knew America 
 under the name of *' the New World," and as one of the proofs 
 that the earth was round. He was very anxious to obtain any 
 Hindoo books containing the improved system of astronomy and 
 
 geography; and complained that Dr. H when in Kemaoon 
 
 had promised to send him some, but had forgotten it. He is 
 evidently a man of considerable talent, and extremely desirous to 
 improve whatever opportunities of knowledge fall in his way ; and, 
 like all these mountaineers, he is of a lively cheerful turn, without 
 any of the crouching manner and flattering address which is ap- 
 parent in most of the Hindoos of Calcutta and Benares. 
 
 It is pleasing to see on how apparent good terms Mr. Traill 
 is with all these people. Their manner in talking to him is erect, 
 open, and cheerful, like persons who are addressing a superior 
 whom they love, and with whom they are in habits of easy, though 
 respectful intercourse. He says he loves the country and people 
 where he has been thrown, and has declined, as Sir Robert Colqu- 
 houn told me, several situations of much greater emolument for 
 the sake of remaining with them. He has probably, indeed, chosen 
 wisely, since, though he may not return home so rich a man, he is 
 far more likely to take with him the power of enjoying life and 
 property. Almost the whole of the dry season he is travelling 
 about in the discharge of his official duty, and it was a mere chance 
 which gave me the advantage of meeting him now at Almorah. 
 
 December 2. — I set out early this morning in company with Sir
 
 504 PREPARATIONS FOR TRAVELLING. 
 
 Robert and Lady Colquhoun for Chilkea. Mr. Traill had lent me a 
 couple of tents for this journey, which, with a good deal of my heavier 
 baggage had been sent on the day before. A still greater number 
 of coolies were necessary than in my ascent from Bamoury, partly 
 on account of some presents of honey, &c. which I had received, 
 and which required to be carried, like the rest, on men's heads, 
 partly because, from the wild and uninhabited character of some 
 part of the country which we were to traverse, it was necessary to 
 give up two mules for the transport of the provisions and neces- 
 saries of the coolies themselves. We had a good deal of plague 
 and trouble in dividing the loads to be carried by each man, and 
 were harassed by pitiful complaints, from almost all, of their 
 inability to go through such an expedition, and by their entreaties 
 to be left behind. It seems singular that, among so poor a people, 
 with whom a job of work might at first seem no trifling object, this 
 reluctance should exist, since the rates at which, according to the 
 regulations of Government, their labour is repaid on these occa- 
 sions, being arranged at two anas for each march, with a similar 
 sum for their return home, exceeds the average rate of agricultural 
 labour through India, and is much above any thing which they 
 were likely to have earned at home. Yet so it is, that they are 
 always pressed to this service ; that they almost always endeavour 
 to excuse themselves; that they are apt to desert the first op- 
 portunity, even to the forfeiture of their legal hire ; and, which 
 tells well for their honesty at least, that, when any suspicion exists 
 that they feel peculiar reluctance, no way is found so efficacious to 
 keep them, as to pay them their money in advance. I can under- 
 stand their aversion to this employment during the rainy season, 
 when it is really at the risk of fife that people descend into the 
 Terrai, or the lower vaUies of this province. But at present, 
 though they may encounter hardship and fatigue, there is, literally, 
 no danger ; and I can only account for their reluctance, by sup- 
 posing that as yet there exists in Kemaoon no sufficient occupation 
 for coolies to induce any number of men to addict themselves to
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR TRAVELLING. 505 
 
 this pursuit alone, and that other peasants feel unwilling to separate 
 from their families, and desert their usual routine of industry for 
 an uncertain and fatiguing, though profitable employment. 
 
 From this cause, or from carelessness or corruption on the part 
 of Mr. Traill's chuprassees, many of the men whom they had levied 
 were found quite unfit for the journey now before us. Three were 
 sent back as being poor old creatures who could hardly carry 
 themselves, without any additional burthen, and four were boys 
 whom I should have also rejected, if it had not appeared that 
 they, of all the party, were almost the only wiUing recruits ; that 
 there were necessarily some light packages which a boy might 
 easily carry ; and if I had not apprehended that, if we lost these 
 coolies, we might possibly find much difficulty in getting others in 
 their room. As it was, the party set out so late that they soon 
 found it impossible for loaded mules to travel such roads by such 
 scanty light, and we overtook them little more than half way, 
 under some rocks, where they had been obliged to lodge for the 
 night. In the midst of these movements one of our party was left 
 behind, for whom I was sincerely sorry. I mean the poor Pariah 
 dog. He had been taking a lively interest, like the rest of his 
 species, in the packing up the day before ; and I found him in the 
 morning in his usual post, as if ready to attend me. I missed 
 him when we had gone on about a coss, but even then made 
 no doubt of his following with the servants. He did not come, 
 however, and I suspect that his courage failed him at the first ford 
 which lay in our way, near the suspension-bridge, and which was, 
 indeed, a formidable one. 
 
 Our road was very wild and rugged, by the sides and over 
 the ridges of craggy mountains covered with Scotch firs, and by 
 paths in which none but mountain poneys, who go almost any 
 where that a dog can go, would have been able to keep their legs. 
 I observed that our little coursers, on arriving at a difficult place, 
 always looked round to see if there were any easier track, and if 
 there were, pulled hard to get at it ; that if this were not the case, 
 
 3 T
 
 506 PRUNY. 
 
 they often, particularly in case of a deep descent, stood pawing 
 with their fore-feet some time, as if to satisfy themselves of its 
 practicability, and if they had doubts, usually stood stock still and 
 refused to go any further, under which circumstances it was 
 always wise to dismount. These places, however, did not occur 
 very often, though there were more than one which they went up 
 and down without hesitation, which I could compare to nothing 
 but the broken stair-case of a ruined castle. 
 
 We encamped near a village named Pruny, on a beautiful 
 piece of rocky pasture-ground, situated between the two peaks of 
 a lofty mountain, and surrounded on every side by a forest of fir 
 and cedar-trees. At a little distance from our tents, some people 
 who had been sent on by Mr. Traill to prepare the Zemindars to 
 afford the necessary supplies, had constructed a sort of bower or 
 wigwam of pine branches for the use of our followers. Nothing 
 could be ruder than these leafy screens ; but with plenty of straw, 
 a blazing fire, and sheltered situation, they seemed to satisfy our 
 people ; nor could I help noticing that, though we were now 6000 
 feet above the level of the sea, and it was freezing in the shade 
 almost all day, the sepoys, soon after their arrival, stripped off all 
 their clothes but their waist-clothes, went to wash themselves as 
 usual in the brook, and remained naked all day till the sun was 
 actually setting, so little reason have we for accusing these people 
 of effeminacy or softness, even in circumstances most at variance 
 with their general habits and sensations. I myself, though I had 
 a good blanket, quilt, and cloak, was so cold at night that I could 
 hardly sleep. My tent, indeed, was small and thin, and scarcely 
 afforded more shelter than the pine-boughs, with the disadvantage 
 of having no fire and no neighbours to keep me warm. The water 
 in the bason was frozen as hard and thick as it might have been, 
 under similar circumstances, in England, to the great astonishment 
 and delight of my Calcutta servant, who had never seen such a 
 cake of ice before, and, I believe, sincerely regretted that he could 
 not carry it back to Calcutta as a curiosity.
 
 HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 507 
 
 The reflexion of the setting sun on the snowy mountains was 
 extremely beautiful. One of the peaks of Nundidevi was, for a 
 considerable time together, a perfect rose-colour. We had also a 
 magnificent echo near our encampment, which answered with 
 remarkable distinctness, and great power and mellowness, all the 
 different light infantry signals on the bugle of Sir Robert Col- 
 quhoun's rangers, which he had brought with him. 
 
 December 3. — The name of this day's encampment I have 
 forgotten. It was also near a mountain-top, on the skirt of a fine 
 fir-wood and near a village, in which we found, what is not always 
 found at this season, a considerable number of inhabitants yet 
 remaining. Their houses were all of two stories, the lowest 
 was just high enough to allow their diminutive cows and goats to 
 shelter there, and the upper one which was of timber, with a 
 sloping slate roof, was about as high and in the same shape as an 
 ordinary cottage garret. In front of each cottage were some small 
 stacks of straw, while others were perched on the roof, to be more 
 effectually out of the reach of the cattle ; and all the neighbouring 
 hill-side was built up in narrow terraces, and the subject of 
 assiduous cultivation. The inside of their houses, so well as I 
 could distinguish from the door, was not so dirty as the appearance 
 of the people would have led me to suppose ; and the whole had 
 that sort of faint likeness of a Shropshire cottage which, faint as it 
 was, was interesting to me. We passed two fords in this day's 
 march, the first so bad and stony that it was necessary to unload 
 the mules, and carry the baggage over on men's heads. There 
 were also more places than one where to dismount from our 
 poneys was a matter of absolute necessity. 
 
 This is, however, the most frequented road into Kemaoon, as 
 leading from Cashipoor and Chilkeah, the two best attended marts 
 on its frontier ; and we passed every day, I think, above 100 
 Khasiyas, all with burdens on their heads, toiling along these 
 rugged paths. In Kemaoon the head and neck seem the constant 
 vehicles ; but the Ghurwah, or inhabitants of the western district 
 
 3 T 2
 
 508 SEPOYS. 
 
 of our mountain provinces, who are said to be a more intelligent 
 race than their brethren, carry their burthens on the back, with a 
 truss like that of an English porter. They thus do more work 
 with more ease to themselves. But the adherence to " dustoor," 
 or some other cause, it can hardly be poverty, has as yet kept the 
 Khasiyas from imitating them. Of the poverty of these people, how- 
 ever, I had no idea till I saw this day the bread they eat. It is the 
 grain of a kind of holcus, and looks like clover-seed : the flour, 
 bran, husk and all, is made into thick coarse cakes, like those for 
 elephants, and these are not baked as the elephant's bread is, but 
 laid on the fire and scorched or toasted there, so that part is raw 
 dough, part ashes. To such a people potatoes must, indeed, be 
 an exceeding and obvious blessing. I had a singular instance 
 this evening of the fact how mere children all soldiers, and I think 
 particularly sepoys, are when put a little out of their usual way. 
 On going to the place where my escort was hutted, I found that 
 there was not room for them all under its shelter, and that four 
 were preparing to sleep on the open field. Within a hundred 
 yards stood another similar hut unoccupied, a little out of repair, 
 but tolerably tenantable. " Why do you not go thither ?" was my 
 question. " We like to sleep altogether," was their answer. " But 
 why not bring the branches here, and make your own hut larger ? 
 see, I will shew you the way." They started up immediately, in 
 great apparent delight, every man brought a bough, and the work 
 was done in five minutes, being only interrupted every now and 
 then by exclamations of " Good, good, poor man's provider ! " 
 
 The night was again cold, though not so severe as the last. 
 I was surprised to find so little game, and so few wild animals of 
 any kind in a country of this nature. Sir R. Colquhoun told me 
 that he had, in his preceding journeys, generally both heard and 
 seen more than we had met with, and which were confined to a 
 small flock or covey of jungle fowl, which Lady Colquhoun saw, 
 but which I only heard crowing and cackling. My companions 
 were not able to tell me whether the jungle poultry had ever been
 
 CHOUMOKA DEVI. 509 
 
 tamed. The common domestic fowl of the country, for the inha- 
 bitants, rigid Hindoos as they are in other respects, do not object 
 to the touch of feathers, are almost exactly like those of the wood. 
 Both resemble bantams in every respect, except that their legs are 
 not feathered. Bears, Sir R. Colquhoun and all the Khasiyas said, 
 are numerous in these woods. We, however, saw none. Tygers 
 are not very abundant, and the appearance of one excites a sort of 
 alarm and outcry in a neighbourhood like that of a mad-dog in 
 Europe. It is not, however, thought desirable to wander far from 
 the usual track, particularly unarmed or alone. I once took a 
 little stroll, though with Mr. Boulderson's double-barrelled gun 
 in my hand ; and found that my disappearance had occasioned a 
 sort of sensation in the camp, and that my two faithful sepoys were 
 posting after me. 
 
 This occurred the next day, the 4th, when, for the sake of 
 the prospect, we breakfasted, half-way in om' intended march, on 
 Choumoka Devi, the highest mountain which I ever actually 
 climbed, (for I did not go to the peak of the Gaughur,) and barely 
 inferior in height to this last named hill. The Gaughur, Sir R. 
 Colquhoun tells me, is about 8000 feet high ; Choumoka Devi 
 is 7800. At the summit, which, like that of mount Gaughur, 
 is ornamented with noble trees, cypress, toon, and fir, is a small 
 temple of not inelegant structure, in the verandah of which we sate 
 during the heat of the day, and again proceeded in the afternoon. 
 The view w^as very magnificent ; nothing which I ever saw equals 
 the majesty of some parts of the mountain scenery which I have 
 passed through in this province. There is indeed a want of water, 
 and I could not help thinking how beautifully these hills would 
 have been reflected in the noble lakes of Norway. But over 
 Norway they have the advantages of a more brilliant sky, a warmer 
 and more luxuriant vegetation, a still greater ruggedness and 
 variety of outline, than is found in Dovre or Fille-Fial ; and above 
 all, the icy mountains are such a diadem and centre to the \ie\v, as 
 not even Switzerland can shew. I thought them particularly grand
 
 510 HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 
 
 when seen in the grey of the morning, while their cold distinct 
 outline was visible along the dark sky, with no refraction to puzzle, 
 or vapours to conceal it. At other times their forms vary accord- 
 in o- to the shifting lights and shadows, and if it were not for the 
 identity of situation, I could sometimes have doubted whether the 
 peaks which I saw in the haze of noon, were the same with those 
 which in the crimson light of the setting, or the amber brilliancy 
 of the rising sun, had delighted me in so diiferent a manner. Seen, 
 however, as they may be, they are always beautiful and wonderful ; 
 and I looked on them from Choumoka Devi with the more admi- 
 ration, because I knew that I was then to bid them adieu. 
 
 We descended thence by a long and rugged declivity of about 
 seven miles, at first through pine woods, then over ground partially 
 cultivated, then through a beautiful and aweful dell, surrounded by 
 high crags, in which limestone again took place of slate and granite, 
 overhung by beautiful trees and underwood, of almost every kind 
 which I have met with in Europe or India, and swarming with 
 the pretty white monkeys of which I have already taken notice. 
 At the bottom of this dell was a torrent, now containing but little 
 water, but by the width of its bed, and the huge granite blocks 
 which it contained by way of pebbles, sufficiently shewing what 
 sort of stream it must be in the rainy season. We followed this 
 about half a mile farther, and found our tents pitched in an angle 
 of the overhanging rocks, with a fine old peepul-tree in front of 
 them, and a little lower the torrent, which had been our guide, 
 joining the Koosilla, itself a torrent no less rapid and noisy, but 
 wider and deeper than its tributary. The peepul which I have 
 noticed is a sacred tree, and gives name to the place, having been 
 planted by a devout brahmin saint, and therefore called " punt- 
 ka-peepul," the peepul of the caste. We should all of us have 
 liked to have halted here for Sunday ; but it could not be done with- 
 out endangering my arrival at Moradabad on the following Satur- 
 day, and we therefore sent on our breakfast- tent as usual. It was 
 much warmer here than in the high grounds ; and the noise of the
 
 OKUL-DOONGA. 511 
 
 rustling leaves was so like rain, that I more than once during the 
 night pitied my poor people under their scanty sheds of fir branches, 
 and was surprised at length when, on calling out to know if it 
 rained, I was told that the night was beautiful. 
 
 December 5. — This morning we had a very tiresome march 
 to a village named Okul-doonga. Besides divers rocky ascents 
 and descents, and without taking into consideration that what 
 little level ground we met with, was on the side of a torrent, and 
 so paved with large loose stones, as to be worse than most 
 beaches of the sea, we forded the Koosilla no less than twelve 
 times, through a rapid stream frequently as high as the middle 
 of our saddles, and over a bottom the most rocky and uneven 
 I ever passed. The mules were necessarily unloaded no less 
 than three times ; it was with the greatest difficulty the poneys 
 could keep their legs, and we were all wet and dry three or 
 four times over, to our knees and higher. Nothing could be 
 clearer than the water, or more beautiful than the swarms of trout 
 which we saw playing round us, but under such circumstances we 
 had no great leisure for speculation ; and several complaints were 
 heard, though fewest I think from Lady Colquhoun, that the 
 water was colder than ice. Our sepoys prayed, with chattering 
 teeth, that we might soon get into a sunny place, the mountains 
 having, for the greater part of the march completely, kept us in 
 the shade. They were, however, so fortunate as to find the 
 expiring embers of three fires in different places, the remnants of 
 encampments made by travellers the night before, on which they 
 heaped dry sticks, and soon got into good-humour again. 
 
 Okul-doonga is a village of about ten families, situated on a 
 small plain elevated above the river, and surrounded on two sides 
 by deep woody ravines, and on the other by as wild and woody 
 mountains. Though stony it seemed fertile, and was in a state of 
 rich cultivation, uniting, like Oude, most of the productions of 
 temperate and tropical climates. We all exclaimed, on first seeing 
 the spot where our tents were pitched, by a clear stream of water.
 
 512 OKUL-DOONGA. 
 
 on a green slope, and backed with majestic trees, " What a place 
 for a house, and how such a spot would be admired in England !" 
 Our admiration was not diminished, when, on taking our evening's 
 stroll, we heard the braying of deer, and the crowing of pheasants 
 and jungle-hens in the woods ; or, when a basket of bilberries, and 
 a fine dish of trout just caught, were brought to us by a little boy. 
 But a few enquiries at the village damped these pleasurable feelings. 
 The place was described as little less unhealthy than the Terrai. 
 It was, indeed, inhabited by some of its people throughout the 
 year, but they said they had all sad fevers during the rains ; and 
 that when it was hot the hills shut out the breezes. Their cottages, 
 however, though small were tolerably neat and comfortable. The 
 people seemed better fed and clothed than most of the Khasiyas, 
 and if not so healthy, though of this I saw no visible signs, were 
 apparently wealthier and more intelligent than the generality of 
 their mountain neighbours. 
 
 The huts which they had put up for our people, were of a 
 very superior description in point of comfort, and ingeniously cal- 
 culated to save time and trouble, as well as the waste of pine- 
 branches and straw. They were made of frames of bamboo, each 
 something like a hurdle in shape and size, well thatched, but light, 
 and easily carried from place to place, which they supported on 
 props when they were wanted, and took away again and laid up in 
 store, so soon as the travellers, for whom they were produced, had 
 left them. Among the Ghurwali, Sir R. Colquhoun said, this was 
 the usual method, but in Kemaoon he had never seen it before. 
 Indeed the style of cultivation, and many other circumstances, 
 implied that the people of this district, or their Zemindars, were far 
 better managers than those near Almorah. The rice grown in this 
 neighbourhood, and from hence down as low as Dikkalee, is of a 
 very superior quality and celebrated all over India for its white- 
 ness and firmness. It is generally called Pillibheet rice, from a 
 town of that name in Rohilcund, where is a considerable fair at 
 which it is sold, and where it first attracted European notice. It
 
 GHORKA BOY. 513 
 
 is, however, the product not of Rohilcund, but of this valley, and 
 is to be purchased in most perfection at Chilkeah. The district is 
 also celebrated for its bamboos, which though small, are remarkably 
 tough, and seem to gain consistency and soundness from a certain 
 degree of frost. The same is said to be the case with plantains. 
 The tea-plant grows wild all through Kemaoon, but cannot be 
 made use of, from an emetic quality which it possesses. This 
 might, perhaps, be removed by cultivation, but the experiment has 
 never been tried. For the cultivation of tea, I should apprehend 
 both the soil, hilly surface and climate of Kemaoon, in all which it 
 resembles the tea provinces of China, extremely favourable. 
 
 The history of the poor lad who brought the fish was not 
 without interest ; he was the son of an officer of the Ghorkas, who 
 during their occupation of the country, had been jemautdar of 
 Havelbagh, and had been killed fighting against the English. 
 This boy had been since maintained, as he himself said, chiefly by 
 snaring birds, catching fish, and gathering berries, being indebted 
 for his clothes only, which were decent though coarse, to his 
 mother, and the charity of different neighbours who had pity on 
 him as a sort of gentleman in distress. He had his forehead 
 marked with chalk and vermilion to prove his high caste, had a 
 little Ghorka knife, a silver clasp and chain, and a silver bracelet 
 on his arm, with a resolute and independant, though grave demean- 
 our, not ill suited to this character. His tools of trade and liveli- 
 hood were a bow and a fishing-rod, both of the rudest kind. He 
 seemed about sixteen, but was broad set, and short of his age. 
 His ambition was now to be a sepoy, and he was very earnest 
 with Sir R. Colquhoun to admit him into his corps. He said he 
 should like much to do it, but doubted his height. He, how- 
 ever, told him to meet him at Havelbagh on his return, and he 
 would see what could be done for him. Meantime we paid him 
 liberally for his fish, and encouraged him to bring us another 
 basket next day at Dikkalee. He said, at first, he feared the 
 fishermen of that place would beat him, but after a moment's 
 
 3 u
 
 514 HINDOO OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY. 
 
 recollection, added — " let them do it if they dare — if I have your 
 orders I will tell them so !" He was no uninteresting specimen of a 
 forester born and bred, one who from his tenderest years had 
 depended on his " wood-craft" for a dinner, and had been used to 
 hear the stags bray and the tygers growl round the fire of his 
 bivouake. 
 
 We had prayers to-day in our camp, as well as, which indeed 
 we had never omitted, family prayers in the evening. 
 
 I have often noticed among the Hindoos, that many of the 
 decenter sort pay a kind of regard to Sunday. The sepoys, such 
 of them at least as were Brahmins, were more than usually busy 
 to-day with their bells, beads, and ashes, and my long-legged 
 follower had decked himself out in all his glory, having powdered 
 his face entirely with chalk and cow-dung, and marked his naked 
 body all over with white broad lines, which, on his dusky skin, had 
 the strangest effect imaginable ; and, he being a very tall, and 
 though strong and muscular, a very thin, large-boned man, made 
 him, at a little distance, look exactly like a skeleton. Had he 
 taken his stand, as he now was, in any church-yard, few children, 
 women, or men in the parish, would have doubted his unearthly 
 nature. The others were similarly decorated, but with less care 
 and less dismally. 
 
 I>ecember 6. — Salvator Rosa never painted glens more wild 
 and romantic than we threaded to-day in our path to Dikkalee, 
 nor did mules or poneys often pass a worse road. We emerged 
 at length again on the valley of the Koosilla, now considerably 
 increased in size, though fortunately not in depth or rapidity ; I 
 say fortunately, because we had again to ford it, and if it had been 
 a few inches deeper than where we passed it last, it would have 
 been necessary to swim our horses. The banks are exceedingly 
 beautiful, high rocks crowned with woods, and broken into all the 
 capricious forms which lime-stone in a rainy climate assumes. The 
 valley is broader and more stony, and the features in general are 
 in a grander and more savage style. I had, indeed, been strongly
 
 DIKKALEE. 515 
 
 impressed, during the last tliree days, with the conviction that this 
 is by far the most beautiful passage into or out of the Kemaoon, 
 and that, except the Gorge of Mount Gaughur, which is without a 
 rival, nothing is seen on the Beemthal-road which equals the valley 
 of the Koosilla. I only hope that, if, three years hence, I have the 
 pleasure of taking my wife through this part of India, something 
 like a road will have been made by this passage. It is, decidedly, 
 the most advantageous line, and one in which a track for loaded 
 mules and oxen might be constructed at a very moderate expense. 
 On the other side of the river we found ourselves on more level 
 ground, and rode under a shade of walnuts, toon, and ilex, to 
 Dikkalee, a station of grass huts, occupied during the dry season 
 by a small detachment of Sir R. Colquhoun's mountain rangers, 
 but like Tandah and places of the same kind, deadly at other 
 times. 
 
 Of Tandah, however, as well as the rest of this forest, Sir 
 Robert spoke in a less alarming manner than those with whom I 
 had previously conversed. He said that they were all, unquestion- 
 ably, very unwholesome and dangerous places at particular seasons, 
 but in the present or the past month, they were not worse than 
 many of the low vallies of Kemaoon, which were yet often neces- 
 sarily traversed by the officers of Government. He ascribed much 
 of the unhealthiness both of the forest and the Terrai, to the sud- 
 den changes of temperature, the burning sun, and the chiUing 
 blasts which often come from the hills. This seemed the only 
 reason why April and May were so pestilential as they were 
 allowed to be. 
 
 The Ghorka boy came with his fish, as he promised ; but his 
 offering was eclipsed by a large basket-full which some fishermen 
 brought. Sir Robert Colquhoun said it w'as well worth while to 
 see their manner of catching the fish, and we all three went in the 
 evening to the spot where they had laid their nets. It was a small 
 rapid in the river, more shallow than usual, above and below which 
 was a long net, from the space between which they scooped out all 
 
 3 u 2
 
 516 FISHERMEN. 
 
 the fish which they could find, having, as I understood, drawn their 
 nets in opposite directions up and down the stream, till they had 
 enclosed a considerable number in a comparatively narrow space. 
 To catch them, however, they had neither casting nor scoop nets, 
 nor any thing but their hands, which, as well as their teeth, they 
 used with much dexterity, hunting the fish among the large stones 
 in a very amusing manner. A splendid haul was taken, from 
 which, after choosing one or two of the best for ourselves, and two 
 baskets full for the servants and sepoys, we told the people who 
 had assisted in the sport, and who were chiefly our own Khasiya 
 bearers, that they might take the rest themselves. A scramble, 
 but in much good-humour followed, and this addition to their pay 
 seemed, as often happens, to please them more than the pay itself. 
 While this was going on, the Ghorka boy stood by idle. 
 " Why do not you try your luck ?" Lady Colquhoun asked him. 
 " I can catch fish for myself," was his answer, " and what use to 
 jostle with fools ?" He is evidently a singular character. I wish 
 he may get honourable employment in our army ; for, if not, he has 
 about him many of the elements of an excellent Pindarree. 
 
 All the fish, except the trout, in these rivers have leather 
 mouths, with a stronger power of suction than is usually observable. 
 The common opinion is, that they fasten themselves by this means 
 to stones and rocks in order to be secure against the violence of 
 the stream. There are others also like those of England, but 
 some of them of lighter colour. I this evening took leave of my 
 kind friends, who intended to remain here another day and then 
 to march by the foot of the hills to Bamoury. 
 
 December 7. — The way from Dikkalee to Chilkeah is all 
 forest, but by no means level like the tract between Bamoury and 
 Ruderpoor. It is a collection of rocky and woody hills, with a 
 very good road winding through them. The grass is long, and 
 the jungle in several places thick, but the trees, many of them very 
 fine ones, stand a good way apart. At length a steep pitch of 
 rugged road brought us out on the plain, and we saw a wretched
 
 CHILKEAH. 517 
 
 village before us, with my tents, white and shining in the morning 
 sun, beside it. The first appearance of the inhabitants of Chil- 
 keah was not prepossessing. They had the same yellow skins, the 
 same dull yet fierce look, the same ragged and scanty clothing, 
 the same swords and shields, as those in the other parts of these 
 inhospitable plains. Their cottages were half buried in tall grass, 
 and the place had not a more auspicious look than the most un- 
 healthy of the eastern villages. 
 
 From the mohout, however, of my elephant which was sent 
 to meet me, I had the satisfaction of learning that all the people 
 were well ; and in the apparent, and I believe sincere, cordiality 
 which both sepoys and servants displayed on receiving me after 
 this absence, in returning to my own " accustomed tent" and fur- 
 niture, in revisiting Cabul and Nesjeed, and in hearing again the 
 " talam" of the two little children of the mohout, I felt for a 
 moment something like the pleasure of home, till I recollected how 
 far I still was, and how long I was likely to be, separated from those 
 who only make home agreeable to me. The old soubahdar, who 
 received me at the head of his company with presented arms, drum, 
 and fife, gave a short and favourable account of the progress of his 
 party. They had come straight through the forest from Tandah 
 to Casherpoor, remained there a few days, and thence advanced to 
 Chilkeah ; all were well, both men and animals, except one poor 
 elephant, which had been grievously bruised several years ago in 
 helping to carry a field-piece to Almorah, and whose hurts, strange 
 to say, broke out again as soon as she approached the hills ! The 
 loss of her services was at present very inconvenient, but it was 
 fortunate that we had not sent the mules away. 
 
 Chilkeah, though a poor place to look at, is by no means an 
 unimportant one at certain seasons of the year, being one of the 
 principal marts of trade both into Kemaoon, and through that 
 country into Tibet and Tartary. A great number of temporary 
 huts, ranged in the form of a regular town, were already built, and
 
 518 CHILKEAH. 
 
 many more were building, for the accommodation of the traders 
 who meet in this emporium, and I was surprised to find Enghsh 
 cloths and eastern shawls of good appearance, with many other 
 apparently serviceable and valuable commodities exposed for sale 
 in huts, which scarcely equalled a cottage cow-house in Shropshire. 
 When the unhealthy weather returns, all these huts are aban- 
 doned, and, during the rains, fall into nearly total ruin. Yet the 
 jemautdar of Chilkeah said their water was good, in which all 
 my people agreed, and considered the place as healthy, that is, 
 for one in the Terrai. Such, however, is the horror with which 
 even this most favoured tract of the lowlands is regarded by the 
 Khasiya mountaineers, that Sir R. Colquhoun told me he knew an 
 instance in which six invalid sepoys rather preferred to give up 
 their pensions than go to ]Meerut through Chilkeah during the bad 
 season ; and another in which a robbery and murder were not pro- 
 secuted, because none of the witnesses could be prevailed on by 
 any possible inducement to go to ]Moradabad, the circuit court. 
 Under these circumstances, it is evident that Kemaoon ought to 
 have a separate jimsdiction, and that her military officers should 
 have such power as to enable them to act, in some cases, indepen- 
 dantly of their superior officers in the plains. This would, how- 
 ever, be difficult, and the only remedy which seems practicable, is 
 to give a latitude in such cases as I have mentioned. The separate 
 judicature seems absolutely necessary, for it is a grievous thing to 
 say, " you shall not obtain justice unless at the great risk of a putrid 
 fever !" The view of the mountains from Chilkeah is very good, 
 but I was satiated with fine scenery, and was only bent on push- 
 ing on. 
 
 December 8. — Next morning, accordingly, we proceeded ten 
 coss to Casherpoor. I went on horseback over a very wild, 
 marshy, and jungly plain, overgrown with grass far higher than my 
 head, and scattered with trees and bushes. I have never seen a 
 more feverish or tygerly country, nor was Casherpoor, when I
 
 CASHERPOOR. 519 
 
 reached it, a bit better looking than Ruderpoor. Surely, if these 
 places are really healthier than those on the other road, and they 
 are certainly more populous, there must be more in the difference 
 of the water than Europeans are willing to allow. 
 
 Casherpoor is a famous place of Hindoo pilgiimage, has divers 
 temples, and a very holy and dirty tank, where the pilgrims bathe in 
 their way to the temples at the foot of Bhadrinath. None of them, 
 however, are particularly worthy of notice, and the most remark- 
 able thing which I saw was a quack-doctor, a Mussulman, educated, 
 he said, at Lucknow, and well stocked, not indeed with medicines, 
 for he had only a very little satchel, but with all the usual grimace 
 of a merry Andrew, and a good stock of confidence, with some little 
 English and Persian. 
 
 In walking to a ruinous fort at a short distance from the town, 
 I passed, however, after I had written this, some noble inangoe- 
 trees, overshadowing the tombs and temples, of which I have 
 spoken, and two walled orchards, planted, as the village jemautdar 
 told me, by wealthy merchants resident in the place. He said 
 a great trade passed through this cliannel, and the town, from 
 its superior healthiness, was much preferred to Chilkeah by the 
 rich traders. I asked him if the fever never came here. He 
 shook his head, but said that it was chiefly confined to the poor, 
 and those who had scanty clothing and slept on the ground ; a 
 description, however, which comprises nine-tenths of all who ever 
 come into this neighbourhood. He said that Casherpoor was 
 built by a divinity, as I understood him, named Cashi, 5000 years 
 ago ; that it was a great place in all the wars formerly carried on 
 on this frontier, and that this was the best and nearest way to 
 China. Abdullah, who followed us, listened with great attention 
 to his narrative, but interposed a doubt as to the antiquity of the 
 place being so great as he supposed, on the ground that, according 
 to the Persian Chronicles, Jumsheed Jum, who only lived 4700 
 years ago, was the first who built either in brick or stone, adding in
 
 520 SUPPOSED VOLCANO ON NUNDIDEVI. 
 
 English to me, that " it was he who built the tower of Babel." I was 
 a little afraid of war between the rival Titans, Cashi and Jumsheed, 
 when the long-legged sepoy, who had also followed, cried out, 
 " There is Nundidevi !" and all eyes were turned either to see 
 the hill of which such wonders had doubtless been told, or, as in 
 my own case, to take a last leave of one of the noblest inanimate 
 works of Providence. Of the white hills Nundidevi alone was 
 visible, but he was very distinctly so. I forget whether I mentioned 
 in its proper place that, all the natives of the country assert, a 
 smoke is often seen to rise from the lower of his highest peaks. 
 This is, they say, the kitchen of the god Xundi ; but, if it is true, 
 for no European has yet seen it, it is a very curious instance of a 
 volcano situated so far from the sea, the waters of which are, by 
 most chemists, supposed to be necessary to the production of those 
 terrible phenomena. The frequency of earthquakes in these 
 regions might countenance the idea of subterraneous fire, but I 
 have not been able to learn that any volcanic remains, whether 
 scoriae or basalt, have been as yet discovered. It is possible that 
 a fleecy cloud may have been mistaken for smoke ; but the labours 
 of Captain Herbert, the mineralogist employed by Government, 
 who is described as enterprizing and indefatigable, may probably 
 soon throw some light on the question. If there is a volcano on 
 Nundidevi, it must, however, be very inert and almost extinct, 
 or it would have placed itself ere this beyond doubt. 
 
 December 9. — We proceeded to Belagary, a poor httle village, 
 whither we were obliged to take provisions from Casherpoor, as 
 it neither contained bazar nor tradesman. The road was good, 
 and the country improving in fertiUty and cultivation, though 
 still inferior to the average of India. One of the camel-drivers 
 here complained of illness, and seemed very feverish ; I gave him 
 medicine, and finding he had no tent or other shelter, I made his 
 companions, a brutish set, and extremely careless of each other, 
 contrive a little shed for him of camel furniture and sacks, and also
 
 SPINNING-WHEELS. 
 
 521 
 
 ordered one of them to sit by him and give him " congee/' rice- 
 gruel, as often as he complained of thirst. I cannot say that I at 
 all liked either his pulse or his looks ; but though I felt again per- 
 plexed, I thought that the path which I was treading was at least a 
 safe one. In fact he found himself better in the evening; and I 
 hoped that I had provided against a relapse by giving him a birth 
 in the servants' tent. 
 
 I walked round the village in the evening, merely for the sake 
 of a walk, not anticipating that I should see any thing curious. 
 I was pleased, however, with the appearance of the houses, which, 
 though very humble, were all in good repair, shewed abundance of 
 buffaloes in their little court-yards, and were kept with a degree of 
 cleanliness and smartness, which, though not inseparable from a 
 state of moderate comfort and plenty, (since there are peasants, 
 like the Dutch colonists of the Cape and the North American 
 farmers, who are at once affluent and dirty,) is at least never seen 
 where some degree of comfort and plenty is not found. I saw also 
 the women spinning cotton on small and odd-shaped wheels. 
 
 The young women seemed more shy than most Hindoos of 
 
 3 X
 
 522 BOITPOOR. 
 
 their sex are. One poor girl, with red trowsers, a saffron veil, 
 and larger silver anklets than her neighbours, ran away as hard 
 as she could when we approached, but by ill-luck turning down 
 a wrong lane, fell a second time into the jaws of her enemy. 
 I thought for a moment that her alarm was counterfeited, and 
 merely a fuga ad saliceSy but it was evident that such a suspicion 
 did her injustice. All the people, both here and at Casherpoor, 
 are Hindoos, which indeed, except the descendants of the Patan 
 conquerors, seems the case with almost all the inhabitants of 
 Rohilcund. 
 
 December 10. — This morning we went to a small town named 
 Boitpoor, or some such name, through a fertile level country, 
 with some groves of very large mangoes and tara-palms. The 
 mangoe-tree grows to a greater size in the north-east of this 
 province, than in any other part of India I have yet traversed. 
 Several which I passed to-day equalled those at Ruderpoor. It is 
 certainly, I conceive, the largest fruit-tree in the world. 
 
 Boitpoor has a small bazar, and a very minute mosque. It is 
 partly inhabited by Mussulmans, who, I thought at first, received 
 us less civilly than the people of most Indian villages. It turned 
 out, however, that the Zemindar, who had also been jemautdar, 
 was dead, and that his family were not yet visible ; consequently 
 the place was without a " Malik," or master ; and every body 
 did what he thought right, which, in the present case, was to 
 do nothing. As this would not answer my purpose, I sent a 
 message to the brother of the deceased, stating that I should 
 not trouble him to come to me, but only to order his tenants to 
 furnish the usual supplies, at the usual rate. He came, however, a 
 grey-headed man, apparently in grief, and made many apologies 
 which I could not persuade him were needless. While we were 
 talking, a man came up, throwing dust in the air, and crying out 
 pitifully for " Justice ! justice !" He at first said that " my people 
 had taken his fish, his straw, his bread — that he was plundered, 
 ruined, and must starve, he and his children !" At length I asked
 
 WHITE BUFFALO. 523 
 
 him if he had been paid for his fish ? He hesitated; but two or three 
 of the people ran up to say that he had had seven anas, which I 
 knew was quite sufficient for the whole basket. I then asked the 
 Zemindar the probable value of the straw which had been taken, 
 who answered " a pice." I gave him two pice, but still he was not 
 satisfied, though he now confessed he had lost nothing more ; I 
 therefore sent him away, marvelling at the habit which seems to 
 prevail in all these countries, of demanding justice with bitter 
 outcries ; and, even when the affair is a trifle, assuming the air and 
 desperation of a ruined man. 
 
 The poor camel-driver was better, but by no means well, and 
 I had a sepoy complaining to-day. In the evening I took my 
 usual walk, accompanied by the old soubahdar and the late 
 Zemindar's brother, a very stupid old man, who merely knew that 
 Boitpoor had once been a flourishing place, but had been ruined 
 in the wars. I saw, however, some things worth notice : first, a 
 white buffalo, a thing which Abdullah, who also followed me, as 
 did my two inseparable sepoys, and nearly half the village, pointed 
 out as a great curiosity, such as he, at least, had never seen before. 
 The second was the manner of weaving and dyeing a coarse kind 
 of chintz, of which there seemed to be a considerable manufactory 
 in the place. The weaving was like other weaving, but the dyeing 
 was done very simply and well, with small types, if I may call 
 them so, made to represent different parts of the pattern, and laid 
 on in succession, after being dipped in different colours. x'Vll the 
 colours were vegetable, and I noticed madder, indigo, and a strong 
 good yellow, which they said was extracted from the toon-tree- 
 The fabric of the stuff was bad, but the patterns neat and shewy. 
 A caftan of this stuff, lined with red or white, and quilted with 
 cotton, is called a " lebada," from " libd," a quilt, in Arabic and 
 Hebrew, and is the common winter-dress of the people in all these 
 provinces. The third particular was a sugar-mill at work, a machine 
 of the simplest construction, but which seemed to answer its 
 purpose tolerably. It consisted of a large vat under ground, 
 
 3x2
 
 524 SUGAR-MILL. 
 
 covered by a stout platform, in the centre of which was a wooden 
 cyHnder, apparently the hollowed stump of a tree. In this was a 
 stout piece of timber fixed as in a socket, which was turned round 
 and round like the stick used in milling chocolate, by a beam 
 fastened to it, to which two oxen were yoked. A man sate on 
 the beam behind the oxen, and kept thrusting in, betwixt the 
 upright timber and its socket, pieces of sugar-cane of about a foot 
 long, which were necessarily crushed by the timber as it turned 
 round, so that their juice ran down into the vat beneath. They 
 said that stones, on the principle of a common mill, were far better 
 where they could be procured ; but here they were very poor, and 
 stones were dear. Fourth, as I returned home, I passed a fine tree 
 of the mimosa, with leaves at a little distance so much resembling 
 those of the mountain-ash, that I was for a moment deceived, and 
 asked if it did not bring fruit ? They answered no, but it was a 
 very noble tree, being called " the Imperial tree," for its excellent 
 properties, — that it slept all night, and wakened and was alive all 
 day, withdrawing its leaves if any one attempted to touch them. 
 Above all, however, it was useful as a preservative against magic ; 
 a sprig worn in the turban or suspended over the bed, was a perfect 
 security against all spells, evil eye, &c., insomuch that the most 
 formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach its 
 shade. One, indeed, they said, who was very renowned for his 
 power (like Lorrinite in Kehama,) of killing plants, and drying up 
 their sap with a look, had come to this very tree and gazed on it 
 intently ; " But," said the old man who told me this, with an air 
 of triumph, *' look as he might he could do the tree no harm !" a 
 fact of which I make no question. I was amused and surprised 
 to find the superstition which, in England and Scotland, attach to 
 the rowan-tree, here applied to a tree of nearly similar form. 
 Which nation has been, in this case, the imitator, or from what 
 common centre are all these common notions derived ? 
 
 I had met several men, within these few days, riding on oxen, 
 a custom which I had not remarked elsewhere. The oxen seemed
 
 MORADABAD. 525 
 
 very tolerable nags, little inferior to the common tattoos of the 
 country. 
 
 December 11. — This morning we went six coss to Moradabad. 
 It is a moderate-sized town, with a handsome garden or two and 
 some remains of former splendour, standing on a sluggish river, the 
 Ramgunga, as wide nearly in this place as the Severn at Shrews- 
 bury, but shallow and fordable, apparently, in several places. I 
 was on my elephant, but it might, without the least difficulty, have 
 been passed on horseback. I found that Mr. Halhed, and IMr. 
 Parry Okeden were absent from home on duty, the whole station 
 being rendered on the alert by the alarm of a body of armed plun- 
 derers having assembled on the skirts of the forest, north of this 
 place, between Chilkea and Hurdwar. I received, however, very 
 great kindness and hospitality from Mr. Ford, the collector of the 
 whole district, (the northern and southern parts of which are 
 divided between Mr. Halhed and Mr. Boulderson,) who, together 
 with Mr. Scott, the Judge and Magistrate, called on me early in 
 the forenoon. I had also a visit from Mr. Simms, the junior 
 station Surgeon, (who is brother-in-law to our friend Dr. Bliss of 
 St. John's,) and I was glad to consult him about my two sick men. 
 I was grieved to find that he considered their complaint as likely 
 to turn out the jungle-fever ! His view of the unwholesomeness of 
 the Terrai corresponded entirely with what I had heard at Bareilly, 
 and from Mr. Boulderson. He said that there were many places 
 along the border which were at all seasons dangerous ; that !Mr. 
 Halhed's party had already sent in several sick since their pursuit 
 of the freebooters commenced ; and though less dangerous at some 
 times than others, he did not conceive either the Terrai or the 
 forest to be ever wholesome places to linger in. 
 
 Under these circumstances I felt extremely sorry that I had 
 detained my men even a few days at Chilkea, though in so doing 
 I acted from the best information in my power. Mr. Simms 
 thought that it would turn out a mild case with both of them ; 
 but it was necessary that they should be immediately removed to
 
 0-26 MORADABAD. 
 
 the military hospital. The poor sepoy was very unwilling to go, 
 but there was no remedy. The camel-driver was really so ill this 
 morning that he was hardly able to express any choice in the 
 affair. Mr. Simms good-naturedly procured dhoolies to carry them, 
 and promised me to pay them all the attention in his power. 
 
 December 12, Sunday. — I read prayers, preached, and admi- 
 nistered the Sacrament to-day in one of the rooms of the collector's 
 cutcherry, to about twenty persons ; a more numerous congregation 
 than I expected, considering that so many of the residents were 
 away. Indeed, Mr. Okeden and Mr. Williams, the assistant regis- 
 ter, actually, on purpose to be present, returned from the camp, 
 about forty miles off. 
 
 The cutcherry is a large and handsome house, which was 
 built by Mr. Leycester when he was Judge and Magistrate here. 
 It is on the same sort of scale with our house in Calcutta, with 
 the addition of a very splendid gateway as lodge, which would 
 serve for the gate of a city, and an extent of at least twenty acres 
 of land, formerly laid out in garden, but now totally neglected, 
 except as a field for making bricks out of The most curious part, 
 however, of the place to an English eye, is that this fine house (for 
 it really is a very fine one) is surrounded by a mud rampart, with 
 a deep moat, and four small circular bastions, all now much out of 
 repair. On expressing some surprise at this, I was told that when 
 Mr. Leycester built the house such a precaution was, in this part 
 of India, not undesirable, though it was rather unusual. 
 
 After service I had three christenings, and an interesting 
 visit from a fine grey-bearded old man, who said he had been 
 converted by Mr. Corrie to Christianity, when at Agra, and 
 that his name was " Noor Musseeh," Light of the Messiah. He 
 came to ask for books, if I had any to spare him ; to introduce his 
 son, a tall, strapping, but not auspicious looking young man, who 
 was a catechumen, and wished to be baptized ; and, lastly, to beg 
 me to speak to the collector and Mr. Halhed, that he might not 
 be turned out of a small office which he held, and which, he said.
 
 NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 527 
 
 he was in danger of losing on account of his Christianity ! This, 
 indeed, was not the reason given, but he said that his comrades in 
 office, fierce Mussulmans, left no stone unturned to misrepresent 
 and ruin him, and that, if he had no protector, he must sink. 
 Abdullah said he knew from his own experience, and from all he 
 had heard from Fyze Musseeh and Abdul Musseeh, that this was 
 very likely to be true, and I therefore did give the poor man a few 
 lines, stating his case, to both Mr. Forde and Mr. Halhed. I also 
 furnished him with a Hindoostanee Prayer book, (he had already 
 the four Gospels,) and with regard to his son, whom he said he had 
 instructed carefully to the best of his knowledge, I told him I 
 could not myself examine him sufficiently to judge of his acquire- 
 ments in Christianity, which, indeed, did not seem very extensive, 
 but if he would go with me to Meerut, he might put his bed under 
 the connauts of the tent, and I would give him his provisions, and 
 that there Mr. Fisher should examine and instruct him more fully. 
 The old man was very grateful, and wanted to kiss my knees and 
 feet ; the young one bowed very low, and asked my blessing, but 
 did not seem to participate in an equal degree in his father's zeal. 
 This is the third or fourth Christian I have heard of scattered up 
 and down in these mountain provinces, and it is likely that, as Mr. 
 Corrie thinks, there are many more believers in Christ, who dare 
 not, by owning themselves, incur the ill-will of their neighbours. 
 
 I went in the afternoon to the hospital to see the sepoy and 
 camel-driver. The former I found in much distress and depres- 
 sion of spirits, from being in a strange place and without a nurse. 
 Being a brahmin he could only receive nourishment, and parti- 
 cularly water, from one of his own caste, and there was no such 
 person attached to the hospital. He was quite sensible, but very 
 feverish, and seemed to think himself left to die. I encouraged 
 him as well as I could, and wrote a note to Mr. Simms, begging 
 him to get a brahmin for him, which he might easily do from the 
 regiment quartered in the place. The poor camel-driver thought 
 himself better, his fever having intermitted. The hospital is a
 
 528 MORADABAD, 
 
 very comfortable one for this climate, a large thatched bungalow, 
 all in one room like a barn, with sufficient air, and very well 
 verandahd round. The beds were clean and comfortable, and 
 there seemed no want of any thing, but that peculiar attendance 
 which the prejudices of the Hindoos require, and which, I was 
 given to understand, would on my application be immediately 
 supphed. 
 
 INIr. Parry Okeden called on me in the course of the day. 
 He considered the banditti, whom they had been pursuing, as 
 completely dispersed. They followed them a day or two, and 
 once were very near surprising them in their bivouake, where they 
 found the embers still hot, and the pitchers for cooking not all 
 empty. They had issued promises of reward for the apprehension 
 of the ringleaders, but did not expect much result from the 
 measure. 
 
 I had an opportunity here of seeing the way in which ice is 
 made all over upper India. A number of broad and very shallow 
 earthen pans are placed on a layer of dry straw, and filled with 
 water. In the night, even the small degree of frost which is felt 
 here, is sufficient to cover these with a thin coat of ice which is 
 carefully collected and packed up. The quantity produced must 
 be, however, very small, and the process an expensive one. Vines 
 seem to thrive well here, but they do not prune them close enough. 
 They are very beautiful objects, but a vine to be productive should 
 be trimmed till it is downright ugly. Here the climate might 
 answer very well. In Kemaoon it does not ; the rains setting in 
 so early that the fruit has not time to ripen. On the whole, I am 
 rather struck \dth the apparent similarity in many points of pro- 
 ductions, scenery, &c. of Rohilcund with Bengal. The climate is 
 certainly different, yet in other respects they resemble each other 
 more than any parts of India which I have yet visited. Rohilcund, 
 however, in every thing but rivers has much the advantage. 
 
 I saw frequently, during the last week, the nest of the tree- 
 wasp, about the size of, and nearly similar in shape to those of the
 
 RAMPOOR. 529 
 
 English, but hanging Hke large withered fruit from the branches of 
 trees. I have not seen any of the insects themselves, at least to 
 distinguish them, nor have I been able to learn whether, and in 
 what respects, they differ from their brethren who hive in banks and 
 hollow places. 
 
 Like almost all the nobility of India, the Nawab of Rampoor 
 is a mere drunkard and voluptuary. He had, lately, a very clever 
 managing steward, under whom his little territory prospered 
 greatly. But, like the king of Oude, he has now got rid of him, 
 and his Jaghire is pretty much administered according to the 
 ancient Indian maxim : 
 
 *' The good old rule, the simple plan, 
 That they should take who have the power, 
 And they should keep who can !" 
 
 Rampoor is described as a large town, chiefly remarkable for 
 the sort of fortification which surrounds it. This is a hiffh thick 
 hedge, or rather plantation, of bamboos, set as close to each other 
 as possible, and faced on the outside by a formidable underwood 
 of cactus and babool. The only places of entrance are narrow 
 paths defended by strong wooden barriers, and the defence is one 
 which, against irregular troops, is said to be extremely efficient, 
 since neither cavalry nor infantry can be brought up to act against 
 an enemy whom they camiot see, but who fire at them from 
 between the stems of the bamboos, under cover of the thorny and 
 almost impenetrable bushes without. 
 
 December 13. — This morning we left Moradabad and marched 
 ten short coss, about sixteen miles, to Tyleepoor, a paltry little 
 village, at a considerable distance from the necessary supplies, but 
 which was the best halting place within our reach ; that laid down 
 in Paton's route being above twenty miles, a distance too great to 
 march without some real necessity. There is a good deal of 
 waste land between Moradabad and Tyleepoor, and the soil seems 
 
 3 Y
 
 530 NEW CATECHUxMEN. 
 
 poor and barren. There are also some marshy pools, and we 
 forded a small river. 
 
 I had another sepoy very feverish to-day, and suspect that he 
 had been ill some time, and had concealed it for fear of the hos- 
 pital. I know not whether fortmiately or otherwise, they have 
 acquired a marvellous opinion of my medical skill. This renders 
 them very willing to take my remedies, but it may lead them to 
 trust to me too far. I gave this man a dose of calomel and jalap, 
 being afraid of James's powder, as it was near night, and he had 
 to march next day. 
 
 I read Hindoostanee prayers this evening with Abdullah and 
 the new Catechumen, Jaffier Beg, who has rather risen in my 
 favourable opinion. He has evidently taken a good deal of pains 
 in studying the four Gospels, the only Christian books which he has 
 yet seen ; and his questions were very numerous. He joined in the 
 Lord's Prayer with much seeming devotion, and said he understood 
 the other prayers which I read. I am, however, vexed more and 
 more at the little ground which I gain in the language ; and at the 
 little time which I have for improving myself. Yet the one is the 
 consequence of the other ; and for the last I have no remedy, now 
 that I have neither secretary nor assistant, and have so much of 
 my day taken up by travelHng and the necessary preparations for 
 travelling. Lushington and Archdeacon Corrie were considerable 
 helps to me in writing, &c. but I do not know that their presence 
 at all forwarded my progress in Hindoostanee. 
 
 December 14. — This day's march was ten coss, to a small and 
 poor village named INIuhaisna; where we had some difficulty in 
 obtaining supplies, and found the ryuts disposed to giTimble and 
 be uncivil. One of the men, who was fiercest and loudest, was a 
 remarkably tall and fine-looking young man, with a silver bracelet 
 of a singular form on his arm, which struck me from its classical 
 character, being two serpents twined together. They complained 
 that hay had been taken without paying for it, which did not 
 appear to have been the case ; and at last the principal farmer of
 
 MUHAISNA. 531 
 
 the village owned that then* outcries were from fear of what would 
 be taken, rather than from any mischief which my people had 
 already done. 
 
 In our way we passed through the outskirts of Amroah, a 
 considerable town, with some neat mosques and extensive gardens, 
 with walls and summer-houses, and surrounded with large planta- 
 tions of sugar and cotton. The generality of the country, how- 
 ever, is poor, sterile, and ill-inhabited, with more waste land 
 than is usual in India. The sown land, too, appeared suffering 
 exceedingly from drought, which, indeed, is the case with all 
 Rohilcund. 
 
 This station of Muhaisna was a bad one in another respect. 
 The only grove of trees was on a broken piece of ground inter- 
 sected with gullies, and so overgrown with weeds that the tents 
 could not be pitched there ; and I w^as obliged to encamp on the 
 plain near two fine peepul-trees, which, however, were by no means 
 sufficient for the comfort of the people, and the numerous animals 
 of our cofila. The groves of fruit-trees are the surest marks, I 
 think, of prosperity about an Indian village, and in this part of 
 Rohilcund their rarity and, generally speaking, their insignificant 
 size, shew that the land is either naturally almost irreclaimable, or 
 that, lying near the Ganges, and the frontier exposed to the usual 
 stream of invasion, the country has not recovered the horrors of 
 that time, when the Maharatta was their near and triumphant 
 neighbour. A strong proof of the recollection which the calamities 
 of that time has left behind is, that when the people of l>areilly 
 w^ere informed not long since that the money raised by internal 
 duties was to be laid out for the improvement of their town, they 
 expressed a general wish that their walls might be repaired. On 
 asking " what enemies they feared ?" they replied that all was quiet 
 at the moment, but they could not tell but the Maharattas might 
 one day return. 
 
 I had more applications to-day for medicine and, putting 
 worrying in place of beating, found I was in as fair a way to be 
 
 3 Y 2
 
 532 TIGHREE. 
 
 forced into considering myself an able physician as Sgnagnarelle, in 
 the Medecin malgre lui. The sepoy declared himself quite well ; 
 which emboldened one of his comrades to complain of being 
 feverish ; and a ryut, hearing the application, came forward also to 
 bear something for sore eyes. He was not, however, content with 
 my medical aid, for immediately afterwards he said in a low tone 
 that a man had been killed in the village of which he was thannadar, 
 and he should get into trouble unless I stood his friend ! 
 
 The weather was so cool and cloudy that I hoped rain was 
 coming ; I did not indeed wish for a decided fall before I got into 
 Meerut, yet even this I would have gladly borne, to see the poor 
 dry clods moist and hopeful. 
 
 December 15. — This morning we came, a march of eight coss, 
 to a village named Tighree. Half-w^ay we passed another village 
 named Gujrowlie, with a tolerable serai, where one of my horses 
 had been sent on before to give me the advantage of a change, as 
 usual in Indian travelling. The country thus far was cultivated, 
 not well, nor fully, but still there were marks of cultivation, though 
 every thing was grievously parched for want of rain. The remainder 
 of the distance lay through a desolate tract, once evidently well 
 inhabited, as was apparent by the few palm-trees scattered up and 
 down, but now, and probably for many years, waste and overgrown 
 with high grass-jungle. 
 
 Tighree itself is a poor place, a small village, with a few 
 patches of corn round it, in the midst of the wilderness, without 
 any tree, except one or two scattered palms, and scarcely space 
 enough between the young wheat and the jungle to admit of our 
 encampment. The day was hot, and the people and animals 
 suffered a good deal for want of shade, added to which, all our 
 supplies were to come from Gurmukteser, a distance of three coss, 
 so that it was almost noon before either grass for the horses, or 
 fuel or food for the men arrived, and much later before the poor 
 camels and elephants got their boughs. The jemautdar, however, 
 and tusseeldar of Gurmukteser, were civil, and, at length, fur-
 
 HINDOO YOGIS. 533 
 
 nished us with every thing, except that the kid which they sent 
 had the rot and was uneatable. There was no fire-wood in the 
 neighbourhood, but the tusseeldar sent a cart-load of dung- 
 cakes, and would take no repayment, saying it was no more than 
 dustoor. There was little to tempt me out here, and it was 
 more from dustoor, than any thing else, that I walked in the 
 evening to see the village, which I found neat, though small and 
 poor. The cottages in Upper India have generally the mud walls 
 of their front whitewashed, and a rude painting of flowers or some 
 figures of men, animals, or divinities, painted on each side of their 
 doors, a circumstance which I never remarked in Bengal or Bahar, 
 and which has a lively and agreeable effect. They have also, 
 generally, on one side of this door, a small platform of clay beaten 
 hard, raised about a foot and swept very clean, on which the 
 family usually sit in the cool of the day, and where, at such times 
 their spinning and other household works are carried on. 
 
 The jemautdar of Gurmukteser, who accompanied me in this 
 walk, said that the Ganges, at present, was distant about two coss ; 
 but that during the rains it came up close to this village. He said 
 that Tighree and the jungles round it were celebrated as hunting- 
 ground all over this part of India ; that there was great abundance 
 of wild hogs, deer, and all other animals except elephants. These 
 require a deeper forest and large trees, both for shelter and 
 nourishment. I asked if there were many tygers ? He said plenty ; 
 but that there was a very wonderful thing in the neighbourhood ; 
 that there were two Hindoo Yogis, who lived in different cells 
 in the wilderness, about two coss from the village, in opposite 
 directions, of whom the one was never hurt by the tygers though 
 living in the neighbourhood where they most abounded, and 
 where no other man would pass a night for half Rohilcund ; while, 
 to the other, a tyger actually came every night and licked his hands, 
 and fondled and lay by him for hours. At first, from my imperfect 
 knowledge of the language, I fancied it was the same sort of story 
 which I had heard concerning the saint's tomb at Sicligully ; but
 
 534 HINDOO YOGIS. 
 
 on asking if it was where the Yogi was buried, he explained 
 himself very clearly, that the saint was still alive, — that he was 
 very old, and went quite naked, with a long white beard and hair 
 — that his dwelling was a little hut among the long grass, not far 
 from the road-side, in the way to Gurmukteser, and that there 
 were people who had been there at night and seen him and his 
 tyger together. He added that he lived by charity, but never 
 asked for any thing except he was actually hungry, which was 
 seldom the case, as, from his high reputation, he was generally 
 supplied. I asked the jemautdar if he had seen the tyger ? He 
 answered " No, because he had never been there at night, but that 
 there was no doubt of the fact/^ I asked, " If I were to go there 
 now, (it was growing dusk,) should I see him ?" He answered 
 that I might have done so, if the holy man had been at home, but 
 that he had gone the day before to Amroah, and that I must have 
 passed him on the road. In fact, the saees who had been sent on 
 to Gujrowlie said that he had seen a very remarkable old man, 
 answering to the description given, seated in a corner of the serai 
 at that place. The jemautdar was a Mussulman, and had no 
 motive for swelling the praises of a Hindoo saint, so that I have 
 little doubt that he himself believed what he told me, nor, indeed, 
 do I think the fact impossible, or even improbable. Similar stories 
 are told of hermits in Syria, whose cells have been frequented by 
 lions, — and a lion I should conceive to be as formidable a chum as 
 a tyger; and it certainly is not unlikely that a man, with no other 
 occupation or amusement, might very thoroughly tame a tyger's 
 whelp, so as to retain a hold on its affections, and to restrain it, 
 while in his presence, from hurting others, even after it had 
 arrived at its full growth and fierceness. Every animal is, caiteris 
 paribus, fiercer when tied up or confined ; yet the great tyger at 
 Barrackpoor would, I have no doubt, allow his keeper to sleep in 
 the same den with him ; in a wilderness abounding with hogs and 
 deer, there would be little risk of the tyger's coming home so 
 hungry as to be tempted to attack his friend ; and the principal
 
 BOA CONSTRICTOR. 535 
 
 danger of the devotee would be from the rough fondling of his 
 pet when he was two-thirds grown. As to the supposed safety of 
 the rival saint, that I conceive to be merely luck, added to the fact 
 that, except a tyger be provoked, or much pressed by hunger, or 
 have once tasted human flesh, it seems pretty certain that he 
 seldom attacks a man. 
 
 The poor sepoy to whom I had given medicine the day 
 before, and who was this morning reported much better, was again 
 attacked with fever at night. I gave him a rather stronger dose 
 than before, but by no means felt easy about him. 
 
 I am not sure whether I mentioned in their proper place two 
 curious facts which were told me in Kemaoon respecting the 
 forests and their productions. The one is, that fires often take 
 place in the jungles during the dry season, by the mere friction of 
 the cane stalks against each other in high winds. This was first 
 told me by the Raja Gooman Singh, and it was confirmed, at least 
 as being the usual opinion of the people, by Mr. Traill and Sir 
 R. Colquhoun. A scene of this sort, and arising from this cause, 
 is described in Leyden's Scenes of Infancy, but I had always, till 
 now, supposed that the poet's fancy, rather than his reading, had 
 been his prompter here. The other is that the Boa Constrictor is 
 frequently found, particularly in the wood between Bamoury and 
 Dikkalee, under the immediate feet of the hills. These snakes are 
 of enormous size, but not much feared by the natives, since 
 though they have, in their opinion, sufficient strength to master a 
 buffalo, they are proportionably unwieldy. Many stories are told 
 here, as in Surinam, of persons stepping on them by mistake for 
 fallen trees, and being terrified on finding them alive. 
 
 December 16. — From Tighree to the ferry of the Ganges is 
 about three coss, all wild jungle. Half-way we passed the her- 
 mitage of the tyger saint, a little cottage almost buried in long grass, 
 but both larger and more apparently comfortable, than, from the 
 jemautdar's description, I had expected. AVe now took leave of 
 the noble Ganges, not again to see it till our return by sea to
 
 536 ELEPHANTS SWIMMING. 
 
 Saugor Island. Even here, at this distance from the sea, and in 
 almost the driest season of the year, it is a great and mighty river, 
 not far short, as I think, of the Thames at Westminster bridge. 
 Dming the rains it must, judging from its traces on both sides, be 
 nearly four miles across. I had frequently asked military men 
 whether the Ganges was any way fordable after it left the hills, 
 and had, as usual in India, received contradictory and unsatisfactory 
 answers, but the impression left on my mind was, that it was 
 fordable both at Gurmukteser and Anopshehr. On asking the 
 jemautdar and ferrymen, however, they all agreed that there was 
 no ford in its whole course. Here there certainly was not ; since, 
 as the boats could not receive our elephants, and they tried to 
 wade through, even they were, in the middle of the stream, com- 
 pelled to swim, a sight which I was not at all sorry to have an 
 opportunity of seeing. All three could swim, which was fortunate, 
 as this is not always the case with them. I did not think that the 
 one which I remarked, sank so deep in the water as had been 
 described to me, or as the elephant is represented as doing in 
 Captain Williamson's print. 
 
 In the course of this day's march, a circumstance occurred 
 which proves I think how much the people of this country look 
 up to the English for help and counsel in all emergencies. I was 
 going along a jungly piece of road, for all this day's march as well 
 as yesterday's was more or less jungly, when I saw a little cluster 
 of travellers of the lower class surrounding somebody on the 
 ground. As soon as they saw me they immediately ran up, saying, 
 that one of their friends was sick, and they begged me to look at 
 him and give him medicine. The man, as it turned out, had only 
 a httle cholic, which was well before my physic chest arrived to 
 enable me to give him medicine. But what struck me, was the 
 immediate impulse which led these men to suppose, on seeing an 
 European riding along the road, that he was likely to help and 
 advise them ! Surely, if this opinion is general, it must be one of 
 the best holds we have on our Indian empire.
 
 SHAHJEHANPOOR. 537 
 
 Shahjehanpoor, a common name in India, is a large and pic- 
 turesque town with a ruined castle, several mosques, and some 
 large and fine groves and pools of water. I saw, however, but 
 little of it, for I had a good deal of business during the day, 
 getting ready my letters to be despatched from Meerut, and in the 
 evening having patients again. The sepoys indeed were well, but 
 two poneys, one belonging to Mr. Forde's Chuprassee, the other, 
 a very pretty one, to Cashiram the goomashta, were taken ex- 
 ceedingly ill. The causes of their attack were variously stated, 
 but I believe that the saees had given them too much and too acid 
 gram immediately after their journey. They had both the appear- 
 ance of palsy or staggers, had lost the use of their loins, reeled to 
 and fro, and at length fell. Before I heard of it they had given 
 them brandy, pepper, and I know not what, and when I saw them 
 they had every symptom of violent inflammation of the bowels. 
 I advised bleeding immediately; nobody could do this but 
 Abdullah, and there was no proper instrument but my penknife ; 
 while I was hunting for this, one of the horses died, and the other 
 was evidently in extremity. Abdullah opened the usual vein, but 
 very little blood would run; in fact, they had given it arrack 
 enough to kill an elephant. It died in the course of the night, 
 and all which gave me pleasure in the business, was the exceeding 
 attachment of the poor saees to it. He wrung his hands over it, 
 as if it had been his brother, sate by it, supporting its head, and 
 rubbing its ears and neck, till life was actually gone, and, as it 
 appeared, it was his ignorant good-will in giving too large a feed of 
 corn, which had done the mischief Cashiram bore his loss very 
 well, and said not a single cross word to his servant the whole time. 
 I wish all Christians might have behaved with as much propriety. 
 December 17. — To-day we went six coss to INIow, a poor 
 village without trees, where, however, by the advantage of a firman 
 from the collector of Meerut, and of a very civil tusseeldar, we got 
 supplies in abundance, and were allowed to pay for nothing. In 
 the afternoon a large troop of gypseys, as I and all my people 
 
 3 z
 
 538 GYPSEYS. 
 
 thouo-ht they were, though they themselves disowned the term, 
 came to the camp. They said they came from Ahmedabad in 
 Guzerat, were going on pilgrimage to the Ganges, and had been 
 eio-ht months on their road. They pretended at first to be brah- 
 mins, to the great scandal and indignation of Cashiram who is a 
 brahmin and reproved them with much austerity for their pre- 
 sumption. I asked them to shew their *' strings," on wliich they 
 confessed they had none, but still persisted that they were Raj- 
 poots. " Tell me the truth," said I, " are you Bheels ?" the name 
 of the wild mountaineers near Ahmedabad. My people laughed at 
 this question, and said they certainly were Bheels and nothing else. 
 They, however, stifly denied it. They were very merry, but very 
 poor wretches, nearly naked, and the leanest specimens of human 
 life I have ever seen ; so wretched, indeed > was their poverty, that 
 I immediately sent for a supply of pice to distribute among them, 
 pending the arrival of which, a man and woman, who seemed the 
 Tramezzani and Catalani of the party, came forwards, and sung two 
 or three songs, the man accompanying them on a vina, a small 
 guitar like the Russian balalaika. Their voices were really good, 
 and though they sung in the vile cracked tone which street-singers 
 have all the world over, the effect was not unpleasant ; but it was 
 a strange and melancholy thing to hear a love-song, expressive, so 
 far as I could catch the words, of rapture and mutual admiration, 
 trilled out by two ragged wretches, weather-beaten, lean, and 
 smoke-dried. The poor little children, though quite naked, seemed 
 the best fed, and I thought they seemed kind to them, though one 
 old man, who was the head of the party, and had an infant slung 
 in a dirty cloth, like a hammock, to a stick, which he carried in his 
 hand, held it carelessly enough ; insomuch that, till I asked him 
 what he had in his bundle, and he opened his cloth to shew me, I 
 did not suppose it was a child. I gave them an ana each, children 
 and all, with which they went to buy ghee and flour in the village, 
 and soon after made a fire under a neighbouring peepul-tree. I 
 saw them in the course of the evening at their meal, and one of the
 
 THUGS. 539 
 
 collector's suwarrs said he heard them pray for me before they sat 
 down. I should have fancied them very harmless poor creatures, 
 or at worst, only formidable to hen-roosts, and in such petty thefts 
 as gypseys practise in England. But I find these rambling parties 
 of self-called pilgrims bear a very bad character in Hindostan. 
 They are often described as " Thugs," the name given to the 
 practice of which they are accused, that, namely, of attaching them- 
 selves, on different pretences, to single travellers or small parties, 
 and watching their opportunity to fling a rope with a slip-knot over 
 the heads of their victims, with which they drag them from their 
 horses, and strangle them. So nimbly and with such fatal aim are 
 they said to do this, they seldom miss, and leave no time to the 
 traveller to draw a sword, use a gun, or in any way defend or disen- 
 tangle himself The wretches who practise this are very numerous 
 in Guzerat and Malwah, but when they occur in Hindostan are 
 generally from the south-eastern provinces. My poor gypseys, I 
 hope, as they appeared at least grateful, were not monsters of 
 this atrocious description. 
 
 3 z ^
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MEERUT TO DELHI. 
 
 Situation of Meerut — Church — Consecration — Valley of the Dhoon — Condor — Anecdote of 
 Begum Sumroo — School — Hospital — Confirmation — Surgeon appointed — Skinners Horse — 
 Heavy Rain — Delhi — Tomb of Humaioon — Aqueduct — Firozes Walking -stick — Immense 
 extent of Ruins — Shawl Manufactory — Jumna Musjeed — Presentation to the Emperor — 
 Palace — Koottah-sakib — Present from the Begum — Late and present Emperors of Delhi. 
 
 December 18. — This morning I proceeded to Meerut, and was 
 met at a little distance from the town by Mr. Fisher, the chaplain, 
 (whom I had once, many years ago, heard preach at Knaresborough,) 
 and two of his sons, one a chaplain on the Company's establish- 
 ment, the other a lieutenant in the same service, and some officers 
 of the troops in garrison, an accession of society which put Cabul 
 into such high spirits, that I almost thought he would have 
 shamed me, as he neighed like a trumpeter, lashed out all ways, 
 reared, jumped with all four feet from the ground, and did every 
 other coltish trick which could shew his surprise, and tend to dis- 
 compose the gravity of his rider. He has, however, no real vice, 
 and his transports gradually subsided. 
 
 I pitched my tent, by Mr. Fisher's invitation, in his com- 
 pound, which is an unusually large one. Two other sepoys were 
 this day added to the sick-list, and, with my former patient, 
 removed to the hospital, whither I sent with them a recommenda- 
 tion to the good offices of the surgeon, and directed, since I was 
 myself to stay some time in the place, that one of their comrades 
 should go every day to see that they wanted nothing.
 
 MEERUT. 541 
 
 Meerut is a very extensive cantonment, but less widely 
 scattered than Cawnpoor. The native town, too, on which 
 it is engrafted, is much less considerable. It stands advan- 
 tageously on a wide and dry plain, all in pasture, which would 
 afford delightful riding-ground if it were not, like the steppes 
 of Russia, which it much resembles, very full of holes made by 
 the small marmot, which is common there, and called " suslik." Its 
 Hindoostanee name I have not learned. A small nullah, with a 
 handsome bridge over it, runs through the town. When I saw it 
 it was quite dry, and the bridge seemed absurd ; but Mr. Fisher 
 said that, during the rainy months, it was not a bit longer than was 
 necessary. The church is much the largest which I have seen in 
 India. It is 150 feet long, 84 wide, and, being galleried all round, 
 may hold at least 3000 people. It has a high and handsome 
 spire, and is altogether a striking building, too good for the 
 materials of which it is composed, which, like the rest of the public 
 buildings of this country, are only bad brick covered with stucco 
 and whitewash. It is the work of Captain Hutchinson. 
 
 December 19. — The church, which I have described, was 
 consecrated this day with the usual forms. The congregation was 
 very numerous and attentive, the singing considerably better than 
 at Calcutta, and the appearance of every thing highly honourable 
 both to the chaplain and military officers of this important station. 
 I had the gratification of hearing my own hymns, " Brightest and 
 best," and that for St. Stephen's day, sung better than I ever 
 heard them in a church before. It is a remarkable thing, that one 
 of the earliest, the largest, and handsomest churches in India, as 
 well as one of the best organs, should be found in so remote a 
 situation, and in sight of the Himalaya mountains. The evening 
 service was very well attended, and this is the more creditable, 
 inasmuch, as I have elsewhere observed, all who then come are 
 volunteers, whereas attendance in the morning is a part of military 
 parade. 
 
 I had heard Meerut praised for its comparative freedom from
 
 543 CONDOR. 
 
 hot winds, but do not find that the residents confirm this state- 
 ment: they complain of them quite as much as the people of 
 Cawnpoor, and acknowledge the inferiority of their climate iii 
 this respect to that of Rohilcund. The beautiful valley of the 
 Dhoon, since its conquest by the British, affords a retreat to their 
 sick which they seem to value highly ; and it has the advantage 
 of being accessible without danger at all times ; but, except 
 during the dry months, even this lovely valley is not wholesome^ 
 INIr. Fisher had some drawings of different parts of the Dhoon, 
 which represented scenery of very great beauty and luxuriance, on 
 a smaller and less aweful scale than Kemaoon. The animals seem 
 much the same ; but Lieutenant Fisher gave me a fuller account 
 than I had yet received of the eagle, or as, from his statement 
 it rather seems to be, the condor, of these mountains. It appears 
 to belong to this latter tribe from the bareness of its neck, which 
 resembles that of the vulture, and the character of its beak, which 
 is longer and less hooked than the eagle's, and perhaps, too, from 
 its size, which exceeds that of any eagle of which I have heard* 
 Lieutenant Fisher shot one very lately at Degra, w^hich measured 
 thirteen feet between the tips of its extended wings, and had talons 
 eight inches long. He was of a deep black colour, with a bald head 
 and neck, and appears strongly to resemble the noble bird described 
 by Bruce as common among the mountains of Abyssinia, under the 
 name of " Nisser." This is, no doubt, the bird which carries 
 nway the children from the streets of Almorah. The one which 
 Mr. Fisher shot could, he was sure, have carried up a very well 
 grown boy. Nor have I any doubt that it is the " rok" of the 
 Arabians. In Sindbad's way of telling a story, so formidable an 
 animal might be easily magnified into all which that ingenious 
 voyager has handed down to us concerning his giant bird. 
 
 December 20. — I observed this morning, at the gate of Mr, 
 Fisher's compound, a sentry in the strict oriental costume, of 
 turban and long caftan, but armed with musquet and bayonet, like 
 our own sepoys. He said he was one of the Begum Sumroo's
 
 BEGUM SUMROO. 543 
 
 regiment, out of which she is bound to furnish a certain number 
 for the poHce of Meerut and its neighbourhood. Her residence 
 is in the centre of her own Jaghire at Sirdhana, about twelve coss 
 from Meerut ; but she has a house in this place where she 
 frequently passes a considerable time together. She is a very 
 little, queer-looking old woman, with brilliant, but wicked eyes, 
 and the remains of beauty in her features. She is possessed of 
 considerable talent and readiness in conversation, but only speaks 
 Hindoostanee. Her soldiers and people, and the generality of the 
 inhabitants of this neighbourhood pay her much respect on account 
 both of her supposed wisdom, and her courage ; she having, during 
 the Maharatta wars, led, after her husband's death, his regiment 
 very gallantly into action, herself riding at their head into a heavy 
 fire of the enemy. She is, however, a sad tyranness, and, having 
 the power of life and death within her own little territory, several 
 stories are told of her cruelty, and the noses and ears which 
 she orders to be cut off. One relation of this kind, according to 
 native reports, on which reliance, however, can rarely be placed, is 
 very horrid. One of her dancing girls had offended her, how I 
 have not heard. The Begum ordered the poor creature to be 
 immured alive in a small vault prepared for the purpose under 
 the pavement of the saloon where the natch was then celebrating, 
 and, being aware that her fate excited much sympathy and horror 
 in the minds of the servants and soldiers of her palace, and appre- 
 hensive that they would open the tomb and rescue the victim as 
 soon as her back was turned, she saw the vault bricked up before 
 her own eyes, then ordered her bed to be placed directly over it, 
 and lay there for several nights, till the last faint moans had ceased 
 to be heard, and she was convinced that hunger and despair had 
 done their work. This woman calls herself a Christian, of the 
 Roman Catholic faith, which was that of her husband Summers. 
 (" Sumroo" is the Hindoostanee pronunciation of the German sir- 
 name.) She has a Roman Catholic priest as her chaplain, and has 
 lately begun to build a very large and handsome church at Sird-
 
 541 MEERUT. 
 
 liana, whicli will rival, if not excel, that of Meerut in size and 
 architectural beauty. 
 
 I dined this day with General Reynell. His Aide-du-camp, Cap- 
 tain Meade, is a very accomplished artist, and shewed me a portfolio 
 of splendid drawings ; some of them were from views in the Dhoon, 
 and the mountains near Sabathoo. These last bear some resem- 
 blance to those of Kemaoon, which they nearly equal in height^ 
 but the snow^y range of Himalaya is removed to a much greater 
 distance, and only visible from the tops of the highest hills. The 
 lower parts of the Dhoon seem as like Wales as possible. 
 
 December' 21. — I w^ent with Mr. Fisher to-day to a school 
 which he has established in the old city of Meerut; I had pre- 
 viously seen this very imperfectly, but I now found it larger than 
 I expected, with a ruined wall and fort, and some good archi- 
 tectural remains of mosques and pagodas. The school is w^ell 
 managed, and numerously attended. The boys are taught reading 
 and writing in Hindoostanee and Persian, and receive, such of them 
 as desire it, which they all do, instruction in the Gospels. They 
 read fluentlyy and construed Persian very well. Their master is a 
 Christian convert of Mr. Fisher's. I also went to the native hos- 
 pital to see the three sick sepoys, two of w^hom I found much 
 better, the third still ill. They seemed very grateful for the 
 visit, and said that they w^ere well treated, and wanted nothing. 
 Mr. Lowther, the Judge and Magistrate of Bundishehr, with 
 his w^ife, passed the evening at Mr. Fisher's. They pressed me> 
 which I should have liked much, to take their station in my way 
 from Delhi to Agra. But Muttra is too important a place to be 
 passed by, and this w^ould be the necessary consequence of my 
 accepting their invitation. 
 
 December 22. — I went with Mr. Fisher to a small congrega- 
 tion of native Christians, to whom, not being able to give them a 
 service on Sunday, he reads prayers and preaches on this day. 
 About twenty people were present, one the " Naick," or corporal, 
 whom, in consequence of his embracing Christianity, Government
 
 MEERUT. 545 
 
 very absurdly, not to say wickedly, disgraced by removing him 
 from his regiment, though they still allow him his pay. He is a 
 tall, stout, plain-looking man, with every appearance of a respect- 
 able and well-behaved soldier. Another was Anund Musseeh, a 
 convert of Mr. Corrie's, who has a good deal distinguished him- 
 self as a catechist at Delhi, and on whom Mr. Fisher wants me to 
 confer ordination. He is a tall, coarse-looking man, without much 
 intellect in his countenance, but is said to be very eloquent and 
 well-informed, so far as a knowledge of Hindoostanee and Persian 
 enables him. I had, afterwards, repeated conversations with him, 
 and was pleased by his unassuming and plain manner. 
 
 December 23. — This morning I breakfasted with General 
 Reynell. In the evening Mr. Fisher read prayers and preached 
 to a tolerably numerous congregation, it being his custom to have 
 service of this kind every Wednesday and Friday. 
 
 December 24. — This day I confirmed above 250 people, young 
 and old, of whom between 40 and 50 were natives converted to 
 Christianity by Mr. Fisher. Surely all this is what we could 
 hardly expect in so remote a part of India, and where no English- 
 man had set his foot till the conquests made by Lord Lake and 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley. The rest of the day I was busy writing 
 letters. The sepoy whom I had left sick at Moradabad rejoined 
 me ; but the camel-driver, he said, was still very dangerously ill. 
 The men who were in the hospital at Meerut, were declared 
 convalescent. 
 
 December 25. — Christmas-Day. A very large congregation, 
 and above 200 commmiicants. 
 
 December 26. — I preached, and after evening service con- 
 firmed twelve persons who had not been able to attend on the 
 Friday. 
 
 December 27. — I received a present of fruit from the Begum 
 Sumroo, together with a civil message, expressing a hope to see 
 me at Sirdhana, to which I returned an answer in an English letter. 
 Though she herself does not understand the language, she has 
 
 4 A
 
 546 BEGUMABAD. 
 
 many people about her who do, particularly Colonel Bryce, who 
 acts as a sort of resident at her court. My tents and servants set 
 off this evening. 
 
 I received a very kind offer from General Reynell to assign 
 me a medical attendant in my march to Bombay, there being a 
 Dr. Smith at the time in Meerut, who had just come with a 
 detachment of troops from Mhow, and was not attached to 
 any specific service there ; he was highly recommended as an 
 able man, and one who, by his local knowledge, would be very 
 useful to me in my journey. I had suffered so much during 
 my residence at Dacca, and subsequently in my own illness, and 
 when my escort and servants were attacked with the fever in 
 Kemaoon, for want of a medical attendant, that I felt extremely 
 glad of such an offer. Indeed, with upwards of a hundred people 
 in my train, and on the point of commencing a journey through 
 countries of the wildest character, where no medical assistance 
 could be obtained in marches of, in one instance, twenty-four, and 
 in another of twenty-three days, such a precaution is most necessary 
 and reasonable. 
 
 December 28. — I set off from Meerut by Dak, as far as 
 Begumabad, a large village forming a part of the jaghire of a 
 Maharatta Princess, under the protection of the Enghsh Govern- 
 ment. Here I mounted Nedjeed — did I ever tell you the name 
 of my little Arab horse before ? — and pursued my journey, escorted 
 by five of Colonel Skinner's irregular cavalry, the most showy 
 and picturesque cavaliers I have seen since I was in the South 
 of Russia. They had turbans of dark red shawl, long yellow caf- 
 tans mth dark red cummerbunds, and trowsers of the same colour. 
 The commander of the party had a long spear with a small yellow 
 pennon, the others had each a long matchlock-gun which they 
 carried on the right shoulder with the match ready lighted. They 
 had all, likewise, pistols, swords, and shields, and their caftans and 
 turbans so strongly quilted, as to secure them against most sabre- 
 cuts. Their horses were very tolerable in size and appearance,
 
 APPROACH TO DELHI. 547 
 
 but hot and vicious, and the whole cavalcade had an appearance 
 remarkably wild and Oriental. They are reckoned, by all the 
 English in this part of the country, the most useful and trusty, as 
 well as the boldest body of men in India, and during the wars 
 both of Lord Lake and Lord Hastings their services and those of 
 their chief were most distinguished. Colonel Alexander Skinner 
 is a good and modest, as well as a brave man. He has just devoted 
 20,000 sicca rupees to build a Church at Delhi. Unfortunately I 
 shall not meet him there, as he is now on the frontier with most 
 of his men, fighting the rebellious clans of Seiks and Mewatties. 
 The Hindoostanees, who respect him very highly, call him by a 
 whimsical but not ill-applied corruption of his name, " Secunder 
 Sahib," Lord Alexander. 
 
 My tents had gone on to the next station, Furrucknuggur, but 
 I was met on the road thither by Mr. Charles Elliott, son of the 
 resident at Delhi, and assistant collector of Meerut, a clever young 
 man whom I had met at Mr. Fisher's, who pressed me to come and 
 pass the day with him in his tent at G aziodeen-nuggur, a small 
 ruinous w^alled town ; we did not reach his encampment till near 
 12 o'clock at noon. But the sun here, though hot, is at this season 
 not mischievous, and I passed a pleasant day. After dinner I had 
 a moonlight ride over a very rough and broken country, and 
 through a river to my tent. The ford was not deep, but so wide 
 that if I had not had people with me who knew the country, 1 
 should have hesitated to essay it by such a light. I had no sooner 
 got into my tent than it began to rain, and during the night fell 
 with a violence not very much less than that which preceded my 
 arrival at Cawnpoor ; a great and providential blessing to this 
 miserable country, the most miserable which I had yet seen in 
 India. All the way from Meerut hither is scattered with ruins, 
 the groves of fruit-trees are few, small, and neglected, the villages 
 very mean, the people looking half-starved, and quite heart-broken, 
 and the cultivation, always, apparently, of the most slovenly kind, 
 now quite interrupted by the long drought. This rain it was 
 
 4 a2
 
 548 DELHI. 
 
 hoped would yet save the poor surviving cattle, and keep the 
 wheat from an entire failure. They have had not above three 
 sho-ht showers during the last twelve months ! This, of course, 
 will account for the greater part of their present distress, but I 
 have been sorry to think that the English taxes are really exor- 
 bitant here, and the mode of collection short-sighted and oppressive. 
 Certainly the people are more inferior, in apparent comfort, to 
 those of Rohilcund, Bahar, and even Oude, than a long drought 
 will of itself account for. 
 
 Dece?nber 29. — The morning was clear and pleasant, and the 
 air and soil delightfully refreshed by the rain. I rode Cabul, and 
 arrived by about eight o'clock on the banks of the Jumna, on the 
 other side of which I had a noble view of Delhi, which is a larger 
 and finer city than I expected to see. The inhabited part of it, 
 for the ruins extend over a surface as large as London, Westminster, 
 and Southwark, is about seven miles in circuit, seated on a rocky 
 range of hills, and surrounded by an embattled wall, which the 
 Enghsh Government have put into repair and are now engaged in 
 strengthening with bastions, a moat, and a regular glacis. The 
 houses within are many of them large and high. There are a 
 great number of mosques with high minarets and gilded domes, 
 and above all are seen the palace, a very high and extensive cluster 
 of gothic towers and battlements, and the Jumna Musjeed, the 
 largest and handsomest place of Mussulman worship in India. 
 The chief material of all these fine buildings is red granite, of a 
 very agreeable though solemn colour, inlaid in some of the orna- 
 mental parts with white marble, and the general style of build- 
 ing is of a simple and impressive character, which reminded me, 
 in many respects, of Carnarvon. It far exceeds any thing at 
 Moscow. 
 
 The Jumna, like the other great rivers of this country, over- 
 flows, during the rains, a wide extent, but, unlike the Ganges, does 
 not confer fertility. In this part of its course, it is so strongly 
 impregnated with natron, extensive beds of which abound in all the
 
 DELHI. 549 
 
 neighbourhood, that its waters destroy, instead of promoting 
 vegetation, and the whole space between the high banks and the 
 river, in its present low state, is a loose and perfectly barren sand 
 like that of the sea-shore. I found the ferry-boat in readiness, 
 and was received on the other side by Mr. Elliott, who had come 
 to meet me with an elephant and a very numerous suwarree of 
 spears and matchlocks. We went together towards the city, over 
 a similar bed of arid sand with that which I had just passed, forded 
 a smaller branch of the Jumna which runs close under the walls, 
 and, leaving the palace to our left, went along a tolerably wide 
 street to the Residency, which is a large straggling building, con- 
 sisting of two or three entertaining rooms added by Sir David 
 Ochterlony, when Resident, to an old Mussulman palace. Lush- 
 ington, whom I found just arrived, had his bed-room in this palace, 
 a very singular and interesting little room, with a vaulted roof, 
 richly ornamented with mosaic painting. Behind is a large garden, 
 laid out in the usual formal Eastern manner, but with some good 
 trees and straight walks, and the whole has more the appearance 
 of a college than any thing else. 
 
 Mr. Williams, one of Mr. Elliott's secretaries, is an enter- 
 prising traveller, who has penetrated, beyond the snowy mountains, 
 several days' journey into Ladak, and even beyond the Chinese 
 frontier. He shewed me several drawings of the people of these 
 countries, who seem, in most respects of religion, dress, and 
 countenance, to resemble my old friends the Calmuks. They 
 carry on a tolerably regular intercourse with Russia, and sheets 
 of gilt leather, stamped with the Imperial Eagle, were among 
 the presents which the King of Ladak sent down, when he 
 offered his allegiance to the British Government. Their written 
 character, however, to my surprise, I found different from the 
 Mongolian ; to my surprise I found it so, and to my chsappoint- 
 ment too, for I had counted on the New Testaments printed by 
 the Russian Bible Society for the use of the Calmuk tribes, being 
 legible by these mountaineers. However the project of doing them
 
 550 AQUEDUCT. 
 
 good need not be abandoned, though its execution may be more 
 tedious than I anticipated. 
 
 Soon after my arrival in Delhi the rain returned with still 
 o-reater violence, and continued all that day and night to the great 
 joy of the people, some of whom told Mrs. Elhott, in the usual 
 style of Eastern notions, that " the Lord Sahib's coming was a 
 happy thing for Delhi, since now they should have bread to eat." 
 I found, indeed, that the servants had by no means forgotten the 
 rain which preceded my arrival at Cawnpoor, and that they had 
 taken care to publish here how very lucky, or " mobarak" a 
 person I was, an opinion in which I believe they themselves are 
 now quite confirmed. 
 
 Decemher 30. — This morning Lushington and I rode to the 
 tomb of the emperor Humaioon, six miles from the city, S.W. 
 We passed, in our way to the Agra gate, along a very broad but 
 irregular street, with a channel of water, cased with stone, con- 
 ducted along its middle. This is a part of the celebrated aqueduct 
 constructed, in the first instance, by Ali Merdan Khan, a Persian 
 nobleman in the service of the emperor Shahjehan, then long 
 neglected during the troubles of India and the decay of the 
 Mogul power, and within these few years repaired by the English 
 Government. It is conducted from the Jumna, immediately on 
 leaving its mountains and while its stream is yet pure and whole- 
 some, for a distance of about 120 miles; and is a noble work, 
 giving fertihty to a very large extent of country near its banks, 
 and absolutely the sole source of vegetation to the gardens of 
 Delhi, besides furnishing its inhabitants with almost the only 
 drinkable water within their reach. When it was first re-opened, 
 by Sir Charles Metcalfe, in 1820, the whole population of the 
 city w^ent out in jubilee to meet its stream, throwing flowers, ghee, 
 &c. into the water, and calling down all manner of blessings on 
 the British Government, who have indeed gone far, by this mea- 
 sure, to redeem themselves from the weight of, I fear, a good deal 
 of impolicy.
 
 IMPERIAL PALACE. 551 
 
 It most unfortunately happened that, during the present 
 year, and amid all the other misfortunes of drought and scarcity 
 which this poor country has undergone, the Jumna changed its 
 course, and the canal became dry ! The engineer officer who super- 
 intends its works, was at the time labouring under the remains of 
 a jungle fever ; his serjeant was in the same condition, and conse- 
 quently there was no one who, when the mischief was discovered, 
 could go up to the hills to remedy it. The suffering of the people 
 was very dismal ; since the restoration of the canal they had 
 neglected the wells which formerly had, in some degree, supplied 
 their wants. The water which they drank was to be brought 
 from a distance and sold at a considerable rate, and their gardens 
 were quite ruined. That of the presidency had not at the moment 
 when I saw it, a green thing in it, and those of the poor were in a 
 yet worse condition, if worse were possible. It was not till the 
 middle of November that the canal could be again restored, when 
 it was hailed with similar expressions of joy to those which had 
 greeted its former re-appearance. 
 
 Half-way along the street which I have been describing, and 
 nearly opposite another great street with a similar branch of the 
 canal, which runs at right angles to the former, stands the imperial 
 palace, built by the Emperor Shah Jehan, surrounded on this 
 side by a wall of, I should think, sixty feet high, embattled and 
 machicollated, with small round towers and two noble gateways, 
 each defended by an outer barbican of the same construction, 
 though of less height. The whole is of red granite, and sur- 
 rounded by a wide moat. It is a place of no strength, the walls 
 being only calculated for bows and arrows or musquetry, but as a 
 kingly residence it is one of the noblest that I have seen. It far 
 surpasses the Kremlin, but I do not think that, except in the dura- 
 bility of its materials, it equals Windsor. 
 
 Sentries in red coats, (sepoys of the Company's regular army,) 
 appear at its exterior, but the internal duties, and, indeed, most of 
 the police duties of Delhi, are performed by the two provincial
 
 552 
 
 DELHI. 
 
 battalions raised in the emperor's name, and nominally under his 
 orders. These are disciplined pretty much like Europeans, but 
 have matchlock guns and the oriental dress, and their commanding 
 officer. Captain Grant of the Company's service, is considered as 
 one of the domestics of the IMogul and has apartments in the 
 
 palace. 
 
 From the gate of Agra to Humaioon's tomb is a very aweful 
 scene of desolation, ruins after ruins, tombs after tombs, fragments 
 of brick-work, freestone, granite, and marble, scattered every where 
 over a soil naturally rocky and barren, without cultivation, except 
 in one or two small spots, and without a single tree. I was 
 reminded of Caffa in the Crimea, but this was CafFa on the scale of 
 London, with the wretched fragments of a magnificence such as 
 London itself cannot boast. The ruins really extended as far 
 as the eye could reach, and our track wound among them all 
 the way. This was the seat of old Delhi, as founded by the 
 Patau kings, on the ruins of the still larger Hindoo city of Indra- 
 put, which lay chiefly in a western direction. When the pre- 
 sent city, which is certainly in a more advantageous situation, was 
 founded by the emperor Shahjehan, he removed many of its inha- 
 bitants thither ; most of the rest followed, to be near the palace and 
 the principal markets ; and as during the INIaharatta government 
 there was no sleeping in a safe skin without the walls, old Delhi 
 was soon entirely abandoned. The official name of the present 
 city is Shahjehan-poor, *' city of the king of the world !" but the 
 name of Delhi is always used in conversation and in every writing 
 but those which are immediately offered to the emperor's eye. 
 
 In our way one mass of ruins larger than the rest was pointed 
 out to us as the old Patau palace. It has been a large and solid 
 fortress, in a plain and unornamented style of architecture, and 
 would have been picturesque had it been in a country where trees 
 grow, and ivy was green, but is here only ugly and melancholy. 
 It is chiefly remarkable for a high black pillar of cast metal, called 
 Firoze's walking-stick. This was originally a Hindoo work, the
 
 HUM A ICON'S TOMB. 553 
 
 emblem, I apprehend, of Siva, which stood in a temple in the same 
 spot, and concerning which there was a tradition, like that 
 attached to the coronation stone of the Scots, that while it stood 
 the children of Brahma were to rule in Indraput. On the con- 
 quest of the country by the Mussulmans the vanity of the predic- 
 tion was shewn, and Firoze enclosed it within the court of his 
 palace, as a trophy of the victory of Islam over idolatry. It is 
 covered with inscriptions, mostly Persian and Arabic, but that 
 which is evidently the original, and, probably, contains the pro- 
 phecy, is in a character now obsolete and unknown, though ap- 
 parently akin to the Nagree. 
 
 About a mile and a half further, still through ruins, is 
 Humaioon's tomb, a noble building of granite inlaid with marble, 
 and in a very chaste and simple style of Gothic architecture. It is 
 surrounded by a large garden with terraces and fountains, all now 
 gone to decay except one of the latter, which enables the poor people 
 who live in the out-buildings of the tomb to cultivate a little wheat. 
 The garden itself is surrounded by an embattled wall, with towers, 
 four gateways, and a cloister within all the way round. In the 
 centre of the square is a platform of about twenty feet high, and I 
 should apprehend 200 feet square, supported also by cloisters, and 
 ascended by four great flights of granite steps. Above rises the 
 tomb, also a square, with a great dome of white marble in its 
 centre. The apartments within are a circular room, about as big 
 as the Ratcliffe hbrary, in the centre of which lies, under a small 
 raised slab, the unfortunate prince to whose memory this fine 
 building is raised. In the angles are smaller apartments, where 
 other branches of his family are interred. From the top of the 
 building I was surprised to see that we had still ruins on every 
 side ; and that, more particularly, to the westward and w^here old 
 Indraput stood, the desolation apparently extended to a range of 
 barren hills seven or eight miles off. 
 
 On cominff down we were conducted about a mile westward 
 to a burying-ground or collection of tombs and small mosques, 
 
 4 B
 
 554 TOMB OF JEHANGUIRE. 
 
 some of them very beautiful, among which the most remarkable 
 was a little chapel in honour of a celebrated Mussulman saint, 
 Nizam-ud-deen. Round his shrine most of the deceased members 
 of the present imperial family lie buried, each in his own little 
 enclosure surrounded by very elegant lattice-work of w^hite marble. 
 Workmen were employed at this time in completing the tomb of 
 the late prince Jehanguire, third and darling son of the emperor, 
 who died lately at Allahabad, whither he had been banished by the 
 British Government for his violent character, (that of a thoroughly 
 spoilt-child) and his culpable intrigues against his eldest brother. 
 The father is said to have been convinced at length of the necessity 
 of this measure, but the old empress has never forgiven it, and now 
 cannot be persuaded but that her darling boy, who died of drinking 
 and all manner of vice, was poisoned by the English. The few 
 remaining resources of the house of Timour are drawn on to do 
 honour to his remains, and the tomb, though small, will certainly 
 be very elegant. The flowers, &c. into which the marble is carved, 
 are as delicate and in as good taste and execution as any of the 
 ordinary ItaUan artists could produce. Another tomb which 
 interested me very much, was that of Jehanara, daughter of Shah- 
 jehan. It has no size or importance, but she was one of the few 
 amiable characters which the family of Timour can shew. In the 
 prime of youth and beauty, when her father was dethroned, im- 
 prisoned, and, I believe, blinded, by his wicked son Aurungzebe, 
 she applied for leave to share his captivity, and continued to w^ait 
 on him as a nurse and servant till the day of his death. Afterwards 
 she was a bountiful benefactress to the poor and to religious men, 
 and died with the reputation of a saint better deserved than by 
 many who have borne the name. 
 
 In one part of these ruins is a very deep tank, surrounded 
 by buildings sixty or seventy feet above the surface of the water, 
 from the top of which several boys and young men jumped down 
 and swam to the steps, in order to obtain a trifling bukshish. It 
 was a formidable sight to a stranger, but they seemed to feel no
 
 SHAWL MANUFACTORY. 555 
 
 inconvenience except from cold, and were very thankful for a 
 couple of rupees to be divided among their number. 
 
 After breakfast we went with Mr. and Mrs. Elliott to see a 
 shawl manufactory carried on by Cashmerian weavers with wool 
 brought from Himalaya, in the house of a wealthy Hindoo mer- 
 chant, named Soobin-chund. The house itself was very pretty 
 and well worth seeing as a specimen of eastern domestic architec- 
 ture, comprising three small courts surrounded by stone cloisters, 
 two of them planted with flowering shrubs and orange-trees, and 
 the third ornamented with a beautiful marble fountain. I did not 
 think the shawls which were shewn very beautiful, and the prices of 
 all were high. I was more struck with the specimens of jewellery 
 which they produced, which I thought very splendid, and some 
 of the smaller trinkets in good taste. I was persecuted to 
 accept a splendid nuzzur of shawls, &c. to the value, perhaps, of 
 1000 s. rupees, which of course I did not choose to take. My 
 pleading my religious profession did not satisfy my Hindoo host, 
 who said that I might at least give it to my *' Zennana ;" luckily 
 Mr. EUiot suggested to me to say that I accepted it with gratitude, 
 but that I was a traveller and begged him to keep it for me : to 
 which I added, that " what was in the house of my friend I con- 
 sidered as in my own." He quite understood this, and bowed very 
 low, being, I believe, well pleased to get his compliment over at 
 so easy a rate. The son, however, a lad who spoke a very little 
 English followed me to the door with a Turkman horse, which he 
 begged me to accept as his nuzzur. The horse was a pretty one, 
 but not very valuable. I, however, got rid of the matter as well 
 as I could by saying, that " spirited horses were fittest for the 
 young : that I accepted it cheerfully, but begged, as I had no other 
 proper return to make, that he would do me the favour to take it 
 back again !" He smiled and bowed, and we parted. In the 
 narrow street where the house of Soobin-chund stands, we 
 passed a little cluster of Cashmerian women, the wives, I suppose, 
 of his workmen, distinguishable by their large and tall figures in 
 
 4 B 2
 
 556 JUMNA MUSJEED. 
 
 comparison with the Hindoostanees, their fair complexions, and 
 their pecuhar head-dress, which consisted of a large roll of turban 
 under the usual veil, the whole appearance more like the famous 
 pictures of the Babylonian sybil than any thing which I recollect. 
 
 We afterwards went to the Jumna Musjeed, and the Kala 
 Musjeed. The former is elevated very advantageously on a small 
 rocky eminence, to full the height of the surrounding houses. In 
 front it has a large square court surrounded by a cloister open on 
 both sides, and commanding a view of the whole city, which is 
 entered by three gates with a fine flight of steps to each. In the 
 centre is a great marble reservoir of water, with some small foun- 
 tains, supplied by machinery from the canal. The whole court is 
 paved with granite inlaid with marble. On its west side, and rising 
 up another flight of steps, is the mosque itself, which is entered by 
 three noble gothic arches, surmounted by three domes of white 
 marble. It has at each end a very tall minaret. The ornaments 
 are less florid, and the building less picturesque, than the splendid 
 groupe of the Imambara and its accompaniments at Lucknow ; 
 but the situation is far more commanding, and the size, the solidity, 
 and rich materials of this building, impressed me more than any 
 thing of the sort which I have seen in India. It is in excellent 
 repair, the British Government having made a grant for this pur- 
 pose, a measure which was very popular in Delhi. 
 
 The Kala Musjeed is small, and has nothing worthy notice 
 about it but its plainness, solidity, and great antiquity, being a 
 work of the first Patau conquerors, and belonging to the times of 
 primitive Mussulman simphcity. It is exactly on the plan of the 
 original Arabian mosques, a square court, surrounded by a 
 cloister, and roofed with many small domes of the plainest and 
 most solid construction, like the rudest specimens of what we call 
 the early Norman architecture. It has no minaret ; the crier 
 stands on the roof to proclaim the hour of prayer. Thus ended 
 our first day's sight-seeing in Delhi. 
 
 The 31st December was fixed for my presentation to the
 
 PRESENTATION TO THE ExMPEROR OF DELHI. 557 
 
 Emperor, which was appointed for half-past eight in the morning. 
 Lushington and a Captain Wade also chose to take the same oppor- 
 tunity. At eight I went accompanied by Mr. Elliott with nearly the 
 same formalities as at Lucknow, except that we were on elephants 
 instead of in palanqueens, and that the procession was, perhaps, less 
 splendid, and the beggars both less numerous and far less voci- 
 ferous and importunate. We were received with presented arms 
 by the troops of the palace drawn up within the barbican, and 
 proceeded, still on our elephants, through the noblest gateway and 
 vestibule which I ever saw. It consists, not merely of a splendid 
 gothic arch in the centre of the great gate-tower, — but, after that, 
 of a long vaulted aisle, like that of a gothic cathedral, with a small, 
 open, octagonal court in its centre, all of granite, and all finely 
 carved with inscriptions from the Koran, and with flowers. This 
 ended in a ruinous and exceedingly dirty stable-yard ! where we were 
 received by Captain Grant, as the Mogul's officer on guard, and by 
 a number of elderly men with large gold-headed canes, the usual 
 ensign of office here, and one of which Mr. Elliott also carried. We 
 were now told to dismount and proceed on foot, a task which the 
 late rain made inconvenient to my gown and cassock, and thin 
 shoes, and during which we were pestered by a fresh swarm of 
 miserable beggars, the wives and children of the stable servants. 
 After this we passed another richly-carved, but ruinous and dirty 
 gateway, where our guides, withdrawing a canvass screen, called 
 out, in a sort of harsh chaunt, " Lo, the ornament of the world ! 
 Lo, the asylum of the nations ! King of Kings ! The Emperor 
 Akbar Shah ! Just, fortunate, victorious !" We saw, in fact, a 
 very handsome and striking court, about as big as that at All 
 Souls, with low, but richly ornamented buildings. Opposite 
 to us was a beautiful open pavilion of white marble, richly 
 carved, flanked by rose-bushes and fountains, and some 
 tapestry and striped curtains hanging in festoons about it, within 
 which was a crowd of people, and the poor old descendant of 
 Tamerlane seated in the midst of them. Mr. Elliott here bowed
 
 558 PRESENTATION TO THE EMPEROR OF DELHI. 
 
 three times very low, in which we followed his example. This 
 ceremony was repeated twice as we advanced up the steps of the 
 pavilion, the heralds each time repeating the same expressions 
 about their master's greatness. We then stood in a row on the 
 right-hand side of the throne, which is a sort of marble bedstead 
 richly ornamented with gilding, and raised on two or three steps. 
 Mv. Elliott then stepped forwards, and, with joined hands, in the 
 usual eastern way, announced, in a low voice, to the emperor, who 
 I was. I then advanced, bowed three times again, and offered a 
 nuzzur of fifty-one gold mohurs in an embroidered purse, laid on 
 my handkerchief, in the way practised by the baboos in Calcutta. 
 This was received and laid on one side, and I remained standing 
 for a few minutes, while the usual court questions about my health, 
 my travels, when I left Calcutta, &c. were asked. I had thus an 
 opportunity of seeing the old gentleman more plainly. He has 
 a pale, thin, but handsome face, with an aquiline nose, and a long 
 white beard. His complexion is little if at all darker than that 
 of an European. His hands are very fair and delicate, and he had 
 some valuable-looking rings on them. His hands and face were 
 all I saw of him, for the morning being cold, he was so wrapped 
 up in shawls, that he reminded me extremely of the Druid's head 
 on a Welch halfpenny. I then stepped back to my former place, 
 and returned again with five more mohurs to make my offering to 
 the heir apparent, who stood at his father's left hand, the right 
 being occupied by the Resident. Next, my two companions were 
 introduced with nearly the same forms, except that their offerings 
 were less, and that the Emperor did not speak to them. 
 
 The Emperor then beckoned to me to come forwards, and 
 Mr. Elliott told me to take off my hat which had till now remained 
 on my head, on which the Emperor tied a flimsy turban of brocade 
 round my head with his own hands, for which however, I paid four 
 gold mohurs more. We were then directed to retire to receive 
 the " Khelats" (honorary dresses) which the bounty of " the 
 Asylum of the World" had provided for us. I was accordingly
 
 PRESENTATION TO THE EMPEROR OF DELHI. 559 
 
 taken into a small private room, adjoining the Zennana, where I 
 found a handsome flowered caftan edged with fur, and a pair of 
 common looking shawls, which my servants, who had the delight 
 of witnessing all this fine show, put on instead of my gown, my 
 cassock remaining as before. In this strange dress I had to walk 
 back again, having my name announced by the criers (something 
 in the same way that Lord Marmion's was) " as Bahadur, Boozoony, 
 Dowlut-mund," &c. to the presence, where I found my two com- 
 panions who had not been honoured by a private dressing room, 
 but had their Khelats put on them in the gateway of the court. 
 They were, I apprehend, still queerer figures than I was, having 
 their hats wrapped with scarfs of flowered gauze, and a strange 
 garment of gauze, tinsel, and faded ribbands, flung over their 
 shoulders above their coats. I now again came forward and 
 offered my third present to the Emperor, being a copy of the 
 Arabic Bible and the Hindoostanee Common Prayer, handsomely 
 bound in blue velvet laced with gold, and wrapped up in a piece 
 of brocade. He then motioned to me to stoop, and put a string of 
 pearls round my neck, and two glittering but not costly ornaments 
 in the front of my turban, for which I again offered five gold 
 mohurs. It was, lastly, announced that a horse was waiting for my 
 acceptance, at which fresh instance of imperial munificence, the 
 heralds again made a proclamation of largesse, and I again paid five 
 gold mohurs. It ended by my taking my leave with three times three 
 salams, making up, I think, the sum of about threescore, and I retired 
 with Mr. Elliott to my dressing room, whence I sent to her INIajesty 
 the Queen, as she is generally called, though Empress would be the 
 ancient and more proper title, a present of five mohurs more, and 
 the Emperor's Chobdars came eagerly up to know when they should 
 attend to receive their bukshish. It must not, however, be supposed 
 that this interchange of civilities was very expensive either to his 
 Majesty or to me. All the presents which he gave, the horse includ- 
 ed, though really the handsomest which had been seen at the court 
 of Delhi for many years, and though the old gentleman evidently
 
 560 PALACE. 
 
 intended to be extremely civil, were not worth much more than 
 300 s. rupees, so that he and his family gained at least 800 s. rupees 
 by the morning's work, besides what he received from my tw^o 
 companions, which was all clear gain, since the Khelats which they 
 o-ot in return, were only fit for May- day, and made up, I fancy, 
 from the cast oif finery of the Begum. On the other hand, since 
 the Company have wisely ordered that all the presents given by 
 Native Princes to Europeans should be disposed of on the Govern- 
 ment accomit, they have liberally, at the same time, taken on 
 themselves the expense of paying the usual money nuzzurs made 
 by public men on these occasions. In consequence none of my 
 offerings were at my own charge, except the professional and 
 private one of the two books, with which, as they were unexpected, 
 the Emperor, as I was told, was very much pleased. I had, of 
 course, several buckshishes to give afterwards to his servants, but 
 these fell considerably short of my expenses at Lucknow. To 
 return to the hall of audience. While in the small apartment 
 where I got rid of my shining garments, I was struck with its 
 beautiful ornaments. It was entirely lined with white marble, 
 inlaid with flowers and leaves of green serpentine, lapis lazuli, and 
 blue and red porphyry ; the flowers were of the best Italian style of 
 workmanship, and evidently the labour of an artist of that country. 
 All, however, was dirty, desolate, and forlorn. Half the flowers 
 and leaves had been picked out or otherwise defaced, and the 
 doors and windows were in a state of dilapidation, while a quantity 
 of old furniture was piled in one corner, and a torn hanging of 
 faded tapestry hung over an archway which led to the interior 
 apartments. " Such," Mr. Elliott said, " is the general style in 
 which this palace is kept up and furnished. It is not absolute 
 poverty which produces this, but these people have no idea of 
 cleaning or mending any thing." For my own part I thought of 
 the famous Persian hne, 
 
 " The spider hangs her tapestry in the palace of the Csesars ;"
 
 GARDENS OF THE PALACE. 561 
 
 and felt a melancholy interest in comparing the present state of 
 this poor family with what it was 200 years ago, when Bernier 
 visited Delhi, or as we read its palace described in the tale of 
 Madame de Genlis. 
 
 After putting on my usual dress, we waited a little, till w^ord 
 was brought us that the " King of Kings," " Shah-in-Shah," had 
 retired to his Zennana ; we then went to the Hall of Audience, 
 which I had previously seen but imperfectly, from the crowd of 
 people and the necessity of attending to the forms which I had to 
 go through. It is a very beautiful pavilion of white marble, open 
 on one side to the court of the palace, and on the other to a large 
 garden. Its pillars and arches are exquisitely carved and orna- 
 mented with gilt and inlaid flowers, and inscriptions in the most 
 elaborate Persian character. Round the frieze is the motto, re- 
 corded, I believe, in Lalla Rookh, 
 
 " If there be an Elysium on earth, 
 It is this, it is this !" 
 
 The marble floor, where not covered by carpets, is all inlaid 
 in the same beautiful manner with the little dressing-room, which 
 I had quitted. 
 
 The gardens, which we next visited, are not large, but, in their 
 way, must have been extremely rich and beautiful. They are full 
 of very old orange and other fruit trees, with terraces and parterres 
 on which many rose bushes were growing, and, even now, a few 
 jonquils in flower. A channel of white marble for water, with 
 little fountain pipes of the same material carved like roses, is 
 carried here and there among these parterres, and at the end of 
 the terrace is a beautiful octagonal pavilion, also of marble, lined 
 with the same Mosaic flowers as in the room which I first saw, 
 with a marble fountain in its centre, and a beautiful bath in a 
 recess on one of its sides. The windows of this pavilion, which is 
 raised to the height of the city wall, command a good view of 
 Delhi and its neighbourhood. But all was, when we saw it, dirty, 
 
 4 c
 
 562 PALACE AT DELHI. 
 
 lonely, and wretched ; the bath and fountain dry : the inlaid pave- 
 ment hid with lumber and gardener's sweepings, and the walls 
 stained with the dung of birds and bats. 
 
 We w^ere then taken to the private mosque of the palace, an 
 elegant little building, also of w^hite marble and exquisitely carved, 
 but in the same state of neglect and dilapidation, with peepuls 
 allowed to spring from its walls, the exterior gilding partially torn 
 from its dome, and some of its doors coarsely blocked up with 
 unplaistered brick and mortar. 
 
 We went last to the " Dewanee aum," or hall of public 
 audience, which is in the outer court, and where on certain occa- 
 sions the great mogul sate in state, to receive the compliments or 
 petitions of his subjects. This also is a splendid pavilion of mar- 
 ble, not unlike the other hall of audience in form, but considerably 
 larger and open on three sides only ; on the fourth is a black 
 wall, covered with the same Mosaic work of flowers and leaves as 
 I have described, and in the centre a throne raised about ten feet 
 from the ground, with a small platform of marble in front, where 
 the vizier used to stand to hand up petitions to his master. 
 Behind this throne are Mosaic paintings of birds, animals, and 
 flowers, and in the centre, what decides the point of their being 
 the w ork of Italian, or at least European artists, a small groupe of 
 Orpheus playing to the beasts. This hall, when we saw it, was 
 full of lumber of all descriptions, broken palanqueens and empty 
 boxes, and the throne so covered with pigeon's dung, that its 
 ornaments were hardly discernible. How little did Shahjehan, the 
 founder of these fine buildings, foresee what would be the fate of 
 his descendants, or what his ow^n would be ! " Vanity of vanities !'* 
 was surely never written in more legible characters than on the 
 dilapidated arcades of Dellii ! 
 
 After breakfast I had a numerous attendance of persons who 
 either wished to be confirmed themselves, or to have my explana- 
 tion of the nature and authority of the ceremony. In the aft;er- 
 noon I went with Mr. and Mrs. EUiott a drive round a part of the
 
 DELHI. 563 
 
 city. Its principal streets are really wide, handsome, and, for an 
 Asiatic city, remarkably cleanly, and the shops in the bazars have a 
 good appearance. The chief street down which we drove, is 
 called the " chandnee chokee," or silversmith's street, but I did not 
 see any great number of that trade resident there. It is about as 
 wide as Pall-Mali, and has a branch of the aqueduct running along 
 its centre. Half-way down its length is a pretty little mosque 
 with three gilt domes, on the porch of which, it is said, Nader Shah 
 sat from morning to evening to see the work of massacre which his 
 army inflicted on the wretched citizens. A gate leading to a bazar 
 near it retains the name of " coonia durwazu," slaughter-gate ! 
 The chandnee chokee conducted us to the gate of Lahore, and we 
 went along the exterior of the town to the gate of Cashmere, by 
 which we returned to the Residency. The city wall is lofty and 
 handsome, but, except ruins and sun-burnt rocks, there is nothing 
 to be seen without the ramparts of Delhi. The Shelimar gardens, 
 extolled in Lalla Rookh, are completely gone to decay. Yet I am 
 assured by every body that the appearance of things in the pro- 
 vince of Delhi is greatly improved since it came into our hands ! 
 To what a state must the Maharattas have reduced it ! 
 
 January 1. — We went to see Koottab-sahib, a small town 
 about twelve miles south-west of Delhi, remarkable for its ruins, 
 and, among the Mussulmans, for its sanctity. It was the scene of 
 very hard fighting between the Hindoo sovereigns of Indraput and 
 the original Patau invaders, and the Mussulmans say that 5000 
 martyrs to their religion lie interred in the neighbourhood. Its 
 principal sanctity, however, arises from the tomb of a very cele- 
 brated saint, Cutteeb Sahib, in whose honour the buildings for 
 which it is now remarkable were begun but never quite com- 
 pleted by Shumsedd, the third, I think, in succession of the Patan 
 sovereigns. The emperor has a house there, and it is a favourite 
 retreat of his during fine weather. 
 
 We went out at the Agra gate, and rode through the same 
 dismal field of tombs as we had formerly traversed, escorted by 
 
 4 c 2
 
 564: CUTTAB MINOR. 
 
 three of Skinner's horse. Before we had cleared the nuns, 
 another body of fifteen or twenty wild-looking horse, some with 
 lono" spears, some with matchlocks and matches lighted, gallopped 
 up from behind a large tomb, and their leader, dropping the 
 point of his lance, said, that he was sent by the Raja of BuUum- 
 ghur, " the fort of spears," to conduct me through his district. 
 We had no need of this further escort, but, as it was civilly 
 intended, I of course took it civilly, and we went on together to a 
 beautiful mausoleum, about five miles further, raised in honour of 
 Sufter Jung, an ancestor of the King of Oude, who still keeps up 
 his tomb and the garden round it in good repair. We did not 
 stop here, however, but proceeded on elephants, which Mr. Elliott 
 had stationed for us, leaving our horses under the care of the 
 Bullumghur suwarrs, of whom and their Raja we were afterwards 
 to see a good deal. Our route lay over a country still rocky and 
 barren, and still sprinkled with tombs and ruins, till, on ascending 
 a little eminence, we saw one of the most extensive and striking 
 scenes of ruin which I have met with in any country. A very 
 tolerable account of it is given in Hamilton's India, and I will only 
 observe that the Cuttab Minar, the object of principal attraction, is 
 really the finest tower I have ever seen, and must, when its spire 
 was complete, have been still more beautiful. The remaining great 
 arches of the principal mosque, with their granite pillars, covered 
 with inscriptions in the florid Cufic character, are as fine, in their 
 way, as any of the details of York Minster. In front of the prin- 
 cipal of these great arches is a metal pillar like that in Firoze 
 Shah's castle, and several other remains of a Hindoo palace and 
 temple, more ancient than the foundation of the Koottab, and 
 which I should have thought striking, if they had not been in such 
 a neighbourhood. A multitude of ruined mosques, tombs, serais, 
 &c. are packed close round, mostly in the Patau style of architec- 
 ture, and some of them very fine. One, more particularly, on a 
 hill, and surrounded by a wall with battlements and towers, struck 
 me as pecuHarly suited, by its solid and simple architecture, to its
 
 DELHI. 5G5 
 
 blended character, in itself very appropriate to the religion of 
 Islam, of fortress, tomb, and temple. These Patans built like 
 giants and finished their work like jewellers. Yet the ornaments, 
 florid as they are in their proper places, are never thrown away, or 
 allowed to interfere with the general severe and solemn character 
 of their edifices. The palace of the present imperial fomily is at 
 some little distance behind these remains. It is a large but paltry 
 building, in a bad style of Italian architecture, and with a public 
 road actually leading through its court-yard. A little beyond and 
 amid some other small houses, near a very fine tank, we alighted 
 at rather a pretty little building belonging to Bukshi Mahmoud 
 Khan, the treasurer of the palace, where a room and a good break- 
 fast were prepared for us. 
 
 After breakfast, the day being cool and rather cloudy, we went 
 to see the ruins, and remained clambering about and drawing till 
 near two o'clock. The staircase within the great INIinar is very 
 good, except the uppermost story of all, which is ruinous and diffi- 
 cult of access. I went up, however, and was rewarded by the 
 very extensive view, from a height of 240 feet, of Delhi, the course 
 of the Jumna for many miles, and the ruins of Toghlikabad, another 
 giantly Patau foundation, which lay to the south-west. 
 
 We returned in the evening to Delhi, stopping by the way to 
 see Sufter Jung's tomb. It is very richly inlaid with different 
 kinds of marble, but has too much of the colour of potted meat 
 to please me, particularly after seeing buildings hke those of 
 Kootab-sahib. We were received here, to my surprise, by the 
 son of baboo Soobin Chund, who is, it seems, the agent of the 
 King of Oude in Delhi, and consequently has the keeping of this 
 place entrusted to him. He had actually brought a second and 
 finer horse for my acceptance ; and I had great difficulty in con- 
 vincing him of two things ; first, that I had no power to render 
 him any service which could call for such presents ; and secondly, 
 that my declining his presents was not likely to diminish my good- 
 will towards him, supposing me to have such power. I succeeded
 
 566 EMPEROR OF DELHI. 
 
 at last, however, in silencing, if not convincing him, and we 
 returned to the Residency, passing in our way by the Observatory, 
 a pile of buildings much resembling those at Benares, and built 
 by the same person, Jye Singh, Raja and founder of Jyepoor in 
 Rajpootana. 
 
 At Mr. Elliott's we found his son, and the two Mr. Fishers, 
 come to pass another Sunday with me. I also found two presents 
 awaiting my acceptance ; the one from the old Begum consisted of 
 a garland of withered jonquils, intermixed with tinsel, which was, 
 I believe, supposed to pass for pearls ; for after putting the said 
 wreath round my neck, the chobdars who brought it hailed me with 
 an acclamation of " Ue Motee-wala !" " O, Thou pearly person V 
 I however had, of course, to receive the gift with many thanks, as 
 a favour from the hand of a princess. The other present, from the 
 King, was more useful to a traveller, consisting of a buck, with his 
 best wishes for my journey. The common deer of this neighbour- 
 hood are, indeed, by no means good, and may be had for a rupee 
 a piece ; but this had had some little feeding bestowed on it, and 
 we found it by no means bad eating in our march. 
 
 Of the present situation and character of this sovereign and 
 his family, I had abundant opportunity of acquiring a knowledge ; 
 and I am glad to find that, with some exceptions, the conduct of 
 our countrymen to the house of Timour has been honourable and 
 kind. My dear wife is probably aware that the first direct con- 
 nexion between the English and the Emperor of Delhi, began 
 under Lord Clive's government, when Shah Aulum, father of the 
 present Acbar Shah, voluntarily, and without any stipulations, 
 threw himself under our protection, as the only means of securing 
 his personal liberty from the dissensions of his own subjects and 
 the violence of the Maharattas. He was received and treated in 
 all respects as a sovereign ; had a residence assigned to him, with 
 a very large revenue of twenty-six lacks a year ; and this was, in 
 fact, the only part of his life which can be regarded as splendid or 
 prosperous. In his anxiety to return to Delhi, however, he, after
 
 EMPEROR OF DELHI. 567 
 
 some years, forfeited all these advantages, and threw himself into 
 the power of the Maharattas, who, about a twelvemonth before, 
 had gained possession of that city, and who were our inveterate 
 enemies. By these new friends he was made prisoner ; and 
 Ghoolam Khadir, the Rohilla, who a few years after captured 
 Delhi, put out his eyes, threw him into a dungeon, and murdered 
 all the members of his family who could be found. His own life 
 would probably have soon sunk under his misery, had not Ghoolam 
 Khadir been defeated and put to death by Sindia, (assisted by 
 French officers and troops,) who now, in his turn, obtained posses- 
 sion of his person. His condition was, however, very little 
 improved. He was, indeed, suffered to live in his palace, and his 
 surviving family re-assembled round him ; but he and tliey were 
 treated with exceeeding neglect, and literally almost starved, by 
 the avarice of Sindia and the rapacity of the French. It was 
 during this period that most of the marble and inlaid ornaments 
 of the palace were mutilated, since they were actually sold to buy 
 bread for himself and his children. 
 
 In this miserable state he was found by Lord Lake, who 
 restored him to the sort of decent dependance which his son now 
 enjoys ; addressing him on all public occasions in the style of a 
 sovereign, — acknowledging the English government his " fidoi," 
 or feudatory, — and placing him, in fact, in every respect but 
 revenue, where Lord Clive had placed him before. His revenue 
 was fixed at ten lacks a year, which was afterwards increased to 
 twelve, and by Lord Hastings to fifteen, a large sum, but which is 
 said to be, either through mismanagement, or, as is greatly appre- 
 hended, the rapacity of the old Queen who is busy in making a 
 purse for herself, barely sufficient for the wants of his very nume- 
 rous family. By Lord Lake, Mr. Seton, and Sir David Ochterlony, 
 he and his son, the present Emperor, were treated with all the 
 outward respect which even in their best days his ancestors had 
 received from their subjects. Sir C. Metcalf, however, intrenched 
 in many respects on these little outward marks of attention and
 
 568 EMPEROR OF DELHI. 
 
 deference which soothed the poor old man in his inevitable 
 dependance ; and Acbar, the present Emperor, is also said to have 
 been deeply wounded by the demand of Lord Hastings to sit in 
 his presence. He felt still more the insult of setting up his Vizier, 
 the Nawab of Oude, as King, in opposition to him ; and he was 
 hurt by what he supposed to be a continuance of the same conduct 
 on the part of Government, when Sir Edward Paget passed him 
 without a visit. Under these circumstances, I was glad to find 
 that My. Elliott paid him every respect, and shewed him every 
 kindness in his power. I was glad, also, that I did not omit to 
 visit him, since, independently of the interest which I have felt in 
 seeing the venerable ruin of a mighty stock, Mr. Elliott says that 
 the Emperor had frequently enquired whether the Bishop also 
 meant to pass him by ^ ? 
 
 Acbar Shah has the appearance of a man of 74 or 75 : he is, 
 however, not much turned of 63, but, in this country, that is a 
 great age. He is said to be a very good-tempered, mild old man, 
 of moderate talents, but polished and pleasing manners. His 
 favourite wife, the Begum, is a low-born, low-bred, and violent 
 woman, who rules him completely, lays hold on all his money, and 
 has often influenced him to very unwise conduct towards his chil- 
 dren, and the British Government. She hates her eldest son, who 
 is, however, a respectable man, of more talents than native princes 
 usually shew, and happily for himself, has a predilection for those 
 literary pursuits which are almost the only laudable or innocent 
 objects of ambition in his power. He is fond of poetry, and is 
 himself a very tolerable Persian poet. He has taken some pains 
 
 * In the course of his late progress through the upper provinces, Lord Amherst paid the 
 Emperor a visit ; he was received by him in the hall of audience, which both parties entered 
 at the same moment, and, after an embrace, the Emperor ascended the peacock throne, and 
 the Governor General sate down in a state chair on his right hand. After an interchange of 
 compliments, and the usual form of presenting attar had been gone through, Lord Amherst 
 took leave, and was conducted by the Emperor to the door of the hall. On a subsequent day 
 the Emperor returned the visit with similar ceremonies. — Ed.
 
 EMPEROR OF DELHI. 569 
 
 in the education of his children, and, what in this country is very 
 unusual, even of his daughters. He too, however, though not 
 more than thirty-five, is prematurely old, arising partly from the 
 early excesses into which the wretched follies of an Eastern court 
 usually plunge persons in his situation, — and partly from his own 
 subsequent indulgence in strong liquors. His face is bloated and 
 pimpled, his eyes weak, and his hand tremulous. Yet, for an 
 Eastern prince, as I have already observed, his character is good, 
 and his abilities considered as above the common run. 
 
 There are, perhaps, few royal families which have displayed 
 during their power so many vices and so few virtues as the house 
 of Timour. Their power had been gradually declining ever since 
 the time of Aurungzebe, and at present, Mr. Elliott once observed 
 to me, that he could not perceive the least chance, that, supposing 
 our empire in the east to be at an end, the King of Delhi could for 
 a moment recover any share of authority. He did not even think 
 that the greater Princes of India, who would fight for our spoils, 
 would any of them think it wortht heir while to make use of the 
 Emperor's name as a pageant to sanction their own ambitious 
 views ; and he observed that, all things considered, few captive and 
 dethroned Princes had ever experienced so much liberality and 
 courtesy as they had from British hands, and that they could not 
 reasonably hope to gain by any diminution of our influence in 
 India. Yet their present circumstances are surely pitiable, as well 
 as an aweful instance of the instability of human greatness. The 
 gigantic genius of Tamerlane, and the distinguished talents of 
 Acbar, throw a sort of splendour over the crimes and follies of his 
 descendants : and I heartily hope that Government will reverence 
 the ruins of fallen greatness, and that, at least, no fresh degrada- 
 tion is reserved for the poor old man whose idea was associated in 
 my childhood with all imaginable wealth and splendour, under the 
 name of " the Great Mogul I" 
 
 January 2. — This day, being Sunday, I confirmed about 
 twenty persons, and I afterwards preached and administered the 
 
 4 D
 
 570 DELHI. 
 
 Sacrament, Mr. Fisher reading prayers; the congregation was 
 numerous, and there were near forty communicants. In the 
 evening also we had a good congregation. 1 was persecuted 
 during a great part of the day with people who could not be per- 
 suaded that I had no interest with Government, and who, in spite 
 of my reminding them that I knew nothing of them or their 
 character, kept prostrating themselves before me to get recom- 
 mendatory letters to this Judge or that Collector. Some of the 
 better sort, such as Soobin-chund, were contented, indeed, with a 
 sort of certificate under my seal, that they had associated with me. 
 These I readily gratified, but this increased the clamours of the 
 rest, till I was obliged to order the sentry at the door to turn them 
 all away, and to admit no more natives to me on any pretence what- 
 ever. Such were the chief events of my last day in Delhi. 
 
 I forgot to mention in its proper place that the ornaments 
 and shawls which I received from the Emperor were valued to me 
 at 284 sicca rupees. The horse was reported to be barely worth 
 thirty rupees, but as I declined redeeming him from the Com- 
 pany's hands I never saw him.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DELHI TO AGRA, 
 
 Ruins of Toghlikabad— Visit to the Raja of Bullumghur — Dancing Girls— Nawdb of Sikre— 
 Hindoo Pilgrimage to Bindrahund — Muttra — Sacred Monkeys— Death of one revenged — 
 Lepers — Party of Faquirs — Escape of Trimbukjee—Tomb of Acbar — Public Buildings — 
 Dewanny Aunt — Tdge-Mahal — Abdul Musseeh — French in Central India. 
 
 January 3. — This morning early I sent off my tents and baggage 
 to Furreedabad, a little town about fifteen miles from Delhi, and 
 in the afternoon followed them on horseback, escorted by five of 
 Skinner's horse, and accompanied by Mr. Lushington and Dr. 
 Smith. We passed by Humaioon's tomb, and thence through a 
 dreary country full of ruins, along a stoney and broken road marked 
 out at equal distances of about a mile and a half, by solid circular 
 stone obelisks, " coss minars," erected during the prosperous times 
 of the empire of Delhi. Half-way to Furreedabad we passed the 
 gigantic ruins of Toghlikabad, on a hill about a coss to our right. 
 I regretted that we could not see them nearer, but the stage was 
 of sufficient length for our horses and the few remaining hours of 
 day-light without this addition. Mr. Elliott described them as 
 chiefly interesting from their vast dimensions and the bulk and 
 weight of the stones employed in them. They were the work of 
 Toghlou Khan, one of the early Patau sovereigns. 
 
 Furreedabad offers nothing curious except a large tank with 
 a ruined banqueting-house on its shore ; it has a grove of tamarind 
 and other trees round it, but no mangoes ; few of these, indeed, 
 grow in the province of Delhi, owing to the unusual multitude of 
 
 4 D 2
 
 572 RAJA OF BULLUMGHUR. 
 
 white ants, to whose increase the ruins and the dry sandy soil are 
 favourable, and who attack the mangoes in preference to any other 
 tree. The whole country, indeed, is barren and disagreeable, and 
 the w^ater bad. That of the Jumna acts on strangers like the Chel- 
 tenham waters, and the wells here are also extremely unpalatable. 
 One might fancy oneself already approaching the confines of Persia 
 and Arabia. Our camp is, however, plentifully supplied with all 
 necessaries and comforts, and a servant of the Raja of Bullumghur 
 brought us some fine oranges, and at the same time told us, that 
 his master would not suffer him to receive either payment or pre- 
 sent for any of the supplies furnished, and only hoped that I would 
 call at his house next morning in my way, which I readily pro- 
 mised to do. 
 
 The Raja of Bullumghur holds a considerable territory along 
 this frontier as a feudatory of the British Government, on the 
 service of maintaining 2000 men to do the ordinary police duties, 
 and guard the road against the Mewattee and other predatory 
 tribes. The family and most of their people are of the Jat race, 
 and they have for many generations been linked by friendship and 
 frequent intermarriages with the neighbouring Raja of Bhurtpoor, . 
 who is now our friend, but whose gallant and successful defence of 
 his castle against Lord Lake during the Maharatta war, has raised 
 the character of the Jats, previously a very low caste, to consider- 
 able estimation for their valour in all this part of India. The 
 present acting Raja of Bullumghur is only Regent, being guardian 
 to his nephew, a boy now educating at Delhi. I had heard the 
 Regent and his brother described as hospitable and high-spirited 
 men, and was not sorry to have an opportunity of seeing a Hin- 
 doo court. 
 
 January 4. — A little before day- break we set off as usual, 
 through a country something, and but little, more fertile than that 
 we had passed. It improved, however, gradually as we ap- 
 proached Bullumghur, which, by its extensive groves, gave evidence 
 of its having been long a residence of a respectable native family.
 
 A HINDOO COURT. 573 
 
 I was not, however, at all prepared for the splendour with which 
 I was received. First we saw some of the wild-looking horsemen 
 whom I have already described, posted as if on the look-out, who, 
 on seeing us, fired their matchlocks and gallopped off as fast as 
 possible. As we drew nearer w^e saw a considerable body of 
 cavalry with several camels and elephants, all gaily caparisoned, 
 drawn up under some trees, and were received by the Raja him- 
 self a fat and overgrown man, and his younger brother a very 
 handsome and manly figure, the former alighting from a palan- 
 queen, the other from a noble Persian horse, with trappings which 
 swept the ground. I alighted from my horse also and the usual 
 compliments and civilities followed. The elder brother begged 
 me to excuse his riding with me as he was ill, which indeed we 
 had heard before, but the second went by my side, reining in his 
 magnificent steed, and shewing off the animal's paces and his own 
 horsemanship. Before and behind were camels, elephants, and 
 horsemen, with a most strange and barbarous music of horns, 
 trumpets, and kettle-drums, and such a wood of spears that I could 
 not but tell my companion that his castle deserved its name of Fort 
 of Spears. As we drew nearer we saw the fort itself, with high 
 brick walls, strengthened with a deep ditch and large mud bas- 
 tions, from which we were complimented with a regular salute of 
 cannon. Within we found a small and crowded, but not ill-built 
 town, with narrow streets, tall houses, many temples, and a suffi- 
 cient number of Brahminy bulls to shew the pure Hindoo descent 
 of the ruler. The population of the little capital was almost all 
 assembled in the streets, on the walls, and on the house-tops, 
 and salamed to us as we came in. We passed through two or 
 three sharp turns, and at length stopped at the outer gate of a 
 very neat little palace, built round a small court planted with 
 jonquils and rose bushes, with a marble fountain in the centre, and 
 a small open arched hall, where chairs were placed for us. Sitrin- 
 gees were laid, by way of carpet, on the floor, and the walls were 
 ornamented with some paltry Hindoo portraits of the family, and
 
 574 A HINDOO COURT. 
 
 some old fresco paintings of gods, goddesses, and heroes encoun- 
 tering lions and tygers. 
 
 After we had been here a few minutes a set of dancing-girls 
 entered the room followed by two musicians. I felt a little uneasy 
 at this apparition, but Dr. Smith, to whom I mentioned my appre- 
 hensions, assured me that nothing approacliing to indecency was to 
 be looked for in the dances or songs which a well-bred Hindoo ex- 
 hibited to his visitors. I sat still, therefore, while these poor little 
 girls, for they none of them seemed more than fourteen, went through 
 the same monotonous evolutions which I had heard my wife de- 
 scribe, in which there is certainly very little grace or interest, and 
 no perceptible approach to indecency. The chief part of the figure, 
 if it can be called so, seemed to consist in drawing up and letting 
 fall again the loose wide sleeves of their outer garments, so as to 
 shew the arm as high as the elbow, or a very little higher, while 
 the arms were waved backwards and forwards in a stiff and con- 
 strained manner. Their dresses were rich, but there was such an 
 enormous quantity of scarlet cloth petticoats and trowzers, so 
 many shawls wrapped round their waists, and such multifarious 
 skirts peeping out below each other, that their figures were quite 
 hidden, and the whole effect was that of a number of Dutch dolls, 
 though the faces of two or three out of the number were pretty. 
 Two sung each a Persian and a Hindoostanee song with very pleas- 
 ing though not powerful voices, after which, as the demands both of 
 curiosity and civility were satisfied, I gave them a gratuity, as I un- 
 derstood was usual on such occasions, as a token of their dismissal. 
 
 After this some cake and Persian grapes were brought in, and 
 I took leave, having in the civilest and most cordial way I could, 
 declined the usual present of shawls, and accepted one of fruit and 
 sweetmeats. On going away I told the Raja's jemautdar to come 
 to the camp in the evening, and he and his fellow-servants should 
 have the usual bukshish, but he answered that neither he nor any 
 of the Raja's people, except the dancing-girls to whom it was an 
 usual token of approbation, dared accept any thmg of the kind.
 
 CASSIM ALI KHAN. 575 
 
 the first instance which I had met with of a Hindoo refusing money. 
 Soon after I had taken leave, and while we were still escorted 
 by the Bullumghur cavalry, a message came from the Raja to say 
 that he had heard of my intended liberality to his people, but that 
 it was his particular request that I would give nothing either to 
 his servants or to the suwarrs, whom he intended, with my leave, 
 to send on with me as far as Muttra. Surely this is what in 
 England would be called high and gentlemanly feeling. 
 
 On our approach to Sikre, where the tents were pitched, I 
 found we had entered another little feudal territory, being received 
 by about twenty horsemen, with a splendid old warrior at their 
 head, who announced himself as the jaghiredar of the place, and 
 holding a little barony, as it would be called in Europe, under the 
 Company, intermixed with the larger territories of Bullumghur. 
 Cassim Ali Khan, the Nawab of Sikre, who thus introduced him- 
 self, was a figure which Wouverman or Rubens would have de- 
 lighted to paint, a tall, large, elderly man, with a fine countenance, 
 and a thick and curly but not long grey beard, on a large and 
 powerful white Persian horse, with a brocade turban, a saddle- 
 cloth of tyger's skin with golden tassels which almost swept the 
 ground, sword, shield, and pistols mounted with silver, and all the 
 other picturesque insignia of a Mussulman cavalier of distinction. 
 He said that he had been a tusseeldar in command of 200 horse in 
 Lord Lake's war, and had been recompensed at the end of the 
 contest with a little territory of ten villages, rent and tax free. 
 The Raja, he said, who had 250 villages, nearly enclosed him, but 
 they were good friends. The Raja certainly, though his brother 
 is a fine young man, had nothing in his whole cavalcade to equal 
 the old Nawab's figure, which was perfect as a picture, from his 
 bare muscular neck and his crisp grey mustachios, down to his 
 yellow boots and the strong brown hand, with an emerald ring on 
 it, the least turn of which on his silver bridle seemed to have 
 complete mastery over his horse, without too much repressing its 
 spirit. He afterwards shewed me his certificates of service from Lord
 
 576 PROVINCE OF DELHI. 
 
 Lake and others, and it appeared that his character in all respects 
 had corresponded with his manly and intelligent appearance. 
 
 At Sikre I found a letter from Mr. Cavendish, Collector and 
 Magistrate of this district, saying that he was encamped in the 
 neighbourhood and intended to call on me next morning at our 
 next station, at Brahminy Kerar. 
 
 January 5. — The country between Sikre and Brahminy Kerar 
 is uninteresting enough, though rather more fertile than in the 
 neighbourhood of Delhi. Half-way, near a village named Pulwul, 
 we passed Mr. Cavendish's encampment, and were met by an escort 
 of his suwatrs. I had long since had my eyes pretty well accus- 
 tomed to the sight of shields and spears, but I have not failed to 
 observe that, along this frontier which has not been till of late in a 
 settled or peaceable state, and where hard blows are still of no 
 unfrequent occurrence, even the police troopers sit their horses 
 better, and have a more martial air by far, than persons in the 
 same situation in the Dooab or even in Rohilcund. I begin, 
 indeed, to think better of the system on which the province of 
 Delhi has been governed since its conquest, from all which I hear 
 of its former state. This neighbourhood, for instance, is still but 
 badly cultivated, but fifteen years ago it was as wild, I am assured, 
 as the Terrai, as full of tygers, and with no human inhabitants but 
 banditti. Cattle- stealing still prevails to a great extent, but the 
 Mewattees are now most of them subject either to the British 
 Government or that of Bhurtpoor, and the security of life and 
 property afforded them by the former, has induced many of the 
 tribes to abandon their fortresses, to seat themselves in the plain 
 and cultivate the ground like honest men and good subjects, while 
 the tranquillity of the border, and the force maintained along it, 
 prevents the Bhurtpoor marauders from renewing their depre- 
 dations so often as they used to do. Highway robberies also 
 sometimes occur, generally attended with murder; but, on the 
 whole, the amendment has been great, and an European, under 
 ordinary circumstances, may pass in safety through any part of the
 
 HORAL. 577 
 
 district. The lands are not now highly assessed, and Government 
 has liberally given up half the year s rent in consideration of the 
 drought. Still, however, something more is wanting, and every 
 public man in these provinces appears to wish that a settlement 
 for fourteen or even twenty years could be brought about, in order 
 to give the Zemindars an interest in the soil and an inducement to 
 make improvements. 
 
 At Brahminy Kerar are a few ruins, but nothing worthy par- 
 ticular notice. The coss-minars still make their appearance, but 
 at very uncertain distances, great numbers having been destroyed 
 or gone to decay. Indeed the road does not always follow its 
 ancient line. 
 
 January 6. — We went on eight coss to Horal. The country 
 along the road-side is jungly, but cultivation seems rapidly gaining 
 on it. The road-side is, in India, always the part last cultivated, 
 the natives being exposed to many injuries and oppressions from 
 sepoys and travellers. I was told that for every bundle of grass 
 or faggots which the thannadar, or other public officer, brought to 
 my camp, he demanded as much more from the poor peasants, 
 which he appropriated to his own use ; and that, even if I paid for 
 what I got, it required much attention, and some knowledge of 
 the language, to be sure that the money was not intercepted in its 
 way to the right owner. But the common practice of the than- 
 nadar was, to charge nothing for what was furnished to the traveller, 
 both from wishing to make a compliment to the latter, (which costs 
 him nothing,) and also to take, without the means of detection, his 
 own share of the plunder. The best way is to insist on a written 
 bill, and request the collector afterwards to enquire of the Ryuts 
 whether the money had been paid. 
 
 At Horal is a very pretty native house now uninhabited but 
 used as a court of justice, with a fine tank near it, both the work 
 of a former Hindoo jemautdar, in memory of whom a small temple 
 is raised in the neighbourhood. Within I saw the representation 
 of four human feet, one pair larger than the other, on a little altar 
 
 4 E
 
 578 
 
 DHOTANA. 
 
 ao^ainst the wall, and was told that it was the customary way of 
 commemorating that the favourite wife had burnt herself with her 
 husband. This horrible custom, I am glad to find, is by no means 
 common in this part of India ; indeed, I have not yet found it 
 common any where except in Bengal, and some parts of Bahar. 
 
 January 7. — From Horal to Dhotana, in the province of Agra, 
 is seven coss, a wild, but more woody country than we had lately 
 traversed. By woody, as distinct from jungle, I mean that a good 
 many fine trees were seen. At Dhotana I saw the first instance of 
 a custom which I am told I shall see a good deal of in my southern 
 journey, — a number of women, about a dozen, who came with pitch- 
 ers on their heads, dancing and singing, to meet me. There is, if 
 I recollect right, an account of this sort of dance in Kehama. 
 They all professed to be " Gaopiaree," or milk-maids, and are in 
 fact, as the thannadar assured me, the wives and daughters of the 
 Gaowala caste. Their voices and style of singing were by no means 
 unpleasing ; they had all the appearance of extreme poverty, and 
 I thought a rupee well bestowed upon them, for which they were 
 very thankful. There are many indications, along all this route, of 
 great distress and poverty arising from the long drought, but less, 
 very far less, than to the north of Delhi ; and what is remarkable, 
 there are few professed beggars or faquirs. Those who have re- 
 cently asked for charity have been poor women with young children, 
 or men wandering, as they say, in search of work. 
 
 We w^ere this day met by some suwarrs from the Judge of 
 Agra, and I therefore dismissed the horse of Bullumghur. To 
 take with me more than enough was only burdening the people, 
 and since I was not to pay them I apprehend they were not sorry 
 to receive their dismissal. I sent with them a letter of thanks to 
 the Raja. 
 
 January 8. — From Dhotana to Jeyt, the next stage, is a long 
 sixteen miles, through a wild country. On our left, at a distance 
 of two or three miles, we passed Bindrabund, a large town on the 
 banks of the Jumna, celebrated among the Hindoos for its sane-
 
 BINDRABUND. 579 
 
 tity, and the wealth of its pagodas. I was sorry that I could not 
 visit it, but I believe there was not really much to regret. The 
 buildings, are ancient, but all mean ; and the peculiarities of 
 the place are, chiefly, its amazing swarms of sacred monkeys, 
 and the no less amazing crowd of filthy and profligate devotees, 
 who crowd round every stranger, not so much asking, as demanding 
 alms. Through all this country, indeed, notwithstanding its 
 vicinity to the capital of Islam in the East, Hindooism seems to 
 predominate in a degree which I did not expect to find. Few or 
 none of the people have Mussulman names ; there are abundant 
 pagodas and scarcely one mosque, and I have seldom seen any 
 peasantry with so many Brahminical or Rajpoot strings among 
 them. The villages and jungles near them are all full of peacocks, 
 another symptom of Hindooism, since the Mussulmans would 
 soon make havoc among these beautiful but well- tasted birds. 
 Most of the names which I have heard are followed by the affix of 
 " Singh," a lion : this ought to belong to the Rajpoots alone, but 
 at present all the Jats claim it, as well as the Seiks who, as having 
 relinquished Hindooism, have no apparent right to any distinction 
 of the kind. I know not whether this may be regarded as addi- 
 tional grounds for the suspicion which I have some time enter- 
 tained, that the distinction of caste weighs less on men's minds 
 than it used to do. 
 
 But though I was easily reconciled to the omission of Bindra- 
 bund, all my party were not so, and five sepoys applied for leave 
 to go there, promising to rejoin me at Muttra, a permission which 
 I readily gave them. This, however, was followed by a similar 
 request from more than half my little army, with the venerable 
 soubahdar at their head, besides the goomashta of the camels, 
 and my sirdar-bearer. This was inconvenient, but it was not easily 
 avoided. Some of them were Brahmins, some Rajpoots, some had 
 vows on them, and all were so deeply impressed with the sanctity 
 of Bindrabund, that they were extremely anxious not to pass it by. 
 I gave, therefore, my acquiescence with a good grace, reminding 
 
 4 E 2
 
 580 MUTTRA. 
 
 them only that they must rejoin me on Sunday evening, as I meant 
 to make no halt in INIuttra. 
 
 January 9, Sunday. — From Jeyt to INIuttra is about four coss, 
 the country still wild, but apparently more fertile than most of 
 what we had lately seen. Half-way are the ruins of a very large 
 and handsome serai. At this place I was met by Colonel Penny, 
 the Commandant of INIuttra, with several other officers, who rode 
 with us through the town. Muttra is a large and remarkable city, 
 much reverenced by the Hindoos for its antiquity and connection 
 ^nth many of their legends, more particularly as the birth-place of 
 their fabulous Krishna, or Apollo. In consequence it swarms with 
 paroquets, peacocks, brahminy bulls, and monkeys, which last are 
 seen sitting on the tops of the houses, and running along the walls 
 and roofs hke cats. They are very troublesome, and admitted to be 
 so by the Hindoos themselves, but so much respected that, a few 
 years since, two young officers who shot at one near Bindrabund, 
 were driven into the Jumna, where they perished, by a mob of 
 Brahmins and devotees. In other respects, also, Muttra is a 
 striking town, and a good deal reminded me of Benares, the houses 
 being very high with the same sort of ornaments as in that city. 
 There is a large ruinous castle on the shore of the Jumna, and a 
 magnificent, though dilapidated mosque, with four very tall mina- 
 rets. In the centre, or nearly so, of the town. Colonel Penny took 
 us into the court of a beautiful temple, or dwelling-house, for it 
 seemed to be designed for both in one, lately built, and not yet 
 quite finished, by Gokul Pattu Singh, Sindia's treasurer, and who 
 has also a principal share in a great native banking-house, one 
 branch of which is fixed at Muttra. The building is enclosed by 
 a small but richly-carved gateway, with a flight of steps which 
 leads from the street to a square court, cloistered round, and 
 containing in the centre a building also square, supported by a 
 triple row of pillars, all which, as well as the ceiling, are richly 
 carved, painted, and gilt. The effect, internally, is much like that 
 of the Egyptian tomb, of which the model was exhibited in London
 
 MUTTRA. 581 
 
 by Belzoni ; externally, the carving is very beautiful. The cloisters 
 round were represented to us as the intended habitation of the 
 Brahmins attached to the fane ; and in front, towards the street, 
 were to be apartments for the founder in his occasional visits to 
 Muttra. 
 
 The cantonments are separated from the rest of the town by 
 a small interval of broken ground covered with ruins. The build- 
 ings are very extensive and scattered over a wide plain, but the 
 greater part of them unoccupied, the forces now maintained here 
 not being half so numerous as they used to be before the establish- 
 ment of Nusseerabad and Neemuch, and the consequent removal 
 of our advanced corps to a great distance westward. Still Muttra 
 is an important station, from the vicinity of many wild and inde- 
 pendent though, at present, friendly Rajas, and from its forming a 
 necessary link between Agra and the northern stations. 
 
 We breakfasted with Colonel Penny, who had provided an 
 empty bungalow for Divine service. I had a congregation of about 
 twenty-five persons, six of whom staid for the Sacrament, and I 
 afterwards baptized some children. A miserable leper came soon 
 after to ask alms, who said he had heard of my passing through 
 the country and had come two days' journey to beg from me. He 
 was quite naked except a very small rag round his waist ; his 
 fingers had all nearly rotted off, and his legs and feet were in a 
 wretched condition. I have seen, I think, fewer of these objects 
 in Hindostan than in Bengal, but those I have seen are in every 
 respect most pitiable. In addition to the horrors of the disease 
 itself, the accursed religion of the Hindoos holds them out as 
 objects of Heaven's wrath, and, unless they expiate their sins by 
 being buried alive, as doomed in a future life to Padalon ! They 
 are consequently deprived of caste, can possess no property, and 
 share far less than most other mendicants in the alms which 
 Hindoo bounty dispenses in general with a tolerably liberal hand. 
 
 About two o'clock the soubahdar and the other pilgrims 
 returned in high spirits, having all bathed and gone through the
 
 582 MUTTRA. 
 
 necessary ceremonies. I completed their happiness for the day 
 by an arrangement which I made, that a guard of honour which 
 Colonel Penny had assigned me should stand sentry during my 
 stay in IMuttra, so that my escort should have the evening 
 and night to themselves. There was no fear of this permission 
 being abused ; they were all tired, — they had eaten their meal, — 
 and the only further thing they desired was to sleep the twelve 
 hours round. 
 
 We dined with Colonel Penny and met a numerous party of 
 officers. The chief subjects of conversation were Nusseerabad, 
 whither I was going and which several of the party had recently 
 left, and the late attack and plunder of Calpee. Of Nusseerabad 
 the most dismal account was given, as a barren plain on the verge 
 of the great salt desert, with very little w^ater and that little bad, 
 and only one single tree in the whole cantonment. I know not 
 from what singular fatality it has arisen, that almost all the prin- 
 cipal establishments of the English in India have been fixed in bad 
 situations. The reason which I have heard given is the unwilling- 
 ness of Government to interfere with the comforts of their subjects, 
 or to turn out people from their farms and villages, which has 
 compelled them to fix on spots previously uninhabited and untilled, 
 which of course, in an anciently peopled country, have generally 
 been neglected in consequence of some natural disadvantage. 
 But it would be so easy, at a moderate rate, to recompence any 
 Zemindar or Ryut whom a new cantonment inconvenienced, and 
 the bad effects of an unwholesome, or otherwise ill-situated station 
 are so great, that this is a reason which, though it was gravely given, 
 I could hardly hear with gravity. The fact, however, is certain ; 
 Secrole, the cantonments at Lucknow, nay, Calcutta itself, are 
 all abominably situated. I have heard the same of Madras i 
 and now the lately settled cantonment of Nusseerabad appears to 
 be as objectionable as any of them. 
 
 The affair at Calpee has excited great surprise not unmixed 
 with alarm. Many of the party maintained that Sindia was at the
 
 FURRAH. 583 
 
 bottom of the transaction, and that it was the harbinger of a new 
 war in central India ; but one gentleman, who came lately from 
 Mhow, had no suspicion of the kind ; and though he thought it 
 not unlikely that the marauders in question had been assembled 
 in Sindia's territories, he did not think that the Maharaja was him- 
 self inclined to break with us. 
 
 January 10. — This morning s stage was eight coss, to a small 
 village called Furrah; it is built in a great measure within the 
 enclosure of what has been, evidently, a very extensive serai, whose 
 walls seem to have been kept up as a defence to the village. Tliey 
 have, however, not been its only defence, since on a little hill 
 immediately above it is a square mud fort, with a round bastion at 
 each flank, and a little outwork before the gate. It is now empty 
 and neglected, but has evidently been in recent use, and might 
 easily be again put into sufficient repair to answer every purpose 
 for which such a little fortress could be supposed calculated. 
 Most of the villages in this part of Hindostan w^ere anciently pro- 
 vided with a similar fastness, where the peasantry, their ftimilies, 
 and cattle, might seek refuge in case of the approach of robbers 
 or enemies. The strength of the British Government, and the 
 internal peace which has flowed from it, have made these precau- 
 tions, as well as the walls and towers of the greater towns, be 
 almost universally neglected, though the recent misfortune at 
 Calpee appears to prove that such means of defence may yet 
 occasionally have their value. 
 
 The people and tusseeldar of Furrah were very dilatory in 
 bringing supplies, and the sepoys w^ere so cold, hungry, and indig- 
 nant, that I thought there would have been broken heads. The 
 tusseeldar at length made his appearance in a hackery hung with 
 red cloth, and drawn by two very fine bullocks, which trotted almost 
 as well as the common horses of the country. He was followed 
 by the usual aids, and matters were reconciled. The peasantry, 
 my servants complained, were not only negligent, but uncivil, and
 
 584 ROPE-DANCER. 
 
 seemed to have heard, probably an exaggerated statement, of the 
 sack of Calpee. 
 
 Soon after we had encamped, a numerous party of faquirs, 
 and other similar vagabonds, like us, as it seemed, on their travels, 
 appeared, and pitched their tents at a little distance. Dr. Smith 
 foretold that we should lose some property by this contiguity, but 
 there was no avoiding it, since neither in law nor justice, could men 
 in the open field object to others, travelling like themselves, taking 
 up their abode in the same vicinity. In one respect they gave us 
 less trouble than might have been expected, since they did not beg. 
 A party of them, however, came forwards with a musician, and a 
 boy dressed up in adjutant's feathers with a bill of the same bird 
 fastened to his head, and asked leave to shew off some tricks in 
 tumbling and rope-dancing. On my assenting, in less time than I 
 could have supposed possible, four very long bamboos were fixed 
 in the ground, and a slack-rope suspended between them, on which 
 the boy, throwing off his bird's dress, and taking a large balancing- 
 pole in his hand, began to exhibit a series of tricks which proved 
 him to be a funambulist of considerable merit. He was a little 
 and very thin animal, but broad-shouldered and well made, and 
 evidently possessed of no common share of strength as well as of 
 agility and steadiness. Meantime, while he was gambolling above, 
 the musician below, who was an old man, and whose real or assumed 
 name was Hajee Baba, went through all the usual jests and 
 contortions of our EngUsh " Mr. Merryman," sometimes affecting 
 great terror at his companion's feats and the consequence of his 
 falling, — sometimes bidding him " Salam to the Sahib Log,'' or 
 challenging him to still greater feats of agility and dexterity. 
 
 Our road, during great part of this day's journey, had lain by 
 the side of the Jumna, which is here very pretty, a wide and 
 winding stream, with woody banks, and the fields in its vicinity 
 more fertile and green than any which I have for a long time 
 looked on. We saw a small vessel with masts and sails dropping
 
 ESCAPE OF TRIMBUKJEE. 585 
 
 down the river ; but, except during the rains, its navigation is here 
 so tedious and uncertain that few boats ever come up so high. 
 
 I heard this morning an account which interested and amused 
 me, of the manner in which the Maharatta chief, Trimbukjee, whom 
 I saw a prisoner <it Chunar, had effected his escape from the British 
 the first time he was seized by them. He was kept in custody at 
 Tannah, near Bombay ; and while there, a common-looking Maha- 
 ratta groom, with a good character in his hand, came to offer his 
 services to the commanding officer. He was accepted, and had 
 to keep his horse under the window of Trimbukjee's prison. 
 Nothing remarkable was observed in his conduct, except a more 
 than usual attention to his horse, and a habit, while currying and 
 cleaning him, of singing verses of Maharatta songs, all apparently 
 relating to his trade. At length Trimbukjee disappeared and the 
 groom followed him ; on which it was recollected that his singing 
 had been made up of verses like the following : 
 
 " Behind the bush the bowmen hide, 
 
 The horse beneath the tree ; 
 Where shall I find a knight will ride 
 
 The jungle paths with me ? 
 There are five and fifty coursers there, 
 
 And four and fifty men ; 
 When the fifty-fifth shall mount his steed. 
 
 The Deckan thrives again !" 
 
 This might have been a stratagem of the Scottish border, so com- 
 plete a similarity of character and incident does a resemblance of 
 habit and circumstance produce among mankind. 
 
 January 11. — This morning we arrived at Secundra, nine 
 coss from Furrah, a ruinous village and without a bazar, but 
 remarkable for the magnificent tomb of Acbar, the most splendid 
 building in its way which I had yet seen in India. It stands in a 
 square area of about forty English acres, enclosed by an embattled 
 wall, with octagonal towers at the angles surmounted by open 
 pavilions, and four very noble gateways of red granite, the prin- 
 
 4 F
 
 586 TOMB OF ACBAR. 
 
 cipal of which is inlaid with white marble, and has four high marble 
 minarets. The space within is planted with trees and divided 
 into green alleys, leading to the central building, which is a sort 
 of solid pyramid surrounded externally with cloisters, galleries, 
 and domes, diminishing gradually on ascending it, till it ends in a 
 square platform of white marble, surrounded by most elaborate 
 lattice-work of the same material, in the centre of which is a small 
 altar tomb, also of white marble, carved with a delicacy and beauty 
 which do full justice to the material, and to the graceful forms of 
 Arabic characters which form its chief ornament. At the bottom 
 of the building, in a small but very lofty vault, is the real tomb of 
 this great monarch, plain and unadorned, but also of white marble. 
 There are many other ruins in the vicinity, some of them apparently 
 handsome, but Acbar's tomb leaves a stranger little time or 
 inclination to look at any thing else. Government have granted 
 money for the repair of the tomb, and an officer of engineers is 
 employed on it. A serjeant of artillery is kept in the place, who 
 lives in one of the gateways ; his business is to superintend a plan- 
 tation of sissoo-trees made by Dr. Wallich. He says the soil does 
 not appear to suit them ; they grow^, however, but by no means 
 rapidly. For fruit trees, particularly the orange, the soil is very 
 favourable, and the tall tamarinds and the generally neglected 
 state of the garden afford more picturesque points of view than 
 large buildings usually are seen in. 
 
 The next morning, January 12th, we proceeded to Mr. 
 Irving's house near Agra, about six miles, through a succession of 
 ruins, little less continuous and desolate than those round Delhi. 
 I noticed, however, that some of the old tombs have been formed 
 into dwelling-houses, and Mr. Irving's is one of this description. 
 I found there a very comfortable room prepared for myself, with 
 plenty of space in the compound for my encampment. 
 
 In the evening I went with Mr. Irving to see the city, the 
 fort, and the Jumna Musjeed. The city is large, old, and ruinous, 
 with little to attract attention beyond that picturesque mixture of
 
 PALACE OF ACBAR. 587 
 
 houses, balconies, projecting roofs, and groupes of people in the 
 eastern dress, which is common to all Indian towns. The fort is 
 very large and ancient, surrounded with high walls and towers of 
 red stone, which command some noble views of the city, its neigh- 
 bourhood, and the windings of the Jumna. The principal sights, 
 however, which it contains, are the Motee Musjeed, a beautiful 
 mosque of white marble, carved with exquisite simplicity and 
 elegance, and the palace built by Acbar, in a great degree of the 
 same material, and containing some noble rooms, now sadly disfi- 
 gured and destroyed by neglect, and by being used as warehouses, 
 armories, offices, and lodging-rooms for the garrison. 
 
 The hall, now used as the "Dewanny Aum," or public court of 
 justice, is a splendid edifice, supported by pillars and arches of white 
 marble, as large and more nobly simple than that of Delhi. The 
 ornaments, carving, and Mosaic of the smaller apartments, in which 
 was formerly the Zennana, are equal or superior to any thing which 
 is described as found in the Alhambra. The view from these 
 rooms is very fine, at the same time that there are some, adapted 
 for the hot winds, from which light is carefidly excluded. This 
 suite is lined with small mirrors in fantastic frames ; a cascade of 
 water, also surrounded by mirrors, has been made to gush from 
 a recess at the upper end, and marble channels, beautifully inlaid 
 with cornelians, agates, and jasper, convey the stream to every side 
 of the apartment. In another of the towers are baths of equal 
 beauty, one of which, a single block of white marble. Lord Hastings 
 caused to be forced up from its situation, not without consider- 
 able injury both to the bath itself and the surrounding pavement, 
 in order to carry it down to Calcutta. It was, however, too heavy 
 for the common budgerow in use on the Jumna, and the bath 
 remains to shame its spoliator. Should the plan, which has been 
 often talked of, of having a separate Government for central India 
 ever be carried into execution, this would unquestionably be the 
 Government house. It might still be restored at less expence 
 than building a new residence for the Governor, and there is, at 
 
 4 F 2
 
 5S8 ABDUL MUSSEEH. 
 
 present, no architect in India able to build even a lodge in the 
 same style. The Jumna Musjeed is not by any means so fine as 
 that of Delhi. It is very picturesque, however, and the more so 
 from its neglected state, and the grass and peepul-trees which 
 grow about its lofty domes. 
 
 Archdeacon Corrie's celebrated convert, Abdul Musseeh, 
 breakfasted this morning at Mr. Irving's ; he is a very fine old 
 man, with a magnificent grey beard, and much more gentlemanly 
 manners than any Christian native whom I have seen. His rank, 
 indeed, previous to his conversion, was rather elevated, since he 
 was master of the jewels to the court of Oude, an appointment of 
 higher estimation in Eastern palaces than in those of Europe, and 
 the holder of which has always a high salary. Abdul Musseeh's 
 present appointments, as Christian Missionary, are sixty rupees a 
 month, and of this he gives away at least half! Who can dare to 
 say that this man has changed his faith from any interested 
 motives ? He is a very good Hindoostanee, Persian, and Arabic 
 scholar, but knows no English. There is a small congregation of 
 native Christians, converted by Mr. Corrie when he was Chaplain 
 at Agra, and now kept together by Abdul Musseeh. The earnest 
 desire of this good man is to be ordained a Clergyman of the 
 Church of England, and if God spares his life and mine, I hope, 
 during the Ember weeks in this next autumn, to confer orders on 
 him. He is every way fit for them, and is a most sincere Christian, 
 quite free, so far as I could observe, from all conceit or enthusiasm. 
 His long eastern dress, his long grey beard, and his calm resigned 
 countenance, give him already almost the air of an apostle \ 
 
 * Abdul Musseeh was converted to Christianity, and baptized in the Old Church at 
 Calcutta, when he was about forty years of age. He was, subsequently, employed for eight 
 years by the Church Missionary Society as Catechist, and received Lutheran ordination in the 
 year 1820 from the hands of the missionaries of that Society. In December 1825, the Bishop 
 conferred on him, together with three other missionaries, the rite of Episcopal ordination ; the 
 Articles, the various oaths, and the ordination service, having been translated, for his use, into 
 Hindoostanee. The Bishop also read a considerable part of the ceremony in that language.
 
 TAGE-MAHAL. 589 
 
 January 13. — I went to see the celebrated Tage-mahal, of 
 which it is enough to say that, after hearing its praises ever since 
 I had been in India, its beauty rather exceeded than fell short of 
 my expectations. There was much, indeed, which I was not pre- 
 pared for. The surrounding garden, which as well as the Tage 
 itself, is kept in excellent order by Government, with its marble foun- 
 tains, beautiful cypresses and other trees, and profusion of flowering 
 shrubs, contrasts very finely with the white marble of which the tomb 
 itself is composed, and takes off, by partially concealing it, from 
 that stiffness which belongs more or less to every highly finished 
 building. The building itself is raised on an elevated terrace of 
 white and yellow marble, and having at its angles four tall minarets 
 of the same material. The Tage contains, as usual, a central hall 
 about as large as the interior of the Ratcliffe Hbrary, in which, 
 enclosed within a carved screen of elaborate tracery, are the tombs 
 of the Begum Noor-jehan, Shahjehan's beloved wife, to whom it 
 was erected, and by her side, but a little raised above her, of the 
 unfortunate Emperor himself. Round this hall are a number of 
 smaller apartments, corridors, &c. and the windows are carved in 
 lattices of the same white marble with the rest of the building, and 
 the screen. The pavement is in alternate squares of white and, 
 what is called in Europe, sienna marble, the walls, screens, and 
 tombs are covered with flowers and inscriptions, executed in 
 beautiful Mosaic of cornelians, lapis-lazuli, and jasper ; and yet 
 though every thing is finished like an ornament for a drawing-room 
 chimney-piece, the general effect produced is rather solemn and 
 impressive than gaudy. The parts which I like least are the 
 great dome and the minarets. The bulbous swell of the former I 
 
 Abdul Musseeh, immediately after, went to Lucknow, where he resided, with the exception of 
 a visit to Cawnpoor, till his death which happened on the 4th of March, 1 827, occasioned by 
 mortification proceeding from a neglected carbuncle. The Resident, Mr. Ricketts, who had 
 always behaved to him with the utmost kindness and liberality, read the burial service at his 
 grave, and ordered a monument to be erected to his memory, with an inscription in English and 
 Persian. Among other bequests, Abdul Musseeh left his books to the Bible Society. — Ed.
 
 590 AGRA. 
 
 think clumsy, and the minarets have nothing to recommend them 
 but their height and the beauty of their materials. But the man 
 must have more criticism than taste or feeling about him, who 
 could allow such imperfections to weigh against the beauties of 
 the Tage-mahal. The Jumna washes one side of the garden, and 
 there are some remains of a bridge which was designed by Shah- 
 jehan with the intention, as the story goes, to build a second 
 Tage of equal beauty for his own separate place of interment, on 
 the opposite side of the river. 
 
 On that side are some interesting ruins of other structures, 
 more especially the tomb of Etmun ud Dowlah, prime minister 
 of Shahjehan. It is said to be very beautiful, but I did not see 
 it, since during the rest of my stay at Agra I was confined by a 
 feverish cold, and was barely able to go out on Friday to hold a 
 Confirmation, with a voice more completely lost than I ever 
 remember happening to me before. I received very great kind- 
 ness and hospitality from INIr. and INIrs. Irving, and on Sunday, 
 though against Dr. Smith's advice, I preached and administered 
 the Sacrament, and did not feel myself the worse for it. 
 
 The number of persons confirmed was about forty, half of 
 whom were native Christians, mostly old persons and converts of 
 Mr. Corrie's during his residence here. Abdul Musseeh told me 
 there were a good many more scattered up and down in the neigh- 
 bouring towns of Coel, Allyghur, and Etwah, whither he went from 
 time to time, but who were too far off to attend on this occasion- 
 Of several he spoke as elderly persons, who had been in the 
 Maharatta service during Penn's time, of European extraction, 
 but who knew no language but Hindoostanee, and were very glad 
 to have religious instruction afforded them in that language. 
 Many of them gladly attend on his and Mr. Irving's ministry, but 
 others are zealous Roman Catholics and adhere closely to the 
 Priest of Agra. 
 
 One of these Indo-Europeans is an old Colonel of French 
 extraction, but completely Indian in colour, dress, language, and
 
 AGRA. 591 
 
 ideas. He is rich and has a large family of daughters, two or three 
 of whom he has married, rather advantageously, to some of the 
 wealthy country-born English. But no man is allowed to see any 
 of these young ladies till he has had his offer accepted by the 
 father, and till it is perfectly understood that he is pledged to 
 marry one of them. He is then introduced behind the purdahs of 
 the Zennana, and allowed to take his choice ! The poor girls, of 
 course, are never once consulted in the transaction. Mr. Irving 
 celebrated one of these marriages, at which, except the bride, no 
 female was visible, though he was told that the rest were allowed 
 to peep from behind the curtains. 
 
 I took this opportunity of enquiring in what degree of favour 
 the name of the French stood in this part of India, where, for so 
 many years together, it was paramount. I was told that many 
 people were accustomed to speak of them as often oppressive and 
 avaricious, but as of more conciliating and popular manners than 
 the English Sahibs. Many of them, indeed, like this old Colonel, 
 had completely adopted the Indian dress and customs, and most of 
 them were free from that exclusive and intolerant spirit, which 
 makes the English, wherever they go, a caste by themselves, 
 disliking and disliked by all their neighbours. Of this foolish, 
 surly, national pride, I see but too many instances daily, and I am 
 convinced it does us much harm in this country. We are not 
 guilty of injustice, or wilful oppression, but we shut out the natives 
 from our society, and a bullying, insolent manner is continually 
 assumed in speaking to them.
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 AGRA TO JYEPOOR. 
 
 Preparations for the Journey through the independent States of Western India — Futtehpoor 
 — City of Acbar — Great Mosque — Palace — Bhurtpoor — Mode of sinking Wells — Letter 
 from the Raja of Bhurtpoor — Good State of his Country — Sir David Ochterlony — Sir John 
 Malcolm — Wyre — Mowah — Frontier of Jyepoor — Idol carried to Bindrabund — Deosa — 
 Hindoo Festival — Arrival at Jyepoor. 
 
 January 17. — I sent off my tents this morning to a small village 
 about nine miles from Agra, and two on the Agra side of the little 
 town of Kerowlee, and drove over myself in the afternoon. I had 
 found it necessary^ during my stay at Agra, to make many altera- 
 tions in, and some additions to my usual domestic arrangements, 
 preparatory to leaving the Company's territory for my long journey 
 through the independent states of Rajpootana, Meywar, &c. My 
 tents were only adapted for cold weather, and would prove a very 
 insufficient protection against either the sun or the storms of 
 central India, being of European construction, and formed simply 
 of one fold of thin canvas lined with baize. The necessity being 
 admitted by all parties, I purchased two, which were on sale in 
 the city, on the Company's account, there being none of any 
 sort at the Depot. My new lodgings were not so roomy or con- 
 venient as my old, but they answered very well, and every body 
 tells me I shall find the advantage when the hot winds begin to 
 blow. Another necessary was a fresh supply of live-stock. I had 
 before been content to carry a few fowls on the back of one of the 
 camels, and to trust to the supplies which the villages afforded for
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY. 593 
 
 a kid or a sheep occasionally. But we were now going to coun- 
 tries where no Mussulmans are found, where there are few great 
 cities, and a very scattered population of villagers, who con- 
 sume no animal food themselves, — who have no supplies of the 
 kind for strangers, — and, above all, who are now in a state of 
 absolute famine. And though by myself, it must be a desolate 
 country indeed where I should feel want, I was bound to con- 
 sider that I was not alone, and that my companions also re- 
 quired attention. I was advised to buy some sheep, which were 
 to be driven with us and killed as they were wanted. These, 
 with some salt beef and tongues, were thought sufficient to carry 
 us to Guzerat. At Nusseerabad no supplies of any kind are to be 
 looked for. A solar hat and green shade were next recommended, 
 and pressed on my acceptance by the kindness of Mrs. Irving. 
 A spare saddle, and a store of horse-shoes, were also declared to 
 be necessary, and, in short, so many things were to be procured, 
 that, had I been actually going into the interior of Africa, a less 
 formidable preparation might, I should have thought, have sufficed. 
 Some of my bearers, too, declared they neither would nor dared 
 go beyond the limits of the Company's Raj ! This was at first 
 likely to be the greatest difficulty of all, since there were at Agra 
 none to be obtained who would undertake to go further than 
 Nusseerabad, and there, there are absolutely none to be had. A 
 small advance of wages, however, induced most of them to promise 
 anew they would " follow me to the world's end." The very deep 
 and difficult wells which I am told to expect in our progress to the 
 south-west, made it necessary for me to hire another bheestie, to 
 draw water for myself and my horses. All these difficulties I 
 had little doubt that I should find extremely exaggerated ; but I 
 was compelled, in my local ignorance, to follow the opinions of 
 those who had local knowledge, and who evidently considered my 
 journey as one of an arduous nature. 
 
 For the alarm and reluctance expressed by the natives of Hin- 
 dostan to go into these western states, many good reasons may be 
 
 4 G
 
 594 PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY. 
 
 o-iven. But a very few years have passed away since the British 
 Government had neither influence nor authority in these districts, 
 which, between the Maharattas, the Rajpoots, the Mewattees, and 
 the Seiks, were in a constant state of intestine war, and as dangerous 
 for travellers as the interior of Arabia is at this moment. At that 
 time a person wishing to go into these provinces, could not, as I am 
 assured, have obtained bearers for less than eight or ten rupees a 
 month ; and the merchants travelled in caravans, paying high rates 
 for protection to every little plundering Raja. Now the Maharattas 
 are subdued and driven out of the country, — the Mewattees are in 
 a great measure reclaimed, — the Seiks are fully employed at home, 
 and the Rajpoot princes and nobles are kept in awe by British 
 Residents and British garrisons. It still, however, is spoken of as 
 a wild, dreary, and inhospitable country, where provisions and 
 water, fruit and forage, are scarce, — where thieves are numerous, 
 and regular inhabitants few — where a servant must look for incon- 
 venience and fatigue, and where he can expect few of those 
 circumstances of amusement or gratification, which, in Hindostan 
 proper, make many of this class of men prefer a rambling to a 
 settled and stationary service. I was told to expect at this place 
 a great desertion of my Bengalee servants also. But nothing of 
 the kind has occurred : even if they talk with some dismay of 
 accompanying me through the desart and over the sea, they like 
 still less the notion of finding their own way back to Calcutta. 
 They all say they never heard of such a journey as mine before, 
 and that " neither mountains nor any thing else stand in my way." 
 This is all absurd enough at the present moment ; but the recollec- 
 tion of where I am, and the circumstances of convenience and safety 
 under which I have traversed, and am about, if it please God, to 
 traverse regions which are laid down as a terra incognita in Arrow- 
 smith's map of 1816, ought to make, and I hope does make, a 
 strong impression on my mind, of thankfulness to that Great God, 
 whose providence has opened to the British nation so wide and so 
 untried a field of usefulness, — and of anxiety, lest we should any
 
 FUTTEHPOOR-SICRI. 595 
 
 of US, in our station, fall short of those duties which this vast 
 increase of power and dominion imposes on us. I am often ready 
 to break into lamentations that, where so much is to do in my own 
 peculiar profession, the means at my disposal enable me to accom- 
 plish so little. But I ought to be anxious, far more, not to fall 
 short in my exertions of those means which I have, and to keep my 
 attention steadily fixed on professional objects, in order that, what 
 I cannot do myself, I may at least lead others to think of, and 
 perhaps to accomplish. 
 
 The thannadar of Kerowlee is a very intelligent old soldier, 
 wdth certificates of good conduct from all the officers of distinction 
 who commanded in Lord Lake's Maharatta war, and able to speak 
 of most of the events which occurred in it. I was sorry to find 
 that during the early part of that war, some of the British officers 
 disgraced themselves by rapacity and extortion. Such instances, I 
 believe and hope, are now neither of frequent nor easy occurrence. 
 
 January 18. — We went on this morning to Futtehpoor-sicri, 
 about ten miles, through a verdant and tolerably well-cultivated 
 country, but with few trees. We passed Kerowlee, a small town, 
 with a ruined rampart and towers, seated on a low gravelly hill, 
 with a few poor attempts at gardens round it. The country all 
 seemed to have benefited greatly by the late rain, which is still 
 standing in pools in many parts of the road. There had, indeed, 
 been more, and more recent rain here than what we saw in Delhi. 
 The approach to Futtehpoor is striking ; it is surrounded by a high 
 stone wall, with battlements and round towers, like the remaining 
 part of the city walls at Oxford. Within this is a wide extent of 
 ruined houses and mosques, interspersed with fields cultivated 
 with rice and mustard, and a few tamarind trees, and nearly in the 
 middle, on a high ridge of rocky hills, is a range of ruinous palaces, 
 serais, and other public buildings, in the best style of Mussulman 
 architecture ; and to form the centre of the picture, a noble 
 mosque, in good repair, and in dimensions equal, I should think, 
 to the Jumna Musjeed of Delhi. 
 
 4 G 2
 
 596 
 
 MOSQUE. 
 
 This town was the favourite residence of Acbar, and here, in 
 his expeditions, he usually left his wives and children, under the 
 care of his most trusted friend. Sheikh Soliman. The mosques, the 
 palace, and the ramparts, are all Acbar 's work, and nearly in the 
 same style with the castle of Agra and his own tomb at Secundra. 
 The two fonner, are, however plainer than this last, and there is a 
 far less allowance of white marble. 
 
 We found our tents pitched among the ruins and rubbish, 
 about a bow-shot from the foot of the hill, and in full view of the 
 great gate of the mosque, which is approached by the noblest 
 flight of steps I ever saw. The morning was still cool, and we 
 determined to see the curiosities without loss of time. The steps 
 of wliich I have spoken lead to a fine arch surmounted by a 
 lofly tower ; thence we pass into a quadrangle of about 500 feet 
 square, with a very lofly and majestic cloister all round, a large 
 mosque surmounted by three fine domes of white marble on the 
 left hand, and opposite to the entrance two tombs of very elaborate 
 workmanship, of which that to the right contains several monu- 
 ments of the imperial family ; that to the left a beautiful chapel of 
 white marble, the shrine of Sheikh Soliman, who had the good 
 fortune to be a saint as well as a statesman. 
 
 The impression which this whole view produced on me will be
 
 PALACE. 597 
 
 appreciated when I say, that there is no quadrangle either in 
 Oxford or Cambridge fit to be compared with it, either in size, or 
 majestic proportions, or beauty of architecture. It is kept in 
 substantial repair by the British Government, and its grave and 
 solid style makes this an easier task than the intricate and elaborate 
 inlaid work of Secundra and the Taje Mahal. The interior of the 
 mosque itself is fine, and in the same simple character of grandeur, 
 but the height of the portal tower, and the magnificence of the 
 quadrangle had raised my expectations too high, and I found that 
 these were the greatest as well as the most striking beauties of 
 Futtehpoor. 
 
 A little to the right is the palace, now all in ruins except 
 a small part which is inhabited by the tusseeldar of the district. 
 We rambled some time among its courts and through a range of 
 stables worthy of an Emperor, consisting of a long and wide street, 
 with a portico on each side fifteen feet deep, supported with 
 carved stone pillars in front, and roofed with enormous slabs of 
 stone, reaching from the colonnade to the wall. There are four 
 buildings particularly worthy of notice, one a small but richly 
 ornamented house, which is shewn as the residence of Beerbal the 
 Emperor's favourite minister, whom the Mussulmans accuse of 
 having infected him with the strange religious notions with which, 
 in the latter part of his life, he sought to inoculate his subjects. 
 Another is a very beautifiil octagonal pavilion in the corner of the 
 court, which appears to have been the zennana, and was variously 
 stated to us to have been the Emperor's private study, or the bed- 
 chamber of one of his wives who was a daughter of the Sultan of 
 Constantinople. It has three large windows filled with an exqui- 
 site tracery of white marble, and all its remaining wall is carved 
 with trees, bunches of grapes, and the figures of different kinds of 
 birds and beasts, of considerable merit in their execution, but the 
 two last disfigured by the bigotry of Aurungzebe, who, as is well 
 known, sought to make amends for his own abominable cruelty and 
 wickedness towards his father and brothers, by a more than usual
 
 598 PALACE. 
 
 zeal for the traditions and observances of Islam. The third is a 
 little building which, if its traditional destination be correct, I 
 wonder Aurungzebe allowed to stand. It consists merely of a 
 shrine or canopy supported by four pillars, which the Mussulman 
 ciceroni of the place pretend was devoted by Acbar to the per- 
 formance of magical rites. Whatever iis use may have been, it is 
 not without beauty. The fourth is a singular pavilion, in the 
 centre of which is a pillar or stone pulpit richly carved, approached 
 by four stone galleries from different sides of the room, on which the 
 Emperor used to sit on certain occasions of state, while his subjects 
 Avere admitted below to present their petitions. It is a mere 
 capriccio, with no merit except its carving, but is remarkable as 
 being one of the most singular buildings I have seen, and com- 
 manding from its terraced-roof a very advantageous view of the 
 greater part of the city, and a wide extent of surrounding country. 
 
 Of this last much appears to have been laid out in an exten- 
 sive lake, of which the dam is still to be traced, and the whole hill 
 on which the palace stands bears marks of terraces and gardens, to 
 irrigate which an elaborate succession of wells, cisterns, and wheels 
 appears to have been contrived adjoining the great mosque, and 
 forcing up the water nearly to the height of its roof. The cisterns 
 are still useful as receptacles for rain-water, but the machinery is 
 long since gone to decay. On the whole, Futtehpoor is one of the 
 most interesting places which I have seen in India, and it was to 
 me the more so, because, as it happened, I had heard little about 
 it, and was by no means prepared to expect buildings of so much 
 magnitude and splendour. 
 
 Mr. Lushington was forced to leave me to return to Lucknow, 
 and we parted with mutual hopes that we might often meet again, 
 but in India how many chances are there against such hopes being 
 accomplished ! If his health is spared he will, I hope and believe, 
 be a valuable man in this country, inasmuch as he has memory, 
 application, good sense, excellent principles both religious and 
 moral; and, what I have seldom seen in young Indian civilians, a
 
 MOSQUE. .j99 
 
 strong desire to conciliate the minds and improve the condition of 
 the inhabitants of the country. 
 
 After dinner I again walked to the mosque and went to the 
 top of the gateway tower, which commands a very extensive view. 
 The most remarkable object in the distance was the rampart of 
 Bhurtpoor, eight coss from us, and hardly to be distinguished by 
 the naked eye, but sufficiently visible with a pocket telescope. A 
 number of miserable dependants on the religious establishment 
 came up and begged for charity. One was blind, but officiated as 
 porter so far as keeping the keys of the tower and other lock-up 
 places. Another was deaf and dumb and filled the place of 
 sweeper ; there were also some poor old women who " abode," as 
 they told me, " in the temple gate, and made prayer night and day." 
 These people, as well as the two principal Muezzins who had been 
 my ciceroni through the day, w^ere very thankful for the trifles I gave 
 them, and begged me in return " to eat some of the bread of the 
 sanctuary," under which character they produced a few little round 
 cakes of barley-meal, stuck over with something like sugar. On 
 leaving the building I was surprised to hear a deep-toned bell 
 pealing from its interior, but on asking what it was, was told that it 
 was only used to strike the hours on. Had I not asked the ques- 
 tion, I might have been tempted to suppose (with the ingenious 
 Master Peter in Don Quixote's celebrated puppet-show) that " the 
 Moors really used bells in their churches as well as the Christians." 
 As it was, the sound had a pleasing effect, and increased the colle- 
 giate character of the building. 
 
 January 19. — We rode this morning ten miles through a 
 tolerably cultivated country, but strangely overspread with ruins, 
 to a large dilapidated village named Khanwah. In our way we had a 
 heavy shower of rain, and rain continued to fall at intervals through 
 the greater part of the day. On my arrival at Khanw^ah, I found 
 that this place, though laid down in Arrowsmith's map as within 
 the British boundary, was in truth a part of the territory of Bhurt- 
 poor, and that for the two following marches I should also be
 
 600 KHANWAH. 
 
 under the Raja's authority. Ignorant of this circumstance myself, 
 I had omitted to procure a purwanu, which might have been 
 obtained in a few hours from his vakeel resident in Agra, and with- 
 out which none of his officers were likely to give me any assistance 
 in my progress through his country ; the people were civil, but 
 pleaded that they had received no notice or instructions concerning 
 my arrival, and that, without orders, they could not venture to levy 
 the necessary supplies on the peasants, who, on the other hand, 
 were not willing to sell the grass and fuel which they had collected 
 for their own use, unless they were called on to do so in a lawful 
 manner. At last, after a good part of the morning had past away, 
 the Zemindar of the place, a venerable old man like a middling 
 farmer, took the business on himself and supplied us from his own 
 stores, on the assurance not only of payment, but of a letter of 
 recommendation to the civility and kindness of any English who 
 might pass that way. The business was thus settled for the day, 
 but in order to prevent its recurrence the next morning, I sent a 
 letter to the Raja, in which I explained who I was, and requested 
 him to give the needful purwanu to the bearer. It was despatched 
 by the most intelligent of the judge's people to the court of Bhurt- 
 poor. 
 
 Khanwah is at the foot of a remarkable ridge of grey granite, 
 which protrudes itself, like the spine of a huge skeleton half buried, 
 from the red soil and red rock of the neighbourhood. On its top 
 is a small mosque, and, though in a Hindoo country, the great 
 majority of the inhabitants of this village are Mussulmans. As I 
 passed through the principal street in my evening's walk, I saw a 
 very young man naked and covered with chalk and ashes, his hair 
 wreathed with withered leaves and flowers, working with his hands 
 and a small trowel in a hole about big enough to hide him if he 
 stooped down. I asked him if he were sinking a well, but a by- 
 stander told me that he was a Mussulman faqueer from the cele- 
 brated shrine near Agmere, that this was his dwelling, and that he 
 used to make a fire at the bottom and cower over it. They called
 
 MANNER OF MAKING WELLS. 601 
 
 this a Suttee, but explained themselves to mean that he would not 
 actually kill, but only roast himself by way of penance. I attempted, 
 as far as I could, to reason with him, but obtained no answer except 
 a sort of faint smile. His countenance was pretty strongly marked 
 by insanity. I gave him a few pice, which he received in silence 
 and laid down on a stone, then touched his forehead respectfully 
 and resumed his work, scraping with his hands like a mole. 
 
 The houses in this neighbourhood are all of red sand-stone, 
 and several of them are supported by many small pillars internally, 
 and roofed with large stone slabs laid from one pillar to the other. 
 Wood is very scarce and dear. There were no boughs to be had 
 for the elephants and camels, to which, therefore, it was necessary 
 to give an extra supply of gram, and the only fuel which could be 
 found for our camp was dried cow-dung. There are, however, a 
 few scattered trees here and there, one belonging to a species of 
 fir which I had never before seen, and on the road from Futteh- 
 poor we passed a fine mangoe-tree, the first I had seen since 
 leaving Delhi, except in the gardens of Secundra and the Tage. 
 
 The wells of this country, some of which are very deep, are 
 made in a singular manner. They build a tower of masonry of the 
 diameter required, and 20 or 30 feet high from the surface of the 
 ground. This they allow to stand a year or more till its masonry 
 is rendered firm and compact by time, then gradually undermine 
 and promote its sinking into the sandy soil, which it does without 
 difficulty and all together. When level with the surflice they raise 
 its wall higher, and so go on, throwing out the sand and raising 
 the wall till they have reached the water. If they adopted our 
 method, the soil is so light that it would fall in on them before 
 they could possibly raise the wall from the bottom, nor without 
 the wall could they sink to any considerable depth. I forgot to 
 mention that the day before we left Agra, the poor camel-driver 
 whom I had left in a jungle-fever at Moradabad, arrived safely and 
 in restored health to join me. He had been very ill, and spoke 
 with extreme gratitude of the kindness shewn him by the staff*- 
 
 4 H
 
 602 ROAD TO PHARSAH. 
 
 surgeon, Mr. Bell, who had, he said, taken great care of him, and 
 had now procured him from the commissariat an advance of part 
 of his pay, and a camel to ride on for his journey from Moradabad 
 hither. It was pleasing to see the joy with which this lad was 
 received by his comrades, who had given him up for lost. I wrote 
 to Mr. Bell to thank him. 
 
 January 20. — Before day-break this morning, I was told that 
 a vakeel from the Raja of Bhurtpoor had arrived with a letter and 
 present of fruit from his master. The messenger announced him- 
 self as treasurer to the Raja. He was a very tall and fine looking 
 old man, handsomely dressed, but with a small train of attendants. 
 He expressed the Raja's regret that I did not intend to visit 
 Bhurtpoor, and the pleasure which he had promised himself in 
 shewing me some good hunting. The letter was enclosed in a 
 silk bag, and sealed with a broad seal like that of an University 
 diploma. The vakeel said that he had orders to attend me in my 
 remaining progress through the Bhurtpoor territories to procure 
 supplies, but seemed surprised on finding that I meant to proceed 
 to Pharsah that day. He said, however, that he would follow me 
 as soon as his cattle could travel, and of course I did not wish to 
 hurry him, particularly since the suwarr had gone on directly from 
 Bhurtpoor to the encamping ground with all necessary powers. 
 The vakeel had travelled, not on horseback, but in a covered 
 carriage drawn by oxen. 
 
 From Khanwah to Pharsah is reckoned seven coss. The coss 
 in this neighbourhood are long, and the distance, so far as I could 
 judge, is above fourteen miles. The country, though still bare of 
 wood, has more scattered trees than we had seen for many days 
 back, and notwithstanding that the soil is sandy and only irrigated 
 from wells, it is one of the best cultivated and watered tracts which 
 I have seen in India. The crops of corn now on the ground were 
 really beautiful, that of cotton, though gone by, shewed marks 
 of having been a very good one ; what is a sure proof of wealth, I 
 saw several sugar-mills and large pieces of ground whence the cane
 
 GOVERNMENT OF BHURTPOOR. 603 
 
 had just been cleared, and contrary to the usual habits of India, 
 where the cultivators keep as far as they can from the high-way, 
 to avoid the various molestations to which they are exposed from 
 thieves and travellers, there was often only a narrow path-way 
 winding through the green wheat and mustard crop, and even this 
 was crossed continually by the channels which conveyed water to 
 the furrows. The population did not seem great, but the few 
 villages which we saw were apparently in good condition and 
 repair, and the whole afforded so pleasing a picture of industry, 
 and was so much superior to any thing which I had been led to 
 expect in Rajpootana, or which I had seen in the Company's terri- 
 tories since leaving the southern parts of Rohilcund, that I was led 
 to suppose that either the Raja of Bhurtpoor was an extremely 
 exemplary and parental governor, or that the system of manage- 
 ment adopted in the British provinces was in some way or other 
 less favourable to the improvement and happiness of the country 
 than that of some of the Native states. 
 
 What the old jemautdar of Khanwah said as to the rent he 
 paid to Government, and the answers which he made to some 
 questions put to him, were not, however, such as would lead one to 
 expect an industrious or prosperous peasantry. No certain rent is 
 fixed by Government, but the state takes every year what it thinks 
 fit, leaving only what, in its discretion, it regards as a sufficient 
 maintenance for the Zemindars and Ryuts. This is pretty nearly 
 the system which has produced such ruinous effects in Oude, 
 but which is of course tempered in these smaller states by the 
 facility of bringing complaints to the ear of the Sovereign, by the 
 want of power in the Sovereign himself to withstand any general 
 rising to which his tyranny might in the long run drive his subjects, 
 and most of all, by the immediate and perceptible loss of income 
 which he would sustain, if by dealing too hard with any particular 
 village, he made its inhabitants emigrate to the territories of his 
 neighbour. Nor must the old hereditary attachment be lost sight 
 of, which makes the rulers or subjects of a Jat or Rajpoot state 
 
 4h2
 
 604 RAJAH OF BHURTPOOR. 
 
 regard each other as kindred, and feel a pride, the one in the 
 power and splendour of a chief who is the head of his clan, the 
 other in the numbers and prosperity of those who constitute his 
 society and court in time of peace, and in war his only army. 
 
 The contingent which Bhurtpoor is bound to bring to the aid 
 of the British Government in case of war on this frontier, is 700 
 horse ; but on necessity the Raja might, I should conceive, raise 
 many more, since the much smaller state of Bullumghur rated its 
 means at 500 cavalry, and 1500 infantry. The standing army of 
 Bhurtpoor, however, probably falls short of 300 men. No more, 
 indeed, are necessary, than will suffice for the purposes of state 
 and to keep down robbers, and the Raja may be supposed to lay 
 by a considerable surplus revenue. 
 
 The present Raja is said to be a young man of very pleasing 
 manners and address. During the Pindarree war he came in per- 
 son to Lord Hastings' camp \nth his contingent, but expressed 
 considerable uneasiness as to the light in which he might possibly 
 be regarded by the British Government, and how far his father's 
 gallant and successful defence of Bhurtpoor might be remembered 
 to his disadvantage. He was much tranquillized on being told that 
 his tribe and himself were only the more respected and confided 
 in by their present alHes, for the bravery and fidelity which they 
 had shown to their former Maharatta Suzerains, and the perfect 
 system of non-interference, which has been since pursued towards 
 him, is said to have gone far to remove whatever jealousy might 
 still be lurking in his mind. At present there seems no doubt that 
 all the smaller princes of this part of India have been great 
 gainers by the rise of the British power on the ruins of that of 
 Sindia and Holkar. They have all of them peace and tranquillity, 
 which for many years they had never enjoyed for three months 
 together. Many have had additional territory given them, and 
 all have their revenues in a more flourishing state than they had 
 been in the memory of man. The organization, therefore, of 
 this new confederacy, if it may be called so, may seem to be the
 
 SIR DAVID OCHTERLONY. 605 
 
 most brilliant and successful measure of Lord Hastings' adminis- 
 tration, and one from which, as yet, almost unmingled good has 
 flowed to the people and nobles of Western and Central Hin- 
 dostan. I confess I am tempted to wish that more of the country 
 over which our influence extends were divided into similar fiefs 
 and petty feudal lordships. 
 
 Sir David Ochterlony, who, as agent to the Governor General, 
 is the common arbitrator and referree in the disputes of these little 
 sovereigns, is said to maintain an almost kingly state. His income 
 from different sources is little less than 15,000 s. rup. monthly, and 
 he spends it almost all. Dr. Smith, in his late march from Mhow 
 to Meerut, passed by Sir David's camp. The " hurra sahib," or 
 great man was merely travelling with his own family and personal 
 followers from Delhi to Jyepoor,but his retinue, including servants, 
 escort, European and native aides-de-camp, and the various non- 
 descripts of an Asiatic train, together with the apparatus of horses, 
 elephants, and camels, — the number of his tents, and the size of 
 the enclosure hung round with red cloth, by which his own and 
 his daughter's private tents were fenced in from the eyes of the 
 profane, were what an European, or even an old Indian, whose 
 experience had been confined to Bengal, would scarcely be brought 
 to credit. All this is at least harmless, and so far as it suits the 
 habits and ideas of the natives themselves, it may have a good 
 effect. But in Agra and Delhi, though Sir David is uniformly 
 spoken of as a kind, honourable, and worthy man, I was shocked 
 to find that the venality and corruption of the people by whom he 
 is surrounded, was a matter of exceeding scandal. Against one 
 of his moonshees it appears he had been frequently warned 
 without effect, till at length, in the course of a casual conversation 
 with the Emperor's treasurer. Sir David found to his astonish- 
 ment, that his own name stood as a pensioner on the poor 
 old sovereign's civil list to the amount of 1000 rupees monthly ! 
 The moonshee had demanded it in his master's name ; to refuse 
 was out of the question, and delicacy had prevented the Emperor
 
 606 PHARSAH. 
 
 from naming tlie subject to the person whom, as he supposed, he 
 was laying under an obhgation ! So careful ought public men in 
 India to be that their servants do not abuse their authority. But, 
 how great must be the difficulties attendant on power in these 
 provinces, when, except Sir John Malcolm, I have heard of no one 
 whom all parties agree in commending. His talents, his accessi- 
 bility, his firmness, his conciliating manners, and admirable know- 
 ledge of the native language and character, are spoken of in the 
 same terms by all. 
 
 The village of Pharsah stands on the side of a small hill of sand- 
 stone, below which winds what is now a dry expanse of sand, but in 
 the rainy season is said to be a considerable nuddee. The village 
 contains a fortified house of the Raja's, now empty and ruinous, but 
 built in by no means a bad taste, and having its surrounding court 
 ornamented with a range of handsome stone cloisters, lining the 
 inside of the mud rampart. 
 
 In the evening we walked into the neighbouring fields, the 
 greater part of which were covered with beautiful crops of green 
 wheat. The soil is, however, mere sand, but under the sun of 
 India even sand becomes fertile by irrigation. So sensible are the 
 people of this truth, that, notwithstanding the recent rains, we 
 found them every where busy with their bullocks at the wheels of 
 their wells, raising water to the " gools," (small channels) which 
 convey its rills to their fields. The work is toilsome, and must be 
 expensive, but both labour and expence are amply repaid by such 
 crops as their fields now promise. I observed that the men who 
 were filling the gools had their spears stuck in the ground close to 
 them. I asked if this were a necessary precaution, and was told 
 that " now the times were so peaceable there was no fear, but that 
 the dustoor had begun in time of trouble, and it was well to 
 keep it up lest trouble should come again." Travellers, as a 
 matter of course, are all armed, but the peasantry in general do 
 not wear so warlike an aspect as those of Oude. I had heard 
 a different account of them, but ten years peace are already
 
 MARRIAGE PROCESSION. 607 
 
 enough to have produced a considerable effect on their habits and 
 feehngs. 
 
 I saw a great number of pea-fowl and of the beautiful greenish 
 pigeon common in this country. Both the one and the other were 
 as tame as the tamest barn-door fowl, and scarcely troubled them- 
 selves to get out of the way. Dr. Smith observed that he had 
 never seen a peacock with its train displayed. This, if generally 
 true, is a curious fact, for their feathers and their habits in other 
 respects resemble exactly those of Europe. They are a great 
 ornament to the country. 
 
 The Jat women are, I think, rather taller and more robust 
 than those of Hindostan ; they are all dressed in red shawl-hke 
 mantles, which have a better appearance than the dirty and coarse 
 cotton cloth which the Hindoostanee and Bengalee females wrap 
 round them. We were now completely out of the regular Dak, 
 but the Raja's vakeel undertook to forward some letters for me to 
 Agra, which city he called Acbar-abad. 
 
 January 21. — From Pharsah to Wuerh is five long coss, during 
 which we gradually approached one of the chains of low hills 
 I have mentioned ; they are very naked and sandy. The plain 
 was not so well cultivated as that over which we had passed the 
 day before, and seemed to have suffered from drought. We saw 
 two large spaces enclosed with mounds of earth, with good stone 
 sluices, which appeared to have been tanks, but were now quite 
 dry and partially cultivated within with wheat and cotton. A 
 large herd of deer were grazing on the plain ; they were perfectly 
 tame, and allowed us to ride up near enough to examine them with 
 ease. One of the males was very beautiful and of a singidar 
 colour, pye-balled black and white, like what are called in England 
 blanket cows. The others were dappled red with white bellies as 
 usual. 
 
 We overtook a body of people going to a marriage, with a 
 couple of large banners, two kettle-drums on a camel, several 
 horns and other musical instruments, and two or three hackeries
 
 608 WUERH. 
 
 full of men with pink turbans and holiday faces. Our falling in 
 with them was lucky, since we had lost our way, and none of our 
 horsemen could give any guess at the situation of Wuerh. About 
 a mile further, however, an extensive line of groves came into 
 view, and shewed that we were approaching a place of some con- 
 sequence, while the care with which every foot of ground was 
 enclosed and improved, spoke well for the industry of its inhabi- 
 tants. We found it a large town, surrounded by a high mud ram- 
 part, at the gate of which we were stopped by a decent-looking 
 elderly man, who salamed to me, and said that I should find my 
 tents by following a path which he pointed out among the orchards 
 and gardens outside the w^all. The truth, however, appeared to 
 be that he did not like us to enter his fortress, for it w^as not till 
 we had nearly gone half round the tow^n, that we found the tents 
 pitched in a fine tope at a short distance from a gate directly 
 opposite to that at which he had prevented us from entering. If 
 he feared to put us in possession of the plan of his castle, he could 
 not, as it happened, have taken a better way to enable us to gain 
 all the military knowledge w^hich was necessary, since our path 
 wound close under the wall, and vre saw^ all its principal flanks and 
 lines of defence. The wall is of earth, high and steep, well flanked 
 by semi-circular bastions, with a wide but shallow ditch filled up 
 in several places, and without a glacis. If well defended, it would 
 scarcely yield to a coup de main, but might be breached, I should 
 think, in a few hours. There were loop-holes for musquetry in the 
 parapets of the bastions, but I saw^ no cannon. The rampart was 
 in many places much decayed, but bore evident marks of having 
 recently received considerable repairs, — a measure which may 
 have been suggested either by the disastrous reports with regard 
 to the British arms in the east, which had been so industriously 
 circulated, or still more likely, by the quarrel between the Rannee 
 of Jyepoor and the British Resident, and the retreat of the latter 
 from the city. It is not necessary to suppose, as some of the 
 Europeans in Agra do, that if our Government had really tottered
 
 WUERH. 609 
 
 the Raja of Bhurtpoor would have rejoiced in an opportunity of 
 helping it down the hill. However well he may wish us, (and he 
 has been, certainly, a gainer by our predominance,) in a time of 
 universal war and trouble, such as would probably follow our 
 evacuation of this part of the country, it would be highly desirable 
 that his castles should be found in a state of good repair. And 
 this is a sufficient motive for the repairs which I saw at AVuerh. 
 
 The grove where the tents were pitched was so close and 
 shady that it would have been delightful during the warmer months ; 
 as it was I should have preferred the plain, for it was so dark in my 
 tent that I could hardly see to write. There was, however, no 
 choice of situation, since the plain for a considerable distance 
 round the town was so highly cultivated and so much enclosed, 
 that no room could have been found for our cofilah. 
 
 As we wound round the rampart to reach the camp, we passed 
 a number of huts occupied by the " chumars" (leather-dressers) and 
 other Hindoos of low-caste, who follow professions regarded as 
 unclean by the majority of their countrymen, and are therefore not 
 admitted into any of their towns. Leprous persons lie under the 
 same exclusion, and many Gypseys are usually found among this 
 mingled and refuse population, which is generally as immoral as it 
 is degraded and unfortunate. The suburbs of the ancient cities 
 of the Jews seem to have been almost similarly inhabited, and I 
 was forcibly struck to-day (as I rode through the huts of which I 
 have spoken and saw the filthy swine, the dogs gnawing the car- 
 cases of different animals, and the flaunting dress and unequivocal 
 air of the miserable, ragged, and dirty females,) with that passage in 
 the Revelations which, though figuratively applied to the pure 
 discipline of the Christian Church in its state of glory, is obviously 
 taken from the police of a well-regulated earthly city in that age 
 and country. " There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that 
 defileth." " For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore- 
 mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and 
 maketh a lie." 
 
 4 I
 
 610 WUERH. 
 
 I had been much plagued ever smce I left Meerut and Delhi 
 by different persons, who under the name of " Expectants" or 
 " Candidates," had attached themselves to the camp and solicited 
 me day after day either to take them into my service or, which 
 was still more impossible, to recommend them to the service of 
 some other person. This practice arises, no doubt, out of the vast 
 and overflowing population of India, abounding as it does beyond 
 its due proportion, in persons of a certain degree of education, who 
 are unable or indisposed to earn their bread by manual labour, 
 and vv^ho, therefore, have no resource but as the servants of great 
 men, or moonshees in some government office. The number of these 
 petitioners is an exceeding plague to all public men in the north of 
 India, where they often attach themselves to the door of a Cut- 
 cherry for weeks and months together. Several of this description 
 followed me from Meerut to Delhi, including among them a fine 
 shewy fellow, a captain of irregular horse, who would not believe 
 that I did not mean to levy a body-guard to attend me across the 
 wilderness to Bombay. I was able, as it happened, to do this 
 poor man, who was well recommended, a good turn, which though 
 it freed me from his company, had rather the effect of attracting 
 others, who followed me on foot and in misery, and who seemed to 
 think that by wearing out their shoes and spending all their little 
 money in my train, though without any invitation and against my 
 repeated warnings, they established some claim on me to provide 
 for them. At the frontier all dropt off except one, a candidate for 
 a moonshee^s place, the gradual deterioration of whose outward 
 man had been for some time back lamentable enough. When he 
 first preferred his suit at Meerut he was decently dressed, had a 
 good poney, and had himself that appearance of sleekness and 
 good keep, which in the opinion of a native of this country is 
 almost synonymous with respectability. He and his horse were 
 now lean, his clothes were becoming daily dirtier and more thread- 
 bare, and a silver-hilted sword was the only remaining memento of 
 the fact that he pretended to the character of a gentleman and
 
 WUERH. Cll 
 
 man of letters. I asked him this moming " how long he intended 
 to travel the same way with me," to which he replied that " he 
 was my devoted servant, that he had thrown himself on my pity, 
 and relying on that had spent every farthing he possessed, and 
 might as well go on with me till he dropt, as die of hunger in the 
 attempt to return to his wife and children at Meerut. If, indeed, 
 I would but give him a letter" — I told him " that I could not do," 
 but offered him a few rupees to get him out of the difficulty to 
 which his own folly had conducted him. He seemed grateful for 
 the money, but still continued so importunate either for employ- 
 ment or a recommendation, to which he would not perceive that 
 my ignorance of his character was any bar, that I was at length 
 obliged to have him turned out of my tent by "the strong hand." 
 Surely this is a sort of mendicant of which we have no experience 
 in England ! 
 
 In my evening's walk the old vakeel came out to meet me, 
 and enquired which way I chose to go. I asked if any thing was to 
 be seen in the city, to which he answered with more readiness than 
 his previous conduct had led me to expect, " that there were 
 things worth seeing." We set out, therefore, towards the gate, 
 over some very solid and well-executed works of stone for carry- 
 ing water to irrigate the neighbouring gardens. I remarked to the 
 vakeel the extent and apparent expense of these canals, and he 
 told me that they had been made at the expense of the Maharaja's 
 father. We entered the city by a solidly built arch of stone, with 
 a strong timber iron-clenched door, secured externally by a rude 
 earthen ravelin or barbican, and approached by a narrow stone 
 bridge. The guards at the gate were not above ten or twelve, 
 pretty nearly such peasants as I had seen in the fortress in 
 Oude, with the exception of one sentry, who had on an old sepoy's 
 red jacket, got up, as I suspect, for the purpose of this visit. 
 They received us not with the Mussulman salutation of " Salam 
 Alicum," but with the Hindoo " Ram, Ram !" a greeting which I 
 had never before heard except from the brahmins in Benares, and 
 
 4 I 2
 
 612 WUERH. 
 
 from the lowest ranks in some other parts of India. Here, how- 
 ever, we were in a Jat country, and the Arabic salutation would be 
 unnatural. Within the gate nothing was at first visible but a 
 narrow bazar with its usual accompaniments of mud huts, heaps of 
 grocery, fat bunyans, scolding women, brahminy bulls, and all 
 uncleanness. But the Raja's chobdar led the way to what the 
 vakeel told us beforehand was a fine flower-garden, and which cer- 
 tainly far exceeded my expectation. Through a narrow gate we 
 passed into a small court-yard with a very handsome Hindoo house, 
 of stone coated with marble chunam, in front of it, and were then 
 led into an extremely pretty though not large garden, watered by 
 stone channels, conducted from a large chunam tank with several 
 fountains round it. Some of the trees were of great size and beauty, 
 and the whole place, though evidently uninhabited, was kept in 
 substantial repair, and not the less beautiful in my eyes because 
 the orange-trees had somewhat broken their bounds, the shade of 
 the flowering plants assumed a ranker luxuriance, and the scarlet 
 blossoms of the pomegranate trailed more wildly across our path, 
 than was consistent with the rules of exact gardening. At the 
 further end of the garden we found ourselves on the edge of a 
 broad moat, with some little water still in it, surrounding an old 
 stone-built castle, with round towers and high ramparts of stone. 
 From the side of the town which we approached in the morning, 
 it had been only partially visible, nor did I then suspect the exist- 
 ence of any thing of the kind, though I now recognised one of the 
 higher turrets as having, on my approach to the gates, caught my 
 eye over the mud walls ; the water was low, and this part of the 
 scene had a dull and melancholy character. We repassed, through 
 a small but elegantly carved gateway, into the city, where we first 
 saw two high arches, carved with gods and goddesses, erected, we 
 were told, in order to hang swings on. A small college was then 
 shewn us of religious mendicants, or " Viragies," and this concluded 
 the list of rarities in Wuerh, with which I had been greatly in- 
 terested, the more so, probably, because I had been in no degree
 
 PESHAWER. 613 
 
 prepared for them, Wuerh being at a distance from any great road, 
 and its existence very little known. It is only lately, indeed, that 
 this country has been at all visited by, or accessible to, Europeans, 
 and Deeg, whose palace and gardens are compared to the finest 
 things of the kind in Agra, though only two marches from Muttra, 
 is in like manner quite a new discovery. Zealous Hindoos as the 
 Jats are, they seem to agree very well wdth the INlussulmans. 
 Many of this latter sect live in Wuerh, and their priest, an infirm 
 old man, a descendant, as he said, of Mahomet, came to pay his 
 compliments to me and to offer the usual salutation of holy bread 
 and sweetmeats. 
 
 The Raja's chobdar desired and received his dismissal here, 
 but the vakeel said he had orders to see me across the frontier at 
 Peshawer. The chobdar had a handkerchief of printed cotton 
 round his neck which was obviously of English manufacture. I 
 notice this because I had remarked few symptoms of our commerce 
 having penetrated thus far for some time before, nor in so remote 
 and secluded a district should I have expected it. I returned 
 an answer by the chobdar to the Raja's letter, enclosed in due 
 form in a Kincob ^ bag with gold strings, and with as large a seal as 
 my Episcopal arms could supply. 
 
 January 22. — From Wuerh to Mowah is about sixteen miles. 
 Nearly half-way is a large village, or small town, named Peshawer, 
 very prettily situated on the side of a little rocky eminence, with 
 a ruinous palace on its summit, and surrounded by trees partly 
 planted in regular topes, partly scattered, as in England, over a 
 considerable extent of arable and pasture land. There were some 
 large herds of deer seen under the most distant shades, the fruit- 
 trees near the village swarmed with peacocks, and the little rocky 
 hills, through the soft fleecy mist of the morning, assumed a conse- 
 quence which did not really belong to them. Peshawer, as a 
 frontier town of this little monarchy, was guarded by a small body 
 
 ' A sort of gold brocade, very rich, and worn only by natives of high rank. — Ed.
 
 614 MOWAH. 
 
 of siiwarrs, whose horses were picquetted under some trees in its 
 market place, and the men were lounging up and down in the usual 
 picturesque groupes which soldiers generally form when off duty. 
 They were tall, bony men, in short jackets of French grey, but 
 sufficiently slovenly and irregular in their appearance. Their long 
 spears, which were ranged before their little guard-house, were the 
 most military part of the shew. There appeared to be also a 
 custom-house, for a good many waggons loaded with cotton were 
 drawn up in the street as if to pay toll. The duties exacted from 
 foreign commerce by these petty states are, as might be expected, 
 exceedingly high, and being farmed out to persons who are under 
 no sufficient control, the burden on the merchant is such as, in 
 many places, to have put an entire stop to trade, and to all 
 travelling, except of such persons as are either exempt from duty, 
 or have nothing of which they can be plundered. A few, and only 
 a few of the native princes have, at different times, perceived their 
 own interest in this respect. Whether Bhurtpoor belongs to the 
 number I do not know, but a considerable trade appeared, from 
 all which we saw at Peshawer, to pass through it. From Peshawer 
 to Mowah the country was not so well cultivated, though still very 
 tolerably so, and there were many plain indications that abundant 
 rain had recently fallen. 
 
 Mowah, the frontier village of Jyepoor, has a large mud 
 fortress with six bastions ; and on the hill at about two miles 
 distance was another, and, apparently, a more considerable castle. 
 We were now, indeed, in a country where, till very lately, a fort was 
 as necessary to the husbandmen as a barn in England. The incur- 
 sions of the Pindarrees, it is true, did not often extend quite so far 
 as we now were, but they were not unknown, and the army of 
 Ameer Khan, as rapacious, as bloody, as perfidious as any Pin- 
 darree, was often for months together in the heart of the country. 
 The reputation of the Jats for courage, appears to have preserved 
 them, in part, from the worst of those horrors to which the Raj- 
 poots, feeble and disunited, were exposed ; and now even in Jye-
 
 MOWAH. G15 
 
 poor, the family may go to rest in peace, and with a tolerable 
 security against murder, torture, and violence. Still, however, in 
 so low a state of society, it is chiefly to a man's own sword that he 
 must look to guard his head, and cattle-stealing and highway 
 robbery are hardly accounted crimes. At Wuerh we saw all the 
 cows, sheep, and goats carefully driven into the city about sun-set ; 
 and here, and southwards into INIalwah and the Deccan, as I am 
 informed, no night passes but 
 
 " The frightened flocks and herds are pent 
 Beneath the Peel's rude battlement." 
 
 At Mowah we found a vakeel from the Rannee of Jyepoor 
 waiting my arrival with an escort of twenty horse, and a letter 
 from Colonel Roper the Resident. From the vakeel we learnt 
 that Sir David Ochterlony was still at Jyepoor, in high friendship 
 with the Rannee, and occupying apartments in her palace ; and 
 that the Rannee had obtained from the British Government all the 
 points for which she had contended, and more particularly the 
 recognition of her favourite as prime minister. The concession of 
 such a point, after her outrageous conduct towards Colonel Roper, 
 and after the positive appeal to arms which had been made by 
 both parties, is a sufficient evidence of the difficulties in which 
 Government found themselves a few months ago. For me, how- 
 ever, it is fortunate, since, had the war continued, I could not have 
 visited Jyepoor, and it is even probable that I should have found 
 great difficulty in passing through any part of the western and 
 southern provinces. 
 
 In the afternoon we took our usual walk through the town, 
 attended by my silver-sticks, the Rannee's vakeel, with three or 
 four chuprassies, the two dufftddars of our horse, the old soubahdar, 
 and the goomashta. I have no liking for all this train which, on 
 this occasion, was even greater than usual, and had the additional 
 effect of drawing after us two or three score boys. Still it is 
 dustoor, and to emancipate oneself from it would require more
 
 616 MOWAH. 
 
 trouble than it does to submit to it. The town is small, but has a 
 tolerably good bazar, in the shops of which I saw cutlery, orna- 
 ments of gold and silver, and shawls, as well as the usual more 
 rustic commodities of cotton, corn and flower, ghee, and coarse 
 cloth. Yellow seems the most prevalent colour for all garments in 
 this neighbourhood, being the cheapest and most durable. The 
 beautiful red and carmine tints with which we sometimes see the 
 cloths dyed, soon wear or wash out, and are obhged to be 
 frequently renewed, which is, however, done without difficulty. A 
 pair of common blankets of the same colour and appearance, but 
 coarser and thinner than those of England, cost one rupee and a 
 half. I bought them for my horses, the nights having lately 
 been really cold, and Dr. Smith assures me that on the high level 
 of Central India we shall find it cold all next month. In the 
 course of our walk we passed a sugar-mill of good construction, 
 with a stone to grind the canes. 
 
 This evening our good, careful, old soubahdar had a parade 
 of his men, and a general inspection of their arms. The musquets 
 were all loaded and fresh flinted, and at night, instead of the usual 
 three or four sentries, he made twenty men bivouake in two parties 
 of twelve and eight to the north and south of our little encampment. 
 I told him that I thought two additional sentries w ould be suffi- 
 cient, observing that we were in a peaceable country. He shook 
 his head, and said that it was never so peaceable, but that people 
 ought to be on their guard ; that the Raja of Bhurtpoor was a 
 good friend, but that such friends as we were now with were all 
 the better for being well watched. In short, he evidently did not 
 much like his neighbours. I here dismissed the five suwarrs who 
 had been lent me by the Judge of Agra ; the party of Colonel 
 Skinner's men would find their way better home from Jyepoor, 
 and I therefore still keep them. If there was danger, indeed, of 
 which I see no probability, they would be far more to be trusted 
 than the Rannee's horsemen. 
 
 January 25. — This morning, being Sunday, was a halting-day.
 
 RHAMGHUR. 617 
 
 Before breakfast I took a walk towards the rocks, and that more 
 particularly on which the fortress stands which I have described. 
 I went alone by my express desire, but I was perceived and 
 followed by the two orderly sepoys, who overtook me before I had 
 got half way across the plain. I asked them why they came, to 
 which they replied that " it was not fit I should go alone." 
 Others, indeed, seemed to be of the same opinion, for before I 
 reached the further village two of Colonel Skinner's men and the 
 chobdar came running after me. For all this I am convinced there 
 was not the smallest need, since, during the half hour that I was by 
 myself, I had met some of the inhabitants, and found them perfectly 
 civil and ready to answer all my questions. But when people 
 give themselves trouble out of good will, it is impossible to find 
 fault with them. 
 
 Thus reinforced, I walked through this village, which its 
 people called Ramghur, to the rock on which their castle stands. 
 This last, unlike the fort of Mowah, is built of stone, with six round 
 towers perched on a steep eminence, with a double embattled 
 wall stretching down one side to a wall at its foot. I had no 
 great curiosity to see the inside, but the sepoys said they were 
 sure I should not be refused permission, and even doubted whether 
 the place was occupied. I climbed up, therefore, by a steep 
 winding path, at first among cottages, then through the tangled 
 branches of fruit trees and underwood, and lastly, tlnrough some 
 ruined outworks, till I came to the strong iron-clenched door of 
 the fortress. This too stood ajar, but I no sooner put my head 
 through it than two or three men, who were lying down within, 
 started up in great confusion and gave the alarm, on which ten or 
 twelve more ran forwards and enquired what I wanted ? I asked 
 if I might see the inside of the castle, to which the principal person 
 answered with joined hands and very respectfully, that he could 
 not let any one enter without orders. The sepoys began to re- 
 monstrate, and the " killedar," (governor of a fort,) was evidently 
 confused, and might, I have no doubt, have been prevailed on. 
 
 4 K
 
 618 RHAMGHUR. 
 
 But it was really very little worth while, and I did not like to 
 expose the poor man to the chance of a reproof from his superiors, 
 or to excite any jealousy of the people among whom we were, by 
 expressing curiosity about their means of defence. I therefore 
 turned round to go down the hill, on which the defenders of the 
 fort shut their door with exceeding good-will, and I heard them 
 drawing all the bolts one after the other. From the rocks, without 
 the rampart, I had as extensive a view as I could desire over a 
 level country, interspersed with similar little eminences, each, as 
 well as I could perceive, with its village and its castle. The prin- 
 cipal chain of hills runs pretty nearly north and south. 
 
 On my return by a different track across the plain I passed 
 several wells, with oxen and men at work drawing water for the 
 fields. The vakeel met me half way, and expressed concern that 
 I had met with any hindrance in visiting the fort. He seemed, 
 however, well pleased with the indifference which I expressed. 
 The night had been very clear and cold, but after breakfast 
 it again began to rain, and continued cold and drizzling the greater 
 part of the day. Soon after I had read prayers, the vakeel called 
 to say that he would fine, or punish in any other way which 
 I thought best, the killedar and his men for repelling me from the 
 fort of Ramghur. Of course I told him that these people, not 
 knowing who I was, did no more than their duty and that I was 
 not at all displeased with them. This, I suppose, satisfied him ; 
 indeed I exceedingly doubt whether, if I had been fool enough 
 to insist on their being punished, such chastisement would ever 
 have been inflicted. I received in the afternoon a message from 
 Colonel Raper, with some baskets of bread and fruit. The bread 
 came at a very good time, as we were just commencing on a course 
 of Hindoostanee chapatees, which are not a very good substitute. 
 
 A brahmin, with a very large tumour on his wrist, came to 
 ask medical aid. Dr. Smith said it would certainly kill him by 
 degrees unless his hand was cut off, to which the poor man readily 
 agreed, and said he would follow us to Jyepoor, where Dr. Smith
 
 RHAMGHUR. G19 
 
 undertook to perform the operation, and I promised him two anas 
 a day for his maintenance during the journey. He seemed ver^- 
 thankful to us both, and said he would bring his wife with him to 
 nurse him and dress his victuals. He w^as much comforted too 
 by my telling him that there were many brahmins in my party. 
 Indeed I had no doubt that they would take very good care of 
 him. It is pleasant to think that our halt this day in his village 
 may have been the means of preserving his life, by encouraging 
 him to apply for help. 
 
 The weather clearing up a little in the evening, we w^ere 
 surprised to see on looking out of our tents, a camp near us still 
 larger than mine, with an elephant feeding under the trees, some 
 carts covered with red cloth, a large double poled tent, and a 
 considerable body of horsemen with their spears planted in the 
 ground, and their lean bony chargers tethered in two lines. On 
 enquiry we found that the Maharannee had vowed a golden image 
 to a shrine at Bindrabund, and that " his lordship the idol" (to 
 use the expression of the vakeel, ** Moorud Bahadur,") was going 
 to his destination under the care of one of her confidential ser- 
 vants. The principal of the rutts, which had struck our notice, 
 was for his conveyance. Some of *' his lordship's " escort came up to 
 say that they were to join me next day, and to be relieved in their 
 present service by a part of the troops now in Mowah. The man 
 who said this was a striking specimen of a Rajpoot chief, young and 
 handsome, but dirty in his dress, boisterous in his manner, talking 
 with a great deal of gesticulation, many winks, nods, beckonings 
 and other marks of intelligence, and more than half drunk. All 
 the Rajpoots are said to be addicted to opium, and the appearance 
 of these men was far more that of robbers than soldiers, and 
 strikingly inferior, not only to Skinner's men, but to the Jats of 
 Bullumghur. In the course of the evening some of them straggled 
 into the camp, professing in the dusk to have mistaken it for their 
 own, a blunder which occasioned a good deal of merriment to our 
 sepoys, who, apparently with truth, ascribed it to intoxication. 
 
 4 K 2
 
 620 MAUNPOOR. 
 
 In the course of the day I overheard a conversation among 
 the people of the village, in which they compared the present 
 peaceable times with those in which " Ameer Khan and Bappoo 
 Sindia came up with their horsemen and spoiled all the land, 
 and smote all the people, and burnt the cities through Meywar 
 and Marwar till thou comest unto the salt wilderness." I give 
 their own words ; but what struck me most of all, " corn," 
 they said, " had been getting gradually cheaper, and not- 
 withstanding the late unfavourable season, was still not so dear 
 as it used to be in the years of trouble." When such have 
 been the effects of British supremacy, who will refuse to pray 
 for the continuance of our empire ? Rain came on again as 
 night closed in. 
 
 January 24. — We proceeded to INIaunpoor, eight long coss, 
 through an open sandy country. About half-way we passed a 
 chain of hills at a place called Balaherry.- The hill tops are thickly 
 studded with castles, some of them of a considerable size and 
 extremely like buildings of the same kind in England. We passed 
 no fewer than seven in the day's march. The rocks, where visible 
 through the sand and withered herbage, are granite. To the west 
 of the hills we found a plain similar to that which we had left, but 
 I think rather more elevated. It is traversed by a river, now 
 indeed completely dry, called Maungunga, but which from the 
 width of its bed must be, during the rains, a very considerable 
 torrent. 
 
 The night had cleared up, and the morning was cool and 
 bracing. The breakfast-tent had not been able to set out so early 
 as usual, and we arrived on our encamping ground at the same time 
 with the people. The spot fixed on was a dry elevated plain about 
 a quarter of a mile from the little town of Maunpoor, without any 
 trees, which at this season of the year are not required, but with 
 a large well close to us, of the water of which the sepoys took 
 care to taste before the place of encampment was determined on. 
 The Rannee's horsemen again pitched by themselves, and close to
 
 MAUNPOOR. 621 
 
 the town. I had found them during the march civil and communica- 
 tive, but so ill-mounted that they could hardly keep up with us. 
 I asked their leader some of the usual questions about game, &c. 
 He said there were many deer, but those of his caste never killed 
 any. All animals, indeed, here seem to feel that man is not their 
 enemy. The partridges repeatedly crossed the road close to our 
 horse's hoofs, the deer raised their heads to look at the cavalcade 
 and stooped them down to graze again, and the peacocks were 
 quite as tame as in a barn-yard. I would not on any account, 
 except real want of food, have broken this hannony, or injured this 
 unsuspecting confidence. 
 
 Maunpoor is a small town on the plain surrounded by a mud 
 wall, with eight semicircular bastions, and a ditch now dry, but 
 the works are in bad repair. If the present tranquilHty w^ere to 
 last ten or fifteen years, it is to be doubted whether any mud forts 
 would remain in the country, save those which the old families of 
 rank and feudal pride might still keep up as monuments of 
 old times. Still there are every year quarrels among some or 
 other of these Rajpoot nobles, and no season, I am told, has yet 
 passed in which the troops at Nusseerabad have not been called 
 out as peace-makers, or to inflict chastisement. This is not the 
 case in Malwah, where Sir John Malcolm has established the ter- 
 ritorial arrangement on so firm a basis, that not a musquet has 
 since been fired there except against professed and public robbers. 
 
 About noon this day I had an unpleasant discussion with the 
 vakeel, who would not authorise our mohouts and suwarrs to cut 
 boughs for the elephants and camels in the neighbourhood of the 
 camp, but told them they might go to a wood six miles distant, 
 which it was impossible for them to do. The men, in consequence, 
 went to look out for themselves in the environs of a deserted 
 village near us, and while thus engaged were attacked and beaten 
 by some country people. I found that the vakeel's reluctance arose 
 fi-om the superstitious veneration which all over India is paid by 
 the Hindoos to the peepul-tree, which was the only descri])tion
 
 622 DOOBEE. 
 
 of tree proper for our purpose in any part of this neigbbom-liood. 
 I offered, if he would procure a supply of sugar-cane, meal and 
 bran sufficient to feed the animals, to let the trees alone, but this 
 it seemed the village could not afford. He said we might if we 
 pleased cut the trees with the " strong hand," without regarding 
 the murmurs of the villagers. But this was exactly what I wished 
 to avoid, and to prevent the necessity of which the Rannee had 
 sent him to attend me. I urged that I did not require him, or 
 any of his people to cut the sacred tree for us, but that I insisted 
 on his sending a chuprassee with my people to acquaint the 
 Rannee's subjects, that they were her guests and acting by her 
 authority. He at length yielded, and abundance of forage was 
 brought in without further difficulty. But it is evident that our 
 present guide falls as far short of the Bhurtpoor vakeel in honesty, 
 good manners, and obliging temper, as he does in lofty stature 
 and prepossessing countenance. He is of the " kayt," or writer 
 caste, and I have seldom seen a face in which meanness and low 
 cunning were more legibly written. 
 
 The night was clear and very cold, at least for the plams of 
 India. A little after midnight two of the tattoos broke loose, 
 and made then- escape to the plain, — a circumstance the more 
 vexatious since their riders, my chobdar and sotaburdar, were, from 
 lameness and age, unqualified for foot marches. I was obliged, 
 therefore, to leave them behind with two or three Jyepoor horse to 
 assist m catching their animals. 
 
 We ourselves proceeded {January 25th,) to Doobee, six 
 coss. The country has certainly very much deteriorated since we 
 left the Bhurtpoor territory, though still it is not unpleasant to 
 travel through ; we continued at times to fall in with the bed of 
 the Maungunga, on examining which more closely I saw that a 
 stream still continued to force its way under the sand, distinguish- 
 able by the line of verdure which its secret rills kept alive amid the 
 surrounding barrenness. In fact I understand that by digging a 
 few feet in the bed of any of these streams, water may usually be
 
 DOOBEE. 623 
 
 procured at all seasons of the year. Some of the Rannee's 
 suwarrs were now changed for others much better mounted and 
 equipped, and the cavalcade was considerably more respectable, 
 though Skinner's horse still kept up their decided superiority. 
 
 Doobee is a small town or rather village, fortified with more 
 care and on a better principle than any I had yet seen. A few 
 pieces of ordnance were visible on the bastions, and the place was 
 calculated to defy the attacks of Ameer Khan and his whole army, 
 and, if well defended, to require a regular siege even from Euro- 
 pean troops. The neighbourhood, however, from its nakedness 
 seems to have suffered severely from the Pindarries and other 
 enemies, and the insecurity of property is sufficiently shewn by the 
 fact, that during the two last days we have seen no scattered 
 dwellings, and no village without its means of defence. Forage 
 was not to be had here either for elephants or camels, but the vakeel 
 on whom my recent remonstrance seems to have produced some 
 effect, had provided a good stock of " boosa," as well as of cUied 
 cow-dung for fuel. 
 
 The grass when we set out this morning was crisp with hoar 
 frost, and my people complained that it was as cold as if they 
 were still in Kemaoon. I did not quite agree with them, but it 
 certainly was cold enough to make our morning ride agree- 
 able, and to give an appetite for breakfast as keen as I ever felt 
 in England. The kindness of my friends in Delhi and Agra had 
 supplied us with an excellent stock of, what is called, hunter's beef, 
 and we were supplied with some very fresh and tolerably well 
 tasted butter from the village, — a circumstance which I mention, 
 because in Hindostan out of the large towns butter, save in the 
 form of ghee, is seldom or never to be procured. 
 
 About 11 o'clock the lost poneys, to my great satisfaction, 
 made their appearance. They had strayed to a considerable dis- 
 tance, and would not perhaps have been so easily recovered had 
 they been very much worth stealing. 
 
 In the evening we walked to a pretty little Hindoostanee
 
 624 JOURNEY TO DEOSA. 
 
 tomb about a mile off, consisting of an octagonal cupola raised on 
 pillars, with a basement story containing apartments for a brahmin 
 and his family. A young man whom we met near the spot, told me 
 it was built, about five years before, in memory of a neighbouring 
 Zemindar. This young man said he was himself a tradesman in 
 the village of Doobee. Hearing my servants express some 
 surprise at the number of fortified places in this country, he began 
 to tell a long story about the horrors inflicted by Ameer Khan and 
 the Pindarries of the Deccan, and seemed fully sensible of the 
 advantageous change which had occurred. His dialect differed a 
 good deal from the Hindoostanee to which I was accustomed, but 
 I made out his meaning pretty well. 
 
 January 26. — This morning was extremely cold, and the 
 weather seemed to operate forcibly on all my people. The 
 Rannee's horse were none of them at their post when we set out, 
 even Skinner's men were slow in mustering to attend us, and the 
 sepoys having found the remains of a fire by the way-side during 
 the march, hustled all close round it and allowed the camels to go 
 on with no guard but a single havildar. I found it necessary to 
 check the growth of these irregularities, and gave orders for the 
 better arrangement and government of our little camp in future. 
 
 The country through which we passed in our march to Deosa, 
 about six coss or twelve miles, was very naked and desolate, with 
 no marks of habitation except some castles dotted on the distant 
 hills, and one large village about a mile from our road, within 
 whose mud walls a few trees were visible. The hills are of 
 singular forms, most of them insulated and rocky, in size, shape, 
 and steepness, a good deal resembling that on which Beeston 
 Castle stands. The soil does not seem bad, but the land has lite- 
 rally been " swept with the besom of desolation," and the deer 
 which we saw bounding among the low prickly shrubs, and the 
 dead, whose tombs are scattered here and there, seem the natural 
 proprietors of the territory. I should add, perhaps, the ravens, 
 who are here seen in considerable numbers and of large size,
 
 HINDOO FESTIVAL. 625 
 
 though I do not remember to have observed them elsewhere. 
 The country resembled extremely a large aestuary, but studded 
 with rocky islands, whose sands were left bare by the receding 
 tide; except the few thorny shrubs I mentioned, which do not 
 grow higher than common heather, not a blade of verdure was to 
 be seen, and this defect, together with the presence of the rocky 
 hills, sufficiently distinguishes these wilds from the green level 
 steppes of Southern Russia. 
 
 Deosa is a rather large town, built on one side of a square 
 table-like hill with a sharp peak adjoining to it. The hill is 
 crowned by a very extensive fortress, and there are various re- 
 mains of antiquity, such as a large tank, now ruinous and dry, 
 and a good many tombs, which evince that the place has seen 
 better days. From its name, " Deosa," or Divine, it should seem 
 to possess a sacred character, and even now we found a con- 
 siderable encampment of merchants and pilgrims, with flying 
 chairs, swings, and other symptoms of a Hindoo fair or festival. 
 It turned out to be one which I cannot find in the Calcutta 
 Almanac, but which they here call " Pusund," and it was cele- 
 brated in the course of the day with a degree of glitter and 
 show which I did not expect in a place apparently so poor and 
 ruinous. Two little images of a male and female called, I think, 
 Gungwala and Gungwalee, were carried wrapped up in a piece 
 of kincob, in a very gaudy gilded rutt, drawn by the people 
 to an open tent pitched without the town. A good deal of 
 drumming and singing followed, and the ceremony ended by pelt- 
 ing each other with red powder, as during the Hooly. Meantime 
 the usual traffic and diversions of a country fair went on ; cakes, 
 cloth of different kinds, and coarse trinkets were exposed in consi- 
 derable abundance, and a good many of the people whom we met in 
 the afternoon had evidently either been drinking or taking opium. 
 We walked through the town, which had a ruined wall round it, 
 and contained one fine old pagoda, resembling those at Benares, 
 several smaller ones, a Mussulman mosque, and some large and 
 
 4 L
 
 626 HINDOO FESTIVAL. 
 
 richly carved stone houses, but all verging to decay. The ruin of 
 the town, as of the rest of the country, was laid by the people on 
 Ameer Khan, though they did not seem to have any accurate infor- 
 mation about the matter, and owned that it had been always as it is 
 now in their memory. Its dilapidation, I suspect, is of older date. 
 There are some very elegant tombs without the walls, and alto- 
 crether the place is one extremely characteristic of the ancient 
 habits of India. 
 
 The images which we saw were taken back to their pagoda at 
 night, and after a few days more of similar parade, were to be 
 committed to the nearest river and sunk in it, where, being of 
 unbaked clay, they soon dissolve. It is said that this is the relic of 
 a hideous custom which still prevails in Assam, and was anciently 
 practised in Egypt, of flinging a youth and maiden, richly dressed, 
 annually into their sacred river. That such a custom formerly 
 existed in India, is, I believe, a matter of pretty uniform tradition. 
 But this practice of drowning images is not confined to the two 
 figures in question, but is the case with all their idols, except a 
 very few. Kali in her various forms, and the other many-handed, 
 many-headed potentates who are worshipped in Calcutta, are all of 
 clay, and all carried in like manner, after their festivals, to be 
 absorbed in the holy stream, a custom which may seem rather to 
 typify the inferiority confessed by the Hindoos themselves, of all 
 their symbols to the God of nature, than to recall the memory of 
 an ancient piece of inhumanity. 
 
 January 27. — This morning we marched eight long coss to 
 Mohunpoora. In the way I had an opportunity of seeing some part 
 of the magnificence w^hich Dr. Smith had described, for we passed 
 Sir David Ochterlony and his suite on his road to Bhurtpoor. There 
 certainly was a very considerable number of led horses, elephants, 
 palanqueens, and covered carriages, belonging chiefly, I apprehend, 
 (besides his own family,) to the families of his native servants. 
 There was an escort of two companies of infantry, a troop of 
 regular cavalry, and I should guess forty or fifty irregulars, on
 
 SIR DAVID OCHTERLONY. 627 
 
 horse and foot, armed with spears and matchlocks of all possible 
 forms ; the string of camels was a very long one, and the whole pro- 
 cession was what might pass in Europe for that of an eastern prince 
 travelling. Still, neither in numbers nor splendour did it at all 
 equal my expectation. Sir David himself was in a carriage and 
 four, and civilly got out to speak to me. He is a tall and pleasing- 
 looking old man, but was so wrapped up in shawls, kincob, fur, 
 and a Mogul furred cap, that his face was all that was visible. I 
 was not sorry to have even this glimpse of an old officer whose 
 exploits in India have been so distinguished. His history is a 
 curious one. He is the son of an American gentleman who lost 
 his estate and country by his loyalty during the war of the sepa- 
 ration. Sir David himself came out a cadet, without friends, to 
 India, and literally fought his way to notice. The most brilliant 
 parts of his career were his defence of Delhi against the Maha- 
 ratta army, and the conquest of Kemaoon from the Ghorkhas. He 
 is now considerably above seventy, infirm, and has been often 
 advised to return to England. But he has been absent from 
 thence fifty-four years ; he has there neither friend nor relation, — 
 he has been for many years habituated to eastern habits and 
 parade, and who can wonder that he clings to the only country in 
 the world where he can feel himself at home ? Within these few 
 days I had been reading Coxe's Life of Marlborough, and at this 
 moment it struck me forcibly how little it would have seemed in 
 the compass of possibility to any of the warriors, statesmen, or 
 divines of Queen Anne's time, that an English General and an 
 English Bishop would ever shake hands on a desert plain in the 
 heart of Rajpootana ! 
 
 About two coss from Deosa is a good-sized village with a 
 handsome old house belonging to the Raja, and a little farther a 
 very beautiful well or reservoir, (" boolee,") surrounded with 
 cloisters, and with a handsome gateway of three gothic arches. 
 It is said to be the charitable work of a merchant of Jyepoor, now 
 alive. About half way in the march we passed another low line of 
 
 4 L 2
 
 628 MOHUNPOORA. 
 
 hills, with granite summits, and sand-stone valleys and sides, like 
 that we saw yesterday, and succeeded by another similar plain. 
 It is easy to observe that we are rising gradually as we advance, 
 the descent of the hills to the west never being so great as their 
 ascent from the east. 
 
 IMohunpoora is a small and poor village, with a few scattered 
 patches of wheat round it, but neither trees nor forage, while the 
 neighbourhood had been so completely exhausted by the large 
 party which had passed the day before, that nothing was to be 
 procured either by money or expostulation, and the Rannee's vakeel 
 either would not or could not do us any good. At length I sent 
 one of the sepoys, a brahmin and the elder of my two mountain 
 attendants, to negociate with the Zemindars. On these occasions 
 a brahmin is always the best messenger, since he may use what 
 language he sees fit without danger, and, caeteris paribus, the 
 people are always more ready to yield to his proposals. The man 
 knew this well, and went therefore without his clothes, in order 
 that his sacred string might be more conspicuous. This measure 
 partially succeeded ; about twelve o'clock some hay was brought 
 for the horses who were fasting till now, and a very little fuel for 
 the sepoys who were equally ill off, their rehgion prohibiting them 
 to eat victuals cooked on the preceding day. They conducted 
 themselves with their usual patience and good temper, observing, 
 of their own accord, that the poor people of the country were in 
 want themselves, and could not spare to strangers. I found how- 
 ever, in consequence, that they were all extremely willing and 
 ready to make a long march the next day to Jyepoor, in order to 
 get out of this " hungry country." 
 
 In the night the camp was visited by a thief who crept in 
 between the sentries, and got hold of the clothes of one of the 
 tindals who was asleep on the outside of my tent. He was not so 
 sound asleep, however, but that he felt the blanket as it was drawn 
 away from him, and starting up put his assailant to flight in an 
 instant. In this case, probably, the robber was not very skilful or
 
 MARCH TO JYEPOOR. 629 
 
 desperate, for strange stories are told both of their dexterity in 
 stripping a sleeping man, and of the severe stabs which they give 
 with their daggers if detected. Sir John Malcolm has a story of 
 a play which he saw performed by some strollers in the Maharatta 
 country, the plot of which consisted in the robbing a merchant of 
 his goods, after being hospitably received by the treacherous 
 jemautdar of a village. After supper the merchant was repre- 
 sented as going to sleep with his goods all round him, and nothing 
 could be more artful than the manner in which the tliief made his 
 approaches, gently withdrawing the shawls a quarter of an inch at 
 a time, while at every slightest movement of the sleeping man his 
 hand was immediately on his dagger. To guard against such 
 surprises, I am inchned to believe that it is best to have no light 
 in the tent, since, without some such guide, an intruder can neither 
 find his way to objects of value, nor can well avoid making 
 some noise. 
 
 January 28. — This morning was dusky and close, with heavy 
 clouds, which however gradually dispersed and were succeeded by 
 a good deal of wind. Our march to Jyepoor was one I should 
 think of nearly twenty miles. The early part of it was over a 
 desolate plain of deep sand, traversed by a nullah, the windings 
 of which we twice fell in with. About eight miles from Jyepoor 
 we came to a deep water-course, apparently the work of art, and 
 with a small stream in it flowing from the hills to which we were 
 approaching. Round its edge some little cultivation was visible, 
 though nothing could exceed the dry and hungry nature of the 
 sand which was under us and around us, and which now began to 
 be interspersed with sharp stones and bits of rock. The hills, as 
 we drew near, appeared higher and steeper than those which we 
 had hitherto crossed, but entirely of rock, shingle, and sand, 
 without a blade of vegetation of any kind, except a very little grass 
 edging here and there the stony, ragged water-course which 
 we ascended, and which was our only road. The desolation was 
 almost sublime, and would have been quite so had the hills been
 
 (530 MARCH TO JYEPOOR. 
 
 of a more commanding elevation. The pass grew narrower, the 
 path steeper and more rugged as we proceeded along it, and 
 the little stream which we were ascending, instead of dimpling 
 amid the grass and stones, now leapt and bounded from crag to 
 crao" Hke a Welch rivulet. Still all was wild and dismal, when, on 
 a turn of the road, we found ourselves in front of a high turretted 
 and battlemented wall, pierced with a tier of arched windows, 
 shewing us beyond them the dark green shades of a large Oriental 
 garden. A grim-looking old gateway on one side built close to the 
 road, and seeming almost to form a part of it, shewed us the path 
 which we were to pursue, and I was thinking of Thalaba on " the 
 bridleless steed" at the gate of Aloaddin's paradise, and felt almost 
 ready to look round for the bugle-horn suspended in the portal, 
 when the English uniform appeared to dissolve the illusion, and 
 Colonel Raper, who had good-naturedly come out thus far to meet 
 me, rode up to welcome me. 
 
 On seeing him I at first hoped that we had already arrived 
 at the gate of Jyepoor, but he told me that we had still four 
 miles of very bad road before us. The rampart which we now 
 passed is intended to guard the approach, and the garden which I 
 mentioned is one of several attached to different temples founded 
 in this wild situation by the same sovereign, Jye Singh, who built 
 the city. Of these temples w^e passed through a little street, with 
 very picturesque buildings on each side of it, and gardens perpe- 
 tually green from the stream which we were now leaving, and 
 which derives its source from a considerable pool higher up in the 
 bosom of the hills. Our own track emerged on an elevated but 
 sandy and barren plain, in which, nevertheless, some fields of 
 wheat were seen, and, what surprised me, some fine peepul-trees. 
 This plain, which seems to have been once a lake, is surrounded 
 on three sides by the same barren stony hills, and has in its centre 
 the city of Jyepoor, a place of considerable extent, with fortifica- 
 tions so like those of the Kremlin, that I could almost have fancied 
 myself at Moscow. The wall is high, with dentellated battlements
 
 JYEPOOR. 631 
 
 and lofty towers, extremely picturesque, but with no pretensions 
 to strength, having neither ditch nor glacis. Its security must, of 
 course, depend on the forts by which the summits of the surround- 
 ing hills are crowned. But though these might ruin it and prevent 
 an enemy from occupying it when taken, they could not save it 
 against a spirited and well-directed attack from the plain. Never- 
 theless it stood a long siege from Ameer Khan, a fact which would 
 prove that ruffian to be as bad a general as he was an adroit and 
 merciless plunderer, had it not been suspected that he purposely 
 delayed the assault on the town, both in hope of obtaining a large 
 ransom, which would go into his own coffers, and in the fear that 
 his men, if once enriched by the indiscriminate plunder of the 
 city, would many of them disperse and leave him. 
 
 The trees with which the buildings are intermingled, and the 
 gardens which, in spite of the hungry soil, are scattered round it, 
 make up a very singular and romantic, or I might almost say, a 
 beautiful scene. The Residency is a small palace, formerly a 
 garden-house of the Raja's, and surrounded by a high embattled 
 wall, within which is a good garden of most English vegetables 
 and Indian fruit-trees. Water is every where to be found close to 
 the surface, and with water even the most sterile tracts, in this 
 climate, become tolerably fruitful. My tents were pitched in the 
 plain before the Residency gates, but Colonel Raper had kindly 
 provided an excellent tent for me close to his door and within his 
 garden, of which I gladly availed myself, both to get out of the 
 way of the glaring white sand and dust of the Meidan, and also 
 to enable Skinner's horsemen, who had no tents, to take shelter 
 in mine during my stay at Jyepoor, an indulgence for which they 
 were very grateful. 
 
 END OF VOLUME I.
 
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